COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Individuals, State by State, who have completed an application on the government healthcare site and have signed up for the service





STATE
EXCHANGE
APP COMPLETED
APPLIED
ELIGIBLE
MEDICADE
PENDING
SELECTED A PLAN

Alabama Federal 10,573 20,840 14,696 2,262 3,882 624

Alaska Federal 1,253 2,203 1,606 368 229 53

Arizona Federal 17,220 32,897 20,741 11,339 817 739

Arkansas Federal 7,294 14,059 6,123 7,430 506 250

California State 105,782 192,489 93,663 79,519 19,307 35,364

Colorado State 20,492 45,575 36,335
N/A
9,240 3,736

Connecticut State 12,337 18,815 12,325 6,490
N/A
4,418

Delaware Federal 1,897 3,491 2,204 1,200 87 97

District Of Columbia State 2,541
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Florida Federal 67,366 123,870 93,456 12,887 17,527 3,571

Georgia Federal 28,642 56,783 41,426 7,709 7,648 1,390

Hawaii State 1,754 2,379 1,156
N/A
1,223
N/A

Idaho Federal 4,753 10,573 7,733 1,597 1,243 338

Illinois Federal 30,901 56,636 35,802 19,447 1,387 1,370

Indiana Federal 15,982 31,979 19,093 11,305 1,581 701

Iowa Federal 5,547 10,884 6,104 4,490 290 136

Kansas Federal 6,061 12,205 9,087 1,718 1,400 371

Kentucky State 50,279 76,294 39,207 28,676 8,411 5,586

Louisiana Federal 7,702 14,163 10,294 1,460 2,409 387

Maine Federal 3,550 6,497 5,061 623 813 271

Maryland State 10,917
N/A
3,498 5,923
N/A
1,284

Massachusetts State 14,413
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Michigan Federal 23,987 44,025 34,197 4,978 4,850 1,329

Minnesota State 15,268 31,447 21,532 9,166 749 1,774

Mississippi Federal 4,339 8,204 5,822 925 1,457 148

Missouri Federal 14,131 27,911 20,121 4,157 3,633 751

Montana Federal 2,683 5,205 3,815 457 933 212

Nebraska Federal 4,947 9,973 7,453 2,295 225 338

Nevada State 9,186 14,819
N/A
5,710 9,109 1,217

New Hampshire Federal 4,006 7,817 5,767 1,643 407 269

New Jersey Federal 23,021 42,372 23,985 17,460 927 741

New Mexico Federal 4,055 7,529 4,249 3,552
N/A
172

New York State
N/A
N/A
134,897 23,902
N/A
16,404

North Carolina Federal 29,547 57,653 42,110 7,404 8,139 1,662

North Dakota Federal 969 1,845 1,180 585 80 42

Ohio Federal 24,050 45,128 34,374 7,535 3,219 1,150

Oklahoma Federal 6,905 14,169 9,952 2,412 1,805 346

Oregon State 8,752
N/A
190 425
N/A
N/A

Pennsylvania Federal 31,827 57,674 43,966 3,788 9,920 2,207

Rhode Island State 6,670 9,581 3,326 3,447 2,808 1,192

South Carolina Federal 11,249 20,980 15,257 3,112 2,611 572

South Dakota Federal 1,491 3,081 2,279 525 277 58

Tennessee Federal 17,598 33,230 24,334 4,089 4,807 992

Texas Federal 53,904 108,410 80,960 11,682 15,768 2,991

Utah Federal 6,186 14,580 9,318 4,816 446 357

Vermont State 3,242 5,540 3,341 1,411 788 1,325

Virginia Federal 21,667 42,341 32,534 4,088 5,719 1,023

Washington State 64 119 48 41 7 9

West Virginia Federal 3,807 7,096 3,442 3,103 551 174

Wisconsin Federal 19,098 34,678 22,038 10,736 1,904 877

Wyoming Federal 1,353 2,654 2,040 219 395 85

295 comments:

  1. Texas results: 2,991 people have successfully completed the application and signed up. That article appearing in the Washington Post does not specify if this was all done through the website , telephone or with other assistance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The total for all of the US: 99,123

    ReplyDelete
  3. The cost of Obamacare:

    The original cost of Obamacare was supposed to be under $1 trillion.

    One estimate floating around has the cost at $1.36 trillion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. that's 1,360 BILLION dollars on ONE program.

      and yet? You obsess about 3 billion a year to Israel that is actually spent in America that give America innovation and technology.

      LOL Fool.

      Maybe Obama should have hired Israel for let's say, 200 BILLION to run our health care website....

      LOL

      Delete
    2. we could have saved 1.1 TRILLION and had a great program that could run on a smartphone.

      Delete
    3. actually that's not a bad idea. Hire the israelis to actually run the health care of America for all citizens.

      they'd do it for 1/2 the cost, improve in and provide excellent care for everyone, including the criminals, looters and terrorists.....

      Then? there would be more reasons to be pissed at the Jews....

      Deuce should love that....

      Delete
    4. well heck allen just this week the hamas's leader's granddaughter was being cared for in a Tel Aviv hospital all the while hamas was bragging their new missiles could reach the hospital...

      Delete
  4. Common sense would dictate that for any pooled risk to work, a pyramid of enrollees would have to have the old and the sick at the top and young healthy participants at the base. So far it appears that the base of young healthy enrollees is under 25%. The pyramid is upside down.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Better start thinking about plan B.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The goal of providing medical coverage is a worthy one. An 85% tax on medical malpractice legal fees would be a good start to finance it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lawyers have their place.

      A better way is to put a cap on medical malpractice judgements.

      Delete
    2. Lawyers keep the standards of practice of the medical profession up.

      Delete
    3. Doctors, according to Farmer Fudd, are terrible people.

      Farmer Fudd claims doctors would do poor work if not for lawyers and judges looking over their shoulders.

      That it is only the love of money and fear of lawsuits which cause doctors to deliver conscientious care for patients.

      What a Fudd this faux farmer is.

      Delete
    4. Nonsense. They stifle innovation and risk taking that could save lives. A doctor, worried about his insurance costs, will walk away from desperate cases.

      Delete
    5. You are both wrong but I won't take the time to go into it.

      If you are OK with taking a risk you can sign a waiver.

      Which doesn't mean you are out of financial luck if he cuts the wrong leg off, for instance.

      It's a complex topic and neither of you are up to it.

      Delete
    6. Capping awards would be unjust. Every procedure does not have the same input and outcome. Something needs to be done to keep the hyenas from driving awards beyond reason.

      Delete
  7. I like the idea of throwing a couple trillion into creating a lot more and better doctors and other medical practitioners and facilities.

    If ObamaCare should survive, will my property taxes go down? Because I pay a ton of property taxes to the county, and a lot of it goes to the hospital. I'm already paying for other people's health.

    338 enrolled in Idaho, 212 in Montana, the two best states in the Union.

    550 folks out this way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Farmer Fudd collected $250,000 for his hip replacement, untold thousands for the drugs he takes.
      Federal welfare, Farmer Fudd has a policy, with regards to Federal Welfare.

      "Great for the Fudd, Give others Crud"

      Idaho 49th out of 50 in per capita GDP.
      Over 80% of the land is held by the Federal government.

      Nearly half the Idaho adults on food stamps

      Yep, Idaho, it is a "Great Place" . . .



      http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/08/23/2721945/does-idaho-welfare-really-keep.html#storylink=cpy

      Delete
    2. For a socialist, fascist. Farmer Fudd.
      The people of Idaho, look the other way when women are abused, raped.

      A state legislator dismisses charges of rape, as lies told by the woman.

      Delete
    3. Cathected again, are we?

      Now I'm both a socialist and a fascist.

      Get some help.

      Get some help.

      Delete
    4. Or at least a job and send some money to Salvador.

      Delete
  8. Was Flight 800 payback for Flight 655?

    http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/11/hillary_clintons_achilles_heel.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rufus bought the same bullshit that the LA Times spouted about CA enrollments. Several things are bogus, the biggest one being counting the 79,519 medicaid applicants.
    Many Docs already don't take them as patients: When this train wreck comes calling, look out below.

    Rufus will insist that they, as well as the rest of us will be getting better health care than ever.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Quirk would be upset w/me if I did not post this here: It was #324 in the previous thread regarding the bogus "Census" "Employment" numbers giving the community organizer a second term.

    ---

    Now even you guys know why he did this back in '09:

    OBAMA USURPS THE CONSTITUTION, GRABS CENSUS JURISDICTION - GAMING THE SYSTEM

    Deeply deeply troubling Obama development. President b. Hussein is removing the Census from the Commerce department and moving it to the White House. Bear in mind that President O has allocated one billion dollars in the porkulous package for the already automatically funded census taking.

    Look at the seal of the Bureau of the Census. It was the intent of the framers of the this great country (the first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 under Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson ) to keep the census out of partisan hands. This move by ACORN organizer and current President seems a deliberate violation of the Constitution. And yes, I think his ACORN days (illegal voter registrations etc) and the gaming of the Census data are tied.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Typical school day at Overbrook High, West Philadelphia -

    http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/11/18/police-respond-to-report-of-fight-at-overbrook-high-school/

    cell phone video

    ReplyDelete
  12. This program (Romneycare, essentially) has led to 98.5% Insured in Massachusetts.

    At the end of the first month (that's what this is,) Massachusetts had 123 people insured under Romneycare.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Massachusetts reported that, on average, a customer visited the website 18 times before finalizing his/her purchase.

      Delete
    2. The Republicans are repeating the debacle of "plumdumbpolling," etc. They're grabbing anecdotes, here and there, and missing the overall picture.

