It’s a rant day today. Actually this has been ranting around in my brain for more than a day and today just happens to be the day it comes pouring out.

I am SO angry at the manipulation of insurance and pharmaceutical companies and the inherent opposition to any proposed solution to bail this country out of the HUGE mess the former President and Company put us in – and yes it was him do not even try to tell me otherwise – that I am hoping, nay praying, that for those of you thinking health care reform means “pulling the plug on your grandmother” or some such idiotic nonsense, that you’ll be SENSIBLE ENOUGH to actually watch this.

In fact, all you Fox News fans, I dare you to watch this clip:

The most sensible thing I’ve read lately is this Letter to the Editor written by a local Henderson woman. I am quoting it in its entirety because for god’s sake all of us just waiting for things to magically happen for us (isn’t that what got us in this mess to begin with thanks to Bush, Cheney, and company?!? yes!), and for those who amazingly seem to believe anything their party tells them (yes I’m talking to Republicans or at least some – and remember I’m actually a registered Republican but that’s another story and NO I did not go the McCain/Palin way more than a half year ago) listen up because this woman, in a nutshell, expresses everything even our elected officials (and this time I’m talking to all you USELESS Democrats elected to office overwhelmingly this term, you bunch of idiots!!!) don’t have the GUTS to pull off (and here 70+ percent of the country believed YOU would make a difference – HA!):

Angry at industry’s misguided pawns

I hear there is “angry opposition” to health care reform.

Well, I’m angry, too, because these so-called angry opponents, in their zeal to “break” President Barack Obama at any cost, risk cheating themselves and the rest of us out of needed change and our very survival.

Please don’t refer to the town hall spectacles as “vigorous debate.” Unlike serious people who have real questions, concerns and suggestions, the “disrupters” have only been manipulated by the status quo forces (the insurance/pharma companies and lobbyists) to disrupt town meetings and unnerve legislators, to keep legitimate concerns and issues from being discussed. They prefer to scare people with outright lies.

If you don’t want your doctor to be reimbursed for counseling you on “end-of-life” decisions, then execute a living will yourself to make your wishes known.

If you don’t want “socialized medicine,” protest the Veterans Affairs system, our only health service that is in fact owned and operated by the U.S. government.

If you want fewer insurance benefits for more money, oppose a public option that would keep your insurance company honest and efficient.

The disrupters don’t seem to fear losing their insurance with their jobs, or worry that their employers will stop subsidizing their insurance, or that an insurance company bureaucrat will tell them they can’t have a procedure, or that a preexisting condition will disqualify them for coverage, or that high premiums and co-pays will force them into bankruptcy.

If we lose this chance to fix health care in America, it will be because the disrupters put their narrow political interests and the profits of insurance and pharmaceutical companies ahead of the best interests of the American people. We cannot let them!

(For privacy’s sake I am not putting in the woman’s name)

With 10% (or more most likely because a lot of people have run out of benefits) unemployment in this country and more states so underwater we’ll all need diving bells in the very near future just to breath, I am inflamed that so few can influence the outcome for so many.

How dare you Democratic’s sit there in Washington cringing and crippling not only yourselves but the rest of the country and LETTING THE SAME THING HAPPEN AGAIN.

Frankly, I HAD faith that the current President and his staff and Congress could finally pull off fixing the biggest challenges our country faces and put us back on course. Now, I sit here ashamed FOR THEM for not sticking to their guns. At the moment to hell with “bi-partisanship!” Just do what you were elected to do.

This country needs SERIOUS help willingly given by SERIOUS people. For god’s sake open your eyes and think and act with the brain given to you!

Here’s one more quoted Letter to the Editor (again written to our local paper by another local woman with a brain on her shoulders – and no I’m not putting in her name – though I’m sure neither of them would mind if I did):

Obama’s critics have selective memory

Many people are upset with President Barack Obama over the current conditions. Wow, what short memories!

Where was the anger in 2002 when the previous administration took a trillion-dollar surplus and began squandering it on tax breaks for big oil companies posting unprecedented profits, then started a war that was suppose to be paid for with Iraqi oil revenue?

