A New Blogger Etiquette

Well, it looks like the, even the slow witted nonys like lil knucklehead have begun to figure it out after a few months so I guess it is time to stop experimenting with them, fess up and propose:

A New blogger etiquette

While sitting at home enjoying an evening with your family an unwashed crazed looking man with a ski mask over his face to conceal his identity runs up to your house gesturing wildly and begins to pontificate on social and political issues of the day, claiming to be the messiah of information and the guru of opinion. He hurls insults at you, spouts inanities and nearly wets himself in rage if you express an opposing view. Or maybe you are standing around a picnic table down by the beach and along comes an unwashed, stinking bum demanding that you owe him an explanation for something or other. To top it off, Mr. Malodorous Intruder is wearing a mask to deliberately hide his identity. What do you do?

You:
1. Laugh uncontrollably
2. Sic your dog on him
3. Listen thoughtfully to his rantings, and beg to sit further at the feet of the master.
4. Call the police
5. Explain to you children why it is not a good idea to talk to or listen to strangers.
6. Offer him a beer and let him sit next to your kids.
7. Tell him what an idiot you think he is and send him on his way.
8. Punch him in the face, then tell him to go away as he lays there on the ground.


The analogy to be drawn here is that the crazy acting masked man on the beach or in your home has precisely the same level of believability, the same level of trustworthiness, the same aura of sleazy, hide in the grass cover up quality as an anonymous blogsite and its motivation hidden author have. None. Credibility: likewise none.

*****

In the blogsphere we find a handful of these crazed crackpots; identities masked to hide their real affiliations and who is paying them to spout their drivel.

The point ? These are not people, they are thugs, liars and crackpots hiding behind a mask. They try to hold you hostage to a courteous and traditional system of communication while refusing to take part themselves. They don’t have the courtesy to even introduce themselves yet they make claims on you to respond politely to their raving rants. You owe them nothing. To offer them civil discourse in exchange for their lies and treachery simply eggs them on. Just say no. Or just say screw you.

They do not deserve to be treated as persons because they are not. They are unpersons, perhaps non persons. They are only phony facades and like a like a movie stage set, there is no substance behind them. No reality. Just a thin veneer of doggeral over the recently used toilet bowl of their existance.

I suggest we just say no to conversing with them. Or if we choose to say yes, we treat them with the contempt they deserve every time honest people respond to them. Towit:


I propose a sliding scale of civility for responding to bloggers and blog comment section entries. On a scale of 1 to 4 where 1 is the most civil attitude response, 2 is neutral 3 is decidedly uncivil, and 4 is glaringly nasty. I propose the following:

1 is reserved for people who fully identify themselves and who post on their own blogs and comment on others blogs with reasonable courtesy and consideration. They can certainly be direct in their comments and can declare and defend any position no matter how unusual or farfetched as long as they identify themselves and maintain moderate decorum. “You know, Bob, I hear what you are saying but think you are in error because of X, Y and Z.”


2 can be used for occasional, infrequent or 1 time anonymous commenters and for those identified blogers who are just crabby natured. “Geeze, Bob, (or Listen up Nony), that is the same line of crud you were trying to feed us last week. It didn’t fly then and is not likely to now. Here is why you should at least rethink that position.”

3 is for anyone so ashamed of his or her ideas and comments that they hide behind a rock of anonymity and run out to squat and pee their comments or their posted blog entries, then scuttle back behind their moldy rock. Also itching for a 3 rating are those who constantly harp the same disrespectful and tired messages day after day, week after week. “We grow tired of your hogwash Dildo Breath, that line of reasoning is about as convincing as your Mom’s sales price.”

4 Especially earning a trash job are those who would be character assassins while hiding their own identities to avoid retribution or having their true motivations exposed. (Perhaps there should be a 5th level for these scum). Also deserving a level 4 response would be the ‘pontificating anonymous crackpot’ (PAC) with an opinion about everything and a snide comment about everyone else’s opinion. Feel free to imagine an appropriate reply, like “Jane, you ignorant slut, (sorry SNL) May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your HIV infected underwear. My dog could argue the point better than you do, asshole. So go fuck yourself, as no one else is likely to.”

In General: The sliding scale of civility would have us respond to those four ‘types’ with roughly the same level of courtesy and forthrightness they display with additional points docked and insults added for cowardly anonymity, a la the eye for an eye rule.

