I'm Sorry, So Sorry, Please Accept My Apology; I Was Too Blind To See

As regular readers know, I no longer have any emotional, partisan, or visceral reaction to ObamaCare. For me, it is simply a fascinating story to see how it unfolds.

But I haven't heard this song in a long time, and now there's a great opportunity to post it.

First, the story that led me to the song: NBC News has an exclusive -- the president says he's "sorry that some Americans are losing their current health insurance plans as a result of the Affordable Care Act, despite his promise that no one would have to give up a health plan they liked."

So sorry, I'm sorry, please accept my apology....

I'm Sorry, Brenda Lee

And it just keeps getting better. I assume this could be the theme song for Lee Hammack and JoEllen Brothers, loyal Obama supporters, who lost their insurance, but apparently still support the president.

Fool #1, Brenda Lee

Government Shutdown; New Jobs Added Exceeds Expectations; Beats "Magic Number" Of 200,000; Hell Freezes Over; Unemployment Back Up; Back Up To 7.3%

Regular readers know, with regard to "job watch," the magic numbers.


The Magic Numbers

First time claims, unemployment benefits: 400,000 (> 400,000: economic stagnation)

New jobs: 200,000 (< 200,000 new jobs: economic stagnation)

And, of course, I've never seen a "new jobs" number greater than 200,000 (and apparently neither has Yahoo!News based on the fact that it is a headline story at the moment. The number is 204,000 newly added jobs; higher than expected.

The U.S. economy added 204,000 jobs in October -- more than double the consensus -- and hiring for September and August were revised up by a combined 60,000, according to the Labor Department.

But get this: it occurred during the US government shutdown. Speaks volumes.

Later we will learn that all those furloughed US government workers went out and found temporary jobs doing the same thing for contractors still paid by the government. I assume a lot of the IT folks were hired by Ms Sebelius when she realized she was in deep do-do. (Is that how "deep do-do" is spelled?)

Friday: It's Announced -- His Sons Will Release 21 Orbison Albums Over The Next Two Years; There Are Few Things More Important Than The Bakken; This Is One Of Them

Holy mackerel! This might be worthy of a stand-alone post. Knowing folks will not read to the bottom of this page, I moved this to the top of the post! Roy Orbison's three living sons plan to release 21 records by their father over the next two years, including four studio albums that were never released and 13 that have been out of print for decades.

Active rigs: 181

RBN Energy: new regulations that will affect refineries.

Forty percent of the world’s fuel oil - the residual oil left over after extracting lighter products from crude oil - is used as bunker oil to power Ocean going vessels. Much of that fuel has relatively high sulfur content. Given that refineries sell fuel oil for less than the cost of crude – the bunkers market has traditionally been a convenient dumping ground for unwanted high sulfur residual fuel oil. New international regulations that came into force in 2012 drastically reduce the permitted sulfur content in bunkers after 2015 in the world’s populated coastal regions. Today we describe the impact the new rules could have on refiners.

The Wall Street Journal

It looks like Iran gets to keep its nukes. Incredible. And, as someone note, while Americans are losing their insurance. What a great country. President Obama secretly lifted sanctions on Iran some months ago -- incredible. But it also explains something I could not figure out -- why it was widely reported that Europe and Asia had begun trading with Iran again; anyone who doesn't think Mr Obama learned all he needed to know by kindergarten in his Muslim school is not thinking.
 
Finally, a front page story on Syria: Thousands of middle-class Syrians are trying to get to Europe's northern countries to seek asylum, but many refugees are stuck in the continent's south.

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One has to chuckle. Pundits said the 150-point drop in the market yesterday was due to the GDP coming in higher than expected at 2.8. This, in turn, investors fear, will result in .... disclaimer, this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on anything you read here or what you think you may have read here ... the Fed to cut back on printing money. Severl data points:

• Ms Yellen is said to like printing money even more than Mr Bernanke
• it's a sad state of affairs when the market is "frothy" due to easy money
• the 2.8% is about as reliable as the "job watch" numbers

I posted this yesterday, and TWSJ notes it today in a longer article: Gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, which was higher than economists expected, but consumer caution and political friction could be a drag in the coming months.

For everyone else, the 150-point drop yesterday was a buying opportunity. Or so some would say. Certainly not me. Disclaimer, this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on anything you read here or what you think you may have read here. Oh, I already said that.

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 So, how are US elementary students doing on achievement tests. Before reading the blurb, one must assume the achievement tests have been "dumbed down" over time. So, with that in mind, note this update:

Elementary-school students made modest progress on three of four national math and reading exams this year, but proficiency rates are still stubbornly below 50% on every test.

So, more than half of our elementary students score are not proficient in any area of study.

Does anyone care? I subscribe to the notion that one only has to be "faster, better, smarter, than the person next to you." And sometimes even luck plays a bigger role in life's success. Think mineral rights owners.

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Buried deep in the news, it is reported that Mr Obama has said "sorry" (for ObamaCare).  I guess it was buried because it was not news. He has spent most of his years in office apologizing to nations around the world for past US behavior.

This should be "good news" for my one reader from the great state of Florida: A housing allowance that military families receive could be targeted for cuts unless automatic spending reductions scheduled for coming years are rolled back.

