The voter registration form arrived in the mail last month with some key information already filled in: Rosie Charlston’s name was complete, as was her Seattle address.

Problem is, Rosie was a black lab who died in 1998.

A group called the Voter Participation Center has touted the distribution of some 5 million registration forms in recent weeks, targeting Democratic-leaning voting blocs such as unmarried women, blacks, Latinos and young adults.

But residents and election administrators around the country also have reported a series of bizarre and questionable mailings addressed to animals, dead people, noncitizens and people already registered to vote.

Brenda Charlston wasn’t the only person to get documents for her pet: A Virginia man said similar documents arrived for his dead dog, Mozart, while a woman in the state got forms for her cat, Scampers.

“On a serious note, I think it’s tampering with our voting system,” Charlston said. “They’re fishing for votes: That’s how I view it.”

Every presidential election cycle brings with it a variety of registration drives targeting people who typically are underrepresented at the polls, and Republicans have long seized on sloppy or questionable registrations as a sign of potential fraud on the part of Democrats.

It’s an issue that is particularly sensitive this year GOP political leaders have used fears of fraud to successfully push laws across the country that could make voting more difficult by requiring voters to show identification. Democrats have fought the laws, arguing that they can disenfranchise citizens, minorities in particular.

The group at the root of the questionable mailings – the Voter Participation Center – acknowledges that the databases it uses to contact possible voters are imperfect because they are developed from commercially collected information. The group also says it expects people who receive misdirected mail to simply throw it away.

Several election officials said they believed the voter registration systems were secure enough to catch people who might improperly submit the misdirected documents.

But administrators in New Mexico, a potential swing state in the 2012 presidential race, warned that ineligible voters who complete the documents could make it onto the rolls.

New Mexico is one of two states in which noncitizens can qualify for a driver’s license by simply proving residency – not necessarily legal residency – and state elections officials have no way of verifying the legal status of those who file registration documents.

Ken Ortiz, the chief of staff at the New Mexico secretary of state’s office, said some noncitizens have contacted the state asking why they received the forms when they’d previously been told that they could not vote.

“We fear that some of these individuals who receive this mailing may feel that they are being encouraged to vote by our office or county government,” Ortiz said.

The mailings appear official, arriving in privacy envelopes with the headline “VOTER REGISTRATION DOCUMENTS ENCLOSED.” Some information is already completed on the voter registration papers, and recipients also get an envelope to send completed forms to local elections officials.

The Voter Participation Center works with a vendor that has access to multiple commercial databases that could include people who subscribe to magazines or junk mail using names of their pet, said Page Gardner, the group’s president. She said the nonprofit tries its best to target only eligible and unregistered voters but that some other names inevitably get on the final list.

“Is it a perfect process? No,” Gardner said. Ultimately, she said they rely on the integrity of people and the security of the system and notes that the same forms are available to anyone at county offices or on the Internet.

The Voter Participation Center says it is trying to increase participation among minorities, unmarried women and people under the age of 30, with Gardner saying that those groups have historically been underrepresented in the election process.

The group says it has helped register 1 million people since 2004 and some 300,000 people in the current election cycle.

The center conducted one mailing distribution last year and another earlier this year before its biggest mailing, which went out in June. It is planning one more for later this year.

Voter registration drives of all types can create a small subset of problems. An active voter, for example, may sign up again after encountering a registration drive at an event. Some registration workers at the community activist group ACORN were accused in past years of submitting false forms with names like Mickey Mouse – filings the group said were done by workers to increase their pay.

What makes the Voter Participation Center’s work challenging is that the group is identifying voters based on data, instead of during in-person interactions. The mailings include pre-filled information that creates further confusion and concern, said Katie Blinn, a co-director of elections in Washington state.

Blinn said it appeared that many of the mailings were going to people who are already registered to vote. They have heard about a “handful” of pet-related forms in the state of the past few weeks and fielded calls from people wondering whether their registration was canceled.

Julie Anderson, the auditor in Pierce County, Wash., estimates that about two dozen residents have contacted the county about registration forms arriving for dead relatives.

