Medical helicopter flight crashes en route to a patient. 3 crew dead. People familiar with helicopters last seen not even bothering to put on their surprised faces.
My condolences to the families.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Trust My Instincts, "Small Business Aid Package" Edition
Yesterday I noted a big push in the press for Republicans to allow a 'help out the small businesses out there' bill to the floor. Today the press has continued. I was sure it must be bad for the country if there was such a press from the Leftist media, but nobody was giving any details. I was right; today Boortz brought the details and my suspicions were confirmed.
The bill is a $30B subsidized/guaranteed loan measure, supposedly to help small businesses. The Republicans are being painted as the bad guys for not letting the bill come to a vote. Missing from the MSM reportage: Democrats have refused to allow Republicans to bring any amendments to the bill. Is that a Republican blockade? Hmm. Fill in the blank: The ____________ Party has a majority in the Senate.
Hold on there.
Small businesses are able to get loans, if they can prove they will probably be able to pay them back. This has always been the case, even through the credit crunch in late 2008/early 2009. If you are a bad credit risk, you can't get a loan because banks are not charity organizations. Putting up taxpayer money for borrowers who that can't qualify for private loans is a good way to lose the taxpayer that $30B.
When a business is struggling to stay open due to an unsustainable business model or undesirable/obsolete product, and they get yet another loan, it is not helpful. The American economy is NOT going to recover and make them viable again in the near term future. All making loans to non credit-worthy businesses will do is deepen their debt, eventually causing greater losses for the lender, and prolonging the companies' and the country's economic pain.
Also not mentioned: 8% of small businesses are about to have a tax hike in January. This is bad for those businesses. The President and his surrogates are trying to say these tax increases affect only a minority of small businesses. Not mentioned is that those 8% generate 75% of all small business income, and pay 80% of the taxes paid by small businesses.
Of course it would just be silly to expect them to mention the Fair Tax proposal, which would immediately bring a huge pile of money into the economy and have the almost-immediate effect of creating huge numbers of jobs.
The bill is a $30B subsidized/guaranteed loan measure, supposedly to help small businesses. The Republicans are being painted as the bad guys for not letting the bill come to a vote. Missing from the MSM reportage: Democrats have refused to allow Republicans to bring any amendments to the bill. Is that a Republican blockade? Hmm. Fill in the blank: The ____________ Party has a majority in the Senate.
Hold on there.
Small businesses are able to get loans, if they can prove they will probably be able to pay them back. This has always been the case, even through the credit crunch in late 2008/early 2009. If you are a bad credit risk, you can't get a loan because banks are not charity organizations. Putting up taxpayer money for borrowers who that can't qualify for private loans is a good way to lose the taxpayer that $30B.
When a business is struggling to stay open due to an unsustainable business model or undesirable/obsolete product, and they get yet another loan, it is not helpful. The American economy is NOT going to recover and make them viable again in the near term future. All making loans to non credit-worthy businesses will do is deepen their debt, eventually causing greater losses for the lender, and prolonging the companies' and the country's economic pain.
Also not mentioned: 8% of small businesses are about to have a tax hike in January. This is bad for those businesses. The President and his surrogates are trying to say these tax increases affect only a minority of small businesses. Not mentioned is that those 8% generate 75% of all small business income, and pay 80% of the taxes paid by small businesses.
Of course it would just be silly to expect them to mention the Fair Tax proposal, which would immediately bring a huge pile of money into the economy and have the almost-immediate effect of creating huge numbers of jobs.
Why Would We Press Charges?
I mean, they didn't do anything illegal yet. Certainly "conspiracy to try a dry-run at a terrorist attack" isn't any reason to lock someone up. At least, not if you are suicidal, which the Dutch apparently are not, as they have locked these guys up.
Two "Arab men" with awfully fishy coincidences going on in their luggage and itineraries, and oh of course they don't know each other. Oh well, that's that then!
Yabba Dabba: No your honor I do not know this man.
US American Judge: Okay, have a nice day UR free to go!
Yabba Dabba: OK BRB BOMB LOL!
Seriously? We don't even want to hold onto them for a few days to dig up a few details from their friends and neighbors? Oh, and P.S. would it kill you reporters to mention the obvious, that these guys are probably super-peaceful Arab Muslim men and maybe make a hint of an innuendo about a religious motivation to see what they could get away with when it comes to American airline security?
Nah, why would they do that? After all, what does their religion have to do with the story?
Two "Arab men" with awfully fishy coincidences going on in their luggage and itineraries, and oh of course they don't know each other. Oh well, that's that then!
Yabba Dabba: No your honor I do not know this man.
US American Judge: Okay, have a nice day UR free to go!
Yabba Dabba: OK BRB BOMB LOL!
Seriously? We don't even want to hold onto them for a few days to dig up a few details from their friends and neighbors? Oh, and P.S. would it kill you reporters to mention the obvious, that these guys are probably super-peaceful Arab Muslim men and maybe make a hint of an innuendo about a religious motivation to see what they could get away with when it comes to American airline security?
Nah, why would they do that? After all, what does their religion have to do with the story?
I Hate The Phone Practices Of Experian
I had to call Experian today to get something taken care of, and had great success!
I had previously requested my credit report over the phone. It is super-easy to do, if you don't have an accent. I'm from Texas. The robot failed -twice- to figure out how to spell my name correctly, then it had me leave a voice recording of my name and how to spell it. The credit report came with all the proper information on it, but with my name misspelled.
I ran an internet search on "How to talk to a human Experian" and came up with this: Call 1-866-583-0303 and enter the report number and last 4 of your oh-so-secure-password Social "Security" Number. Then it comes up with a menu of options, none of which is "stop talking to a robot." You have to say "Agent" while it is telling you your options. It will stop talking and ask if you want to talk to an agent. Tell the robot "Yes" and be prepared to wait on hold for a while.
********
When the robot initially answers the phone call, it rattles off a bunch of disclaimers, and also tells you that it looks at your area code to determine hours of service. This means that, as the business day was closed where I live last night when I got the erroneous report, I was out of luck until today. If you have the ability to spoof your area code, that might be a workaround (and illegal). I called back today during lunch, and got through to a human! . . . in India, where it was WAY past bed time. C'mon Experian, you have an overseas call center that's always open, and can't spend a little extra and just offer 24/7 service?
I had previously requested my credit report over the phone. It is super-easy to do, if you don't have an accent. I'm from Texas. The robot failed -twice- to figure out how to spell my name correctly, then it had me leave a voice recording of my name and how to spell it. The credit report came with all the proper information on it, but with my name misspelled.
I ran an internet search on "How to talk to a human Experian" and came up with this: Call 1-866-583-0303 and enter the report number and last 4 of your oh-so-secure-password Social "Security" Number. Then it comes up with a menu of options, none of which is "stop talking to a robot." You have to say "Agent" while it is telling you your options. It will stop talking and ask if you want to talk to an agent. Tell the robot "Yes" and be prepared to wait on hold for a while.
********
When the robot initially answers the phone call, it rattles off a bunch of disclaimers, and also tells you that it looks at your area code to determine hours of service. This means that, as the business day was closed where I live last night when I got the erroneous report, I was out of luck until today. If you have the ability to spoof your area code, that might be a workaround (and illegal). I called back today during lunch, and got through to a human! . . . in India, where it was WAY past bed time. C'mon Experian, you have an overseas call center that's always open, and can't spend a little extra and just offer 24/7 service?
Texas Veterans' Widows Now Entitled To Benefits.
From the radio news today: The Texas Veterans' Land Board has announced the spouses (read: wives) of servicemen killed in the GWOT are entitled to benefits just the same as their Husbands would have been, had they not been killed.
Good.
Good.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Statist, An Ancillary Definition
A run-of-the-mill big government bureaucrat will steal your house from you and give it to someone else, so it can be used in a way that generates more property tax for the government.
A Statist, on the other hand, will ignore the letter of the new anti-eminent domain seizure State law, declare your house obsolete, and tell you to bulldoze it (or they will do it for you) - at your expense - and then sell the now-vacant property.
Hat tip: Uncle
A Statist, on the other hand, will ignore the letter of the new anti-eminent domain seizure State law, declare your house obsolete, and tell you to bulldoze it (or they will do it for you) - at your expense - and then sell the now-vacant property.
Hat tip: Uncle
People Who Top Off Piss Me Off
You sound and look like a moron, click-clunk click-clunk click-clunking that last 1/2 cup of gasoline into the overflow/gasoline vapor reservoir in your fueling system. You are NOT getting more gas in your car's tank, no matter how it makes you feel to keep jerking that valve's handle. In addition, when you round up to the next dollar, you are not necessarily getting what you pay for.
What's more, and more importantly, you are messing ME up.
To get a full tank of gas, as fast as possible, Squeeze the handle until the tank is almost full, then back off the pressure on the valve handle. You will note that the valve starts to push back a little, and then you ease off the pressure a little more. Eventually, you are barely squeezing the handle at all, and gas is trickling in, until it finally shuts off. The tank is then as full as that pump can safely fill it. If you squeeze the handle again, you are either going to spill gas on yourself, or you are sending gas into your charcoal canister, or you are giving gas back to the station.
The reason it pisses me off? When you click-clunk to get another 5 drops of gasoline, it messes up the pressure in the delivery lines across the whole gas station. It shuts off MY pump when it was about to shut off by itself in a few moments, when you click-clunk your top-off ritual. I don't top off after YOU shut the pump off for me, but it messes up my perfectly-full tank ritual.
The Environmental Protection Agency doesn't like it, either, but they give a few different reasons
What's more, and more importantly, you are messing ME up.
To get a full tank of gas, as fast as possible, Squeeze the handle until the tank is almost full, then back off the pressure on the valve handle. You will note that the valve starts to push back a little, and then you ease off the pressure a little more. Eventually, you are barely squeezing the handle at all, and gas is trickling in, until it finally shuts off. The tank is then as full as that pump can safely fill it. If you squeeze the handle again, you are either going to spill gas on yourself, or you are sending gas into your charcoal canister, or you are giving gas back to the station.
The reason it pisses me off? When you click-clunk to get another 5 drops of gasoline, it messes up the pressure in the delivery lines across the whole gas station. It shuts off MY pump when it was about to shut off by itself in a few moments, when you click-clunk your top-off ritual. I don't top off after YOU shut the pump off for me, but it messes up my perfectly-full tank ritual.
The Environmental Protection Agency doesn't like it, either, but they give a few different reasons
Sky Blue, Water Wet, Glutamate Linked to Migraines
An international study has shown a possible genetic correlation between people who suffer from migraine headaches. Turns out if you have too much glutamate on the brain, it may make it hurt. Some people are predisposed to have a buildup of glutamate, according to this genetic study.
Of course, those of us who try to avoid monosodium glutamate have several reasons. Migraine headaches are only one of many. Sure it's yummy. It's also toxic. Dogs and cats die all the time from drinking that sweet, sweet antifreeze. Lay off the MSG if you value your health, especially if you have headaches.
Of course, those of us who try to avoid monosodium glutamate have several reasons. Migraine headaches are only one of many. Sure it's yummy. It's also toxic. Dogs and cats die all the time from drinking that sweet, sweet antifreeze. Lay off the MSG if you value your health, especially if you have headaches.
Note to My Neighbor:
If you insist on having a drunken screaming fight at 01:30 in the morning, could you please do the rest of us the favor of having it inside your house? P.S. your women-choosing circuits may be somewhat faulty, given your recent divorce and the outward appearance of the latest female who's moved in with you.
The third car, which of course belongs to the next-most-recent shack up honey, parked in the neighbor's driveway this morning, did shed a little light on why I was so rudely awakened last night.
Oh, and P.S. if you all decide to make this a regular feature, I know a few guys who work for the city who would be happy to give you some free bracelets and a quiet place to sleep it off . . .
The third car, which of course belongs to the next-most-recent shack up honey, parked in the neighbor's driveway this morning, did shed a little light on why I was so rudely awakened last night.
Oh, and P.S. if you all decide to make this a regular feature, I know a few guys who work for the city who would be happy to give you some free bracelets and a quiet place to sleep it off . . .
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Who Is DRESSING This Woman?
If I were the POTUS, you would not catch me without a suit coat on, but maybe that's just decent people with respect for the office me. But his wife . . . SRSLY who is advising this woman on her clothing choices?
And no, I will not speculate what his major malfunction is with the umbrella.
And no, I will not speculate what his major malfunction is with the umbrella.
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