DAVE: Do you ever use a shoe horn?
JIM: I used to have one when I was young. Don't know what ever happened to it. I would say that I have never used a shoe horn since I left home to go to college. Why do you ask?
DAVE: Like you, I never really took to shoe horns, except maybe when I was a young man and I had to cram my feet into dress shoes every Friday night for dance class. But generally, I haven't had a need for one. I bought a new pair of shoes recently that fit nice and properly, and I need a little help getting my heels into the things. I knew that I had one somewhere in my place that I had been carrying with me for years. I looked around and finally found it. It really does help me get my new shoes on. I suppose, like other shoes before it, there will come a day when I start slamming my feet into the shoes without the assistance of the shoe horn, but for now, I need it.
JIM: So since probably about last Wednesday, my work computer has been making this loud, high-pitched squealing noise, and performance has been really slow. I mean, REALLY slow. So I called our Help Desk last week and the guy on the phone told me to blow canned air into the vents on the computer. Nice. How do I get that job?
Anyway, now my computer has pretty much ceased to function at all. I just now was finally able to get it to boot up, after nearly an hour and a half. I called our Help Desk again and the guy I spoke to this time said that they had me down to get a new one, but that they hadn't gotten to it yet. It's possible that they might be able to get me a new one by tomorrow, but he didn't know because "the depot is really backed up," whatever that means.
100% of my work is spent sitting at my desk staring at my computer screen. If I don't have a functional computer, then I can't get any work done.
DAVE: Fifteen minutes ago, I was just reading an email response that I got from the Pirates guy at the PG when my laptop started making a clicking sound, then a blue screen, then I just shut it down. I just got it back up and running. My laptop is in desperate need of replacement, but I really don't have the money right now. So, yes, having no computer at work for you definitely sucks. But if I don't have my laptop at home, then I got pretty much nothing.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but this story is an example of what I like to call modern Darwinism. And over the years, I have found that guns often play a role in modern Darwinism.
Bartender fatally shoots himself in Lawrenceville
Thursday, January 27, 2011
By Sadie Gurman and Moriah Balingit, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh police said a Lawrenceville bartender argued with relatives Wednesday night before he went to a bar and accidentally shot himself in the head with a gun that was kept there.
John Popinski, 52, shot himself about 11 p.m. inside Salac's Bar, in the 4500 block of Butler Street, which was closed at the time. Mr. Popinski had a key and went there with his teenage son after "having some arguments" with family members, Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki said.
The son called 911 to report that his father was shot. An arson detective who arrived found the front door locked but could hear screaming inside. He tried to kick open the door but couldn't get inside until someone with a key arrived.
Inside, the detective found Mr. Popinski shot in the head but apparently still alive. He was taken to UPMC Presbyterian in critical condition and was pronounced dead there at 11:36 p.m., the Allegheny County medical examiner's office said.
A .357 revolver was recovered at the scene. Police believe Mr. Popinski was playing with the gun, which is kept inside the bar, Cmdr. Stangrecki said.
"It appears he caused his own injury," he said.
Bartender fatally shoots himself in Lawrenceville
Thursday, January 27, 2011
By Sadie Gurman and Moriah Balingit, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh police said a Lawrenceville bartender argued with relatives Wednesday night before he went to a bar and accidentally shot himself in the head with a gun that was kept there.
John Popinski, 52, shot himself about 11 p.m. inside Salac's Bar, in the 4500 block of Butler Street, which was closed at the time. Mr. Popinski had a key and went there with his teenage son after "having some arguments" with family members, Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki said.
The son called 911 to report that his father was shot. An arson detective who arrived found the front door locked but could hear screaming inside. He tried to kick open the door but couldn't get inside until someone with a key arrived.
Inside, the detective found Mr. Popinski shot in the head but apparently still alive. He was taken to UPMC Presbyterian in critical condition and was pronounced dead there at 11:36 p.m., the Allegheny County medical examiner's office said.
A .357 revolver was recovered at the scene. Police believe Mr. Popinski was playing with the gun, which is kept inside the bar, Cmdr. Stangrecki said.
"It appears he caused his own injury," he said.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Facebook to let advertisers republish user posts
By BARBARA ORTUTAY
AP Technology Writer
Jan 26, 5:02 PM EST
NEW YORK (AP) -- Facebook users who check in to a store or click the "like" button for a brand may soon find those actions retransmitted on their friends' pages as a "Sponsored Story" paid for by advertisers.
Currently there is no way for users to decline this feature.
Facebook says this lets advertisers promote word-of-mouth recommendations that people already made on the site. They play up things people do on the site that might get lost in the mass of links, photos, status updates and other content users share on the world's largest social network.
The new, promoted posts would keep the same privacy setting that the original posting had. So if you limit your check-ins to a specific group of friends, only these same friends would see the "Sponsored Story" version later.
The promoted content will appear on the right side of users' home pages, not in their main news feed. That's where regular ads, friend requests and other content are located.
Involving users in advertisements without their consent has been a thorny issue for Facebook. Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said in this case the company is making money off a person's name or likeness without their consent. He calls it "subtle and misleading" and says users should object.
Twitter already offers advertisers something similar, called "promoted tweets." These are Twitter posts paid for by advertisers to show up in search results and on top of popular topic lists on the site. But while Twitter's ads are written by the companies that pay for them, Facebook's sponsored stories are created by users.
Both represent an effort to make advertisements more akin to what people are already experiencing on the site instead of putting up virtual billboards that users might ignore or find tacky.
By BARBARA ORTUTAY
AP Technology Writer
Jan 26, 5:02 PM EST
NEW YORK (AP) -- Facebook users who check in to a store or click the "like" button for a brand may soon find those actions retransmitted on their friends' pages as a "Sponsored Story" paid for by advertisers.
Currently there is no way for users to decline this feature.
Facebook says this lets advertisers promote word-of-mouth recommendations that people already made on the site. They play up things people do on the site that might get lost in the mass of links, photos, status updates and other content users share on the world's largest social network.
The new, promoted posts would keep the same privacy setting that the original posting had. So if you limit your check-ins to a specific group of friends, only these same friends would see the "Sponsored Story" version later.
The promoted content will appear on the right side of users' home pages, not in their main news feed. That's where regular ads, friend requests and other content are located.
Involving users in advertisements without their consent has been a thorny issue for Facebook. Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said in this case the company is making money off a person's name or likeness without their consent. He calls it "subtle and misleading" and says users should object.
Twitter already offers advertisers something similar, called "promoted tweets." These are Twitter posts paid for by advertisers to show up in search results and on top of popular topic lists on the site. But while Twitter's ads are written by the companies that pay for them, Facebook's sponsored stories are created by users.
Both represent an effort to make advertisements more akin to what people are already experiencing on the site instead of putting up virtual billboards that users might ignore or find tacky.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
DAVE: I seriously need some advice. The woman who lives next to me and who also serves on the condo board with me (and who is generally rather strange) has friended me on Facebook. What the fuck am I supposed to do? I hate Facebook.
MICHELLE: You can ignore the request - they are not notified. Then just block her. She will never know. If you see her just tell her you took your page down.
DAVE: Tough call. It's a lose-lose for me. I think what I'm going to do is accept her friend request, and then wait about a month before deleting her as a friend. I've done something similar once before. If she has a bunch of friends, she'll never notice. If she doesn't have a bunch of friends (like me), then . . . Maybe I will check that first.
MICHELLE: You can ignore the request - they are not notified. Then just block her. She will never know. If you see her just tell her you took your page down.
DAVE: Tough call. It's a lose-lose for me. I think what I'm going to do is accept her friend request, and then wait about a month before deleting her as a friend. I've done something similar once before. If she has a bunch of friends, she'll never notice. If she doesn't have a bunch of friends (like me), then . . . Maybe I will check that first.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
I had no idea. Parents should definitely read this . . .
Officials fear bath salts are growing drug problem
By SHELIA BYRD
Associated Press
Jan 22, 3:54 PM EST
FULTON, Miss. (AP) -- When Neil Brown got high on bath salts, he took his skinning knife and slit his face and stomach repeatedly. Brown survived, but authorities say others haven't been so lucky after snorting, injecting or smoking powders with such innocuous-sounding names as Ivory Snow, Red Dove and Vanilla Sky.
Some say the effects of the powders are as powerful as abusing methamphetamine. Increasingly, law enforcement agents and poison control centers say the bath salts with complex chemical names are an emerging menace in several U.S. states where authorities talk of banning their sale.
From the Deep South to California, emergency calls are being reported over exposure to the stimulants the powders often contain: mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, also known as MDPV.
Sold under such names as Ivory Wave, Bliss, White Lightning and Hurricane Charlie, the chemicals can cause hallucinations, paranoia, rapid heart rates and suicidal thoughts, authorities say. The chemicals are in bath salts and even plant foods that are sold legally at convenience stores and on the Internet. However, they aren't necessarily being used for the purposes on the label.
Mississippi lawmakers this week began considering a proposal to ban the sale of the powders, and a similar step is being sought in Kentucky. In Louisiana, the bath salts were outlawed by an emergency order after the state's poison center received more than 125 calls in the last three months of 2010 involving exposure to the chemicals.
In Brown's case, he said he had tried every drug from heroin to crack and was so shaken by terrifying hallucinations that he wrote one Mississippi paper urging people to stay away from the bath salts.
"I couldn't tell you why I did it," Brown said, pointing to his scars. "The psychological effects are still there."
While Brown survived, sheriff's authorities in one Mississippi county say they believe one woman overdosed on bath salts there. In southern Louisiana, the family of a 21-year-old man says he cut his throat and ended his life with a gunshot. Authorities are investigating whether a man charged with capital murder in the December death of a Tippah County, Miss., sheriff's deputy was under the influence of the bath salts.
The stimulants aren't regulated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, but are facing federal scrutiny. Law officers say some of the substances are being shipped from Europe, but origins are still unclear.
Gary Boggs, an executive assistant at the DEA, said there's a lengthy process to restrict these types of designer chemicals, including reviewing the abuse data. But it's a process that can take years.
Dr. Mark Ryan, director of Louisiana's poison control center, said he thinks state bans on the chemicals can be effective. He said calls about the salts have dropped sharply since Louisiana banned their sale in January.
Ryan said cathinone, the parent substance of the drugs, comes from a plant grown in Africa and is regulated. He said MDPV and mephedrone are made in a lab, and they aren't regulated because they're not marketed for human consumption. The stimulants affect neurotransmitters in the brain, he said.
"It causes intense cravings for it. They'll binge on it three or four days before they show up in an ER. Even though it's a horrible trip, they want to do it again and again," Ryan said.
Ryan said at least 25 states have received calls about exposure, including Nevada and California. He said Louisiana leads with the greatest number of cases at 165, or 48 percent of the U.S. total, followed by Florida with at least 38 calls to its poison center.
Dr. Rick Gellar, medical director for the California Poison Control System, said the first call about the substances came in Oct. 5, and a handful of calls have followed since. But he warned: "The only way this won't become a problem in California is if federal regulatory agencies get ahead of the curve. This is a brand new thing."
In the Midwest, the Missouri Poison Center at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center received at least 12 calls in the first two weeks of January about teenagers and young adults abusing such chemicals, said Julie Weber, the center's director. The center received eight calls about the powders all of last year.
Dr. Richard Sanders, a general practitioner working in Covington, La., said his son, Dickie, snorted some of the bath salts and endured three days of intermittent delirium. Dickie Sanders missed major arteries when he cut his throat. As he continued to have visions, his physician father tried to calm him. But the elder Sanders said that as he slept, his son went into another room and shot himself.
"If you could see the contortions on his face. It just made him crazy," said Sanders. He added that the coroner's office confirmed the chemicals were detected in his son's blood and urine.
Sanders warns the bath salts are far more dangerous than some of their names imply.
"I think everybody is taking this extremely lightly. As much as we outlawed it in Louisiana, all these kids cross over to Mississippi and buy whatever they want," he said.
A small packet of the chemicals typically costs as little as $20.
In northern Mississippi's Itawamba County, Sheriff Chris Dickinson said his office has handled about 30 encounters with bath salt users in the past two months alone. He said the problem grew last year in his rural area after a Mississippi law began restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in making methamphetamine.
