Search Results for 'Sl'

[kootchman]

I posted a link months ago. But even a cursory “farud, medicaire, medicaid” google search will do.

Just one all time favorite.. UW billing for services while the billing physician was on vacation in Europe! It’s tough to feel sympathy for UW when they spend 10 million in attoney fees, a 30 million dollar fine, for a “partial” settlement. Not one UW physician went to prison… and this from the Seattle Weekly… not even a “conservative” source. enjoy another “isolated case” This one of your “phantoms” redblack?

Everybody Knew

“State. Sen. Mike Carrell of Lakewood is sponsoring a bill to prevent the use of Washington’s welfare cash cards from being used at strip clubs, tattoo parlors, gun shops and taverns The station earlier found that about $2 million in welfare cash was withdrawn in one year at casinos. … Now, KING has found the welfare benefits — known as EBT cards — are being cashed at strip clubs and sex shops.” Yippee… makes a taxpayer feel great.

or

“These are staggering numbers, but so are the actual accounts of fraud. For example, in 2007 alone, the Medicare system made $10.8 billion in improper payments. In 2006, almost 30% of the claims that Medicare paid for durable medical equipment was incorrect. Even more appallingly, from 2000 to 2007, Medicare paid 478,500 claims to dead physicians; these claims totaled $92 million.”

or

“How widespread is Medicare fraud? The government is now reporting Medicare fraud rates almost three times higher than previously accounted for, at 47 billion dollars this year”

or

“The Inspector General’s report for the Department of Health and Human Services in 2008 reported that 29% of Medicare claims for durable medical equipment were in error in fiscal year 2006.”

or

“The American College of Radiology, in a 2004 report, claimed that private insurers and Medicare pay more than $15 billion per year for needless imaging tests.”

or, the sublimely ridiculous…

That final report included such absurdities as walkers for patients with purported sinus congestion, paraplegia or shoulder injuries

The government never wants to find fraud, .. it’s political grease.

[jamminj]

I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business: I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible: Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another; human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there’s room for everyone, and the good Earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful.

But we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.

We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood, for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say, “Do not despair.”

The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die. And the power they took from the people will return to the people, and so long as men die, liberty will never perish.

Soldiers, don’t give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you; who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel; who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder.

Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don’t hate. Only the unloved hate. The unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers, don’t fight for slavery. Fight for liberty.

In the 17th chapter of St Luke it is written, “The kingdom of God is within man.” Not one man, nor a group of men, but in all men. In you.

You the people have the power: the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let us use that power: Let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie. They do not fulfill their promise. They never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfill that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness.

Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

[evie]

Leslie Rosen teaches three fabulous belly dancing classes at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center on Wednesday nights. She’s a great teacher, and the classes are a blast. I cannot recommend them enough!

[chrisma]

Politicians, I suspect, are most concerned with their political careers. That’s how it works.

I’m sure it’s more than just a matter of money, but couldn’t Nickelsville start fundraising for the money it would need to get connected to city services in it’s current location? I know that’s probably a tall order, but it would seem if there are enough advocates for NV to collect the needed funds, that’s pretty strong evidence of community support and it eliminates at least one excuse for the Mayor and the City Council not to act.

I’m sure there’s all kinds of reasons that this isn’t a viable suggestion, and you’re all welcome to shoot me down on it. It’s just the thing that came to mind. Obviously, it’s going to be a long cold wait for the city politicians to do anything on behalf of NV, on their own.

[DBP]

I was at the Highland Park Action Committee meeting last night (the one JoB referred to in her “I forgot to make my point” post). I’m posting these comments separately for reasons of clarity.

************************************************************************************

The HPAC meeting demonstrated once again how futile Seattle politics can be. It’s no wonder some Highland Park residents are upset about Nickelsville, given that it appears to be in a permanent state of limbo, somewhere between “jungle camp” and “decent place to live.”

After 8 months, people are getting fed up and are starting to vent their frustration on both politicians AND Nickelsville residents. A common theme from the residents at the meeting was “It’s time for OTHER parts of the city to bear their share of the burden.”

