AOL Tech

deb

Member since: Mar 13th, 2006

deb's Latest Comments

Blog Activity
Blog# of Comments
Autoblog2 Comments
ParentDish2 Comments
Slashfood1 Comment
Switched1 Comment
Politics Daily1 Comment
Lemondrop1 Comment

Recent Comments:

Should Prisoners Be Allowed to Vote... Ever? (Politics Daily)

Oct 23rd 2008 3:49PM As stated in a previous post: staff at penal institutions are far too overburdened and understaffed, to be able to administer and properly police the integrity of ballots, even if the privilege of voting were allowed to incarcerated persons. Ultimately if one determined criminals should be allowed to vote, the process would not be practical or defensible and fraud would likely be rampant. Further, would we allow campaigning directed at inmates?

To the question of whether voting is an inalienable right according to the founding fathers, I must conclude that no, it is not. If it were a right, the system would not have been set up the way it was; with the Electoral College and the delegate system for nominations. If it were such a right, how were females excluded for so long a time?

As for convicted criminals having a right to vote, I say no. Upon conviction, criminals give up many rights, freedom, self determination, privacy, property, and pursuit of happiness, etc. Their every move is directed and observed. Until their debt is paid to the citizenry, those rights remain forfeit.

And after....?? Well, I personally believe that for some crimes it should still denied, but determining how to set that up would be very difficult, and subjective.

I also agree with the one who posted regarding the votes of our military overseas...their votes are always in jeopardy of not being properly accounted for in presidential elections.

As for ID...one must present proper ID to get a social security card, so why is there a problem with presenting one to prove you have the right to vote? Requiring such proof would eliminate much fraud that now currently goes on, such as illegal aliens, and voter impersonation. I believe that the state issued ID should be used as the voter registration, then there would be no duplication, so that photo ID would be shown to vote, and multiple voting could not happen. The integrity of the voting process must be streamlined and improved.

For the individual who said that Americans are unforgiving...how does one forgive for some of the unspeakable felony acts that land people in prison? What about murder and dismemberment; murder and cannibalism; rape and murder of a child? How can one reconcile the rights of the prisoner with the rights they denied their victims?

Spilling Your Soda Becomes Federal Crime (Lemondrop)

Oct 20th 2008 3:11PM The customer had reason to expect that she would be charged a reasonable price within a known range based on past events.
The cashier when faced with a customer protest should have inquired of policy from her manager for this specific case because of past history.
The personal mug is a factor as well.

As for the individual who stated that the VA and the Government were not in this to make money is seriously misinformed. They may not make money on the medical services, but those are owed to the veterans who gave portions of their lives to the service of their country.

The cafeteria however IS in it to make a profit! As anyone knows who has been the captive consumer of a hospital cafeteria while attending the bedside of a loved one, the hospital cafeterias charge outrageous prices to people who have little choice to go elsewhere. If the drive to somewhere else to eat, they wind up re-paying for outrageous parking...again! It is similar to the shops at airports...where pricing has nothing to do with reality. Also much like the medical field who fails to understand the concept of "usual and customary" pricing.

The customer had likely already paid top dollar for marginal quality food, poor service and had to wait much too long for said "service." The upcharge for the refill was simply the last straw. The article also said she had been their many times, which indicates that she was dealing with some type of chronic or ongoing family member illness and therefore under great stress. People do not always act rationally under that kind of prolonged and intense stress.

The intense legal reaction is overkill and uncalled for. In an age when billionaire heiresses get off with a few days for driving under the influence of who knows what, placing their own and the lives of others in jeopardy it does not make sense to charge someone with a federal crime for spilling a drink no matter how inappropriate the action is.

Too much candy gets Grandma banned (ParentDish)

Nov 27th 2007 3:29PM Bobbie... as a teacher, I can sympathize with Bluesdog comment. I teach in an alternative disciplinary setting... Many of what I see is children being raised by grandparents who are way too worn out from raising their drugged out in jail kids, and are now repeating the mistake with the next generation. I think maybe part of Bluesdog's comment was that with a family resorting to a lawsuit over candy and a grandmother's rights to see her grandkids, there is bound to be some bratty children coming out of the situation.

To the person that alluded to the "summers off" for teachers... obviously you have never been a teacher or you would know that teachers are required to attend workshops and continuing education classes, as well as reorganize for the coming year during their "time off." Nor have you worked for a paultry teacher salary...especially in Texas which is one of the lowest average teacher salary states in the U.S. Teachers are expected to be "in loco parentus" (stand in parents) yet are not given the tools needed to be effective substitutes. (such as discipline with consequences) They are constantly second guessed and under a microscope, forced to treat all children the same, yet address the individual educational needs and learning style of 30 children in however many subjects they teach. I would challenge anyone who thinks teachers have it easy to become one for a while...you would soon change your mind!

As for the original situation...parents and grandparents must settle their notions of nurturing and agree on rules that allow some give and take between ADULTS. I did not agree with everything my in laws or my parents did or wanted to do around my children, but I respected their rights as individuals not to have to be on guard and restrained in the presence of their grandchildren. Some of the magic of the bond between grandparents and their grandchildren is the forbidden fruit, some conspiratorial (controlled and harmless) breaking of the rules, and the unconditional love of one for the other. Loosen up people, stop trying to legislate every relationship in our lives, and experience some of what life should be all about, joy and love.

