The War on Women started under Bush.

I've been to McAllen, Texas years ago. There isn't much there. It is a transition area into Mexico for transport companies. There are farms as well. There is a hospital, so there is no reason why an abortion clinic cannot have admitting privileges in case there is an emergency.

But, that isn't really the purpose for this entry. The women in the region of Southern Texas are now at risk due to a panel of judges closing down abortion clinics. The only place in Mexico that can provide abortions is Mexico City.

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske

October 31, 2013, 5:49 p.m.

HOUSTON -- A three-judge panel (click here) of the federal appeals court in New Orleans lifted an injunction Thursday mostly allowing the state’s new abortion restrictions to take effect.
The decision came three days after a federal judge in Texas blocked some of the restrictions that he found unconstitutional, including a provision requiring doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and limits on medication-induced abortions.
But the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel sided with state officials who asked for an emergency stay so that the new law could take effect pending a final decision.
The panel found the state offered ample evidence that the admitting privileges requirement protected women’s health.
“The district court’s conclusion that a state has no rational basis for requiring physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital is but one step removed from repudiating the longstanding recognition by the [U.S.] Supreme Court that a state may constitutionally require that only a physician may perform an abortion,” Circuit Judge Priscilla R. Owen wrote, citing a Montana law that says only licensed physicians can perform abortions....

The reason there was only a panel of judges is because Texas stated they were savings women's lives with admitting privileges. Eventually, this case will work itself through the courts. Something has to happen here to resolve the problems in Texas. Women do desperate things and they are doing desperate things as I write this, especially now.

Allie Jones
Jul 11, 2013

...Texas women (click here) in the lower Rio Grande Valley have been illegally purchasing Cytotec, a stomach ulcer drug that can also induce a miscarriage, at an open-air bazaar in McAllen, Texas. Cost is the main motivator for using the drug. Women can buy Cytotec for about $40, while a pharmaceutical abortion at the nearest clinic costs $550. Texas's 24-hour waiting period for an abortion prices many women out of traveling to a clinic. The state's decreased funding for birth control (as of 2011) has also contributed to the prevalence of the drug....

I don't know how many times I have stated this before, but, the fact of the matter is that abortion law protects women's lives. This desperation in McAllen, Texas is PROOF of the extreme women seek in order to stop an unwanted pregnancy.

Abortion is not about babies, it is about the lives of women. Abortions save women's lives. That is a fact. There is absolutely no reason to try to stop it. Many of those women have families and work to support them. If women are forced to seek a resolve to an unwanted pregnancy by their own means, they will die. With those deaths are the deaths of wives and mothers. There is absolutely no reason to end a woman's life because of political ideology or religious extremism.

This panel of judges did the wrong thing and that is very unfortunate.

...A panel (click here) of three Republican judges, all of whom were appointed by President George W. Bush, granted the state of Texas’ request Wednesday night to reinstate a law that will force many of the state’s abortion clinics to close their doors. The order, authored by Judge Priscilla Owen, grants a temporary stay of a lower court judge’s decision blocking a provision of Texas law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital in order to perform abortions at clinics....

Sorry to see the country is so unhappy with President Obama, he isn't blame.

I realize the country wants bilateral cooperation to solve the nation's problems, however, I have to consider whom is obstructing the progress of the nation. It isn't President Obama. He had to take a stand. It wasn't a choice anymore. I only hope the GOP won't do this again at the beginning of the year.

The President's rating is entering the exact same phenomena as in 2011 when the country went through a debt ceiling threat. 

This is about governing. The Republicans are unwilling to govern. President Obama wants to govern, do it responsibly, continue the economic recovery, uphold the dignity and reputation of the nation, prod job growth and continue the timeline in the nation's healthcare aiming at 2014. 

When it is viewed from that context, the President has been acting in good faith.

Why the brinkmanship of the Republicans and why it has to end.

This article was interesting, it spells out the reason the US Dollar has a value. It also points to the fact China and Japan aren't purchasing US Treasuries anymore. 

But, the US Dollar has a historic value we can thank FDR for, when he stabilized economies globally to insure the USA has trade partners. He invested in The World Bank (click here) and pushed The Bretton Woods Conference (click here) to form the International Monetary Fund. 

