A quick guide to understanding the Middle East..

This graph is a tongue in cheek representation of the middle east.   To expound upon it, Everything over there is based on "tribe" or family.  The tribal ties are stronger than the national identity, the average person has a stronger loyalty to "his" family or tribe than to the nation.  As far as Syria, understand that Assaud is fighting so his tribe and extended family survives, if he loses, his family and extended family will be tortured then wiped out.  That is how it is in a nutshell over there.  I remembered a term that I used to describe Africa, " it is always 5 minutes to high noon somewhere in Africa".  That same phrase holds true for the middle east.  With the conflicting sunnia/shiites division in Islam that causes a lot of bloodshed.  Kinda like the Catholic/Protestant feuding in Ireland but on a much larger scale.   We don't have a dog in this fight in Syria, no matter who we help, they will hate us.  It is better that they solve their own division rather than drag us into it.

Ar-15 Mod to my AR-15 pattern rifle

I have an "older" AR-15 an "J-15" made by E.A. Arms from Baton Rouge LA.  I bought it when I first got out of the service in 1991. It is definitely "pre ban" so I have the bayonet lug on it.   It needed some help and since I was an armorer in the Army I rebuilt it with some parts I had lying around.(no "go-fast") crap   Since then the technology involving AR-pattern rifles have changed and I knew that my rifle with plain iron sights was definitely obsolete or a "classic" as they say.   I had mention to AM his site is Here about upgrading my AR pattern rifle.  he suggested that I go with a "Vortex Strike-fire" and a flattop for my AR to bring it more to the level of today's rifles.   Well I started looking around and at a site called Slick Guns I saw a link for a site called Red Barn Armory their site is here and I picked up a complete flattop including forward assist and "dust cover" for a little over $100 bucks.  I saw a Vortex Strike fire on ebay for around $130 and then picked up a folding sight from NC Armory.
    While I was visiting my brother I decided to start upgrading my rifle.

As you can see, I had already removed the barrel(I love the modular design of the AR) and reattached it to the flat top.  The old upper receiver is an original M16 pattern before forward assist.  I never had a problem that required the assistance of the "forward assist"  But the new one has it along with the brass deflector.  I will mount the "old" receiver to the original barrel that I still have, you know the old triangular suppressor  and original triangular fore-grips on it.

     

This is what it looked finished.  The fit of the new receiver was "tight" especially on the second "take out pin", but it cooperated without any major effort.   On the table is an AR-15 armorers tool, necessary when removing barrels.  As you can tell there is a color difference between the older rifle and the new parts.  I also used a flip sight from North Carolina Armory, got it off Amazon.   In case y'all are wondering about the Velcro, I had a "Delta" cheek piece for the stock, they are made to slide over the stock, but I cut it and used Velcro so I can remove it and reattach it as necessary for a scope I had bought 12+ years ago.  I decided that due to today's environment that such an arrangement is "tactically inefficient" or basically it was a not so good idea.

This is what it looked like for the past 10+ years... I decided to change it and take advantage of the modular possibilities of Mr Stoner's design.

This is what it looks like now.  I still have the A-2 barrel on it.   My brother called it a "musket" since he is used to the M4 pattern rifles.  I might change it out in the future, but I do like the barrel, it is what I am used to when I was in the service.    I also picked up a "bore sighter" to help align the optical sight with the barrel.  I need to locate some "smiley" face stickers for the lens cap though.   It looks good for a semi-auto rifle;)

This is me aligning it up...I am using the camera on my kinda smart phone to take the picture, I wasn't sure how the picture would work.  I since have aligned the dots.  I know from my ballistics class that a bullet will climb at first before friction and gravity overcome the velocity of the round.  I have the red/green dot a "smidge" above the bore sight laser.  I will tweak it once I go to the range I will make the final adjustments. 
      The sites I have mention, I am getting no compensation or "swag" for dropping their names.  I was impressed enough by their quality and service to give them the "free" advertisement.   I am looking forward to going to the range.
   

Monday Music.."Twilight Zone"

I am trying to pull up some pics of my AR that I finished modding and were going to show on the blog, but the email program is not cooperating.  I will have to resend them I guess.   I then remembered that this is Monday and I needed to do my Monday Music.

