News and ponderings
John Oliver, host of the HBO show Last Week Tonight took on the collection industry and as a result over 9,000 people have had a total of nearly $15 million in medical debt forgiven. Reporter's note: Most news stories on this item don't mention that it only cost Mr. Oliver a little over $60,000 to purchase this debt before giving it away. Best news for the people who owed this money is that thanks to an arcane provision of the Internal Revenue Code, they won't owe income tax on the forgiven debt.
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The Bernie Sanders campaign is complaining that a Los Angeles City Council member blocked their attempt to use the Hollywood Bowl. They are arguing that they were treated differently because this Council member is a Clinton supporter. Reporter's note: The Clinton campaign scheduled their Hollywood Bowl even more than a month ago. The Sanders campaign made their request to use the bowl last Thursday. This isn't about one candidate being treated differently, this is about a lack of foresight.
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A former Stanford University student was convicted of sexual assault after he was caught in the act. The female student was unconscious at the time. In a sentence that has been widely criticized, the judge sentenced him to six months in county jail and three years probation after his release. Now his father has written a letter to the judge claiming the incarceration of his son at all is improper. He suggests probation is the best sentence and makes a disgusting comment about"...20 minutes of action..." Reporter's note: Fathers think the best but this man is a rapist. He deserves much more of a punishment than he received, and to whine that this is too harsh is incredibly offensive.
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If the members of the Uruguay Men's National Soccer Team look a bit nonplussed as the national anthem plays before their game with Mexico, there's a reason. It's the Chilean national anthem that is being played. The mistake was blamed on human error. Reporter's note: First the incident at San Diego where the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus was the victim of so-called human error and now this? How hard is it to make sure the right music is cued up in the internet age. I spent countless hours in the DJ booth on live radio and never played the wrong track.
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In the wake of several alcohol-related incidents, the commander of U. S. Naval Forces Japan has banned the drinking of alcohol by all navy personnel in Japan, indefinitely. Rear Admiral Matthew Carter said, "This measure is not taken lightly." The ban applies to all military personnel, on and off base. It does not apply to civilian employees but they are "encouraged to participate." Reporter's note: This won't last very long. In his autobiography My American Journey, Colin Powell wrote about a time when as a battalion commander, he make the Officers Clubs off limits to the men and women under his command. Business was off so badly, his commander ordered him to lift the ban. The same thing will happen here.
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The 2016 Miss USA Pageant was held on Sunday, June 5th. Miss District of Columbia was the winner, and she is the first military officer to win the title. Deshauna Barber is a Army Reserve officer and works as an IT analyst at the U. S. Department of Commerce. However social media blew up over a question asked of another one of the finalists in the pageant, Miss Hawaii.
Reporter's note: If the question had been about the fact that for the first time in history, a woman will be the nominee of one of the two major political parties, it would have been appropriate. But asking an individual how they plan to vote and why is out of bounds in this situation.
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The Bernie Sanders campaign is complaining that a Los Angeles City Council member blocked their attempt to use the Hollywood Bowl. They are arguing that they were treated differently because this Council member is a Clinton supporter. Reporter's note: The Clinton campaign scheduled their Hollywood Bowl even more than a month ago. The Sanders campaign made their request to use the bowl last Thursday. This isn't about one candidate being treated differently, this is about a lack of foresight.
* * *
A former Stanford University student was convicted of sexual assault after he was caught in the act. The female student was unconscious at the time. In a sentence that has been widely criticized, the judge sentenced him to six months in county jail and three years probation after his release. Now his father has written a letter to the judge claiming the incarceration of his son at all is improper. He suggests probation is the best sentence and makes a disgusting comment about"...20 minutes of action..." Reporter's note: Fathers think the best but this man is a rapist. He deserves much more of a punishment than he received, and to whine that this is too harsh is incredibly offensive.
* * *
If the members of the Uruguay Men's National Soccer Team look a bit nonplussed as the national anthem plays before their game with Mexico, there's a reason. It's the Chilean national anthem that is being played. The mistake was blamed on human error. Reporter's note: First the incident at San Diego where the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus was the victim of so-called human error and now this? How hard is it to make sure the right music is cued up in the internet age. I spent countless hours in the DJ booth on live radio and never played the wrong track.
* * *
In the wake of several alcohol-related incidents, the commander of U. S. Naval Forces Japan has banned the drinking of alcohol by all navy personnel in Japan, indefinitely. Rear Admiral Matthew Carter said, "This measure is not taken lightly." The ban applies to all military personnel, on and off base. It does not apply to civilian employees but they are "encouraged to participate." Reporter's note: This won't last very long. In his autobiography My American Journey, Colin Powell wrote about a time when as a battalion commander, he make the Officers Clubs off limits to the men and women under his command. Business was off so badly, his commander ordered him to lift the ban. The same thing will happen here.
* * *
The 2016 Miss USA Pageant was held on Sunday, June 5th. Miss District of Columbia was the winner, and she is the first military officer to win the title. Deshauna Barber is a Army Reserve officer and works as an IT analyst at the U. S. Department of Commerce. However social media blew up over a question asked of another one of the finalists in the pageant, Miss Hawaii.
Reporter's note: If the question had been about the fact that for the first time in history, a woman will be the nominee of one of the two major political parties, it would have been appropriate. But asking an individual how they plan to vote and why is out of bounds in this situation.
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posted by me at 6:44 AM
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