      In spite of a totally bolloxed rollout, and a steady drumbeat of hysterical negativity from the press, only 35% of Americans actually want Obamacare Repealed. The rest say "Fix it."

      Delete
    3. Connecticut, whose exchange is really starting to rock, is reporting a 96.5% Approval rating.

      Delete
    4. The United States put a man on the moon in 1969. The American people instinctively know that the government can build a website.

      Delete
    5. They also know that the government will completely screw it up, first. :)

      Delete
    6. If romney was so great why didn't you vote for him.

      Delete
    7. Romneycare was only for one small state.

      He wanted A MAN that could bring Socialized Medicine to a country of 300 million.

      And, he has!

      wo, is us.

      Delete
    8. It's true; I do want to see Millions of poor and sick Americans, and their children, have access to healthcare.

      Delete
    9. Fewer Dollars for Medicaid (after the next election)

      ...better healthcare for the poor.

      Makes sense to me.

      (When I'm wearing my Magical Rufus Upside Down Glasses)

      Delete
    10. Let it be recorded on the record. (so to speak)

      Rufus is "For The Children!"

      ...of THE POOR, AND THE WORKING POOR, TO BOOT!

      (The mere POOR are wards of The State)

      Delete
    11. Rufus knows that egghead academics from Harvard know better what to do about your health than do you and your doctor.

      ...all 300 million of you.

      They are very, VERY Smart, don'tcha know?

      Delete
    12. IOW's, Rufus don't know shit about centralized vs decentralized decision-making, or even individual differences in doctors and patients in a country of 300 million.

      Delete
    13. “Millions of our citizens do not now have a full measure of opportunity to achieve and to enjoy good health.
      Millions do not now have protection or security against the economic effects of sickness.
      And the time has now arrived for action to help them attain that opportunity and to help them get that protection.”

      Delete
    14. Harry provided the same protection for Japanese Children.

      Delete

    15. “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”

      Delete
  13. Replies
    1. Please provide a roster of all your names that way we can be assured to remove those names

      Delete
    2. I can see how you would not want to be associated w/Rufus.

      But stick around:

      Who knows what may transpire?

      Delete
    3. What is "Occupation"

      It's the Straight Married Guy she wants taken down.

      The Married Lesbo is ambivalent.

      I could barely understand valences in Organic Chemistry, so I figured the least I could do is support an ambi valent Lesbo.

      Delete
    4. Teresita hates not to have a badge....

      LOL

      Delete
    5. Thou Shalt Not Mock Those of another color. (or Mother)

      To do so would be to mock the claim that someone was being discriminated against not for sexual predilection, but for skin tone.

      ID 3

      Delete
  14. Rep. Trey Radel arrested on cocaine charge

    Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla., is "profoundly sorry" after being arrested Oct. 29 and charged Tuesday in Washington, D.C., for misdemeanor cocaine possession.
    ...

    He's also gone on record as citing his favorite vacation spot as Cartagena, Colombia, which as of 2004 accounted for 80 percent of the world's cocaine production.

    Radel, 37, is a former television news anchor and conservative radio talk show host and represents southwest Florida. His election last year marked his first foray into politics.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All the News (that's negative) about Republicans, all the time.

      Patrick Kennedy was re-elected after the Ambien Affair.

      But Rat, like John Stewart is a One Way funhouse mirror.

      ...as well as the MSM.

      Sad, Very Sad.

      Delete
    2. "Jon" I guess.

      One more bad Joo.

      Delete
    3. "Jew"

      Nominal, but we all know what I mean.

      Delete
    4. Except maybe for Rat and Ruffie.

      Delete
    5. Jon Stewart's version of Judaism | Jewish Journal
      www.jewishjournal.com/hollywoodjew/.../jon_stewarts_version_of_judai...‎

      Oct 15, 2010 - For some Jews it's perplexing that Jon Stewart, an American Jewish icon, isn't religious. How could the Jew who makes Jewish 'cool' be so ...

      Jon Stewart: The Matzorian Candidate [VIDEO] Dec 9, 2011
      Jon Stewart defends Obama's godless Thanksgiving message Dec 1, 2011
      Jon Stewart A.K.A. “Soupy” Aug 22, 2011

      Who's the bigger Jew? Ben Stiller versus Jon Stewart Apr 12, 2010

      More results from www.jewishjournal.com

      (Google jon stewart jewish)

      Delete

    6. “Well, all I know is what I read in the papers.”

      Delete
    7. Odd that Rat is such a big fan of Jon Stewart Liebowitz.

      Delete
    8. Why would you say that, Doug?

      What would lead you to that observation?

      Delete
  15. FBI Blames Federal Hacks On Anonymous Campaign

    Attackers with ties to Anonymous have waged a year-long hacking campaign that's successfully exploited numerous US government systems.

    So read an FBI memo, distributed Thursday, which said that the group of attackers gained access to government systems via SQL injection attacks, as well as by exploiting vulnerabilities in outdated versions of the website development platform Adobe ColdFusion, Reuters first reported.


    http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks-and-breaches/fbi-blames-federal-hacks-on-anonymous-campaign/d/d-id/1112650

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's why you should Fax them your daughter's medical records ASAP!

      You may not know the internets, and must still use a Fax, but they know all about them, and can help!

      Delete
    2. That's what they're there for, fer Chrissakes!

      Delete
  16. Bitcoin emerges from the shadows
    The currency’s value has climbed since the demise of Silk Road, the online illegal drug marketplace that was its best-known vendor.


    Want to make some cash disappear?

    Trade U.S. dollars for bitcoins at mtgox.com or any number of other exchanges. Better yet, arrange to meet a bitcoin trader in person to make the swap so your bank account number never gets involved.

    Your online bitcoin account, or “wallet,” doesn’t have your name, Social Security number or any other personal information attached to it. Bitcoins can be transferred or cashed out anywhere in the world that has access to the Internet.

    Bitcoin is best known for shadowy business, most famously for its use as the tender for Silk Road, the online marketplace that allowed sellers and buyers to make drug sales anonymously. On Oct. 1, the FBI arrested the alleged mastermind of the site, who borrowed his handle, “Dread Pirate Roberts,” from “The Princess Bride.” In the indictment of Ross Ulbricht, authorities claim that Silk Road brought in $1.2 billion in sales since the site’s 2011 birth. After some difficulty, FBI agents hacked into a virtual wallet containing more than $28 million in bitcoins they say were some of Ulbricht’s $80 million commissions from Silk Road sales.


    It’s a regulator’s headache, and it’s gaining traction.

    an increasing number of Idahoans are acquiring, trading and buying goods with bitcoins. Localbitcoins.com and other forums provide a vehicle for bitcoin users in Boise or any other city to arrange transactions.

    Adam McKinney is a tech support analyst for the University of Idaho who works remotely from Pocatello and is a bitcoin enthusiast. He said Idaho is well-represented in online bitcoin forums.

    “It’s surprising how many people in Idaho are found on (forums)” he said.



    Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/11/02/2848766/bitcoin-emerges-from-the-shadows.html#storylink=cpy

    ReplyDelete
  17. There have been injuries and several deaths among men, women, and youngsters, as they suffered walloping "sucker punches" by roving black youths in New York City and elsewhere.

    But Mayor Bloomberg has raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco to 21. That'll be safer.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Bitcoin emerges from the shadows
    The currency’s value has climbed since the demise of Silk Road, the online illegal drug marketplace that was its best-known vendor.


    Money made from 1s and 0s. Yeah, that's different from what the Fed makes.

    ReplyDelete
  19. WiO: Please provide a roster of all your names that way we can be assured to remove those names

    Holy Jesus, Deuce actually did something that I asked.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you promised you were leaving, why is your lying swanky ass back?

      Delete


    2. Teresita RedingerTue Nov 19, 02:31:00 PM EST
      Yeah, uh, after about another half hour or so, if you ever again see someone named "Teresita" posting here, it's WiO. I'll be over at Wretchard's place.

      Delete
  20. WiO: Hire the israelis to actually run the health care of America for all citizens. they'd do it for 1/2 the cost

    So we can slice the aid down to $1.5 billion per annum. That's a start.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies


    1. Teresita RedingerTue Nov 19, 02:31:00 PM EST
      Yeah, uh, after about another half hour or so, if you ever again see someone named "Teresita" posting here, it's WiO. I'll be over at Wretchard's place.

      Delete
  21. The Air Force Academy has admitted they removed the phrase “so help me God” from three oaths in the 2012 edition of their official cadet handbook, Fox News has learned.

    The war on the Old One continues.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BHO removed God from Lincoln's address.

      Delete
    2. ...and of course, the pledge of allegiance.

      Repeatedly

      Delete
    3. You're such a dumb, koolaid-drinking fuck.

      There are Five Drafts of the Gettysburg Address.

      The draft that Obama was asked to read Did Not contain the phrase "Under God."

      Delete
    4. Yeah, I knew that, Genius Guy.

      Obama always does what he's told by mere mortals.
      ...we all know that.

      Although no one told him to remove God from the pledge, that I know of.

      Delete
    5. I wrote one of the drafts, and left out God, did I myself:

      On a Lark.

      Delete
    6. Studebaker Lark, look it up.

      Delete
  22. Australia, since the gun ban:

    Armed robberies up 69%

    Assaults with guns up 28%

    Gun murders up 19%

    Home invasions up 21%

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I am a physician, financial planner, educator, and I love to tell great stories."

      IOW, Tony Robbins on androgen.

      Delete


    2. Teresita RedingerTue Nov 19, 02:31:00 PM EST
      Yeah, uh, after about another half hour or so, if you ever again see someone named "Teresita" posting here, it's WiO. I'll be over at Wretchard's place.

