Well, At Least It Wasn't a Government-Funded Study...

A survey by Church and Dwight Co., Inc. (maker of Trojan, uh, sexual health products) indicates that about half of all Americans use vibrators:

About half of American adults indicate using a vibrator, according to a new survey that sheds light on acts that take place beneath the covers and behind closed doors.

And while vibrators are often hidden in sock drawers or beneath the bed, the study results suggest their use is a sign of a positive and healthy sex life.

Boy, I bet Billy Mays could have sold a boatload !

Who knew?

Larry's Packing His Gear for Spokane !

I can’t believe it has been a year, but it is time again for Delaware’s own Rolling Sportsman, Newark resident Larry Binger, to be heading out to the National Veterans Wheelchair Games.

This is the 29th anniversary of the games, which will take place in Spokane, Washington from July 13th through the 18th.

Last year, Larry brought home the Gold Medal in the trapshooting competition, and the Silver Medal in archery. He was also honored by being read into the Congressional Record by Congressman Mike Castle.

This year, Larry Binger will again be participating in the trapshooting, archery, and bowling competitions. I know he has been training hard.

Let’s hope Larry brings some more gold back to Delaware this year !

Good luck, dude ! Your State is proud of you !

Say It Ain't So, Mike

From Political Wire today:

Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) -- who may run for U.S. Senate, re-election or simply retire -- made a curious comment picked up by Philadelphia Business Today.

Said Castle: "They've asked me to run for the Senate as a Republican. I don't know if I'm going to do that."

Is Castle, a lifelong Republican, also considering a possible party switch?

I call bullshit.

To Congressman Castle Re: H.R. 2454, "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009"

Sent this morning to Congressman Castle's website:

Dear Congressman Castle,

I would like to express my total and vehement opposition to H.R. 2454, the boondoggle of a bill oddly titled the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009”.

The fact that it is now over 1,000 pages and is being suspiciously fast-tracked by the House leadership is enough to give one pause. There is absolutely no way that anyone, not even a speed reader, could possibly read let alone digest the contents of this legislation and reflect upon all of its possible ramifications.

As Northwestern University law professor James Lindgren has noted:

“Recognize that the cost of the cap-and-trade system far exceeds the tax collected from those who are willing to pay the money just to exceed the limits set by the government.

The businesses that do not buy indulgences face the cost of the restrictions themselves.

If Obama succeeds in his quest to reduce carbon emissions by 83% by 2050, American business will be destroyed. Manufacturing in the US will essentially disappear to countries that do not have anti-business, anti-growth policies, mostly in the Far East.

It would be hard to imagine a government policy that is likely to be more destructive of jobs and economic growth than this one.”

The debate on the necessity of this bill as well as its economic implications is far from complete.

Thank you for your consideration of my views.

Sincerely,

Shirley Vandever

(Note: the link to James Lindgren's article could not be provided in the e-mail form to Congressman Castle, but I am providing it here reference)

These Weird Internet Tubes Are At It Again: Chautauqua

Once again a weird confluence of coincidences (or are they?) in these internet tubes has allowed me to discover new things, opened up a new concept, and smile in wonder at how seemingly disparate events can come together in a matter of days from the most unusual and unlikely of places.

They are amazing things, these internet tubes.

It was only two weeks ago that I came across the book Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford. I wrote about it in the context of a recent riding experience we had, where all those shop classes came in handy (along with a bit of biker ingenuity and dumbass luck). That this hit home with some people was evident in the comments. One commentor mentioned how much influence another book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Robert Pirsig, 1974) had on him.

This comment quickened my heart, as I knew I had a dog-eared copy of Zen somewhere. I found it, and started reading it (again).

Reading on the train, it all came back to me why I loved it so. There was one point where I made a mental note to myself to look something up because I had never heard the word before. It was stuck like a little post-it in the back of my mind. On page seven, Robert Pirsig writes:

What is in mind is a sort of Chautauqua --- that’s the only name I can think of for it --- like the traveling, tent-show Chatauquas that used to move across American, this American, the one that we are now in, an old-time series of popular talks intended to edify and entertain, improve the mind and bring culture and enlightenment to the ears and thoughts of the hearer. The Chautauquas were pushed aside by faster-paced radio, moves and TV, and it seems to me the change was not entirely an improvement. Perhaps because of these changes the stream of national consciousness moves fster now, and is broader, but it seems to run less deep.

