Opuscula Black activists: Where are they When needed?

I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, but south Florida has had a number of black people murdered recently.

Not by cops.

Not by non-blacks.

All the murders were blacks killing blacks.

When a white murders a black several faces can be expected to be seen on the tv news.

I term these people “tv activists.”

TV activists Al Sharpton (left) and Jessie Jackson (right)

These people never show their faces when a white person is murdered by a white person, nor do they appear when a white or Latino is murdered by a black person.

Perhaps non-black lives don’t matter.

Likewise, no one sees the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement when a black person is murdered by another black.

Do black lives matter only when the person taking the black life is a non-black?

Black Lives Matter founders, left to right, Alicia Graza, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, and Opal Tometi

There is some things wrong with tv activists and Black Lives Matter (BLM) folks.

It is wrong to ignore black on black crime.

It is wrong to ignore black on non-black crime.

It is wrong to be solely focused on the black issue.

Murder is not about color or lack thereof.

Likewise drive-by shootings.

Ditto shootings of innocent bystanders — such as the 12 year-old boy wounded apparently by a wild shot.

While guns in criminals’ hands is the problem, guns themselves are not the problem. Neither are the liberals’ favorite whipping boys: the NRA and conservatives.

If the gun wasn’t available, a knife or blunt object will do.

Criminals like guns because they can harm from a safe distance.

While it is not the problem for either the tv activists or the BLM founders, it is a black problem. Blacks are not the only “owners” of the problem, but locally they are the most frequent perpetrators and victims.

The problem is not helping the police get the criminals off the street.

No one seems to see anything, no one seems to know anything.

A person is injured or murdered and no one has anything to tell the cops.

Omerta¹ apparently is not just for the mafia any more.

If the tv activists and the BLM leadership really want to help blacks, they need to visit the areas — not just south Florida but criss-cross the country — to encourage their followers to work with the police to help rid their areas of criminals OF ANY RACE. They also could work with the police to help develop a level of trust with the people. People who don’t talk to the police soon find the police don’t ask them for help. That’s a loose-loose situation for all concerned.

With all the crime — murders, rapes, shootings to name a few — the tv activists and BLM leadership need to be active; come out from wherever they are and drum up support to help end the crime, no matter who commits the act.

Come out, come out, wherever you are.

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Sources

1. Omerta: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omert%C3%A0

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Black Activists

Opuscula SUVs – not Sporty or Utilitarian

IT SEEMS MADISON AVENUE has turned every 5-door sedan into a “Sport Utility Vehicle.”

A TWO-door car is a “coupe” A FOUR-door car is a “sedan.”

The English prefer to call such vehicles a “jeep” — with a lower case “j.” Jeep, with a capital “J” is a registered trademark of (currently) Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, a/k/a FCA.

A little jeep history can be read online.¹

Image above of Army “jeep” from Military History Now web site (http://tinyurl.com/y96pv9cv) (Source: WikiCommons)

What IS an “SUV?”

Is it a high-rise station wagon such as a Toyota Highlander (right)?

Consumer Reports2 actually called the 2008 version “overgrown station wagon.” It does have fold-down seats and can be outfitted with a roof rack, so “utility” may be allowed. But “sport”? There is nothing “sporty” about the vehicle.

Looking for an SUV with at least a “sporty” name?

How about the Porsche Macan (right)? (Is it “porsh” or “porsha”? Either way, a Porsche SUV seems an oxymoron.)

Consumer Reports finds³ that “For 2017, three 3.0-liter V6 turbo engines are offered, ranging from 340 to 400 hp, in addition to a new 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder. Typically equipped S models land in the low-$60,000 range, and the uplevel Turbo starts at $76,000.”

A 400-horse power engine IS impressive and might prove useful at the SUV races or scooting up Pikes Peak, but the Macan’s low body and lack of either All Wheel Drive (AWD) or 4 Wheel Drive (4WD) prevents if from any off-roading.

Subaru does have several a “semi-SUVs.”

Consumer Reports⁴ opines that for the Forester (right), “Handling is nimble enough and very secure, but the Forester isn't particularly sporty to drive.” Yet the Forester, as with all Subaru sedans, has AWD and it has a higher ground clearance than most vehicles in its class, so “civilized” off-roading is possible,

The Dodge Durango (right) is, with AWD and a fairly high ground clearance, what this scrivener calls a “true” SUV. Consumer Reports⁵ writes that ”the Durango impressively blends workhorse utility with ample creature comforts. It shares its platform with the Jeep Grand Cherokee but is longer and adds a third-row seat.

The Durango is in the same class as several GM and Ford offerings.

They all are available with either AWD or 4WD, they have decent inside dimensions and, when outfitted with a roof rack and trailer hitch, are truly “utility” capable.

Of course so are what USED to be called “panel trucks,” now renamed to be “cargo vans,” albeit most cargo vans lack passenger seating and off-road capability.

I once owned a Ford Explorer with 4WD and it WAS truly an SUV. An acquaintance owns a Chevrolet Suburban, a beautiful vehicle with 4WD availability and lots of interior space, but a bit too big for following forest trails.

There are many vehicles that manufacturers claim to be SUVs. Most are redesigned station wagons that are neither sporty nor utility vehicles. Some are one &mdash the Porsche Macon is road sporty but hardly a “utility” vehicle, and who would want to take a $60,000 sedan on a drive on a forest path. The FCA Jeep (with a capital ”J”) Wrangler is suitable for off-roading but lacks the utility of its bigger relatives or even the Subarus.

Image above of 1960-era Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon (http://tinyurl.com/y9ufpqc6)

The 1960s vintage Ford LTD Country Squire wagon (above) had seats for nine (!) and "fair" interior capacity (the middle row bench seat did not fold down). It had decent ground clearance but lacked AWD/4WD but with a roof rack and trailer hitch, it was an honest "utility" vehicle.

I suppose “sport” is how each individual defines it — racing from point to point on pavement or sneaking between trees in a forest. “Utility” also is in the eye of the beholder — fold down or easily removable seats, roof racks, trailer hitches.

