They picked a bad time to slump.

I hope the recent losses the Red Sox experienced against the Orioles aren't an indication that they have finally hit a slump.

I realize that the Orioles seem to have the ability to beat the Red Sox this season and I realize that the pitching staff is starting to get tired but still, the Red Sox cannot continue to leave the bases loaded without scoring any runs. Leaving the bases loaded means that the team is capable is hitting the ball but not capable of finding a way to step on home plate.

And we all know that the only way to win baseball games is to step on home plate more times than the other team.

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There are more and more stories coming out about companies dropping health insurance benefits and telling employees to go to the federally-mandated health care exchanges. Some companies are providing a fixed amount of dollars to their employees that they can use to purchase their health insurance plan.

So let me see if I understand this: The biggest positive impact of ObamaCare is to companies who no longer have to provide health insurance. They simply provide a fixed amount of dollars to the employees who then use that money to purchase access to our nations new "socialized medicine" process.

And if the dollars the companies are providing are fixed expenses, are they also considered capital expenses? If so, the companies can write those dollars off at tax time as capital expenditures (cost of doing business).

Where is the benefit to the working stiff who has had decent health insurance over his career and now suddenly is thrust into the social medicine pool? He probably has less coverage and no tax advantage. He also has to choose his insurance plan without the benefit of anyone providing clear answers to his questions.

Traditionally, companies hired experts who waded through the insurance swamp to find plans that provided the best care while saving the most money. Now it's up to your Average Joe to learn what questions to ask, figure out what might happen in the future and calculate the actual costs to his families budget.

This crap is going to end up costing the working family a lot of money while opening up a whole new raft of tax breaks for businesses.

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You might like these links:

• Key phrase in this story: "Man, what kind of idiot spends $143 on 43 McDonald’s sandwiches?"



• Yes, alcohol was involved. And probably kilts.



• We need the death penalty in this state.