With critical hospitals closing in North Carolina there needs to be a coalition to persuade the extremist state government to change their minds.

This is a study conducted by graduate students at Duke University who found it impossible to justify opposing the Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

...It is safe (click here) to say that the students who were attracted to this course were reflexively for the Medicaid expansion, and in many ways “didn’t get” how the state of North Carolina wasn’t undertaking the Medicaid expansion as part of the ACA. Most of them are not from North Carolina, and only came here to study. I tried to push them hard over the course of the semester to take seriously the opposition. They mostly still don’t get the opposition or think it is primarily based on opposition to President Obama, but they wrestled mightily to try and understand the perspective of opponents’, and to fashion what they understand to be a plausible way forward that they believe has given some ground.

I should note that these students did independent cost projections, and considered issues of crowd out and woodwork effects. This report represents thousands of a dollars worth of effort at any sort of market rate, especially that done after the final product turned in for the class.

In the spirit of inquiry, I invite my fellow North Carolinians are opposed to expansion, to come wrestle and reason together with these students in their nuanced pages....

There are a variety of communities across the state in need of and supporting the Medicaid expansion through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act for North Carolina. 

North Carolina Justice is already on the 'distressed' hospitals. It is a human rights issue as well as an economic issue. The communities facing down very dangerous circumstances have allies they have not realized or explored.

TAKE BACK OUR TAX DOLLARS (click here)

$891,477,189.81

Since January 1, 2014, North Carolina has rejected $4.9 million per day that would provide coverage to 500,058 uninsured people. We can make a better choice.

UNC Chapel Hill Hospital shoulders the burden for a large population of "Charity Care." It is time the dollars rightfully set aside for these large institutions and especially for the rural communities find a way to connect and more the state legislature out of their political rhetoric and into accepting desperately need funds for citizens across the state.

March 21, 2014

Greensboro City Council (click here) members approved a resolution Tuesday night supporting the expansion of Medicaid in the state of North Carolina. It passed 7 to 2 with council members Zack Matheny and Tony Wilkins voting no.

City Council members are asking N.C. Governor Pat McCrory and the General Assembly to reconsider a previous decision not to expand Medicaid benefits under the Affordable Care Act Law. The League of Women Voters of the Piedmont Triad, a Greensboro grassroots organization, held a press conference prior to the Greensboro City Council’s Tuesday night meeting urging council to support the resolution for Medicaid expansion.

“Every citizen deserves affordable healthcare. It’s the just and right thing to do,” said Willie Taylor, League of Women Voters co-president. Under the Affordable Care Act, states could opt to accept additional federal funds to be able to offer Medicaid insurance to more low-income citizens than the current model allows. The federal government would pick up the full cost of the coverage for three years and 90 percent or more in future years.

Proponents argued that it was a moral, ethical and financially good decision. Andrew Brod, a University of North Carolina at Greensboro economist noted that studies have shown the economic benefit to North Carolina expanding Medicaid benefits. “We know that catastrophic medical expenses account for high stress in households. Medicaid expansion is a way the Affordable Care Act helps alleviate that stress from high medical expenses in households. North Carolina taxpayers are paying for this in their roles as federal taxpayers. Why not get some of the benefit from it,” said Brod.McCrory and the General Assembly decided against expanding the state Medicaid program last year, citing concerns about the program’s operation and efficiency.... 

There are six major trauma centers in North Carolina. The role of the other hospitals, especially the rural community hospitals are to stabilize any patient and ready them for transport. The entire nation witnessed the miracle performed in Boston during that horrible day. But, lives were saved because of the quick action of the emergency teams and their ability to transport them quickly to a trauma center. Location of a hospital is vital to saving lives.

NC Justice needs to file a class action suit against the McCrory government to over rule the poor political agenda of the current administration. I know this is a well worn path, but, Former Senator Edwards was a fighter for the second America. I don't know if he would agree to advise the best approach, but, it would not hurt to ask.

By Michael Abramowitz 
The Daily Reflector
Monday, November 25, 2013

Demonstrators (click here) will hold a rally and prayer vigil in Greenville today to protest a decision by Vidant Health System to close Pungo Vidant Hospital in Belhaven.

