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Lights Out Detroit

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Hisler

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May 27, 2012, 1:33:33 AM5/27/12
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A thought provoking article:

http://www.teaparty.org/article.php?id=3299

(Bloomberg) - Detroit, whose 139 square miles contain 60 percent fewer
residents than in 1950, will try to nudge them into a smaller living
space by eliminating almost half its streetlights.

As it is, 40 percent of the 88,000 streetlights are broken and the city,
whose finances are to be overseen by an appointed board, can�t afford to
fix them. Mayor Dave Bing�s plan would create an authority to borrow
$160 million to upgrade and reduce the number of streetlights to 46,000.
Maintenance would be contracted out, saving the city $10 million a year.

Other U.S. cities have gone partially dark to save money, among them
Colorado Springs; Santa Rosa, California; and Rockford, Illinois.
Detroit�s plan goes further: It would leave sparsely populated swaths
unlit in a community of 713,000 that covers more area than Boston,
Buffalo and San Francisco combined. Vacant property and parks account
for 37 square miles (96 square kilometers), according to city planners.

�You have to identify those neighborhoods where you want to concentrate
your population,� said Chris Brown, Detroit�s chief operating officer.
�We�re not going to light distressed areas like we light other areas.�

Detroit�s dwindling income and property-tax revenue have required
residents to endure unreliable buses and strained police services
throughout the city. Because streetlights are basic to urban life,
deciding what areas to illuminate will reshape the city, said Kirk
Cheyfitz, co-founder of a project called Detroit143 -- named for the 139
square miles of land, plus water -- that publicizes neighborhood issues.
Rethinking Detroit

�It touches kids going to school in the dark,� said Cheyfitz, chief
executive of Story Worldwide Ltd., a New York marketing company. �It
touches midnight Mass at a church. It touches businesses that want to
stay open past 9 p.m.�

Bing in 2010 began an independent project called Detroit Works to sort
ideas on how to reconfigure the city for residences, businesses, green
space and even agriculture, a plan due in August.

Meantime, Brown said, the city will fix broken streetlights in certain
places even as it discontinues such services as street and sidewalk
repairs in �distressed� areas -- those with a high degree of blight and
little or no commercial activity.

Bing�s plan requires state legislation to create the lighting authority.
Governor Rick Snyder supports the plan, said his senior policy adviser,
Valerie Brader.
Dark Portents

There�s already experience snuffing out streetlights within Detroit�s
borders. Highland Park, a 3-square-mile city encircled by its larger
neighbor, removed 1,100 of 1,600 streetlights last year, after piling up
a $4 million debt to DTE Energy. The move saves $45,000 a month, said
Alejandro Bodipo-Memba, a spokesman for the company.

Only major streets and intersections remain lit in the city of 12,000,
once home to Chrysler Group LLC�s namesake car manufacturer and Henry
Ford�s first moving assembly line. Mayor DeAndre Windom, 45, said
residents at first complained, though few do now. He�s considering
grants and private funding to relight darkened streets

Colorado Springs pulled the plug on 9,000 of its 25,600 lights in 2010
to save $1.3 million, said David Krauth, a city traffic engineer. Some
were relit as revenue improved, though 3,500 remain dark, saving about
$500,000 a year, he said.

In Detroit, some streets have no working lights. Many appear dim or are
blocked by trees. And some areas with mostly vacant lots are well-lit.
Night Terrors

A single, broken streetlight on the northeast side brings fear to
Cynthia Perry, 55. It hasn�t worked for six years, Perry said in an
interview on the darkened sidewalk where she walks from her garage to
her house entrance.

�I�m afraid coming in at night,� she said. �I�m not going to seclude
myself in the house and never go anywhere.�

In southwest Detroit, businesses on West Vernor Highway, a main
commercial thoroughfare, have sought $4 million in private grants to fix
the situation themselves. The state would pay $2.5 million, said Kathy
Wendler, president of the Southwest Detroit Business Association.

Jamahl Makled, 40, said he�s owned businesses in southwest Detroit for
about two decades, most recently cell-phone stores. He said they�ve have
been burglarized more than a dozen times.

