Year: 2009

Penguins Strike Lightning, Improve to 7-1

Posted on by TL

It’s way too early in the hockey season, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are off to an incredible start. And I liked the headline from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette so much, I adapted it for Turning Left.

From the Post-Gazette:

The Penguins improved their record to 7-1 with a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at Mellon Arena.

That matches the club’s second-best record through eight games. The Penguins started 7-0-1 in 1995-96 and were 7-1 in 1986-87.

It was their first game after a 4-0 road trip.

The win gave coach Dan Bylsma his 25th regular-season win as an NHL head coach. He is 25-4-4 since taking over Feb. 15. That doesn’t include the Penguins’ run to the Stanley Cup last spring.

The Penguins opened a 1-0 lead at 4:57 of the first period when Bill Guerin, from below the left circle, swept in a rebound of a shot by Evgeni Malkin for a power-play goal. Malkin was playing in his 250th regular-season game.

A faceoff win by Sidney Crosby — who entered the game among the top 10 in the league by winning 62 percent of his draws — led to the Penguins’ second goal. He got the puck back to Brooks Orpik, who sent it across to Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar one-timed the puck from the right point past Lightning goaltender Antero Niittymaki at 17:10 of the first period.

Please read more here.

Charges Pending in ‘Balloon Boy’ Case; Research Assistant to Richard Heene Breaks Silence

Posted on by TL

Multiple media sources are reporting that charges are pending in the case of Richard and Mayumi Heene, whose son Falcon was the so-called ‘balloon boy’ who millions believed was aboard a helium balloon that reportedly had taken off with the boy inside.

From WTAE Pittsburgh:

A Colorado sheriff said he was pursuing criminal charges in the case of a 6-year-old boy who vanished into the rafters of his garage while the world thought he was zooming through the sky in a flying saucer-like helium balloon.

The boy’s parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, met with Larimer County investigators for much of the afternoon, but Sheriff Jim Alderden didn’t say who would be charged or what the charges would be.

Alderden didn’t call Thursday’s hours-long drama a hoax, but he expressed disappointment that he couldn’t level more serious charges in the incident, which sent police and the military scrambling to save young Falcon Heene as millions of worried television viewers watched.

“We were looking at Class 3 misdemeanor, which hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances,” Alderden said. “We are talking to the district attorney, federal officials to see if perhaps there aren’t additional federal charges that are appropriate in this circumstance.”

He said deputies were seeking a search warrant for the family’s home, and there would be more information at a news conference Sunday.

Other media sources are essentially running the same article from the Associated Press.

And then there’s this “exclusive” from Gawker: Exclusive: I Helped Richard Heene Plan a Balloon Hoax. In the article, 25-year-old researcher Robert Thomas reveals to Gawker how earlier this year he and Richard Heene drew up a master plan to generate a massive media controversy using a weather balloon. From the article:

One night, when Richard and I were sitting and talking, he brought up Wife Swap, and specifically a confrontation he had with a woman on the show who claimed to be a psychic. They very much disliked one other. Richard said, “Well, think about it. We were the 100th episode of Wife Swap. And why are we the most recognized Wife Swap family and episode? It’s because of the controversy. I don’t care what people say about me as a person, but the fact of the matter is that they know who I am.”

And then we delved into the area of UFOs. I was reading a book on witness reports of Roswell at the time, just out of curiousity — I’ve never concluded whether it really took place or was an elaborate hoax. And Richard said, “how much do you want to bet we could facilitate some sort of a media stunt that would be equally profound as Roswell, and we could do so with nothing more than a weather balloon and some controversy?”

Read more here, or you can get a bullet-point summary of Robert Thomas’ accusations here.

Roseanne Rosanadana on Smoking and The Hasty Heart

Posted on by TL

A little blast from the past. I always liked Gilda Radner.

I actually dropped over at the SNL site because I was looking for, "If it isn’t Scottish, it’s crap!" But I couldn’t find it there. I just came from an awesome performance of The Hasty Heart at Marian Catholic High School. Honestly, these kids were awesome. I was expecting over-acting or melodrama. Sorry, call that my prejudice with high school performances.

Instead, I found acting.

This performance was particularly awesome. Really gripping. And, if you see it at the Sunday matinee, you’ll understand my very weak allusion to that old SNL skit.

The kids are going to compete with this performance, and I look forward to hearing good things.

I was particularly impressed.

At any rate, enjoy Gilda. I really loved Gilda.

Olbermann: Insurer Ends Health Program, Calls High-Cost Patients “Dogs”

Posted on by TL

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Here’s the beginning of the story from the Washington Times:

Ian Pearl has fought for his life every day of his 37 years. Confined to a wheelchair and hooked to a breathing tube, the muscular dystrophy victim refuses to give up.

But his insurance company already has.

Legally barred from discriminating against individuals who submit large claims, the New York-based insurer simply canceled lines of coverage altogether in entire states to avoid paying high-cost claims like Mr. Pearl’s.

In an e-mail, one Guardian Life Insurance Co. executive called high-cost patients such as Mr. Pearl "dogs" that the company could "get rid of."

A federal court quickly ruled that the company’s actions were legal, so on Dec. 1, barring an order by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, Mr. Pearl will lose his benefits.

His medical treatment costs $1 million a year.

Most of that is for ’round the clock, in-home nursing care – for operation of his ventilator, hourly breathing treatments and continuous intravenous medication.

(Corrected paragraph:) A Guardian spokesman said policies such as Mr. Pearl’s – which offered unlimited home nursing – had simply become too expensive for new small-business customers to buy, and that even Medicaid and Medicare do not cover 24-hour home nursing. His parents, Warren and Susan Pearl of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said their health insurance premiums had risen over the years to $3,700 a month.

