I Am On the Bandwagon

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OK, my gentle snowflakes, CENSUS time.

If you have not filled out and mailed back your 2010 Census form, do it NOW!

I know, I know, you have been bombarded by letters and postcards and follow-up postcards. But this is a really important thing.

How many representatives your state has in the US Congress is at stake. Just how big--geographically--do you want your personal Congress Critter to have to cover?

And how about your state representative and senator? How many square miles will your state congress person have to cover to see his/her constituents? Will she/he know just how bad your roads are if he/she never has to drive over them? How will the pleas for better roads get made with no knowledge of the problem?

This all is affected by the count made during the census.

And then there is the invaluable information that will be left to your descendants.

As an old genealogist, I can tell you the census records are the best! As a genealogist, I wish there were more detailed questions on the forms. Through the census records, I learned that a great-great-grandfather of an ex-husband was a cooper in Ohio on the Great Lakes. That means, he was a ship worker--not a barrel cooper. The family never knew this about this man.

So, get those forms in the mail. Fill them out as completely as possible. Your great-great-grandchildren will thank you.
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170 MPG -- Really ? WOW !

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I am blown away by the possibilities. This comes from Inhabitat, the really, truly green people.

Valentin Technologies is exploring a different hybrid combination that promises a 5-passenger car with outstanding performance. While right now it is just a drivetrain concept, the combination of weight savings, aerodynamic efficiency, regenerative braking, and engine efficiency could yield an amazing 170 miles per gallon.

The hydraulic hybrid system of the INGOCAR (named after inventor Ingo Valentin) uses a small, efficient diesel engine not to drive the car, but instead to pressurize a high-pressure tank. Then, instead of using a mechanical drive train, hydraulic fluid under pressure is distributed to run hydraulic motors in each of the four wheels.

Real, live people are out there trying to solve the problems. Comforting, isn't it.
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Health Insurance Reformed

Now, we need to work for Medicare for All.
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O M G ! ! This IS Fantastic

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There is a new use for a 3-D printer.

A human vein has been "printed."

Orthonovo Novo-Gen printer at work:









No more artificial replacement parts.

No more toxic substances must be tolerated.

No more harvesting--neither cadaver nor self-donated.

Bones: "I can fix him, Jim."

(Sorry, if you don't get the Star Trek reference, look it up!)
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Conservatism? We Didn't Like the Results

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For those so-called conservatives "demonstrating" for the Tea Party "Movement."

1. No one displaying the Confederate flag gets to lecture any other American about patriotism. Ever. Period.
2. Those who scream homophobic epitaphs, the "N" word and then actually spit on--actually spit on--an African-American member of Congress, are certainly showing the true nature of their movement: Backwards.

But, not one Republican politician has denounced their behavior.

So concludes another chapter in the Big Republican Book of Moral Values and Personal Responsibility. And lest you think the Tea Party is not the bastard child of the Republican party, Senator Jim Demint (R-SC) said last December, ""We need to stop looking at the tea parties as separate from the Republican party."

As we have seen, the Republicans are chronically good at throwing a glass against the wall, and as eyes shift toward the crashing sound stealing the money off the table. Deception is second nature to them.

They scream and scream, but it all boils down to, "We got nothin', folks. Nothin'."

Nothin' but prepubescent ridicule and fraudulent fear. And certainly nothin' in the way of ideas, except extraordinarily dumb ones.

The modern "conservative" movement is nothing more than a massively funded and highly effective communications strategy designed to shift America into an oligarchy that functions for the super wealthy through massive tax cuts and for corporations through the elimination of safety regulations for the public good and through the privatization of government.

That's not conservatism, my gentle snowflakes. That's highway robbery. And, that's a crime.

If you've watched the news--even Fox--in the past eighteen months or so, you know that we now have a Democratic president, Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress and overwhelming support for Democratic--even, liberal solutions.

The country isn't center-right, no matter how many times Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh or even Lou Dobbs tells you it is. Americans have pretty much told Washington that we tried the conservative way and we didn't like the results.
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Can't Let Honesty Be an Obstacle

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The Right makes up seemingly logical arguments about liberals wanting to punish hard-working Americans. This is not based in reality nor fact.

But the conservatives are not going to let honesty become an obstacle.

They have little expertise in health or economics, but much experience in distracting, misinforming and perennially, frightening the public

It's time we give the treasonous right the oppression they ask for.

The Scientific Process

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There is logical fallacy to believing in scientists when it is convenient or has some associated benefit, but not when it goes against your political beliefs.

The scientific process that leads to discoveries that produce antibiotics and chemo-therapies is built on the same structure that produces data on global warming. Scientists, themselves, though are very careful to point out that science is never absolute, and that the door is always open for new and better theories.

However, many have taken this to mean that lack of 100% consensus as an absolute truth somehow invalidates the system. Keep in mind that the laws of gravity are still subject to future updating and/or refutation in light of new evidence, but if I hold a sledge hammer over your head, I'm relatively certain you're going to be afraid that it will fall if I release it.

Unfortunately, what seems to happen is that when there is a debate on television on something like global warming/climate change, even if you have 99% of scientists believing in it, and one % that doesn't, as long as you have a one-on-one debate many see it as 50:50. They take this to mean that "all the science isn't in," so we shouldn't believe the majority.

James Inhofe, Senator of Oklahoma stood in the well of the Senate Monday (15 March 2010) and disavowed--once again--climate change.

Deliver us--please--from James Inhofe.

Maybe we need to be a little more like the citizens of Copenhagen.
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The Problem With Textbooks

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Thank God it is the Texans making fools of themselves--keeps the Nation's eyes off Oklahoma for a while.

The problem, of course, is with the Conservative view-point being crammed into the social studies, history and economics textbooks.

Answer: Instead of physical text books, purchase the eDGe, a 2-screen e-reader or even laptops (maybe minis), one for each student. Buy as many as are needed for any state and the price should fall through the floor. After all, newspapers and novels are moving to electronic format, why not textbooks? Bonus: The students can not physically write in the "e-books" and thereby render ordinary paper books unusable. It happens.

Next, say, New York should tell the publishers that it will only pay for the electronic version of the textbooks WITH the offensive passages (read Phyllis Schlafly) left out and Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Alva Edison put back in. This should not be a problem in an electronic format.

The electronic versions will be priced at about 40% of standard print versions--no paper, no binding, minimal shipping. (Added bonus: less paper means fewer trees sacrificed, less toxic processing of the paper, less toxic glues used in the processing of the cardboard covers, less money flowing off-shore--as I am sure text books are no longer printed and bound in this country.)

Or look to some enterprising, innovative, intelligent instructor with some practical experience who has a good text book that could not pass the Texas Board of Education. He or She will be pleased to see her/his work "published" and educating students. It was probably written in an electronic format to begin with: one less step in the process removed.

Macmillan and DynamicBooks already offer interactive textbooks. Macmillan even allows college professors (why not all instructors, no matter what grade?) to alter the content without prior permission.

This could get interesting.
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Precious Moments

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Confucius wrote: "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

Cornel West: "Next time we will fail better."

On 10 March 2010, Alan Grayson introduced a bill (H.R. 4789) which would give the option to buy into Medicare to every citizen of the United States.

Grayson said, “Obviously, America wants and needs more competition in health coverage, and a public option offers that. But it’s just as important that we offer people not just another choice, but another kind of choice. A lot of people don’t want to be at the mercy of greedy insurance companies that will make money by denying them the care that they need to stay healthy, or to stay alive. We deserve to have a real alternative.”

The bill breaks the citizenry into eligibility age categories:

(A) Individuals under 19 years of age.
(B) Individuals at least 19 years of age but not more than 25 years of age.
(C) Individuals at least 26 years of age 25 and not more than 35 years of age.
(D) Individuals at least 36 years of age and not more than 45 years of age.
(E) Individuals at least 46 years of age and not more than 55 years of age.
(F) Individuals at least 56 years of age and not more than 64 years of age.

