"NUKE First, Ask Questions Later" - My 9/11 Memorial Song Written In 2001 On My GeoCities Site

In the hours and days following 9/11/2001, I was very serious about NUKING them damn Terrorists. I started writing a Song based on the last words of an e-mail I sent out on 9/11/2001. When I wrote this I was serious but I am glad we were able to kick their butts without the need for Nukes and with minimum American casualties.

Here is a re-print of the actual e-mail:

-----Original Message-----

From: Leonard Vasbinder

Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 10:54 AM

Subject: NUKE FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER!

I, Lenny Vasbinder, am sick and tired of all these little piss-ante third world countries or their wannabe leaders kicking USAround. I hereby call for complete and total annihilation of the capital cities of each and every country that harbors or fosters terrorism. I don't remember US talking to other world leaders before we NUKED Japan after they attacked US. I won't stop this battle cry until the USA stands up and starts kicking some towelhead ass.

NUKE FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER!

Based on those words I started writing some of the original lyrics which ultimately led to the following song.

NUKE FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER!

(Written by Lenny Vasbinder 09-12-2001 thru the end of 2001)

YOU MAY HAVE GOTTEN OUR WORLD TRADE CENTER,

BUT AMERICA WILL SURVIVE_______.

OSAMA BIN LADEN, YOU BETTER START PRAYING,

CAUSE WERE COMING FOR YOU DEAD OR ALIVE__.


YOU GOT FOUR PLANES_, THE PENTAGON_,

AND THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS___.

BUT NOW YOU’RE HIDING OUT IN CAVES

WITH THE HELP OF THE TALIBAN___.


(chorus one)

IF YOU ARE A TERRORIST NATION,

YOU’RE GONNA FACE ANNIHILATION,

IF YOU ARE AN AMERICAN HATER, WE’LL

NUKE FIRST AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER!

(b/g-NUKE FIRST AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER! repeat twice)


ALL YOU LITTLE TERRORIST PUNKS,

WE’VE BEEN TAKING YOUR CRAP FOR YEARS__,

BUT NOW YOU’VE PISSED AMERICA OFF

AND YOU’VE GOT SOMETHING TO FEAR___.


WE’LL SEIZE YOUR ASSETS, FREEZE ACCOUNTS,

CUT THE CASH FLOW TO YOUR CELLS__.

WE’LL LOCK THEM UP, THROW AWAY THE KEY,

WATCH ‘EM DIE AND GO TO HELL!___


(chorus two)

IF YOU ARE A TERRORIST LOVER,

YOU BETTER HIDE AND RUN FOR COVER.

IF YOU ARE AN AMERICAN HATER, WE’LL,

NUKE FIRST AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER!

(b/g-NUKE FIRST AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER!...repeat twice)


WE MAY JUST KILL A MILLION AFGHANIS

AND THAT MIGHT BE A SIN___.

BUT AFTER WE LAUNCH A COUPLE OF NUKES,

THE TALIBAN WILL TURN YOU IN___.


(chorus one)

IF YOU ARE A TERRORIST NATION,

YOU’RE GONNA FACE ANNIHILATION,

IF YOU ARE AN AMERICAN HATER, WE’LL

NUKE FIRST AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER!

(b/g-NUKE FIRST AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER!...repeat twice)


WELL, WE KICKED YOUR ASS WITHOUT OUR NUKES,

NOW AFGHANISTAN IS FREE___.

OSAMA, YOU NEVER CAME OUT YOUR CAVE,

BUT WE’LL HUNT YOU DOWN, YOU’LL SEE___.


(chorus two)

IF YOU ARE A TERRORIST LOVER,

YOU BETTER HIDE AND RUN FOR COVER.

IF YOU ARE AN AMERICAN HATER, WE’LL,

NUKE FIRST AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER!

(b/g-NUKE FIRST AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER!...repeat)


Dedicated to the victims of 9-11-2001 and all victims of Terrorism.

Copyright-2001-Lenny Vasbinder

I hope that before we ever risk large numbers of American Military Men & Women, we will use strategic and tactical NUKES. Look at the number of American lives we saved when we NUKED Japan during WWII. That is why we did it then... and I'm all for using the same reasoning today!

If any band would like to hear this song for possible recording purposes, please feel free to e-mail me. The song as written has a rock or country rock sound to it.

Sincerely,

Lenny Vasbinder

Originally published online on my GeoCities website which is archived here...

http://web.archive.org/web/20060504223805/www.geocities.com/LennyVasbinderPI/Politics_Start

My Review Of Mozy Home Online Computer Backup Program

Get Mozy Home for FREE here, with BONUS online backup storage. When you get to the main page, click on Products, then Mozy Home, then click Download button or on the left side, next to the FREE sign, click "Learn More" or the "Try It Free" button. Any of those steps will get you the FREE Mozy Home version with the BONUS 0.5 GIGS of online backup storage. While the UNLIMITED online backup storage is only $4.95 a month, the FREE 2.0 GIGS of online backup storage becomes 2.5 GIGS by clicking this link... enough storage for thousands of pictures, music and other backup of your important files.

Based on an email from a fellow member of the Outlook-Users Yahoo Group, I replied with a rather long reply about Mozy and it ended up being more of a review so here it is...

-----Original Message-----
From: Steven T
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 12:04 PM
To: LNVTM1 - Lenny Vasbinder
Subject: FW: Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager - email issue - OFFLIST

Lenny

I want to ask you about the "Mozy" add you have in your mails. I am not interested in how online backup works, only online restore ;>) What is your experience with restore from them? At what speed etc....


TIA

Steven T

AND MY LONG REPLY/REVIEW:

-----Original Message-----
From: LNVTM1 - Lenny Vasbinder
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 2:01 PM
To: 'Steven Teiger'
Subject: RE: Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager - email issue - OFFLIST

I've only had to use the restore a couple of times over the past several years that I've been using Mozy (I was involved in the initial Beta testing).

Most recently, I had to restore my Favorites folder in IE8 (currently 10.3MB, 2,662 files, 332 folders). I started using XMarks a few weeks ago, to synch my Favorites folder for IE8 and FF on my laptop and desktop so they would all have the same Favorites/Bookmarks and when I first did the XMarks synching, it (or rather I) completely messed them up... and I mean a major SNAFU, mostly due my not setting XMarks properly or rather not understanding the instructions properly.

Fortunately, I had my Mozy online backup of my Favorites folder on my desktop computer, which was done about an hour before I did the XMarks installation and fouled up the sync so bad. I uninstalled XMarks on both computers, emptied my Favorites folder on my desktop and then used Mozy to restore it. Mozy actually keeps several *copies* of backups... kind of like restore points... so you can choose which date/time you want to restore to. It didn't take long... maybe 10 minutes or so... I didn't time it but it wasn't long. I have over 2,500 URL's saved and well organized in my Favorites folder and all of it's sub and sub-sub folders.

As far as the speed, it depends on your own internet speed and what else you are running. If you shut down all other programs that might be using up internet bandwidth, then Mozy will be MUCH faster and I'm pretty sure it will download the restore as fast as your bandwidth and computer can handle. I've NEVER seen any slowdowns related to Mozy servers... only my own bandwidth limitations, especially if I have all three of my computers working on the internet on my DSL line.

Of course, uploading the initial backup and even my twice daily scheduled backups takes much longer than a restore since most internet access has much slower upload speed than download speed. My average online backup on my main computer takes about an hour or two, depending on how many new files I've added. I use the scheduled backup, rather than the constant backup, so I can have each of my computers backing up at different times so I do not see as much slow-down in my internet speed. If all three computers were backing up at the same time, I see a BIG slowdown in my internet service since Mozy would be using so much of my upload bandwidth.

Mozy also uses a moderate amount of system resources during the Backup process on my two oldest computers... one with only 384MB of RAM and the other with 768MB of RAM. I do not notice any slowdown on my newest Vista-HP laptop with 3Gigs of RAM.

Folks get 2Gigs of FREE backup if they sign up at Mozy.com or if someone signs up using my referral link, in my sig, they actually get an added .5Gigs. I know 2Gigs or 2.5Gigs isn't a lot of storage but it's usually more than enough for most of the people that I've helped install the free version, as long as they pick and choose which files/folders to back up. I actually only use up around 6Gigs of backup on my main computer, just to backup My Documents folder, my active PST file and certain other folders (like Favorites). I use an external HD to do weekly backups and clones of all three of my computers for major issues and just use Mozy for backing up my most active files/folders.

Sorry.. I didn't mean to write an entire review of the program but I really like it and think everyone should have at least the free version of Mozy to back up their most important files, photos, etc. I've read so many horror stories online and with helping my friends with their own computer problems.

