I read a wonderful article by Richard Eskow, a consultant for the Huffington Post detailing the gross abuses in student loans, the payoffs, lies, and distortions that mirror the almost dead issue of health reform.
The government guarantees loans that are administere by banks so the banks make money off our young people and their families and take zero risk doing so. This is enough to make my breakfast regurgitate. In fact this comes to some 8 billion per year that could go a long way in helping advance education and the students needing this.
There is so much profit in this for banks that money is being paid to steer students to them so they can profit without risk. Some Departments of Education hold shares in the lending organizations which easily result in a conflict of interest. Perks like trips are offered by financial aid firms and colleges are paid handsomely to place an organization on their list of preferred lenders. Counseling that is offered is often simply a sales pitch and scare tactics are employed to distort the truth. The biggest lobbying organization is Sallie Mae who is reported to be buying Democrat and Republican Senators evenly. Banks are calling reform, "Death Panlel II".
If these abuses and waste of student and their parent's money doesn't make you sick and angry, I suggest that you died and forgot to tell anyone.
Right now, a reform bill has passed the House of Representatives and the Senate is doing the same crap as they did during health care reform. Everyone should contact their Senators and demand that they support government run student loans without bank involvement.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
THE 16 YEAR OLD MATADOR
Here is a story featured today in The Huffington Report.
Jairo Miguel Sanchez Alonso, Teenage Spanish Matador, Faces 6 Bulls 
In CACERES, Spain
Harv's Comment:
The last bull fight I attended was in Mexico. As the bull was entering the arena, there were some guys on armored horses. They had long sticks and those also had knives on the end and they stuck the bull, deeply, multiple times. I think it was in the bulls neck.
Then he was stabbed a number of times by guys running and putting a stick with kinves at the end and the bulls had to run or walk with all these in his body.
Now the bull is severely bleeding and in terrible pain. The brave Matador enters now with his cape and skillfully makes the bull run a number of times, I would imagine, to assure that the bleeding will continue unabated and that the bull will just about come to his knees most likely praying for death.
The Matador takes his sword and pushes in into the bull to sever the spine but often is grossly incompetent so the bull just screams in agony. The Matador does this again and again and then struts around thinking he actually accomplished something killing this wonderful animal.
The reason the crowd cheers really escapes me. Barbaric is appropriate if there was any semblance of sport or dignity. This is barbarism to the10th power. How we kill livestock is a separate issue, yet, we do not pay admission and cheer. What I saw in the arena in Ciudad Juarez some 50 years ago still haunts me in flashbacks.
I'm sorry but the fact that they eat the bull does not make me feel any better.
Jairo Miguel Sanchez Alonso, Teenage Spanish Matador, Faces 6 Bulls
Harv's Comment:
The last bull fight I attended was in Mexico. As the bull was entering the arena, there were some guys on armored horses. They had long sticks and those also had knives on the end and they stuck the bull, deeply, multiple times. I think it was in the bulls neck.
Then he was stabbed a number of times by guys running and putting a stick with kinves at the end and the bulls had to run or walk with all these in his body.
Now the bull is severely bleeding and in terrible pain. The brave Matador enters now with his cape and skillfully makes the bull run a number of times, I would imagine, to assure that the bleeding will continue unabated and that the bull will just about come to his knees most likely praying for death.
The Matador takes his sword and pushes in into the bull to sever the spine but often is grossly incompetent so the bull just screams in agony. The Matador does this again and again and then struts around thinking he actually accomplished something killing this wonderful animal.
The reason the crowd cheers really escapes me. Barbaric is appropriate if there was any semblance of sport or dignity. This is barbarism to the10th power. How we kill livestock is a separate issue, yet, we do not pay admission and cheer. What I saw in the arena in Ciudad Juarez some 50 years ago still haunts me in flashbacks.
I'm sorry but the fact that they eat the bull does not make me feel any better.
Medicare Cost and What to Do About It
It is suggested by Ed Tubbs, writing for the OptEdNews that Granny should opt to die earlier as a means of saving Medicare, not turning our future over to others and in particular the People's Republic of China - the Communist dictatorship who shoots people to harvest their organs for profit. I'm in lockstep with not helping China other than to ship lead laden toys back to them.
I think there are better solutions becuase I'm here to say that when I was younger, I was all for living fast, dying young and having a good looking corpse, if I can quote from what fading memory tells me was some movie with the late and great John Garfield.
Well, Ducky, now that I'm an old goat, I want to live as long as I can, as long as the pain is not unbearable, and don't need a death panel to determine my worth vs. the economic long term benefits to my progeny. I also think, with due respect to the fine thinking of Mr. Tubbs, that his solution is singular in nature whereas he does not look at less Draconian solutions.
