Caveat Emptor: Rethink Obama's Health-Care Bill

Are you sold on the Obama Health-Care bill? If so, think about a serious issue that hasn't been completely explained to Congress or the American public.

In 2006 the Democrats took over control of Congress and immediately they restored the pay-go as a rule for both houses. (In basic jargon, this meant that if a new entitlement program were enacted, in order to pay for it some other program had to be cut....somewhere). This year, Obama begged the legislature to make it a law, envisioning that he would have more power to enforce it. What is not reported to the public is the fact that it could do the opposite. This bill states that if Congress has spent more on new entitlements (or has given more tax cuts) than it has saved, the Prez. can roll back or hide the excess.

So why is that such a bad idea? The Congressional Budget Office sent out an alarming memo that said that the bill as introduced might allow spending to increase by an alarming amount ( let's call it an astronomical amount). The memo further stated, "that rule would allow Congress to enact legislation that would increase deficits by an amount in the vicinity of $3 trillion over the 2010-2019 period with a sequestration."

Still confused? The bill would exempt from pay-go all of the spending in Medicare physician payments and all of the revenue dependent on estate and gift taxes, the alternative minimum tax for individuals and the administration's plan to continue the middle-income tax cuts of 2001-2003.

This pay-go program doesn't have a multi-year cap on discretionary spending and could result in a budget with a 40% loophole of staggering proportions that doesn't have to be paid for.

Mr. Obama promised transparency, he promised a "revenue neutral" budget, he promised accountability. What many are seeing is a devil in the details that might just up and bite us on the butt. Caveat emptor.

Growing Weary of the Obama Bull

I know that it is not great PC to inveigh against the Prez.. After all he's only been in office a short 6 months. I submit the latest poll which shows the approval rating of 57% of Obama is down a whopping 11% since April. Of course I know that polls don't mean much, save for the fact that such a sinking in popularity, suggests the public is slowly developing a collective hum of disapproval. Perhaps the 80% figure in the latest Washington Post-ABC poll says it all: that Americans are truly worried about huge costs showing up in the new health-costs reform bill.

The nonpartisan Director of the Congressional Budget Office gives them a concern for such a worry when he warned that the proposal "significantly expands the federal responsibility for health-care costs." It's bad enough that the health-care industry just keeps slapping on more and more increases and greater denials in medical care, but now we can expect the feds to tack on even more.

Let's add to the mix a few other issues: Obama repudiated the Bush policies while on the campaign trail, but has managed to stay the course of indefinite detention of alleged terrorists, gays in the military, and huge corporate bailouts to the Wall Street elite. He pledged to bring about "net spending cuts" by budgeting wasteful spending, then went on to rubber-stamp more than 9,000 earmarks and asked the federal agencies to trim a tiny 0.003 percent from the federal budget.

Inveighing further, one could point to the fact that he didn't want a federal take-over of General Motors on the day he took it over. He promised transparency in government when, in fact, very few of the bills he promised to post on the Internet for five days before he signed them ever showed up on our screens.

The fresh air stemming from his melodic voice has turned to hot, and growing hotter, air.

More Bull From the U.S. Senate Re: Confirmation Process

Don't you just love the condescension coming out of the hearings for the supreme court nominee, Sonia Sotomayer?
Think about it for a minute, and it does take a minute, and let me ask you the following:

What white man or woman during these same type of hearings has been asked whether being Caucasian makes h/her unable to apply the law without bias in cases involving people who are not white?

What male Supreme Court nominee has been asked whether he can apply the law without prejudice/bias to cases involving women? Remember that more than 1/2 of the U.S. population is female.

Those two questions alone automatically suggests that Sotomayer is being held to a totally different standard.

Let's throw in the issue of life experience that keeps creeping into the process. Could the lofty, yet unsettling voices from the Senate chamber have one believe that such experiences are not part of the rule of law. Did they miss something in the history of this land? Experiences should not have been taken into consideration in the Dred Scott Case? Brown v. Board of Ed.? Gideon v. Wainwright? or Hamda v. U.S.? Are they kidding?

The humans that sit on the high bench do not live prosaic lives. Anyone who has been lectured by the Supremes during oral arguments know full well that they can dish out a tongue lashing over life experiences to any counsel that is stupid enough to think they are vapid about circumstances surrounding a legal issue.

