SunFyre...words from a seated position

Is 98% of America Still Racist? (part one)

2012-02-12T01:12:00.004-05:00

I made an active decision long ago that I wouldn't be racist. That may sound strange.

Probably 98% of you would say the same thing. In fact, 98% of you probably are racist, just to a much lesser degree than people labeled as racist.

Ask Newt Gingrich if he's racist, he'll tell you absolutely not. Ask virtually any intellectual black man if Newt Gingrich is racist, he'll tell you yes, absolutely.

There are degrees of racism, and the most enlightened among us are the people who acknowledge our own pre-judgments and make an active choice to dismiss them.

Let's take a look at the most extreme examples of racism.

On the one extreme we have members of hate groups. Organized groups (such as the original Ku Klux Klan) that not only dislike members of other races, but make a significant effort to see that people of other races are put down or hampered in their efforts to live a normal life.

The worst of these extremists are genocidal. The attempted extermination of the Jewish people during the Nazi reign or the attempted genocide that occurred in Bosnia and in several places in Africa.

Ironically, most of the worst racism in history had little to do with what people identify as the critical racial marker, skin color. In Rwanda the shape of the nose was considered the racial marker between warring groups, yet many people from Europe would be incapable of telling the two groups apart visually. To most Americans it's difficult to distinguish between Israelis and Palestinians based on skin tone or features.

Many may say these aren't racial wars, there are wars between religious beliefs. But in fact, there were probably hundreds of thousands of Jews that hadn't been to synagogue in decades that were still murdered. Even back as far as feudal England, your heritage was more likely to get you killed than your belief in any particular higher power. Often certain religious denominations became attached to a group of people, or vice versa, but it wasn't a particular belief that would lead to your demise.

In America most of the racism follows skin color boundaries. European whites are different than Africans, who are different from the native Central Americans and North Americans. Most of the suppression isn't directly because of religion or skin color, it's more based on socioeconomic culture.

At one point in our history the division between socioeconomic groups was clear. There were those who owned slaves and those who were slaves. This is probably the most polar any group can be to another, when one of them considers the other as their possession. Slavery wasn't invented in America, but it certainly was perfected.

Since then we've come a long way. Unfortunately, it's been a slow journey. Society has gradually reduced racism in the mainstream. But we aren't finished yet.

President Obama is our first dark skinned president. I'm happy he has broken through that barrier, but it certainly doesn't mean racism is dead. It means that enough people in the country are willing to vote for a black man, who acts very much like upper-middle-class white people, to elect him. The President along with hundreds of thousands of other black men and women have successfully made the leap from socioeconomic suppression into the mainstream. However, there are lots of people of color that are strong leaders and highly intelligent, but still speak and act in a manner that more closely resembles a lower socioeconomic status, regardless of their actual level of wealth. These leaders are unlikely to get mass acceptance.

We haven't eliminated racism by electing a black person, but it is a significant step forward. My children will be voting for the first time in 2020. Hopefully, skintone of our national leaders will more closely resemble the demographics of this country. When that happens, the checkboxes for race on census forms will be completely irrelevant. I don't expect that much progress in the next eight years, however, what I do know is that an intelligent man or woman who is passionate and dedicated will be elected president, and the color of their skin will be far less important.

So, with all this progress, why do I still believe that 98% of Americans are racist? And, why is it that I believe I'm among the 2%?

It's late... I'm tired... and you have a few things to ponder so we will continue this discussion again soon. Meanwhile, share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Great Valentine's Day Gift Ideas For Men and Women

2012-02-11T18:22:00.000-05:00

Some women know what men really want for Valentine's Day. This woman gave him a beautiful bouquet of bacon roses, a DVD and an Xbox 360 game. Most women would give their boyfriends some hot sex. While this is nice, let's face it, it's only about 11 minutes of pleasure. The bacon alone will last at least 15 minutes.

Men are guilty of this too. They buy chocolate or lingerie. What they're saying is they want their girlfriend to look sexy, but have no interest whatsoever in helping them stay that way. I'm thinking of getting my right a gym membership and a pair of sweatpants. It tells her,"I care about your health and your body, but I love you no matter what you look or dress like."

Think about Valentines from your lover's perspective. Get them what they desire, even if it's totally screwed up in your head!

Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovers out there!

Shop Women's Clothing at Amazon

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

2012-02-11T17:47:00.000-05:00

My son, Jason Andrew, just finished reading The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and the follow-up book in the series, Darth Paper Strikes Back: An Origami Yoda Book.

He loved both of them. He actually read them twice. In the books there are instructions to make Origami Yoda and Darth Paper.

Today I ran across the above photo of Origami Yoda. It's much more elaborate than the one they teach you to create in the books, but it's extremely cool. Jas' made about two dozen paper Darth Vader andYoda figures while he was reading the books.

Anyhow, if you are a nine-year-old boy in fourth grade you love them. If you are a 41-year-old guy who sometimes acts like a fourth grader, you'll also love these books.

If you'd like to purchase them, consider doing it from Amazon using my links. I think I earn about $.40 per book which go into the Jason's Million Project.

Description from Amazon

In this funny, uncannily wise portrait of the dynamics of a sixth-grade class and of the greatness that sometimes comes in unlikely packages, Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren’t strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient. Origami Yoda predicts the date of a pop quiz, guesses who stole the classroom Shakespeare bust, and saves a classmate from popularity-crushing embarrassment with some well-timed advice. Dwight’s classmate Tommy wonders how Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. With contributions from his puzzled classmates, he assembles the case file that forms this novel.

Friday Funnies: Losing Husbands and Wives

2012-02-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

Lost Wives

Two guys, one middle age, one young are pushing their carts around Walt-Mart when they collide.

The middle age guy says to the young guy, 'Sorry about that. I'm looking for my wife, and I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going.

The young guy says, 'That's OK, it's a coincidence. I'm looking for my wife, too. I can't find her and I'm getting a little desperate.'

The middle age guy says, 'Well, maybe I can help you find her. What does she look like?'

The young guy says, 'Well, she is 27 yrs old, tall, with red hair, blue eyes, is buxom wearing no bra, long legs, and is wearing short shorts. What does your wife look like?'
To which the middle age guy says, 'Doesn't matter, --- let's look for yours.'

Lost Husband

A married couple had been out shopping at the mall for most of the afternoon.

Suddenly, the wife realized that her husband had disappeared. The somewhat irate spouse called her mate's cell phone and demanded: "Where the heck are you?"

Husband: "Darling, you remember that Jewelry Shop where you saw the diamond necklace and totally fell in love with it and I didn't have money that time and said, 'Baby, it'll be yours one day'?"

Wife, with a smile, blushing: "Yes I remember that, my love."

Husband: "Well, I'm in the Pub next to that shop."

The Honeymooners

Roger, 85, married Jenny, a lovely 25 year old.

