Pandora's Box Is Wide Open

This country is in trouble.  I don’t think I need to enumerate all the ways in which we are in trouble. One only needs to turn on the news or read a paper… Does anyone do that anymore?  Or perhaps, that alone is part of the problem.

I woke up this morning and as usual, checked my email, then glanced through the headlines and checked the “newsfeed” on Facebook.  That’s when it hit me….

We are supposed to be the most advanced, wealthiest, and best educated nation on earth. But we aren’t.

We have become a nation of gibberish speaking, fun seeking, ill informed, under educated “social networkers”.  And that seems to be ALL we want to be.

We no longer look to credible news sources, field experts and intellectuals for our news reports and commentary, we look instead to the “newsfeed” on Facebook.  Therein lies the crux of so many of our societal ills.

One article in today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer discusses the current gang related homicide epidemic on Cleveland streets. Local law enforcement suggests that the proliferation of social media has changed the way gangs communicate. Allowing for quick assembly of “posse’s, flash distribution of photos and addresses of court witnesses, and intimidation of those victims and witnesses.

Two days ago, a video emerged on network television of a group of young women at a major league baseball game at which, a game winning play had just taken place. This group of approximately 10 sorority girls were caught on video so caught up in texting and tweeting, that not one of them even noticed the excitement taking place in the stadium they had paid to enter!

How often have you sat in a restaurant and watched people around you who are so busy texting that they are not event speaking to their dining companions? Or perhaps, you were one of those persons?  Have you ever been rear-ended or side swiped by another driver because they were texting, tweeting, reading email rather than concentrating on their driving?

As much as I love my iPhone, I have to say that I have come to the conclusion that much of what is wrong with America today is the proliferation of smart devices and social media.

The combination of the two has served to do the following;

1)    Removed “intimacy” between friends by becoming a constant “companion” or attraction that diverts attention away from real human interaction.

2)    Confused the general population as what “news” really is, to the point that the social commentary and posts of any individual; educated or uneducated, is now called a “newsfeed” on social media sites.   Setting aside the myriad of cat photos and cartoons, is anything posted on social media really a “news” item? or for the most part aren’t  these posts opinion?  Not expert opinion, but knee jerk, uneducated, uninformed opinion. 

3)    Sound bytes, video clips and doctored images, without benefit of full story revelation have become the norm by which public opinion is being formed. 

4)    Rapid dissemination of false doctrine, inaccurate facts, twisted statistics, all launched by individuals with specific agendas has taken place of well founded and researched information. And while well founded and researched information is being formulated  by a few reliable news sources, the immediacy of social networking has already caused a firestorm of misinformation to lead groups of people into believing and repeating nonsense and the truth is buried under a pile of trash.

5)    “Smart Devices” have created an entire new realm of possibilities for identity theft, fraud, intimidation, and blackmail.

6)    Not only have smart devices introduced pornography and graphic video violence to a new generation at a much younger age, but has made it possible and even fashionable for many of these same young people to join the parade through “sexting” and video shorts posted to sites specifically designed to promote such activity.

Technology cannot be and should not be stopped or reversed.  We must however learn how to harness the positive aspects of our discoveries and inventions and control the adverse effects of those same inventions, otherwise each new “improvement” opens the lid wider on Pandora’s Box.

What will you do, personally to make a positive change in how smart devices and social media interact with your life? 

"O Death, Where Is Thy Sting"

My absolute earliest memories as a child were both from the same day when I was two years old; December 18, 1957...

Sitting on the floor of the living room at my grandparents home on the west side of Cleveland. I remember looking up at my grandpa ( Antonio ). He smiled and asked me if I was hungry. He slowly went to the kitchen and came back with a banana. He then took his seat back on the turquois recliner. 

My next memory is of my mother suddenly picking me up and taking me out of the room.  I don't remember anything else about that day, except for what I have been told.

It seems that mom plucked me off my blanket as she realized that grandpa was having a heart attack. As they waited for the ambulance she kept me in a side bedroom so as not to witness what she knew was happening.

