Pay to play, dudes......Tales Of Two “Healthcare” Profit Strategies

Tales Of Two “Healthcare” Profit Strategies « Rat Nation:
"Something in the stars was aligned to get these two stories on the same day.

First, Breitbart’s Wynton Hall did a tremendous amount of legwork to deliver the details on this topic sentence:

For Obama’s big money backers, however, the Obamacare fiasco has generated massive profits and contracts. 
In 2008, the healthcare industry contributed an astounding $22,471,562 to Obama–a sum nearly three times greater than it donated to his Republican challenger. 
Their “investment” paid off in 2013, as the healthcare sector index gained 37.5%, making it the S&P 500′s best-performing sector.

That means big gains for Obama’s big donors, notes Government Accountability Institute President Peter Schweizer.

There is quite a litany of healthcare executives and their rewards, I mean bonus packages at this link, but suffice it to say that donations to the Obama presidential campaign in 2008 could look a lot like pay to play or some sort of bribe in the right light.
They’re all cashing in."

No one fired, bonuses keep going to politicians-----Madoff-related fraud to cost JPMorgan $2.5 billion

What a tawdry tale!
Why are these people not strung upside down in Central Park?
Madoff-related fraud to cost JPMorgan $2.5 billion | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"The name on the account was Bernard Madoff and on Tuesday, JPMorgan paid a steep price for keeping quiet about its suspicions.
....In 2008, the bank’s London desk circulated a memo describing JPMorgan’s inability to validate his trading activity or custody of assets and his “odd choice” of a one-man accounting firm, the government said.
In late October 2008, it filed a suspicious activity report with British officials. In the weeks that followed, JPMorgan withdrew about $300 million of its own money from Madoff feeder funds.
The fraud was revealed when Madoff was arrested in December 2008.
“Despite all these alarm bells, JPMorgan never closed or even seriously questioned Madoff’s Ponzi-enabling 703 account,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
 “On the other hand, when it came to its own money, JPMorgan knew how to connect the dots and take action to protect itself against risk.”
In a statement, JPMorgan said it recognized it “could have done a better job pulling together various pieces of information and concerns about Madoff from different parts of the bank over time.”

It's the culture, stupid! ----------------------CDC: U.S. Fertility Rate Hits Record Low for 2nd Straight Year; 40.7% of Babies Born to Unmarried Women

CDC: U.S. Fertility Rate Hits Record Low for 2nd Straight Year; 40.7% of Babies Born to Unmarried Women | CNS News:
"The fertility rate of women in the United States fell to a record low for the second year in a row in 2012, according to data released last week by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Also for the second year in a row, 40.7 percent of the babies born in the United States were born to unmarried mothers."

I'm thinkin' not too many will have to cross this one off their vac lists-----20 World's Most Dangerous Vacation Destinations

20 World's Most Dangerous Vacation Destinations:
"1. Detroit, USA


Perhaps it will be a great surprise for you but Detroit is one of the places that are not desirable for visiting. It has been heading the list of the most dangerous US cities for 5 years. Crimes are widespread here. But if you are eager so much to visit this Motor City in spite of all the threats, you should control the information in the media."

Photo Essay: Beauty in ice along the Grand Haven pier

Photo Essay: Beauty in ice along the Grand Haven pier | MLive.com:
"Ice covers the pier in Grand Haven Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014.  (17 total photos)"

History for January 9 - Flirting ban?!

History for January 9 - On-This-Day.com

Birth anniversary of 37^th US president Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994).

More birth anniversaries:  Bob Denver (1935-2005), Lee Van Cleef (1925-89)

1799 - British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduced income tax, at two shillings (10p) in the pound, to raise funds for the Napoleonic Wars.


1902 - New York State introduced a bill to outlaw flirting in public.


1929 - The Seeing Eye was incorporated in Nashville, TN. The company's purpose was to train dogs to guide the blind.


1951 - The United Nations headquarters officially opened in New York City.


1969 - The supersonic aeroplane Concorde made its first trial flight, at Bristol.

