Microsoft Help: A+

Today I called Microsoft for Help. Did I ever need it!

And I got it. I got First Class help from Nakul Rana, in New Delhi, India. I had purchased and installed Office 2010 on my year-old laptop on Saturday, so that I could get busy and finish a book on hypnotherapy.

When I went to open Outlook, I ran into questions for which I had no answers, and I called for Help. The Tech Rep knew exactly what to tell me to do. He was patient with me while I juggled my computer, phone and wired internet connection (okay, keep laughing), and we got Outlook configured so I could send email from it.

Then I asked him for helping moving my 5,000 contacts in the old Outlook to my new computer, and he stuck right with me. He was able to connect remotely and perform some of the steps, but some I had to do here, and I appreciated his patience.

And everything works! Thank you, Mr. Nakul Rana. You are terrific!

Sheriff gets it right

Sheriff Scott Berry

Of course, not our sheriff. You have to go all the way to Oconee County, Georgia, for this sheriff.

Sheriff Scott Berry knows the difference between an assault rifle and a semi-automatic rifle. And he put a purveyor of police equipment on notice that he won't look for bids from them for any future purchases involving taxpayer money.

Dana Safety Supply decided it would no longer sell semi-automatic rifles to civilians. So Sheriff Berry told them, "No more taxpayer dollars for you." Bravo!

Thanks to McHenry County Advocate for mentioning this. Otherwise, not being a Fox News (or any TV) watcher, I would have missed it.

Apparently, Sheriff Berry was baited on the "assault rifle" issue, but he didn't bite. Instead, according to this article on Freedom Outpost blog, this is his view. " The Sheriff described that an assault weapon was a military weapon that was designed for military purpose. “Semi-automatic rifles just aren’t assault rifles,” he said. “You can call them that, but that’s just not what they are.”

Now just what is so hard about this definition of "assault rifle"? The Brady bunch doesn't like it. Dianne Feinstein doesn't like it. So they are wrong, and they need to be told, repeatedly, that they are wrong.

Oconee County is east of Atlanta and south of Athens. I think I'll just have to go by and shake Sheriff Berry's hand.

Beth Bentley - gone 137 weeks

Here we are - the first Sunday in the new year. And not a word of new information, or even old information, about Beth Bentley, who has been missing since May 23, 2010.

Bentley, 41, vanished from the Centralia, Ill. area, according to her friend and traveling companion, Jenn Wyatt, who told Woodstock Police that she had dropped Beth off near the Amtrak Station in Centralia about 6:00PM.

Because Beth was reported missing late on Monday evening, May 24, to the Woodstock Police, this department has claimed the lead investigatory role. The case was classified initially as a missing person case, and this has been changed. Supposedly, the Mount Vernon Police, Centralia Police, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and the Illinois State Police have all had fingers in the investigation.

The investigation seems to have fallen off the radar screen at the Woodstock Police Department, because it is no longer reporting to the City Manager each month. It didn't have anything new ever to report, anyway.

A new investigation is needed. Knowing now that Beth was, according to Wyatt, last seen in Centralia on that Sunday at 6:00PM, a new investigation could start, say, back earlier in the year, January 1, 2010, might be a good date.

Then carefully trace Beth's comings and goings from the date forward. Create a matrix of all her co-workers, friends, acquaintances, bar buddies (start with the former Gus's Roadhouse (now Offsides and Liquid Blues on the Woodstock Square).

Dig into medical records and check out every aspect of her reported health conditions. There must be a way to get at medical records of a person who vanished 2½ years ago. Perhaps a subpoena would persuade doctors and hospitals to release them. If something shows up in the records, then follow the trail.

Analyze the cell phone records from Beth's phone and all phones connected to that phone, plus the phone records of those around her. Identify any suspicious relationships and dig into them.

The police have apparently never identified a suspect in her disappearance or even any "person-of-interest". Track down every rumor and see where it leads.

Re-interview every person she knew or might have known. Since 2½ years have passed after earlier interviews, compare the stories told now with the ones that were originally heard. Are there people who will refuse to talk? Are there people who have moved from Woodstock? Have there been marriages? Divorces? Reasons?

What happened to Beth's computer that was at her office? Did any expert ever get a chance to inspect it carefully? Was there really a theft of computer(s) or computer files in McHenry on the night she is believed to disappeared 300 miles south?

Who got into Beth's Facebook account and purged it of photographs, comments and replies? Did police get copies of all the pages from that account? I hear they were copied before all the information disappeared.

School safety plans - where are they?

Hello? Schools re-open in the morning. That's Monday morning, January 7. Tomorrow.

Have any parents heard from their childrens' schools about any changes in safety plans?

There is a new Facebook page called "Mchenry (sic) County School Forum". It has 26 Likes. 26. Only 26. Where is everybody? How many thousands of parents and students are there in McHenry County? And where is information on that page about increased safety? AWOL.

Go right now to the Woodstock District 200 Schools website.

Read down the list of News and Announcements. There is absolutely nothing, as in NOTHING, about safety, security, changes. And the message that was there about the Newtown tragedy is gone!

The newest item, dated January 4, is about the school district's annual banquet and auction to be held on February 2.

The School Board meets Tuesday night. The meeting is on January 8 at Clay Professional Development Center - what you know as Clay Academy (or the old Clay Street School), located at  112 Grove Street (corner of Clay Street), Woodstock. The meeting time was omitted from the Agenda. On the District's website calendar the starting time is shown as 7:00PM.

Newtown cannot be relegated to the garbage pile. Improved safety and security measures must be implemented. In Illinois we parents and adults are not allowed to provide the increased armed security that is needed.

