Cause and effect
I needed to call the IRS today. Not for a client...then again I guess I'm my own client. It was for a personal matter. Once I got past the menu prompts and was placed on hold, waiting for a live person, I was on hold for 49 minutes. It took another ten minutes to resolve my question. So roughly an hour to get some information I needed.
Is this too long? It is if you're the one waiting. Why is it so long? Because even if the IRS was fully staffed and had every customer service line in use, it still wouldn't be enough. We don't want to pay for that kind of service from our government agencies.
Ever tried to talk to the people at the California EDD about an unemployment or state disability claim? You'll dial and it will be busy. You repeat that five or six times and then you finally get a ring. The computer answers, you go through the various prompts to get to the right person. Then instead of being put on hold, you get another recorded message. "The maximum number of people on hold has been reached. We are unable to help you at this time. Please try your call again later.
A friend of mine who was also on SDI when I was told me his little trick for getting through was to call the Spanish language line and then pretend he'd dialed the wrong number. I tried it once. After four busy signals I realized it wasn't an improvement.
Government agencies have been forced to cut staffing to bare bones minimums in many areas. Veterans are waiting months, sometimes years, just to have their claims for disability denied. Then they appeal and they wait longer and longer and may get denied again. Same for Social Security disability, although that backlog isn't as bad as the one at the VA. President Obama arranged for funding for hiring additional people to process disability claims at the VA and it took over two years to begin the hiring process.
The bottom line is that we get the government we are willing to pay for. You want your phone call answered on the first try and to reach a live person in under five minutes? Great. We can do it. The catch is you'll have to pay more in taxes so we can afford to install more phone lines, buy more equipment and then hire more people who we will pay too much and give benefits packages to that we can't sustain.
I know I'm ranting again but we have no one but ourselves to blame. We keep sending the same people back to Congress and the state legislatures year after year, for one reason. Because they keep the government coffers flowing in the direction of their constituencies. Let's look at the late Senator Robert Byrd from West Virginia.
He was the record holder for having served in Congress longer than anyone (that record was recently broken). He became the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee in 1989. At that time he said he would steer $1 billion worth of public works projects to his home state. It only took him two years to hit that goal. He was named "Porker of the Year" by a citizen's watchdog group on government spending. Just how much pork barrel spending did he push into his home state? There are more than 50 buildings there which are named after him or his wife.
Bring the bacon home and the electorate will keep sending you back to get more pork.
* * *
Random ponderings:
How awesome is it that the wife of Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson is such a classy lady? She sent a Tweet of genuine thanks to the player who stepped on her husband's ankle and broke it in what may be a career ending injury (Eric Young Jr had gone back to apologize after the mishap).
Was anyone else laughing over the fact that the owner of a restaurant where Taylor Swift dined and left a $500 tip (along with free show tickets for the staff) said that he was more of an "Ozzy" fan?
Now that Keith Olberman has come full circle and said he is "all about sports", how long before his first political statement? I predict less than 90 days.
A tip of the cap to Illinois Comptroller Judy Baer Topinka and Governor Pat Quinn for holding the feet of the state's lawmakers to the fire. Quinn cut the pay of legislators from the state's budget and Topinka is refusing to pay them until the governor restores the pay. He says he won't until they've addressed the $97 billion shortfall in pension funding (apparently I'm not the only one worried about this stuff on all levels).
Now that four producers have left San Francisco's KTVU news over the pilot name prank regarding the Asiana Flight 214 crash, will we finally learn who made up those names? Three of the producers were fired, the fourth is claiming their departure was due to "health reasons."
I find it very interesting that you can open a Papa John's franchise with only $50,000 in liquid assets while it takes $2 million in liquid assets to open a Wendy's. And if you want to own a pair of the Golden Arches, be prepared to show $750,000 in liquid assets. I have a tough time with that word "liquid" in this context. I know that's the usage, but when I hear that word I think of water or some other drink.
* * *
It was a dark day in the history of the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. in general. January 23, 1968. On that date, the USS Pueblo was assigned duty to monitor Soviet naval activity in the Tsushima Strait while intercepting and analyzing North Korean communications.
