This is way too awesome. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was one of the main proponents of ObamaCare last year, donating millions to Democrats to push ObamaCare, and now in response to the health care bill passing has this to say;
“In addition, new federal health-care reform legislation requires plans with dependent coverage to expand that coverage up to age 26...our limited resources are already stretched as far as possible, and meeting this new requirement would be financially impossible.”
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Swick's Black Ops Review
I picked up my copy of Black Ops the afternoon it came out (didn't want to be a part of the midnight mess) and have logged about 20 hours or so of multi-player game play in the past week. That has given me a chance to get a pretty good feel for the pros and cons of the games So with that, here they are;
Pros
1) Environment Visuals - If you have not seen the game in 1080p, you should. On a large screen (I have a 42") the environment is gorgeous, and very photo realistic. One of the things I did not like about Modern Warfare 2 was the "cartoonish" look of the scenery. A good thing that Treyarch needs to run with every time.
2) Difficulty - It was SO frustrating to start off initially with the game restricted to core with only the M16, a shotgun or a mule-kick LMG. This was very similar to World at War and I like it! MW2 was a very good pick up and play game. The M4 started off as my primary weapon from level 1 and it never changed. With that, there was no learning curve. This game had plenty of it.
3) ONLY Gun Kills for Killstreaks - This makes care packages worth the time. No more Predator, Harrier, Chopper Gunner combos.
4) Scavenger doesn't pick up equipment - No more Double coverage for snipers/campers. A big plus.
Cons
1) SPAWN ENGINE! - Countless complaints have emerged about this one. This to me is a MAJOR downgrade from WaW and MW2. Did it suck that you might respawn across the map from the enemies because of an AFK/camper? Yes, but it is much better than spawning 3-5 times in the middle of multiple enemies, or getting in a Spawn loop
2) Particle Effects - For items like dust, moths, and sparks, these items look rushed. Dirt in the air looks like an over-zoomed pixel in MS Paint. It looks like the deadline was coming and this was totally overlooked.
3) Enemy Footsteps - I'm an old school Counter Strike player. Footsteps in that game were amazing. You could tell the location and number of enemies through a wall with good headphones. MW2 and WaW you could at least hear one coming, but were unsure where from. In Black Ops, enemy footsteps have been silenced so much that what is the point? This makes the Ghost perk VERY powerful. At least in WaW and MW2 you had Dead Silence/Camouflage and Cold-Blooded/Ninja Pro that took up 2 perks. Stealth became a class in itself.
4) Massive Maps - Like World at War the maps are massive with lots of places to hide/maneuver. Unfortunately this can cause game play to get ridiculously slow (esp. in Hardcore) and encourages camping. MW2 had Derail, Estate,and Wasteland. Black Ops has Array, Crisis, Grid, and Jungle. Radiation isn't on the list but I would consider it a major camping map.
So there you have it. Overall the game is good, and with some quick patching it can be great.
Pros
1) Environment Visuals - If you have not seen the game in 1080p, you should. On a large screen (I have a 42") the environment is gorgeous, and very photo realistic. One of the things I did not like about Modern Warfare 2 was the "cartoonish" look of the scenery. A good thing that Treyarch needs to run with every time.
2) Difficulty - It was SO frustrating to start off initially with the game restricted to core with only the M16, a shotgun or a mule-kick LMG. This was very similar to World at War and I like it! MW2 was a very good pick up and play game. The M4 started off as my primary weapon from level 1 and it never changed. With that, there was no learning curve. This game had plenty of it.
3) ONLY Gun Kills for Killstreaks - This makes care packages worth the time. No more Predator, Harrier, Chopper Gunner combos.
4) Scavenger doesn't pick up equipment - No more Double coverage for snipers/campers. A big plus.
Cons
1) SPAWN ENGINE! - Countless complaints have emerged about this one. This to me is a MAJOR downgrade from WaW and MW2. Did it suck that you might respawn across the map from the enemies because of an AFK/camper? Yes, but it is much better than spawning 3-5 times in the middle of multiple enemies, or getting in a Spawn loop
2) Particle Effects - For items like dust, moths, and sparks, these items look rushed. Dirt in the air looks like an over-zoomed pixel in MS Paint. It looks like the deadline was coming and this was totally overlooked.
