RANT: Energy Policy MIA

Friday, April 13, 2012

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/t-boone-pickens-were-the-only-country-in-the-world-without-an-energy-policy/

Business T. Boone Pickens: ‘We’re The Only Country in The World Without an Energy Policy’
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 9:40pm by Becket Adams

*** begin quote ***

While appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens dished on everything from energy policy, to natural gas, to “green” jobs. But it was when “Morning Joe” guest Mike Barnicle asked Pickens what he would do differently to boost the economy via the energy industry, the oilman had some depressing news.

“If I was president, I’d get an energy policy for America. We’re the only country in the world without an energy policy and you use 25 percent of the oil. We’re insane,” Pickens said. “And we have resources in America that we could have an energy policy.”

But what about energy independence?

*** end quote ***

Every President campaigns on it! It gives them somethign to talk about. They don’t have ANY plan to od anything. But it’s great to talk about it!

Argh!

So why bother.

It’s a strategic area. If we drilled in ANWAR, a bunch of Arabs who have a lot less wealth to make trouble for us.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Apr-12 @ 22:28

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RANT: PAYTRUST has a cumbersome new account authorization process

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Wanted to add a new checking account to PAYTRUST.

(PAYTRUST is a “recommended” pay-for service. Not cheap and very “risky”, but very valuable. But not without its warts, odors, and frustrations. Not the least of which is “support” tends to be “pig headed”. But if you’re persistent, you can break thru.)

So first you have to enter all the data. THEN, they tell you that you have to send a copy of your DL and a void check.

(1) WART: NJ’s DL is tough to copy. It’s pink lettering on a rose color background. I can barely read it. Had to play with the Office Jet’s settings to get something. I think it’s readable, wi’ll see what PAYTRUST thinks.

(2) ODOR: PAYTRUST should describe ALL the steps in getting a new account working.

(3) FRUSTRATING: Other than normal operations, “every thing else” seems like a pain in the <synonym for donkey>?

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RANT: NBC with its thumb on the scales

Saturday, April 7, 2012

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/nbc-issues-apology-on-
zimmerman-tape-screw-up/2012/04/03/gIQA8m5jtS_blog.html

NBC issues apology on Zimmerman tape screw-up – Erik Wemple – The Washington Post

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This is a complete screw up. I wouldn’t trust NBC with my news needs.

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RANT: Buchanan’s “It’s all about race now” is on target for as far as it goes

Saturday, March 31, 2012

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=50546

It’s all about race now
by Patrick J. Buchanan
03/30/2012

*** begin quote ***

If it had been a white teenager who was shot, and a 28-year-old black guy who shot him, the black guy would have been arrested.

So assert those demanding the arrest of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin.

And they may be right.

Yet if Trayvon had been shot dead by a black neighborhood watch volunteer, Jesse Jackson would not have been in a pulpit in Sanford, Fla., howling that he had been “murdered and martyred.”

*** and ***

For all the abuse he has received, Geraldo Rivera had a point.

Whenever cable TV runs hidden-camera footage of a liquor or convenience store being held up and someone behind the counter being shot, the perp is often a black male wearing a hoodie.

Listening to the heated rhetoric coming from demonstrations around the country, from the Black Caucus and TV talkers — about how America is a terrifying place for young black males to grow up in because of the constant danger from white vigilantes — one wonders what country of the mind these people are living in.

The real America is a country where the black crime rate is seven times as high as the white rate. It is a country where white criminals choose black victims in 3 percent of their crimes, but black criminals choose white victims in 45 percent of their crimes.

*** and ***

Some Sanford police believed Zimmerman; others did not.

But now that it is being investigated by a special prosecutor, the FBI, the Justice Department and a coming grand jury, what is the purpose of this venomous portrayal of George Zimmerman?

As yet convicted of no crime, he is being crucified in the arena of public opinion as a hate-crime monster and murderer.

Is this our idea of justice?

No. But if the purpose here is to turn this into a national black-white face-off, instead of a mutual search for truth and justice, it is succeeding marvelously well.

*** end quote ***

I hope we can get back to the search for “truth and justice”.

Which will probably land us in the middle somewhere. Like the victim was no angel, but probably innocent. And the shooter may have gone over the line by not stopping his pursuit quickly enough, but probably innocent.