Since her new husband is so old, Jenny decides that after their wedding she and Roger should have separate bedrooms, because she is concerned that her new but aged husband may over-exert himself if they spend the entire night together.

After the wedding festivities Jenny prepares herself for bed and the expected knock on the door.

Sure enough the knock comes, the door opens and there is Roger, her 85 year old groom, ready for action. They unite as one.

All goes well, Roger takes leave of his bride, and she prepares to go to sleep.

After a few minutes, Jenny hears another knock on her bedroom door, and it's Roger.

Again he is ready for more 'action'. Somewhat surprised, Jenny consents for more coupling.

When the newlyweds are done, Roger kisses his bride, bids her a fond good night and leaves.

She is set to go to sleep again, but, aha, you guessed it - Roger is back again, rapping on the door and is as fresh as a 25-year-old, ready for more 'action'.

And, once more they enjoy each other.

But as Roger gets set to leave again, his young bride says to him, 'I am thoroughly impressed that at your age you can perform so well and so often. I have been with guys less than a third of your age who were only good once. You are truly a great lover, Roger.'

Roger, somewhat embarrassed, turns to Jenny and says: 'You mean I was here already?'

The moral of the story: Don't be afraid of getting old, memory loss has its advantages.

Friday Funnies: a couple LOLcats and one shameless plug

2012-02-09T00:34:00.000-05:00

Is this the new flavor at Kungaloosh Gourmet Tea Company?

Rapid Weight Loss is a Myth

2012-02-07T13:14:00.002-05:00

Today on Facebook one of my friends was talking about how he lost 15 pounds in the past seven days, and was so proud he was going to reward himself with a good meal.

He had been on a liquid diet, drinking only juices.

For his privacy, I've removed his name, but I want to share with you what I wrote to him. One of my biggest pet peeves is that there is an entire industry that has been created around weight loss. Books, pills, diet aids, specialty foods, juice machines and gastric surgery all have one thing in common. They lie to you about weight loss, and they have no motivation to actually cure you.

My Facebook friend (whom I don't know in real life) is going to enjoy a good meal and hop on his scale tomorrow to discover a 3 or 4 pound weight gain. This misinformation is going to convince him that juicing is working and food is bad.

What's really happening is his body is reacting to the changing intake. He was getting unlimited water, and his body was letting it go immediately. Now that he's eating again, his body will start retaining some of that liquid just in case it's needed later. A quart of liquid weighs over 2 pounds.

Anyhow, here is the note that I sent to my friend.

-- --

I saw your post about losing weight. Congratulations.

I just want to caution you not to overdo it. My wife lost 85 pounds and it took her over 18 months.

To lose 15 pounds of fat, you'd have to burn 49,500 calories in a week. For a 200 pound man, this would be over 70 hours walking briskly on a treadmill nonstop.

To lose 15 in a week means that most of the loss was water and intestinal cleansing. This is okay, but not sustainable.

Realistically you should be able to lose between 1 and 2 pounds weekly. This is somewhere between 500 and 900 extra calories daily. This way you can eat 2000 and burn 2500 to 2900, and have consistent weight loss.

This is the only way to lose weight and maintain your health.

If you currently weigh more than 400 pounds, you can about double that rate safely.

A crash diet is okay, and good to cleanse your body, but don't deprive yourself of nutrition. And don't expect that this pace can last, even for a little while.

I know we don't know each other, and I don't want to overstep, but I'm continually frustrated by the diet industry continually lying to people.

There are no secrets to losing weight. It's pure physics...

It takes X quantity of energy to move X quantity of mass over X quantity of distance within a period of time. It's the same calculation for the human body, a gasoline engine, or a rocket ship.

It requires heat energy (calories), to move mass (your body), a given distance in a given period of time (exercise). Weighing more, moving faster, or reducing caloric intake affect weight loss but absolutely nothing else does over the long-term.

Ignore super foods, diet pills, metabolism myths, etc.

I see you've been juicing. That's fine short-term, but it's a trick to rinse your body of fluids and bile. You will lose weight, but after a few days you were also drain your potassium and sodium and have no energy. Your body reacts to your reduced potassium by decreasing muscle tone. You may have heard of people who have died from excessive water intake? This is potassium shock. Juice is less damaging than water but will eventually have the same effect.

Drink juice because you liked it and it's better than the empty calories of soda, etc. but it patches a symptom, it isn't the solution.

I wish you best on your journey toward better health. My wife is currently 37, and she is in better health than she was in eighth grade.

My best,

Jason

Bachelor Casserole

2012-02-07T03:03:00.001-05:00

Tonight I made my kids "Bachelor Casserole" something I used to eat a long time ago. It's super easy, super cheap, it almost tastes like real food.

I stole this photo from the web, but it's kind of similar.

Here's the recipe: Bachelor Casserole

Ingredients:

Two bags of Ramen noodles (I used creamy chicken)
one can of condensed soup (cheesy broccoli was in the cupboard)
one can of meat (chunk chicken in this case)
fresh vegetable (clearly optional)
breadcrumbs (to make it look like real food, again optional)

When I was a bachelor Ramen noodles were only $.10 apiece. A can of condensed soup was about a quarter, and a can of meat was less than $1.00. For about a buck and a half I could make four meals.

Step #1 -- Cook the Ramen noodles. The flavor doesn't really matter, because the flavor packets are optional. This way you can make this beef noodles with a can of tuna if you want.

Step #3 -- Drain off most of the water and add the condensed soup. Cream of Something works best. Again, it doesn't really matter. I used cheesy broccoli only because it was in my cupboard and it would go well with the fresh broccoli and had in the fridge.

Step #3.1 -- Add the meat. I usually used tuna, but cans of turkey or chicken work well too. I never tried canned ham or spam, but it's probably similar. Corned beef hash is awesome with eggs, but I don't think I'd try it here.

Step #3.2 -- Stir until it's mixed thoroughly and warm throughout.

Step #2 -- You probably should have been cooking your veggies, but let's face it, you probably wouldn't have read all of the instructions as a bachelor, so you're not really behind.

I added veggies because I have children. If you're under 30 veggies are truly an option because nothing can kill you. If you're over 30, you discovered that maybe a vegetable would have been a good idea in your 20s. If you're over 40 like me, you miss the days when you could put anything in your stomach without waking up at 2:30 in the morning needing to take a shit. (If you think I'm joking, check out the timestamp on this blog entry.)

You can boil, steam, or microwave your veggies to soften them a bit.

You probably don't have breadcrumbs if you're a bachelor, but if you do sprinkling them on top will make it look less like whatever was in your stomach after a drinking binge. Again, if you're below 30 you rarely look at your food, so breadcrumbs are optional.

You can add seasoning if you want. I threw a little garlic powder on top tonight, because, well it's garlic. Oregano, salt and pepper and bacon bits have also been used in the past. Warning: adding spices can make it seem like actual cooking.