�In the dark, criminals are comfortable,� Makled said. �It�s not good
for the economy and the safety of the residents.�
Antique Lamps

North of there, on a stretch of West Grand Boulevard, the bases of light
poles show where thieves tore out the wiring.

As many as 15,000 Detroit streetlights use 1920s technology, according
to a 2010 study by McKinsey & Co. Upgrading the system would cost $140
million to $200 million, and $5 million more to operate than the $23
million now spent annually, the report said.

Besides streetlights, the Detroit lighting department provides
electricity to 144 customers that include Detroit schools, Wayne State
University and local government offices. Almost 22 percent of the city�s
electric bills were unpaid, the McKinsey report said.

That�s just one reason Detroit is digging out of a $265 million deficit
and saddled with more than $12 billion in long- term debt. To avoid a
state takeover, Detroit agreed in April to have its finances overseen by
a nine-member board appointed by the city and the state.
Civic Obligations

Delivering services to a thinly spread population is expensive. Some 20
neighborhoods, each a square mile or more, are only 10 to 15 percent
occupied, said John Mogk, a law professor at Wayne State University who
specializes in urban law and policy. He said the city can�t force
residents to move, and it�s almost impossible under Michigan law for the
city to seize properties for development.

Mogk said landowners can demand many times what property would fetch on
the open market.

�There are tremendous political, administrative, financial and, to some
degree, legal obstacles,� Mogk said. �Unless you phase out a
neighborhood altogether, you still need lighting, and waste pickup and
police and fire protection.�

As Detroit�s streets go dark, some of those neighborhoods may fade away
with the dying light.

Source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-24/half-of-detroit-s-streetlights-may-go-out-as-city-shrinks.html