Junie B. Jones and the case for spelling, grammar (ParentDish)

Aug 1st 2007 7:05PM In response to the self serving diatribe posted by M4Mommy...

"Sorry, but I just do not, can not and will not allow
'creative' spelling etc in my house. things like what Karen posted annoy the freaking shit out of me and I seriously do not see why 'proper' spelling and grammar can not be taught now like it was when I was a student in elementary school. Crap like this is a reason why American students are falling behind and are lazy. Oh, that and the fact that most parents dont give a rats ass. You get back what you put into it folks. That shit is what is going to ruin this country"

...apparently though improper grammar and creative spelling is taboo in M4Mommy's house, lack of capitalization and relying on cursing is okay.

I can handle someone's improper grammar or misspellings, what irritates me is people who use profanity because they have a limited grasp of the english language. You are absolutely right, to paraphrase your statement about getting out what you put in, "you will reap what you sow." I am sure your children will have a "colorful" vocabulary if not an appropriately expressive one.

I view vocabulary like coloring...you can choose to color with a box of 16, or you can use the vast array of color in the box of 164. It is your choice.

I would much prefer a bit of improper grammar or spelling to your foul opinionated rant.

The Jesus Robot Cometh (Switched)

Jul 19th 2007 5:08PM If belief is not there, then why refer to Jesus? If belief is not there, why does dabe question "why the hell" CHRISTians are offended? I do not have to believe as a Muslim does, to respect their right to their belief, and not poke fun or demean it.
I too am offended by the glib and irreverent references to my Savior in the article, as well as incensed by LOWEReastsidenyc's innacuracy and slight dubbing CHRISTians as "xtians." I am NOT an "xtian," I am a CHRISTian. If references in a product review were made in a similar fashion casually about Scientologists, homosexuals or Muslims,there would be much ado. (possibly referring to Muhammed as "the big M" perhaps?) So why are CHRISTians not afforded the same rights of reverence? And since LOWEReastsidenyc immediately jumped on the abuse bandwagon, which however horrific, is no more prevalent among religious leaders than any other segment of the general population, perhaps LOWEReastsidenyc might explain just how he/she knows Angela is a catholic...or are all CHRISTians responsible? By his/her "logic" all musicians should be held responsible for Michael Jackson's pedophilia, all football players assumed to be cruel and inhumane pervayers of dog fighting, or all wrestlers held accountable for Benoit's crime? Political correctness must be a two way street, otherwise it is discrimination and stereotyping!

Survey finds half of UK motorists want elderly drivers banned (Autoblog)

Aug 2nd 2006 10:29PM First...
most everyone in the blog assumed that where the seniors lives is an area with bus service. We don't. Or that they have family that CAN do for them, or that elders with family WILL do for them. I take care of my ex-mother-in-law, because her children won't. SHe was 78, driving and working when a stroke took it all away from her.
I am more worried about the fellow that cut me off this morning because he was too busy with his phone conversation to realize he is not the only person on the road, or the mass amount of drivers who never even think to use their turn signals than I am about the seniors on the road. (I am 49)

Anyone concerned about a senior and their road reactions should get the test kit from AARP...You give it to a senior on the computer....assuming you can figure out how to work it!

Horse meat ban effectively reversed (Slashfood)

May 25th 2006 7:42PM There are valid arguments for and against the slaughter of horses for meat. The conditions of the slaughterhouses mentioned are not unique. The same conditions exist in the slaughterhouses for cows, and chickens. I have no personal experience regarding goats, sheep or any of the other "acceptable" meat animals. The same nail is used to zap the bovine in the head, and chickens are transported in cages as cramped as the dreaded two level horse trailer. Chickens are not able to even stand in the cages which are packed 15-20 high and sped down the road in all weather and high winds, at 60-80 miles an hour. In addition, they were raised in cramped conditions, fed hormones and never allowed to range. How is that humane? In my own humble opinion, if a horse is going to be euthanized, why no let their death be of benefit somewhere? I am not an eater of horse flesh, and could not slaughter one, but but if it were up to me to kill my own cow I couldn't do that either!

UK man travels 60 miles at 130 mph with stuck accelerator (Autoblog)

Mar 13th 2006 6:56PM Question....what is a limiter, and what is a roundabout?

As far as the picture of the car....Don't y'all think it is a picture of him from a time before the crash? The article says his BMW "was" green...and if by chance the picture is of a pale or mettalic green car, it would have to have been taken before the crash. The car rolled and landed on it's top and there is no damage to the top or side of the car in the picture. Don't most young people when they get a new car have a picture made in it or by it??I know my daughters did...

As for turning off the key, I would have been afraid to do so if I had never tested it before... I think I will test it in my truck to see what it does. It might be handy info to have. I had a car years ago that the accellerator stuck, but it stuck where it would not accellerate.

Cut the guy some slack.... how many 25 year olds are mature enough and would have the presence of mind to handle an emergency like this one??? Even if there was something that could have been done differently, in an emergency, a person cannot always think to act. If the police are not charging him with anything, he must have exercised care, caution, and due dilligence. Lighten up!