Bitchin Dave's newsletter

We have surely changed as a nation, and what we find acceptable, and the things we "stand up for," are vastly different. What ICE does, and how "we" (especially those in power) respond to the actions, is telling.   While the stories are all bad, the one that caught my attention was the detention of 5 year old  Liam (Ramos) Ornasser.  He was  taken by armed ICE agents at school, specifically to  lure his parents out.  And surely he will be deported, along with his parents.  As I read more, I was reminded of the Elian  Gonzalez story from 2000. As a quick recap, he was a young boy who was brought by his mother from Cuba to the US. They stayed with relatives in Miami. His father - still in Cuba - waged a legal battle to have him returned to him.  People around the country took sides in the issue. It was a flashpoint. I'd invite you to Google the details if you don't remember them.  After some time, attorney general Janet Reno sent in a group of heavily armed ag...

During the holidays, there was this weird - and maybe "cute-adjacent" - TV ad for Facebook.  The premise was that in an office Christmas exchange, a guy got a woman he didn't know, so he watches her at the office to come up with ideas for a gift.  Of course, he comes up empty.  Then, he goes to Facebook and discovers she's a KISS fan. So he gets her some KISS fan dolls.  But the subtext really bothered me. The guy essentially becomes a creep and stalks his coworker to find out more about her.  He follows her around the office and (at least I remember it this way) a little after work.  Then, he digs into her facebook profile. And he uses the Facebook Marketplace to find these dolls from some sketchy guy. It has such a stalker vibe to it.  And yet, that's kind of what Facebook is, right? They're promoting exactly what they are.  We've reached a level of interconnectivity so that anyone can cyberstalk anyone else, and privacy is a thing of the past. Ugh. ====...

Here's to hoping you had a great holiday season, and that we all are having a happy and healthy new year. The last few weeks have been very strange. And at the tip of that strangeness is the recent shooting of a "bystander" to an ICE action; it really says a lot about who we've become.   I don't think the conversation should focus on who was right and wrong, but rather we should look at the bigger picture of an organization in ICE that is acting as an unchecked - and quite possibly unconstitutional - entity whose sole purpose is to "remove bad people." But they act extra judicially, with impunity, and conduct warrantless searches, all while hiding their identities.  And there are very many questions about who they are targeting, because it doesn't seem to the bad people as they advertise.  And of course, there is no accountability. This is not who we should be.  I would encourage you to write to your elected official and ask them to stand up for what...

Housekeeping: This will be my last newsletter of 2025.  Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season, and I'll be back around mid-January! It's the holiday season, so we're seeing more about organizations that are setup to help others, asking for your help.  It's the season of giving! The likes of the Ronald McDonald House spring to mind.   And to be clear, I don't have anything against this program, rather I think it's great. I'm just using it as my example. My question is: why? Why does it exist?  Why do we have a system that treats seriously ill children with such disregard that they have to go to what amounts to a crowdsourced program to help? Why isn't there a better way?  We are a first world nation, and can and should be helping those in need.  It should not come down to McDonalds founding an organization that takes in contributions for its existence - with a purpose of helping those who simply can't help themselves, and who through no fault of th...