And, both “sides” of the issue need to turn down the volume and turn up the understanding.

I think a lot of this tracks back to the “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs” and the Federal welfare destroying the Black Family and the Black Churches. And, as usual in this blog reflecting a fat old white guy injineer’s opinion, the trouble is with the Gooferment.

Dona Nobis Pacem!

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TECHNOLOGY: APPSTORE concept is fraught with risk

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

No secret I bought the IPAD3 to replace my IPAD1.

It’s a disaster.

The reason?

The “appstore” concept.

With the IPAD3, you are forced to move from MOBILEME to ICLOUD.

Back in the old days, my Apple Id was “reinkefj”. Now that’s not allowed, it has to be an email address for “security purposes”.

“barbara streisand”!

(Haven’t heard ANY explanation of that claim. Nor any Press challenge of it.)

ICLOUD requires LION.

And, even then I can’t recover what was purchased on “REINKEFJ”. (Some was pay and some were free apps that have since gone pay.)

Argh!

I like the “old days” when I got a disk to install. When and where I wanted to.

Even Microsoft’s lame “activation” and “fraud detection” forced me to move from Microsloth to Apple.

And, here comes the same nonsense.

Argh!

Forewarned is forearmed. This is yet another attempt to make you pay again for what you’ve already bought.

I’m unhappy with the whole trend of our industry.

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RANT: BHO44 promises reduction after election in blunder

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-russia-after-my-election-i-have-more-flexibility_634473.html

Obama to Russia: ‘After My Election I Have More Flexibility’
8:01 AM, Mar 26, 2012 • By DANIEL HALPER

*** begin quote ***

President Obama got caught in private conversation with a hot mic today in Seoul, South Korea, telling outgoing Russian president Dmitry Medvedev that Vladimir Putin should give him more “space” and that “[a]fter my election I have more flexibility.”

President Obama: “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space.”

President Medvedev: “Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you…”

President Obama: “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.”

President Medvedev: “I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir, and I stand with you.”

*** end quote ***

Well, that sums up the problem of “second term” presidents.

They can do almost anything!

Some would call this treason.

I’d call it a “sell out”!

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RANT: Meme update “the net never forgets unless you’re in the elite”

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/why-is-the-story-about-malia-obama-vacationing-in-mexico-disappearing-from-the-web/

Politics Why Is the Story About Malia Obama Vacationing in Mexico Disappearing from the Web?
Posted on March 19, 2012 at 5:45pm by Erica Ritz

*** begin quote ***

Buzzfeed is now reporting that it is a “long tradition” not to report on presidential kids’ vacation plans, citing this as the possible reason for the many unexplained retractions.

If this is the case, it still raises questions as to why Malia was allowed to vacation in a country that the State Department recommends no American travels to.

Neither AFP nor the White House responded to Buzzfeed’s request for comment.

*** end quote ***

This is interesting.

So what it means is that we can NOT depend upon the Web as a source of truth.

Not that I would.

But the old canard that “the net never forgets” has to be updated to “the net never forgets unless you’re in the elite”.

“Re-writing history”? Isn’t that something George Orwell wrote about?

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

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RANT: Mangled flags

Monday, March 19, 2012

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/star-mangled-banner-wait-until-you-see-the-decrepit-flag-flying-over-a-harlem-school/

‘Star-Mangled Banner’: Wait Until You See the Decrepit Flag Flying Over a Harlem School
Posted on March 19, 2012 at 9:02am
by Jonathon M. Seidl

*** begin quote ***

Given Villaverde’s outrage over the tattered flag hanging high above PS 28 for all to see, you would think the school would have done all it could to replace the eyesore, if not out of respect then for aesthetics. But not so. Even though the school’s principal quickly responded to Villaverde and said “We didn’t mean to be disrespectful” and pledged to fix it, the flag apparently still remains.

“Not only is it not supposed to be up in that condition, but it’s supposed to be disposed of in a respectful way,” he told the Post, which noted the flag is not illuminated at night, which is required for those who do not take the flag down every day.

His repeated calls to the city’s all-purpose hotline, 311, have also yielded no results. And when he contacted the Department of Education, it told him the issue was the local janitor’s problem.

