BILL R.

Upon a recent renewal of auto insurance for two cars, the following 6-month period increased by three times! No accidents, nothing new in the world of driving a car. Upon calling Ameriprise, their representative said the rates went up in CA and the form I filled out I had said I drive "a few thousand miles." Well, a few is usually considered a max of 2,000 miles per year. But Ameriprise interpreted my comment as 7,500 miles. And this amount of mileage is considered to be a contributor to increasing my insurance by a factor of three time! You've got to be kidding. This is clearly a scam company attempting to take advantage of a brainless customer that doesn't check their insurance payments. I reviewed other insurers and I can return back to my previous 6-month insurance costs. Avoid these crooks.

I once had a security clearance and was also custodian of Confidential and Secret Classified documents at a local defense contractor involved in the design and manufacturing of U.S. military electronic systems. My classified documents were padlocked inside a secured file cabinet located inside my office space. The term "custodian" (a word meaning keeper, guardian, steward and protector) was used to define those responsible for a classified document container. Upon removal of a classified document from its secured container, it was my responsibility not to leave a classified document unattended. In other words, a removed classified document was always within my view at all times. I and others took the responsibility of handling classified documents very, very seriously. Mishandling of a classified document could lead to termination. Fear was instilled in me not to mishandle classified documents otherwise I knew I could spend time in prison or worse. The thought of taking a classified document home was never a consideration. I cant imagine a fellow employee emailing a classified document to their home.

Classified documents can describe in detail the operational performance of U.S. military equipment. Why would anyone risk providing the enemy information with regards to the operational capability of our advanced military systems? Or risk providing the enemy with many other sensitive classified issues? An extensive review by the FBI of a company employee is performed to determine the character of a person being considered handling of classified documents. Handling classified documents is not a casual activity, so anyone handling classified documents has to know the rules. U.S. Code - Section 798 Disclosure of Classified Information starts off with "Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States and the violation of..." knows they are entering the world of big legal problems upon violation of the handling classified documents.

Can anyone explain (1) why a presidential candidate that once employed an unsecured home computer server with classified documents and (2) and so happens to be running for the Presidency of the U.S. is not serving time in the slammer? I know I'd be pounding big rocks into little rocks if I had done the same. Is the government essentially telling those with security clearances that it's OK to be less attentive to our national secrets? And perhaps it's OK to sell a few secrets here and there to make a few bucks during these lean times? Or have we simply stepped into an alternate universe of new rules opposite to those of the past?

Microsoft created a document titled, "How to Troubleshoot Product Activation in Windows 10." After exploring this document, it appears Microsoft either hired software engineers from Obamacare or provided software engineers to Obamacare... definitely one or the other (OK, I'm trying to be humorous, but I'm disgusted). I've personally been involved with research and product development as a design engineer for over forty-five years; working mostly on complex military systems for large corporations such as Raytheon, Litton Industries and Teledyne. The Win10 software development incompetency illustrated to perform a simple activation task within the "How to" document should be an immense embarrassment to Microsoft. Just to activate their own software product, the "How to" document goes through an incredible multitude of "trial and error" attempts. What a convoluted mess to what should be a simple product activation. From my own past design experience, this level of product design engineering incompetence often occurs as a result of a "design by committee" effort in which nobody takes design ownership responsibility. It also requires a hands-off engineering management philosophy which allows the creative design types to run wild. I know, I've witness this sort of chaos many times and have personally been given the task to straighten out messes created by others. My hunch is that Microsoft could have made the activation process difficult (actually it could be impossible) in order to force Win10 users to pay dollars for a Product Key. I think Microsoft might be involved in a class action lawsuit. There are so many Win10 issues that have irritated the general public.

Unlike other commentators, I generally haven't had too many Win 10 operating system problems. Spread throughout the house we have five Dell and HP laptop/desktop computers with Windows 10 installed. Had some problems upgrading older Acer notebooks from Win7 to Win10 and have since retired them. My heavily used Dell XPS 8500 was upgraded from Win7 to Win8.1 to Win10 and I can't activate the product key. Computers upgraded from original Win8 systems to Win10 work fine. My wife's new Dell Inspiron 14,3000 series laptop with Win10 Home installed can't be pried from her hands... she loves it.

