Cobol - Cobol Myth Busters

Author

Cobol Myth Busters

Robert

2007-09-21, 3:55 am

On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:35:46 GMT, spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller) wrote:

>In article <5cv5f3h1agml8ffaumlk27hcha3g40g632@4ax.com>, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:
>
>
>LOL -- I doubt that very much. Think about it...

What I said it true.What's the problem?

Doug Miller

2007-09-21, 7:55 am

In article <h9i6f39sqp58patcnsndb0i0vflqac6hmf@4ax.com>, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:
>On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:35:46 GMT, spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller) wrote:
>
> wrote:
>
>What I said it true.

It can't be. Think about it.

>What's the problem?

Just that it's vanishingly unlikely that the Native Americans who had been
living there for thousands of years before any Europeans ever laid eyes on the
island, would have named it "Rhode Island". It's far more likely that its
original name was Aquidneck or something similar.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphag

at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Howard Brazee

2007-09-21, 6:55 pm

On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:06:01 GMT, spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller)
wrote:

>Just that it's vanishingly unlikely that the Native Americans who had been
>living there for thousands of years before any Europeans ever laid eyes on the
>island, would have named it "Rhode Island". It's far more likely that its
>original name was Aquidneck or something similar.

It is possible that they didn't name it at all.

Robert

2007-09-21, 9:55 pm

On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:06:01 GMT, spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller) wrote:

>In article <h9i6f39sqp58patcnsndb0i0vflqac6hmf@4ax.com>, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:
>
>It can't be. Think about it.
>
>
>Just that it's vanishingly unlikely that the Native Americans who had been
>living there for thousands of years before any Europeans ever laid eyes on the
>island, would have named it "Rhode Island". It's far more likely that its
>original name was Aquidneck or something similar.

Of course the island was named by a European explorer.

In Colonial times, Rhode Island was the Catholic Colony. Puritans in Mass and Conn
banished Catholics to their own little colony in a place considered undesirable. RI is
still regarded as one of the most politically corrupt States.

Pete Dashwood

2007-09-22, 7:55 am

"Robert" <no@e.mail> wrote in message
news:vnp8f3lpiidc6vjle70g8np0jq9pot8pca@
4ax.com...
> On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:06:01 GMT, spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller) wrote:
>
>
> Of course the island was named by a European explorer.
>
> In Colonial times, Rhode Island was the Catholic Colony. Puritans in Mass
> and Conn
> banished Catholics to their own little colony in a place considered
> undesirable. RI is
> still regarded as one of the most politically corrupt States.

Is that because of the Catholics? :-)

Pete.
--
"I used to write COBOL...now I can do anything."

Doug Miller

2007-09-22, 7:55 am

In article <vnp8f3lpiidc6vjle70g8np0jq9pot8pca@4ax.com>, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:
>On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:06:01 GMT, spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller) wrote:
>
> wrote:
> Aquidneck,
>
>Of course the island was named by a European explorer.

And you have certain knowledge that the indigenous population never named it
at all, that the European explorer was the first person ever to give it a
name.

Riiiiiiiiiiiight.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphag

at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

SkippyPB

2007-09-22, 6:55 pm

On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:59:05 -0500, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:

>On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:06:01 GMT, spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller) wrote:
>
>
>Of course the island was named by a European explorer.
>
>In Colonial times, Rhode Island was the Catholic Colony. Puritans in Mass and Conn
>banished Catholics to their own little colony in a place considered undesirable. RI is
>still regarded as one of the most politically corrupt States.

It was the 1524 voyage of Italian navigator Giovanni Verrazzano that
stands as the first verifiable visit to Rhode Island by a European
adventurer. Verrazzano made his famous trip, searching for an
all-water route through North America to China, in the employ of the
French king Francis and several Italian promoters. After landfall at
Cape Fear, North Carolina, about March 1, 1524, he proceeded up the
coast to the present site of New York City to anchor in the Narrows,
now spanned by the giant bridge, which bears his name.