The State Conference of the NAACP said it will join residents for the protest at 5 p.m. at the corner of Memorial Drive and Stantonsburg Road near Vidant's headquarters.

NAACP leader William J. Barber, Mayor Adam O'Neal of Belhaven and others will address issues raised by Vidant's decision to close facilities they say serve more than 25,000 people in Hyde and Beaufort Counties.

For the complete article, please pick up a copy of The Daily Reflector. Current home delivery and electronic edition subscribers may log in to access this article at no charge. To become a subscriber, please click here or contact Customer Service at (252) 329-9505.

"The USA bears a lot of the blame for the problems in Iraq." Really?

They are hatful people to jeopardize children like that.

Murrieta Station

25762 Madison Avenue
Murrieta, California 92592
(951) 816-3000

Area of Responsibility
The Murrieta Station is responsible for an operational area covering 3,300 square miles and maintains one full-time checkpoint on Interstate 15 approximately two miles south of town, a secondary checkpoint on south Highway 79 at Oak Grove, California, and several mobile checkpoints throughout its area of responsibility.

The Murrieta station supports an active Community Relations unit.

For more information about the San Diego Border Patrol Sector, please check our General Information section.

With the rate these refugees are coming across the USA border those buses cannot simply return them to detainment centers. It is going to be a human rights issue before too much longer, if it isn't already.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014 - Updated at 3:32 p.m.

Associated Press

Three buses containing migrants bound for a U.S. Border Patrol facility in Murrieta were turned back after protesters blocked the road Tuesday afternoon.

Approximately 100 to 150 people — some holding signs stating “No New Taxes, No New Illegals” and “America Has Been Invaded” — stood in the road in front of the buses that were filled with immigrants and their children who had entered the United States illegally.

After more than 10 minutes, the buses backed away. They headed south on Interstate 15 into San Diego County, according to aerial video on CBS8.com.

A Border Patrol union representative told KPBS that a “Plan B” site in the San Diego sector had been picked as a secondary destination....

If it can be safely done, President Obama needs to take a the President's helicopter for a ride along the USA border and talk to the nation about what can be done and what can be done. The fence is $23 million US per mile and some of it is buried under shifting sand. 

There is no way a metal or wood fence is going to hold up when it is stuck in sand. The people of the country have to realize these are refugees and not illegal immigrants and have nothing to do with immigration matters. These are children. It is time to talk to the country about this and explain why is may be necessary to ask the California National Guard to help.

1/22/2012

The California Army National Guard (click here) is  now offering a variety of great military careers that may translate to jobs in the civilian sectors. After a slow and long California National Guard Recruiting effort in 2011, new opportunities have opened up for a vast number of career fields such as Transportation, Engineers, Military Police, Communication, Logistics, Mechanics and many more. Although our entry requirements remain strict, we at times have the opportunity to work with GED graduates, an ASVAB AFQT total score of 31 or above, and if you dropped out of HS with only a few credits needed, we can get you into our Patriot Academy program. My office services the Hemet, Temecula, Murrieta, Winchester, Sun City and Meniffee Valleys. Please contact me at my cell 760 672-4384 or email me at Andres.Viveros@us.army.mil or request information through this site on my home page....

Confrontation is what the right wing wants. They'll have their cattle rustlers at the boarder before too much longer. Something has to be done, the flow of people isn't stopping. If President Obama needs advice about refugees, Jordan can provide plenty.

The only other possibility is to keep their movement within federal military bases, close the bases to traffic and fly them in and out with planes.

These demonstrations are completely political. They want President Obama to be hated by the country and they are doing their level best to make that happen. This is not about inappropriate handling of people and insecurity within the country. This is about politics. These are probably the same folks that were putting up border fence some time ago.

They are the anti-government individuals that can carry out life better than any government can.

Break out the riot gear, #Occupy wasn't spared any confrontation.

I'll put it this way. My 79 year old mother stated, "It is getting scary for the way people are behaving these days."

Welcome to the North Carolina Education Lottery

The act created (click here) the 9-member North Carolina Lottery Commission to initiate, supervise, and administer the education lottery. The Commission was appointed in September 2005, with Dr. Charles Sanders of Durham as its first chair and its initial meeting was held on October 6, 2005. On November 17, 2005, the Commission hired Thomas N. Shaheen as Executive Director. Shaheen served as Executive Director from December 5, 2005 through September 17, 2010. Following his resignation, Alice Garland was appointed by the NCEL Commission as Executive Director on January 19, 2011. Key staff members and their areas of responsibility include:

The operative word is lottery. This gaming in North Carolina was to be dedicated to raising monies for the public school system in the state. I have said it over and over, the courts in NC are corrupt.

No one receives just until appealed to the 4th Circuit in Virginia. (click here)

May 21, 2014
By Gregory Malhoit

Without explanation, the N.C. Supreme Court (click here) has given a green light to legislators and the governor to move forward with implementing North Carolina’s school voucher program. But before lawmakers rush to write a $10 million check that will end up in the coffers of private, mainly religious, schools, they should use the short legislative session to take a fresh look at how the law will actually be implemented come August.

The transfer of public tax dollars to private religious schools touches bedrock principles of religious freedom found in the First Amendment. Freedom of religion is central to our identity as a free people. Yet the right to religious liberty is not secure when the government becomes intertwined with religion. And when state government uses tax dollars intended to benefit all citizens to indoctrinate children in religious belief, the wall between church and state is severely breached....

There were over 5550 applications for the voucher program and only 2400 will receive them. The others will have to attend UNDERFUNDED public schools while the Education Lottery is being used inappropriately.

June 28, 2014
By Marquita Brown
News and Record

GREENSBORO — Almost 200 Guilford County families (click here) learned this week that they will receive public money to use toward tuition for private schools.

Much of that money, which could be as much as $840,000 if each family receives the maximum voucher amount, likely will go toward the cost of attending religious schools.
Most applicants across the state identified their top choice of private and parochial schools. Of the area schools picked most often, only Greensboro Day School lacks a religious affiliation.
Greensboro Islamic Academy showed up as the top pick 170 times — more than any other private school in the state, according to figures from the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority, which handles the vouchers.
The high interest in using publicly funded vouchers at private religious schools will likely fuel controversy about the $10 million voucher program, which stemmed from 2013 legislation.
Leaders of traditional public school systems, including Guilford County, complain that the voucher program leeches money from the schools most students attend.

The state received 529 voucher applications from Guilford County. Of those, 196 received vouchers through a lottery, according to the Education Assistance Authority....

When is someone going to impeach McCrory and his right hand man Pope?

Where are the fines? Where is the EPA? The Good "Ole Boys are having a real difficult time protecting the lives of North Carolinians, yet alone fishery discharge to the ocean.

Jun 19, 2014, 4:43pm EDT

North Carolina 9th in the nation for toxic waste (click here)

Of 206 million pounds of toxic chemicals released into United States waterways in 2012, 8.8 million pounds of toxic chemicals were released into North Carolina’s waters.

That’s according to a report released by PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center, a nonprofit group focused on environmental protection and information. North Carolina ranks ninth for most amounts of toxins released in 2012 into waterways, followed by Ohio with 7.5 million pounds. Indiana has the most with 17.7 million pounds.

The report breaks down the chemicals into three categories; cancer-causing (of which North Carolina had 44,370 pounds released into waterways, ranking 11th in the nation), developmental toxins (of which North Carolina has 10,341 pounds released into waters, ranking 14 th in the nation), and reproductive toxins (of which North Carolina has 108,452 pounds released, and ranks ninth)....

There is one authority to help, it is the US EPA. Perhaps Senator Hagan out to just ask the waterways of North Carolina be considered either Superfund sites and/or Brownfield sites and help the helpless Governor with his problems.

Posted: Tuesday, July 1, 2014 1:03 pm

An attorney for Gov. Pat McCrory (click here) questioned whether a planned coal ash commission would violate the separation of powers in the state constitution.

