Elections: A Delegate Situation

Our election system has many flaws, the most serious of them - in my opinion - being the lack of accountability and security in casting and counting votes. However, another problem that is almost as important is the use of delegates to send to a convention where the candidates for the major parties will be selected. I have just looked at the numbers from the Iowa Caucuses, and I find them to be quite disturbing. See if they make sense to you.

For reference, the population of Iowa is 2,926,324. The percentage of the population who cast a vote in this caucus: 4%

On the Republican side:

• Delegates at stake: 40 
• Super Delegates: 0
• Total Votes Cast for Republicans (with 96% of precincts reporting): 116,114
• Percentage of Total Population Casting Republican Votes: 3.96%

Candidate Numbers (with 96% of precincts reporting)

• Mike Huckabee - Votes Received: 39,814 (34%)  Delegates Received: 30 (75%)
• Mitt Romney - Votes Received: 29,405 (25%)  Delegates Received: 7 (17.5%)
• Fred Thompson - Votes Received: 15,521 (13%)  Delegates Received: 0 (0%)
• John McCain - Votes Received: 15,248 (13%)  Delegates Received: 0 (0%)
• Ron Paul - Votes Received: 11,598 (10%)  Delegates Received: 0 (0%)
• Rudy Giuliani - Votes Received: 4,013 (3%)  Delegates Received: 0 (0%)
• Duncan Hunter - Votes Received: 515 (0%)  Delegates Received: 0 (0%)

Percentage of Voters Ignored by Delegates: 46%

On the Democrat side:

• Delegates at stake: 57
• Super Delegates: 0
• Total Votes Cast for Democrats: 2,497
• Percentage of Total Population Casting Democrat Votes: 0.09%

Candidate Numbers (with all precincts reporting)

• Barack Obama - Votes Received: 940 (38%)  Delegates Received: 16 (28%)
• John Edwards - Votes Received: 744 (30%)  Delegates Received: 14 (24.5%)
• Hillary Clinton - Votes Received: 737 (30%)  Delegates Received: 15 (26%)
• Bill Richardson - Votes Received: 52 (2%)  Delegates Received: 0 (0%)
• Joe Biden - Votes Received: 23 (1%)  Delegates Received: 0 (0%)
• Chris Dodd - Votes Received: 1 (0%)  Delegates Received: 0 (0%)
• Mike Gravel - Votes Received: 0 (0%)  Delegates Received: 0 (0%)
• Dennis Kucinich - Votes Received: 0 (0%)  Delegates Received: 0 (0%)

Percentage of Voters Ignored by Delegates: 22.5%

This is screwed up! It's RIDICULOUS! Less than 8% of eligible voters went to the polls to vote in this Caucus. In the Democrat's Caucus only 2,497 total votes were cast to win a total of 57 delegates. That's insane!! Only 44 votes per delegate?! Why? hmmm.... let's see. Could it be that the voters believe that their vote will count for NOTHING?!? Thirty percent of all Iowans are registered as Independents. They are automatically shut out of the Caucuses. This is abhorrent, but I will save that discussion for another time. The huge majority of the remaining registered voters do not vote in the primaries, and it is no wonder. If I had voted in the Republican Caucus for Fred Thompson (who received 13% of the vote), my vote would have been for NOTHING! Mr. Thompson will not receive a delegate from this Caucus. If I had voted in the Democratic Caucus for Barack Obama, my vote may well have been one of the 26% of the votes for Mr. Obama that will not be represented by a delegate. Again, I would have voted for NOTHING!

Everyday, the federal government steals more and more of our wealth, our freedoms, and our country away from us. If want it to stop, you cannot keep your mouth shut and sit on your hands.

TomTom Sucks!

Since I have problems with short term memory, recalling directions when driving can be a real burden for me. So, when my wife purchased a TomTom ONE v3 (approx. $149) as a Christmas gift for me, I was very happy. To try it out, we used it on our trip to Virginia which we made the day after Christmas to visit her parents. To see how well the "ONE" would do compared to my wife's Garmin c550 (approx. $349), we took both devices along and ran them at the same time during the trip. At first glance, the Garmin is bulkier and not as "cool" in appearance as the TomTom. One advantage for the Garmin, however, is that it came with its own carrying pouch. The TomTom did not. Before I tell you about the "side-by-side" results, I want to tell you about my "setup" experience with the ONE.

