Man threatens to blow self and car up next to Pentagon

This is a non-story. It’s a story that isn’t. It’s jackass journalism. This probably started out as: “Man has barricaded himself in his car next to the Pentagon, but he is not making any demands and nobody is paying any attention to him.” Why hell, I’m actually doing that right now! So when this Moronosaurus-Rex wasn’t getting any attention sitting in his car he gets out and sticks a rag into the gas tube and threatens to light it.

Now, will that even work… lighting a rag like a fuse sticking out of a gas tank? Oh, yes it sure will, especially if the rag is first soaked in a flammable like, say — GAS! It will blow sky-high yes, I have done it. Mind you, I was on a legally sanctioned demolitions range training with the Delta Force, and not parked next to the Pentagon.

Even if the lower Paleozoic punk had managed to detonate that car — which wasn’t even his — the crusty Colonels on the inside would probably just stand there gawking at the fireball through their office windows sipping coffee: “Pshhh… that ain’t shit, son… I was on duty here on 9-11!”

The author’s rendition of what the scene outside of the Pentagon might have looked like had the explosion actually taken place.

First Coronavirus Fatality in the U.S

“It’s one, two, three — what are we fightin’ for?
Me I don’t give a damn, I’m depending on Uncle Sam!
And it’s five, six, seven — open up the pearly gates
Well, there ain’t no time to wonder why — we’re all gonna die!”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m as much in favor of a pointless full-caliber panic as the next dork. I’m as much in favor of losing my feces over COVID-19 as I am losing them over a halt in new technology advances from Al Gore. The only thing standing between me and catastrophic mayhem are the figures.

According to the CDC: “the overall flu-related hospitalization rate in the United States is 41.9 cases per 100,000 people, which is similar to what has been seen at this time during recent seasons. There have been 6.8 percent of deaths attributed to pneumonia and the flu. And 7.3 percent is the threshold for classifying a virus as being an epidemic.”