I Need to Vent

Hello My Dear Friends! I know I haven't been around much lately but, I have to tell you, this weather has really knocked me off my game! I'm sure you feel the same way. Today, the sun is shining and, even though it's still cold out, I'm feeling better. Unfortunately, because I've been off my game, I have all of this pent-up frustration. So fasten your seat belts, here goes...I've been watching way to much television lately. The other night, on the Nightly News, Diane Sawyer was doing a story on Obamacare. She said, "6 million Americans have already signed up, that's nearly the 7 million goal set by the Obama Administration". Um, I'm no math major either Diane but no it isn't. If I owed you $7 million and I gave you $6 million, would you say "close enough"? I don't think so. Could you please just deliver the news and leave the commentary to me. Thank you. Have you seen that commercial for eHarmony.com? The little girl goes to her grandfather and says something like "Grandpa, my teacher met a woman on-line that he really likes but he met her on one of those other websites..." You know the one I'm talking about? Every time I see it I can't help but wonder why no one is concerned that the little girl's teacher is discussing his sex life with a child. Maybe it's just me. A new study from the Center for Immigration Studies reports that in 2013 the Department of Homeland Security caught and released 68,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records. I only mention this because the report listed 10 cities with the highest percentage of releasing criminal aliens back into the general population. I thought some of you might be interested in the fact that Buffalo made that dubious list. Yikes! In Albuquerque, New Mexico yesterday, hundreds of people staged a march to protest what they believe to be police brutality. There have been 37 police involved shootings in Albuquerque, 23 of them fatal, since 2010. Law enforcement responded by having their SWAT Team, in full riot gear, charge the crowd. Riots ensued. Point made? In the last few weeks we've seen a 9-year old boy in North Carolina told he couldn't bring his My Little Pony backpack to school because the school could prevent other students from beating him up; an 8-year old Virginia girl tossed out of school because she was "feminine" enough and a 9-year old Colorado girl suspended for shaving her head to support a friend with cancer. Now comes word from the Grand Island School District that an NRA tee shirt could somehow provoke violence. 16-year old Shane Kinney was told to either turn his tee shirt inside out or put duct tape over the logo. He declined and was given a one day, in-school suspension. His family was told, in a letter, that Shane was suspended for wearing a shirt that had a logo of a firearm. There's nothing in the school's dress code that specifically addresses that. The dress code prohibits clothing that could provoke or incite violence. Here's the shirt...

I guess, in a way, the school is right. If kids today actually knew what their constitutional rights are, they might get angry. You can't miss something you never really had, can you? Anyway, the kicker to this story is that the School Superintendent now says Shane wasn't suspended for wearing the tee shirt but she wouldn't elaborate on the "real" reason. Apparently she hadn't made one up yet. Is it just me or does it appear that the inmates are running the asylum? Whew! I feel better now. Have a great day!
Po

WTF! Who's in Charge Here?

Hello My Dear Friends. Let me, once again, try to inject the voice of reason into a world that's gone mad. While all eyes were on Crimea and missing Flight MH370, our President did something incredible and, as usual, the media didn't think you needed to know. The Commerce Department quietly announced that it will terminate it's contract with ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names) next year. Sounds innocuous, right? Well, it isn't. It's insanity on a half shell! ICANN, a non-profit organization formed in 1998, provides every computer server or network a unique Information Protocol address, so that any user searching for a specific IP address will actually connect to that address and no other, and can do so from anywhere he or she enters that address on a Web browser. The Obama Administration feels that America's control over this essential process is unfair to the rest of the world. So, in September 2015, this control will be turned over to "stakeholders in the global community". That means Russia, China, Iran and other authoritarian regimes who support letting governments choke off access to the internet in the name of "information security". ICANN is the last defense in keeping the internet open and orderly. Ever heard of ITU? You will. It's the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union and they will most likely be the group usurping control of the internet. If the ITU decides a certain business, political group or individual isn't worthy of internet access, they'll simply deny them a IP address or revoke their existing IP address and they will cease to exist on the Net. Does that sound like a power you want to hand over to the United Nations? I think not. Yet it is happening while America sleeps. Congress can stop this but, so far, they haven't said a word. Since the decision has already been made, if Congress doesn't act before the September 2015 deadline, the internet's guarantee of freedom will be gone forever and the $200 billion dollars in annual e-commerce will be under UN control. Where is the outrage, people? Where is Congress?
Po

Random Thoughts Return

Hello My Dear Friends! TGIS! Thank God It's Spring. I heard the captor saying that this morning as she scraped the ice from her car windows. Ah, sarcasm. It's a beautiful thing. So, how do you know your vacation is off to a bad start? When you're trapped in a corner on your flight out and this happens...

