Read it and Weep, I know Ben Franklin is

http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/112%20HR%203261.pdf
This act would make it illegal for an internet service provide, or search engine to allow access to a foreign site that is accused of US copyright infringement. The ramifications are enormous. Those of you who like facebook, twitter et al, beware big brother will check all your links for you and shut it down.

Big Brother is at it Again

So, instead of airlines (yes those same companies we bailed out in the 80's and 90's) doing the right thing and reducing or better yet getting rid of baggage fees and instead just charging more per ticket up front, Congress is sticking their nose where it doesn't belong again.

Airlines, and other companies are supposedly allowed, in this supposedly Capitalistic country, to charge what they want how they want. If airlines want to continue to screw over the public, and keep crying poverty, they have that right. They DO NOT have the right for government handouts however. 30 years ago the airline industry was deregulated. That means the government was not going to tell them how to run their business. Theoretically it also means no government handouts when you are going under.

Is the airline industry, as it stands, or wobbles now, indispensable? I say it isn't. I say some company will come along and fill whatever holes the industry leaves behind as they collapse under their own weight. Now comes the kicker and this can be a blog in and of itself, the major problem is the retirement system that the legacy airlines have to deal with because the "American" unions demanded it. Unions by definition are communist- everyone gets and equal share.

Southwest Airlines has a series of commercials that deal with baggage fees. If the public hates the fees enough, they will fly Southwest, or any other company that doesn't charge them. Personally, I think it should be incorporated into the price of the ticket. You will yell and scream thats not fair, if I don't have any bags I shouldn't have to pay. GUESS WHAT! If you are middle class you are going to pay. The rich don't care, the poor can't afford the ticket. Guess what. The middle class has always paid since the Ancient Greeks invented the class. It is not going to change. The sooner people realize that, the sooner they can do something about their situation. Either get fired and go on unemployment benefits where you can actually wind up making MORE money than your current job is paying you, or try climbing up the ladder and get rich. Good luck.

Now the REALLY funny thing is according to the article, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/22/senate-bill-aims-to-block-airline-baggage-fees/?cmpid=cmty_email_Gigya_Senate_Bill_Aims_to_Block_Airline_Baggage_Fees , my friend Rabbi Ari Schochet, sent to me the Senate's excuse for considering this bill is... are you ready?... Homeland Security. There are apparently a plethora of carry on bags because no one wants to pay the fee for checked baggage, which means the TSA has to scan all those bags. Sigh I think I just heard Ben Franklin sobbing.

So what's the problem?

Representative John Conyer, Jr. (D-Mi) is quoted as saying "We don't read most of the bills. Do you really know what that would entail if we read every bill that we passed?" Congressman Conyers then answers his own rhetorical question, asserting that if they did it would "slow down the legislative process".

It took 28 congresses from 1789-1845 to fill 5 volumes of "Statutes at Large".
Every law, public and private, ever enacted by the Congress is published in the Statutes at Large in order of the date of its passage.

In the mid to late 1800's one volume was filled by approximately 2 congresses (4 years) each.

Three volumes (117-120) were filled by 108th congress.

Yes, I know things were a lot different back then, but why are we filling three volumes of legislation in two years? What are they legislating and why?

Call me crazy but maybe it's time for our Representatives and Senators to stop collecting money from lobbyists and actually READ the statutes that they are voting on.

Trying to do too much

Why would a company (google) that does something so extraordinarily well that they can make millions of dollars from that one thing start doing other things? The answer of course is to make more money. The problem is you start to forget what made you rich to begin with- search engine. You then try to fix what isn't broken and let what people hate about your product (lack of sorting) continue on. I mean really the basics of a database is the ability to sort- how can you have a database that you can't sort. Google is losing it by trying to do everything. (Yes I know its ironic I'm using a google product to post this)