I had never heard of Chautauqua, but in the mind-numbing experience of reading on the train I kind of glossed over the term and just kept reading.

This is where it gets weird.

Just today, Mike Mahaffie wrote about the Chautauqua Tent Show in Lewes. Good Lord, I think I belong in Lower, Slower Delaware sometimes because it is an event like this that is right up my alley. It is one of those things that just makes you smile and that little sticky-note in the back of my mind lit up.

It was what Robert Pirsig was talking about. About how his journey and the story he wanted to tell was like a Chautauqua.

So, all of these random events on the internet tubes kind of came together, and isn’t it funny that it ended up in Delaware. There is no rhyme nor reason (or is there?).

It kind of inspires one to make a Chautauqua of one’s own.

I believe I will.

Put This in the "I Wish I Had Said That" Category

Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame opines on the nature of blogging in an interview with The Atlantic:

More seriously, I find that there are a lot of very interesting and well-informed people on the Internet, but that they tend to be drowned out by the obnoxious trolls. That breakdown in civility -- or even in serious debate, since trolls never really debate, they just shout -- is a more serious threat than "cocooning." With cocooning you avoid people who disagree with you; with trolling you notice them but write them off as unserious. The latter, I think, is more dangerous to democracy.

I wonder if the very nature of the medium is part of what causes good people to throw up their hands at the futility of it all.

It will evolve, I am sure into something else. Whether it will be better not is yet to be known.

From the Inbox: Paralyzed Veterans of America Calls for Protest of Elsmere VA Hospital Staff Cuts

From the Colonial Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America via Delaware's own Rolling Sportsman, Larry Binger:

ATTENTION ALL VETS

PLEASE SHOW UP ON THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2009

IN FRONT OF THE ELSMERE VA HOSPITAL AT THE FLAGPOLE, 11:30 A.M.

WE ARE PROTESTING THE MAJOR CUTS IN HOSPITAL STAFF AND PERSONNEL

SOME ELECTED OFFICIALS WILL BE PRESENT AND WE NEED AS MANY VETS AS POSSIBLE TO SHOW UP !

Thought for the Week - The River

"...the stream of national consciousness moves faster now, and is broader, but seems to run less deep.

...

There are eras of human history in which the channels of thought have been too deeply cut and no change was possible and nothing new ever happened, and "best" was a matter of dogma, but that is not the situation now. Now the stream of our common consciousness seems to be obliterating its own banks, losing its central direction and purpose, flooding the lowlands, disconnecting and isolating the highlands and to no particular purpose other than the wasteful fulfillment of its own internal momentum."

- Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

The word of the day is: PSHAW !

My Mom never really taught me how to cook. I think that is because she really didn't know herself. She pretty much threw things together by instinct, and everything was wonderful (except for eggplant, which I never had a taste for, but for people who like eggplant I'm sure it was good).

It has been said that pastry is a science, while soups and stews are an art. I guess I must be more of an artist than a scientist. I love things that simmer, but can't make a good pie crust to save my ass.

Today was the perfect day to make some sauce. Gloomy and rainy. A nice time to have something simmering on the stove like my Mom always did.

There is no “recipe” for sauce (or "gravy" as the Italians say), that’s what makes it special. You throw in a little bit of this, a little bit of that. You stir and simmer and let the place fill up with the awesome aroma. You piddle and fiddle, chop and drain, stir and taste. Making good sauce involves discipline, because no matter good it smells, you know it takes hours and hours before it is really ready. Usually the next day is best, but we can’t wait that long.

