Derrion Albert – Rest in Peace

I’m currently disturbed by a chilling video that is floating around the internet about a 16 year old honor student named Derrion Albert. Albert was walking home from school (with numerous other kids) to the city bus stop when two rival groups of kids from different neighborhoods got into a large group fight. Apparently, Albert tried to step in and assist a couple of students caught in the mêlée and became the victim of a senseless beating at the hands of at least 4 other teens. The biggest difference in this “brawl” that I’ve never seen before is that there happened to be a few wooden railroad planks (called “ties”) lying around the scene. During a heated fight, these planks became deadly and Albert caught at least one or two vicious blows to the head with it. There’s actually an audible crack of Albert’s skull on the video (I watched it, but really wish I hadn’t). You can Google or YouTube Derrion Albert’s name to find the video, but I don’t necessarily recommend it.

Growing up, I saw plenty of these types of fights that occurred over stupid and trivial things (school rivals, school or neighborhood pride, jealousy, etc.) and looking back it amazes me how different my life and other lives could have been drastically different had circumstances been slightly different. If you remove the railroad tie planks from laying around in that street, this kid is most likely still alive. Had his school had normal bus transportation instead of him taking the city bus, much may have been avoided. It’s tragic that our society has reached this point. There is too much hate in the hearts of our people these days and it is becoming painfully evident in all areas of life. We need to exude LOVE much more often in our everyday lives. Smile and tell someone you love them today. Parents, talk to your kids.

Senseless beating with railroad tie plank

Obama criticized for speaking to youth – Why?

Short post here, but what’s really the reason behind President Obama being criticized mightily for speaking to youth about the importance of going to school? I can’t believe that schools chose not to air this. As much as they complain about students not attending school or doing well, I would think teachers would be behind this 100%. The youth are our future, so schools are the breeding grounds for tomorrow’s America. Why wouldn’t we want our youth to be motivated by a positive message by OUR PRESIDENT? Especially when former Presidents Regan and Bush did the same thing (to my knowledge). I’ve also noticed that Obama is the first president to be called a liar publicly, and Fox is the first major network that has chosen not to air a presidential speech when the other majors did.

Interesting…

Obama

Debunking Canadian Health Care Myths!

I’ve been trying to decide how I feel about this health care debate. On one hand, I’d love for everyone in our country to be covered in a better system, but at the same time I have fears that the government completely controlling health care or the wrong type of plan being instituted could be fatal. Here are some points brought to me regarding Canada’s system by Dr. Michael V.W. Gordon, Professor Emeritus at Indiana University.

Debunking Canadian health care myths – *By Rhonda Hackett*
Posted: 06/07/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT

As a Canadian living in the United States for the past 17 years, I am frequently asked by Americans and Canadians alike to declare one health care system as the better one. Often I’ll avoid answering, regardless of the questioner’s nationality. To choose one or the other system usually translates into a heated discussion
of each one’s merits, pitfalls, and an intense recitation of commonly cited statistical comparisons of the two systems. Because if the only way we compared the two systems was with statistics, there is a clear victor. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to dispute the fact that Canada spends less money on health care to get better outcomes. Yet, the debate rages on. Indeed, it has reached a fever pitch since President Barack Obama took office, with Americans either dreading or hoping for the dawn of a single-payer health care system. Opponents of such a system cite Canada as the best example of what *not* to do, while proponents laud that very same Canadian system as the answer to all of America’s health care problems. Frankly, both sides often get things wrong when trotting out Canada to further their respective arguments. As America comes to grips with the reali ty that changes are desperately needed within its health care infrastructure, it might prove useful to first debunk some myths about the Canadian system.

