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Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts

Friday, February 8, 2013

Episode #4



Week in Headlines

  • 76 year old man bludgeons his wife to death with a garden gnome. England. sentenced to four years in prison. 
  • Alabama hostage standoff ends with child safe, gunman dead -  After a standoff of more than six days, FBI agents entered the bunker when they feared the child was in "imminent danger" at the hands of his abductor, who had killed a school bus driver, said Steve Richardson, special agent in charge in Mobile, Alabama. The kidnapper, identified as 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, had previously allowed authorities to deliver medication, coloring books and toys to the kindergarten student, who is due to celebrate his birthday on Wednesday.  The child was being treated at a local hospital but appeared physically unharmed, Richardson said. He is said to suffer from Asperger's Syndrome and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Dykes would sit in his bunker for up to 8 days at a time
  • Bin Laden death town tourist attraction theme park  - Pakistan is planning to build a $30 million amusement park with a zoo and adventure sports facilities in the town where Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces, officials said Monday. Abbottabad.  Government says it has nothing to do with Bin Laden.  Speculation that they are trying to make up for the reputation of the town that hid the terrorist.
  • Abbey Road Station confuses Beatles Fans
  • Amish sect leader Mullet sentenced to 15 years in beard attacks - Samuel Mullet Sr., referred throughout as just Mullet, disappointingly, had no mullet.
 What's in the box? 
  • Teen arrested for impersonating doctor in Australia -  17-year-old Australian boy was arrested on Friday for impersonating a physician at several hospitals in Adelaide, where he allegedly wore fake credentials and prescribed medication.  The unidentified teen is a suspect in a string of reports from as early as October of a fake doctor walking around in area hospitals. In each of three instances, the kid was caught and thrown out, but not before he assisted a 12-year-old girl who was injured in a scooter accident. The boy was seen on all three occasions wearing scrubs, name badges and a stethoscope. He allegedly offered first aid to the general public and read patient notes.
    The impersonation stunt gained the young suspect the moniker "Dr. Who" among hospital staff.\
  • 6 year old girl steals mom's car to visit dad - The girl managed to drive her mother's BMW a half mile before she hit anything, and though she was not hurt in the incident, a neighbor who was outside shoveling snow told WTAE that he had a close call with the oncoming vehicle.
    "I thought she was going to hit me, but then she stopped just in time not to hit me, and as I observed, she was this little kid. She couldn’t have been more than 8 or 9 years old," Rommie Hawkins told the news outlet. Hit two parked cars and eventually smashing the vehicle into a utility pole
  • Burglar disguised as suns steals a towel - Brett Eric Drachenburg, 51, is accused of stealing a towel, then trying to disguise himself as "The Sun," the Northwest Florida Daily News reported. Drachenburg allegedly entered a private home in Walton County, Fla. and proceeded to steal a towel. According to an arrest report obtained by The Huffington Post, Drachenburg "did unlawfully deprive the owner of the use of the towel."  When deputies were investigating the incident, Drachenburg was "disguising himself as 'The Sun' with the intent to obstruct the due execution of law." The report does not specify how Drachenburg attempted to pull off such a deception. Additionally, it is unclear whether or not the man was trying to pass as the actual sun, or as a copy of a publication, such as the Sun Sentinel, which might be referred to as "The Sun." When queried about these two matters, a spokeswoman for the Walton  County Sheriff's Office told HuffPost that “"[It looks like] "The Sun” ... is the name he gave for himself to the deputy."
  • Kimberly Margeson French Kisses Jailed Son, William Partridge, To Give Him Drugs - passing oxycodone in prison
  • Lottery Winner posioned - A lawyer who represents the widow of a Chicago man who was mysteriously  poisoned with cyanide after winning the lottery says most of the businessman's $2 million estate should go to his client. In my opinion, the mystery of the murderer has been solved.
Sports!
  • Meta World Peace Strikes again -  The Los Angeles Lakers forward was suspended for one game without pay because of his altercation Sunday with Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Knight. World Peace grabbed Knight around the neck and struck him on the jaw.World Peace has a long history of antagonizing opponents and last was suspended for an elbow to the face of Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Harden in April 2012. That one earned him a seven-game suspension. He also was a key instigator in "The Malice in the Palace," the infamous 2004 brawl between the Pistons and Indiana Pacers. Then known Ron Artest, World Peace entered the stands to pursue a fan. He and the fan have since made amends.
  • Power goes out at Superbowl
  • Pitcher breaks ribs horsing around - Minnesota Twins reliever Anthony Swarzak  messing around with a couple guys and cracked a couple ribs, so he'll be out a month," Ryan said. "He was wrestling around. It was some horseplay. He was out with a couple friends and the team and cracked a couple ribs fooling around. It wasn't a fight or anything. It was just bad judgment wrestling around."
Politics
Opinion
French Film maker preparing to Shoot Newtown Movie for TV TOO SOON. WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU THINKING.

