South Carolina is in the news! 

Now, South Carolina leads the USA in mobile homes per capita.  And that’s just fine and dandy.  But, if this story is any indication, why I gotta believe the old SC is the leader in stripper pole equipped mobile homes as well…

All kidding aside, what was she thinking?

Althouse is on a roll.

“Starting this year, insurance companies will be banned forever from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions.”

President Obama, March 19, 2010

Just days after President Obama signed the new health care law, insurance companies are already arguing that, at least for now, they do not have to provide one of the benefits that the president calls a centerpiece of the law: coverage for certain children with pre-existing conditions.

William G. Schiffbauer, a lawyer whose clients include employers and insurance companies, said: “The fine print differs from the larger political message. If a company sells insurance, it will have to cover pre-existing conditions for children covered by the policy. But it does not have to sell to somebody with a pre-existing condition. And the insurer could increase premiums to cover the additional cost.”

NY Times March 29, 2010

You’ve heard about the controversies within the bill, the process about the bill, one or the other. But I don’t know if you have heard that it is legislation for the future, not just about health care for America, but about a healthier America, where preventive care is not something that you have to pay a deductible for or out of pocket. Prevention, prevention, prevention—it’s about diet, not diabetes. It’s going to be very, very exciting.

But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.

Nancy Pelosi, March 9, 2010

So, now that the Dems and the Press have gotten around to reading this craptastic health care legislation they’ve foisted on the people they are outraged, outraged I say, at, you guessed it, the insurance companies!

“The concept that insurance companies would even seek to deny children coverage exemplifies why we fought for this reform,” said Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California and chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Democrat of West Virginia and chairman of the Senate commerce committee, said: “The ink has not yet dried on the health care reform bill, and already some deplorable health insurance companies are trying to duck away from covering children with pre-existing conditions. This is outrageous.”

Commenter Fortuneate reports walking through the crowd at a Tea Party in D.C. and feeling the angry vibe.

This week, the Party moved to Harry Reid’s hometown of Searchlight, Nevada.

CNN reports “dozens” in attendance.

These are exciting times in my homeland.  Makes me feel like writing a song…

There’s something happening here

What it is ain’t exactly clear

Real people speaking their minds

Got the libs worried about their behinds

And I think it’s time we stop the Dems

What a bunch of clowns 

Come November they’re goin’ down…

(with apologies to Stephen Stills)

Hat Tip: Gateway Pundit

…also known as the majority of Americans.

Read it and weep.

I don’t think that this should come as a surprise to anyone.  When corporations are faced with increased costs, they tend to raise prices or reduce expenses.  Or both.  So, I’m guessing that not only will current employees and retirees be losing prescription drug benefits, AT&T won’t be doing much new hiring in the short term either.

Is this the change we were hoping for?

AT&T Inc. will take a $1 billion non-cash accounting charge in the first quarter because of the health care overhaul and may cut benefits it offers to current and retired workers.

The charge is the largest disclosed so far. Earlier this week, AK Steel Corp., Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co. and Valero Energy announced similar accounting charges, saying the health care law that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday will raise their expenses. On Friday, 3M Co. said it will also take a charge of $85 million to $90 million.

AT&T also said Friday that it is looking into changing the health care benefits it offers because of the new law. Analysts say retirees could lose the prescription drug coverage provided by their former employers as a result of the overhaul.

AT&T rival Verizon Communications Inc. was among 10 companies that sent a letter to congressional leaders in December warning that their costs would increase with the health care changes. Verizon spokesman Peter Thonis said the company had no comment.

Also on Friday, Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said they are asking the CEOs of Caterpillar, Verizon, Deere and others to testify at an April 21 House subcommittee hearing on claims that the health care law could hurt their ability to provide health insurance to workers.

Yo, Waxman and Stupak!  Here’s a clue for ya–maybe you should have had those hearings BEFORE passing this destructive law.

Me, I don’t find the word (or the body part) dirty or otherwise offensive.

Back home in the USA the television networks have forbidden use of the word “vagina”.  This ad substituted “down there” for vagina, and was still turned down by two networks.  Give it a watch, I thought it was funny to see the Kotex folks mocking the industry advertising euphemisms for “feminine hygiene products”.

More info on the controversy here, and I loved this quote:

That provoked Amanda Hess, author of The Sexist blog, to observe: “Now, the commercial contains no direct references to female genitalia – you know, the place where the fucking tampon goes.”

Not sure if this banning is sexism or not.  I remember some of those Viagra ads which were chock full of double entendres about sustaining a woody.  But I think it’s probably more about prudish attitudes.  After all, if we start talking about vagina’s on TV,  the whole moral foundation of great nation is at risk.  Or something.

By the way, if anything, Korean ads for “sanitary products” are even more subdued.

…Arguing that a few raisins managed to make it through the Congressional intestinal tract doesn’t make us any happier about having to eat it.” 

Wish I’d said that.

It boggles the mind.  Truly.

Elections have consequences and I fear these will be reverberating for generations to come.  I don’t have much to add to what has already been said (heh, do I ever?), but some things do stand out to me from my vantage point far away.

First, it will be the young and healthy who carry the biggest burden.  Perhaps that is as it should be.  But I do find it amusing that the biggest winners appear to be the demonized insurance providers.  I mean, let’s force the millions of people who don’t have insurance to buy insurance–that will teach those profit mongers!

And the Democrats told the overwhelming majority of Americans who opposed Obamacare to go to hell.  I expect that will have consequences come November.  As the Washington Examiner puts it:

Never before in American history has a measure of such importance been imposed on the country by the majority party over the unanimous opposition of the minority. Democrats have continually sought to create a halo effect for Obamacare by associating it with Social Security and Medicare. But the reality is that both of those landmark programs were approved with strong bipartisan support in both the Senate and House. The Senate vote on Social Security in 1935 was 77-6, with 64 Democrats being joined by 14 Republicans. In the House, the 373 votes for Social Security included 77 Republicans. When Medicare passed in 1965, the 68-21 Senate vote included 13 Republicans, while 65 Republicans were among the 313 affirmative House votes. Such bipartisan consensus was what the Founders sought with the Constitution. But Democrats made a mockery of bipartisanship by shoving Obamacare down the throats of Republican lawmakers and snubbing the popular majority that opposed it. The Democrats have undercut the credibility of the law they created.

I think you should also see what The Atlantic’s Megan McArdle has to say along these lines.

Is there a bigger fool than Congressman Stupak?  Of course, no one believes he was stupid enough to sell out his “pro-life” principles  for an empty Executive Order.  Was he?  Because of course, the law (as contained in the Senate bill and unchanged by today’s reconciliation vote) trumps an XO.  No, I think the Dems think the American people are that stupid.  I’m betting they were wrong about that.

And for those looking for a silver lining, you might find comfort in this post at PowerLine.

Me, I just feel sad for my country today.  And glad to be living far enough away that I can ignore it for the most part.  Sure, like everyone else, I will pay more for my insurance and have my taxes go up.  But for those living in the states and relying on American health care providers, well, higher costs are the least of your worries.

God Bless America.  She’s gonna need it.

You know, I guess I should get on board as well.  If the President is to be believed (shut up!) my health insurance premium will be reduced under Obamacare.  How is this possible?  Well, apparently, most of the uninsured who will be mandated to purchase heath insurance (a mandate opposed by candidate Obama, and supported by President Obama) are young healthy people.  Adding them to the insurance pool will lower the premium costs for everyone.

Cool.  As a baby boomer, I’m all about being subsidized by the younger generation.  Especially since young people are apparently Obama’s biggest fans.

And oh by the way.  You and your kids will be paying for this boondoggle long after I’ve joined Grandpa Munster in the great hereafter.

Thanks again!

Hat Tip: JammieWearingFool

TigerHawk links to a Harvard study that seems to indicate diversity training is ineffective.

Heh, imagine that.

But here’s the thing.  Anyone other than an ignorant knuckle dragger already knows that discrimination based on race/sex/age/origin etc. is wrong and counterproductive.  And no amount of training is going to help someone who believes otherwise.

Here’s an example of what I got out of some mandatory diversity training I attended several years ago.  The theme was being sensitive so as not to offend minorities.  I’m down with that, because as a white male, I am, demographically speaking, a minority (in the USA).  Anyway, as an example of insensitivity the instructor solemnly informed us that the visual aid commonly referred to as a “flip chart” was offensive.  Seriously.  You see, “flip” is a derogatory term applied to Filipinos.   And so according to the trainer we should henceforth call the flip chart a rip chart.

To our credit, we didn’t let the trainer get away without asking some clarifying questions.  Like, it is wrong to “flip a coin”?  Is it permissible to “flip through the pages of a book”?  Or how about if someone cuts you off in traffic–can you “flip them the finger”?  Yeah, it’s true.  We were certainly being “flip” about the subject.

Anyway, as far as I am concerned there is only one race that matters and no amount of diversity training is going to shake my deeply held belief about which race is best.

And what race is that you ask?  It should be obvious really.  The human race.

News Item:  Cartoon Network beats CNN, MSNBC.

Many supporters of government run health care point to the model program in the UK as an example of what we need in the USA.

Be careful what you wish for…

A man of 22 died in agony of dehydration after three days in a leading teaching hospital.

Kane Gorny was so desperate for a drink that he rang police to beg for their help.

They arrived on the ward only to be told by doctors that everything was under control.

The next day his mother Rita Cronin found him delirious and he died within hours.

She said nurses had failed to give him vital drugs which controlled fluid levels in his body. ‘He was totally dependent on the nurses to help him and they totally betrayed him.’

…and plans to send her to the scrapyard.

Hate to see that happen.   I used to spend quite a bit of time in Philadelphia and saw the United States when she was first docked there.  It seems a shame that she can’t live on in some useful capacity.  I lived in California when they brought the Queen Mary to Long Beach.  Seemed like a great idea at the time, but I don’t think it has ever proved to be financially viable.

Old ships are invariably destined for the scrapyard, but they live on in our memory and imagination of a bygone era.

Nice video of the United States in her glory days here.
Via BoingBoing.

Moral of this story?  Don’t provoke the old angry white guy.

So I mentioned in an earlier post that my kids had dubbed my 1966 Pontiac Grand Prix “the big ride”.

Well, speaking of big rides, how about this?

So, you didn’t think all that crap from China just appeared like magic on the shelves of your neighborhood Wal-Mart, did you?

The crew-size: 13 people on a ship longer than a US aircraft carrier (which

        Has a crew of 5,000).

        Notice that 207′ beam means it cannot fit through the Panama or Suez Canals .

                     It is strictly transpacific. Cruise speed: 31 knots.

        The goods arrive 4 days before the typical container ship (18-20 knots) on

        a China -to- California run. So this behemoth is hugely competitive when

                                     Carrying perishable goods.

                The ship was built in five sections. The sections floated together and

                Then  welded.

                The command bridge is higher than a 10-story building and has 11

                Cargo crane rigs that can operate simultaneously.

Of course, getting the goods across the wide Pacific is only half the battle.  To take things the rest of the way, you need this:

That’s not just any train, that’s a 3.5 mile long “megatrain”.

Earlier this year, Union Pacific quietly ran a record-setting “monster” freight train over its Sunset Route, from Dallas to Long Beach, using the 3.5-mile-long behemoth during a one-time test of new distributed-power configurations that may help make long trains even longer. Distributed-power units (DPUs) are extra locomotives that are placed between or behind freight cars on very long trains to help them haul long, heavy loads without derailing.

Can you imagine being stuck at a crossing waiting for that puppy to pass?  Hell, you don’t have to imagine it, just check out his video–impressive!

Man, when did the comics become organs of political propaganda?

In issue number 602 of Captain America, a new story line has begun called “Two Americas.” In it the current Captain (there have been a few of them, apparently) is on the trail of a faux Captain America that is mentally deranged and getting chummy with some white supremacist, anti-government, survivalists types going by the name of “the Watchdogs.” While investigating this subversive group, Captain America and his partner The Falcon — a black super hero — have decided to try and infiltrate the secretive organization.

In preparation for the infiltration, Marvel Comics depicts the two super heroes out of costume and observing from a rooftop a street filled with what can only be described as a Tea Party protest. The scene shows crowds of people in city streets carrying signs that say, “stop the socialists,” “tea bag libs before they tea bag you,” and “no to new taxes.” Naturally, the people in these crowds are depicted as being filled with nothing but white folks.

You can go read the rest on your own.  But wow.

via PubliusForum

But, I’ll give this guy props for not just complaining about illegal immigration, by god he’s doing something about it!

A Hemet man who passed himself off as a U.S. Marshal was able to enter the international airport in San Diego with a “prisoner” after convincing airport security officers he was a federal agent, a TSA spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday.

Gregory R. Denny, 37, was booked last month and booked on suspicion of kidnapping, false imprisonment and impersonating a peace officer…Denny was wearing clothing with “Federal Agent” printed on it, had a badge around his neck, a gun belt, and displayed an apparent handgun. The witnesses at the home told investigators the suspect then handcuffed a female resident of the home and said he was detaining her and deporting the woman…

The victim was then taken to the suspect’s vehicle and then allegedly driven to the U.S. Border Patrol station in Murrieta, Wisehart said. Officials at the Border Patrol office told Denny he would not take Denny’s “prisoner” because there was no warrant in the computer system. Denny told Hemet investigators that officers at the Border Patrol office confirmed the woman was in the country illegally, Wisehart said, but they would not take her into custody.
Hemet investigators were then told that the suspect ultimately drove the female victim to the International Airport, where he escorted the handcuffed victim through the airport and to the gate of a departing flight, Wisehart said. At this point he un-handcuffed the victim and she boarded the plane that was headed to the Philippines.

You know, as funny as this guy”s antics may sound, the real joke is our airport security.  What a bunch of clowns…

I have to tell you that the high speed trains here in Korea are quite impressive.  And now, Korea is introducing the next generation of bullet trains.  Zipping through the countryside at 300km/hr in a smooth riding and comfortable coach is much more pleasant than the flying experience.  (Hey, click the links the videos are cool!)
It should be a matter of national shame that the USA has nothing comparable.  AMTRAK and the various commuter rail lines are still operating with 1950’s technology (and sometimes equipment).  Our rail service is a bad joke to say the least.

So, as long as Uncle Sam Obama is mortgaging the future of my grandchildren through massive and unprecedented deficit spending, they may as well gain the benefit of 21st century railroad technology.  Which made this announcement seem like something I could get behind:

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will today announce that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is awarding $8 billion to states across the country to develop America’s first nationwide program of high-speed intercity passenger rail service.  Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), these dollars represent an historic investment in the country’s transportation infrastructure, which will help create jobs and transform travel in America.  The announcement is one of a number of job initiatives the President will lay out in the coming weeks that follow up on the continued commitment to job creation he discussed in last night’s State of the Union Address.

Now, the Republic of Korea is about the size of Iowa, so I’m not suggesting that the USA develop a nationwide coast-to-coast high speed rail network.  The distances, travel time, and costs would not make such a project feasible.  However, a network of inter-city rail lines connecting major metropolitan areas within several hundred miles of each other does make sense.  I’m thinking that with all the airport waiting times associated with security screening, a bullet train would be a faster, more convenient, and energy efficient way to travel.

Think about it: The obvious Boston/New York/Philadelphia/DC corridor; maybe San Francisco/Los Angeles/San Diego/Las Vegas; and Milwaukee,/Chicago/ St. Louis; or perhaps Dallas/Houston/San Antonio–and more.  Once people get a taste of how enjoyable modern train travel can be they will be hooked.  If you build it they will come!

Try this on an airliner:

Ridin’ the rails in style!