My older Pentium 4 computers are used for consulting work, using Win2000 and WinXP for my CAD (computer aided design) applications. Win2000 remains my favorite OS because it works fast and never crashes. Doing a fresh install of Win2000/XP and to access OS software updates is a nightmare. So now I clone spare hard drives for backup purposes. I never want to relive that fresh install experience again. It has been more difficult to perform as the years pass; it's a real challenge.

Microsoft Customer Support (A Not So Delightful Experience for the Hearing Impaired): With only one marginally operational ear used for hearing, I'm usually anxious when I have to use the telephone to discuss an issue with customer support. The anxiety is further compounded when I realize I'm talking to someone with a heavy Indian dialect that informs me to use the NATO Phonetic Alphabet (NPA), a requirement for communicating those 25-character Product Keys used to validate your operating system. You know, NPA means: A is alpha, B is bravo and C is Charlie and so on. Every time I used Mary for M I the communications broke down when not using the proper NPA term which is Mike for the letter M. Furthermore, you need to know number 4 is pronounced fo-wer and 9 is niner. It took about five minutes to correctly transfer my Windows 7,25-character Product Key to the ears of the very pleasant and polite, and trying-to-be-helpful Indian Customer Support person. But at times, I did sense he could place a dagger in my heart if he lived closer to me. I think I placed him into a momentary state of insanity. I'd say 50% of the time I understood the Customer Support question or comment being made. No doubt the Customer Support person understood me much better than I could understand him. I don't spend all day chatting with people from India which puts me, the so-called appreciated customer, at a severe disadvantage for understanding an unfamiliar accent from India. The conversation seemed to go on and on for a very long time; seemed like an hour spent on relearning the English language. It was fun watching my computer screen taken under control from India as he moved the cursor on my computer; very cool. All of the Microsoft upper-management types should be required to daily communicate for one hour with their English-language-challenged India Customer Support personnel to provide a communications training service. Of course, the Microsoft managers would only discuss meaningless things like "How's the weather?" or "What's your favorite food?" and completely avoiding complex technical issues.

To summarize, my Microsoft English-language-challenged Customer Support person recommended that I perform a fresh Win10 OS install which means all my apps and saved files are destroyed. I started the install of the downloaded Win10 ISO file install and the option to save my apps and files was blocked from access; so I aborted the install. The destruction of my apps and files would be the price I'd pay to obtain a so-called Activated Windows 10 OS as recommended by Customer Support. I find this approach unacceptable. Currently, my Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview Evaluation Copy (which operates well enough) only needs a Product Key. For whatever reason, Win10 Pro doesn't accept my Windows 7 Product Key provided by Dell for my XPS-8500 desktop computer. At the time of the Dell purchase, a Win8 upgrade coupon was included and later this upgrade installed and activated when Win8 became available. I never received a Win8 Product Key; supposedly because it's embedded in the BIOS and the Win 10 install doesn't require a manually entered Product Key.

So why can't Microsoft simply give me a working Product Key for my current Win 10 Pro Insider OS install? By not accepting the Microsoft Customer Support solution which destroys my installed aps and files, the only alternate, straightforward path is to follow Microsoft's computer screen instructed directions to obtain a Product Key. That is, to pay Microsoft $200 for a Pro Insider OS Product Key. Well, no thank you Microsoft, I'd opt to purchase another computer than pay you money you should not receive from me.

So my choices are two: (1) Accept Microsoft's offering of a Win10 OS ISO file I downloaded which destroys all my apps and saved data (and hopefully the backup is reusable and the Product Key works), or (2) Pay $200 for a new Product Key for my existing Pro Insider Preview OS. I clearly hear the words bribery (meaning Ill receive something desirable or of value for $200 in exchange for getting something in return that doesn't destroy my apps). A lot of hours are required to install aps.

So what say you, Microsoft? What happens to my numerous apps in my computer if I don't have an activated Windows 10 Pro Insider? Will my currently working Pro Insider OS remain functional without activation? I don't understand why Microsoft cant activate my existing Pro Insider OS (I'm an electronic design engineer and I know this shouldn't be a difficult task for Microsoft to perform).

