I recently wrote this letter of support for my friend, Helen Hatat. I include both a link to the pdf and the text below.

Wednesday, 11.Aug.2010

To whom it may concern …

Re: Helen Hatat

It is with a strong personal purpose I write you on behalf of Helen Hatat. I have had the pleasure of being Ms. Hatat’s employer in the past and have known her personally for more than 10 years.

Since Helen’s departure from my company, (due in large part to the failure of our business in the L.A. market and not in any way the fault or responsibility of Helen), I have had the personal pleasure of continuing to maintain contact with her.

If Helen has a fault, it is that she truly believes in the best in all people, and that sometimes enables others to take grievous advantage of her kindness and generosity.

At the current time, I have come to the understanding that someone is spreading harmful rumors about Helen. In the past Helen has experienced this from people attempting some sort of “personal payback”,after their wrongful attempts at deception failed with Helen. As a personal recommendation, I can vouch for Helen’s strong, upright and honest character, and state that I cannot believe Helen is, or could be, the person being wrongfully described.

I would personally be grateful for any advice and counsel you could render unto Helen at this time of her severe need.

Please feel free to contact me if you need additional information or verification.

Sincerely,

James S. Huggins
President and CEO
[The Eclectic Power Company]

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In part because cats are a core part of my life (mother once had 16-18 on her farm), in part because my father was an electrical engineer, in part because I just (after not having a cat for a long time) adopted a brand new kitty, I really enjoyed this YouTube. I hope you do too

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This is a fascinating collection of 1993 commercials from AT&T, touting “future” technologies.  Ironically, most of what is shown has indeed come to pass in startlingly accurate ways, but mostly pioneered by others, NOT by AT&T.

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Been to London? Ridden the bus? Get ready for change.

I think it is kind of exciting.

The referenced article says it far better than me. For me, the millions of dollars they are spending on lobbying AGAINST reform says it all.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38834.html

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Some days I jus totally stumble on something nice.

This is one of those times.

Enjoy.

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I do not understand this commercial.

It seems to be about 4 zeros. Yet the commercial only describes 2 of the zeros in the audio.

None of those whom I have asked have been able to tell me what the 4 zeros are for.

Can you?

Thought you might enjoy these two articles:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124958817
and
http://www.snopes.com/medical/asylum/fbipizza.asp

Bernie Sanders Sherrod Brown and Roland Burris Offer Medicare for All Amendment.

For info, see
http://www.enewspf.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11955

Quoting from the article:

Highlights of the amendment include the following:

* Patients go to any doctor or hospital of their choice.

* Comprehensive benefits, including coverage for dental, mental health, and prescription drugs.

* …the plan saves at least $400 billion annually

* Community health centers are fully funded, giving the 60 million Americans now living in rural and underserved areas access to care.

* …provides resources for the National Health Service Corps to train an additional 24,000 health professionals.

* …modest new payroll and income taxes amounting to less than what most businesses and people now pay for insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.

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Like many of my posts on this blog: I just found this.

It helped me smile. I like to share things that help me smile.

In researching the song I went to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Rhapsody where I discovered two things I did not know:

(1) It reached number one again in 1991, after Freddie Mercury’s death, achieving total sales of 2,176,000 and becoming the UK’s third best selling single of all time—beaten only by Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind 1997″.

(2) The single was accompanied by a promotional video; considered groundbreaking, it helped establish the visual language of the modern music video…. it wasn’t until after the success of “Bohemian Rhapsody” that it became regular practice for record companies to produce promo videos for artists’ single releases.

Here is a brief article: 
http://beatcrave.com/2009-11-25/the-muppets-perform-queens-bohemian-rhapsody/

The Muppets version is a bit different, though to truly appreciate it be sure to also watch the original.