Homeowners Title Insurance/Costs Standard? I am buying my first home and wondered if it's true (I've read several articles saying it is, but my attorney and realtor both never heard of it): Shopping around for a homeowners title insurance policy vs. just going with whomever the mortgage company/lendor selects at closing. One article: http://personalinsure.about.com/od/homeowners/a/aa071105a_2.htm I was told by my mortgage broker that he's never heard of it either and by his account, it is generally a standard fee across the industry. Am I the only intelligent one of this bunch, or am I reading all the wrong websites? :-) I plan on calling my property insurance company and see if they also offer Homeowners Title Insurance policies and how much they charge to compare.

Need to find travel insurance -- help!? My fiance and I are going on our honeymoon to Jamaica in October and we need to get travel insurance. We'll be there from 10/6-10/13. We are flying with United/US Airways, which is part of the reason we want insurance (in the event of a cancelled flight). Mostly we are just looking for something that will protect our trip/costs in the event that something is cancelled or delayed or something (not necessarily travel medical insurance). I've been looking at the various travel insurance sites and comparing plans/prices, but I have no idea what I'm looking for. I know if a price is too much or not, but as far as coverage I want/need/etc. I'm clueless. Help!!!

plzzzz help me with this hard assignment.? A company health plan offers four alternatives for coverage, from a low-cost plan with a high deductible to a high-cost plan with a low deductible. The details of coverage are given in the following table. Plan Options and Costs Annual Premium DeductibleCo-insurance1-Person2-PersonFamily Option 1$1,500/$2,500None$1,825$3,651$4,929 Option 2500/1,00020% 2,016 4,032 5,444 Option 3250/50020% 2,245 4,491 6.063 Option 4100/20010% 2,577 5,154 6,959 The Human Resources Department would like to develop a means to help any employee, whether single or married, small family or large, low medical expenses or high, to compare these plan alternatives. The deductible amount is paid by the employee. The first figure applies to an individual; the second applies to two-person or family coverage. In the case of Option 1, for example, this means that the insurance coverage takes effect once an individual has paid for $1,500 worth of expenses. (This limit holds for any individual under two-person or family coverage, as well as for an individual with one-person coverage.) In the case of two-person or family coverage, the insurance also takes effect once the household has incurred $2,500 worth of expenses. The co-insurance is the percentage of expenses that must be paid by the employee when the insurance coverage takes effect. In the case of Option 2, for example, this means that the insurance covers 80 percent of all expenses after the deductible amount has been reached. The Annual Premium is the cost of the insurance to the employee. a. Consider the case of a single employee with estimated annual expenses of $400. What plan is the cheapest? What is the total annual cost associated with this plan? b. For the analysis in (a), construct a table to show the best plan and the associated cost for annual expenses ranging from $100 to $1,200 in steps of $100. c. Consider the case of a married employee with estimated annual expenses of $1,000 and an equal amount for the spouse. What plan is the cheapest? What is the total annual cost associated with this plan? d. For the analysis in (c), construct a table to show the best plan and the associated cost for annual expenses ranging from $100 to $1,500 in steps of $100 for the employee assuming that the employee’s expenses and the spouse’s expenses as they change are the same. e. For the analysis in (d), find the level of expenses at which the cost is the same under Plan1 and Plan 2.

Plz help me with the question. It needs to be performed in excel.? A company health plan offers four alternatives for coverage, from a low-cost plan with a high deductible to a high-cost plan with a low deductible. The details of coverage are given in the following table. Plan Options and Costs Annual Premium DeductibleCo-insurance1-Person2-PersonFamily Option 1$1,500/$2,500None$1,825$3,651$4,929 Option 2500/1,00020% 2,016 4,032 5,444 Option 3250/50020% 2,245 4,491 6.063 Option 4100/20010% 2,577 5,154 6,959 The Human Resources Department would like to develop a means to help any employee, whether single or married, small family or large, low medical expenses or high, to compare these plan alternatives. The deductible amount is paid by the employee. The first figure applies to an individual; the second applies to two-person or family coverage. In the case of Option 1, for example, this means that the insurance coverage takes effect once an individual has paid for $1,500 worth of expenses. (This limit holds for any individual under two-person or family coverage, as well as for an individual with one-person coverage.) In the case of two-person or family coverage, the insurance also takes effect once the household has incurred $2,500 worth of expenses. The co-insurance is the percentage of expenses that must be paid by the employee when the insurance coverage takes effect. In the case of Option 2, for example, this means that the insurance covers 80 percent of all expenses after the deductible amount has been reached. The Annual Premium is the cost of the insurance to the employee. a. Consider the case of a single employee with estimated annual expenses of $400. What plan is the cheapest? What is the total annual cost associated with this plan? b. For the analysis in (a), construct a table to show the best plan and the associated cost for annual expenses ranging from $100 to $1,200 in steps of $100. c. Consider the case of a married employee with estimated annual expenses of $1,000 and an equal amount for the spouse. What plan is the cheapest? What is the total annual cost associated with this plan? d. For the analysis in (c), construct a table to show the best plan and the associated cost for annual expenses ranging from $100 to $1,500 in steps of $100 for the employee assuming that the employee’s expenses and the spouse’s expenses as they change are the same. e. For the analysis in (d), find the level of expenses at which the cost is the same under Plan1 and Plan 2.

Plzzz Help me with this assingment? A company health plan offers four alternatives for coverage, from a low-cost plan with a high deductible to a high-cost plan with a low deductible. The details of coverage are given in the following table. Plan Options and Costs Annual Premium DeductibleCo-insurance1-Person2-PersonFamily Option 1$1,500/$2,500None$1,825$3,651$4,929 Option 2500/1,00020% 2,016 4,032 5,444 Option 3250/50020% 2,245 4,491 6.063 Option 4100/20010% 2,577 5,154 6,959 The Human Resources Department would like to develop a means to help any employee, whether single or married, small family or large, low medical expenses or high, to compare these plan alternatives. The deductible amount is paid by the employee. The first figure applies to an individual; the second applies to two-person or family coverage. In the case of Option 1, for example, this means that the insurance coverage takes effect once an individual has paid for $1,500 worth of expenses. (This limit holds for any individual under two-person or family coverage, as well as for an individual with one-person coverage.) In the case of two-person or family coverage, the insurance also takes effect once the household has incurred $2,500 worth of expenses. The co-insurance is the percentage of expenses that must be paid by the employee when the insurance coverage takes effect. In the case of Option 2, for example, this means that the insurance covers 80 percent of all expenses after the deductible amount has been reached. The Annual Premium is the cost of the insurance to the employee. a. Consider the case of a single employee with estimated annual expenses of $400. What plan is the cheapest? What is the total annual cost associated with this plan? b. For the analysis in (a), construct a table to show the best plan and the associated cost for annual expenses ranging from $100 to $1,200 in steps of $100. c. Consider the case of a married employee with estimated annual expenses of $1,000 and an equal amount for the spouse. What plan is the cheapest? What is the total annual cost associated with this plan? d. For the analysis in (c), construct a table to show the best plan and the associated cost for annual expenses ranging from $100 to $1,500 in steps of $100 for the employee assuming that the employee’s expenses and the spouse’s expenses as they change are the same. e. For the analysis in (d), find the level of expenses at which the cost is the same under Plan1 and Plan 2.

Editing help......??? If you have a few minutes to spare, could anyone please, please help me edit my paper. For many years, people have been debating how medical insurance should be paid: Whether private payment or government payment or some combination. Private payment means one would pay for ones own insurance. Government payment would mean the government pays for ones insurance. If the government were to pay for ones insurance, it would limit ones abilities. Also, Government already has to cover Medicare, Social Security, Government housing, the Federal Housing Committee, and the collapse of the Financial Institutions. To a lot of thoughtful people, the only way to fix the health insurance crisis in the United States is to get the federal government to cover everyone. In most states, individuals can be denied coverage for any number of reasons, so it is wise to request and compare more than one individual health insurance quote. The extra short-term effort that's required to apply for individual medical insurance plans is easily worth the long-term savings. If one is insuring ones family, as opposed to just oneself, there are some additional considerations to take into account. Even if one does receive coverage through an employer-sponsored health plan, one should consider the cost-saving benefits of switching to a family medical insurance policy or moving some of your family members off of your group policy into a family policy. Most Americans receive their health coverage through some type of group health insurance. Although large corporations with hundreds or even thousands of employees have the bargaining power to negotiate with medical insurance companies for custom health plans for their workers, the small business owner must still research options and compare prices from multiple providers. Since small business health insurance offers guaranteed coverage to all employees in a given company, it can be difficult and time consuming for a small business owner to find the best policy. Most major colleges and universities require their full-time students to have medical insurance. While many of these same schools also offer their own student health plan, it is wise to explore his or her options. Typically the school will provide the minimum requirements that a health policy must meet in order to waive coverage under the school's policy. As a senior over 65, one is likely covered under some combination of Medicare plans. Changes in recent years to the federal government's medical insurance program for seniors has created a complex system with rigid enrollment timelines. Currently, we have a mixed system, where the government heavily intervenes in health care. In Canada and Great Britain, they have fully governmental health care systems, but a black market of private medicine exists. The government regulates which drugs are available on the market, through the FDA and through the agencies that fight its War on Drugs. Currently, drug companies are granted monopoly privileges called "patents" that give them the exclusive right to sell their drug for 17 years. A few years ago, Congress passed legislation which actually outlawed the importation of cheaper drugs from other countries and prohibited the federal government's health insurance programs (such as Medicare and Medicaid) from negotiating for lower prices. This provision was repealed by the Democrats after they won control of Congress. Britain, Canada, Japan and a number of other rich countries do so, and they each spend less money on health care than the United States does. They also do not have major companies, like General Motors, flirting with bankruptcy in large part because of the cost of health benefits Health insurers made $100 billion in profits last year, and industries of that size are just not legislated out of business, said Jonathan Gruber, an economist. The party that controls the White House and Congress also opposes the idea. Republicans have their own utopian notions, which generally involve letting loose the free market for Americans to demand better care on their own. The discussion has basically been paralyzed for years. In the meantime, the problem has grown worse. In the United States, forty-six million people lack health insurance, according to the most recent estimate, up from thirty-one million in 1987. Massachusetts changed the terms of the debate. Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican, and the State Legislature, controlled by the Democrats, reached a deal to cover almost everyone in the state. The plan will cut the cost of health insurance for families that do not have it and make it free for many poor families. The state will also require every resident to have insurance or face a stiff fine. The plan breaks free of the usual ideological shackles by dealing with both of the big reasons that nearly one- sixth of the U.S. population lacks insurance. One, many people cannot afford it. Two, some who can afford it imagin

I have taken 4 insurance policies for my family (4 members) with ALICO in the Gulf. We are indian nationals.? My concern is that with the drop of US Dollar value compared to our local currency - Indian Rupee, i fear that these policies value will be worth less than the cost incurred in paying the premium. Could anyone advice, if I should drop these policies? The plans are 2 Education Plans and 2 Life.-Thanks

Is SoftBank the Devil? Yes or No? Its 4am here in Japan so let me vent. /Bored ---SoftBank in Japan--- *you CAN'T get the details to your phone bill in English (if you are determined enough you have to call a certain number, hit a bunch of buttons, and listen to the machine) *random errors consistantly occured on all 3 of my previous phones (such as adding random letters to names in my phone book)(my current phone won't save data to simcard, only phone)(I have the option to lock folders and messages but it doesn't work) *the default text message costs money (you have to change it to SMS for every new message) *some parts of my phone are still in Japanese, even though I was supposed to get it all in English *keeping your phone number and buying a new phone costs you 3x the price compared to getting a new number (a $100 phone costs $300) *insurance is $5 a month for required 12 months and it doesn't cover water damage, or user error *the phone I bought for $160 broke and I wanted to buy the same model again, it would have costed me ~$400 *they can charge you thousands of dollars for accessing the internet without you knowing how much its costing *you can't set a limit on your phone (ex. no going over $100 from internet charges) *calls to non-SoftBank phones cost +$1 a minute *calls from 9pm-1am are $0.50 a minute *when asked the same question at my local store, they give different answers to different people *you can't buy a phone without buying a plan (unless you make up a really good excuse, like you need a phone a good camera just to take pictures) *if you send your phone in to be repaired it can take several months (often returns with different errors) *phone is difficult to use and understand, several options don't work or make sense *if you accidentally connect your phone to your computer as a modem, it costs THOUSANDS of dollars *they only use white people in their advertisements! *Brad Pitt is ripped I don't think its that bad everywhere, maybe just Japan for English speaking people. Its the only option when you are in a foreign country on a military base :)

What kind of stupid comment is this? He compared private health plans to plasma TVs, saying the plans would come down in cost as demand grows. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070730/ap_on_el_pr/giuliani_democrats does Giuliani, have any idea between a product, and a service? does he have any idea of what actually makes health insurance go up? is he really as competent as his supporters think he is? John K maybeyou would like to explain? captainobvious_lj, maybe you would like to read this and tell me how it compares? http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/HealthPlanFull.pdf

How to determine ownership % in a tenancy in common? I am purchasing a single family house with three others (two others on mortgage) that are related but none are married and all will be on the deed. The most attractive option seems to be Tenancy in Common, as we do not need the expense and tax implications of an LLC, but we do want to legally and explicitly state what our agreement is on the property. Forget the liability, as we'll cover that with insurance.. My questions are: 1) What's the best way to determine ownership %? 2) How should the initial costs (down payment, closing, etc.) be weighted compared to the operational, monthly, and improvement costs? 3) We plan on stating all conditions legally for the "what-ifs", does anybody have a standard set for us to start from? Basically we're treating it as a business, where we have expenses that must be covered (initial costs, monthly, improvements), but not sure how to value those expenses with regard to ownership.

Young liberal here: Why do we want Universal Healthcare? I am a liberal in high school, and have just begun to take an interest in politics. I was recently debating a conservative friend of mine (Yes, I have some), and when I said that health care costs are out of control, and too many people are uninsured, and that the government should pay for healthcare so that nobody would go without it, he came back with some pretty difficult points to refute. I would really like to know, how should I come back to these?... 1) The private sector is more efficient than the government, compare countries with planned economies with ours and they come up short. 2) The reason that costs are so high is because doctors don't have to compete for patients, because insurance companies pay for it all, so they can overcharge and most people don't know, except for the unlucky few without insurance. These are just 2 of his points. Please help me with some refutes to these so I can debate him! He cited john stossel's special on health care a lot. I've watched it, and I disagree with what he says, but I don't know how to argue it. Could some fellow liberals watch it and help me out?

