FOUR LOKO

   

 Blackout in a Can

I never had a Four Loko and likely never will, while I do drink alcohol I seldom get drunk, come to think of it the last drink I had recently was on New Years Eve. When I do drink, I really don't want to drink a can of fruity crap, but then again, I am no longer a crazy college student looking to get totally and completely plastered.

Products such as Four Loko have been at the center of a Federal Trade Commission controversy on labeling. Phusion Projects will be forced to include an "alcohol facts panel" stating the alcohol by volume and number of servings. Phusion also will be required to redesign their cans containing more than 2.5 servings of alcohol so they can be resealed. That way consumers don't feel like they need to drink the whole thing in one sitting.

Missing the Point

I think the false premise behind the FTC's argument is that somehow, those imbibing large quantities of Four Loko are doing so out of ignorance as opposed to intent.  Get real.  Binge drinking college students are binge drinking on purpose... before Four Loko, back in the day, it was Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull,  Jungle Juice, or any of the dozens of other party mixtures. I can recall a Pearl Harbor party in which all the guests were drinking Kamikazes out of woks and our host wound up drifting out into Vineyard Sound well after dark on his sailboard (keep in mind the Pearl Harbor attack took place in early December, but don't worry... he eventually returned safely to us).

Intense Write-in Campaign

What intrigued me most about this news article was the following quote:

The FTC's decision came after an intense write-in campaign from citizens, the agency said. The FTC received over 250 public comments in response to its initial proposal and modified its ruling in response.

250 public comments is an intense write-in campaign?  Who is the FTC kidding?

The Nanny State

While the intent may be admirable and binge-drinking seriously misguided, who is the FTC kidding other than themselves that a warning label is going to stop people intent on binge drinking? Or that the people doing so need to be educated on the evils of alcohol.  If anything, a label stating 'contains the equivalent of five beers will probably boost sales. One need look no further than the beer bong illustrated above to know it is in vain.

Cheers!

~Finntann~ 

   

Valentine's Day

A Made Up Holiday?

That was the comment from a coworker of mine on the subject of Valentine's Day.  Valentine's Day was a marketing ploy designed to sell Hallmark Cards, Chocolates, and Flowers.  My response was "Is your wife buying that?"

Older than you may think

A little research indicates that as a holiday for lovers, Valentine's Day goes back at least as far as Chaucer:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

Even Shakespeare was using it, from Hamlet Act IV, Scene 5   

To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day, All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window, To be your Valentine. Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes, And dupp'd the chamber-door; Let in the maid, that out a maid Never departed more.

And from a selection of English Nursery Rhymes 1784

The rose is red, the violet's blue,
The honey's sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,
And Fortune said it shou'd be you

 

 So, It's Not A Made Up Holiday

So, what are you still doing here? Go get a bottle of champagne, some chocolate dipped strawberries, and get out there.

In a more modern, albeit somewhat cruder sentiment, but in the spirit of the bawdy Chaucer; you may want to clear the kids out of the room before listening:

Cheers!

~Finntann~  

The State of the Union

 

The President's Address

While I obviously don't agree with everything he said, I found the address to be more bipartisan than I expected after his inaugural address.  He seemed to acknowledge that 'modest' entitlement reform was necessary, as well as appearing to adopt the Romney campaign's strategy of "getting rid of tax loopholes and deductions" that he ran against.

He made some interesting proposals on education, citing German programs and P-Tech in Brooklyn that provide a technical degree in addition to a high school diploma, as well as a proposal to tie college affordability to federal aid programs.

What did I find most objectionable? Aside from legislative and constitutional issues,  the statement that if congress won't act...I will.

The Republican Response

Honestly, and I know it was written beforehand, Rubio's response seemed to be off target.  It hit many of the Republican talking points, may have been a good speech, but it wasn't a response to the State of the Union address.  Perhaps the Republican Party would be better served by a good extemporaneous speaker that can respond to the speech given than a speech well-written, but simply an independent regurgitation of talking points.

