Is it only women that can get the job done? There was MADD and now perhaps we need MAPD (Mothers Against Phone Driving)

I think the Amish are really on to something.  They completely reject modern conveniences.  They don't even use electricity. 

There needs to be a ban, a complete ban on cell phone use in a moving vehicle of any kind. 

IT IS KILLING US !!!!!!!

...Here are more cell phone statistics (click title to entry - thank you)  from the recent study, “Role of cellular phones in motor vehicle crashes resulting in hospital attendance” by S. McEvoy et al. published in the British Medial Journal:


The main finding of a fourfold increase in injury crash risk was consistent across groups of drivers.


Male and female drivers experienced about the same increase in risk from using a phone.


Older and younger than 30 drivers experienced the same increase in risk.


There was no difference in accident statistics between drivers using hand-held cell phones compared to those using a hands-free cell phone device.


Weather played no factor in the accidents with 75 percent of them occurring during clear weather conditions.


Eighty-nine percent of the crashes involved additional vehicles.


Over half of the injured drivers reported that their crashes occurred within 10 minutes of the start of their trip.


Risk of Car Accident is the Same In Hands-free Versus Hand-Held Cell Phones....

Not driving while detached is the Consumer Safety Law that should have been written BEFORE the technology started killing people.

This accident happened on September 28th, 2005 in Riverview FL. A careless driver on a cell phone blazed through a red light at 55 mph and struck my mom's drivers door as she was going 20 mph attempting to make a left turn towards home. Her car was pushed 40 feet and my mom's neck was broken in 2 places. She died instantly. As her daughter, and someone that had to go to the scene to identify her, I can't tell you enough.



The technology humans have created is causing deaths among the innocent.  Who is going to be responsible?  Where will the impact be felt most to bring the change needed to stop this idiocy? 

I walked through a shopping mall today and there were innumberable opportunities to purchase a cell phone, cell phone service and all its paraphenalia.  I lost count after the first 120 seconds of my stroll.  As I walked through the mall I began to feel a sincere fear creep into my conscience and it was obvious there was more than mayhem about, but, some real lunacy regarding this technology. 

As I walked back to my vehicle which has a radio, disk player and cigarette lighter I use for emergency electricity when necessary, I realized I could be next and it was due to the frenzy created by an industry that doesn't care about PREVENTING death, so much as reaping profits.

The first 'cell phone' had a noble cause. It would allow people to move about and still make important phone calls from one phone number.

Dr Martin Cooper, a former general manager for the systems division at Motorola, is considered the inventor of the first portable handset and the first person to make a call on a portable cell phone in April 1973. The first call he made was to his rival, Joel Engel, Bell Labs head of research.

The Cell Phone was about efficiency and making it easier to carry on a business conversation.

It converged technologies to make it happen.  A wireless device that would use airwaves rather than wires to transmit voice signals.

Then.

Something went ? wrong ?

Someone got greedy and marketed this seemingly safe entity of society as a consumer product.  A consumer product that was supposed to be benign, all of a sudden wasn't.

The USA military always had a strange way of contorting the ideas of national security and technology.

Whether developing cyborg insect surveillance or a nose-spray brain chemical to replace sleep, DARPA always keeps us on our toes trying to guess what on Earth (or beyond) they are going to come up with next. Will here it is folks, DARPA says they are now developing a submarine that can fly (or an airplane that can go under water—whichever way you choose to look at it.) The submersible aircraft/flying submarine would be used to get small clandestine teams to coastal waters unnoticed, so they can then sneak onto land less noticeably than landing an aircraft.


While flying submarines may seem the future of SCI-FI, the military was actually the first innovators of the internet.  The research started in 1958 and would be perfected for use seven years later.  (See timeline at title to entry - thank you)

And Texas had nothing to do with it.

1965 - First Network Experiment: Directed by Larry Roberts at MIT Lincoln Lab, two computers talked to each other using packet-switching technology.

The Computer is born. Time line click here.

Hewlett-Packard is Founded. David Packard and Bill Hewlett found Hewlett-Packard in a Palo Alto, California garage. Their first product was the HP 200A Audio Oscillator, which rapidly becomes a popular piece of test equipment for engineers. Walt Disney Pictures ordered eight of the 200B model to use as sound effects generators for the 1940 movie “Fantasia.”

