Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Video Conferencing, Just in the Nick of Time

Congress.org presents MEGAVOTE, posted on December 5, 2016 and for Georgia's 13th Congressional District.


Recent Congressional Votes
  • Senate: Health Care Videoconferencing – Passage
  • House: Medical Research and Associated Activities - Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Additional House Amendment
  • House: Additional Committee Funding – Agreeing to Resolution
  • House: Banking Regulations – Passage
  • House: Fiscal 2017 Defense Authorization - Conference Report
Upcoming Congressional Bills
  • Senate: Medical Research and Associated Activities
  • Senate: Fiscal 2017 Defense Authorization
  • Senate: Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal 2017
  • Senate: Water Projects
  • House: International Insurance Standards
  • House: Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal 2017
  • House: Water Projects
Recent Senate Votes
Health Care Videoconferencing – Passage Vote Passed (97-0, 3 Not Voting)
The Senate passed the bill that would require the Health and Human Services secretary to examine distance education models that use videoconferencing to connect medical specialists with multiple other health care professionals. The examination also would need to look at the models' impacts on: addressing chronic disease, mental disorders, palliative care and other types of care; health care workforce issues; implementing public health programs; and health care services in rural and underserved communities. The secretary would be required to submit a report to Congress based on this examination.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES
It is curious to see a government need to have a vote on a work practice. Sadly, it must be evidence that existing rules prevent dynamic change in government and more importantly the business that the y have under their thumb. This was so simple that the Senators were able to be unanimous in approval. More impressive would be another unanimous vote by Congress to get the heck out of the way of comon sense. 
Recent House Votes
Medical Research and Associated Activities - Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Additional House Amendment Vote Passed (392-26, 16 Not Voting)
The House passed a bill that would reauthorize the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration, and would modify the FDA's drug and medical device review and approval process to accelerate the approval and distribution of new drugs and devices. The measure would create three dedicated offset funds within the Treasury into which $6.3 billion would be transferred over 10 years, through 2026. The accounts would include $4.8 billion for NIH medical research, $500 million for FDA approval and review modification and $1 billion for opioid addiction treatment and response. Funding for the accounts would not count against annual discretionary budget caps. Within the NIH funding, $1.8 billion would be for cancer therapy and test development, $1.5 would be for brain-related research and $1.5 billion would be for medical treatments related to genetic characteristics. The measure would also expand the Health and Human Services Department's oversight of mental health issues, would modify the Medicare program for hospitals, and would allow small employers to provide certain reimbursement plans for employees to purchase their own health insurance. The House replaced the original text of HR 34 with an amendment that consisted of the medical research and expedited drug approval legislative provisions.
Rep. David Scott voted YES
Fast tracking medicine approvals. Again , this is government, trying to simplify the mess that government created.
Additional Committee Funding – Agreeing to Resolution Vote Passed (234-181, 19 Not Voting)
The House agreed to the resolution that would allow the House Energy and Commerce Committee to spend an additional $800,000 in 2016 to cover expenses incurred by the committee's select panel investigating alleged sales of fetal tissue.
Rep. David Scott voted NO
If I understand correctly, my Congressman just voted not to approve of money budget that is already spent. Good thing that the Republicans set the vote correctly, otherwise all that money spent trying to prove something the press already exposed might have been wasted.
Banking Regulations – Passage Vote Passed (254-161, 19 Not Voting)
The House passed the bill that would modify the 2010 financial regulatory overhaul law to eliminate the requirement that the Federal Reserve automatically review bank holding companies with assets greater than $50 billion. The measure would authorize the Financial Stability Oversight Council to require enhanced Federal Reserve supervision and regulation of any bank holding company based on the FSOC's determination of the individual institution's riskiness.
Rep. David Scott voted YES
My Congressman probably gets large campaign donations from banking institutions. Generally I am for less supervision of any business by government, for banking the same. The problem is that where the regulations originate is usually i the industry, that means some poor bank startup has no influence over the rules created. Rules that certainly favor the players that are established, and can lead to quasi-monopolistic marketplace. 
Fiscal 2017 Defense Authorization - Conference Report Vote Passed (375-34, 25 Not Voting)
The House adopted the conference report on the bill that would authorize $611.2 billion for defense programs in fiscal 2017, including $59.5 billion for overseas operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. It would authorize $222.4 billion for operations and maintenance; $139.6 billion for military personnel; $7.9 billion for military construction and family housing; $10 billion for ballistic-missile defense; and $33.4 billion for defense health care programs, including $334 million from the overseas operations account. It would prohibit the use of funds for a new round of base closures. The bill would authorize a 2.1 percent pay raise for military personnel. It would elevate U.S. Cyber Command to an independent major command within the Defense Department. It would prohibit detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from being transferred to U.S. soil, and would prohibit the closing of the main base and detention facility at Guantanamo. It would extend, through fiscal 2017, the authority for several bonus and special payments for military members.
Rep. David Scott voted YES
David Scott has been alright with me in terms of defense postures.
Upcoming Votes
Medical Research and Associated Activities 
HR34 The Senate will vote on a bill that would reauthorize the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration, and would modify the FDA's drug and medical device review and approval process to accelerate the approval and distribution of new drugs and devices. The measure would create three dedicated offset funds within the Treasury into which $6.3 billion would be transferred over 10 years, through 2026. The accounts would include $4.8 billion for NIH medical research, $500 million for FDA approval and review modification and $1 billion for opioid addiction treatment and response. Funding for the accounts would not count against annual discretionary budget caps. Within the NIH funding, $1.8 billion would be for cancer therapy and test development, $1.5 would be for brain-related research and $1.5 billion would be for medical treatments related to genetic characteristics. The measure would also expand the Health and Human Services Department's oversight of mental health issues, would modify the Medicare program for hospitals, and would allow small employers to provide certain reimbursement plans for employees to purchase their own health insurance. The House replaced the original text of HR 34 with an amendment that consisted of the medical research and expedited drug approval legislative provisions.