      Delete
  23. A new CBS poll has put Obama's approval rating at 37% I wonder how long before dems who are up for election next year will start jumping ship. Rufus and Panama Red, I have no such hopes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies


    1. Teresita RedingerTue Nov 19, 02:31:00 PM EST
      Yeah, uh, after about another half hour or so, if you ever again see someone named "Teresita" posting here, it's WiO. I'll be over at Wretchard's place.

      Delete
  24. Rufus: The United States put a man on the moon in 1969.

    JFK: "Before this decade is out, we will land a man on the moon, and bring him safely home."

    Obama: "We will not go back to the moon."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JFK:
      Zealous Anti-Communist.

      Obama:
      Communist.

      Delete
    2. Obama’s Affordable Care Act, and the even more badly botched Hillary Clinton healthcare reform effort of the early 1990s, have one thing in common (along with their aura of failure). Although derided by right-wingers as Marxist social engineering, both are enormously less ambitious, and more obsequious to the so-called free market, than the comprehensive national health insurance law proposed, within my lifetime, by a United States president. Modeled closely on programs enacted in major Western European nations, the Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan, or CHIP, would have offered identical healthcare coverage to all Americans, irrespective of age or income (and with no exclusions for any reason), through three separate but interdependent programs: One for people with full-time jobs, through their employers; one for the unemployed, disabled and poor (replacing Medicaid); and an expanded version of Medicare providing full healthcare coverage for all senior citizens.

      You already know the punch line here, right? “Comprehensive health insurance is an idea whose time has come in America,” concluded Richard Nixon’s special message to Congress on Feb. 6, 1974. It’s entirely possible, and even likely, that if Nixon’s presidency hadn’t been consumed by the Watergate scandal – he was forced to resign exactly six months later – no one alive today under the age of 40 would even remember a time before national health insurance. Now, it’s also true that Nixon was trying to head off more liberal single-payer schemes, on the British or Canadian model, that would have cut private insurance companies out altogether. But those ideas all died on the vine, and none of the three Democratic presidents of the past four decades has ever dared to dream of proposing anything close to the Nixon plan.

      Delete
    3. Nixon's Plan For Health Reform, In His Own Words

      President Richard Nixon's Special Message to the Congress Proposing a Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan

      February 6, 1974

      From The American Presidency Project, University of California at Santa Barbara


      To the Congress of the United States:

      One of the most cherished goals of our democracy is to assure every American an equal opportunity to lead a full and productive life.

      In the last quarter century, we have made remarkable progress toward that goal, opening the doors to millions of our fellow countrymen who were seeking equal opportunities in education, jobs and voting.

      Now it is time that we move forward again in still another critical area: health care.

      Without adequate health care, no one can make full use of his or her talents and opportunities. It is thus just as important that economic, racial and social barriers not stand in the way of good health care as it is to eliminate those barriers to a good education and a good job.

      Three years ago, I proposed a major health insurance program to the Congress, seeking to guarantee adequate financing of health care on a nationwide basis. That proposal generated widespread discussion and useful debate. But no legislation reached my desk.

      Today the need is even more pressing because of the higher costs of medical care. Efforts to control medical costs under the New Economic Policy have been Inept with encouraging success, sharply reducing the rate of inflation for health care. Nevertheless, the overall cost of health care has still risen by more than 20 percent in the last two and one-half years, so that more and more Americans face staggering bills when they receive medical help today:

      --Across the Nation, the average cost of a day of hospital care now exceeds $110.
      --The average cost of delivering a baby and providing postnatal care approaches $1,000.
      --The average cost of health care for terminal cancer now exceeds $20,000.

      For the average family, it is clear that without adequate insurance, even normal care can 'be a financial burden while a catastrophic illness can mean catastrophic debt.

      Delete
    4. Beyond the question of the prices of health care, our present system of health care insurance suffers from two major flaws :

      First, even though more Americans carry health insurance than ever before, the 25 million Americans who remain uninsured often need it the most and are most unlikely to obtain it. They include many who work in seasonal or transient occupations, high-risk cases, and those who are ineligible for Medicaid despite low incomes.

      Second, those Americans who do carry health insurance often lack coverage which is balanced, comprehensive and fully protective:

      --Forty percent of those who are insured are not covered for visits to physicians on an out-patient basis, a gap that creates powerful incentives toward high cost care in hospitals;
      --Few people have the option of selecting care through prepaid arrangements offered by Health Maintenance Organizations so the system at large does not benefit from the free choice and creative competition this would offer;
      --Very few private policies cover preventive services;
      --Most health plans do not contain built-in incentives to reduce waste and inefficiency. The extra costs of wasteful practices are passed on, of course, to consumers; and
      --Fewer than half of our citizens under 65--and almost none over 65--have major medical coverage which pays for the cost of catastrophic illness.

      These gaps in health protection can have tragic consequences. They can cause people to delay seeking medical attention until it is too late. Then a medical crisis ensues, followed by huge medical bills--or worse. Delays in treatment can end in death or lifelong disability.

      Delete
    5. COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN (CHIP)

      Early last year, I directed the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to prepare a new and improved plan for comprehensive health insurance. That plan, as I indicated in my State of the Union message, has been developed and I am presenting it to the Congress today. I urge its enactment as soon as possible.

      The plan is organized around seven principles:

      First, it offers every American an opportunity to obtain a balanced, comprehensive range of health insurance benefits;

      Second, it will cost no American more than he can afford to pay;
      Third, it builds on the strength and diversity of our existing public and private systems of health financing and harmonizes them into an overall system;

      Fourth, it uses public funds only where needed and requires no new Federal taxes;

      Fifth, it would maintain freedom of choice by patients and ensure that doctors work for their patient, not for the Federal Government.

      Sixth, it encourages more effective use of our health care resources;

      And finally, it is organized so that all parties would have a direct stake in making the system work--consumer, provider, insurer, State governments and the Federal Government.

      Delete
    6. BROAD AND BALANCED PROTECTION FOR ALL AMERICANS

      Upon adoption of appropriate Federal and State legislation, the Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan would offer to every American the same broad and balanced health protection through one of three major programs:

      --Employee Health Insurance, covering most Americans and offered at their place of employment, with the cost to be shared by the employer and employee on a basis which would prevent excessive burdens on either;

      --Assisted Health Insurance, covering low-income persons, and persons who would be ineligible for the other two programs, with Federal and State government paying those costs beyond the means of the individual who is insured; and,

      --An improved Medicare Plan, covering those 65 and over and offered through a Medicare system that is modified to include additional, needed benefits.
      One of these three plans would be available to every American, but for everyone, participation in the program would be voluntary.

      The benefits offered by the three plans would be identical for all Americans, regardless of age or income. Benefits would be provided for:
      --hospital care;
      --physicians' care in and out of the hospital;
      --prescription and life-saving drugs;
      --laboratory tests and X-rays;
      --medical devices;
      --ambulance services; and,
      --other ancillary health care.

      There would be no exclusions of coverage based on the nature of the illness. For example, a person with heart disease would qualify for benefits as would a person with kidney disease.

      In addition, CHIP would cover treatment for mental illness, alcoholism and drug addiction, whether that treatment were provided in hospitals and physicians' offices or in community based settings.

      Certain nursing home services and other convalescent services would also be covered. For example, home health services would be covered so that long and costly stays in nursing homes could be averted where possible.

      The health needs of children would come in for special attention, since many conditions, if detected in childhood, can be prevented from causing lifelong disability and learning handicaps. Included in these services for children would be:
      --preventive care up to age six;
      --eye examinations;
      --hearing examinations; and,
      --regular dental care up to age 13.

      Under the Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan, a doctor's decisions could be based on the health care needs of his patients, not on health insurance coverage. This difference is essential for quality care.

      Every American participating in the program would be insured for catastrophic illnesses that can eat away savings and plunge individuals and families into hopeless debt for years. No family would ever have annual out-of-pocket expenses for covered health services in excess of $1,500, and low-income families would face substantially smaller expenses.

      As part of this program, every American who participates in the program would receive a Health-card when the plan goes into effect in his State. This card, similar to a credit card, would be honored by hospitals, nursing homes, emergency rooms, doctors, and clinics across the country. This card could also be used to identify information on blood type and .sensitivity to particular drugs-information which might be important in an emergency.

      Bills for the services paid for with the Health-card would be sent to the insurance carrier who would reimburse the provider of the care for covered services, then bill the patient for his share, if any.

      The entire program would become effective in 1976, assuming that the plan is promptly enacted by the Congress.

      Delete
    7. HOW EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE WOULD WORK

      Every employer would be required to offer all full-time employees the Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan. Additional benefits could then be added by mutual agreement. The insurance plan would be jointly financed, with employers paying 65 percent of the premium for the first three years of the plan, and 75 percent thereafter. Employees would pay the balance of the premiums. Temporary Federal subsidies would be used to ease the initial burden on employers who face significant cost increases.

      Individuals covered by the plan would pay the first $150 in annual medical expenses. A separate $50 deductible provision would apply for out-patient drugs. There would be a maximum of three medical deductibles per family.

      After satisfying this deductible limit, an enrollee would then pay for 25 percent of additional bills. However, $1,500 per year would be the absolute dollar limit on any family's medical expenses for covered services in any one year.

      As an interim measure, the Medicaid program would be continued to meet certain needs, primarily long-term institutional care. I do not consider our current approach to long-term care desirable because it can lead to overemphasis on institutional as opposed to home care. The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare has undertaken a thorough study of the appropriate institutional services which should be included in health insurance and other programs and will report his findings to me.

