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Tag Archives: Putting it out there

Half Heard


Again the untold or total truth goes unsaid or heard. Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the national anthem is big news (why?). Apparently any protest against what is considered an institution in America is news, even Donald Trump has leapt full force and uninformed on this issue. Reading all of several articles and looking at a 20 minute news conference  on this I fully get the reason for his protest. It is unfortunate that too many of us do not. The history of anthem is as interesting as the unspoken history of our country. To address some modern ideas: Donald trumps constituency is comprised of conservatives and many “fringe” followers, the fringe followers are the people who believe people of color are ruining the country even though the country was ruined (so to speak) by their ancestors. The native Americans were exploited, murdered and displaced  for the purpose and needs of  non native Americans whose sole purpose was to advance their own needs. When these needs were met then the Native Americans and the “imported” Americans  were placed in subservient positions. That lower tier status was maintained for years until the 60’s when the Civil rights movement evolved. Even then the movement was slow and the resentment about the aspirations of the minorities was looked upon as “uppity”. Human dignity was considered a privilege reserved for the upper class , translated as White (even though many  enjoying the privilege were in the same circumstances as the minority). Many history books do not detail all of the events of this country so too many of us have no idea of the ill-treatment conferred upon the lesser of ALL of us. The issue we all need to address is the half heard, half reported and uncovered history and information that runs so rampantly in our society. Think about how you would feel if the roles of white and people of color were reversed, if you believe  your situation would remain the same then you should be on the front lines of any movement for progress for us all. If you believe you situation would change then you definitely need to be in the fight. It is generally felt that we have 2 candidates that are less than ideal but what is ideal? We are at a time in world history that Jesus or Mohamed would have a hard time getting elected so we need to find out all we can about candidates on our own and  not from the news media. This requires reading and investigating other avenues of information. What we need to do is try another view or look at things through the eyes of others. Keep in mind that racism and bigotry are the children of ignorance.

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I’m That Friend


I’m that friend who calls you just to say hi.

I’m that friend who you thought about calling and didn’t think about it until I called you.

I’m that friend who you don’t think about calling until you needed something.

I’m that friend who will accept a call from you in spite of the above.

I’m that friend who has little time for BS but will understand that you give it out

I’m that friend who will do whatever I can to assist you when you need it

Yes I am that friend

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A Thought


If you can understand this: “the sound of one hand clapping”, then you can understand that our 2 party system is only as good as the people in it.

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Something to Talk About


We all (I hope) are looking to have a National leader who can take us forward in a good way .We have had many leaders in the past who have attempted this feat and while not failing have come up short. Looking at the common theme in these past administrations we voters should see the connecting line. That line is the 535 members of Congress. We have good, bad and awful in this situation. There are congressional members and there are statesmen, the major difference is that statesmen (or women) reach across party lines to do the best job for the people they represent, the members just do what is best for themselves and their backers. It is easy to say or agree to anything that will get them by while still doing nothing of value for their districts. It is worth pointing out that their “districts” should be the whole United States including its territories and commonwealths, even though their immediate areas are not in those areas. We have a responsibility to ignore the rhetoric and focus on the future under one of the current front-runners, on one side we have a demagogue who (I think) did not think he would get this far and we have on the other side a person who has vast Government experience even though there is baggage that many think is too heavy yet the experience required is there. Keep in mind that politics is a dirty business and anyone in it will have their “dirty laundry” aired and no one is perfect (if any person ascribes to being perfect, beware of them). As a country we need to cast off the past ideals and understand the world stage is no longer populated by just first world  countries and we have to have someone who can engage the various countries in a way that benefits us and them.

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How Acid RefluxImproved My Health


I have had acid reflux for years and until recently had not made any big dietary changes. I have never been a big or moderate water drinker due to years ago drinking water from a tap that while not being bad water, it just had a strange taste to me. My excuse for years was that “I didn’t drink water because fish have sex in it” a quote attributed to W.C. Fields. What changed for me is due to the effects of certain food and drinks on the reflux condition. I have stopped drinking acidic or carbonated drinks, minimized alcoholic drinks. Reduced the intake of spicy foods and further reduced salt to essentially nothing except for what’s required for recipes and what is already in some prepared foods . The good part: blood pressure has dropped about 10 points (more or less), a lot fewer flare ups of reflux and a better nights sleep. My take away is when you have a health issue , pay attention to how your body reacts to your conditions and how whatever mediations you take effect you for better or worse, then make a good dietary decision.

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The ACA (Obamacare) High Costs


  • Costs are determined by the number of people who sign up, the more people signed means lower costs for all.
    One Big Insurer Explains Why Obamacare Premiums Are Rising So Much

The Fiscal Times

By Millie Dent 21 hours ago

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association just released a new study that helps explain why some big health insurers are struggling to make money under Obamacare — and have jacked up premiums in many cases.