From there, according to his own account, he sailed in an easterly
direction until he "discovered an island in the form of a triangle,
distant from the mainland ten leagues, about the bigness of the Island
of Rhodes," which he named Luisa after the Queen Mother of France.
This was Block Island, but Roger Williams and other early settlers
mistakenly thought that Verrazzano had been referring to Aquidneck
Island. Thus they changed that Indian name to Rhode Island, and
Verrazzano inadvertently and indirectly gave the state its name.

Stating Puritans in Mass. and Conn. banished Catholics to RI is
poppycock. Rhode Island's first permanent settlement was established
at Providence in 1636 by English clergyman Roger Williams and a small
band of followers who had left the repressive atmosphere of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony to s

freedom of worship. Canenicus and
Miantonomi granted Williams a sizable tract of land for his new
village. Other nonconformists followed Williams to the bay region,
including Anne and William Hutchinson and William Coddington, all of
whom founded Portsmouth in 1638 as a haven for Antinomians, a
religious sect whose beliefs resembled those of Quakerism. A
short-lived dispute sent Coddington to the southern tip of Aquidneck
Island (also purchased from the Narragansetts the largest Indian tribe
in the area), where he established Newport in 1639. The fourth
original town, Warwick, was settled in 1642 by Samuel Gorton, another
dissident from Portsmouth. During this initial decade two other
outposts were established: Wickford (1637), by Richard Smith, and
Pawtuxet (1638), by William Harris and the Arnold family.

The religious freedom, which prevailed in early Rhode Island, made it
a refuge for several persecuted sects. America's first Baptist church
was formed in Providence in 1639; Quakers, who arrived in Aquidneck in
1657 and soon became a powerful force in the colony's political and
economic life; a Jewish congregation came to Newport in 1658; and
French Huguenots (Calvinists) settled in East Greenwich in 1686.

I challenge you to post verifiable, historically accurate accounts
that make your preposterous statement, "RI is still regarded as one of
the most politically corrupt States" true.

Regards,
////
(o o)
-oOO--(_)--OOo-

"I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw that my bath toys were a toaster
and a radio."
-- Joan Rivers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remove nospam to email me.

Steve

Robert

2007-09-22, 6:55 pm

On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 12:04:31 -0400, SkippyPB <swiegand@nospam.neo.rr.com> wrote:

>On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:59:05 -0500, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:
>
>
>The religious freedom, which prevailed in early Rhode Island, made it
>a refuge for several persecuted sects. America's first Baptist church
>was formed in Providence in 1639; Quakers, who arrived in Aquidneck in
>1657 and soon became a powerful force in the colony's political and
>economic life; a Jewish congregation came to Newport in 1658; and
>French Huguenots (Calvinists) settled in East Greenwich in 1686.

Writing from memory, I

Rhode Island with Maryland. RI was the colony for Quakers
and other protestant non-conformists; Maryland was he colony for Catholics.

Today, RI has the highest Catholic percentage of any state, 63.6%, caused by immigration
of Irish and others during the 19th and 20th centuries. Trivia: Rhode Island and Utah are
the only two states in which more than half the population belong to a single religion.

>I challenge you to post verifiable, historically accurate accounts
>that make your preposterous statement, "RI is still regarded as one of
>the most politically corrupt States" true.

From the same Wikipedia article you quoted:

"The state was notorious for organized crime activity from the 1950s into the 1990s when
the Patriarca crime family held sway over most of New England from its Providence
headquarters. Although the power of organized crime has greatly diminished in Rhode Island
over the last 20 years, its residents are still stigmatized by popular perceptions of
rampant graft and corruption that have haunted the state for decades.

While known for old school politics and corruption, Rhode Island also has ...

Current Governor Donald Carcieri of East Greenwich, and former Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy"
Cianci of Providence (who later became an independent, political boss, and was convicted
on RICO charges) ran as Republican reform candidates.