      Delete
    8. IMPROVING MEDICARE

      The Medicare program now provides medical protection for over 23 million older Americans. Medicare, however, does not cover outpatient drugs, nor does it limit total out-of-pocket costs. It is still possible for an elderly person to be financially devastated by a lengthy illness even with Medicare coverage.
      I therefore propose that Medicare's benefits be improved so that Medicare would provide the same benefits offered to other Americans under Employee Health Insurance and Assisted Health Insurance.

      Any person 65 or over, eligible to receive Medicare payments, would ordinarily, under my modified Medicare plan, pay the first $100 for care received during a year, and the first $50 toward outpatient drugs. He or she would also pay 20 percent of any bills above the deductible limit. But in no case would any Medicare beneficiary have to pay more than $750 in out-of-pocket costs. The premiums and cost sharing for those with low incomes would be reduced, with public funds making up the difference.

      The current program of Medicare for the disabled would be replaced. Those now in the Medicare for the disabled plan would be eligible for Assisted Health Insurance, which would provide better coverage for those with high medical costs and low incomes.

      Premiums for most people under the new Medicare program would be roughly equal to that which is now payable under Part B of Medicare--the Supplementary Medical Insurance program.

      Delete
    9. HOW ASSISTED HEALTH INSURANCE WOULD WORK

      The program of Assisted Health Insurance is designed to cover everyone not offered coverage under Employee Health Insurance or Medicare, including the unemployed, the disabled, the self-employed, and those with low incomes. In addition, persons with higher incomes could also obtain Assisted Health Insurance if they cannot otherwise get coverage at reasonable rates. Included in this latter group might be persons whose health status or type of work puts them in high-risk insurance categories.

      Assisted Health Insurance would thus fill many of the gaps in our present health insurance system and would ensure that for the first time in our Nation's history, all Americans would have financial access to health protection regardless of income or circumstances.

      A principal feature of Assisted Health Insurance is that it relates premiums and out-of-pocket expenses to the income of the person or family enrolled. Working families with incomes of up to $5,000, for instance, would pay no premiums at all. Deductibles, co-insurance, and maximum liability would all be pegged to income levels.

      Assisted Health Insurance would replace State-run Medicaid for most services. Unlike Medicaid, where benefits vary in each State, this plan would establish uniform benefit and eligibility standards for all low-income persons. It would also eliminate artificial barriers to enrollment or access to health care.

      Delete
    10. COSTS OF COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE

      When fully effective, the total new costs of CHIP to the Federal and State governments would be about $6.9 billion with an additional small amount for transitional assistance for small and low wage employers:

      --The Federal Government would add about $5.9 billion over the cost of continuing existing programs to finance health care for low-income or high risk persons.

      --State governments would add about $1.0 billion over existing Medicaid spending for the same purpose, though these added costs would be largely, if not wholly offset by reduced State and local budgets for direct provision of services.

      --The Federal Government would provide assistance to small and low wage employers which would initially cost about $450 million but be phased out over five years.

      For the average American family, what all of these figures reduce to is simply this:

      --The national average family cost for health insurance premiums each year under Employee Health Insurance would be about $150; the employer would pay approximately $450 for each employee who participates in the plan.

      --Additional family costs for medical care would vary according to need and use, but in no case would a family have to pay more than $1,500 in any one year for covered services.

      --No additional taxes would be needed to pay for the cost of CHIP. The Federal funds needed to pay for this plan could all be drawn from revenues that would be generated by the present tax structure. I am opposed to any comprehensive health plan which requires new taxes.

      Delete
    11. MAKING THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM WORK BETTER

      Any program to finance health care for the Nation must take close account of two critical and related problems--cost and quality.

      When Medicare and Medicaid went into effect, medical prices jumped almost twice as fast as living costs in general in the next five years. These programs increased demand without increasing supply proportionately and higher costs resulted.

      This escalation of medical prices must not recur when the Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan goes into effect. One way to prevent an escalation is to increase the supply of physicians, which is now taking place at a rapid rate. Since 1965, the number of first-year enrollments in medical schools has increased 55 percent. By 1980, the Nation should have over 440,000 physicians, or roughly one-third more than today. We are also taking steps to train persons in allied health occupations, who can extend the services of the physician.

      With these and other efforts already underway, the Nation's health manpower supply will be able to meet the additional demands that will be placed on it.

      Other measures have also been taken to contain medical prices. Under the New Economic Policy, hospital cost increases have been cut almost in half from their post-Medicare highs, and the rate of increase in physician fees has slowed substantially. It is extremely important that these successes be continued as we move toward our goal of comprehensive health insurance protection for all Americans. I will, therefore, recommend to the Congress that the Cost of Living Council's authority to control medical care costs be extended.

      To contain medical costs effectively over the long-haul, however, basic reforms in the financing and delivery of care are also needed. We need a system with built-in incentives that operates more efficiently and reduces the losses from waste and duplication of effort. Everyone pays for this inefficiency through their health premiums and medical bills.

      The measure I am recommending today therefore contains a number of proposals designed to contain costs, improve the efficiency of the system and assure quality health care. These proposals include:

      Delete
    12. 1. HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS (HMO'S)

      On December 29, 1973, I signed into law legislation designed to stimulate, through Federal aid, the establishment of prepaid comprehensive care organizations. HMO's have proved an effective means for delivering health care and the CHIP plan requires that they be offered as an option for the individual and the family as soon as they become available. This would encourage more freedom of choice for both patients and providers, while fostering diversity in our medical care delivery system.

      2. PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS REVIEW ORGANIZATIONS (PSRO'S)

      I also contemplate in my proposal a provision that would place health services provided under CHIP under the review of Professional Standards Review Organizations. These PSRO's would be charged with maintaining high standards of care and reducing needless hospitalization. Operated 'by groups of private physicians, professional review organizations can do much to ensure quality care while helping to bring about significant savings in health costs.

      3. MORE BALANCED GROWTH IN HEALTH FACILITIES

      Another provision of this legislation would call on the States to review building plans for hospitals, nursing homes and other health facilities. Existing health insurance has overemphasized the placement of patients in hospitals and nursing homes. Under this artificial stimulus, institutions have felt impelled to keep adding bed space. This has produced a growth of almost 75 percent in the number of hospital beds in the last twenty years, so that now we have a surplus of beds in many places and a poor mix of facilities in others. Under the legislation I am submitting, States can begin remedying this costly imbalance.

      4. STATE ROLE

      Another important provision of this legislation calls on the States to review the operation of health insurance carriers within their jurisdiction. The States would approve specific plans, oversee rates, ensure adequate disclosure, require an annual audit and take other appropriate measures. For health care providers, the States would assure fair reimbursement for physician services, drugs and institutional services, including a prospective reimbursement system for hospitals.

      A number of States have shown that an effective job can be done in containing costs. Under my proposal all States would have an incentive to do the same. Only with effective cost control measures can States ensure that the citizens receive the increased health care they need and at rates they can afford. Failure on the part of States to enact the necessary authorities would prevent them from receiving any Federal support of their State-administered health assistance plan.

      Delete
    13. MAINTAINING A PRIVATE ENTERPRISE APPROACH

      My proposed plan differs sharply with several of the other health insurance plans which have been prominently discussed. The primary difference is that my proposal would rely extensively on private insurers.

      Any insurance company which could offer those benefits would be a potential supplier. Because private employers would have to provide certain basic benefits to their employees, they would have an incentive to seek out the best insurance company proposals and insurance companies would have an incentive to offer their plans at the lowest possible prices. If, on the other hand, the Government were to act as the insurer, there would be no competition and little incentive to hold down costs.

      There is a huge reservoir of talent and skill in administering and designing health plans within the private sector. That pool of talent should be put to work.

      It is also important to understand that the CHIP plan preserves basic freedoms for both the patient and doctor. The patient would continue to have a freedom of choice between doctors. The doctors would continue to work for their patients, not the Federal Government. By contrast, some of the national health plans that have been proposed in the Congress would place the entire health system under the heavy hand of the Federal Government, would add considerably to our tax burdens, and would threaten to destroy the entire system of medical care that has been so carefully built in America.

      I firmly believe we should capitalize on the skills and facilities already in place, not replace them and start from scratch with a huge Federal bureaucracy to add to the ones we already have.

      Delete
    14. COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN--A PARTNERSHIP EFFORT

      No program will work unless people want it to work. Everyone must have a stake in the process.

      This Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan has been designed so that everyone involved would have both a stake in making it work and a role to play in the process consumer, provider, health insurance carrier, the States and the Federal Government. It is a partnership program in every sense.

      By sharing costs, consumers would have a direct economic stake in choosing and using their community's health resources wisely and prudently. They would be assisted by requirements that physicians and other providers of care make available to patients full information on fees, hours of operation and other matters affecting the qualifications of providers. But they would not have to go it alone either: doctors, hospitals and other providers of care would also have a direct stake in making the Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan work. This program has been designed to relieve them of much of the red tape, confusion and delays in reimbursement that plague them under the bewildering assortment of public and private financing systems that now exist. Health-cards would relieve them of troublesome bookkeeping. Hospitals could be hospitals, not bill collecting agencies.

      Delete

    15. CONCLUSION

      Comprehensive health insurance is an idea whose time has come in America.

      There has long been a need to assure every American financial access to high quality health care. As medical costs go up, that need grows more pressing.

      Now, for the first time, we have not just the need but the will to get this job done. There is widespread support in the Congress and in the Nation for some form of comprehensive health insurance.

      Surely if we have the will, 1974 should also be the year that we find the way.

