State Farm Insurance

Yesterday State Farm Insurance announced that they would no longer underwrite home owner's insurance in the state of Mississippi.

If you are unfamiliar with the insurance industry's issues in Mississippi let's take you back prior to Katrina. If you were not aware, your home owner's policies do not cover flood damage. If you live in a flood plain, you may buy flood insurance that is backed by the federal government which keeps the premiums low.

However, many in Mississippi did not have flood insurance so when Katrina hit the state attorney general threatened lawsuits to force the insurance companies to pay off for flood damage; something never factored into the original premiums.

As a result, State Farm, who underwrites 30% of the state's insurance, has decided that it's not worth doing business in a state when "We've reluctantly come to the conclusion that it is no longer prudent for us to take on additional risk given the uncertain legal and business climate"

So congratulations to the AG, he's single handedly going to increase the home owner policies for millions of homes in Mississippi astronomically by 1) create an environment where there is less insurance competition and 2) Give insurers incentive to increase policies rates so that they may be able to cover contingencies for which they may be forced to pay for but not covered in the original policy.

When is a contract not a contract?

Let there be light (and heat)!

Many thanks to the Duke Energy crew that repaired the down wires on our road. The Mulligan family is grateful. It's dangerous, back breaking work.... you guys honestly earn every dollar you make. Thank you!

It's amazing how thankful one becomes for the basics in life when you lose them for even a short period of time. We're spoiled brats.

"essential" employees

As I was half listening to the school and business closings, I heard this particular closing

"City of Hamilton, only essential employees are to report to work."

Call me cynical, but if you are non essential, why do you have your job?

They may want to change their terminology around a little.

By the way it's 2/15/07, the temperature is -0- , yes, zero degrees. Can I have my global warming back?

Who profits from "Big Oil"

Ever since the government and tort vultures picked "Big Tobacco" clean, they have to move on the latest/greatest revenue source to line their pockets.

Last week, Hillary Clinton offered that she would "take all oil company profits....."

Now this week is this little diddy from the new governor of Wisconsin. He has introduced legislation to tax the oil companies 2.5% on all oil earmarked for the state. Here's the kicker, if any company passes along the tax to the consumer those responsible will go to jail.

For the most part, I'm indifferent to the oil companies, they sell me a product I use and as long as that relationship continues I'm OK with them.

But, unlike the average politician, I decided to do some research, so I went to the ExxonMobil website and downloaded their most recent 10Q report (a quarterly SEC filing). Here is their 1st quarter, fiscal '07, Income Statement....

		2006
REVENUES AND OTHER INCOME
Sales and other operating revenue (1) (2)	$	96,268
Income from equity affiliates		1,778
Other income		1,547
Total revenues and other income		99,593
COSTS AND OTHER DEDUCTIONS
Crude oil and product purchases (2)		49,364
Production and manufacturing expenses		7,057
Selling, general and administrative expenses		3,412
Depreciation and depletion		2,730
Exploration expenses, including dry holes		352
Interest expense		281
Excise taxes (1)		7,764
Other taxes and duties (2)		10,163
Income applicable to minority and preferred		292
interests
Total costs and other deductions		81,415
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES		18,178
Income taxes		7,688
NET INCOME	$	10,490

You'll see that the company made roughly 10 billion on 99.5 billion in total revenue a 10.5% net profit margin. That's a lot of money.

But is it? Look at all the excise taxes, duties, and income taxes paid by the company. If you total them, they amount to $25 billion in various payments to governments, a whopping 25% of the total revenue.

So in reality, the state makes more money than the producer, you know, the guy that pays for the equipment, hires the employees, repairs damaged oil rigs, delivers the product, listens to customer complaints, fights frivolous lawsuits, etc.

What does the state do in this equation? Nothing.

Imagine having a convenient store and every Monday, Sal and Tony from the neighborhood stop by to sell you "protection" and they take all the money you earned for that day. That's how the government operates; except Sal & Tony are only getting 14% of your receipts.

I get frustrated with politicians who are getting more brazen in their theft language, indicating to me the average Joe thinks its a good idea to just take money from people who earn it for whatever reason. Well, at least you get good trash pickup from Sal & Tony.

Oh the irony

Global Warming conference cancelled due to ice storm.

Hillary

“It helps her because we know Bill Clinton and we love Bill Clinton. We know him and his foibles. We know he loves his Dunkin’ Donuts; we know his love for burgers,” said State Representative Patricia M. McMahon, a longtime ally of both Clintons. “It shows that she’s human, too, and appreciates her husband and likes him as much as we do.”

One of the quotes in this article regarding Hillary Clinton (aka Rodham).

However, maybe someone could explain to me that if we all love Bill so much why couldn't he ever seem to muster more than 50% of the popular vote? And let's face it, he couldn't even muster that against Bob Dole (aka oatmeal, floormat, corpse, etc.).

