Too Much

Pictures, we got pictures!

(Scroll down.)

Earlier this week, I found out that one of my accounts, for 25 years, has decided to bolt the doors.

Landlords, attempting to squeeze the last ounce of blood from a treacherous economy, are driving entrepreneurs out of business. (Those bastards!) The good news is, those bastards will be replaced by the next generation of landlords, who, hopefully, follow a more conservative model of investment. I had a chance to sell my place a few years back, for almost four times what I paid. I declined, thinking, what type of place could I afford to buy under these inflated prices?

As it turns out, I was brilliant. Of course, I could have taken the profits without capital gains, put in a small down, and attempted to walk away when the market bubble burst. But you and I know that in the subsequent lawsuit, I'd have lost everything, anyway. (Unless I had buried the money somewhere. Which I probably would have done. And then, faced federal prosecution. I don't want to live in a federal pen. That's just me.)

Markets are serious things. They are invisible, and while quantifiable, rarely quantified. I believe that we tend to overvalue every thing in our lives, from ourselves to our children, to our cars and toys, to our involvement in the community. And this is not an anti-capitalist diatribe. Far from it. I believe that the values we, or others, place upon our possessions are more important to those who attempt to repudiate capitalism. What value of repudiation can occur in a blissful, utopian state? So, those who do the most to stir up derision amongst us are those who most strongly repudiate possession of things. And are most adamant towards their ownership of things. My next-door neighbor has a boat. I don't. I don't care.

Capitalist.

My next-door neighbor has a boat. That's unfair.

Socialist.

My friend, over almost thirty years, is losing her business. The Republican War on Women.

We scored one here, Skippy!

I've spent a lot of time in her shop, talking in groups to her employees, and working with her on her business plan. When you have a conservative business plan, things should work out. When she learned that her major supplier was building a store in her market, it broke her heart and spirit. Repping a national manufacturer for 25 years, and then finding that they were willing to put her out of business happens. Their business model trumped hers. I'm out trying to find companies to take over for her other profit centers. The national product wasn't all that she provided, in terms of goods and services, locally. This market will be under served as a result of her throwing in the towel. But her central retail market was based upon a product provided to her through her "authorized distributor" agreement with a national company. Living in a small market, one simply wouldn't look to ones distribution agreement to protect one from the master supplier.

Live and learn. If you have a master supplier, get a non-compete.

Lessons learned.

Now, for a brief recap of all the stupid going on.

Sen. Jeff Merkley is touting his pork barreling for "health care."

I'll put his press release at the bottom of this post, since it is space consuming, and why make you read his drivel. If you choose to read it, fine. Otherwise, the Senator is attempting to tell "us" that we're better off from his distribution of federal funds, due to his efforts. You and I know that federal funds is simply a way of saying money taken from working folks in order to pay for stuff that no reasonable person would pay for.

Here's an item: "Oregon Public Health gets creative to improve health through breastfeeding support." Thank God. Imagine the paleontologists in the next millennium looking back at us. These simple mammals who couldn't figure out how they were mammals. Without support from their government.

Man, are we stupid. Again, the whole thing, at the bottom.

Pictures!

We got pictures!

This accident closed the highway between Washington and Oregon, this morning. I believe that if you click on the pics, you'll get a larger picture. All I'm saying is, imagine the rate of speed of these two vehicles, to collide, and then end up so far from each other. A young man died in this crash.

And finally, here's a presser from the local roller derby girls.

Have a great day. And, how's that hope and change thing workin' out for you?

The Shanghaied Roller Dolls
Present

The 70's Cult Classic Movie "Roller Boogie" followed by Live Music
May 12, 2012 at 9:00 p.m.
The Columbian Theater
1102 Marine Drive
Astoria, OR 97103

Roller derby has come to the North Oregon Coast!  The Shanghaied Roller Dolls is a flat track women’s roller derby league that was founded in September of 2011 in Clatsop County.  The league is a non-profit organization with the State of Oregon, has recently gained membership with the United States Roller Sports Association (USARS) and is currently working towards membership into the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), the governing body for women’s flat track roller derby.

The Shanghaied Roller Dolls have been practicing hard and plan on their first public scrimmage later this summer and a bout later this year.  To prepare for the costs, they will be hosting a fundraising movie event on May 12, 2012 at 9:00 p.m. at the Columbian Theater.  The Dolls will be showing the 1970's rollerskating classic, "Roller Boogie", followed by live music and raffle prizes!  Only $5 gets you in for both movie and music!  Dress in your best 70's outfit and join the Shanghaied Roller Dolls for this super fun, disco event!

For more information contact the Shanghaied Roller Dolls at SRDLeague@gmail.com or "like" us on Facebook at Shanghaied Roller Dolls Fans.

News Release . . .

