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Little Known Heros of the Revolution
The Boston Massacre
March 5th 1770. The Boston Massacre....Crispus Attucks was not only the First American Martyr of the Revolution, he was also the Organizer and leader of the Crowd that confronted the British Soldiers at Boston that day. He was also the Formost in Resisting the British Soldiers and as a result the First one Killed.
In 1851 there was a Petition presented to the Massachusetts Legislature for the appropriation of Funds to build a Monument to the First American Martyr of the Revolution, Crispus Attucks. The Petition was denied.
On the 5th of March, 1776, Washington repaired to the intrenchments. "Remember," said he, "it is the 5th of March, and avenge the death of your brethren!"
The Battle of Bunker Hill
June 17th 1775, The Battle of Bunker Hill. Patriots after surronding the City of Boston, took up postions on the Charlestown Peninsula on top of Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill North of town across the Bay. During this battle between 1,500 American Patriots and 2,400 British Soliders took part. While the British did take both Hills they suffered Heavy losses. British casualties were about 1,150 killed and wounded, while the Patriots suffered 450 Killed and wounded.
But out of those who died 2 famous People were Killed in the Fighting. A Patriot named General Warren and a British Major of Marines Pitcarin. The Little known Hero is the Man who Killed Major Pitcarin was named Henry Hill. After the Battle he was was presented to General Washington for his heroic Fighting and the killing of the Major. In Pictures made of the Battle he was at First a Prominent Figure, but over time he has been forgotten and ingloriously left out.
Henry Hill also fought in the battles of Lexington, Brandywine, Monmouth, Princeton, and Yorktown. He died in Chilicothe, on the 12th of August, 1833, aged eighty years. He was buried with the honors of war and eventually forgotten to History.
Dorchester Heights
On March 4th, 1776 Boston. Washington received 59 Cannon from the Captured British fort of Ticondaroga. Overnight the Patriots Constructed Fortifications and installed the Cannon on the Heights overlooking British occupied Boston. This move eventually led to the British evacutaion of Boston on March 17th, 1776. March 17 is celebrated as Evacuation Day in some Massachusetts communities.
But one Little known Hero is James Easton. James Easton, of Bridgewater, was one who participated in the erection of the fortifications on Dorchester Heights, under command of Washington. His talents were invaluable in the Construciton of the fortifications.
Mr. Easton was a manufacturing blacksmith, and his forge and nail factory, where were he also made edge tools and anchors, was extensively known, for its superiority of workmanship. Much of the iron work for the Tremont Theatre and Boston Marine Railway was executed under his supervision. Mr. Easton was self-educated. When a young man, stipulating for work, he always provided for chances of evening study. He was welcome to the business circles of Boston as a man of strict integrity, and the many who resorted to him for advice in complicated matters styled him "the Lawyer." His sons, Caleb, Joshua, Sylvanus, and Hosea, inherited his mechanical genius and mental ability.
Crossing of the Delaware
December 25th, 1776 Trenton. In a daring tactic, General Washington in the Dead of Winter decide to attack the town of Trenton. In the middle of the night and during a snow storm the Patriots crossed the Delaware River and then attacked the Hessian Mercenaries and British Troops occuping the Town. It was an absolute and complete Victory.
A Little known Hero was Oliver Cromwell. He enlisted in company commanded by Capt. Lowery, attached to the Second New Jersey Regiment, under the command of Col. Israel Shreve. He was at the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Monmouth, and Yorktown. Cromwell was brought up a farmer, having served his time with Thomas Hutchins, Esq., his maternal uncle. He was, for six years and nine months, under the immediate command of Washington, whom he loved affectionately. "His discharge "at the close of the war, was in Washington's own hand-writing, of which he was very proud, often speaking of it. He received, annually, ninety-six dollars pension. He lived a long and honorable life. He lost three sons and three daughters; had fourteen children who reached the age of maturity--seven sons and seven daughters. He saw his grand-children to the third generation. He was a man of strong natural powers--never chewed tobacco nor drank a glass of ardent spirit. He died, in the town of his birth, January 24th, 1853.
