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Monthly Archives: September 2013


With impending implementation of the ACA (Affordable  Care Act) aka “Obamacare”, there are many naysayers and supporters but the most surprising thing is several financial papers and a consumer’s magazine has stripped all of the “Government speak” from the act. Why is it that the Congress can state that the health care act will kill jobs, break companies and is a train wreck when they have no idea how it works? The aforementioned publications have laid out how the plan works and what it does in plain language but the Congress could not get there. It appears that  we have a group of legislators and pundits who through some odd quirk in their thinking cannot be bothered to get the facts and  comment based on those facts yet independent publications can. I submit that our faith in politicians and pundits is ill placed and can be better used by reading something other than the comic strips. When the initial portion of the health care act went into effect, it gave immediate relief to many yet this was not mentioned to any great degree by anyone who could have created  more coverage on the positive effects. What is the real reason for this onslaught on the American people? The one that I can think of is  greed and ignorance plus the backing of powerful moneyed backers whose sole interest is maintaining the “status quo” which is keeping the poor, poor and the general public beholding while creating more wealth for themselves and their associates. These big money individuals own companies that provide us many products and services but only as long as we pay for them and don’t complain. The reading material that should be required for all of us  are the financial publications as they have more information on the economy and what causes the shifts than the dailies which may get the information days and weeks or even years later.

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Reading several opinions and commentaries by Charles Krauthammer, I understand that he has had a long and illustrious history in Medicine, political speech writing and other advisory positions, Despite his obvious qualifications in those fields and his many awards for his body of work, he has seemingly gone off the rails. It is one thing to speak out on any subject but to proffer hate, misinformation and  possibly Racism is not what a well respected writer needs to do. It is wise to remember that no matter  what, the truth is always a constant in public discourse. I have read many of Mr. Krauthammer’s articles and opinions and see a common thread of bully tactics coupled with what appears to truth but more like the opinion of an angry person who has not been able to completely fulfill his life dreams or aspirations. This failure to achieve whatever it is has given way to more intolerant writings based on innuendo and “Fox “type reporting  which is dredged in  sensationalism rather than fact. Mr. Krauthammer’s credentials suggest he is better than his output in the last 10 years. I would suggest or even urge Mr. Krauthammer to reinvent himself as the person he once was so his real self can be enjoyed.

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Summer when regular shoes disappear into closets and under beds. The sturdy and safe footwear of the non summer months  are replaced by and endless variety of footwear called “flip-flops”. These seemingly innocuous foot coverings while “cute”, cool and available in endless colors and styles are deadly!  There is a line from a Jimmy Buffett song stating how he “blew out my flip-flop, stepped on pop top” this is not hard to imagine  when wearing a shoe(?) that is held on by the power of two toes! The construction of these shoes(?) is simple and at the same time dangerous. Looking at the construction: a sole with 3 holes in it, a strap that has button type attachments that fit into those holes. The  material it is made of is a kind of foam rubber which has little body to support the foot.  When walking these shoes make a sound like “flip-flop”, hence the name. While walking the shoe looses contact with the foot except  at the toes. Looking at the act of walking, in a regular shoe the entire shoe  flexes with the foot  and remains in contact with the foot. Flip flops while cute and cool do not have that facility and are easily dislodged causing the foot to roll to one side and allowing the wearer’s ankle to turn allowing for the ankle to turn and become injured. This is the most common injury but just as bad as a break and probably as painful. When does comfort and safety trump “style”, a shoe(?) that costs from >99 to 4.00 a pair is hardly what I would wear even for style.

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On Tuesday October 1,2013 another stage of the Affordable Care Act. That allows ALL Americans without health care to sign up for it regardless of previous or current health conditions. This means if you have or have had Cancer, heart problems or diabetes as examples, you cannot be denied insurance. The great minds of Congress have been and are still trying to take this away from you. The term “Obamacare” was meant to be derisive and demeaning yet what would you think of when you can get insurance where you could not get it before? It is in our best interest (voters) to send messages to Congress at election time. The special interests (not always ours) managed to oust a few Congressmen over a single issue that is not nearly as important as your health so why can we not do the same for our health and fiscal stability? The mass media (biased and unbiased?) has given mediocre coverage to this act while highlighting the same old talking points that certain Congressional members have espoused on an ongoing basis. The push to overturn or defund  the Health Care Act is fueled by big money and “tea Partiers” who do not have your interests in mind. Just remember when elections roll around which members of Congress have had your back!

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The real reason for anti Obama anything is Race! Looking at all of the fights and struggles in Congress, the huge amount of false advertising and the negative media coverage is evidence enough to highlight the still obvious racial divide in America. I question the idea that someone would want a CIC who is incompetent just because he is white rather than a non white or female who is. We in the United States have a unique society that was spawned by every known ethno religious group in the world so we can be called Americans, a society of world citizens. The only true Americans are the native Americans, who we have strived to annihilate through wars and segregation. The society we destroyed and made almost irrelevant has a better structure than our current Congress yet we felt they were the savages. When alcohol was introduced, we called them drunken Indians, when largely unpaid labor was forced on humans stolen from another country, we called them property. How can a country that was built on slave labor, destruction of an existing society be called the land of the free? Our freedom will begin when we end all segregation and follow the law of the land as was intended by the founders even though they were initially perpetrators of the same acts against Native Americans and the stolen humans. In the years 2007 until now the virulent Racism reared its head and was fed by the Captains of industry through massive donations to their hopefuls and even now are still pouring fuel on the fires of distrust and separatism. There are more Americans who are not on board with these actions but not enough speak out against it. Nothing is free  so those who have not paid in through action need to pay in now!

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The Search for many things begins with curiosity. For example: why did the recent economic crisis affect the U.S. and Europe along with many other parts of the world?  What is known now and possibly surmised by some or postulated by pundits is that the same people who have paid for Congress (big money) in the form of lobbyists many of whom  were once members of Congress or associated with government service , this is the revolving door that presented us with our current economy along with the Iraq war, Afghanistan and other political obstacles to peace. The peace that would allow us to interact economically with other country’s which would at once bolster our economy and reestablish our place in the world as a leader. While in Washington the 535 are being held hostage by a few upstarts who  have the vision of running for President in the future while providing no substantial aid to a resolution of our problems. WE the People are bombarded by single issue pundits, lawmakers and powerful lobbyists  whose sole purpose is to further their own agenda at our expense.  Our (the people) only job is to embrace a bigger picture  by reading and listening to as many sources of information as possible. Modern communication has given us many methods of receiving information yet we spend more time on social sites than news sites ( no matter how biased they may be), even biased information has some value if balanced by the truth which is out there and obvious. Biased information has the sole purpose of  exploiting our fears to present their slant on things which is not in our best interest.  The simple truth is not always what we hear or see but what we sense as being real and are willing to investigate. Our  sense of duty to one another and our country is at stake since our Congress is preoccupied with future elections and current issues that are not good for us. The “Scamocrats* and Dupublicans”  have relied on our complacency to do what is best for them while ignoring the real issues that face us all. The cure is: stop voting along party lines, stop voting for incumbents and be prepared to have glitches in the order of things until they get it right.

*These are copyrighted 

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The deadline for exchanges and any /all insurance related departments is fast approaching,. The Congress approved this bill and it survived a Supreme court challenge yet many states have not and will set up exchanges. Our Congress is planning another attempt at killing this law by defunding it. There is no thought as to what it will do to the millions of Americans who are currently benefitting form this law and those who have yet to benefit from it. The real problem here is: The administration has done an inadequate job in explaining the law and Congress has made no attempt to understand it but the anti’s have made outlandish and untrue statements about what the law does. How can you nay-say a law that you do not understand? The realistic view is: Congress should have and still can read the law, understand the law (most of them have law degrees) and make changes where needed instead of creating a wall of misinformation, disinformation and outright lies. These are our representatives who beg for our votes at election time and continually lie to remain in office. We must remember this law does not affect their health benefits so they cannot be bothered to look after ours. The Congress seems to have no problem making decisions in the name of the people when it is to their benefit but do nothing or less to help the people.  The Governmental problems we have on both sides (Scamocrats and Dupublicans) go back before the Bush’s and Obama since many of the 535 have been in office during all of that time and done less than nothing if they got no benefit out of it. The affordable care act has more ups than downs but most of us do not know about it. There are efforts made in many parts of the country to sort this out but potential users are not actively seeking those putting forth that effort or even simply going on line to the U.S. Government website to read about it and find  what local sources are available. AS citizens of one of the best places to live on this planet we are the poorest informed because we have become complacent and allowed 535 people to think for us and become upset when they get it wrong!

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New Firearm Law in Iowa-Too Far? In case you missed it.

