Playing Jeopardy with Your Oral Health

(Announcer) “This…is… Dental Plan Jeopardy!

“Let’s meet today’s contestants: a dental hygienist from Bicuspid Bay, Massachusetts  – Annie Amalgam. A dental lab technician from Crown Point, Indiana – Robert Resin. And, our returning champion, a dental sales representative and fifth grade spelling bee champion at Thomus Jefersun Elementary in Demineralization Springs, Colorado –  Flo Flossing, whose one-day cash winnings total…$19.29!

“And now, here is the host of Dental Plan Jeopardy, Noel McCavity.”

“Thank you Johnny, and thank you ladies and gentlemen, good to have you with us today. Always a lot of excitement on Dental Plan Jeopardy, and yesterday was no exception. In case you missed it, we had a brief melee break out in our studio audience between a gentleman dressed up like the Tooth Fairy and a precocious seven-year-old who claimed the Tooth Fairy left him just two breath mints and an IOU for his last baby tooth.

“Here’s hoping today is a bit more sedate. Good luck contestants, let’s get to work. Here are today’s categories: What Kind of Plan Am I?HMOs, You Can Quote Me, PPOs, Discount Dental Plans, and Mistaken Indemnity.

(Noel) “Flo, you are the reigning champion. Go.”

(Flo) “PPO’s for $200, please.”

(Noel) “PPO’s, or Preferred Provider Organizations, allow you to go in or out of these.”

(Flo) “What is a network?”

(Noel) “Right.”

(Flo) “PPO’s for $400.”

(Noel) “PPO’s usually require these for major procedures.”

(Flo)“What are types of anesthesia?”

(Noel) “No, that is incorrect. Annie?”

(Annie) “What is a waiting period?”

(Noel) “Right, proceed.”

(Annie) “What Kind of Plan Am I? for $200.”

(Noel) “These types of plans are sometimes called a ‘fee for service plan’ and allow you to visit any dentist.”

(Annie) “What is an indemnity plan?”

(Noel) “Right you are.”

(Annie) “What Kind of Plan Am I? for $400.”

(Noel) “These types of dental plans offer quick activation times and no waiting period.”

(Annie) “What are discount dental plans?”

(Noel) “Yes. Continue.”

(Annie) “What Kind of Plan Am I? for $600.”

(Noel) “These plans require you pay a fixed price at the time of service and use a network provider.”

(Annie) “What are rollover plans?”

(Noel)“Uh, no; that is incorrect. Anyone? The correct answer is, ‘What is a HMO plan?’ Annie, it’s still your go.”

(Annie) “What Kind of Plan Am I? for $800.”

(Noel) “These plans have no waiting periods, no deductibles, no annual limits and often cost less than other dental plans.”

(Annie) “What are HMO’s?”

(Noel) “Right you are, also known as Health Maintenance Organizations.”

(Annie) “What Kind of Plan Am I? for $1,000, Noel.”

(Noel) “This type of plan was actually included as part of a 1940’s movie title starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred McMurray.”

(Annie) “What is Double Jeopardy?”

(Noel) “No, Double Jeopardy is what we play after this round.  Robert?

(Robert) “Who are Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones?”

(Noel) “Right answer, wrong question. Judd and Jones played in the movie “Double Jeopardy,” but we are looking for a 1940’s movie that has this type of plan in the title. Flo?

(Flo) “What is Gentlemen Preferred Provider Organizations?”

(Noel) “Uh…no. Robert?”

(Robert)“What is Double Indemnity?”

(Noel) “That is correct.”

(Robert) “You Can Quote Me for $200.”

(Noel) “This online dental insurance program will provide you a free quote with just your age and zip code.”

(Robert) “Who is Dental Insurance Store?”

(Noel) “Correctamundo.”

(Robert) “You Can Quote Me for $400.”

(Noel) “This online dental store’s motto is, ‘Find the right dental plan, at the right price.’”

(Robert) “What is Dental Insurance Store?”

(Noel) “It’s a quick and easy way to buy dental coverage from the convenience of your computer, Robert. But please, let’s continue.”

(Robert) “Uh…okay. You Can Quote Me for $600.”

(Noel) “This quote tool will allow you to compare up to five plans at a time and is found where on the website.”

(Robert) “Dental Insurance Store’s Plan Comparison feature.”

(Noel) “In the form of a question, please…”

(Robert) “Where is Dental Insurance Store’s Plan Comparison feature?”

(Noel) “It’s on the Internet at Dental Insurance Store on the general quotes page. And if you need assistance they have operators available at 1-888-299-6441 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.”

Thank you, Noel for hosting today’s game. I’ll take it from here. Maintaining good oral health and the importance of seeing a dentist twice a year is no game, although millions of people lose out every year by not having dental coverage. Don’t put your pearlies in jeopardy, or double jeopardy, by going another week without protection.

The original version of  this post was published at Dental Insurance Store on Jan 14, 2015

 

Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to all those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who tolerate everything but free speech and conservative ideals, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see. 

Photo source: scrise.com

 

Copyright 2017, Dean A. George©

Lincoln and the Mother of Thanksgiving

Lincoln signed the Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863

The name Sarah Josepha Hale may not sound familiar to most Americans, but she played an integral role in today’s holiday. A tireless advocate of education for girls and women in 19th century America, she worked as a writer and editor in order to support her five children after her husband David Hale, a lawyer, died of a stroke in 1822.

In 1830 she penned a book of poetry called Poems for our Children.  One of the poems was titled, “Mary’s Lamb,” which later became known as “Mary’s Little Lamb.”

Sarah Josepha Hale – the Mother of Thanksgiving

Mrs. Hale worked as a writer and editor for a single magazine for 40 years.  As writer and editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book she had been advocating and writing our nation’s leaders for years to set aside a single day for America to count its blessings.

She had even written five previous U.S. presidents with her suggestion, but it had always fallen on deaf ears. On September 28, 1863 the determined editor wrote yet another letter to President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward advocating the country observe a single day as a day of prayer and thankfulness.

Here in part is what she said:

Permit me, as Editress of the “Lady’s Book”, to request a few minutes of your precious time, while laying before you a subject of deep interest to myself and — as I trust — even to the President of our Republic, of some importance. This subject is to have the day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.

You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive (sic) fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution.

Historians have recorded that according to an 1864 letter from Lincoln secretary John Nicolay, the proclamation  the nation’s 16th president delivered on Oct 3, 1863 was actually written by Secretary of State William Seward and sold one year later to support Union troops in the Civil War.

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year, defending us with His guardian care against unfriendly designs from abroad and vouchsafing to us in His mercy many and signal victories over the enemy, who is of our own household.

It has also pleased our Heavenly Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in their camps and our sailors on the rivers and seas with unusual health. He has largely augmented our free population by emancipation and by immigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth and has crowned the labor of our workingmen in every department of industry with abundant rewards.

Moreover, He has been pleased to animate and inspire our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient for the great trial of civil war into which we have been brought by our adherence as a nation to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to afford to us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from all our dangers and afflictions:

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next as a day which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they may then be, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe.

And I do further recommend to my fellow-citizens aforesaid that on that occasion they do reverently humble themselves in the dust and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of Events for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations.

Abraham Lincoln and Sarah Josepha Hale

Today we live in divisive times. Many political observers have speculated that America is more divided today than at anytime since the Civil War.

This Thanksgiving Day as millions of families gather together across the country, my prayer is that we can peacefully put aside our differences, humble ourselves before God as one people, and petition Him in prayer for a return of peace, unity and harmony for our country.

God bless, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Sources: biography.com, abrahamlincolnonline.org, shestokas.com

Photo source: commonamericanjournal.com,media1.britannica.com, si.wsj.net

 

Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who tolerate everything but free speech and conservative ideals, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see. 

 

Copyright 2017, Dean A. George©

Sen Frankensmarmy and Leftist Hypocrisy

Just when you thought liberals had already crossed the Rubicon of hypocrisy and insanity, Minnesota Senator Al Franken has called for a Senate ethics investigation into his own behavior.

Yes, you read that right. Franken called for an investigation of himself – by himself – because he’s ashamed of himself.

Minnesota Democrat Senator Al Franken

Sexual harassment allegations against the Democrat senator surfaced earlier this month after a photo of him fondling journalist Leeann Tweeden while she was sleeping went viral.

The LA-based journalist also charged that Franken tricked her into kissing him and shoved his tongue down her throat while practicing a skit scene for a USO show.

