gdp's Comments

http://gadfly-buzz.blogspot.com/ : Time To Revisit EPA Regulation Of Radon

Mon, 22 May 2017 04:40:34 +0000

We need to fix this to have comments on main page.

Commentary Magazine : How to Cut Medical Costs 101

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 04:08:28 +0000

The Surgery Center of Oklahoma has the solution to rising health care prices - they post their very competitive prices online.

Commentary Magazine : Can Christie Be Christie and Win in 2016?

Wed, 28 Aug 2013 14:37:29 +0000

"One of Christie’s biggest assets is his authenticity . . . ' Here is authentic Christie denigrating the only Speaker who ever succeeded in nationalizing a House of Representatives election and who effectively slashed welfare in favor of work. Christie's opinion was a deliberately harsh, vague and misleading attack on Newt in order divert attention from the liberal policies of the RINO who invented Mass-Care. "I think Gingrich has embarrassed the party over time. Whether he'll do it again in the future, I don't know. But Gov. Romney never has. If you are looking for "authentic," you will find it in Sarah Palin,Ted Cruz and Scott Walker.

Commentary Magazine : A Republican Alternative to ObamaCare—Courtesy of the New York Times

Mon, 19 Aug 2013 05:11:11 +0000

As Rush Limbaugh explained last week, the GOP alternative to Obamacare and before that, Hillarycare, is and was NO GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT whatsoever. Newt and company had little problem convincing the American public in the Clinton era, so lets all get out there and sing the "lesser government is better" song.

Commentary Magazine : Wrong on Paul? Christie Showed Leadership

Wed, 7 Aug 2013 03:26:31 +0000

" [Rand Paul's] disdain for the sensibilities of the Washington establishment is matched only by his refusal to play its rules . . . ." Since when did politicians become sensitive? The Washington establishment is the problem and its rules are not the solution. Eastern liberals hiding under the guise of conservatism - such as Chris Christie - are not to be trusted with leadership in the Republican Party where the base (at least for the time being) remains conservative. We know longer have the money nor the economic prosperity to be the world's police force, Spending must stop. Keeping troops in Korea, Europe, Iraq and Afghanistan is no longer in our best interest. Giving away our wealth to the Arabs and guaranteeing viable economies in the European Union must be removed from our foreign policy. The world is full of isolationist countries, so who made the rule that America cannot adopt such a stance if it is the best way to get back its former strengths? If we have foreign relation problems, they begin with the apparent perception by Obama, driven by delusional narcissism, that the world is his to rule.

Commentary Magazine : Why Non-Profit Hospitals Are So Profitable

Fri, 2 Aug 2013 03:44:16 +0000

Market forces indeed! This story about the Surgery Center of Oklahoma is all the proof that is needed.

Patients began to travel to Oklahoma from as far away as Canada to take advantage of the Surgery Center’s low prices, sometimes as low as one-fifth of what other facilities charged. Other patients used the Surgery Center’s prices to successfully bid down their own doctors. Since then, other medical providers have posted their prices. McBride Orthopedic Hospital, Oklahoma Heart Hospital, Digestive Disease Center, Cancer Specialists of Oklahoma, Breast Imaging of Oklahoma, and Comprehensive Diagnostic Imaging are among the facilities demystifying their prices . . .

Commentary Magazine : Paul, Christie, and the Soul of the GOP

Wed, 31 Jul 2013 04:00:35 +0000

It looks to me like Rush is right again. Chris Christie sounds and acts like the frontrunner to be the 2016 Democratic candidate for President. At this point, Ted Cruz needs only to sit back and keep his back to the wall.

Commentary Magazine : Phyllis Schlafly and the Road to GOP Ruin

Thu, 30 May 2013 18:57:13 +0000

The 40% of largely Mexican-descent citizens who voted for Bush were either born here or went though the immigration process. The 20 million or so illegals who would benefit from blanket amnesty and unearned citizenship, represent a lower-wage, lower-skilled quarter of society which generally favors government-provided assistance. That simply translates to voting Democratic. Will they all vote for Democrats? No, but the group grope mentality works well for the recruiters from the jackass party. Logic does not always follow, however, since the majority of the smartest group of people in America (and the the world) - the Jews - somehow vote for socialism and the Democrats.

Commentary Magazine : Beck Crosses the Line Again

Wed, 8 May 2013 04:06:09 +0000

Gosh - why such a big defense of Mayor Doomberg? Randy Newman made the first assault on the mayor when he sang "short people have no reason to live" and it has been downhill ever since. Just because the libs like his politics does not mean that we can't refuse his request for another slice of pizza. Beck is a nutcase, sometimes entertaining even but the content of his NRA speech was all Beck with no input from a speech writer or the NRA (according to Glenn, which is the reason he talked for an hour and forty minutes). Psst, Bloomberg is all in for hellacious gun control laws so the NRA members wouldn't like him much in any case.

Angry White Boy : A Matter of From Whom to Whom

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:06:03 +0000

So much stuff and so little honesty. Not you, Jim, just the politicos and their paid allies. I can't let the Scipio Township go by without mentioning that Wiki says there are 414 people and a cemetery there - so it is a definite threat to attract industry. So every citizen wants to continue paying for everything being dished up by the City? Like paying to have a commercial building erected? Like paying for the State Street redo? Like playing favorites with the unions on too high prevailing wages - what continuing discussions could possibly make sense? Nowhere do I read that the uninspired bureaucracy is efficient or that headcount is too high or that continuing some services using cheaper private companies might be worth investigating. Instead we are being treated like children - quite successfully, it would seem.

Commentary Magazine : GOP Ought to Trash Caucuses in 2016

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:46:55 +0000

The GOP needs to trash most of its debates and restrict participants to popular candidates. More importantly, the GOP should trash network anchor participation - and that includes Fox. Let the candidates take debate subjects to wherever they end up.

Commentary Magazine : Candidates, Not Message or Tactics, Will Determine 2016 Outcome

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:53:11 +0000

In addition to the guidance provided by the RNC's ruling class (which effectively says "Go Democrat Lite") pointing toward support for amnesty and gay marriage, there was some advice from GOP conservatives that was ignored. I think it interesting that Priebus did not defend the RNC report contents (it wasn't his recommendations!) but simply outlined the decision to blow $10 million talking to Mexicans, legal and otherwise. CPAC forum participants made it clear to a conference panel that a change in immigration policy that included a path to citizenship was not in the cards. The subject of kowtowing to the relatively small minority that represents homosexuals was not even discussed. House Republicans have said the same thing. Changing the GOP credo while ignoring the conservative base will never work. The only result will be a further splintering and a movement to align the TEA Party with the Libertarians.

Angry White Boy : Please, do you speak English...?

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 17:10:41 +0000

Sounds to me like the answer to the question: How many firemen does it take to change a light bulb? If the Fire Department is going to act as first responder, then they should also stabilize and transport - or vice versa in the case of a private ambulance service. If the Fire Dept can do EMT and firefighting with the same manning, then they ought to be able to demonstrate savings to the taxpayer - but I cannot even imagine why we need two vehicles servicing every emergency. As for who pays the for the private service - the city should contract and pay the private company, since the city would not be paying for firefighter time or for ambulances (assuming one vehicle per run). The question of the city recovering costs from insurance companies is another matter that I have no knowledge. If we presently do not, taxpayers ought to know why not..

Angry White Boy : Please, do you speak English...?

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 04:05:52 +0000

I thought that Emergency Medical Service was privatized also until I read these statistics in the 2012 Fire Department budget for "EMS Runs." 2003 - 7914 2004 - 7697 2005 - 8474 2006 - 6717 2007 - 6839 2008 - 7142 2009 - 6581 2010 - 6627 2011 - 6806 Estimated Here is a published log of Fire Department calls.: http://fortwaynefiredepartment.org/activity-log?v...

Angry White Boy : Please, do you speak English...?

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 01:36:27 +0000

Until today, I had not read where the city is $65 million behind in street repairs and it gave away $200,000 to businesses that will never help taxpayers and is deeply involved in a commercial Fairfield-Ewing project adjacent to The Harrison and Parkview Field that should be privately financed. Add to that the $20 million being wasted on legacy projects and look forward to even higher City Utilities charges for the redo of our sewer infrastructure. Consider what Citizens Square, the 911 fiasco, and the building of and the give-away of the police academy, then ask yourself: "What effect are these things having on the budget?" I see where the cost of state pensions are going up about two points to 11% and I wonder if our glorious union contracts provide for the employee to pay 3% out of pocket. Obamacare will raise health insurance premiums substantially but I am happy that Ms. Roller contemplates removing spouses from the plan. If we don't we will get more spouses joining because most employer plans are dropping the spousal option. For those who don't know, spouses would then be covered directly through Obamacare. Bottom line, we need to cut services or outsource them. We can start with emergency ambulance service to keep those firefighters from working overtime. Up in Michigan, cities hit by the auto industry crunch are outsourcing about everything and are claiming better service than before. Pontiac contracted police work out to the Oakland County Sheriff and an adjacent township contracted to man city fire stations. All these actions and more with nothing but savings while stopping the growth of our huge liability for underfunded fixed-benefit pensions and retiree healthcare. Budgeting is a serious proposition, so lets start at zero.

Commentary Magazine : Jeb Is the GOP Past, Not Its Future

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 22:52:03 +0000

J,E,B, is floating this idea of his candidacy in order to get the support of the liberal media. Even the negative reactions from conservatives will only promote his candidacy. As Jesse Jackson said, "We need to keep out of the Bushes." Let us all agree that there has never been a conservative in that gene pool.

Commentary Magazine : Iron Sharpening Iron

Sat, 9 Mar 2013 17:28:53 +0000

" It will be quite interesting to see who among the internationalist wing emerges as a counterweight." I don't know what or even who comprises the "internationalist wing" or who cares very much about WFM and its ilk. Pure libertarians, at least of the "Big L" variety, are not often found among our politicians, so Rand Paul has had leadership of that political faction in his hip pocket since his Dad retired. Perhaps your "internationalist wing" is really the neoconservative wing with its free trade and world policeman bent. Neocons have dominated Republican politics up until the Tea Party got a foothold in 2010 - but who really knows what the new Republican party will turn out to be? I hope that the party will concentrate solely on fixing the size of government as a means of reigning in out-of-control spending. We simply cannot continue to attempt to maintain the world's economy with foreign aid and an overseas military presence. Borrowing 46 cents of every dollar we spend is insane.

Angry White Boy : LeVar Burton to Headline Educational Opportunity Center Benefit

Fri, 8 Mar 2013 00:00:21 +0000

So - contrary to popular belief, Geordi LaForge has eyes! Star Trek - Next Generation is nothing but a lie. I will never watch another rerun until ... maybe, tomorrow night.

Angry White Boy : The State Boulevard Charade

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 02:20:11 +0000

Jim: Thanks for the update. I am now on your side of this brouhaha. Consider that the city just repaired Lake Avenue from Coliseum to North Anthony - and actually reduced the lanes from four to two with a middle turn lane. Except for some widening between N. Clinton and Spy Run and again from the Lowe's store to Georgetown, East State is too narrow and widening it all the way from Goshen to "1-496" would be prohibitively expensive. It seems to me that this new traffic relief artery starts at Coliseum and Goshen, so widening Coliseum (probably unneeded) and Stellhorn all the way from Maplecrest to 469 would be far cheaper. Somehow, though, our public officials are blind to the fact that I-69 to I-469 already serves as an eastbound traffic reliever for Coliseum. Whatever way might have to be chosen, a wide bridge over the the St.Joe is needed - and that ain't State Blvd.

Angry White Boy : A Tale of Two Cities

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:43:45 +0000

I am not sure why unionists, interested in gaining more and more political power, are suddenly concerned about us taxpayers. If that were the case the Prevailing Wage Law would be history in Indiana and FWCS taxpayers would not have been screwed by the dues-paying school board. Now that we are a Right to Work state, Tom Lewandowski seems to be focusing on organizing the unemployed to lobby for government handouts as opposed to concentrating on convincing workers to join unions in order to pay union dues in support the Democrats. His Unemployed and Anxiously Employed Workers Initiative failed and its website is sparse and its Facebook page has only 3 likes - but he came to City Council claiming to represent such a group. Whatever is reported here about the unionist spiel has to be taken with a grain of salt. I simply do not believe a word coming from the AFL-CIO.