DETAILS OF THE TAXES AND FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THE HEALTH CARE LAW.

A friend recently cited something that is in the Health Care Law. He said he knew or heard about the 1.5% tax on home sales to be paid by the seller. I hadn’t heard that. I had read much of the actual bill that was not one of the items that I could recall. Many friends have also told me about some items that are NOT in the law but they believe that these items are contained in the law. So, I did a little research and found a synopsis of all the taxes and fees on Kiplinger’s site.  Here is what I found out.
There are 13 taxes and fees associated with the Heal Care Bill. Some are ridiculous and are “so whats” such as the 10% tax on tanning services. These tanning beds can cause cancer so there has to be a price for vanity. Me, I am neutral on this, I lay by the pool, as I said, it is a so what!

There are tax credits associated with the law. Yep, I said CREDITS! This is a little complicated, but initially small businesses can receive up to 35% of their health care premium cost as a CREDIT. Later, that CREDIT can go to 50%. Now even though that the value of the health insurance an employee receives is on their W-2 form, it is NOT taxable. That can hurt business – how?

Play loose with the law regarding non qualified (I have no idea) distributions from health savings accounts (do you know anyone that has one?) then the fine is doubled to 20% (of what?). There is a cap on how much an employer can contribute to health care flexible spending accounts to $2500 per year, whatever that means. I do know that you can’t use these funds for Advil or any other OTC drug. Viagra, I am not sure.

Here is where it could hurt your earnings. ( it means having a job – a very well paying job) If you earn more than $200,000 per year or $250,000 for married couples there will be a .9% sur tax on the excess of the amounts stated. So, if you are earning $500,000 a year, your Medicare sur tax will be $2250, less than one half of one percent – that will stifle jobs, right, wrong!
There is actually more to this part of the bill that has high earners pissed off. It will apply to unearned income such as interest, dividends, capital gains, annuities, royalties and rents. Any interest that is tax exempt now will be then as well.

You will have to have 10% of your income allocated to medical deductions starting in 2013 rather than 7.5%. With the price of medications today, that increase of 2.5% to many will mean nothing.

A friend recently cited something that is in the Health Care Law. He said he knew or heard about the 1.5% tax on home sales to be paid by the seller. I hadn’t heard that. I had read much of the actual bill that was not one of the items that I could recall. Many friends have also told me about some items that are NOT in the law but they believe that these items are contained in the law. So, I did a little research and found a synopsis of all the taxes and fees on Kiplinger’s site.  Here is what I found out.

There are 13 taxes and fees associated with the Heal Care Bill. Some are ridiculous and are “so whats” such as the 10% tax on tanning services. These tanning beds can cause cancer so there has to be a price for vanity. Me, I am neutral on this, I lay by the pool, as I said, it is a so what!

There are tax credits associated with the law. Yep, I said CREDITS! This is a little complicated, but initially small businesses can receive up to 35% of their health care premium cost as a CREDIT. Later, that CREDIT can go to 50%. Now even though that the value of the health insurance an employee receives is on their W-2 form, it is NOT taxable. That can hurt business – how?

Play loose with the law regarding non qualified (I have no idea) distributions from health savings accounts (do you know anyone that has one?) then the fine is doubled to 20% (of what?). There is a cap on how much an employer can contribute to health care flexible spending accounts to $2500 per year, whatever that means. I do know that you can’t use these funds for Advil or any other OTC drug. Viagra, I am not sure.

Here is where it could hurt your earnings. ( it means having a job – a very well paying job) If you earn more than $200,000 per year or $250,000 for married couples there will be a .9% sur tax on the excess of the amounts stated. So, if you are earning $500,000 a year, your Medicare sur tax will be $2250, less than one half of one percent – that will stifle jobs, right, wrong!

There is actually more to this part of the bill that has high earners pissed off. It will apply to unearned income such as interest, dividends, capital gains, annuities, royalties and rents. Any interest that is tax exempt now will be then as well.

You will have to have 10% of your income allocated to medical deductions starting in 2013 rather than 7.5%. With the price of medications today, that increase of 2.5% to many will mean nothing.

Remember those GOLDEN PLANS that cover everything from rhinoplasty to breast enhancement, and the premiums are paid by an employer? That gets a real kick if the plan costs more than $27,500 for a family for a year. It is a 40% excise tax on the amount that exceeds the $27,500. Who generally gets these plans? CEOs making millions every year. This could be a real drag as the 40% could be as much as two start times  for foursomes at the country club! What a job killer!

We’ve covered one through ten – there are three more.

THE MANDATE. Here’s how that works for those of you that hate paying for someone else’s health care. Too bad we can’t get uninsured health care as we do for uninsured motorists on our auto policy (Mandated).  Starting in 2014 a minimum yearly tax of $95 is imposed or 1% of income rising to $695 or 2.5% of income by 2016. You don’t have to get insurance if the 2.5% is better than a plan that costs more. Here are some more MANDATES: You must have a passport to travel – costs about $100. You must have a driver’s license – cost about $25. You must have a gas shut off valve at your home – cost about $350. You must have a six foot fence if you have a pool – cost about $3000. Smog control and smog testing – MANDATE.  Nobody helps you with those costs! And even though there are no “declared” wars, you are mandated to register for Selective Service at age 18.

If you can’t afford the MANDATE then there are refundable tax credits if the family‘s household earnings are from $22,000 to $88,000 for families. Single tax payers can get a sliding scale credit based on income from $11,000 to $44,000.

The last of the 13 is the nondeductible fee charged to businesses with 50 or more employees that fails to offer adequate coverage. As I grew up my father, then me; we always had employer provided adequate coverage.  My dad was union and I was never union, but insurance was part of my employment. When I had employees I provided the coverage and I only had six employees at the time. That benefit helped me get the best employees.

I can see General Motors going out of business because they don’t want to provide health care coverage to their employees – Oh, yes, shut GM down because of health insurance? Health insurance is more than medical coverage. Train an employee, have them work for you for ten years and they get sick. What is more cost effective? Find another employee, train them to do the job, lose the productivity while they learn, OR make the employee well with adequate health coverage? I ask, which do you think is better?

Remember those GOLDEN PLANS that cover everything from rhinoplasty to breast enhancement, and the premiums are paid by an employer? That gets a real kick if the plan costs more than $27,500 for a family for a year. It is a 40% excise tax on the amount that exceeds the $27,500. Who generally gets these plans? CEOs making millions every year. This could be a real drag as the 40% could be as much as two start times for two foursomes at the country club! What a job killer!

We’ve covered one through ten – there are three more.

THE MANDATE. Here’s how that works for those of you that hate paying for someone else’s health care. Too bad we can’t get uninsured health care as we do for uninsured motorists on our auto policy (Mandated).  Starting in 2014 a minimum yearly tax of $95 is imposed or 1% of income rising to $695 or 2.5% of income by 2016. You don’t have to get insurance if the 2.5% is better than a plan that costs more. Here are some more MANDATES: You must have a passport to travel – costs about $100. You must have a driver’s license – cost about $25. You must have a gas shut off valve at your home – cost about $350. You must have a six foot fence if you have a pool – cost about $3000. Smog control and smog testing – MANDATE.  Nobody helps you with those costs! And even though there are no “declared” wars, you are mandated to register for Selective Service at age 18.

If you can’t afford the MANDATE then there are refundable tax credits if the family‘s household earnings are from $22,000 to $88,000 for families. Single tax payers can get a sliding scale credit based on income from $11,000 to $44,000.

The last of the 13 is the nondeductible fee charged to businesses with 50 or more employees that fails to offer adequate coverage. As I grew up my father, then me; we always had employer provided adequate coverage.  My dad was union and I was never union, but insurance was part of my employment. When I had employees I provided the coverage and I only had six employees at the time. That benefit helped me get the best employees.

I can see General Motors going out of business because they don’t want to provide health care coverage to their employees – Oh, yes, shut GM down because of health insurance? Health insurance is more than medical coverage. Train an employee, have them work for you for ten years and they get sick. What is more cost effective? Find another employee, train them to do the job, lose the productivity while they learn, OR make the employee well with adequate health coverage? I ask, which do you think is better?

Oh, I never found that 1.5% tax. That, like so many other myths that surround the health care bill, distort the facts. Everyone I ask hates the plan but loves what is in it. It is like watching your family taking a drive in a Yugo. Don’t like the car, but love what is in it. It will get you where you need to go.

That is my take on it - you decide!

WRITER’S BLOCK OR CTOS* – BUT THEN THIS CAME TO MIND

It is the 10^th year of remembrance of 9/11. My ideas may be crazy and off the chart, but facts of history do speak for themselves. That was a very tragic day and the loss of life will never be acceptable to any right thinking American or citizen of the world, for that matter. I want to honor those that fell that day and those that have fallen in the ensuing wars. By inserting some humor I am trying to say that we were not and are not defeated! They say that time plus tragedy is the formula for comedy – there is no comedy here, just some humor – as there is in all events.

