Thanks for the Tweetories er...

Thanks to the Vice President, President, and a paltry few who had something of substance to say on the untimely death of Beau Biden, a young man set to follow in the footsteps of his father as a public servant. His life ended far too quickly and we will not be able to see his dreams fulfilled and the promise in which we might all have shared where he to have been fortunate enough to overcome his illness.

The fact that I who did not know him prior to his death yet had more to say of him after his demise speaks volumes.


How wonderful it is to be in politics now and throw in a fast Tweet to pay some trifling homage to a young man who had already proven his capacity to accomplish so much in his brief 46 years of life, "Beau served as a prosecutor in the US attorney’s office in Philadelphia for nine years, and a legal adviser to the US Department of Justice in post-war Kosovo in 2001 — where he helped to train judges and prosecutors. He was elected attorney general of Delaware in 2006. Although his first term was interrupted by his military service, he went on to be re-elected in 2010 with an even greater share of votes. While in office, Beau uncompromisingly pursued child sex crime perpetrators, managing to push through 180 convictions. He also put pressure on the banking sector and mortgage lenders for their involvement in the unregulated loaning that precipitated the financial crisis."-[Bustle Online]

But thanks for the Tweets, peeps (proud statesmen for your constituencies). The apps are priceless these days and you can't be accused of being callous on any upcoming political stumps. Nice. Remember pens and papers? Hand written notations of your true feelings?

Life Unlocked

As if Identity Theft has not been a big enough issue for Starbucks, the CEO of LifeLock has had his identity stolen 13 times (at least.)

When they tell you not to put your Social Security Number on a billboard, you should probably listen.

For the full story, feel free to enjoy reading this article.

Our Stars, Your Bucks

So Starbucks simply allowed gift after gift purchase to be rolled up on their App in what would eventually amount to something approaching the equivalent of a $160 frappuccino.

It's not that Starbucks didn't eventually realize the error (they were aware of a problem as much as a month ago) and proceeded to make restitution (that would take time.) Thieves were pulling money out of people's bank accounts in record amounts during the confusion.

But the loser here is not Starbucks. It's the Starbucks customers who failed to note that anything "unusual" was occurring for quite some time. After all, Starbucks buyers are used to the ghastly prices (and taste -Jamie Feldmar in Food on Oct 18, 2011) of their dark, liquefied grist and wouldn't think twice about their raided accounts until the damage had been done, a central point of the software swindling muggers plans.

Beyond the need to remain silent less they be seen as middle class commoners with financial issues, Starbucks consumers quietly paid the price in order to acquire their very pricey java. It is the single reason this criminal enterprise superseded its actual value.

And so it goes.

Of Lines and Curves.

Stock Photo Royalty Free of a train wreck.
Apologies for inability to afford
payment of actual image(s)

According to an NTSB spokesperson from a story provided by the Washington Post , the Amtrak train that derailed on May 12 "may have been struck by an object prior to the derailment." The FBI has been brought on board to investigate.

I don't know. Perhaps I'm completely off base here, but I would have thought that trying to determine how it was that a train came to speed up prior to entering a curve which it would not be able to negotiate would have made for a more pressing study in physics for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Revolving Door

On May 16, CNN reported that a key ISIS member had been killed.

He will be replaced by a key ISIS member on May 17.

Like Sand In The Hourglass