Numbers are just numbers, till they come back and bite you in the butt.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/obama-overlooked-10-million-americans-could-lose-health-185034418.html

“It’s a different story in the market for individual policies, which are typically purchased by the self-employed, people who work for small companies that don’t offer insurance and others who don’t work. This is a small portion of the health-insurance market, which might explain why Obama and his advisers didn’t give it much thought at the outset. Only about 15 million Americans are insured through an individual policy, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, while 10 times as many — 150 million people — get health insurance through an employer. (Most other Americans either get coverage through a government program or go without.) White House spokesman Jay Carney has tried to downplay the cancellation flap by pointing out repeatedly that the individual market represents just 5% of Americans. “

Earlier this month when the ACA creakily rolled out, I pointed out that at least finally we would have actual hard data and facts about the whole thing instead of the greatly exaggerated and misused statistics that both sides of the coin have been trotting out for years. I made the point that despite what people love to think, statistics are just numbers and depending on them can lead to all sorts of problems. I was greatly derided by a lot of people who depend on those numbers as the “facts” they need to prove their argument. Well, Santa cam early and gave me a present that completely illustrates exactly what I meant when I said that.

So the big flap over past week or so is that 100s of thousands of people are receiving notices from their insurers that their policies are being canceled. Of course the large chunk of these policies are essentially Trash Policies that are little better than having no insurance at all. (Case in point one woman who had a policy where she paid $50.00 a month and her insurance paid $50.00 towards her doctors visits and $11.00 towards her medications and she paid everything else. Unless she was visiting the doctor more than one time a month, she was being ripped off.) Still the whys and wherefores of the insurance quality isn't the source of this little rant.

The WH and its advisers were well aware that there was a possibility that people could lose their insurance once the plan rolled out due to many plans not meeting minimum requirements under the ACA. They looked at the statistical data and saw that a mere 5% (Potentially 10% according to some sources.) could lose their insurance and be forced to buy much more expensive policies. They pondered it and decided that 5% out of 100% was pretty good odds and rolled on.

(As an aside here, I'd like to point out that the 5% represented here is the total number of Americans insured under individual policies, not the actual number who will lose coverage.)

Statistically speaking, the move makes sense. Your actions only affect 5% of a group so the idea seems solid enough to work. The overall numbers support your actions. Until you stop and look at the facts behind the numbers. Estimates by independent analysis sources show that as many as 10 million people could and probably will lose their insurance coverage under the ACA. Whether the policies they have are great policies or not, they can still lose them. Considering we are talking about an idea that was supposed to gather more people under the insurance banner, this seems a little bit dumb.

The WH and Democrats looked at the Statistics and went with the odds. On paper, the numbers supported their actions. Hells, from a purely statistical POV they still do. 95 out of a hundred isn't too bad a score. However, the Facts show that more thoughts and more planning was desperately needed for this to have any hope of working. 5% of people losing their insurance doesn't sound horrible, but 10 Million people losing their insurance sounds grim. Statistics are clean and neat, but the real world isn't anywhere near clean or neat. Numbers don't show the pain and suffering. Real people living real lives do.

End of Rant

The Ugly American Syndrome, Day 1: Say what you mean or suck it up!

Now everyone has heard stories of “The Ugly American.” Some ignorant Hick goes to some foreign country with absolutely no clue about the local customs, traditions and laws. He then proceeds to make a complete and utter Ass out of himself while managing to insult pretty much everyone he meets. An excellent example of this is a section of Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad book where he and his traveling companions drive a poor guide crazy with questions. Read the book because it is well worth the read.

Course, much like everything else in my rather odd life, my definition of the Ugly American is slightly different. For as long as I can remember, I have called it my “Ugly American” routine every time I had to break out a can of Whup Ass when people and places do not perform the services that they are supposed to perform. My Wife hates it because I have no shame in arguing and disputing people in public when I feel that someone isn't doing their durned jobs. I have actually been known to yell if the situation warranted it.

So for the next few days or so, I am going to go over some of the examples of when I whipped out the UA stick and why I felt it was justified. Hopefully it will give all of you a rare insight into exactly how my mind works (or doesn't work depending on your point of view.) Hope you guys enjoy the ride.

My first example is actually a recent one and is a prime example of how things can escalate when people don't want to admit their mistakes or try to correct them. I am a Diabetic and dependent on Insulin on a daily basis to help balance and manage my Blood Sugar levels. A few days before this event (2 days to be precise), I had gone to our new Pharmacy to get the disposable needle tips that fit on the end of my insulin pens. The Pharmacy misunderstood what I needed and filled the prescription for the insulin pens themselves. No big deal, simple mistake and didn't even rate a blip on the complaint radar (Complaindar?). The cashier rang up the order before I realized the mistake and gave me a price of $70.00. I told them the mistake and they corrected it and we moved on. Everything was both hunky and dorry.

So 2 days later, I go to purchase the actual insulin because my Wife's payday had arrived and we had the money to buy the insulin. Barely anyway because our money situation is really tight right now. I ask the Pharmacist to fill the prescription. Hitch one occurs when she informs me that I had already had the prescription filled and that no more refills were left. It turned out that they hadn't taken the “purchase” from two days before out of the system so it showed I had already gotten the medications. However, she fixed the hitch and they proceeded to fill the prescription while I picked up other much needed supplies.

