Early Retirement Tip for Boomers and Financial Planners
November 30, 2008
Double Dip Social Security – Raise Your Living Standard
http://www.esplanner.com/Case%20Studies/double_dip/double_dip.htm
Lecture @ UNLV – “The Role of Race and Gender in the 2008 Election”
November 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 3
at 7 p.m. – UNLV Beam Music Center (Doc Rando) Recital Hall
With writer/commentators Farai Chideya, Susan Faludi, and Katha Pollitt. Moderated by Dina Titus, UNLV professor of political science.
Farai Chideya is a multimedia journalist who has worked in print, television, and online; her latest book is Trust: Reaching the 100 Million Missing Voters. She currently hosts NPR’s “News and Notes.” Susan Faludi is the author of Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man and Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction. Her most recent book, The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America, examines the post-9/11 outpouring in the media, popular culture, and political life. A regular columnist for The Nation, Katha Pollitt’s writing has also appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Ms., and The New York Times, among other venues. Her volume of personal essays, Learning to Drive and Other Life Stories, has just appeared in paperback. Dina Titus has taught American and Nevada government in the Department of Political Science at UNLV for 30 years. She was elected by Nevadans in the third congressional district to represent them in Congress.
The Number “7″
November 25, 2008
Sue refers in her email (see below) to those pesky elected Dems as the 7 apocalypses. Is she also referring to the 7 Deadly Sins? She should also be mindful of Seven Emperors of Rome, the Seven Sages of Sumaria, the Seven Sacraments of Catholicism, the Seven Virtues, Seven Days of a Week, the Seven blessings recited at a Jewish wedding ceremony, the Seven Seas, the Seven Heavens of Islam, Seven Wonders of the World, and the Seven Hindu Worlds.
Then there are Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Seven Years in Tibet, the Seven Dwarfs, the Magnificent Seven, Seven Samurai, the Seven Year Itch, the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and seven Harry Potter books. The Number “7″ can be lucky or existential as in The Seventh Seal in Revelations.
Take Your Pick!
What’s Sue Lowden Have Against the Nevada Arts Council?
November 24, 2008
In a recent “for Nevada Republican eyes only” email State Republican Chair Sue Lowden made an Emergency Appeal outlining the “Seven Signs of the Political Apocolypse”. The “Seven” are all the Democrats now voted in by Nevadans to hold office from Barack Obama, to Harry Reid, to Dina Titus, to Shelley Berkley, to Steve Horsford, to Barbara Buckley, to the all-Democrat County Commission.
Lowden then rallies her troops to “just say no” (where have I heard that phrase?) to non-essential government spending, and then states, “Throwing criminals in jail is an essential, legitimate government function. The Nevada Arts Council is not!” Hmmm. So much for “quality of life” programs.
Sue then brands all Democrats as ”socialists” and conservative Republicans as “free thinkers”. Hmmm, again.
Sue’s email (to “fellow travelers”) does allude to the fact that her “free thinking” Republican conservatives were much like “herding cats” (my words, not hers), which contributed to their disorganization and utter failure at the ballot box in the last election. She then quotes Thomas Paine’s “times that try men’s souls”, alluding to the Republicans as Patriots, a “brand” that Republicans have always staked as their own. Then Sue concludes with “Together, united in common cause, even in the minority, we can beat back the growing tide of socialism at our door.” (Music bed rises. “Battle Hymn of Republic” plays.)
Of course, Sue promotes as “Our Motto” – “Red Again in 2010″, which has a certain Leninist appeal, don’t you think?
Oh, then Sue bids “God bless you”, (I think she’s only talking about Republicans who also, until recently, have claimed “God” as their own as well), and has God bless this Christmas holiday season.
Yeah, but what about that Nevada Arts Council? Well . . . Bah Humbug!
Sue Lowden’s Letter
November 24, 2008
Subject: Emergency Appeal
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2008 6:49 PM
From: Nevada Republican Party <info@nevadagop.org>
To: Nevada Republicans <info@nevadagop.org>
Conversation: Emergency Appeal
EMERGENCY APPEAL WARNING: SEVEN SIGNS OF THE POLITICAL APOCOLYPSE APPEAR IN NEVADA!
Dear Fellow Republican, First. No excuses. No spin. No “lipstick on a pig.” We lost. Big time. Nevada went blue. Media bias. ACORN. Harry Reid. Organized labor. The Obama Effect. Third parties. It doesn’t matter. We lost. We can either fix blame or we can fix the problems. We can either quit. Or fight on.
I choose to fight. I hope you’ll join me. You can by volunteering here <http://www.nevadagop.org/Secure/VolunteerSignUp.aspx> or donating here <https://www.fundraisingbynet.net/fbn/ContributePac.asp?guidRegistration=5D575E58> .