That itself seems to point to a larger problem, however.

*** end quote ***

If Vets don’t take action, who will?

Certainly not politicians or bureaucrats.

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Mar-19 @ 09:07

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RANT: Real Issues

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150612033023435

Let’s Talk About the Real Issues, Mr. President
by Sarah Palin on Monday, March 12, 2012 at 9:41pm

*** begin quote ***

Just off the top of my head, a few of these concerning issues include: a debt crisis that has us hurtling towards a Greek-style collapse, entitlement programs going bankrupt, a credit downgrade for the first time in our history, a government takeover of the health care industry that makes care more expensive and puts a rationing panel of faceless bureaucrats between you and your doctor (aka a “death panel”), $4 and $5 gas at the pump exacerbated by an anti-drilling agenda that rejects good paying energy sector jobs and makes us more dependent on dangerous foreign regimes, a war in Afghanistan that seems unfocused and unending, a global presidential apology tour that’s made us look feeble and ridiculous, a housing market in the tank, the longest streak of high unemployment since World War II, private-sector job creators and industry strangled by burdensome regulations and an out-of-control Obama EPA, an attack on the Constitutional protection of religious liberty, an attack on private industry in right-to-work states, crony capitalism run amok in an administration in bed with their favored cronies to the detriment of genuine free market capitalism, green energy pay-to-play kickbacks to Obama campaign donors, and a Justice Department still stonewalling on a bungled operation that armed violent Mexican drug lords and led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent people.

*** end quote ***

Gotta like how she hits the bottom line!

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RANT: RUSH ain’t the devil

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

FROM FACEBOOK:

On the Rush controversy

*** begin my quote ***

She was a trap, that Rush blundered into voluntarily, in that. (1) she is not some 22 year old young gal stretching her wings (she may be on mars but she deserves the respect that I would, and my fellow alums, would accord any female who was ever capable of bearing my children.) (2) she is a committed leftist democrat who has drunk the kool aide! (3) she is not some innocent who stepped in the middle of a firefight. She is NOT what she appears to be. Imho!

*** end quote ***

THAT GOT A RESPONSE

*** begin quote ***

You give the left way too much credit. Rush has been a misogynist for years. Three days of a tirade was not a slip of the tongue. Rush used to be funny now he nothing but a racist blowhard.

*** end quote ***

It was just a question of who would “step in it first”. It was so obviously staged with outrageous estimates, that when I first read about her “testimony”, on one of the sites I follow, I thought: “What the <synonym for the act of procreation>!” “Secular Progressives” are smart and sly. Don’t underestimate them and their 50 year long world view.

When Rush was first on, I listened all the time. But I turned away because, imho, while correct on the “welfare state”, he was wrong about the “warfare” state. Us little L libertarians are all for defense. From time to time, I check back in. I don’t find him as bad as say Bill Mayer. (Who I think is just nasty and crude.)

I don’t find any of these folks as bad as the KKK. They’re “shock jocks” trying to proke interest to sell ads. Every so often they cross a line, but it’s to be expected. Like gong, makign noise, signifying nothing.

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RANT; Marine Seeks to Adopt Military Dog

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Marine Seeks to Adopt Military Dog: “”

(Via .)

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Yeah, I posted a comment on the White House dot gov site to support this vet and the dog.

President pardons “turkeys”. Both the kind with wings and the one’s that raise money too. How about someone who deserves it?

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Mar-11 @ 00:09

 

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RANT: Targeted Killing of U.S. Citizens?

Saturday, March 10, 2012

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/03/08/why-did-fbi-director-robert-mueller-hesitate-to-answer-
question-on-the-targeted-killing-of-u-s-citizens/

March 8, 2012
Why Did FBI Director Robert Mueller Hesitate to Answer Question on the Targeted Killing of U.S. Citizens?

*** begin quote ***

FBI Director Robert Mueller told House lawmakers on Wednesday that he would have to go back and check with the Department of Justice on whether Attorney General Eric Holder’s justification for the targeted killing of Americans overseas also applied to Americans inside the U.S.

Earlier on Studio B, Judge Andrew Napolitano weighed in, saying, “It’s not a question that we should have to ask and its not a question that he should’ve evaded answering.” Napolitano thinks Mueller knows the answer is no, but thinks he didn’t say that because he doesn’t want to frustrate his bosses who said yes a few days earlier.

