The internet is a dangerous place.  Not because of child predators, or cyber bullying, spyware or viruses, but because it is an enormous platform for spreading ignorance and hate.  I got a forward from my dad tonight with the subject line “The crotch salute again!”.  In it was the following:

At the Ft. Hood Memorial Service… The crotch salute returns again!

I am sorry folks, but In the United States of America I do believe that saluting the flag goes with respecting and honoring the service members who have died.  Does this pompous ass believe he is above that gesture? He can shower us all with flowery words and dazzle us with his B.S., but actions speak louder.  This sucks! Now tell me our Muslim President isn’t an anti-American! EVERYONE needs to see this Pix!

Furious with the way this was worded, and suspecting this to be a fake because Naval officers were in the background of a Army memorial, I did some research.  Fortunately CSPAN has complete coverage of the Ft. Hood Memorial Service, which you can view here.  If you notice, the cloth surrounding the podium is black, not blue.  Furthermore, there is a smaller American flag and additional military flags behind the podium during the memorial.

While I had enough to prove my point I was still not satisfied and did a little more investigating looking to Snopes.com to hopefully find more on this email.  Sure enough, I discovered that the crotch salute email was not only circulated following the Ft. Hood memorial, but also after Memorial Day.  Fortunately, Snopes does a lot of the leg work for you and identified footage on YouTube of the actual event in which President Obama stood there hands on his “crotch” and a smirk on his face.  It turns out it was played during Hail to the Chief at a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

My father is by no means an ignorant man, but as you can see in this situation he was lead to believe a blatant lie because information spread via the internet lead him to believe that it was true.  You see, the internet is a dangerous place because it allows us to judge and make decisions without thinking.  We let the message it delivers us do the thinking and we are quick to react as though it is fact.

President Barack Obama is not anti-American, the assholes that are starting emails like the one I saw tonight are anti-American because they tarnish events and places meant to remind us of those who have died for our freedoms, with blatant lies and hatred.  The next time you receive an email like this, I hope you stop and do your homework.  I was able to crack the case with 2 searches.  One on Google for Fort Hood Memorial Service video and another on Snopes.com for crotch salute.

If the trick or treat scene in your neck of the woods is anything like mine you’ve probably seen the numbers dwindle over the last 5-10 years.  What was once a night of fun with kids crowding the streets dressed up in ghoulish glam, has turned into just another night in the neighborhood. Child safety advocates, anti-Halloween propaganda, and church and community events have surely played a part, and ultimately introduce a little thing called “Trunk or Treat”.

If you haven’t heard of trunk or treat you’re probably still living in an area where Halloween is widely celebrated and is still a huge tradition.  If that’s the case, let me know where you live so I can come join in the festivities.  While trunk or treat sounds like some messed up prank you would pull on your friend in the back of your car, its basically just tailgating for Halloween and kids go car to car to get treats in the parking lot of a church, community center, or the like.  Not exactly what I call a night of fun.

I’ve seen it growing in popularity locally over the last few years, as many of the schools have offered these events, but this year was the first I had seen that it had gone mainstream.  While browsing the Halloween section of Walmart the other day I discovered the following three decorations.

Yep. Now not only can you waste a night of trick or treating in a parking lot, but you can try and be festive in the process.  Now that trunk or treating has gone mainstream we are sure to see the death of trick or treating as we know it.  The whole thing is a joke and I am sad to see the tradition of Halloween fading as the years progress.  What was once a sacred holiday for young kids to enjoy tricks and treats has turned into just another warm and fuzzy holiday for overprotective authority figures to spoil.

What are your thoughts on the dying Halloween traditions and trunk or treating?  Has Halloween survived in your neck of the woods or are you seeing a decline in trick or treating as well?

The folks over at Pop Tarts are ringing in the holiday season with 3 new flavors this year, one for the month of October, November and December.  The first in the series is sure to add a little fright to your morning, with the Halloween flavor, Choc-o-lantern Chocolate Fudge.  The Halloween themed pastry will feature a chocolate crust, fudgy filling, orange icing, and bat and ghost sprinkles.

While Pop Tarts hasn’t announced an official distribution date, these pastries are sure to hit shelves soon and will be followed by the Pumpkin Pie Thanksgiving edition Pop Tarts and the Gingerbread Season Greetings Edition Pop Tarts.