eclectic git

Dear First Lady Michele Obama:

I include the letter that I wrote and shall mail tomorrow to Mesdames Bonnie McCarvel, executive director of the Mid-America CropLife Association, and Janet Braun, CropLife Ambassador coordinator.
I have to acknowledge that you are their muse; I recognize that there is no better muse than you, dear Lady.

The letter:

Mesdames Bonnie McCarvel and Janet Braun:

I read your letter to First Lady Michele Obama and laughed so hard that I succumbed to an attack of the hiccups. It is obvious that you are satirists on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show. I commend Mr. Stewart for such superb satirists. He recognizes and hires talented comedians. I admire your pointed barbs aimed at the chemical industry; they are true to the mark. I laugh every time that I read the letter. You two are assured of a successful career in comedy.

When a cable network signs you for a comedy special
and, I hope, a comedy series, please notify me. I will watch it dutifully and recommend it to my kin, kith, and friends.

Affably,

Thomas Elias Weatherly

I was asked to pass this along to all my friends, kith, kin, and everyone I could, so I decided to post this quoted description of the scam..  The best way to defeat this scam is

DON’T GIVE THE NUMBERS OR NAME ON YOUR CREDIT OR DEBIT CARDS TO ANYONE WHO CALLS YOU.

BANKS AND CREDIT CARD COMPANIES DO NOT CALL YOU AND ASK FOR ANY INFORMATION ON YOUR CARDS BECAUSE THEY ALREADY KNOW; THEY ISSUED THE CARDS.

THIS SHOULD BE ALL  THAT IS NECESSARY TO THWART THIS SCAM.

IF YOU MUST KNOW WHETHER THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH YOUR CARDS, CALL YOUR BANK OR CREDIT CARD COMPANY DIRECTLY.

DO NOT ANSWER YES OR NO, OR GIVE ANY INFORMATION TO A CALL TO YOU, NOT EVEN YOUR NAME.

New Credit Card Scam

“See this site -

http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp
This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.

“Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. This information is worth reading.. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you’ll be better prepared to protect yourself.

“One of our employees was called on Wednesday from ‘VISA ‘, and I was called on Thursday from ‘Master Card’. The scam works like this: Caller: ‘This is (name), and I’m calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I’m calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in   Arizona ?’

“When you say ‘No’, the caller continues with, ‘Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?’
You say ‘yes ‘. The caller continues – ‘I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. ‘
You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6-digit number. ‘Do you need me to read it again?’

“Here’s the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says, ‘I need to verify you are in possession of your card’. He’ll ask you to ‘turn your card over and look for some numbers’. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he’ll say, ‘That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?’After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, ‘Don’t hesitate to call back if you do, and hangs up.

“You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. However, after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

“Long story – short – we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number.  What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card don’t give it to them. Instead, tell them you’ll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you’re receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you’ll see charges for purchases you didn’t make, and by then it’s almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

“What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a ‘Jason Richardson of Master Card’ with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn’t let him finish.  I hung up!  We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA.  The police said they are taking several of these reports daily!  They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.
Please pass this on to all your family and friends. By informing each other, we protect each other.”

DON’T GIVE THE NUMBERS OR NAME ON YOUR CREDIT OR DEBIT CARDS TO ANYONE WHO CALLS YOU.

BANKS AND CREDIT CARD COMPANIES DO NOT CALL YOU AND ASK FOR ANY INFORMATION ON YOUR CARDS BECAUSE THEY ALREADY KNOW; THEY ISSUED THE CARDS.

THIS SHOULD BE ALL  THAT IS NECESSARY TO THWART THIS SCAM.

IF YOU MUST KNOW WHETHER THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH YOUR CARDS, CALL YOUR BANK OR CREDIT CARD COMPANY DIRECTLY.

DO NOT ANSWER YES OR NO, OR GIVE ANY INFORMATION TO A CALL TO YOU, NOT EVEN YOUR NAME.

