Suggestions Are Comin' In...

First of all, thanks for all the input and email. I really thought most of you would have given up on this mess long ago, but I was wrong.

I'm glad it's not just me getting burned out by politics. They seem to be doing okay without my meddling. I was getting weary of being lumped in with a medium that never seems to be satisfied (look up Dennis Kucinich and Jane Hamsher if you want to see what I mean).

Aaargh, Bonnie and Netto like when we talk about gadgetry, gizmos and my experiments into tech land. I do loves me my gadgets - and ways of hacking them to make 'em "better." My last project was successfully taking a Dell Mini and making it a pure dual-boot of Snow Leopard and Windows 7 (Dell's platform doesn't allow Boot Camp). I'm wondering how I can screw with an iPad, but on someone else's dime.

That's a dandy thought. Some others...

@Cobbnek - No, I don't think writing about the Catholic church is in my line of expertise, nor will it endear me to anyone, but thanks.

@Vermin - Glad you like my cartoon posts. I never tire of that.

@carolt - Really? Cars? My dad was a car dealer, so you'll understand why I have a germ-like aversion to that very topic.

@Nameless Cynic - Keep on keeping on! Check his website, folks...especially the post about Chuck Norris.

Hidflect writes: "This is the standard effect before the rise of the third candidate. Party A(a) and Party A(b) both have slowly twisted themselves into a Gordian knot of mutual action and loathing. Start looking around for the guy/gal whose going to become that shot out of the blue." Interesting thought, but who will that candidate be who we can really believe in and who doesn't turn out to be a closet flaming screwball on crack? (see Ron Paul, Ross Perot)

Keep 'em coming. In the meantime, the Bloggregator alone is definitely worth keeping the domain in operation, so we're not going to pull the plug by any stretch of the imagination.

Comments

[Gale]

What can you dig up on Wachovia Bank Paying 160 M fine for money laundering Mexican drug cartel money? And how long Wells Fargo knew. Who was behind the fines, etc?

[David Aquarius]

Hoff, my friend, gotta say I'm damn glad to see you back from your self-imposed exile. You provide a damn good service here and your absence was sorely felt.

But, as I am personally aware, this shit takes a toll on one's soul. This island in a sea of stupid has always been close to our hearts but we all realize that there is a big 'something' out there call 'reality'. It always seems to smack us down when we get too comfortable with the status quo.

My suggestion is to follow your muse, your 'chi' as the Chinese call it. Post the stuff that wants to come out, not necessarily the hot political bullshit of the moment.

Hell, there's always some liberal site following Pelosi or Reid, Caribou Barbie and her pet goat, Beck. We don't need to reinvent the wheel. You seem to find some choice little nugget and pass it along. I appreciate that. I also love the cartoon info, being a old fan of the animation arts from long, long ago. (Herculoids Rule!)

Also, thank the gods for your Great Big Radio! I've got a few folks from work tuning in. My sister loves it, has it on all day long at my parents' place. Even the old man likes it. He listens to it as he reads his westerns.

I know the stress of trying posting good stuff to what always seems like a lonely desert. But we do it anyway. We are part of a chorus and to lose just one voice is to lose harmony.

I even got my little site back online again. See how we are. We have to be a little nuts to do this shit.

[William J. Kelleher, Ph.D.]

Hey Hoffmania and Hoffmaniacs!

I thought that you might like to know about the book I am writing. It will advocate the use of Internet voting in all US elections. Two chapters discuss the security issues. It can be done with all the security of an online purchase or electronic banking.

One chapter is entitled "The Original Intentions of the Framers for US Presidential Elections."

I also discuss the outrageous costs of running for president. Obama spent about $740,000,000 in 2008. Of course, this gives an unfair advantage to the superrich who can make big contributions.

Most importantly, I show how a system of presidential elections based on Internet voting can neutralize the power of Big Money, and make the president and vice-president directly dependent upon the people who elected them. Here is a cure for both Citizens United, and a government that ignores the people!

No agent/pub, yet. But all my chapter drafts are online for free reading or downloading at: http://ssrn.com/author=1053589

You are welcome to read any of this, and comment on it to me, or in your other writing.