As early as the 1930s it became obvious passive restraints on drivers and passengers of moving vehicles were needed.

1930s  (click title to entry - thank you)
Several U.S. physicians equip their own cars with lap belts and begin urging manufacturers to provide them in all new cars

1953
Colorado State Medical Society publishes policy supporting installation of lap belts in all automobiles.

1954
Sports Car Club of America requires competing drivers to wear lap belts

American Medical Association House of Delegates votes to support installation of lap belts in all automobiles.

1955
California Vehicle Code is amended to require State approval of seat belts before their sale or use National Safety Council, American College of Surgeons, International Association of Chiefs of Police vote to support installation of lap belts in all automobiles.

Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) appoints Motor Vehicle Seat Belt Committee...

...“against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products.”...

1972 was an interesting year and an interesting and turbulent time in the USA.  Having survived the 1960s, the change instilled in the social fabric was still churning, but, taking root.

Escambia High School proved to be one of the more turbulent arenas when its 'sports symbols' remained racially charged.  They openly displayed the Confederate Flag, their mascot was the "Colonel Rebel" of Ole Miss. and their official school song was "Dixie." 

The school saw both violent and nonviolent demonstrations with lawsuits besides.

http://www.pensapedia.com/wiki/Escambia_High_School_riots

The students of the sixties were now entering their professional lives taking their values with them.

Consumer Protection was part of it as well and the Consumer Products Safety Act and Commission were born.  (click title to entry - thank you).

For the first time in American history, the consumer was important to the government and it would oversee the safety of their hard earned purchases.

In 1955 the population of the USA was 165,938,202. Consumerism was rampant and the 'status' of the USA people was booming.

The advent of consumerism in the USA would change the face of 'status' and the Middle Class was born.  It would also expect to be safe, in time, as their new products proved to be a little less than they expected in providing carefee service.

This 1955 Chevy is a classic and cultural icon.

By the 1950s, the telephone was so much a part of the USA culture there were jokes about it.

"What is the fastest mean of communication?"

"Telephone, Television and Tell a Woman."

With that women found they were needed as telephone operators.

The first woman on USA television was Edna Mae Horner.

When AT&T held its pioneering demonstration of television (click title to entry - thank you) on April 7, 1927, Edna Mae Horner, an operator at the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, helped guests in Washington, D.C., exchange greetings with the audience in New York. Throughout the presentation, viewers in New York could see and hear Edna as she called eager audience members to the transmitting equipment.
In reporting the day’s events, The New York Times noted that Edna was “one good-looking girl with fluffy hair, and as cool and efficient as if she had been at the television-telephone switchboard all her life.”

The First Telephone and Receiver proved to be safe.

In 1876, at the age of 29, Alexander Graham Bell invented his telephone. In 1877, he formed the Bell Telephone Company, and in the same year married Mabel Hubbard and embarked on a yearlong honeymoon in Europe.

Some time later, the telephone was perfected and life in the USA would never be the same.

Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters

In 1837 as the interruption of letters were an issue and the transportation of communication was slow, a new method of transmitting information was developed. 

It was through the development of the Morse Code and the transmission of sound along a wire.

The telegraph was born and it became an invaluable tool during the USA Civil War.  It was before the Civil War the insulatoin for the wire was achieved and it was safer for longer distance transmission without an electrical shock.

As a young nation grew in size the need to communicate was important.

The Pony Express was important because they got mail to the east coast west coast In a shorter amount of time. This was important because sometimes mail would not reach it's destination for months.This had a big impact on politics and communications. Even though the Pony express lasted only a year it changed the way people were informed about the latest events.

From time beginning people have needed to communicate.  It is sometimes the most expensive aspect of any society and business.  Maintaining a forward movement of any purpose for human history has surrounded communication and transportation. 

Writing with pen and ink, be it a quill, was a necessity to any form of civilization.  During the day of The Pony Express, there were inherent dangers to making progress.  They were known and measured dangers and compensated with enough monies to make the 'risk taking' worth it.  The Pony Express would be replaced by stage coach and railroad.  As time went by and cities grew the dangers diminished and today the USA Postal Service is in danger with competition from private carriers.  A different danger, but, a concern just the same.

