May 4th, 2011 
Bruce McGee I really had no intention of writing anything today. I am buried under so much offline work, that it just wasn’t a priority. Then the never ending virus I have contracted decided I needed to be tired and grumpy today. So after doing a few hours work and reading some things I have obviously changed my mind. Let’s get right into it before anything else happens to piss me off.
I am starting to think the San Jose Sharks have a voodoo like gripe over the Detroit Red Wings. Just watching the first two games doesn’t give me much to feel good about. The Wings have always had trouble with the Sharks the last few seasons and it doesn’t appear to be getting any better. Oh don’t get me wrong I am not one of those fans who thinks the sky is falling. I just won’t be shocked and laying on the floor drooling like Adam McQuaid if it happens. Speaking of poor McQuaid’s crash and burn, I want to talk about that a little, watching the replay made me realize something.
You see hockey has always been considered a tough man’s game. Players take shots all the time and take pride in scars and missing teeth. The problem is as we learn more about the human brain and the damage concussions can cause there has to be some changes. It reminds me a lot of the sport of auto racing. See for a long time, racers went at it tooth and nail knowing there was a chance for death or serious injury. That is the nature of the beast and so adopting new safety devices was always slow. That was until two deaths in two different parts of the world. One was Ayrton Senna in 1994 and the other was Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 2001. Both of these deaths had huge impacts on the racing world and both brought a lot of change. In fact it’s a little sad as Senna’s was the start of the change, but it took the death of a living legend to make the sport stop worrying about it’s tough guy image. These days you have soft walls around the track and many, many improvements in safety for the drivers. What I am afraid of is hockey is going to have to suffer the same tragedy before it understands why it needs to change.
Which is to me beyond stupid and the NHL needs to do more than just implement rule 48. One of the things I would change is what came to mind after watching McQuaid go head first in to the boards. They need to add more padding between the end of the glass and the bottom of the boards. I know there will be arguments of it taking up to much room in the rink and the cost of doing it to every arena at least in the NHL. The same arguments were made when they introduced safer barriers in addition to concrete walls at race tracks. The arguments weren’t valid in racing and they aren’t in hockey either. On top of that I want to see a helmet manufacturer design a better helmet for the players. Like it or not hockey must change and I refuse to accept the it’s a tough guy sport as a counter argument. I already witnessed the cost of doing nothing once and there should be no reason for another sport to go down that road.
Finally I guess I had better talk about Bin Laden one last time. As soon as the news was announced, before we even knew any details people already started with the conspiracy nonsense. Then when they said they buried him at sea, it only got worse. Now the Government is refusing to release the photos they have of the body. Which will only continue to fuel nut sack speculation and rumor. Here’s the thing it doesn’t matter one bit where they buried him or if you ever see the photo’s. For one thing do you really think if they buried him on land they would reveal the location? Do you think the nuts would have been anymore vocal if they had buried him in secret in the earth? I highly doubt that would of changed anything to the tinfoil wearing conspiracy lovers. They weren’t going to tell you were they buried him. You weren’t going to actually witness the burial so it is no different than feeding him to the fish.
Now as to the photos a lot of people are clamoring to see. Again I am really not to sure how that is going to change anything with those who have already made up their minds. The man was hit above the eye with a double tap from a 9mm weapon. For those of you that don’t know a double tap is two quickly fired shots used to ensure that a target is hit. A well practiced marksmen can make a mess with a double tap. So even if they released the grisly photos to the public, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell who the poor bastard was. Which again isn’t going to change the mind of the hardcore loons out there. I don’t even want to go into the sick bastards who want to view the photos just for kicks. My advice to them would be smash yourself in the face with a hammer then look in a mirror. My advice to the conspiracy kooks is to shut the hell up. To the rational thinking people out there who understand he is dead, just hold tight this should die down soon.
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Well you opened a double whammy here, with two distinct issues.
We've discussed a lot about concussions in the PUCK YOU! series (and have a feeling we may very well return to it in the Post-Playoff wrap up edition). I like your comparison to racing, in that there is a similarity towards a willingness to adapt the sport in a safe way. You know I want to see change myself. However, I sadly have to agree that it might very well take a death in the game to incite change. Stupid, I know.
I too am concerned about the Osama death not being disclosed in a way that is definite. This opens a door to speculation and conspiracy that we'll never hear the end of unless more evidence is provided. Of course, we'd likely still have that even with conclusive evidence, because frankly, it seems that there are always folks who will stick to their guns regardless.
I know your right on the hockey issue, but it still aggravates me that they are going to be that dumb when there are so many examples to go by. In racing they lost probably 10-12 lives in the big series's between the time of Senna's death and Earnhardt's because of stubbornness. A good number of those were young up and comers who I can't help but feel died a needless death. You couple that with having personally witnessed a couple deaths of people I knew personally due to the same circumstances and it really gets old. We have the ability to learn from examples set before us and yet we never do. I should also point out, that I never expect the chance for serious injury to be removed from either of these sports permanently, it's just not possible. I still think it's best try to minimize the danger even if it offends or drives away the traditionalists, which it did to a certain extent in racing.
