8 dead in N.C. How many more massacres to come?

Link to current A.P. story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090330/ap_on_re_us/nursing_home_shooting_17

It's all horrific again. At least some brave public servants caught this nut-job before he could do even more, and then take the coward's way out.

"....burst into a nursing home and started shooting everything...." Terrific. Just your typical small town American guy....Is that what we're gonna hear?? There's more info. to come, but are his neighbors gonna recite it all again?? "Quiet. Kept to himself. Just an ordinary guy..." Great. How many more around just like him? All armed, too. (Or able to become so quickly and easily.)

It's almost weekly now. "March Madness"....armed with guns. Per previous posts here, we've now had four separate massacres (Miami, FL, Samson,AL, Waiblingen, Germany and now this one....) just this month.

So we'll wait a bit and find out what may have set this latest mass killer off, and perhaps how guns enabled....

Remember that old, satirical, animated television series on MTV; 'Daria'? And the regular little TV show-within-a show that they had the characters watch: "Sick, Sad World"....? On target. (Oh. Sorry....)

Congratulations, Miami U. hockey - NCAA 'Frozen Four'

( #4 seed) Miami (OH) 2

Minnesota- Duluth 1

Boston College not in the men's tournament this year....Thank you!

clipped from www.mitchellrepublic.com Miami of Ohio advances to Frozen Four The Associated Press - Sunday, March 29, 2009

Frozen Four site: http://www.gwsportsalliance.com/FrozenFour/about.html

Now Corrected -- Exclusive: "The White Question"

Update, 3/26, 5:30PM: The headline for the consumerreports.org story ref. below was finally changed some time this afternoon. It now reads: "The White House asks you...."

It took them a long time to change it.

(My previous, 3/25 post about this:)

The following article and headline is currently appearing (3/25/09, 6:25pm ET) on the Consumer Reports.org - branded online "blog"section. (I.e., the consumer magazine.) It's been posted since about 2:45pm today, and the article is signed, Steven H. Saltzman.

Here is a current link to the article on that blog: http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2009/03/white-house-online-town-hall-barack-obama-open-for-questions.html?EXTKEY=I72RSHA


The White Question...?? Along with a prominent head shot of the President? Uhhhh.....perhaps an error in the headline? Maybe I'm not interpreting it correctly (possible), but if this is some form of humor I don't think I'm "getting it". "The White Question" here can easily be taken a couple of different ways, in my view.

OK, this might be an "exclusive"(huh?) little item....for my two readers. But, let's see if anything changes re this posted article/headline.....

RE: UConn may have violated NCAA policies

If this reported story turns out to be true, or even if it doesn't this time:

For the legions of rabid "UConn sports/UConn basketball über alles" yo-yos that plague parts of this state; now that the inevitable machinations of your "college" (pre-NBA) program....have been outed. If you actually say that you're 'shocked':

Memorable quotes, Casablanca (1942)

"UCONN basketball: How can you close me up? On what grounds?

NCAA: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"

[a croupier hands a pile of money]

Croupier: Your take, sir.

NCAA: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.


Something similar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw-Xgpulf64&feature=player_embedded


Da next big "shock" for you: "Some" of the mens' players reaallllyyy don't participate in tooo many, true, college-level classes, either.

Re 'Conficker' worm and April 1st

Excellent piece by Christopher Null is linked, below. Other articles are available also, as Conficker C on April 1st begins to do....what?

Service: Here's a link to one free "malware" remover that I (and others) like. (But install at your own risk, as always) : http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html

(Try installing/running prior to 4/1/09.)

Link to C. Null article: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/128643

Sportsbreak: Blowin' up the Browns -- again

Once upon a time, probably in your granddaddy's day, the Cleveland Browns were the winning-est franchise (winning percentage) in major American professional sports. They could at least be liked (or perhaps respected) for that. (E.g., 1946-1962 winning percentage: .759) They appeared in ten straight league title games from 1946 through 1955 (won seven).

