Cinnaman

Monday, November 09, 2009

There Really is Only One Health Care Question

FACT: The overwhelming majority of Americans are satisfied with their health care coverage.

FACT: Obamacrats want the government to control health care to make it more "efficient" and less costly.

THE QUESTION: When was the last time government took over any major segment of American life and made it more efficient AND saved us lots of money?

Trust this fantasy at your own peril.

Labels: Democrats, healthcare, Obama, Taxes

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

The Towering New Health Bureaucracy

If there is any doubt in your mind that an ObamaCure will strangle this nation, please see the list below. It comes from the Pelosi bill and it details all of the new federal agencies, programs and entities that will suck the lifeblood of tax-paying citizens.

Imagine, dozens, maybe hundreds of new federal buildings jammed with hundreds of thousands (hey, maybe a million) of bureacrats who come in late, have more days off than Santa Claus, and pile up billions of dollars in pension funds, thanks to your wallet.

Oh, yes, the list was compiled by those evil Congressional Republicans who want to spend less so they can cut your taxes. So here it is, the Democratic tsunami poised to demolish your life under the guide of "health care" --

New Federal Bureaucracies Created in Pelosi Health Care Bill
November 2, 2009
The House Republican Conference has compiled a list of all the new boards, bureaucracies, commissions, and programs created in H.R. 3962, Speaker Pelosi’s government takeover of health care:

