This post is specifically intended for those of you that read 'The Twitch' through a subscription feed.
First of all, thank you so much for following me. It has been your loyalty that has motivated me to keep writing. Things have been really crazy lately, with having to deal with medical issues and finding my place as a stay-at-home dad. Through it all, you've stuck around, and it means a lot to me.
Last week I started a dedicated Facebook page for the website. I would appreciate it if you 'Liked' it.
Thanks for reading. Don't be strangers. Tell me your opinion on what you read. I'd love to read your comments.
For the last three weeks, the site has had an issue when it comes to sharing a post on Facebook. When you try to share one of the articles, it will still let you do so. It won't, however, carry over a photo or description of the blog post. It will only share the link.
From what I can tell, this is happening to a number of Blogger oriented sites. As of yet, there is no fix. After spending countless hours troubleshooting (Thank you Mr. Russell), it has been determined that it is what it is. Sorry.
Another "Like" button has been added for Facebook. To access it, you need to click on the article title, in order to pull up that specific post. The button should then be below the post. Installing that one has seemed to work as an occasional work around. Even that is still hit and miss when it comes to displaying content information.
Hopefully, everything will be back to normal soon. In the meantime, thanks for your patience.
"Name Prince Harry's last three Halloween costumes."
Some Johnny Carson humor (for those of you over the age of 35).
If you use the internet, you need to be aware of SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. It's currently being debated in the House of Representatives. It passed the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, and is expected to pass the House with strong support within the next couple of months.
SOPA will essentially bring online censorship to a level seen currently in China or Iran. That isn't an exaggeration. The day to day online experience as you know it will cease to exist.
Let me give you an example. Here is a video of my daughter dancing our living room last night:
In the background of the video, 'Across the Universe' was playing. It was originally recorded by The Beatles, but in this case, was being sung by Rufus Wainwright.
If SOPA passes, Sony Music, the label that owns the rights to The Beatles catalogue, could approach YouTube calling for the removal of the video. All it would take would be an email. YouTube would be forced to remove it. Also, by embedding the video on this post, they could, if they desired, send an email to Go Daddy, the company hosting my website, claiming copyright infringement. Under the articles of SOPA, Go Daddy would be forced to shut down my website. Completely wipe it from existence.
Not because of a court order from a judge. Not due to a notice from the F.B.I. or any local law enforcement. But from a single email message from someone claiming they hold a copyright on material I am displaying on my website. They do not need to show any proof of ownership. I do not have the opportunity to remove the material in question. 'The Twitch Online' simply ceases to exist. Years of work for nothing. No record that it was even there to begin with.
How does this effect you?
Think about it. The sites you visit every day - YouTube, Facebook, Google and Wikipedia, just to name a few. All of them will either disappear or change in such a way that they will become practically unrecognizable.
And, in the end, is this new legislation really going to stop anyone from downloading a shitty CD in order to avoid paying $13.99 for it at Target. If people have the motivation to pirate (lack of selection/price), they're going to find a way to do so.
Another casualty of SOPA will be the internet meme. One of my personal favorites is the "Hitler finds out about _____". If SOPA is enacted, that too will be gone. The clip is taken from the 2004 German film 'Downfall'. The video, while extremely funny, is surprisingly accurate and educational.
So, what can you do about this. Get involved. Contact your Congressman. You can go to americancensorship.org right now to be directed to the offices of your local representative. At the site, you can also sign a petition being sent to the state department, and send an email to Congress asking that SOPA not pass. So far, more than 780,000 people have done so.
If this bill would have passed a decade ago, think about how different your life would have been. If this bill passes in 2012, think about how different the internet will be for your children. The internet was never intended to be policed to such a degree. If the U.S. government can tell us what we can and can't say, watch or listen to online, what's next?
On November 23, 1991, Tiffanie Chumita was driving to a friend's wedding. She blew a tire along Interstate 17 in Phoenix that evening, and pulled onto the shoulder of the freeway. As she was bent over into her trunk, reaching in for the car's spare, an elderly woman hit her from behind at approximately 70 mph.