The result of these actions was the precipitous rise in the price of oil (almost 400 percent) while the U.S. Treasury was drained of its surplus and plunged into debt by the cost of this unjustified war. The war cost is ongoing and the total treasure expended in lives is, as the commercials say, “priceless.”

Now the anger and the blame for the busted economy and tanked real estate get heaped on the current administration while it tries to right the ages-old wrong of poor, costly and unfair health care in this country. For many of us, this anger is eight years too late.

I’ll leave my rant – for now – with just this… ALL YOU TEMPORARY PUBLIC SERVANTS IN WASHINGTON – THE PRESIDENT INCLUDED WAKE UP AND DO YOUR PROPER AND RIGHTFUL DUTY TO THIS COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE.

I’m disgusted with the lot of you!

Today I’ll deviate slightly and present a mixture of current news you really need to know, along with a bit of economic projections, and a touch of energy saving. How’s that for really mixing it up

PHONY LOCKSMITHS

First, our local Channel 8 Las Vegas News team wants everyone to be aware of a huge (I should write HUGE) locksmith scam going on – not only here in the Vegas area but across the country.

“The scam emanates from New York and Florida and appears to be a highly organized criminal enterprise that flaunts local laws and has been known to use threats and intimidation against customers who are invariably in vulnerable situations.”

Phony locksmiths are popping up all over.  Many of these fake locksmith outfits take out large yellow page-type ads to appear more legitimate.

…legitimate locksmiths are appalled by the invasion of Las Vegas and other large cities by shady, unlicensed locksmith operators who are little more than a phone number. They take out huge ads in the Yellow Pages, have dozens of numbers under single listings, and essentially take over the market.

There are no background checks or work cards for the employees. Taxes aren’t paid and the whole operation seems to be routed back to a central dispatch in New York. “It’s millions of dollars. It’s big. That’s why they are doing it,” said Esposito. (Editors Note: Esposito is a legitimate locksmith)

…few, if any, of the companies have actual offices. Search Google for Las Vegas Locksmiths and hundreds pop up, but the addresses are bogus. They’re actually the addresses of fast food joints, Caesars Forum Shops, the Mandalay Events Center, or McCarran Airport. The office that sent out two of the men who were busted is, in fact, a locksmith shop but it’s been closed down for many months.

One of the bogus companies listed the address of its office and it seemed very familiar to our I-Team producer Ian Russell. That’s because it is his home address. He assures us there is no locksmith operation in his apartment.

To make sure you don’t become a mark for this type of scam – where that $30 fee to get you into your car turns into $50 or $100 or instead of $150 to change the locks in your house, the bill turns into $600 and the person won’t leave until you pay, check with AAA, your insurance company, and (as News 8 puts it) “know the signs of a scam.”

THE ECONOMY

Projections indicate that come next week the market will slow up as it traditionally does in August. With numerous variables thrown in, the key (as we’re all aware) still remains the unemployment crisis.

It is to be hoped that corporations are finally understanding/realizing that when you lay so many people off, you’re decimating your own target marketing – the very people who buy stuff WHEN they have money, but do not purchase if they are unemployed (how stupid can they really be?) . Kenneth Wink of SummitFC writes:

“I think it’s important to take a step back and realize that the market is rejoicing in what is corporate cost cutting. Firms need a real revenue stream. And they’ve been cutting so many workers, who are also consumers too that won’t be consuming. Employment will be taking a more important role.”

Who knows… while the rest of us pray “they” come to their senses, the question remains… will they?

AND A BIT OF GREEN

Going green thankfully is turning more into a habit then a trend, and there are plenty of bargains out there – in terms of tax credits. Just be sure as you “go green” that the equipment, etc., you are choosing is “certified” so you can take advantage of the multiple tax credits and rebates being offered.

While this section is written specifically for U.S. citizens, perhaps your country is also offering added incentives to go green. Check.

Here are a few “qualifying expenditures” worth investigating starting with big ticket items and working downward:

o Solar water heating equipment – residence and vacation home(s)

o Solar electricity-generating equipment for your residence and vacation home(s)

o Wind energy equipment, agains primary or vacation homes

o Fuel cell electricity generating equipment but only for your primary residence.

One thing to keep in mind is investments in ways to heat your pool or hot tub do not apply.

o Replacing windows, skylights, and storm windows and doors

o Insulation designed to reduce heat gain or loss

o Metal and/or asphalt roofs that include heat reduction components

o High-efficiency central air conditioners

o Furnaces, water heaters and water boilers that run on natural gas, propane, or oil.

o Electric heat pumps and electric heat pump water heaters.

o Circulating fans used in natural gas, propane and oil furnaces.

o Biomass fuel stoves used for heating or hot water.

Again, these are just some of the green items to keep in mind that not only save the planet, but in many cases, money out of your wallet (sometimes over time).

For more information on going green and green living, visit the Forcedgreen blog written by Linda Rembowski.

Til next time!

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I’m sure you’ve got comments and opinions. Don’t be afraid to comment. You also gain a valuable do follow link for the search engines!

Okay, this is a very odd post, but one I’m going to write anyway. As a kid I grew up during the “Magic 8 Ball” era and, not surprisingly, it’s still around.

The other day at my “advanced age” I was given one as a gift. I’d like to believe that the ball is filled with mostly negative or vague answers. No matter how you shake it or how you phrase it, more often than not the answer you are hoping not to get surfaces.

So today came as no great surprise to receive a phone call that (more…)

Okay, I confess I’m one of the millions out there who smoke, but as god is my witness I’d surely love to quit! Recently, my sister suggested a prescription she received from her doctor that she claims worked like a charm. Of course, she was ready in her mind to stop and stop forever.

The problem is I looked that particular drug up online and, holy cow, the potential side effects are super scary. And, the worse thing is you would not know if you were susceptible to these effects until, perhaps, it was too late (one is particularly nasty!).

However, I am determined to not just “stop smoking,” but QUIT. By the word “quit” I mean to end this habit once and for all (I do believe you cannot use the word QUIT if you have merely “stopped for a while”).

Lots of people have excuses, and I, too, have my own justifications – a huge amount of stress and the fall back to easing those moments by… yes… lighting up.

Yet we are all aware that the “smoking police” are out there. Granted, they may have my best interests (and their own) at heart, but it just irks me when other people start dedicating how a person can and cannot live their individual lives. I’m not talking about the truly great laws in place like “thou shalt not kill or maim or hurt children,” but laws that other people believe are “good for me.” What comes next? I can’t read Harry Potter or buy bread because other people believe they know better or should have a say in my life? (Sorry I’ll stop that tirade and continue onward… LOL!)

Yes, not smoking would be wonderful and I know I’m going to need more than just sheer will power (trust me I know and it’s a long and messy story). That’s when I ran across the website I Can Smoke Whenever and its product the electric cigarette.

If you’re not a smoker, you won’t appreciate this as much as the millions of the rest of us most likely will and do. Here’s the opportunity, not unlike a nicotine patch (which I had rotten luck with) or gum (it pulled just about all the fillings out of my mouth I kid you not!) to eliminate the tar build up in your lungs while slowly but surely weaning yourself off nicotine. And, since the byproduct is “a transparent vapor with no odor” that produces no carbon monoxide (hence no “second hand smoke” haters to inflame), you can actually “smoke” at your desk at work, pub, a sporting event, or even cruising your favorite mall.

Of course many are wondering is the electric cigarette legal? And the answer, as of this post, is yes – it is not regulated by the TTB.

Let’s face it, we’re all working very hard online (especially if you’re reading this and similar blogs and websites on marketing and internet promoting) – if you’re a smoker, don’t you want to be around to see all that hard work pay off?

Improving your health is never a bad thing, and investigating serious ways to quit smoking should be right up there at the top of your list.

Watch the video, read the website (it’s not large) and make an informed decision for yourself. And this time just may be the FINAL time you need to ever address this habit again.

And BTW, they offer FREE shipping!