      The plan that I am proposing today is, I believe, the very best way. Improvements can be made in it, of course, and the Administration stands ready to work with the Congress, the medical profession, and others in making those changes.

      But let us not be led to an extreme program that would place the entire health care system under the dominion of social planners in Washington.

      Let us continue to have doctors who work for their patients, not for the Federal Government. Let us build upon the strengths of the medical system we have now, not destroy it.

      Indeed, let us act sensibly. And let us act now--in 1974--to assure all Americans financial access to high quality medical care.

      RICHARD NIXON
      The White House,
      February 6, 1974.



      Delete
    16. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2009/september/03/nixon-proposal.aspx

      Delete
    17. Did anyone read the Nixon stuff? Did I miss anything by not?

      Delete

    18. The recipe for perpetual ignorance is:
      Be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.

      Delete
    19. El,

      I'll keep that in mind. Now, back to Nixon.

      Delete
  25. .

    I see Rufus is doing his part for Obamacare.

    That 148 in Mississippi 'must' be made up of the Rufus clan (tribe?).

    .

    ReplyDelete
  26. Okay Doug, I had my fun. My work computer and the Win98 box I have at home cannot display more than 200 posts here, which is why I wanted to be able to post new topics. Please communicate to Deuce sometime today or tomorrow that I'd like to have the powah again. I won't throw a temper tantrum anymore.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Honest Injun?

      Will Do, Squaw T.

      Delete
    2. Hoooray

      Ya made my day

      Just go easy on the middle east woodja

      Bob

      Delete
    3. For all the money you have made off the taxpayer's tit you can afford a newer computer?


      lol

      Delete


    4. Teresita RedingerTue Nov 19, 02:31:00 PM EST
      Yeah, uh, after about another half hour or so, if you ever again see someone named "Teresita" posting here, it's WiO. I'll be over at Wretchard's place.

      Reply

      Delete
  27. CBSNEWS POLL: OBAMA CRASHES TO 37%......read head on Drudge

    People finally get tired of being lied to.

    Same reason no one here can stand Whacky.

    Why six here think he crazy, why six here thinks he needs mental health care.

    By the way Whacks the hip was 150K and my own insurance paid for it.

    And the reason Idaho is a great state is that there are so few people like you around. In fact few people at all, and all those wonderful magnificent national forests and streams.

    Therefore it is a fine place to live.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 37%

      Isn't that wonderful news!!

      People are waking up!!

      Delete
    2. Rasmussen Reports / 11/16 - 11/18 / 1500 Likely Voters
      Approve 43
      Disapprove 55

      Delete
    3. CBS polled 1010 adults, not registered voters, not likely voters.

      Just dumb shits off the street.

      Delete
    4. Who is Leslie Moonves and why does he fund biased and inaccurate polling?

      Delete
    5. What is the Political Agenda of Leslie Moomves?

      Delete
    6. Rasmussen is a few days behind the times.

      Delete
    7. Come on Whacky, use your real name.

      Delete
    8. Farmer Fudd, is not Anonymous.

      Anonymous is the collective.

      Farmer Fudd is an individual character, he is not part of the collective.

      Why does Anonymous not sign-on, become Farmer Fudd if that is the character he wishes to become?
      If he does not, he remains Anonymous no one and nothing, Anonymous is not Farmer Fudd

      Farmer Fudd lives in Idaho, he is a misogynist, a rapist and a fascist.
      Those are just some of his character traits.

      Embrace them as you will, Anonymous, it is your choice, your projection, no one else has the power.

      Delete

    9. Stories happen in the mind of a reader, not among symbols printed on a page.”

      Delete
  28. France is the new leader of the Free World -

    Obamageddon in the Middle East
    November 20, 2013 By Daniel Greenfield

    http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/obamageddon-in-the-middle-east/

    While not agreeing with all it makes much good sense.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Terrorist-Funding Palestinians Won’t Pay Electricity Bill
    November 20, 2013 By Ari Lieberman


    November 18, the Palestinian propaganda outlet, Ma’an News Agency, reported that Israel had cut power to the West Bank town of Jericho due to unpaid electric bills. Palestinian officials in the affected area appealed to Palestinian Authority strongman Mahmoud Abbas to pay the arrears of nearly $200,000. Failure to do so they added, would affect irrigation systems and cause irreparable damage to agricultural lands.

    But as the Palestinians have demonstrated time and again, their budgetary priorities lie perniciously elsewhere. While Palestinians were starved of electricity due to the malfeasance of their own government, the Palestinian Authority was busy doling out cash, care of the U.S. taxpayer, to terrorists recently freed by Israel as a result of pressure from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.



    On November 18, the Times of Israel reported that 26 terrorists recently released by Israel and convicted of particularly ghoulish crimes were given lump sums of at least $50,000 a piece and cushy civil service jobs within the Palestinian Authority. Some were given lump sums of $60,000. That translates to over $1,300,000 — more than six times the amount needed to restore electricity to those without power in Jericho. To the Holocaust-denying, fascist-admiring Abbas, critical infrastructure plays second fiddle to funding terrorism.

    In reality, however, it is the U.S. State Department that plays a central role in facilitating Palestinian Authority terrorism. A lawsuit by an Israeli civil rights group on behalf of Americans killed or injured by Palestinians alleges that the State Department is violating its own laws in failing to properly exercise minimal oversight over vast sums doled out to the Palestinian Authority and related Palestinian entities. As a result, money is being diverted to fund, directly and indirectly, Palestinian terrorism directed against Israelis and U.S. citizens. The clearest example of this is the way the Palestinian Authority uses foreign aid money to incentivize terrorism at the expense of basic infrastructure, the Jericho electricity crisis being the latest example.

    An excellent article by Michael Dickson highlights the way the Palestinian Authority is utilizing every asset at its disposal to demonize Jews and Israel. In every sphere, from health and education to sport and the arts, the Palestinian Authority has engaged in systematic vitriol whose rhetoric is matched only by the likes of Joseph Goebbels.

    It is unsurprising, therefore, that Palestinian terrorism continues unabated. From the horrific stabbing of a sleeping bus passenger to the firebombing of a couple on a routine drive, the violence has stretched the bounds of depravity, even by Palestinian standards.

    The uptick in violence can also be attributed to John Kerry, who recently parroted the Palestinian Authority’s talking points lock, stock and barrel, while ignoring continued Palestinian incitement, among other malevolent transgressions. Kerry essentially torpedoed his own peace initiative by providing the Palestinian Authority political cover to harden its already unreasonable and unrealistic demands, which include, among other things, flooding Israel with millions of hostile Arab “refugees” and placing Israel’s ancestral capital under Muslim rule. Considering past Arab pronouncements (in Arabic to Arab audiences) it appears that these extreme positions are merely the first stage in a multi-staged approach to dealing with the hated “Zionist entity.”

    Jericho’s electricity problems are symptomatic of a diseased and depraved Palestinian culture, one consumed by hate and a desire to obliterate another people. The sooner we come to terms with this fact and address the issue in an honest manner, unhampered by the doctrine of political correctness, the sooner a resolution to the Palestinian problem can be found.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. End the OccupationWed Nov 20, 10:32:00 AM EST

      Home Demolitions: By the Numbers

      Since 1967, Israel has destroyed approximately 27,000 Palestinian structures in the occupied territories (the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip), including more than 24,000 homes, according to ICAHD.
      Since the renewal of negotiations in August 2013, Israel has destroyed approximately 25 Palestinian homes, in addition to dozens of other structures, leaving approximately 200 people homeless.

      According to the UN, between January and September 2013, 862 Palestinians were displaced by Israeli demolitions, compared to 886 (including 468 children) in all of 2012.

      In 2012, a total of 600 Palestinian structures were demolished by Israel in the occupied territories, including at least 189 homes, according to ICAHD. This figure doesn’t include “self-demolitions” whereby Palestinians destroy their own homes rather than have Israel do it and charge them an additional fine.


      One Bedouin village, Al-Araqib, in the Negev desert in the south of Israel, has been destroyed more than 50 times by Israel since July 2010.

      Between 2005 and 2012, Israel demolished approximately 1500 Palestinian homes due to owners lacking hard-to-obtain construction permits.

      Between 1993 and 2000, when the Oslo Accords were being negotiated between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, Israel destroyed almost 1700 Palestinian homes in the occupied territories.

      Immediately following Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza in 1967, approximately 6000 Palestinian homes were demolished, including four entire villages in the Latrun area, along with dozens of homes in the Mughrabi Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, which were destroyed to make way for a plaza for the Western Wall. In 1971, between 2000 and 6000 Palestinian homes were destroyed in Gaza in an effort to pacify the newly occupied territory.

      During Israel’s creation (1948-49), Zionist and then Israeli forces expelled approximately 750,000 Palestinian Arabs from their ancestral lands in order to create a Jewish majority state of Israel. In the process, more than 400 Palestinian population centers were systematically destroyed, including thousands of homes, businesses, and houses of worship.

      Delete
    2. End the OccupationWed Nov 20, 10:33:00 AM EST

      Three key features characterize Israeli apartheid:

      • Four million Palestinians in the Occupied Territories lack the right to vote for the government that controls their lives through a military occupation.

      In addition to controlling the borders, air space, water, tax revenues, and other vital matters pertaining to the Occupied Territories,
      Israel alone issues the identity cards that determine the ability of Palestinians to work and their freedom of movement.


      • About 1.2 million Palestinian Israelis, who make up 20 percent, or one-fifth, of Israel’s population, have second-class citizenship within Israel, ...
      ... which defines itself as a Jewish state rather than a state for all its citizens.