Today? Well, as the latest, fine example, we got 17-catch, multi-million-dollar Donte Stallworth, his Bentley, and much senseless pain and tragedy.

Suffice it to say that the entire Super Bowl era has been a frustrating experience for the Browns and their loyal (but hapless) fans.



So, the new Mangini regime gets to pretty much start over again with this team; it's only about the fourth time in the last six years. Looks like they're going to mainly try to build through the draft, which I agree with (what choice do I have?). Hope these guys are better at doing that.

What might the new leaders try to start moving things along in the right direction? One suggestion would be to (continue to) "shop" talented but unfocused receiver Braylon Edwards for an experienced receiver plus one or two decent draft picks. Edwards will be in his last contract year in 2009 anyway (it appears) and probably won't want to stick around. (Link to (yet) another article discussing this trade possibility.) Edwards for something useful, or no deal.

Unless "Man-genius" and crew can impress us with something, I think the '09 season may be a write-off anyway. So why not build for 2010 and beyond. They may not have anybody really to throw to in '09, but so what?

There are additional options: B. Quinn or Derek Anderson traded for good picks, or perhaps even Quinn "straight up" for pouting but stronger-armed Jay Cutler.

I believe (and predict (and hope)) that another significant trade (or two) will happen prior to the start of the Browns season. (K. Winslow was the first. Good riddance. If only we'd picked B. Rothlisberger instead in that '04 draft. He now commands the Empire. Better keep him away from that motorcycle....)

"Work out intellectually with sparring partners whose views we deplore..."

More truly 'fair and balanced' articles in "regular" (old-style) media might help (or have helped) mitigate the current trend, but I still like Nicholas D. Kristoff's 3/18/09 NYT article, "The Daily Me" (link). He discusses some possible ramifications from a public "increasingly seeking its news .....from grazing online".

Mr. Kristoff, only slightly tongue-in-cheek, suggests a daily mental workout of reading opposing/alternative views. Here's a brief quotation from the article:

"When we go online, each of us is our own editor, our own gatekeeper. We select the kind of news and opinions that we care most about.

Nicholas Negroponte of M.I.T. has called this emerging news product The Daily Me. And if that’s the trend, God save us from ourselves."

'The Daily Me'....I like the name. And I agree that it often seems to fit. Maybe even too appropriate (at times?) for this particular bloggin' effort, right here.

My attempts are primarily 'point of view', and are labeled that way. Commentary and opinion. So please take it (or leave it) that way....(anyone who cares).

Give and take. And one word: Compromise

The clipped comments from the following 3/22/09 AP news story are from Republican Senators Judd Gregg and Richard Shelby, and also White House C.E.A. chairwoman Christine Romer.

More commentary is below.

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090322/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_economy_9

clipped from news.yahoo.com By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 2 mins ago "People are disgusted and outraged, as they should be," said Gregg. "But let's not overreact in a way that basically has the Congress grabbing its pitchforks, and charging up the hill, and abusing what is a core authority of a government, which is the authority to tax its people." Shelby said Obama would have to scale back his budget, given the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported on Friday the president's budget would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade — more than four times the deficits of Republican George W. Bush's presidency. The CBO predicted a deficit of $2.3 trillion worse than the administration's own projections foresaw. Romer downplayed those numbers. "There is a question whether CBO is right. So we know that forecasts — both of what the economy is going to do and of what the budget deficit are going to do — are highly uncertain," she said.

When they're not seemingly attempting to torpedo the country by playing partisan "gotcha" (or future "will getcha back"), these Republican senators' comments make a lot of sense. Though Sen. Gregg also screamed about Pres. Obama spending the country into "bankruptcy" (please see: own party, last eight years), his comments about racing to tax executive bonuses displayed moderation. Yes, outlandish bonuses must be reigned in, but not everyone receiving them caused today's "mess", and many can (now) be previlaed upon to return the bonuses.