“The Constitution says if the government wants your life, or your liberty or your property, it has to articulate to a jury what law you have violated and prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt to that jury. It’s called due process. Without due process, the government could take anything it wanted and kill anyone it wanted. Attorney General Holder ought to know that, and I suggest that Bob Mueller does and the reason he evaded that answer is because he wants to keep his job.”

*** end quote ***

Doens’t anyone else think that there is a lot wrong in the “Justice” department?

Shouldn’t America be that “shining city on the hill”?

How far we have fallen from the ideals of the Dead Old White Guys?

Argh!

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RANT: ‘Pink Slime’ for your kids?

Friday, March 9, 2012

[TIP ‘o’ the HAT to: Mike Elgan Weekly]

US government buys 7 million pounds of ‘pink slime’ for America’s children. Pink slime is when th…
Mar 07, 2012 10:05 pm

US government buys 7 million pounds of ‘pink slime’ for America’s children.

*** begin quote ***

Pink slime is when they take all the cow parts left over after everything usable has been removed from a cow, grind it up, sterilize it with ammonium hydroxide (which may not work), then shape it into burgers and other food-like products.

Pink slime is so nasty and controversial even McDonald’s, Burger King and Taco Bell have stopped using it. But a new report says the US government is buying 7 million pounds of it to feed to America’s school children.

*** end quote ***

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/pink-slime-in-school-lunches-government
-is-buying-7-million-pounds-worth/2012/03/07/gIQAKIzRxR_blog.html

 

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Argh!

Everyone who reads my stuff or talk to me knows that I think the Gooferment is the problem.

Anyone doubt that is true after reading this story.

Can there be any redeeming value in “pink slime”?

Sure, if some private company wants to risk their own money to provide a budget product and consumers buy it, then there’s the value.

Unfortunately, when the Gooferment buys you a steak, pink slime is what you get.

Separation of Gooferment from EVERYTHING!

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RANT: Fluke was a head fake away from the military retiree’s benefit costs

Thursday, March 8, 2012

http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2012/03/tale-of-two-hearings.html

Monday, March 05, 2012
A Tale of Two Hearings

*** begin quote ***

Never mind that Ms. Fluke’s claims are demonstrably false. There are plenty of places where a struggling college students can obtain contraception, some within a few minutes of the Georgetown campus. And, there’s the little matter of how much protection a student needs and how much it costs (assuming they don’t want to go the “free” route). A month’s supply of generic birth control pills can be purchased at Wal-Mart for $4. Total cost for three years at Georgetown: $144.

Or, if a student prefers condoms, they’re readily available and affordable as well. In fact, the “contraception cost” cited by Ms. Fluke could cover a swingin’ weekend at the Kennedy compound, or for mere mortals, enough protection for five sexual encounters a day for three years (emphasis ours). We’ve heard that law profs try to “bore their students to death” during year three; looks like Ms. Fluke (and her fellow students) have found a new way to beat the boredom during their final semester at good ol’ Georgetown.
But that isn’t the real irony of Ms. Fluke and her contraception plight. That was provided in another hearing room, on another subject, military health care. While the MSM media was atwitter over Ms. Fluke, they largely ignored the latest revelations on healthcare fees for military retirees. Appearing before the House Budget Committee, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta affirmed that out-of-pocket costs for TriCare (the health plan covering military dependents and retirees) will continue to rise.

Just how much? According to California Congressman Buck McKeon, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, some military retirees will see their TriCare fees increase by as much as 345%. Supporters of the fee hike note that TriCare went more than 15 years without an increase. Critics note that the average military retiree leaves the service as an E-6, with a monthy pension of roughly $1600 (after taxes). While the revised system will be means tested (so higher-ranking retirees pay more), any increase will have a major impact on service members who retire at lower grades.

Of course, that means little to members of Congress (most of whom never served in the armed forces), or the Obama Administration, which is equally lacking in military experience. They have no problem in raising health care fees for military retirees and dependents, while pushing for free, unlimited contraception for those young-skulls-full-of-mush on campus.

