Another Debacle in Obamacare. The Codes.
Medical Codes? That's a tough one.
When I worked in health insurance there was a code system for every medical problem. Computer programs need a code to reduce the obscurity of the claim in question. The American Medical Association owns the copyright to this code system and they earned about $70 million a year from the copyright. All insurance companies were required by law to use it too. That’s a handy little business to have!
This code system may define something like crushed skull as an 030, broken nose as o31. These aren’t real codes, but you get the idea of the simplicity. The problem with this coding system, other than every use of it resulting in a cost, was that it was sometimes hard to use because there was a lot of ambiguity to it. When this ambiguity was combined with fraud detection things got messy. For example, someone may have input a code for a broken right leg, when it was actually the left leg that was broke. When a claim came in and one piece was for a left broken leg and another for a right, fraud detection would flag it as fraud and the claim would go unpaid until it was resolved. Meanwhile, the doctors and the insured were left with an unpaid claim that may or may not ever receive payment.
Obamacare claimed they were going to fix all of that. It’s going to take people far more intelligent than the government to even come close to it. Here’s a post from Cultural Offering showing the codes for alligator bites. Be sure to follow the link to see the chart.
So now, are they going to try to put a code on every type of animal bite? Just looking at this little snippet of information is enough to show that the government cannot and should not be anywhere near your health care. Just this coding system is going to cost an untold fortune as every piece of insurance coding software will need to be modified for this coding. You’re going to get to pay for that and this is never going to add to the services that are received.
The College Loan Bubble Is About to Burst
Who would have guessed? Millions of people qualify for guaranteed loans for to obtain higher education that promises a bright future for all who take advantage. Sign on the dotted line and the world is your oyster right? Anyone who would tell someone that “education” may not be in their best interest would quickly be dismissed as a backwards fool.
Take a look at Kelli Space’s site. She was $200,000 deep in student loans for a Sociology degree at Northeastern University and now the sheepskin just isn’t producing the income to cover the $1600/month student loan payment. That payment is going to keep coming for the next 20 years too. She’s certainly getting her first lesson in upward mobility. It’s not cheap. Her solution is to beg for help with a website. $200k to become a beggar.
I share John Stossell’s view on this scam. My only disagreement with him would be that he doesn’t say enough about who will be paying for this scam and who is perpetuating it. They are the same people who look down their noses at anyone who hasn’t completed a “formal” education. Those people that are going to be paying the taxes, that paid for the lies, that led young unsuspecting people into a debt trap. A debt trap that was supposed to be their salvation.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVz-HqwOuyo
I don’t fault this young people like Kelli Space, but I wouldn’t send a dime to help her pay this off either. Soon enough, we’re all going to be paying for this in one way or another for the millions are not going to produce the incomes that match the amount of debt they’ve incurred.
Related articles
- The Coming Student-Loan Crash (andrewhammel.typepad.com)
- The Next Bubble … (newsunwrapped.wordpress.com)
- Evidence of a Higher Education Bubble (izabael.com)
Our Broke Government Still Has Resources to Pick on the Amish
Dairy Farms As Dangerous As a Meth Lab?Image via Wikipedia
The Amish are being busted like drug dealers for selling raw milk. While we’re telling the rich they need to pay more taxes and the poor that their taking to many resources, somehow our over-reaching government finds the resources to go bust Amish dairy farmers like they’re selling crack. So just how deadly is this raw milk that our ancestors seemed to survive just fine on for ages?
Judging strictly on my own opinion, I wouldn’t drink it. I have no problem with pasteurized milk. If I did, I would consider raw milk. I’ve watched a friend who couldn’t drink milk due to lactose intolerance happily swig down a huge glass of raw milk. He continues to drink and feels just fine. It raises an eyebrow when you know that pasteurization causes problems for some people. There are numerous testimonies from others for everything from tooth decay to alleviating allergy symptoms. The FDA claims that these are just anecdotal and lack any scientific evidence.
The dangers are that the milk will contain disease and bacteria. Some of the bacteria is drug resistant and the diseases are serious. So serious that armed raids need to take place at 5 a.m. to shut these milk dealers down! It should be easy to stop production and go through legal proceedings if a farm presents a danger without any scare tactics. If this milk is so dangerous, clear evidence would be easy to present. I think that they need to the forceful raids to scare the other dairy farmers because the evidence is lacking and may prove the contrary of the FDA’s findings.
We’d all like to believe that the FDA is seriously just doing their job. Unfortunately, there is financial motive for them to back their claims that many claim to be false. The problem with believing the FDA is that their actions lack any compassion or common sense. This is milk afterall, not cocaine or heroin. There are entire Amish communities that drink their own milk and have for generations. The Amish life expectancy is the same as the rest of the population and their number 1 killer is heart disease. If this were as dangerous as crack, it would be self-evident. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that the FDA is full of shit, especially considering their attacks on the Amish.
