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A Springfield man early this morning apparently came out of a bathroom in a strip club and started firing shots. From Boston.com (link to article):

A State Police community action team was on patrol near Club 418 on Worthington Street when troopers saw people streaming out of the building in panic.
Nearby, they encountered Marcus J. Blanton of Springfield, who allegedly tossed away a handgun as troopers approached him and placed him under arrest, said Springfield Police Lieutenant John Bobianski.

Mr. Blanton is accused of killing one person and injuring a few others, among other charges. Why do people do these things? According to what’s in the report at the time of posting, there’s no description of motive or anything of that sort. I want to be able to believe that someone won’t just come and shoot me for no apparent reason, but every time I see stories like this, it chips away at that faith a little. I hope to hear more about this soon, because I am very interested in what his reasoning was for doing such a thing. There are some statements of “alleged” actions, here, so it’s not necessarily the case that Mr. Blanton did it, but it does look a little weird to toss a handgun away when troopers are coming at you.

Does this club pat people down before they enter? It’s such a crowded area and even more a dangerous situation if someone has a weapon or if a fire starts. Also, was it possible for someone such as Blanton to receive things from someone through the bathroom window? If so, the police also need to look for the person who gave him the gun. Also, Club 418 may very well want to look into that after a situation such as this and based on other problems that have reached the press (these are spoken of at the end of the report at the time of posting).

I hope the victims that didn’t die at the scene make a full recovery, and God bless all the families involved.

I’ve been seeing a bunch of ads about Microsoft’s Zune Pass lately, especially the annoying “it costs $30,000 to fill an iPod” line that they are using. The thing is, no one fills their iPod with single, 99 cent purchases. Albums cost less than the sum of every individual song in the album. People already have CDs, download movies, download illegally, share with their friends – there’s just so many conditions to the $30,000 statement that you would have to put a massive asterisk on it. I wanted to figure out what was so special about this deal, though, so I went to check.
Read more

Senator Kennedy wrote a piece on a health bill that he will introducing to Congress, and I must say, I like the sound of it. I recommend that you read it (from Boston.com):

OVER THE LAST YEAR, I’ve seen our healthcare system up close. I’ve benefitted from the best of medicine, but I’ve also witnessed the frustration and outrage of patients and doctors alike as they face the challenges of a system that shortchanges millions of Americans.

We have the greatest doctors and medical innovations in the world, but more and more Americans are on the outside looking in to a world of progress and discovery that is denied to them because they cannot afford quality healthcare.

That’s wrong – and it’s about to change.

Click here for more.

Because I honestly want to start from the Central Avenue in California.

This is a response that popped up when I typed in “Central Avenue Station” into the MBTA’s Trip Planner. For the record, Central Avenue is a trolley stop on the Red Line. If you don’t type “Central Ave” and instead type “Central Avenue”, however, you get this. I can see that this is just Google Maps working its mojo, but entries it returns to you should only be limited to the state of Massachusetts and within the T’s reach.

Read Op-Ed (Power Struggle, by Joan Vennochi)

This op-ed by Joan Vennochi speaks about the power struggle brewing (or that has already brewed) on Beacon Hill between Governor Patrick and the Legislature. Based on what I’ve red, I would say that the Legislature is more at fault. I haven’t paid enough attention to clearly say whether Deval Patrick is doing a good job in his spot, but we might need someone new come 2010 who can better handle the legislative branch. But I would first suggest getting rid of the top members of the House and Senate. I need to pay close attention to the State House and Senate races this coming election to see if I can vote for someone else. I’m not very happy that we may end up hiking the sales tax without Patrick’s proposed ethics reform. After Dianne Wilkerson, Chuck Turner, and DiMasi, we absolutely need some reform to cut spending. Even if it’s by a little, it’s the principle that matters. We also need to get faith back in the system. Vennochi says it best: “No one looks good. It’s all about power, not the people, and it’s a turnoff.”

I found it silly when Senate President Therese Murray said that “The governor has decided he doesn’t like us”. That sounds like what an immature child would say when (s)he and someone else merely differs in opinion but can still respect each other. Also, calling Patrick “irrelevant” is beyond rude, considering he holds the highest executive office and that his opinions should be put into consideration. Maybe she’s the one that needs to go.

Also, there’s this article by Yvonne Abraham which shows the hypocrisy of some legislature members who take in a per diem while they aim to cut a program for welfare recipients. I don’t know how you read about it and not get annoyed or outraged.

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