Monday, February 8, 2016

LIE RR

As we head into more snow and the prospect of tough commutes a word about the Long Island Railroad.
The LIRR was praised for cleaning up the rails and platforms fast enough to have most of the system back up and running for the Monday morning post blizzard commute a couple of storms ago.
But where they failed, and always seem to fail is telling customers what’s going on!
The LIRR has always had troubles with an antiquated system, disintegrating station platforms and switches that seem to freeze the moment the temperature drops below 32 anywhere in the country.
The riders have come to expect terrible service with on time performance being a joke.
Is it coming?
I think so. I heard an announcement.
No that was me coughing.
A train that is 5 minutes 59 seconds late is considered ON-TIME by their standards!
Try being 5 minutes late with your taxes or mortgage.
But what really irks most commuters is the lack of information.
It’s impossible to hear announcements as too many speakers don’t work and when they do the voices are inaudible or garbled.
They only have 9 tracks in and out of Penn Station New York but still cannot tell riders what track a train will be on until just before it is supposed to depart.
They claim they don’t want to overcrowd the platforms until a train arrives as that could be dangerous.
I submit that running to catch a train you’ve been waiting on for half an hour with only a 2 minute warning is dangerous too!
After the blizzard riders were told the trains would start running Monday at 5 am.  When people arrived at Penn Station they waited until well past 5am without hearing anything new.
Finally word came that the trains would actually start moving at 7am.
With time to now spare many left to grab another cup of coffee or a quick breakfast in that extra hour.
BUT the trains actually started leaving the station at 6am!
What happened?
Was it a rogue engineer?
They just can’t get it right!

Knowing all the above information and so much more the LIRR puts its customers through the more you realize how poorly run a corporation this really is.

Sunday, February 7, 2016

INFORMATION? BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!

Why are there so many apps pushing articles and stories to our smart phones and tablets?
Why does an already in your face billionaire such as Rupert Murdoch continue his quest to own more news media?
Why do other billionaires and their brothers keep spending money behind the scenes to get their partisan messages out and political puppets in?
Why do birds suddenly appear? Wait, sorry, that's not part of this rant!
And why do all newspapers offer digital versions of their publications?

It’s all about the dissemination of information.
Sadly this proliferation of information also DIS-informs.

Getting your message out has become so important it has surpassed nearly every other need a leader or megalomaniac has. It is the way he or she stays in the public eye and the way they amass fortunes for their war chests to be used on their re-election campaigns.
And this tactic is also used to hide things that are not to be known by the general public.
This simple fact is controlling the media has become the highest priority of the wealthy and powerful.

We have all seen articles informing us that not one of the perpetrators of the economic bust of 2008 or any other era has been sent to jail or brought to justice at all.  But you will probably not see that article again or a follow up unless you spend time ‘Googling.’
Did you ever see a television ad or get a 'cold' call from an investment broker you didn't know telling you about a fantastic stock opportunity guaranteed to make you wealthy?
Did you ever wonder why he or she was calling you instead of just buying the damn thing and retiring to Tahiti?
Why do so many people seem to believe that the Earth is flat or that climate change is God’s will and there is nothing man can do about it?

And with all the information being pushed onto and into us we find it hard to process everything.
Information overload is real and it is why we flock to social media sites such as Twitter for concise if not absurd brevity.
Don’t believe it? Try to tell a story using only 140 characters without abbreviations, emoticons, substitutions and links. 

IMHO U’ll C its hard 2 do, lmao! 

No one has the time to read an entire paper or its digital version therefore much of what’s happening in the World goes unknown to or unseen by the masses.
Most read a headline and assume the rest based on their preconceived bias.
We are a nation of under informed, uneducated serfs.

Remember that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it!
Sadly even our history books have been taken over and school children are being fed partisan lies.
Many States use text books for their schools edited and published by a Texas concern. (Click the link and learn!)
These books have taken many facts out and replaced them with clear sounding false statements and subliminal messages aimed at furthering their biased agenda.
Sad how many idiots believe this crap!

Did you know that man coexisted with the dinosaurs?  This must be true since the Earth is only 6,000 years old!

Social media sites are safe havens from the storms of stories of corruption and violence.
They are places where we can show our outrage and demand something be done.
Then we click on the viral video of those cute puppies and calm down.

Just look at the anger over the multitude of mass shootings over the last few years and note how much has been done by our leaders to stop the proliferation of gun violence.
Social media is a place to vent our frustrations at the lack of leadership to stem the tide of an ever widening wealth gap.

But they are akin to the ‘time out’ room we are sent to as children when the parents have had enough!  And the parents are the wealthy and powerful who control the message.

‘Run along middle class, mommy and daddy have lots to talk about. Maybe we’ll go for some ice cream later. Won’t that be nice?’

The one time information should not necessarily be made known is during military exercises or of course war.
But when it comes to government any group not in power accuses those in power of hiding things from the public.

