Noam Chomsky On U.S. Criminal Behavior

CHOMSKY on WIKILEAKS from CaTV on Vimeo.

Unruly Children Unwelcome — Loud Diners Unappreciated

When dining, Shirley and I welcome a quiet setting in which to enjoy our meal. Two situations can truly make our experience unpleasant. The first is where guests at a nearby table are talking so loudly that we wonder if everyone is hard of hearing. Shirley and I sit across from each other at our table and converse back and forth. We are certain that those at a table next to us cannot hear what we are saying.


So why must others speak so loudly that someone sitting across the room can understand their every word? No one is interested in their cruise to the Caribbean. And their lack of respect for others reveals low self-respect.


The other situation is when parents allow their children to run free in the restaurant, which is usually accompanied with these children yelling as if they were at recess on a school playground. Those parents turn a blind eye and deaf ear to their unruly children.


A restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia has a printed a caveat on its menu for parents, asking them to remove their unruly children from the restaurant. Although some patrons have not returned due to this policy, the restaurant owner claims that his business has seen a percentage increase in customers and revenue.


Patrons who respect a venue for nurturing a quiet dining experience might respect their fellow-diners with low-volume conversations as well.

Drug Test Welfare Recipients

Two dozen states are said to be considering mandating drug testing for welfare recipients. That will get the ACLU jumping up and down. I am among the first to stand up for personal rights. However, I feel very strongly about my tax money not be supporting a drug addict. And I do know of someone who got food stamps, then sold them at discount to get money to purchase drugs.


No doubt an applicant for social services assistance can become clean for the time of his or her request. Yet, this initial testing should be done. Then, random testing from time-to-time afterwards should be required as well. It is important that people receiving public assistance monies not misuse such funds.


Drug addiction is an insidious condition. Addicts will do almost anything to get drug money. Misuse of welfare funds is probably more common than most of us suspect. It seems important to require drug testing for welfare recipients.

Patio Warmth Augmentation

The Presto® HeatDish® Plus Parabolic Heater is available from Costco Website for under $75 that includes shipping. Last evening's light breeze on the patio made the propane-fired heater a little less effective. I immediately thought about the infra-red heater dish that Costco carries.


This will not replace, but augment, the function of our current patio heater. Placed at the other end of the picnic table it should fill in quite nicely.


I expect the heater to arrive this coming Monday or Tuesday. The device's dimensions are 18.5" high by 12" wide by 16" long. It weighs 5.9 lb. I believe we will be quite pleased with its performance.

Reality of Relationships

We all remember the candy hearts we took to school to hand out to our classmates on Valentine's Day. Good thing the above examples were not in the mix back then.

In With The New

The original unit's outdoor temperature sensor has bit the dust. It lasted five years through extremes of hot and cold. I could not find a replacement sensor for the older model. I hated to spend the money; yet, one feature is important to have.


Shirley is always checking the outdoor temperature to decide whether she should grab her jacket before going out the door. And on this new device the outdoor temperature display is larger than the indoor temp reading.


The atomic clock technology in this instrument means daily accuracy for the time, as well as automatic adjustment for beginning and end of Daylight Saving Time.

Outdoor Sensor