Hey Mr. Prez, the Community College Idea Just Sucks.

Hey, Mr. Obama, this time I truly think you are on the wrong track, talking to a pseudo audience, and, yes, clearly not doing your homework.

Ok, Mr. Prez., you've got the gals/guys in the White House who are doing their best to shine old leather and even make it smell better, but let's be honest the community college (drum roll, please) theme is meritless. Here's why:
1. This nation's leaders go out of their way to deny more funding to public, and now you think they will pony up more. Get real. They always cite business models as if the profit and loss statement creates thinking citizens;

2. Your ideal/ idea collides with existing monies for common ed and now ( believe me, please) this concept will only take more $$$ from common ed;

3. Your data re: future jobs lack anything close to a syllogism in that most future business do not require an associate's degree;

4. This nation's spine is reinforced with blue collar, hard working men and women, and they will tell you that being an electrician, plumber, carpenter, janitor, assembly-line worker didn't require attending any college. (Note here: most would tell you that they wanted out of the draconic world of the classroom);

5. At the risk of sounding elistist and I am not, it is extremely important that we as a nation not work toward watering down higher level education simply to advance a "not really important" product;

6. In the market place of ideas, Mr Prez., this idea ought to die and be replaced by a huge move toward more monies for vocational ed programs, community college programs, and yes, a goal toward pushing young people (who want it) through portals of a place called college.

Warning Label for Chrysler; Maybe

Consumer Action, the Center for Auto Safety, the Center for Justice, and the National Consumers League asked the Federal Trade Commission to require that Chrysler vehicles display stickers warning buyers of risks in future liability claims.

Chrysler successfully established freedom from obligation on product liability on cars made before May 30, when it was purchased by the Italian automaker Fiat.

The consumer groups asked the commission to make an emergency amendment to the "use car rule" which demands warning labels to be affixed to windows that discloses purchasing and warranty information. The label reads: "This vehicle was produced prior to the date when the Chrysler bankruptcy was approved. If you buy this vehicle and are injured or killed, even if your injuries were caused by the manufacturer, you or your survivors will not be able to recover your losses by taking action against the manufacturer. If your passengers are injured or killed, even if their injuries were caused by the manufacturer, they and their survivors will not be able to recover their losses by taking action against the manufacture.

Representative Andre Carson (D-Ind.) has proposed legislation that would require all automakers to purchase liability insurance if they are majority-owned by the federal government.

General Custer Rides Again Via McDonald"s Happy Meals

McDonald's has begun selling Happy Meals complete with a toy of General Custer. Why are Indian activists disturbed by this idea?

Those wonderful people at McDonald's must have completely lost every fiber of sensitivity when they began selling Happy Meals, in the Dakotas, with, of all things, a gift, a toy, a Custer toy. The accompanying card read, " Ever heard of Custer's last stand? It was named after George Armstrong Custer who lead his troops into the battle at Little Big Horn."

Belva Morrison, Indian child welfare specialist for the Lakota Law Project, said, "It is insensitive for local merchants to hand out these dolls where there is a large Indian population. They should have thought twice about promoting these figurines. I don't believe we're overreacting. I think we are not tolerating things like this anymore. They're targeting young kids whose minds are easily impressed."

So what's the big deal? It seems that ole "Golden Hair" Custer went on an Indian killing raid with his Cavalry in Indian Territory ( Oklahoma) , killing Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Cherokee back in 1868. ( I hate dates, too, but stay with me on this.) Eight years later, Custer and 700 men of his 7th cavalry were wiped completely out by the Lakota at a place called "Little Big Horn" at Montana, just a rock's throw from South Dakota.

Make no mistake the Lakota (Sioux) had a complete history of what happened in Oklahoma at the Battle of Washita, but they also knew full well that Custer was responsible for the discovering of gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota that led to the theft of over $120,000,000 of that precious asset on sacred land that has never been returned.