First, fry up a bunch of sweet Italian sausage, pricked all over, then sliced up, sizziling in the pan until it is really groovy. You will know. Two pounds you say? PSHAW ! Heh, three pounds, and what won’t fit into the pot at its appointed time will be munched on as appetizers:

While the sausage is draining on paper towels, in the same pot simmer your onions. It MUST be in the same pot, as that is where all the goodness is (toss in some olive oil, which makes everything taste like it is from heaven). One cup of onions you say? PSHAW! At least two cups:

Add your green peppers and mushrooms. How much you ask? PHSAW with measuring !

Add the plum tomatoes (alas, canned variety), then some parsley straight from your apartment-garden:

Then some fresh tarragon and oregano, fresh cut from said apartment garden:

Throw in the sausage and previously-cooked hamburger. Then a cup of red wine. A cup, you say? PSHAW ! Throw in as much as makes you feel good:

Now, the waiting begins. Ahhhhhh, the smell is wonderful. Stirring now and again, letting the whole wonderfulness of the sauce fill the air.

So, I'm remembering my Mom and her simmering. Here I am doing the same thing. No measuring, just instinct. Like mother, like daughter, I guess. I'll find kind of pasta somewhere in these here cupboards and we'll have a nice meal tonight.

Thanks, Mom.

T-Shirt Seen Over the Weekend

It said:

I'd Rather be Waterboarding

Heh.

Another Result of the Stimulus Act: Light Blogging

The organization I work for is the fiscal agent for $6.7 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in Philadelphia for workforce development.

The funding is an increase to existing (formula) funding under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The purpose of this Act, is to (among other things) promote skills training in high demand occupations for unemployed and underemployed individuals.

I am part of a team that is responsible for evaluating the 50+ proposals that were submitted. They vary in size from 1 to 4 inches thick ! It is an arduous, tedious, and time-consuming task, and one that I take quite seriously.

With a tight deadline and subsequent followup, there will be light blogging over the next week or so.

Sure Glad This Bimbo Isn’t In Charge of Anything Important !

March, 2007

Governor Palin Unveils the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act

Governor Sarah Palin today unveiled the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA). The Governor’s gasline bill heads first to the Legislature to begin the public review process.

“We must move a gasline forward as expeditiously as possible. We need low tariffs to maximize the returns to Alaskans. We envision an open access line so new fields will be explored and new reserves developed and shipped through the line for decades to come,” said Governor Palin. “I am confident that this vehicle, the AGIA, gets us there and gets us there quickly, but ALWAYS with the best interests of Alaskans in mind.”

June, 2009:

Historic Agreement Moves AGIA Forward Governor Applauds Private-Sector Alignment

TransCanada Corporation and ExxonMobil announced today they have reached terms on a gas pipeline development agreement. TransCanada and ExxonMobil have agreed to work together to progress the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) Gas Pipeline Project.

AGIA was created as a commercial vehicle for advancing the Alaska gas pipeline project through the first stages of development of what will be the largest private energy project in the world. "In a volatile world with growing energy needs, the time is now to develop Alaska's valuable resource for the environment, economy and national security,” Governor Palin said. She further described this historic announcement as “very encouraging and exciting, but certainly no surprise, because AGIA was crafted to allow just this type of commercial alignment to take place.”

For the State of Alaska and Alaskans, the owners of the North Slope’s world-class hydrocarbon resources, this event represents progress on this long lead-time project. Once construction begins, Alaska will experience economic growth not seen in over a generation, including potentially thousands of jobs created through construction of an open-access pipeline, as well as significant revenues generated from the production and sale of the gas.

I wonder how many jobs this will "save or create"?

I can tell you one thing: they'll probably be able to count them.

Enzyte May Not Make Your Penis Bigger, But the Promoter is Shaking His Dick at the Government

Remember Smiling Bob and the Enzyte commercials? I really miss them, and am disappointed that the claims were apparently not true. Ah, well. The commercials really cracked me up.

But the promoter of this impotent product, Stephen Warshak, is in the middle of fighting against a violation of his Fourth Amendment right in Washak v. United States. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed an amicus brief.