I will sit for days thinking that I will never have another idea, opinion, philosophy or experience to write about that might engage a reader. Then it comes. I can’t tell you how many blogs have been written by me as the Ambien are kicking in. Decision time; get up and make a quick note and then try to go to sleep without the full effect of the Ambien or just doze off and hope that the idea has a shelf life of about eight hours.

In most cases either scenario works. That is how these ideas come. Someone asked so I thought I would tell. One came to me while shaving this morning. They were touting President Bush’s interview on some obscure channel regarding 9/11 and these thoughts popped up (along with my breakfast – too early in the morning for that kind of trauma). It was also dangerous because I was using a razor to shave, the kind with blades.

During the attacks on 9/11 George sat there in the Florida class room for seven minutes. Didn’t move a muscle. During those seven minutes he was debating  whether he should ask the smart kid in the front row, “What to do?”. He didn’t want to scare them so instead he looked like a startled deer in headlights frozen with fear. The deer at least has a look that asks, “What the f__k?”

Getting back to the ideas that have trouble coming, here is one set of ideas that came while the Barbasol was lathering my face.

Here is what I think GWB was thinking:

This is his stream of consciousness, if you will (he was awake – his eyes were open and looking down in the photo). I believe his first thought was, “OH SHIT.” His second was, “no not in these pants! I just had them cleaned. I will have to sit here until the spot dries!” His remaining thoughts went something like this:

Bet that guy Saddaam did it. He didn’t like my daddy, he tried to kill my daddy.  It was Saddam, even if it wasn’t Saddam. Condi told me something about an attack that was going to happen by Al somebody. That report was last month. Thought that Al was the guy that fixed her car- guess not.

Ok, who else could have done it? What , there were Saudis on those planes? I can’t say that, the royal family is family – they wouldn’t do that to me. Heck, the king spent time at my ranch. Wait, he could still be pissed because he stepped in some . . . nah we got it all off but it did stink for a while. These are kind people, the kind that like to beat their wives but they don’t ever try that on my momma or Laura. I would strongly threaten to kick their ass if they did or make them buy some cool weapons at some very good prices.

Osama ben Laden? No way. They are also family. The ben Ladens and the Bush families go way back. Heck we’ve been business partners for years. Ah, I do recall that they had a difficult son in the family. Nah, he wouldn’t do it – he swam in our pool, drank our coffee and snuck a beer every once in a while. He was a tall SOB!

So here is what we got to do: Get Dick to organize his old company so they can charge us extremely high prices for everything. Do a bombing raid on Baghdad- call it “Shock in the Box.” No that won’t do – awe shucks – I got it “Shuck and Awe!” Almost there --- SHOCK AND AWE, that’s it.

Let’s bomb the shit out of Iraq – even if the attack was carried out by Saudis. We will look for their Weapons of Mass Destruction. (W, like me, MD) Or, let’s pretend to go looking for them and anyone who says they ain’t there we will brand as being un- patriotic. Wow, I got the way to spend this country into economic ruin and then let the Democrats try to solve that problem.  I will declare that I am a dictator (as a joke, but I won’t be laughing).  No, he really wasn’t’ that smart!

That was a long seven minutes and I don’t know what was really in his head, if anything, but it lead to a  well concocted plan to screw the US for many years.

Speaking of seven minutes have you read the Sidney Sheldon book that describes seven minutes in another, more interesting way? Maybe that is what George was doing for those seven minutes, in either case, something got wet!

OK, Mr. President, we got to go and go - now! He thought, “Not till my pants are dry.”

That is my thinking – you decide!

*Can’t think of shit.

SINCE I WAS BORN

This is not exclusively about me. It is about all things that my friends, many of whom I haven’t seen or spoken with in decades have experienced – we experience these things together as we share the same generation. We all share this even though many of us are thousands of miles apart. And sadly, some of these friends that shared these events are no longer with us.

These series of thoughts were generated last evening over dinner when my wife and pined over the fact that our grandchildren will have to do exceedingly well in life to even approach their parent’s level of success. We have often heard that the generation of which I am referring to will be the first to not do as well as their parents. That is a two edged sword – we brought our kids up to succeed and they did. Did we set a standard that makes their situation with their children very difficult?

There are so many reasons for this. Part is what we experienced that gave us another world view. In my lifetime I experienced World War II. While I was a child could not fully understand the implications, I remember War Bonds that my parents bought to help out even though they were not of any wealth. I remember family members in uniform. I can recall my mother’s worry over her brother and her nephew – both serving in Europe. I recall asking what the stars on the windows meant. I recall being terrified of the answer.

I was nine when we went to war in Korea. That I do remember vividly and the TV speeches of President Truman. Our family just had our first TV installed! My friends, my family and my family’s friends were terrified of the draft. (Our government had and still does have a Selective Service where 18 year olds can be drafted into the military in time of need). Numbers like 1A and 4F were being spoken about daily. (I was a 1D because I was in the Army Reserve at the time I needed to register).

The draft brought the wars to our door steps. We all felt the impact of the war. It was real and it was in our houses, it was in our streets, it was in our houses of worship – the draft had people we know and were close to in navy blue, khaki or olive drab. The draft had a presence in our lives that did not turn off with the TV. And we knew some of the casualties of war, like the kid that delivered our groceries. But wars lasted just three and a half years at the most!

The next was Viet Nam. A war without reason that killed more than 58,000 young Americans – most` of them were drafted. WWII we fought Hirohito and Hitler. Korea it was the communists that wanted to overrun a peaceful country but we really didn’t know who or why we were fighting in Viet Nam. Selective Service cards got burned, rallies were initiated and a new word crept into our vocabulary, “deferment.” Some other guy got to fight in your place. Vice President Chaney sent five other guys to replace him.

After Viet Nam we had some peace until we stirred some crap up in South America. Remember Iran-Contra? What was evolving was a basic distrust of the government in the matters of war. They lied and we knew it and they know we knew it – but who cares. The draft was over. No one was going to protest – “hell no, we don’t have to go.”

Welcome to WMD, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. They lied and we knew it and they know we knew it – but who cares. The draft was over. No one was going to protest – “hell no, we don’t have to go.” Unlike WWII where it was illegal to profit from war, the opposite is now true. So, the very rich got very richer. The government decided to pay for the war with tax reductions for the ones getting richer and not budget the expenses. And there is no real end in sight. No protest. Makes sense – if you are nuts!

A  new guy comes into town and says we have to pay for these wars that kill people and cultures  and pay for other items that enhance our people and our culture. That makes sense until you hear how the richest of the rich or those that are supposed to represent them want us to pay for these expenses.  Raising revenues – no.  Creating infrastructure – no. Cutting military expenses – no.

They say that lowering the responsibility of those that can afford to pay and have the most to protect will enhance our ability to bring down what we owe.  That's nuts! So, what goes? Education – gone. College support – gone. Healthcare – trying to get it to go away. Social safety nets –about to go. Improved transportation – gone. All makes sense - if you are nuts!

Here’s the impact: When I went to college I spent nine semesters accomplishing what should have been done in eight – when courses became more demanding a four year program became five years. OK. My four and a half years, without books cost me about $231 in tuitions and fees – yes, books were extra.  Yes, two of those years were in a Community College. Until the Right came in to power school was basically free – that idea died with the Reagan era of 1981.

My kids got a great education for minimal cost, even out of town tuition was within reach of our budget – add living expenses,  that was within budget ,too. Yes, I had to get Stafford Loans, Pell Grants to make it – but they were there and affordable – not so much anymore.

My kids tell me they don’t know any different than what it is now. “It is what it is.” It is what it shouldn’t be. Since I was born my country was attacked twice – not one of my grandchildren were witness to either of these attacks.(Good thing) Since I was born we fought or are fighting five wars – I’ll bet that my grandkids and your grandkids under eighteen can’t tell you where we are fighting, or why. There is no public outcry - no draft – no “hell no we won’t go.” (Bad thing). The cost of these wars are creating a society that is exorcising everything we are supposedly fighting for. When these kids are ready to go to college will you or will they have the 1000 times what it cost then to pay now?

That is my take – you decide.

I AM TRULY A FAIR WEATHER FAN

Ok, I am a fair weather fan of the Dodgers – but in reverse. I love it that they are losing. Here’s the mind blower – because I like going to the stadium when they are losing. Did your head explode yet?

Let me explain: Vinny tells you how many people were at the game – that is actual tickets sold – not asses in the seats. That is how they report it. But the number of butts in the seats is considerably less than the tickets sold. It is reported that only 49% of these seats are being filled.  So, I buy the cheapest tickets I can get for that level and then sit where I want.

