Armegeddon It! (Sequester Edition)

Image:  FictionNews.com

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To help set the mood for the following post, please click the 'Armeggedon It' link below, turn the volume up, minimize your pop-up window and enjoy the remainder of today's 'Moo-lti-media' presentation:  Armeggedon It

Are you a-gettin it?
 

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February 28, 2013, Binghamton, NY:  
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The Beginning
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So much left to do.  So much left to say.  So few minutes left to deliver this warning.  Well, might as well get right to the point... 
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Today is the last day of 'America', as we know it. 
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Tomorrow, March 1st, at 11:59PM, the United States of America will be no more.  The upcoming Sequester and its 'draconian cuts' will SLASH U.S. Federal Spending to an INCREASE of a mere $15 BILLION in 2013, vs. the baseline-budgeted $100 BILLION it desperately needs to expand.  This $85 Billion is NECESSARY to fund the growth of vitally important services to citizens of the United States of America! 
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[MOTTO:  "The Federal Government is expanding to meet the needs of an expanding Federal Government."]
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President Obama has been valiantly attempting to get his message out for weeks, but no one is helping him in his heroic efforts to...  Help US.
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My God - the horror of it all.  We have failed him in so many ways!  Why have we failed him?  And following the urgency I feel in my heart, I must ask, why have we have in turn... failed ourselves?
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People of America, this is your last warning.  Give the President the spending he wants - before it is too late.   
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In a last ditch effort to avert the cataclysm which awaits US, I beg you to hear, and heed the words of President Barack Obama one last time while there is still time in which to hear them.  Soon your ears, your voice, and his clarion call to 'do the right thing', will be silenced (by Evil Republicans) forever.
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Image:  CNN

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From BusinessInsider.com, February 26, 2013:  President Barack Obama gave a stark warning to a shipyard crowd in Newport News, Va., telling them that the coming cuts known as the sequester are a "dumb way to do things."
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[Moos Note:  Well-known TEA Party Extremist and so-called author and investigative reporter, Bob Woodward, now CLAIMS that after stating that the Sequester was the "White House's Idea in the first place" and generally "bad idea" that he has received a threatening note FROM the White House. 
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Yeah, sure, right!  Where's the proof of this, Woodward?  You Right Wing-Nut Whack Job!  
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Oh, you have an e-mail FROM a 'high-ranking' employee in the White House' and can back it up?  LIAR!  You'll PAY for your insolence!  You are evil and must be destroyed...]  
."This work, along with hundreds of thousands of jobs, are currently in jeopardy because of politics in Washington," Obama said.
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Obama called the sequester a "pretty bad name" for the amount of harm they could inflict, warning that their effects could be "even worse" than the name.
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"I'm not interested in spin. I'm not interested in playing a blame game," Obama said. "At this point, all I'm interested in is solving problems."
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...
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Obama warned the crowd that 90,000 workers might have to be furloughed if the sequester goes into effect, and he said it could cost more than 10,000 jobs in Virginia alone.
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Obama said that people are "rightly concerned" about the deficit and debt, but called the sequester not the right way to approach decreasing either.
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The Middle

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Eric Holder, Attorney General of the United States, is doing his part to save America from itself also. 
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He was interviewed yesterday, February 27th and said the following:
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This is something that is going to have an impact on the safety of this country,” the U.S. attorney general told ABC’s Pierre Thomas on Wednesday. “And anybody that says otherwise is either lying or saying something that runs contrary to the facts,” Holder said.
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In his interview, Holder reiterated warnings that if automatic spending cuts are triggered on Friday, the Justice Department will be handicapped in some of its most vital missions to prevent terrorist attacks and crime.
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“The Justice Department is going to lose nine percent of its budget between now and September 30th. We’re going to lose $1.6 billion. There are not going to be as many FBI agents, ATF agents, DEA agents, prosecutors who are going to be able to do their jobs,” Holder said.
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“They’re going to be furloughed. They’re going to spend time out of their offices, not doing their jobs.”
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Wow.  Powerful stuff from a powerful man. 
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How can we continue to ignore these warnings?!?!  What else can these beacons of truth say to bring you people to your senses???
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Perhaps you'll heed the warning from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, (a.k.a.:  'Big Sis') from February 25, 2013 when she says:
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“I don't think we can maintain the same level of security at all places around the country with sequester compared to without sequester,” said Napolitano, whose agency includes the Transportation Security Administration.
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...
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“I think if you look at the combination of the effect on [the Department of Homeland Security], the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense, we are having real impacts on the robustness of our defensive posture,” Napolitano told reporters at the White House on Monday.
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The End
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In summation:

