My credit card company sent me the latest changes to the terms of my credit card.
It's four pages long front and back.
The best part is where they wrote these or any other changes could be made anytime at their discretion. So why am I bothering to read this if they could change any of what I just read... I Don't Have A Clue
:
Got a email from my ISP I might be infected
I run Microsoft's malicious software removal tool, Norton anti virus + power eraser and a disc cleaner. None of these found anything wrong... I Don't Have A Clue
I went to log on to blogger to post this and....
"European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent.
As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies.
You are responsible for confirming this notice actually works for your blog, and that it displays. If you employ other cookies, for example by adding third party features, this notice may not work for you. Learn more about this notice and your responsibilities."
If I'm ever in the neighborhood of France or England I might be able to check that. I have absolutely no way of knowing how to confirm this notice actually works for my blog, and that it displays. Otherwise... I Don't Have A Clue
This on top of a recent notice I received from YouTube which warned me some of my videos may require "closed captioning" to conform with the "Americans With Disabilities Act"... HUH?
Everything's getting so damned complicated.
As to why I'm having trouble understanding all this gobbledygook? I Don't Have A Clue Do You?
On December 19, 2013 I did a repost of an earlier article I'd done (on 03/08/2012) entitled Allentown's Waste To Energy Foolishness Part 1. There's no point going over everything I said again. If people are interested they can read it for themselves.
However in light of the recent questions surrounding the present investigation concerning Allentown contracts there's a few things I'd like to go back over.
If you will take a read of that prior post you will find someone who felt left out and commented on this very blog after his appeals to city council went largely unheard.
On February 14, 2012 'The Morning Call' reported, A bidder for Allentown's waste-to-energy plant says his company was overlooked The most salient points were.. In a earlier November 4, 2011article in 'The Morning Call it was reported, "The plan dates to at least 2009, when Mayor Ed Pawlowski joined Delta Thermo principals, including friend and political supporter Marcel Groen, an attorney and Montgomery County Democratic Party chairman who has been the company's chief negotiator, to announce the project."
Now here's where things begin to get interesting. On November 10, 2014'The Morning Call' further reported, "Groen is the attorney and a member of the executive board for Delta Thermo Energy...
One councilman has questioned whether Groen's presence gives the company an advantage during negotiations with the city, given Groen's personal and political relationships with Pawlowski and the fact that the city has paid his law firm more than $350,000 in legal fees since 2006 for work unrelated to the waste-to-energy project."
(That councilman was Michael Donovan)
Jarrette Renshaw further reported, "To help secure the federal funding, Delta Thermo hired KSA Consulting and paid the firm $22,250 to lobby Specter and other Washington, D.C., lawmakers, records show. The same lobbying firm was part of an investigation into earmarks secured by the late Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha."
So ok here's the bottom line. I'm not accusing nor implying anything illegal was going on. That's for the Grand Jury & FBI to decide. What I am saying is this looks like a 'conflict of interests' amongst a whole bunch of players at the very least. Although the waste to energy plans fell through, these are the kind of things that trigger these kind of federal inquires.
There should be little wonder why we now find the city Allentown under investigation. Perhaps all this will be cleared up. Either way this whole mess could have been avoided if Allentown's dealings were dealt with in a far fairer and open way when these questions were raised. The WTE was only one aspect of what may or not be part of the current investigation. Nobody knows.
The important point is, lots of people questioned things both here in social media and in the papers for quite sometime. Not just myself. It's a damn shame it had to come to this.
If anyone has further interests in my previous extensive postings on this see.. Part 2 Part 3
I wonder what kind of species may live in it. There's so many things we don't know about other species on this planet where we live. A huge number that may be yet awaiting discovery.
Chart Source: Wikipedia-- Click On Chart For More Information
If this is approved some 300 residents would end up paying nearly 3x's what I do here in Allentown.
