Return To Gilligan's Island: Did I Call It Right In The Last Article Or What
Marianne busted for pot... Just where was the coconut bong the Professor made???
Night Walkers... Got L.U.V.?
So that's how we girls are. When we were mortal, we used men to get our meals. Now, we use men to get our meals. Unlike male vampires, our victims don't die and come back to life, Thus, we never get detected. Our kind has worked the crowd for centuries and escaped detection unlike our male counterparts. And those of us that prefer women, those meals eventually do join us. Literally. They cross over to the other side with a little persuasion, a little curiosity. But once they shift gears in this realm, there's no going back. Unless we like them, in that special way, we don't frequent them to feed. No need, no feed. No feed, no bleed. A girl can only bleed so much. If they bleed enough, they change: forever. We are very selective about who we spend eternity with. If a guy falls for us, turn him down enough and he get the idea we like girls. All the better for him. Men only bleed so much to so we don't try and tap them out. Men are such pigs anyway. That's why they're always getting staked out. They get over sure of themselves. They still feel adrenaline, especially the young ones. So foolish. It's a good distraction from us. Leaves us free to roam at night, earn a little money to pay the rent. The smart ones hold down jobs. The dumb ones roll their Johns and eventually get caught. A girl's gotta be careful you know...especially at night.
To Be Continued...
Was Gilligan's Island A Metaphor On Hippie Culture Of The 60's?
Stoner's Island
Think about it...
Here we have an isolated group in the wilderness. Not much different from a bunch of hippies in a commune.
And of this group, we have the equivalent of a stripper(Ginger), Timothy Leary (no doubt the Professor whipped up some LSD merely using a coconut and a palm frond or a bong from bambo and volcanic rock), add to that an extremely wealthy reclusive tax evader, (you can guess on that one), a butch, and two men living in one tent (the precursor of civil unions). The picture below the cast no doubt was what Sherwood Schwartz in a drunken stupor derived his inspiration.
Their only communication with the outside world was a radio with a battery that never went dead and a three hour trip (tour) went on for three years short of them finding an island with an abandoned bomb testing site that was the setting of "The New People" circa 1968 TV vintage.
So, Ginger was dancing at Club Marianne on a bamboo pole, while the professor was whipping up narcotics to reimburse the millionare backer of the club. The alternate gender preference couple set about to do the menial labor. So, how does a strip club survive on a desert island without customers with exception of the occasional head hunters that frequented the island? Howell was pretty good at laundering money, eh?
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Naval History And Political Cover Up: Israeli attack on USS Liberty
Denied Infamy
Israeli attack on USS Liberty
By Alan Sabrosky
June 08, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- Americans respond badly to treachery. This may explain why they went into WWII against Nazi Germany with determination but against Imperial Japan with rage, even though Hitler was decidedly the more vicious enemy. The reason lay in Japan’s surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, described by then-President Roosevelt as "a date which will live in infamy."
The Attack
Less catastrophic but more treacherous and deserving of infamy was the deliberate Israeli air and naval attack upon the USS Liberty, a clearly marked naval intelligence ship, on June 8, 1967. After several hours of aerial surveillance, unmarked aircraft attacked the USS Liberty with gunfire, rockets and napalm. This was followed by an attack by three motor torpedo boats, firing torpedoes and then machine-gunning the ship, its crew and their lifeboats. The ship managed to get out a call for help under extraordinary circumstances, but was nearly sunk, and more than 200 American sailors and Marines were killed or wounded. Israel claimed it was a case of mistaken identity, and the US Government accepted that explanation.
Both lied, and Israel’s lies become evident when one examines the profiles of the USS Liberty and the Egyptian ship the Israelis supposedly thought they were attacking, plus a photo of the USS Liberty itself. Misidentification in a December gale in the North Atlantic might have been possible. On a June day in the Eastern Mediterranean, never, at least by any pilot with the visual acuity to take off and land his aircraft:
Remember that in 1967, Israel’s fighters and motor torpedo boats had to get close to use their on-board weapons against a target. Anyone seeing the radars and electronic arrays on the USS Liberty knew this was not some Egyptian tramp steamer. Finally, there is the USN designation "GTR5" on both sides of the bow & the stern, with the number larger than the letters -- anyone approaching the ship close enough to attack cannot miss that designation, and know that this was a US Navy ship.
Why the Attack
But the Israelis attacked anyway, and tried very hard to sink the ship without any survivors while concealing their own identity. They were aided and abetted by US President Lyndon Johnson and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, who personally recalled separate flights of fighters launched from the 6th Fleet’s aircraft carriers USS Saratoga and USS America, fighters whose arrival over the USS Liberty would have saved most American lives and cost the Israelis a number of aircraft and motor torpedo boats.
What Johnson and McNamara did is appalling. As a Marine who served in Vietnam, I have always despised them for their arrogance and incompetence. After understanding their role in the USS Liberty tragedy, I now despise them twice over for their cowardice and their dereliction of duty, and for giving precedence to a domestic Jewish lobby and their own political interests over the lives of Americans in uniform.
At the very least, both were indictable accessories after the fact in the murder at sea of 34 Americans and a breach of international law, in open violation of their own oaths of office.
So why did the Israelis do it? One possibility is that for them, it was simply business as usual. Israel has a long history of attacking anything in its path – a civilian airliner, UN posts and officials, refugee camps, hospitals, the lot -- and then denying culpability, so the question is not "why," but "why not?" Another was to dispose of inconvenient witnesses to the murder of Egyptian prisoners and civilians at El Arish.
A third was to cloak their strategy of involving Jordan so as to take East Jerusalem and the West Bank. And a fourth was to show other Arab countries that they had such influence in the US that they could do it and get away with it, and perhaps involve the US militarily on their side.
Fixing Things
Any of these would have sufficed. What is important to note is that the Israelis had no qualms about deliberately killing Americans and concealing their own identity, doubtless hoping to bring the US in on their side openly attacking Egypt -- they won handily anyway, but they could not be certain of doing so at the beginning of the war. It is something to keep in mind as a possible precedent when we look later at the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 and made the US an active belligerent intent on destroying Israel’s enemies.
The tale of the USS Liberty needs to reach the American people. It needs to reach them in a medium that will convey the calculated nature of the attack and the outrage it should evoke. And it should conclude with the statements of so many people in positions of authority at the time who said categorically that the attack was deliberate, and of survivors who lost shipmates there and likewise are convinced that the attack was deliberate and that their own government abandoned them at the time of the attack, and betrayed them afterwards.
Few events are so calculated to enrage Americans as the image of a US ship being deliberately attacked and Americans being killed and wounded by a supposed ally, for its own local purposes. That this "ally's" influence in the US government was so great that a US president ordered back fighters whose arrival would have prevented most of the 200 casualties on the USS Liberty from occurring would compound that outrage. And that this influence allowed Israel both to evade retribution at the time and to conceal knowledge of what happened from the American people, would add insult to compound outrage.
This is the factually accurate message Americans need to see and hear, and it is a message that could impact sharply on what members of Congress -- whose jobs depend on votes even more than they do on Jewish money -- would be prepared to do to or for Israel. It could also give President Obama political room for diplomatic maneuver IF he seriously would like to reorient the way the US does its business in the Middle East.
AIPAC, its cohorts and the hasbara crowd will howl. There will be the usual flurry of fabrications, denials, falsehoods, fear-mongering, character assassination and disinformation that is their specialty. But at the end of the day, more and more Americans will see graphic portrayals of an American ship attacked -- and especially of uniformed Americans killed and wounded -- by a foreign country named Israel, whose domestic clout within the United States in 1967 allowed them to do it with impunity, and whose extended clout since that time has already produced one American tragedy (9/11), taken the US into two wars (Afghanistan and Iraq) and is pointing the US towards two more wars (Iran and Syria). And there is a good chance that a growing number of Americans will say, "Enough! Never again...." and make things happen. Let us begin.
Alan Sabrosky (Ph.D, University of Michigan) is a ten-year US Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the US Army War College. He can be contacted at docbrosk@comcast.net.
Some Place Called Monessen
Some Place Called Monessen... Here it is, my home town: Belle Vernon, Pa. Over that hill is Monessen, and actually Donora. The source of more recent maternal ancestry. To the lower right is St. Sebastian's Parochial School. To the left along Broad Ave. (not noted for Broads as 5th Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh was) is the convent where those particular Broads lived. Some were cool in my prepubescent days of grades 1-6 at St. Sebastian's prior to my parole. Some were not. None of the abuse currently the fodder of numerous lawsuits against the Catholic Church, just good old fashioned Calvinism. You know, can't answer the question... make sure you are not standing too close to the wall nor to far as you needed something to stop you in mid air. You'll notice the Starship Enterprise in the sky above St. Sebastians. Phasers on full. Get those nuns. My cousin Bill from Monessen (that's another story) and I climbed to the water tower on the hill overlooking the town and in the day prior to digital photography and using a fishing pole and a slightly off focus SLR camera took this picture. Actually, back in our youth, cousin Bill and I scaled the monstrous hill you see in this picture. Our sense of adventure of climbing steep slopes and crossing railroad tracts was suddenly deflated as he informed me "Oh, Elks club pool." But another interesting side story, across from the Nun's Convent about the middle of the picture is Ferguson's Funeral Home where many a relative have been viewed. During my father's viewing, a nun came in to pay respects and my brother began immediately sucking up to Sister Mary Agony. "You were my favorite nun." At this point she looked over at me and said, "And I remember you" to which I stared blankly back, blinked, glanced over at Cousin Bill and said "No, I don't remember you... You must have hit me in the head with a ruler too many times".
So, just were was this den of parochial indoctrination? To the right of the church is the upper level of the school grades 6-8. But, beneath the the actual church, contrary to the popular misconception that it houses the printing presses to make bingo cards lie rooms for grades 1-4.
On my last visit I toured the outside looking down to the windows I spent sooooo much time daydreaming out of. On of the videos I narrated was the story that occurred around the time Gilligan's Island motion picture trading cards were the rage. Collect a series and fan them rapidly and Gilligan swung a golf club. Classmate Jim McKevitt who started working at McDonald's and later becoming a manager (maybe it was Burger Chef or Winky's or one of those Pennsylvania off brands) was playing guitar and featured in the local newspaper with his brother playing Winchester Cathedral. So it was one day after recess that an enraged nun lined all the second graders up and took us into the bathroom one at a time. I know this drill well having my mouth filled with bar soap on numerous occasions for the inopportune use of profanity which was fairly common place dialogue in the Fellabaum household. So, wait, wait, wait, finally my turn. Leading me into the restroom and swinging open the stall door I beheld the source os rage for Sister Rose Alma.
Between the confined of the door of the stall and the conical edge of the toilet was a long brown turd measuring in my best estimate at that age a whopping 7.5 inches. In retrospect with my current knowledge of the pediatric gut tract I would have had no way of knowing such a length of flocculent compressed matter could exist inside of let alone progress forth from a second or first grader all in one piece. I told the nun that I had been in the adjacent stall but that she might want to seek out a first grader named Mickey. That was the last I heard of the matter or thought of it until my walk down memory lane at the institution that laid the ground work for my future academic pursuits.
Recently I received a phone call and some emails regarding my 35th (huhhhh?) high school class reunion. 35th? Doh!
Sushi In Sarasota Florida...
In a small storefront in Sarasota across from South Gate Mall is a quite getaway with great food. Sushi, sashime, several grilled delicacies and a wide assortment of beverages
makes Kazu's a great place for that early date.
One thing I always look for when I visit a sushi establishment is the freshness of the wasabi. And fresh it is.
As is the rest of the menu...
I have been a frequent visitor for the past two years... and highly recommend it to all.
Why Is Israel Pounding Palestine?
Because for the next 10 days they can get away with it without fear of reprisal from the U. S.
Russia invaded South Ossetia. However, South Ossetia attacked Russia. Russia settled it, and while leaving followed the first rule of engagement to not leave an enemy sronghold intact. It did not continue to waste civilians. Israel is now involved in blitzkrieg with Palestine and yet supporters feel it is unfair to compare the IDF with the Nazis that invaded Poland. And as much of the world looks on, so was it then.
Israel knows that U. S. foreign policy is about to shift from that of bowing to the lobbyist after the inauguration. And while may may try to defend the current actions taken, Israel has to realize it can't have it both ways. The U. N. was wong to adopt the position that zionism is not a form of racism. Not all of Israel buy into it. And, with a nuclear arsenal, no small wonder Iran htakes issue. In a recent BBC interiew a journalist recapped how Israel originally funded Hamas as a force against Palestine. The Mosque recently bombed for "hiding" artillery was also funded by Israel. Interestingly, international journalist have started refraining from use of the word "terrorist." The fire for the witch hunt has been disdained. The press has wised up. The weighted news we receive in the states is so slanted, we cannot buy into the sympathy cries nor the Bush selective endorsement that a country has a right to defend itself.
YOU TOO: Harold "Wes" Culver and the WWII German Super Cannon
Download Wes Culver and the WWII German Super Cannon
Click On The File Above To Listen To The Interview
Interview by J. R. Fellabaum at the Lehigh Florida VFW
This is the war story of Wes Culver, who is a part-time Lehigh Florida resident and part-time Erie PA summer resident. Wes was in th armored corp. The dreaded German Super Cannon that could lob a shell to London was run on railroad tracks and pulled out of train tunnels to shoot. Wes was at an armored servicing center when they were the missed target of an attack from this cannon. Wes tells his story. Afterwards, I let the tape run. I shared a little and as the tape ran Wes got to a portion of the story that probably has not been told asoften and hence the rest of his story...
OK Newshounds... Check This New Consipracy Out...
I think Obama was the best candidate. The following still seems to be an issue. But, there should at least be a hospital bill, medicaid or something... Anyone want to look further?
Hospitals in Hawaii to Obama: You Were Not Born Here!
By admin on Dec 2, 2008
Supposed Conspiracy Claim Turns REAL on Obama
It is becoming painfully obvious that we may very well have a criminal President in 2009. No this isn’t a joke. What I speak of is the curious developments in the supposedly racist, biased, dumb, as well as insane case of where Obama was born. Why the Barack Obama Birth Certificate Issue Is Legitimate
A strange development indeed is how it is that every time Barack Obama or a family member tells of where Obama was born, they seem to have no idea as of December 2008.
They seemed to know what hospital quite a few times months ago when it was claimed that Obama’s mother gave birth to him at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu - Obama and Mom Never Here
The Queen’s Medical Center
1301 Punchbowl StreetHonolulu, HI 96813 Link to Site
Phone number 808-538-9011 General Medical Records 808-547-4361.
After it was concluded that Obama and his mother were never there, his sister was in an interview (Mary) and claimed that Obama was born at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children - Obama and Mom Never Here 1319 Punahou StreetHonolulu, Hawaii 96826(808) 535-7000 Link to site
Hospital after Hospital - all Have No Record of Obama being born or Mom Ever being There.
Hospital after hospital in Honolulu all have NO RECORD of Obama or mother ever being there. Is this some state secret? Are we to believe that even the hospital that he was born in should remain secret? Why lie to us as if it matters I mean the man did win the Presidential vote? Why the lies and secrecy?
We already know that Obama’s family and the entire nation of Kenya (which is about to have a national holiday for Obama) know that Barack Obama was born in Mombasa Coastal Hospital in Kenya. The government of Kenya has sealed these records. More and more secrecy due to the fact that once proven, Obama will not be constitutionally allowed to become President of the United States!
All of these were called from November 20 - December 2nd 2008. It is confirmed, OBAMA not born in any hospital in Honolulu County! NONE FACT!
Hospitals you can check yourself
- The Queen’s Medical Center - Honolulu, Hawaii Obama claims as his birth hospital
- Kapi’ olani Medical Center Obama’s sister claims Barack Obama born here
- Honolulu Shriners Hospital Never a patient Mom or Obama
- Straub Clinic & Hospital Never a patient Mom or Obama
- Hawaii Health Systems Corporation - Honolulu, Hawaii Never a patient Mom or Obama
- Cancer Institute of Maui - Wailuku, Hawaii No Comment ???
- Kuakini Hospital - Honolulu, Hawaii Never a patient Mom or Obama
- Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific - Honolulu, Hawaii Never a patient Mom or Obama
- St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii - Hawaii Never a patient Mom or Obama
- Straub Heatlh - Honolulu, Hawaii Never a patient Mom or Obama
- Tripler Medical Center - Honolulu, Hawaii Never a patient Mom or Obama
- Wahiawa General Hospital - Wahiawa, Hawaii Never a patient Mom or Obama
- Wilcox Memorial Hospital - Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii Never a patient Mom or Obama
We were pretty detailed in our calls. You can look at every hospital here and call any of them. You can file freedom of information acts, you can do everything and anything you wish. Barack Obama was never born in a hospital in Hawaii as claimed.
Only his original that he has sealed will have this info. Will the Supreme Court force it open and thus preserve the Constitution of the United States?
Why the Barack Obama Birth Certificate Issue Is Legitimate
Hawaii Issues Birth Certificates to Foreign Born Residents!
Here’s Hawaii saying it like it it. All Doubts Cleared my Friends.
A. From Hawaii’s official Department of Health, Vital Records webpage: “Amended certificates of birth may be prepared and filed with the Department of Health, as provided by law, for 1) a person born in Hawaii who already has a birth certificate filed with the Department of Health or 2) a person born in a foreign country“ (applies to adopted children).
B. A parent may register an in-state birth in lieu of certification by a hospital of birth under HRS 338-5.
C. Hawaiian law expressly provides for registration of out-of-state births under HRS 338-17.8. A foreign birth presumably would have been recorded by the American consular of the country of birth, and presumably that would be reflected on the Hawaiian birth certificate.
D. Hawaiian law, however, expressly acknowledges that its system is subject to error. See, for example, HRS 338-17.
E. Hawaiian law expressly provides for verification in lieu of certified copy of a birth certificate under HRS 338-14.3.
F. Even the Hawaii Department of Home Lands does not accept a certified copy of a birth certificate as conclusive evidence for its homestead program. From its web site: “In order to process your application, DHHL utilizes information that is found only on the original Certificate of Live Birth, which is either black or green. This is a more complete record of your birth than the Certification of Live Birth (a computer-generated printout). Submitting the original Certificate of Live Birth will save you time and money since the computer-generated Certification requires additional verification by DHHL.”
Now that we all understand that you can be born in Madagascar, Russia, Norway, Brazil or even Kenya like Obama and still have a REAL birth certificate that both Snopes and Factcheck would say was real since they are real. That doesn’t mean you were born in Hawaii. Does this matter to America?
Barack Obama has as of November 27th 2008 spent over$500,000 U.S. to prevent others from seeing it. Why? Didn’t he already win the vote?
Please don’t bring up Snopes (link) that says THEYVE SEEN Obama’s birth certificate and it is the one on his site called Fight the Smears. That is just plain garbage as it has a 2007 border and doesn’t list the hospital, Dr. or place of birth! Plus they say they’ve seen his real birth certificate (you know the one that we the people aren’t allowed to see) .
All of the people born in Korea, Kenya, Mongolia, Australia and who also have Hawaiian birth certificates also have REAL birth certificates.
This does not mean they were born in Hawaii. Get it?
The following is what Obama has on his site as his real birth certificate authenticated by Snopes and Factcheck. Hmmm - 2007 borders, no info on original at all? What’s wrong with this picture? Yes it is a real birth certificate, so are the tens of thousands of other birth certificates given to people born in other countries.
Please don’t bring up Fact Check either (link) as they and Snopes can literally LOOK AT the thousands and thousands of birth certificates in Hawaii from people born in Korea, Australia, Germany and even Kenya like Barack Obama! They are all REAL and Authentic birth certificates, but that doesn’t mean Barack Obama was born in Hawaii.
Snopes and FactCheck aren’t lying when they say the 2007 birth certificate on Obama’s site is real. So are the thousands and thousands of birth certificates in Hawaii from people born in Korea, Australia, Germany and even Kenya like Barack Obama! They are all REAL and Authentic birth certificates, but that doesn’t mean they or Barack Obama was born in Hawaii.
This is the whole point my friends. That is why many of us are incensed that Obama is about to become the President and may not even Constitutionally qualify to be one!
This is unacceptable to every American who understands that Hawaii issues birth certificates to those born in foreign nations.
Yes - it is a proven fact that Hawaii grants birth certificates to people born in other nations! If you or I want a copy, they produce the document that you see on Obama’s site. That is NOT the one that has what we need to see to have Obama become President of the United States.
To become President of the United States one must meet 3 criteria.
- You must be 35 years of Age
- You must be a resident for 14 years
- You must be a natural born citizen - this is the one that someone born outside of the United States would obviously spend hundreds of thousands $$ to prevent us from seeing his birth certificate, just as Barack Obama has done.
Is The War On Drugs Actually The War FOR Drugs?
Several years ago I read an article on the misuse of U. S. drug fighting money and how Columbia was using it for social cleansing. That was around 1995. Here, 2008, is a related article.
DEA complicit in drug trade, says Morales
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Agence France-Presse Morales says evidence will be presented to President Obama
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Bolivian leader Evo Morales on Thursday accused the US government of encouraging drug-trafficking as he explained his decision to banish the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).Boats Go Green...
Hybrid Powered diesel-electric motor
Added to MyBoatsGear on 6/8/2008
Our Review This diesel electric hybrid launched in January and now available through Chris Craft USA can cruise at 5 knots in electric mode only. The California Chris Craft site has a video showing the boat pulling away from the dock silently in electric mode. Once in open water and your ready to plane, the electric and diesel combines for fast acceleration and quick to plane. Steyr claims reduced fuel consumption. The battery is recharged while the diesel is running so you can return to the dock in complete silence. The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and Boating Writers International (BWI) named the marine equipment innovation winners at the International BoatBuilders Exhibition & Conference (IBEX) in Miami. Steyr Motors took home the award this year in the Inboard Engines category for its Hybrid Drive. The company, known for its low emission, lightweight marine diesel engines, created an environmentally-friendly hybrid solution that not only promises zero emission and low speed maneuvering, but also eliminates the need for separate generator units for additional inboard equipment. "Steyr combined both a motor and generator function in one hybrid unit, thereby making diesel operation more efficient and totally electrical operation possible in a seamless transition, in a single unit," says Pike. " IBEX awards press release " MY COMMENT:The "green" attachment is the hybridization. Simple enough to acheive the result. Why can't Detroit do this? Another award for the engine STEYR MOTORS GmbH Wins DAME Award 2008 Bill Dixon, Chairman of the Jury of the DAME, presented the Award to the winner of the prestigious prize at the start of METS this morning to Steyr Motors GmbH for their hybrid propulsion system, which allows a yacht to operate in any of four modes. The engine itself can be used to start the engine, eliminating the need for a starter motor. The engine can also be used as a generator to charge the vessel’s batteries. It can be used as well to leave a harbour in the cruise mode under electric power at speeds up to 5 knots. And finally, the engine can be used in the "boost" mode in situations where additional power is required to get the boat onto a plane. The best part of this product is that the additional generator/motor adds only 100 mm (4.2 inches) to the overall length of the engine and an additional 75 kg (165.4 pounds) of weight, yet it produces an output of 7kW at 48 volts. The electric control unit uses CAN bus protocol to monitor and regulate the engine in each mode, thus allowing it to be linked to other "smart" engine controls.
Sarah Palin, And The Bullet The U. S. Dodged...
Click Here To Laugh Some More...
I included the above link to her blog so you could see just how ridiculous she is...
As John McCain would say, "'Mericans dodged a bullet and that bullet was Sarah Palin!"
This is an unedited excerpt from a blog entry. Glad these good Xtians set such a good example... I suggest reading the entire blog. Oh God, will historians have fun with this... Welcome To The PalinDrome: Sarah Palin's Blog October 02, 2008 "Debate Live Blog Guest Blogger: Todd Palin Well allright. Its my baby's time to shine! I'm here in St. Louis but I donno yet if Im actually gonna watch from the audience or not. I wont lie, I got bored earlier and got into the minibar, so Steve's been saying I don't get to go down and see the thing live. I said like hell I dont! But I don't know, also its pretty comfortable up here and I might be able to blog easier than from my blackberry. An its true Im feelin pretty good right now. 9:00 - OK, I'm at least starting things out up here in the room. Kind of flipping around, not sure where I'll end up but CNN is in the lead right now. They got these circles on the side of the TV, and a bunch of regular folks with dials to rate the whole thing. It's all pretty scientific, like how they score boxing. 9:03 - Blah blah blah I'm Joe Biden. Man who would even listen to this guy? He doesn't even drive a truck. 9:06 - Yeah, Sarah! Nice opener, baby. That thing about soccer was Steve's idea, its meant to get more hispanic people to vote for us. 9:08 - Was that a wink?! I mean fine, I know its TV, but Im just saying Brad better not be in this f***ing building. 9:11 - I think Sarah is right, the people need to rise up! We need to tear those Wall Street boys up, I am sick of them an I bet you are too. So now it's the Coal comments. Repubs give a whole new meaning to the word DESPERATION. Leave it James, it's all over now...." Posted by: Liger | November 04, 2008 at 01:42 AM It's the ANNOINTMENT not the ABUSE It's the HUMANITY not the DEPRAVITY It's the COOPERATION not the CALCIFICATION It's the HUMILITY not the BRAVADO It's the PEACE not the WAR MONGERING It's the FRIENDSHIP not the ENMITY It's the REACHING OUT not the REJECTION It's BARACK/JOE not JOHN/SARAH Posted by: Liger | November 04, 2008 at 04:45 AM GOTTA GO VOTE NOW...I HAVE A HEADACHE. SEE YOU GUYS LATER..IF THE BLOG IS STILL HERE!! HAD PROBLEMS LAST NIGHT GETTING TO IT. THOUGHT THE REPUBLI-CONS WERE SCREWING WITH IT. ITS GONNA BE A LONG NIGHT..... JAMES THE FEGER: SORRY, JIMMY, BUT BY TONIGHT ITS GONNA BE "LIBERAL LAND" DON'TCHYA KNOW!! ITS OBAMA/BIDEN...BY A LANDSLIDE!! :) Posted by: LauralovesTerriers | November 04, 2008 at 11:48 AM WOW It seems as though the writting and thoughts styles have changed here: Poems and word association thoughts! This might be turning into a sublime form of thought control. I'm not a Liberal. But, I did like the phrase Jim the Feger, it kind of reminds me of Joe the Plummer, or Jake the Miner or John & Joan of America. Thanks for that association. The Mac is Back, McCain and will be the President of the United States of America very soon! Posted by: James W. Feger | November 04, 2008 at 02:34 PM McCAIN TO PENNSYLVANIA: MY FRIENDS? MY FRIENDS? WHERE THE HELL ARE YA? HEH? MY FRIENDS? GODAMIT PENNSYLVANIA SONOFABITCHES ABANDONED ME!! WE WERE GONNA FIGHT, GOD DAMIT, FIGHT, FIGHT AND STAND UP AND FIGHT!! REMEMBER? HEH? HEH? GOD DAMN SCRANTON.... MY FRIENDS? my friends??? :( Posted by: LauralovesTerriers | November 04, 2008 at 07:34 PM MCCAIN TO OHIO: MY FRIENDS...MY FRIENDS??!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YA, OHIO FRIENDS?? HEH? HEH? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TA STAND UP AND FIGHT!! FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT fight fight fighhhh....CINDEEE!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YA, I NEED MY SEDATIVE! GODAMIT, WHERE IS EVERYBODY? KENTUCKY?? THERE YOU ARE, MY FRIENDS!! OKLAHOMA, YOU'RE MY FRIEND, MY FRIENDS, BUT...BUT I WANTED OHIO, GODAM SONSOFBITCHES TURNCOATS TO BLUE, WHAT THE F---K? CINDY, GET ME THAT F-----N SEDATIVE!! Posted by: LauralovesTerriers | November 04, 2008 at 08:24 PM Barack has finished measuring the white house drapes and is now measuring the carpet area of the Oval office. Thanks for the entertainment Lauraloves and James W.Feger. My apologies James if I said anything nasty. Give Barack all necessary cooperation. It's going to be an extremely difficult Presidency. Give him a chance, Give decency a chance. See you guys in 2012. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee------------ Posted by: Liger | November 04, 2008 at 08:58 PM HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE WON WE WON WE WON!!!!!!! OBAMA/BIDEN 2008--- WHERE ARE YA, JAMES THE FEGER? A SHOUTOUT TO YA LIGER AND ANY OTHER OF THE VICTORIOUS ON HERE!! :) Posted by: LauralovesTerriers | November 04, 2008 at 10:10 PM IT WAS A GREAT TWO MONTHS ON HERE WITH ALL OF YOU...AND I'LL HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART FOR YOU, LIGER, AND YOU TOO JAMES!!!!! I'M REALY GOING TO MISS THIS SITE, SO MANY LAUGHS! WE SHOULD ALL BE ROOTING FOR OUR COUNTRY TONIGHT AND WISH US WELL AND WISH US SAFE.. A SHOUT OUT FOR BIPARTISANSHIP!!!! LOVE, LAURA IN NEW YORK (Wink Wink) Posted by: LauralovesTerriers | November 04, 2008 at 10:15 PM Congatulations Obama! The last time I voted Democrat was for Jimmy Carter. I'm never going to hear the end of this. My wife is an Obama person. Now we know what Obama has done! Posted by: James W. Feger | November 05, 2008 at 12:40 AM HA HA JAMES, so I guess you WON'T be sleeping with Mother Goose tonight, but a Democrat Obama voting wife!! Good for her! Maybe she'll write poems for you too? ha And thanks for the "congrats to Obama" and I laughed at your last line! I have to admit that John McCain was very gracious in his concession speech towards Obama. Lots of feel good moments tonight. Hey, what state are you in, if you don't mind telling us? Wish you the best, James the Feger, and thanks for being my "muse"!! Posted by: LauralovesTerriers | November 05, 2008 at 01:04 AM Just a final thought Lauraloves and James: Yes John McCain's final speech was indeed gracious. Nice to know you both. By the way, I (Liger) am an Indian writing from Mumbai (India). Just a small secret that I wanted to share with you guys before I go. Congratulations America : The world rejoices with you. Posted by: Liger | November 05, 2008 at 01:16 AM And the best to you both. I'm originally from San Francisco, California. I'm now living on the island of Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, U.S.A. We are out on the Pacific Rim about 100 miles north of Guam. It has been good writing with you and trading the wits! It's a great country. Posted by: James W. Feger | November 05, 2008 at 02:11 AM omfg!!!omoma won!! wat a ****er i h8 him he is such a idiot he odviously has secret intentions and to top it off he wants 2 call the iraq war off(after he insulted it by calling it a mistake)! he went to a muslim school and said he isn't, yer what ever. i wanted jhon to win, i dont care if he is called a lier i'ld rarther have a lier than a terrorist as president!(im not raicest im just uncomfatable with a terrorist running the most "powerful" nation on the planet.) i think sara(one day) would make a fine president, she's brainy(countering barick's campaings) and is some one we can relate to; she has kids, "a hockey mom" likes to have fun(shooting) when have we had a truly powerful leader? bush was just feared and a lil on the crazy side, but was ok i guess. don't worry mc caine he'll screw up and then you can take over. =] Posted by: meow meow cat | November 05, 2008 at 10:54 AM WHAT THE ?? I'M THE ONLY ONE FROM "THE ORIGINAL THREE" (ME, LIGER, FEGER)FROM THE MAINLAND!!!!! HA THAT WAS A SURPRISE! JAMES THE FEGER, you got to vote, right? Wondering how or why you got all the way over there, from San Fransisco! Do you miss living in the USA? And LIGER...not even an AMERICAN!! Oh, you pulled a good one on us, ha ha I thought you were English or Canadian cause of your spelling (words like honour,etc.)and some other hints you weren't American, but figured you did LIVE here! OH AND JAMES, I too live on an island...LONG ISLAND!! ha ha ha GREAT TIME WITH YOU GUYS AND ON "SARAH'S" blogsite and I thank our fake Sarah for giving us this opportunity and hope you are okay, since we haven't heard from you since Oct.2!! :( Come visit New York, Liger and James the Feger; its a great city. Oh, and by the way, my Terrier, Moxie, could run this country better than Sarah Palin!! :) Posted by: LauralovesTerriers | November 05, 2008 at 07:41 PM I have never been more proud to be an American as I was last night! I knew Obama was the best choice. Goodluck Palin Family. Enjoy the new grandbaby. I hope little Cialis doesn't hate you to much for the name lol. Posted by: Obama Supporter 4 a Better America | November 06, 2008 at 12:03 AM But Lauraloves, would your terrier look as good in lipstick as a pitbull? Posted by: Jessy | November 06, 2008 at 09:10 AM Why yes, she would, Jessy. ha ha That was a good one! Why didn't I think of it myself? Posted by: LauralovesTerriers | November 06, 2008 at 03:28 PM Hey Sarah, it sure is COOOOOOOLD back in Alaska, ain't it? Saw yer breath coming out of ya lipsticked mouth at the airport! You and Todd can go back to your igloo or that garish red house Todd built for ya, that they showed on tv, and make some hot moose stew for ya brood....maybe make another baby while your'e at it? I see the name "Cialis" is taken, for Bristol's upcoming Virgin Birth, so you can call it "Viagra." Or if its a boy, Joe Theplumber Palin." Love, Laura from the Lower 48 Posted by: LauralovesTerriers | November 06, 2008 at 03:36 PM Visit Sarah Palin's new election website: http://www.sarah-palin.com/ Thanks =). SP Posted by: Sarah Palin | November 06, 2008 at 09:18 PM Sarah, Our Holy Father up in Heaven has answered all of our prayers. Jesus has brought us President Obama. The hand of God has spoken. Praise Jesus. Best Regards, The Holy Spirit. Posted by: The Holy Spirit | November 07, 2008 at 06:16 PM Sarah, Our Holy Father up in Heaven has answered all of our prayers. Jesus has brought us President Obama. The hand of God has spoken. Praise Jesus. Best Regards, The Holy Spirit. Posted by: The Holy Spirit | November 07, 2008 at 06:18 PM JESUS, ITS SARAH. Why didn't you tell me that Africa is a continent?? I always listen to EVERYTHING you tell me, but gosh darn it, but I swear I didnt' know the gotcha media was goin to quiz me on things like Africa, (which I can't see from my house) and what countries make up North America and all that NY Times type of stuff!! And now they want to come to my beloved Alaska and look in my closets for the expensive clothes!!?? Jesus, please help me, I am goin to cry in front of all those eliteish Liberell reporters!! Love, SARAH (the gift that keeps on givin') Posted by: LauralovesTerriers | November 07, 2008 at 08:58 PM I'm really embarrasssed to admit this, but before I heard about this $150,000 clothes buying thing that Sarah did, I didn't even know that Neiman Marcus was a fancy store--always thought it was some foreign chocolate that rich people ate. If I could get a couple of new dresses at Target, that would make me plenty happy right now, and I'm sure I could do it with $150.00 at most plus change. Most of the folks in my town would probably say the same thing. Posted by: Shannon | November 07, 2008 at 11:34 PM Pleeeeeeeez--you can't expect a VP candidate to go campaigning in clothes from Target or Walmart. And if you live in a town where nobody even knows about Neiman Marcus, you really shouldn't enter a discussion that's way over your head. In fact, next time, please don't even vote, just stay home, and make gourmet jello or whatever you eat to treat yourself on special occasions. Posted by: Deb | November 08, 2008 at 11:12 AM I know that I know that I KNOW that Neiman Marcus is not somethin' like Godiva Chocolate but a fancy clothes wearin' store that the California elites go to after they sip their cappachinos and Lattays while readin' that darn NY Times to find out who's in NAFTA and where all the continents are that I can't see from my pretty red house in my beloved Alaska in the house that Todd built. Posted by: LauralovesTerriers | November 08, 2008 at 05:49 PM Palin-Portman 2012 I also want to help Sarah Palin defeat Barack Obama in 2012 by sugesting the right running mate. I believe the best running mate for Sarah Palin would be someone else who was also on John McCain's short list, that being Bush budget director Rob Portman of Ohio. He would be the best for Sarah Palin based on a threefold superioity that only he has, which are as follows: ideology, geography, and economy. Ideologicaly he is as conservative as Sarah Palin is on all of the issues, geographically he is from the most important battle ground state in American that being Ohio which is followed by Florida, and economically he was Bush budget director and incharge of the management and budget office. Rob Portman is the only Republican in this country that satisfies this 3 fold superior criteria of ideology, geography, and economy. Above all if I was the Republican candidate for President this year Rob Portman would have been my second choice after Sarah Palin. Your Conservative Right Wing Brother John Posted by: John Warren | November 11, 2008 at 05:19 PM Very lucid analysis John!! But the problem is this--hardly anyone outside Ohio knows who Rob Portman is; and secondly, we don't really NEED Ohio if we get Missouri, Nevada and New Mexico. I propose a Palin-Huckabee ticket. Here you have name recognition, star power in abundance, conservative ideology and a record of good governance. Palin-Huckabee 2012. What do you think? Posted by: Shawn Reycraft | November 12, 2008 at 12:34 AM Palin / Wurzelbacher 2012 - YES!!! Posted by: Millie | November 12, 2008 at 07:44 AM As a jew I truly do thank God that you did not make it to the White House. And as a woman, I thank you for doing so poorly in the public eye and helping so many to finalize their decisions. You truly are an insult to intelligent women. Posted by: Laurel Nokomis | November 19, 2008 at 08:08 PM And off to the side, this one was choice since I believe that sham engagement will come apart sooner than Florida Govenor Charlie Crists...
Inadequate And Fraudulent Medication Testing Trials Threaten The Safety Of All Americans
Laurel Nokomis On Woman Health Issues Laurel may be reached at FREELANCENEWSREPORT@juno.com This is the first in a series on drug safety, testing and reporting. After Merck was found to be holding contrary information to a drugs safety while in meetings with the FDA we Americans can readily see the passive attitude of the regulatory agency on the industry. Contrary test results are just one of the fraudulent considerations in drug safety. Improperly administered studies and falsified documentation are the tip of the iceberg. Currently we are in the heavily marketed cold and flu season. And one of the products being pushed is the flu shot. For years, especially starting with swine flu, Americans have flocked to the magic shot that woulld keep them from the misery of the flu. On the horizon we see the looming spectre of the Chinese Avian flu and the potential crossover for human to human replication transmission with disasterous results. In this interim, we American seek the magic shot that will save us from such fates. The scientific process in testing such entities includes the solidity of the design of the study and the study conduct itself. Science is based on factors including documentation as well as replication and reproduceabililty of results. Additionally, testing on applicable patient/subjects falls under this methodology. A nicotine patch may be tested in non smokers to evaluate clearance of the drug via the liver and other bodily organs in both healthy and compromised individuals. Combating nicotine craving may be carried out simultaenously on smokers and non smokers as well as between smokers with use of the drug and with a placebo. All testing approaches lend to the non influenced outcome of the data for the final decisions of efficacy and safety. One problem right of the bat is the testing population of clinical trials. For a drug largely intended for North American diet and lifestyle populations we have people participating in studies that are from third world countries that normally have a diet entirely different from that given during the study. An investigator from Chicago may not see anything wrong with using bratwurst in several meals during a study. However, South American participants that have a diet of mostly vegetables and corn meal may have altered dietary patterns and therefore shifting clearance results to name one potental "confounding" effect. Another factor in the testing of the drug is what is known as the wash out period. If a subject is in a study, usually they are not elegible to enter and dose in another study until a certain time period after their last clinical event from the prior study. Indigent populations are highly motivated for the cash received. There are people that are professional study subjects. Third world visitors receive a kings ransom for the amount of time in the study, and if using a fake ID, a tax free ransom. Often subjects show up for study evaluation exams with little more to identify themselves than a passport. Recently some testing firms have required forms for submission to the Internal Revenue to verify that the social security card presented matches the name with the number on file. Often these cards are unsigned and hence technically not valid. Potential subjects have been observed reading the name off the card as they sign consent forms for study participation. A staffer in one study reported that a subject reported with a new name and a new social security number than previous studies claiming the United States government gave her a new card, name and number once she got married. Many staffers are there to collect a paycheck and often pay little attention to such discrepencies or even if the examining physician has the correct chart during examination. The staffers that are diligent often meet with attitude when trying to manage