Hi Everyone,
On July 23rd of this year, a terrible crash occurred on the Tappan Zee Bridge, which crosses the Hudson River between Rockland County and Westchester County, New York. It was one of those unimaginable and horrific crashes due to the fact that Michael Schechel was driving his Ford Explorer the wrong way on I-87. He somehow managed to drive southbound in the northbound lanes. The inevitable happened a short time later when Schechel crashed head on into the car of Newman Ayeh-Brachie and his wife Hannah. Hannah was in the front passenger seat and was killed in the crash; while her husband suffered broken ribs, a broken finger and cuts and bruises. Three other vehicles crashed. Schechel, 69, suffered a head injury and his passenger, his live-in girlfriend, Luz Hoffman, 56, suffered spinal and other injuries. FYI, Schechel is a retired bus driver with a clean driving record.
Ayeh-Brachie survived and did what any normal person would do. He sued Schechel in September stating that Schechel was reckless by driving southbound in the northbound lanes, leaving him (Ayeh-Brachie) with serious and permanent injuries. The suit also states that Schechel ignored warnings by other drivers to turn around. Schechel continued to drive the wrong way until he crashed into the Ayeh-Brachie's car. All this makes sense and Ayeh-Brachie is within his legal rights to sue for the loss of his wife and for the injuries he sustained. But what happened next makes me furious with some lawyers and defendants for their frivolous court filings.
The following is true and accurate and is so outrageous that it seems incomprehensible to me. Schechel's lawyer, Sara Salvi, alleged in court papers filed last month, that Ayeh-Brachie's injuries, were at least partially caused by his "own culpable conduct" by not wearing a seat belt. So let me get this straight, an idiot drives on the wrong side of the road, hits an oncoming car head on and kills one person and injures the driver. Now the driver's injuries are his fault since he wasn't wearing a seat belt? Ayeh-Brachie's lawyer, Dennis Lynch, responded that both Ayeh-Brachie and his wife were indeed wearing seat belts. But for Schechel to pass blame or at least try to pass blame on Ayeh-Brachie's injuries is abominable. Doesn't he or his lawyer have any common sense? Apparently not even a microgram between them!!! As Schechel stated, he had no idea he was driving the wrong way. What country does he live in? Where ever we drive in this country, the median or center lines are always on the left side of the road. So when he was driving, on that fateful day, the median was on his right side and oncoming traffic was on his side, coming right towards him. Being a retired bus driver, he had to have known something was wrong. I hope the Judge in this case throws out Schechel's response claim and eventually throws the book at him.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Time Is Not On Their Side!
Hi Everyone,
As we are all so painfully aware, a little over one year ago, a mad gunman killed 26 people, including 20 six and seven year olds, in a school in Newtown, CT. Soon after the shootings, there was a lot of talk, especially from politicians from both sides, on whether or not to change gun laws to make them stricter. There was news coverage everywhere and then the real fight started between the NRA and DC. As in so many other instances, somehow the minority group was able to completely stop the majority group from passing any kind of new gun control laws. That ending was so predictable and unsettling at the same time.
Some of the people who lost loved ones in the Newtown shootings launched a grass roots campaign soon after the December 14, 2012 massacre to address gun violence. In this day and age of no one agreeing in DC, can you blame them? Of course not! The group, Sandy Hook Promise, goal is to make a cultural change about gun violence. Sandy Hook Promise hasn't completely given up hope on gun legislation coming from DC, but they are certainly not putting all of their eggs in one basket. Sandy Hook Promise's premise begins with them talking to parents. Talking parent to parent I believe is the right and best approach, especially since parents share a common passion for ensuring their children's safety. Waiting for DC to act is a total waste of time, since they can't seem to agree on much of anything.
Grass roots campaigns can and do work. In this instance, the thought of more children being mercilessly killed, while in school, where they are supposed to be safe, is appalling to me. So since DC either can't or won't do anything about finding a solution any time soon in the near future, I fully support Sandy Hook Promise. As I have learned, common sense is not usually associated with DC, so the alternative common sense approach has to be a grass roots campaign that I hope can and will get the job done. Kudos to Sandy Hook Promise.
Very unfortunately, the down side to a grass roots campaign, is that it will most likely take a lot of time (years) to finally getting some federal gun control legislation passed. But in the mean time, how many more innocent children and school teachers, etc., will be needlessly killed? Time is not money in this case, it is lives saved or lost and DC has shown it has no interest in changing anything and that just plain sucks.
FYI, I am not against legal ownership of certain guns, but assault weapons were created for one reason and only one reason, to kill as many people in as short a period of time as possible. I previously blogged about that on 7/22/12.
Til next week.
Peter
As we are all so painfully aware, a little over one year ago, a mad gunman killed 26 people, including 20 six and seven year olds, in a school in Newtown, CT. Soon after the shootings, there was a lot of talk, especially from politicians from both sides, on whether or not to change gun laws to make them stricter. There was news coverage everywhere and then the real fight started between the NRA and DC. As in so many other instances, somehow the minority group was able to completely stop the majority group from passing any kind of new gun control laws. That ending was so predictable and unsettling at the same time.
Some of the people who lost loved ones in the Newtown shootings launched a grass roots campaign soon after the December 14, 2012 massacre to address gun violence. In this day and age of no one agreeing in DC, can you blame them? Of course not! The group, Sandy Hook Promise, goal is to make a cultural change about gun violence. Sandy Hook Promise hasn't completely given up hope on gun legislation coming from DC, but they are certainly not putting all of their eggs in one basket. Sandy Hook Promise's premise begins with them talking to parents. Talking parent to parent I believe is the right and best approach, especially since parents share a common passion for ensuring their children's safety. Waiting for DC to act is a total waste of time, since they can't seem to agree on much of anything.
Grass roots campaigns can and do work. In this instance, the thought of more children being mercilessly killed, while in school, where they are supposed to be safe, is appalling to me. So since DC either can't or won't do anything about finding a solution any time soon in the near future, I fully support Sandy Hook Promise. As I have learned, common sense is not usually associated with DC, so the alternative common sense approach has to be a grass roots campaign that I hope can and will get the job done. Kudos to Sandy Hook Promise.
Very unfortunately, the down side to a grass roots campaign, is that it will most likely take a lot of time (years) to finally getting some federal gun control legislation passed. But in the mean time, how many more innocent children and school teachers, etc., will be needlessly killed? Time is not money in this case, it is lives saved or lost and DC has shown it has no interest in changing anything and that just plain sucks.
FYI, I am not against legal ownership of certain guns, but assault weapons were created for one reason and only one reason, to kill as many people in as short a period of time as possible. I previously blogged about that on 7/22/12.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Lack of Common Sense at its Best
Hi Everyone,
So another November elections has come and gone. Hopefully all registered voters voted. Every vote does indeed count. Sometimes even the underdog wins. Such was the case here the town in which we live.
In one corner was the 3 term incumbent GOP Supervisor with a sizable war chest. In the other corner was the political newbie and Democratic candidate with no chest what so ever. Because of the current Town Supervisor's ill conceived and illegal location of a proposed cell tower, I got politically involved to oust her. I got involved from the get go with getting signatures for the newbie's petitions, fundraising, putting up signs and then making phone calls. It is amazing what a truly grass roots campaign can accomplish. She and her campaign committee were able to get her message out in a big way. Our newbie won by a landslide, 69% to 31%.
Now that you know the back story, the following is the update. So our sour grapes current Supervisor is so upset that she lost and lost by such a huge margin that she is being a true cry baby. How? Well, first of all, at least three town employees that I know of, one is an elected position, took the day after the elections off so they would not have to listen to her rant and rave about the election results, which she definitely thought she would win. The Supervisor elect has called and left two messages for the current Supervisor. The messages were about having a meeting so that there would be a smooth transition come 1/1/14. Well, well, well, the current Supervisor has totally ignored the messages and never called her back. I can understand an incumbent being upset over losing an election. But to not have a sit down with her successor just shows immaturity, a lack of concern for residents and of course a total lack of any common sense. Her actions prove my politician's creed of not having any common sense. I wouldn't put it past the current Supervisor to hide important info, dates etc., etc., to make the Supervisor elect job's more difficult..
It is truly shameful when politicians act in such a manner. All the current Supervisor is concerned about is herself and nobody else. You can't get anymore selfish than that. It is also too bad that she can't act in an adult or professional manner. In personally witnessing her pompous and callous attitude in dealing with residents during public hearings, her ignoring the Supervisor elect really doesn't surprise me or lots of other residents. It is just shows her true disdain for those who disagreed or opposed her.
Come 1/1/14, we won't have to deal with the wicked witch of the east any longer. YEA!
Til next week.
Peter
So another November elections has come and gone. Hopefully all registered voters voted. Every vote does indeed count. Sometimes even the underdog wins. Such was the case here the town in which we live.
In one corner was the 3 term incumbent GOP Supervisor with a sizable war chest. In the other corner was the political newbie and Democratic candidate with no chest what so ever. Because of the current Town Supervisor's ill conceived and illegal location of a proposed cell tower, I got politically involved to oust her. I got involved from the get go with getting signatures for the newbie's petitions, fundraising, putting up signs and then making phone calls. It is amazing what a truly grass roots campaign can accomplish. She and her campaign committee were able to get her message out in a big way. Our newbie won by a landslide, 69% to 31%.
Now that you know the back story, the following is the update. So our sour grapes current Supervisor is so upset that she lost and lost by such a huge margin that she is being a true cry baby. How? Well, first of all, at least three town employees that I know of, one is an elected position, took the day after the elections off so they would not have to listen to her rant and rave about the election results, which she definitely thought she would win. The Supervisor elect has called and left two messages for the current Supervisor. The messages were about having a meeting so that there would be a smooth transition come 1/1/14. Well, well, well, the current Supervisor has totally ignored the messages and never called her back. I can understand an incumbent being upset over losing an election. But to not have a sit down with her successor just shows immaturity, a lack of concern for residents and of course a total lack of any common sense. Her actions prove my politician's creed of not having any common sense. I wouldn't put it past the current Supervisor to hide important info, dates etc., etc., to make the Supervisor elect job's more difficult..
It is truly shameful when politicians act in such a manner. All the current Supervisor is concerned about is herself and nobody else. You can't get anymore selfish than that. It is also too bad that she can't act in an adult or professional manner. In personally witnessing her pompous and callous attitude in dealing with residents during public hearings, her ignoring the Supervisor elect really doesn't surprise me or lots of other residents. It is just shows her true disdain for those who disagreed or opposed her.
Come 1/1/14, we won't have to deal with the wicked witch of the east any longer. YEA!
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Now They Have Gone Too Far!
Hi Everyone,
For the past few years and then some, it seems that more and more people, companies, politicians and schools don't want to offend anyone. So the term, politically correct, originated. Being politically correct may be a good thing in some instances, but certainly it is not a good thing in all circumstances. But I was quite surprised to learn how far a school is willing to go to be politically correct. A friend of ours from Long Island, New York, told us about this true story that occurred to his daughter in her elementary school. The daughter told her father that the chorus teacher told them that they were only going to sing holiday songs and Hanukkah songs. Then the daughter told her father that they were going to sing, We Wish You a Swinging Holiday, which is actually, We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The children were not allowed to sing Merry Christmas and were yelled at if they did!
Is this what it is coming to? I certainly hope not. I am a firm believer in a live and let live philosophy. That would include people being able to celebrate their religious holidays including singing songs etc. Where does this school come off changing the words to a beloved and I think almost 140 year old song? In this instance, it appears that the school, in an effort to be somehow neutral by omitting those two words, have instead created a fire storm from her father. He is rightfully furious with the school. The school's position, in my opinion, is far more hurtful than the kids singing the correct words. What actual good can come from this? What does this teach the children? How do you explain to the kids that they can sing the songs correctly anywhere but at school?
Not being allowed to sing songs as they were originally written and intended is tantamount to censorship in the first degree. What state and country do we live in? How is this even allowed? Hopefully the school and the school board will revisit their decision. But maybe the second time around they will use some common sense. Maybe, like I have said about politicians, school professionals, including school board members should be taught lessons in common sense.
Til next week.
Peter
For the past few years and then some, it seems that more and more people, companies, politicians and schools don't want to offend anyone. So the term, politically correct, originated. Being politically correct may be a good thing in some instances, but certainly it is not a good thing in all circumstances. But I was quite surprised to learn how far a school is willing to go to be politically correct. A friend of ours from Long Island, New York, told us about this true story that occurred to his daughter in her elementary school. The daughter told her father that the chorus teacher told them that they were only going to sing holiday songs and Hanukkah songs. Then the daughter told her father that they were going to sing, We Wish You a Swinging Holiday, which is actually, We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The children were not allowed to sing Merry Christmas and were yelled at if they did!
Is this what it is coming to? I certainly hope not. I am a firm believer in a live and let live philosophy. That would include people being able to celebrate their religious holidays including singing songs etc. Where does this school come off changing the words to a beloved and I think almost 140 year old song? In this instance, it appears that the school, in an effort to be somehow neutral by omitting those two words, have instead created a fire storm from her father. He is rightfully furious with the school. The school's position, in my opinion, is far more hurtful than the kids singing the correct words. What actual good can come from this? What does this teach the children? How do you explain to the kids that they can sing the songs correctly anywhere but at school?
Not being allowed to sing songs as they were originally written and intended is tantamount to censorship in the first degree. What state and country do we live in? How is this even allowed? Hopefully the school and the school board will revisit their decision. But maybe the second time around they will use some common sense. Maybe, like I have said about politicians, school professionals, including school board members should be taught lessons in common sense.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Better Food
Hi Everyone,
This week's Time magazine had an interesting article about trimming the fat. Back in the day, prior to the 1950's, food was made with real unadulterated natural ingredients. Real milk, butter, eggs, salt and sugar etc., etc. were the ingredients that were the basis for our food products. But, something happened in the 1950's that changed what we have eaten ever since.
The 1950's saw the introduction of trans fats into the production of everything from crackers to donuts to microwave popcorn to fast food burger and other fast food joints. Artificial trans fats is partially hydrogenated oils. According to the article, trans fats smooth texture, stabilize flavor and improve shelf life. It has been proven that trans fats are linked with heart disease, (clogged arteries). The center for disease control, CDC, states that 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 heart disease related deaths occur each year due to trans fats. And those numbers are sure to increase.
I am keenly aware that there are people in this country who believe that we should have less government interference in our lives. Maybe in some respects they are right. But when it comes to our food safety, I am a strong proponent of the government trying to protect our food. You can't count on big food conglomerates to put our safety ahead of their profits. So on 11/7/13, the FDA announced that it is starting the process of eliminating trans fats from the U.S. food supply. FYI, in 2006, NYC banned trans fats from restaurants. California followed in 2008 by doing the same thing.
The absence of trans fats from our foods will not happen overnight. Most likely, it will take years since food manufacturers who use it must reformulate their products. Maybe, just maybe, they will again use natural ingredients instead of finding a trans fats substitute. Time will tell.
I do believe that eventually eliminating trans fats from our food supply is a good thing and common sense over ruled big food businesses efforts to thwart it. Food is suppose to nourish our bodies and not hurt them.
Til next week.
Peter
This week's Time magazine had an interesting article about trimming the fat. Back in the day, prior to the 1950's, food was made with real unadulterated natural ingredients. Real milk, butter, eggs, salt and sugar etc., etc. were the ingredients that were the basis for our food products. But, something happened in the 1950's that changed what we have eaten ever since.
The 1950's saw the introduction of trans fats into the production of everything from crackers to donuts to microwave popcorn to fast food burger and other fast food joints. Artificial trans fats is partially hydrogenated oils. According to the article, trans fats smooth texture, stabilize flavor and improve shelf life. It has been proven that trans fats are linked with heart disease, (clogged arteries). The center for disease control, CDC, states that 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 heart disease related deaths occur each year due to trans fats. And those numbers are sure to increase.
I am keenly aware that there are people in this country who believe that we should have less government interference in our lives. Maybe in some respects they are right. But when it comes to our food safety, I am a strong proponent of the government trying to protect our food. You can't count on big food conglomerates to put our safety ahead of their profits. So on 11/7/13, the FDA announced that it is starting the process of eliminating trans fats from the U.S. food supply. FYI, in 2006, NYC banned trans fats from restaurants. California followed in 2008 by doing the same thing.
The absence of trans fats from our foods will not happen overnight. Most likely, it will take years since food manufacturers who use it must reformulate their products. Maybe, just maybe, they will again use natural ingredients instead of finding a trans fats substitute. Time will tell.
I do believe that eventually eliminating trans fats from our food supply is a good thing and common sense over ruled big food businesses efforts to thwart it. Food is suppose to nourish our bodies and not hurt them.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Here We Go Again?!
Hi Everyone,
I blogged about this a while ago, but here we go again. My previous blog on this topic will seem like a repeat today, but how low can they really go? What am I talking about? The downsizing of food items.
Last week I read my circular for our local grocery store, which happens to be a Shop Rite. I noticed that a can of spaghetti sauce was on sale for $.99 and was only 24 ounces. Before the downsizing began, some years ago, a jar or can of spaghetti sauce was 28 ounces then 26 ounces and now it is 24 ounces. Coffee was gone through the same downsizing as well as almost everything else except for maybe milk and butter. I fully understand what these companies are up to; instead of rising their prices, they downsize the quantity, while charging the same price as the previous larger size. A price increase without actually raising prices. Crazy like a fox!!! If they continue to par down the volume, they will eventually sell all food in individual sizes. That way we can all pay the most for their product. Just check out the 7 to 9 ounce frozen vegetables packages sold by Green Giant and Bird's Eye. Used to be that the 16 ounce package would be enough for 4 people. Now one package is enough for 2 people, so you have to buy 2 packages for 4 people. So my question of the day is, how low can they go in their downsizing?
I am not sure what can and will stop these companies, other than injecting some much needed common sense into their forward thinking. What they should be thinking about is how to sell more of their products. Again, Economics 101 dealing with supply and demand seems to be a thing of the past. If they sold more of their products, they would increase their production lines and maybe then they could hire more employees. Wishful thinking? I really hope not.