Bottom line for this scrivener: there are very few true “Sport (and) Utility Vehicles.

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Sources

1. “Jeep” history: http://tinyurl.com/y96pv9cv

2. Toyota Highlander: http://tinyurl.com/yaqhm2c2

3. Porsche Macan: http://tinyurl.com/yadgqx9h

4. Subaru Forester: http://tinyurl.com/yc9sn9nj

5. Dodge Durango: http://tinyurl.com/ybq7dbnx

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on SUVs

Opuscula G O D What’s in A name?

IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, between the time I wake up and the time I get up, many thoughts cross my mind.

This morning two thoughts competed.

1  How many publications are there IN PRINT — booklets, tabloids, fliers — documents that intend to promulgate information (vs. books, advertisements, etc.). and 2  God.

Granted a strange combination, but at 4:30 a.m. that’s what I got.

Of the two, god is the easy one.

It all started (in my mind) with how the universe (as we know it) started.

The Bible tells us that a power many call “god” spoke and poof the basic universe was created. A few more words and the earth and all its flora and fauna came into being. Finally, man in some form or another was brought into existence.

And then, on the seventh day of creation, this superior being rested.

Big bang theory?

As I understand the Big Bang theory — I am not a scientist nor, unlike Mayim Bialik, do I play one on tv (Ms. Bialik IS a neuroscientist with a PhD) — but supposedly two “things” smashed together and boom! — the Big Bang.

Fine, except where did the things that collided originate?

That leaves me and my Edward Bear mind with an eternal supreme being.

I really don’t care WHAT this being is called. Jews have many names for this being, everything from I Am to The Name to the “real” Name, pronounced once-a-year by the high priest in the Holy of Holies in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

Is Judaism the only monotheistic religion? Probably not.

Ancient cultures around the world were polytheistic¹ – a god for this and a god for that. But all had a prime god — Zeus, Thor, Ra, Marduk, Huitzilopochtli , Oden, and Apollo.

Some cultures believed spirits inhabited various things; celestial bodies, animals, inanimate objects, etc. Some had a chief spirit, some not.

I cannot bring myself to believe any god-man story, regardless if it’s “god became man” or “man became god,” be it Gautama Buddha or Jesus or Apollonius of Tyana ²

Going in the other direction, men who were considered gods, there is a Wikipedia list³ too long to include here. Suffice to report that many men-to-gods were rulers who were deified during their lifetime. There were others, such as Imhotep, an Ancient Egyptian architect and physician whose status, two thousand years after his death, was raised to that of a god, becoming the god of medicine and healing. (ibid.)

Most monotheists hold that gods don’t become human except, of course, their god

I can almost hear Jesus’ followers yelling “But Jesus proved he was god by performing miracles." According to the bible that contains Jesus’ history, others also performed miracles, including reviving the dead and providing sustenance.

This scrivener is not an atheist⁴; I am convinced there is a “superior being,” call this being he, she, or it, or any name you favor.

I do believe in evolution. Even the Jewish bible seems to agree with the theory. According to Genesis 1, “God created the heaven and the earth.” Everything was dark. “And God said, ‘Let there be light.’ ” That was “Day 1.”

Many people who read Genesis read it as if it happened in our time. To them, a “day” is 24 hours. Period, end of story.

But Genesis doesn’t equate “day” with 24 hours. In Genesis, a day is dark to light to dark again. (Which explains why a “Jewish” day starts in the evening.)

Was the Genesis “day” 24 hours? Perhaps 24 days, or years, or 24 centuries. I wasn’t there.

But continue reading and you’ll read the order of creation and it correlates to evolution. “Man” — in whatever form — was the final creation, and then the creator “rested on the seventh day.” (A few million years later, a six-day work week finally became the norm; the only question: On which day is the day of rest? Of the three western monotheistic beliefs, Islam thinks it is Friday, Judaism lays claim to Saturday, and Christians opt for Sunday. (So why do most calendar weeks start on Sunday and end on Saturday? Curious.)

“God” is a convenient name — it is short (three letters in English, easily abbreviated in Hebrew, a plus when cutting letters into stone or engraving letters on coins). “Supreme Being” is cumbersome, but those who believe the Jewish bible should have no problem with that term.

I am not an atheist.⁴

I consider myself an agnostic.⁵

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Sources

1. List of gods: http://tinyurl.com/yasaeudz

2. Proteus: http://tinyurl.com/ydaq5pqz

3. Wikipedia: http://tinyurl.com/m8oqdbx

4. Atheist: http://tinyurl.com/ya5k8lsv

5. Agnostic: http://tinyurl.com/ybh248a7

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on God

Opuscula Of dried plums And other foods

SAY GOOD-BYE TO PRUNES AND RAISINS. Say hello to “dried plums” and “dried grapes.”

Images of commercially available dried fruits

PRUNES AND RAISINS have gone the way of actresses, hostess, and a few other words that are held in disrepute by some self-deluded language mavins.

Will “pickle” be the next victim? Will it become “pickled cucumber?” Perhaps “dilled (or maybe ‘dallied’) cuke”?

Jars of cucumbers being dilled into pickles

If the righteous insist on calling a spade a spade (even if it’s a shovel), perhaps “hot dog” ought to be called what it is: “something stuffed into animal intestine”?

Perhaps “hamburger”^{1, 2} should be renamed to “steerburger” since the ground beef is supposed to be ham free. (In some places, the “hamburger” is meat-free.)

I understand that “kosher style” means “not kosher at all.” A kosher style Ruben is not, cannot be, a kosher Ruben, not matter how “Jewish” the name may sound.³ (That is not to write that no one claiming to be Jewish ever ate a Ruben, but it still isn‘t kosher.)

Katz's Delicatessen Ruben³

Let’s change the names of several drinks, too.

After all, here is no “blood” in a Bloody Mary. No “Mary” either unless Mary is a bar maid who cut her finger slicing fruit to garnish drinks.