I decided to go with Golden Earring with "Twilight Zone", I saw this video quite a few times as it had a lot of replay on MTV back in 1982/1983.  The video was catchy especially with the dancing interrogators that were babes wearing leather and what I call the "Dutch" biker hat.   The song is catchy and the video is neat.

    
"Twilight Zone" is a 1982 hit by the Dutch band Golden Earring. It was written by the band's guitarist George Kooymans, who got the inspiration from a book by Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity. "Twilight Zone" appears on their 1982 album Cut. It was the group's sole Top 10 Pop single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and hit #1 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart, the band's only #1 hit in America.
The spoken lines in the introduction and first verse (ending with "the gun is still warm") are performed by Kooymans, while Barry Hay sings the lead vocal part throughout.

The music video, directed by Dick Maas, features a storyline with lead singer Barry Hay as an espionage agent who is inevitably apprehended by three henchmen (played by the other members of the band).
The music video was one of the first to feature a cinematic storyline and dance choreography and was a hit on the fledgeling MTV network, helping the song to become the second international hit for the band. Golden Earring followed the success with an extensive tour of the USA, Canada and Europe. MTV commissioned the band to shoot a movie of the final 'homecoming' concert of the tour in the Netherlands. The concert film, also directed by Dick Maas, included a brief introductory segment which was a parody of the TV series The Twilight Zone. The concert was released in 1984 as Live from The Twilight Zone, aired on MTV and published as video and DVD. To date this concert is regarded as one of the best live shows of the band.
The Cut album cover's iconic image of the jack of diamonds playing card being shredded by a bullet is used in the video and represents the life of the rogue agent.
The original version of the "Twilight Zone" video was censored by MTV because of a shot of a topless female "hitman" in a hotel room.

The truth through the generations....of freeloaders

I am visiting my brother down here in L.A.  or Lower Alabama and I recently upgraded my phone and I saw a cartoon that I had forgotten that I had on the SD card from my "old" phone.   I remember seeing this cartoon in some stuff that my Dad had given me.  He as well as I do think disparagingly of "hippies".  I consider them freeloaders back when I first remembered seeing them in the early 70's.

I had taken a picture of it so I could upload it and I guess I promptly forgot about it.  I see a lot of parallels from the hippie movement of yesteryear to the present "occupy movement" and the other liberal/progressive/democratic followers.

They think liberalism is fine as long as they have access to other peoples money.  With the debt that is being racked up I don't think that the spigot will stay open much longer.  Now we have President hope and change trying to push us into a war in Syria.  I have heard the same bleat..."Well Bush did that?"   Actually no...President Bush went through congress and both flipper John Kerry and Thunder Rodent Thighs Hillery Clinton voted for it before deciding to go against it.  Now we have the British saying "no" and they would in the past back anything we did, but I guess that being repeatedly insulted and snubbed  by the affirmative action Nobel Peace prize President kinda got old.

Monday Music................."We are not going to take it"

I know that it is Tuesday and not Monday, but I wasn't able to get on the computer and post what I wanted to.  I have in the past used the computers at work to make post, but for some reason blogger don't like the old stodgy Internet Explorer 6 that the work computers use.

So I have had to post from home and my days still run together.  But anyway I digress, or my turretts syndrome has kicked in or something like that.  I decided to go with "Twisted Sister We are not going to take it anymore."   This song was very popular when I was in the service especially when we had to have a G.I party...Those that were in the service would know the reference.  We would have several stereo's in the quad play this very loud while we were cleaning.   Even now when I hear it, I automatically look for the floor buffers.

Here are some more details of the song.

"We're Not Gonna Take It" is a 1984 hit song by the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister from their album Stay Hungry. The song was first released as a single (with "You Can't Stop Rock & Roll" as the B-side) on April 27, 1984. The Stay Hungry album was released two weeks later, on May 10, 1984. The single reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it Twisted Sister's only Top 40 single. The song was ranked number 47 on 100 Greatest 80's Songs and number 21 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.
The song premiered in San Bernardino in 1984, along with many other songs from Stay Hungry.
The song was written by vocalist Dee Snider. As influences for the song, he cites the glam rock band Slade, the punk band Sex Pistols, and the Christmas carol, "O Come, All Ye Faithful".^{[citation needed]}
The song is notable for its popular music video directed by Marty Callner, with its emphasis on slapstick comedy, where a parent gets the worst of the band's mischief. Controversy arose when the depiction of the family in the video caused a public outcry long before the "explicit lyrics" warning was placed on records, cassettes, and CDs. This led to the formation of the Parents Music Resource Center, co-founded by Tipper Gore (who later became Second Lady of the United States). Mark Metcalf, the actor portraying the father in the video, had previously played Neidermeyer, the ROTC student commander in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). In a reference to his role in the film, Metcalf says in the video, "A Twisted Sister pin? On your uniform?!". Snider himself can also be heard cursing and swearing the question "A pledge pin? On your uniform?" at the end of the song.