So along comes Hitch the second. Once I have finished buying our other supplies, I return to pick up the insulin. When the cashier rings up the meds, I am told it will be $120.00, almost TWICE the price I was quoted before. I pointed out that the price was a lot more than what I was told a mere two days before and that I simply didn't have the extra cash. Now at this point the UA was still on a short leash. All I was looking for was an an apology for the mistake and some way to fix the problem of me being out of insulin. I wasn't looking for freebies or anything else except perhaps purchasing one of the three boxes of Pens until such time as we had the cash to buy the rest.

Instead of offering any apology for their mistake, both the cashier and the Pharmacist proceeded to essentially tell me that they hadn't quoted the earlier price and that I was basically lying about it all. That is when the UA broke loose on them. With strained civility, I informed them that they had indeed quoted me a price of $70.00 two days before and they had done it in front of a Witness (My Wife). I informed them that I was dangerously short on insulin and had to have the pens to keep my blood sugar under control. I was not so politely informed once again that I was basically lying and that there was nothing they could do.

(As an aside here, I want to add that most of the pharmacies I have done business with in the past were more than willing to sell me a third of the overall prescription to tide me over till such time as I had the money for the rest of it. While it would have annoyed me to pay $40.00 for a third of a prescription that was supposed to cost $70.00, I would have still paid it, grumbled a little and went on with my life.)

So I left the store without Insulin feeling extremely grumpy to put it mildly. When I got home, I fired off a letter to the Store Website informing them of what had happened AND that my wife and were contemplating taking both our grocery and pharmacy business elsewhere. I told them in great detail how rude and accusatory the employees were and how angry I was. We actually had the insulin prescription transferred to another store and filled the next day.

Three days later, I received a phone call from the Head Pharmacist of the store who profusely apologized for the behavior of his employees and informed me that there had been at least three different ways the problem could have been handled. He then offered a very kind deal that will save me a lot of money on my next 6 refills on Insulin, but he had won me over simply by saying, “We messed up. We should have handled it better and we apologize.” That was all I had been looking for when all of this started.

Being a Ugly American isn't about being unnecessarily rude or mean. It isn't about expecting something for nothing. It is about expecting people and places to do the jobs given to them. It is about getting, at the very least, the minimum amount of service from where ever you are. Somehow, a large number of places seem to have forgotten the concept that they are there to serve the public. Whether it is slinging burgers or selling food, they are dependent on the Public for their lively hood. Despite what a lot of people like to think, the customer ain't always right. However when they Are right and you are wrong, you have to step up and admit it.

End of Rant

Opinions are kind of like...nah I'm not gonna say it but everyone has one.

One of the things that I find annoying and funny at the same time is all of these people on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter who seem to think they are experts on a subject just because they can parrot back all of the excrement being shoveled at them through various sources. I am disturbed by all of the so-called Citizen Reporters funneling through the sewers of the Web who think that they are being objective when all they do is seek out like minded websites and sources that agree with their narrow ideas and then regurgitate it back to the public. Even more disturbing to me and indicative of exactly what is wrong with our country is the millions of people that read this tripe and consider it to be news.

Pick a subject you don't like. Anything from Obamacare to Llama Farming in Detroit will do. Then do a web search for “news” about your chosen dislike. I promise you that you will find dozens or more so called news pieces on the subject that support your viewpoint because odds are you are not the only one enraged over Llama poo in the Motor City. Odds are also pretty good that most of the sites you find are no more done by real reporters than I am a talented Tango Dancer. Still people latch onto these jokes instead of actually finding sites that carry facts and information because they agree with them.

And to me that is the main problem facing us today. No one wants the actual facts. Hardly anyone wants real hard data that can prove or disprove any controversial subject. They just want to hear things that reassure them that they are right and everyone else is wrong. When they discover any sort of data that can disprove what they believe, they promptly dismiss it as misinformation or even a conspiracy of some kind.

I have lost count of how many times I have seen people post crap on Facebook and other places that is supposedly news, but has no actual facts or data to back any of it up. Sorry folks but if you or the site you are quoting cannot or will not give corroborating evidence to support its claims then it isn't even remotely news. At best it is an opinion piece from a loud mouth with a blog (Points at self) and at worst it is regurgitated propaganda.

I always tell people to like or dislike any durned thing you want. Hells, you don't even have to have a logical reason for it. That is your right and Gods knows it is one I exercise on a fairly regular basis. However, your opinions are not facts and quoting the opinions of other people who agree with you doesn't make them facts. Quoting half truths and distortions over and over again does not make them facts, it just makes you look stupid.

Of course, this is still a free country (Well at least for the time being) so if you don't mind looking like a micro brained moron, please feel free to keep posting “News” stories about how Al Gore is using orbiting heat rays to fool people into believing Global Warming is real or How Ted Cruz is secretly the love child of Tickle Me Elmo and Miss Piggy. I need all the laughs I can get.