Now, where have we run across this idea before?

Medicare for All.

Senate Bill 1218 [110th Congress] Sec. 2202 introduced April 25, 2007, by Senator Edward M. Kennedy!

The thing about precious moments is that most of the time you have no idea how precious they really are until much later. And then you can only wish that you had savored them a little more, held on tighter, locked that feeling away so that it wouldn’t be lost.

We could have been there already!

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A Not So Bold Idea

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A great idea from Norman Goldman (fronted on his radio show): Go to the post office, buy post-paid postcards, write a personal message in your own handwriting about whatever federal legislation you're interested in, and fire it off to Congress.

You can find addresses on searchgov.com.

Use whatever label maker you have on your computer--whether in a word processor, or a data base, or a dedicated label system--to print out a bunch or a page of pre-addressed labels with the names and addresses of your Representative and both your Senators. Keep them on hand. Use them on the post-paid postcards. Now, the process has become practically painless.

Keep the message short and simple. To Bart Stupak: "Shut the f**k-up, Stupid." (Sorry, but the man is a C-Street stooge.)

And, a bonus, the handwritten part is said to draw the attention of inside-the-Beltway Keystone Cops much better than an email. You know who I mean, those who can't decide if they represent us, their states or the country, and don't do any of the above well.

As an additional benefit, the purchase of post-paid postcards and the mailing thereof will help the failing, flagging, falling US Postal Service.

Get to it people!

I didn't vote for hope and change to run out of hope because I've seen no change.
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A Warning: We Ignore at Our Peril

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"In the councils of government we must guard against the acquisition of power, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties and democratic processes."

Dwight D. Eisenhower
from his final address to the nation
January 17, 1961

Well c'mon, Wall Street, don't be slow
Oh man, this war's au go-go!
There's plenty good money to be made
Supplying the Army with the tools of the trade....
And it's One, Two, Three - WHAT'RE WE FIGHTIN' FOR?

Country Joe and the Fish

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Well, This Certainly Explains Things.....

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Spoiler: This was plucked from an email.

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude, spotted a man in a boat below and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I'd meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above ground elevation of 2,436 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude."

She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a liberal Democrat."

"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me may be technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Republican."

"I am," she replied, "but how did you know?"

"Well," the man said, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problems. You're in exactly the same position you were before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault.

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I Really Can Not Stand It---

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A new report: Insurance Company Rate Hikes Driven by Greed, Not Underlying Medical Costs. Quell surprise, eh?

The cost of medical care is rising faster than inflation and doctors and hospitals are making more profit than they used to. BUT, insurance companies are raising their rates much faster than even that - over 20% faster than the amount they are paying doctors and two times the amount the underlying cost of care is rising. To put it another way, insurance companies are making more profit than ever (and they are making record profits) because they are raising their prices faster than their costs.

Rates go up for small business. Small business drops coverage. And then people have to seek insurance on the individual market where insurance companies make more profit because they deny coverage or raise their rates with impunity because individuals have a harder time fighting back.

And what, pray tell, are the insurance companies spending all that moola on? PERKS!

Anthem spent $27 million on 103 executive retreats to locations like Hawaii in 2007 and 2008 alone. From 2000 to 2008, insurance companies spent $716.4 billion of their premium dollars on administrative costs, salaries for their CEOs, and investor profit -- practically enough to fund the entire health reform bill.

And, so, this is why we must have--

Medicare for All!

And we must have it NOW.

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What Fun!

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Go here to check this out.

Honda has just revealed this incredible looking three-wheeled... sleek scooter-like EV. Honda’s latest research into compact urban vehicles, designed for one driver, the vehicle has a clear canopy that covers it when not in use and protects the rider from wind and rain.

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