It's Sunday Night

"Flowers After the Fact" by Terri Clark

Ten days too late you show up

With a sheepish grin and a bouquet in your hand
You make mistakes by the dozen
Don't think you can make it up the same way again


Flowers after the fact
Ain't gonna get me back
You gotta do something sooner and better than that
When you bring red roses
There's an ulterior motive
Don't give me flowers after the fact


No part of your heart's ever in it,
You're just trying to get your foot back in the door
I might feel like you meant it
If those long stems had come in the name of love before


Flowers after the fact
Ain't gonna get me back
You gotta do something sooner and better than that
When you bring red roses
There's an ulterior motive
Don't give me flowers after the fact


When you bring me red roses
There's an ulterior motive
Don't need no flowers after the fact
Now don't give me flowers after the fact

This weapon is as good as declaring war by Iran. This is simply stupid on the Iranians part.

Sun Aug 22, 2010 7:8AM

Iran unveils its first domestically-manufactured long-range Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in a ceremony marking Defense Industry Day in the country.

There is only one purpose for this weapon and we all know what it is.  As soon as it leaves the airspace of Iran it will be shot down and there will be an impetus to war.  Nothing else to say.  Iran is inviting war with this weapon to justify its political rants.  It is a method of taunting The West and Israel into war.  It can't be ignored.  This IS an issue.

The number of tornadoes in Minnesota so far this year has topped any other year.

The Climate Crisis is shifting the dynamics of tornadoes and hurricanes in North America.

I'll do something tomorrow evening.

Tornado Alley moved to Minnesota in 2010. (click title to entry - thank you)
Maybe we should update the state slogan to say; "Welcome to the Land of 10,000 Lakes and 100 tornadoes."
We all know it's been an insanely busy severe weather year in Minnesota, but I about leaped out of my weather lab chair when I counted up the preliminary number of SPC tornado reports by state for 2010.
Minnesota leads the nation in the number of tornado touchdowns this year...by FAR.
Preliminary numbers show Minnesota has 122 tornado reports so far in 2010. The #2 state isn't even close. Texas has reported 87 tornadoes so far in 2010.
That's right folks; the frozen tundra of Minnesota has had 35 more tornado reports this year than Tornado Alley Texas.
Here are the top 5 "tornado states" for 2010.


(Keep in mind these are preliminary numbers through August 15th)
1) Minnesota 122 tornado reports


2) Texas 87 tornado reports


3) Kansas 80 tornado reports


4) Oklahoma 70 tornado reports


5) Colorado 62 tornado reports
Wisconsin comes in 6th with 59 tornado reports so far this year.
The numbers are stunning and remarkable for many reasons.

-This would be the first year in recorded history that Minnesota leads the nation in tornado touchdowns. (I'm still working on confirming this.)
-Since 2000 Texas has lead the nation in tornadoes 7 years. Kansas has lead twice, and Illinois once. Here are the numbers.
2009 Texas 125 tornadoes


2008 Kansas 185 tornadoes


2007 Texas 198 tornadoes


2006 Illinois 123 tornadoes


2005 Kansas 136 tornadoes


2004 Texas 178 tornadoes


2003 Texas 155 tornadoes


2002 Texas 172 tornadoes


2001 Texas 137 tornadoes


2000 Texas 146 tornadoes
-Texas would need to record roughly another 36 tornadoes to surpass Minnesota this year. This is certainly possible, but it seems just as likely Minnesota may hold onto the number one spot at this late point in the season.
-This year may possibly break the all time state record for confirmed tornadoes in Minnesota, which is 74 set in 2001....


Storms black out 82K Michigan homes, businesses  (click here)

Associated Press
August 19, 2010 10:54 PM ET

DETROIT (AP) - Thunderstorms bringing winds gusting to 75 miles per hour have pushed through parts of southeastern Michigan, knocking down trees and power lines, damaging roofs and blacking out about 82,000 utility customers.
DTE Energy Co. spokesman Scott Simons says about 80,000 of the homes and businesses it serves lost power. Many are in Macomb County northeast of Detroit. CMS Energy Corp. says about 1,700 of its customers lost power.
The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings Thursday night, but no funnel clouds were confirmed and much of the damage appeared to be from straight line winds.
Weather service meteorologist Rich Pollman in Oakland County's White Lake Township tells the Detroit Free Press that spotters reported winds of up to 75 mph.

