Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Pieces of string too short to use

There's a story, apocryphal most likely, that when cleaning out the home of an elderly deceased woman, her family found a large ball of string labelled, "pieces of string too short to use." So here's a few pieces too short to use:

1. Hillary's "shared prosperity" theme. I doubt that she will share hers.

2. If you're overweight, are you wasting energy fretting about the chemicals in your dry cleaning? Which is more likely to hurt you over the long run?

3. The decline of the angry left? I think they are just keeping them under wraps for this campaign so they don't get a repeat of 2004.

4. Would you want your address to be on "Landfill Road." I saw one. Still, we have a Cemetery Rd nearby.

5. Google makes bundles of money for the government (taxed profits, taxed wages, taxed businesses that advertise there, taxes on new businesses that have developed) and libraries take money from the government. But Google has revolutionized how people seek, store and use information.

6. Why do the AFT and NEA hate vouchers and school choice? Why wouldn't teachers' unions want children to have the best that's out there?

7. Men trade 45% more than women when investing in stock.

8. Women pull ahead in the longevity race around age 13. At birth, the boys are numerically way ahead. God must have known. . . about risk. See #7.

9. Hundreds of thousands of sexual predators are at-large within the U.S., and law enforcement has the evidence to locate, arrest and prosecute them, but officials estimate they are able to investigate less than 2 percent of known child exploitation offenders, due to lack of resources, primarily personnel.

10. Unionized cleaning people in NYC make $20+/hour with full benefits. Think of that the next time you feel undervalued when you clean.

11. Didn't I tell you? "It's a lying, cheating, dirty business," says
Chris Balsiger who ran the nation's biggest clearinghouse of discount coupons redeemed by consumers at supermarkets.

12. John Erickson, chairman of Erickson Retirement Communities and developer of continuing care communities, is investing in Retirement Living TV, a cable network.

13. Charles Barkley, the basketball player, believes that people who express beliefs on behavior and life style different than what he believes are being judgemental, but he isn't. Must go with the name "Chuck."

14. Socially conscious Vermonters are willing to emit carbon to drive to tax-free New Hampshire to buy at WalMart and other big box stores. Same with the folks in Santa Cruz, CA who keep WalMart, Costco and Target out of their city, and raise local prices.

15. In Massachusetts, people with high deductible health insurance were forced to switch to more expensive policies to meet the state requirements.

16. Save a life. Donate to a Pregnancy Health Center.

17. Patients who go into cardiac arrest while in the hospital are more likely to die if it occurs after 11 p.m.

18. HIPAA is hopeless. I called the pharmacy to get a printout of our prescription costs. They would mail our records to me, but if I picked them up, I had to bring my husband and ID.

19. Reed Elsevier buys Choice Point Inc., the largest seller of personal data, and is selling its trade magazine division, including Publisher's Weekly. What must privacy conscious librarians think?

20. How many women control anything in Hollywood? I'm guessing it is far less than in the board rooms of conservative businesses.

21. Government affirmative action programs haven't given women and minorities a long term boost. They are hired and held hostage in HR positions or promoted to positions to fill quotas they weren't qualified for and then can't move forward on merit.

22. Bailing out by the government of those facing foreclosure will just postpone the agony--especially if they had poor credit, no savings, and spent beyond their means before applying for a subprime loan. Not everyone should be a home owner.

23. Airlines are not hospitals. The relatives of an obese woman, 44 years old, with heart disease and diabetes who was treated within minutes by staff and passengers who were doctors using oxygen and defibrillators, are suing the airlines. No one wins but the lawyers.

24. Daylight Savings Time actually uses more energy, according to a recent study based on Indiana's experience.

25. Unclaimed tax refunds from the IRS totaled 2.2 billion for 2003. Too late now.

26. 84% of Americans believe that cheating on your taxes even a little is unacceptable. Isn't that about the same as the number who believe in God?

27. I saw an ad selling an Ethics/Faith Company reporting the original investors made 700% return on their investment. Does that sound ethical to you?

28. The Turkish Airlines is looking for someone to supply them with jet fuel. Submit your bid by March 11.

29. Michelle Obama had some nice educational advantages, but most importantly, she had what divides the rich and middle class African Americans from the poor. Married parents and a strong nuclear family. 70% of black children do not have a father in the home.