Bob Stevens, general counsel for the governor, spoke during the public comment portion of the N.C. House environment committee this afternoon. The committee was reviewing the coal ash management bill approved the coal ash management bill approved by the Senate last week.

The legislation creates a politically-appointed committee to review coal ash pond cleanup plans. The majority of the board will be appointed by the General Assembly. Three members will be appointed by the governor....

Iraq will no longer have a sovereign authority.

Israel has maintained discreet military, intelligence and business ties with the Kurds since the 1960s. (AFP)

Agence France Presse, Jerusalem
Sunday, 29 June 2014

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (click here) asked the international community on Sunday to support Jordan in the fight against "Islamic extremism" and to back the independence of Iraq's Kurds.

"We need to support efforts by the international community to strengthen Jordan and support the aspirations of the Kurds for independence," Netanyahu said in a speech to the Institute of National Security Studies think-tank in Tel Aviv.

"I think it's our common interest to make sure that a moderate, stable regime like (Jordan) is able to defend itself."

His remarks follow reports in Israeli media that officials in Tel Aviv fear Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants may extend their control to areas of Jordan after seizing parts of Iraq in recent weeks....

Jordan has Israel's back. Literally. No Israeli leader will ignore a relationship with Jordan. Jordan also has clout with the Palestinians. The Jordan Queen is a Palestinian. I am sure the borders of Palestine is as important to Jordan as the borders of Israel. Israel and Jordan are very stable countries. The USA is a strong ally and lives in the Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf. The chances of extremists causing incredible problems is not likely. Not bragging, but, fact.

An Albar has a real shot at becoming an autonomous territory. Saudi Arabia has a very successful program to insure it's citizens' security. They actively find extremists in their country and seek them out to prevent deaths. If Saudi Arabia is able to assist An Albar as in the past, the chances of a peaceful region is possible. 

The invasion into Iraq provided 'the idea' the entire region is unstable and in need of the USA. That is not the case.

Monday, 30 June 2014
All eyes (click here) were on Jordan last week as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) made a run at the Hashemite Kingdom. There were concerns that ISIS’ momentum, plus sleeper cells and admirers of the terrorist group in eastern Jordan, would help to create a back door for the fighters to slip into the country. That plan by ISIS seemed to have failed for several reasons.

Fears were raised when rare pictures of several dozen alleged ISIS supporters were circulated widely on social media and news outlets, including the Washington Post. One picture showed the supporters holding aloft a sign reading “Order of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Maan, Jordan- Victory for the Islamic State-22 Shaaban (June) 1435 (2014),” Importantly, Jordanian tribes are loyal to King Abdullah II. Indeed there are sleepers in Zarqa and Maan, but in the past these individuals have been tracked, detained, released, and now living their lives according to Jordanian sources. But they are still being watched and monitored and hence sleepers or supporters of ISIS are being mitigated....

Finding "The Peace" in the Middle East requires more than the USA. It requires a global consensus to disarm any party involved with aggressions in the region. 

Senator Paul hasn't accessed the problems with simply withdrawing support for Palestine. He assumes that USA aid is important and vital. The Palestinians can easily turn to Russia and/or China or other global leaders for any help them need and they'll get it.

The only real way to end this conflict and begin the push to peace is for the United Nations' Security Council to draw up a resolve to define the borders of Israel and Palestine. When it comes to Israel the USA will always defeat anything the UN Security Council resolves. The Palestinians have tried to take problems up at the World Courts and nothing works. 

A Presidential candidate has to resolve to be a part of a 'good' resolution at the United Nations to draw the lines in the sand that defines the two nations of people. Will any candidate have that resolve? You've got to be joking. Money and politics and a populous understanding of 'Poor Israel.'

Rand Paul is not an isolationist.

By JUSTIN LOGAN

8/7/13 9:38 AM EDT

Remember (click here) when your older brothers and sisters used to prank you by warning about the monster under your bed? In a similar way, Washington’s war hawks are gearing up to scare you with another phantom devil: isolationism.