I don't care!
Extra Stuff
Woman Hits Man in the Head with Jar of Olives and Other Strange Police News

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Friday, January 25, 2013

Episode #2

The Gnomebuddieshome Podcast Episode #2

 Beyonce lip syncs, Prince Harry offends Taliban, kindergartner labeled a terrorist threat, illegal meat seized in raid, man can't handle a Spicy McChicken Sandwich, and Lindsay Lohan saves her career by not going on Dancing With The Stars.

 Download this episode (right click and save)

Week in Headlines

 "What's in the Box?" - Weird news


Sports 
Politics
"Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, your opinion man"
Lupe Fiasco kicked off stage because of 30 minute anti-war song and saying he didn't vote Obama first amendment right, poor booking choice, he'd already said crap about the president recently

"I don't care!" - Worthless News
  • Lindsay Lohan turns down 'Dancing with the Stars' offer, which means there is still hope for her career...right? http://tinyurl.com/ax39jld 
  • Paris Hilton not welcome at Robert Redford's Sundance Film Fest because she brings down the sophisticated nature of the festival.  http://tinyurl.com/bc6gmbtparties 
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Monday, January 21, 2013

Episode #1

This week I decided to start doing a podcast.  This podcast covers current events, news, politics, weird news, and worthless news - news that shouldn't be considered news.  I hope you enjoy it!

Download this episode (right click and save)


Podcast Outline/Notes:
Week in Headlines
La Pierre "I warned you this day was coming and now it’s here," LaPierre wrote. "This is the fight of the century and I need you on board with NRA now more than ever. My strength, and the strength of our entire NRA organization comes from you and your strong commitment to our membership...
"The NRA sat in on a White House meeting that was sold to the public as an ‘open discussion’ about how to improve school safety," he continued. "But that was a dirty lie. They didn’t listen to gun owners’ concerns … they didn’t consider any real solutions on how we can keep our kids safe. Instead Barack Obama, Joe Biden and their gun ban allies in Congress only want to BLAME you, VILIFY you, BULLY you, and STRIP you of your Second Amendment freedoms."
Wrote LaPierre, "Right now, they’re steamrolling ahead with legislation that would ban your guns, register your ammunition purchases, and even force you to register the firearms you already own with Obama’s anti-gun bureaucrats."
Most of the actions are reinforcing existing laws and expanding mental health issues which are things the NRA has been calling for.  Including armed gaurds in schools which Obama said there will be funding for schools who want it.  So he gave them everything they asked for.
NRA released a game for smartphones to shoot any kind of gun and made it avaiable for 4 years+, yet say guns in video games are contributing to gun violence?

"What's in the Box?" - Weird news

Sports
Manti Te'o online and on phone relationship, according to Notre Dame he never met her in person or video chat through services like Skype.  Then died of leukemia.  Then while Te'o was at an ESPN awards ceremony he recieved a call from her: her voice, her number.  He was so embarrassed he kept quiet for weeks before saying anything, and Notre Dame hired private investigators to look into it.  Was he in on a prank, was he the victim of a hoax? Who knows.

Politics

It’s hard to say which part of the story is stranger — that Santorum spontaneously derided poor black people in response to a question about foreign money or his explanation of why he did it

CBS points out that only nine percent of Iowans on food stamps are black — and 84 percent are white. Nationally, 39 percent of welfare recipients are white, 37 percent are black, and 17 percent are Hispanic. So Santorum’s decision to single out black welfare recipients plays right into insulting — and inaccurate — stereotypes of the kind of people some voters might expect to want a “handout.”

"Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, your opinion man"
Gun Control - if US gov't attacked its citizens we're dead anyway.  armored vehicles, grenades, RPGs, artillery, drone strikes, bazookas

"I don't care!"  - Worthless News 
  • Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson moving to Paris to rekindle their flame
  • Kim Kardashian says "pregnancy advice can't help her"
  • Pirates of the Caribbean 5 announced with J.  Depp
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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Post-Election Blues

So if you've been following this blog, you already know my feelings about the results.  I'm relieved.  On facebook I had complained and argued with people about the election, the platforms, the candidates, and fighting the pro-Romney propaganda that 80% of my friends have been posting.  It got so out of control that at one point a woman actually wrote to my wife and told her that she was no longer going to be her friend on facebook anymore because she "didn't support socialism" and that some day my wife "would regret voting for Obama".

 This is my response  to that statement.  First, what is socialism?  Webster says :

1. Any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods


2. a: system of society or group living in which there is no private property

    b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state

3. a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
She was, of course, referring to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) as socialism.  It's a very complicated law, and there isn't really much else I can do but oversimplify it by boiling it down to it's essence.  The law says everyone must have insurance.  You may keep your private insurance if you currently have it, but if you don't have it, you are now required by law to have it.  If you didn't have it because of pre-existing conditions that barred you from obtaining it, pre-existing conditions are discriminatory and against the law.  If you don't want private insurance, you may sign up for what I'm sure will be a really sh***y  plan from the government. If you cannot afford insurance, the premiums will be adjusted so that you can afford it. If you are so dirt poor that paying for insurance is above your cost of living, you will qualify for medicaid.

Sure, in theory, saying that everyone must have health insurance is a socialistic philosophy.  Everyone is equal in that sense.  But if you look at the execution of the law it does not meet the definition at all.

 1. The government does not own the means of production.  Doctors and nurses are not government employees.  The government is not the sole provider of insurance; as evidenced by multiple insurance agencies that exist and will continue to exist after the plan is fully implemented.

 2. a: You will still own your own home, car, and even your private insurance.  You can even change to another private insurance if you want.
    b. The government is now saying you have to have insurance.  If you take out a loan on a car, the bank requires you to have insurance for the car.  The government is now saying if you are alive, you need to have insurance.  It's in your best interest to have it.  If you are poor or middle class and get sick or are in an accident, you may never have the money you need for healthcare costs in your lifetime. 60% of all bankruptcies are healthcare related,  Healthcare costs are outrageously high and growing every year.  Why you would not want insurance is something I will not understand.  But according to definition 2 b., Obamacare does not equal socialism.

 3. Do you really believe we are in a transition into communism?  Do you see the redistribution of wealth?  Oh, you might say, there are going to be higher taxes on the rich to pay for government programs for the poor!  That's not how it works.  Redistribution of wealth would be that at the end of the day, the money you've made that exceeds the standard of living dictated by government, would be taken from you and given to people who did not make enough to meet the standard of living.  And by the way, your employer is the government.

From what I've seen and heard, no one really understands what the word "socialism" means.  They know that it's a dirty word, so they use it to describe what they don't understand.   I don't understand why most Republicans don't want poor and sick people to get the healthcare they need.  I guess that makes me socialist.

One of the things that I liked most about this election, was Karl Rove was caught with his metaphoric pants down.  With over a billion dollars spent on the election, his superpacs gave Karl a minuscule return on investment.  In fact, according to NPR,  of all the money spent on the presidential election this year, less than 2% was supporting the candidate that actually won the election.  Less than 2%.  That's a big win for America.  It proves that democracy still works, and apparently there are still people out there that can think for themselves and are not persuaded by TV ads.  I can't help but laugh at every story I see come out about how millionaires and billionaires are gunning for Rove.  Here's a guy who was even called out on FOX news the night of the election for doing the kind of math that republican's do to "make themselves feel better."  He is so much in denial that he argued for a good twenty minutes that Ohio was not lost in the election before slinking off into the shadows to wet his pants.  Unfortunately, Rove made millions himself from this election by collecting transactional fees from the billionaires he misled.  In a way that's actually kind of cool.  Karl Rove robbing the rich to stuff his own fat pockets.  Hat's off to you Karl, you're a true capitalist.  An opportunity arose and you grabbed it by the horns.
Moving on to my last topic, this is something else that's been bothering me lately.  Look up at the graphic I posted above of the U.S. of A by electoral votes.  I saw a lot of complaining about how if most of the US is red, how did Obama get elected?  Well, for those of you who have never left your red state, let me tell you.  It's because states are allocated electoral votes based on population. The US census on July 1, 2011, estimated that there was a population of 568,158 people living in Wyoming.  The same census reported the population of New York (state) at 19,465,197.  New York is much more densely populated, though it is significantly smaller than Wyoming.  For those of you who understand math, New York has more people than Wyoming.  Wouldn't it make sense that New York counts more than Wyoming in elections because there are more people?  It's really pretty easy.  Don't strain your brain thinking about it.

