Save The Hollywood Sign (And Repeal Obamacare) !

One of the icons of California - the famous Hollywood sign - is in trouble unless enough public and private donations are raised ($12.5 million), the company that owns the land around the Hollywood sign will sell the land for building houses, and the iconic sign will be demolished.

The "Trust for Public Land" is trying to do a grassroots effort to raise millions of dollars so they can buy the 138 acre ridge which is behind the Iconic Hollywood Sign. They took out an option to buy the land for $12.5 million a while back and the option is about to expire and they are still short by about $5-$6 million depending which source you listen to.

The history is interesting at one point "Cahuenga Peak" was owned by Howard Hughes. Legend has it that it was going to be a house for Ginger Rogers (the relationship went south and the house was never built). Then, a coffee magnate from Illinois acquired the land and then it was passed on to an investment and development group. They, in turn, according to sources acquired the land for about $1.5-$1.7 million (depending which source you take). The public records show one third of that amount was paid.

Is this just another "Hollywood" publicity stunt? I have no idea but at least it's a momentary relief from Obamacare and other horror stories in the news. If they remove the sign, where will it go? Where can they put it? The answer lies in today's pictures of possible sites.....

Seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage programs can look forward to losing benefits under Obamacare. Against a majority of Americans disapproving the legislation, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate's health care overhaul on Sunday night and was signed into law by President Obama yesterday. The legislation has profound implications for American citizens in the coming decade: 32 million uninsured Americans will have access to basic health insurance by 2019, while senior citizens will be among the most affected populations as their health care benefits will be modified to pay for the overhaul.

One of the key issues for seniors is the Medicare Advantage program. Approximately one in four Medicare beneficiaries are now enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. This translates to over 10 million enrolled. The future of the Medicare Advantage program is now uncertain.

Robert Zirkelbach, speaking on behalf of the American Health Insurance Plans, has claimed that the bill will "end Medicare Advantage as we know it" and result in a $200 billion reduction in federal subsidies for the program in the next 10 years. These subsidy reductions will require higher premiums for seniors and may also contribute to reduced Medicare Advantage benefits. When adding the Medicare Advantage cuts to the other government cuts to nursing homes, hospices, and other health care providers, the new legislation is eliminating $500 billion from programs in the next decade. Seniors, being primary care receivers from Medicare Advantage, nursing homes, and hospices, will feel the brunt of these cuts.

Medicare funding cuts were targeted in order to help subsidize Obamacare for the millions of low income welfare and medicaid recipients. It is imperative and obvious that an overhaul of health care is in order and an intelligent plan needs to be implemented. It seems to me that any monies that are taken from Medicare should be used to prevent Medicare from bankruptcy, not used for subsidizing welfare and Medicaid recipients.

ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) has announced that it is folding effective April 1st amid falling revenues - six months after video footage emerged showing some of its workers giving tax tips to conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute. ACORN's financial situation and reputation went into free fall within days of the videos' release in September. Congress reacted by yanking ACORN's federal funding, private donors held back cash, and scores of ACORN offices closed.

The closing of Acorn is welcome, especially after all the various nationwide state investigations of voter fraud and other violations of law. Media sources, however, state that many local offices are merely shedding the ACORN name and reorganizing under new names.

The News As I See It: Healthcare reform was passed, which means Americans can get the same healthcare that members of Congress get, which is great. Now if only we could get the free travel, envelopes full of cash, and the "Get Out of Jail Free" cards.

Do you know who will be in charge of healthcare? The IRS. You thought getting audited was bad? Wait until your next prostate exam. Tiger Woods appeared in two separate interviews on the Golf Channel and ESPN. And in true Tiger fashion, he made sure neither one knew about the other.

President Obozo signed the landmark healthcare reform bill into law, or as Obama calls it, the "Rush Limbaugh Deportation Act." The president had to change his motto from "Yes, we can," to "Yes, we finally did something." This couldn’t have been done without the help of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the president thanked her for her "unblinking" support and clapping like a seal every time he uttered a word.

Dumb Ass Joe Biden has done it again. When he introduced Obozo yesterday, he whispered into the prez' ear, "This is a big f~~kin' deal." What an ass! Uh, Joe, there's high intensity microphones on the podium. Can you imagine if he had been elected president? It's bad enough we had a moron running the country for eight years only to be replaced by a conniving liar, hell bent on spreading the wealth to those that won't work and bankrupting the country.