Because just like in sports, there’s always a next season (except when the players union goes on strike). And I suspect Obama and the Democrats, like the Clintons before them, are going to over-reach and move too far Left too fast and the country will be ready to give Republicans another shot.
Our motto should be: Red Again in 2010.
But it’ll only happen if over the next two years we get our ‘stuff’ together, find our collective ‘inner Reagans’ and return to the limited-government conservative principles this nation was founded upon.
We tried ‘big government Republicanism.’
It failed miserably.
We Republicans need to get our ‘groove’ back, learn the ‘right’ lessons from 2008, and be prepared to earn back the trust of the voters at both the state and national levels.
And we need to do it by proudly running on what we believe, not running away from it. We won’t win by being ‘Democrat Lite.’ And we won’t win running down the middle of the political road. As former House Majority Leader Dick Armey notes, the only thing you find in the middle of the road is a yellow stripe and dead armadillos.
Seriously, though. What good is the GOP to the citizens of Nevada if all we’re going to do is raise taxes a little less than Democrats or expand government a little slower than Democrats?
Are you with me?
I hope so. Because for the next two years Nevada will be living under what might best be referred to as ‘The Seven Signs of the Political Apocalypse.’
1.) Democrat President Barack Obama
2.) Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
3.) Democrat Congresswoman Dina Titus
4.) Democrat Congresswoman Shelley Berkley
5.) Democrat State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford
6.) Democrat State Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley
7.) An all-Democrat Clark County Commission
Folks, we’re in for a world of hurt!
All of these folks are pre-disposed to raise taxes. It’s hard-wired into their system. However…
Voters in the election also spoke on this issue. Loudly. Clearly. ‘No new taxes.’
Make no mistake. Nevadans do not want their taxes raised. Period. No way. No how. Consider the following:
Question 4 on the statewide ballot asked Nevada voters if they wanted to allow the Legislature to change the ‘Sales & Use Tax Act’ without a vote of the people – which many rightly saw as a first step toward taxing the Internet. It was crushed, 73 percent to 27 percent.
Question 1 on the Carson City ballot asked for a mere 1/8th of 1 percent hike in the sales tax for a tourist railroad project billed by proponents as critical for economic development. It was crushed by 61 percent to 39 percent.
Question 2 on the Carson City ballot asked for a property tax hike for cops and firefighters. It was crushed worse than the V&T railroad question Ð 69 percent to 31 percent.
Question 1 in Washoe County would have raised sales and vehicle taxes for the public school district. It was crushed 55 percent to 45 percent.
Question 2 in Washoe County would have raised the sales tax a mere 1/8th of 1 percent for public transportation. It was crushed 64 percent to 36 percent.
Question 4 in Washoe County would have raised property taxes for fire protection. It lost 52 percent to 48 percent.
And get this: In a recent poll, 2/3 of Clark County residents said they’d rather accept money from the federal government in exchange for Yucca Mountain than have their taxes raised!
This isn’t just a Nevada phenomenon. Voters across the country ‘just said no’ to tax hikes in the election. Consider this recap from Steven Moore of Political Diary:
“Arizonans voted to ban transfer taxes on property sales by 77% to 23%. Maine voters repealed an alcohol and soda pop tax by 64% to 36%. Coloradoans rejected a teensy 0.2 percentage point sales tax hike to benefit the disabled by 63% to 37%. Floridians defeated a measure that would have allowed localities to propose new sales taxes to benefit community colleges by 57% to 43%”
“The left’s latest crusade to impose ‘fat taxes’ on McDonalds and other fast food purchases was clobbered in localities in North Carolina and Virginia, even as these voters helped elect Barack Obama. Finally, one of the biggest successes for anti-tax activists was defeating an amendment to gut the spending limits in Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, despite huge money spent by the spending constituencies.”
So the road to recovery and redemption starts with Republicans re-committing themselves to the historical glue which holds our various right ‘wings’ together: Opposition to tax hikes. That issue transcends party affiliation and puts us on the side of voters.
Opposing tax hikes is a conservative issue. And it’s a ballot box winner. Republican elected officials abandon this issue at our own peril.
But it’s not responsible to just say ‘no’ to tax hikes and yet continue to vote for bigger and bigger budgets. Republicans need to learn to say ‘no’ to non-essential government spending, as well. Because as Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) says, ‘Once created, government programs are nearly impossible to eliminate.’
The debate, of course, is over what is ‘essential’ and what isn’t.
Throwing criminals in jail is an essential, legitimate government function.
The Nevada Arts Council is not!
Everyone seems to have forgotten how we got into the current budget mess to start with. As the Las Vegas Review Journal reported in June 2005, “Between 1994 and 2005, state spending increased by 147.5 percent. The paper further noted that ‘no state budget is growing faster than Nevada’s.”
The Left, and some big government Republicans – claim this out-of-control spending splurge was necessary to keep up with the state’s growth. However, as the RJ pointed out, had legislators limited spending increases to the rate of population growth plus inflation, the budget over that period of time would have grown by only 93 percent.
Fellow Republicans, make no mistake. This issue of taxes-and-spending will be THE issue of the upcoming legislative session.
The pressure to raise taxes will be enormous. On the other hand, the appetite to cut government to its bare essentials will be virtually non-existent.
Yes, Republicans lost big in the elections this year. But it was due, in large part, to our failure to stick with our limited-government principles on taxes and spending. We’re about to get another chance, because the next fight is right around the corner.
As this letter goes to print, Gov. Gibbons is mulling another Special Session of the Legislature to deal with the budget crunch.
And the regular session with Democrat majorities in both the state Senate and Assembly will convene in less than three months. Ominously, I’m told there may be as many as two dozen tax hike bills already being drafted by the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
Now, more than ever, it’s critically important for the Republican Party to stand up for Nevada’s citizens against higher taxes and non-essential government spending. To do that:
I need your help <https://www.fundraisingbynet.net/fbn/ContributePac.asp?guidRegistration=5D575E58> !
I know you’re feeling dejected with the election results. Believe me, you’re not alone.
And I know times are tight financially for every American family.
But we Republicans have an important choice to make: Do we give up and let President-elect Obama’s socialist-Democrats win? Or do we pick ourselves up and fight them with everything we’ve got?
I know that conservative Republicans – being the free-thinkers we inherently are – don’t always agree on every issue. And I know in the last election cycle we weren’t as unified as we should have been. Mistakes were made. Things were said.
I take full responsibility for that – and promise to work faithfully to bring us back together and repair any damage in the months ahead.
But first things first.
We spent every last dime we had on the 2008 elections. Mother Hubbard’s cupboard is bare.
So I’m asking you to send an emergency donation <https://www.fundraisingbynet.net/fbn/ContributePac.asp?guidRegistration=5D575E58> to the Nevada Republican Party today so that we can continue to be fully engaged as the state’s new Battle of the Budget commences.
Whatever you can spare. $500,$100,$50,$25. Even $10 will go a long way.
Just click HERE <https://www.fundraisingbynet.net/fbn/ContributePac.asp?guidRegistration=5D575E58> to make your secure, online donation
Or mail your check made out to:
Nevada Republican Party
8625, W Sahara Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89117
As I look at the ‘spread the wealth’ socialism Barack Obama, Harry Reid and the Democrats have in mind for our nation and our state, I can’t help but recall the immortal words of Thomas Paine:
‘These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.’
Will you stand with me now – as you have in the past? Together, united in common cause, even in the minority, we can beat back the growing tide of socialism at our door.
And maybe, just maybe, Republicans can earn back the trust and support of voters in 2010.
Sincerely yours,
Sue Lowden
Chairman
P.S. Since we’re in the unique American season of giving thanks, please allow me to thank you for your generous past support of our efforts! And thank you for whatever support you can give us again today. May God bless you and your family this Christmas holiday season.
Futurist Leanne Kaiser Carlson Shares Her Six Steps to Innovation
November 24, 2008
AHIP HI-WIRE
November 24, 2008
Futurist and Co-Founder of the Kaiser Foundation, Leanne Kaiser Carlson addressed the attendees of AHIP’s Business Forum 2008 on Tuesday afternoon.
She began her address by asserting that while we are in the midst of profound change, the health care industry should see this for the opportunity it is. Ms. Carlson noted that a year ago, we would likely have labeled a 700 billion dollar bailout as socialism. Today, it is a way to save capitalism. Ms. Carlson suggests that we have no idea what idea that seems crazy today will be reality in a year, but if innovation is a core component of your business you can be ready.
Ms. Carlson then discussed the promise of health care in the future. Health is a growth field, Ms. Carlson explained, not only because of the amount of money spent on it but also its importance to everyone and the unique confluence of technologies that are on the cusp of revolutionizing health. Ms. Carlson showed examples of how computing, nanotech, neurotech, and genomics are coalescing to enhance human performance, human life, and human health from thought-controlled bionic limbs to artificial legs that are faster then human legs.
Then Ms. Carlson asked if the health care industry is ready for that kind of dramatic change. She asserts that the industry is not ready and recommended six steps that will help any organization to focus on the innovation necessary to be ready for the future.
1. Pay attention to what is going on around you.
Ms. Carlson’s first suggestion was to keep an eye on innovations that don’t look like they are relevant to health care and imagine what would happen if it intersected with health care. She pointed out that Carol.com (www.carol.com) is what happened when health care intersected with an eBay concept, and we can also see combinations of spas + aging and health care + handhelds out in the market place.
