RANT: The sad truths of addiction; the “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs” doesn’t help

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/whitney-houston-dead

ON THE DEATH OF WHITNEY HOUSTON: Why I Won’t Ever Shut Up About My Drug Use
When Whitney died, I wasn’t surprised: women are using drugs all around you, and I’m one of them. Now why am I not allowed to talk about it again?
Cat
Feb 13, 2012 at 9:00am

*** begin quote ***

Remember Michael Jackson in his “This Is It” rehearsals? He looked good and he sounded good, and then he was getting put under anesthesia every night. Don’t you remember those horrible tapes?

It would be wonderful if we lived in a world free of drugs and drug addiction, but we don’t. In the end, the addict will die of overdose, of disease, or serious self-neglect, and half the time, you won’t even see it coming for her. So I am telling you that there are people all around you with one foot in the door—where you see them—and one foot out, where you can’t.

For a long time, it was like that for me: one foot in the door, the other out—and it could easily get there again. We all thought Whitney was better. She wasn’t.

*** end quote ***

The “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs” distracts us from the real problem.

Legalization would allow addicts to fund their habit cheaply and allow “us” to identify them. Then, we can get them the help they need.

Triage.

While we may not be able to save everyone, we can minimize the collateral damage.

And, the accidental deaths.

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RANT: The local liberal thinks Catholics should shut up

Sunday, February 12, 2012

http://channel-surfing.blogspot.com/2012/02/private-hospitals-are-public-facilities.html

Friday, February 10, 2012
Private hospitals are public facilities

The federal ruling that religious schools and health institutions are required to provide coverage for contraception does not violate the religious freedom of religious institutions.

While Catholic bishops throughout the country are taking to their pulpits to denounce the ruling, the reality is that the church’s decision to offer a public service to the larger public places the question in a very different context.

Catholic hospitals, like St. Peter’s in New Brunswick, serve more than just a Roman Catholic population. They serve the entire community.

In many communities, those hospitals are the only health-care facilities.

In almost all cases, the facilities get tax breaks and generally get federal money for services (Medicare, Medicaid, other health-care money).

These facilities benefit greatly from their roles as community facilities.

Given this, it is difficult to see how we can consider them private and allow religious exemptions.

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What are “public facilities”?

Is there some entity called the “public” that gambles their resources to do a thankless task? Is there a membership list for this “public” that sacrifice their own wants to be a “Good Samaritan”? Or is “the public” an imaginary construction like a “pink elephant”?

Of course, these Catholic institutions are composed of people who have First Amendment rights. And, as such, these institutions are the logical summation of all these people. Hence the “institution” has their First Amendment rights.

So the Gooferment, politicians, and bureaucrats have no authority to impose their view of morality on others.
If the Gooferment should prevail, then the Church has no choice but to shut down. Imagine Saint Peter’s is just closed. Boarded up.

Not sold; just closed.

Imagine that?

Peaceful civil disobedience. Like the apocryphal stories of good King Christian X of Denmark resisting the Nazis deportation of Jews.

Think about a world where Catholics just refuse to cooperate. MLK would be a good exemplar.

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In thinking further, if these “private hospitals” have become “public facilities”, then there is a Fifth Amendment argument to be made.

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RANT: Home Schoolers locked out of sports

Saturday, February 11, 2012

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/sports-authority

Sports Authority
Posted by Adam Schaeffer

*** begin quote ***

Home schooling is the most dynamic and innovative segment of K-12 education. But even with technological advances, co-ops and hybrid schooling, taking on that level of individual responsibility for a child’s education is difficult.

One particularly difficult problem for home school families in Virginia and elsewhere is competitive sports, particularly in high school.

A private non-profit organization, the Virginia High School League, governs high school sports for public schools in Virginia and determines eligibility for participation. Home-school and private-school parents pay taxes for the public schools, but their kids are banned from participating in local high school sports run through the government schools.

For private school kids, that’s not typically a major problem; they have enough students to field teams and schools for their own league. But home-schoolers, especially in rural areas, don’t have those numbers. And that means they are out of luck.

*** end quote ***

The problem isn’t the Gooferment closing home schoolers out of sports.

The problem is Gooferment Skrules, period.

In so many dimensions, the Gooferment running Skrules is wrong.

It violates the First Amendment. (I’m force to pay taxes to teach other people’s children things that both their parents and I disagree with. How immoral is that?)