And I have to say that Microsoft's Customer Support really sucks. But in all fairness, their Customer Support is about as satisfying as eBay's Customer Support which also sucks. My wife and I have had bad experiences on eBay. My wife stopped using eBay all together because of an irritating customer support experience. Its really weird to be attempting to discuss technical issues to someone that can't speak English well. Its a difficult enough process to convey technical matters with someone that does speak English well. My wife once went through Customer Support Hell when attempting to make airline reservations with someone from India. The airline reservations ended up being all messed up after a lot of back and forth, multiple phone call conversations. We're not using that airline again! Are there people in this country smart enough to hire to perform Customer Support technical issues?

I've been on eBay for a long time since the late 1990's. Starting off as a buyer and several years later as both a buyer and seller. Here are a few of my gripes:

1. Buying stuff from a seller at times leads to a great amount of aggravation. Many sellers are not sophisticated people; to be generous, I'd say some sellers are truly morons. You'll find sellers without any sense of applying good business practices. Because of the mental ineptitude or the basic criminal minds of some sellers, buying from Amazon might be a preferred purchasing method in order to avoid buying aggravations.

Here's an example of a purchasing problem my wife recently experienced. She bid on a second-hand, small mirror priced at under $10 which had a shipping cost listed as $40; and she didn't observe the $40 shipping cost when she placed the bid. The actual cost to ship this small mirror probably would cost about $5 to $10 (maximum). In essence, the seller was attempting to "pull a fast one" on my wife. The seller admitted the shipping cost mistake but demanded my wife pay the $40 shipping cost, which the seller said would refund the difference between the $40 and the actual shipping cost. My wife refused to hand over the $40 for shipping costs because the seller refused to rebill her for the actual shipping cost. This turned into a lot of back-and-forth seller/buyer communications which the seller showed her true colors... and a very "dark" color, indeed a crook. The obnoxious seller was ugly and created a lot of aggravation. Turns out the eBay seller was "new" without any negative feedback; a big surprise. I would highly recommend you first buy things from Amazon, if possible... definitely more sophisticated sellers at Amazon for new product items. But when buying old stuff, that's where you have a good chance of buying crappy stuff on eBay.

2. Now a more recent problem with eBay is the complaint contact method with the company. Once you could use e-mail and have a written record of complaints filed. Now eBay does everything with phone contact. The problem with phone contacts is the lack of having a written record, but instead being guided by an eBay representative that doesn't know what they are doing. In fact, you may be guided outside the policy rules that eBay supposedly governs.

3. Another issue is that the bad sellers (the "crook" types) continue selling on eBay. EBay does settle quickly in your favor to refund the cost of a bad product. But... you'll later see the same high volume, junk selling crook flooding the marketplace with crap. So you'll go through a miserable buying experience and so will others in the near future. By the way, I've noticed this situation to be true on Amazon, too. Have had the exact same negative experiences with both companies.

4. What's interesting is when I just happened to purchase the same item from both an Amazon and an eBay seller. I had purchased an item from Amazon that was not as advertised. I needed this item ASAP, so I happened to see the same item on eBay unknowingly it was from the same seller... oh crap! So both purchases were from the same seller and both times shipped the wrong item. It was obviously the seller was dumping it's inventory. The fact the first time I confronted the seller on Amazon made no difference when I once again received the same, wrong item on eBay. Because this particular seller was a high volume mover on both Amazon and eBay, I made an interesting observation of the quantity of negative feedbacks left on Amazon and eBay. First of all, this seller didn't have a pristine selling history review on either Amazon and eBay. But I examined in depth the volume of negative feedbacks left on both Amazon and eBay. For a given time period, Amazon recorded a much larger number of negative feedback complaints than eBay... about a four-to-one difference. So I have to ask, "Why does eBay show much fewer negative feedbacks?"

5. Another problem you can experience from a seller is their very poor packaging of an item. If you don't return a damaged item, then you're screwed. Items costing below $100 simply aren't worth my time to return, so I "eat" the item I purchased. I recently tossed (in late 2015) an old printer into the trashcan I received; virtually no packing material was used by the seller. Might as well have placed a shipping label directly to the printer, no box needed.

