Inside Tom's Brain

The Security Consequences Of Mozilla's Rapid Release Schedule

2011-08-20T11:39:00.005-04:00

'Mascot' image from the Mozilla ADD-ONS Blog

Continuing on a topic from my last post I want to focus on the security threat created by the 'rapid release' schedule the Firefox browser is now on.

I won't dispute the positive aspects of this move for Mozilla, however from a security standpoint it creates multiple hazards. A 'Ready or not, here we come' dictum may be OK in some cases, but it's a recipe for trouble when it comes to security.

Like it or not Mozilla bears the responsibility for not just it's browser alone, but also for taking into consideration the extended 'technosystem' of add-ons that have a somewhat symbiotic relationship with Firefox. They also have a responsibility to contribute to overall Internet security.

When so many of their users have security software that either integrates with or is a standalone 'add-on' to Firefox (and these users are to be commended for contributing to the overall security of the Internet), rushing ahead and leaving them vulnerable is irresponsible and thoughtless.

Rushing to get something done often results in mistakes. You can rush things and get your product out first, but it rarely results in a quality product (and in this case you can add "secure" to that).

I realize that Mozilla can't simply wait until every 3rd-party piece of software is updated on their own schedule. There has to be some form of cooperative effort to find a middle ground however.

The consequences of the current situation are giving even more ground to the security threats confronting Firefox users. You wouldn't leave your children home alone (before the sitter gets there) while you go to work, and a wilderness guide wouldn't forge ahead and leave people behind to fend for themselves.... would you?

As people mature they learn to consider the consequences of their actions and hopefully become less self-centered. I realize that many businesses don't act this way, but good ones do (in varying degrees) and those get my respect (and patronage).

This world needs more cooperation not less.

Edit/add [8/20/2011 1:05 PM]:

I left out (in my haste!) the people on the security software side of the equation who need to do their part by starting their update process as soon as they can. They too have a responsibility to work in cooperation with Mozilla so both end up with a reliable product and safer users.

Caught In The Middle

2011-08-17T22:33:00.006-04:00

Numerous issues are impacting me that have me caught in the middle and [nearly?] powerless to change (at least in the near-term). The first two affect many people, not just myself.

The first is the recent (and ongoing) fight over the debt ceiling and budget. I and many people like me that are living solely on their Social Security/Disability income had to wait literally until the last moment, not knowing if they could pay their bills. You know, little things like rent, utilities, food & medications..

The right-wing's lack of concern for some of the more vulnerable citizens is disheartening, and the notable favoritism shown towards the upper class and corporations combined with their manifest contempt of those in need is despicable. I want to mention that the silence ("willful ignorance"?) on this subject by vast majority of the media is disgraceful, and will be looked back on (along with many other examples) as a major failure of the Fourth Estate during this time in our nation's history. The abdication of power and responsibility by this Fourth Estate has enabled those with selfish and dangerous ambitions to take our country in a direction far from the ideals so thoughtfully laid out by our Founding Fathers.

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Caught between Mozilla - Firefox and security software

Since Mozilla started it's rapid release schedule for the Firefox browser many of the security add-ons & extensions I rely on haven't been updated to work with the current version (at the time of this post Firefox 6.0 has just been released). Previously, security software companies such as AVG (LinkScanner), Symantec-Norton, M86 Security (SecureBrowsing) and others had plenty of time between 'major releases' of Firefox to update their software (so it will work with whatever changes the new version of Firefox has).

That time has been drastically cut since this 'rapid release' initiative began.

This is from the "Mozilla Firefox: Development Process" page:

"Firefox uses a schedule-driven process, where releases take place at regular intervals. That means each release happens regardless of whether a given feature is ready, and releases are not delayed to wait for a feature to stabilize. The goal of the process is to provide regular improvements to users without disrupting longer term work."

- Further down the page:

Security Releases

"This proposal makes security updates occur along with Firefox releases, meaning we'll no longer be maintaining old branches. Having security branches for each major update is untenable if we release as often as we aim to."

-----------------

Extension Compatibility

"Extension compatibility is the trickiest part of the transition. In particular, it's not what the policy should be when a user has extensions that are incompatible with a new Firefox release. Each release will have at least 12 weeks to identify extensions that are no longer working, but this issue will be complicated."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

On the Future Release Blog there's a post named "Every Six Weeks".

"We’re studying the effects of the process carefully; it’s a big change and we will be flexible in our approach as new information comes in. We may decide that 6 weeks is the wrong interval, for instance, though it’s worth remembering that Firefox maintenance releases have been released on 6-8 week intervals for years, and sometimes included major changes. We’re also paying close attention to the impacts this cycle has on our ecosystem of add-ons, plugins, and other 3rd party software that interacts with Firefox. We’re working with large organizations, too, to understand how rapid release can fit into their software deployment systems."

"Whatever adjustments we make, it’s clear that rapid release is a major improvement in our ability to respond to the needs of our users and the web. Every 6 weeks we have a new Firefox to evaluate and, unless some surprising and irreconcilable breakage is discovered, release to the world. No one will have to wait a year for the developer scratchpad now in Beta, or the massive memory and performance improvements already on Aurora, or the slick tab management animations soon to land on Nightly. Rapid release is already paying dividends, and we’re just getting started."

Johnathan Nightingale
Director of Firefox Engineering"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now as far as the security software (companies) side of things, I haven't read any comments directly from them about this issue.

However:

I have heard directly from M86 Security after I posted a comment on Twitter about their "SecureBrowsing" browser add-on:

---------------------------
@M86Security Firefox just updated to v5. When will your #SecureBrowsing plug-in be updated?
(Posted 22 Jun)
---------------------------

Their reply:

---------------------------
@TRDaggett We do not have a definitive date at this time, as we are currently reviewing Firefox 5. We'll keep you posted
(Posted 27 Jun)
---------------------------

It's now August 17th and Firefox 6.0 has now been released.... and if you go to the M86 SecureBrowsing (FAQ) page it says:

--------------------------------------------------------
5. Q: Where will SecureBrowsing work?
A: SecureBrowsing has been designed to work on the most commonly-used Internet tools.
The current version of M86 SecureBrowsing supports the following:

Web Browsers:

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0
Mozilla Firefox 3.x and 4.0
Google Chrome 10

------------------------------------------------------

BTW, Google Chrome's current version is 13x.

Despite the fact that @M86Security told me "We'll keep you posted", I've heard nothing from them [to date]. So if they were "reviewing Firefox 5" and still haven't gotten back to me by the release of Firefox 6.....

Thoughts:

1.) They don't care enough about their users to (proactively) keep them informed.

2.) They're not able to keep their SecureBrowsing product updated (for 2 major browsers) in a timely manner leaving those users unprotected.

3.) M86 Security SecureBrowsing needs to append the FAQ page "Web Browser" information with a note regarding future updates to Firefox and Chrome or remove them from the list.

(Make a decision M86 Security. Then please inform your users.)

------------------------------------------

I also use the (free to Comcast Internet customers) Norton Security Suite. This version complicates the update issue even further because it's different from both Norton Internet Security and Norton 360 and [probably] has it's own 'team' of people working on it's updates (including various browser add-ons).

I noticed that if I open up the Norton interface on my desktop and click on Identity Protection [View Details] it says that Norton Safe Web and Identity Safe are both on and working!

I called the Norton Security Suite support folks today and was told that they were working on the browser compatibility updates but they wouldn't provide any time table as to when they would be released. I want to mention that the support call must have gone to India because there was a noticeable delay and the woman was very hard to understand, So the combination of those two factors made for a poor quality support call (which I have to say has not been the case with most of my previous support calls involving outsourced support centers in India). It was unfortunate that I was already irritated by several factors including the fact that this was my second call to Comcast support about this matter. The first customer tech support person tried to transfer me to Norton support but used the wrong number, aborted, came back to tell me what she did, and then on the second attempt ended up transferring me to Netgear support!

------------------------------------------------------

Finally, AVG LinkScanner (which I've used for years, since before AVG bought them out and ~~ruined~~ incorporated LinkScanner into their products) partially works with Firefox 6.0 but the feature that checks web [page] links and search results (like Google) hasn't been updated yet. AVG has been quite a bit quicker than Norton to update their Firefox add-ons. I can still use the AVG Toolbar to search via the AVG secure search feature or open the desktop LinkScanner interface and enter (and scan) a URL manually. It's not as convenient, but it adds a valuable security resource to my kit.

------------------------------------------------------

Conclusion:

Mozilla's rapid release schedule has created a security issue for Firefox users who rely on various security add-ons and extensions. I'm not saying that the problem is solely because of the faster schedule though. Other security add-ons (like Giorgio Maone's "NoScript" and Wladimir Palant's "Adblock Plus" ) have kept pace, but it seems likely that the security software produced by the bigger security companies has a much different (and complicated) process that it has to go through. A good analogy is probably that of an aircraft carrier vs. a Coast Guard cutter.

As I recall after Firefox version 5.0 was released my Norton Toolbar* and IPS 'broke' and after a few weeks some protection features (like search results) were updated but the toolbar wasn't (and still hasn't been updated).

Ultimately I hope to see [at least] two things happen. Security software companies who's products integrate with Firefox (and Google Chrome) will adapt to a faster update schedule, and Mozilla will adapt their release schedule to better enable security add-on software to stay current (and 'on the job'!). Rapid release schedules are great but not if it results in leaving your users vulnerable.

Best practices call for a 'layered' approach to security. We need to work together as much as possible to increase Internet security.

*The Norton Toolbar includes the Identity Protection features like the 'Identity Safe' that I used daily. [Among other things] It securely stored passwords for websites and automatically logged me in to those sites. It also held 'cards' that I could fill with customized identity information which in turn could be automatically entered into forms on web pages.

On Newspapers & Paywalls

2011-05-10T14:22:00.001-04:00

There are some basic requirements that must be met before I'll consider paying for online news. In my case it's [specifically] the Concord Monitor.

First let me preface this by explaining that I survive solely on my disability check from Social Security each month (which hasn't increased for a year or two, and isn't likely to next year either). So every expense I incur comes out of a fixed amount. I have to consider the value of every cent spent and also weigh it against every other expenditure. And despite what the CPI* indicates, the cost of many of these are going up.

So for me to take a portion of this [shrinking] pie and spend it on the local newspaper there has to be:

1. Exclusive content that I value and is well written, informative, complete & accurate.

2. A well laid out & easy to navigate website.

3. A website that is secure and well maintained (best security practices incl. 3rd-party audits/pen testing).

4. Also a secure payment system utilizing the best security available to protect customers including full encryption of transactions and storage of customer data. Also requiring the same of 3rd-party payment processors (or *other*) are used.

5. Plenty of local content.

6. Lots of compelling photography.

7. Blogs (but EXCLUDING political** blogs!)

I'd also like to see a local 'Technology' section, possibly getting local experts to contribute regularly with advice & tips (that could even be done/sold? [tastefully] as 'Adver-Tips') and regular 'cybersecurity' information (similar to my [former] BlogsNH blog*** "TechAlert"), because caring about computer & Internet safety needs to be force-fed (subtly) to the public at every opportunity.

Finally, even though it's expensive and time consuming (and takes a certain amount of institutional intestinal fortitude), some investigative journalism would be nice to see. Frankly I see too much ...... (trying to think of the right word[s]) .. quick, superficial, non-confrontational articles, and I'm trying to recall the last time I read anything that exposed some serious wrongdoing or corruption concerning local public officials, organizations or businesses. To be fair, my memory is awful and I'm sure there have been some, but we both know the larger percentage goes unreported (and/or undiscovered).

I'm going to give the Monitor a shot and see how it goes, although I hope that I can pay 'in person' instead of online. I've been victim of numerous database breaches over the years including Concord Hospital, the VA, Student Loans, and most recently the Sony PlayStation Network (where thankfully I chose to use their prepaid cards instead of a credit/debit card). I hope they consider this option and develop a way of implementing it.

- BTW, I hope that it's only the AP [text] content the Monitor's opting not to use and not Jim Cole's outstanding photography!

_____________________________

* Consumer Price Index

** Too divisive & (many of) the regular 'article' comments are *more* than enough negativity/fringe (especially for the moderators).

*** This is the page you see if you look today.. Hey Clay, I must have missed your alert to save our blogs before they weren't available anymore? (I'm glad that I saved most of mine and didn't leave it to chance..).

A Long Winter's Nap

2010-12-27T16:50:00.000-05:00

ZZzzzzzzzz -------------

Napping is what I seem to be doing the majority of the time these days. Not by choice mind you, but finding the energy and motivation to do much of anything has been a struggle over the past months.

As evidenced by my previous post my cognitive abilities are much less than they were even at the beginning of this year. Composing posts used to take a long time, mainly because I have a hard time coming up with the precise words I want to use (in my mind I know what I want to say but the word is maddeningly elusive), but now the whole process has slowed greatly.

Still, every once in a while I'm sharper, I have energy, and actually feel like getting things done and/or getting out of my apartment. When it happens I try to take advantage of it and get all the chores like cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, laundry, kitchen & bath) done. Before the effects of diabetes complicated things I would do a lot of writing during these periods, but since then it's like someone opened up my brain and poured molasses inside (this post took me over 3 hrs to complete).

_______________________________________

I'm posting this because I feel like I need to let people know why my activity has been even slower than usual (and more disjointed) and kind of depressing. I really want to post a bunch of much more positive and interesting things, honest!

_______________________________________

It's funny (not really, but..) when I lay down for a nap my mind starts thinking about all kinds of things. It's much more focused than when I'm up and about. But if I try to write down notes or even put it on tape I can't get past the first one! The process of doing that seems to disrupt the original thoughts (like a computer log set so low that it 'overwrites' itself). If there was a way of recording thoughts (passively) directly from my brain it would be such a help. I'd be willing to bet that in the future it will be possible, and by the time that happens getting it from a clinical/research setting to an affordable consumer device will be the easy part.

Now that I think about it, by the time [that] is possible scientists should have a much clearer picture of how brain chemistry works, hopefully developing much more effective treatments for things like depression, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc.. Perhaps some combination of gene and neurogenesis treatment..

______________________

So now, tomorrow I go to talk about changing primary care physician and working on a more effective personal care plan (is that what it's called?) between health care providers and myself.

I need some kind of support 'cause all this is really hard to accomplish and deal with on my own..... I don't even have a pet

NOTE TO SELF: Make your next post much more positive!

Depression, Doctors, Society and Me

2010-10-21T06:12:00.000-04:00

I just watched a program on PBS from WGBH Boston called "Depression: Out of the Shadows" that was excellent. Afterward though I started to get frustrated and angry about so many things.

As I watched this program, like all the others that I've seen over the years so much of what I see & hear hits home for me and yet so much of it leaves me angry.

Many of the things that get me angry are related to the situation I find myself in here in Concord, New Hampshire. When I hear about people trying several medications before they find the one that works best for them, I wonder why when I asked my present primary care physician about the possibility of trying alternatives or additional medications that are available to address some of the symptoms that I have he simply said "no".

In addition to that, when I hear about people actually being given a diagnosis for what they're experiencing I ask myself why I was refused that same thing when I told the doctor I'd been seeing that I wanted to be evaluated and 'diagnosed'. He also said "no". Not only did he say he couldn't/wouldn't be able to diagnose me, he stated that 'it isn't going to do any good for you to come in here and tell your stories' (or something to that effect). Note: He has since denied saying that after I mentioned it to others in the same facility (though I assumed was in confidence when I did). He also nearly fell asleep (he got that glazed eye, disinterested look as I was going over the results of the task he gave me during the previous visit) during what I decided was our final session.

At this point I should provide some background history.. I'm living on Social Security Disability and have been for around 10 years. As such my choices for healthcare are quite limited and my services are provided by the Family Health Center at Concord Hospital. For the first several years all the doctors I had were in their final year of their residencies and as such they changed about every year and a half. The level of care they provided was very good but over time became disjointed. I also had a deep sense of loss when they left and I had to develop trust in someone new knowing that they too would leave all too soon. I eventually voiced my concerns about this and a year or so my 'new' doctor was an established middle-aged physician.

At first I was hopeful, thinking that I would now have some continuity in my care. I prepared for my first visit assuming that he would have looked over my medical history and have some kind of 'Care Plan' in mind. I'd recently turned 50 a while back and assumed that among other things he'd bring up the usual tests appropriate for men that age (especially since my father had prostate cancer and heart disease). Well it quickly became apparent that he wasn't aware of my health history (so much so that I asked him if he'd even looked at it) and one of the first things he asked was how I'd feel about him taking me off my antidepressant medication!

It hasn't gotten any better since then. When I mentioned that I bought a home automatic blood pressure unit (the kind with an electric pump) he pooh-poohed the idea saying that it would just make me get too fixated on the readings. On another occasion when I asked him if I would benefit from getting out in the sun more (I rarely leave my apartment and would obviously benefit from some sunlight & fresh air) he said it wasn't a good idea citing the dangers of over-exposure.. And one other incident I need to mention is when I went to see him about an embarrassing hemorrhoid issue (after discussing my need for a prostate exam during the previous visit that I'd been avoiding), I was there, pants-down and bent over the examining table (what better time to do the prostate exam?) but he said no, he'd do that at another time.... he hasn't mentioned the exam since and I'm now 53. I guess he's waiting for me to 'present' symptoms before he finally gets to it?

It seems like every time I did something that a well-informed patient is encouraged to be/do it was met with the same attitude of 'I'm the doctor', don't challenge my authority or have any ideas of your own.
So what I'm getting at is while I'm doing my part in being a responsible patient he's meeting that with what I can only describe as an air of disdain or doctor's aloofness? I haven't had an actual 'physical' examination for 5-10 years, and many of the symptoms I've mentioned during visits over those years read like a pamphlet for the early warning signs of diabetes (lower leg pain/pressure, light headedness, frequent urination, excessive thirst, numbness in the toes and then frostbite-like symptoms one winter). Nothing was done about them or the borderline A1c test back when action could have been taken to perhaps prevent full-blown diabetes, which I was recently diagnosed with earlier this year.

Without health insurance I can't simply 'find another doctor', and the psychiatrist I spoke of there at Family Health only took me back as a patient because there weren't any others there available to see me (I was told). So I feel stuck with a doctor who I don't feel does his job well and a therapist who seems disinterested at best.