I might have to use this for a blog article about Mozy. LOL

Lenny Vasbinder
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/ (Rants, Raves, Opinions & Information)

FREE and automatic online remote backup of your documents, photos and files...
https://mozy.com/?ref=SY4ZSI Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy remote backup system. Mozy will back up your most important files and folders every day/night while you aren't using your computer.

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Click this link, http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/search/label/Computers, to read all of my other related articles about Computers.

You can click on the Comments link below to open the Comments section to leave your comments.

What Government Regulated Health Care Will Really Cost Americans!!!

Amended May 11 and 24, 2010 - (See below)

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http://reason.com/archives/1993/01/01/the-medicare-monster

In their 1993 article, “The Medicare Monster, A Cautionary Tale,” Reason Magazine contributing editors Steven Hayward and Erik Peterson wrote:

“The two primary lessons of Medicare are the chronic problem of woefully underestimating program costs and the impossibility of genuine cost control… At its start, in 1966, Medicare cost $3 billion. The House Ways and Means Committee estimated that Medicare would cost only about $12 billion by 1990 (a figure that included an allowance for inflation). This was supposedly a 'conservative' estimate. But in 1990 Medicare actually cost $107 billion.”

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http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/1999/Apr/wk4/art03.htm

In recent years, workers’ compensation and Medicare have taken up a greater proportion of employers’ legally-required compensation costs, while the share for unemployment insurance has declined. Unemployment insurance accounted for 21.6 percent of legally-required compensation in 1966, but only 7.9 percent in 1998. In contrast, the portion of legally-required benefits that pays for workers’ compensation rose from 17.6 percent in 1966 to 21.5 percent in 1998, and that for Medicare rose from 5.9 percent to 14.1 percent over the same period.

......................

http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Medicare/2008/8-02-04-CostOfEntitlement.htm

First, since 1960, health care costs have grown 2.7 percentage points faster per year than the economy as a whole. This growth in overall health care costs is particularly problematic for the Federal Government because it is the Nation’s largest purchaser of health care, accounting for approximately one-third of all health care spending in the country.

The Government provides health care to seniors and low-income individuals through its two largest health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid, and to veterans, active duty military, and civilian personnel through a number of other programs.

In 1966, Medicare and Medicaid accounted for only 1 percent of all Government expenditures, but now they account for 20 percent.

..........................

http://journals.lww.com/healthcaremanagerjournal/Abstract/2006/01000/Medicare_s_Operational_History_and_Impact_on.8.aspx

Medicare's Operational History and Impact on Health Care
Kulesher, Robert R. PhD

Medicare was originally designed in the 1960s to fit into the existing health care delivery system. However, the program's early years showed an inflationary impact on health care costs. Medicare was the second largest federal domestic program and the fastest growing one, making it a target for those concerned about the size of government in general. By 1980, Medicare constituted 15% of the nation's expenditures for personal health care; and Medicare's administrators recommended substantive changes in provider payments through the introduction of the prospective payment system. Prospective payment system legislation impacted hospitals initially and later skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies. As policymakers made changes in Medicare payments to providers, providers made changes in the way services were delivered. What eventually evolved, in an insidious manner, was implicit management of the nation's health care delivery system by the Medicare program.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada

Wait times
Health Canada, a federal department, publishes a series of surveys of the health care system in Canada based on Canadians first hand experience of the health care system.[41]

Although life threatening cases are dealt with immediately, some services needed are non urgent and patients are seen at the next available appointment in their local chosen facility.

The median wait time in Canada to see a special physician is a little over four weeks with 89.5% waiting less than 3 months.[41]

The median wait time for diagnostic services such as MRI and CAT scans [42] is two weeks with 86.4% waiting less than 3 months.[41]

The median wait time for surgery is four weeks with 82.2% waiting less than 3 months.[41]

Another study by the Commonwealth Fund found that 57% of Canadians reported waiting 4 weeks or more to see a specialist, broadly in line with the current official statistics; 24% of Canadians waited 4 hours or more in the emergency room.[43][44]

Dr. Brian Day was once quoted as saying "This is a country in which dogs can get a hip replacement in under a week and in which humans can wait two to three years."[45] Day gave no source for his two to three years claim. The Canadian Health Coalition has responded succinctly to Day's claims, pointing out that "access to veterinary care for animals is based on ability to pay. Dogs are put down if their owners can’t pay. Access to care should not be based on ability to pay." [46] Regional administrations of Medicare across Canada publish their own wait time data on the internet. For instance in British Columbia the wait time for a hip replacement is currently a little under ten weeks.[47] The CHC is one of many groups across Canada calling for increased provincial and federal funding for medicare and an end to provincial funding cuts as solutions to unacceptable wait times [48]. In a 2007 episode of ABC News's 20/20 titled "Sick in America," host John Stossel cited numerous examples of Canadians who did not get the health care that they needed.[49] The Fraser Institute, a conservative think tank, claims to do its own research and found that treatment time from initial referral by a GP through consultation with a specialist to final treatment, across all specialties and all procedures (emergency, non-urgent, and elective), averaged 17.7 weeks in 2005.[50][51] However, the report of the Fraser Institute, an organization advocating a "prosperous world through..markets"[52] is greatly at odds with the Canadian government's own 2007 report.[53] Canadian pysychiatrist Dr David Gratzer, who is also employed by the libertarian Cato Institute, was once asked by U.S. congressman Dennis Kucinich if he knew what the wait time for diagnostic imaging procedures such as CT scans and MRIs was across Canada. Gratzer began his reply "I can tell you what the Ontario government said it was for cancer and..." when Kucinich cut him short and gave him the true figure of 3 weeks, just as Gratzer was uttering the answer of "six months" to his preferred question.[54]

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I could compile and publish so much more but if you do not open your mind to the above facts, then all the facts in the world will not help you.

Lenny Vasbinder

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Amendment added May 11, 2010 -

To view this next email as a web page, go here.

http://www.americansolutions.com/take-action/2010/05/why-is-rep-henry-waxman-afraid-to-hold-hearings.php





Leonard -

How many times during the ObamaCare PR offensive did you hear the President say, "if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it" or "our plan will bend the cost curve?"

And time after time, critics were accused of fear-mongering. These critics pointed out that under ObamaCare, healthcare costs would increase, not decrease. They also made the simple point that to remain competitive under ObamaCare, businesses were likely to drop their health coverage and pay a fine instead of paying the additional costs.

Well, the critics are now being proven right. When several companies reported that they would have to write down millions of dollars because of ObamaCare, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) demanded public hearings and that these companies turn over internal documents. His goal: to humiliate businesses and prove that that they were misrepresenting their healthcare costs.

But then a funny thing happened. Congressman Waxman abruptly canceled his show hearings.

And now we know why.

The news media has now uncovered that these companies are not only following the law on public disclosure in taking these write downs, but the documents originally requested by Rep. Waxman show that many large companies are indeed contemplating dropping their health coverage altogether because of ObamaCare.

When this was first uncovered, we were in Greenville, South Carolina for our Real Jobs Summit. Watch the video below as Speaker Gingrich challenges Rep. Henry Waxman to come clean:



Once you watch the video, please take a moment to call Rep. Waxman, and ask him to be honest with the American people, and hold his hearings. The public has a right to know the true cost of ObamaCare.

You can call him at (202) 225-3976.

Thank you. Together, we can continue to get the truth out, and repeal ObamaCare.

Sincerely,

Vince Haley
Vice President for Policy
American Solutions

This email was sent by: American Solutions for Winning the Future
1425 K Street N.W., Washington, DC, 20005, USA

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Amended May 24, 2010 -

GOOD NEWS COULD BE COMING!!!

Investor's Business Daily published an editorial reporting that there is no severability clause in the ObamaCare law so when part of it is declared unconstitutional, the entire bill should be found unconstitutional, throwing the whole thing out. Here is their editorial...

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/534458/201005181858/Read-The-Fine-Print.aspx

Read The Fine Print
Posted 05/18/2010 06:58 PM ET


Health Care Reform: One analyst says the Democrats were amateurish in writing their overhaul bill. This might be worth more than a snicker. It could mean the courts can strike down the entire law at once.

Various parts of the Democrats' health care reform law have been held up as pieces that might not stand up to a constitutional rigor.

The individual mandate that requires those who aren't previously covered by insurance to buy a plan is the most likely place for the legal objections to begin. Another provision that is being disputed at the constitutional level is the expansion of Medicaid that forces states to increase their spending on that program.

But those are only two pieces of a legislative leviathan. Even if one or both were stricken, the bulk of the law's burden would remain.

However, Greg Scandlen, a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute, says due to a little-known legal concept the entire law would unravel if a single part was found to be outside the Constitution.

"Apparently there was no 'severability' clause written into this law, which shows how amateurish the process was," he wrote. "Virtually every bill I've ever read includes a provision that if any part of the law is ruled unconstitutional the rest of the law will remain intact. Not this one. That will likely mean that the entire law will be thrown out if a part of it is found to violate the Constitution."