If this state of affairs continues, we will no doubt see another mass eviction. Bummer.

Unlike some HP’ers, I don’t blame Nickelsville or the people who live there. But I DO blame the politicians. There’s been an appalling failure of political leadership here, both from the Mayor and the City Council.

At last night’s meeting, Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith said, “We’re not going to evict people at Nickelsville.” At the same time, however, he would not commit the Mayor’s office to trying to formalize Nickelsville at its current location or deliver any utility services there. Nor could he offer any ideas for where Nickelsville could relocate to – other than “churches and non-profits” which is obviously not a long-term solution.

Apparently Mayor McGinn had only one trick up his sleeve (the Sunny Jim site) and the Council quashed that, so now it’s like the Mayor’s washed his hands of it.

**************************************************************************************

Tim Rasmussen was there too. He agreed with the Highland Park folks who wanted Nickelsville out of Highland Park and off city property. But just like Deputy Mayor Smith, Mr. Rasmussen did not offer ANY alternatives. In regard to the Sunny Jim proposal from the Mayor’s Office, he said that the property would have needed to be rezoned before even a temporary occupation permit could have been granted. Ergo: It was an illegal site (as if the current one isn’t!) Ergo, the Council vetoed it.

Note that Rasmussen was also one of the councilmembers who voted AGAINST Seattle Public Utilities setting aside money ($39,000) to hook Nickelsville up to water and sewer services. Licata, Bagshaw and O’Brien voted for this proposal. All other councilmembers were against.

************************************************************************************

I’m still waiting for someone from either the Council or the Mayor’s office to start proposing ideas for where the residents of Nickelsville can stay PERMANENTLY. Failing that, they could at least have the decency to say: “OK, let’s get some water and services to those folks while we figure out what to do.”

These are human beings living at Nickelsville.

How can we say to them: “We don’t know what to do with you exactly, but no, we’re not going to give you a warm place to sleep at night. And no, we’re not going to let you have safe water to drink or wash in.”

For God’s sake, people! We treat our motherlovin’ PETS better than this.

 

[anonyme]

I was just about to pay HD a visit, so I’m grateful for this post as a reminder as to why I hate shopping there. That store has had serious issues for years, and yes, I’ve taken them up with both the store managers and corporate offices.

McLendon’s is a bit more expensive, but the service is almost always excellent. On many occasions, staff members have taken the time to talk me through projects. They also carry a lot of hard-to-find items that you’d never find at HD. The main difference is in the quantity on hand, and the size of the aisles. That said, I’ve actually had the experience of visiting HD only to find they were out of 2×4’s (WTF?) or drywall corners, and ended up at McLendon’s anyway.

[WSB]

Seriously, I think you may have to drive east. WAY east.

http://www.atmos.washington.edu/data/zone_report.KOTX.html

[TammiWS]

Scam is a scam but I find it amusing these two people were wealthy and scamming the system – they obviously arent your sterotypical ‘welfare queen’ the right likes to use in every welfare scam story – this in my mind is actually worse than a person who really needs the help and the food to survive. These two were just con artists.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20111206/us-welfare-million-dollar-house/

[Gina]

Semi is partially blocking exit to North I-5 from Spokane St. Would expect it to be cleared soon.

[redblack]

kootch: so it’s right and good to have a well-regulated militia for whatever reason, but when the wealthy buy all of the printing presses – virtual and real – and congress starts drafting legislation that abridges freedom of the press on their behalf — that’s okay?

inalienable, indeed.

[WWMom]

I just have to chime in here – I refuse to fly Alaska Airlines after being personally involved after the crash of flight 261. The way they treated the families who lost loved ones in this crash was terrible. And, adding salt to the wounds of many was that even after loosing this plane due to improper jack screw maintenance – they were fined years later for the same problem. What a slap in the face to read about it in the Seattle Times – as if the people I lost did not matter enough to Alaska Airlines to get it right going forward.