For example ever since Democrat Obama was elected President the not so loyal anymore Republican Party has been calling for more transparency.
Why do you think Obama is
weak on a Muslim?
Because I think he basically is one!
From birth certificate to troop movements they demand to know what he and his administration are doing about the war on terror and how come he was born in Kenya as a Muslim. And lest you think Americans know the truth watch this short video of current Trump supporters talking about the Hawaiian born President of the United States.

This is basically a tactic that should be called what it is, an absurd lie.
This should replace
the elephant as the
GOP / T-Potty symbol!
One thing the public must realize is if the government tells us all it is doing or planning then the odds are the enemy will know as well!
Do you think Mr. Obama should have told the Americans his troops were about to raid Osama Bin Laden’s compound beforehand?
The Republicans know this but they must fool the public into voting for them next time so they can do the same thing!

Information is power.
He (or she?) who controls the information has the power.
We must understand what information is important to be known and what should not be.
And when the information is made known from where did it emanate?
Can it be trusted?

There will always be sheep following blindly or being shepherded by a lead dog to move in a certain direction.
But until the people of our nation realize they are being led around by their noses they will never see beyond them.
Don't believe me?
GOOD, YOU'RE LEARNING!
The truth is out there!
Seek it out!
The more you know the less you will be fooled.
Inform yourselves, no one else will!

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Nader Sees His Shadow - 10 More Months of Vitriol

A 'letter to the editor' written by Ralph Nader found its way into the New York Times this past Groundhog Day. (His letter is copied at the end of this post.)
This brings back fond memories of the man who should be considered an accessory to murder.
How so?
Please read on.
First let me say that the reason I point out that the day is shared by a meteorological cousin is to distinguish the hedgehog from the letter writer who has made a living of being a snake in the grass for the past 16 years.
Mr. Nader ran for the Presidency in 2000 as a Democrat but could easily have been construed as a Republican. In fact I would not be surprised to find out he was supported by the 'Party of No.'
Running under the banner of many groups he knew he had no chance to win or even come close to winning but he ran nevertheless.
He clearly courted the Democratic voter and was able to steal away nearly 3% of the electorate.from Al Gore who still garnered the majority of legitimate votes.
But did that 3% matter?
Ask the families of our brave servicemen and women who lost their lives after the Mission Accomplished fiasco.
Al Gore won the popular vote in the election 48.4% to W's 47.9 but since it was too close to call in Florida the deciding vote went to someone with skin in the game.
The country waited while a legitimate recount took place in Florida but when it became clear that Mr. Gore might win Jeb Bush's State Attorney General Katherine Harris stepped in.
She was arguably in love with her Governor and looked to curry favor by stopping a recount that would have found the popular vote winner to actually have won the election.
Instead she basically anointed W and placed him and his wartime consiglieri Cheney at the helm of the most powerful nation in the World.
Ensuing events, including lapses of judgment, failure to read or heed important documents on terrorism, stupidity, all powerful greed and an utter disdain for the lives of humans all stemmed from this one anti-American act.
And this one act was made possible by an self-centered, self-important short sighted man who by now should have lost all rights to have his opinion published in the prestigious 'Grey Lady.'
I am not saying Mr. Nader should not be allowed to air his opinions, far from it.
But he has the unmitigated gall to write a letter stating that Hillary Clinton voted for the war in Iraq WHEN HE WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR CAUSES OF THE WAR IN IRAQ!
And then the NY Times publishes it without pointing out his involvement???
Every candidate for President has his or her own baggage. They each have their highs and lows and some are far more qualified than others. And one was not even born an American citizen.
But to have Ralph Nader insinuate his ugly self serving opinions into the race again should give every Democrat indigestion.
We cannot allow ANY Republican to gain the White House and move the Citizen's United Supreme Court further to the right.
Do not allow this man to sway you one way or the other.
This time don't accept the apple from him.
The future well being of America's middle class, minorities, women, and our children depend on this.
Remember in November  - Vote the Democratic Line on every ballot!





To the Editor:

The Times, in its sweeping editorial endorsement of Hillary Clinton and its brushoff of Bernie Sanders’s candidacy, does not reflect its own newspaper reporting about her actual record.

Domestically, Mrs. Clinton supported the deregulation of Wall Street. As senator, she failed to face up to the financial industry’s worsening abuses that took down the economy in 2008. She waited until April 2014 to support the modest, staggered $10.10 per hour minimum wage bill of her Democratic colleagues in Congress.

Mrs. Clinton voted for the disastrous war in Iraq. Later, she pressed, against the opposition of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, for an unauthorized war on Libya that has led to chaotic violence there and in neighboring countries.

Being such a war hawk and Wall Street supporter hardly qualifies for the “confidence and enthusiasm” The Times has bestowed upon her.

RALPH NADER

Washington