From EFF:

During its criminal investigation, the Department of Justice illegally ordered defendant Stephen Warshak's email provider to prospectively "preserve" copies of his future emails, which the government later obtained using a subpoena and a non-probable cause court order. The government accomplished this "back door wiretap" by misusing the Stored Communications Act (SCA), which is only supposed to be used for obtaining emails already in storage with a provider.

In Wednesday's filing, EFF argues that the government's seizure violated federal privacy laws and Warshak's Fourth Amendment expectation of privacy in his email. As a result, the illegally seized emails should have been suppressed by the district court where Warshak was tried. All told, the government acquired over 27,000 emails spanning over six months from Warshak's email provider, all without probable cause.

"The Justice Department not only violated the Fourth Amendment and federal privacy statutes but its own surveillance manual when it conducted this 'back door wiretap' to intercept six months worth of emails without a warrant," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "Thankfully, this abuse has given the appeals court yet another opportunity to clarify that the Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of email against secret government snooping, even when it's in the hands of an email provider."

The EFF article cited also has a link to the brief (PDF) which is worth reading. It is also a bit scary. It states that not only did the government not obtain probable cause before seizing Mr. Warshak’s e-mails, it also violated the very provisions of the Stored Communications Act (known as the “wiretap act”).

You may or may not think that Mr. Warshak is a reputable fellow (unless you tried Enzyte and it worked), but this case is important in defending our expectations or privacy when sending or receiving e-mail, as well as demanding that the government adhere to its own regulations.

This is one to watch.

Oh, and for old times' sake:

Read it if you Dare....

Forget the hysteria.

If you really care about health care, read the side-by-side comparison between the Kennedy-Dodd bill and the Democrats' health care bill. And I mean really read it.

That is, if you dare.

Lawsuit Filed for Violation of Bikers' Fourth Amendment Rights

I was wondering when somebody was going to do this.

Proner & Proner, Attorneys at law, have filed a Federal class action lawsuit in the Federal Court for the Northern District of New York against the New York State Police as well as New York State and county authorities to stop them from conducting motorcycle-only roadblocks near popular motorcycle events. Last year the New York State Police and county sheriffs stopped every motorcycle en route to twelve different events for "safety checks." With the riding season starting, the New York State Police expect to conduct up to fifteen motorcycle-only roadblocks throughout the state this year. The events targeted include Americade in Lake George, the largest motorcycle event in the Northeast.

Mitchell Proner, an active motorcyclist and personal injury attorney, is initiating the lawsuit on behalf of all motorcyclists. Mr. Proner said that the New York State Police "uses the pretense of safety inspections to delay and harass motorcyclists without any reasonable belief that any laws are being broken." Although courts have upheld DWI checkpoints as generally permissible, "These motorcycle roadblock stops are lengthy and do not address any legitimate safety concerns," according to Mr. Proner.

Good on 'em.

Shop Class as Soulcraft

It’s funny how these internet tubes sometimes actually hit on a real life nerve and something comes across that only just recently happened and you go, “Holy cow, man, that is so true !” I think there is some kind of karma in these internet tubes sometimes.

Via Instapundit today, I learned of the book Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford.

Remember the guys who were in shop class? Remember the guys who opted for trade school as opposed to college? They weren't the new-age cubicle-ready "knowledge workers". They had dirt under their fingernails, and depending on how old you are they might have worn black leather jackets and maybe even (gasp!) actually smoked.

Heh, I think my Dad, who just turned 79, was one of those dudes. He turned out alright.

Well, these guys (and I say guys, because that's what they predominately were) may have the last laugh. Author Matthew B. Crawford says in an interview with Popular Mechanics:

And the truth is that some kids who are very smart would rather be learning to build things and fix things, but they're being hustled off into office work. For me, the tragedy of this is a kid who becomes maybe a B or C student in college because he doesn't really feel like it's the right place for him, and then goes on to becoming a mediocre accountant. But that same guy might have become a crack mechanic because he's more engaged in what he's doing. There's a cost to this.

