Every once in a while there comes a story that makes you wonder what people are thinking. It shows the level of stupidity and the IQ level of those in positions of authority who dispenses justice. This is one story I label "IQ Zero."
By JAYA NARAIN
Mail Online
Her offence was to unwittingly sell a goldfish to a 14-year-old boy taking part in a trading standards 'sting'.
At most, pet shop owner Joan Higgins, 66, expected a slap on the wrist for breaking new animal welfare laws which ban the sale of pets to under-16s.
Instead, the great-grandmother was taken to court, fined £1,000, placed under curfew - and ordered to wear an electronic tag for two months.
The punishment is normally handed out to violent thugs and repeat offenders.
The prosecution of Mrs Higgins and her son Mark is estimated to have cost taxpayers £20,000 and has left her with a criminal record.
Mark, 47, was also fined and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work in the community.
Last night, as an MP criticised the magistrates, Mrs Higgins - who has run the pet shop for 28 years - said the family's eight-month ordeal had left them traumatised.
She added: 'It's ridiculous. I mean, what danger am I that I have to wear an electronic tag? These last few months have been a very stressful time.'
The seven-week curfew imposed by the court means she is unable to babysit her great-grandson at his home or go to bingo sessions with her sister, and will be unable to attend a Rod Stewart concert after tickets were bought for her by her nephew, actor Will Mellor.
Read More...
ObamaCare: Chasing after fool's gold
A CNN poll before the health care vote in congress showed an overwhelming 59% of the public oppose ObamaCare. With a long history of liberal news media over sampling Democrats, I won't be surprised that the true number is about 5-8 per cent higher than reported. Regardless, there's a significant number of Americans who think ObamaCare is bad for the USA. Why do Democrat politicians vote to approve it anyway despite the public outrage and the fact they they know they will probably be decimated at the polls in November?
To the politicians that voted YES, it is larger than their political office. It's about chasing after the Democrat's socialist utopia or fool's gold–a perfect society where everyone is equal except the government officials. It's about party power and reprogramming the American people to think and accept "free" entitlements. Politicians love the cradle to grave entitlements because it's like a carrot they can dangle in front of gullible voters who will vote the politicians back in office by offering to protect their entitlements. It's also about slowly defunding the military when the government will take money from military programs to fund social programs as in Europe where the USA spends a lot of money for their defense needs. It's about the redistribution of wealth and blaming the rich and large corporations for all the nation's ills.
It's one thing if government runs the programs it creates or mandates effectively. The big problem is almost everything the government runs and sticks its finger in – social security, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, VA, education, US post office, Amtrak–are failures or near death or in deep trouble. And let's not forget the government's role in creating the environment (1997 Community Reinvestment Act) that ultimately led to the 2008 financial collapse. Yet, all you hear about is greedy bankers and speculators. It's never the government's fault. I digress.
Obamacare will be a historic colossal mistake. The world is full of examples why socialized medicine does not work. Yet, our so-called leaders are so insistent that it will be different and will work for the United States. I come from a country where private medical facilities are popping up left and right because people do not like the poor quality government run hospitals and the long lines for medical services. Even the Canadian Newfoundland and Larador Premier knew better by going to the USA for medical treatment.
There are so many flaws in ObamaCare that I don't know where to start. To begin with we have about 300 million people who are satisfied with their medical insurance. Politicians love to throw the over 46 million number of people who have no medical insurance based on the US Census statistics. If you look closely at the census statistics used to derive the 46 million uninsured, only 9.7 million are citizens of the USA. Deduct the number of people who can afford to buy insurance but chose not to or people who qualify for medicaid and SCHIP but never bordered to apply for it, the number of truly uninsured is much lower than the 9.7 million figure. And let's not forget that it is against the law for hospitals to deny treatment to patients who show up at the emergency rooms. For discussion, let's assume that there are 10 million uninsured. Instead of trying to find a solution for the 10 million people without insurance, the politicians have gone overboard by fixing insurance for everyone and wasting time in more important issues such as the economy and helping the private sector create jobs.
I don't think anybody is arguing there isn't a problem in American health care. However, it has not reached the crisis level the Democrats claim it to be. It is a manufactured crisis.