Til next week.
Peter
I blogged about this a while ago, but here we go again. My previous blog on this topic will seem like a repeat today, but how low can they really go? What am I talking about? The downsizing of food items.
Last week I read my circular for our local grocery store, which happens to be a Shop Rite. I noticed that a can of spaghetti sauce was on sale for $.99 and was only 24 ounces. Before the downsizing began, some years ago, a jar or can of spaghetti sauce was 28 ounces then 26 ounces and now it is 24 ounces. Coffee was gone through the same downsizing as well as almost everything else except for maybe milk and butter. I fully understand what these companies are up to; instead of rising their prices, they downsize the quantity, while charging the same price as the previous larger size. A price increase without actually raising prices. Crazy like a fox!!! If they continue to par down the volume, they will eventually sell all food in individual sizes. That way we can all pay the most for their product. Just check out the 7 to 9 ounce frozen vegetables packages sold by Green Giant and Bird's Eye. Used to be that the 16 ounce package would be enough for 4 people. Now one package is enough for 2 people, so you have to buy 2 packages for 4 people. So my question of the day is, how low can they go in their downsizing?
I am not sure what can and will stop these companies, other than injecting some much needed common sense into their forward thinking. What they should be thinking about is how to sell more of their products. Again, Economics 101 dealing with supply and demand seems to be a thing of the past. If they sold more of their products, they would increase their production lines and maybe then they could hire more employees. Wishful thinking? I really hope not.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Do You Believe In.....
Hi Everyone,
I would safely say that the majority of Americans get their local and national news from their TVs. Everyone has their favorite TV news channel. Since I have previously commented on this one particular news channel, I can't believe what Fox News did again. Will they ever learn?
A few weeks ago, during the government shutdown, Fox News host, Anna Koaiman reported on a story, that she reported as factual. She said that, "President Obama was using his own money to keep a museum for Muslim Culture open and operating". For those of you in the know, there is a parody news site on the web called the National Report. They are like SNL, (Saturday Night Live) where they do parody skits and report on bogus news stories. Well, well, well!! That is actually where Koaiman got her President Obama's news story facts from. No seriously, that is her source for the story! Additionally, the higher ups in Fox News, knew that the story was bogus, but they still decided to air the story anyway. Why? Ratings and misinformation are the only answers I can think of. Why else? Fox News wanted to get higher ratings and spread more misinformation regarding the President.
Fox News is not a real news organization, it is hyper-partisan TV entertainment. What made matters worse for the newly renamed Faux News is what they did afterwards. I have seen other news programs give on air apologies for their mistakes. But not Faux News. They had Koaiman retract her story via a tweet and not on air. So her apology was seen only by her twitter followers and not the general public. Shouldn't that give their viewers a moment to pause and think about their reliability? If not, it should!
I feel sorry for every single person who believes everything that they hear from Faux News. Obviously there are other TV stations that are partisan on the other end of the spectrum, but they do not air obvious lies and report them as facts. But Faux News deems the false and misleading stories fit to air. That is so they can continue their mission of spreading any and all misinformation as they deem fit. Such a sorry state of affairs! My advice; be careful of what and whom you believe. Since this is not the first, nor the second, or even their third time Faux News has done this kind of false reporting. So how can their viewers trust what they report on? Or are their viewers just Lemmings, following and believing everything that will eventually lead to their big time disappointments.
If Faux News had just one ounce of common sense, they would stop reporting lies, in this case, a bogus story that was never meant to be taken seriously, to improve their reputation. But since Faux News has done this repeatedly, isn't it painfully obvious that they care more about ratings and spreading false stories, than their reputation. If they continue down this path, in my opinion, they should be at least fined from the FCC. Hopefully Faux News will never start using SNL as their news source for factual news!
Just say no to Faux News.
Til next week.
Peter
I would safely say that the majority of Americans get their local and national news from their TVs. Everyone has their favorite TV news channel. Since I have previously commented on this one particular news channel, I can't believe what Fox News did again. Will they ever learn?
A few weeks ago, during the government shutdown, Fox News host, Anna Koaiman reported on a story, that she reported as factual. She said that, "President Obama was using his own money to keep a museum for Muslim Culture open and operating". For those of you in the know, there is a parody news site on the web called the National Report. They are like SNL, (Saturday Night Live) where they do parody skits and report on bogus news stories. Well, well, well!! That is actually where Koaiman got her President Obama's news story facts from. No seriously, that is her source for the story! Additionally, the higher ups in Fox News, knew that the story was bogus, but they still decided to air the story anyway. Why? Ratings and misinformation are the only answers I can think of. Why else? Fox News wanted to get higher ratings and spread more misinformation regarding the President.
Fox News is not a real news organization, it is hyper-partisan TV entertainment. What made matters worse for the newly renamed Faux News is what they did afterwards. I have seen other news programs give on air apologies for their mistakes. But not Faux News. They had Koaiman retract her story via a tweet and not on air. So her apology was seen only by her twitter followers and not the general public. Shouldn't that give their viewers a moment to pause and think about their reliability? If not, it should!
I feel sorry for every single person who believes everything that they hear from Faux News. Obviously there are other TV stations that are partisan on the other end of the spectrum, but they do not air obvious lies and report them as facts. But Faux News deems the false and misleading stories fit to air. That is so they can continue their mission of spreading any and all misinformation as they deem fit. Such a sorry state of affairs! My advice; be careful of what and whom you believe. Since this is not the first, nor the second, or even their third time Faux News has done this kind of false reporting. So how can their viewers trust what they report on? Or are their viewers just Lemmings, following and believing everything that will eventually lead to their big time disappointments.
If Faux News had just one ounce of common sense, they would stop reporting lies, in this case, a bogus story that was never meant to be taken seriously, to improve their reputation. But since Faux News has done this repeatedly, isn't it painfully obvious that they care more about ratings and spreading false stories, than their reputation. If they continue down this path, in my opinion, they should be at least fined from the FCC. Hopefully Faux News will never start using SNL as their news source for factual news!
Just say no to Faux News.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, October 20, 2013
CSA #7
Hi Everyone,
It has been just over a year since I awarded my last Common Sense Award. A few years ago, a short 3 lane bridge, (just like an overpass), was replaced nearby. It took almost 2 years for the replacement and the traffic jams were unending. It was amazing to all the drivers how long it took to complete the job. So I was more than hesitant when I heard that two, 2 lane overpasses, (east and westbound) were going to be replaced on Route 84, in New York state, close to the Connecticut border. I thought to my self that this project would take years and years to complete. I watched as they prepared the site. I have to admit though that I was a bit perplexed when I saw how the site was being prepared. First I saw a huge new bridge being built in the median at a higher elevation then the original. Then I saw, what looked like a helicopter pad being built on the shoulder of the west bound side. I thought to myself that replacing these two overpasses would take longer then two years. Route 84 is a highly used highway and all I could imagine was the huge traffic nightmare that would continue until the overpasses were replaced.
Then we received a card in the mail, at about the same time that an article in the newspaper appeared regarding the replacement of the two overpasses, with dates of closing the lanes. What totally shocked and surprised me was that for the first time in New York state history, the replacements were going to be done in a new and very unique way. What I saw on the median and the shoulder were actually the new overpass replacements being built. After they were completed, they were going to first shut down the eastbound side to demolish the overpass and then "SLIDE" the new overpass into place. But, the real shocker was that they were going to demolish the overpass and install the new overpass in just 18 hours. 18 hours? How was that possible?
The day of the first closure came and unbelievably, 18 hours later the first overpass was replaced and was being used. A few weeks later the second overpass was replaced. It took a total of 36 hours to demolish and then replace the two, 2 lane overpasses. What a feat that was. Instead of taking years and years to accomplish with massive traffic jams; in almost a blink of an eye, they were totally replaced. Again, this was the very first time, this method of replacement, was used in New York state and it went flawlessly. Who knew that it was possible to slide in new overpasses into place?
So today, I award the seventh CSA to New York State for their excellent job in using great common sense to replace these 2 overpasses in record time and with minimal traffic disruption. Bravo for a job well done.
Til next week.
Peter
It has been just over a year since I awarded my last Common Sense Award. A few years ago, a short 3 lane bridge, (just like an overpass), was replaced nearby. It took almost 2 years for the replacement and the traffic jams were unending. It was amazing to all the drivers how long it took to complete the job. So I was more than hesitant when I heard that two, 2 lane overpasses, (east and westbound) were going to be replaced on Route 84, in New York state, close to the Connecticut border. I thought to my self that this project would take years and years to complete. I watched as they prepared the site. I have to admit though that I was a bit perplexed when I saw how the site was being prepared. First I saw a huge new bridge being built in the median at a higher elevation then the original. Then I saw, what looked like a helicopter pad being built on the shoulder of the west bound side. I thought to myself that replacing these two overpasses would take longer then two years. Route 84 is a highly used highway and all I could imagine was the huge traffic nightmare that would continue until the overpasses were replaced.
Then we received a card in the mail, at about the same time that an article in the newspaper appeared regarding the replacement of the two overpasses, with dates of closing the lanes. What totally shocked and surprised me was that for the first time in New York state history, the replacements were going to be done in a new and very unique way. What I saw on the median and the shoulder were actually the new overpass replacements being built. After they were completed, they were going to first shut down the eastbound side to demolish the overpass and then "SLIDE" the new overpass into place. But, the real shocker was that they were going to demolish the overpass and install the new overpass in just 18 hours. 18 hours? How was that possible?
The day of the first closure came and unbelievably, 18 hours later the first overpass was replaced and was being used. A few weeks later the second overpass was replaced. It took a total of 36 hours to demolish and then replace the two, 2 lane overpasses. What a feat that was. Instead of taking years and years to accomplish with massive traffic jams; in almost a blink of an eye, they were totally replaced. Again, this was the very first time, this method of replacement, was used in New York state and it went flawlessly. Who knew that it was possible to slide in new overpasses into place?
So today, I award the seventh CSA to New York State for their excellent job in using great common sense to replace these 2 overpasses in record time and with minimal traffic disruption. Bravo for a job well done.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, October 6, 2013
What's Good for the Goose............
Hi Everyone,
By now, you all know that when I write about the utter lack of common sense which most politicians seem to be missing these days; I am an equal opportunity abuser, be it a Republican or a Democrat. I call them out like I see it, using my common sense in combination with facts not spin.
As we all are so painfully aware, Washington D.C.'s dsyfunction has now fully boiled over into a government shut down. People have been arguing about whose fault it is all week. Whatever side of the fence you may be on, check these out.
Some interesting facts:
1)- There are currently 433 members of the US House of Representatives; 233 Republicans, 200 Democrats and 2 vacanies.
2)- There are approximately 38 +/- Tea Party members in the House, which only represents 16% of the total GOP membership in the House.
3)- A 9/26/13 poll showed that 22% of adults support the Tea Party. Which means 78% do not support the Tea Party!
4)- A few days ago, 100 GOP House members, (which is 42% of the GOP House total) stood on the steps of the US Capital and said that they would reopen the government by voting yes on the budget that President Obama submitted.
5)- The GOP talking points say that the majority of Americans don't want the ACA. Maybe that is true in only some of the states they represent but:
6)- In a recent poll, 57% (which is a majority) of Americans do want the Affordable Care Act.
7)- Mitt Romney, while Governor of Massachusetts, supported and implemented an "ACA" for his state; which became the template for the US version.
So where is the disconnect?
Here are even more interesting facts:
8)- The Affordable Care Act has been law for about 3 1/2 years.
9)- A minority of GOP members, specifically the 38 +/- Tea Party members have been vehemently opposed to the ACA and have tried to kill the ACA over and over again.
10)- The House has now voted over 40 times, (see my 7/21/13 blog), to abolish the ACA. All to absolutely no avail, but has so far cost a whole lot of money, while also wasting a whole lot of time.
11)- The GOP even tried to abolish the ACA through the US Supreme Court and lost. Even Chief Justice Roberts voted against them, go figure?!
12)- Mitt Romney's biggest platform agenda was to abolish the ACA, even though he supported and implemented such a program in his home state. Well that didn't work out to well for him in 2012 did it? Remember that he got trounced in the Electoral College vote in that presidential election.
13)- The GOP controlled House would not vote on a budget unless the ACA was defunded. Which was just another attempt to abolish the ACA.
14)- Then Ted Cruz held a filibuster for some 21 hours. What did he accomplish? The only thing that he accomplished, that most everyone agrees on, is that he got his name out in the national media; probably so he can be a presendential candidate in 2016.
15)- Now they want to delay the effective date of the ACA by one year.
They just don't give up and it will hurt them in upcoming elections for years to come. This very small minority of House members, 38, is holding the entire American people hostage as well as holding their own entire House of Representatives hostage, (please refer to the above number 4 again). The result of their absurd actions has now concluded in the shutting down of the US government. There are now hundreds of thousands of American government employees out of work and not being paid.
But wait, isn't today's blog titled, "What's good for the Goose....."? Why yes it is. Since I was taken back a bit, but not really surprised, to learn that while the government is shut down, these protected politicians still receive their full paychecks. What the hell?! If that isn't absurb, I don't know what is! So, I am now suggesting that a new common sense law be passed, asap. The law is very simple and direct. Any time the US government is shut down, for any reason, all members of Congress will not be paid, (no salary, no reimbursements of expense accounts including: meals, airfare, car rentals, hotels, personal car mileage, etc., etc. Then let's see how long a government shut down lasts, or if there is even another one. When politicians wallets/pocketbooks get hurt, they will quickly sit up straight and think long and hard, before they vote that would stop them from being paid. Of course and as usual, don't hold your breath.
And yes, I firmly believe that the budget could and should be cut some, but not at the expense of the ACA. A small minority of people should NEVER, EVER be allowed to hold everyone else hostage. Enough is enough! Note to GOP: you lost, get over it and do the job you were elected to do. PASS A BUDGET!
Please, please always remember, people are entitled to their own opinions, but to their own facts!
Til next week.
Peter
By now, you all know that when I write about the utter lack of common sense which most politicians seem to be missing these days; I am an equal opportunity abuser, be it a Republican or a Democrat. I call them out like I see it, using my common sense in combination with facts not spin.
As we all are so painfully aware, Washington D.C.'s dsyfunction has now fully boiled over into a government shut down. People have been arguing about whose fault it is all week. Whatever side of the fence you may be on, check these out.
Some interesting facts:
1)- There are currently 433 members of the US House of Representatives; 233 Republicans, 200 Democrats and 2 vacanies.
2)- There are approximately 38 +/- Tea Party members in the House, which only represents 16% of the total GOP membership in the House.
3)- A 9/26/13 poll showed that 22% of adults support the Tea Party. Which means 78% do not support the Tea Party!
4)- A few days ago, 100 GOP House members, (which is 42% of the GOP House total) stood on the steps of the US Capital and said that they would reopen the government by voting yes on the budget that President Obama submitted.
5)- The GOP talking points say that the majority of Americans don't want the ACA. Maybe that is true in only some of the states they represent but:
6)- In a recent poll, 57% (which is a majority) of Americans do want the Affordable Care Act.
7)- Mitt Romney, while Governor of Massachusetts, supported and implemented an "ACA" for his state; which became the template for the US version.
So where is the disconnect?
Here are even more interesting facts:
8)- The Affordable Care Act has been law for about 3 1/2 years.
9)- A minority of GOP members, specifically the 38 +/- Tea Party members have been vehemently opposed to the ACA and have tried to kill the ACA over and over again.
10)- The House has now voted over 40 times, (see my 7/21/13 blog), to abolish the ACA. All to absolutely no avail, but has so far cost a whole lot of money, while also wasting a whole lot of time.
11)- The GOP even tried to abolish the ACA through the US Supreme Court and lost. Even Chief Justice Roberts voted against them, go figure?!
12)- Mitt Romney's biggest platform agenda was to abolish the ACA, even though he supported and implemented such a program in his home state. Well that didn't work out to well for him in 2012 did it? Remember that he got trounced in the Electoral College vote in that presidential election.
13)- The GOP controlled House would not vote on a budget unless the ACA was defunded. Which was just another attempt to abolish the ACA.
14)- Then Ted Cruz held a filibuster for some 21 hours. What did he accomplish? The only thing that he accomplished, that most everyone agrees on, is that he got his name out in the national media; probably so he can be a presendential candidate in 2016.
15)- Now they want to delay the effective date of the ACA by one year.
They just don't give up and it will hurt them in upcoming elections for years to come. This very small minority of House members, 38, is holding the entire American people hostage as well as holding their own entire House of Representatives hostage, (please refer to the above number 4 again). The result of their absurd actions has now concluded in the shutting down of the US government. There are now hundreds of thousands of American government employees out of work and not being paid.
But wait, isn't today's blog titled, "What's good for the Goose....."? Why yes it is. Since I was taken back a bit, but not really surprised, to learn that while the government is shut down, these protected politicians still receive their full paychecks. What the hell?! If that isn't absurb, I don't know what is! So, I am now suggesting that a new common sense law be passed, asap. The law is very simple and direct. Any time the US government is shut down, for any reason, all members of Congress will not be paid, (no salary, no reimbursements of expense accounts including: meals, airfare, car rentals, hotels, personal car mileage, etc., etc. Then let's see how long a government shut down lasts, or if there is even another one. When politicians wallets/pocketbooks get hurt, they will quickly sit up straight and think long and hard, before they vote that would stop them from being paid. Of course and as usual, don't hold your breath.
And yes, I firmly believe that the budget could and should be cut some, but not at the expense of the ACA. A small minority of people should NEVER, EVER be allowed to hold everyone else hostage. Enough is enough! Note to GOP: you lost, get over it and do the job you were elected to do. PASS A BUDGET!
Please, please always remember, people are entitled to their own opinions, but to their own facts!
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, September 29, 2013
This Can't Be True!
Hi Everyone,
Lately it seems that everywhere I read, there are more and more examples of a complete lack of common sense ideas that boggles my mind. Common sense seems to be a dirty phrase more often than not. So it was when I read a recent article that fits the bill of no common sense what-so-ever.
