More Annoyances

The game Words With Friends on Facebook.  I can have a row full of good letters but still lose because my opponent used up all the letters first.  Profligacy truly is a modern virtue; it is enforced by both the Federal Reserve and video games.

The game Mario Kart on Wii.  I get way out in front only to be blasted so the herd can catch up.  It's egalitarian and noxious.

People who illegally enter this country and act offended when they are denied governmental largesse or are told to leave.

Anyone who who uses the phrase "you can't turn back the clock" in a political or cultural debate.  Principles are timeless.

People who hike all the way up a mountain and don't even pause five minutes to reflect before going back down.  I'm not talking about the ones who are doing fast-paced exercises, just those who have a beautiful view and some silence to cherish but toss it away.

On a related note, any gas station that has mini-TVs at the pumps.  Are people now so frightened of sensory deprivation and -- gasp -- a reflective moment that a TV is absolutely necessary?

Anyone who drinks diet soda on the belief that it's more healthful.

Another song using Mick Jagger's name in the lyrics.

People who start smoking weed around me just as casually as if they were having a drink.

School teachers who complain about having to prepare students for standardized tests.  If you're doing your job and teaching the kids well in general, they will easily pass a standardized test.

Ninety percent of plaintiffs, who should blame themselves or God for what happened to them.

The fact that modern Americans demand prosperity and safety at the expense of liberty -- and destroy them all in the process.

The fact that modern fiscal and monetary policy are designed to force responsible people to subsidize the foolish choices of others.  Apart from the sheer unconstitutionality of it all, I have no moral duty to "bail out" failed business, keep debtors in their homes, prop up those inflated home prices to benefit the real-estate industry, supply birth control to skirt-chasers and harlots, or educate their kids.  Once upon a time, life confronted people with the harsh consequences of their folly, and they would actually learn from it and mature.  Forcibly re-distributing wealth among private citizens is bad enough, but punishing excellence to reward mediocrity is suicidal.