Music is amazing. La música es algo increíble.

Music is such an amazing thing:
That melody that transports you to a favorite movie scene or reminds you of a favorite character.
That elusive lyric you cannot understand until learning a life lesson.
That mesmerizing song you can suddenly skip after chuckling at a memory and realizing certain closure when thinking of what was.

La música es algo increíble:
Esa melodía que te transporta a la escena de una película favorita o te recuerda a un personaje de una película favorita.
Esa lírica evasivo que no entiendes hasta que aprendes una lección importante de la vida.
Esa canción hipnótica que de repente puedes ignorar y estas resignado a cómo eran las cosas, dándote cuenta que tienes cierre definitivo con recuerdos divertidos.

How silly have Obama, Romney, and United States politics become with the 2012 election?

Unbelievable.  With all this Big Bird talk and mudslinging United States politics have become downright silly.  We seem to have a fascination with headlines and soundbites, and we're letting them do the thinking for us.  And we seem to be forgetting basic high school civics lessons.

It is so easy to take headlines, soundbites, and one-liners and run with them.  To focus on them, to ignore the bigger picture.  Take the PBS funding comment which has provided for a rather large amount of comic relief since the first presidential debate.  This has distracted from the bigger issue at hand: what should really be cut when balancing the federal budget?  I'd like to think that I summed it up nicely with this picture..

This piece from the International Business Times seems to sum things up pretty nicely as well.

"What some may overlook about Romney vs. Big Bird is that the $445 million the government would save is peanuts when it comes to the national debt. The $445 million is a start, but it’s less than 1/100th of a percent of the $3.5 trillion federal budget. PBS funding pales in comparison to the $1 trillion-plus deficit, according to Business Insider."

Remember what I started to say about high school civics?  Here's what I mean.  It is so annoying to constantly hear people blame any given President for budget woes, economic failure, bad policy, status quo, you name it.  Yes, the President of the United States is probably the most powerful person in the world, but even this individual has limits.  There's this thing called Congress which consists of over 500 individuals and -- wait for it folks -- tax laws, budgets, government spending all goes through this body.  Congressional elections are far more important than Presidential elections, but not as glamorous, and mathematically speaking in order to create change you really need to so something about the runamok Congress.

So the next time that you hear "we need to cut programs such as PBS from the federal budget," "how's that hope and change working for you," and silly one-liners from all sides think about it folks.  Really, really, think about it.

Comparing government spending and earnings to typical households. Or am I being obtuse?

A friend over at Facebook posted the following, after listening to Dave Ramsey on Thursday, July 14.

If our government was a household that makes 56,000 dollars per year, it's spends 92,000 dollars per year and owes just over 300,000 dollars in credit cards. Now I don't care what side of the aisle you are on, that is one f'd up household! The worst part is instead of reducing our spending we want to raise our credit limits. seriously???

I couldn't help but add the following:

It has a single source of income, even with two wage earners in the household. The single income is for a middle-manager at a small company. The other could make over $100K with their masters degree but chooses to stay home and schemes how to get more money out of the small understaffed company.

Sarah Palin encouraging to flaunt Osama bin Laden's photo does nothing to convince me she should run for office

I just had to repost this comment from a gentleman named Mark regarding Sarah Palin's (not so) brilliant tweet demanding to show Bin Laden's photo.

Mark says:

I am so impressed by Sarah Palin. Failed as a VP candidate. Never completed her term as Governor. Never been in the House or the Senate. Her international resume includes the ability to see Russia from her front porch. And she can't remember any national publication she has read on a regular basis because she got rattled during an interview. And SHE has decided that not publishing graphic photos is pussy-footing? She knows what constitutes "part of the mission?" She hasn't completed a mission, so how would she know. Ms. Palin, instead of shooting animals, take that shotgun and go defend our country and then you will know what constitutes "part of the mission."

May 4, 2011 03:09 pm at 3:09pm

(reprinted with minor corrections)

Considering Palin's "experience" I cannot wrap my mind around the notion that people are interested in seeing this individual take office!?! WTF??