Nuke the Gooferment Skrules and eliminate lots of problems.

Does ANY one think that parents would educate their children?

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RANT: BHO44’s “settlement” is a payoff to the banks in disguise

Friday, February 10, 2012

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/02/the-top-twelve-reasons-why-you-should-hate-the-mortgage-settlement.html

Thursday, February 9, 2012
The Top Twelve Reasons Why You Should Hate the Mortgage Settlement

*** begin quote ***

Here are the top twelve reasons why this deal stinks:

1. We’ve now set a price for forgeries and fabricating documents. It’s $2000 per loan. This is a rounding error compared to the chain of title problem these systematic practices were designed to circumvent. The cost is also trivial in comparison to the average loan, which is roughly $180k, so the settlement represents about 1% of loan balances. It is less than the price of the title insurance that banks failed to get when they transferred the loans to the trust. It is a fraction of the cost of the legal expenses when foreclosures are challenged. It’s a great deal for the banks because no one is at any of the servicers going to jail for forgery and the banks have set the upper bound of the cost of riding roughshod over 300 years of real estate law.

2. That $26 billion is actually $5 billion of bank money and the rest is your money. The mortgage principal writedowns are guaranteed to come almost entirely from securitized loans, which means from investors, which in turn means taxpayers via Fannie and Freddie, pension funds, insurers, and 401 (k)s. Refis of performing loans also reduce income to those very same investors.

3. That $5 billion divided among the big banks wouldn’t even represent a significant quarterly hit. Freddie and Fannie putbacks to the major banks have been running at that level each quarter.

4. That $20 billion actually makes bank second liens sounder, so this deal is a stealth bailout that strengthens bank balance sheets at the expense of the broader public.

*** end quote ***

How do you know when a politician is lying?

Lips move.

Did you listen to BHO44 tout this as a great accomplishment?

Argh!

Read the other 8, this blogger nails it!

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RANT: Mum loss could have been prevented if onlookers had …

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/australian-mom-killed-by-flood-after-dozens-whip-out-smartphones-instead-of-helping/

Technology
Australian Mom Killed By Flood After ‘Dozens’ Whip Out Smartphones Instead of Helping
Posted on February 7, 2012 at 11:55am by Liz Klimas

*** begin quote ***

But, as if this damage weren’t devastating enough, the only fatality reported thus far could potentially have been prevented if onlookers had put down their smartphones to lend a helping hand. A mother from the town of Roma and her 7-year-old son were trapped on Friday as the strong current began pulling them apart. Australia’s Courier-Mail reports that some men rushed in to help Jane Sheahan as she passed her son, Darcy, to them. But it was too late for Sheahan to be pulled from the water herself.

*** end quote ***

Wasn’t there. Don’t know the whole story. Can’t condemn folks for not risking their life.

Only hope that if I get such and opportunity, I won’t look the other way.

Sigh!

Save a life!

Isn’t that on everyone’s bucket list?

It is on mine. Right above “deliver a baby”.

(Strangely women are very uncooperative. They seem to insist on a real doctor. I’ll have to find with no other choice. Like that lady on the NYC bound commuter train; she wasn’t that “ripe”. And, a near miss when I was on the first aid squad. No luck!)

Back to the topic, it’s like that poem —

Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.                This story shall the good man teach his son;                And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,                From this day to the ending of the world,                But we in it shall be remembered-                We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;                For he to-day that sheds his blood with me                Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,                This day shall gentle his condition;                And gentlemen in England now-a-bed                Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,                And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks                That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

— will these “men”, these onlookers with smart phones, think themselves “accurs’d”. “Holding their manhood cheap”.

Shame.

Where are the heroes?

Yes, there were some that day. Saved a child. But, perhaps extra hands or an earlier response would have saved Mum too.

Ashamed to be a man by such a poor performance by other of my sex.

Argh!

