IDLE MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING!

IDLE MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING.

COMPLEXITIES OF "OUR" MEDICARE PROGRAMS, (Breitbart.com)

According to recent polls, you remember, "those things that neither G.W. Bush or Dick Cheney paid any attention to, during the last political administration," are saying that 6 in 10 Americans state that either Medicare, or Social Security, or both are necessary for their existence. That's not survival, but existence, a big difference when one is talking about their lives here on this earth.

Most Americans, in addition say that they don't believe Medicare or Social Security has to be cut in order to balance the budget. Americans worry about the "safety net" effect that the two programs have for the retired. The attitude helps explain why Republican plans to privatization Medicare has flopped, and why President Obama's Medicare cuts to help finance his health care law met with devastating losses at the election polls last November.

Medicare is becoming the 1000 pound gorilla on all politicians backs and undoubtedly will be the 3rd. rail of politics. Medicare and Social Security accounts for about a 3rd. of  all   government  spending.

That amount will only grow as Americana's population ages, and experts, and those trustees who  oversee both programs warn the programs are "unsustainable" over the long haul.

Nearly all solutions for Social Security has been deemed "toxic," while the same can be said for whatever fixes have been suggested to heal the country's Medicare problems. Medicare is by far the worst of the two problems that now face the country, what with the raising cost of modern medicine going  up at ever escalating speed. Without much doubt, everybody knows what the problem with Social Security is, longer life span.

Most people, my age or older look at the impending  problems with Medicare through different glasses then I guess I do. Many, many people cite Fraud, waste and padding the bureaucracy connected with the program as the biggest problems. More then half of senior citizens say it's possible to "balance the budget without cutting spending for Medicare, or Social Security." Numbers and the use of math paint a vastly different story.

No new math is necessary for people to figure out that before long, both Medicare and Social Security will have dwindled to a point where getting money to fund both will be impossible to do, there won't be any money left. Social Security was never meant to be a primary account for retirement, rather it was a supplement to retirement, "an enhancer," to the quality of living.

Medicare was established in 1965 for those folks 65 and over, for those under 65 who are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability, or those who meet special  criteria. Medicare health care covers 80% of costs while the patient covers the 20% through a medical supplement or out of pocket cash. Medicare also funds residency training programs for the vast majority of physicians in the United States.

Social Security which covers different social programs was established in the United States in 1935 and is referred to as Retirement Insurance Benefits, or R.I.B. or Old-age Insurance Benefits. At the present time, eligibility is reached upon a person's 62 birthday and payments are based on several different factors, how much was paid to social security payroll taxes, the age of retirement, current earned income of an individual and military service.

It's easy to see how both benefit programs could go bust and in fact will. Solutions to fix both programs is neither complex, nor is hard to explain, it's just that the solution will place burdens on people and isn't what people want to hear.

Solutions are simple, direct and to the point.....they are, establish a cut-off age, like 55, all of those people 55 and under will be in a separate program and will no longer be eligible for current Social Security plans that have been paid into, and they won't get their money back. That money will go to supplement those already on Social Security.

Retirement age would be raised, "when a person is eligible for the new Social Security program" to 67 years old. Funding to cover the new plan will come from matching 10% taxes from the employer and the employee, the federal government would maintain the plan and use interest from the funds to pay for administration. The other incidentals will be worked out by the government at a later date, after all, they have to earn their keep.

Medicare, that's easy, by far the easiest part of any overhaul that has been undertaken during the first decade of the 21st. century, cut the military budget by 15% and re-direct that money to the new medicare program. In addition, a 5% tax to help fund the program, would be assessed across the board.

More attention would be given to preventative programs and fraud, abuse and padding the Medicare department would be dealt with harshly, while some treatment would be disapproved, depending on age, physical health and other medical considerations.

It is way past the time when either Medicare or Social Security needs to be batted back and fourth like some kind of volley ball. The American public has decided that something radical needs to be accomplished with regards to these two hot button issues, so the Obama's and the Ryan's need to get together, sit down and GET IT DONE.

COMPLETE WASTE, (Washington Post, Russian Times)

Talk about government waste.....okay lets talk about that. I ran across an item that begs to be talked about, yet is probably unheard of by way more then half the country. It involves spies, terrorists, foreign military and records unearthed from the cold war.

Rusky threat with bigger and better weapons.

Finally in 1990, Communism and the U.S.S.R. collapsed, the country was split into independent countries and the threat was over. Now, more then  20 years later, we find that the old Russia still poses a threat and a problem which requires our expertise, our military help and our money. Now we are pumping money, time and effort into guarding a nuclear test site in Kazakhstan.

"The hell you say," nope, I'm not kidding, standing alongside the Russians and Kazakhstan, we are now protecting this weapons test site. Here is how it is working, Russia is furnishing, reluctantly, information on nuclear tests from it's archives with the United States. The Pentagon is paying for the removal of safe storage of weapons-grade material and Kazakhstan is providing personnel.

The reason for this highly secretive project, curtail any terrorists from getting any of the fissile materials, you know, the material necessary to make some sort of nuclear device to be used by those enemy's of the United States and the free world.

A concrete cap measuring 2 meters, about 80 inches with steel reinforcement was laid over the entire area during the mid 1990's, but it has been found to be inadequate and other measures are being implemented to safeguard the materials.