So one can imagine the disturbing sight of having a child reach into to his/her Happy Meal only to find a figurine that would anger any Native American parent who wasn't asleep in history class or listened intently to his family oral history

At last report customers in the Rapid City area were told there were no more Custer dolls in the Happy Meals. Sadly, the PR folks at Mickey D's didn't have the corporate sense or historic knowledge to correct such a huge mistake

A Reason for More Bleach in The Gene Pool: The Darwin Awards

It’s that time again folks. The Darwin Awards are finally out. The annual honor given to the persons who did the gene pool the biggest service by killing themselves in the most extraordinarily stupid way. Last year’s winner was the fellow who was killed by a Coke machine which toppled over on top of him as he was attempting to tip a free soda out.

This year’s winner was a real rocket scientist…… HONEST!

Read on…… And remember that each and every one of these is a TRUE STORY.

And the nominees were:

Semifinalist #1
A young Canadian man, searching for a way of getting drunk cheaply, because he had no money with which to buy alcohol, mixed gasoline with milk. Not surprisingly, this concoction made him ill, and he vomited into the fireplace in his house. This resulting explosion and fire burned his house down, killing both him and his sister.

Semifinalist #2
Three Brazilian men were flying in a light aircraft at low altitude when another plane approached. It appears that they decided to moon the occupants of the other plane, but lost control of their own aircraft and crashed. They were all found dead in the wreckage with their pants around their ankles.

Semifinalist #3
A 22-year-old Reston , VA , man was found dead after he tried to use octopus straps to bungee jump off a 70-foot rail road trestle.. Fairfax County police said Eric Barcia, a fast food worker, taped a bunch of these straps together, wrapped an end around one foot, anchored the other end to the trestle at Lake Accotink Park , jumped and hit the pavement. Warren Carmichael, a police spokesman, said investigators think Barcia was alone because his car was found nearby. ‘The length of the cord that he had assembled was greater than the distance between the trestle and the ground,’ Carmichael said. Police say the apparent cause of death was ‘Major trauma..’

Semifinalist #4
A man in Alabama died from rattlesnake bites. It seems that he and a friend were playing a game of catch, using the rattlesnake as a ball. The friend - no doubt a future Darwin Awards candidate - was hospitalized.

Semifinalist #5
Employees in a medium-sized warehouse in west Texas noticed the smell of a gas leak. Sensibly, anagement evacuated the building extinguishing all potential sources of ignition; lights, power, etc. After the building had been evacuated, two technicians from the gas company were dispatched. Upon entering the building, they found they had difficulty navigating in the dark. To their frustration, none of the lights worked. Witnesses later described the sight of one of the technicians reaching into his pocket and retrieving an object that resembled a cigarette lighter. Upon operation of the lighter-like object, the gas in the warehouse exploded, sending pieces of it up to three miles away. Nothing was found of the technicians, but the lighter was virtually untouched by the explosion. The technician suspected of causing the blast had never been thought of as ”bright” by his peers.

Now, the winner of this year’s Darwin Award (awarded, as always, posthumously):
The Arizona Highway Patrol came upon a pile of smoldering metal embedded in the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve. The wreckage resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it was a car. The type of car was unidentifiable at the scene. Police investigators finally pieced together the mystery. An amateur rocket scientist had somehow gotten hold of a JATO unit (Jet Assisted Take Off, actually a solid fuel rocket) that is used to give heavy military transport planes an extra ‘push’ for taking off from short airfields. He had driven his Chevy Impala out into the desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. He attached the JATO unit to the car, jumped in, got up some speed and fired off the JATO!
The facts, as best as could be determined, are that the operator of the 1967 Impala hit the JATO ignition at a distance of approximately 3.0 miles from the crash site. This was established by the scorched and melted asphalt at that location.

The JATO, if operating properly, would have reached maximum thrust within 5 seconds, causing the Chevy to reach speeds well in excess of 350 mph and continuing at full power for an additional 20-25 seconds. The driver, and soon to be pilot, would have experienced G-forces usually reserved for dog fighting F-15 jocks under full afterburners, causing him to become irrelevant for the remainder of the event.

However, the automobile remained on the straight highway for about 2.5 miles (15-20 seconds) before the driver applied and completely melted the brakes, blowing the tires and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface, then becoming airborne for an additional 1.4 miles and impacting the cliff face at a height of 125 feet leaving a blackened crater 3 feet deep in the rock. Most of the driver’s remains were not recoverable..