You can contact Guardian Life Insurance Company here.

And now for your moment of Zen…

President & CEO Dennis J. Manning touts Guardian Life’s financial strength on the company’s Web site:

Two Rating Upgrades 
Guardian earned upgrades from two major credit rating organizations in 2008, a distinction that no other major life insurer can claim. We were one of only five life insurers upgraded by Standard & Poor’s, which raised our rating to AA+ (Very Strong). Additionally, noting Guardian’s “superior capitalization,” “successful execution of key strategic initiatives,” and our “comprehensive risk management strategy,” A.M. Best Company awarded us its highest rating, A++ (Superior). Only six other life insurers received ratings upgrades from A.M. Best last year.

Operating on Firm Financial Footing 
Guardian generated good financial results last year, in spite of challenging economic conditions. Pre-tax statutory income – the primary way we build capital and surplus – was $267 million. Capital, which serves to cushion potential adverse events and functions as a source of continuing future income, was $4.3 billion at year end. And our capitalization ratio, a standard industry measure of capital strength, was 14.7%. We believe this ratio is among the highest in the life insurance industry.

Record Dividend Payout
Guardian’s solid financial results, supported by a prudent investment strategy, allowed us to avoid many of the losses suffered by so many other companies and put us in a strong competitive position, which we leveraged to benefit policyholders. We declared the largest ever dividend payout in our 149-year history, paying a record $723 million dividend to policyholders in 2009, $60 million more than we did in 2008.

Good for them.

Remember 37-year-old Ian Pearl on December 1, 2009,

Ramiro Guevara, 17, Shot and Killed in Chicago Club

Posted on by TL

Sad news out of Chicago.

From the Chicago Tribune:

A 17-year-old boy was shot to death this morning in a Logan Square neighborhood nightclub, police said.

Police were notified about the shooting at about 2 a.m. inside the V Live night club at 2047 N. Milwaukee Avenue, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro.

Ramiro Guevara got into an argument with another man inside the nightclub, and the other man pulled out a handgun and started firing, Alfaro said. Alfaro said Guevara was shot in the head, but a police source said Guevara was shot in the back.

The shooter fled the nightclub, and no one was in custody this morning, Alfaro said.

As always, our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim. If anyone knows anything, please step up and contact the Chicago Police Department. You can also use your cellphone to TEXT a crime TIP.

Read more.

Senator Roland Burris Definitively Favors Government Health Plan

Posted on by TL

Washington, D.C.– United States Senator Roland Burris (D-IL) wants health care reform with a government health insurance plan and he’s willing to fight for it, says the Wall Street Journal.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The Wall Street Journal named him as one of six senators to watch in the coming days as the Senate’s no-public-option bill is merged with the House’s public-option bill.

The other five senators are Republicans and conservative Democrats averse to a public option. Burris, the Journal says, is the one senator out of 100 most insistent that the final bill have a public option:

"The Wild Card: Illinois Democratic Sen. Roland Burris. Mr. Burris has announced his intention to oppose any bill without a public option. . . . Because he isn’t standing for re-election, Mr. Burris has little to lose," the article states.

And from the Wall Street Journal:

The Wild Card: Illinois Democratic Sen. Roland Burris. Mr. Burris has announced his intention to oppose any bill without a public option, and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and John Rockefeller (D., W.Va.), among others, have also voiced a strong desire for a public option. The message: Democrats at their peril shift to the right to court centrists and Republicans. Because he isn’t standing for re-election, Mr. Burris has little to lose. Democrats hope liberals will support a health overhaul in the end, but they have scant margin for error.

Limbaugh to be Dropped from St. Louis Rams Bid

Posted on by TL

From ESPN:

Rush Limbaugh is expected to be dropped from a group bidding to buy the St. Louis Rams, according to three NFL sources.

Dave Checketts, chairman of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and the point man in the Limbaugh group attempting to buy the Rams, realizes he must remove the controversial conservative radio host from his potential role as a minority member in the group in order to get approval from other NFL owners, the sources said.

Three-quarters of the league’s 32 owners would have to approve any sale to Limbaugh and his group. Earlier this week, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay predicted that Limbaugh’s potential bid would be met by significant opposition. Several players have also voiced their displeasure with Limbaugh’s potential ownership position, and NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith, who is black, urged players to speak out against Limbaugh’s bid.

Ultimately, the sources said, Checketts must reconfigure his group and find another investor to make his bid more viable.

Read more here.

Oh. And, "Ha. Ha."

(Tip of the hat to Raine Koch on Facebook for this.)

CTA Cutting Service, Raising Fares

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The CTA’s plan to cut service dramatically and raise fares as high as $3 for express bus and rapid transit service is “very, very ugly,” but so is the 30 percent drop-off in local tax revenue that created the crisis, Mayor Daley said Tuesday.

Although the plan to erase a $300 million shortfall was crafted by the mayor’s handpicked CTA president, Daley stopped short of giving it his blessing in an apparent attempt to avoid taking the blame.

“No. This is only proposed. And like anything else, that’s the last resort. No one wants to see fare increases or service cuts. But they are in a very difficult position,” the mayor said.

“When you raise fares, it drives people away. You know that. That’s why they’re coming up with every form of cost savings . . . to keep the CTA reasonable and fair to everyone….You have to analyze everything and try to come up with some new solutions, if it’s possible.”

A $300 million shortfall is unconscionable.

The Great Recession.

Everything must change.

Read more from the Sun-Times here.