United States Senate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                            Contact:  Julie Edwards (Merkley) – 202-224-8841
May 2, 2012                                                                                          Jennifer Hoelzer (Wyden) – 202-224-3789

Merkley, Wyden Announce Grants for Oregon Health Centers

Grants will help more Oregonians receive affordable, accessible health care

Washington, DC- Today, Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Department of Health and Human Services has awarded nearly $10 million to ten health centers across Oregon to expand access to quality health care. Funding for these awards come from the health reform law passed in 2010 and will ensure residents have access to essential medical services while creating jobs.   

“Access to timely, affordable preventive and routine medical care is key to keeping our families healthy and getting our health care costs under control,” Merkley said.  “These investments in health care centers in Oregon will get more people in front of health care providers to ensure they are not facing major, costly problems in the future.  Affordable, accessible health care should be a right for all Oregonians.  Giving our health care centers the tools they need to serve more Oregon families is a step in the right direction.”

“For many Oregonians, especially in rural areas, community health centers are an important life line for access to quality healthcare,” Wyden said. “These grants are an investment in not just community health centers but the overall health of our communities. Increasing access to affordable, quality healthcare is one of the most important things that we can do for our residents and I am happy to see these grant awards are moving us toward that goal.”

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act included $9.5 billion to expand services over five years and $1.5 billion to support major construction and renovation projects at community health centers nationwide for 2012 through 2014. The funds announced today are in a series of awards that will be made available to health centers under the Affordable Care Act. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) oversees the program. A list of today’s awardees is below:

Organization Name	City	Amount of Award	Title Of Grant Project
Central City Concern	Portland	$500,000.00	Capital Development
Clackamas County Community Health Division	Oregon City	$436,526.00	Capital Development
Clackamas County Community Health Division	Oregon City	$1,103,763.00	Health Center Cluster
Community Health Center, Inc.	Medford	$498,990.00	Capital Development
Community Health Centers of Benton and Linn Counties	Corvallis	$1,506,719.00	Health Center Cluster
Lane County	Eugene	$500,000.00	Capital Development
Lincoln County Health and Human Services	Newport	$500,000.00	Capital Development
Siskiyou Community Health Center, Inc.	Grants Pass	$3,483,500.00	Capital Development
Umpqua Community Health Center	Roseburg	$208,417.00	Capital Development
Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center	Cornelius	$419,764.00	Capital Development
White Bird Clinic	Eugene	$449,633.00	Capital Development
Oregon total		$9,607,312.00

###

jamal raad

deputy press secretary

oregon's senator jeff merkley

@senjeffmerkley | jeff's facebook | (202) 224.3753

jamal_raad@merkley.senate.gov

May 2, 2012
Media contact: Public Health Division communications: 971-246-9139, or PHD.Communications@state.or.us
Oregon Public Health gets creative to improve health through breastfeeding support
25 Oregon counties gear up for breastfeeding promotion projects
Oregon Public Health is exploring creative ways to make Oregon one of the healthiest states, including reducing heart disease and obesity by promoting breastfeeding.
Oregon’s Nutrition and Health Screening Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) promotes breastfeeding as a way to achieve optimal health for babies by reducing the risk of many health problems such as obesity, diabetes and asthma. Mothers who choose formula over breastfeeding have a greater risk of high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure, which can contribute to heart disease and stroke. Breastfeeding can also help mothers lose their pregnancy weight gain more quickly.
“Increasing breastfeeding rates by reducing the many barriers could save more than $13 billion a year in health care costs nationwide,” said Sue Woodbury, Oregon Public Health WIC program manager.
Most Oregon moms start out breastfeeding their babies – 90 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But only 21 percent of Oregon mothers breastfeed exclusively for the recommended six months.
“Grant funds are giving WIC agencies across Oregon the opportunity to implement unique ways to eliminate barriers to breastfeeding,” said Woodbury. “Their efforts range from improving breastfeeding support in worksite and childcare settings, to creating support groups with lactation specialists. Each community has different needs.”
In 2011, Oregon WIC won a WIC Breastfeeding Performance Bonus award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for having one of the highest breastfeeding rates in the nation. That award funds local breastfeeding support projects.
For nearly 40 years, WIC has provided Oregon mothers and children with nutrition education, breastfeeding support, health assessments, and improved access to health care and nutritious foods. The program serves about 112,000 people in Oregon every month.
"For more information about breastfeeding support projects across Oregon, read the complete descriptions here: http://public.health.oregon.gov/HealthyPeopleFamilies/Babies/Breastfeeding/Documents/WICSpecialProjects/ProjectDescriptionsCoordinatorInfo.pdf (pdf) or view the map here: http://public.health.oregon.gov/HealthyPeopleFamilies/Babies/Breastfeeding/Documents/WICSpecialProjects/WICSpecialProjectsMap.pdf (pdf)."




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