      More than 20 provisions of Israel’s principal laws discriminate, either directly or indirectly, against non-Jews, according to Adalah: The Legal Center for Minority Rights in Israel.

      Millions of Palestinians remain refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and elsewhere, unable to return to their former homes ...
      ... and land in present-day Israel.

      Even though the right of return for refugees is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

      Delete
    3. End the OccupationWed Nov 20, 10:34:00 AM EST

      Israel, a secular and socialist state that was built upon ...
      ... the Three Pillars of Apartheid

      The first pillar “derives from Israeli laws and policies that establish Jewish identity for purposes of law and afford a preferential legal status and material benefits to Jews over non-Jews.”

      The second pillar is reflected in
      “Israel’s ‘grand’ policy to fragment the OPT [and] ...
      ... ensure that Palestinians remain confined to the reserves designated for them ...
      ... while Israeli Jews are prohibited from entering those reserves but enjoy freedom of movement...
      ... throughout the rest of the Palestinian territory.

      This policy is evidenced by Israel’s extensive appropriation of Palestinian land,
      which continues to shrink the territorial space available to Palestinians;
      the hermetic closure and isolation of the Gaza Strip from the rest of the OPT;
      the deliberate severing of East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank;

      and the appropriation and construction policies serving to carve up the West Bank ...
      ... into an intricate and well-serviced network of connected settlements for Jewish-Israelis ...
      ... and an archipelago of besieged and non-contiguous enclaves for Palestinians.”


      The third pillar is
      “Israel’s invocation of ‘security’ to validate sweeping restrictions on Palestinian freedom of ...
      ... opinion, expression, assembly, association and movement [to] mask a true underlying intent ...

      ... to suppress dissent to its system of domination and thereby maintain control over Palestinians as a group.”

      Delete
    4. End the OccupationWed Nov 20, 10:37:00 AM EST

      "The so-called “Palestinian autonomous areas” are Bantustans.
      These are restricted entities within the power structure of the Israeli Apartheid system."
      - N. Mandela

      The Palestinians are in their "Ghettos", on their "Reserves"

      Palestinian lackeys rule over the fractured and factionalized Palestinians, $100 million a month the Israeli pay their house boy Arabs in baksheesh.

      Just as the Germans used Ashkenazi guards in the Warsaw Ghetto.

      The first commander of the Warsaw ghetto was Józef Szeryński, a Polish-Jewish police colonel.

      Warsaw Ghetto archivist Emanuel Ringelblum has described the cruelty of the ghetto police as ...
      "at times greater than that of the Germans, the Ukrainians and the Latvians."

      Delete
    5. Whacky is totally cathected this morning.

      jeez

      Delete
    6. End the OccupationWed Nov 20, 12:07:00 PM EST

      There are "Code Words" right there in Anonymous's posting

      Jericho’s electricity problems are symptomatic of a diseased and depraved Palestinian culture, one consumed by hate and a desire to obliterate another people. The sooner we come to terms with this fact and address the issue in an honest manner, unhampered by the doctrine of political correctness, the sooner a resolution to the Palestinian problem can be found.

      "The Palestinian Problem" .... where oh where have we heard that before?

      Jewish Problem
      Web definitions

      The Jewish Problem was the name given to a wide-ranging debate in European society pertaining to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews in society. The debate involved the civil, legal and national status of Jews as a minority within society, particularly in Europe. ...


      Solutions to the "Problem" ....

      "I have often been a prophet in my life and was generally laughed at. During my struggle for power, the Jews primarily received with laughter my prophecies that I would someday assume the leadership of the state....and then, among many other things, achieve a solution of the Jewish problem. I suppose [that the laughter] of Jewry in Germany is now choking in their throats.

      Today I will be a prophet again: If international finance Jewry...should succeed once more in plunging the peoples into a world war, then the consequence will be...the destruction of the Jewish race in Europe."
      - Adolf Hitler


      The analogies, even the very words used, they grow ever more focused, clear and concise.

      Delete
    7. “To me the Zionists, who want to go back to the Jewish state of A.D. 70 (destruction of Jerusalem by Titus) are just as offensive as the Nazis.

      With their nosing after blood, their ancient "cultural roots," ...
      their partly canting, partly obtuse winding back of the world they are altogether a match for the National Socialists.


      That is the fantastic thing about the National Socialists,...
      that they simultaneously share in a community of ideas with Soviet Russia and with Zion.”


      ― Victor Klemperer, I Will Bear Witness: A Diary of the Nazi Years, 1933-1941

      Delete

  30. http://www.scribd.com/doc/185695292/Nov13c-Morning

    CBS Poll Results

    Also info on its methodology

    ReplyDelete
    Replies


    1. Why does Leslie Moonves pay for biased and misleading polls?

      Delete
  31. You are at a dead end, End.

    No one believes a word you say any longer.

    The heavy majority here think you need mental health couseling.

    You are your own worst problem.

    Be kind to yourself, get some help.

    driving in to get breakfast with wife, so

    out for now

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dead End Kids

      Comedy group
      The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play Dead End in 1935. In 1937 producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film.- Wiki

      Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, ...

      Characters: 'Baby Face' Martin, Rocky Sullivan, James Frazier, Deputy Commissioner Mark Braden

      Directors: Michael Curtiz, William Wyler, Lewis Seiler
      Production companies: Samuel Goldwyn Productions, Warner Bros. Entertainment

      Movies
      Dead End (1937)
      Crime School (1938)
      Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

      Delete
  32. It seems that Republican Congressman (Radel) is a big fan of "Drug Testing Food Stamp Recipients."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They always are. Look at Limbaugh.

      Delete
    2. Hypocritical Fudds, the both of them

      Delete
  33. Doug,

    Your fear that socialized medicine will interfere in the doctor patient relationship is unfounded.

    Personally, I think the US is far behind the curve in providing medical care for its citizens. Obamacare appears to be a kludge compromise based on what was believed to be something conservatives accepted (Romney Care) that, in my view, will not serve to decrease the spiralling cost of US healthcare (rather increase the cost) but it will provide care to many who don't have insurance now.

    Eventually a single payer system should be introduced!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Palin Crossed Border For Canadian Health Care


      Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- who has gone to great lengths to hype the supposed dangers of a big government takeover of American health care -- admitted over the weekend that she used to get her treatment in Canada's single-payer system.

      "We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada," Palin said in her first Canadian appearance since stepping down as governor of Alaska. "And I think now, isn't that ironic?"

      The irony, one guesses, is that Palin now views Canada's health care system as revolting:
      with its government-run administration and 'death-panel'-like rationing.

      Clearly, however, she and her family once found it more alluring than,
      at the very least, the coverage available in rural Alaska.

      Up to the age of six, Palin lived in a remote town near the closest Canadian city, Whitehorse.

      Officials at several hospitals in that area declined to give out information on patient visits.

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/08/palin-crossed-border-for_n_490080.html

      Delete
  34. U.S. Investigates Currency Trades by Major Banks

    From their desks at some of the world’s biggest banks, traders exchanged a series of instant messages that earned them the nickname “the cartel.”

    Much like companies that rigged the price of vitamins and animal feed, the traders were competitors that hatched alliances for their own profits, federal investigators suspect.

    If those suspicions are correct, the group of traders shared a mission to alter the price of foreign currencies, the largest and yet least regulated market in the financial world. And ultimately, they flooded the market with trades that potentially raised the cost of currency for clients but aided the banks’ own investments.

    Now the instant messages, along with similar activity among other traders, are at the center of an international investigation into banks like Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Citigroup, according to recent public disclosures by the banks and interviews with investigators who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The investigators secured the cooperation of at least one trader, a development that has not been previously disclosed.

    Although the investigation is at an early stage, authorities are already signaling the likelihood of a legal crackdown.

    “The manipulation we’ve seen so far may just be the tip of the iceberg,” the United States Attorney General, Eric H. Holder Jr., said in a rare interview discussing an active investigation. “We’ve recognized that this is potentially an extremely consequential investigation.”

    The banks all declined to comment. No one has been accused of wrongdoing, and any improper actions probably would have involved only a corner of the overall market. One former member of the group called the “cartel” has told colleagues that the nickname reflected the traders’ success, not any improper collusion, according to a person briefed on the group. The group was informal, the person said, and its name came from outside traders.

    But coming fast on the heels of a similar investigation into the rigging of global interest rates, the latest scrutiny has unnerved the world’s biggest banks, setting off internal scrambles to contain the damage.

    ...

    http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/u-s-investigates-currency-trades-by-major-banks/?_r=0

    I've seen this pop up in the news a couple of times. I find it interesting. I've been involved in a number of 'chat groups' ranging from here to tech groups on specific areas of my business. You can find lots of interesting and useful information. I can easily see how a bunch of traders hang out somewhere (I hear it is through their Bloomberg Terminals) and the astute traders will get to know who says what and its significance and trade accordingly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barclays’ Ex-Chief Spreads the Blame in Rate-Rigging Scandal

      “A number of banks were posting rates that were significantly below ours that we didn’t think were correct,” Mr. Diamond told the committee.

      “I can’t sit here and say no one in the industry didn’t know about the problems with Libor,” he said. “There was an issue out there and it should have been dealt with more broadly.”

      Mr. Diamond also sought to deflect attention from the bank’s role in the authorities’ continuing investigation, pointing out that other major global financial institutions also had been implicated. United States and British regulators, who announced a $450 million settlement with Barclays last week, are currently investigating the actions of more than 10 large financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, UBS and Citigroup.

      http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/diamond-defends-barclays-response-to-interest-rate-scandal/?_r=0

      Delete
  35. I see evidence of this kind of thinking here all the time and I referred to it here with respect to Toronto mayor Rob Ford:

    "JEFFREY SIMPSON

    Ford nation stands by its man. No. Matter. What.





