Jul 302012
 

I’m still a bit woozy from medications and am still in some pain, but nothing major.  I’m current with replies.  Tomorrow I have an appointment with a Urologist, so what I can get done blogging remains uncertain.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:46 (average 5:02).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: Ann Romney: ‘We’ve Given All You People Need To Know’

 

When I posted a cartoon about this, Republicans claimed that she really did not say YOU PEOPLE, the 1% term referring to inferiors.  Any questions now?

From NY Times: Wrapping up a two-year investigation of for-profit colleges, Senator Tom Harkin will issue a final report on Monday — a voluminous, hard-hitting indictment of almost every aspect of the industry, filled with troubling statistics and anecdotes drawn from internal documents of the 30 companies investigated.

According to the report, which was posted online in advance, taxpayers spent $32 billion in the most recent year on companies that operate for-profit colleges, but the majority of students they enroll leave without a degree, half of those within four months.

We’re not talking about legitimate universities here.  These are the ones you see on late night TV with spiels like ‘Become a Brain Surgeon or Rocket Scientist, even if you’re so stupid you watch Faux Noise.’  I suppose you can guess which party opposes regulating their predation.

From Business Week: President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul will shrink rather than increase the nation’s huge federal deficits over the next decade, Congress’ nonpartisan budget scorekeepers said Tuesday, supporting Obama’s contention in a major election-year dispute with Republicans.

About 3 million fewer uninsured people will gain health coverage because of last month’s Supreme Court ruling granting states more leeway, and that will cut the federal costs by $84 billion, the Congressional Budget Office said in the biggest changes from earlier estimates.

Republicans have insisted that "Obamacare" will actually raise deficits — by "trillions," according to presidential candidate Mitt Romney. But that’s not so, the budget office said.

Republicans have been lying about Obamacare from the start, and I still say it’s a good step in the right direction toward a single payer system.

Cartoon:

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  11 Responses to “Open Thread–7/30/2012”

  1. 4:20  Not even close today.

  2. Puzzle — 4:01  I've definitely gone to the dogs.
     
    MoveOn — I heard it correctly the first time, and what I also heard, were not just the words, but the 'down your nose' tone of voice.  If they threw out Ann Rmoney to do damage control, she failed miserably.
     
    I saw an article in Newsweek that, although not about Ann Rmoney, is a good memory tickler about Rmoney.  Here it is.
     
    http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/07/29/michael-tomasky-a-candidate-with-a-serious-wimp-problem.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=exclusive_breaking_news&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bexclusive_breaking_news&utm_term=Breaki
     
    NY Times — Wasn't it PT Barnum who said 'There's a sucker born every minute!'?  Usually these ads make fantastic claims of jobs and money if you take their course.  They also do (or at least did) a lot of advertising in magazine inserts.  And they are such rip-offs!
     
    In BC, we had a problem with this and 'schools' going bankrupt leaving students in the lurch.  Now, in order to offer and advertise courses in BC, a for-profit educational company must be registered with the Private Career Training Institutions Agency, a crown corporation responsible to the Ministry of Advanced Education.  It's goals are:

    establishing basic education standards for registered institutions
    establishing standards of quality for accredited institutions
    managing the Student Training Completion Fund (STCF) which is used to refund

    While the system is not perfect, I have not heard of any companies going bankrupt as used to be the case.  Other provinces such as Ontario also have similar legislation and regulation.
     
    Business Week — "Republicans have been lying about Obamacare from the start, and I still say it’s a good step in the right direction toward a single payer system." — Was there ever any doubt for those who actually took the time to look at the ACA with non-jaundised eyes?  The sentiment of Neil Armstrong's now famous declaration rings true in my mind — "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!"  The Canadian universal healthcare is not perfect, but it accomplishes a lot that the American system does not.
     
    Recently, I saw comments from an American deriding the Canadian system because of wait times.  I can only conclude that this person has gold plated US coverage.  My response was to ask about all the people that did not have healthcare and the expense of the monthly premiums.
     
    Cartoon — AMEN!  I think it is time to torpedo the Republican/Teabagger party into oblivion on 6 November 2012.
     

    • The cat handles that dawg!! 😉

      Exactly.  Excellent article.

      I hope that's not true.  That would be 60 new Republicans per hour. 🙁

      I fully agree.

      Amen!

  3. July 30, 1974 is also the anniversary of the House Judiciary Committee passing the third and final Articles of Impeachment against Richard M. Nixon.  The three Articles of Impeachment were Obstruction of Justice, Abuse of Power and Contempt of Congress.
     
    It was five days earlier that Rep. Barbara Jordan gave her "Opening Statement To The House Judiciary Committee for Proceedings On The Impeachment Of Richard Nixon" – and I can still her perhaps most famous line:
     

    My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total. I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.

    • But the destruction of the Constitution, except as a piece of paper to wave, is critical for Republicans to achieve their goals.

      Thanks Nameless. 🙂

       

  4. Ann Rmoney is an elitist and always will look down her nose at us, the rabble.
     
    The SEC keeps on investigating these for-profit, on-line "universities. What's taking them so long to find the crooked dealings?
     
    In regards to the HealthCare reform, the RepublicanTs lie about everything else, why would you expect the truth out of them about this?

    • True.

      Two things.  Republicans are burrowed into the non partisan jobs and Republican Senators are blocking appointees.

      No.

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