Friday, June 29, 2007

You have to be kidding me...

I received a Certificate Rider from my HR rep today that states the following:

**************************************************************************************
The following Subrogation and Right of Reimbursement section has been added to the General Information About Your Coverage section of your Booklet-Certificate:

Subrogation and Right of Reimbursement
If this Plan pays benefits under this Booklet-Certificate to a covered person for expenses incurred due to third party injuries, the Aetna retains the right to repayment of the full cost of all benefits provided by this Plan on behalf of the covered person that are associated with the third party injuries. Aetna's rights of recovery apply to any recoveries made by or on behalf of the covered person from the following sources, including but not limited to:

  • payments made by a third party or any insurance company on behalf of the third party;
  • any payments or awards under an uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage policy;
  • any Workers' Compensation or disability award settlement
  • medical payments coverage under any automobile policy, premises or homeowners' medical payments coverage or premises or homeowners' insurance coverage; and
  • any other payments from a source intended to compensates a covered person for injuries resulting from an accident or alleged negligence.

By accepting benefits under this plan......


**************************************************************************************
How I read this?

I get hit by a car, trip and fall, have a piano fall on me, dog bite,... and need medical care my insurance company will cover those expenses. Great!

Here is what I don't like. I'm maimed, traumatized, scarred, and gimped for the remainder of my life. I can't work, walk, whatever.

I sue. It is the American way. I sue the driver, his insurance company, the landlord, his insurance company, the piano movers, his insurance company, the dog, his owner, his insurance company (you get the point).

I win a settlement, someone offers to pay me for my trouble, and or I'm on Workers Comp.

Aetna will sue for that money up to the amount it cost to patch me up.

I need $50,000.00 in medical care & Aetna pays. This is how insurance works. This is what the premiums have been going into an interest bearing account for. But they have gotten greedy and want to be reimbursed for this.

Example
I'm awarded $50,000.00 from the courts. I pay my lawyer the typical 30% or $15,000.00, then Aetna takes the remaining $35,000.00. This leaves me with nothing. According to the Rider, Aetna can also take my Workers Compensation for the remaining $15,000.00

This leaves me maimed, traumatized, scarred, gimped and broke.

Aetna, I'm glad I met ya!

Friday Funny...well to me....and Cabe....and Mark...

Don't invite grammy over for a BBQ, she just can't hold her wind.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

SUGIERO: Abu Hamza Concerned About Human Rights

Now this is justice! An article from a blog I ran into that you have to read! A terroist and his human rights.

SUGIERO: Abu Hamza Concerned About Human Rights

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Ticket Luxury Tax

The Detroit Tigers had this up on their website. It details what we all need to know. How many times in the past few years did you say to yourself..."boy I would really like to take in a game" only to be disappointed by the astronomical prices! Now take that disappointment and add 6% tax on it. And sportscasters were asking where the fans were this NHL playoffs....well, there's going to be a lot less if this proposed tax passes. See article from detroit.tigers.mlb.com


In the next few days, the Legislature is expected to introduce a new "Luxury Tax" of 6% on all tickets to attend professional sporting events, concerts, shows and movies in Michigan. It is estimated that this new tax will increase ticket prices by over $100 million per year:
• $24 million per year tax on sports tickets for Tigers, Red Wings, Pistons, Lions, Michigan International Speedway, minor league baseball and hockey.
• $48 million per year tax on shows and performances like those at the Fox Theater, Palace, DTE, Meadow Brook, Purple Rose Theater and DeVos arena for shows like Sesame Street Live, Lion King, White Christmas and performances by the American Idols.
• $32 million per year tax on movie tickets to every movie in every movie theater in the state:
A family of four with season tickets to the Tigers would be forced to pay new taxes ranging from $230 to more than $1,200 per year.
A family of four with season tickets to the Red Wings would be forced to pay new taxes from $597 to more than $1,900 per year.
We Must Stop the Ticket Tax
The Ticket Tax Targets Families, Kids and Teenagers.
Taking your family to a ball game, a show, or a movie is one of the most cherished traditions in Michigan. It's not a luxury. It's the way we spend our hard earned money after all the taxes are taken out of our paychecks and all the bills are paid. It's how teenagers spend their babysitting money and kids spend their allowances.
The Ticket Tax Targets Working Families.
Most of the tickets to attend sporting events, shows and movies are not purchased by corporations and the wealthy. Michigan's working families purchase them. Families that are struggling today to survive today's difficult economic conditions in our state. Families that already pay income taxes and sales taxes, and $3.20 for a gallon of gasoline.