    That Toronto Mayor Rob Ford lacks dignity, self-control, shame or any sense of public responsibility, and that he has brought international mockery to his city, to say nothing of himself, is less to be remarked upon – for all this is self-evident – than that perhaps a third of the electorate stands resolutely behind him.
    What can it mean that someone who has so demeaned his office and his city, someone who has confessed to breaking the law, still commands such support? Put another way, what would it take for Mr. Ford to shake the faith of his core supporters?

    That they stick with him really says more about them and their way of viewing the world of government than it does about him.

    There is now in Canada, according to all sorts of polls, about 30 per cent of the electorate that is hard-core Conservative/conservative. For them, public policy is almost exclusively about paying lower and lower taxes, while, of course, demanding the same level of services. As long as their leaders deliver on that promise, or keep talking about delivering even if they don’t, this is the prism through which all is judged.

    You can see the contradictions everywhere in the Conservative/conservative world. Conservatives who support Mr. Ford are the “tough on crime” voters of the kind also targeted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. You would logically assume therefore that a mayor who confesses to having broken laws – smoking crack cocaine, for example – would be just the sort of public person the Conservatives/conservatives would revile. Apparently not.

    The kind of people who decry high taxes should be furiously against a subway to Scarborough that will cost much more than the light-rail option many urban planners say is more appropriate and cheaper for a sprawling suburban area. But instead, Mr. Ford pitches the subway, and gets $660-million from his Conservative friends in Ottawa for an option that represents a squandering of public money, given the light-rail alternative.



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Conservatives, at their philosophical best, have always placed a high premium on personal responsibility. They believe, much less than liberals or socialists, in the social factors that influence personal behaviour. For Conservatives, individuals are responsible for their behaviour, not their upbringing, surroundings or social conditions.

      In Rob Ford, here is a man who revels in calling himself a conservative, yet has displayed a flagrant and persistent disregard for personal responsibility, as well as having failed to act in a responsible way as mayor. Rather than being condemned by supporters for this betrayal of the conservative creed based on self-control and personal responsibility, he has been elevated to some weird kind of cult figure, deserving of sympathy and support.

      The Conservative/conservative core, as we see in the federal government, is resistant to evidence if it conflicts with ideological nostrums. As in Fordworld, federal ministers look facts in the face and deny them, prefer to lecture rather than reason, to posture as the friend of the “people” against undefined but dangerous “elites,” and live in an intellectually self-contained world where curiosity is banished and slogans take the place of deliberation.

      Conservatives of years ago saw society as organic, all being part of the whole, and tried to fashion policies that brought people together, whereas the new Conservatives/conservatives, à la Mr. Ford, see society as inherently divided between a mythical sense of the “people” and their foes. And for this attitude, those who fall on their side of this divide reward leaders with loyalty that cannot be shaken.

      Toronto has tried for decades to become a “world-class city,” a phrase shopworn from overuse by those hoping that it might some day become just that. Cities that are truly “world class” never have to use the phrase; only those that are not employ it. Just as Somerset Maugham once described himself as sitting in the first row of the world’s second-class writers, Toronto fears that is where it sits among cities, while desperately wishing it was not so.

      Now along comes Mayor Ford to wreck even that ambition, a subject of ridicule and parody from Germany and Britain to Mexico and the United States, giving new definition to the old nickname for Toronto within Canada – Hogtown – without his supporters apparently caring a fig."

      http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/ford-nation-stands-by-its-man-no-matter-what/article15519571/#dashboard/follows/


      Do you think some here might see a reflection of themselves in such a depiction? Probably not those to which it applies because, I've noticed, like Mayor Rob Ford, they are not self-aware folk in general.

      Delete
    2. Fudd Busters InternationalWed Nov 20, 11:45:00 AM EST


      Do you think some here might see a reflection of themselves in such a depiction?

      Probably not those to which it applies because, I've noticed, like Mayor Rob Fudd, they are not self-aware folk in general.

      Delete
    3. With due respect, who cares?

      America has it shares of nitwits, as does every nation on the planet…..

      It's a non-story

      Delete
    4. Irony Alert...Irony Alert

      Probably not those to which it applies because, I've noticed, like Mayor Rob Fudd, they are not self-aware folk in general.

      Delete
    5. .

      I see a distinct reflections of the syndrome here in the US albeit not at the city level but at the national level. Here, just as with Ford in Toronto, Obama has maintained his personal popularity not only with his base but with the majority of Americans for the better part of five years despite his inability to do anything with the economy, his apparent disinterest with the requirements of his job, his disdain for the Constitution, and the numerous scandals his administration has been involved in. It is only now, with the FUBAR ACA, his 'signature achievement', that his popularity seems to be waning somewhat.

      Who has more impact on his country and the world, Bob Ford or Barack Obama?

      .

      Delete
    6. .

      Of course, my views may be influenced by my disdain for PC liberal dicks.

      .

      Delete
    7. Mr. Obama takes care of his base, which explains his survival. If the money spigots are closed, he will become much less popular.

      "Bread and Circuses" Somethings never change over time.

      Delete
    8. There certainly does seem to a large part of the population who stick with their 'team' through thick and thin regardless of what they say and do.

      Delete
  36. Iran Blames Israel for Bombing Al Qaeda Already Took Credit For [Syria has also blamed Israel]
    http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/iran-blames-israel-for-bombing-al-qaeda-already-took-credit-for/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2013/1119/Behind-Lebanon-suicide-blasts-growing-Saudi-Iran-rivalry-video

      Washington

      The deadly twin suicide bomb attack Tuesday against the Iranian embassy in Beirut illustrates how the conflict ravaging neighboring Syria is becoming more sharply defined as a Sunni-Shiite struggle between regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Iran ....

      The Al Qaeda-linked Abdullah al-Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the bombings, although the claim could not be verified. The group previously claimed responsibility for a roadside bomb attack against a suspected Hezbollah vehicle in the Bekaa Valley in July, which left one member of the party dead, and a rocket attack into Israel in August.

      Sources close to Hezbollah in southern Beirut said that the party's cadres blamed Saudi Arabia for the embassy bombing and demanded revenge.

      “They are saying the only acceptable retaliation is to bomb the Saudi Embassy [in Beirut],” said one resident.

      Ali Mikdad, a Hezbollah lawmaker, delivered a stern warning to the perpetrators of the embassy bombing.

      “We got the message and we know who sent it and we know how to retaliate,” he told Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV channel.

      Delete
    2. What is the connection between al-Qeada, Saudi Arabia and Israel?

      Some here have claimed that Saudi Arabia and Israel are in a de facto alliance.
      Another has even referred to that alliance as the "Axis of Abraham".

      The Iranians may well see the Realpolitik of the situation from those two very aligned perspectives.

      Delete
  37. For all the money you have made off the taxpayer's tit you can afford a newer computer?

    Ol' Bertha is ready to move off paper tape and enter the wide, wonderful world of floppy disks.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Up to 15,000 U.S. troops to 'remain in Afghanistan until 2024' according to new deal that leaves door open to a 'war without end'

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2510343/Up-15-000-US-troops-remain-Afghanistan-2024.html

    ReplyDelete
  39. France is the new leader of the Free World

    Because Americans are cheeseburger-eating surrender monkeys.

    ReplyDelete
  40. http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/11/19/hhs-secretary-sebelius-visits-south-florida-to-meet-with-healthcare-navigators/

    Once again as Secretary Sebelius is trying to make nice and show the progress made on the website, it crashed.

    Ma'am, please don't touch the computer.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Some D.C. Exchange Plans Cover Elective Abortion but Not Hearing Aids
    http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/364362/some-dc-exchange-plans-cover-elective-abortion-not-hearing-aids-betsy-woodruff

    ReplyDelete
  42. Exclusive: US May Have Let 'Dozens' of Terrorists Into Country As Refugees
    http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaeda-kentucky-us-dozens-terrorists-country-refugees/story?id=20931131

    DO NOT miss the video. It is terrifying.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Funny that we spend $85 billion a year on homeland security yet I didn't see anything in the video that said they caught these guys by matching up telephone calls or e-mails or Facebook entries. As a matter of fact I don't recall seeing one terrorists event that has ever been stopped using NSA info (despite their assurances that it happen all the time). In most cases, the terrorists are foiled by their own incompetence, in others, as in this case, they are foiled by good old standard police practices.

      Yet, Americans are asked to give up $ billions each year along with many of their most important constitutional rights so that the NSA can continue to turn the US into a police state.

      .

      Delete
    2. Some of us knew in 2001 that this would be the outcome of such legislation. Our government (if it can be called that) set out to control us, not the threats. The attacks of 9/11 provided pretext. I do not recall a government in the history of the world that did not become the enemy of its people rather than their protector.

      Delete
  43. There certainly does seem to a large part of the population who stick with their 'team' through thick and thin regardless of what they say and do.

    That's simple tribalism. Yay Seahawks boo Saints. I'm not even a hardcore libertarian, otherwise I'd be calling for people to ride jetpacks to work so we don't have to tax people for roads.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is team loyalty, to be sure. But I think politically there is far more involved. More Americans now receive some sort of government aid than not. This is one of the dangers of democracy foreseen by the Founders: tyranny would follow a simple show of hands; the have nots would take from the haves by a vote.

      Delete
  44. Farmer Fudd lives in Idaho, he is a misogynist, a rapist and a fascist.

    So do you have evidence that Bobbo is a rapist, or is that just simple slander?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That, dear lady, is insanity.