Some of you wanted to know how illegals affect us? personally???? Here is ONE example!!!!!!!!!!!!! Catastrophe in Care Hospitals are being crippled by the costs of treating migrants--and that could be just the start of an immigrant-related health crisis By LEO W. BANKS Leo W. Banks One of the many signs on the Naco Highway. Leo W. Banks "It's not unusual to have one UDA (undocumented alien) cost $5,000, and we know we're not going to get that back," says Josie Mincher, emergency room manager at Copper Queen Hospital. Leo W. Banks "Until we have comprehensive immigration reform, we need to bear the health-care costs for undocumented workers, whatever those costs are," says Rev. Tom Buechele. If you drive along Southern Arizona's border with Mexico long enough, you might see a lone illegal wandering the desert. Or maybe he's hunched at the roadside sipping water from his milk jug. What's he doing there, and where are his compatriots, the people he broke into the country with? The uninformed might ask those questions, but those who live with the daily invasion across our open borders can make a pretty good guess what's happening. The fellow got bounced from his group by the coyote-guide. Two transgressions will get an illegal cut loose with certainty: Either he can't pay, or he shows signs of tuberculosis. You think these coyotes are fools? They don't want some hollow-eyed lunger hacking and coughing blood on them. So it's adios, pal, and now you're America's problem. But they know that already. Every illegal realizes that if he makes it to an emergency room in Southern Arizona, or anywhere around the country for that matter, he can get treatment, free of charge. It's federal law, and has been for 20 years. In its evolution, the policy has become a kind of federal health insurance program for illegals, and its rising costs are eating up resources that could otherwise go to poor and uninsured American citizens. It has created a financial nightmare for border hospitals and contributed to cutbacks in services at Tucson hospitals. Is this an outrage? A scandal? Some think it's both. But going back to our active TB sufferer, here's something even worse: The guy can't get treatment anywhere, goes underground and takes a job at a restaurant in Tucson or L.A., and coughs his way to infecting scores of others. Talk about a Hobson's choice. But as with everything in the ongoing crisis of illegal immigration, the hard choices would largely evaporate if the federal government fulfilled its constitutional duty and took control of our border. The threat illegal immigration poses to American public health plays out every day at Arizona's hospitals. Until recently, the issue remained only marginally public, a problem medical people batted around among themselves, not with the media. Even today, several hospitals contacted for this story declined comment. The Copper Queen Hospital in Bisbee, one of the hardest hit, helped break that barrier when CEO Jim Dickson began returning reporters' calls, even though the subject, as he puts it, has become "like the third rail. You don't want to touch it." But his problem had grown severe. Dickson's uncompensated costs for treating illegals rose from $35,000 in 1999 to $450,000 in 2004. His total shortfall now sits at about $1.4 million, a hefty deficit for a 14-bed hospital. To make ends meet, he had to close, in June 2000, the Copper Queen's long-term care facility, and cut back on staff and hours, forcing some employees to take second jobs to survive. The hospital has seen a ray of light, however. In the first months of 2005, the Copper Queen has gone back into surplus, in part because more illegals are in Border Patrol custody when brought in to the hospital. That means the Border Patrol must reimburse the Queen for the cost. In the past, agents would drop injured illegals not in their custody at the ER and take off, sticking the hospital with bills that never got paid. Another reason for the decrease, says Dickson: the Minuteman Project. "It's been terrific for us in April," he says, cutting down on the number of people coming across and therefore the number requiring ER treatment. Dickson says the hospital wrote off about $6,000 in losses in April this year, compared to about $35,000 in April 2004. The central issue, though, remains in place--the hospital has had to scale back health services to American citizens to treat illegals. Bisbee isn't alone. The most comprehensive study on the subject found that 24 counties in four states bordering Mexico wracked up $190 million in unpaid emergency medical bills caring for illegals in the year 2000. The study, commissioned by the U.S.-Mexico Border Counties Coalition, found that California spent $79 million of that; Texas, $74 million; Arizona, $31 million; and New Mexico, $6 million. Bear in mind that these numbers, the best available, are from 2000. We can assume, with increasing rates of crossings since then, the costs are considerably higher today. Nor do the above figures take into account non-border counties. Treating illegals in Maricopa County costs as much as $50 million a year, according to an estimate used by Republican Sen. Jon Kyl. Nationally, American hospitals lose $1.45 billion a year. The Medicare reform bill passed in 2003 allocated $1 billion to reimburse states for federally mandated ER care given to illegals--about $45 million a year of that to come to Arizona over four years. But even that, some hospital staffers say, is little more than a Band-Aid on a huge problem. Ruth Kish, director of patient care services at Copper Queen, expects that under the repayment formula, her hospital will receive only 10 cents of every dollar they spend on illegals. "But every bit helps," says Kish. Another factor: The counties in the above-mentioned study spent an additional $13 million in 2000 on emergency transportation, such as helicopters and ambulances, to pick up illegals injured after sneaking across the line. The Bisbee Fire Department's ambulance responds to about one of these calls a day during the summer, says Chief Jack Earnest. Asked how many of these patients pay up, Earnest wasn't sure, and recommended contacting the billing office in Sierra Vista. The billing office knew exactly how often illegals pay their ambulance bills--never. But there's another category--Mexicans injured in Mexico who call American ambulances for help. By federal law, they have to respond, which makes Bisbee's Copper Queen the trauma center of choice for Sonora's northern frontier. The calls come from Naco, Sonora, the town across the line just south of Bisbee, where, in spite of widespread poverty, cell phones are popular, and everybody knows the Americans are bound by law to treat them. "When we get a call we go, and we don't ask where the person's from," says Earnest. Naco residents needing care go to the port of entry and declare an emergency to American officials. When they're waved through, they're transported to the Copper Queen's ER in Bisbee's ambulance, or they drive themselves in private cars. The policy is called Compassionate Entry, and it applies to hospitals up and down the line. The Copper Queen averages about five such cases a month. Some abuse the privilege, says ER Manager Josie Mincher. She's seen Compassionate Entries with bad sore throats and others who aren't sick at all. One pregnant girl landed in the ER recently complaining of morning sickness. Most are seriously sick, though, and the staff rushes to help, "because that's what we do," says Mincher. But it doesn't take much to blow the budget. "Just walking in the door is $400," says Mincher. "It's not unusual to have one UDA (undocumented alien) cost $5,000, and we know we're not going to get that back. We're playing with monopoly money here." Here's an example of how one patient can wrack up a huge bill: A young Mexican man had a bad auto accident across the line and was taken to Douglas' Southeast Arizona Medical Center with severe neurological problems. After being stabilized there, he was transferred to Barrow's Neurological Center in Phoenix. He spent a costly month there, courtesy of the Center, and was transferred--with a tracheotomy tube in his throat and supplies to clean it, also provided gratis by Barrow's--to a hospital in Hermosillo. That facility kept him less than a day before releasing him to his home in Naco. But for reasons no one can explain, the Hermosillo hospital kept his trach kit and cleaning supplies. As a result, he became septic--a bad infection--and came through the Naco port under Compassionate Entry to the Copper Queen. He spent three days there, then the staff sent him off, with more free supplies, to a clinic in Agua Prieta for continued care. How much did this fellow cost the American health care system? A figure of a quarter-million dollars would surprise no one. Cost to the Copper Queen? Almost $6,000, and they got none of it back. Northern Cochise Community Hospital is in Willcox, far enough from the border that it doesn't get patients crossing the line for health care. But that doesn't mean it escapes the invasion. CEO Chris Cronberg loses about $100,000 a year caring for illegals, mostly those injured in traffic accidents when their loaded vehicle flips while speeding north. "It's not make or break for us," says Cronberg. "But as a small hospital, we depend on cash, and those are dollars that aren't coming in, so it has an impact." The same is true at Sierra Vista Regional Health Center, according to Vice President Marie Wurth. She expects the hospital to lose $250,000 this year treating those who jump the line, get hurt doing it and don't pay their bills. The big squeeze is on in Tucson, too. Tucson Medical Center loses an estimated $4 million every year treating illegals. The corresponding figure at UMC, which includes some foreign nationals, was $3.5 million for fiscal 2004, a $2 million increase from the previous year. Part of that is attributable to UMC, in July 2003, becoming Tucson's only Level One trauma center, meaning it saw the most serious cases. Chief Financial Officer Kevin Burns says the hospital's re-payment rate for treating illegals is about 5 cents on the dollar. "It's very expensive for us and continues to grow," says Burns, who says many illegals, as well as uninsured Americans, use his ER like a primary care physician. "We hear anecdotally that people come here from across the border because they know they can get cared for, and if they present at the ER, they can get that care at no cost." The federal law that put the hospitals on the hook for the medical bills of illegals goes by the acronym EMTALA--Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. It says that anybody who shows up in an ER must get screened, treated and stabilized, regardless of citizenship or ability to pay. But since its passage in 1985, the definition of emergency has evolved to include just about anything, and because Congress didn't fund the requirement, hospitals have had to eat the costs as word has spread that the federal goodie wagon is parked at the ER door. In cities with huge illegal populations, such as Los Angeles, the effects have been disastrous. In its spring 2005 issue, the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons reported that between 1993 and 2003, 60 California hospitals closed because, for several reasons including EMTALA, half of their services became unpaid. Another 24 are near closing, says author Madeleine Pelner Cosman. She also writes that in 1983, before EMTALA, L.A. County put together a trauma network that was "one of America's finest emergency med response organizations." A mere 22 years later--again, in part because of EMTALA--Cosman says the system is coming apart, with most trauma hospitals having left the network, along with physicians, surgeons and others. The law has caused a similar situation in Tucson, on a smaller scale. "With EMTALA, the government created an unfunded national health insurance program, and it has caused real problems in this community," says Dr. Herb McReynolds, who works for a company that manages the ER department for St. Mary's Hospital, which treats a large number of illegals. Lawmakers wrote the legislation to prevent patient dumping--in which one hospital refuses to accept, say, an uninsured woman in labor, telling ambulance personnel to take her to the county hospital instead. It stopped that practice. But it has caused a big increase in the amount of un-reimbursed care that hospitals provide, and in McReynolds' words, "made physicians rethink their careers and lifestyles." "The price of it has come over time, because after so much uncompensated care, it forces physicians off our call list," says McReynolds. "Physicians have a practice to go to the next day and a family, and ask themselves, do I really want to be up at 2 a.m. providing care when I won't get comp, and I can still get sued?" Some docs have removed themselves from on-call lists by going to work at outpatient surgical centers not affiliated with a hospital. Others stay on call, but limit the amount of time they're available. A neurosurgeon might take call one day a week, and that satisfies the law. EMTALA says that you must provide a reasonable amount of coverage, without being strict or specific about how much that is. McReynolds says that EMTALA--in tandem with the malpractice crisis--has caused the loss of medical coverage at many hospitals around the country and in Tucson, including St. Mary's. "Several years ago we had five neurosurgeons on staff here, and now we have two," he says. "We had hand surgery coverage every day, and now we have it one week a month. We used to have full ob-gyn coverage, and now they've left and gone to TMC. We have no ob-gyn and one gynecologist on staff covering emergencies one day a week." With docs all over Tucson running for cover, trying to stay off call and away from ERs, the variety of emergency health care available to Tucsonans has seriously diminished. And here's the most maddening irony of all: The feds now reimburse American hospitals for treating non-paying illegals, but not for treating American citizens. Exception: Those eligible for care under Federal Emergency Services, a fairly restrictive program. For a year and a half now, UMC has approached non-paying illegals in a novel way--it actually reports them to immigration officials. "Some people find that cold, but we have a responsibility to protect this charitable asset (hospital)," says CFO Burns, adding that UMC's status as a public entity requires a different approach. "Our belief is that to the extent people have ability to pay, we expect them to." After triaging and stabilizing an ER patient, the hospital sets out to learn who that patient is, and how he or she plans to pay. To those who are uninsured and underinsured, the hospital offers the option of applying for its innovative Charity Care program. Under it, the hospital charges the patient the same rate it would receive for that service from Medicare, a possible reduction of up to 70 percent. Patients unable to pay at that discounted rate are eligible for further discounts that can tear up the bill entirely. To apply for Charity Care, the patient need only return to the hospital with a W-2 or other documents. Those who cooperate and return with the required documents don't get reported to the feds. But the hospital does report those who take the medical care and run. How many illegals cooperate with this generous offer? Ten percent. Burns says UMC began reporting the 90 percent who don't pay in November of 2003. So far, they've reported 565 persons. Why start reporting? "Maybe a bit of it was born of frustration because people use our resources and make no effort to work with us and pay," he says. "Even if part of the population doesn't pay, I still have to hire new people and buy and upgrade equipment, which costs $15-$20 million a year. When you have these strains on resources, from foreign citizens and as well as Medicaid patients, you have to manage cash flow very carefully." As with most issues related to the illegal invasion, those who live along the Mexican border, the scene of the crime, have the best view. Where health issues are concerned, it's not a pretty sight. Residents say they've come across ground dotted with discarded pills, syringes containing nobody knows what, and used needles. Some report riding horses along creek beds, popular pull-up areas for groups heading north, and finding 70 or 80 piles of human feces, some of it blackened and running with blood. It's as disgraceful as it is disgusting--and it raises a question: What happens when rain washes all this into the water supply? Is it a threat to spread diseases such as hepatitis? Some believe it might be. What happens when cows drink from these contaminated creeks? And what happens when this constant flow of Third World humanity goes north, fanning out all across Arizona and the country? What kind of diseases do they bring with them? ER workers like Mincher live with that question every day. "We protect ourselves best we can," she says, "but if somebody comes in with a contagious disease, I might as well buy the farm, because I don't know what it is. A lot of times, they don't know what they have either. If they came off a ranch in southern Mexico, they've had no immunizations, no health care, nothing." Most of what she sees at Copper Queen--around 75 percent--is orthopedic, falls suffered while jumping fences, for instance. Dehydration, too. Some of these are pregnant women nine months along, who, in Mincher's words, "are so desperate to have their babies born in the U.S., they'll do whatever it takes." She sees cardiac-related cases among illegals who've been given crack, methamphetamine or speed by their coyote so they can keep walking. But she's also treated illegals with active chicken pox, tuberculosis, all varieties of hepatitis and AIDS. The Web and print media are full of stories about the diseases illegals carry, and their effect on American health. But some writers make alarming claims with sketchy evidence at best. In the cases of two diseases, however--Chagas and tuberculosis--the evidence is clearer that they're indeed coming across our border. Chagas, a potentially fatal illness spread by contact with the feces of the reduviid bug, called the "kissing bug," is prevalent in South and Central America. Fifteen million people in that region are infected with the parasite, and 50,000 die of it every year, according to the World Health Organization. A person can be infected for 10 or 20 years or more before showing symptoms, making it particularly insidious. At its most severe, the disease can cause the heart to fail, and literally explode. In the United States? Louis Kirchhoff, of the University of Iowa Medical School, estimates that between 80,000 and 120,000 Latin Americans with Chagas live here. Matching prevalence studies and immigration numbers, Kirchhoff figures about 10 Chagas-infected persons entered every day from Mexico alone in the 1990s. The disease can be transmitted four ways, but for Americans, the most worrisome is the blood supply. In the United States overall, the chance of contracting Chagas from a blood transfusion is small, one in 25,000, according to David Leiby, a research scientist at the American Red Cross in Washington. But in cities with high populations from Latin America, the numbers fall to much riskier levels. In Miami, for example, the chance is one on 9,000. In L.A., 1 in 5,400. Researchers have confirmed seven cases of people contracting Chagas through blood transfusions--five in the U.S., two in Canada--and they say the number of unknown cases is probably much higher. "A rate of one in 5,400 is something we're concerned about," says Leiby, adding that the FDA is still a few years away from a useable blood-screening test. "Chagas is overlooked by the health care system in the United States. Our physicians aren't aware of it and wouldn't recognize it in most cases." Tuberculosis, which also shows up in high rates in Mexico, is migrating north as well. Many assume a place like Cochise County, right on the border and overrun by illegals, would have a high incidence of TB. But it doesn't, says Edith Sampson, of the Cochise County Health Department. "The immigrants only pass through here on the way to Atlanta, or whatever city they're going to," she says. Exactly the problem--which is a big reason why 53 percent of the TB in the United States in 2003 was among foreign-born persons, up from 29 percent in 1993, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In L.A., again because of its huge illegal population, the figure is closer to 80 percent. Only 15,000 Americans suffer from active TB, the only dangerous kind because it can be passed to someone else, usually by coughing and expelling the bacteria from the throat or lungs. That's a small number, but the New York Academy of Sciences estimates that each victim will "infect 10 or 20 or more people--in whom the disease will likely remain latent, creating the potential time-bomb effect." The State Health Department says that Arizona had 295 reported cases of active TB in 2003, a jump from the previous year. Why the increase? More of the disease was found among kids under 5 years old and prisoners. The latter were mostly Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees--in other words, illegals. Sixty-eight percent of Arizona's foreign-born TB cases are from Mexico, says state health. Will TB return to the United States in a big way? It hasn't yet, says Lee Reichman, executive director of the New Jersey Medical School's National Tuberculosis Center. But he adds that with globalization--the ability to get around the world in 20 hours--and because "we can't stop people from getting in to this country, no matter how hard we try," the potential exists for a new epidemic. His particular concern is with multi-drug-resistant TB, fatal in 60 percent of cases. This strain requires a long regimen of costly drugs that illegals are unlikely to take, or have access to. Arizona has a small number of MDR-TB cases, and all of them in the past five years have been among foreign-born persons. "The reason you haven't heard about TB here is that good public health is working," says Reichman. "People who are symptomatic go to physicians, and the physicians don't ask questions. As soon as you have to ID yourself, or say we're going to send you back to Mexico, these people go into hiding and spread more TB. Any physician who cares about being a physician isn't going to ask those questions, because he took an oath to treat sick people." The Copper Queen's Rush Kish says that under Medicare reimbursement guides, her hospital cannot ask patients if they are in the country illegally. But how do you bill the feds to get money back for treating illegals if you can't ask if someone is illegal? Well, you play a little Orwellian word game, probing around the issue with a list of government-approved questions, then make educated assumptions. But the illegal holds the trump card, because he can refuse to answer every question. "We don't know yet what evidence Medicare will accept when we apply for reimbursement," says Kish. "But at least we can begin documenting the enormity of this problem." The question isn't whether those with genuine emergencies should get treatment. Of course they should. In Naco, residents have no access to ER care and many would die if they didn't get to the Copper Queen. The real question is: Who pays? Rev. Tom Buechele, pastor at St. John's Episcopal Church in Bisbee, thinks it's appropriate for the federal government to keep ponying up, as long as American companies "maintain their illegal trafficking in human labor." "Until we have comprehensive immigration reform, we need to bear the health-care costs for undocumented workers, whatever those costs are," says Buechele, who, for almost a year now, has been running a free monthly clinic in Naco, Arizona, catering to the poor and uninsured on both sides of the line. Although they talk a different language, politicians, even Republicans, promote policies that further Buechele's liberal vision. They boast to constituents that they've saved border hospitals by pushing through the Medicare reimbursement plan, which provides a relatively small amount of money over four years. But that's another Hobson's choice, which is to say no choice at all. What do you do, let hospitals go under? Kyl, who pushed to get the reimbursement money, says an emphatic no. "If we want those ERs to be there for us, then we'd better keep them in business," says the Arizona senator. "If our hospitals are required by federal law to treat anybody who comes into the ER, and the federal government has failed to control the border, then it's appropriate for the government to reimburse these hospitals." But some argue that the system as it stands now, with EMTALA firmly in place, is rigged to produce two results: The federal treasury will remain wide open to illegals, and that all but guarantees that more and more of them will bust the line to get here. After all, this is the end of the rainbow for them, where jobs await, education is free, health care is free. Who wouldn't come? And the more they come, the more American health suffers--from such diseases as Chagas and TB, further cutbacks in hospital services to American citizens, and even possible closures. Where's the compassion in that? Copper Queen ER nurse Josie Mincher, herself Hispanic, puts her health, and possibly her life, on the line to treat illegals. Listen to the emotion in her voice as she describes what that's like: "I go to work every day feeling like I'm on a torture wrack. My heartstrings get pulled in one direction by these sick people I want to help. Because I'm Hispanic, I know how they live. And I'm pulled in the other direction, too, thinking that if our hospitals aren't around, where do I take my own kids? "But we have to treat them because of EMTALA. It says that anybody who comes within 250 yards of an ER gets treatment. What would happen to Safeway if the law said anyone who comes within 250 yards of the store gets free food? They'd go out of business. Well, we're a business, too." Mincher's solution? "Send the bills to Mexico. If it affected them financially, they might do something about all these people coming across. My grandparents came here legally, and it took a long time and a lot of money. They respected the law. These people just walk across now. They weren't brought up the same way." Burns at UMC says he wants the U.S. and Mexican governments to work together to find a solution. But, as Kyl cautions, don't expect any breakthrough soon. Mexico benefits far too much from our illegal immigration nightmare--in jobs for its citizens and cash sent home--to step up with money to care for its own people. Until the border brought under control and the invasion stopped, we'll continue to pay the bills of people who illegally tiptoed across the line in the dead of night. This is an article from the Arizona Repuiblic newspaper, NOT something i "made up"!!!! If you don't believe me, LOOK IT UP FOR YOURSELF!!! It's on-line, if you look under Copper Queen hospital!!! And for those of you that can not take the time to READ this article, i can SEE why you are so UNINFORMED on this issue!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Calling all grammer people!!! Please, Profread my essay on homelessness? HOMELESSNESS Homelessness is a problematic issue in our society that increases more and more each year. Unemployment, poverty, low income, mental illness, and racial or sexual discrimination, huge income gap are all contributing factors for homelessness. Ending homelessness does not mean finding shelter for the homeless but finding a way to fix our broken system. Many homeless individual report mental illness as being their number one cause for becoming homeless (Yoshida). Health care costs are skyrocketing and insurance privileges are increasing. Although there are many programs and counseling services for the sick, they all require a stable housing address which the homeless do not even have. The homeless also lack a universal health-care plan that many of the services provided become useless for them. They cannot even get health insurance, because it’s only eligible only if they are employed not unemployed or self-employed. Finding work is the most painstaking part of life that the homeless go through every single day. They do not even have enough money to afford education to help them find a job. The homeless stricken by poverty and have no where to turn to. Some people who already have work are still homeless due to low income. Many employers discriminate worker based on their color of their skin. They take away their rights and give them low wages compared with other workers. They think of people with different color or racial background as disadvantaged and less skilled. The most discriminated racial groups involve Blacks and Hispanics. “[They] complain that the [blacks] are a base class and exclude them from the rights which others enjoy” (Emerson). People of different races are divided into classes that eventually lead to homelessness and poverty. “Race-as-identity” was defined all over the work force, which made it even harder for the homeless to find work (Steele). Even women are discriminated and so there is a twenty percent higher unemployment rate for women than for men (Yoshida). There’s a great income gap between the rich and the poor that the quantity of the homeless starts to rise frequently. As the rich become wealthier and begin purchasing more and more that prices begin to rise. Those whose incomes are not rising as fast are less and less able to afford the same goods that they were able to get before. There are good reasons for defining a free market with a free democracy. But a fair market is as essential to democracy as a free one. The market should not just consider the rich, but also the poor when setting prices on items. Even housing costs are disproportionately affecting people with lower income. As years go by the rental prices for primary residents increase hugely that the current residents end up becoming homeless. Aside from just low wage earners, many workers cannot afford to live where they work and so they go into debt and disappear into nothingness. These are not the only causes that lead up to homelessness. There are many other reasons that not even you or I know about. We should fix the social and economic system for the better of our community as a whole not just provide temporary shelter for the homeless. Providing such services is only going to help maintain poverty not ending it. The homeless should be given free educational training and should not be discriminated against because of their race or sex. They should all be also provided with a free health care plan including treatment for mental illnesses. We should work to end homelessness not to just uphold it. Works Cited Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The Norton Reader. Norton & Company. New York. 2004. Steele, Shelby. On Being Black and Middle Class. P.366-379. Yoshida, Kyosuke. Homelessness in the United States. May 29, 2008. <http://dwardmac. pitzer.edu/faculty/jkaret/cbny96/ap8kyopap.html>.

What is the relationship between 911 and Saddam?

Please profread my essay on homelessness...Thanks!!!? Homelessness is a problematic issue in our society that increases more and more each year. Unemployment, poverty, low income, mental illness, and racial or sexual discrimination, huge income gap are all contributing factors for homelessness. Ending homelessness does not mean finding shelter for the homeless but finding a way to fix our broken system. Many homeless individual report mental illness as being their number one cause for becoming homeless (Yoshida). Health care costs are skyrocketing and insurance privileges are increasing. Although there are many programs and counseling services for the sick, they all require a stable housing address which the homeless do not even have. The homeless also lack a universal health-care plan that many of the services provided become useless for them. They cannot even get health insurance, because it’s only eligible only if they are employed not unemployed or self-employed. Finding work is the most painstaking part of life that the homeless go through every single day. They do not even have enough money to afford education to help them find a job. The homeless stricken by poverty and have no where to turn to. Some people who already have work are still homeless due to low income. Many employers discriminate worker based on their color of their skin. They take away their rights and give them low wages compared with other workers. They think of people with different color or racial background as disadvantaged and less skilled. The most discriminated racial groups involve Blacks and Hispanics. “[They] complain that the [blacks] are a base class and exclude them from the rights which others enjoy” (Emerson). People of different races are divided into classes that eventually lead to homelessness and poverty. “Race-as-identity” was defined all over the work force, which made it even harder for the homeless to find work (Steele). Even women are discriminated and so there is a twenty percent higher unemployment rate for women than for men (Yoshida). There’s a great income gap between the rich and the poor that the quantity of the homeless starts to rise frequently. As the rich become wealthier and begin purchasing more and more that prices begin to rise. Those whose incomes are not rising as fast are less and less able to afford the same goods that they were able to get before. There are good reasons for defining a free market with a free democracy. But a fair market is as essential to democracy as a free one. The market should not just consider the rich, but also the poor when setting prices on items. Even housing costs are disproportionately affecting people with lower income. As years go by the rental prices for primary residents increase hugely that the current residents end up becoming homeless. Aside from just low wage earners, many workers cannot afford to live where they work and so they go into debt and disappear into nothingness. These are not the only causes that lead up to homelessness. There are many other reasons that not even you or I know about. We should fix the social and economic system for the better of our community as a whole not just provide temporary shelter for the homeless. Providing such services is only going to help maintain poverty not ending it. The homeless should be given free educational training and should not be discriminated against because of their race or sex. They should all be also provided with a free health care plan including treatment for mental illnesses. We should work to end homelessness not to just uphold it.

How should Sony be managing its strategic renewal? use SWOT and the five forces and Pestel framework analiyses The electronics and media giant Sony was struggling through the late 1990s and early part of the 2 century. With each disappointment, it seemed that Sony’s management launched another restructure’ of the company. By 2003, commentators were beginning to ask whether restructuring was part of the solution or part of the problem. How should Sony be managing its strategic renewal? (by Using the SWOT and the five forces) ... As conditions change, Sony has to change accordingly, because their conventional strategy won’t transcend to the internet-enabled model. Mitchell Levy, author of The Value Framework Introduction For the first quarter ending 30 June 2003, Japan- based Sony Corporation (Sony) stunned the corporate world by reporting a decline in net profit of 98 per cent. Sony reported a net profit of 9.3 mil lion compared to ¥1.1 billion for the same quarter in 2002. Sony’s revenues fell by 6.9 per cent to Y1.6 trillion the corresponding period. Analysts were of the opinion that Sony’s expenditure on its restructuring initiatives had caused a significant dent in its profitability. In the financial year 2002—03, Sony had spent a massive ¥100bn on restructuring ( £5OOm; — €750m). Moreover, the company had already announced in April 2003 about its plans to spend another 1 trillion on a major restructuring initiative in the next three years. Analysts criticized Sony’s management for spending a huge amount on frequent restructuring of its c electronics business, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of Sony’s revenues. In 2003, the sales of the consumer electronics division fell by 6.5 per cent. Notably, Sony’s business operations were restructured five times in years. Analysts opined that Sony’s excessive focus on the m consumer electro (profit margin below 1 per cent in 2002—03), coupled with increasing competition in the consumer electronics industry was severely affecting its profitability. t However, Sony’s officials felt that the restructuring measures were delivering the desired result: According to them, the company had shown significant jump in its profitability in the financial year 2002-2003. Sony reported a net income of ‘1 15.52bn in the fiscal 2002—03 compared to Y15.3lbn in 2001—02. (See ‘table I for Sony’s key financials in the past 13 years.) A statement issued by Sony said, ‘The improvement in the results was Partly due to I its electronics business especially in the components units At the beginning of the new millennium, Sony faced increased competition from W and foreign players (Korean companies like Samsung and LG) in its electronics and entertainment businesses. The domestic rivals Matsushita and NEC were able to capture a substantial market share in the internet-ready cell phones market. Analysts felt that the US-based software giants like Microsoft and Sun Microsystems and the networking major Cisco system posed a serious threat to sony’s home entertainment business. Background On 7 May 1946, Masaru Ibuka (Ibuka) and Akio Electronics, Entertainment and Insurance and Morita (Morita) co-founded a company called F, (see Table 2). Each business division was Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo cn into product groups. The electronics Telecommunications Engineering was split into four product with an initial capital of Y190, 000 in the city of Nagoya, Japan. They gave importance to product innovation and decided to offer innovative high quality products to their consumers. The founders introduced many new products division consisted of Sony’s life insurance and like the magnetic tape recorder, the ‘pocket able finance business. pro- radio and more. By the 1960s, the company had established itself in Japan and changed its name to Sony corporation. During the 1960s, the company focused on globalization and entered the US and European markets. During this period, Sony developed and introduced the Walkman, which was a huge success. It significantly boosted Sony’s sales during the 1 By the mid-1980s, Sony’s consumer products were marketed in Europe through subsidiaries in the UK, Germany and French. In 1989, Norio (Ohga) took over as the chairman and CEO of sony from Morita. Under Ohga, Sony began to place greater emphasis on process innovations that improved efficiency and controlled product costs. By 1994, Sony’s businesses were organized into three broad divisions — Electronics; Entertainment and insurance and Finance. Each business division was in turn spilt in to four product group which produced a wide variety of products. The entertainment division, which consisted of innovation and decided to offer, high groups, which produced a wide variety of products. The music group and the pictures group, made quality products to their consumers. Music videos and motion pictures. The finance division consisted of sony’s life insurance and finance business. The company’s growth was propelled by launch of innovative products and by its foray into the music and films business. Restructuring of electronics business (1994) Under Ohga’s leadership, Sony witnessed negligible growth in sales during 1990 and 1994. Sales and operating revenues improved by only 2 per cent during that period. However, the net income and operating income registered a drastic fall of 87 per cent and 67 per cent respectively. Analysts felt that the stagnation in the electronics industry coupled with factors such as the recession in the Japanese economy and the a appreciation of the yen against the dollar led to the deterioration in the company’s performance. It was noticed that in the electronics business the revenues of the video and audio equipment businesses were coming down or were at best stagnant the television and other groups were showing signs of improvement. The ‘Others’ group, which consisted of technology intensive, product such as computer products; video games’ semiconductors and telecom was performing very well and had a growth rate of nearly 40 per cent. In order to focus on the high growth businesses, Sony announce major changes in the structure of its electronics business in April] 1994. Sony’s management felt that the ‘Group’ structure which had fuelled the company’s growth in 1980s, was proving to be edundant_44dynamic business environment of the new structure, the product groups of the electronics businesses were regrouped into eight divisional companies. The eight companies were the Consumer Audio & Video Products company, the Recording Media & Energy Company, the Broadcast Products Company, the Business Industrial Systems Company, the InfoCorn Pro-ducts Company, the Mobile Electronics Company, the Components Company, and the Semiconductor Company. The restructuring exercise laid special focus on the products that formed the ‘Others’ group. Each divisional company had its own goals and was responsible for all its operations (production, sales and finance). The presidents of the divisional Companies were authorized to decide upon the investments to be made up to a prescribed limit. They could also take decisions regarding the HR issues for all employees up to the level of divisional director. In addition, they were made responsible for the financial performance of the companies headed by them. Sony’s presidents were expected to perform a role similar to that of CEOs and were accountable to shareholders. The restructuring of Sony’s electronics business was aimed at improving the company’s focus on high potential products and expediting decision making process to make the company more responsive to changing market conditions, following the restructuring, the number of layers in the decision-making process was reduced from six to a maximum of four layers. Commenting on his responsibilities within the new structure, Ohga said, ‘First of all, I would like for the divisional presidents to run their companies as if they were reporting to shareholders once a year at a share-holders’ meeting. My role will be to review their Strategies, examine any points I feel should be questioned and provide advice when and where necessary.’ The main goals of Sony’s newly formed organization system were explained in a memorandum entitled ‘The Introduction of the Company within a Company System. Ohga said, ‘By revitalizing its organization, Sony aims to introduce appealing products in the market in a timelier fashion while further strengthening cost-competitiveness companywide.’ In 1995, after the implementation of the divisional company structure in the electronics business, changes were announced in Sony’s management structure. Under the new framework, Sony was to be led by a team of executives at the top management level. The team included the‘-Chairman & CEO, Vice Chairman, President &company Operating Officer (COO), Chief Officers and the presidents of divisional companies. Analysts felt that Sony’s management took this measure to reduce the company’s6 on a single leader. In March 1995, Nobuyuki Idei (Idei) was appointed the President and Chief Operating Officer of Sony. Despite the organizational changes, the financial performance of Sony deteriorated in 1995. For the fiscal year ending March 1995, Sony reported a huge net loss of 293.36bn. The write off of goodwill during 1994, the poor performance of the Pictures group and the strength of the yen were regarded as major reasons for this loss. During 1994, the yen was at an all-time high against the dollar, making Sony’s exports uncompetitive. Ana lysts also felt that Sony’s consumer electronics business lacked new, innovative products. Given this poor financial performance, the top management of Sony decided td integrate the company’s various domestic and global business functions such as marketing, R&D, finance, and HR. The functions of its numerous divisional companies were thus brought under the direct purview of headquarters. Idei also decided to strengthen the existing eight-company structure and to lay more emphasis on R&D in the IT field. He felt that Sony needed to focus on developing IT-related businesses. Accordingly, Sony’s management reorganized the existing structure to create a new ten-company structure. The ten-company structure (1996) In January 1996, a new ten-company structure was announced, replacing the previous eight-company structure (see Table 5). Under the new structure, the previous Consumer Audio & Video (A&V) company was split into three new companies — the Display Company, the Home AV Company and the Personal AV Company. A new company, the Information Technology Company, was created to focus on Sony’s business interests in the PC and IT industry. The Infocom Products Company and the Mobile Electronics Company were merged to create the Personal & Mobile Communications Company. The other companies formed were the Components & Computer Peripherals Company (formerly called the Components Company), the Recording Media & Energy Company, the Broadcast Products company the Image & Sound Communications Company (formerly called the Business & Industrial Systems Company) and the Semiconductor Company. In order to devise and implement the corporate strategies of the Sony Group, an Executive Board was created. ‘l hoard was chaired by ldei. The other members of the board included the Chief Human Resources Officer, the Chief Production Officer, the Chief Marketing Officer, the Chief Communications Officer, the chief Technology Officer, the Chief Financial officer, the Executive Deputy President & Representative Director and the Senior Managing Director. In an attempt to consolidate the marketing operations of Sony, the marketing divisions that belonged to the previous organizational setup were spun off to create three new marketing groups — the Japan Marketing Group (.JMG) the international Marketing & Operations group (IM&O) and the Electronic Components & devices Marketing Group (ECDMG). The 1MG was responsible for all marketing activities in Japan for five companies — the Display Company, the 1-lome AV Company, the Information Technology Company , the Personal AV Company arid the Image & Sound Communications Company. The INI&O was responsible for supporting all overseas marketing efforts for these companies. The ECDMG oversaw the world wide marketing operations for the Semiconductor Company and the Components & Computer Peripherals Company. Analysts felt that this consolidation was done to separate Sony’s Japanese marketing operations from its worldwide operations so that the company could operate in a focused manner. To centralize all the R&D efforts of Sony, the previous R&D structure (in which each company had its own R&D division) was revamped and three new corporate laboratories were established. The laboratories were the Architecture Laboratory (responsible for carrying out R&D for software, network and IT-related technologies), the Product Development Laboratory (R&D for product development in AV businesses) and the System & LSI Laboratory (R&D for LSI and system design, the basic components of hardware products). In addition, a new D21 laboratory was established to conduct long-term R&D for future oriented technology intensive products. Sony also gave emphasis to grooming young, talented people to take up top management positions. The company also introduced the concept of ‘virtual companies’ — temporary groups consisting of people from different divisions for launching hybrid products. Sony applied this idea when developing the latest generation M For the financial year 1995.-96 Sony registered a 15 per cent increase in revenues and became profitable again. in April 1998, a new organization, Corporate Information Systems Solutions (CISS), was established to realign and upgrade Sony’s information network systems and its global supply chain. The CISS comprised an advisory committee of individuals from management consultancy firms and Sony’s CISS representatives. The committee members advised the President on technological and strategic issues related to CISS. Representatives of the CISS were placed in all divisional companies to accelerate the implementation of corporate IT projects. During early 1998, Sony formed Sony Online Entertainment in the US to focus on internet- related projects. In May 1998, Sony changed the composition of its board of directors and established the new position of Co-Chief Executive Officer (Co-CEO). Idei was appointed Co-CEO Idei’ reshuffled the management system to facilitate speedy decision making, improve efficiency, and provide greater role clarity to managers. The new system separated individuals responsible for policy-making from those who were responsible for operations. Under the new system, Idei as responsible for planning and designing‘s strategies and supervising the growth of e-business. Along with Ohga , he -had to supervise the performance of the entire Sony group. president Ando was made responsible for overseeing Sony’s core electronics business while Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Tokunaka was made responsible for the company financial strategies and network businesses. In addition, the top management positions of Sony’s global subsidiaries, which were previously called Corporate Executive Officers, were redesigned Group Executive Officers. Explaining the rationale for these changes, a Sony spokesman said, ‘These changes are aimed at making Sony’s management more agile. The implications From 1995 to 1999, Sony’s electronics business (on which the restructuring efforts were focused) grew at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.55 per cent (see Table 6). The music business had a CAGR of 10.5 per cent while the pictures business had a CAGR of 17 per cent. Significant gains were, however, recorded by the games and insurance business. The games business registered a CAGR of 215 per cent, while the insurance business registered a CAGR of 31 per cent. In the late 1990s, Sony’s financial performance deteriorated. For the financial year 1998—99, its net income dropped by 19.4 per cent. During that period, Sony was banking heavily on its PlayStation computer game machines. It was estimated that the PlayStation (Games business) accounted for nearly 42 per cent of Sony’s operating profits and 15 per cent of total sales for the quarter October— December 1998. In the late 1990s, many companies across the world were attempting to cash in on the internet boom. At that time, Sony’s management felt the need to establish a link between its electronics business (TVs, music systems, computers) and its content-related businesses (music, video games, movies and financial services) by making use of the internet. The management felt that in future, the revenues generated by internet-related businesses might even surpass those earned through the consumer electronics business. It wanted to use the internet as a medium for selling its electronic products as well as its content (music, movies and so on). In order to achieve this, Sony announced another reorganization of business operations. Analysts felt that Sony was in a good position to exploit the opportunities offered by the internet sTi-ice the company already had an established position in the electronics and content-related businesses. The unified-dispersed management model In April 1999, Sony announced changes in its organizational structure. Through the new frame work, the company aimed at streamlining its business operations to better exploit the opportunities offered by the internet. Sony’s key business divisions — Consumer Electronics division, Components division, Music division and the Games division — were reorganized into network business This involved the reduction of ten divisional companies into three network companies, Sony Computer Entertainment and the Broadcasting & Professional Systems (B&PS) Company (see Exhibit 1). SCE Company was responsible for the PlayStation business while the B&PS Company supplied video and audio equipment for business, broadcast, education, industrial, medical and production related markets. The restructuring aimed at achieving three objectives — strengthening the electronics business, privatizing three Sony subsidiaries, and strengthening the management capabilities. The restructuring also aimed at enhancing shareholder value through ‘Value Creation Management’. Strengthening the electronics business The three network companies created were the Home Network Company, the Personal IT Network Company and the Core Technology & Network Company. Each network company was governed by a network company management committee (NCMC) and a network committee board (NCB). The NCMC was responsible for developing management policies and strategies. Its members included the officers and presidents of the concerned network company. The NCB was responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the network company while keeping in mind the overall corporate strategy of the entire organization. Each NCB was chaired by the concerned company’s President & CEO, Deputy President, President and Representative Director, two Executive Deputy Presidents and Representative D, and Corporate Senior Vice President. The new structure aimed at decentralizing the worldwide operations of the company. The corporate headquarters gave the netw5 companies the authority to function as ai entities in their corresponding businesses. To facilitate more functional and operational autonomy, the corporate headquarters also transferred the required support functions and R&D labs to each network company. To give a further boost to Sony’s electronics business, the management created Digital Net work Solutions (DNS) under the purview of head quarters. The role of DNS was to create a network business model by charting strategies and developing essential technologies for exploiting the opportunities offered by the internet. The basic aim of creating DNS was to develop a network base that would provide customers with digital content (such as music and movies) and financial services. Privatizing Sony’s subsidiaries As part of its strategy to promote functional and operational autonomy and to devote more attention to units which contributed significantly to its revenues and profits, Sony decided to convert three of its companies — Sony Music Entertainment a (Japan), Sony Chemical Corporation (manufactured printed circuit boards (PCBs), recording media ; and automotive batteries), and Sony Precision Technology (manufactured semiconductor inspection equipment and precision measuring devices) into wholly owned subsidiaries of Sony. In addition, Sony converted SCE, which was jointly owned by Sony and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), into a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony. Strengthening the management capability To strengthen the management capability, Sony clearly demarcated the roles of headquarters and the newly created network companies. Accordingly, distinction was made between the strategic and supp Sony’s headquarters was split into two separate units — Group Headquarters and Business Unit Support. The role of Group Headquarters was to oversee group operations and expedite the allocation of resources within the group. The support function such as accounting, human resources and general affairs, were handled by the network companies so that they could enjoy more autonomy in their operations. Significant long-term R&D projects were directly supervised by the headquarters, while the immediate and short-term R&D projects were transferred to the concerned network companies. In order to evaluate the performance of the net work companies, a value based performance meas urement system was introduced. The implications While pursuing its restructuring efforts, Sony started developing products which were compatible with the internet. Its electronic products, such as digital cameras, personal computers, music systems; and Walkman, were made web compatible.Through its website, www.sony.net, consumers could participate in popular television game shows listen to music, and ,d songs and movie trailers, Sony also venture into e-business with the acquisition of Sky Perfect Communications. While focusing on offering internet-enabled products, Sony also attempted to increase internet penetration by offering internet connection at lower cost and higher speed to consumers in urban areas. Sony’s restructuring efforts in 1999 were well received by investors. Following the announcement of the restructuring programme, Sony’s stock- prices nearly tripled. This positive trend continued even in 2000. By March 2000, its stock prices were at a high of $152. Having already offered its PlayStation game console on the internet, Sony— launched its PlayStation 2 (PS2) video game console in Japan in March 2000. The PS2 sold 980,000 units within the first three days of its launch. However, Sony still faced problems since its other businesses, ii hiding electronics, movies, personal computers, and mobile telecommunications, were not performing well. Analysts felt that the low internet penetration rate in Japan (estimated to be 13 per cent in 1999) was proving to be a major hurdle for Sony. Consequently,Sony’s financial performance deteriorated by the end of 1990s. For fiscal1999—2000, Sony’s net income fell to Y121.8 compared to Y l 79bn in the fiscal 1998—99. This resulted in a major fall in its stock prices. By May2000, Sony’s stock prices fell by 40 per cent to$89. Analysts were quick to criticized Sony’s efforts towards transforming itself into a web-enabled Company. They commented that the company had created more hype rather than taking a few significant steps in this regard. In response financial problems, Sony announced a reshuffle in its top management. Idei became the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony. Ando, who headed Sony’s PC division,was made the President, while Tokunaka, who previously headed the PlayStation unit, was made the Chief Financial Officer of Sony. Sony also undertook a massive cost-cutting exercise. Its global manufacturing facilities were reduced from 70 in 1999 to 65 in 2001. Sony planned to further bring down the number of manufacturing facilities to 55 by the end of 2003.This move would result in the elimination of17,000 lobs. While implementing these measures, the company had to deal with severe resistance from employee unions and local governments (in areas where jobs would be eliminated). Despite the above measures, Sony’s financial condition did not show any significant improvement in 2001. The company was severely affected by the slowdown in the IT industry during2000—01, which led to a decline in the demand fore computer-related products. As a result, in spite of a 9.4 per cent increase in revenue in the fiscal2000—01 (mainly due to the improved sales of the PlayStation games console) Sony’s net income dropped significantly from l21.83bn in the fiscal1999—2000 to y16.75bn in the fiscal 2000—01. Analysts commented that sony required a new business model. The company had immediately to take concrete measures to increase its net income. Sony’s management also felt that with the emergence of net-compatible devices like cellular phones, audio and video gadgets and laptops, PCs were losing their charm, It felt that in the emerging age of ‘broadband’ the demand for the above products was likely to increase in future. Sony’s management felt that in order to boost profitability and exploit opportunities offered by the broadband era, there was a need for yet another organizational restructuring. Restructuring efforts in 2001 Sony announced another round of organizational restructuring in March 2001. The company at transforming itself into a Personal Broadband Network Solutions company, by launching a wide range of broadband products and services for its customers across the world. Explaining the objective of the restructuring, Idei said, ‘By capitalizing on this business structure and by having businesses cooperate with each other, we aim to become the leading media and technology company in the broadband era.’ The restructuring involved designing a new headquarters to function as a hub for Sony’s strategy, strengthening the electronics business, and facilitating network based content distribution. New headquarters to function as a hub for Sony’s strategy Under the new structural framework Sony’s headquarters was revamped into a Global Hub centered on five key businesses — electronics, entertainment, games, financial services and internet/communication service. The primary role of the Global Hub (headed by the top management) was to devise the overall management strategy of the company. Sony’s management decided to integrate all the electronics business related activities under the newly created Electronic Headquarters (Electronics HQJ). In order to achieve the convergence of Audio Video Products with IT (AV/IT convergence), Sony devised a unique strategy called ‘4 Network Gateway’. Under this strategy, the games and internet/communication service businesses were combined with the electronics hardware business so that innovative products could be developed and offered for the broadband market. The three businesses were under the supervision of Ando. In order to provide support services or the entire group, a management platform was created, which consisted of key support functions in diverse fields such as accounting, finance, legal, intellectual copyrights, human resources, information systems, public relations, external affairs and design. The management platform was later split into the Engineering, Management and Customer Service (EMCS) Company and the Sales Platform (which comprised the regional sales companies and region-based internet direct marketing functions).’The management platform was headed by the Chief Administrative Officer, a newly created position. Sony’s management also converted the product- centric network companies into solution-oriented companies by regrouping them into seven companies. Group resources were allocated among the network companies on the basis of their growth potential. Strengthening electronics business To enhance the profitability of the electronics segment, Sony’s management decided to give emphasis to product development efforts. The management felt it was also essential to enhance the quality of the electronic devices manufactured. In order to achieve this, Sony’s management devised an innovative business model called the Ubiquitous Value Network,’ which connected the company’s existing hardware, content and services through an agency of networks. Sony planned to develop a wide range of products which could be connected through this network. Network-based content distribution Like the electronics, games and internet/communication service businesses, the entertainment and financial services businesses were also developed in a network compatible mariner to facilitate electronic content distribution. In the entertainment business, music and movies were converted into a digital format and distributed over the internet (apart from being distributed through traditional channels such as music stores and theatres). In Japan, Sony Music Entertainment launched online music through its website. This website allowed customers to download popular songs for a fee. In the financial services business, Sony Life Insurance Japan launched the ‘Life Planner’ consultancy sys tem which offered personalized financial services online to its customers. Sony Life Assurance Japan also went online and started selling its insurance policies over the internet. The implications Soon after the reorganization, Sony launched some innovative products to cater to the broad band market. For instance, in 2001, the company launched a series of internet-compatible mobile phones. However, the product was unsuccessful (owing to problems in the software used in the mobile devices) and in early 2002 Sony had to recall three batches of phones sold to Japanese companies. In consequence, Sony had to write off $ 110 m in the quarter ending June 2002. In April 2003, Sony announced another major restructuring exercise (to be carried out in the next three years) in order to strengthen its corporate value (see Exhibit 3). Following this announcement, Sony was reorganized into seven business entities — four network companies and three business groups (see Exhibit 4). These business entities were given the authority to frame short-term and long-term strategies. According to analysts, the company’s financial performance did not improve in spite of the frequent restructuring by Sony’s management. For the financial year 2001—02, Sony’s operating income fell by a significant 40.3 per cent while its revenues registered a marginal increase of 3.6 per cent. According to a Business Week report, sales of Sony’s most profitable products — the PlayStation and the PS2 game consoles — were likely to fall (see Exhibit 5). Due to Sony’s poor financial performance, the management planned to further reduce the number of manufacturing facilities and shift some production activities out of Japan. Analysts also criticized Sony for being a diversified business conglomerate engaged in several businesses from semiconductors to financial services. They felt that the company should focus on a few highly profit able businesses like games, insurance, and audio- video equipment and hive off the unprofitable businesses. Analysts felt that spending huge amounts of money on restructuring was not justified, particularly since the restructuring exercise had not yielded the expected results. In 2001, restructuring efforts had cost the company fl00bn; and the proposed restructuring in April 2003 was expected to cost another Yl 4Obn. Analysts also felt that the convergence of consumer electronics, PCs and the internet was not only opening up new opportunities for Sony but also creating more competition for its core businesses. As Sony took steps to strengthen its networking capabilities, the company faced new forms of competition in both domestic as well as foreign markets. For instance, in the US, software giants like Microsystems (as well as a few startups) were planning to enter the home entertainment market. Even Cisco Systems, which provided network solutions, had started manufacturing consumer electronics products. A Business Week report said that Sony lacked any distinctive competencies in the internet-related businesses. It was neither an aggregator of content like Yahoo!, nor a limited-product vendor with an efficient distribution network such as Dell. distinctive competencies in the internet-related businesses. It was neither an aggregator of content like Yahoo!, nor a limited-product vendor with an efficient distribution network such as Dell.

Moms who have used breast pumps please help me answer some questions! Read on!!? Ok, ladies- I want to hear from any of you how have nursed and used a breast pump. I am a stay at home mother, pregnant with our third. I plan to breastfeed exclusively, and want to be successful in using a breast pump this time around. Here is a list of questions I have: 1. What brand pump is the best to consider, and why? 2. What features do I need to be looking at when comparing pumps? 3. I’ve been told to get an electric double pump—what do you think? 4. Is the option of renting one really safe? What should I know about this option? 5. I have Blue Cross- does anyone know if my insurance would cover the cost of renting a pump? I welcome any additional information that you feel needs to be added! Thank you in advance for your time and input on these questions! :)

Will purchasing a motorcycle actually save me money? I drive a 2003 Camry with about 35 MPG. I drive about 225 miles a week here in Georgia, which is nothing compared to when I lived in Cincinnati. I'll only be living in my current location for another two years. I know I could definitely use a motorcycle a lot here. I make a lot of short trips, it gets nowhere near as cold here, and there is WAY less precipitation compared to Cincinnati. Anyway, I considered a scooter or motorcycle to start saving on gas money. I've decided to go with a motorcycle because even though the scooters have better mileage, the cheaper ones aren't exactly highway capable. The higher powered ones end up costing a lot more and I can get a motorcylce that is highway capable for even less. Of course there is the initial investment cost. I'm shooting for $3000. Then you have insurance, helmet, etc. I also plan to take a class. With double MPG, will I really save money in the long run, especially if I end up not using it as much in two years as I can now I won't be getting rid of my current car, I'll just be using it a lot less. I still need something for grocery shopping and when I need to take other people with me. Magz: By the way, I did mention I'm looking at around $3000. I'm not looking for an Insight. thewild0ne69: My apologies. That was a typing error. I meant 25 because I'm driving city, not highway.

why do people like ANN COULTER?

