Stolen in total from John Stossel’s blog

Obama to “Fix” Health Insurance

So many Americans hate business and remain clueless about markets that politicians thrive by pandering to their ignorance. The president is no exception in his eagerness to replace insurance with some kind of expanded welfare state. In a speech on health care last week, he vilifies insurance companies, claiming that they “freely ration health care based on … who can pay and who can’t.”

Gosh, sounds so cruel and heartless.

I love GMU economics professor Don Boudreaux’s reaction to the President’s clever language:

Not exactly; coverage is rationed according to who PAYS and who doesn’t.

… Many folks – especially young adults – have the ability to pay but choose not to do so. They get no coverage.

But further pondering of your point leads me to look beyond such nit-picking to see fascinating possibilities. Not only insurers, but all producers who greedily refuse to supply persons who don’t pay should be set aright. Now I’m sure that YOU don’t ration the supply of the books you write according to any criteria as sordid as requiring people actually to pay for them. But our society is full of people less enlightened than you.

For example, the typical worker rations his labor services according to who pays and who doesn’t. That must stop. Oh, and supermarkets! Every single one rations groceries according to who pays. Likewise with restaurants, clothing stores, home-builders, furniture makers, even lawyers! You name it, rationing is done according to who pays. Indeed, my own county government has been corrupted by this greedy attitude: if I don’t pay my taxes, the sheriff takes my house … Preposterous!

I look forward to your changing this selfish and unfair system of rationing that for too long now has kept Americans impoverished.

Ridiculous how so many people insist on being paid for their goods and services, you’d almost think we lived in a free market economy. We all know that’s not true


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Barack Obama: “Yesterday’s bipartisan health reform meeting offered something you rarely see in Washington: an open, honest, productive discussion between both political parties.”

ROFLMAO


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Get Some New Material

Lady GaGa in a new interview states:

“because if you’re sure of yourself as a woman they say you’re a bitch whereas if you’re a man and you’re strong-willed it’s normal.”

I am so sick of that malarkey. There are plenty of strong women who are successful – and not considered “bitches”. There are also many men who are strong-willed and recognized for the a-holes they are.

Too many women fall back on this tired old canard as an excuse to behave badly and/or to treat others in ways they would never want to be treated themselves. It does young girls a HUGE disservice to tell them that if they intend to be successful, they have to be jerks. It does all of society a disservice to dismiss and allow “bitchy” behavior as simply being ’self-assured’. And how does it make any sense for you to be whining about how unfair that perception is while trying to portray yourself as strong?

BTW: My mother was quite successful and very, very strong – and no one who has ever met her would describe her as bitchy.


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There is a Smart & Final in my neighborhood. I usually pass it at least once a day, and it is always packed. Always. The parking lot is consistently full, people are forever coming and going with their overloaded carts.

So I thought I’d check it out. After all, there must be some killer deals to warrant that kind of business. Right? Wrong.

I couldn’t find any deals worth noting, let alone making a special trip for. In the same range as the Safeway and Fry’s around the corner. Certainly not as good as the WalMart Superstore down the street. Not even in the realm of the Costco a few blocks down. So what is it?

I checked their restaurant supply items, which lacked both selection and bargains. Considering that half a block away is a large restaurant supply store with more square footage of low priced supplies than the entirety of the Smart & Final, that can’t be it.

So, are they selling something under the table? Is there a secret handshake that cuts the prices in half? Perhaps if you whistle the right tune they bring out “the good stuff” from a back room?

Anyone?

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The Price of Vice

I stopped at Circle K on my way to work and ended up in line behind a smoker.

He bought two packs of cigarettes and a generic bottle of water.

The total was nearly $20!

$20 – to smoke? I don’t see how people can afford to light up.

And I thought my caffeine addiction was expensive.

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Yeah, I’ll Get Right On That

A few weeks ago, some bozo (or bozos) forged checks on our business account. WalMart, having apparently hired people who ingested large amounts of lead in childhood to work in their money center, cashed several of them. Obvious forgeries, no I.D. required, the endorsements on the back didn’t even match the payee on the front, at different locations (or I’d have thought an employee was in on it).

Our bank recognized them as frauds right away and did not pay them, sending them back to WalMart. They gave us a letter to present in case the incidents came back to haunt us.

Last week we received a letter from a “collection agency” that said they were representing WalMart in recovering the funds. From us. I sent them the bank letter, as well as pointing out how easily the fraud should have been to spot.

Today I received a letter that said “In order to assist us in preventing further forged checks from being authorized, please complete the enclosed affidavit, and provide us the information requested”

Here is the information they requested:

  • Notarized affidavit

  • Driver’s license and a photocopy of your drivers license
  • Whether the account is jointly held
  • Include your “PASSWORD”. Typically, your “mother’s maiden name” is used

I’m wondering if it is even legal for them to ask for that. My password…are you kidding me?!?

Sure, I’m going to send that right over.

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Things I Love – 6

Dog Park

I love camera phones.

I love getting shots of newborn babies when they are brand spanking new, I love seeing silly things my friends are doing, I love being able to document things that defy description….

I love that they are handy to capture both the sublime & the ridiculous, like this shot from our trip to the dog park this morning.

The sublime is Tango coming when I called him.
The ridiculous is a woman choosing that outfit for the dog park.

Needless to say, she didn’t seem to be having much fun with her pooch.

(What isn’t conveyed here, however, is just how high & pointy those heels are. What this angle fails to capture is that the coat is split in the back to reveal a very short, very ruffly yellow mini skirt – it looked a bit like little girl bloomers.)

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Just Because You Can…

…doesn’t mean you should

I added my email address to my contact page less than a week ago.

Someone has already gone in and harvested it for a mailing list. Though the mailings seem to have a Conservative bent, I never consented to be added.

I have gotten 3 emails in the last 90 minutes from that person. Even if I had consented to receive the mailings in the first place, I would have regretted it after that sort of bombardment.

That has left a seriously bad impression on me, and is bound to color my perception of any communications going forward.

Think about how your actions will be received and perceived before you alienate potential allies

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Your Tax Dollars at Work

During our Blogapalooza, there was a mention of the light rail – and the public art installations connected to it. To which a few people said, “There’s art at the stations?”

Yes, and it all cost a pretty penny, too. Here is the lovely sculpture to be found at the 19th Ave & Camelback stop.
 


 
Remember that the next time you are complaining about the budget cuts for essential services like police, fire, education. . .

UPDATE: Here is more on this sculpture – and all the “METRO Public Art

 

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Manners Makes a Man

Protocol for Dummies All presidents since at least Hoover have had access to a treasure trove of information regarding protocol – specifically they have an entire office dedicated to helping them avoid the kinds of slips the Obamas seem to make on a weekly basis.

Perhaps they are unaware such a valuable resource exists. Perhaps they never watched stupid Goldie Hawn movies in the ’80s. Perhaps in his arrogance, Barack feels he is above consulting others on how to present himself to the world.

However, with yet another gaffe being exposed today, it may be time for him to realize he needs help. If he would prefer not to admit he is in need of improvement, he can just read this in his spare time – perhaps between golf rounds.

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