bates2012

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May 27, 2012, 2:13:29 AM5/27/12
to
On May 27, 12:33 am, Hisler <His...@cocks.net> wrote:
> A thought provoking article:
>
> http://www.teaparty.org/article.php?id=3299
>
> (Bloomberg) - Detroit, whose 139 square miles contain 60 percent fewer
> residents than in 1950, will try to nudge them into a smaller living
> space by eliminating almost half its streetlights.
>
> As it is, 40 percent of the 88,000 streetlights are broken and the city,
> whose finances are to be overseen by an appointed board, can t afford to
> fix them. Mayor Dave Bing s plan would create an authority to borrow
> $160 million to upgrade and reduce the number of streetlights to 46,000.
> Maintenance would be contracted out, saving the city $10 million a year.
>
> Other U.S. cities have gone partially dark to save money, among them
> Colorado Springs; Santa Rosa, California; and Rockford, Illinois.
> Detroit s plan goes further: It would leave sparsely populated swaths
> unlit in a community of 713,000 that covers more area than Boston,
> Buffalo and San Francisco combined. Vacant property and parks account
> for 37 square miles (96 square kilometers), according to city planners.
>
> You have to identify those neighborhoods where you want to concentrate
> your population, said Chris Brown, Detroit s chief operating officer.
> We re not going to light distressed areas like we light other areas.
>
> Detroit s dwindling income and property-tax revenue have required
> residents to endure unreliable buses and strained police services
> throughout the city. Because streetlights are basic to urban life,
> deciding what areas to illuminate will reshape the city, said Kirk
> Cheyfitz, co-founder of a project called Detroit143 -- named for the 139
> square miles of land, plus water -- that publicizes neighborhood issues.
> Rethinking Detroit
>
> It touches kids going to school in the dark, said Cheyfitz, chief
> executive of Story Worldwide Ltd., a New York marketing company. It
> touches midnight Mass at a church. It touches businesses that want to
> stay open past 9 p.m.
>
> Bing in 2010 began an independent project called Detroit Works to sort
> ideas on how to reconfigure the city for residences, businesses, green
> space and even agriculture, a plan due in August.
>
> Meantime, Brown said, the city will fix broken streetlights in certain
> places even as it discontinues such services as street and sidewalk
> repairs in distressed areas -- those with a high degree of blight and
> little or no commercial activity.
>
> Bing s plan requires state legislation to create the lighting authority.
> Governor Rick Snyder supports the plan, said his senior policy adviser,
> Valerie Brader.
> Dark Portents
>
> There s already experience snuffing out streetlights within Detroit s
> borders. Highland Park, a 3-square-mile city encircled by its larger
> neighbor, removed 1,100 of 1,600 streetlights last year, after piling up
> a $4 million debt to DTE Energy. The move saves $45,000 a month, said
> Alejandro Bodipo-Memba, a spokesman for the company.
>
> Only major streets and intersections remain lit in the city of 12,000,
> once home to Chrysler Group LLC s namesake car manufacturer and Henry
> Ford s first moving assembly line. Mayor DeAndre Windom, 45, said
> residents at first complained, though few do now. He s considering
> grants and private funding to relight darkened streets
>
> Colorado Springs pulled the plug on 9,000 of its 25,600 lights in 2010
> to save $1.3 million, said David Krauth, a city traffic engineer. Some
> were relit as revenue improved, though 3,500 remain dark, saving about
> $500,000 a year, he said.
>
> In Detroit, some streets have no working lights. Many appear dim or are
> blocked by trees. And some areas with mostly vacant lots are well-lit.
> Night Terrors
>
> A single, broken streetlight on the northeast side brings fear to
> Cynthia Perry, 55. It hasn t worked for six years, Perry said in an
> interview on the darkened sidewalk where she walks from her garage to
> her house entrance.
>
> I m afraid coming in at night, she said. I m not going to seclude
> myself in the house and never go anywhere.
>
> In southwest Detroit, businesses on West Vernor Highway, a main
> commercial thoroughfare, have sought $4 million in private grants to fix
> the situation themselves. The state would pay $2.5 million, said Kathy
> Wendler, president of the Southwest Detroit Business Association.
>
> Jamahl Makled, 40, said he s owned businesses in southwest Detroit for
> about two decades, most recently cell-phone stores. He said they ve have
> been burglarized more than a dozen times.
>
> In the dark, criminals are comfortable, Makled said. It s not good
> for the economy and the safety of the residents.
> Antique Lamps
>
> North of there, on a stretch of West Grand Boulevard, the bases of light
> poles show where thieves tore out the wiring.
>
> As many as 15,000 Detroit streetlights use 1920s technology, according
> to a 2010 study by McKinsey & Co. Upgrading the system would cost $140
> million to $200 million, and $5 million more to operate than the $23
> million now spent annually, the report said.
>
> Besides streetlights, the Detroit lighting department provides
> electricity to 144 customers that include Detroit schools, Wayne State
> University and local government offices. Almost 22 percent of the city s
> electric bills were unpaid, the McKinsey report said.
>
> That s just one reason Detroit is digging out of a $265 million deficit
> and saddled with more than $12 billion in long- term debt. To avoid a
> state takeover, Detroit agreed in April to have its finances overseen by
> a nine-member board appointed by the city and the state.
> Civic Obligations
>
> Delivering services to a thinly spread population is expensive. Some 20
> neighborhoods, each a square mile or more, are only 10 to 15 percent
> occupied, said John Mogk, a law professor at Wayne State University who
> specializes in urban law and policy. He said the city can t force
> residents to move, and it s almost impossible under Michigan law for the
> city to seize properties for development.
>
> Mogk said landowners can demand many times what property would fetch on
> the open market.
>
> There are tremendous political, administrative, financial and, to some
> degree, legal obstacles, Mogk said. Unless you phase out a
> neighborhood altogether, you still need lighting, and waste pickup and
> police and fire protection.
>
> As Detroit s streets go dark, some of those neighborhoods may fade away
> with the dying light.
>
> Source:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-24/half-of-detroit-s-streetligh...

