About sp34n119w
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When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle. - Edmund Burke
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Tropical Blogs
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Personal Weather Stations
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Chapman Farms
Santa Paula, CA
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| Elevation: |
239 ft
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| Temperature: |
59.6 °F
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| Dew Point: |
51.3 °F
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| Humidity: |
74% |
| Wind: |
2.0 mph
from the SE |
| Wind Gust: |
3.0 mph
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Updated: 8:21 AM PDT on May 25, 2013
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APRSWXNET Santa Paula CA US
Santa Paula, CA
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| Elevation: |
291 ft
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| Temperature: |
60.0 °F
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| Dew Point: |
50.0 °F
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| Humidity: |
69% |
| Wind: |
Calm |
| Wind Gust: |
3.0 mph
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Updated: 8:00 AM PDT on May 25, 2013
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RAWS ANACAPA ISLAND CA US
Port Hueneme, CA
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| Elevation: |
276 ft
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| Temperature: |
58.0 °F
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| Dew Point: |
53.0 °F
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| Humidity: |
82% |
| Wind: |
12.0 mph
from the NW |
| Wind Gust: |
18.0 mph
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Updated: 7:23 AM PDT on May 25, 2013
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Page: 1 | 2 — Blog Index
Suddenly streamlining either into somthing simple, user and budget friendly would put thousands out of work. If we went to a simple flat tax with no more write offs then every person that makes a living planning, preparing, scrying income and corporate taxes would suddenly become unemployed.
The same is true for a simple nationwide health care plan. The current situation just has too many people at the trough. That is one of the many reasons health care costs so much.
Obama Care is really a long term transition to affordable health care in America. Look at how many "insurance" companies there are; United, Blue Cross, Kaiser etc.... Obama Care gives them a chance to stay in business being providors to individuals. These private companies also make much better watch dogs over fraud than goverment Medicare bureaucracy. That alone results in savings to the rest of us.
Technically many people on the medicare/medicaid programs are already participating in "Obama Care" because they have to buy supplemnetal insurance policies in order to get decent health care.
Just like car insurance, having everyone purchase a policy drives the price down. Yes, car insurance is expensive but it would cost a whole lot more if it was not mandatory. The same goes for health insurance. Check out what a private policy costs right now...Ouch! It will be a lot more affordable under this imperfect but better than what we have now program.
Suppose you have a family and want to start your own small business? Right now you can't afford to insure your family. If your business does not make too much money your kids can be enrolled in welfare programs to get vaccinations and other care. But if you or your spouse gets ill, the medical bills could bankrupt you. Many people with families choose to work for companies with health insurance rather than start their own business. Obama Care gives people a chance to work for themselves with the specktor of health related bankruptcy removed.
Then there are the clauses about no cap on the amount your insurance company pays out. Some plans have some small caps on them. If you have a chronic treatable illness that with health care allows you to still work and earn a living, this cap could use up your savings and force you to welfare. Or worse, the zone where you don't qualify for help until you are too ill to be helped. I'm in that catagory.
Also is the pre-existing condition clause. Obama Care removes that as well. Right now if you get cancer, ms, a back problem, adult diabetes, you can be denied insurance if you leave your present carrier and get a new job. If you have a major illness that could re-occur or has other illnesses associated with it you are trapped at your present job. If you leave, you most likly will not be covered if your illness flares up. Hello bankruptcy or death from not getting treatment. It can take six months to a year to qualify for any type of "welfare" medical help. Hopefully you will have relatives to stay with because at that point you will not be able to afford your own place.
Obama Care is no where near perfect. It's a political animal constructed by committees each with their own agenda. It is however the best answer we have for affordable health care for everyone in the US. Right now it could mean life or death for me. I have had ovarian cancer, it tends to come back. Aggressively treated it can be managed. Welfare/medicaid does not pay for aggressive treatments. I would most likly become terminal before I qualified anyways.
I cannot change jobs because a new company insurance plan will not cover the cancer or some of the problems that have developed from the treatment. Because my condition is expensive, my company would prefer I don't work there. I have already been "written up". The past five years I have had stellar reviews. Texas is a "right to work" state. That means unions are weak and employers can fire you without any reason. It is very hard to find a lawyer in Texas that will take a wrong-full termination case.
If I get fired there is not much I can do about it.
So, for my own survival I am hoping Obama gets re-elected, that congress does not repeal the health care law (Which would happen under a new president as that is their campaign promise) and that I do not get fired in the next two years.
One thing the plan does have right now before the rest goes into effect is insurance for the "uninsurable". Unfortunately, one has to go six months without insurance and the premium is around $700 a month. These rates will come down once most of the country buys insurance.
No it's not perfect, but Obama Care really is life or death for many people like me.
Murder does guarantee eventual silence and low rates of recidivism on the part of the victim. Alas, anyone, who resorts to murder as a convenient means to achieve these laudable goals, must forever abandon moral claims on his own behalf. Furthermore, any deity worthy of your allegiance should be eminently capable of keeping score on that basis.
