{"id":32222,"date":"2015-07-14T20:31:40","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T00:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=32222"},"modified":"2015-07-14T20:31:48","modified_gmt":"2015-07-15T00:31:48","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-monday-july-13th-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=32222","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Monday, July 13th, 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Monday, July 13th…and\u00a0<\/strong>here’s The Gouge!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before we begin, allow to us to recount a titillating three hours of our life we’ll never get back, courtesy of what was once one of the finest retailers in America; we promise its pertinent to our point.<\/b><\/p>\n

As we’d been unable to repair one of the hose reels mounted to the outside of our home, we asked TLJ to stop by The Home Depot and purchase a replacement unit featured on their website. \u00a0We specified in writing a part identical in manufacture (Liberty) and design to the broken reel so as to eliminate any mounting issues and make use of replacement parts we already had on hand in the event of future repairs.<\/b><\/p>\n

Imagine our surprise when TLJ brought back, with the active assistance of Depot personnel, a reel with the same SKU as the item requested, but manufactured by a different company (Hampton Bay). \u00a0Sure enough, when we went to install it, the mounting holes were different. \u00a0Not wishing to drill additional holes into our cedar siding, we checked the Depot website to ensure the reel we wanted was in stock…<\/b><\/p>\n

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…and drove the 15 minutes to exchange the hose reels. \u00a0Amazingly, after an additional 20 minutes spent\u00a0scouring the store, we discovered, contrary to The Depot’s own computerized inventory, our product wasn’t<\/em><\/span> in stock.<\/b><\/p>\n

Determined to provide Depot an additional $79.97 of our hard-earned money, we contacted the store in Eldersburg, MD (about 25 minutes away) to inquire whether they<\/em><\/span> in fact, as indicated by their<\/em><\/span> website…<\/strong><\/p>\n

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…had the Liberty hose reel we wanted in stock. \u00a0Our incredulity at an associate in Lawn & Garden immediately<\/em><\/span> picking up the phone was rapidly replaced by all-too familiar frustration<\/em><\/span> as we were informed this particularly<\/em> unhelpful hardware man was working with a customer, and we were promptly placed on hold<\/em><\/span>…for 25 minutes…quite literally until the moment we pulled into the parking lot! \u00a0At which point we inquired what could possibly<\/em><\/span> have occupied him with a single customer for so long…other than assembling a riding lawn mower.\u00a0\u00a0English being his second language, he either didn’t understand, or possibly didn’t appreciate, our thinly-veiled sarcasm.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our frustration only increased when the Eldersburg manager (a) didn’t offer any meaningful apology for our 25 minutes on hold, and (b) confirmed her<\/em><\/span> store didn’t have any Liberty model #704 wall-mounted hose reels in stock either<\/em><\/span>,\u00a0<\/em>her store’s computerized inventory control system notwithstanding.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Still undeterred, this once-loyal Depot customer drove “home” to order the reel of our dreams online, enduring the entire purchase process only to be informed, after the fact…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a><\/p>\n

…the product is no longer available online<\/em><\/span>; or evidently anywhere ELSE<\/em><\/span>\u00a0within The Home Depot empire.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We remember when, living in Atlanta in the mid-’80’s, Depot was the greatest shopping experience on the planet. \u00a0Now, almost every time we enter the store we have flashbacks to Hechinger, Circuit City and S&H Green Stamps.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Which brings us to, as the late, not-so-great Paul Harvey used to say, the rest<\/em><\/span> of the story, and four or five related items which are a cross between Your Tax Dollars at Work<\/em> and We Get the Government Dimocrats Deserve<\/em>; stay with us until we finish.<\/b><\/p>\n

First up, courtesy of the WSJ<\/em>, a snippet from Katherine Archuleta’s November 8, 2013 blog post immediately after assuming authority over the OPM:<\/b><\/p>\n

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Holy cow; a cross between Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Buckwheat!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

