Prior Unread & Unloved Blogs all in one place

The Keystone Pipeline Decision  Written on 2/18/13

It is better to pay Canada for the oil rather then pay anyone else for the oil because they do not spend the money on helping America's enemies (like the Middle East exporters) and they do not cozy up to our enemies like Venezuela does.

Another pipeline is not going to prevent any development of alternative energy.  That will develop or not develop based upon its own economics and this pipeline will only replace other oil that would have been imported from somewhere else.

The pipeline will be no more polluting than any other pipeline, of which there are thousands of miles already in place through out the nation.   We don't have an economy without these pipelines.  We don't have gas heat, hot water or stoves without these pipelines.

This part of the midwest needs a pipeline to bring the oil down from North Dakota as well as Alberta.

Mr. Obama should approve the Keystone Pipeline.

WSJ Editorial Page Acknowledges Global Warming 

Written on 2/19/13

I figure I should pull this out of another posting and shout it from the roof top.

In an editorial on another topic ( and I did pull it out of context, but the statement stands on its own),
the Saturday 2/19 Wall Street Journal Editorial page contained the following line written by the Editorial Board.

"We're all for studying the climate and doing what can be done within economic reason to cope with temperature changes."

For the record, The WSJ Editorial Board generally supports everything the GOP stands for today.  They appear to be changing their minds about this topic.

Are the Helfenstine's committing The Perfect Crime?

Written on 2/24/13

No, this is not a political comment.

I have become sick and tired of these anonymous calls offering to lower my credit card interest rate.  I have tried to get my phone numbers removed and found the people to always just hang up on me and move on to the next one.  Yes, my numbers are on the "Do Not Call List", but that doesn't seem to work on these people.

Today in The Haggler column in the NYT business section, we find out the depth of the problem in trying to reach these people who have figured out a way to use far off phone numbers, shell companies, and other forms of anonymity to commit fraud with no ready way to find them guilty of a crime.

Believe it or not, some people have fallen for these guys and paid them $1,000 or $2,000.

How do they do it?  Well the column has not yet gotten to the bottom of it, but they did learn a few things.  The person who was part of the fraud gave up a name of the company:  Account Management Assistance ("AMA").  The phone number that started the trail was on a website called "800notes.com" and had a lot of complaints.  The Haggle posted a note and invited people to contact him.

One woman who was defrauded out of $1,000 had a P.O. Box  in Florida and had tried to get Florida's anti-fraud enforcers to help her.  She also had the name of someone at AMA and a phone number to call him.  When The Haggler tried to reach that person he was given the run around and when asked what company he had reached, was told Elephant, Inc and that they were in Hawaii.

The AMA does not have a website, and no existence beyond the P.O. Box.  The Florida Better Business Bureau does a have record for AMA and shows it to be owned by another Florida company called Your Financial Ladder, and includes another company called Economic Progress.  Economic Progress was created by someone known as Brenda Helfenstine.  She and her husband Tony were sued by the Arkansas Attorney General, but it is not clear what became of that lawsuit.  Since the Helfenstine's hide their identity, that may not even be there real names.

The Haggler's research found an address for them and a phone number, but phone calls were not answered nor returned after messages were left.

So The Haggler tried to prompt Florida consumer protection people to find the Helfenstine's.  They did investigate a bit finding the address for one company was a residence with no evidence of a business being conducted there so they stopped. But The Haggler found out the address is where the Helfenstine's live. So Florida could at least start to investigate these people.  There certainly is enough evidence for that.  I don't know about a conviction.  You would have to prove who ordered all those false phone numbers, PO Boxes, and any real incorporation documents.

That is why this may be the perfect crime.  If you can hide everything under false names, how do the authorities come up with the hard evidence to convict.  Right now, they seem so strapped for funds due to government financial woes, they cannot even investigate the crime.

As for the Helfenstine's, you are despicable human beings. I hope you rot in hell.

Why Both Parties Need to Educate the Voters with Facts   

Written 2/24/13

From the Pew Research Center

19% of the population wants only spending cuts.

76% want spending cuts and revenue increases with more spending cuts than revenue increases.

OK, a balanced approach until you get to the details, which is why both parties need to be honest with the voters.