Dickinson said most of the bath salt users there have been meth addicts and can be dangerous when using them.
"We had a deputy injured a week ago. They were fighting with a guy who thought they were two devils. That's what makes this drug so dangerous," he said.
But Dickinson said the chemicals are legal for now, leaving him no choice but to slap users with a charge of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.
Kentucky state lawmaker John Tilley said he's moving to block the drug's sale there, preparing a bill for consideration when his legislature convenes shortly. Angry that the powders can be bought legally, he said: "If my 12-year-old can go in a store and buy it, that concerns me."
By SHELIA BYRD
Associated Press
Jan 22, 3:54 PM EST
FULTON, Miss. (AP) -- When Neil Brown got high on bath salts, he took his skinning knife and slit his face and stomach repeatedly. Brown survived, but authorities say others haven't been so lucky after snorting, injecting or smoking powders with such innocuous-sounding names as Ivory Snow, Red Dove and Vanilla Sky.
Some say the effects of the powders are as powerful as abusing methamphetamine. Increasingly, law enforcement agents and poison control centers say the bath salts with complex chemical names are an emerging menace in several U.S. states where authorities talk of banning their sale.
From the Deep South to California, emergency calls are being reported over exposure to the stimulants the powders often contain: mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, also known as MDPV.
Sold under such names as Ivory Wave, Bliss, White Lightning and Hurricane Charlie, the chemicals can cause hallucinations, paranoia, rapid heart rates and suicidal thoughts, authorities say. The chemicals are in bath salts and even plant foods that are sold legally at convenience stores and on the Internet. However, they aren't necessarily being used for the purposes on the label.
Mississippi lawmakers this week began considering a proposal to ban the sale of the powders, and a similar step is being sought in Kentucky. In Louisiana, the bath salts were outlawed by an emergency order after the state's poison center received more than 125 calls in the last three months of 2010 involving exposure to the chemicals.
In Brown's case, he said he had tried every drug from heroin to crack and was so shaken by terrifying hallucinations that he wrote one Mississippi paper urging people to stay away from the bath salts.
"I couldn't tell you why I did it," Brown said, pointing to his scars. "The psychological effects are still there."
While Brown survived, sheriff's authorities in one Mississippi county say they believe one woman overdosed on bath salts there. In southern Louisiana, the family of a 21-year-old man says he cut his throat and ended his life with a gunshot. Authorities are investigating whether a man charged with capital murder in the December death of a Tippah County, Miss., sheriff's deputy was under the influence of the bath salts.
The stimulants aren't regulated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, but are facing federal scrutiny. Law officers say some of the substances are being shipped from Europe, but origins are still unclear.
Gary Boggs, an executive assistant at the DEA, said there's a lengthy process to restrict these types of designer chemicals, including reviewing the abuse data. But it's a process that can take years.
Dr. Mark Ryan, director of Louisiana's poison control center, said he thinks state bans on the chemicals can be effective. He said calls about the salts have dropped sharply since Louisiana banned their sale in January.
Ryan said cathinone, the parent substance of the drugs, comes from a plant grown in Africa and is regulated. He said MDPV and mephedrone are made in a lab, and they aren't regulated because they're not marketed for human consumption. The stimulants affect neurotransmitters in the brain, he said.
"It causes intense cravings for it. They'll binge on it three or four days before they show up in an ER. Even though it's a horrible trip, they want to do it again and again," Ryan said.
Ryan said at least 25 states have received calls about exposure, including Nevada and California. He said Louisiana leads with the greatest number of cases at 165, or 48 percent of the U.S. total, followed by Florida with at least 38 calls to its poison center.
Dr. Rick Gellar, medical director for the California Poison Control System, said the first call about the substances came in Oct. 5, and a handful of calls have followed since. But he warned: "The only way this won't become a problem in California is if federal regulatory agencies get ahead of the curve. This is a brand new thing."
In the Midwest, the Missouri Poison Center at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center received at least 12 calls in the first two weeks of January about teenagers and young adults abusing such chemicals, said Julie Weber, the center's director. The center received eight calls about the powders all of last year.
Dr. Richard Sanders, a general practitioner working in Covington, La., said his son, Dickie, snorted some of the bath salts and endured three days of intermittent delirium. Dickie Sanders missed major arteries when he cut his throat. As he continued to have visions, his physician father tried to calm him. But the elder Sanders said that as he slept, his son went into another room and shot himself.
"If you could see the contortions on his face. It just made him crazy," said Sanders. He added that the coroner's office confirmed the chemicals were detected in his son's blood and urine.
Sanders warns the bath salts are far more dangerous than some of their names imply.
"I think everybody is taking this extremely lightly. As much as we outlawed it in Louisiana, all these kids cross over to Mississippi and buy whatever they want," he said.
A small packet of the chemicals typically costs as little as $20.
In northern Mississippi's Itawamba County, Sheriff Chris Dickinson said his office has handled about 30 encounters with bath salt users in the past two months alone. He said the problem grew last year in his rural area after a Mississippi law began restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in making methamphetamine.
Dickinson said most of the bath salt users there have been meth addicts and can be dangerous when using them.
"We had a deputy injured a week ago. They were fighting with a guy who thought they were two devils. That's what makes this drug so dangerous," he said.
But Dickinson said the chemicals are legal for now, leaving him no choice but to slap users with a charge of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.
Kentucky state lawmaker John Tilley said he's moving to block the drug's sale there, preparing a bill for consideration when his legislature convenes shortly. Angry that the powders can be bought legally, he said: "If my 12-year-old can go in a store and buy it, that concerns me."
Monday, January 24, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Since I signed up for Facebook not so long ago, I have had four people un-friend me. They were all women. They apparently take Facebook friendship far more seriously than I do. Or perhaps they have just a little too much time on their hands. Either way, this is a hilarious song parody about Facebook. Enjoy.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
DAVE: I don't think that I ever told you something that I learned from ESPN over the holidays. If you are an NCAA student athlete who fails a course before a bowl game, you can appeal your failure until after the bowl game. I don't remember being able to "appeal" my grades in college. It's all rigged, my friend.
JIM: You act like you are surprised by this.
DAVE: Actually, the thing about me is that I always assume the worst about human nature. Which might be a problem were it not for the fact that humans always live up to my expectations.
JIM: You act like you are surprised by this.
DAVE: Actually, the thing about me is that I always assume the worst about human nature. Which might be a problem were it not for the fact that humans always live up to my expectations.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
CrosshairsWritten by Rob Rogers
I don't think Sarah Palin's map was the reason for the Tucson tragedy, but let's face it, Palin seems to invite this kind of scrutiny. Her defense was that they were not crosshairs but surveyor symbols. Give me a break! Meanwhile, the GOP is still avoiding "civil" discourse by calling the health reform bill "job-killing." They are acting like the very children they are denying coverage. They can't justify destroying this historic legislation ... so they call it names. Job killing? I know you are but what am I?
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
JIM: I just found out that all of the work that I stayed late to do on Friday and then came into the office and worked until 10 pm Saturday night was all for nothing. Someone screwed up upgrading some database software on Friday, so anything done since Thursday night is going to be totally wiped out. I have to do all of it all over again.
I could have watched the Steelers game...
DAVE: I am always amazed and impressed at all the ways that technology has improved our lives.
For instance, I couldn't cash a check at the bank the other day because "the system was down." Can't cash a check without the system. We can't do anything anymore without the system.
Bottomline: sorry, dude. That sucks.
JIM: There's got to be a way to beat the system.
I could have watched the Steelers game...
DAVE: I am always amazed and impressed at all the ways that technology has improved our lives.
For instance, I couldn't cash a check at the bank the other day because "the system was down." Can't cash a check without the system. We can't do anything anymore without the system.
Bottomline: sorry, dude. That sucks.
JIM: There's got to be a way to beat the system.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
You know, I upgraded to Internet Explorer 8 recently. And I don't like it. The reason that I don't like it is that it leaves too much of a trail of where you've been. More so than previous versions. I don't even share my laptop with another living soul, and I still don't like such a history of my Internet activities being so readily available, even to me. I guess I'm just old-fashioned that way.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
She looks mad . . .
The nice thing about Las Vegas is that what happens there, generally stays there. And that's a blessing for the rest of the country. It's just . . . sordid. The whole story. The whole place. The whole lifestyle.Sister of slain Las Vegas dancer curses defendant
By CRISTINA SILVA
Associated Press
AP Photo/Julie Jacobson
Jan 12, 6:24 PM EST
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) -- The sister of a slain Las Vegas dancer stood in a courtroom Wednesday and cursed the man accused of strangling her only sibling and covering her naked, dismembered body in concrete.
"I hope you (expletive) rot in jail, you (expletive) for what you did to her," Celeste Flores Narvaez screamed at defendant Jason Griffith after his arraignment on murder, battery domestic violence and destroying evidence charges.
Griffith, 32, did not enter a plea or respond to the outburst.
During the hearing, Griffith spoke only briefly to acknowledge he had reviewed the criminal complaint against him.
"Do you understand what you are being charged with?" asked Justice of the Peace Chris Lee.
"Yes," responded Griffith, a performer at the Cirque du Soleil "Love" show at The Mirage resort-casino.
He was being held without bail and was ordered to return to court Feb. 15. He could face the death penalty if convicted of killing 31-year-old Debora Flores Narvaez.
Griffith's lawyer, Abel Yanez, said his client would not speak to the district attorney's office or police without a lawyer present.
The courtroom outburst was an unusual show of emotion for Celeste Flores Narvaez, who relocated from Atlanta to Las Vegas to calmly oversee the search for her younger sister after the dancer was reported missing Dec. 14.
Celeste Flores Narvaez told The Associated Press seeing Griffith in court offered little satisfaction.
"I want to handle it myself," she said, cracking her knuckles.
She sat impatiently in the courtroom before Griffith appeared, sharing details about her sister's funeral in a measured voice. She said she will likely return to the family's native Puerto Rico with her sister's body on Monday.
"I'm trying to keep it together," she said.
But she began to sob soon after Griffith was escorted into the courtroom.
"Is that him?" she asked a reporter, before crossing the room to sit closer to the defendant.
The family will hold two memorials for Debora Flores Narvaez this week in Las Vegas, including a public ceremony Friday at the "Fantasy" burlesque show at the Luxor hotel and casino, where the dancer performed.
The victim's body was found Saturday covered in concrete in two plastic tubs at a downtown Las Vegas home. Police said Griffith strangled her in the heat of the moment during an argument then tried to hide the evidence by sawing off her legs and storing her body in the tubs.
"It is just disgusting," Celeste Flores Narvaez said.
She said she spoke with Griffith twice after her sister's disappearance. Each time, she said, he told her a different version of what happened Dec. 12, when the two dancers met at Griffith's house to watch a television show about a serial killer.
Griffith initially told police Debora Flores Narvaez left his house to attend dance rehearsal.
"Basically," Celeste Flores Narvaez said, "he was telling lies from the get-go."
Flores-Narvaez and Griffith had been dating for about a year when investigators responded to a domestic violence call involving the couple on Oct. 22, according to police records.
She told police she was pregnant with Griffith's child when he stole her phone, pushed her to the ground, kicked her and yanked out her hair. Griffith denied hitting her.
Flores Narvaez left Maryland, where she was a Washington Redskins ambassador, to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional dancer two years ago. Friends and family said she was happy in Las Vegas, where she performed at some of the Las Vegas Strip's trendiest nightclubs - Haze at the Aria hotel and Jet at The Mirage, among others.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
When it comes to guns, insanity prevails
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
By Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After what happened Saturday, everyone senses the truth whether we publicly acknowledge it or not.
As a nation, we've reached a terrible impasse in our politics, where the sharp edge of free speech and the remorseless logic of every citizen's right to bear arms are locked in an embrace of mutually assured dysfunction.
According to witnesses, Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old resident of Tucson, Ariz., shot 20 of his fellow Americans, killing six and wounding 14, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the Democrat who represents his district.
In several Internet posts wedged between screeds about "illiterates" and currency not backed by gold, the suspect obsessed over the connection between a person's words and the ability to construct reality.