From the point of opening the package until setup was completed, TomTom made everything an absolute chore. We had to cut the ONE out of its molded plastic packaging with heavy duty scissors. After that, I followed the setup instructions, step-by-step, and not until yesterday (January 2, 2008) was I able to create a passcode for the ONE. In addition, I had great difficulty getting either the ONE's software or TomTom's Home 2 software to recognize that I live in the United States. I had repeatedly tried to purchase accessories from TomTom for the ONE, but every price was listed in Euros instead of U.S. dollars. I finally uninstalled and reinstalled TomTom Home 2 after clearing all my temp files. This allowed me (at last) to see prices in U.S. dollars but also made me aware that I could not purchase John Cleese' voice clips. Apparently only those who live in Europe can purchase his quips for their TomTom devices.

You would think that the TomTom Home 2 software would be able to automatically determine which device I own since I had the ONE directly connected to my computer via USB, but that was not the case. I had to enter a "device code" in order for the ONE to be properly identified. Oh, and if you want technical support from TomTom, forget it. It's only by email - at least if you live in the U.S. - and even then you get quoted the same garbage that is listed in the FAQ information on the website. After a week's time and much frustration, I was finally able to have the ONE completely registered with the correct information and setup properly, no thanks to TomTom.

The Garmin was so much easier to setup that I am not going to bother commenting on it except to say that the c550 blew away the ONE in this area.

Ok, now for the side-by-side performance comparison - with both the Garmin and the TomTom given the same ending point, we headed out from our home in Pennsylvania to my parents-in-law in Virginia. My initial impression of TomTom's mapping was not favorable because it sees my home location as being one block west of my actual location. I still have not been able to rectify this error. Other than that, I would have to give both GPS devices very high marks for mapping and turn-by-turn highway directions. The TomTom does a slightly better job of directing you by telling you which lane to be in before turning instead of simply instructing you to stay to the left or to the right - like the Garmin, which is of little help if there are four lanes of traffic and they eventually split into four different directions. I also preferred the visual mapping on the TomTom to the Garmin. My wife preferred the visuals on the Garmin.

On to the POI (Points of Interest) - as TomTom calls them (restaurants, gas stations, rest stops, shopping centers, etc.) - this is where Garmin leaves TomTom in the dust. With NO exaggeration, for ALL 4 OF OUR STOPS along the route, the Garmin gave pinpoint directions to each location, while the TomTom misdirected us by 2 blocks to 3/4 of a mile for each location. In wide open rural areas, this was not such a problem, but in heavily congested areas, it made navigating a real headache. Even the new option of having Google maps send information directly to the TomTom did not help it do a better job in locating these points of interest. In trying to find one of the restaurants, the ONE directed us to go past the restaurant by another half mile.

Ok, now for the final destination - although neither device could locate the exact point of my parents-in-law's  house, at least the Garmin got us to the right street and only two doors away. The TomTom became completely lost once we entered the community. It had no idea where the street, let alone the house, was located.

Here are my final marks for the TomTom ONE and the Garmin c550. The top mark is 4 .

	TomTom ONE v3	Garmin StreetPilot c550
Setup
Highway Mapping
Verbal Instructions
Points of Interest     Number of locations     Accuracy in directions to POI

As you can see, the Garmin c550 is a clear winner. If Garmin tweaks its verbal instructions a bit, the c550 would not receive a single demerit from me. TomTom, however, has MILES to go before it is in the same league with Garmin. The final question is, are the advantages of the Garmin worth $200 to you? Considering the amount of time I wasted on setup with the TomTom and the amount of gas and time I would have wasted using only the TomTom on our trip to Virginia, the Garmin is certainly worth the extra $200 to us. I will be donating my TomTom to a local charity and picking up a Garmin of my own ASAP.

Hydrohephalumps - or "A Creative Way To Get A Headache"

I have had blogs for a few years but have not used them to talk about my health nor the condition that affects almost every part of my life. I have decided to change that policy because later this month I will speaking at "Hydrocephalus Rally Day" in the Capital Rotunda in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Hydrocephalus (or hydrohephalumps, as my youngest daughter jestingly calls it) is a condition that affects over a million people in the United States and costs over one billion dollars to treat - by very conservative estimates. To give you a very simple description of hydrocephalus, it is the increase of pressure within the cranium caused by fluid build up around the brain. It can be caused by injury, malformation of the brain, cysts, tumors, and other situations that cause fluid to rapidly enter the brain or cause the impingement of the routes that allow fluid to flow out of the brain. It can be present in fetuses or occur in elderly people without warning. In fact, many people previously diagnosed with "old age" symptoms of memory loss, dementia, imbalance and incontinence are now being diagnosed with hydrocephalus.

How Do You Treat Hydrocephalus?