1984 - Clara Peller was first seen by TV viewers in the "Where's the Beef?" commercial campaign for Wendy's.

Poverty level under Obama breaks 50-year record

Poverty level under Obama breaks 50-year record - Washington Times:
"Fifty years after President Johnson started a $20 trillion taxpayer-funded war on poverty, the overall percentage of impoverished people in the U.S. has declined only slightly and the poor have lost ground under President Obama.
Aides said Mr. Obama doesn’t plan to commemorate the anniversary Wednesday of Johnson’s speech in 1964, which gave rise to Medicaid, Head Start and a broad range of other federal anti-poverty programs."

Obama's america----Gonorrhea, Syphilis Regain Traction in U.S., CDC Reports

Government "experts" say it's your fault?
Gonorrhea, Syphilis Regain Traction in U.S., CDC Reports - Bloomberg:
"Gonorrhea and syphilis are on the rise in the U.S., mostly in men who have sex with men, a trend the government said is linked to inadequate testing among people stymied by homophobia and limited access to health care.

The rate of new gonorrhea cases rose 4 percent in 2012 from the year before, while syphilis jumped 11 percent, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today in a report.
Rates for chlamydia, the most common of the bacterial sexually transmitted diseases, gained less than 1 percent."

More on this union led theft---100 Plus Former First, Second Responders Busted in September 11th Disability Scam

100 Plus Former First, Second Responders Busted in September 11th Disability Scam | Viewpoints of a Sagitarrian:
"In the cesspool known as New York City, more than 100 first responders, second responders and correction officers who either worked at Ground Zero during the recovery and cleanup process or were on the scene during the September 11, 2001 Islamic terrorist attack on the World Trade Center have been busted for faking mental and psychiatric illnesses in order to collect Social Security disability payments."

Oldie, but goodie----Gore: Global warming skeptics are this generation’s racists

2/28/2011
Gore: Global warming skeptics are this generation’s racists | The Daily Caller:

One day climate change skeptics will be seen in the same negative light as racists, or so says former Vice President Al Gore.

In an interview with former advertising executive and Climate Reality Project collaborator Alex Bogusky broadcast on UStream on Friday, Gore explained that in order for climate change alarmists to succeed, they must “win the conversation” against those who deny there is a crisis. (RELATED: Bill McKibben: Global warming to blame for Hurricane Irene)

“I remember, again going back to my early years in the South, when the Civil Rights revolution was unfolding, there were two things that really made an impression on me,” Gore said. 

“My generation watched Bull Connor turning the hose on civil rights demonstrators and we went, ‘Whoa! How gross and evil is that?’ 

My generation asked old people, ‘Explain to me again why it is okay to discriminate against people because their skin color is different?’ 

And when they couldn’t really answer that question with integrity, the change really started.”

The 10 year olds will love this--------------POTHEADS: D.C proposal would allow ounce of weed, 6 plants per household

POTHEADS: D.C proposal would allow ounce of weed, 6 plants per household - Washington Times: "Activists in Washington, D.C., plan to submit an initiative by week’s end that would put marijuana legalization on the ballot in the nation’s capital in November — making the city one of a handful of jurisdictions poised to ask voters to consider the issue this year.

The proposal that is expected to be submitted to the D.C. Board of Elections would allow residents to legally grow up to six marijuana plants per household and possess and transfer up to an ounce of the drug without penalty."

Why US Export-Import Bank Backs Australian Billionaire Heiress Gina Rinehart; Here Are Some Of The Major Ex-Im Bank Deals For 2013

Why US Export-Import Bank Backs Australian Billionaire Heiress Gina Rinehart; Here Are Some Of The Major Ex-Im Bank Deals For 2013

Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) and Atlas Copco AB (STO:ATCO-A), a Swedish industrial holding company, are the latest beneficiaries of credit financing from the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

The federal government’s export-promoting agency said Thursday it would extend $694.4 million in loans (backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. taxpayer should the lending go sour) to Australia’s Roy Hill Holdings.