No argument from us. The bill writers and lawmakers who voted for it without reading it were unprofessional.

That was obvious in the haste in which the 2,400 pages of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act were passed and signed into law. The Democrats' rush to get the bill through was a clear act of desperation that looked like the work of novices — or despots.

As history will remember, it was hurried House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who said that "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." Evidently it had to pass for her party to find out what wasn't in it, namely the shield of a severability clause.

Constitutional scholars aren't saying it's impossible, but many don't seem to have much confidence that the courts will overturn the law. Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University Law School professor, told the New York Times that if he had to make a bet, he'd put his money on the courts upholding the policy.
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I'm going to upgrade to Yahoo Messenger 10.0.542 BETA and document the success or mess here

I meant to do this blog last year but it got put on the back burner. Since this YM 10.0x BETA upgrade, YM 10.0x has been updated several times. Besides the below information, also see my other LONG Yahoo Messenger article http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-i-always-do-clean-instal-ofl-yahoo.html OR http://tinyurl.com/How-I-Always-Do-YM for more details. This is a series of emails to the Yahoo_Messenger Yahoo Group with some replies from other members of the group.

-----Original Message-----
From: LNVTM1 - Lenny Vasbinder
Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 9:24 AM
To: 'Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: I'm going to upgrade to 10.0.542 BETA and document the success or mess here ;-)

Well, the subject says it all.

On one of my older computers, I'll still have YM 8.1x, my Vista laptop will have 9.0x and my main XP computer will have 10.0x BETA, just to try it out and be able to help more folks who might be having problems with it.

In preparing my main computer, I will be uninstalling YM 8.1x, then rebooting, then I'll run CCleaner Registry Cleaner and WinASO Registry Optimizer to clean out remnants of 8.1x. Then I'll look at the Yahoo Messenger Program file to see what is left and possibly delete some things manually and I'll move a copy of my Archived Chats out of there to my desktop in case something goes wrong with the 10.0 upgrade.

Then I'll install the FULL version of YM 10.0.0.542 BETA that I downloaded from FileHippo.com, http://www.filehippo.com/download_yahoo_messenger/. I'm still not brave enough to use the installer version from Yahoo.com. LOL

I'll post later to let you all know how everything goes.

Lenny Vasbinder
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/
FREE and automatic online remote backup of your documents, photos and files... https://mozy.com/?ref=SY4ZSI Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy remote backup system. Mozy will back up your most important files and folders every day/night while you aren't using your computer.

-----Original Message-----
From: LNVTM1 - Lenny Vasbinder
Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 10:03 AM
To: 'Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: I'm going to upgrade to 10.0.542 BETA and document the success or mess here ;-)

Well... things aren't going so smoothly so far. NOT with YM 10.0 BETA but rather with trying to uninstall YM 8.1x. The uninstaller has been running for about 15 minutes and seems to be stuck or at least bogged down heavily at around the 90% uninstalled point. Task Manager is showing the UNWISE.exe process (I'm not sure that's a "wise" choice of a name for the uninstaller process...lol), is using up 70% to 95% of my CPU processing ability.

Well... I take things back... partially.

While I was typing this message, whatever was bogging down the uninstaller seems to have been fixed/uninstalled and the uninstaller finished the job although now, GLB1A2B.EXE process is using a large percentage of the CPU processing ability. This type of file name is usually a Temporary file name created when installing certain programs so I'll see how long this process is going to continue to run. It's 9:55AM CDT as I type this. I'll finish and send this email when this TEMP file stops running.

OK. It's 10:00AM CDT and the TEMP file quit running. Time for a reboot and then running the registry cleaners. I'll send another update as events occur.

Lenny Vasbinder
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/
FREE and automatic online remote backup of your documents, photos and files... https://mozy.com/?ref=SY4ZSI Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy remote backup system. Mozy will back up your most important files and folders every day/night while you aren't using your computer.


-----Original Message-----
From: LNVTM1 - Lenny Vasbinder
Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 12:47 PM
To: 'Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: I'm going to upgrade to 10.0.542 BETA and document the success or mess here ;-)

OK. The registry clean up and install went OK. I didn't see any bundled software like toolbars, etc., attempting to be added with the full version download from FileHippo. I'm not sure if Yahoo gave up on trying to push all that crap on people or what but I was glad to see I didn't have to make sure I unchecked all the junk.

I did have to go through all of my Preferences and fix many of them as the new version DID NOT remember all of my previous settings. This could be due to my cleaning out all the junk from the old version but I did leave the various .ini files and a few .dll files that I thought would save my settings. Maybe I saved the wrong ones. Another thing the new download had as default settings was adding YM to the startup processes of my computer so every time the computer starts up, YM would start up. I HATE programs that try this. I changed that setting in my Preferences and also went into MSCONFIG and made sure YM was unchecked in there also. It was no longer checked once I changed my Preferences and restarted YM.

I'm typing this now as YM 10.0 BETA just froze up on me and I had to close it using Task Manager. It was showing as (not responding) in Task Manager. It froze after I turned on my cam using the main Messenger Menu> My Webcam link... and then when I went to tweak some of the camera settings, as soon as I clicked the Settings button on the Camera window menu, it froze up. It could have been a quirk. I'll know after I try it again.

One MAJOR thing I noticed with YM 10.0 BETA is there is NOT a way to send JUST a cam invite to someone on your friends list who is not using YM 10.0 also. The previous versions had buttons for sending a cam invite or starting a voice call but this new version only has the voice call OR Video Chat which is their new supposedly SUPER video chat mode but only works when both folks have YM 10.0. However, when I signed in on one of my other computers, under a different Yahoo ID and I had my cam turned on in YM 10.0, I could request a cam view from the other computer... but I could NOT send that other ID a cam invite without requesting it from the other computer. A minor annoyance but I guess it's not a major problem. I usually am chatting with someone and mutually agree to turn on video chatting anyhow... they'll just have to ask to view my cam instead of me being able to send them an invite on my own. Although, sometimes when I'm in a chat room, I'll use a cam invite as a way of weeding out a potential bot. LOL Bots can't accept or decline a cam invite so it lets me know if the person is real without them getting my Yahoo ID for future spamming, which is what happens if you send a bot an IM.

OK. I just re-started YM and turned on my cam again.

Then I went to the Preferences for my webcam again and clicked the Camera Settings button again. This time it did NOT freeze up so the last time could have just been a quirk.

I'll report back with any other notable things.

Lenny Vasbinder
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/
FREE and automatic online remote backup of your documents, photos and files... https://mozy.com/?ref=SY4ZSI Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy remote backup system. Mozy will back up your most important files and folders every day/night while you aren't using your computer.

-----Original Message-----
From: Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com
On Behalf Of Budmaas
Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 2:18 AM
To: Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Y!M] Re: I'm going to upgrade to 10.0.542 BETA and document the success or mess here ;-)

IT IS THE BEST. Iupgraded to 10.0.542 BETA & it is working fine with win vista.

try it. thanks Yahoo messenger team & whole corporation

-----Original Message-----
From: LNVTM1 - Lenny Vasbinder
Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 12:10 PM
To: 'Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: [Y!M] Re: I'm going to upgrade to 10.0.542 BETA and document the success or mess here ;-)

Well.. I'm not so sure "It is the best". I've been finding some really good things BUT also some really bad things with it. Hopefully, the really bad things will be corrected as Yahoo continues to fix this BETA version.

Since playing with YM 10.0x BETA for the past 24 hours, here's some pros and cons...

CONS -

I am not able to send a cam invite to people as easily as I could with previous versions. There is NO regular Cam Invite button or even a menu option under Actions Menu to "View My Webcam". There is the new Video Chat button but that is grayed out for most people who are still using older versions. After a lot of experimenting, if I have my cam on, the other person can request my cam but I can't just send them an invite. That's a flaw that needs to be fixed. Further, in chat rooms, when right-clicking on a name in the list, there is an option to Invite to View Cam but in the private IM windows, that option does not exist. Obviously, it works since the other person can request a cam invite and I can even send one by right clicking on their name in a room but I can't send a cam invite by right clicking on their name in my friends list or any other way.

YM 10.0x BETA uses a LOT more system resources even when just sitting there signed in and idle. YM 8.1x used around 40,000K of Memory when it was just sitting there whereas YM 10.0x BETA uses over twice that amount... around 88,000K of Memory. This can be seen in Task Manager>Processes Tab>Mem Usage column (click on it to sort highest to lowest). So, folks with older or less powerful computers should be careful about upgrading to this version. When I first opened YM 10.0xBETA, before signing in, it was using only 30,000K, then when I signed in, it jumped up to 65,000K and even without doing anything, that number kept climbing just now and it's up to 94,000K now... even higher than when I shut it down a little while ago when it was showing 88,000K. Well, while typing this, it dropped back down to 89,000K. When I minimized the Friends List window, it did drop down to only 7,000K so that's a good thing if folks need to run other programs and need some system resources freed up... same with IE, if you minimize it, it quits using as many system resources in one of the IE processes.