Did we mention that the retirees actually earned their benefits, through decades of service and sacrifice? Or that they were promised free, on-base healthcare for life at the time of their enlistment? But then again, retired military members aren’t viewed as a crucial “swing” voting block in this year’s presidential election.

*** end quote ***

Argh!

Once again, “We, The Sheeple” fail to keep our eye on the ball. In this case, military retirees and their problems.

I’m sure the congresscritters won’t have any trouble with their benefits.

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RANT: What happened to “I AM WOMAN. HEAR ME ROAR”?

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

http://haemet.blogivists.com/2012/03/05/you-demand-i-buy-your-birth-control-but-
you-don%E2%80%99t-even-require-your-dates-to-buy-you-dinner-before-using-it-discuss/

You demand I buy your birth control, but you don’t even require your dates to buy you dinner before using it.
by Roxeanne de Luca at March 5, 2012 in Liberalism

*** begin quote ***

I have been beating the “young women of the world, have you all lost your minds?” drum for quite some time here at Haemet.  And I will continue to do so.  According to Fluke and the other lefties, the plight of women is so dire that they are left pleading before Congress to pay for the condoms and Pills that their lame-ass sex partners won’t pay for.  Could we humiliate young women any more?

*** end quote ***

We’ve already covered that the “23 old L3 young girl” is not what she appears to be. More “trojan horse”; than “poor student”.

Now let’s pick up this fellow good, but very crudely put, point.

Where is the pride? The self-reliance? The strength?

My paternal grandmother: married at ~13 on the docks in Germany, came steerage to the US, traveled the Oregon Trail, bore 16 children – three died in childbirth, her husband died in a construction accident while she was pregnant with her last — my Dad. Raised them all. I can only imagine what she’d say today about these whiney woman. “Pay for me to have sex.” Or even worse, “I’m powerless to control myself.” She’d have her infamous peach switch out in a heartbeat.

One advantage that the USA has over most of the rest of the world is that they oppress the female population. Barefoot and pregnant thinking. We, OTOH, have women that are powerhouses. Create wealth, Preform Bravely, and add immeasurably to the Commonweal. Not in the socialistic sense, but in that the fruits of their labor enrich everyone.

Let’s just take a quick look — Margaret Thatcher, Mother Teresa, Princess Diana, Madame Curie, Oprah, and on and on.

One of the appeals of Taylor Swift is that she empowers young girls. One of her videos shows here competing with a boy head to head in class. And, she wins. Unabashedly proud. She’s what we want more of. Fair competition makes everyone better.

We need all hands on deck for these struggles.

This “testimony” in front of Congress was so “disempowering” as to be embarrassing.

I have been helped, and helped others, many times in my life. But I can’t ever imagine begging for a handout for a recreational activity.

It disgusts me and it’s an insult to women everywhere. And, it’s an insult to the taxpayers.

I could understand a sick kid testifying that she like R&D into her condition as opposed to welfare / warfare items.

But this is unbelievable.

This is the biggest problem that the USA faces?

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RANT: Fluke, A Fake?

Monday, March 5, 2012

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/sandra-fluke-a-fake-victim-of-georgetowns-policy-on-contraceptives/

Faith Sandra Fluke: A Fake Victim of Georgetown’s Policy on Contraceptives?
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:00pm by Mytheos Holt

*** begin quote ***

But what if she not only decided to attend the university anyway, but decided to attend specifically so she could fight this battle? Consider this passage from an early Washington Post story done on Fluke before she was permitted to testify:

Fluke came to Georgetown University interested in contraceptive coverage: She researched the Jesuit college’s health plans for students before enrolling, and found that birth control was not included. “I decided I was absolutely not willing to compromise the quality of my education in exchange for my health care,” says Fluke, who has spent the past three years lobbying the administration to change its policy on the issue. The issue got the university president’s office last spring, where Georgetown declined to change its policy.

Fluke says she would have used the hearing to talk about the students at Georgetown that don’t have birth control covered, and what that’s meant for them. “I wanted to be able to share their stories,” she says. “My testimony would have been about women who have been affected by their policy, who have medical needs and have suffered dire consequences.. . .The committee did not get to hear real stories I had to share, about actual women who have been dramatically affected by this policy.”

*** end quote ***

So all this nonsense is a setup?

She’s not 23; 30.

She’s an activist.