There is another little known Hero at the Crossing. Prince Whipple was a Body Guard to General Whipple of New Hampshire, who was an Aid to General Washington. In the Engraving done of the Night of December 25th 1776, Prince Whipple can be seen Proudly riding Horseback, next to General Washington and General Whipple. More Modern Artist's failed to add him to other renditions of that Glorious Night.
Prince was beloved by all who knew him. He was the "Caleb Quotem" of Portsmouth, where, he died at the age of thirty-two, leaving a widow and children.
The Spy of Lafayette
One Little known hero is James Armistead Lafayette. James was a man who Volunteered his service to General Lafayette of the Continential Army. So impressed with this Man General Lafayette asked him to be a Spy. Upon agreeing to this task, he was able to get himself employed by the British General Cornwallis. Cornwallis was also so impressed by him that he in turn, asked him to spy for the British Army. So James Armistead started Feeding the British false information till the Surrender of General Cornwallis. So perfect was the Acting of James that not until Cornwallis met James in the Headquarters tent of General Lafayette, did his true identity and mission become known to him. James was so fond of General Lafayette that he took his last name as a sign of his loyalty and appreciation. The Service provided by James and the success of his mission was immeasurable to the success over Cornwallis.
Americans All..
What some of you may have already figured out is that not only are these American Heros. But they are American Heros that happen to be African American. The reason for not including this earlier, is because it matters little what the Color of their skin was. All that matters is that they are Heros, American Heros that fought for not only Our Liberty and Freedom, but their Liberty and the Freedom of Future Generations.
The Continential Army was so integrated by the end of the Revolutionary War, 1/4th of it was made up of African Americans. The United States would not see this kind of integration again for another 200 years.
These are not all of the Hero's of the American Revolution, there are many more of many different Races and Sexes. But the Fact that they Fought and many died for all of us.....is what matters.
They Were...........We Are..............Americans All...
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EPA on HOW TO CLEAN UP A NEW LIGHTBULB.
Humans use mercury in a variety of manufacturing processes and products such as thermometers and fluorescent bulbs. If you improperly dispose of products with mercury in them, they may break and release mercury vapors which are harmful to human and ecological health.
Dispose of used mercury-containing items properly. Clean up mercury spills properly and report them to the proper authorities when necessary.Never use a vacuum cleaner to clean up mercury (but see the "What to Do if a Fluorescent Light Bulb Breaks" section below for more specific instructions about vacuuming broken fluorescent light bulbs). The vacuum will put mercury into the air and increase exposure.
Never use a broom to clean up mercury. It will break the mercury into smaller droplets and spread them.
Never pour mercury down a drain. It may lodge in the plumbing and cause future problems during plumbing repairs. If discharged, it can cause pollution of the septic tank or sewage treatment plant.
Never wash clothing or other items that have come in direct contact with mercury in a washing machine, because mercury may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage. Clothing that has come into direct contact with mercury should be discarded. By "direct contact," we mean that mercury was (or has been) spilled directly on the clothing. For example: if you broke a mercury thermometer and some of elemental mercury beads came in contact with your clothing, or if you broke a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) so that broken glass and other material from the bulb, including mercury-containing powder, came into contact with your clothing.You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, like the clothing you happened to be wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
Never walk around if your shoes might be contaminated with mercury. Contaminated clothing can also spread mercury around. What to Do if a Fluorescent Light Bulb BreaksCompact fluorescent lights (CFLs) are lighting more homes than ever before, and EPA is encouraging Americans to use and recycle them safely. Carefully recycling CFLs prevents the release of mercury into the environment and allows for the reuse of glass, metals and other materials that make up fluorescent lights.