Good Old American Greed

1999: JS retires from Penn State Uni (PU)
2002: JS allegedly sodomizes a 10yo boy in the University's field house; a graduate assistant sees him doing it and instead of immediately calling 911 to report a crime in progress a responsibility for anyone who witnesses a crime- failure to report could lead to accessory charges, decides to go home and tell his dad. The next day he went to the head coach JP and told him. JP told the president and provost of the university. What further obligation does JP have? What further responsibility does MM, the witness?
2011: The alleged crime comes to light. JP announces his retirement at the end of the season, he is 84 and a revered coach. Mind you the grand jury did not indict JP though they did indict the president of the university. Why then did the university's board of trustees decide to fire JP affective immediately and yet MQ will have his usual position on the field on Saturday. Let's see which way does the board look tough? Firing a BMOC like JP or a nobody witness MM? Personally I think the students were right to protest. The so-called riot started after the police arrived. Last time I checked protesting was still legal in this country- of course with the Patriot Act who knows about that.
I am not loyal to PU or JP by any stretch of the imagination but the board of trustees fired the wrong man. Let JP retire in dignity.

Patriot Act Truimphs

I believe the point of the "temporary" patriot act way back in 2001, was to catch terrorists before they can act.

Would you like the scorecard?

In 2,010 3,970 "black bag" aka "sneek-and-peek" searches, in which investigators may DELAY NOTIFYING a property owner that an area has been searched, were undertaken by the FBI. Less than 1% (less than 39 of the 3,970) were terror related. 76% were about drugs.

Between 2003 and 2005 143,000 National Security letters were issued. 53 cases were prosecuted. NONE for terrorism.

Ben Franklin is either rolling over in his grave or laughing hysterically.

Why does soda have so much sugar?

One thing I would love for the soft drink companies to do is what the potato chip companies have been doing for a while. They have low sodium potato chips- nothing added just some sodium not added. Why can't the soda companies do the same with sugar? It would be cheaper and they could sell it for minimally the same price as their regular soda. Orange juice has 21g of sugar per 8oz. Pepsi has 41g; Coke has 39g. Why can't they reduce the amount of sugar to the amount in OJ, 21g? Maybe then we could actually taste the kola. Wouldn't also make sense from a marketing perspective? Supposedly Big Brother wants companies to produce healthy food- why not demand it of the soft drink companies?

Reduce the sugar and DO NOT add anything else.

Let's Do the Math pt3

Age to be drafted or serve in the military: 18
Age to vote: 18
Age to drink: 21
How is it that a person is responsible enough to kill for their country but not responsible enough to drink?

Heaven's Special Child (I have a voice)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPM3QGERFo8

A meeting was held quite far from Earth!
It’s time again for another birth.
Said the Angels to the LORD above,
This Special Child will need much love.

Her progress may be very slow,
Accomplishments she may not show.
And she’ll require extra care
From the folks she meets down there.

She may not run or laugh or play,
Her thoughts may seem quite far away,
In many ways she won’t adapt,
And she’ll be known as handicapped.

So let’s be careful where she is sent,
We want her life to be content.
Please LORD, find the parents who
Will do a special job for you.

They will not realize right away
The leading role they’re asked to play,
But with this child sent from above
Comes stronger faith and richer love.

And soon they’ll know the privilege given
In caring for their gift from Heaven.
Their precious charge, so meek and mild,
Is HEAVEN’S VERY SPECIAL CHILD.

by Edna Massionilla
December 1981
The Optomist- newsletter for PROUD
Parents Regional Outreach for Understanding Down's Inc.

10 Years Later and the Terrorists are Still Winning

As the government continues to take away our freedoms in the name of security and as it acts more and more like terrorists themselves, the terrorists are laughing themselves silly.

There must be something wrong with me

I admit it I couldn't get through the first three chapters of the first Harry Potter book and that was when it was a relatively short 309 pages. The last book was a whopping 759. I love young adult books and read them all the time. How many young adult books are that long? She bored me to tears. I tried, I really did try to read it but couldn't.

