Virginia Tech President Charles Steger Needs To Go

I could not believe what I read about Charles Steger's response to the independent panel report that faulted him and the Virginia Tech administration for not acting quickly enough to protect students after shooting began on campus on April 16th. In an apathetic and weak statement, Steger said, "No plausible scenario was made for how this horror could have been prevented once he began that morning." ("he" is Seung-Hui Cho - the killer)

"No Plausible Scenario"??? Really? How about this scenario - immediate notification of the entire campus that a shooting has occurred on campus, where it has occurred and any known information about the shooter? That sounds like a "plausible scenario" to me.

Steger's response to the panel's report is enough reason to demand his resignation. He has proven himself to be callous, irresponsible, and incapable to facing the truth. I say to the families of the victims, "Keep Shouting! Do not let your voices be silent until Steger and the Virginia Tech police chief are out of office."

Limbaugh Speaks His Heart, Bigoted As It Is

In a supposed dissertation on Darfur, Rush Limbaugh states that the Democratic support for involvement by the United States and the United Nations in order to end the violence in Darfur is all because Democrats think it will win them the support of African American voters. What is worse is that he criticizes support of Nelson Mandela and our sanctions on the former Apartheid government of South Africa during the 1980's. This is appalling, vile, and inexcusable. There needs to be a cry of outrage over Limbaugh's statements. Advertisers should sanction his show until he makes a full retraction of his statements concerning Mr. Mandela, our sanctions of the former Apartheid government of South Africa, and the relationship between Democrats and their support of U.S. and U.N. involvement in Darfur. I believe Mr. Limbaugh is showing his true colors and will be making more frequent and more outrageous comments in the future.

Medicare Will Not Pay For Preventable Errors

This is a MONUMENTAL policy change that has received very little coverage. Why is this policy so profound? It will effect the profitability of EVERY hospital, nursing home and other long term care facility in the nation. Practically all errors are preventable. And although the aim of this new policy is to push the hospitals and long term care facilities toward more stringent adherence of current protocols and thereby reduce the number of "preventable errors," it will also drive costs through the roof for these facilities.

Medicare pays flat fees for particular treatments. Therefore, the additional testing (that will no doubt occur under this new policy) upon admission to the hospital will have to absorbed by the hospital. To avoid these additional expenses, I foresee hospitals beginning to over prescribe antibiotics in order to avoid having patients become ill with bacterial infections while in the hospital. That is only the beginning. The new guidelines could also encourage the health care facilities to falsely evaluate a patient as having more medical problems than actually exist. For example, as a precautionary measure, a blister may be documented as a "skin tear" or other type of wound in order to help the facility recoup the need for testing, additional staffing, and more extensive medical treatments that will be required because of the new guidelines.

Coding is everything when it comes to billing Medicare, and I am certain that employees of healthcare facilities will soon be receiving invitations to seminars on how to deal with the new Medicare guidelines and stay profitable. If you think there is "creative accounting" happening on Wall Street, it is nothing compared to what is an absolute necessity in the healthcare industry in order for a hospital or long term care facility to stay afloat. What this guideline will do to those facilities and the patients within them is a crime and its being perpetrated once again by George W. Bush, Richard B. Cheney, Karl un-Christian Rove, and the rest of the current administration.

Wrong Again, D'Souza

In a recent article, Dinesh D'Souza again gets his facts and thus his suppositions incorrect. Speaking about the difference between World War II and the War on Terror, Mr. D'Souza says, "The real difference, I think, is that during World War 2 there was a national consensus in America that this war will not end until Germany and Japan are totally defeated. In other words, nothing short of total victory is acceptable."

No, Mr. D'Souza, the real difference is that the United States was actually fighting an enemy that attacked us in World War II, at least in the case of Japan. Had we stayed out of the first World War, Germany would never have turned to Nazism nor Hitler's ambitions for world domination. In addition, there would have been no need to battle them in World War II.

The real difference is that the citizens of the U.S. are learning about the lies that began the war in Iraq much more quickly than they learned of the lies that began our involvement in fighting Germany in World War I. We already know that Iraq had NOTHING to do with the War on Terror and that Al Quaeda's presence in Iraq has come about because of our own presence there. We know (because of Bush and Cheney's own words on air) that the war in Iraq is about oil. This war was never about weapons of mass destruction nor imagined "ties to Al Quaeda" as fed to the news media before troops were sent into Iraq.

The real difference, Mr. D'Souza, is that we knew about Abu Ghraib in the middle of the war in Iraq. The U.S. public did not learn about Japanese detention centers until well after WWII had ended.

Mr. D'Souza mentions Bush's superior will, comparing him to Clausewitz and Sun Tzu - what a monstrous load of rodent dung. Superior will for what, Mr. D'Souza? For more oil? For more money? Your judgement of character is severely lacking, Mr. D'Souza. By the way, do you motivate soldiers by giving them a false purpose for their mission, by encouraging them to sexually humiliate their imprisoned enemies, and by allowing innocent people to be detained for years without cause or charge before releasing them? WAKE UP!! There is nothing superior about Bush. He is an inept, unintelligent, and arrogant person not fit for the office of President of the United States.

Tip of the Iceberg on Chinese Goods

I told you so. I told you so. I told you so.