Some individuals actually do possess superior talent and/or experience running large businesses, and should be fairly compensated. "Whacking" them all with 90% excise taxes isn't fair or proportionate, either. There must be better alternatives (e.g., "asking" for voluntary returns, suing some recipients (with now-government owned firms, etc.). Take some time and address the issue properly. Try to draft some durable, long-term limits on ridiculous bonuses.

As stated before, if AIG had been "allowed to fail", the world financial system (lending, borrowing, etc.) would have seized up far worse than it did (has). AIG's 'tentatcles' were everywhere. Bad regulation/no regulation.

As a counterpoint, we now hear the current chairman of basket-case Citigroup is forging ahead with a $10 million office "makeover". This is a person who astoundingly still doesn't "get it", if true.

A chief gun nut speaks

YouTube video is below (refresh the page if necessary) :

I'm a fantasy sports aficionado, but how I fantasize about another exercise:

Before permanently locking him in there, how about a one-round "fantasy" boxing match in this guy's padded cell? Just one rule: Unarmed.

Like so many other chicken-hawk gun zealots, this old dude likely couldn't or wouldn't be able to respond like a man.

"Guys with da guns make the rules"...? From just this month, a few of the latest brave, wonderful, armed guys: Miami,FL, four dead, Samson, AL, nine massacred (don't count the killer himself; he wasn't a man), Waiblingen, Germany, 15 massacred at a school. On and on....


(Oh just kidding about the match there, Wayne-o. You seem like you have a fine sense of humor.)

Vigilante taxers. Belatedly. (CT law blamed, too.)

Link to one article on this issue: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090317/bs_nm/us_financial_aig_congress_4


Why is the Treasury Dept., Congress and the administration suddenly acting so "shocked and outraged" about massive, contractual bonuses to AIG execs. One would have hoped that these contracts would have been known about for quite some time, especially with big-time government intervention within that failed organization. Known about at least prior to the latest 30 billion dollar bailout trucked AIG's way.

Sounds like more poor management, by the the new government overseers. So we now hear rumblings about taxing nearly 100% of said egregious bonuses. How to execute this legally upon employees of just one firm sounds problematic. Excise taxes (and/or mandatory limits) upon bonuses (etc.) at all firms with a certain percentage of government/taxpayer ownership, may be more workable. (See additional update, below.)

Aren't most of the recipients at AIG that everyone's railing against now working for the government, unwinding complicated positions, toxic assets, etc.? And, although they may have helped create a huge, worldwide mess, did these individuals actually do anything illegal? They certainly made terrible investment decisions and took miscalculated (or not calculated at all) risks. It has been pointed out elsewhere: Many other people did similar things, including consumers and homeowners during the now-gone boom times.

What the heck. At this point in the disaster, go ahead and excise tax the new millionaires to oblivion. People are blood-thirsty.

Hope there will be others around who can still help untangle the mess that persists. I still believe that unregulated AIG was so enmeshed in GLOBAL finance and investing instruments/transactions that worse problems would have unfolded at world financial institutions, if the bailout had not gone forth.

Update: Apparently good 'ol Connecticut law is getting serious blame for this bonus fiasco. Supposedly, because AIG headquartered its ("bad boy") financial products group in Wilton,CT, the rats are attempting to use a provision of the Connecticut Wage Act to claim they must pay the contracted bonuses. Or, if not paid, apparently employees can sue. Double.

Perhaps Senator Grassley had something going when he fired off this one about said AIG-sters: "But I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they'd follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide.

"And in the case of the Japanese, they usually commit suicide before they make any apology."

Sen. Grassley backed off this a bit, subsequently.

Re Alabama mass murder: Germany killings don't diminish need for control

Commentary:

Per previous post, it appears that the Alabama massacrer ("gunman" is much too kind and too mild) possessed...."four guns — two assault rifles with high-capacity magazines taped together, a shotgun and a .38-caliber pistol...."

