Deceoptive Health Insurance Practices

Friday, August 29, 2008

Not-so-transparent: early days for consumer tools on health price and quality (click here)

Providing price and quality information is viewed as a Holy Grail among health plans and providers, who see transparency as the key for igniting health care consumerism. However, that Grail remains elusive, as issues of tool usefulness and consumer trust cloud the market....
...CSHSC looked at two aspects of transparency: price and quality. For larger plans, who are more advanced in their price publishing projects, these efforts are seen as crucial for competitive positioning, according to CSHSC; for smaller plans, they're defensive in nature. Regardless, very few plans are providing price data that's customized for enrollees.

One broker in CSHSC's study commented, "Price information is sparsely available, and where it is available, it's of relatively low utility for the average member." That's the bottom line of the study....

House panel focuses on deceptive health insurance practices (click title to entry - thank you)

06:54 AM CDT on Friday, October 16, 2009

By JIM LANDERS / The Dallas Morning News
jlanders@dallasnews.com

...Null said he had bought a health insurance policy that he thought gave his family catastrophic coverage but learned in the hospital that it maxed out at $25,000.

The hearing focused on the estimated 25 million Americans who are "underinsured," or who lack coverage sufficient for unexpected and costly medical emergencies.

Sara Collins, a vice president with the New York-based Commonwealth Fund, told the subcommittee that 9 million more Americans fell into the underinsured category between 2003 and 2007 because of rapidly increasing costs for insurance and medical care.

Much of the discussion at Thursday's hearing dealt with deceptive sales practices that left consumers unaware of the inadequacies of their health insurance policies.

A San Francisco film producer testified that the policy she bought left her with $100,000 in bills after a five-year battle with breast cancer.

A Colorado engineer said his son's hemophilia caused his employer's health insurance premiums to jump to $22,000 per employee and forced him to leave the firm after hitting a $1 million lifetime cap on treatment.

"We were the bomb that went off. They [the other employees] were the casualties all around us," said Nathan Wilkes of Englewood, Colo...

The definition of 'chronic' by InterGlobal sounds as though it applies to annual physicals.

People are underinsured by most companies. There is no good relationship can exist between a corporations profit margin and human health and life.

InterGlobal has entered into a unique and exclusive partnership in the international private medical insurance market with security experts red24 to provide planholders with 24/7 security services as part of your membership.

This will give you the support of 400 specialists worldwide who can help you reduce the risk of things going wrong whilst overseas, and to be at hand for any security related incident.

Interglobal's head quarters are in the United Kingdom. (click here) They seem to be able to dodge the responsibility of actually providing the coverage they contract to by excessive language and unreasonable definitions. Similar to a Investment Bank financial instrument. I can't wait for that debate to start over regulation. It is going to be more than interesting to realize exactly what kind of game these folks are playing. We really are better off without them.

When one stops to realize how completely outrageous the health insurance industry is, one has to ask, "What the heck are the judges doing that are hearing these cases and actually allowing them to get away with it?" I mean seriously. The judges of contract law are THAT ridiculous in their perspective? It is fraud.

A contract cannot give with one hand and take it away with the other. That is bait and switch at its worst as it plays with people's lives in a way that can cause their death. Just because the 'fine print' states an illness is excluded, doesn't mean the person purchasing it understands all the intricacies. This is nonsense. People purchase health insurance to cover their wellness and recovery from illness. It is incredible what verbiage that judges actually believe is appropriate.

I am sorry to hear about your friend, Mr. Kristof. It is simply outrageous these fraudulent practices are tolerated. I don't know what is "W"rong with the law anymore. Fundamental understandings of these issues seem to evade the justice that is suppose to be supported by courts. The 'coverage' should be awarded in the face of 'bad language' and 'bad attitude.' No one ever said the folks that write these policies either were brilliant or knew at all what they are doing.


A story by Nicholas Kristof (click title to entry - thank you)

...I reached Sophie Walker, the group head of claims for InterGlobal. She said she couldn’t talk about an individual case. But she explained in an e-mail message that with a “chronic condition” the policies can have a much lower limit, $85,000, on lifetime claims. That’s the limit that Jan ran into in January, Zack says....

Then Ms. Walker gave me the company’s definition of “chronic” (you couldn’t make this up):

“Chronic means a medical condition which has at least one of the following characteristics: has no known cure; is likely to recur; requires palliative treatment; needs prolonged monitoring/ treatment; is permanent; requires specialist training/rehabilitation; is caused by changes to the body that cannot be reversed.”