Rand Paul and the Tea Party Express  

While sympathetic to many Tea Party issues I am not a Tea Party member, or even what could be considered a supporter.  I did however find the Rand Paul response to be more of a rebuttal of the State of the Union address than the official Republican response. He made two somewhat memorable quotes:

It is often said that there is not enough bipartisanship up here.  That is not true.  In fact, there is plenty.  Both parties have been guilty of spending too much, of protecting their sacred cows, of backroom deals in which everyone up here wins, but every taxpayer loses. Bipartisanship is not what is missing in Washington. Common sense is.

The President’s massive tax hikes and spending increases have caused his budgets to get ZERO votes in both houses of Congress. Not a single Democrat voted for the President’s budget!  But at least he tried.

 An Aside

We should follow the example of a North Miami woman named Desiline Victor. When she arrived at her polling place, she was told the wait to vote might be six hours. And as time ticked by, her concern was not with her tired body or aching feet, but whether folks like her would get to have their say. Hour after hour, a throng of people stayed in line in support of her. Because Desiline is 102 years old. And they erupted in cheers when she finally put on a sticker that read "I Voted." 

Am I the only one that thinks making a 102 year old woman wait in line for six hours is bullshit?

Cheers!

~Finntann~

  

   

The Coming Shortage

With or Without Obamacare, We Have a Problem

The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that in 2015 the country will have 62,900 fewer doctors than needed. And that number will more than double by 2025, as the expansion of insurance coverage and the aging of baby boomers drive up demand for care. Even without the health care law, the shortfall of doctors in 2025 would still exceed 100,000.

American Medical Association

California's Proposal

CA Lawmakers are working on proposals that would enable physician assistants, nurse practitioners, optometrists and pharmacists to diagnose, treat and manage some illnesses. Pharmacists and optometrists could act as primary care providers, diagnosing and managing some chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and high-blood pressure.

LA TIMES

Specialist vs General Practitioner

Over 50,000 new primary care providers will be needed by 2025 yet only 7%  of graduating medical students had chosen primary care as a career. Why? Primary care providers earn 30-60% less than specialists.

Nearly 57 million people in the United States, or one in five Americans, now live in areas that lack adequate access to primary care. As a consequence, millions of Americans use the emergency room for care that could have been provided by a primary care physician. Specifically, half of emergency room patients could have obtained care from a primary care physician if they had been able to obtain an appointment when care was needed.  US Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging

So You Have Insurance, But No Doctor

Are you content having your blood pressure managed by your pharmacist?   

   

A Storm Called Nemo

Jeff Kubina

The Weather Channel

The National Weather Service names tropical systems,  The Weather Channel has decided to start naming winter storms.

When I started researching this, I figured that it was the National Weather Service that gave us Nemo,  I was a little surprised to find it wasn't, given that all the networks seemed to be referring to this past blizzard as Nemo.

Why?

The Weather Channel gives five reasons for naming winter storms:

• Naming a storm raises awareness.
• Attaching a name makes it much easier to follow a weather system’s progress.
• A storm with a name takes on a personality all its own, which adds to awareness.
• In today’s social media world, a name makes it much easier to reference in communication.
• A named storm is easier to remember and refer to in the future

 

 NEMO?

What struck me first about Nemo as a name for possibly the worst blizzard to hit the northeast in years was the silliness of the name.  It wasn't Jules Verne's Captain Nemo that first popped into my head, but Disney's tiny little clown fish in Finding Nemo.  Now, I might take a storm named Vito or Mick seriously, but I couldn't help laughing at Nemo.

So, what do you think about naming winter storms?

Any good winter storm or Nemo stories?  I'm jealous, I live 9200 ft above sea level and we've got maybe an inch or two of snow on the ground.  

 
Cheers!

~Finntann~   

Overstepping Bounds

Advancing Healthy Housing

The White House Council on Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection Agency, Housing and Urban Development, the Surgeon General, and the Department of Energy are all teaming up with a "Strategy for Action" to improve housing quality.

Admirable Goal

The Strategy for Action encourages federal agencies to take preemptive actions that will help reduce the number of American homes with health and safety hazards.  Millions of U.S. homes have moderate to severe physical housing problems, including dilapidated structure; roofing problems; heating, plumbing, and electrical deficiencies; water leaks and intrusion; pests; damaged paint; and high radon gas levels. 

Far Outside the Bounds

No matter how admirable the goal, these issues are far outside the boundaries established for our federal government.  They would also seem to be aimed at correcting a problem that doesn't exist, as everything mentioned in the press release would seem to be already addressed by state and local laws and regulations.  A simple Google search for: Tenant rights in "insert your state here" will reveal the myriad of rules and regulations already covering the subject. For example Pennsylvania and Colorado can be found here.  

How much is too much?

It is true that anything that is or can be handled at the state or local level can be handled at the federal level, but is it appropriate?  The first thing to address in our budgetary crisis is what is the federal government doing that is already being done at a lower level, and what are they doing that should be done at a lower level.

We need a limited federal government, or we need to stop wasting our time and money pretending we have one and eliminate state and local government.  It's ridiculous and expensive engaging in a charade  that we are a federal republic if we're going to act like a centrally managed state.

To establish an effective and cost effective federal government we must enforce the boundaries of central authority.  Even if the proposed actions are correct, we must ask are they appropriate to be accomplished at that level.

Advancing Healthy Housing - A Strategy for Action

Cheers!

~Finntann~ 

Saturday Sessions: CW McCall

WOLF CREEK PASS COLORADO

With dashcam footage of US 160 through Wolf Creek Pass.  You should know, that since this song was first written back in 1975, they've straightened and widened the road a bit, and added a new tunnel, with the "improvements" completed in 2006.

One thing to look for, those dirt roads that seem to go off the highway and straight up hill are actually run-away truck ramps.  There are two versions of the song in this video and the first truck ramp makes an appearance just after the start of the second version at about 4:18, another pops up at about 5:20. It is the second version of the song that plays through the downhill side of the pass.

Now a K5 Blazer wouldn't necessarily be my first choice to unwind this road... I'm thinking more along the lines of a Porsche or Ferrari!

Cheers!

A Tax By Any Other Name...

 

Only the Most Affluent...

American households will pay higher income taxes this year.  Only about 0.7 percent of households will be subject to an income tax increase this year, according to the Tax Policy Center.

But...

 

77 percent of households will pay a larger share of income to the federal government, but don't get upset, it's not an income tax.  The payroll tax this year will increase by two percentage points, to 6.2 percent from 4.2 percent, on all earned income up to $113,700. A household earning $50,000 in 2013, roughly the national median, will avoid paying about $1,000 more in income taxes — but pay about $1,000 more in payroll taxes. 

The Impact...

Economists estimate that the payroll tax increase will reduce disposable income by about $120 billion and shave half a percentage point from economic growth in the first quarter. Chain-store sales have weakened over the course of the month. And two surveys released last week suggested that consumer confidence was eroding, especially among lower-income Americans. 

Read the articles here and here, but remember what your government told you, only .7 percent of households will be subject to an income tax increase this year, and rest soundly, knowing that technically they are correct.

Hieronymus Bosch

 

Wifman and Werman

 

Androgynous Language for a Sexual Species

In old Anglo-Saxon a Wifmann was female and a Wermann was male.  Wif gave us wife and Wifmann was eventually corrupted into wi'man and finally woman over time.  Perhaps due to laziness, we seem to have lost our Wer and refer now to males simply as man and men. Mann or Monn simply meant person, as in the Jamaican "What's Up Monn?"

Washington State is becoming Androgynous

For the past six years Washington has been neutering their language in use by the state.  Dairymen have become dairy farmers, freshman are now first-year students, even sillier Ombudsmen are now Ombuds.  I suppose the heavier one's are Ombuds while the thinner among them are now Ombudlites.  They continue to struggle with coming up with appropriate replacements for terms like manhole (utility hole), penmanship (now simply handwriting), and a term like man's past becomes the somewhat clunky humankind's past.

Git Yer Language "Fixed"!

The obvious solution to the feminist hang-up would have been to reinstall the word werman, because wer and its local variations and derivations are still a common indicator of the male gender in all Germanic languages: werewolf in English, Wehrmacht (male power, army) in German, weergeld (a former conscription-tax) in Dutch, etc, are some, still current, examples.