The insurance giant’s newly covered customers were sicker, required more care and had higher medical costs than individuals who were already covered.

Blue Cross looked at the medical services used by people who enrolled in its plans before and after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2014. The study was based on claims for 4.7 million people.

Related: Affordable Care Act Hasn’t Made Health Care Affordable, Study Finds

Compared to the company’s previously insured population, new enrollees in individual Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans in 2014 and 2015 were found to have higher rates of certain conditions and diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, depression, coronary artery disease, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C.

HIV was more than three times as common among newly enrolled customers compared to those who already had coverage, the report found. Hepatitis C was more than twice as common.

The relatively poor health of people enrolled under Obamacare is not surprising given that many of the newly covered had gone without health insurance before and thus were not able to get medical treatment for their illnesses. That history also helps explain why newly enrolled consumers in 2014 and 2015 also used more medical services than those who had purchased coverage prior to 2014. In the first nine months of 2015, new enrollees filled 35 percent more prescriptions than those who had purchased coverage prior to 2014. Hospital admission rates jumped 84 percent higher, the report found, and the frequency of visits to doctors and other medical professionals shot up by 26 percent.

Related: Millions Face Premium and Deductible Sticker Shock Under Obamacare

Insurers expected the newly enrolled would be more expensive to cover, but Blue Cross and others underestimated just how much more expensive they would be and how much more medical care the new customers would need.

The result, in many cases, has been a spike in premiums: Blue Cross plans have seen substantial rate hikes. “As we see increases in uses of services, the premium has to go up to cover the services,” says Alissa Fox, vice president of policy at the insurer.

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Disease Prevalence

One hope is that, as these newly insured get treated for their most urgent and long-standing medical issues, they will require somewhat less, or less expensive, care going forward.

But the Blue Cross data also serves as a reminder of why it was important for Obamacare’s success that a large pool of people — healthy and unhealthy, young and old — signed up for coverage, as a way to keep a lid on cost increases. And the Congressional Budget Office projected in a report issued last week that about 12 million people will get their insurance through Obamacare exchanges this year, down from a projected 13 million as of January and a forecast of 21 million a year ago.

Those numbers, combined with the figures from Blue Cross and Blue Shield, suggest that the painful Obamacare transition period for insurers will last a while longer.

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Still Crazy


The controversy over Hillary Clinton’s private email servers is still lingering in spite of recent revelations about Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice also had private Email servers yet the RNC has pushed the Clinton issue with great vigor. The FBI is investigating the issue about Hillary Clinton’s emails seemingly at the behest of the Dupublican establishment. If there were issues about email servers in previous administrations then surely Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice’s emails bear examining too. Political tricks is not the way to fix an internal problem. The way to fix it is to acknowledge it then do what a business would do and fix it. Of course we know politics is a dirty business and many time the stink of it cannot be removed by washing.

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Rauner Runaround?


Governor Rauner has allowed the budget impasse to continue to the detriment of the State schools, employees and everyone else. There is enough blame to go around so what now? His address of a few days ago did not address any solutions but there were a couple of initiatives to consolidate some State agencies, updating the cyber systems but nothing on the budget.  Mr. Rauner is a financially savvy guy but running a State like a business is not the same as just running a State or a business. The upgrades he wants to put in place are needed but a State minded leader (politician or Statesman) is needed to run a State. When a leader (President, Governor, etc.) gains an office, the normal process is to meet with the legislature and try to get a sense of who the players are and how one can work with them. This has nothing to do with political parties as the people are first and should be considered first. We have not had that and the end result so far is more debt and more pain. Snatch the Band-Aid off and get on with it! Make a budget and get the state moving again. Nothing is perfect in any plan but if you do nothing , you gain nothing.

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War Is Just A Racket


Excerpt explains war and possibly the push by The Dupublicans to out boots on the ground in the middle east (again!)

War is Just a Racket

Excerpt from a speech delivered in 1933 by General Smedley Butler, USMC. General Butler was one of the few Americans to be twice awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we’ll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

I wouldn’t go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

There isn’t a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its “finger men” to point out enemies, its “muscle men” to destroy enemies, its “brain men” to plan war preparations, and a “Big Boss” Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country’s most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

See Also: War Is A Racket by Major General Smedley Butler

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New way to prank you


THIS IS AN ADVERTORIAL AND NOT AN ACTUAL NEWS ARTICLE, BLOG, OR CONSUMER PROTECTION UPDATE.  This sentence is one of many ways to advertise to us and encouragement further investigation often to our detriment . It looks official enough with a cursory  glance but is not as it states not an official site or information. There is also the robot call  trick using your phone number as the calling number which causes you to answer out of curiosity. Apparently   scammers spend a lot of time studying our weakness for anything easy or “free”. This is the same ploy used to introduce the unsubstantiated claims issued by political candidates and advertisers. The statement ” caveat emptor” applies.

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