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The percentage of young adults earning a college degree has increased slightly but still remains far below the level needed to reach the president’s goal of having the U.S. rank first worldwide in college graduates.

Data being released by the Education Department on Thursday says 39.3 percent of adults ages 25 to 34 had earned an associate, bachelor’s or graduate degree in 2010. That’s a half-percentage point increase over the previous year.

Rising tuition costs is one of several reasons why more young adults aren’t graduating from college.

In remarks to the National Governors Association on Friday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan is expected to urge states and institutions to help the federal government keep costs down. Tuition at four-year public universities increased 15 percent between 2008 and 2010, a rise driven largely by cuts to state funding. Forty states trimmed their higher education spending in the last year, the department said.

“We’ve made some progress, but the combination of deep state budget cuts and rising tuition prices is pushing an affordable college education out of reach for middle-class families,” Duncan says in prepared remarks.

The United States ranks 16th in the percentage of young adults who have earned a college degree, behind countries including South Korea, Canada, Japan and Russia, according to a 2011 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Sixty-three percent of adults ages 25 to 34 have earned a college credential in South Korea, compared to 41 percent in the United States.

While the proportion of young adults in the U.S. with a college degree is about the same as it is for older adults who are now exiting the labor market, there is concern that the number of people with a post-secondary degree isn’t rising fast enough.

The U.S. has 35.7 percent of the world’s college graduates in the 55 -to-64 age bracket, but only 20.5 percent in the 25-to-34 age range.

The percent of all adults in the U.S. with a college degree increased from 34 percent to 41 percent between 1997 and 2009, according to the OECD, and the U.S. ranks fourth globally when all age groups are included. But other countries have made larger leaps, including Canada, where half of adults are college graduates.

“Part of it is that the rest of the world has caught up to us,” said Thomas Bailey, director of the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College. “I think that we basically up until the last 15 years we were very proud of our post-secondary system. And perhaps complacent about it.”

Bailey noted it was only in the last 10 to 15 years that education leaders have had a consistent measure for graduation rates at colleges. He said leaders need to focus especially on low-income and minority students, who have the lowest college completion rates. Community colleges and vocational schools could also play an important role in improving the numbers.

President Barack Obama set a goal shortly after taking office for the U.S. to lead the world in the proportion of college graduates by the year 2020. He also called on every American to commit to at least one year of higher education or career training.

To meet the president’s goal, an estimated 10 million more Americans ages 25 to 34 will need to earn a two- or four-year degree, according to figures previously released from the Education Department.

The data released Thursday shows most states will need to make dramatic leaps in order to meet the goal of having 60 percent of the nation’s young adults with a college degree. In Florida, there were 816,946 adults ages 25 to 34 with a post-secondary degree. That number will need to increase to at least 1.48 million. In New York, the number will need to rise from 1.3 million to 1.67 million.

Montana saw the largest year to year increase in young college graduates, rising from 37.1 percent in 2009 to 40.3 percent in 2010, but the state also is among the smallest in terms of population. North Dakota is the state with the highest percent of college graduates in the 25 to 34 age range, at 50.8 percent, but again, its population is relatively small compared to other states.

Nearly 69 percent of young adults in the District of Columbia had a college degree.

Education leaders and advocates for increasing college access and completion said the overall increase was not strong enough.

“It is a small jump and it’s nothing near what we need to see to be competitive,” said James Applegate, vice president for program development at the Lumina Foundation, which works toward improving college enrollment and completion. The foundation set its own goal of increasing the proportion of the U.S. population with a higher education degree to 60 percent by 2025 in 2007.

“We’ve got to begin to ramp it up to meet the demands of this economy,” Applegate said.

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It has been a tough few months at the pockmarked concrete high-rise known as Fred Wigg Tower. First there was the fire, which left dozens temporarily homeless. Then came the rash of burglaries of fire-damaged apartments. And now the British army will be putting a battery of high-velocity missiles on the roof.

The defense ministry says the missiles, capable of shooting down a hijacked aircraft, are a key piece in the elaborate jigsaw of security for the London Olympics, which start July 27. But many residents of the east London public housing project were dismayed to find themselves suddenly on the counterterrorism front line.