If our feminists hadn't been so ignorant they would have insisted on reintroducing werman as a male indicator, rather than bastardising the English language with the introduction of neo-logisms such as chairwoman, chairperson, wimmen, etc.

Matt Bruekers

As indicated by the illustration for this post, you can change the words, you can't change the facts.

Personally my favorite term thus far for s/he is the quite puzzling "Mixter"... as in Hey Mixter, can you spare a dime?

~Finntann~

Lethal Operations Against Citizens

Hassan-i Sabbah, First Grandmaster Assassin

 

MQ-9 Reaper, Current Grandmaster Assassin

 

NBC News has released an administration whitepaper outlining the rational behind the targeted assassination of American citizens overseas. I urge you to read it.

 

Pretty much all that is required is a "senior administration official" declaring you a senior operational leader of Al-Qaeda or "associated forces" and bang... out of the sky comes a Hellfire missile.  Theoretically, you could be sitting in a cafe sipping coffee in some benign place like Brussels or London and it could still happen.


Twenty-five years in the military and I find this seriously disturbing, and it runs counter to everything I was ever taught about the Laws of Armed Conflict, not to mention the Constitution. As an exercise evaluator for the 7th Air Force, I have written up and had upheld 'exercise' LOAC violations for personnel shooting unarmed people in enemy uniforms, I can just imagine what the response to shooting an unarmed enemy soldier in civilian clothes sitting in a cafe sipping coffee would have been.

Beyond All Recognition

The administration has distorted the concept of imminence and imminent threat beyond recognition. Not only that, but the assassination of Abdhulraman, Al-Awlaki's son while eating at an outdoor restaurant seems to have revived the crime of attainder or corruption of blood also specifically prohibited by the constitution. 

Left or Right

It doesn't matter whether your political affiliation is Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or Independent, as American's we must come together and support the principles this country was founded upon, our constitution and the rule of law.  We must avow firmly and resolutely that our government cannot target American citizens not engaged in combat simply because some petty or not so petty bureaucrat designates them the enemy. Killing a fellow American engaged in combat on the field of battle is one thing, but that battlefield cannot be extended world-wide, nor can 'planning' be considered an act of war.  We generate operational plans for combat all the time, for every conceivable scenario imaginable, and pretty much everywhere, friend or foe... planning does not constitute combat.

Glen Greenwald of the Guardian has a spot-on analysis here

Please, veteran or not... speak up.

~ Finntann~

 

P.S. We've had a few comments on the readability of the previous font used for posts, so I've changed it to a new and larger font.  Comments? 
 

Frivolous & Vexatious

Malene

 

Bill Maher

In January, Bill Maher appeared on the Tonight Show and announced he would donate $5 million to charity if Mr. Trump provided evidence that he was not the "Spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan". 

For those like me with little stomach to watch all of Bill Maher,  the incident in question appears at 0:06:35 and runs through 0:07:00

Donald Trump

Or more precisely Donald Trump's lawyer Scott Balber sent a letter to Mr Maher stating:

I write on his behalf to accept your offer (made during the Jay Leno Show on January 7, 2013) that Mr. Trump prove he is not the "spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan."

Attached hereto is a copy of Mr. Trump's birth certificate, demonstrating that he is the son of Fred Trump, not an orangutan. Please remit the $5 million to Mr. Trump immediately...

The story and letter were reported at the Guardian, while News Busters reports that a lawsuit was filed in California Court.

The Judge

Well Mr. Balber, you're lucky I'm not the judge... for you would on the court's initiative be ordered to show cause why you have not violated Rule 11b:

Representations to the Court. By presenting to the court a pleading, written motion, or other paper—whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating it—an attorney or unrepresented party certifies that to the best of the person's knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances:

(1) it is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation;

(2) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a non-frivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law;

 While I am none to fond of Bill Maher, or Donald Trump for that matter, it is bullshit like this that clogs our legal system and rest assured, I would dismiss this with prejudice and appropriate sanctions.

      ~Finntann~
The Hanging Judge

Cathrynn Brown, New Mexico State Rep.