Now I haven't even mentioned the issue of my chronic depression and related issues (that I need to have diagnosed once and for all so they can be addressed and properly treated) and the issue of a 'Permanent Disability' form for Sallie Mae that's supposed to be filled out by my 'Primary Care Physician'. But guess what? My doctor says he doesn't feel like he's qualified to fill it out despite the fact that it states on the form 'To be filled out by your Primary Care Physician'. He wants it filled out by the psychiatrist.... yeah, the same one that doesn't see the point in me 'just coming in and telling my stories' (aka Talk therapy). The result is that Sallie Mae is calling sometimes 8 times a day and I'm not answering the calls because I have no news for them, and besides that they've hung up on me, they call again the same day that I just called them and talked to them, one caller doesn't seem to know that any of the others already spoke to me, and every time I have to go through the SAME information!

Now there's so much 'background' information to all of this that I can't include it here, but I was 'recruited' by the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale back in 1993-4 back when I had a decent job working for a great family printing company. Unfortunately the economy and the company's business were both slowing down and we had to accept a pay cut. My brother and his family lived in Ft. Lauderdale and he encouraged me to come stay with them while studying photography (my lifelong dream) at the Art Institute. The recruiter promised quick job placement upon graduation so I signed all the loan papers and started the 2-year program. I loved it and soon I was getting listed in some college directory for students (I wish I could recall the name) with GPAs in the highest levels. I was photographing Olympic divers, pro boxers and learning from some excellent 'teaching pros'. I was competing with other students some of whom were young with wealthy parents and had the best equipment & could afford the costs of all the 'extras' associated with studying photography in So. Florida.

Then one day I went to the financial aid dept. to pick up my regular financial aid check and was informed "The last check you received was supposed to last for 2 quarters" (this was the first I'd heard about that). When I went to my financial aid person they didn't know anything about it. Some time after that about 1 year into the program all financial aid stopped and no one could even tell me why! Around this same time the school was going through the process of improving their status so that credits earned would be transferable to other institutions which resulted in a loss of many excellent teachers because they didn't have the appropriate degrees. One of the impacts on my class was that an outstanding portrait photography teacher was let go and temporarily replaced by the head of the photography department who proceeded to teach the class mainly through the use of photocopied materials. Let's just say the cost of this program charged to students wasn't reflected by the quality of what we received in the classes..

I tried to earn money for school but it wasn't enough (and the job listings provided by the school's job placement office weren't nearly what was advertised by the recruiter) and eventually the fact that I'd given up my job in New Hampshire to follow my dream and having that pulled out from under me (financially) with absolutely no explanation, sent me into a deep depression that eventually prompted my brother to ask me to leave. My father who lived here in New Hampshire was suffering from heart failure and cancer at that time also so I moved back to be available to help him while he recovered.

At this point I'm going to end this long ramble and pick it up in another post.... - 'till then..

Oh yeah, I'm "Still Alive and Well ..."

2010-10-05T12:55:00.002-04:00

Glucose meters

Yes I'm still here.. Despite the recent diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (type 2), the finger pricking, the insulin injections (& medication Metformin), and the associated change in lifestyle, I'm adapting .... slowly.

From a starting point of my 'A1C' at 15% and a blood glucose of 586, I'm now down to 8.2% (A1C) and my morning/fasting glucose measurements averaging 110. In fact just recently I had my first *low* fasting measurement of 67 (which I quickly got to 100 with a small glass of grapefruit juice).

The [hyperglycemic] effects on my brain & eyes have returned to "normal" (a matter of opinion, I know..), and that's a relief! For a while I couldn't see well enough to do much of anything, and my brain was so *fuzzy* that I didn't feel like doing anything anyway. I've even regained some color in my toes although they're still constantly cold and cramp all the time (btw, is there such a thing as an electric blanket for just the foot of the bed?). I don't like wearing socks when I sleep, but I don't want to use a full-sized electric blanket.

I've just recently started to get back to checking my Twitter feed and posting comments occasionally but I'm finding that keeping up with email, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, News etc. in addition to the new health maintenance tasks is often too much. Energy is one thing that's in short supply but I'm taking advantage of it when it's available.

I have grown to appreciate & rely on some of the many 'reminder' utilities available for the computer to keep track of bills, appointments and the like. Multiple alarm clocks help too.

One of the things I pictured in my mind when I was told that I'd have to take insulin was filling a syringe from a bottle of insulin kept in the fridge. Thankfully I was started on something called a "Flexpen", which is a pen-like device prefilled with insulin. All I have to do is screw on a tiny disposable needle and set the dosage! It's really simple. The hardest part was choosing an 'injection site' and remembering where the previous one was until I made myself a chart/grid and numbered the different locations so I could enter the location into a log.

On a less positive note, once I started researching diabetes (and my other issues like hypertension and family history of [that], depression, and Alzheimer's/dementia), the clinical research paints a fairly bleak & uncertain future. The combined 'risk factors' I have are all interconnected it seems.

I'm thinking that I definitely want to get as much accomplished as I can, while I can.. That'll be a challenge for a serious procrastinator like me!

Thankfully my father had a saying that I've been able to embrace, especially since he passed away. "Keep smiling" (whether you feel like or not..) was something he always told me when I left his home. That and the ability to laugh at myself are so helpful in my solitary existence (and I've given myself plenty to laugh at lately).

I truly wish that the feeling of community and compassion that existed all too briefly after the attacks on 9/11 could be regained. The divisiveness and polarizing atmosphere that just seems to have grown exponentially over the years since then thanks in part to the extremists on the right and fanned by insensitive, dishonest & dangerous rhetoric spewed by the likes of Fox News-(in name only), Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, the GOP, et al..

And I'll finish that thought with the failure of (the majority of) the 'media' to have the guts to truly do their job and point out the fraud & lies from the right instead of claiming some kind of 'equivalency' between the left and right messages. Bob Cesca says it well in his "Killing the False Equivalency 'Both Sides' Meme".

Does This Make Sense?

2010-02-28T12:03:00.006-05:00

The "Switch to Advanced Mode" (in blue) is circled. (Click on image to enlarge)

The 'Are You Sure?' warnings seem to be used everywhere else,
why not here?

- This is how it started:

The HP Hardware diagnosis/check was doing it's monthly check.
I sat there watching it do it's thing for a while and noticed that there
was a discrepancy between what the 'Running' progress meter
was on and what the 'Progress' dialog box at the bottom of the
window said was running.

At that time the PC's HDD (a Western Digital) and a USB
-connected external HDD (a Maxtor OneTouch) were being
tested. When a test was being run on the Maxtor, the Progress
dialog showed the ID for the Western Digital, and vice-versa.

- But that's not what this is about.

In an attempt to look into this further I clicked on the
"Switch to Advanced Mode". I've worked with this program
numerous times but apparently have never made this action
before, because when I clicked on that option the program
stopped and shut down! (Note that this program takes quite
a while to run/complete.)

No warning, nothing..

That's what I writing about.

My thoughts immediately went to the countless times I've
clicked to delete something, or to complete some other action,
and a dialog box popped up asking a variation of 'Are you
sure you want to do this?".
It's aggravating, but appropriate for safety reasons to protect
inexperienced users.
I'm an experienced user so in general they're a nuisance,
but not always..

So I'm thinking.. What were the software designers/engineers
thinking when they put a button/link that says "Switch to
Advanced Mode" at the top of the program window, and left
it active (not 'grayed-out'/inactive) while the program is working?

If clicking on something in your program results in the
closing of the actively running program, don't you think
the user ought to be warnedbefore completing the action?

... end of rant

Why?

2010-01-31T21:36:00.005-05:00

I'm talking about computer security and why some people are responsible and others not. I've written about this before, mostly in a BlogsNH/Concord Monitor Online blog called TechAlert. The reasons vary from person to person, but the two at the top of my list are laziness and apathy.

- Laziness because it takes some effort to learn how your computer works and what you need to do to protect it, and also the basic maintenance necessary to keep things like your security programs up to date. I should also add being attentive, both to how your system runs 'normally' so that you'll be alerted to events that might signal a malware infection, and also online where every web page or email could be compromised. That's why I ended every blog post with a variation of "THINK -- BEFORE you click!"

Admittedly, nothing short of pulling the plug can guarantee you won't be hacked/infected, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't protect yourself by being informed & aware (and vigilant with a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to unsolicited email).

Videos or photos with "This is unbelievable!" or "You gotta see this!", and the ones about some celebrity caught naked, are typical bait to lure victims into a scammer's trap. This now includes any big celebrity (or other) news event including the recent earthquake in Haiti. If people are likely to be in a hurry to get information about a breaking event you can be sure that scammers will take advantage of the situation and use it as bait in spam email and in search engine results.

If an individual's security apathy just affected them it would be one thing, but it doesn't, and at some point in the future this widespread apathy will lead to something like an interruption of the power grid or air traffic control. As history has shown, often serious issues aren't addressed until after a disaster occurs. In this case I doubt anything short of prolonged widespread suffering through power/Internet outages (and intense peer pressure) will change people's behavior, and that might not be enough.. Legislation might be needed, but that will never come to pass because big business and their army of lobbyists control Congress, and requiring a license to connect a computer to the Internet would be good for overall security but bad for business. As we've seen, if Congress has a choice between what's good for the public vs what's good for big business (and the bottom line), money and influence wins most of the time.

You have to treat going online (which starts as soon as your computer connects to the Internet) like you're a spy walking through a dangerous city carrying a briefcase full of secret papers. Assume that you're being watched by people just waiting for you to make a mistake and let your guard down. Lazy or apathetic spies don't last long..

- Apathy is another shortcut to trouble. 'All I want to do is get online as fast as I can, download/watch that video, get through all this email, see that sexy pic, install this software..... All this 'security' stuff just gets in the way.'.

These two are related, and much of the time ignorance is in the mix right alongside. If you don't take the time to learn how to protect yourself, and you don't stay apprised of they daily warnings (that are freely available from people and organizations who work hard to gather and publish it) about vulnerabilities in software, hoaxes, compromised sites and other dangers, you're like a 'babe in the woods'.

The side effect of people ignoring security and getting their computers infected is that the rest of us suffer because of them. They get infected with malware that makes their computer(s) part of a huge group of computers controlled by one group of bad guys (and there are lots of these groups), who then 'rent' this powerful group of combined computers to other bad guys who can then attack banks, power companies, web sites, government computers, and the list goes on.. Sometimes they block a giant corporation's computer systems and hold it for ransom until they're paid millions of dollars. Oil companies to grocery chains secretly pay these ransoms adding millions/billions to their bottom lines, and who do you think ends up paying for it?

It's the equivalent of leaving all of your doors unlocked and your car unlocked in a parking lot with the keys on the seat, only worse.

These three traits are so prevalent that companies like Microsoft design their operating systems to cater to them and many security software companies do the same. It seems that so many people are so lazy that bothering them with anything that takes a second or two out of their precious time, or is 'too complicated', affects sales..

Think of the USA as a computer and these lazy/apathetic/ignorant people as the ones in charge of operating the government and taking care of our security, health, and safety.... 'nuff said. So to those I'm describing, wake up, grow up, get off your arses, do your part to help keep us all safer!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Now a personal note..

Researching and writing a weekly security blog is (or was) a lot of work. When you dedicate your time and effort for the good of others you'd like to think you're making a positive difference. [I'd] like to think some people are heeding my calls for taking security more seriously and putting more effort into personal computer security awareness. Otherwise why should *I* make the effort? The responsible folks who give security the appropriate attention aren't the ones I write for (for the most part), although I did hope the security alerts I posted added some value to the readers of the Concord Monitor Online.

During the time I was actively writing the TechAlert blog I told my family (my brother and his wife & child in Florida) about it and told them to check it out. I never got any feedback good/bad about it. When asked they said they'd 'get around to it but things were hectic..'.

That was over a year (or three?) ago. Last week my niece asked me if I'd heard of something called "Internet Security 2010" and said that her mother possibly got scammed by it. I immediately recognized the typical 'generic'-type name that all the rogue (read Fake & Infected) security software programs use to fool the unaware. I did some research and found a computer help forum with specific instructions on how to remove it (and additional helpful information) then sent my niece the URL link with an offer to assist if needed. Two days later after hearing nothing I asked how it was going. My niece said the credit card company voided the transaction but the computer 'was a real mess'. To date I haven't had any request for help or advice.

A couple of things are bothersome about this.. The first thing that comes to mind is that if my sister-in-law had bothered to visit (and learn from) my blog she would have been aware of things like 'rogue security software' and hopefully not fallen for whatever scam technique she fell for. The second thing is that it doesn't appear that anything has changed despite this incident. If you don't learn how you got infected you're bound to get infected again.

Similar to STDs, if your computer habits are promiscuous and you don't know how to protect yourself you can expect trouble, and that includes infecting others. That's just plain irresponsible behavior.

So if my own family (who are otherwise highly intelligent people) don't bother to take my advice...........

Am I just wasting my time?

--------------------------------------------------------

Please don't be part of the problem. Help be part of the solution.

And remember....

Always THINK before you click!

Daggett Thanksgiving Letter - Dorothy Daggett Johnston [Nov 26, 1970]

2009-12-14T04:16:00.003-05:00

   _________________________________________
                                                             11 Farm Lane
                                                             S. Dennis, Mass 02660
                                                             Nov. 26, 1970
Dear Family,
                           Happy Thanksgiving. Here's a story of interest
to all Daggetts of the New Vineyard, Me., Marthas Vineyard, Mass,
Vinal Haven, Me., tribe.
Tristram Daggett, son of Elijah of Holmes Hole "drew his 100 acres
east of the New Vineyard Mountains near Clearwater pond.
Obtaining a back load of provisions at the settlement (Farmington)
on Sandy River he hired a settler to guide him up the mountain to
the town line, newly marked by spotted trees. Thence he traveled ax
in hand, identified his lot, made a camp by a spring, and began felling
trees. He soon brought his family to a log house.They remained there
for 3 years, then moved to West Mills.
   Tristram Daggett, as a young man, made his living from the sea at
Marthas Vineyard. He endured much suffering as a soldier in the 7th
Regiment (Mass.)Discharged June 8, 1783, with a badge of merit for
5 years faithful service. His discharge papers were signed, "G. Washington".
Parcels of land were offered by the Continental Congress to soldiers
for settling. Capt. Tristram was joined by his cousins and their families,
(Capt. Sam Daggett, Capt. Nathan Daggett, Capt. Silas Daggett) in 1793.
At this same time Daggetts left Marthas Vineyard to make a settlement
at Vynal Haven, Maine. You see, the people living on Marthas Vineyard
before the Revolutionary War were subject to severe attack by the English
who wanted to control "the best deep-water harbor on the Eastern
Sea Board".   The English pillaged the island and lived in the people's
homes and ate all their food. (In Edgartown, we saw the great fireplace
at Daggett House behind which was a secret stairway to a chamber where the
owner hid when the English red coats, or the Tory tax collector came.)
The Continental Congress, or the Mass. Bay Colony sent the Islanders no
money or soldiers for

- The Islanders never suffered Indian Raids because of the Rev.
Mayhew's missionary work.                    (*Praying Indians?)
[from Embden Days of Yore by (Wollock?)]
        ____________________________________
                                         -2-

protecting homes & livestock, so the Islanders formed their own
SeaCoast Defense, and all men served. Many Daggetts appear.
They also protected the coast of Mass & what later became Rhode Isl.
(Bristol) keeping open the sea-lanes to port of New York.
You remember that until 1691 the Elizabeth Islands (Nantucket
and Marthas Vineyard) were part of the Province of New York.
This was Kings County, Queens County (Long Isl.) and Dukes
County (Marthas Vineyard). After 1691, the Bay Colony (Mass.
got control), so after many raids, many Daggetts left their lovely
island to try their fortunes as land lubbers. To go to Vynal Haven,
makes sense, but how a sea farin' man ever managed to stay in
Franklin County, Maine, I'll never know. Mr. Gould, who writes
for "Down East" Mag. says they went because their wives were tired
of having their men folk off at sea all the time. But I think sea-
in-the-blood, stays in the blood, and as you study the saga of the
Marthas Vineyard Daggetts you will find many of the Sea Captains
returning to their island.   Of those who tried to claw out a living
in beautiful, ledgy, mountainous, New Vineyard, Maine, it appears
to have been "subsistence" living --- only one or two generations
could survive. The William Talcott Daggett farming family is one
of these. They lived out their days in Anson, Madison, Canaan,Me.,
and 3 generations later were business men. But there were many
sons & daughters in Capt. Nathan Daggetts, and Capt. Sam's &
Silas families, who quickly decided the rocky land of Maine was
not for them, and in (1800s) pioneered far west to Michigan & Wisconsin.
    This year I have found a branch of our family in Alpina, Mich.
I have pondered for years, and wondered about our family "out west".
I wrote the Postmaster of Alpina, Mich. in April 1970, and he
gave my letter to a Mrs. Francis Daggett Thompson. She was a
daughter of George (*Frank) Daggett, brother of grandfather
W. T. Daggett. She made a great effort to send letters to
granddaughters of West Daggett (and Sam Daggett), and as a
result of this
          ____________________________________
                                     -3-              P.O.332
                                                  (Thelma Daggett)
we are now in touch Mrs. Geo. Hermanson, Lewiston, Mich.
granddaughter of Sam Frank Daggett, another brother of
Wm. T. Daggett.
(Please add our new cousin, Thelma to your Xmas list. It has been
wonderful to find our family out there; and for Thelma, it is very
exciting because they have sought knowledge of "Uncle Chris
(Columbus), my grandfather (Sam Frank Daggett) and uncle
West's parents and kin for many, many years.
     We still have not located another branch of Daggett family
who went to Davidson, Wisc,    (*?), and to the Dakotas, and we
have kin in Blair, Nebraska.
       So, I think it exciting to have our ancestors beginnings on
Marthas Vineyard. My nana Daggett with all her love of history
and her patriotic fervor for the early days of our country would have
loved these many stories of whaling days, then the lucrative business
of coastal piloting.       For nana & grandpa the terribly sad
childhood of the Nathan Daggett family, New Vineyard, Me. ----
all those little children left with a young girl mother (Mary Lionell
was wed at 14) --- the young husband and his brother died in a
prison camp in Va.   (Two brothers of Mary Giles and Sam Lionell
also died (same thing) --- the farm bankrupt, the little ones went
to live with friends & relatives, and with their new stepfather, John
Davis, farmer of Canaan, Me.       Already gone out west, were
4 grandparents and 2 gr. uncles of this family --- the sons and
daughters of Capt. Nathan Daggett of Embden, Me.
Letters of love & sympathy must surely have come to Mary Lionell
Daggett, and so to uncle Jesse. The Wescott family, Colby family,
Gray family, of Daggetts, went grandpa William Daggett and his
brothers, Geo Frank, West, Columbus, Isaac, either to live
permanently or to visit. Leslie, the brother born after his father's
death, lived in Maine. He and George are buried with their mother,
in E. Skowhegan Cem.. "Leslie came often to visit his mother. He was
at work in the lumber camps of Maine". Nathan Daggett & his bride Mary
             _________________________________
                                      -4-

were also living in Wisc. briefly when 1st married.
    Another tragedy in Nana Daggett's own (Barrett) family was
that of the death of 4 little girls from diphtheria. Her mother never
got over it. The babies died in 3 days.
   It is interesting to read of the settling of land in Maine after the
Revolution, and at Sandy River Plantation families visited back
& forth across the Kennebec, & married. Transportation was by boat
to Ft. Western (Augusta) then oxcart. Corn was ground at this post,
and a man one bag on his back, one under each arm, 20 mi.. The
country was wild, "one evening while at supper, he saw through his
cabin door, a moose loping over the inter vale. He shot the moose
in it's tracks without leaving the table".   [Happy Face]
   1788 a Raising Bee was held to raise a log church, fortress at
the edge of 7 mile brook. It had no windows but port holes, and an
overhang for better protection from Indians. Called Free will Baptist
Tabernacle.   Rev. Hampton Purington (W. Bath) preached there.
   People settled here from Temple, N.H., Wollich, Wiscasset,
Georgetown, Dresden, as well as Marthas Vineyard and Rhode Island.
   Of course you will read for yourself the story of Capt. Nathan
Daggetts kidnap from Holmes Hole & his piloting the Fr. Fleet into
Yorktown Harbor, Va. --- of Capt. Seth Daggett's vessels trading
the West Indies. --- of all the mittens, sock and wigs (stocking
caps) the wife of Capt. Sam knit & sold. --- of Capt. Sylvanus
Daggett of Holmes Hole, "The only pilot ever to have beat a frigate
out over the Shoals in a head wind", --- and his brother, Leander
Daggett, who first brought a Merino sheep to the island (brought
from a wrecked ship) and 1st rubber for shoes from Belém, Brazil.
We hope our family in Michigan will come now with stories of
the overland trip, and the settling of their homes in Michigan
& Wisconsin.
        Every Daggett should get to the Island some day
        Every Daggett should go see "Daggetts rock & the old cellar
holes in Phillips, Me.   So lets tell all the little boys & little girls
the story of a stalwart family they may be proud of.

