2012-03-05

Tornado's in Indiana/Henryville


Yesterday's radio news brought the news of devastating tornado destruction in Henryville, Indiana and many other areas in Indiana and Kentucky.

For those who don't know, Henryville is a tiny town probably less than a thousand people located in Indiana 19 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky.  Like many areas in southern Indiana, Henryville is surrounded by forest and farms.  It is very green there.  It is at the intersection of two state roads and next to a state forest park, but it also adjacent to Interstate 65.  I have literally passed by Henryville hundreds of times on my way to the greater Louisville area.  Many times I would take the "scenic route" through Henryville instead.   I sometimes stopped for food or gas in Henryville.

I am told that the high school in Henryville is no longer usable.  All access to Henryville was temporarily shut down and the interstate was closed.

I lived about 6 years in Scottsburg, Indiana where my mother is from, which is 10 miles north of Henryville.  According to my mother, the tornadoes have temporarily deprived even Scottsburg of services like phone and internet.

I grew up in Columbus which is 50 miles north of Henryville, but I have managed to live in several small towns within 20 miles of Henryville.

Henryville is the birthplace of Colonel Sanders.  He often visited his church there.  Around 40 years ago we saw him on Interstate 65 presumably on his way to Henryville.  He was with his wife and he was driving.  He looked very old.  He died in 1980 at the age of 90.

John Coffey

2012-02-15

US downplays Iranian nuclear advancements as 'hype'

http://www.jpost.com/VideoArticles/Video/Article.aspx?id=257990

Fwd: Doc Fix

'Congress has struggled with how much the US should pay doctors who serve Medicare patients ever since the program for seniors was created in 1965. Congress blew through two reimbursement formulas before settling in 1997 on the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), which linked payments for physicians to the rate of growth of the economy.

But health costs are increasing at a faster rate than is the overall economy. As a result, the SGR was $1 billion short of covering the actual costs of caring for Medicare patients by 2003. Ever since, Congress has approved short-term funding, or the so-called doc fix, to fill the gap – often several times in the same year.

Last year Congress passed five emergency doc fixes, including a one-year, $19 billion fix in December to keep physician payments stable through 2011. House Republicans now propose a two-year, $14.9 billion doc fix, expected to keep physician salaries stable plus a 1 percent raise through 2013. It is expected to cost $39 billion. If Congress doesn't act, Medicare payments to doctors will drop 27.4 percent, beginning Jan. 1.'

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/1213/Why-temporary-tax-cuts-never-die-Payroll-tax-and-3-other-examples/The-doc-fix

2012-02-10

RE: below two miles of ice...

The only reason that it is liquid water (I suppose) is that the tremendous pressure changes the state?  Or ice simply floats on water?

John Coffey

_____________________________________________
From: Trout, Larry R

‘In the coldest spot on the earth’s coldest continent, Russian scientists have reached a freshwater lake the size of Lake Ontario after spending a decade drilling through more than two miles of solid ice, the scientists said Wednesday…

Lake Vostok, named after the Russian research station above it, is the largest of more than 280 lakes under the miles-thick ice that covers most of the Antarctic continent, and the first one to have a drill bit break through to liquid water from the ice that has kept it sealed off from light and air for somewhere between 15 million and 34 million years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/world/europe/russian-scientists-bore-into-ancient-antarctic-lake.html

Isn’t this how a few horror movies start out.

I just hope we don’t release something our immune systems have never seen before J

2011-12-02

Wind storm in Utah

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/faith/53029513-78/winds-mph-pressure-utah.html.csp


In Utah, about 50,000 customers lost power along the state's 120-mile Wasatch Front as high winds took down power lines, but service was restored to more than half of them by Thursday night.

 

On Interstate 15, strong gusts blew more than 10 semi-trucks onto their sides, prompting authorities to temporarily close the highway to trucks. Commuter train travel was also interrupted after debris covered the tracks.

 

Schools closed in Centerville, where a 102-mph gust was reported. Mail delivery and trash pickup were canceled.

 

Davis County issued a disaster declaration to request state assistance, citing more than $3.5 million in estimated damage to infrastructure.

 

The Red Cross opened three centers to provide food and aid to people affected by the storm, and opened one overnight shelter in Ogden.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/story/2011-12-02/western-wind-storm-santa-anas-california/51582864/1

2011-10-27

Five ways the European debt crisis could affect the U.S.

Medicare 2012 premium hike smaller than feared

Hormones Linked to Weight Gain After Dieting

Life From Star Dust?

Could HP bring WebOS back?

Buy Netflix? A Bull vs. Bear Debate With a Cautionary Tale

Can Perry afford to pass on debates?

Occupy Oakland demonstrators continue their march, other anti-Wall Street protests continue

Can Nokia's Lumia line save Windows Phone?

Ilan Grapel: I want to thank the Israeli people

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=243453

U.N. Votes to Lift Libya No-Fly Zone

2011-10-24

Salt Lake police make arrest in 1997 cold case murder

http://www.deseretnews.com/m/article/705393056

Sent from my iPhone

America's Boomtown: North Dakota housing crunch -

http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/21/pf/america_boomtown_housing/

Why Companies Can't Find the Employees They Need - WSJ.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204422404576596630897409182.html

Stocks reach highest level since August - latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fiw-markets-20111024,0,4878242.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fbusiness+%28L.A.+Times+-+Business%29

Netflix Lost 800,000 Members With Price Rise and Split Plan

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/technology/netflix-lost-800000-members-with-price-rise-and-split-plan.html

Obama Expands Mortgage Aid

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203911804576651502457797670.html

Bachmann's ex-NH staff: Campaign was rude, cruel - Boston.com

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2011/10/24/bachmanns_ex_nh_staff_campaign_was_rude_cruel/

2011-10-22

Fwd: non-criminal illegal aliens


From: larry.r.trout
non-criminal illegal aliens

'The Obama administration soon will begin its systematic review of the approximately 300,000 pending deportation cases, separating "high priority" cases involving criminals it wants to deport from "low priority" cases it will drop, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Congress Wednesday.

The effort marks another point in an evolution of immigration enforcement away from the worksite raids of the Bush administration and towards deportations of illegal immigrants in prisons and jails.

Napolitano said a group of Homeland Security and Justice Department officials will begin a small "pilot" review of immigration cases in "two or three" weeks, and hopes to rapidly expand its efforts.

Under the policy announced last year, federal immigration officials will place the highest priority on deporting illegal immigrants who pose a danger to public safety and national security, while "administratively closing" other cases, taking into consideration a list of factors. Those factors include the person's length of time in the United States, whether the immigrant arrived as a child, served in the military and has a spouse, child or parent who is a U.S. citizen.

DHS officials say the new policy, which gives immigration officials "prosecutorial discretion," is similar to policies of previous administrations, and is a "common sense" approach to immigration enforcement

Napolitano said the department's focus on criminal illegal immigrants is better than "the ad hoc approach where non-criminal aliens are more likely to be removed than criminals."'

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/politics/napolitano-deportation-reviews/?hpt=us_c1