A comment to the Popular Mechanics interview is worth repeating in its entirety:

I'm in the military at a command where officers and enlisted men train and fight side by side. Many of our enlisted have degrees but to be an officer its mandatory. The leadership skills shown by our officers are bar-none the best our military has to offer. However, at the end of the day it's the sled dog that patches a leaky radiator or welds a broken gun mount back together that really keeps the war wheel turning. The guy who out of nowhere jumps in a nearby farmer’s tractor and pull’s your humvee out of the mud. He didn't go to a school to learn those things nor did the military train him. It was his life experience that gave him those skills. I have a degree myself but if it weren’t for the simple mechanical and electrical skills I learned in my youth, you can bet I wouldn’t be here to write this!!

So, what is this internet karma I'm talking about? This past weekend we had an impromptu ride into Amish country. Three bikes: Chainsaw and myself, Cowpie, and Angry Inch. It was a beautiful day, and we all needed the ride. We stopped at an A-Plus Mini-Market on Route 41 in Avondale. Once we did our business, we were ready to haul ass, but alas Cowpie's bike wouldn't start.

I'll let Chainsaw take it from here:

Cowpie's 1999 Road King was dead. No fire, no lights, nothing but a horn and the mileage display. We checked all the fuses, they were fine, took the kill switch/start button housing apart, everything looked good in there.

When you turned the switch on, the mileage would light up, but nothing else. I suggested that if we could get a piece of electrical wire, that I could jump the key switch and hot wire it. I looked in dumpsters for junk wire, and even walked across the highway to the Turkey Hill store to see what their meager automotive shelf had, which was nothing so, Me 'n Shirley rode back up the road a short piece to the CVS drugstore and bought a $5.00 extension cord, and cut it up and poked bared wire ends into the female portion that plugs into the key switch.

I got the headlights and the electric fuel pump to come on, but no starter. Next, I cut another piece of wire, bared both ends, split them apart but wound one end together and jumped all 3 conections and bumped the starter button and she fired up.

Now, this will only work on a Road King or an FX with a dash or a frame mounted switch, you're pretty much fucked if it happens to an FLH. He wrapped it all up tight with some electrical tape, slapped the dash back on, fired it up, an away we went to the Green Tree Inn. When we got there, Cowpie shut it off with the kill switch, then, he had to take the dash back off and jerk the wires loose so the battery wasn't running juice to the EFI, headlights, and the indicator lights on the dash.

We had a few brews then it was back to the Road King dash with the wire and the electrical tape. Contact! And away we went again.It never sputtered or showed its ass even hitting all those bumps and ruts on 896 up through Amish country.

All Cowpie needs to do is take the 4 bolts off of the back of the switch and see if it falls away from the outer portion and replace only that portion so he doesnt have to buy a whole new key and switch set-up.

Here they are thinking about it:



Here they are doing it:


Heh, and not a college degree in the bunch.

Now, if you've gotten this far, I find it safe enough to say that Chainsaw commented after the deed was done: "All those years beatin' off to Easyriders Magazine as a kid finally paid off !" Of course, he swears he only ever read that magazine for the "Tech Tips". Oh, and Miraculous Mutha. Sure.

The ride was not interrrupted.

There is something to be said about being able to do stuff. Real stuff that means something when the chips are down.

And I think that's what Matthew Crawford is saying, albeit much better than I ever could.

Eeeeeeeevil Corporation on Main Street USA

The news of Walgreens’ decision to stop offering Medicaid prescriptions in Delaware due to a cut in the state reimbursement rate caused quite a hubbub across the blogosphere. Kavips became nigh apoplectic…so much so, I feared for his/her health, but I have to admit that his/her righteous indignation was somewhat endearing in its predictability. Delaware Libertarian had another view, calling out the Markell administration for a hate campaign, and wondering if Walgreens might actually be right. The Mourning Constitution has a similar view, saying quite succinctly:

They opted out of a government program, and I will support any business that won’t feed off of the government tit. (You had to expect that from a Libertarian.)

Are any of these defenders of Walgreens rich? I think not. I know for sure that none of us live in Greenville. I would venture to say that despite different backgrounds, we are basically working (for now) slugs hacking away like everyone else.