VH-1's series True Spin explains the song as simply an anthem of teen rebellion, but Snider appeared saying that he was happy that long after he's gone, "any time that the team is down by two, or somebody had a bad day at the office, they're gonna stand up and sing We're Not Gonna Take It".

Georgia Tech Epic Welcome Speech

I saw a video that a Georgia Tech Sophomore gave to the incoming freshman class.  It was very good and well worth the watch.  The video has gone viral and has broke the top 10 on youtube.   My son is 10 years old and Georgia Tech is his school of choice.  I have posted many pictures of him on my blog and it shows him wearing a GA Tech shirt of some form.  This video has given me some hope for the future if more kids are like him.  My son waited for me to get home from work to show me this video.
    This kid that did the speech did it purely by memorization...no cue cards and no teleprompter. 

    Here is a interview he did with Neal Cavuto a few days later.  

    

Ford Mustang for 2015? Risk and reward.

From those that have read my blog since I have started, I make no bones about being a Ford Motor Company employee when I used to build Tauruses and Sables in Atlanta before my plant got shuttered in 2006.  I have since moved to other employment in the aviation industry a little bit more than a stones throw from where the Ford plant in Atlanta once stood.    I still have all of my Ford stock and still am loyal to the brand.  Ford had treated us very well in a bad situation and I bear them no animus. This article is about the Ford Mustang, still one of my favorite cars.  I used to have a Mustang when I was stationed in Germany for 5 years and that was fun driving that car on the autobahn.  I keep telling my wife, I will own another Mustang again.

This car is an example of what I had.

   I will add some other pics inter spaced among the article.   This article I pulled off Yahoo news.

Ford's Risky 2015 Mustang Could Alienate Loyal Fans

By Daniel Miller | More Articles

Artist rendering of the 2015 Mustang. Photo credit: Autoguide.com. Read more here. 

Ford (NYSE: F  ) has a big year coming up in 2014. The company will launch next-generation designs of its body and soul -- the Mustang and F-150.
Ford sits between a rock and a hard place when approaching the redesign of its iconic muscle car, as sales of the Mustang have crashed and haven't been able to regain much momentum. This will be Ford's attempt to kill the retro styling and bring the car into the 21st century as a lighter and faster sports car.

Graph by author. Information cred: Automotive News DataCenter. 2013 estimated with sales through July.

In addition to reviving sales in the U.S., Ford needs to expand its sales to the global market -- a tough balancing act.
"Ford wants the car to appeal to a global market, but the last time the company tried to make a global Mustang, we ended up with the Ford Probe," Andrew Stoy, digital editor of Autoweek, told me. "Any time a halo vehicle as quintessentially American as the Mustang is re-engineered for broader markets, the risk of alienating the car's core audience rises. That risk is even more acute in the face of the Mustang's strong domestic competition -- namely the Chevy Camaro."