                     With love to all,          Dorothy Daggett Johnston

                                                                Nov 26 ' 1970

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Deciphering Dorothy's handwriting was not easy for me.
Also in some cases the wording just didn't make sense to me.
Due to the fact that all I have to work with is an old photocopy,
some parts just fade out of view at the bottom of the page
(like the "(Praying India..." at the bottom of the first page)
I did my best, and through research and comparison I managed
to figure out nearly everything. You might want to look at the
original first. See if you concur with my 'reading', and by
all means contact me with any suggestions or corrections!

I tried to keep the finished transcription as close to her original
handwritten letter as possible. I kept her spelling as she wrote it
as you'll notice with words like "Marthas" (Vineyard) and
also with the two different spellings if "Vynal" and "Vinal" (Haven).
Where you see a (*?) I simply couldn't understand what she
wrote/meant.
___________________________________________________
- I'm inserting scanned images of the 4 page copy I had to work with
below. If you click on the image it will open up into a full-page view.

___________________________________________________
All in all this was a wonderful learning experience.
I've wanted to do this for many years and finally I just sat
down and did it.

I hope Dorothy would like what I did and my presenting it on
the Internet to be read and appreciated by family and others.

I hope you enjoy it as well..

- Thomas Russell Daggett
________________________________________________

What next? - Then and Now

2009-11-19T17:00:00.003-05:00

Now that Bush and his gang of war profiteers are [mostly] gone, what next?

We have a new president and the majority of Americans people have finally come to their senses, so what comes after the country and much of the world breathe a big sigh of relief?

There is so much to do to repair the damage done by the previous administration we need a triage system to manage this disaster.

I don't expect president Obama to magically wave a wand and fix everything that the Bush gang screwed up. I don't expect that I'll agree with everything he does or does not do. I don't expect him to fulfill all his campaign promises. There are too many undercurrents inside the beltway that are working against Barack Obama for him to accomplish that. He has to choose his engagements carefully, trust himself, and those people whose judgment he's learned to trust over the years and start eating the elephant bite by bite.

And if that wasn't enough of a challenge, the Republicans are admittedly doing nothing but throwing roadblocks in his way and publicly hoping that he fails. For purely political reasons the Republicans are working against fixing the very mess they (for the most part) created, America be damned. The only people they care about are what remains of their base. You know, the ones who evidently have no problem with Rush Limbaugh mocking the uncontrollable movements of a beloved actor, Michael J. Fox, that are caused by Parkinson's disease.. Or the thinly veiled and at times outright racism evidenced by things like the "...Magic Negro" song. The ones who through the wars, the lies, the belligerent dictatorial actions seen and unseen, and the refusal to admit reality still thought George Bush was doing the right thing.

(Original draft date 3/9/09)
---------------------------------------------------------
- That's from a draft I just discovered.

Now, ten months into the new administration there's good news and bad news.
Some of the good news is obvious. We now have a president who is intelligent and pragmatic, progressive and engaging. A huge change from former president Bush, the ignorant, reckless, belligerent fool and the political Chickenhawks who surrounded him.

President Obama is representing our country well. He is gaining international respect for himself and for our country. He favors diplomacy over the bullying tactics of the Bush administration that turned allies into enemies (remember "You're either with us or against us"?).

He still has to prove himself over time though, and the 'guts' of a country don't automatically change when a new administration takes office. The career employees and the other branches of government are still there for the most part, and the 'legacy' placements of the previous administration can either help grease, or toss sand into the gears of a new administration.

This administration had a monumental task in front of it, and that task was compounded in those early days by a financial crisis whose magnitude had not been seen since the Great Depression.

I truly can't comprehend what kind of fortitude it took to not only withstand the pressures of those early days, but to do so with such confidence and grace. From what I've noticed, a good sense of humor must help, along with self confidence and a group of trusted advisors & friends.

Some of the bad news relates to (and stems from) the divisive culture nurtured during the Bush years. What used to be partisan wrangling has turned into rude combative obstructionism for so many of the Republican party. Add to that a racist element brought out by the election of our first black president and what we're seeing exposed is an incredibly ugly side of some Americans.

If that wasn't bad enough, irresponsible and egotistical glory-seekers like Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck (to name just a few..) are fanning the flames of racism and dissent. An entire cable network, Fox (I won't call it 'News') is engaged in a campaign against the Obama administration. Truth, honesty, or any journalistic principals don't fit into their campaign to take the small group of remaining Bush supporters (and related malcontents) and use them to further their stated goal, that being the failure of president Barack Obama and his goals to fix what Bush and his party broke.

These people have chosen to engage in personal destruction at the expense of our country's health.

Some in the Republican party have compared this to the criticism of president Bush.
How childish and how ignorant!
The same can be said about many of the 'complaints' of the Teabaggers.

The culture of intolerance and hate that's been nurtured over the past eight years has grown to a dangerous level. Irresponsible elected officials like Michelle Bachmann are actually inciting individuals and groups who might just need a slight nudge or implied blessing to move from talk to action.

As I predicted (really going out on a limb..) in my original draft, our new president hasn't fulfilled all his campaign promises. Anyone who expected him to is extremely naive. Despite the best of intentions so many things change once you take over as President of the United States.

Previously unknown facts and issues now figure into your plans.
The competence of those you chose to delegate responsibilities to figures in and isn't always positive.
A cable 'disinformation' network might spend considerable resources (and any remnants of integrity they might have left) working with your failure as their goal.

And of course every organization or group that's been held down by the previous administration expects you to work tirelessly on their cause, ignoring all other factors.

My personal disappointments have been in the area of upholding the rule of law and the oath of office. I realize that I am ignorant of so much of what President Obama has to deal with, but I believe I do have a right to expect that a solemn oath be honored. When you swear "...To protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America..." you can't just choose to ignore serious and destructive crimes, not just against the Constitution but also those that violate international laws and conventions we've signed on to. Perhaps the worst crime being the lies told to gain acceptance and support for a war resulting in so many unnecessary deaths.

When our jails and prisons are overflowing with so many people convicted of non-violent crimes (including those involving marijuana), and also those who are addicted to heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamines (who should be given treatment instead of spending huge amounts of money to 'warehouse' them), you can't simply choose to ignore that oath you took and let those from the previous administration who [allegedly] committed crimes of such magnitude and far reaching implications go unpunished.

For someone who has faced all his other challenges with confidence, to "... choose to look forward instead of backwards ...", ignoring such destructive crimes is truly unbelievable and to me makes you complicit or at the very least guilty of obstructing justice. The same goes for the decision to continue certain secretive policies of the Bush administration, and to let the telecoms who enabled the country's many intelligence agencies to [illegally] spy on innocent citizens 'get off' without prosecution.

President Obama certainly knows what kind of precedent this sets, and how it will enable and give future administration the political cover to engage in similar (or worse) misdeeds. To be complicit in or enable that flies in the face of his otherwise honorable character traits.

It's sad to think that within the legacy of President Obama, this failure to uphold the rule of law, this failure to uphold the oath of office he swore to in front of the citizens of this great country, will tarnish all of the good things he accomplished. Not because he couldn't, but because he chose not to.

Overall I'm so proud of our president and the direction he's taken our country. He represents us well and is such a welcome change after the nightmare of the previous eight years. He is certainly not perfect, nor should anyone ever expect that, but he is an honorable man trying to do his best for his country, doing so in spite of an ugly exhibition of thinly veiled and at times outright racism. His honest attempts at bipartisanship are met with scorn and hostility. Pragmatic in other areas but as yet unable to be so in this case when the good of the country and limited time demand it.

There's still time of course. Two wars, a fragile economy, and the opposition party dedicated to do nothing but obstruct whatever you try to do (and I left a *few* things out) isn't that hard to deal with is it? [\sarcasm]

Best of luck Mr. President. I'm not sure how you've kept your sanity to this point but I'm sure glad you have. The ability to suffer idiots and assholes must be a part of it, something I don't do nearly as well. They're revealing their character and you yours.

I'm proud of you sir, but please don't ignore that oath you took. That and the Constitution are more important than any one of us.

Citizens Bank What Balls You Have

2009-09-22T10:09:00.013-04:00

Of course it's not just Citizens, as many banks are similarly guilty of unbridled greed. Today was just another one of those days that brought it home to me.

I'll start by admitting that I have been lousy at managing money throughout my life. Over the past few years however I've been much better. During those previous years I must have contributed thousands of dollars in overdraft fees to the bottom line of various banks. Obviously that was entirely my fault, but the amount of the fees were and are increasingly exorbitant. Lately they're obscene.

This morning I went to Wal Mart for some groceries and more plastic storage tubs needed to pack items in before my second pest treatment (see my Endicott Dispatch blog to read about that nightmare). I spent about $97.

Meanwhile in my Citizens account(s) I was waiting for a reply to a message I sent them about what I thought was a mistake. My service fee for overdraft protection has been $3 monthly and last month I was charged $30, so I alerted them to that, expecting that $27 would be credited to my account.

I returned from shopping and logged in to my online banking account to see that my checking balance was $0.00 and my savings account was ($2.91). That means I was overdrawn by $2.91.

Then I saw that I had a message waiting for me. It stated that the fee for overdraft protection had changed from $3.00 monthly to $30.00 annually and that I'd been notified about this a couple of months ago.... Oh crap! Now I remember, the fee was actually going down and I recall being happy (and surprised) about that, but now there's no $27 credit to my account. Again, my fault, but I'm now overdrawn and my next social security deposit isn't for 10 days!

I hit "Reply" on the message from the bank and proceeded to explain my situation and asked for guidance. When I clicked "Send" a page popped up telling me that 'my session had timed out'.. No reminder warning me that this was about to happen, and besides, I was typing the whole time, why would a page 'time out' when I was actively entering text into a reply field?

Now I'm getting somewhat irritated and I fire off a message to technical support about the issue. Then I call the bank and speak with a customer rep. After explaining the situation and receiving an apology for the online problem the woman looked at my accounts and told me that I needed to deposit some money to cover the overdraft or I'd be charged $39 #^@*!%@ dollars!

Now don't forget that I have no income for 10 days when my next social security deposit arrives.. That $39 overdraft fee gets repeated until then!

All I could think of at that point was bankers partying it up at some posh resort thinking "Thank you suckers!" or some Citizens CEO getting a huge bonus and internally smirking while thinking about how their industry just got bailed out by the government (tax payers).

I'm not sure if I even want to watch the upcoming hearings where they'll be questioned about these overdraft fees. The greed and arrogance of these people seems to have no bounds. Any contrition voiced by them can't be taken seriously due to their continued arrogant behavior since the last time they were called to testify.

The whole situation is a farce, as is the 'debate' on health care reform. The majority of the population gets screwed by the corporations and most of our elected representatives support them while their re-election coffers are fattened in the process.

I have no problem with paying a penalty when I screw up. I do however have a problem when that penalty is milked over and over as a one teat on a cash cow.

What I Want To See From The Media & My Thoughts So Far

2009-07-24T09:37:00.009-04:00

Here's what I'd like to see from the news media regarding the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates:

A timeline of the event.
An explanation by legal experts of the laws pertinent in this situation.
Nationally recognized experts in the field of police standards and training.

At the moment my thoughts are that most of the statements I've seen so far are emotional knee-jerk reactions.

I didn't take President Obama's statement as a condemnation of the entire Cambridge Police Department as the the president of the Cambridge Police Patrol Officer's Association claimed. That seems to me to be a defensive mischaracterization of the president's remarks.

The demeanor of the officers that responded is more important than that of Mr. Gates. I believe that police officers are trained to remain calm and deal 'professionally' with subjects even if they're confronted with insults and the like.

It is nevertheless always a good idea and mature behavior for someone in professor Gates' position to also act respectfully. That's easier said than done of course, but as for the police it's essential to remain calm to diffuse and de-escalate a situation.

I always pause when I hear the head of an organization say that they will conduct an 'internal investigation' on one of their own, especially after taking a defensive stance as the Cambridge police have. An independent inquiry should be undertaken to eliminate the question of bias.

Finally, I have a feeling that most if not all the parties in this incident will at some point look back and have second thoughts about their statements and their behavior.

At least I hope they do..

I just re-read my "About Me" (then looked at the date of my last post..)

2009-07-20T04:43:00.004-04:00

Well.... it was accurate when I wrote it!

As far as my blog for "blogsNH" (Concord Monitor Online) goes I should tell you that I stopped for personal/health reasons, and since then I've hesitated resuming for multiple reasons.

I have less energy because of some of the medications I'm taking.

Preaching responsible security can seem like an exercise in futility much of the time. I was spending a great deal of time and energy providing what could be a valuable service for readers and getting little to no feedback from either readers or the paper in return. A few fellow bloggers showed support but at the end of the day I can't justify the effort vs. energy spent.

The Monitor wasn't nearly as progressive as they could be. At that time they didn't even allow comments, and they still don't have live links to contact the reporter.

Too many of the articles (online) are poorly written. So many are brief blurbs leaving out most of the pertinent facts. It's like posting a headline and lead without any details, or showing a photograph without the cutline..

The blog software is clunky and all too often the communication with the Monitor personnel took too long. In addition to that, the contact person seemed to have some kind of relationship with a conservative right-wing group/podcast.

Finally, I simply don't like being associated with some of the more frequent bloggers there.
Nothing 'personal' towards them as people, and maybe it's me, but as a volunteer service as opposed to the responsibility of a professional position it's a choice I've made.

I do feel that the Concord Monitor Online is getting better and I hope that trend continues, albeit at a much more rapid pace. Perhaps loading up the blogsNH section with in-house sports blogs isn't fair to the citizen bloggers (despite my personal tastes/feelings). Having a separate section for Monitor employee blogs would be more appropriate, or maybe just expanding the space for blog headlines so that the sports blogs aren't all that readers see. That has frequently been the case lately.

I also feel that not having a dedicated contact person/supervisor for the blogs was an issue I noticed. My contact was splitting his time between various duties and that resulted in a lack of timely communication and probably less dedication towards improvements and innovation.

There are so many examples on the web of engaging site design and progressive staff enlisting reader and citizen participation in blogs, citizen journalism and reader commentary. But without management behind the scenes willing and able to let go of outdated thinking and bringing in some of the outstanding progressive professionals to replace those who perhaps aren't able to migrate into the new paradigm.

I'm certainly no expert but I think any unbiased assessment of Concord Monitor Online would conclude that there's a great deal of room for improvement.

This is one of those big historical shifts in technology and lifestyle affecting a wide range of industries. If those industries don't adapt, or are too slow to adapt, they will be left behind and die off.

As for me? I will keep going forward and see what each day brings. When I have the energy and motivation to write I will write.

I don't want to leave this existence not having made a positive difference. Unfortunately I have a great many negative actions in my past that I need to make up for, so since then I've tried to learn and grow as a human being, progressing on the road towards enlightenment.

I've isolated myself since then and need to change that now. Fighting the self-loathing and embarrassment I wallowed in for the last twenty years and learning to forgive myself is a challenge but essential. The prospect of living alone until I die is untenable. Finding a woman who has the intelligence, understanding, patience, and humor to share my life with is a similar challenge but also essential.

Wish me luck and positive thoughts OK? I'll be posting here and over at my other blog The Endicott Dispatch more frequently [again].

Insanity, Irresponsibility, Hypocrisy, and Complicity

2009-04-09T23:27:00.012-04:00

In the news today an "alleged" drunk driver ran a red light and killed a young pitcher in the prime of his life. After the sadness and some outrage nothing will change. This kind of thing happens every day and it's tolerated.

Yet the same people responsible for creating and enforcing laws in this country are dead-set against marijuana, even for medicinal use.

That's crazy hypocrisy.

Now I just watched William Cohan on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart explaining in very simple terms the insanely flimsy and 'hard to believe it's legal' foundation for Bear Stearns business model and the reason for it's collapse.

This is the first time I've heard about how this crazy system works. On all of the news programs, all of the political blogs, through all the political campaigns over the past twenty years I have never had an inkling of the insane system that the investment banking and hedge funds operate under.

That's crazy enough, but the thought of hundreds of Billions of taxpayer dollars being given to this same system (and many of the same people) to prop it up is the height of insanity and irresponsibility!

I think that if the people of this nation/world truly realized how they were being used to prop up this house of cards they would revolt.. and why don't they know?

Isn't that the job of journalism?

And why are our elected representatives part of the problem?

Some Random Thoughts Roaming My Mind

2009-03-19T19:13:00.013-04:00

[Sorry about the screwy formatting (grrr), but I'm 'wicked tired' and I've got to eat something..]

1. People are frustrated by all this taxpayer $$ flying out the door and having no control.

2. The credit society most people live in got them (and the lending institutions) into very bad
unsustainable habits.

3. The Bush administration reinforced #2 by committing our forces to a war where the
American people were purposely kept disengaged (no 'war tax' etc.. "War? What war.
Mistakes? No mistakes here..").

Going from a balanced budget and a surplus to Trillion-dollar deficit spending under Bush.
'Heck of a job George...'.

3a. 'Due diligence'.... There was little to no 'due diligence' (except maybe to protecting
"secrets") over the entire Bush administration's tenure.

4. Current frustrations include millionaire financial misfits getting rewarded despite
the fact that they helped create the mess.

- And as far as I'm concerned, there is no place in a responsible society for
failure to be rewarded.

5. This bailout money is corporate welfare.
Ask any social worker about the restrictions imposed if you take public assistance.

I'm sure it's a culture shock and a rude awakening to these millionaire executives to have to
show restraint and contrition. To suddenly be answerable to the people who have to bail their
sorry incompetent asses out when they've gotten used to answering to no one except a chosen few.

Most people that have jobs work hard and many pay their bills on time, only to see their
retirement accounts wiped out or drastically deflated while top executives get their
'golden parachutes' and rewarding failure with 'performance bonuses'.

They see billions literally thrown at companies* owned by friends of Bush/Cheney. Billions
more thrown to corrupt foreign governments/officials and terrorist organizations.
They see inexperienced political appointees given the job of 'overseeing' critical programs
including spending in Iraq.
Instead of appointing the most competent people to government positions, neophytes whose
primary qualifications are party loyalty and monetary contributions to that same party
were chosen.

Crimes and mismanagement were covered up by over-reaching "secrecy" policies

Between the corruption here at home, and the corruption in many of the foreign
governments that we provide[d] money to, what percent actually got to where it was
supposed to? (We can't tell because too many of the people responsible for that were either
incompetent or complicit themselves!)

- Now picture yourself as President Obama [voluntarily] stepping into this huge
disaster created by seven years of Bush/Cheney and the republican majority (and *some*
democrats).

You can't possibly accomplish anything by yourself (other than by example and leadership)
so you have to delegate much of it to others, some of whom will undoubtedly mess some
things up.

Being a man of courage class and honor he takes ultimate responsibility for his errors and
those in his administration who make mistakes (as opposed to 'having faith in them' but
taking no responsibility and never admitting to any mistakes [as the previous administration
did]).

If most people were truthful and honest with themselves, they'd have to admit that
(were they in President Obama's shoes) they would have either snapped under the pressure
or be looking for some form of escape via medication or heavy drinking.

To Obama's credit, he appears to be holding up fairly well and providing
leadership amidst all the turmoil surrounding him.

He needs to reign in some of his closest advisers though. Rahm Emanuel and others are
making his job harder at the moment.

Don't forget the Republican party (what's left of it), led by a hateful radio commentator (one
of many) who are acting like juvenile delinquents and doing absolutely nothing to help their
constituents by standing in the way of everything President Obama and Congress try to get
done.

America needs their help, and they're hoping for (and contributing to) *our*
failure.

- Picture President Obama trying to scale a wall (holding America's future and
well-being) while other Americans (mainly Republicans) throw crap on him and
try to saw off the bottom of the ladder instead of helping him get up the wall.

And despite all this you will still find far too many people leaving comments on progressive
web sites [and others] being hypercritical, and saying things like "If Bush and Cheney were
back in the White House everything would be just fine.". (Kool-Aid withdrawal/accepting
reality must be very hard for some )

*Some of whom provided sub-standard services, some that put the health and safety of our troops at risk, some that killed innocent civilians, alienating potential allies, some that
basically sanctioned rape of their own employees, and almost all of them protected from
criminal penalties by the administration who considered itself 'untouchable'.

Leo Laporte's daughter going to her Senior Prom..

2008-05-28T06:20:00.006-04:00

As soon as I heard Leo mention (on his TWiT [This Week in Tech] podcast I think) the fact that his daughter was going to her senior prom, my thoughts immediately went to this image* of the two of them that I saved from the 'TechTV' days.

I think Leo's got a couple of great kids, and they have a great dad.

* It's been 'altered' with various effects like Paint.

Earth To Bush Administration.. No More! No Torture. No Exceptions.

2008-03-19T16:40:00.010-04:00

This article in The Washington Monthly is about the use of torture by the US and seeks to end the "debate" about it's use, effectiveness, effects on those who engage in it and those who experience it, and the effects on the United States, it's allies and it's adversaries.

The article has links to 37 (if I counted correctly) individual articles on this subject by contributors like Jimmy Carter, Wesley Clark, Peter Bergen, Lee H. Hamilton & Thomas H. Kean, Chris Dodd, Kenneth M. Duberstein & Richard Armitage, Bob Barr, and Chuck Hagel.

I was alerted to it through Wesley Clark's newsletter. I think he put it well where he wrote:

"Torture is illegal, ineffective, and morally wrong. The United States has signed numerous treaties condemning torture and abjuring its practice. Those treaties are the law of the land. And, yes, waterboarding is torture: in the past, we convicted and punished foreign nationals for torture by waterboarding. There are no legal loopholes permitting torture in "exceptional cases." After all, those were the same excuses used by the torturers we once condemned.[...]"
(bold emphasis mine)
(The rest of Wesley Clark's article can be read on this page at The Washington Monthly)

I think it's a sad state of affairs that this issue is even considered "debatable". Too many people mixing the fiction of TV shows like "24" with reality, and in some cases the main stream media contributing to that confusion.

Reality and what's 'right' aren't factors that the Bush administration seem to consider. Morality is not an issue. And I don't think any group of notables, no matter how distinguished or how right they are, will change the course of this administration. Especially in the short time left.

In the scary proposition that somehow McCain was elected President, I'm not at all sure if much would change for the better. I'd like to think that [he] would change the policy on torture, but as far as the 'my way or nothing' belligerent attitude of our current foreign policy, and towards the legislative branch (so long as it has a Democratic majority), I have serious doubts.

I don't see that being *much* of a possibility, but Bush did get elected twice..

Let us all work towards a Democratic victory in the fall, then the work can begin in earnest repairing the Constitution and the rule of law, our international reputation, the health of our military, the health of our economy, and so much more.

Other things high on my wish list are things like refocusing our "representatives" attention on their individual constituents and limiting the influence of lobbyists. And speaking of 'health', how about the health of [all of] our citizens!

Take some time and read the individual articles, then think (and work) towards a time in the not so distant future where ideals like those of the authors can be our common reality and not something from the past.

A .PDF file containing all the individual articles is available for download on the page containing the main article "No More - No Torture. No Exceptions.", along with individual links [along the left side of the page] .

*Image used above is from The Washington Monthly article.

ALERT: This Program Steals Your Login Credentials!

2008-03-12T05:10:00.008-04:00

I just read this article by Robert Vamosi over at Webware.com about programmer Dustin Brooks who discovered that the program "G-Archiver" sends the login credentials of everyone who signs up for the program to the email account of it's author John Terry.

Brooks was looking for a program to back up his Gmail account when he discovered G-Archiver.

"He signed up for a program called G-Archiver distributed by Mate Media of Miami, Fla. Brooks says that after installing the program, it didn't do all he was looking for so he decided to reverse engineer the source code using a program called Reflector for .Net.

Inside the source code Brooks found the program author's e-mail address and account password for Gmail. Thinking that was a little strange, Brooks used the hardcoded information to open John Terry's Gmail account. There, Brooks alleges he found 1,777 messages, all of which had username and passwords for people who signed up for the G-Archiver, including his own. In other words, whenever anyone signed up for the program, as Brooks had, a copy of his or her username and password was sent to John Terry's Gmail account.

Hardcoding e-mail addresses isn't new. In a presentation at Black Hat D.C. 2008 a few weeks ago, researchers Nitesh Dhanjani and Billy Rios reported that phishing site creators frequently hardcode e-mail addresses into the code in order to receive copies of the personal information submitted independent of where the Web form is being sent."

You can read the rest over at Webware.com, but I have to say that reading this makes me wonder what other programs out there do this. It certainly makes an argument for Open-Source software. Being the healthy skeptic and cautious person that I am, I've wondered about this in the past. The only thing protecting most customers is the reputation of the company/author, and inquisitive (and skilled) people like Dustin Brooks.

My Best Friend in 1963

2008-02-15T16:30:00.004-05:00

Pepsi, daughter of Taffy. Maybe close to a year old in this picture. The Pilgrim Fellowship group at Dad's church in Monterey named her. The Tryons raised beautiful Golden Retrievers, and I think we picked the best of the litter.

Something's Different

2008-01-31T22:10:00.001-05:00

Yes, I finally changed over to the new template. I decided to mirror my other blog's appearance. As I find the time I'll add more links and some different page elements.

I've been trying to concentrate on my BlogsNH blog "TechAlert", and I've got a new post there called "Parents And Kids 'Growing Up Online'". If you haven't seen the PBS - Frontline program "Growing Up Online" you should, especially if you have kids still in school.

I've been concentrating on computer security and other tech-related stuff lately and avoiding politics as much as I can, so that's one of the main reasons the posts here have been sparse.
One of the other reasons is the topic of my latest post over at The Endicott Dispatch.

The nature of campaign politics and the way it being covered by most of the media turns me off.
I'm counting the days until this group of criminals is out of the White House and we can start to repair the damage they've done.

As that time gets closer I'll have more to say. In the mean time, my posts here might change from the political rants to other topics...Inside Tom's Brain.

Who Knew? (probably everyone but me....)

2008-01-15T09:28:00.001-05:00

In news relating to "Daggett's", brought to my attention via my "Daggett" Google News Alerts and The Pueblo Chieftain Online:

------------------------------------------------------------

TIN MEN

On Saturday, get out your can opener and give thanks for the brainchild of Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett. On this date in 1825, the men obtained a patent for the process of storing food in tin cans. And all the beans lived happily ever after.

------------------------------------------------------------

Aside from the lead poisoning associated with the solder, this was really significant.

And I'm really thankful that my parents named me Thomas and not Ezra!

After Tomorrow

2008-01-07T21:45:00.000-05:00

Things will be quieting down here in New Hampshire (until November).

For me (and my neighbors here at the Endicott Hotel on Main St. Concord) that means figuratively and literally. Over the past several days (since the Iowa Caucus) the political supporters have been out on the streets like I've never experienced since I moved here in 1979.

The morning of the Iowa Caucus I was awakened by someone beating a snare drum out front. I assume it was a Ron Paul supporter as they were the only ones out that day. It was a frigid day but sunny, and the Paul faithful were out en masse here in Concord.
Since then it's been crazy and noisy, starting around 8 AM and lasting all day long. Horns honking, sometimes blaring all the way down Main Street, groups of supporters chanting or yelling, sometimes to cars going by, other times at each other.

As I said, I've never seen enthusiasm like this here in Concord before the primary, or before the general election. Despite the noise I think it's great to see so many (mostly younger) people out participating in the political process and working for their candidate.

Much of this enthusiasm is undoubtedly due to the unprecedented failure of President Bush and the 'torturous' last seven years. The combination of an unnecessary war that many were fooled into supporting until the truth became evident, an unduly secretive and deceptive President and Vice President, seemingly endless scandals in the Republican party, and a Republican leadership that either looked the other way or was complicit in a plan to dominate and marginalize the opposing party, all the while rubber stamping everything the President asked for, whether legal or not.
-and-
With the price of oil and gasoline tripling, real estate in trouble, the NSA allowed to spy on Americans uncontrolled, billions of dollars spent in Iraq but unnaccounted for, New Orleans neglected, incompetant political appointees heading critical agencies, the Justice Department politicized, and much of the rest of the world now fearful and wondering how far down the road to crazytown Bush will drive the war wagon. Oh, and I almost forgot the disregard and obvious contempt for the Constitution, the Geneva Convention, and the rule of law in general as it pertains to Bush's imperial presidency, and the disdain for the poor and the social programs that help them, not to mention the neglect of the veterans that Bush needlessly sent into harms way. Is it any wonder that there is this massive call for change?

As I've heard others say, the President promised to unite the country. Of course it didn't happen the way he said it would (did anything?), but in the end he succeeded in uniting 80% of the country in opposition to him and his failed policies.

After all that has happened over the past seven years, why would any sane, caring person even consider voting for another Republican?

My Favorite Holiday Card

2007-12-24T22:56:00.000-05:00

The title of this card is "Frozen Thung", and inside it says
"Hathy Holidayth".

The first thing I like is that it looks a bit like I did back when I was a little kid.
The other thing is his resemblance to the younger brother in the classic Christmas movie "A Christmas Story" who also froze his tongue to a metal pole. The only thing missing are the kids gathered around him laughing.

So here's to wishing everyone "Hathy Holidayth"!

Here's the info from the back of the card (with my comments added):

Contemporary American Photographers

Photograph [Copyright] 1994 Joe Lampi (<- This guy is good)
Dublin Productions (<- really neat site w/ Flash, check out the photos)
Frothen Thung
[Copyright] Palm Press, Inc. 1995 (<- Interesting cards)
1442A Walnut Street #120
Berkeley, California 94709

Holiday Thoughts on Christmas Eve

2007-12-24T20:57:00.000-05:00

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.

I'm celebrating a traditional but solitary New England Christmas here in New Hampshire, missing my father greatly but recalling wonderful Christmas memories from childhood.

The traditional reading of "The Night Before Christmas" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", remembering how hard it was to get to sleep on Christmas eve listening for any faint sound that might actually be Santa on the roof, and the rush of anticipation in my belly keeping me awake 'till I finally drifted off to sleep. Then waking up early on Christmas morning, wondering if it's too early to wake mom and dad to get the day started, feeling like it's taking them forever while they make their coffee and have a bit of breakfast before finally gathering around the tree to see if your wishes had been answered by Santa.

I'm also thinking of all the people who might not be having a 'merry' Christmas for whatever reason, including those not able to be with their loved ones for the holidays and those who can't afford to get their kids what they've been asking for the past year. And most recently, the employees who have found themselves suddenly without their jobs just before Christmas.

To many of those folks, remember that there are people out there who care, and tomorrow's always a new day.
And as my father would always say to me when times were tough, "this too shall pass", then he'd remind me to "keep smiling".

Bless you Dad.
And bless all of you, one and all..

Critical Question For Candidates

2007-12-20T18:05:00.000-05:00

Knowing the history of the Presidency regarding the unwillingness to give up presidential powers once their predecessors have gained them (despite how they gained them and whether they're constitutional or not), I think it's imperative that the current candidates for the presidency are asked whether they will reverse the "questionable" powers that Bush has claimed since becoming President. Especially if he's not impeached as he rightfully should be.

If Bush isn't impeached, (as I've stated before) a terrible precedent will have been set on many levels for future Presidents. Candidates need to be on the record (not that that matters anymore) saying that if elected they will renounce the unconstitutional claims of presidential privilege the Bush administration has stubbornly held to since 9/11, clearly and unconditionally.

Instead of the mostly asinine questions asked of candidates, we must ask this one and other critical topics! Electing a president has rarely had so much at stake for the future of our country as this one. If we're not able to reverse the downward decline this president and the majority of the Republican party have "led" us into we will have completely lost the honored position as respected and envied leader of the free world.

Not only thoughtful and respectable people in this country, but people all over the world are waiting to see what happens after the debacle of the Bush presidency is over.

The direction the President has taken us, compounded by the severe lack of representation of the citizenry by Congress in favor of big business interests (and their own) will lead to our downfall eventually. It's surely not what our founders put into place so thoughtfully.
As a matter of fact it's starting to resemble what they rebelled against all those years ago.

Tonight's Countdown [Without] Keith Olbermann

2007-12-17T20:32:00.000-05:00

Just a few thoughts regarding tonight's show.
First of all, of all the people who sub for Keith when he's off Allison Stewart is in my opinion the best. That said, I need to say something about tonight's discussion concerning former President Clinton's "roll the dice" comment from the Charlie Rose show.

I don't understand the questioning of what Clinton's statement 'meant'. It's plain to me that it meant that Hillary is a fairly well known commodity with a good deal of experience, as are the other candidates, except for Barack Obama. It's simply a matter of experience. Now I understand that political journalists like to read 'between the lines' and divine "the real meaning" of statements like this, and sometimes that's necessary, and sometimes the journalists are correct, but sometimes 'a cigar is just a cigar'.

"Roll the dice" means gambling, taking a chance. And to elect someone with a limited amount of experience, even when they have a lot of good ideas and are charismatic, is a calculated risk. Is it not?
In some ways you could say that voting for any of the candidates is a gamble. We've seen too many politicians take stances and vote on issues that oppose what the majority of their constituents want, and in some instances are in direct conflict with the oath they swore to when elected (you know, "To protect and defend the Constitution..."?).

There's no doubt that Hillary's campaign has encountered some bumps in the road, and being almost dead even in the latest polls has undoubtedly made them anxious to draw distinctions between her and Barack Obama. That major distinction is experience. They'd both be a welcome change from what this country and the world has painfully experienced over the past seven years, and are both head and shoulders above anyone running for the Republican party.

Now the idea that Bill Clinton was doing anything other than being truthful when he said that "Obama is a person of enormous talent". I didn't read that as "damning him with fake praise" as it was characterized by Allison and Howard Fineman. And I think Clinton characterized the rest of the field of candidates correctly when he said that all but Obama had a long and fairly extensive history of foreign policy and legislative experience.
I think the same thing. The first time I heard Barack Obama speak he amazed me by how much sense he made and how well he communicated. So much of what he says reflects the same way I feel about many issues. In some ways he has characteristics that none of the other candidates do, and part of that [I think] comes from not being part of the Washington scene for too long. But as far as other (meaning the good) aspects of experience go, he just hasn't had the time or the experience(s).

