Voting Machines...

original comic of xkcd.

More Proof of How Far the Old Gray Lady Had Fallen

One instance in which the media unfairly caricatured a president was at a grocers’ convention in Florida during the first President Bush’s re-election campaign. I was among the pool reporters watching the president, who was unfailingly gracious in public, praise what his hosts claimed was a dramatic new supermarket scanner. The New York Times, on its front page, ridiculed him, claiming it to be yet another example of how out-of-touch he was with average American voters. In fact, the invention was new; it could instantly read a bar code that had been ripped up into small pieces and scattered over the scanner. The newspaper declined to post a correction, and its account lives on.

The NYT has its narrative and no amount of truth can penetrate that wall. President Bush was smart enough to fly jets. Smart enough to run an oil business. Smart enough to be President twice but to the Times and its readers, he will forever and always be that "moron in the White House".

Treasury Department Seeking Survival Kits For Bank Employees

Sorry but what the heck is the Treasury Department doing, seeking to acquire survival kits for its employees?

The Department of Treasury is seeking to order survival kits for all of its employees who oversee the federal banking system, according to a new solicitation.

These are not major league kits by any measure as they are "fanny pack" size but that just begs the question all the more, why? For what purpose?

The survival kits must come in a fanny-pack or backpack that can fit all of the items, including a 33-piece personal first aid kit with “decongestant tablets,” a variety of bandages, and medicines.

The kits must also include a “reusable solar blanket” 52 by 84 inches long, a 2,400-calorie food bar, “50 water purification tablets,” a “dust mask,” “one-size fits all poncho with hood,” a rechargeable lantern with built-in radio, and an “Air-Aid emergency mask” for protection against airborne viruses.

Based on the number of employees and the solicitation amount, these survival kits will cost $50 or less per. For what purpose? In the realm of Government, this is not a noticeable amount of money but it is also a weird thing for the Treasury Department to get. Who is requesting this purchase and why?

Happy Holidays from the Crew of the USS Enterprise (Next Generation)

Happy Holidays to everyone (make it so)!

AARP

The organization known as AARP is NOT what you think it is. It is not a retired persons advocacy group and has not been since at least 1999 when it officially changed its name from "American Association of Retired Persons" to AARP.

AARP, Inc. is still officially a non-profit 501(c)(4) but it is also a parent organization that wholly owns other 501(c) organisations as well as a number of for-profit organizations.

Two of the for-profit organizations focus on insurance and these companies generate the lion's share of AARP earnings. At least 46% of AARP revenues are generated by royalties on AARP endorsed insurance programs, the majority of this from their Medicare-related insurance products. This may explain in part why AARP was in favor of and supported the ACA (Obamacare).

Along with Medicare Advantage, AARP also earns paid endorsements for Medigap plans. Public records show that AARP earns 4.95% of seniors' premiums for every Medigap policy sold under its name. As a result of this arrangement, AARP directly benefits as Medigap enrollment increases. Around 91% of Medicare beneficiaries are also enrolled in some form of supplemental coverage (like Medigap). This is worth close to $700 million in revenues a year to AARP.

AARP is focused on selling (really earning from endorsing) insurance to seniors. They supported the ACA not because it was good for seniors but because it was good for their bottom line.

Is all of these insurance changes, the reduced coverage, the reduced networks, the increased costs really worth those meal discounts you get with your AARP card?

You can read the complete government report on AARP here.

I will not be giving AARP any of my money.

The House Benghazi Report

And what the media has not been telling you...

"The Administration's flawed perception that al-Qa'ida was on the decline contributed to inadequate Diplomatic Security protection in Benghazi. Evidence received by HPSCI largely confirms the findings of other investigations that, prior to the attacks, the State Department did not respond sufficiently to the deteriorating threat environment in eastern Libya. These failures were not due to inadequate reporting by the intelligence community about threats to U.S. and Western interests in Benghazi. The IC provided updates to relevant agencies, including the State Department, on the deteriorating security environment in Benghazi.

First, previous reports state that senior officials at the State Department, including then-Secretary Hillary Clinton, received numerous reports of attacks in and around Benghazi. Those same officials, however, did not approve repeated requests for additional security. We hope that other ongoing investigations, which focus on the State Department, will uncover the responsible officials and hold them accountable for this failure."

So, the State Department (Hillary Clinton) was informed that there were growing concerns and that there were escalating attacks in the area but the official line was and still is that it was all a spontaneous demonstration that just happened to take place on September 11th over some video that was released months before and no one really took any notice of.

R.I.G.H.T.

P.S. More good stuff here.

#dontforget