PROS -

When going to a Chat Room, the CAPTCHA process DOES NOT have to open in a browser window any longer. The CAPTCHA process opens right in the Chat Room window which is a much quicker and easier way to do things and saves some system resources since it doesn't have to open a browser window each time you change rooms. It also makes changing rooms quicker and easier.

NOT SURE ABOUTS -

When I first did the Invite To My Cam to someone in a chat room (by right clicking on their name), a pop up window came up with the option to do the Video Chat, Webcam or Cancel. Stupidly, I put a check mark in the "Do Not Show This Message Again" and chose Webcam and now that message does not show up any longer. I'm not sure if this is going to affect anything or not. I guess, once IM'ing with someone else with YM 10.0x BETA, I can still do the Video Chat thing from the IM window so this shouldn't be a problem but others should be warned to NOT put that check mark in that box. Someone with a MAC and the YM for Mac version could not view my cam no matter what but I'm not sure if that was a one time issue or something that will affect how YM 10.0x BETA and YM for Mac's work for everyone. I do not know a lot of Mac users to check this out. The one person I did try with, we had to go to a Chat Room so I could Invite To View Cam from the Chat Room list since they did not have a menu option to view my cam and I couldn't send them a cam invite as previously described above. Even when I did Invite them to view my cam and they accepted, it would only open the Cam window in a grayed out screen and they could never see me. I'll have to wait to test this with other Mac users to know if this is something permanent or not.

That's it for now... I'll report back later with more info as new things become known to me.

Lenny Vasbinder
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/
FREE and automatic online remote backup of your documents, photos and files... https://mozy.com/?ref=SY4ZSI Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy remote backup system. Mozy will back up your most important files and folders every day/night while you aren't using your computer.

-----Original Message-----
From: Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com
On Behalf Of malibu.angel
Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 10:46 AM
To: Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Y!M] Re: I'm going to upgrade to 10.0.542 BETA and document the success or mess here ;-)

Thank you, Lenny. My computer is 6-7 years old and sometimes things really slow it down, did you find that at all with the new beta version?

-----Original Message-----
From: LNVTM1 - Lenny Vasbinder
Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 12:45 PM
To: 'Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: [Y!M] Re: I'm going to upgrade to 10.0.542 BETA and document the success or mess here ;-)

See my previous reply in answer to an earlier reply by another member. You might also have too much junk running on your computer which slows it down. Post your System Resources and look at your Task Manager to see how many processes you have running. I'm sure you could speed things up quite a bit... almost any computer can be speeded up rather easily if folks would get rid of some of the junk running on their puters.

Yes, 10.0x BETA uses a LOT more resources than YM 8.1x but in the interim since that last reply, I opened up 9.0x on my Vista laptop and it's using up 120,000K while just sitting there open and even when I minimized it, it was still using the same 120,000K. This could be as a result of the Vista OS instead of YM. (see below.. it was just a quirk that it was using that much.. maybe because I had a cam invite going on that computer yesterday and it might have never released the memory usage even after the cam was turned off). I'll have to check that again another time.

I'm also looking at my oldest computer.. about 10 years old with only 384MB of RAM and only a 16Gig Hard drive... to give you an idea about how old it is. LOL I have YM 8.1x running on that one and when just sitting there open, it was using around 60,000K and then when I minimized it, it dropped down to only 4,000K.

I'm restarting YM 9.0x on my Vista computer to see if the 120,000K was a quirk or not. When I first started YM on the Vista, before actually signing in, it was using 31,000K. After signing in, it started climbing to 65,000K and then settled back down at 62,000K. When I minimized it, it DID NOT use less resources and stayed at the 62,000K level. Once again, I'm not sure if this is a Vista issue or a YM 9.0x issue but at least with 10.0x BETA, it does use much less resources when minimized, just like 8.1x does. I'm not sure how 10.0x BETA will react on a Vista computer.

There's not that much of a difference between 40,000K (around 40MB of available RAM), 60,000K or 90,000K (around 90MB of available RAM) unless a machine is already running a lot of processes or has very limited system resources like on my old computer with only 384MB of RAM. I run MS-Office Outlook and have at least one IE window open at all times on that old computer and also run other programs from time to time. The only time that old computer really slows down is when one of my security programs is running a scan or when MozyHome is doing it's daily backup. I try to shut down everything else when they are running just so they'll run faster. I do have most of the other non-essential services and JUNK turned off so when I first turn that computer on, it only has 29 processes running, which includes Comodo Internet Security (3 processes), MozyHome backup (2 processes) and LogMeIn (2 processes). When I boot that computer into Safe Mode, there was only 14 processes running. To give you an idea about how my Vista computer works, it starts up with about 70 processes running.. many of them, various HP processes but since it's still under warranty, I don't want to take off all the HP junk that came installed on that computer. As soon as the warranty expires, all that HP crap is coming off. LOL

Until next report...

Lenny Vasbinder
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/
FREE and automatic online remote backup of your documents, photos and files... https://mozy.com/?ref=SY4ZSI Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy remote backup system. Mozy will back up your most important files and folders every day/night while you aren't using your computer.

-----Original Message-----
From: LNVTM1 - Lenny Vasbinder
Sent: Friday, October 16, 2009 10:56 AM
To: 'Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: [Y!M] Re: I'm going to upgrade to 10.0.542 BETA and document the success or mess here ;-)

Update on the below...

One of the CONS that I listed below was premature. There is a way to send a cam invite to friends or others that one might be chatting with. It's just that the menu option was moved. On previous versions of YM, the "Invite To View My Webcam" was listed under the main Actions Menu or you could right click on someone's name on your friends list and the option would be listed there. NOW... you have to go to the Actions Menu on an individual IM window and then under More Actions, the "Invite To View My Webcam" option is listed. When right-clicking on a friends name, then choosing "More Actions", this option to send a cam invite does not exist.

Further testing of cam invites with other versions are meeting with mixed success but this would also happen with previous versions of YM so I'm not sure that this is a result of incompatibility or just YM server issues. I haven't had any noticeable problems with PhotoShare although occasionally photos will bog down and not come through all the way (staying pixelated on the recipients end) but this also happened with previous versions of YM.

I still haven't tried the Video Chat feature (which is supposed to be like a Super-Duper Hi-Def Webcam and Audio chat session) with someone else that has YM 10.0 BETA so I'm still not sure how that is going to work out yet.

I still haven't found anyone with YM for Mac that I've been able to invite to view cam either so I'm not sure if that was only with that one friend or if it's a conflict with all YM for Mac users.

Also see my two replies to others that included additional information, besides all of the information in this thread of emails.

Lenny Vasbinder
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/
FREE and automatic online remote backup of your documents, photos and files... https://mozy.com/?ref=SY4ZSI Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy remote backup system. Mozy will back up your most important files and folders every day/night while you aren't using your computer.

-----Original Message-----
From: Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com
On Behalf Of kevin a
Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2010 2:13 AM
To: Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Y!M] Messenger ver 10

I was having constant trouble signing in to Mess v 9, so upgraded to ver 10. Have lost all the contact information - phone numbers / notes etc .. but all the contacts are there with their screen names only. Anyone explain why or help please ?

-----Original Message-----
From: LNVTM1 - Lenny Vasbinder
Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2010 2:40 AM
To: 'Yahoo_Messenger@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: [Y!M] Messenger ver 10

I think this will help you.

Go into your Preferences (from the main Messenger menu) and then click on the Appearance section. Then put a bullet in "For each contact, show: Nickname or First and Last name"... if you have the bullet in "Yahoo! ID", I think this affects things.

I remember when I upgraded from YM 9.1x to YM 10.0x, I had the same problem and thought I lost everything as well but when I changed my Preferences, it all came back.

I hope that fixes things for you as well.

All of that Contact Info is saved on Yahoo Servers so you will see it whenever you sign into YM, no matter which computer you're on so there's always a chance that Yahoo Servers are acting up but hopefully the above will fix things.

Let us know if that did the trick.

Lenny Vasbinder
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/ (Rants, Raves & Information)

FREE and automatic online remote backup of your documents, photos and files...
https://mozy.com/?ref=SY4ZSI Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy remote backup system. Mozy will back up your most important files and folders every day/night while you aren't using your computer.

----------

Click this link, http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/search/label/Yahoo%20Messenger, for more of my blogs about Yahoo Messenger and this link, http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/search/label/Computers, for all of my blogs about Computers.

Please click the Comments link below to leave a comment.

Please Ignore Boycott Calls And Keep The All-Star Game In Phoenix

Based on information and prompting from http://www.numbersusa.com/, I sent the following email to the MLB - Major League Baseball and to the MLB Players Association.