I love going to the park. The green grass, the organ music, the hot dogs and the ice cream, all make for a great day. I love the sound of the ball of the bat. I love the sound of the pop of the ball in the glove. I love sitting behind home plate when I actually paid for left field, near the foul pole, tickets. That can’t happen if they are winning. And the ushers let me do it!

When the Dodgers are losing I can see the best teams in baseball play against the Dodgers for the price of a very cheap Stub Hub ticket.  I can experience home runs, doubles and double plays. These experiences were very expensive before they were losing – now they are within budget and I can take grandchildren with me.  So we all experience championship baseball. But is the other team that is bidding for the championship. We are there to witness it.

What would four great seats behind home plate cost in Philadelphia? Even if they were playing the Dodgers? That is why people are losing their homes – to pay for season tickets in Philadelphia and other stadiums! But we can see the same teams play for a fraction of the cost because the Dodgers are losing. Go Dodger, or don’t go Dodgers.

Today it is Stand Up For Cancer day at the stadium. For the same low price we saw George Lopez and Tommy Lasorda along with some supermarket workers who were being honored.

I have gone to three Wednesday afternoon games this summer. The four tickets I bought were less than the price of one for that level. Parking is still expensive at fifteen dollars, but there are four of us in the car, so on average it is not bad. Then it is half price for food Wednesday. Believe me, it they were winning, hot dogs would be back at $5.50 but today, because they are losing, the hot dogs and everything else but beer is half price. My gandkids are all too young to drink beer and they don’t know how to get phony IDs yet. Love that losing record!

Since opening day 2011 Dodger Stadium is one of the most secure public venues in America. What happened that day is a shame and it will take years, if ever, for the Dodgers, to overcome that tragedy. Today,  going to the game is cheap and it is safe.

I walked up to an usher and pointed out that my three grandsons were sitting in the first row. I told him that they ran down to get those seats. The usher said that he hoped that they will get a foul ball sitting there. Now that is an usher attitude change! He never asked where my seats were actually at.

Let’s hope that the Dodgers can keep this record up for the next couple of years. I am counting on them to make my baseball experience at the park a continuing positive experience but they have to agree to keep losing. My formula for losing: Pitch Billingsley for six innings (he is only good for four) , put Loney in a clutch hitting situation (he can hit into a triple play for you) play Barajas every other game and continue to give Ethier ether. I may be too harsh here, but the record speaks for itself.

I just want to say, “Thanks Dodgers.” I appreciate your losing record – keep up the bad work.

Maybe I should come clean and tell you who I really root for. My favorite team is any team playing the Yankees that day. And since I can remember, and I can remember many years back, my all-time favorite team is the Boston Red Sox. When they lose I care!

They say that winning is everything. I kinda like when the Dodgers lose. You decide!

I HAVE BEEN HIT NEARLY 1000 TIMES

Ok, so Derek Jeter has 3000 hits. But it only took me 15 months to get close to 1000. At this rate I will reach 3000 much faster than Mr. Jeter. I just wish I was getting paid what he gets paid for each hit. Here is a statistical anomaly, I got nearly 1000 hits with just 30 “at bats.” I guess this where the analogy breaks down – but it was fun trying to make this work. Ah, let’s keep it going, one more shot: Some of my hits have been characterized as home runs, bunts, walks and even some strike outs. The goal, for me, was to get up to bat. That meant writing on some subject or idea was the goal not how far the idea would travel. And sometimes writing is also a therapeutic exercise, but the “at bat” still counts. I’ll get to more of about that later.

Watching the “hits” counter is very gratifying. It is like watching a stock go up – but unlike stocks, the hit counter cannot go down – so this is much better than watching stocks. In the “stats” area I can see how the blog site was accessed and from where and which of the blogs is getting the most reads.

It did take me a while to realize that the longer the blog has been published the more reads it will get, so the most read blog is the first one I wrote in May 2010. I can tell you that it was exciting and I really enjoyed kicking off Much Ado About Some Things. I discovered that posting is fun!

One of the blogs I posted was Who Reads This Stuff? I don’t have their names and addresses but I do know in which countries I am being read. At last count I have been read in 17 different countries. From Malaysia to Iran, from Malta to Latvia, from China to Kuwait – my words have been read. That is an ego trip. When I started this blog never gave it any thought as to who might read my stuff. It just never occurred to me that I would get almost worldwide attention. And, I only write in English!

I have been asked why I do I write a blog. I have advertising on the site. It is an advertising medium. And so far the income from the ads hasn’t been sufficient to cover the cost of the paper that I am typing this blog on. The point is that I do not do it for the money. The fun is knowing that you can get breast implants right here at Much Ado About Some Things. (If you want to buy something from Amazon log on to Amazon from here. You can open a bank account, get health insurance - if you can get health insurance- all from this site. You can buy some computer products as well.) As of now I have not seen a cent from any of the ads – so once again, I am not doing it for the money.

My photo is on the blog and so far I have had not one person come up to me and say they know me! Not even my kids. So fame, along with money as a motive is also out!

I like intellectual stimulation. I like to formulate thoughts and ideas and often I take an opposite position of my thinking to get some validation from the argument or acquire more points so validate my thinking. I do want to persuade with my writing, but it is not a paramount goal. I like providing some food for thought based on my point of view and my research. And yes, some of it is based on emotion. If I can change your mind, great. If I don’t, at least you know my thinking.

Writing is therapeutic. There was a time in my life that days were pretty bleak emotionally. So, when things got heavy, I took a break and stopped to write. I wrote how I felt, how I saw things and how I would like to see things. I wrote general reflections. It was an opportunity to express myself privately without having someone trying to reassure me. Sometimes you just have to get it out and that alone is reassurance. Recalling that positive outcome from just sitting down and putting words to paper (computer screen) I decided that while I don’t have the same emotional needs as then, it is fun to vent. So, why not do it again?

The exercise of writing is sufficient reward for the effort – but to be read nearly 1000 times in 17 different countries – that is special, at least to me. For all those reasons, and more, I decided to write a blog. I like what I write, now it s up to you to decide if you like what I write.

PS. I would really be remiss if I failed to report that the manager of my favorite Baseball team, the Red Sox, got his 1000th win today. Go Sox!

FACING LIFE’S DECISIONS

PART 1

It is one thing to make dire decisions for someone else. I know, I have had to do it many times in my life. They were never easy. They were always gut wrenching.

I had a pretty good idea of what those people that I made the decisions for wanted. Through many conversations that addressed issues, other than the life and death decisions I was able to create a fairly good idea of what they would have wanted. Sometimes they told you what their preferences were when faced with a similar situation but regarding someone else. These were days before “advanced directives” and “living wills.”

I can cite some examples of what I am talking about. Visiting my mother in ICU, when she was comatose, my late wife said to me that she would never want to be in that situation. The quality of life is more important than quantity. That was her position – and it never, ever waivered. Who wants to be remembered being tethered to tubes? She had very definite ideas about this subject and other related subjects. For example, attending a funeral she indicated that when it was her turn to go she wanted a view. Ironically, exactly one year to the day later she got her view. Her turn came too soon but when it did I was well informed and it made the decision process easier – not easy, it is never easy, just easier.

To make the process easier, she had a living will. At that time I believed in life no matter what. She understood my feelings so at the time so she appointed someone else to make those kind of decisions decisions if they needed to be made. Even though and in spite of the idea that I held at that time that life was to be maintained at all cost, I would have followed her wishes. I am not sure that that my idea of life being maintained was another way of saying I wasn’t prepared to let go –G-d knew I wasn’t!

My mother did not have any advanced directives so my father had to make the decision to create a DNR order for my mother. I witnessed how it tore him up. Fortunately, my mother succumbed without the need for the order to be invoked. Through the discussions we had, I now knew what my father would have wanted had it come to that. Again, he succumbed without the need for any directives. I knew where and how he wanted to be buried because we also had lengthy discussions regarding my mother’s internment.

I am about to have some surgery (this article will not be published till after I am out of the hospital). Today (June 28th) I spent the morning talking to admitting people, physicians assistants, anesthesia people, had an EKG and then tomorrow I finish my blood work (June 29th)before seeing my primary care physician to be cleared for the surgery. (June 30th). Just a week to go! Woweee!

Most of this is pretty routine except the seven page form entitled, Advance Health Care Directive that I was handed and instructed to bring to the hospital at the time of the surgery. My wife and I have Living Wills, but this is more specific. The questions that were asked really had me thinking and worse, disturbing my sleep. I had to make these decisions for myself. What do I want? First, elect someone to make these decisions based on the information that I specify on the form. Then it asks to name at least two other people if the first person designated can’t make the decision. The hospital realizes and knows that these decisions are gut wrenching even with the AHCD. So, unbeknownst to them, those people that I selected are elected and will find this out when and if the time comes – unfair yes, but I felt that these people could act out of love and understanding and I hope that in the event this it becomes necessary, they will act with love! Name two others just in case. Make sure they are not too anxious.