The reason the Republicans believe they can play brinkmanship is due to the fact there is no good alternative for the US Dollar in financial trading. It is still 'stable enough' and it has the longest history of stability. The Republicans have gotten to be very arrogant and in doing so, they are foolishly taking the value of the US Dollar for granted. 

The global financial markets are seeking strategies to protect from the actions of foolish politicians in the USA. They aren't loyal so much as skeptical anymore, especially since 2011 and the down grade wasn't enough to stop hideous toying with global markets. The Republicans have to stop gaming the system hoping for a political return and the electorate of the USA needs to take the value of their currency seriously. The fact China and Japan no longer purchase US Securities is more of a warning than the US deserves at this point.

17.10.2013 
Spencer Kimball

...At the height of its power (click here) in the aftermath of World War II, the United States created a new financial order based on liberal institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The medium of exchange in that system was the dollar, pegged to gold at $35 an ounce. All other currencies were then pegged to the dollar, establishing the greenback as the world reserve currency. 

In the 1960s, French Finance Minister Valery Giscard d'Estaing referred to what he called "the exorbitant privilege" of the US dollar....

...And there are few other options at the moment. The euro remains shaken by its own crisis; the Chinese renminbi has not been fully internationalized; and the Japanese yen continues to lose in value. 

"The main thing working in the dollar's favor is the absence of viable alternatives," Eichengreen said. However, if a stand-off in Congress repeats itself in February, and the US stops paying its obligations, investor confidence in the dollar could suffer.

"This event is potentially a big deal because it casts doubt on the stability of the dollar, and it casts doubt on the liquidity of the market - potentially."...

"The three best years on record.

Published time: October 31, 2013 13:40
Edited time: October 31, 2013 14:12

In a report, New York’s state Comptroller said Wall Street may not be able to match the $10.1 billion in profits it had in the first half of 2013.
Last year, the average Wall Street annual salary, including bonus, was $360,700, compared to the peak salary of $401,500 in 2007, just before Lehman Brothers collapsed and triggered America’s financial crisis.The average salary of a Wall Street employer is still more than 5 times the average New Yorker’s.
Former Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Henry Paulson was paid an $18.7 million cash bonus for his final six months of work on Wall Street in 2006.
“It’s too early to tell, but with profits down, I wouldn’t expect bonuses to be high,” Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in the report.
Wall Street financiers had similar fears this time last year, but still averaged an 8 percent bonus bump in 2012 which increased end of the year rewards to $20 billion... 

The Security Industry in New York (click here)

People lost their homes and investments and the CEOs are always scared they aren't going to have million dollar bonuses every year. Really? The three best years in the history of Wall Street. Really? Gee, whiz, somehow I just can't build up much sympathy.

This is going to go over like a lead balloon, but, they make too much money. They are playing in international waters all the time, hedging their funds to make more money and the citizens of these nations are left to inch through life and in Third World countries they are hoping for their next meal. There is something very wrong here, I suppose it is convenient to call it inequity, but, it's more than that. 

The CEOs are too removed from reality to relate to the trials and tribulations of average Americans. They are even more removed from the people of China, India and Bangladesh to even relate at all. They practice a dehumanizing existence whereby dollar signs are the only definition. 

Dodd-Frank Progress Report (click here) - Thus far, only 40 percent of the required rules have been completed, slightly more than one-third share that had been completed by October 2012. (Talk about slow walking regulation. Like Wow.)

Their stockholders would state they aren't really happy with their performance and to that end they seek to be better, stronger and faster to earn more and more to maintain their jobs. But, to the rest of world their lives are ludicrous.

Countries can't close their budgets and pay down their debts, but, Wall Street has no problem handing out huge bonuses every year. There is a disconnect between the producers and the takers.

Oh, yeah, the Republicans in the USA call the average American takers because of food stamps for the working poor, Medicaid for the working poor and now health care subsidies for the working poor. But, are these people really the takers? 

Absolutely not. The definition is all backwards. The producers are the ones working to manufacture, sell and service the industries Wall Street preys on. They are the producers. It is the working people and those retired and those disabled by work that are the producers.

The takers are the ones that reap riches on the backs of the producers. The takers are those that seek more and more money from a single stock while oppressing the best outcomes of the producers. Rather than being grateful they have producers, industry treats them as the peasants and seek more work for less pay. It is the takers that rob people of the joy of work. Joyful work causes rewards or at least it is suppose to. 

Who should be getting the Lion's Share of those bonuses, the producers or the takers? Seriously, who should be getting the Lion's Share of those bonuses, the human beings producing the product, selling it and servicing it OR the takers that demand more and more income from their stocks? 

The current system of EMPLOYMENT in the USA and elsewhere is backwards. Those that work are penalized for working, while those that seek money for basically finding new ways of robbing the employees are rewarded for doing so. The CEOs aren't following ethical work standards. They aren't grateful for their employees and they sure don't seek to reward them with an understanding their company is seeing a profit this year.  

And, oh yes, there are times when a company doesn't profit. There are times when their product is not what consumers are seeking to purchase. It is those years that worries the CEOs so much they rather rob their employees as a 'sure thing' to their jobs and bonuses. 

How long have American companies had inferior CEOs? Answer that question and then we will see the return of the Middle Class in the USA and other nation's around the world. I don't know about most employees, but, I am not sending my boss a Christmas Card this year.

"Stand Your Ground" is an exploitative and dangerous defense. Self-defense is the only valid legal standing.

By Natalie Tolomeo, Reporter
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 30, 2013

SANFORD -- 
More than a year and a half (click here) after Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, the city of Sanford is making major changes to its neighborhood watch program, including banning volunteers from carrying guns while on patrol, and forbidding them from pursuing anyone in their neighborhoods.
Sanford's new police chief, Cecil Smith, said the neighborhood watch program as it was operated while Zimmerman was part of it was dysfunctional and had no accountability.

"In this program, it is clearly stated that you will not pursue an individual," Smith explained. "In this new program, it clearly indicates that you will not carry a firearm when performing your duties as a neighborhood watch captain or participant."

Smith said when he took over as Sanford's chief of police in April, the neighborhood watch program Zimmerman was part of was still operating the same way it was when he shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin more than a year earlier....

The laws that jurors used to exonerate Mr. Zimmerman from the death of an innocent black teenage is always discussed by Talk Radio. The Stand Your Ground and Castle Doctrine Laws are celebrated by these folks and that is how it has become a political issue. 

Ms. Fulton is absolutely correct, gun owners that are politically motivated as Mr. Zimmerman was (self advocacy in the media) are fully aware of their own power by riding the 'legal bubble' of gun rights. They think nothing of pulling the trigger regardless of whether it is prudent or not. They are empowered beyond an average citizen to act in violent methods in their lives.

Currently, the talk shows tout the fact the Black Community is benefiting the most by Stand Your Ground. I mean, really? The talk radio crowd are really despicable people. It isn't a matter of disliking them, it is a matter of their immorality and self righteousness.

The gun laws in the USA are bought and paid for by the NRA and have become dangerous laws empowering people to kill each other where it was never permitted before. They are political icons now. The laws are. They need to be rolled back. The experiment has proven to be very deadly. 

The talk shows will state these outrageous observations about how the Black Community is benefiting the most by these laws and turn right around in the next breath stating Chicago's gun violence is out of control. Huh? 

So, let me get this right, the gun violence in Chicago is unbelievably horrible, but, due to Stand Your Ground they are getting away with it, right? Got it. That is legalizing criminality. What has happened to this country is Wall Street money and it is disgraceful. Human life means nothing anymore.
 
Sybrina Fulton testifies before a Senate judiciary subcommittee hearing on stand-your-ground laws. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP 

Richard Luscombe in Miami
theguardian.com, Tuesday 29 October 2013 13.46 EDT

...Sybrina Fulton (click here) said George Zimmerman, the black teenager’s killer who was acquitted of murder in July, took advantage of a law that “creates many opportunities for people to commit terrible acts of violence and evade justice”.
 

She said Zimmerman’s knowledge of the controversial legislation, which was enacted in Florida in 2005 and removed a person’s obligation to retreat from a confrontation in which they felt threatened, “may have emboldened him to stalk my son and use lethal force even in a situation where it seemed unnecessary and certainly avoidable”. Zimmerman did not use the stand-your-ground law in his defence, but it was cited by police who initially declined to charge him with Martin's killing....

The GOP are predatory and draconian.

This is predatory analysis by the GOP. Drain the food pantries and make constituents happy as if they actually did something.

That is amazing. They troll the American society to carry out their budget cuts.

Government is suppose to provide benefits according to need, not availability. The government shutdown will cause a recession. That is a given. When the food distributed by charities falls in volume, then what? States need to make panhandling legal.

Detroit emergency manager says 'cram down' a possibility in bankruptcy case

Snyder is gaming the unions. He's stacking the odds against them.

The Republicans have no loyalty to the citizens. I would expect a Governor to take the position of advocating for the pensioners and insure a reasonable settlement to support their retirements and pensions. But, the Republicans never treat people like people. Vulnerable. It is evident in the way they cut food stamps and other services. I really think they hate people. They prefer war over diplomacy or peace. Their ideas for this country are unworkable. Those ideas are all human rights violations and now Snyder wants to cast pensioners into poverty. Great guy, huh?

The Republican Motto, "Let's stick it to 'em."

Joseph Lichterman Reuters

Oct. 29, 2013 at 5:12 PM ET

...The "cram down" provision of federal bankruptcy law (click here) allows a judge to approve a plan of restructuring over the objections of creditors, so long as at least one impaired class of creditors votes to confirm it. 

"We hope to reach a negotiated solution even now," Orr said as he took the witness stand on the fifth day of a trial to determine whether Detroit is eligible for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy. "If we don't, we will address that situation, and certainly 'cram down' is an opportunity available to us." ...

I have to wonder what deal the State of Michigan has promised to other creditors in accepting a forced bankruptcy.

The bond holders could look at the bankruptcy as a better chance of a fire sale and a better return the bankruptcy.

I believe the unions are really caught in a trap. The unions are not on equal standing with bond holders. Bond holders have the option of purchasing into the sale of real estate, etc.

Brent Snavely, Alisa Priddle and Tresa Baldas
Detroit Free Press 11:20 p.m. EDT October 29, 2013

..."I don't recall asking for assistance in that form," Orr said. (click here)

That prompted U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes to challenge Orr.
"I know there was a dialogue (with the governor), and it became clear there would be no assistance from the state," Orr said.

Orr's testimony drove home what has been crystal clear in Detroit's bankruptcy case: Neither Michigan nor the federal government will give money to help Detroit restructure its debt.

In questioning Tuesday, it became equally clear that Orr recognized that reality early in his tenure as Detroit's emergency manager.

Lawyers for creditors, who are challenging Detroit's eligibility for bankruptcy protection from creditors, attempted to gather evidence that will prove that the city did not exhaust all possible options before it became the largest city to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy July 18....

Congratulations, Boston !

By Ben Walker

The Associated Press

Posted Oct 31, 2013 @ 12:30 AM

BOSTON —

Most Valuable Papi.
David Ortiz walked off with the World Series MVP prize (click here) Wednesday night, capping a dominant week in which he led the Boston Red Sox over St. Louis with a mix of power, patience and a most timely pep talk.
It was the crowning achievement in the career of Big Papi, now a three-time champion and the last link to the 2004 sweep over the Cardinals that ended an 86-year title drought.
After a while, the Cardinals simply gave up trying to get him out. Ortiz walked four times — three of them intentional — in the 6-1 win Wednesday night in Game 6 that clinched the championship.
When Ortiz came to the plate for the last time, in the eighth inning with the outcome safely in hand, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina stood up and spoke to him in the batter’s box. Molina softly patted Ortiz twice on the side, too.
Well done, pal....

Lead ammunition is illegal in California.

LOS ANGELES 

October 29, 2013 (AP)

Officials say a record 21 California condors (click here) have been treated for lead poisoning this hunting season in California.

Veterinarians at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens say three birds were critically sick when they arrived. They were malnourished, had stopped eating and had a disease that causes the stomach to stop moving food.

Dr. Curtis Eng says it's scary to see so many sick birds, but two of the condors are recovering, and one remains in critical condition.

Vets say 18 of the condors were mildly ill.

The birds are trapped twice a year to check for lead poisoning. The condors are getting the lead in carcasses of animals shot by hunters.

California has a new law that will ban lead ammunition, but it won't be phased in until 2019. 

California outlaws lead ammo to safeguard an iconic bird.(click here)

 

By Geoffrey Giller

Published: 09/03/2013

UPDATE: California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 711 into law on October 11. The California State Senate approved it on Monday, September 9, by a vote of 23 to 15. On September 10, the amended bill was confirmed by the State Assembly.

The toxicity of lead and the dangers it poses to humans and wildlife alike are a given. After all, it was banned from house paints and phased out of gasoline in the 1970s after the long-term neurological damage it could cause in young children became clear. And birds, especially waterfowl, were known to suffer from lead poisoning as far back as the 1890s. George Bird Grinnell, who founded the first iteration of the National Audubon Society, wrote in 1894 about "the destruction of ducks, geese, and swans by lead-poisoning." Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service banned the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting in 1991, lead-based ammunition is still widely used by hunters for other types of birds and game animals.
A bill signed into law on October 11 by Governor Jerry Brown aims to stop that. But it has sparked a fiery debate among environmentalists, hunters, and legislators across the state and the country. The bill, AB 711, bans the use of lead from all hunting ammunition in California; non-lead ammo is to be phased in by 2019. The bill was passed in the State Assembly in May, and the California Senate approved it on September 9....

Exactly. These policies cost the taxpayer money.

By Alex Nussbaum 
Oct 29, 2013 12:40 PM ET

...The cancellations (click here) come as a result of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which says that health insurance policies that fail to offer added benefits, such as prescription drug coverage and free preventive care, can’t be sold after this year even if they’re cheaper. With the online site expected to face difficulties through November, Americans may have only weeks to find replacement coverage, and many may end up paying higher premiums....

The inadequate offerings have to go. Just that simple. The insufficient policies will drive health care costs up around the country. It should never be tolerated and I blame Secretary Sebelius for allowing the waivers. She should not have issued them. It only postpones the inevitable, puts Americans at risk and delays the best premium options for all those enrolling in the State Exchanges today. The law should have applied to all Americans equally. She is wrong about issues waivers.

Representative Gardner is inappropriate in attempting to defame Secretary Sebilius.

The exchanges are open to people needing coverage, not all people with existing health care meet the law. A person(s) can't go out and purchase many insurance policies through the exchanges in order to have their care paid without reasonable deductibles and co-pays. Such a practice would effect the cost to others in the exchange. 

It is discriminatory to ask a person in the government to give up their healthcare for political dogma. They no different than any other employee in the government are entitled to benefit packages offered in order to keep them working for the government. If such a demand was made by the federal government, it would be overturned in court.

No Congressional District should receive a general waiver to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Representative Gardner is too hostile to be a valid authority in office. He should be seeking to make the transition easier rather than fighting the outcome.

The map are the districts of Colorado. (click here) The 4th District in the lower right corner of this map.The map to lower right is the income distribution of Colorado. Again, the 4th District is in the lower right corner. Nearly every measure of the 4th District of Colorado has incomes of $60,000 or above. There is absolutely no reason for belly aching to Congress except to cause an opportunity for political grandstanding. 

Mr. Gardner's constituents will have no problem affording the health care insurance they want. On rare occasion would I expect his district to need the subsidized Medicaid.

By Michael Booth
The Denver Post

Posted:   10/22/2013 05:23:18 PM MDT

Updated:   10/23/2013 10:58:44 AM MDT

...The Denver Post reported (click here) Tuesday that in addition to numerous consumer complaints about being frozen out of signups, other states are enrolling people faster. Maryland, Washington and Oregon, all of similar size to Colorado, have thousands more enrollees by now. Other states may be reporting new Medicaid enrollees under that expanded program, while Colorado's exchange does not....

Secretary Sebelius is being harassed by desperate Republicans. It is outrageous for Republicans to pass PUNITIVE laws and then ask others to be a part of it. The punitive laws requiring Congressional staff to be in the exchanges will be defeated in court. It is completely hideous for a government employee to be asked to throw out their benefit package. It is part of what is an incentive to be in the employment of the government.

A single male of 32 may not need maternity coverage for a woman not his wife, but, pregnant; but he is part of a health exchange and NOT a designer insurance policy. The complaints are getting to be more and more bizarre with uneducated Congresspersons unable to discern the  best interests of their constituents.

The "Live Chat" at Healthcare.gov is operating just fine!

Plaintiffs say now is the time to address same-sex marriage (click here)
 

Posted: Tuesday, October 29, 2013 9:44 pm 
BY DAVID HARPER World Staff Writer 

The plaintiffs in a Tulsa federal court lawsuit challenging Oklahoma’s same-sex marriage ban argued in a pleading filed Tuesday that the issues they have presented address claims of “ongoing unequal protection and treatment” and that their resolution “should not be postponed indefinitely.” 
The document filed on Tuesday says that the case is one of several pending in state and federal courts throughout the country addressing same-sex marriage in the aftermath of a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.
The high court’s majority opinion in United States v. Windsor found that the federal Defense of Marriage Act’s section defining marriage as being between one man and one woman was unconstitutional.
The Tulsa case, challenging both DOMA and Oklahoma’s 2004 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and the recognition of such marriages, was stayed while the Windsor case was pending....

There is no reason for this review by the Supreme Court of the same sex marriage case or the abortion laws.

These so called abortions all happen within the First Trimester. Women are legally allowed to carry out abandonment of an unwanted pregnancy in the First Trimester.

Posted: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 12:00 am 
Updated: 3:06 am, Wed Oct 30, 2013 
By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau

OKLAHOMA CITY —- The Oklahoma Supreme Court (click here) on Tuesday further explained its recent ruling that a 2011 law putting restrictions on medical abortions is unconstitutional. 
The response came following a request from the U.S. Supreme Court, which indicated it would take a look at the case following Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt's appeal to the nation's high court. 
The U.S. Supreme Court asked the lower court to answer two specific questions about the law.
The justices wanted to know whether the measure prohibited the use of misoprostol to induce abortions, including its use with mifepristone, also called RU486, according to a protocol approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The nation's high court also wanted to know whether Oklahoma law prohibited the use of methotrextate to treat ectopic pregnancies. 
The state's high court said it did both.... 

I would like to bring to the debate The Robert's Court is corrupting the practice of physicians.

Contraception 1997 Dec;56(6):367-71 

Medical abortion with methotrexate 75 mg intramuscularly and vaginal misoprostol. (click here)

Creinin MD.

Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Womens Hospital, PA 15213-3180, USA. mcreinin@mail.magee.edu

Abstract

Methotrexate (50 mg/m2 intramuscularly and 50 mg orally) followed by vaginal misoprostol have proven to be > 90% effective at causing abortion in women at less than 49 days' gestation. Although the effectiveness of the oral dose (which has a lower serum bioavailability) demonstrates that a methotrexate dose of 50 mg/m2 may be more than necessary, an intramuscular regimen is more advantageous because it is less costly....

Mifepristone (click here)

...Early vacuum aspiration using a rigorous protocol (which includes magnification of aspirated material and indications for serum βhCG follow-up) may be used at gestations below 7 weeks, although data suggest that the failure rate is higher than for medical abortion....  

Misoprostol and Pregnancy (click here) 

Alisa B. Goldberg, M.D., Mara B. Greenberg, B.S., and Philip D. Darney, M.D.

N Engl J Med 2001; 344:38-47

January 4, 2001DOI: 10.1056/NEJM200101043440107

Misoprostol is a prostaglandin E₁ analogue that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be taken orally for the prevention and treatment of gastric ulcers associated with the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. It has also become an important drug in obstetrical and gynecologic practice because of its uterotonic and cervical-ripening actions. Misoprostol is useful for elective medical abortion, cervical ripening before surgical abortion, evacuation of the uterus in cases of embryonic or fetal death, and induction of labor. The drug may also be used to treat and even prevent postpartum hemorrhage. However, misoprostol is . . .

It is discriminatory for any health insurance company to provide a SPECIAL designation regarding abortion coverage.

To begin, health insurers do not carry abortion coverage. Those words will not appear in any description of the procedure. The medical terms involved are as silly as abortion.

Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS)

Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)

Codes for Surgery: 10021-69990

• (10021 - 10022) general
• (10040 - 19499) integumentary system
• (20000 - 29999) musculoskeletal system
• (30000 - 32999) respiratory system
• (33010 - 37799) cardiovascular system
• (38100 - 38999) hemic & lymphatic systems
• (39000 - 39599) mediastinum & diaphragm
• (40490 - 49999) digestive system
• (50010 - 53899) urinary system
• (54000 - 55899) male genital system
• (55920 - 55980) reproductive system & intersex
• (56405 - 58999) female genital system
• (59000 - 59899) maternity care & delivery
• (60000 - 60699) endocrine system
• (61000 - 64999) nervous system
• (65091 - 68899) eye & ocular adnexa
• (69000 - 69979) auditory system

People need to read their policies and decide if they want it or not. The idea a policy is suppose to designate 'abortion' is a deceptive and victimizing practice. There is an involuntary abortion commonly known as a 'miscarriage.' There needs to be language in ANY health care policy that provides for those health problems. 

The other reason this is a discriminatory demand is that employers can look into the health care provided and know whether the woman has abortion coverage or not. That would impact her desirability as an employee in some instances. 

In addition, any religious organization has already been given an opportunity to object to such inclusions in their policies. The demand is discriminatory and out of the question. No one person knows what the future holds and quite frankly why would any person, religious or not rule out the genetic mistakes of DNA?

Not every genetic disorder of a fetus is Trisomy 21 with a hope of leading a reasonably normal life within the understanding the USA provides for disabilities. 

There are some very terrible genetic disorders in utero that should never see the light of day. There is a malformation within the genetic content of some discovered upon testing that shows the fetus to have O shaped disorders. The gene itself has taken on the shape of an O. These fetus need to be aborted by a surgeon. Those fetus will suffer mercilessly if they were to be born outside the uterus. Why do that? It is not necessarily the genetic content of the parents that cause these issues. 

While it is a good idea that potential parents with known genetic disorders within their family history should receive genetic counseling, it does not solve the problem. Pregnant women are exposed to the environment and where toxins exist in the air and water it effects the fetus. Additionally, virus and bacteria can become an issue should the mother be exposed. Virus can't be given a magic pill to make them disappear and why should a fetus have to carry this level of grievance because a radical extremism within the society wants to punish it's existence forever.

The decision to terminate a pregnancy has very valid reasons. No one uses abortion as a way of reproductive contraception. The decision lies with the woman with or without her partner/spouse. 

The idea a health care insurance company has to add to it's cost by instituting special designations due to hideous ideas of a society is outrageous! If a company wants to be SPECIALIST insurances to these nut cases they can pursue that venue, but, no doubt IT WILL COST!

W.Va. DEP investigates well site fire, 2 injured (click here)

Posted: Oct 29, 2013 6:36 AM EST  
Updated: Oct 29, 2013 7:44 AM EST

WEST UNION, W.Va. (AP) - State regulators are investigating a flash fire that injured two workers at an Antero Resources gas-drilling site in Doddridge County.
Media outlets report that the fire occurred Sunday morning at a well pad near West Union.
Antero Resources chief administrative officer Alvyn Schopp says there was a condensate leak as the workers were installing a new separator.
Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Tom Aluise says the vapors ignited, causing the flash fire.
Both workers suffered burns. Schopp says one worker remains hospitalized at West Penn Burn Center in Pittsburgh. The other was treated at a Clarksburg hospital and released.
The DEP is investigating the incident.
In July, two workers were killed and three others were injured in a fire at another Antero drilling site near New Milton in Doddridge County.

October 28, 2013 11:45 pm

By Lauren Donovan

It appears a tiny hole the size of the point of a pen (click here) in an underground saltwater disposal line caused some 150 barrels of the water to leach into the Blacktail Creek drainage on U.S. Forest Service and private land north of Belfield.
The well company Encore Energy is working round the clock, setting pumps into a deep, nearly inaccessible ravine to pump water from a beaver dam on the creek, said the company’s environmental coordinator, Bart Brinkerhoff.
It appears from early water samples that the salt infusion is relatively low. The state Health Department’s water quality director, Dennis Fewless, said that may be because less water reached the creek than initially thought.
The pipe leak was discovered Oct. 22 at a remote saltwater injection well site on the Little Missouri National Grasslands....

Governor Asks For Pipeline Safety Review  (click here)

Posted: Oct 29, 2013 10:47 PM EST  
Updated: Oct 29, 2013 10:47 PM EST 
 

Governor Jack Dalrymple has asked the federal government to review its oversight of pipeline safety.

In a phone conference with the administrator of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Dalrymple says he's worried that pipeline regulations fall short in protecting rural areas from spills.

He asked the administrator to look over the requirements for rural pipeline safety.

The governor also requested that the agency keep him abreast of the investigation into the Tesoro pipeline spill near Tioga - the largest pipeline spill in the state.

Dalrymple also contacted a vice president at Tesoro for an update on what the company is doing to improve safety along the pipeline that failed.
The Tesoro exec said the company has monitors along the entire pipeline north of Mandan, as well as shut-off valves on both sides of the Missouri River.

Associated Press in Bismarck 
theguardian.com, Wednesday 16 October 2013 11.08 EDT
 
...Scientists (click here) who helped measure oil spilled from a broken BP well into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 are questioning the methodology used to estimate the amount of crude that recently leaked from a ruptured pipeline into a wheat field in northwestern North Dakota.
Tesoro said it came up with its more than 20,000-barrel spill estimate using ground analysis. But oil spill experts say a more accurate assessment likely would come from calculating how much crude went into the pipeline versus what was supposed to come out at its terminus.
Farmer Steve Jensen discovered the North Dakota oil spill the size of seven football fields while harvesting wheat 29 September. Tesoro first estimated the spill at its underground pipeline near Tioga at 750 barrels. About a week later, the San Antonio, Texas-based company increased the estimate to 20,600 barrels, or some 865,000 gallons, making it one of the largest spills in North Dakota history.
Tesoro said in a statement to the Associated Press that it based its calculations on "data collected during our field investigation work. This investigation included a thorough examination of the site spill characteristics including factors such as surface area and depth of soil impacted, and soil porosity." The company would not elaborate....

Congresswoman Blackburn is completely wrong. Americans should not have the choice of a rock or a hard place when deciding about their healthcare.

Solo Cups are NOT a choice, it is entrapment into fraud and danger to lives. It is out of the question.

Good governance demands the choice Americans have to make insuring their well being, including policies implemented with agencies like OSHA, be wholesome choices. Currently, the healthcare insurance market undercuts the well being of Americans and at times even deceived them as to the coverage they could expect. There is no choice between Solo Cups and Crystal Stemware when it comes to keeping Americans healthy and alive. Every human being has the same physiology and there is no difference in protecting them from death and disease. We have Public Health Departments because a single policy can carry forward an important protection for all those within it's jurisdiction.

The opinion of Republicans such as Ms. Blackburn brings danger into the lives of Americans, including children. She is negligent of the public trust and the important work every elected representative is suppose to do. She is unworthy of the office she holds.

Why Ms. Tavernner you mean to tell me you don't have the accounting of the 313.9 million Americans yet?

It has been thirty days, you mean to tell me the 313.9 million Americans haven't jumped to attention and filed their health insurance needs? "Heil."

Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, apologized to Americans who had trouble using HealthCare.gov during her testimony at a hearing of the House Ways and Means committee Tuesday.

By Sarah Kliff and William Branigin,  
Published: October 29

The federal official (click here) who oversees new health-insurance exchanges apologized publicly Tuesday for the troubled launch of a Web site that is supposed to allow millions of uninsured Americans to buy coverage, but she said the problems are “fixable” and pledged that the site would soon work as promised.

Testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee, Marilyn Tavenner, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said: “To the millions of Americans who’ve attempted to use HealthCare.gov to shop and enroll in health-care coverage, I want to apologize to you that the Web site has not worked as well as it should. We know how desperately you need affordable coverage.”...

Fine, don't do it again.

I'll tell you what the real problem is, Sebelius and her waivers. She is undermining the rollout of the program. By providing waivers for LOSER HEALTH CARE INSURANCE, she is postponing millions of Americans from joining the exchanges and effecting the outcome.

She should not have done it. She has postponed their free physical exams and preventive care for another year making the USA less healthy. She has prolonged the entire population within the exchanges to bring market pressures to determine premiums.

She has made a huge mess and it should have not occurred in the first place. There was plenty of time to tell all these LOSER HEALTH CARE INSURERS to get out of the way so people's lives can be protected. If one American is denied coverage next year for treatment that will save their lives, she needs to be held accountable.