-----Original Message-----
From: LNVTM1 - Lenny Vasbinder
Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 1:47 AM
To: 'feedback@mlbpa.org', mailto:mlbexecutiverelations@website.mlb.com
Subject: Please Ignore Boycott Calls And Keep The All-Star Game In Phoenix

Please see the below points of information:

Most media reports suggest that almost everyone involved in Major League Baseball believe the Arizona law is racist. This is far from the truth. Indeed, former Puerto Rican MLB great and current Cleveland coach Sandy Alomar has said, "Certainly I am against profiling any race and having stereotypes, but at the same time my feeling is what does baseball have to do with politics? Let the politicians stay in politics and the baseball players play baseball." I agree with his question: what does baseball have to do with politics? The answer is nothing!

Arizona's immigration enforcement law is not racist because it does not target a specific race; it only targets those who have already broken the law by coming to and residing in the United States illegally. This is clearly not something Major League Baseball needs to get involved in.

Arizona's new immigration enforcement law is not racist and will help put unemployed Americans back to work -- principally Black and Hispanic Americans because these Americans have the highest unemployment rates and compete against illegal aliens for jobs.

Please do not believe the lies being spread about Arizona's immigration enforcement law. Anti-American worker, pro-illegal alien activists are using race-baiting scare tactics to bully people into avoiding Arizona. Please do not join that list and do not support moving the 2011 All-Star game from Phoenix

More than two-thirds of the American people support the Arizona immigration enforcement law and most of these Americans are fans of Major League Baseball. If the 2011 All-Star game is moved away from Phoenix, it would set a dangerous precedent. Sport is supposed to rise above petty partisan politics. Please don't give in to the small group of vocal, lying pro-illegal alien, anti-American worker activists!

If Major League Baseball decides to boycott Arizona, I and millions more Americans will boycott Major League Baseball. We want nothing to do with an organization that would work to subvert the rule of law and the wishes of the American people.

Sincerely,

Lenny Vasbinder
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/

Not Racist, Not Violent, Just No Longer Silent!!!

The title line says it all for most folks. Of course, I haven't been silent for the past 30 years. I'm also not violent although, in some of my writings, I've used Rush Limbaugh's "Illustrating absurdity by being absurd" writing style which might make me appear violent at times... like one of my recent blogs about dreaming that one of our enemies might NUKE the Washington, D.C. beltway to get rid of all the lying, thieving politicians in one fell swoop so we will be forced to start over with a wholesale change in Washington, D.C., since we voters haven't been able to effect any real change in the past 80 years since our great country started spinning out of control with BIG government and the waste that comes with it.

Not racist, not violent, just no longer silent!!!!

Thanks Glenn Beck!!! I'm not sure if he came up with the slogan but I heard it from him so I have to thank him!

Barack's BULLSHIT Bingo!!!

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR FULL SIZE PRINTABLE IMAGE

Rules for Bullshit Bingo

1. Before Barrack Obama's next televised speech, print your "Bullshit Bingo".

2. Check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words/phrases.

3. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, stand up and shout, "BULLSHIT!"


Testimonials from past satisfied "Bullshit Bingo" players:

"I had been listening to the speech for only five minutes when I won." - Jack W., Boston

"My attention span during speeches has improved dramatically." - David D., Florida

"What a gas! Speeches will never be the same for me after my first win." - Bill R., New York City

"The atmosphere was tense in the last speech as 14 of us waited for the fifth box." - Ben G., Denver

"The speaker was stunned as eight of us screamed "BULLSHIT!" for the third time in two hours." - Mike, Burlington, Co

You can also go to BullshitBingo.net and play online. Refreshing the page will bring up a different card with different catch phrases on the Bingo cards.

-----------


Click this link, http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/search/label/Jokes, for more of my "Jokes" blogs or the Jokes - Political link under the Labels sectioin on the left side.


You can click on the Comments link below to open the Comments section to leave your comments. I invite them and will answer most.

Lenny Vasbinder For President (My First Nomination Back In 2002, Thanks To Dennis Hirstius)

NOTE - This is a re-post from an old GeoCities website since Yahoo shut down GeoCities and for some reason, this page did not get archived by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. The original URL was http://www.GeoCities.com/LennyVasbinderForPresident.

Lenny Vasbinder for President!!!!

Congratulations Lenny! You beat me to the punch. When I read the insulting post that Mr. Brown wrote I was livid. He must think we all just fell off the turnip truck.

After I read the post I saved it because I didn't want to respond in the heated mood I was in. I'm sick and tired of being thought of as "stupid" (quoting Charlene Mora when referring to licensees) by this group.

My message to the board is.... You can screw us but we don't have to like it! It's my estimation that the ones that are lacking in intelligence are the ones that take themselves seriously enough to believe that they are necessary and doing the public a service. Give me a break!

Mr. Brown's letter was quite eloquent. It was one of the finest examples of rhetorical nepotism I've ever read!

Jim....can I call you Jim? I aint buying.

Dennis Hirstius

From the Co-Moderator [of P-I Talk Yahoo Group]: And Steve Divine as Vice President!

On that political ticket we would begin to see the end to the [LA P.I.] Board's misteatment of us, their walking ATM's....... thanks for your post!

--------------

HERE IS HOW IT ALL STARTED:

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 12:20:00 -0600
From: "Jim Brown"
Subject: Response from JIM BROWN

I put forth a concerted effort to read every posting that goes on the PI-Talk site. Some postings are informative; some are thought-provoking and some are so very unprofessional. I suppose it gives the authors a chance to vent their frustrations and to be heard by their peers.

I take personal exception to a recent posting whereas the author stated emphatically that the Board office was simply another bureaucratic governmental entity that was poorly run. I challenge any reader to find another governmental office that has gone through 3 consecutive audits conducted or sanctioned by the Louisiana Legislative Auditors and that has had absolutely NO exceptions reported. That is 6 years of conducting and doing business as it should be done. I could go on and on and give many positive examples as to how the Board office conducts business. I have an idea that most private investigators already know this, so, I will not bore the readers with any further information in this regard.

I was not here when the Private Investigator Statute was enacted by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Edwards. I cannot speak with any intelligence or facts as to why the statute was created. BUT!!!! The law is on the books and I am convinced that the law was created so that the citizens of Louisiana could/would be protected from unscrupulous and unethical men and women working as private investigators.

The industry, in my opinion, needs oversight by someone so that action can be taken against those that choose to fleece and bilk the public out of their hard-earned money. Does this mean that ALL private investigators are dishonest, unscrupulous, unethical or otherwise bad people? NO, indeed.........absolutely not....BUT!!! there are those among you that are and they give people in YOUR industry a bad name. This is where the Board and Board office plays a vital role in making certain that those "bad" people in the industry are made to play by the rules and conduct themselves as professionals.

There are, as I write this, a total of 44 states, including the District of Columbia, that regulates the private investigator industry. That means that only 7 states do not regulate private investigators, statewide. I believe some are regulated in cities and counties rather than by the state.

In those 44 states, the regulating authority, by statute, charges fees to become licensed and a fees to renew that license. Please be assured that some states charge higher fees and some charge lower fees. It is my belief that Louisiana falls somewhere in the middle.

Those fees that are charged by the various and sundry states are used by the regulating authority to conduct their business. All private investigators, regardless of the state in which they reside and work, pay those fees so that they have the right, authority and privilege of working as a private investigator. You pay a fee for a drivers license, a marriage license, a concealed weapons permit, a hunting license and various and sundry other licensing fees so that you may participate. YOU have the choice and the right NOT to participate.

Much to the surprise of some of you, those fees become a part of the regulating authority and no longer belong to you. I know that some of you become disgruntled has to how those fees are spent. Understood!!! Please be advised that the Board was not created for YOU, the private investigator and is not here to assist you, help you or otherwise support you. Brutal but honest!!!!

Some of you have been going on and on about the situation in New Orleans and the fact that if you reside and work in Orleans Parish, you are required to be licensed there, TOO. I may be wrong, but it is my belief that if you reside and work as a private investigator in Orleans Parish, it is a requirement that you must get a Parish Occupational License, NOT a private investigators license. Please keep in mind that New Orleans is under a Home Rule Charter and has the right and authority to do what they do in this regard. NOW!!! It is not a Board responsibility or duty to get into a long, drawn-out legal fight with New Orleans on the behalf of private investigators. Can you just imagine what that would cost???. Perhaps the three or four professional private investigator organizations operating within the state could address this issue with the authorities in Orleans Parish. Regardless of your opinions or thoughts in this matter, it is simply not a function of the Board.

It is also NOT a function of the Board to order or tell a police agency how they should conduct their business. If the police authority or agency has a reporting policy for private investigators when working within that jurisdiction, it seems to me that you will just have to comply or take the necessary steps to change that UNWRITTEN policy. NOT a Board function simply because you think it is.