Then the form asks as you to determine when you feel that your life should be prolonged or when it should not be prolonged. How much pain do I want to endure? How much can I endure? I suggested that if the pain is so intense that pain medication be applied even if it hastens my death. This form is hastening my death.

I am sitting here filling out this form and I have to tell you that I am really scared sh-tless! I understand the need for such information. I have been there and I have done that – but for others – not me. I also understand that I want my loved ones to know what I want – I guess that is the most important part of this exercise. I am trying to not put the burden of decision making on anyone else but me – I am still responsible for me – even when I am not in a position to verbalize what I want. I guess this is my own version of the “Palin Death Panel!” I am a panel of one.

And lastly, do I want to be an organ donor? I said, “Yes.” But only for transplant and research purposes. Most of my parts are in good condition so why not! I have been an indirect recipient and beneficiary of organ donors and I cannot say no to anyone that will enjoy a longer life, a renewed life as a result of using my organs. I guess, as we say, it is a mitzvah. Even in death, you should try to do the righteous thing. Also, I am trying to pay it forward! I am hopeful that payday is a long way off.

Have I grossed you out? Need an antidepressant yet?

PART 2

I would say that I am being overly dramatic. I inherited it from my granddaughter who got an A in Drama last semester. And a grandson who is in Drama Camp this summer.

All went well. I am lucent and ready for the world once again. OK, I need to have device for picking up my clothes from the floor (wife doesn’t count), I have to wear a support brace – that is temporary, I need a good looking home health nurse to care for the surgical wounds. – but overall and all things considered I am doing great.

No, I haven’t thrown the paperwork away. It will sit in my safety deposit box until needed, if ever. It is there to reassure my loved ones that in the event of the need they have the information they need to satisfy my requirements, their needs and make my transition a seamless passing through one life to another.

Here is the positive side of this issue. No one has to guess. It is not that complicated. I want to be remembered in part as one who made everyone else’s life a little better. Hopefully, this will help - - - - along with a major inheritance. Since the inheritance IS NOT happening then the AHCD will have to do and the two hundred bucks you find in the socks, – hey, at least it is something! That is me – but when it comes to you, you decide.

HOW LONG IS TOO LONG?

Get your mind out of the gutter. This is not one of those e-mails that make false promises. I am talking about sports seasons. We are almost at the All Star break in baseball and the NBA finals just finished. I can recall watching the NBA Finals during Passover – that was in early April. I can still hear my mother lamenting that the soup is getting cold – turn off the TV. It was Lakers and Celtics – Passover had to wait!

Now the NBA winners parade almost coincides with local 4th of July Parades. That is a long season by any standard. They start with the pre-season games. OK, no-one really cares about the NBA pre-season. OK, the tickets to the games may be cheaper – but it is a “so what.” Come October first – the season is on! Let’s get excited and see who is going make the playoffs. Actually, it is who isn’t going to make the playoffs. That is the second season with almost all the NBA teams participating.

Now comes the first day of Spring and the NBA season is still in full swing. Almost six months from the start of the season and the playoff teams have not been determined as yet. Memorial Day marks nearly the end of the second round of playoffs. It is getting late in the year. All Star voting for the MLB is almost over and we are still in the NBA playoffs. My third installment of estimated taxes for the year is almost due and we are still playing basketball. These giants of men gotta be tired. It is eight and a half months of running up and down the court. I truly believe that it is not the best talent that wins, it is the last one standing that wins.

It is hard to get into the NBA season knowing that it is really the second season that counts. If the “Championship Season” was a little shorter – I may find more than passing interest. I save my energy for the playoffs! Maybe that is what is happening. They save their energy for the playoffs. Remind me to ask LeBron about that.

Now comes football. There is talk about expanding the season to 18 games. WOW! Less pre-season games in the summer – start the NFL season earlier, pay the players more (oh, that is still in negotiation). When will the season end? I remember Super Bowl being a January event – now it is played in February. The good news – the NFL season ends before the pitchers and catchers have to report for Spring Training. JUST before the players have to report. Of course, the NBA season is in full swing, so is Hockey. (Just a note: Hockey is a winter sport. The Stanley Cup finals are well after the NBA finals and it is almost July. A game being played on ice after the first day of summer, hmmm?)

The NFL season is still only five and a half months. The players need more recuperation and they need to train for Dancing with the Stars. The DWTS season is only ten weeks!

Baseball is another violator of the expected season. Since they went in to a playoff schedule to determine division winners, league winners and eventually the world championship the baseball season now ends in November! Wasn’t the World Series called October madness? Wasn’t Reggie Jackson called Mr. October? By mid October the series was done and won! Not now. I vision my mother yelling turn off the TV during Thanksgiving. But, Ma, it is the Red Sox and Dodgers (in my dreams).

Can you imagine playing on a field that had to be plowed to remove the snow along the baselines? I love baseball. My son loves baseball, all my grown children love baseball and their kids as well. But playing through Chanukah is a little much.

Is too much of a good thing a good thing? Not so sure. I would love to see basket ball end by April 30th. Baseball end by October 15th, and football by January 30th. Hockey is not my thing, so I don’t really care.

OK, I vented. I am a traditionalist when it comes to sports. I get a real lift February 15th when I see who reported for Spring Training. The weather is getting better, the days are getting warmer and I feel better just knowing the season is about to start. However, it is a little problematic not knowing when it will end.

What do I want for Christmas? Two tickets to tomorrow’s Dodger game! It could happen!

WRITTEN IN STONE – EVEN IN THE CLOUD

Ask Anthony Weiner – he’ll tell you that whatever you put into cyberspace it is there as if is written in stone! Can't erase it! Can’t change it though Palinites wanted to change history on Wikipedia. Put your face on Facebook, it is there forever. Go ahead, try to change your image on Facebook, the old image, the image you won’t want your kids to see, you can try to put a new image on, now they will both be there. Forever! And ever!

Imagine your grandkids seeing you about 30 years from now how you looked at the party –any party! When you are intoxicated you acted stupid. Just look at some of the postings! I will bet Anthony Weiner’s kids, whenever he has them, will Google or Bing him. I would love to hear the explanation – he is a politician – he will explain . . . and explain . . . . and explain!

The point is there is no privacy to be expected when you post on the internet. It is there for everyone to see and it is there forever. What can you learn about someone you don’t know but see their [pages, their tweets, etc? We can know where they vacation, who they work for, their marital status and if they are violating marital trust, who their kids are and of course who they associate with. We know their sports interests, their hobbies and we know more about these strangers than we would if they were our real friends without Facebook. With Tweets we can know the size of their . . . well, you know!

Is it all bad – of course not! The internet is an amazing tool to generate information about anything at any time. From history (that is not rewritten by Palinites), technical data, how to do certain tasks, where to call for further assistance, how to shop for the best price – the list is endless. But, when you shop, the potential for everyone to know where you shopped, what you bought and how much you paid and how you paid is there for all to see – if they want to see it.

Keep that in mind. The internet is like the modern town crier. Except this is a 24/7 worldwide blast of personal information. I post my blog to the internet so you can read my thinking on a wide variety of subjects. You pretty much know my politics, my adventures and my world view. That is OK with me. I never tweet, I only post photos that I would and do show to my grandchildren. I never admit to any wrongdoing (because I never do wrong!) and I never tell you about vacations before I go – only after I get back.

It is tempting to boast on the internet. Be careful, you are not all Anthony Weiners! Everything you do can become and often does become viral – it is the scope of the information that is the problem for most people. You send it you one, you send it to all! Look at You Tube – whether or not you understand, much of the video you see is severely edited, but it is on film and it is “fact.”

Finding people that you haven’t seen or heard from in years is great fun. But you have to ask yourself, why hadn’t you heard from these people in years? To they want to be seen or do they want to hear from you. My guess is they do – unless they owe you some money!

So, my advice is to use caution. Your stuff is there forever, for an infinite amount of time and available to an infinite number of people that wants to know whether they need to know or not. I understand that the US Government watches all this stuff - they say it is great intelligence. Use yours!

HEALTHCARE FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR – OR IS THIS A “YOU ARE GETTING SCREWED ANNOUNCEMENT?"

A letter to: Boxer, Feinstein and Obama. We received a letter from Anthem Blue Cross last week that in essence says that you have no health insurance security at all - even if you are current with all your premiums. The letter code is HCID:339A63055, Contract Code: 7889. In reading the five page document it makes it clear that Blue Cross/Anthem intends to stop writing and stop carrying individual health plans in the near future. In fact, it is quite clear that this is their intention as they are providing you with a list of time frames in which your coverage will disappear. Is this a result of the new Healthcare Law? If so, what are you doing about it? What are you doing about this? I am sure that all the others will follow suit and this is happening under your watch. A prompt reply with specific actions is requested - no, demanded!