According to friends, her legs were practically severed above the knee. By the time she arrived at the hospital, she had lost a substantial amount of blood. As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, allowing doctors to give her a blood transfusion was strictly forbidden.
Tiffanie was awake and alert most of the evening. Her mom and dad were there, as was her brother Steven. As word spread of her accident, friends arrived at the hospital to say goodbye. There was no way to take her into emergency surgery to try to repair the damage, if surgeons were unable to give her blood. She was dying. Before she finally passed, friends and family members tracked down a male friend of hers. He arrived at the hospital, just in time for Tiffany to tell him that she had been in love with him for years. She was only 20 year old.
I was waiting for Tiffanie at the wedding reception that night. We had bumped into each other at the State Fair a couple of weeks earlier. We were both there alone, so we spent much of the afternoon riding rides together. At the time, she was the love of my life.
The following week, a memorial service was held at the Park West Kingdom Hall that her family regularly attended. Her father, Alex, was an elder in the congregation. Now, a typical Kingdom Hall can seat about 120-150 people. Almost 900 were in attendance to pay their respects to Tiffanie. It was so crowded, that a speaker was set up in the parking lot, so that the hundreds waiting outside could hear the memorial "talk" (sermon).
That week, two additional women in my congregation died as a result of not accepting a blood transfusion. Nicole Rojas was taken into surgery on short notice. She was only 20 or 21. Manuel, her husband of less than a year, ultimately made the decision to let her die based on his beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness. Speaking for her, he felt that she would make the same decision to refuse blood, if conscious.
Another sister, (sadly, I forget her name) died during surgery while trying to remove a tumor from her kidney. Again, blood related. She left two teenage girls and a grade school age son behind.
I went to three memorial services (Jehovah's Witnesses do not have traditional funerals) in the span of nine days. It was a very emotional time for everyone on the West side of Phoenix. Somehow, though all of this, the congregation's faith was strengthened.
These three women were made to look like martyrs; servants of god that made the ultimate sacrifice. Their families were praised and applauded. They were treated like heroes within the organization. In actuality, these poor women were brainwashed and bullied into essentially committing suicide on behalf of their church.
I think about Tiffanie practically every day. Realistically, if not for the peer pressure that was placed upon her twenty years ago, she may have survived the accident. Who's to say for sure. With a number of surgeries, and the use of prosthetics, she may have been able to live a normal life. She could have had children; possibly grandchildren by now. But, she was never given a chance.
Less than a year after Nicole's death, Manuel got remarried. I attended the wedding, trying to figure out how everyone was okay with the situation that was taking place. He has since gotten divorced and remarried again. From what I understand, he's living in Mexico now, because that is "where the need is greater". Friends tell me that every time he visits the Phoenix area, local Witnesses treat him like a king. They hold him in such high regard, all for offering his wife up for slaughter 20 years ago.
I have started a new Facebook page called "Witnesses In Memoriam". It's a place where friends and family members can go to write about those who have needlessly died on behalf of the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses.
I encourage you to post your stories about those close to you that you have lost. While most of the stories will be related to those refusing life saving blood transfusions, many others have died at the hands of themselves or a loved one. For some, the thought of leaving the organization, and having your entire family and circle of friends abandon you, was too much to bare. Folks have committed suicide in lieu of cutting ties with everything they know. Others were simply killed by their partner or parent, who was one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Please remember them as well.
The page is not to debate scripture or organizational policy. Also, ANY PRO-JW COMMENTS WILL PROMPTLY BE DELETED.
This is for Tiffanie Chumita, Nicole Rojas, and the tens of thousands of men, women and children that have died in vain.