End of Rant

News From the Odder Side of Life

(Theme music plays as a logo of a rapidly spinning, but highly inaccurate globe of the earth floats around the screen being chased by PacMan. Camera focuses in on a middle aged man wearing a badly tailored pin striped suit and a Hedgehog on his balding scalp.)

“Hello everyone and welcome to Worst News Tonight. I'm your host, Ked Topple. Our special guest tonight is Reboobican Senator Fred Fused who is here to promote his new book (Holds up a spiral notebook with the figure of a demon drawn very badly in crayon.) The Liberal Brainwashing of America: How Agents of Satan have tried to push the Liberal Agenda for 50+ Years. Good Evening Senator and welcome to our show.”

(Camera swings around and focuses on a disheveled young man who is practically vibrating in his chair while sipping on his 18^th Vente Double Espresso. Dark circles under his eyes are baggy enough to hold enough clothes for a 2 week vacation.) “Thank you Ked and thank you for having me on the show. Sorry I was a little late showing up but I just came from my 15^th filibuster of the month where I sang opera for 39 hours to block the passage of the Snail Relocation Bill which would have allowed the Damnocrats to illegally ship Leftist Leaning Snails into Right Leaning States to influence policies there.”

(Topple nods, nearly dislodging the hedgehog.) “Sounds like very important work indeed, Senator so thank you for taking the time to be with us. (Holds up the book again.) So what can you tell us about your new book which I understand has already received 5 downloads from Amazon.com since it went on sale last week.”

(Fused drains the rest of his espresso and places a drinking hat on his head with 18 oz energy drinks in it.) “The Liberal Left has been working at an insane pace over the past 50 years to promote their distorted and one could even say Hellish ideas onto an unsuspecting public and they have done so in a way that everyone in the world has failed to notice except for me. By releasing seemingly innocuous television series, they use subliminal mind control to get people to support them. When this is added to the mind control agent, Fluoride in our water supplies, it has effectively rendered the entire country vulnerable to their evil plans.”

(Topple looks concerned and carefully adjusts the hedgehog so that its butt is pointed away from his nose.) “Can you give us some examples of this brainwashing technique?”

“Certainly, Broadcast history is filled with examples if one looks hard enough with open eyes. Shows that seem so innocent are revealed to be truly insidious when studied honestly.” (Fused reaches behind him and pulls over an iv bag filled with 10 Year Energy(tm) and jams the needle in to his arm.)

One of my best examples is the so-called classic TV series, Bonanza. On the surface it is just a show about life and adventure in the Old West, but look deeper. Three Men and their Chinese Man Servant living in the Deep Woods in a perfectly decorated and accessorized house without any women living there. They wore a lot of leather and played with ropes all the time. This was obviously an attempt to indoctrinate people into the Homosexual Leather/BDSM lifestyles and I won't even begin to go into all the saddles and bridles laying around. I seriously doubt they were for the horses.”

“Another good example of the Homosexual Agenda being pushed by Liberals was the aptly named series called the Odd Couple. I mean, really? Two men living together in a small apartment who constantly argued about cleaning and cooking?”

(Topple feeds the hedgehog a treat and then looks off screen.) Well Senator we are running out of time. Can you list one more example of the Liberal Attack. Perhaps one that doesn't include reference to Gay Men?”

“Certainly, believe it or not the Liberal Gay Mind Control movement isn't even the most insidious aspect of their plot. The real danger is the brainwashing that reinforces the Liberals hatred of the Rich and their need to create a total Nanny State. The comedy show Different Folks was a perfect example of this. A Rich and Powerful white man is ashamed of his wealth and status so he adopts the Poor and Destitute children of his Black Housekeeper and brings them into his home. Now this is obviously an attempt to control people into thinking that Rich is bad and Poor is good and that the Rich should take care of the poor.”

(Topple grunts as the hedgehog starts gnawing on his scalp.) Well, thank you very much, Senator and we appreciate you coming on the show. Join us next week when our guest will be Barely Heed of the Damnocrat Party who will tell us all about the new DC Reality TV Show, Bribing with the Hill. Till then, I am Ked Topple and Good Night.”

End of Rant

Evil Obama is girlifying the Marines!

http://shine.yahoo.com/fashion/proposed-marines-uniform-change-derided-8220-girly-8221-191000277.htm

Yessir, never let it be said that Americans don't worry about the truly important things. Trillions of dollars in debt, two wars still going on (Wait we “won” Iraq right?), A Health Care Rollout that has quickly become snarled traffic jam and so called leaders who couldn't agree that crap stinks are bad, but hey lets get mad about a hat.

Now unless you are the tea drinking pyscho in Wonderland or an Uppper Crust Social Maven, hats really aren't very important and certainly not controversial, but apparently to the New York Post, they strike a chord because the Post is making the ludicrous claim that Obama is trying to ruin the Marine Corp by making them wear “girly” caps or Covers to use the vernacular. Really, with all the messed up crap going on in the country, we got people griping about hats?

The saddest part of this, of course, is yet another claim that the POTUS is somehow trying to destroy/ruin America. The USMC is taking a survey of all its personel to determine if a change is needed to the current two sex style of Covers. This survey has absolutely nothing to do with the White House unless you count the fact that the POTUS is Commander in Chief. It is simply an internal questioning for possible changes to uniform style.

