The Subtle Pullback

In a little noticed Associated Press report, President Barack Obama seems to be pulling back from his previous full court press to enact into law hurried healthcare legislation before the end of the August Congressional recess.

In the report by two AP reporters, Obama is quoted as saying, “Let’s pass reform by the end of this year.” That statement is an acknowledgement by the President that his own party wants him to slow down on this issue, and that his arm-twisting may not be enough to line up all the cats before the August deadline.

Reading from a script during a brief televised appearance early Tuesday afternoon, the President not once mentioned his August deadline. When it was finished, he quickly walked away, permitting no questions from reporters.

The President will now get more airtime on TV to try to get you in his corner. He then goes on the road to sell the program. Keep your thinking cap on. In healthcare, we don’t need the kind of fractured rescue plan that President Bush foisted upon the economy and which President Obama eagerly adopted and expanded.

Yes I Can: This Plan’s for You, Not for Me

Whatever anyone may say about the Obama health plan now being obsessively driven through Congress; whatever you may think about its merits; whether you are for it or against it, or undecided; whether any Washington decision-makers even fully comprehend the contents of this multi-inch thick bill; there is one incontrovertible and largely unknown fact about it:

A select power group of elite Washington officials are ensuring that none of its provisions will personally affect them in any way whatsoever.

They are the President of the United States, Barack Obama, chief proponent of this proposal, together with every single senator and congressperson walking the halls of the Capitol building. Acting in unison, they are assuring that this proposed legislation will completely exempt them from any and all of its provisions.

The President and each legislator on Capitol Hill will continue to enjoy the full benefits of a gold-plated health care plan guaranteed for life.

The President is on the stump solemnly intoning that the cost of medical care in this country must come down. But he is removing himself from any personal sacrifice that his proposed health legislation will require of ordinary Americans. Yet, Republicans and Democrats on The Hill continue to participate in this hypocritical sleight of hand.

What do you think?

Minding Their Own Bees-ness

Late Tuesday afternoon, I went outside to place four additional Russian Sage plants into the beds out front. Three others were already there, planted last fall, but they looked like they needed company. A few weeks ago, I had purchased more at Valley Brook Nursery on Route 22 East (just before the Spinning Wheel Diner).

The additional flora were sitting in their containers in the upper driveway near the house, patiently awaiting reunion with their lonely friends out front. Digging holes is a lot of work, and I had been postponing the job until the weather was reasonably cool, and until a steady breeze was ready to wick away the sweat to keep me from wilting.

Tuesday afternoon was the day – blue skies, puffy clouds, and dry temps with a gentle steady breeze. Out came the wheelbarrow and garden tools and off I went to my appointment with nature.

There are, as you outdoor gardening aficionados already know, certain types of outdoor plants that are nirvana for bees. Russian Sage meets their requirements: lots of fragrant flowers (albeit small) that need pollination and that the bees need for nectar. There also are other types of bees that don’t like people.

But not these friendly little Bridgewater guys – nothing but pure camaraderie between me and them, as I raked away the mulch, dug four holes, and set the plants into Mother Earth with a generous cushion of Canadian peat and black, rich USA garden soil to give the sage a good start.

I worked down on my knees among seven bee-friendly plants, as plenty of fat, three-quarter-inch-long black and yellow worker bees maneuvered in flight like miniature helicopters. They swarmed all over the sage and flew closely around me, within mere inches of my face and neck. At least one grazed me; I was that close to the sage.

Perfect harmony! The bees were getting what they needed and I, in return, would get the pleasure of good-looking blue and green, easy-maintenance flowering plants. The bees never thought of me as sting material – but only as a benefactor. They were just doing an honest day’s work, minding their own bees-ness. Amazing, isn’t it, how Mother Nature knows precisely what she is doing?

(Author’s caution: Not all bees are human-friendly. Anyone with a serious allergic reaction to bees should not follow my example!)

Photo Courtesy of JP Rogers Plant Library

Bridgewater Bits & Pieces

Back to School -- So Soon! The advertising supplements in this weekend’s newspapers (also known as free-standing inserts, or FSI’s) indicate a very early start for back-to-school shopping. The insert for Target has great values: only 50¢ for a pack of 20 Bic Cristal ballpoint pens – same price for a 24/pack of #2 pencils, etc. See the flyer for more good stuff.

The Staples insert features an 8/pack of pencils for 1¢, limit 2 packs per customer. For just a buck, you can purchase a 6/pack of Sharpie Accent highlighters, etc. There’s a coupon on the front page of the FSI for $5 off any in-store purchase of $20 or over. Other bargain-priced items, including electronic paraphernalia are also featured. ‘Easy rebates’ may apply to some of these purchases.

The insert for Best Buy, where Priscille once purchased a Kodak printer as a gift, features many good deals. (Microsoft is promoting a free upgrade to its new operating system, MS Windows 7, by mail, with all qualifying PC purchases.) Go directly to Microsoft’s web site for info about this new release, or Google “Windows 7 upgrade” for additional sources of information.

The Bed, Bath and Beyond insert offers practical back-to-college items. For example, a campus security safe equipped with an anchor for the storage of small valuable items sells for $19.99.

Depressed Real Estate: An attractive Bridgewater colonial in the northern section of the township which once would easily have fetched well over $500,000 was placed on the market early this year for $489,000. This well-designed and landscaped property is now offered at $439,000, a clear signal that the descent of housing prices in Bridgewater has not been arrested.

There is little that Washington can do about this, except to wait for the flood waters of the financial crisis to recede from their overflow levels and return to the main river channel. Nonetheless, national lending institutions may still be hoarding too much cash and prolonging the problem.

JPMorgan Chase(s) Me

The recorded messages on our answering machine asked me to call back. They started yesterday. It would be the beginning of discovering just how ugly a large financial institution can be when it gets on your tail, even in the case of a false identity.

When I responded to the first call, the person at the other end identified the institution as Card Services and would I please provide my account number, the agent requested. What account number, I said, I don’t even know who you are or why you are calling me. Washington Mutual, was the response. Could I have your social security number?

That’s when the red flags went up and the alarm bells started ringing. Never – ever – disclose your social security number to a person or institution you don’t know. Especially when the call is from an undisclosed location and the person is making cryptic inquiries without revealing any clarifying data.

The voice had a foreign accent, and its persistence in trying to obtain my social security number justified suspicions that this might be a sophisticated multinational identity theft ring trying to break into my credit records.

I spoke with at least half a dozen agents who have been pestering me over the last two days, each one wanting my social security number. (Washington Mutual is a failed bank that was acquired by JPMorgan Chase.) Only wanted to help me, I was told, but will need your social security number, they said. Nuts! I thought. You ain’t getting that number.

It turns out that JPMorgan Chase is looking for a man with my first and last name, but with a different middle initial. That person has a completely different address. His residence of record is in California.

JPMorgan Chase, with all the resources of a $2.1 trillion organization at its disposal, has erroneously assigned my New Jersey telephone number to this guy

The epiphany seems to have come this afternoon, when another agent called me. He was – of all those who previously phoned– the one rational human being. This time HE answered MY inquiries, divulging clarifying information on his screen (except social security data!) of the person being tracked.

The agent possessed a soft, friendly, African-American sounding voice, like that of a pleasant southerner – a person who, unlike some of his other rude colleagues, does know how to put two and two together and come to the right conclusion.

I told the man that I had twice spoken to the fraud department of JPMorgan Chase and that the matter would be fixed (they said), but the hounding calls were still coming in. Forget it, the voice of reason reassured me. Just ignore any more calls. They should stop by tomorrow. We will see. Keep you posted.