It was not that long ago the Schnecksville area was comprised of fields and farm houses who had their own wells and septic tanks. Over the years it's quite reasonable to understand why it's no longer acceptable due to the huge development in that area and the increased number of people doing all the toilet flushing that goes along with it.
This is another example of people in mass fleeing to the suburbs in the vain hope they can somehow find a rural place to live. A place with farms, orchards and views. How ironic by doing so in this number they destroyed the very things they sought after.
I find it rather interesting, after no longer having these allures, they are now being forced to pay higher prices then those living in older neighborhoods just to the south of them. Places which are not more crowded then they are now. Places like South Whitehall Township which has lower water rates, recycling/trash collection, local police protection and far less traffic congestion like those on Route 309 face every day to the north.
This should serve as a cautionary tale to other communities who encourage increased development. Places like Fogelsville, Trexlertown, Alburtis, Macungie, Emmaus and others who's quality of life and costs of living is not what it once used to be. This is another case of being bigger isn't always better. Nor rural living doesn't stay rural for very long.
I must admit I know little about West Easton, but from what I have seen the whole damn thing ought to be dissolved and somehow forced to merge under the City of Easton, Pa. Not that I think Easton itself would want any part of this crime ridden looney toon neighborhood.
Therein there should begin an immediate investigation into the water & air to see if they somehow affected council and it's residents brains. Just my opinion as an outsider.
Raw Story reports, "The conservative Breitbart and the white supremacist VDARE website each blasted the Koch brothers for sponsoring a “pro-amnesty Buzzfeed event” in 2013, and two writers for the Koch-sponsored Reason — former contributing editor David Weigel and current editor-in-chief Nick Gillespie — have always been supportive of immigration reform."
To hear tell it according to 'rightwing' media Obama is somehow the bad guy in all this. Voters need to be very, very careful about what they are told and what is really happening. While Trump is blowing his horn the real power players that make things happen are dead set against the snake oil Trump's trying to sell.
If anyone thinks for one minute the Donald stands a chance of being nominated (little alone getting elected) they don't know squat about how Washington politics work. Power players don't like a loose cannon they cannot control. I said this here before and I will say it again... there's no way Trump is going anywhere other then on TV. You can take it to the bank!
I've been following a Facebook page for Easton, Pa. for a while now apparently created by Laini Abraham . It seems so has the Express-Times as now they've reported on the Overcrowding at Penn Pump Park
It seems far too many from outside this area have been invading and overwhelming our local parks. This past weekend someone paid $100 for a permit to host a graduation party. Basically they were forced to endure the sharing of drinking, parking problems and the merry making by those who applied for no such permits.
What are your thoughts? I think you already know how I feel about this by the very nature of the questions I've asked. It's my opinion they should keep their shit in their own backyard. They're not welcome here.
If I had my way we'd eliminate the 2nd amendment. It states, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,..". This was created when we needed to do battle against England and outside nations who once threatened us. This is no longer necessary. It's been replaced by a far superior national military defense force to combat those threats. Anyone who thinks owning guns is sadly mistaken and need to get a grip if they think they are either a deterrent or they can be used to out gun our own government. Especially with government's overwhelming capabilities. Therefore this amendment has outlived the reason why it might have been created.
There's nothing wrong with hunting or target shooting, but guns should be returned when they are done being used for those purposes. Other then these two activities the only things guns are being used for is shooting one another or ourselves. Any coward or criminal can easily pull a trigger. It takes a great deal more guts to confront someone with a knife or other weapon which would result in a far fewer deaths because it requires a great deal more effort then simply pulling a trigger. Few would have the stomach for it. Plus someone running around in the streets, a movie theatre or store with a knife or baseball bat wouldn't stand a chance of taking the same number of lives before they were overpowered.
So no I'm not apologetic nor willing to change my views on why firearms should be completely removed from civilians. Firearms were invented for one purpose only... to kill. If less civilians had possession of them so too would cops have less need for them. A good thing for everyone involved all the way around.