The North Korean government maintains to this day that the ship was well within their territorial waters. International standards at the time were 12 nautical miles but NK claimed a 50 mile boundary at sea. They deployed ships and fighter jets to force the ship and her crew to surrender and be captured.
The crew was taken prisoner and held for 11 months before being released on December 23, 1968. They were tortured and the torture was turned up considerably after the North Koreans learned that the crew's raising of their middle fingers wasn't a "good luck sign" in staged propaganda photos.
Now that the anniversary of their so-called "Victory Day" is upon us (July 27th is the day the armistice that ended hostilities was signed), the government of North Korea has decided to put the Pueblo on display. To show their contempt and resolve to stand up against the U.S. The USS Pueblo is still on the books as a commissioned U.S. Navy vessel, listed as "captured."
It's been 45 years. The time to retrieve the Pueblo is long past. Something should be done (through negotiations, not a "SEAL Team 6" raid to capture it and sail it out of their waters; although that might make a nice movie.
* * *
This Date In History:
On this date in 315, the Arch of Constantine is completed.
On this date in 864, Charles the Bald orders defensive measures against the Vikings (another royal name I love to see written down).
On this date in 1261, Constantinople is recaptured, re-establishing the Byzantine Empire.
On this date in 1554, Mary I marries Philip II of Spain.
On this date in 1755, the Nova Scotia Council orders the deportation of the Acadians.
On this date in 1783, the Siege of Cuddalore ended with a preliminary peace agreement (the battle was part of both the American Revolutionary War and the Second Anglo-Mysore War).
On this date in 1837, the first commercial use of an electrical telegraph is successfully demonstrated.
On this date in 1861, the Crittenden-Johnson Resolution is passed by Congress. This resolution states that the Civil War is being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.
On this date in 1868, Wyoming becomes a U.S. territory.
On this date in 1917, Canada introduces the first income tax in the nation, supposedly a "temporary" measure.
On this date in 1946, the U.S. detonates an atomic bomb underwater in the lagoon at the Bikini Atoll.
On that same date, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin do their first show as a comedy team.
On this date in 1956, the Andrea Doria sinks, killing 51.
On this date in 1965, Bob Dylan "plugs in", going electric at the Newport Folk Festival.
On this date in 1978, Louise Brown, the world's first test tube baby is born.
On this date in 2010, WikiLeaks publishes thousands of classified documents about the war in Afghanistan.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Henry Knox (first U.S. Secretary of War and yes, Fort Knox is named after him)
Arthur Balfour
Walter Brennan
Jack Gilford
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
Estelle Getty
Jerry Paris
Adnan Khashoggi
Barbara Harris
John Robinson
Mark Clarke
Walter "Sweetness" Payton
Iman
Illeana Douglas
Matt LeBlanc
Brad Renfro
Movie quotes today come from the excellent 1996 film "Sleepers" in honor of the late Brad Renfro, who would have been 31 today had he lived (he played the young "Michael", while Brad Pitt portrayed the adult Michael):
Nokes: What do you want?
John: What I've always wanted. To watch you die.
#2
Father Bobby: [about Shakes' prank in the church] Nuns are such easy targets.
#3
Lorenzo: [after handing Detective Davenport surveillance photos and proof that Adam Styler's a crooked cop] So, you got enough for conviction?
Detective: That ain't up to me. That's up to a jury.
Lorenzo: [hands Davenport a gun in a plastic bag] Show the jury this.
Detective: What do you got there, Ness?
Lorenzo: About 3 weeks ago, the body of a drug dealer named Indian Red Lopez was found in an alley in Jackson Heights. Three bullets in his head, nothing in his pockets.
Detective: I'm with you so far.
Lorenzo: This is the gun that killed him, and these are the shells.
Detective: What's behind door number 3?
Lorenzo: The prints on the gun belong to Adam Styler.
Detective: Hey, do me a favor, would you?
Lorenzo: What's that?
Detective: If I ever make it onto your shit list, give me a call. Give me a chance to apologize.