A story.

Bob, who has been working for the same company for thirty years, was recently laid off. He will survive; he bought a reasonable home which is paid off, and though he and his wife may live a bit more modestly in the future, they will make it.

Throughout those thirty years, in good times and in bad, Bob dutifully contributed to his 401-K plan. His investment choices tended towards more conservative risk levels, with a portion in the middle range. Like most people, his portfolio has suffered a loss of almost 30% over the past year, so he will have less than he had planned, but he had never thought of his 401-K as the end game for his post-employment years; he has also been saving in a plain bank savings account, with a little in the mattress to boot.

Part of Bob’s 401-K portfolio was invested in Walgreens stock. Over the past five years, Walgreens has pretty much followed the general trend of the NYSE, not better but certainly not worse than the average price of stocks overall. There is heavy-duty competition out there, especially with Wal-Mart’s entry into the prescription drug business. Bob relies on Walgreens’ continued attention to its responsibilities to its shareholders so that perhaps over the next five years some of his portfolio may regain some of its recent losses. That would help to allay the pain somewhat.

Bob’s wife Mary has been running the household for the past thirty years. Although she did some volunteer and charity work, she never had a real “paycheck” kind of job. The kids are pretty much on their own now, and Mary is thinking that now might be just the time to start looking into her secret dream: getting a real job for a so-called real company.

Mary notices that there is a new Walgreens that will be opening up less than five miles from her home. She is going to apply for a salesclerk job, and after that, who knows? She has always wanted to get into management somehow. After all, she has been managing her household for over twenty years. This might be just the chance she needs to pursue a long-deferred dream. Maybe this is her time.

Food for thought. Make of it what you will.

Yikes ! Walgreens Will No Longer Fill Medicaid Prescriptions

Egad, I imagine this will adversely affect alot of people. From the Walgreen's website comes this press release:

As a result of new and extreme reimbursement cuts in the Delaware Medicaid program, Walgreens today announced it will stop filling Medicaid prescriptions in all of its 66 Happy Harry’s, A Walgreens Pharmacy locations enrolled in Delaware Medicaid as of July 6. Walgreens is the largest pharmacy provider in Delaware, operating in communities both large and small.

Under this new Medicaid reimbursement rule that took effect on April 1 and is due to become part of the state’s new fiscal budget beginning July 1, Delaware is arbitrarily and unilaterally reducing the price it will pay for brand name medications. This will severely impact the ability of pharmacies to fill Medicaid prescriptions in the state.

With this new rule, Delaware now has one of the lowest payment rates in the country for brand name and generic medications.

Kermit Crawford, Walgreens senior vice president of pharmacy, said, “We have made the decision, after much thought and care, to end our involvement with the state Medicaid program. Quite simply, we can’t continue to participate in a program that, in some cases, pays us less than our cost to fill these prescriptions. By making it uneconomical for pharmacies to continue filling Medicaid prescriptions, the state’s new payments to pharmacies hurt the very patients that Medicaid is meant to serve.”

The state could easily eliminate its Medicaid pharmacy budget gap simply by focusing on its generic dispensing rate at all pharmacies in the state. Each percentage point improvement in the generic dispensing rate would save the state approximately $1.2 million annually. As a low-cost, quality alternative to brand name medications, generics are good for patients, the state and pharmacies.

In addition, Crawford noted that Walgreens, in conjunction with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, had approached the state with a number of sound alternative strategies and programs that could help Delaware fill its Medicaid budget gap. Many of these alternatives were rejected, despite their successes in other states. None of these methods would adversely impact patient care, unlike the reimbursement cut.

“Delaware’s refusal to implement programs that we know can save millions of dollars and solve their budget difficulties while maintaining a high level of patient care is, quite frankly, baffling,” said Crawford. “We don’t understand why the state would pursue a path that is a lose-lose for the patients and health care service providers.”