RE #53: What you're describing as the "same people" are not Baby Boomers, they're Bible Thumpers who just happen to have been born during the Baby Boom era. I am a Boomer and most of the Boomers I know are still anti-war liberals. I was against the invasion of Afghanistan since the beginning. A 20-year Afghan war is what bankrupted the Soviet Union and helped break it up. That's as much an unwinnable war as Vietnam was. I was against the invasion of Iraq, which was just an excuse for so many horrible things. I was against the Patriot Act because it turned the U.S. into a police state in too many ways. Failure to undo those travesties is why I'm mad at Obama.
On the other hand, and going back to #51, I need for Obama to be re-elected to preserve Obamacare. My husband had open heart surgery in 2007 (which cost us $27,000 out-of-pocket) and can't get regular insurance through Blue Cross or Kaiser or you-name-it. Instead, he has to buy insurance through the Washington State Health Insurance Pool for otherwise uninsurable people. He has a $3400 annual deductible before coverage kicks in at 80%. Quarterly premiums are over $2000. I get my policy through Blue Shield. My quarterly premiums are $1370 with a $2500 deductible before coverage kicks in at 80%. My hip replacement surgery last March cost $10,000 out of pocket. I should have had that surgery 2 years ago, but I had to wait until we could save up the money to afford it, which meant erosion of the pelvic bone that required planing and bone grafts in addition to the standard joint replacement. What if I had cancer instead of arthritis? I'd be dead. In round numbers, last year, our income was $54,000. Of that, our medical expenses including premiums was $19,000, and that was a good year. That's 35% of our income going to medical expenses. This year, with my hip replacement, it's going to come in closer to 50% of our income.
So no, Obamacare is far from perfect. I view it as a starting point. If Obama gets re-elected, it will go into effect and it will get tweaked and improved over the years. Medicare didn't start out very good and it still leaves something to be desired, but ask anyone among the 99% who is on Medicare and they'll tell you they're glad to have it. GGrrl and I won't be the only ones glad to have Obamacare when it goes into effect.
'Obamacare' it seems to me primarily tries to address the problem by lowering costs for employers and the government while rationing care for people in need. As for the cost for everyday people in need of services, if the cost goes down it seems to me to likely be at the expense of available, sometimes critical services that may be denied or require additional costs either paid directly or through supplemental private insurance.
'Obamacare' does serve employers, as the fees for not insuring staff are at a level that many employers may just pay rather than actually providing insurance for employees. At the same time, the insurers are guaranteed a huge pool of new customers though the mandate for most to purchase their own insurance if they do not currently have it.
Will this bring down costs? That remains to be seen. It is likely to increase profits for the insurers, though.
To the extent that the Romney camp incorrectly portrays 'Obamacare' as a 'socialist' program, they are doing Obama's campaigning for him, as they do when they falsely portray Obama and the Democrats in general as leftist radical quasi-socialists. Money cannot buy that kind of effective campaigning for the Democratic party and Obama.
Perhaps Romney is right that the 47 percent (and more) SHOULD consider good affordable health care, decent housing, secure jobs with a liveable wage and free public education as a social right. After all, the financial elite gets their socialism through Wall Street big bank and corporate bailouts, the military-industrial complex and the tax code that provides safe havens and low rates for mainly the rich and primarily parasitic speculative rather than productive economic activities.
Perhaps 'the left' should take its cue from Romney's accusations and demand a new social mindset. After all, society's wealth is produced by workers, not social parasites such as the Wall Street financiers (which candidate Romney personifies) and that both parties in the most corrupt and venal manner stumble over themselves to represent and keep from offending.
As seen on the Forbes 400 richest list that just came out, the claim by both parties that 'there is not money' for critical social programs for everyday people is a lie.
The long slow slide into darkness begins ... dun dun dunnnnnnn
LOL
Wow, I really appreciate your comments, all!
I can't stay to rant ... er, that is, play ... but couldn't miss the Equinox greeting.
(and check out those clouds!)
Take a moment to note the light, and note that it notes us not ;)
Another analemma at apod today. Nice one!
Hope everyone's having a great Saturday!
seewu
Have a great Saturday Sp!
So along comes HR 2827 that says any advice provided from a broker, dealer, bank or accountant that is any way related to or connected with the sale to municipalities of financial derivatives, loan participation agreements, deposit products, foreign exchange ( and you get the point).
This gives them the right to sell a city anything, some nasty swap deal or any other shady deal just like before Dodd-Frank.
This passed with the support of both parties :((((
The lobbyist is Washington are more powerful then us the American people. Where did our Democracy go?
Hmmm … two comments are better than one, I'm thinking.
gg – your story from the beginning has been an illustration of what is wrong – and what is right (you are 50 :) ) - with medical care in the U.S.
