Is Montgomery county police unfairly targeting pedestrians?

Update: I have since been contacted by Montgomery County in regards to this, but haven't received any information as of yet that sheds any light on what is going on, only a promise to try to get me more info.

Given Montgomery counties lack of response to my request for more information on this my answer would be a resounding yes.  

Yesterday the Fix Metro twitter account reported a friend of theirs who had "made sure no cars coming and started crossing in the crosswalk". This friend was given a 50 dollar ticket.

This is a person who put no one in danger. Heck, this person didn't even put themselves in danger. Isn't the role of the police to protect us from danger?

All around us there are jaydrivers; and jaydrivers kill. I have even witnessed police being jaydrivers. Police who go on the prowl for pedestrians (and cyclists) while putting others in danger by being jaydrivers make society question what the police are actually there for.

Montgomery County do the right thing. Take back the ticket and if you are that hungry for money go give it to a jaydriver (preferably in an SUV) who is actually endangering others.



                                                   

Quick Guide: Dublin's light rail systems

The first thing to realize is that Dublin actually has two light rail systems and a total of three lines (which don't connect). 

Luas has two lines: red and green.  For tourists the more useful line is the red line which in the touristy areas runs mainly east/west north of the Danube.  The Luas rarely drops you directly at an attraction, but you can easily walk to many attractions from the Luas.  Luas runs above ground and you can see the tracks in the central areas.  Given that Luas runs above ground, you get to enjoy plenty of views of Dublin from the train

 The Luas has two unconnected lines, the green and the red line. It is a zone based system so prices vary by zone.  It was un-gated, at least at all the stations I went to.   You buy your tickets on the platform.  Be sure to hold onto them as they can do ticket checks on board.  

The other light rail system is the DART which mainly runs north and south.  The DART is more of a commuter train and depending on where you are staying you may not find yourself using the DART.  From the DART Pearce Station is a great station to exit at if you are trying to get to attractions in the center of the city.  You can get there by walking through Trinity College. 

If you need to switch from the Red line of LUAS to the DART (or the reverse) you can switch trains at Connolly station where you will need to buy a ticket for the other system.   

                                                                              

Enemies of the Internet III:John Thune

Updated: Got an email from Fight for the Future.  The failed attempt by the corporate crooks in Congress hasn't stopped them from trying again to mess with the internet this time by holding 5 hearings over the next 10 days.  

Large companies, such as Comcast and Verizon, want to create fast and slow lanes creating a slower internet for the average person.  Certain members of Congress want to help their corporate buddies do this while screwing over you: the citizens and internet users.  Today we look at one of our enemies: John Thune.

As with all of our other enemies so far John Thune seems to want to district you with nonsense.  He's posting about how he likes to go to church on Sundays.  Well guess what Johny boy if you are selling out Americans to your friends in the special interest groups you may as well stop wasting your time going to church: you are going to hell (not to mention going to hell for trying to destroy Gods earth by pushing for your special interest buddies who want Keystone).

Also, along with the rest of our enemies there is almost no one he won't take money from.  And you probably won't be surprised to find his opposition to Universal Health cares doesn't come from a belief in liberty but from Blue Cross/Blue Shield being his number one.

 Remember February 26th marks the key decision by the FCC.  Until then America fight to save your internet. I encourage you to contact as ask him "what God does to those who screw over their fellow Americans".

   Also see the previous edition: Marc Rubio http://kaufmangreenbooksandguides.blogspot.com/2015/02/enemies-of-internet-series-marc-rubio.html
Mitch McConnell http://kaufmangreenbooksandguides.blogspot.com/2015/02/enemies-of-internet-part-ii-mitch.html
For more information see: https://www.battleforthenet.com/


                                                   

Do you need a car when visiting Mall of America?

Here's a question I have seen a lot when it comes to Mall of America.  Do you need a car when visiting Mall of America?

The answer is no, but you should keep a few things in mind.  You can easily access Mall of America by metro.  The metro also connects to the airport, train and bus stations.  So I would recommend staying at a hotel that is by a metro station.  The metro provides decent service (about every 10 minutes) 7 days a week. Alternatively you could also pick out a hotel that is near a bus route.

An even simpler option is to stay at the Radisson located at the Mall of America.  Also there is another Radisson which contains the Water Park of America and offers good shuttle service to the Mall of America.
Be careful though with hotels that claim to offer shuttle service.  We made the mistake of staying at the Four Points By Sheraton Minneapolis Airport.  While they claim on their website to offer 24 hour shuttle service when we were there we experienced anything but 24 hour shuttle service.  They only made one trip to Mall of America every 2 hours and didn't even offer this all day and night.  Despite our complaint about this, they are still advertising a "free 24 hour shuttle", which I seriously doubt they are now providing.  I would not recommend staying at the Four Points by Sheraton Minneapolis Airport.

                                                             

Enemies of the Internet Part II: Mitch McConnell edition

Updated: Got an email from Fight for the Future.  The failed attempt by the corporate crooks in Congress hasn't stopped them from trying again to mess with the internet this time by holding 5 hearings over the next 10 days.  

Large companies, such as Comcast and Verizon, want to create fast and slow lanes creating a slower internet for the average person.  Certain members of Congress want to help their corporate buddies do this while screwing over you: the citizens and internet users.  Today we look at one of our enemies: Mitch McConnell.

The question isn't what sort of corrupt companies will Mitch McConnell accept money from-the question is more of what type of corrupt companies won't Mitch McConnell accept money from.  My guess would be none.

From the corporate thieves at Citigroup who previously bribed the government to steal money from American citizens to all sorts of insurance and energy companies Mitch McConnell has accepted money and given favors to all of them.

As with all the other enemies of the internet he isn't sharing his plan to destroy the internet on his twitter page.  Instead he is focusing on his interest in destroying the Alaska wilderness by pan handling to the most selfish, foolish and worst Americans.  

Remember February 26th marks the key decision by the FCC.  Until then America fight to save your internet. I encourage you to contact Mitch McConnell and ask him "does he really think all Americans are as foolish and blind as his destroy Alaska groupies".

Also see the previous edition: Marc Rubio http://kaufmangreenbooksandguides.blogspot.com/2015/02/enemies-of-internet-series-marc-rubio.html

For more information see: https://www.battleforthenet.com/


                                                   

Quick Guide to tipping in Dublin (Ireland)

Many travelers wonder if they should tip and if so how much.  So here is a quick guide to tipping in Dublin:

Restaurants: You should definitely tip at a sit down restaurant.   The tip generally should be around 10 percent, but a few percentages more for exceptional service.   (Make sure the tip is not added automatically)

Room service: Also about 10 percent.  (Again make sure the tip is not added automatically).   

Hair dresser: Also about 10 percent.   

Taxis: Generally rounding up to the nearest euro is appropriate.  If you feel you received excellent service than you should consider perhaps an extra euro or two.   

Bars: Not expected, but if you receive exceptional service or are ordering a lot of drinks than it is appropriate.  

Maid Service: Generally about 1 euro per night.  You may want to give this to the maid directly if possible or have the front desk give it to the maid.  It has been pointed out to me by some maids that sometimes a maid supervisor will come and take the tips before the maid gets there to pick up the tips.   

Tour Guide: Generally not expected on a paid tour, but you certainly could tip if you wanted to or felt you received exceptional service.  

For more information on Dublin, Ireland see the Kaufman Green Guide: Dublin (available for purchase through the link below).  

                                                                              

Enemies of the Internet Series: Marc Rubio Edition

Large companies, such as Comcast and Verizon, want to create fast and slow lanes creating a slower internet for the average person.  Certain members of Congress want to help their corporate buddies do this while screwing over you: the citizens and internet users.   Today we look at one of our enemies: Marc Rubio.

After all we should all trust Marc Rubio: who wouldn't trust someone who took 90,000+ dollars in donations from a winner like Goldman Sachs (according to opensecrets).

Now if Rubio was proud of his position on wanting to hand the internet over to his corporate buddies, he would share his position on his Twitter page.  But of course he can't so instead he feeds his followers bread and entertains then with circuses by asking them who they support in the Superbowl (https://twitter.com/marcorubio).  Just as the Roman leadership destroyed Rome, he will destroy the United States.

In his profile picture on twitter he uses the term "American dream.  Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone".  Well he forget to mention his American dream is your nightmare and what he really wants is to restore economic opportunity for greedy American corporations.

Remember February 26th marks the key decision by the FCC.  Until then America fight to save your internet.  I encourage you to contact Marc Rubio and reply to his posts asking him "Is the Superbowl what you use to distract us from destroying the internet?"

For more information see: https://www.battleforthenet.com/


                                                   

Should I visit Ireland in the winter?

As an island, the temperature in Ireland is relatively stable, at least in comparison to many other places.  Winters in Ireland are generally only in the high 30s.  Thus is you live anywhere that sees snow even a few times are year, you will find winter in Ireland likely not colder than winter where you are from.  One time in the winter to avoid visiting Ireland is during the week of Christmas as many of the attractions are closed during this time.  Outside of the week of Christmas, the winter can be a great time to go to Ireland, as you can get good deals and attractions are generally not crowded.  Also, if you want to avoid crowds, than avoid the week of St. Patrick’s Day. 

                                                                 

What to do when you see a jaydriver

Here is the reality: jaydrivers kill.

 Sadly this problem is not taken seriously enough. So what can you do when you see or encounter a jay driver.

 The first thing that you need to do is get the jay drivers license plate number. I have recently seen a lot of pictures of the sides of vehicles with posts about jay drivers. This is likely because of where one would be standing in relation to a cross walk as a pedestrian. Unfortunately the side of a vehicle is rarely traceable. Also record any other info you can on the vehicle and driver including color, model, identifying stuff (stickers, dents, etc) and driver description. But as mentioned, first get the license plate: all of this is pretty much useless without a license plate.

 To be super efficient at this you may want to be prepared in advance. Use certain clues that are signs someone may blow through a crosswalk: speeders, lane changers, SUVs are all vehicles that have a higher chance of blowing through the crosswalk. So try to look at their license plate numbers as these vehicles come down the road. That way if they blow through the crosswalk while you or another pedestrian is in it, you have their license plate number and then can possibly take a picture too. It can also help to have a pen and small pad handy if you are walking in an area that has a frequent incidence of jaydriving.

 So what can you do with the license plate numbers. There are now a number of license plate reporting sites. These include License Plate Reports http://licenseplatereports.com/, Zap Tag http://www.zapatag.com/ and Plate Wire http://www.platewire.com/ You can also use social media.

 Just remember most jaydrivers are selfish people. Selfish people are self-interested and as such the last thing they want is to see their license plate on the internet and to have all the people they have faked being a half decent person to find out the truth.

                                                   

On Bread and Circuses

According to Wikipedia bread and circuses in Roman times referred to the "Roman practice of providing free wheat to Roman citizens as well as costly circus games and other forms of entertainment as a means of gaining political power".  

Now this sounds nothing at all like what is going on in the United States.  Ads for fast food restaurants offer rock bottom prices on super processed food with no regard to the harm it does to the individual, animals, or the environment.  Meanwhile people mindlessly pick a team based simply on meaningless location.  It's somehow socially acceptable to strongly state your opinion on this pointless matter, but yet when it comes to bringing up real issues such as that we are destroying the planet, somehow this is considered improper.  

But what we should remember is this: bread and circuses destroyed the Romans.