In recent years, the former Speaker of the House John Harwood, State Senator John Celona,
and State Senate President William Irons were forced to resign in scandals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_island

Pete Dashwood

2007-09-22, 9:57 pm

"Doug Miller" <spambait@milmac.com> wrote in message
news:1u7Ji.5266$Sd4.47@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com...
> In article <vnp8f3lpiidc6vjle70g8np0jq9pot8pca@4ax.com>, Robert
> <no@e.mail> wrote:
<snipped>
>
> And you have certain knowledge that the indigenous population never named
> it
> at all, that the European explorer was the first person ever to give it a
> name.
>
> Riiiiiiiiiiiight.
>

I think that's RIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight, Doug :-)

Pete.
--
"I used to write COBOL...now I can do anything."

SkippyPB

2007-09-23, 6:55 pm

On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:42:48 -0500, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:

>On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 12:04:31 -0400, SkippyPB <swiegand@nospam.neo.rr.com> wrote:
>
>
>Writing from memory, I

Rhode Island with Maryland. RI was the colony for Quakers
>and other protestant non-conformists; Maryland was he colony for Catholics.
>
>Today, RI has the highest Catholic percentage of any state, 63.6%, caused by immigration
>of Irish and others during the 19th and 20th centuries. Trivia: Rhode Island and Utah are
>the only two states in which more than half the population belong to a single religion.
>
>
>From the same Wikipedia article you quoted:
>

I did not quote fro Wikipedia. I would have said so if I had. I
looked stuff up in a CD Encyclopedia (Webster's) that I have.

>"The state was notorious for organized crime activity from the 1950s into the 1990s when
>the Patriarca crime family held sway over most of New England from its Providence
>headquarters. Although the power of organized crime has greatly diminished in Rhode Island
>over the last 20 years, its residents are still stigmatized by popular perceptions of
>rampant graft and corruption that have haunted the state for decades.
>

There's a big difference between "perceptions" and "acutallity". .

>While known for old school politics and corruption, Rhode Island also has ...
>
>Current Governor Donald Carcieri of East Greenwich, and former Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy"
>Cianci of Providence (who later became an independent, political boss, and was convicted
>on RICO charges) ran as Republican reform candidates.
>
>In recent years, the former Speaker of the House John Harwood, State Senator John Celona,
>and State Senate President William Irons were forced to resign in scandals.
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_island
>

I could find similar convictions in nearly every state in the union.
That doesn't prove that RI is "still one of the most politically
corrupt" as you said. Maybe you should, for example, take a look at
Louisiana's state politicians or maybe Illinois' just to name a couple
that are far worse than RI.

Historically, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Louisiana had the
worst reputations for corruption. But the Justice Department under
ex-Attorney General John Ashcroft studied the problem and produced a
Justice Department document which ranks the states according to
political corruption. Rhode Island in #20.

The top 5 in order are: Mississippi, North Dakota, Louisiana, Alaska,
and Illinois.

Regards,
////
(o o)
-oOO--(_)--OOo-

"I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw that my bath toys were a toaster
and a radio."
-- Joan Rivers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remove nospam to email me.

Steve

Judson McClendon

2007-09-23, 6:55 pm

"SkippyPB" <swiegand@nospam.neo.rr.com> wrote:
>
> Historically, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Louisiana had the
> worst reputations for corruption. But the Justice Department under
> ex-Attorney General John Ashcroft studied the problem and produced a
> Justice Department document which ranks the states according to
> political corruption. Rhode Island in #20.
>
> The top 5 in order are: Mississippi, North Dakota, Louisiana, Alaska,
> and Illinois.

You wouldn't have a URL for that, would you? I'm curious as to how
all the states ranked.
--
Judson McClendon judmc@sunvaley0.com (remove zero)
Sun Valley Systems http://sunvaley.com
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Robert

2007-09-23, 6:55 pm

On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 11:45:49 -0400, SkippyPB <swiegand@nospam.neo.rr.com> wrote:

>On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:42:48 -0500, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:
>
>
>I did not quote fro Wikipedia. I would have said so if I had. I
>looked stuff up in a CD Encyclopedia (Webster's) that I have.

Articles are the same, so one of them copied from the other.

>
>There's a big difference between "perceptions" and "acutallity".