She basically admitted to being a hack by saying she wouldn't write anything else in the fantasy genre because it would overlap Potter. There are many fantasy authors out there many of whom few outside fantasy fandom have ever heard of who have no need to plagiarize anyone including themselves and have created many magical worlds.

Why was there all this fuss about a nobody? She keeps claiming she is working on other books, she's been claiming this since before the last Potter book was published 4 years ago, so not only is she a hack she's an already has been who has not a single creative bone in her body, and can't even tell a story in a decent amount of words.

What am I missing? She is being placed on lists of greatest writers of all time and has neither published all that much nor withstood the test of time. Kudos to Scholastic for foisting her onto the world.

Two Unrelated Thoughts

First: When did using turn signals become optional? Why would you not use your turn signal? Are you hoping someone will hit your car as you make a right hand turn from the left side of the road without a turn signal?

Second: I know the answer is marketing as the publishers hope you buy a book in a series out of order so that you have to come back and buy the first one, but why can't they number books in a series?

Yosh's Fan Club continues to grow

We needed to hire a babysitter recently. One young lady after the interview was over and she was leaving blurted (and I use the term literally, she really couldn't stop herself) out, ' I love him already.' She had met him for 15 minutes and already she is oohhing and ahhing. How did Yosh win this fan over? Simple, he smiled, he was charming and he exudes love and joy. If only we could all do that.

ARRA

So the government in its infinite wisdom a couple of years ago instituted ARRA. This is supposed to be money spent on projects that will help America get back on its feet. How's it working so far?

I have a great project for it that will take years, if not decades to complete, will hire thousands of blue collar workers and keep them employed for many years after.

Let's move our electrical grid underground. It will be more reliable and more secure from weather and terrorists.

A question for the ages...

If con is the opposite of pro... what is the opposite of progress?

Business 101

It would seem to me that customer satisfaction should be high on any company's priority list. Certainly small to medium size businesses. Why is it then that at 85% of businesses don't understand that concept?

On the flip side: there is a mechanic near where I live that is honest, hard working and regards customer satisfaction as job 1. We brought our car in because our front brakes were shot. We first got an estimate at Midas, not because we don't trust our mechanic, he charged us over $100 less. Not only that but he worked after 5. He needed to order a part but the supplier's drivers had already gone home. The owner of the repair shop picked up the part himself. The job was done around 6:15 and I picked it up 25 minutes later. I will go back to this guy for everything my car needs. I will even buy gas there even if its a little cheaper elsewhere.

Instead of nickel and diming me and telling us to come back tomorrow he finished the job well and cheaply. Now I will spend more money in his business. What a concept, thinking about the future.

The Dark Ages Today

Over 135 years ago Sir John Lister spoke at the Philadelphia Medical Congress about the sad state of affairs in terms of survival rate for post-surgical patients. 90% of them died. Sir Lister said the problem was germs. They laughed at him and mocked him. Today, while the mortality rate has improved, the conditions in 'modern' surgeries are abysmal. The number 1 reason for post-surgical death remains germs. I understand sterilizing surgeries is very expensive, but you would think that at least the tools were sterilized- no most of the time they are simply washed in soapy water. Your dish washer does a better job of cleaning your silverware than hospitals do cleaning scalpels. Why do we continue to allow this? Why does congress do nothing while people die?

There is a huge push for constant hand-washing in schools, yet we allow germs into surgery? It just doesn't make sense. My son was put into a medically induced coma after a supposedly routine surgery for his acid reflux. How did it happen? An infection that occurred during surgery. SURGERIES NEED TO BE STERILE!

Lets Do the Math Pt2

If there are only 7 notes why is musical notation called an octave?

Good news or bad news?

According to Reuters:

By Susan Guyett

INDIANAPOLIS | Fri Aug 5, 2011 11:08am EDT

(Reuters) - Up to 150 students at a Missouri high school that ordered "Slaughterhouse-Five" pulled from its library shelves can get a free copy of the novel, courtesy of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, library officials said on Thursday.