I am wondering who shares more of the blame, Russia or the United States for the silly race for weapons superiority that was the cold war that lasted some 40 years. And wonder where the United States fissile materials are stored and how many countries are helping to guard it from the terrorists?


SELLING COOKIES, EARNING MERIT BADGES, PROMOTING ABORTION,
(the Daily Beast)
That's right, these innocent young girls, dressed in the green uniforms with the cute little beanie hats and the merit badges or patches on the front of their uniforms just might have an ulterior motive. The neighborhood every spring is inundated with these little girls, going door to door selling their cookies to raise funds for the good work that the organization does the rest of the year.

First they have to be Brownies, or "brown dogs" as I used to call them, anyways, they earn patches, gain age and become Girl Scouts and then the cookie thing starts, the competition to sell the most boxes, to earn more patches, to clip relations or co-workers to buy boxes, to sit in front of the Mall pestering every shopper, all to earn patches, to ascend the ladder of success in Girl Scoutdom. I know Boy Scouts can become Eagle Scouts, do Girls have the equivalent, maybe a Beagle Scout, I don't know.

According to two Texas sisters, former Brown Dogs and Girl Scouts themselves, there is a much more sinister side to the message that the Girl Scouts deliver. The sisters now believe, after years of scouting, that the group, "nationally" has a "pro-abortion-mind-set" and a "radical feminist agenda." The sisters belief was so strong that the abandoned the Scouts in 2010.

The sisters have a website that recognizes the many good things that the Girl Scouts do, but apparently the scout organization does not hold in high esteem, the dignity of life, the sanctity of marriage, modesty and purity. Gees, I didn't know that scouting could be so complicated.

Maybe, just maybe and I'm just "spit-balling" here, things in girl scouting have changed over the past ten or so years since my daughters and wife were involved with scouting. I'm not sure that I would call a radical agenda providing reproductive health and birth control information, or lauding leaders like Margaret Mead and Hillary Clinton, radical.

I'm not sure that the truth and purity of the Girl Scout  platform has been replaced by sex education and  abortion rights. Possibly both could co-exist and be beneficial to the girls, or maybe keep parents out of the entire equation and let kids just be kids. They have a whole lifetime to grow up and such a short time to be kids.

 

   

  

TOP SUBJECTS OF THE WEEK

TOP SUBJECTS OF THE WEEK, (Frazer Chronicles)

A "zinger" of a week is all that can be said of this past week, we survived Camping, Arnie's extra marital affairs, Newt being Newt and Donald Trump declaring to be, well, Donald Trump and all the things that go along with that. Top subjects can be just that, or they can  be a smattering of the silly little things that affect our lives. So why don't we get to affecting.

THE CHANGING WORLD OF DIDDY, (The Root)

Thank God the rapture was just a figment of Harold Camping's mind or the world wouldn't have known that Sean "Diddy" Combs was changing his name.....again, this time to Swag. So, according to Combs, for one week he will be referred to simply as Swag.

Launching a comeback, "I didn't know he was gone," this coming week, refere to the Rapper only as Swag. I'll bet that if the comeback is a success, Swag will remain his new adopted moniker, I know Swag would remain my new name if I could make a little money.

Sean John Combs was born in 1969 in a housing project in Harlem, New York, the son of a teacher/model mother and a gangster father who was shot to death in a car in Manhattan park after attending a party. Combs is a rapper, actor and business man, has an interesting history of accomplishments during his career. Plus his accomplishments, "Diddy" is estimated by Forbes to be worth more then $475 million, begging me to ask the question, "why do you want to make a comeback?"

Combs has also been known as Puff, Puffy, Puff Daddy, "my personal favorite", P. Diddy,   Diddy and King Combs. The world of Rap, "short for rhapsody" is filled with interesting nick-names and the messages that come from "some" of the melodies, to me, is pure blues and carries a powerful story with it.

Some other interesting rapper or actor names, usually set aside for black performers, reads like a cornucopia of rhyming, sing songing, attention grabbing entertainment headliners and includes some of the following:
Ice Cube, Ice "T", 50 cent, 88 keys, 9th. Ward, The original 50 cent, Nipsey Hu$$le, Bow Wow, Bang, Beanie Man, Babyface, Balance, Sandman, "I like this one," Boss man, Bounty Killer, Cadillac Tah, Curren$y and Danger mouse.

These are just a few names in the  fabulous history of Rap, filled with failed individuals, groups and recording labels as well as huge success stories. The message is interesting, can be touching and is steeped in people's lives, their failures and their triumphs, I suggest that we all give it a listen.

GRADUATE BLISS, NOT IN THIS LIFETIME, (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Like the man said, "saddle up boys and girls and prepare for a bumpy ride," this year's graduating college students will have an average debt to repay for a college education  of between $20 and $150 thousand dollars during the first part of their working lives.

I remember having an argument with one of my cousins several years ago about this very subject. It was his contention that people needed a college degree in order to "make it" in today's upbeat technical business world. Although I value an education, "Lord knows I could use more," I maintained, and still do, that getting an education is an "overblown middle class pipe dream," fostered by the upper middle class, academia and intellectuals who not only run the cathedrals of higher education, but feel that they are the sharpers of future activity on the planet.

Education at the college level, without much exception does not take into account what the economy is doing, will do, or how valuable your degree will be worth once you graduate. Many, many people that have graduated during the past four years have found times tough in the real world and find themselves right back at some part time job, or the food service job that they had either before their college career, or during it. Still they are expected to pay their loans off per their pre graduation agreements.