To attempt to follow his argument is to fall head-long into a rabbit hole of nonsensical gibberish. Still, Mr. Loughner did not resort to metaphors or similes during the rampage.
When internal logic fails, there's nothing like a Glock 9 and a case of depraved indifference to get one's message across to the political class. You don't have to make a political contribution or a coherent argument to be heard. Once again, guns are American democracy's great leveler.
According to those who know her, Ms. Giffords, a gun-owner and self-described "pretty good shot," would not want to see Second Amendment rights curtailed in the wake of her attempted assassination.
Ms. Giffords was much more concerned about the violent rhetoric and hateful jeremiads that permeate Arizona's airwaves and political theater.
Though she would be the first to give Arizona's lenient gun laws a pass, the push-back against the notion that Arizona's politics is uniquely intolerant began as soon as the initial shock wore off.
Questioning Arizona's shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later culture, or the vitriol created by extreme political rhetoric, is considered opportunistic by those with the most to lose.
People in the media who profit from fear don't want to see the gravy train end, even if it is destroying the country.
The only thing not considered off-limits is speculation about Mr. Loughner's mental state. Fair enough, but why is a man who was rejected by the U.S. military still able to legally buy a weapon that makes it possible to shoot 20 people in less than a minute before reloading?
"Guns don't kill people, individuals do," goes the mantra of those who insist that looking for a culprit beyond the madness of the individual shooter is beside the point.
We are also to believe that a mentally disturbed 22-year-old with access to one of the most lethal weapons on the market was not affected by violent rhetoric in the environment in which he lived. How likely is that?
Meanwhile, suppose the Constitution grants every American citizen a right to buy as many guns as his bank account allows -- shouldn't there still be limits on gun ownership by those with diminished mental capacity or evil intentions?
People like the accused gunman are a bigger threat to our system than the scariest zealot in al-Qaida.
Foreign terrorists can only hope to create havoc every blue moon, but there are disturbed and angry people in every community, occupying every point along the political spectrum, who have easy and legal access to guns.
Hardly a week goes by that we don't hear about their murderous handiwork at some office building, factory or school. It is only when these murderers turn their attention to politicians that media coverage jumps off the scale.
Still, there are millions of Americans, perhaps the majority, who would rather deal with the potential for mass shootings every day by our fellow Americans than tolerate limits on Second Amendment rights.
We consider it an essential part of our freedom, one that isn't reserved for the mentally stable. Few other democracies can boast of this right. They have a long way to go before they can match our body count.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
By Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After what happened Saturday, everyone senses the truth whether we publicly acknowledge it or not.
As a nation, we've reached a terrible impasse in our politics, where the sharp edge of free speech and the remorseless logic of every citizen's right to bear arms are locked in an embrace of mutually assured dysfunction.
According to witnesses, Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old resident of Tucson, Ariz., shot 20 of his fellow Americans, killing six and wounding 14, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the Democrat who represents his district.
In several Internet posts wedged between screeds about "illiterates" and currency not backed by gold, the suspect obsessed over the connection between a person's words and the ability to construct reality.
To attempt to follow his argument is to fall head-long into a rabbit hole of nonsensical gibberish. Still, Mr. Loughner did not resort to metaphors or similes during the rampage.
When internal logic fails, there's nothing like a Glock 9 and a case of depraved indifference to get one's message across to the political class. You don't have to make a political contribution or a coherent argument to be heard. Once again, guns are American democracy's great leveler.
According to those who know her, Ms. Giffords, a gun-owner and self-described "pretty good shot," would not want to see Second Amendment rights curtailed in the wake of her attempted assassination.
Ms. Giffords was much more concerned about the violent rhetoric and hateful jeremiads that permeate Arizona's airwaves and political theater.
Though she would be the first to give Arizona's lenient gun laws a pass, the push-back against the notion that Arizona's politics is uniquely intolerant began as soon as the initial shock wore off.
Questioning Arizona's shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later culture, or the vitriol created by extreme political rhetoric, is considered opportunistic by those with the most to lose.
People in the media who profit from fear don't want to see the gravy train end, even if it is destroying the country.
The only thing not considered off-limits is speculation about Mr. Loughner's mental state. Fair enough, but why is a man who was rejected by the U.S. military still able to legally buy a weapon that makes it possible to shoot 20 people in less than a minute before reloading?
"Guns don't kill people, individuals do," goes the mantra of those who insist that looking for a culprit beyond the madness of the individual shooter is beside the point.
We are also to believe that a mentally disturbed 22-year-old with access to one of the most lethal weapons on the market was not affected by violent rhetoric in the environment in which he lived. How likely is that?
Meanwhile, suppose the Constitution grants every American citizen a right to buy as many guns as his bank account allows -- shouldn't there still be limits on gun ownership by those with diminished mental capacity or evil intentions?
People like the accused gunman are a bigger threat to our system than the scariest zealot in al-Qaida.
Foreign terrorists can only hope to create havoc every blue moon, but there are disturbed and angry people in every community, occupying every point along the political spectrum, who have easy and legal access to guns.
Hardly a week goes by that we don't hear about their murderous handiwork at some office building, factory or school. It is only when these murderers turn their attention to politicians that media coverage jumps off the scale.
Still, there are millions of Americans, perhaps the majority, who would rather deal with the potential for mass shootings every day by our fellow Americans than tolerate limits on Second Amendment rights.
We consider it an essential part of our freedom, one that isn't reserved for the mentally stable. Few other democracies can boast of this right. They have a long way to go before they can match our body count.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The ongoing adventures of Sidney . . .
MOM: I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. Sidney dug a deep tunnel underneath the drain pipe and fence and ended up next door near his favorite bush. He was having a wonderful time hunting so I got his lead and went around the house and nabbed him and brought him in the front door. I quickly grabbed some blocks and plugged up the hole. His nose is so red and it does not seem to other him. I have a handyman coming this week to give me an estimate to brick in the rest of the patio. I have ordered two more fences so I can go straight across the back toward the chimney. I am removing the bushes and tossing the old ones and saving the smaller ones to pot them and have them on the patio for interest. I am going to get large pots so he does not turn them over. I think I will take up the lights in the back and try to get some sort of lighting around the table and perhaps get a floor lamp for reading for the other side. Hopefully all this will be done by the time you get here. I hate to take away his livelihood but his digging is tracking sand and dirt into the house and causing me havoc with the carpets. It is so cute to watch him outside because his tail is wagging very fast and he gets so excited at the prospect of hunting. I hate to take away his fun but enough is enough.
Monday, January 10, 2011
DAVE: The shooting in Arizona is awful. In this country, a reality of everyday life is that you have the chance of being at the wrong place at the wrong time and getting shot. Guns are everywhere.
MICHELLE: My dad is always saying guns are for protection, but how can you protect yourself from insane people? It is very scary.
MICHELLE: My dad is always saying guns are for protection, but how can you protect yourself from insane people? It is very scary.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
JIM: I still remember the time you and I went golfing in Schenley Park...
DAVE: I, too, remember it quite vividly. It was the first and last time that I ever played golf. And I still tell the story of that day every time the subject of why I don't play golf comes up. You have lived on in my storytelling ever since it was one of the worst experiences of my entire life.
JIM: I'm proud to have been a part of it. I think.
DAVE: I, too, remember it quite vividly. It was the first and last time that I ever played golf. And I still tell the story of that day every time the subject of why I don't play golf comes up. You have lived on in my storytelling ever since it was one of the worst experiences of my entire life.
JIM: I'm proud to have been a part of it. I think.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Some of my vast and loyal readership may recall that I made my annual prediction of the Steelers final season record way back in September. Below is the original post. It does appear that I was wrong about the Jets in the Comments section. I didn't see them ending the season at 11-5. But I also didn't see them beating the Steelers at home.
Monday, September 13, 2010
After the first game of the season is when I traditionally make my prediction for the Steelers season record. This year is a little more complicated since Big Ben is out for the first four games. But I feel up to the challenge. In a move that goes against what most ESPN types are prognosticating for the Steelers, I predict that their record will be 11-5, with an outside chance of 12-4.
Posted by Dave at 7:00 AM
2 comments:
Anonymous said...
8-8
9/14/10 10:58 AM
Dave said...
Child, please. The extremely overhyped and overrated New York Jets might go 8-8. But not the Steelers. But here's hoping that we all enjoy seeing how it all turns out.
9/14/10 5:31 PM
(http://davethequietobserver.blogspot.com/2010/09/after-first-game-of-season-is-when-i.html)
Monday, September 13, 2010
After the first game of the season is when I traditionally make my prediction for the Steelers season record. This year is a little more complicated since Big Ben is out for the first four games. But I feel up to the challenge. In a move that goes against what most ESPN types are prognosticating for the Steelers, I predict that their record will be 11-5, with an outside chance of 12-4.
Posted by Dave at 7:00 AM
2 comments:
Anonymous said...
8-8
9/14/10 10:58 AM
Dave said...
Child, please. The extremely overhyped and overrated New York Jets might go 8-8. But not the Steelers. But here's hoping that we all enjoy seeing how it all turns out.
9/14/10 5:31 PM
(http://davethequietobserver.blogspot.com/2010/09/after-first-game-of-season-is-when-i.html)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
I left Florida on December 24th, Christmas Eve. When I arrived in Pittsburgh, I called my mother, and she told me that once Sidney realized that I wasn't coming back from my father's trip to the airport, he spent the rest of the day "moping around." I told her that he was lucky to be a dog because he will have forgotten about my absence by the next morning. She asked me if I would be back to normal by the next morning.
Nope. I'm still moping around.
Nope. I'm still moping around.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
These are the types of crimes that happen when people are really hurting because of the economy. They are unthinkable, petty crimes, but they suggest just how far some people will go in tough times.
Man accused of taking items from Christmas crash victim's casket
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
By Emily Gibb, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The family of a 17-year-old killed in a vehicle crash on Christmas Day accused a man of stealing items from the boy's casket during a memorial service on Monday evening.
The family of Bradley McCombs Jr., of Clymer, Indiana County, told state police that Jody Bennett, 38, of Pine Township, Indiana County, took a Game Boy, three games and a Game Boy light from the open casket during the public visitation at the Rairigh Funeral Home in Montgomery, Indiana County.
Police said Mr. Bennett fled after Bradley's family members confronted him.
Man accused of taking items from Christmas crash victim's casket
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
By Emily Gibb, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The family of a 17-year-old killed in a vehicle crash on Christmas Day accused a man of stealing items from the boy's casket during a memorial service on Monday evening.
The family of Bradley McCombs Jr., of Clymer, Indiana County, told state police that Jody Bennett, 38, of Pine Township, Indiana County, took a Game Boy, three games and a Game Boy light from the open casket during the public visitation at the Rairigh Funeral Home in Montgomery, Indiana County.
Police said Mr. Bennett fled after Bradley's family members confronted him.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Rumors from Mr. Blondie . . .
JIM: My brother-in-law is a Penn State season ticket holder. He told me the other day that he heard a rumor that Paterno has had several mini-strokes and may have intestinal cancer. Rumor is that their bowl game will be his last game and that the university has chartered planes to take the entire faculty to the game.
I say I'll believe it when I see it. It's more likely JoePa has seen all the attention Brett Favre gets and figures he can milk this end of career thing too.
DAVE: I guess we'll all find out on January 1st.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10361/1113824-100.stm?cmpid=MOSTEMAILEDBOX
I say I'll believe it when I see it. It's more likely JoePa has seen all the attention Brett Favre gets and figures he can milk this end of career thing too.
DAVE: I guess we'll all find out on January 1st.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10361/1113824-100.stm?cmpid=MOSTEMAILEDBOX
Having worked in and around the field of education for most of my life, I can tell you that the general opinion of most of these for-profit schools is that they're just a scam, giving out worthless degrees for the price of lifelong student loan payments and little job prospects. The University of Phoenix is supposedly legitimate, but Pittsburgh-based EDMC (who does employ many people locally) is a scam. That, I know personally.
For-profit schools challenged on recruiting of veterans
Monday, December 27, 2010
By Daniel Malloy, Post-Gazette Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- A wide-ranging examination of for-profit colleges by the U.S. Senate has homed in on how the schools recruit and educate veterans -- a lucrative source of federal funds for Downtown-based Education Management Corp.