My wife and her family are from the Detroit area. Most of them are
still up there. They think theres nothing else like it. Id say they
are right, lol
NB

Winston_Smith

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May 27, 2012, 2:34:35 AM5/27/12
to
On Sat, 26 May 2012 23:33:33 -0600, Hisler <His...@cocks.net> wrote:

>(Bloomberg) - Detroit, whose 139 square miles contain 60 percent fewer
>residents than in 1950, will try to nudge them into a smaller living
>space by eliminating almost half its streetlights.
>
>As it is, 40 percent of the 88,000 streetlights are broken and the city,
>whose finances are to be overseen by an appointed board, can�t afford to
>fix them. Mayor Dave Bing�s plan would create an authority to borrow
>$160 million to upgrade and reduce the number of streetlights to 46,000.
>Maintenance would be contracted out, saving the city $10 million a year.

Most of the street lights around here have been replaced with LED
versions. They are much brighter than any of the several old styles
they used over the years, a clean white, and the lit area is bigger.
Has to save on the electric usage and very probably less maintenance.

Hisler

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May 27, 2012, 2:41:50 AM5/27/12
to
Real Americans aren't afraid of the dark. ;<)))

Hisler

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May 27, 2012, 2:42:34 AM5/27/12
to
>> to a 2010 study by McKinsey& Co. Upgrading the system would cost $140
Are they White?

bates2012

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May 27, 2012, 2:34:16 PM5/27/12
to
Yes. My wife is pure white, natural blonde. Not kinda blonde, but real
light blonde.
White power! lol
NB

de...@dudu.org

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May 27, 2012, 2:41:49 PM5/27/12
to
On Sun, 27 May 2012 00:42:34 -0600, Hisler <His...@cocks.net> wrote:

>>> As Detroit s streets go dark, some of those neighborhoods may fade away
>>> with the dying light.
>>>
>>> Source:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-24/half-of-detroit-s-streetligh...
>>
>> My wife and her family are from the Detroit area. Most of them are
>> still up there. They think theres nothing else like it. Id say they
>> are right, lol
>> NB
>
>Are they White?

Do you think only black people live in Detroit? Why is everything
about race with you?

Hisler

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May 27, 2012, 7:27:26 PM5/27/12
to
Motown? The odds are high that a person lives in the poor areas of
Detroit is Black. Do you have a problem with someone not being afraid to
ask someone if they're wife or parents are White? People assume all the
time that when my kid's cousins visit from South Africa that they are
Black. Does that make them evil? Does that mean I should get all
hostile with them and demand to know, using a parental tone, if they
think all Africans are Black? Should I then try to humiliate them by
claiming that "everything is about race" with them?

Hisler

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May 27, 2012, 7:30:22 PM5/27/12
to
I'll bet she's beautiful. You're a lucky man.

de...@dudu.org

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May 27, 2012, 10:22:52 PM5/27/12
to
What difference does it make? Can we just all be people?

terryc

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May 27, 2012, 10:48:56 PM5/27/12
to
On 28/05/12 12:22, de...@dudu.org wrote:

> What difference does it make? Can we just all be people?

BTDT and don't give a rats any more. I'll take people as they come, but
the moment they go prejudiced, that is it, cut them out.

I was interested in finding out about a lot of other cultures, but as
the saying goes "songs about whoring are boring in any language".

We have both been interested in lots of other foods, but almost always,
people from other backgrounds are not intersted in mine.

There are more rascists in immigrants to this country than in those born
here.

Winston_Smith

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May 27, 2012, 10:51:00 PM5/27/12
to
Some are solient green.

bates2012

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May 28, 2012, 2:48:58 AM5/28/12
to
Well, painfully cute would be more accurate.
Thanks,
NB

Stormin Mormon

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May 28, 2012, 7:08:33 AM5/28/12
to
I remember years ago, my Dad told me of a friend of his. Who grew up in
Africa. When he had to apply for a job, he always honestly checked
Afro-American. However, he did have white skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes.
I'm sure that raised a few eye brows.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Hisler" <his...@cocks.net>
wrote in message news:jpud8t$k3b$1...@dont-email.me...

Shall not be infringed

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May 28, 2012, 1:14:15 PM5/28/12
to his...@cocks.net
Only the federal government is authorized to ask if a person claims a race. It's at the bottom of so many government forms.

