Burying the Boston Bomber

It is a natural reaction of the human mind to be upset and angered that one of the monsters that bombed the Boston Marathon deserves a respectful burial.  Some people protested angrily outside a funeral home to show their anger and American pride.  It is the wrong reaction.  The person that committed the reprehensible crime is no longer with us.  All that remains is a body with no life in it.  No different than a rock.  Some people have argued that we should have tossed him into the middle of a pig farm simply because he was Muslim and let the hogs have their way with his body.  Some people say that we should have dumped him off a boat in the Atlantic along with Osama Bin Laden and never think of him again. That was pure anger, a natural but wrong logical thought process.

Tamerlane Tsarnaev was a terrorist.  He had a mission to destroy the American way of life to send some kind of message that was as twisted as his own mind was.  He wanted you and I to hate America because he hated America.  Why he hated our country and why he and his younger brother did the bombing of the Boston Marathon may never be known.  He struck a nerve when it came time to bury his body.  Not one cemetery in the northern states seashore of the United States wanted him buried in their hallowed grounds. 

Does a terrorist deserve a burial according to religious tradition?  Granted, most terrorist bombers of this kind never need a proper burial, because there are never enough pieces left.  This case is different.  We had a body.  No matter what crime you commit in your life, everyone has the right to a proper burial.  Burial tradition is not for the one that committed the crime but for the family to grieve, and get past the idiotic thing that you did against all of humanity.  Would you blame his three year old daughter for all of his sins and crimes against humanity? 

Some people and some reporters think it is a good idea to protest a funeral.  For the reporter it is a paycheck on a situation that is blood boiling mad for the protesters.  Anger feeds headlines and sells newspapers.  It sells well till you think it out.  

A funeral is the time for the family to bury their dead.  They had nothing to do with the madness of Tamerlane Tsarnaev.  They will carry the guilt of his actions till the day they die with great shame.  Some people say that he should have been cremated.  That is against not only Muslim religious belief but also Catholic religious belief.  Add a ton of other religions that believe the body should be returned to the earth and you get one conclusion.  Burial.

There is no logical reason to protest a funeral unless you are as radical as the Wesboro Baptist Church that thinks it is okay to protest every dead soldiers funeral.  Burying your dead is a hard time for any family.  That is a time when we as American's draw the line.  We do not prey on the family of our enemies.  We are not the monsters of other peoples creations.  Does protesting a funeral or showing utter contempt that the bomber is dead change anything?  It does not.  Screaming and shouting your message to a family member that had nothing to do with the crime is dishonorable and wrong.    

I have been a member of a great organization for over ten years that I have 100% pride in.  I feel no shame for having my name or blog associated with it.  I'm talking about the Patriot Guard Riders.  Our mission is to honor the family of our nations fallen military.  This organization was formed to combat Westboro Baptist Church and their protests at funerals for our fallen sons and daughters, family members in uniform.  Patriot Guard Riders only show up to keep the WBC protest out of sight of the family burying a loved one.  And only at the request of the family.  Their mission has expanded to more interactions but you can get the full message by Google searching Patriot Guard Riders and joining us.

Protesting any funeral to sell your message is wrong no matter how angry you are at the person about to be buried.  It makes you party to the same madness as the WBC.  America is a changing experiment and we need to find our way that is right because we think it is the right way to be.  Not because someone showed so much hate for us that he died for being wrong.  American patriots die every single day in uniform but few care.  Protest that by showing up for the family supporting them during a time of grieving.  Walk into the funeral home and just thank the family for their loved one. That is a message that Tamerlane Tsarnaev never understood.  They were wrong.  We as a people are right because we have honor and respect for all faiths and all traditions no matter your origin.  That includes burial.

Protesting a funeral, no matter what reason or logic you think is right is wrong.  Grahm Putnam and Mahoney Funeral home was doing what is right by offering to bury the dead for a person that was once a human being to his family.  They took the job on because nobody else would.  They do the same thing for people that nobody else cares about.  The homeless, people with no family, people that are Jane Doe or John Doe.  I applaud them for standing up and taking the heat.  Everyone on this planet deserves a respectful burial or service even if nobody shows up or even cared.  Please don't ever point a GP&M as a funeral home that is anti American.  They by far showed that we are American.  Think about it.

Papamoka

Bancroft School Solar Power

Changing the world and how power is used or understood starts with education of the next generation. In Worcester, MA the Bancroft School is taking the lead in New England by going mega solar powered. Installing and powering up enough solar panels to provide 25% of the schools electric energy needs.

You have to give proper respect to the community for grabbing the energy usage bull by the horns and showing the kids how their school can make a difference in the way energy is produced for a common good. Locally, and globally.

On October 8, 2010 at 1 p.m. the Bancroft School community, with local and state officials on hand, will converge at the McDonough Center to celebrate the installation of 462 high-efficiency solar panels at a special dedication ceremony.

The solar electric system will be the largest private installation within the City of Worcester, producing more than 117,000-kilowatt hours of electricity annually or approximately 25% of the building’s energy needs over an entire year.

