Finished watching the big debate. WOW, were those folks good tonight. good solid answers and ideas. Prime time material. Moderators in this debate, I think got their very deserved clocks cleaned. Couple of cheap questions but candidates handled them well and put the moderators in their places.
Reading some data on the Debate, the usual suspects have put out the word to not "pile" on the moderator controversy. Those of course being NBC (WTAP) and MSNBC (another cable channel that some of you may sometimes watch like an adult cartoons?). Again, the Candidates did a great job of controlling the moderators to get good points across versus the asinine questions fielded to them.
A thought that came to me yesterday, for some reason. The IT manager was explaining in March why he just HAD to have his friend hired full time. Just so much work and not enough time to do it all. Then, just a few weeks back as I noted he was commenting on why they had to have the 93 new cameras NOW so they could install them when it slow in the winter months in the City. So if so slow then why did we need him full time instead of the part time he had been working? Just like the guy in the Parks Dept., he could have added hours but still kept part time and not the huge additional expense for a permanent full timer.
See, if you leave this bunch alone the deceit, deception, misinformation and misdirection will surface each and every time. Simply put; City did NOT need this full timer. Just more hours for him. Maybe 25 to say 30? Is that fulltime now under Obamacare criteria? Seems Taxpayers got screwed into the ground again. Seems like what we have ended up with is two guys working maybe 60 hours a week total but paid for 80 with full bene's?
And I was asked a couple of days ago if I had noticed the Public Works vehicles going around with two or three guys in them? I said yes; then the person said how it used to be just one guy. Then up to two and now three a lot of the time? I speculated that the Public Works was overstaffed because so many "in house" projects where the City did work and not bid it out? They say saving so much money? But if they have 3-5 extra bodies all over the place including the temps they have on staff every day; how much are they really saving? Temps for example make $10.00 working for City per hour. City pays temp agency $14.00 per hour. Full time of course if over staffing still get all the bene's again. Savings I would question are not so much? Just which account costs are put into?
And of course my never ending questions on competing with local businesses doing work the staff is either not well trained to do; or just taking work from private sector? I would ask just how much is really saved when all the pluses and minuses are balanced out through the various department lines involved in a job? Those full time bene's really screw up the numbers if added in?
In the past 12- 18 months I suspect City head count has went from about 62- 63 people to 70-75? That probably does not include all the temps wandering around? For what? The size of City still the same population wise. In fact, fewer people in the last year by about 100- 150? Too much funny stuff going on in the staffing for Vienna. Do not think we need all the bodies the more it comes out in the open?
And for better or for worse, the puzzle palace in D.C. made an end run or two to get a Debt Ceiling and Budget passed for two years. The "good" news is some sort of a deal that will avert the huge Medicare increases in premiums and the failure of the SS Disability fund. But as always, the Devil is in the details. One item that reduces payments to Doctors that could chase even more out of accepting Medicare patients. time will tell all? And for sure the tale that Mr. Obama will leave us with a 20 Trillion dollar debt is for sure now a done deal. I would venture that plus the 100,000s of thousands of unnecessary dead all over the World will be his legacy?
Must say, I was very pleased with the "stand down day" for the Vets. I am pretty open on my support; I being one myself. Today's vets are almost as bad off as those of my day. I can only hope we can turn it around? In too many cases, time is against us.
Seems that if Mr. Blankenship can not get a judge or two on his side, he is apparently going to the "big house"? But let's watch our WV. system at work. Strange happen when money talks, men stumble and B.S. walks?
Hmmmmm; seems now WV., will get 61 and Ohio 99 early release prisoners? P'burg is still at 3. And of course the information on their releases was not available on Thursday P.M.? When a Government Entity wants to dump the bad news, it is a Friday P.M. event. That way most do not pay attention or hopefully will forget by Monday.
Again, I note the Chinese changing their one child rule to two. Now this will take of course 20-30 years to show any affect; but it is still growing versus the rest of the World. A Country does not get too 1.3 Billion people by practicing celibacy; at least I think not? :-)
But it really shows the patience of the Communist Government to wait out the World. As it gets ever bigger, our problems will increase and I will be you $1.00- $2.98 on that.
See where Claywood Water District is posting a legal notice to change water rates. Page 2C of legal advertisements on right hand side. Looks tough and rough with the "MINIMUM" charges part. If one does not use 3K gallons a month, will pay a nice "Premium". Why am I putting that in here? Because we are next to get increases; just wait and watch.
We are continuing to do the "Vietnam Wiggle". 20- 30 Special Ops troops to Syria as "advisors". Here is how the Wiggle works or kinda sorta. 20-30 here; 20- 30 there and everybody turns their heads and cough. Repeat as many times as it takes to get way too few over run or captured. Anyone remember MACV? In 1954; yep that is right; 1954; ol' Ike started pumping "advisors" into South Vietnam. But we failed to Politically back them all the way to 1973. After that it did not matter as the Huey's got us out from the Embassy roof in '75. I don't have a problem with going in; I have a problem with what some call "half a**ed". For at least the next 15 months the Mr. Obama Foreign Policy Protocol. God help the lads. The folks there are in many ways I think worse than the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese?
Went into a box store this noon. What a mob. People all over the place. But surprisingly nice when all I said and done. Mostly true Viennese, I would suspect?
Went back and reread Mr. Azinger Jr's editorial on how to turn West Virginia. Has been listening to his buddies in the Wood County Republican Executive Committee I think? One guy complaining about a common sense safety item like a sprinkler system. Can he say for a certainty that he or whomever ends up with that building will NOT need a sprinkler system? $150K is a lot of money; but is the Hell that will go on if someone gets killed in a fire that no one saw today. And I am pretty certain no one can see 10 years down the road.
His idea to follow Mr. Reagan's policy would be great if this State could be trusted to follow any Law it writes (legibly one could hope) and most importantly enforce it so ALL get treated fairly, not on the size of the envelope comes the next Election. There are at this time unfortunately no Mr. Reagans with in spittin' distance of WV.
Elimination of one of the big three taxes? WOW, this guy scares me some. The obvious to make the business community happy will be the infamous Corporate Tax. The one for the common folks like me with unwashed feet would be the Sales Tax. 7% in about every place and 6% every where is a big hit for folks earning little or no money; living on fixed pensions with no increases and the remaining one or two % that are loaded and don't care anyway. The State Income tax is not much considering how many don't pay any anyway. The Sales tax would be an instant increase in sales for about every business as people with money in their hands/ pockets are going to spend it tout suite'. The lessor evil of State Regulations can and should be approached on a piece meal process as they are brought up by the appropriate businesses. But, I am going to go back to my never ending comment that the State as a start writes such lousy bills that the only sure fix is too repeal and start over. Get some folks who understand English and let them write the Rules. Ambiguity is as much of an enemy as the Regulation itself.
I think the lad means well, but I smell cronyism in his efforts? Election year coming and the business folks will be doing the contribution of the bucks. We will count once on voting day. The bucks count all year round. 'nuff said.