Well…I was going to rail about the police state tactics that have become the norm in local sherriffs and police departments and the unwarranted proliferation of swat tactics for every situation…okay, maybe I will talk about that a little…a few days back, a man went missing from his family and they reported to the police that he may be distraught…not armed or anything like that but just having some mental problems…so, what was the response of the police here? To roll out the local swat team with their full body armor and automatic weapons…yep, a mentally distraught man that is just having some problems and the only response the military blinded police around here could think of is going to defcon 1…not sending a psychiatrist or other mental health professional which is what the situation warranted. It seems to me these folks are just looking for the chance to play army man…and when this nonsense happens, people end up dead by accident…I, for one, have had enough of the militarization of the police in this country and the idea that every citizen can be treated like a terrorist…when the swat teams are the ones propagating terror on the rest of us…they should all be disbanded and the members of these teams retrained to see the people they are terrorizing as their bosses again…geez…
Category Archives: Misc
RIP James Gandolfini…
Well…I usually don’t do these…oh, I guess I do…so I think I’ll just keep going…it was sad news when I heard yesterday that James Gandolfini had died of a heart attack with his 13 year son old at his side….I feel just awful for that poor kid….when I was out with G last night she reminded me of the “Sopranos” marathons that we used to have when we first met and that a part of our memories had just died, too….not sure if I believe that but anytime a 51 year old dies, that is just too damn early…and I think of my own mortality….not much else to say right now so I’ll just end with rest in peace….
The supreme court finally got one right…
Well…this morning the supreme court finally ruled on a case that I have been following with some interest, and they even got it right. Yep, burying the lead again…but you know I do that a lot…oh, back to the case…this one had to do with a patent that had been granted to a company that had isolated a human gene to use in breast cancer tests…something I never understood…and that had restricted vital research from any other university or company since this company, Myriad, had sued anyone trying to use this same gene. Today, though, the supremes got it right when they said that you can’t patent naturally occurring things and rescinded the patent…this will mean that much less expensive tests can be developed and Myriad will no longer be able to screw women by charging them up to 10,000 dollars for this test….it’s about time….geez…
Haven’t been doing much thinking lately…
Well…it’s been tough lately to think about anything of any importance and I’m not sure why my brain has shut down….I seem to have lost my sense of outrage or maybe it is that I have finally resigned myself to the crazy state of this country where we have a tiny minority of crazies who are ruining it for everyone…bridges falling down, potholes as big as my Miata, and children going hungry seem to be acceptable now. When the hell did this happen? I think it’s the result of the “I’ve got mine” attitude of the repubs here in the US and the fact that they don’t believe there should be any government..or that the purpose of government is to be subservient to business and do what will make more and more profit for the 1%. Yeah, maybe that’s it…when we have millions of people out of work, millions of college grads flipping burgers, and million of people like me that can’t find work of any kind…and no one seems to give a damn…maybe that’s why I don’t anymore….who knows?
I almost forgot…
Well…just got back from pool and just hanging out and remembered that I do need to do one more for today to make the goal for the month…was thinking I could make it up tomorrow….strange….one of the things I find predictable is the supposedly Christian churches in the south that are abandoning their boy scout troops since the organization has said they will accept gay boys into the program…what the hell is wrong with these people? I find it just so abhorrent that these people hide behind the bible to protect their bigotry…so, I say good riddance to these narrow minded idiots, there will be plenty of other organizations that will step up and sponsor these groups and taking some of the overt Christianity out of the scouts will make it a better organization and more accepting to all faiths. Okay…that’s it for the month….
Teachers are human, too…
Well…have been reading a bunch of the accounts of the bravery of the teachers in Oklahoma who were trying to save their kids and if there is one thing we take away from these horrible events it should be that teachers are humans, too. They are not the socialist, lazy, union thugs that the right and much of the MSM has portrayed them to be. They are friends, and neighbors…they are Americans who, in this crisis, went above and beyond to protect those in their care…using their bodies as shields over the children, organizing getting the kids to safe areas as the buildings were being blown down around them, and then helping to rescue those who were trapped. So, the next time the right tries to villify teachers as being a detriment to society, just point to Oklahoma and ask: who did you save today? Geez….
RIP Ray Manzarek…
Well….I was saddened yesterday when, amid the carnage in Oklahoma, the news came out that Ray Manzerek of the Doors had died….I remember the times when I was a kid in the 60’s listening to AM radio to see whether the version of “Light My Fire” was going to be the three minute short or the 6 minute long version where Ray’s work on the organ would shine and getting goosebumps when the bridge led us to that long version…I just loved the way he played the organ and injected a playful carnival atmosphere into “Whiskey Bar” all the while playing rhythm and bass at the same time on his Vox….but, the thing that still gets me to this day is his piano work on “Riders on the Storm” all at once a great jazz riff but also a fusion of the rock expansion of the time into those different genres and making them seem natural and right. For a band whose lifetime was a scant 5 years, I still see the Doors as pioneers and still have them in many, many of my playlists that I use daily….I’m a sucker for a good organ player from Lee Michaels to Gregg Allman….and Ray was better than good….so, Rest In Peace, Ray…and thanks….
Suicide squirrels return!
Well…just haven’t been able to get outraged enough to do some political ones so I thought I’d just do this…again….out on the bike today early since it was over 60 at 9am and the weirdness was out in full force…just like last year, the squirrels are going crazy again and shooting themselves all over the trails…well..not with guns…although that would be cool to see…but they were blasting out of the underbrush and it looked like they were trying to get run over…I counted 22 of them in the 15 miles I did this morning and it gave me such a laugh that I am still laughing just thinking about it…I just can’t believe that it would be coincidence that so many of them would do that in one day…wonder if it’s a mating thing or something for spring? Whatever it is…it was fun to watch…
A little more trail weirdness….
Well…haven’t done one on trail weirdness in quite a while…thought I’d wait until it built up a while before reporting so I guess it’s time…what the heck are people doing with pregnancy test sticks on the trail? Saw another one today and that make 4 of them in the last 6 months…are they peeing on them on the trail? You would think that people would want to do that in the privacy of their own homes, wouldn’t you? Oh, well…saw the biggest herd of deer I’ve ever seen this morning…there must have bee 20 or so of them running right beside the trail and it was pretty cool to watch….what the heck is it with people with dogs when they have to take up the entire trail? Had to hold up behind more than a half dozen of them today and then they flip me off when I ask them to move over? But, it was a nice ride anyway and got the full 15 in today…first time into a full sweat in quite a while and it felt good…okay, that’s not weird so I guess I should stop here….
April 25th
Well…it was an okay day yesterday but it was basically wasted waiting for the service folks to come and work on the AC….I did sleep okay last night but again, no dreams to speak of…I did get 5 resumes out yesterday and expect to do the same today so maybe I’ll get a bite…I can hope anyway….I am kind of worn out today but I know it’s the allergies so I guess I’ll just endure it for now…and it will get nothing but worse but there is nothing to be done about it…don’t want to see the car coated in pollen but with the temps this weekend, it looks like that is going to happen soon….not much to do today….I do have the grocery run and some errands, then some work around here to get ready for having a couple with G to celebrate the end of the semester….and the Wings won last night so they only need to win the last two and they are in the playoffs….so that will be something for tonight, too….more later….