• The President KNOWs that this is a 'dumb way to do things'
• The President is INTERESTED in solving problems, not playing Politics
• Eric Holder KNOWS that FBI people will be not doing their jobs and that the country will be 'less safe'
• Janet Napolitano KNOWS that the 'Robustness of our defensive posture' will be impacted
• I KNOW that we shouldn't do dumb things, even if they are the White House's idea in the first place

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People, these 'dumb things' (as recommended by President Obama's Chief of Staff, Jack Lew, our new Secretary of Treasury!) will IMMEDIATELY imperil the lives of Americans across this Nation!  Draconian cuts will decimate Law Enforcement, reduce the number of Teachers in our Schools, numbers of First Responders, as well as Trash Collectors across the country.
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Bolster your courage, gird you loins, and call you local Representative and tell them to "Give President Obama exactly what he deserves!"
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BREAKING NEWS ALERT:  The President issued a statement informing us that we may not see any impact from this sequester at all for months, and some of YOU may see no impact whatsoever. 
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This brave, brave man is doing whatever he can to comfort us in our most dire hour of need .  He is attempting to minimize the impact of this mindless legislation on us - what a GUY!  .

God bless you President Obama - stay the course!  Keep telling the TRUTH - I know that we can take it!!!

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Video Link:  Obama Urges Compromise on Sequester

To paraphrase the President:  "Oops, never mind."

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Me thinks someone has cried Wolf too often over the past month or so...

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And what is that word for someone who misleads others?
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That's a wrap.
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The Sequestration Game! (Home Edition)

Federal Debt as % of Gross Domestic Product
(Note spike in 2009 - Obamaville, Next stop!)

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se·ques·ter  [si-kwes-ter] ,

verb (used with object)
 
1.  to remove or withdraw into solitude or retirement; seclude.

2.  to remove or separate.

3.  Law. to remove (property) temporarily from the possession of the owner; seize and hold, as the property and income of a debtor, until legal claims are satisfied.

4.  International Law. to requisition, hold, and control (enemy property).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Origin:  1350–1400; Middle English sequestren 
< Latin sequestrāre  to put in hands of a trustee, derivative of sequester  trustee, depositary

Source:  Dictionary.com 

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Listening to the President of the United States speak over the past week, it appears that the Mayan Doomsday Calendar was 'almost' completely accurate.  The end is near!  The only problem is that the calendar was running a 'bit' slow over the past few hundred years.  Not to worry -  time marches inexorably onward...
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From a post Sunday evening article found at USAToday.com:  Among the examples (impacts of the 'Sequester'): A slowdown of Superstorm Sandy cleanup in New Jersey, teacher layoffs in Ohio, reduced ship maintenance in Virginia, fewer vaccinations in Georgia, military base cutbacks in Texas and California, and similar reductions in states across the country, said the reports.
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With the automatic cuts set to begin Friday, President Obama is expected to cite the state reports as part of his effort to pressure congressional Republicans over the sequestration.

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How bad will this be?  Let's time-travel back to 1984 to get some perspective from one of my favorite flicks, "Ghostbusters", to clear up any doubt in your mind as to just how devastating the Sequestration Process will be to America:
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Ghostbusters Dialogue:
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Dr. Peter Venkman: This city (feel free to insert the word 'Nation' here) is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
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Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?
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Dr Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff.
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Dr. Peter Venkman: Exactly.
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Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
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Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
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Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!
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Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!
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Yes, America - an epic horror awaits you mere days from today.  Feel free to use the next few hours to 'get right with Jesus', tell your family how much you care about them, and remember that even though we've never met... 
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I've always loved you.  (Yes, it's going to be THIS bad...)
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Goodbye, cruel, cruel world.  I hope to see YOU on the other side.
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Okay, who snuck the photo of the cute little kitty and good, gentle, bloodhound in here?  We were talking about "Dogs and cats living together" in a 'bad way', not some canine version of Mr. Roger's neighborhood.   
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This is a very SERIOUS post!!!  Things are going to get WEIRD!  If I paid you guys anything I could FIRE you for this!
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Huh?  Excuse me?  What do you MEAN it's all a scam? 
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Oh.  Really? It is?
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I've just been handed a piece of paper upon which several numbers are written in some exotic mathematical formula.  And, if you've been reading this stuff for long, you KNOW how much I like Math...
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Formulas: 

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$3,700,000,000 / 1,000,000 = $ 3,700