1. Retiree Reserve Trust Fund (Section 111(d), p. 61)
2. Grant program for wellness programs to small employers (Section 112, p. 62)
3. Grant program for State health access programs (Section 114, p. 72)
4. Program of administrative simplification (Section 115, p. 76)
5. Health Benefits Advisory Committee (Section 223, p. 111)
6. Health Choices Administration (Section 241, p. 131)
7. Qualified Health Benefits Plan Ombudsman (Section 244, p. 138)
8. Health Insurance Exchange (Section 201, p. 155)
9. Program for technical assistance to employees of small businesses buying Exchange coverage (Section 305(h), p. 191)
10. Mechanism for insurance risk pooling to be established by Health Choices Commissioner (Section 306(b), p. 194)
11. Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund (Section 307, p. 195)
12. State-based Health Insurance Exchanges (Section 308, p. 197)
13. Grant program for health insurance cooperatives (Section 310, p. 206)
14. “Public Health Insurance Option” (Section 321, p. 211)
15. Ombudsman for “Public Health Insurance Option” (Section 321(d), p. 213)
16. Account for receipts and disbursements for “Public Health Insurance Option” (Section 322(b), p. 215)
17. Telehealth Advisory Committee (Section 1191 (b), p. 589)
18. Demonstration program providing reimbursement for “culturally and linguistically appropriate services” (Section 1222, p. 617)
19. Demonstration program for shared decision making using patient decision aids (Section 1236, p. 648)
20. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicare (Section 1301, p. 653)
21. Independent patient-centered medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302, p. 672)
22. Community-based medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302(d), p. 681)
23. Independence at home demonstration program (Section 1312, p. 718)
24. Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research (Section 1401(a), p. 734)
25. Comparative Effectiveness Research Commission (Section 1401(a), p. 738)
26. Patient ombudsman for comparative effectiveness research (Section 1401(a), p. 753)
27. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1412(b)(1), p. 784)
28. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for nursing facilities (Section 1412 (b)(2), p. 786)
29. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1413(a)(3), p. 796)
30. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 1413(b)(3), p. 804)
31. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 1422, p. 859)
32. Demonstration program for approved teaching health centers with respect to Medicare GME (Section 1502(d), p. 933)
33. Pilot program to develop anti-fraud compliance systems for Medicare providers (Section 1635, p. 978)
34. Special Inspector General for the Health Insurance Exchange (Section 1647, p. 1000)
35. Medical home pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1722, p. 1058)
36. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1730A, p. 1073)
37. Nursing facility supplemental payment program (Section 1745, p. 1106)
38. Demonstration program for Medicaid coverage to stabilize emergency medical conditions in institutions for mental diseases (Section 1787, p. 1149)
39. Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund (Section 1802, p. 1162)
40. “Identifiable office or program” within CMS to “provide for improved coordination between Medicare and Medicaid in the case of dual eligibles” (Section 1905, p. 1191)
41. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 1907, p. 1198)
42. Public Health Investment Fund (Section 2002, p. 1214)
43. Scholarships for service in health professional needs areas (Section 2211, p. 1224)
44. Program for training medical residents in community-based settings (Section 2214, p. 1236)
45. Grant program for training in dentistry programs (Section 2215, p. 1240)
46. Public Health Workforce Corps (Section 2231, p. 1253)
47. Public health workforce scholarship program (Section 2231, p. 1254)
48. Public health workforce loan forgiveness program (Section 2231, p. 1258)
49. Grant program for innovations in interdisciplinary care (Section 2252, p. 1272)
50. Advisory Committee on Health Workforce Evaluation and Assessment (Section 2261, p. 1275)
51. Prevention and Wellness Trust (Section 2301, p. 1286)
52. Clinical Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1295)
53. Community Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1301)
54. Grant program for community prevention and wellness research (Section 2301, p. 1305)
55. Grant program for research and demonstration projects related to wellness incentives (Section 2301, p. 1305)
56. Grant program for community prevention and wellness services (Section 2301, p. 1308)
57. Grant program for public health infrastructure (Section 2301, p. 1313)
58. Center for Quality Improvement (Section 2401, p. 1322)
59. Assistant Secretary for Health Information (Section 2402, p. 1330)
60. Grant program to support the operation of school-based health clinics (Section 2511, p. 1352)
61. Grant program for nurse-managed health centers (Section 2512, p. 1361)
62. Grants for labor-management programs for nursing training (Section 2521, p. 1372)
63. Grant program for interdisciplinary mental and behavioral health training (Section 2522, p. 1382)
64. “No Child Left Unimmunized Against Influenza” demonstration grant program (Section 2524, p. 1391)
65. Healthy Teen Initiative grant program regarding teen pregnancy (Section 2526, p. 1398)
66. Grant program for interdisciplinary training, education, and services for individuals with autism (Section 2527(a), p. 1402)
67. University centers for excellence in developmental disabilities education (Section 2527(b), p. 1410)
68. Grant program to implement medication therapy management services (Section 2528, p. 1412)
69. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors in underserved communities (Section 2530, p. 1422)
70. Grant program for State alternative medical liability laws (Section 2531, p. 1431)
71. Grant program to develop infant mortality programs (Section 2532, p. 1433)
72. Grant program to prepare secondary school students for careers in health professions (Section 2533, p. 1437)
73. Grant program for community-based collaborative care (Section 2534, p. 1440)
74. Grant program for community-based overweight and obesity prevention (Section 2535, p. 1457)
75. Grant program for reducing the student-to-school nurse ratio in primary and secondary schools (Section 2536, p. 1462)
76. Demonstration project of grants to medical-legal partnerships (Section 2537, p. 1464)
77. Center for Emergency Care under the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (Section 2552, p. 1478)
78. Council for Emergency Care (Section 2552, p 1479)
79. Grant program to support demonstration programs that design and implement regionalized emergency care systems (Section 2553, p. 1480)
80. Grant program to assist veterans who wish to become emergency medical technicians upon discharge (Section 2554, p. 1487)
81. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 2562, p. 1494)
82. National Medical Device Registry (Section 2571, p. 1501)
83. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 2581, p. 1597)
84. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 2581, p. 1598)
85. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 2581, p. 1602)
86. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1610)
87. National Women’s Health Information Center (Section 2588, p. 1611)
88. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1614)
89. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Research (Section 2588, p. 1617)
90. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1618)
91. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1621)
92. Personal Care Attendant Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 2589(a)(2), p. 1624)
93. Grant program for national health workforce online training (Section 2591, p. 1629)
94. Grant program to disseminate best practices on implementing health workforce investment programs (Section 2591, p. 1632)
95. Demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (Section 3101, p. 1717)
96. Demonstration program for substance abuse counselor educational curricula (Section 3101, p. 1719)
97. Program of Indian community education on mental illness (Section 3101, p. 1722)
98. Intergovernmental Task Force on Indian environmental and nuclear hazards (Section 3101, p. 1754)
99. Office of Indian Men’s Health (Section 3101, p. 1765)
100. Indian Health facilities appropriation advisory board (Section 3101, p. 1774)
101. Indian Health facilities needs assessment workgroup (Section 3101, p. 1775)
102. Indian Health Service tribal facilities joint venture demonstration projects (Section 3101, p. 1809)
103. Urban youth treatment center demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1873)
104. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for diabetes prevention (Section 3101, p. 1874)
105. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for health IT adoption (Section 3101, p. 1877)
106. Mental health technician training program (Section 3101, p. 1898)
107. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1909)
108. Program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims and perpetrators (Section 3101, p. 1925)
109. Program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (Section 3101, p. 1927)
110. Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1966)
111. Committee for the Establishment of the Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1968)
The House Republican Conference • GOP.gov1420 Longworth HOB • (202) 225-5107