“It’s kind of scary now, to be honest,” said Iqbal Hossain, who lives in the building with his wife and three children aged 2 to 14. “If it’s about safety for the Olympics, what about safety for us? If there is a terrorist attack, the first thing they are going to attack is the missiles.”

A High Court judge rejected that argument Tuesday, quashing a challenge by locals. Judge Charles Haddon-Cave said the missiles presented “no real threat” to residents and were a necessary part of Olympic security.

The missiles will be installed within days on the 17-story tower, one of six sites around London where surface-to-air missiles will be stationed as part of a vast security operation for games that run through Aug. 12. Rapier or smaller high-velocity missiles also will be located atop another apartment building, at a reservoir and on farmland in east London, and along hillsides in the south of the city.

It’s all part of a ring of steel protecting the games, which officials acknowledge are a tempting target for terrorists.

The security operation includes 7,500 soldiers, thousands of police and 13,200 private security guards, as well as RAF fighter jets on standby at nearby air bases and a helicopter carrier moored on the River Thames.

Defense Secretary Philip Hammond has said the precautions are intended to provide “both reassurance and a powerful deterrent.”

Londoners have long lived with the threat of terrorism. Since the 1970s, the city has seen deadly attacks by Irish militants, by a far-right extremist who targeted gay people and ethnic minorities, and by al-Qaida-inspired suicide bombers who killed 52 commuters on the transit system in July 2005.

Britain’s official terror threat level stands at substantial, the middle point on a five-point scale, indicating an attack is a strong possibility. Still, the ranking is lower than it has been for much of the time since the July 2005 attacks.

Intelligence officials say there has been an expected increase in chatter among extremist groups ahead of the Olympics but they have uncovered no specific or credible threats to the games.

But security services are being especially vigilant as the games approach. Over the past week, 14 people have been arrested on suspicion of terrorist activity, although police insist none of the cases is linked to the Summer Games. Three men from central England appeared in a London court Tuesday, charged with making a homemade bomb and plotting a terrorist attack, after a search of an impounded car turned up guns and other weapons.

Fred Wigg Tower is one of two 1960s public housing towers on an otherwise low-rise street, and its appeal to the Ministry of Defense is obvious. The upper floors and roof offer an unimpeded view over east London, the Canary Wharf business district and the Olympic Park, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) away.

Residents, many of whom have young children, are upset that they were not consulted on the decision to install the missiles, which was made in secret by the government, the landowner and the local council. They only knew of the plans when they got leaflets through their doors in April.

David Forsdick, a lawyer for the Ministry of Defense, said the government is not obliged to consult residents on issues involving national security.

Local lawmaker John Cryer has suggested the residents – many of them recent immigrants who speak English as a second language – are being pushed around because they live in public housing. He said he wondered whether a similar deployment would take place in “a leafy, middle-class area.”

Yet leafy, middle-class Blackheath in south London is getting missiles on its common, and another building whose roof is being used is a gated development full of young professionals.

Ground-to-air missiles have become a fixture of Olympic games and other large VIP events in the post-9/11 world, but a lawyer for the tenants said putting deadly weapons in densely populated areas without residents’ consent was a dangerous new development.

“We have always believed that an Englishman’s home was his castle, not a forward operating base,” said attorney David Enright.

“The clear implication of today’s judgment is that the Ministry of Defense now has the power to militarize the private homes of any person in Britain, so long as they can demonstrate that there is, in their view, a matter of national security.”

Among many residents at Fred Wigg Tower, there’s a feeling of resignation.

“I think they have to put (them) somewhere,” said Edita Younas, walking her children back from a nearby school. “But why does it have to be us?”

And for some residents, the prospect of the missiles comes as a relief. The tower has had its share of problems, including a fire in December that destroyed several apartments and forced dozens of residents to flee. Two months later, burglars stole possessions from the still-unoccupied apartments.

“This place is sometimes a war zone,” said a woman who declined to give her name – for fear, she said, of “bullies” in the building. “People come and do whatever they want. At least for six weeks we are going to have some peace and quiet.”

If you haven’t yet heard of this steamy, sexy, erotic novel that is sure to introduce many of its readers to the BDSM lifestyle, all I can say is, “What rock have you been living under?”

British author, 48 year old Erika Leonard who writes under the pseudonym E.L. James, has described the “Fifty Shades” trilogy as her “midlife crisis” saying, “All my fantasies in there, and that’s it.”. Erika shared her fantasies all right, and took millions of us along for the ride with sales of around 20 million worldwide.

In the book, Anastasia Steele, the nerdy and bumbling beautiful young college graduate has a chance meeting with the uber successful, young business prodigy Christian Grey. Grey, with his millions, sensual good looks and mysterious persona to go with it, is every woman’s fantasy. Women can’t keep their eyes off of him, and their lustful thoughts from wanting him, but his detached demeanor has prompted rumors that he is gay. The media has never captured a picture of him on a date.

There are no date pictures of Grey, he doesn’t “date”, and he doesn’t “make love”, he just “F***s, he F****s hard”….and off to the “Red Room of Pain” the novel takes its readers. Before spending intimate, romantic time with Grey; excuse me, in keeping with the novel I mean to say, before spending time F-ing with Grey you will need to sign a NDA, Non-Disclosure Agreement; and, before spending time in the Red Room of Pain, you will need to sign a contract spelling out what your “hard” and “soft” limits are. “Hard limits” in BDSM are what you will not participate in within the confines of this form of sexual role-playing.

Playing “Hard” is Grey’s preference, but oh, to add to the irony of the story line, Anastasia, his newest muse, is still a virgin and completely inexperienced. This is where the novel loses credibility with its readers. Are we seriously to believe she goes from virginity to all levels of “Kinky F***ery” as it is described in the book?

What does keep the story believable and the plot line moving along through all the sex scenes, is how two people, each with their own insecurities, find each other and fall in love. It is the exploration of those insecurities, and the love story and personal growth that embraces them, that elevates these novels to the level of romance gold. Yes, the character Christian Grey is 50 Shades of F’d up, but the unfolding of the how and the why, lends the reader to feel compassion for his character. Understand the complexities and insecurities of this outwardly confident, successful man and one can understand how such a nice young girl could fall for him.

Whatever you think of this book that some have called “Mommy Porn” and “Smut”, it has found it’s way in to the hands of decent, respectable women. I don’t doubt that most readers, just as I have, had to consult Wikipedia for details on the BDSM lifestyle just to understand parts of the book.

Think of 50 Shades as a romance novel on steroids and give it a read if you dare. Prepare to get titillated by the scenes, which is why husbands and boyfriends worldwide (…..taking liberty from what I’ve heard from the guys at work and from friends) are quite happy to have their ladies tucked in the easy chair reading before coming to bed at night!

 

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Tens of thousands of revelers showered each other with sparkling wine and waved red kerchiefs Friday as the blast of a small rocket signaled the start of this year’s running of the bulls.

Spain’s most famous summer festival kicked off in the jam-packed and cobblestoned main square of the northern town of Pamplona. People from around the world, many wearing the traditional red kerchief and white shirt and pants, roared their approval as an official on a city hall balcony declared the San Fermin festival under way. He then lit the rocket, its boom echoing through the plaza.

Revelers sprayed each other with white wine, water and other liquids, and pelted each other with flour, making for a pasty but merry mess. Huge plastic balls used to advertise products and services bounced atop the crowd.

“It looked like a giant food fight,” said Andrea Smith, 33, a member of the U.S. military stationed in Italy. A native of Coxsackie, New York, she had come to Pamplona on leave just to watch all the fun — not to test her luck with the 500-plus kilogram (1,100-pound) beasts that are the stars of the show.

Lindsay Erdall, a 25-year-old nurse from Montana, called the opening party “the craziest thing I have ever seen.”

“I have been here for the setup, and now that it has started it is amazing. Not sure I will run because it is way too crowded,” she said.

The first of eight runs in which daredevils dash through the streets with six powerful fighting bulls begins Saturday.

The bulls thunder along with six bell-tinkling steers meant to keep the bulls running in a pack, with the goal of making the run safer. An isolated bull can get spooked and disoriented, becoming much more likely to charge at people.

Since record keeping began in 1924, 15 people have been killed by bulls in the early morning festival runs. The most recent such tragedy came in 2009 when a young Spaniard was gored in the neck as he tried to escape a bull by sliding feet-first under a fence separating the course from the crowd watching the run. It was the first death at San Fermin in nearly 15 years.

The party honoring San Fermin, the patron saint of Pamplona, was immortalized in Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises.”

Joey Chestnut ate his way to a sixth straight win at the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Coney Island on Wednesday, downing 68 to tie his personal best in a sweaty, gag-inducing spectacle.

Last year, the 28-year-old San Jose, Calif., man nicknamed “Jaws” won with 62 hot dogs. He bested his main rival this year by 16 dogs, scarfing down all 68 in 10 minutes in the sweltering summer heat to take home $10,000 and the mustard yellow belt.

“I feel good, it was a great win,” Chestnut said after the contest, adding he wished he could have eaten a record number of hot dogs for the audience. “I tried my best. I’m looking forward to next year already.”

Second place went to Tim Janus of New York with 52 hot dogs, who received $5,000. Third place went to Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago with 51, who won $2,500.

Chestnut was neck-and-neck with competitors during the first half of the contest, but he pulled ahead in the remaining minutes, choking down dog after dog, while other competitors slowed as the clock wound down.

“I’m happy to come out with the win,” he said.

Sonya Thomas, of Alexandria, Va., downed 45 wieners to win the women’s competition. She reached her goal of eating 45 in the time limit — her age — and took home her own pink champion’s belt and $10,000.

Thomas, known as the “Black Widow” of competitive eating, won last year as well, the first time a separate contest was held for women. Juliet Lee, of Germantown, Md., took second place with 33 and won $5,000. Lee also won second place last year. Third place went to Michelle Lesco, of Tuscon, Ariz., who received $2,500 for downing 25½.

Thomas said she started to feel sick while eating but kept pushing so she could win the title.

“There is a limit so I have to fight,” she said.

Thomas said next year she’s going to beat her record again and eat 46.

“Because I’m going to be 46 next year,” she said.

The Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest has been a city tradition for 97 years. Tens of thousands of spectators gather to gawk as contestants shimmy, slither and bounce as they dip hot dogs in water and cram them down their throats.

For some, it’s a painful reminder of excess — especially as the U.S. battles a growing obesity problem. The American Medical Association opposes competitive eating, saying it’s harmful to the human body. But the competitive eaters are quite trim. Chestnut is more than 6 feet tall and a muscly 210 pounds, and Thomas, who is 5-foot-5, weighed in at barely 100 pounds.

Hot dogs, though, aren’t the healthiest of choices. In addition to beef, they include salt and various food additives. Chestnut’s total dog count was equal to more than 20,000 calories. This year, the animal rights group Mercy For Animals staged a protest against eating meat, with signs that read “Choose Vegetarian.”

Chestnut is now tied with his former rival, Takeru Kobayashi, for consecutive wins. The slim Japanese champ held the record for hot dog eating from 2001 to 2007, when he was unseated by Chestnut.

But two years ago, after refusing to sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating, the food equivalent of the NFL, he was banned from competition. He showed up anyway, wearing a T-shirt that said “Free Kobi,” rushed the stage and was arrested, but charges were later dropped.

Last year, the Japanese native nicknamed the “Tsunami” held an unofficial contest from a rooftop on ritzy Fifth Avenue, eating near a giant plasma TV airing the official competition live.

He was out of the public eye Wednesday.

By Steve Moody

“To do or not to do – that is the question.” I’m not sure the origins of that phrase, but it nicely describes the dilemma faced by Kansas leaders this past week, “To do fireworks – or not to do fireworks.”

Serving as a chief officer for three fire departments has placed me at the forefront of this highly emotional issue. For years I stood on the “no public shooting of fireworks” opinion side of the fence. My thoughts on the matter were shaped from first hand dealings with bad outcomes.

