Obamacare portal, fixed?

Well, not so fast.  Beyond the obvious question of "have they really tested systems and whether they'll bear the proposed load" (not while the system is live they haven't), you've got the reality that the system may support 50,000 users per day, but for the system to get seven million people registered by the deadline, simple math says they'll need to achieve.....60,000 people per day.  Plus the load of people who browse but don't sign up the first time, and you can figure that the system will still be seriously overloaded.

Add to that known security issues, and the fact that more and more people are "unexpectedly" (to those who don't know the law's perverse incentives at least) losing their insurance, and it would appear that we're going to need to rename "SNAFU" as "SNAOU"; system normal, all Obama'ed up.

Which is, ahem, what anyone paying serious attention to Mr. Obama's curriculum vitae could have told you in 2008 or earlier. 

A motto for the Health Insurance Deform Act

One of the most powerful adages in quality engineering is this:

Your system is perfectly designed to give you the results you are getting.

Attributed to (my hero) W. Edwards Deming, it is generally a rebuke to managers who would dodge responsibility for disasters by claiming that "situations unknown" led to problems, and thus ignore the very real incentives and processes they themselves had--purposefully or inadvertently--put in place.

And thus it is the perfect rejoinder for our "Absentee in Chief", the man for whom the buck stops anywhere but at his desk, especially given the numerous perverse incentives he himself put in place for the Health Insurance Deform Act (HIDA, sometimes called the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare"). 

For example, HIDA requires that 80% of insurance receipts be paid out for medical expenses.  It sounds good until you realize that healthy insurance plans generally have a payout of 60% or so--and to get to 80%, insurance companies must add "coverages" that are day to day expenses.  The overhead costs don't change, after all, so the end result is that "Chevy" plans must be terminated.

In the same way, the President has, via executive order and the text of HIDA, added numerous coverages to insurance.  The end result is that actual medical insurance--pooling risk for unpredictable events--is now illegal, and the millions of Americans who had such (good) insurance now are losing that--and facing huge increases in insurance.  My favorite example is that college students are facing huge increases in the cost of their medical insurance--some by up to a factor of 15 or 20.   So the young skulls full of mush who screwed the country to get Obama's "free" contraceptive coverage are being screwed themselves by HIDA.  Poetic justice that might help collegiate chastity, I say.

Also important here is how the President has handled the HIDA internet portal; it is now becoming evident that the portal was headed for the rocks this spring, and the White House was warned not just by their consultants, but also health insurance companies though the summer and fall.  In ignoring these warnings, as well as failed alpha tests (not fair to dignify HIDA's flameout by suggesting they did a beta test, after all), the White House was telling all involved that they were not interested in anything but the official narrative.

And Dear Leader acts all surprised at this, of course, but those of us who remember Harry Truman and Deming remember that the buck does, in fact, stop at the White House, and we know that he's ultimately the one responsible for this debacle.

Say it again so the President can hear: Your system is perfectly designed to give you the results you're getting, Mr. Obama.  If he had any shame, he'd resign.

Not just a sign, it's got to be a tattoo

Andrew Napolitano reveals that, according to Ed Snowden--a good source in the past few months--the NSA actually spied on the papal conclave.

OK, so apparently it's a vital item for national security to know how cardinals view the doctrine of transsubstantiation and the doctrine of the Mass.  Or, possibly, the NSA doesn't have squat to do with national security, and everything with forming Jeremy Bentham's Panoptikon.  Or, possibly, the "geniuses" at the NSA are really intellectually more suited to a job at Chez Mac or the TSA.  No insult intended to the good people at McDonald's, of course.

If there ever was a time for a revival of the legal theories of Blackstone, it is now. 

Questions on the HIDA (a.k.a. "Obamacare") disaster

It's very interesting to read through summaries of the disasters that have been plaguing the Health Insurance Deform Act (HIDA, aka "Affordable Care Act" or "Obamacare").  Apparently, they've inverted the usual structure of a business website, bloated the number of lines of code to 500million (six times that of Windows 8 and ten or more times that of a typical e commerce site), and ignored basics like FMEAs, alpha and beta testing, and the like.

In other words, anyone who has worked on it in any position of authority--director or higher--ought to be fired for cause because they didn't sound the alarm that basics were being ignored.  For that matter, insurance companies have evidently been sounding the alarm for months about the deficiencies of Mr. Soetoro's system.

Which makes it very perplexing that the same insurance companies have, when asked, agreed to help sort out the deficiencies of this system.   With the magnitude of the problems, a quick fix is almost certainly impossible, which means that what's going on is that Obama is setting up the insurance companies for the blame for the failure of his administration.   The only reason for going along with this charade would be that Mr. Obama has something in his power that can destroy the insurance companies--the most benign possibility being that if the HIDA system doesn't work, the insurance companies cannot get subscribers.

I'd argue that this, along with IRS surveillance of Tea Party groups, the Benghazi cover-up, and the abuse of the NSA, really demonstrates the necessity for a number of special prosecutors with authority to demand unredacted documents, and authority to imprison those who do not comply.  We have a criminal in the White House whose activities seem to make those of Richard Nixon pale in comparison.

A bit of hilarity

I just received a call warning me that my vehicle just went out of warranty, and that I'd do well to "get it back in warranty".  OK, fine, but my vehicles are a 2000 Chevy Venture with 259,000 miles  on it and a 1997 GMC Sierra with 151,000 miles on it.  I'm pretty sure neither has had any warranty--not even rust-through--for at least seven years. 

A peeve of mine

....the September jobs report came out today, and despite the fact that the # of jobs created is about 50,000 short of the 190,000 needed each month to keep up with population growth, the media were noting that it was "enough to reduce the unemployment rate to 7.2%."

Um, no.  What happened to reduce the unemployment rate by 0.1%--which would be (assuming a work force of 150 million adults) 200,000 more jobs than were actually created?

Simple; 200,000 people either did not find their first job, or gave up looking for work.  There's your Obama "recovery" in action.

Here's your sign, Mr. President

The Cleveland Clinic, a worthy competitor to a little clinic we like up here and a supposed model for President Obama's Health Insurance Deform Act, is cutting $330 million from its budget and most likely 3000 or more jobs to cope with the Health Insurance Deform Act.  By the way, word on the street around here is that our little clinic is going to be making major cuts for the same reason, but isn't going public with the rationale yet.

Act in haste, repent at leisure, Mr. President.  And here's your sign.

Thoughts on the "manosphere"

I have been peripherally watching an area called "the manosphere" on the interwebs lately.  In a nutshell, it portrays normal male/female relationships in light of a theory called "game"--and yes, it's based on the same kind of theories that someone playing an ordinary game would use.

More or less, the goal is--as I guess it's been forever--to be the "quarterback," the guy who is "loud, charismatic" and for whom women "exist for the alpha's gratification."  In this movement, there are deep undercurrents of using women sexually--often in rather disgusting ways, be careful about the links--along with bitter complaints about how today's society is more or less encouraging divorce, unwed parenting, and the like. In the same movement are emphatic (or nasty depending on your perspective) denunciations of feminism, as well as quite a bit of mockery of those, male and female, whose physical attributes and personalities do not match what the "manosphere" would endorse.

I guess there is a kernel of truth to this; attractive, confident people--even narcissistic jerks--often do well with the opposite sex, and those who are not conventionally attractive do not do as well on average.  Even many feminists would agree that family law has gone too far in discouraging marriage and encouraging unwed parenting, I'd guess.

That noted, I've got to warn against the manosphere because the Scripture tells us that we are to flee from fornication, that a man of God is to wash his wife in the Word and sacrifice himself for her (Ephesians 5), and that he is to treat her with respect as the weaker vessel (1 Peter 3:7), or else his prayers will not be heard.

Put gently, those who hold strongly to the principles of the "manosphere" will tend to find themselves in about the same position, spiritually, as does Mr. Beale as he uses a ludicrous straw man argument to deny the Trinity; either in the position of not knowing God at all, or in the position of one who will suffer loss in the final judgement.  If you're tempted by this movement, consider yourself warned.

Here's your sign, Governor

....and yours too, Senatress Rosen.  What for?  Well, Mr. Dilettante explains; the electronic pull-tabs (lose your money to the TV monitor!) that were supposed to pay for the new Crystal Cathedral Viqueens stadium have just about "broken even" in terms of profit, which of course means that after the costs of problem gambling are accounted for--divorce, counseling, incarceration, etc..--the program is running a serious loss. 

But it's not like we should have known, because after all, the Taxpayers' League of Minnesota has only been warning about this for a decade or so.  Whatever you think of legalized gambling, the adrenaline rush it creates in its participants does impose societal costs, after all.

Also interesting is a look at ViQueens owner Zygi Wilf's finances.  He, along with other junior partners, owns a portfolio including 25 million square feet of business development along with the ViQueens.  Overall, a ballpark estimate of the value would be around six billion bucks, plus or minus.

However, Wilf's actual net worth is estimated at only $310 million (Sports Illustrated, 2011), indicating that those voting for the stadium bill ignored the fact that, being heavily leveraged, Wilf's finances are likely quite volatile--not a good thing when Wilf and his partners are on the hook (theoretically) for hundreds of millions of dollars more than he's got.

So if you supported the new Crystal Cathedral; here's your sign.

How do you say "here's your sign" in Korean?

Architects are looking to build a tower as high as the Willis Sears Tower with a very interesting feature; it will have a set of cameras and an imaging system that allow it to appear virtually "invisible".  What could possibly go wrong?  It's not like anyone ever accidentally crashed into a building because they couldn't see it, as anyone who's ever visited the 78th and 79th floors of the Empire State Building (hit by a B25 in 1945) knows full well.

Here's your sign.

Here's your sign, Grand-dad

A Kentucky grandfather has built a dream playhouse for his grand-daughter.  It's got beautiful woodwork, furniture, flooring, log cabin style, a porch, windows, a steel door, red steel roof, vaulted ceilings and  a chandelier, and....

.....it's 50 feet off the ground on top of an old silo.  OK, let me think about this; toddler in a playhouse 50 feet off the ground with windows and doors that open.  What could possibly go wrong?

Here's your sign, Grand-dad, as Mr. Foxworthy would say.  Just because you can do something doesn't mean it's a good idea. 

Born that way? Maybe not

According to World Magazine, this year's NEA convention featured the ironically named "Unheard Voices" (how are they unheard if they're on center stage?), which has as its purpose more or less normalizing most any form of homosexual, bisexual, or transsexual behavior.  Particularly interesting was a comment by one such person, Mr. Jamison Green, who noted that his "first lover suggested to me that I might enjoy having a sex change."

Let's go through the obvious first; sensible people would respond  to a suggestion to sexually mutilate themselves by ending the relationship and would probably get a restraining order and perhaps even an emergency carry permit.

That aside, Mr. Green's boyfriend has actually said something very important about his "homosexuality"; he thought it would be really cool if Mr. Green looked superficially like a Miss Green..  So is Mr. Green's boyfriend really homosexual, or is he actually heterosexual, but cannot connect with women--and thus his best option is to make a homosexual male (with whom he can connect) superficially "female"?  It's a question I hope researchers, not to mention specialists in genital mutilation ("gender reassignment surgeons"), start to ask.

And, for that matter, if the NEA can let such an obvious implication of Mr. Green's testimony go unnoticed, are their members really qualified to educate your children?  Or are they more interested in indoctrination?  I'm afraid the answer is pretty obvious here.

Random thoughts......

Fox had two "serves you right" moments this morning.  First, a UK rapist discovered his victim was HIV positive--possibly administering the Biblical death sentence for forcible rape--and next, the AFL-CIO lost a longshoremen's union as an affiliate because they're not taking a strong stance regarding the Health Insurance Deform Act, aka "Obamacare."

In Chicago, the chief of police has noted publicly that his department will be shooting any armed person seen holding a gun.  Sounds like a great way to enrich lawyers who specialize in wrongful death, to get police officers and innocents killed, and to end up spending a term in jail.  However, not so hot when it comes to, say, "law enforcement" or "public safety."  One would think that a chief of police might be educated on these matters--how carry permit holders do not pose a threat to their neighbors--but apparently learning "facts" is outside the scope of his terms of employment.

Finally, spent Labor Day with a group of at least 50 fellow homeschoolers, and it was a huge blessing to be around dozens of teens without ever seeing anyone inappropriately dressed.  We also noted that there were more infants in attendance than you'll see in many maternity wards these days.

In which I (almost) agree on somthing with Michelle Obama

Or, rather, I actually do; I would agree that instead of the "Real Italian Pizza" I endured as a young skull full of mush, that it would be a good thing for schools to serve something more along the lines of the "Mayo Clinic Diet" to students.

Of course, feeding wheat bread, milk with 1% butterfat, and vegetables to children is more easily said than done, and both school districts and students are increasingly rejecting the "Obameals".  

School districts unsurprisingly are finding out that real food is more expensive than the "imitation food" I grew up with, laden with white flour, sugar and high fructose corn syrup, and various forms of vegetable fats.

The students, on the other hand, are very interesting in how they respond.  Many complain about the 750 calorie target (adequate for most grown men) while throwing away not only broccoli, but also things like apples, pears, and milk.

Now having run cross country and track, I would concede that 750 calories is a bit on the lean side for a competitive runner or swimmer, but for non-athletes, it's perfectly sufficient.  What's really interesting is that Dennis the Menace's "let me give you more reasons I won't eat my carrots" has been transformed into today's "I won't eat anything but a short list of fast, refined, food."

Now the likely answers to this are where I part company with Mrs. Obama.   Her "top down" solutions run into the reality that, since the 1930s, the government has been telling us to eat our vegetables and providing a school lunch with a slab of mystery meat, bread, starch, vegetables, and fruit, along with a carton of 2% milk.  As far as it goes, it's not a bad plan.

However, Dennis learned to eat his carrots, historically speaking, because Alice responded to his "I'm hungry" with "your carrots are waiting."  Government, on the other hand, throws the carrots into the dumpster after lunch and offers him a cookie when he finds he's hungry around 2pm.  Maybe instead of reworking nutritional advice, government simply needs to get out of the business of promoting family breakdown (and subsidizing corn and dairy) and see what happens.

A very interesting question on Syria

Lost in the hubbub over the atrocities in Syria is something very telling; our intelligence services (see Mr. D.'s blog for details) are claiming that there is "very little doubt" that Syria has used chemical weapons on her own people based on the number of people injured and killed, as well as the pattern of injuries suffered.

Now that's very interesting, but that's something I don't exactly need James Bond to figure out.  I can glean that from the newswire reports.  It raises a very interesting question; can it really be true that 12 years after losing nearly 3000 innocents in the attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and elsewhere, we do not have enough spies in the Middle East to get better information than we can get from the AP and Reuters?

Granted, the CIA can't show all their cards at once for fear of revealing their sources, but one would expect that they would at least be able to say something that the AP hadn't already reported on.