Starbucks restroom policy

Wow! A restaurant that offers free usage of the restroom to the regular public. I've never seen that before. Why people are making a big deal of this is beyond me. Virtually every other restaurant in the country does this, and Starbucks was always sort of behind the times in having a policy where only paying customers could use their restrooms. I'm saddened as to how it came about though.

Sometimes I think I could make a daily post about the drama that Starbucks seems to be swimming in. I know I blogged about it last month. From Christmas cups that don't mention Christmas to the CEO telling gun owners to take their business elsewhere to a certain restaurant being accused of racial insensitivity it seems that Starbucks is always in the middle of some controversy. Some of it comes with size-when you are number one, you have a huge target on your back. Some of it is because that Starbucks seems to try to be as politically correct and pretentious as humanly possible, so they open themselves up to parody.

Eventually, they'll be shot in the back by their own troops.  They already have been-social justice warriors have accused Starbucks of not being PC enough-and it'll happen again. Perhaps Howard Schultz will shut the company down weekly for social justice meetings. I can see that coming.

Roseanne cancelled

Well, that didn't last long did it?

In a previous blog, I mentioned how I admired her anti establishment attitude even though I never saw the show and I had zero desire to start watching it. She shot her mouth off with an angry and vile Tweet and now ABC immediately canceled the show. Anyone who knows anything about the internet age could see it coming, and let it be a lesson to everyone.

Yes, there is a double standard. Trump supporters are under much closer scrutiny than those who are part of the elite establishment. Unless your sin is grave (like what Kathy Griffin did) you need to accept that everything you do will be magnified and jumped on. Her true crime, aside from being angry and tactless, is not understanding the world we live in. Her naivety was shocking.

Of course, if this was someone you agreed with and she said something about someone you disagreed with, you'd be much more willing to forgive her. That's the second double standard that we are dealing with today, and it's much more common. Much more repulsive too, because that's an issue you can actually do something about.

Terminally Ill patients allowed to try new medicine

Finally, your Lord and Master, big government, has determined that you are capable of choosing what medicine to try if you are terminally ill. A bill passed the congress (largely on party lines) allowing terminally ill patients to try medicine that might cure them.Of course it might not cure them, but I'd rather be given the opportunity to at least try and save my own life or the life of a loved one rather than watch them slowly die while you do nothing.

I'm proud to be a limited government guy, and often times in life, there is not much in politics that gives me hope. This bill is not perfect, but I'm very glad that it passed and hopefully will become law. You've got to be one cold hearted bastard to not allow a terminally ill person to smoke pot or try something, anything, that could might give them a chance to survive. Too often it's the right that is considered cruel or lacking in compassion, but this proves that yes, even the left has a cruel streak when it comes to politics. How anyone could be against this bill is beyond me.

Armed citizen in Oklahoma stops shooting...

An armed citizen stopped a potential mass shooting in Oklahoma. It's being largely ignored by the main stream media because it doesn't fit their anti gun narrative, but it speaks well that USA Today published the story.

No, not every citizen should be allowed to carry a gun. However if you get special training and have no criminal record than yes, you should be allowed to carry a gun. Almost anywhere you choose. Does a business have the right to let you in or not? Of course, but it's in the best interest of the business to keep everyone safe, and the blunt, uncomfortable truth is that you only stop a shooting by also having a gun.

Criminals prefer victims that don't shoot back.

Scripture Sunday Mosiah 5:5

Are we willing to make covenants with God? Yes, most people are willing to make covenants-it's the keeping them that is the hard part.

Anyone who tells you that being LDS is easy is lying. When my friends ask why I converted (which happens from time to time,even though I've been LDS for years) I usually tell them because I wanted to give up three hours of my Sunday, wear uncomfortable clothes and no longer drink or smoke pot. Most of my friends get the sense of humor that I have, thank God.

We are all human and we all make mistakes, so no one goes out and says "I'm going to break my covenants with God today, ha ha ha." while shaking your fists as God. It doesn't work that way. I'm not sure how it works, but covenants are sort of a weird thing-it's better to try and live them and fail rather than not make them in the first place and never try to be better.

Opioid crisis

One does not need to obsessively watch the news to see that there is a major drug crisis going on in American today. I'm not one to buy into government hype. I don't think global warming will kill us, I didn't believe the Ebola hype. Most government/media panics are garbage that drive ratings up and make politicians feel like they are getting something done. This crisis, however, is a legit crisis and there is no easy way to cure it.

Trying to limit prescription pain pills to those who really need them is like...well, trying to limit the sale of guns to law abiding citizens. You aren't addressing the fundamental problem-it's just window dressing to make yourself feel better. Those who are dying of cancer and desperately need the pain pills in order to make their last few months on earth "comfortable" aren't selling their pills to the local junkie. And if the local junkie is breaking in to their house to steal from them, they need to be punished. Severely.

The root causes of drug abuse need to be addressed, and I'm not talking about D.A.R.E or "Very Special Episodes" of teen television shows (do they even have those anymore?). The opioid crisis is a major problem, and it's not going to solved by doing, or not doing, any one thing.

Album of the weekend

Collective Soul-Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid

This is grunge music combined with prozac and therapy. The album has a sound that reminds you of Soundgarden and Sonic Youth but the lyrical content of something much more uplifting. Maybe it's because the biggest song, and undoubtedly their biggest overall hit is called, "Shine" and talks about letting your light shine down. Ironically it's not one of the songs on the album that I prefer.  

Grunge music is antiquated-it's from the past and it's often thought of to be gloomy, sad, overall depressing with the lead singers frequently dying young of drug overdoses brought on by depression. If you are looking for grunge music without the melancholy, this album might be for you. That said, it's the only album I own by Collective Soul, so it might have been their magnum opus-which isn't good if it's your first album. You can only go down from there.