Step #4 -- Dump the slop into a flat dish. A pie pan is good, casserole dish, whatever; we know you're limited.

Step #5 -- I sprinkled the breadcrumbs and broccoli on top, but you could stir the veggies in. Whatever.

Step #6 -- I baked it for about half an hour. Again, pretty much everything was cooked before you started, so you just need to bake it until it looks right. Don't worry about the temperature setting, because you probably don't know how to use the fancy dials anyhow. For women, bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

You don't have to bake it, but I think it tastes a little better.

Step #7 -- Let it sit for about half an hour if you want it to be able to slice it, otherwise grab a spoon and dig in. If you're actually a bachelor, grab a big spoon and sit down in front of the television. At this point you realize the bottom is hot so you should probably grab a hot pad, a dish towel, or put on some pants.

If you're cooking for your girlfriend, make sure you don't want to marry this one, because this dish isn't going to score you any points. But if she's just a girl, you probably want to break out the plates so you don't look like a douche.

If you have kids and your wife isn't home, one big bowl and three spoons makes you Awesome Dad.

Enjoy your new cuisine...

Super Bowl predictions for 2012

2012-02-05T17:42:00.000-05:00

My prediction for the Super Bowl is based more on like/dislike than science. I've just never been a New England Patriots fan. I'm not a huge Giants fan either, primarily because they are in the same division as the Cowboys, however since the Cowboys are long gone I'm going to take the Giants.

The New York Giants will win the Super Bowl, because they have been able to put together at crunch time this whole season. They started out injured, and improved every week. When they finally beat the Cowboys on the last game of the season, they looked like a world-class football team. At that time I said they could go all the way.

Eli Manning is as good a quarterback as any in the league, including Tom Brady. The difference between Manning and Brady this year is their receiving corps. Tom Brady has a bunch of average receivers, and spreads the ball around well. Eli Manning has amazing receivers. Three of them are capable of going the distance on any given play. Because of that, I think they will have a strong running offense.

In a shoot out, I think Brady has the advantage, however I think the Giants are capable of controlling the tempo. If they can hold the ball more than 30 minutes, they will win.

Fumbles are the dealbreaker. They are even worse than interceptions, because with Brady and Manning interceptions are usually well downfield. Fumbles, however, could completely change the game.

If the Giants lose it will be because they dropped the ball, and failed to pick it up again, literally.

For those of you contemplating wagers, Giants over Patriots, 28-24.

With that said, I never put money on the games. I'm pretty good at predicting winners when Ben Franklin isn't involved.

Last prediction, Madonna's 50-year-old boobs will stay inside her wardrobe.

Credits: The term Super Bowl, the Lombardi trophy, and its logos are property of the NFL. Helmet designs are copyright of their respective teams. Madonna photo courtesy of Reuters/Jeff Haynes.

Simple Voter's Guide: How You Should Vote in 2012

2012-02-04T01:37:00.000-05:00

There are so many issues and so many opinions. Sometimes, it comes down to some basic core values. Here is a handy guide to voting for President of the United States.

Before you comment... this was meant to be funny. Keep your ranting in check. Children may be reading this blog as they stumble upon it while searching for porn.

Growth of the United States through History (animation)

2012-02-03T14:53:00.001-05:00

My son was asking how we went from 13 colonies to 50 states in the United States. I described how the land was always here, but just divided and subdivided until we have the state borders we have today. I didn't do a great job. Then...

I ran across this very cool animation today and thought I'd share with you. I wish I knew who did it, because I'd like to give them credit.

Animated map of the growth of the United States:

Kia Dream Car Commercial

2012-02-03T12:07:00.000-05:00

Hilarious commercial. I'm not sure my dream car is a Kia, but it certainly beats the minivan I've been looking at.

Beautiful, inspiring, funny and bikini-clad... sounds exactly like my dreams.

Enjoy

Thanks to Ali Stevens at 94KX.

Proper Etiquette when Meeting Cityfolk

2012-02-03T08:51:00.000-05:00

In the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania it's important that our citizens, although partially removed from world culture, art, high society and, well, civilization in general, we need to be aware of proper etiquette in social situations where we do meet people from cities. Otherwise, without proper etiquette we may be mistaken for West Virginians.

Therefore, here are a few friendly etiquette tips to help my fellow Pennsylvanians.

Never take beer to a job interview. Any job where it's acceptable to drink will already have beer.

It's friendly to identify the people in your yard before yelling at them. Simply hold your gun level until you recognize them.

Taking a snack to church is okay, but bringing a cooler is frowned upon.

Even if you know for sure that you are in someone's will, it's still considered rude to bring a U-Haul to the funeral home.

When decanting wine, make sure to tilt the paper cup and pour slowly so as not to bruise it. Later you may need to tilt the box.

When drinking directly from the bottle, use your hands. When you're holding the bottle, feet or cleavage are okay, but not when drinking it.

When entertaining your table centerpiece should be an item prepared by your taxidermist. Obviously, squirrels and groundhogs are okay, but bear and Whitetail tend to obstruct conversation.

Don't allow your dog to eat off the table, even if he's well mannered.

When cleaning your ears, it's rude to use someone else's keys. If you must, go out to your truck and get your own.

After repairing your truck or tractor, wash your hands. Dirt and grease under your fingernails can detract from a proper woman's jewelry.

Gentlemen, when courting, particularly in the early stages always offer to bait your date's hook.

When asking a father for his daughter's hand in marriage, you may want to have him get comfortable and offer him a glass of brandy. If you suspect he will say no, offer him six glasses of brandy first.

When in a movie theater, if your baby begins to cry, take him or her to the lobby. Just remember to pick them up there after the movie.

Livestock is usually a poor choice for a wedding gift. In a proper setting, you should have it butchered first.

Speaking of weddings, when kissing the bride, more than five or 10 seconds is considered rude, especially if the groom is standing nearby.

Although uncomfortable, groomsmen are expected to wear socks and shoes.

When attending a wedding, put on your best attire. Make sure your bowling shirt is clean and wear your very best baseball cap.

When driving in the city, the right-of-way does not always belong to the vehicle with the largest tires.

Make sure your children know never to take a weapon to school. They should leave their rifles in the gun rack of their pickup.

When going off to college, oh, nevermind.

When enjoying a fine cut of meat, cityfolk don't consider it lucky to get the steak with the bullet in it.

When introducing your wife and sister, cityfolk expect to meet two women.

When visitors ask to use your bathroom, always offer them a coat, even if it's only a little cold outside.

Have more tips? Add them to the comments below.

Which Social Network Should My Business Use?

2012-02-01T12:55:00.000-05:00

Jason Tweed, the million dollar blogger: Which Social Network Should My Business Use?: You should use all of them and none of them! What, that wasn't the answer you were looking for? Let me try to explain. Social network... Read the rest at jasonsmillion.com.

