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Greetings, Quotaholics:
Youth
violence is quite a problem these days. I don’t know if there is more
crime, per capita, than in previous generations or if we just hear about
it more these days.
Still, the problem is real and the solution is difficult to determine.
Some maintain that the way to handle juvenile crime is to try them as
adults and impose adult sentences. According to the MecuryNews
website, this is why California voters approved "…Proposition 21
in 2000, making it easier for prosecutors to try juveniles as adults and
expose them to life prison terms."
The issue of treating juveniles as adults has come up again after four
teens were arrested for attempted murder of two youths aged 12 and 13
on Halloween. The four attackers, one aged 15, two aged 16, and one aged
18, are all being tried as adults and face a potential life without parole
sentence.
According to the article, "The San Jose case, which has sparked a
community outcry, is hitting the local courts at a time when there is
renewed public and legal scrutiny nationally on the tension between dealing
with rampant youth violence with harsh sentences and the age-old presumption
that juvenile offenders should have a shot at reform."
"Critics of throwing away the key for juvenile offenders say it is
cruel and unusual to sentence a young teenager to life, imposing an adult
punishment on a youth without a fully formed brain or sense of morality.
Most juvenile offenders convicted in the juvenile courts are released
from prison in early adulthood, even for serious crimes."
"’Nobody is arguing against long sentences in some of these cases,’
said Barry Krisberg, president of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
‘But at a very young age, simply giving up, it makes no sense. What social
purpose other than revenge does it satisfy?’"
"But Deputy District Attorney Daniel Carr …calls the arguments
against life terms for violent gang members ‘hollow.’"
"’These kids are well aware of what the consequences are, and yet
they choose to do it anyway,’ Daniel Carr said. ‘It’s because the crime
is so bad, they don’t deserve another chance.’"
Four years ago the Supreme Court struck down the death penalty for juveniles
and will now decide the issue of life without parole.
"Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a closely watched
case that will decide whether it is constitutional to sentence juveniles
to life without the possibility of parole for crimes short of murder."
I personally find the argument that teens don’t have a "fully formed
brain or sense of morality" to be questionable. If someone doesn’t
have a sense of morality by the time they are 15 or 16 maybe they should
be locked up forever.
However, I’ve written before about how there is very little in the way
of rehabilitation in our prisons. What would make someone believe that
juveniles would learn anything in prison that would make them a better
person when they get out?
Do you believe that juveniles should be treated as adults in the criminal
courts and prison systems? Is there a logical argument that juveniles
could be released after some period of time, yet adults should be locked
away forever? Is it fair that a 17 year old could be treated as a juvenile
and given a lesser sentence while his 18 year old partner would automatically
be treated as an adult? Is it ever right, no matter the age, to give up
on someone and just lock them up and throw away the key?
Judiciously,
Comment
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Regarding Philip Roth – “His specialty is the varnished truth.” – Paul
Gray
“[Walt] Whitman laid end to end words never seen in each other’s company
before outside of a dictionary.” – David Lodge
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Mystery Meat
[Thanks Sied]
A man kills a deer
and takes it home to cook for dinner.
Both he and his wife decide that they won’t tell the kids what kind
of meat it is, but will give them a clue and let them guess.
The kids were eager to know what the meat was on their plates, so
they begged their dad for the clue.
Well, he said, ‘It’s what mommy calls me sometimes’.
The little girl screams to her brother, ‘Don’t eat it, it’s an asshole!
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“The dangers of a concentration of all power in the general government
of a confederacy so vast as ours are too obvious to be disregarded.”
“A Republic without parties is a complete anomaly. The histories of
all popular governments show absurd is the idea of their attempting
to exist without parties.”
“Frequently the more trifling the subject, the more animated and protracted
the discussion.” - All from the 14th President of the United States
Franklin Pierce
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Bad
Place Names
[Thanks Tesser]
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Speak right up!
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Drivers
Almost everyone I know has a driver’s license. Some, it seems,
got theirs from a Cracker Jack box as opposed to the traditional
Bureau of Motor Vehicles application and test. I, of course, am
a very good driver.