I remember your story of another chemo patient who was paying hundreds more than you were for each treatment. That's what galls me. Often, folks who are paying the same premiums (or have no option for a different plan) are getting different levels of coverage and different levels care, depending on deals between insurers, employers, medical facilities, and government entities, and it has nothing to do with actual health care, only profit.
BTW, if you heard me speaking you'd hear various and sundry deity-related words with fair frequency. I try to be careful when writing so as not to offend others (no, really – it's the least I can do) and for other reasons. But, it doesn't bother me and FSM just would not fit in that most excellent song :) (though I think it's an odd one, coming from him). I do think that for most folks (here in librul Cali anyway) those words are part of phrases that are completely separate from reference to any deity, and are handy placeholders like any idiomatic expression.
Bogon – oh, great tune! Thanks.
Morality is a very mutable concept for most people. “Thou shalt not kill” applies when someone is trying to kill them, but not when they want to kill someone else. Really convenient, that.
And, of course, if you (General Yu) happen to be a citizen of god's own country, you get to take pride in the killing of a million defenseless and impoverished brown people half a world away with no moral qualms whatsoever. Oh, and steal all their stuff, leaving survivors even more impoverished. Forget that “Thou shalt not covet” garbage. That only applies to other people trying to take your stuff.
Morality. The word, as it is most often used, makes me cringe.
Briar - Thanks for sharing your (and your husband's) story. Sheesh that's crazy. It seems incredibly inefficient to have people getting worse, to the point where they need more and more expensive care, instead of just taking care of things as soon as medically possible and practical. The loss in productivity must be enormous, overall.
Except … those actuarial people are good at what they do. I don't know. I suppose that this is part of the problem – that the folks who make decisions about how much to charge and what procedures to do and so forth, are making those decisions for their own bosses, rather than for society at large (let alone the individual). So, what works out well for a particular insurance company isn't necessarily what's good for the country (Romney would stumble over that one, LOL). Yet another way that a single-payer option would help even the field.
[sorry, kinda went off sideways, there]
So, um, any group can be subdivided, certainly, but one cannot simply opt out of a group so well defined by simple numbers as Baby Boomers. As a group, BBs have had a great deal of power and influence for several decades, now. That's just true. The result of that truth is evident in the world around us. Can't get away from that, either.
Most of the people I spend time with are anti-war and fairly progressive, generally, and that is a function of who I choose to spend my time with - not their ages. My group of friends is not indicative of the whole of our society or, at least, not of the voting public. If they were, we'd have a different bunch in leadership positions. I bet that's true for you, too.
Tom Brokaw did a thing on BBs and it can be found at the CNBC site (look for the “Full Program” link). I've seen only a few minutes of it, towards the end, but it sounds like it's pretty well balanced.
.....
That's one :)
You've sort of hit on my main objection to the ACA – the fact that insurance companies, the one industry that never fails to make its 30% profit no matter what else happens in the economy, is getting a government bailout in the form of countless new “customers”, ensuring their own continued hegemony over our health care. We don't vote for insurance company CEOs and they are not beholden to their policy holders but only to their shareholders.
So, I'm not sure it does serve most employers or the government. I think that most of its provisions mainly serve the health insurance industry. Recall that this version of the ACA is nearly identical to the one put forward by Republicans in the nineties. Both were written by and for the health insurance industry. For this reason, I think all the talk about repealing it is bogus. Politicians of both stripes get too much money from the industry to consider taking profit away from them.
The solution is single-payer. Everybody in, nobody out. This takes the pressure off both employers and government, provides health care for all, and still leaves the health insurance industry reasonably intact. That is, insurers could still offer supplemental insurance to those who can pay and would be able to deny such to anyone they like. The wealthy and well could have their extras and employers could offer supplemental plans, if they wanted to, to attract talent. Meantime, having everyone covered would lower costs and improve productivity. Additionally, as per gg's example up there, more people would be able to own and operate very small businesses (called "micro-business" in today's parlance). Win!
*sigh*
Top-down vs. bottom-up government assistance. Or, some balance between the two. Is it best to provide insurers with more customers or provide citizens with affordable health care directly? Was it best to bailout the banks or would they have been “saved” if homeowners had been bailed out, instead? Going back to the original post, should agricultural corporations continue to receive subsidies or could we provide farm workers with housing, health care, and education for their kids with that money? I guess I see both sides of these things but, all else being equal, I think that direct intervention by government should be on behalf of its people, not its own or corporate interests. Using profit-making corporations as a proxy to serve people's needs does not seem to work very well.
calpoppy - that's as expected, isn't it? It was a weak Bill to begin with, with tons of room for that kind of fudging. Frustrating!
There is one thing that could help – a constitutional amendment to end the “personhood” of corporations. Many municipalities and even States (including California) have called for such a thing. Obama has said (pretty plainly, for a change), that he would support such an amendment. I think politicians are sick of the situation and most corporations are, too, believe it or not. Corporations are left with no choice but to spend millions on campaign contributions in order to have their voice heard at all. Would be better for them to use that money elsewhere.