As a nation, student loans now account for more then all credit card dept, $1 trillion. Student loan debt has grown to the point where it will began to have an effect or impact on the economy. Generally student loan debt is considered a good investment on the future of America, but "to much of a good thing can be bad," especially when your talking about debt.

Possibly the biggest misconception in middle class America is the belief that a college education is a necessity to make a decent living in the 21st. century, if the tab for that education takes years to pay off, like 20 years, about the time that your kids will be expecting to go to college, to follow the same dream you had.

College graduates take, on average, from 10 to 20 years to pay off their college loans, while some take as long as 30 years. The average earning advantage of a college degree is around $3 million  more then a high school graduate, over a 40 year career, it had better be with the payments of anywhere from $500 to $2000 a month.

At the present time, I guess you have to look at where you would rather be, working in a dirty, sweat-filled factory job at $10 to $15 an hour, with shrinking benefits, or working in a clement controlled atmosphere, in a cushy professional job making $120 grand a year with a college debt package that you make payments of $1,500 a month payments on. For young people, the choice is yours', good luck, I'm glad I'm 67.


COMPLETELY UNFAIR AND I DON'T LIKE IT, (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)


Those figures are just "average" and they are based on people who retired in 2010. For those that will be entering their golden oldy era, or the twilight of their lives, the figure goes up, expediently. The figures do not take into account nursing home, or extended care.

Most people are unaware of the costs for medical health care until they are forced to face the facts, usually only months before the time of their planned retirement. I am still covered by my wife's medical insurance, and although I don't fall completely in with those people that are clueless about medical costs in retirement, I do need some answers before her final day on the job.

Cobra is not an answer for medical coverage, it just offers retirees the chance to stay on the coverage that they had during their working years, at premiums as high as $2 or $3 grand a month. Medicare is not free, can cost between $300 and $600 a month, and Medicaid, well, it's better to be indigent.

The system is whacked, it favors nobody and like Paul "I would be king," Ryan says, "needs to be repaired." One in four in 2007 spent more then 30% of their fixed income on medical insurance and it's going to get worse.

The worst part of the whole equation is that we are expected to live longer, "oh no, not that."

BITS & PIECES

BITS & PIECES, (Frazer Chronicles)

This has been, "almost" the week that wasn't, at least near the end of it, if one considers Harold Egbert Camping and his predictions of the end of the earth, at least as we know it. I now have a better understanding of the timeline that Camping cited and the calculations that he used and I for one know for a certainty that New Zealand is still intact and has not suffered a catastrophic earthquake. Thank God, oh and by the way, Harold Egbert Camping, a nice old man, he can simply "bite me." 

There is much to review, so I guess we'd better get started. It might be a dumpy ride, but that's okay, we've already lived through the news once, so rehashing it another time won't hurt. Maybe next week we won't make the same mistakes.

LITE BULB COPS, SURELY YOU JEST. (Frazer Chronicles)

"A line in the sand," is how one conservative political action group put it, with regards to lite bulbs this past week and plans by Democrats to ban conventional lite bulbs, the ones you and I use every day. The conservative action group, AmeriPAC, who supports conservative Republican candidates, leveled the accusation, citing all sorts of reasons for their charges.

A bill was passed back in 2007, the Energy independence and Security Act with bipartisan support and signed into law by George W. Bush, a Republican. The bill, which doesn't even go into effect until 2012, mandates that lite bulbs must be 25% more effective then they are now, that a 100 watt bulb be replaced with a bulb using no more then 72 watts, yet giving the same lite as the 100 watt bulb. The 75, 60 and 40 watt bulbs would be replaced with bulbs that use no more then 53, 43, and 29 watts respectively, but still give off the same light as the old ones. 

There is no language anywhere in the bill that bans fluorescent or led lite bulbs, or any type of incandescent lighting. A bill has been introduced by Senator Mike Enzi, a Republican from Wyoming, that would repeal the light bulb act of 2007. Citing governmental take-over, Enzi wants to keep people's rights to screw any lite bulb that they desire into their lite sockets.

Talk about a non  issue, we here at Chronicle headquarters sometimes are left scratching our collective heads. Doesn't Senator Enzi have better issues to deal with in his home state, how about "red-neckisim, or gun control."

AmeriPAC has also leveled a statement saying that all Americans will be required to throw all of their light bulbs that don't meet government standards, into the trash, recycled where mandated. As one AmeriPAC official says, "it may be a silly little light bulb, but it's just a small piece of the larger puzzle of global socialism that he feels is the agenda to enslave the American people, and to choke Americans from a free enterprise system.

Gee, I had no idea that a simple little light bulb could have so much symbolic meaning behind it, "thank you" AmeriPAC for your "watchdog" diligence, I know right where to "stick" this report, and I of course will give it all the proper attention necessary to understand the problem.

BLABBERMOUTH GO HOME, (Frazer Chronicles)

Finally somebody took some action against one of those loud mouthed cell phone conversations that take place everyday in the public sector, this one on a commuter train in Tigard, Oregon. Unless there is a miss-print, the women talked non-stop  for 16 hours, annoying people for the same period of time, that is one long phone call.