EPA is continually reviewing its clean-up and disposal recommendations for CFLs to ensure that the Agency presents the most up-to-date information for consumers and businesses. Maine's Department of Environmental Protection released a CFL breakage study report 
on February 25, 2008. EPA has conducted an initial review of this study and, as a result of this review, we have updated the CFL cleanup instructions below.
Pending the completion of a full review of the Maine study, EPA will determine whether additional changes to the cleanup recommendations are warranted. The agency plans to conduct its own study on CFLs after thorough review of the Maine study.
Fluorescent light bulbs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal below. Please also read the information on this page about what never to do with a mercury spill. Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out. Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more. Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces
Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag. Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug
Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken. Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials
If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage. You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb. If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.Disposal of Clean-up Materials
Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup. Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials. Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming
The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming. Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.Have everyone else leave the area; don't let anyone walk through the mercury on their way out. Make sure all pets are removed from the area. Open all windows and doors to the outside; shut all doors to other parts of the house.
DO NOT allow children to help you clean up the spill.
Mercury can be cleaned up easily from the following surfaces: wood, linoleum, tile and any similarly smooth surfaces.
If a spill occurs on carpet, curtains, upholstery or other absorbent surfaces, these contaminated items should be thrown away in accordance with the disposal means outlined below. Only cut and remove the affected portion of the contaminated carpet for disposal.
Cleanup InstructionsPut on rubber, nitrile or latex gloves.
If there are any broken pieces of glass or sharp objects, pick them up with care. Place all broken objects on a paper towel. Fold the paper towel and place in a zip lock bag. Secure the bag and label it as directed by your local health or fire department.
Locate visible mercury beads. Use a squeegee or cardboard to gather mercury beads. Use slow sweeping motions to keep mercury from becoming uncontrollable. Take a flashlight, hold it at a low angle close to the floor in a darkened room and look for additional glistening beads of mercury that may be sticking to the surface or in small cracked areas of the surface. Note: Mercury can move surprising distances on hard-flat surfaces, so be sure to inspect the entire room when "searching."
Use the eyedropper to collect or draw up the mercury beads. Slowly and carefully squeeze mercury onto a damp paper towel. Place the paper towel in a zip lock bag and secure. Make sure to label the bag as directed by your local health or fire department.
After you remove larger beads, put shaving cream on top of small paint brush and gently "dot" the affected area to pick up smaller hard-to-see beads. Alternatively, use duct tape to collect smaller hard-to-see beads. Place the paint brush or duct tape in a zip lock bag and secure. Make sure to label the bag as directed by your local health or fire department.
OPTIONAL STEP: It is OPTIONAL to use commercially available powdered sulfur to absorb the beads that are too small to see. The sulfur does two things: (1) it makes the mercury easier to see since there may be a color change from yellow to brown and (2) it binds the mercury so that it can be easily removed and suppresses the vapor of any missing mercury. Where to get commercialized sulfur? It may be supplied as mercury vapor absorbent in mercury spill kits, which can be purchased from laboratory, chemical supply and hazardous materials response supply manufacturers. Note: Powdered sulfur may stain fabrics a dark color. When using powdered sulfur, do not breathe in the powder as it can be moderately toxic. Additionally, users should read and understand product information before use.
If you choose not to use this option, you may want to request the services of a contractor who has monitoring equipment to screen for mercury vapors. Consult your local environmental or health agency to inquire about contractors in your area. Place all materials used with the cleanup, including gloves, in a trash bag. Place all mercury beads and objects into the trash bag. Secure trash bag and label it as directed by your local health or fire department.
Contact your local health department, municipal waste authority or your local fire department for proper disposal in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
Remember to keep the area well ventilated to the outside (i.e., windows open and fans in exterior windows running) for at least 24 hours after your successful cleanup. Continue to keep pets and children out of cleanup area. If sickness occurs, seek medical attention immediately. View information on health effects related to exposures to vapors from metallic mercury. For additional information on health effects, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) provides a Mercury Fact Sheet that also presents information on health effects related to exposures to vapors from metallic mercury.