That sounds like a spoof from “The Daily Show.” To translate: We’ll pay for care unless you get sick with just about anything that might be expensive. Then we’ll cut you off at the knees.

I asked InterGlobal if this was an accurate translation. I noted that by its definition, cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, tennis elbow and even athlete’s foot seemed to be “chronic.” I also asked InterGlobal to name any serious disease that it did not consider “chronic.”...

This is a reality in other places than Iraq. Quite frequently in Africa there is violence following elections. It is up to Iraqis now.

HEAT Iraqi quarrels often end badly, reflecting a landscape scarred by a traumatic history.

As a matter of fact. The children of Afghanistan needs school.

General Stanley McCrystal needs to oversee the 'resettlement' rights of the Afghan people out of the refugee camps. Marja seems like a perfect place. After the Taliban and al Qaeda took the rights of the people of Afghanistan away from them, the people fled or were displaced. They need a place to come home to. There might be some ethnic issues, but, that can be worked out by the tribal leaders to resettle their people.

A multi-ethnic populous will water down the influence of the Taliban.



I do believe Afghanistan is the only country on Earth whereby agricultural land should be banned and replaced with settlements to remove people from refugee camps forever.

Either replace McChrystal and subsidize the farmers OR the USA has just become the warlord that is going purchase every crop in Marja.

Impeach Karzai !

This has been the source of the corruption of the Afghan people. Enough. Bush started all this. This is typical, typical, typical CHENEY. They didn't mind if the American people had a protest vote with President Obama so long as they didn't lose control over their wars until they could get back into power.

NO MORE !!!

Why fight the 'real war' when Iranian oil is at hand, right Dickie?

I should have started this by saying, "General McCrystal is a brilliant general. He is an incredible strategist. He has assessed his war assets admirably. We aren't interested in a dishonest position in any other theater, though."

This is nothing but timidity and horse shit. This is the crop to end all crops and has been the mainstay of the al Qaeda income to assault the West. This cannot be tolerated. With the opium crops in place there is even more reason for the Taliban to fight the USA and NATO.

There can be a subsidy program set up for Marja and the crops destroyed. This is an insult to the USA and its priorities in other countries in the region.

They are never to grow opium AGAIN !



American Marines in an opium poppy field in Marja, Afghanistan, last month. The military decided not to destroy the fields.

Iranian Jewish family nabbed at Ben-Gurion with 15 kg. opium (click here)

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
11/03/2010 23:19

Undercover police investigation into alleged drugs smuggling ring dubbed “Haman’s ears.”

An Iranian Jewish man, his wife, and their teenage son were arrested on Wednesday evening at Ben-Gurion Airport on suspicion of smuggling 15.4 kilograms of pure Iranian opium into Israel.

Acting on intelligence, police opened an undercover investigation into the alleged drugs smuggling ring in January, and have dubbed the investigation “Oznei Haman,” or “Haman’s ears.”

The Lachish police subdistrict’s Central Unit, together with the Unit 747 narcotics squad, based at Ben-Gurion Airport, seized several food storage cans from a suitcase belonging to the family that were allegedly used to conceal the opium.

The Jerusalem Post has learned of the route allegedly used to smuggle the drugs into the country, but the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court on Thursday afternoon imposed a ban on its publication.

During questioning, the man told police that the narcotics belonged to him only, and not his wife or son, Dep.-Cmdr. Dudu Boani, head of Lachish Central Unit, told the Post.

“This isn’t the first time they have been to Israel,” Boani added.

An opium market exists among some members of the Israeli-Iranian community, Boani said, describing the drug as a “dangerous, addictive drug” from which heroin is made.

He said the suspect had planned to bring the drugs to Ashdod, from where they would have been “distributed and sold all over Israel.”...


Secretary Clinton needs to speak with General Stanley McCrystal and Secretary Gates. Evidently, they don't have the same priorities as the State Department.

U.S. says happy to work with Iran on tackling drugs (click here)

Sylvia Westall

VIENNA

Mon Mar 8, 2010 2:39pm EST

(Reuters) - The United States and Iran, whose relations are fraught over Tehran's nuclear programme, have held a rare meeting where Washington said it was happy to work with Tehran on fighting drugs.