The Origins of Groundhog Day

2012-02-01T10:10:00.001-05:00

Groundhog Day is celebrated tomorrow, February 2, and the United States and Canada. The most notable groundhog is from Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, aptly named Punxsutawney Phil. They've been celebrating Groundhog Day each year since 1886 and have attracted as many as 40,000 visitors.

But you may be wondering how Groundhog Day got started.

The truth is we don't know. Groundhog Day or Candlemas Day was celebrated by the Pennsylvania Germans in southeastern and central Pennsylvania dating back to the 1700s.

The first known reference was dated February 4, 1841 by a Berks County storekeeper:

Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.

Another early reference comes from an early English poem that speaks of Candlemas Day, that speaks of clouds and rain indicating an early spring, but makes no mention of a groundhog.

In a third theory, Groundhog Day could be as much as 1000 years old. The modern calendar has the first day of spring on March 20 or 21st, approximately 7 weeks after Groundhog Day. However, the Julian calendar showed the spring equinox on March 16, exactly 6 weeks after February 2. It's possible that predicting spring (a critical time in agricultural society) became a contentious argument. Perhaps a groundhog or a hedgehog was agreed upon as an arbiter. Early cultures often recognized the instincts of animals as superior to their own.

So, Groundhog Day is several hundred years old, or maybe several thousand.

So why Punxsutawney Phil? Frankly, it was good marketing. A little tiny town in Western Pennsylvania wasn't going to attract visitors very often, and chose this unusual celebration to develop a strong tourism business.

Punxsutawney Phil

But Phil isn't the only groundhog! There are dozens across the US and Canada. Wikipedia has a ridiculous list if you're interested, but here are the names of a few.

French Creek Freddie is from West Virginia. Tumbleweed is from Illinois. Balzac Billy is from Alberta Canada. There is Chuckles in Connecticut and Poor Richard from York, Pennsylvania. Mountain Maryland Murray from, well, Maryland. Buckeye Chuck from Ohio. Queen Charlotte of North Carolina. Even New York City has Staten Island Chuck.

Well, now you know more than you ever expected to know about Groundhog Day.

Lionel Richie Would Be Proud (video)

2012-01-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

Hello, is it laughter you're looking for? I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in your smile. Enjoy this Lionel Richie parody.

When Harry Met Sally revisited! (video)

2012-01-28T22:17:00.001-05:00

The greatest scene from "When Harry Met Sally", with a new twist. Turn up your speakers and enjoy!

Friday Funnies: Laughing at Death

2012-01-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

Um, I'm OK!

Clem's pickup had been hit by a semi in an accident, and Clem was suing the trucking company for damages. In court, the trucking company's lawyer was questioning Clem. "Didn't you say, sir, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?'" asked the lawyer.

Clem responded, "Well, I'll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite mule, Bessie, into the -"

"I didn't ask for any details", the lawyer interrupted. "Just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'?"

Clem said, "Well, I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road -."

The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Your Honor, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the investigating Highway Patrolman that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question."

By this time, the judge had become interested in Clem's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule, Bessie."

Clem thanked the Judge and proceeded. "Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran a stop sign and smacked my truck right in the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie vas thrown into the other ditch. I was hurting real bad and didn't want to move.

However, I could hear Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape too, just by her groans! Shortly after the accident the Highway Patrolman, he came on to the scene.

He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he went over to her. After he looked at her and saw her fatal condition he took out his gun and shot her right between the eyes

Then the Patrolman, he come across the road, gun still smoking, looked at me and asked, 'How are you feeling?"

"Now: What the heck would YOU say!?"

Cookies to Die For

A very old man lay dying in his bed. He suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookie wafting up the stairs.

He gathered his remaining strength and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort forced himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands. With labored breath, he leaned against the door frame, gazing into the kitchen.

Were it not for death's agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven. There, spread out on newspapers on the kitchen table was literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies. Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man?

Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table. The aged and withered hand, shaking, made its way to a cookie at the edge of the table.

He was suddenly smacked on his hand with a spatula by his wife. "Stay out of those," she said. "They're for the funeral."

Concealed Weapons

A state trooper stops an elderly woman for speeding. He asked her for her driver's license and registration. When she removed it from her wallet he noticed she had a Concealed Weapon Permit.

"Ma'am, are you in possession of a weapon at this time?" The officer asked.

She gestured toward the glove box and stated she had a ".45 semi-auto" in it.

As part of protocol the officer asked, "Are there any other firearms in the car?"

She opened her center console to reveal a 9 mm Glock.

Surprised, he hesitantly asked, "Are there any more weapons in your vehicle?".

She also admitted that she carries a .38 Special in her handbag.

All of her weapons and permits checked out, so the officer wrote the ticket for speeding, and was about to send her on her way.

"Ma'am," he asked, "what is it that you're so afraid of?"

She looked the trooper straight in the eye and said, "Not a F@CKIN' thing!"

Mitt Romney Pays $6 Million in Taxes. Was it enough?

2012-01-24T14:32:00.000-05:00

Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney released his tax documents today. I won't go deep into specifics but generally he had about $20 million in income, and paid about $6 million in taxes over the past two years. If you do the math, it's roughly 15%.

You may be screaming, "but that's my tax rate! How unfair!"

Here's why you're wrong. Mitt Romney paid exactly the right amount of taxes.

If you made $10 million a year, and your tax rate was roughly 33%, wouldn't you try to save money? Of course you would. You would hire an accountant, and you would look for tax breaks, credits and discounts that would reduce the amount of money you have to pay.

Mr. Romney did this successfully, primarily by using a tax credit for large charitable donations. Mr. Romney donated about $1.6 million per year to his church and other charities. He gave away more money than he paid in taxes. Few readers of this blog made charitable donations at a higher rate than their personal tax burden.

What this tells us about Mr. Romney is that he chose to contribute his wealth to specific charities rather than to use the money to pay taxes. I don't know about you, but I would prefer to direct my money to organizations and people I deem worthy, than to contribute to a massive federal budget.

Next, Mr. Romney earns most of his money, as do most of the wealthy, on dividends and investment income. If you don't play baseball for millions, or have the next Harry Potter under contract, you probably make your millions by investing.

Investment income is taxed at a lower rate than personal income. Most wealthy people pay 20% on capital gains. Additionally, some of those investments will lose money, and these losses can be counted against income.

Mr. Romney made his living as a venture capitalist. He has investments in many companies. Obviously, his retirement funds from being governor of Massachusetts doesn't play this well. That money is taxed at a higher rate.

So, most of his income was taxed at 20% instead of 33%. His charitable donations reduced his taxable income enough so his total tax burden was slightly under 14%.

If you hate that a guy who makes $20 million from investments only pays $3 million in taxes, I understand. However, you elected the people who made those policies.

