Friday, December 18, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Mandate Without Option?
Updated December 15, 2009 @ 5:23 PM
In light of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision to give in to demands from Sen. Joe Lieberman, a few blue dogs and every Republican in the Senate that the Senate must scrap the Medicare compromise, in addition to the public option that was scraped last week, many ardent supporters of health care reform have now giving up on the current version of the Senate's reform legislation.
Updated December 14, 2009 @ 6:58 PM
Senate Democrats have apparently agreed to axe the "Medicare buy-in down to age 55" proposal, as well as any "public option" proposal. The Senate health care plan is now essentially the bill proposed by Sen. Max Baucus last September -- a mandate for all Americans to buy health insurance, primarily from private health insurance companies, or face a civil penalty. [Bloomberg]
As this blog has been posting since mid-2009 this is what private health insurance companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in lobbying money to buy. [see Insurance Industry Pushing For "Private, For Profit" Mandate In Reform]
This would force up to 40 million people to buy health insurance from private for profit health insurance companies, an unprecedented mandate -- long sought by insurance companies -- that would mark the first time the federal government has compelled consumers to buy a single industry's product, effectively creating a captive market.
Originally posted on September 25, 2009
Via FDL - The Los Angeles Times has a must-read piece today on the problems of an individual mandate without cost controls attached:
First read the article at Fire Dog Lake and then read the Los Angeles Times article.
Related posts:
In light of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision to give in to demands from Sen. Joe Lieberman, a few blue dogs and every Republican in the Senate that the Senate must scrap the Medicare compromise, in addition to the public option that was scraped last week, many ardent supporters of health care reform have now giving up on the current version of the Senate's reform legislation.
Former presidential candidate Howard Dean said in a radio interview Tuesday that he agreed,
"This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate," Dean said. "Honestly the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill, go back to the House, start the reconciliation process, where you only need 51 votes and it would be a much simpler bill.""Insurance companies win. Time to kill this monstrosity coming out of the Senate," wrote DailyKos founder Markos Moulitas on his Twitter feed.
Updated December 14, 2009 @ 6:58 PM
Senate Democrats have apparently agreed to axe the "Medicare buy-in down to age 55" proposal, as well as any "public option" proposal. The Senate health care plan is now essentially the bill proposed by Sen. Max Baucus last September -- a mandate for all Americans to buy health insurance, primarily from private health insurance companies, or face a civil penalty. [Bloomberg]
As this blog has been posting since mid-2009 this is what private health insurance companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in lobbying money to buy. [see Insurance Industry Pushing For "Private, For Profit" Mandate In Reform]
This would force up to 40 million people to buy health insurance from private for profit health insurance companies, an unprecedented mandate -- long sought by insurance companies -- that would mark the first time the federal government has compelled consumers to buy a single industry's product, effectively creating a captive market.
Originally posted on September 25, 2009
Via FDL - The Los Angeles Times has a must-read piece today on the problems of an individual mandate without cost controls attached:
In the drive to bring health coverage to almost every American, lawmakers have largely rejected restrictions on how much insurers can charge, sparking fears that consumers will continue to face the skyrocketing premium increases of recent years.The Baucus bill is a mandate with no price controls, because it lacks a public health insurance option to increase competition with private insurance.
The legislators' reluctance to control premium costs comes despite the fact that they intend to require virtually all Americans to get health insurance, an unprecedented mandate -- long sought by insurance companies -- that would mark the first time the federal government has compelled consumers to buy a single industry's product, effectively creating a captive market.
"We are about to force at least 30 million people into an insurance market where the sharks are circling," said California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a Democrat who served as the state's insurance commissioner for eight years. "Without effective protections, they will be eaten alive."
Soaring premiums coupled with millions of new customers forced to buy policies would likely mean higher costs for taxpayers to cover government subsidies for lower-income families and individuals...
..."If the government is going to require people to buy an insurance policy, they have to guarantee it is affordable," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. "It is unconscionable not to."
First read the article at Fire Dog Lake and then read the Los Angeles Times article.
Related posts:
Sunday, December 13, 2009
"Climategate" Exposed
IS GLOBAL WARMING A TRICK?
That is what some saw in a large batch of e-mails and documents stolen from servers of the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, in England, and put up anonymously on the web.
The result has been a field day for those intent on discrediting the idea of man-made climate change. Climate change skeptics have combed through the stolen emails, pouncing on isolated and out of context snippets that can be spun into some claim of scientific malfeasance. The spin climate change deniers are putting out is that the stolen emails reveal what they always claimed, an evil global liberal conspiracy.
The emails stolen from University of East Anglia servers reveal climate scientists discussing the perils of freely sharing their climate research with activist climate change deniers.
Climate scientists have become wary of activist climate change deniers because they consistently distort, misrepresent and deliberately falsify interpretations of climate research data and scholarly discussions.
The stolen emails, read in their entirety, reveal only that climate scientists have discussed issues related to protecting their research from false distortion and how to effectively and convincingly present their conclusive climate change data.