The above reminds me of the time I purchased an inexpensive (Made in China) impact drill from Amazon. When I plugged it into the power outlet, it smoked. This piece-of-junk was transferred to the trashcan without hesitation. It's the time period we live in... a lack of human consciousness reigns.

6. An early 2016 year purchase problem was an inaccurate description of an item. Pictures of the item did not show cosmetic flaws. It was described as "cosmetically perfect." The item has a plastic cover containing micro cracks and a chip which can't be cosmetically repaired. Well, this seller obviously had a high threshold of when he thought an item contained flaws. So when I received the item, I filed an eBay complaint. I told the seller to knock off $25 on the purchase price, otherwise send me a return shipping label. Seller accepted the $25 refund. Of recent, I'm running into more eBay purchase problems due to inept or dishonest sellers; buyers beware!

I've had mostly good luck with eBay over the years considering the volume of stuff I've purchased (and sold). Have purchased up to four-figure items and sold many four-figure items and sold a few five-figure items. But all it takes is a few bad deals to make life a bit more miserable!

And depending where you live, the healthcare plan costs varies drastically. Upon examining the healthcare plans, you'll eventually realize you need to move to a poor, rural area somewhere in order to reap the least expensive, crap insurance policy with subsidies most of us don't receive but pay for the less fortunate. The problem is I can't afford insurance for my younger, not-working wife. I'm semi-retired and have Medicare. So I'm having difficulties affording to pay insurance for the less fortunate. Oh remember, "And if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor?," ya right. Where I live many doctors hate Obamacare and refuse to accept Obamacare policy holders... the docs only take cash... pretty amazing considering I live in the bastion of Liberalville, USA. Yes, I haven't found a liberal doctor that likes Obamacare; they consider it a disaster... imagine that! Of course, Obamacare maximizes healthcare money received from US citizens while minimize money given back to the medical professionals for their services... and the paperwork is a nightmare. Fortunately for the doctors, they are not required to accept Obamacare policy holders... lucky them. I financially support our own healthcare needs, applying my own self-insured plan, as I like to call it. Being semi-retired and wife not working we don't have the money to throw away for the biggest government scam and intrusion into my life that I've ever witnessed. We're doing fine and it feels good not to get ripped off by the government!

If you're single and young as I was once, consider no insurance. I didn't pay for insurance when I wasn't working because I felt my good gene pool was in my favor... an engineer's perspective of looking at the statistical odds of requiring medical aid during my lifetime. If you're healthy, why waste money. Especially if you have good, young genes, consider opting out of medical insurance altogether. I once cut my fingers on a wood shaper and went to Los Angeles County General Hospital back in the late 1970's... my only hospital visit ever. LA County General did a great job of sewing up my fingers, stayed there overnight in the Trauma Ward with guys with knife and bullet wounds. And LA County General never sent me a bill for the medical care! Now that was what I call healthcare! Don't you ever wonder for all the tens of millions of dollars the government has spent on a healthcare website that the money could have paid off a ton of healthcare costs. If the government simply cut its own labor force "fat," there could be free healthcare system.

An interesting example of regional costs is comparing the town where my wife was born and where we now live. Living in my wife's "Boonville" town in PA, we'd only pay no-subsidy cost of $380/month for the Silver Plan. Where we now live we'd pay a no-subsidy cost of $695/month for the Silver Plan. This data is taken from the Kaiser Family Foundation healthcare calculator; you can learn a lot playing around with the calculator. In other words, you can learn how you're being "screwed" by the government. See http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/. The cool thing: even when living in my wife's Boonville town is that you could have an income into the millions, and you still pay the same, $380/month payment (of course, no subsidies). It's very important where you live when attempting to reduce your healthcare costs.

So the current healthcare plan sends a message that you should move away from a high income town and settle into a lower income neighborhood to receive a reduced healthcare plan coverage. Gee, this sounds like another version of the government attempting to move the poor into wealthy neighborhoods! In other words, if you can't move the poor into the wealthy neighborhoods, then move the wealthy into the poor neighborhoods; not an uncommon scenario. This might work for high-end neighborhood dwellers if you're currently property-rich and cash-poor.

