It’s a convoluted story with lots of “he said, he said” information so the truth will probably never be known.  However, one thing that is known is guns were fired and physical confrontations happened before the shooting.  The issue behind the so-called “Lobster Wars” is an long standing tradition of territoriality of fishing grounds.

Certain groups of lobster men from a certain area fish the same places year in and year out.  It is an unspoken rule that fishermen from neighboring areas cannot and will not fish in a “claimed” area.  Of course, the rule is violated all the time and as it is unenforceable by any law, it becomes a case of frontier justice.  Lines to traps are cut, traps are damaged, curses are exchanged, and in the most dire cases, violence is done to boats, trucks, and sometimes even the people themselves.

This has not changed in the hundreds of years that humans have been fishing, hunting, or gathering.  Wars have always been fought over food supplies.  Today, very few Americans understand what it takes to live under these ancient laws.  Personally dealing with many lobster men has allowed me a small glimpse into their traditions and heritage inherited from antiquity.  As Hobbes said, our lives are “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” and nothing gives him more credence than the justice of a scorned lobster man.

Give these independent men and women credit.  They make a living doing a very difficult and dangerous job.  While we may not agree with their methods, it is the original Wild West on the ocean and these people will only heed frontier justice.  Perhaps these men saw themselves as the modern day Earps and Claytons, ready to battle to the death over their livelihoods.  We will never know the truth of this case, but we do know that this will not be the last instance of violence in the untamed wilderness of the sea.

What a delicious beer.  However, it’s a hefty brew that comes in at 11.6% ABV in a 750 ML so if you do happen to procure a bottle have it with a few friends.  It had a substantial head on the small pours we were doing which I believe probably came from the fact that this was a 2008 bottle and so the yeast had a chance to work all it’s magic.  It is black as tar in coloring and should be poured slow to prevent a larger head.

After your first sip, you will be assaulted by a fine mix of bourbon flavoring with chocolate and nutty flavor.  The boozy flavor is almost perfectly balanced with the cocoa and malt flavors.  I, personally, think the roasted malt is too hidden by that booze taste but not enough to make the beer unpalatable.  There is also a hint of hoppiness to the beer which is usually the case with Brooklyn beers.  The Champagne yeast really adds some light fruitiness to a style of beer not known for anything light.

I had the opportunity to have three small pours.  The first I drank right after it was poured and I enjoyed it.  I let the two other pours sit and warm to room temperature as I’ve found that barrel aged brews are more thoroughly enjoyable at room temp.  And I was right.  The booziness backed off a little and allowed more of the chocolate and malt flavors to be savored.  A tasty brew with a real kick and a different approach to an old style.  Well done Brooklyn Brewing.

Grade: A

Now, let me clearly state that I would be totally O.K. with this tax being implemented.  In the big picture, I’d rather spend less money on health care over time and more on the occasional pizza at Howie’s Pub.  What follows are various thoughts I do have on the subject, some advocating the devil and some not.

Thought 1: It dawns on me that while the health of my fellow citizen is something I could be concerned about, I’m not totally convinced that I should be paying for their poor decisions.  Obviously I’m already paying more for health insurance due to a lack of self control in a segment of our population.  And they’re looking to tax me up front end as well?  If I’m given a bill of good health, and want to enjoy a delicious Alex pizza and a cola product, why should I pay more because Tubby McCheesepuff can’t keep their damn hands off of the Pizza Hut lunch buffet?

Thought 2: One point in the Reuters article I really agree with is asking the government to reconsider what farming industries they’re subsidizing.  It’s fairly common knowledge that high corn subsidies are mainly to blame for driving the cost of corn syrup down.  It’s such a cheap sweetener it becomes fiscally irresponsible for a large corporation not to use it.  Lessen or do away with corn subsidies and you’ll slowly see the return to cane sugars.  And hell, I could write an entire post about how that would stimulate the economies of our Central and South American neighbors.

Thought 3: While I think this new taxation would ultimately help curb obesity, there are without a doubt plenty of other caloric avenues for obese people to continue their…. well… obesity.  Furthermore, I wonder if education might be a more powerful tool to aid in obesity.  Possibly more seriously diet classes in grade school.  Maybe take twenty-five percent of the anti-drug PSA funding and create some anti-obesity public service announcements.  Better yet, as I wrote in an older post, put it into the hands of employers to ensure their employees aren’t dangerously overweight.  It would be in their best interest right?

Well, either way, I’m intrigued to see if our policy makers on the hill will consider the tax on pizza and soda.  Especially if they’re going to continue stalling on any forward progress regarding health care policies. It’s the least they could do.

Editor’s Note:  This is the 200th post on IRdC.  Do assume there is confetti involved in our celebration here at the IRdC offices.  And when I say confetti I mean beer.