I may offend almost everyone, except those who believe in open discourse and separation of private belief and public policy.  I am a true believer in the last.
Notre Dame invited President Barak Obama to speak at its commencement and plan to give him an honorary degree. It is a Roman Catholic University and therein lies the problem for some folks. It is Catholic and I expect it to promote Catholic religious ideology, its ethics, morality, and theology. It is a University.

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education. The word university is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, roughly meaning "community of teachers and scholars"
In some countries, in some political systems, universities are controlled by political or religious authorities who forbid certain fields of study or impose certain other fields. Sometimes national or racial limitations exist in the students that can be admitted, the faculty and staff that can be employed, and the research that can be conducted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University

It is Catholic.

The term Catholic Church is associated with the whole of the church that is led by the Roman Pontiff, currently Pope Benedict XVI, and whose over one billion adherents are about half of the estimated 2.1 billion Christians. Other Christian denominations also lay claim to the description catholic, including the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Churches possessing the historic episcopate (bishops), such as those in the Anglican communion, but in common usage the term refers to the Roman Catholic Church.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic#Western_and_Eastern_Catholics

I believe that all abortions are immoral. I believe that they are immoral even if pregnancy occurs from rape and incest. I believe that it is immoral to kill the entity from zygote to adult.

A zygote (or zygocyte) (from Greek ζυγωτός zugōtos "joined" or "yoked", from ζυγοῦν zugoun "to join" or "to yoke")[1] is a term in Developmental biology used to describe the first stage of a new unique organism when it consists of just a single cell. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the group of cells formed by the first few cell divisions, although this is properly referred to as a blastomere. A zygote is usually produced by a fertilization event between two haploid cells – an ovum from a female and a sperm cell from a male – which combine to form the single diploid cell. Thus the zygote contains (DNA) originating from both mother and father and this provides all the genetic information necessary to form a new individual.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zygote

That means that I am a radical anti abortionist, an extreme right to life advocate. I expect that even folk who basically agree with me may disagree with my non allowance of incest and rape as reasons for abortions. I am against abortion, capital punishment, and elective war. I am not a pacifist. I believe that self defense is not immoral; although I cannot say that it is moral. I do believe that use of force which may lead to someone’s death to prevent another’s death comes close, if not moral, to moral. Even so I would not rejoice. To paraphrase my religion, to kill one person is to kill a whole world. Now you know my bias.
I believe that a woman has the right, and men do in other circumstances, to choose in the matter of abortion. If she asked my opinion, you know the answer. I believe that the state does not have the right to kill, except in clear self defense when attacked. The state does not have the right to impose it’s power on private decisions. I believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The life part is problematic, I admit.
Other folk constantly make immoral decisions that the state does not in our system of statecraft have the right to curb. I believe that private decisions do not belong in public and political policy.  Notre Dame has the right to give or withhold an honorary degree, but if they offer then withdraw it then that is another matter. I happen to believe that a university, any university, should foster a free exchange of ideas, especially those ideas unpopular at the moment. It should offer honorary degrees appropriate to the occupation or field of accomplishment of the recipient. Thus I would not expect the president to be given an honorary religious degree because of his stand on abortion; although an honorary legal degree or some other non religious degree would be appropriate.
I say this – call me bigot if you wish -, if Notre Dame withdraws the degree offer, and if the Catholic bishops keep their public outcry going I will carefully examine all Catholic politicians who want my vote.
I add this note about Arizona State University refusal to give President Obama an honorary degree, and their reason given for offering it. I read their list of recipients.

http://graduation.asu.edu/honorary/past

If the winning of the presidency and you are a black man in America is not reason enough in light of the achievements of some of the previous recipients is not enough, what is? If I was the president (I’m a black and a Jew) and was refused an honorary degree, I would cancel my commencement speech. President Obama seems a much nicer man than I am.
I react to insults.

Dear Ms Ruth Marcus,

Re: Mark Felt’s Dilemma on Rights vs. Security
By Ruth Marcus
Saturday, December 20, 2008

I know that my response is late, yet I believe that you need to hear me. A response from you is not necessary, I believe that the questions explicit and implicit should be present in your consciousness.