It's one of the myths that I hope gets a silver bullet through the heart during this presidential campaign. Let's face it, everyone knows that Hillary is every bit as charming and warm as Bill is.

I want my global warming

They are driving the Daytona 500 this weekend and Mardi Gras next Tuesday yet it looks like I won't be able to get out of my driveway if the weather guys' apocalyptic forecast comes true. Now why should Ohioans be deprived of all that good time? We could have that big old parade right through High Street in Columbus if it wasn't so damn cold.

Where the hell is my global warming?

Why the Bengals will always Stink

If you ever wonder why the Bengals will always be a pack of losers check out the quotes from their loser coach.

“You can put all that to rest. We have the (4-3) personnel,” Lewis said. “We’ll continue the way we are and not take any side steps. We need to get better and keep progressing with our players and that’s the best way for us to do it the quickest.”

“People continue to point out the teams that (spend) in free agency win less games,” he said. “It takes chemistry. It’s people working together. It takes time. When we get a guy off another team, invariably there comes that adverse time within the game that he reverts back to other things that he knows from another place and another time. That’s not the reaction you need at that critical moment.

“The answer is to always try and reserve some of your own players and continue to progress with guys in the draft,” Lewis said. “Continue to let them mature and develop as football players in the NFL. They’re trained in your system, they’re trained your way and that’s the way teams continue to get better.”

Apparently Marvin Lewis has the intelligence to be a City Council member when he retires.

This is the NFL... your team was 8-8 last year.... simply drafting good players keeps you even with everyone else... they get seven picks as well. You cannot make it on the players you draft alone. Do the math. If the average NFL player career is five years and every single one of your draft picks makes the team, you have 35 guys - but your roster is 53 guys.... you still need free agents to fill the roster.

The Bengals are 16 mil under the cap for 2007. They were under the cap last year when they could have signed Justin Smith to a long term deal. The Bengals will always be losers because the days of signing draft picks alone are done. By the time you get a team together through the draft, the guys you started with are leaving through free agency (ie Eric Steinbach).

Look at the Patriots, every single year they rotate 15-20 guys off the roster and replace them with more cap friendly free agents and draft picks. They also have about ten extra scouts that know exactly the type of player they are drafting. Remember Drew Bledsoe, Curtis Martin, Adam Vinatieri, Ty Law, Troy Brown. et

This is why they don't have these types of pictures floating around the net.

FIRE, POLICE, STREETS AGAIN

With White Death on it's way to the Cincinnati metro area, it's nice to see that city council is on top of the game to make sure we don't have another repeat of last week's snow disaster.

Oh wait, no that's not with council is concerned with. No, it's more important to vote on a resolution against the federal government sending more troops to Iraq.

Let's pretend we're a Cincinnati City Council member (a big stretch, because if you can read this blog you're too smart to be a council member).

In a councilman's world, the city crime rate rivals Mayberry, the exodus from a city Moses would be proud of is just all the drug dealers heading to Detroit, and the streets are all plowed to perfection. By God, the only thing left is to make a statement about Iraq troop levels that we no absolutely nothing about.

The money quote from Leslie Ghiz

“I don’t support any resolutions that don’t pertain directly to city business. Next thing we’ll be looking at is supporting certain people for president and certain documentaries by former vice presidents about global warming."

Marcus Feisel

The trial of Liz Carroll starts today. If you don't remember her, Liz, her husband David and a "friend", Amy Baker, wrapped one of their foster children, Marcus, in a blanket, duct taped him and stuffed him into a closet during the hot summer day so they could go to a family picnic. He ultimately died.

As you read the information about these characters, you'll notice a common theme... Where are the jobs?

No one had a damn job in this crew; not Liz, not Amy, not Donna Trevino, the birth mother, not David Carroll, who was supposedly "disabled", although not disabled enough to coach a local youth football team.

The fact of the matter is, none of these people did anything but milk off the government tit.

One of the reasons I'm against government subsidies for the poor is that it leaves way too many people unaccountable. Both the donor and the recipient. It's the perfect recipe for anti social behavior.

Government assistance leaves too many people with a hand out long after it becomes apparent the person isn't interested in reforming their lives. Even Jesus once asked a paraplegic "do you want to get well" because he understood that some people don't.

There is something about work that adds to people's lives above and beyond sustenance, there's a building of character that occurs when you have to work to pay for housing, cars, booze, even drugs for that matter. You learn to serve others... often when you sure don't want to. You start to develop respect for other's lives and property and you understand that life's not always convenient; like taking a difficult child to a family outing.

It's the same kind of respect people have for property when they own it versus renting it.

Anyway, let's hope Marcus gets some justice out of the following trials. Unfortunately, his death is more of a symptom of our corrupt welfare system and another tragic death, like his, is likely to be repeated soon.