So, climate change deniers have used the stolen emails to distort, misrepresent and deliberately falsify climate research - thus proving why the stolen emails include discussions among climate scientists about protecting their research from activist climate change deniers and their dishonest tactics.
As Judith Curry, a climatologist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, observes, attacks [from activist climate change deniers] on climate scientists, sometimes paid for by carbon-emitting industries, have made many researchers in the field nervous and defensive. [The Economist]
Read fully and in context the stolen emails do not support claims that the science of global warming is faked, according to reviews by growning numbers of truly fair and balanced journalists.
[See The Economist "Climate Change Mail-Strom" and the AP "Science not faked, but not pretty, "Climategate" Exposed]
The current decade likely ranks as the hottest since temperature records began in the 1850s, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization announced today. On December 8th 2009, at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), reported that 2009 was likely to rank in the top 10 warmest years since 1850. He added that since 1980 every decade has been warmer than the previous one. He also stressed that greenhouse concentrations were highest now than at any time over the last 800,000 years.
While conservative Republican lawmaker continue to strongly deny all evidence of climate change, Military planners in the Pentagon have concluded that “global warming is now officially considered a threat to U.S. national security.” In its upcoming 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, Pentagon planners will report that climate change could result in food and water scarcity, pandemics, population displacement, and other destabilizing events that could create conflict.
|
The result has been a field day for those intent on discrediting the idea of man-made climate change. Climate change skeptics have combed through the stolen emails, pouncing on isolated and out of context snippets that can be spun into some claim of scientific malfeasance. The spin climate change deniers are putting out is that the stolen emails reveal what they always claimed, an evil global liberal conspiracy.
|
Climate scientists have become wary of activist climate change deniers because they consistently distort, misrepresent and deliberately falsify interpretations of climate research data and scholarly discussions.
The stolen emails, read in their entirety, reveal only that climate scientists have discussed issues related to protecting their research from false distortion and how to effectively and convincingly present their conclusive climate change data.
So, climate change deniers have used the stolen emails to distort, misrepresent and deliberately falsify climate research - thus proving why the stolen emails include discussions among climate scientists about protecting their research from activist climate change deniers and their dishonest tactics.
As Judith Curry, a climatologist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, observes, attacks [from activist climate change deniers] on climate scientists, sometimes paid for by carbon-emitting industries, have made many researchers in the field nervous and defensive. [The Economist]
Read fully and in context the stolen emails do not support claims that the science of global warming is faked, according to reviews by growning numbers of truly fair and balanced journalists.
[See The Economist "Climate Change Mail-Strom" and the AP "Science not faked, but not pretty, "Climategate" Exposed]
The current decade likely ranks as the hottest since temperature records began in the 1850s, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization announced today. On December 8th 2009, at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), reported that 2009 was likely to rank in the top 10 warmest years since 1850. He added that since 1980 every decade has been warmer than the previous one. He also stressed that greenhouse concentrations were highest now than at any time over the last 800,000 years.
While conservative Republican lawmaker continue to strongly deny all evidence of climate change, Military planners in the Pentagon have concluded that “global warming is now officially considered a threat to U.S. national security.” In its upcoming 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, Pentagon planners will report that climate change could result in food and water scarcity, pandemics, population displacement, and other destabilizing events that could create conflict.
“The American people expect the military to plan for the worst,” says retired Vice Adm. Lee Gunn, a 35-year Navy veteran now serving as president of the American Security Project. “It’s that sort of mindset, I think, that has convinced, in my view, the vast majority of military leaders that climate change is a real threat and that the military plays an important role in confronting it.”
Saturday, December 12, 2009
New Election Precincts For The 2010 Election Cycle
Beginning in late December 2009 the Collin County Registrar's Office will begin sending out new Blue and White 2010-2011 voter registration cards to every "active" registered voter in the county.
Because Collin County's population has grown since the 2008-2009 orange registration cards were issued two years ago, a few of Collin County's election precincts have been split into two or three election precincts. As of January 1, 2010 Collin County will have sixteen new election precincts. (see table below) Voters living in the "redistricted" election precincts will find new precinct numbers on their new Blue 2010-2011 voter registration cards. (Collin County's interactive district maps tool / Redistricting Plan PDF / Click on image below for enlarged picture.)
Here is a description of some of the fields on the voter registration card:
Texas election code (Section §42.006) says that a county election precinct may not contain more than 5,000 registered voters.
Last spring the Collin County Commissioner's Court approved a request made by the County Registrar's Office to split several existing election precincts to form new precincts, effective January 1, 2010.
The table (right) shows the old precincts that are giving part of their 2008-2009 geographic area over to the new 2010-2011 election precincts.
If you do not received your blue 2010-2011 Voter's Registration Card by late January 2010, call the Collin Co. Registrar's Office to check on your voting status.
If have moved or you have not voted in an election in Collin County during the past two years, your voter registration record may have been suspended or even canceled. Check your registration status here.
If your voter registration record has been suspended or canceled, or you have never registered to vote in Collin County you must take action to be properly registered by February 2, 2010 in order to vote in either the Democratic or Republican Party March 2, 2010 Primary Election. Voter Registration Applications must be post marked on or before February 2, 2010 in order to become properly registered to vote in the primary.