There are many common-sense solutions that can be implemented to fix the health care problem. For starters, we could have found a way to cover catastrophic health insurance for the relatively few uninsured. It certainly would be cheaper and easier to implement than the 2010 healthcare law that calls for a complete overhaul. This point alone shows the Democrats are not being level with us about the true intention of jamming ObamaCare down our throats. Other solutions include allowing the purchase of health insurance across state lines, preventing frivolous lawsuits that drive up costs, allowing individuals, trade associations and small businesses to pool together to get insurance at lower price, giving the same tax breaks to those who don’t get insurance from employers and expanding and creating bigger incentives for HSAs. All you hear about is the 46 million uninsured figures, isolated sob stories, and the evil insurance companies. Truth be told, if we confiscate the meager two percent insurance profits from all medical insurance companies, it will only cover the American's health insurance needs for two days. It's also interesting why we never hear from Democrat politicians about tort reform or about the evil attorneys who pocket most of the money from lawsuits. This issue alone has caused a dramatic jump in insurance premiums. Don't believe me? Just ask a doctor how much he or she is paying to cover malpractice insurance.
I'm going to touch on just a couple of the flaws I see with the new 2010 health care legislation. Google the topic and read up on the topic. There are also web sites touting the goodness of the programs and web sites against ObamaCare. Read both pro and cons and then decide for yourself. I have studied both POVs and concluded it isn't for me and is bad for the country.
1. Ban on denying pre-existing condition. A key feature of Obamacare mandates insurance companies from denying coverage to anyone with preexisting conditions. Who doesn't like it? However, politicians with their infinite wisdom do not think of the unintended consequences. Why do people buy insurance in the first place? Think of your homeowner's insurance. You buy insurance to cover catastrophic damage to your house right? You do not buy insurance after your house burns down. You do not buy insurance to cover minor plumbing or other minor problems. You handle the minor problems yourself. Won't it be great if you don't have to buy insurance until your house burns down (pre-existing condition)? Likewise, you buy auto insurance mainly for major accidents not for the tire wear and tear. Now imagine if the insurance company is forced to cover plumbing, tire wear and tear problems. What do you think it will do to the insurance premiums? There are too many people who don't even know the true purpose of insurance and many people think that they buy medical insurance to pay for their day-to-day medical coverage including catastrophic health crisis. Health insurance is never designed to guarantee people good health because no insurance companies can make a profit guaranteeing people good health. Unfortunately, today health insurance has evolved into health coverage where people expect or demand day-to-day medical coverage.
The government mandate to prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for preexisting conditions will result in healthy people not buying insurance thus saving a substantial premium costs. People know that if they were to become seriously sick, they can get immediate medical insurance coverage. Think about this for a minute. If you run an insurance company, you won't be getting a lot of premiums from healthy people but you are paying an arm and a leg to pay out to seriously sick people. How long can you stay in business without increasing premiums? Democrat politicians realize this loophole and created a penalty for people not carrying insurance. But the penalty is a lot lower than having to carry insurance. For example, the average cost of a single person medical insurance is about $4,800. An individual who earns $50,000 would face a fine of $750. Would you rather pay a fine of $750 or pay the $4,800 in insurance premium? The $4,800 is a figure used for employers subsidized insurance. The difference between the IRS penalty and non-subsidized private medical insurance is even higher. Depending on the deductible and family size, the annual insurance premium can run between $8,000 to $20,000 for a family of four. So for many people, they would be fools to buy insurance now. I bet this flaw is by design to drive out private insurance companies so government can come in later to "fix" the problem and impose universal health care and be the sole insurer. If that's the case, we are all in deep shit.
2. The high cost. ObamaCare comes at the worst times when we are already in a deep financial crisis. The new health care bill is projected to add another trillion in new federal spending. Coupled with $46 trillion of unfunded Social Security and Medicare entitlements, and other TARP obligations, it will be a disaster for our current and future generations. The government CBO says there will be billions in savings in the new plan. Rubbish. The CBO scored the program based on rosy Democrat assumptions which will never materialize.
The health care overhaul robs $52 billion from Social Security (government-run) that is already in trouble and run like a pyramid scheme. It also cuts about $500 billion from Medicare and another government-run program in trouble. It also does not count the hundreds of billions required to pay doctors who treat elderly patients.
The plan will add millions of people to Medicaid, a failing program that many pharmacists and doctors are refusing to participate in. Mayo Clinic and now Walgreen have decided to pull out of Medicaid because it is unprofitable. My friend who is an eye surgeon told me that her Medicaid payment will be cut by 20% and she may be forced to not accept Medicaid patients as it is too costly. It's the same story told by my relative who is a dermatologist. What good is Medicaid if private doctors won't treat them or pharmacist won't fill their prescriptions. This is yet another unintended consequences in the making. If the government keeps on slashing payments to providers the end result will not be pretty as providers exit the market thereby making the situation worst than before and it will also stifle innovation.
3. Increase insurance premium costs. Obama claims that the average insurance premium will will be lowered by $2,500 with the new health care bill. This saving will only happen if you believe the tooth fairy is real. How is it possible when the government mandates a ban on insurance companies from denying insurance due to preexisting conditions and not to mention the other mandates including...mental health and substance disorder coverage, psychological treatment, preventive and wellness service, chronic disease treatment, oral and vision care, etc. The list goes on and on. Make no mistake, insurance rates will sky rocket.
4. Loss of American jobs. Politicians, especially the Democrat species, love to bash big corporations for moving jobs overseas. Yet, they are the ones that come up with stupid legislations like ObamaCare that hasten the movement of jobs overseas. As explained earlier, Caterpillar estimated that it will cost the company about $100 million a year to implement ObamaCare. ATT will face one billion dollars in additional expenses. Other large companies such as Metronic, Verizon, and John Deere are saying the same thing. Metronic has even gone a step further by saying that they may have to cut 1,000 people or more because of ObamaCare. The economy is already in a bad shape and to add ObamaCare on top of it will be a disaster for the American economy. What do you think companies will do to lower their cost? This is clearly another sad example of unintended consequences.
Note to Republican politicians. If you think you are sitting pretty now because people hate ObamaCare and people will automatically vote for you in the next election think again. People are furious at most politicians for getting America in such a bad shape it is today. Unfortunately, you got all the blame in the last election. Had people really studied the issues, they would have found out that Democrats are more to blame for the current mess we are in. But you also had six years to fix health care and other issues facing the nation and you sat on your ass. If, and when you return to power, you owe to the American people the work to fix the mess or the citizens will throw you out too. You came to power in a landslide in 1984 but you got intoxicated with power and money. Let's not forget that! What you promise to do in the future better be real and not just a campaign slogan.
Note to voters. Elections have consequences. If you dislike ObamaCare you have a chance to speak your mind in November by voting the politicians who voted for it out of office. Most citizens will not see the inevitable acceleration in insurance premiums until January 2011. In other words, citizens may not be angry enough to go vote in November 2010. They will be angry after they get their new insurance premium notices in 2011. This timing is by design by crooked politicians. Don't wait until the 2012 election cycle to do something about it. Go vote in November 2010.
If you support ObamaCare, remember one thing. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Socialism works great until you run out of other people's money. Going against ObamaCare doesn't mean people who oppose it do not care about the poor and the sick. We do but there are smarter ways to achieve medical insurance reforms. America is so fortunate to have people who will happily open their wallets to charities to help the less fortunate. As a matter of fact, Americans are #1 in the world when it comes to charity giving. The politicians who claim they care about the poor are usually the ones who are very tight with their own wallets. Google and check for yourself their poor donation records (% of their earnings) to charities. It's OK for them to spend other people's money yet they are unwilling to walk the talk.
Liberals cannot walk the talk
The Big F'ing Deal
V.P. Biden is correct when he whispered to Obama that the new health legislation is a big F'ing deal. Charles Krauthammer astutely pointed this out on Fox News...
With Franklin Delano Roosevelt, we had the NEW DEAL.
With Harry S. Truman, it was the FAIR DEAL.
And today, with Barack Obama, we have the BIG F'ING DEAL.
"You can't make this stuff up in this country." said Krauthammer.
This big f'ing deal will eventually screw us all!
The plan will add millions of people to Medicaid, a failing program that many pharmacists and doctors are refusing to participate in. Mayo Clinic and now Walgreen have decided to pull out of Medicaid because it is unprofitable. My friend who is an eye surgeon told me that her Medicaid payment will be cut by 20% and she may be forced to not accept Medicaid patients as it is too costly. It's the same story told by my relative who is a dermatologist. What good is Medicaid if private doctors won't treat them or pharmacist won't fill their prescriptions. This is yet another unintended consequences in the making. If the government keeps on slashing payments to providers the end result will not be pretty as providers exit the market thereby making the situation worst than before and it will also stifle innovation.
3. Increase insurance premium costs. Obama claims that the average insurance premium will will be lowered by $2,500 with the new health care bill. This saving will only happen if you believe the tooth fairy is real. How is it possible when the government mandates a ban on insurance companies from denying insurance due to preexisting conditions and not to mention the other mandates including...mental health and substance disorder coverage, psychological treatment, preventive and wellness service, chronic disease treatment, oral and vision care, etc. The list goes on and on. Make no mistake, insurance rates will sky rocket.
4. Loss of American jobs. Politicians, especially the Democrat species, love to bash big corporations for moving jobs overseas. Yet, they are the ones that come up with stupid legislations like ObamaCare that hasten the movement of jobs overseas. As explained earlier, Caterpillar estimated that it will cost the company about $100 million a year to implement ObamaCare. ATT will face one billion dollars in additional expenses. Other large companies such as Metronic, Verizon, and John Deere are saying the same thing. Metronic has even gone a step further by saying that they may have to cut 1,000 people or more because of ObamaCare. The economy is already in a bad shape and to add ObamaCare on top of it will be a disaster for the American economy. What do you think companies will do to lower their cost? This is clearly another sad example of unintended consequences.
Note to Republican politicians. If you think you are sitting pretty now because people hate ObamaCare and people will automatically vote for you in the next election think again. People are furious at most politicians for getting America in such a bad shape it is today. Unfortunately, you got all the blame in the last election. Had people really studied the issues, they would have found out that Democrats are more to blame for the current mess we are in. But you also had six years to fix health care and other issues facing the nation and you sat on your ass. If, and when you return to power, you owe to the American people the work to fix the mess or the citizens will throw you out too. You came to power in a landslide in 1984 but you got intoxicated with power and money. Let's not forget that! What you promise to do in the future better be real and not just a campaign slogan.
Note to voters. Elections have consequences. If you dislike ObamaCare you have a chance to speak your mind in November by voting the politicians who voted for it out of office. Most citizens will not see the inevitable acceleration in insurance premiums until January 2011. In other words, citizens may not be angry enough to go vote in November 2010. They will be angry after they get their new insurance premium notices in 2011. This timing is by design by crooked politicians. Don't wait until the 2012 election cycle to do something about it. Go vote in November 2010.
If you support ObamaCare, remember one thing. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Socialism works great until you run out of other people's money. Going against ObamaCare doesn't mean people who oppose it do not care about the poor and the sick. We do but there are smarter ways to achieve medical insurance reforms. America is so fortunate to have people who will happily open their wallets to charities to help the less fortunate. As a matter of fact, Americans are #1 in the world when it comes to charity giving. The politicians who claim they care about the poor are usually the ones who are very tight with their own wallets. Google and check for yourself their poor donation records (% of their earnings) to charities. It's OK for them to spend other people's money yet they are unwilling to walk the talk.
Liberals cannot walk the talk
The Big F'ing Deal
V.P. Biden is correct when he whispered to Obama that the new health legislation is a big F'ing deal. Charles Krauthammer astutely pointed this out on Fox News...
With Franklin Delano Roosevelt, we had the NEW DEAL.
With Harry S. Truman, it was the FAIR DEAL.
And today, with Barack Obama, we have the BIG F'ING DEAL.
"You can't make this stuff up in this country." said Krauthammer.
This big f'ing deal will eventually screw us all!
 Let me get this straight......we passed a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president that also hasn't read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke. What the hell could possibly go wrong? |
Walmart
1 . Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart Every hour of every day.2.. This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!3. Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.4. Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined.5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private Employer, and most speak English.6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the World.7. Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger & Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only 15 years.8. During this same period, 31 supermarket chains sought bankruptcy.9. Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world.10. Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than it had 5 Years ago.11. This year 7.2 billion different purchasing experiences will occur At a Wal-Mart store. (Earth’s population is approximately 6.5 Billion.)12. 90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart.
What's lurking in hotel rooms?
I usually have a hard time sleeping in a hotel. The loud airconditioner, lousy pillows or bed, smelly room or very old toilet and room decor are some of the things keeping me awake at night. What most people don't think about is how clean the room is particularly the bed sheets, comforters, coffee maker and drinking glasses.
Here's an article excerpt written by an ex-hotel housekeeper that would make you wonder the next time you stay at a hotel. Her advise...