3) Enemy Footsteps - I'm an old school Counter Strike player. Footsteps in that game were amazing. You could tell the location and number of enemies through a wall with good headphones. MW2 and WaW you could at least hear one coming, but were unsure where from. In Black Ops, enemy footsteps have been silenced so much that what is the point? This makes the Ghost perk VERY powerful. At least in WaW and MW2 you had Dead Silence/Camouflage and Cold-Blooded/Ninja Pro that took up 2 perks. Stealth became a class in itself.
4) Massive Maps - Like World at War the maps are massive with lots of places to hide/maneuver. Unfortunately this can cause game play to get ridiculously slow (esp. in Hardcore) and encourages camping. MW2 had Derail, Estate,and Wasteland. Black Ops has Array, Crisis, Grid, and Jungle. Radiation isn't on the list but I would consider it a major camping map.
So there you have it. Overall the game is good, and with some quick patching it can be great.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Even More Fuel To The Enhanced Pat-Down Debate
Via Prison Planet;
"As AirSafe News reports, “The current system of background checks may have allowed those convicted of rape and other sexually based offenses to join TSA.”
Indeed, back in March it emerged that TSA worker Sean Shanahan, who was employed at Boston Logan International Airport to pat down passengers, had been charged with multiple child sex crimes targeting an underage girl.
Given the fact that the TSA’s new policy allows workers to fondle breasts and genitals, expect a flood of sex perverts and rapists to eagerly sign up."
"As AirSafe News reports, “The current system of background checks may have allowed those convicted of rape and other sexually based offenses to join TSA.”
Indeed, back in March it emerged that TSA worker Sean Shanahan, who was employed at Boston Logan International Airport to pat down passengers, had been charged with multiple child sex crimes targeting an underage girl.
Given the fact that the TSA’s new policy allows workers to fondle breasts and genitals, expect a flood of sex perverts and rapists to eagerly sign up."
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Obama Administration Edited A Safety Report To Support Their Political Agenda?
Say it isn't so!
Now I'm not ignorant enough to think this has never happened before, but this is the second time in just a few months that reports surfaced about some one in or appointed by the Obama Administration used their power to edit a report.
Other complaints have been about the handling of the failed blow-out preventor. It was cleaned by Transocean back in September, but no other effort has been taken. This is vital to prevent corrosion, which could weaken the strength of the device.
"...The latest complaint from scientists comes in a report by the Interior
Department's inspector general, which concluded that the White House edited a drilling safety report in a way that made it falsely appear that scientists and experts supported the administration's six-month ban on new deep-water drilling. The AP obtained the report early Wednesday.
The inspector general said the editing changes by the White House resulted "in the implication that the moratorium recommendation had been peer reviewed." But it hadn't been. Outside scientists were asked only to review new safety measures for offshore drilling....After one of the reviewers complained, the Interior Department promptly issued an apology during a conference call, in a formal letter and during a personal meeting in June.
All seven experts asked to review the Interior Department's work expressed concern about the change made by the White House, saying that it differed in important ways from the draft they had approved."
Now I'm not ignorant enough to think this has never happened before, but this is the second time in just a few months that reports surfaced about some one in or appointed by the Obama Administration used their power to edit a report.
Other complaints have been about the handling of the failed blow-out preventor. It was cleaned by Transocean back in September, but no other effort has been taken. This is vital to prevent corrosion, which could weaken the strength of the device.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Enhanced Pat Downs
I was flipping through Drudge and stumbled across an article about TSA's new Enhanced Pat Downs. Short story is that if you are randomly selected for a pass through the millimeter wave imaging machine and decline it, instead of a palm away frisk, the TSA has enacted what they call "Enhanced Pat Downs."They are a palm forward once over of all areas of the body...ALL areas. For a woman wearing a skirt this includes a up-skirt run up the inside of both legs, and a bump in another area. For guys, the same. As far as I can tell right now there are no restrictions for same sex pat-downs and there are no limitations to the minimum age. I'm not even sure if you can request a different person to perform the pat-down.