#4
Fat Mancho: The street is the only thing that matters. Court is for uptown people with suits, money, lawyers with three names. If you got cash you can buy court justice. But on the street, justice has no price. She's blind where the judge sits but she's not blind out here. Out here the bitch got eyes.
Is this too long? It is if you're the one waiting. Why is it so long? Because even if the IRS was fully staffed and had every customer service line in use, it still wouldn't be enough. We don't want to pay for that kind of service from our government agencies.
Ever tried to talk to the people at the California EDD about an unemployment or state disability claim? You'll dial and it will be busy. You repeat that five or six times and then you finally get a ring. The computer answers, you go through the various prompts to get to the right person. Then instead of being put on hold, you get another recorded message. "The maximum number of people on hold has been reached. We are unable to help you at this time. Please try your call again later.
A friend of mine who was also on SDI when I was told me his little trick for getting through was to call the Spanish language line and then pretend he'd dialed the wrong number. I tried it once. After four busy signals I realized it wasn't an improvement.
Government agencies have been forced to cut staffing to bare bones minimums in many areas. Veterans are waiting months, sometimes years, just to have their claims for disability denied. Then they appeal and they wait longer and longer and may get denied again. Same for Social Security disability, although that backlog isn't as bad as the one at the VA. President Obama arranged for funding for hiring additional people to process disability claims at the VA and it took over two years to begin the hiring process.
The bottom line is that we get the government we are willing to pay for. You want your phone call answered on the first try and to reach a live person in under five minutes? Great. We can do it. The catch is you'll have to pay more in taxes so we can afford to install more phone lines, buy more equipment and then hire more people who we will pay too much and give benefits packages to that we can't sustain.
I know I'm ranting again but we have no one but ourselves to blame. We keep sending the same people back to Congress and the state legislatures year after year, for one reason. Because they keep the government coffers flowing in the direction of their constituencies. Let's look at the late Senator Robert Byrd from West Virginia.
He was the record holder for having served in Congress longer than anyone (that record was recently broken). He became the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee in 1989. At that time he said he would steer $1 billion worth of public works projects to his home state. It only took him two years to hit that goal. He was named "Porker of the Year" by a citizen's watchdog group on government spending. Just how much pork barrel spending did he push into his home state? There are more than 50 buildings there which are named after him or his wife.
Bring the bacon home and the electorate will keep sending you back to get more pork.
* * *
Random ponderings:
How awesome is it that the wife of Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson is such a classy lady? She sent a Tweet of genuine thanks to the player who stepped on her husband's ankle and broke it in what may be a career ending injury (Eric Young Jr had gone back to apologize after the mishap).
Was anyone else laughing over the fact that the owner of a restaurant where Taylor Swift dined and left a $500 tip (along with free show tickets for the staff) said that he was more of an "Ozzy" fan?
Now that Keith Olberman has come full circle and said he is "all about sports", how long before his first political statement? I predict less than 90 days.
A tip of the cap to Illinois Comptroller Judy Baer Topinka and Governor Pat Quinn for holding the feet of the state's lawmakers to the fire. Quinn cut the pay of legislators from the state's budget and Topinka is refusing to pay them until the governor restores the pay. He says he won't until they've addressed the $97 billion shortfall in pension funding (apparently I'm not the only one worried about this stuff on all levels).
Now that four producers have left San Francisco's KTVU news over the pilot name prank regarding the Asiana Flight 214 crash, will we finally learn who made up those names? Three of the producers were fired, the fourth is claiming their departure was due to "health reasons."
I find it very interesting that you can open a Papa John's franchise with only $50,000 in liquid assets while it takes $2 million in liquid assets to open a Wendy's. And if you want to own a pair of the Golden Arches, be prepared to show $750,000 in liquid assets. I have a tough time with that word "liquid" in this context. I know that's the usage, but when I hear that word I think of water or some other drink.
* * *
It was a dark day in the history of the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. in general. January 23, 1968. On that date, the USS Pueblo was assigned duty to monitor Soviet naval activity in the Tsushima Strait while intercepting and analyzing North Korean communications.
The North Korean government maintains to this day that the ship was well within their territorial waters. International standards at the time were 12 nautical miles but NK claimed a 50 mile boundary at sea. They deployed ships and fighter jets to force the ship and her crew to surrender and be captured.