What kind of guy is smarmy enough to grope a sleeping woman and stupid enough to take a picture doing it – why, a self-professed male feminist and advocate for women’s rights!

As it turns out, Senator Frankensmarmy is just one in a long line of progressives this week whose sexual peccadilloes are being spotlighted in daily press reports in what Town Hall columnist Colonel Kurt Schlichter hilariously calls Pervgate.

According to Schlichter, part of Franken’s defense was to trot out seven former female staffers who said he never harrassed them, ostensibly confirming his status as a genuine women’s advocate who only sexually assaults certain women now and then.

Michigan Democrat Representative John Conyers

As I write this, Michigan Democrat Representative John Conyers, the longest serving member of the House of Representatives, is being accused by four female staffers of requests “for sexual favors, contacting and transporting women with whom Conyers was having affairs, caressing their hands and rubbing their backs and legs in public.”

On November 20, long-time PBS anchor and CBS This Morning host Charlie Rose was accused by eight women of unwanted sexual advances between the late 1990’s and 2011. CBS fired him 24 hours later, followed by PBS. His dog was reportedly unhappy with him too.

Former PBS and CBS This Morning Host Charlie Rose

Then there’s the hung jury trial of New Jersey Democrat Senator Robert Menendez, whose trial on federal corruption charges included cavorting with teenage prostitutes.

And who can ever forget the tawdry episode of the soiled blue dress in the Bill “I-never-had-relations-with-that-woman” Clinton administration.

For decades Democrats have promoted themselves as the party advocating for female empowerment, fair pay and equality for women. Who knew that those terms were actually a dog whistle for groping, fondling, and sexual perversion of female staffers, interns and co-workers?

Conservatives have often wondered how progressive voters could look the other way at the antics of senators Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd and former president JFK while proclaiming that Democrats had women’s best interests at heart.

Based on recent events, it seems that many Democrats viewed such talk as nothing more than a pick-up line.

Sources: townhall.com, thehill.com, breitbart.com, washingtonpost.com

Photo source: opennewswindows.com.ng, newstalk1160.com, politico.com

 

Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who tolerate everything but free speech and conservative ideals, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see. 

 

Copyright 2017, Dean A. George©

 

 

 

 

Hillary Decries “Threat” to Justice System

Hillary Feeling the Heat

Can’t stand the heat? Then Hillary should stay out of the corruption kitchen.

On Nov 15th Fox News reported that Hillary Clinton said calls for a special prosecutor regarding the Uranium One sale was a “politicization of the Justice Department.”

The hypocrisy of her claim is worthy of an Oscar for Best Prevaricating Actress. Quote of the day from the Queen of Russian resets is that calls for an independent prosecutor in the Uranium One deal and subsequent contributions to the Clinton Foundation are just meant to distract from the Trump/Russian collusion investigations.

“And if they send a signal that we’re going to be like some dictatorship, some authoritarian regimen where political opponents are going to be unfairly, fraudulently investigated — that rips at the fabric of the contract we have that we can trust our justice system,” she said.

Wow. Hearing words like “dictatorship,” “authoritarian,” “fraud” and “trust” coming from a political animal like Hillary Clinton will cause the head of any conservative with a halfway decent memory to spin out of control.

Hillary may want to start shopping for fire retardant pants suits because if recent news accounts are accurate, the kitchen is going to get even hotter in the not too distant future.

Source: foxnews.com

Photo source: i.ytimg.com

 

Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who tolerate everything but free speech and conservative ideals, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see. 

 

 

Copyright 2017, Dean A. George©

Obama Should Pay for Bergdahl’s Benefits

From the moment Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban, he became eligible for benefits available to troops held in captivity.  Combined with his basic and deployment pay, the Army Times says the dishonorably discharged former sergeant who plead guilty to “desertion and misbehavior before the enemy” may be entitled to more than $300,000.

The final decision on what Bergdahl is owed rests with General Robert Abrams, the convening authority in the case.  If Bergdahl is paid anything, here’s a suggestion: deduct his monetary award from Obama’s presidential pension.

Obama is the genius that brokered the deal to exchange Bergdahl for five Taliban prisoners and some reports say an undisclosed amount of cash.

Not only did Obama overpay and illegally go around Congress, but taxpayers could be saddled with paying Bergdahl’s back wages – despite the fact he plead guilty to the two charges mentioned above.

Apparently treachery paid better in Obama’s administration than it did during the time of Judas Iscariot and Benedict Arnold.

 

Source: Army Times

Photo source: Earl of Taint

 

Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who tolerate everything but free speech and conservative ideals, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see. 

 

 

Copyright 2017, Dean A. George©

Bowe Bergdahl Walks Away A Free Man

On Halloween eight pedestrians in lower Manhattan were mowed down and 11 injured by a Uzbekistan immigrant/jidhadist driving a rental truck.

On November 5 a former Air Force member facing military criminal charges killed 26 churchgoers and wounded 20 others in the largest mass shooting in Texas history.

Between the dates of those two tragedies military justice went AWOL Nov 3 when Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl escaped any jail time for desertion in Afghanistan. Bergdahl voluntarily deserted his unit in 2009. After being held as a Taliban captive for five years, Bergdahl was later charged with “desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.”

Bergdahl could have received a life prison sentence but instead Military Judge Jeffrey Nance sentenced him to no prison time, a reduction in rank, a $10,000 fine to be paid over 10 months and a dishonorable discharge.

And then there’s the matter of the five terrorists and reported cash President Obama provided the Taliban for Bergdahl’s release in May, 2014.  Did Obama ever make a deal in America’s best interest?

At the time Bergdahl disappeared on June 30, 2009 Army officials weren’t sure of his status other than that he was missing. Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers were deployed multiple times to search for their missing comrade.

“There is a possibility that one way or another, Bergdahl, betrayer of the military’s sacred trust, will walk away a free man.” – Colonel Ralph Peters

According to CNN, on August 18, 2009, Staff Sgt. Clayton Bowen and Pfc. Morris Walker were killed by an IED while searching for Bergdahl.  Eight days later Staff Sgt. Kurt Curtiss lost his life doing the same.

On September 4th 2nd Lt. Darryn Andrews and Pfc. Matthew Michael Martinek were killed after being attacked by insurgents while searching for Bergdahl, and the next day Staff Sgt. Michael Murphrey was killed September 5 by an IED while searching.

At least three other soldiers were seriously wounded and a military dog killed during the hunt for Bergdahl, including Army Sgt. Mark Allen who suffered a sniper’s bullet to his brain that has left him paralyzed and unable to speak; Navy Seal James “Jimmy” Hatch who had 18 surgeries to repair a severe leg injury, and Johnny Morita who had to relearn how to brush his teeth and write because his right hand was mangled by a rocket-propelled grenade.

Colonel Ralph Peters anticipated this miscarriage of justice in an October 27th column on Fox News. In short, he was saying that Bergdahl’s sentence shouldn’t be viewed as a legal case about a self-absorbed deserter, but more importantly, if there are no consequences to desertion, it sets the dangerous precedent of American soldiers deserting on a whim.

 

Considering his 5 years as a Taliban prisoner, the prosecution was asking for 14 years rather than the lifetime max. “It’s not only an appropriate sentence in this case, it’s what justice requires,” prosecutor Major Justin Oshana told NBC News.  But as Colonel Peters said in his column, many on the left (and apparently Judge Nance) thought that Bergdahl had suffered enough in captivity, but that’s missing this crucial point: deserting your post in a combat zone is the second worst offense a solider can commit.

Allowing a soldier to willfully abandon his post and desert his comrades because he’s unhappy is a dangerous precedent that could adversely affect military readiness for decades. Allowing political correctness to infect our military is bad enough, but turning a blind eye to desertion and criminal misdeeds with a mere slap on the wrist is a green light for future deserters to do the same.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl arrives at the Fort Bragg courthouse

So the progressives get their way and Bergdahl is released on humanitarian grounds – despite pleading guilty to both charges. He is free to return to Idaho and write his memoirs. Hollywood will probably make a movie on his life’s story. As I write this an Army board is deciding whether or not to pay him $300,000 for his POW status and back pay while he was in captivity.

Unfortunately six good men in his unit won’t ever be returning home, nor will they be around to see their children grow up. Two others will never be the same physically, and  Sgt. Mark Allen’s wife will be pulling double duty as a devoted wife and caretaker.

Meanwhile, another dent is added to the armor of martial readiness and military honor on the altar of political correctness.

 

Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. For those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country, welcome. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who tolerate everything but free speech and conservative ideals, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see. 

Sources: foxnews.com, cnn.com, businessinsider.com, nypost.com, nbcnews.com, youtube.com, Ben Shapiro

Photo source: wwaytv3.com, thestar.com

 

Copyright 2017, Dean A. George©

Mad Maxine and the Mad Hatter

If you ever wondered what stupidity sounds like, look no further than Maxine Waters and Frederica Wilson.

Waters is a Democrat representative from California and Frederica Wilson is a Democrat representative from Florida. Listening to these harpies bash President Trump is like listening to the Deliverance theme being played on empty barrels.

 Mad Maxine Waters and Frederica “Mad Hatter” Wilson

Wilson, affectionately known as the Mad Hatter for her haute sense of haberdashery (she dresses like a cross between Liberace and the cowgirl from Toy Story), gained prominent news coverage this fall when she declared verbal jihad on President Trump for his reportedly insensitive condolences to a recent widow of La David Johnson, a Special Forces soldier.

Granted our current president may not have the elocution skills of his predecessor, but anyone with half a brain knew what he meant when he called Johnson’s widow Myeshia to offer his comfort and support. Wilson’s criticism was especially hypocritical since she had previously made similar comments as Trump when memorializing two FBI agents that were killed in her district in the line of duty.

Within days of the mainstream media blasting out her criticism of the president,she gleefully declared herself a “rock star” for the notoriety she generated for herself by capitalizing on the death of a real hero. She then dug a deeper hole when she besmirched White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a Gold Star parent himself.

When Kelly defended the president’s condolence call and referred to the loudmouth Floridian as an “empty barrel,” it took about 10 seconds for Wilson to spin that as a racist term.

The Mad Hatter of Florida

After slandering Kelly as a liar and a racist because of his Boston roots, Wilson soon found herself outflanked by public opinion. It quickly became clear that blithely attacking a respected member of the military who lost a son in Afghanistan wasn’t the savviest PR move. Happily she hasn’t been heard from much since.

Unlike Wilson, Waters has been saying stupid things for years. Who can forget classics like these:

Guess what this liberal would be all about? This liberal will be about socializing…uh, um…Would be about, basically, taking over, and the government running all of your companies.

I am not afraid of anybody. This is a tough game. You can’t be intimidated. You can’t be frightened. And as far as I’m concerned, the Tea Party can go straight to hell.

It’s time for the bully pulpit of the White House to bring the gangstas in, put them around the table and let them know that if they don’t come up with loan modifications and keep people in their homes that they’ve worked so hard for, we’re gonna tax them out of business.

Mad Maxine Waters

Since Trump assumed office, Mad Maxine has sought every available microphone within screeching distance to call for Trump’s impeachment. Forget the constitutional mandated grounds for impeachment. According to her Trump should be impeached because, well, he offends her personally.

Below are comments she made about the president at a eulogy. Is that classy or what?

 

 

In another anti-Trump blast she said: “The most upsetting part of the new administration is discovering that the person who won the election and became the president of the United States of America is a man who has no good values. His character astounds me. I can’t believe that we have a president who would lie, who would distort, and who does not appear to have an appreciation for government and how it works.”

Naturally Mad Maxine had no problem with defending the character of characters like Bill Clinton, who changed the meaning of “Easter Egg Roll” by cavorting with an intern in the Oval Office. Or Barack Obama, who illegally sicced the IRS on conservative groups, abandoned Libyan Ambassador Chris Stevens at Benghazi and turned a blind eye to Hillary Clinton’s machinations to sell 20% of America’s uranium to Russia.

If there’s a silver lining to dealing with the silly sound and faux fury from these hapless harpies it is this: the more they posture, preen and protest against Trump policies, the greater probability that “45” will be a two-term president.

 

Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. For those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country, welcome. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who tolerate everything but free speech and conservative ideals, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see. 

Sources: Youtubia.com, nbc.com, theamericanmirror.com, washingtonfreebeacon.com, cnn.com 

Photo sources: downtrend.com, thehill.com, conservativetribune.com

 

Copyright 2017, Dean A. George©

 

 

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