Do You Think

Do you think if someone, who bought a gun at a gun show without a background check because they had a criminal record or had been in court-ordered therapy for violent tendencies, walked up to Wayne LaPierre, NRA Chief Executive, and put a gun to his head, he would have a change of heart before the person pulled the trigger?

Do you think if he survived and was mentally disabled from the damage from the bullet he would tell a different story about guns in America? You know like the really great, heroic Gabby Gifford did today (1/30/12) before the Senate commitee?

Do you think Gabby Gifford is far the better person? And just maybe Wayne LaPierre needs a reality check about guns in America?

We are all immigrants

We’re all immigrants. Even Native American came here from somewhere else over the land bridge between Asia and North America. They just were the first of many who followed from everywhere in the world.

All of us can trace our heritage to another country or continent, our families to those places, our history to the world. We are all immigrants. Only the number of generations between us and our first landed parents is different.

If some of us are legal, then all of us should be legal. America is the land of immigrants. All Americans are immigrants. Let’s never forget that.

Apple Really Sucks

Update.--Well, Apple still sucks on this but I fixed it and here's how.

1. Open iCal and export the calendar into an calendar.ics file. It's not a bad idea to do this routinely anyway, something I learned. Close iCal.

2. Turn off the Calendars and Reminders in iCloud in system preferences. Say ok to delete the calendar on the Mac as you have no choice.

3. Open iCal and import the calendar.ics file.

4. Go to the settings for the app for each device and turn off the iCloud sync for Contacts and Reminders.

5. Open iTunes with the iPad and iPhone connected to the Mac. For each device go to the "Info" section and turn on sync calendars and reminders sections. Then run the apply for each device in iTunes.

6. Check the calendars in the devices. The iPad under IOS 5.x will store the entire calendar (all events) and the iPhone under IOS 6.x will store one year of events.

Original Post.--Apple really sucks this time. I mean really sucks. And there's no excuse for their decision to do what they do with the iClouds. And why the anger Kemosabi?

I've been using my Mac to back up the calendar and reminders on my iPad and iPhone where I used the iCal application and iTunes to sync between the Mac and the iPad and iPhone. I decided this morning to move that to the iCloud, but I noticed the iCal on the two devices only display from July 2012 to this year, nothing before that when the iCal goes back to April 2010.

So I decided to undo the change, but the iCloud setting says it will erase all the events in the iCal applications. And that it does, big time, all three years. And even though I have backups of the folders to restore, it won't restore them to work with iCal.

In short, it's a one time, one way change you can't undo!

That sucks, really sucks on Apple's part to get you into the iCloud and then cut the past off you can't get back. Apple just couldn't keep the events folders and files to just resync them to iTunes. I finally managed to get my entire calendar into the iPad through the iCloud, but it's not back to sync'ing with iTunes.

Apple is getting more and more like Microsoft, acting they know better than users. This is getting sickening for a company which was open to give users control of their computers, applications and information. They should know better, but better now is for Apple, not the customers or users.

That said, I did find a way to get it back to what it was on the iPad going back to 2010, but only because the iPad runs IOS 5.x instead of IOS 6.x.  If I find a way to get it back to iTunes I will because I don't like Apple's tactics about this, taking control away.

I'll keep you posted if I succeed but don't hold your breath waiting.

Senator Reid

Senator Reid, how many times do you have to be conned by republican minority leader Mitch McConnell before you realize he's been lying, he is lying and he'll always lie to you? How many times does it take?

How many times before you realize you've failed the Democratic party, the Senate, and the American people? How many times will you continue to lie to us about what you accomplished with the negotiations with the Republicans over the filibuster rules and future filibusters?

How many times will you keep telling us Mitch McConnell is a friend when he's not? When will you get your head out of your political ass and do what you should have done in January 2011 and again in January 2013? When?

And in a few months when the reform fails? What will you tell us then? What will you do then? And what should we do?

Filibuster Rules

Senator Reid has been lying to the Senate Democrats and the American people about reforming the rules on the filibuster in the Senate. Today, after a private negotiation with minority leader McConnell, he announced nothing has changed with the filibuster rules outside a few small changes.

We know Senator McConnell will lie while he shaking your hand, Senator Reid. He's proven it over and over with you and you still shook his hand again today. Are you really a democrat? Or a republican in a democratic suit? Because that's what you look and sound like today.

You have lied to us for over two years about the filibuster rules, and now you, the Senate Democrats and we have to live with your lie. Can you think of any reason the Democrats and we shouldn't fire you? Any reason? Because you seem to be more on the Republicans' side than our side.

Dear Republicans

Dear Republicans in the House and Senate,

With the new 113th session of Congress you have two choices. You can go along with the program to help America and Americans, where you negotiate and compromise in good faith and trust, or you can not and find yourself out of a job in November 2014. It's that simple, because we will know, we will remember, and we will show you the door with our vote.