The Silver Plan only pays 70% of total expenses... and so the "insured" pays for the rest! So with or without Obamacare, you can still be wading at least waist high in the brown stuff... it's just a matter of the level of the brown stuff when incurring major medical costs. Before Obamacare we had a good $400/month insurance plan... and now, well, it's unaffordable and a very poor policy. As usual, when the government tries to compete with industry, the government once again proves incompetent.

The general public has been "sold" on the false need to have insurance. After paying of my mortgage, I've saved about $1,000 per year on property insurance. After paying over $30K in mandatory property insurance for the house loan, I never made an insurance claim. I'll never purchase property insurance again. Over my 70-year lifetime, I've never had an operation; always had good health. And I'll never pay for health insurance again. For most people, it's a waste of money.

A recent 2016 calculation using the Kaiser Family healthcare calculator, Silver Plan insurance for a family of four (two adults and two kids) with a $100K annual family income living in my area would cost over $16K per year. What family of four has that much expendable income to pay for an essentially valueless health insurance plan? I'm assuming the age old payment priorities are the monthly rental payments or house mortgage payments, utilities, food, gas for the car, etc. The ultra-high cost of health insurance is insane, IMO. Don't be suckered by our corrupt and incompetent government. The government wants to make you poor.

Mostly good, produce items are sometimes really good and other times really bad. Great place for purchasing reasonably priced drugs for those medically self-insured individuals turning down the unaffordable Obamacare "healthcare" plan.

Living in an area with low available housing and high cost rentals, the housing in my neighborhood seems to have doubled in value. I'm talking big dollars, $2M versus recent sales of around $1M. Makes me wonder if realtors prod Zillow to make home values much higher than they really are so homeowners will think about selling. What I can say for sure is these high values don't represent reality. What I find Zillow to be good for is that it provides me with a "feel good" value of my property... although the value is greatly over-inflated. My over-inflated property value provides me with great comfort for now until the day I actually plan to sell the house and then I'll go into a deep depression. By the way, odds are the five-star reviews are provided by realtors!

2/19/19 A Santa Barbara, San Roque neighborhood Nextdoor participant once placed a huge "Black Lives Matter" banner in his front yard. Neighbors would take the banner down and then another banner popped up. This left leaner later became a Nextdoor LEAD; performing "whack jobs" on those that don't represent his belief system. Why does Nextdoor use a radical person to perform a neutral LEAD function? Is Nextdoor engaging in an ongoing political battle with their website users? Nextdoor LEADs seek to place participants in a controlled environment. Say too much of what they consider as the wrong opinion and out you go! A conversational comparison of non-threatening Amazon product reviews and tyrannical Nextdoor LEAD induced atmosphere on Nextdoor can be illustrated:

My Amazon Product Reviews: (1) I've never exceeded a text limit from my long winded product reviews. (2) Never been criticized for the content of a review, meaning tangential subject matter is acceptable. (3) If Amazon doesn't accept a review, which is rare, Amazon will let you know.

My Nextdoor Posts: (1) Keep post to a minimum or be subjected to the post removal whims of a LEAD; especially if you have conservative political viewpoints. (2) Unlike Amazon, you're Nextdoor message content comes under LEAD subjective criticism. (3) One day you discover you can't sign into Nextdoor. Create a new password, still no good. You've been quietly removed with no explanations for cause. (Later you'll discover this wasn't all that bad of a thing because there are actually more important things in life than Nextdoor. And you may take further delight knowing the LEAD is going crazy because you aren't available anymore as a punching bag; must really frustrate some LEADs.)

THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBES MY FINAL NEXTDOOR DEPARTURE INTERFACE WITH THE LEAD (same person as described in the beginning of this Site Jabber post):

LEAD Texted Comment 1: "Hey Bill, I thought you threatened me you were moving out of town? I just yanked youR looong reply about inferior Chinese replacement parts on a dryer repair post. It's not contributory to the public discussion and clogs up the news feed. I have to do that a fair amount. It's not just you. Rick"

ANALYSIS of LEAD's Comment 1: How in the heck can the LEAD not understand using inferior Chinese replacement parts does in fact impact the repair of a product? I don't believe the LEAD is stupid, but attempting to pull a power move on me. Therefore I interpreted this action as the beginning of threatening moves to remove me.