Definitive proof would be nice and a soon as someone can lay a rationale frame work for what that entails I will be right there to support it. The problem is even with that your only going to change maybe 1% of peoples minds the rest are either willing to accept it as is or are never going to accept it. Maybe the percentage is a bit higher, but I my patience with the people on the it didn't happen band wagon is at it's end. Because the burden is on them to give definitive proof it never happened as much as it is on the U.S. Government to prove it has killed him.
*Caution- Time for Patmans overly dramatic 2 cents on the issue.- * =)
While I am, personally 99.5% certain that the US got that fucking devil a few days ago , one needs not to be a tin foil hat crazy wack job to want the government to provide physical proof that they killed him. Not at all. Proof such as the actual physical DNA results, proof of the fresh blood and hair samples used, undoctored pictures and video of the body and whats left of the devils face. For me as someone who has taken genetics classes at university, answer as to how, on a warship in the middle of the ocean, a DNA test only took a few hours when usually they take a few days for very accurate results.
The people out there that are calling everyone who wants actual physical proof a "tin foil hat conspiracy theory crazed lunatic" is actually making it much to easy to dismiss the fact that there IS no solid physical proof, at least at the moment. Hell thats like me saying that everyone that believes the governments EVERY word about the accounts that took place without physical proof MUST be flag waving, hack saw Jim Duggen USA chanting idiots who NEED to believe that Bin ladden is dead sooo much, that they are blind by patriotism and WONT ask simple questions. This is obviously not the case because I know some very smart Americans.
Im no tin foil helmet conspiracy theorist thats for sure and as I said im over 99% sure that the story that the USA has told the world is probably and mostly true. However, I will never stop asking questions and wondering about the lack of physical, real proof and answers IF that proof never comes to surface. I for one question any authority, power or government that tells me something I want to hear without actually proving it with real, physical evidence. If we don't ask questions and we don't seek physical proof of our governments and leaders actions, even when they are good actions and are almost certain like I am that these events DID take place, we are opening up the potential for propaganda in the future.
"Just Trust Us" is not something I do with most politicians. I am sure proof will pop up in time from the good old folks at wiiki leaks anyways ha.
I am glad they killed that fucker and that some of the people can now find closure in their lives.
Fuck you, terrorists. And Thank you special forces.
If you feel I was calling you a tinfoil helmet conspiracy theorist with my post than I apologize that was not my intent. I never stated anywhere in my article asking question or wanting to see proof made you one of the nutty ones. I also never stated I didn't want to see any proof either. I would be interested in seeing any proof my government is willing or made to put forth. I also thinking questioning the actions of government's is also a must and again I never stated to the contrary. I was speaking strictly to the people out there who are already throwing about wild conspiracies and rumors when barely 3 full days have past since the event happened. They are no better than the government not being more forth coming with the proof reasonable people are requesting.
All that said I still feel correct in what I said in my article. I feel very strongly that photo or video evidence will do little to proving anything beyond a shadow of a doubt. Given what I know about damage bullets do to the human body 2 rounds anywhere around your eyes or nose will obliterate most of the features that make you recognizable. Which will do nothing to quell the suspicions of less than reasonable people. I am not even sure it will satisfy reasonable people such as yourself. There is one thing that you bring up that I did ignore on purpose as I wasn't a 100% sure how to handle the DNA test.
You see I know just enough about genetics to be an asshole, which was not exactly my intention here. I also know that it is possible to do DNA testing with large animals in as little as 9-12 hours and have a 95% positive match. I know this because a nice veterinarian took time out his busy day to explain it to me. As I was skeptical it could be done in that amount of time and be accurate. Then I recalled this wired article about Saddam Hussein's DNA test that at the time came back far faster than was thought to be possible by the general public. http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/200…. Still that doesn't explain why they won't release the test results to the general public, but it does tell us that getting a result on him in short order is possible.
Funny you should mention that, as I was writing my response I was thinking about the last time you and I seriously debated anything. The wiki leaks chopper video. Granted the edited the hell out of that, so who knows what they would do with the Bin Laden stuff lol. I agree and I should remember to focus on the people who are just as crazy about following blindly. I have seen a lot of that too. My problem is I think the conspiracy theorists do more overall harm to a situation than the follow blindly crowd. The latter is easy to ignore, the former can actually cause significant problems for people who just want the honest truth. My gut instinct Sunday night, was this was going to turn into another long drug out situation that never gets any real answers. I am thinking that is the case.
Fuck quoting segments of lyrics. I will quote the whole fucking song. Paranoia.
there's a watch in my pocket and its hands are broken
the face is blank but the gears are turning
confusion is a fundamental state of mind
it doesn't really matter what I'm figuring out
I'm guaranteed to wind up in a state of doubt
and sanity is a full-time job
in a world that is always changing
and sanity is a state of mind that you believe in
sanity
there's a shadow on the wall where the paint is peeling
my body's moving forward but my mind is reeling
depression is a fundamental state of being
it doesn't really matter how my day has turned out
I always end up living in this world of doubt
Yep:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I906YSSfB5Q