Investment income appears to many as unearned money and undertaxed, but that's not true. The truth is that investors take a risk with the money they've already earned. This money has already been taxed once, sometimes when they earned it, or possibly when a relative or ancestor earned it. At some point the original investment had to have been earned and taxed.

These investments provide jobs. Without them large companies would be nonexistent, and small companies would struggle to survive. Much of the quality of life we enjoy in the United States is because of investors who take their earnings and re-invests them into companies.

Some countries don't have a strong establishment for public investing. Because of that the rich are very rich, and the poor are very poor. Look at some of the Middle Eastern nations where a single family controls tens of billions in wealth, while much of the population can barely get by. The poverty level in US is more than 10 times the annual salary of workers in many other countries. If you don't like investors, I recommend looking at the economies of Libya, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and many other countries.

It's necessary that capital gains taxes be lower than personal income tax. This encourages wealthy people to invest, rather than starting new businesses, or simply hoarding the cash. When the wealthy create new businesses, the chance of losing that investment is much more significant.The losses from the unsuccessful ones act as tax havens. If we raise capital gains taxes to 33%, investors will focus more on high-risk investments that are self managed, and you would see an increase in bankruptcies without realizing additional tax revenues.

People will be screaming about the rich controlling the economy, but truth be told, I'd rather have a savvy business person who makes solid business decisions influencing our economy.

This isn't a endorsement of Mr. Romney. You need to vote based on who you think will best lead America into the future. People who rant about his tax payments are uninformed and shortsighted, so don't jump on the bandwagon.

I urge you to research the all the candidates thoroughly, then cast your vote. If you choose not to do the homework, please don't vote. Allow us who are well informed choose on your behalf.

Sources: CNBC, Townhall.com

NFL Conference Champion Predictions

2012-01-21T12:42:00.000-05:00

I usually don't write much about sports. I'm an avid fan of the NFL and Formula One, and I love watching baseball and going to minor-league hockey games. But brighter minds than mine write about sports.

Some going to announce my picks for the Conference Championships. I won't go into extreme detail, I'm just going to document them here so when I'm bragging I can prove I picked the winners. If I'm wrong I may delete this post. :-) Just kidding.

The early game tomorrow is the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots. I've liked Baltimore all season and figured they or Pittsburgh would represent the AFC. The Patriots are always a talented team, but didn't expect them to go deep.

Then, I watched the Patriots annihilate the Denver Broncos. They have the whole package, good defense and amazing offense. I'm taking the Patriots over the Ravens. Baltimore has a solid defense, but they aren't going to be able to keep Brady from scoring 21 or 28 points, and their offense isn't strong enough to put up those numbers against the Patriots.

Baltimore does have a chance, however, because Tom Brady is dealing with an injured shoulder. I think he'll be ready to go, but if he's not 100%, or if Ray Lewis gets up close and personal to many times, the Ravens will make a game of it.

The later game, and frankly the one I care about, is the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. It feels like a throwback to the late 80s and early 90s when the NFC dominated. The 49ers were always strong, and the winner of the powerhouse NFC East would usually battle for the conference title. At that time winning the NFC was a bigger than the Super Bowl, because they were almost assured of dominating the best AFC team.

I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan, so it pains me a little bit to say it, but the Giants are impressive. Eli Manning has become much more than a little brother. He is one of the top quarterbacks in the league right now. If I had to choose between him, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, I could definitely make an argument for Eli.

The Giants snuck in the back door to the playoffs. This isn't because they don't have talent, it's because they were beaten up in the running game. They have three talented backs, but for the first two-thirds of the season they never have had more than one of them healthy at a time. They have a few injuries now, but their offense is healthy and strong. The running game is solid, which is going to make the passing game almost impossible to beat. I think Eli is going to pick apart the secondary of the 49ers like my grandma cleaning the meat off the bones after Thanksgiving dinner.

Again, the 49ers have a good defense, but I don't think they have the whole package. Their record is good, but like the Giants, I don't think it's a true reflection of their talent. Alex Smith is coming into his own, but I think he needs another year before that team is going to be ready for the Super Bowl.

So, my Super Bowl matchup is New England Patriots versus the New York Giants.

Credits: The term Super Bowl is a registered trademark of the NFL. I say this because the only people more bad ass then the players is the team of licensing lawyers the NFL employs. Those guys are seriously scary! Images were sampled from NFL.com and are property of the NFL and the respective teams. Please don't sue me.

Friday Funnies: Blessings in Disguise

2012-01-20T12:00:00.001-05:00

Bless This Food

Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served.

When Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away.

"Johnny! Please wait until we say our prayer." said his mother.

"I don't need to," the boy replied.

"Of course, you do "his mother insisted." We always say a prayer before eating at our house."

"That's at our house." Johnny explained. "But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook."

The Magician and the Parrot

A magician worked on a cruise ship. The audience was different each week so the magician did the same tricks over and over again.

There was only one problem: The captain's parrot saw the shows each week and began to understand how the Magician did every trick.

Once he understood, he started shouting in the middle of the show, "Look, it's not the same hat!" or, "Look, he's hiding the flowers under the table!" Or "Hey, why are all the cards the ace of spades?"

The magician was furious but couldn't do anything. It was, after all, the Captain's' parrot. Then they encountered a severely stormy night on the Pacific. Unfortunately, the ship sank, drowning almost all who were on board.

The magician luckily found himself on a piece of wood floating in the middle of the sea. As fate would have it he shared the piece of wood with the parrot. They stared at each other with hatred, but did not utter a word.

This went on for a day... And then 2 days, and then 3 days. Finally on the 4th day, the parrot could not hold back any longer and said.

"OK, I give up. Where's the #@*&%# ship?"

Psychiatrists vs. Bartenders

Ever since I was a child, I've always had a fear of someone under my bed at night. So I went to a shrink and told him, 'I've got problems. Every time I go to bed I think there's somebody underit. I'm scared. I think I'm going crazy.' .

'Just put yourself in my hands for one year,' said the shrink. 'Come talk to me three times a week and we should be able to get rid of those fears.'

'How much do you charge?'.

'Eighty dollars per visit,' replied the doctor. .

'I'll sleep on it,' I said. .

Six months later the doctor met me on the street. 'Why didn't you come to see me about those fears you were having?' he asked. .

"Well, Eighty bucks a visit three times a week for a year is an awful lot of money! A bartender cured me for $10. I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went and bought me a new pickup!' .

'Is that so?' With a bit of an attitude he said, 'and how, may I ask, did a bartender cure you?' .

'He told me to cut the legs off the bed! - Ain't nobody under there now!!!'

Golfers Are Such Warm People

A husband and wife are on the 9th green when suddenly she collapses from a heart attack! "Help me dear," she groans to her husband. .

The husband calls 911 on his cell phone, talks for a few minutes, and picks up his putter and lines up his putt. His wife raises her head off the green and stares at him. "I'm dying here and you're putting?" .

"Don't worry dear," says the husband calmly, "they found a doctor on the second hole and he's coming to help you." .

"Well, how long will it take for him to get here?" she asks feebly. .

"No time at all," says her husband. "Everybody's already agreed to let him play through."

MegaUpload Raid Proves SOPA Won't Work

2012-01-20T09:03:00.000-05:00

Why the MegaUpload Raid Proves SOPA Won't Work

FBI Raid MegaUpload

If you are following news about online piracy yesterday, I don't blame you. I've spent more than my share of time than this topic deserves, however I did catch the story about the FBI raid on a company called MegaUpload, with servers rented in Virginia.

MegaUpload, which reportedly generated $175 million last year, acts as a storage and transfer facility for extremely large files. It allows people to store large files and share them with others. They have policies in place that if a copyright holder discovers a file that they own, it can be reported.

According to the Feds, the abuse reporting system wasn't adequate to protect copyright holders. Additionally, they stated that the executives knew and willingly allowed pirated material to be stored. They cited a two-year investigation including internal e-mails.

The raids arrested seven individuals in Virginia and New Zealand, including the CEO. The raids in New Zealand were carried out by New Zealand police.

The company operated more than 1100 servers which were confiscated in Virginia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Additionally, the website itself was taken off-line, based on a server in Hong Kong.

Suspicions suggest that the MPAA (the film industry association) and the RIAA (music industry association) pressured the raid to bring recently defeated piracy acts SOPA and PIPA back into the spotlight, although the investigation clearly preceded the introduction of this legislation. The timing of the raid is suspicious, however.

Here's why the MegaUpload raid proves that SOPA won't work.

Under SOPA, the copyright holders themselves could have tried to shut down the system by turning off at the IP level, the servers. However, there were a total of 1100+ servers, each with unique IP addresses. There is no way from the website to determine the IP addresses of those servers. In fact, prior to the raid, I doubt the FBI even knew the IP addresses. They physically seized the servers, something beyond the capability of SOPA.

It also proves that, with international cooperation, the existing laws are capable of making moves on suspected pirates and the resources they use.

The Mega Upload online piracy raid saga is far from over.

First, within minutes of the raid a known rogue organization of hackers, known as Anonymous, claimed responsibility for four denial of service attacks which pummel Web servers with tens of thousands of simultaneous pings, creating a massive slowdown or even shut down of those Web servers. The recording industry websites and the Department of Justice were among the four. While this activity is illegal, and probably committed by an organized network, Anonymous is not an organized crime venture akin to the 1920s mafia during Chicago prohibition. Anonymous is a social network of hackers that are loosely affiliated, perhaps more than 1000 individuals, using attacks from tens of thousands of virus-infected PCs. Shutting down a website under SOPA, even if successful, will not prevent retaliatory attacks. Reportedly the Department of Justice website slowed dramatically, but didn't go down. The other websites crashed under the pressure.

Second, prosecuting MegaUpload executives is going to be tricky, and precedent-setting. The seven individuals are of multiple citizenships and were based in two countries. The raids took place in four different jurisdictions. Even if all four countries agree, or all are willing to extradite, proving the executives are responsible is going to be challenging based on other examples. Using a service such as MegaUpload to commit piracy is roughly the equivalent of using a gun to commit a murder. This website is the tool, not to direct offender. Convicting them may be similar to convicting a handgun manufacturer for crime committed with their weapons. Handgun manufacturers know that their weapons are used to commit crimes. Additionally, handgun manufacturers have even made modifications to their weapons, making them more appealing to criminals then to law enforcement. However, no handgun manufacturer has ever been convicted or found civilly liable for crimes committed with their product. Recognizing that someone is using your service illegally doesn't necessarily equate to committing crime.

Third, the Department of Justice seized data that was stored legally on those servers. The mega upload service can also be used to transfer files of legitimate purpose. Each of those 1100 servers probably had many files stored that were perfectly legal, and are the proprietary information and property of the service users. Now the federal government has seized large quantities of data that they are entitled to be possessing, and that their agents violate privacy issues by even examining. In a real-world equivalent, this would be the same as seizing all of the safety deposit boxes of a bank, because a known criminal is using some of the boxes for storage of stolen property. Worse, even if the safety deposit boxes are only temporarily seized, the contents would have to be examined to determine which ones had illegal content.

There are lots of sites that offer storage services including cloud servers owned by Apple, Microsoft, Google and many of the largest legitimate companies in America. All of them are being used to store some illegally possessed data, without a doubt. Is the federal government allowed to seize data on third-party servers simply because the company owning the servers is aware that their product could be used in criminal activity? This raid will certainly create some precedent-setting legal implications.

I do applaud the Feds on the attempt. Pirating data on a massive scale, or a tiny scale, is a crime and there needs to be a process and consequence for prosecution. The question is, how much impact will this particular raid have on future efforts to stop piracy?

Movie-Theater Etiquette

2012-01-19T17:13:00.000-05:00

The Groupon Guide to: Movie-Theater Etiquette

Movie Rule #42 - Always dress in 1960's clothes
when attending a 3-D film.

To maintain the suspension of disbelief necessary to enjoy a film, movie theaters maintain a complex code of conduct for their guests.

Here's a look at what you can and cannot do during a movie:

Talking is frowned upon.
Frowning is frowned upon, as your physical displeasure may spread to other patrons.
Texting is tolerated, as long as your phone's virtual keyboard noises are disabled.
Making the keyboard noises with your mouth is not necessary.
Enjoying popcorn is encouraged.
Dipping Reese's Pieces into your soda is discouraged, on grounds of radical deliciousness.
Deducing the film's twist ending before the director intended is considered rude.
Aiming a laser pointer at the screen is considered hilarious.
Being too good at preshow trivia will arouse the suspicion of the theater's security force.
Not being good enough at preshow trivia will do the same.
Allowing the emotions aroused by the film to later be replicated by real-world experiences is impossible.

Source: GroupOn.com

SOPA-PIPA impact on Small Business

2012-01-18T13:37:00.000-05:00

Later today I'm planning on publishing the following article in the newsletter I sent for my day job, editor of Private Duty Today, an online business journal serving CEOs of home health agencies.

Here is the article in its entirety...
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I'm usually hesitant to express my personal political views. Private Duty Home Care owners cover the gamut from extremely conservative to extremely liberal, and everywhere in between.

Because of that, our official policy is to inform readers about the impact of legislation and its lawmakers on our businesses, but not spout opinion. We try to provide insight, but not influence.

However, I'm going to make an exception today. There are two bills about to go to legislative debate, one in the House and one in the Senate. While these two bills have broad bipartisan support, they have virtually no support in the eyes of the American public. OpenCongress.org which tracks users opinions on upcoming and past legislation, shows the bill at 98% opposed.