My comment was about perception: "RI is still regarded as one of the most politically
corrupt States. "

>
>I could find similar convictions in nearly every state in the union.
>That doesn't prove that RI is "still one of the most politically
>corrupt" as you said. Maybe you should, for example, take a look at
>Louisiana's state politicians or maybe Illinois' just to name a couple
>that are far worse than RI.
>
>
>Historically, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Louisiana had the
>worst reputations for corruption. But the Justice Department under
>ex-Attorney General John Ashcroft studied the problem and produced a
>Justice Department document which ranks the states according to
>political corruption. Rhode Island in #20.

You're trying to introduce FACTS into a political discussion. No fair, that's cheating.

>The top 5 in order are: Mississippi, North Dakota, Louisiana, Alaska,
>and Illinois.

The first three are poor. Alaska has no excuse. I'm surprised New Mexico isn't on the
list, because many of its legislators are poor.

Hillary and Obama are both from Illinois. Coincidence?

Howard Brazee

2007-09-24, 6:56 pm

On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:59:05 -0500, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:

>In Colonial times, Rhode Island was the Catholic Colony. Puritans in Mass and Conn
>banished Catholics to their own little colony in a place considered undesirable. RI is
>still regarded as one of the most politically corrupt States.

By whom?

Howard Brazee

2007-09-24, 6:56 pm

On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:42:48 -0500, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:

>Today, RI has the highest Catholic percentage of any state, 63.6%, caused by immigration
>of Irish and others during the 19th and 20th centuries. Trivia: Rhode Island and Utah are
>the only two states in which more than half the population belong to a single religion.

Not many people say "Catholicism" is a religion. Most everybody (and
every dictionary) says "Christianity" is a religion. So it appears
that you are saying that 48 states have a minority of its members as
Christians.

Howard Brazee

2007-09-24, 6:56 pm

On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 17:57:02 -0500, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:

>My comment was about perception: "RI is still regarded as one of the most politically
>corrupt States. "

And the moon is considered to be made out of green cheese. If it is
important to tell us that someone believes something that isn't true
to be true - tell us who it is that believes this falsehood, and
indicate why it is important for us to know this.

HeyBub

2007-09-24, 6:56 pm

Howard Brazee wrote:
> On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:59:05 -0500, Robert <no@e.mail> wrote:
>
>
> By whom?

Alan Dershowitz, for one. In his book, "Reversal of Fortune," (the appeal of
the Claus Von Beulow conviction) he repeatedly referred to the state as
"Rude Island."

Interestingly, "Rhode Island corruption" yields (roughly) the same number of
Google hits as "Illinois corruption" (but each about half as many as
"Massachusetts corruption").

Wikipedia (and we all know how un-biased that is) says: "While known for old
school politics and corruption..." as if the assertion is so well known as
to be immune to the need of proof.

Doug Miller

2007-09-24, 6:56 pm

In article <13ffjfp120umrb6@news.supernews.com>, "HeyBub" <heybubNOSPAM@gmail.com> wrote:
>Howard Brazee wrote:
>
>Alan Dershowitz, for one. In his book, "Reversal of Fortune," (the appeal of
>the Claus Von Beulow conviction) he repeatedly referred to the state as
>"Rude Island."
>
>Interestingly, "Rhode Island corruption" yields (roughly) the same number of
>Google hits as "Illinois corruption" (but each about half as many as
>"Massachusetts corruption").

Rhode Island corruption -- 1.2 million hits
Illinois corruption -- 1.9 million
Massachusetts corruption -- 2 million
Lousiana corruption -- 1.8 million
Indiana -- 1.9 million
Mississippi -- 1.8 million
Pennsylvania -- 2 million
New Jersey -- 2.1 million

but the champion is New York -- 9.6 million hits.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphag

at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

SkippyPB

2007-09-24, 6:56 pm

On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 11:31:49 -0500, "Judson McClendon"
<judmc@sunvaley0.com> wrote:

>"SkippyPB" <swiegand@nospam.neo.rr.com> wrote:
>
>You wouldn't have a URL for that, would you? I'm curious as to how
>all the states ranked.