      Delete
    2. I missed that one. Now I'm a rapist, in addition to being a fascist, a socialist, a Christiran Liberationist and who knows what else.

      It is slander, Miss T.

      Get my email from Deuce and I can help you look me up on Idaho Judicial Watch.

      Clean as a school marm's leg is Bobbo, and at my age I can hardly start now.

      harharhar

      Delete
    3. Also proud possessor of a Washington State concealed weapons permit.

      Why Washington, not Idaho?

      Recommended by the weapons instructor as it is accepted in more states.

      When my niece gets back my daughter and I are going to teach her to shoot.

      And rides horses.

      Turn her into Annie Oakley of a sort.

      :)

      Delete
    4. hmmmm...smells like the first turkey of this fall is done......heading to kitchen...

      Delete
    5. It is interesting that you accept all that is written in your name anonobofarmer'theb00bie'fudd!

      Delete
  45. Two of three expert political commentators :) on Fox say Rob Ford, Toronto Mayor, will be re-elected.

    :):)

    His poll rating right now is 40% approval.

    This is better that President Obama's recent rating of 39%, another source says 37%.

    bwahahaha

    And my friend Ash is always lecturing us all on the cultural superiority of his beloved Canadians.

    hootHootHOOTHOOTHoothoot

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good ole boobie is being his usual self I see.

      I would be very surprised if he gets himself re-elected but if you heard it on Fox, or read it on the internet, then it must be true! I know how you treat all polls as pure knowledge revealing science.

      I don't believe I have ever asserted that Canadian culture is superior to American. I have derided American culture at times as well as Canadian but probably not in this forum.

      Delete
    2. p.s. I actually think Rob Ford has a better chance of ending up in jail then getting re-elected.

      Delete
    3. OK then, Ashcan (you started first, I was being sooooo polite) I predict Rob Ford will be re-elected Mayor of Toronto.

      Barring a heart attack, or an arrest.

      You are saying he will not be.

      We shall see.

      "I don't believe I have ever asserted that Canadian culture is superior to American."

      It certainly seems so at times but I'll be gracious as usual and take your word on that.

      Delete
  46. Rob Ford is a straight shooter, a man that doesn't mince his words.

    Nobody loves a liar!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  47. The word on the street, straight from the White House, is that "Obamacare" is a damaged brand, and it is to be avoided at all costs. Reporters are only to speak of "the website" not the "Obamacare website" upon pain of being snubbed at the next press conference.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Get my email from Deuce and I can help you look me up on Idaho Judicial Watch.

    Put in a good word for me with Deuce, Bob. We're having communications problems or something. I just wanna go back to posting new topics like before.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Turn her into Annie Oakley of a sort.

    Of course even if she has a girl gun the libs will say she's packing an AR-15.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Deuce I am putting in a good word for Miss T.

    And if she wants my email address kindly give it to her.

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  51. I bet the next thing to come out about the ObamaCare website is how all one's personal info is being stolen by hackers and use for nefarious goals.

    That should about cook the goose.

    ReplyDelete
  52. WASHINGTON — A New York-based think tank released a report Wednesday questioning Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr's assertion that the city's long-term debt is responsible for its fiscal problems, or that pension contributions are at major hurdle for the city's finances.

    Instead, the report by Wallace Turbeville, a senior fellow at Demos, a public policy organization, said Detroit's decline into bankruptcy was caused by a steep decline in revenues partially due both to a shrinking tax base and deep cuts in state revenue sharing with the city.

    STORY: No immediate decision on Detroit bankruptcy

    STORY: Treasurer: Retiree health care big reason for bankruptcy

    "By cutting revenue sharing with the city, the state effectively reduced its own budget challenges on the backs of the taxpayers of Detroit," Turbeville wrote. "These cuts account for nearly a third of the city's revenue losses between (fiscal year) 2011 and FY 2013. ... Furthermore, the Legislature placed strict limits on the city's ability to raise revenue itself to offset these losses."

    Demos describes itself as nonpartisan but has been identified as a liberal think tank in past media stories. Its website says its mission is to "reduce both political and economic inequality" in America.

    Orr has cited Detroit's $18 billion in long-term debts as a major reason for the bankruptcy filing — the largest by any municipality in the nation's history — and has said that pensioners may have to see benefits cut. But Turbeville argues that the city's annual cash flow is the problem — not long-term debts — and that legacy costs for health care and pensions haven't been out of line with other cities.

    Instead, he said, financial institutions that entered into complex deals with the city to help pay pension obligations should be held responsible, believing a "strong case can be made that the banks that sold these swaps may have breached their ethical, and possibly legal, obligations to the city in executing these deals."

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/20/detroit-bankruptcy-debt-state-revenue-sharing-cuts/3652057/

    ReplyDelete
  53. Deuce, what this place needs is Miss T to put up threads on a variety of subjects.

    She is excellent at that.

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. - We are Legion - We Are Anonymous - We are the Collective -

      Resistance is Futile

      Delete
  54. Inflation falls as gas prices plummet
    Tim Mullaney, USA TODAY - November 20, 2013

    Overall inflation for the last year hit its lowest level since 2009, as core inflation rose 0.1% in October.

    The price of goods and services consumers buy fell 0.1% in October, driven by a 2.9% drop in the cost of gasoline, as the Labor Department said prices overall are continuing the slowest year-over-year rise since 2009.

    The consumer price index report also said that the price of medical care was unchanged, Medical cost containment in recent years has been a key factor in bringing down overall price hikes, and letting policy makers use aggressive monetary policy to fight the after-effects of the recession and housing bust without sparking inflation.

    The so-called core inflation rate, excluding food and energy prices, rose 0.1% in October, the government said. Over the last year, core prices have risen 1.7%, while prices overall have climbed just 1% because of energy-price declines.

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/11/20/october-consumer-price-index-inflation/3649713/

    ReplyDelete
  55. There is no communication challenge.

    The message that you sent, it was received.

    Loud and Clear!

    To know what people really think, pay regard to what they do, rather than what they say.
    George Santayana


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. George, that is truly a stunning, absolutely original and imaginative insight!

      I'll betcha no folk ever done thought of that one before.

      Delete
    2. Whacky is posting as an anon again.

      Delete

    3. Nov 5, 2013 - Hackers claiming to be from the notorious Anonymous collective have stepped up attacks ...

      Delete

    4. Anonymous have hacked data from multiple U.S. government agencies and almost 2,000 bank accounts, warns FBI

      The hacking is a response to the recent persecution of computer hackers Lauri Love and Aron Swartz

      The activist hacker group named, 'Anonymous' stole personal data from at least 104,000 government employees,
      contractors, family members and others associated with the Department of Energy

      The breach affected the U.S. Army, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, and perhaps many more agencies.

      The hackers exploited a flaw in Adobe System Inc's software

      Officials are 'very concerned' that loss of the banking information could lead to thieving attempts



      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2508307/Anonymous-hacked-data-multiple-U-S-government-agencies-

      Delete

    5. - We are Legion - We Are Anonymous - We are the Collective -

      Resistance is Futile

      Delete
    6. We are C R A Z Y

      Delete
    7. We are W H A C K Y

      Delete
    8. We are P R O F E S S I O N A L A S S H O L E S

      Delete
  56. South Africa is NOT an English speaking country - less than 10% speak English as their first language -

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_South_Africa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The same Standard, if applied to India, would disqualify it.

      India has just 10.35% of the population that speaks English as a first or second language.
      Out of the 1,210,000,000 eligible population.

      There are 125,226,449 that speak English as a Second Language
      And only 226,449 for whom it is the primary language

      Or just 1.8% of india speaks English as their First language.

      If South Africa, at 10% EFL, that being five times the Indian rate of 1.8% EFL, does not qualify as an Anglophile Nation ...

      Well, then neither can India.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population

      Delete
  57. Mathew J. SchwartzWed Nov 20, 04:11:00 PM EST



    Who Is Anonymous: 10 Key Facts
    Anonymous 'hacktivists' aim to expose what they call government and establishment hypocrisy.
    Take a closer look at the group, its offshoots, and its infamous attacks




    Operation Payback was an effort to back WikiLeaks. But was it effective?
    Anonymous isn't dedicated to knocking power grids offline, or crippling hardened military communications networks.
    Rather, it's online activism in the form of a PR campaign.

    An Anonymous effort dubbed Operation AntiSec.
    The new effort was ostensibly devoted to taking down established information security vendors,
    on account of their scaremongering techniques.

    But practically speaking, many of the group's exploits have involved hacking into law enforcement agencies' websites and databases,
    defacing those websites, and releasing personal information on law enforcement personnel.
    Targets have included organizations as diverse as the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Zimbabwean government.

    If the various operations orchestrated by Anonymous seem filled with machismo and bluster,
    some apparently step over the line, even for the group's apparently freewheeling figureheads.

    Notably, after the alleged disappearance of a pro-Anonymous activist in Mexico,
    Anonymous announced that he'd been kidnapped by the Zetas drug cartel,
    and Anonymous promised to publicize the name of every Zetas informer or collaborator that it could get its hands on.
    But warnings from security experts that any such moves might put not only Anonymous members but also Mexicans caught in the middle at risk seemed to kill the so-called "OpCartel."

    Is it ironic that the mask worn by Anonymous members comes from V for Vendetta, a 2005 film produced by Warner Brothers,
    which is part of the MPAA,
    which backs the type of pro-copyright interests that would seem to offend the beliefs of Anonymous.

    In fact, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each mask actually works its way back to the studio.
    On the other hand, even if the mask sales put a little more money in the Hollywood coffers, having a globally recognizable brand is no doubt priceless for Anonymous.


    ReplyDelete