This wonderful graph, which was originally shared by Lucas Rohenaz, has floated around the net for the last month or so. It has been shared on Facebook alone nearly 13,000 times. It shows how, since 1990, 37 financial institutions have merged into the four largest banks in the nation: Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
The most egregious of the Wall Street offenders is Bank of America, taking over twelve other banks in the course of the last two decades. I worked for BofA in 1993, shortly after their buyout of Security Pacific Bank. I was also employed by Chase Manhattan Bank (now JPMorgan Chase), shorly after their merger with Chemical bank in 1997.
Mergers are messy. They are tumultuous for both customers and employees alike. Upper management rarely gives a shit. As long as stock value continues to rise, their yearly bonus increases as well.
Below is a clear example of why people are demonstrating in more than 80 cities nationwide. These four corporations effectively control 40% of the nation's economy. If that is not a motivation for action, I don't know what is.
How ridiculous. If you Google "Down With Evil Corporations", you'll see hundreds of Tea Party sites over the last week, which have posted this photo, criticizing the Occupy Wall Street protests.
Corporations are a necessity in a Free Enterprise marketplace. They offer legal protections for the owners of a business that aren't available to a sole proprietorship. Also, a business must be incorporated to offer stock options to interested parties. They are a necessary evil.
The Occupy Wall Street protesters are not against corporations per se. They are against exorbitant corporate greed. When Bank of America institutes a $5.00 monthly fee to use your debit card, there is a problem.
When Wall Street rewrites qualifications for home loans, then plays the stock market to where they are essentially betting againstyour ability to make your mortgage payment, there's a problem.
When a company would rather lay off thousands of employees, than lose 3% profit for the year, there is a problem.
When teachers salaries have dropped 20% since 2008, but CEOs get wealthier, there is a problem.
There are ethical, moral corporations in the world. There are many that are immoral. Sadly, we cannot boycott them all. We must clothe ourselves, eat, communicate and use transportation on a daily basis.
To suggest that since the Occupy demonstrators are rallying against corporate greed, that they should rid themselves of any corporate attachments is ludicrous at best. A large part of the Republican right already thinks of those involved in the movement as "dirty hippies". With this recent photo floating around Facebook, we're now made to look like corporate savvy hipsters. Well? Which is it? What do they want from us?
Do they expect us to camp out in the streets naked, unshowered and without makeup? Do they want us to communicate with tin cans and string? Are we really supposed to buy this rhetoric?
For those of you that were able to visit 'The Twitch' earlier today, you may have noticed some changes to the site. Well, it's safe to say that those changes sucked, and it was necessary to immediately return things back to the way they were.
While the new format made things quite attractive, it was a headache. There was no way to access the blog from a mobile device. The changes removed all sharing options when it came to individual articles. There was no way to share a post on Facebook or Google+. It removed all advertising from my website (which I still haven't figured out how to get back). It also removed any ability to subscribe to the page's RSS feed.
Those are the problems that I noticed today in a matter of 10 to 15 minutes. I can't imagine what it looked like on a feed. I don't want to know.
So, I'm going back to what works. I have made a couple of minor changes in regards to wording on the page. Other than that, I'm done. No more tinkering or fiddling around with it.
Over the weekend, MGM released an extended trailer for the American release of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. By extended, I mean, coming in at nearly four minutes.
It's blatantly obvious after watching the trailer that David Fincher was the perfect director for the film. After 'Se7en', and 'Fight Club', 'Tattoo' is right up his alley. Heck, if he can make Facebook suspenseful, think of what he can do with this.
And I see another Oscar for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the score. Just listen.
'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is in theaters on December 21st, according to IMDB. But, according to this poster, it's the 26th.
- Kat Von D, announcing that she has broken up, once again with former Mr. Sandra Bullock, and Nazi enthusiast Jesse James. I personally love how she has apologized to the public for the "confusion" their relationship has caused.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is expected to open sharply lower tomorrow, upon the news of their breakup.
Not to worry. They're expected to reconcile and be back together by Tuesday, then split again by the weekend.
Things will be quiet at "The Twitch" for the next week or so. Since I will be hospitalized, I will not be doing much in the way of posting.