My job demands that I am on the road a lot. My pastimes do so
as well. Thus, except when I’m driving my easy-chair with my eyes
closed, I am seeing a lot of windshield time. In that experience,
I witness just about every type of driving situation. I’ve seen
drivers going the wrong way on an exit ramp that will put them
going the wrong way on a very busy highway. I’ve actually seen
a few who were going the wrong way on the wrong side of a freeway.
It is quite alarming. Yes, I did, in fact, dial 911 to report
it.
What I see most is self-consumed drivers. Let me define that a
bit. For example, a driver is in the right lane on an exit ramp
that has 2 right-turn lanes. Immediately after they make the turn,
they put on their signal to merge left where all the drivers with
forethought decided to be. Either one of two things generally
happen. Either the driver in the right lane decides the fact that
having their blinker on gives them full authority to cut in front
of whomever they choose, or the self-absorbed driver will stop
in the lane they are in and wait for someone to let them in, therefore
blocking all other traffic from being able to go through.
Another
example, a person notices they are really at the turn they need
to make and will cut across several lanes of traffic to accomplish
this maneuver. Again, the blinker, if used, means "I am
coming over", not that they wish to.
Courtesy and diligence has been replaced by an "all about
me" attitude. Just because they want to,
they seem to think they have the right to do so. This same mentality
caused a lot of empires to be formed in Europe, Asia and Africa.
The same attitude caused the demise of those self-same empires.
Here’s your quiz:
If you missed a chance to make a left turn, would you:
A: Turn on your blinker and wait for an opening;
B: Go to the nearest intersection, find a safe place to turn around,
then return in the proper lane to your destination?
If you were in a straight through lane on an expressway and wanted
to take the next exit, would you:
A: Leave your blinker off but still merge into the exit lane even
if there are only inches between your bumpers and the cars ahead
and behind you;
B: Drive to the next exit safely, turn around, making sure you
were in the exit lane and return to your destination?
If you were entering a busy expressway, would you:
A: Force your way into the lane because your turn signal was on
and it means you are coming over;
B: Use the safety berm if necessary to match your speed with traffic
and allow other drivers to safely make a space for you?
Drivers - Included With Woods And Putters Makes Golfing Easier
Cliff (the High-Tech Redneck who doesn’t rate a fancy ’signature
pic’) 
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Kirsten had a death in the family and wasn’t up to writing. Here’s an
archive article. My condolences to you and your family Kirsten.
Email
Kirsten
In South Africa,
there is a June day that is not quite like any other day. Long before
the sun comes up, thousands and thousands of people converge on a single
spot as if drawn there by an invisible force. The tension is exquisite
and unbearable all at once, and all over the country, thousands of people
get up early, and turn on their televisions so they can share in this
moment. As the clock moves towards 5:30 a.m., noise levels drop and
adrenaline levels skyrocket. And then, just as it is silent enough to
hear a pin drop, just as the sun is beginning to make an appearance
over the horizon, the quiet is shattered by a single shot. An instant
later, up to 23000 people surge forward and start to run, to the sounds
of the Chariots of Fire theme music playing through the loudspeakers.
This is the start of the annual Comrades
Marathon, which was first run in 1921 to commemorate the South African
soldiers killed during the First World War. This is not a race for the
faint-hearted. At 89 kilometres (56 miles), it is the equivalent of
running two standard marathons back-to-back and continuing for another
four miles. It is an extreme test of physical and psychological endurance.
The first runners usually reach the finish line after about five and
a half hours; the bulk of the field makes it in during the last hour
or so before the 12-hour cut-off. People cross the finish line in extreme
agony, sometimes in floods of tears, often needing to be half-carried
by fellow runners who want them to feel the triumph. They never forget
the pain, but they always describe it as the best moment of their lives.
Most of them sign up for the following year’s race before the twinges
in their calf muscles go away.
It is understandable that the medical
tent at the finish line is a very busy place. A doctor friend of
mine who volunteered there one year jokingly told me that the volume
of patients is so high that a simple screening test is necessary. As
a patient is carried into the tent on a stretcher, a volunteer attempts
to take his or her finisher’s medal. Most patients - even the deeply
unconscious - will maintain a firm grip on the medal. They are put on
one side of the tent and treated later on. But if a runner lets go of
that hard-earned medal, the doctor knows he is in really bad shape and
tends to him right away.