I pay into a Medigap policy to a private insurance company. Frankly, I do not know why Medicare insures the part that runs at a loss, and the Medigap policy insurance companies insure at a profit. This is the same with Part D, Prescription Drug
Medicare is the best thing that has happened to our senior people since Metamucil and Social Security. So why truncate it while we can expand it. Why not have more options other than Medicare Part A and B and include government insurance for part D (Prescription Drug) and Medigap Insurance? Why not have Medicare offer these at the same profit as the private companies do and use the profit to offset part A and B losses?
I also think that Medicare and Part D and Medigap should definitely be offered to those 55 to 65 because the cost of these are less and it will help offset much of the cost of the 65 and older cost. Add it to an appropriations bill now!
As a senior, I like this much better and, if anyone is listening, keep your death panel hands off the plug. Thank You.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
GIVING TOYOTA A CHANCE TO REMEDY
I am a senior citizen whose first car cost $150 purchased from a school teacher in New York City who hand painted the Ford Custom to get it ready for sale. It had a rusted hole in the floorboard and on my way to California, I lost a baseball through it that was caught at the Yankee Stadium. I drove that baby for 75,000 miles, with only about $250 in repairs and sold it to a used car lot in Los Angeles, for $15. The cost was .00513 cents per mile. I have not had seen this kind of experience for 3 decades.
Moving forward about 30 years or so, I helped a friend buy a Toyota Corolla used from a dealer. It was a 1987 bought in 1987, a daily rental return for $10,000 with 10,000 miles on it. There was 26,000 miles left on the warranty. He still has that car. He changes the oil every 3,000 miles, there were only $500 in repairs and he has 200,000 on the car. The good condition Kelly's Blue Book is $875. The cost per mile is .00048 cents which is less then the old Ford. (I do not factor gas in these calculations, nor the value of the dollar)
I'm not going to cry over my in-between experiences with a Ford Falcon, a Ford Fairlane 500, a Dodge Dart, a Pontiac LeMans, a Mercedes 450SL, two Mercedes 300D, and a BMW 500 series.
The cost per mile of these, not including gas, is sickening. The repair bills worse. I normally bought one car for me, one for the mechanic.
In the 40 years, almost all of the advertising for the American cars had to do with power, looks, sex, some safety, but almost zero for reliability. I know reliability is not everything, but to most of us , it is important and so is the cost of daily operation.
Toyota and Honda, amongst other imports, led the way and gave us the reliability and cost of operation while the American car companies blamed unions, and retirement benefits. They still advertised based on looks, sex, power. They are now learning the "reliability" word and learning how to make fuel efficient cars. They never cared about renewable resources in the past.
I love "made in America". I wish we brought back all industries that went to foreign countries and then we'd have tons of jobs available here. I hate the global economy for this suffering we are having with so many out of work. I think we have to first take care of our own people.
But let's give Toyota a chance to recall, to fix, and to flourish. Toyota built plants in the U.S. and they gave us the Prius, Corolla, Camry, Highlander and so many other great reliable cars. They now are keeping our own manufacturers honest, competitive and bringing reliability to the market.
I own a Toyoata 2003 Avalon and it is, arguably, the best car I ever owned. Not as "hot", just the best. Decent mileage, not even a total of $100 in repairs and it is 7 years old. Everyone who rides with me comments on the ride.
Toyota: Fess up, come clean, fix the problems, and regain the love!
Moving forward about 30 years or so, I helped a friend buy a Toyota Corolla used from a dealer. It was a 1987 bought in 1987, a daily rental return for $10,000 with 10,000 miles on it. There was 26,000 miles left on the warranty. He still has that car. He changes the oil every 3,000 miles, there were only $500 in repairs and he has 200,000 on the car. The good condition Kelly's Blue Book is $875. The cost per mile is .00048 cents which is less then the old Ford. (I do not factor gas in these calculations, nor the value of the dollar)
I'm not going to cry over my in-between experiences with a Ford Falcon, a Ford Fairlane 500, a Dodge Dart, a Pontiac LeMans, a Mercedes 450SL, two Mercedes 300D, and a BMW 500 series.
The cost per mile of these, not including gas, is sickening. The repair bills worse. I normally bought one car for me, one for the mechanic.
In the 40 years, almost all of the advertising for the American cars had to do with power, looks, sex, some safety, but almost zero for reliability. I know reliability is not everything, but to most of us , it is important and so is the cost of daily operation.