The prosecutor, John Nields, was right; you were wrong:
> In the current unspooling, I unexpectedly find myself more in the camp of Reagan than Nields. I understand –
> I even share — Nields’s anger over the insult to the rule of law. Yet I’m coming to the conclusion that what’s
> most crucial here is ensuring that these mistakes are not repeated. In the end, that may be more important
> than punishing those who acted wrongly in pursuit of what they thought was right.

Do you understand that by pardoning them you ensure that it will happen again? Future officials will see this and interpret the facts as that they will not be prosecuted. They may be pardoned too. Did earlier pardons ensure those events would not happen again? Did the earlier pardons prevent these alleged criminal acts? What is taught is the idea that any government official can get away with trampling on the Constitution and the rule of law.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Latino/Hispanic, black, and, yes, poor white folk who are in jail for lesser crimes. They are not pardoned.  They are not high and mighty government officials. But you and I know that this is a continuation of what happens during youth, the well off, mostly white folk, rarely minorities or poor whites, unless celebrities or offspring of celebrities (I call ‘em honorary well off white folk)are given probation or rehab; whereas the poor whites and poor minorities are given jail and a record. That is simply translated to adults in this society. Why should I a poor man respect the rule of law in this society? It only exists to stomp on poor, unconnected folks.

You cite a higher calling and you spit on the rule of law by it! You say mistakes when what is involved are crimes. You are a wordsmith, do not deceive us with tortuous reasoning. The allegations are that they committed crimes not just mistakes. The way to ensure, or make the attempt, is to investigate, indict, try, maybe convict and imprison them.

I am for a constitutional amendment that will alter the pardoning power of the president. It is being misused. Forgers, pot smokers, heroin addicts, petty thieves who don’t use force, and other minor criminals are less a threat to the republic than some of the miscreants let go by a presidential pardon.  Government officials who misuse the powers of their office are more of a threat to the republic than any petty thief or drug user. Yet you excuse them, accept a pardon for them as the lesser of the evils.

You are wrong. You condone the actions of folk in high position. You erode the faith that we must have in the government, especially the Justice Department, Executive, and the Courts. You increase the awareness in us that perhaps the rule of law does not apply to the high and mighty; you teach us that we are stupid to respect it and should find alternate ways to enforce fairness.

The rule of law must apply in all cases, without exception, or it is worthless as a dictum.

Thomas

I don’t want to call Governor Bobby Jindal a liar, but he plays the victory tunes for the rich and powerful.

One particular melody backs the lyric that health care decisions should be between the patient and physician

and other medical practitioners and not made by government bureaucrats. 

Hear this lyric: do you want business bureaucrats deciding your medical care?  What is the music that

for profit medical corporations march in step with in the real world?  Yep!    

Lyric without the distraction of pleasantly deceptive music with that spurious riff Socialism

What is the primary function of a for profit institution?  Yep!

Governor Bobby Jindal is a liar and he tries to play us.

I teach poem wright.

Poem differs from the other genres by its emphasis on the musical  play of language. It is the music genre of language; although you may see some elements of music in essay, play, and novel it is not the emphasis in them..

I give credit to The New Book of Forms by Lewis Turco and the Historical Manual of English Prosody by George Saintsbury as two of the primary sources; yet I confess that I discovered most of my knowledge of craft in the stacks, poetry section, of the library at (then) Alabama A.& M. College as a kid. Most of the discoveries were from the practice of the poets that I read, almost all of the British and American poets who got published more than a few times. I developed my canon independently of critics or English teachers. Some of my friends who are scholars in English Literature, especially poetry, consider my personal canon eccentric, if not completely wrong.

I begin with Anglo Saxon prosody and work toward now. I assign tedious, repetitive drills to my apprentices; they are required to say, chant, or sing each element of craft until it is automatic. Sometimes it is several hundred repetitions or more.

It is not intellectual to learn the craft. It is constant practice; it is learn by rote. It is the ancient way.

