Venezuela and "la violencia"

(My new American Thinker post)

We've read about the "Cubanization of Venezuela," such as shortages, repression and censorship of the free press.   

My friend Daniel Duquenal, who writes a blog from Venezuela, reports that "....the "official" inflation rate is above 50%, and probably around 80% in real life."  

Fausta's Blog is now calling Venezuela the next Zimbabwe!  

Add to that the country is violent - very violent.

Let's look today at the crime wave in Caracas and the country:

"A non-governmental group that tracks violent crime in Venezuela says the country's homicide rate has risen again in 2013 and has quadrupled over the past 15 years.
The Venezuelan Violence Observatory estimates that 24,763 killings occurred this year, pushing up the homicide rate to 79 per 100,000 inhabitants. It was 73 per 100,000 people in 2012. In 1998, the rate was 19.
Venezuela's government has gradually blocked access to murder statistics as violent crime has worsened the past decade. The report published Thursday was compiled by researchers based on press reports, victim surveys and comments by officials.
Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres said last week that the homicide rate has fallen this year from 50 to 39 per 100,000 inhabitants. But he declined to provide details."

Wonder why he "declined" to provide details?

Sad to say but Venezuela is falling apart.  

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

New Politics Podcasts with Silvio Canto Jr on BlogTalkRadio

---

Tags: Venezuela  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Question of the year: Is anyone really insured?

(My new American Thinker post)

Like most of you, I've bought insurance policies over the years. My understanding is that you are covered after you fill out an application and pass some kind of underwriting. 

Most importantly, your application does not go to underwriting until you present the agent or company with a payment, usually the first month's premium.

We heard that many people went to the AHCA website over the last few days but some people are still in the dark, or don't know whether they have coverage or not according to CBS:

"The last minute spike in enrollments now puts pressure on insurance companies to process hundreds of thousands of new customers in a very short time. 
Karen Defnall, who runs a daycare in central Virginia, said she thought she enrolled last week, but has no confirmation from the insurance plan. She said she's now concerned she won't have proof of insurance when her coverage is supposed to begin next week.
"What if a need comes up? What if January 2, I have an injury and I have to go to the hospital? They're going to ask for insurance verification, and I don't have anything to give them," she told CBS News.
"Will I be denied coverage? Will I be denied access?"
The surge of late signups is good for those patients who finally have insurance, but it is likely that the first few weeks of Obamacare will be confusing.
Some patients who think they have insurance may not get insurance cards on time, and they're afraid they might fall through the cracks. 

This is incredibly irresponsible.  How do you expose people to that kind of uncertainty? 

Add to this is that the NY Post reports that more fees and costs are coming in 2014!  

More "unaffordability" for the Affordable Health Care Act?

Wonder what kind of investigation would follow if a private insurance company that did this to applicants? 

My guess is that there'd be bunch of state AG's and Insurance Commissioners chasing down the executives for an explanation!

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

New Politics Podcasts with Silvio Canto Jr on BlogTalkRadio

---

Tags: Insured?  Anyone insured?   To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Freezing and listening to Larry Lujack on WLS-Chicago

(My new American Thinker post)

My sons don't believe that I walked home from school listening to a little transistor radio.   

"What's a transistor radio, dad"?  It's sort of like an I-Pod but the music did not sound that good but I didn't know any better. 

Yes, I did walk home and I was listening to Larry Lujack out of WLS in Chicago.  It came in very clearly on 890 AM.  My little transistor was always ready for Larry when I left school!

I learned that Larry Lujack passed away over the holidays;

"First at WCFL-AM and later at WLS-AM, a clear-channel station that could be heard far beyond Chicago, Mr. Lujack -- known on the air as Uncle Lar' or Superjock -- spent 20 years spinning records and spouting opinions.  

Frequent targets of his opprobrium included the very albums he was playing, the very stations he was working for and various rival D.J.s. (Mr. Lujack once stormed a competitor's show and threatened, on the air, to ram the man's head through a wall.)   

He became famous for regular features including "Klunk Letter of the Day" and "Cheap and Trashy Showbiz Report." His best-known feature, done in collaboration with his longtime on-air partner Tommy Edwards ("Li'l Snot-Nose Tommy," Mr. Lujack fondly called him), was "Animal Stories."   "

Yes, it was the "Klunk letters" that had me holding the little transistor next to my frozen ear. 

My other favorite memory was the weekly WLS Top 30 countdown. 

I recall one day that Larry introduced The Beatles' "Lady Madonna" and wondered if Ringo was really doing the lead vocals. I screamed at the radio saying:  "No Larry, it's Paul sounding like Fats Domino".

I guess that "those were the days," another song that Larry introduced me too!

RIP Larry Lujack.  You had one Cuban kid growing up in Wisconsin listening to you every chance I got!   

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

New Politics Podcasts with Silvio Canto Jr on BlogTalkRadio

---

Tags: Larry Lujack To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!