I can sense lawsuits coming in the future for this and personally I am going to write my representative about the policy. Although I am ok with the scanner and would have one taken, I do feel this goes a bit too far.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
It's Been A *Little* While
In the past couple years, as you saw I graduated, got a job, and got married. I haven't really blogged in the past year, mostly because I got sick of the crap being shoved down our throats by the Obama Administration and Dems in the Capitol Building.
But now we have our chance. But I have to disagree with conservatives who expect republicans to magically repeal ObamaCare. In order to do this, we need a little bit of legislation and a LOT of timing.
Part of the reason that we were able to gain this much ground was timing. The population was shown how Democrats don't care about what the country thinks with the passing of ObamaCare even though it was highly opposed and 60% of the country immediately wanted it repealed. Time allowed the fervor over that to subside a little bit. The Approval index soared to over 20 points, but then fell back to around 12 percent in September. The the question came back up about what to do about the tax rates instated by former President Bush. Democrats at first were planning on reverting all rates to the previous rates.
Needless to say, the electorate spoke, and suddenly it is back to the "promise" of "We're only going to soak the rich," from 2008. That wasn't enough and Republicans completely flipped the house and won 6 senate seats. But unfortunately that's not going to be enough to make massive changes quickly. The biggest chance are the 2012 elections where 21 Democrat seats are coming for reelection in areas where they are not well secured, compared to 19 this year that were in heavily liberal areas (East and West Coasts).
What we need is another case of good timing in September and October of 2012. Here's what we should do. I am not opposed to the idea of reverting the tax rates for income above $250,000 per year, under the strict stipulation that ALL budgets must be at or below their 2009 levels. If we are going to gain $700 Billion in tax income, it should ONLY go to paying down the principle on the national debt, not another stimulus. The other rates should extend for 2 more years.
The next and biggest thing that Republicans need to do is to do nothing on ObamaCare...for now. Very publicly try to make small changes to ObamaCare to remind people you are still looking out for them. But right away, very publicly announce that you will propose a bill in July of 2012 for a full repeal of ObamaCare. Put the democrats against the wall at the time where it hurts them the most. Make them choose their agenda, or their job...again.
This will put the reminder in people's minds about who Democrats really care about right before election time, and it will be before the major changes take affect.
But now we have our chance. But I have to disagree with conservatives who expect republicans to magically repeal ObamaCare. In order to do this, we need a little bit of legislation and a LOT of timing.
Part of the reason that we were able to gain this much ground was timing. The population was shown how Democrats don't care about what the country thinks with the passing of ObamaCare even though it was highly opposed and 60% of the country immediately wanted it repealed. Time allowed the fervor over that to subside a little bit. The Approval index soared to over 20 points, but then fell back to around 12 percent in September. The the question came back up about what to do about the tax rates instated by former President Bush. Democrats at first were planning on reverting all rates to the previous rates.Needless to say, the electorate spoke, and suddenly it is back to the "promise" of "We're only going to soak the rich," from 2008. That wasn't enough and Republicans completely flipped the house and won 6 senate seats. But unfortunately that's not going to be enough to make massive changes quickly. The biggest chance are the 2012 elections where 21 Democrat seats are coming for reelection in areas where they are not well secured, compared to 19 this year that were in heavily liberal areas (East and West Coasts).
What we need is another case of good timing in September and October of 2012. Here's what we should do. I am not opposed to the idea of reverting the tax rates for income above $250,000 per year, under the strict stipulation that ALL budgets must be at or below their 2009 levels. If we are going to gain $700 Billion in tax income, it should ONLY go to paying down the principle on the national debt, not another stimulus. The other rates should extend for 2 more years.
The next and biggest thing that Republicans need to do is to do nothing on ObamaCare...for now. Very publicly try to make small changes to ObamaCare to remind people you are still looking out for them. But right away, very publicly announce that you will propose a bill in July of 2012 for a full repeal of ObamaCare. Put the democrats against the wall at the time where it hurts them the most. Make them choose their agenda, or their job...again.
This will put the reminder in people's minds about who Democrats really care about right before election time, and it will be before the major changes take affect.
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