The women apparently gave no consideration to her fellow passengers, only the person at the other end of the line. She seemed completely oblivious to the other people around her, like she was in her own little world and could do, say and think  whatever she wanted and at the volume she desired.

She was finally escorted off the train by armed police officers to the rousing cheers of her fellow passengers. Rude to the end, the women will be seeking legal action against the train company, saying in an interview that she "might have been a little loud," but being lead off the train by armed thug cops was over the top.

We here at Chronicle headquarters can only say, "you go girl," whatever you get in your pending legal action, you and your lawyer deserve. I would make a single suggestion, while your in the courtroom, keep your talking devise in your purse, in the off position.

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, (Frazer Chronicles)

For a man with a resume that includes a career as a world renowned body builder, a productive acting career, a governor of the most populous state in the country and a great looking wife to boot, I guess you have to add an adulterous sexual affair and soon, a divorce. I can only remark, actually quite breathlessly, huba huba "Arnie" your activity really does leave me breathless.

Schwarzenegger was born in 1947  in Austria and began weight training and body building at the age of 15 and won the Mr. Universe title at 20. Arnie won the Mr. Olympia title 7 times and has remained active in the sport since, writing 7 books and numerous articles on the sport.

Schwarzenegger has had trouble in the past with allegations of inapproate sexual advances, during his early, "reckless years" but seemed to settle down with his marriage to Maria Shriver, until the bombshell announcement on May 16th. that the couple was separating, possible ending a 25 year, sometimes stormy relationship, the reason for the break-up, Arnie's love child.

I personally don't feel that much time should be spent by the media on the break-up of two people that are headed for divorce court, and splitting up assets and time with kids. The "lust child" seems to have been taken care of by Arnie, what he did was wrong and Maria has every right to drag ol Arnie through the proverbial ringer.

We here at Chronicle headquarters hope things work out for Arnie and he's soon back knocking bad guys out, telling everybody else that "I'll be back." 

JOBS WE ALL WANT, BUT  BUT FEW  GET, (Frazer Chronicles)

Everybody wants to make money, but lets face the facts, few of us do and those that do are usually butt heads, completely focused on career and care little for anything or anybody else. These types of people are what people might call "driven."

As prices continue to raise, the need for more money is necessary for whatever lifestyle that one might choose to reach for. Usually the drive for a higher paycheck is linked to obtaining a higher education, that's at least four years of school, the usual student loans to repay and some pretty heavy sacrifices with regards to leisure time.

Can a person get a high rate of pay without a higher education.....well yes, but the fields that would allow for the big payday is limited to just a few opportunities. Education seems to be the key to expanding your horizons with regards to a higher paycheck. I do not necessarily agree with this thinking, but hey, who am I.

The following list will help those young people that want a Beemer in the garage, a house on the ocean and vacations in the south of France, good luck:

A. Lifeguard in Newport Beach, California, $200 grand, if you know somebody.

B. Air Traffic Controller, $161 thousand, if you can stay awake.

C. Chief Executive, $160 thousand, can an Editor & Chief get a break?

D. Fashion Design, $130 thousand, nuff said.

E. Fire Chief, $109 grand and one of those muscle SUV's.

F. Police and Detective Supervisor, $116 thousand, and a partner like Mariska Hargitay, "I'm in."

G. Radiation Therapists, $107 thousand, although you might end up "glowing in the dark."

H. Prostitute-Hooker-Pimp, $100 grand, down side, late night work, usually bad neighborhood.

AGAIN, THE TAIL PIPE THING

AGAIN, THE TAIL PIPE THING, (Frazer Chronicles)

Okay I get it, it costs BIG money to produce crude oil, like early iron mining in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, everything was big, costly and,  they were innovating as they went along. The iron mining industry has taken advantage of tax abatement's, but nothing compared to the oil industry. I can give you an example, several years ago, an iron mining company in Michigan got a dollar knocked off each ton of iron ore shipped to down-state Michigan for a period of 7 years, total tax savings, about $3 million dollars a year.

Now, petroleum companies in the United States,  the so called big five, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, BP and Shell, with the help of the United States government, will continue to reap American tax money through loopholes created in part by the government elected to represent the very people that are taking another "tail-pipe" shot by the oil companies.

In early May, 2011, oil executives stood before a governmental panel and explained how, even though the companies that these men represented were reporting record profits, they needed the federal government to give them a break on taxes.

Cited was the fact that big oil needed these breaks, tax incentives and governmental assistance to drill for oil in the United States. Sounds kind of like sports teams trying to tap taxpayers funds for a new stadium for their exclusive use.

A big difference between big oil and professional sports teams is that sports venues go before public voters in the form of a referendum, while big oil goes directly to the source of public funds, the federal government. Although sports teams do have lobbyists as do their  league affiliations, big oil companies have 4 or 5 times the number that sports teams do.

Oil companies, in the 1960's begin their public trough feeding and it has grown into today's sweetheart deals accounting for billions and billions of dollars each year. What you have is the poor customer not only paying at the pump, but you have him paying not only for development and drilling, but for transportation, refining and all sorts of other regulatory issues connected with the industry.