An objective list of what the budget repair bill changes minus opinions and name calling #wiunion

Regrettable to see all the mudslinging, name calling, Recall Mania, hyperbole, you name it happening in the Wisconsin Assembly and beyond. Below you will see an overview of the legislation passed by the Assembly, opinion-free and minus name calling. What follows is virtually a complete reprint from the Crooks and Liars web site.

Day Care Providers
Eliminates all authority for collective bargaining units, and rescinds authority for the Milwaukee County child care provider services unit to negotiate with union representatives to modify hours or conditions of employment as part of a state takeover of that program.

University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority Board
Eliminates all collective bargaining rights terminates contracts with UWHCB, transfers all employees to the UWHC Authority, who will negotiate all compensation and benefits as existing contracts expire.

Medical Assistance (BadgerCare)
Orders a study of:

• Ways to increase cost-effectiveness, efficiency of care, and care delivery system for existing programs
• Fiscal impact of limiting switches from private health insurance to Medical Assistance

After the study:

• Require cost-sharing from recipients
• Authorize providers to deny care or services if recipient cannot pay cost-sharing
• Modify (reduce) existing benefits or establish tiered benefits
• Mandate enrollment in managed care
• Restrict or eliminate presumptive eligibility (allowing participants to be excluded via arbitrary definition)
• Restrict benefits to individuals who are not US citizens (note there is no distinction for documented vs. undocumented)
• Reduce income levels for purposes of determining eligibility (currently 185% of Federal Poverty Level)

Reduce funding for Aging and Disability Resource Centers.

Repeal all statutes relating to Wisconsin Quality Home Care Authority. Such a repeal would also repeal authority to establish a process for WQHCA to establish a single statewide collective bargaining unit to bargain for wages and benefits. (Note: In May, 2010, independent home care workers voted to make SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin their representative. In December an agreement was reached for wages of $9 per hour, effective 7/1/2012. The legislature has not ratified the agreement, and repeal will nullify them.)

Note on BadgerCare changes
According to this document, programs affected would be

• BadgerCare Plus for childless adults and the family planning waiver program
• Medicaid for elderly, blind and disabled people
• Medicare premium assistance programs
• Wisconsin Well-Woman Medicaid
• SeniorCare

(I believe all to the extent permitted under the Affordable Care Act)

State Employees
Rearrange employment structure to replace department administrator "classified" positions with unclassified positions, and delegate authority to the Office of State Employment Relations to appoint a deputy director or executive assistant from outside the group of classified employees.

Allows the director to arbitrarily reassign anyone in a career executive position to a different agency provided the receiving agency approves the assignment.

Allows the Governor to terminate any state employee during a state emergency if the employee:

• fails to report to work for 3 working days without approval
• participates in a strike, work stoppage, sit-down, stay-in, slowdown or "other concerted activities", including sick calls and/or mass resignations.

Retirement and Health Insurance Contributions
Employee pays any required contribution in excess of 5% of earnings. Executives and elected officials will not be required to make any additional contribution. Employees who are entitled to additional contributions for negotiated benefit increases, will have to contribute an additional amount.

Repeal authority for state and local employers to pay all or part of employees' contributions unless the employees are police, firefighters, state troopers or state inspectors.

Employees required to make contributions would begin making them on the first payday after March 13, 2011. If the withholding can't be implemented in time, employees will be subject to make-up withholding until all amounts are caught up.

No local government can establish a Defined Benefit Plan unless employees are required to pay one-half of the actuarial cost.

Requires employees to contribute 12% of the cost of health insurance.

Require feasibility study to require employees to shift to a "low-cost health care coverage plan" or a high deductible plan with HSA, or via a state exchange as established in the PPACA.

Lower pension accruals for elected officials and state executive.

Increase co-payments and re-design benefits in existing health plans.

Collective Bargaining Agreements
Consistent with what has been reported as to requirement that unions be recertified annually, prohibits local governments from entering into agreements with unions, ties wage increases to the CPI, repeals and terminates all agreements with University of Wisconsin employees, prohibits payment of union dues via payroll deduction, and much much more.

Wetlands
Gives tax preference to municipalities who convert existing wetlands to non-wetland parcels. In addition, such areas would also be exempt from water quality standards applicable to wetlands, provided that area is used for business.


Click here to see the full text.