Stoy hit the nail on the head. Ford has to avoid the worst-case scenario of losing its core U.S. consumer with a modern design, yet if it doesn't evolve enough to appeal to a new global audience, it will fall short of Ford's sales ambition.
Simply put: For the Mustang to succeed overseas, it needs to shed a few hundred pounds and shrink in size.
'Stang on a diet?
The current Ford Mustang weighs in at 3,523 pounds, and according to Edmunds, Ford is working with lighter materials to remove a minimum of 400 pounds for the 2015 model. To provide the smaller vehicle necessary to sell overseas, it's believed the next-generation Mustang will be as much as 15 inches shorter and 6 inches narrower.
For those worried that the weight loss will make the muscle car any less "Ford tough," there's nothing to worry about. "They are going to use more aluminum, better structural engineering in terms of spot welds, and so on and so forth, basically using less material and making it stronger," an unnamed source said, according to Edmunds.
There are rumors that the Mustang will receive an EcoBoost engine, which left some 'Stang loyalists puzzled and anxious. I doubt there is anything to worry about, as Ford has a lot of engine flexibility that will help it sell well here in the U.S. and overseas. A turbocharged EcoBoost would help sell the muscle car in Europe, while the power-hungry U.S. consumer will no doubt have a top-of-the-line V-8 option. Also to the delight of U.S. loyalists, the pony car will finally kick the live rear axle in favor of an independent rear suspension.
Investing takeaway
Ford's had an excellent run of success with vehicle sales lately, and that's helped boost Ford's stock price up 70% over the past 12 months, as of this writing. Ford set a July record for sales in China, topping over 72,000 in wholesale units -- good for a 71% gain over last year. Ford's year-to-date sales are up a staggering 50% in China through July versus last year. Ford is also increasing its market share in Europe amid an industry still in decline -- pretty impressive.
That recent success is due to the Fusion, Fiesta, Focus and Escape, which continue to sell well globally. Ford now looks to bring its Mustang to the global lineup in hopes it will bring yet another surge in sales and market share.
One thing is for sure: Ford is on a hot streak of designing successful vehicles, and that's brought the company back strong from the brink of bankruptcy. For that reason, I expect the 2015 Mustang to be yet another hit here, and abroad -- much to the delight of Mustang loyalists and investors alike.

Colorado Town mulls Drone hunt....

I pulled this off the Yahoo news service.

DEER TRAIL, Colo. (AP) — This tiny plains town an hour east of Denver doesn't have much to offer visitors — a gas station, a bar and a small-time rodeo one weekend a year.
But Deer Trail, population 500, is considering a proposal to make itself a national attraction for gun enthusiasts and people skeptical of government surveillance. Citizens on Oct. 8 will vote on whether to issue permits to hunt drones.
Yes, those drones. Shoot 'em down for $25. With a $100 bounty reward for shooters who bring in debris from an unmanned aircraft "known to be owned or operated by the United States federal government."
The initiative's architect insists it's a symbolic stand against government surveillance.
"These are not big drones you see on TV that look like airplanes. These are little 55-pound things that can come right down into your land," said Phillip Steel, a traveling structural inspector.
Steel got the idea after seeing news reports about the National Security Agency's domestic spying efforts. "Do we really want to become a surveillance society? That's what I find really repugnant," Steel said.
The measure drew a stern warning from Washington, which is considering several regions — most of them in Colorado and other Western states — where civilians can use drones on an experimental basis.
"Shooting at an unmanned aircraft could result in criminal or civil liability, just as would firing at a manned airplane," the Federal Aviation Administration warned.
The proposal has sharply divided this tiny burg that lays claim to the world's oldest rodeo and not much else. (Some historians credit Deer Trail's 1869 rodeo as the first, though Deer Trail is just one of many claimants to the title.)
Taking a break from dishing up beef plates at the rodeo recently, Libby Mickaliger said it could be a great low-cost fundraiser for this dusty outpost. "If it raises money for the town, why not? It's not like people are going to go and shoot one down," she said.
Harry Venter, editor of the weekly Tri-County Tribune, worries the proposal sends the message that Deer Trail disapproves of the military, not domestic surveillance. "It's embarrassing to most of us, to be honest with you," Venter said.
Drone hunting has become the dominant topic at the Brown Derby, Deer Trail's only bar.
"I try to play pretty impartial with it. 'Cause if you own the bar, and you go out and speak for it or against it, you're going to make people mad," said owner Carl Miron. "But I don't like the fact that the government can sit and spy on you, I'll tell you that."
Miron pointed to dilapidated buildings surrounding the Brown Derby, their window frames pockmarked with broken glass. Deer Trail could use some extra cash, he said.
And if the initiative passes, he'd like to organize mock-drone-hunting weekends to draw visitors to the sleepy town. "I don't know what the government would think about it," he said, "but it would be fun."

___

Monday Music "The Ultimate Sin" From Ozzy Osborne

I have been very busy working the overtime still, I do keep up on my blogroll, but I havn't have time to post anything.  The RON or the "remain overnight" planes that we have been working will be slowing down.  I will miss the money, but I will be glad to see more of my family.