The FDA is getting ready to ban trans fat. Too bad for Mr Arafat that polonium was not banned from what he was eating. But back to trans fat. After reading that trans fat was in margarine, I checked the margarine in my refrigerator. I'm safe. Also, McDonald's quit using trans fat decades ago. I'm safe. And I quit eating microwave popcorn some time ago. And I had my last Starbucks donut yesterday,so I'm safe. Black coffee at Starbucks only -- no sugar, no white stuff. I guess that's redundant. The sugar Starbucks uses is white.

That global recession? Not so fast. Chinese exports rebounded sharply in October from a September slump as demand improved in the U.S. and Europe, a potentially positive sign for the global economic outlook.

But Russia's boom is over, says "minister." I was unaware Russia had a boom. Except perhaps in vodka sales.

I assume folks will soon be outraged over this. Airlines are mining in-flight data to determine how fliers like their coffee and what kind of snack they are likely to order (I can't make this stuff up). No matter airline tickets are so expensive -- paying for IT. I think that's what screwed up ObamaCare -- the website was bogged down by questions regarding whether one takes coffee black or "with room for cream."

Holy mackerel! This might be worthy of a stand-alone post. Knowing folks will not read this far down, I will move this to the top of the post! Roy Orbison's three living sons plan to release 21 records by their father over the next two years, including four studio albums that were never released and 13 that have been out of print for decades. 

Target, The Retailer, Is Offering $200 For Old iPads

I have several non-Bakken posts ready to be posted, but they are in "draft" status, waiting to be posted later this morning or this afternoon. I like to have Bakken posts at the top of the blog when folks open up the blog first thing in the morning.

I often forget that rule, and there are exceptions.

This is an exception.

Target (the "retailer") is offering $200 for any and all old iPads brought to their electronics area. This is not a hoax; it really works, though not all Target employees are aware of the promotion. Read the comments at the link. (Actually, they will give you $200 for even a brand new iPad but, of course, that would not make a lot of sense, now would it?)

The promotion only lasts until tomorrow. If you are really, really quick, you can buy $100 iPads on Craig's list or eBay and bring them (all) in to Target for $200. Target wants you to trade in your old iPad for a new iPad bought at Target using that $200 but the $200 comes with only one restriction: it is in the form of a gift card, so it has to be spent at Target, but I doubt there is any expiration date on the gift card.

In the tech world, there are few deals better than this.

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Regular  readers know I am an Apple Fanboy. So, take the following with a grain of salt, a short note I sent a reader earlier today:

By the way, having said, last night was the first time I had the opportunity to actually hold in my hands the iPad Air, the iPad mini, and the new iPhone (not all at one time).

I was blown away.

They really are incredible. Any critic who suggests Apple is not innovating, and/or costs too much has no sense of what Apple has accomplished. Their products -- and I know I'm a fanboy -- are really incredible. And one can "buy in" for less than the cost of two monthly car payments. Actually, one can "buy in" for about half of one monthly premium for ObamaCare -- and ObamaCare insurance premiums never end.

The View Tax; NIMBY -- Some New Hampshire Folks Saying "No" To Wind Turbine; Beer-Fed Turkey

This is incredible, something I had not heard before. The folks in New Hampshire were not satisfied with the adage, "if it moves, tax it." They went one step further. Called the "View Tax" New Hampshire actually found a way to tax real property if its value is assessed to be greater due to a "great view." LOL. A reader sent me the wiki link, something I had never heard of before. Incredible. I forget but I believe New Hampshire was one of the original thirteen colonies upset about taxation issues. Of course, this is a bit different: New Hampshire, I guess, is taxing themselves, with representation. Whatever.

The "view tax" came up in context because of the following story:

A reader sent me this link/story. The Union Leader is reporting:

Ed Cherien, project manager for Iberdrola Renewables, faced a crowd of about 150 people at Alexandria Town Hall Tuesday night — most opponents of his company’s proposed Wild Meadows wind farm.

“I have been portrayed as a traitor,” the veteran leader of public hearings for the Spain-based wind power giant said. “I’m proud of the company I work for, just as people who work for Freudenberg in Bristol (owned by German and Japanese companies) are proud of the company they work for.”

Cherien has met with residents in Alexandria and surrounding towns several times in the past year about Wild Meadows wind farm, which would go on ridgelines visible to Newfound Lake and Cardigan Mountain. 

Tuesday night, he explained that the $150 million project had been reduced in size and scope to meet the concerns of residents. 

“I think you’re doing a marvelous job of telling us what’s right for you and your company,” said resident Jan Connor. “You’re just not telling us what’s right for us.”

For archival purposes only. I've lost interesting in the wind energy story. There is no redeeming reason for slicers and dicers: Germany and Spain found that out the hard way. 

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Speaking of New Hampshire: first there was beer can chicken, now there's beer-fed turkey, as reported by Yahoo.com (must be a slow news day):

Farmer Joe Morette of Henniker, New Hampshire literally stumbled upon his idea for making turkeys taste better. He says giving them beer instead of water was the result of a happy accident.

Beer Can Chicken