This, unfortunately, provides another reason to vote a straight Democratic ticket - even though it might still not happen, the chances are far better with Dems than Reps, don't you think?
For the general readership on this topic: Here's some info from Democracy is for People with stuff people can do (sign the petition, at least!). Oh, I just looked at the map! It's a much bigger movement than I thought, lol There are many more blue dots (in-progress efforts) than green (resolutions done!), but it's very heartening. Lots of chances to help out on that.
On Saturday I went to the big city! Well, a corner of it, anyway. When I pulled into the parking lot in Hollywood it was 91 degrees! And really hooomid. Just as Fabio brought us clouds and a lovely sunset on a day trip to L.A. in July, Lane (remnants of, presumably) provided another cloudy day, but much more humid and warm, with another gorgeous sunset. Well, Fabio also brought a little bit of rain, but, that's okay.
Today it is downright cool and, after having the windows open until late last night, I needed a blanket for sleeping for the first time in many weeks. Sad :(
Yes, I know. For others that's a happy, LOL
Oh, darn. Out of time. The rest of my self-spamming will have to wait ;)
Following up on the "respect for beliefs" idea and because Sunday is Blasphemy Rights Day International, this is a pretty good article about blasphemy: We Are All Blasphemers. The article he is responding to is linked there, somewhere, I think.
The Right has now stooped to calling Obama's mother a slut. Because it must be true and because that would be relevant to policy. Anyway, it's in the lovely D'Souza's latest (and NYT Best Seller!) and in a video that is being shown at Tea Party gatherings and, of course, at churches.
Do I have to "respect their beliefs" in order to be considered a properly tolerant person? Guess I'll have to forego that label, then.
Local Sheriff's department letting us know that tomorrow is national drug take back day. woohoo. They do it in large part to keep drugs away from the kiddos but the best reason to get rid of old pharmaceuticals, including OTC stuff, is that it ends up in wastewater, landfills, and then groundwater. Seriously not good for us.
You can look it up for your area at www.dea.gov.
You know, that Mars Rover Curiosity is just plain awesome. The pics of Mars' moons really give some perspective (here's Phobos - the pale crescent not the black dot, which is just a data glitch). The latest finding, of an ancient stream bed, is enough right there to justify sending it.
Meantime, Opportunity is still doing yeoman's work, finding nifty little "bubbles" that nobody can yet explain.
Ran across the Atlas of the Universe today (I think it was linked at apod) and found it simple and interesting. Each link on that page takes you to more so dig down a bit.
Jerry Brown signed legislation that forbids employers and universities knowing people's passwords for social media sites. Doesn't mean much to me but apparently a big deal.
He also did something about free online textbooks for college students that sounds good.
He's been on a roll, lately, and there's better one but I don't remember right now, lol - just putting it out there for the locals who may want to feel good about government for a change.
If you're in the UK (perhaps even if you're not) and a fan of House, the fire cane from season 3/4 is up for auction to benefit a good cause.
[via Stephen Fry]
/PSAs and general rambling for today.
Can you tell I had some time to kill but didn't know how much so just typed until I ran out?
seewu :)
Did you catch Bill Moyers last night. A great show on ALEC or American legislative exchange council. Don't know whether he is doing a series of shows on it, but last night's show was an eye opener for me.
Enjoy your last bit of summer!
I did finally watch the Tom Brokaw thing on Baby Boomers and it wasn't too bad. I didn't know that Nixon won the youth vote so, there you go, I got something out of it.
I should have been out enjoying today's relatively nice weather but … had kind of a rough week and feel more like writing … reading … knitting … eating … ;)
But now must go run some errands before the day is completely shot and the evening begins. Alas.
White rabbits, sp!
There must be some axiom about 'economies of scale' breaking down when the scale gets too big. Companies benefit from becoming larger, existing on smaller margins because efficiencies improve. But the US can't seem to put one foot in front of the other, the world seems to be headed for hell in the proverbial hand basket. Too many disparate opinions and evermore louder ways to shout!!!
No one can espouse the common good without being communist or is it socialist? Or so so many seem to be saying.
There is a big cliff ahead and the right is constructing a springboard!
oooh, that seemed a bit random.
I see you may be in for a warm one today, otherwise I do like the looks of your forecast for the end of the week! Washington IS a long way. This is surely not the last of summer, but as it begins to cool generally (it will, won't it?), the occasional blast of summer will be easier to take. Looks like Sweltering Swirls.
Nice catch on the Curiosity photo! Rovers Rule.
I wrote the following on the 25th, I guess, but it is so long and I didn't want to add to my self-spamming. If I'm going to try for a new blog soon (could happen!) I might as well dump this now. It'll bug me if I don't.
Actually, I have three times this number of words that I could post … but I won't ;)
First story is the one I really wanted to tell …
Story: I was chatting with my friend (who, when he is working, spends his day listening to talk radio) about the election. As I always do, I asked him if he is going to vote this year because, in his 50's now, he never has. This time he says he will! Why? He wants Romney to win because otherwise Obamacare will bankrupt his boss. Drrrr, what now? His boss has 5 employees and so will not be required to offer insurance coverage as an employer. Also, his boss has private insurance (his wife does not work) and his premiums are likely to go down while coverage goes up so the boss who my friend is worried about going bankrupt will actually have nothing but benefits from the ACA. But, both of these guys think it's terrible and must be stopped!
Then, my friend's daughter recently found out she's pregnant at the ripe old age of twenty. Unmarried, she and her boyfriend both work full-time but do not have health insurance through employers and cannot afford it on their own (and premiums are much higher when the plan includes coverage for pregnancy and delivery). Thanks to the ACA, the young woman is insured on her mother's plan and will get the prenatal care she needs and a better chance to walk away from the hospital with a healthy baby and little debt.
As an only-sometimes-working man whose adult kids are struggling mightily each in their own way there is no reason for my friend to vote for Romney or for the Republican House candidate in our district, even aside from the health insurance issues. There is every reason for him to vote against those people. I suspect that, in the event, he won't vote at all.
So, I would like to know how, or if it is even possible, to get through that level of brainwashing. The repetitiveness of talk radio begins to sound like truth to a person who will never hear the opposing view more than once, at most, and will never read any legislation or proposed policy to make up their own mind.
…..
Here's another way you can tell that the Republicans have no interest in repealing the ACA: vouchers for Medicare. This is Paul Ryan's baby at the moment but has been bandied about by the far Right for years. Like any voucher system, it moves taxpayer money into the private sector while eliminating oversight by the people the taxpayers elected to manage their money. So, like the ACA's mandate, Medicare vouchers will enrich private insurance companies. Insurers will start by taking their 30% off the top and then whatever is left will be meted out as they see fit. The people providing that profit – the taxpayers – will have no say in how their money is spent. We don't elect company CEOs and you probably know that you can't just switch to another insurance company at will, as a means to express displeasure.
…..
…..
Vouchers were mentioned in the campaign speeches – oops, I mean “debate” - last night. Obama did point out that insurance companies will take their profit, regardless of where the money comes from. I think he should have hammered that a bit more to show the problem.
bb in a few …
calpoppy – wow does that make legislators look stupid. Lazy and greedy and selfish, yeah, but really stupid. I can't help but think that Republican voters would not like ALEC any more than you or I do. How ironic that the folks who rant all over the internet about the global conspiracy and New World Order that will enslave mankind are, in fact, voting for the pawns who are building it right here in the U S of A. And around the world, now.
Well. We knew that.
Funny how, in the debacle (sorry - “debate”), Romney kept going back to the idea that things like health care should be handled by individual states, isn't it? I wonder why.
The secrecy and the national agenda of ALEC actually undermines States' Rights as well as the voters' best interests.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention – I watched it at Democracy Now but it is available elsewhere, too.
Ylee – oh, yeah. It's October! Thanks for the reminder (and the bunnies!) :)
WTS – now I'm going to have to dig out old calendars to check on the Oct-Feb connection, LOL Otherwise, you're right - not much to say about October. September is my second favorite month and I'm sorry to see it go. I didn't get to enjoy it as much as usual this year so I'm going to extend it in my head for as long as I can. Think that'll work? ;)
Well, the notion that the common good supersedes that of the individual is one basic Marxist idea (though not necessarily part of its degenerate forms that led to Communist States) but it is also basic to Christian ethics, real family values (where the grown-ups deny themselves 'good' in favor of their children or the family as a whole), and many other forms of thought. What the Right is saying is that They are taking from Us and many folks are, like my friend mentioned in the previous comment, unaware that they are part of the “They” and not in with the “Us” that the politicians and pundits are talking about.
I'm a bright-sider by nature. I tend to think that things will work themselves out, that good people will prevail. Then I look at history - lately, in particular, the times leading up to the Dark Ages - and realize that, no, things do not always work themselves out. Not without a whole lot of avoidable misery and pain, first.
"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." Edmund Burke
ooooh, I may have found my new bio quotey thingy!
…..
Some downers:
What is wrong with people? A Florida jury found a woman guilty of neglect for “allowing” a crazy man with a knife to kill one child and injure her and another child, after he had killed someone else and injured yet another person. What was she supposed to do? Sick. People are sick.
There's an account of that film about Obama that I mentioned up there somewhere – the one put out by D'Souza that slanders Obama's mother – and how it is being used in Churches. From that essay:
“When a church applies for tax exemption, the institution agrees to abide by certain rules, which are intended to enforce the separation of church and state. Officially, the IRS prohibits:“voter education or registration activities with evidence of bias that (a) would favor one candidate over another; (b) oppose a candidate in some manner; or (c) have the effect of favoring a candidate or group of candidates.” Unofficially, however, enforcement of this policy is so toothless that only one church has ever lost its tax-exempt status, and pulpit politicking is the norm across the country. “
I saw an article in the local paper in which a pastor openly, from the pulpit and in the interview, advocated voting for Romney. A few commenters noted that that church should lose their tax-exempt status but nobody responded to those comments. Too busy calling each other names to recognize a real threat.
Did you see where someone used KitchenAide's corporate Twitter account to say a nasty thing about Obama's grandmother? Yikes. Who does that, anyway? In private, okay, your friends might laugh, but, in public like that? He really wants to be known for all time as that guy?
…..
Let us turn to the everlasting glory of nature for respite, shall we? :)
I know I've heard of these plants but did not know so much about them and their relatives and their veryveryvery long history. Neat! I want one!
Is it lovely? Perhaps not. Is it wonderful? Oh, definitely! What else is out there?
This may be the most spectacular thing I've ever seen.
The story of discovery is part of what puts it on the short list, at least.
“... endless forms most beautiful … “
Fact-checking the Denver presidential debate showed more half-trues and falses on both sides than I had hoped. Really makes me wonder if any politician or talking head remembers what the truth sounds like. Or even cares any more. Is the winner the one who tells the prettiest lies?
Maybe tomorrow night! :)
Why did gas go up over 30 cents this week down here, grrrr. Don't get me started..
'the most spectacular thing I've ever seen' is pretty cool though I have to reign in my skeptical side so as to not think someone did a nice job making up the solution because it would be a good story. Things that animals do, particularly to attract a mate, are just amazing!
Yay for nice weather! Soothing swirls.
Cool weather this way comes! Maybe a splash of moisture?
My son is headed up to Barrow Tuesday. I guess Shell oil is still up in the Arctic and as long as they are there the Coast Guard will be up there also. He is excited, Polar bears and whales, walruses and Inuits!
Briar - thanks for the link! It's depressing.
I came across a pretty good essay that relates to how folks fool themselves - No, you're not entitled to your own opinion - and which articulates a difficult concept.
Ylee - and your new blog was worth the wait! I haven't been in at all hours, yet, and look forward to seeing the China cam especially. The first time I saw it it was night and there was a shadowy figure at the top and the light was electric ... looked like a scene from Blade Runner :)
Skyzics - I think Obama has to be just as careful now as last time to not come across as "angry black dude" or risk scaring off certain folks who might vote for him. I also think he didn't hurt himself in the debate and, more importantly, did not help Romney. I thought Romney looked manic and desperate, really agitated, but, what do I know?
It may be that the next two debates will be more interesting. Also, the VP debate could be a real barn burner.
WTS - It takes a long time for that basket to reach its destination, lol. One presidential term - or five - won't get it there. Perspective helps. Things really are better today, by almost any measure, than at any time in history. For humans, that is. Overall.
As you probably have heard by now, gas prices went up because Cali has its own blend and two refineries are offline (something about a pipeline, too). They are meant to go back into production soon. Apparently, the billions of dollars in profits and subsidies are not enough incentive for oil companies to build new refineries or improve the old ones. Go figure.
Anyway, Brown just told the CARB to do what they can to roll out the winter blend a bit early which, together with the reopening of the refineries, should bring prices down a bit.
Hey, they got pictures of the little fishy building its cool pad - it must be true!
calpoppy - Finding a new monkey (especially one that's a dead ringer for Gene Wilder, lol) is a wonderful thing! And shows how much there is still to discover about our world. But, the fact that humans have found a new-to-us critter hardly matters to the critter, except that it means we are there, in its territory, and its days are numbered. Such is life.
Cooler, yes! Rain, maybe! I should do a blog about that ... ;)
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I have something fun in here, somewhere, I swear ...
Ever wonder what the Mormon Temple Endowment ceremony is like? Sure you have. It's on youtube, natch, lol
I only watched the first 7 or 8 minutes. Not for lack of interest - just time. Though, having seen The Book of Mormon last month, I can say that those stories don't have to be so boring!
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Massachusetts Senate Race Gives New Meaning To Gender Politics. Oh, that Scott Brown. A guy's guy, he is.
Somewhat related: a picture is worth a thousand words? Women are disappearing
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Okay, not really fun ... but funny!
TeaParty TeeShirts
[note: not advertising - just sharing]
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Look out. It might rain in SoCal this week.
You know, I am not in quite so bad a mood as this comment sounds, LOL
seewu :)
I don't think too many tea partiers are buying those tee shirts :)
And I don't think that is such a difficult concept(Entitled to your opinion), but that's just my opinion!
Speaking of such, it's going to rain Thursday! (Ha!)
I agree WTS! It would be nice just to make money no matter who you screwed over, destroy the environment and claim we need to because America can't be energy dependent anymore. And we can rally around Mitt with his war cries about the middle east, so we can get a piece of that juicy pie. Oh, and we can make the ignorant believe that global warming is a leftist ploy. What fun we will have!!!!!!
We have the money and the power, plutocracy here we come!!!
Now, I'll say, by golly, I am entitled to my opinion, but I do try to differentiate that fact unless I can actually point to some actual, real facts to substantiate my opinions. Except, of course, for truly subjective things, such as "This is a nice day. Glad I woke up to enjoy it."
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Twice now, I've seen a SoCal gas station operator (on the evening TV news) with a sense of humor. The gas prices listed are:
Unleaded = Arm
Mid-Grade = Leg
Premium = Both
The oil companies never fail to find an excuse to stick it to California because of the requirement for "special" gas mixes. Considering that California is something like the 7th largest economy in the world, I hardly think that much economy of scale should make such a difference.
That's my opinion for the day. >8-D
I guess if all the oil futures traders and oil companies do it, it's OK....:P
Getting any rain?
Hope Obama sheds the stuffy school teacher approach and acts a bit more presidential for Tuesday debate.
Ylee - were there actually prosecutions or just calls for and then investigations? We are getting calls here (again...) from politicians to investigate - but that is all that happens. I suppose it makes some people happy to hear the calls but it goes no further and people forget.
calpoppy - we need to file the papers for our oil company right away! We are missing out on a lot of good stuff :)
I didn't find anything worthy of remark for SoCal in the Climate Prediction Center outlooks except maybe this:
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A state investigation into price-gouging at gasoline stations last September, when Hurricane Ike hit the United States, has resulted in seven stations in Western and Southern Kentucky paying settlements of $107,500.
Attorney General Jack Conway, in announcing the results of the investigation at a news conference yesterday, said a settlement with an eighth gas station is expected to be completed soon.
As a side note, Conway lost to Rand Paul in the 2010 Senatorial election. We hillbillies can pick 'em, can't we? :P
Ylee, At least there were a few fines there, not the case here. I guess that's what Jack gets for taking on Big Oil!
Hi sp!
shows below normal precip so it doesn't look like we'll have an easy Santa Ana season but we should catch up to normal by the end of the year.
A bit toasty here today - 101 for high.
104° for a high here today. The forecast high for Sunday is 68°. The transition between seasons is swinging like a saloon door in an old Western.
Yikes, I'm a bad blogger. Let's see ...
Gas prices are still high, as far as I can tell. I haven't bought gas since the day before the prices started going crazy but do glance at the boards as I drive by (sp says snootily from the seat of a Prius) (um, LOL, I should add, knowing that there's a bit more to it than that for most folks).
Update: haven't found shore's recommended sweet but did find their gelato. Didn't buy it as I'm holding out for the sorbet.
Just watched the VP debate Monday night (see, there was a Steelers game on Thursday) (which we won't discuss) and it played out pretty much as I expected. I like Joe, have to say, just personally. I don't have anything else on that – old news, and all.
I do think it's hard to get across the idea that opinions are not equally valid or valuable. It's especially difficult when opinion turns to action if that action does harm. I've got some more examples coming up at the end here.
Weather: I also saw LC's first graphic as a precip chart. As a temp chart it makes more sense, LOL! The actual precip outlook is pretty grim but I'd like to remind my fellow SoCalians that the forecast was wrong last year around this time, and most areas received more than expected. There is hope!
Right now we've got “rocking horse weather”, eh?
The Book of Mormon is absolutely hilarious. Also, the story is super harsh, much “bad” language and some situations are obscene/offensive (do NOT take the kiddos – this ain't Lion King), but the music, story, and overall production values are good, and the characters are sweet and easy to sympathize with. I felt that the pacing was a little uneven, and my middle-aged sensibilities found the fast dialogue difficult to follow at times. I would say that if you have any desire whatsoever to see it, GO and see it :)
Anyway, it's been donkey's ears since I've been to a big production like that and I probably would have had fun no matter what, so, maybe I'm not the best reviewer ;)
Think that's it for catching up with you all, considering the amount of time that's passed.
Really appreciate the continuing additions you bring! Also, I noticed the other day that I have 6 plusses on this blog! That's three or four more than usual! Don't know when that happened and it's probably too late but want to say “Thanks to the lurkers and extra plussers! Nice to know you're there.” :)
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Speaking of Mormons … The creator of the youtube series “Mr. Diety” was raised a Mormon (if you watch the series, you can tell). He has another series called “Way of the Mister” and the latest installment of that is about Mormons and racism. He does make it funny, but it is also informative and interesting. As a side note: the way that is treated in TBoM is, yes, hilarious.
[Oh, what the heck. Let's do a bunch of religion-related links today, shall we? …]
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The combo of that congressman who is on the House Science and Technology Committee and is obviously unqualified to be there (along with Akin), plus the story of Malala which, to me, exemplifies exactly the same kind of thinking, really got me down last week. That's unusual for me, but, geez. What's wrong with people? Believe whatever you want but keep the rest of us out of it. How hard is that?
