September 11, 2008
I'll never forget weeping in front of the TV this day seven years ago
I'll never forget weeping in front of the TV this day seven years ago. I awoke to find a message on my answering machine from my friend Bill. I turned on the TV and just stood there, mouth open, and then the tears came. I was glued to the TV that day. That evening I went to my friends Benjamin and Kimberly's house to pray with them.
Extreme, fanatical, fundamentalist belief in their version of a god led those men to commit those deeds that day. Was John Lennon right? Would it have been different if those men hadn't been religious fanatics? What if there were no countries or possessions? Would they have found another reason to attack? We'll never know. All we can do is live our lives and try to be a positive influence in the world. We need to educate people, but how does one educate religious fanatics? How does one educate people that refuse to listen? How does one speak to a group so extreme that they see human life as worth no more than bricks and mortar used to wall themselves off from the world?
I don't know, but I will never forget that day.
Posted by Mike at 4:42 AM | Comments ()
June 27, 2008
Westboro Goats
From our lovely friends at the Westboro Baptist Church
Westboro Baptist Church (WBC Chronicles - Since 1955) 3701 SW 12th St. Topeka, Kansas 66604 785-273-0325 GodHatesFags.com Religious Opinion and Bible Commentary on Current Events Tuesday, June 24, 2008 NEWS RELEASE GOD KILLED POTTY-MOUTH COMEDIAN GEORGE CARLIN, AND CAST HIM FORTHWITH INTO HELL. George Carlin is now in Hell, and it is irrelevant that George Carlin boasted that he did not believe in Hell when he lived on earth. Be assured, Carlin believes in Hell now. Like the rich man the Lord Jesus told about in Luke 16, who died; "and in Hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus (the beggar on earth), that he may dip the tip ofhis finger in water, and cool mytongue; for I am tormented in this flame." Lk. 16:23,24. When told that he could not have a drop ofwater, for ever, though tormented in flames, he begged for somebody to rise from the dead and preach to his kinfolk, lest they also die and come to this place of torment. George Carlin - the filthy blasphemer - the obscene potty-mouth skeptic, agnostic, and profane atheist - who had nothing but disdain for God and the Bible all the days of his tragic life - is now, at this minute and for ever writhing and screaming in exquisite pain - pleading for mercy from that God he flipped off while performing for HBO for lucre. Carlin made lots of money making fun ofGod; now he must deal with God - face to face - for ever. "The Lord thy God repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them; he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face." Deut. 7:10. When Carlin died yesterday (June 22) he split Hell wide open at once; as it is written: "Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? The worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee." Isa. 14:9,10. Two fellow perverts scrambled to report the news, both of whom will no doubt in due time join Carlin and his buddies in Hell; to wit: Lying Propagandist Keith Olbermann; and fellow filth-monger Jerry Seinfeld. All these and more are typical, antichristic American loud mouths and spindoctors. Westboro Baptist Church exists to publish Gospel Truth, and to thereby expose Satanic lies. George Carlin is in Hell. Deal with it. You will soon join him. America is Doomed. We will picket George Carlin's funeral. Amen.
I don' t think the folks at the Westboro Babptist Church realize that they are the goats in the parable of the sheep and the goats, and that if there is a hell, they are surely going there. IN case you don't know them by name, these are the "God Hates Fags" folks that picket the funerals of gays, soldiers killed in the war, and celebrities.
Matthew 25:31-4625:31 "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
25:32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
25:33 He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
25:34 Then the King will tell those on his right hand, 'Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
25:35 for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in.
25:36 I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.'
25:37 "Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink?
25:38 When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you?
25:39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?'
25:40 "The King will answer them, 'Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers{The word for "brothers" here may be also correctly translated "brothers and sisters" or "siblings."}, you did it to me.'
25:41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
25:42 for I was hungry, and you didn't give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink;
25:43 I was a stranger, and you didn't take me in; naked, and you didn't clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'
25:44 "Then they will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn't help you?'
25:45 "Then he will answer them, saying, 'Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you didn't do it to one of the least of these, you didn't do it to me.'
25:46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Posted by Mike at 7:34 AM | Comments (12)
June 24, 2008
You have obviously forgotten 9-11
Tonight Dad and I went to see The Incredible Hulk - 2008 and I wasn't expecting it to be great, but I really liked it. This was Dad's second time seeing it so I know he liked it. As we walked to the car I saw a note under the windshield wiper of my car. My first thought was that one of my movie going friends had been there that night and left me a note, but what I found was quite different and is displayed below.
Now I should explain: on my left and right rear back seat windows I have stickers that say Never Forget September 11th! I put them in the car I was driving back in 2001 and put them in this car when I bought it in 2004. On the rear window I have two stickers, the first is this one:
The second says: "If religious groups want to be part of the government they should pay taxes" or something similar, my apologies for not running out to the car to check. 
I'm guessing their objection was to the End This War sticker.