30. Just in time for Hillary's election campaign, Bill has apologized to the black community for rejecting the 1995 Commission on Sentencing recommendation that the 100:1 disparity for drug sentencing for crack and powder cocaine be removed. This is probably the #1 reason there are so many black men in prison--see #29.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

1. You mean the woman who signed a return on which they took a $2 per pair deduction on used undershorts given to charity. I don’t think she will share much prosperity.

2. Because it is easier to complain about perchlorethelene than to put down the cheeseburger.

3. Decline, look at Hillary, as I write this she is considering suing Texas and probably everyone in it because of what she calls voting irregularities. I think someone is irregular, look at the look on her face.

4. I lived off Girdle Road, you had to pass Chairfactory Road to get there.


6. Because unions feel that if given a choice parents will choose a school that is not required by union agreements to keep teachers that are morons. Private schools seldom go nuts for unions like public schools do. It seems those nasty private schools can hire teachers that are skilled, well educated and competent.

7. Not me, I still have the first stock I bought in high school. It is also worth 274.3 times what it was when I bought it and it makes up the bulk of my retirement fund.


9. Give me a list, I’ll happily round up a few –legally.

10. My cleaning lady makes half that, but I only have here for a few hours a week.

11. Manufacturers’ coupons have always seemed to have a negative ROI to me. I buy the store brand whatever… it seems as good and much cheaper than the advertised brands.

12. Old people don’t watch much besides the History Channel and the news in my experience.

13. I think Charles Barkley is an idiot.

14. Again, do as I say, not as I do.

15. I have an approximately $2500 deductible but my high deductible plan costs me less per month than a sit down lunch for two. I also have a spending account that accumulates tax free.

16. Indeed, do that there is one in your community, trust me. Call them they would love your help.

17. Not when I worked as an ER nurse, but then the patients were not technically ‘in’ the hospital when they were in the ER. I’ve worked 2000+ codes. 3 of them lived longer than a few days.

19. Information has value, information that can be used commercially that is.


21. I find the majority of HR personnel to be substandard performers. Perhaps they left patronage jobs in Chicago.


22. However banks should consider refinancing those sub-prime loans at more equitable rates. A portfolio of underperforming loans is preferable to a portfolio of defaulted loans. Resident owned property is less likely to lose value than rented, unoccupied, or properties in foreclosure proceedings. The banks can’t sell that paper anymore so they need to recoup as much value as possible .

23. How the airline could have any liability is beyond me. I never carry my professional licenses with me when I travel so I can’t help you –the airlines won’t give me access to the equiptment or medications.

24. It is also simply a pain in the neck especially when you deal with people in other countries on a regular basis.

25. I worked in California for 2 days last year. They took $62 dollars in tax from me. I filed a return to reclaim $8 of it. I am not going to work in California again ever.


29. Senator and Mrs. Obama are in a prime position to make an impact on this by setting an example and speaking out about the current culture that finds nothing wrong with unwed and frequently unsupported mothers.


30. I have to disagree the number one reason that black men, or anyone for that matter is in prison is because they have committed a crime.

Norma said...

Thanks Matthew! About #30. Yes, they committed a crime to get there, but the extra 10 years over an above the guy who committed a violent crime or a break in, without crack, and got 5 years, is what keeps the prisons crowded.

Anonymous said...

#31. Publishing unsourced information makes a guy wonder where you went to college and shudder when he thinks about where you went to graduate school.

Further, it's a known fact that the majority of women who spontaneously combust are retired women with blogs who make the mistake of putting canned soup on a pot roast.

Lower the heat, cook it longer.

"Chuck" is short for "Chuck Roast."

I love Charles Barkley.

Norma said...

It's not necessary, Chuck'ems, to cite opinions and pieces of string. Seems to be a lot of hostility against older women in your post. Problems at work?

Anonymous said...

Chuck'ems ?? Now Norma,seems that even at 69 you haven't been declawed yet! LOL

Norma said...

Anon 7:43: You might be 70, but I'm not 69. Can't believe you've forgotten my birthday already. Also, it's OK to call Guybrarians Chuck'ems.