It has only been within the last 50 years that an effective and reliable form of treatment using a procedure called "shunting" has become widely used. You can read about the history of hydrocephalus and its treatments on "Medscape." This shunting technique has become highly sophisticated, but still uses many of the same principles developed by its inventors. Before the latter half of the 20th century, the prognosis for someone with hydrocephalus was not good, especially for someone born with the condition. In those cases, the child and sometimes the mother did not survive birth. If the child did survive, he/she was most likely brain damaged and died within months after birth. Today, with the help of shunts, many people with hydrocephalus are living happy and productive lives. However, a very large number of people who receive shunts still have a shortened life span and need additional surgeries, medications, valve adjustments and other medical treatments for hydrocephalus throughout their lives. There is still a great need for further research into the condition, its causes and how to treat it.

If you know someone with hydrocephalus or who has a loved one with the condition, there are now places that they can go for support and to obtain more information about the condition, its treatment and even find the names of medical professionals who specialize in the treatment of hydrocephalus. I recommend beginning with the Hydrocephalus Association. They have plenty of helpful information and resources.

More About Me

I was born with hydrocephalus in 1964. However, this was not determined until a complete history was taken after I had a CAT scan in the year 2000. From prior medical records and other historical information, the doctors were able to determine that I was in fact born with hydrocephalus. My mother almost died giving birth to me. Considering the incredible circumference of my head at the time, this is not surprising. What is surprising, perhaps even miraculous, is that both of us survived. In fact, somehow, even with severe headaches, misdiagnosis of ear pain as infections, misdiagnosis of swelled tonsils as tonsillitis, numerous serious falls because of imbalance, inability to focus my attention and memorize effectively, and being called a "slow learner," I still graduated from high school, won multiple awards in my musical endeavors, held jobs until symptoms became too severe in the year 2000, and have a family of my own. It took 4 more years of worsening symptoms, after my diagnosis of hydrocephalus, until I finally received my first, second, and third shunts at the age of 40 in 2004. Because of my symptoms, I was declared disabled in 2000. Although I have been feeling much better in the past year, I have not been able to find an employer who is able or willing to hire me because of the flexibility in scheduling and sick time that I require. I still suffer debilitating headaches, memory loss and balance problems from time to time, especially if a quick moving storm front moves through the area or if I do not sleep well causing my Intracranial Pressure (ICP) to change. Still, to be here, to experience life, to watch my children grow up - these things make every difficulty worthwhile.

Feeling better has also allowed me to once again enjoy performing. Although extremely frustrating for myself and the director while I was learning my lines, I played the lead role in a community theater production of "The Drunkard," a musical by Barry Manilow. Memorizing the lines was incredibly difficult, but I did it. We put on 6 performances of the show which was well received by the audiences.

The greatest and most rewarding benefit of feeling better is being able to participate in the lives of my wife and children. I had been both physically and mentally absent for a few years due to the pain and other symptoms related to my hydrocephalus. Although the sadness that I feel for having not been a better father to my older children is almost too much to bear at times, I am trying to find ways to re-enter their lives and become a real father to them now. It is difficult to know how to approach them because during the "ramp up" of my symptoms, their mother and I got divorced. We are all testing the waters and trying to find a way to better relationships with each other.

Well, I think that I have run long enough with this post, but I will post again on these subjects. By the way, I spoke at a Hydrocephalus Awareness Rally Day press conference recently to promote the passage of a resolution within the Pennsylvania Legislature to name November as "Hydrocephalus Awareness Month." You can view my "speech," below.

Don't Feel Like Blogging

For some reason which I have not yet identified, I have not felt like blogging for a while now. So, until I am in the mood to begin again, I am simply going to post links to articles and other items of interest.

• Dianne Feinstein - Bush's Key Ally in the Senate by Glenn Greenwald - Find out why Dianne Feinstein is no defender of personal liberties
• Senate overrides Bush veto of water projects - This is the first override of any veto by George W. Bush. Why is Congress so afraid of this lame duck?
• Bay Oil Spill - Human Error - Just one more reason to move to a clean, renewable energy resource.
• Bush Says He Will Take Musharraf At His Word - Of course, one despot trusting another, how surprising ...

Until the blogging fever strikes again, take good care...

Ellen DeGeneres and Her Producers Should Be Sued

I usually enjoy Ms. DeGeneres' show when I have the opportunity to see it. However, she is completely wrong in the case of this "Iggy" situation. Let's look at the facts:

• Ms. DeGeneres signed a contract when she took receipt of the dog from the private animal rescue agency, "Mutts and Moms."
• The contract stated that Ms. DeGeneres agreed to return the dog to the agency if Ms. DeGeneres was not able to continue caring for the dog.
• Ms. DeGeneres admits that the dog did not get along with her cats and that she could no longer allow the situation to continue, thereby triggering the stipulation in the contract requiring Ms. DeGeneres to return the dog to the agency.
• Instead of returning the dog, Ms. DeGeneres gave the dog to her hairstylist's family in violation of the contract with "Mutts and Moms."
• In accordance with the contract, "Mutts and Moms" had the dog returned to the agency.
• Ms. DeGeneres used her show as a means to defame "Mutts and Moms" and humiliate its owners.