However, small fragments of bone, teeth and hair were extracted from the crater, and fingernail and bone shards were removed from a piece of debris believed to be a portion of the steering wheel.
Epilogue: It has been calculated that this moron attained a ground speed of approximately 420-mph, though much of his voyage was not actually on the ground.

You couldn’t make this stuff up, could you?

Remember, these people are breeding and, God help us, voting.

Source: Rob Polanski

Police with Backbone and Teachers with Brains Fighting a Corporate Giant

The sale of the automaker Chrysler Group to an Italian car maker, Fiat, has been put on hold. Teachers and police officers in Indiana filed an emergency petition in the U.S. Supreme Court to block the sale.

The Indiana State Police Pension Fund and the Indiana Teacher Retirement Fund filed the petition this morning suing on the grounds that "the terms of the sale favor unsecured stockholders at the expense of secured stockholders and alleged that the use of Trouble Asset Relief Program Fund (TARP) to finance the bankruptcy is unconstitutional".

In an ideal case where the police chose not to be financially bullied and where teachers put their collective brains to work to stop an otherwise collapse of their retirement fund, we have a David versus Goliath smackdown with supremes serving as the referee.

The outcome? You guessed it! The police with all their muscle and the teachers with all that esoteric logic won't have a prayer. One need only a short perusal of the recent court's history to grasp an understanding that corporations reign huge in the eyes of the mighty robed jurists. One shouldn't be surprised if the court just stuck out its sinewy finger to those teachers and police officers and boldly said, "Stare Decisis!" (a sort of we-heard-this-before-and-we-don't-want-to-hear-it-again).

If that weren't enough, the talking heads in the media will probably eviscerate both groups because they had the temerity to stand up to Wall Street and the federal government over a highly questionable if not illegal sale.

The average Joe or Jane on the street or at the water cooler is probably just a little torqued about the suit as well because they didn't have anyone in their corner to champion for them when the financial crisis placed their retirement accounts in jeopardy.

Brains and backbone. I am proud of them.

Stop thinking Swine Flu and Think Death By Pie

I learned years ago that amazing things can happen when no one cares about who gets the credit. So here goes. I don't care who gets the credit on saving someone from a serious illness or possible death, but it's my hope that you will send this article (edited, bastardized, or modified...as long as the facts get out there) to anyone who can read.

Go straight to the freezer and pull out all your pot pies, kiss them goodbye and toss them out.
Why? Salmonella. In just one outbreak in 2007 the Banquet brand of pies sickened an estimated 15,000 people in 41 states.

If you can say greed and profit and globalization then you have a pretty good start in understanding the whole scenario. It seems that the giant food corps are in a constant search to find even cheaper ingredients to put into their foods. ConAgra the maker of Banquet pot pies ( over 100,000,000 each year) places 25 ingredients from all over the world and with subcontractors who don't report their sources.

Testing? Yes sure, but only after the 2007 scare. Funny thing is, however, that even if a pie is contaminated they can't determine which ingredient is the bad one. The mighty giants admit that they are so global that they can't determine who supplying the ingredients.

Truly Amazing the food giants also admit that they can no longer ensure the safety of their products. But that's not the half of it! This same industry has found a way to shift the blame onto the customers. Here's how they do it: Look at that pie (before you toss it) and notice the precise instructions or "kill steps" that you must take in order to keep from getting sick. The diagram is right there on the back of the package. A simple four step diagram telling us to make sure the pie is heated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees "in several spots"with a food thermometer of course. That's it... fail to follow the directions and expose yourself and others to illness. A sort of "By God, it's your fault for being so stupid with directions".
Before we let the biggee corps off the hook, perhaps we should look at the New York Times response to the instructions. They followed the directions in detail on many brands of pot pies only to discover that none achieved the magic level of 165 degrees. "Some spots in the pie heated to only 140 degrees even as parts of the crust were burnt" wrote reporter Michael Moss.

There you have the reasons for tossing those pies in order to avoid death. Now you can see why even the faulty instructions by the condescending conglomerates can lead to your illness. Now you can see why greed and "undetermined ingredients" can lead to an outbreak. And now you see how the blame game works in a corporatocracy because in the end it was your fault.