From August 2009 to July 2010, EDMC -- which runs the Art Institutes, Argosy University, South University and Brown Mackie College -- took in about $60.5 million from the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. According to data compiled by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, EDMC was the third largest recipient of such funds in that span, behind Apollo Group Inc. -- which runs the University of Phoenix -- and ITT Technical Institute.
The HELP Committee, led by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has been holding hearings on the practices of for-profit schools -- exposing aggressive and sometimes fraudulent recruiting tactics, and the high debt loads and failure rates of their students.
The for-profit industry argues that it has been unfairly maligned with a focus on a few bad apples and that the colleges fill an important niche for non-traditional and low-income students.
With a Dec. 8 report and a hearing likely in the coming weeks when Congress reconvenes, Mr. Harkin has turned his attention to the explosion in federal funds flowing to these schools to educate veterans. The spark was the 2008 passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which gives most service members who served since Sept. 11, 2001, up to 36 months of tuition payments -- and help for their spouses as well.
The GI Bill funding is even more enticing to schools because it doesn't count against the Department of Education requirement that schools receive no more than 90 percent of their funding from federal grants or loans.
As a result, military money going to for-profit schools spiked dramatically. At EDMC, funding from the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration climbed from $2.04 million in fiscal 2009 to $52.4 million in fiscal 2010, according to data compiled by the HELP committee. Including the GI Bill money, 86.2 percent of EDMC's revenue comes from federal sources.
"We, in good faith, passed legislation to make it easier for present GIs and their families to get educational benefits, and now what we're finding out is for-profit schools are seeing this as a new source of profits for them," Mr. Harkin said in an interview. "And so they've gone after them and using the same kind of deceptive advertising and high-pressure tactics that they're using in other places."
Two former admissions officers at EDMC in Pittsburgh told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the company formed new teams to recruit veterans once the Post-9/11 GI bill became law.
"The official hype was, it was all patriotic: 'We're going to look after our veterans, and we're going to take special care of them because they have special needs,' " said Kathleen Bittel, who testified about the company's recruiting practices at a HELP committee hearing in September.
"I think the key was because they were going on the GI Bill. It takes a different process, so what they were looking to do was create a group of experts who knew just how to deal with that."
EDMC spokeswoman Jacquelyn Muller downplayed any effort at military recruitment.
"If we are conducting outreach to that specific segment, it is a very small percentage of our efforts," she said.
"We participate in the program, but it's important to note that the veterans who enroll in our schools do so because they've chosen our school for one reason or another. And I think that the quality and the flexibility of our programs is a reflection of our sincere commitment to military students."
EDMC and other for-profits have mounted a hefty public relations and lobbying effort against any potential legislation arising from Mr. Harkin's probe, as well as the Department of Education's efforts to restrict funding to the colleges.
The department has proposed to deny federal funding to schools with graduates facing high proportions of debt related to their salaries. The so-called "gainful employment" rule has been the subject of a severe backlash from the industry and its allies in Congress, including a television advertising campaign.
EDMC and other companies formed a lobby group called the Coalition for Educational Success, and retained Lanny Davis, former White House counsel to President Bill Clinton, as an advocate. In an interview, Mr. Davis complained that the Department of Education and Mr. Harkin have a double standard when it comes to for-profit schools, as low graduation rates and high debt are a problem everywhere.
"[Mr. Harkin] generally believes there's something wrong with the profit motive associated with higher education," Mr. Davis said.
"If that's the case, how much money is put into recruiting by Big 10 football coaches? There is excessive and sometimes fraudulent activity to recruit students, whether it's the profit motive or the athletics motive. ...
"If I am a for-profit school and I have a record of scamming students and actually not finding them jobs, I'm going to lose my customers. If I am a community college, I don't care because I have a captive audience" of taxpayer-subsidized students.
But Mr. Harkin and others remain troubled at the tales of students who are given the hard sell on coming to the school by admissions officers who are paid based on how many students they get to sign up -- with each new student assigned a point value. Former students and admissions officers at EDMC spoke of a high-pressure culture to get students in the door, with little in the way of support in finding a job once they left.
"We talk to those students so fast they don't even know what they're signing up for," said Monte Banks, a former EDMC admissions officer who said he was encouraged to hound "leads" at all hours from his cell phone.
Lynn Stein attended the Art Institute in Pittsburgh to study photojournalism, and when she graduated -- saddled with $80,000 of debt from there -- she said the only thing her career services counselor did was pass along job opportunities that clearly had been copied and pasted from Craigslist. When Ms. Stein confronted the counselor about it, she said the counselor asked Ms. Stein to recommend other job websites that would be good to check.
"These for-profit schools just have to start being more like schools, so they can provide support services for low-income kids and others who maybe don't have a history of much education," Mr. Harkin said.
"But that costs money and that interferes with their bottom line. But that's what they've got to do. They've got to become more like a college."
For-profit schools challenged on recruiting of veterans
Monday, December 27, 2010
By Daniel Malloy, Post-Gazette Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- A wide-ranging examination of for-profit colleges by the U.S. Senate has homed in on how the schools recruit and educate veterans -- a lucrative source of federal funds for Downtown-based Education Management Corp.
From August 2009 to July 2010, EDMC -- which runs the Art Institutes, Argosy University, South University and Brown Mackie College -- took in about $60.5 million from the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. According to data compiled by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, EDMC was the third largest recipient of such funds in that span, behind Apollo Group Inc. -- which runs the University of Phoenix -- and ITT Technical Institute.
The HELP Committee, led by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has been holding hearings on the practices of for-profit schools -- exposing aggressive and sometimes fraudulent recruiting tactics, and the high debt loads and failure rates of their students.
The for-profit industry argues that it has been unfairly maligned with a focus on a few bad apples and that the colleges fill an important niche for non-traditional and low-income students.
With a Dec. 8 report and a hearing likely in the coming weeks when Congress reconvenes, Mr. Harkin has turned his attention to the explosion in federal funds flowing to these schools to educate veterans. The spark was the 2008 passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which gives most service members who served since Sept. 11, 2001, up to 36 months of tuition payments -- and help for their spouses as well.
The GI Bill funding is even more enticing to schools because it doesn't count against the Department of Education requirement that schools receive no more than 90 percent of their funding from federal grants or loans.
As a result, military money going to for-profit schools spiked dramatically. At EDMC, funding from the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration climbed from $2.04 million in fiscal 2009 to $52.4 million in fiscal 2010, according to data compiled by the HELP committee. Including the GI Bill money, 86.2 percent of EDMC's revenue comes from federal sources.
"We, in good faith, passed legislation to make it easier for present GIs and their families to get educational benefits, and now what we're finding out is for-profit schools are seeing this as a new source of profits for them," Mr. Harkin said in an interview. "And so they've gone after them and using the same kind of deceptive advertising and high-pressure tactics that they're using in other places."
Two former admissions officers at EDMC in Pittsburgh told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the company formed new teams to recruit veterans once the Post-9/11 GI bill became law.
"The official hype was, it was all patriotic: 'We're going to look after our veterans, and we're going to take special care of them because they have special needs,' " said Kathleen Bittel, who testified about the company's recruiting practices at a HELP committee hearing in September.
"I think the key was because they were going on the GI Bill. It takes a different process, so what they were looking to do was create a group of experts who knew just how to deal with that."
EDMC spokeswoman Jacquelyn Muller downplayed any effort at military recruitment.
"If we are conducting outreach to that specific segment, it is a very small percentage of our efforts," she said.
"We participate in the program, but it's important to note that the veterans who enroll in our schools do so because they've chosen our school for one reason or another. And I think that the quality and the flexibility of our programs is a reflection of our sincere commitment to military students."
EDMC and other for-profits have mounted a hefty public relations and lobbying effort against any potential legislation arising from Mr. Harkin's probe, as well as the Department of Education's efforts to restrict funding to the colleges.
The department has proposed to deny federal funding to schools with graduates facing high proportions of debt related to their salaries. The so-called "gainful employment" rule has been the subject of a severe backlash from the industry and its allies in Congress, including a television advertising campaign.
EDMC and other companies formed a lobby group called the Coalition for Educational Success, and retained Lanny Davis, former White House counsel to President Bill Clinton, as an advocate. In an interview, Mr. Davis complained that the Department of Education and Mr. Harkin have a double standard when it comes to for-profit schools, as low graduation rates and high debt are a problem everywhere.
"[Mr. Harkin] generally believes there's something wrong with the profit motive associated with higher education," Mr. Davis said.
"If that's the case, how much money is put into recruiting by Big 10 football coaches? There is excessive and sometimes fraudulent activity to recruit students, whether it's the profit motive or the athletics motive. ...
"If I am a for-profit school and I have a record of scamming students and actually not finding them jobs, I'm going to lose my customers. If I am a community college, I don't care because I have a captive audience" of taxpayer-subsidized students.
But Mr. Harkin and others remain troubled at the tales of students who are given the hard sell on coming to the school by admissions officers who are paid based on how many students they get to sign up -- with each new student assigned a point value. Former students and admissions officers at EDMC spoke of a high-pressure culture to get students in the door, with little in the way of support in finding a job once they left.
"We talk to those students so fast they don't even know what they're signing up for," said Monte Banks, a former EDMC admissions officer who said he was encouraged to hound "leads" at all hours from his cell phone.
Lynn Stein attended the Art Institute in Pittsburgh to study photojournalism, and when she graduated -- saddled with $80,000 of debt from there -- she said the only thing her career services counselor did was pass along job opportunities that clearly had been copied and pasted from Craigslist. When Ms. Stein confronted the counselor about it, she said the counselor asked Ms. Stein to recommend other job websites that would be good to check.
"These for-profit schools just have to start being more like schools, so they can provide support services for low-income kids and others who maybe don't have a history of much education," Mr. Harkin said.
"But that costs money and that interferes with their bottom line. But that's what they've got to do. They've got to become more like a college."
Monday, December 27, 2010
The drug war on the poor: America doesn't have a drug problem, it has a poverty problem
Sociologist BRUCE WESTERN explains
Sunday, December 26, 2010
America's drug policy aims to reduce illicit drug use by arresting and incarcerating dealers and, to a lesser extent, users. Whatever its merits (and there are some), the policy is deeply flawed because it is unjust. It applies only to the disadvantaged. It reflects massive deficits in the areas of treatment, education and employment.
Drugs are intensively criminalized among the poor but largely unregulated among the rich. The pot, coke and ecstasy that enliven college dorms, soothe the middle-class time bind and ignite the octane of capitalism on Wall Street are unimpeded by the street sweep, the prison cell and the parole-mandated urine tests that are routine in poor neighborhoods.
The drug war is nitro to the ghetto's glycerin. In neighborhoods of mass unemployment, family breakdown and untreated addiction, punitive drug policy (and its sibling, the war on crime) has outlawed large tracts of everyday life. By 2008 one in nine black men younger than 35 was in prison or jail. Among black male dropouts in their mid-30s, an astonishing 60 percent have served time in state or federal prison.
The reach of the penal system extends beyond the prison population to families and communities. There are now 2.7 million children with a parent in prison or jail. There are 1.2 million African-American children with incarcerated parents (one in nine), and more than half of those parents were convicted of a drug or other nonviolent offense.
In the absence of any serious effort to improve economic opportunity, particularly among young men with little schooling, drug control has become our surrogate social policy.
For all the billions spent on draconian criminalization, addiction remains a scourge of the disadvantaged in inner cities and small towns, drugs are still plentiful and the drug trade remains a ready but risky source of casual employment for men and women with little education and no legitimate prospects.
Though drugs are at the center of an array of serious social problems in low-income communities, things are made worse by a dysfunctional policy in which arrest, imprisonment and a criminal record have become a normal part of life.
The most important lesson policy makers can take from this historic failure of social engineering is that the drug problem depends only a little on the narcotics themselves, and overwhelmingly on the social and economic context in which they are traded and taken.
Addiction exacts a toll not because the latest drug is more addictive or more potent than its predecessors but because there is too little treatment, few family or community supports and acute economic insecurity in low-income households.