Fiscal 2017 Defense Authorization - S2943
The Senate will vote on the conference report to the bill that would authorize $611.2 billion for defense programs in fiscal 2017, including $59.5 billion for overseas operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. It would authorize $222.4 billion for operations and maintenance; $139.6 billion for military personnel; $7.9 billion for military construction and family housing; $10 billion for ballistic-missile defense; and $33.5 billion for defense health care programs, including $374 million from the overseas operations account. It would prohibit the use of funds for a new round of base closures. The bill would authorize a 2.1 percent pay raise for military personnel. It would elevate U.S. Cyber Command to an independent major command within the Defense Department. It would prohibit detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from being transferred to U.S. soil, and would prohibit the closing of the main base and detention facility at Guantanamo. It would extend, through fiscal 2017, the authority for several bonus and special payments for military members.

Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal 2017 
The Senate will consider legislation that would extend current stopgap government spending until sometime after March 2017. The current continuing resolution expires on Dec. 9.

Water Projects - S612
The House will likely take up the conference report on water resources development legislation that would authorize new water projects for construction by the Army Corps of Engineers. The measure has also been at the center of negotiations to provide aid to Flint, Mich., whose drinking water system has been contaminated by lead. The water resources bill is expected to include at least an authorization for that aid. The House replaced the original text of S 612 with an amendment that consisted of the water resource development legislative provisions.
The new President has promised to make the Detroit situation right, but things like water projects are never resolved quickly and always costs multiples of the amounts estimated.
International Insurance Standards - HR5143
The House will vote on a bill that would prohibit the United States from agreeing to any international insurance standards unless the government first publicly publishes the proposal, seeks public comment and reports to Congress on the impact of those standards on U.S. markets and consumers. It also would prohibit the adoption of any international insurance capital standards until after the Federal Reserve issues domestic capital standards for insurance companies.
Government has been largely responsible for restricting insurance competition i the United States and that alone is significant to the spiraling cost of health care. The EU models seems to work pretty well on a basic level if you are willing to overlook the lack of service availability issues that arise when doctors and nurses spurn the marketplace. Government involved in insurance, other than fraud, is bad.
Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal 2017 
The House will consider legislation that would extend current stopgap government spending until sometime after March 2017. The current continuing resolution expires on Dec. 9.
Who thinks we will achieve an approved budget in the next two years, not me.

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Change the Letter


A gift from a schoolmate. Doubt that this is from a real Washington Post article, but certainly it is fun.  My favorite is the first number eight.
The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
Here are the winners:
  1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
  2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
  3. Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
  4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
  5. Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozonelayer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future. 
  6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid. 
  7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high 
  8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
  9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
  10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
  11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
  12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
  13. Glibido: All talk and no action. 
  14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly. 
  15. ArachnolepticFit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
  16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
  17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.
The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.
  