Recommendation: If there are young children or pregnant women in the house, seek additional advice from your local or state health or state environmental agency.
Spills of More than the Amount in a Thermometer, but Less Than or Similar to Two Tablespoons (One Pound) Cleanup Instructions1. Have everyone else leave the area; don't let anyone walk through the mercury on their way out.
2. Open all windows and doors to the outside.
3. Turn down the temperature.
4. Shut all doors to other parts of the house, and leave the area.
Don't vacuum.
5. Call your local or state health or environmental agency.
Any time one pound or more of mercury is released to the environment, it is mandatory to call the National Response Center (NRC). The NRC hotline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call (800) 424-8802. Note that because mercury is heavy, only two tablespoons of mercury weigh about one pound.
HOW IS THIS BETTER???? ANYONE?
wau
WFXS FOX55 DTV Update
By Robert Raff – Vice President
It has been a while since we had any relevant information to update our viewers on. The process with the FCC is still extremely slow and torturous.
In June 2008, we were finally given the opportunity to file our long awaited channel change request with the FCC. The commission finally lifted the freeze on applications that had been blocking our path for the last 7 years. Our filing essentially shows the FCC that the channel 50 that was allocated late last year is technically insufficient and that channel 31 can be substituted to provide better service to our viewers.
The FCC’s process is somewhat bewildering to outsiders. Once the commission looked at our filing and agreed it would work, they then had to publish that finding in the Federal Register as a Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR). This was published on July 25th, well over a month after our application was accepted.
In an NPR the government basically tells everyone what they “think they want to do”, in this case to allow channel 31 to be used here for DTV, and then they give interested parties 30 days to file comments on the proposal followed by another 15 day reply window. Once those two “waiting periods” have passed, the FCC then re-evaluates the technical parameters again and hopefully will make channel 31 available to the Wausau-Rhinelander area table of allotments. This might happen by mid September if all goes as planned
Once all of the above FCC process is completed, we then are finally able to submit another application for a construction permit for channel 31. Here, we could see another 30 or more days while the FCC basically looks it over again.
Once the FCC grants a final construction permit, we are then legally authorized to begin the build-out process on that channel.
For WFXS’s part, contracts are already in place for the necessary orders for the transmitter and antenna components that we will need to have custom made. Delivery on most of this equipment is three to five months, so as you can see making the February 17th 2008 DTV deadline will be challenging. An additional major wildcard in the process is the fact that this equipment must be installed on our 1,000 foot tower in the dead of winter. Very few tower crews have the experience and ability to perform such an installation in Wisconsin’s severe weather. We have all the players in place ready to start the process, as soon as the government says we can. All we can do now is to hope the FCC hurries along and that the Wisconsin winter is as mild as possible.
For those of you who bought an HDTV set when they first started coming out, I understand this has been a painfully slow process, but it is after all being run by the government. For those of you thinking about taking the plinge into a new HDTV or even a converter box, my advice is to wait until next February.. The sets will be cheaper, the technology better, more programming will be available in HD and you won't miss a bit of this NFL, MLB and FOX Fall Programming season trying to figure out this whole mess.
For more information on HDTV, TV/Antenna Reception issues or WFXS, check out the "About Us Tab" on our website, or feel free to drop me a note at rraff@wfxs.com.
See Ya!!!
If it's not Good for our Kids, then Why is it good for our Country?
Why do we Teach our kids that in order to succeed they need to be Self-Sufficient?
Why do we teach them how to be Independent and then vote for Politicians or Laws that take Independence away?
If we know that it's not a Formula for Success to keep Bailing our Kids out every time they screw up, then why do we encourage our Government to do so?
Why do we tell them they need to learn to do it themselves but then we turn to the Government to do things for us?
Why do we Believe in Tough Love for our Children...because we Love them..but then we bend like wet paper to the Will of Big Government?
Why do we not want our Kids to live at home when they are 40 but want the Government to "take care' of them for the rest of their lives?