The crew was taken prisoner and held for 11 months before being released on December 23, 1968. They were tortured and the torture was turned up considerably after the North Koreans learned that the crew's raising of their middle fingers wasn't a "good luck sign" in staged propaganda photos.
Now that the anniversary of their so-called "Victory Day" is upon us (July 27th is the day the armistice that ended hostilities was signed), the government of North Korea has decided to put the Pueblo on display. To show their contempt and resolve to stand up against the U.S. The USS Pueblo is still on the books as a commissioned U.S. Navy vessel, listed as "captured."
It's been 45 years. The time to retrieve the Pueblo is long past. Something should be done (through negotiations, not a "SEAL Team 6" raid to capture it and sail it out of their waters; although that might make a nice movie.
* * *
This Date In History:
On this date in 315, the Arch of Constantine is completed.
On this date in 864, Charles the Bald orders defensive measures against the Vikings (another royal name I love to see written down).
On this date in 1261, Constantinople is recaptured, re-establishing the Byzantine Empire.
On this date in 1554, Mary I marries Philip II of Spain.
On this date in 1755, the Nova Scotia Council orders the deportation of the Acadians.
On this date in 1783, the Siege of Cuddalore ended with a preliminary peace agreement (the battle was part of both the American Revolutionary War and the Second Anglo-Mysore War).
On this date in 1837, the first commercial use of an electrical telegraph is successfully demonstrated.
On this date in 1861, the Crittenden-Johnson Resolution is passed by Congress. This resolution states that the Civil War is being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.
On this date in 1868, Wyoming becomes a U.S. territory.
On this date in 1917, Canada introduces the first income tax in the nation, supposedly a "temporary" measure.
On this date in 1946, the U.S. detonates an atomic bomb underwater in the lagoon at the Bikini Atoll.
On that same date, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin do their first show as a comedy team.
On this date in 1956, the Andrea Doria sinks, killing 51.
On this date in 1965, Bob Dylan "plugs in", going electric at the Newport Folk Festival.
On this date in 1978, Louise Brown, the world's first test tube baby is born.
On this date in 2010, WikiLeaks publishes thousands of classified documents about the war in Afghanistan.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Henry Knox (first U.S. Secretary of War and yes, Fort Knox is named after him)
Arthur Balfour
Walter Brennan
Jack Gilford
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
Estelle Getty
Jerry Paris
Adnan Khashoggi
Barbara Harris
John Robinson
Mark Clarke
Walter "Sweetness" Payton
Iman
Illeana Douglas
Matt LeBlanc
Brad Renfro
Movie quotes today come from the excellent 1996 film "Sleepers" in honor of the late Brad Renfro, who would have been 31 today had he lived (he played the young "Michael", while Brad Pitt portrayed the adult Michael):
Nokes: What do you want?
John: What I've always wanted. To watch you die.
#2
Father Bobby: [about Shakes' prank in the church] Nuns are such easy targets.
#3
Lorenzo: [after handing Detective Davenport surveillance photos and proof that Adam Styler's a crooked cop] So, you got enough for conviction?
Detective: That ain't up to me. That's up to a jury.
Lorenzo: [hands Davenport a gun in a plastic bag] Show the jury this.
Detective: What do you got there, Ness?
Lorenzo: About 3 weeks ago, the body of a drug dealer named Indian Red Lopez was found in an alley in Jackson Heights. Three bullets in his head, nothing in his pockets.
Detective: I'm with you so far.
Lorenzo: This is the gun that killed him, and these are the shells.
Detective: What's behind door number 3?
Lorenzo: The prints on the gun belong to Adam Styler.
Detective: Hey, do me a favor, would you?
Lorenzo: What's that?
Detective: If I ever make it onto your shit list, give me a call. Give me a chance to apologize.
#4
Fat Mancho: The street is the only thing that matters. Court is for uptown people with suits, money, lawyers with three names. If you got cash you can buy court justice. But on the street, justice has no price. She's blind where the judge sits but she's not blind out here. Out here the bitch got eyes.
posted by me at 3:52 PM
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