So you were completely out of line.

rbowman

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May 28, 2012, 1:20:15 PM5/28/12
to
Stormin Mormon wrote:

> I remember years ago, my Dad told me of a friend of his. Who grew up in
> Africa. When he had to apply for a job, he always honestly checked
> Afro-American. However, he did have white skin, blonde hair, and blue
> eyes. I'm sure that raised a few eye brows.

Was he related to Elizabeth Warren?

bates2012

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May 28, 2012, 1:51:40 PM5/28/12
to
On May 28, 12:14 pm, Shall not be infringed <hot-ham-and-
che...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Sunday, May 27, 2012 7:27:26 PM UTC-4, Hisler wrote:
Nah, he wasnt, unless a person is overly sensitive because of their
gubmint programming.
Im English and Cherokee. Not pure white, but considered white by
anybody that sees me.
People can also get in an uproar about "privacy". I had to sign papers
earlier this month when I was in the hospital that I understood their
privacy policy and such. I have a long list of shit wrong with me. But
I dont give a shit if they print it in the newspaper, lol
Aint no big deal to me. Maybe it should be. But it aint.
NB

Hisler

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May 28, 2012, 1:56:16 PM5/28/12
to
Are you being facetious?

Stormin Mormon

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May 28, 2012, 4:14:21 PM5/28/12
to
I'd have no way to know.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"rbowman" <bow...@montana.com> wrote in message
news:a2hqed...@mid.individual.net...

Shall not be infringed

unread,
May 28, 2012, 4:44:05 PM5/28/12
to His...@cocks.net
NVGs work better without all those street lamps...

Shall not be infringed

unread,
May 28, 2012, 4:43:12 PM5/28/12
to his...@cocks.net
Hell yes. Heh.

Hisler

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May 28, 2012, 6:55:52 PM5/28/12
to
Can you tell the race of someone with NVG's? It might have a tendency
to cause one to judge people only by their body language instead of
color, as in the George Zimmerman case. But then again, in the dark
you can't see color anyway.

Shall not be infringed

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May 28, 2012, 9:01:45 PM5/28/12
to His...@cocks.net
You absolutely can tell their race. They're all green Martians.

Shall not be infringed

unread,
May 28, 2012, 9:00:30 PM5/28/12
to
Well, despite any privacy "rights," the gov't will keep compiling information that should be between you and your doctor.

bates2012

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May 28, 2012, 9:31:05 PM5/28/12
to
On May 28, 8:00 pm, Shall not be infringed <hot-ham-and-
Well, once all the alphabet agencies have a good thick file on you,
privacy is really a moot point. I know for a fact the TBI, FBI, CIA,
State Dept., and Id imagine the NSA all have a file on me. Oh, and
Social Security has MORE info than they want, and they are gonna get
more Wednesday morning.
If privacy is important to a person, I dont blame them for wanting to
keep things under wraps. But I dont give a shit, and that probably
puts me ahead of the game :o)
NB
Message has been deleted

Debbie

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May 29, 2012, 8:23:09 AM5/29/12
to
I am so happy there are no street lights around here. It would make
sleep difficult. I like darkness to sleep.

Hisler

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May 30, 2012, 2:17:06 AM5/30/12
to
Amen to that.

Larry

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May 30, 2012, 2:40:49 AM5/30/12
to
In article <jpseba$vnm$1...@dont-email.me>, His...@cocks.net says...

> (Bloomberg) - Detroit, whose 139 square miles contain 60 percent fewer
> residents than in 1950, will try to nudge them into a smaller living
> space by eliminating almost half its streetlights.
>
> As it is, 40 percent of the 88,000 streetlights are broken and the city,
> whose finances are to be overseen by an appointed board, can?t afford to
> fix them. Mayor Dave Bing?s plan would create an authority to borrow
> $160 million to upgrade and reduce the number of streetlights to 46,000.
> Maintenance would be contracted out, saving the city $10 million a year.