Took me a while to find it again, but here it is:
http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/corruptreport.pdf

Regards,
////
(o o)
-oOO--(_)--OOo-

"I assume full responsibility for my actions,
except the ones that are someone else's fault."
-- Unknown
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remove nospam to email me.

Steve

Howard Brazee

2007-09-24, 6:56 pm

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:22:28 GMT, spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller)
wrote:

>Rhode Island corruption -- 1.2 million hits
>Illinois corruption -- 1.9 million
>Massachusetts corruption -- 2 million
>Lousiana corruption -- 1.8 million
>Indiana -- 1.9 million
>Mississippi -- 1.8 million
>Pennsylvania -- 2 million
>New Jersey -- 2.1 million
>
>but the champion is New York -- 9.6 million hits.

It seems that the larger populations have more hits.

Judson McClendon

2007-09-24, 6:56 pm

"SkippyPB" <swiegand@nospam.neo.rr.com> wrote:
> "Judson McClendon" <judmc@sunvaley0.com> wrote:
>
> Took me a while to find it again, but here it is:
> http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/corruptreport.pdf

Thanks!
--
Judson McClendon judmc@sunvaley0.com (remove zero)
Sun Valley Systems http://sunvaley.com
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Doug Miller

2007-09-24, 6:56 pm

In article <p8qff314akdb39ch239efd6nrja8uhcsfp@4ax.com>, Howard Brazee <howard@brazee.net> wrote:
>On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:22:28 GMT, spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller)
>wrote:
>
>
>It seems that the larger populations have more hits.

Hardly.

The population of Mississippi is less than half that of either Indiana or
Massachusetts, which are in their turn less than half that of either Illinois
or Pennsylvania -- yet all five of them have approximately the same hit count.

Also, FWIW, the hit counts for Texas (pop. 24M) and California (pop. 36M) are
each about 2.3M -- 20% more than Illinois, with double and triple the
population, respectively.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphag

at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

HeyBub

2007-09-24, 6:56 pm

Doug Miller wrote:
>
> Also, FWIW, the hit counts for Texas (pop. 24M) and California (pop.
> 36M) are
> each about 2.3M -- 20% more than Illinois, with double and triple the
> population, respectively.

I'm in Texas. We attribute the diminishing corruption count to guns - and,
of course, to the fact that LJB is dead.

Doug Miller

2007-09-24, 6:56 pm

In article <13fg17hbdoaag55@news.supernews.com>, "HeyBub" <heybubNOSPAM@gmail.com> wrote:
>Doug Miller wrote:
>
>I'm in Texas. We attribute the diminishing corruption count to guns - and,
>of course, to the fact that LJB is dead.

I heard that one of his contemporaries said there was a foolproof way of
telling when Lyndon Johnson was lying:

When he polishes his glasses, he's not lying.
When he straightens his tie, he's not lying.
But when he opens his mouth to speak...
>
>

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphag

at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

LX-i

2007-09-26, 9:55 pm

Howard Brazee wrote:
> On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:22:28 GMT, spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller)
> wrote:
>
>
> It seems that the larger populations have more hits.

Heh - I've heard a lot of "hits" originate in Noo Yawk...

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ / \/ _ o ~ Live from Albuquerque, NM! ~
~ _ /\ | ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ Business E-mail ~ daniel @ "Business Website" below ~
~ Business Website ~ http://www.djs-consulting.com ~
~ Tech Blog ~ http://www.djs-consulting.com/linux/blog ~
~ Personal E-mail ~ "Personal Blog" as e-mail address ~
~ Personal Blog ~ http://daniel.summershome.org ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GEEKCODE 3.12 GCS/IT d s-:+ a C++ L++ E--- W++ N++ o? K- w$ !O M--
V PS+ PE++ Y? !PGP t+ 5? X+ R* tv b+ DI++ D+ G- e h---- r+++ z++++

"Who is more irrational? A man who believes in a God he doesn't see,
or a man who's offended by a God he doesn't believe in?" - Brad Stine

Sponsored Links