If Lansing is going to Tax Our Work...Don't touch our Play
The Legislature is already looking to raise the income tax across the board on working families and retirees. Why add an additional burden on Michigan's working families?

The Highest Ticket Tax in the Region.
The Ticket Tax would give Michigan the highest sports and entertainment ticket tax in the region. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania have a "O" tax on family fun.

$3.20 Per Gallon, a Tough Economy and a Ticket Tax Don't Add Up.
The high price of gas and a tough economy are forcing Michigan families to seek entertainment venues closer to home. Adding the burden of a ticket tax might just put the cost of a family night out for a concert or a ball game out of reach.

The Legislature May Take Action on The Ticket Tax Without a Public Hearing.
The state Legislature may take this tax up without a public committee hearing, which would give fans across Michigan an opportunity to tell them how ticked off they are about this ticket tax. That's why people need to act today to contact their legislator. This may be the only chance to tell your lawmakers what you think about this ticket tax idea.

How We Can Stop the Ticket Tax:

1. Contact the Governor, your State Representative and your State Senator. Tell them you oppose the Ticket tax. Spending time with your family is not a luxury to be taxed.

2. If you don't know your legislators' email or phone number, go toNoTicketTax.com. There you will find links to the Governor's email and to email addresses and phone numbers for your State Representative and State Senator.

3. Or call 1-877-No-TK-Tax (1-877-688-5529) to get the phone numbers you need to call for the Governor and legislative leaders. Email Today...Call Today...Act Today Fans Against The Ticket Tax

Email Today...Call Today...Act Today
Fans Against the Ticket Tax

Monday, June 25, 2007

Vance Wilson Report

Normally I wouldn't post a report of a player who is not a starter, but my wife loves Vance, and asked "what was up with him and is he ever coming back" so here ya go hon. Strange, she didn't ask about Nate Robertson?

Wilson has Tommy John surgery
The recovery schedule says 9-12 months, meaning he'll miss the rest of this year as well as part of next season, too.

Missing Hockey Yet?

No?....I'm not either, but here are some of the best hits for 06' & 07'

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Bob Barker needs a job.

Bob, you truely are the greatest! If ESPN won't take you Bob, we here at WGPMFG (see name of blog) will happily bring you aboard....I'll just have to check your references first.

Sports Gifts

I was inspired by a gift from my brother this past weekend. I am the proud owner of a U of M Maize and Blue Golf shirt(XL...to hold in all of this lovin). Start doin your homework gang, the college season is just around the corner, and as an avid U of M fan we will have lots to talk about.

The link below is the new network dedicated to the Big Ten Conference. This link in particular is for Michigan's up coming season, and the standout athletes we will see. To use the link you have to copy and paste it into your browser...or just go to the www.bigtennetwork.com and click on the U of M specific logo.

http://www.bigtennetwork.com/video/popup.asp?ID=13

The Wayne Fontes Experience: I know how to fix the American health system crisis...

There is no possible way to say this any better than Al at The Wyane Fontes Experience! I have felt (B.) and (C.) all year. Click on link below.


The Wayne Fontes Experience: I know how to fix the American health system crisis...

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

*New Sport Alert*

New sport just found in the "projects". This could catch-on...the creative minds over at Herman Gardens government subsidized housing have come up with a winner. "Still Ill" is just waitin' on ESPN to green light it. You have to love the speech of the first winner of the event.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Lion's Monday

I wanted to start this week off by feeling good about the "Lame-ons"! I struggle every year trying to find the good only to be reminded of how awful they are by an interception, a fumble or the dreaded three and out. I found this interview of Calvin (The Savior) Johnson pre-Lions signing....I know I know, I'm setting myself up, but its the smooth straight talk that I'm such a sucker for. The Tigers are doing great so why screw with a good thing. Enjoy this video from youtube.com

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Vick Music Video

Very creative homage to Mike Vick and his dog fighting woes. This song has a new meaning to me now, I mean I used to like it... but now I really like it.