If things are so bad, why are they so good? If things are so bad, why are they so good? With all the gloom coming out of Wall Street, the Democrats on the campaign trail, and the mainstream media, a remarkable thing just happened: Real gross domestic product, the best summary report of the American economy, came in at a breathtaking 3.9 percent annual rate for the third quarter. In fact, following the 3.8 percent growth rate for the second quarter, the U.S. economy has posted its strongest quarterly growth in four years. The economy actually appears to be speeding up, following the relatively sluggish performance of the prior 18 months. On top of this, the inflation rate is actually slowing down. The consumer spending deflator is reading 2.1 percent for the past year, compared to over 3 percent six quarters ago. The core inflation rate is down to 1.9 percent, below the Fed’s 2 percent target. Even employment is holding its own. According to Automatic Data Processing’s private employment survey, which showed its strongest gain in four months, October looks like it will produce about 125,000 new jobs. Meanwhile, rising exports of American goods and services are booming to such an extent that the deep housing recession is being cancelled out. And while many continue to predict a consumer collapse because of falling home prices and tighter credit, after-tax inflation-adjusted income is 4.1 percent ahead of last year, for a $344 billion gain, while the purchase cost of energy prices are flat. The little noticed factoid is that consumer energy use per unit of GDP has actually fallen by more than 50 percent in recent decades. Again: If things are so bad, why are they so good? The stock market roared after the Federal Reserve cut its target rate on Wednesday by 25 basis points to 4.5 percent. The rate cut was a small insurance policy, just in case the subprime credit crunch and the housing downturn take a larger toll on the economy. But listening to the Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday, you’d think it was 1929 all over again. The litany of scare-talk complaints includes China trade unfairness, globalization, immigration, income inequality, stagnant wages, a shrinking middle class, the sinking dollar, and high oil prices. Yes, there is home deflation on Main Street and loan deflation on Wall Street. It will continue. But what about the rest of the story? When you listen to the hedge-fund short-sellers and the liberal politicians as they attempt to discredit the Bush economic boom, you could almost fall for their bear-market seduction. But the seductress turns out to be an economic harlot — not a beautiful woman. The true message of the strong economy is that we’re virtually guaranteed of a Goldilocks soft landing or better — and certainly not a recession. It’s interesting that while the Bush tax cuts of 2003 continue to encourage investment and entrepreneurship, expanding national income and higher tax collections have brought the big bad budget deficit down to $160 billion, or roughly 1 percent of GDP. Using something called the primary deficit — which extracts net interest on the debt and can be used to measure fiscal stimulus on the economy — we actually have a 70 billion surplus. These are all reasons why it would be foolhardy to embrace large-scale tax-hikes to allegedly fight the budget gap. House tax chief Charlie Rangel’s great idea to reduce the corporate income tax is the first pro-growth tax-cut measure from a Democrat in many years, and hopefully his effort will spur a discussion of full-scale tax reform by the Republican and Democratic candidates. But looking to the rest of Rangel’s plan, there are ways to eliminate the alternative minimum tax that do not require big tax hikes on the most successful earners and investors. For example, the Bush administration’s tax-reform panel, chaired by former senators Connie Mack and John Breaux, proposed a growth-and-investment plan with only three income-tax brackets of 15, 25, and 30 percent. The plan would repeal the AMT and reduce the corporate tax to 30 percent. Capital gains and dividends would remain at 15 percent. Or there’s the new plan from Wisconsin House member Paul Ryan that would move to a 10 and 25 percent tax system while also eliminating the dreaded AMT. In other words, there are a lot of ways to gently nudge tax rates lower while broadening the tax base that would keep the Bush boom going well into the future. The print and broadcast media do not give President Bush much credit for his economic policies. But somehow I have to wonder whether low unemployment, strong growth, negligible inflation, and record stock markets do not deserve just a bit of praise. It is still the greatest story never told.

Used car question? Ok so I plan on buying a used car. other than the actual price of the car and insurance, what else am i looking at paying. tax, title, etc. Also is there a way to figure out how much this extra stuff will cost me? Also, will the price/amount of extras be different from a private party as compared to a dealer? Thanks. I have my financing figured out in the way of my insurance and car payments. I'm just trying to figure out what else I have to pay for when I buy the car besides the actual car itself. One more thing. I know you have to get the title and registration done right away, but how long can you wait before paying the sales and excise tax?

Do you like it? Well, Ingrid, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I only regret that it has taken this long for us to introduce ourselves. Here we have been study le belle histoire del monde, we study in the same place, take the same courses, and we have never introduced ourselves. So, where are you from Ingrid? I’m from Johnson County. Johnson County? That is a county. Can you be more specific? I am from Kansas I am from Olathe. You know, it is all a suburb of KC. I suppose your right. Kind of like Topeka, except closer. Well not really. I heard that people say they are from Johnson County to mislead us dumb country people. I hear in Johnson county they have Emerald Castles and geese that lay golden eggs. Oh, stop it. I came from a nice neighborhood. It used to be nicer; at least that’s how I remember it. I know what you mean. Of course, it was kind of the opposite for me. I used to dislike my little hometown, and I did not think much of my parents’ house. I thought they were all common place. In my old age, I have come to realize that it was one of the most beautiful, tranquil places on this earth. My parents’ house was extraordinary compared to most, but it took me years to realize it. Hah. Your old age? How old are we now again? How old are WE? Well, we did graduate in the same year! Hah! The prosecution rests. For awhile I forgot my age. I couldn’t tell 22 from 25. I am 26 now. How about you? I just turned 26. I am starting to get stressed out about it. Really? You don’t seem stressed. Why would you be stressed? Well, you know. Soon I will be the ‘old maid’. You don’t look old. You still look like that beautiful girl I remember from class. I would consider you more of a lady than a maid anyway. So think of it this way, ‘soon I will be an older lady’. Well, I’m not sure that is much better, but I understand how you feel. Guys don’t have it that easy either. Look at me, single at 26, and I haven’t had a date in years, perhaps my life. It is nice knowing that there is someone out there in a similar situation. You know you’re really a nice guy. Thanks. …(I wonder if she wants me to kiss her. I definitely want to, but I’ve waited this long.. It has to be right, and should not come at the cost of my morals or hers. …(So, are you going to kiss me, or just stare into my eyes smiling all night? Well, we did just meet, I don’t want to come off too desperate.) So, back to graduation. Why didn’t you come? Well, I’m not sure really. You know us history types with our multiple cause existential answers. What were some of the reasons? Were you trying to be a bad-boy or what? Wow, okay, so you want an answer? I think I planned on there being another graduation in my future. You know another degree, graduate school or professional school, but it is hard to decide. I don’t really like begging for the money either. I know it’s not begging really, but it is hard to expect and accept gifts like that form your parents. I don’t think I fit in well amongst my peers anyway. I knew quite a few, but you know… It was a lot like my high school graduation. I bet your high school graduation was larger. I was not sure who I would be sitting by, and I pictured the only history majors being me and crazy John. Don’t get me wrong, but I like crazy John and all, but I am not sure about parading us around. You know, all of the formalities and regalia all for the completion of four years of expensive education. Crazy John was there. I liked crazy John too. He was a little weird, I guess you could say awkward, but I knew he was smart, and I always knew I would see him in the library. I saw you quite a bit too, but you never seemed to notice me. Anyway, the history department had more than a row of graduates. It was pretty amazing that a liberal arts department would have that many graduates. The funny thing was that none of us received honors. I thought Kate would or John or you. Well, you know the saying, ‘All men are created equal.’ I don’t think there is much since making distinctions between us since we all came to the same result. I think I became a history major because of you. I don’t really know what I was thinking. I wanted to be a nurse or a scientist or psychologist, but something led me back to history. Let me guess, a passing grade? Yea Me too. You know you would have made a bad nurse. Tell me about it! I couldn’t pass chemistry and blood…uh. Well I was thinking something different. What’s that? Well, with nurses as cute as you in those little outfits, health insurance companies would be going bankrupt left and right. Guys would have been finding ways to put themselves in the hospital for extended periods. Oh please! …(OH my gosh! He thinks I’m cute! Points for you, because I do love a complement. I have heard one similar to that before…) …(I can tell by the way you smile, tuck your chin downward, raise your shoulders and bat your eyelashes that you like that.) You know what? What? We could have had this conversation three and a half years ago. Well, would it have been the same? Probably not. I would have talked to you if you came to the party. Most people wanted to know you better, because there were a lot of mixed reviews. Yea, well, you know how the airwaves work. I’ve been to parties before. All sorts of parties, and they usually have the same purpose and results/resluts.