Somer Renee Thompson

Somer Renee Thompson

You can find the story about Somer here and here, but I'm not writing this to discuss the story itself. I've been sitting here this evening attempting to work through my own emotions regarding Somer and the circumstances surrounding what is presumed to be her death. As of my writing this, she has not been confirmed deceased, but in all probability Somer has in fact left us. I am once again apologizing in advance for my inability to write coherent sentences. I am sure that my sentences will reflect my thoughts and right now, they could hardly be deemed coherent.

At what point do good people start taking child predators out back, and putting bullets through brain pans? At what point do those same people start holding politicians responsible for the decisions they make that allow these awful things to happen to children? Locally, a child can not ride the school bus if they live within 2 miles of the school that they attend. Somer Thompson lived less than 2 miles from school and had to walk home. So who's fault is it that she is presumed, and most likely, deceased?

"Tough economic times" they say when writing up this year's city budget and determining that the cost savings to the area would be enough to warrant a new policy, that children within two miles of a given school, will not be provided school bus service. I'd like to ask the mayors of the area if Somer's life was worth the cost savings. Ultimately it was this policy that led to her missing in the first place. Let's face it, had Somer been placed on a school bus by a teacher, she wouldn't have had to walk home on October 19th, and therefore wouldn't have become another statistic. That's all she's going to become to the city. Somer's only going to remain a child to those that knew her and to those that care to remember her. This mayor will end his term and move on. Somer will end up as a number in some Excel spreadsheet or on some website as a "murder".

What about the child predator? Seriously, at what point do good people decide that they've had enough? Does everyone's child have to disappear before people stand up and refuse to let these things happen? I'm making assumptions that the body that was found today was Somer's, and maybe I shouldn't; but regardless they found the body of a child today IN A LANDFILL. A child was discarded as easily as last night's leftovers in the trash and we allow people that do things like this to go on living. What does that say about humanity? That we're compassionate? That we're evolved? Well folks, I call bullshit. No where in the animal kingdom does one kill another for some sick gratification then discard the corpse, quite literally, like garbage. So what is it that we supposedly have compassion for if this "person" can't even be loosely compared to an animal?

I could go on and on about this, and I'm sure that in the coming days I will, but for now I have a solution. I say we first allow Somer's mother the chance to place the decisive bullet in the brain pan of the person that did this; and if she chooses not to, then we hold a state lottery for the chance. I'm fairly certain that we'll raise enough money to allow EVERY child to ride the school bus to and from school every day for the rest of their lives.

To be continued...

On the record

Okay so I've been making a prediction around the office for the last 6 months or so, and have constantly been told that I'm out of my mind, but as of this moment I am going on the record saying that by year's end the economy WILL pick up significantly when compared to it's current status.

Let me be as clear as I can while three children (not all my own) and two dogs run around my house, that as much as the politicians from both sides will try to take the credit for this turnaround, it's my feeling that as it happens it will be attributable to the people and not to the government. The increase in foreclosures driving the prices of existing homes down, will allow more people to capitalize on purchasing those homes that they previously couldn't afford. Not everyone is broke and out of work and those that have money will spend it. They will buy foreclosed homes, more goods, and spur this economy on. This spending will increase the demand for goods and services, and therefore slow the rate of unemployment and possibly create jobs. This will happen because of the people and not the government.

I'm no economist but I honestly feel that people are going to get tired of being "afraid" and living like hermits fearful of spending money. Politicians are all going to lay claim to the policies that help the economy improve. If the increase in foreclosures is a policy of the government, then I guess that they could be responsible, but I doubt it. If people deciding that they're not going to be afraid anymore is a policy of the government, then that's a policy that I haven't heard uttered yet.

I say this as the company that I work for continues to downsize and cuts the hours of those still employed. It's the reason most people think that I'm nuts. I'm just tired of everyone trying to take credit or lay blame for the state of things. I'm spending my money because I'm going to live my life and that has nothing to do with anyone other than myself. I'm tired of politicians and political mouthpieces. All of them.

Regulate the SEC but get heck out of my business. Get out of business, period. I never would have thought that after a separation of church and state, that I'd have to cry out for a separation of state and business, but it needs to be done. "Hey Washington. My kids want to thank you for all the debt you've heaped upon them. You can't spend your way out of a mess. I have to manage my debt, and so should you."