Total tax breaks for the oil companies over the next 10 years, around $77 billion, not a bad piece of change, if you can get it.....which they have done. The reasons cited by the 5 executives earlier in May:

A. Oil is getting harder to find

B. Oil Companies face global competition

C. The loss of tax breaks will drive up the price of oil

It is untrue that oil is getting harder to find, the same way that iron ore is not as hard to locate as in past years. The technology has dramatically changed, increasing the ability to discover new oil and natural gas reserves. As I said at the beginning of this Blog, "the industry is innovating as it goes along, it does not stand still, it devises new and almost revolutionary ways to do their business," and find and drilling for oil is just one of those revolutionary break through.

Oil companies have been in a global competition with foreign oil for years and like foreign oil, American companies make profits, big profits. The fact of the mater is that American oil companies are less tied to global markets because of increased U.S. production and increased Canadian tar sand production that is flooding the American market. There is no surprise with regards to the Canadian influx of this type of oil as all of the big 5 have made major investments in the tar sand project.

Without tax breaks or incentives, the price at the pumps would probably raise, but it could be a hell-of-alot easier to control through government intervention then foreign oil. A tax increase could off-set any increase at the pumps.

It's time for the petroleum American companies to stop holding customers hostages at the gas pumps through both tax breaks and the price per gallon. Our elected officials need a gut check, and to get their collective heads out of their tail-pipes.

I WANT TO BE A LIFEGUARD, (Breitbart.com)

There are several reasons why I would like to become a lifeguard at the beaches of California and although I had a lifeguard certificate at one time, about a hundred years ago, my reasoning today would not be the same as those many years ago.

Today the beaches of Newport Beach, California are kind of a gold mine for the watchers of  the beach cuties that grace the beaches with their frolicking volley ball games, sun bathing and occasional dip into the ocean spray. These young studs with the sculpted bodies, tanned to a golden hue with a fluff of sun bleached hair, "God I heat these guys," are making big bucks watching for trouble on the beaches.

Seems as if the beaches are the home, "during the day," of young mothers with their children in tow, or those well endowed sun worshipers that most men would pay to watch. The Newport Beach lifeguards make on average close to a hundred grand a year for their jobs, (full time). The highest paid, in fact, a supervisor, makes closer to $200 thousand a year, "now that's nice work, if you can get it."

Once found out, there was of course a groundswell of anger during these cash strapped times from beach-goers and budget watchers as well. The 13 member full-time crew of lifeguards have kind of been blindsided by the reaction, having enjoyed the prestige of their jobs in an ocean-centric town that relies on summer tourism for a major portion of their income.

The lifeguards feel offended at their pretrial as suntanned slackers lounging in beach towers as the surf rolls in. they say that there is a "hell-of-alot

The Newport Beach lifeguards are considered public safety employees under the fire department, the same as fire captains and battalion chiefs. A full-time lifeguard trains more then 200 seasonal lifeguards, run a junior lifeguard program that brings in more then a million dollars a year. Full-time guards work their way into management positions, must stay certified as instructors in an array of advanced emergency, scuba and rescue techniques.

Base salary for Newport Beach lifeguards range from $58,000 to $108,492 for the top paid battalion chief. With a benefit package, special compensation and overtime, 2 chiefs made more then $200,000, while the lowest paid "officer" cleared more then $98,000. In addition to the gaudy pay amounts, each and every lifeguard receives an additional $400 for suntan or sunscreen as well as extra pay for night duty.

As an old Y.M.C.A. program director, I never knew that lifeguarding could make three times the amount of money that I was making. Am I jealous, you bet, am I envious, or course, do I want one of their jobs, you betcha, could I save a floundering swimmer, of course not, but I sure could tan to a golden brown and get a sore neck from watching the beach babes.


MY SEESTERS BIRTHDAY, (Frazer Chronicles)
On a purely personal note, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce my sister to the world of Blog. Jane, "not her real name" reads my Blog on a semi-regular basis and usually has some caustic remarks to make, sometimes spelling, sometimes grammar, and sometimes the subject matter. I usually consider the source, chalking her comments up to pure ignorance, or the low source of the gen pool that she came from, "she is adopted."

Janie, "not her real name" has been married twice, has had numerous affairs, or as she likes to call them, "raw sexual encounters," all before her current weight gain. In the illustrious words of the Big & Tall stores, where she does the majority of her shopping,  "she has ballooned out nicely."

I have promised, (in the past) not to divulge either her actual age, 61, or her date of birth, 5-20-51, but that was then and this is now. I really don't know why Janie, "not her real name" is so concerned with trying to hide her age, most people figure she's closer to 70 then 60, so now that they know her real age, they can start planning for a funeral in the not to distant future.

Janie, "not her real name" was an operator for Detroit Edison, a power company in Michigan, until they no longer needed her services, old age can be a bitch. The company put the old babe "out to pasture" before her 60th. birthday, kinda like they would an old horse, luckily they didn't drop her at the glue factory.

Jane's "not her real name" new husband, Dennis McLean Esquire has been entrusted by her loving family to attempt to rehabilitate "our" baby sister from her many flawed habits that she has picked up during her  life. From drugs, to alcohol, to food, to a sordid lifestyle, Dennis has his work cut out. I do hope that the money that my two sisters and I are paying Denny keeps him "on the job."

I could go on with this dissertation for hours, there's so much material, so many instances, so much additional ammo, but I have to digress, I believe that I can speak for my two sisters when I say, "possibly the worst mistake our parents made was to seek adoption of the little baby left on the butcher's doorstep," that little baby, bundled in a tatter blanket, we now call our sister."