Cathrynn Brown,  W.H. Would like to give you The Finger

New Mexico Rep. Cathrynn Brown on 23 January introduced House Bill 206, which would criminalize "procuring or facilitating an abortion," or "compelling or coercing" someone else to get an abortion after rape or incest, as destroying evidence. The law specifically states "Specifying procuring of an abortion as tampering with evidence in cases of criminal sexual penetration or incest"

The Office of the Republican Governor of New Mexico released the following statement in response:

"Governor Martinez dedicated her career as a prosecutor to being a strong voice for crime victims and would never support any bill that re-victimizes rape survivors," 

Back Pedal Baby, Back Pedal

Of course, as soon as the proverbial stuff hit the proverbial fan, Rep. Brown started backpedaling furiously, releasing the following statement:

"Its intent is solely to deter rape and cases of incest. The rapist — not the victim — would be charged with tampering of evidence. I am submitting a substitute draft to make the intent of the legislation abundantly clear," Brown said in the statement."

 What totally screws that line of reasoning is that in New Mexico, the fetus is generally not used as evidence

"It is not typical that a fetus would be used as evidence in a rape case," UNM Law Professor Antoinette Sedillo said. Testimony by the victim, bodily damage and semen are generally used as evidence in cases of rape"

MSN

Text of the proposed law can be found here.

On a lighter note, having lived in New Mexico for six years, New Mexico Magazine has had a long running article titled "One of Our Fifty is Missing".  This article highlights anecdotes about people who fail to recognize New Mexico as part of the United States. Such as the woman in Hobbs who was informed by an insurance company call center in Texas, that they do not offer coverage outside of the United States, or companies requesting export paperwork to ship products to New Mexico.  Reading some of the stories will certainly elicit a chuckle or two.

Cheers!

~Finntann~

GROUNDHOG DAY

Photo by EIC

SIX MORE QUARTERS OF RECESSION

 

Well, the groundhog came out of his hole yesterday, saw the jobless report, and began to cry...again...

The economy added only 157,000 new jobs in January and the unemployment rate climbed to 7.9%,  the U-6 rate counting the underemployed and those who have simply given up sits at 14.4%. The GDP contracted by -0.1% when it was expected to only slow growth to 1%.

IT'S STILL THE ECONOMY, STUPID!

Edward Morrissey of the Fiscal Times points out that the disconnect between politics and reality reached its apex in the President's inaugural speech which mentioned the economy once and jobs twice.

WELCOME TO EUROPE

Even the most favorable look at the economy and economic recoveries between WWII and today places the administration's handling of it well below average, the hardest looks are damming.  As Dan Mitchell at Cato points out, with higher taxes on productivity, a higher burden of government spending, and more costly government regulation and intervention, it's normal to have weak European style economic numbers.

Saturday Sessions: Hot Rod

Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys

In 1951 Arkie Shibly had a hit with Hot Rod Race, featured below:

Charlie Ryan and the Timberline Riders

In 1955 Charlie Ryan picked up where Arkie Shibley had left off, publishing Hot Rod Lincoln.  Starting off with "Well you heard the story of the hot rod race that fatal day, when the Ford and the Mecury went out to play. Well, this is the inside story and I'm here to say, I was the kid who was driving that model A.

Believe it or not Charlie Ryan actually owned a Hot Rod Lincoln,  a 1948 12-Cylinder Lincoln chassis, shortened two feet, with a 1930 Model A body bolted on.

Something to do this Weekend

If You're Bored.

A Chicago couple managed to get a quality, durable floor for about a thousand dollars.  Six hundred dollars in pennies and about four hundred dollars in other materials.  Well, an estimated 59,670 pennies now covers their floor, grouted in place and covered in a glossy clear coat.  Not sure what the Treasury thinks about it, but it certainly gives a whole new meaning to the term "Penny Tile".

$3 a Square Foot

Is not a bad price for flooring.  A little research indicated that this is not as uncommon as you may think, and I found many other cases of people using money to tile their floor.  All in all, I think it doesn't look that bad.

Today

http://thepennyfloor.com/

Daily Mail

Timeout 

Big Design

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