The offer for students at Republic High School comes on the heels of the Republic School Board's decision to remove Vonnegut's novel and Sarah Ockler's "Twenty Boy Summer" from the curriculum and the school library shelves.

"All of these students will be eligible to vote and some may be protecting our country through military service in the next year or two," Julia Whitehead, the executive director of the Vonnegut library in Indianapolis, said in a statement.

"It is shocking and unfortunate that those young adults and citizens would not be considered mature enough to handle the important topics raised by Kurt Vonnegut, a decorated war veteran. Everyone can learn something from his book."

Slaughterhouse-Five, considered Vonnegut's most influential and popular work, is a satirical novel centered around the bombing of the German city of Dresden during World War Two.

The Republic School District took the move at its April 18 meeting following a complaint lodged by local resident Wesley Scroggins in the spring of 2010.

In his complaint, the Missouri State University associate business professor called on district officials to stop using textbooks and other materials "that create false conceptions of American history and government or that teach principles contrary to Biblical morality and truth."

Neither Scroggins nor Republic School Superintendent Vern Minor were immediately available for comment.

Whitehead said she was talking with the American Civil Liberties Union in Missouri and Indiana to support the First Amendment rights of the students at Republic High School.

The offer of a free book to any Republic high school student who requests one is a way for the fledgling 7-month-old library, located in Vonnegut's hometown, to show support, she said.

(Writing and reporting by Susan Guyett; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Cynthia Johnston)


let's parse Wesley Scroggins' comments to the board. 'stop using textbooks and other materials "that create false conceptions of American history and government or that teach principles contrary to Biblical morality and truth."'

Is anyone aware of the fact that Slaughterhouse-5 is fiction- that means it is false or not true. Putting it simply, its a lie a mock a satire. How does fiction create false conceptions of any kind of history? Wouldn't we have to ban ALL books that talk about real events as fiction? Maybe I shouldn't give anyone any ideas.

Then there is the end of the statement... Biblical morality... Last time I checked there is nothing that says you must teach Biblical morality, or any kind of morality, in a public school. Quite the opposite, we are supposed to SEPARATE Church and State.

THANK YOU to the Vonnegut Memorial Library for stepping up and doing the right thing. Lets put a gun in Scroggins hands and let him go off to fight a war. Let's hope the school board realizes their mistake and steps up to un-ban the books.

Let's Think About This...

Who is running Hollywood, deciding what should be put on television...
Last season Charlie Sheen was the highest paid actor per episode. His fellow actors on 2 and a half men, had written into their contracts that they would be paid for the entire season regardless of it actually being filmed.

Guess who won. Only 16 episodes made it to air- usually there are 22 episodes in a season. What were they thinking paying an alleged drunk who didn't even have to act since his character was a drunk. Yet the producers decided he was worth the money.

Winter Vs Summer Pt 1

I should have written this one at the beginning of Summer...

Why do people love Summer? Often I kid that people are wrong, but this time I am serious. People are wrong about loving Summer. Heat related deaths according to NOAA in 2010? 138. Cold and winter- two separate categories that I combined into one- combined? 76. Then add rip current deaths- I assume most happen in the Summer- 64 and that brings Summer's count to 202. Well more than twice cold and Winter.

Why then does the government help people pay their electric bill in the Winter to supply heat and landlords MUST by law supply heat 6 months a year, but there are NO such programs for air conditioning in the Summer?

It boggles my mind. Heat kills even in France there is only so much clothing you can take off in the Summer. In the Winter if you're cold you can put on another layer.

Most people are most comfortable when its in the 70's outside. Lets do a little math. Lets say the ideal temperature is 70- most people prefer a little warmer for some reason. The record high for New York City, where 18 million people live in and around, is 106. That's 36 degrees above 70. 100+ degrees is DEADLY. Lets subtract 36 degrees from 70 and you get 34, not even freezing. NOT DEADLY.

One of my favorites

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED
The 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's


First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

Heat? What heat? (Life Lessons from My Son)

The last several days (actually a couple of years now, but its gotten worse) our air conditioner has not been working. None of us, not I nor Kerri nor Yosh, like the heat. My wife and I are miserable. My son, my 9 year old son who has Down Syndrome, is acting as cute as ever. He continues to laugh and give high fives and sing and dance. It's like its 70 degrees in the house instead of close to 90.

Lessons from last week and Parshas Pinichas

Was it a coincidence that the events of last week occurred during the week of Parshas Pinichas? I don't believe in coincidence.
Pinichas has been compared to Eliyahu, the harbinger of Moshiach. Some Miforshim even go so far as to say that they are one and the same person. What trait are they both known for? Ahavas Israel. They put themselves in danger to create Ahavas Israel. We have an opportunity following the 8,000 plus acts of ultimate kindness, of people coming to Leiby's funeral, to continue that and maybe, just maybe turn this Tisha B'Av around. What destroyed the Bais HaMikdosh? Sinas Chinim. what can bring it back to us? Ahavas Chinim. All it takes is one act... spread the word.

Two quick thoughts

If nature abhors a vacuum, how come over 99.99% of the multiverse is vacuum?

Why do people insist on putting the water on full blast when they water their lawn and end up getting more water on the sidewalk and street than on their lawn?

Book publishers vs Hollywood

I don't know how accurate this is but... it seems to me that Hollywood is more into book publishing than book publishers are into movie production. What I mean is a lot of movies and tv shows have novels based on the concept. A great example would be Star Wars. Go to the sci fi section of any book store and you will see a ton of novels set in the Star Wars Universe. Yet, you don't see nearly as often New York Times best selling authors books made into movies or tv shows- at least not good movies and shows and certainly not on a consistent basis. An example would be John Saul. His books are ALWAYS best sellers, yet no movies or tv shows. His Blackstone Chronicles is just begging to be made into a mini series.

Why can movie production companies hire top name authors but book publishers can't hire top name directors?

Happy 4th of July and Independence Day (Warning: this post is Rated R)

Ever wonder why its not called Freedom Day?...

Anyway I was on Facebook this morning and my Cousin Once Removed posted this ... http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/06/30/violence_sex
Thanx Jess

I have often wondered why sex is considered MUCH more obscene than violence. The PG rating of the MPAA system states the movie may contain violence or brief nudity- usually someone may throw a punch or you might see the unclothed back of a woman.
Now lets consider R rated movies. How much cursing and violence take place in those movies? LOTS. How much nudity and/or sex? Usually a lot less otherwise it would get an NC-17 rating.

My personal opinion? Be fruitful and multiply and live and let live.

Let's Do the Math pt1

Election November 2012
Troop withdrawal September 2012
Why not now?

The-Specials

Not quite sure what to make of it. The cynic in me is always worried about exploitation.
http://www.the-specials.com/
http://vimeo.com/6390357

RantsAndRaves pt 4b

Why do I pick on pseudoephedrine so much? 2 reasons. First I, my son and occasionally my wife need it for allergies.

Second, it is a sign of a much bigger issue. It highlights just how much the United States Government has invaded our lives.
Is it highly toxic? No. It can cause a bloody nose, dizziness; anxiety; elevated blood pressure. Does it impair judgement? No. Does it help clear sinuses? Yes. Is it a stimulant? Yes and that is what has the government so worried. You see it is used to synthesize Methamphetamine. It does not adversely effect the air, water or soil and is stable. But, again, it is used in the syntheses of Meth. Therefor we must do all we can to keep it out of the hands of the meth labs.

Here's a better idea... Stop taking kickbacks from the meth labs and close them down.

RantsAndRaves Pt 4a Big Brother

The moment everyone has been waiting for... My first real rant about Big Brother and how they know what's best for us.

Whoever named the Patriot Act was laughing hysterically, I hope. While maybe not ironic it is certainly far from the truth. Patriotism is NOT about kowtowing to the government. It is a devotion to one's country. This means you love where you live and will defend it from invaders and naysayers. It does NOT mean that you can not disagree with the government.