I heard of this album when I "borrowed" the cassette from a good friend of mine when I returned to the states on my end of tour leave before returning back to Germany for my second tour and second duty assignment.  I thought the album was great and it in my mind showed Ozzy on the top of his form before the drugs claimed him again.  Even now I will jam out to this album.   

    

The Ultimate Sin is the fourth studio album by British heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on 22 February 1986, and it was remastered and re-issued on 22 August 1995. It marks the final appearance of lead guitarist Jake E. Lee with Osbourne.
The album was awarded Platinum status in May 1986 and was awarded Double Platinum status in October 1994.
     
The Ultimate Sin is the first and only Osbourne album to feature bassist Phil Soussan, who co-wrote the album's U.S. hit single "Shot in the Dark". Drummer Randy Castillo, who had previously played in Lita Ford's band, also makes his recording debut with Osbourne.
Upon leaving the Betty Ford Center in 1985 where he had undergone treatment for substance abuse, Osbourne was presented with a substantial quantity of music written by guitarist Lee. Much of this music would form the basis of the album. The album's lyrics were largely written by long-time Osbourne bassist and lyricist Bob Daisley. Daisley left the band prior to recording after having a disagreement with Osbourne, prompting the hiring of Soussan as his replacement. Daisley was not credited for his songwriting contributions on the initial 1986 pressing of the album, though this was corrected on subsequent pressings.
Future Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso worked with Lee and Daisley on demos for the album, but this version of the band fell apart due to Osbourne's commitment to the Black Sabbath summer 1985 reunion concert at Live Aid; Castillo and Soussan ultimately replaced DeGrasso and Daisley once recording commenced.
The working title for the album was Killer of Giants^{[citation needed]}, after the album's song of the same name. Osbourne opted to change the title to The Ultimate Sin at the last minute. On April 1, 1986, a live performance promoting the album in Kansas City, Missouri was filmed and released later that year as the home video The Ultimate Ozzy. In 1987, after the various tours in support of the album had concluded, guitarist Lee was unexpectedly fired via a telegram from Osbourne's wife and manager Sharon. The specific justification for Lee's dismissal remains unknown. Bassist Soussan also departed, as Bob Daisley once again entered the fold.
      At the time of its release, The Ultimate Sin was Osbourne's highest charting studio album, as heavy metal was enjoying a surge in popularity during the mid-1980s. The RIAA awarded the album Platinum status on 14 May 1986, soon after its release; it was awarded Double Platinum status on 26 October 1994. The album sold over 2,000,000 copies worldwide. In the UK, it was the final of four Osbourne albums to attain Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in April 1986.
     Despite its initial success, The Ultimate Sin has since been deleted from Osbourne's catalogue and was not reissued or remastered along with the rest of Osbourne's albums. Rumors circulated that the continuing legal struggle between Osbourne and bassist/songwriter Phil Soussan over Soussan's song "Shot in the Dark" was responsible for the album's failure to be re-issued. However, such reports are unfounded, as the only known legal process between them was over an accounting issue that was said to be resolved in the early 1990s. The only available CD version of The Ultimate Sin is the 1995 remasters version. The original version of the album is still freely available in Australia as a budget-priced CD.

The Hypocrisy of the modern leftist

Y'all by now have seen the pictures of that rodeo clown who wore an Obama mask at a rodeo and the leftist became unglued.  The end results is that this poor guy is fired and banned for life from rodeo events for wearing the Obama mask.   Something don't seem right.  We let the left control the narrative with false outrage and remember when "W" was president all the crap done to him and they crowed back then about that "Dissent was patriotic" and other stuff and that insulting the president was first amendment rights.   Now this guy just got reamed by the progressive left.   There is a double standard at work here, you cannot by their rules say anything bad about President Obama...because if you do...you are a bad person...and probably a closet raciest also.  What gets me is that we LET them control the narrative, the establishment Republicans rolled over in submission and let them do it again!?   I guess they are getting practice for the 2016 elections where they will "try" to get along with the democrats and get burned.....again.   Where is the outrage?

And speaking of outrage...How is this...Remember back 20+ years ago when Rommney went on a trip, they had Fido on the roof of the car and the left became unhinged and flayed him alive for being uncaring.  It didn't matter that Obama ate Rover at the same time.  We let them control the narrative and we got screwed again.