A few notes here before we move on. I actually like both styles although I lean a little more towards the modified Male Cover than the Modified Female cover just because I have always liked the classic Marine look. And anyone who thinks the modified female cover looks girly or sissified should really speak to members of the French Foreign Legion because it looks a lot like theirs and no one in their right mind would call them girly or sissies.

As Women enter more and more into combat areas traditionally reserved for Men, I see a solid need for a universal Cover. (Universal uniforms are still kind of iffy since Men have different body type parts than women.) If nothing else, it might save a few bucks here and there since with a universal Cover, you'd only have to worry about the size and shape of the head instead of “Okay how many men hats and how many girl hats?”

Of course, what this boils down to is the deep seated fear that so many men have of looking effeminate or girly. It is the same irrational fear that drives men to panic when their 8 year son likes pink and wants to play Barbie instead of GI Joe. Gods protect men from being anything less than testostorone driven machines of pure masculinity. There is also the creeping fear of women moving more and more into another “Boys Club” and the boys being forced to conform. Being “forced” (Keeping in mind that the people serving and who have served are being directly asked their input on this planned change.) to give up what many perceive of being a symbol of their manhood has got to sting.

The differences in uniform styles is a hold out to the age of Male Rule where women might have been allowed to serve in some limited way (WACS, WAVES and SPARS) but they still had to dress like women and had to let all of Guys do all the hard and dangerous work. Women have become more and more integral to our Armed Forces, but the Guys Club air and the oftentimes dramatic differences in uniform styles stay the same.

It is high time we stop fretting about who serves in what way and what they wear while doing. All that matters is that these brave men and women are willing to serve to protect us and keep us safe...r. My hat's off to them all. (Sorry couldn't resist.)

End of Rant

What is in a name? Well that is an excellent question!

Several times recently, I have been accused by some of my readers of being both a Democrat and a Liberal. (No TC this rant is not about you, sit back down and eat your pie.)  I find this accusations amusing and somewhat puzzling but have pondered exactly how to respond to such damning slander.

As I have often said, I do not consider myself a Democrat or Republican or Libertarian. I am neither Liberal or Conservative and probably not a Moderate either, but that last one is a little harder to judge so I'll leave it a maybe. I have always believed that the majority of problems the US has is because everyone hides behind their association's bulwarks (Well Bull something anyways) and toes the party line no matter how messed up the party or organization is.

The only way we can fix what is wrong with the US is to realize that the answers are found exclusively in the Liberal/Democrat camp or in the Conservative/Republican bus. The answers have to lie somewhere in between but not enough people are willing to meet half way to even try to work the problems out. These caricatures of politics is what prompted me and others to come up with insulting names like Damnocrats/Reboobicans/Liarberals/Cantservatives and Tea Beggars because so much of the DC power pile of poop are running gags of the Classic definitions of their parties. (Well except maybe for the Tea Party which is pretty much spot on.)

So how to describe me and my rather odd view of politics? I have been struggling to come up with a new term that describes the way I think politics should be handled. A tad of liberal mixed in with a smidgen of conservative swished around with a teensy bit of moderation just to make things a little less spicy and poof! Put that in the old oven for two hours at 450 degrees and you've got...?

So what to call myself? I have honestly no clue. The best I have come up with so far is either Conservable or Liberative. Neither of which really sing to me and my befuddled headparts. So I am putting the question to you, my multitude of readers. (Gads there is a lot of you now. I am rapidly becoming at risk of becoming famous.) You too can win fame and semi-fortune by coming up with the next big Political Barb.

The best suggestions will be shown here in the Blog and the winner will receive...well I will be grateful. Come on, folks! Hit me with your best shot!

End of Rant.

Scary Obamacare Scarred Me For Life.

"Tom Clark Was expecting a blog on the botched O-Care roll out, since you devoted so much time to the shutdown, which was considerably less significant. What's up with that?”

http://www.businessinsider.com/jon-stewart-obamacare-website-glitches-sign-up-daily-show-2013-10

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-4-obamacare-complaints-145344173.html

So never let it be said that I don't do requests. A good friend whom I have many stimulating discussions with over more subjects that I can even begin to remember asked the question displayed at the beginning of the blog. While ignoring his rather silly idea that a shutdown of our Fed and and near Default on our sovereign debt is not nearly as significant as the fact that a government designed and sponsored website has design and function issues, he does raise a valid point. I devoted THREE WEEKS of my life (Which I will never get back mind you) to talking about the major train wreck that was the Circus of Fools, so why haven't I made any comments about the ongoing train wreck that is the Electronic Enrollment for the ACA.

I have a few reasons for not covering the whole debacle. Some good and some not so good. My main reason is I do this column mostly just to entertain myself. Despite a rather extensive audience, I am in no way deluded into thinking my rants will do anything to change the world. My attempts at punditry is never meant to show some in depth knowledge of what I am ranting about. I do try to make myself at least somewhat aware of the facts of what I am speaking about, but I don't spend hours or days researching anything. I poke fun at people, ideas and policies for amusement and hope to amuse other people along the way.

Another reason is I generally rant about things when I feel there isn't any really good material out there already. I speak out when the only things available are so one sided that they are as far from the truth as you can get. As evidenced by the two links prepared, this is not the case with the ACA roll out. Everyone and their cousins are jumping in on this one. I personally think John Stewart's commentary is the best of the lot, but there are literally 1000s of other pieces from a wide variety of sources both Dem and Rep weighing in on this issue. I really didn't feel my two cents was needed. However, since I am here then I might as well toss in those two very worn pennies.

As I pointed out many many many blogs ago, ever since the PPACA, ACA, Obamacare was rolled out years ago, we have been overwhelmed with a whole bunch of “WHATIFS.” Positive ones from the Dems and Negative (One could even say Apocalyptic) ones from the Reps. One side would tout claims that the ACA would be so awesome that it would cure everything from the common cold to death and the other side screaming that Obamacare would bring the end of the world and force people to kill off Grandpa Ike to boil his remains down for soup. (Yummy Old People Soup!) Despite all of this, we had absolutely no actual facts to back any of this up, just a whole bunch of maybes and numbers.

Now that the ACA is in full swing (Snigger), we are actually starting to get a bunch of actual facts and hard data to look at and this is a good thing. Admittedly, since it has been less than a month, we don't have a LOT of facts but we are getting some in. Some of it looks good for the ACA and some of it looks bad.

Fact #1: Despite the overwhelming problems facing the system, the ACA is actually working. Thousands of people have used the Exchanges to sign up for insurance that they never had before. (Last number I saw had California nearing 10K alone.)

Fact B: The Federal Exchanges are royally screwed up! After three weeks, there are still more gremlins running around than a rainy night in Mogwi Town after midnight during an all you can eat buffet. Even though literally millions have attempted to sign up for insurance, they have been unable to do so and for all those who have actually managed to sign up there are a litany of other issues being caused by the malfunctioning website.

Fact III: Good news for the Dems and the ACA, a significant number of the people who have managed to sign up for insurance using the exchanges are of the much needed 20-35 range of young people who did not have insurance before so this will help to bolster the overall prosperity of the ACA.

Fact dé: My friends who read Latin will get that joke. Many insurance companies are canceling their less expensive policies because those policies don't meet the minimum requirements to be available on the exchanges. Instead they are pushing policies that are much more expensive to their customers. Some sides are blaming Obamacare and others are saying that the original policies were so crappy that they couldn't even qualify for the basic levels of the ACA.

I have no facts as of yet to back up either side of that coin. My own Personal opinion (and that is all it is folks) drawn from decades of studying basic human nature is that the Insurers are seeing a way to make a crap load more money by cutting out the cheaper policies and then offering more expensive policies on the Exchanges where people “have” to buy them. Basic greed works every time as an explanation for why people do what they do.

I have never been either a big fan or a huge foe of the ACA. Unlike so many people out there, I prefer to have at least a smidgen of facts mixed in with my propaganda. So now that things are (slowly) starting to roll, I look forward to seeing how things work out.

As a closing note, I will add this odd thought. Instead of gloating over how crappy the ACA enrollment system is working, its opponents should be doing everything in their power to help fix the problems and get the system working as well as it can. As long as there are technical delays in the implementation of the ACA, proponents can exclaim to the Heavens “We don't know it it is a good thing or a bad thing yet.” The whole “lack of evidence” concept. The only hope opponents have of killing Obamacare is to give it full rein and stand back. Until it has had a chance to run itself off a cliff, the whole thing will be a case of “Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda.”

End of Rant

NSA, Spying, cookies and even a little Latin.

http://news.yahoo.com/france-mexico-seek-answers-shocking-us-spy-claims-091058422.html

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”

(As a somewhat amusing aside here, the latin phrase which is most often translated as “Who Watches the Watchmen” and often associated with political and judicial corruption was originally meant as a commentary on Adultery. Course given some of our so-called leaders, it applies in either situation.)

So once again, “shocking news” (IMNSHO neither shocking or news since anyone with even the teensiest amount of brain cells to rub together knows that t governments have been spying on each other since...well governments were invented.) has been revealed that the US has used its vast resources to do extensive spying type stuff on several of our Allies.

Of course, the Allies in question are enraged and insulted by our actions even though you can bet your sweet bibby that if a French version of Snowden suddenly popped up, we'd find out pretty much the same thing is being done to us. Sadly, our government would probably act just as outrag if this sort of information was revealed.

Lets face it folks, everybody spies on everybody. It is almost human nature to want to know secrets about other people. Neighbors peek over hedges to find out what the people next door are doing. Corporations spy on each other to find out what the others are trying to produce. Governments spy on their citizens just in case the rank and file might be doing something wrong. And of course Governments spy on each other even when they are supposed to be buddies.

Do I support all of this Shift? Heck no! Not only is all of prying crap an invasion into the privacy of others, but Billions if not Trillions of Dollars/Pounds/Rupees/Yen/Wong are wasted every single year getting information that will probably never be used in any constructive fashion and even more money and resources are wasted every year storing the data in the off chance that it Might be used one day.

Still I do find it funnier than heck that X is always idignant when it is discovered that Y has been spying on them because it is a safe bet that X has been spying on Y just as long. The attitude is always like two little kids sneak into the kitchen to steal a cookie and both get caught crumb handed. Both kids get cranky becaus the other one was stealing a cookie completely ignoring the white chocolate macdamia nut cookie in their own hand. (Suddenly I'm hungry.)

With all of the big news about PRISM etc, people seem to be thinking that all of this shift is something new under the sun. They forget that Old W Bush pretty much was doing the same durned thing many many moons ago. Most of them are unaware that Eisenhower had one of the most extensive and well equipped spy force ever. The tools change over time, but the Tools (See what I did there?) using them pretty much remain the same.

So this is why I always take “Upper Buttockskia was enraged today when it was revealed that the US had been spying on them” with a grain of salt (Hells, the whole damned shaker) because you can bet Buttockscan spies have been doing the same thing.

If the day ever comes when all evidence that countries are spying on each other and their citizens goes away then the only thing you can be sure of is that the spies have just gotten better at their jobs.

End of Rant

Where is thy Sting?

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/10/entrapped-when-craigslist-predator-stings-go-too-far/

How far counts as too far? How much effort has to be put into anything before it goes from enticing to deliberately leading? Studies have shown that, in the proper situation, people who would ordinarily not commit a crime can be lured into the act if enough persuasion can be leveled against them. Most people admit they have contemplated committing a crime once or twice in their lives, but failed to do so because of various reasons. So if this is all true, how far is too far when it comes to catching potential criminals?

Police stings are nothing new. The Sheriff of Nottinghaam set one up to catch a bad guy in the literary classic Robin Hood. I am sure if records existed, we'd find cases of Reeves setting up some sort of sting to catch Sheep Thieves in Merry Old England. The general idea is a simple one. You set up a situation where someone looking to commit a crime feels comfortable and then you arrest them while they try to commit the act. Done properly, it is an effective tool for catching criminals.

More recently, the concept of a Sting operation has come under scrutiny because some might have gone to far or pushed people who might not have committed the crime into actually going through with it. Law Enforcement makes the claims that since the people being enticed tried to go through with the act then they would have indeed done so regardless of prompting. Opponents argue that the situation and the tactics of the Law lured people who would ordinarily never have committed the crime into breaking the law.

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I spent a chunk of my earlier years as a Con Man and I was very good one. One of the truisms of the Con is “You can't cheat an honest man.” The basic idea behind any Con is that you are getting something for nothing and anyone who is honest and even half way intelligent knows that you can never get something for nothing, so something has to be fishy with the deal. Basically a Con Man lures people into committing crimes.

Stings work kind of the same way with the only real difference being that a properly done Sting only sets up a situation that can lure criminals into believing they are not alone. Improperly done Stings on the other hand work EXACTLY like a Con Game. Law Enforcement Agencies do Everything in their power to trick and lure men and women into situations that they might have never gotten involved in if not for the Lure.

The link above describes a good example of a sting that goes too far. The Gentleman with the pet Possum (Go figure) hooks up Electronically with a pair of girls (Eager sisters? Man this guy was hit by the turnip truck after he fell off of it.) who want to meet up for some perverted hijinks. When the guy finds out that one of the sisters is way underage,. He becomes hesitant, but the older sister goads him on and on until he finally agrees to at least meet with the girls. He is promptly arrested for his actions.

Now don't get me wrong, the Possum Guy was stupid. He is obviously one of those poor unfortunate souls who believe that Penthouse Letters actually tell true stories. Two hot teenage girls want to get together to frolic with a grungy older dude who owns a possum? Two girls who happen to be sisters AND one of which is underage? That is like a fourth of any X-rated fiction site's offerings rolled into one. Red flags should have been waving in front of this guy's eyes after the first talk.

However, if you read through the transcripts of what was said, it becomes pretty obvious that the guy was extremely reluctant to go through with what was being suggested. He obviously understood that what was being suggested was illegal and immoral (well at least in the US). IF the agents operating the sting had dropped the issue and moved on to another target, it is highly unlikely that the man in question would have ever actually committed any crime. So once again, how far constitutes too far?

Almost everyone has had a larcenous or immoral thought at least once in their lives. It is human nature to want the “forbidden fruit.” However, the vast majority of people will never follow through with the initial impulse either for moral or legal reasons. So just how far should Law Enforcement agencies be allowed to go before they have gone too far?

End of Rant

"We apologize for the inconvenience." Douglas Adams

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/20/barack-obama-obamacare-rollout-lew-sebelius

So here we are trotting gayly into the final part of week three after the roll out of the ACA AKA Obamacare. Contrary to what a lot of Reboobicans want you to think, the enrollment has actually been fairly sizable despite the multitude of glitches occurring on the Federal Website. Many of the states (and DC) who went ahead and set up their own exchanges are reporting that thousands of people have actually gotten new insurance through the Exchanges with DC leading the way with around 10K people signing up. Even better, early numbers indicate that a large chunk of these people are the much needed 22-35 range people. Now of course these numbers are a far cry from the predicted millions needed to actual give the system a chance of working, but it is a good sign.

The main problem with getting insurance is the ongoing glitch war in the Federal Systems. Even though progress has been made in allowing people to sign up and shop for insurance, there are still more gremlins running around than at an all-night all you can eat buffet. Sadly, if the problems aren't fixed fairly quickly, programming errors and server issues may just succeed where the Tea Beggars and the GOOP (Geezers Organization Opposing Progress just FYI) failed and stop Obamacare.

Now one has to ask themselves exactly why we are having all these issues. One particular conspiracy nutjob suggested that the glitches are because Secret Boob Infiltrators implanted viruses and program faults into the systems to make it fail. Another suggested that the majority of the actual money spent on the system went to finance Obama's SS force that will swoop down and drag people off to camps if they don't buy insurance. (I'm not making this Shift up people. Wish to heck I was.)

The much simpler idea behind the glitches and problems has nothing to do with conspiracies so it is much less attractive. The plain and simple fact is the Fed was trying something brand new (Well at least in the US) and attempted to set it all up using a system designed and implemented by the same Fed. Given the numerous glitches that occur every month in tried and true systems such as Medicare and SNAP, this was doomed to issues from the very beginning.

Several independent sources say that the whole system had serious flaws long before it was implemented. Instead of fixing the issues when they were first discovered, the developers pushed ahead with the system with plans to fix the glitches later on. Kind of like the whole Joint Strike Fighter/Oxygen issues all over again. (For those who missed that blog, the JSF was discovered to have a serious flaw in the pilot oxygen system early on, but was ignored. Now they are rushing to fix the problem at mega costs.)

If and I do mean IF they can actually get all of the glitches out of the systems, then the ACA might actually have a chance in succeeding. If the problems aren't fixed quickly, then many of the “suggestions” that the GOOP had in the debates might actually come true. If nothing else, if it is impossible for people to sign up in time to beat the deadline, then the Fed might be forced to hold off on the Individual Mandate simply because people have not had a real chance to sign up.

I look forward to the next few weeks because of all the potential for things truly being fugged up. You can bet the Boobs have not given up on their Crusade against Obamacare and will use any excuse to attack it yet again. (I am currently taking bets on how long it takes the GOOP and Beggars to try and repeal/defund it again. Any takers?) You can also bet that the Damnocrats and Liarberals will do everything in their power to make any problems look minor and unimportant. I predict loads of interesting Blog topics in the very near future.

End of Rant

The Elephant in the room is pooping all over you.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/17/world/global-slavery-index/index.html

“A new report claiming to be the most comprehensive look at global slavery says 30 million people are living as slaves around the world. The Global Slavery Index, published by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation, lists India as the country with by far the most slaves, with an estimated nearly 14 million, followed by China (2.9 million) and Pakistan (2.1 million).”

If those numbers don't make you feel sick to your stomach then you need serious help. Every year millions of people are forced into lives of slavery. Every year, children of all ages are forced into child prostitution to satisfy the degenerate needs of people all around the world. It happens every day in every country in alarming numbers, but it very rarely makes the headlines. People ignore the problem because News Agencies ignore the story.

Oh I can hear the people out there muttering about third world countries and how it doesn't happen here in the good old USA. Well, here is a bit of information about that. http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/29/justice/child-prostitution-arrests.

Slavery is alive and well doing a booming business centuries after it was supposedly outlawed in most civilized countries. In some cases, it is out in the open for all to see as in the case of brothels in places such as Singapore and in other cases it is hidden behind the veil of cultural tradition such as the practice of marrying extremely young girls to much older men in places such as India and the Middle East.

( As ab aside it amazes me every time I read through the comments sections of these articles where people are actually trying to justify “our” slavery versus “their” slavery as if we were any better than the people who are doing it right this moment.

“So terrible they were able to have extremely large families who were extremely well fed, and were sent to the doctor when needed as much as almost anyone else was in those days. They were not the only people living in log cabins in those day either, and cutting enough firewood to survive winters in Canada, MT, MN, WI, MI, and all the other northern climates was far more difficult than it was for southern climates. There was a much wider variety of fruits and vegetables in the south than there was in the north - you can't even grow corn in the far northern portions of the US, and almost nowhere in Canada. They did their job, and they were provided for. Stop the BS as if it was the most hideous act of man the world has ever known - very few people in those days had an easy life.” Aside over on with the rant.)

Slavery exists in a myriad of forms all over the world. Migrant workers who come to certain ME countries for jobs find their passports confiscated and essentially refused the ability to leave once they are in place. Sure they get paid a certain amount of money, but when you lack the ability to leave when you wish, you are still a slave. (Second aside, some slave owners actually gave their possessions a small salary during America's Slave Period.) Children 10 years and younger are locked into hot, unsafe factories for 18 hours a day and forced to produce X amount of product for pennies an hour. People argue this isn't slavery because they are actually being paid, but being forced to work in a deathtrap (Do I really need to link all of the horrendous factory fires that have occurred?) counts as slavery to me.

Then, as I mentioned earlier, there are the “Child Brides” of India and the Middle East where girls as young as 7 or 8 are married off by their parents to some old Geezer where she is repeatedly raped and forced to bear children at far to young an age. If that isn't slavery that makes you ill, then you need a serious conscience infusion.