There is an ample supply of postings about the amount of money that the Board has on deposit. Perhaps I can address some of your questions, concerns and consternation. The Board, to my understanding, at one time was conducting business with an extreme low fund balance. When I reported to work in September 1997, the Board had about $85,000.00 in a checking account. Fairly soon after that, the fund balance began to creep up and up. On demand and authority of the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, the Board was under an obligation to place some funds in an interest-bearing account, which we did. There are many reasons why the fund balance reached the amounts that it did. Those can be explained BUT not in this format.

If you are one of those people that is paying attention to the Board's budget, you will surely take notice that the fund is slowly going down. There are many reasons for this BUT will not be explained in this format. If you will simply have patience, your wish will certainly come true and the Board's funds will quickly go down. A slush fund......????? Give me a break...No Board money can be spent, ILLEGALLY. A. Edward Hardin, Board Chairman and Financial Officer for the Board, pays extreme close attention, as I do, as to how the funds are expended. Needless to say, someone is watching and the Louisiana Legislative Auditor also watches. I wonder where all the complainers were when the Board had NO money and I wonder if they will complain when the money is all gone???. What is a happy medium??? What will make the complainers happy??? Please don't get me wrong..I know where you are coming from when you see funds expended for reasons that seems ludicrous. Bottom Line.....a concerted effort is made to make certain that this business is operated in a professional and ethical manner.

You may be interested to know that NOT one complainer and griper has made an effort to walk into the Board office and to sit down, one-on one and discuss the issues that seem so irritating to many people. I tend to believe that I could make a difference in some negative attitudes. Give it a try. Perhaps some want to continue "raising cane" and using this format to instigate those that are easily instigated.

You may be interested in knowing that the Board office receives very very few complaints concerning UNLICENSED activity. I tend to believe that we have made an impact in this regard. NO, I do not believe it is nonexistent. I believe is less prevalent that it was. You may also be interested in knowing that the Board office aggressively investigates all complaints received from citizens concerning activity by licensed and unlicensed investigators.

There is posting after posting complaining about the Board's travel habits. The Board considers and approves all Board travel, including mine. A majority of my official travel is attending the conference held twice a year by the International Association of Security and Investigative Regulators. Starting in 2003 only one confernce will be held. Through the Board's membership in IASIR, we have signed eight LIMITED reciprocity agreements and two FULL reciprocity agreements. Other good things have come as a result of the Board's membership in IASIR. Please keep in mind, ALL Board travel is closely scrutinized by the State Auditors.

I am SO aware that this posting will not stop the complainers. I am simply making an attempt to educate some of the readers and to invite those people who have questions to make an effort to find the answers.

I will say this: Be extremely careful what you ask for and make absolutely certain that you actually want what you are seeking. Asking to abolish the Board and the PI Statute has extreme ramifications. There is a professional way to proceed and there is an unprofessional and unethical way to get things done.

A large majority of the 1468 licensed private investigators in Louisiana are very nice, professional and ethical people. At least, the ones I personally know are in that category.

I personally wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and a wonderful and prosperous 2003. Working and pulling together, in the same direction, makes the task so much easier to attain. Take a close look at and around you and see if you "own" some of the things that are wrong within your industry. Kind words tend to go a long way. Vicious attacks are supported by very very few of your comrades.

Jim Brown
Executive Director
Louisiana State Board of Private Investigator Examiners


AND NOW... LENNY VASBINDER'S PARAGRAPH BY PARAGRAPH REPLY TO JIM BROWN.

Dear Jim Brown and PI-Talk,

I am sure most of you, just like me are glad to hear that Jim Brown does indeed read and consider our complaints and concerns about the Board. I don't think that most of us ever actually complained about Jim or his staff. In fact, when it came to "our" attention that some Board Members were trying to oust him, we wrote vigilantly in his favor. It is a shame that he had to throw himself on the sword on behalf of the spineless Board Members. It is the Board Members who ignore our complaints and concerns and waste so much of our money. I am not sure if the actual Board Office is cost effective and efficient, but I do know that for hundreds of years prior to 1993, we did not have to fund another Government office that does not care what the people that fund it think. Jim made it clear several times that his office is there to serve the public, not the P.I.'s, yet it is the P.I.'s that pay the bills! Just another of the typical things that Government does WRONG compared to the private sector.

AFTER ANALYZING HIS COMMENTS AND ATTITUDE, I BECAME MORE AND MORE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM. I will discuss his comments paragraph by paragraph.

Paragraph One - His comment about giving us a chance to "vent" is typical. If the Board had let P.I.'s "vent" in what were supposed to be open meetings, we would not have had to resort to forming forums like this. Our being able to "vent" is one of the big reasons that PI-Talk was formed. Government offices just don't get it!

Paragraph Two - Just because a Government office makes it through an audit is not something to be congratulated.. it is expected! When a Government office does things to lower its costs and reduce the fees/taxes that it charges.. that is to be congratulated! That has not happened in the ten years that the P.I. Board has been around. Suzanne Haik Terrell is one of the few "Politicians" or Government Offices that has actually done this task.

Paragraph Three - He talks of the "unscrupulous and unethical men and women working as private investigators." yet never mentions the "unscrupulous and unethical Board members". There are only seven Board Members and several of them have been indicted and/or sued for their behavior. There are thousands of P.I.'s and I bet as a percentage, our indictment/lawsuit rate is far lower! The reason the Board was formed is the same as so many other "Public Safety Laws"... painted as a picture to protect the Public but then merely used for Revenue Enhancement and Political Appointments in the years and decades following.

Paragraph Four - Of course he feels the industry needs oversight. He would not have his job if he did not feel that way. There were and still are hundreds of laws on the books in every City and Parish that already protected the citizens from someone who tried to "bilk" them out of their "hard earned money". Too bad he does not care about OUR "hard earned money" and how we have been "bilked" also. He complains about the "few" in our industry that give "us" a bad name. I wonder if he ever looks in the mirror of his "industry" (Government) to see how many in his "industry" give them a far worse name! I WILL PUT "OUR" INDUSTRY'S RECORD AGAINST HIS ANY DAY!

Paragraph Five - Unfortunately, State Governments around this great country saw "our" industry as a way of "Revenue Enhancement" which led 44 of them to dipping into our pockets. Fortunately, there are still 7 states that have let their P.I.'s keep "their" money!

Paragraph Six - That is another typical Government attitude. Instead of trying to have the lowest fees/taxes, they are happy with themselves to ride somewhere "in the middle".

Paragraph Seven - All of those "Licenses" that he seems to hold in high regard are just some more of the "Revenue Enhancements" that Government started under the guise of "Public Safety". He did not mention the "Brake Tag/Inspection Sticker" which is one of the worse. I pay my $10.00 a year and haven't had an actual "Inspection" in so long, I don't know what one would actually look like. Same as "Mandatory Insurance" which he does not mention.. started under our MANY CONVICTED INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS.. the latest being Jim Brown (no relation to "our" Jim Brown, of course!). Our Insurance rates are still higher than any other Southern State of similar socio-economic conditions and much higher than the States without "Mandatory Insurance", yet the States without "Mandatory Insurance" actually have a higher percentage of their drivers insured because their rates are almost half of Louisiana's rates. Thank God, "our" Jim Brown says we have the "choice" to keep our jobs as long as we pay the extorted fees/taxes to the Board. I guess he forgot about the two hundred years that we were able to have our jobs without having to pay these extorted fees/taxes. Typical Government attitude. They think it is their good graces that allow us to live, rather than recognizing that they are actually inhibiting our rights to live. Just like with taxes.. it is OUR money, NOT YOURS!

Paragraph Eight - Just another typical Government attitude! HE THINKS IT IS NOT OUR MONEY. IT IS NOW THEIR'S AND THERE ISN'T ANYTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT. "BRUTAL BUT HONEST!!!"

Paragraph Nine - Not only is he completely unaware of the "situation in New Orleans", he has the gall to say "Can you just imagine what that would cost???" as if that would be a waste of "our" money. At least that would be using "our" money to make things better for us, rather than worse! New Orleans is so messed up as far as P.I.'s are concerned that it is actually illegal, in some opinions, for a Metairie P.I. to work in New Orleans without a Occupational License and P.I. License from New Orleans. The problem with that is you cannot get an Occupational License without having an office there. I had to "beat" that system for years until the City finally gave up trying to get my money. I did end up establishing an "shell office" in New Orleans and got an Occupational License for $50.00 just so certain Police Agencies would not give me grief. I just got an Occupational License in my business name for "Court Run Service" and whoever decided to check my occupational license could not tell what it was actually for. LOL! The last time I checked with City Hall, P.I.'s were required to get a separate license, undergo a background check and get bonded. Another $500.00 plus in costs that the City is trying to extort from us, of course, in the guise of "Public Safety".