My first thought was "If they are so firm in their belief why didn't they sign it?" My second thought was, "Oh! They're a coward!, Silly me. "
The scariest thing I didn't notice till I scanned it in: it was written on a seating chart! This ignorant person is probably a teacher! Now, I have no problem with people who support the war in Iraq, obviously Saddam Hussein was a bad guy and someone needed to to do something about him, but what I do have a problem with is any attempt to tie Iraq to 9-11, that is just sheer ignorance. I fully support U.S. activities in Afghanistan, if they can bring in Osama Bin Laden and string him up I will dance on his grave, the war in Afghanistan is not the one I oppose. The Iraq war, on the other hand, has brought nothing but sorrow to everyone involved. I'm glad the surge seems to be working, because anything that can stop the killings of American soldiers and innocent Iraqi's is a good thing, but using 9-11 or imaginary WMDs as an excuse to be there is just plain wrong. Al-Qaeda wasn't even a blip on Iraq's radar before Bush's attack and subsequent result:
With Iraq's infrastructure destroyed the terrorists could run free and wreak havoc killing thousands of US troops and Iraqi civilians.
War on terrorism in Afghanistan is good, creating a terrorist breeding ground in Iraq is bad. As of this posting there are still 209 days until this murdering, useless, bastard of a president is out of office, and it can't come too soon as far as I'm concerned.
Thank you, good night, and good luck.
Posted by Mike at 10:26 PM | Comments (9)
December 27, 2007
Collective effort restores David Airey.com
David's issue has been taken care of. It's good to see a happy ending to something like this. 
Collective effort restores David Airey.com
Posted by Mike at 11:25 AM | Comments (2)
December 26, 2007
From David Airey " WARNING: Google’s GMail security failure leaves my business sabotaged"
I read about this on LifeHacker.
It seemed worth sharing. It is really only relevant if you are a Gmail user, which I am.
From David Airey " WARNING: Google’s GMail security failure leaves my business sabotaged"
Posted by Mike at 5:14 PM | Comments (1)
October 18, 2007
Why Flying Now Can Kill - By A.L. Bardach - Special to The Washington Post
Dad sent this article to me, and I thought it was important enough to post. This is one time that I would like to see a lawsuit.
Why Flying Now Can Kill By A.L. Bardach Special to The Washington PostI am haunted by the death of Carol Anne Gotbaum.
I didn’t know the mother of three who died shackled to a bench in the Phoenix airport on Sept. 28, en route to an alcohol treatment center in Tucson, Ariz. I don’t know, beyond what I read in the newspapers, what troubles weighed on her. But I do know this: Based on my own recent flight experiences, hers was a death foretold.
There’s every reason to believe that Gotbaum would be alive today if she had been allowed to board her flight to Tucson and take her rightful seat. While her tragedy has been a Page One story in many newspapers, few reports have focused on the fact that the airlines involved, US Airways and its subcontractor, Mesa Airlines, are notorious for overbooked flights. According to The New York Times, US Air had revenue last year of $11.56 billion. Of that, $1 billion was the result of diligent overbooking.
The stressful, often incendiary situations created by overbooking infuriate perfectly healthy, well-adjusted passengers. It’s not hard for me to imagine that an emotionally fragile, vulnerable person like Gotbaum could have felt absolutely desperate.
Gotbaum wasn’t late for boarding. She didn’t forfeit her place by ignoring the airline’s procedures. Her only mistake was showing up at the US Airways gate and believing that her paid-in-full, reserved-seat airline ticket meant that she would have a seat on the plane.
We made the same mistake. In May, I was to give a speech in Washington. I was recovering from a health problem, so I asked my husband to accompany me on the trip. We purchased plane tickets on US Air. Together, the cost of our flights came to close to $1,500.
Bob and I had never flown US Air before, and we just laughed when the friend who dropped us off at the Santa Barbara, Calif., airport barked, “Don’t do it. It’s the worst airline in the history of aviation.” But then we saw the long, snaking lines at the counter, which was attended by just two employees.
When we finally reached the counter a half-hour later, the ticket agent told us that the plane had been overbooked and that there were no seats for us. I explained that I had an appointment in Washington and was also dealing with a health issue. The staff, who seemed exhausted and overwrought, were not especially sympathetic: The flight was overbooked, they said, and that’s all there was to it.
What I didn’t know then but learned later is that many of US Air’s flights are subcontracted to the ultra-economy Mesa Airlines. Both Mesa and US Air are based in Arizona, and Mesa, we would learn, is famous for its penny-pinching, understaffing ways. My husband and I, as well as Carol Gotbaum, were dealing with Mesa personnel, although the airport signs were for US Airways.