In reality, most runners who go into the medical tent just need to lie
down for half and hour and rehydrate. Occasionally, though, it is more
serious. A run of that distance, even when undertaken by a fit marathon
runner, puts enormous strain on the cardiovascular system. Sadly, in
this year’s race, two people died after crossing the finish line.
A few evenings ago, I came across a guy out for a run, who was in bad
shape. He was having a heart attack right around the time I called 911
to come and get him. He has been one of the fortunate ones. He is alive,
and will apparently be leaving the hospital tomorrow. This guy, I hear,
is a seasoned runner. He is fit, in good shape, and accustomed to the
exercise. But he made the mistake of running with a bad cold. That’s
all it takes sometimes.
The point is that it is never worth taking chances with exercise. If
you have been ill, especially with something that affects the cardiac
or respiratory systems, it is just not worth taking a chance like that.
Your body is already weakened, and now you are making it work even harder.
It’s kind of like running with a broken foot - and people do that too.
As we head into the Northern Hemisphere winter, I caution everyone to
exercise responsibly.
Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten
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Tim
wasn’t able to write today. Here’s an archive article.
I’m stupid. No, I’m an idiot. I mean, if I were to think for two seconds
before I did something, I would realize that it would be in my best
interest not to do it. I can’t predict the future, but I can pretty
much tell what will happen after I do certain things. I know this
because I’ve made mistakes before. You’ think I would learn from them,
but I don’t. I’m an idiot.
So what did I do that was so stupid? I sent my sister Karen (not Karen’s
real name) another computer. It was the exact same computer I sent
her before, so she only had to put her old hard drive, DVD burner,
and memory into the computer I sent her. She’s done it before. I know
this because I’ve sent her other computers and spent hours on the
phone with her telling her how to do things like hook up a hard drive,
install a DVD burner, and reset the memory. I was sure she wouldn’t
have a problem.
It cost me $13 to ship the computer, perhaps that should have raised
some flags. But nope, I just sent it. That night, I woke up in the
middle of the night screaming and sweating after a horrible nightmare
about my sister actually getting back online. I had this same nightmare
every night for a week while the computer made its way to Florida.
It was supposed to arrive by the close of business on Monday. I dreaded
Monday night. I knew she would need technical support, and I knew
she would call me.
"It didn’t show up," she claimed. I was relieved. "I’ll
check on it in the morning, the tracking number is at work. G’night."
I was safe, at least for that night. Relived, I sat back to relax.
The call had come, but it wasn’t a disaster. I could sleep well that
night.
Or so I thought. I never expected that when the phone rang again,
it would be her. "I got it. They left it on the porch."
I immediately broke out in a cold sweat and managed to lie to her
about how relieved I was to hear that. A short while later, I got
another call. She didn’t have a power cord. The next call was something
about hooking up the DVD. The next was about the primary hard drive.
Then the mouse couldn’t be found. I even got an e-mail from her telling
me how much she loves her new computer, and then she called me to
tell me the computer she loved wasn’t working anymore.
I’ve been working with computers for more than two decades, and I
don’t think I could break a computer that fast unless I used a sledgehammer.
Yes, the computer is working now, but the next time I get the bright
idea of sending someone a computer, will someone please remind me
that I don’t want to send one to my sister?
Tim a’Musing
Having a Ball with Sis
Oh, wait! She can read this now. Nevermind. 
E-mail Dear Tim
Comment
on this article
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Miscellaneous Tips
Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your
forehead. The throbbing will go away.
[Someone
try this and let me know if it works. Seems to me if you’re
rubbing lime on your forehead, it might be time for the other patrons
in the bar to pick you up and help you home!]
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Not too many this time, but what we lack in quantity we make up for
in quality!