Toyota and Honda, amongst other imports, led the way and gave us the reliability and cost of operation while the American car companies blamed unions, and retirement benefits. They still advertised based on looks, sex, power. They are now learning the "reliability" word and learning how to make fuel efficient cars. They never cared about renewable resources in the past.
I love "made in America". I wish we brought back all industries that went to foreign countries and then we'd have tons of jobs available here. I hate the global economy for this suffering we are having with so many out of work. I think we have to first take care of our own people.
But let's give Toyota a chance to recall, to fix, and to flourish. Toyota built plants in the U.S. and they gave us the Prius, Corolla, Camry, Highlander and so many other great reliable cars. They now are keeping our own manufacturers honest, competitive and bringing reliability to the market.
I own a Toyoata 2003 Avalon and it is, arguably, the best car I ever owned. Not as "hot", just the best. Decent mileage, not even a total of $100 in repairs and it is 7 years old. Everyone who rides with me comments on the ride.
Toyota: Fess up, come clean, fix the problems, and regain the love!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
IT'S MORE THAN DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL
I am one person who mourns when just one of our young men or women die or are wounded in any war, yet, I go ballistic when in happens in a questionable war. We all rally to our country to our flag and these people do more than rally, more than give lip service, they often give their lives, their limbs. Their families give their children, wives, their husbands, and children their military parents. I cry for every one who is touched by the horror of war.
So, why do I want the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy repealed and gays be allowed to openly serve? Perhaps it is because I believe that Gays and Lesbians are as honorable as anyone else. There is testimony and great evidence that they can serve with as much effectiveness as anyone else, and love America as much as anyone. I have not heard one iota of evidence that gays cannot or do not do the job as effectively.
Therein lies the rub: Religions, should keep their collective noses out of military policy. I say that neither the bible nor those who preach it should do other than provide services to military personnel who want these services. Their policy opinions should be shut down. To those who believe gays should not be allowed to openly serve or to serve at all, keep your opinions to yourself unless it is based on some statistically pertinent historical evidence. To our elected officials who take an anti gay stand, probably because they are prejudice, or because leaders in their party said so, or because they feel it will yield more votes, more power, I say that the most shame of all falls on your shoulders. You, above all, should know better. You have taken a solemn oath.
The laws of behavior should be the same for all military personnel and the penalties be the same. Isolated situations should not change what is right.
Many thousands of gays have been removed from a U.S.military already strapped for personnel.
So, since gays make up some 10-12 percent of the population (a guesstimate) then for 6,000 soldiers who died, 600 or more should have been gay, and for 40,000 wounded, 4,000+ should have been gay. The very people who want to serve, who are willing to die are home while their straight counterparts are dying and being wounded in statistically higher numbers then would ordinarily be.
My hat is off to all of those who want to serve and who are able to. To deny them is to deny our country, to put a larger burden on others and their families.
If we cared about and respected each other as much as we do our flag, we would have a fix to medical needs, there would be more jobs, less greed, less hunger for power, certainly less hate. I don't know why gays still care after all of the hate and problems thrown at them, but thankfully, they do.
So, why do I want the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy repealed and gays be allowed to openly serve? Perhaps it is because I believe that Gays and Lesbians are as honorable as anyone else. There is testimony and great evidence that they can serve with as much effectiveness as anyone else, and love America as much as anyone. I have not heard one iota of evidence that gays cannot or do not do the job as effectively.
Therein lies the rub: Religions, should keep their collective noses out of military policy. I say that neither the bible nor those who preach it should do other than provide services to military personnel who want these services. Their policy opinions should be shut down. To those who believe gays should not be allowed to openly serve or to serve at all, keep your opinions to yourself unless it is based on some statistically pertinent historical evidence. To our elected officials who take an anti gay stand, probably because they are prejudice, or because leaders in their party said so, or because they feel it will yield more votes, more power, I say that the most shame of all falls on your shoulders. You, above all, should know better. You have taken a solemn oath.
The laws of behavior should be the same for all military personnel and the penalties be the same. Isolated situations should not change what is right.
Many thousands of gays have been removed from a U.S.military already strapped for personnel.
So, since gays make up some 10-12 percent of the population (a guesstimate) then for 6,000 soldiers who died, 600 or more should have been gay, and for 40,000 wounded, 4,000+ should have been gay. The very people who want to serve, who are willing to die are home while their straight counterparts are dying and being wounded in statistically higher numbers then would ordinarily be.
My hat is off to all of those who want to serve and who are able to. To deny them is to deny our country, to put a larger burden on others and their families.
