Busy week.....but here is a new DDD.......
1/ Everyone is at a disadvantage when discussing Obamacare, because nobody knows what it means for them and the public at large. The Fox News right has been told it the worst legislation ever, and the left wants to defend it but doesn't have the facts in a form one can remember.
This column from Paul Krugman will help clarify what is coming into force this and next year.......read it - you will be better informed.
OP-ED COLUMNIST
The Obamacare Shock
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: May 26, 2013 674 Comments
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The Affordable Care Act, a k a Obamacare, goes fully into effect at the beginning of next year, and predictions of disaster are being heard far and wide. There will be an administrative “train wreck,” we’re told; consumers will face a terrible shock. Republicans, one hears, are already counting on the law’s troubles to give them a big electoral advantage.
No doubt there will be problems, as there are with any large new government initiative, and in this case, we have the added complication that many Republican governors and legislators are doing all they can to sabotage reform. Yet important new evidence — especially from California, the law’s most important test case — suggests that the real Obamacare shock will be one of unexpected success.
Before I can explain what the news means, I need to make a crucial point: Obamacare is a deeply conservative reform, not in a political sense (although it was originally a Republican proposal) but in terms of leaving most people’s health care unaffected. Americans who receive health insurance from their employers, Medicare or Medicaid — which is to say, the vast majority of those who have any kind of health insurance at all — will see almost no changes when the law goes into effect.
There are, however, millions of Americans who don’t receive insurance either from their employers or from government programs. They can get insurance only by buying it on their own, and many of them are effectively shut out of that market. Insome states, like California, insurers reject applicants with past medical problems. In others, like New York, insurers can’t reject applicants, and must offer similar coverage regardless of personal medical history (“community rating”); unfortunately, this leads to a situation in which premiums are very high because only those with current health problems sign up, while healthy people take the risk of going uninsured.
Obamacare closes this gap with a three-part approach. First, community rating everywhere — no more exclusion based on pre-existing conditions. Second, the “mandate” — you must buy insurance even if you’re currently healthy. Third, subsidies to make insurance affordable for those with lower incomes.
Massachusetts has had essentially this system since 2006; as a result, nearly all residents have health insurance, and the program remains very popular. So we know that Obamacare — or, as some of us call it, ObamaRomneyCare — can work.
I wish I had read this column before going to a local town hall meeting with Senator Alan Hays and Rep. Byran Nelson last week because at the end of the article you can see how deeply corrupt the Florida [and many other Republican states, including Texas] Legislature is by turning down the Obamacare Medicaid money.
My question to Nelson about why he voted to reject $51 billion in Medicaid funds over 10 years, with Florida supplying matching funds of only $3.6 billion sent he and Hays into a rage, and they ranted on about Medicaid recipients with Tea Party code words about blacks and minorities.....
It was amazing - these two elected representatives from Lake County - Mount Dora area are Tea Party racists, hate the poor and make no pretense that they represent their constituents [even moderate Republicans].
And remember the story about Hays introducing legislation to force buses off the road because he was stuck behind one for a few seconds, with the implication he has a short fuse temper? Based on this meeting, it's true. My question and another one from a brave lady had him redfaced and fuming.....
2/ A wonderful 9 minute documentary on hummingbirds, and they truly are amazing creatures.......
Incredible photography..........
3/ By now the lie machine has you believing the IRS targeted Tea Party groups......even the President was forced on the defensive about this. But it's more BS from the lazy media, exploited by the fanatics on the right.....
Good blog article from Dave Johnson.....the point being you really can't believe much political news any more....
Remember the video of the guy in the “pimp costume” who got advice from ACORN employees on how to run his prostitution ring? Turns out the whole story was just a lie, a doctored-video smear job on an important organization. The guy never wore a “pimp costume” and the real, undoctored videos showed that ACORN employees did nothing wrong. But a lie travels around the world before the corporate media bothers to check the facts. The “news” media blasted the story everywhere, and Congress was so outraged they forced ACORN to close its doors. And here we are again.
The corporate media is blasting out the story that the IRS “targeted conservative groups.” Some in the media say there was “IRS harassment of conservative groups.”Some of the media are going so far as claiming that conservative groups were “audited.”
This story that is being repeated and treated as “true” is just not what happened at all. It is one more right-wing victimization fable, repeated endlessly until the public has no choice except to believe it.
Conservative Groups Were Not “Targeted,” “Singled Out” Or Anything Else
You are hearing that conservative groups were “targeted.” What you are not hearing is that progressive groups were also “targeted.” So were groups that are not progressive or conservative.
All that happened here is that groups applying to the IRS for special tax status were checked to see if they were engaged in political activity. They were checked, not targeted. Only one-third of the groups checked were conservative groups.
Once again: Only one-third of the groups checked were conservative groups.
Conservative groups were not “singled out,” were not “targeted” and in the end none were denied special tax status – even though many obviously should have been.
From last week’s House hearings on this:
Rep. Peter Roskam, R-IL: “How come only conservative groups got snagged?”
Outgoing acting IRS commissioner Steve Miller: “They didn’t sir. Organizations of all walks and all persuasions were pulled in. That’s shown by the fact that only 70 of the 300 organizations were tea party organizations, of the ones that were looked at by TIGTA [Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration].”
Bet you didn’t see that blasted all over your TV news that night.
Click here to watch the video clip of this. It’s worth it.
4/ Stephen Colbert gave a graduation adress at the University of Virginia, and here is a three minute excerpt from his advice to "Millennials"......amusing, with some serious moments towards the end.........
5/ The farm bill that is passed every four years doesn't normally get a lot of focus or media attention, so the scum in Congress take advantage of the opportunity to stuff it with stupid riders and gimmicks. But this year will be one of the worst farm bills in recent memory......
The new farm bill is an economic disaster
Just when you think Congress can't get any dumber, it crafts a $1tn farm bill that harms the poor and promotes unhealthy food.
The US Congress, its approval rating still near all-time lows, is reinforcing its own record of stupefyingly short-sighted lawmaking with what may be the most harmful piece of economic legislation in America in years: the $1tn 2013 farm bill.
It should be called the 2012 farm bill – or, officially, the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 – because the habitually sluggish group of lawmakers in Washington were too busy in 2012 to pass it. Campaigning for office and ginning up the fake fiscal cliff crisis occupied a lot of time, so lawmakers passed an extension of the $650bn 2008 farm bill for another year. That set an expiration date of September 30 this year. The delayed timing, however, is the least of the problems with it.
As members of Congress have negotiated over various amendments and riders to the bill, they've set an impressively consistent trend: they mix good ideas and bad ideas and combine them to create the absolutely worst possible policies. Elements of the farm bill, as it stands, will cut food stamps to the poor and the previously incarcerated, thus increasing poverty and possibly crime; add to the growing obesity crisis by encouraging chemical sugar substitutes; push genetically modified food at the expense of public health with the so-called "Monsanto Protection Act"; and support factory farming at the expense of sustainable food production with abusive crop subsidies.
That's quite a lot of damage to wreak with a single law, but this Congress certainly seems up to the challenge.
The farm bill will set US food policy for 2014 to 2023, encompassing everything from agriculture to food stamps. The food stamps show the worst decision-making. Conservatives are apparently annoyed that Americans are using more food stamps. That much is true. Food stamp usage has grown by at least 70% since the financial crisis in 2008, with a record 47.8 million people relying on food stamps in order to afford their weekly grocery bills. This is costing the government $74.6bn.
6/ Interesting video from NBC's Brian Williams.....a doctor is using a new system for a common test that will drastically cut costs and improve health, just using a smartphone app. If you watch this, the next time you see your doctor ask why he/she isn't using this technology........
A very interesting 8 minutes on how these applications will be affecting our lives.......
7/ RBGH [bovine growth hormone] is given to milk producing cows to make them produce more milk, and is produced by Monsanto. One of the side effects of this chemical is cancer, so a Fox News team out of Tampa put a documentary together, including the facts this drug is banned for use on cattle in the EU, Canada and Australia.