[carrieann]

I was totally on top of things this year, putting all the other lights and decorations up early enough that we could enjoy them for a good amount of time without having to leave them up through Valentine’s Day… BUT I have yet to get our lights up ON the house. I’m a wuss when it comes to climbing the ladder, and can just imagine myself taking a dive off in front of my horrified kids. I was suckered into buying one of those extendable poles that allows you to do it your self, from the “safety” of the ground, but while it’s a great idea, it’s rather poorly executed and it doesn’t reach all the way for our roof.

I’ve been thinking of scouring Craigslist for someone to come do it, but I’m not in a position to spend a ton of money for something that’ll only be up for another month.

Hmmm, anyone wanna put them up in exchange for tasty baked goods? I can bake a mean batch of cookies and delicious loaves of banana bread!

[kootchman]

What difference why? It’s what happened. Parse it anyway you wish. We spend more then we produce. That’s all there is to that story. We are in cut the budget territory. The military is a horridly inefficient institution. So is every other government program. It delivers nothing in a cost effective manner. We have been in a “spend more than we make mode” since 1901. That is why we came out of the 20th century a debtor nation. We did invest heavily in a production capability, unchallenged in the world after WWll. I remember the steel, transportation, auto, railroad, strikes of the 50’s, 60’s… do you? All those federal interventions and even threats to nationalize those essential industries. Ironic that lack of investment (as you cite) in manufacturing being the cause, yet, the blog screams tax corporations more. You cannot outspend and over tax the basic capacity of the economy to generate the wealth necessary to sustain a surplus, and it is surplus that builds the safety net.

http://www.davemanuel.com/history-of-deficits-and-surpluses-in-the-united-states.php

Projected military spending is (Obama budget) is a staggering amount. 896 billion… but here ya go… 251 billion is interest on debt expense.. it is the equivalent of 1/2 the total cost of Medicare and roughly the total cost of Medicaid. Wasted money. Yet, The Messiah wants to slap another 3 trillion on top of the 15 trillion. We are spending the entire cost of Medicaid per year on interest expense. And you want to borrow more? (2010)

Your numbers are hooey too. The budget calls for 3.83 trillion. Defense is 895 billion. That is about 25% of the national budget. When you pull numbers out of thin air, or use MSNBC talking points it pays to do some fact checking.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/budget-2010/

There is one path out of the morass… create more wealth then we spend. Or… you will watch a video much like the Italian Minister of Welfare. Or, you can drone on and tax and tax until there is no base left to resuscitate the corpse. This stupidity that a mythical 1%, or 10% can restore financial health to this country is pure “feel good” populism. There is no way in hell you can tax your way back to prosperity. It’s a spending problem.

[JoB]

kootch…

“We cam out of the 20th century a debtor nation.”

you might want to look at the myriad reasons why

for a start…

lack of investment in US manufacturing infrastructure led to a precipitous decline in tax revenue

while an increased need for military might to protect American investments and economic opportunity overseas led to a precipitous increase in military expenditures?

do you think the 58% of tax revenue that the military is slated to consume next year had anything to do with our national debt?

you turn a blind eye to that because it increases American business revenue…

instead you concentrate on the welfare state..

because that isn’t increasing the “bottom line”.

there is far more to America than American business interests Kootch…

Sooner or later..

the smokescreen is going to clear just enough for ordinary citizens to figure out how much they are being hoodwinked…

me? I hope it’s sooner…

you are betting your future on later…

forgetting that you are selling your kids and grandkids short in the process

[mlyn1375]

Please see post here at Craigslist for pictures:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/fuo/2739205926.html

[HelperMonkey]

I found this listing, seems to match.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/2711038342.html

[bryjb10]

Hi,

Yes I have tried many of their products. Post recovery workout, muscle fuel, spark (mandrin my fav), thermo plus, catalyst, carb-ese and a few others. I had really good results. I really really like the Spark. I have not found anything else that gives the mental focus. I see that they have another drink out now called SLAM. I cant wait to try this.