Bernie Sanders seems to agree somewhat with my view
Hence why I continue my support for Bernie Sanders as president
YouTuber Zerbio who's actual name is Elliot Kimmel (London, Ontario, Canada) has once again challenged himself to come up with another original song he will compose. I find it amazing how fast he can compose lyrics & music in just a few days. And I don't mean slapped together compositions, but really great tunes. NOT BAD FOR A BIOLOGY TEACHER BY TRADE!
Songwriting Challenge August 2015 (Information Video)
Leaving The Moon (July 2012)
Unlucky Soul (July 2015)
His playlists include Elliot's originals, cover tunes & biology lessons. They can be found HERE
First we need to take a look at the facts. According to the Social Security Administration, "The Trustees project that the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund will be depleted in 2030, the same year projected in last year’s report [2014]. At that time dedicated revenues will be sufficient to pay 86 percent of HI costs."
Therefore the phrase "they’re not going to have anything" isn't exactly factual. What we have here is a case of throwing out the car when it might only need new tires.
There are a few things that could happen. Private insurance could pick up the greater differences at that time or we could raise premiums and taxes slightly to offset this. In addition we could also allow Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical firms on lowering the cost of drugs. Something we don't do currently.
I'm willing to give Jeb the benefit of doubt. If he has a better plan I'm willing to listen.
Otherwise file this under the same ole same ole party line Republicans took against Medicare since it was first was enacted.
On July 23rd, 2015 Representive Charlie Dent issued a press release in which he said, “Sanctuary Cities Must Follow the Law or Face Consequences”-- "Votes for House Bill to Hold Municipalities Accountable for Failing to Follow Federal Law... “There are nearly 300 municipalities or jurisdictions across the country that have decided to pick and choose what federal immigration laws to obey."
I'm sure many may agree with the program. However there's a few other things that need to be considered. Some of the so-called sanctuary cities have become one for practical reasons. Not necessarily that they all disagree with federal government or are in opposition to ICE, but rather because it places undo financial hardships on them.
According to a May 13th, 2014 article in 'The Atlantic'-- "Every day, ICE sends local jails across the country thousands of “detainers,” which are requests to hold people after they’ve bailed out, been acquitted, or served their sentences, to give ICE time to pick them up."
The problem is sometimes ICE doesn't "pick them up" for months. Guess who foots the bill for these folks who already served out their sentences?
"Holding people in jail is expensive, and the federal government asks many jails to hold thousands of people per year without reimbursement. Localities have also faced lawsuits that create serious financial liability when ICE makes the mistake of issuing an immigration hold against a U.S. citizen.. When Santa Clara County, California, asked ICE in 2009 for reimbursement and indemnification, ICE turned a cold shoulder. This sort of behavior has not made the agency many friends in local governments, even as they have complied with its requests out of fear of repercussion."
So Here We Go Again!
Congress passes a law the federal government isn't willing to fully fund. Instead local taxpayers get stuck with the bill while we sit around waiting for ICE to come pick these people up after they already completed their sentences.
Money that could otherwise be used to hire police, fund locals jails and rehab programs for people who have yet to serve time.
Recent court decisions have allowed many of those being held to file lawsuits and legal appeals against the cities. Sometimes these federally issued detainers are so broad they are issued with little legal merit for them. Should cities be on the hook for this too?
Knowing this it should come as no great surprise why there is an ever growing list of so-called sanctuary cities.
While representative Dent's intentions may be good he surely must be aware by voting for this bill it will force our local cities and towns taxpayers to bare the burden for these costs. Something Congress is unwilling to do apparently. Good legislation requires proper funding. Something I don't see in this piece of legislation. Only the threatened "consequences" for not picking up the costs locally for the feds.
H.R. 3009 (as of 07/24/2015) Introduced: Jul 9, 2015 Status: Passed House on Jul 23, 2015 This bill now goes to the Senate next for consideration. Track H.R. 3009 HERE
A proposed Senate bill could kick 200,000 seniors off Social Security if they have a felony arrest warrant-- "The proposal surfaced in the Senate on Tuesday [07/21/2015] in a package of amendments (page 949, Section 52303) being added to a transportation bill. .. It also sets a precedent of raiding Social Security funds for unrelated purposes, in this case transferring $2.3 billion for a range of transportation expenses."
The Maybe Not So Good News is.. In The House a GOP leader said the House won't take up Senate highway funding bill-- "House Republicans will not consider the Senate's bipartisan highway funding bill before it adjourns for the August recess, even if it passes with an overwhelming majority. The Senate remains in session until the end of the first week of August, but with the House out of session, that will leave the upper chamber with the choice of either passing the House short-term bill, or letting funding authorization expire which would bring road construction projects to a halt.
The Bad News is... The GOP Still Wants To Cut Social Security's Operating Budget--" For anyone who thinks that Social Security is going to be in better shape once it gets its appropriation for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, which begins on October 1, 2015, here's a reality check..."
COMMENTARY
Aside from possibly legally stealing part of the 12.5% of what workers' pay into Social Security for their retirement there are other things to consider.
(1) If they are cutoff so would their payments to Medicare since it's taken out of these checks. Thus losing healthcare coverage.
(2) Many of these warrants are for lack of payments on fines or penalties they maybe already too broke to afford. Cutting them off would make it impossible for them to pay for legal expenses to defend themselves. Especially if they're unaware of them never having been personally served. Perhaps living several states away Thus compounding an already overfilled prison population problem. And this would save taxpayer's money in the long run to house them how?
(3) It will cost the Social Security additional money for the administration of appeals and so forth. The GOP may be planning to greatly reduce the number of SS's administrative law judges next year even without the additional costs that would be required by this program. See Above: "GOP Still Wants To Cut Social Security's Operating Budget"
(4) Law enforcement does have access to Social Security records therefore can easily find out where someone lives and receives their checks. So it isn't a matter of smoking them out. Instead it's a matter of who gets stuck paying the bill. Law enforcement or possibly the hapless victim who maybe was unaware there was even a warrant on them.
Now many of you may be saying to yourself how the hell doesn't someone know they have a warrant out on them. YES it does happen!
What if this happened and SS was cutoff?
Yes things turned out well, but what if she then couldn't afford this defense attorney or afford to live a year or more? Would she get her SS missed payments back?
Depending how this legislation were written a hellva lot more then 200,000 mentioned could be affected.. Felonies vary from state to state. The legislation is said to affect only those with outstanding "felony" warrants, but did you know dollars amounts exceeding $100 in Vermont to a high of $2,500 in Wisconsin are considered felony thefts?
FINAL THOUGHTS Some may argue these unknown warrants are the exception. I posted only three of the dozens I came across. There are many millions of outstanding warrants at any given time. How many of them are unknown by individuals I can't ascertain with certainty. I believe it could be a great deal more then the stated 200,000.
I'm not advocating felons should get off scot-free. On the other hand I ask what's the difference between them and the government not living up to it's obligations either?
Collecting 12.5% of someone's labor then denying them of what was promised is just plain legal stealing. One may call this an eye for a eye. Yeah as if this makes the government somehow better then they whom they accuse of circumventing responsibilities. I suppose it's government's football to do as they please. It still doesn't make it right.
By now many may have heard that Easton's Mayor Sal Panto took it on his own to lower the United States flag to half staff in Easton regarding the shootings in Tennessee. Yesterday critics of Obama called into question why the flag at the Whitehouse wasn't lowered and whether Sal had the legal right to do it.
I'd venture to say 99% don't give a flying fig either way. If the Whitehouse were to lower the flag every time a service member was killed or someone of prominence died they might as well leave it half staff all the time. There's seldom a day that goes by that someone couldn't find justification for it.
As far as what Sal did by lowering it... big freakin' deal! The problem I have is with Sal swimming in the same waters as Fox News and other major network outlets that he may yet appear on. Who the hell cares what they think. Their job is to try and tie it into Obama or create a national firestorm to further enrich themselves.
It is what it is.. big deal.. get over it! This constant bickering over flags (confederate or otherwise) has little to nothing to do with how Americans go about their daily lives. The flag up, half mast or all together down is nothing more then one more example of childish behavior that attempts to separate us from one another. Don't people have more important things to fret over?
Each of the NFL’s 32 teams received a $226.4 million payout from the league’s revenue-sharing program, a generous slice of the $7.2 billion pie pumped up by massive television contracts."
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR MORE INFO: The BuffaloNews-- October 4, 2014
Not only are taxpayers forced to foot a large chunk of change to support football, so too are each and everyone of us who pays for our monthly TV service. How about those season ticket holders shelling out hundreds of dollars in addition to see a game in person. Don't forget fans while there to outfit yourself with paraphernalia, stuff yourself with overpriced food and beer too.
Hey there's nothing wrong with football. I enjoy it as much as the next guy. What I fail to see is why people willingly spend this kind of money. Especially tax dollars. Yeah it's only a game; a game of how to separate fans' and taxpayers money from peoples' wallets every way possible.
There's very few other places you can go in this society where 20,000 or 30,000 people are screaming and hollering in utter delight and enthusiasm while being exploited. Many of the very same who are angry as hell when government tries to take their money to pay for education, pensions and so forth. After all that's less they'd have in their pockets to spend on lining the pockets of multimillionaires in sports, right?
It's the height of hypocrisy dropping oodles of money to make sports millionaires even richer while many of these same people resent paying workers a decent minimum living wage who serve up their overpriced food, souvenirs and beer. There's just something wrong with that.
It was only 5 years ago in 2010 during the last presidential election cycle Sarah Palin and the Republican party's rallying cry heard loud and strong was DRILL BABY, DRILL!
2010
It was they who accused Obama of not allowing enough drilling He was accused of forming a road block from United States becoming "energy independent".
A few months later into Obama's second term all we heard about was how much the 'Keystone XL pipeline' was desperately needed.
Now flash forward to the present time and many of these same vocal politicos are doing a 180 telling us we have plenty even without the 'Keystone XL pipeline' being built.
When it comes to politics short term memories can be a politician's best friend.
Apparently the whole argument was built on a false premise to begin with. If that was the case, why then should this latest Republican position hold any more credibility then the last?
Larger concerns should be addressed before legislative actions (1) If we got plenty of oil and gas it should mean U.S. consumers are benefiting from lower prices. If we start exporting it will serve to drive up prices causing economic problems for the Obama administration. Or is that the idea?
(2) The mention of "bipartisan effort" should concern us as well. Where was all the bipartisanship when opponents accused Obama of trying to block 'energy independence'? Now that we apparently have it certain players want to move the goal post undoing the very thing they claim we now accomplished. Why should Democrats now support this?
(3) By exporting oil a portion of our economy will then be dependent on the whims of fluctuating oil prices, worldwide demand and some not so friendly oil cartel nations. Nations who would like nothing more then to keep energy prices below profitable levels for the United States.
(4) Exporting fossil fuels means there will greater need for production of them. More production means more drilling in areas formerly used for farming. Some of which owners saw it was a lot easier to sit back and count the checks coming in then getting up every morning to farm. It would also would further increase drilling in our fisheries and parks to fulfill the increased demand.
(5) Like it or not pipelines take years to build. Even longer as the public opposition to them can tie these projects up for years in courts. Time the fuel producers won't have if exporting is approved. While those cases play out in courts producers likely would then rely on railroad tank cars instead.. Far more than there are today going through our towns and cities. Most rails are built along rivers where possible because of the relative flatness. In other areas where there are few rivers it's not unusual rails run through the poorest section of towns. More production means more accidents. Not only on the rails but in the drilling sites themselves; both in oceans and on land. Do we really want to chance a greater risk then necessary to fulfill our own nation's needs.?
(6) Water is an ever growing scarcer to come by. Not just because of droughts but as the population increases so does the need for it in our homes and production faculties. The ever growing need for food also requires an increasing need for water as well. Fracking not only requires huge volumes of it, but the resultant water is no longer fit for human consumption. Sadly on a small number of farms it's being used by desperate growers on the food we eat who've run short of water.
FINAL THOUGHTS Rather then looking to increase our dependence on fossil fuels for both our economic and energy needs we should instead be looking for other alternatives. Not just wind and solar projects but waste to energy. Lord knows we have enough wastes. We can utilize methane gases given off by the dumps. Burning cleanly both trash and human waste at treatment facilities. Utilizing this kind of already developed technology is a twofer. I simply do not understand why we aren't doing more of it.
Talks of exporting more fossil fuels may bring a quick bang for the buck, but over the long haul the worse possible thing we should do. Many of our leaders concerns are only for what benefits their careers with companies and our politicians ability to get reelected in their next election. This kind shortsightedness may not only cost us economically but endanger our very existence a few years from now.
I don't think I've overstated how important it is to make the right decisions. It all comes down to keeping earth clean, healthy and livable. Face reality. If we screw up this planet there's no other place to go. I haven't found a single species existing anywhere in the infinite universe outside this fish bowl we call home here on earth. Have you?
I don't want to go into the long details how I came to know of this actor. Suffice it to say if there's anything to know about Broadway Jim's the man to go to. Here is a performance he gave on June 18th, 2015 onboard Crystal Cruises entitled "Character Man"
Jim Brochu is extremely well known to long time Broadway insiders. I have a whole bunch of other stuff I'm willing to share if anyone has further interests. Otherwise I'll leave this post as it stands
However I do wish to express my admiration of this man who has dedicated his entire life in appreciation of others who also made theater a part of their lives and those that came before them.
'The Morning Call' is reporting developers want to build a 20,000 square foot medical building on the 'Kuss Brothers' plant nursery property near Hamilton on Cedar Crest Boulevard. Anyone who's unfortunate enough to live along there or who are required to take this route home or for work can tell what a mess it is already. There's not a doubt in my mind this will happen eventually one way or the other.
I'm all too happy to have had a opportunity to live in the Lehigh Valley long before what it has now become. One gigantic ant colony. There once was a time you could take a Sunday drive when few were out on the roads w/o someone crawling up your behind. When I first starting working near Fogelsville it took me 10 minutes to get home. By the time I retired it took me forty five minutes on a good day. Some may call this progress. That's not the way I see it. In my eyes over development and over population has derogated everything that made this area a once great place to live and raise a family.
This area of Cedar Crest Blvd. (both north & south) once was without countless shopping centers and medical buildings end to end. Practically the only things on either corners of both Tilghman & Hamilton were suburban golf driving ranges. About the only other things along Cedar Crest either side of Hamilton were corn fields, a horse riding stable and few other things.
I know nothing can ever be as they were, but it's a shame today's young commuters and families will never ever again have the opportunity to experience the quality of life that once existed here in the Lehigh Valley.
I'm not sure what this is about. Neither am I sure when this happened. David Norris RV-Firefly posted this video on YouTube Friday, July 17th, 2015. In the description he said, "A Class A RV has driven his RV up on the sidewalk and almost ran into the PPL Event Center in the downtown of Allentown, Pa.... this happen on my way home from work."
Kind of makes you wonder what else gets missed by the local media professionals. I realize reporters can't be everywhere. That's why I feel it's encouraging to see citizen reporting and the importance that it now plays in today's world via social media.
A h/t to the Allentown Police who apparently handled this extremely well.
Albert Abdouche announced on his Americus Hotel Facebook page-- Check out his facebook page where he is keeping everyone up-to-date on the progress he's making along with accompanying photos.