The mining giant controlled by Australian heiress Gina Rinehart is trying to shore up $6.2 billion in capital before the end of the year to fund a massive $8.9 billion iron ore project in Pilbara, a mineral-rich region in the arid western part of the country. 

Saxo Bank CEO Fears The Broad Relevance Of Ayn Rand In Today's Society

Saxo Bank CEO Fears The Broad Relevance Of Ayn Rand In Today's Society | Zero Hedge:
"One of the biggest mistakes we can make, Saxo Bank's CEO warns, is to assume that rationality will prevail, that just through superior economic performance, freedom will capture enough peoples' hearts in a democracy to win the day. 
In the last of his three-part series (part 1 and part 2), Lars Seier Christensen focuses on the broader relevance of Ayn Rand in society today, noting that she remains among the few that recognised with crystal clarity, that we will not win the battle through just proving that freedom and capitalism works. 
This, he warns, creates a major problem for those of us that like to argue rationally, rather than emotionally."

Charges for 106 in Huge Fraud Over Disability

Charges for 106 in Huge Fraud Over Disability - NYTimes.com:
"The retired New York City police officers and firefighters showed up for their psychiatric exams disheveled and disoriented, most following a nearly identical script.

They had been coached on how to fail memory tests, feign panic attacks and, if they had worked during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, to talk about their fear of airplanes and entering skyscrapers, prosecutors said.
And they were told to make it clear they could not leave the house, much less find a job.

But their Facebook pages told investigators a starkly different story, according to an indictment and other court papers.

Former police officers who had told government doctors they were too mentally scarred to leave home had posted photographs of themselves fishing, riding motorcycles, driving water scooters, flying helicopters and playing basketball.

“The brazenness is shocking,” Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, said on Tuesday."

Former Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon still collecting full salary 2 months after resignation

Former Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon still collecting full salary 2 months after resignation | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"More than two months after he resigned amid controversy, former Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon is still on the state payroll at his full $174,204 salary, an official confirmed late Tuesday.

Dillon started Nov. 1 -- the day his resignation as treasurer became effective -- as a senior adviser to Treasurer Kevin Clinton. Treasury Department spokesman Terry Stanton said.

“As noted during the announcement of Treasurer Clinton’s appointment, Mr. Dillon assisted Mr. Clinton with transition issues and has been working on local government fiscal issues,”: Stanton said.

His job is expected to continue for the next four to six weeks, Stanton said.

Gov. Rick Snyder, in announcing Dillon’s resignation on Oct. 11, said Dillon would assist the incoming treasurer with transition issues. But he made no mention of Dillon retaining a full-time salary."

This is your "black leadership" folks--------Jesse Jackson Praises Dennis Rodman’s ‘Diplomacy Efforts in North Korea’

Jesse Jackson Praises Dennis Rodman’s ‘Diplomacy Efforts in North Korea’ | TheBlaze.com:
 "Rev. Jesse Jackson turned to Twitter on Monday to lavish praise on former NBA player Dennis Rodman for his North Korean “diplomacy efforts.”

“Congrads @dennisrodman on your diplomacy efforts in North Korea,” the civil-rights icon said in a now deleted tweet. “It must be dark but you are a light!”"

Teacher seizes candy canes, says 'Jesus is not allowed'

Teacher seizes candy canes, says 'Jesus is not allowed' | The Daily Caller:
"A first-grade teacher at a public elementary school in Southern California allegedly snatched a bunch of candy canes bearing a brief religious message from a first-grade boy.
She told the poor kid “Jesus is not allowed in school” and then — right in front of his little six-year-old eyes — ripped the religious messages from each candy cane and dumped them in a trashcan.
The boy’s name is Isaiah Martinez.
He attends Merced Elementary School in the Los Angeles suburb of West Covina.
The first-grade teacher accused of religious bullying is Valerie Lu.
One of the candy canes was for her. 
The rest were for Martinez’s classmates."

Breaking free! ------University Staff Breaks Away From Michigan Education Association

University Staff Breaks Away From Michigan Education Association [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
"The move for clerical and technical workers to form an independent union will save members considerable money, Bedford said. While new dues have yet to be determined, Bedford points out that their unit has paid the MEA more than $1 million.

Bedford said members have been watching the proceedings of the "August Window" dispute in Lansing, but she said she thought people's minds were made up long before then. A Senate committee held hearings late last year about the MEA's practice of only allowing its members to leave during the month of August and whether the union tried to hide that information from members.

"It was just another example of how the MEA is choosing to operate," Bedford said. "You have many layers of politics within that group. Even the Uniserve directors admit they don't have much control over what goes on in Lansing."

Teachers in Roscommon left the MEA in 2012 and formed their own local union."

Cities Take Snow Emergencies To New Restrictive Level

Cities Take Snow Emergencies To New Restrictive Level [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"When Donna McPherson of Lansing received an automated phone message alerting her that a "snow emergency" had been declared and that "non-essential" travel had been banned, she said it raised a question.
McPherson said her family talked about whether Lansing police would pull over drivers and ask them why they were driving.
In the midst of the winter storm this week, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero declared a snow emergency, which prohibited "non-essential" commercial, private and public travel on city roads."

Poverty level under Obama breaks 50-year record

Poverty level under Obama breaks 50-year record - Washington Times

Fifty years after President Johnson started a $20 trillion taxpayer-funded war on poverty, the overall percentage of impoverished people in the U.S. has declined only slightly and the poor have lost ground under President Obama.

Aides said Mr. Obama doesn’t plan to commemorate the anniversary Wednesday of Johnson’s speech in 1964, which gave rise to Medicaid, Head Start and a broad range of other federal anti-poverty programs.
The president’s only public event Tuesday was a plea for Congress to approve extended benefits for the long-term unemployed, another reminder of the persistent economic troubles during Mr. Obama’s five years in office.

“What I think the American people are really looking for in 2014 is just a little bit of stability,” Mr. Obama said.

Although the president often rails against income inequality in America, his policies have had little impact overall on poverty.
A record 47 million Americans receive food stamps, about 13 million more than when he took office.

The poverty rate has stood at 15 percent for three consecutive years, the first time that has happened since the mid-1960s. 
The poverty rate in 1965 was 17.3 percent; it was 12.5 percent in 2007, before the Great Recession.

So EVERYONE thinks the kid's money is theirs to spend?-----GOP Senate candidate Land favors extending jobless benefits

Tell me again.
What is the difference between a republican and a democrat?
GOP Senate candidate Land favors extending jobless benefits | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Republican U.S. Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land has come out in favor of extending unemployment benefits for 43,000 Michigan residents.
Land on Tuesday issued a statement saying she supports an extension of jobless benefits to "those actively seeking gainful employment."
She adds that it's just a short-term fix and another example of how Washington is governed by crisis."

MUST WATCH----Grim message in new NZTA road safety ad

Things are changing, folks.......Cop Shoots Schizophrenic Teen Who'd Already Been Tasered, After Saying "We Don't Have Time For This"

Cop Shoots Schizophrenic Teen Who'd Already Been Tasered, After Saying "We Don't Have Time For This" | Alternet:

A schizophrenic teen was fatally shot over the weekend in North Carolina by police officers.  Now, the  news outlet WECT reports that one of the officers who arrived at the scene in Boiling Spring Lakes, North Carolina has been placed on leave.  

The incident started on Sunday afternoon, when three cops arrived at the home of 18-year-old Keith Vidal.  The first officer who arrived at the home reported that there was a confrontation, but then told the second police unit that everything was OK.

But shots were fired from an officer in the second unit, who arrived after the first officer.  The teen’s father, Mark Wilsey, said that the family called the police for help with their schizophrenic son, who was holding a small screwdriver.  The family says their son would not have hurt anyone with the screwdriver.

Vidal, Wilsey’s son, was tasered first.  But according to Wilsey, an officer said, “we don’t have time for this,” and then shot Vidal.

"There was no reason to shoot this kid," Wilsey told WECT. "They killed my son in cold blood. We called for help and they killed my son."

Michigan State Group Chant - ESPN Video - ESPN

Michigan State Group Chant - ESPN Video - ESPN:
At last night's men's basketball game against Ohio State (MSU won in overtime), members of the Rose Bowl-winnng football team taught their locker room chant to the crowd.

For Too Many Americans, College Today Isn't Worth It

For Too Many Americans, College Today Isn't Worth It | Zero Hedge:
"In the field of higher education, reality is outrunning parody.
A recent feature on the satire website the Onion proclaimed, "30-Year-Old Has Earned $11 More Than He Would Have Without College Education."
Allowing for tuition, interest on student loans, and four years of foregone income while in school, the fictional student "Patrick Moorhouse" wasn't much better off.
His years of stress and study, the article japed, "have been more or less a financial wash."

"Patrick" shouldn't feel too bad. 
Many college graduates would be happy to be $11 ahead instead of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, behind. 
The credit-driven higher education bubble of the past several decades has left legions of students deep in debt without improving their job prospects."

Find yourself or your friends-2014 Rose Bowl Gigapixel

2014 Rose Bowl Gigapixel - Powered by Blakeway Panoramas

History for January 8 -Elvis!

History for January 8 - On-This-Day.com: 

79^th birth anniversary of Elvis Aaron Presley (1935-77).

1642 - Astronomer Galileo Galilei died in Arcetri, Italy.


1815 - The Battle of New Orleans began. The War of 1812 had officially ended on December 24, 1814, with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. The news of the signing had not reached British troops in time to prevent their attack on New Orleans.


1918 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announced his Fourteen Points as the basis for peace upon the end of World War I.



1955 - After 130 home basketball wins, Georgia Tech defeated Kentucky 59-58. It was the first Kentucky loss at home since January 2, 1943.



1964 - U.S. President Lyndon Johnson declared a "War on Poverty."




1973 - The trial opened in Washington, of seven men accused of bugging Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, DC.



1982 - American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) settled the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against it by agreeing to divest itself of the 22 Bell System companies.



1987 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed over the 2000 mark for the first time at 2,002.25.



1994 - Tonya Harding won the ladies' U.S. Figure Skating Championship in Detroit, MI, a day after Nancy Kerrigan dropped out because of a clubbing attack that injured her right knee. The U.S. Figure Skating Association later took the title from Harding because of her involvement in the attack.



1999 - The top two executives of Salt Lake City's Olympic Organizing Committee resigned amid disclosures that civic boosters had given cash to members of the International Olympic Committee. 

9 Stunning Images Of Lake Michigan Frozen (PICTURES)

9 Stunning Images Of Lake Michigan Frozen (PICTURES)

Naked Aussie freed from washer with olive oil

Naked Aussie freed from washer with olive oil - New York News

SYDNEY (AP) - A naked Australian man who became stuck in a washing machine as part of an ill-planned practical joke was freed from the appliance with the help of an unusual rescue device: olive oil.

The 20-year-old man, identified only as "Laurence," told Australia's Fairfax Radio that he was on his way to take a shower on Saturday when he decided to climb into the top-loader to have a bit of fun. 

The fun quickly evaporated, however, when he realized he couldn't budge.

He called out to his friend for help, who rang the police. 

They responded to the scene, along with firefighters, paramedics and a search and rescue squad.

"He was very well wedged in there and we were concerned for his health and well-being," Shepparton police Sgt. Michelle De Araugo told the Shepparton News. 

"It was just a game gone wrong.

 It would be fair to say the gentleman was very embarrassed."

Rescuers tried in vain to pull Laurence from the machine. 

But when it became clear he was seriously stuck, they grabbed a bottle of his favorite olive oil to help lubricate his escape. 

The oil worked, and he popped out.

"I was quite disappointed they used my good olive oil," Laurence told Fairfax Radio. 

"As soon as the washing machine went on its side, it was a bit like a birthing."

Reporter flipped funny sled accident