****

I further propose that those #3 and #4 folks have ‘floating names’. By that I mean that any anonymous commenter or blogger should be called whatever comes to mind when responding to them since they are afraid to provide a name themselves. Example: “What are you using for evidence to support that contention Lame Brain?” …as opposed to “What are you using for evidence to support that contention, Bill?”, where the italicized nomen is rotated at the responders whim and indicates the identified responders level of agreement or disagreement with the anonymous coward’s viewpoint. Severe disagreement would lead to “What are you using for evidence to support that contention, Shithead?” etc. Maybe the most egregious offenders should be verbally trashed whenever they peep out from under their rock. Something like: “Sorry shit-for-brains, if you want to identify yourself we don’t mind listening. If not, get the fuck off my blog, dirtbag.”

****

I’ve been practicing this on a limited scale for a time and think there is some merit in confronting the scum instead of mollifying them. I won’t claim it makes the pitiful anonymous clowns any less clownish, but I do submit that it makes me feel better to confront their cowardice with every turn of the screw, especially if there are deep seated philosophical differences. On the other hand, a competent shrink might think I have gone off the deep end. Either way, I am enjoying it and suggest you too climb on board the Raspberries to Nonys train. You may be amazed at how good it feels to return the thumb of the nose they give you when they respond anonymously to you.

So go ahead, be openly hostile, feel free to be insulting, talk bad about their mothers. There is no reason to be polite or even minimally courteous to someone who hides their identity. They deserve your derision. They deserve your contempt. They deserve to be crapped on.

Like terrorists, bandits and criminals, there is a reason they hide. They fear you will find their real connections and laugh out loud at their silly arguments once you know who they actually represent. If you know one, out him. If you don’t, trash one at every opportunity. Remember they are sniveling cowards and most are also blogging at work and thus stealing time and money from their company or from the government (meaning you) with every post they make. Why else do you think they hide?

An intelligent observer I know notes “Craving attention anonymously, what a concept”. In a short sentence he distills the essence of these pathetic jerks.

Well, it has been fun playing with them, especially the child molester who pretends to be a mom, lil knucklehead. Even the Pusillanimous Putz, Mr. Playdoh, has returned to the blogsphere, enthralling us with his verbosity. (Read tickled us with his childish posts). It must be admitted that he may just be the copy, paste and spam king of the blogs. If only there was some substance.

So pile on. Stick it to ‘em. Any attention you give them, helps them sublimate their tired, hidden lives, so even if you are nice at heart, you are helping them by giving them some of the attention they so desperately crave, but are afraid to ask for. Be nice, flip ‘em off. Anonymous bloggers, you too should pitch in and ream another nony.

Addendum

You don’t have to be crude or use swear words as I have done in the above examples, but there is no need for you to be polite to these cretins either. Remember that at the heart of every anonymous blogger is unabashed dishonesty. So treat them as you would any other extortionist, mugger, rapist, sneak thief or bank robber.

Sensation Sells

What the heck is it?
Rydlime, like all chemicals in its category, uses powerful acids and other agents to dissolve ‘rocks’. When calcium or other hard water mineral deposits build up in cooling towers or system radiators they either have to be dismantled and ‘rodded out’, an expensive process, or they need to be ‘descaled’ chemically. Chemical descaling is usually cheaper and if done right can be very effective.

The use of purified water in these systems vastly reduces the buildup, but descaling or rodding still needs to be performed if the cooling system is to continue doing its job. Just like the engine in your car overheats and eventually stops if the radiator fails and the motor gets too hot, so a large engine in a power plant stops or even destroys itself if allowed to overheat. A utility with lots of cooling systems to treat and a high mineral content in its water source could use vast quantities of a descaling agent.

Rydlime, the chemical at the bottom of the current CUC/Lt. Governor flap, is a legitimate product with a good reputation for doing what it is designed to do. Many utilities and other companies around the world use it and other similar products to good effect.
Why would you buy so much?
Chemicals, like other commodities, are subject to price rises over time so companies, including utilities, often buy large quantities of a chemical and stockpile it to hedge against the coming price increases. As an example, if CUC bought 8000+ gallons of Rydlime as reported in the newspaper and used all but 1400 gallon over 10 years they saved a lot. The savings would amount to several times the original cost.
Or pay so much?
Sole sourcing to ones sister may not be the legal, but chemical pricing at 400% is not uncommon. Want to guess how much that three dollar bottle of Joy dishwashing liquid you bought last week actually cost to make? About 15 cents. Do your own math. That detergent bottle and most of the other bottles sitting under your sink and in your laundry have mark ups far greater. In fact, the plastic bottles and labels cost more than the chemical inside by far. You pay a much higher markup than 400% every time you go to the store.
Rumor or truth?
There is speculation that some of the product was actually disposed of rather than used. If true that is a terrible thing. I have even heard a rumor that CUC personnel were actually ordered to dispose of the product. But a rumor is just that. It is a story without proof. Stories like that are usually from a hidden source and often with a hidden agenda. It is easy for someone with a grudge against someone to make up a story. It is much harder to make that phony story hold up under the scrutiny of an open court trial. Let’s wait and see what actually comes out in court. If that unfounded rumor is true, heads should roll at CUC and above. If false, the rumormongers should be tracked down and their heads should roll instead.
Guilty or not?
My friend Harry Blalock reminds us on his radio show that ‘just because you are decreed not guilty in court does not mean you didn’t do it” because a good attorney can find a way to get you off. I would remind Harry, and you too, that just because a sharp prosecuting attorney accuses you of something does not mean that you did do it. Remember it is the job of the prosecuting attorney to ‘get you’ whether you did it or not and it is the job of the defense attorney to ‘get you off’ whether you did it or not. Again, let’s wait and see the real evidence as offered under oath in court.

