By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent David Espo, Ap Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON – The pharmaceutical industry agreed Saturday to spend $80 billion over the next decade improving drug benefits for seniors on Medicare and defraying the cost of President Barack Obama's health care legislation, capping secretive negotiations involving key lawmakers and the White House.
"This new coverage means affordable prices on prescription drugs when Medicare benefits don't cover the cost of prescriptions," Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement announcing the accord.
While this may be good news for people like me; old and getting older by the minute. It’s bad news for younger people like you. The drug companies aren’t like the US Government. They can’t just go out and print 80 billion dollars to cover the loss earnings due to this Medicare give away.
In order for drug companies, any company to stay in business, they have to show a positive return on the money that investors placed in their care. Those investors are common US citizens who have drug company stock in their portfolio. This will mean a smaller return on IRA’s and other pension funds.
It will also mean higher prices for those who actually have to pay for their medications. If the return on the invested dollar goes too low, the investors pull out and the company goes under.
So between higher prices and lower returns, you will be paying for this give away.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Obama's Bogeymen
If you want to have a good laugh or two, purchase a CD of any of Bill Cosby’s older comedy sessions. Bill was always able to make you laugh without being vulgar or using foul language. In one of the short tales, he explained how his parents kept him in bed at night. His parents told him that there were snakes under his bed. If he set foot on the floor, they would bite him and he would swell up and be dead until morning. Then followed a conversation that he had with the snake as he needed to go to the bathroom.
As children, we were told that a large creature lived in the big river that flowed by our city. Children had been reported missing after wondering down by the river by themselves. It was sort of a local "Loch Ness Monster". There was supposed to be a "village" of albinos living north of town nest to a graveyard with sunken graves. Children out at night who wondered too far from home would put their life in peril. The albinos would chase you through the graveyard where you would trip and fall into one of the sunken graves. Once there, you were at the mercy of the albinos.
It was funny how parents used mythological bogeymen and creatures to scare children into doing what they wanted them to do. What isn’t funny is when the adult telling you these stories is the President of the United States.
Obama has had one bogeyman after another since being sworn into office. There were the evil home loan officers that broke into you homes at night and made you take out a home loan that you knew you couldn’t afford. There were the evil car companies that made gas-guzzlers that you didn’t want and forced you to purchase. Then they made you take out loans with payments bid enough to be house payments. Now it’s the evil credit card companies that twist your arm to take another credit card and then charge it up to the limit. You didn’t want to purchase all of that junk on your credit card but they made you do it.
Not only are we victims of evil home, car and credit car lenders, there is only one way out. We need to sign over more and more of our rights to the federal government and they will take care of us.
The amazing thing that I noticed is that none of the bogeymen are current Obama supports. It’s funny how that worked out.
As children, we were told that a large creature lived in the big river that flowed by our city. Children had been reported missing after wondering down by the river by themselves. It was sort of a local "Loch Ness Monster". There was supposed to be a "village" of albinos living north of town nest to a graveyard with sunken graves. Children out at night who wondered too far from home would put their life in peril. The albinos would chase you through the graveyard where you would trip and fall into one of the sunken graves. Once there, you were at the mercy of the albinos.
It was funny how parents used mythological bogeymen and creatures to scare children into doing what they wanted them to do. What isn’t funny is when the adult telling you these stories is the President of the United States.
Obama has had one bogeyman after another since being sworn into office. There were the evil home loan officers that broke into you homes at night and made you take out a home loan that you knew you couldn’t afford. There were the evil car companies that made gas-guzzlers that you didn’t want and forced you to purchase. Then they made you take out loans with payments bid enough to be house payments. Now it’s the evil credit card companies that twist your arm to take another credit card and then charge it up to the limit. You didn’t want to purchase all of that junk on your credit card but they made you do it.
Not only are we victims of evil home, car and credit car lenders, there is only one way out. We need to sign over more and more of our rights to the federal government and they will take care of us.
The amazing thing that I noticed is that none of the bogeymen are current Obama supports. It’s funny how that worked out.
Apology for slavery
Thursday the Senate passed a resolution apologizing for slavery. My first reaction is, with all the problems facing this country (health care, take over of companies, terrorists, Gitmo etc) is this a good use of the Senates time? My next reaction may get me in trouble with the PC crowd.
Even though blacks were treated like animals, abused and killed. Even though there is no justification for slavery my question is: Are blacks in the US today better off than those that are still in Africa? Meaning could slavery with all its horrors actually have benefited those blacks that live in this country?
First we have to state that slavery was going on before the US was born and continues today and that only 3% of all slaves were in the US. The last numbers I could find were the average black makes $35000 in the US and $1500 in Africa. The life expectancy is much lower in Africa and AIDS is much higher. US blacks are better educated and healthier than African blacks.
While the atrocities of slavery cannot be justified are there any blacks living in the US today who would want to go back to the poverty of Africa? What does an apology for slavery do for the country? Will the race baiters be satisfied and move on now? I thought this was supposed to be all behind us now that we have a black President. This is not a justification for slavery just a realistic look at where we are today. Perhaps it was a dark time in history that was used to teach us and those families that went through it were given grace and are today better off than if they hadn't.
Even though blacks were treated like animals, abused and killed. Even though there is no justification for slavery my question is: Are blacks in the US today better off than those that are still in Africa? Meaning could slavery with all its horrors actually have benefited those blacks that live in this country?
First we have to state that slavery was going on before the US was born and continues today and that only 3% of all slaves were in the US. The last numbers I could find were the average black makes $35000 in the US and $1500 in Africa. The life expectancy is much lower in Africa and AIDS is much higher. US blacks are better educated and healthier than African blacks.
While the atrocities of slavery cannot be justified are there any blacks living in the US today who would want to go back to the poverty of Africa? What does an apology for slavery do for the country? Will the race baiters be satisfied and move on now? I thought this was supposed to be all behind us now that we have a black President. This is not a justification for slavery just a realistic look at where we are today. Perhaps it was a dark time in history that was used to teach us and those families that went through it were given grace and are today better off than if they hadn't.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Liberals getting crazier
Senator Barbara Boxer chastises a Brigadier General in a committee meeting on New Orleans and the levies. When he calls her Ma'am (he called the male senators sir) she asks him to call her Senator since she worked so hard to attain that title. This is a perfect example of the thought process in DC and how they put themselves on a pedestal.
Obama swats a fly and PETA is upset but you won't hear one word about the 5000 abortions performed daily.
As long as Obama is in office the libs will continue to be bold about their thoughts and the lunacy will get worse.
Obama swats a fly and PETA is upset but you won't hear one word about the 5000 abortions performed daily.
As long as Obama is in office the libs will continue to be bold about their thoughts and the lunacy will get worse.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
4F=Fishing, Food, Family and Fun
I know that I promised not to do this again but I can’t help myself.
My oldest daughter, her husband and four children came down to the cabin for ten days. It has been my duty to make daily trips down there to deliver items needed and pick up garbage and dirty clothes. We have done this every year for the last five years.
We have a grandfather, father and grandson fishing contest every year that I engrave an award plaques for. The winner receives the plaque with everyone’s name and standing engraved on it. I have never won the fishing contest. I almost did last year until my grandson came up and said that Daddy had given him his count so that put him over mine.
I’m required to fish 2-6 hours every day to make sure that everyone gets a chance to fish with Poppa. (That’s another alias that I use.) Needless to say, a good time is had by all. This year my other two grandchildren are also visiting. The picture you see is of Zoe’s (9 yrs old) catch of an 16" catfish on a child’s Barbie rod and reel. This was her first time fishing. I’m sure that she’s hooked for good.
The weather has been about as nice as you could ask for, warm but not hot with little or no breeze. There haven’t been very many bugs at all. The water temperature is still cool so you have to really work to get the bass to bite. We have been averaging 5-6 fish each for a couple hours of fishing in the evening. The largest was 16-17" with most in the 12-15" range. Whenever someone catches one less than 10" they receive a hard time from everyone.
We have been grilling outdoors and we have had plenty of side dishes and deserts. The food, fishing and family have made the last week one of the best ever.
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