Labels: bureaucracy, healthcare, Obama, Pelosi, Republicans, taxpayers

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

L.A. Times Hates Us, But Throws Dodgers Under the Bus

Of course L.A. Times writer T.J. Simers had something nasty to say about Philadelphia fans after the Phillies took a 3 games to 1 lead over the Dodgers. This is from his dispatch to L.A. from Philadelphia today:

"As you know, Fox will be broadcasting the World Series and it likes to put the camera on the face of every single fan sitting in the stands, these fans as ugly as any in the country."

"These fans" would be Phillie fans, whom he described as "folks here who love a dash of violence with their sports entertainment."

The article is topped by a photo of The Vicious Ones pointing and hooting at Manny Ramirez after he struck out in the eighth inning of last night's amazing walk-off victory triggered by a JRoll gapper.

But hold off on that contract on Simers, Vito, and get a load of how the sports writer eviscerated the Los Angeles Dodgers, dubbing them "The Choking Dogs." Here are just a few tibits from the simmering Simster:

On the Dodgers taking the lead on a home run: "But it wasn't good enough, the Choking Dogs lacking the closing punch that separates champions from teams no one ultimately remembers."

"Rafael Furcal continued to play as if he's found a home with the Choking Dogs, hitting .125 in this series. Casey Blake is a scrunch better at .133, and while the Dodgers had the lead they needed in the late innings, they don't appear be in the Phillies' class.

"But then the dogs choked. Now it seems it's just time to bow-OUT."

See the article here

But wait, there's more, in a column by Bill Plaschke describing how Dodgers closer Janathan Broxton was "haunted" by Phils pinch hitter Matt Stairs, who blasted a 2-run homer against the pitcher for a victory in last year's NLCS.

"Your closer cannot be spooked by a memory. Your closer cannot be crushed by his past. But that is exactly what happened with one out and the bases empty in the ninth inning of Game 4 when pinch-hitter Stairs came to the plate."

(Stairs walked for the tying run, followed by Carlos Ruiz, who was hit by a pitch and scored the winning run after Rollin's walk-off extra base scorcher.)

Broxton, said the writer, should have welcomed the chance to face Stairs again and right last year's wrong.

"Broxton, however, essentially covered his eyes and said nothing," he wrote.

Plaschke closed with this:

"Maybe the Dodgers' front office will use the time to reflect, again, on the fact that weak starting pitching has strained the bullpen, surely a factor in Broxton's late weariness.But more important, maybe Broxton will use the time to reflect on the most important mental part of his job. Closers forget. He could not.The nightmare this created Monday is one that the Dodgers will remember forever."

Talk about violence.

Labels: baseball, Broxton, Dodgers, Phillies, Plaschke, Rollins, Simers, Stairs, Times

Friday, October 16, 2009

First Pitch Fever, Part II

Top of the 6th in a tight 1-0 game with the Phillies leading and at the plate. Jimmy Rollins runs the count to 2-2 before striking out. (Hmm, he must have read Cinnaman last night).

TV shows a graphic comparing pitches by the pitcher, 63 for Pedro Martinez, while the fireballing Vicente Padilla has thrown 71. Hmm, maybe we can get this guy out of here soon.

Up next, Shane Victorino. Swing and a grounder to first base. Out

Next up, Pete Rose-like Chase Utley, top notch student of the game who surely will make this pitcher work.

First pitch. Swing, and a fly ball to left out.

The Phillies are a super team with some great players. But doesn't anybody ever look at pitch counts and consider a waiting strategy at the plate, especially when Padilla is pitching like Nolan Ryan?

And manager Charlie Manuel spent decades as a hitting coach.

Go Phillies, but not always on the first pitch, for crying out loud.

