Is Senator Scott Brown Turning his Back on Tea Party Voters?

There was a tea party in Boston on Wednesday. Conspicuously absent was the freshman senator from Massachusetts. Is Scott Brown not wanting to 'dance with the one what brung him'? That's what some asked as the newly elected senator stayed in Washington, forgoing any tax day tea parties.

It can hardly be argued that it was energized tea party members who ushered Brown into the seat previously held by Ted Kennedy. Some have said he is distancing himself from controversy, although it could be argued that he didn't mind that controversy when gave him the edge. Others think he doesn't want to be associated with the likes of Sarah Palin, who had a rock star welcome in Boston at Wednesday's rally. The NYT must have had to break into the liquor cabinet to be able to write a about a poll that revealed most tea partiers are wealthier and more educated than the general public.

Any republican politician snubs the tea parties at his/her peril. And Brown will need their support in 2012 when he's up for re-election. Elephants, after all, are known for their long memories.

Minnesotan School Board 'iPads' the Tax Bill

Like a Southern Belle, the iPad 
is pretty, but doesn't do a lot

Most parents want their children's school to better prepare them for the technological world after graduation. But with much of the state still in double digit unemployment numbers, I imagine there are a lot of Minnesotans scratching their heads over this purchase.

The Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop School Board approved $265,000 to purchase iPads for the entire school (some 230 iPads). It's not mentioned if this price includes upgrading the school to wi-fi or the training planned. Plus, did the school board even try to get a discount--after all Apple is known for helping to supply schools with their computers. By the way, do they HAVE other Apple computers there? Because I'm pretty sure Windows is not going to be compatible with the iPad and visa versa.

Unfortunately, like with congress having to pass the health-care bill before reading it, it seems the school board wants to get the technology and then figure out how to use it! Educational apps are limited and, while the iPad can hold books, it's not been mentioned if the school's curriculum is going to be available or how much they'll save on the electronic version, if anything. Also not mentioned is if the students ultimately keep the iPad or have to turn it in. One can only wonder how many of these will have to be replaced due to loss, breakage, spilled beverages, theft, etc. Or what they'll do when Apple comes out with their next model. If the iPod is any example, every six months to a year, Apple has found it highly profitable to come out with a new, improved version--often to the consternation of it's users.

In case you don't know exactly what an iPad is or does, here's a quick rundown:

• Although it costs about the same as a modern laptop (starting at $499), an iPad is NOT a laptop/desktop replacement. Think of it as an iPhone on steroids, except you can't make phone calls (or take photos). It has a touch screen which will look wonderful after sticky kid fingers have been all over it.
• You can only run one app at a time, so a student would not be able to read a passage in a book and swap over to a word processor to write a paper without first closing the book. We used to call that type of technology "DOS." The iPad has an (up to) 64GB flash drive and a 1GB CPU so it's no workhorse. Apple is planning to add multitasking in a future version.
• The iPad doesn't run Adobe Flash and seems to have no plans to do so. Adobe is planning to sue Apple over this, which is ridiculous. Apple certainly has the right to run or not run what it wants, but the user is going to find web surfing less than exciting. We use to call that technology "Internet 1996."

In short, it's a cute, geeky toy that doesn't do a whole lot. You can use it to surf the web or read a book (additional costs involved.) Or listen to music, which makes it a big iPod. If they just wanted to get electronic books, they could have bought Kindles, which are priced slightly less and already has a large number of available works. Even Apple fans are making fun of it.

It sounds like the main reason for the purchase was to allow students to avoid carrying backpacks full of books. If lugging several pounds of books to class is a problem, there's a thing called a "locker." I don't know what happened to lockers, but schools don't seem to want to use them any more. Personally, considering we're dealing with high percentages of overweight students, lugging a few pounds of books around is probably a good idea. But students will be able to update their Facebook page in class instead of studying.

Supreme Court to Hear Argument Against Funeral Protesters

How to Help
the Snyder Family!

UPDATE: Good news. Fox News talk host Bill O'Reilly has stepped in and said he will pay the entire $16,510 in court costs awarded to Phelps. Of course Snyder has his own legal expenses. Although lawyers are working the case pro bono, he still foots the bill for expenses and estimates he's sunk some $60K into this. The link to the box in the left is to Snyder's web page which tells how to help (monetarily and otherwise). Snyder has said that anything raised beyond covering court costs will go to benefit war veterans in the form of a scholarship.

I just about blew a gasket tonight when I read this story. I wish I could tell you how I really feel about this group. Unfortunately, what I would say might be construed illegal. See, this is all about free speech. But even free speech has its limits--you can't yell, "Fire" in a crowded theater, for example.

You also can't post on-line threats. The 2nd District court of appeals recently ruled a case could go forward where a 15-year-old student is accuse of posting that he would, "rip out your **** heart and feed it to you" and "pound your head in with an ice pick" on another student's web site.

So why is vile excuse for a human, Fred Phelps, and his band of idiots from the Kansas' Westboro Baptist Church allowed to disrupt families during a time of unbelievable grief of losing a soldier son or daughter? With the blasphemous garbage they spew, I'm somewhat surprised the Almighty hasn't hit the smite button or that a brigade of fellow Marines haven't gotten some street justice.

Albert Snyder, who had to endure one of Phelps "protests" during his funeral for his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder in 2006, took the legal path. He sued and he won.

Then a federal appeals court threw out the $5 million award against the protesters on first amendment grounds. But that wasn't the worst part. The same court then ordered Snyder to pay Fred Phelps $16,510 in court costs.

WTF? How can this be? This wasn't some frivolous case. Worse yet, now Phelps can go back to the first court and try to get THOSE court costs assessed against Snyder! Snyder, a man of modest means has a pro-bono lawyer, but his own costs have gone over $60K.

Snyder has said he is not paying the court-ordered fees. Not yet anyway--the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. He spoke to Fox News about the case.



The suit was originally filed to, "...bring to an end to the reign of terror and abuse that they inflict." This is why I don't understand why the appeals court threw out the case on the first amendment. The first amendment does not give you the ability to HARASS people. The courts have certainly stood firm on that.

If this isn't harassment...I don't know what is. If you see Phelps, I'd stay clear in case of a thunderbolt...I have faith God's going to hit that smite button yet.