• *Myth: Taxes in Canada are extremely high, mostly because of national health care.*
  In actuality, taxes are nearly equal on both sides of the border. Overall, Canada’s taxes are slightly higher than those in the U.S. However, Canadians are afforded many benefits for their tax dollars, even beyond health care (e.g., tax credits, family allowance, cheaper higher education), so the end result is a wash. At the end of the day, the average after-tax income of Canadian workers is equal to about 82 percent of their gross pay. In the U.S., that average is 81.9 percent.
• *Myth: Canada’s health care system is a cumbersome bureaucracy.* The U.S. has the most bureaucratic health care system in the world. More than 31 percent of every dollar spent on health care in the U.S. goes to paperwork, overhead, CEO salaries, profits, etc. The provincial single-payer system in Canada operates with just a 1 percent overhead. Think about it. It is not necessary to spend a huge amount of money to decide who gets care and who doesn’t when everybody is covered.
• *Myth: The Canadian system is significantly more expensive than that of the U.S.*Ten percent of Canada’s GDP is spent on health care for 100 percent of the population. The U.S. spends 17 percent of its GDP but 15 percent of its population has no coverage whatsoever and millions of others have inadequate coverage. In essence, the U.S. system is considerably more expensive than Canada’s. Part of the reason for this is uninsured and underinsured people in the U.S. still get sick and eventually seek care. People who cannot afford care wait until advanced stages of an illness to see a doctor and then do so through emergency rooms, which cost considerably more than primary care services. What the American taxpayer may not realize is that such care costs about $45 billion per year, and someone has to pay it. This is why insurance premiums increase every year for insured patients while co-pays and deductibles also rise rapidly.
• *Myth: Canada’s government decides who gets health care and when they get it.*While HMOs and other private medical insurers in the U.S. do indeed make such decisions, the only people in Canada to do so are physicians. In Canada, the government has absolutely no say in who gets care or how they get it. Medical decisions are left entirely up to doctors, as they should be. There are no requirements for pre-authorization whatsoever. If your family doctor says you need an MRI, you get one. In the U.S., if an insurance administrator says you are not getting an MRI, you don’t get one no matter what your doctor thinks — unless, of course, you have the money to cover the cost.
• *Myth: There are long waits for care, which compromise access to care.*There are no waits for ur gent or primary care in Canada. There are reasonable waits for most specialists’ care, and much longer waits for elective surgery. Yes, there are those instances where a patient can wait up to a month for radiation therapy for breast cancer or prostate cancer, for example. However, the wait has nothing to do with money per se, but everything to do with the lack of radiation therapists. Despite such waits, however, it is noteworthy that Canada boasts lower incident and mortality rates than the U.S. for all cancers combined, according to the U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group and the Canadian Cancer Society. Moreover, fewer
  Canadians (11.3 percent) than Americans (14.4 percent) admit unmet health care needs.
• *Myth: Canadians are paying out of pocket to come to the U.S. for medical care.*Most patients who come from Canada to the U.S. for health care are those whose costs are covered by the Canadian governments. If a Canadian goes outside of the country to get services that are deemed medically necessary, not experimental, and are not available at home for whatever reason (e.g., shortage or absence of high tech medical equipment; a longer wait for service than is medically prudent; or lack of physician expertise), the provincial government where you live *fully funds your care*. Those patients who do come to the U.S. for care and pay out of pocket are those who perceive their care to be more urgent than it likely is.
• *Myth: Canada is a socialized health care system in which the government runs hospitals and where doctors work for the government.*Princeton University health economist Uwe Reinhardt says single-payer systems are not “socialized medicine” but “social insurance” systems because doctors work in the private sector while their pay comes from a public source. Most physicians in Canada are self-employed. They are not employees of the government nor are they accountable to the government. Doctors are accountable to their patients only. More than 90 percent of physicians in Canada are paid on a fee-for-service basis. Claims are submitted to a single provincial health care plan for reimbursement, whereas in the U.S., claims are submitted to a multitude of insurance providers. Moreover, Canadian hospitals are controlled by private boards and/or regional health authorities rather than being part of or run by the government.
• *Myth: There aren’t enough doctors in Canada.* From a purely statistical standpoint, there are enough physicians in Canada to meet the health care needs of its people. But most doctors practice in large urban areas, leaving rural areas with bona fide shortages. This situation is no different than that being experienced in the U.S. Simply training and employing more doctors is not likely to have any significant impact on this specific problem. Whatever issues there are with having an adequate number of doctors in any one geographical area, they have nothing to do with the single-payer system. And these are just some of the myths about the Canadian health care system. While emulating the Canadian system will likely not fix U.S. health care, it probably isn’t the big bad “socialist” bogeyman it has been made out to be.
  It is not a perfect system, but it has its merits. For people like my 55-year-old Aunt Betty, who has been waiting for 14 months for knee-replacement surgery due to a long history of arthritis, it is the superior system. Her $35,000-plus surgery is finally scheduled for next month. She has been in pain, and her quality of life has been compromised. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Aunt Betty — who lives on a fixed income and could never afford private health insurance, much less the cost of the surgery and requisite follow-up care — will soon sport a new, high-tech knee. Waiting 14 months for the procedure is easy when the alternative is living in pain for the rest of your life.