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$85 / $3,700 = .023
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First, assume that in 2013 the Federal Government is poised to spend $3.7 Trillion.  For you folks who like numbers, let's call it 3,700 Billion dollars.  The Sequester forces the Feds to lower spending by an 'incredible' $85 Billion (of the $3,700 Billion they are expected to spend). 
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These are really large numbers to work with, so let's chew them down into workable bite-sized pieces.
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Let's do this instead:
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Assume you make $3,700 per month.
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You find that you are spending MORE than you are taking in.  In order to maintain your standard of living, you need to reduce your spending to cover your overage of outstanding bills.  (For purposes of this exercise you may NOT forcibly take money your neighbor, print it yourself (on old newspaper coupons), nor borrow money from China - for YOU these are NOT options!  Why?  Because YOU are not the Federal Government.  So don't go there, okay?  Just play with what we've got.)
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Using complicated 'higher Math' skills (consisting of 10 fingers, 10 toes, and my sleeping dog's back paw) I come to the conclusion that in order for us to balance our personal 'sequester' budget, we will need to reduce spending by $ 85.10 per MONTH. 

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This number comes from the formula above:  $  85 / $  3,700 = .023 

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And the following equation: $  3,700 X .023 = $ 85.10

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The 'weekly' savings required is:  $  85.10 / 4 = $  21.28

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So, what will you need to do cover your weekly cash shortage? 
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If you're like most folks, you'll skip going out to eat with the spouse 1x per week, maybe drive 120 miles fewer than normal, perhaps put off putting money away into the 'Rainy Day Fund', or, possibly skip buying five McDonald's McCafe Coffee drinks during the week and opt for some yummy bottled water (that you used to get from your Dad's garden hose...  for FREE.)
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Yes, you could do one, or all of these things.  Each will achieve the desired savings of $21.28 per week, or $85.10 per month. 

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But how can the Federal Government address making such DRACONIAN cuts (which, WAS the White House's idea in the first place)?
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What's that? 
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You say you've heard the word 'Draconian' used a lot lately, but don't really know what it means?
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Well, let's track back to Dictionary.com and look it up...
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Dra·co·ni·an [drey-koh-nee-uhn]
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adjective
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1.  of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Draco or his code of laws.
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2.  rigorous; unusually severe or cruel: Draconian forms of punishment.
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Yes, that's right 'unusually severe or cruel'. 
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This is the word the President and members of BOTH parties continue to use out loud, and on video to describe the upcoming 'Sequestration'. 
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Maybe it's just me, but when I'm thinking about less than $22 per week, I'm not thinking about 'unusually severe or cruel' reductions to MY spending.  I'm thinking that it pretty much 'sucks' and I've got to get over it. 
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The funny thing is that when the Medicare Tax exemptions expired on December 31st, 2012, we EACH had our incomes reduced by...  2%. 
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And I don't remember the President or anyone else in Congress looking to help save us from OUR 'Draconian' tax increase of 2%. 
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Well, maybe they did try to stop it, and I just missed it?
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No.  I don't believe that I they did any such thing.  When it comes to increasing taxes, we get nothing but a hearty "You're gonna feel a little pressure!" as the monetary probe is inserted by the folks in Washington. 
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But now, a 2.25% spending decrease "impacting the government" will cause food to rot, planes drop from the sky, children left alone at home (presumably to be watched over only by the 'Homeless?), air-traffic delays, a decrease in Homeland Security!, and, yes, ultimately, "Dogs and cats living together". 
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Mass hysteria?

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Well, before you get hysterical, I've got another secret to share with you: 
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This spending DECREASE everyone in D.C. has their Underoos in a twist over?  In 2013, even WITH the 'draconian' Sequester, the Federal Government will still spend $15 BILLION more than they spent in 2012.  Oops, looks like the Feds will continue to have their McCafe delights after all... 

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Why does the President make this 2.25% reduction in Baseline Budgeting seem like such a big deal?  
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Because he's a 'wee little man' following the policies of others much smaller than himself. 
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Or, maybe he is simply so political he uses ANY issue to divide the country across political lines?
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So where does the President stand on Sequestration? 
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It guess it depends almost entirely on what year it is and whether he's running for re-election or not...
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Obama on Sequestration

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Have a 'Draconian' Day!  "Severe" good wishes to you all!

Let's Moo-ve!

Image:  Newsweek Magazine

BREAKING NEWS:  February 20, 3:23pm

Reported by the WeeklyStandard.com site - "White House Credits 'Let's Move' for Halting and Reversing Childhood Obesity Trend"

Today the White House credited Michelle Obama's three-year-old “Let's Move” initiative with halting and even reversing a thirty year trend of increasing childhood obesity, a trend that has led to what the Centers for Disease Control has called an epidemic.

A press release from the Office of the First Lady announced details of a "two day nationwide tour" at the end of the month to celebrate the third anniversary of the program that promotes exercise and healthy eating habits to young people.