1. Always check the room for bed bugs.
They sound cuter than they are, and if you bring them home with you, it will be an exterminating nightmare. Housekeepers have entire staff meetings dedicated to the silent discovery and treatment of the bed bug; it’s a huge liability for hotels, as we’ve become quite the litigious society.
2. Never, under any circumstances, use the coffee maker provided in the room.
I had a special pen I kept on my cart. I never touched it past the cap. See, this was my condom pen. I would use this pen to peel condoms from the fronts of television sets, the walls, tubs, and yes, from inside the coffee pots.
3. Examine the sheets/towels before use.
The thirty-minutes-per-suite quota is occasionally unrealistic. But it’s finish on time or risk being let go. So if the housekeepers were running behind, they would just pray there weren’t any dirty briefs down by the foot of the bed, and pull the old sheets taut, dusting off the visible hairs, some of which were short and curly.
4. Don’t use the glasses and mugs. At the very least, rinse them in scalding water.
At both the hotels I’ve worked at, the dishwasher was always broken. And I mean always. In fact, at the unnamed hotel, I’d never even been privy to seeing the damn thing. So the rushed housekeepers simply rinse the glassware in the bathroom sink and use a toxic, pink porcelain cleaner for those stubborn juice/coffee/lipstick stains.
Read full article here.
Additional articles and videos: ABC News,
Video 1, Video 2, Video 3,
Laugh! Why you should always tip the hotel maid... Video
Here's an article excerpt written by an ex-hotel housekeeper that would make you wonder the next time you stay at a hotel. Her advise...
1. Always check the room for bed bugs.
They sound cuter than they are, and if you bring them home with you, it will be an exterminating nightmare. Housekeepers have entire staff meetings dedicated to the silent discovery and treatment of the bed bug; it’s a huge liability for hotels, as we’ve become quite the litigious society.
2. Never, under any circumstances, use the coffee maker provided in the room.
I had a special pen I kept on my cart. I never touched it past the cap. See, this was my condom pen. I would use this pen to peel condoms from the fronts of television sets, the walls, tubs, and yes, from inside the coffee pots.
3. Examine the sheets/towels before use.
The thirty-minutes-per-suite quota is occasionally unrealistic. But it’s finish on time or risk being let go. So if the housekeepers were running behind, they would just pray there weren’t any dirty briefs down by the foot of the bed, and pull the old sheets taut, dusting off the visible hairs, some of which were short and curly.
4. Don’t use the glasses and mugs. At the very least, rinse them in scalding water.
At both the hotels I’ve worked at, the dishwasher was always broken. And I mean always. In fact, at the unnamed hotel, I’d never even been privy to seeing the damn thing. So the rushed housekeepers simply rinse the glassware in the bathroom sink and use a toxic, pink porcelain cleaner for those stubborn juice/coffee/lipstick stains.
Read full article here.
Additional articles and videos: ABC News,
Video 1, Video 2, Video 3,
Laugh! Why you should always tip the hotel maid... Video
2010 US Census
I'm starting to get reminders about doing my civic duty to complete the upcoming 2010 US Census. I'll do my part by completing the short 10 question form. But if I'm given the long form 28 page "The American Community Survey" I will refuse to complete it other than telling the US Census the number of people at my house. In my opinion, the questions in the long form are overly intrusive and non of the government's business. I also think the questions are unconstitutional.
How did the simple US Constitution Article I Section 2 of the US Constitution which requires a head count of all persons in the USA every 10 years for congressional apportionment end up so convoluted into a massive anti privacy data collection program? The US Constitution does not mention the collection of private data other than a head count. Tell me which part of the constitution gives the government the authority to find out how many bathrooms I have, or how many miles I drive to work every day, how many days I was sick last year, how much my mortgage or rental is, how many TVs and telephones I have, my marital status, heritage, age, sexual preference, political beliefs, fertility of women at my house and take GPS coordinates of my house, etc? Many of the questions are so intrusive that if an employer were to ask these questions, they would be fined. Why is the government able to get away with these questions that they say are illegal for employers to ask?
The US Census has even threatened people with fines of $100 for each unanswered questions up to a maximum of $5,000 fine for failure to complete the US Census forms. Lower courts have affirmed the Census requirements but the courts are silent on the constitutionality of the US Census questions. It has also been reported that the US Census will not fine or drag people through the courts for failure to cooperate. Perhaps they know or fear that their big brother scheme will be undressed by the courts if someone actually challenge them on constitutional grounds.
Reading & Video Links
US Census long form
Checkpointusa
Dave Kopel
Resistnet
World Net Daily
Video
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
How did the simple US Constitution Article I Section 2 of the US Constitution which requires a head count of all persons in the USA every 10 years for congressional apportionment end up so convoluted into a massive anti privacy data collection program? The US Constitution does not mention the collection of private data other than a head count. Tell me which part of the constitution gives the government the authority to find out how many bathrooms I have, or how many miles I drive to work every day, how many days I was sick last year, how much my mortgage or rental is, how many TVs and telephones I have, my marital status, heritage, age, sexual preference, political beliefs, fertility of women at my house and take GPS coordinates of my house, etc? Many of the questions are so intrusive that if an employer were to ask these questions, they would be fined. Why is the government able to get away with these questions that they say are illegal for employers to ask?
The US Census has even threatened people with fines of $100 for each unanswered questions up to a maximum of $5,000 fine for failure to complete the US Census forms. Lower courts have affirmed the Census requirements but the courts are silent on the constitutionality of the US Census questions. It has also been reported that the US Census will not fine or drag people through the courts for failure to cooperate. Perhaps they know or fear that their big brother scheme will be undressed by the courts if someone actually challenge them on constitutional grounds.
Reading & Video Links
US Census long form
Checkpointusa
Dave Kopel
Resistnet
World Net Daily
Video
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
A Chinese Wedding Somewhere in China
Here's how to have a wedding in style...
A young bride and groom and
8 Lamborghini
4 Ferrari
4 Rolls Royce
6 Bentley
6 Mercedes Benz
20 Audi A8
5 Hummers
6 Jeeps for photographers and videographers
And
A GIANT money tree
A young bride and groom and
8 Lamborghini
4 Ferrari
4 Rolls Royce
6 Bentley
6 Mercedes Benz
20 Audi A8
5 Hummers
6 Jeeps for photographers and videographers
And
A GIANT money tree
Photo credit: Autoclub.mop.com
IRS visits Sacramento carwash chasing after $0.04
It was every businessperson's nightmare.
Arriving at Harv's Metro Car Wash in midtown Wednesday afternoon were two dark-suited IRS agents demanding payment of delinquent taxes. "They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending," says Harv's owner, Aaron Zeff.
The really odd part of this: The letter that was hand-delivered to Zeff's on-site manager showed the amount of money owed to the feds was ... 4 cents.
Read more...
Read more 2...
Arriving at Harv's Metro Car Wash in midtown Wednesday afternoon were two dark-suited IRS agents demanding payment of delinquent taxes. "They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending," says Harv's owner, Aaron Zeff.
The really odd part of this: The letter that was hand-delivered to Zeff's on-site manager showed the amount of money owed to the feds was ... 4 cents.
Read more...
Read more 2...
Sarah Palin
Have you attended a party or gathering where a mere mentioning of Sarah Palin's name draws black clouds, lightning strikes and tornadoes out of the clear blue sky? This is how crazy it gets when even highly educated adults mock her with one-liner zings...
-She's a joke!
-She's dumb!
-She's an idiot!
-Palin has no experience
-She can see Russia from her house
-She's a liar
-She doesn’t even know what newspapers she reads
-Fill in the blank with your own zing.....
It's even more absurd on TV. The so-called unbiased journalists and hollywood types are besides themselves and enjoy talking down Sarah Palin.
It's OK if people perceive her to be as dumb as a door knob. They are entitled to their opinons. But what comes out of their mouths in the next breath is what amazes me. It's a WTF moment when people start touting how much better Obama is. If Palin is an idiot the same logic should apply to Obama. Obama is an idiot too. Here's why?
-Have you heard Obama speak without a teleprompter?
-He believes there are 58 states in the USA!
-He's a liar
-He has less real work experience than Palin
-A fruit doesn't fall far from the tree (google his background and past associations)
Oh ya? How do you explain he's the POTUS? Great question! I'm still scratching my head. Maybe people who bought the "Rolls Royce" but forgot to inspect the rot underneath the car. Lately, I've also noticed a marked decreased in people praising or avoiding the Obama topic at social gatherings. Could it be people are embarrassed with buyers' remorse and now waking up and finding out that the "car" they bought is a scam and not what was advertised?
For the record, I left the 2008 POTUS election ballot blank because I didn't think the three 2008 presidential candidates were good for America.
