Government Healthcare and the Moral High Ground

Here's the FIRST thing that goes under a Public Option

Check out this recently published essay regarding the potential consequences of a public healthcare option.

If we have a public option, and I’m paying for it, it gives me a financial and moral obligation and RIGHT to protect my (the government’s) money.  Therefore, if I’m paying for YOUR healthcare, there are going to be several changes I’m going to expect you to make – because, after all, we’re going to take the moral high ground on this like we do so many other things.

=Mob=

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Why isn’t he in prison yet?

PHOENIX, Arizona (TMT) Blowhard media attention whore Joe Arpaio, Sheriff of Maricopa County, AZ, has gone over the top once again.

Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday stormed into a county building, seized control of a computer system and threatened to arrest county employees if they tried to stop them, according to county officials.

County management responded by asking a Maricopa County Superior Court judge for a temporary restraining order against the Sheriff’s Office.

The system, which provides access to law-enforcement databases, is the subject of a lawsuit between the Sheriff’s Office and the Board of Supervisors.

Later, Sheriff’s Deputy David Hendershott boasted that he would rather go to jail than reveal the password to the systems which Arpaio’s band of thugs illegally seized.

Hendershott said he could not reveal the password under federal law. And if he goes to jail: “I bet I get a pretty decent place. Something with a view of the dump.”

It’s high time that Arpaio and his Southwest Mafia were put out of business permanently.  Numerous elected officials have called for Federal Investigation into Arpaio’s highly illegal and unconstitutional strong-arm tactics against Arizona’s citizenry.

One only has to wonder what control the self-styled “America’s Sheriff” weilds against those in higher authority.

Comments from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office were not even sought, since they’d be lies anyway.

For more information on this cretin, see our highly popular post: Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a Babbling Idiot.

Darrell “Shifty” Powers

I haven’t been keeping up on things recently, but I was forwarded this earlier today.

We’re hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services.

I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell “Shifty” Powers.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you’ve seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn’t know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the “Screaming Eagle”, the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he’d been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said “Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . ” at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said “I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?” At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said “I also made a second jump into Holland , into Arnhem .” I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said “Yes. And it’s real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can’t make the trip.” My heart was in my throat and I didn’t know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I’d take his in coach.

He said “No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy.” His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17, 2009 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center .

No wall to wall back to back 24×7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.

And that’s not right.

Let’s give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

Powers, Darrell C..: Awarded two Bronze Stars, Presidential Unit Citation, Combat Infantry Badge, and Expert Rifleman Badge. Discharged in 1945. Moved to California becoming a mechanist. Then moved back to hometown and worked at Clinchfield Coal Company for 33 years. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_living_Band_of_Brothers_veterans )

Gone Too Soon

Like A Comet
Blazing ‘Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon

Twitter FAQ

You can see what I’m Tweeting about by searching for @Mobiusinformer on Twitter.

First, credits:

To @imsuperawesome, for allowing me to even be here.  She is, in fact, Super Awesome.

To @wilw, from whom I got the idea to post a Twitter FAQ.  A lot of what he has posted echo my sentiments exactly, only he’s far more eloquent and nice about it.  FWIW, I had no clue who @wilw was (an actor in one of the Star Trek franchise TV series), until I started Tweeting.  He often has interesting things to say and great posts on various topics.

To my friend, @MistressJett (she’s not nearly as harsh as that name sounds), whose participation on Twitter convinced me to give it a second look.  She’s usually the first in my small circle to dive into the latest online gizmo, and her instincts about what’s useable and not online are usually dead-on.  Usually. 😛

Lastly, to my old friend Dan Moore, who used to be The Silicon Frog on the ILink BBS Network.  Dan taught me most of what I know about dealing with people online, and his advice has never failed me yet.

What do you Tweet about?

Anything that comes to mind.  Some of it’s useful, some offensive, some ridiculous.  I tweet to please myself.

How often do you Tweet?

Some days I don’t Tweet at all.  Some days I tweet more than Kareem Abdul Jabbar (@kaj33) during a Laker’s Playoff Game.

Why are you picking on KAJ?

I’m not. The comparison was the first that came to mind.  I admire KAJ, despite my loathing for most current pro sports.  He’s old school, a class act, a man of principles, and he was The Monster Shouter in Stephen King’s The Stand!

Will you follow me?

Unlikely, unless you have something relevant, interesting or funny to say. Given that criteria, I probably wouldn’t follow ME.

I’ve been known to Tweet under more than one moniker, so it’s possible I’m following you from there.

You use more than one Twitter account?  Isn’t that somewhat Schizo?

Probably.  Different feeds for different interests.  You’ll find that the overall ‘message’ is pretty consistent.  Another perspective is that I get to blame others when making huge gaffes.  I take that cue from President Mulligan.

President Mulligan?  You mention that a lot in some of your Tweets.  WTF?

You obviously missed the infamous ‘abundance of caution’ do-over.

Which application do you use to Tweet?

I use ’em all.  From the web I enjoy Hootsuite.  Wish theirs was a standalone app.  I also use Destroy Twitter, Tweetdeck and Seesmic Desktop, in that order.  For the Blackberry, I like Uber Twitter, but Twitterberry is also pretty good.  For the iPhone/iTouch, I like many of them…and still deciding which one I like best.  In a perfect world, we’d have Hootsuite for the iTouch!

Do you tweet for fun or for profit?