MY Texted RESPONSE to LEAD's Comment 1: "Got the thread of mine so I can make a copy of it? Note: The LEAD never responded to the request for a copy; remained completely silent throughout this discourse.

An additional texted response from me once again requested a copy of the deleted post. And the LEAD remains silent on this issue. I made additional comments as to the product parts replacement importance of my thread, etc. The LEAD ignores my questions.

ANALYSIS to my response to Comment 1: The LEAD NEVER responded to my request for a copy of my "Chinese replacement parts" thread he deleted. I spent quite a bit of time creating this thread which included the dangers of using Chinese inferior and counterfeit replacement parts in cars. In essence, the LEAD denied the PUBLIC information I had provided in my thread. In real life, I reverse engineer products used in consumer products which could lead to an accident (fires, bodily harm). Wouldn't you want to know the specifics of this information the LEAD deleted? Personally, I take the LEAD's action as evil.

LEAD Comment 2: "Hey Bill, I thought you offered the original "threat" of moving out of town in jest? That's why I continued in jest. I never sensed any malice. Your posts do get a little lengthy and off-topic, though. That's why some are removed by Leads."

ANALYSIS of LEAD's Comment 2: The LEAD completely ignores commenting about my request for a copy of my thread with regards to the potentially dangerous use of Chinese replacement parts. Now I have to wonder if the LEAD is possibly stupid. Or doesn't want to acknowledge that he screwed-up by removing the importance of my posted he deleted. Now he's trying hard to deflect my Chinese parts comment with his who-really-cares comment about me "moving out of town." A comment I never stated in the first place. I might have mentioned about leaving Nextdoor, but never moving out of town. The LEAD invented the "moving out of town" comment perhaps as a distraction.

The LEAD continued with making a biased statement and a subjective opinion: "Your posts do get a little lengthy and off-topic, though." And within a few days the LEAD soon performs the classic Nextdoor LEAD strike to oust me.

TO SUMMARIZE: I never responded to the LEAD's Comment 2, and why should I? It was obvious the LEAD attempted to deflect my issues with the superficial "moving out of town" nonsense. The LEAD (1) never responded to my request for a copy of the thread he deleted, and (2) I never received a reasonable explanation as to why he removed a message involving product safety; containing life-threatening information. Clearly an irresponsible act by the LEAD to delete this information. A few days past after the LEAD's final post to me and thereafter I wasn't able to sign-in to Nextdoor and so it was good bye Nextdoor.

I single-handedly founded a successful social organization named the "Santa Barbara Singles' Professionals" back in the late 1980's by simply posting an ad in a local newspaper. First monthly group of attendees consisted of 220 people. The organization grew to 525 mail list participants. I later created a second organization named "Bill Russell's Private Parties" to the delight of the targeted group of attendees. The privatization of the group provided me the ability to restrict the age group of the attendees. The ladies complained about the older guys hitting on them. Within a day I changed directions and incorporated changes; never timely committee decisions made in my world. My current wife is a product of my social organization efforts. Many participants found mates by attending the gatherings. Yes, I'm responsible for a lot of marriages. I know something about running a social organization; clearly been there and done that successfully and with a lot of work. I ran my activities as a benevolent dictator. Why can't Nextdoor solve the LEAD problem?

Does Nextdoor have their LEADs go through a rigorous selection process and training? Nextdoor needs to get its act together or will fail in the long run. You'd think Nextdoor would be plagued with cyberbullying, harassment and age discrimination complaints.

I recently noticed an intelligent Nextdoor participant had disappeared from Nextdoor. His name is Brian, and leaned towards conservatism. In a text message, Brian did mention to me he had been placed on timeout by Nextdoor. What happened and where is Brian? Was Brian axed from Nextdoor?

FLASH: In the process of looking for Brian's surname, I came across a long Neighborhood thread dated December 2014 with regards to people removing the present-day LEAD's "Black Lives Matter" banner. I was very vocal in this long thread, and not on the side of the LEAD which appears as anti-cops. This thread illustrates the LEAD's hostility towards me. Note: The present-day "Black Lives Matter" LEAD was not a LEAD in 2014. The 2014 "Black Lives Matter" conversation between me and the present-day LEAD reads as follows:

MY COMMENT (12-18): "Considering the execution of two cops in NY, I believe Rick's sign is ongoing "food" for the nutcases out there. So take the damn sign down!"