*
lucy homer / dear
mammy buried near
bliss in grove street graveyard
new england new haven

*
© 2006 Thomas Elias Weatherly
short history of the saxophone
The Groundwater Press, Hudson,
New York, p.44.

.

There are still some crazy white people who act as if white is more important an affiliation than American is to them. I have been listening to many of them  express distrust and some repeat the lies of the campaign, that President Elect Obama is a terrorist, a Muslim, as if that is an insult, and finally cite concern that he has connections to anti American individuals who hate America.  I must mention that my state still has 60% people who, if not racist, still believe him to be guilty by association of being  a Muslim, of consorting with terrorists. It may be just the people who are frustrated  and  may  harbor some racist attitudes. I don’t know that we can do anything about them, except to wait until they die.  Some of this tribe of thought will be replaced by some of their children who grow up in a racist household. I hope that the thoughtful grow to majority. My hypothesis that black folk do not simply vote for black candidates: I do not believe that Thomas Sowell would get a majority of the black vote.

I am encouraged that more while who apparently don’t think white, think American, who elected President Elect Obama. I didn’t  completely trust the American people, didn’t expect a significant number to be ready to vote for a black man, even one not emphasizing black. I owe them an apology. I apologize without using the crutch of my experience of over sixty years living in America, in Alabama. Alabama rejected Obama by 60% to 40%, but I salute that 40% which has to include a majority of formerly white ( I call them because American is the more important tribe.) people. I am surprised that he got the 40% in Alabama.

I give props to those Americans who could move beyond race, see beyond the spurious charges, and vote for Obama. I give props to those crazy white folk who are not white to me anymore.

We are officially a police state. Go read your history of the Nazi and Soviet regimes, how they protected their states, and you can see the parallels with present practices of the American state. Yes, the American state, not just the Bush administration. We are all culpable either by our political actions or inaction. We deserve a police state. For those who oppose the actions of this administration on our behalf, you did not oppose it strenuously enough. For those who approved, you are fools, fascists, or practitioners of the most profound self deception. We all deserve what happened and what happens next. The vote to approve retroactive telecom immunity and to make legit warrantless intrusion into our lives limns our national character as something alien and ugly.

I recommend that all members of the house and senate who voted for this bill should be defeated in their next election. That includes Senator Obama. Senator McCain should also be defeated because he wimped out and did not vote. I am a Republican libertarian who originally supported Representative Ron Paul, but after the Republican hierarchy ignored and marginalized Representative Paul I was planning to support and vote for Senator Obama as the least objectionable candidate. I have changed my mind! I may support and vote for former congressman Bob Barr or some other third party candidate. Senator Obama cares more about winning than for the U.S.Constitution and the liberties of Americans. I have lost all enthusiasm for his candidacy and had none for Senator McCain.

I have to ask the the questions: Are we now fascist because of the remote chance we may be victims of a terrorist plot? Have we always been closet fascists?

http://attrition.org/postal/z/037/1089.html
http://fgiasson.com/blog/index.php/2004/12/20/the_operating_system_oriented_security_d_2/
http://www.wherewereyou.org/search/index.php?start=5&searchtype=age&searchtext=59
http://www.moria.co.nz/sf/testament.htm
http://www.zhibit.org/mkaggen/portraits/thomas-elias-weatherly
http://www.geocities.com/eliyahuman/
http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/416/33933#33933
http://www.whosonsecond.com/id19.html
http://www.bookrags.com/browse/Dictionary%20of%20Literary%20Biography/W/100
http://www.elon.edu/predictions/ContributedPrediction.aspx?id=831

http://edwards.orcas.net/blog/archives/000215.html

No previous job prepares a person to be president.   

I believe that all would be good choices for vice president and good presidents.

Senator Obama choose one of these people:

Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico

Governor Chris Gregoire of Washington

Governor  Joe Manchin of West Virginia

Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona

Representative Ron Paul of Texas

Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri

Representative Artur Davis of Alabama

Susan Eisenhower, president of the Eisenhower Group, Inc.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon

Representative Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin of Wisconsin

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont