Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktHe did well on real estate deals. On one, a sweetheart purchase from Mike Dell, he tried to get his property tax appraisal lowered because he bought the property for far less than it was appraised for on the Travis County rolls. He and I sat next to each other in the waiting room of the central appraisal district before our first protest appearances. I suggested to him that he needed an independent appraisal. He told me that made no sense because it was obviously worth what he paid for it. I said that was some evidence, but would not likely be enough to sway the County unless there were some other comparable sales nearby on the lake. I won my appeal. He lost his.
by ashotinthedark
Since we are talking about personal interactions with politicians, I figured I would share one I had yesterday. Yesterday I attended a legal conference through the State Bar of Michigan and the keynote speaker was Michigan’s recently elected Attorney General, Bill Schuette. He was quite charismatic and introduced himself to everyone in the room by going around to each table with a caraffe of coffee and pouring coffee to those who wanted some. He said it is a trick he has used since he first ran for political office 20 pluse years ago. His speech seemed an awful lot like a political stump speech and was not particularly informative. Just about the only memorable thing he said was his consistent use of the term Obamacare….repeatedly. In fact, he was unable to recall the actual title of the bill when he attempted to refer to it as somethign other than Obamacare. I found it unprofessional and off putting, as did the obviously liberal leaning former circuit court judge who was sitting next to me. I can see using the term Obamacare at a fundraising or partisan political event, but it seems like a bad idea at a meeting of health care lawyers in Michigan.
Do others find the use of Obamacare off putting? Have others had similar experiences with local politicians using the term?
PS. Is anyone else unable to comment using their google account? It only happens when I on my network at work, but when I sign in, it send me to my blogger.com profile but when I return to the blog, I am no longer signed in. Anyway, any suggestions Kevin?
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All Things in Moderation 
" He told me that made no sense because it was obviously worth what he paid for it."Good lord. I guess I should credit him with extreme optimism. "I said that was some evidence, but would not likely be enough to sway the County unless there were some other comparable sales nearby on the lake. I won my appeal. He lost his."So, the moral of the story is, Mark should have become governor. 😉
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Funny story mark. Didn't he make most of his money in real estate deals. Reminds me of Ken Calvert, our rep. here but he uses his brother as the front man.I once landed next to Frank Sinatra in an elevator in Reno, over 30 years ago. I pretended I didn't know who he was and chatted with him a little. He later bought me a drink in the lounge. Only slightly creepy.
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lms, I gotta run, but remind me sometime to tell about Joey Bishop in the Vegas elevator in the summer of 1966.
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We call it PPACA — or PEE-pac-a at the office. or "the reform law"
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OK, before I run [finally], Ashot, I would find that term used a second time, in that crowd, unprofessional. I have used it once in awhile as a shorthand – more descriptive than an acronym, less accurate as history -but among pros its ACA, right?
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I don't care for the term obamacare, which seems intended as a pejorative. Curiously, local blogger Eric Black, an admitted liberal, uses the term.
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I've learned a lot of things already, but the best one so far is that lmsinca was once hit on by Frank Sinatra. lolashot, the problem you are describing is a new and weird one to me. Sounds like maybe a firewall issue? You could try the fix I just added to the FAQ for the problems some of us have had with posting (not commenting) — revert to the "old interface" on Blogger dashboard, but your issue sounds different.
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ashot, I haven't run across it personally with a politician using "Obamacare" although all the references on my reps website (R) use it. I came across it though in reference to our insurance agent. A gal from the office called here to attempt to get part of our business back and used the term in a pejorative manner and while I didn't say anything I declined their services. Had a return call from a higher up still working me and I told him they might want to watch what they say when talking to customers. He actually laughed, so that's that.Mark, did Joey Bishop hit on you? Just kidding, I'll remind you.Qb, that was a looooong time ago.
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I too find "obamacare" to be used in a pejorative sense almost exclusively, and I too find it offensive. But who knows, a few years down the road people may be using that term as a compliment.My institution recently hosted a continuing education event for a group of healthcare professionals. The event was sponsored by the state association of that profession (similar to a state bar association). The speaker used the term obamacare in the title of the course. I gently suggested it be changed to the appropriate legislative title, but that did not happen.
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Ashot, does your work block blogger.com? Because the actual commenting mechanism picks up from blogger.com. But commenting in the main post seems acceptable to me, Ashot. I considered the use of Obamacare to be inaccurate (in fact, the plan is not Obama's, that was an important part of the approach) and meant to convey something more than just what the speaker is talking about. Of course, I consider the characterization of George W. Bush's SS reform as "privatization" a mischaracterization meant to be pejorative, too. bsimon: does he like the ACA? Not all liberals do.
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qb- Your fix didn't work, but I went to the FAQ page and tried the fix for the comment box not appearing and that worked. The problem was that I had clicked the "stay signed in" box. So you get an assist.ScottC- I saw you mention this on a different threat, but when I saw the AG describe FullTilt as a Ponzi Scheme you were the first person I thought of. I was going to make a post Titled "I Blame Scott" and link to the article, but never got around to it.
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Ah, good. Yeah, I had that problem at first, too.Apparently I fill the role of glitch pioneer.
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"I Blame Scott", okay (jk scott). We probably shouldn't blame him for everything though. He helped get us off the ground along with Kevin. I'm not very technically plugged in. I'd probably still be reading the "How to start your own blog" directions.
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I'll check in later, need to get busy around here, blogging is addictive after all.
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ashot:I thought about linking to the article with the quote "Online gambling just like SS".
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(totally wide-eyed innocent) You mean gambling isn't a retirement plan?Darn!
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I propose QB be renamed to GP for "glitch pioneer".Back to the topic, I don't find Obamacare offensive, although I do oftent think it is used as a pejorative. I just think it's inappropriate to use in such a professional context and amusing that our AG didn't even know the real name.Mark- PPACA has been pretty well abandoned in my parts and most people seem to use "ACA" or some variation of "health care reform law/bill".Taroya- Based on the insanity of Wall Street, I think gambling and retirement plans are probably more alike than different.
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Nah…I would have better luck gambling these days, I think.And I am one of those people that could buy a scratcher ticket every day for a year, and only win once..just enough to buy one more ticket…
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