The bills are House bill HR 3261, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Senate Bill S. 968, Protect IP Act (PIPA). I believe these bills are dangerous, and a legitimate threat to our businesses.

The bills are nearly identical. Here is a quick bullet list of the provisions.

It gives the ability of content creators (i.e. music industry, film industry, television industry, book publishers, etc.) to request a court order against foreign websites that pirate and republish their content.
It gives the federal government the ability to do the same for websites that are criminal or pose a threat to homeland security.
It gives courts the ability to shut down these websites at the DNS level or IP level, essentially shutting them down within the framework of the Internet.
Additionally, it gives courts the ability to do the same to any website providing support links or services to these illegal sites.

Okay, so now you're saying to yourself, "But Jason, this has nothing to do with me or my business."

I wish that were the case. In fact, it impacts every American. Here's how, and why.

First, a little history.

Prior to our last election, organizations such as Comcast, Verizon, and other telecommunications providers, in cooperation with the entertainment industry pressed for a bill that would allow them to choose what websites travel over their wires. This would allow companies to charge websites for access to their subscribers. It would essentially create a cable TV version of the Internet. A movement called Net Neutrality grew and the bills were shut down. The American people wanted the ability to access the entire Internet regardless of which service provider wired their homes.

In this election cycle the content providers funded election campaigns on both sides of the aisle heavily. They spent a total of $94 million on congressional campaigns for currently sitting members of Congress. This number doesn't include money spent on Senate campaigns. This also doesn't include the money poured into campaign coffers of candidates who failed to get elected. The real money spent could be double.

The SOPA and PIPA bills are how the entertainment industry expects to recoup those "donations".

There are three major problems with these bills that are significant. The third one will directly influence your business.

First, the laws won't work. Unfortunately, piracy is a multibillion-dollar industry, and electronic pirates understand the Internet better than any other group.

Shutting down websites is roughly the equivalent of plugging a hole in a dam with chewing gum. A typical pirate website survives 24 to 96 hours. There is a relatively good system in place for shutting them down, unfortunately, it's easy to rebuild them and hard to prosecute the actual criminals.
The federal government has no interest in shutting down sites that threaten homeland security. These websites give valuable information to the intelligence community. Additionally, the Patriot Act already gives them this power.
Most criminal activity conducted online is done through a collection of computers, not individual websites. Viruses identify computers that are unprotected and left connected. Bits of information are stored on tens of thousands of computers. When you download a pirated movie, that movie is not streamed from servers (which would cost the hackers money) but from individual computers known as zombies. Shutting down these individual PCs has absolutely no effect. This technology is used by hackers, spammers, and fishers. It's also, however used by many online games, by many universities, and even by companies such as Netflix that need to transmit huge amounts of data in a short period of time. The technology is legal and has legitimate uses, so they can't simply ban the software.

Second, potential for abuse is high. There are lots of scenarios where content creators would desire to shut down a website. Here are a couple potential examples of abuse.

A blogger creates a movie review video blog. He/she gives the film a bad review, using a snippet of the film in the example. This is known as sampling, and it's legal under the freedom of the press. However, if the copyright holder of the film sees it, a court order could have the entire blog shut down. This would inhibit reviews of any content except by the organizations that the entertainment industry permits to use their content.
An individual author publishes a biography on a hot topic. The author spends several weeks researching and writing, and publishes it at no cost directly to e-book readers at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. This is a perfectly legal endeavor. However, a major publishing house, publishing a book on the same topic is able to convince a judge that this book may contain stolen information. The judge then sign a court order shutting down both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. These major websites will immediately remove the content to prevent the shutdown. Months later after a long court battle, the author has proven that his/her book is original and legal. Unfortunately, the major publisher has already developed their own work on the subject. After a long and expensive court battle, the author has missed opportunity for success.
The following example actually happened! Sen. Lamar Smith, the sponsor of this bill, used a photo on his website they downloaded from Flickr. The original photographer allowed free use with the stipulation that he received appropriate credit. Sen. Smith's website did not give him credit. Under the current law, the photographer would have been able to contact the website. The webmaster would either give the photographer credit, or remove the content. If this wasn't done the photographer could pursue civil action. However, with the new bill, SOPA, this photographer could have gone to a judge and received a court order. The court order could have shut down Sen. Smith's website for the duration of a legal battle. An individual photographer probably wouldn't bother, but someone competing for Sen. Smith's congressional seat would have certainly benefited.

This bill contains no provisions whatsoever for due process. Any organization that has persuasive powers with a single judge wields great power over the Internet. The real threat for abuse lies with the entertainment industry who is ensconced in politics.

Let's assume the law does work. Let's even say that the good people of America choose never to abuse the law. There is a third reason, and this is most important to you, why this is a bad piece of legislation.

Responsibility is placed at the domain level. Additionally, the law applies not only to the originators of pirated content, but additionally to support websites such as blog platforms, PayPal and other commerce venues, social networks and social bookmarks. Because of this responsibility, most major websites will have to make significant policy changes to prevent violating the US law. It's these policy changes that will affect your business. Here are some examples.

You produce a video commercial for your agency. You upload it to YouTube, and embed it on your website for free. Under the new law you either need to file copyright notices verifying that you own the content, which takes time and costs money, or you need to purchase hosting services and pay for bandwidth and technical support.
Under the law, you are unlikely to be able to post links on Facebook, Linked In or other social networks. These networks will have to much at stake to allow random links. You will end up using their services to create pages, and these pages will have to be screened for intellectual content prior to publishing. The process of using social networks will slow dramatically. Additionally, as this happens fewer and fewer users will rely on these networks.
You build a great website and have excellent search engine rank. However, Google's policy on linking will have to change. You will have to verify ownership of your content to get listed. Search Engine Optimization as we know it will cease to exist.
Your blog, currently hosted for free on Blogger or WordPress will now be screened to be certain that you own 100% of the content. Blogging platforms will become expensive to use.
Services such as Twitter and social bookmarking sites such as Reddit or Digg will no longer be able to allow user generated links, virtually eliminating usefulness.

It will become more difficult and more expensive to market any services or products online!

I've created a long list of very specific examples of how your favorite websites will be directly effected by this law. You can read it on my personal blog.

The entertainment industry including all major television networks, major film studios, record labels, book publishers and sports leagues all support this bill. They've made claims of losing money to piracy for more than three decades, starting in the days of recordable cassette tapes.