Michelle was so delighted with her efforts that The White House's "Office of the First Lady" issued a press release.  No, I'm not making this up.  There is apparently an "Office of the First Lady". 

Seriously, STOP laughing - I am NOT kidding. 

Check this out:

Yes, the First Lady of the United States is going on a three-day Nationwide Tour beginning February 22nd, 2013 to celebrate her personal success... 

Success in taking food out of...  Little children's mouths. 

Sorry Billy.

The First Lady's upcoming itinerary includes 'really important places to go' to celebrate her work on behalf of 'making American children hungry':

February 22nd, 2013 -  "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon", "Good Morning America" with Robin Roberts (to be broadcast on February 26th), and the "Dr. Oz" show, joined by Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan for a segment to air on February 28th. 

They're going to make a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT about bringing physical activity back into schools.  (Hey kids, remember when you're parents told you that THEY had to walk two miles uphill (both ways) in a foot of snow to school every day?  Guess what?  It's your turn!  Because it'll save gas, save the planet, and work off any 'remaining' paunch you have now that Mrs. O. has turned your Beefy Burritos into a nice, filling, Quinoa and Tofu salad!  Yumm-O!) 

February 27th, 2013 -  Hey, speaking of Yumm-O!... 

Let's go to the actual press release for this one:  "First Lady Michelle Obama will join TV personality and child nutrition advocate Rachael Ray to highlight the new healthy school lunches that are now being served across the nation. Thanks to the bi-partisan Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, championed by Mrs. Obama and Ray, and signed into law by the President in 2010, the 32 million students who eat lunch provided by their school are now seeing more fruits, vegetables, low-fat or fat-free milk varieties, and whole grains; less saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium; and proper portion size on their lunch trays."
 

To assure the safety of the Rachel Ray, Michelle Obama, and the film crew, no students will be on hand for this event.  According to one anonymous White House staff member, "We were originally going to have the children involved, but many of them were weak, others appeared to be extremely violent, and a few others kept nodding off as we attempted to film them during the course of their normal routine. 

 

Many of them had this sort of weird 'look' in their eyes...  We were happy to get out of the Elementary School alive!  Those kids looked, well they looked really MEAN and HUNGRY.  If you ever merged the DNA from the mutant-hill-dwelling characters from the original "The Hills Have Eyes" film with those brain-chomping zombies from the "The Walking Dead" TV series - yeah, it was a lot like that.  We threw them some raw steak (and hobbled a Republican to slow the kids down) and we ran back to the Obama Bus - it was really scary..."

 

[Okay, so I made that last quote up, but it doesn't mean it DIDN'T happen, now does it?]

 

February 28, 2013 - First Lady Michelle Obama will return to her hometown of Chicago to make a major announcement to bring physical activity back to schools.

 

The First Lady will be joined by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, NIKE, Inc. President & CEO Mark Parker, Dominique Dawes, Gabby Douglas, Allyson Felix, Bob Harper, Bo Jackson, Colin Kaepernick, Sarah Reinertsen, Paul Rodriguez, Serena Williams, a surprise musical guest ["Weird Al" performing, 'FAT' live?] and thousands of Chicago area teachers and students at the event hosted by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

 

In an effort to showcase the benefits of daily excercise, school children between the ages of 7 and 14 will be released into the streets of Chicago.  Then, at exactly 1:18pm a mock gun battle between the Crypts and the Bloods will erupt (including actual Assault Weapons provided by the Department of Justice!) - we'll see who the quick kids are...  They'll be the ones who return for the 2:00pm Quinoa Quiche Buffet.  The other children will learn the hard way that being overweight in Chicago...  Can KILL. 

Just another valuable life-lesson provided by your Democratic Party! 

 

[Yeah, I did it again.  Why?  Because Conservatives have been accused by Democrats and Liberals of wanting to kill the sick, the young and the elderly for years.  The irony, of course, is that the Party of the President is all for abortion, assisted suicide, Obama Care Death Panels and is for putting light bulbs into your homes, which have high levels of 'mercury' (which, by the way, CAN kill you).  So, I guess, I'm not sorry at all with my brief writing excercise above.]


There are additional upcoming dates of course, you can read about them HERE if you like.  Frankly, I'm done following the First Lady around on her "Yeah, I did that" Tour, 2013.

I would, however like to end with the following...

Two questions spring to mind:  

First, can the First Lady take credit for the fractional decrease in the weight of school-aged kids?

Second, can the President of the United States personally take ALL the credit for accomplishing this worth-while goal?

If you ask me, the second alternative is the more-likely than the first.

Why? 

Bluntly stated, there are more school-aged children living in poverty than there were four years ago. 