Kidding all aside, Jane, "her real name" we all love you and rejoice in your birthday, reminding you to have a safe, but happy time while you celebrate (your day). I love you, your big brother, who is allowed to write like this, it simply shows my love for you.

THE WEIRD WORLD OF CAMPING

THE WEIRD WORLD OF CAMPING,  (Frazer Chronicles)

I don't like "camping out," never have, never will, it's a dirty, bug infested smelly deal, where people leave a perfectly safe, warm bed under a roof and four walls. I've never understood the attraction, other then it must be the "right of passage" or something for a boy to turn into a man. But then women get involved, so it must be some sort of "passage" for them to. Could it be the "man or a mouse" thing, or a "women or a wouse." Like I said, "I don't get it."

Maybe these outdoor people are getting ready for the end times, you know, December 21st. 2012, there's even a movie about the possible end-times. I thought that the Mayan calender predicted the end of time, but now most say that the crafty Mayan weren't predicting the "end of the world," rather the end of one time and the start of another, go figure.

I now learn that some folks think the beginning of the end starts this coming Saturday, May 21st. 2011. I looked in up on my trusty computer and low and behold there was alot of information, like 23 million links. What the hell, ops, "what the heck" is going on, I was kind of prepared for the December 2012 thing, I figured that I'd lived, by that time, 68 years, a decent number of years, and as the 21st. of December got closer, I'd get all my stuff in order and be ready.

But May 21st. 2011, "this year," absolutely no way, no how I could ever be ready to go, my "stuff" is still all over the place, I haven't told all the people "I'm sorry" that I need to, even though I'm really not  sorry, but I figured I'd cover all my bases. And repent to the Lord, no way, not even a quarter of the way there, I have lots of repenting to do, at least a year, so May 21st. is out, completely out, I simply need more time, I'll need a rain check or whatever I can get, I know, a rain-out, ya, that will get it, a rain-check can't be rejected, it's a state law, you can look it up.

Harold Egbert Camping is the author of not only the May 21st. 2011 beginning of the end rapture and the eventual end of the earth some 5 months later, but also predicted the end of the world 2 other times, 1988 and again in 1994. What is this guy going for, "strike three and your out." Some in Camping's former church, the Alameda Bible Fellowship have criticized him of "date-setting," a term I could subscribe to, "if everything is fine on May 22nd. 2011.

Harold Egbert Camping is an interesting guy, 89 years old, is the head  a religious based California radio FM-AM network of stations that include 150 in the United States, is broadcast world-wide via shortwave stations, and also includes a cable television station and the Internet.

Camping's 2011 end of times predictions, "if you believe them" says that between 1988 and May 21st. 2011 "those who were unsaved and died" will not be affected by the May 21st. date, Boy am I glad to hear that, there were a couple of real dinks I knew during that time who died and I sure wouldn't want them coming back.

Camping further prophecy states that on May 21st. 2011, 3% of the world's population, about 200 million people will be raptured into heaven, not ruptured, but raptured, "this is an important distinction," and the rest will simply cease to be conscious, rather then spend eternity in hell.  What does that mean, those jerks that screwed me won't get their just deserts, they'll just.....stop, like a wrist watch, you can see it, but it won't work? I'm getting to like this Camping Fellow less and less.

Old Egbert wrote a book back in 1994 titled.....1994 and sold several million copies. I've been going about this writing  thing all wrong, I've tried to write history books, but relied on the truth and fact, Camping seems to have went completely the other day, translating the Bible to fit his story-line and made millions of dollars in the process.

As one devoted follower said, "you can understand it intellectually, but to really know it is going to happen, you have to understand it spiritually, you have to feel it." According to Camping, the first to know will be New Zealand, at 6:00 A.M. their time and 11:00 P.M. Friday in the Bay area of San Francisco. A great earthquake will shake the island nation, triggering an apocalypse that will roll relentlessly towards the United States.

The rolling destruction will reach San Francisco around 6:00 P.M. PDT. The saved souls will ascend to heaven, including those dead and buried, all other will remain in the fiery chaos that will overtake the earth.

There is no central meeting place for those who figure to be saved, Camping has instructed them to stay in their homes, hunkered down with their loved ones, listening to his radio messages throughout the day, which leaves me wondering if there will be any interruptions for commercial breaks, weather or news reports.

Living here in northeastern Wisconsin, I wonder, if I wake up Sunday morning, does that mean that I'm going to hell, heck? You know, if this Camping guy is right, we all could be in for a "heck" of a week-end and if he's wrong, well, then we'll all be in for a hell of a party.

We here at Chronicle headquarters will remain vigil throughout the next 60 hours or so and if things stop sometime Saturday, well..... 

DID GINGRICH "NEUTER" SELF?

DID GINGRICH "NEUTER" SELF?, (Frazer Chronicles)

There is one thing that Newt Gingrich and I have in common, our age, after that fact, the differences between us are infinite and unchangeable. Newt is a died in the wool conservative, making his ideas and mine oceans apart. Gingrich is an elitist, intellectual, narcissistic jerk with visions of grandeur and social entitlement reserved for a person of his lofty position.

I think his lofty opinion of himself is by far his worst trait and will ultimately prove his undoing as a serious candidate for the Presidency. People like me, and there are plenty, simply don't like Gingrich, his haughty attitude as the "answer guy" to every possible problem facing the country.