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RANT: 8% unemployment — my !!!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/record-12-million-people-fall-out-labor-force-one-month-labor-force-participation-rate-tumbles-

Record 1.2 Million People Fall Out Of Labor Force In One Month,
Labor Force Participation Rate Tumbles To Fresh 30 Year Low
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/03/2012 08:51 -0500

*** begin quote ***

A month ago, we joked when we said that for Obama to get the unemployment rate to negative by election time, all he has to do is to crush the labor force participation rate to about 55%. Looks like the good folks at the BLS heard us: it appears that the people not in the labor force exploded by an unprecedented record 1.2 million. No, that’s not a typo: 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in one month! So as the labor force increased from 153.9 million to 154.4 million, the non institutional population increased by 242.3 million meaning, those not in the labor force surged from 86.7 million to 87.9 million. Which means that the civilian labor force tumbled to a fresh 30 year low of 63.7% as the BLS is seriously planning on eliminating nearly half of the available labor pool from the unemployment calculation. As for the quality of jobs, as withholding taxes roll over Year over year, it can only mean that the US is replacing high paying FIRE jobs with low paying construction and manufacturing. So much for the improvement.

*** end quote ***

Are you kidding me?

Comparing %s without comparing the numerators and denominators?

We need to switch to a number that can NOT be fudged.

Like dollars paid in the SSI “contribution”. That would tell us, how many folks are working. And, how much are they earning.

Now when those numbers go up and down, we’d have numbers we could hang our hat on.

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RANT: On Faithful

Monday, January 30, 2012

http://artofmanliness.com/2012/01/28/manvotional-be-faithful

Manvotional: Be Faithful
by Brett & Kate McKay on January 28, 2012

From Courage, 1894
By Charles Wagner

*** begin quote ***

Nothing is so difficult as to remain faithful. At each step of the way outside influences are brought to bear upon us to make us deviate or retrograde. And if there were only difficulties from without, it would not matter so much; but there are those from within. Our dispositions vacillate. We promise one thing with the best intentions in the world; but when the time comes to keep it, everything is changed–the circumstances, men, ourselves; and what duty demands of us seems so different from what we had foreseen, that we hesitate. Those who will fulfill on a rainy day a promise which they have made on a sunny one, are few and far between.

*** end quote ***

Like to think I have that quality. Evidence? A forty year marriage.

I’ve seen men desert their posts.

In school. In the military. In politics. In marriages. In jobs. In their own personal life.

No sense going though the litany.

My own Dad deserted my Mom and me.

Now, “Shoulda, coulda, and woulda!” thinking would put me wondering what might have been. I could have been normal.

But, that’s water under and lost milk.

Maybe that’s what stuck in my brain. Making me the slug I am.

“So every hand to his rope or gun. Quick is the word and sharp is the action. …” — Captain Jack Aubrey in “Master and Commander”

That’s what being a man is all about.

And, despite what the TV commercials tell us (i.e., men are stupid clueless idiots), we are still needed for the survival of the species and the rearing of children.

Argh!

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RANT: FBN is reporting Corzine’s MFGLOBAL 1.2B$ “vaporized”; gone forever

Monday, January 30, 2012

RANT: FBN (Fox Business News) on the IMUS show is reporting Corzine’s MFGLOBAL 1.2B$ “vaporized”; gone forever

How does 1.2B$ disappear?

… in a modern financial enterprise?

… why isn’t Corzine under arrest for fraud?

… where are the lawsuits?

… where’s the outrage?

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Jan-30 @ 07:05

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RANT: Verizon Service

Sunday, January 29, 2012

A Verizon Service Representative will be with you shortly. Thank you.20:54:29 Estimated wait time is 12 mins 33 secs. We apologize for the delay. You are 2 nd in the queue.

My DVR / TV listing says please wait since this afternoon. I’ve recycled it a few times and used the trouble shooter to reset it. Seems like “tv guide” is broken at your end.

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Argh!

You have to be kidding me.

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Jan-29 @ 20:55

So I decided it might be nice to have the GUIDE working, so I tried again.

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Jan-30 @ 12:21

Live Chat Window
Click to Reload ChatA Verizon Service Representative will be with you shortly. Thank you.
Agent Sampat has joined. (11:48:37)Sampat : Chat ID for this session is 01301292823.