\
 
Michigan Tornado 2010
 
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-483830?hpt=C2\
 
CNN producer note


Tirendi was huddled with his family in Macomb, Michigan, on Thursday evening when a tornado came through town. He shot this video of the storm rolling in and items being tossed and smashed in the backyard. 'I caught the start of the rain and wind followed by the high speed wind ripping the gazebo off of the patio to which it was bolted down with 8 large bolts into the wood decking. It blew it off after shredding the fabric roof. I have never seen anything like that it my life,' he said. Tirendi walked away from windows to the interior of the house for safety as the tornado rolled through. Another iReporter captured photos of aftermath from the same storm.

- zdan, CNN iReport producer

iReport — 3 minute video of lightning, wind, rain, hail, and destruction from one of the two tornados that touched down in Macomb Township on 08-19-10 @ 19:30.

It looks like the tornado formed over us so I never got a shot of the funnel.

Senator Markey, Chairman of the Subcommitte on Energy and the Environment is very astute in making the government hold BP responsible for the damage to the lands and waters of the USA.

Representative Markey brought the cameras to the public, which included the scientific community.  It was the smartest thing he could have done. 

Representative Markey is a very smart man and we are lucky to have him.  He is taking information at hearings and making it matter.  He stated the work at the FDA was incomplete as they were testing the substances in the Gulf Coast Seafood was based upon the standards of a 176 pound male.  He stated to the FDA representative at the hearing that it was not acceptable to allow the most vulnerable, women and children, to be exposed to possible dangers that a 176 pound male might not.

Rep. Markey is an interesting man.  He uses the icon "BP" in several different methods to help people understand how disappointed the USA is in the performance of their payments to the citizens involved in this tragedy.

He stated BP does not mean "Be Prepared," or "Bills Paid." 

The facts are there is significant damage to the USA and its seafood industry.  To the extent is still unknown.  For the USA consumer to completely state, "We trust the seafood on our menu." is premature and that is a fact. 

There are some areas of the fisheries that simply need to be closed and there are other areas that need to be marked as opened and monitored on a daily basis.  Water moves and we know now the oil at the bottom of the Gulf is moving through a report by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

What is paramount as obvious to me is getting the oil of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  I can't help but wonder if the water purifying machine developed by Kevin Kostner's Company won't help or be adapted to help.  The water in question is dually contaminated with oil/methane and dispersants.  Can the water purification process by Mr. Kostner's machine be adapted to separate the oil that is adhered to dispersants?  And can there be a 'suction system' that would deliver the 'contaminated deep water' to surface areas where these machines can harvest the contaminated waters and purify it?

I appreciate the work of the Subcommittee and I deeply appreciate the interest and compassion shown Americans by Rep. Markey.
BP oil leak victims face strings on $20bn spill fund  (click title to entry - thank you)
Victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will waive their right to sue BP staff and the energy major if they take money from the official $20bn (£13bn) compensation fund.
 
...However, final settlements to be decided later on in the year are likely to include clauses that prohibit recipients of compensation from launching further lawsuits....
 
The only criticism I have regarding this issue is that claimants should be told ahead of time as to what their settlement will be in order to decide whether they want to accept that or sue independantly. 

There is also the issue that fishermen adapted their boats to deploy skimmers and boom and they were paid for that employment.  That was a legitimate action by BP to compensate the fishermen with purposeful employment and monies.  If BP hadn't felt the need to provide that opportunity the dangers to the inland waters might be greater.  I believe while BP does want to exit the problem of balancing the cost of this disaster to their income and company viability, they haven't been completely negligent 'after the fact.'  That has to count for something no matter how aggrieved that value might be.  People cannot 'take advantage' of this disaster to compensate for 'pain and suffering.'  It has to be realized that while people lost income and that is important there is also 'emotional damage' to these people as well that need to be considered.
 
The payroll to this dispersement of monies is being paid by the Trust Fund and therefore the claimants should not feel as though they are victims to a process more powerful than they are. 
 
If the FDA is measuring dangerous elements and compounds and mixtures in the American diet by the effect on a 176 male, then that needs to be discarded as competent and 'models' adapted that truly reflect effects on men, women and children. 
 