*Rhonda Hackett of Castle R*</stron

CURE FOR AIDS???

AIDS is now a pandemic. In 2007, it was estimated that 33.2 million people lived with the disease worldwide, and that AIDS had killed an estimated 2.1 million people, including 330,000 children. Over three-quarters of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, retarding economic growth and destroying human capital.

What if I told you that the millions of people suffering and ultimately dying from AIDS could be cured? What if I told you there has been a cure for AIDS for over 13 years, but for some reason the information is not being released to the public? That would be pretty crazy right?

http://patft.uspto.gov/

This is the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website. The cure for AIDS is registered on this site as U.S. Patent #5676977. You can search for it by number or simply click on this link to view it in detail.

I Google’d the inventor of the AIDS cure, and found this information on him and his company here.

The above link is an official government website stating in detail how a simple cure is available for the most devastating disease mankind has ever seen. The fact that nobody knows about this and it is not being released really makes you wonder. What is the reason behind the secrecy? This is affecting millions of people, why aren’t they being offered help? It really makes you wonder. The true reason why this is being kept quiet, also is part of the reason why AIDS was created in the first place. Yes, that’s right I said created. I will have to save that discussion for a follow up post.

The Tragedy of Michael Jackson (Rest In Peace)

I’m saddened by the death of Michael Jackson, but I do know that the things that he accomplished in his lifetime will keep his legacy alive forever. He was the greatest entertainer in world, and the best selling artist of all time. Off The Wall, Thriller, and Bad are my personal favorite albums from him. Obviously since his death, anything associated with him will sell through the roof, so more sales and money is forthcoming for the record labels.

The tragedy that surrounds Michael Jackson to me are the horrible things that he did to his face and body, in an attempt to “fit in.” This can be attributed to many things (Childhood abuse and having no real childhood, Living in Hollywood, being such a genius [you know the line between genius and insanity is very thin]) but this is my take on it. Michael was born in Gary, IN in 1958. Indiana was (and may still be in some areas) an extremely racist climate and state. Don’t forget that the Ku Klux Klan had a huge presence there. There’s no telling what he experienced, saw and dealt with on a daily basis growing up in that type of environment. I think the racism he likely experienced early on, and possibly pressure from the music industry caused him to dislike his skin tone, nose, etc. and go through all of those surgeries. I don’t think a woman alive would disagree that he was originally a very nice looking young man. But what he turned himself into was scary. That is the tragedy that I think we could all learn from, because I think it shows what low self esteem and racism could potentially do to someone. Here is a collage of MJ’s face at different points in his life.

The TRUTH about “Swine Flu” !

Tamiflu is an antiviral medication used to treat influenza. It will be the prime medication sold to protect citizens from “swine flu” (H1N1) as it was for the swine flu (also known as the avian flu) of 1976. All healthcare workers, military and essential service workers will need a dose available and it will be bought with your tax dollars. Tamiflu is made and patented by Gilead Sciences and Donald Rumsfeld was the chairman of this company before he joined the Bush administration.

Source: Donald H. Rumsfeld and Gilead Sciences

When the Avian Flu scare flashed across the television sets of Americans, Gilead Sciences stock went through the roof. Rumsfeld refused to sell his stock when he joined the Bush administration and the increase in stock value made him the richest man in the Bush administration. Moreover, Gilead Sciences successfully lobbied a billion dollar contract with the U.S. military during the avian flu scare, giving each soldier access to the drug. Now, with the swine flu scare, the same players are about to make an even bigger fortune. The actual flu may be real, but the panic surrounding it is a media constructed, influenza hoax and the product of those who waited for another opportunity to knock, or sneeze.

As we sit on the eve of a new influenza scare, the question is: will anybody pay attention to the fact that the last influenza scare didn’t become a pandemic, but it sure made neoconservatives rich. The
regular run-of-the-mill strains of influenza kill more than 36,000 Americans every year and hospitalize another 200,000. Eighty people dying of disease in one of the dirtiest cities on earth is tragic, but it should not be used as an excuse to fill the coffers of a conservative faction that has already ripped off America of every penny it could during its time in office. The only hands that need washing are America’s; washed of the filthy agenda of neoconservatives willing to exploit anything to make a buck.

“Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!”

See also:
Swine Flu 1976 killed 1, vaccine killed 25
Snopes.com verifies Rumsfeld’s connection with Gilead Sciences and Tamiflu.

Former President Bush dodging War Crime charges in Paraguay?

On a quick note, former President Bush may be brought up on international charges for committing War Crimes. There’s a lot of detail that you can Google on this, but it basically relates to him leading the country into Iraq under false pretenses. What makes this even crazier is that in 2006 the Bush family purchased a large piece of land in Paraguay, a country that does not have an extradition policy with the U.S. So if the charges come to light, apparently the Bushes will run for cover and hideout in South America.

Note: For those who may not be aware, the German Nazi organization hid top former Nazi’s in Paraguay after WWII to avoid prosecution thanks to this same no extradition policy. Ironically, the Bush family made millions banking with the Nazi’s. Look up Prescott Bush and the Union Banking Corporation.

Why you shouldn’t “work through” your lunch break

I’ll keep this short. The average person works 8 hours a day with a 1 hour lunch break. So that’s 8-5 or 9-6 with a 1 hour break. However, a lot of people these days are working through their lunch breaks with increased pressure to produce and keep their jobs. Here’s why you should not do it:

Working through your lunch break equals 5 extra hours worked per week. 5 X 52 work weeks a year = 260 unpaid work hours per year. 260 X 30 years of work = 7,800 unpaid hours. 7,800 / 40 hours (avg workweek) = 195 unpaid weeks of work. 195 / 52 weeks = 3.75 years of your life that you worked for free!

DUI’s for blowing UNDER the legal limit – Right or Wrong?

Alright folks, this next one might light some sparks so I’m going to try to make sure I explain my stance here. I have nothing against MADD, and I completely understand the seriousness that is involved with driving drunk, intoxicated, impaired, etc. I know that thousands of lives have been lost and/or changed forever as a result of careless drunk drivers. Driving drunk and/or impaired is stupid, careless, costly and extremely dangerous. People who repeatedly do this are especially dumb and/or careless and definitely have a problem. Let’s just get all of that out in the open. I also understand that being at the blood alcohol level of .08 or higher doesn’t necessarily mean you are drunk, what it does mean is that you are at a point where you’re most likely a less safe driver.

That’s all fine and dandy. My problem is this – a friend of mine recently was driving home on a Saturday night and ran into a mandatory road block in a small town just outside of Atlanta, GA. It wasn’t a situation where the police saw him driving erratically, doing improper lane changes, speeding, etc. No. It was a road block and everyone was getting questioned for insurance, registration, etc. They smelled alcohol on his breath and gave a breathalyzer test, which is still fine. BUT HE PASSED THE TEST! He blew a .056 which is well under the legal limit of .08. Mind you this is all without a field sobriety (count from Z to A, walk a straight line, etc). By the way, I’m told there’s no way you can “pass” a field sobriety test. It’s only meant to show the cops key indicators on your state of intoxication. Anyways, even though my friend blew below the legal limit, he was still arrested and charged with a DUI. Locked up in jail, car towed, job in jeopardy, all of that. Had to pay over $1600 to get bailed out of jail and will have to give a lawyer a couple of thousand dollars to beat the case.

I need lawyers, police officers, judges, prosecutors, ANYONE to explain to me how the hell this is right or justified. As you can probably tell, I’m furious that this happened and it wasn’t even me that it happened to. But I recognize that this could have potentially happened to me or anyone who goes out for a casual drink or two. If we are at the point where no matter what you do, even if you are under the legal limit of .08 you can still get arrested for a DUI, what’s the point of having the legal limit in the first place? Why is it there if it really doesn’t matter? Just arrest anyone you see leaving a bar even if they just had a beer, because technically that is still drinking and driving right? Does that mean no matter what, you need to call a cab or take the train anytime you drink and have to go home?