Whether actually used by this particular nut-job or not, why does anyone NEED an assault rifle... or two?? How is that possibly justified? Please don't bother to forward your answer....I categorically reject any "reason" for ownership, outside of the U.S. military or trained law enforcement. We are supposed to be a society of laws. If a civilian owns this type of weapon, they are -- to some degree -- planning or considering inflicting carnage upon multiple beings.

If they're owned in case of (or preparation for) some kind of fantasized, anti-government, Armageddon-day-to-come insurrection? Another good reason to ban the AK-47s, etc. in this country. (I.e., Firearms (supposedly) supposed to be used for lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home, per Heller, 2008.) And if the "thought" somehow is that Osama and his gang (or Zapata) might soon be massing just over the next hill.....Obtain a grip upon the world's realities. PLEASE.

Anyway, the coinciding mass killings in Germany are remarkable.....significantly for how rare such tragedies happen outside of the United States. Better gun control can never eliminate terrible misuse by disturbed and determined people, but it will begin to help the present, poorly controlled situation. In short, at least do the best possible to keep the friggin' Uzis away from the nuts (and potentials). With hundreds of millions of Americans, there is bound to be at least one (too) much like Michael McLendon (Alabama killer) -- and at any time.

Unfortunately, Pandora's box is wide open in the U.S., but there is one small ray of hope (link).

Re Alabama "gunman" kills...

Not AGAIN....(Story clip below.)

OK, this coward is perhaps yet another '"whack job", but does anyone really not understand a key reason why such carnage occurs SO OFTEN? In the land of the free(ly available guns)? Ummmm....let's see now: If you've got millions and millions of people (all sorts), LOTS of available guns, and little effective control......DUH.

Probability and statistics, my friends.

So chances are still small but nevertheless, along with me, pray YOU'RE never in the line of fire.

And referring to the individual in (numerous) news stories as a "gunman" effectively serves to romanticize the coward. Name him what he is: A KILLER, and a cowardly one. In this case it's also likely mass MURDER; NOT just a(nother) shooting "spree". That word tends to make it sound like a damn party, or maybe a weekend shopping "spree".

More, after all developments come out.
Will try more later on this.

clipped from news.yahoo.com By JESSICA GRESKO, Associated Press Writer Jessica Gresko, Associated Press Writer – 43 mins ago SAMSON, Ala. – A gunman on a terrifying rampage across two southern Alabama counties killed at least nine people Tuesday, including members of his own family and apparent strangers, and burned down his mother's home before shooting himself at a metals plant, authorities said. Police were investigating shootings in at least four different locations in several communities, all of which were believed to be the work of a single gunman who had not yet been identified by investigators. The afternoon of bloodshed began in Kinston, near the Alabama-Florida border, where the shooter burned down his mother's house,

"Americans should realize that everyone is in the same boat"

Not so easy, Mr. Buffett. Especially for those more rational and conservative Americans who did NOT behave like pigs at the trough.

He's not always correct but probably is so here.

Link to complete article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090309/ap_on_bi_ge/buffett_economy_6

clipped from news.yahoo.com By JOSH FUNK, AP Business Writer Josh Funk, Ap Business Writer – Mon Mar 9, 9:24 am ET Billionaire Warren Buffett said unemployment will likely climb a lot higher depending upon how effective the nation's policies are, but he remains optimistic over the long term. The nation's leaders need to clear up the confusion before anyone will become more confident, and he said all 535 members of Congress should stop the partisan bickering about solutions. Buffett said he believes patriotic Republicans and Democrats will realize the nation is engaged in an economic war. "What is required is a commander in chief that's looked at like a commander in chief in a time of war," Buffett said. Whatever the government does to help the economy will likely benefit some people who made poor financial decisions, but Buffett said Americans should realize that everyone is in the same boat. "The people that behaved well are no doubt going to find themselves taking care of the people who didn't behave well,"

Daylight Savings probably doesn't save energy

As we all lose an hour of sleep but start to gain some evening daylight this weekend, keep this in mind:

As far as I've found, only one empirical study has been published examining energy use/energy savings associated with the daylight saving adjustment mandated in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
That study, covering parts of Indiana, concluded in part:

"....there is surprisingly little evidence that D.S.T. actually saves energy. This paper takes advantage of a natural experiment in the state of Indiana to provide the first empirical estimates of D.S.T. effects on electricity consumption in the United States since the mid-1970’s.

