Month: September 2009

AIG May Get A New Teat

Surely you remember AIG, the giant insurance compnay that made many bad choices in the markets and then got lots of our money to help them pull through there illness.  Remember?

If you have forgotten the company, do not worry they are about to get a new taxpayer teat from which to suck more of our money.  Reuters had a report:

Insurer American International Group Inc’s  once-desperate financial state has started to stabilize, a government agency said on Monday, as an influential lawmaker said he would look at easing the terms of the insurer’s federal bailout once more.

AIG, the recipient of billions of dollars in government support, started to show signs of stabilizing in mid-2009, as financial markets improved, congressional investigators said in a report on the status of the government’s assistance to the company.

The insurer was rescued by the government in September 2008, after losing bets that it made on the U.S. housing market threatened to drive the firm into bankruptcy.

Rep. Edolphus Towns, a Democrat who chairs the Government Reform Committee, told staff to take a look at a proposal from former AIG Chief Executive Officer Hank Greenberg that could make it easier for the insurer to repay federal obligations, a committee spokeswoman told Reuters on Monday.

The proposal would cut the government stake in AIG from the current 80 percent and trim interest rates on AIG’s government loan. It also would extend the term of the loan, giving the company more time to repay.

Now are you not pleased that I have found and told you about the next big screwing the taxpayer will be taking?  Ask yourself, has the government done anything to make you debt repayment lighter?

Some Kinda Hero

This is a sad story about a guy that just had to try and get his time in the limelight.  As reported in the AP:

A so-called war hero who claimed to have been wounded when he dived to shield a buddy from a grenade in Afghanistan is facing a court martial by the US Marines for making the story up.

Sergeant David W Budwah was allegedly never in Afghanistan, was not wounded and did not earn the medals he wore. Prosecutors say he accepted invitations to rock concerts, baseball games, banquets and other events meant to fete wounded servicemen. He allegedly bluffed his way into 33 events in 2008. Mr Budwah faces more than 30 years in prison and a dishonourable discharge if convicted next month.

Budwah joined the Marines in October 1999 and spent nearly all of the next six years with a radio communications unit in Okinawa, Japan, according to the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia, where Budwah has been stationed since February 2006.

The charges include making false official statements, malingering, misconduct and larceny. Budwah faces up to 31 1/2 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted on all eight counts at a trial set for Oct. 20.

It is time to BBQ this a/hole…..I will agree that ALL vets embellish there days as a soldier a bit….but few claim to be a “war hero”.  This story only diminishes the role of a real hero who does heroic acts in a nightmarish atmosphere.

We Need More Troops

First, the teacher in me weants to ask this question, who said the following?

“Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) — while ……. security capacity matures — risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible,”

A) Washington  B) Westmoreland  C) McChrystal  D) Jackson

Since I am an old fart and a vet of southeast Asia I would have said Gen. Westmoreland….but I would have been wrong…it was the current commander of forces in Afghanistan, Gen. McChyrstal.

But will more troops necessarily mean a win in Afghanistan?  It did not in Vietnam.

A better question is, what is the mission in Afghanistan?  If it is to get Osama, then we are failing.  If it is to win the hearts and minds of the Afghans, then with every drone attack that kills civilians, we are failing.  If it is to stop the flow of opium, then we are failing.  Just what is the mission?

Or maybe we are to bring democracy to a feudal state……that also is a bust….the last elections were so fraudulent that there is a massive re-count going on.  And we definitely cannot stop the corruption in the government…..so what is our mission?

Maybe it is the defeat of the Taliban……that is a glorious end but that will not happen anytime soon….why?…..the Afghans are staring to see us in the same light as they did the Russians 30 years ago.

Some where someone will have to let it be known just what the actual mission in Afghanistan is….as it is now…..few people know the actual mission scope or just what is the desired results……..will more and more troops actually help or hinder the situation?

I guess I will have to just wait and see what the next refinement of the Afghan mission is before I comment further.  But I would imagine that more troops are headed to the country and in doing so the amounts of deaths will also rise.

Taxation To Come?

All states are suffering for a budgetary shortfall….why?….basically they have given away all revenue to business and now needs to find ways to extend their income……good plan, but who will pay and who will benefit?

Well, California seems to have an idea as reported by the LA Times:

The most obvious thing about the big, complicated tax reform scheme that will go to the Legislature this week is that millionaires would save an average of $109,000 a year. Taxpayers making between $40,000 and $50,000 would save $4. This is not a typo.

The plan, still awaiting a final draft, is the work of the grandly named California Commission on the 21st Century Economy, which held its final official meeting last Monday. But it’s been clear from the beginning that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in setting it up last fall, was aiming to do precisely that: enact big cuts for upper-income taxpayers and create what’s become a pea-under-the-shelltax system to make up the lost revenue.

Under the commission’s BNRT proposal, all California businesses would pay a tax, probably about 4%, on their net receipts, which would be calculated by subtracting the cost of the goods they’ve purchased from their gross receipts. That makes it roughly like a VAT, the value-added tax used in most of Europe, but not similar enough to be comparable. Under the BNRT, there would be no deduction for labor costs, not even for employee health plans.