Not even two weeks after the last recall, Mattel is now recalling nine million - 9,000,000!!! - more toys because of lead paint AND battery problems. I promise you that this is not over. I urge every consumer with a science and/or engineering background and every consumer research organization to check products coming from China for toxins and dangerous construction or defective parts. I will say it again. China has found a way to dump its garbage in the U.S. It is putting its garbage INTO the products that it is manufacturing for the U.S. market. What better way to keep lead from entering their atmosphere and water than to put it into paint that goes products headed for the U.S. If you receive catalogs from WalMart or any "wholesale" company that obtains a large percentage of its products from China, I strongly urge you to toss them into the trash where they belong. Our health and environment can only suffer by purchasing products from China.

ATT Wireless Reps LIE

I recently purchased a Samsung Sync, and after having some difficulty locating information about using it as a modem for my laptop, I decided to call AT&T to get the information. However, when I contacted them, the representative told me that I would need to add an additional line of service and would need to purchase a $300+ aircard modem for my laptop in order to have Internet service through AT&T Wireless. After hearing this, I decided that I was not that interested in Internet service through AT&T. However, before giving up on the idea of using the Sync as a modem, I decided to dig into the search engines a bit further. What I found out was that I can indeed have Internet service through AT&T Wireless using the Sync as a modem and WITHOUT purchasing an aircard or an extra line. When the rep told me that I would need another line of service and an aircard, she was telling me a bold-faced lie. Here are the exact steps to follow if you want to use the Sync as a modem. I would like to sincerely thank user "jsm7483" on howardforums.com for providing this information.

Samsung A707 (Sync) Tether Instructions for Windows (this worked on a Sync with Hardware Version Rev 1.4 and Software Version A707UCGD2 through a Bluetooth connection with AT&T's "MediaNet" subscription):
1. Pair your phone either using PC studio or through the Windows Bluetooth Connections Manager
2. Open your Bluetooth Connections Manager (Windows)
3. Click on your phone
4. Click the properties button
5. Open the Services tab
6. Put a check in Dial-Up Networking (DUN)
7. Hit OK to close the phone dialog
8. Hit OK to close the Bluetooth Connections Manager
9. Create a new dialup connection through Dial-Up Networking
10. During your setup it will ask you for some info and also ask you what modem to use to connect with choose Standard Modem Over Bluetooth Link
Now here's the part where I depart for a little
The phone number you need is *99# just like that
The username you need is WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
The password you need is CINGULAR1
11. More Instructions...
12. Go into Control Panel
13. Open the Phone and Modems Control Applet
14. Switch over to the Modems tab
15. Choose standard modem over Bluetooth link
16. Hit the properties button
17. Go to the advanced tab and paste this at+cgdcont=1,"ip","wap.cingular" into your Extra initialization commands box.
18. Startup your new dialup connection and surf

AT&T Wireless should be ashamed of themselves for pushing unnecessary hardware and services. My family and I have been loyal AT&T Wireless -> Cingular -> AT&T Wireless customers for well over a decade. The reason we stayed with AT&T was because of the quality of the care we received in addition to the quality of the products and services. Apparently, we are no longer customers to AT&T. We are now only dollar signs.

Minnesota Officials Warned of Bridge Problems

Dozens Missing After Bridge Collapse

WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME ARE THESE GOVERNMENT HACKS BEING PAID TO DO?!? According to the above linked AP story, '"In 1990, the federal government gave the I-35W bridge a rating of "structurally deficient," citing significant corrosion in its bearings.' Reports like these need to be made IMMEDIATELY available to the public so that we can make informed decisions about our own safety and place the needed pressure upon the government to correct the problems. They think no one is watching, so they pass over vital issues affecting our lives and "pass the buck" to someone else to fix the problems. We are paying a heavy financial toll in taxes to have our highways and bridges maintained. Now we are paying a heavier toll with our lives because that money is being pocketed instead of spent on the needed repairs. 

When a doctor is negligent, he/she can be sued. When a driver is reckless, he/she can be fined or even imprisoned. When a "government official" is negligent and causes the deaths of possibly dozens of people, what punishment does he/she receive? Reprimand? Dock in pay? Suspension? Fired? This is hardly punishment for placing so many people at death's door. I hope that the family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers of those who perished or suffered injuries in this tragedy will march on Minnesota's Capital Building and demand accountability.

More Garbage From China

Fisher-Price Recalling 1 Million Toys

Mattel announced that they are recalling 1.5 million - yes 1,500,000 - toys that were manufactured in China because of high lead levels in the paint. What is happening?! Talking heads here in the U.S. and government officials from China will tell you that its because of "poor oversight," "corruption," or "inability to keep up with rapid growth" in China's economy that are causing "problems" like this to occur. I don't think so. I believe that China has found a way of dumping their garbage in our country by putting it into products that they sell to us. It's rather ingenious, really. Manufacturing creates waste products. What better way to rid yourself of these wastes than to put them into the products that you will be exporting to other countries. Put that risk of disease and death upon another country's population. Increase their healthcare costs. Raise your own country's wealth and power by default. Our greatest threat is not from radical Muslim regimes like Iran but from the most populous and soon to be most powerful nation in the world. China has the intellect, will, and ability to infect our society with serious ills that will slowly but certainly degrade our health and our economy.