That e-mail was sent today, Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend. I am sure that the government takes time off, except when the GOP doesn’t want recess appointment (that is another blog at another time). However, I expect that Boxer, Feinstein and Mr. Obama are working anyway – this is a big country to run.

Is this Blue Cross letter is a result of the new Healthcare Law? What this going to happen anyway? Is this the best case for a single payer system? Would citizens get this kind of letter from a universal  Government Medicare Program? It couldn’t happen. It wouldn't happen!

We know that private insurance premiums are on the rise as are deductibles and the negotiated rates are decreasing. So, the insurance companies are charging more for which they are paying less. The CEOs are taking record breaking bonuses and salaries. Even Blue Shield’s CEO is getting in excess of $4MM a year and Blue Shield is a non-profit corporation.

So, when you get the 180 day notice to find other coverage (prior to the law governing pre existing conditions exclusions taking effect) you are screwed. You paid your premiums for years, the insurance company knows all there is to know about you and will be glad to share that data with the Medical Information Bureau – you are screwed! Who is gonna want you – at any price or deductible or stop gap? Forget it. Blue Cross is number one in group policies – if you are an individual you are screwed.

But, our Tea Party friends, who will be getting just as screwed, do not want any safety net such as Universal Healthcare. No, can’t have that because that is socialism – or is it? It is part of the social contract that the government  has with its citizens, you and I, is to support the citizen’s right to the pursuit of happiness. Can’t be happy if you are not healthy or not getting healthcare.

We can talk about all the abuses, we can talk about all that it is wrong with Universal Healthcare, when push comes to shove, it is still better that what we have. The Canadian system is terrible until you talk to a Canadian. The system in England is very bad until you talk to a Brit – they all think Americans are nuts when it come to healthcare! I heard the rhetoric so I asked many friends in Canada, I called some in the UK and they all said the same thing – America has the best technology but the worst delivery systems for that technology. So, they feel that access is the best when it is available. The long waits that we hear about. True, but that is in areas and towns where there are limited facilities – much like we have in Texas, central California, the Dakotas, etc.

So, what is the point? We have an opportunity to tell our government that enough is enough. Medicare for all – it works and will work forever when healthier citizens are paying into the system, not just covering the oldest, least healthiest part of our population. That would be the best group plan ever!

You decide!

WHO READS THIS STUFF?

When I started to blog about 11 months ago I asked myself some serious questions: 1. Who reads this stuff? 2. Do I have anything worthwhile to say? 3. Does that matter? 4. I am I doing it to just vent? 5. Am I feeding my ego? The answer to questions 2 through 5 is “yes.”

Before I get into the last four questions I must answer the first one. The answer to the first question also addresses question number five as well. In looking at the “stats” page for my blog (actually having stats is an ego builder) I found some interesting facts. Some I never would have imagined. While I am not getting an abundance of hits as The Huffington Post does, I am getting a small share. Here is the fact that kind of says to me I do have something to say. My blog, Much Ado About Some Things has been read on four different continents. Readers as far away as China have read my blog and there are more than one. I publish in English only.

Going the other way, my blog has been read in Iran, also more than one. England, Canada, Germany, South Korea, Russia , Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all have readers of my blog. Wow, I am influencing the world! Now, that is an ego builder of the highest order.

To some friends and family I often e-mail the blog. I am sure by now some of them have directed these e-mails to the Junk Folder. I hope not. Yes, I post it on FaceBook. But all my friends are in the United States with the exception of a couple. China does not have FaceBook. I can’t speak for Iran, Russia or Kuwait. I guess my blog is read worldwide and I am also hopeful that my readers are getting a glimpse of our culture through my words. So, now I know who are reading this stuff or at least where they are reading my stuff. As to who specifically, I have no idea. So, question number one is partially answered.

Question two is easy to answer – YES. I have a lot so say. Some people over the years have labeled me opinionated. I guess I have earned the label. But as I grew older my opinions change, become modified, less harsh and, I believe, well thought out. I do my reading and research, so my opinions, in my opinion, are well educated opinions. Expressing myself makes what I have to say worthwhile. If I change one person’s idea on a subject or give them some food for thought or even help them firm their own opinion up, it is a worthwhile effort.

The answer to the third question is an opinion. Yes, I think what I have to say matters – at least to me. I have to assume that it matters to the readers that come back for more of what I have to say. They can mentally argue with me, make comments, agree with what I have to say or be entertained by what I have to say. They spend the time reading it so it does matter.

Like I said, I am somewhat opinionated so this is a way to vent for me. Once I get it off my chest I feel better. Being right or wrong doesn’t matter – being able to bloviate does. No, I am not doing it just to vent. It is also recreation. I enjoyed writing ‘Hello, My Name Is Peggy” I loved sharing my adventures in China and my experiences in Egypt. I had an opportunity to discuss my fears and my joy of the coming baseball season. (By the way most of the new names are back in the minors by now).

The answer to all of the questions is that I enjoy writing and it is gratifying to be read. To be read worldwide is a mind blower!

I DUG MY WAY TO CHINA

When I was kid on the beach at Nantasket, Mass. we all dug holes in the sand. We were told that if we dig far enough we will come to China. I started digging and earlier this month I made it to China (by way of American Airlines). This was not my first time in China, but it was my first time landing north of Canton and this is what China really is. Not Hong Kong, not Shenzhen or Guondong.

Getting off the plane was like stepping into a time machine. Not one that takes you back to earlier centuries during the different dynasties such as the Ming and the Qin. No way. Once you arrive at the Shanghai Airport you have stepped into the future. The architecture is mind blowing, each building is a work of art and a major incarnation of someone’s imagination. Beautiful and apparently, functional (except the government buildings which are pristine and colorless) one out does the next one.

At night these structures light up the sky. They are not like Las Vegas where billboards and signs dominate. No, these building are unique in their lighting so that you must walk and look up as you are dodging the traffic. The traffic in China is also mind blowing. Not there are there so many cars, motor scooters, motor coaches, bicycles – there are - and they all want to make a right or left turn anytime anywhere in front of anything and the pedestrians are just walking in front of them hoping they will miss them.

We saw some of the amazing archtiecture with the Olympic coverage. That was Beijing, but Beijing being the last stop on our tour was just typical of the major cities in China we visited prior to coming to Beijing.

To get to Sochou, a quaint town of about two million people, we took a bullet train that got us there at 145 mph. That is not Amtrak! Sochou is a city of Venice like canals, exceptional gardens that do take you back to the dynasties of China. The motor bus that drove us back to Shanghai drove along smooth,  pot hole free roads. Along the way we saw hundreds of high rise apartment buildings that will house the new middle class Chinese. New subways are being dug everywhere (maybe to Nantasket).

Next stop Xi’an. Xi’an is famous for the discovery of the Terra Cotta army in 1976. A simple farmer was digging a well (no, not to Nantasket) and made the discovery. He now gets paid to sign his autograph in tour books at the gift store. Note: There are 3.1 billion people in China and as many gift stores.


Getting to the airport for the flight to Xi’an was also a step into the future. We travelled on a train with no wheels at an amazing speed of almost 300 mph. It ran on magnets. Smooth and quiet. It is one of only two magnet trains in the world but the only one being publicly used.

There are thousands of these terra cotta soldiers and there are no two alike. It is amazing. Xi’an also has the last remaining city wall that surrounds the entire (old) city. It is a fantastic walk and provides for wonderful vistas of this city. There is construction everywhere. The center of the city sports a wonderful tower that is quite beautiful. There is also a Chinese Muslim community with a mosque. The mosque is nothing like what you would imagine. The area has beautifully maintained gardens and the minarets are pagoda like. Ninety five percent of the population is of Han decent. The remaining five percent is made up of 52 other descents.Talk about being a minority!

Beijing is the most conservative of the three cities. After all the “Forbidden City” is there, Tiananmen Square is there, the Great Wall is there, the Chinese National Museum is the and it is the seat of the government.

However, when you walk through the pedestrian mall next to the Beijing Hotel which is just to the side of Tiananmen Square it is Vegas, baby – that is it is a large area with all the upscale stores and solidly lit to attract attention. There are also stores dedicated to sweets, various and sundry shops that sell everything from expensive jade carvings, pearls and yes, Rolex watches – even though there is a Rolex store on the promenade to real first class junk!

But when it comes to the visuals of the city you are taken aback by the Bird’s Nest Stadium and the Water Cube. The whole Olympic area is other worldly. Traffic is a little saner, but not much! In the midst of all this is the Hutong District. An old area with a quaint center. The houses are small, the streets are narrow and there is one “happy room” for three families. Yet, the little house that I visited could sell for one half million dollars – it is about 10 by 20. The government owns the land, but the people own the house.