Next opening line…
I went to sit down in my chair…
Hints:
Here’s a great new rhyming/composition tool. http://www.writerhymes.com/
There’s also a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm
Submit
Opening Line
Submit
Limerick
The
leaves are beginning to fall
Without them the trees look too tall
As if on a whim
They start to look grim,
Split and say, "See ya in Spring, y’all!" - Maria in
Illinois |
The
leaves are beginning to fall—
and now I am having a ball—
I feel like a kid
of my old age I’m rid
and now I’ll give all my friends a call. - Cassandra in New York |
The leaves
are beginning to fall…..
From trees both short and tall…..
You rake and you bag…..
‘Til your back starts to nag…..
And never seem to get ‘em all. - Skeeter |
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Re: Masturbation
I discovered masturbation
very early, after three visits to the doctor to have my foreskin released
from some kind of bond with the glans. I was trying to deal with the
imposed boredom of an afternoon "nap" and wondering how
the doctor had managed to push against a limp member. At that age,
climax gave me a feeling resembling the stomach flutters from a roller-coaster.
Nobody gave me any information or warnings; I just assumed it was
how people coped with having cave-man sexual urges in a society that
had suddenly developed agriculture and the potential for long lives
and overpopulation.
I’m not sure if the schools should try to teach it, but I’d certainly
make information available on all kinds of ways to achieve orgasm,
solo or not, that don’t risk pregnancy or disease. Sex is mostly about
sharing intimacy, with one technique that can also make babies. Given
the almost inevitable exposure to adult sexual material on the ‘net,
there should probably also be sex education sites for kids. The "Are
you over 18?" button might be used to redirect the youngsters
instead of just trying to frustrate curiosity. - Bob of the North.
Re: Birds
Flight
is an interesting question. I think most of us "fly" in
our sleep. I know I did. flying was great, landing was frightening.
The good thing about flying? Not so many imovable objects in the way,
like trees, houses, cars, other humans, rocks, etc. I assume you’ve
heard of Bosque del Apache? It’s about 65 miles south of me. As the
proverbial crow flys. We have cranes, both Sandhill and the occasional
Whooper. They take up a "V" pattern with a short side and
a long side. Canadian Geese, and Snow Geese. Mallards. The crows hang
around all winter, they love dog food. Doves and sparrows and Starlings
hang around all year. Many hawks. I’ve seen them nail sparrows on
the fly. L&K,- herm
No, I’ve never
imagined flying south with the flock, or north, either. Around here,
in northern Ohio, up very close to where they are supposed to be,
we have year-round flocks of Canadian Geese. They never actually migrate
anywhere, but each fall they take wing in small flocks, make a lot
of noise as they zoom over the tree tops in a V formation, sweep around
somewhere maybe a mile away and squawk their way back to a very large,
warm industrial park pond. They do this repeatedly over a month or
so. Adjacent to where they nest are large fields where hay and corn
grew all summer, providing them with plenty of seed.
Robins are omnivores. Ever plant some strawberry plants in your yard?
As the berries ripen in the spring, if you’re fool enough to not cover
them with Bird X, those sneaky critters will bite just one bite out
of every ripe berry in the patch! They like a bit of veggie with their
meat.
The REAL First Sign of Spring is when the Red-winged Blackbirds return.
They winter down in Kentucky or Tennessee. And they always travel
in flocks of about a zillion critters. When they show up here, they
clean out every seed and each suet holder in the feeders daily. -
Nancy L in Ohio
Re: Kirsten
So very
sorry for your family’s inevitable loss. It is so terrible to lose
a loved one to cancer–I have way too much experience with this. In
my thoughts always. - Bonnie
Re: Vision
Well, I’m a little
late jumping into this article, but must as you all know put mine
in here. As many of you know I am blind, and have been for much of
my life. Early on I had some vision in one but never full vision.
I have had many people tell me that it is amazing as to what I must’ve
over come in my life, and at first thought I cannot really ever come
up with anything, because I’ve had to do it for so long, but when
I really sit down and think about the hoops that I have had to jump
through to get to where I’ve been going in life I guess I have had
to over come some things, but not like you’d think. Now, for you sighted
people I have to say that yes, if you lost your vision after having
it for many years that it would be difficult for you to do, and I
do understand that even though when I lost what vision I had, I didn’t
really think too much about it, because I had already been trained
for such an event. However, there are so many ways to over come stuff
that there is just really no excuse for not doing so. For example,
the person that said they had lots and lots of books, and how much
they’d miss reading? Well? unless you lost your hearing too there
would be no reason for missing reading because there are free lending
libraries out there that will lend you just about any kind of book
in audio form to read, and then of course there is still Braille.