If we cared about and respected each other as much as we do our flag, we would have a fix to medical needs, there would be more jobs, less greed, less hunger for power, certainly less hate. I don't know why gays still care after all of the hate and problems thrown at them, but thankfully, they do.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
EAT YOUR VEGGIES WHILE STILL AVAILABLE
In California's central valley where 1/12 of the country's agriculture is grown, Discover Magazine reports that over the past 6 years, the loss of ground water in two of the main central valley's basins totalled 30 cubic kilometers. Does this sound like a small amount? Well, one cubic kilo equals 264 billion gallons of water so if you multiply by 30 you get a very scary picture with numbers only seen in our national debt.
So, the reason for this is that we are using drinking water and water for irrigation faster than it can be recharged. This comes from a study conducted by NASA and California researchers.
These researchers say that they do not know how much water is left but do know that a declining level causes a loss in water quality, decreased crop sizes, and land sinking. I observe that decreased crop sizes and lower levels will increase water prices and veggies in the markets.
Conclusion: Yo, Governor, Yo, U.S.D.A., where art thou?
So, the reason for this is that we are using drinking water and water for irrigation faster than it can be recharged. This comes from a study conducted by NASA and California researchers.
These researchers say that they do not know how much water is left but do know that a declining level causes a loss in water quality, decreased crop sizes, and land sinking. I observe that decreased crop sizes and lower levels will increase water prices and veggies in the markets.
Conclusion: Yo, Governor, Yo, U.S.D.A., where art thou?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
I AM ALL TEARY EYED OVER CHINA
Reported by the Washington Post and then commented on by The Daily Beast, it seems that the U.S. is going to honor a sale of some military items to Taiwan and the Defense Ministry in China is having some PMS over it. Does anyone have a handkerchief so I can cry my eyes out?
Oh tell me I'm off base here, but doesn't the Chinese sell Nuclear items to anyone they want without a concern if that nation is an enemy of ours or not friendly to say the least? Don't the Chinese sell all other military weapons to countries that responsible nations refuse to sell because of their outlaw conformance to everything decent and humane?
So this Chinese Communist nation who we bolster with commerce is loathe to support the U.S. in anything but the most innocuous of agreements. These are the people said to shoot convicts, which are people described not to agree with their ideology so they must be insane, and then harvest the convict's organs for a healthy profit. These are the people we stupidly allowed to become creditors of ours. These are the people who send us poisonous toys and food. These are the people afraid of free speech and who let young children toil in factories. I am surprised they don't eat their young. If you want to find out what they do eat, contact the ASPCA.
Taiwan has been a friendly democracy, a true trading partner, and composed of a small island of people that the mainland Communists are loathe to leave alone because they want to engulf it into their own corrupt government. I think Nixon lead the way for Taiwan to be kicked out of the U.N. Well, that crook get credit for opening the doors to China. No recent U.S. president had the fortitude to sell the latest weapons to Taiwan, helping China force our friends to cower.
Now the Chinese say that they are suspending planned mutual military visits. I say that is "good" having less spying potential. We should not allow them to see even a bb gun of ours.
I'm not Asian, but visited Taiwan many times and loved doing business there. I am so ashamed of the way Taiwan has been treated.
Oh tell me I'm off base here, but doesn't the Chinese sell Nuclear items to anyone they want without a concern if that nation is an enemy of ours or not friendly to say the least? Don't the Chinese sell all other military weapons to countries that responsible nations refuse to sell because of their outlaw conformance to everything decent and humane?
So this Chinese Communist nation who we bolster with commerce is loathe to support the U.S. in anything but the most innocuous of agreements. These are the people said to shoot convicts, which are people described not to agree with their ideology so they must be insane, and then harvest the convict's organs for a healthy profit. These are the people we stupidly allowed to become creditors of ours. These are the people who send us poisonous toys and food. These are the people afraid of free speech and who let young children toil in factories. I am surprised they don't eat their young. If you want to find out what they do eat, contact the ASPCA.
Taiwan has been a friendly democracy, a true trading partner, and composed of a small island of people that the mainland Communists are loathe to leave alone because they want to engulf it into their own corrupt government. I think Nixon lead the way for Taiwan to be kicked out of the U.N. Well, that crook get credit for opening the doors to China. No recent U.S. president had the fortitude to sell the latest weapons to Taiwan, helping China force our friends to cower.
Now the Chinese say that they are suspending planned mutual military visits. I say that is "good" having less spying potential. We should not allow them to see even a bb gun of ours.
I'm not Asian, but visited Taiwan many times and loved doing business there. I am so ashamed of the way Taiwan has been treated.
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by:DANIEL WOOLLS