Delaware’s pharmacy payment cuts also will have a negative effect on Medicaid recipients by limiting access to pharmacies, hurting those patients with the fewest options and who need the most assistance. Studies show that medications are effective at lowering overall health costs by keeping people healthy and preventing expensive hospital procedures, while comprising only about 10 percent of overall health care costs. With less access to pharmacies under this new program, it is likely that the state payment cuts will drive up other health care costs that represent the majority of health expenditures.

Crawford said, “We understand that Delaware is having difficulties balancing its budget, but we urge the Governor and his staff to reconsider this action and implement some of the very achievable cost savings measures that we have suggested. By doing this, the Governor can enhance patient care, rather than harm it. Other states have had great success with these measures. In the end, we need to keep the patient’s well-being top of mind. The new payment rates are misguided and hurt the people Medicaid was created to serve.”

I am at a loss to explain this. Certainly there are other areas of the budget less deserving than the Medicaid program which so many people rely on. I would like to hear the State's response to this.

International Whores Day Sparks Protest

The good ladies of the evening in New South Wales (NSW) Australia took the occasion of International Whores Day to protest outside of the parliament house.

Prostitution is legal in NSW, and like all good businesspeople, the whores need to advertise. One way is through newspaper ads.

Their beef? They are being overcharged. While other trades will pay less than $100 for an ad, the whores are being charged in the hundreds of dollars. Sex worker Ivy McIntosh says:

'I'm paying too much for a measly two inches."

If this is true, it sounds like a legitimate gripe to me. Business is business, and all should be charged the same rate for the same-sized advertisement.

In this case, size matters.

Bill Gates Going Galt?

It seems so:

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steven Ballmer said the world’s largest software company would move some employees offshore if Congress enacts President Barack Obama’s plans to impose higher taxes on U.S. companies’ foreign profits.

You don't say.

I wonder if these jobs will be subtracted from the "jobs created or saved" mantra that the federal and various state administrations are flippantly bandying about? All effects of these insane financial policies, both positive and negative, should be taken into account for true measure, shouldn't they?

He continues by saying that "fiduciary responsibility to shareholders would require Microsoft to cut costs, he said, meaning many jobs would be moved out of the country."

Microsoft employs over 56,000 people in the United States.

For now.

The Taxman Doesn't Giveth, He Just Taketh Away: In More Ways than One

The Internal Revenue Service has more than one way to take your money.

TaxProf blog reports:

After spending two years and $19.5 million to develop its new website, the IRS has canceled the project six months before its scheduled completion date.

Why? The answer seems to be that the agency is bereft of the concept of strategic planning. In a May 2009 report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, it is somewhat euphemistically concluded in typical government-speak that the agency is a bunch of bumbling dolts who can’t see beyond their own pensions (emphasis added):

The IRS uses the Modernization Vision and Strategy process to identify projects that need portal support. However, during our prior audit work and through recent discussions with IRS portal project personnel, we determined that the Modernization Vision and Strategy process has not yet matured to the extent that it includes all information technology projects. The IRS uses various methods to identify existing projects that require portal support, such as the Modernization Vision and Strategy Plan and Unified Work Requests; however, there is no formal process to continuously identify and evaluate future planned projects that may require portal support. As a result, the IRS currently does not have a uniform procedure to continuously identify all projects needing portal support. An interim procedure would assist portal office personnel in recognizing future needs and performing more precise portal capacity studies.

In any private enterprise, those responsible for this abject failure and waste of resources would be shown the door or demoted post haste, or the business would fail. Not so in the government, where business acumen and familiarity and adherence to tried-and-true industry standards for project management appears to be almost non-existent.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is charged with “promot(ing) the economy, efficiency, and administration” of the IRS, as well as detecting and preventing “fraud, waste, and abuse within the IRS”.

With over 100,000 employees (2008), the IRS is indeed a mammoth agency, and one would assume a department with such importance would be privy to standard life-cycle management concepts applicable for system enterprise development. Yet, in an October 2008 memorandum it is noted (PDF, 11 pages):

However, the IRS and its contractors could improve Program effectiveness and efficiency through closer adherence to established guidelines such as the Enterprise Life Cycle4 and its related processes, as well as the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Our audits found that the odernization Program did not consistently implement Enterprise Life Cycle guidelines, including project management and requirements management activities.