Yours,

Bill Kelleher
Internetvoting@gmail.com

[hidflect]

$740,000,000?? Do you have a sticky [0] on your numpad? Incredible...

[zenyenta]

Wow. I completely understand the problem. I never blogged anywhere near your level, but during the Bush years I just sort of gravitated to politics because...well, because THE HORROR was impossible to ignore. Now things are different and I, too, am almost burnt out on the subject, as far as writing much about it is concerned. I don't want to give up my blog mostly because of the blog friends I've made, but in the meantime I started another one for my dog. Much more fun. Do you have a dog?

[darms]

Hoff,
Not sure if it's your 'cuppa tea but I've noticed something odd about medical bills that no one else is talking about, namely that uninsured patients who pay cash are subsidizing the medical insurers via "program discounts" that insurance companies routinely receive from providers. These discounts are non-trivial!

For example the missus recently had a colonoscopy & an endoscopy, the charges for each procedure (not the facility) were $791.00 & $689.00 respectively. But after the "program discounts" of $504.06 & $576.51 we were billed $286.94 & $122.49. How much did her insurance pay? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Bupkis. The only benefit of her insurance in this case was we were allowed to get the "program discounts". Now here's the rub - the person in the billing department flat out told me that w/o her insurance we would have been billed the full $1480! Yet with the "program discount" the surgeons got a total of only $408.98 meaning that because of the "program discount" the surgeons were willing to "eat" 73% of their fee!!!

I can understand the high difference in ER fees as since most ERs are required to treat acute symptoms for all patients & there's no guarantee for them that uninsured patients will pay their bills. But our situation was not an ER situation, it was a routine procedure. Wave the little card, $408.98. No little card? $1480! How are the uninsred not subsidizing the insures here? And I've collected a number of examples over the years, you ought to see my hospital bills from 2008! And I know it's not just me, either.

Thought you might like this as it's not another "me too" topic...

[hatethehuff]

"the Bloggregator alone is definitely worth keeping the domain in operation" yeah... but get rid of the huffington post feed!!!!

[cage free brown]

but how will we know which celebrities are showing their boobs without the Huffington Post???

[David Aquarius]

Don't like the Huff. Don't click the link.

Simple, eh?

[cage free brown]

they do great stuff. they also do some silly crap. I was making fun of them. I do that sometimes.

[hatethehuff]

I dont click the link, but at the same time, i still dont like to see that sort of dung promoted.

[Dennis from West Chazy]

Hey Hoff, I was just in your neck of the woods (or is LA a body part somewhere a bit lower than a neck?) Flew out, helped pack up my daughter's stuff and helped her drive back to upstate NY. She tried and couldn't make it out there. We got in yesterday. While I was out there I thought of looking you up and paying a visit. Believe it or not I was going to ask you where you find the energy to keep this all going. I guessed that you'd just as soon not have me show up unannounced so I stayed away.
This is the way I see it: I think the rich fucks got what they came for. Bitchin about it is like standing in front of an empty cash register after you been robbed and yelling at the guys who did it but they'd left the scene hours ago. At 63 I am a retirement short timer and I figure, maybe, I got 15 or so years left to get some good stuff done. I campaign, still on behalf of my congressman, got three motorcycles to rebuild, a dam to finish, help Habitat for Humanity build some homes in Haiti or Guatimala, get my firewood cut and split, my fields cleared and mowed, make some short movies. If you ever are up in this neck of the woods and need a place to stay, you are more than welcome. We've got plenty of room and I am an hour south of Montreal. They hold a jazz festival in early summer, a film festival in the spring.
While I was out there in CA, I got to take a nice ride north on the Pacific Coast highway on my son's BMW (bike). it's a sweet ride, a great place to bike. Ya done good man but unless you are ready to start the revolution, it is now the responsibility of my kid's generation to stop this country from tanking. Will they do it? probably not. Give Kucinich his due. Same for Bernie Sanders. You take care of yourself.

[Donita in Riverside]

So sad to come here. It's like an abandoned house. Oh, the joyous days we spent. Oh, the memories.

[Robert in Madison]

Please come back Hoff!