This true story is taking place in Albany, NY. There is a Code Council that is in the process of updating New York's Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code. For decades now, all gas stations have been required to have fire-suppression systems; which is a great common sense requirement. But last January, a sub-committee recommended removing that requirement. I personally would like to meet the members of this committee/council to see what real morons look like. The fire-suppression systems have proven time and time again that when there is an accident at a gas station that involves a fire, these systems are the first line of defense in helping to stop or to severely limit a small fire that may otherwise turn into a catastrophe.
The article did not make it clear if and when the full Code Council plans on taking up this idiotic proposal. The next meeting is on 12/11/13. Of course, New York's largest firefighters association raised concerns and is against not requiring the fire-suppression systems. In addition, Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi, D-Utica is also urging the Code Council to keep the mandate. My question is what in the world is this Council thinking? Reversing this mandate is one of the most stupidest things that I have heard about in a long time. What good can come from not having this mandate? Absolutely nothing at all!!!
Hopefully common sense will prevail and the fire-suppression systems will remain a mandate for all gas stations in New York State. Enough said!
Til next week.
Peter
Lately it seems that everywhere I read, there are more and more examples of a complete lack of common sense ideas that boggles my mind. Common sense seems to be a dirty phrase more often than not. So it was when I read a recent article that fits the bill of no common sense what-so-ever.
This true story is taking place in Albany, NY. There is a Code Council that is in the process of updating New York's Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code. For decades now, all gas stations have been required to have fire-suppression systems; which is a great common sense requirement. But last January, a sub-committee recommended removing that requirement. I personally would like to meet the members of this committee/council to see what real morons look like. The fire-suppression systems have proven time and time again that when there is an accident at a gas station that involves a fire, these systems are the first line of defense in helping to stop or to severely limit a small fire that may otherwise turn into a catastrophe.
The article did not make it clear if and when the full Code Council plans on taking up this idiotic proposal. The next meeting is on 12/11/13. Of course, New York's largest firefighters association raised concerns and is against not requiring the fire-suppression systems. In addition, Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi, D-Utica is also urging the Code Council to keep the mandate. My question is what in the world is this Council thinking? Reversing this mandate is one of the most stupidest things that I have heard about in a long time. What good can come from not having this mandate? Absolutely nothing at all!!!
Hopefully common sense will prevail and the fire-suppression systems will remain a mandate for all gas stations in New York State. Enough said!
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Another Unbelieveable Story
Hi Everyone,
We are all so painfully aware of what happens during this time of year. Election time that is. Politicians can be so ruthless to get elected. But so are some of the people who believe in their candidate. Campaigns these days seem to get nastier with each passing year, with no end in sight. The following is a true story of what just happened across the river from where we live....
I read in my Friday's Gannet paper that "a stack of mailers, all anonymous, attacked one particular candidate in the Democratic county executive primary" in Rockland County, New York. A lot of these anonymous flyers that are sent to registered voters, contain either and/or: half-truths, twisted facts, (which is called spin) and even outright lies. But they continue to be sent out. It is truly a sad day when people, knowingly create and mail misleading political flyers to try to sway the voters. It is no wonder that they don't and obviously never will sign their names or name the entity that they are associated with, to these liar flyers. Unbeknownst to me, most states do have regulations that ban such anonymous politicking. But wait........ the worst part is that these liar flyers are actually legally allowed here in New York State. Yep, that's right, as of right now, there is no law in NY to stop these liar flyers! That just gets me so mad and aggravated. It is pure and simple common sense to have a law that prevents that kind of low blow and as dirty as it gets politicking.
Then there is Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski, D-New City. He will introduce legislation that would require campaign communications to disclose the ad's source; whether it's from a candidate or political committee, etc. What a novel idea and what a great common sense solution. My only question is why did it take until the year 2013 for this to start? "Paid for by" labels would inform voters where the flyer came from. That is the way to go to stop these stupid liar flyers. But......... when this comes up for a vote, it will be very interesting to see who doesn't vote for it. Time will tell!
Til next week.
Peter
We are all so painfully aware of what happens during this time of year. Election time that is. Politicians can be so ruthless to get elected. But so are some of the people who believe in their candidate. Campaigns these days seem to get nastier with each passing year, with no end in sight. The following is a true story of what just happened across the river from where we live....
I read in my Friday's Gannet paper that "a stack of mailers, all anonymous, attacked one particular candidate in the Democratic county executive primary" in Rockland County, New York. A lot of these anonymous flyers that are sent to registered voters, contain either and/or: half-truths, twisted facts, (which is called spin) and even outright lies. But they continue to be sent out. It is truly a sad day when people, knowingly create and mail misleading political flyers to try to sway the voters. It is no wonder that they don't and obviously never will sign their names or name the entity that they are associated with, to these liar flyers. Unbeknownst to me, most states do have regulations that ban such anonymous politicking. But wait........ the worst part is that these liar flyers are actually legally allowed here in New York State. Yep, that's right, as of right now, there is no law in NY to stop these liar flyers! That just gets me so mad and aggravated. It is pure and simple common sense to have a law that prevents that kind of low blow and as dirty as it gets politicking.
Then there is Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski, D-New City. He will introduce legislation that would require campaign communications to disclose the ad's source; whether it's from a candidate or political committee, etc. What a novel idea and what a great common sense solution. My only question is why did it take until the year 2013 for this to start? "Paid for by" labels would inform voters where the flyer came from. That is the way to go to stop these stupid liar flyers. But......... when this comes up for a vote, it will be very interesting to see who doesn't vote for it. Time will tell!
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Can Someone Explain This To Me?
Hi Everyone,
I haven't ever started my blog this way, but change is good. So I just have one question that I would like to pose to everyone today. Maybe you will know the answer, but I bet you dollars to donuts (where did that saying come from?), that no one will be able to answer this one question. Where can you buy almost anything, like what a grocery store carries, (alcohol not included) for cost?
Thought of an answer yet? I will give you a hint? Good people can't buy "whatever" at cost. Still no answer? Ok, try this hint; only bad people can buy "whatever" at cost. What kind of bad people could I possibly be talking about? Well......... in order to get this special offer, you probably won't like this, but you have to do something really bad, get caught, convicted and finally incarcerated in a New York State maximum security prison. Believe it or not, this is a very true fact. The info that I got pertained only to maximum security prisons no lower level security prison.
So how did I get this info? A while ago, we were at a party where I spoke with a guy who works in a NYS maximum security prison. I started asking him tons of questions. Why? Because: a) I don't know anyone who is incarcerated and b) since I never knew anyone who worked in one, I was intrigued about what goes on in prisons. I have to admit, I did ask a few dumb questions, from my vast wealth of prison knowledge that I learned from TV. But our conversation somehow drifted into what prisoners can buy from the commissary. I was amazed that they can buy basically anything, except of course alcohol. When I say anything, I mean even frozen chicken. That kind of shocked me since I immediately asked if they had refrigerators in their cells? They don't, but they can get ice for their coolers that are in their cells.
But the most unbelievable thing that I learned about maximum security prisons, and this is the answer to my original question, inmates can buy almost anything they want from the commissary for cost! Yes that's right, for cost! That is, they purchase the items for the same price that the prison system pays for them, with no price mark ups what so ever. Now to me, if someone is in a maximum security prison, since they had done something extremely bad, like murder, why should they get a sweet perk like this? You and I don't get to buy grocery store products at cost. The prices that the inmates pay are ridiculously low on everything. I could save a lot of money if I could shop at their commissary. This makes no sense to me at all. I read a lot about how expensive it is to house an inmate for a year, here in NYS. Well here is a news flash for the NYS prison system. Immediately stop selling what's in the commissaries at cost. The profits could help defray the cost of running the prisons. While I'm at it, why not have inmates grow their own food, milk their own cows etc., etc. Shouldn't that save the system a lot more money? Somehow, common sense is not part of the prison system, where you would think that it would be a priority in all areas.
Til next week.
Peter
I haven't ever started my blog this way, but change is good. So I just have one question that I would like to pose to everyone today. Maybe you will know the answer, but I bet you dollars to donuts (where did that saying come from?), that no one will be able to answer this one question. Where can you buy almost anything, like what a grocery store carries, (alcohol not included) for cost?
Thought of an answer yet? I will give you a hint? Good people can't buy "whatever" at cost. Still no answer? Ok, try this hint; only bad people can buy "whatever" at cost. What kind of bad people could I possibly be talking about? Well......... in order to get this special offer, you probably won't like this, but you have to do something really bad, get caught, convicted and finally incarcerated in a New York State maximum security prison. Believe it or not, this is a very true fact. The info that I got pertained only to maximum security prisons no lower level security prison.
So how did I get this info? A while ago, we were at a party where I spoke with a guy who works in a NYS maximum security prison. I started asking him tons of questions. Why? Because: a) I don't know anyone who is incarcerated and b) since I never knew anyone who worked in one, I was intrigued about what goes on in prisons. I have to admit, I did ask a few dumb questions, from my vast wealth of prison knowledge that I learned from TV. But our conversation somehow drifted into what prisoners can buy from the commissary. I was amazed that they can buy basically anything, except of course alcohol. When I say anything, I mean even frozen chicken. That kind of shocked me since I immediately asked if they had refrigerators in their cells? They don't, but they can get ice for their coolers that are in their cells.
But the most unbelievable thing that I learned about maximum security prisons, and this is the answer to my original question, inmates can buy almost anything they want from the commissary for cost! Yes that's right, for cost! That is, they purchase the items for the same price that the prison system pays for them, with no price mark ups what so ever. Now to me, if someone is in a maximum security prison, since they had done something extremely bad, like murder, why should they get a sweet perk like this? You and I don't get to buy grocery store products at cost. The prices that the inmates pay are ridiculously low on everything. I could save a lot of money if I could shop at their commissary. This makes no sense to me at all. I read a lot about how expensive it is to house an inmate for a year, here in NYS. Well here is a news flash for the NYS prison system. Immediately stop selling what's in the commissaries at cost. The profits could help defray the cost of running the prisons. While I'm at it, why not have inmates grow their own food, milk their own cows etc., etc. Shouldn't that save the system a lot more money? Somehow, common sense is not part of the prison system, where you would think that it would be a priority in all areas.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Is It Spin, Misinformation or Just Plain Lies?
Hi Everyone,
Last week was the 50th anniversary of Dr. King's, "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C. His speech was an important turning point for African Americans fight for equality. I did not know until this past week that Dr. King's original, typed speech, was only to last about 5 minutes. He ad libbed the whole "dream" part of the speech which added 11 minutes to his speech. So would you think that the anniversary celebrations would be without political discord. If you thought that, you, as well as I were so very, very wrong.
How? Well, last Wednesday, on Bill O'Reilly's "No Spin", TV show, he had one of his usual rants. This time his rant was about how no Republicans or Conservatives had been invited to the anniversary celebration. O'Reilly even mentioned Bush 2.0, as an example of a Republican who was not invited to the event. The only Presidents who spoke, there were three, were Democrats. Really O'Reilly? Did you really say that? Indeed he did and he stands by his "No Spin" statement of "his" kind of facts.
Please, please always remember that every person is entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own facts. So as it turns out, these are the true facts. Bush 1.0 and Bush 2.0 were both invited to speak, but both bowed out citing health reasons. So O'Reilly got that wrong! Speaker of the House, John Boehner was also invited, but he too declined, stating that he had to speak at a Congressional event. O'Reilly wrong again! Jeb Bush and John McCain were also invited, but both declined. O'Reilly wrong again! FYI, every single member of both houses of Congress were invited to attend. So O'Reilly was really wrong about that also! Even Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader was invited, he also declined. O'Reilly wrong again! In Cantor's mindless brain, he thought that it was more important to meet with oil lobbyists on that day, instead of being part of history. Big money and big business is obviously more important to him, then some anniversary of some black guy's speech, so long ago.
So let me clear the air in which O'Reilly seamlessly muddies at every single chance he gets. Every member of the Republican Congress had been invited. But guess what? Not ONE Republican or Conservative attended Dr's King's speech anniversary. And O'Reilly was wrong each and every time! How is this possible? What's wrong with this picture at every level? Since every single Republican and Conservative were a no show, doesn't that speaks volumes of how they as a party, feels about civil rights, especially equality for African Americans? Republicans fought tooth and nail against the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960's. They were so dead set against it that one southern governor refused to desegragate the states schools and went up against the federal government. So their continued displeasure with both Dr. King and the civil rights movement are still, even to this day, is clearly evident in their not attending. They are so far on the wrong side of history that it is sad.
The bottom line is that O'Reilly is either the most stupid person on TV, which I think he is not, or he blatantly used his, "No Spin" show as a platform to spread not just misinformation and not just his type of spin, )which he constantly says he does not do), but also blatant and outright lies. How does he get away with these kinds of lies? Oh right, he works for FOX news, who wants, allows and airs any lies about anything Democratically related. Don't wait for any kind of retraction or apology from O'Reilly or FOX, because it will never materialize. The real story here is that the GOP in mass, predecided they would not attend the celebration. The real question here is why??? Isn't it time to stand by your window and scream, at the top of your lungs, that we're mad as hell and we aren't going to take this anymore.
It is high time that O'Reilly and friends get a much needed shot of common sense and stop spreading outrageous lies. There is just no way that O'Reilly didn't know the truth about the invitations. Obviously he had no story with the real facts. The real story would not have painted such a sob story regarding how the GOP was snubbed. I am scared to death wondering how many of O'Reilly's followers believed every word that he said. How unfortunate that there are so many spineless people who refuse to believe the truth and would rather believe lies from a now proven liar. He even lies every time he states that his show is a "no spin" zone. I wonder if that makes him laugh every time he says it. It does make me laugh and cry every time I hear it, though for a different reason.
Be careful who you vote for during this election season.
Til next week.
Peter
Last week was the 50th anniversary of Dr. King's, "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C. His speech was an important turning point for African Americans fight for equality. I did not know until this past week that Dr. King's original, typed speech, was only to last about 5 minutes. He ad libbed the whole "dream" part of the speech which added 11 minutes to his speech. So would you think that the anniversary celebrations would be without political discord. If you thought that, you, as well as I were so very, very wrong.
How? Well, last Wednesday, on Bill O'Reilly's "No Spin", TV show, he had one of his usual rants. This time his rant was about how no Republicans or Conservatives had been invited to the anniversary celebration. O'Reilly even mentioned Bush 2.0, as an example of a Republican who was not invited to the event. The only Presidents who spoke, there were three, were Democrats. Really O'Reilly? Did you really say that? Indeed he did and he stands by his "No Spin" statement of "his" kind of facts.
Please, please always remember that every person is entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own facts. So as it turns out, these are the true facts. Bush 1.0 and Bush 2.0 were both invited to speak, but both bowed out citing health reasons. So O'Reilly got that wrong! Speaker of the House, John Boehner was also invited, but he too declined, stating that he had to speak at a Congressional event. O'Reilly wrong again! Jeb Bush and John McCain were also invited, but both declined. O'Reilly wrong again! FYI, every single member of both houses of Congress were invited to attend. So O'Reilly was really wrong about that also! Even Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader was invited, he also declined. O'Reilly wrong again! In Cantor's mindless brain, he thought that it was more important to meet with oil lobbyists on that day, instead of being part of history. Big money and big business is obviously more important to him, then some anniversary of some black guy's speech, so long ago.
So let me clear the air in which O'Reilly seamlessly muddies at every single chance he gets. Every member of the Republican Congress had been invited. But guess what? Not ONE Republican or Conservative attended Dr's King's speech anniversary. And O'Reilly was wrong each and every time! How is this possible? What's wrong with this picture at every level? Since every single Republican and Conservative were a no show, doesn't that speaks volumes of how they as a party, feels about civil rights, especially equality for African Americans? Republicans fought tooth and nail against the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960's. They were so dead set against it that one southern governor refused to desegragate the states schools and went up against the federal government. So their continued displeasure with both Dr. King and the civil rights movement are still, even to this day, is clearly evident in their not attending. They are so far on the wrong side of history that it is sad.
The bottom line is that O'Reilly is either the most stupid person on TV, which I think he is not, or he blatantly used his, "No Spin" show as a platform to spread not just misinformation and not just his type of spin, )which he constantly says he does not do), but also blatant and outright lies. How does he get away with these kinds of lies? Oh right, he works for FOX news, who wants, allows and airs any lies about anything Democratically related. Don't wait for any kind of retraction or apology from O'Reilly or FOX, because it will never materialize. The real story here is that the GOP in mass, predecided they would not attend the celebration. The real question here is why??? Isn't it time to stand by your window and scream, at the top of your lungs, that we're mad as hell and we aren't going to take this anymore.
It is high time that O'Reilly and friends get a much needed shot of common sense and stop spreading outrageous lies. There is just no way that O'Reilly didn't know the truth about the invitations. Obviously he had no story with the real facts. The real story would not have painted such a sob story regarding how the GOP was snubbed. I am scared to death wondering how many of O'Reilly's followers believed every word that he said. How unfortunate that there are so many spineless people who refuse to believe the truth and would rather believe lies from a now proven liar. He even lies every time he states that his show is a "no spin" zone. I wonder if that makes him laugh every time he says it. It does make me laugh and cry every time I hear it, though for a different reason.
Be careful who you vote for during this election season.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Is This What It Has Come To?
Hi Everyone,
I have quite the tale to tell you. Unfortunately, it is not a tale, but a real horrifying true occurrence. On April 1st of this year, the city council of Nelson, Georgia, a city of about 1,300 residents, 50 miles north of Atlanta, passed the most egregious and unbelievable law that I have ever heard of. The law is called the Family Protection Ordinance. Ever heard of a law called that? Me neither. This absolutely stolid law requires.........................................drum roll please............................................. ALL heads of household to own a gun and ammunition. Yes, you indeed read that correctly. The city council decided that it is a good thing that all heads of households MUST have a gun and ammo. Their inept reasoning is meant to warn would-be burglars, but also to send a message to the federal government about gun ownership.