The drug trade -- with all its volatility and violence -- is not a mainstay of economic life because of the ghetto-fabulous drug culture and its promise of conspicuous wealth. It succeeds because there is no work for men and women who dropped out of school, who have never held a legitimate job and who read at an eighth-grade level. America doesn't have a drug problem. It has a poverty problem.
Change, however, is in the air. The states are broke and are trying to cut their correctional populations. Parole and probation reforms are successfully reducing re-imprisonment for drug and other violations. Libertarians on the right and left are finding common ground on decriminalization. Hard times, it seems, are forcing reform on a profligate policy.
But policy reform -- as salutary as it often is, and like the drug war before it -- risks mistaking symptom for cause. If we only decriminalize, eliminate mandatory minimums and divert to community supervision rather than re-incarcerate, then untreated addiction will remain ruinous and illegal opportunities will continue to offer more than going straight.
Our best research shows that criminal justice reform must be buttressed by drug treatment, education and employment. These measures complement one another.
A less punitive drug control regime acknowledges relapse as a likely stage on the road to recovery. Keeping people out of prison can carry a steep social cost unless they're meaningfully occupied. In this context, school and work are as important for the stability and routine they provide as for the opportunities they expand.
The drug war made an enemy of the poor. A successful ceasefire must do more than lift the burden of criminal punishment. It must begin to restore order and predictability to economic and family life, reducing vulnerability not just to drugs but to the myriad insecurities that characterize American poverty.
Bruce Western is a professor of sociology at Harvard University. His latest book is "Punishment and Inequality in America." Copyright (C) 2010 The Nation -- distributed by Agence Global.
Sociologist BRUCE WESTERN explains
Sunday, December 26, 2010
America's drug policy aims to reduce illicit drug use by arresting and incarcerating dealers and, to a lesser extent, users. Whatever its merits (and there are some), the policy is deeply flawed because it is unjust. It applies only to the disadvantaged. It reflects massive deficits in the areas of treatment, education and employment.
Drugs are intensively criminalized among the poor but largely unregulated among the rich. The pot, coke and ecstasy that enliven college dorms, soothe the middle-class time bind and ignite the octane of capitalism on Wall Street are unimpeded by the street sweep, the prison cell and the parole-mandated urine tests that are routine in poor neighborhoods.
The drug war is nitro to the ghetto's glycerin. In neighborhoods of mass unemployment, family breakdown and untreated addiction, punitive drug policy (and its sibling, the war on crime) has outlawed large tracts of everyday life. By 2008 one in nine black men younger than 35 was in prison or jail. Among black male dropouts in their mid-30s, an astonishing 60 percent have served time in state or federal prison.
The reach of the penal system extends beyond the prison population to families and communities. There are now 2.7 million children with a parent in prison or jail. There are 1.2 million African-American children with incarcerated parents (one in nine), and more than half of those parents were convicted of a drug or other nonviolent offense.
In the absence of any serious effort to improve economic opportunity, particularly among young men with little schooling, drug control has become our surrogate social policy.
For all the billions spent on draconian criminalization, addiction remains a scourge of the disadvantaged in inner cities and small towns, drugs are still plentiful and the drug trade remains a ready but risky source of casual employment for men and women with little education and no legitimate prospects.
Though drugs are at the center of an array of serious social problems in low-income communities, things are made worse by a dysfunctional policy in which arrest, imprisonment and a criminal record have become a normal part of life.
The most important lesson policy makers can take from this historic failure of social engineering is that the drug problem depends only a little on the narcotics themselves, and overwhelmingly on the social and economic context in which they are traded and taken.
Addiction exacts a toll not because the latest drug is more addictive or more potent than its predecessors but because there is too little treatment, few family or community supports and acute economic insecurity in low-income households.
The drug trade -- with all its volatility and violence -- is not a mainstay of economic life because of the ghetto-fabulous drug culture and its promise of conspicuous wealth. It succeeds because there is no work for men and women who dropped out of school, who have never held a legitimate job and who read at an eighth-grade level. America doesn't have a drug problem. It has a poverty problem.
Change, however, is in the air. The states are broke and are trying to cut their correctional populations. Parole and probation reforms are successfully reducing re-imprisonment for drug and other violations. Libertarians on the right and left are finding common ground on decriminalization. Hard times, it seems, are forcing reform on a profligate policy.
But policy reform -- as salutary as it often is, and like the drug war before it -- risks mistaking symptom for cause. If we only decriminalize, eliminate mandatory minimums and divert to community supervision rather than re-incarcerate, then untreated addiction will remain ruinous and illegal opportunities will continue to offer more than going straight.
Our best research shows that criminal justice reform must be buttressed by drug treatment, education and employment. These measures complement one another.
A less punitive drug control regime acknowledges relapse as a likely stage on the road to recovery. Keeping people out of prison can carry a steep social cost unless they're meaningfully occupied. In this context, school and work are as important for the stability and routine they provide as for the opportunities they expand.
The drug war made an enemy of the poor. A successful ceasefire must do more than lift the burden of criminal punishment. It must begin to restore order and predictability to economic and family life, reducing vulnerability not just to drugs but to the myriad insecurities that characterize American poverty.
Bruce Western is a professor of sociology at Harvard University. His latest book is "Punishment and Inequality in America." Copyright (C) 2010 The Nation -- distributed by Agence Global.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
It's an interesting and complex issue . . .
Two approaches to drilling
N.Y. has moratorium, while Pa. lets drillers work while it writes regs
Sunday, December 26, 2010
By Sean D. Hamill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When Dan Fitzsimmons drives just across the border into Pennsylvania, he looks longingly at the Marcellus Shale natural gas wells drilled there.
"You know how frustrating it is?" said Mr. Fitzsimmons, 55, a disabled former roofer who lives on his family's 185-acre farm in Conklin, a southern New York community. "My son lives in Dimock [Pa.] where you see people redoing their homes, farmers buying new tractors, all because of money they're making from gas leases. And here, where it's such a destitute area, we're being penalized for the state's inaction."
While New York has had an effective moratorium on Marcellus Shale drilling for the past two years while it studied the industry and developed new permitting procedures, Pennsylvania has allowed it to continue while it tried to update its regulations as it went.
"Pennsylvania has done it piecemeal, and New York is trying to do it with one big rifle shot," said Chris Tucker, a spokesman for the industry group Energy In Depth, based in Washington, D.C.
But as different as the methods have been as both states attempt to figure out how to regulate this new gold rush a mile below the surface, the states have shared more than just a 300-mile-long border.
New York decided how to proceed, in part, by its view of what has happened just over the border in Pennsylvania, said Peter Grannis, New York's Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner until October, when he was fired after complaining about deep cuts to his department.
"Theirs was a work in progress," Mr. Grannis said of Pennsylvania's decision to allow Marcellus Shale drilling while the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection drew up new regulations, "while ours was intended to be a final product."
Pennsylvania DEP instituted new drilling regulations earlier this year that it insisted were among the best in the country, and is still working on one more major set of changes concerning the construction of well sites.
But in the two years that New York has been reviewing its permitting procedures, Mr. Grannis said the various drilling accidents and problems that occurred in Pennsylvania -- most significantly the methane gas migration troubles in Dimock -- made his department's job that much harder.
"The missteps in Pennsylvania had repercussions for the process we were going through," said Mr. Grannis, who now works for an environmental advocacy group, Environmental Advocates of New York. "The assumption was that the problems they were having in Pennsylvania were going to be the norm up here."
Southern New York state is the northern edge of the "sweet spot" of the massive and valuable Marcellus Shale formation. The biggest part of the sweet spot of the formation stretches across Pennsylvania, located about a mile below ground, but not as deep -- perhaps 4,000 to 5,000 feet -- in New York.
The hydraulic fracturing process, or fracking, uses the relatively new horizontal drilling technique and the old fracking technology of water mixed with sand and chemicals to break apart the shale, freeing up the abundant natural gas trapped in the rock.
A year ago Mr. Grannis' department issued an 800-page draft report of proposed changes to the state's permitting process for such drilling. It was obvious to those in the industry that what was happening with incidents in Pennsylvania was altering how New York's draft was written.
"You could tell New York was looking at Pennsylvania trying to take away any contentious issues -- like with open pits," said John Holko, president of Lenape Resources, an oil and gas operator in New York that works in both states.
Part of New York's proposed permitting requirements include one that the recovered fracking water be kept in tanks, not open pits as Pennsylvania allows, which have been the subject of numerous violations.
New York said then that a final report, with additional changes, would come only after it reviewed comments from more than 14,000 people or organizations from public hearings and written submissions.
Officially, said New York DEC spokesman Yancey Roy, "we're on no timeline to finish this; it will be done when it's ready."
Two weeks ago, outgoing-Gov. David Paterson issued a moratorium on the horizontal hydraulic fracturing process used in Marcellus Shale drilling until June.
It's not clear if Andrew Cuomo, the governor-elect who will replace Mr. Paterson, will uphold the moratorium when he assumes office in January. There has been heavy lobbying on Mr. Cuomo since his election to either scrap the entire review process and start over, or let it run its course.
If Mr. Cuomo allows it to continue, and upholds the moratorium, that could mean the new permitting process will be completed sometime over the summer, which would allow drilling in New York to finally begin -- a heartening possibility to New York landowners like Mr. Fitzsimmons.
Whenever that happens, many experts expect the policies New York puts in place to have an impact on Pennsylvania regulations.
"If New York does it right and shows that it works, and Pennsylvania continues to experience a wide range of environmental problems as it has, you'd think Pennsylvania would adopt some of what New York has done," said Kate Sinding, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group based in New York City that has studied both state's policies.
Pennsylvania DEP spokesman Michael Smith said while he doesn't know what the new administration under Gov.-elect Tom Corbett will do, the plan was to always keep an eye out for how to improve the state's regulations.
"We're constantly evaluating our regulations to make sure it keeps pace with improvements in new technology," he said.
At this point, Mr. Fitzsimmons just wants to see something in place soon that won't scare away the gas companies.
He harbors hopes of leasing out his mineral rights for a nice upfront payment and annual royalties he expects will add up to the millions of dollars and will help him turn the old family farm into a winery. He already has a name in mind: Merry Meadows Winery.
As for the plans?
"It's all in my mind, along with the [wine] recipes," he said. "People just don't realize what all of this gas development could bring."
N.Y. has moratorium, while Pa. lets drillers work while it writes regs
Sunday, December 26, 2010
By Sean D. Hamill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When Dan Fitzsimmons drives just across the border into Pennsylvania, he looks longingly at the Marcellus Shale natural gas wells drilled there.
"You know how frustrating it is?" said Mr. Fitzsimmons, 55, a disabled former roofer who lives on his family's 185-acre farm in Conklin, a southern New York community. "My son lives in Dimock [Pa.] where you see people redoing their homes, farmers buying new tractors, all because of money they're making from gas leases. And here, where it's such a destitute area, we're being penalized for the state's inaction."
While New York has had an effective moratorium on Marcellus Shale drilling for the past two years while it studied the industry and developed new permitting procedures, Pennsylvania has allowed it to continue while it tried to update its regulations as it went.
"Pennsylvania has done it piecemeal, and New York is trying to do it with one big rifle shot," said Chris Tucker, a spokesman for the industry group Energy In Depth, based in Washington, D.C.
But as different as the methods have been as both states attempt to figure out how to regulate this new gold rush a mile below the surface, the states have shared more than just a 300-mile-long border.
New York decided how to proceed, in part, by its view of what has happened just over the border in Pennsylvania, said Peter Grannis, New York's Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner until October, when he was fired after complaining about deep cuts to his department.
"Theirs was a work in progress," Mr. Grannis said of Pennsylvania's decision to allow Marcellus Shale drilling while the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection drew up new regulations, "while ours was intended to be a final product."
Pennsylvania DEP instituted new drilling regulations earlier this year that it insisted were among the best in the country, and is still working on one more major set of changes concerning the construction of well sites.
But in the two years that New York has been reviewing its permitting procedures, Mr. Grannis said the various drilling accidents and problems that occurred in Pennsylvania -- most significantly the methane gas migration troubles in Dimock -- made his department's job that much harder.