And speaking of dogs...On the latest vacation, they flew The Obama's dog via V22 Osprey to the vacation spot and again the media was silent.  We heard about this from the foreign media, the domestic media is busy covering for him.by sending doggy BO (named after Barack Obama) on his own private plane to another vacation, they at least sing us a nice song as they pillage the land. A 100 million dollar vacation to Africa, followed by a 7.6 million dollar vacation to Martha's Vineyard, followed by doggy getting his own Osprey to himself.  Must be nice charging your expenses to other people, even as you rape and pillage the nation they live in. 

 

 Another one that gets me is the disrespect that the modern left shows to the American flag, to them it is a piece of cloth to destroy at a political protest or treat with disdain.

This person is Bill Ayer, a close political friend of President Obama, he was part of the Weathermen, Part of the SDS or Students for a democratic society.  It is believed that Bill Ayer wrote Obama first book " dreams of my father" and Obama started out his political career in Bills living room.  Bill Ayer is now a professor in Chicago.  Now the Hypocrisy is this:

I will climb off my soapbox now.  As long as we let the left control the narrative, we will always be behind the power curve and responding to them instead the other way around.

Obamacare and the effects on "Big" Companies

As those that read my blog know that I think very poorly of the "Affordable Care Act" A.K.A. Obamacare, I think it is an attempt to control the population not to provide superior coverage or health benefits.  What I mean by "control"?   That is easy, you always hear the talk around election time especially from the AARP and other groups that seem to beholding to the democrats, they go and scare the crap out of the older people with the often used phrase" If you vote for the republicans, they will cut off your social security and your medicare and push you off the cliff".  And it works, it gets the blue hair crowd worked up and they vote as a block and they have the highest voting percentage of any age group.  Now we have the democrats trying to push amnesty through to get 11 million more democrat voters " if you vote republican, they will deport you back to Mexico or what 3rd world craphole you came from" and it will scare the crap out of the Hispanic crowd..Boom...More votes locked into the democrat machine.  Now we have Obamacare, this will be used to control the rest of the population.  " You are a member of the Tea party?  Well it seems that your kids/spouse/ whomever care is delayed...again.   Sorry about that.  Now if you just were not so critical of the President and policies you understand"?   And guess what...how many people would be silenced.  It would be a socialist utopia with no dissent.  Now they want to help impliment Obamacare though the IRS

You know the IRS...the same organization that goes out of the way to target groups with constitutional names, they go out of their way to harass them and audit them.  Now they want to hire 16,000 more agents to enforce the diktats of Obamacare, you know the only agency in the United States that if you go before them, you are immediately presumed "Guilty" unless you can prove them wrong.  So we will have 16,000 more agents looking for things to justify their jobs.  Nothing like scaring the crap out of people...Just mention the IRS, the only organization that will seize your house, bank accounts and everything you got with out a hearing and you have to go to THEIR court and try to get your stuff back.
    Now this brings me back to Obamacare, I and many people have heard that Obamacare you can keep your present insurance and it will not affect you one bit.  Well those that read my blog on a regular basis know that I work for one of those big companies and it will affect us a lot.  We had our vice president of Human resources send a letter to Ms Tavenner one of the people that works with the dept of health and human services, who reports to Secretary Sebelius who reports to President Obama.

  Here is an excerpt of that letter:
     "As you know, I and the other large employer representatives in attendance

i did not agree with your initial assessment that the ACA means “business as usual” for large

employers. Since you committed to share our concerns with Secretary Sebelius and the President, I thought

it might be helpful to summarize the major points for you here.

   

As you heard from many of us, the ACA will result in increasing costs, for both companies and our

employees, and will also reduce the benefits provided. Here are some of the major drivers of these effects:

The Reinsurance Fee

–

The ACA requires large employers to pay an annual fee of $63 per covered

participant in 2014. For XXXXX roughly 160,000 enrolled active and retired employees and their

family members, this represents more than $10 million added to the cost of providing

health care

next year. As we discussed, this fee, which is meant to help stabilize the state exchanges as they get

started, provides absolutely zero direct benefit to our participants. It is, essentially, a direct subsidy

from us and our employees to those who participate in the exchanges

Covering Children Until Age 26

–

There is no doubt that this has been a popular provision

nationwide and at XXXXX we have seen more than 8,000 children added to our rolls resulting in a

permanent increase in our overall

 costs of about $14 million per year. We are required to charge the

same for these children as we do for any other children covered by our plan. However, our

experience shows that, on average, these children are consuming considerably more health care

than

other children we cover. In essence, we are experiencing adverse selection in this population and

that is having an impact on the costs that we and our employees pay for coverage.