And of course, there is the booming Child Prostitution business here in the US. Young people with no real homes or real families run away from where they live and are lured into the life by Pimps and Sellers who get them hooked on any number of drugs. These kids grow up with no hope and no joy and become Adult Prostitutes. Go to any major city, drive through the less savory parts of town and you will see them. Kids who aren't even old enough to drive yet selling their bodies on the streets. We love to ignore it, but the Elephant in the room is still there.

As much as the “Civilized” world wants to, Modern Slavery cannot be ignored. As much as people want to pass it off as somebody else's problem, the Elephant is still sitting in your room pooping on the floor. It is high time we stopped ignoring the crap on our rugs and did something about it. We claim to be civilized so how about we start acting like it?

End of Rant

Circus of Fools: Final Thoughts.

 

As the train slowly winds its way towards the horizon and we breath a collective, if somewhat short lived sigh of relief, I want to share some final thoughts on the disaster of the past few weeks. Unlike previous posts which dealt with articles, blogs, tall tales and outright lies, this one is purely based off my own observations and not meant to even begin to reflect a greater whole. Just me talking to you and expressing my final thoughts on the whole mess.

Thought the first: This makes the second time in recent history that our Federal Government has been brought to the brink of a true disaster by the schoolyard antics of the people who are supposed to be running the country. The second time where it has come down to the final hours and imminent disaster before the Reboobicans and Damnocrats could begin to reach any sort of compromise. The last time this happened, right or wrong, the blame fell solely on the heads of the Boobs and they paid for it during the Halftime Elections and that is how we got saddled with the Tea Beggars who were pretty much responsible for the Party Constipation the Boobs suffered this time around.

Now, most polls show that people are equally or even more peeved off at the Boobs as they were last time and the Beggars popularity is at an all time low. HOWEVER, the same polls show that a larger number of Damnocrats (Still not nearly a high a number as the Boobs but it is still impressive) blame their party for part of the train wreck that occurred. So I have to wonder IF either side will finally learn their lessons and start making changes in the way thing are done? If the last Halftime is any indication, unless both sides start actually doing their jobs, we are going to have a massive turnover in current elected officials come 2014.

Selfie of our Leaders in DC

One would think that even the dimmest bulb in the lamp could buy the clue and at least make some token efforts to make people think they actually care about the country and want to do their jobs. To me it is kind of a no brainer. You depend on the votes of people to keep your job and to get the votes, you need to keep the throngs happy. I mean how hard can it be to grasp that you need to put on a good show to keep your audience entertained. After the past few weeks, it should be pretty darned obvious to everyone in DC that NO ONE is entertained. So common Clowns, put on a show or your circus is going to be canceled.

Thought the second: People have accused me of being Pro-ACA (Obamacare) quite a few times over the past few weeks. They railed and yelled when I pointed out that despite what so many have claimed, there were no actual FACTS on Obamacare just a whole bunch of numbers and speculation. They yell at me that “Obamacare did this” and “Obamacare caused that.” They completely ignored the simple fact the ACA hasn't caused anything because it was just implemented a couple of weeks ago. Fear over what it MIGHT do and anger over what it COULD do may have caused everything from Insurance Rates quintupling to goats being born sterile in Idaho, but the only thing it has actually caused is consternation and grife because you couldn't log into the website properly.

I am technically neither for nor against Obamacare at this point. On general principles since it was designed and implemented by our loving government, I am naturally suspicious of its ability to do everything it was designed to do. I personally feel it will probably cost much more than planned and may not do as well as people hope it will. These feelings are just that and currently have no basis in facts, just my general antipathy towards our gloriously incompetent leaders.

          I am actually looking forward to the next couple of months because good or bad we will actually have Facts about how well the ACA is working. Real verifiable information that will give indications on how well the whole thing will fair. As I have stated in previous blogs, I believe this is the main reason the Boobs have been desperately trying to destroy the ACA. (Come on, Folks, who really believes they were after it for the “Good of the people?”) Basically the Boobs have placed all their bets on popularity on one pony. For the past few years they have screamed “Obamacare will destroy our country! Cats will lay with dogs because of the ACA!” They voted to repeal more times than I care to think about and essentially placed all their hopes of being popular on Obamacare being a bad idea.

Like I mentioned earlier, they did this using statistics and any other “data” they could make up while screaming from the rooftops. Now they are faced with the frightening prospect of actual facts and solid data entering into the equation. Now they are facing the idea that (GASP) they could be wrong! Over the next few months before the Halftime Elections, the facts could prove that the Boobs were right all along and Obamacare is one of the signs of the coming Alpacalips. If that happens, all will be Hooplah for the Boobs since they can scream I told you so at the top of their lungs and get lots of Dims thrown out of office. Of course, the reverse is true also. IF the Boobs were wrong, even the teensiest bit, then the American Public will see them as the Forest Gump of Pollytickans and vote their butts out fast! They might still vote other Boobs in, but the Incumbents will be leaving on a jetplane. Should be an interesting few months.

So those are my final thoughts on the Circus and the aftermath. In a few short months, barring a miracle, the whole Circus will start up again and I will be back to ranting about it. Till then, I hope you keep reading as I rant about other stuff for awhile.

BOOM!

End of Rant