49% want to increase spending on the world's needy. 48% decrease
60% want to increase spending on the State Department.  34% decrease
65% want to increase spending on the Unemployed.  32% decrease
73%...........increase.........on the military.  24% decrease
71% ............................on aid to the needy.  24% decrease
72%...........increase...............health care.  22% decrease
76% ....................................environment.  22% decrease
74%.....................................energy.  21% decrease
77%..................................science research.  20% decrease
76%..................................agriculture.  20% decrease
77%...................................anti-terrorism.  19% decrease
81%....................................infrastructure.  17% decrease
82%....................................medicare.  15% decrease
82%................................anti-crime.  14% decrease
83%................................food&drug.  14% decrease
84%.................................FEMA.  12% decrease
89%..................................education.  10% decrease
87%.................................social security.  10% decrease
91%..........increase..........Veteran's Benefits.  6% decrease

Is it any wonder the GOP's effort to starve the beast and get what they want has failed when there is so little popular support for cutting anything in detail?  Clearly something needs to give and the only way for that to happen is for both political parties to educate the voters about reality and not go for the easy spin.

There are many places where this education process has gone off the rail, but the death knell in my opinion was the Death Panel hoop-de-doo during the passage of Obamacare.  Now the GOP is committed to patients getting whatever care they need without question and their only solution is to give medicare to the private health insurance companies that have fostered the very things that are bankrupting the country.

It makes me as sick as Rush Limbaugh is.  That is the first time I ever agreed with him.

Isn't Voting Entitled to Equal Protection

I have been a bit slow to pick up on the arguments for overruling the Voting Rights Act.  I always thought that voting was a right of every citizen and one that should be protected from acts of discrimination by the courts under constitutional grounds of equal protection.

Now I find that Shelby County Alabama wants to overturn a law passed by Congress and affirmed by 4 subsequent Congresses.  The law is the Voting Rights Act.

And Shelby County's argument?  That their sovereignty is harmed by this law.

In other words, Shelby County should be free to do whatever they want in regards to their conduct of elections.  They want what I believe the constitution forbids and Congress has forbidden.

We will await a decision by the Supreme Court.

Why Both Parties Need to Educate the Voters with Facts

From the Pew Research Center

19% of the population wants only spending cuts.

76% want spending cuts and revenue increases with more spending cuts than revenue increases.

OK, a balanced approach until you get to the details, which is why both parties need to be honest with the voters.

49% want to increase spending on the world's needy. 48% decrease
60% want to increase spending on the State Department.  34% decrease
65% want to increase spending on the Unemployed.  32% decrease
73%...........increase.........on the military.  24% decrease
71% ............................on aid to the needy.  24% decrease
72%...........increase...............health care.  22% decrease
76% ....................................environment.  22% decrease
74%.....................................energy.  21% decrease
77%..................................science research.  20% decrease
76%..................................agriculture.  20% decrease
77%...................................anti-terrorism.  19% decrease
81%....................................infrastructure.  17% decrease
82%....................................medicare.  15% decrease
82%................................anti-crime.  14% decrease
83%................................food&drug.  14% decrease
84%.................................FEMA.  12% decrease
89%..................................education.  10% decrease
87%.................................social security.  10% decrease
91%..........increase..........Veteran's Benefits.  6% decrease

Is it any wonder the GOP's effort to starve the beast and get what they want has failed when there is so little popular support for cutting anything in detail?  Clearly something needs to give and the only way for that to happen is for both political parties to educate the voters about reality and not go for the easy spin.

There are many places where this education process has gone off the rail, but the death knell in my opinion was the Death Panel hoop-de-doo during the passage of Obamacare.  Now the GOP is committed to patients getting whatever care they need without question and their only solution is to give medicare to the private health insurance companies that have fostered the very things that are bankrupting the country.

It makes me as sick as Rush Limbaugh is.  That is the first time I ever agreed with him.

Are the Helfenstine's committing The Perfect Crime?

No, this is not a political comment.

I have become sick and tired of these anonymous calls offering to lower my credit card interest rate.  I have tried to get my phone numbers removed and found the people to always just hang up on me and move on to the next one.  Yes, my numbers are on the "Do Not Call List", but that doesn't seem to work on these people.