From the Huffington Post: "After climbing four years in a row, the U.S. child-poverty rate essentially held firm in 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau announced on Wednesday. In 2010, the child-poverty rate peaked at 22 percent. In 2011, census officials found that 21.9 percent of American children are living below the poverty line. The overall poverty rate held steady as well. According to the Census, 46.2 million people, or 15 percent of the population, live in poverty."

With almost 22 % of American Kids living in homes with incomes below the poverty line, I guess fewer parents can afford the Cheesy Poofs made famous by the South Park Kids?

In fact, could we not credit the President with this weight loss, instead of his wife?

I know a lot of folks who are eating at home and no longer going out to eat since the Summer of Recovery began in 2010.

Yes, it's been a very, very, long summer...  And according to the MoosRoom's resident Groundhound, it appears that now we're in for four years of a National Double-Dip Recession winter.  (One dip down, another on the way!)

Photo:  AP
"Yeah, a little more to the Left - Super!"

Well, winter, of course, unless you get your own private jet, multiple vacations, and private lessons with professional golfers in warmer climes while your wife takes the girls skiing...

Maybe Recovery Summer did actually begin in 2010 and everyone except the President, Joe Biden, and Congress missed it?
 

"Unable to overcome the shame of the 'Bunny Ears', Bo Obama took his own life
by breaking and eating 17 CFL bulbs from the President's Oval Office..."

And, as an aside, has anyone seen 'Bo' lately?  I'm worried about that dog.   

ObamaCare: "How Sweet It Is!"

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Images similar to the above have been used to 'sell' the benefits of the governmental takeover of health care in America (referred to as the "Affordable Care Act", or in the common vernacular, "Obama Care").  A smiling child, a hopeful face, a pink and white scarf indicating an unnamed ruinous disease work together to elicit a desired emotional response from me, you, and other folks who view the image. 

Is this imagery by chance?  No.  Marketing is not an 'accident'.  Market research, focus groups, and even taste-tests determine the product marketing you will see publicly in ads, in print, online, on television, and ultimately in your grocery store.  If you think back to the mid-1980's you may remember the "New Coke" marketing disaster.  This adventure-in-marketing WAS a nightmare for the Coca-Cola Company.  It went on to become a case study into what NOT to do regarding new product introduction - so if nothing else, it was a 'learning thing' for generations of marketers to come.    

So am I saying that New Coke and (New) Health Care Act experiences are related?  The answer to this question is a combination of 'Yes', 'No', and, gulp, 'Maybe'.  I'm thinking that all three apply currently, but we're not far enough into our personal experience with the Health Care 'Big Gulp' to know which answer will continue to be 'most' correct in the future.   

Since passage of the Affordable Health Care Act, you haven't been forced to drink the entire new product formulation as yet.  Sure, you've seen the marketing (both pro and con) surrounding the law, heard how it was passed (dark rooms, cigarettes, money exchanging hands) and you've already begun paying some of "New Health Care" costs (higher company-provided health insurance rates) to boot.  You may have formed an option as to what Affordable Health Care will taste like when it is fully distilled, bottled, shipped and poured into your glass.  But if you haven't...

Get ready, as the bottle is open and it is coming your way.  Some Americans have already been involved in their very own 'Taste-Test'.  (Well, you may be if you are the parent of a smiling, hopeful, pink and white head-scarfed girl who is already sick and YOU haven't filed the required paperwork PRIOR to March 2nd, 2013.  You'd better make sure that your 'I's are dotted and your 'T's are crossed.)     

Here's a taste for you...  Get ready to sample the new blend of Health Care preparing to sweep the Nation. 

Begin "New Health Care Act" taste test - now.

Photo:  Mother Jones
Card-Carrying Lackeys:  Useful

The WashingtonPost.com, February 15, 2013:  Funds run low for health insurance in state ‘high-risk pools’

Tens of thousands of Americans who cannot get health insurance because of preexisting medical problems will be blocked from a program designed to help them because funding is running low.

Obama administration officials said Friday that the state-based “high-risk pools” set up under the 2010 health-care law will be closed to new applicants as soon as Saturday and no later than March 2, depending on the state.

But they stressed that coverage for about 100,000 people who are now enrolled in the high-risk pools will not be affected. 

[MoosNote:  I'm sorry, but didn't someone say something earlier about 17 MILLION Americans needing access to these high-risk pools?  Oh, that's right, this is the program which is Market-Testing the new program is being done - this is a TEST program to see how effectively the government can handle the needs of the sick in advance of the ACTUAL program.  This is a TEST MARKETING trial...  NEW Coke, anyone?]

...

The program, which was launched in summer 2010, was always intended as a temporary bridge for the uninsured. But it was supposed to last until 2014. At that point, the health-care law will bar insurers from rejecting or otherwise discriminating against people who are already sick, enabling such people to buy plans through the private market.

From the start, analysts questioned whether the $5 billion that Congress appropriated for the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan — as the program is called — was sufficient.

Initial fears that as many as 375,000 sick people would swamp the pools and bankrupt them by 2012 did not pan out. This is largely because, even though the pools must charge premiums comparable to those for healthy people, the plans sold through them are often expensive.

But it was also because the pools are open only to people who have gone without insurance for at least six months. The result is that, while only about 135,000 people have gotten coverage at some point, they are proving far more costly to insure than predicted.

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“What we’ve learned through the course of this program is that this is really not a sensible way for the health-care system to be run,” Cohen said.

Of the original $5 billion, about $2.36 billion remains available for the last three quarters of 2013 — enough only to continue coverage for those already in the pools, according to administration estimates.

The law gave states the option of either administering their pools directly or allowing federal authorities to operate them. In 27 states that have chosen direct management, applications for new enrollment can be accepted only through March 2. In 23 states and the District, where the pools are operated by the federal government, only applications received through Friday will be considered.


Two words:  Death Panel

I'm not sure why those particular words sprung to mind, but for some reason - they did.  And when the spirit moves you...  Move with it - lest you be left behind.

Key take-aways from the Department of Health and Human Services' Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Test Marketing of the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan:

• Participation of 'Test Market Participants' is being shut down early due to a lack of adequate funding from the Feds - a government agency running out of money?  Who saw THIS coming?
• Participants of the New Health Care Program have found that coverage in this test is "often expensive" - making it hard for them to afford it (please remember the name of the legislation we're discussing - the "Affordable" Health Care Law)
• Gary Cohen, director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Consumer Information and Insurance says, “What we’ve learned through the course of this program is that this is really not a sensible way for the health-care system to be run.”  Please keep in mind that HE is the guy running it.  Mr. Cohen puts the 'SUE' in "Career Suicide".
• Cohen also said, “My responsibility is to work with the appropriation we have.”  So while he watches the money run out, he's not requesting any more from his Superiors....  [Death panels, anyone?  You know, it just sounds, 'right', doesn't it?]
• Keep in mind that this was a 'Test' of fewer than 135,000 Americans.  What happens when the other uninsured folks show up at the door?  Doing the Math fast and loose in my head, this means that there will be 169,865,000 showing up on January 1st, 2014 looking for coverage in a program for which the director says, and yes, I am paraphrasing, from Bullet 3 above, "Don't work too good for you."?

Image:  Wikipedia

Okay, so you're wondering, "Dude, how did you get from New Coke to New Health Care?"  Well, there's more, you can keep reading if you like, or get out and enjoy your day.  Your call, as I'll wrap this up in a moment.

Excerpts from "New Coke Case Study":

Battered by competition from the sweeter Pepsi-Cola, Coca-Cola decided in 1985 to replace its old formula with a sweeter variation, dubbed the “New Coke”.  Coca-Cola spent $4 million on market research.

 

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[Your government spent $5 BILLION in their pre-existing condition 'test' - Federal Government WINs in spending test!  But also FAILS in execution of program.]
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Blind taste tests showed that Coke drinkers preferred the new, sweet formula, but the launch of New Coke provoked a national uproar. Market researchers had measured the taste but had failed to measure the emotional attachment consumers had to Coca-Cola. 

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The promised 'sweetness' of the New Coke product was not enough to win over consumers who had bought into the original 'brand' of Coca-Cola.  In blind 'single' taste tests, cola drinkers preferred the taste of...  Pepsi Cola.

What Coke didn't understand was that in tests involving larger quantities of both colas, consumers preferred Coke over Pepsi when consumed in 'mass quantities'.  A little Pepsi was 'okay' but in larger quantities they found the formulation too sweet.

Coke was the standard by which all colas were historically compared to, it was consistently good, and had a history that most Americans knew.  Shoot, Coke even copyrighted the Red and Green of Santa's 'suit'.  When you can pick out the colors for Santa Claus in advertising for years to come - yup, you've got a good thing going.  Then, of course, in an attempt to regain lost 'Market Share', executives at Coke messed with its recipe, and the rest, as they say, "Is history". 

To tie in with today's conversation, consumers may be emotionally attached to the concept of 'Free' (sweeter) health care since President Obama focused on Health Care prior to and immediately following his election.  Consumers (i.e.:  you, me and everyone we know) haven't experienced full implementation of this "New Health Care" as yet.  Thus far they've only gotten thimble-sized tastes of Obama Care and haven't had to 'drink from the fire hose' with 2014's full deployment of  the 'We have to see what's in the law now that we've passed the law' version of the legislation.  