“Bancroft leads by example in providing our students with the tools and knowledge to be conscientious citizens of the globe,” said Scott R. Reisinger, Head of Bancroft School. “We have a strong record of sustainability and I am proud to see our School join with the greater Worcester community in further expanding our clean energy reach.”

Worcester has already been named by the Commonwealth as one of the first green communities in Massachusetts. The solar electric system capacity is rated at 106.2 kW and will add to the City’s reputation as a stronghold of alternative energy-conscious organizations. - Bancroft School

Bancroft School joins Holy Name High with its wind turbine that can be seen for miles from many of the highways that pass through Worcester as the foundation for going green with energy generation. In both cases it is a huge push toward moving our entire society away from energy sources that burden progress in a world that has to find new and clean ways to feed its energy needs.

The real bonus here and now is the green jobs thanks to the people that helped make it all possible for the school to stand proud.

Future Solar Systems, LLC, of Millbury, MA which designed the solar electric system, coordinated the installation, secured investors, and provided a comprehensive curriculum for solar, wind and energy efficiency for faculty to incorporate into the science and math programs. The solar panels are made by Canadian Solar, with inverters made by Solectria Renewables of Lawrence, MA. The system was financed by a combination of Millbury Credit Union and private investment.

Bancroft School rocks in the green energy school directory. So do the folks working in the new green energy field.

Papamoka

Worcester Blogger Round About Rotary

Papamoka Straight Talk is not for the most part a local Worcester, Mass-A-Two-Sticks (A nickname given what you have left over after all the taxes) blog but I’m finding that there are some great local blog’s discussing real issues that actually are relevant to this site. When it comes right down to it I tried making a difference in my local area but the knock your head against the wall mentality in Worcester is probably the same as in any fairly large city in America. I gave up when the PIP Shelter was shutdown and moved two houses down from my family. We moved for reasons other than the obvious but that is another story for another day.

When you look at the terrorist level on this site indicated by the Bert and Ernie chicklet you could reference the Worm Town Taxi on the local terrorist story about the kid from Winchendon bringing in an empty Memorial Day gun cartridge from the military parade to school. The child was sentenced to the Gitmo of Winchendon and expelled. That’s the war on terror at the local level. How did AlQuida get to this kid? There was no mention of water boarding of the kid from Winchendon but Worm Town Taxi is still working on this story. I’m laying bets the kid was secretly deported to Sutton in some covert undercover CIA day care center where they don’t serve milk and cookies at snack time. I'm joking of course but this kid was just being a kid and showing off something he should have been proud of. I find myself reading Worm Town Taxi just because he offers a glimpse of Worcester you simply can not find anywhere else.

Thanks to Worm Town Taxi I found Pie and Coffee that does a great pod cast week after week. This week was a very interesting 508 broadcast with several Worcester bloggers and I loved it! The folks participating would be the congress and the problematic President would be the lack of the local media and city hall understanding what is really going on. Pick a subject locally and they nailed it with personal thoughts from real people without a political spin going.

Then I had to check out Daily Worcesteria after listening to Pie & Coffee that has a unique point of view that just sees the local paper as the fox in the hen house without a clue as to what the real folks see. If you read the local paper and the editorial page then you see the somewhat right leaning policy of the Worcester Telegram. What I find unique about DW is the community building influence and the honest approach to the issues that ARE Worcester. This site comes down to the people making a difference rather than the politically motivated people moving the city back decades. Loving it! Must read!

My neighbors on the old blog-o-sphere in my hometown have impressed me so much that I added a sidebar of links just for appreciation sake to their local sites. Granted, Jeff from Worm Town Taxi was already there along with I’m From Worcester but I’ll be adding more as the days pass. What I truly enjoy about local bloggers is the passion and conviction of what they are doing. It isn’t about them as an individual as much as it is about informing the community. I’m pretty sure not one of them is making a living at blogging so it comes down to local pride and in that sense they are true leaders. Patriots of days gone by taking the lead and pointing the direction to where we the people should be and how we can get there. Refreshing thoughts in my opinion.

Action and change only happens when people speak up and these folks along with multitudes of other local blogger’s are speaking up loud and clear. Which begs the question of what you the local resident or reader is willing to do to make things change for the better? If you leave it up to someone else to make it happen then don’t complain when the same mess happens over and over again. What will you do to make your voice heard if those in service to you do not listen?

Public service and running for office is not a cave in if you do it to make life better for the people you care about. If you serve to not better your own lot in life but for the people that need you most, it then is in fact true public service much like the Kennedy family has done for decades. I'm convinced that the politicians serving my community are only there because nobody thinks there is anyone better to do the job. Their voices are the only ones you here because they are the only ones talking! Name recognition on the ballot has surpassed the quality of the candidates on the ballot at the local level. Tell me I'm wrong!

Hell, maybe I should run for Teddy Kennedy’s Senate seat just for giggles and see what happens. No offense to Senator Kennedy or his family, I love all that he has done for this state and the American people. I'm just one voice with a political blog focused on national issues with a true sense of Worcester. It would be a true shame to see a political hack fill his seat and waste the chair because they owed favors unspoken in political circles. I would also hate to see another politically incapacitated politician run for it with a personal grudge to pay. How is it that you start that process? I’ll have to look into that. Just a thought. Worcester and this states deserves a true servant of the people and Teddy Kennedy raised the bar pretty high.