The response by the scientific community in regard to this disaster has been remarkable.  There can be nothing said that diminishes their commitment to protect the waters of this country and the people that live around and with those waters.  I am impressed at the dedication of this community in its response to this disaster.  It has been remarkable.

18 states report drop in unemployment

STATE UNEMPLOYMENT LEVELS OUT: (click title to entry - thank you) Unemployment fell in 18 states and Washington, D.C. in July, while it increased in 14 states and stayed the same in 18, the government said Friday. That's a slowdown from the previous three months, when more than 30 states reported drops.

BRIGHT SPOTS: Massachusetts and New York both reported strong job growth. Massachusetts added 19,200 private sector jobs, the largest monthly gain in 20 years.
WARNING SIGNS: Manufacturers added jobs in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. But economists warned that it might not last unless consumers ramp up their spending.

Franklin Graham is an ignorant man. Forgive him, he knows now what he does. He ain't his father, that's for sure.

\.                                                                  .The Rev. Franklin Graham ( click titel to entry if you want to - it isn't a very enlightened view. Words of a bigot if you ask me, but, no one is asking me.) waded into the discussion with his own controversial explanation of why people wrongly believe the president is a Muslim. Graham, who prayed with Obama in a session with his father, Billy Graham, earlier this year, was asked whether he has any doubts about Obama's self-avowed Christian faith.

"I think the president's problem is that he was born a Muslim, his father was a Muslim....

Graham is dead "W”rong ! Barak Obama's father for the time he was alive and with his son was an atheist. He dismissed Muslim as a faith he abided by in his life. President Obama's mother was a Christian all her life. A non-practicing Christian, but, she raised the President and home schooled him as well as sent him to public schools. She was proud of his American heritage and insisted he maintain it from a young age.

Unfortunately, the President's father was mostly obscure to him. His mother was a 'woman of her time.' She believed in 'knowing and understanding' multiple faiths. She felt a knowledge of religion was important to a well rounded view of the world. I am sure that dedication to DIVERSITY has served the President well.

There are many marriages where each member of the couple has their own affiliation within their marriage. It is not uncommon for a Christian to marry a Hebrew. It is also not uncommon for the children of those marriages to be exposed to both religions as they grow up.

Recently, we witnessed a bi-religious marriage where Chelsea Clinton married a man that actively practices the Hebrew faith.

It is also not unusual for the children of such marriages to become adults and decide which religion is the center of their life.

That is what occurred for Barak Obama when he became an adult. He knew many religions and decided to be baptized in the Trinity United Church of Christ.

The issue here is not about the Muslim faith and whether or not the President rejected it to practice Christianity, it is the bigotry of the Southern Baptist convention and its willingness to advocate hate of other faiths, including other practices of Protestant religions. They reject every other form of religion and 'in that' reject any civilized approach to diversity.

The problem here as I see it, is about the demands of Evangelical Christians to dominate government policy over and above any other faith including Catholicism or the absence of faith. Franklin Graham needs to apologize to a nation insulted by his limited view of the world. He is allowed to practice that limited view, however, he is not allowed to espouse hate as a result of it. In other words, we all outside his view of the world HAVE TO tolerate him, but, he does not have to tolerate us. That is a definition of a bigot.

This isn't the first time religion has been 'an issue' in the USA, but, last the time the issue actually surrounded an election.

Then Seantor John F. Kennedy was a Catholic and the opposition to his candidacy believed the Pope would run the country and not the President. 

It can be said, under George W. Bush, the Pope did.

...While the so-called religious issue is necessarily (click title to entry - thank you) and properly the chief topic here tonight, I want to emphasize from the outset that I believe that we have far more critical issues in the 1960 campaign; the spread of Communist influence, until it now festers only 90 miles from the coast of Florida -- the humiliating treatment of our President and Vice President by those who no longer respect our power -- the hungry children I saw in West Virginia, the old people who cannot pay their doctors bills, the families forced to give up their farms -- an America with too many slums, with too few schools, and too late to the moon and outer space. These are the real issues which should decide this campaign. And they are not religious issues -- for war and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barrier.
But because I am a Catholic, and no Catholic has ever been elected President, the real issues in this campaign have been obscured -- perhaps deliberately, in some quarters less responsible than this. So it is apparently necessary for me to state once again -- not what kind of church I believe in, for that should be important only to me -- but what kind of America I believe in....