As for David Gregory's questioning of Hillary Clinton regarding the quote, he clearly interpreted it negatively as simply a 'dig' and not as a simple [political] way to make the distinction between Hillary and Barack Obama. He could have phrased it differently, but competitive politics isn't a case of being as nice to your opponents as you can. These days that was being [relatively] nice!
The questioning by Gregory had the odor of another try for a 'gotcha' moment from a member of the press as opposed to unbiased critical questioning of a candidate and Hillary didn't oblige him.
I truly miss Theresa Heinz Kerry and her forthright and unabashed responses to questions like that. I'd like to think that she would have responded by saying "My husband said it, why aren't you asking him?".

The press can often be so petty.

PS, Allison's comments about Michael Jackson almost made me snort water out my nose!

Crazy For The Holidays

2007-12-12T08:14:00.000-05:00

I plead guilty to neglecting this blog recently.
A few of the reasons are here:

1. Sometimes I just get overwhelmed by the magnitude of scandals, dirty tricks, self-serving talking heads, and election coverage that treats it like a game or spectator sport. Bush and his gang lie with impunity, and right-wing water carriers are still lugging their bilge water.

2. Meanwhile my ADD addled brain is jumping from the holidays, to increased seasonal depression, to a new blog for the Concord Monitor Online's "blogsNH" that I'm about to start. Add to that an upstairs neighbor who walks like Frankenstein, shaking this 100 year old former hotel, a new management company for us who looks to be doing it on the cheap, and the second year of being without my dear old Dad and wanting to move back to Western Mass to be close to my mother who is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's.

When it gets really bad I remember my father's words of wisdom (not that he came up with this, but..) "This too shall pass", and one of his favorites "Smile a lot".

So that's what I'm trying to keep in mind this winter as I do my best to keep all the balls in the air. And if I drop one, rest assured that I'll bend down and pick it up, and toss it back up in the air with the rest as soon as I can.

Troubled times only make the good times that much sweeter to savor.

And remember to "Smile a lot".

A Comment On Comments

2007-11-26T16:53:00.002-05:00

I leave comments from time to time, mostly on political sites like ThinkProgress,The Huffington Post, Crooks and Liars, ~~Firedoglake~~ **, and TalkingPointsMemo. I'm not quite sure of what this says about me, but so many of the comments I read are either nonsensical, poorly thought out, mis-spelled, childish, or off-topic. Many are varied combinations of that list.

Now I'm certainly not immune to some of this either, but in my defense I've gotten better since I started using WordWeb, some other writing aids like an additional thesaurus (Mobysaurus Thesaurus), the web site Answers.com, and many others. And the best aid of all, taking my time and re-reading my thoughts before clicking "Post".

I know some of this is unfortunately the way many younger people are communicating these days. No capital letters, no punctuation, etc.. And then there's the fact that just because you have a computer, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're educated (or course there are some people that aren't 'educated' but are plenty smart).

I hope this doesn't come across as conceited or anything like that. My formal education ended after high school (and later in life one year of photography school). And to call that an 'education' is being generous. During high school (in the seventies) I was a rocker and a serious partier. I spent most of my time playing the drums with a local band, smoking pot, and drinking beer. But somewhere in there, mostly before and after that part of my life I read a lot. It also helped that my parents were highly intelligent graduates of Colby College and my mother quickly corrected me whenever I mis-spoke.
I'm far from perfect, and I prove it often, but I try to take the time and steps necessary to minimize that fact when I leave comments.

Nowadays I deal with chronic depression, ADD, and severe anxiety, all of which conspire to make writing and thinking clearly a difficult process. I guess that in some ways that forces me to be more careful about what I write and how I write it. And sometimes when I don't put the effort into it I let things go that I'd otherwise spend more time on. The end result being writing that I'm less than proud of, and usually exhibits itself towards the end of whatever I'm writing as my attention and energy fade. My writing is far from perfect, but at least I make the effort to make it understandable.

I assume that this happens to others also. The reasons for thoughtless (or 'less than thoughtful') comments are many, but the reasons for poorly spelled comments aren't. There are typos, which are easily remedied by simply re-reading before posting. Then there are many people who can't spell, which is almost as easily remedied by using one of the hundreds of spell-checking utilities available that underline the mis-spelled words for you.

Then there are the comments that seem to have been written by aliens, some of which actually were written by people from other countries who don't have a good command of english, and others that seem to have come from some beings that are not of this world.
The former is understandable, but there are many that fall into the latter category, undecipherable by the best translators. They're the ones that leave you thinking, HUH?

It's a tossup as to which is more maddening, the inane comments that people pull out of their butts, or the fact that some people are so lazy that they won't bother to use a simple spelling utility that could at least allow them to fake it and not look so stoopid.

These days with all the blogs, forums, and comments sections, most of which are solely print-based, you have to take extra care to make sure your thoughts are conveyed clearly. There are no facial clues or voice inflections for others to notice and thereby access your true feelings or the actual meaning of your comment as opposed to what they think you meant.

I haven't touched on THE PEOPLE WHO FEEL THEY HAVE TO WRITE EVERYTHING IN ALL CAPS, JUST SO...__________________(fill in the blank).
Most veterans of internet forums and such know that this is considered 'yelling' and is bad form, but with more and more new people coming online with computers everyday and joining the world wide conversation there are just so many that haven't learned the proper etiquette, let alone bother to use proper english or spelling. Some know better and do it anyway.

I haven't mentioned 'trolls' either. Those who 'troll' the comments sections of web sites looking to engage in arguments with people that don't share their point of view, and some who purposely go there to derail the legitimate discussion. The reasons are many. These days the small but vocal minority of 'loyal Bushies' seem to be everywhere standing up for their hero, the facts be damned. Among those there are also the religious zealots, well-meaning and otherwise.

I'm finding myself less and less prone to even read the comments sections these days. I am finding some sites that seem to have a more thoughtful and less fanatical commentary but I don't know how to avoid the lazy posts with the typos, et al.
Maybe at a site like PoynterOnline.

I've 'replied' to people's comments from time to time, politely mentioning how easy and helpful spelling assist utilities are, but they're usually met with the 'spelling nazi' reply or some other defensive retort so I don't bother anymore.

I wish it didn't bother me as much. I'd blame my mother, but it's not her fault. I'm glad for her guidance. I feel sorry for those whose parents aren't good role models. I know all to many. Unfortunately ignorance usually breeds ignorance as I'm sure many teachers would agree. The exceptions are wonderful to see and are to be encouraged. But this trend towards 'no rules writing' is bad. I've had people tell me that "it's just the way kids are communicating these days", as if there was nothing that could be done to change it.

It's bad for the future of increased online interaction and bad for accurate communication where all you have to go by are written words.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to re-read my post. I could really use an editor to help me with that, but for now I'll have to muddle through as best I can.

*Did I mention the ones who overuse the bold highlighting feature?
** Edited on 2/21/2011 4:50 PM: Added strikethrough because of the recent distasteful and unprofessional behavior of Jane Hamsher on Twitter.

Disgusting "comments" at Military.com

2007-11-23T16:49:00.000-05:00

I followed a link from the Military.com newsletter to an article about an award-winning AP photographer from Iraq who's been 'detained' and imprisoned without charges for 19 months.

After reading the article I went to check out the comments (Join the Discussion) and was disturbed and disgusted by what I read.
(Because the URL is so long for the comments/discussion page here's a shortened URL http://tinyurl.com/295q3o .)

I suggest you read the article, then the comments, and judge for yourself...

Here are some examples from the "discussion":

-------------------------------------------
"I can't believe it took us this long to capture him. Doesn't surprise me at all."
-------------------------------------------
"Just an AP photographer? Hell, I think nearly the whole lot at AP is a cheering section for the terrorists."
---------------------------------------------
quote:
Originally posted by 67NOV:
Just an AP photographer? Hell, I think nearly the whole lot at AP is a cheering section for the terrorists.

"You and me both Sir."
---------------------------------------------
"Michelle Malkin has links to the pictures he's taken... all of insurgent activity, apparently without any fear on his part. If he isn't collaborating with them I'll eat my hat."
--------------------------------------------
"About time the military starts investigating all of this so called "journalists"

First AP,next CNN and finally Aljazeera "
--------------------------------------------
"Well, I've been wrong before, but I think burying this turd in a holr with his head sticking up and letting locals stone the head would probably be a good idea. I'm just old-fashioned like that."
--------------------------------------------
"Well, when you serve, maybe you'll think differently about those who are Terrorists. Enjoy being Protected by others"
--------------------------------------------

- And when someone posted a dissenting view, here's what some wrote:

"Actually, What is laughable,... no it's more like pathetic is all the clueless mouth diarrhea from liberals on this site."
-------------------------------------------- Followed by:

"LMAO, good show, sir. I will buy you a beer for that one. BeerGulp, ahhh.....the beer is nice and cold."
--------------------------------------------
"A corporation will stand behind it's employee regardless of the scurrilousness of the employee only to protect their own image.

We probably have tons of terrorists who have infiltrated many businesses in the U.S. ready to strike. Many others have lawn services.

I am sure the U.S. military wouldn't make these claims without substantial evidence. Of course he is probably photographing military operations and smuggling it to the insurgency in his nose. Can you imagine how many volumes of micro file you can stuff in that jobaruby?

Yikes so that is where all the air is going."
-------------------------------------------
"GEEEEEEEZ! The article states they're going to turn the AP photographer guy over to the Iraq authorities in a few days, so what are all these libs crying about!

Remember, that AP photographer isn't an American and isn't in the USA, he's in a foreign country. Things work differently over there and when under arrest you don't have any rights over there. So if they want to lock the guy up and never let him out, shut him up, or torture him to with in an inch of his life to find out what he knows....... well, that's just how it goes. That's how they do it over there. The guy is a terrorist and his efforts have no doubt cost others their lives, so......... this guy is getting what he deserves, whether you agree with it or not."
------------------------------------------

- There's more, but that's enough to give you the general flavor. As I said, only one person showed any sense of decency (and respect for the rule of law) and supported the AP photographer.

The feeling I got when reading these comments was that they could have been written by those who committed the atrocities at Abu Ghraib. The absolute lack of humanity and the disregard for human rights goes against what I thought the US military stood for and has spent blood protecting.

I have to wonder how prevalent is this ignorant and malevolent attitude in our servicemen and women?

Is this some of what you get when you send people to fight and die in an asymmetric war?

Is it what happens to soldiers when they see their comrades get blown up daily by fighters who look just like the ones they're there to protect?

Does it come from bad leadership?

Just where in hell do these comments come from?

C|NET - Download.com -- Are you confused?

2007-11-23T15:00:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when I (successfully?) log in to Download.com.

As you can see, I'm logged in and it displayed my user name
(Welcome back, "trdaggett"). And if you look at the bottom it also says "Sorry, the identifier/password combination you've entered is invalid.".

I just sent another issue 'comment' to CNET about the ongoing login issues. I've been registered with CNET and ZDNet for years, and it seems like nearly every time I go to log in something like this happens. They don't screw up my email
address though, I get everything I've signed up for.

After I finished sending the support comment, it presented me with a page that went something like this; 'We think you requested information on Limewire...'.
I wish I'd taken a screenshot of it. It obviously parsed my comment and made a guess as to the content....badly. Nowhere did I mention Limewire or anything remotely similar.

In the second screen grab you see it shows all the different requests that "NoScript" detected.
For those who don't know about it NoScript is a Firefox 'extension' that blocks Java scripting in web pages until I 'allow' it. It's perhaps the most valuable add-on available and protects me from malicious scripting exploits.
Everyone should use it unless you're a security freak and are using another method.
The author Giorgio Maone is to be congratulated and deserves all the donations we can send!
------------------------------------
Now back to CNET, I don't know what causes this/these issues, I'm thinking that it might have something to do with all the different scripts running on their pages, and all the different browsers and combinations of security ware and add-ons people use. But it's not like I'm using an obscure browser or shouldn't be using an excellent security extension like NoScript.
Obviously something is screwed up, and usually the more things you have going on inside a web page, the better the chance for conflicts.
As an end-user, I don't care. All I want is a web page that works. And guess what happens if an end-user has trouble every time they try to log in? -- Adios until you get it straight.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, But...

2007-11-22T06:56:00.000-05:00

But, remember the indigenous peoples who don't share the same feelings. Their experience was entirely different from the English settlers. For one group it was the beginning, the other the beginning of the end.

I have mixed feelings about the day as my family was to follow these pilgrims path in 1630 when the Winthrop Fleet brought them to the shores of Massachusetts. I hate to think that Daggetts or Purintons (or any settlers for that matter) were in any part responsible for the downfall and destruction of the local tribes' way of life. Of course they were, in the most basic sense by being part of a group of people who thought that they had a right to 'settle' on someone else's land. I'd like to think that they were at least cognizant of that fact, and were possibly ones who at least tried to have a mutually beneficial relationship.

These days those issues aren't what most people think about on Thanksgiving day. Come to think of it, on the original Thanksgiving most were thinking of themselves and the fortunes of their group and little of the people whose lives and lands they would eventually dispossess.

This Thanksgiving while we are giving thanks for family and friends, the bountiful feast, and the fellowship of the day, it would be good to give some thought to those whose lives were irrevocably changed by our forefathers. I certainly will.

The News From A True Citizen Journalist In Iraq

2007-11-12T15:34:00.000-05:00

When I hear talking heads commenting on how the surge is working, and how the media isn't covering any of the good news from 'Eye-rack' (what the hell is so hard to pronounce?), my head wants to explode in frustration. So desperate to be vindicated in some way for their support of this devastating war, yet unable to produce any tangible (and believable) evidence themselves, they continue to live in a bubble of denial.

I wonder how they'd feel if they had to live in Iraq (outside the Green Zone), or if they were the manager of this clinic cited in a book by Dahr Jamail called "Beyond the Green Zone - Dispatches From an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq" that I just read about over at Firedoglake:

"The boxes of medical supplies we brought into the clinic were torn open immediately by desperate doctors. A woman entered, slapping her chest and face, and wailing as her husband carried in the dying body of her little boy. Blood was trickling off one of his arms, which dangled out of his father’s arms. Thus began my witnessing of an endless stream of women and children who had been shot by the U.S. soldiers and were now being raced into the dirty clinic, the cars speeding over the curb out front, and weeping family members carriying in their wounded."

"Standing near the ambulance in frustration, Maki [the manager of the clinic] told us, They (U.S. soldiers) shot the ambulance and they shot the driver after they checked his car, and knew he was carrying nothing. Then they shot him. And then they shot the ambulance. And now I have no ambulance to evacuate more than twenty wounded people.[...]"

Gee, I didn't hear about this on the news either.

Those have to be some thick bubbles these people are hiding in.

Lets make two lists, one with the 'good' news, the other with the bad. If you survive to complete the first part you'll already have a jump on the second.

And a large part of it depends on your perspective. How much good news do you have to report if you're one of the 2+ million displaced Iraqis? Probably more than if you're still living in Baghdad. How much good news do you think Maki has to report?

It seems that the only ones reporting "good news" are the officers who still support Bush, or the ones that know from experience that anything other than good news will put you on the fast track to "retirement". Oh, and Fox'ers.

More Ineptitude On Bush's Watch

2007-11-11T20:04:00.000-05:00

I just finished the New York Times article "Death of Spy Satellite Program".

I wonder how many billions of dollars have been wasted due to the lack of oversight, mis-management, and corruption in the past seven years of George Bush (and Republican domination). At least in this case they know how much was lost, but between Katrina and Iraq there are billions completely unaccounted for.

Bush Opts For Time Off Rather Than Honor Veterans

2007-11-11T17:37:00.000-05:00

I'm not surprised that president Bush is down in Texas spending most of the day at his ranch on a day that America honors it veterans. Despite his brief appearance at a Veterans' Day speech in Waco Texas, he plans to veto $3.5 billion for veteran's benefits Democrats had to insert into the latest defense appropriations bill.

When it comes to honoring military veterans all he gives them is lip service, but today he's barely making the effort to do that. It seems that he thinks of them as a great backdrop for a speech, or as fodder in his neocon approach to international relations, but not enough to spend a whole day honoring them publicly.

As our military is currently overstretched, overworked, underpaid, and under-rested, he's well rested, under worked, and overpaid.
Bush is not even trying to appear interested in the welfare or the sacrifices of those who served our nation.

If Bush wants to truly honor our veterans he should start by keeping them out of unnecessary wars, providing them with adequate equipment when deployed, giving them the required time between deployments, and taking care of (and fully funding) all their medical/psychological needs.

To me this says about all you need to know about what George Bush thinks of those who wear the military uniform (and actually serve).

Tough Questioning From Tim Russert. Too Bad It's To The Wrong man

2007-10-28T10:51:00.000-04:00

Tim Russert is interviewing Presidential candidate Chris Dodd on Meet the Press and he's asking him "Do you believe the troops have died in vain?". After slightly dodging the question by giving the 'political' answer, Russert again pressed him "But answer that question, all that loss for what, what did they die for?".

As soon as I heard that question, and how forcefully it was asked my thoughts shot back to Russert's numerous sessions with Vice President Cheney. I seem to recall those were mostly congenial affairs with Tim smiling and avoiding the tough questioning like I'm hearing today.
Why won't he ask the man most responsible for the war and it's thousands of dead the same damn question? And in the same tone.

Sure, Russert framed the question referring to a quote Dodd made the other day, "All that loss, for what?",which is an excellent question that should be honestly answered by Cheney and President Bush, but what stopped Russert from asking Cheney that same question when he's had the chance? He's had Cheney on his show multiple times since the beginning of the "war".

And if/when Cheney gives him the same 'political' reply only in a much more sanctimonious way as he does so well, would Mr. Russert pursue an answer in the same way? We would hope so, but I seriously doubt it. Maybe Russert is afraid that Cheney would somehow choke him with his mind.

If you think about it, that could be closer to the truth than you know.

Mika Brzezinski's at it again on MSNBC's "Morning Joe"

2007-10-26T12:22:00.000-04:00

Mika Brzezinski's at it again on MSNBC's "Morning Joe", spreading FUD and assisting the administration and the terrorists with her coverage of shoes found with blasting caps in the hollowed out heels. What she fails to also mention which would add a little bit of context to the viewer's understanding of the issue are the news reports citing a report that states airport screeners "failed to spot 70% of the knives, 30% of the guns and 60% of the dummy explosives carried by secret investigators in the months after September 11."