The time to dream for the possibilities of America is upon us, now more than ever is your chance to reach for hope and make change possible. It all starts with one voice and nobody can say that it isn't your voice that could make it all possible. Hope is alive in America and it starts with you! What are you willing to do for America and your community?

Anywho, check out all the local blog’s and thanks for doing so. That is the true meat of this post...
Papamoka

New England Heat Wave

Picture courtesy of National Weather.Gov

Choose your weapon. Ice Cream or Slush drink to cool you down when it is unbelievably hot?

Keep tabs on your elderly relatives and neigbors during these hot spells. Most of all make sure your little ones are drinking plenty of water and if they have to be out in the sun make sure you put sun block lotion on them.

I have to run, it's Midnight and the kids need to have on moon blocking ray protection. Also known as pulling the summer blankets up an over them as they sleep the night away.

Papamoka

Papamoka Medical News Round Up...

This sort of post may or may not pop up from time to time but one of the things that interest me is current medical research in a plethora of human maladies. Most people just scan the medical headlines and the first sentence or two but I’m gobbling up the information in my brain for reason still unknown to myself. Some people collect spoons or antiques or baseball cards, which makes sense. Why do I collect this stuff? That question I ask myself many times over.
Please note that no medical advice is offered from this site or the author of this post. For the full story please click on the links provided.

Parkinson’s Drug Pulled From Market

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Reports of heart valve damage are causing a drug used by thousands of patients with Parkinson's disease to be pulled from the market.
The Food and Drug Administration says pergolide, which is sold under the name Permax and also in generic versions, is being withdrawn at the agency's request. – The New York Times 3/29/2007

Then I came across this piece over at Reuters...

Alzheimer's vaccine works on mice: Japan scientist

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese scientists have developed an oral vaccine for Alzheimer's disease that has proven effective and safe in mice, the director of a research institute behind the project said on Thursday.

The team is preparing to move to small-scale clinical trials in humans, possibly this year, said Takeshi Tabira, director of the National Institute for Longevity Sciences in Aichi, central Japan.
"We hope the Phase I trials go well," Tabira said. "Animals are able to recover their functions after developing symptoms, but humans are less able to do so. It may be that this only works in the early stages of the disease, when symptoms are light."

When administered to mice suffering from the disease, which causes dementia and is currently incurable, the vaccine reduced the amount of amyloid plaques in the brain and improved mental function.

Amyloid plaques are believed to be at the root of Alzheimer's -- a growing problem for aging populations around the world. The disease affects five million in the United States alone, the Alzheimer's Association said in a report last week. – Reuters 3/29/07

For some medical problems there are indeed a few steps back while in others there is huge potential for great leaps forward. In both of the cases I focused on there is no known cure. Parkinson’s is such a devastating disease that has a huge family of other symptomatic relatives that also are not curable. If you have ever spent any time in a relatively small cities’ Neurology Clinic then you would really get a grasp at how vast the effects of it are and that it does not just afflict the seniors amongst us.

Alzheimer’s is supposedly going to be a very prominent part of the future lives for the now retiring Baby Boomers. Some reports estimate that 14 million of us will be afflicted with it and there is now hope on many fronts for those folks.

One of the reasons I wanted to do this piece was to show all the folks that America may have a huge piece of the medical research pie but there are other nations that are cutting into that piece of pie. It’s a big pie so there is enough room for all. Biotechnology and medical research is a growing industry in America and yet it is also growing around the world in places most people would not think of. Ireland, England, Germany, and Japan are investing heavily not only in their own nations but here in America as well.

I found this interesting highlight on one cities desire to lure the new technologies and research in biotechnology from around the world. The city of seven hills called Worcester located in central Massachusetts has the blue print for success for this booming industry…

Worcester is playing a key role in a new industrial revolution – the biomedical revolution. The Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Park stakes claim to the caption "The Center of Excellence in Biotechnology." The Research Park was created to support the growth and expansion of biotechnology and medical device companies throughout the region. The Park's occupants range from a world headquarters of internationally known industry leaders to promising young companies just emerging, each attracted to the continuous support and proven commitment of Worcester as New England's other Medical Capital. Abbott Bioresearch Center, ViaCell, Athena Diagnostics, Hypnion and Advanced Cell Technology are among the firms represented in Worcester's biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices industry. – Worcester. Right Place, Right Time

One thing that just amazes me about this great country of ours is that we are forever creating new industries for future generations to benefit from. As one is lost to overseas or border nations three or four others pop up to become the next inspiration for the world to try and keep up with.

Papamoka

*****http://www.gdayseek.info has linked to this post...

Cross posted at the Gun Toting Liberal

Technorati Tags:biotechnology, worcester, medical research, alzheimer's, parkinson's, mental health, new industries, pharmacist schools, retiring baby boomers, tutfst, umass medical, viacell, athena diagnostics, medical city, advanced cell technology, aging parents, abbott bioresearch
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator