Wednesday, March 23, 2016

See Something Say Something? Ignored.


We are sad for Belgium.  Sad because no one should have to walk outside their home and worry about being attacked. Sad because this is the new "Normal".


Our government tells us we can be safe because of the "See Something, Say Something" policy, which assumes we are all alert and authorities will take appropriate action.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Below is a picture of a coat left on a seat.  Is something under it? Was it forgotten or left deliberately? When asked (Susan, loudly), no one around it said it was theirs.  That's me sitting, two seats away from it.  On the other side of it, a sack.  Is it empty?


Let's add some detail.  This was November 26, 2015 -- 13 days after the Paris attacks, when our government PR spinners kept insisting that "See Something, Say Something" was the best plan for our safety.  More detail? This was in the Washington, DC, Reagan airport.  An airport.  In Washington, DC, our nation's capital.  More detail?  The area where this coat was left was deserted, except for us. It was Southwest's gate waiting areas and we had gone to that particular gate section because it was an empty, quiet and calm area where we could wait for our flight call. But there was that coat.  What was under it? Anything? Nothing?  Nobody around but us.  Susan took a picture.

Finally, after calling out for someone to claim it, she walked over to the nearest check-in counter (Southwest Airlines) and pointed it out to the two attendants working there. She told them no one seemed to claim it and, based on the "See Something, Say Something" suggestion, she thought maybe security could come take a look at it.

We moved to a different gate section of the waiting area.  Twenty minutes later our flight was called and we boarded the plane.  During those twenty minutes no one ever came over and checked out the coat.  So much for security in your nation's airports.

First two images: Daniel Berehulak, NYT

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Going Green and Giving Green Away


St. Patrick's Day means wearing green and fortunately these birdies got the message.  Whatever.  We don't really care because we are very busy right now trying to do this paperwork:


It has put my Blog Wrangler in a very bad turbo-taxed mood.  Her mood about the computer and the Internet has been very bad lately and she's started a list of the nasty changes developers have made in programs she uses a lot.  (I'm just thankful she hasn't watched any of the political debates or she'd probably have throw the TV out the window.)  Right now she's considering putting all my pictures up on Tumblr or Instagram or somewhere else and giving up on this blog since Blogger/Google is dropping Picasa Web support.  We'll see.

In the meantime, since both Goodwill and Salvation Army are big, major (as in well-known) players in the U.S. business/economy, why does the government need their street address when we claim a donation to them? Like they are going to go there and look for the skillet we donated? Think back to 1994 when the Clintons revealed their tax documents and it showed they had claimed a $2 donation for underwear they donated.  Gotta love our government. Sort of.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

International Women's Day


Here's to all the women who never cease to amaze me. And I'm always amazed at the people who fail to see them as powerful. Or try to keep them from using their power.