Here are the facts:

Every one of these industries benefit from piracy. People who steal movies and music tend to brag about it, generating hype. People who steal movies and music won't pay for it, they will simply steal something else if the content they want isn't available.
CD and book sales have dropped, however, devices for reading and listening are generating tremendous revenues. People are still spending money on entertainment, however, they have many more choices of content.
Today individuals and small companies can produce quality entertainment at a fraction of the cost, and published these products virtually for free. Advertising supports the vast majority of these platforms.
The banking industry also supports this bill because it will eliminate small businesses from using cheap online credit card processing such as PayPal. PayPal will be forced to verify that every product offered is not counterfeit or pirated.
Publishing platforms such as Kindle will only be open to people with verified copyrights. This means a long copyright process, or using a traditional publishing house.
Revenues from film are up substantially. Box office records have been set in spite of piracy. Online companies such as Netflix and pay-per-view paid huge dollars to content providers for streaming video. The DVD platform will be extinct within five years. Profitability for content is increasing dramatically because it no longer relies on first-time viewership in the theater nor first run on television. Small cable networks are realizing huge profits from original content.
Two of the top 20 shows watched on the Internet were never on television. The big four television networks are uncomfortable at the thought of legitimate competition online.

I urge you to please contact the two senators in your state and your local representative in Congress. Tell them three things:

SOPA and PIPA do not provide adequate due process.
Both bills will hinder all small businesses in marketing and increase expenses for small content providers.
Both bills will require significant policy change at every major website. These policies will inhibit freedom of speech, freedom of protest, and freedom to assemble. In this way they circumvent the Constitution.

Finally, make sure to tell your Senators and members of Congress that you are a voter. Tell them your party affiliation, because they need to recognize that members of their own party are against this bill. Tell them that you will vote against any member of Congress or the Senate that votes in favor of either bill.

There are catchphrases being thrown around by legislators. Here's what they may say, and the facts.

Stopping piracy and counterfeit goods is important. -- We agree. Piracy and counterfeiting are wrong, however neither bill will be effective in this war. Existing copyright, patent and licensing laws currently allow for civil action in many cases.
It only applies to foreign websites. -- Untrue. Because of policy changes required, it will affect every major website. Facebook last month surpassed 1 billion users. Facebook is nearly 3 times the size of the United States, and it's not even available in China, yet. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google, eBay are American companies that have global reach. Any law affecting foreign websites directly affects Americans.
Homeland security depends on it. -- Untrue! A free and open Internet has been proven to enhance homeland security, not vice versa. In fact, in the countries where the Internet is censored, (China, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Egypt, Libya, Iran and others) there have been more uprisings and civil unrest than in any previous time in our world history.
Jobs depend on it. -- Untrue! Yesterday Lamar Smith threw the word "jobs" into the mix for the first time. He recognizes that job creation is the single most important issue on Americans' minds. It is a ruse. The bill was not created to increase jobs. In fact, many jobs will be lost if some of our major websites are no longer able to earn revenue or suffer a reduction in revenues. Today the fastest-growing job sectors are in the technology industries. This bill actually hampered job growth.

Members of Congress and the Senate need to realize that lobbyists and donors certainly have influence in legislation, however Americans are not willing to stand for violations of basic freedoms.

Today you may have noticed Google, Wikipedia, WordPress, OpenCongress and many other websites have staged additional protests.

These bills have a significant chance of being passed because of bipartisan support. Additionally, most Americans are unenlightened when it comes to the impact. The only way we will be able to convince our legislature to do the right thing is to make it clear that their jobs depend on supporting their constituency, not their donors.

Obviously, I have strong opinions about the subject. I invite you to do your own research, and formulate your own opinions. If anything above doesn't make sense, or is inaccurate, I invite you to place your comments below, completely uncensored! I am in favor of healthy debate.

Sincerely,

Jason Tweed
Editor, Private Duty Today

SOPA is Back! Open letter to Lamar Smith

2012-01-18T02:04:00.002-05:00

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith just announced that the SOPA markup is expected to continue next month.

“To enact legislation that protects consumers, businesses and jobs from foreign thieves who steal America’s intellectual property, we will continue to bring together industry representatives and Members to find ways to combat online piracy,” Chairman Smith said.

“Due to the Republican and Democratic retreats taking place over the next two weeks, markup of the Stop Online Piracy Act is expected to resume in February.

“I am committed to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to send a bipartisan bill to the White House that saves American jobs and protects intellectual property.”

------------

Chairman Smith, I challenge you on the issues following issues.

Please explain how less competition protects consumers.

Please explain how increasing expenses for small businesses to prove that they own the intellectual rights to their own products and services is good for the economy.

Please explain how exactly you plan to prevent foreign thieves from building websites that sell products to Americans, legal or illegal.

Please explain how legitimate business will be entitled to due process, rather than having their websites be shut down with the signature of a single judge.

Please explain how online linking to a criminal endeavor can be considered a crime, without evidence of a conspiracy. Isn't that the equivalent of arresting a politician who shakes hands in a crowd of people with a convicted felon?

Please explain how your colleagues in the House and Senate can find bipartisan cooperation for a bill not supported by the American people, yet are unable to come together on critical budgetary and jobs bills the American people support.

Please explain, Mr. Chairman, exactly how many of the SOPA supporting organizations have contributed directly to your campaign coffers, and in what dollar amounts?

Finally, Sir, please explain the ways in which Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, Google, Amazon, eBay, PayPal, Reddit, Digg, Stumble Upon, Craigslist, WordPress, Blogger, Wikipedia, Yahoo, Bing, MSN, Live, Flickr, and Tumblr among others will be able to manage user generated content and search without substantial policy changes that will not inhibit free speech, freedom of protest, and our ability as citizens to assemble.

Sincerely,

Jason Tweed

PIPA: An open letter to Sen. Pat Toomey and Sen. Bob Casey

2012-01-17T14:32:00.000-05:00

Senators Toomey and Casey,

I've written to you previously regarding PIPA. I am a Republican and small business owner in Northumberland County. I make my living directly by selling products and services from my home in Pennsylvania.

Many of my products are electronically published products, and I have personally seen my products pirated. I do understand and respect how destructive piracy and counterfeit goods can be.

Our country is unique in that our ability to speak, write, and share information is virtually unbridled, particularly online. I would rather live in a country where piracy and counterfeit goods were rampant, than one without easy access to free speech, free protest, and the right to assemble.

I hate the messages displayed by the Westboro Baptist Church. I dislike many of the actions of so-called political advocates who claim to represent the universal viewpoints of both Democrats or Republicans. However, I would defend their right to do so without hesitation in both cases.

The music, film, television, banking and sports entertainment industries have lots of money at stake because of piracy and counterfeit goods. I understand their plight, and for the most part, hope they continue to thrive financially. At no point, however, should our ability as citizens to create original content and share that content with others be hampered.

Supporters of bills that influence control over the Internet are doing so to squelch competition. Supporting these bills is anti-capitalist and anti-democratic.

I urge you not to support PIPA, or similar bills that will inevitably follow.

Additionally, I encourage you to speak out in favor of a free Internet. Make sure that it's known that our elected officials are not available for hire, when it comes to hampering the freedoms America holds dear.

Sincerely, Jason Tweed
Father, business owner, husband, and voter.