Source: Oklahoma Observer

Something's Rotten (Part II)

In part one of this story, I related that the health industry is surprisingly vowing to lower cost for we the people on our premiums. I smell something rotten and it's the source...the industry itself. Matt Wion, a fellow blogger, summed it up succinctly when he said it was a case of "Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts". He is absolutely correct and here's why:

Governments and businesses have put into play a policy known as "Marketplace of Ideas". In it's simple version, an industry for example, simply throws out an idea into the media. Usually they will sugar coat or play on God, Guns, Gays in order to gauge the public reaction to the concept. They twist wording, use confusing math, or sugar-coat a story to see if the public will run with it.

Political parties along with their think tanks will use wedge issues such as gay marriage, abortion, or estate taxes. They know that the individual issue affects a very small number of citizens, but with the help of demagogues they flame the controversy as high as it can get to create vivid excitement.

In the case of the 6 large insurance corps, they threw out large numbers, talked about generating "perhaps" 2 trillion $$$ over a decade. But from where? From the savings of 1.5 of their gross earnings. They fed the idea to the Prez and he's falling for it like a missile over Baghdad. The White House using spin doctors, threw it to the press and voila...there you have it: Big Business will save their greedy profits, they'll not fall prey to a national health plan, and they will look like Batman coming to save Gotham.
More befuddlement comes with fuzzy math. The industry says it can save the policyholders up to $2,500 a year in premiums to boot. Sounds good, doesn't it?

First, they vowed they would "try"...nothing concrete (off that hook);
Second, they didn't say anything about how they arrived at the math (off that hook, too);
Third, the little burr under the saddle, how can 1.5% of their profits equal $2 trillion over 10 years? It can't! Just look at the current GDP compared to the last 5 years and you will note a slow growth for the whole country, but they want you to believe they alone can achieve it;
Fourth, they mentioned nothing about inflation (if they can't reach their lofty goal they have a built in scapegoat); and,
Fifth, they conveniently omitted how they would generate the monies: lower payout to Drs./hospitals/increase in deductibles, etc.

The press needing news w/out investigating, buys the whole concept lock, stock and barrel.

See what a great tool the "marketplace of ideas" is?
Perhaps you will remember when Dubya wanted to dismantle S. Security. He threw the idea into the marketplace, but in that instance the press did their homework and riled back. This time there isn't a whimper.

Something is Rotten in the State of ________! (Part 1)

Okay, I am not Marcellus who spoke of corruption in the State of Denmark in the wonderfully written Hamlet. The old Bard had it right when he spoke of rotting from the head down. In this case, the health-care industry.
Amazingly, six giants of the industry promised (vowed) to find a way to lower health-care premium costs to about $2,500 per year for a family of four. In a vaguely written letter to Prez. Obama, they boldly stated that such a reduction could save over $2 trillion in 10 years. Suggesting that they (heroically) will save the nation's deficit.
This is where is gets confusing. Maybe you can help me get the concept. Here I have degree in economics and I am still wagging my head in bewilderment. So maybe you could can clear up the math for me.
They said they will find a way to squeeze 1.5% from their savings per premium per year to generate this huge sum. That's right 1.5%. Oh, Boy!
Follow me on this: My health insurance cost me a little more that $12,000 per year. This great industry says it will pull a whopping $120 from that sum and put it in a fund to help generate $2 trillion.
Every year my premium costs explode in increments of $500 to $1,000 units.
Are they saying they won't increase health care cost over the next ten years and hold all variables?
That's the problem. They aren't saying a damned thing. Much like Marcellus, I suspect something is rotten because I smell a huge damned rat

Political Power the Old Fashioned Way: Populate

A new group in the political hunt. They call themselves "Quiverfull". The name is based on Psalm 127 , which says, "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."
This small group has a population of approximately 10,000 but the conviction they hold is that having more children will help spread the message of Christ. Spokesperson Kathryn Joyce says the members have high ambitions, including political and social change. Joyce said members believe, "If everyone starts having eight or 12 children, imagine in three generations what we'll be able to do. We'll be able to take over the halls of Congress, we'll be able to reclaim sinful cities like San Francisco for the faithful, and we'll be able to wage very effective massive boycotts against companies that are going against God's will."