Tip of the hat to bradyfan83 and withleather.com

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Modern Day Parable

This was submitted by The Wise One DOD. A little food for the brain topic here, at first you will chuckle, then reality sets in, and it's no longer funny.

Subject: A Modern Parable

A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American

company (General Motors) decided to have a canoe

race on the Missouri River . Both teams practiced

long and hard to reach their peak performance before

the race.


On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.


The Americans, very discouraged and depressed,

decided to investigate the reason for the crushing

defeat. A management team made up of senior

management was formed to investigate and recommend

appropriate action. Their conclusion was the

Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering,

while the American team had 8 people steering and 1

person rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order, American

management hired a consulting company and paid them

a large amount of money for a second opinion. They

advised, of course, that too many people were

steering the boat, while not enough people were

rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information,

but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese,

the rowing team's management structure was totally

reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering

superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent

steering manager.


They also implemented a new performance system

that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater

incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing

Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners

and free pens for the rower. There was discussion of

getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment,

extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.


The next year the Japanese won by two miles.


Humiliated, the American management laid off

the rower for poor performance, halted development

of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all

capital investments for new equipment. The money saved

was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses

and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to

India

Sadly, The End.



Sad, but oh so true! Here's something else to

think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years

moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they

can't make money paying American wages. Toyota has

spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen

plants inside the US


The last quarter's results: Toyota makes 4 billion in

profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.

Ford folks are still scratching their heads.



IF THIS WASN'T SO SAD IT MIGHT BE FUNNY!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

We have our own NFL criminal! (Yeah us!)

Just wanted to share this article from the Free Press if you haven't seen it yet. Ya know something that is kinda funny, this happened on Joy Rd. isn't that just a little ironic, you know strip club... Joy Rd., oh lighten-up its not like he going to do any jail time!

Lions' Rogers accused of criminal sexual conduct

June 12, 2007

BY BEN SCHMITT, AMBER HUNT and NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

Lions defensive tackle Shaun Rogers -- arguably the team's best player -- is being investigated for allegedly groping a woman in her dressing room at a Detroit strip club.

Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, said her office received a request for an arrest warrant from Detroit police Monday. No charges have been issued.

"We will proceed as usual, interviewing the alleged victim and any other potential witnesses," Miller said.

Miller said the warrant request accused Rogers, 28, of criminal sexual conduct. Depending on the degree, the charge can cover a wide range of sex crimes, from groping to rape.

The woman, who lives in Westland, told police that the 6-foot-4, 345-pound Rogers walked into her dressing room and forcibly groped her, authorities said. The incident reportedly occurred at 1:15 a.m. Friday at The Players Den on Joy Road on the city's west side.

According to the police report, the woman said Rogers asked her, "Do you know who I am?" during the incident. The report also states that she told police that she called for help, only to be told by others in the club that Rogers was intoxicated and she shouldn't worry about it.

Club manager Kevin Barlow told Free Press reporting partner Local 4 that his security team didn't know about the alleged disturbance.

"No one was aware of a problem that night," he said.

Officials said Rogers had a handgun in his waistband but didn't pull it out. It wasn't known whether he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

The woman's identity wasn't released Monday, and the Free Press generally does not report the names of purported victims of sex crimes.

"We are gathering information," Lions senior vice president Bill Keenist said in an e-mail. "We'll have no further comment at this time."

Rogers' agent, Kennard McGuire, didn't return calls seeking comment.

The Lions drafted Rogers out of Texas in the second round in 2001. He has twice been named to the Pro Bowl, most recently after the 2005 season, when he recorded a career-high 5 1/2 sacks.

But critics say Rogers doesn't get the most out of his ability because he doesn't work hard all the time, and last season was his worst in the NFL.

After playing in the first six games, he served a four-game suspension for taking a banned dietary supplement. He had knee surgery during the suspension and didn't come back after he was eligible to play again.

Rogers didn't show up in Allen Park at the start of a voluntary off-season conditioning program in March. But after speaking to Lions coach Rod Marinelli, he came a week later. Rogers has worked in the weight room and gone through individual drills, although he didn't practice while rehabbing knee and shoulder injuries.

