YEAR END CIRCUS

The circus is in session in Washington as Congress leads the country to the edge of the so-called fiscal cliff, all the while scaring the bejesus out of everyone.  Sticking points along party lines are reinstating higher taxes for the wealthy and cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

If they fail to reach a deal some $536 billion in tax increases for everyone will take place and about $110 billion in spending cuts divided between federal departments and the military will take place.   The fear mongers tell us that such a dramatic increase in taxes and spending cuts would lead to a recession, financial markets taking a nosedive and a jump in unemployment.  

Republican and Democratic lawmakers say they are simply doing what their constituents back home want them to do.  And the fact is they represent a divided country.  In a recent Associated Press poll about half of Americans say they want higher taxes on the wealthy and the other half say cutting spending, not raising taxes, should be the focus. 43 percent say they trust the Democrats more to manage the federal budget and 40 percent prefer the Republicans.

Somewhere in all the wrangling there should be compromise.  And all the drama of holding out to the very last minute is senseless.  We all personalize what we want to see happen and I am no exception.  Since I am retired and not wealthy I want to see Medicare and Social Security protected.  I don’t think reinstating the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy would have as much of an impact as on the middle class and poor.  I don’t have a problem with reining in federal spending, especially the bloated military spending.

No matter what happens, by dragging this to the very edge Congress has shown themselves to be dysfunctional.  

“Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress.  But I repeat myself”   Mark Twain

Waiting on Congress...  Just one day more...

Republican South Carolina State Representative William Chumley has filed a bill in the South Carolina General Assembly that would prevent the enforcement of the Affordable Health Care Act (ObamaCare).  The proposal, which has been prepared for next year’s legislative session, threatens state officials with up to two years in jail and a $1,000 fine for enforcing the law. Federal officials could be sent to jail for five years and be fined $5,000 for enacting the legislation. (U.S News & World Report)

In Maine State Representative Aaron Libby (R) will also sponsor a bill in the 2013 legislative session declaring the health care act unconstitutional and void.

In New Jersey, Assemblywoman Alison McHose (R) will reintroduce a measure nullifying ObamaCare in the Garden State. 

Last month, a group of Wisconsin lawmakers also said they would support nullifying the law and arresting federal officials for trying to enact it.

Lawmakers like these in state governments are first in line for federal benefits, but now try to block the implementation of the Affordable Health Care Act.  The same specious attempts were made during the implementation of Social Security during the Roosevelt administration.  No doubt these state lawmakers will draw social security when their time comes.  Boobs.  Just one day more...  

VERIZON MIFI

I’ve read some blogs that discuss their experience with Verizon’s MiFi plans.  Here on the farm we don’t have access to traditional internet access, such as cable.  At one time we tried a company that put a dish on our windmill tower, but their service was not very reliable.  Since we RV in the summer and plan for winter travels when my wife retires, we decided to give Verizon a try.  It has worked well for both RV travel and use on the farm.  But, we are up against what others have experienced - not having enough time.

We currently have the 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot MiFi® 4510L and pay $50/month for 5 GB.  The only other option is to upgrade to 10GB at a cost of $80/month.  On top of that we had to sign a two year contract, which expires in May.  The only way to avoid the contract was to pay an inflated price for the unit.  I can understand the need for Verizon to recoup their cost of the unit, but have never cared for these cellular contracts.  There is no flexibility for upgrades.

Fortunately, a fellow RV’er who shared the same frustrations, blogged about finding a better alternative in a company called Millenicom.  Essentially, Millenicom offers the same  MiFi and apparently buys airtime from Verizon.  The exception is that Millenicom offers 20GB/month for $70/month with no contract.  Initial charges require $99.99 device purchase fee, $49.99 activation fee and $15.00 shipping fee as well as the prorated balance of the first month service fee, but clearly the benefits outweigh what we have now.  So, in May Millenicom can expect another new customer.  Just one day more...

One week to the day after the horrific school shooting in Connecticut the NRA gave their standard response.  During the week, as the nation mourned the deaths of 26 children and staff at an elementary school, the NRA chose to remain silent as a strategy.  The NRA temporarily took down its Facebook page and kept quiet on Twitter. Yesterday head gun zealot Wayne LaPierre, who refused to take any questions at a press conference, put on a clown show, blaming everyone and everything else except assault weapons.  He blamed video games, movies and music videos for exposing children to a violent culture day in and day out.  LaPierre’s solution is more of the same that resulting in the killings.  He announced that former Rep. Asa Hutchison, R-Ark., will lead an NRA program that will develop a model security plan for schools that relies on armed volunteers.  Looney.

