Day 282 (OWS = Socialist Inaction)

For a couple weeks now we have seen this Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement playing out in the media... kind of. For the most part, what has been publicized about this "protest" is the police brutality. What is talked about were these cases of brutality, mainly from videos posted on YouTube, but how much credence can we really put into such videos? With current events being what they are, even YouTube videos that "document" social unrest have to be taken with a grain of salt. Keeping that in mind, U2's Bono was way ahead of his time when he wrote, "when fact is fiction, and TV a reality" (from the song "Seconds" on the 1983 album War).

Though the OWS movement doesn't have anything "official", they do, however, have certain "proposed" list of demands that some would like to see met. An acquaintance of mine, whom I know through Twitter (now no longer an active account), Facebook, and the posts on her website, Jillian gave her view on yesterday's post, which, unlike most of those actually taking part in the OWS "protest" in NYC, was thought out... well thought out.

However, what makes me shudder is how OWS - should they succeed in whatever it is they want - will affect the Dagny Taggarts, Francisco d'Anconias, and Hank Reardons of today... even more chilling is how the work of Ayn Rand has become almost like an outline or a blueprint for this "new and improved" society which they have envisioned... only for them to (once they get what they want) propel it to one that's an Orwellian perversion. Though we have a plethora of media sources (not just network news) to refer to, we must still scrutinize most of what we see. For example, yesterday there was an article in the U.K.'s Daily Mail which tells of how OWS has created such an increase in the accumulated waste on the streets (it was Sunday, so sanitation workers and garbage trucks will not be running), even showing images... to include a picture of a "protestor defecating on a police car." Is this a legitimate story? Are the pictures authentic, or have they been "doctored"? Too many people take what is in the print media, or on the evening news as fact... If you don't believe me, try arguing the existence of UFO's with someone who gets their news from the magazines found in the check-out isle at Walmart. What has become fact is that a large portion of the news that is "fed" to us has some sort of slant or bias already "pre-loaded" (at this point, you may have those words of Bono's echoing through your head). When we lost the likes of Walter Cronkite and Edward Murrow, we also lost true, unbiased reporting. I could still take issue with this, but I'm going to leave this picture at face-value:













- Another rant via BlogPress

Day 267 (Just Waiting It Out)

We are still parked here in Bentonville, AR just waiting it out until we make our delivery at 0500 tomorrow, which, as some of you already know, I really don't care for those early morning deliveries - especially when I can't park closer to the customer than what I am now.

Last night, while hanging out here at Starbucks, I was fortunate enough to engage in some real conversation - intellectually stimulating. The gentleman whom I conversed with (mostly) was named Sherman, from Palm Beach, FL (not very far from my birthplace & "stomping grounds" of Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale). Our dialogue ran the gamut, spanning about 2 - 2 1/2 hours, when we parted ways 1 1/2 hours after Starbucks closed. We did share the same view concerning the recent Palestinian Authority bid for statehood, in that the whole media coverage of it is a farce. First of all, it's interesting how there are so many that seem to "forget" that the breakdown in the peace talks between the PA and Israel was not due to PM Benyamin Netanyahu refusing to negotiate, but PM Mahmoud Abbas! For one thing, Abbas is now talking about calling for a renegotiation of - which could very well bring an end to - the Oslo Accords.

Second, it's interesting that there is such a push for Israel to revert back to the pre-1967 borders. During that war Israel was outnumbered, yet were still victorious. Therefore, the message that is being sent by the Arab world is, "it doesn't matter that we lost the war we initiated, as well as the land (*note* also referred to as the spoils of war), if we cry "injustice" long enough and loud enough, the rest of the world will pressure the victors to give it back to us." Palestine doesn't exist as a country, but that's the "title" given to them ever since the British Mandate in 1920. Also interesting, that one of the terrorist organizations within the PA is Hammas. If you do a little biblical research, you'll find that G-d called Noah to build an ark, because "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence." (Genesis 6:11)... but when you look at it in the Hebrew text (this excerpt is taken from the Hebrew Today website):

וַתִמָלֵּא הָאָרֶץ חָמַס (בראשית, ו, יב)

“. . and the earth was filled with violence” ( Genesis 5,11 )

The word “חָמַס “ ( chamas ) is translated into English as “violence”. The Hebrew word for “ violence” is “ אלימות “ ( alimut ). So what is the difference between the two? חָמַס is a much more severe type of violence. Violence which contains injustice. It does not have to necessarily contain physical violence. Theft , embezzlement and fraud are all considered “חמס “.