What Ms. DeGeneres did was inexcusable. She broke a contract and then used her show as a conduit to coerce the other party to back down and made statements that made the other party appear to be unfair and uncaring. The other party in the contract simply followed through on the terms of the contract. I hope that "Mutts and Moms" decides to sue, and I hope they win big. Celebrities do not have the right to use their status to cause harm to others. Yes, they should have freedom of speech, but their freedom of speech ends where it causes harm to another person. Ms. DeGeneres and her show have certainly caused harm to "Mutts and Moms" and its owners.

ORU Professors Spilling the Beans

All I can say is, "It's about time..." Three former Oral Roberts University professors are blowing the whistle (the reason for which they were terminated) about illegal and immoral actions on the part of Oral Roberts University President Richard Roberts and his wife, Lindsay. It has been suspected by many people both inside and outside of ORU's circle of influence that there have been improprieties on the part of Richard Roberts and his family. Now, thanks to evidence found on Lindsay Roberts' laptop computer, light is being shed on many misdeeds by the Roberts family.

Unfortunately, the Roberts are not alone. Many well-known evangelists and politicians in recent years have been making Christianity look like a circus. It has reached a point that some Christians have been hoping to coin another name for followers of Jesus. However, several groups have recently formed to oppose to the antics of those who are attempting to hi-jack Christianity to promote their own personal causes, whether it be war, financial gain, popularity, political advantage, etc.

I think it is time once again to rid the temple of the moneychangers, whores, and charlatans and reclaim it for its true purpose, to worship and honor God. I would offer this word of warning to any Christian or anyone else observing the actions of these so-called leaders. If you hear someone in a position of religious, political or economic power speaking about their Christianity to a group who could further advance their power, be very cautious about their motives.

Jennifer Griffin - ? Are You Out There?

This post is simply to say a big "hello" to Jennifer Griffin, a friend of mine from "music camp" at Central Oak Heights in Milton, Pennsylvania. I wanted to let her know that the cool needlepoint "Music is the universal language..." that she created for me way back then is still in a prominent place in my home. It has followed me everywhere, and I just want to tell you how very much it has meant to me over the years. I was looking at it again today and thought that I should try to send out a "thank you." I hope that you are happy and healthy. God Bless You!

Blackwater Policy: Shoot First - Count Bodies Later

The founder of Blackwater, Erik Prince, would have us believe that they are acting in the best interest of the United States when they have no accountability to the military, the U.S. criminal justice system, nor the Iraqi government. Complete and utter Bull Dung. There is no way that you can put a bunch of gun toting, gung ho, ex-military personnel in a position where they have no accountability to any court system and not have problems. In fact, there have been warnings from several Defense Department staff about what would happen if we allowed private security firms to be deployed in Iraq. They predicted the abuses that have occurred. They told us that they lack of accountability would be to the detriment of Iraqi civilians. It's all coming true, and it will only get worse if our government does not act now to stop it. Blackwater represents no one and is accountable to no one. They should be contracted by no one.

This Should NEVER Happen In America

I welcome you once again to the United Fascist States of America. Today's example that we are living in a fascist state: A woman dies in the custody of our amazingly trustworthy and competent airline security personnel. The woman became irate when she was not allowed to board a plane because she was late in arriving. The security personnel then handcuffed her and placed her in a holding cell. Nobody knows what happened next. Apparently, no one was keeping an eye on her. All that is known is that she was found unresponsive and somehow "tangled" in her handcuffs. I have several questions. If the woman was so irate that she needed to be handcuffed, did anyone ask her if she was on medication? Did anyone check her person for medication or illicit drugs? Did anyone consider that perhaps she needed medical or psychiatric attention? Was any immediate family member contacted? I understand the need to keep an irate passenger away from others for her safety and the safety of others. However, when this happens, you can't just put her in cuffs, toss her in a cell and forget about her. She may be in need of help, thereby explaining her distress. Airline security is under-trained to put it simply.

Another Typical Cop Story

I am really getting sick of hearing these stories of cops who both on and off duty being abusive. In this CNN story, a Chicago cop goes to Iowa to celebrate his brother's birthday, gets drunk, goes to the house of someone who was at the party for the sole intent of harassing the guy, and knocks him out. Now the cop claims that he was wrongly convicted. WWAHHH!!! WAH! Am I supposed to feel sorry for this cop because he MIGHT lose his job? Not a chance. He went to the victim's house! He harassed the victim! Then he knocked the victim out. These things are happening every day in this country and cops are usually getting away with it. It's time for accountability. The longer we allow those in power to abuse it, the worse the abuse will become until eventually we are a nation of slaves.