I will do my best to at least do a quick post so that you know that things are well. I will have Wi-Fi access in my hospital room, but will likely be sedated until Wednesday or Thursday. If I am unable to get onto my laptop, I will at least update my Facebook status through my cell phone.
If all else fails, my wife will update things for me.
Thank you for your thoughts and well wishes.
Adam
If you would like to "friend" me on Facebook, you can reach me at www.Facebook.com/thetwitchonline.
Note: This post has quite a few links. This is one of those "hard to believe" stories, so I have done a lot of research to corroborate what I am writing about. Pretty crazy stuff (even for me).
Well, there's a first time for everything, I guess. Atlanta area Pentecostal televangelist, and self-proclaimed "prophetess", Juanita Bynum has made news in religious circles lately. Not for something she has said, but rather for something she has typed. On Saturday, August 17th, Bynum was on her Facebook page, praying on behalf of Zachery Tims, head of a Florida megachurch and fellow televangelist, who was found dead on August 12th in a Times Square hotel room. There is speculation that he died of a drug overdose. Due to the allegations surrounding his death, Tims will not be recognized at this week's National Baptist Convention.
The questionable status updates started at 6:58PM:
This is a photo of Lil' Wayne performing at last week's MTV's Video Music Awards? Is it just me, or does it look like he is calling out Hulk Hogan to a steel cage match?
In a related story, Tripp NYC, a clothing manufacturer, went to their Facebook page last week to thank Lil' Wayne for wearing their leopard print women's jeggings during the performance. I see an opening in Lil' Wayne's entourage soon.
On June 24th, the National Organization for Marriage, an anti-gay group that some say has ties to the Mormon church, raised an ambitious fund-raising challenge to their supporters. For every new Facebook like, Twitter follower, and new text supporter they receive, an anonymous donor would donate one dollar up to $100,000. The deadline for new supporters was today, September 1st.
I never thought that they would hit $100,000, but even I didn't think their efforts would be this pathetic.
Jeremy over at Good as You has been keeping track of NOM's stats over the last couple of months, and the results are just sad. 931 Facebook likes and 298 Twitter followers. That's $1,229.00, people. Unless NOM received 98,771 text messages in the span of two months and six days, it's highly unlikely that they received the $100,000 donation from their "anonymous donor". That is, if there was an anonymous donor in the first place. How much would you like to wager that this was a clever ploy to try to garner more support for their organization?
A 22 year old transgendered woman was severely beaten at a McDonald's location in Rosedale, Maryland, a Baltimore suburb on April 18th. She was using the ladies restroom, when two females, aged 14 and 18, dragged her out by her hair, and proceeded to beat her mercilessly. The attack went on for three minutes or more, while customers and employees of the restaurant stood back and watched. The manager feigned an attempt to break up the fight, while an elderly woman literally tried to get between one of the attackers and the victim.
To add insult to injury, an employee of the chain, 22 year old Vernon Hackett, recorded the hate crime on his cell phone, all the while yelling, "That's a fucking dude". By the end of the attack, the victim is shown in the doorway of the McDonald's entrance, having a seizure.
***The following video is NOT SAFE FOR WORK. It is very violent and may be disturbing to some viewers. It shows an individual getting beaten, almost to death, simply because of their sexual orientation.***
To make matters even worse, Mr. Hackett posted the following message on his Facebook page regarding the attack the following morning:
This is someone that has been working at this McDonald's location, according to sources, since September of 2009. Instead of helping someone in need, he taunted the victim and recorded them getting beaten while on duty. Then, he went home and publicly insulted the victim. At last check, he's still an employee of the company. Since posting this status update, he has deleted his Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube accounts. The video and status update were thankfully copied by other people before the pages were taken down.
Please go to an an online petition at Change.org, demanding that the employees that were working on the night of April 18th be held responsible for the beating of this woman. Most did nothing to help her. Some even encouraged the two young women that attacked her, and even told them to "Run, before the police get here". Conduct like this is unacceptable.
The 14 year old involved has been charged as a juvenile, and the 18 year old has charges pending against her. Equality Maryland is pushing for the women to be charged with hate crimes.