Then Monsanto threatened Fox News, and they caved and shelved the report. The reporters tried to sue, but were beaten in the end......
This 9 minute clip is a chilling reminder of what happens when individuals and media corporations come up against powerful corporations like Monsanto, which is the most evil but there are many others.....
You know how we feel about Fox, but this story would have been the same for any other lamestream media corporation......
And in the meantime....if you drink normal [not organic] milk and you get cancer, be sooooo glad you saved a few pennies from buying the cheaper milk - you will need it for your medical bills. If you live.
(Important note: After a long court battle, the Court dismissed the whistle blowers protection for the reporters because the Court stated that there was no law to force that the NEWS state the truth. NEWS was/is no different than other TV shows/reality shows.)
This is type of deceitful corruption is not just FOX news but includes almost all MSM (Main Stream Media).
8/ This was one of the best duos on SNL - Seth Myers and Amy Poehler, and they reunited on SNL last week for a hilarious 2 minute skit on the IRS.....
Yes I know it contradicts story 3, but it's still very funny......
9/ One of the classic rock songs of all time - "Born On The Bayou" with John Fogerty.....a great geetar solo in there.....fabulous live rock.......
10/ The SNL season finale had some wonderful moments, but this was the best - Stefon [played by Bill Hader, who is retiring] was going to marry Anderson Cooper, but Seth was upset, and chaos ensues......five minutes....
11/ The poor.....always with us.....but there are more of them in this unequal America.......over half the country are officially below the poverty line, and more if you factor in taxes.....
The Census Bureau has reported that 15% of Americans live in poverty. A shocking figure. But it's actually much worse. Inequality is spreading like a shadowy disease through our country, infecting more and more households, and leaving a shrinking number of financially secure families to maintain the charade of prosperity.
1. Almost half of Americans had NO assets in 2009
Analysis of Economic Policy Institute data shows that Mitt Romney's famous 47 percent, the alleged 'takers,' have taken nothing. Their debt exceeded their assets in 2009.
2. It's Even Worse 3 Years Later
3. Based on wage figures, half of Americans are in or near poverty.
Even the Census Bureau recognizes that its own figures under-represent the number of people in poverty.
12/ Can you figure out how he is doing this? Dammed if I can.......
13/ Farmers with water are like fishermen with declining fish stocks......just keep using it until you run out.......and a major aquifer in the Midwest has gone done just that. It's gone, and will take thousands of years to refill.
The High Plains aquifer starts in Wyoming, and ends in Texas.....it's huge. Click on the map when you open the article......
Wells Dry, Fertile Plains Turn to Dust
Matthew Staver for The New York Times
Near Garden City, Kan., the High Plains Aquifer is giving out. More Photos »
By MICHAEL WINES
Published: May 19, 2013 778 Comments
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HASKELL COUNTY, Kan. — Forty-nine years ago, Ashley Yost’s grandfather sank a well deep into a half-mile square of rich Kansas farmland. He struck an artery of water so prodigious that he could pump 1,600 gallons to the surface every minute.
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Last year, Mr. Yost was coaxing just 300 gallons from the earth, and pumping up sand in order to do it. By harvest time, the grit had robbed him of $20,000 worth of pumps and any hope of returning to the bumper harvests of years past.
“That’s prime land,” he said not long ago, gesturing from his pickup at the stubby remains of last year’s crop. “I’ve raised 294 bushels of corn an acre there before, with water and the Lord’s help.” Now, he said, “it’s over.”
The land, known as Section 35, sits atop the High Plains Aquifer, a waterlogged jumble of sand, clay and gravel that begins beneath Wyoming and South Dakota and stretches clear to the Texas Panhandle. The aquifer’s northern reaches still hold enough water in many places to last hundreds of years. But as one heads south, it is increasingly tapped out, drained by ever more intensive farming and, lately, by drought.