U.S. envoy Glyn Davies said he had met on Friday with Ali Asghar Soltanieh of Iran, which is chairing the week-long U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) meeting in Vienna.

"It is in our interest to participate with the CND," Davies told reporters on Monday. "We are very happy to work with the chair even if he is from a country which we have differences with."

Soltanieh confirmed he had met with Davies but said it was only in his capacity as CND chairman and said it did not constitute a bilateral meeting.

"I will meet with all members of the commission, my office is open to all members," he told Reuters. "This week I am not in the capacity of my delegation."

Soltanieh is Iran's ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, including the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

He said he did not expect the delegation sent from Tehran would meet with U.S. officials in Vienna.

Washington and Tehran are locked in a bitter dispute over the Iranian nuclear programme, which the West suspects is aimed at producing atomic weapons and which Iran says is purely for civilian uses such as generating power.

The two countries have had no diplomatic relations since the Islamic Revolution three decades ago....

Iran: Highest Opiate Use in the World (click here)

The Middle East News Source / Adam Gonn

05-Mar-2010

U.S. State Department report claims Iran has the globe’s highest rates of opiate drug abuse.

Iran suffers from the highest levels of opiate drug use in the world, a U.S. government report has claimed.

The 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released by the U.S. State Department concluded that with its close proximity to Afghanistan, Iran has the highest levels of heroin and opium use in the world.

“Iran was a producer for many years until the [1979 Islamic] revolution, when it was eradicated, but they could not do away with the addiction,” Thomas Pietschmann, Research Officer with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, told The Media Line.

“It’s simply due to Afghanistan,” he continued. “Opium and heroin [from Afghanistan] are exported via Iran to turkey and then to Europe. They also supply the goods to the Iranian markets, not very much smaller than the markets of Western Europe.”

Afghanistan’s share of the world opium market is estimated to be between 87 and 93 percent.

According the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, there are around 5 million opiate users in Western Europe compared to 1.4 million in Iran but while heroin is commonly used in Europe, opium use is more widespread in Iran.

The Iranian Resistance will need a different income !

The USA CIA now has the largest opium supply in the world to play with and attempt to disrupt sovereign governments everywhere.

"Oh, NO, YOU DON'T."

Secretary Gates needs to stop this idiocy, destroy the crops in Afghanistan, subsidize the farmers and stop the reason why al Qaeda and the Taliban want back in to the country of Afghanistan. The Afghans needs agricultural rehab.

NO American soldier will die for this moronity !!!

And the USA military WILL NOT participate in such stupidity. Why not just cause WW III ?

Hi, its Saturday night.

This is the eve of one of the greatest moments in American history. I am simply 'ah struck' by the thought. It has been a long time in the making. Too long.

I was going to 'feature' issues around the globe to bring alive other peoples and countries. I believe that is sincerely lacking in the media these days. But, I will postpone that until next week.

For now, this is the eve of the House Vote to pass Health Care Reform.

I believe this is the Democrats greatest moment.

The link above is to the place on C-Span where the legislation can be read.

After the vote tomorrow and the signature of the President it is my intention to read the entire bill and hopefully before it goes to the Senate on Tuesday.

For tonight, I congratulate the Democrats. They have brought the nation to the brink of greatest. Tomorrow it will demonstrate a Legislature that honors its President and loves its people.

Nancy Pelosi is a magnificent Speaker of the House. Those aren't empty words. There have been many great Democratic Speakers before her and now she has the honor of giving their leadership greater brevity in its promise to hold the people of this nation closest to their hearts and politics.

I thank her, all the Democratic members of the House of Representatives and I thank the President of the United States of America. His leadership honors those that elected him. I have never felt closer to a President or so well represented by one.

All my loyalty and love,

...until tomorrow.

The Fed is not competent to handle small banks.

When the investment banks failed, the small banks, the community banks and the independent business owners were ignored and trampled. They failed and caused incredible damage to the USA's economy.

The small banks need to be placed UNDER a government division of The Small Business Administration.

Small Businesses need protection from exploitation of large banks that can't even find the balance sheet they exist on.

There is no way Goldman Sachs or JP Morgan should be anywhere near the small businesses of the USA. Forget about Geithner, he won't like it. The Obama Administration needs to work with competent members of the Legislature to find a place for regulation and monitoring of small banks so they can have a domain supporting small businesses and the mortgage interests of the people they serve.

