Stephen Janis formerly of the Baltimore Examiner and currently Investigative Voice is a great reporter. He knows how to dig into the big issues.
Stephen reports the story of a local Hopkins student where BGE decided to estimate a portion of his bill. “My average use for the month was 36 kilowatt hours per day, but for the six days they estimated at the beginning of the billing period I was supposedly using 106 kilowatts hours per day.”
When Stephen contacted the PSC, they told him they were woefully understaffed to deal with the complaints. Wasn’t this an O’Malley promise to fix the PSC?
The biggest problem I have with all of this, is that BGE doesn’t tell you if any portion of your bill was estimated. This bill is supposed to represent consumption.
Ben Brouse Uncategorized
Just read this article on First Read from MSNBC. Do our representatives realize that the AIG bonuses ($165mil) are 1/10 of 1% of the money AIG has received?
Members of Congress should realize that they are just as accountable in this fiasco. After all, they relaxed the regulations that created the credit default swaps in the first place. Before that, AIG was purely an insurance company.
It is inappropriate for our elected officials to keep up the rhetoric – suggestions of suicide – without first looking in the mirror.
Ben Brouse Uncategorized
Now that gas is below $2/gal (nationwide average = $1.91/gal) again, both Honda and Toyota can’t seem to sell these cars. It has become such a problem that now both manufacturers are offering rebates on these cars.
On another note, I was becoming accustomed to hearing about how hybrid cars will save the environment but I’m really failing to understand. Today, these cars principally use batteries that are recharged using electromagnets. The last time I looked, batteries are a gigantic source of pollution with many known negative effects on the environment.
Ben Brouse Uncategorized
While many middle class families continue to struggle in the current economic climate, our elected representatives choose to give themselves a raise.
“in 1989, it [Congress] passed a law providing for annual cost-of-living adjustments unless Congress votes otherwise”
The 111th Congress is in session from January 6, 2009 thru October 30, 2009. That makes the current congressional salary: $174K/10 months.
Ben Brouse Uncategorized
Obama reverses the Bush directive forbidding federal funding of stem-cell research.
If you have ever seen the effect of Alzheimer’s on a family member, it is difficult to reason why Bush put that directive in place. So much for his compassionate conservatism.
Ben Brouse Uncategorized
Companies FAIL! There, I said it. It is time to stop bailing out every company. The quicker we realize that pumping billions of dollars into a broken machine will just cause inflation, devaluing of the dollar, increased national debt and more panic, the quicker this depression will end. While I realize it may not be technically a depression due to historical context, the reality is that the S&P has dropped 25% over the last 2 months. In my book that is a depression.
However, while the economy continues to look more bleak every day and middle class families continue to have problems making ends meet, there is one key aspect that we can take advantage of during this period of uncertainty:
Long term investors can buy stocks of good companies on the cheap.
This strategy was recently espoused by Warren Buffett in his NYTimes Op-Ed piece. “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful”
Other famous investors cite another long-term wealth preservation strategy. Jim Cramer of Mad Money fame, says “And in this horrible market, I fight to keep their losses to a minimum by having some good dividend-yielding stocks from different sectors, some bonds, some gold and some cash.”
Good dividend-yielding stocks are available right now. Look at the components of the DJIA, many are paying 3-4% yields and trading at 52wk lows. In you don’t know, these yields mean that the company will pay you 3-4% on your money even if the stock stays at it’s current valuation.
The market is no longer trading on fundamentals but rather hysteria and panic. These stocks are cheap for the long-term investor. This buying opportunity – a reality of capitalism – amongst the doom and gloom won’t last long and hasn’t been seen a long time.
Feedback welcome.
Ben Brouse Uncategorized
Fascinating article over at MSNBC. Just 45 days into his presidency and he is already going grey. They’ve got the photographic evidence.
Geeky aside:
“Going gray, they say, is caused by wear and tear of hair follicles, which creates a massive a buildup of hydrogen peroxide that blocks the normal synthesis of melanin, which is the natural pigment of human hair, which bleaches the pigment from within, which turns hair gray.”
Everyone knows this happens – just look at Clinton and Bush most recently, but only 45 days? Wow.
Why would anyone want that job?
Ben Brouse Uncategorized
According to reports, Lewis to sign with the Ravens again. It is funny how Ray’s options were severely limited after the Jets signed Bart Scott and the Cowboys brought in Keith Brooking.
His bargaining position had to have been severely reduced. Kudos to Ozzie Newsome for this deal.
Ben Brouse Uncategorized
Wow, what a topic! The current news report from Cardinal William Levada who is responsible for doctrine recently was quoted: “He said that while the Vatican did not exclude any area of science, it did reject as "absurd" the atheist notion of biologist and author Richard Dawkins and others that evolution proves there is no God.”
I was surprised to read the following: “Vatican officials later made clear they did not believe intelligent design was science and that teaching it alongside evolutionary theory in school classrooms only created confusion.”
Regardless of what your belief system, why doesn’t the cardinal simply show the proof that there is a God. Its OK to have faith but that isn’t proof. Pls see the 2nd definition of faith below
belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
I’m not against religion at all. I’m against people telling me something is going to happen because I don’t share their religious values.
To the man who told me at lunch that I was going to hell because I wouldn’t donate to his church – go pound sand.
Ben Brouse Uncategorized
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