Labels: baseball, Phillies, Rollins, Utley, Victorino

Monday, October 12, 2009

Rollins, Rolaids and First Pitch Fever

Thank God for Nexium. Otherwise Phillies infielder Jimmy Rollins would have had me reaching for Rolaids tonight.

Yeah, he's having a crummy year, I can forgive an off year. Yeah, he's a inspirational force in the clubhouse. That's nice.

But last night, at a time the Phillies desperately needed runners in a tight game, Rollins did what he has done 679 times this past season.

HE SWUNG AT THE FIRST PITCH!

Our leadoff hitter swung at the first pitch when the Rockies pitcher, Ubaldo Jimenez, already had piled up a ton of pitches in the first inning. Swung at the first pitch when baseball analysts were saying the Phils really had to be patient with Jimenez and wear him down.

Oh, yeah, the 679 statistic is phony. But here are stats that are not, because I researched them while the 1-0 game went into the 6th inning.

The batting stats for MLB shortstops in the 2009 season listed 19 players. Run your fingers way down to find Rollins because his batting average of .250 had him tied for 17th with only one player beneath.

He was 12th in base on balls (44), which means that with a lousy average and few walks, he wasn't on base much as a Phillies place setter. Maybe the math works out this way: If you swing at the first pitch, YOU WILL NEVER WALK!

Oh, Jimmy was one of only two shortstops whose on base percentage (OBP) was below .300. Table setter?

So in the 7th inning Jimmy got a nice double. With 2 out and no one on base. That will happen in an inning when you follow a catcher and pitcher in the lineup.

What we needed him to do is get on base when he opened the game and Shane Victorino followed with a homer.

Love the guy, want him to stay. But for the love of Rickey Henderson, watch a couple of pitches, man.

Labels: baseball, Phillies, Rockies, Rollins, walks

Friday, October 02, 2009

Beck Wakes Up "Silent Chorus" in Cherry Hill

The bus bearing the likeness of TV/radio commentator Glenn Beck pulled in front of a Barnes & Noble in Cherry Hill, NJ, last night, triggering camera flashes and scurrying by hundreds outside. Another lucky 1,000 already were inside the place, wearing wristbands signaling 1/ they had bought his latest book and 2/ they could line up to meet the man.

“Bigger book signing than we expected” said a B&N employee, scanning the throng inside.

Truth was, this wasn’t a book signing as much as a Tea Party with a hard top. And the book being carried by the crowds of young and old wasn’t so much a book as a ticket to participate in something far bigger than a celebrity sighting.

Many came hours early and seats were at a premium in the coffee shop, where friendly folks nursed cold coffee and paged through Beck’s Arguing with Idiots book. As luck would have it, those folks were rewarded when the blonde image of Beck suddenly popped up amidst the crowd within sight of the coffee drinkers. (He had come in through a back door and security men were close by.)

The crowd erupted and a muscle-thick, 30-something guy in a suit jumped on a chair and shouted “God Bless Glenn Beck.” Cheers erupted, prompting the guy to start singing God Bless America. Many joined in.

And then it was Beck’s turn to shout to the crowd. A year ago, he said, referencing the emergence of Barack Obama, we didn’t know what we were dealing. “Now, they don’t know what they’re dealing with.” Cheers all around.

Then a B&N woman stood on a chair in the middle of the store and instructed the first 200 with numbered wristbands to begin a line that snaked from one end of the store to the other. The lines were orderly and the character types were varied, with many teenagers, although few people of color were seen.

One guy with a graying pony tail and sleeves of tattoo wore a splashy shirt bearing the U.S. flag and image of the Constitution. That caught the eye of an older man in ordinary senior clothing who asked Pony Tail” “Were you there on 9/12?” This was shorthand for the Tea Party rally in D.C. No, said Pony Tail. “Well, a lot of guys wore shirts like that,” said Main Street. “Cool.”

With the audience for his 5 p.m. Fox network show reaching 3 million at times, Beck seems to be replacing Rush Limbaugh as the main information source for millions of Main Street Americans who are frightened by the nation’s rush to socialism. Beck has created a new genre of political and government commentary, masterfully using props, farce, and personal insight (he’s a once-divorced, reformed alcoholic) to spice up deadly serious observations on where a debt-ridden America is headed.

His attacks on the radical/revolutionary/activist personalities President Obama has hired as advisors and czars have begun to sting the president and at least one high-profile advisor has resigned.