My only knowledge of the kind of man my grandpa was comes from my mothers memory and her vivid and loving description of this incredible man who came to the U.S. from Italy as a young boy of 14. Lived with a family in the south and at some point hopped a freight train and made it to Cleveland.  He served in the U.S. Army in WWI where he was wounded in the shoulder and had to walk a great distance to get medical attention.  He came back home after the war and sent back to Italy for a young lady to be his bride. The family tradition of the oldest daughter being married first, prompted the parents of that young lady to send the older sister instead of his intended, so he married her!  They had four children and he owned his own shoe maker shop at the corner of W.57 and Lorain. When WWII broke out, he worked in a war plant.   I know that when my parents were married and purchased their home "way out" in North Royalton, he was one of the few that saw their vision and thought they had done the right thing.  I know that there was a young shoot of a cherry tree in the middle of their barren back yard, that my dad almost pulled out thinking it was a weed, but grandpa knew better, and so as I grew up without my grandpa, I always was reminded of him by the presence of that tree. Each year when the cherries came in, I would pause to remember the man who I really never got to know.   I could continue with more stories I learned second hand, but the one I know the best is this....

In 2008 after a terrible few years of no employment and really feeling down, I was being considered for my present position as the director of The Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland.  I decided to take a ride down to the neighborhood of the mission just to take a look around. I knew that it was in the general vicinity of my grandparents home. (Grandma passed when I was 18) I hadn't been to that neighborhood in many years.

I drove around through the west side streets recognizing names of streets and occasionally recognizing a building or two, but in general didn't know exactly where I was at any given moment.

Suddenly, the driver of the car behind me began honking and waving at me with one finger ( perhaps he was an amputee?)... Then I glanced down at my speedometer and realized I was holding up traffic as I gawked at the scenery around me  ( so much for the amputee theory). I quickly turned left into a small parking lot in order to get out of the way  because something was telling me I needed to look closer at the area.  As I maneuvered my car around in that parking lot, I came to the sudden realization that I was now parked on the site of what had been my grandparents home at W.73 and Madison Ave.

A wave of emotion came over me as I began to recognize the remnants of the neighborhood my mom had lived in. I saw my grandpa in that chair and I heard him tell me; "come to the city"...
(To really understand the full significance of those words, you might want to read the story of Nehemiah from the Old Testament.)

Today is 56 years that he has been gone and I know that my mom is still pained deeply by his death. I wish that I could have had the chance to really know my grandpa, but when I really think about it he has in fact always  been with me. He was there in the way my mother raised me, the values he instilled in her-she instilled in me. His compassion, his faith, his devotion to family, love of country all somehow became a part of me... "But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written; "O death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"  I Corinthians 15:54-55

It's all how you think about it.....

So... here's a thought;
Allow fuel prices to escalate to unnafordable levels, manipulate the health care system to a point where no one can afford to pay for health care without first paying exhorbidant insurance premiums, pay congress unending salaries while they allow banks to destroy the housing industry, raise taxes to a point where people must decide between clothing/housing/food and paying their Federal, State, Regional, County and Local taxes...  what is the answer?      Gun Control.. and do it quick before people say "We have had enough."  Maybe these politicians aren't as dumb as we think they are.

Who Is He Really Representing?

A Connecticut lawyer wants to sue the state over the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting.

Irving Pinsky says the state failed to provide a safe setting.

He's pursuing 100 million dollars in damages on behalf of an unidentified 6 year old girl who survived the massacre.

So.... who is Pinsky really representing? 

Does anyone really believe that the State of Connecticut is responsible for the actions of Adam Lanza?  I am certain that even Pinsky does not believe this. His claim is nothing more than a further victimization of those families that lost their loved ones and those poor souls who were lost on that day.

Even if Pinsky prevails and the surviving victim and the families of the 26 fatalities split the potential award, Pinsky himself would stand to receive the standard 1/3 attorney compensation.

Is Pinsky attempting to provide a balm for the families? Is he taking a stance that would help to curb the possibility of future violence? Or is he merely taking a stab at the possibility of receiving $33,000,000 personally? 

Some form of gun control may or may not be a partial answer to this epidemic of mass murder.  Civil suit reform on the other hand would at least protect society from the passive/agressive psychotics like Pinsky who prey on the misfortune of the victims by pretending to represent them. 

I offer this.. curbing nefarious lawsuits, irresponsible media, and greedy partisan politicians may not curb gun violence, but it sure would make this a better country.

Meanwhile, Pinsky is as sick as Adam Lanza and should be disbarred.

Royalton Road School. North Royalton, Ohio

School Days in the NR

Today I am enjoying a thread on Facebook with several dear old friends who I went to school with back in the dark ages. We grew up together in a little town in Ohio; North Royalton. Through this wonderful media called social networking we have been able to reunite after many years...

Todays topic... Royalton Road School.  It was one of the original structures in North Royalton, and even by 1960 standards it was old with a capital O.

Imagine if today parents sent their kids to a school with some of these features;

Construction of sandstone block, soft enough to drill through with a pencil. ( as I did in attempt to get the attention of Kathi....

A center gymnasium/stage with footlights so hot, that if the wooden covers remained in place and someone accidentally turned on the footlights, the covers would catch on fire.

Every room of the building had steam heating pipes running through them covered by... you guessed it; asbestos... not only asbestos though, asbestos that was crumbling and peeling off every pipe.

Cafeteria tables made of old bowling alley lanes from a remodeled bowling alley. ( The Red Eye, for you Royaltonites)

The shower rooms looked like something out of a German concentration camp. The concrete floors had no covering or treatment, so they were in constant "crumble" mode. The ceilings were only 6 feet high, so the bare light bulbs hanging from the exposed heating pipes were always in danger of bursting if splashed or worse yet, touched by a wet body. ( luckily we were elementary kids and none of us were  6 feet tall!) But the best feature was the holes in the wall separating the boys from the girls shower room... teachers had to stand guard to prevent the much sought after opportunity to look through the holes!

Probably the best overall feature of the building was the southeast stairwell that had been declared "unfit" by the city building engineers, so no more than one person at a time could use the stairwell. Eventually, all the stairwells were declared unsound so all classes were held on the first floor only.

Ya know what though... some of the best memories were born in that place, and the dearest people in this world traversed those hallways... and.... we survived!

A Letter To Congress

Dear Congress;

It is Christmas Eve.  You and the other "representatives of the
people" have returned home from Washington to enjoy this blessed
holiday with your families. As you do so, the fiscal future of this
entire country hangs in the balance. With it go the hopes and dreams
of real people, people who do NOT have a lifetime salary and health
care, real people that do NOT make salaries in excess of $100,000,
real people who struggle every day to pay their living expenses and
increasing taxes, real people who struggle to pay mortgages and real
estate taxes on homes that have depreciated in value by more than 20%,
real people who despite working hard all their lives and doing the
right thing, have no chance of ever retiring.  These are the people
who you are failing to represent as you bicker and argue issues that
are based purely on lobbyist driven party lines.

Your failure to properly manage the finances of this country and then
delay appropriate measures to avoid a catastrophe are borderline
treasonous. At best these failures are cause for a complete recall of
all representatives.

Continual blame on the present Presidential leadership or on past
administrations is ludicrous as most of you have been in office long
enough to have played a part in this mess.

It is time to actually represent the people that sent you to
Washington, not the businesses who care only about their own bottom
line and/or your own bank accounts and investments.

The mood of this country is desperate. Crime and sociopathic attacks
are rising due to the economic attack waged on the poor and the middle
class.

Each of you pledged to make a difference as you campaigned, but have
failed to do anything more than your predecessors.

Real tax reform would eliminate the IRS and replace it with a national
consumption tax. This would be the fairest  form of taxation as those
who can afford to spend would pay "tax" based on their ability to
spend, as those with less money would pay based on their ability to
spend. It would both reduce government spending  and increase
revenues. You all know this, but refuse to implement it as it would
reduce the level of control the current system gives you over the
population.

Real political reform would eliminate your permanent salaries and
health care and pay you a capped salary in line with the national
average salary WHILE  you are in office.

Health care reform would eliminate employer paid health plans and send
everyone to insurance shop as we do now with automobile insurance.
This would force insurance companies to reduce premiums and in turn
would drive DOWN the cost of healthcare.

These solutions would take work. They would anger the insurance
companies, and would make most congressional representatives leave
their currently cushy posts.

Prove me wrong. Return to Washington on December 26 and drop the party
lines and start working toward solutions that will actually preserve
this union and protect the interests of REAL people.

Sincerely,

James F Szakacs
19015 Bennett Road
North Royalton, Ohio 44133
Jfs5487@gmail.com
440-263-8125



Jim Szakacs -Sent from my iPad

How was your January?

Ok.. so I promised to post more often and the last you heard from me was Christmas.
My dog ate my post, it snowed, I had a bad cold, nobody likes me at school, I couldn't find my keys, I tried to call and kept getting a busy signal, my computer crashed, traffic was horrible...

Enough excuses.

I have just been too busy. I started a new position and have been embroiled in speaking engagements, a major renovation, wrapping up 2008 files and starting new ones for 2009. PLUS... I have to make dinner every night, or else my wife will beat me.

OK, OK... no more excuses.

I was driving down I-71 the other day and I saw a bumper sticker on a car that read; " Warning, Child on board". I wonder, just how bad is this kid? Just to be safe however, I slowed down, and changed lanes. Who knows, maybe the kid had a gun or something.

So what is up with bumper stickers? Are they really necessary? Other than fearing your child, does anyone really care if you have your kid on board? I don't care what your other car is. I don't care who you support politically, and If "the van is rockin", good for you. Just make sure you keep both hands on the wheel.

Anyhow, my "favorite" newspaper is at it again. Last week, leftist writer Connie Schultz suggested in her column that cell phone use in cars should be outlawed. ( I wonder how much business her husband Sharrod Brown does while driving?) Anyhow... in typical Plain Dealer fashion, they did NOT print my comment on her editorial, so I provide it for you here....

I called it... "Walking and Chewing Gum"

I don’t know why I keep doing this to myself. I read your column and vow not only to never read it again, but also to cancel my subscription to the PD. But alas, it is like trying not to look at a car wreck.

Your recent opinion regarding driving while speaking on a cell phone may be the one that puts me over the edge. One study in Utah, (the State of polygamy and inter family marriage) claims that driving while using a cell phone is the same as driving drunk. And you jump on the band wagon like you’re heading for the Democratic Convention on a party bus. All because you can’t pay attention to your driving if your mouth is operating.

I was one of the first 800 cell phone users in Cuyahoga County way back in the early 80’s. I have logged ten’s of thousands of miles while transacting business, handling family emergencies, making small talk with my family members, and from time to time reporting traffic accidents and drunk drivers. I have no moving violations and the only accident I have ever had was this past summer when an uninsured, unlicensed driver slammed into me at a traffic light. As she ran away from the scene, I used my cell phone to call the police and track her down.

The study you cited states that while on the phone people tend not to look from side to side. I would suggest that these same people don’t pay attention even when they aren’t on the phone. Perhaps the real problem is that there are too many people on the road who just don’t know how to drive. So rather than limit my freedoms even further, by outlawing cell phones while driving how about we attack the real problem. Let’s require on road driving tests every four years for EVERYONE. Those who don’t pass would be required to take on road driving classes and be re-tested until they can prove that they are capable of driving in all road conditions. If we truly want safer roads, let’s enact some legislation that could truly do some good.

Meanwhile Connie, schedule yourself a voluntary on road test and make an appointment to have your car radio, ashtrays, & cup-holders removed from your vehicle.