Nowhere does it say in the Constitution that you can not disagree with the government as long as you do not advocate the violent (note the adverb) overthrow of the government. The confederates advocated the violent overthrow of the government.

So where was I? Oh yeah Big Brother... In the name of Patriotism the government has declared its right to wiretap without a warrant. They can determine how much psuedoephedrine you are allowed to purchase (regardless of how many people in your household have allergies mind you). The pointless searches at airports. The things you can or can not bring onto an airplane- what do they have to do with sneaker bombs? Don't be someone who has the same name as a known terrorist even if you're 6 years old.

My belief is that the role of government is to defend its citizens and to stand up for those who can not stand for themselves. Have recent, the last 11 years of, government regulations made you safer? Richer? Given you MORE individual rights? if you answered yes to any of those questions you are amongst the elite. How are your tax rates doing? Keeping more or less of your hard earned money? Guess what! Exxon doesn't pay corporate taxes. How does that make you feel?

I am not saying get rid of the Democrats in favor of the Republicans or vice versa. I am saying it is time to throw the sorry lot out on their ears, rip up the entire federal regulations including and especially the tax code and go back to the basic Constitution. Clean it up while we are at it, I mean what is the point of keeping Amendment 18 if it was repealed by 21?

Lets go back to the ideals this country were built on: "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity" (first line of the Constitution)

No more government telling you what you can and can't purchase. No more government telling you what you can and can not say or do. No more Big Brother watching over us.

Yosh was back to his old self in less than half an hour

Less than half an hour after leaving the dentist's office Yosh was back to his old self. Better than that he was hugging and kissing and saying I love you repeatedly on the car ride home.

Yosh is having 4 teeth pulled tomorrow

I probably should have started freaking out earlier, but this is what I do. Here it is less than 17 hours before Yosh, my 9yo son with Down Syndrome, will have 4 teeth extracted under local anesthesia.
Step 1, I, the abba, will have the 'privilege' of holding him down during the entire process
Step 2 after care
Yosh does not communicate very well nor does he eat (he gets most of his nutrition from a bottle)nor does he take medicine. We are not sure how much he understands.

Will he take his bottle through which we can give him pain medicine and antibiotics or are we going to have to force it in? Will he 'play' with the blood clot because I am positive he will not keep gauze in his mouth?

Yosh's fan club ( a file from Life lessons from my son)

My sons fan club grows everyday. Twice a week volunteers come to our house to play with Yosh, my 9yo son with Down Syndrome. Yesterday the Friendship Circle had an evening of recognition for the many volunteer high school students who spend time with children with special needs. Of course, there is a wall with tons of pictures of the volunteers and the ones with special needs. I overheard some volunteers pointing out all the pictures of Yosh to their friends. My son is a rock star.

How did he become a rock star? Why does his fan club grow everyday? The answer is simple enough, doing it oneself is difficult.

Bring joy to people's lives. Say hi just because. Smile at people. Don't do it because you want to make friends, do it because you love people and you too can be a rock star like my 9 year old son with Down Syndrome.

Chaos Theory

Who knew?

Presumption of Innocence (Libertarian non-sequitor)

The European Union, Canada, France, Brazil, even the U.N (that most Democratic of institutions) Russia and South Africa have written into their constitutions the presumption of innocence. We do not. Yes there was a court case Coffin v United States where the Supreme Court in 1895 stated
"The principle that there is a presumption of innocence in favor of the accused is the undoubted law, axiomatic and elementary, and its enforcement lies at the foundation of the administration of our criminal law."

I ask you this... Why can you not plead innocent in this country? Why are your choices guilty or not guilty?

While it is not impossible to prove a negative (as there is a positive statement implied in every negative one) it is certainly very difficult. Of course, you will tell me this puts the burden of proof on the accuser or prosecution. If you were to say "I AM INNOCENT!" You will be fined for contempt of court.