So, as you look at your paycheck and note those federal deductions that the IRS so dutifully absconds, er, I mean collects from you, try not to think about the fact that part of this money is paying for the same time of mismanagement, lack of foresight, and absolute waste that you or I would be heading to the unemployment line for.

About six years ago I was peripherally involved with the State (PA) in a major system project. A state employee in Harrisburg who was integral to the project confessed to me on the telephone, “You know, if we were in private industry we would be fired by now.”

Indeed.

My Friend Dee

I found out on Monday that my friend Dee in Philadelphia passed away last Saturday. I haven't seen her in about six years (she was a friend from a previous life), but her passing filled me with a sadness.

As I thought about her though, I also had to smile. She was ten years older than me. I first met her and her husband "Fat Jack" in the late 80's as part of the Delaware River/Chesapeake Bay boating scene.

I smile because she was one of the few women in the whole group I could stand.

Dee and I had absolutely nothing in common besides loving boating and having truck driver husbands. I think she worked in a factory for awhile, but for most of her life she didn't collect a paycheck. Ha, she was really into WWF and the whole wrestling scene, especially Hulk Hogan. I sometimes think she actually like the "villians" more than the "good guys".

Dee was an honest and good soul. She never made any assumptions about people, and I rarely heard her being gossipy or mean. Dee was a simple person, but she could shoot the barbs as well as anyone else. That came from spending most of her life living in the badlands of Kensington. She raised her family on one of the meanest streets in Philly.

For the past ten years, she had been suffering from Parkinsons, and she would shake and slur as she talked but it never held her back, and I never tired of talking with her. Her husband was dutiful in his attentiveness towards her. Roughly-hewn as he is, he treated her with care and tenderness, of course all the time calling her a "damn dago", as was his way.

I remember my husband teasing Dee that she had caught him in his boxers once and swore that she never got over it. She took all of that in good fun, and we laughed and laughed.

Thank you, Dee. Thanks for being my friend when I really needed one. Thank you for living your life and raising your children and just gracing us with your sweet smile for 65 years.

Godspeed, my friend.

SPROUL, DOLORES (nee Paravicini) of Kensington (Phila.) on May 30, 2009 age 65 years. Beloved wife of John "Jack" Sproul; devoted mother of John and Brian (Colleen) Sproul; also survived by one granddaughter Kayla and one sister Bea. Relatives and friends are invited to her Viewing Thursday morning 8:30 A.M. O'NEILL-BOYLE FUNERAL HOME, 'B' and Lehigh. Mass of Christian Burial 10:30 A.M. Visitation BVM Church. Int. Private.

Your Chance to Win a Breakfast at Libby's: "Scott Free" !

Congressional candidate Scott Spencer is hosting a series of "Meet, Greet, and Eat" campaign breakfasts. This will be your chance to meet the candidate and discuss the issues of the day. Each diner who attends a “Meet, Greet, and Eat” will be entered into a drawing to win a free breakfast….a “Scott Free” breakfast !

Learn all about Scott, a fresh face in Delaware politics, and get to have your say and ask questions.


Dates: Mondays in June (8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th)
Time: 7:00 AM to 8:30 AM
Location: Libby's Restaurant, 8th & Tatnall Sts, Wilmington

More "Meet, Greet, and Eat" locations will be announced in the future, but for the month of June, Libby's is the place to be for breakfast !

Be sure to visit the Spencer for Congress website and learn about the issues. His motto is:

"Redefining Politics, Redefining Public Service"

Isn't it about time, Delaware?

Pew Research Center News IQ Test

From The Agitator, a link to the Pew Research Center News IQ Quiz.

I got 10 out of 12 right, which is better than 69% of those surveyed.

Only 6% of the public got all 12 right. Sigh. If you look at some of the results after taking the quiz, it seems as though Republicans are a little more knowledgeable in most categories, but not by much.