Did Tom Collins ever mix a Tom Collins? The Business Insider provides a bit of history on how the drink got its name.⁴

FRANKLY, SCARLET, I wish people would leave well enough along. Let a prune be a prune and a plum be a plum. A grape is no more a raisin that a pupa is a butterfly. Ditto cucumbers on their way to picklehood.

If anyone wants to drink a Tom Collins to wash down a kosher style Ruben, be my guest.

But PLEASE don’t call a prune a “dried plum” or a raisin a “dried grape.”

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Sources

1. Hamburger name: http://tinyurl.com/y88sb4x8

2. Hamburger steak: http://tinyurl.com/yboehazt

3. Ruben sandwich: http://tinyurl.com/pbn858w

4. Tom Collins: http://tinyurl.com/yczga28p

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on By any other name

Opuscula Letter carriers Help us meet Our neighbors

THANKS TO USPS LETTER CARRIERS people up and down my street are meeting their neighbors.

Either I visit my neighbors or they visit me.

Why?

WHY BECAUSE OUR letter carrier apparently CANNOT READ NUMBERS Perhaps she’s blind in one eye and cannot see out of the other.

I subscribe to the USPS Informed Delivery service.

Informed Delivery sends me an email every day that mail is addressed to my address. Great idea. Not only am I informed that another bill is on its way, but I also see a scanned image of the mail piece.

The other day Informed Delivery informed that I had a fistful of mail on the way.

Our letter carrier not only failed Number Reading 101, but she likes to sleep in. Mail to my address comes anytime after 3:30 p.m.; sometimes after 5:30 p.m. (When the substitute delivers, the mail sometimes arrives shortly after noon, but never later than 2:30 p.m.)

Informed Delivery has an option to report missing mail.

I used it to report that NONE of the several pieces USPS promised to have in my mailbox ended up in my mailbox.

The next day, my next door neighbor rang my bell.

When I answered I saw she had that “fistful” of mail.

I could understand how a letter carrier could mis-deliver mail to an address more than 10 digits different from mine. My understanding is that this woman, known to my neighbor for her surly disposition and disrespect for packages, must have had a third grader take the USPS letter carrier exam for her; she quite obviously cannot read digits (as in numbers, not fingers and toes).

On more than one occasion I have had a neighbor’s mail stuffed into my mail box.

My neighbor’s box and mine share the same post — the assembly looks like a lower case “t” with the two mail boxes on the t’s crossbar.

The letter carrier seems consistent — she puts the mail in a box to the south of the correct box — at least when she’s heading north. Maybe she puts misdirected mail in the northernmost mailbox when she’s headed south. (Our mailboxes are next to the street so the carrier never needs to leave the vehicle.)

I requested a mail ballot for the last two elections (primary and general). I failed to receive either. I went to the Supervisor of Elections’ office and complained.

Turns out the SOE’s office had me in the correct city, but not as USPS would have it. The area in which I live once was in the county but was absorbed by the city more than a dozen years ago; USPS never updated its information so my address is (incorrectly) in another city. Government in action..

The Supervisor of Elections, after yet another election snafu, just resigned.

I CAN get mail delivered to my mailbox using the correct city PROVIDING the fill 5+4 ZIP code is used. Five digits after the city in which I live and the mail goes to never-never land.

After my neighbor delivered that “fistful” of mail I filed a complaint with USPS.

Via the computer.

Given that letter carriers are protected both by Civil Service and a union, I have no reason to believe anything will change — or perhaps mail to my address will simply “disappear.”

The sad thing is, there ARE letter carriers who do the job and do it with civility.

When we lived in Clearwater FL, we had a mailman who was a great person as well as a great letter carrier. The type person who epitomizes what a letter carrier should be.

There was, briefly, a good letter carrier on my block, but he has gone on to a better route — at least he no longer delivers mail to our box. Accurate. Early afternoon delivery. Personable. Everything a customer could want in a letter carrier.

So far we have escaped having the “letter carrier from hell” — the one who, for whatever reason, decided to quit and in the process, dumped all the mail in his truck on the side of the road.

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Sources

**

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Mail

Opuscula Medicare.GOV Versus Medicare Dot anything else

WE ARE NEARING THE FINAL DAYS to sign up for Medicare 2019 and the commercials are frequent.

Many of the Medicare Advantage companies advertise their wares.

However, some companies named “Medicare dot something” are licensed insurance sales companies paid by companies they recommend.

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG with these “Medicare dot something” companies EXCEPT they don’t offer a complete list.

The ONLY source of information for ALL Medicare plans is

http://www.medicare.gov

The other guys are paid by the companies they pitch to the callers.

I discovered this several years ago when I asked a “Medicare dot something” company to give me options. I had one company in mind (AvMed).

The guys who promised to tell me about ALL plans failed to tell me about AvMed since AvMed didn’t pay them.

MEDICARE.GOV, on the other hand, lists ALL plans in specific geographic areas — usually counties or parishes — and it offers

Summaries of all plans and Links to the plan’s provider.

Medicare.gov home page.

There is no trick to comparing plans, but it pays to know the documents to view.

When I shop for plans — and I do this every year — I first create a a spreadsheet — I do it on a computer, but paper and pencil work just as well — that looks something like the image below.

I list the things critical to me first.

All the information is online. (Some companies are “cheaping out” and no longer offer their documents in hard copy. Online probably is better in any event since it is more likely to be up-to-date.)

The documents you need are:

Evidence of Coverage Providers’ List Formulary (Drug List)

The Evidence of Coverage is the most important document; once approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), this document is cast into concrete. Unlike the Providers’ List and the Formulary, the Evidence of Coverage cannot be changed until December 31 of the following year.

Use Medicare.GOV to link to the insurance provider’s web site and then locate the three critical documents (ibid.). DO NOT SETTLE FOR A PLAN “SUMMARY.” Plan summaries basically are no more than marketing tools.