So there it is. The economy WILL pick up by year's end. I'll even go so far as to say that the market will be over ten thousand. This will happen because of the people, and not government, and if I'm wrong then I guess I should be a politician so that I can blame someone else.

Short and Sweet.

So that's what I'm going to make this blog post, short and sweet.  Frankly I went back and read some of the things that I put here and they read like garbage; even for me.  I'm still going to use this as a depository for random stuff but I'm going to try and have those thoughts make sense before posting them up rather than using this blog to ramble on.  We'll see what happens.

It's a Blackberry Life

Having started life before the advent of the cassette tape, let alone cd's, mp3's, and the internet, how did I survive without a connection to the outside world for so long?  I recently traded in my old cell phone on a new Blackberry and have found that I look at it as a necessity more than something that simply makes my life easier.  Wait, you want me to go outside without being connected to my Facebook friends, or Twitter?  You mean that I have to wait until I get back home after work to check my email?  Email?  How did I survive when I had to send a message to someone via U.S. Postal Service and wait weeks for a response?

My how far we've come in the last 20 years, but has the journey been a wise one?  Should we be so dependent on technology and live our lives around being as connected as we are?  What would happen to most of us if we lost these connections?  Having recently watched Body of Lies, and seen so much television coverage of the Conficker Worm, this became more of a concern of mine.  I began thinking about how crippled our society would be if we lost our grip on information technology and would anyone remember what to do without it.  Would we, as a society, be able to function even if we remembered how to conduct our lives without the immediacy of information?  Our banking system is already a shambles but could it function at all without this technology?  What about the stock market, or our national defense?

I listened to a podcast this week that's put out by some video game industry people who have formed a new site called Out of the Game, and the title of the episode was Born before Digital.  I'm a product of the generation that they discuss.  The podcast is not for those with sensitive ears, but it is funny and does bring to light a lot of things about how the world has changed with regards to technology and the need for immediate information.  I suggest that if you don't mind the occasional foul language, or childlike humor, you give it a listen.  Especially if you were born before digital.

I'm not saying that I'm going to give up my Blackberry or Mac, but I think I might send a letter to my parents the old fashioned way within the next few days.  It won't make me all nostalgic and won't really serve a purpose, but maybe it'll be enough to offset the fact that I'm blogging about it right now.  The irony is that I'll probably still type it up on my laptop, and print out the label.  Have we gone too far and could we ever go back?  Only time will tell I suppose, but I hope that we never have to find out. 

Politics and Religion. It's like 28 Days Later.

Have you ever seen the movie "28 Days Later"?  It's basically a zombie flick, but instead of people actually being dead and rising up to feast of the brains of the living, it's a virus that enrages people to ... well ... want to feast on the brains of the living.

That's how I view the discussion of politics and religion, and since I value the gray matter than I have, I'm going to try as hard as I can to not discuss either topic.  Now this is more difficult than you can imagine, because these are two things that make me the most irate.  They're also two things that make others irate, and since I have hopes that someday someone might actually read this, I want to avoid the irrational name calling battles that usually accompany these topics.

I'm not saying that I won't touch them entirely, but I may generalize now and again.  Oh who am I kidding?  This will eventually turn into a blood bath, but I at least want to have my Zombie Escape Plan thought out before it does.

Defragging my Brain

 I recently joined Facebook, and I know that I'm late to the party.  It made me realize that the Wall Post system of Facebook, and Twitter for that matter, don't offer me the chance that I need to get so many randomly generated thoughts, out of my head.  I've found that I need a way to defrag once in awhile, and do it in more than 140 characters.

That being said, I felt that maybe a blog was the way to go.  I've never blogged before, so this is going to be a rough ride to start with and it will hopefully smooth out over time once I figure out how to format this thing and make it look it's best.  I make no promises that my grammar and/or punctuation will be perfect or even near perfect.  I'll use words in the wrong context, and make mistakes, so don't expect much.  Think of this as throwing pasta against the wall to see what sticks.  My posts will stick, but they won't look pretty.

I don't know if anyone will ever read it, but it gives me a way to "talk" to myself without the awkward looks from strangers.  Let's hope this works.  I'm going to try and post at least once a week, and maybe more frequently as my brain needs that defragging, but I make no promises.