Open Forum

24 Ending

2010-03-27T13:06:00.000-04:00

The following took place between November6th, 2001 and May 24th, 2010.

The long running drama 24 is coming to an end this May after 8 seasons. You can read the Fox press release here.

I have a few thoughts on the show. I will admit that I didn't catch the 24 bug until 2006. When it first came on, I thought that Fox was taking advantage of the post 9/11 atmosphere (the show premiered on Nov. 6, 2001). So I steered clear of it. Later on I learned that Fox had in fact been filming it 6 months before the events of 9/11, and that the terrorists in the first season weren't even Muslims. They were Serbs.

In Summer of 2006, I was enjoying much needed time off from my first year of law school. I was over my brother's and saw that he had the first season on DVD. I asked if it was any good and he said it was O.K., so I started to watch it. Three weeks later, I had watched every season available on DVD. I haven't looked back since.

Like all T.V. shows, 24 reached its zenith a few years after it came on. I'm a firm believer in the precept that most T.V. shows stop being fresh after a hundred or so episodes. The same was true here. The best seasons were 1 through 5. After that, the luster started to wear off. How many times can we see Jack Bauer save the world? And how often can CTU be infiltrated by a mole before we start to wonder who is running the show over there? Not to mention the infinite changes in command. It seemed like every week, someone at CTU was being removed and replaced.

But in spite of its flaws, it was a fun show to watch. And for the first five years, it was gripping and tense. And it asked some questions that we thought about differently in the wake of 9/11. It appealed to Republicans and Democrats alike, with both Bill Clinton and Rush Limbaugh claiming to be fans. John McCain even had a walk on part in season 4.

And like it or not, it provoked your thoughts and it never was ambiguous about what some people will do to advance a political agenda, both friendly or otherwise. It was also controversial. Should our intelligence operatives use harsh interrogation if it means saving hundreds of thoousands of lives? Or is respect for the Constitution so important that innocent lives must be scrificed in the name of freedom and liberty? You can decide, but the point is that the show was almost a weekly behind the scenes look at the ongoing war on terror.

My personal favorite seasons were 2 and 4. Season 2 because the show was able to take advantage of being a hit and deliver a grest story and a fabulous production, as well as some writing that is the best I ever saw. Season 4 because the show was still fresh and edgy and introduced my favorite character, Bill Buchanan.

But, like all great shows, its time has come and gone. This one will be on my personal top ten list, along with Battlestar Galactica, That 70s Show, and Burn Notice.

To KeiferSutherland, Joel Surnow, Howard Gordon, Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer, and all of the cast and crew, I say Thank You for 8 years of great entertainment. Good Luck!

The party of "Hell No"

2010-03-26T22:01:00.001-04:00

So Sarah Palin, on the stump for John McCain in Arizona, tells us today that the Republican Party is the part of "Hell No." Her reference of course was to the current administration's efforts to increase health care benefits to millions of Americans who are either uninsured or under-insured. Palin's hypocisy on the issue of public spending is well documented. But in case you need a reminder, I have thre words for you: "Bridge to Nowhere."

You'll remember that the bridge was a proposed project that was to link Ketchikan, AK with Gravina Island. Palin was a big proponent of the bill while there were federal funds available to pay for the majority of the construction costs. However, when the federal funds were reduced, Palin decided that Alaska shouldn't have to foot the bill and decided that the current ferry service was adequate after all. Curiously, she kept the money that was already given to Alaska. I wonder why the Tea Party never talks about that?

The point is that the money that went to Alaska's bridge project came from the federal government, which came from taxpayers. The majority of those taxpayers will never visit Alaska, let alone live there. But the party of "Hell No" is really the party of "Hell Yes" when it comes to funds that will benefit them politically.

And lest we forget that the Republicans came into a federal budget surplus in 2001. The National Debt Clock was running backwards so fast 2000, that it was unplugged and covered with a curtain. After roughly 2 years of the "Hell No" party being in power, the clock resumed running in 2002, with a figure of 6.1 trillion dollars. It is now out of digits, because the national debt is at 10 trillion and counting. And the Republicans can't play the blame game here.