Nationalized "New Health Care" has already happened in Canada, Great Britain, and Romney's home State of Massachusetts.  Is health care still as 'sweet' as it used to be in those 'former' Test Markets?  Well, I could ramble on, but since I don't live in any of these places, you might want to read articles written by people who actually LIVE in Britain, Canada, or Massachusetts.  My gut tells me that people will find this "New Health Care" as cloyingly sweet as New Coke drinkers did back in the mid-1980's.  A taste is 'okay' but unless you're used to mainlining sugar or high fructose corn syrup, 12 or more ounces of New Coke is like drinking pure syrup (with carbonation!). 

So, what to do?

If history were to repeat itself...  (again, quoting from the article linked above)...

The change to the world's best selling soft drink was heard by 81 percent of the United States population within twenty-four hours of the announcement. Within a week of the change, one thousand calls a day were flooding the company's eight hundred number.

Most of the callers were shocked and/or outraged, many said that they were considering switching to Pepsi. Within six weeks, the eight hundred number was being jammed by six thousand calls a day. The company also fielded over forty thousand letters, which were all answered and each person got a coupon for the new Coke.

 

The difference here of course is that the Coca-Cola Company is a business, and not a Federal monopoly.  Management at Coke knew they fouled up and responded by fixing the problem while making their firm stronger and acknowledging that they fouled up. 

Shortly after the debacle of New Coke, "Coke Classic" was introduced, the public was happy, Coke market share improved and then a several dozen years later Michael Bloomberg told everyone that they could only drink 16 ounces of Coke at a time in 'his city'.  

Don't get bummed, it's just the way government IS.  It's what they dooooooooo!  They have to protect us from ourselves.  We are not smart enough to know what's good for us.

And this is why we need to send all the 'smarter than US' folks back home from Washington and let them take care of their own families.  This would be an extremely 'affordable' move for the Nation.  I was hoping that there were enough of us to begin this in 2012, but, three Million Republicans who voted for Freaking John McCain decided to sit out the 2012 election.  If not for you guys, we would have been saying "President-Elect Romney" in the days following the election.  Thanks for that, you no-good Pepsi drinkers.   

As for myself, I prefer me and my wife to make the important decisions for our family.  Perhaps one day we can rediscover the passion and outrage surrounding the switch of Coke to 'New Coke' and apply it to our health care options for the future, maybe we can do what the Supreme Court would not?

Simply gut the Affordable Health Care act.  Why? Because based upon what I've read, seen, and heard, the word 'Affordable' does not apply.  And, the guys running this 'taste-test' says that his way is 'no way' to run a program.

Just a thought.



Image:  Politifake.org

The King's Speech - 2013

Photo Credit:  Businessweek.com

The laptop is fine.  While two weeks have passed since I've spent any 'quality time' with my environmentally-friendly HP computer, it woke up quite easily this morning.  At least, it awoke more easily than I did. 

In case you're wondering, "How can I purchase an 'environmentally-friendly HP Computer'?", it's really quite easy.

You buy it.

You put it on your son's desk.

You plug it in.

Then, you leave it turned off for two weeks.

It's just that easy!

Writing anything about the President's State of the Union Address from earlier this week?  

Um, not so easy.

In the spirit of full-disclosure, I watched neither the President's Speech nor Marco Rubio's (water-boarding) rebuttal immediately following the President's Address to the Nation.  I didn't need to watch.  I've seen enough bad comedy to know that when a guy dressed as a clown is walking along a wide sidewalk with a single banana peel on it, his foot MUST step on this lone, singular peel, and he's going down, typically with bad music playing in the background. 

For those familiar with the concept of the literary concept of 'foreshadowing', in this case - WE are the clown, and the PRESIDENT is the banana.

Sorry, all other images of clowns slipping on bananas were copyrighted.
And who's got that kind of money?  Although, this works too, I think.

.
This is the King's Speech
(Well, the more factually 'interesting' sections of it at least...)

OBAMA:  "After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over 6 million new jobs."


MoosNote:  Obama starts his count not when he took office, but from the point in his first term when job losses were the highest. In doing so, he ignores the 5 million or so jobs that were lost on his watch, up to that point.
 
Private sector jobs have grown by 6.1 million since February 2010. But since he became president, the gain is a more modest 1.9 million.

Also not included in the above calculation are the 3 MILLION plus workers who have been dropped from the Workforce by the Bureau of Labor Statistics because they are no longer 'looking for work'. 

If these workers were included in the current Unemployment Rate calculation, unemployment would surpass 10.4%.  Our workforce participation rate is the lowest it's been since 1981, following the failed policies of President James Earl Carter.