The Chinese like to say that they opened the gates in 1976 – after the Cultural Revolution. This country’s infrastructure is amazing, and it was accomplished in about one generation. BUT, the people are still controlled as to where they can live or must live. The news is ALL controlled by the government. The CCTV (China Central Television) supplies all the news channels. The China Daily, the English newspaper is very limited in the internal content. I read it daily to get the latest baseball scores. It wasn’t till after I got home I learned about the truckers strike in Shanghai. I learned about the jailing Ai Weiwei, a dissident artist. That story never made the news. And when I asked the guide where the young man stood that stopped the tank – he said they never saw the photo. That photo was famous worldwide, except for where it was taken.

You have to weigh the thrills of climbing the Great Wall, walking through the Forbidden City, experiencing Shanghai to benefits of being able to come home.

WHO SAYS GOVERNMENT CAN’ T DO A GOOD JOB, THAT PRIVATE COMPANIES CAN DO IT BETTER?

I wasn’t going to get political till the campaign got under way but seeing what is happening around the country is pissing me off. Seeing people acting against their own self interest scares me. Seeing history being rewritten by the likes of Michele Bachman and Sarah Palin that is even scarier because there are many who are buying their distortions. Let’s face it, Newt Gingrich really wants you to believe that he cheated on his wife while she was stricken with cancer and in the hospital because he loved America too much. He was loving America one  American slut at a time. 

For years – since Ronald Reagan – we have heard that government can’t solve problems, government is the problem. I know he wasn’t talking about the rise of Hitler. I know he wasn’t talking about the great depression or the interstate highway system. He could not have been talking about Social Security for the eldest part of our society, or the National Health Institute or even the Internal  Revenue Service. He could not have been talking about the US Army, the US Air Force, Marines or Navy – even the postal service gets the job done, under government supervision. We are protected by the FBI, the CIA, the FDA and other agencies without any consideration for having to pay a dividend to stockholders.

Locally, your fire department is government run. In one community, not long ago they did privatize the fire department and the department let a  house burn down while the firemen stood there because the owner didn’t pay  his $50. What happens when you have to call Dirty Harry’s Police Services? 

When you add “for profit” to public services you get less service, higher costs to feed the profit motive. In the recent healthcare debate it was documented that private insurers use only 70% of their income to provide services while Medicare (that boogy man entitlement) has an overhead of 2% or less. Imagine what kind of healthcare we would get if we all paid premiums where 98% of them would be used for services.

Here is another one you will love. They want to privatize prisons. Can you imagine how small an offense you will have to commit to be sent to Sampson and Son Incarceration, Inc.? They don’t make any money unless the prison is full. Don’t pay your credit card on time, go to jail. If it is government run, we try to keep people out of jail, rehabilitate, etc.  The immigration law in Arizona keeps their private prisons full!  The prison companies are a growth business paying good dividends. Are we then going to outsource executions, too? They can sell the cable rights for a profit.

Then there is the argument that we don’t want a government employee making decisions for us. Don’t call 911 when you need it because that government employee is going to decide whether to send the ambulance or not – as government employee they have choice but to do so. BUT, if they were employees of a private company they would have to decide whether it is cost effective to send that ambulance based on distance, or is it another firm’s area or maybe the injury, according to the employee handbook, is not severe enough.

Your medical claims, under private services, are always denied at first. Then you have to go through the appeal process because it is better for their stock holders if they don’t pay. There is the profit motive that could kill you. So, is a government trained employee who is taught to serve the public better than an employee who gets a bonus for not providing services?

Mr. Reagan did us all a disservice by making sure we hated government. Yes, we should be vigilant about government. Understand the role that government plays and the roles that ONLY government can play. For the past two centuries our government has done a pretty good job – it could it have done better, of course, but here we are anyway!

Remember, when they take away our public services they take away our rights to them. Privatize schools, we have no right to education, privatize health, we have no right to healthcare. Privatize police we have no right to security. You decide!

NOT SINCE I WAS ABOUT TWELVE YEARS OLD

. . . have I been this afraid. I can still recall  Tail Gunner Joe McCarthy holding hearings regarding Communists in our communities, in our government and in our schools. The question was, “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?’

I understood that many members of the Jewish society were socialistic. In Israel the kibbutzim are socialist communities but not Stalinist sympathizing groups. Even the workers unions in the US were a form of Socialism, not the kind that equates with Communism. My father read the Forvitz (the Forward) and that was branded as Communistic or Socialist. But what does than all mean?

My father loved his country. He went to work for the US Government driving ammunition trucks up and down the eastern seaboard, not an easy or safe job. My family, on both sides had fathers and uncles serving in the Navy, Army and Paratroopers in the European theater and in the South Pacific.       

Did our beliefs that we take care of each other give aid and comfort to the enemy? Did my father drive any slower because he didn’t want the ammo to get to where it was going because he sympathized with the enemy – not a chance! What happened was that the words themselves had a life of their own and interpretation that belied any actual definition of what they meant. Most Jews came from Eastern Europe where they had to take care of each other in their communities. Before the dreaded Holocaust there were progrommes. There were the ghettos and the shtetels. If taking care of each other was a communist plot – so be it – but it wasn’t.

Even growing up in Boston, everyone’s mother was your mother if she need the bags carried or an errand run or you need to be dressed down for some bad behavior. Is that Socialism? That is community! So what is happening now.

The Congress is once again asking, “Are you now or have you ever been a Muslim terrorist?” “Do you belong to a mosque?” “Do you read the Koran?” Look, after 9/11 we looked at all Muslims as terrorists. We couldn’t help it. If you looked like one of the hijackers, you were then one. After the hysteria passed we settled down and found that radicalism is in a small part of all of the population. In fact, except for 9/11, all terrorists acts committed in the United States since War War II were committed by white anglo- American citizens, save for the Ford Hood incident.

Did you know that 30% of all the credible tips on terrorism comes from the Muslim community? They are policing their own. Should we be vigilant, of course. Should we be hunting and accusing – definitely no!

Why am I afraid. Because I am an Israeli sympathizer.  Because I am Jewish and recall the recent history. It started this way – look at them – they are the cause. You are out of work because of the_(fill in the blanks) You can’t get a loan because ______________control the banks. Unions are run by the ______________ so you can’t join them to get a job. You can’t get into a movie because  the ________________own the studios. Look at those people in the funny outfits, they want to kill you!

Am I comfortable being on a plane with someone that looks like the hijackers – of course not. Do they want to be on a plane with someone that looks like me?

Why am I afraid? Simple, the committee has asked no one with expertise is to testify. Homeland Security has not testified, FBI has not testified. TSA has not testified, only a few people with anecdotal experience have testified. Oh yes, Sheriff Lee Baca has and they didn’t want to hear what he said.

The Koran is cited as absolute text. Why not the Torah? Maybe that is next. Is the Christian Knights of the Brotherhood a terrorist organization? How many white supremacist terror groups are there in the US? McVeigh could have told us, I guess we will not know because we don’t go after white people.

So why am I afraid again? This time they are attacking your beliefs. Just the other day a local news report in Los Angeles included a story about three men on a flight from Mexico City that were wearing little wooden boxes tied with leather straps repeating prayers in Hebrew. Why did that make the news? What did those little wooden boxes contain? I am not a Muslim but a Jew. What is stopping them from going after the Jews , after all we need to find out what is in the little wooden boxes with the leather straps.

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

A few weeks ago I wrote about pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training. The harbinger of spring and how that gives me and always has given me a great feeling. I really enjoy listening to the games even though I can only get the Dodgers and Angels games on radio here. In a regular season game, not counting pitchers, you may see or hear about ten or 12 players. Those are defensive late inning replacements, pinch hitters and pinch runners. But in a spring training game the box score can read like a shopping list for a family of ten.

Here is an example of what I am talking about. Who are these people? Scott Elbert, Javy Guerra, Blake Hawksworth, Jon Link, to name a few from the Dodgers. From the Angels: how about Alberto Collaspo, Loek Van Mil, Trayvon Robinson, Joel Pinero (wasn't he a jockey?).

It fun listening to the games where you can't see the uniforms but hear the names. When Ysmael Carmona comes to bat I have no idea of who he is playing for. If he flys out to Luis Vasquez I am doubly confused as I have no idea of who he plays for. A few years ago I was the guest PA announcer at Dodger Stadium and I practiced "Hiram Bocachica" for two days to make sure I got it right. By the time I knew who he was and could pronounce his name he was no longer around.

That is the allure of Spring Training. You never know who will be the next superstar. Listen for the names. However, I did notice that superstars have easy names to remember, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Warren Spahn, Sandy Kofax, Tony Gwinn, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron to name a few. Hasnori Takahishi may never make it to baseball immortality.(But Nomo did!)