And, did she enroll to cause this?

Cui bono.

If I was an investigative reporter, then I’d ask was she paid to do this.

So many questions; I’ll have to adjust my tin foil hat to get better reception on this issue.

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RANT: Email option isn’t an option

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

–Original Message–Date; 2/24/2012 2;33;22 PMSubject; When will I get my first pension check?I turned 65 on 1/13/12. It’s says retire 2/1/12/.So where is the check?fjohnp.s., the secondary authentication questions are an invitation to identity theft.

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Pretty straight forward. I hate having phone sex with automated agents. Especially when a human (somewhere in the world) answers the phone and asks me my name.

So this is what I get back. Not so quickly. (I’m thinking auto-responder to clear away old email.)

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To FERDINAND J REINKE JRFrom Credit Suisse Benefits Service CenterDate 02-24-2012 12:00 a.m. Central Standard TimeSubject Re; When will I get my first pension check?Our Response Hello from Your Benefits Resources [TM].

Ferdinand,
Please call the Credit Suisse Benefits Service Center and request to speak with a pension representative. Benefits Service Center Representatives are available by calling 1-888-325-2732 between 9;00 a.m. to 5;00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday excluding holidays.
Thank you for using Your Benefits Resources.

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So why bother with email.

So, I call. Nothing I love better than phone sex.

Six minutes of Q&A and holding.

“Name”!

ARRRRrrrrrgggghhhhhh!

Then the lady wants my computer password.

Argh!

And, she’s upset when it’s a 24 character random string.

(What stupidity is this? Why should I share my shared secret with another human being? I’d have never permitted it when I was their VP Info Sec.)

Lots of checking.

I’m getting a double check in March.

BUT, (and there is always a BIG butt), no apology or explanation of why.

SO who gets the interest for that month. You screw every retiree and I bet it adds up.

Argh!

If I had time, I’d get a Gooferment bureaucrat involved.

Argh!

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RANT: Secondary authentication questions are an invitation to identity theft

Friday, February 24, 2012

FORCED BY A “HUMAN RESOURCE” SYSTEM TO ANSWER:

*** begin quote ***

What’s your father’s middle name?

What’s your spouse’s middle name?

What’s your first child’s middle name?

What was your grandfather’s occupation?

What was the name of the first car you drove?

*** end quote ***

Of course, everyone knows or can find out the answers to these questions.

To save the identity theives time and trouble, the answers are:

bkd7ce5bw9d3

tm7d59c8zyyj

4w2uqfr77vyn

uqfz2rq2tyjv

w84p6ze8u22s

Yes that “w84 p6z e8u 22s” was some little car.

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Anyone see the LIFELOCK commercial where the identity thief steals your money by knowing Mother’s Maiden Name and some other factoid?

Yeah, you can guess how well that works.

When at the bank and they asked that question, I whipped out my sheet of one time passwords and with a straight face told the nice lady “dpdes5 mkkey9”. And, she said: “Seriously?” I quipped: “Yes, she was Armenian.” And, that ended that conversation.

Now when I go to the bank she asks how “dp” is. I say: “Fine”.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Feb-24 @ 14:35

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RANT: BHO44 is stuck with the “gas price” crisis!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Richard Billies: “Barack Obama Claims It Wasn’t Me that caused higher gas prices, it was the other guys: http://t.co/aeCiCY7X Retweet it if you like it.”

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He did the following:

(1) Drilling in the Gulf? (But we give money to Brazil to do it!)

(2) No or slow oil leases.

(3) ANWAR off-limits.

(4) Keystone pipeline

What he could do today?

(a) Preempt all the “blends of gas” nonsense with a sweeping Federal regulation.

(b) Gas tax relief paid for by tariff.

(c) Tariff on gas exports.

(d) Open ANWAR and the Gulf

(e) Sic the IRS on the Oil Companies

(f) Have every Gooferment department come up with a real 1% cut.

(g) …

Guess that’s enough for the first day.

Argh!

He’s hung with this millstone.

He might want to think about calming the Middle East as opposed to appeasing the crazies.

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RANT: Triple the tax

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204880404577225493025537660.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

REVIEW & OUTLOOK    FEBRUARY 22, 2012
Obama’s Dividend Assault
A plan to triple the tax rate would hurt all shareholders.