[sun*e]

Someone decided that tree lined sidewalk across from our house would be a great place to dump their old soil-stained exposed-springs mattresses and other lovely items. Seriously?! I can’t believe people can be so insensitive. Now what are we suppose to do with it all? Thanks so much for making your crap our problem!

[eugenekogan]

I’m selling my 2011 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited. We are downsizing to one car.

Details: https://post.craigslist.org/manage/2711038342

[kootchman]

Obamacare?. But y’know job.. you are right, He really hasn’t delivered on a single thing other than the fairy dust of slushy funds he sprinkled out to campaign contributors. And it’s cost us trillions.. pretty much for nothing I know Jan..crazy eh? Just like the endorsements of William Ayers for The Messiah? Want the mug shot link for his arrest as a domestic terrorist? Now THAT is rich ! Schlafy is a harmless one “of that age”…a kook. But, we are taking em’ all under the tent.. any and every vote..If Jesus spoke to her directly..works for me. Just vote.

[Hawkeye]

Wonderful ideas all, but don’t fear (or overlook) the great outdoors as well! Two-year-olds are just smaller and younger versions of the rest of us–if we’re moving (and just try to slow down most active toddlers) bundled appropriately in rain coats and warm hats & mittens, we’re good-to-go most anywhere in these parts. Take a page from the outdoor preschool on Vashon Island, their motto: “Children cannot bounce off the walls if we take away the walls.”

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011657278_preschool21m.html

[JustSarah]

I agree completely with Cait. I didn’t have a chance to return to this thread through the rest of the weekend, but her posts eloquently sum up what was bothering me about this conversation. It started with a lazy assumption and is now likely to influence people’s perceptions of Les Schwab, consciously or subconsciously. It’s unfair.

And yes, I know the world’s not fair, but letting lazy connections grow to conjecture is just irresponsible.

[redblack]

In fact, I find many of you on the left very snobbish at times.

oh. i’m sorry.

You guys are very humorous to listen to sometimes.

and you guys can be very condescending and dismissive of liberals. most of the time you just call us moonbats or socialists and move on without engaging in any meaningful discussion or understanding the reason for our political leanings.

i like to think that i at least show you guys the courtesy of discussing philosophical, core issues.

back to the boycott topic, the bigger picture is that i can spend or not spend my money wherever i see fit for whatever reason i choose. that’s the free market at work. that’s freedom of choice.

boycott? not so much. but if i have the choice between home depot and junction true value, i’ll take the latter. alki lumber? those guys are obviously dino rossi supporters, but they’re a local business, and i’d rather buy lumber from them than the corporate big box.

nothing wrong with shunning the big retailers. doing so helps local businesses.

back to the OT, i believe most les schwab stores are franchised – at least the one in ballard is. so there are two layers of businesses to “boycott” there.

actually, there are three – if you don’t like buying chinese rubber.

[charlabob]

Good point, transplentella — sign me up for the sleep in on Saturday morning men welcome subgroup. I think we need a calendar master.

[Sonoma]

You might be right about the oil, Kootchie-Koo, but I rarely have to visit a gas station regardless. Re the Gingrinch-stole-Christmas nonsense, thank you for the link. The opinion column was by Newt’s daughter. And one of the commenters was most interesting:

Newt’s ex-wife told the Washington Post in a Jan. 3, 1985, profile:

“He walked out in the spring of 1980 and I returned to Georgia. By September, I went into the hospital for my third surgery. The two girls came to see me, and said Daddy is downstairs and could he come up? When he got there, he wanted to discuss the terms of the divorce while I was recovering from the surgery … To say I gave up a lot for the marriage is the understatement of the year.”

And whether it’s true or not, whether Newt lizard cheated on his cancerous wife or not, he’s still a glaring example of a sleazy oleaginous politician.

Oh, and from other postings, I am happy that your “handle” Kootch has other, more wholesome meanings besides the naughty one (as vividly defined in the Urban Dictionary).