63 years later

If I were tossed from my country, and especially if I left voluntarily, in the hopes that my side wins, I would hope that 63 years later my grandchildren would have jobs in our new country.

Would anyone expect the country they fled- and refused to defend- to welcome them back? Especially if it was the 'enemy' who won? Why is Israel expected to allow 4.7 million cowards into their country? To dilute the mere 7.4 million current population? To allow criminals and terrorists into their midst with open arms?

Then there are the indefensible borders of Israel pre 1967. The whole point of the arabs attacking Israel then was in the hopes of destroying them due to their indefensible borders. How can a country be asked to go back to that.

Obama said "...with the assumption of Palestinian security responsibility in a sovereign, non-militarized state." How can a country have security responsibility in a non-militarized state? Countries have had a military since at least Ancient Egypt and armed police forces since at least Ancient Babylon. what Obama seems to be advocating is Anarchy and Anarchy simply does not work except in very small tribal communities.

78% of the Jewish vote went to Obama in 2008, 20% went to McCain. I would hope 2012 would result in a reversal. Personally I voted Libertarian.

Psuedoephedrine

So, why are my civil liberties being, once again, infringed upon? Why can I not buy any amount of psuedoephedrine that I desire and can pay for? How is allowing me to purchase only 3.6 grams/day or 9.0/grams a month justified? Because it makes it harder to get it into the meth labs? Not good enough. We need to go after the people creating the illegal drugs not allergy sufferers. What if more than one person in a household has allergies? This is one of the most ridiculous laws I have ever heard. How much of the illegal drug market comes from psuedoephedrine purchased in your local supermarket or pharmacy? If someone can show me a direct correlation between those two things I will declare them a genius. Please don't hand me a stat of fewer meth lab seizures since the law took effect, that is NOT a correlation, even IF it was true.

This is simply the government, once again, sticking their noses where they don't belong.

A file from Life lessons from my son

The continuing saga of Nets basketball and my family. Earlier this basketball season my wife and I tried to take Yosh to a Nets game. Unfortunately my wife got hurt before the game. The point of this though... rarely does my son get upset. He is one of the most joyful people the world has EVER known. When my wife got hurt, I was not there and he was going up an escalator with a stranger holding him so he wouldn't fall. He was beside himself. He was so upset and scared he couldn't get any air into his lungs with which to scream. As soon as he saw me at the top of the escalator he started to calm down. Within two minutes he was fine and was enjoying himself. Here comes the point... don't worry about anything but getting lost (whether physically or spiritually) everything else will be ok. Getting lost is scary though.

From the Cynic Within Me Part 1

Who knows who is to be believed. There is a trolley park in Easton Pa, or should I say there used to be. According to bushkillpark.com, the supposed official homepage "The owners of Bushkill Park are working hard to repair the damage that has been done by the floods and other means." According to bushkillpark.org "..." well you just have to read it for yourself. http://www.bushkillpark.org/

Every where I look there are references to trying to clean it up and repair it to re-open the park after several floods starting in 2006 forced it to close. Walt Reiss seems like the more forthcoming of the two main protagonists. Neal fehnel however does not seem to respond to anything. Maybe its just that Walt is more angry, maybe its Neal who has stuff to hide. Who knows, all I know is there is a hundred plus year old park that is not open because of probable stupidity and maliciousness.

You gotta love human greed.

A file from Life lessons from my son

My son Yosh, Yehoshua Binyamin, has Down Syndrome, he also has a very special soul. Now I know I'm the abba, Hebrew for father, and I am supposed to say that, however if you read the stuff I am going to write about him you will begin to understand...


On Monday April 5th, 2011 I took Yosh to a Nets game. At half time I asked him if he wanted home or more game. He signed wait (basically he wiggle his fingers- close enough to the real sign for most people to understand). After a minute or two he signed and said home; car. So, we went home. The lesson here is think before you make a decision. Even though he clearly wanted to stay, he weighed the pros and cons. It was already past his bed time and he knew (or so I assume) that he would get tired soon and when he gets tired he gets cranky. Crankiness of course would have ruined the evening.