This administration has to recognize the profound abandonment of the investment banks of the USA's economy after the bailout. Their monies went everywhere but here. They are untrustworthy when it comes to the needs of the people of this country, their homes and the businesses they run. There has to be a separate regulator agency that upholds the 'integrity' of an autonomous system SEPARATE and DIFFERENT from that of Wall Street.

The Fed can keep their billion dollar babies and leave the rest of us ALONE ! It does too much damage and covets the monetary system of the country, including, the average lives of Americans as if they owned us.

NOT

ANY

MORE !!!!!

We are not their peasants and neither are our homes or businesses. It is time to secure the small banks in a way that provides relationships with small businesses and home owners to PROTECT them from this ever occurring again !

The 'Too Big To Fail' can fail all they want, we want our local economies SAFE and SECURE from the immoral idiots of Wall Street !

The Tort Reform the Republicans demand is draconian and DANGEROUS

...Those advocating tort reform ceaselessly (click title to entry - thank you) make the contention that tort reform is needed to curb the filing of frivolous lawsuits. The renowned New England Journal of Medicine has reported that a Harvard University study found that the civil justice system successfully weeds out claims against health care professionals that have no merit. The study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women‘s Hospital in Boston found that 90% of all claims against health care professionals involved a serious injury; 26% of those resulted in death and 80% in disability. The study reported that 63% of the injuries were a result of negligent care or treatment....

Tort Reform Unlikely to Cut Health Care Costs

Studies Show Malpractice Awards Are Not Big Driver of Skyrocketing Costs

By Daphne Eviatar 8/19/09 6:00 AM
...In a recent Washington Post op-ed, Charles Krauthammer put “tort reform” on the top of his wish-list for reducing the costs of the health care system. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas in the Washington Examiner boasts that Texas tort reform that capped injured patient’s damages was the answer to his state’s problems. And the American Medical Association has said it won’t support any health reform bill that doesn’t reduce liability for doctors. “If the bill doesn’t have medical liability reform in it, then we don’t see how it is going to be successful in controlling costs,” James Rohack, president-elect of the organization, told Politico in March. “Why spend the political capital and energy in passing a bill if it is not successful?...”

...“It’s really just a distraction,” said Tom Baker, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and author of “The Medical Malpractice Myth.” “If you were to eliminate medical malpractice liability, even forgetting the negative consequences that would have for safety, accountability, and responsiveness, maybe we’d be talking about 1.5 percent of health care costs. So we’re not talking about real money. It’s small relative to the out-of-control cost of health care.”

Insurance costs about $50-$60 billion a year, Baker estimates. As for what’s often called “defensive medicine,” “there’s really no good study that’s been able to put a number on that,” said Baker.

Krauthammer cited a study by the Massachusetts Medical Society that found that five out of six doctors said they ordered additional tests, procedures and referrals to protect themselves from lawsuits. He also relies on a much-criticized study from the libertarian Pacific Research Institute on the civil justice system to conclude that “defensive medicine” wastes more than $200 billion a year.

Baker is skeptical, and makes the point that “defensive medicine” is not the same thing as wasteful medicine. “Like defensive driving, some defensive medicine is good,” he said. “To change behavior. When you drill down those studies, you see that what it means is, doctors are more careful with patient records. They spend more time with the patient. They’re more careful to say hello and goodbye to the patient. That’s good.”...

The problem with Curtis Wright's America is that it simply returns the Repblicans back to office under an alias.

The Tea Baggers don't bother to recognize the very values they emulate are the same as the ones that were the basis of the corruption that angers them.

They believe simply changing horses in mid-stream will solve the problem and they blame their plight on the 'person' and NOT the values that caused the corruption in the first place.

The Tea Baggers are no different than the Republicans that nearly destroyed the sovereignty of the USA. They believe in a Plutocracy, NOT, a democracy.

They hide behind the flag to accomplish their ill derived goals.

The term "plutocracy" is formally defined as government by the wealthy, and is also sometimes used to refer to a wealthy class that controls a government, often from behind the scenes. More generally, a plutocracy is any form of government in which the wealthy execise the prepondernce of political power, whether directly or indirectly.

The Plutocracy that is the basis of The Tea Bagger and Republican ideologies have made it all the way to the Supreme Court.