Most Evidence of Coverage documents follow, more or less , a common format. Some plans may offer a little more than others which makes a computerized spreadsheet more convenient when a row has to be added. Most lists are alphabetical.

Use the Providers’ List to find out what doctors, hospitals, urgent care centers, and pharmacies are on the insurer’s list.

Use the Formulary to see if the insurer includes any prescription drugs you take. The Formulary also tells you each drug’s TIER. The tier determines what, if any, copay will come from your pocket. You will have to go back to the Evidence of Coverage to find out the copays for each tier for 30 and 90-day supplies.

If the plan limits its Primary Care Physicians’ (PCPs) access to certain specialists — most plans do limit their PCPs — make sure the PCP you select can and will refer you to your specialists. The only way to do this is to ask the PCP’s office administrator. The PCP probably doesn’t know. If the PCP has an online presence, you might be able to email the office; that way there is a written record.

I had one company tell me that my specialist was on its Providers’ List, but then I checked with the specialist he said that was not the case. It always pays to check with BOTH the PCP and the specialist.

I seriously doubt that any “Medicare dot something” organization will be as through as you will be, especially when it come to access to specialists.

MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT PLANS

All of the foregoing is about Medicare ADVANTAGE plans.

Medicare.GOV also can help if you prefer a Medicare SUPPLEMENT plan.

The major differences, as I see it, between Advantage and Supplement plans are

* Supplement plans allow the subscriber to see any provider that accepts Medicare patients, and sans a referral from the PCP * Supplement plans cost more than Advantage plans * Many Supplement plans lack pharmacy coverage * There often are multiple Supplement plan options (A through F or more).

Firms pushing Supplement plans contend that the plan covers the insured “anywhere in the U.S.” So do Advantage plans. In fact, Advantage plans usually cover the insured anyplace in the world they may travel and most Advantage plans include pharmacy coverage.

BOTTOM LINE

When looking for ANY type Medicare plan — even original Medicare — the place to start ALWAYS is medicare.gov. It’s the only address where you know you can learn about ALL plans available in your area.

Nobody does it better.

Medicare.gov sample program listing; there were 41 unique plans flagged for comparison.

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Medicare.GOV

Opuscula Any real value To presidential Show flag visits?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP and his travel cohort jumps on fuel-guzzling, heavily staffed Boeing jumbo to fly to this or that disaster area.

He is following the lead of previous presidents.

Go to a disaster site, talk to a few people, and return to D.C.

Is there any benefit? To anyone?

SINCE I NEVER HAVE BEEN in a disaster – be it a Cat. 5 hurricane, a California wildfire, or mass shooting – I have no way of personally knowing if a presidential visit has any value to the people involved.

I know it (a) hurts my wallet — the jet and all that goes with it is a major expense to the taxpayer — and (b) the Chief Executive does nothing to help fight a fire, restore power or clear debris — the president MAY be able to console some survivors and visit the wounded following a shooting — but in reality, what good is a presidential on-site visit?

Do generals visit front lines before the guns are silent? In a word: No.

They stay in their quarters with their staffs to strategize. They probably would be useless on the front lines.

Ditto — in my opinion — presidential visits.

I have been in hurricanes. None, thankfully, Cat 3 of higher.

I have been a shovel man in more than a few brush fires, none of which got out of hand.

And while, as a hospital employee, I transferred bodies to funereal homes, I was not asked to console grieving relatives.

Is presidential flag waving — if you are a Democrat, presidential grand standing — really of any value?

Is a presidential visit desired? To hear the Democrats tell it, President Trump was NOT wanted in Pittsburgh. Will they say the same for his visit to Mexico Beach FL or what was the lovely mountain town of Paradise CA (a place I used to visit).

The media covers disasters like a blanket, presidential visit or not.

Does the president need yet another photo op? Hardly. (Remember, this applies to ALL presidents of both parties, not just President Trump.)

Will a presidential visit focus more media attention on the disaster? Not likely.

It would be better, in this scrivener's opinion, for the president to send

* the secretary of the appropriate department with an assistant or two and
* two representatives from the House, one from each party.

The president should stay in Washington, monitoring the media, receiving reports from the “official” delegation (ibid.) and the impacted area’s political leadership, and ordering appropriate federal responses.

Meanwhile, the president is available to handle other national issues.

AS FOR the jumbo jet: Keep it on the ground. The U.S. military has a number of smaller jets; the C-37A (Gulfstream G550) accommodates 15-passengers and can be configured to satisfy almost anyone’s ego.

Image above from Flickr (http://tinyurl.com/y84dxsy5) showing three government Gulfstream G550 aircraft.

The Gulfstream’s are substantially more cost efficient that a Boeing jumbo. One could be configured with all the communication bells and whistles a president needs when he — or she — needs to travel on official business. In the event the president wants to travel to, say, Hawaii, the president — or a benefactor — should reimburse the federal treasury for ALL expenses including fuel, consumables, and airport fees if the aircraft touches down at a non-government airport. Granted, the G550 cannot fly a president’s family to China without refueling stops, but it can make the trip (and the first family might get to see a little bit of America on the way).

I confess I have flown as a “guest of the government” when I worked as a reporter. The flight was in a Boeing (nee’ McDonnell Douglas) C-17 Globemaster shared with fully-equipped 82nd Airborne paratroops; it made being crammed into a commercial airliner’s cheap seats seem comfortable — and I didn’t have to wear all the trooper’s gear. The government wanted decent PR and at the time I was the reporter covering nearby military bases.

BACK TO THE ORIGINAL QUESTIONS

1. Is a presidential “show the colors” trip really worth it; does it boost morale; does it accomplish anything? Could more be accomplished by sending others and staying in D.C. to respond to their reports?
2. If a presidential jaunt must be made, is it necessary to make the trip in a jumbo jet when a smaller, more efficient, jet is available? Unless the flight is international and the president needs to show America’s wealth, is there really a purpose for a jumbo jet?

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Presidential Visits

Opuscula Ban rebuilding After hurricanes And wild fires

IN MY OPINION, people should be banned/[prohibited from rebuilding structures in areas known as unsafe.
Places such as on the beach and along river banks. These are areas with a history of flooding.

Likewise, I would ban rebuilding in areas with a history of wild fires, especially in areas where forest management is lacking.

I am against financing — at taxpayer expense — rebuilding of structures that have a high chance of being destroyed again (and again).

IF SOMEONE INSISTS on building in a danger zone, let the property owner buy insurance (if it is available). Don’t expect Joe and Jane Taxpayer to foot the bill to rebuild someone’s folly.

I will quickly concede that living on the beach and watching the sun rise (or set) over the water is a glorious sight.

I also will admit, living surrounded by forests also is delightful; cool breezes when the neighboring non-forest areas are sweltering.

I have lived near the beach in Florida and near the forests in California. I was a frequent visitor to the artisans in Paradise CA where I learned that jade comes in many colors.

The denizens of Paradise should been safe enough. The “Paradise Fire” allegedly was sparked by faulty Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) equipment.

There has been a debate for years among forest management people — a debate aggravated by territorial “rights” — controlled burns or let nature take its course.

The argument on both sides is that once a fire is started — by whatever means — it is likely to get out of hand before firefighters can contain it to a small area.

But to build in a forest — lovely as it may be — is foolish. As foolish as building a house on a beach or a river known for overflowing its banks.

As I doubt building on a beach or river bank, or in a forest will be prohibited, the best I can hope for is that the governments will not be called upon to finance rebuilding in the same location.

In the case of hurricanes, structures CAN be built to withstand Category 5 storms, as one house in Mexico Beach FL proved. Had the structures in Mexico Beach been built to Dade County (FL) standards, many likely would be standing today.

The same holds for buildings near earthquake fault areas. There ARE ways to build “earthquake proof” buildings — the Japanese do it successfully — new structures in those areas should be built to Japanese standards. (Many areas of the U.S. are on/near a fault line.)

How to build tornado-proof buildings is something I have not studied.

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Ban Rebuilding

Opuscula Deleted Without Opening

I JUST SIGNED UP WITH A “NEW” MEDICARE ADVANTAGE plan provider.

There are several reasons I left my previous plan provider.

Chief among them was lack of specialists in my area.

But adding insult to injury was a non-responsive Customer Service group.

IN TODAY’S EMAIL I received the following message:

For those using screen readers, the image above reads:
Your message To: Ja au (Name deleted to protect CSR)
Subject: No help at all
Sent: Wednesday, April 4, 2018 9:39:10 AM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
was deleted without being read on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 9:30:08 AM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).

The email is one of THREE I received today.

Maybe I missed something during my 70-plus years on this earth, but I thought — obviously foolishly — that Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) responded to customer queries.

This was not the first time the company’s CSRs have ignored an email.

Perhaps since the company knows I selected a different company for 2019 it’s CSRs are cleaning out their files of my unread emails.

‘Course the company I’ll have starting January 1 may be no better. I’m not certain it even HAS a customer service group. The salesman told me if I had any customer service inquiries to contact him.

I once was with a company (AvMed) that not only had CSRs but assigned CSRs to specific clients.

That SOUNDS great.

As with most things that “sound” great, there was a problem.

If the assigned-to-me CSR was on vacation or otherwise out of her office (cube?), my query died. There was no CSR to cover for a missing CSR. As an enterprise risk management practitioner, I found that strange and “not good practice.”

AvMed and I parted company – twice – over a different issue.

Unfortunately, LACK of CSRs who actually ARE customer SERVICE representatives is epidemic.

Consumer Cellular — allegedly owned by AT&T (say it ain’t so) — has very good customer support . . . IF the customer gets the right person or complains often enough.

Consumer Cellular has CSR sites scattered about the western U.S.

I had a problem with a ZTE device and it took several calls until I got to a person who knew how to resolve the problem. (The problem was resolved and the device has been working to spec[ification] since.)

The problem with Medicare Advantage plan providers is that a client is “stuck” with the company for the calendar year (with certain exceptions).

Unless a potential client knows someone with recent experience with the company, there is no way to know what level, if any, of customer service is available.

If it is like the company I am leaving, that means more than a few emails informing the client that the message “was deleted without being read.”

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Deleted Without Opening

Opuscula How Long?

THE FBI HAS BEEN “investigating” claims by Democrats that the Russians interfered in the 2016 elections that saw Donald Trump move into the White House.
According to FactCheck.org¹

Since July 2016, the FBI has been investigating the Russian government’s attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election, including whether President Donald Trump’s campaign associates were involved in those efforts.

TODAY IS NOVEMBER 13, 2018 and the investigation is still not completed to Democrats’ satisfaction.

The Republicans would like to shut down Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation, claiming enough is enough.

July, August, September, October, November, December, 2016. Six months.

All of 2017. 12 more months.

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October. 10 full months. By my count, the FBI and Special Prosecutor have been on a witch hunt with no success for at least 27 months (allowing for a late start in July of 2016).

E N O U G H

In the past, presidents with split congresses – one house controlled by Republicans and one house controlled by Democrats – STILL have managed to get bills passed.

We seem to be in a new generation where “the only good (enter party name here) is a dead (party name).”

There even have been presidents where NEITHER house was the same as the president’s party . . . and bills were passed.

No longer are politicians concerned with the good of the country.

Washington has become a “war zone,” and the animus is spreading to the hinterlands where people, formerly friends who debated issues civilly now refuse to hear each other, if they speak to each other at all.

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The National Review asks “What’s the legal basis for the special-counsel investigation?”²

The answer, in the publication’s Sept. 8, 2018, issue is:

For precisely what federal crimes is the president of the United States under investigation by a special counsel appointed by the Justice Department?

It is intolerable that, after more than two years of digging — the 16-month Mueller probe having been preceded by the blatantly suspect labors of the Obama Justice Department and FBI — we still do not have an answer to that simple question.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein owes us an answer.

Nothing has changed since September 8 – the question still begs an answer.

Perhaps President Trump SHOULD be investigated for calling off an investigation of Hillary Clinton’s many alleged crimes (illegal servers, classified emails) and malfeasance in office (Benghazi). Being a gracious winner to Mrs. Clinton’s behavior as a loser, Trump ordered the FBI to cease investigating his opponent.

For his effort, Mrs. Clinton’s sycophants use every opportunity to pillory the president. If he somehow fails to put his foot in his mouth – a trait he does all too frequently – the liberal media will edit or spin his remarks to make him seem a fool. One thing about Mr. Trump: he is no fool.

Now, with the Democrats in control of the House of Representatives, Americans can expect stagnation. No matter what Trump wants, the Democrats will oppose it. On the other hand, while they could impeach Mr. Trump, the Senate never would convict him. Removing a president from office is a two-step process; the Democrats can accomplish only one step.

What does the Democrats’ hate for Republicans in general and Mr. Trump in particular mean to America.

No budget.

No budget means no government.

No budget means defaulting on the country’s far too many loans.

No budget means the Treasury’s teats are dry; those at the trough will have to fund their own budgets.

No budget means no pay for federal employees, and no Social Security payments to retirees and no Medicare payments for people who paid into the program since 1965 (and who continue to pay into it every month).

President Trump has, in the past, said he is willing to wait for Congress to pass a budget; he is ready to “shut down” the government. In the past, his party controlled both houses; no longer.

Are the Democrats willing to let welfare payments stop?

Are the Democrats willing to let military families starve?

Since D.C. politicians don’t depend on Social Security or Medicare, there is no incentive to fund a budget for these items.

The bottom line question: Are the Democrats willing to sacrifice the country to spite Mr. Trump and the Republicans?

I fear they are.

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Sources

1. FactCheck.org: http://tinyurl.com/yc6uplot

2. National Review: http://tinyurl.com/yblvkkc8

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

BCPLANNER: Comments on ENOUGH

Quality post-election speeches This “loser” Is a winner

MOST OF TUESDAY’S ELECTIONS are “in the books.”

There are a few races still being contested – two races in Florida are close. The apparent loser, incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, and the apparent winner, former Gov. Rick Scott, probably will force a manual ballot recount. (In Florida, a race that ends with the candidates only ½ percent apart requires a recount.)

In the other race, Democrat Andrew Gillum, although conceding late Tuesday night, may push for a manual recount to see if Florida’s voters really did prefer his GOP opponent, Ron DeSantis. The race for the governorship was close, albeit not as close as the race for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Gillum’s concession was strictly “I’ll be back,” with no words about working together with the governor-elect.¹

DeSantis, in his victory speech, called Gillum “a very formidable opponent” and added that he “wished him well in his future endeavors.”²

Gillum is an Obama Democrat and DeSantis is a Trump Republican.

Gillum carried the liberals in the major metro areas. DeSantis’ base was in the rest of the state.

Neither Gillum’s concession speech nor DeSantis’ victory speech focused on working together to make the state a better place. (Both candidates, based on campaign rhetoric share similar interests for the state; it was their approaches that make the difference.

Scott’s victory speech – which may be premature – was focused on “coming together.” He spoke about a nasty campaign, adding that “we’ve been doing this for 200 years” and now the campaign is over and “it’s time to come together.”³

None of the candidates, however, has the class of Mike Hale.

Concession speech as it should be

Jefferson County AL has a new sheriff. Mark Pettway, a sergeant on the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department is the new sheriff, defeating long-time sheriff Mike Hale.

Hale’s concession speech⁴ and interview with a local tv station⁵ is an excellent example of how a candidate should concede.

Hale told the tv interviewer that

“I think the key thing right now the deputies are going to keep answering the calls. In January they will be his deputies. They are a great bunch of men and women, well trained. He’s trained. He’s well-trained. He’s going to do a good job.

The sheriff-elect simply thanked those who came out and voted for him. In his interview by the tv station, he said nothing about the outgoing sheriff.

Alabama governor’s race

Losing gubernatorial candidate Walt Maddox called for all citizens of Alabama to support Gov. Kay Ivey.⁶

"I want to offer my sincere congratulations to Gov. Ivey on her election as governor. The voters have spoken, and she has earned the sacred responsibility of leading our state.

“Clearly the governor and I have policy differences. But one fact supersedes them all: We are all Alabamians. The governor and her team are going to face difficult challenges, and they deserve our prayers. And they also deserve our full support.”

Unfortunately, as with many winners – Ron DeSantis being an exception – Gov. Ivey chose not to acknowledge her opponent.

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Sources

1. Gillum concession: http://tinyurl.com/y8edb8ar

2. DeSantis victory speech: http://tinyurl.com/yacjogoz

3. Scott victory speech: http://tinyurl.com/yajmxwhn

4. Hale concession speech: http://tinyurl.com/ybchecwp

5. Hale interview: http://tinyurl.com/y9yjnzlx

6. Maddox concession: http://tinyurl.com/ycy97c8a

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

BCPLANNER: Comments on Losers who are winners

Opuscula HOAs run amock1 In Sunshine State

ACCORDING TO THE MANAGEMENT OF THE Home Owners Association, a/k/a Property Owners Association or POA, the organization is a non-profit and thus does not have to account for a good chunk of income.

Unlike a for profit business.

TO MY EDWARD BEAR mind, that is nonsense.

A business is a business is a business, except when it is a non-profit?

HOAs or POAs if you prefer, wield an uncommon power in Florida. How they managed to get themselves above the law – or to be a law unto themselves – is beyond my ken.

The POA with which I must suffer is holding board elections.

Who is running?

Unknown.

How could a candidate contact all the residents? The names and addresses are not public knowledge. I suppose a candidate could send a paper letter to “Resident” at each and every address. For this subdivision, that’s more than 400 addressees.

Alternatively, a candidate could print up letters and go (or pay someone) to go from house to house leaving a letter on each resident’s door. That would be less expensive than using the USPS.

Quick math. If it costs 5¢ a page and the candidate prints 400 copies that is $20, If the letter is mailed, add, say, 2¢ for an envelope ($8) and 47¢ ($188) for a grand total – if my math is correct – of $216. Renting neighborhood kids to deliver the candidate’s message to each resident’s door – the message cannot be stuck into a mailbox – would be less expensive –IF the deliveries were made to each home. How much to pay the delivery kids? 2¢-a-letter? 5¢-a-letter ($20). And a pizza party later?

There is no salary for being a member of the board. (Some other “non-profit” HOAs DO pay board members, and pay them handsomely.)

One of the many things that bother me with Florida’s HOA law is that the HOA can hide any income from sources other than monthly dues (which are raised at the board’s whim – no vote on that).

For example, the POA where I hang my hat rents space to park boats. The rental income is not included in the budget. It is INCOME . . . of maybe under Florida’s HOA laws it’s not accountable income.

I wish I could tell the IRS that the pittance I receive from Social Security is not taxable (accountable) income.

According to the Dulin, Ward & DeWald, Inc. (DWD) web site², there are several filing options to satisfy the IRS:

* Form 1120-H, U.S. Income Tax Return for Homeowners Associations
* Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax.

The bottom line is that ALL HOAs/POA must file a tax return.

So far I have been unable to find either Form 1120 or Form 990 for my POA.

A lesser, but more frequent aggravation is a three-minute limit on residents who want to bring up a topic at a POA meeting.

The limitation is a sure-fire way to discourage residents from attending POA meeting. The POA board for my subdivision is expert at that.

Everything may be strictly according to the law, it might be as kosher as a matzo ball (which may, or may not, be kosher).

It’s image that counts, and the image I get from HOA laws in Florida is one that is not favorable.

Had I known before the house was purchased, I might have looked elsewhere.

HOAs are everywhere; some are less controlling, few are more controlling.

Locally there is a tv program called “Help Me Howard.” The county’s chief public defender, Howard Finkelstein, answers viewers’ questions. Many of the questions relate to HOAs and “can they do that?” In too many cases, Finkelstein has to answer in the affirmative.

As a former print reporter I have a built-in suspicion about non-profits in general and charities in particular.

I am reminded of a charity’s manager who answered all my innocuous questions until I asked “What is your salary?” The next day I was called into the Managing Editor’s office and told, in no uncertain terms, that I was out of line; how dare I ask such a question! (It was easy, but there was no point in telling the ME that.) At that point I new my days were numbered at that newspaper – I didn’t want to work for such a rag.

To be fair, there ARE some good things about an HOA. With the proper management, it helps assure the neighborhood remains, for the most part, in decent condition. (My HOA seems to turn a blind eye on violations committed by lawyers, but otherwise it’s image maintenance is fair.)

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Sources

1. Amok or Amuck? http://tinyurl.com/y7c9hbq9

2. DWD: http://tinyurl.com/yb3pzs9t

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

BCPLANNER: Comments on Running Amok

Opuscula Thoughts At Random

I GET MOST OF MY “NEWS” via the Internet. Most comes from organizations that claim to purvey the news vs. blogs such as this that are opinionated and biased.
That sounds like most “news” sites .

The difference between what is generally posted here and “news” sites is that this scrivener cites his sources.

I HAVE AN ACQUAINTANCE with a a bad habit of quoting something – “It is written” or "It is said” while forgetting to tell me WHO wrote or said whatever was written or said. Nice guy, but he never would have lasted as a reporter a few decades ago. Today? No one (but a few old curmudgeons) would complain about lack of attribution.

Kavanaugh accuser recants

It will come as no surprise to the GOP stalwarts but as a bit of an embarrassment to the Democrats who excoriated Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh for sexual attacks that – it turns out – never happened. At least one woman has recanted.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in a letter (http://tinyurl.com/ybvqht9w) to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray, wrote that Judy Munro-Leighton admitted to the committee on Nov. 1 that she previously lied.

Munro-Leighton alleged in an email to Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) in late September that Kavanaugh raped her.

"She further confessed to Committee investigators that (1) she 'just wanted to get attention'; (2) 'it was a tactic'; and (3) 'that was just a ploy.' She told Committee investigators that she had called Congress multiple times during the Kavanaugh hearing process — including prior to the time Dr. Ford’s allegations surfaced — to oppose his nomination," Grassley wrote.

Munro-Leighton said she never met Kavanaugh.

Primary source: The Hill http://tinyurl.com/ycvu6xft

One of several to be investigated

Grassley has thus far asked federal authorities to investigate: Julie Swetnick, who accused Kavanaugh of drunken behavior and sexual assault; Michael Avenatti, her lawyer who also represented porn star Stormy Daniels in a suit against President Donald Trump; and a man, who was never publicly identified but recanted an allegation he'd made against Kavanaugh.

Primary source: USA Today http://tinyurl.com/ydaxzw7b

If should be noted that the USA Today article attempts to portray Grassley as a man on a witch hunt, suggesting that Grassley’s actions are motivated by the elections on November 6, 2018. “Just days before the midterm elections, Sen. Chuck Grassley asked the federal authorities on Friday to investigate another person he says made false claims against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.”

How was she discovered?

Given her relatively unique name, Committee investigators were able to use open-source research to locate Ms. Munro-Leighton and determine that she: (1) is a left-wing activist; (2) is decades older than Judge Kavanaugh; and (3) lives in neither the Washington DC area nor California, but in Kentucky. On November 1, 2018, Committee investigators connected with Ms. Munro-Leighton by phone and spoke with her about the sexual-assault allegations against Judge Kavanaugh she had made to the Committee. Under questioning by Committee investigators, Ms. Munro-Leighton admitted, contrary to her prior claims, that she had not been sexually assaulted by Judge Kavanaugh and was not the author of the original “Jane Doe” letter. She further confessed to Committee investigators that (1) she “just wanted to get attention”; (2) “it was a tactic”; and (3) “that was just a ploy.” She told Committee investigators that she had called Congress multiple times during the Kavanaugh hearing process – including prior to the time Dr. Ford’s allegations surfaced to oppose his nomination.

Regarding the false sexual-assault allegation she made via her email to the Committee, she said: “I was angry, and I sent it out.” When asked by Committee investigators whether she had ever met Judge Kavanaugh, she said: “Oh Lord, no.”

Primary source: Townhall http://tinyurl.com/yanyfeyr

Yet, the Law & Crime website reports that

the woman identified as Munro-Leighton reached out to Senate Judiciary staff by email, identifying herself as “Jane Doe from Oceanside CA.” This was on Oct. 3, 2018, three days before Kavanaugh was sworn in. The email contained a typed-up version of the anonymously written letter,  repeated that Jane Doe was raped by Kavanaugh, but was “deathly afraid of revealing any information about myself or my family.”

Primary source: Law & Crime http://tinyurl.com/yamhq4ok

Is she or isn’t she the email originator, or is someone doing the old Bud Abbot and Lou Costello “Who’s On First” routine?

Image above is diagram of a baseball field with all the St. Louis Wolves players by position.

The New York Post (http://tinyurl.com/yaestkbb ) apparently tried to bring slightly off-color humor into the flap headline Grassley calls for feds to probe woman who falsely accused Kavanaugh of sex assault. Sound like something from a sci-fi flick.

The question that should haunt both parties is “Who DID post the ‘original Jane Doe letter’.” This is turning out to be a true “#MeToo” witch hunt.

Talking to the wrong person

The New Arab reports that Egyptian President Abel Fattah al-Sissi met with Palestinian Authority President Abu Mazen a/k/a Mahmoud Abbas in Sharm al-Sheikh in the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday. They discussed ways to advance Egyptian-mediated talks between Hamas and Israel.

Hamas chased Abu Mazen’s PLO out of Gaza and took full control of what it calls a government.

In other words, Abu Mazen has no standing in Hamas’ Gaza; indeed, he is losing credibility even in the areas controlled by the so-called “Palestinian Authority.”

Sharren Haskel, a Likud Member of Knesset (parliament) said, “The attempts at an arrangement in Gaza aren’t in relation to Israel, but attempts by Arab states to bridge [differences] between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. The riots on the borders started as a result of the struggle between Hamas forces and the PA and the desire of Abbas to ignite the area against Israel.” (http://tinyurl.com/ycrlaz7s )

The meeting included Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Qatar and Hamas.

The PA would pay 80 percent of the government workers' salaries after six months, when Qatar would reduce its assistance, according to Lebanese website Al-Akhbar.

Ramallah would act as middle-men for funding to Gaza, due to international donors being unwilling to provide aid directly to Hamas.

Abbas would also agree to a "graded reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas that will eventually bring Abbas back to Gaza" according to the deal, with the PA eventually governing the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Meanwhile, a three-year ceasefire would require Hamas to end border protests and stop militias in Gaza firing rockets into Israel. (http://tinyurl.com/y8w8xb7p ) After three years, having rearmed with upgraded weapons from Iran, Hamas would fully reopen hostilities with Israel.

According to the New York Post (http://tinyurl.com/y7jvg78r ), Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire brokered by Egypt on Saturday after waves of Israeli jets slammed the Gaza Strip in retaliation for dozens of rockets fired from the Palestinian territory — one of the worst flare-ups of violence since 2014.

“Egyptian and international efforts succeeded in ending the current round of escalation,” a Palestinian official told Reuters.

A spokesman for Hamas, which controls Gaza, and a statement from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group separately confirmed a truce was reached.

A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not comment. A senior Israeli defense official said, “Only the facts on the ground will dictate our further response.”

If the temporary cessation of attacks from Gaza depends on Abu Mazen and the PLO funding Hamas civil servants, the truce probably won’t last a month. The PLO is infamous for taking a percentage of all money funneled through it for any civil efforts,

It is almost over

Today is Monday, November 5, 2018.

Tomorrow is ELECTION DAY.

Translation: The end of all the negative advertising; and end (for now) of the lies one candidate tells about the other. Neither party is without blame.

Above cartoon of man rejoicing that election day is at hand (and soon over)

Hopefully losers will be more civilized than the loser at the last Presidential Election. The loser’s actions and remarks are, in my opinion, a good deal responsible for much of the chasm between Americans. A lousy loser. The winner was sufficiently gracious to halt Justice Department investigations into the loser’s past actions (and worse, inactions).

Don’t focus on what the opponent did; tell me what you will do if elected.

One candidate tells me what he will do and “we know what he (his opponent) will do.” How can anyone know what another will do when we are hard pressed to know what WE would do in any particular situation.

TV stations will shift to their annual fourth quarter cash cow –Medicare advertisements.

Advertisements by Medicare plan providers and advertisements by those claiming to get the best plan for people unable or unwilling to do their homework.

Trouble is, these pitchmen claiming they check all plans are, like politicians, liars. They are paid commissions by the plans; if a plan refuses to pay the piper, the plan simply doesn’t exist.

The independents promise to find a plan that includes your doctors. Maybe. But even if they DO find such a plan, the plan may not allow its Primary Care Provider (PCP) to refer the person to the specialist. Been there, done that.

So we go from having our intelligence insulted by politicians to being inundated with half-truth commercials for Medicare plans. Not lies, exactly, but not complete truths, either.

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Thoughts at Random

Opuscula Preventing Another Pittsburgh

Above image of Yosemite Sam with pistols drawn and caption “I don’t think so”

THANKS TO ROBERT BOWERS, MANY AMERICAN JEWS are heading to gun shops and shooting ranges.

They are arming themselves not to kill anti-Semites such as Robert Bowers, but in the hopes that knowing members of the congregation are armed will prove sufficient to discourage a Bowers want-to-be.

WHAT MANY AMERICAN Jews are realizing is that it is the JDL philosophy, not the hang wringing of the ADL that is needed to prevent another Pittsburgh.