As the wristbands with numbers 600 to 700 filed into a line that moved as a fairly quick pace, hundreds more piled into the store. They would not have a chance at a wristband, but they would buy the book and they carried a hope that they would at least see the man whose words strike a chord in their hearts.

Meanwhile, a B&N employee instructed those of us in line to open our books to the first page with a color background, making sure we could hand it over to the assistant who would position the book for Beck.

That’s because Beck has perfected a slight-of-hand autograph technique which allows him to look at the person walking by, shaking every hand offered, all while scribbling a compact GB initial that even a physician could criticize for its lack of meaning.

No matter. As we approached the tall desk where he alternately smiled and offered serious thank yous, it occurred to me that Beck’s Brigades are not “fans” of a celebrity. They see him as a choral director, someone who lets them sing of and to and for their country. Beck doesn’t teach us the tune. We already know it. But he does give us the courage to sing.

Our moment came and my wife handed over the book and thanked the author for what he has done. Me? My line was short:

"Dan Rather said Courage. You live it. Thanks.”

And as we left, my wife said” “I really liked the way he looked you right in the eye and said thank you.”

It was a grand night for singing.

Labels: arguing, Beck, book, Cherry Hill, Glenn, Idiots, Obama, patriotism, Rather

Friday, September 11, 2009

Black Journalists: "You Lie" Is a Racist Remark

NEW YORK The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) is backing out of holding its mid-winter conference in South Carolina after one of its U.S. representatives accused President Barack Obama of lying during the president's congressional address on health care.

"Rep. [Joe] Wilson's remarks were racist, disrespectful and a disingenuous violation -- not only of President Obama -- but to the institution of the presidency and only solidified our position and the importance in not spending Black dollars where Black people are not respected," NNPA Chairman Danny J. Bakewell Sr. said in a statement.

This is where we are in America today, folks: calling someone a liar is a slur against their ethnicity. Wasn't Pinocchio Italian?

To quote a famous American, I think the black journalists group, in deciding to punish North Carolina, is "acting "stupidly."

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Obama Speech to Yutes of America: Fulfill, Fulfill

Call off the dogs, Republicans, the text of the President's speech to the nation's school children has been released. Two small clues make it clear there is nothing to worry about.

"I'm calling on each of you ....," he says at one point.

And elsewhere, he begins a sentence with: "At the end of the day...."

This will resonate with kids? Maybe he should have encouraged them to become "boots on the ground for change." Maybe he should have related his own birth "four score and eight years ago."

Better yet, maybe he should have had Malia Anne write the speech, just so's kids could avoid the official White House language -- Bureacratish.

Even better yet, bring in Bill Cosby to really tell it like it is.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Memo to Pols:Labor Day is NOT Union Day

The politicians trudged like love slaves into Friday's South Jersey AFL-CIO Labor Day breakfast, kissing butt and crying crocodile tears when one United Auto Workers (UAW) official belted out the same old blue collar blues. It went like this, according to the Courier-Post:

"In 1996 we had 1.1 million that worked for the United Auto Workers of America. We today have less than 400,000. We are losing families, they're losing their homes, they do not know where to turn."

Cry me a river, buddy. And don't forget to yodel the newest UAW tune: the union will own 55 percent of Chrysler under Obama's taxpayer-funded "living will" program to revive dead companies with bloated payrolls.

Labor unions became powerful in this country for two reasons: one, some factory owners and other employers were treating workers like dog feces, and two, a growing movement of socialists and revolutionaries used the union struggle to further their aims.

They did much good, these powerful unions. And then, after humbling the fat cats and puffing on their own cigars, they turned out to be pretty much like the old company jerks. Let the beatings and the thievery begin.

At the height of their powerful, they turned Philadelphia into a wild west, with shootings on the streets, murders of union bosses, beatings of non-union workers. Roofer friends told me of scab roofers tossed off of buildings for bucking the union. And the money, oh the money the union bosses raked in, often diverting it to their own slush funds.

Quicker than you can say Jimmy Hoffa the decline began. College educated workers saw less need for a union. Loyalty, in either direction, became a thing of the past.

But the unions could always count on the polticians to prop up their coffers and peddle their propaganda. (In his last book, Barack Obama states bluntly of the unions that endored him: "I owe them.") And the UAW is a good example of taxpayer-funded CPR for ineffective and failing unions.