the situation on the up and up. Currently in the cold and flu season, one flu vaccine that was tested at various facilities had at least one center that was not diligent in ensuring proper compliance to scientific standards. Outright fraud in the false production of study results was apparently swept under the table according to a confidential source. In particular the documentation of a testing center with a high hispanic staff and study population base was audited prior to submission to an FDA auditor. Among such questionable findgs which were often met with comments from superiors of "I wish you hadn't shown me that" included multiple individual subject urinanalysis forms prepared on days when the subject had not appeared for appointments or the use of outdated pregnancy test in the conduct of the study. While clerical errors abound and can be explained away as such, repeated "flaws" in the clinical procedure lends doubt to the due diligence on the part of the investigator, staff and company. Such clerical flaws occuring even 10% of the time starts to raise doubts on the other 90% of the study data and product safety. In clinical trials test drugs are adminstered on a random basis with the true nature of the drug being known to those not involved in the day to day conduct of the study. This helps to make sure that staffers and subjects aren't influenced in there perception of what was given and hence what results are expected. In the course of studies, subjects have symptoms. Any symptom, regardless of severity is documented as to type, severity and duration. Ever look at an ad for a drug in a magazine and the full page of tiny print on the following page that includes a heading "ADVERSE REACTIONS"? An Adverse Reaction Event is aymptom noted. The job of statiticians is to slush numbers and wash out those findings that are not statistically significant or "not determined mathematically to be a random and unrelated episode." There is one problem in this clinical scenario, it is subjective. By subjective I mean that study participants must report it or staffers must be astute enough to discern it is occuring. One source mentioned that an unlicensed nurse from South America was staffing a study that had her spouse as a subject. The spouse subject had passed out in his seat which can be common in this setting and is known as a vaso-vagal episode. When someone mentioned her spouses fainting, this nurse dismissed it as him taking a nap and returned to chatting with her female coworkers. Quality of education and training will be addressed in another installment. But, adverse events are the core findings desired in clinical trials. Without their being reported, we have no foundation for the safety of drugs. This can be compounded by secrecy. Secrecy due to a subject being currently enrolled in another study as can be the case with out patient trials or the refusal of the subject to report symptoms for fear of being dropped from the study and hence losing income. Another source told me that one such situation included a female subject with an apparently severe headache and exhibiting behavior of such by grimacing, keeping her eyes closed, taking ice from drinks to apply to her head and that the severity of her situation was largely ignored by staff from the prior shift. Upon approaching the subject to generate some documentation and suggesting that if symptoms were too severe she could stop participation she responded with "you tell us to tell you when we have pain but when we do you send us home and we lose money." These adverse reaction events are documented and are not "closed out" until symptoms cease. One subject with an ongoing reaction from one study was caught trying to qualify for another study. Recurrent study participants openly note on their qualifying paperwork that they had not been in a clinical study for a year when in fact they had just gone off study at the same facility a week earlier. The paperwork I am told is volumous and unless management and staff is on the lookout for such fraud it is seldom caught, but it is evident that it is largely ignored or even encouraged lest a test be short of it's study subject quota. If Chinese products don't kill us first, our ongoing greed no doubt will. To Be Continued... Is The Testing Of Prescribed Drugs Americans Take Done And Reported Honestly And Accurately?
The Choice Of Sarah Palin Proved To Be An Insult To Intelligent Women
Or "I have the question here in my cue cards that I want to lie about."
by Laurel Nokomis freelancenewsreport@juno.com
Ok, so here I am darling, a die hard Republican. And "Oh Boy, a woman on the ticket!" That was as far as it got. If John McCain would have tapped Beth Dole, it may have been another story. Sacrifice the seat in North Carolina, what a great choice she would have been. And, yes, a better choice than John McCain. I pulled for Romney.
Romney and Dole would have been the ticket of my choice, not yet another embarrassing bimbo insulting my gender. Katie Couric, you were just too soft on her. Thanks for being nice, but... not one Supreme Court decision came to mind? Even if she could not recall the name of Lilly Ledbetter, perhaps she would have recalled the news about the hearing had she not been glued to Richard Roberts or CBN.
The last thing we need running this country is another dumb baby making overworked housewife pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen while her husband is off snowmobiling. Didn't anyone question the plane floating in the lake in front of her lakefront home? Oh she managed that by being frugal with the household budget. And after eight years of deception in the White House do we want a govenor that openly conducts gubernatorial business on private emails to thwart the legal process. I won't ask if she's stupid, I will merely say it. She is stupid. And, she is an insult to every hardworking American woman that struggles everyday to make ends meet and gain respect in a still predominately man's world. And, unfortunately there are still alot of impressionable stupid women out there considering how they went online to shop for her glasses, shoes and even got their hair dyed brown. Hey, all you girls out there, stop thiking with your uterus.
Sarah Palin... Goodbye and Good Riddance!
I think Sarah Palin learned how evenly matched she was with running mate John McCain. And, she shows up to do a concessoin speach and it is no go. It's the John show. Now, McCain lot seems to be trashing her. She served her purpose, and now she's trash. My only concern is that McCain has let another Katherine Harris loose. And this baying wolf was finally washed up. Hopefully it will be the same with Palin since she was dumb engough to swallow the McCain baloney hook, line and sinker. Harris started this whole mess, I think Palin finally got us out of it! Let's keep it that way.
You Too Interviews Series: In The Question...
11/4/2008 was a historic day. I decided to interview several and get their comments on why it was historic to them...
Download u_two_in_the_question_why_the_election_was_historic_1152008.mp3
Someplace Called Monessen
This is the town where it started. Donora Pa. Grandmother was the secretary in the plumbing shop, Grandpap was a plumber. Joe Tunney, the original "Joe The Plumber." Here's a recent AP story on that town thirty years later...
The hillside in the distance is the same as the one behind the back of the photographer taking this photo. Just over the hill side behind the photographer is my home town of Belle Vernon Pa. Up until I graduated high school in 1974 nothing ever seemed to grow on that hillside. Here's the story:
Unveiling a Museum, a Pennsylvania Town Remembers the Smog That Killed 20 By SEAN D. HAMILL Published: November 1, 2008 DONORA, Pa. — When the killer smog rolled into town here in October 1948, 12-year-old Joann Crow thought it was an adventure. "Dad couldn’t drive us to school because it was so hard to see," said Mrs. Crow, now 72. "He had to walk us to school that Wednesday with a flashlight, which we thought was fun." But the next day, Thursday, Oct. 28, her grandmother, Susan Gnora, 62, started coughing and experiencing chest pains. It was the same for a lot of older residents of this Monongahela River valley mill town 24 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. "She died the next day. That’s when we all got worried," said Mrs. Crow, a retired child care worker. "They tried to blame it on asthma. But we knew that wasn’t true. She was always so strong. It was that smog from the mills." By the time a rain on Oct. 31 cleared the air, 20 people in Donora had died, and nearly half the town became ill in one of the worst air pollution disasters in the nation’s history. After decades of largely remaining silent about the horrors of that week, Donora residents began to open up about it in recent years, placing a historical marker in town on the 50th anniversary. Over the last two weeks, they marked the 60th anniversary with memorials for the families of those who died, discussions with experts about the lessons learned, and the opening of the Donora Smog Museum, with the slogan "Clean Air Started Here." "It was the first time that people really understood that a lot of air pollution in a short period of time could kill people," said Dr. Devra Davis, director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh and author of "When Smoke Ran Like Water," about air pollution. She is also a Donora native who was 2 at the time of the smog. The Donora smog gained national attention and helped lead to some of the first local and state pollution control laws, and, eventually, the 1970 federal Clean Air Act. "We want people to realize Donora was a big part of the environmental movement," said Don Pavelko, a Donora councilman who came up with idea for the museum. "The smog in Donora over the years had been looked upon as a black eye. The older folks just didn’t want to talk about it because they thought it was bad publicity." The museum, in a former Chinese restaurant, brings together photographs, old newspapers, maps and copies of studies of the smog. Brian Charlton, a high school history teacher, has been appointed archivist and is pursuing oral histories of that week. Paul C. Brown, 81, who worked in the steel mills then, remembered going to work at the mill that Saturday. "We all thought it would lift eventually, because we were used to the fog in the valley," he said. "Then I started to hear about people getting sick." Smog was not unusual in Donora, a town of 14,000 then that was home to the American Steel & Wire Company and the Donora Zinc Works plants — both run by the United States Steel Company — that sat along the river and employed 5,000 people. But this was different. The thick, yellowish, acrid smog was the result of an unusual weather inversion — a pocket of warm, stagnant air — that sat over the valley for five days. Underneath what was essentially a lid on the valley were sulfuric acid, nitrogen dioxide and other poisonous gases, including fluorine, that would normally rise into the atmosphere. Most researchers blame the zinc plant, which had long been a source of complaints and was responsible for the denuding of almost all vegetation within a half mile of the plant. The actual toll from the smog has never been accurately calculated. Dr. Davis said Donora’s mortality rate remained high for years afterward. "There are still lessons to be learned," Dr. Davis said. "There are situations like Donora going on in India and Asia right now." The plants both closed by 1966, and Donora is now a struggling town of 5,653. After the deadly smog, U.S. Steel said it was "an act of God," and never admitted any responsibility, even after it settled lawsuits filed against it for $250,000. By the time legal fees were taken out and the money was spread among the hundreds of victims — both those who died and those who got ill — "My aunt said she had enough left to buy a TV," Mrs. Crow said. "I just hope the memory of it helps somebody else," she said. "I hope we never hear of something like this happening again."
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New health insurance program benefiting Floridians, Maybe?
New health insurance program benefiting Floridians, Maybe? Or, Who is getting the lions share of the health care dollar?
royjmeidinger@comcast.net
Fort Myers, Fl.
Governor Charlie Christ and the State Legislature have put the citizens of Florida in a partnership with the Health Industry Oligopoly, effective January 5th, 2009. The program, called Cover Florida, covers people ages 19 to 64 and is currently available to nearly 4 million un-insured people. The non-catastrophic plan costs around $50 a month. The catastrophic plan is about $150 but rates vary depending on age, gender, and benefit options.
The new insurance plan is supposed to give us affordable health insurance, cover the cost of drugs or give us a discount on drugs, but the price we will eventually pay is the end of the capitalistic health insurance system. The plan brings to light the true cost of what health insurance should cost. An employer presently pays $6,500 for an employees catastrophic coverage, as compared to $1,800 under the Cover Florida.
An employer who provides health insurance benefits can benefit from Cover Florida in the following manner. New employees can be covered immediately but for old employees the employer must cancel the employees coverage for six months; pay the employee an additional $200 a month or $2,400 a year, for them to buy Cover Florida health insurance and save $4,100 in employee benefits. The savings are even greater if the employer pays for family health insurance coverage, which is now costing $14,000 a year. For family health insurance coverage, the employer will increase the employee’s salary by $500 a month or $6,000 a year and save $8,000 a year in employee benefits. The employee will then have enough money to purchase an individual catastrophic coverage plan for their spouse and cover their children under Florida Kid Care Program.
Using the $1,800 figure as the base, the $6,500 is 3.6 times larger, which represents an additional cost of 260% going to the health insurance companies. The insurance companies premium rates are predicated on the billings they receive from the health care providers and not the actual amounts paid by the health insurance companies.
Compare this additional insurance expense to the capital costs and administrative costs of the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS), sent to Congress and verified by the General Accounting Office (GAO) of an additional expense of 1.5% above the health care costs paid to the health care providers and you can see why the American Employer is being ripped off.
There are another group of third-party payers who pay substantially more bill claims then the health insurance companies or the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services, these are the credit card companies, like VISA, MasterCard and Discover; these companies get paid 4% to 6% of the billed amount, but they have to pay quickly and take the risk of bad debt from people who do not pay.
Also when you compare the percent of the Gross Domestic Product for health care with that of other countries, you see we are spending two (2) to three (3) times as much, as other countries, But the kicker to all of this is our health care system is ranked 41st by the World Health Organization.
The cost savings of the plan is due to the fact the Cover Florida policyholders are coerced into using the insurance companies’ in-network health care providers. Most of these in-network health care providers pay a consideration, which is a percentage of their fees, a brokering fee, to the insurance companies for referring their policyholders. These payments are quite substantial for the health care providers, for example Lee Memorial Health System’s largest expenditure is close to $500 million dollars in brokering fees. In the past, the IRS did not require a tax exempt organization like Lee Memorial Health System to report their brokering fees, because they are illegal, but do to a new IRS regulation, LMSB-04-0807-056, Industry Director Directive on Contractual Allowance Issues in the Healthcare Industry, they must now be reported and the insurance companies must pay taxes on these brokering fees. For the tax paying health care providers, for any consideration given, like secret discounts given to the insurance companies, they will also have to pay taxes on these amounts, because the consideration paid for an illegal act like brokering are not a deductible expense item.
There is one point I know you have to take into consideration, the new plan calls for a co-payment of 20%, but many of the new health care plans being sold today to employers also call for a co-payment of 20%. The Cover Florida policyholder has to pay a 20% co-payment for an in-network health care provider, who normally pays a brokering fee to the insurance company but now must pay a 40% co-payment to the insurance company because the insurance company is not getting a brokering fee. This is coercion and a limitation on competition, sanctioned by State legislation; if a policyholder does not boycott the out-of-network health care provider the out of pocket expense for the policyholder is twice as much. An important fact to remember, the co-payment is a billable item from the insurance company, not from the health care provider. You should pay the co-payment to the insurance company to establish a contractual relationship, so if anything goes wrong with your medical procedures you are not limited to whom you can sue for medical malpractice. You can also sue the insurance company, for using their in-network health care provider. Unlike the State created tax exempt organizations which have limits on medical malpractice settlements, there are no limits on insurance companies settlements awarded by juries. Get an invoice from the insurance company for the co-payment; pay the insurance company, not the health care provider.
The $4,100 to $8,000 savings the employer saves could be used to save jobs, increase profits or give substantial raises to the employees. This would be a greater stimulus package then Congress is going to try to pass.
10 January 2009 in Reader Contribution/Commentary | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)