Their message was heard loud and clear. About one month later, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the city council members, challenging its constitutionality. This past Thursday, in a joint court filing, the Brady Center and the city submitted a settlement agreement to the federal judge in Gainsville. The settlement? Instead of the city rescinding the law, the city agreed to add language saying, "the law is not enforceable, that it will not be enforced and that anyone who violates it will not be subject to any penalty". But they still did not retract it. Why? Simply stated........ their actions are UNBELIEVABLE and ill advised!!!
So is this what it has come to, that common sense is thrown out like garbage? This law is wrong on any and every level and just shows what Republicans will do. To Republicans, their ends justify their means, no matter what. Their means are wrong and so out of touch with the majority of Americans. I really can't believe that the law remains on the books.
I hope that someone in Nelson, Georgia, has the balls to sue the hell out of the city and its off the wall city council members. And that they don't quit until either the law is rescinded and/or the council members resign and thrown out like garbage. This is a city that I will never. ever visit. Where in the world do politicians think that they can get away with asinine laws like this? Oh right, the southern states seem to think so.
Til next week.
Peter
I have quite the tale to tell you. Unfortunately, it is not a tale, but a real horrifying true occurrence. On April 1st of this year, the city council of Nelson, Georgia, a city of about 1,300 residents, 50 miles north of Atlanta, passed the most egregious and unbelievable law that I have ever heard of. The law is called the Family Protection Ordinance. Ever heard of a law called that? Me neither. This absolutely stolid law requires.........................................drum roll please............................................. ALL heads of household to own a gun and ammunition. Yes, you indeed read that correctly. The city council decided that it is a good thing that all heads of households MUST have a gun and ammo. Their inept reasoning is meant to warn would-be burglars, but also to send a message to the federal government about gun ownership.
Their message was heard loud and clear. About one month later, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the city council members, challenging its constitutionality. This past Thursday, in a joint court filing, the Brady Center and the city submitted a settlement agreement to the federal judge in Gainsville. The settlement? Instead of the city rescinding the law, the city agreed to add language saying, "the law is not enforceable, that it will not be enforced and that anyone who violates it will not be subject to any penalty". But they still did not retract it. Why? Simply stated........ their actions are UNBELIEVABLE and ill advised!!!
So is this what it has come to, that common sense is thrown out like garbage? This law is wrong on any and every level and just shows what Republicans will do. To Republicans, their ends justify their means, no matter what. Their means are wrong and so out of touch with the majority of Americans. I really can't believe that the law remains on the books.
I hope that someone in Nelson, Georgia, has the balls to sue the hell out of the city and its off the wall city council members. And that they don't quit until either the law is rescinded and/or the council members resign and thrown out like garbage. This is a city that I will never. ever visit. Where in the world do politicians think that they can get away with asinine laws like this? Oh right, the southern states seem to think so.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Home Made Common Sense
Hi Everyone,
Once a year I, err... we, my wife and I, have the job of trimming two Burning Bushes. Now these are not your average run of the mill size Burning Bushes, (Euonymus alatus), for those of you who need to know. Most that you see are low to moderate to the ground. But no.... we have one that is 12 feet in diameter and anywhere from 13 to 18 feet tall; depending on the sloping ground below it. I have no idea what the circumference of this almost two story tall "bush" is, but it must be big. After strategically removing certain lower branches, I have created a summer time, permanently shaded area, that is about 15 degrees cooler. Underneath this bush, there is enough room for at least eight chairs not including a park bench. Our second Burning Bush is smaller. It is about 10 feet in diameter and about 10 feet tall.
Cutting these behemoth things is no easy feat! We are both so glad we only have to trim these once a year. Besides having to use a ladder, ed note: my friend lent me his special tall ladder, you must also use a hedge trimmer. But again, not just any hedge trimmer, or should I say attachment. I can not take credit for coming up with the idea for the attachment, another friend gave me the idea 20 years ago. But I definitely made it. But before I made it, I visited all the hardware stores in the area, another ed note: all those hardware stores are now long gone, thanks to Home Depot. Anyway, all the hedge trimmers that came with extended handles, up to I believe, 10 or 12 feet, literally felt like it weighed a ton. The different models weighed between 12 to 16 pounds. Just the weight of any one of those, was an arm killer. I knew I could never last the couple of hours needed to trim these guys. With that much weight, extended out in front of me, while I'm standing on a ladder, wasn't going to happen.
So I got creative. I found an eight foot long, 1 1/2" square aluminum pole. I was able to attach my 24" hedge trimmer on the end by only using rope to attach it. Boy Scout knots worked wonders and no it does not loosen up. My trimmer now has a reach of 10 feet. The weight of my trimmer and the non retractable handle is around 5 pounds. The lighter weight makes the job possible and doesn't wear me out. But then the inevitable happened this summer. The end of the aluminum pole broke. I knew that I wouldn't be able to find a replacement pole and being two feet shorter was not an option. Since all the hardware stores no longer exist, I went to my only option, Home Depot. I first walked straight to the hedge trimmer area to see if the new models were lighter than the ones I checked out years ago. Much to my surprise, they still weighed too much and even had shorter cutting areas than my 24". So the decision was made. I had to repair my own pole. I brought with me the shorter two foot section and found a wooden dowel that fit perfectly inside it. I cut the dowel so that it fit in the inside of the entire pole. Now it works just like it did some 20 years ago.
The moral to this story is that by my using common sense, I built an easy and much lighter extended hedge trimmer, albeit non retractable. It has stood the test of time and will continue to do so, for a long time. But best of all, since it only weighs about five pounds, it will not wear me out at all when I use it for extended periods of time.
Til next week.
Peter.
Once a year I, err... we, my wife and I, have the job of trimming two Burning Bushes. Now these are not your average run of the mill size Burning Bushes, (Euonymus alatus), for those of you who need to know. Most that you see are low to moderate to the ground. But no.... we have one that is 12 feet in diameter and anywhere from 13 to 18 feet tall; depending on the sloping ground below it. I have no idea what the circumference of this almost two story tall "bush" is, but it must be big. After strategically removing certain lower branches, I have created a summer time, permanently shaded area, that is about 15 degrees cooler. Underneath this bush, there is enough room for at least eight chairs not including a park bench. Our second Burning Bush is smaller. It is about 10 feet in diameter and about 10 feet tall.
Cutting these behemoth things is no easy feat! We are both so glad we only have to trim these once a year. Besides having to use a ladder, ed note: my friend lent me his special tall ladder, you must also use a hedge trimmer. But again, not just any hedge trimmer, or should I say attachment. I can not take credit for coming up with the idea for the attachment, another friend gave me the idea 20 years ago. But I definitely made it. But before I made it, I visited all the hardware stores in the area, another ed note: all those hardware stores are now long gone, thanks to Home Depot. Anyway, all the hedge trimmers that came with extended handles, up to I believe, 10 or 12 feet, literally felt like it weighed a ton. The different models weighed between 12 to 16 pounds. Just the weight of any one of those, was an arm killer. I knew I could never last the couple of hours needed to trim these guys. With that much weight, extended out in front of me, while I'm standing on a ladder, wasn't going to happen.
So I got creative. I found an eight foot long, 1 1/2" square aluminum pole. I was able to attach my 24" hedge trimmer on the end by only using rope to attach it. Boy Scout knots worked wonders and no it does not loosen up. My trimmer now has a reach of 10 feet. The weight of my trimmer and the non retractable handle is around 5 pounds. The lighter weight makes the job possible and doesn't wear me out. But then the inevitable happened this summer. The end of the aluminum pole broke. I knew that I wouldn't be able to find a replacement pole and being two feet shorter was not an option. Since all the hardware stores no longer exist, I went to my only option, Home Depot. I first walked straight to the hedge trimmer area to see if the new models were lighter than the ones I checked out years ago. Much to my surprise, they still weighed too much and even had shorter cutting areas than my 24". So the decision was made. I had to repair my own pole. I brought with me the shorter two foot section and found a wooden dowel that fit perfectly inside it. I cut the dowel so that it fit in the inside of the entire pole. Now it works just like it did some 20 years ago.
The moral to this story is that by my using common sense, I built an easy and much lighter extended hedge trimmer, albeit non retractable. It has stood the test of time and will continue to do so, for a long time. But best of all, since it only weighs about five pounds, it will not wear me out at all when I use it for extended periods of time.
Til next week.
Peter.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Is It Worth It?
Hi Everyone,
As I wrote about in my very first blog, common sense is not taught in high school or college. But boy it should be. While reading my Sunday paper, I read a very interesting letter to the editor. It was about texting and talking on cell phones while driving. What don't drivers get? If you are texting while driving, you must take your eyes off the road. Doesn't anyone think this is dangerous? I guess not, since there are so many accidents due to texting or talking on a cell phone.
The writer of the letter to the editor, had some interesting ideas on how to curb such foolish and stupid behavior. First he says that texting/cell phone use while driving should be equivalent to a DWI conviction. At least 5 points on your license, loss of driving privileges for 6 months and revocation of your cell phone provider for 6 months. I like those ideas but I have an even better one. First of all, with technology jumping leaps and bounds every day, why not have some kind of cell phone blocking device that won't allow cell reception, both incoming and outgoing, unless the speedometer is at zero? That to me seems to be the very best common sense solution. No reception, no cell phone use. Of course, these blocking devices would be initially installed in new cars. But, what to do if a person is caught using a cell phone in an older car? Well, why not take a page from serial drunk drivers. I have read that repeat drunk drivers have a device installed in their car, by court order, where the driver must blow into the device to determine if they had been drinking. No alcohol in your system and the car will start. Alcohol in your system and the car won't start. So why can't a court order a cell phone reception killing device installed in the car? Think about it. No reception means that you can't use a cell phone, period! To me that seems to be the best solution that will absolutely stop texting and cell phone use while driving. Is there a better solution? I am not aware of any.
Drivers, especially teenagers and 20 something year olds, just don't get how dangerous it is to use a cell phone while driving. Now don't get me wrong, I see plenty of older people using cell phones while driving, but the majority of cell phone users that I see are younger. This insanity must be stopped sooner rather then later. The longer we wait, the more accidents will occur.
Til next week.
Peter
As I wrote about in my very first blog, common sense is not taught in high school or college. But boy it should be. While reading my Sunday paper, I read a very interesting letter to the editor. It was about texting and talking on cell phones while driving. What don't drivers get? If you are texting while driving, you must take your eyes off the road. Doesn't anyone think this is dangerous? I guess not, since there are so many accidents due to texting or talking on a cell phone.
The writer of the letter to the editor, had some interesting ideas on how to curb such foolish and stupid behavior. First he says that texting/cell phone use while driving should be equivalent to a DWI conviction. At least 5 points on your license, loss of driving privileges for 6 months and revocation of your cell phone provider for 6 months. I like those ideas but I have an even better one. First of all, with technology jumping leaps and bounds every day, why not have some kind of cell phone blocking device that won't allow cell reception, both incoming and outgoing, unless the speedometer is at zero? That to me seems to be the very best common sense solution. No reception, no cell phone use. Of course, these blocking devices would be initially installed in new cars. But, what to do if a person is caught using a cell phone in an older car? Well, why not take a page from serial drunk drivers. I have read that repeat drunk drivers have a device installed in their car, by court order, where the driver must blow into the device to determine if they had been drinking. No alcohol in your system and the car will start. Alcohol in your system and the car won't start. So why can't a court order a cell phone reception killing device installed in the car? Think about it. No reception means that you can't use a cell phone, period! To me that seems to be the best solution that will absolutely stop texting and cell phone use while driving. Is there a better solution? I am not aware of any.
Drivers, especially teenagers and 20 something year olds, just don't get how dangerous it is to use a cell phone while driving. Now don't get me wrong, I see plenty of older people using cell phones while driving, but the majority of cell phone users that I see are younger. This insanity must be stopped sooner rather then later. The longer we wait, the more accidents will occur.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Double Header
Hi Everyone,
There are weeks when there are a few good stories happening at the same time. Usually I pick one to blog about. Today will be different. Today I couldn't choose so I am doing a double header for you. This is a first for me.
The first true story is about Westchester Medical Center, located in where else, Westchester County, NY. It used to be partnered with Westchester County and the county poured hundreds of millions of dollars over time to keep the mismanaged hospital afloat. A new management team was brought in and finally in 2009, Westchester County ended its financially draining relationship with the hospital. Since then, the hospital still hemorrhaged money, even after numerous layoffs. Finally, last year the hospital saw a profit of $226,000.
So what happened next? In the never ending world of companies without any common sense, they doled out a whopping $940,000 in bonuses to 22 employees. The top bonus received was $62,530. Keep in mind that 13 of the recipients of these bonuses are no hourly employees. Their pay runs from $287,000 to $1,035,000. But the real issue here is that if the hospital was in the black by $226,000, doesn't paying out $940,000 in bonuses, put them in the red by $714,000. But let's not forget the amount of payroll taxes the hospital had to pay for each bonus check. By my account, that puts the hospital in the red by about $1,000,000. Boy that really is something to celebrate and go figure that these top employees are still employed even when they paid out at the minimum of $714,000 more then the hospital took in. Must be nice. Common sense should rule over greed but I guess not in this case.
The second true story is about, who else but, politicians. Politicians must be brainwashed to erase any sense of common sense in their bodies. As usual and customary, the Republican controlled U.S. House of Representatives has voted for the 38th time, yes I said 38th time, to try to gut Obamacare. What don't Republicans get? What don't they understand? First of all, they lost the 2012 presidential election, secondly, they lost their case with the U.S. Supreme Court and thirdly, they have absolutely no chance of gutting Obamacare in the Democratically controlled U.S. Senate. So why do they keep trying? Is there really any good reason? I think not. I think that they are biggest sore losers that I have ever seen and they show their continuing contempt in their repeatedly failed attempts. They should quit trying, but then again, they should have quit trying after their first attempt. But what really gets me mad as hell is how much time and money these supposed politicians have wasted. Wasted money by a party that is supposedly against wasting money? Does that make any sense what so ever? Of course not. But then again, those who can't follow their own mantra, should find a new one and get over this one and stop this freaky side show. They aren't even ashamed of their fruitless and worthless efforts. It is past time and long overdue to move on and work on other matters for this country that are important!!! It is also time for them to get a much needed shot of common sense asap!!! Is there a Doctor in the house?
Til next week.
Peter
There are weeks when there are a few good stories happening at the same time. Usually I pick one to blog about. Today will be different. Today I couldn't choose so I am doing a double header for you. This is a first for me.
The first true story is about Westchester Medical Center, located in where else, Westchester County, NY. It used to be partnered with Westchester County and the county poured hundreds of millions of dollars over time to keep the mismanaged hospital afloat. A new management team was brought in and finally in 2009, Westchester County ended its financially draining relationship with the hospital. Since then, the hospital still hemorrhaged money, even after numerous layoffs. Finally, last year the hospital saw a profit of $226,000.
So what happened next? In the never ending world of companies without any common sense, they doled out a whopping $940,000 in bonuses to 22 employees. The top bonus received was $62,530. Keep in mind that 13 of the recipients of these bonuses are no hourly employees. Their pay runs from $287,000 to $1,035,000. But the real issue here is that if the hospital was in the black by $226,000, doesn't paying out $940,000 in bonuses, put them in the red by $714,000. But let's not forget the amount of payroll taxes the hospital had to pay for each bonus check. By my account, that puts the hospital in the red by about $1,000,000. Boy that really is something to celebrate and go figure that these top employees are still employed even when they paid out at the minimum of $714,000 more then the hospital took in. Must be nice. Common sense should rule over greed but I guess not in this case.
The second true story is about, who else but, politicians. Politicians must be brainwashed to erase any sense of common sense in their bodies. As usual and customary, the Republican controlled U.S. House of Representatives has voted for the 38th time, yes I said 38th time, to try to gut Obamacare. What don't Republicans get? What don't they understand? First of all, they lost the 2012 presidential election, secondly, they lost their case with the U.S. Supreme Court and thirdly, they have absolutely no chance of gutting Obamacare in the Democratically controlled U.S. Senate. So why do they keep trying? Is there really any good reason? I think not. I think that they are biggest sore losers that I have ever seen and they show their continuing contempt in their repeatedly failed attempts. They should quit trying, but then again, they should have quit trying after their first attempt. But what really gets me mad as hell is how much time and money these supposed politicians have wasted. Wasted money by a party that is supposedly against wasting money? Does that make any sense what so ever? Of course not. But then again, those who can't follow their own mantra, should find a new one and get over this one and stop this freaky side show. They aren't even ashamed of their fruitless and worthless efforts. It is past time and long overdue to move on and work on other matters for this country that are important!!! It is also time for them to get a much needed shot of common sense asap!!! Is there a Doctor in the house?
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Safety Not Required!
Hi everyone,
I heard on the news the other day, about the success of a new bicycle rental program in NYC. In the first seven weeks of the program over 1,000,000 bicycles have been rented. To date, the bike rental program has over 180,000 members. So far, the bikes that have been rented have clocked over 2,500,000 miles. Those are absolutely impressive numbers for a new program that just began seven weeks ago. With a city the size of the Big Apple, I expect that those numbers will multiply like rabbits. Even though there is some controversy over the placement of some of the rental locations, I believe on a whole, that the program will be beneficial to the company that owns the bikes. But will it also be beneficial to people who rent them? You would think so, but think again.
The most important safety feature that I believe should come with every bike rental doesn't. The safety feature is a helmet. Yes it is true that none of these bike rentals, rent helmets also. Helmets are not required. Of all places to ride a bike, it is even more important to wear a helmet in a highly congested area like NYC. All it will take is that one bike accident where the renter falls off a bike, or gets hit by some kind of motorized vehicle and hits their head. The lawsuits will fly fast and furious. Now, just to make sure that you understand, there are signs by the bike rentals that suggest helmets should be worn. But it is only a suggestion, not mandated. Where is their common sense regarding the proven aspect of wearing helmets can and do save lives? Oh right, they obviously don't have any. Shame on NYC for allowing such a business without including helmets to go along with each and every bike rental.
Okay, okay, I know some of you are probably thinking about how gross it would be to wear someone else's helmet. I would have to agree with you on that. What if the previous rider had lice or something worse? If there is even such a thing. Well, why can't the makers of helmets, make them with removable/disposable liners. Wouldn't that solve that problem? I think so. The obvious increase in the cost of the liners would increase the rental cost. But, wouldn't that be better than not wearing a helmet? Common sense says, no demands that bike riders should wear helmets. Eventually, the company and NYC will learn that lesson, probably sooner rather than later.
Til next week.
Peter
I heard on the news the other day, about the success of a new bicycle rental program in NYC. In the first seven weeks of the program over 1,000,000 bicycles have been rented. To date, the bike rental program has over 180,000 members. So far, the bikes that have been rented have clocked over 2,500,000 miles. Those are absolutely impressive numbers for a new program that just began seven weeks ago. With a city the size of the Big Apple, I expect that those numbers will multiply like rabbits. Even though there is some controversy over the placement of some of the rental locations, I believe on a whole, that the program will be beneficial to the company that owns the bikes. But will it also be beneficial to people who rent them? You would think so, but think again.
The most important safety feature that I believe should come with every bike rental doesn't. The safety feature is a helmet. Yes it is true that none of these bike rentals, rent helmets also. Helmets are not required. Of all places to ride a bike, it is even more important to wear a helmet in a highly congested area like NYC. All it will take is that one bike accident where the renter falls off a bike, or gets hit by some kind of motorized vehicle and hits their head. The lawsuits will fly fast and furious. Now, just to make sure that you understand, there are signs by the bike rentals that suggest helmets should be worn. But it is only a suggestion, not mandated. Where is their common sense regarding the proven aspect of wearing helmets can and do save lives? Oh right, they obviously don't have any. Shame on NYC for allowing such a business without including helmets to go along with each and every bike rental.
Okay, okay, I know some of you are probably thinking about how gross it would be to wear someone else's helmet. I would have to agree with you on that. What if the previous rider had lice or something worse? If there is even such a thing. Well, why can't the makers of helmets, make them with removable/disposable liners. Wouldn't that solve that problem? I think so. The obvious increase in the cost of the liners would increase the rental cost. But, wouldn't that be better than not wearing a helmet? Common sense says, no demands that bike riders should wear helmets. Eventually, the company and NYC will learn that lesson, probably sooner rather than later.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, July 7, 2013
The Epitome of Stupidity
Hi Everyone,
If no other post that I have previously done proved an utter lack of common sense, today's blog most certainly will. As usual, the regular idiots in this true and scary story are, wait for it................drum roll please............. politicians! Yes that's right, the inevitable politician is again at the center of stupidity.
In Westchester County, just north of NYC, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who happens to be a Republican and his administration, is currently negotiating a no bid, five year contract with Liberty Lines to run the county's Bee-Line bus system. FYI, Liberty Lines has operated Westchester's bus system for some 40 odd years. I always thought that the contract was put out to bid and Liberty Lines always won. But boy was I soooooooo wrong. The operating of the bus system has never, ever been open to bids. You would think that bidding out the contract would make a lot of common sense and have the potential to save tax payers a ton of money. But for whatever reason(s), saving tax payers money is never seems to be high on the agenda.
What makes this contract, this time, so different from any other time? The US Federal Transit Administration has now told Westchester County, that it had to put the $103 million contract out to bid or else loose federal transit aid. So how much aid is involved here? A whopping $19 million!!! That's almost 20% of the total cost of running the system. The contract doesn't even include the operator having to buy or maintain any buses. The contract is strictly for manpower to run the system. So how can Westchester County even contemplate such a huge loss of operating money? Why? Why? Why? There must be a reason for them to keep negotiating with Liberty. Westchester County even extended their notification deadline to Liberty Lines from 7/1 to 7/19. That decision in and of itself shows their lack of common sense. But, for them to continue negotiations is mind boggling. Any person with just an ounce of common sense would say put it out to bid. Why risk the $19 million? I can't think of any legitimate reason not to put it out to bid, can you? Maybe someone's palm or palms are being greased? Who knows? All I do know is that Astorino and is administration is, are the new poster child(ren) for politicians that lack any common sense what so ever. Losing federal aid is a colossal mistake with big tax increases looming. What a way to stick it to the people by the party that says they are never for new tax increases, ever!? Maybe except for Westchester County and wherever else?
Til next week.
Peter
If no other post that I have previously done proved an utter lack of common sense, today's blog most certainly will. As usual, the regular idiots in this true and scary story are, wait for it................drum roll please............. politicians! Yes that's right, the inevitable politician is again at the center of stupidity.
In Westchester County, just north of NYC, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who happens to be a Republican and his administration, is currently negotiating a no bid, five year contract with Liberty Lines to run the county's Bee-Line bus system. FYI, Liberty Lines has operated Westchester's bus system for some 40 odd years. I always thought that the contract was put out to bid and Liberty Lines always won. But boy was I soooooooo wrong. The operating of the bus system has never, ever been open to bids. You would think that bidding out the contract would make a lot of common sense and have the potential to save tax payers a ton of money. But for whatever reason(s), saving tax payers money is never seems to be high on the agenda.
What makes this contract, this time, so different from any other time? The US Federal Transit Administration has now told Westchester County, that it had to put the $103 million contract out to bid or else loose federal transit aid. So how much aid is involved here? A whopping $19 million!!! That's almost 20% of the total cost of running the system. The contract doesn't even include the operator having to buy or maintain any buses. The contract is strictly for manpower to run the system. So how can Westchester County even contemplate such a huge loss of operating money? Why? Why? Why? There must be a reason for them to keep negotiating with Liberty. Westchester County even extended their notification deadline to Liberty Lines from 7/1 to 7/19. That decision in and of itself shows their lack of common sense. But, for them to continue negotiations is mind boggling. Any person with just an ounce of common sense would say put it out to bid. Why risk the $19 million? I can't think of any legitimate reason not to put it out to bid, can you? Maybe someone's palm or palms are being greased? Who knows? All I do know is that Astorino and is administration is, are the new poster child(ren) for politicians that lack any common sense what so ever. Losing federal aid is a colossal mistake with big tax increases looming. What a way to stick it to the people by the party that says they are never for new tax increases, ever!? Maybe except for Westchester County and wherever else?
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Is This The Way It Is Suppose To Be?
Hi Everyone,
Every once in a blue moon, I read something that really makes me scratch my head in disbelief. I am fully aware that people seem to have a favorite news channel that they watch more then any other. I also understand that people believe that certain news channels sway more to one political party or the other. But when it comes to right and wrong, no news channel should be immune.
According to the HuffPost, Fox Business Network rejected a TV ad created by a women's rights group that calls for pundits Lou Dobbs, Erick Erickson and Juan Williams to be fired for negative remarks they made on the network a few weeks ago about women who work outside the home.
Ultraviolet, an online community that advocates for women's equality, created the the ad using Fox Business' own footage of Dobbs, Williams and Erickson complaining that the rise of female breadwinners in families will ruin our society, hurt children and undermine social order. Really? What planet do those three come from? How soon can they can deported back to that planet? How can anyone say something like that? That is the utmost diss to women that I have heard in a while.
FYI, a spokesperson for Fox News did not respond to HuffPost's requests for comment. In my opinion, if Fox News rejected the ad, refused to fire the three stupidos for their comments and even refused to apologize means nothing other then they approve of the their sexist views. Don't you agree? If they are allowed to continue to say anything they want without fear of repercussions, what's to stop them from making other more incendiary statements? Right, absolutely nothing.
Even though their statements were outright lies, the bigger picture should be just as concerning to all who watch Fox News. Is that the kind of news channel that you want to watch? Fox News is now as much to blame and has as much common sense as the three stupidos, which is none. Fox has again shown their true colors by not at the very least reprimanding the three and by not even putting out a statement. People should boycott Fox News for this reason. They have no business allowing such statements on their shows.
Now if you continue to watch Fox News, you too are then sending a message to the network that the statements were OK. Do you really think the statements are OK? If not, stop watching. That will send a message to Fox News that they will hear. It is all about viewer numbers.
Til next week.
Peter
Every once in a blue moon, I read something that really makes me scratch my head in disbelief. I am fully aware that people seem to have a favorite news channel that they watch more then any other. I also understand that people believe that certain news channels sway more to one political party or the other. But when it comes to right and wrong, no news channel should be immune.
According to the HuffPost, Fox Business Network rejected a TV ad created by a women's rights group that calls for pundits Lou Dobbs, Erick Erickson and Juan Williams to be fired for negative remarks they made on the network a few weeks ago about women who work outside the home.
Ultraviolet, an online community that advocates for women's equality, created the the ad using Fox Business' own footage of Dobbs, Williams and Erickson complaining that the rise of female breadwinners in families will ruin our society, hurt children and undermine social order. Really? What planet do those three come from? How soon can they can deported back to that planet? How can anyone say something like that? That is the utmost diss to women that I have heard in a while.
FYI, a spokesperson for Fox News did not respond to HuffPost's requests for comment. In my opinion, if Fox News rejected the ad, refused to fire the three stupidos for their comments and even refused to apologize means nothing other then they approve of the their sexist views. Don't you agree? If they are allowed to continue to say anything they want without fear of repercussions, what's to stop them from making other more incendiary statements? Right, absolutely nothing.
Even though their statements were outright lies, the bigger picture should be just as concerning to all who watch Fox News. Is that the kind of news channel that you want to watch? Fox News is now as much to blame and has as much common sense as the three stupidos, which is none. Fox has again shown their true colors by not at the very least reprimanding the three and by not even putting out a statement. People should boycott Fox News for this reason. They have no business allowing such statements on their shows.
Now if you continue to watch Fox News, you too are then sending a message to the network that the statements were OK. Do you really think the statements are OK? If not, stop watching. That will send a message to Fox News that they will hear. It is all about viewer numbers.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, June 9, 2013
What a Great Deal!
Hi Everyone,
Have I got a great deal to tell you all. In order for it to effect any of you, there is only one prerequisite and that is you must work in the public school system here in the wonderful state of New York. The following is a true story and if it doesn't get you mad, it very well should.
Blind Brook and Rye, New York is located in Westchester County. The area is a well off community. William Stark, 66 is the school superintendent of the Blind Brook-Rye school system. On June 30th, 2013, Stark is retiring from his job. Then on July 3rd, he will be rehired by the same school system with the same $260,000 salary. Because he retired, he will then receive his pension. His pension amount is almost $200,000 per year. That is a total compensation package of almost $460,000 per year. Maybe your first question is, is this legal? Well, here in New York state, it is unbelievably legal. I get so mad when I hear about loopholes in laws that allow this kind of abuse. It also really gets my goat when, during school board budget votes, these same retired but still working administrators state that the reason for higher taxes is due to unfunded state mandated programs. They are right, because of a loophole where they also contribute to the problem when it is to their advantage and complain when it is not to their advantage.
The school board which approved the deal, will on the surface seem to save local tax dollars like: expenses related to health care and unbelievably, pension expenses. But this deal is a bad one for all the taxpayers due to the fact that they now have to pick up the $200,000 state pension for someone still working. This is so beyond absurd, it is mind boggling. Why can't Albany fix this glaring problem? Oh right, they are politicians who don't care because they let it continue and continue.
Shame on the lawmakers who wrote the bill, with the loophole, that became a law. Shame on Albany for not fixing the loophole and shame on the employees who use the system to their greed based benefit and cost the taxpayers more money. And I thought schools taught about morality. I guess not!
Where is common sense when you need it?
Til next week.
Peter
Have I got a great deal to tell you all. In order for it to effect any of you, there is only one prerequisite and that is you must work in the public school system here in the wonderful state of New York. The following is a true story and if it doesn't get you mad, it very well should.
Blind Brook and Rye, New York is located in Westchester County. The area is a well off community. William Stark, 66 is the school superintendent of the Blind Brook-Rye school system. On June 30th, 2013, Stark is retiring from his job. Then on July 3rd, he will be rehired by the same school system with the same $260,000 salary. Because he retired, he will then receive his pension. His pension amount is almost $200,000 per year. That is a total compensation package of almost $460,000 per year. Maybe your first question is, is this legal? Well, here in New York state, it is unbelievably legal. I get so mad when I hear about loopholes in laws that allow this kind of abuse. It also really gets my goat when, during school board budget votes, these same retired but still working administrators state that the reason for higher taxes is due to unfunded state mandated programs. They are right, because of a loophole where they also contribute to the problem when it is to their advantage and complain when it is not to their advantage.
The school board which approved the deal, will on the surface seem to save local tax dollars like: expenses related to health care and unbelievably, pension expenses. But this deal is a bad one for all the taxpayers due to the fact that they now have to pick up the $200,000 state pension for someone still working. This is so beyond absurd, it is mind boggling. Why can't Albany fix this glaring problem? Oh right, they are politicians who don't care because they let it continue and continue.
Shame on the lawmakers who wrote the bill, with the loophole, that became a law. Shame on Albany for not fixing the loophole and shame on the employees who use the system to their greed based benefit and cost the taxpayers more money. And I thought schools taught about morality. I guess not!
Where is common sense when you need it?
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, June 2, 2013
What To Do When It Affects Your State
Hi All,
Sometimes I ask myself why do so many politicians say one thing and then do a 180 degree opposite. Seems to me that politicians will say whatever, to either get elected or re-elected.
Last year, Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast. When all was said and done, it was determined that is was the most costliest storm to date. When it came time for congress to debate the amount of Sandy FEMA money, there were two Republican Senators that spoke up the loudest regarding the enormous amount of FEMA money requested. The two senators are Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn. But let's look at 2011 first. That's when both senators voted against legislation that would have granted necessary funding for FEMA, when the agency was set to run our of money. Coburn even said that sending money to FEMA would have been "unconscionable".
Then Sandy hit and these two Senators both backed a plan to slash disaster relief to victims of Sandy. Sandy relief through FEMA was held up for months and was only approved in increments, instead of the usual lump sum payment. These two Senators as well as others, wanted a reduction in federal spending before any monies were released. This may sound good, but the reality is that it is not practical to reduce federal spending every time a disaster occurs in the U.S.
In the last two weeks, Oklahoma has been hit with multiple tornadoes that have devastated areas, including wiping out whole towns off the map. I can't imagine what it is like to be in a EF5 tornado with wind speeds of 200+ mph. I feel for their loss, as do all Americans. But, now that Oklahoma Senators Inhofe and Coburn own state has been devastated, again, they want FEMA money ASAP! What? It was OK for them to hold up money for Sandy victims, but when it comes to their own state, they have done a complete about face and want their money now, not months down the road. So they have flip flopped to help their own state but not others?
FYI, Oklahoma ranks third in the nation after Texas and California in terms of total federal disaster and fire declaration which kick starts the federal emergency relief funding process. But when it comes to their own state, both of their beliefs did a 180 degree change and want immediate help without delay. Maybe they should have thought about that when Sandy victims waited needlessly for their share of FEMA money due to politics.
It makes no common sense to flip flop when it suits you. Common sense tells me that there should be a federal tornado insurance program like the federal flood insurance program. This is especially important for states that continually get socked by frequent tornadoes. Money isn't free and maybe houses will be built better if owners had to pay an insurance premium for rebuilding. Maybe people in tornado alley should also consider building safe rooms, for their homes and businesses when they are rebuilt.
Til next week.
Peter
Sometimes I ask myself why do so many politicians say one thing and then do a 180 degree opposite. Seems to me that politicians will say whatever, to either get elected or re-elected.
Last year, Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast. When all was said and done, it was determined that is was the most costliest storm to date. When it came time for congress to debate the amount of Sandy FEMA money, there were two Republican Senators that spoke up the loudest regarding the enormous amount of FEMA money requested. The two senators are Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn. But let's look at 2011 first. That's when both senators voted against legislation that would have granted necessary funding for FEMA, when the agency was set to run our of money. Coburn even said that sending money to FEMA would have been "unconscionable".
Then Sandy hit and these two Senators both backed a plan to slash disaster relief to victims of Sandy. Sandy relief through FEMA was held up for months and was only approved in increments, instead of the usual lump sum payment. These two Senators as well as others, wanted a reduction in federal spending before any monies were released. This may sound good, but the reality is that it is not practical to reduce federal spending every time a disaster occurs in the U.S.
In the last two weeks, Oklahoma has been hit with multiple tornadoes that have devastated areas, including wiping out whole towns off the map. I can't imagine what it is like to be in a EF5 tornado with wind speeds of 200+ mph. I feel for their loss, as do all Americans. But, now that Oklahoma Senators Inhofe and Coburn own state has been devastated, again, they want FEMA money ASAP! What? It was OK for them to hold up money for Sandy victims, but when it comes to their own state, they have done a complete about face and want their money now, not months down the road. So they have flip flopped to help their own state but not others?
FYI, Oklahoma ranks third in the nation after Texas and California in terms of total federal disaster and fire declaration which kick starts the federal emergency relief funding process. But when it comes to their own state, both of their beliefs did a 180 degree change and want immediate help without delay. Maybe they should have thought about that when Sandy victims waited needlessly for their share of FEMA money due to politics.
It makes no common sense to flip flop when it suits you. Common sense tells me that there should be a federal tornado insurance program like the federal flood insurance program. This is especially important for states that continually get socked by frequent tornadoes. Money isn't free and maybe houses will be built better if owners had to pay an insurance premium for rebuilding. Maybe people in tornado alley should also consider building safe rooms, for their homes and businesses when they are rebuilt.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Driving Without CS
Hi Everyone,
Today's blog topic changed from my original idea, to real life events that occurred yesterday. So there we were yesterday, my wife and I, doing overdue Saturday errands. My wife drove for the first part of our errands and I drove the second part. But what is unique is what happened to the both of us while driving.
So at about the fourth mile from our home, we noticed that the car in front of us wasn't using their directionals to indicate that they were turning left at a traffic light. We were also turning left, so their non use of their directional was meaningless to us. Then as we traveled further along, we began to notice that more and more drivers were not using their directionals, when they were in fact turning. The first part of our trip was a 15 to 20 minute ride. During that time, we saw approximately 7 or 8 drivers not using their directionals.