Everyone knows the auto workers did lousy work a few decades ago, allowing foreign companies to eat their lunch. No problem, because the lawmakers were always on hand with their catering trays to feed the oppressed masses and support ever higher wages. Detroit makes better cars now, but always at a financial loss because of sweetheart union deals.

Google "average UAW member wage 2008" and try to figure out the true wages for an auto worker. The returns are like Miami weather -- plenty of clouds. UAW posts complain that the public gets the wrong impression about the true salary. It is not $70 an hour, really, they say. The number only gets to that point because it includes health benefits and pensions.

Really? How many of you out there have that sweetness in your life?

The fact is, there is a new definition of "haves" and "have nots" in America.

The "haves" are the politicians and members of unions -- labor unions, teachers unions, government workers unions. Most of them get all the health care they want at little cost and they are building a nice little retirement -- all on you and me. That pension comfort is draining federal, state and corporate budgets.

The "have nots" are the rest of us schmucks who have no union or government promising us a rosy future. We have our IRAs and 401Ks, now emaciated. Bail out for us? Government intervention for us? Yeah, sure.

Politicians owe the "haves," who deliver votes and muscle.

Ironically, there are many more "have nots" out there, steaming about their plight. We have the voting power to change all this, to "transform America" to financial common sense. But we haven't yet heard the alarm.

Friday, September 04, 2009

Where Have Miller and Shelly Gone?

No, it doesn't seem like yesterday that we were playing boxball and halfball and wireball and stepball and curb ball and flipping baseball cards in the old neighborhood around 2nd and Cambria in Philly's Kensington section. It has been long enough for the neighborhood to get cancer and acquire a new name -- The Badlands. You do not want to play ball there or even drive there now.

Like me, Warren Miller and Bill Shelly are long gone from those asphalt ball fields of our youth. The post cards I got from each of them earlier this year state that they both reside at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. But I'm 99.9 percent sure that they also are long gone from Lackland.

The reason: The postcards I received each carried a 4 cent stamp. And while the postmark year is obscured, they were likely sent to me when Miller and Shelly were settling in at training camp. That would put they year at about 1960.

Shelly's card says he just wanted me to have his mailing address. It is addressed to the old family homestead in the 2800 block of Hancock Street, which my father sold in the 70s, I believe, for $4,000.

Miller says "The weather down here is twice as hot as Philadelphia. Had a little trouble adjusting to the Air Force way of life. Must get up at 5 o'clock. Have 2 minutes to dress and get lined up."

I never read those lines with an unlined face. Nor did I see Shelly's jotttings at the time. I last saw Miller, my traveling buddy when we attended Central High, early in the 60s when he was still in uniform and recently married. Lost track of Shelly in ths 70s.

The cards came recently to me, but not from Warren and Bill. They came recently via some gent in the Philly area who researched my name and wound up calling our daughter-in-law in California. How they came to him I have no idea. Don't know his name. Lynnette sent the cards to me and now I sit and remember the guys.

Miller, who disappeared one whole summer and showed up ready for school with muscles everywhere but his ears. Weights, apparently. Oh, now I remember: he was showing us the weight set he got for Christmas when Shelly picked up the barbell, toppled backwards and made smithereens of Warren's new pinball machine.

I have about two hours of stories if you want more. But this whole episode carries one major lesson.

If we let the feds take over healthcare, some day 20 years from now one of my grandkids may get my latest PSA results in the mail.

Hey Miller, Shelly, please give a yell.

Labels: CentralHigh, halfball, Kensington, postcards

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Make Congress Promise to Take Its Own Medicine

A gentleman by the name of John Adler is my Congressman and I've just sent him the following pledge to sign. It requires him to scuttle his current federal health care coverage -- coverage that likely is far superior to yours -- and submit to any "public option" plan that Congress and the Obama administration create.

While Congress members work "for" us, the are treated as members of an elite club, and top-shelf health care is what they get while we scramble to find something halfway decent.

Oh, members of Congress don't want to receive email attachments, so I had to cut and paste the pledge text in my email to him. You can find your Congress member here http://www.congress.org/

If you want to print out a copy of the certificate form seen here, email me at louink@comcast.net and I will send it. You could mail it to him or her. This is a Word document and you can put in your Congress member's name. (For senators, make it "Joe Schmoe, a U.S. Senator".)