Perhaps the Dugger family out of Springdale, Arkansas comes to mind. Maybe you've watch their (perfect word here) reality show: 18 And Counting.

The Press and Question of Ethics

Yesterday's editorial out of the Washington Post pushed the limit of ethics in my view. The editorial staff fell on their collective sword for the voucher program in Washington, D. C.
Yep, I am a former teacher. Yes, I do champion for "all kids", and no I don't apologize for it.
So what did they clamor for? They pushed, and I do mean pushed, for concept of allowing D.C. to give a whopping 2.5% of the student population a $7,500 voucher per child. This out of a total population of more than 65,000.
So, why am I bitching about this? Well, first why would the Post station itself as nothing less than elitist? Why not demand this government to properly fund pubic schools for all students.
The Post conveniently left some major details out of their rationale for their promotion of vouchers:
1. Will private schools accept children with "special needs"?
2. Will the parochial schools admit students with disciplinary histories?
3. Will the private ( let's say Catholic Schools ) schools willingly admit children from Islamic/Hindu/or Moonies backgrounds?

The Post believes it is acceptable to kick $7,500 toward a tiny 1700 students albeit the fact that so many other kids will suffer(?) under their existing school program.
Let's see: Why wouldn't they come out in favor of appropriate funds for all of the kids in D. C.?
Why the elitism? Why not come out an push Congress to stop the violation of the Church and State Program that they current endorse.?

Where's Steven Galson When We Need Him?

Quick! Who is the Surgeon General and why haven't we heard from him?
It is bothersome to me that we pay some respected physician to be the spokesperson for the U.S. in matters dealing with health and no one has a clue as to where he is.
Where is the guy?


Why hasn't the press hounded the feds about his existence?
One would think that now, right now, is the time for the guy to surface and work to soothe our fears regarding H1N1. See what I mean? We're calling this virus the Swine Flu when such a term is incorrect. Using such a term is having ruinous outcomes for agri-business as well as the small farmer in your region.

I don't have a problem with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, but I do have concerns when I hear him acting in the capacity of the Surgeon General trying to ease my woes regarding a serious issue.

Bar stool Pundits Sippin' Tea

Aah, those red states have given way to Tea Parties and no longer joke about the red Kool-aid. No one should underestimate the power of those of the conservative bent to call forth more venom and hate.
The bar stool pundits would have average Joe or Jane that the purpose of the "parties" was to push forth the idea that our taxes "are way too high" and that all concerned should join in the rallying against Prez Obama's economic program. The sad truth is the trickery of it it all. At the top of the "Tea Party" call for revolution stands Robert Murdock and a well-funded organization known as FreedomWorks which brags a membership of over 700,000 activists . The right-wing rhetoric spewing forth is the same old sound good bytes about cutting taxes and deficits, and of course the same old chestnut about cutting taxes to the rich, and while you're at it "deregulate the damned economy". Now the new hue and cry is to bring and end to the estate tax. (Lest we forget the estate tax has been raised to $10,000,000 instead of the old $7,000,000)

The months the angry propaganda on talk radio and Fox News (Owner Robert Murdock) brought forth the April 15th "tea parties. Yes, the gullible of all stripes came and heard the same untruths and the subtle call to revolt. The program directors had the audacity to compare their whiny complaints to the events that led to the American Revolution. What an insult to our history! What an offensive display of the 1st Amendment....assemblage to promote the causes of the wealthy.

A Serious Question to All Out There

From the "I Need to Know" category, can someone educate me about recirculated air such as on commercial jets, trains, etc. Are they highly filtered to reduce the spread of viruses?
If this is a stupid question please forgive. Your response could help me determine whether or not I should consider a future trip.

It's A Bird, It's a Plane, It's.......A Spy Blimp Near You (Maybe)

It's hard to imagine a world without Agent Bond...James Bond. It's hard to visualize a planet without the super powers of our beloved friends Superman, Batman, and Wonder woman but here in the real world we will lose all of them to DARPA.


By real world I mean that sci-fi has become real-truth in that our supposed friends at the Pentagon has ready for delivery a blimp destined for a 12 trip into space so that it hover over just any old place and spy on just about any person, place, or thing that brassy guys in uniform so determine.