Yup. The entire window facing fell into her lap! She was informed by the "Flight Attendant" that it wasn't a problem. "Really", said the captor, "because there's really cold air blowing in through here". "I'll be there is", said the attendant, "but, plane's full, nothing I can do". The "attendant" then walked away, never to be seen again. This happened 30 minutes into a 5 1/2 hour flight. Unfortunately, this was the least annoying thing to happen on the 'United Airlines Travel From Hell Ticket'! Their motto should truly be "United Airlines, making travel unpleasant for everyone". Feel free to use that United! The only good thing I can say about United Airlines is Good Riddance! Now, on to other things. Did you hear about the 9-year old North Carolina boy who was being bullied at school? It seems his classmates didn't care for his 'My Little Pony' backpack, so they bullied him to the point where he didn't want to go back to school. His parents were told to forbid him from carrying the backpack to school! The school Principal apparently agreed with the bullies. What a fine lesson to teach a 9-year old. If you don't want to be bullied, don't be different. You have to admire a school Principal who isn't afraid to stand up and say, 'Hey, I can't control these kids. If your son wants to be different, he's going to get his ass kicked'.  Finally, there's controversy brewing in Honolulu over a law that allows undercover police officers to have sex with prostitutes during investigations in order to catch them. Human trafficking experts say it's just plain wrong. The police, no surprise, say it's necessary for them to do their job. I'm guessing there aren't a whole lot of married undercover officers in Honolulu. The debate is on its way to the State Senate. I'll keep you posted. Enjoy the weekend!
Po

We Have a Conspiracy!

Hello My Dear Friends! Happy St. Patrick's Day! My plan this week was to outline for you my captor's "Vacation from Hell" but, seriously, this is better. You know how a love a good conspiracy theory, well, this is simply my new favorite conspiracy theory of all time. It involves the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370. Believe me, I am not making light of this tragic situation. 227 innocent people were on board that plane. Among those passengers were 20 employees of Austin, Texas based technology company Freescale Semiconductor (12 from Malaysia & 8 from China). Freescale Semiconductor has been developing microprocessors, sensors and other technology for the past 50 years. One technology they've been developing is new stealth technology that can make airplanes invisible to radar. Wait, what? It's true. That's one heck of a coincidence, don't you think? It's also beyond interesting that said technology, and 20 people most involved with it, were on their way to Beijing when their airplane just "disappeared". Fascinating, right? It would sure explain a lot. It's being written off as just another conspiracy theory but it sure is a good one.
Po

You Built It; You Own It!

Hello My Dear Friends! Have you been following the story of the New Jersey honor student who is suing her parents for support? My word. 18-year old Rachel Canning claims her parents threw her out of their home when she turned 18 and basically told her to fend for herself. She's suing for $650 a week in support and the remainder of her tuition at a private Catholic high school, as well as attorney's fees. She also wants her parents to pay for some, if not all, of her upcoming college tuition costs. Her parents deny her claims saying they did not throw her out. They say she left on her own after refusing to abide by simple household rules like being respectful, keeping a curfew, doing chores and breaking up with her boyfriend, whom her parents say is a bad influence. A judge today denied the girls request for immediate support saying it sets a bad precedent. I should say so! It does beg the question, should parents be required to support their kids after they leave home? If they are, what stops every disgruntled teen from moving out and having mom and dad foot the bill? In the case of young miss Canning, there's a bit more to the story. You see Rachel is not just an honor student. She's the definition of an ungrateful little spoiled brat. How do we know this? Well, some of the text messages she sent to her mother after she left were read in court. Exhibit A:
Hi mom just to let you know you're a real f**king winner aren't you you think you're so cool and you think you caught me throwing up in the bathroom after eating an egg frittatta, yeah sorry that you have problems now and you need to harp on mine because i didn't and i actually took a s*** which i really just wanna s*** all over your face right now because it looks like that anyway, anyway i f***ing hate you and um I've written you off so don't talk to me, don't do anything I'm blocking you from just about everything, have a nice life, bye mom'
Charming, right? Is it any wonder that her parents don't feel the need to support her? On the other hand, she didn't get that way on her own, did she? I guess we really do reap what we sew. The judge, in denying the girls request for support, said "have you ever in your experience seen such gross disrespect for a parent"? It's a truly unfortunate situation but seriously, the Canning's raised this little brat and now, faced with their own creation, have decided she needs boundaries. It seems a bit late for that. Anyway, it isn't over. Both sides return to court next month. We'll have to wait and see if sanity prevails. If not, the next time you say "no" to your kids you may have to retain counsel!
Po