After our first errand was completed, I then drove. We did not even get out of the parking lot, where the second car we met, at the parking lot intersection, didn't use their signal to indicate they were turning left and cut me off. I couldn't believe that our streak, if you want to call it that, was continuing. Then not even a 1/4 mile away, at the very next T intersection, there was a big black SUV, with Connecticut plates, no turn signals on, in the left lane, to turn left, or so you would think. But no..... the driver decided that they really wanted to turn right, but from the left lane. The driver turned on his right directional and immediately turned right, cutting right in front of us. Believe it or not, at the very next traffic light, the car in front of us didn't use their signal to turn left. And when I looked into my rear view mirror I watched the stopped black SUV change lanes from the middle lane into my lane without using his directional.
So what is up what with drivers today? I was unable to see whether the drivers were young or old or male or female. But how can people be so self centered or so oblivious to their surroundings or just so stupid? I don't know the answer to that one. What is obvious to me is that all the drivers had two things in common. The first being that they had failed to use common courtesy by following the law on using signals when turning and the second being that they had no common sense, at least while driving. Whatever their reasons for their not using directionals is inexcusable, but if they had one ounce of common sense they would have used their directionals as second nature. Failure to adhere to the most basic of traffic laws can end up in an accident.
All drivers need to use common sense when driving. Period, end of story.
Til next week.
Peter
Today's blog topic changed from my original idea, to real life events that occurred yesterday. So there we were yesterday, my wife and I, doing overdue Saturday errands. My wife drove for the first part of our errands and I drove the second part. But what is unique is what happened to the both of us while driving.
So at about the fourth mile from our home, we noticed that the car in front of us wasn't using their directionals to indicate that they were turning left at a traffic light. We were also turning left, so their non use of their directional was meaningless to us. Then as we traveled further along, we began to notice that more and more drivers were not using their directionals, when they were in fact turning. The first part of our trip was a 15 to 20 minute ride. During that time, we saw approximately 7 or 8 drivers not using their directionals.
After our first errand was completed, I then drove. We did not even get out of the parking lot, where the second car we met, at the parking lot intersection, didn't use their signal to indicate they were turning left and cut me off. I couldn't believe that our streak, if you want to call it that, was continuing. Then not even a 1/4 mile away, at the very next T intersection, there was a big black SUV, with Connecticut plates, no turn signals on, in the left lane, to turn left, or so you would think. But no..... the driver decided that they really wanted to turn right, but from the left lane. The driver turned on his right directional and immediately turned right, cutting right in front of us. Believe it or not, at the very next traffic light, the car in front of us didn't use their signal to turn left. And when I looked into my rear view mirror I watched the stopped black SUV change lanes from the middle lane into my lane without using his directional.
So what is up what with drivers today? I was unable to see whether the drivers were young or old or male or female. But how can people be so self centered or so oblivious to their surroundings or just so stupid? I don't know the answer to that one. What is obvious to me is that all the drivers had two things in common. The first being that they had failed to use common courtesy by following the law on using signals when turning and the second being that they had no common sense, at least while driving. Whatever their reasons for their not using directionals is inexcusable, but if they had one ounce of common sense they would have used their directionals as second nature. Failure to adhere to the most basic of traffic laws can end up in an accident.
All drivers need to use common sense when driving. Period, end of story.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Why Use Common Sense?
Hi Everyone,
So it has finally been finalized, without the need of or obvious use of any common sense. The outcome is basically what I had expected. What I am talking about? The new Tappan Zee bridge that will cross the Hudson river between Tarrytown, New York and Nyack, New York. The Tappan Zee bridge is the only bridge between the George Washington bridge to the south and the Bear Mountain bridge to the north.
The back story goes like this: the Tappan Zee bridge was opened in 1955 as a six lane bridge. For whatever reason, probably the cost, the bridge was built as a temporary one with a life expectancy of 50 years. These past 57 years have not been easy for this bridge. Besides the fact that it requires huge expenditures of money to keep it "safe", the question became why pour good money after bad if it had reached its life span?
Evidence of the bridge not being able to handle the huge influx in the amount of traffic that crosses it daily began about 27+ years ago. Of course there were the usual traffic jams, almost always on the side of rush hour. The median barrier was eventually removed and a moveable center barrier was installed to turn the six lane bridge into a seven lane bridge. The moveable barrier was moved twice a day to increase the rush hour side to four lanes. That solution didn't last long since the traffice jams continued to occur. Even adding E-Z pass about 15 years ago didn't help move traffic along much quicker.
Talk of replacing the bridge has been happening for about 20 or so years. You would think in all that time, that the powers to be would have been able to use some common sense in the design and use of a new bridge. First of all and the best solution, in my opinion, was a tunnel, that also had a light rail line. That idea was tossed due to cost and how and where to have the tunnel see the light of day at each end. The second solution was a single span bridge that had a light rail and/or bus transit system running down the middle of the bridge. Again that idea was tossed due to cost. So the final idea that was approved for $3.9 billion and is now in the process of having the pilings pounded into the river bottom, is a twin span bridge with no new mass transit option what so ever. Additionally, the new bridge will have a whopping total of eight lanes of traffic. Which doesn't even add an extra lane during rush hour. The final design is so short sighted and lacks any common sense at all floors me, but doesn't surprise me. What I find utterly stupid and out of touch with reality is that they are building two spans which will be more expensive then one span. There will be no option for mass transit. If money was and is an issue, build a single span bridge with the center section space left void for a future mass transit system of some kind. The least that the powers to be could have done is left open the option for some kind mass transit that could be built in the future. But noooooooooooo, that is not going to happen, which makes zero sense on any level.
What is going to happen is this: on the very day the new bridge opens, it will already be outdated, since it will not be able to handle the amount of traffic. It will be no better than the current bridge at being able to handle traffic. What will then happen in another 5-10 years when even more traffic uses the bridge? Since there is no mass transit option, the answer to that question is more and longer traffic jams and delays. What a great way to show how not to use common sense.
On a side note, the actual design of the bridge, in my opinion, is blase and dull. But hey, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Til next week.
Peter
So it has finally been finalized, without the need of or obvious use of any common sense. The outcome is basically what I had expected. What I am talking about? The new Tappan Zee bridge that will cross the Hudson river between Tarrytown, New York and Nyack, New York. The Tappan Zee bridge is the only bridge between the George Washington bridge to the south and the Bear Mountain bridge to the north.
The back story goes like this: the Tappan Zee bridge was opened in 1955 as a six lane bridge. For whatever reason, probably the cost, the bridge was built as a temporary one with a life expectancy of 50 years. These past 57 years have not been easy for this bridge. Besides the fact that it requires huge expenditures of money to keep it "safe", the question became why pour good money after bad if it had reached its life span?
Evidence of the bridge not being able to handle the huge influx in the amount of traffic that crosses it daily began about 27+ years ago. Of course there were the usual traffic jams, almost always on the side of rush hour. The median barrier was eventually removed and a moveable center barrier was installed to turn the six lane bridge into a seven lane bridge. The moveable barrier was moved twice a day to increase the rush hour side to four lanes. That solution didn't last long since the traffice jams continued to occur. Even adding E-Z pass about 15 years ago didn't help move traffic along much quicker.
Talk of replacing the bridge has been happening for about 20 or so years. You would think in all that time, that the powers to be would have been able to use some common sense in the design and use of a new bridge. First of all and the best solution, in my opinion, was a tunnel, that also had a light rail line. That idea was tossed due to cost and how and where to have the tunnel see the light of day at each end. The second solution was a single span bridge that had a light rail and/or bus transit system running down the middle of the bridge. Again that idea was tossed due to cost. So the final idea that was approved for $3.9 billion and is now in the process of having the pilings pounded into the river bottom, is a twin span bridge with no new mass transit option what so ever. Additionally, the new bridge will have a whopping total of eight lanes of traffic. Which doesn't even add an extra lane during rush hour. The final design is so short sighted and lacks any common sense at all floors me, but doesn't surprise me. What I find utterly stupid and out of touch with reality is that they are building two spans which will be more expensive then one span. There will be no option for mass transit. If money was and is an issue, build a single span bridge with the center section space left void for a future mass transit system of some kind. The least that the powers to be could have done is left open the option for some kind mass transit that could be built in the future. But noooooooooooo, that is not going to happen, which makes zero sense on any level.
What is going to happen is this: on the very day the new bridge opens, it will already be outdated, since it will not be able to handle the amount of traffic. It will be no better than the current bridge at being able to handle traffic. What will then happen in another 5-10 years when even more traffic uses the bridge? Since there is no mass transit option, the answer to that question is more and longer traffic jams and delays. What a great way to show how not to use common sense.
On a side note, the actual design of the bridge, in my opinion, is blase and dull. But hey, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Why Can't They Get It Right?
Hi Everyone,
Today's blog is about a large city that just can't seem to get it right. Yonkers, New York, is the fourth largest city in New York state. Yonkers fiscal situation never seems to be good and definitely is never in the black. At the start of 2012, Yonkers projected a $452 million deficit for the next three years. For the 2013-2014 budget, the deficit slimmed down to $50 million. Why? Check out the problems that the Yonkers Department of Public Works has had, I guess forever. If anyone in Yonkers politics had at least one ounce of common sense, these problems would have been solved a very long time ago.
A six page report on the DPW contained the following "questionable practices":
- Employees working a second job, while still on city time.
- Employees knocking off hours before the official end of their shifts.
- Related employees supervising each other.
- A general confusion by employees and managers about work rules, policies and even who their supervisors are.
WHAT??????
All of the above occur in a city that has, for as long as I can remember, claimed poverty and asked for state and federal help, (hand outs). But this isn't the first such report. The last report resulted in a top DPW official being suspended after he approved post-Sandy repairs done by his son's contracting company.
Any real world company would not allow such problems to first of all, happen and secondly to continually occur without taking some kind of action. Why? I truly believe it is because the money they lose is not the "company's" but rather the taxpayers money. Politicians just don't seem to care as much when it is taxpayers money. All the above problems could be fixed pretty easily by issuing updated rules and regulations or policies and procedures. All employees should be given the new or updated rules, have them read them and then have them sign for them. Then you hold all employees accountable! It will be interesting to see how long it takes the bureaucracy just to figure out what to do and then how long it takes to implement them. Of course it will be a very long drawn out procedure.
Prerequisites for being a politician should not just include having common sense, it should also include having business experience to learn how real world companies are run. Maybe another should be, no more lawyers. It seems that the majority of policitians are lawyers and we have all seen what that has done to our political system.
Til next week.
Peter
Today's blog is about a large city that just can't seem to get it right. Yonkers, New York, is the fourth largest city in New York state. Yonkers fiscal situation never seems to be good and definitely is never in the black. At the start of 2012, Yonkers projected a $452 million deficit for the next three years. For the 2013-2014 budget, the deficit slimmed down to $50 million. Why? Check out the problems that the Yonkers Department of Public Works has had, I guess forever. If anyone in Yonkers politics had at least one ounce of common sense, these problems would have been solved a very long time ago.
A six page report on the DPW contained the following "questionable practices":
- Employees working a second job, while still on city time.
- Employees knocking off hours before the official end of their shifts.
- Related employees supervising each other.
- A general confusion by employees and managers about work rules, policies and even who their supervisors are.
WHAT??????
All of the above occur in a city that has, for as long as I can remember, claimed poverty and asked for state and federal help, (hand outs). But this isn't the first such report. The last report resulted in a top DPW official being suspended after he approved post-Sandy repairs done by his son's contracting company.
Any real world company would not allow such problems to first of all, happen and secondly to continually occur without taking some kind of action. Why? I truly believe it is because the money they lose is not the "company's" but rather the taxpayers money. Politicians just don't seem to care as much when it is taxpayers money. All the above problems could be fixed pretty easily by issuing updated rules and regulations or policies and procedures. All employees should be given the new or updated rules, have them read them and then have them sign for them. Then you hold all employees accountable! It will be interesting to see how long it takes the bureaucracy just to figure out what to do and then how long it takes to implement them. Of course it will be a very long drawn out procedure.
Prerequisites for being a politician should not just include having common sense, it should also include having business experience to learn how real world companies are run. Maybe another should be, no more lawyers. It seems that the majority of policitians are lawyers and we have all seen what that has done to our political system.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, April 21, 2013
The Communications Company That Is No!t
Hi Everyone,
Today's blog is a real event this happening to me and continues even as I type. The communication company is none other then Verizon. We have had Verizon FIOS for years now. Every time our 2 year contract is up, I have to negotiate with them to keep our monthly fees reasonable. Part of my newest deal with Verizon was to accept Digital Voice. Digital Voice became effective 3/27. That is the day when our problem started to occur and still has not been fixed and this is where our story begins. The first problem that occurred on 3/27 was what we call ghost calls. Every half hour, on the hour, 24 hours per day, seven days per week we receive ghost calls. Our ghost calls work like this: first the phone doesn't ring, but all the phones light up and the caller ID states, incoming call. You answer the call and all you get is dead air. Caller ID gives no further info i.e.: name and phone number. I called Verizon and explained the problem. The first service tech that I spoke with told me that the problem was with the actual switch that didn't switch us completely to Digital Voice. I was told, someone from Verizon would call me withing 24 to 48 hours.
Three days later and no call back from Verizon led me to calling again. By the time I called, there were other newer problems, including inability to call out of state, not receiving calls from people we know and no caller ID on our TVs. I told the second tech about the problems and he told me that the problem was internally, with our phones. I thanked him and told him that I knew what I had to do. I subsequently disconnected all our phones and reconnected one phone to each phone jack and waited. Sure enough the ghost calls continued. So I had to call Verizon again. I made many calls after each attempt to reboot my phone system (2 times) and work supposedly done on the infamous switch, (5 times) all to no avail.
By this time I knew Verizon's internal chain of command. When you call for a repair, you get a tech who is level one. When that person is unable to fix your problem, you request a Supervisor. When the Supervisor can't fix your problem, you request a tech to come to your house, level 3. Be forewarned though, Verizon will tell you that if the problem is in your house, meaning your wiring and/or phones, they will charge you for their visit on your next bill. So on Friday, 4/12 a service tech showed up at our house. After I described the problem(s), he told me that he had never heard of such a problem. I had him wait and see for himself when the ghost call happened, right on cue. He then went through our entire FIOS system and determined that the problem is indeed at the local, central switching station. He finally told me that he would call me and give me an update after going directly to the central switching station. No call back.
9:30 Saturday morning, 4/13 a second service tech arrived. I greeted him and asked why he came? He told me that I had requested a tech to come and that was why he came. A told him that a tech was here the day before of which he had no knowledge of. He also did the exact same thing as the tech did the day before. He waited and witnessed the actual incoming ghost call. He also told me that he had never since this problem. Then he told me that he would call me when he returned to the central switching station. Again, as usual no call back.
Sunday, 4/14 I called Verizon for the umpteenth time. Keep in mind, each and every time you call Verizon regarding a problem, even though it is hopefully detailed in their computer system, you will talk to a level 1 tech and you have to painstakingly have to repeat the history of the problem. This includes answering the same questions each time, very frustrating. So I spoke with another level 1 tech and his level 2 Supervisor. By this time, I was livid with Verizon and demanded that I be given the name and phone number of their complaint department. I was told that there was no such name and phone number and that I would have to register my complaint online. I certainly wasn't going to go to the end of the line and start the process from the beginning. Again I demanded to speak to the Supervisor's, Supervisor. I was told there was no one higher than him at the location that I called. I told the Supervisor that he had to have a way to contact the person he reported to. After about 10 minutes of the BS going back and forth, he said that he could text his Supervisor. I told him to. FYI, almost every time Verizon put me on hold and/or tried to transfer me to another department I would get disconnected. So I always told the person I was speaking with, to make sure they wrote down my number so they could call me back. So as usual, I was disconnected and no way to call back and speak to the same person. Again, as usual, no call back.
Monday, 4/15 around 9:30 AM, a third tech showed up at my house. I asked if he knew that 2 other tech's were just here. He wasn't aware and all he was told was the install a new something or other in the main FIOS control system located in my basement. He said this would solve my problem. He installed it and left. Five minutes after he left, the ghost call happened right on cue again.
I waited until Tuesday, 4/16 to call Verizon back. The level 1 tech told me that the next department that I had to call was the Unlawful Call Center. FYI their number is 800.518.5507, if you need it. So I called them and had to again explain the problem. Right away, this Supervisor told me that they would be unable to trace the ghost calls since the calls never actually connected. I then told the person that I was sick and tired of having to speak with a different tech/supervisor each and every time that I called having to repeat the same story with the same questions posed to me. This woman told me that Verizon did have an Action Line to File a Complaint @ 800-483-7988 and that someone there would take ownership of my problem until it was resolved.
I couldn't call that number fast enough. The prompts gave me 2 options, either residential or business. So I went for residential. And who do you think I was connected with? A level 1 tech. I was furious when I found out that I had to repeat me story again to a level 1. Her Supervisor also couldn't help, put me on hold, was disconnected and I called the same number again. Same problem happened for a second time. I called the same number a third time and this time one prompt was for escalation department. I had mixed emotions, were they actually going to help me? The woman told me that yes, an Escalation Dept. employee would own my problem until it is fixed. She then told me to expect a call within, yes 24 to 48 hours. I said fine and hung up. Around 4:30 PM that day, a man called, said his name was Rick and that he is now my point person until the problem is fixed. He also gave me his direct, no prompts needed, phone number. He said that the first thing they were going to do was to trace the ghost calls. I told him that the Unlawful Call Center was unable to do that since the calls never actually connect. He told me that they had special equipment that the unlawful call center didn't have. Twenty minutes later, he called me back, (which unto itself was a minor miracle) until he told me that they were unable to trace the call since it never connected, DUHHHHHH! I already told him that. Then he said he would send a 4th tech to my house tomorrow to test the signal strength of the call from the interface box located on the outside of our home. Whatever that is going to do.