The NRA strangle hold on politicians was also evident when every Republican lawmaker refused comment, when asked to be interviewed, until after the NRA news conference.  Obviously they were waiting for the marching orders from the NRA.  When a few did finally comment, they parroted LaPierre and called for more military assault weapons.  Looney.

LaPierre added nothing to the national discourse of gun violence and, to the contrary, advocated more of the same.  For that he is the butthead of the week.  Just one day more...

END OF THE WORLD PLANS

In an earlier post I commented on the so-called doomsday some think will happen on this date based on the Mayan calendar.  Suffice to say, I doubt that will happen.  But, just to be safe we decided to get into our limited stash of wine.

About 30 years ago we purchased about 6 bottles of wine, which were what we perceived as expensive at that time at an average of $30 each.  We enjoyed a few and decided to put a few away for a “special” occasion.  A number of occasions have come and gone, however we forgot about the wine until we listed our house in town for sale and moved to the farm 3 years ago.  The wine was safely tucked away in the cool dark basement.  This week we closed on the house in town and the end of the world is upon us.  So, what better time to get into the stash than today.  But, we did hesitate.  It seems that the wine now has a market value that gives us pause.

We have one bottle of 1981 Chateau Figeac, which has a current average value of over $100.  We also have two bottles of 1976 Chateau Ausone, which has a current average value of over $800.  YIKES.  Wish we would have had the foresight to buy a couple cases of the Chateau Ausone.  So, tonight we will put on a couple of steaks and enjoy a fine St. Emilion.  We will still have two left and no doubt when my wife retires from teaching after one more year, we will again tap into the stash.  Just one day more...

TRUE GRINCHES

McDonald’s is encouraging its franchises to open on Christmas, but without paying overtime to workers.

McDonald’s Chief Operating Officer Jim Johannesen sent a memo to franchises on Nov. 8, which said, in part: "Ensure your restaurants are open throughout the holidays. Our largest holiday opportunity as a system is Christmas Day. Last year, restaurants that opened on Christmas averaged $5,500 in sales.”

Another memo sent on December 12 told franchises that $36 million in additional sales were made by opening on Thanksgiving.

McDonald’s spokesperson Heather Oldani said,: “Our restaurants will be open to serve our customers when and how they need over the holidays. When our company-owned restaurants are open on the holidays, the staff voluntarily sign up to work. There is no regular overtime pay.”  (Ad Age magazine)

I’m not sure who would even want to eat at McDonald’s Christmas day, but I certainly won’t.  If their company policy is to stiff employees who work that day, they qualify as true grinches.  Just one day more...

MY CHOICE

In the aftermath of the elementary school shooting in Connecticut most everyone has thoughts about what comes next.  Gun sales will spike by purchasers who think they better get an assault weapon before the government outlaws them and gun control advocates will renew calls for a total ban on assault weapons. 

Over the weekend my thoughts were with the school and teachers.  The reason for this focus is simple.  My wife is an elementary teacher of nearly 30 years and my daughter is a kindergarten teacher.  Over the years teachers and public education have been demonized by some politicians.  Nothing is perfect, but teachers and public education have met every challenge.  Teachers are not only educators and custodians of our children, they form relationships with students.  In every case of the horrific shootings in schools, teachers and administrators have done exactly what they do every day - protect the children.  They will now attempt to balance the “rights” of gun owners over the safety of the teachers and children.  I choose the the teachers and children.  Just one day more...

Not a week goes by where someone says or does something that qualifies them as a butthead.  Unfortunately, in most cases it is a politician.  

This past week’s buttheads are Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain for their vindictive and partisan misrepresentations of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice when she was being considered for Secretary of State.  Rice faced months of criticism over how she characterized the Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.  Rice did not characterize it as a premeditated act of terror. Instead, she said it was a spontaneous response to an anti-Islam film produced in the United States.  In testimony before Congress, Gen. David Petraeus, the former CIA director, said Rice was speaking from unclassified talking points given to her by the CIA.  Rice withdrew her name from consideration on Thursday.