That element alone creates incentives for firms to purchase parts from abroad and, depending on how the courts rule on a string of unsettled legal issues regarding taxation of out-of-state entities, maybe even from Oregon or New York, rather than making them with their own workers in California. “It appears to be a tax on employees,” wrote the state Chamber of Commerce and other groups. And because the tax is built into the price of California goods and services, it also could make them less competitive in other states and abroad.

Something to watch…..even though some states have found alternate avenues to gain revenue, this, if it passes, could be the future for other states that are in sad need of revenue.

My state is scrambling around trying to find new sources of revenue without hitting business……business is the life blood of the politicians of my state and the bane of the workers.  Anything they could do to drop the bulk of revenue responsibility onto the worker the better….business will never be asked to shoulder any responsibility.

The Real Public Option Story

By now we all have heard all the stuff about the proposed public option….you know the stuff about it being too costly…or it is a government takeover….or that it was “creeping” socialism…..and my favorite…it will pull the plug on poor old grannie….all the fun stuff that talk radio is buzzing about.

All that aside…what is the real story on the public option?

First of all…. researchers at Harvard Medical School have found that about 45,000 people die because they have NO insurance coverage each year.  Overall, researchers said American adults age 64 and younger who lack health insurance have a 40 percent higher risk of death than those who have coverage.  An similar study in 1993 found those without insurance had a 25 percent greater risk of death, according to the Harvard group. The Institute of Medicine later used that data in its 2002 estimate showing about 18,000 people a year died because they lacked coverage.  A helluva increase in 16 years and the ranks are growing thanks to the economy.

Forty percent of employers surveyed said they are likely to increase the amount their workers pay out of pocket for doctor visits. Almost as many said they are likely to raise annual deductibles and the amount workers pay for prescription drugs.

Nine percent said they plan to tighten eligibility for health benefits; 8 percent said they plan to drop coverage entirely. Forty-one percent of employers said they are “somewhat” or “very” likely to increase the amount employees pay in premiums — though that would not necessarily mean employees would pay a higher percentage of the premiums. Employers could simply be passing along the same share of the overall increase that they are doing this year.

There is a way to fight these increases……

The public option has many friends……A New England Journal of Medicine survey released yesterday reveals that 73 percent of doctors favor a public option as a component of health care reform.  Sixty-three percent favored a public option as part of a public-private mix of insurance options, while another 10 percent favored a single-payer system.

What about the public and its desire for the public option?

  • 76 percent of respondents in a poll conducted by NBC and The Wall Street Journal stated that creating a public plan was important, and 71 percent of respondents in the same poll self-identified as either moderate or conservative.
  • A Lake Research Poll in January found that 73% of voters want the choice of a public health insurance option, even when they hear the sharpest insurance industry attacks, such as claims that a public health insurance plan would lead to lower quality health care, more expensive health care, or big government. Those favoring the plan include Democrats (77%), Independents (79%) and Republicans (63%).
  • 71 percent of rural voters in a poll conducted by Lake Research favored the choice of a public plan, a figure nearly identical to the level of support found in urban areas.
  • Rural voters believe in competition. According to these voters, if private insurers are really more efficient than government, they won’t have trouble competing effectively with a public health plan option. In rural areas, voters hold this view more strongly (62%) than in cities (57%). Only 23% of rural voters say a public health insurance plan will have an unfair advantage over private plans.

Now you have the basics of what is thought about the public option…now ask if that many doctors, who are experts in the medical industry, want the public option and if that many people in the population are wanting it….then why is it such a heated debate in Washington?

First of all, it is playing politics…….second, it is playing it with the health of the entire population…..and finally, with that much support in the country why is it that so many politicians are against it?  If these people are elected to do the bidding of the people, why are they not doing so?

Easy answer….MONEY speaks LOUDLY in Washington and the insurance industry has enough money to speak very loudly.

Is There A Future For Electric Cars?

Business Week is reporting:

But beyond the hip music and snazzy displays, electric cars face some sobering realities that make them vehicles of the future rather than of the present. The biggest issues are price and usability. Costly batteries put these cars out of reach for most consumers, and infrastructure isn’t currently in place to allow owners to plug in and charge up cars when they’re away from home. Add to that speed and range limitations with electric technology, and it’s clear the electric future won’t come overnight.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t cause for excitement about electric cars, which offer the possibility of zero-emissions driving for a potentially large number of city dwellers. It does mean, though, that consumers will have to be patient.

Will VW have the answer?

VW has been talking for a long time about their L1 concept, so called because it uses a measly 1 liter of gasoline to go 100 km. For us Americans, that translates to about 230 miles per gallon. Of course, the amazing mileage comes at a price. The car is tiny, more of a tobaggon than a car. The single passenger actually sits behind the driver, like in a small airplane.

The tiny engine will only get the car up to about 75 mph and, as such, VW doesn’t expect to sell a lot of them. Safety concerns might also keep the car from being a best seller. But, since it does have four wheels, it will have to meet all of the normal safety regulations for cars.