Of course, we all know that this is Moore’s way to creating controversy and stirring the pot.  However, I think, yet again, he raises legitimate concerns and asks important questions.  I’ve mentioned it here before that the Democrats and the President need to stop playing nice and just slap the Republicans down.  They have a majority, so use it.

Mr. Moore says exactly that in many more words than I which, as a documentary filmmaker, he has a tendency to bang home the exact same point again and again.  But his best lines come in this following paragraph.

Then we (Moore and Obama) will put on our jogging sweats and run up to Capitol Hill. We will take names, kick butts, and then take some more names. If we have to give a few noogies or half-nelson’s, then so be it. In our pockets we will have a piece of paper to show the pansy Dems just how much they won by in 2008 — and the poll results that show the majority of Americans oppose the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and want the bankers punished. Like drill sergeants, we will get right up in their faces and ask them, “WHAT PART OF THE PUBLIC MANDATE DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND, SOLDIER?!! DROP AND GIVE ME 50!”

Does that not make you want him to get down to DC and liven up things? He’s exactly right…hit them over the head with everything you’ve got.  That was Rahm Emanuel’s job…he’s been the only “bad” guy that the Democrats have had.  He understood the right and how they worked and he used their own tactics against them.  He played tough and fought in the trenches but now he’s lost his way and just looks like he’s in over his head.

I agree with Michael Moore in that we need a tough guy in DC fighting for us, the Common People.  While the Democrats want bipartisanship, the Republicans want burn and pillage.  Moore hits a home run with his astute observation on the Republican party.

But the Republicans were not going to go quietly into the night. You see, instead of having just one Rahm Emanuel, they are ALL Rahm Emanuels. That’s why they usually win. Unlike most Democrats, they are relentless and unstoppable. When they believe in something (which is usually themselves and the K Street job they hope to be rewarded with someday), they’ll fight for it till the death. They are loyal to a fault to each other (they were never able to denounce Bush, even though they knew he was destroying the party). They dig their heels in deep no matter what. If you exiled them to a lone chunk of melting polar ice cap, they would keep insisting that it was just a normal “January thaw,” even as the frigid Arctic waters rose above their God-fearing necks (”See what I mean — this water is COLD! What ‘global *warming*’?! Adam and Eve rode dinos…aagghh!!… gulp gulp gulp”).

Whether or not you usually agree with America’s #1 agitator, he is absolutely right to say that we need someone fighting for us in DC.  And the fight will be tough, dirty, and difficult but it’s one that we as Americans must battle for and we must WIN!

“I swear to God.”

Apparently, once these words crossed your lips, all doubts would be cast away. Because really, who in their right mind would risk eternal damnation just to solidify an insignificant, perhaps erroneous, statement?

Flash forward sixty-ish years to March 4th, 2010. I find myself in a local bar, enjoying a delicious adult beverage and being entertained by San Diego comedian Billy Bonnell.  At some point, he mentions his love for technology, and included in that realm, Google.  Though, he’s quick to admit, it has put a damper on his ability to lie in a conversation.  With Google on every phone, he explains, it’s easy for friends and strangers alike to call him out on his bullshitting.  It’s gotten to such a point, he continues, that all one has to do now, if caught in a slight exaggeration or full out lie, is utter one phrase.

“If you don’t believe me, just Google it.”

To this, most people respond, “Ok. Ok.  We believe you, man.”  Because really, who in their right mind would suggest searching one of the most knowledgeable databases in existence just to solidify an insignificant, perhaps erroneous, statement?

How is this a friggin debate? Our health care system is broken.  Individuals cannot afford insurance.  Only large corporations can get a good deal on insurance because they have large numbers to dangle in front of the insurance companies.  Small business suffers from high insurance costs that keep them from being able to hired qualified employees.  And there is a simple way to fix it.

THE PUBLIC OPTION! Think about it…we as individuals can’t afford health insurance on our own so we try to finagle it out of our employers because they have more buying power.  So if a company has more buying power and the bigger companies have even more buying power, who has the most buying power? THE AMERICAN PUBLIC! Every one of us together on a insurance plan sure would have some buying power.  And Congress is dragging their feet on this? Who elected you, you stupid fucks? US!

The President has been playing coy with the Republicans, hoping that they’ll see sense and work with his administration and the Democrats.  Finally, he has come out and called for a up-and-down vote on the issue.  Use the biggest stick you have, Mr President, the American people.  Force the minority members to have to vote and then face the voting public.  The American people want the public option.  Use that to your advantage.  Hold that over every elected official’s head.  Stop being soft and play hardball.  Put these clowns under the spotlight, just like you did with Jim “Tough Shit” Bunning.

The American people and the intelligent members of Congress and the Administration need to keep their voices heard.  Make noise, keep talking, force a vote.  When the vote comes up on the floor, there will be nowhere to hide.  Votes will be tallied and we can hold our elected officials accountable.  Enough with the hiding, you spineless dogs.  Put up or shut up.