2. Create an innovation imperative.
Ms. Carlson acknowledged the tendency for day-to-day survival to crowd out innovation and so recommended that innovation must be the most important task for the organization and each employee in that organization. She remarked that some companies mandate that every single employee implement at least two innovations every year.
3. Begin a specific fund for innovation and development.
Ms. Carlson noted that a lot of businesses have R&D funds. In fact, she once met someone in the cattle business who contributes $1 of every cattle sold to their R&D fund. Ms. Carlson asserted that if the cattle business could have an R&D fund so then health care should as well.
4. Understand the landscape of innovation.
| Basic information on the 10 Types of Innovation ™ and Innovation Landscape ™ can be found on the Doblin, Inc. Web site. |
If only 5% of all innovations attempted succeed, how do we determine which ones to pursue? Ms. Carlson asked this question and then outlined some work done by Doblin, Inc. (now a member of Monitor Group) to identify different types of innovations and how to use that knowledge to find the best opportunities. Ms. Carlson suggests making sure you attempt many different kinds of innovation as possible and focusing on innovations neglected by others in your field.
5. Create a culture of rapid prototyping.
Where health care plans tend to spend lots of time and effort rolling out relatively few pilot programs, Ms. Carlson would rather see the industry cheaply and rapidly start lots of little experiments that can be abandoned quickly or ramped up as needed. She pointed out that this approach allows a company to try more things and makes it easier to abandon projects that aren’t working.
Ms. Carlson asserted that prototyping is crucial because we can’t anticipate everything and learn more by trying then by thinking.
6. Break competitive boundaries.
Ms. Carlson’s final recommendation was to see more partners and fewer competitors around us. She asserted that the health care industry can not make everything a competitive issue. Do we really think we can solve current health care problems by ourselves? Ms. Carlson asked.
Ms. Carlson concluded that there is no better time to be in the health care field then right now.
10 Types of Innovation @ Doblin.com
November 24, 2008
WSJ-”Did Michelangelo Have a Hidden Agenda?” by Cathryn Drake
November 20, 2008
Never mind the Da Vinci Code — what about Michelangelo’s secret messages?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122661765227326251.html?mod=djemWMP
Let Speaker Barbara Buckley Know Your Priorities for Nevada
November 20, 2008
If you are concerned about education, roads, the arts, parks or public safety, let Speaker of the House Barbara Buckley know of your concerns and priorities. Go to her website and voice your opinions. I did.
Health insurers back universal coverage mandate
November 20, 2008
Articles abound on the subject:
NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/us/20health.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin
Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=axooOa9vVGnc&refer=healthcare
AP:
AP Murphy:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jplyo5XCZt-sbgL21ggOoqg5nC3QD94I8HP80
Obama Healthplan:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122714181668742739.html.html
Forbes – 20 Reasons Why We Aren’t Consuming by Nouriel Roubini
November 20, 2008
Budget Crunch Should Lead to Longterm Solution – Leadership Needed Now
November 19, 2008
This is not the time to throw our children’s education and their futures “under the bus”. It’s time to demand that our Legislators step up and enact equitable and long-range tax policies. This requires a broad-based tax initiative that provides revenue from ALL profitable Nevada businesses, including an increase in gaming taxes. The solution it NOT to cut education at any level in Nevada as we already rank below any reasonable standard of academic measurement. Nevadans get what they pay for and investment in education is well worth the price paid for our State’s long-term economic growth and the continued upward mobility of the residents of our communities.
Nevada is one of the few States where businesses utilize our infrastructure and workers, and then take their non- or low-taxed profits to invest in ventures outside our State. What better time – during an economic downtown – to “fix” our inequitable tax system and create a reasonable and consistent revenue stream for not only education at all levels, but our roads, parks, community living spaces that add to the quality of life in our communities.
For our workforce to compete in a global economy requires the reshaping of our agrarian-based school model to one that meets the demands of a 21st-Century world. Nevadans need to support public and private initiatives which will ensure that our workforce will not be marginalized or obsolete in the decades ahead. Despite economic woes, leadership is needed at the legislature and in business to plan Nevada’s future.
Forbes – 100 Most Powerful Women
November 18, 2008
Forbes On POWER
November 18, 2008
Machiavelli, Churchill, Nietzsche, King James Bible, Dostoevsky, Hobbes . . .
Genetics 2.0 – Can Online Genetic Testing Predict the Future?
November 18, 2008
Want to check out your genes?
Try – >deCodeme, Navigenics, or >23 and me.
“We bank, shop and make friends online, so why not access our genetic profiles online?” Article by Bob Carlson – Biotechnology Healthcare Magazine
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/medimedia/bh_20080910/index.php?startid=11#/14