Money Grubbers

The Supreme Court kills campaign finance reform. (click here)

By Richard L. Hasen
Posted Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, at 12:58 PM ET

...Citizens United is an ideological group, like the NRA or Planned Parenthood, except that it takes for-profit corporate funding. It produced an anti-Hillary Clinton documentary. The group wanted to air the documentary during the 2008 presidential primary season through a cable television video-on-demand service and to advertise for it on television. In exchange for a $1.2 million fee, a cable-television-operator consortium would have made the documentary available to subscribers to download free on demand....

Citizens United Prevails At Supreme Court (click here)

Bickerstaff: The real trouble with corporate cash in campaigns (click here)

Steve Bickerstaff, LOCAL CONTRIBUTOR

...The leading winners from the court's decision are powerful incumbent officeholders. Corporations often have a great deal at stake in legislative decision-making. Therefore, they are anxious to win the favor of officeholders who they perceive are in a position to help them on legislation. This effect was shown in 2002 when then-Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, raised $749,000 from 20 corporations in support of his Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee. Many of the corporate executives knew that the contributions were of questionable legality and little or nothing about DeLay's plans for the money. They knew only that DeLay wanted funds, and pleasing DeLay was important to the corporations' objectives in Congress....

The real goal of Plutocrats is NO CHANGE, just oppression.

If voters want to 'throw the bumbs out.'

Make sure they are the right bumbs and not just a carbon copy.

New Hanover County is among the most corrupt counties in the county.

The County Commissioners want to pass a sales tax. They used a recent survey, paid for by the taxpayers, to determine their political clout to weather the storm should they pass the tax on consumers.

They have no reverence for the people of Wilmington and that goes for the Mayor and Council as well. They only know power and how to manipulate the vote. They are horrible people.

As a matter of fact the university in Wilmington was dismissed from testing the water quality because they did too good a job. Their reports were highly technical and complete. In stead of the university performing this quality work, the county commissioners awarded private contracts to companies that claim the pollution cannot be 'point sourced' to know where it comes from. Therefore, the private company simply states 'unattainable' as if that is suppose to be a legitimate report. The county commissioners don't care about the people of New Hanover, they do like the monies though.



Jason R. Thompson, Chairman (click here)

...Overall, the poll summary (click title to entry - thank you) said that county commissioners are “well liked” as individuals, but that “the low job approval rating is more of a reflection of attitudes against government in general.”

The poll summary did not provide details on what voters said about the commissioners....

Curtis Wright talks about termination from BIG Talker

I hope this is the beginning of the Murdoch empire cleaning up its act.

This is the guy. The one that lent his radio program to organizing a political party called The Tea Party.

The ethical and potentially legal issues surrounding his actions along with that of the entire 'infortainers' of Murdoch and Rush networks is far more than worrisome. It is more than interesting that his boss actually ran for Mayor.

There is a lot "W"rong here. Conflict of interest is only the beginning. They are also influence peddling. I wouldn't be surprised that it can be viewed as racketeering.

...Knight says Curtis lived (click title to entry - thank you) and breathed that radio show, which brought in ratings and revenue for the media company. He says the termination was a long time coming and has to do with issues that take place behind the scenes, off air.

"Everybody is allowed to have a bad day, but don't have 2,3,4,5 and don't go stirring up a bunch of mess with my staff because that's the quickest way to be asked to leave," said Knight.

Curtis said his relationship with Knight changed after his boss ran for mayor, but Knight says he gave Curtis a letter of immunity allowing him to speak freely on air about the race....

Privatizing Post Offices was the worst idea the government ever had, they are ripping off the public.

I was just at the Eastchester Road Mail Drop in High Point, North Carolina. I had two items to mail that needed delivery confirmation. I paid more than I should have.

The woman at the counter is the owner and operator to the place. When she weighed the packages she leaned on the scale with her hand for the first one. Then she left extraneous papers that were to be my receipts on the scale for the second one. Those papers no matter how they were might be minor in weight add up when it is one customer after another that she services.

I won't ever go back there and I don't believe the USA Mail is safe at her operation.

To much responsibility to the public and too much temptation to commit fraud. The Post Office should not have done it.

Mideast Quartet calls for freeze on Israeli settlement activity

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (Archive) Netanyahu's spokesman Nir Chefetz (click here) said the Israeli leader had proposed some "mutual confidence-building steps" that both Israel and the Palestinians could take in the West Bank. He declined to spell these out.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon

..."The members of the Quartet (click title to entry - thank you) have agreed that we will use every available opportunity to encourage the Israelis and Palestinians to resume indirect talks. We think that the announcement that we have made today states very clearly the assessment of the situation and paves the way first towards the start of indirect talks, and then to direct talks," Lavrov said.