*** begin quote ***

President Obama’s 2013 budget is the gift that keeps on giving—to government. One buried surprise is his proposal to triple the tax rate on corporate dividends, which believe it or not is higher than in his previous budgets.

Mr. Obama is proposing to raise the dividend tax rate to the higher personal income tax rate of 39.6% that will kick in next year. Add in the planned phase-out of deductions and exemptions, and the rate hits 41%. Then add the 3.8% investment tax surcharge in ObamaCare, and the new dividend tax rate in 2013 would be 44.8%—nearly three times today’s 15% rate.

Keep in mind that dividends are paid to shareholders only after the corporation pays taxes on its profits. So assuming a maximum 35% corporate tax rate and a 44.8% dividend tax, the total tax on corporate earnings passed through as dividends would be 64.1%.

*** end quote ***

So instead of reducing the corporate tax and the dividend tax, BHO44 is increasing it.

How stupid!

This election will be critical.

Reelect and we are so <synonym for the past tense of the procreation act.> Even the worst R, won’t follow through on these tax increases.

Why should a corporation be an “American” company?

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RANT: Child support – pro and con

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/01/26/exposing-the-child-support-myth

Thursday, January 26th, 2012
Posted by Jere Beery
Exposing the Child Support Myth

*** begin quote ***

Last weekend I was standing in the checkout line at our local Wal-Mart when I overheard a conversation between the cashier and a customer. The two women obviously knew one another and began talking like they were very good friends. The Cashier asked the customer if they were going to the Jason Aldean concert that upcoming weekend. The customer replied that they had just received “their” child support check and that “they” were going to use that money to purchase the tickets, get their hair done, and pay for a sitter. This conversation got me to thinking, how much of child support payments truely directly benefit the child?

*** end quote ***

Mixed reaction to this.

On the one hand, the cited anecdote is terrible. But the other side of the coin, seeing abandoned broke families deserted by the fathers living in shelters, makes me wonder.

The Gooferment is a big problem in this whole area.

They give the women support orders that are unenforceable. I’d have the Gooferment give the money to the spouse with the children regardless of sex and take upon itself the need to collect it. Think the IRS going after “child support”.

It’s like the Gooferment’s Courts giving battered spouses an “order of protection”. Worthless. Give them a gun and “hunting license” (i.e., if they defend themselves, they are presumed innocent).

Private charity is better than Gooferment welfare. More intelligent. More flexible.

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RANT: Anyone remember the 19 Americans hostage in Egypt

Monday, February 20, 2012

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/02/10/the-brewing-egyptian-hostage-crisis/

The Brewing Egyptian Hostage Crisis
Posted by Alan W. Dowd  on Feb 10th, 2012

*** begin quote ***

Nineteen American citizens working for well-known and well-established nonprofit groups are being held on trumped-up charges that they tried to destabilize Egypt. Their offices were raided in late December, some are holed up in the U.S. embassy and all of them have been barred from flying out of Egypt. As Time magazine notes, December is significant. December is when Congress passed a number of conditions for aid to the Egyptian military, including proving a “commitment to Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, progress toward democratic reforms, and the protection of free expression, association and religion.” Not only are the last two of those conditions not being met by Egypt, but Time adds that Cairo’s case against the Americans is “propagated by the military-led regime.”

*** end quote ***

Never hear anything about this?

Remember Jimmy Carter?

See any similarities?

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RANT: Flash Editorials February 18, 2012, by Russell D. Longcore

Monday, February 20, 2012

Flash Editorials February 18, 2012, by Russell D. Longcore:

“Entertainment: Have you ever had someone in your life that was an addict? You watch this amazing person self-destruct and you are powerless to stop it. Meanwhile, it tears out your heart and messes up your life. Whitney Houston landed on this earth with stunning beauty, immense singing talent and a heart filled with love. She just could not seem to love herself. I will miss her. “

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Well said.

