Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Lots of News and Dumb Stuff

Okay, this post took a long time. I began it about a week ago and then came back to finish it a week later. I don't have any idea what the end of it will look like as I will be incorporating lots of news that came out after the initial writing. By the way, my readers need to be inviting others to read the blog if they enjoy it, spread it.

This is going to be all over the place, hope you enjoy. To begin with, I was going to see my granddaughter this weekend; but, something came up with my daughter. Hey, at least when I retire, I will have more time to visit her and I read something very interesting.

CNN - Can heart attack damage be reversed? This is sort of amusing to me on a personal level; but, my answer is actually easy for me. I have had two heart attacks and they have left me with less stamina. Apparently, stem cells might now be capable of making me better and eliminating the damage done. I do not, did not have a bad heart. My heart attack was not caused by bad veins or blocked arteries. I have never been told that and they have spent an enormous amount of time testing me in ever conceivable way. My doctors have spared no expense in checking me out and have all cared deeply for me. My heart attacks were the result of very high blood pressure. Not unlike King Kong, it was tension killed the beast and me. LOL.

The article points out that my now damaged heart can be possibly be repaired using stem cells and the place where this can be done is close and knowing what I know, I could probably be allowed the procedure. This raises many fascinating questions for me. I know for a fact that my aorta and heart have received damage. I do not doubt that at all and my doctor and the specialists have assured me of the fact. No cure has been offered, nor is one expected to appear.

As far as I can understand, the article says that when you have a heart attack, you kill heart cells and never fully recover. You might get better; but, never regain what you had. I am much better than when I had my heart attacks; but, have not bounced back to what I was before they occurred. I know I will never get better and have no idea what a third heart attack would do to me. I need no stints nor bypasses, neither would help and eventually the blood pressure medication and other medications will indeed kill my organs. Still, I will not accept stem cell cures. I will not do it. All stem cell understanding came from killing babies. We would have come to the same conclusions if we hadn't killed babies; but that is how we got here. From a scientific position, new life, unique life begins at conception. To say otherwise is to disagree with basic science. I dare anyone to contradict me on this point.

Yahoo - Motoramic - Steve McQueen's restored Ferrari stampedes toward $12 million auction. Not long ago I had written about a family whose father owned a famous Ferrari, the father passed away and they sold the car for charity. It made even more at sale than had been anticipated. I actually exchanged e-mails with the daughter who now runs the company. I did not update on the sale because the daughter had exchanged information with me that she had asked me not to reveal and therefore I did not; but, I found her and her family to be quite amazing. In either case, while not a Ferrari person (more of a Lamborghini or De Tomasa guy), I sort remotely keep an eye on Ferraris now. Steve McQueen had actually tried to buy the Ferrari from the man I wrote about; but, he said no. Now a Ferrari owned by Mr. McQueen is on the block and expected to go for even more; but, this time, the money will not go to charity.

Yahoo - The downside of minimum wage hikes. Garbage arguments are always worth examining. Start with this, the CEO of a restaurant chain is claiming that if we don't raise the minimum wage then salaries will actually increase. That is the crux of his argument and is innately a flat out lie or just stupid. If you owned a company and there was no minimum wage, would you pay people more than you did when there was a minimum wage? Did the south increase the pay for slaves when they had no wage at all? The truth is, you cannot outsource Restaurant help.

Forbes - Raising Minimum Wage Is Not The Answer. I want you to read this short article that I linked to and as you read it I want you to think slavery rather than minimum wage. Think about the evil in it. If we eliminate the minimum wage, why not allow indentured servants as we once did or allow people to sell themselves into slavery, it would increase the number of people working? What is not discussed in these articles is the value of human life and effort.

The Washington Post - This is what happened when I drove my Mercedes to pick up food stamps. This is the story of a woman who excelled in her career, married well and then lost most of what she had and had to take food stamps to feed her family; but, still retained her Mercedes. An interesting read.

Huffington Post - The Ridiculous Minimum Wage Argument. A good argument and interesting math regarding the minimum wage.

Yahoo - Business Insider - This Company Saved A Lot Of Money By Tracking Their Employees With Fitbits. I told you  this was coming a long time ago and it is here. Giving up your personal privacy for a job, it is slavery. Read it, think about it and consider this being imposed on your children.

Forbes - The "Income Inequality" Debate Is Not About Income Inequality. This article, in Forbes of all places, appears to be against inherited wealth and in favor of merit pay. The owner of Forbes inherited his wealth. My belief goes beyond theirs, I don't believe one person should be able to own the world, I don't believe in that right. There was a movie, it was called the Devil and Daniel Webster. Mr. Webster was one of the greatest attorneys ever and a personal favorite. He argues that only God can own your soul.

Yahoo - The Cheat Sheet - The Income Gap Cycle Continues: Millionaire Heirs. The .01% are scared and are now arguing amongst themselves over who deserves the wealth. The meritocracy or the inheritors. They miss the real question, how much do the rest of us deserve.

YouTube - The Young Turks - Income Inequality ROCKS, says 'Shark Tank' Host Kevin O'Leary. You have to watch the video to believe it. This person believes the best thing is if one person owned everything and the rest of us had nothing.

Yahoo - The Detroit Bureau - Daimler demonstrates its driverless big rig on the Autobahn. Come on kids, I have written about this in the past, all vehicles being driverless and you at the will of the machine.

I think I provided a lot of stuff to think about, so think about it.