It didn't really make it into the big-boy press, or any of the nightly news episodes....but the Peace Corps did an interesting thing yesterday.....they agreed to sponsor and take....same-sex couples.
So you can imagine this deal. Karl and Joe, a married couple from Maryland....will join up with the Peace Corps. Karl and Joe get sent off to some third-world country that really doesn't have much of a positive view of this type of sexual affair. The political leadership will question the arrival of Karl and Joe on day one....to basically freeze them out of any real contribution. They live in a hut at the end of the village, and basically arrange rocks around the village streets because there's an uneasy nature about having the guys out in public. Karl and Joe eventually return to the US and talk for years about their contribution in some third-world village, but never revealing the real accomplishments.
I suspect that the Peace Corps had some pressure drawn onto it. They will try to find decent jobs for such couples and try to make the best out of this. There might be five or six countries where such things might be accepted. Most African countries? I'd forget about. It's likely to be more Asian-related.
How many gay couples would join up? This would be an interesting number, but I'm guess over five years....it doesn't amount to more than ten couples max.
In general, there's just not a lot of people who jump up and get this fancy idea of running off to some island in the Pacific to teach kids math skills, and paint buildings. If you went state by state, which the Peace Corp would hate to show the numbers....few of these volunteers (by my humble opinion) come from southern states.
My guess is that we will get some comedy in five years....a lesbian comedy movie, where Jo and Jo Ann got mixed up in the Peace Corps, and fell off the Earth....into some island jungle situation where pygmy tribal folks got all hyped up on the lesbian gals, and made them king-and-queen.
Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Medical Literature
Some smart folks have gone out and done some research on all the fancy hand-outs that doctors, clinics, hospitals, school nurses, and the medical community continually hand out to people. There's some general consensus, which got published in the JAMA Internal Medicine publication this month (thanks to Fox News for the note).
They've all come to realize what most of us have said for the last twenty years....the commentary in the hand-outs....is too complicated for the average American to grasp.
You have a number of medical experts, who have six to eight years of college, who sit and write these publications. It's nothing personal with me.....but every time you see one of these and attempt to read it....you need to stumble over various phrases and words that you aren't prepared to read.
Last year, the dentist office wanted to hand me literature on gum disease. I ran through the hand-out and probably got about half of the message.
What the medical establishment needs to do.....is simply hire people who write around the eighth-grade level, and use simple graphics to tell a story. Thirty percent of the people who read these hand-outs....probably understand every single word, but the rest of us? The range goes up and down.
The sad thing here is that there is a need for medical literature, and they could write it in a way to be understood. So far, they just haven't grasped the problem.
They've all come to realize what most of us have said for the last twenty years....the commentary in the hand-outs....is too complicated for the average American to grasp.
You have a number of medical experts, who have six to eight years of college, who sit and write these publications. It's nothing personal with me.....but every time you see one of these and attempt to read it....you need to stumble over various phrases and words that you aren't prepared to read.
Last year, the dentist office wanted to hand me literature on gum disease. I ran through the hand-out and probably got about half of the message.
What the medical establishment needs to do.....is simply hire people who write around the eighth-grade level, and use simple graphics to tell a story. Thirty percent of the people who read these hand-outs....probably understand every single word, but the rest of us? The range goes up and down.
The sad thing here is that there is a need for medical literature, and they could write it in a way to be understood. So far, they just haven't grasped the problem.
Sleeper Cells?
There was a brief moment of analysis off one of the morning shows of yesterday, where someone had the idea that this rogue IRS crew doing the damage to the Tea Party....was likely hired during the Bush II era, and likely a Republican trap on President Obama.
I sat there for a moment thinking about this 'sleeper-cell' situation, pondering the possibility.
Then I kinda noted that if you did believe in this, then there ought to be sleeper-cell's left over from the Clinton era, the Bush I era, the Reagan era, the Carter era, the Ford era, the Nixon era, the LBJ era, the Kennedy era, and the Eisenhower era.
Each of these rogue cells could be operating within the IRS, with orders given to them five....ten....even twenty-five years ago. At any point, they could suddenly activate and create havoc on America....by order of their boss.
The odds of this.....one in fifty billion.
But if you were some dimwit appearing on MSNBC's morning show, and wanted to really take this mess to the ninth degree, then you could suggest such a thing.
This is probably the reason why I limit myself to eight minutes a day of MSNBC. It's kinda like the X-Files channel, with some things that just go pretty extreme.
I sat there for a moment thinking about this 'sleeper-cell' situation, pondering the possibility.
Then I kinda noted that if you did believe in this, then there ought to be sleeper-cell's left over from the Clinton era, the Bush I era, the Reagan era, the Carter era, the Ford era, the Nixon era, the LBJ era, the Kennedy era, and the Eisenhower era.
Each of these rogue cells could be operating within the IRS, with orders given to them five....ten....even twenty-five years ago. At any point, they could suddenly activate and create havoc on America....by order of their boss.
The odds of this.....one in fifty billion.
But if you were some dimwit appearing on MSNBC's morning show, and wanted to really take this mess to the ninth degree, then you could suggest such a thing.
This is probably the reason why I limit myself to eight minutes a day of MSNBC. It's kinda like the X-Files channel, with some things that just go pretty extreme.
Sunday, 19 May 2013
The Robber from New York City
Guys from Bama have a special appreciation of New York City. We would quietly admit, in mixed company, that we'd really like to throw some Roll Tide jerseys into a bag with some underwear, put a case of beer into a cooler, and get a roadmap to drive all the way to New York City. We don't want to stay too long, or really become familiar with the city. We'd just like to visit for a couple of days....visit some guys like George on Seinfeld, and meet some cool chicks like they had on Friends.
So we pay attention to events in New York City.
This week....they had an atempted bank robbery.
The robber dude came in....fairly well dressed....a tie and suit, with dark Ray-band glasses.
He comes up to the teller and passes some note, that basically says he wants 100s, 50s, 20s, and he'll start shooting if you don't react.
Well....it's an interesting thing.
The robber didn't really know it, but this lady clerk he picked....she wasn't from New York City. Journalists won't say what state she hails from....but she just ain't a local.
So things take a turn here. Being in the bank teller field.....you really don't expect life-ending situations to occur. This gal, and we can only assume she is likely from some southern state, freaks out after reading the note.
She starts screaming and going into some kind of panic attack. The robber? Well....he didn't really expect that attitude. He tried to raise his finger and let her know that it'd be better to just be quiet. That didn't help much.
By this point, she running from her cage area to the other side of the room and hiding under a desk.
There's this pause for the robber. You can sense some frustration here. There's probably about twenty seconds of silence here. He's likely thinking....damn, most New York City gals would just flip the money over and I'd be walking out with four thousands dollars right now.
At this point, he makes a fairly wise decision. Retreat.
Cops have a mighty fine picture of the guy, released to the papers, and taking up a three inch by six inch space. Sadly, he's walking on borrowed time right now, and trying hard to stay out of sight.
The gal? I'm guessing that the bank guys are giving her a day off to chill and relax. They probably appreciate the fact that they didn't lose any money. Everyone is looking at this tactic now....and wondering if freaking out....ought to be norm. The problem is....most all New York City folks are pretty stern and tough individuals. You'd have to bring in some Bama folks and change cultural perceptions. Just some advice from a Bama guy.
So we pay attention to events in New York City.
This week....they had an atempted bank robbery.
The robber dude came in....fairly well dressed....a tie and suit, with dark Ray-band glasses.
He comes up to the teller and passes some note, that basically says he wants 100s, 50s, 20s, and he'll start shooting if you don't react.
Well....it's an interesting thing.
The robber didn't really know it, but this lady clerk he picked....she wasn't from New York City. Journalists won't say what state she hails from....but she just ain't a local.
So things take a turn here. Being in the bank teller field.....you really don't expect life-ending situations to occur. This gal, and we can only assume she is likely from some southern state, freaks out after reading the note.
She starts screaming and going into some kind of panic attack. The robber? Well....he didn't really expect that attitude. He tried to raise his finger and let her know that it'd be better to just be quiet. That didn't help much.
By this point, she running from her cage area to the other side of the room and hiding under a desk.
There's this pause for the robber. You can sense some frustration here. There's probably about twenty seconds of silence here. He's likely thinking....damn, most New York City gals would just flip the money over and I'd be walking out with four thousands dollars right now.
At this point, he makes a fairly wise decision. Retreat.
Cops have a mighty fine picture of the guy, released to the papers, and taking up a three inch by six inch space. Sadly, he's walking on borrowed time right now, and trying hard to stay out of sight.
The gal? I'm guessing that the bank guys are giving her a day off to chill and relax. They probably appreciate the fact that they didn't lose any money. Everyone is looking at this tactic now....and wondering if freaking out....ought to be norm. The problem is....most all New York City folks are pretty stern and tough individuals. You'd have to bring in some Bama folks and change cultural perceptions. Just some advice from a Bama guy.
Our Problem (Explained in Detail)
I sat down this morning, and did about an hour of reading on 501C tax exempt organizations....to really understand the mess with IRS and these Tea Party folks.
So, there's this amazing thing.
Congress and the Senate....in their great moment of incompetence....created a virtual zoo of 501C organizations.
So, lets review these.
501C-1: Corporations Organized Under Act of Congress (including Federal Credit Unions)
501C-2: Title Holding Corporations for Exemption
501C-3: Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals Organizations (yeah, it a pretty bastardized group group, even I'll admit that)
501C-4: Civic Leagues, Social Welfare Organizations, and Local Associations of Employees
501C-5: Labor, Agricultural, and Horticultural Organizations (this includes 4H)
501C-6: Business Leagues, Chambers of Commerce, Real Estate Boards, etc.
501C-7: Social and Recreational Clubs (your youth softball league, your nude swimming club, and your 1966 Ford Mustang Club)
501C-8: Fraternal Beneficiary Societies and Associations (university folks, cops, firemen, etc)
501C-9: Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations
501C-10: Domestic Fraternal Societies and Associations
501C-11: Teachers' Retirement Fund Associations
501C-12: Benevolent Life Insurance Associations, Mutual Ditch or Irrigation Companies, Mutual or Cooperative Telephone Companies, etc. (yeah, your ditch diggers of America and the telephone linesman crews)
501C-13: Cemetery Companies
501C-14: State-Chartered Credit Unions, Mutual Reserve Funds
505C-15: Mutual Insurance Associations
501C-16: Cooperative Organizations to Finance Crop Operations (related to farming mostly)
501C-17: Unemployment Benefit Trusts
501C-18: Employee Funded Pension Trust (created before June 25, 1959)
501C-19 Post or Organization of Past or Present Members of the Armed Forces (the VFW guys)
501C-20: Group Legal Services Plan Organizations
501C-21: Black lung Benefit Trusts (the coal-miner guys)
501C-22: Withdrawal Liability Payment Fund
501C-23: Veterans Organization (applies only to groups created before 1880, which beg questions on who exactly falls into this category except Civil War and Revolutionary War members)
501C-24: Section 4049 ERISA Trusts (these are the folks who try to help companies develop retirement accounts, and employees to understand their retirement accounts)
501C-25: Title Holding Corporations or Trusts with Multiple Parents
501C-26: State-Sponsored Organizations Providing Health Coverage for High-Risk Individuals
501C-27: State-Sponsored Workers' Compensation Reinsurance Organizations
501C-28: National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust
501C-29: Qualified Nonprofit Health Insurance Issuers (your Obama Care Law folks)
Twenty-nine special categories. So this begs the question.....did Congress draw up any questions to fall into these groups? I'm guessing the dimwits wrote a pretty generic deal, and just said that some idiot in IRS would write the questions and determine if you fit into a group or not. Yeah, they were likely that stupid.
What prevents you, Farmer Joe from Red Bay, Alabama, from creating your own fake charity deal under 501C-13 (the cemetery guys), and just running all your income as tax deductible?
Well....some dimwit with twenty questions sitting in the same office as the guys who do the Tea Party folks. And do they even come out to visit Farmer Joe? Never. So the questions are the only thing between Farmer Joe getting himself into a fake charity and never paying a dime to the government.
The cause of this entire mess? Your Senate and House. Fixing it? Well....we'll fire a dozen guys in the end, but just keep going full speed ahead.
My advice? You open up a fake cemetery on the back side of your house.....making sure that there's at least one grave-stone. You can bury your hunting dog, or your favorite mule, and just stay legit with paperwork over this, and claim your tractor and all farm expenses....as part of the cemetery operation.
America, the land of milk, honey, and dopey paperwork.
So, there's this amazing thing.
Congress and the Senate....in their great moment of incompetence....created a virtual zoo of 501C organizations.
So, lets review these.
501C-1: Corporations Organized Under Act of Congress (including Federal Credit Unions)
501C-2: Title Holding Corporations for Exemption
501C-3: Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals Organizations (yeah, it a pretty bastardized group group, even I'll admit that)
501C-4: Civic Leagues, Social Welfare Organizations, and Local Associations of Employees
501C-5: Labor, Agricultural, and Horticultural Organizations (this includes 4H)
501C-6: Business Leagues, Chambers of Commerce, Real Estate Boards, etc.
501C-7: Social and Recreational Clubs (your youth softball league, your nude swimming club, and your 1966 Ford Mustang Club)
501C-8: Fraternal Beneficiary Societies and Associations (university folks, cops, firemen, etc)
501C-9: Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations
501C-10: Domestic Fraternal Societies and Associations
501C-11: Teachers' Retirement Fund Associations
501C-12: Benevolent Life Insurance Associations, Mutual Ditch or Irrigation Companies, Mutual or Cooperative Telephone Companies, etc. (yeah, your ditch diggers of America and the telephone linesman crews)
501C-13: Cemetery Companies
501C-14: State-Chartered Credit Unions, Mutual Reserve Funds
505C-15: Mutual Insurance Associations
501C-16: Cooperative Organizations to Finance Crop Operations (related to farming mostly)
501C-17: Unemployment Benefit Trusts
501C-18: Employee Funded Pension Trust (created before June 25, 1959)
501C-19 Post or Organization of Past or Present Members of the Armed Forces (the VFW guys)
501C-20: Group Legal Services Plan Organizations
501C-21: Black lung Benefit Trusts (the coal-miner guys)
501C-22: Withdrawal Liability Payment Fund
501C-23: Veterans Organization (applies only to groups created before 1880, which beg questions on who exactly falls into this category except Civil War and Revolutionary War members)
501C-24: Section 4049 ERISA Trusts (these are the folks who try to help companies develop retirement accounts, and employees to understand their retirement accounts)
501C-25: Title Holding Corporations or Trusts with Multiple Parents
501C-26: State-Sponsored Organizations Providing Health Coverage for High-Risk Individuals
501C-27: State-Sponsored Workers' Compensation Reinsurance Organizations
501C-28: National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust
501C-29: Qualified Nonprofit Health Insurance Issuers (your Obama Care Law folks)
Twenty-nine special categories. So this begs the question.....did Congress draw up any questions to fall into these groups? I'm guessing the dimwits wrote a pretty generic deal, and just said that some idiot in IRS would write the questions and determine if you fit into a group or not. Yeah, they were likely that stupid.
What prevents you, Farmer Joe from Red Bay, Alabama, from creating your own fake charity deal under 501C-13 (the cemetery guys), and just running all your income as tax deductible?
Well....some dimwit with twenty questions sitting in the same office as the guys who do the Tea Party folks. And do they even come out to visit Farmer Joe? Never. So the questions are the only thing between Farmer Joe getting himself into a fake charity and never paying a dime to the government.
The cause of this entire mess? Your Senate and House. Fixing it? Well....we'll fire a dozen guys in the end, but just keep going full speed ahead.
My advice? You open up a fake cemetery on the back side of your house.....making sure that there's at least one grave-stone. You can bury your hunting dog, or your favorite mule, and just stay legit with paperwork over this, and claim your tractor and all farm expenses....as part of the cemetery operation.
America, the land of milk, honey, and dopey paperwork.
A Nifty Gadget
This morning....I was watching business news, and there's this new gadget. Trakdot.
Basically, you put this into your bag, and log onto your smart-phone or laptop while walking the concourse to the bags area. The Trakdot will tell you the bag is in the airport.....or no, it's not.
This creates this nifty episode. While in the concourse, you realize the mess in front of you....no bag, and just keep walking to the cab or car-rental, and leave the airport. No discussion, no hassle, no stress.
You call the airport baggage idiots the next morning and identify yourself, and ask when the bag will arrive, and demand they bring it to your hotel, or home. Most airlines will do it....just keep you as a customer.