Iowa’s gun carry law allows blind persons to carry guns.  See article:
L.A. NOW OF CALIFORNIA
By Robin Abcarian
September 12, 2013, 6:00 p.m.
Except for intermittent floods and quadrennial presidential contests, Iowa doesn’t generally make a lot of news.
But people around the world in general, and CNN’s Piers Morgan in particular, went crazy this week after Iowa’s premier newspaper, the Des Moines Register, published a story about how the state’s new gun law allows blind people to own and carry firearms in public.
You read right: Blind people may not be able to drive to the gun store, or even sign the permit application without assistance, but they may legally carry a gun in public.
The Register story, which included video of a blind Altoona man named Michael Barber gun shopping with his wife, was part of a much bigger series that looked at the effect of the state’s new gun law, which prohibits sheriffs from denying weapons permits except in very limited cases. Previously in Iowa, sheriff’s could deny gun permits at their discretion.
Jason Clayworth, the Register reporter who wrote the series, told me he got interested in the new law after watching Iowa lawmakers ram the legislation through in 2010.
“I knew from sitting in a few legislative meetings on this bill that legislators had overlooked tons of issues,” Clayworth said in an email. “And I felt like the bill had been unbelievably rushed, especially considering the gravity of the issue.”
Because there was no clearinghouse for gun information in Iowa, Clayworth had to contact each of Iowa’s 99 sheriffs, often more than once, to ferret out the effects of the law. He discovered that in the two years after the law’s enactment, 99.6% of gun permit applications had been approved.
And though the law requires training in the handling and use of firearms, Clayworth discovered that for many Iowans, that training consists of a free, online course offered by the state of Maryland that involves no shooting practice at all.
He also discovered that background checks on mentally ill are nearly impossible to perform, that law enforcement has no way to verify whether a permit is legitimate and that people who have committed violent acts or sex offenses are sometimes allowed to buy and carry guns. (There’s a video interview with one convicted sex offender who demonstrates how he tucks his gun under his shirt to conceal it.)
But of course, it was the stories about blind people carrying guns that got the most attention. The idea seems so insane on its face. But is it?
Many defend the right of disabled people to carry weapons, saying a prohibition would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. Others, including some advocates for the blind, think it’s not such a great idea.
One defender, Cedar County, Iowa, Sheriff Warren Wethington, says he can teach a blind person to safely use a gun. In a Register video, Wethington coached his 18-year-old sight-impaired daughter Bethany as she shot a handgun at a couple of targets in a barren field. She didn’t do badly, but she was standing kind of close to the white targets.
“Obviously there are limitations,” Wethington told the Register. “They’re not going to be able to defend themselves against every situation, but then again, a sighted person can’t either. If we had some sort of a conflict in a dark room, you’re not going to be able to do anything that a blind person couldn’t.”
If blind people want to hunt or shoot targets with seeing companions to guide them, by all means, they should be allowed to do so. This is America, dammit. Everybody gets to shoot a gun.
But should a blind person be out in the public square carrying a gun for protection?
No. Please. Get a German shepherd, not a Glock.
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During the war of 1812 the British gained the service of American slaves through runaways who were sheltered and freed. These Black Americans used this opportunity to gain their freedom and aided the cause of the British by spying, scouting and other aid that benefitted the British war effort. These were not un American activities but more activities to gain their freedom and to be treated as people. The British actively recruited runaway slaves as guides for their troops and enlisting some 400 into a special squadron called the Colonial marines. These troops helped the British strike into Virginia’s interior and eventually, to bring the war to the nation’s capital. Once the runaways showed their  value to the war effort, the slave got commitments to free their families who were then put aboard British ships for safety. This of course was not met well by the Virginians as their economy was based on slave labor and were always deathly afraid of a “slave revolt”. The slaves were considered the internal enemy of the Virginia slave owners so this mass flight was devastating. The slave owners were so blinded by their own fears that they never realized that the slaves only wanted be treated as people on equal footing with  other Americans. There was no evil intent beyond freedom and equality. Apparently this struggle is still going on. This post is excerpted from a book by Alan Taylor, the book is: The Internal Enemy, published by Norton.

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Disambiguation (also called word sense disambiguation or text disambiguation) is the act of interpreting an author’s intended use of a word that has multiple meanings or spellings.

Disambiguation as defined above is largely unknown and unheard yet we deal with its effects daily. Any legal , medical or other technical language puts it effects in front of us. We do not recognize as any detailed document (fine print) becomes a blur to us when reading it. This sometimes come back to haunt us in often bad ways. Our Oldest national document, the law of the land – Our Constitution is a prime example of Disambiguation, this is what makes the Constitution a living document, the legal interpretation of any part of the Constitution is always open to interpretation and change (yes change!). Many (including legal scholars) think the Constitution is written in stone but the framers and signers knew that as the country grew and progressed these basic tenets  would have to be altered according the greater needs of the citizens. The  problem we have now is our Congress and others outside Congress have and perpetrate the idea that the Constitution is etched in stone, this may explain why we have had some many expensive challenges on parts of the Constitution. Where we need to be as far as the Constitution is concerned is governed in the true spirit and gist of what the Document means and provides as protection as well as a way to keep our country true to its founders expectations. Obviously we have a long way to go after so many years of going backwards. When we as a society start thinking in larger terms instead of pejorative and narrowly focused ways will we start get on track to being who we really are and meant to be.

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