There is a real problem when the FDA feels free to act like this. They’re not worried about the public’s backlash for gun drawn raids on peaceful dairy farmers and that’s a red flag to me. Common sense be damned, they’ve got a serious bacteria situation right? Everyone on that farm drinks it, they’re alive and healthy, but there is a grave danger that warrants a terrorizing 5 a.m. raid? Were this a true concern, the FDA would be educating the public and the farmers, proving any myths to be wrong, and proving that this isn’t just a way to protect the big business interest in the matter.
So where’s the financial interest causing the conspiracy. To me, it’s simple. Pasteurized milk has a very long shelf life compared to the mere 2-3 days that raw milk has. That’s pretty much all I need to know. This alone would send milk prices skyrocketing on a big business level. The only possible way to sell milk would be on a local level with this type of shelf life. I can’t think of any product that isn’t extremely expensive which only has a 2-3 day shelf life.
Others go quite a bit deeper in the conspiracy. They claim that the government doesn’t want us to be strong and resistant to disease and bacteria. The claim is that a weaker society is easier to control. They claim that there’s to much profit in that too. This is about as crazy as the goons busting dairy farms with guns drawn isn’t it?
When the FDA is acting as crazy, if not crazier, than the conspiracy crowd, it’s time to shut them down. The federal government has no Constitutional power to enforce bans on food products. It’s simply not there. Local government can have that power and if they did, it would be obvious to detect any danger in areas that allowed raw milk. All that we have now is an agency led by someone who was appointed as a political favor to decide for us and to force her point by using nothing less than the barrel of a gun.
Related articles
- Feds Bust Notorious Producer Of Amish White (maxredline.typepad.com)
- Raw Force vs. Raw Milk (reason.com)
- Why the Amish are healthier than most Americans (worldtruthtoday.com)
- Feds sting Amish farmer selling raw milk locally (genomega1.wordpress.com)
- Benefits of Raw Milk (brighthub.com)
- Should We Do Away with Pasteurized Milk? (organaholic.com)
Our Broke U.S. Government Finds the Funds for Additional Census Work
Our government is supposed to be broke, yet somehow they manage to turn the printing presses at the mint on to get this most important of projects done. It really pisses me off because there should not be Federal authority to figure out where schools, roads, job training, and health services are provided. It’s not their business. Most of it is at the local level if at all!
Additional Census Data Request
This letter looks innocent enough as it’s just the Census Bureau wanting to know more information, but in reality, it’s the Federal Government trying to grasp control where it has no true ability or authority. They claim they’re just trying to get funding to the right places. Who’s funds?
So they’re going to gather up this data from “random” households and plan the future for the entire country from the little 10 square mile plot that is Washington D.C. It is an admission of failure that they choose to use random data. Any real study of value would be required to use full data. Imagine how a roads will be planned with random data.
In about 10 years when we see the Federal Government inserting itself further into projects where it has no business being and we see the mess that is created, this will be part of the evidence to prove why.
To make this more revealing, I looked up the Census Bureau Director, Robert Groves. It turns out that he’s well known for manipulating data for political gains. It’s no wonder that Obama selected him for this. This also explains the requests for added information. The more “random” data, the more ridiculous claims that Robert Groves can come up with. Now to decide what to do with his request.
Undercover Video Shows How Your Tax Dollars Support Underage Prostitution
This video shows the collaboration between what she believes to be a pimp involved in underage prostitution and illegal aliens. She’s quite excited about her new found customer. I’ve seen car salesman with less enthusiasm about their product.
You’re involved in this too. Planned Parenthood receives about 1/3 of their funding from government grants and contracts. You’re paying for at least 1/3 of this. That’s a plan alright, but as you see in this video, parents are not part of that plan. This is one of the most disgusting things I’ve seen in a while.
What will be their excuse? Just one bad apple at 1 clinic? That they were afraid of the “pimp” and just playing along until the authorities came in? What will they ask you to believe? This Progressive news outlet want you to believe that Planned Parenthood is actually the victim! They evn try to link the completely unrelated Tuscon massacre to the story.
I’ve got many questions. Why aren’t police investigating this way instead of waiting until others pull it off? Why isn’t the clinic shut down immediately under these allegations? Why does the lady have no fear, but rather a saleswoman’s approach to the illegal services she’s offering? What prompted this man to go undercover? Did he have prior knowledge that compelled him to expose what was happening?
Related articles
- Looks like Planned Parenthood will get nailed by a series of undercover videos. Again. (4simpsons.wordpress.com)
- Planned Parenthood seeks FBI probe of possible ruse (msnbc.msn.com)
- Man Tried ACORN ‘Sting’ on Planned Parenthood (newser.com)
InfraGard. Is Your Boss an Official Junior G-Man?
Before I get on the subject of InfraGard, let me explain that I enjoy all conspiracy theories for the entertainment value if nothing else. The amount of work put into many of them is like a never ending lie. As soon as they’re debunked, they come up with another twist to make their unproven theory true. It’s almost as entertaining as listening to a global warming scientist, but better.
I also realize the danger that they can pose to those that follow blindly, but everything has a downside.
The subject of InfraGard came up on Jessie Ventura’s Conspiracy Theory tonight. Keep in mind, Jessie Ventura made a good amount of money as an actor with professional wrestling. He’s an entertainer and he would have a hard time convincing the normal person of anything. He’s playing on the fact that people like to be entertained and worrying that your government is out to get you is as good as any scary movie plot. Just the idea of InfraGard sent chills up my spine though.
keyhole from Crestock Photos
What the government is doing is gathering people to report suspected terrorist activity of all sorts. They are targeting high-level businessmen to take care of the task. They are hooking them up with secret clearances and giving them advanced warnings and intelligence. It sounds like a good idea in some respects. Many of these businesses are vital to our daily lives. Communications, chemicals, food suppliers, etc. are prime targets. There probably should ge an agency that takes care of these things, but do you want your boss playing Junior G-Man?
I found all sorts of holes in Jessie’s report. He played up the secret clearance for example. Privates in the Army have secret clearances just to look at a training version of a code book or listen to radios in vehicles. Many thousands of low-level government workers have them for very mundane positions. Basically, it’s just a step to make sure you’re not a criminal and that you are aware that some things you’ll see should not leave your workplace. Jessie claimed that the government was giving the authority for members of InfraGard to kill. Imagine your boss in the typical office telling his workers to use force? Most I’ve worked in, half the folks would be injured in a stampede running out the door to get home to safety if such an order was given. Jessie said that the only way to become a member is through the recommendation of a current member, but there is an application on the website. These types of fears I would suspect were for the drama of the show.
Here’s the fear I have with a program like this and the Patriot Act. I have to wonder if my fears aren’t warranted given the current economic crisis. I fear the abuse of any information they can get their hands on. Business leaders are just that. They live and die for the bottom line. The only oath they’ve ever understood is that profit for the stockholders is their only mission. If they are privy to information that will gain a profit for their business, you can bet that they will use it. If they need to smear a competitor, you can be sure they will. If just a bad reference isn’t enough for revenge on a perceived disgruntled ex-employee, they’re going to use their information to destroy him. If you don’t play ball with your boss/Junior G-Man, he’s going to use his information and FBI connections to take care of you.
When I hear of so many scandals where information unfolds at a blinding pace, I suspect the Patriot Act as the culprit. The defense for the Patriot Act would be that the government isn’t going to waste their time meddling in business affairs. Really? Did you know that the majority or our intelligence gathering is done through the use of contractors? These contractors are profit driven companies and it’s not like a profit driven company to turn down customers.
So am I worried that the government and my boss are going to spend money to find out secrets about me? Not at all. Your boss can spend $2500 and listen to anything he wants to in your place of employment. They’ve been doing it for years because it is so cheap. I don’t even worry about that because the only person that can operate the equipment is usually a nerd hardware guy that lacks the time to listen to everything. They only use this stuff when some serious red flags are thrown or the nerd hardware guy is trying to find out if the hot soon-to-be divorcee is available yet. I’ve seen it happen. You can actually have fun with tailored e-mails meant to send the nerd hardware guy into a frenzy.
My worry is that the government awarding the most unscrupulous individuals in our society with information that can change the outcome of your employer’s endeavors. My worry is that the InfraGard members will use their government granted authority to harass individuals that they choose. It’s nothing new. Employers have been using private detectives and law enforcement connections to do this illegally for many years. This just clears the path for them.
This is the first I’ve ever heard about them. Over 350 of Fortune 500 companies are members and I’m just now hearing about it? Why the secrecy? Wouldn’t the government want us to know about this use of our tax dollars if it were a good program? Wouldn’t they want terrorist to know that even our industries are on the lookout?
I shouldn’t even mention the Nazi feel to this group, but that is the first thing that comes to mind. It’s bipartisan as it started with Clinton after the Oklahoma City bombing and Bush never removed the program.
If you think your being spied on these days, you probably are.
Cash for Clunkers – $24,000 Spent Per Vehicle
$24,000 spent per car in the Cash For Clunkers program! Now there’s a headline that should make most people mad. The irresponsibility of the government, car companies, and car buyers is disgusting. The average sale price of the cars was $26,000, the cars could have been given away with efficiency this bad.
I got this figure from Edmunds. I’ll admit that the figures are a little murky to say the least. There are many arguable factors. The point to be taken is that there was much more than the amount the government stated given for the trade-ins when you factor in all costs involved.
The whole premise that the government would give people far more for their trade-in than it was worth if you bought a care THEY thought you have, should have sent Americans running. First of all, they were doing this with taxpayer dollars. Would you ask your neighbor to chip in on your new vehicle? If you took part in this program, you forced him! You also accepted the make and model that the government chose for you. Now, consider your job stability. In these times, you may not have a job long enough to pay for those shiny wheels, so there is a chance you’ll default on the loan and you will have no car at all soon.
So you’ve got your shiny wheels and you can’t believe they gave you so much for your clunker. What a deal! Wrong! The car dealers seen you coming as soon as they got wind of the program. They set their price on the new car higher and wouldn’t budge on the price. You didn’t get any more for your trade-in when you consider that they price of the new car was set high. The car dealers stuck it to you as usual and they got the government to pick up the tab on your old car. Not only that, they trashed all of the used cars. Now the used car market isn’t flooded, thus keeping used car prices high.
The government is claiming this was a success! I’d hate to see another failure if this is success. All that they did was figure out a way to get taxpayer money directed back to the unions. If it gets back the unions, it can filter it’s way back to the politicians. You were their tool to make this happen.
Oh but you are driving a car that so much better for the environment and saving gas! Do some research and you’ll find that when you consider the massive amounts of energy it takes to create your new car, you’re actually harming the environment when you replace your clunker. Save that explanation for your next meeting with Al Gore.
I hope people learn from this little clunker deal what the government is doing with your money and how they are playing you for a sucker. If you’ve bought one of these shit wagons because the government told you to, please don’t lean on my old Chevy truck and scuff it up. You’ve leaned on us all enough.
Documentary Stuff Debunked
I think it’s important that as many parents see debunked version of The Story Of Stuff.
The Story Of Stuff is a video currently being shown in public schools everywhere. It is so full of Socialist propaganda that the debunking commentator can’t make it more than 2 minutes without stopping to tell you about another myth, lie, or misrepresentation. She fails to represent material from her own research with accuracy!
The debunker does a great job explaining the documentaries faults, but you should think about why Annie Leonard has decided to misinform and persuade the youth. She seems like such a nice lady! She speaks like a child loving soul. How could she have bad intentions? I don’t know what she was doing while she was traveling all over the world for so many years, but she wasn’t learning much apparently. Look at her list of supporters and consider where they get there funding, they’re not friends of the United States by any assumption.
Since the producers of this documentary do not state their true intentions(or any other truths for that matter), I have to make assumptions about why they would need to lie to children in order to promote their agenda. The United States is particulary demonized in the video because they excel in the production of goods and they excel in the consumption. We have long held a position of power and wealth that the rest of the world envies. Our competitors have never been able to top us with straight out competition. The only way to beat us is to destroy the system which makes our way of life possible. Even current attacks on our economy and laws have proved to backfire on them. Destroy the youth’s will to succeed and you will weaken our country more than any other effort.
Sharpton’s Baggage: Nearly $1.5M in Unpaid Taxes
- Al Sharpton In Middle
photo credit: cyvancefordaSharpton’s Baggage: Nearly $1.5M in Unpaid Taxes – Government records obtained by The Associated Press indicate that civil rights leader Al Sharpton and his business entities owe nearly $1.5 million in overdue taxes and associated penalties [Fox News Headlines]
Why do these people who demand that everyone pays higher taxes to support their special groups never pay their own taxes? Why don’t their followers see what the hypocrisy that they have fallen into? Not only does Al Sharpton not pay taxes, he is very wealthy! He is a member of the group that he wants to pay more taxes!
I suppose he claims that the taxes are unfair and racist.
Yes, the right has hypocrisy too. Bush spends our money like a drunken sailor and claims to be conservative for example, but most conservatives are the first to point this out. You never hear the libs make mention of his hypocratic foolishness.
Will we ever have a politician that has principles, sticks to them, and follows the Constitution?
Retailers Using Rebate as Bait
FOXBusiness: Retailers Using Rebate as Bait – [Fox News Headlines]
Wow, what a scam.
Everyone needs this “rebate” to pay bills and everyone from the general media, the government, to the retailers are out to make you spend it on frivilous endeavors. Don’t do it! Pay off or pay down a bill.
So the American government hands back money that they basically stole from us to begin with, then the majority of folks are going to rush out and buy more crap made in China. Wouldn’t it be great if the majority of us just put the money on debt!
As soon as that money hits my account, I’m cutting a check to a debt.