Another lesson I learned occurred earlier in the game. There was a child behind us with those hit sticks, basically plastic filled with air that when struck together make a loud noise. He was of course banging them together constantly. At one point Yosh looked back at the kid, saw he was not doing it just to annoy us, turned back around and enjoyed the rest of the game. Lesson: live and let live even if the other person is an annoyance.

This is going to tick a lot of people off: RantsAndRaves Pt 3

A big thank you to all smokers for smoking where the rest of us have to breathe.

Smokers have to be the most self-centered people in the world. Yes I know I have a blog pretty self-centered myself expecting people to read this. However, thank you for leaving cigarette butts on my balcony; thank you for leaving burning cigarette butts on the sidewalk; thank you for throwing them out your car window; just thank you.

Would it kill you (pun intended) to kill yourself without killing everyone around you including your supposed loved ones?

The casino industry in AC yelled and screamed bloody murder as did the restaurant industry in New York when laws were passed about smoking in casinos and restaurants. They said they would lose revenue. Well the casinos won they can allow smoking. The restaurants however 'lost' and smoking is not permitted. Let me ask the restaurant owners: how's business? Doing better than ever you say. That might be because now non-smokers can enjoy a non-filthy dinner while the smokers have to live without a cigarette for an hour. So who won and who lost?

Live long and question

RantsAndRaves Pt 2 Greed sucks

My apologies to Gekko... Greed sucks. As a Libertarian I am all for profits. When those profits become excessive however, it is time to sit up and say hhhmmm. How did GE, which earned $10.3 billion (yes billion with a b) not pay income tax and actually get $1.1 billion (once again yes a b as in a billion) in tax benefits? My favorite though is Exxon which pays no taxes because it goes into research and development. This from the company who has sworn they will never research alternative fuels.

Put this into contrast lower and middle class pay 10-28 % of their taxable income. When was the last time you got a $1.1 billion tax benefit? $400/household lets get real. Instead of bailing out the banks they could have given $10,000 (yes thats ten thousand) to every man woman and child in the country. A family of four could have received $40,000. How much economic stimulation could you have caused with $40,000? Even if all you did was pay off your credit card debt, that would have helped. Heck it would have ended up going to the banks, but this way the middle class instead of the CxO would have received the benefit.

Who is running the government that is supposed to be by, of and for the people?

Yosh makes an informed decision

Yesterday I took Yosh to a Nets game- just him and I. The game started at 7:05, Yosh's bedtime is 8:00. At half time- around 8:15- I asked Yosh if he wanted to go home or if he wanted more game, to stay. He actually told me wait- using his sign for it. A few minutes later he said, and signed, home; car. The entire walk back to the car, the drive home and even after we got home he was excitedly talking, as Yosh talks, about the game. We got home around 8:35 and he spent about 5-10 minutes talking to mommy about it. Mommy then said its night-night time, she changed him and I put him in bed at pretty much 9:00 on the dot. When i came back in the room, literally two minutes later he was out cold. The next morning he was still excited about it.

Did he make the right decision? Did I make the right decision in taking him to the game? In giving him the choice to stay or go (I was going to abide by his decision either way)?

So who am I? (pt 1)

I am the very proud abba (Hebrew for father) of a soon to be 9yo son with Down Syndrome. That should tell you a picture's worth. I will tell you about the joys of being the abba of my son (along with some of the trials and tribulations).

I am a Libertarian. About the only things I don't agree with the major libertarian party is gun control and abortion. I believe there should be major gun control, but not outright banning of most weapons. I also believe in the right of the unborn child. Most of my Rants and Raves are going to be about the incredible amount of legislation we have in this country. That is NOT to say I am anti government, I am not an anarchist, but rather a minimalist.

I am a crank. Meaning I get easily upset over stupidity.