R.I.P. to my Blackberry Storm 2

Back in 2010, I upgraded my phone to a Blackberry Storm 2. It was a great device and RIM had improved upon the much maligned Blackberry Storm. Last Sunday, I dropped my S2 and cracked the screen, necessitating the purchase of a new phone.

I went with the Apple iPhone 4S and I have to say I am impressed. The iPhone is light years ahead of the S2 and it is a very capable and user friendly device with loads of features and plenty of power.

Nevertheless, I would be remiss if I failed to recognize what a great device the S2 was for me. It was a tough little phone and it served me very well over the last two years.

It's parked on my desk forever, in its cradle with the power down. It's a way of recognizing all that it was for me.

So thanks to RIM for making a great device, and RIP to my S2.

Been away for a while....

But I'm back and I intend to start posting with more regularity.

If you haven't figured it out from my previous posts, I'm a registered Democrat. But before you start to assume I'm all about abortion, gun control, and higher taxes for social spending, you need to know a few things.

Once upon a time, I was a registered Republican. When I got out of the Marines in 1986, the Republican party was a lot different than it is today. For starters, they hadn't yet been totally co-opted by the evangelicals and they stood for things like reduced government, a strong military and national unity.

The last Republican candidate who got my vote for President was George H.W. Bush.

But by 2000, the party had begun to become too radical, much the same way the Democratic party did in the 1960s and early 1970s. The religious right had begun to dictate what Republican values would be and thus, I began to identify with them less.

Following the election of President Obama, the party radically shifted right and now are dominated by those who think that unless one holds the same values as them, one is an enemy of America. And even more disturbing is those Republicans who are attacking candidates who are veterans.

The most insulting example is Congressman Joe Walsh attacking Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war vet and Army helicopter pilot who her legs flying a combat mission in Iraq in 2004. This is really below the belt in my opinion and regardless of the fact that he does think she's a hero, the fact that he calls her discussing her service too much is in my mind, reprehensible. But don't take my word for it. Decide for yourself:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78101.html

And now, the Republicans have as their candidate for the nation's highest office, a corporate raider who hides his money off shore and thinks that 47% of the American public are victims.

And they wonder why they are losing in the polls and have to resort to disenfranchising 10s of thousdands of Americans to win an election....

Yeah. Right.