(11:48:37)Sampat(11:48:41): Thank you for using Verizon FIOS Technical Support. I Apologize for any delays in reaching us today. My name is Sampat. May I confirm the Telephone number as 7328219525?Ferdinand Reinke(11:49:19): Yes. Guide has said please wait since Sunday, despite two or three resets and unplugging everything and repluggin it in.Sampat(11:49:54): Thank you and I am sorry for the inconvenience caused to you.Sampat(11:50:36): I need to pull up your records. So please help me with the name on the account, complete address as well as a good can be reached telephone number for future reference.Ferdinand Reinke(11:51:16): ferdinand reinke, {Privacy Invoked}

Sampat(11:51:36): Thank you, please provide the ZIP code.Ferdinand Reinke(11:51:43): 08824Sampat(11:51:48): Thank you for the information. Is it okay to address you by your first name?Ferdinand Reinke(11:51:56): yesSampat(11:52:06): Thank you, Ferdinand.Sampat(11:52:17): Just to let you know, in case the chat gets disconnected due to any issue at either end, please re-initiate the chat through the same channel or call our FIOS phone support at 1-800-837-4966, whichever is convenient to you.Sampat(11:52:32): I will be sending you an email about self help tips on minor telephone, video and internet issues to your email address. May I know your preferred email ID?Ferdinand Reinke(11:52:43): {Privacy Invoked}

Sampat(11:52:48): Superb! I will update it right now.Ferdinand Reinke(11:53:09): Update it where?Sampat(11:53:24): I mean, I will update it in my database.Sampat(11:53:35): Ferdinand, I understand that one of the STB(set top box)is not showing time displayed. Am I correct?Ferdinand Reinke(11:54:44): No, it’s showing time. TC programming is working fine. The GUIDE is not populating with data and the DVR is recording with “Untitled Recording” for all shows preprogrammed to record.Sampat(11:54:54): Regret the inconvenience caused and I assure you that we at Verizon are always here to help you out with any issues in regards to your services. Please be rest assured we would fix this for you today.Ferdinand Reinke(11:54:55): TV not tcSampat(11:55:11): Not a problem.Sampat(11:55:16): Please post the STB serial number of the Set Top Box that is having a problem. It is located underneath the box towards the back and it begins with an “M”.Ferdinand Reinke(11:56:55): I don’t have that number handy and can’t crawl around and get it. I have a HD box in the Living Room and the automated system knows all about it because it reset it.Sampat(11:57:51): Ferdinand, I am sorry for the inconvenience caused to you. I see that there are two STB(set top boxes) installed in your house.Sampat(11:58:17): So, I need to know the exact box that has the issue, so that I will run one advanced test in the server and will try to fix the issue for you.Ferdinand Reinke(11:58:22): Yup, 1 labeled Living room hdSampat(11:58:33): Thank you so much.Ferdinand Reinke(11:58:38): the other non-HD in the bedroomSampat(11:58:43): So, the box is a DVR box. Correct?Sampat(11:59:03): I mean, the issue is with DVR box. Correct?Ferdinand Reinke(11:59:03): Livinng Room is an HD DVR set top box.Ferdinand Reinke(11:59:10): Yes.Sampat(11:59:26): Thank you for the confirmation.Sampat(11:59:36): I have initiated a line test from the server.Sampat(12:00:07): The line test will reset the box.Sampat(12:00:13): I am going to initialize the set-top box (STB). All recordings and schedules will remain intact, but STB’s Personal Settings will be reverted to their defaults (including the Favorite Channels List and Parental Controls). The STB will power itself off and the time will disappear within a minute. Once the time returns on the box, press the POWER button on front of the STB it back on. Let me know when you have it back on and what is displayed.Sampat(12:02:54): Ferdinand, do you find any changes in the box?Ferdinand Reinke(12:03:28): reboot complete says press menuFerdinand Reinke(12:04:06): press menu?Sampat(12:04:24): Sure, please go ahead.Ferdinand Reinke(12:04:36): “setting up”Ferdinand Reinke(12:04:49): “Starting up”Sampat(12:05:21): Great!Sampat(12:05:31): Fingers crossed here!Ferdinand Reinke(12:06:04): “Welcome to new mdia guide”Sampat(12:06:19): Its seems that all is good till now.Ferdinand Reinke(12:06:31): “Select TV type”Sampat(12:06:41): Now, I request you to check if the issue got fixed or not.Ferdinand Reinke(12:07:28): remote doesn’t do anything. It’s doing some yada yada introSampat(12:08:19): Ferdinand , lets wait for the DVR to set up completely.Ferdinand Reinke(12:08:56): Guide says “please wait” just like it did before.Sampat(12:09:01): Oh! I see.Sampat(12:09:07): Can you do a favor for me?Ferdinand Reinke(12:09:11): ?Ferdinand Reinke(12:09:24): What?Sampat(12:09:45): I request you to connect this box to another TV and check if it works with another TV or