PRESENT-DAY LEAD COMMENT (12-21): "@Bill Russell. Sorry Bill, my sign stays up."

MY COMMENT (12-22): "So Rick, let's assume a SB cop is shot as a result of reading your sign. A. You would feel responsible? B. Would never say this? C. Maybe? My wife says to EVERY cop she runs into, "Thank you for protecting us." A. Would you say this, too? B. Would never say this? C. Maybe?

PRESENT-DAY LEAD COMMENT (12-22):@Bill Russell. Bill, Bill, Bill, you're missing the point, maybe intentionally. Why would anyone shoot anyone as a result of my sign? [If you're going to bring up the recent NYPD patrolman killings remember that offender had a long history of criminal activity, animus toward all authority and mental illness. Plus apparently easy access to guns, but I digress.] You - and others who find fault with my sign are imputing to it political or criminal overtones to it that are unfounded. Why in the world would you invent far-fetched scenario as a hypothetical? Do you and your wife thank teachers for educating children? Do you thank geeks for inventing the computer or internet you use? Answer: A, B, or C.

MY COMMENT (12-22): Rick, I'm not missing the point! I see you can't provide direct answers to my questions. Regardless, thanks for the response and I'll get back tomorrow right now studying for the DMV written View more test, a "gift" the DMV hands out when you turn 70. One thing that humors me is that we wouldn't be talking about this here in SB if it wasn't for a black man (Ed Carter) that convinced me to work for Raytheon. Later
MY COMMENT (12-23): OK, back to Rick Rick, when Ann and I saw your sign the first thing that came to both our minds was "anti-cop." Not a difficult conclusion considering current events. You have to be living in a vacuum not to realize that professional protestors in New York are shouting "Kill a Cop. Now!" And later two cops are dead. Anywhere in the country a seed can be planted in the minds of nutcases hearing chants and reading anti-cop signs (such as Rick's sign "Black Lives Matter." I contend that Rick doesn't give a hoot about the lives of blacks as much as he cares about encouraging an anti-cop agenda. The Ferguson grand jury clearly depicted the thug teenager as the aggressor. If I was a cop, my life would be considered more important than the big guy that's coming towards me; it's bang, you're dead bud. But I know you liberal guys are commonly anti-cop and won't read or hear the facts from the grand jury; you like to remain blind to the facts. I'm sure Rick and Garret understand statistics and know there's a chance of a local nutcase picking up ideas from their surrounding environment. If you don't think there's an actual chance of cop killings around the country, then you're living in la la land. I firmly believe Rick is exhibiting a high degree of insensitivity towards the local law enforcement with his sign; plain and simple. May I suggest to Rick he ask local law enforcement if the would allow him to put on a uniform and sit in a police care and go on patrol and then report back to us how it felt being vulnerable. The most evil people involved with these current events that are returning this country back to the 1960's racial are the incompetent likes of Al Sharpton, Obama, Holder and De Blasio. Fortunately this country indicated in the past election it's ready for serious change. (No further comments made from the PRESENT-DAY LEAD with regards to my 12-23 comment.)

For those that are not familiar with the beginnings of the Black Lives Matter movement, this movement began after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in 2012. This topic has proved to be a false narrative. It's a lie that the police target and kill black people at random. My argument is that anyone's life matters, not just black lives. Blacks simply are not commonly singled-out at police departments as presented by the fake news networks. As In the case of Trayvon Martin, he turned out to be a wise guy.

My advice to you as a potential Nextdoor candidate is to consider spending more time writing Amazon product reviews, assuming your intent to join Nextdoor leans towards being mostly informative about stuff. You'll find more knowledgeable people on Amazon more likely to appreciate your writings. But to be fair, if you're more interest in tracking lost dogs, then Nextdoor could be right up your alley. Myself, I've come full circle with providing advice oriented commentaries. My wife and I have written many local newspaper editorials and feel we've said it all and now we're off to do doing other things. In other words, "Too many things to do, too little time."