Rice attended Stanford University, where she received a Truman Scholarship, and graduated with a B.A. in history in 1986. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, Rice attended New College, Oxford, where she earned a M.Phil. in 1988 and D.Phil. in 1990.  Rice served in the Clinton administration in various capacities: at the National Security Council (NSC) from 1993 to 1997; as director for international organizations and peacekeeping from 1993 to 1995 and as special assistant to the president and senior director for African affairs from 1995 to 1997.  On December 1, 2008, Rice was nominated by president-elect Obama to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Susan Rice is a person of impeccable credentials, experience and education.  As I have commented before in this blog, we need more women in government.  The men have proven themselves to be incompetent and divisive.  What was done to Susan Rice by Graham and McCain was wrong.  For that they are my buttheads of the week.  Just one day more...

Here’s one new law Congress got right!  The CALM Act, which limits the volume of TV commercials, went into effect yesterday. CALM stands for Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation. The act is designed to prevent TV commercials from blaring at louder volumes than the program content they accompany. The rules govern broadcasters as well as cable and satellite operators. The rules are meant to protect viewers from excessively loud commercials. The CALM act was authored by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) in 2008 in the House.  The Senate companion bill was sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)  and passed in December, 2010.  President Obama immediately signed the bill into law.  Finally, those annoying commercials won’t be blasting louder than the programs.  

Speaking of commercials, there seems to be more and more drug commercials on television.  I’m sure the drug companies figure consumers will tell their doctor they saw a commercial for some drug and ask for it.  Seems like a bit of self medical diagnosis best left up to the doctor.  Drug companies would be better off leaving the decision on drugs to doctors and roll back some of that huge advertising cost into lowering the cost of drugs.  But, at least we now don’t have to listen to loud commercials.  Just one day more...

December 12, 2012 or 12-12-12.  I don’t know if there is any significance or voodoo around this numerical alignment, however it seems like a good time to talk about 

12-21-12  -  the end of the world according to some who use the Mayan calendar as their resource.  As far as I am concerned it will all turn out just like the Y-2K scare.  What is fascinating about this prediction is the doomsday “preppers” out there.  They even have a television show now about “preppers” who are building stockpiles of everything from food to guns.  Pretty scary stuff, but  I much prefer to go to scientific sources vs. vendors of superstition. 

According to NASA, “The world will not end in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.  The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.”

NASA provides actual scientific evidence to dispute the predications of the end of the world, including “total blackout”, “planet alignment”, “Mayan calendar ending”, “meteors”, “solar storms” and “polar shifting.”  NASA concludes, “For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence? There is none, and for all the fictional assertions, whether they are made in books, movies, documentaries or over the Internet, we cannot change that simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012.”

People have put in stockpiles of food and commodities for quite a few years.  I can remember my grandmother canning garden produce and meat.  It was done to save money and have food in the winter.  Keeping a supply of canned food and supplies today for the same reasons is a good idea.  It is also a good idea in case of a natural disaster.  But, the massive stockpiles of food and guns of doomsday preppers seems a bit wacky.

Here on the farm we keep a small supply of food and have a generator.  Beyond that, we don’t envision any disaster that requires much more.  We don’t expect the world to end on December 21st.  Just the same, we did put in a stockpile of extra beer and wine.  Just one day more...  

FISCAL CLIFF BUNK

I’ve reached my limit watching politicians yammer about the “fiscal cliff” on the daily news.  Over and over again they say the same thing, mostly along party lines, while avoiding the real elephant in the room.  While they repeatedly talk about cutting “entitlements”, using the word as if it were the biggest giveaway in history and avoid saying “social security and medicare”, they ignore the military budget.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost the taxpayers between $3.7 trillion and 4.4 trillion.  Those numbers will continue to soar when considering often overlooked costs such as long-term obligations to wounded veterans and projected war spending from 2012 through 2020. The estimates do not include at least $1 trillion more in interest payments coming due and many billions more in expenses that cannot be counted, according to the study. The current wars were paid for almost entirely by borrowing. This borrowing has raised the U.S. budget deficit, increased the national debt, and had other macroeconomic effects, such as raising interest rates. The U.S. must also pay interest on the borrowed money. The interest paid on Pentagon spending alone, so far (from 2001 through FY 2011) is about $185.4 billion in constant dollars.  (Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies)

The U. S. annual military budget exceeds all other industrial nations combined at $711 billion.  This is money that comes directly from taxpayers.  Yes, the annual budgets of social security and medicare are just as large.  The difference is that people like me have paid into social security and medicare for years.  To use social security and medicare to avoid the fiscal cliff while ignoring the military budget is irresponsible.  Just one day more...