This recent catch, despite how it was hyped, is nothing new and barely 'news'. I'm trying to figure out if it was 'filler' for the show, TV 'hype', or intentional right-wing FUD. Maybe I'm being overly cynical, but either way you slice it the story was poorly done. News should be about getting stories to the viewers with little to no personal bias evident, putting the issue in the correct context, and providing the basic who - where - when - why - and how of the story. Even those basics are woefully missing from so much of the 'news' we see these days in the main stream media.

Newspapers and online news sites do a much better job of covering these basics but there's no good reason that twenty four hour news channels can't do the same if they chose to. I don't want to hear the same old excuse that blames the attention span of the 'average viewer'. That might be partially true, but only because they've been trained that way by the very same institutions that use this as an excuse.

News shouldn't be presented the same way advertising is. Maybe the marketing industry's techniques have been co-opted by the big media owners for news coverage, filtering down to the producers over time but the end result is a shorter attention span of the average viewer and diminishing the end product, which should be news that educates the viewer rather than just entertaining them or lazily parroting the talking points the White House sends out.

It has contributed to the 'dumbing-down' of viewers and to a certain extent contributed to our country being misled into supporting the Iraq quagmire.

[Edited for clarity on 10/27/07 1:15 PM]

Impending War with Iran - What The White House Doesn't Want You To Know

2007-10-25T11:51:00.000-04:00

I just came across this article over at Crooks and Liars. If you haven't already read about this you need to and so do your friends. Please pass it around.

Few labs can test 'dirty bomb' exposure - Yahoo! News

2007-10-25T08:53:00.001-04:00

The way this administration talks you'd think they were on top of things like this, but unfortunately that's all it is -- talk. Just a superficial sugar coating (that's what the main stream media "reports"), with a dank dangerous filling. (The following is a clip from the article with a link to the full story below) - TRD

By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The U.S. has a shortage of laboratories to test the thousands of people who might be exposed to radiation if a "dirty bomb" detonated in a major city, according to a recent congressional investigation.

The federal government established 15 disaster scenarios for federal, state and local officials to plan for, including one in which a dirty bomb goes off in a major downtown area and potentially exposes 100,000 people to radioactive materials.

A dirty bomb would contain some radioactive material that could cause contamination over a limited area but not create actual nuclear explosions. Should this happen in real life, the nation would not be able to quickly conduct tests for these people, because there are few labs capable of doing so in the country; and the tests available only address six of the 13 radiological isotopes that would likely be used in a dirty bomb, according to the report prepared for the House Committee on Science and Technology. Instead, it would take four years to complete all these tests, according to the report to be released Thursday.

"I had hoped since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that our government had smart people lying awake at 3 o'clock in the morning, trying to think through everything that terrorists could be dreaming of, every kind of attack they could be dreaming of, and trying to think of ways to prevent it and to respond to it if it does happen," said Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C. "Learning how poorly prepared we are for a dirty bomb, a radiological attack, makes me think that that's not happened."

Miller is chairman of the subcommittee holding a hearing on the report's findings.

The report acknowledges that this type of dirty-bomb scenario would probably not cause massive casualties, but Miller said four years is too long to wait for results of whether people are contaminated.

"I can't imagine a parent, who is told that their child can be tested for cesium in two-and-a-half more years, is going to be reassured to hear that their child probably won't die," Miller said.

- Article continues... (follow link below)

Source: Few labs can test 'dirty bomb' exposure - Yahoo! News

Think Progress » Gonzales may face criminal charges.

2007-10-22T06:30:00.000-04:00

Think Progress » Gonzales may face criminal charges.: "Gonzales may face criminal charges. At a speech on Friday, ousted U.S. attorney John McKay revealed that the “U.S. Inspector General may recommend criminal prosecution of departed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at the conclusion of an investigation, possibly as early as next month.”"

---------------------------------------------

I've seen all too many "may"s in the press lately concerning the prosecution of crimes committed by members of President Bush's administration.

I want to read a headline telling me that any/all of these crooks are facing imminent criminal prosecution.

Think of the precedent it will set if the multitudes of crimes committed by members of this administration go unpunished.

When someone like John Dean states that the apparent crimes of the current administration have gone beyond what even Nixon's committed, and that the members of Bush's crimino-political administration have gone mostly unpunished for, and others like Bruce Fein and Jonathan Turley speak about the multiple abuses of power and Presidential authority, I can't understand why the heck so little is being done to address those criminal acts and bring those responsible to justice so that it will be less likely to be repeated in the future.

To me, the failure of Congress (for one) to effectively redress these crimes is a bit like a mother in denial of a child's criminal activity. It's easier to be in denial, otherwise you have to do the hard work of dealing with the problem.

Democratic (and Republican) leaders, you need to grow up and do not what's necessarily best for you, but what is right, and what is best for our country, our rule of law, and our future!

CNN's Miles O'Brien vs. "An Inconvenient Truth"

2007-10-20T22:23:00.000-04:00

UPDATE: Upon further reflection, I was too harsh in condemning the whole program because of the items I mentioned. On the whole it did make the argument that the best thing to do is be aware of the issues involved and address them sooner rather than later.

If done correctly, the negative aspects of doing what's necessary can be minimized, and the transition into what are evolved and much healthier industries can work for all those concerned.

It's always difficult to see the necessity for change from within.
People's livelihoods are at stake and that's threatening if not seen in the right context. It's part of the evolution of humanity, and as we learn more, certain industries have to change or put at risk the health of the earth itself, but it cannot be denied without making the problems worse. I'm thinking of industries like logging, fishing, and energy where sustainability over the long term is necessary. The earth is remarkably tolerant and adaptable, but only to a certain extent. We need to work towards eliminating those who would carelessly squander it's resources for temporary profit in favor of those with wisdom who will intelligently use what resources we have in a measured and responsible way.

When I think of the process working correctly, I think of some of the most 'primitive' cultures, and how they only use what's necessary, aren't wasteful, and protect their resources carefully for future generations.

If you think about it, who are the real "savages"?

---------------------------------- Original Post ->

The first thing I noticed was the purposeful error CNN made in their show description of "Keeping them Honest", and no despite the humorous and disingenuous title of the show, I'm talking about the way they quoted the name of Al Gore's film "The Inconvenient Truth" instead of it's actual name "An Inconvenient Truth" and later "Inconvenient Truth". Small difference, maybe, but that was just the beginning. Not quite the same thing as when Fox "News" identifies Republicans as Democrats when they get into trouble, but in the same vein of subtle subconscious attempts to effect the viewer.

Not too different from that was Miles' claim that "many scientists disagree..." with the conclusions drawn by the film about Global Warming. No Miles, the only way that statement would be true is if you said "many scientists on the fringes of the scientific community who work for energy companies and the Bush administration disagree...". (edit 10/26/07)

Wow, as far as we've come lately in coming to terms with the fact that we as humans have altered the earth's climate to the degree that we need to change our behavior and move away from burning fossil fuels, and on comes Miles O'Brien and CNN insinuating that it's not true and Al Gore and the vast majority of independent (and respected) scientists are just alarmists. Quite a public service you're doing there CNN, way to shill for the deniers.

And as for Miles O'Brien, well this doesn't surprise me a bit, but it is disappointing that instead of being on the side of humanity and common sense, you're working to aid those who would have us remain ignorant in favor of corporate profits.

I expect this kind of propaganda from Fox, now "The Most Trusted Name in News" has joined "Fair and Balanced" as examples of the antithesis of 'truth in advertising'. If this is CNN and Miles O'Brien's idea of "Keeping Them Honest", I'll pass.

A sad day indeed, but expect more and more of this as a result of the FCC ruling that allowed so few big media companies to control so many media outlets. If it wasn't for the internet (and the ethical portion of print journalists, PBS' Bill Moyers, and a scant few in the MSM like Keith Olbermann) providing a door through the propaganda machine, their control over the perceived 'reality' would be complete.

How long has it been like this?

2007-10-19T09:44:00.000-04:00

In our country we're supposed to be represented by politicians we choose locally to be our 'voice' in Washington DC. When did that end?

I don't recall any news advising us that what we want doesn't matter anymore. As far as I know our representatives still claim to listen to and represent our concerns, especially while they're running for office. But recent events prove otherwise.

Now I'm not referring to my own state of New Hampshire in this case, but the fact that 80% of Americans favored the passage of the recent "SCHIP" legislation that the president vetoed, that should have been overturned if the people's representatives truly represented their constituents.

The same holds true regarding many other issues. The "war"*, impeachment, domestic spying, retroactive immunity for Telcos, universal health care, and others where the majority of the American people aren't seeing their wishes translated into votes.

In so many ways it's like the 2006 elections and the mandate for change that was so evident never happened. The majority changed hands, and there was so much optimism that all the excesses, corruption, and back room deals were, if not over, substantially reduced.

We're seemingly left with nothing but the power to organize and attempt to replace them, but is that really a solution? There is so much institutional corruption inherent in the way the entire government works, especially these days that even fresh faces won't help. They're ineffective and repressed if they try to change the status quo, and the only way to get anywhere is to conform to the culture and the demands of the entrenched leaders.

I don't want to hear that it's always been like this, or that we don't understand how things work and that we have to trust them to do what's best. That's a huge load of bull.

Sure there are many valid considerations that go into legislation and oversight that most Americans don't usually think about or even know about, but that's not the point in this case. This failure to overturn the President's heartless veto directly contradicts of the clear wishes of the majority of the American public, and that's just plain wrong.

I send the political action emails to my state reps (that I write myself if given the option), and I get neat little form emails back thanking me for my thoughts, but does it do any good?
Are they effective? Sometimes I wonder, are they even read?
In this case it appears the answer is a resounding no!

And what does that teach people who are trying to be good citizens, trying to make a positive difference by letting their elected representatives know how they feel about certain issues?

Our "leader" says he issues vetoes "just to be relevant".
If that isn't the most asinine and irresponsible statement by a President of the United States in living memory I don't know what is**.

* It's called war, but I define loosely it as some form of military action against different adversaries where people are needlessly dying.
** And Bush has made many worthy of consideration.

Thanks Keith Olbermann, kind of..

2007-10-16T20:45:00.000-04:00

It's obvious that you are trying to dissuade those who would confront you personally, which I can completely understand. There certainly enough examples of crazies taking things too far, noting recently that Michelle Malkin went to the home of 12 year old Graeme Frost. And not to be ignored are the malevolent threats posted on the internet sites. There's a big difference though, you aren't an elected official. Congressman Knollenberg is.

But in the case of activist Bruce Fealk you came very close to tossing at least part of him (maybe just his foot?) under the proverbial bus. I got the impression that your personal fear colored part of tonight's piece. Absolutely nothing in the video shown on your show was illegal. You should have investigated that aspect and made it clear. The visit to the politician's home as I understand it was done in 'good humor' (with ice cream offered), and the 'fear' alleged by his wife and their neighbors is completely manufactured.

Politicians might not like dealing with their constituents face to face, but really that's too bad. And when they're out in public as they were in this video they shouldn't expect any form of 'privacy' or just happy contented citizens praising them.

That's not the real world, and that's part of the big problem we're fighting, especially these days. All too many politicians try to live (and legislate) in a separate reality. It's been that way forever to a certain extent, but over the last seven years the Republican Party has brought it to a whole new (and unconstitutional) level, and it has no place in a representational Democracy. Peaceful dissent is a right and a responsibility of a conscientious citizenry isn't it? I believe that you might even find something written about it in a recently 'crumpled' piece of parchment kept in Washington, DC. called the Constitution.
(The actual wording is quite a bit more forceful than mine if I recall correctly.)

You work for a news network (well, partially at least) whose reporters and photographers stake out and intrude on people's lives whether they're politicians or not.

Political activists, doing their patriotic duty as citizens obviously need to act within the bounds of the law, and hopefully in a polite and legal manner (which Bruce Fealk appears to have done), and if they stray beyond that point they should expect the consequences.

If I knock on someone's door and politely ask them directions and they claim 'assault', it's not my fault that they over-reacted. I don't believe there's any law prohibiting citizens from going to their elected representatives homes to ask questions is there? It's not something that I personally would do or advocate except as a last resort, but if otherwise denied, political activists maybe should, and I think the Founders of this great nation would agree!

You can plainly see what kind of staff controls access to Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and I commend Bruce Fealk for maintaining his civility during this exchange. It can't be easy trying to have a civil discussion in the face of such a apoplectic response from Trent Wisecup (the person controlling access to the congressman).

In a perfect world the politicians would have nothing but happy contented constituents, but in the real world citizens with serious questions have every right, and really the obligation to speak directly with their elected representatives, and when you deny them that [belligerently] and your chief of staff calls those who ask the hard, legitimate questions "un-american" and worse, some of the more 'active' activists might actually go to their home with a video camera trying to ask them the questions they were denied asking earlier. And I realize that Mr. Fealk was at the congressman's home prior to this on-camera incident, but he also had prior run-ins with Trent Wisecup, and as you noted, the staff had a meeting deciding to 'confront' Mr. fealk for being a terrible 'un-american political activist' who dared to ask pointed questions!

But in closing, tonight you chose the safer path, and in so doing strayed from your usual confrontational 'Truth to Power' discourse which so many of us admire.

This is one case in which I will not be tolerant!

2007-10-13T11:57:00.000-04:00

- This is a copy of a comment I just posted over at Think Progress(.org) :

I just made the mistake of following the link over to Redstate….
Amazingly I made it most of the way down the first page.

Most of the comments read like they were written by dangerous psychopaths. Some of the comments border on threatening violence and hate speech, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if some of them would actually act out their hatred if given the opportunity.
This is not covered under ‘freedom of speech’ and they should realize that.

On the right there was a link to “Conservatives are more tolerant that lefties”, and to the left of that was nothing but comments filled with intolerance and hate.

The nastiness and venom is so thick there, but it’s worth remembering that their actual numbers are thankfully small and closed, as are their minds. That does not mean that it’s to be tolerated or accepted. Decent people have the obligation to say “We don’t accept this, this is wrong!” as loudly and forcefully as we can.

We will prevail in the long run, but not by tolerating this kind of malevolence.
This is one case in which I will not be tolerant!

Comment by TRDaggett — October 13, 2007 @ 11:51 am

Chris Matthews, Alan Greenspan, and Keith Olbermann

2007-10-11T19:56:00.000-04:00

Watching Chris Matthews tonight, I couldn't help but be embarrassed for him. He melted like a pad of warm butter all over Alan Greenspan. As I see it, this is one of Chris' major flaws. He seems so personally awed by so many of the major players in and around Washington he exhibits no professional distance in his interviews. It's more like he's interviewing his best friend each time, and god forbid he ask them a hard question that would endanger their personal relationship. He's "embedded" himself in the Washington scene far too long and has lost almost all of his impartiality.

Even when talking about someone like president Bush, who's record of failure should speak for itself, he's stated how much 'respect he has for the man'. Sometimes when Chris says things like that it almost makes my head spin around and I think, did he really just say that?

What's equally weird are the times when he really seems to be back within the bounds of reality. Sure, if you're honest with yourself your feelings can change about certain things as you grow and learn, but as I've watched Chris over the years it appears depending on the day, his mood, or something unknown [to me] that he'll be on opposite sides of the issue.
It's like there's two separate Chris Matthews, one voice coming from his head and the other coming from his heart.

Now regarding Greenspan's comments tonight about how social security should ultimately be 'fixed', he says that cutting entitlements will have to be done.

Now I'm currently "living" on a single social security disability payment each month, similar to what retirees with no other source of income do (I have no 'assets' whatsoever).
I'm just trying to think about what they're supposed to do if their benefits are reduced.
Barely above the poverty line as it is, there is no way that they should have to even contemplate trying to get by on less than they already have, especially when the rich are getting richer (and growing in numbers). Greenspan's cold assessment doesn't include those factors it seems.

They seemed to dance around the fact that one of the major factors in the equation is the massive profits the HMOs and pharmaceutical companies suck out of the system, made worse by raising their rates far above the rate of inflation. The subject about reigning in that major problem is rarely mentioned, and when it is, the agents of the health care lobby (and their partners on strategic government committees) come to their rescue.

The way our government runs these days is shameful. Sure lobbyists aren't new or inherently bad, but the balance is so tilted to one side now that the public's 'representatives' don't work for them, but in many cases look to be working directly against them, giving much too much weight to the upper class and major business interests. And although there are some wonderful, caring people included in this upper class, all too many seem to live by the motto "I've got mine, if you can't get here by yourself, too bad" (or "Sucks to be you!")

When I try to distill this in my head and relate it to the Democrats and Republicans, the Democrats lean towards helping their fellow Americans who are in need, and the Republicans lean towards helping only themselves, and only those who share their philosophy (and wealth). And this attitude has been 'distilled' over the past seven years by the man and administration who promised to "unite" the country.

And briefly, I want to get into my feelings about why someone who I admire greatly, namely Keith Olbermann, is so reticent to say anything relating to some other members of the media's comments, especially (but not solely) in the case of Chris Matthews, "My good friend".

I hope he does speak up at least privately behind the scenes. I know he has to work with him, and it's unreasonable for me to expect absolute honesty from Keith in this particular situation, but from what I've seen of Keith's character, and the 'special comments' that are so right-on, he must cringe [inside] at some of the inane statements and positions Matthews has come out with. And to speak out against comments others in the media have made, as he does regularly (and rightly so), then neglect those made by his "good friend" is less than I expect (even if it is unreasonable) from the conscientious professional I admire.

The other night after the Republican debate Chris was his usual manic (rude?) self interrupting Keith and not taking time to hear the points Keith was making in favor of his point, whatever that was.. I got the feeling that even his good friend was testing his patience at that point.

So often Chris' interviews are more like an interrogation than an interview.
Chris calls it "Hardball", but all too often it's just him rudely pushing his own twisted philosophy down the throats of his 'guests'.

What makes me shake my head is every once in a while he acts perfectly normal, reasonable and courteous. Seriously, it makes me think he needs medication. I wonder what psychiatrists think when they watch his show?

Not the way I wanted to start my day

2007-10-10T18:31:00.000-04:00

It started like most of my days start, waking up from a strange dream, and although this one had some new characters starring in it, it was disturbing. On the other hand, it was interesting to see some old high school friends again!

A bit groggy, I got on with my business and soon was out the door on my way to the grocery store about a block away to exchange some pork that had gone 'green' before it's expiration date.