His domineer is an abrasive, over the top, in your face with no holds barred kind of debater, who is never wrong and does not take prisoners. He is by far one of the most undiplomatic politicians in either party in the past few decades. To say that Gingrich "has had issues during this political career" would be putting it mildly. Gingrich has had a volatile life, both professionally as well as private and there is much "baggage" with regards to his half sisters.

All of the above said, I still have had a grudging respect for the man because he said what he said and seemed willing to stand by it, for better or worse. Now even that honorable trait seems to have left the "Neutered one." On this past Sunday's Meet the Press, Gingrich scolded Paul Ryan and his much-touted Medical plan, as too "radical" to become law.

Hey, that's another thing that Newt and I can agree on, but sadly Gingrich is changing his opinion, bending to the tremendous backlash from the Republican party on his comments. Seems as if becoming president takes presidency over his opinions. I was under the impression that as electorates, we citizens wanted opinions from  possible candidates that were running for office, so that we could elect on those stated opinions and principles.

Staying in "lock-step" is, in my opinion,  one of the Republican Parties biggest problems, because all Republican ideas are not the best for the country, or even the party itself. As a nation, we need diversity, we need both Republican and Democratic ideas and principles. When both parties join together and work for the best of the country, it's when things get done, when great things can happen.

We here at Chronicle headquarters can only say, "Newton Gingrich, why did you neuter yourself?" 

IDLE MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING!

IDLE MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING, (Frazer Chronicles)

MY ACHING BACK,  (Frazer Chronicles)

Got back from "one" of my doctors a few weeks ago, worrying about a possible surgery on my lower back, not about the cost, "my wife has insurance," but about the consequences. Would I be laid up for a long period of time, would I be able to return to an active life, would I be able to care for my wife and dog, you know, the usual litany of concerns after major surgery, for a guy over.....50 might have.

I have had a bad back off and on my entire adult life, from my teen years on.  Over the past several months the pain has gotten progressively worse, forcing me to seek medical assistants. I can't figure out how, or why anybody would go to a doctor unless he absolutely had to. I don't hate the experience, the receptionists are cute and the doctors nurses and assistants are all fine looking, friendly and do a great job, not a nurse Ratchet among them. 

I thought that I had  an idea as to the nature of my back problems, what causes it and what I could do to alleviate the problem, little did I know how wrong I was. I set in front of a computer about 8 hours a day and figured my sedentary life style was a major cause of the pain, wrong. Exercising would help, it usually does for a multitude of aches and pains, but not in my instance.

Seems that I had a calcium build-up in my pelvic girdle, a thoroughly disgusting reference to a man's lower back.   I prefer to call my "pelvic girdle" a lower back problem, "caused by an old football injury,"  brought on by advancing years. Now, doesn't that sound better then "pelvic girdle."

My doctor, Brock Robinson, a very competent MD put me on a regiment of cold and then hot compresses, which did little good. I returned in less then two weeks, "I don't get along with pain very well, I'm a wimp." At that appointment, Doctor Robinson decided to inject my pained area and see if that worked.

Included in the procedure was the office visit, $125.50, (15) minutes, Fluoroscopic Guidance for Central Venous Access Device Placement, (x-ray) $$430.75, Injection Sacroiliac joint, $620.75 and Injection, Triamcinolone Acetonide, (Kenalog,), $32.00, a total of $1209.00 for the entire procedure. My wife's insurance company, of which Doctor Robinson is an affiliate member, paid a total of  $725.40, a little over half the requested amount.

According to the AMA price list for such a procedure was, on average around $1200.00, so my "medical staff,"  "I like that," charges for services rendered was about spot on. The entire procedure, including the office visit took under an hour to complete, good work if you can get it.

The reason for this Monday morning blog and the "idle quarterbacking" is elementary, how could a procedure that actually was a rather simple outpatient job, cost more then a thousand dollars? I don't understand. I mean politicians on the right side and those people with conservative opinions, seem to feel that raising health care prices lead directly to those people that are taking advantage of health care and the insurance companies that end up paying the bills.

Guess what, I have met very few people that are willing to visit a doctor because they like their physicians, miss them, or want to line their pockets with insurance money. People by and large make doctor visits because they need attention with some physical problems.  Rates are set, by location and payment is expected at the time of service. Whether the procedure is a success or not does not play into the scenario of payment, it's just pay.

If you are one of the lucky ones, the doctors office will submit the bill to your insurance company for payment. With ever procedure that either my wife or I have, we get a billing  statement detailing what was done, the cost and then the adjusted costs that the insurance company will pay. Without exception, the initial bill that we get states that the claim has been denied, giving the insurance company additional time to evaluate the claim.

We get at least three statements regarding the one medical procedure and finally they, "the insurance company" decides to pay the doctor. The system in place can be manipulated with relative ease, it relies on doctor honesty, with the patient as a back-up. Abuse of overpayment's, stated procedures that never happened and "padding" costs happen all the time, and go into the billions of dollars.

The worse part of the equation, at least in my instance, the injection didn't work, so now I'm in physical therapy twice a week, kinda like "sweating to the oldies." It's like I pre-paid for a roof job that leaked in the first rainstorm, oh well.....man the buckets.