The news has been reporting a lot of redistricting as well to suppress votes and swing elections.  Guess what, Obama also won the popular vote, so no matter how you divide it, you'll at least know that the populace didn't choose your candidate.  Get over yourselves.  


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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Health Care Debate

Recently, I was written a ticket for four hundred dollars because I was driving without insurance.   For second time offenders the ticket is $1000 and for each offense afterwards you pay $1000.  Hypothetically, let's say I decide I'm a safe driver and don't want to pay for insurance (this was not why I was uninsured).  Let's also say that I get pulled over once every other month.  Since it's my first time, that's $400 plus $5000 for the other five times I'm pulled over during one year.  That's much more than the premium for one vehicle for one year. Say I don't get pulled over at all, but I get in a wreck.  On top of the damage or replacement of my car that will have to come out of pocket, what about the damage to the other car and/passengers? And the fines on top of the traffic violations?  Is that worth not having insurance?

The way that "free market" health insurance is set up now is to provide health care to healthy people who can afford it.  One would think health care should be for the unhealthy, but that's not the case.  Unless you work for someone who has group insurance, pre-exsisting conditions make it impossible to have affordable private insurance.  And even if you do have group insurance, the price for health care continues to rise, causing employers to cut benefits and raise deductibles leaving you with hardly any coverage at all.


If you are a cancer survivor who lost work due to your illness, and you can't afford Cobra, you will never be able to receive (or afford) private insurance.  People don't choose to have cancer, arthritis, or any other "pre-existing condition".  So why should the free market decide they should just suffer or die? Why is that their call?


Those who oppose health care reform have never experienced first hand the difficulties and stress of not "qualifying" for insurance.  Eating right and exercising can't prevent cancer, arthritis, alzheimer's, or damage done in a car crash.  Those things aren't preventable. 

Those opposed to helping care for others because "it's their health and their responsibility" pay very small amounts in medicare and social security taxes that go to help those who can't help themselves.  How is that any different? They say that the penalty for not having health insurance is a tax. The four hundred dollars I paid for the ticket was not a tax, and isn't it the same thing? How is the government mandating health insurance any different than mandating liability auto insurance?

If the government provides an affordable alternative to private or group insurance and says everyone must have it, that is no different from being required by law to have car insurance other than the government is helping you get insurance when you are denied.  Currently, insurance companies can deny claims after you get sick.  Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies would no longer be able to do that.

Most religions teach charity and compassion for the unfortunate.  So why do so many insist on being selfish, judgmental, and insensitive to those less fortunate than them, victims of circumstance who want the same opportunities as those who take them for granted?

If it wasn't for the Affordable Care Act, my wife and I would not have insurance, along with thousands of Americans across the country.  We are not free loaders of the system.  My wife and I work two jobs each while I finish school.  Even if my wife could qualify for insurance, we can't afford it.  Before the Affordable Care Act we had to pay out of pocket for prescriptions and doctor's visits.  We were only making about $18,000 a year combined, so those expenses added up to a large percentage of our income.  For now, we have insurance, and are very grateful for it.  I can only hope now that the Supreme Court can see that it has helped thousands of people like us across America.  Sure, the Act as it now stands is far from perfect, but it's a step in the right direction.

Our inalienable rights are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.  When someone dies because they can't afford insurance or pay hospital bills, the government has taken those rights from them.
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