The Supreme Court will take up California's ban on same-sex marriage, a case that could give the justices the chance to rule on whether gay Americans have the same constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals. The justices said Friday they will review a federal appeals court ruling that struck down the state's gay marriage ban. The San Francisco-based appeals court said the state could not take away the same-sex marriage right that had been granted by California's Supreme Court.  The court also will decide whether Congress can deprive legally married gay couples of federal benefits otherwise available to married people. A provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act limits a range of health and pension benefits, as well as favorable tax treatment, to heterosexual couples.

The justices chose for their review the case of 83-year-old Edith Windsor, who sued to challenge a $363,000 federal estate tax bill after her partner of 44 years died in 2009.

Windsor, who goes by Edie, married Thea Spyer in 2007 after doctors told them that Spyer would not live much longer. She suffered from multiple sclerosis for many years. Spyer left everything she had to Windsor. There is no dispute that if Windsor had been married to a man, her estate tax bill would have been $0.  (AP)

It seems to me that the time has come to grant the same rights to same-sex couples that everyone else has.  I could never understand the Defense of Marriage Acts (DOMA) being passed in states.  What are they defending, other than a strictly religious view?  My wife and I have never felt threatened by anyone else’s marriage and certainly don’t need the state taking away constitutional protections for others.  

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution says, in part,  “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The time has come for the Supreme Court to give equal protection to all citizens and uphold the federal appeals court ruling.  Just one day more...

SHAMEFUL AND OUTRAGEOUS 

The Senate on Tuesday rejected a United Nations treaty on the rights of the disabled that is modeled after the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act.  With 38 Republicans casting "no" votes, the 61-38 vote fell five short of the two-thirds majority needed to ratify a treaty.  Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, looking frail and in a wheelchair, was in the chamber to support the treaty. The treaty also was widely backed by the disabilities community and veterans groups.

The treaty, already signed by 155 nations and ratified by 126 countries, including Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia, states that nations should strive to assure that the disabled enjoy the same rights and fundamental freedoms as their fellow citizens. The treaty was negotiated and first signed under former President George W. Bush and signed again by Obama in 2009.  Opponents were not swayed by support for the treaty from some of the GOP's prominent veterans, including the 89-year-old Dole, who was disabled during World War II; Sen. John McCain, who also suffered disabling injuries in Vietnam; Sen. Dick Lugar, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee; and former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh.

The opposition was led by tea party favorite Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who argued that the treaty by its very nature threatened U.S. sovereignty. Specifically he expressed concerns that the treaty could lead to the state, rather than parents, determining what was in the best interest of disabled children in such areas as home schooling, and that language in the treaty guaranteeing the disabled equal rights to reproductive health care could lead to abortions.  The conservative Heritage Action for America urged senators to vote no against the treaty, saying it would be recorded as a key vote on their scorecard. It repeated the argument that the treaty "would erode the principles of American sovereignty and federalism."  (news sources)

Voting against the treaty:

Alexander (R-TN)

Blunt (R-MO)

Boozman (R-AR)

Burr (R-NC)

Chambliss (R-GA)

Coats (R-IN)

Coburn (R-OK)

Cochran (R-MS)

Corker (R-TN)

Cornyn (R-TX)

Crapo (R-ID)

DeMint (R-SC)

Enzi (R-WY)

Graham (R-SC)

Grassley (R-IA)

Hatch (R-UT)

Heller (R-NV)

Hoeven (R-ND)

Hutchison (R-TX)

Inhofe (R-OK)

Isakson (R-GA)

Johanns (R-NE)

Johnson (R-WI)

Kyl (R-AZ)

Lee (R-UT)

McConnell (R-KY)

Moran (R-KS)

Paul (R-KY)

Portman (R-OH)

Risch (R-ID)

Roberts (R-KS)

Rubio (R-FL)

Sessions (R-AL)

Shelby (R-AL)

Thune (R-SD)

Toomey (R-PA)

Vitter (R-LA)

Wicker (R-MS)

It is shameful when the skewed reasoning of ideologues can stop something as innocuous, yet righteous, as the treaty on the rights of the disabled.  Not since the days of the John Birch Society has the misguided zeal for “sovereignty and federalism” been so ignorantly used.  This vote against a world wide declaration on the rights of the disabled was despicable.  Just one day more...  