...

OBAMA:  “After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three.”
 
The Washington Post Notes:  Obama again is cherry-picking a jobs number. The low point for manufacturing jobs was reached in January 2010, and so there has been a gain of 500,000 jobs since then. But BLS data show that the number of manufacturing jobs is still 600,000 fewer than when Obama took office in the depths of the recession — and 1.8 million fewer than when the recession began in December 2007.

Moreover, growth in manufacturing jobs has essentially stalled since last July.

...

OBAMA: "We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas."


MoosNote:  As discussed in several previous posts by yours truly, newly mandated CAFE standards are poised to double the required mileage of vehicles...

By the year  2025.

Saying that this has already happened is like me saying that I've lost 40 pounds because I'm planning on going on a diet - within the next dozen years. 

When I was a kid, we'd call that a lie.  As a guy in sales, I'd call it a 'stretch'.  As a human being, yeah, I'd probably still call it a lie.  

...

OBAMA: "Study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road. ... And for poor kids who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives. ...

Every dollar we invest in high-quality early education can save more than $7 later on — by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime."

The Associated Press Notes:  Dozens of studies have shown Head Start graduates are more likely to complete high school than their at-risk peers who don't participate in the program.

But a study last year by the Department of Health and Human Services that found big vocabulary and social development gains for at-risk students in pre-kindergarten programs also found those effects largely faded by the time pupils reached third grade. The report didn't explain why the kids saw a drop-off in performance or predict how they would fare as they aged.

MoosNote:  Yes, we must make sure that we have control of the children's minds by the time that they are four years old. 

Hey, haven't I heard this somewhere before?

The education of all children, from the moment that they can get along without a mother's care, shall be in state institutions at state expense.  -- Karl Marx, 1843

Oh yes, it appears that I have.

...

OBAMA: "I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago.

But if Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy."


MoosNote:  President Obama could not get this legislation passed back in 2010 when Democrats controlled both the House and Senate.  Why?  Because even members of his own party believed that the legislation was, for the lack of a better word, 'stupid'.  Yeah, let's just go with 'stupid' for now.   Personally, I get nervous whenever I hear that John McCain 'reached across the aisle' to work in a Bi-Partisan manner with anyone, be it Ted (may he rest in peace) Kennedy, Joe Lieberman, or Russ Feingold. 

Senator McCain,  did you ever stop to wonder why we have President Obama giving the State of the Union instead of you?  You've heard of the San Andreas 'Fault' right?  Well, this POTUS is John McCain's 'Fault'. 

In essence, the President is saying that he will do whatever he wants (or can) without the cooperation of the duly-elected representatives of the People (a.k.a.:  Congress).  While I'm quoting other folks here, another thought tugs at my mind begging for release. 

Ah, here it is now...

The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to Socialism.  -- Karl Marx

Thanks so much for this, Mr. McCain. 

I'm moving on... 

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming."


...

OBAMA: "Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship — a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally."

The Associated Press Notes:  The seemingly stern admonition that illegal immigrants must go to the back of the line, often heard from the president, doesn't appear to have much practical effect except in the most obvious sense. Everyone who joins a line, whether for a movie, a coffee or citizenship, starts at the back of that particular line. It's not clear he is saying anything more than that illegal immigrants won't get to cut in line for citizenship once they've obtained provisional legal status.
 
Like those living abroad who have applied to come to the U.S. legally, illegal immigrants who qualify for Obama's proposed path to citizenship will surely face long waits to be processed. But during that time, they are already in the U.S. and will get to stay, work and travel in the country under their new status as provisional immigrants, while those outside the U.S. simply have to wait.

...

OBAMA:  “We buy … less foreign oil than we have in 20 [years].”


The Washington Post Notes:  The Energy Department has cited a host of reasons why foreign oil imports have declined, noting the main reason was “a significant contraction in consumption” because of the poor economy and changes in efficiency that began “two years before the 2008 crisis” — in other words, before Obama took office.


In the end:

The President takes credit for everything.

The President takes responsibility for nothing.

Leadership is hard.

Hey President Obama!  Why not take a vacation away from the Wife and Kids (they're going skiing!)?  We'll pay for it all!!!  No problem!  You can even learn how to golf (this, after you've played more holes in four years than GW Bush did in eight) - but hey, learn from a PRO this time!  Maybe Valerie Jarrett could help hold your club!?!?

The glow of the speech begins to fade, the Nation limps on, and the critically necessary reporting begins...

Marco Rubio takes a drink - film at 11:00. 

I love capitalism.

It's the other 'ism's' I have a problem with.


Party on!

 

Have a nice day.