These new people whose names are so foreign to us even thought they may not be foreign sounding names are the part of the next class of potential superstars - or as in the case of Hiram, may never hear of them again.

These people are the Alberts, the Andres, the Vladimirs of the baseball world.  However, I am not going to memorize any new names until the All Star break. If these strangers make it, it will be evident by then. So, I will listen to Vinny pronounce the names, get their biographies in thirty seconds or less and a wonderful anecdote that only Vinny can spin. This time next year I will know the names - but won't there be a new crop of names to learn?

OK, now who is on the Red Sox?

PITCHERS AND CATCHERS

Pitchers and those who catch them are starting to report their respective camps in Arizona and Florida about now for Spring Training. Why is that so important? Let me tell you! Every kid who knows baseball, including my eight year old grandson knows that baseball season is close at hand.As a child growing up in Boston it meant that winter was over, spring is almost here. The days are getting longer and they are going to get warmer soon. (If you are living in the eastern half of the country now, you really know what I mean). What a great feeling - spring is in the air even if the air is still below 40 degrees.

The back page of the Boston Record-American reported daily on the signings of the players - in those days even Ted William only got a one season contract. Who is on the trading block and who are we going to get. I remember a six way deal that spelled the end of the Red Sox. Until 1967 the Red Sox did little in terms of winning so who played on the team was  important. They were important because they were our heroes. Ted, Carl, Mel, Walt, Johnny, Billy and Tony - all my heroes over the years. There were more. The voice of Curt Gowdy was like music to my ears as is Vinny is now to Los Angelenos!

Pitchers and catchers are like the first blue birds we see and hear. They proclaim that spring is here and things are getting better every day. The championship season is at hand and hope is coursing through our veins. Will this be their year? Your team is your hope. No matter where you live you wait patiently for the Sports Section to proclaim that pitchers and catchers are reporting. Each spring training game is the harbinger of the season to come. But each spring training game has players you never heard of or may never hear of again. So when our team loses we take comfort in knowing that the game doesn't really count. My team will be there opening day ready to play and to win! It all starts with pitchers and catchers reporting.

The Record-American is gone along with the one season contracts (and the fifty cent bleacher seats). Ted is no longer with us as with Curt, Tony and the others but the feeling never dies. Hope springs eternal, even for a kid of my age, especially when I hear that the pitchers and catchers are reporting!

EGYPT - WHY I BELIEVE IT IS A GOOD TIME FOR THE PEOPLE

As you know, or don't know because you are seeing my blog for the first time, I was in Egypt last May. It was a tour that started in Cairo and ended in Cairo but took us to Asswan, Luxor and other ancient cities along the Nile.This was my second time as the first trip was more limited and was 22 years prior to this one. I was already impressed from trip number one, but trip number two blew me away.

 Our guide was an attractive woman about 30. (I am guessing here). Emi has a great personality and and a way of making everything fun. While a devout Muslim she understood all the religions and their history in Egypt from the Coptics to the Jews. We had all of the above represented by the group. She wears traditional garb for prayers but the latest in western fashion during the day. Emi has a great sense of what things are worth and she negotiated well on behalf of her tourists.The point here is that she a representative of the youth of Egypt. The young dominate the population. About half of the population is under 30. But unlike Emi, they are not all well educated or have good paying jobs.

Eating at KFC can cost an average person a day or week's pay for one meal. There are KFCs, MacDonalds and Pizza Huts everywhere. Jokingly they call MacDonalds the US embassy. So, the population understands the western ideal while at the same time trying to preserve their culture and obtain some financial freedom as well as the freedoms we all take for granted. They are Egyptians first because of the their rich history, amazing culture and their efforts to preserve these for the world.

As they were demonstrating at the doors of the Cairo Museum I was recalling young families in traditional dress strolling through the gardens and then entering the museum see thousands of years of antiquities. There was no air of revolution, no unrest, no sense of unhappiness as the locals went about their business. So, what happened in the few months since we visited Egypt?

Unemployment, rising cost of food and services - and yes, poverty is everywhere. The trend, so it seems, was not upward but downward. With the ability to access the internet (I did it in every city we visited without restriction) and see what the rest of the world was doing and how they did it - especially Europe and the west. This is what they want for themselves and deservedly so.

It the west that they want to emulate. Not Iran or Saudi Arabia. I do not believe that they will have an Islamic government, yes, the members that make up the government will be Muslims, but the laws governing the people will developed by the people, written by the people. In talking to many different people throughout Egypt from Nubians to farmers to middle class business people (we spent time in many of their homes) the impression I get is let us be what we are in peace and let us provide for our families in ways we know how to provide.

We asked about the Muslim Brotherhood that has so many American believing that they will rule. In the recent meeting with the Vice President there were 52 representatives of different movements and only two of them were form the Muslim Brotherhood - and they were older! That fear is only in the US. They are small, they hate Al Queda and they want to exert political influence not military or religious influence.

Let the Eqyptians find what they are seeking. Let's help them get to where they want to go by supporting them. They are young, industrious and wanting a chance at life that we always enjoy. Here is hoping they get it!

Note this just in from Emi February 8, 2011, 1:34 pm:
Eman El Zoghbe people start going to there work and people not anymore afraid being in the street till let to guard their house but we still of course fight for our change by protest in the most active area in Egypt "Tahrir square "by the way tahrir means victory...and the change needs time and youth people became more stronger and not afraid of anythings even death......Im so proud proud.

WHY DVRS ARE SO IMPORTANT THIS POLITICAL SEASON

Two hundred million dollars or more has been spent in California alone! That accounts for a lot of TV time. It begs the question, what do you fill the time with? Well, lies work. If you repeat a lie enough times it is perceived as truth. With that kind of budget any lie can become truth. There have been some doozies.


The more money you have the bigger the lies can be. Where is this money coming from? Personal wealth – that makes the idea that someone is running for the good of the people suspect. Why would anyone spend $140 million dollars for a job that is thankless – ask Arnold! Another candidate wants to spend time in Washington in a job that she is uniquely unqualified for – could not even stay as part of a presidential campaign –ask John McCain.

Some the ads are amazing. The images are so polarizing and so vivid, a person just visiting California for the first time would think Los Angeles is a shanty town. Come on! That does not pass the believability test, but show it enough times, I would be scavenging for more cardboard for my roof.

The bigger question is who is paying for these ads? We know the candidates are paying for some. But Citizens for a Better Yesterday or the Committee for New Blood, or the Council of Yellow Flowers are just some for the fictitious groups (I made them up because I couldn’t remember them all) – who are these people and where do they come from? Where is the enormous amount of money coming from? Aren’t we in a down economy – who has that kind of money? What company or what country?

A gubernatorial candidate has been likened to George Washington – she does have a resemblance – no doubt about it. She has also been likened to Pinocchio – she does have a resemblance, no doubt about it.

One senatorial candidate is made to look very old – her lines are showing. I guess if you don’t use Botox to dull the brain and get rid of wrinkles, you are not worthy. Did you see the eye brows on Jerry Brown? That photo could have been Andy Rooney! PhotoShop is great. Now you if could only add candor and veracity with PhotoShop.

My favorite is the side by side comments by Whitman and Schwarzenegger are classic. The same words, different mouth, different time, different day! One trick ponies with the same script. I do believe that Carly will create jobs so she can find a way to offshore them – that will be her export policy. As both the governor and the hopeful governor have said doing the same things over and over again leads to insanity (or something like that). Listening to these ads will also lead to insanity. That is where the DVR comes in – just fast forward!

PET PEEVES - MINE

We all have pet peeves. Some are really annoying, some are dangerous behaviors and some are just plain pains in the butt! When I see a mother in an SUV on the phone with kids in the car running a stop sign - that really gets my goat! (Sometimes a father!) When I see two cars abreast of each other stopped and the divers are having a conversation and blocking the street - I really get pissed. When an 18 year oild waitress addresses my wife and I as "you guys," - that is annoying.

When I am watching a TV program and the news anchor comes on and poses a question such as "Nuclear attack, we will tell you where at 11!" Now you've go my dander up and my blood pressure as well. (DVRs are great for not getting that teaser.) AND ... when I get the message when I call an 800 number, "Our agents are busy helping other customers." Wow, all the other customers are more important than me - good to know how they feel about my business.

Everyday there is somehting that annoys us - some things more than others and to some people they just don't get annoyed! In this day of tough economic times, we try to make our days as pleasant as possible, these people who block streets or talk on cell phones while making illegal turns really want to ruin the day for me. If I could only tell them!

Facebook - that is really strange. I see parents communicating with their kids - who live in the same house, by posting. I see people revealing their innermost feelings that should be kept private being shared with their 1600 friends, most of whom they don't really know! Who cares - we have our own problems. Frankly, I don't care if you are going to the market, or the beach or to the doctor or to a poker game or walking in the mall - why do I have to know? Why do you have to tell me? (I don't have to look, either, but I do - it is entertaining).