And the winners are:   
  1. 1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs. 
  2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained. 
  3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
  4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.
  5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent. 
  6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
  7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.
  8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.
  9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
  10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.
  11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam. 
  12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists. 
  13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist. 
  14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms. 
  15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
  16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Will Trump Defy McCain & Marco?

Patrick Buchanan discusses posturing by Senators who claim to have more influence than elections and primaries reflect. While it hasn't been verbalized, these Republican fixtures favor Senators being names as Secretary of State, and find it hard to imagine a different skill set being useful to the work.
Will Trump Defy McCain & Marco? - Rasmussen Reports™
As for Rubio's characterization that Tillerson is a "friend of Putin", they may have become friends while doing business, but I have little doubt that the Exxon chief put business first. Trump should defy the loser Senators if only to detour State's path of approaching international issues as the benevolent pussy.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Nine More Important Facts To Remember As We Grow Older




#9  Death is the number 1 killer in the world.
 
#8  Life is sexually transmitted.
 
#7  Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
 
#6   Men have 2 motivations: hunger and hanky panky, and they can't tell them apart. If you see a gleam in his eyes, make him a sandwich.
 
#5  Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks, months, maybe years.
 
#4  Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital, dying of nothing.
 
#3  All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
 
#2  In the 60's, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now the world is weird, and people take Prozac to make it normal.
 
#1  Life is like a jar of jalapeno peppers. What you do today may be a burning issue tomorrow. 
 
Please share this wisdom with others while I go to the bathroom.

Monday, November 28, 2016

Queens Riddle

President Obama: "Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give me?”
Queen Elizabeth: “Well, the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people.”
President Obama, while frowning: “But how do I know if the people around me are really intelligent?”
Queen Elizabeth, while sipping of champagne: “Oh, that’s easy; you just ask them to answer an intelligent riddle, watch.”
The Queen pushed a button on her intercom: “Please send Tony Blair in here, would you?”
Tony Blair walked into the room and said, “Yes, your Majesty?"

The Queen smiled and said: “Answer me this please, Tony. Your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother, and it is not your sister. Who is it?”
Without pausing for a moment, Tony Blair answered: ”That would be me.”
“Yes! Very good.” said the Queen.
President Obama went back home to ask Joe Biden the same question.
“Joe, answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It’s not your brother and it’s not your sisterWho is it?"

“I’m not sure,” said Biden, “let me get back to you on that one.”
The Vice President asked Hillary Clinton and all of his advisers, but none could give him an answer.
Frustrated, Biden went off for lunch at Trump Towers a day or so later and was greeted politely by Trump.
Biden asked, “Hey, Donald, see if you can answer this question. Your mother and father have a child, and it’s not your brother or your sister. Who is it?”
Trump answered: “That’s easy; it’s me!”
Biden smiled, and said: “Good answer, Donald!”
Biden then went back to speak with President Obama.
“Say, I did some research, and I have the answer to that riddle. “It’s Donald Trump!”
Obama got up, stomped over to Biden, and angrily yelled into his face, “NO, you idiot! It’s Tony Blair!”


Friday, November 18, 2016

Does Immigration Mean The End Of Western Civilization?

Does Immigration Mean The End Of Western Civilization?: A 40 year-old French novel reads as its been ripped from the headlines as EU leaders fail to grasp the true nature of Europe's immigration crisis.

This is a great book, required reading.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Tea-Shirt

Received this photo about a week before the election.

A good sign.

The Millennial Women In My Family

Are all exploring the Chicken Little syndrome.
Thank heavens my bride has got her head screwed on correctly.
Hillary Clinton was never going to save the world.
Donald Trump was never as evil as portrayed.
My U-verse went out at 2:00 AM on Wednesday morning, so this was the happy message of confirmation that I went to sleep dreaming of. 
Now all I have to do is practice patience while immature 20 somethings pontificate to adults with actual life experience.


Thursday, November 10, 2016

Fighting for America

Dennis Prager has started this wonderful series of YouTube videos.
This is a great talk about how liberalism fits into American society.



Enjoyed the paraphrase of the Russian Communists...
We know what the future is, it's the past that keeps changing.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Open Container

Undressed and carrying an open container; it seems almost redundant.
Drunk, Naked Guy Searching For Sex Partner Instead Ends Up Behind Bars
Joshua Ivy, eager to for some sex, got undressed in the parking lot and started banging on doors.
One of the folks inside called the police. It's more difficult for men, if a woman did this, she'd probably find satisfaction on the first or second knock.