"The missteps in Pennsylvania had repercussions for the process we were going through," said Mr. Grannis, who now works for an environmental advocacy group, Environmental Advocates of New York. "The assumption was that the problems they were having in Pennsylvania were going to be the norm up here."
Southern New York state is the northern edge of the "sweet spot" of the massive and valuable Marcellus Shale formation. The biggest part of the sweet spot of the formation stretches across Pennsylvania, located about a mile below ground, but not as deep -- perhaps 4,000 to 5,000 feet -- in New York.
The hydraulic fracturing process, or fracking, uses the relatively new horizontal drilling technique and the old fracking technology of water mixed with sand and chemicals to break apart the shale, freeing up the abundant natural gas trapped in the rock.
A year ago Mr. Grannis' department issued an 800-page draft report of proposed changes to the state's permitting process for such drilling. It was obvious to those in the industry that what was happening with incidents in Pennsylvania was altering how New York's draft was written.
"You could tell New York was looking at Pennsylvania trying to take away any contentious issues -- like with open pits," said John Holko, president of Lenape Resources, an oil and gas operator in New York that works in both states.
Part of New York's proposed permitting requirements include one that the recovered fracking water be kept in tanks, not open pits as Pennsylvania allows, which have been the subject of numerous violations.
New York said then that a final report, with additional changes, would come only after it reviewed comments from more than 14,000 people or organizations from public hearings and written submissions.
Officially, said New York DEC spokesman Yancey Roy, "we're on no timeline to finish this; it will be done when it's ready."
Two weeks ago, outgoing-Gov. David Paterson issued a moratorium on the horizontal hydraulic fracturing process used in Marcellus Shale drilling until June.
It's not clear if Andrew Cuomo, the governor-elect who will replace Mr. Paterson, will uphold the moratorium when he assumes office in January. There has been heavy lobbying on Mr. Cuomo since his election to either scrap the entire review process and start over, or let it run its course.
If Mr. Cuomo allows it to continue, and upholds the moratorium, that could mean the new permitting process will be completed sometime over the summer, which would allow drilling in New York to finally begin -- a heartening possibility to New York landowners like Mr. Fitzsimmons.
Whenever that happens, many experts expect the policies New York puts in place to have an impact on Pennsylvania regulations.
"If New York does it right and shows that it works, and Pennsylvania continues to experience a wide range of environmental problems as it has, you'd think Pennsylvania would adopt some of what New York has done," said Kate Sinding, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group based in New York City that has studied both state's policies.
Pennsylvania DEP spokesman Michael Smith said while he doesn't know what the new administration under Gov.-elect Tom Corbett will do, the plan was to always keep an eye out for how to improve the state's regulations.
"We're constantly evaluating our regulations to make sure it keeps pace with improvements in new technology," he said.
At this point, Mr. Fitzsimmons just wants to see something in place soon that won't scare away the gas companies.
He harbors hopes of leasing out his mineral rights for a nice upfront payment and annual royalties he expects will add up to the millions of dollars and will help him turn the old family farm into a winery. He already has a name in mind: Merry Meadows Winery.
As for the plans?
"It's all in my mind, along with the [wine] recipes," he said. "People just don't realize what all of this gas development could bring."
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Vick's PuppyWritten by Rob Rogers
Friday, December 24, 2010 08:39 AM
Michael Vick said he wants a puppy for Christmas. No, I am not making this up. The judge said no, but there is talk about letting him have one in the future. Vick says having one will be good for his rehabilitation. I think the canines might disagree.
From Dave: When asked whether he or Tom Brady should be the NFL MVP, Vick hesitated briefly before answering that it should be himself. Now, I don't like Tom Brady. But if asked the same question, he would never offer himself as the answer. From watching multiple interviews with Michael Vick, I do not think that he is very smart, and personally, I find him to be a little ghetto. But there is no argument that he is having an amazing year. According to Vick himself, he did not put in the off-field time and effort when he was with the Atlanta Falcons to be the best quarterback that he could be. Probably because he was too busy running a dog-fighting operation that included torturing and murdering dogs, the numbers of which we still don't know and frankly, probably don't want to know. This man has been given a new lease on life, and to his credit, he appears to have risen to the challenges of that and made an incredible comeback as an NFL quarterback. But you don't send a man to prison for almost two years for extreme cruelty to dogs, and then let him have a dog as a family pet just because he is a better quarterback now than he was before he was sent to prison. PRISON.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Broadcaster Pat Robertson questions harsh pot laws
By STEVE SZKOTAK
Associated Press
Dec 23, 9:32 PM EST
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson told his "700 Club" audience that harsh penalties for marijuana possession are costly for the nation and damaging to young people, but a spokesman said Thursday he was not calling for decriminalizing pot.
Robertson, 80, made the comments on the Christian Broadcasting Network in the context of faith-based approaches to treating offenders, the spokesman said.
"Dr. Robertson unequivocally stated that he is against the use of illegal drugs," Chris Roslan wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
The comments, however, were widely interpreted on several websites as an endorsement by the Christian Coalition founder of legalizing marijuana. They were celebrated by NORML, a group that advocates legalization of the drug.
On its website, NORML posted a link to Robertson's comments under the headline: "Holy Hemp! Pat Robertson Supports Ending Cannabis Prohibition In An Effort To Get 'Smart On Crime.'"
During the Dec. 16 CBN broadcast from Virginia Beach, Robertson and his co-host discussed what they called the success of religious-based programs to help people with addictions to drugs, including alcohol.
Robertson then lamented long prison terms for people who have "taken a couple puffs of marijuana."
He added, "We've got to take a look at what we're considering crimes and that's one of 'em."
Robertson said mandatory drug sentences are promoted by candidates for political office who want to appear tough on crime, compelling judges to sentence offenders to long prison terms.
While Robertson said, "I'm not exactly for the use of drugs," he added that criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot is "costing us a fortune and it's ruining young people. Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals. That's not a good thing."
Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML, said Robertson is among a growing number of libertarians and "right-of-center" public figures who agree the nation's drug laws treat marijuana possession too harshly.
"We don't care how people arrive at the conclusion that prohibition is a failure," he said. "They're acknowledging there are alternatives to lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key solutions."
Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said Robertson's comments on marijuana are important because of his audience.
"The people who are listening to him may roll their eyes when the Democrats say this, but when Pat Robertson says this he has credibility in the faith community."
The Drug Policy Alliance advocates for lighter drug punishments.
Roslan said Robertson advocated a review of the "severity" of existing laws and the millions spent on incarceration "when there are better approaches available."
Robertson regularly stirs controversy on the "700 Club," which began broadcasting in 1966 and now claims 1 million viewers daily.
In January, Robertson said one day after Haiti was devastated by an earthquake that the island nation was "cursed" and has called Islam a "religion of hate."
---
Online:
Christian Broadcasting Network: http://tinyurl.com/2d2uylz
NORML: http://norml.org/
By STEVE SZKOTAK
Associated Press
Dec 23, 9:32 PM EST
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson told his "700 Club" audience that harsh penalties for marijuana possession are costly for the nation and damaging to young people, but a spokesman said Thursday he was not calling for decriminalizing pot.
Robertson, 80, made the comments on the Christian Broadcasting Network in the context of faith-based approaches to treating offenders, the spokesman said.
"Dr. Robertson unequivocally stated that he is against the use of illegal drugs," Chris Roslan wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
The comments, however, were widely interpreted on several websites as an endorsement by the Christian Coalition founder of legalizing marijuana. They were celebrated by NORML, a group that advocates legalization of the drug.
On its website, NORML posted a link to Robertson's comments under the headline: "Holy Hemp! Pat Robertson Supports Ending Cannabis Prohibition In An Effort To Get 'Smart On Crime.'"
During the Dec. 16 CBN broadcast from Virginia Beach, Robertson and his co-host discussed what they called the success of religious-based programs to help people with addictions to drugs, including alcohol.
Robertson then lamented long prison terms for people who have "taken a couple puffs of marijuana."
He added, "We've got to take a look at what we're considering crimes and that's one of 'em."
Robertson said mandatory drug sentences are promoted by candidates for political office who want to appear tough on crime, compelling judges to sentence offenders to long prison terms.
While Robertson said, "I'm not exactly for the use of drugs," he added that criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot is "costing us a fortune and it's ruining young people. Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals. That's not a good thing."
Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML, said Robertson is among a growing number of libertarians and "right-of-center" public figures who agree the nation's drug laws treat marijuana possession too harshly.
"We don't care how people arrive at the conclusion that prohibition is a failure," he said. "They're acknowledging there are alternatives to lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key solutions."
Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said Robertson's comments on marijuana are important because of his audience.
"The people who are listening to him may roll their eyes when the Democrats say this, but when Pat Robertson says this he has credibility in the faith community."
The Drug Policy Alliance advocates for lighter drug punishments.
Roslan said Robertson advocated a review of the "severity" of existing laws and the millions spent on incarceration "when there are better approaches available."
Robertson regularly stirs controversy on the "700 Club," which began broadcasting in 1966 and now claims 1 million viewers daily.
In January, Robertson said one day after Haiti was devastated by an earthquake that the island nation was "cursed" and has called Islam a "religion of hate."
---
Online:
Christian Broadcasting Network: http://tinyurl.com/2d2uylz
NORML: http://norml.org/
Monday, December 20, 2010
Today I leave for a few days in Florida with Sidney. And my parents. My sister and her family will arrive after I leave, so our visits will not overlap. We all agree that this arrangement will make the holiday the most enjoyable for everyone. During my sister's visit, Sidney is not going to get the attention that he might normally get from my mother, so I am going to lavish attention and play time on him during my visit in the hopes that it will wear him out. Yeah, right. Not this crazy dachshund. He doesn't know what being worn out even means. But I am planning on having great fun with him.
I love dogs.
http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/pdShell.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3173936/graphic1
I love dogs.
http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/pdShell.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3173936/graphic1
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Even if it did happen on the Saturday before Christmas, it's still a big deal. And long overdue, in my opinion . . .
Senate votes to overturn military gay ban
By ANNE FLAHERTY
Associated Press
Dec 18, 3:39 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a landmark for gay rights, the Senate on Saturday voted to let gays serve openly in the military, giving President Barack Obama the chance to fulfill a campaign promise and repeal the 17-year policy known as "don't ask, don't tell."
Obama was expected to sign it next week, although the change wouldn't take immediate effect. The legislation says the president and his top military advisers must certify that lifting the ban won't hurt troops' fighting ability. After that, there's a 60-day waiting period for the military.
"It is time to close this chapter in our history," Obama said in a statement after a test vote cleared the way for final action. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed."
The Senate vote was 65-31. The House had passed an identical version of the bill, 250-175, on Wednesday.
Repeal would mean that, for the first time in American history, gays would be openly accepted by the military and could acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being kicked out.
More than 13,500 service members have been dismissed under the 1993 law.
Rounding up a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate was a historic victory for Obama, who made repeal a campaign promise in 2008. It also was a political triumph for congressional Democrats who struggled in the final hours of the postelection session to overcome GOP objections on several legislative priorities before Republicans regain control of the House in January.
"As Barry Goldwater said, 'You don't have to be straight to shoot straight,'" said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., referring to the late GOP senator from Arizona.
Sen. John McCain, Obama's GOP rival in 2008, led the opposition. The Arizona Republican acknowledged he didn't have the votes to stop the bill and he blamed elite liberals with no military experience for pushing their social agenda on troops during wartime.
"They will do what is asked of them," McCain said of service members. "But don't think there won't be a great cost."
In the end, six GOP senators broke with their party on the procedural vote to let the bill move ahead and swung behind repeal after a recent Pentagon study concluded the ban could be lifted without hurting the ability of troops to fight. On the final vote for passage, eight Republicans joined the majority Democrats.
Advocacy groups who lobbied hard for repeal hailed the vote as a significant step forward in gay rights. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network called the issue the "defining civil rights initiative of this decade."
Supporters of repeal filled the visitor seats overlooking the Senate floor, ready to protest had the bill failed.
"This has been a long fought battle, but this failed and discriminatory law will now be history," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.
The Pentagon study found that two-thirds of service members didn't think changing the law would have much of an effect. But of those who did predict negative consequences, a majority were assigned to combat arms units. Nearly 60 percent of the Marine Corps and Army combat units, such as infantry and special operations, said in the survey they thought repealing the law would hurt their units' ability to fight.
