I experienced a brief moment of anticipation when I picked up my MacBook Pro, complete with newly installed replacement main logic board, at the Kahala Apple Store. Everything seemed on track to get my system back online.

But, alas, not so much.

I got home, fired up the computer, and all seemed fine. Then I noticed it had dropped the internet connection to our wireless network. I selected the network again, entered the password…nothing.

So I clicked on “Network Preferences,” which walks you step-by-step through the process of troubleshooting a network connection. No luck.

Non-geeks can skip this paragraph: Here’s what’s happening. When the computer first starts up, all is fine, it finds the network, and loads the page. Then it stops. The network panel shows Airport first as on, then “no ip address,” and then quickly to “self-assigned ip address” with the warning that the internet won’t be accessible. I went through the routine of rebooting our Apple router and the cable modem. No difference. Then, thinking perhaps it could be something with the Apple router after all, I got out my Sprint mobile broadband gizmo. Then I selected my Sprint network, and the same failure took place, so it’s independent of which network (and which router) it is trying to connect to. By the way, none of our other networked devices (iPads, phones, computers) are having any trouble with either network.

[UPDATE: Just after noon, I resolved the problem, for now at least. I had repeatedly gone through the series of steps recommended by the Mac’s network diagnostics, including restarting Airport and cable modem several times. I tried deleting the setup for accessing the wireless network, then recreating, several times, no luck. Finally, in one of the “advanced” settings, I noticed under the DNS tab that there was no DNS server listed. So I backed out and checked the same setup on my old computer, which is accessing the network just fine. AHA! A clue! Somewhere along the line it had lost its link to the router, which wasn’t showing up in the settings, but that was buried down several levels. So I added the Apple Airport’s IP address. Still no go. In frustration, I shut down and restarted. Probably for the 20th time today. But this time when the computer restarted, it quickly found the network and joined it. Problem solved! A pain in the you-know-what, but at least I saved myself a quick trip back to the Apple Store.]

As you can imagine, my frustration level is very high on the computer front. Almost as high as on the political front. So it was with much delight that I stumbled over this rant by Opinionated Democrat on YouTube.

WARNING: Explicit language. If you would be offended by several off-repeated words that we aren’t supposed to say out loud in public, then DO NOT WATCH this video. However, if you want a wonderfully done response to the Tea Party conservatives, this is it.

Behind the strong language (“yes, I’m swearing, because I’m f***ing mad!”) are some spot-on questions that need to be asked.

Somewhere in the latter part of this rant, Opinionated Democrat suggests her own series of pledges for Tea Partiers to take. They go something like this, although I don’t recall specifics.

“I pledge never to call 911 if my wife, child, or husband is having a heart attack or other medical emergency.”

“I pledge never to call the fire department if my house catches fire.”

“I pledge not to call the police if I’m the victim of a crime.”

Etc, etc, through the litany of services that conservatives are eager to eliminate.

Anyway, here’s Opinionated Democrat to power your day.