Update: Within the last hour, the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the woman has died (see update number 5) from her injuries.
Update #2:Fox News is reporting that the victim was not transgendered, but instead, a "male cross dresser". Of course, they are! First of all, I don't think the right wing homophobes at Fox News have ever even used the word "transgendered". They probably wouldn't know how to spell it if they tried. Secondly, they are basing that report on the Facebook post of the employee that took the video and incited the attackers. He should be charged as an accessory.
If you watch the clip again, and I hate to ask you to do so, at around the 1:00 mark, you can hear the victim say, "Where am I supposed to go, then?". In my mind, at least, that tells me that she's transgendered. In reality, it doesn't matter. Even if she was a "cross dresser" (dammit, I hate that term), if she identifies herself as a woman, she's a woman. End of story.
Update #3: Earlier this month, HB 235, Maryland's "Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Anti-discrimination" bill died in the state Senate. The bill was to have sweeping protections for transgendered individuals when it came to discrimination regarding employment, housing, and public accommodations. A key reason that the bill died was due to debate as to whether "public accommodations" would include the use of public restrooms. Many elected officials thought it would be too controversial to approve such a measure, and decided to indefinitely delay the bill. I wonder if the bill will likely come up for reconsideration now.
Update #4: According to the Baltimore Sun, Vernon Hackett, the McDonald's employee that videotaped the beating with his cellphone, and encouraged the attackers, "Police on their way. Y'all better get out of here.", has been fired:
"My first and foremost concern is with the victim," franchise owner Mitchell McPherson said in a statement, adding that action might be taken against other restaurant workers as well. "I'm as shocked and disturbed by this assault as anyone would be. The behavior displayed in the video is unfathomable and reprehensible."
Other employees can be heard in the video laughing and egging on the two assailants. As of Friday afternoon, Baltimore Police would not release the condition of the victim.
I would love to be a fly on the wall during Vernon's next job interview, when he's asked, "So, what made you leave McDonald's?".
Update #5: Finally, some good news emerging from this story, if that is even possible. Contrary to prior reports, Chrissy Lee Polis has not died from her injuries. In fact, she is out of the hospital. She completed a video interview for the Baltimore Sun, which can be seen below. In it, she harshly criticizes the employees of the McDonald's restaurant for standing by and doing nothing while she was getting beaten. She also says that, at the moment, she is afraid to leave her home. She would also like to meet the elderly woman that stepped in and tried to save her, so that she can thank her personally.
Shoe designer Kenneth Cole sent the following tweet yesterday morning:
Within minutes, the advertising and blogging community were in an uproar. Not only did it make Kenneth Cole look like a douche, but it made the American people look like they were either mocking the protests in Egypt, or that they didn't care about them in the first place.
Later this afternoon, Mr. Cole took to his Facebook page to apologize for his earlier tweet:
I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate. Kenneth Cole, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer
The damage had already been done. Oh, and by the way, he doesn't "dedicate his life to raising awareness about serious social issues". He designs shoes. At last count, he had twelve pages of comments below his apology. About 97% of them included the words "asshole, bastard, idiot or douche". Instead of apologizing on Facebook, he should be apologizing directly to the Egyptian people on Al Jazeera. Just my opinion.
This Facebook adventure has been nothing but a confusing mess to those of you trying to sign on, so far. I signed up a couple of days ago, and because of the email address I used, the settings got all screwed up. Even after changing email addresses, the settings still wouldn't revert back to normal. I had to deactivate the account and start again.
Long story short,(too late) I had to sign up again under a different address. Even though I deactivated the old account, It is still showing up on Facebook.
****If you would like to become a fan of The Daily Twitch of Facebook, you will find TWO results in your search. Select the result that has MORE THAN ONE status update.*****
"The Daily Twitch" now has a Facebook page. If you are a reader, do a search on facebook for The Daily Twitch and become a fan of the page. It's a great way for me to get to know my readers and the issues that are important to them. I look forward to meeting you.