The Pentagon's uniformed chiefs are divided on whether this resistance might pose serious problems.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos has said he thinks lifting the ban during wartime could cost lives.
"I don't want to lose any Marines to the distraction," he told reporters this week. "I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda (Naval Medical Center) with no legs be the result of any type of distraction."
Adm. Mike Mullen and Marine Gen. James Cartwright, the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, respectively, have said the fear of disruption is overblown. They note the Pentagon's finding that 92 percent of troops who believe they have served with a gay person saw no effect on their units' morale or effectiveness. Among Marines in combat roles who said they have served alongside a gay person, 84 percent said there was no impact.
By ANNE FLAHERTY
Associated Press
Dec 18, 3:39 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a landmark for gay rights, the Senate on Saturday voted to let gays serve openly in the military, giving President Barack Obama the chance to fulfill a campaign promise and repeal the 17-year policy known as "don't ask, don't tell."
Obama was expected to sign it next week, although the change wouldn't take immediate effect. The legislation says the president and his top military advisers must certify that lifting the ban won't hurt troops' fighting ability. After that, there's a 60-day waiting period for the military.
"It is time to close this chapter in our history," Obama said in a statement after a test vote cleared the way for final action. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed."
The Senate vote was 65-31. The House had passed an identical version of the bill, 250-175, on Wednesday.
Repeal would mean that, for the first time in American history, gays would be openly accepted by the military and could acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being kicked out.
More than 13,500 service members have been dismissed under the 1993 law.
Rounding up a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate was a historic victory for Obama, who made repeal a campaign promise in 2008. It also was a political triumph for congressional Democrats who struggled in the final hours of the postelection session to overcome GOP objections on several legislative priorities before Republicans regain control of the House in January.
"As Barry Goldwater said, 'You don't have to be straight to shoot straight,'" said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., referring to the late GOP senator from Arizona.
Sen. John McCain, Obama's GOP rival in 2008, led the opposition. The Arizona Republican acknowledged he didn't have the votes to stop the bill and he blamed elite liberals with no military experience for pushing their social agenda on troops during wartime.
"They will do what is asked of them," McCain said of service members. "But don't think there won't be a great cost."
In the end, six GOP senators broke with their party on the procedural vote to let the bill move ahead and swung behind repeal after a recent Pentagon study concluded the ban could be lifted without hurting the ability of troops to fight. On the final vote for passage, eight Republicans joined the majority Democrats.
Advocacy groups who lobbied hard for repeal hailed the vote as a significant step forward in gay rights. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network called the issue the "defining civil rights initiative of this decade."
Supporters of repeal filled the visitor seats overlooking the Senate floor, ready to protest had the bill failed.
"This has been a long fought battle, but this failed and discriminatory law will now be history," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.
The Pentagon study found that two-thirds of service members didn't think changing the law would have much of an effect. But of those who did predict negative consequences, a majority were assigned to combat arms units. Nearly 60 percent of the Marine Corps and Army combat units, such as infantry and special operations, said in the survey they thought repealing the law would hurt their units' ability to fight.
The Pentagon's uniformed chiefs are divided on whether this resistance might pose serious problems.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos has said he thinks lifting the ban during wartime could cost lives.
"I don't want to lose any Marines to the distraction," he told reporters this week. "I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda (Naval Medical Center) with no legs be the result of any type of distraction."
Adm. Mike Mullen and Marine Gen. James Cartwright, the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, respectively, have said the fear of disruption is overblown. They note the Pentagon's finding that 92 percent of troops who believe they have served with a gay person saw no effect on their units' morale or effectiveness. Among Marines in combat roles who said they have served alongside a gay person, 84 percent said there was no impact.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Do any of my vast and loyal readership remember when the GOP hired Michael Steele, a black republican, to run the Republican National Committee in what appeared to be a knee jerk reaction to the newly elected President Obama? Well, perhaps you've heard that Chairman Steele has run the RNC into the ground, choosing to live a lavish lifestyle with the organization funds, rather than focusing his attention on all the donations he would likely have gotten from all of the Southern republicans who like black people so much. Even FOX News has been going after this guy, and he works for them. Or, wait. Does FOX work for him? Well, anyway, they both play for the same team, and he screwed them out of a bunch of money. That's probably the last man of color we will see in the GOP's leadership (John Boehner's orange tan doesn't count). If I were him, I would keep my ears opened in the night for the sound of approaching horses carrying men in sheets.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Email from Howard Dean . . .
I have known Bernie Sanders for more than 20 years. I have often worked with him in Vermont, but when he took to the floor of the Senate last week to stand up and denounce the extension of the Bush tax cuts for billionaires in an unconventional nine-hour filibuster, I'd never been more honored to call him my friend and my Senator.
Bernie is a progressive hero. He has spent his entire life fighting for the poor and the middle class, just as he is now in this tax cut fight.
Make no mistake about it; this tax cut deal that President Obama struck with Republicans may be good short-term politics, but it's not the best course for the country. It's not fiscally responsible in addressing the deficit, the biggest long-term threat to America. There is no shared pain in this agreement. Instead, this is the easy way out for everybody.
Bernie Sanders didn't back down against long odds -- he had the backbone to stand up and fight for what's right. Washington needs more bold leadership like Bernie's. Let's make sure that every Democrat in Washington gets the message: when you stand up and fight, we'll have your back.
This isn't just about tax cuts for the rich either. The deal includes borrowing $120 billion from China and other sources in order to make up a shortfall in revenue for the Social Security Trust Fund caused by the additional payroll tax cut.
We all know Republicans are chomping at the bit to destroy Social Security. Cutting funding will only embolden them to step up their attacks to cut benefits, raise the retirement age, and privatize the program entirely.
Social Security is a cornerstone of the American middle class yet Republicans, who will control the House of Representatives in 2011, want to destroy it. This payroll tax cut sets us up to make it that much harder to stop them. So while most in Washington are ignoring the real damage this bill could cause in the years to come, Bernie has made it a central part of his opposition.
Today, we can send a message even Washington will understand by supporting a progressive hero for standing up for America.
Bernie stood up for us. Let's make sure everyone in Washington knows we have his back.
-Howard
Gov. Howard Dean, M.D.
Founder, Democracy for America
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/
DAVE: So, Dean is in opposition to Obama?
DAD: So it would appear.
DAVE: Is this a sign that there may be a democratic challenger to Obama in 2012?
DAD: Who knows. In politics a year is a decade.
DAVE: Well, remember where you heard it first.
DAD: You are not the first person to raise that possibility.
DAVE: Damn. Who was?
DAD: I do not know exactly who, but someone in the media. I have seen it mentioned in some op-eds in the Sarasota paper and heard talk of it on TV. Hillary may be starting some of the talk.
DAVE: Interesting. I have not seen or heard one word to that effect here in Pittsburgh. I thought I was really on to something for a moment. Oh, well.
Bernie is a progressive hero. He has spent his entire life fighting for the poor and the middle class, just as he is now in this tax cut fight.
Make no mistake about it; this tax cut deal that President Obama struck with Republicans may be good short-term politics, but it's not the best course for the country. It's not fiscally responsible in addressing the deficit, the biggest long-term threat to America. There is no shared pain in this agreement. Instead, this is the easy way out for everybody.
Bernie Sanders didn't back down against long odds -- he had the backbone to stand up and fight for what's right. Washington needs more bold leadership like Bernie's. Let's make sure that every Democrat in Washington gets the message: when you stand up and fight, we'll have your back.
This isn't just about tax cuts for the rich either. The deal includes borrowing $120 billion from China and other sources in order to make up a shortfall in revenue for the Social Security Trust Fund caused by the additional payroll tax cut.
We all know Republicans are chomping at the bit to destroy Social Security. Cutting funding will only embolden them to step up their attacks to cut benefits, raise the retirement age, and privatize the program entirely.
Social Security is a cornerstone of the American middle class yet Republicans, who will control the House of Representatives in 2011, want to destroy it. This payroll tax cut sets us up to make it that much harder to stop them. So while most in Washington are ignoring the real damage this bill could cause in the years to come, Bernie has made it a central part of his opposition.
Today, we can send a message even Washington will understand by supporting a progressive hero for standing up for America.
Bernie stood up for us. Let's make sure everyone in Washington knows we have his back.
-Howard
Gov. Howard Dean, M.D.
Founder, Democracy for America
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/
DAVE: So, Dean is in opposition to Obama?
DAD: So it would appear.
DAVE: Is this a sign that there may be a democratic challenger to Obama in 2012?
DAD: Who knows. In politics a year is a decade.
DAVE: Well, remember where you heard it first.
DAD: You are not the first person to raise that possibility.
DAVE: Damn. Who was?
DAD: I do not know exactly who, but someone in the media. I have seen it mentioned in some op-eds in the Sarasota paper and heard talk of it on TV. Hillary may be starting some of the talk.
DAVE: Interesting. I have not seen or heard one word to that effect here in Pittsburgh. I thought I was really on to something for a moment. Oh, well.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
DAD: A follow up to our discussion of Obama's tax deal with the Republicans and the Democrats' reaction: Last week in the Senate Senator Mary Landreau, Democrat of Louisiana, pounded her fist on her desk and vowed that she would not support the deal because she was "morally outraged" that the President would agree to extend tax cuts for the wealthy. This is the same Senator Landreau who, in 2001, voted in favor of those tax cuts when they were first proposed by George W. Bush. Either she has a short memory or hopes that the voters have a short memory.
DAVE: That letter to the editor that I sent you suggested that the tax cuts for everyone be allowed to expire. That's a viewpoint that I had not previously heard.
DAD: The idea of tax cuts for everyone expiring is now the position of the most liberal Democrats so that they can blame the Republicans when everyone gets angry about their taxes going up on January 1. Obama, however, wants to give tax breaks to those making under $250,000 (the middle and working classes). The Republicans are holding those folks hostage to get tax breaks for the wealthy. While the tax cuts for the lower group may get through the House of Representatives in the lame duck session, they would have no chance once the Republicans gain control in January. The Senate Republicans can block the limited tax cuts even now with the filibuster threat. So the only chance of getting tax cuts for the middle and working classes so that there will be no gap after January 1 is to pass Obama's compromise.
DAVE: I understand the many benefits to the non-wealthy of the tax cuts, but it really would be better for the deficit and long-term growth and stability if the tax cuts expired. As you have said many times, to not have raised taxes during the Bush wars was lunacy. Well, maybe now we have to pay for those wars. My fear is that no matter which route the government takes, it will not be enough to stimulate the economy. These are all short-term "wishful thinking" strategies that both parties are using to get re-elected.
DAD: You are right, David. [From Dave: my mother and father are among the handful of people on this planet who call me "David."] But the middle name of the Tea Party and of the GOP is "lunacy." The people who appeared to be most angry about the ballooning deficit and who vowed to attack it are the very people who put us in this situation in the first place. There are only three ways to balance the budget and pay off the debt: (1) raise taxes; (2) cut expenditures; or (3) a combination of the first two. The Republicans who say they want to eliminate the deficit have said they absolutely refuse to raise taxes. That leaves only one choice: cut expenditures. To achieve their goal you would have to heavily cut defense spending (unlikely), cut aid to the poor (which they are only too willing to do), cut medicare (they would love to eliminate it entirely, but senior citizens won't allow that to happen), cut social security (that is highly unlikely as well). The Republicans, who say they want to cut spending to attack the deficit, have named the new chairman of the House Appropriations Committee beginning in January. That is the committee that oversees all government spending. I do not remember the man's name, but he is from Kentucky and he is known around Capitol Hill as the King of Pork. He has obtained millions of dollars for an airport in his hometown (which has flights in and out only two days a week). He has obtained millions of dollars for a "charitable" organization run by his daughter. Finally, he has initiated more earmarks than anyone else in the House. Good luck on his being a good fiscal watchdog.
DAD: Since I wrote to you about the Kentucky congressman who is known as the "King of Pork" I have learned his name: Hal Rogers. So far this year he has secured 52 earmarks worth $92,900,000 for his district, which is known on Capitol Hill as "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." The charitable organization run by his daughter is the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is focused on saving Cheetahs in the wild, mostly in Africa. A nice resume for a fiscal watchdog!