not.Sampat(12:09:57): Is this feasible for you?Ferdinand Reinke(12:10:52): Can’t do that. Don’t have another spare tv. The same condition exists on the non-HD TV and box. “Please wait” I just checked it while waiting for the reboot to complete.Sampat(12:11:26): Okay, not a problem.Ferdinand Reinke(12:11:27): Message “Full Guide — A guide error has occurred. Please try again.”Sampat(12:11:32): Here the issue seems to be with the hard ware issue with the DVR. So, I will ship you a new DVR to “3 tyne ct, kendall park, nj, 08824”.Sampat(12:11:37): Sounds good?Ferdinand Reinke(12:12:13): Argh!Sampat(12:13:09): So, shall I go ahead and put a request to the concerned team to ship a new DVR?Ferdinand Reinke(12:13:20): What else can I do?Sampat(12:14:31): I have a good news for you.Ferdinand Reinke(12:14:40): Yes?Sampat(12:15:01): I can send a technician to your house today between 3:00 PM to 7:00 Pm. Shall I confirm the slot for the same?Ferdinand Reinke(12:15:49): Sure. Have him call before he comes. I may have to run to the store during that four hours.Sampat(12:15:59): Perfect! Verizon wants to make sure that you got what you wanted.Sampat(12:16:15): In case if the technician finds any issue with the equipment within verizon , there will be no charge , if there is any trouble found with the equipment not provided by verizon then there will be a possible charge.Sampat(12:16:21): Please let me know information given below:1. Do you have any pets?2. Is your house an independent house or apartment?3. Do we require any access codes?4. Please let me know any two call back numbers that we can contact you on.Ferdinand Reinke(12:16:57): I just want the hardware to work. No pets. House. Ring bell. 9082093625Sampat(12:17:13): Sure.Sampat(12:17:29): Would you like to get messages on your cell phone about the technician arrival status ?Ferdinand Reinke(12:17:41): yes
Sampat(12:17:56): Wonderful! let me update it in my database.Sampat(12:18:07): Verizon wants ensure that you are completely delighted with our services.Sampat(12:18:17): I would like to inform you that some one above 18 yrs should be present at the house when the technician arrives. Sampat(12:18:28): Are the other Verizon services working fine?Ferdinand Reinke(12:18:45): yesSampat(12:18:51): We, at Verizon, strive to ensure and deliver exceptional service to all of our customers.Sampat(12:18:51): Thank you for giving me an opportunity to help you today. Is there anything else I could help you further?Ferdinand Reinke(12:18:56): noSampat(12:19:01): I really wish all my customers are like you. I can grade you 10/10 for being so nice and patience . I love my job the most when I get to talk to customers like you.Sampat(12:19:01): I really wish all my customers are like you. I can grade you 10/10 for being so nice and patience . I love my job the most when I get to talk to customers like you.Sampat(12:19:20): Our goal is for you to be completely satisfied with the service you have received and that you recommend us to your friends and colleagues. Additional help on all 3 FIOS services is available on our website fioshelp.verizon.com. You can also make use of the Verizon In Home Agent for your Windows and Mac computers which is available for download on http://www.verizon.net/connect .Please navigate to this website and click on the link Get In-Home Agent to download and install it. This software would help you in troubleshooting basic issues that you face with your FIOS services before you contact us. Thank you for choosing Verizon and have a nice day.Sampat(12:19:30): We wish you and your family a blessed future ahead!Sampat(12:19:30): Bye and take care of yourself!

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So, it’s a hardware problem?

Argh!

Why am I not happy?

I just don’t want to be bothered. Stuff should just work.

Argh!

And, I don’t believe it’s a hardware problem with the DVR!

I bet their “TV GUIDE” app is screwed up.

We’ll see.

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Jan-30 @ 12:23

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RANT: Sportsmanship missing

Sunday, January 29, 2012

5:27 first half of Michigan Ohio State …

… in real time in looked like the Michigan guard creamed the Ohio State player …

… on replay it’s obvious that it was a flop …

… the refs were ready to call a flagrant, but went to the video replay …

… changed it to a no call …

 

Sorry not good enough for me.

The flopping player should get a technical for “bad acting”, delay of game, or unsportsmanlike conduct.

If the refs were going to toss the Michigan guard for rough play, then the Ohio State player should be at risk of the same penalty.

 

Argh!

 

Play hard, but it always has to be “honest”.

 

Argh!

 

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Jan-29 @ 13:41

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