As a medic and a firefighter you get to deal with injuries and damaged property. The right to celebrate the country’s independence by blowing off your finger or burning your neighbor’s house down seems illogical.

This unusually hot, dry summer has heightened this already dangerous celebratory act. So much so that many Kansas communities that allowed the practice for decades decided the risk this year was too high. Not to do was the answer to the question.

When somebody sees another do something they automatically question whether they should follow suit. And that was indeed what other Kansas communities did – others fell in line like a row of falling dominoes.

As I sit on my front porch looking at the big beautiful orange moon in the sky, I hear a steady crackle and an occasional boom – and it’s only July 3rd. My community chose, “To do fireworks.” Funny thing is that was my recommendation too.

One has to understand their community and how the citizens look at things. If you’re going to institute a change, you’ve got to think it through. And the decision needs to be made in a timely fashion with plenty of time to communicate the change. It might not be accepted, or it might be too late to make the change.

It’s not an easy question to answer, so please support those who made the decision. And regardless of whether you get to shoot fireworks, you can still celebrate America’s Independence. Roast some hot dogs, drink a Coke, and watch an Andy Griffith show.

Happy Independence Day!

*Rest in peace Andy Griffith – thanks for all the memories!
Steve Moody is the Emergency Management Director of Stafford County. He is the former Leavenworth Fire Chief and served as Deputy Fire Chief during his 28 years at the Salina Fire Department. Stafford County Emergency Management

In promoting the health care law, President Barack Obama is repeating his persistent and unsubstantiated assurance that Americans who like their health insurance can simply keep it. Republican rival Mitt Romney says quite the opposite, but his doomsday scenario is a stretch.

After the Supreme Court upheld the law last week, Obama stepped forward to tell Americans what good will come from it. Romney was quick to lay out the harm. But some of the evidence they gave to the court of public opinion was suspect.

A look at their claims and how they compare with the facts:

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OBAMA: “If you’re one of the more than 250 million Americans who already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance. This law will only make it more secure and more affordable.”

ROMNEY: “Obamacare also means that for up to 20 million Americans, they will lose the insurance they currently have, the insurance that they like and they want to keep.”

THE FACTS: Nothing in the law ensures that people happy with their policies now can keep them. Employers will continue to have the right to modify coverage or even drop it, and some are expected to do so as more insurance alternatives become available to the population under the law. Nor is there any guarantee that coverage will become cheaper, despite the subsidies many people will get.

Americans may well end up feeling more secure about their ability to obtain and keep coverage once insurance companies can no longer deny, terminate or charge more for coverage for those in poor health. But particular health insurance plans will have no guarantee of ironclad security. Much can change, including the cost.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the number of workers getting employer-based coverage could drop by several million, as some workers choose new plans in the marketplace or as employers drop coverage altogether. Companies with more than 50 workers would have to pay a fine for terminating insurance, but in some cases that would be cost-effective for them.

Obama’s soothing words for those who are content with their current coverage have been heard before, rendered with different degrees of accuracy. He’s said nothing in the law requires people to change their plans, true enough. But the law does not guarantee the status quo for anyone, either.

So where does Romney come up with 20 million at risk of losing their current plans?

He does so by going with the worst-case scenario in the budget office’s analysis. Researchers thought it most likely that employer coverage would decline by 3 to 5 million, but the range of possibilities was broad: It could go up by as much as 3 million or down by as much as 20 million.

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ROMNEY: After saying the new law cuts Medicare by $500 billion and raises taxes by a like amount, adds: “And even with those cuts and tax increases, Obamacare adds trillions to our deficits and to our national debt, and pushes those obligations onto coming generations.”

THE FACTS: In its most recent complete estimate, in March 2011, the Congressional Budget Office said the new health care law would actually reduce the federal budget deficit by $210 billion over the next 10 years. In the following decade, the law would continue to reduce deficits by about one-half of one percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, the office said.

The congressional budget scorekeepers acknowledged their projections are “quite uncertain” because of the complexity of the issue and the assumptions involved, which include the assumption that all aspects of the law are implemented as written. But the CBO assessment offers no backup for Romney’s claim that the law “adds trillions to our deficits.”

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OBAMA: “And by this August, nearly 13 million of you will receive a rebate from your insurance company because it spent too much on things like administrative costs and CEO bonuses and not enough on your health care.”

THE FACTS: Rebates are coming, but not nearly that many Americans are likely to get those checks and for many of those who do, the amount will be decidedly modest.

The government acknowledges it does not know how many households will see rebates in August from a provision of the law that makes insurance companies give back excess money spent on overhead instead of health care delivery. Altogether, the rebates that go out will benefit nearly 13 million people. But most of the benefit will be indirect, going to employers because they cover most of the cost of insurance provided in the workplace.

Employers can plow all the rebate money, including the workers’ share, back into the company’s health plan, or pass along part of it.

The government says some 4 million people who are due rebates live in households that purchased coverage directly from an insurance company, not through an employer, and experts say those households are the most likely to get a rebate check directly.

The government says the rebates have an average value of $151 per household. But employers, who typically pay 70 to 80 percent of premiums, are likely to get most of that.

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ROMNEY: “Obamacare raises taxes on the American people by approximately $500 billion.”

THE FACTS: The tax increases fall heavily on upper-income people, health insurance companies, drug makers and medical device manufacturers.

People who fail to obtain health insurance as required by the law will face a tax penalty, although that’s expected to hit relatively few because the vast majority of Americans have insurance and many who don’t will end up getting it. Also, a 10 percent tax has been imposed on tanning bed use as part of the health care law. There are no other across-the-board tax increases in the law, although some tax benefits such as flexible savings accounts are scaled back. Of course, higher taxes on businesses can be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices.

Individuals making over $200,000 and couples making over $250,000 will pay 0.9 percent more in Medicare payroll tax and a 3.8 percent tax on investments. As well, a tax starts in 2018 on high-value insurance plans.

___

OBAMA: “Because of the Affordable Care Act, young adults under the age of 26 are able to stay on their parents’ health care plans, a provision that’s already helped 6 million young Americans.”

THE FACTS: Obama is overstating this benefit of his health law, and his own administration knows better. The Department of Health and Human Services, in a June 19 news release, said 3.1 million young adults would be uninsured were it not for the new law. Obama’s number comes from a June 8 survey by the Commonwealth Fund, a health policy foundation. It said 6.6 million young adults joined or stayed on their parents’ health plans who wouldn’t have been able to absent the law. But that number includes some who switched to their parents’ plans from other coverage, Commonwealth Fund officials told the Los Angeles Times.

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ROMNEY: “Obamacare is a job-killer.”

THE FACTS: The CBO estimated in 2010 that the law would reduce the amount of labor used in the economy by roughly half a percent.

But that’s mostly because the law will give many people the opportunity to retire, stay at home with family or switch to part-time work, since they will be able to get health insurance more easily outside of their jobs. That voluntary retreat from the workforce, made possible by the law’s benefits, is not the same as employers slashing jobs because of the law’s costs, as Romney implies.

The law’s penalties on employers who don’t provide health insurance might cause some companies to hire fewer low-wage workers or to hire more part-timers instead of full-time employees, the budget office said. But the main consequence would still be from more people choosing not to work.

Apart from the budget office and other disinterested parties that study the law, each side in the debate uses research sponsored by interest groups, often slanted, to buttress its case. Romney cites a Chamber of Commerce online survey in which nearly three-quarters of respondents said the law would dampen their hiring.

The chamber is a strong opponent of the law, having run ads against it. Its poll was conducted unscientifically and is therefore not a valid measure of business opinion.

 

For anyone who ever has been stuck in traffic, it’s a tempting fantasy: If only you were driving a tank and could roll over everything in your path.

Some drivers are now flocking to an out-of-the-way spot in southern Minnesota to turn that vision into metal-crunching reality.

A business named Drive-a-Tank offers drivers the chance to pilot surplus military tanks and other armored vehicles around an old limestone quarry and smash junk cars like an action movie hero.