So there is nothing wrong with buying Rydlime if you need it and there is nothing wrong with buying lots of it and stockpiling it for future use. In fact it is the smart way to do it. There is also nothing unusual about large markups over cost of chemicals or most other products. There is definitely something wrong with declaring an emergency purchase and then buying enough of a commodity to last a decade. There is definitely something wrong with sole sourcing a contract to close family members and depriving the agency of a chance to source the same or similar product at a lower cost benefit ratio. But are these accusations true? One last time I will call for us to wait and let the court system do its job before a man and his reputation are sullied by gossip and allegation. There is plenty of time to vilify him if proven guilty in court…or to apologize if the accusations prove untrue.
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Temples – not Shirley
Ruth Tighe , in talking about the new Buddhist Temple to be built along the roadway in previously unspoiled Marpi says we need to ‘hoard our public lands’ as one our most important natural resources. I agree. Don’t build on it she says. Keep it forever she says. She then goes on to say in the same article that we should give away the northernmost three islands in our terribly scarce land resource by ceding them to the US Federal government for all time. I point out this inconsistency not to be mean, but just to say that supporters and advocates of one project or another sometimes can’t see the Forest for the trees (or the Temple in the trees). Sometimes the horrible details outweigh the puppies and babies feel-good rhetoric about saving the planet. Sometimes not.

The Temple might just improve the looks of the tagan tagan bramble thickets up there…and maybe not. Lets see the plan. Then we can approve it or not based on real evidence. Sort of like we should first see the plan for the PEW proposed Northern Islands Monument. Why on earth would we want to approve it first, (or allow the federal government to force approval of it on us) and only then bother to look at the actual plan. Does that sound like putting the cart before the horse? Yes it does. Worse, it sounds like having the cart, horse and all shoved down your throat, then a guy comes along and says, hey, your throat sure looks sore, if you are a good little boy I’ll give you some salt water to gargle. Then it will be all better. Maybe it will be better and maybe it will be a lot worse. Shirley (sorry - groan) we can do better than that. Let’s negotiate the details first, then decide whether to declare a monument and give land and ocean to the US national parks system for all time. It may be a wonderful plan, it may suck.
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Quotes of the week: Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right. -Laurens van der Post, explorer and writer (1906-1996)

The sky is not less blue because the blind man does not see it – Danish Proverb.

Personalities

Wetback labor?
I’ve noticed that Mr. Delano from Camacho, California has found his typewriter while rooting through the attic. It seems we are to be blessed with some of his 14 page diatribes once again during this election season. He seems to appear as if by magic when the charming candidacy signs sprout by the roadside. I’m wondering if it is the campaign fertilizer (BS) that gets him going. I can’t help but be impressed with a guy that doesn’t live here and has no stake in the place caring so much and having so much profound advice to offer. Will he swim over from California to visit us?

Now where is Holani Smith when we need him?
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Bored with education
Now that Board of Education has unanimously chosen Rita Sablan as the new Commissioner, will Ambrose Bennett, the competing candidate for the spot, sue the Board to keep the entertainment factor going? Ms Sablan has agreed to drop her suit alleging injustice in choosing Mr. Borja as the last leader. That suit has kept headlines going for the last couple of years so it seems the least Mr. Bennett could do to help keep the reading populace amused is to hie on down to the nearest attorney and sue claiming discrimination.

All kidding aside (and I was kidding above) the parents of the CNMI have high hopes and high expectations of competent action from the new Commissioner. School systems throughout America have funding woes. They always have and they always will. Some manage to win through to victory and provide excellent educations to their students even in the face of insufficient funding. Other systems seem content to complain that the money is not enough. It is a key function of leadership in any school system to see that educational opportunities are there for students whether the coffers are full or not. It can be done and it is the responsibility of leadership to see that it is done.