You can smirk at being in a solid republican district. You can stand on "your principles" to fight, oppose and obstruct this president's, the democrat's and our agenda. And you can voice some radical ideal long forgotten when it was last said in the 1950's.

You can do that. And we can do what we will do when we have the power. Remember we get to decide your fate, your job and your agenda. Not you. We, the people. We, Americans. And we, America. That's what we can do.

Got that? Vote all you want against us, we get the last vote.

Website Housecleaning

I doubt this means much to anyone but I've been spending the recent days walking through the Website and doing some housecleaning and Web pages tweaks. Nothing anyone will see as obvious or different, just small things to make it easier to find the other stuff I have elsewhere.

I also removed old or yet to be ready for prime time Web pages. I found some I had ready but didn't connect to other pages, so there's more work there. I found some of the graphics from other Website weren't displaying because of new URL's for the source. Hopefully all of those are fixed.

There's a lot to do, especially since I kinda' stopped with the Siatic nerve problem and infection issue which forced me to look to get back in shape. The problem is exercising when you're old takes more energy and longer to recover, especially when I trying to get better than I was a year ago.

So that's the news to date. I'll post more when it's new and news.

Good Idea Bad Reality

I applaud New York State's new gun law. I can only hope Congress does what the President will propose for new gun laws on assault weapons, high capacity magazines, background checks and whatever else he will propose, except for one thing.

I'm for restricting "mentally ill" people from buying and owning guns, but as the New York State law cites, "The most significant new proposal would require mental health professionals to report to local mental health officials when they believe that patients are likely to harm themselves or others. Law enforcement would then be authorized to confiscate any firearm owned by a dangerous patient; therapists would not be sanctioned for a failure to report such patients if they acted “in good faith.”"

This sounds great and is a great idea, but it's bad reality for several reasons. First, it puts professional therapists in the path of deciding who is sufficiently mentally ill to report as a possible risk to themself or others. That's a qualitative judgement which varys with the therapist and time with each patient.

Second there is no absolute clear rules on who is mentally ill, especially if they're under proper care and medication, for any professional therapist to determine the risk and the severity of that risk to themself or others. Again, it's a subjective and qualitative judgement, not clearly covered by any law(s).

Third, it's clear people who know they have some degree of a mental condition which might or would put them at risk of being reported won't seek help unless ordered by the court, in which case, they would have to demonstrate that risk before any court could rule.

In the case of the mass shootings in the last 10 or so years, that is what happened. Only the Tucson shooter was known to have reported mental issues but not sufficient that would warrant being called a risk under the law. It's clear to me, people just won't seek the help they need if they know they'll be on a law enforcement watch list.

In the end, I hope the New York State law clarifies with very strict limits the role of professional therapists and patients to access guns, but I suspect this will be tested by either a patient or a therapist when it is applied. It's a good idea, just bad reality.

Sidewalk Art Part 2

This is the photo of the stair from the plaza to the sidewalk along the street. It was interesting to see the pattersns that nature adapts to manmade structures. You only see it if you look down.

Sidewalk Art

I walk to and from town (Gig Harbor), a 5-6 mile round trip, 3-5 days a week, and today walking between two buildings the sidewalk was frosted with water and ice making intricate patterns. All I had was my iPhone to take photos, but after some fiddling in Photoshop, here’s some of the images I took.

A Question

If pro-choice advocates don't insert their views into the lives of pro-life women and demand those women get counseling on their reproductive rights, get advice on the range of choices for their pregnancy, get tests on the fetus, and consider an abortion as an option, then why should pro-life advocates have the right to insert their views into the lives of pro-choice women and demand those women get counseling on the lack of their rights, get counseling about abortion, get tests on the fetus and refuse to let them consider abortion as an option?

If pro-life women say they respect the rights of women, shouldn't they include all women and not just those who agree with them on reproductive rights? Shouldn't they stand with all women to demand the right of all women to exercise their rights as people, not just as women?

If not, isn't anything less discrimination against women, all women regardless of their moral views? So why don't pro-life women stand up for all women? Or are they more like men who demand control over women they don't agree with because they think they can and they think it's their moral right?

Since when does someone else's morality have a place in a woman's privacy over her healthcare choices and decisions, especially over her reproductive healthcare? Isn't she entitled to make her own decision with the professional, family and personal help she chooses?

Since when do pro-life women get the right to choose for pro-choice women and refuse the right of pro-choice women to choose for them?

A thought

You want to know why Republicans won't vote for any gun laws? It's because to them victims of gun violence are too young to vote, too poor to write campaign checks, or democrats, all of whom are not the interest of Republicans.