You can read about Broun and Akin's fellow science committee members at Salon. There are petitions calling for the resignations from the committee of both of these men (at change.org, for instance), but we need congress to appoint reasonable people to these committees to start with, rather than using them to provide political favors. They have real power over the rest of us and need to be able to approach issues objectively.
A Pakistani writer voiced his view of how attacks like that on Malala keep happening, at Pakistan Today. Here's an exceprt:
“Let’s stop carving out quasi religions, or defending ideologies that we’ve all grown up blindly following as the truth. Let’s call a spade a spade instead and realize that at the end of the day as much as you might have a cardiac arrest admitting it, the root cause of religious extremism is: religion – especially in its raw crude form, which again is the only ‘authentic’ form.
Every single religion has a violent streak. Every single one of them orders violence and killing in one form or the other for the ‘non-believers’. One can quote verses from every holy scripture depicting loathe and despise for anyone who doesn’t believe in the said scripture and its propagator. Sure, those scriptures would have the occasional fit of peace as well, … “
I love that phrase, “the occasional fit of peace”, LOL
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Then, there is the Newsweek cover story about a guy who calls himself a scientist and thinks he saw heaven while very ill, in a coma, and under the influence of drugs … couldn't be a typical and well-known phenomena, could it? No! His personal experience is evidence. Well, one expects a neurosurgeon to have an over-inflated ego but Newsweek's editors should know better. How often do they allow speculation and/or personal opinion to pass as factual information? I can't trust them at all anymore.
Sam Harris seems uncharacteristically angry about this one but his take-down (with references and links!) is very much worth the read just for what can be learned about brain function.
Anyway, it's just sad. Sad for the man who could have learned from his amazing experience, sad for folks who will be duped by his book, and sad for Newsweek.
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Another? Oh, okay. If you insist :)
BBC reality program called "Conspiracy Road Trip" follows creationists learning about evolution in America. It's a series that includes a look at UFOs and 911 Truthers (Bogon might like that one ;)). It's an hour long.
How do you explain to someone that what they feel about something has no bearing on reality? If they've been led to believe that their feelings, or their opinion, are always as valid and valuable as those of anyone else?
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Enough? Fine :)
Back to politics:
[This is from last week, or so]
Two of my favorite groups are exchanging favors. The Union of Concerned Scientists sent an email plugging Public Citizen's work to overturn the Citizens United decision via constitutional amendment. Meanwhile, Public Citizen is promoting UCS's petition to stop the censorship of government scientists. This is good. Very, very good.
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I didn't watch the entirety of the debate last night so don't have much to say. I thought the format favored Obama and he took good advantage of it. Romney looked angry most of the time and sounded aloof and out of touch. What else is new? Doesn't seem to bother his supporters.
It isn't hard to find the true story about the “binders full of women” if you haven't seen it yet.
I think there's a piece at salon, linked above, in fact. These guys trip me out.
Also:
romneytaxplan
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Alright, I'll shut up now. Working on a new blog but not sure where I want to go with it so decided to do this, instead. Hope I haven't used up all my words, but it will certainly be more brief than this comment, lol
Happy Midweek, WU :)
Cal- we watch Bill Moyers every week. I love him and his shows. Usually very interesting guests and topics!
calpoppy - thanks for the heads up! Will probably watch online :)
Karen - hey! Good to see you out and about the blogs :) Bet you are enjoying the cooler weather!
Yeah, I don't often go far in the car, either, and tend to combine trips to save gas (actually, because I'm too lazy to go out multiple times when I can get things done all at once ;)).
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Random link dump because I've still not finished writing a new blog entry:
Another look at how money is used without consequence in politics - this about anti-Prop 30 donors from ... Arizona?
Corporate bad actors do sometimes get punished.
Amazon may be stealing money from independent authors who sell through the site ... or, not, but something is wrong there.
Elsewhere: support good causes and get a great deal on some sf/f books in a Humble eBook Bundle. I have no affiliation with any of that and did not intend to buy the bundle because, well, stacks of unread real books are about to fall upon me even as I type. Then they added the comics a couple of days ago. That's me done for. So, thought I'd share :)
Going to Ghostwalk tonight! WooHoo! Or, erm, BooooooOooooo!
[sorry]
There's a Halloween parade and a Halloween carnival in SP.
The Pumpkin Patch is now open weekends - lots of family fun there. Don't know if anyone built a pumpkin chucker this year.
Many residential streets are already lined with goblins, ghosts, and ghouls ... all lit up at night.
The party at the library is Tuesday evening, the 30th. I love seeing the little ones all dressed up! But, I'll miss it this year :(
This town is insane for Halloween.
Happy Weekend, WU!
There was an interval during the debate yesterday evening where Romney looked like HE wanted to vote for Obama, lol.
Random entertainment for those who like quizzes
World's Smallest Political Quiz
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