Ms Sablan has opted to come out of retirement and take on a very tough job. While we applaud her spirit and energy, parents will also be watching closely to see the results she brings to the system. Welcome aboard, now get to it please.
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As the world turns
Tina Sablan has recently accused Cinta Kaipat of being biased against foreign workers and implies she should not hold a position of responsibility at the Department of Labor. Could Cinta turn that around and accuse Tina of being biased toward foreign workers and favoring them over her own local constituents in Precinct 1? Should Tina Sablan be recalled and lose her seat in the House of Representatives? Should Cinta Kaipat be fired from the Department of Labor? If personal bias is bad for the goose is it also bad for the gander?

Both these women feel strongly about particular causes and how the people of the Commonwealth are affected by labor and immigration laws whether enacted from within or imposed from outside. These two former allies now find themselves at loggerheads as they each try to champion a different group of working people. Does it have to boil down to local residents against foreign contract workers with their respective adherents jousting for a win? No it does not. Accommodation is possible. I think they are both seeking justice, not bias.

Many believe that the current Labor law tries to balance the forces of worker abuse with the forces of the workers themselves abusing or ‘playing’ the system. Others think that the law goes too far, or not far enough depending on their viewpoint or their own self-interest. Treading the fine line between maximizing opportunities for citizen employment while providing a foreign workforce large enough to sustain a country’s economy is a task faced by Countries all over the world. The CNMI is not alone in trying to balance the needs and aspirations of these two groups. Across Europe, the Middle East and back in the USA the quest for fairness and firmness goes on. While it may not be possible to make everyone happy it probably is possible to reach reasonable compromises. One thing is for sure. Having people who are here and really care about what is going on make those regulations is a lot better than having some bureaucrat’s assistant from Washington do it without knowing what is really happening here.
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Judging the traffic
Several folks have offered up their opinions on how traffic fares at controlled intersections when the power is out. Recently a couple of letters complained of unsafe conditions and possible fatal consequences. I find those views to be held by very few individuals I’ve talked to and I would question the driving skills of those complainers.

My own experience is just the opposite. First, traffic seems to flow more smoothly with few or no cars backed up when the power is off and the traffic signals are not functioning. Not only does traffic flow more quickly and smoothly, there seems to be a great deal more consideration shown to other drivers than when the power is on and a machine is controlling traffic as opposed to when human drivers are in charge. Since traffic actually flows better and the situation is safer with the stoplights off I would suggest that we leave them off all the time and save the electricity.

I would recommend taking a driver’s education course for the nervous nellies, the worriers and those not comfortable with their own decision making skills while behind the wheel. If you are not comfortable, you are probably not competent either.
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14 hour blackouots
Well, it finally happened. On Saturday, August 9th. we had more hours without power than with it in our Village. By our count we had 10 hours of electric power and 14 hours without.

While this may be good for our power bill as it promotes conservation (okay forces conservation) it is doubtful that the benefits outweigh the penalties. Sweating one’s way through another sweltering evening while trying to sleep or having any gainful work be constantly interrupted when the power goes out for the 6th or 7th time makes it seem a doubtful advantage. It sort of reminds me of being drug through a sand burr patch in order to get rid of the weeds by making them stick to your skin and clothes. There are probably more pleasant ways of getting the job done.

Happily, Sunday came and went without a single outage. Someone may have been asleep at the “OFF” switch all day. As I pen this, there have been two more outages causing a couple of expletives to escape my lips and a delay in getting this and other projects done. You? A while back one of the local vocal bloggers posed the question, ‘when will the power go off for 24 hours straight for the first time?’ The answers ranged from immediately to next year sometime while the consensus seemed to think it would occur sometime during 2008. We are not there yet, but we are not far off either. We seem to be on the downhill slide, and gaining speed.I’m glad I have a magnesium fuel cell to generate a little electricity.
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Quote of the week: Be not too hasty to trust or admire the teachers of morality; they discourse like angels but they live like men. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer
(1709-1784)

AYE CHE WA WA

Well, it finally happened. Yesterday, Saturday, August 9th. we had more hours without power than with. By our count we had 10 hours of electric power and 14 without.

A while back Glen D posed the question, when would the power go off for 24 hours straight? We are not there yet, but we are not far off either.

I’m glad I have a magnesium fuel cell to generate a little comfort.

Premature Ejaculation

The papers are reporting on who the "official Candidates" for Non Voting Delegate are. Polls (you know, the ridiculous, unscientific, internet/blog type polls) are springing up with the list of supposed candidates.