Paragraph Ten - Another typical Government attitude. "That's not my job!"

Paragraph Eleven - He talks about only having "$85,000.00" of "our" money in excess funds, yet Eddie and Steve have regularly stated that they have around $250,000.00 in excess funds. I tend to believe Eddie and Steve in this conflict. Of course, he says the "$85,000.00" was in 1997, which means that he could be agreeing and acknowledging that "we" have been overcharged another $165,000.00 in the past five years. Over $25,000.00 a year, yet when they wanted to cut something back, they cut back the "free" (not really since we already paid for it) Continuing Education Classes which cost "us" $10,000.00 a year (only $25.00 per investigator that utilized that service).

Paragraph Twelve - When did the Board have "NO money". I remember paying my $300.00 or more in 1992 to get my Agency License. Except for Board Actions which may have wasted "our" money in the beginning even worse than today, I don't remember the Board having "No money". Throughout the previous paragraphs and again here he says "...BUT will not be explained in this format." WHY NOT???? And if not here, WHERE???? He then alludes "... that this business is operated in a professional and ethical manner." but a real business does not take money from one person and then tell them it is going to be used for someone else and there is nothing you can do about it. That is a Government attitude!

Paragraph Thirteen - You are right that I am not going to drive to Baton Rouge to complain. My attitude about the worth of this Board, and so many other useless Government Offices, has been made abundantly clear in my postings. I don't think wasting your or my time would really change anything. We are obviously diametrically opposite in our beliefs about what this Government Office actually does.

Paragraph Fourteen - You are right about not receiving very many complaints about unlicensed investigators. I would never tell on the ones I know of and belive me... there are many out there. And the majority of the rest of the public does not even know that P.I.'s are licensed. In the nine years that I carried my "$200.00 plastic coated Dick" as I jokingly referred to my license, I never once had anyone ask me for it. Not in all of my depositions or Court Appearances either. As long as you do a good job, the overwhelming majority of the people do not bother to ask.

Paragraph Fifteen - Of course the Board considers and approves all Board travel... talk about the Fox guarding the Henhouse. Most of the Board Members are too spineless to challenge each other. We were fortunate for Charlene Mora's inadvertent post to PI-Talk where she and other Board Members were pre-determining how money would be spent. Do you really think they would not do the same for Board Travel???? And are you actually proud that in TEN YEARS, the Board has only been able to get into 10 of the 44 States that are Licensed??? If Mississippi had P.I. Laws, the Board would only have a 33% success rate with our bordering states, and then only with Arkansas which is good for the northernmost P.I.'s in the State, but what about all along the Western edge.. Ten years later and still no limited or full reciprocity agreement with Texas. How many tens, or hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on this 33% success rate with neighboring States and 23% success rate with the rest of the country??? And I still say that prior to all of your beloved Boards all over the country, P.I.'s were able to go into all 50 states. 100% reciprocity without Boards... 23-33% with Boards... HMMMMMMMMM.

Paragraph Sixteen - You are right! You merely gave us additional information which legitimizes our complaints. I know you mean well, but you are fighting for the wrong side.

Paragraph Seventeen - I would much rather go back to where all 50 States were open for us to do business, rather than 23-33% of them.

Paragraph Eighteen - So now the majority are very nice, professional and ethical. It took you Eighteen paragraphs to finally say what should have been the focus of your post. Well, I'm sure I don't fall into that category... in your opinion. And I won't lose a bit of sleep because of it!

Paragraph Nineteen - MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND ALL THE OTHER POSTERS AND READERS OF PI-TALK. THERE ARE MY KIND WORDS. LET'S SEE HOW FAR THEY GO WITH THE BOARD. BUT REMEMBER, FOR EVERY COMPLAINT YOU READ ABOUT HERE, THERE ARE TEN TIMES AS MANY THAT DO NOT VOICE THEIR COMPLAINTS. I KNOW THAT FROM THE MANY PRIVATE E-MAIL "DITTO'S" THAT I GET.

Once again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Lenny Vasbinder, P.I.
LNVPI@hotmail.com
http://www.GeoCities.com/LennyVasbinderPI

P.S. - Jim Brown's post and my reply were sent via e-mail to Governor Foster through his e-mail service on his website. I know PI-Talk cannot be programmed to do this but maybe Eddie or Steve can do this manually so that the Governor will continually get our complaints. Here is the URL for his e-mail service. Unfortunately, he does not have a regular e-mail address that I've been able to find so you have to cut and paste baby! http://www.gov.state.la.us/gov_email.html

The TRUTH About ObamaCare That You Won't Find In The Lame-Stream Media

From: National Center for Policy Analysis

Dear Policy Patriots,

With every week that passes, we learn more about ObamaCare and it just gets worse. The recent report on the practical effects of ObamaCare from the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is devastating.

Here are the salient findings of this report:

* Health care costs will go up, not down. National health expenditures will increase from 17 percent of GDP now to 21 percent under the new law and will be higher than without the legislation. Net federal spending on health care will also increase.

* Health care shortages are "plausible and even probable." Because of the increased demand for health care, "supply constraints might initially interfere with providing the services desired by the additional 34 million insured persons."

* 14 million employees will lose their employer coverage. Employees of small firms are especially at risk (despite small employer tax credit subsidies).

* 2 million employees who lose coverage will have to enroll in Medicaid.

* A Medicaid insurance card is not a guarantee of care. An estimated 18 million people will be added to Medicaid. However, because there is no corresponding increase in the supply of caregivers, "it is reasonable to expect that a significant portion of the increased demand for Medicaid would be difficult to meet, particularly over the first few years."

* One in ten insured workers will see their health benefits taxed. By 2019, more than 10% of insured workers will "be in employer plans with benefit values in excess of the thresholds (before changes to reduce benefits) and this percentage would increase rapidly thereafter."

* Higher taxes will lead to higher premiums. The new taxes on medical devices, prescription drugs, and insurance plans "would generally be passed on through to health consumers in the form of higher drug and device prices and higher insurance premiums."

* There are more than one-half trillion in Medicare cuts. The new health law cuts "$575 billion" from Medicare.

* Medicare cuts would threaten almost one in every seven hospitals. About "15 percent of Part A providers would become unprofitable within the 10-year projection period."

* Overall access to care for seniors would go down. Because of the law's payment reductions, "providers for whom Medicare constitutes a substantive portion of their business could find it difficult to remain profitable and, absent legislative intervention, might end their participation in the program.

* 7.4 million people will lose access to Medicare Advantage plans. Enrollment in MA plans will be cut in half (from its projected level of 14.8 million under the current law to 7.4 million under the new law).

* False advertising: The new "Medicare Tax" doesn't go to Medicare. "Despite the title of this tax, this provision is unrelated to Medicare; in particular, the revenues generated by the tax on unearned income are not allocated to the Medicare trust funds."

* False advertising: Budgetary double-counting does not improve Medicare's solvency. Medicare cuts "cannot be simultaneously used to finance other federal outlays (such as the coverage expansions) and to extend the [life of the Medicare] trust fund, despite the appearance of this result from the respective accounting conventions."

* The new long-term care insurance plan (CLASS Act) is unsound. The program faces "a significant risk of failure" because the high costs will attract sicker people and lead to low participation.

* The promise to those with pre-existing conditions is unfunded. "By 2011 and 2012 the initial $5 billion in Federal funding for [high risk pools] would be exhausted, resulting in substantial premium increases to sustain the program."

* The law does almost nothing to limit actual fraud and abuse. The fraud provisions in the law will save only about two percent of $47 billion in suspect claims.

The National Center for Policy Analysis is committed to leading the fight against ObamaCare and in favor of patient-centered health policy reforms. Our policy solutions are only possible with your support. Please consider donating to the National Center for Policy Analysis. You can donate online or mail a check to:

National Center for Policy Analysis
P.O. Box 650098
Dallas, Texas 75265-0098

Thanks for your continued support!

Jeanette Nordstrom
National Center for Policy Analysis

Quite Contrary Mary: The Arrogance Of Louisiana's U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu

This email has been going viral on the net for the past week. I got it on the first day that it started circulating but I wanted to verify the information so I contacted the author of the original email and Mr. Greg Hamer replied that indeed, the content of the email was accurate.

I have also forwarded this email to ALL of my politicians using the FREE and easy to use Tea Party Citizen Action Center.

So... here it is folks!!!

From: Greg Hamer

Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 5:34 PM

To: All Employees

Subject: FW: Read it and show it to your kids.

It matters not if you are liberal or conservative… We all had better start to pay attention to this lesson.

I was in Washington DC yesterday. With 20 other restaurateurs we visited with the Louisiana congressional delegation. We had an enlightening talk with United States Senator Mary Landrieu, if you’re interested in what a member of the Democratic leadership of the Senate had to say to her constituents, then read on.