OBAMACARE.....A GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER? (Frazer Chronicles)
Now we can all sit back and watch the political race that is beginning to heat up as the Republican party parades out their top candidates for the 2012 election. Sadly it's the same tired group that has marched in the past and there singing the same silly songs to their base. Tax cuts, no new taxes, government to big, strength in national defense, abortion control, rid the country of entitlements and put everybody to work.

I'm sure I've left a few out, but don't worry, I'm sure that some of my loyal readers will correct me as they often times do. I'm not a Democrat, a Republican, a centrist and for dam sure not a Teabagger, I swing both ways....."that doesn't sound quite right," what I mean to say is "I see value in both party ideas and wish that the parties could come together more often.



Whether health care is in the constitution or not, "of course it's not" every man, women and child in the United States has a right to access health insurance, and that right need not financially break any of them. It is as basic a right as the right to bear arms, or Americans freedom of speech and right of assembly.

On the one hand we boost of being the greatest country on the face of the earth, the leader in a democratic system of government and a leading protector of human rights. Are military might is second to none and we spread foreign aid, monetarily, all over the world, are engaged in two wars in foreign countries, yet can't successfully  medically care for the least of us, give me a break.

Obama care, the Presidents health plan, is going to cost us money, of that there is no doubt, only an idiot would argue that point, "guess we have some idiots in Washington." I'm not going to sit here and try and tell you that "I" have the answers, I don't. But I do have some observations that make sense, sense because they are correct observations.

Those that do not agree with my basic observations are, well.....completely over the edge and are either stupid, or ignorant to the facts. They are as follows:
A.  Mandating that everybody have medical insurance is not unique, how many states have mandatory auto insurance, how many states have seat-belt laws and was there ever a mandatory military draft in the United States?
B. Free choice of insurance carrier, give me a break, what difference does it make who covers your medical health care, as long as it works.
C. Governmental takeover conjures up the European approach in which the government "owns" the hospitals  and the doctors are public employees. However the law the Congress passed relies basically on the free market, it is true that government does regulate health insurers, but exactly which of my loyal readers feels that some sort of regulation isn't necessary, "see my aching back blog above."
D. Employers will continue to provide health insurance to the majority of Americans through private companies and that cost will continue to be built into the prices that they charge for their product.
E. More people will get health coverage, the law sets up  exchanges were private companies will compete to provide insurance for those that do not have coverage.
F. Government will not seize control of hospitals, nationalize doctors and the law does not include the Public option.
G. The law gives tax credits to those people who have difficulty affording insurance, so that they can purchase insurance from competing insurance providers, relying on the free market.

Critics cite significant increases in government regulations which requires adults to have health insurance and as Sarah Palin talked about "death panels" America has been pushed to understand the ramifications of the Obama plan. There will be a tax increase connected with Obamacare, it's impossible not to have increased costs, so what, other costs will be eliminated.

Whatever program is finally put into use, it has to cover "all" Americans, to do anything else would be un-American.


NICKOLAUS HARD WORKING, YA RIGHT, (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Kathy Nickolaus, the women at the center of the state Supreme Court election controversy and the focus of an ongoing state  elections investigation and a recount that will ultimately cost the taxpayers of Wisconsin a million bucks has done by far the smartest move of her professional career, she has remained silent.

She has let some of her constituents do the talking and out of that talk has emerged a rather strange pattern of a women either unwilling or unable to take either help or constructive criticism. As one public official put it, "Nickolaus came from a staff position at the state Capitol, where partisan politics and loyalty to the party caucus fomented team welfare. In public office, constituents are the boss.

According to some onlookers, Nickolaus never got past having to answer to any authority other then herself. She put up walls to protect herself and then put up walls to protect those walls. Her "go it alone" isolation attitude is responsible for her current mess. With the rest of the state finished with their recount, tedious ballot recount is still underway at the Waukesha County government building.

In the high-income, Republican-dominated Waukesha county, where officials tout its financial and service superiority, Kathy Nicholaus' blunder with the election count has given the county a black eye under the glare of the national spotlight.

There have been other errors during Nickolaus' tenure as County clerk, although none as big as her April gaffe involving the state Supreme court race when her tabulation of ballots gave a Democrat, JoAnne Kloppenburg the win by 204 votes over incumbent, David Prosser.  Although she discovered not counting more then 14,000 votes, she delayed for more then a day reporting the miss-count.

Other mistakes during her watch, 2005 Assembly seat race, someone in  her office double-counted votes, also in 2005 in a special election for county executive, sample ballots she submitted to area newspapers as legal notices showed the ballot marked for one of the candidates.

In 2006 her office briefly showed the wrong candidate winning an assembly seat after one municipality reversed columns. In 2007 the unofficial outcome of a very close school board race reported by the county clerk was later reversed because a few deciding votes cast on a touch-screen machine weren't included in the initial total.

The Waukesha county clerk is not a trivial position, it pays $67,787 a year carries all the benefits and medical insurance associated with almost any administrative job. In addition the Nicholaus' own and operate a fishing and bait shop, and the county clerk fills in on Saturday nights as a bar tender near her home in Genesee.

I said it before and I'll say it again, "Kathy Nickolaus needs to go." She has a track record of miss-steps in other elections and the topper would seem to be the past April election miss-count, omission, mistake, bone headed practices , or whatever you might want to call it. I guess some state taxpayers would call it "unnecessary expense" by a clearly inept administrator. We here at Chronicle headquarters can only lament, "don't let your bait shop go and ask for more hours at your tavern job."