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This Date In History: 1603; Queen Elizabeth I died at age 69 after ruling England for more than 40 years. 1882; Robert Koch announced the discovery of the tuberculosis bacillus. 1949; Laurence Olivier's Hamlet became the first British film to win an Oscar. 1958; Rock 'n' roll star Elvis Presley joined the U.S. army for two years.

1989; In one of worst oil spills in recent history, the tanker, Exxon Valdez, ran aground and released 240,000 barrels of oil into Prince William Sound. 1999; NATO begins launching air strikes in an attempt to force Serbia to cease hostilities against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. 2002; Halle Berry became the first African-American actress to win a best actress Oscar and Denzel Washington became the second African-American actor to get the best actor award.

Picture Of The Day: If the Hollywood sign is taken down, I have found some potential new sites for your consideration and review. Disclaimer: This humor does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of either myself, my company, my friends, or my cat; don't quote me on that; don't quote me on anything.

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) Puberty is when you separate the boys from the girls. Sometimes with a crowbar. 2) The US government spends billions and billions of dollars on bombs and welfare. It's hard to say which is more destructive. 3) I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure. 4) Near as I can tell, complaining about not getting the latest version of AOL is like complaining about not getting the latest version of influenza. 5) Today's agenda: Don't tug on Superman's cape, don't spit into wind, don't pull mask off the Lone Ranger and don't mess around with Jim (except for my Perfect Martini...).....and that's five !

Birthdays: John Wesley Powell, geologist and ethnologist 1834, William Morris, designer 1834, Harry Houdini, American magician and writer 1874, Edward Weston, photographer 1886, Thomas Dewey, politician 1902, Steve McQueen, actor 1930.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar and Grill: A Doctor was addressing a large audience in Tampa. The doctor said, "The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. High fat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water."

He continued, "But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?" After several seconds of quiet, a 75-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and said, "Wedding cake."

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: My thanks to my pal Victor for his contribution to today's stories.

A young boy of five was going into hospital to have his tonsils removed. He told his playmate that he would be gone for awhile to have surgery. On the day he was admitted, his mother asked the doctor if he could also circumcise him while he was asleep. The doctor agreed. The boy woke up and was very sore down there for several days.

After about a week, he got to see his playmate again. The playmate informed him that he was also going to have to have his tonsils out soon. He asked him to tell him about the surgery. The little boy replied, "All I can tell you is your tonsils ain't where you think they are!"

A man walks into the dentist's office and after the dentist examines him, the dentist says, "That tooth has to come out. I'm going to give you a shot of Novocain and I'll be back in a few minutes." The man grabs the dentist's arm, "No way! I hate needles. I'm not having any shot!" So the dentist says, "Okay, we'll have to go with the gas." The man replies, "Absolutely not! It makes me very sick for a couple of days. I'm not having gas."

So the dentist steps out and comes back with a glass of water, "Here, take this pill." The man asks, "What is it?" The dentist replies, "Viagra." The man looks surprised. "Will that kill the pain?" The dentist replies, "No, but it will give you something to hang on to while I pull your tooth!"

A mother of five decides to get plastic surgery on her privates so her husband can enjoy the snugness she had in her youth. So, she heads off to the doctor for the procedure. Once the procedure is done, she wakes up to find three roses on her bed, and asks the nurse who sent them.

The nurse says, "The doctor wanted you to know he appreciates the business, so he left you a rose. Then your husband came in with a rose, stating that he can't wait to feel the results of the surgery, so he left a rose, too." The patient asked, "What about the third rose?" The nurse replies, "Oh, that's from Ed in the burn unit. He wanted to thank you for the new ears."

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of male face a woman finds attractive can differ depending onwhere she is in her menstrual cycle. For instance, if she is ovulating she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features.

However, if she is menstruating, or menopausal, she is more prone to be attracted to a man with scissors lodged in his temple and a bat jammed up his ass while he is on fire. Further studies are expected...

That's it for today my little tadpoles. Remember, on the keyboard of life, always keep one finger near the escape key. It's Hump Day and I'm going to AREA 51 for happy hour. More on Friday.

Stay Tuned !