If you think the good guys shouldn't be around our schools tomorrow morning with guns, just pause for 30 seconds and imagine the bad guys being there with guns. Change your mind?

In the absence of any announcements from the schools about improved safety and security, there is something that parents can do. Parents can be at the schools, walking the perimeter. Have your cell phones fully charged. Have the phone number for Woodstock P.D. (815.338.2131) programmed in your speed-dial. I use SpeedDial position 9 for it. All I have to do is press-and-hold "9", and my phone will dial Woodstock PD.

You might expect to be approached by a Woodstock officer or the school resource officer, if the school has one. Be courteous. He's just doing his job. Stay on the public sidewalk. Leave your weapons at home. No guns, knives, teargas, nightsticks, Kel-ites; just your phone.

Former Marine flames Feinstein

Three cheers for former Marine Joshua Boston. If someone sets up a fund for him, I'll contribute.

Read the HuffPost article about the letter he sent to Dianne Feinstein. Boston reminds Sen. Feinstein that she works for him, not the other way around. Boston's letter can be read on CNN.com.

I'm with him. I will not (grammarians will note that "will", when used in the first person, is more emphatic than "shall") register or surrender any weapons that I might own.


Just in case the media decided to remove his letter, here it is, in its entirety:

Senator Dianne Feinstein,

I will not register my weapons should this bill be passed, as I do not believe it is the government's right to know what I own. Nor do I think it prudent to tell you what I own so that it may be taken from me by a group of people who enjoy armed protection yet decry me having the same a crime. You ma'am have overstepped a line that is not your domain. I am a Marine Corps Veteran of 8 years, and I will not have some woman who proclaims the evil of an inanimate object, yet carries one, tell me I may not have one.

I am not your subject. I am the man who keeps you free. I am not your servant. I am the person whom you serve. I am not your peasant. I am the flesh and blood of America.

I am the man who fought for my country. I am the man who learned. I am an American. You will not tell me that I must register my semi-automatic AR-15 because of the actions of some evil man.

I will not be disarmed to suit the fear that has been established by the media and your misinformation campaign against the American public.

We, the people, deserve better than you.

Respectfully Submitted,
Joshua Boston
Cpl, United States Marine Corps
2004-2012

Dave Linder on concealed carry

Former Crystal Lake Police Chief Dave Linder was interviewed by Stew Cohen of Star 105.5, and the interview was broadcast today as part of Stew's Northwest spectrum series.

I was interested in Dave's perspective on concealed carry. Of course, as a retired police officer, he will have the right to carry a concealed weapon - a right not accorded to other law-abiding people walking around in civilian attire.

Dave gave the example of a police call of "Man with a gun." When the cops arrive, they know somebody has a gun. He expressed concern that, if Illinois had a concealed carry law, then, when police arrived, there might be a lot of people in a room with guns.

This is a scare tactic to alarm people into being afraid of concealed carry.

The police do not need to fear law-abiding citizens with guns. A lot of cops know this and will admit it. If cops get a "man with a gun" call, they respond and look for a person with a gun who is breaking a law or who is reported as breaking a law.

The law-abiding, concealed-carry person who is armed will only have his gun out if he is engaged with a person who is breaking the law. If that person is already "down" (shot), then the law-abiding citizen will probably have placed his weapon on the floor or back in the holster before the cops arrive. He will keep his hands in sight and away from his body. He will quickly identify himself to the cops and will understand that they quite likely will take his weapon and may even handcuff him.

He'll be inclined to cooperate, but he'd better remember "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." About all he should say is, I have not broken any law, and I wish to talk to my attorney." And then shut up!

Any concealed-carry person will understand that the cops will be on high alert. They don't want to get shot. The law-abiding person is not going to shoot them.

Dave said he didn't know the statistics in favor of  concealed carry. That was a safe position to take on the air. However, I'll challenge him on that. If he meant that he couldn't quote them on the spot, okay. But he has to be familiar with them. Forty-nine states have some form of concealed carry. He had to be preparing the Crystal Lake Police Department for the day when Illinois will have concealed carry.

I'll also challenge Dave on his "If you have a gun and an argument breaks out, then there will be a gun fight" statement. Not so, Dave.

I know and like Stew. He had me on his program as a guest several years ago, on the same topic. To make a reference to the airport security checkpoint and that people would be pulling out their weapons, was laughable. Thanks for the chuckle, Stew.

And about innocent people getting shot in a movie theater by those with concealed weapons? Would you rather have a dozen shot and killed by a shooter who is not confronted? If I'm in the audience and I can get a clean shot at a killer, I'm going to take it. (Of course, I realize I shouldn't even write this, because some loon will take it as "pre-meditated".)

When police egg a house

Dispatcher: "Report of a house being egged at ______ in Framingham."

Three people, initially reported as teenagers, egged a house in Framingham, Mass. (for you midwesterners, Framingham is 22 miles WSW of Boston) on December 11.

When investigators finally caught up with them, it turned out they weren't teenagers, after all. The culprits were three police officers with the Newton (Mass.) Police Department. Newton is about halfway between Framingham and Boston.

What did the cops have to say? It was "a prank, a joke between friends."

Yeah, sure...

The short article, published in today's Northwest Herald, wound up with "No charges were filed, and the Newton officers were not identified."

Anyone think the "Thin Blue Line" doesn't still exist?

Now, I wouldn't have any problem with this if, had the eggers been teenagers, they would have been treated the same way - no arrest and no identification released. Why do I doubt that local teenagers would have been treated as those officers were?