THIS is TRUE #823: 21 March 2010
This is True
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RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS FROM LAST WEEK (the regular issue is below)
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Q: WHY do we have to re-subscribe?
A: If you want to continue to get this newsletter, you must re-subscribe
because THIS old list is going away.
Q: But WHY don't YOU just move us all?
A: Because I want to revalidate the distribution: many addresses here are
more than 15 *YEARS* old (an eternity, online!), and this is the only
(or at least the easiest) way to do that.
Q: But if there are bad addresses, WHY don't you remove them?
A: We *DO* remove the ones that are bad, but that requires a properly
formatted bounce so we know about it. Not all servers do it right --
*especially* the oldest ones. So many bad addresses remain, and I
don't want to continue to spend the money mailing to black holes.
Q: So WHY are you doing this?
A: The old server has been having deliverability problems, as those on
Comcast (to name just one) already know: if you've "just not received"
issues some weeks, that's why. The new list provider is FAR better at
making sure you get your issues -- this is definitely NOT just for my
convenience. In fact, the new provider is MORE expensive than Lyris!
But I'm doing it so YOU get better service. Is it REALLY too much to
ask that you help with that a LITTLE?!
THE BOTTOM LINE, again, is if you want to continue to get this free
newsletter, you MUST go to the web site and resubscribe. It takes FAR
less time and effort than reading these stupid questions and answers!
If you DON'T want to get this newsletter, then click the frigging
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WHY? Those ARE your choices so YOU get better service!
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I'LL SOON START TO SEND THIS MESSAGE ALONE, without an issue attached, to
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RC
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SINCE 1994 and reaching more than 106,000 subscribers in over 200
countries, this is the 823rd weekly issue of Randy Cassingham's...
THIS is TRUE: 21 March 2010 Copyright http://www.thisistrue.com
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EXCELLED: "We're all still getting used to how things are laid out in the
new building," explained Adair County, Ky., Sheriff Ralph Curry. The
day the new Adair County Judicial Center opened, court security officer
Charles Wright stepped outside, and when he came back in, he took a
wrong turn and walked into a holding cell for prisoners. When the door
closed behind him, he was locked in. He tried using his cell phone to
call for help, but couldn't get a signal. Wright suffers from
claustrophobia and "just panicked," Curry says. Wright "starting trying
to shoot the glass out" of the cell door. "Of course, it's bulletproof,
so that didn't work." No one reported hearing any gunshots, but when
other employees noticed Wright was missing, they went looking for him,
and found him. Curry sent Wright home, and noted he probably won't
allow him to return to the job. (Adair Progress) ...OK, but the real
question is, will Curry renew his gun permit?
BURNING ANGER: Timothy Flood, 42, wasn't happy about the end of his 14-
year marriage. The biggest bone of contention, though, was the house he
and his wife owned in Undy, in Monmouthshire, Wales. "The house was
both our pride and joy," said his wife, Catherine, 39. "He made it
clear that he wasn't going to move out of the house but I expected him
to do so." To make sure she wouldn't get the 250,000 pound (US$379,000)
house, Timothy poured gasoline around the inside and lit a match. The
house exploded in flames -- and so did he, since he had spilled petrol
on himself, too. He died two days later, suffering from burns over 90
percent of his body. (London Telegraph) ...So: did he win?
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DON'T WANNA LEARN THAT LESSON: Sir James Smith, 27, was being driven home
by his wife Sharmainique Royal, 21, and smoking pot in the car, police
in Indianapolis, Ind., say. They were pulled over for a minor traffic
infraction and the officer noticed the smell from burning marijuana as
he approached. The couple's 11-month-old daughter was in the back seat.
The couple was charged with possession of marijuana, and neglect of a
dependent for smoking it with the baby in the car. The child was taken
into protective custody. Smith was on his way home after spending four
months in jail, after being convicted of ...yep... dealing marijuana.
(Indianapolis Star) ...And another kid goes up in smoke.
DOUBLE STANDARD: A Grand Jury in Houston, Texas, refused to indict
criminal defense attorney Lloyd Oliver, after he allegedly broke the
law by hiring a homeless man to pass his card to others to solicit
business. The homeless man, meanwhile, has been indicted for the crime
of directly soliciting business for a lawyer. His name: Perry Mason.