Talking directly to me because of a question I asked her, concerning the fact that we will be forced to shrink our workforce and lay off several hundred employees if Obamacare takes effect she put me in my place. She said the following:

· We are paying for your employees health insurance now, if you cannot stay in business and pay for them, then we will just continue to pay for them after you are out of business. I think she really believes she is paying for it…she forgets that we…you and I are paying for it.

· We believe people need insurance more than jobs. I seriously doubt the folks I will have to terminate will agree with that, especially since I pointed out to her that many employees in hospitality are otherwise unemployable since they are unskilled and their alternative is welfare.

· The law does not differentiate between companies in industries with single digit profit margins like hospitality and industries with much higher profit margins... you have to learn to deal with it.

· If you don’t like the bills we are passing then elect others.

· The bill is law, I do not want to discuss it, deal with it.

As God be my witness that is what she told us… of course I am not quoting her, we were all in too much shock to remember her exact words. But this is from a Senator with 5 more years in office, and the arrogance was unbelievable.

Everyone is for Health Reform, but if the cost is putting hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work, surely we can find a better way. Everyone is for helping our environment, but if the cost is putting hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work, surely we can find a better way. If you believe the cost being forced on businesses by our current regime in power is not going to be passed on to the consumers--- and that is you and I--- then you need to stop and take another look.

When government action causes the things I buy to go up, they may not call it increasing taxes…but the effect is just the same.

I hope you will find the item below informative…because you had better believe that is where the Democratic Party is trying to take us. And if you believe as I believe that what they are doing is going against what America stands for, then you have one final chance to stop this madness and it comes in November. Go out and vote for a Conservative so they can first STOP the madness and then begin to curb it.


Greg

And now my email to Mr. Greg Hamer and his reply...

-----Original Message-----

From: LNVTM1-Lenny Vasbinder

Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 8:58 AM

To: Greg Hamer

Subject: FW: A note from Greg Hamer on visit to Mary Landrieu in D.C.

Mr. Greg Hamer,

I got the below email as part of a Yahoo Group and while this email should not have been forwarded to the particular group since it is way off topic, since I live in the metro New Orleans area and I am stuck with Quite Contrary Mary, I would like to verify if this is true or not. You may not have intended for your email to potentially go viral on the net but it seems to be out there and forwarded to LOTS of people. I do not forward or publish things on my blog without checking them out first so I wanted to drop you this short email.

Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/

----------------------------

From: Greg Hamer [mailto:ghamer@bgfood.com]

Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 11:39 PM

To: LNVTM1-Lenny Vasbinder

Subject: RE: A note from Greg Hamer on visit to Mary Landrieu in D.C.

I thank you for verifying the message. I have attached the original message I sent to my employees after our visit with the Senator. I have no idea how this thing took off as it has. I send a lot of messages to my employees, I have never known one to take off like this.


Greg

---------------

I will be adding any replies that I receive from my *esteemed* (cough, cough) politicians.

Here is the confirmation email from the Tea Party Citizen Action Center

-----Original Message-----
From: donotreply@votervoice.net [mailto:donotreply@votervoice.net]
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2010 12:21 PM
To: Leonard Vasbinder
Subject: Confirmation of: Quite Contrary Mary: The Arrogance Of Louisiana's U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu

***Please do not reply to this email--this confirmation simply lets you know that your message was sent.***

Leonard Vasbinder:

Your message has been sent to the following recipients:

* President Barack Obama
* Vice President Joe Biden
* Senator Mary Landrieu
* Senator David Vitter
* Representative Steve Scalise
* Governor Bobby Jindal
* Lt. Governor Mitchell Landrieu
* Secretary of State Jay Dardenne
* Attorney General Buddy Caldwell
* Senator Conrad Appel
* Representative Kirk Talbot


The content of your message is as follows:

Dear [The message(s) you sent had each recipient's name here]:

CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN THE ARROGANCE OF SENATOR MARY LANDRIEU???? THE FOLLOWING EMAIL IS SELF EXPLANATORY AND I HAVE VERIFIED THIS EMAIL TO BE ACCURATE AND NOT AN INTERNET HOAX!!!

From: Greg Hamer

Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 5:34 PM

To: All Employees

Subject: FW: Read it and show it to your kids.

It matters not if you are liberal or conservative... We all had better start to pay attention to this lesson.

I was in Washington DC yesterday. With 20 other restaurateurs we visited with the Louisiana congressional delegation. We had an enlightening talk with United States Senator Mary Landrieu, if you're interested in what a member of the Democratic leadership of the Senate had to say to her constituents, then read on.

Talking directly to me because of a question I asked her, concerning the fact that we will be forced to shrink our workforce and lay off several hundred employees if Obamacare takes effect she put me in my place. She said the following:

- We are paying for your employees health insurance now, if you cannot stay in business and pay for them, then we will just continue to pay for them after you are out of business. I think she really believes she is paying for it...she forgets that we...you and I are paying for it.

- We believe people need insurance more than jobs. I seriously doubt the folks I will have to terminate will agree with that, especially since I pointed out to her that many employees in hospitality are otherwise unemployable since they are unskilled and their alternative is welfare.

- The law does not differentiate between companies in industries with single digit profit margins like hospitality and industries with much higher profit margins... you have to learn to deal with it.

- If you don't like the bills we are passing then elect others.

- The bill is law, I do not want to discuss it, deal with it.

As God be my witness that is what she told us... of course I am not quoting her, we were all in too much shock to remember her exact words. But this is from a Senator with 5 more years in office, and the arrogance was unbelievable.

Everyone is for Health Reform, but if the cost is putting hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work, surely we can find a better way....

(continued at blog - http://LennyVasbinder.blogspot.com which also includes verification and confirmation emails between Mr. Greg Hamer and I.)

Sincerely,

Leonard Vasbinder

-------------------

It took a while but I finally got a reply from Quite Contrary Mary... I couldn't include the attachment that was sent along with the reply email but I did create three images, of the three page PDF file, which I've embedded at the bottom of this blog post.

-----Original Message-----

From: Bruckner, Caroline (SBC) [mailto:Caroline_Bruckner@sbc.senate.gov]
Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 6:11 PM
To: lnvtm1@gmail.com
Subject:

Hello. I thought you may be interested to read Senator Landrieu’s letter to the Louisiana Restaurant Association and a news release from the National Restaurant Association thanking the Senator for her leadership on small businesses issues during the health care debate.

You may also be interested to read the Times-Picayune story on the Senator’s recent meeting with the Louisiana Restaurant Association. http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/04/sen_mary_landrieu_stands_firm.html . This passage, including the quote from Louisiana Restaurant Association President, Jim Funk, is particularly insightful:

The focus of the conversation with the restaurant owners, and of Landrieu's efforts in the crafting of the health care bill, was on the impact on small businesses. Landrieu chairs the Senate Small Business Committee, and Louisiana Restaurant Association President Jim Funk gave her credit for improving the bill -- "the senator was very helpful in making it not as difficult for us" -- even though the association, like its national parent organization, opposed passage.

Funk said he left the meeting delighted by word from Landrieu that she felt that the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as "card check," which is backed by labor unions to facilitate organizing efforts, was not going anywhere this Congress and "she hasn't signed on as a co-sponsor. We were very, very pleased."

All in all, Funk said, "it was a good meeting -- a good, open, frank conversation."

Please pass this correspondence along to anyone who may be interested.

Kind regards,

Caroline Bruckner
Counsel
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
United States Senate
Sen. Mary Landrieu, Chair
428A Russell Senate Office
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202.224.5175
Email: Caroline_Bruckner@sbc.senate.gov

---------------

My reply to Sen. Landrieu's office...

-----Original Message-----
From: LNVTM1 - Lenny Vasbinder [mailto:lnvtm1@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 7:25 PM
To: 'Bruckner, Caroline (SBC)'
Subject: RE:

Ummmm... you can try to spin this any way you want but I have personally been in touch with Mr. Greg Hamer and I believe him over a lying assed politician any day. Here's my blog article on the subject.

http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/2010/04/quite-contrary-mary-arrogance-of.html

The Landrieu's have been a political hack machine family for WAY TOO LONG in Louisiana and it's time to put them out to pasture. Unfortunately, New Orleans didn't have a NOTA (NONE OF THE ABOVE) choice on the Mayoral election or Mitch wouldn't have won that either.

I only wish that Quite Contrary Mary was up for re-election in November so we could vote her Obama-ass-kissing ass out of office sooner.

At least she'll be off the public teat in five years!!!!

I'm glad you gave me the heads up about them two associations that back her. I'll make sure that any restaurants I go to are not members... and if they are, the owner will hear about where their association dues are going... into Mary's pocket... or maybe her freezer???

Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com/

---------------

YOU CAN CLICK ON THE BELOW IMAGES TO SEE THEM LARGER AND AT A READABLE SIZE