Focusing on residential electricity demand, we conduct the first-ever study that uses micro-data on households to estimate an overall D.S.T. effect. The dataset consists of more than 7 million observations on monthly billing data for the vast majority of households in southern Indiana for three years.

Our main finding is that — contrary to the policy’s intent — D.S.T. increases residential electricity demand. "

Here is a link to a brief New York Times article on the subject, which further includes a link to the aforementioned working paper (study).

Also note the following sentence taken from the empirical study: ".... the 2005 Energy Policy Act specifically requires that research be conducted to estimate the actual effects on energy demand, and Congress retains the right to repeal the extensions if the conservation benefits are not realized. "

Hey, D.O.E.: Looking for possibly a quick way to improve (i.e., reduce) national energy use....?

Just another day in the land of the free... (to be ridiculous).

"Woman has 911 meltdown over McNuggets
(Click for link)

Fla. police say she called emergency number 3 times after store runs out"
:
:
:

And then there's this one:



Link for this story: http://www.wtic.com/Offbeat-Accident-Clogs-Interstate-84/3959259

The Party of 'No' and its de facto leader

Hey, big-mouth Rush: Your crowd had its (eight-excruciating-year) opportunity to lead, and look where we're at now.....


Link for this video, within 2/27/09 New York Times article.


And why is so much coverage being devoted to 2012 and its potential candidates? Haven't we got enough damage-control and serious repair work left to us ....to fix right now?

Re: "Tunguska-sized space rock buzzes Earth "

Won't have to worry anymore about your recent portfolio losses if one of these slam down in da vicinity:

clipped from www.newscientist.com Tunguska-sized space rock buzzes Earth Updated 11:57 03 March 2009 by Rachel Courtland An asteroid about the size of the one that levelled the forest in Tunguska, Siberia, a century ago flew past Earth on Monday - well within the Moon's orbit. The risk of a future impact with the object is not yet known. The asteroid, dubbed 2008 DD45, whizzed just 72,000 kilometres above the Earth's surface. That is less than a fifth of the distance to the Moon and just twice the distance to geosynchronous satellites. Some 6100 objects have been discovered passing within 1.3 astronomical units (AU) of Earth (1 AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun). Of those, more than 1000 have been classified as potentially hazardous, because they pass within 0.05 AU of Earth. DD45, which passed just 0.00048 AU from Earth, is one of a growing list of potentially hazardous asteroids that have been spotted by astronomers in advance of their closest approach.

(Link to complete article)

"I Work For The American People"

Can you imagine"Mr. Potter"pictured to the (upper) right here ever even having that sentence as a thought?? Or any of ol' Angler's cohorts? Possibly for use as some kind of nasty punch line in a Haliburton board meeting. Or perhaps for a billionaire base, Heritage Foundation, "compassionate conservative", American people bash-fest....

The last several sentences of President Obama's 2/28/09 Weekly Address (emphasis added):

"....In other words, I know these steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this:

So am I.

The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long, but I don’t. I work for the American people. I didn’t come here to do the same thing we’ve been doing or to take small steps forward, I came to provide the sweeping change that this country demanded when it went to the polls in November. That is the change this budget starts to make, and that is the change I’ll be fighting for in the weeks ahead – change that will grow our economy, expand our middle-class, and keep the American Dream alive for all those men and women who have believed in this journey from the day it began.

Thanks for listening. "

(Link to the President's remarks.)

Yeah, I'm aware of what political rhetoric is. Just got through suffering eight years of empty words, out-of-touch words, deceptive words, mangled words, blah blah blah. All that I know is that the current President's words are the best music I've heard so far this millennium.