The truth of the matter is that we don’t really know who the certified candidates are until September 20th. The last day for the Election Commission’s “action on nominating petitions and candidacy documents.” Meaning, the last day for the signatures on the nominating petitions to be verified and the last day for the EC to determine that all the other candidacy requirements have been met by the applicants... not to mention making sure that their checks didn't bounce.

September 20th might be a pretty good day to start a results-are-likely-to-be-wishful-thinking-while-preaching-to-the-choir poll found on local blog sites.

Think premature ejaculation.

Riding up the Hill

Hell’s Coconuts
Motorcycle clubs don’t have the best reputations. What with sex and violence biker movies starting in the fifties and hitting a real stride in the seventies and continuing to today is it any wonder that popular culture sees the Harley rider as an anti social and even criminal element. In these films, and there have been scores of them, nomadic groups of
armed thugs do drugs, commit serious crimes and indulge in wanton revelry at every turn.

There may well be (or once have been) groups that deserved such a reputation but today’s biker, individually or in groups tends to exhibit a quite different persona. At the annual gathering of the Harley tribe in Sturgis, South Dakota you are far more likely to encounter a high dollar lawyer or a successful middle aged businessman robed in that biker jacket than you are to find a wandering misfit with a rap sheet. This year’s rally to celebrate the Harley riding lifestyle is the 68th annual event and will play host to about a half million aficionados (as opposed to desperados).

Part of the reason for the move to ‘upscale’ bikers is cost. These motorcycles don’t come cheap and by the time you have bought one, customized it and outfitted it with the latest geegaws you have ten’s of thousands invested. While 15 thousand might buy you a basic model it takes 10 times that amount, 150 thousand, to ride one of the themed customs that come out of the top design shops around the country. For a hundred miles and more surrounding Sturgis the air resounds with the ring of cash registers working overtime during rally week. Riders spend literally millions on entertainment, lodging, bike stuff and biker stuff. It takes a fair amount of cash to attend the rally and it takes a lot of the green stuff to ride a Harley as a hobby, even if you stay in your own hometown.

Here on Saipan we have a group called the Taga Riders, composed of motorcyclists from an array of different backgrounds. The club is small as biker groups go numbering maybe 20 or so. Don’t expect to see them ravaging a local malt shop, terrorizing the womenfolk or robbing the Bank of Guam, however. These guys and gals will be found gathering toys for an annual toys for tots Christmas event, or securing donations for the needy at the CHC hospital, helping the man’amko or doing lots of other positive community services they volunteer for each year. You will see them riding proudly at the Liberation day parade and you will see them around the island from time to time just riding for fun.

The Taga Riders spend part of their Sundays cruising up the sun dappled shady roads in Marpi or gliding the curves on Isa Drive (cross island road). You can see them stopped to enjoy a cold refreshment at one or more local watering holes on any given Sunday afternoon. You can hear the distinctive sound as their Harleys rumble past your Village on their way to enjoy the day with the wind blowing their hair and the sights, sounds and smells of Saipan Island droning past them.

They say you can always tell a happy Harley rider by the bugs on their teeth. This year from August 4th through the 10th in Sturgis there will be plenty of need for toothpicks if the joyous gatherings of years past are any indication. While our club members here on Saipan won’t have the opportunity to ride to Sturgis (unless they are sporting around on the new submarine version of the Electra Glide) they will be there in spirit, I’m sure.

So smile, honk and wave at the Bikers you see as they burble past your windshield. Even if they are off to work instead of riding for fun, you will probably see a great big smile on their faces as they ride the roads of Saipan Island. There are a couple of places to rent bikes, big and small, in Garapan so that rider you smile and wave at just might be a tourist enjoying our fair island by touring on two wheels. They like to be waved at too, so indulge yourself in a friendly gesture of welcome if you please.
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A cut above
I see where Washington Rep Pete Tenorio and Senator Louis Crisostimo both turned in their petitions and other paperwork to be certified candidates for the watching-but-unable-to-vote position of Non Voting Delegate to the US Congress last Friday. I also noticed that neither man resigned their current elected office. The ranks of those coveting the $170,000 per year job are swelling and now include the above two plus John Gonzales, Juan Lizama, Chong Won, David Cing, John Davis and Gregorio Sablan. The others who held public office or government jobs have resigned as the law stipulates. Are Messrs Tenorio and Crisostimo above the law or are they reading a different rulebook?

There is still a bit of time before the August 6th deadline for turning the official documents in to the Election Commission office on Capital Hill so don’t be surprised if another candidate or two shows up on the doorstep wanting to get in on the largesse available to congressional delegates. Can we get to 10?
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Quote of the Week: Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law. -Louis D. Brandeis, lawyer, judge, and writer (1856-1941)