The next morning, I received another call from the Escalation Dept. The woman said that she was my point person until the problem was fixed. I asked her if she was aware that I already received a call the day before from her dept. and that I had already been assigned a point person. She replied that she was not aware.
So here we are, 26 days later and our problem is still not fixed. I have spoken to 19 Verizon employees and 3 techs, so far, who came to our home all still to no avail. I am flabbergasted regarding the total lack of communication between departments and employees in Verizon. And they call themselves a communication company? I THINK NOT. Their internal system is totally dysfunctional and has no common sense what-so-ever.
I do apologize for the length of this blog, but there was no other way to let you know what has happened and continues.
Please write down the number for the escalation department, since they do not give out the number easily, 800. 483.7988 and good luck.
Til next week.
Peter
Today's blog is a real event this happening to me and continues even as I type. The communication company is none other then Verizon. We have had Verizon FIOS for years now. Every time our 2 year contract is up, I have to negotiate with them to keep our monthly fees reasonable. Part of my newest deal with Verizon was to accept Digital Voice. Digital Voice became effective 3/27. That is the day when our problem started to occur and still has not been fixed and this is where our story begins. The first problem that occurred on 3/27 was what we call ghost calls. Every half hour, on the hour, 24 hours per day, seven days per week we receive ghost calls. Our ghost calls work like this: first the phone doesn't ring, but all the phones light up and the caller ID states, incoming call. You answer the call and all you get is dead air. Caller ID gives no further info i.e.: name and phone number. I called Verizon and explained the problem. The first service tech that I spoke with told me that the problem was with the actual switch that didn't switch us completely to Digital Voice. I was told, someone from Verizon would call me withing 24 to 48 hours.
Three days later and no call back from Verizon led me to calling again. By the time I called, there were other newer problems, including inability to call out of state, not receiving calls from people we know and no caller ID on our TVs. I told the second tech about the problems and he told me that the problem was internally, with our phones. I thanked him and told him that I knew what I had to do. I subsequently disconnected all our phones and reconnected one phone to each phone jack and waited. Sure enough the ghost calls continued. So I had to call Verizon again. I made many calls after each attempt to reboot my phone system (2 times) and work supposedly done on the infamous switch, (5 times) all to no avail.
By this time I knew Verizon's internal chain of command. When you call for a repair, you get a tech who is level one. When that person is unable to fix your problem, you request a Supervisor. When the Supervisor can't fix your problem, you request a tech to come to your house, level 3. Be forewarned though, Verizon will tell you that if the problem is in your house, meaning your wiring and/or phones, they will charge you for their visit on your next bill. So on Friday, 4/12 a service tech showed up at our house. After I described the problem(s), he told me that he had never heard of such a problem. I had him wait and see for himself when the ghost call happened, right on cue. He then went through our entire FIOS system and determined that the problem is indeed at the local, central switching station. He finally told me that he would call me and give me an update after going directly to the central switching station. No call back.
9:30 Saturday morning, 4/13 a second service tech arrived. I greeted him and asked why he came? He told me that I had requested a tech to come and that was why he came. A told him that a tech was here the day before of which he had no knowledge of. He also did the exact same thing as the tech did the day before. He waited and witnessed the actual incoming ghost call. He also told me that he had never since this problem. Then he told me that he would call me when he returned to the central switching station. Again, as usual no call back.
Sunday, 4/14 I called Verizon for the umpteenth time. Keep in mind, each and every time you call Verizon regarding a problem, even though it is hopefully detailed in their computer system, you will talk to a level 1 tech and you have to painstakingly have to repeat the history of the problem. This includes answering the same questions each time, very frustrating. So I spoke with another level 1 tech and his level 2 Supervisor. By this time, I was livid with Verizon and demanded that I be given the name and phone number of their complaint department. I was told that there was no such name and phone number and that I would have to register my complaint online. I certainly wasn't going to go to the end of the line and start the process from the beginning. Again I demanded to speak to the Supervisor's, Supervisor. I was told there was no one higher than him at the location that I called. I told the Supervisor that he had to have a way to contact the person he reported to. After about 10 minutes of the BS going back and forth, he said that he could text his Supervisor. I told him to. FYI, almost every time Verizon put me on hold and/or tried to transfer me to another department I would get disconnected. So I always told the person I was speaking with, to make sure they wrote down my number so they could call me back. So as usual, I was disconnected and no way to call back and speak to the same person. Again, as usual, no call back.
Monday, 4/15 around 9:30 AM, a third tech showed up at my house. I asked if he knew that 2 other tech's were just here. He wasn't aware and all he was told was the install a new something or other in the main FIOS control system located in my basement. He said this would solve my problem. He installed it and left. Five minutes after he left, the ghost call happened right on cue again.
I waited until Tuesday, 4/16 to call Verizon back. The level 1 tech told me that the next department that I had to call was the Unlawful Call Center. FYI their number is 800.518.5507, if you need it. So I called them and had to again explain the problem. Right away, this Supervisor told me that they would be unable to trace the ghost calls since the calls never actually connected. I then told the person that I was sick and tired of having to speak with a different tech/supervisor each and every time that I called having to repeat the same story with the same questions posed to me. This woman told me that Verizon did have an Action Line to File a Complaint @ 800-483-7988 and that someone there would take ownership of my problem until it was resolved.
I couldn't call that number fast enough. The prompts gave me 2 options, either residential or business. So I went for residential. And who do you think I was connected with? A level 1 tech. I was furious when I found out that I had to repeat me story again to a level 1. Her Supervisor also couldn't help, put me on hold, was disconnected and I called the same number again. Same problem happened for a second time. I called the same number a third time and this time one prompt was for escalation department. I had mixed emotions, were they actually going to help me? The woman told me that yes, an Escalation Dept. employee would own my problem until it is fixed. She then told me to expect a call within, yes 24 to 48 hours. I said fine and hung up. Around 4:30 PM that day, a man called, said his name was Rick and that he is now my point person until the problem is fixed. He also gave me his direct, no prompts needed, phone number. He said that the first thing they were going to do was to trace the ghost calls. I told him that the Unlawful Call Center was unable to do that since the calls never actually connect. He told me that they had special equipment that the unlawful call center didn't have. Twenty minutes later, he called me back, (which unto itself was a minor miracle) until he told me that they were unable to trace the call since it never connected, DUHHHHHH! I already told him that. Then he said he would send a 4th tech to my house tomorrow to test the signal strength of the call from the interface box located on the outside of our home. Whatever that is going to do.
The next morning, I received another call from the Escalation Dept. The woman said that she was my point person until the problem was fixed. I asked her if she was aware that I already received a call the day before from her dept. and that I had already been assigned a point person. She replied that she was not aware.
So here we are, 26 days later and our problem is still not fixed. I have spoken to 19 Verizon employees and 3 techs, so far, who came to our home all still to no avail. I am flabbergasted regarding the total lack of communication between departments and employees in Verizon. And they call themselves a communication company? I THINK NOT. Their internal system is totally dysfunctional and has no common sense what-so-ever.
I do apologize for the length of this blog, but there was no other way to let you know what has happened and continues.
Please write down the number for the escalation department, since they do not give out the number easily, 800. 483.7988 and good luck.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Tis The Season Again
Hi Everyone,
I have blogged about this problem previously, but this is an important issue, if you want to keep more of your hard earned money. So please take note.
If you live and work in New York State, this is the time of year that you can get ripped off by the Empire State. After working during the previous calendar year, each paycheck you receive has taxes deducted by the federal government, by the state, (if they have income taxes), by a city and other entities if applicable. So like clockwork, you have to file your federal and state tax returns by April 15th. So how do New Yorkers get ripped off by their state? First of all, let me state that since I have only lived in New York State, I do not know if other states do what New York state does.
So what does New York state do? If you received a tax refund from New York for the previous year, New York tax code states that you have to include that tax refund as part of your income for the year in which you received it. So what does that mean? It means that you already paid New York state taxes from each paycheck and then since you received a refund, you now have to pay taxes again on that same money. Doesn't make sense does it? Well it does make sense if you are a law maker and want more tax revenues. But the bottom line is that all of us living and working in New York get the dubious honor of paying double taxes on the same money, if you received a state refund.
So what can you do? To my knowledge, there is only one way to stop the double taxation dilemma. How? You must adjust your W-4 with your employer. Adjusting it means, that you have to increase the number of deductions you claim that is proportional to the amount of the New York state refund that you received. This means that you will actually receive a bit more money each paycheck and consequently, you will receive little to no tax refund from the state.
Don't let the tax collector get the better of your hard earned money. Bypass the double taxation by getting your usual tax refund in small incremental increases with each paycheck. Why pay the extra taxes? This is a no brainer.
Til next week.
Peter
I have blogged about this problem previously, but this is an important issue, if you want to keep more of your hard earned money. So please take note.
If you live and work in New York State, this is the time of year that you can get ripped off by the Empire State. After working during the previous calendar year, each paycheck you receive has taxes deducted by the federal government, by the state, (if they have income taxes), by a city and other entities if applicable. So like clockwork, you have to file your federal and state tax returns by April 15th. So how do New Yorkers get ripped off by their state? First of all, let me state that since I have only lived in New York State, I do not know if other states do what New York state does.
So what does New York state do? If you received a tax refund from New York for the previous year, New York tax code states that you have to include that tax refund as part of your income for the year in which you received it. So what does that mean? It means that you already paid New York state taxes from each paycheck and then since you received a refund, you now have to pay taxes again on that same money. Doesn't make sense does it? Well it does make sense if you are a law maker and want more tax revenues. But the bottom line is that all of us living and working in New York get the dubious honor of paying double taxes on the same money, if you received a state refund.
So what can you do? To my knowledge, there is only one way to stop the double taxation dilemma. How? You must adjust your W-4 with your employer. Adjusting it means, that you have to increase the number of deductions you claim that is proportional to the amount of the New York state refund that you received. This means that you will actually receive a bit more money each paycheck and consequently, you will receive little to no tax refund from the state.
Don't let the tax collector get the better of your hard earned money. Bypass the double taxation by getting your usual tax refund in small incremental increases with each paycheck. Why pay the extra taxes? This is a no brainer.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Are They Just Plain Stupid?
Hi Everyone,
There are times when you read something that just stops you in your tracks and makes you think twice. That happened to me a few weeks ago. Last November 21st, Hostess Brands Inc, which made the venerable, Twinkies, Ho, Ho's, Yodels, Devil Dogs, etc., etc. went out of business. They had filed for bankruptcy on 1/10/12, (again) and in 11/2012 employees nationwide went on strike. The company wide strike was essentially the nail in the coffin and Hostess closed its doors on 11/21/12 which meant the end of jobs for 18,500 employees. That's a lot of lost jobs for an American Institution which was founded in 1930.
Unfortunately, no company wanted to buy the Hostess Brand of products as a whole. But, not long ago two private equity firms decided to buy different parts of the once proud company. One of the private equity firms that wants to buy the Twinkies, Ho Ho's, Yodels and Devil Dogs etc. division, has decided that history should not be taken into account, when you hear about their plans. Remember about 20 years or so ago when Coke decided to stop production of their original coke and instead made "New Coke". That move went up like a lead balloon and after a huge consumer revolt, Coke ended new coke and went back to original coke. But Coke lost money and market share because of that stupid idea. History should be a great lesson to companies that want to change what they are best known for.
Well, well, well, this private equity firm wants to overhaul the Hostess Brands of products. How? In their infinite wisdom, they want to make their products more healthful. They say that the products should taste comparable, but there will be a difference. I guess using healthful ingredients will change the taste. But is it what they should be doing? I mean, everyone knows that Hostess snacks are not good for you, but we ate them anyway because of the way they tasted. If they change the products so much, it may also change the life expectancy of the products.
Back in 2002, in South Carolina, a house that had been vacant for 21 years was finally sold. The new owners had planned to tear down the house and build their dream house. After the closing, the new owners went for a final walk through, before the house was razed. When they walked down into the small dirt cellar, they found, much to their amazement, unopened boxes and boxes of Hostess Twinkies and Yodels etc. They opened the boxes and were absolutely shocked to find that the snacks looked to be still good. They took a few of the snacks to a lab that was able to determine that the snacks were in fact, still good?! How is that possible? I want to know if someone actually had to taste 20 something year old snacks?
If the ingredients are changed, will they still be able to last 20 something years? I guess it really doesn't matter since this is all an April fools joke and none of the above is true, except that there are really two private equity firms that really do want to buy parts of Hostess. Did I get you?
Anyway, Happy Easter, Passover and April fools!!!!
Til next week.
Peter
There are times when you read something that just stops you in your tracks and makes you think twice. That happened to me a few weeks ago. Last November 21st, Hostess Brands Inc, which made the venerable, Twinkies, Ho, Ho's, Yodels, Devil Dogs, etc., etc. went out of business. They had filed for bankruptcy on 1/10/12, (again) and in 11/2012 employees nationwide went on strike. The company wide strike was essentially the nail in the coffin and Hostess closed its doors on 11/21/12 which meant the end of jobs for 18,500 employees. That's a lot of lost jobs for an American Institution which was founded in 1930.
Unfortunately, no company wanted to buy the Hostess Brand of products as a whole. But, not long ago two private equity firms decided to buy different parts of the once proud company. One of the private equity firms that wants to buy the Twinkies, Ho Ho's, Yodels and Devil Dogs etc. division, has decided that history should not be taken into account, when you hear about their plans. Remember about 20 years or so ago when Coke decided to stop production of their original coke and instead made "New Coke". That move went up like a lead balloon and after a huge consumer revolt, Coke ended new coke and went back to original coke. But Coke lost money and market share because of that stupid idea. History should be a great lesson to companies that want to change what they are best known for.
Well, well, well, this private equity firm wants to overhaul the Hostess Brands of products. How? In their infinite wisdom, they want to make their products more healthful. They say that the products should taste comparable, but there will be a difference. I guess using healthful ingredients will change the taste. But is it what they should be doing? I mean, everyone knows that Hostess snacks are not good for you, but we ate them anyway because of the way they tasted. If they change the products so much, it may also change the life expectancy of the products.
Back in 2002, in South Carolina, a house that had been vacant for 21 years was finally sold. The new owners had planned to tear down the house and build their dream house. After the closing, the new owners went for a final walk through, before the house was razed. When they walked down into the small dirt cellar, they found, much to their amazement, unopened boxes and boxes of Hostess Twinkies and Yodels etc. They opened the boxes and were absolutely shocked to find that the snacks looked to be still good. They took a few of the snacks to a lab that was able to determine that the snacks were in fact, still good?! How is that possible? I want to know if someone actually had to taste 20 something year old snacks?
If the ingredients are changed, will they still be able to last 20 something years? I guess it really doesn't matter since this is all an April fools joke and none of the above is true, except that there are really two private equity firms that really do want to buy parts of Hostess. Did I get you?
Anyway, Happy Easter, Passover and April fools!!!!
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, March 17, 2013
The Irish Do It
Hi Everyone,
Today is St. Patrick's Day and we can thank the Irish for this day and all that it brings. What is included in today's celebration is drinking alcohol, lots of alcohol, mainly beer; which is sometimes even colored green. Why is drinking, especially beer, synonymous with Ireland? I am not really sure of the answer, but what I do know is what my family and I experienced when we traveled to Ireland, some years back.
We arrived at Shannon airport, which is on the western side of the country, early in the morning. We were to meet our friend's (who came with us) friend, who happened to own a tour bus company, at a local pub not far from Shannon. We arrived at the pub at 9:00 AM and boy were we surprised by what we saw in the pub. There must have been about 20 people sitting at the bar drinking beer. I actually checked the clock on the wall to make sure of the time. It was only 9 AM. Even in college, my friends and I never started drinking anything at that time.
The best food in Ireland is pub food. It is the most authentic and the best tasting when it comes from a pub. Also at pubs are very large glass mugs that are used when you order tap or draft beer. If memory serves me correctly, the mugs came in 20oz and 24oz sizes. It is so very easy to down 3 or 4 of the large mugs, in a short period of time. Why? Almost every pub we visited, they had live, foot stomping Irish music that seemed to make you drink faster and more. Drinking 3 or 4 of those mugs, is like drinking 5 to 8 cans or bottles of beer.
Driving around Ireland is a very dangerous proposition. Besides the fact that they drive on the left side, a lot of the old roads (which is most of them), are barely 1 1/2 lanes wide. Sometime the roads are even more narrow. The roads have no center or shoulder painted lines. Most of the time when you encountered a vehicle coming from the opposite direction, you had to pull over and slowly try to pass each other. Additionally, there were no shoulders on the roads since the roads went between very old stone walls delineating farm land. What struck us most though, besides the beautiful countryside and scenery, were the odd road signs we would see every so often. The signs were large and yellow with a big black dot and a number next to it. The signs stated how many people were killed at that location, in a car crash. We found out that a large percentage of car accidents in Ireland were alcohol related. That didn't surprise us since they start drinking so early in the morning. Even if they didn't start drinking until the evening, they do love their beer and they do drink a lot of it.
That is why I believe excessive drinking is so closely associated with St. Patrick's day here in the USA. Which leads me to today's common sense advice. If you do celebrate today or any day, please, please don't drink and drive, it is just common sense.
Til next week.
Peter
Today is St. Patrick's Day and we can thank the Irish for this day and all that it brings. What is included in today's celebration is drinking alcohol, lots of alcohol, mainly beer; which is sometimes even colored green. Why is drinking, especially beer, synonymous with Ireland? I am not really sure of the answer, but what I do know is what my family and I experienced when we traveled to Ireland, some years back.
We arrived at Shannon airport, which is on the western side of the country, early in the morning. We were to meet our friend's (who came with us) friend, who happened to own a tour bus company, at a local pub not far from Shannon. We arrived at the pub at 9:00 AM and boy were we surprised by what we saw in the pub. There must have been about 20 people sitting at the bar drinking beer. I actually checked the clock on the wall to make sure of the time. It was only 9 AM. Even in college, my friends and I never started drinking anything at that time.