Both the Hebrew word AND the terrorist group name are pronounced the same! Just some food for thought.


What are your thoughts?


- Another rant via BlogPress

Day 256 (Home, Sweet Home)

Chuck and I made it to the North Little Rock terminal at half past midnight this morning. Yesterday afternoon one of the instructors in the training center called me and reserved a room for Chuck in the "on campus" lodging. This morning Chuck took his final evaluation. I haven't heard anything, but from my conversation with Ed (the same instructor that took care of Chuck's room), he told me that Chuck was doing well. By now he's probably getting things organized in his truck, and he may be getting home tonight or tomorrow.

Speaking of getting home... I took the load the rest of the way to Ft. Smith and delivered it this afternoon. After I had that taken care of, I went to our Ft. Smith terminal to kick back a bit (and get some Starbucks). Monica (my fleet manager) called me and asked if I would drop my trailer at a customer in Russellville, AR, then pick up a different trailer (from another customer), to which once that was done, to go home. So, by tonight I will be at home for the next few days. Come Monday, I'll pick up my next student from the North Little Rock terminal and carry on from there. Until then, I may have to surf the web and rant about what I come across - just so I can have some decent content to offer you the next few days.

I may not be Snickers, but I will, at least, try to satisfy.


- Another rant via BlogPress

Day 254 (Rebuttal To A Comment From Yesterday)

Today Chuck and I delivered our load on the north end of the Atlanta area. Once we finished unloading, we headed to the nearest truck stop to wait for our next load. When it came in this afternoon, we headed to the customer, which is just a couple miles from where we unloaded, though, because of a mixup between the customer and the broker, this has quickly become quite the fiasco (one of the reasons I don't care to deal with brokers). The broker has said the load is scheduled to deliver in New Albany, MS tomorrow at 2130, yet, the customer (where I'm loading) is saying it doesn't load until 2000 tomorrow. I'm letting Monica (my Fleet Manager) - along with our CSR - try to get it hashed out with the broker.

On another note, the blog I posted yesterday garnered a response on the blog's "comment" section. I usually get comments on either Facebook or Twitter in regards to the posts, but every once in a while I get one on the blog itself. As I posted at the end of my post for Day 245, I will post all comments, unless it takes on the appearance of "spam," so this comment I treated as a regular comment. This particular comment rather amused me. As a general rule, "spam," by definition, is trying to sell or market some type of service or technological assistance. I'll first post the comment (unedited), then analyze its content:


brinkka2011 says: How is it that just anyone can publish a blog and get as popular as this? Its not like youve said anything incredibly impressive more like youve painted a quite picture through an issue that you know nothing about! I dont want to sound mean, right here. But do you genuinely think that you can get away with adding some quite pictures and not truly say something?


Here's my rebuttal to "brinkka2011" - A) This was in my inbox as a post from "anonymous"; why not identify yourself?, B) *ahem* "as popular as this" - really?! Even the most basic research wasn't done! Had this person even looked, they would see I have 10 subscribers through Blogger, and another 5, via Networked Blogs, and (I'll be nice and just cover 3 areas), C) "an issue you know nothing about" - that statement alone is laughable. 9/11 is an issue I know nothing about... now that's rich! "brinkka2011," when if you have a desire for a real debate, bring some facts - and some SOLID issues to discuss - and we can address this like intellectual adults... until then, go trolling on somebody else's blog!

I could go on a brutal tirade with "brinkka2011", but I'm in good spirits today: I got a funny comment on yesterday's post AND I got my trademark coffee (grande triple Marble Mocha Machiatto) from Starbucks... a pretty good Monday (even if I am waiting until tomorrow to load).


- Another rant via BlogPress