Marinelli has spoken glowingly about Rogers this off-season and emphasized how important the defensive line is to the franchise.

Rogers rarely speaks to the media, but he held an upbeat session with a group of reporters last month.

"I just feel high expectations will bring about more prosperous things," he said then. "The higher you set the bar and the closer you can get to it, the higher you achieve.

"I'm happy that (Marinelli) has so many expectations for me. I'm not going to do anything but try to live up to them."



Copyright © 2007 Detroit Free Press Inc.

Monday, June 11, 2007

le vomit

Thanks to Pvt.Gump for adding me as a publisher to the Blog!

The Ubster


In Depth Study


Click Here for more great videos and pictures!

Its not exactly a sport or even News, but maybe more in the science category. Its the international second language, only second to love so you can easily get past the fact that its all in Japanese.

Morton gets his fight on....Sort of.

This post is dedicated to DOD.

Ya know you really have to give a guy credit for getting into the ring to compete man to man, I mean to fight with fists, legs, knees, and elbows takes some guts! With that being said, if you go in all roid-ed-up and bouncing around lookin like a bad-ass just to get knocked-da-f-out, well then what kind of credit is deserved? Not only a knockout, but out out, I was surprised they didn't airlift his carcass to Uof M Medical Center. Watch and enjoy.

The Mathematics of Immigration

If your having a hard time understanding what everything regarding the immigration reform or amnesty bill means. This video will help you understand the ramifications of allowing more illegals in or even allowing the illegals who are currently here to stay. Its dummy proof so it was a perfect tool for teaching me. Click the link to be educated.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7WJeqxuOfQ

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Don Cherry trying to save Hockey

If you didn't see Don on NBC with Hull and Clement, he was talking about the NHL and getting rid of the instigator rule in fighting. See link for youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3FwRoBoYuM

This really frosts my puck! Without the enforcer we are seeing more and more cheap-shots, which sadly, equals more serious injuries to our players. In the video Brett Hull says it himself, that without Kelly Chase or Tony Twist (two players very good with their hands and not for goal scoring) he would never have scored as many goals as he did. Why do you think Wayne Gretzky was always shadowed by a goon and almost no one screwed with him, Stevie Y with Probert and Kocur....OK, you get the point. If I'm a skater and I know I can put my stick in the face of Jager or cross-check him from behind into the boards, and get away with it...I'm doin it, knowing that no one is going to come after me to make me pay...that's a no-brainer. They refer to it as just fighting, but in all honesty it has a place and a distinct purpose, it makes players responsible for there actions. Its been a part of hockey from the beginning and should be here to stay.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Why you ask? Well here's the Introduction.

I'm not a journalist or even especially good with grammar, but as an average guy in the suburbs of Detroit who is in his thirty's dealing with kids, sports, and getting old in general. I figured there were several guys like me who needed somewhere to vent or just read about our guy type stuff.



I'm not that serious of a person until it comes to my family and our troops. We were lucky enough to have a family member do two tours in Iraq and still made it home safe and in one piece, and I only want the same for other families who have sons or daughters in the armed services. I don't care what any one's politics are on this site your opinion is valid here.



When it comes to kids I'm still a novice...I have a three year old daughter who is very smart and extremely controlling already...its like her mother is covertly training her all day. My son is two years old and still can not speak much English, he speaks that baby Chinese or Spanglish, where there is the resemblance of a word but immediately followed up with gibberish. Regardless of these two small issues I care for them deeply and try to show it everyday.



My Wife is a great person she waited several years for me to grow-up, and is still waiting. we are one of those couples that met in a bar through mutual friends and eleven years later here we are pretty happy I think. At this site we might as well refer to her as Gen. Patton who will be a contributor on this blog.



As for me I'm nothing too special, I work in the technology field running several servers and digital phone switch...yeah, its that boring...end of job description. Now my life revolves around my little kids, keeping the wife somewhat happy, and where am I going to get away from all of this for a couple of hours to have a beer(s) and some guy time to watch or listen to some sports. I typically hide in my basement with the XM radio, which has all of the MLB games nightly and all of the NHL games so life is pretty good in the basement...think XM would send me something for that free ad? I'm already sick of talking about me....lets get on with some posting. If you have any questions regarding me or the fam feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment.