...at The Traverse City Film Festival, on occassion, Michael Moore has made an appearance or two. He looks wonderful. Before too much longer he won't look like himself. I congratulate Michael on learning about health care while pursuing 'the truth' as reflected in "SICKO" and then reflecting on his own health.
Michael Moore is an inspiration to the seriousness he has addressed his 'largeness.' I admire him and his level headed weight reduction. Tomorrow he'll be participating in the first 5K Run the festival is sponsoring. I don't expect him to do the 5K so much as the one mile, but, two years ago he wouldn't even fathom it. He is doing remarkably well. I applaud him.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Polls are irrelevant. They cast their ballots in November for Change and this is part of it.
I'd say differently if the polls were not tainted by political propaganda, but, it is very clear the Republicans want no change in Washington. The polls are 'effected' by political propaganda at least by 10% if not more.
We need to address a health care system that is out of control and increasingly so. The economy won't recover well if we do not address this issue.
One thing the Democrats have to realize is that health care workers are scared they will lose their inflated pay scales, including MDs. So, this is a very difficult pill to swallow for many because they are scared of the 'unknown.'
I don't trust the Wall Street polls as that is Murdock and there is nothing News Corp puts out that is quality anymore with the exception of an occassional editorial from the old staff.
...In the Times/CBS poll (click title to entry - thank you), attitudes about how Obama is handling the health-care issue have remained roughly the same since mid-June. In the new survey, 46 percent approved of how he is dealing with the matter, while 38 percent disapproved. In the June poll, 44 percent approved and 34 percent disapproved....
Also, these polls are NOT REFLECTIVE of the populous of the country since the President has been touring and speaking to citizens. We need move this forward. Time is wasting. The American Research Group is a household survey and was also completed before the President toured the states to speak with people concerned about the changes in the country's infrastructure, primarily with healthcare.
July 21, 2009
Obama Job Approval DropsAs Expectations of a Rapid Economic Recovery Fade (click here)
A total of 52% of Americans say they approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president, which is down from 57% in June, and 44% say they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, which is up from 41% in June, according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. When it comes to Obama's handling of the economy, 47% of Americans approve and 47% disapprove.
Among Americans registered to vote, 51% approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president and 46% disapprove. On Obama's handling of the economy, 46% of registered voters approve and 48% disapprove.
The drop in Obama's overall approval rating comes as expectations of an economic recovery are extended beyond a year. A total of 44% of Americans say they expect the national economy to be better a year from now, down from 51% in June. Of those saying they approve of the way Obama is handling his job, 70% say they expect the national economy will be better a year from now, which is down from 81% in June. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, 15% say they expect the national economy will be better a year from now, which is up from 13% in June....
Look, people. I am as concerned as anyone, but, I am not scared of the future so long as we can acheive a new National Health Care Reform Bill with President Obama and the current legislature. I am more SCARED of NOT reforming health care. There are people in this country that are deserving of the 'best of our efforts' to change the face of health care. We need to do this and we need to do it now.
Thank you.
We need to address a health care system that is out of control and increasingly so. The economy won't recover well if we do not address this issue.
One thing the Democrats have to realize is that health care workers are scared they will lose their inflated pay scales, including MDs. So, this is a very difficult pill to swallow for many because they are scared of the 'unknown.'
I don't trust the Wall Street polls as that is Murdock and there is nothing News Corp puts out that is quality anymore with the exception of an occassional editorial from the old staff.
...In the Times/CBS poll (click title to entry - thank you), attitudes about how Obama is handling the health-care issue have remained roughly the same since mid-June. In the new survey, 46 percent approved of how he is dealing with the matter, while 38 percent disapproved. In the June poll, 44 percent approved and 34 percent disapproved....
Also, these polls are NOT REFLECTIVE of the populous of the country since the President has been touring and speaking to citizens. We need move this forward. Time is wasting. The American Research Group is a household survey and was also completed before the President toured the states to speak with people concerned about the changes in the country's infrastructure, primarily with healthcare.
July 21, 2009
Obama Job Approval DropsAs Expectations of a Rapid Economic Recovery Fade (click here)
A total of 52% of Americans say they approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president, which is down from 57% in June, and 44% say they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, which is up from 41% in June, according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. When it comes to Obama's handling of the economy, 47% of Americans approve and 47% disapprove.
Among Americans registered to vote, 51% approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president and 46% disapprove. On Obama's handling of the economy, 46% of registered voters approve and 48% disapprove.
The drop in Obama's overall approval rating comes as expectations of an economic recovery are extended beyond a year. A total of 44% of Americans say they expect the national economy to be better a year from now, down from 51% in June. Of those saying they approve of the way Obama is handling his job, 70% say they expect the national economy will be better a year from now, which is down from 81% in June. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, 15% say they expect the national economy will be better a year from now, which is up from 13% in June....
Look, people. I am as concerned as anyone, but, I am not scared of the future so long as we can acheive a new National Health Care Reform Bill with President Obama and the current legislature. I am more SCARED of NOT reforming health care. There are people in this country that are deserving of the 'best of our efforts' to change the face of health care. We need to do this and we need to do it now.
Thank you.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
I think these folks know what they are doing.
There is some skepticism that the leadership of the Democratic legislature is not as aggressive as they should be. I don't know if that is the case. I think they are quite used to 'surviving' the day with Republicans that are not interested in the country so much as they are interested in their own faux agenda for the country.
I have confidence that Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid are working diligently to bring The National Health Reform Bill to a conclusion as soon as possible. They are not 'selling out' to the minority of Republicans that can't get out of the way of much needed health care reform. The Republicans are staging a revolt, rather than working with the current majority legislature to insure the American people will be 'safe' and 'protected' in their health care needs. The Republicans are 'staging' the revolt with the assistance of propagandists.
What is one to do? They're jerks. At the end of the day, the nation will finally see in 'whom's hands' the country is best served. It won't be 'the jerks' or their propagandists.
I'll tell you why they are jerks. The scenario below where I discussed the 'torn cartilage' that would cost 'out of pocket' a minimum of $10,000 is a health care plan 'designed' to refuse care. It collects monthly fees and makes the health care needed so unaffordable that subscribers have to stay ill and take pain medications until they can save up for the surgery. These type of health care plans are 'scams.' They are cheap for employers to buy while supplying the minimalist of services. Yet they are allowed to exist and are pointed to as good alternatives to a national health reform.
There is no way Great West, with their unreasonable deductibles that are somewhat unrealized until the health care need arises, should be allowed to conduct business in the USA. They are scam artists masquerading as health care insurance companies. They should not exist, but do. The government option for health care is a requirement to rid the country of these lousy plans. People aren't safe. The Republicans that back private health care without a government option are jerks. They either are incompetent and act as figure heads for their party or they simply don't care about the people they are supposed to serve.
End of discussion.
The House and Senate need to do their job and they were elected into a majorty along with a Democratic President to do exactly that. The Propaganda Blitz that is attempting to scare the nation to death regarding health care reform is about 'doing damage' to the Democratic Majority, it isn't about health care. It is about 'scoring' against a majority to re-elect the Republicans. The Democratic Majority has to prove their efforts are 'best' by carrying through in confidence of the majority they hold.
Now, get on with it.
...The newspaper Roll Call this month (click title to entry - thank you) reported that Reid had told his point person, Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, that doing away with the public option and taxing employer-sponsored health care benefits to bring Republicans on board wouldn’t be worth the loss of Democratic support....
Yesterday opened the Traverse City Film Festival. Its is a landmark 5th anniversary.
And to think they said it wouldn't last. Hm.
Michael Moore Today (click here)
July 27th, 2009 5:10 pm
July 27th, 2009 6:02 am
July 27th, 2009 6:08 am
There is an analysis cited on Michael's website about disillusionment and McVeigh. I question that validity. I believe McVeigh and Nichols along with any other accomplices ‘justified’ their actions through narcissistic motives.
Michael Moore Today (click here)
Mike has been dashing in and out of events before the festival as he puts the finishing touches on his most recent documentary. I sincerely hope the 'quality' is maintained while he edits during a time when he loves to be with his peers and friends at TCFF. He has amassed a staff of wonderful people that tend to all the details. Perhaps, Mike, this is the year they should 'fly on their own' a bit more. See you at the movies.
Michael Moore coming to TIFF 09 (click here)
POSTED: July 28, 2009 12:29
By: Thom Powers
Today, TIFF put an end to the rumors and speculation around Michael Moore's new film CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY in a press release announcing the film's premiere at this year's festival. The description reads: "On the 20-year anniversary of his groundbreaking masterpiece Roger & Me, Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story comes home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world). But this time the culprit is much bigger than General Motors, and the crime scene far wider than Flint, Michigan. From Middle America, to the halls of power in Washington, to the global financial epicenter in Manhattan, Michael Moore will once again take film-goers into uncharted territory."
As one of the few people who have seen a version of CAPTIALISM (still in progress), I can testify that Moore is working at the top of his game with a talented crew. And that's about all I can say about its secretive details.
Tomorrow, I'll be headed to Michael Moore's own film festival in Traverse City, MI (pictured). Watch this space for on the scene reports.
http://www.tiff.net/blogs/post/2009/07/28/Michael-Moore-coming-to-TIFF-09.aspx
July 27th, 2009 5:10 pm
Michiganders angling for cheap fun, dinner
Boat registrations drop but fishing licenses soar
By L.L. Braiser / Detroit Free Press
More Michigan residents are hanging out their "Gone Fishin' " signs this year, looking for a cheap afternoon of fun -- and with some luck, a free dinner.
The number of fishing licenses has jumped by more than 54,000 since 2007, state records show.
But, while more people are fishing, they appear to be doing it mostly from small boats or shorelines. Boat registrations have dropped in Michigan in the past year: There were 8,200 fewer boats registered this year, down from 950,772 in 2008, according to state records.
Boat sales are down and more boat owners, especially those with larger vessels, are keeping them in dry dock because of rising fuel costs and a sluggish economy.
With Michigan's rich abundance of freshwater lakes and rivers, boating experts predict that boat sales and registrations again will climb once the economy recovers….
July 27th, 2009 6:02 am
Casualties of War, Part I: The hell of war comes home
By Dave Phillips / Colorado Springs Gazette
Before the murders started, Anthony Marquez’s mom dialed his sergeant at Fort Carson to warn that her son was poised to kill.
It was February 2006, and the 21-year-old soldier had not been the same since being wounded and coming home from Iraq eight months before. He had violent outbursts and thrashing nightmares. He was devouring pain pills and drinking too much. He always packed a gun.
“It was a dangerous combination. I told them he was a walking time bomb,” said his mother, Teresa Hernandez.
His sergeant told her there was nothing he could do. Then, she said, he started taunting her son, saying things like, “Your mommy called. She says you are going crazy.”
Eight months later, the time bomb exploded when her son used a stun gun to repeatedly shock a small-time drug dealer in Widefield over an ounce of marijuana, then shot him through the heart.
Marquez was the first infantry soldier in his brigade to murder someone after returning from Iraq. But he wasn’t the last….
July 27th, 2009 6:08 am
Casualties of War, Part II: Warning signs
By Dave Philips / Colorado Springs Gazette
After coming home from Iraq, 21-year-old medic Bruce Bastien was driving with his Army buddy Louis Bressler, 24, when they spotted a woman walking to work on a Colorado Springs street.
Bressler swerved and hit the woman with the car, according to police, then Bastien jumped out and stabbed her over and over.
It was October 2007. A fellow soldier, Kenneth Eastridge, 24, watched it all from the passenger seat.
At that moment, he said, it was clear that however messed up some of the soldiers in the unit had been after their first Iraq deployment, it was about to get much worse.
“I have no problem with killing,” said Eastridge, a two-tour infantryman with almost 80 confirmed kills. “But I won’t just murder someone for no reason. He had gone crazy.”…
Investigation of Homicides at Fort Carson, Colorado
November 2009 - May 2009
There is an analysis cited on Michael's website about disillusionment and McVeigh. I question that validity. I believe McVeigh and Nichols along with any other accomplices ‘justified’ their actions through narcissistic motives.
The reality in the USA, is to realize there are ‘culturally’ dangerous regions of the country that propagate hatred. We have witnessed people such as the ‘lone wolf’ cases that have manifested since the extremist Right Wing has been outed from power in DC. The South Carolina murderer, the aged angry man at the Holocaust Museaum.
McVeigh wasn’t ‘nurtured’ in a vacuum and it is dangerous and “W”rong to believe he was. The Republicans always state, ‘These people are crazies or demented.’ That isn’t the case. These killers reach conclusions and act on them because of the culture these attitudes are nurtured. These attitudes are poor reasons for ‘manhood. They turn into political agendas at the excuse of ‘Patriotism.’
…That disillusionment grew after he returned to the United States and failed to pass a tryout for the Army's special forces unit. "It was (a disappointment)," McVeigh told CBS from the maximum security prison at Terre Haute, Indiana, in an interview that was taped Feb. 22. "But at the same time, I was losing motivation. This was during a period when I was coming to grips with my role in the Gulf War."…
There is an article in The Boston Globe that I found interesting. I wish the editorial staff and staff writers to The Boston Globe would do an indepth review of these killers, the culture they were nutured in and why they are allowed to exist and even accepted in their communities. It is a vital 'review' of the impetus of 'cultural violence' that also is validated that 'American militias' of civilians are required for national security from the idea of 'an evil government.'
…Following Forde’s arrest, one Minuteman worried that all members would “be painted with the same broad brush.’’ His concern is fair. The Minutemen cannot be held accountable for every act of its members (or former members). But these murders - as well as the murder of Stephen Johns at the Holocaust Museum, allegedly by an anti-Semite; and of Dr. George Tiller for performing legal abortions - are a threat to our freedoms….
Getting out the vote in Afghanistan
Afghanistan mobilizes donkeys for presidential elections (click title to entry - thank you)
14:5229/07/2009
KABUL, July 29 (RIA Novosti) - Some 3,000 donkeys are being mobilized to assist in Afghanistan's presidential elections next month, the UN envoy to Afghanistan said on Wednesday.
Some 17 million Afghans are due to vote in presidential and provincial elections on August 20, however many remote areas of the impoverished country cannot be reached by vehicle, which has meant employing more traditional means of transport.
Kai Eide said, "There will be 3,500 trucks involved...3,000 donkeys will get the ballot papers to the most remote areas," adding that the pack animals would carry voting boxes and papers to mountainous regions, where there was a problem with access.
Security and corruption are the greatest concerns prior to the polls, but the top UN official said that measures were being taken to avoid ballot fraud and increase security, despite recent attacks on election campaigners and presidential front runners.
Incumbent president Hamid Karzai's convoy was attacked on Sunday, although the leader, who is seeking reelection after his 2004 win, escaped unharmed.
And in a separate attack a campaign manager for former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, one of the election front runners along with ex-finance minister Ashraf Ghani, was injured when his vehicle came under fire on Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Representative Thaddeus Cotter acts stupidly.
It would seem Representative Cotter has nothing else to do except pick on the President. It isn't like there are wars to fight, health care to reform or human induced global warming to reverse; but it would seem the misguided bill proposed by this jerk wants to LIMIT speech by President Obama.
While President Obama is trying to be magnanimous to the episide in Cambridge regarding a good and dear friend, the Republican House is being pathetic. By asking President Obama to apologize for stating 'stupidly' in an off the cuff remark at a press conference, he is attempting to LIMIT the speech of a President.
If Mr. Cotter bothered to realize what he is doing, he'd realize there is no restraint on freedom of speech in the USA, including the President of this country. One of the expertise of President Obama, according to his resume, is a community organizer. Just because he is elected President doesn't remove the expertise from the expert. If President Obama feels he can act to improve the relationship of police and the community then he is, by all means, welcome to try.
The President is more than qualified to intervene without remorse. The country seems to want the conversation, except, the Republicans which would try to 'gag' a President.
Honestly, what next in the Republican Campaign of Hatred?
July 24, 2009
McCotter Readies House Resolution Calling for Presidential Apology to Cambridge Police Sergeant
Washington, D.C. -- Unless President Obama apologizes for impugning the professional conduct of Cambridge, Massachusetts Police Sergeant James M. Crowley, when Congress returns on Monday, U.S. Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter (R-MI) will introduce a House Resolution calling on President Obama to do so....
While President Obama is trying to be magnanimous to the episide in Cambridge regarding a good and dear friend, the Republican House is being pathetic. By asking President Obama to apologize for stating 'stupidly' in an off the cuff remark at a press conference, he is attempting to LIMIT the speech of a President.
If Mr. Cotter bothered to realize what he is doing, he'd realize there is no restraint on freedom of speech in the USA, including the President of this country. One of the expertise of President Obama, according to his resume, is a community organizer. Just because he is elected President doesn't remove the expertise from the expert. If President Obama feels he can act to improve the relationship of police and the community then he is, by all means, welcome to try.
The President is more than qualified to intervene without remorse. The country seems to want the conversation, except, the Republicans which would try to 'gag' a President.
Honestly, what next in the Republican Campaign of Hatred?
July 24, 2009
McCotter Readies House Resolution Calling for Presidential Apology to Cambridge Police Sergeant
Washington, D.C. -- Unless President Obama apologizes for impugning the professional conduct of Cambridge, Massachusetts Police Sergeant James M. Crowley, when Congress returns on Monday, U.S. Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter (R-MI) will introduce a House Resolution calling on President Obama to do so....
Monday, July 27, 2009
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park is (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
Earth’s scars of human destruction (click title to entry - thank you)
By Irene Klotz Irene Klotz – Mon Jul 27, 7:28 am ET
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – A Canadian astronaut aboard the International Space Station said on Sunday it looks like Earth's ice caps have melted a bit since he was last in orbit 12 years ago.
Bob Thirsk, who is two months into a planned six-month stay aboard the station, said he is mostly in awe when he looks out the window, particularly at the sliver of atmosphere wrapped around the planet.
"It's a very thin veil of atmosphere around the Earth that keeps us alive," Thirsk said during an in-flight news conference. "Most of the time when I look out the window I'm in awe. But there are some effects of the human destruction of the Earth as well."
"This is probably just a perception, but I just have the feeling that the glaciers are melting, the snow capping the mountains is less than it was 12 years ago when I saw it last time," Thrisk said. "That saddens me a little bit."...
Astronaut Thrisk is more than qualified to make the observations he has regarding melting ice fields and planet caps. Observation is a scientifically sound method of analysis. If Astronaut Thrisk sees differences in the 'ice' of Earth from 215 miles above Earth the actual deterioration is significant.
Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary in 1976, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1978, a Doctorate of Medicine from McGill University in 1982, and a Master of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1998.
Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W
Local Time: 2:47 PM AKDT (GMT -08)
Elevation :: 33 feet
Temperature :: 63 Fahrenheit
Conditions :: Overcast
Humidity :: 94%
Dew Point :: 61 Fahrenheit
Wind :: 4 mph from the West
Pressure :: 30.41 (steady)
Visibility :: 1.2 miles
UV :: 2 of 16
Clouds :: Scattered Clouds 1100 feet
Mostly Cloudy 6000 feet
Overcast 10,000 feet
(Above ground)
By Irene Klotz Irene Klotz – Mon Jul 27, 7:28 am ET
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – A Canadian astronaut aboard the International Space Station said on Sunday it looks like Earth's ice caps have melted a bit since he was last in orbit 12 years ago.
Bob Thirsk, who is two months into a planned six-month stay aboard the station, said he is mostly in awe when he looks out the window, particularly at the sliver of atmosphere wrapped around the planet.
"It's a very thin veil of atmosphere around the Earth that keeps us alive," Thirsk said during an in-flight news conference. "Most of the time when I look out the window I'm in awe. But there are some effects of the human destruction of the Earth as well."
"This is probably just a perception, but I just have the feeling that the glaciers are melting, the snow capping the mountains is less than it was 12 years ago when I saw it last time," Thrisk said. "That saddens me a little bit."...
Astronaut Thrisk is more than qualified to make the observations he has regarding melting ice fields and planet caps. Observation is a scientifically sound method of analysis. If Astronaut Thrisk sees differences in the 'ice' of Earth from 215 miles above Earth the actual deterioration is significant.
Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary in 1976, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1978, a Doctorate of Medicine from McGill University in 1982, and a Master of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1998.
Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W
Local Time: 2:47 PM AKDT (GMT -08)
Elevation :: 33 feet
Temperature :: 63 Fahrenheit
Conditions :: Overcast
Humidity :: 94%
Dew Point :: 61 Fahrenheit
Wind :: 4 mph from the West
Pressure :: 30.41 (steady)
Visibility :: 1.2 miles
UV :: 2 of 16
Clouds :: Scattered Clouds 1100 feet
Mostly Cloudy 6000 feet
Overcast 10,000 feet
(Above ground)
In 2008, the Mayo Clinic organization had group revenues of $7.2 billion. Net income was $205.3 million.
The Mayo Clinic makes a lot of money every year. A significant amount comes from Medicare. Hospitals surviving in the year 2009 aren't structured entirely around the monies paid for their services. Some are serviced by trust funds and other financial tools.
However.
Most are non-profit organizations.
But.
They are not really non-profit, but, they get away with it.
The hospitals in the USA with substantial incomes have a lot of financial mechanisms they use to remain solvent. They also aren't allowed, under USA law, to keep all their PROFITS as a non-profit. If a hospital has revenues from all sources that are showing significant profits they have to 'spend down' their incomes in order to maintain their non-profit status.
If one will notice, most major hospitals never stop building. That is because their income is so significant they have to continually have 'projects' to keep their monies.
ASK YOUSELF when you received an annual 'health care rebate' from your physician or hospital that operates as a non-profit. I already know the answer is never. Why should they send a rebate to their customers? That would relay the "W"rong message after all.
The chronic building of facilities may very well be more of an issue than the nation would like to address, but, these are huge entities with 'ideologies' of their own. They like to think they are the 'kindest' entity in any region of the country. Large hospital systems don't like to be questioned in their priorities and usually aren't. If they want to add facilities for whatever reason they do, there is always the understanding from the public that it is benefitting them. That is not necessarily the case. What is the case is that they are 'using' their monies and therefore legitimizing their 'income.'
Hospitals and health care systems also receive government monies that subsidize their activities. They aren't about to give that up either.
The issues that surround such organizations gets interesting. How many MRIs does a community need? Are there more in the area housed in physician facilities that are under utilized?
I believe the infrastructure of American Health Care will be better realized and utilized when there is some degree of cost controls. Right now there aren't any. There is also no 'oversight' to the enormity of some of these systems and the inherent 'chaos' and 'fiscal losses' that come with such huge entities.
The CEOs of these hospital systems will have to look closely at their expenditures and begin to realize they aren't going to have the 'usual' monies to 'throw around.'
One of the failures of the Bush/Cheney Administration is their willingness to allow community hospitals to close down without review or thought about the loss of community beds. One of the things that will become obvious to many CEOs is that the 'habits' of consolidation and elimination of competition is just a bad idea.
The health care 'infrastruture' will be fine. The people of the USA will be fine. The financial stability of these institutions are sound. Very sound. The 'awakening' that will occur following a National Health Care Reform Bill will be good for the country, good for 'affordable' health care and will bring the health care industry into 'line' with other corporations.
It is okay for a non-profit hospital to have a bad year. BUT. They never do. They all complain about Medicare reimbursement, but, they never complain about the elimination of competition that would accommodate the Medicare patient. They absolutely need Medicare patients as they are the backbone of many of the practices of their physicians.
Reform within our health care system will provide better infrastructure for the care of individuals. Whatever loss any health care system sustains regarding government programs is for their better outcome. They can't make all that much money every year.
The Health Care Reform Bill will be the vehicle for change in the USA. Health care will mature and research will become a focus of improving health in general. Remember also, these hospitals don't just treat Americans, they are entities that draw global populations to their doors. There is a lot to be done, but, increasing the cost of health care to Americans will have to stop and better, more efficient care will have to result. There is no room for arrogance in this health care measure, but, more like cooperation.
Mayo definately accepts Medicare. They, no different than many other hospitals, handle Medicare B in a variety of ways. They selected to be a non-participating provider, but, it is to provide venues of 'collection' whether Americans can afford it or not. It is a bit draconian, actually, when considering whom they are actually chasing for money. I would anticipate that to change somewhat.
Mayo Clinic is a non-participating provider in the Medicare Program. (click here)
We do not accept assignment on claims submitted to Part B Medicare except:
where the law requires us to;
...in the case of documented financial hardship;
...when the supplemental insurance is a contract payer;
...when the patient resides in the state of Minnesota.
When claims are sent to Medicare on a non-assigned basis,...
Have a better day and trust your President. He is a brilliant man with sincere concern for the people of this country. That translates into being sure all their health care providers can successfully provide care.
Enough already.
Orrin Hatch is ranting again regarding protecting the wealthy instead of securing a National Health Care Reform Bill. He invited all those..
...listening at home to pay attention and comment. So, I figured I'd oblige him.
You know, Orrin Hatch made a remarkable statement. He said he's been around a long time in Washington, DC and have seen a lot of folks come and go. I agree. I also believe Orrin Hatch has been a liability for Utah for a long, long time. No one can get rid of him. I really need to take a look to see what exactly Utah thinks they are getting with him. Military money or what?
At any rate, Orrin has got issues. Poor Orrin. To begin with, when he doesn't get his way and he speaks ;he yells. That is what he is doing now. The decibles have done nothing but increase in his voice since he started having his FIT.
When he or Jeff Sessions have no clear answers for the nation's problems they resort to name calling. I guess that is better than nothing, but, they CHRONICALLY have a hatred of minorities. Currently, everyone from the President to Judge Sotomayor.
So, as long as Orrin and Sessions intend on character assassination as a methodolgy to resolving the nation's problems, I thought I'd do some of my own. I am confident that is not why Orrin invited 'the folks at home' to join in. He and the majority of Republicans remain clueless in believing that if they call on enough wealthy 'at home' they can defeat the bills of the Obama Administration. Will all the wealthy please raise their hands in support of Orrin and Sessions?
Not many, huh?
You know, Orrin Hatch made a remarkable statement. He said he's been around a long time in Washington, DC and have seen a lot of folks come and go. I agree. I also believe Orrin Hatch has been a liability for Utah for a long, long time. No one can get rid of him. I really need to take a look to see what exactly Utah thinks they are getting with him. Military money or what?
At any rate, Orrin has got issues. Poor Orrin. To begin with, when he doesn't get his way and he speaks ;he yells. That is what he is doing now. The decibles have done nothing but increase in his voice since he started having his FIT.
When he or Jeff Sessions have no clear answers for the nation's problems they resort to name calling. I guess that is better than nothing, but, they CHRONICALLY have a hatred of minorities. Currently, everyone from the President to Judge Sotomayor.
So, as long as Orrin and Sessions intend on character assassination as a methodolgy to resolving the nation's problems, I thought I'd do some of my own. I am confident that is not why Orrin invited 'the folks at home' to join in. He and the majority of Republicans remain clueless in believing that if they call on enough wealthy 'at home' they can defeat the bills of the Obama Administration. Will all the wealthy please raise their hands in support of Orrin and Sessions?
Not many, huh?
With that reality, there is some question about whether the surcharge will actually do what we believe it will, huh? That wasn't Orrin's point though. He is counting on the majority of the nation, the Middle Class and Lower Middle Class to see the benefits of allowing the wealthy to keep every penny in hopes they will create at least enough jobs to build each of them a yacht.
I tell you what, why don't we 'cut back' on all the taxes on the wealthy at Christmas so they can purchase their boats and get it over with. Then perhaps they'll 'feel better' about doing their part otherwise.
There you go, Orrin. Whatever floats your boat, honey.
During the unprecedented, raucous — at times even surreal — Senate hearings investigating the sexual harassment allegations Anita Hill made against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, Orrin Hatch accused the University of Oklahoma law professor of having words put in her mouth. He claimed that Hill, in collusion with “slick lawyers” bent on derailing Thomas’s nomination, had concocted the whole tale. And on October 12, 1991, Hatch accused Hill of fabricating charges against Thomas by subconsciously drawing on works of fiction she had read. Waving a copy of William Peter Blatty’s novel, The Exorcist, Hatch suggested that she’d stolen the by-then-infamous “pubic hair” anecdote from the book by quoting the following line: “There appeared to be an alien pubic hair floating around in my gin.”...
Sarah Palin in her 'exit speech' stated the wildlife of Alaska was flourishing.
Really? I wish she would simply stop her rhetoric and take her incompetency home with her. Her resignation is due to her own polarizing demeanor. She can't get along with people. She is too extreme.
She promoted teen pregnancy. There can't be consent to teen pregnancy in the USA. She opened her family up to scrutiny when she accepted the nomination by John McCann. She was wrong to do it. She hadn't even proved herself in government yet and she was flaunting her family as a means to political d0mination of 'privacy rights' of women. She was wrong to do it.
The Right Wing Republicans consent to pregnancy in children to validate their social moral policies. It is hideous. Completely. What was to happen under McCann/Palin, more and more teens having babies? The entire mess was an outrage and invalidated the conscience of Americans to have options for young people with lives that would suffer adversely if abortion was to become obsolete in the USA. Palin was completely wrong for federal office and it was an extremist position taken by McCann seeking the woman's vote and conservative vote.
Where does the Blue Dogs get their name? Does that dog hunt?
The Bluetick Coonhound was breed and developed in the Southern USA. The Blue Dog Democrats became known as such because they primarily originated in the Southern USA.
The Blue Dogs came to prominence during the administration of Harry S. Truman as they replaced Republicans with Democrats for the first time.
They are known primarily for fiscal conservative measures, however, under the "W" administration they have wandered too far right and now are placing their own constituents 'at risk' because their ideologies are unable to see the forest for the trees. So, the question is, "Are they still able to be flexible enough to make that left move from the hard right to save their constituency from peril?"
There is doubt in regard to this cultural divide and they need to examine their conscience while being a 'swing' vote taunted by Republicans. It might be that 30 years of Republican fiscal policy not only caused the country to bankrupt the banking system, but, also bankrupt the American people out of 'moral content' for the sake of capitalist policy that simply doesn't work in areas of life where 'supply and demand' are unrealistic.
The 'idea' that Americans could get attention by doctors to enhance their lives developed in the 20th century. It is difficult to pursue life, liberty and happiness of an American isn't well enough to do it. Persons that 'suffer' fiscal strain due to health care costs cannot effectively contribute to an economy and will ultimately cost the country its tax base. Health care policy in the USA has to be a mandate providing every American a chance to contribute to their country's fiscal well being.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
A real life story compliments of Great West Healthcare, a subsidiary of Aetna.
A monthly C.O.B.R.A. cost of medical insurance is $334.00 for single person coverage. The insured suffered a torn cartilage in the left knee.
The insured goes to a sports orthopedic surgeon that has performing successful surgery on other members of the family for over a decade. He is trusted by the insured The surgeon is local where the insured can receive support from family and friends post procedure. An MRI is required and the surgeon wants to do it in his office.
The insurance company is called by the surgeon's 'insurance assistant' that now has an office to herself as the demands for handling health care claims is so ridiculously time consuming that it requires dedicated staff members.
The MRI is not approved because it is not 'within' the 'network' and neither is the surgeon. The MRI can be performed at the local hospital and those arrangements are made and the cost will be shared by the insurer and the insured by a 70/30 insurance program.
The MRI is completed a week later as that was the soonest the hospital could accommodate the procedure, while the surgeon's office could have conducted it the next day. During that week the insured received Percocets to treat the pain while waiting.
The insured returned to the surgeon's office the day after the MRI was completed to learn there was indeed a torn cartilage of the left knee. Arthroscopic surgery is required to deal with the tear and the surgeon also wants to perform a lateral release to insure it doesn't happen again.
The insurance company is called. Since the surgeon is not in 'network' the deductible will increse to 40%. If the insured wants a lower 30% deductible the insured will be required to go to another medical facility about 35 miles away where there will be no immediate family and friends so that is declined as an option.
The deductible for the procedure for the surgeon alone is $4500.00. That is IF the surgeon only performs the arthroscopic surgery without the lateral release. The entire procedure will cost over $10,000 'OUT OF POCKET' between the hospital, anesthesia and physician.
That was $10,000.00 'Out-of-Pocket' for a procedure to a left knee. $10,000 out of pocket. And that is just for one aspect of the 'cure' to the injury. That doesn't even include the physical therapy that will be ordered after recovery from the procedure.
It is unrealistic to believe the cost of health care should cost anyone in the USA that much money. Something has to be done and soon regarding the RUNAWAY health care industry. This isn't even sane anymore !!!!!
The Rhetorical Jim Demint has no clue what is going on in government.
Jim DeMint with Dick Cheney at CPAP
Sanford Refuses Stimulus Cash (click here)
By Rob Jordan on Mar 20, 2009
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today announced he would refuse federal stimulus cash since his request to use some of the money to pay down state debt was rejected by the White House. This is worth noting, not only from the standpoint of the Obama Administration ramming policy down the throat of a state, but also because many in the media have been unfairly jumping on Gov. Sanford of late and calling him a hippocrite for saying he wouldn’t take stimulus money and then flipping. Needless to say, this is simply untrue.
A press release issued from the Governor’s office read in part:...
He appeared in March at a conference called "Club for Growth Winter Conference (Sanford, DeMint, Romney)." (click title to entry - thank you) He appeared with Sanford as speakers at the conference, so he does know who the Governor of South Carolina is. I suppose the South Carolina Republicans are elated when their elected officials actually appear some place. At least they know they aren't hiking to Argentina and abandoning their responsibilities.
DeMint is one of the demented Republicans. He states that the National Health Reform Bill is still again a huge failure of the Obama Administration. He states that the Stimulus Bill is a failure and never prevented the South Carolina unemployment increase to 11.
Transcript. Evidently ABC News feels the transcript is necessary to clarify all remarks by those on the show:
...DEMINT: (click here) Well, they gave a similar numbers with the stimulus and promised our unemployment wouldn't go above 8 percent. And now in South Carolina, it's over 12. (click here for actual unemployment numbers in South Carolina) So the numbers are hard to trust, George.
This is not personal against the president. I like the president, but he is out of control and he has been leading a stampede of more spending and debt and taxes and government takeovers....
I see.
Does Representative DeMint actually know what is going on in South Carolina?
No.
Because if he did, he would know that Governor Sanford has refused the Obama Stimulus until the states legislature forced him to take it in the first week of June. I doubt seriously 6 to 7 weeks of accepting stimulus dollars allows for it to show an effect. Heck, it hasn't made it out of the State Treasury yet.
What is astounding to me is that this 'Mind Speak' actually is allowed in major media. Representative DeMint literally stated his disdain for the National Health Care Reform Bill by stating the Stimulus did nothing to reduce 11% unemployment in South Carolina, so therefore any Obama Plan doesn't work. George Stephanopoulos let him get away with it. That was amazing.
Stephanopoulos stated this after the commentary by Demint. Demint isn't supposed to be making commentary. He is supposed to be stating facts and why a proposed National Health Care Reform Bill is out of the question. But, this is what George thought more important.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Slow it down and get it right. Is there any meeting of the minds here?
GET IT RIGHT was what Stephanopoulos thought more important. He specifically let any criticism of Demint pass by because he wanted to 'anchor' any further 'commentary' in criticism of the National Health Care Reform Bill.Stephopoulos want to give the Republicans a leg up on the commentary that was suppose to follow. He didn't care about the highly competent Bill proposed by an intelligent President of the USA. That didn't matter. What mattered was that Demint was supposed to come across as an expert in dire straights of protecting his expertise. He was supposed to be viewed as embattled from a 'righteous' standpoint that carried more validity than a freely elected President with an ambitious agenda for change in the USA.
Stephanopoulos let the highly INCOMPETENT statement of a South Carolina Representative pass so they could make the point that it was Obama that was not ambitious, but, extreme in demanding legislation to benefit the American people by the end of the year. To say President Obama has the support of the media of the USA is a gross error. Make no doubt about it. The press isn't used to intelligence in the Oval Office so much as incompetence and manipulation to deceive the American people.
The statement above by Representative Jim Demint is a DELIBERATE deception. He is DELIBERATELY manipulating the facts in order to derive a faux reality that will provide a wedge issue to delay the vote by confusing the electorate. WE CAN KEEP THIS UP FOREVER. Or. We can trust our President to bring legislation that will benefit the people of the USA. Demint is manipulating the truth to benefit his cronies. He should be impeached at the very least. When will the people of the USA stop 'tolerating' such hogwash? Never?
Jim Demint needs to be replaced with a competent individual that actually cares about the people of South Carolina. His current website (click here) tells the people of South Carolina what to think. It literally insults the intelligence of his own constituency and is nothing more than a political advertisement for the arrogant.
These are the people that are STILL in office in the federal government. People need to wake up and expect to be treated as thinking individuals with their own opinions reflected by their needs and priorities. The people of South Carolina need this Health Care Reform Bill as much, if not more, than the rest of the nation and they get dictated to by their own Representatives. This is the year 2009. Like, what the heck?
I was of the understanding that the government is supposed to be 'of, by and for the people.' It sure AIN'T in South Carolina.
James Demint has absolutely NO BASIS in fact for his analogies. None. Yet we have to put up with this mess. To what end? And we have to put up with media services that cannot 'handle' these idiots? It was blantant politicking that Demint engaged in and he should have been called on it and then some. Trying to defame a President by speaking out of both sides of his mouth while manipulating facts to 'fit' his point of view is totally reprehensible and the media allows it. We don't need it. We really don't need it. Demint was lying. Taking facts and spinning them without facing 'the truth' is a blantant disregard of 'The Public Trust' but yet he persists. Enough already!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
It is time to tax unhealthy beverages. Should have happened a long time ago.
It isn't consumers that aren't ready for tax on unhealthy foods, no different than alcohol or cigarettes, its the manufacturers that aren't ready. Of course, they never will be.
Fight Childhood Obesity
Coke says consumers not ready for ‘soda tax’ (click title to entry - thank you)
By Jonathan Birchall in New York
Published: July 21 2009 20:55 Last updated: July 21 2009 20:55
Coca-Cola on Tuesday attacked proposals to create a “soda tax” on sugared drinks to help pay for US healthcare reforms, saying “the consumer in this environment is not ready for a tax on a basic staple like non-alcoholic beverages”.
Coke and its bottlers have been part of lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill against the proposed tax, which was included in May in funding options presented by the Senate finance committee....
EAT SMART
Cut out the killer colas (click here)
MEETA LALL
Most of us opt for a soft drink when thirsty. But have you thought of what it does inside the body?
We know that colas are bad for health; yet, most of us drink them all the time. In the 1970s, a soft drink was a treat. Today, a chilled cola is the first thing we reach out for after a hot trip. For the hip youth, they are the ‘right’ ch oice. Buying (and guzzling down!) a 600 ml bottle of cola on the way home from school has become routine for children.
Research has now categorically proved that a glass of fizzy soft drink — or soda as it is called in the U.S. — is nothing less than a killer assault on the body! Consider this: One can of soda (330 ml) contains about 8-10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colours and sulphites. How can a drink that provides a whole lot of calories, sugar and caffeine be good for health?.
What it does
What exactly does soda do inside our body? Within 10 minutes of drinking a cola, a huge dose of sugar hits our system. Within 20 minutes, blood sugar spikes and is promptly converted to fat by the liver. Within 40 minutes, all the caffeine from the soda dilates the pupils, raises blood pressure and the liver dumps more sugar into the blood. The high sugar and caffeine in our blood gives us a ‘Feel Good’ high. However, soon thereafter, blood sugar begins to crash giving way to tiredness, lethargy and fatigue. Drink soda twice or thrice a day and our body keeps roller coasting between sugar highs and lows throughout!
What’s more, drinking a single can a day translates to more than a pound of weight gain every month. And doubles the risk of diabetes! To make matters worse, phosphoric acid — added to colas for their distinct ‘tang’ — pulls calcium out of bones and weakens them for life. It also dissolves tooth enamel causing cavities and promotes formation of kidney stones. The caffeine — the ‘kick’ part of the soda — causes jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. Lately, doctors are warning that excessive cola consumption can lead to anything from mild weakness to profound muscle paralysis. This is because the drink can cause your blood potassium to drop dangerously low. Sodium benzoate — the preservative in soft drinks — can alter DNA eventually increasing our risk for liver damage and Parkinson’s disease.
Give it up...
Fight Childhood Obesity
Coke says consumers not ready for ‘soda tax’ (click title to entry - thank you)
By Jonathan Birchall in New York
Published: July 21 2009 20:55 Last updated: July 21 2009 20:55
Coca-Cola on Tuesday attacked proposals to create a “soda tax” on sugared drinks to help pay for US healthcare reforms, saying “the consumer in this environment is not ready for a tax on a basic staple like non-alcoholic beverages”.
Coke and its bottlers have been part of lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill against the proposed tax, which was included in May in funding options presented by the Senate finance committee....
EAT SMART
Cut out the killer colas (click here)
MEETA LALL
Most of us opt for a soft drink when thirsty. But have you thought of what it does inside the body?
We know that colas are bad for health; yet, most of us drink them all the time. In the 1970s, a soft drink was a treat. Today, a chilled cola is the first thing we reach out for after a hot trip. For the hip youth, they are the ‘right’ ch oice. Buying (and guzzling down!) a 600 ml bottle of cola on the way home from school has become routine for children.
Research has now categorically proved that a glass of fizzy soft drink — or soda as it is called in the U.S. — is nothing less than a killer assault on the body! Consider this: One can of soda (330 ml) contains about 8-10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colours and sulphites. How can a drink that provides a whole lot of calories, sugar and caffeine be good for health?.
What it does
What exactly does soda do inside our body? Within 10 minutes of drinking a cola, a huge dose of sugar hits our system. Within 20 minutes, blood sugar spikes and is promptly converted to fat by the liver. Within 40 minutes, all the caffeine from the soda dilates the pupils, raises blood pressure and the liver dumps more sugar into the blood. The high sugar and caffeine in our blood gives us a ‘Feel Good’ high. However, soon thereafter, blood sugar begins to crash giving way to tiredness, lethargy and fatigue. Drink soda twice or thrice a day and our body keeps roller coasting between sugar highs and lows throughout!
What’s more, drinking a single can a day translates to more than a pound of weight gain every month. And doubles the risk of diabetes! To make matters worse, phosphoric acid — added to colas for their distinct ‘tang’ — pulls calcium out of bones and weakens them for life. It also dissolves tooth enamel causing cavities and promotes formation of kidney stones. The caffeine — the ‘kick’ part of the soda — causes jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. Lately, doctors are warning that excessive cola consumption can lead to anything from mild weakness to profound muscle paralysis. This is because the drink can cause your blood potassium to drop dangerously low. Sodium benzoate — the preservative in soft drinks — can alter DNA eventually increasing our risk for liver damage and Parkinson’s disease.
Give it up...
Vice President needs to stop 'smoozing' Western Europe. Russia is not going anywhere and he knows it.
Biden said domestic troubles were the most important factor driving Russia's new global outlook.
Russia has been very smart since the Bush invasion into Iraq. They literally turned on a dime and walked away from any relationship with the USA. Putin's Russia has been building a global network of allies. Russia and China are both in the Western hemisphere. There is now direct threats of convention war with near border countries in South America. Who is anyone 'kidding' if they believe Russia is going to implode.
There is no way.
They are very savvy when it comes to managing their natural resources. Russia is stable and so are the people of that country.
Anyone believing Russia is weakening and dissolving is diluting themselves. Russia has never been this supported in a global venue. They have allies on every continent and within striking distance of any American instillation. Get real, okay?
Getting Western Europe to live in the real world is nearly impossible, evidently. Georgian leadership is dangerous. Time to 'get over it.'
The worst aspect of 'the Biden dialogue' is that it doesn't treat Russia as a partner so much as a victim. Russia is not a pathetic country like Georgia is.
There is soemone being ignored. The trouble maker.
What was grossly ignored in the arrest of Professor Gates in charging him with 'Disorderly Conduct" is that he was wrongly charged.
What exactly is disorderly conduct? Being 'upset' is disorderly? No. Absolutely not.
Professor Gates is not a person that doesn't have rights when it comes to being 'cornered' in his home. An officer's demeanor is ALWAYS to deescalate any emotional response.
"Stepping outside" alone as Officer Crowley stated was a benign reques?. It was not benign. Stepping outside was to protect Officer Crowley from being victimized by his own actions. Stepping outside was a continuance of the arrest process. Stepping outside was an assertion of power and authority over an innocent man.
What should have occurred was an apology to Professor Gates either in his house (Perferably) or outside. An apology that simply states, "I was responding with my partner to a potential break-in to you're home. It was reasonable to believe that a neighbor would know you and only seek to protect your home with a phone call to dispatch officers to intervene. Again, I apologize for this confusion. It was to protect your home and property. I would anticipate this should not deter anyone from calling if they believe there is a crime being committed."
With that it is more than reasonable to visit the neighbor to tell her about the mix up and reassure her that her neighbor and the neighborhood was safe. Imagine having her watch 'the action' from her point of view and feeling as though Professor Gates was actually a criminal. There is a lot that could have occurred differently.
I am grateful there was no escalation beyond what occurred. A mistake is a mistake and there is no reason why police officers have to propagate a greater mistake made by a neighbor. When there obviously was a huge mistake the reasonable thing to do is apologize and carry through with the neighbor realizing the Professor had reason to be upset from all angles.
Sensitivity 'R' Us
What has come of the White Woman Caller? Professor Gates specifically stated, "...a white woman caller..." One has to realize there is an instigator that added to Professor Gates state of mind. She doesn't know her neighbors? I see.
What exactly is disorderly conduct? Being 'upset' is disorderly? No. Absolutely not.
Professor Gates is not a person that doesn't have rights when it comes to being 'cornered' in his home. An officer's demeanor is ALWAYS to deescalate any emotional response.
"Stepping outside" alone as Officer Crowley stated was a benign reques?. It was not benign. Stepping outside was to protect Officer Crowley from being victimized by his own actions. Stepping outside was a continuance of the arrest process. Stepping outside was an assertion of power and authority over an innocent man.
What should have occurred was an apology to Professor Gates either in his house (Perferably) or outside. An apology that simply states, "I was responding with my partner to a potential break-in to you're home. It was reasonable to believe that a neighbor would know you and only seek to protect your home with a phone call to dispatch officers to intervene. Again, I apologize for this confusion. It was to protect your home and property. I would anticipate this should not deter anyone from calling if they believe there is a crime being committed."
With that it is more than reasonable to visit the neighbor to tell her about the mix up and reassure her that her neighbor and the neighborhood was safe. Imagine having her watch 'the action' from her point of view and feeling as though Professor Gates was actually a criminal. There is a lot that could have occurred differently.
I am grateful there was no escalation beyond what occurred. A mistake is a mistake and there is no reason why police officers have to propagate a greater mistake made by a neighbor. When there obviously was a huge mistake the reasonable thing to do is apologize and carry through with the neighbor realizing the Professor had reason to be upset from all angles.
Sensitivity 'R' Us
What has come of the White Woman Caller? Professor Gates specifically stated, "...a white woman caller..." One has to realize there is an instigator that added to Professor Gates state of mind. She doesn't know her neighbors? I see.
Friday, July 24, 2009
White Out on a Hot Planet - Click here for a 12 hour loop
July 25, 2009
0017 gmt
Atlantic Ocean Satellite
The ONLY significant water vapor on Earth to support any kind of Atlantic Hurricane Season is near the Equator. That is astounding. Some seasons are late and we have yet to witness any 'heat transferring' storms, but, what we have witnessed is a 'melt down' of the Arctic Ocean. There has been increasing amounts of 'frigid air' coming down from the Arctic Ocean to the lower latitudes to attempt to cool Earth. The 'temperature' of a majority of the northern USA has been lower in many instances keeping in mind we are almost at August 1st.
That is not normal, it is Climate Change. It is also a tipping point. Earth no longer uses Atlantic Hurricanes to cool its troposphere, it is utalizing the ice of the northern cap. How long will this continue to make Earth benevolent to life? Good question. Humans have managed to melt all the 'aged' ice of the Arctic Ocean and soon human beings will be melting the very ice as it happens. It is not looking good.
July 25, 2009
0030.14z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the North and West Hemisphere.
The troposphere has yet to spawn significant storms this season. The fact Water Vapor Satellites are showing a planet engulfed in high tropospheric water vapor proves that Earth's 'climate change' dynamics is so 'hot' it is removing the water vapor from the surface of the planet. I am not surprised Earth does not have enough water vapor at the surface to encourage Atlantic hurricanes as the majority of its northern ice ocean is no longer at the surface either, but, evaporated into the upper troposphere.
This level of 'water vapor' over Earth is not recorded anywhere on this blog for over four years.
Invasion of Privacy. The Community of Cambridge prides itself on understanding Civil Rights. Professor Gates is correct.
Literally, the Rodney King of Cambridge. No, that is not over the top. It gives permission for worse in the nation.
Professor Gate's rights under the law was abused and so was he.
The FACT that this photo is in full view of the public and it has turned into an international event speaks to the abuse of the police authority in the circumstances. '
An innocent man is now defamed because he should have never been arrested in the first place. The police arrived with the intent to apprehend and not 'intervene' and that is wrong.
Professor Gates was within his rights on his own property and the police should have asked an UNARMED MAN what was dictating his behavior. The arresting officer was wrong. Now, Professor Gates is a victim when he should have been assisted by the officers.
I also can't believe the 'valuable' time of the President of the USA has to intervene over a civil incident that should have never happened in the first place. It goes to prove 'the media' has little to nothing to do with 'quality' information, so much as exploitive events for entertaining 'political theater.'
Honestly. Whoever master minded the exoneration of Crowley, when he should have been suspended, by exploiting the anger of an innocent African American man is an amazing PR genius.
Professor Gates should sue and bring civil charges against Crowley and the Cambridge Police Department if they can't seem to come to terms with police abuse on their own. Whether or not it is a racial issue is a matter to be decided and not derailed by POPULOUS opinion. The media is causing harm to 'JUSTICE.'
The very generous President Obama needs to 'roll back' the concept of transparency. The media doesn't have the maturity to 'handle it.' For God Sake, some idiot jumped up to ask a question in a press conference when he wasn't authorized to do it. I would have made an international incident of the incompetency of the USA media in a Press Conference, BUT, that didn't occur, did it? Nope. Why? Becuase the Press Corp thought it an act of bravery and aggression that is rewardable for the inconsiderate behavior. The Press is turning transparency into a circus 'to die for' for posting on My Space rather than reaizine THEIR responsibility in being 'incorporated' into information to the public by a generous President and Executive Branch.
Knock it off and GROW UP !
Professor Gates is fine. He was apprehended wrongly and the police overstepped their authority. Professor Gates should be grateful they didn't come with weapons drawn. If he actually exerted his authority WITHIN his own home when 'they were cocked' for the 'kill' who knows what would have happened. The innocent are supposed to be safe from such circumstances, but, in Cambridge it would seem as though they aren't.
I really don't care if the Cambridge Police Department's FEELINGS were hurt. Gee, that is a shame.
I believe Secretary Geithner is doing a great job. And I was a complete skeptic. However, on oversight...
...I believe it is Unconstitutional for the Executive Branch to execute oversight. It isn't as though the Executive Branch should not execute oversight, but, our Constitution is one of checks and balances. The Constitutional venue for oversight of either the Financial overhaul and National Health Care Reform is with both houses of the legislature.
...An agency is needed because the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and bank regulators failed to use their authority to shield consumers from lending abuses, Geithner said today at a House Financial Services Committee hearing. The agency needs the powers of other regulators to succeed, he said.
“If you give this agency only rule-writing authority but no enforcement authority, it will be too weak,” Geithner said. “Leaving in place with a bunch of different people enforcement authority that frankly was not well used or deployed” wouldn’t work, he added....
“If you give this agency only rule-writing authority but no enforcement authority, it will be too weak,” Geithner said. “Leaving in place with a bunch of different people enforcement authority that frankly was not well used or deployed” wouldn’t work, he added....
I believe the Obama Executive Branch should conduct any oversight it needs to and desires to as they are the authors of legislation to control effects of agencies upon the people of this is nation. Executive Oversight is automatically their authority under the USA Constitution. The Executive Branch is authorized to conduct the day to day business of the country and to that end, they have without doubt definitive power to exert oversight. They can even refer findings to the Legislative Houses, however, it is my opinion they do not have Constitutional authority to unilaterally conduct such oversight, but, in tandem with both houses.
The Executive Branch can assign any tools necessary to achieve their goals. And while any subsequent administrations will not have the 'expertise' the Obama Administration has, the way oversight, rule making and prosecution is carried out can be a model and even set precedent.
Okay?
So, what the Obama Administration, including the Cabinet, its officers, special prosecutors, Czars or whomever or whatever is employed can be 'exampled' and 'precedented' to guide the next White House in eight years.
Now. Regarding enforcement.
The reason Regulators have no meaning in the system, except, as recordkeeper and tattle tales, is because they were never legislated authority to bring facts to the Justice Department for prosecution. If there is significant wrong doing they certainly have the information that makes that clear, but, the repulsive reality that allowed five investment banks to push AIG over the edge and force "The Paulson Pity Party," is that unless there were overt issues of concern, the Regulators were more or less advisors and passive observers.
That doesn't have to be the case and I'll example U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Okay? I am sure you follow the methodology already.
The agency that Mr. Geithner is creating needs teeth. End of discussion. What is in question is where does the authority come from to prosecute? Yes? A regulatory agency or oversight agency does not and should not have the authority to prosecute. It does, however, have the responsibility to gather FACTS and present their case to Justice for prosecution.
The reason there is a 'division' of labor is to prevent conflict of interest. The USA Agencies have the right to seek advise regarding their fact finding from Justice (Primarily through the US Attorney infrastructure and/or the Attoney General's Office), but, they basically act to investigate, record and move to prosecution any violations as outlined in the legislation or otherwise said, considered criminal by law.
Basically, Mr. Geithner is seeking authority that will only weigh down the activities of the Executive Branch. And if this administration is burdened with an unbearable work load to the mess they inherited, they are only making it worse today and in the future if they DON'T DELEGATE. I must state here, the Obama Administration is more diligent in their duties than the American people have been accustomed to or witnessed in decades. The other administration this ambitious was Kennedy's and his bother Bobby in Justice. We all know what enemies they made then and the result.
There is not a day that goes by that I expect the Secret Service to take EXCELLANT care of these people. They are vital to our democracy and believe me, there are innumerable enemies about.
Now, long about now I would expect Mr. Geithner to be scratching his head while trying to fathom where Justice (including the US Attorney infrastructure) is going to get the time they need to carry out this responsibility.
Well, during the past thirty and primarily the last eight years, the US Attorney infrastructure, INCLUDING the agencies that report to them, have been cut to the bone to the point where they are so overburdened they cannot function. Basically, the Republicans over thirty years of cost cutting ABUSE have created an anarchy. Bush/Cheney was the worse. What Mr. Geithner needs to do is demand an audit of the duties of the federal agencies and US Attorneys and subsequent courts.
And this is where it gets ugly.
That audit will have to be increased with the NEW duties they will obtain from the Executive Branch. The Executive Branch is the agency to do this and not the legislature. The Executive Branch then presents the audit and new duties as 'evidence' to the legislature to increase the 'work force' of the agencies, US Attorney infrastruture and courts. The Legislative Branch then sets PERMANENT standards (and this is where Timothy can get creative - they can be 'floating/fluid' standards depending on work load) to the size and volume of the work force and how people are added, their qualifications and quite possibly how the departments can be reduced when crime is no longer a burden to the people of the nation.
Now.
To cost.
Initially and immediately, the Bank Bailout created an income to the USA Treasury. While that is nice and can be interesting to other venues of priorities of the Obama Administration and subsequently to the American people, those monies can be used to 'set up' the new infrastruture which eventually will be carried by the General Administration Fund. THOSE COSTS can be generated from SPECIFIC and STIFF fines of the PROSECUTED. The cost of the 'fluid' infrastruture to carry out the necessary responsibilities of the Executive Branch quite literally will be funded by the people, entities and companies that CAUSED the need for the increase in infrastructure.
It is the way I see Mr. Geithner's Agency and an increase in Executive Branch Infrastructure.
Good luck.
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