While the Afghanistan has a lot of people waving flags and hugging each other, some people have taken a different approach. Of course, it also comes on a T-shirt. David Rees, the man behind mnftiu has created some witty, acerbic, childish, perfect comics to counteract that false sense of patriotism that seems to be pervading America right now.

I was reading an article in No Depression magazine about Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, a blues god, where he was lamenting the fact that most of the time, people in this country hate each other. However, let a tragedy happen or we get involved in some war and all of a sudden, everyone is hugs and kisses.

I don’t want to give the impression that I “hate” America or that what we are doing in Afghanistan is wrong. What I draw umbrance with is the false sincerity that Americans seem to have toward their country. In times of national trouble, we came come together and be something truly powerful, but we spend the rest of our time tearing each other down. It is an amazing phenomenon that I truly can’t grasp. In a sense, it is what makes us Americans, though, for better or worse.

Our country may never be as nationalistic as say France or Germany, precisely because of what it is. We are a country made of individuals who protect that individualism tooth and nail. At the same time, America is an amalgamation of many cultures and races that act and react differently to every situation. Maybe then, it does make sense that we individuals or small groups of individuals live seperate lives yet unite under the American umbrella in times of need. So, perhaps, we should pay less attention to our divisive nature and more attention to the causes that unite us. Should it take something as drastic as a war or should something like a rash of child rapes in South Africa be enough to unite Americans to a common goal?

From the rumor mill that is my telephone: This past weekend, a mother, a father, and their little girl visited a certain chain “Mexican” restaurant. When the waitress brought their drink order, it included a sippy cup filled to the brim with orange juice. Noticing that the cup was far too full, the mother decided to take a drink before handing it to her eager daughter. That’s when she realized with great surprise that the sippy cup her daughter was prepared to consume was filled not with orange juice, but with Screwdriver.

After complaining to the manager and witnessing the waitress quickly snatch the evidence and throw it out, this family did some investigating. Here’s what they found:

1) It seems this restaurant known for chimichangas requires its employees to drink from sippy cups.

2) These enterprising young men and women sometimes fill their sippy cups with alcoholic beverages.

3) From time to time, these sippy cups filled with alcohol end up in the hands of thirsty three-year-olds.

4) And occasionally, restaurants mismanaged by a vapid crew of empty-headed, reckless simpletons get sued for millions, ostracized by the community, and shutdown by the local health department. But that’s only occasionally.