Have you ever registered to vote? In general, you are eligible to vote in Collin County if you are a United States Citizen, a resident of the county, will be 18 years old before election day, are not a convicted felon and have not been declared mentally incapacitated. For specific information and to determine your eligibility, click here to visit the Secretary of State’s web site and read the pamphlet on Texas Voting. Check whether you are already registered to vote here and if you are not yet registered to vote, get your Voter's Registration application here.
Please remember to take your Voter's Registration Card with you to the polling place when you vote. Several forms of identification (in place of your voter registration card) are acceptable, but early voting election clerks can use the bar code on the registration card to electronically verify your voter registration status. This makes the early voting lines move much faster for everyone!!! Please DO NOT cut the bar code off of the card!! Click here to find forms of identification, other than your voter registration certificate, that you may use to vote.
Because Collin County's population has grown since the 2008-2009 orange registration cards were issued two years ago, a few of Collin County's election precincts have been split into two or three election precincts. As of January 1, 2010 Collin County will have sixteen new election precincts. (see table below) Voters living in the "redistricted" election precincts will find new precinct numbers on their new Blue 2010-2011 voter registration cards. (Collin County's interactive district maps tool / Redistricting Plan PDF / Click on image below for enlarged picture.)
Here is a description of some of the fields on the voter registration card: - VUID – This is your 10-digit statewide Voter Unique Identification Number issued by the Secretary of State’s office. This number remains the same as long as you are a registered voter in the State of Texas regardless of the County in which you reside or if you move from one County in Texas to another.
- Prec. No. – Your precinct is based upon your residence address and determines your Election Day polling location.
- Valid from January 1, 2010 thru December 31, 2011. Upon expiration, new certificates are automatically mailed to voters with active registrations.
- Name and Permanent Residence Address – Your name and address of residence as provided when you registered to vote. Your election precinct (polling place) is based upon this address.
- X signature line. The "fine print" below the signature line says, "VOTER MUST PERSONALLY SIGN HIS/HER NAME IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT, IF ABLE."
- Voted in the ________ Party Primary. When voting in a primary election, you must state in which political party's primary you will vote. Your selection will then be stamped in this space on your registration card. This also helps ensure you will receive a ballot from the same party should a runoff election be required. If you did not vote in the initial primary but would like to vote in a subsequent runoff, you will be able to make your party selection at that time. You must vote in a party's primary election to qualify to attend that party's precinct, county and state conventions. You will present your stamped registration card when you check in for the precinct convention as proof that you did vote in the primary election.
- Various Election Districts
- CONGRESS - U.S. House of Representative District Number
- STATE SEN. - Texas Legislature - State Senate District Number
- STATE REP. - Texas Legislature - State House of Representatives District Number
- COM - Collin County Commissioners Court Precinct
- JP - Justice of the Peace District
- CITY - City
- CITY DIST. - City District Subdivision
- ISD - Independent School District
- ISD DIST. - Independent School District Subdivision
- SBOE - State Board of Education
- Cert No. - This is your Collin County Voter Unique Identification Number.
- BARCODE – This is an internal tracking number which should be electronically scanned by poll workers at a polling location to check-in voters. Please DO NOT cut the bar code off of the card!!
- Mailing Address – Just below the Bar Code is your Mailing Address provided by you indicating where you wish to receive your mail. This address is not used in determining your precincts or in which races you will be eligible to vote.
|
Last spring the Collin County Commissioner's Court approved a request made by the County Registrar's Office to split several existing election precincts to form new precincts, effective January 1, 2010.
The table (right) shows the old precincts that are giving part of their 2008-2009 geographic area over to the new 2010-2011 election precincts.
If you do not received your blue 2010-2011 Voter's Registration Card by late January 2010, call the Collin Co. Registrar's Office to check on your voting status.
If have moved or you have not voted in an election in Collin County during the past two years, your voter registration record may have been suspended or even canceled. Check your registration status here.
If your voter registration record has been suspended or canceled, or you have never registered to vote in Collin County you must take action to be properly registered by February 2, 2010 in order to vote in either the Democratic or Republican Party March 2, 2010 Primary Election. Voter Registration Applications must be post marked on or before February 2, 2010 in order to become properly registered to vote in the primary.
Have you ever registered to vote? In general, you are eligible to vote in Collin County if you are a United States Citizen, a resident of the county, will be 18 years old before election day, are not a convicted felon and have not been declared mentally incapacitated. For specific information and to determine your eligibility, click here to visit the Secretary of State’s web site and read the pamphlet on Texas Voting. Check whether you are already registered to vote here and if you are not yet registered to vote, get your Voter's Registration application here.
Please remember to take your Voter's Registration Card with you to the polling place when you vote. Several forms of identification (in place of your voter registration card) are acceptable, but early voting election clerks can use the bar code on the registration card to electronically verify your voter registration status. This makes the early voting lines move much faster for everyone!!! Please DO NOT cut the bar code off of the card!! Click here to find forms of identification, other than your voter registration certificate, that you may use to vote.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)