The ride is loud, grinding, hot and dirty – ideal for satisfying one’s inner Rambo.

“It was awesome. I mean, controlling that machine, it’s incredible,” said Jacob Ostling, 19, of New Canaan, Conn., among the customers who took a turn under the turret on a recent Saturday and flattened a car in an explosion of glass.

Owner Tony Borglum, a construction and heavy equipment contractor, opened the tank park three years ago after seeing similar attractions during a visit to England. He said he knew it would fit nicely into American culture – a more visceral version of what millions of guys are doing in video games anyway.

He began buying up old Cold War-era surplus and now has 11 armored vehicles available for use on a 20-acre site near this town 50 miles southwest of Minneapolis. Customers spend hours churning up and down a hilly, wooded course, getting a firsthand sense of what armored warfare might be like.

“It’s not as glorious as it looks like on TV,” said Borglum, a short-haired 25-year-old who wore camouflage pants, a tan polo shirt and boots at the session.

But it satisfies the curiosity of those who have watched tanks in war movies.

“It was very realistic,” agreed Brad Walker, of Amboy, Ind., who brought his 21-year-old son, Nick, for an outing before the young man got married. “It kind of gives you an idea exactly how hard that job is.” Nick Walker, who squeezed his 5-foot-11, 230-pound frame into the cramped compartment, added, “It’s not a big person’s job.”

Drivers sit in the small space in front between the tracks and navigate by looking out the hatch. “It’s very noisy. Lot of vibration. Kind of warm but not uncomfortable. Took a little getting used to the maneuverability, but it’s just … a blast,” said customer Marvin Bourne.

A basic package that includes driving a tank and shooting a machine gun costs $399, with more expensive options for driving several models and shooting other weapons such as assault rifles. Drivers who want to smash a car pay an additional $549; for about $3,500, a customer can drive a tank through a trailer house.

Learning to control the lumbering machine with its two steering sticks takes only a few minutes. It was “easier than I expected,” and “an awesome Christmas present,” said Bourne, 58, an insurance man from Richmond, Va., who brought his wife, Karen, along as passenger. He was among several visitors who had a gotten a tank ride as a gift for a special occasion.

Borglum said his tank park wasn’t the first in the United States but he knows of no others still operating. Event coordinator Kessa Baedke said more than 600 packages have been sold this year.

One of the attractions on display is a British Chieftain Mark 11 featured in the 2002 Matthew McConaughey dragon invasion movie “Reign of Fire.” Another Chieftain nicknamed Larry, weighing 60 tons and with a top speed of 30 mph, makes short work of any obstacle in its path.

“To have that much weight on just two brake handles, it’s awesome,” said Ostling after the tank rolled over a car and rained glass around his head. The car “was like a tin can,” he said.

 

A random decision to make a video singing the praises of farmers is making social network stars out of three Kansas brothers.

The Peterson boys of Assaria are getting national attention over their video “I’m Farming and I Grow It.”

Greg Peterson says he got the idea as a parody to “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO. He talked his brothers, 18-year-old Nathan and 15-year Kendal, into singing and filming a video of about farming on their family’s Saline County farm.

The video was posted on Monday. By Wednesday, it had nearly 400,000 views.

Greg Peterson has reportedly received hundreds of requests from people wanting to find out more about the brothers. And they’ve been invited to the national FFA convention in Kentucky.

 

A lot of people gripe when they get high summertime electric bills, but Kristin Harriger’s bill was nearly $1.4 million.

The Abilene, Texas, woman immediately called her provider, Potentia Energy. She quickly learned that her bill was an error.

The utility provider also excused a $66,000 late fee listed on the bill.

Potentia said it had flagged the bill and had marked it to be held, but the bill mistakenly got sent out.

The bill, said Harriger, was being charged 100,000 cents, or $1,000, per kilowatt hour. The normal rate ranges from 8.2 cents tot 12.1 cents.

Carmen Balver, director of nonprofit protection group Consumer Watchdog recommended contacting state officials if people run into difficulty while trying to settle a dispute about an over-the-top bill.