(Houston Chronicle) ...He's going to need a good lawyer to beat that
rap. I hope he knows someone.
MAYBE NOT THE BEST CHOICE OF WORDS: "Funeral Home Livens Things Up" --
Berkshire Eagle (Mass.) headline
THE OTHER HALF OF THIS WEEK'S STORIES: Firefighters prohibited from
rescuing a woman who fell into mineshaft, since per "health and safety"
regulations their rescue equipment is only to be used to rescue
themselves, not members of the public. State's list of "persistently
lowest achieving schools" revised -- education department made errors
in the "complicated calculations" used to compute school scores.
Student on spring break too drunk to give police details on where he
was robbed, or maybe even whether he was actually robbed or not. Man
says there was a child in his stolen car since he figured that would
get the car back faster. You CAN still read all of these stories: just
ask for your upgrade to start with the 21 March issue, and get a full
year of expanded issues for $24: http://thisistrue.com/upgrade.html
DID YOU FIND an error? See http://www.thisistrue.com/errata.html
AFTER I FINISH WRITING sometime late Sunday night, I send the stories to
my wife, who gets to be the first to read the stories -- and catch
errors and bad construction. (She caught a couple this week.) She's
also the first to react; when she got to "Don't Wanna Learn that
Lesson", she replied, "His name is really Sir James Smith?! Whoa...."
Yes, as far as I can tell that's indeed his legal name. He's apparently
keeping the tradition going. The little girl that was taken into
protective custody? Her name is Sir'ir Royal. Yeah, really.
I'M REALLY PROUD of the *powerful* story posted today on the Mug Shot
Museum. People are already telling me they have people they're sending
it to because they "don't get it" -- a message that society has been
trying to pound through some thick heads for decades now, with moderate
success. And seeing the mug shot with the story makes it that much more
powerful. I have said (on the "About Us" page on the site, linked just
below the search box) that the point or "mission" of the site is to
help people learn from other people's mistakes, and there are millions
of people who COULD learn from this particular story -- and, I hope, a
percentage of them WILL learn the lesson by reading it. Who knows:
maybe even you, or one of your family members. You're MOST welcome to
forward the URL to anyone you think needs to read the story and get the
point. It's at http://www.MugShotMuseum.com/give_em_a_brake.html
There's also an update to a TRUE story from August published there. See
http://www.MugShotMuseum.com/uniquely_qualified.html
There's also a new category on the site, because it became clear it was
called for: "Cops or Impersonation" (that is, cops who are arrested*,
and those who want to BE cops so bad they're arrested for impersonating
one). The category list is on the home page, on the left side, under
the header "Categories", strangely enough. I'm not sure everyone
realizes it's there, or that clicking a category shows you all the
stories in that category. By the way: I'd LOVE it if there were more in
the "Non-US" category too. You know you can submit leads for the site,
right? That link is also below the search box. There are already over
100 entries on the site: http://www.MugShotMuseum.com
* Example: http://www.MugShotMuseum.com/just_two_beers_officer.html
o o o
AND AMONG THE LATEST postings to Jumbo Joke: Our Oldest Entry Ever (a
post from 1856! You know, it's just proof that some things never really
change....) http://www.JumboJoke.com
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TEN YEARS AGO IN TRUE: Paging Shaun White: skiers and boarders in
Colorado are jumping over a *highway*, scaring passing motorists.
http://thisistrue.com/7084
And don't forget http://i.thisistrue.com for a new story every day on
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THIS WEEK'S HONORARY UNSUBSCRIBE goes to James W. Black. A physician and
pharmacologist, Black's discoveries have helped save or improve
millions of lives (including mine, when one of his discoveries
"accidentally" helped prevent migraine headaches). For the full story
see http://www.HonoraryUnsubscribe.com/james_w._black.html
AND see http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/03/21/margaret.moth.obit for
an amazing obit of an amazing woman. Margaret Moth would have been
featured this week if I wasn't so grateful to Dr. Black for practically
curing my migraines. I couldn't possibly summarize her life in one
paragraph anyway.
HONORARY UNSUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE: http://www.HonoraryUnsubscribe.com
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