Another ugly side to urban sprawl. If they had set up an urban growth
boundary and forced developers into compact development, they wouldn't have
ended up with a city the size of a small state that costs a fortune to
maintain.

You're looking at the future of Houston. Some people can't learn from history
when it's happening right in front of them.

Larry

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May 30, 2012, 2:55:48 AM5/30/12
to
In article <032fdb2a-7271-49c1-b89e-c70f1811eea0
@m8g2000yqo.googlegroups.com>, bate...@hushmail.com says...
I grew up in a small town, and all this "privacy" stuff is pretty funny to
me. Once upon a time, everybody knew as much about your business as you did.
Then people started moving around and became anonymous, which let them get
away with a lot of crap. Now, the internet is knitting society back into a
small town, where anyone who is interested can find out your whole life
story.

The only sorry thing about the computer age is that it's almost impossible to
live anything down. Once upon a time, you could move across the country,
change your name and build a life for yourself. Nobody would know you once
did 5 years for armed robbery. Nowadays, that mistake will follow you for the
rest of your life. I really feel sorry for the poor suckers who had sex with
their teenage girlfriend and now have to register as sex offenders for the
rest of their life.

Hisler

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May 30, 2012, 3:20:44 AM5/30/12
to
Well said, sir.
Message has been deleted

Larry

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May 30, 2012, 10:49:46 PM5/30/12
to
In article <gqobs79509j82ppha...@Osama-Is-Dead.net>, sealteam6
@osama-is-dead.net says...

> >You're looking at the future of Houston. Some people can't learn from
history
> >when it's happening right in front of them.
>
> Houston is building highways left and right, and have been
> non-stop since WWII. We also have enough commerce here to
> continue to grow since Houston is not an economic one-trick-pony
> like Detroit. The two cities have nothing in common, why you
> chose to compare Detroit to Houston is beyond me. Nothing about
> the demographics are similar.

If the federal corporate welfare ever dries up, Houston will look a lot like
Detroit.

Dustin

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Jun 7, 2012, 1:04:11 PM6/7/12
to
Shall not be infringed <hot-ham-a...@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:1d3c9752-2cd8-402c...@googlegroups.com:

> Well, despite any privacy "rights," the gov't will keep compiling
> information that should be between you and your doctor.

There's always google. :) In the event the gov't gets too busy or can't do
it on their own.


--
Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too
many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and
the only thing that's wrong is to get caught. - J.C. Watts

Winston_Smith

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Jun 7, 2012, 1:55:33 PM6/7/12
to
On Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:04:11 GMT, Dustin <bughunte...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>Shall not be infringed <hot-ham-a...@hotmail.com> wrote in
>news:1d3c9752-2cd8-402c...@googlegroups.com:
>
>> Well, despite any privacy "rights," the gov't will keep compiling
>> information that should be between you and your doctor.
>
>There's always google. :) In the event the gov't gets too busy or can't do
>it on their own.

As a matter of fact, that's exactly how it works. The various data
compliers are seeing big bucks in selling accesss to their database to
the government. And to insurance companies. And to lawyers. And to
merchants. But mostly the FEDs.
Message has been deleted

greylock

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Jun 7, 2012, 10:21:10 PM6/7/12
to
On Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:05:37 -0500, G. Morgan
<seal...@osama-is-dead.net> wrote:
>Combine that with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and they know
>everything!

Some of the above is quite honestly beyond our control.

But Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are in the category of "in our
control".

If you have reasons you think you must be on any of the social
networks - put the veryminimum information in them that absolutely has
to be there to accomplish what you need to accomplish - and be damn
stingy about defining "need".

And bear in mind that youdon't owe it to anyone to put the truth in
your entires.

In particular - NEVER, NEVER, NEVER put in your real birthday.

rbowman

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Jun 7, 2012, 10:38:28 PM6/7/12
to
greylock wrote:

> In particular - NEVER, NEVER, NEVER put in your real birthday

I always get a smile when some site sends me birthday greetings, usually a
few months off.

Thomas

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Jun 8, 2012, 7:04:57 AM6/8/12
to
August 28, 1965.

Don't forget me.
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