Ban and Clinton condemned the Israeli housing plans and demanded that all settlement activity be halted.

"The Quartet urges the government of Israel to freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth, dismantle outposts erected since March 2001 and to refrain from demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem," Ban said.

"We all condemn the (settlement) announcement and we are all expecting both parties to move toward the proximity talks," Clinton added.

Ban also said that a new peace agreement between the Israeli and Palestinian authorities should be reached within 24 months....

It took WITHDRAWAL of troops for Iraq to FINALLY stand on its own in a real way. Hello?

The USA went through the same issue with South Korea as well. There came a time in the Korean War when enough was enough. It was time for the country to take care of its own people and stop relying on the USA for defense and domestic tranquility.

The USA is a strong and powerful ally. So powerful it can oppress the peoples of a country without even trying to achieve that goal.

Overshadowing the people of Iraq is not our purpose. We are not looking for "A little USA" to emerge so much as a country that is supportive to peace in the region. That can only happen when it properly allies with its neighbors such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan to commit to peace, including recognizing Israel as a sovereign country and Palestine as an emerging state that practices human rights. Those initiatives have to be achieved as an independent and sovereign nation, not one that is occupied by a Western nation.

I do not see Iraq being treated as 'A Favored Country' until it has achieved goals on its own.

Liars. They are all liars.

The attack ad is a reaction to the recent study of the health care system that shows a gross imbalance in equity to all Americans.

It contends that the REAL cost belongs with doctors and hospitals as health insurance is the smallest part of the pie. They state IF the reimbursement was less they would not be charging so much for their insurance.

The fact is that the current health care bill establishes Committees that include citizens and professionals to review ALL the dynamics of health care costs to the USA.

That is prudent for budget purposes and bringing down the national deficit AND American household deficits.

Here again these 'for profit' companies that 'deal' in health care and its peripheral services are telling half trusts as if they have a better argument than the President.

I don't think so.

At all.

The latest attack ads about the Health Care Bill costs MILLIONS. I asked myself, would they spend millions if they were going to make less profits?

...The ad buy, costing between $4 million and $10 million, will start Wednesday on national cable TV outlets. Later in the week, the campaign shifts to 17 states home to moderate and conservative Democrats. Their votes are critical to Obama's endgame for passing legislation to expand coverage and revamp the health insurance market....

The people responsible for the attacks against the President's initiative are. Write them and tell them what you think:

"Patients First, Not Profits"

Chamber of Commerce (click here)

National Association of Manufacturers (click here)

National Retail Federation (click here)

This is where it really gets interesting. The Construction lobbies, especially those that target the state legislators know where their bread is buttered. They don't care about whether or not their health care costs hurt their hiring of Americans, they only care about the fact that non-profit hospital systems use EXTRA monies garnered EVERY YEAR from the charges to patients for construction.

Instead of giving patrons of their health care systems refunds on their expenses every year, the hospital non-profit corporations will build, build and build some more in order to increase their assets (Or at least they believe they do.) so they can borrow more in the future and increase their debt to keep more of their monies.

It is a corrupt system and the patients are the losers ALL THE TIME.

Groups representing the construction and food service industries.

The business groups refused to release a list of the lawmakers they are targeting.

Progress toward real and profound health care reform. Considering the Obstructionists agenda the movement toward a bill has been phenomenal.

While the bill in its current verbiage is considered flawed by more liberal voices, no one can argue it doesn't reduce the deficit.

The Obstructionists continue to state the new health care bill cuts Medicare by one half billion dollars.

They are "W"rong.

It cuts one half billion dollars US from the corruption of privatizing Medicare to allow the federal government to guarantee solid health care insurance to our seniors and disabled.

Liars. All the Obstructionists can do is lie. They have no real facts or reasons to oppose the bill.

The process to global nuclear responsibility started in March 2009 and has been a priority with this administration. Progess.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says there has been "substantial" progress on a new nuclear disarmament deal with Russia. (click title to entry - thank you)

In Moscow, Mrs Clinton and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov said a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) should be finalised soon.

The nations are trying to replace the 1991 Start that expired in December.

Mrs Clinton is attending two days of talks in Moscow, including a key meeting on the Middle East on Friday.