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Feb-20 @ 16:03

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RANT: Boston Red Sox owners in a racial mess

Thursday, February 16, 2012

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Boston-Red-Sox-owners-have-a-big-problem—-racism-139431293.html

Boston Red Sox owners have a big problem — racism
Liverpool’s American owner now has some big decisions to make
By PAUL LARKIN, IrishCentral Contributing Writer
Published Thursday, February 16, 2012, 7:49 AM
Updated Thursday, February 16, 2012, 10:17 AM

*** begin quote ***

The Guardian reports that the banking group Standard Chartered, which pays £20m a year for having its name on the Liverpool kit made strong representations to the club after the game expressing its extreme displeasure at the way its image was being dragged through the mud.

The banking group, which has a high profile in Africa and the Middle East then took the unprecedented step of issuing a public statement effectively condemning the club it sponsors:  “We were very disappointed by Saturday’s incident and have discussed our concerns with the club,” John W Henry, and chairman, Tom Werner, are scheduled to visit Liverpool next week  for commercial and sponsorship reasons but it is now unthinkable that they will decline to issue a statement about the racism displayed by one of their own high profile employees and the tenacious support that was shown to that employee by a club they own.

Many Irish people are asking whether things would ever been allowed to go so far if a Red Sox player had behaved the same way.

*** end quote ***

I don’t know why, serendipity maybe, but I watched the very exciting game —  Manchester United versus Liverpool — and saw the refused handshake. At the time, I thought “Wow, their athletes are as big an <an anal opening surrounded by a sphincter> as ‘ours’!”

I didn’t realize the US connection.

I’m sure the corporate sponsor will clear this up in minutes. I can here it now: “Why don’t you pick up your check on your way out. And, don’t let the door hit you in the <synonym for donkey> as you leave.”

It was a good game. Drama equivalent to our standard fare.

Of course, the controversy intruded into a good product.

I also watched the Australian version of their baseball World Series. It to was good; not controversy.

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Feb-16 @ 12:32  Boston Red Sox owners

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RANT: CSFB stupid “security theater”

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

OBVIOUS STUPIDITY!

Call up to find out where my pension check is.

Called, went through all the automated questions, and then the operator comes on after a short wait and asks me for my password.

What password?

(Ignores the concept that a “password” is a shared secret. If I knew and told her, then it’s no longer a secret. And, a static password! Please. Even Google two factor authentication is better.)

So we can do anything without them mailing me a new temporary password.

Now envision that I sent them in all my paperwork by certified mail and suggest that number as an authenticator. Or that they call me back. Or that they send me a fax or an email.

Argh!

And, who says that US Mail is secure, unless it’s sent certified mail. (We know they won’t do that because it costs more.)

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Feb-15 @ 13:32

 

 

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RANT: Cleaning the “housing” stable

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/02/a-modern-pecora-commission-could-right-wall-street-wrongs/

A modern Pecora Commission could right Wall Street wrongsEmail this post Print this post
By Barry Ritholtz – February 5th, 2012, 8:00AM

*** begin quote ***

• MERS: Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems was created by banks without any authority or enabling legislation. 
• Origination fraud: Why did lenders accept “stated income” loans? Why did they abandon traditional standards? 
• RMBS: Wall Street’s securitized mortgage pools (residential mortgage-backed securities) contained a broad variety of flaws, some so egregious that they amounted to fraud. 
• Insurance fraud: Look at a bank tactic in which legitimate home insurance is canceled and new insurance provided at a substantially higher fee through a subsidiary or affiliate of the bank mortgage holder. 
• “Pyramid” servicing fees: An illegal practice in which current payments are applied to past late fees, generating more late fees and additional interest owed and creating a delinquency where none existed. 
• Lost mortgage notes: How is it possible that the most important part of the mortgage contract — the promissory note — was consistently lost or misplaced by banks? 
•Document fraud for sale: There were many examples of alleged document fraud, but the one crying out for investigation involves Lender Processing Services’ DOCX subsidiary. 
•False affidavits, perjury (robo-signing): We do not know who ordered the robo-signing of foreclosure documents, the false notarizations, fraudulent written statements to courts and perjury. 
• Foreclosure mills, process servers: Law firms engaged in rampant fraud that corrupted the foreclosure process. 
• Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act: Federal law protects active-duty service members from foreclosure and eviction.

*** end quote ***

It would seem that these are easy to find, easy to investigate, and easy to get a conviction on.

As a notary, I’m insulted by most of these items.

There’s no excuse for prosecutors at all levels for them not doing their jobs!

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