From Dave: FYI.
http://www.cheetah.org/
DAVE: That letter to the editor that I sent you suggested that the tax cuts for everyone be allowed to expire. That's a viewpoint that I had not previously heard.
DAD: The idea of tax cuts for everyone expiring is now the position of the most liberal Democrats so that they can blame the Republicans when everyone gets angry about their taxes going up on January 1. Obama, however, wants to give tax breaks to those making under $250,000 (the middle and working classes). The Republicans are holding those folks hostage to get tax breaks for the wealthy. While the tax cuts for the lower group may get through the House of Representatives in the lame duck session, they would have no chance once the Republicans gain control in January. The Senate Republicans can block the limited tax cuts even now with the filibuster threat. So the only chance of getting tax cuts for the middle and working classes so that there will be no gap after January 1 is to pass Obama's compromise.
DAVE: I understand the many benefits to the non-wealthy of the tax cuts, but it really would be better for the deficit and long-term growth and stability if the tax cuts expired. As you have said many times, to not have raised taxes during the Bush wars was lunacy. Well, maybe now we have to pay for those wars. My fear is that no matter which route the government takes, it will not be enough to stimulate the economy. These are all short-term "wishful thinking" strategies that both parties are using to get re-elected.
DAD: You are right, David. [From Dave: my mother and father are among the handful of people on this planet who call me "David."] But the middle name of the Tea Party and of the GOP is "lunacy." The people who appeared to be most angry about the ballooning deficit and who vowed to attack it are the very people who put us in this situation in the first place. There are only three ways to balance the budget and pay off the debt: (1) raise taxes; (2) cut expenditures; or (3) a combination of the first two. The Republicans who say they want to eliminate the deficit have said they absolutely refuse to raise taxes. That leaves only one choice: cut expenditures. To achieve their goal you would have to heavily cut defense spending (unlikely), cut aid to the poor (which they are only too willing to do), cut medicare (they would love to eliminate it entirely, but senior citizens won't allow that to happen), cut social security (that is highly unlikely as well). The Republicans, who say they want to cut spending to attack the deficit, have named the new chairman of the House Appropriations Committee beginning in January. That is the committee that oversees all government spending. I do not remember the man's name, but he is from Kentucky and he is known around Capitol Hill as the King of Pork. He has obtained millions of dollars for an airport in his hometown (which has flights in and out only two days a week). He has obtained millions of dollars for a "charitable" organization run by his daughter. Finally, he has initiated more earmarks than anyone else in the House. Good luck on his being a good fiscal watchdog.
DAD: Since I wrote to you about the Kentucky congressman who is known as the "King of Pork" I have learned his name: Hal Rogers. So far this year he has secured 52 earmarks worth $92,900,000 for his district, which is known on Capitol Hill as "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." The charitable organization run by his daughter is the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is focused on saving Cheetahs in the wild, mostly in Africa. A nice resume for a fiscal watchdog!
From Dave: FYI.
http://www.cheetah.org/
Monday, December 13, 2010
Two perspectives on Bill Clinton . . .
DAVE: What you do think about the fact that Bill Clinton is starting to hang around the White House more than usual? Is Obama bringing in the big guns?
DAD: I think Obama already has too much Clinton influence in his administration. In addition to Hillary as Secretary of State, he has Larry Summers as his chief economic advisor and Timothy Geithner, a Summers protege, as Secretary of the Treasury. I blame Summers's influence for the fact that the bank bailout was not handled properly (no ban on executive bonuses or shareholder dividends) and on the weakness of the stimulus package (too heavy on tax cuts, not enough on spending). If I had wanted Bill Clinton back in the White House, I would have voted for Hillary rather than Obama. But Bill is still very popular among the Democratic base.
AND . . .
DAVE: Have you happened to notice who Obama's new best friend is? Good old Bill Clinton.
MICHELLE: And why not?!?! I’d be his best friend too.
Obama wants all of his Democratic dissenters to remember how things were in the good old days of Clinton prosperity.
DAD: I think Obama already has too much Clinton influence in his administration. In addition to Hillary as Secretary of State, he has Larry Summers as his chief economic advisor and Timothy Geithner, a Summers protege, as Secretary of the Treasury. I blame Summers's influence for the fact that the bank bailout was not handled properly (no ban on executive bonuses or shareholder dividends) and on the weakness of the stimulus package (too heavy on tax cuts, not enough on spending). If I had wanted Bill Clinton back in the White House, I would have voted for Hillary rather than Obama. But Bill is still very popular among the Democratic base.
AND . . .
DAVE: Have you happened to notice who Obama's new best friend is? Good old Bill Clinton.
MICHELLE: And why not?!?! I’d be his best friend too.
Obama wants all of his Democratic dissenters to remember how things were in the good old days of Clinton prosperity.
Friday, December 10, 2010
DAVE: I've noticed the emergency snow route signs popping up around the East End, and I was waiting to hear how they were going to work until I read the story in today's [Thursday] PG online. I may have mentioned to you at some point that I lived in Toronto from 1985-1987. That's 25 years ago. And when I lived there, emergency snow route signs and snow removal were already an everyday part of life in winter. I realize that Toronto has more experience dealing with snow, but that was still 25 years ago. The one criticism that I have of the signs, however, is that they fail to say what should be obvious, but in Pittsburgh, sometimes you have to spell it out, literally: NO PARKING.
BP: I know – they aren’t cooperating with information or responding to questions from Council.
BP: I know – they aren’t cooperating with information or responding to questions from Council.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
As most of my vast and loyal readership know, I have never been married, and I have no children. However, I have recently been talking to my friend Sarah about the goings on with her four-year-old son. And she was telling me about this idea that she had stolen from a seven-year-old girl. And I wanted to share it with my readership, because I thought it was such a great idea. Maybe this is already out there and being done by children by the millions, and I'm just finding out about it now. But here it goes. Sarah's son is too young to read or write. So, in order to prepare a wish list for his annual visit with Santa Claus, she had him cut toys out from the Toys-R-Us holiday catalog (which is really quite enormous) and make a collage of the cut-outs on a piece of construction paper to take to Santa. I thought it was brilliant.
Post number 900 . . .
You know, it has never occurred to me that Oprah Winfrey and her best friend Gayle are gay. NEVER. And frankly, I don't care. Why Barbara Walters would even ask Oprah to talk about that in their upcoming interview truly baffles me. Is that a big rumor out there to which Oprah feels compelled to respond? If it were me, I would just tell the public to spend their time worrying about something more important. There are certainly plenty of other issues from which to choose.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Just in case you had forgotten about the bed bug issue, I have it on good authority that the Courtyard by Marriott across the street from Shadyside Hospital recently had bed bugs. Now, that's not that far away from where I live. I really don't want to deal with bed bugs. I really don't. I've never had a bug problem of any kind. I heard from my mother that my niece recently brought lice home from her daycare and infested my sister's entire house. But I have never had anything like that. When I was an adolescent, I had athlete's foot once at summer camp, and once I had jock itch. But that's it for me. I hate fucking bugs.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
DAVE: If Brady had taken that hit to his nose, not only would there have been a penalty, but Brady would have been ushered out of the stadium and off to a hospital to consult with a plastic surgeon right away. In his UGG boots. Ben is a tough guy. I give him a lot of credit for that.MICHELLE: Another reason to hate Brady! Ugh!!!! I concur though - Ben is tough. He is constantly getting shellacked, but he never throws his offensive line under the bus like another cry-baby QB did a few years ago.
DAVE: My old high school friends made fun of Ben throughout the Buffalo game, and kept calling him a drama queen, just like the yinzers do. There are plenty of things to find wrong with Ben. His toughness, to me, is never in question. In my opinion, he is the toughest quarterback in the NFL.
I've been using the word shellacked lately. Even in defeat, Obama made the word cool.
Monday, December 6, 2010
DAVE: So, a while back you sent me a Pennsylvania parody of the song California Gurls by this Katy Perry person (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhFHqNKnfes&sns=em). For the first time ever, just the other night, I actually saw her perform the actual song. Is she a hot little number among the younger crowd?
JIM: Yes, very much so. I think.
DAVE: I'll google her just to sneak a peek.
Now, for a more serious question. I really want you to answer this question honestly. Do you wish that John McCain was the President right now, instead of Obama?
JIM: That is honestly a question that I have never pondered. No, I don't think that I do.
JIM: Yes, very much so. I think.
DAVE: I'll google her just to sneak a peek.
Now, for a more serious question. I really want you to answer this question honestly. Do you wish that John McCain was the President right now, instead of Obama?
JIM: That is honestly a question that I have never pondered. No, I don't think that I do.
Friday, December 3, 2010
DAVE: Well, if you thought my previous comments were insightful, let's see what you think of this. I think that the country is in the process of creating another divide between the north and the south, as a direct result of a black man having been elected President. I believe that this divide could eventually lead to civil unrest and violence.
DAD: I believe that the divide between the north and the south has never really healed; it has been there ever since Reconstruction. The election of a black man to the presidency has sharpened it. The animosity of the whites toward blacks is, in my opinion, the sole reason that the solid south has gone from democrat to republican. The southerners were so upset with the passage of the civil rights act under LBJ that they harkened to Nixon's "southern strategy." The "southern strategy" was nothing more than a code phrase for "Come with us and we will protect you from the n-----s." The same bigots who ran the south before (and called themselves democrats) are still running the south (but now calling themselves republicans). As for the unrest and violence, I believe things will cool down if the republicans are successful in their aim of limiting Obama to one term. This country is already violent and the Supreme Court has made sure that there can be no controls on weapons. If Obama gets another term, we could see things disrupt.
DAD: I believe that the divide between the north and the south has never really healed; it has been there ever since Reconstruction. The election of a black man to the presidency has sharpened it. The animosity of the whites toward blacks is, in my opinion, the sole reason that the solid south has gone from democrat to republican. The southerners were so upset with the passage of the civil rights act under LBJ that they harkened to Nixon's "southern strategy." The "southern strategy" was nothing more than a code phrase for "Come with us and we will protect you from the n-----s." The same bigots who ran the south before (and called themselves democrats) are still running the south (but now calling themselves republicans). As for the unrest and violence, I believe things will cool down if the republicans are successful in their aim of limiting Obama to one term. This country is already violent and the Supreme Court has made sure that there can be no controls on weapons. If Obama gets another term, we could see things disrupt.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Who will give the United States of America a bailout . . . ?
DAVE: This story was in today's [Wednesday] PG online. And the other day there was a story about how the prices for houses in Pittsburgh continue to drop.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10335/1107286-53.stm
Also, I see that it's virtually inevitable that Social Security is going to be cut. Considering that 43% of the U.S. population has less than $10,000 saved for retirement, government-run pensions are gone or in severe jeopardy, and many jobs don't even pay enough for families to save any money, there is going to come a time in this country when the majority of the population is going to have no money and be completely dependent on the government to save them. That's not going to be a good time, certainly exponentially worse than anything that we've experienced in recent years, and yet nobody is doing anything about it. I suppose the theory is that by cutting the deficit, we are saving future generations from bearing that burden, but future generations won't have any money anyway. I don't get the impression that anybody really knows what they're doing.
DAD: Interesting and revealing article. I wonder if Mayor Luke is aware of the situation. Also, your commentary is very interesting and insightful.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10335/1107286-53.stm
Also, I see that it's virtually inevitable that Social Security is going to be cut. Considering that 43% of the U.S. population has less than $10,000 saved for retirement, government-run pensions are gone or in severe jeopardy, and many jobs don't even pay enough for families to save any money, there is going to come a time in this country when the majority of the population is going to have no money and be completely dependent on the government to save them. That's not going to be a good time, certainly exponentially worse than anything that we've experienced in recent years, and yet nobody is doing anything about it. I suppose the theory is that by cutting the deficit, we are saving future generations from bearing that burden, but future generations won't have any money anyway. I don't get the impression that anybody really knows what they're doing.
DAD: Interesting and revealing article. I wonder if Mayor Luke is aware of the situation. Also, your commentary is very interesting and insightful.
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