ALMOST BEYOND WHAT ONE CAN IMAGINE

The unstoppable Voyager 1 spacecraft has sailed into a new realm of the solar system that scientists did not know existed. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched 35 years ago on a mission to tour the outer planets. Though Voyager 2 — currently 9 billion miles from the sun — launched first, Voyager 1 is closer to leaving the solar system behind. It's more than 11 billion miles from the sun. "We do believe this may be the very last layer between us and interstellar space," said chief scientist Ed Stone of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the spacecraft.  

Voyager 1 is on track to become the first manmade object to exit the solar system. Exactly when that day will come is unknown, partly because there's no precedent.  Stone estimated Voyager 1 still has two to three years to travel before reaching the boundary that separates the solar system from the rest of space.  Though the cameras aboard the nuclear-powered Voyager 1 has long been turned off, the probe has enough power to operate the other instruments until around 2020.   (Associated Press)

NASA placed a message aboard Voyager 1  intended to communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials. 

The Voyager message is carried by a phonograph record-a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth.  The disk includes 115 images and a variety of natural sounds, such as those made by surf, wind and thunder, birds, whales, and other animals. To this they added musical selections from different cultures and eras, and spoken greetings from Earth-people in fifty-five languages.  Each record is encased in a protective aluminum jacket, together with a cartridge and a needle. Instructions, in symbolic language, explain the origin of the spacecraft and indicate how the record is to be played.   (NASA)

Every so often an event of epic proportion isn’t the top item in the news.  The space probe Voyager 1 is one of those under reported items in yesterday’s news.  NASA has certainly hit a home run with the Voyager probes and it is almost beyond imagination that Voyager 1 is 11 billion miles away, still racing toward unknown space.  How far will it go?  How long will it live?  What sights will it pass?  Will it be found by any other life form?  One can only imagine.  Just one day more... 

ABUSE OF AUTHORITY

Sometimes when something of little consequence happens it sticks in your mind.  About three weeks ago I was driving about 15 miles from home in a 60 mph zone when a car came up behind at a high rate of speed.  As it followed me for about a mile I could see it was a marked law enforcement car with three guys, two in civilian clothes.  It was obvious they weren’t on a call since they appeared to be having a good time yakking.  They then passed me and continued at a high speed.

When you live in a rural area you know what all the law enforcement vehicles look like and I could tell they weren’t from this area.  Intrigued, I decided to see how fast they were going and they maintained a speed of 80 - 85 mph.  As we were clipping along at 80 mph I was hoping either a sheriff’s cruiser or state patrol would happen by from the other direction with radar.  But, no such luck and in a matter of about 10 minutes we reached our driveway where I turned off.

As I followed this car it bothered me that this guy would abuse his authority, so when I got home I phoned the sheriff’s department 12 miles up the road and gave them the information, including the plate number.  Within 15 minutes they called me back and told me that one of their officers contacted the driver of the vehicle at the local gas station.  Before their deputy could even get outside of town, the vehicle made it to town.  Obviously he had continued his high speed driving.  They told me that it was the sheriff from a county in north central Nebraska on his way to Kansas to pick up a prisoner.  His excuse was that he didn’t realize that he was going that fast.  Bunk.  I would bet he drove 80 mph or better since he left on the trip.

The next day I decided someone needed to know, so I called the county attorney where this sheriff was from.  He told me there wasn’t anything he could do about it since the sheriff was an elected official.  I got the same answer from the chairman of their county board.  I also contacted the state patrol and was told that there was nothing they could do since they didn’t observe it.  So, the end result is that nothing could be done.

During the 1970’s I was in law enforcement as a police officer, sheriff’s deputy and state investigator.  I understand the demands of the job, but the arrogance of this sheriff is inexcusable.  What is even more inexcusable is that there is no recourse when they break the same laws that all others would be arrested for.  Just one day more...