The FACT is that after 8 years of Bill Clinton, the country was doing well. A budge surplus for the first time in 40 years, and a reducing national debt. The GOP had the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court for 6 years.

From where I'm sitting, they did a pretty crappy job.

Public Option

2010-03-12T15:25:00.000-05:00

Health Care Reform-- The very words make insurance companies shudder. Let's face some cold hard facts:

1. Health Insurance Companies are businesses. Businesses are focused on selling goods or services and through that process realizing profits.

2. Government provided health care would cut into the profit margins of the insurers. That is a fact.

3. Health insurers are happy with the status quo, which is to collect premiums and be very stingy when it comes to handing out benefits.

So... Is there a solution? Yes.

The United States is the Land of Opportunity. Nothing stands in your way except air and opportunity. For every person out there who says that America is slanted against the people who are wage earners, there is a counter story of a person who came here with nothing and is now extremely successful. Hard work does pay off. It's that individualist spirit that played a large and vital part in building this nation.

But we are also a collection of people who know how to work together for the common good. A shining example is our space program. In 1958, NASA didn't exist. 11 years later we walked on the moon. Raytheon, Grumman, North American Aviation, Lockheed, and McDonnell-Douglas just to name a few got us there. That is just one instance of America's ability to do what it wants when it puts its mind to it.

So why can't we get it together when it comes to providing a basic social service such as health care? The answer depends on whether you consider health care a commodity, to be sold at a market price, or a right.

I consider health care to be a right. I don't think that a citizen of this country should have to choose between paying monthly bills such as rent and electricity, or going to the doctor.

I think that there should be a combination of ideas to provide quality affordable health coverage to all American citizens. Tax incentives to insurance companies to provide care to high risk patients combined with an option for those who can't otherwise find coverage to be able to buy in at a low price would go a long way to alleviating the problems we face on this issue.

To those who would scream "socialism" I would ask this:

If one of your loved ones became seriously infirmed and the only available solution was public assistance, would you turn it down based on you principles of "less government?" I would hope that your answer is a resounding "no."

Military drinking age

2010-02-22T19:38:00.000-05:00

I think it's abnormal (to say the least) that we don't allow our service members the privilege of having a beer if they are under 21. I am firmly against this policy. I served in the Marines from 1982 to 1986. I went to the E-club and drank whenever I felt like it. Nothing bad happened.

I understand the argument: 18 year olds are not equipped with the necessary maturity level to drink. If this is the assertion, I think it should cut both ways. I think that we should raise the minimum service age to 21. This would eliminate the debate altogether, and the military would get recruits who are much more mature.

Of course, the military would argue against this. 18 yearolds fresh out of high school are much easier to train because they don't think laterally. The small minority that have critical thinking skills go to college, and if they do serve, it's usually as officers.

But the crux is this: we got no problems handing out crisply folded flags to the mothers and fathers of the fallen regardless of their age. So, we should not be allowed to have it both ways. Either we allow the kids to have a beer, or we tell them to wait til they're 21 before they get to serve their country.

Martha Coakley blew it!

2010-01-22T21:22:00.000-05:00

The special election held on January 19th to fill the late Edward Kennedy's seat was called many things by the pundits. Depending on the political persuasion of the commentator, it was viewed as either a referendum on the Obama administration, or the opportunity for the voters to continue the agenda of the late Senator Kennedy.

The candidates were fairly easy to define. Martha Coakley and Scott Brown both are what many writers describe as socially liberal. Brown however is more conservative on fiscal issues. In essence, both were well suited for a campaign in a liberal state.

But the fact is that the Democratic party has a near monopoly on most of the higher offices state wide and all of the members of the congessional delegation (save Brown) are Democrats. Coakley's experience and her record of public service made her a heavy favorite and in fact she was up by 30 points in December. She should have won this seat without a doubt.

So what happened? In plain English words, she blew it. Coakley figured that just having a capital "D" next to her name would be all that she needed to win. When asked at one point why she wasn't campaigning harder, she disdainfully replied that she saw no point in "standing outside Fenway in the cold shaking hands." She relied instead on establishment Democrats, Labor leaders and other key personnel in the party to do the heavy lifting and get out the vote.

Contrast that to Brown who campaigned the way a candidate should campaign. He went out to meet the electorate. He stood outside Fenway in the cold and shook hands. He did what any candidate should do: he earned the votes by getting his message out, whereas Coakley figured that she just needed to show up on election day.

As a result, the voters of Massachusetts sent the first Republican to the Senate from the Commonwealth for the first time in almost 40 years.

A former Political Science professor of mine once said that if you are ever running a campaign and your candidate is ahead in the polls run like you're 5 points behind. Martha Coakley should have been campaigning from the day after the primary until the polls opened. Too bad she thought that all she had to do was show up.

In sum, this wasn't a referendum on the Obama administration, nor was it an electorate rejecting the policies of the Democratic party. This was a classic example of what happens when a politician makes the almost always fatal mistake of taking the electorate for granted.

Remote Car Starters

2010-01-03T13:31:00.000-05:00

Okay. There are a lot of pros and cons to having one of these installed in your car/ truck/ SUV. I'm going to discuss the pros and why I think there are cons.

Pros:
In cold weather (like where I live), these are very convenient. I start my car from the warmth of my apartment 10 minutes before I leave. When I get out side, the Jeep is nice and warm, the engine is ready to go, which is essential in cold weather to reduce wear and tear, and the windshield is defrosted. Because winter can stretch into a 5 month season around here, a remote starter is very convenient.

In warm weather, I set the AC and start it 5 minutes before I leave. The cabin is nice and cool when I get outside. Granted, it's only hot and humid around here 6 weeks out of the year, but it's still nice to have the AC going when I get outside.

Cons:
Some people report that a remote starter screws up the cars electronics. I agree that one installed by a third party that doesn't know what they are doing can indeed screw up the cars electronic system. It could be as minor as seting off caution and warning alarms (I.E. Low Tire Pressure sensors) to the car not starting. To acoid this, have the starter installed by the dealer who sold you the car. Installs performed by a third party that have an adverse effect on the cars electronic systems my result in parts of the warranty being voided.

In sum? If you are going to have a remote starter installed, have it done by the dealer who sold you the car. You will pay mnore that having it done by a third party. The upside is that you're car's warranty will be in tact and the warranty will extend to cover your new remote starter. I had a few problems with mine after it was installed. I took it back to the dealer and they replaced it free. As a matter of convenience, I recommend that you have it installed before you take delivery.

Christmas

2009-12-24T19:38:00.000-05:00

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.'"-- Luke 2:8-11.

What exactly is Christmas? We all agree that it is the celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, but how did it become a day of gift giving and secular celebration? Quite simply, it's a tradition of the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia. Saturnalia, the feast of the Roman god of the harvest, was held late every year after the harvest. It was a way to thank Saturn for the past growing season and the tradition included exchanging gifts, feasts, and slaves becoming master for a day (this is still carried on in places, except employees take their bosses' places).

There is some postulation that the Christians needed to equate their holy days with Roman festivals so that Christianity would have a degre of familiarity to the Romans. Since Saturnalia was the biggest holiday of the year, it seemed logical to equate it with Christendom's biggest event (the birth of Jesus of Nazareth).

So... when you hear someone complain that Christmas is too much about gift giving and not about celebrating the birth of Jesus, you can now remind them that if they really want to celebrate Jesus' birth, they should hold a ritual of worship on his true birthday... September 7.

Merry Christmas!

The Post Office

2009-12-21T20:12:00.001-05:00

This Christmas, when you are enjoying the company of family and friends and the warmth and joy of the holiday season, take a moment to keep a good thought for the men and women of the United States Postal Service. I worked for that organization for 15 years. I can tell you first hand that the employees of this agency have been working tirelessly since the day after Thanksgiving, ensuring that your cards and packages are delivered safely and accurately.

The tough thing is that they won't get the time we all get to enjoy the day. They will be in on Christmas night "cleaning up" after a month of working 12 hours a day. Most of them won't take a real rest until after New Year's.

They make a fairly substantial sacrifice, spending little time with their families so that the mail will go through and packages will be where they're supposed to be by Christmas Eve.

To all my former coworkers... it was a privilege working with you for all those years. Thank You.

Avatar

2009-12-20T18:35:00.001-05:00

OK... I am oficially ticked of at the LBGT community for protesting Avatar because the writers did not include a character representative of the LBGT community. Before I move forward, I want to point out that I had an uncle and a cousin who were both gay. Sadly, they both have passed on to the next phase of existence and are no longer with us in body. I believe they are with us in spirit though and I also think that if they could be heard today, they would tell the protesters to consider the level of hypocrisy in which they are engaged.

FORTUNATELY... the LBGT community is almost universal in its condemnation of what appears to be a small minority of unfocused zealots who obviously don't have a lot on their plates right now.

If you're a member of that community, take the advice of a recent law school graduate: protest something that actually matters. Don't waste energy speaking out against a science fiction movie that is set on a fictitious planet with fictitious aliens.

Winter

2009-12-20T10:52:00.002-05:00

Today was the first major snow fall of the winter. I was in the area that got hit the hardest. I actually ventured out in the weather. I have a 2005 Jeep Liberty Renegade and it did a good job chewing up the snow. I never owned a 4X4 until 2006 when I bought this one. It was a leftover so I practically stole it. And it was in fact a great deal!

I love the fact that I can go anywhere in all weather and it tore through unplowed streets this morning like it was the middle of summer. The side street next to my building wasn't plowed and it is a fairly steep incline. I put the Jeep in 4LO and used 2d gear and climbed the hill with ease.

I now am a committed SUV owner and I am hoping Jeep will have quality products out there in 2011 when I trade in. I want to trade up to the Grand Cherokee next. I can't imagine that it wouldn't be as tough as my current Jeep, in spite of the fact that mine has the rare "Renegade" package with skid plates and rock rails, and heavy duty transfer case.

I used to hate big snow storms. Now I look forward to them!

Tiger Woods

2009-12-20T10:30:00.003-05:00

"Celebrity cheats on Spouse! Details to Follow!"

The obvious question is "Why is this news?" I'm going on my cynical kick for a minute but unfortunately in America, married people cheat on each other more regularly now than ever before. Let's consider the following: Las Vegas is the city that promises to keep your secrets. They market themselves with a wink that "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." I got a pretty good idea that they aren't talking about losing money.

And now for a fee, the good folks at Ashley Madison will help you find an "affair to remember." In other words, if you're unhappily married but you don't got the guts to either work things out with your spouse or take it like an adult and get divorced, Ashley Madison will try to help you find an outlet for your primal urges.

So why then are we looking at Tiger Woods with such chagrin? First off, we accept the fact that people cheat and we generally shrug our shoulders and say "it happens." The fact is there are now hundreds of ways for married or committed people to cheat. Are we really shocked that Tiger Woods is after all as weak as the "regular person" who cheats? Or is it that we look at Tiger as if he's supposed to be a cut above everyone else based on his athletic ability? Lest we forget that alot of great figures in history had problems staying faithful.

I'm not defending what Tiger did. Not for a minute. The sad fact is that two more children will now grow up with divorced parents, and that is never a good thing. He shouldn't have married and brought two children into the world. He presumably knew he had a problem being monogamous, and that alone should have been enough reason for him to stay single.

But I also caution those of you who would condemn Tiger so quickly while at the same time not considering the damage that every day folks do when engaging in similar conduct.

Moder Warfare 2

2009-11-06T20:11:00.000-05:00

The latest addition to the "Call of Duty" universe drops on November 10th, which is coincidentally (or maybe not) the Marine Corps birthday. I have played all the XBox games in the series (except the first one) and I must say that it is one of the best First Person Shooter series ever released.

The latest version will be another Infinity Ward developed title. IW was actually founded by a group of people wwho used to work for 2015. 2015 were the folks who brought us the Medal of Honor series. From my own personal experience, I would have to say that Infinity Ward was founded by the best developers that 2015 had to offer.