Zogby Poll
512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE +/- 4.4 points
97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates
Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions
57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)
71.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)
82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)
88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)
56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).
And yet.....
Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes
Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter
And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her "house," even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!
Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.
Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we "gave" one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)
Read about the video controversy.
-She's a joke!
-She's dumb!
-She's an idiot!
-Palin has no experience
-She can see Russia from her house
-She's a liar
-She doesn’t even know what newspapers she reads
-Fill in the blank with your own zing.....
It's even more absurd on TV. The so-called unbiased journalists and hollywood types are besides themselves and enjoy talking down Sarah Palin.
It's OK if people perceive her to be as dumb as a door knob. They are entitled to their opinons. But what comes out of their mouths in the next breath is what amazes me. It's a WTF moment when people start touting how much better Obama is. If Palin is an idiot the same logic should apply to Obama. Obama is an idiot too. Here's why?
-Have you heard Obama speak without a teleprompter?
-He believes there are 58 states in the USA!
-He's a liar
-He has less real work experience than Palin
-A fruit doesn't fall far from the tree (google his background and past associations)
Oh ya? How do you explain he's the POTUS? Great question! I'm still scratching my head. Maybe people who bought the "Rolls Royce" but forgot to inspect the rot underneath the car. Lately, I've also noticed a marked decreased in people praising or avoiding the Obama topic at social gatherings. Could it be people are embarrassed with buyers' remorse and now waking up and finding out that the "car" they bought is a scam and not what was advertised?
For the record, I left the 2008 POTUS election ballot blank because I didn't think the three 2008 presidential candidates were good for America.
Zogby Poll
512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE +/- 4.4 points
97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates
Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions
57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)
71.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)
82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)
88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)
56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).
And yet.....
Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes
Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter
And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her "house," even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!
Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.
Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we "gave" one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)
Read about the video controversy.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3
I love my Nikon D300 camera. The D300 is an outstanding camera and it takes gorgeous pictures with awesome dynamic range. However, it is also bulky and heavy especially when paired with my Nikkor AF-S DX 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens. The total weight of the camera and the lens is over 5 lbs. Add a Macbook Pro, camera and computer accessories my 20lb backpack becomes a chore to carry around when traveling.
I wanted a small point-and-shoot camera that I can carry around in my pocket and capable of taking quality pictures in daylight and in night/low lighting situations. Meet the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. This small camera is HOT and much talked about in camera forums and has a huge following among photographers. I had a difficult time finding the camera in stock (October 2009) and had to pay an arm and a leg to get it. While the pictures are not as good as my Nikon D300, it beats most amateur digital cameras on the market. It has a high-end Leica wide angle 24mm f/2.0 lens with high ISO performance. The 24mm is a big plus and is rare for a consumer digital camera. It even has a video recording mode. Another plus for me is the camera can capture images in RAW format which allows further processing in Apple Aperture 3.0 or Adobe Lightroom. Pictures look great in low light and daylight. However, it lacks the dynamic range in day light pictures. The Lumix LX-3 is also great for taking macro shots. Overall, I give the camera a big thumb's up for picture quality. Click here, and here for examples.
Panasonic DMC-LX3 reviews:
LX3-Photography.com
Amazon.com reviews
DC Resource
Dannychoo.com
Photographyblog.com
Camera Labs
Imaging Resouces
ePhotozine
I wanted a small point-and-shoot camera that I can carry around in my pocket and capable of taking quality pictures in daylight and in night/low lighting situations. Meet the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. This small camera is HOT and much talked about in camera forums and has a huge following among photographers. I had a difficult time finding the camera in stock (October 2009) and had to pay an arm and a leg to get it. While the pictures are not as good as my Nikon D300, it beats most amateur digital cameras on the market. It has a high-end Leica wide angle 24mm f/2.0 lens with high ISO performance. The 24mm is a big plus and is rare for a consumer digital camera. It even has a video recording mode. Another plus for me is the camera can capture images in RAW format which allows further processing in Apple Aperture 3.0 or Adobe Lightroom. Pictures look great in low light and daylight. However, it lacks the dynamic range in day light pictures. The Lumix LX-3 is also great for taking macro shots. Overall, I give the camera a big thumb's up for picture quality. Click here, and here for examples.
Panasonic DMC-LX3 reviews:
LX3-Photography.com
Amazon.com reviews
DC Resource
Dannychoo.com
Photographyblog.com
Camera Labs
Imaging Resouces
ePhotozine
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