Oh, to make the border print out completely, tell your printer dialogue box that the paper is 11.5 inches wide, not 11.

Here is the pledge text:

I, (member name), a Member of the U.S. Congress, Hereby Pledge ...

that once a new health care bill is created by Congress and approved by President Obama, I will separate myself from the current health care provided to me by the federal government and will enroll in the same "public option" program President Obama has advocated.

I pledge to submit myself and my family to the same coverage and benefits to be created by the upcoming new bill, coverage that will extend to millions of Americans. I also promise to not accept special health care coverage or treatment. I will vote to discontinue the federal health system that currently provides Congress with health care.

(Have them sign and date it.)

If enough constituents get this before their representatives and demand an end to hypocrisy in politics, maybe we'll see a more thoughtful debate.

Labels: Congress, coverage, healthcare, insurance, Obama

Thursday, October 16, 2008

A Suckling at the Public Teat Wants to Milk Joe the Plumber

Ever been hired by a poor person? Not me. As a matter fact, every person who interviewed me for a job made way more than I did when I got the job. And the owner of the company, well, let's not even talk about that SOB.

But wait a minute. Let's do talk for a minute about those stinking rich capitalists who start companies and rake in the big bucks. They're the ones Barack Obama wants to put it to in his proposed tax plan. (He's a Democrat, so it is called a plan, while anything a Republican poses is Barney Franked as a scheme.)

If you haven't seen the sneak preview into Obama's socialist agenda, watch the Joe the Plumber scene in which the senator tells plumber/businessman Joe that he wants to extract some extra taxes out of Joe "for the people behind you."

Only fair, right? That's the new Obamerica way -- take more from Joe to begin with in the current system of progressive income tax rates, and then hit him again, harder. Not to be fair, because the system already taxes Joe more, but to be even more fair.

Funny thing, fairness. When my partner and I started a business a couple decades ago, we began a stomach-wrenching life that put our houses and family well-being on the line. Extra loans to make payroll during tough times. Much longer hours than most Americans tolerate. Few vacations and lots of stress.

Interestingly enough, when we were out there on a limb, twisting slowly in the gales of uncertainty, we occasionally looked behind us. You know who we saw other than our families?

Nobody. All we had going for us was our risk, our necks on the line, with no life support from "the people behind you."

As a class warfare commander-in-chief, Barack Obama would have his troops believe that small business folks are as greedy and worthy of punishment as the predatory lenders who raped the nation. (Aided and abetted by the Barney Frank and Chris Dodd types in Congress.)

In his heart, the senator may not know that small business is the engine of this nation and the risk taken by hundreds of thousands of Joe the Plumbers is what creates jobs and makes America strong. His career as a suckling at the public teat does not qualify Obama to pass judgment or levy taxes on the risk-takers -- yeah, those stinking greedy capitalists -- who are the true foundation of U.S. business.

That foundation has been undermined by folks in suits and skirts whose abstract manipulations have nothing to do with sweating a joint or running a machine shop or dry cleaning 1000 pieces of clothing a day.

Obama and John McCain have both subscribed to a massive bailout for the paper shufflers who lined their pockets by exploiting the lower-income home dreamers who were oppressed or weak-minded or greedy.

Now Obama wants the plumber -- and an army of honest small businesses "behind" him -- to pay the piper. It's only "fair," because in the heart of a closet socialist, spreading the wealth around means confiscating from the productive sector to subsidize those who can not or choose not to take the risk.

Keep an eye on that closet door.

Labels: capitalist, McCain, Obama, plumber, socialist, Taxes

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

VP Debate Moderator Pumps Obama in New Book

Hey, how's this for media bias "transparency"?

PBS "newswoman" Gwen Ifil, who will grill Sarah Palin and Joe Biden during the vice presidential debate Thursday night, is launching a new book on inauguration day in January.

Here is the Amazon description lead:

"In THE BREAKTHROUGH, veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power. "

Here is the article exposing one example of how a media personality exploits her position as a "objective" journalist to haul in some bucks while revealing her own bias.

Want to vent over this outrage, shoot an email to the PBS "ombudsman" Michael Getler, who is supposed to be on the hunt for such transgressions by journalists in his own PBS organization.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Is It Globamal Ego or Salvation?

"He's sort of a gift from the world to us in so many ways."

Chris Matthews, 2008