Sorry to begin today’s post with a long bit of text – but I have something to get off my chest.  If you care to skip the serious stuff, just scroll down to the Wheat Thins picture 🙂  Otherwise, read on, brave souls.

Yesterday, the Casey Anthony verdict came out, finding her not guilty of the three major homicide offenses she was charged with.  I am not going to discuss the case; what I am going to discuss is how amazed I was by my Facebook feed after the verdict came out.  It was FILLED with people crying bloody murder (no pun intended) on both sides of the issue, eviscerating the prosecutors, the judges, the defense attorneys, the jurors.  Everyone knew how THEY could have done a better job, how the case SHOULD’VE gone.  Most of them were NOT attorneys.

On a day to day basis, I see, hear, and deal with people who think they know how the system SHOULD work. And why not?  The law is very personal, and most people have a working knowledge of it – at least, they think they do, having seen so many TV shows.  Everyone has an opinion that is closely held. And because everyone understands we live in a litigious society, there is no reason their opinion ISN’T the right one.

When the news involves law and crime, forget it – EVERYONE’S an expert.  What other job works like this? Unless you are an expert yourself, you generally aren’t telling surgeons how to cut, you’re not telling NBA athletes how to dunk, and you’re not telling mechanics how to fix your car.  The public understands that once you’re in that position, chances are you know what you’re doing.

But someone gets shot walking home?  The cops aren’t doing enough, the cops are exceeding their authority, the prosecutors are stat hungry jerks, the prosecutors are scared little pussies, the defense attorneys are champions of justice, the defense attorneys should be ashamed themselves.  What?  Why does this happen, why does the public react this way, especially when it comes to crime?

I think the answer lies in the fact that criminal laws tell us what we can and cannot do, essentially – and people aren’t thrilled with that.  They see the legal system as screwing up the way right and wrong is decided.  People KNOW what they want to be able to do and not do.  It’s cut and dry for them – “who cares about what the laws dictate?  *I* know what’s right.  ME.  Everything else contrary to my beliefs is wrong.”

Truth be told, the justice system is complicated – it has complex procedural steps, numerous rules of evidence, and various levels of litigation – sometimes litigation within litigation.  And any attorney will tell you that these rules to play the game are in place and ever-evolving to ensure fairness and legitimacy. But the non-lawyer public, who isn’t familiar with these terms – they don’t care about the evolution.  These tiny rules are just another reason why the system is bad.  The public doesn’t care to learn why cases happen the way they do.

And this, to me, makes no sense.  As a citizen, you should learn why the system did what it did before making any proclamations.  It’s like someone watching an NFL game, seeing an offside call, and complaining, “why is that even a rule?  This game is stupid.”  Any real NFL fan would punch you in the face at that point.

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Anyways, onto the snack o’ the day:

The Money Shot

Chipotle Pepper??  Wheat Thins, you so crazy.  When I saw these in the grocery, I immediately knew I had to buy them because I LOVE spicy things to eat.  And look at that cover photo – its like the sticks are dynamite, exploding with flavor!  Or so I thought…

Instructions!

Instructions on how to easily enjoy the snack?  Thank you, Wheat Thins!  Teacher and snack food inventor, all in one.

14!? GIDDYUP!

14 sticks = one serving!?  NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!  Unless the sticks are the size of a toothpick.  Then that’s NOT what I’m talking about.

I *guess* that's effective

I followed the WT instructions, opened the normally rectangular box, folded along pre-creased lines, and made this hexagon contraption.  These better be some damn good crackers for this effort.

Like edible Lincoln Logs

Goldenrods

Well, they look pretty good.  Crunchy little fingers, speckled with what I can only presume is “chipotle flavor.”  I was eager to dig in!

Not the most aesthetic snack

Up close, I immediately noticed that there was no real extra powder of flavoring, nothing immediately noticeable baked into the cracker, nothing.  The powdered speckle I noticed before?  Just surface variations.  Skepticism set in…

Inside - just as boring as the outside

…and then I ate them.  Yeah… not a great effort, Wheat Thins.  Bland bland bland, and then at the very end of the swallow, a *hint* of peppery flavor.  This ain’t no chipotle.  Even as a cracker – these sticks were not very good.

Sidenote: I actually ENJOY Wheat Thins!  Hearty nutty in flavor, sometimes Wheat Thins hit the spot. These sticks did not taste as good as plain Wheat Thins.

I won’t be having these again.

Sincerely, Junk Food Guy