TED and THADDEUS

November 20, 2009

As I get older, I expect to attend more and more funerals. Only if I go first will I escape this fact of life.

I just attended the funeral and burial service of two very special people, but they were not old. Ted (Thaddeus) was 53 and his son, the younger Thaddeus, was only 12 years of age. They died together when the small plane they were flying crashed in Southern New Jersey last Saturday.

Because I want to include photos and it would take too much space to include all my thoughts here, I made a separate memorial page and invite you to visit.

FUTILE EXPECTATIONS

November 11, 2009

When you or I take money from someone and fail to deliver, it is a criminal offence. In the computer business, there is apparently no crime serious enough to warrant legal action. Where are all those lawyers who get rich off of class action lawsuits? They know they can't get anything out of the soft- and hardware manufacturers, so why should a paltry customer like me expect to get any kind of satisfaction? THEY have my money and know that I would never return to buy anything else from them if I didn't have to. But they also know that I have no choice. Either they have a monopoly or the competition is just as bad.

After two months (see Sept. 8 blog) of constant researching, reformatting the hard disc and reinstalling Windows, I still can't get my laptop to connect to a wireless router. I have given up. Anyone want to buy a nice Gateway laptop? It connects if wired, but you need to be more of a geek than I am to get it wireless again.

CLEVELAND, FT. HOOD, ORLANDO...

November 9, 2009

Anthony Sowell, of Cleveland, lured women into his home, murdered them and scattered their remains around his house and yard to rot. The Associated Press quoted Robert Keppel, a national serial killer expert, who assured the public, "There's just not a lot of these folks running around the world." We can breathe easier!

Saturday, I wrote a blog about the radical Muslim assailant of the Ft. Hood shooting rampage. Newspaper reports made him out to be a victim and the victims were actually the instigators.

One day after the Ft. Hood massacre, a shooter in Orlando, Florida tried to duplicate the horror scene, but only managed to kill one person and wound five.

In Sunday's paper, I read in an AP article that Jason Rodriguez was also a victim rather than a criminal.

When the defendant appeared in court on Saturday, his public attorney said, "This guy is a compilation of the front page of the entire year - unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, divorce - all the stresses... he is very, very mentally ill"

So brace yourselves folks! There are many more stressed out victims of society. If you have a job and haven't lost your home, YOU are responsible for the upsurge in mass murderers and the victims could be out to get you!

EYEWITNESSES vs MEDIA

November 7, 2009

Another deadly attack on American soil by a Muslim has shocked US citizens. Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, gunned down fellow servicemen stationed at Ft. Hood until he was stopped by the bullets of a female officer. At last report, there were 13 dead and 40 injured. Several of the wounded may not survive.

When I first heard the report, I began to contemplate on how the government/media coalition would treat this. I figured they would play down the religious aspect and make the gunman into a victim. I guessed right, but that doesn't take a lot of talent.

Within an hour of the attack at Ft. Hood, Texas, the FBI issued a statement assuring Americans that this was not a terrorist attack and Obama cautioned people not to jump to conclusions.

Meanwhile, eyewitness reports were leaking out onto the internet. Soldiers said they heard the assassin shouting "Allahu akbar!" (Arabic meaning "Allah is great!"). The press reported that "officials could not confirm this." The media originally reported that Hasan was a convert to Islam and that he had been killed. Both statements were later found to be false. Servicemen report that Hasan was a fanatical Muslim who claimed America had no business waging wars in Islamic countries and accused the US of waging a war against Islam. He posted statements on the internet claiming that American soldiers who threw themselves on grenades to keep others from being injured were no different from suicide bombers. The Associated Press reported on comments made by members of his Palestinian family. According to them, Nidal had been harassed by fellow soldiers for his religious beliefs; "as a Muslim committed to his prayers, he was discriminated against." Many servicemen who knew him well denied that he had been harassed or discriminated against. The messages he left behind before his rampage give no hint of this accusation and speak more of friendly relationships. There is only one recorded incident of harassment. A returned soldier from Iraq ripped a bumper sticker off Hasan's car that said, "Allah is Love" and scratched his car in the process. Hasan received $1000 for damages and promptly purchased a new car. The media reports, "the car was damaged so badly that he bought a new one."

The FBI now admits that Nidal Malik Hasan has been under surveillance because of a number of suspicious statements and activities. That may keep the government and media from portraying Hasan as a martyr. Perhaps he will be deported after his wounds heal. Hasan is already being heralded as a hero in Muslim communities around the world.

REDUNDANT INFORMATION

November 3, 2009

Today is Election Day and we cast our votes at 8:00 AM this morning. Did you notice the redundancy? If it is AM then that would be morning.

Because we are good citizens, we went to the appointed place to vote today. Everything that I do in the voting booth is secret, but that secrecy is redundant. Almost everyone in the room knows how we voted. We live in a small town, are registered Republicans and I write a blog. At least one person didn't know, because I overheard her ask who we were.

Newspapers are full of redundancies. Everything must be repeated in order for people to get the message. Here is a headline from the stock market report in today's paper: "Gold, other metals up as dollar weakens." About the only things that go down when the dollar weakens is the US standard of living and profits from American exports.

There are still a few items made in USA. My Craftsman chain saw was made in USA but the label stating that fact was redundant. I knew it because the gas cap wouldn't fit.  I had to file and sand the threads until it would screw into the opening.

I could give a few more examples but that would be redundant, and I have work to do.