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I buy a shirt and I go to check out. I fold the shirt so that the price tag is exposed for scanning. BUT, the cashier insists on unfolding it, scanning the tag and rolling the garment up like a rag and throwing it in the bag. So, I ask some questions such as, "do you thnk that the shirt is wearable now?" "Why do you feel the need to destroy my property?" 'If this was your shirt would you want it?"

Now that I have vented I want to hear from you. What are your pet peeves? What pisses you off? (Don't tell me people who write blogs about being pissed off!)

THE DANGER OF KNOWING TOO MUCH

"The Internet says." "I just Googled it." "Bing banged the data home." I know know that I am going to die with the disease that I have, or not!

We are all individuals and react chemically, physiologically and mentally to our bodies. We know when to go to the doctor, if we should go to the doctor and how long we can put off going to the doctor - after all the Internet says I have six months to live so I got time.The other web site says I have more than a year - well that was because I hadn't been in Tasmania in the past 12 months - does Tarzana count? Wait! I found a web site that says I will live forever. Forever, that is a long time, hmmm!

Here's the rub. We have a world of information at our fingertips and we read everything as if it was written just for us. Because it is in writing it is gospel. But self diagnosis is at best dangerous. We have a great deal of information without the data to back it up. So, we do go to the doctor. We are ready for the worst because the Internet says so.

Recently we had a family member who got sick with a viral infection. He spent seven days in the hospital, he had more images of his body taken than Lady Gaga at the MTV Awards.They suspected so many things and found - nothing. No, he had something, but the answer to what it might be was never found - nor will it ever be. The problem resolved it self in two weeks.Some anti-biotic and plenty of fluid. Get the fever down and some food, if he could. The Internet was sure he had Hepatitis A, maybe some other exotic infection, limes disease, mono - run down the list, take your pick, test for them all.. The Internet knows. It knows symptoms, treatments, medications, side effects, but the Internet does not know the patient.

The cadre of doctors preformed so many tests that they ran out of machines. Literally, there were no more machines to scan, poke, nudge and annoy the patient. A simple thermometer was the indicator of the progress of the patient. It appears that the severity of any illness is in direct proportion to the amount of information on the Internet and how many machines that the hospital has that they can bill for.

I can recall when I had a similar set of symptoms. I did not go out of my neighborhood without my mother's permission, so travel was limited to a few blocks. No exotic tick bites. When I walked in the house, I was light headed, dizzy, running a fever and threw up. My mother called the doctor. He said I had the Grip. Give him fluids, best rest and keep him cool for about two weeks. It worked. My mother paid the doctor about $5 for that regimen.

In spite of the tests and all the Internet data, this patient was monitored with a thermometer, kept cool, got plenty of fluids and lo and behold he is better in two weeks. Where is good old Doc Shapiro when you need him.(He'd be about 123, if he were still alive).

Is there a moral to this story? No. Just see the doctor and tell him how you feel and not what Internet says you should feel.

MADE IN OCCUPIED JAPAN

That is what we found stamped on the Jacker Crack prizes, toys, some other low cost items that we found in the five and ten or the drugstore. (Dating myself, am I!). The one thing that these products all had in common, they were crap.

 Fast forward a few years and we have "Made in China."  These products, too were crap. And many still are considering the materials that are used to make these items. Lead in the paint and other dangerous materials they use to keep the costs down. Would you trust a sipping straw that said it was made in China? That is what it said at the hospital where we got  a drink. The problem is that we, Americans, don't make anything anymore. Maybe that is an exaggeration,or maybe not. How many factories are there in your city? Of the ones that are functioning, what do they make?

Go to you local Home Depot and look for made in the USA on products that sound like USA products. Tools, power tools, building materials, all made in China. Consider the drywall made China that was corroding wiring and creating unhealthy conditions for new homeowners where they had to tear the home down - now that is crap. There is no pride in workmanship.

What happened? Starting in the 80s our government said that we should build things cheaper, borrow more money to buy them things and we will all prosper. The government gave tax credits to companies that moved their manufacturing off shore - and the companies obliged by moving manufacturing to places we only heard about in musical comedies - such as Bali, Sri Lanka, etc. and of course China where slave labor was real cheap and there were no unions.

It started with Ronald Reagan, who famously said and we forgot that he said it, "Taxes should hurt." "Deficits don't matter." He forgot to enumerate who taxes should hurt - after all it was the middle class that pays the bills for the top 2% of the US. Since George Bush (W) took a surplus, gave tax cuts to the top 2% and went out an borrowed the money to pay for it, he agrees, deficits don't matter. Where did the borrowed money come from - yep, China!

In an overstatement, let me say we don't make anything in the US anymore. Remember when the GOP wanted not to bail out the auto companies? They want to continue to make things elsewhere - even if it is crap. Toyota is a good example of crap wrapped in a pretty package. Their opposition was so overt it screamed "I am being paid by Mazda, Infiniti and other made somewhere else products. Yes, there are factories in the US assembling parts made in Japan - lower wages are being paid to assemble there cars - no union benefits such as health care, vacations, pensions, etc. I am not a big fan of unions, but they have their place - and they are not where they should be.

Be careful - we are in a time that Seinfeld called Bonzo time. Up is down and down is up. The United States Chamber of Commerce is not part of the US Government, bet you didn't know that. The 95% of Americans that got tax cuts are convinced they got raises - Bonzo! Letting the Bush tax cuts expire and return to where they were is not raising taxes - it is reducing borrowing - but you are being told it is an increase in taxes. They want us to pay back the loan to China for that tax break - now that is crap.

Oh, but don't pay any attention to this stuff - the Muslims are building a terrorist operational center at ground zero. Look there, that is where the problems are all coming from! Or, watch out of all of the illegals coming in to the US taking our jobs and beheading citizens. Now this is real crap - made in the USA.

HI, MY NAME IS PEGGY!

There is a new movie coming out call "Outsourced." It is supposed to be a comedy but I find nothing funny about it. Have you seen the commercial with a guy spouting an eastern European accent who calls himself Peggy and the only English word he knows is "yes." Many US companies are outsourcing middle class jobs - where does it stop.This is the reason why qualified graduates of United States universities and high schools can't get jobs. It is not the immigrant that sneaks into the US at night that is taking the jobs - it is the Dells, the Hewlett-Packards, the Intels, the Bank of Americas that are taking the jobs and sending where the pay is little and the number of people that fill them is amazing.

Why are they doing it? Pretty simple:
      1. Lower wages to pay
      2. No benefits to pay - sick pay, vacations, personal time, etc.
      3. No unions to consider
      4. No 401Ks or any retirement
      5. No health care (how many smaller US companies have located in  Canada?)

So, these companies find their Peggys. If you call your computer company you are talking to India - they will tell you Kansas. Complain about a charge on your credit card - your are talking to someone in Manila. What is disgusting about this whole process is that the people this policy most hurts are the people that are demonstrating for more such policies. Tea Party sound familiar?

Many are demonstrating and are vocal about the Health Insurance Bill. These people, (many who are on unemployment) are supporting the hundred million dollar salaries of the Insurance execs. It never ceases to amaze me that people can be so vocal and so adamant about being against their own self best interest.
My heaven, how cruel, the government says that the insurers must use 80 cents of every dollar I pay them for my healthcare towards my healthcare - how can they company make any money that way? How can the execs get their bonuses? Please, charge me more - so they did - up to 39% more and these who are demonstrating asked  for it.

So, to divert attention, we as a people created an "immigration" problem. When I go to Home Depot. I have never once seen anyone I know standing out there and looking for work. The high school kid looking for summer work is not there. He is doing in store training in hamburger preparation because the job in the factory is gone off shore. The college graduate is not there - they are beating their brains out asking where is the job I am trained for? Ask Peggy, yes!

Not every job can be outsourced but look what happens to the jobs that are left! A hundred people are applying for the same open position. That position used to pay about $30 an hour. You want the job - how's $15 with no benefits?

The right wing does not want money for small business loans that would employ more people. No way! They just killed a $30B bill that would do that through local banks. No, keep them unemployed is their motto. Kill unemployment benefits - keep them hungry is their motto. Then these same people point fingers and say that they can do better if in power. I am not sure what that means but I don't want to find out.

Time to get smart. Sound bites are hazardous to our health. Diversionary tactics like the Mosque that isn't, that is being built at Ground Zero that isn't. The Dick Morrises of the world think we are really stupid, let's stop proving it to them. Then you have HBO - Hannity, Beck and O'Reilly - they could be a singing group the Poison Sisters.

I guess I am jealous. I wish I was a CEO with a $100M a year income that is being protected by hundreds of thousands of unemployed people. At least I would say "Thank you."

With love, Peggy!