Bureaucrat Beat
Written by Benett Kessler Tuesday, 22 December 2009 11:32
Editor John Heston told us about the rich man in Texas who gave his self-absorbed girlfriend a pair of gloves for Christmas. She was so offended by such a pedestrian gift that she tossed it in the garbage. The haughty female proudly told her
boyfriend what she had done with his pitiful gift. Then, he told her he had stuffed each finger with a $100 bill. Ouch! Folks around town reported that they saw the woman rummaging frantically through the dump that day.Love it. Ho-Ho Merry Christmas!
Some of our elected officials live for their own self-importance and for campaign contributions from health industry lobbyists. A new website called insurancepuppets.com shows the senators with the most health industry lobby dollars. Check out www.insurancepuppets.com.
As we have said, these legislators fought for health care plans favorable to insurance companies. Gee, how surprising. It's worse than that. New studies have found a revolving door between Capitol Hill staffers and lobbying jobs for companies with a stake in healthcare legislation. According to the LA Times, at least 166 former aides from the 9 congressional leadership offices and five committees involved in shaping healthcare reform, along with some 13 former lawmakers, registered to represent at least 338 healthcare clients since the beginning of last year. How sweet. They all hold hands!
Even worse - healthcare companies spent $635 million on lobbying over the last two years. Let's face it people. We don't stand a chance. They're going to force us to buy insurance, tax us if we spend a fair amount on insurance and fail to pay our doctors and hospitals enough. Gee thanks and Happy Holidays to all you guys who belong to Club Greedy and Sneaky in Washington, D.C.
A footnote to the big healthcare bill. Seems Senate Democrats tacked on a last minute provision that would tax the use of tanning beds 10%. This tax would raise an estimated $2.7 billion over 10 years. Take note that the Senate's new healthcare bill does not tax the very wealthy a 5.4% surtax to help pay for healthcare as Congress had asked. It does stick us with a 40% excise tax for those individuals who spend more than $8,500 a year on health insurance. If you're over 55 and want any kind of decent insurance, you will easily spend over $8500 and then get hit with a 40% excise tax. How sweet. If you decline to buy health insurance, the Senators want to fine you as much as $750 per adult. Wow. What a friendly government service.Not to worry. You can always drown your sorrows at a luxury theater like the one in Pasadena called Gold Class Cinemas. You pay $29 for a ticket and then you can buy a $49 bottle of sparkling wine and a $20 dinner while you sit back in your suede chair and watch the latest films. Can't buy you love, but comfort, for sure.
And if you thought Mammoth Police were the only ones with gnarly, weird situations, listen to this. Seems that with all the snow in Washington, D.C. recently, some folks worked up a big snowball fight. A plainclothes police detective at the wheel of a Hummer took major offense when the revelers pelted him with a few snowballs. Some accounts claim he pulled a gun. Other versions of the frosty incident say the Hummer got stuck, the detective got out and when hit with a snowball, pulled his gun and ordered the snowy fusillade to stop.
Someone called the police who came with guns drawn since they received a report of a man with a gun. When they realized he was a cop, they holstered their weapons. A good time was not had by all. Truly pays to maintain what Mammoth Police Chief Randy Schienle called "a heightened level of awareness." At least then you have options.
Let us hope at this Christmas season that somehow, some way our elected leaders will represent more than the mega-rich in our nation's capitol and that like Scrooge they will be visited by the spirits of past, present and future who will show them the thin, cheap stuff of their lives. We can wish.
With that, this is Benett Kessler signing off for Bureaucrat Beat where we await your word on our lives in the Eastern Sierra and beyond. Merry Christmas from the Bureaucrat Beat newsroom!
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written by David Shadle , December 22, 2009
written by David Shadle , December 22, 2009
Imagine what the health care industry could have done with the $635 million they spent on lobbying....like reducing their customers' premiums? Isn't it interesting that 49 states have to pay into the healthcare fund except for Nebraska, I bet NB's population will soar over the next few years!
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written by Ché , December 28, 2009
written by Ché , December 28, 2009
Re: DC Snowball Fight.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hGeRYGchfB5FLjkIGT4XbCWqHWhgD9CNRFA80
Generalissima Lanier (four star-wearing, anti-gun, Supreme Court-ignoring D.C. Police Chief) will announce her plan to ban snowballs. They serve no sporting purpose. They are small, easily concealed, and cheap. They are the weapon of preference of northern schoolboy playground gangs. They are inaccurate and only used to spray-and-pray. Snowballs are the leading cause of snowball fights among Black Afro-American males.
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1209/689050.html
Assistant Chief Peter Newsham said the Department will investigate to determine if the officer used inappropriate language.
The NRA and Ted Nugent will investigate to determine if the officer used inappropriate caliber.
The ACLU, NAACP, NEA, Brady Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, Southern Poverty Law Center, PETA, and The National Geographic Society have no comment at this time.
Former Mayor Marion Berry had the right idea to reduce snowballs: he diverted funds from road repair projects (mostly to his friends) resulting in large potholes. The potholes filled with slush instead of allowing snow to gather on the streets. This reduced the availability of snowballs for mayhem. An ancillary economic benefit was an automobile hitting the pothole. The pothole removed the auto's hubcaps and ensured a steady stream of business to auto parts suppliers. The only downside was the very real threat that you could be decapitated by a flying hubcap of death.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hGeRYGchfB5FLjkIGT4XbCWqHWhgD9COGLD80
The officer involved -- who must be paid very well to be able to afford a Hummer in DC -- slithered to the police union who condemned The Generalissima's condemnation of the officer involved.
Expect a group news conference where the police officer involved, The Generalissima, and The Union blame the late President Reagan for global warming which caused the snowfall in the first place. They will also condemn Christians for praying for White Christmases and capitalists for selling clothes enabling snowball use.
Ché
Votes: +0
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hGeRYGchfB5FLjkIGT4XbCWqHWhgD9CNRFA80
Generalissima Lanier (four star-wearing, anti-gun, Supreme Court-ignoring D.C. Police Chief) will announce her plan to ban snowballs. They serve no sporting purpose. They are small, easily concealed, and cheap. They are the weapon of preference of northern schoolboy playground gangs. They are inaccurate and only used to spray-and-pray. Snowballs are the leading cause of snowball fights among Black Afro-American males.
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1209/689050.html
Assistant Chief Peter Newsham said the Department will investigate to determine if the officer used inappropriate language.
The NRA and Ted Nugent will investigate to determine if the officer used inappropriate caliber.
The ACLU, NAACP, NEA, Brady Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, Southern Poverty Law Center, PETA, and The National Geographic Society have no comment at this time.
Former Mayor Marion Berry had the right idea to reduce snowballs: he diverted funds from road repair projects (mostly to his friends) resulting in large potholes. The potholes filled with slush instead of allowing snow to gather on the streets. This reduced the availability of snowballs for mayhem. An ancillary economic benefit was an automobile hitting the pothole. The pothole removed the auto's hubcaps and ensured a steady stream of business to auto parts suppliers. The only downside was the very real threat that you could be decapitated by a flying hubcap of death.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hGeRYGchfB5FLjkIGT4XbCWqHWhgD9COGLD80
The officer involved -- who must be paid very well to be able to afford a Hummer in DC -- slithered to the police union who condemned The Generalissima's condemnation of the officer involved.
Expect a group news conference where the police officer involved, The Generalissima, and The Union blame the late President Reagan for global warming which caused the snowfall in the first place. They will also condemn Christians for praying for White Christmases and capitalists for selling clothes enabling snowball use.
Ché
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