Sorry….I digress…..back to electric cars…may I see a show of hands that think electric cars will become the norm in the future?  (lengthy pause for thought)

I say there is NO future for electric cars as we are today…..why do I say such a thing?  Look around the next time you are driving in traffic…….the answer should be obvious.

Teens Screwing More Than Ever

The health debate is in the back seat because we are having yet another race debate…..Too many people in the media have that debate all wrong, simply because they want to believe that race does not play a part in politics….they are silly or at worst just plain stupid….but that is for another day……since Washington is about as boring as watching paint dry….we will go on with my Sexy Sunday…..

In an article in MSNBC website:

U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests.The relationship could be due to the fact that communities with such religious beliefs (a literal interpretation of the Bible, for instance) may frown upon contraception, researchers say. If that same culture isn’t successfully discouraging teen sex, the pregnancy and birth rates rise.

Mississippi topped the list for conservative religious beliefs and teen birth rates, according to the study results, which will be detailed in a forthcoming issue of the journal Reproductive Health.

For instance, the results showed more abortions among teenagers in the less religious states, which would skew the findings since fewer teens in these states would have births. But even after accounting for the abortions, the study team still found a state’s level of religiosity could predict their teen birth rate. The higher the religiosity, the higher was the teen birth rate on average.

Gee, looks like the abstinence thingy is not as effective as the bible thumpers would have believe, huh?

No Toys Today

I have seen a lot of things in the South over the years and some have been humorous, but most have been damn right stupid…..and the following is damn right ignorant….

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled against Love Stuff, a Hoover business that sells vibrators and other sexual devices, and upheld Alabama’s anti-obscenity law.The court ruled that the business failed to show that the state law banning the sale of sexual aides was unconstitutional.

“Public morality can still serve as a legitimate rational basis for regulating commercial activity, which is not a private activity,” Supreme Court justices wrote in the opinion issued Friday.

“As the Eleventh Circuit in Williams IV pithily and somewhat coarsely stated: ‘There is nothing ‘private’ or ‘consensual’ about the advertising and sale of a dildo.”

Love Stuff had argued a section of Alabama’s anti-obscenity law banning “adult-only entertainment” near churches and child care centers was unconstitutional vague because the phrase was not defined.

I smell a US Supreme Court case in the making……..this from a section of the country that frowns on government intrusion into the individual’s life….how do you spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y?

Asexual?

There is a new sexual orientation that seems to be taking hold….personally I think it is a downer but there are those that seem to want it.

The movement is a testament to how vital sexual identity is to self-worth. But the public emergence of asexuals also raises questions for sexuality researchers — mysteries involving the fluidity of sexual identity and the link between romance, which many asexuals enjoy, and sexual attraction.

“It does raise questions about the nature of love,” said Anthony Bogaert, a sexologist at Brock University in Ontario who estimated the prevalence of asexuality in 2004. He analyzed an earlier survey of Britons and found that 1 percent reported that they had never felt sexually attracted to anyone.

Some asexuals are romantically straight, gay or bisexual, and some aren’t romantic. They date each other, or they go out with “sexuals,” attempting to compromise in bed.

The birth of the asexual movement has been as tricky as the personal stories, involving people whose sexuality is naturally passive. They lack the cultural markers claimed by the gay community — styles of dress, for instance, or bars in which to gather.

Into that breach came the great uniter of obscure groups — the Internet — and Jay, whom many asexuals consider to be an ideal spokesman. Young, charismatic and good-looking, here is a man, they say, who could have sex if he wanted to.

AVEN members have one concrete goal: changing the authoritative Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to make explicit that asexuality is not a “hypoactive sexual desire disorder.” The next edition will be published by the American Psychiatric Association in 2012.

What a BUMMER!

The Border Fence

Let us talk about the idea that has been screaming around in conserv circles, not so much right now…health has replaced that debate, the border fence as a way to keep out those darn pesky illegals.

In a report by the AP:

It will cost taxpayers $6.5 billion over the next 20 years to maintain the fence along the U.S-Mexico border, according to a government audit.But as the Obama administration realizes the long-term costs of the border fence, it does not have a way to evaluate whether this investment has helped control illegal entries into the country, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.

The $6.5 billion price tag is in addition to the $2.4 billion that’s been spent to build more than 600 miles of fence segments along the southwest border. As of May 14, there have been 3,363 breaches in the fence, which cost about $1,300 each to repair, GAO found.

The fence is a Bush administration initiative that has faced several delays and cost increases.

GAO reports have been used to make an argument against a lot of Obama’s policies, but some how this report has them very silent on the money spent.  Even the mouth of illegal alien protest, Lou Dobbs, has been silent on this report….maybe his birther stand and his bitching about the number of “czars” in the Obama admin has him tongue tied for now.

Recently I posted on the part of the hi tech fence built by Boeing that did NOT work and of course we had to spend more funds to help the company out so they could fix their problems.  But there is NO bitching on the Right about these funds being pissed away.  Why is that?

How much more of taxpayer’s money did Boeing have to spend on politicians to keep that contract?

Fun how loud the Right can be when it involves helping the people, yet so silent when it comes to criticizing a company.

People!  You can change that……after all YOU voted for these dipsticks……next time remember the crap they have been up to and vote for Alfred E. Newman next time.