Neither.  I use Twitter as a tool to keep my ear to the ground and to exchange information.  I’m disgusted at all these self-proclaimed Marketing/SEO type gurus who manipulate data online to make a buck.  They’re somewhere in between Pawnbrokers and Attorneys in my book, right below Car Salesmen.  It amazes me that they’ve pounced down on Twitter like a pack of ravenous dogs, and further amazes me that otherwise intelligent, educated people follow their advice and suck the life out of what can be a great planet-wide information exchange.

I was following you, and you blocked me.  Why?

Because you had nothing relevant to say, or you were one of the aforementioned marketing douchebags.  My nuts aren’t all that large, but I won’t have somebody hanging off them to make a buck.  Either that or I miss-clicked, which has been known to happen.  Leave a reply here if you feel I blocked you unjustly.

You post a lot of stuff that pisses me off.

Hopefully it made you think.  If you don’t like what I have to say, hit that big X in the upper right hand corner of your window and go someplace else.  Won’t bother me in the slightest.  A better suggestion would be to engage me and call me out on the offensive post.  Just be forewarned –  my positions are usually pretty well thought out.

You seem to post a LOT on Twitter in various places.  Don’t you have (a life, anything better to do, etc.)?

That’s the lamest, oldest internet wanna-be argument in the world.  It’s not my fault if I can think and react faster than you can.  I spend far less time online than you might think, and really, that’s my business, isn’t it?  Odds are I was ‘here’ long before you were, and will be here long after you’re gone.

Who else should I follow on Twitter?

You’re here, and you’ve read this far.  You can figure that one out on your own.  My blogs and those of our sister sites will often mention people worth following, and people worth avoiding.  I follow and engage a wide range of folks, from the ACLU to Karl Rove.  The spectrum doesn’t get any wider than that.

Maryland Bans SENDING Text Messages While Driving

Hit ’10’ and ‘2’ on wheel, not cell — baltimoresun.com.

The idiot above is in favor of the new Maryland ‘Sending’ text ban, which goes into effect October 1st.  Probably one of these guys who can’t piss and fart at the same time.  He does bring up some good questions about enforcement, so give it a look.  More information can be found about it here.

Is it a good idea to text and drive?  Surely not, at least not for most people.  I’ve seen  morons drive, and frankly it amazes me that they can pull that off without crashing every time out.  It’s also not a good idea to drive and:

• Apply makeup
• Shave – ANYTHING
• TALK on your cellphone (see Lloyd’s take on this here)
• Search your iPod
• Scramble for the lit cigarette you dropped
• Change the DVD (don’t get me started on THAT) for the idiots in the back seat
• Finger your butthole
• Finger someone else’s butthole
• Search for wet-naps re: the last two items

Do we legislate against these activities?  Not in Maryland.  I think Texas or Arizona do have butthole legislation, however.  Sadly, this isn’t about whether you CAN safely accomplish these activities or not.  It’s about your freedom, and they’re being oppressed in a HUGE way with this moronic law.

As with most legislation which infringes on our rights and liberties, this one is sure to square off Police vs Citizens for the sole reason that it’s considered a ‘Primary’ offense.

That means

Obama Waffles on Campaign Promise to Reform US Drug Policy

White House tries to combat drug demand with rehab – CNN.com.

We knew he would, no shocker there.  4 more years of failed US Drug Policy to contend with.

The White House has listened to those who say legalizing marijuana will pull the rug from under the violent cartels in Mexico and boost the U.S. economy, but that option is not on the table.

Asked Thursday if that is something realistic, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano quickly responded, “No, it is not.”

Like we expected THAT fat bulldyke bitch to do anything positive.  We’re quite sure that dumb cunt gets off on being the SS Chief and she’s unlikely to do anything to jeopardize her position, which oddly enough is upright these days.

Bailout for car buyers

Editor’s Note:

I’ve gotten tons of hate mail recently, but it’s all been about the fact that we haven’t been posting.

Fact is, we have, sorta.  Our Delicious.com bookmarks generally reflect the issues and topics of the day, with less than 1000 characters available to us to comment on the topic. They’re updated several times a day, marking stories of note, things we intend to get back to you on, and good old fashioned Gem-Finding on the Internet.

(Yes, the Internet.  The next moronic fucker geek-wannabe I hear say ‘internets’ or ‘interwebs’ is going to get an earful from me.)

Not good enough, they say, do the same thing here.

Fine.  We’re not used to being so limited or making such tiny blog posts (seems a waste to at least one of us), but here goes – we’ll be doing more microblogging posting, and a great new (i.e. longer) post on the Lunacy going on in Twitter.

Enjoy

Mobius

“Your warranty will be safe. In fact, it will be safer than it’s ever been. Because starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warranty,” President Obama said on Monday.

via Bailout for car buyers – Mar. 30, 2009.

He just doesn’t get it.

Nobody is impressed with the United States Government being behind ANYTHING anymore…maybe he just hasn’t heard that yet.  Seriously – when was the last time YOU had a good encounter with anything or anyone from the US Government?  Would you want to have these people managing your healthcare, too?

What a fucking tool this Foreign Exchange Student of a president has become.  Ugh.

Bizarre Tweets

Just amazing some of the stuff that happens around here, I swear.

Go see what Lloyd’s been up to on Twitter!

Mob

Changes, 2.0

We’re still working on the new site, but we’re at a point where we can accept visitors and testers, if you’re so inclined.

We’ve launched in partnership with Lloyd’s Rants to bring you a new website home for The Mobius Trip. We’ve included blogs, forums and our radio station details so you can hear us live or via podcast.

Ready to get started?  Head on over to www.LloydsRants.com and see what all the fuss is about.

Click on The Mobius Trip to get to our custom section.  Stop by the forums and say hi!

Mobius