My first week at OPM is already over and it\u2019s been an intense, exciting, challenging and informative first five days on the job. I\u2019ve had the chance to meet the senior staff and their support teams. I\u2019ve also learned a great deal about all of the intricacies of OPM\u2019s departments and how much everyone at OPM does on a daily basis. So, for that, thank you. Your work is important and impressive. We couldn\u2019t run this agency without you.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I thought this would be a good time to talk to you all about a few of my priorities and goals for my time at OPM.<\/p>\n

First and foremost, I want to be your champion. I want the American people to know who you are, and what you do, and how that makes a difference in their daily lives.<\/span> I am going to represent you across the country, because you deserve the recognition.<\/strong><\/span> You deserve to have people know how hard you work and that you dedicate long hours to very difficult issues.<\/span> Federal employees deserve to be recognized<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I want to tackle some of our most pressing issues to ensure that we are able to serve to the best of our ability. In my first 100 days at OPM, I plan to work with my team to create a plan for handing I.T. modernization across the agency<\/em><\/span>, especially for retirement. I\u2019ve had the chance to meet and talk with our new CTO, the CIO and others every day this week, and I can say that there are some fantastic ideas in the mix<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> We\u2019re definitely on the right track<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As Wikipedia notes, before heading the OMP…<\/strong><\/p>\n

“She had previously served as National Political Director for Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign<\/em>. Prior to that, she had been Executive Director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation in New Mexico<\/em>, had co-founded the Latina Initiative<\/em>, had worked at a Denver law firm<\/em>, and had worked in the Clinton Administration<\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

Hey, what could go wrong?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next…<\/strong><\/p>\n

FBI Director: Dylann Roof Got A Gun Due To ‘Breakdown’ In Background Check System<\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Yeah, and additional “gas control” would have prevented Auschwitz!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Third…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who Needs an ObamaPhone?<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

Only one in 20 users needs the federal cellphone subsidy<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Forgetting for the moment homeless dudes taking photos of the First Marxette serving at a soup kitchen\u00a0<\/strong>while sporting $530 designer sneakers…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"amd-sneakers-obama-jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

…ain’t one of the genuinely needy 5%, we’d argue whether\u00a0<\/strong>anyone, poor or not, actually “NEEDS<\/em><\/span>” a cell phone, or a phone period<\/em><\/span> for that matter?!? \u00a0Someone “needs” to make a call; what’s wrong with toll-free (within the continental United States; i.e., not Guadalajara, Tegucigalpa or Lagos) public phone booths?!? \u00a0Worried about access to emergency medical services, fire department, police…or maintaining contact with or sources of illegal substances…er,…we mean…”relatives”; howz ’bout cell phones which offer free 911 service and incoming calls?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n

But we digress! \u00a0Fourth, submitted for your perusal, the real<\/em><\/span> impact of…<\/b><\/p>\n

The Unaffordable Care Act<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

Premiums are spiking around the country. Obama is in denial<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"obama_healthcareplan_zpsa54008e7\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“…President Obama dropped by Nashville last week to claim Tennessee as a state where \u201cthe law has worked better than we expected\u201d and \u201cactually ended up costing less than people expected,\u201d so let\u2019s test the reality of those claims<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong> As a baseline, in 2015 premium increases for Tennessee plans ranged from 7.5% to 19.1%.<\/p>\n

For 2016 BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee\u2014one of the state\u2019s two major insurers\u2014is requesting a 36.3% increase. One product line from Community Health Alliance Mutual is rising 32.8%, while another from Time Insurance Co. hits 46.9%. Offerings from Cigna,<\/span>Humana and UnitedHealthcare range from 11% to 18%. If this means ObamaCare is working better<\/span> than the President expected, then what<\/span>, exactly<\/span>, was he expecting<\/span><\/em>?<\/strong><\/span>…”<\/p>\n

No, not denial<\/em><\/span>; rather everything is proceeding precisely<\/em><\/span>…<\/strong><\/p>\n