On the way there I took my usual shortcut through an alley behind a bar-restaurant that's on the ground floor of my building. I had some junk mail to get rid of and our dumpster is back there in it's new spot since the brand-new parking garage was built by the city.
Right next to the dumpster is a new set of concrete stairs (in fact the whole back area is brand new concrete), and smack dab in the middle of the stairs was the remnants of a french roll and it's contents, which included some kind of yellowish goopy sauce spread all over the top step.

Now it's not the first time there's been a mess left around the dumpster. Between the mess left behind from the driver emptying the dumpster every morning, the hundreds of cigarette butts scattered around, and anything that doesn't quite make it into the dumpster when the restaurant's employees dump their trash (and the occasional mess from people walking through the area), it gets to be quite nasty at times. Of course nobody seems to want to take responsibility for cleaning it.

Well I made an assumption that this was most likely left by an employee of the restaurant, so I went back to see if the manager/owner was available to speak with (I saw that one of their cars was there). I went in and was told by the young waitress there that she thought "they both just took off together", so I explained the situation. Immediately she started in with an attitude "how do you know it's from us?", she asked with a nasty tone. From there it went downhill.. I tried to remain polite and stated that I'd been in the service (including food) industry for many of my 50 years and it looked in my professional opinion that it most likely came from their place.
"Your professional opinion,huh?" she said snarkilly (sp?), at which point I went to leave, and told her that I could really do without her 'attitude'.

Ten minutes later when I returned from the store the owner was outside smoking a cigarette and had already been briefed by the waitress I spoke to earlier.

We spoke for a while, and I was trying to ease her defensive attitude while getting my point across. It ended by me saying hopefully that "I'd much rather make friends that enemies" and that we all need to work together.

When I got back to my apartment my blood pressure was way up there and figured that the best way to settle down was to write about the situation. I'm not sure of the best way to approach her and her husband with the following thoughts, but I do hope they will be taken in the spirit I intended.

The whole situation needs to be straightened out as to who is responsible for keeping the area clean, is it the city, the management company for the building, the dumpster company, who?

As it stands now nobody is, except for mother nature, who did a wonderful job the other night when a heavy rain swept way all the butts and lobster claws, etc..

Here are my thoughts as far as the bar (and employees in general) goes:
--------------------------------------------------------------
Reminder to managers and owners of a business:

Employees (with the management setting a good example) when confronted with a pushy or rude customer, or with undesirable people inside or outside of their place of business should always be polite. Even in the face of idiots and extremely rude and obnoxious people, they have to maintain a polite (and firm when necessary) and professional disposition.

If you've ever seen the movie "Road House", Patrick Swayze (the 'cooler') stresses that fact forcefully. "Be nice..!".

It's also been one of the basic rules of [good] management since the beginning.

I know that in most places it's an inside joke "sure the customer's 'always' right" or something like that. We know that the saying means that even though someone's wrong, in the long run it's always best for the business to be nice even when they aren't.

When your employees [aren't] 'nice' it's bad for your reputation and ultimately bad for your bottom line.

If there's an ongoing situation, like having an apartment building directly above your establishment* and some of the residents** are creating problems, the solution is not for your employees to be rude and confrontational to them, but deal with the apartment management.
Hopefully they will act professionally in kind and address of the issue(s).

But the bottom line is, for the best outcome everyone should work together (professionally) to resolve the problem.
Once 'attitudes' enter the mix things usually go downhill fast and little to nothing gets accomplished.

Most of this is old-fashioned common sense, learned the hard way, from experience.
People aren't perfect, and very little is black or white in this world, but being polite always pays in the long run (and personally it has always made me feel better afterwards, as opposed to a nasty confrontation).

Thank you.

*As in the case of the "Green Martini".
**Many of whom have psychiatric issues.

Afghanistan: Turning Success into Failure

2007-10-05T18:10:00.000-04:00

Afghanistan: Turning Success into Failure:
(FYI: You can find this quote in the "Think Fast" section towards the bottom of the page.)

"Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) has launched an online petition asking conservatives to 'band together' and 'stand with Rush Limbaugh against liberal attacks.'"

Which leads me to say to them, if you're going to 'stand' with Rush, better wear your waders and bring a clothespin for your nose, although they all seem to rather enjoy the smell of Rushcrap.

Q: I try not to look at the Rush too closely, are his eyes brown by any chance?

The Democratic Party | Children's Health: Overturn the Veto

2007-10-05T13:16:00.000-04:00

The Democratic Party | Children's Health: Overturn the Veto: "If we can get 2/3 of Congress to stand up to President Bush, we can overturn his veto on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program—a program that provides health insurance for millions of kids. We need your help to get those votes. Use the tool to the right to contact your members of Congress and tell them to reject Bush and fight for children."

Here's a copy of the letter I sent:

Dear Sirs,

In your hearts you all know the right thing to do. As my subject line says "Please don't let politics get in the way", and I sincerely hope that every one of you will put the divisive politics of the past aside and help over-ride this unconscionable veto by President Bush.

The folks that this will help already have enough to worry about. They shouldn't have to avoid taking their children to the doctor because they can't afford it, and the children shouldn't be caught in the middle.

What does it say when we're spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a 'military action', billions of which can't even be accounted for, and neglect the needs of our children and poor.
Thank you. I know you'll do what's right.

Sincerely,

TR Daggett
------------------------------------------------
Please help to get the Presidents veto overturned. Go to this web site and send your own letter to your state's representatives, and remember to be concise and polite.

Media Matters - Contact Your Local Limbaugh Station

2007-10-03T21:21:00.000-04:00

Media Matters - Contact Your Local Limbaugh Station

People with a sense of decency and truth need to stand up to the lies and disgusting contempt for any viewpoint other than his own that Rush Limbaugh displays daily on his radio show.

Contact your local stations that continue to carry Limbaugh's verbal diarrhea and let them know that enough is enough.

Like Bush and other chickenhawks, Limbaugh didn't have the guts to serve his country and has again falsely attacked the patriotism of decorated war heroes and those serving presently in Iraq who don't share his blind obedience to a failed policy.

There IS a line of acceptable behavior and Limbaugh repeatedly crosses it, and the radio stations who continue to provide a platform for his disgusting and dishonest rhetoric need to know that they and the advertisers are 'enabling' it and will pay a price if they to allow it to continue.

Think Progress » Kristol’s Dark Humor: Bush’s ‘Heartless Assault On Our Children’ Is ‘A Good Idea’

2007-09-30T21:00:00.000-04:00

Think Progress » Kristol’s Dark Humor: Bush’s ‘Heartless Assault On Our Children’ Is ‘A Good Idea’

What a low-life Republican scumbag Bill Kristol is. He's right down there with Bush and Cheney.
This kind of disgusting rhetoric plainly shows what kind of people Kristol and Bush are.

The only “pathetic” part of this story is that an editor of a major national publication (The Weekly Standard) would dare say such a thing.

And there's this gem, “You really wonder how stupid they think the American people are”.
Well Bill, they're stupid enough to have believed anything this administration has ever said, they're stupid enough to have voted for Bush, TWICE, and besides that Bush (&Co) is the king of using soldiers and children as props to enhance his propaganda photo-ops!

And oh yeah, some 'Americans' are stupid enough to actually pay money to read your magazine.

You g-damned POS! (There's some 'straight talk' for ya)

Shame!

2007-09-21T07:06:00.000-04:00

Dispute it. Prove that it's not true, or let it go. Our [representatives?] sat on their hands while 'Swiftboat' and other similar ads flat out lied about honorable men who served with distinction and sacrificed parts of their body in service to their country.

Compare that with an ad that is honest and reflects the feelings of many Americans.
We feel that Gen. Petraeus betrayed his country by knowingly lying to Congess.
He doesn't deserve to be treated deferentially after such a display of dishonesty!
If he had come and given his honest assessment it would have been different, but as predicted he chose to do the president's dirty work.

He chose politics over honor and honesty, and for that he got called on it.

Now 22 democrats (and even Gen. Wesley Clark!) think it was wrong. They say this ad, so much more than the disgusting ads lying about Kerry and Max Cleland deserves to be denounced by Congress?

Why? Please explain yourselves. Especially the 22 democrats!
Why this ad and not the truly offensive ones of the past?

I'm disgusted by this display of hypocrisy and will not vote for anyone who voted "yea", period.

Mika Brzezinski, don't slant the facts!

2007-09-20T06:06:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting here watching MSNBC [Morning Joe] at 6 AM and here's how Mika Brzezinski characterized
last night's vote "on capital hill now, a major blow to Democrats after senate Republicans blocked a bill to give US troops more time at home between deployments. The proposal largely seen as a Democratic attempt to challenge president Bush's war policy fell four votes short of the sixty needed to cut off debate... ".

"largely seen as a Democratic attempt to challenge president Bush's war policy"... excuse me?
and
"a major blow to Democrats"? How about a major blow to our overextended troops instead?

By that you're saying that this wasn't a bill about trying to save our military from unending tours wringing the last blood and sweat from our service men and women and sending them home in many cases broken in mind and body? No, to you this is all about the Democrats trying to stick it to the president, eh? You are as twisted as Chris Mathews. You've spent most of your life in the Washington scene, both of you, and you are much too close to the players in this disaster called the Bush presidency.

Your characterization of the Democratic effort to get our troops some much needed rest is a slap in the face to our service members who have suffered while the media (like you) perpetuate the
president's fraud!

And while I'm at it, the morning after one of Keith Olbermann's special comments I heard you utter "chill out..." after playing a clip.
NO, Keith shouldn't "chill out", he's the only one of you who has the character and guts to say [on prime time TV] what the majority of Americans are saying, and the rest need to hear.
You are part of the problem that allowed the fraud leading up to the war to become public perception, and that led us to commit our troops and ultimately to the deaths of close to four thousand of them.

Now you're still at it. Turn around what you said and you're closer to the truth.

And I'm not naive, I realize that politics are involved, but the bottom line of the bill was to aid our troops, and instead of saying that, you chose to perpetuate the Republican fraud and mislead your viewers, the 'fraud' being that Democrats don't support the troops, which is a flat out LIE and you know it!

2007-09-20T04:33:00.000-04:00

After last night's vote, any Republican who claims to support the troops and who voted against the Webb amendment is a bald-faced liar. And I fully expect each and every one of them to be called on it.

Think of it this way, if the military was a automobile, the Republicans and the president have stolen it and are driving the military/auto on it's rims and the engine is about to blow up because it being driven so hard for so long.

Q: Why were they allowed to steal the car?

Truthdig - Interviews - Jeremy Scahill on Soldiers of Fortune

2007-09-18T05:47:00.001-04:00

The MSM doesn't talk about this nearly enough, if at all. I'll bet my life that the majority of Americans don't have any idea that this is going on. The number of private soldiers, how much they're getting paid (by the US taxpayers) and how they don't have to play by the same rules as our military troops also Blackwater's close relationship with the administration. Face it, war is good for their business!

This is INSANE. [We] have to stop this. And I'll say it again, the ones with the keys to stopping this runaway bus are the Republicans. If it wasn't for the majority of Republicans voting with the president every time the Democrats put together bills trying to change course in Iraq, we could start to find the least disastrous way to withdraw from this quagmire.

Every death in this war is on the Bush supporters heads .

Link to Truthdig - Interviews - Jeremy Scahill on Soldiers of Fortune

New "Furl" entries I posted today

2007-09-17T05:31:00.000-04:00

I'm currently in the process of reading the news and posting links and comments to news items that I need to comment on. The last one I just did was about Tony Snow getting defensive with Suzanne Malveaux. I'm not done, so there should be more to come, I just wanted to leave a post pointing to [my] latest Furl additions.

Wish me luck, my brain seems slower than usual, and searching for the correct words is painfully slow this AM.

Streams currently running...(ITB)

2007-09-14T01:37:00.000-04:00

Number one, Novartis cut me out of their [$5 copay] assistance program with absolutely no warning so I haven't been able to take my Ritalin for around a month and I have no idea how to come up with the $300+ Wal-Mart wants for 100 pills.
Novartis is demanding that I provide a 'refusal letter' from Medicare part-D (which I can't afford) for them to continue providing assistance (in stark contrast to Novartis ads and those of the Prescription Assistance people [with the bus and the TV personality/shill for the drug companies Montel Williams]).
I find it interesting how their stated income limit (in the letter) is exactly the amount I get each month from Social Security...

Update: The real 'prescription assistance' people (the wonderful women at my local hospital) tell me that drug companies stopping their assistance with no warning has become commonplace lately!
Since the Bush administration gave drug companies the 'gift' of "Medicare Part-D" legislation it's been used as an excuse to drop needy patients while BS'ing the public with misleading advertisements. THIS is the culture that Bush&Co brought to Washington DC!

On a side note, yesterday on CNBC I heard them talking about Novartis and how they were in a 'good position' because they still have a number of years before many of their products go 'generic'.
I always thought that because Ritalin has been around for so long that it was available as a generic but not so. It wasn't until asking the price of Ritalin [without] the 'co-pay' assistance I found out that there still is no generic equivalent!

Q: Is it even 'legal' to cut someone off from their medication(s) with absolutely no warning?
Shouldn't there be a 60-90 day notification of some sort?
I need some advice on the subject but can't afford it, and I don't know of any local legal advocate service for the poor here in Concord, NH (even though Franklin Pierce Law School is right here in town).

I live on a single Social Security Disability payment each month and my only semi-asset is the 2000 Toyota Camry that was my father's until he passed away last April, so I live on the 'edge' of disaster constantly.

Recently I went without my [2] blood pressure meds for around 3 weeks because I couldn't afford the $8 they cost at Wal-Mart. You see by the first week of each month I'm almost out of money, so if my meds run out during the mid-to latter part of the month I'm 'SOL'.

Not having Ritalin manifests itself in a number of ways, and the main thing is motivation and being able to focus on one thing at a time (for a meaningful period of time). I've done more sitting in my chair watching TV [lately] with the PC three feet away and having absolutely no desire to make the effort to get up and use it.
I never noticed the effect while I was taking Ritalin, but after the first day without it all I felt like doing was sleeping. Then as the days went on a general malaise set in and I've found myself mostly sitting, and frequently having bouts of extreme sadness and feeling hopeless. Of course that exacerbates my chronic depression and anxiety.

One health emergency or car repair away from an even worse standard of living.

Actually, many of those things have already happened to a certain degree, which results in bills having to be put off, going without medication and living off the cheapest foods which are largely high in carbohydrates/fat. And don't forget the harassing phone calls (Concord Hospital!).
Right now it's 2 weeks into September and my car still isn't inspected because it needs rear brakes and I have just enough money left for the 'inspection' fee but not for the repairs.
(On the 'bright' side, I am saving on gas...)

Living with all this uncertainty just compounds the daily effects of my Depression. I've developed mental tricks to tolerate some of those by (now that I think about it, I don't at this moment know exactly how I deal with it). Some of the effects are undoubtedly manifested through my body as various maladies, and contribute to my 'dark days'.

It's so frustrating, the president and others in control seem to lie with impunity while the world falls apart, and the poor having many of the strands of their 'safety net' slashed by the Republican party in favor of more 'corporate welfare' and war costs. That frustration manifests itself in bad ways also.

The situation that our president has lied his way into stabs at me like a knife, and there seems to be no hope of things getting better for a long time. He and his surrogates continue to lie with impunity, playing out the clock until finally they will be gone and will try to pass the blame.
And the way things are these days, with the majority of the MSM too obliged to their corporate overlords to challenge BushCo's lies, they'll probably carry the president's water/message and blame Democrats in some absurd way.

Since Bush wormed his way into office, life for people like me has gone steadily downhill.
Cutting money for social programs while literally throwing money at 'big business' and the ultra-rich. Much of that is 'war profiteering' for friends and associates of the Bush/Cheney families.
I'm actually surprised crime rates aren't up dramatically with people claiming that "if the President and Attorney General (and so many others) can break the law and nothing happens to them why can't we?"

Here's the main reason that we're still in the quagmire called Iraq:
Republicans who continue to support Bush [period]. If not for their votes supporting Bush the war would be much further along towards some kind of conclusion.

To add to the outside influences, I've had a new neighbor for some months now. He's in his 20s, a survivor of brain surgery, a budding 'rapper', and fresh from Brooklyn, NY.
Now the previous occupant of the apartment was very quiet and respectful of his neighbors.
Jahar, on the other hand is not. He's got a big boom box that serves as his 'alarm clock' and when it comes on the bass is cranked all the way up and the thump makes it so that his neighbors can't enjoy what they're doing. A number of times the 'alarm' has gone off and he wasn't even there!
He's come up with some really childish excuses and came down knocking on my door recently babbling something about how he was sorry and that he 'cut the wires' and that it wouldn't happen again... but I hadn't heard a thing and didn't know what he was talking about. The very next weekend at around 10:30-11:00 PM the thing started blasting, I went up and knocked at his door (at times using a 'mule kick') but he wouldn't come to the door (as usual).
He's around 5'10" and 240 lbs. and he told me he was associated with a big gang in NYC so I don't know why he avoids coming to the door, but he told me later he was 'sleeping' through the blasting music and me almost kicking in his door....right.
NOTE: While I was knocking at his door two young black men came out of the elevator and one asked if he could be in my 'movie' (I was using a video camera to record the attempt to get the music shut down). I told him what I was doing whereupon he started laughing at me. His companion was even bigger than Jahar and wearing a black head-thing like the 'gangsta's' wear.
I told the kid to STFU but he was cackling like a hyena and disappeared down the hall. He later must have gone back to Jahar's apartment and told him what I was doing because Jahar came and knocked on my door asking me what was going on. That's when he claimed he was 'sleeping' through the whole thing.

Jahar thinks the solution to all my problems is just that "You need to smoke some weed!" although I don't think he does.

I think that what I need is for him to grow the f* up and have some respect for his neighbors!

Why don't I just be done with it and demand the landlord do something further? Not sure, I guess I'd rather he just behave/grow up. I don't want him evicted, but while the music is blaring, I feel like ripping his face off!
I guess that I forgive too quickly and screw myself in the process.

I just want to live in peace. I don't bother anyone (I have a powerful stereo w/ a subwoofer that could shake the whole building, but I won't use it [here] because I know it would disrupt my neighbor's lives and I don't have any right to do that)

To date I've written two complaints to the landlord (Hodges Corp./C.A.T.C.H.]). Those weren't done until I'd spoken to him and to date he still doesn't seem to get it. I've waited to complain again because I'd rather he 'conform' than be evicted.

That's all for now*, writing this has taken a lot of energy (and 2-3 hours). I don't have the wherewithal (or the patience) to edit myself, so here it is, raw (rah-rah-rah! [Big Bambu]).

Speaking of raw and unedited, I heard something on Public Radio the other night about Jack Kerouac the author of the "On the road" series of novels, and how his style of writing incorporated 'stream of consiousness' writing. I'd like to learn more about that, but for me and people like me there's a huge gap between wanting to get something done and actually doing it. So many other things take up space in my consciousness and thoughts and 'wants' come and go like wisps of smoke or the wind at times.
And like smoke, if you try to grab it it just disappears.

Until next time...whenever that may be, and remember "life is but a dream"**

Tom

* This is typical, I'm about to stop writing then I get on another subject and the stream continues meandering.
** Thanks to Dr. Wayne Dyer.

Steven Colbert wasn't funny

2007-07-26T23:44:00.000-04:00

I just watched Steven Colbert waste the time of his viewers and his guest.

To begin with he started off saying the interview was about 'industrial hemp',
but the guest was advocating 'medical marijuana'. Then when the guest tried
to make the distinction clear Steven wouldn't let him, instead making the same
stupid and childish generalizations that the opponents make* and wasting time
with 'pot' jokes.

*Now I assume that Steven was attempting to make fun of the opponents of this
(medical marijuana/industrial hemp)
through parody, but by talking over and interrupting his guest ceaselessly the
ENTIRE message was lost/drowned out.

It pisses me off to see someone I've admired (for the most part) as one of the few who
tries to show the absurdity and BS so prevalent in Washington DC and on the "news" take an important subject and obliterate it with juvenile jokes that reinforce false stereotypes!

Is this just a product of a show that's just too convoluted for it's own good?

If I was the guest I would have asked (at the 'break') WHY I was even asked to be on.

Steven screwed up when he thought it would be (funny?) to get his viewers to go to Wikipedia and change an entry, causing a big headache, time, and money for those maintaining the site. It wasn't.

Hey Steven, we have enough of a hard time getting these subjects to the public!
Your guest only has a minute or two to at the most to speak.
You decided that it was more important to fill the ENTIRE segment with your [jokes?].

People who are dealing with chronic/deadly diseases that can be eased with medical marijuana
deserve better!

Damn it, you didn't let the guy get a single sentence in that anyone could understand, and you REINFORCED all the false stereotypes in the process.

Way to go dip shit!

And now, the rest of the story.... (about Senator Harry Reid's statement)

2007-04-20T15:03:00.000-04:00

All morning I've been hearing CNN and others state that Senator Harry Reid said "The War is Lost". The White House is 'outraged' and someone was interviewing Gen. Barry McCaffrey, and I thought to myself, it's true, and most people have come to the same conclusion, but to bluntly come out and say it like that...

Then I heard 'the rest of the story'... There was something missing from that quote that everyone's repeating, and it's called the beginning of his sentence.

When I heard the complete sentence I said to myself "well, now I totally agree with him. Now the 'outrage' from the White House can be seen for what it is, completely manufactured ".

I've come to expect this type of lame attempt of cutting and pasting of sound bites from media organizations like Fox and the White House Press Spokeswoman, but when CNN Headline News is repeating this misleading story every 15 minutes. That is an outrage.

The full sentence was more like "As long as we follow the President's plan, the war is lost".

It totally changes the meaning and intent of the sentence, and to only repeat the last part is dishonest and unethical.

VT shooter slipped through some big cracks

2007-04-19T08:14:00.000-04:00

It seems to me that one of the main failures in this tragedy is the point where the shooter was allowed to legally purchase the handguns. He had by that time a significant psychiatric history that should have been available to the gun store(s).

I doubt I'll hear anyone from the NRA claim that people with psychiatric anti-social histories should be allowed to purchase firearms, but we'll see.
They too should want firearms dealers to do a background check that determines that:

1. the person is legally allowed to own firearms

and

2. that the purchaser isn't mentally unstable or a convicted felon (and that they are who they say they are)

In this tragic case the seller wasn't aware of the troubled history including psychiatric confinement in an institution for a period and stalking/harassment complaints made against him.

If the background check system included that crucial info there's at least a chance that this tragic incident might have been avoided. Maybe he might have been able to obtain illegal weapons, but I'm talking about the legal purchasing and selling of firearms.

To be sure, none of this can alter what has happened, but what can and must be done now is to learn from it and to put those lessons learned into immediate practice.

I don't believe that in a free society such as ours this type of attack is totally preventable. What can and should be done is to make sure that within the laws of this country everyone who wants to purchase a firearm is thoroughly vetted before being allowed to take possession. Anyone who would oppose that (NRA?) would appear to care more about fighting any and all changes to existing law than working towards thoughtfully enhancing the law to prevent untrustworthy/unstable people from buying them (legally). Let's watch and see what [they] say.

Really, the best we in the US can hope for (as far as the gun laws go) aside from a change in our culture, is to minimize the ways for people who absolutely should NOT be allowed to own firearms to obtain them. I want to know as much up-to-date pertinent information about the individual attempting to purchase a firearm as is available.

It's incredible to me that with all the technologies available to law enforcement today, the knowledge of this young man's troubled history wasn't known by the seller (I'm betting that he feels the same way).

There are cracks in the system that need to be addressed.
How do we deal with an individual who exhibits this behavior?
As far as I know legally, unless someone vocalizes direct threats, the police can't take action, and the most that can be done is a misdemeanor threat of something like harassment.
This should be a topic of national public discussion and by our representatives in Congress and in Statehouses around the country.

Note: Unfortunately, this issue will by and large pass from our public discourse with things like the War and all the ongoing scandals that are finally being taken care of now that checks and balances have been restored to [our] government. Not all the voices will fade away though, many dedicated folks will undoubtedly press to keep the issue moving forward and will be working behind the scenes to improve the communication of pertinent to the background check system.
Hopefully that will translate into building a more effective (and exhaustive) system of background checks.

That seems [to me] to be a 'no brainer'. Why that kind of (incredibly pertinent) information wasn't available to the gun dealer during the background check has to be accessed and remedied ASAP.

Why won't Wolf Blitzer do his job?

2007-04-02T15:18:00.000-04:00

I was watching Wolf Blitzer on Sunday, and he had Dan Bartlett the WH guy on.
Now please tell me why Mr. Bartlett was allowed to state pure WH talking points without Wolf once challenging him?

Either Wolf doesn't know the facts, in which case he's not doing his job,
or he does know the facts, and he allowed Mr. Bartlett to mislead the viewers
with no clarification/correction.

Either case is unacceptable.

Now multiply that by the number of times CNN and CNN Headline News repeat what are basically WH talking points (in tiny little bites with little to no context)...

You could also multiply that by all the other channels and news outlets that do the same thing daily.

What I'm getting at is why even bother to pretend to call it "news"?

As far as Wolf Blitzer goes, he can't ask the tough questions every once in a while, he's responsible for what the viewer takes away from every show.

I'm always afraid that a considerable percentage of the viewers aren't informed enough to know how to tell the spin from the facts, and if the difference isn't made clear at that time by [people like] Wolf then the viewer could be left believing statements that are untrue (aka lies).

And really that's what is happening all the time. The people we should be able to trust to weed out the spin from the facts are letting the American people down on a daily basis!

Another of the things that really burns my ass is the veteran political reporters who see political dirty tricks and all the crap that goes on as 'tradition' and sometimes talk about it in a semi-romantic way.
Things they should be condemning, not brushing it off as 'business as usual'.

Put the microphones where they belong

2007-03-16T13:35:00.000-04:00

I'm watching the hearings on C-SPAN regarding the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson's covert status.

Aside from the witnesses evading most of the hard questions (not all...) some made it very hard to hear their testimony. The reason for that could be the fact that most of the witnesses (and the questions/comments from the Republican members of the committee) were coming out of their butts!

Yes, just like the commercial seen currently about sports fans talking out their asses!

------------------------------------------------------------------

I have to applaud the freshman congressman from NH, Paul Hodes for asking some great questions!

What I didn't hear asked (to the Director of Security at the White House) was whether anyone from the administration directed/intimated to him in any way not to investigate the leaks.

Now that the criminal investigation and court proceedings are over (although [he, the Director of WH Security] stated that "I don't know that", [maybe he should call Patrick Fitzgerald]) and it's on the court record that Karl Rove and others still working at/for the White House improperly disclosed a CIA officer's identity to several journalists (I'm using that term loosely) still have security clearances!

And there's Rep. Tom Davis (R) trying his best to maintain the WH's talking points, and trying his best to 'rehabilitate' the witnesses like a defense attorney would.

I'm sorry, this is like the theater of the absurd.
Unless you're in serious denial (or you're in collusion with the cover-up) you know what happened. Joe Wilson wrote an article that showed that the WH's most serious claim, that of Iraq being close to having active nuclear offensive capability (remember the Smoking gun turning into a Mushroom cloud statements made by top administration officials?) was wrong, and suspect at best.

Cheney got really pissed off, and started the whole [vengeance] ball rolling, ending in a concerted effort to discredit Joe Wilson's conclusions based on the assertion that his Niger-yellowcake investigation was conceived by his wife at the CIA and therefore somehow suspect. Anyone with even half a brain can see that.

Yet still people who still support the president continue to make assertions that have been dis-proven and debunked. They still assert that her covert status wasn't 'known' by the officials purposely leaking her name. Bull!

That argument 'I didn't know she was 'covert'... just doesn't fly and is a childish excuse.

Here's a good guide to go by even a CHILD can understand:
If you know of *anyone* who works for the CIA (in ANY capacity) and you're thinking of talking to other people about them, DON'T!

ESPECIALLY a reporter, and especially a reporter like Robert Novak who's a partisan hack for the right wing. Of course that's EXACTLY why he was used.

We know that the results of this disclosure are that an important covert CIA operation regarding nuclear proliferation was compromised, and hence all the people involved in that operation.

We know that since then people's lives have been threatened as a result of the disclosure.

Now we just heard that no investigation whatsoever was initiated by the White House, including the Head of Security at the White House, whose job it is to maintain SECURITY!

Since then, despite a promise by the President that he would fire anyone found involved in the leak, and denials by the [then] press secretary Scott McClellan that anyone in the White House had anything to do with it, AND a conviction of Scooter Libby along with testimony from multiple witnesses that Karl Rove and others were involved, absolutely nobody known to be involved has had their security clearances revoked!

If this great country lets this egregious act (and all the other lies and ignoring of the Constitution) pass without redress and punishment we're all going to suffer for it.

Damn it, neither this nor any other administration is above the law.
It HAS to be that way.
Otherwise there is no trust, and like Nixon said 'the people want to know if their President is a crook'... He was, and THIS administration has done far worse things than he ever did (stated by John Dean on Countdown with Keith Olbermann) and the main man behind most if not all of it is Vice President Cheney.

They thought that they could get away with all this because of their plan to hold onto power.
They planned for a Republican majority to be maintained (for a thousand years maybe?) and were well on their way to making that a reality, but their greed, gutter ethics, and obvoius contempt for the rule of law did them in.

And you know what the worst of it is?
So few journalists and talking heads in the MSM show any outrage! This is just the 'game' of politics... 'Business as usual', and besides, 'if we show the appropriate outrage we won't get invited to the dinners and parties, and people won't be as willing to talk to us'... Only one nightly show on TV has dared to speak truth to power on a consistent basis, and that's Countdown with Keith Olbermann the rest are pathetic enablers parroting long-since debunked WH talking points, sometimes nibbling around the edges of the actual truth, but rarely stating what is obvious to anyone not in a state of denial or biased.

The frickin emperor HAS NO CLOTHES!
But the MSM, especially the water-carriers for the administration (they're obvious) keep pretending that he does. The majority of Americans have finally realized it, but many in the MSM keep repeating the White House BS.

What's wrong with this picture?
Whether or not they admit it, the lives of THOUSANDS of our fellow Americans (and many innocent Iraqis) have been WASTED to further the distorted wishes of this president and others. The evidence is there if your eyes are open to the truth. And bottom line, the Bush administration AND the overwhelming majority of MSM news outlets are directly/indirectly responsible for those deaths...

I know, it's hard to believe that any President, or any group of people associated with them would do something like this. It really SHOULD be unthinkable, but guess what folks, THEY DID IT!

The big question now is, will we let them get away with it?

VIRB [action]

2007-03-15T10:30:00.000-04:00

I just signed up with VIRB. Here's my address.

Testing 1,2,3

2007-03-15T08:17:00.000-04:00

Testing Windows Live Writer... Post to my Blogger page. Now.

Here's a link to my Furl archive: My Furl archive.

Test photo:

Now, to change my Blogger theme. I hope the backup is trustworthy...

That's all folks!

Twitter, "What are you doing?"

2007-03-15T06:15:00.000-04:00

Twitter the latest new thing in electronic communication. You can stay in contact with friends and family, work, collaborations, etc..

I can't tell exactly where this will go, but I see it as another branch on the tree of electronic communication's evolution. What I do see is (aside from the developer's ideas) a worldwide audience that will take Twitter and adapt it to suit their individual needs.

Here's how Wikipedia describes it:

"Twitter is a social networking service that allows members to inform each other about what they are doing and what they think. It allows users to send messages via phone or instant messaging. Two SMS gateway numbers are available - one for USA, and one UK number for international use. Users can receive updates from other selected users via web, IM, or SMS.

It made its debut at South by Southwest Interactive in March 2005. [1]Its an example of a Micro-Blogging platform."

I'll write more about it as time goes by...

Right now I'm waiting for 4-5 relatives to respond to my 'invites' to Twitter.

I don't know why, but my brother seems like he doesn't adapt to/try new technology easily. And that's strange because as I recall, he was instrumental in bringing computers to the aerospace company he was working for back in the late 70's. I assumed that he knew much more about computers than I do, but now I have my doubts. I know that I can't expect everyone to have the same enthusiasm for emerging technology as I do, but he's just so smart, and he should be WAY ahead of me at this point. Especially when I'm the "loser" of the family!

Because of my psychiatric issues that require me to pound knowledge into my brain over and over again for it to 'stick', it takes me 10 times as long to "know" things, and half the time I avoid the PC (for many reasons..) hence the periodic gaps in my blogging output and correspondence.

Twitter, more so for me, might help [me] stay in contact more easily w/ friends, family, and associates.
I'm not sure they all realize the trouble I have staying 'in touch' (maybe cousin Martha does ;-)).
IM'ing works, but people have different preferences for IM programs.

I don't know... at the end of the day, whatever will help/encourage me keep in touch with my people (will be good [for lack of the more precise term that I was searching for but can't access*....]).

Note: Sorry for turning this post about Twitter into [insert precise term here]...
I do feel the necessity to explain what I go through in trying to appear "normal".
Sometimes I can do it, sometimes I can't. I HAVE to keep trying though.
The alternative is madness, and nobody wants that!
But as my late father always said, "keep smiling!" (and as I've found, blogging my thoughts/feelings really helps!)

*This is precisely why it takes me HOURS to produce blog posts and the like.
I spend half my time searching my brain for the correct words to convey my precise thoughts.
The words are [there], but the mechanism for recalling them is FUBAR...

CNN.com - CNN Political Ticker

2007-02-27T17:58:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - CNN Political Ticker: "Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Deja vu all over again: Burglary at Democratic headquarters -- in New Hampshire
CONCORD, New Hampshire (AP) -- Burglars have broken into Democratic Party headquarters.

No, you're not having a flashback to 1972 and the infamous event that ultimately led to the greatest scandal in U.S. political history and the downfall of Richard Nixon's presidency.

Instead of Washington's Watergate complex, this burglary took place at the New Hampshire Democratic Party's headquarters over the weekend. Neither police nor party officials will comment on what was stolen and whether the break-in was politically motivated.

Office workers reported the break-in to police on Monday. Concord Police Sgt. Mike McGuire said some items were taken, but he declined to be more specific. The assessment was the same from Kathy Sullivan, the chairwoman of the state Democratic Party.

'Some things were taken, but I don't really want to get into that right now,' Sullivan said on Tuesday.

There was no indication that any personal financial information was taken, said party spokeswoman Kathleen Strand.

'We want to assure our donors that their personal financial information, as far as we can tell, has been protected, and we hope to find out who did this soon,' she said.

On the night of June"

--------------------------------------------------
TR:

This could get interesting...

On one hand, will a bunch of reporters be lurking about, checking to see if this is just "the tip of the iceberg.."?

Or is it some over-enthusiastic 'Reich-wing' brownshirts?
Maybe associated with those folks over at "LGR" (littlegreenfootballs.com I think) who are currently throwing a minor tantrum at digg.com?

It's doubtful that it's a random break-in.
Possible, but doubtful.
Concord is a quiet little state capital with very little crime.

I'll try to keep my ear to the ground*....

* I hope spring hurries up, it's been really cold lately.

My comment at Huffington post - Paul Reickhoff's article about Walter Reed hospital

2007-02-24T17:11:00.000-05:00

Sure, I did this 'comment-Blog post'-thing bass-akward... So sue me!

This is a copy of my comment at The Huffington Post:

Here's what I wrote after watching last night's Countdown:

I'm watching Countdown (2/23/07) and they're talking about Walter Reed hospital.

Here's how I see it. - Nothing would have been done if it wasn't brought to light.

The 'repairs' done were/are rushed.

What happens when yo rush a job? Cut corners and mistakes.

Lipstick on a pig. That's what I see.

Did you notice all the mold and mildew? There's a cause for that. I'll bet that the underlying

cause probably wasn't fixed. They tore out what looked nasty and put up
new drywall right over the old rotting [infested] building.

How could anyone even OK the building to be used for our troops?

Let me guess, "We never anticipated this many troops needing care"...

Same care in planning that the administration used with Iraq (half-assed).

This is a perfect example of everything the Bush administration has done since assuming the presidency.

--

Where's the [real] outrage (besides here)?

By: NHBlueman on February 24, 2007 at 04:30pm

Attorney in Anna Nicole Smith courtroom blurts Larry Birkhead's email address on live TV.

2007-02-22T12:31:00.000-05:00

This woman provides a perfect example of why you should engage your brain before you open your mouth.

Blurting out someone's (Larry Birkhead's) email address* on live TV is at best careless, and to me just plain reckless/malicious.

That courtroom is such a circus, I'll bet more than a few members of the Bar Association are cringing as they watch this unfold. This judge is so self-absorbed, it's embarrassing to watch. He's taken a bad situation and made it worse, not to mention how much time and money he's wasted.

*I'm not going to repeat the address here, although I'm sure plenty of people already have somewhere on the interwebnet.