Today in The Haggler column in the NYT business section, we find out the depth of the problem in trying to reach these people who have figured out a way to use far off phone numbers, shell companies, and other forms of anonymity to commit fraud with no ready way to find them guilty of a crime.

Believe it or not, some people have fallen for these guys and paid them $1,000 or $2,000.

How do they do it?  Well the column has not yet gotten to the bottom of it, but they did learn a few things.  The person who was part of the fraud gave up a name of the company:  Account Management Assistance ("AMA").  The phone number that started the trail was on a website called "800notes.com" and had a lot of complaints.  The Haggle posted a note and invited people to contact him.

One woman who was defrauded out of $1,000 had a P.O. Box  in Florida and had tried to get Florida's anti-fraud enforcers to help her.  She also had the name of someone at AMA and a phone number to call him.  When The Haggler tried to reach that person he was given the run around and when asked what company he had reached, was told Elephant, Inc and that they were in Hawaii.

The AMA does not have a website, and no existence beyond the P.O. Box.  The Florida Better Business Bureau does a have record for AMA and shows it to be owned by another Florida company called Your Financial Ladder, and includes another company called Economic Progress.  Economic Progress was created by someone known as Brenda Helfenstine.  She and her husband Tony were sued by the Arkansas Attorney General, but it is not clear what became of that lawsuit.  Since the Helfenstine's hide their identity, that may not even be there real names.

The Haggler's research found an address for them and a phone number, but phone calls were not answered nor returned after messages were left.

So The Haggler tried to prompt Florida consumer protection people to find the Helfenstine's.  They did investigate a bit finding the address for one company was a residence with no evidence of a business being conducted there so they stopped. But The Haggler found out the address is where the Helfenstine's live. So Florida could at least start to investigate these people.  There certainly is enough evidence for that.  I don't know about a conviction.  You would have to prove who ordered all those false phone numbers, PO Boxes, and any real incorporation documents.

That is why this may be the perfect crime.  If you can hide everything under false names, how do the authorities come up with the hard evidence to convict.  Right now, they seem so strapped for funds due to government financial woes, they cannot even investigate the crime.

As for the Helfenstine's, you are despicable human beings. I hope you rot in hell.

GOP Budget Failures (or another way of saying what has been said before)

Jonathan Chait gets this basic dynamic right:

What’s remarkable about the ability of anti-tax zealots like Ryan to sustain their position is that it places them in direct opposition to conservative goals on both defense and spending. After all, Obama is offering to cut spending on retirement programs and to cancel out cuts to defense — two things large chunks of the GOP would like — in return for more revenue. He’s not even demanding higher rates. He’s merely asking to reduce tax deductions.

Chait notes that this is an obstacle to any hopes for any GOP makeover:

Obama has been offering to reduce spending on Social Security and Medicare for two years now, in return for Republican agreement to spread the burden of the fiscal adjustment. They won’t take the deal…if Republicans want to reform their party’s identity and make it into something other than absolutist advocacy of low taxes for the rich, they need to come up with some negotiating position on fiscal issues other than “no tax hikes for the rich of any kind no matter what we get in return.”

Founding Father (or nearly) Quotes

James Madison

In the Federalist No. 58, James Madison warned that granting such power to the minority would undo the fundamental principle of free government, allowing the minority “to extort unreasonable indulgences.”


Henry Clay

Henry Clay, who was dubbed “The Great Pacificator.” Admired by Abraham Lincoln, he is widely considered one of the greatest senators in American history. Clay once said, “Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.”

Economic Musings & Implication for Entitlements

The Economist this week summarized an amazing survey result.

"Suppose you had $100 in a savings account that paid an interest rate of 2% a year.  If you leave the money in the account, how much money would you have accumulated after 5 years:  More than $102, exactly $102, or less than $102?"

Only 50% of Americans over the age of 50 could answer that correctly.  If 50% of Americans cannot answer that correctly, how can they manage to invest retirement assets?  How can they manage to shop for healthcare as they age and mental capacity diminishes?

The GOP's continual push for privatization of social security and medicare does not fit with a population that does not have the mental capacity to manage the process well.