Something isn’t right. I have been to work related functions (holiday parties, team outings, happy hour with the managers, etc.) where coworkers have gone to drink with their colleagues and managers. If your manager and director invite you out to drinks, in my opinion it’s in your best interest to go. It’s your chance to bond with your upper leadership and if you don’t go, an opinion of you may be formed. But, someone shouldn’t be at risk to lose their job because they had a couple of beers and blew under the legal limit if they were not driving erratically. There needs to at least be a difference between a DUI at .156 (reckless) and a DUI at .056 (seriously). Perhaps you could just give the person a ticket for whatever their offense was (expired tag, speeding, etc) and force them to call a ride home as opposed to wasting their time and money in court for a charge that won’t stick. Even if you beat the DUI charge, you’ll still be out at least $3K when you add up all of the mandatory fines that they get you with these days – Jail, mandatory fine of usually $1K, defensive driving school, lawyer fees, potential job loss, etc.)

UPDATE! My friend who got arrested for a DUI for blowing UNDER the limit had his entire case dropped! He had a “consultation” with a lawyer and they told him he was apparently in good shape, and his case was dropped in court. Fantastic news…I’m all for someone getting a legitimate DUI if they are over the limit, but under the limit DUI attempts are ridiculous.

Why GM needs to go bankrupt

I think we’re at a point where we would all be better off if GM went into bankruptcy. Bankruptcy doesn’t mean the company is gone forever, it just means the company has to restructure the way it does business and it could come out in a better position for it’s own benefit and ours. Look at Delta as a key example.

• Back in ‘02, I began getting concerned about gas prices rising. When I was a college freshmen (‘99-’00) gas was less than a dollar a gallon. Those days are now long gone. By ‘02 I was noticing the rise and I eventually decided stop driving Cadillacs and Lincolns in favor of smaller more economical sedans. I had many friends getting rid of their SUV’s in similar moves. If I was an automotive executive, I would have begun contemplating a switch in my manufacturing strategy. Perhaps for once GM could have decided here to have more economical sedans and less monster trucks, i.e. Hummer, Yukon, Yukon XL, Yukon Denali, Escalade, Tahoe, Tahoe XL, Suburban, Avalanche…I still haven’t even gotten to the pickup trucks and still plenty of other SUV’s. How many of these monster trucks are really necessary? How many of GM’s trucks and cars for that matter are the same or very similar, just with different brands? This is the first reason why GM needs to restructure. You don’t need 3 different types of trucks in every size category. GM has more trucks in 2009 than the entire line of Honda vehicles, and most of them are more expensive and are not built as well (and won’t last as long) as the Honda’s. Compare their websites and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
• In addition to shoving gas guzzlers down our throat, GM (and all American automakers for that matter) really haven’t improved the quality of their vehicles in terms of long term wear & tear. American cars are built to last only a few years so that the companies make money back in repairs and by the customer trading in to buy again. Foreign cars are built to last a long time, key fundamental difference here. Think about it – you can get an early 90’s Honda, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, etc. and still push that now and be fine as long as you take care of it. A Chevy? Ford? not so much. My personal mechanic has stressed this to me numerous times from first hand experience.
• The third and perhaps most important reason why there needs to be a significant change with GM is due to their salaries. First I want to congratulate anyone who has benefited from a lucrative career there. I hope that you have been wise with your money. I really hate to say this but GM has overpaid it’s workers for many years. The absolute lowest entry level salary at GM is $40,000. Keep in mind this is for someone who most likely doesn’t even have a degree. Plenty of entry level college grads are starting out for much less than that. According to the September 2006 edition of the Wall St Journal, “on average, GM pays $81.18 an hour in wages and benefits to its U.S. hourly workers. Those increased costs, including the cost of health care, were passed along to consumers, adding $1,600 to the price of every vehicle GM produced. In February 2008, after General Motors offered buyouts to 74,000 employees, the Center for Automotive Research estimated the average wage, including benefits, for current GM workers had dropped to $78.21 an hour.” Adding onto the salaries are the GM workers union, which has also grown too powerful.

Again I’m not trying to “hate” per se, but an assembly line worker without a college degree should not be earning more per year than a college professor. But apparently that’s been the case for quite some time in many instances. This type of system cannot continue and needs to be restructured across the board for GM to progress. In my opinion we should not be throwing billions of bailout money into this type of flawed system anymore.

Notes:
The $78/hr number comes from GM’s 2007 Annual Report (see page 62). It includes all costs associated with hiring employees: salary, employer part of social security, employer contributions to pension plan, 401(k), health care and other benefits, holiday and vacation pay, etc. According to the referred report, these costs will go down to $26/hr when the 2007 National Agreement (the contract agreed with the unions that year) is fully implemented. The same report mentions $15/hr for new employees, and $28/hr for existing employees as “base wages.”