The Pentagon says this new balloon can stay in one place for days, weeks, months, and years just for the purpose of reconnoitring. Under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) the Pentagon has found yet one more way to watch just about any group it deems necessary to place a lens over. This $400 million project is set to launch one of these surveillance vehicles around 2014.

It's okay to run up into the attic and get those scary books that made us think, surely you remember them: Brave New World, 1984, and Animal Farm.

Take Your Child to Work Day: What a Joke

Is it really necessary to take your child to work? The individual(s) who thought up this grand scheme may have given birth to a novel idea. Maybe it is important for children to see how the daily bread is earned. Maybe children can truly develop a sense of respect for dear old mom or dad for their awesome contribution to society and the GDP. I certainly don't want to take away from that particular aspect of the concept. My problem deals with some ancillary things that go along with taking children to work.
First, why isn't it an activity for the summer? Children need to be in school. The absence from school puts an additional work load on the teacher(s) in that homework assignments need to be explained yet one more time, and what was covered that day in class will need to be taught yet one more time. It can not be emphasized strongly enough that a child cannot receive the same benefit as his/her peers when absent from school, even given the makeup work. The interactions that occurs in the classroom is extraordinary to the learning process.
Second, it is not unusual for a child to miss school on this day so that he/she can be with his mom/dad who is (are ready for this?) a teacher.
Stay at home moms will have their children stay at home on this day so that her child can ( I'm not making this up) see what she does all day.
Third, for many schools this is the week for the ubiquitous "end of instruction" or achievement tests. So here it is one of the most important of all school days and we find parents pulling their children out so they can go to work with them. Shouldn't someone have had the decency to coordinate their respective calendars to end such a conflict of interest?
Fourth, and this is the most disturbing side effect of the such a day, is that now most schools want proof that a child did come to a particular business. In order to skirt this requirement, some parents just flat out lie and keep their child out by just calling the school with reports of illness, bee stings, allergic reaction, ad nauseum.

The truly great part of this story is the history of it. It started out as Take Your Daughter to Work Day, with the nascent thought that girls could be empowered by seeing the real work place, that it was truly possible for women to compete and work equally with men at any level. It was and is a refreshing idea in that today women earn on average 77% to that of men for the same workload or job description. Fewer young ladies enter the engineering and mathematical abstract careers than young men. So the original take your daughter to work idea was and is a good way to inspire girls to greater heights in the job market.
Now that the day has morphed into "take you child to work " let's be honest and at least have it slated for a summer day.

Guam Can't Handle Huge Population Growth

Guam will receive 7,000 marines by 2014. That would be bothersome enough for the island that it is already at capacity with water and sewer facilities and an electric grid that is on overload, but now add 7-to-8 thousand military dependents and the situation becomes stressed.

Why is Guam the recipient of this huge human bubble? In 2006 the U.S. and Japan signed a treaty to bring about the withdrawal with details that are confusing at best. Nonetheless, Guam must find the resources and the wherewithal to deal with this dubious agreement.


How can Guam deal with a possible 15% population increase? Her revenue forecast for 2010 is around $500 million which falls far short of the needed $5 billion experts say is necessary for the infrastructure.

All of this begs the question: What Were They Thinking?

The Unemployed Denied, The Elite Win Out

I watched in dismay when S. Carolina Governor Mark Sanford proudly stated that he would not take part in the stimulus package offered by the federal government in spite of the fact that he has thousands standing in unemployment lines. Much like sheep, the unemployed and concerned citizens hadn't pilloried him with anything other than a wet noodle before they felt the shears of an uncaring politico.
Then came the state legislature of Virginia that sang in one voice that they just couldn't accept the stimulus package money either lest they be excoriated by the national far-right conservatives. The logic they offered for the rejection was simple: If they took more money for unemployment compensation, for example, and at some point in the future if said money drained away they would be required to force businesses to pay a greater amount into the system (they have one of the lowest payout in the nation). In other words, they pandered to big business (again) and have now taken on the role as its mouthpiece. One can almost hear them chanting to the unemployed: "Get over it, we can't help you".
Using logic with more holes in it then Caesar's punctured body, both Sanford and the state of Virginia have taken the intransigent attitude of "No further discussion about our reasons", a sort of "Stare decisis, damn it! We'll decide what is right and we won't hear about it again".