The Individual Mandate

–

As you know, in 2014, the individual mandate

under the ACA kicks in and

those not currently covered under any plan must enroll or pay a penalty to the Federal government.

Our actuaries have estimated how many of those who currently opt out of our coverage will now opt

in. Their estimates are that this

 requirement will add another $14 Million in costs to our plan each

year, net of the premiums paid by these individuals.

Thirty Hour Rule

As you heard at the meeting, many employers are planning to reduce employees’

hours to less than thirty per week

in order to avoid the requirements to either provide health coverage

or pay fees for those employees. XXXXX is not one of those employers, and we do not plan to force

employees to work fewer hours as a result of the ACA. For others, however, this represents one of

the negative unintended consequences of the ACA and we support efforts to raise the limit to forty

hours per week rather than thirty.

Pay or Play Penalties

–

The group health coverage XXXXX provides to its full time employees more

than meets the

definition of “affordable coverage” as defined by the ACA. However, the proposed

regulations that implement this provision of the law are very complex and, when finalized, may 

unnecessarily impose HR information systems changes that will be costly to build and maintain.  In

addition, there are many unsettled principles surrounding this provision of ACA and based on the

fact that it is already June, employers will not have time to react should final regulations be issued

this year. This puts employers at

risk of being assessed these penalties in innocent situations (such as

when employees take voluntary leaves of absences) and imposes additional costs, even in those

situations where the vast majority of employees are offered affordable, comprehensive coverage.

Cadillac Tax

–

Recent data released is evidence of what you heard in the meeting

employers are

reducing or eliminating rich plan designs in order to ensure they do not pay the tax, since doing so

would represent a significant waste of money. At XXXXX, we did that last year as we eliminated one of

the plan designs available to our pilot group specifically because it would have risked being subject

to the Cadillac tax. However, keep in mind that, eventually, it is not just the “rich” plan designs that

will be affected. Essentially, the Cadillac tax level represents a “ceiling” on the value of benefits

provided in health plans. However, that ceiling rises each year only at the rate of the consumer price

index (CPI). On the other hand, medical inflation is rising at a higher rate than CPI.  The way the

math works, given enough years, all plans will eventually risk being subject to the Cadillac Tax and

as they do, the natural reaction will be to continually reduce benefits provided in order to avoid the tax.

At XXXXX we are doing a lot of positive things to provide a platform for our employees to live healthier, more

productive lives. We offer free preventive coverage, we offer telemedicine services, a concierge nurse line

and great tools that provide

vital data (such as it exists) on quality and cost among the provider community.

We provide incentives that reward employees for doing the things that help lead to better long

term health.

But make no mistake

the costs imposed on XXXXX and our employees are very real and they are escalating.

The costs mentioned above, when combined with normal medical inflation and the end of the ERRP program

mean that the cost of providing health care to our employees will increase by nearly $100,000,000 next year.

XXXXX will have to absorb the vast majority of that increase in costs so that we continue providing a high

value, high quality health plan, but some of it will have to be shared with our employees as well. And of

course, the balance that the company pays simply means less left over for other investments that make our business stronger.

In closing, the ACA is anything but business as usual for large employers like XXXXX. It represents real and

significant changes that provide real challenges for both our

company and our employees. Thank you for the

opportunity to provide this input. If I can be of assistance in any other way, please do not hesitate to contact

me.

Respectfully,

   "Name signed here"

     My employer.is letting us employees know that major change is coming to our insurance, it will be much more expensive and less coverage and what we will need to expect as Obamacare gets up and running.   

"Order in the Court" Humor

I was sent this by my spousal unit and I got a good chuckle out of it so I figured that I would post it on my little corner of the internet.


These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while the exchanges were taking place.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!
_______________________________________________________
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
______________________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
_____________________________________________________
ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?
WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year.
_____________________________________________________
ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?
WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years.
__________________________________________________________
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget..
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
_________________________________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep,he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He's 20, much like your IQ.
___________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you shittin' me?
_________________________________________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children , right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death..
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.
___________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male.
_____________________________________
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor , how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
_________________________________________
ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral...
_________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________________
And last:

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing
WITNESS: No..
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and
practicing law..