Which by the way is not that hard to learn. I did not learn it until
the fifth grade. Then of course there are those of you who are actually
sitting here reading this comment and thinking that you’d not be able
to use your computer, but did you ask yourself how I’m using mine?
Well, I could go on, and on, but you get the idea. There are just
too many ways to over come something to sit down and give up if you
are losing your sight, or any other sense. The kinds of technology
that are out there now make it possible to do just about anything
you like. While you’re still sitting there asking yourself how you’d
use your computer why don’t you Google and see__ what pops up. - The
Tazz
Re: Gay Marriage
Hello from
a long time reader but first time poster. Actually it’s my second
post but the first never showed up; I suspect it’s cos I have changed
my email name format just slightly and although you still email me
you don’t recognise me on your list of subscribers.
Anyway,
hopefully this gets to you.
I live in New Zealand, and we were one of the first countries in the
world to legalise Civil Unions - marriage outside of the church between
consenting adults. When gay marriage was first proposed in NZ the
churches were most definitely against it, as it goes against their
doctrine and the bible. Fair enough. Church and state are separate
in this country however, and in the interests of allowing gays the
same rights as straights in terms of access to their partner, and
their joint assets, the government allowed Civil Unions which do not
discriminate against anyone who wishes to be married in the eyes of
the law. That was the end of the debate in NZ. If people wish to be
married in a church, they need to respect the stance of that religion.
If they wish to be married, and the church refuses to perform that
ceremony, they are not blocked from legal marriage just from a religious
one. I don’t see any issues. I am hetero btw. - Melnz
[Melnz,
I found your comment in the spam folder. Sorry it didn’t show
up earlier. As for your first post, I never saw it. Thanks
for submitting. Hopfully I’ve fixed the problem and won’t miss
future comments!]
Reader Comment
I have a techie question.
I received the following and was wondering if anyone else had heard
about it or tried it. Thanks, Margee Lee
This
may be of interest to anyone looking for a free anti-virus program
from a known and reputable source.
As a longtime user of Microsoft’s Live OneCare anti-virus program,
I was a chagrined to learn several months ago that Microsoft would,
in the future, no longer be supporting that program. Today I learned
that OneCare is being replaced by a new anti-malware program, Microsoft
Security Essentials (MSE). Other than the information listed below,
I know nothing about MSE. I do know that its predecessor, OneCare,
was a good program as we used it on three computers (two Vista and
one XP) during a three to four-year period and experienced zero problems
caused by malware.
The new program is free. OneCare cost $50 per year for three computers.
I intend to replace OneCare with MSE on our three computers.
This is how Microsoft briefly describes it:
About Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your
home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious
software.
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free download from Microsoft that
is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you
can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology. It?s
easy to tell if your PC is secure ? when you?re green, you?re good.
It?s that simple.
Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the
background so that you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way
you want?without interruptions or long computer wait times.
Here’s link to MSE: http://www.microsoft.com/security_Essentials/
You can read a review on MSE here:
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/09/first-look-microsoft-security-essentials-impresses.ars
There is also a lot of information about MSE in Wikipedia’s entry
here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Security_Essentials
Surprise, surprise! Symantec and McAfee are
not happy about Microsoft giving away malware protection that they
charge money for. My feeling about that is this: It’s about time that
Microsoft has owned up to the security problems caused by their software
(Windows operating system, Internet Explorer, etc.) and is now providing
free software to protect their products, and their customers.
Finally, if you have a paid subscription to Symantec or McAfee or
any other paid anti-malware programs, you may want to keep it until
the subscription runs out and then install MSE. You should also consider
any other services you may be getting from the paid program. If you
have a free anti-malware program such as AVG and you are happy with
it, you also may want to keep it.
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Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to be
accurately attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly
attributed, or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time
to time. I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out incorrect
quotes, and will print a retraction as soon as I become aware of any errors.
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