Initially, we were told that we were being denied boarding because we had bought our tickets on the Internet. But that wasn’t true. Then the counter person said that we were the last to check in when, in fact, there were half a dozen people behind us — also with reserved seats. Finally, one staffer leveled with us and said: “Look, they (US Air) overbook all of our flights.” Not only could we not get on our flight, but the next flight was also overbooked, and the one after that. There was simply no guarantee that we’d be able to get out that day.
Other passengers stepped up to help. Three people who were traveling on vacation offered to switch with us, preferring to get a free plane ticket for volunteering to be bumped. But we watched incredulously as the Mesa counter personnel talked each one out of switching with us. Much the same thing happened to Carol Gotbaum.
A great deal has been made of the fact that she was on her way to an alcohol rehab center, but no one has come forward to say they saw her drinking that day. The only difference between her and us was our reaction. We didn’t lose control, but we were plenty steamed. When we learned that all the flights had been overbooked, my husband confronted the counter staff while I sat down and cried. That’s why I can imagine the desperation the situation would evoke in someone who was ill, disabled or distraught. I only had to get to Washington for a conference; Carol Gotbaum’s health and life depended on her getting to Tucson.
We eventually made it to Washington after Mesa/US Air dispatched us to another airport 100 miles away in a speeding taxi. The experience, however, stayed with us for a long time afterward, especially as we experienced more overbooking problems — as well as lost luggage, delays and rerouted flights — on every leg of our trip to and from Washington.
At various airports, I interviewed any US Air/Mesa staffers who would talk to me. On one flight segment, we sat with several Mesa/US Air staff members and a pilot and heard quite an earful. This small group said that to increase profitability, Mesa understaffs all its sales counters, baggage staff and other personnel and slashed health care and pensions, while US Air overbooks all flights and often issues duplicate seat assignments. We learned that the staff and the pilots were virtually at war with Mesa’s chief executive, Jonathan Ornstein. We listened as one flight attendant told us that they have schemed and dreamed of “flying over his home and dropping the lavs,” referring to the airplanes’ toilets. The pilot told us they were terribly underpaid and overworked and that flying conditions were unsafe. Some pilots, he said, made only $19,000 a year and did not have adequate training.
Other staffers told us that many US Air/Mesa personnel were dispirited and overworked, which often led them to vent their frustration on passengers, in a sort of “kick the dog” syndrome, especially in Phoenix. One flight attendant said she had once seen five people arrive a few minutes late at the Phoenix counter and be denied the right to board even though the flight attendants and pilot were willing to allow them on. In this rare case, the plane was not overbooked, and the passengers’ seats were available. Still, the counter staff wouldn’t let them board.
Some of what we heard from such disgruntled personnel was later confirmed in The New York Times. On May 30, the newspaper ran an article looking behind the scenes at the airline practice of overbooking in which US Air figured prominently. It quoted a US Airways official as saying that employees called in sick because they didn’t want to deal with overbookings, and a Boston gate agent complained, “You know you’re going to be yelled and screamed at to the point you have to call the police.”
But what about the passengers? US Air has said that it gave away Gotbaum’s seat on a connecting flight because she arrived at the gate with only 25 minutes — instead of 30 — to spare. But she had already checked in for that flight at John F. Kennedy airport in New York. You don’t have to check in again in the connecting city, as I understand US Air’s regulations. The rules as posted on the airline’s Web site also state, “Reservations are subject to cancellation if you are not checked in and at the departure gate at least 15 minutes prior to departure.” Gotbaum was still covered. She’d left 25 minutes to spare.
Still, she was denied her reserved seat on the 1:30 flight. Nor did they allow her to board the next flight at 2:58 — which, of course, was also overbooked. Finally, Mesa’s counter personnel refused to let willing passengers switch with the clearly distraught Gotbaum. When she began to weep and protest, they called the police, who handcuffed her arms behind her back and dragged her away to a holding cell. They left her chained alone to a bench, crying inconsolably. Not long after, she was found dead, the chain shackling her to the bench stretched across her throat.
Surely US Air/Mesa employees aren’t bad people. They’re doing their jobs — understaffed and underpaid — in an industry with seemingly no oversight or accountability.
My husband and I didn’t just get mad, we got even. Upon our return to Santa Barbara, we filed a complaint in small claims court for $7,500, the maximum allowed. US Air settled with us in June.
Carol Gotbaum’s family may be getting ready to sue, too. But it’s too late for her.
- - -
A.L. Bardach is the author of “Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana” and the forthcoming “Without Fidel.” Her e-mail: bardachreports(at)aol.com.
Posted by Mike at 11:51 AM | Comments (4)
February 8, 2007
Let's save NPR and PBS once and for all
Hi,
President Bush just proposed drastic cuts to NPR and PBS. We've stopped similar cuts in the past, but enough is enough: With the new Congress, we can make sure this never happens again.
We need Congress to save NPR and PBS once and for all.
Can you help out by signing this petition to Congress? It's really easy—just click the link below:
Thanks!
Posted by Mike at 2:03 PM | Comments (4)