The best food in Ireland is pub food. It is the most authentic and the best tasting when it comes from a pub. Also at pubs are very large glass mugs that are used when you order tap or draft beer. If memory serves me correctly, the mugs came in 20oz and 24oz sizes. It is so very easy to down 3 or 4 of the large mugs, in a short period of time. Why? Almost every pub we visited, they had live, foot stomping Irish music that seemed to make you drink faster and more. Drinking 3 or 4 of those mugs, is like drinking 5 to 8 cans or bottles of beer.
Driving around Ireland is a very dangerous proposition. Besides the fact that they drive on the left side, a lot of the old roads (which is most of them), are barely 1 1/2 lanes wide. Sometime the roads are even more narrow. The roads have no center or shoulder painted lines. Most of the time when you encountered a vehicle coming from the opposite direction, you had to pull over and slowly try to pass each other. Additionally, there were no shoulders on the roads since the roads went between very old stone walls delineating farm land. What struck us most though, besides the beautiful countryside and scenery, were the odd road signs we would see every so often. The signs were large and yellow with a big black dot and a number next to it. The signs stated how many people were killed at that location, in a car crash. We found out that a large percentage of car accidents in Ireland were alcohol related. That didn't surprise us since they start drinking so early in the morning. Even if they didn't start drinking until the evening, they do love their beer and they do drink a lot of it.
That is why I believe excessive drinking is so closely associated with St. Patrick's day here in the USA. Which leads me to today's common sense advice. If you do celebrate today or any day, please, please don't drink and drive, it is just common sense.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, March 10, 2013
They Must Be Crazy!
Hi Everyone,
I have said this before and unfortunately, I now have to say it again. Lacking common sense can be a terrible thing, especially when lives are involved. That's why I was so disappointed, no, make that disgusted, when I read this past week, that Transportation Security Administration Administrator, John Pistole, announced that the TSA will now allow small pocketknives to be carried on planes. Even though the blades can not be any longer than 2.36 inches and less than half an inch wide, what is the TSA thinking? Switch blades are not included, thank goodness. Only small folding pocketknives that don't lock into place will be allowed on.
Remember that my blog deals with facts, and I am not sure that a small pocket knife can in fact take down a plane. Since 9/11, planes have steel reinforced cockpit doors and I am pretty sure that a small pocketknife can not open a steel reinforced door. Hopefully?! So why are they dangerous? The obvious answer is the threat they can pose to flight attendants and other passengers. Flight attendants are the front line when something happens in the cabin. It is an unfair advantage to give to the bad guys or girls. Why give someone an unfair advantage when it serves no purpose? Does the TSA really believe nothing bad will happen if pocketknives are allowed in carry on bags or on your person? Does the TSA believe that pocketknives can't be a dangerous weapon? To me, this would be an accident just waiting to happen. Why doesn't the TSA understand that no knives should ever be allowed on planes, except in checked bags? This makes absolutely no sense to me. Does it to you? Come to think about it, I don't think the TSA would or could recognize common sense, even if it hit them squarely in the face!!!
FYI, the new rule also allows the following to be carried on; hockey sticks, billiard cues, golf clubs and small celebratory baseball bats. Has the TSA lost its mind? Does the TSA really, truly believe that planes will be as safe with all these potential weapons on board? How can their answer be yes? How does this happen without anyone else saying whoa, stop, this is not a good idea? Unfortunately, if these new rules are implemented, I believe that it will only be a matter of time before someone is injured or killed with one of those, but especially a pocketknife.
Not only are the Flight Attendants and their union totally against this new rule, but the Air Marshalls are also totally against this new rule. I haven't read anything yet about whether the Pilots union are against it, but I can't see them being for it!
Enough said.
Peter
I have said this before and unfortunately, I now have to say it again. Lacking common sense can be a terrible thing, especially when lives are involved. That's why I was so disappointed, no, make that disgusted, when I read this past week, that Transportation Security Administration Administrator, John Pistole, announced that the TSA will now allow small pocketknives to be carried on planes. Even though the blades can not be any longer than 2.36 inches and less than half an inch wide, what is the TSA thinking? Switch blades are not included, thank goodness. Only small folding pocketknives that don't lock into place will be allowed on.
Remember that my blog deals with facts, and I am not sure that a small pocket knife can in fact take down a plane. Since 9/11, planes have steel reinforced cockpit doors and I am pretty sure that a small pocketknife can not open a steel reinforced door. Hopefully?! So why are they dangerous? The obvious answer is the threat they can pose to flight attendants and other passengers. Flight attendants are the front line when something happens in the cabin. It is an unfair advantage to give to the bad guys or girls. Why give someone an unfair advantage when it serves no purpose? Does the TSA really believe nothing bad will happen if pocketknives are allowed in carry on bags or on your person? Does the TSA believe that pocketknives can't be a dangerous weapon? To me, this would be an accident just waiting to happen. Why doesn't the TSA understand that no knives should ever be allowed on planes, except in checked bags? This makes absolutely no sense to me. Does it to you? Come to think about it, I don't think the TSA would or could recognize common sense, even if it hit them squarely in the face!!!
FYI, the new rule also allows the following to be carried on; hockey sticks, billiard cues, golf clubs and small celebratory baseball bats. Has the TSA lost its mind? Does the TSA really, truly believe that planes will be as safe with all these potential weapons on board? How can their answer be yes? How does this happen without anyone else saying whoa, stop, this is not a good idea? Unfortunately, if these new rules are implemented, I believe that it will only be a matter of time before someone is injured or killed with one of those, but especially a pocketknife.
Not only are the Flight Attendants and their union totally against this new rule, but the Air Marshalls are also totally against this new rule. I haven't read anything yet about whether the Pilots union are against it, but I can't see them being for it!
Enough said.
Peter
Sunday, March 3, 2013
A Bitter Pill
Hi Everyone,
I just finished reading one of the most informative articles that I have ever read regarding our health care system. The article is a first ever for Time Magazine. Time devoted 37 pages to one article, which is basically the entire issue. The issue dated, 3/4/13 and titled, Bitter Pill, is a must read for everyone. Especially if you really want to understand why our health care system is so expensive and will continue to be, until Congress fixes it, which you shouldn't count on. There is no way I can touch on every topic that the article covers, but I will give you some of the highlights:
- One Acetaminophen pill cost 1.5 cents and your hospital marks it up 10,000%.
1) One cancer patient was charged $13,702 for one (Rituximab 660mg) shot of a new cancer drug.
2) One patient with chest pains went to a hospital and after 3 hours of tests and a brief encounter with a Dr. was told that she had indigestion. That was the good news, the bad news her bill came to $21,000.
3) One patient fell on her face and with her nose bleeding heavily, she went to a hospital. She was there about 6 hours of which most of the time was spent waiting. She had 3 CT scans, head, chest and face, and a troponin blood test. Also on the bill were the usual, bandages and tubing for the IV. Her total bill was $9,418.
4) One patient had a stimulator surgically implanted in his back to relieve his pain. He had the procedure done as an out-patient. You would think that out-patient procedures would not be as expensive. His total bill, $87,000.
These were just 4 examples of runaway and excessive bills to patients. I tell you this, if you need a hospital for anything, they should have a cardiologist available for when you receive and look at your bill.
Part of the problem that our health care system faces is something called the chargemaster. In a nut shell, the chargemaster is the master list that has prices for any and all services, procedures and any items used in any given hospital in our country. There is no stone left unturned. Everything has a price and boy are their prices out of this world. What most people are unaware of is this: Medicare and all insurance companies negotiate their prices for everything from the chargemaster list. People who do not have have insurance are billed the full amount as stated in that particular chargemaster list. What they don't know is that the chargemaster list is the beginning of negotiations, not the end all. Believe it or not, Medicare pays far below the chargemaster lists and is so far the best way that the Federal government found to control costs. Medicare's payments must be producing profits since almost, but not all, hospitals accept Medicare payments. Insurance companies pay more than Medicare does.
Unfortunately, our laws prevent the government from restraining prices on drugs. When Congress passed the 2003 Part D, prescription drug coverage, of Medicare, they prohibited Medicare from negotiating drug costs. In essence, Medicare's hands are tied and can't do anything about the excessive prices drug companies charge. Even with Obamacare, Congress locked Medicare out of negotiating drug costs. Medicare is also prohibited from negotiating prices on durable medical equipment, which means manufacturers can and do charge outrageous prices.
But, what really got me mad as hell is when not-for-profit hospitals have year end profits of up to hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars. But wait you say, non profits aren't supposed to have profits. Especially profits of that magnitude. What do they do with the profits? They buy more equipment and hire a few more personnel. That in itself may not seem bad, but remember they have to buy more equipment each and every year and then they have to have more and more tests done each and every year to pay for the new equipment. This is then repeated year after year with no end in sight. There are non-profit health care companies that have revenues that are actually larger then Apple's.
Again, may I suggest that someone with an ounce of common sense try to stop this insane status quo. Our health care system is and always has been under attack by greedy health care companies along side with drug and medical equipment manufacturers. These skyrocketing costs have the ability to bankrupt our country sometime in the future.
Til next week.
Peter
I just finished reading one of the most informative articles that I have ever read regarding our health care system. The article is a first ever for Time Magazine. Time devoted 37 pages to one article, which is basically the entire issue. The issue dated, 3/4/13 and titled, Bitter Pill, is a must read for everyone. Especially if you really want to understand why our health care system is so expensive and will continue to be, until Congress fixes it, which you shouldn't count on. There is no way I can touch on every topic that the article covers, but I will give you some of the highlights:
- One Acetaminophen pill cost 1.5 cents and your hospital marks it up 10,000%.
1) One cancer patient was charged $13,702 for one (Rituximab 660mg) shot of a new cancer drug.
2) One patient with chest pains went to a hospital and after 3 hours of tests and a brief encounter with a Dr. was told that she had indigestion. That was the good news, the bad news her bill came to $21,000.
3) One patient fell on her face and with her nose bleeding heavily, she went to a hospital. She was there about 6 hours of which most of the time was spent waiting. She had 3 CT scans, head, chest and face, and a troponin blood test. Also on the bill were the usual, bandages and tubing for the IV. Her total bill was $9,418.
4) One patient had a stimulator surgically implanted in his back to relieve his pain. He had the procedure done as an out-patient. You would think that out-patient procedures would not be as expensive. His total bill, $87,000.
These were just 4 examples of runaway and excessive bills to patients. I tell you this, if you need a hospital for anything, they should have a cardiologist available for when you receive and look at your bill.
Part of the problem that our health care system faces is something called the chargemaster. In a nut shell, the chargemaster is the master list that has prices for any and all services, procedures and any items used in any given hospital in our country. There is no stone left unturned. Everything has a price and boy are their prices out of this world. What most people are unaware of is this: Medicare and all insurance companies negotiate their prices for everything from the chargemaster list. People who do not have have insurance are billed the full amount as stated in that particular chargemaster list. What they don't know is that the chargemaster list is the beginning of negotiations, not the end all. Believe it or not, Medicare pays far below the chargemaster lists and is so far the best way that the Federal government found to control costs. Medicare's payments must be producing profits since almost, but not all, hospitals accept Medicare payments. Insurance companies pay more than Medicare does.
Unfortunately, our laws prevent the government from restraining prices on drugs. When Congress passed the 2003 Part D, prescription drug coverage, of Medicare, they prohibited Medicare from negotiating drug costs. In essence, Medicare's hands are tied and can't do anything about the excessive prices drug companies charge. Even with Obamacare, Congress locked Medicare out of negotiating drug costs. Medicare is also prohibited from negotiating prices on durable medical equipment, which means manufacturers can and do charge outrageous prices.
But, what really got me mad as hell is when not-for-profit hospitals have year end profits of up to hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars. But wait you say, non profits aren't supposed to have profits. Especially profits of that magnitude. What do they do with the profits? They buy more equipment and hire a few more personnel. That in itself may not seem bad, but remember they have to buy more equipment each and every year and then they have to have more and more tests done each and every year to pay for the new equipment. This is then repeated year after year with no end in sight. There are non-profit health care companies that have revenues that are actually larger then Apple's.
Again, may I suggest that someone with an ounce of common sense try to stop this insane status quo. Our health care system is and always has been under attack by greedy health care companies along side with drug and medical equipment manufacturers. These skyrocketing costs have the ability to bankrupt our country sometime in the future.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, February 24, 2013
So This Is What It Comes To?
Hi Everyone,
I read a Gannett article last week about New York state's new, NY Safe Ammunition Enforcement Act. NY SAFE Act includes a ban on any semi-automatic rifles or shotguns with a "military style" feature, such as a pistol grip. Because of this new law, small assault weapons manufacturers such as: Olympic Arms, LaRue Tactical, York Arms, Templar Custom and EFI, LLC as well as sporting goods retailer Cheaper Than Dirt have decided that if civilians can't buy assault weapons, they won't sell to the State of New York or any governmental entity within the State of New York until the law is repealed. So this is what it comes to? Olympic said that if civilians can't buy a semi-automatic weapon, then the company won't sell them to law enforcement. Tom Spithaler, Olympics Sales Director, said the sales policy is meant to "even the playing field." What??????? Then Tom goes on to say, "We feel as though if the state legislature deems those weapons to be problematic and they're a risk to public safety, then law enforcement shouldn't have them either". The company wants to even the playing field? If they can't sell to anyone they won't sell to law enforcement? What a great way to cut off their own noses, I mean revenues. Depending on how you look at it, these are all bit players in the larger scheme of manufacturers like Smith and Wesson and Remington Arms, who are not banning sales to law enforcement. Because of Smith and Wesson and Remington Arms not banning the sales, there will be no impact on New York's law enforcement's ability to buy the weapons.
By banning assault weapons, the NRA has said that the second amendment is being taken away and that this is the first step to the outlawing of all guns. What a bunch of dung!!!! Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on which side of the issue you are on, guns will always be a part of this country. But to say that the second amendment is being taken away, I think not. People will still have their guns, but, think about this, is it really necessary to own assault weapons, that were designed for one single purpose, to kill as many people, as quickly as possible?
But why should a small, minority group of people, members of the NRA and their supporters, have such a strong say in gun control? They are obviously entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts. You may not remember, but, back in 1999, the NRA was in favor of universal background checks, including gun shows. They even said that there should be no loopholes in the universal background checks. But, thousands and thousands of guns are sold, each year, right outside of the gun shows and there are no background checks done on those individual sales. That's a great place for a mentally challenged person to buy an assault type weapon. Now the NRA has backtracked and now says that they don't want those types of individual sales included in the universal background checks. So, is left alone, the universal background checks would continue to have one big, huge way around the background check system. But the NRA is now OK with that. Is their no common sense left in this country anymore. The NRA is just plain wrong!
As I have said previously, I do believe in the second amendment. But does that mean that any and all weapons should or could be owned by non mentally challenged people? I think not! Why? Again, as I have stated previously, weapons of mass destruction, such as assault weapons should not be owned by civilians and should only be in the possession of law enforcement or the military. I truly believe that common sense says the ban and universal background checks with no loopholes for individual sales should both be passed.
The tide has turned against the NRA and assault weapons. We have the power to try something new with no loopholes, to try to prevent another Newtown, CT massacre. There are no laws that can absolutely prevent another Newtown, but we have to try and not let the status quo be our guide.
Til next week.
Peter
I read a Gannett article last week about New York state's new, NY Safe Ammunition Enforcement Act. NY SAFE Act includes a ban on any semi-automatic rifles or shotguns with a "military style" feature, such as a pistol grip. Because of this new law, small assault weapons manufacturers such as: Olympic Arms, LaRue Tactical, York Arms, Templar Custom and EFI, LLC as well as sporting goods retailer Cheaper Than Dirt have decided that if civilians can't buy assault weapons, they won't sell to the State of New York or any governmental entity within the State of New York until the law is repealed. So this is what it comes to? Olympic said that if civilians can't buy a semi-automatic weapon, then the company won't sell them to law enforcement. Tom Spithaler, Olympics Sales Director, said the sales policy is meant to "even the playing field." What??????? Then Tom goes on to say, "We feel as though if the state legislature deems those weapons to be problematic and they're a risk to public safety, then law enforcement shouldn't have them either". The company wants to even the playing field? If they can't sell to anyone they won't sell to law enforcement? What a great way to cut off their own noses, I mean revenues. Depending on how you look at it, these are all bit players in the larger scheme of manufacturers like Smith and Wesson and Remington Arms, who are not banning sales to law enforcement. Because of Smith and Wesson and Remington Arms not banning the sales, there will be no impact on New York's law enforcement's ability to buy the weapons.
By banning assault weapons, the NRA has said that the second amendment is being taken away and that this is the first step to the outlawing of all guns. What a bunch of dung!!!! Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on which side of the issue you are on, guns will always be a part of this country. But to say that the second amendment is being taken away, I think not. People will still have their guns, but, think about this, is it really necessary to own assault weapons, that were designed for one single purpose, to kill as many people, as quickly as possible?
But why should a small, minority group of people, members of the NRA and their supporters, have such a strong say in gun control? They are obviously entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts. You may not remember, but, back in 1999, the NRA was in favor of universal background checks, including gun shows. They even said that there should be no loopholes in the universal background checks. But, thousands and thousands of guns are sold, each year, right outside of the gun shows and there are no background checks done on those individual sales. That's a great place for a mentally challenged person to buy an assault type weapon. Now the NRA has backtracked and now says that they don't want those types of individual sales included in the universal background checks. So, is left alone, the universal background checks would continue to have one big, huge way around the background check system. But the NRA is now OK with that. Is their no common sense left in this country anymore. The NRA is just plain wrong!
As I have said previously, I do believe in the second amendment. But does that mean that any and all weapons should or could be owned by non mentally challenged people? I think not! Why? Again, as I have stated previously, weapons of mass destruction, such as assault weapons should not be owned by civilians and should only be in the possession of law enforcement or the military. I truly believe that common sense says the ban and universal background checks with no loopholes for individual sales should both be passed.
The tide has turned against the NRA and assault weapons. We have the power to try something new with no loopholes, to try to prevent another Newtown, CT massacre. There are no laws that can absolutely prevent another Newtown, but we have to try and not let the status quo be our guide.
Til next week.
Peter
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