Iran is also a major issue, with the US and Russia publicly disagreeing on the planned opening of an Iranian nuclear power station...

Arizona Legislature guts funding for State Parks - Real Estate Corruption - that is the next step, selling the park land.

Arizona State Parks Keeps 9 Parks Open, 11 More Will Close. (click title to entry - thank you)

Arizona calls that a website for its park system. That is a joke ! Not a website.

McCain or Kyl couldn't do anything about this? Or perhaps they didn't want to. Real estate interests might be too overwhelming for them.

I mean after all, McCain can't even stand up for his own daughter with his spouse fighting to protect her, so why bother with parks after all. Not as though they were ordained by God as a sovereign place of his authority.

The real estate moguls will roll in with their bulldozers and remove all the carbon sinks and replace it with concrete.

This is a Republican idea of fun? They don't value their children's futures at all, do they? I mean that simply don't. They'll take any issue and make it into an economic catastrophe for the sake of money lust. Seriously. They are the most immoral people on the face of the Earth. I have absolutely no respect for them. NONE.




The economic crisis (click here) isn’t going to be over any time soon, and the parks system will probably take another hit this coming year. If you value the role the state parks play in providing recreational opportunities, protecting natural landmarks, and preserving Arizona’s heritage, consider dropping a line to your state representatives to tell them so. Volunteering is a terrific way to show your support, and you can also vote with your dollars by purchasing an annual pass or gifts from the online gift shop. Most importantly, get out there and enjoy your state parks!

Arizona parks system's future in doubt

by Casey Newton - Mar. 18, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

...Arizona's parks system is limping into the next fiscal year (click here) with few assurances it will exist after June 30, the result of lawmakers reducing its budget by nearly 80 percent since 2007.

Lawmakers cut an additional $3.9 million in the special session that adjourned Tuesday. Efforts to save the system through legislation have stalled. And while discussions continue, parks continue to close....

Bring on the Bulldozers. Why wait until the parks are completely closed to leave behind a 'wind row' of trees to hide the truth.

Do it now !!!!!!

Cowards.

Why do it behind the public's back in hopes they forget about their state treasures. Own up to the bastards that you truly are !

The War at our Front Door

Tamaulipas state police (click title to entry - thank you) unload packages of seized marijuana in Nuevo Laredo, where clashes have erupted between northeastern Mexico's two most powerful drug-trafficking rings. (Raul Llamas / AFP/Getty Images / January 8, 2010)

By Ken Ellingwood

March 18, 2010

...The warfare gave way to an uneasy calm after one of the warring groups took de facto control. The number of deaths here ebbed, even as violence soared out of control in other border cities, such as Ciudad Juarez, about 500 miles to the northwest....


I don't believe it is politics that has the President of Mexico against the ropes. I believe the people of Mexico are fearful and feeling insecure. There is probably an element of 'whom is next' even considering some sons and daughters are involved with the cartels. There is a much larger dynamic that those playing politics won't recognize and take seriously. One has to ask how long the people of the border towns with the USA can sustain the siege?

Calderon drug war support wavering (click here)

By DUDLEY ALTHAUS
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

March 17, 2010, 8:24PM

MEXICO CITY — Having wagered his political legacy on the relentless campaign against his country's drug gangs, Mexican President Felipe Calderon refuses to back down — despite a growing chorus of criticism and a death toll that rivals many wars.

Opinion polls show public support for the campaign wavering, as analysts, journalists and politicians declare the war a failure. His anti-crime campaign is sputtering into its fourth bloody year with few signs of victory and nearly 18,000 Mexicans killed.

“To build this country peacefully we need to attack and confront the problems, threats and enemies that challenge peace and security,” Calderon said this week in Juarez, which has become the make-or-break battlefield of the campaign.

Calderon's supporters, including many in the Obama administration, praise the campaign as valiant.

But critics, among them some senior members of his own political party, say Calderon's reluctance to shift strategies reflects a stubborn streak that has negatively affected other aspects of his presidency.

“When someone has an opinion different from his, he tends to see it as aggression against him,” claims Manuel Espino, a former national leader of Calderon's conservative National Action Party, who has become a vocal critic. “He tends to distrust even people on his own team.

“Maybe it's a fear of seeming weak,” said Espino, a Juarez native, who is publishing a book this month condemning the anti-crime strategy in that city....