Major General Jim Butterworth: Taxpayers Worst Nightmare

image via PoliticsBlog

Abuse of power is not a new problem in the military; Army General Ron Lewis was recently caught charging strippers to his government-issued credit card. But at least he had the common courtesy of trying to hide it -- it's not like he paraded the strippers around The Pentagon. It takes a special type of officer to abuse their power publicly on a repeated basis. And that's where Major General Jim Butterworth comes in.

In 2011 he was made the Adjutant General of Georgia and was in charge of the Georgia National Guard. What followed was four years of shenanigans that would make Peter Parker's uncle cringe.

The UH-72, the US Army's F-35

image via BizJournal

By this point, the public is widely aware of the F-35. A jet that sucks so much Canada has pulled out of the project due to a  $115 million price-tag per aircraft (the US plans to buy 2,400 of them, or about $276 billion). High cost withstanding, the F-35 loses badly in dogfights against older "inferior" aircraft like the F-16, despite the opposition being handicapped with external fuel tanks. And when the pilot ejects after they're inevitably shot down (or a software error occurs), they're liable to have their neck snapped by their half a million dollar helmet. The same half a million dollar helmet that's too bulky to allow a pilot to turn their head enough to see behind the aircraft, and is so complicated that its operable only half the time. A leaked Pentagon report has called the F-35 "flawed without redemption" and the F-35's reputation is so tarnished the Air Force released a secret memo on how to defend the F-35 to its critics (i.e. everyone).

image via Pinterest

"Step 12: When all else fails, distract with cool photos."

But surely this is just one weapons system right? It's not like this is a systemic problem that is sewn into the US military? Wrong.

China's Insanity Timezone

image via EarthScienceEducation

Time zones were invented around the time of train travel in order to coordinate the time of arrivals and departures. This way time became universal and everyone could tell what time it was in a given location. The continental US is spread across four of them in order to best try and match "solar" time, or so that when it's noon, the sun is directly above.

Most nations across the world adhere to this method. Except for China. In China, the entire nation runs on the same time-zone, all other neighboring countries be damned.

The Joke That Could've Started World War III

image via OregonLive

It was October 1984, and President Ronald Reagan was preparing his weekly address to the nation on National Radio. Needing to test the microphone beforehand, they asked the President to speak. Always the joker, Reagan quipped:

"My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."

Everyone in the room had a good chuckle at the joke, and moved on with the address. Across the ocean however, the Soviets were reacting very differently.

Lyndon Johnson's Ridiculous Silver Star Decoration

image via Wikipedia

Lyndon Johnson was in Congress at the time of World War II, and like many of his colleagues he felt the need to join the US military in a patriotic furor to do their duty for the nation. He soon found himself as a Lt. Commander in the United States Navy.

Despite being rejected for combat duty (due to his position in the government), Johnson finagled himself an assignment inspecting facilities in the South Pacific war-zone. It was here that he earned his famed Silver Star award for . . . well nobody is really sure.

US Government: X-Men Aren't Human

image via GStyleMag

The X-Men series of films and comics is set around the central theme that the X-Men are striving for humanity to accept them as human. The first film struggles with X-Men registration whilst the most recent film portrays them fighting against extinction. Fortunately it's not a question that needs answering in today's world.

But of course, it already has. And incredibly according to the US Government, X-Men are "inhuman creatures", lacking "human qualities".

The Canadian Town Inside of Maine, USA

image via Flickr

Estcourt Station is like any other town in Canada. It drinks water provided by Canada, is hooked into the Quebec electric grid, watches televeision in French, and spends Canadian currency. Even its area code is Canadian.

The only problem is that due to some quirky international borderlines, Estcourt Station is actually a town in Maine, USA.  Which has of course, led to some issues.

The BBQ that Shut Down the US Government

image via Huffington Post

Government shutdowns are no joke. During the famed 2013 shutdown, over 800,000 employees found themselves not working and not getting paid, while a further 1.3 million found themselves working without pay (myself included), for over two weeks. All because a certain Cuban-Canadian member of Congress was disagreeing with some legislation.

image via CrooksandLiars

Pictured: The ass-hole who prevented me from making my rent on time.

The US's Most Super-villainy Sheriff

image via MSNBC

Joe Arpaio is the elected sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona. He has self-styled himself as the US's toughest sheriff, and continues to be elected repeatedly and by large margins. Which is kind of scary when you consider some of the things he's done.

Things like stage an assassination plot against himself, sending an innocent scapegoat to jail for several years, just to increase his own bravado. And no, this isn't a crack-pot conspiracy theory.

The World's Most Useless Aircraft Carrier

image via Phoenix

The list of nations that currently operate aircraft carriers is a short one. While obvious nations like the United States, China, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom are all there, the list also contains some surprises. Namely, Thailand.

When Wyoming Tried to Prepare for the End

image via Wikipedia

Preparing for the collapse of civilized society is not something on the top of most peoples minds. With more pressing matters affecting the world right now, who wants to worry about the day when Waterworld becomes a reality? So it's obvious there wouldn't be any politicians legitimately worried about such a scenario.

Unless you're talking about Wyoming.

The US Army Star Trek Office

image via Wikipedia

The US Army, aside from being one of the largest armies in the world, may also be home to one of the world's strangest offices. All one has to do is go to Fort Belvoir, Virginia where you will find that the headquarters of the US Army Intelligence and Security Command looks oddly like the starship Enterprise.