Are we Good Parents and Lousy Citizens or Lousy Parents but Good Citizens?
If we want Success, Independence and Happiness for our Kids.....
Then why do we keep Encouraging Failure, Dependency and Misery in the Direction of our Government?
Do We Not Love Our Country As Much As We Love Our Children?
I Hope So......
Because Our Children Are the Future of this Country.......
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"Government is not reason; it is not eloquence. It is force. And force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." George Washington
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves." William Pitt in the House of Commons November 18, 1783
"We must all hang together, or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately." Benjamin Franklin at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicity. Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address.
"We, the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the Constitution." Abraham Lincoln
"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed and that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property, and freedom of press." Thomas Jefferson
"Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the world that a free man, contending for his liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth." George Washington, July 2, 1776
"A generous parent would have said, 'if there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace." Thomas Paine, Common Sense
"Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that ever I took half the pains to preserve it." John Adams
"The way to have safe government is not to trust it all to the one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to everyone exactly the functions in which he is competent....To let the National Government be entrusted with the defense of the nation, and it's foreign and federal relations..... The State Governments with the Civil Rights, Laws, Police and administration of what concerns the State generally. The Counties with the local concerns, and each ward direct the interests within itself. It is by dividing and subdividing these Republics from the great national one down through all it's subordinations until it ends in the administration of everyman's farm by himself, by placing under everyone what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best." Thomas Jefferson
"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our selection between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat in our drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labors and in our amusements, for our callings and our creeds...our people.. must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, give earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses; and the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live.. We have not time to think, no means of calling the mis-managers to account, but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow suffers. Our landholders, too...retaining indeed the title and stewardship of estates called theirs, but held really in trust for the treasury, must...be contented with penury, obscurity and exile.. private fortunes are destroyed by public as well as by private extravagance.
This is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle becomes a precedent for a second; that second for a third; and so on, till the bulk of society is reduced to mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sinning and suffering... And the fore horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in it's train wretchedness and oppression." Thomas Jefferson
PATRICK HENRY
"The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun."
"Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?"
March 23, 1775:
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
Earlier this week the flooding in the Wisconsin Dells had dramatic video of a lake overflowing and tearing apart several homes. I was almost immediately brought back to 1993 when I lived in Kansas. The same type of weather pattern dropped feet of rain on the North Central part of Kansas for weeks straight until our nearby Milford lake could take no more.. The lake level rose well past what the Corps of Engineers thought the lake could hold and it finally spill over into a designed spillway and quickly devoured everything in it's path It cut right through roads and fields, the water destroying everything in its path as it fought to find its way back to the river. Giant valleys of nothing were left in the path.
Then last night, numerous Tornados cut thru the same part of Kansas, nearly wiping out the small town of Chapman. 75 to 80% of the town's homes and buildings were damaged or destroyed. Another tornado ripped through the Campus of Kansas State University, home of the KSU Wildcats. KSU will get plenty of help to rebuild the excellent college facilities, but for many in Chapman, this may be just a bit too much.
I hope the nearby communities rally to the cause and help this quaint little community get it's feet back on the ground.
I know I metioned it before, but you should really plan to be in town the 23rd through the 27th of July. The WALL, traveling Tribute to American Veterans will be in Wausau, Wisconsin.
Check out www.thewallinwausau.com
Did you know there are about 513,000 children in foster care? These children need stables, loving care until they can either safety reunite with their families or establish other lifelong relationships with a nurturing adult.
May is National Foster Care Month. No matter how much time you have to give, you have the opportunity to do something postitive that will "Change a Lifetime" for a young person in foster care.
RELATED LINKS:
National Foster Care MonthAsher Heimermann is a teenager from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. You can learn more information about Heimermann by visiting his official website at www.AsherHeimermann.com.
There are 2 upcoming events that I think are important events for this community. The first one involves the area Cub Scouts and is the 25th Anniversary of the Chuckwagon Skills Day. This event is really a joy to wact as the young boys pull minature replica wagons throught Cam Phillips from one fort to another, Each fort has a certain skill the boys have to learn or demonstrate. This is such a great look at the youth of our community doing something positive, and this event dates back to one of the first of it's kind in the nation.. Support your local Boy Scouts..
The other event that I think is really cool is being brought to town by the wausau VFW. It will be in July and it's called Celebrating Freedom. The center piece of this celebration an 80% replica of the Vietnam veterans memorial. I first had a chance to see this solemn monument many years ago in Kansas and it is a must see for every American who knows someone in the military or who just is thankful for what the military does. The wall has been updated and now is joined by monuments to all the other wars and conflicts as well. There is even a 9/11 tribute section listing the names of those who died in the Twin Towers. The event runs July 23rd thru the 28th.. You have got to stop by and see this.
So I rarely think about slamming businesses for what they do, cause I'm a Buyer-Beware kind of guy.. But I just have to sound off about this because it affected people I know..
As you may know, our TV signals are switching to digital from the current analog next year. In anticipation, the Government (FCC) and the Consumer Electronics trade association agreed a few years back to start labeling analog TV'ss with a warning that digital was coming and the TV's would no longer be useful after Feb, 2009. The labeling rule was designed to protect consumers from unsavory electronics shops who would sell the outdated TV sets to unsuspecting consumers..
And that is exactly what happened anyway. You see the big boys like Best Buy decided to ignore the labeling rules and sold tons of soon to be useless anaolg only TV sets without a warning or mention of the digital change coming. Consumers spent hard earned money and became outraged when friends explained the issue. Of course the stores refused to take the TV's back and the consumer was screwed..
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6561130.
html
Then the FCC decides to spank the bad boys for ripping off the public. Best Buy got a whopping $288,000 fine which they are refusing to pay. (this probably amounts to less than a fraction of the profits they made selling useless TV's to unsuspecting consumers). They claim the FCC had no right in the first place to stop them from misleading the public and selling outdated TV sets.. The arguments are all very legal but basically says Best Buy can rip people off and nobody has the right to stop them. They didn't say oops, we made a mistake, or even we're sorry. They basically said something akin to we chose to ignore the ruling, rip off our customers, and we defy the government's authority to do anything about it.
A few months ago I saw some congressional hearings on digital TV on CSpan. Seems that the digital converter boxes the giant retailers (including best Buy) are selling actually block local stations who are still analog, again screwing the consumer who gets home and wonders why thier favorite station is not available anymore. The big retailers refuse to take the converters back, and also refuse to sell the correct models until they are sold out of the bad converters. Again, they are selling the consumers bad junk just to make a buck and they'll sell the right equipment as soon as they have sold the last piece of junk.
What a world. Remember what happened to the guy in China who sold the bad pet food. They hung him in public. Maybe China has some good ideas after all.
This afternoon, John Edwards has endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States of America. John Edwards is a former United States Senator and a two time presidential candidate.
Last night, Senator Hillary Clinton won West Virgina. Some people want Senator Clinton to drop out of the race to move forward with the presidential election. Others are saying that Senator Clinton could be Senator Obama's Vice President pick.
Back in February of 2008, I officially endorsed Senator Obama for President. If you want to read my endorsement for Senator Obama, Click Here.
RELATED LINKS:
Edwards to Endorse Obama Politics on MyFoxMilwaukee.com My Endorsement for Senator ObamaAsher Heimermann is a teenager from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. You can learn more information about Heimermann by visiting his official website at www.AsherHeimermann.com.
So i see the outcome of the dems primary and i can hardly believe it.. Is wisconsin really ready to elect a guy that has done nothing, has no experience, and has only vague outlines for his plans.. God help us all..
looks like a lot of right-wingers voted for Obama so johnny boy wouldn't have an experienced candidate to run against..
If you think i'm wrong, name one legitimate accomplishment of Obama.. (being a black senator is not an accomplishment, it's genetic)
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