Hopefully when this topic next comes up on this blog, we will all have access to affordable health care, are driving hybrids, and aren’t involved in a land war in Asia.  It’s America, folks, buy the ticket, take the ride.  Mahalo.

I’m not entirely sure what do think about this.  On one hand, if the security is that lax, should these people even be in prison?  Are there any prisoners in this unit that have committed any serious crimes?  Steddum himself was convicted of home burglary, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and is serving four years.  So, while not an ax murderer, I’d consider him a threat to the community.

The comments on the article suggested solutions that ranged from “[putting] them back in zebra strip shirts and pants” to “[letting] the inmates smoke, it’d save them a ton of money, hell they could even profit handsomely off of it if done right…” Either way, I think the major issue that needs to be resolved is the level of security at these types of prisons. Being minimum security is one thing, but being non-secure is another. From the article:

It was the latest security breach in Texas prisons since officials promised improved security in late 2008, after a death row convict used a smuggled cell phone to make threatening calls to Whitmire.

“The fact that Walmart has better security cameras than our prisons, well, this whole situation begs a whole lot of questions,” the senator said.

The fiasco that is currently occurring in the Central Fall, RI, school system strikes very close to my heart.  For 18 years, I taught in a middle school that was less than a mile from the Central Falls city line.  This boundary is virtually seamless.  As you drive Lonsdale Ave. away from Rt 95, were it not for the signs, one could not differentiate Central Falls from Pawtucket or the Saylesville section of Lincoln.

Central Falls is a typical dying New England mill town, where the mill jobs have been shipped oversees and the mills closed.  One of the largest employers in town now is the Wyatt Detention Center, a privately run prison.  Central Falls cannot raise enough revenue to run its own schools, so funding education has become the responsibility of the state.  Rather than a traditional school committee, CF (as the locals refer to it) has a board of trustees to oversee the schools.  The city’s population is predominantly Hispanic.  The four term mayor is under investigation for corruption involving a contractor hired to board up foreclosed properties.

In an effort to improve school performance, several strategies have been utilized, notably a large number of administrative changes.  Of concern were low (but recently improving) test scores and a 48% graduation rate.  The school superintendent is new this year and her agenda from the outset has been somewhat less than “warm and fuzzy” with regard to the high school faculty.  In an effort to comply with new “Race to the Top” school correction initiative, one of four strategies can be implemented in consistently low performing shools, with  faculty firing being the second most harsh (school closing would be the harshest.)

As evidenced by their web site the CFHS faculty is pretty much on board with the school improvement proposals put forth by the superintendent.  The issue, as happens so often, is how teachers will be compensated for their extra hours of work.  There were proposals from both sides, but no agreement.  A deadline passed and the trustees decided to implement terminations.  The media screamed, “Teachers Reject School Improvements.” The talk shows blistered the teachers.  It was a stirring scene to see the video from the trustees meeting where one by one the teacher’s names were called and the teacher (dressed in red as a sign of unity) would stand and receive his or her termination notice.

So this has become a contractual issue and the terminations are nothing more than a labor relations strategy.  Rather than take the time to identify the truly substandard teachers (who hired them in the first place?) and follow the contract to pursue dismissal, it is more convenient to dismiss them all.  According to “Race to the Top” rules, dismissed teachers may re-apply for their positions, but only 50% may be rehired. Now there’s a strategy; hire a faculty composed of 50% people new to the system and probably inexperienced, certainly with a student population that has a 90% poverty rate and and the state’s highest English as a Second Language (ESL) rate.  I am less than optimistic about future test results.

Finally, I would like to close with something of an illustration from the Providence Phoenix’s “Phillippe and Jorge” weekly column:

Incidentally, as we search for reasons for the low test scores in Central Falls, we might consider what one district teacher once told Phillipe when he was working in education: due to the large numbers of Central American immigrants in the district, who often returned home during the winter to work, the teacher said, he once started the school year in September with 30 students and ended in June with 30 — all different from the original class.

That’s right, the single page*, entirely flash based, connects completely random strangers for video chat.  *WARNING: These video streams are not censored at all.  Thus, as the internet goes, your experience will most likely be comprised of three scenarios: normal people, ladies willing to expose themselves and men who already are exposing themselves.

Anyway, I find the thought of being randomly connected to strangers very intriguing.  While there is almost endless amounts of content on the internet, more often than not you’re viewing something you’ve chosen.  Besides tools like Stumbled Upon, you’re in control your own page viewing destiny.  In this case, you’re letting a server run algorithm connect you, face to (you hope) face, with someone else taking the exact same ‘chance’.

As I don’t have a web cam, and no real desire to see male genitalia, I haven’t experienced the site in its entirety.  But, after some hunting, I found this great mini documentary on Chatroulette by Casey Neistat.  Much like the site itself, be warned that this mini-doc may not be suitable for the workplace or the family room.