A positive trend? Well....it's fifty bucks. If you travel five or six times a year....I'd put the money out and buy it. A once-a-year traveler....it's more than what you ought to spend. Course, if I were the airline, I'd try to crimp their gadget by offering a free-email service, which notes that while unloading the plane.....we discovered your bag never made it. It could be a regretful email, and note that we (the airline) will bring the bag to your secondary point if you just tell us where.
My humble guess is that Trakdot will be around for three years, and the airlines will realize that it's hurting them in various ways, and they will try to muscle the gadget out of business. For the traveler? You are going to come out ahead in the future....even if they still continue to lose your bags.
Saturday, 18 May 2013
The Prayer Question
Among the various groups that IRS decided to mess with in this latest scandal....there was one that had a religious connection of sorts.
So in the questions developed and sent back to the organization.....was this information request...."Please detail the content of the members of your organization’s prayers."
You can imagine the manager and the accountant sitting there....it was a group in Iowa, and just pondering the necessity of listing content of prayers.
In Bama, we would sat there for a long while, and then listed our prayer...in typical Bama-fashion.
Dear God
We ask you to send your angels to the IRS and help bring them to their senses.
We ask you to lift their blindness and give the IRS people sight.
We ask you to take the child-like ways of the IRS, and bring them into the world of maturity.
We ask you to take the devil in each IRS technician, and cast that devil out.
We ask you to lay your hands upon their incompetence, and give them brilliance.
We ask you to give the IRS folks compassion, where they have none.
And Lord, we ask that you tinker with the IRS rules a bit because we really don't want to waste prayer upon the IRS. We have really more important things to ask your help on, and this ought not be in the top ten issues. Amen.
I'm sure an IRS guy would read this and start to wonder how he ever got into this line of work, and if maybe he should have gone onto Baptist ministry school like Grandma suggested, instead of hooking up with the IRS.
So in the questions developed and sent back to the organization.....was this information request...."Please detail the content of the members of your organization’s prayers."
You can imagine the manager and the accountant sitting there....it was a group in Iowa, and just pondering the necessity of listing content of prayers.
In Bama, we would sat there for a long while, and then listed our prayer...in typical Bama-fashion.
Dear God
We ask you to send your angels to the IRS and help bring them to their senses.
We ask you to lift their blindness and give the IRS people sight.
We ask you to take the child-like ways of the IRS, and bring them into the world of maturity.
We ask you to take the devil in each IRS technician, and cast that devil out.
We ask you to lay your hands upon their incompetence, and give them brilliance.
We ask you to give the IRS folks compassion, where they have none.
And Lord, we ask that you tinker with the IRS rules a bit because we really don't want to waste prayer upon the IRS. We have really more important things to ask your help on, and this ought not be in the top ten issues. Amen.
I'm sure an IRS guy would read this and start to wonder how he ever got into this line of work, and if maybe he should have gone onto Baptist ministry school like Grandma suggested, instead of hooking up with the IRS.
The Next Scandal?
Well....there is some talk now that when the government walked into the Chrysler and GM mess in 2008, and when the government took up it's ownership scheme....a bunch of dealers were dumped. Letters were sent out, and franchises were lost.
The political connection to the majority of franchise owners kicked out?
Yeah, there's some growing evidence, the vast majority were Republican in nature, and they funneled money to their local voting area and state....for Republican candidates.
The odds of this being picked up by the committee? Sooner or later, it's going to be dragged out and the statistics laid on the table.
It won't look pretty. Will Chrysler and GM leadership confess that they just happened to pick a eight-to-one mix of Republican franchise owners to Democratic franchise owners? You can imagine them sitting there and mostly grinning. Someone will eventually pull out a sheet that he got from some government agency that lists the names to dump.
All hell will break loose at that point, and Republicans will close off the option of ever buying a GM or Chrysler product.
The political connection to the majority of franchise owners kicked out?
Yeah, there's some growing evidence, the vast majority were Republican in nature, and they funneled money to their local voting area and state....for Republican candidates.
The odds of this being picked up by the committee? Sooner or later, it's going to be dragged out and the statistics laid on the table.
It won't look pretty. Will Chrysler and GM leadership confess that they just happened to pick a eight-to-one mix of Republican franchise owners to Democratic franchise owners? You can imagine them sitting there and mostly grinning. Someone will eventually pull out a sheet that he got from some government agency that lists the names to dump.
All hell will break loose at that point, and Republicans will close off the option of ever buying a GM or Chrysler product.
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