I became privy to a conversation that was taking place online concerning donations to Haiti. Someone posted on their Facebook status:
"Shame on you America: the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment - yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations."
I was dumbfounded. I didn't know where to start to pick this message apart. First, this occurs in practically every country. There is a level of poverty, whether it be great or small, in all nations, even communist countries. Secondly, the poverty level in the United States is roughly 13%, give or take a percent or two, depending upon the region of the country you live in. Haiti, prior to the earthquake, was at a poverty rate of over 60%. It was the poorest nation, by far, in the Western Hemisphere. Add to it a magnitude 7.1 earthquake, killing upwards of 200,000 people, and leaving over a third of the population, or roughly 3 million people, homeless.
My friend explained those points to this woman that posted the message. She received the following response:
To me I don't care any time something happens here no one comes and help us be we are the 1st to help other. We need to help our own people before we help others!!! And all we are doing by helping them is putting our country into more debt!!
At what point did the Hope For Haiti telethon put our nation into more debt? Was it government backed or funded. Did the Federal government agree to match donations dollar for dollar like the Canadian government did? (Classy move BTW)
When the World Trade Center fell, dozens of countries offered aid, but were all refused. We had the manpower and the resources to take care of our own. When the airports were shut down, people opened up their homes to take in Americans, so they wouldn't have to sleep in airport terminals for days. 2,752 people lost their lives on 9/11.
Here is something that you may not know. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, 98 countries and 11 International Aid organizations pledged humanitarian aid, including $854 million in funds(yes cash), of which, $40 million was used. Hurricane Katrina claimed 1,836 lives.
The U.S. has not seen a disaster anywhere near the scale of what Haiti has witnessed. Imagine Katrina multiplied by 100. Imagine the city you live in...gone.
This last message really got me:
and I have the power to NOT use any of my funds to help the people of Haiti!!! I understand what happend to them is bad, but I also know that peoplehere at home are just as hard up for money, food, water, and a roof over their head!!! And that is all thanks to the down falls the came after 9/11.
9/11 happened almost nine years ago. Don't tell me people are still blaming the economy on that! Last time I checked, the economy had a nice upswing, then we hit a recession, but that had nothing to do that day back in 2001. The economy bounced back from that in 2002. And I would be willing to say that people aren't as "hard up" as the Haitians for food and water. Latest reports from the country are saying that groups of armed men are storming orphanages. They threaten to kill all of the children on the property unless they are given the food and the water that has been set aside for the kids. I must say, food stamps and unemployment checks sound so much worse.
I honestly don't know if this is a case of apathy or ignorance. It sounds like she is getting her information second hand, likely reposting something that she read from someone that reposted it themselves. It doesn't seem like they're politically active. If they get their news, it's more than likely from Rush Limbaugh than Rachel Maddow. Sure, I'm making generalizations here, but it's hard not to. On the surface, you picture a Nascar loving, tobacco chewin', Toby Keith fan. If it's not a bunch of white, working class Americans that need help, then they're not worth helping. "So, the world just lost a quarter of a million black people. Not my problem."
Well, it's mine. The nation of Haiti can't take care of themselves. Without our money or our assistance, we would be leaving nine million innocent people to die. Their blood will not be on my hands.
38, queer, poly, happily married punk and stay at home dad to my five-year-old, Elle. In June of 2009, I was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome, and PTSD a month later. I have been on disability since. In recent months, I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia,Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Sjogren's Syndrome, a Chiari malformation, small fiber neuropathy, Type 1 Diabetes, and have a massive benign cyst in my brain. And, to top it all off, I was diagnosed with lupus in March of 2014.
I haven't been writing as often as I would like to lately. Trying to catch up on some lost time. Please forgive me.
I'm an anarchist and an atheist. My political views are too far left to even be considered Democrat. I believe that marriage and health care are fundamental human rights. And don't get me started on people calling themselves "pro-life", and denying education and food stamps to children.