The series itself is developed alternately by IW and Treyarch. Treyarch, in my opinion, is the less talented of the two groups. They have good releases and the product is quality, but IW seems to be a little bit more innovative. But I will give credit where it is due and say that Treyarch does produce games with good graphics and smooth play. I think the weakness is their storyline development. IW seems to have better storylines and in a multi release series, this is essential to game development.

Anyway, the release is heavily anticipated. The game itself will come in three deifferent versions, each including a set of extras. Although I must say that the version that features the night vision goggles seems to be way over the top. I'm a little skeptical that a serious gamer would buy a game for over $100 just to obtain a functioning pair of NVGs.

I'm looking forward to booting it up after work on Tuesday night and playing into the wee hours. Thank God Wednesday is a holiday...

The Plan

2009-11-02T21:50:00.001-05:00

I just bought the Blu Ray DVD of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, and I gotta say it was a great purchase. It put the first two seasons into c a different context and cleared up a bunch of open plot points from back then.

Featuring archive footage from the previous episodes as well as new scenes, The Plan functioned as a view of the war between the Cylons and Colonials, but from the Cylon point of view. We get a look at the motivation behind the attack on the colonies, as well as details of the attack itself and how total the destruction of humanity was. The story perspective is told from the point of view of Cylon number 1 (Dean Stockwell) and Sam Anders, one of the Final Five (Michael Trucco).

We also see details of some of the other colonies. Picon for example is revealed to be a largely water covered world famous for its harbors, while Libran is a world that seems to function as the Colonials' center for justice and the Colonial Court system.

If I had one critique, it is that Mary McDonnell was conspicuously absent. Why that is I can't seem to determine, although I know from various interviews that it was more likely related to the story. McDonnell has said that this was the best projects that she ever worked on so I'm sure she would have participated if the opportunity presented itself.

The production and diresction were superb as always. The DVD itself has plenty of extras to go around. The coolest thing was the opening "Universal" logo. Instead of the planet Earth in the logo, we see the planet Caprica.

A great addition to the reimagined BSG universe. I was glad to see it and was happy to part with the $29.95 the Blu-Ray cost.

Highly recommended. Enjoy!

Welcome!

2009-09-07T19:00:00.000-04:00

I started this blog so that people with a variety of interests could post different threads. I'm a law school grad and a former Marine so I have a STRONG feeling about the First Amendment and the ability to exchange ideas and opposing viewpoints.

That being said, I urge prospective posters to keep the language clean and watch the flames. Any post I deem profane or inflammatory WILL be deleted.

This is NOT a blog for those of you who wish to bash former coworkers or bosses. I know there is a fine line between sharing an experience and tearing off on your place of work, but I also believe that you are intellignet enough to be critical without negatively ranting.

So tell us about yourself: Where do you work? What are your interests? What is going on in the world today that concerns or pleases you?

I'm Joe. I worked for the USPS for 15 years. I left on August 2nd, 2009. I grauated law school back in May and accepted an offer from the United States Department of Labor as an investigator with the Wage and Hour division. I began work on August 3rd. Before I go any further, I just want to say one thing about postal employment: it was a stable, secure job that provided great pay and benefits. It was nice to know that no matter what, you could count on having a job to go to.

Anyway... I was a clerk in the Post Office at the Brockton, Massachusetts Processing and Distribution Center. My last position was as a Small Package and Bundle Sorter Operator.
What I miss most about the job is my coworkers. Most of them were great people and it was a lot of fun seeing them every night. Many of us hung out off the job and back in the day, we partied as hard as we worked. We used to come off tour at 8:00 on Saturday mornings and go to a little dive bar in the old industrial part of Brockton and drink and shoot pool. Somewhere along the line though, we stopped doing that. We all got older, some of us had kids and life changed.

The job has changed too. Until about 4 years ago, it was a tough job, but it was fun. And while I can't speak for every facility out there, I know in my old plant, as long as you got the mail done, nobody sweated you. Were that still the case...