If you feel like you’ve already been hearing increasing warnings about isolationism, you’re right. Pundits, journalists, and now a whole new think-tank initiative are warning about this dangerous ideology....

The 'spin' labels need to stop. A dialogue will never occur if labels end the discussion before it starts. This is from the Jerusalem Post which obviously doesn't do anything except parrot USA politics.

May 6, 2014
By Carolina B. Glick
Republican Senator Rand Paul is an isolationist. (click here) This ought to make him a natural ally for appeasers like Steve Walt and John Mearshimer and the whole blame Israel first crowd.

And indeed, he has taken positions, like opposing additional sanctions on Iran that placed him in their camp.

But Paul is a mixed bag.

Last week, following the PLO’s unity deal with terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Paul introduced the Stand With Israel Act. If it had passed into law, Paul’s act would have required the US to cut off all funding to the Palestinian Authority, including its security forces. The only way the administration could have wiggled out of the aid cutoff would have been by certifying that the PLO, Hamas and Islamic Jihad had effectively stopped being the PLO, Hamas and Islamic Jihad....

Paul hasn't got it right either. The settlements have to stop as well. So, the peace in Israel is not a one way street. Aid to either AGGRESSORS has to be addressed as well. While Israel obviously needs a steadfast military, it has to agree to the final borders of Palestine and settlements need to be withdrawn.

Currently, with Israel unwilling to agree to Palestinian borders, it's agenda of adding more and more settlements to it's sovereign territory there is no reason for Hamas to stop their rockets into Israel. I have noted before the settlements were the reason for Hamas rockets. Hamas rockets have successfully stopped the Israel invasion into Gaza. It has not stopped the Israel invasion into the West Bank, however. 

President Abbas is viewed as a weak leader because he has been completely unable to secure the borders to Palestine. Until Israel stops invading Palestine, there will never be a peace in the Middle East. The three murders are a perfect example of how Israel uses any reason to batter the Palestinians. The three murders define Israel's excuse to prevent a peace and settlement with the Palestinians. As long as Israel continues it's invasions into Palestinian Territories taking land away from them, the rockets won't stop and the problems with it's citizen security will never end and Hamas will demand the power of any authority in Palestine.

How does a murder investigation translate into air strikes on all of Palestinians?

Israeli soldiers keep guard near the West Bank city of Hebron July 1, 2014.
Credit: Reuters/Mussa Qawasma 

(Reuters) - Israel (click here) bombed dozens of sites in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, striking at Hamas after finding the bodies of three missing teenagers whose abduction and killing it blames on the Palestinian Islamist group.

Israel's security cabinet, which held an emergency session late on Monday and was due to meet again on Tuesday, was split on the scope of further action in the coastal enclave and the occupied West Bank, officials said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised Hamas would pay after the discovery of the three Jewish seminary students' bodies under a pile of rocks near the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday....

I don't recall anyone declaring war to begin with and the deaths are tragic, but, since when does murder translate into military aggression?

What is this? Any excuse to kill Palestinians is a good excuse? Why more deaths? Three aren't enough?

Israel can't contact the Palestinian authority and demand assistance in finding the murderers and returning them to justice? 

Israel is out of line with civilized discourse when such tragedies happen. There will be no finding the murderers now. This is exactly why there will never be a peace in the Middle East. Israel has an agenda and any reason, no matter what it is, turns into a blood bath.

There were no authorizations from the Palestinian Authority to go out and kill Israelis or Americans. The official record states every time their is criminal behavior out of Gaza airstrikes will follow? Israel played right into the hands of those that want no peace. They played right into their hands. 

Israel has no idea what those young men were doing in Hebron after dark either.

It will never stop. 

...Instead, the military cited 18 Palestinian rockets launched against Israel from Gaza in the past two days, which Israeli officials have said Hamas carried out....

When aren't there rocket launches from Hamas? That is why there are interceptors in Israel.

..."The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms, this senseless act of terror against innocent youths," President Barack Obama said in a statement. "I also urge all parties to refrain from steps that could further destabilise the situation."...

It wasn't terrorism, it was murder.