Ye Olde Rad Blog

Every morning, I wake to an in-box full of comments about the site and things posted here. This morning saw a particularly robust crop. People get fired up over politics. What are the 2 things you should never discuss? (Politics & Religion) Now I remember why I stick to subjects I know about. Anyway, here is one of the (few) nice notes that came in today:

Your site is sweet! Compared to other tech sites, your Guide to Ripping & Encoding felt like reading a good book. Nice layout. Just the right amount of graphics. Well written, and thanks for not dumbing it down too much.

Here's some constructive criticism: On page 2 you wrote: "Plextor [an international company based in Belgium]..." Plextor is a Japanese company (based in Japan). Only their European marketing arm is based in Belgium.

I found you in Google. Thanks for the great info and keep up the good work.
Evan
Maryland

I will admit that I learned a lot from today's nastier notes. And I freely admit that I'm *not* well informed, politically speaking. But who is? Everyone knows the media is biased. If you're not there in the room when key decisons are being made, can you really know what's going on?

Are special-interest groups exerting their influence over these decisions? Most people who already have a position on the issues get their info from sources they agree with. Which yields an increasingly unbalanced perspective. I like to be able to see both sides of an issue.

This is what I *do* know: there was a major (worst in the nation's history) intelligence failure on 9-11, and GWB was at the helm when that occurred. But, to be honest, I don't feel like he's devious enough to participate in a conspiracy like that. (Maybe that's part of the problem.)

Nobody at the cee-eye-aye or eff-bee-eye lost their job as a result, which seems to send the message, "You boys are doing a good job." Heck, I've fired people for way-less screws-ups than that. But all the same teams that dropped the ball are still there. Why wasn't anybody fired? I don't get it. You'd think someone would've at least resigned after a screw-up of this magnatude. Have they no shame?

••• continued •••

I'm just having a hard time believing nobody knew them 4 planes were coming. I mean, the government knows when I cheat one dollar on my taxes. Okay, here's what's really bugging me: Either they knew the planes were coming or they didn't. I'm just not sure which scenario paints a scarier picture.

In a separate issue, I feel the need to state that I have the upmost respect for the American soldier, and applaude Time Magazine's recognition this brave professional.

In conclusion, after all the 9/11 testimonies are done, we're left with this fact: It is (or should be) the #1 priority of government to protect its people. On September 11th, 2001, our government failed .. whether you are a Democrat or Rebublican. Even if there were no warning signs, they still would have failed. But there were warning signs, as we now know. Lots of them. People were jumping up and down.

Should they have stopped those planes from crashing into the WTC? Of course! That's their job. God knows we pay them enough tax money. If the people in office can't get the job done, I'm sure we can find someone who can. Exactly where our government failed will be the focus of the 9/11 commision. And to out governement's credit, we have suffered no further tragedies.

As a personal note, I do not go for mass support or bashing. Lots of people here are anti-Busg or Pro-Bush. I prefer to addess each isue separately. Because no one if perfect. Everybody makes mistakes. I like GWB better than most peole I know, but I think he and his administration failed to protect us from terrorists on 9/11. Ultimately, he's responsible. Does that mean he shouldn't be re-elected? Of course not.

[Rad dismounts political high-horse.]