Vast stretches of Texas farmland lying over the aquifer no longer support irrigation. In west-central Kansas, up to a fifth of the irrigated farmland along a 100-mile swath of the aquifer has already gone dry. In many other places, there no longer is enough water to supply farmers’ peak needs during Kansas’ scorching summers.
And when the groundwater runs out, it is gone for good. Refilling the aquifer would require hundreds, if not thousands, of years of rains.
This is in many ways a slow-motion crisis — decades in the making, imminent for some, years or decades away for others, hitting one farm but leaving an adjacent one untouched. But across the rolling plains and tarmac-flat farmland near the Kansas-Colorado border, the effects of depletion are evident everywhere. Highway bridges span arid stream beds. Most of the creeks and rivers that once veined the land have dried up as 60 years of pumping have pulled groundwater levels down by scores and even hundreds of feet.
On some farms, big center-pivot irrigators — the spindly rigs that create the emerald circles of cropland familiar to anyone flying over the region — now are watering only a half-circle. On others, they sit idle altogether.
Two years of extreme drought, during which farmers relied almost completely on groundwater, have brought the seriousness of the problem home. In 2011 and 2012, the Kansas Geological Survey reports, the average water level in the state’s portion of the aquifer dropped 4.25 feet — nearly a third of the total decline since 1996.
And that is merely the average. “I know my staff went out and re-measured a couple of wells because they couldn’t believe it,” said Lane Letourneau, a manager at the State Agriculture Department’s water resources division. “There was a 30-foot decline.”
14/ Your health
If you are taking a statin like Lipitor, a new study says the drug will counteract some of the positive effects of exercise.......
Can Statins Cut the Benefits of Exercise?
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
Kristian Sekulic/Getty Images- GOOGLE+
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PHYS ED
Gretchen Reynolds on the science of fitness.
An important new study suggests that statins, the cholesterol-lowering medications that are the most prescribed drugs in the world, may block some of the fitness benefits of exercise, one of the surest ways to improve health.
No one is saying that people with high cholesterol or a family history of heart disease should avoid statins, which studies show can be lifesaving. But the discovery could create something of dilemma for doctors and patients, since the people who should benefit the most from exercise — those who are sedentary, overweight, at risk of heart disease or middle-aged — are also the people most likely to be put on statins, possibly undoing some of the good of their workouts.
For the new study, which was published online in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers from the University of Missouri and other institutions gathered a group of overweight, sedentary men and women, all of whom had multiple symptoms of metabolic problems, including wide waistlines, high blood pressure or excess abdominal fat.
Most had slightly but not dangerously elevated cholesterol levels.
None had exercised regularly in the past year.
All underwent muscle biopsies and treadmill testing to determine their aerobic fitness — which was generally quite low — and agreed to continue with their normal diet.
But if the medical profession has persuaded you or frightened you into taking a statin, then you should watch this documentary "$tatin Nation - The Great Cholesterol Coverup"......it's $4.99 to play - 62 minutes.....
I haven't seen it, because I don't take and will never take a statin, but I saw the preview and that would be enough to make me want more details. If I was on statins.
Film Synopsis:
We are told that cholesterol is a major cause of heart disease. At least 40 million people are currently taking cholesterol-lowering medications, known as statins, and millions more people are avoiding foods that contain saturated fat and cholesterol.
The basic idea is that dietary saturated fat raises cholesterol levels, and these two substances somehow clog-up our arteries, causing a heart attack. This idea is often referred to as the diet-heart hypothesis.
However, a numbers of doctors and researchers have been challenging this hypothesis for decades, and the latest heart disease statistics reveal some alarming facts. Such as:
● People with high cholesterol tend to live longer
● People with heart disease tend to have low levels of cholesterol
● Cholesterol-lowering of a population does not reduce the rate of heart disease
In addition, despite their widespread use, and description as “wonder drugs” statin medications do not extend life for the majority of people who take them.
Cholesterol-lowering has become a huge global industry, generating at least $29 billion each year. Have the facts about heart disease, cholesterol and cholesterol medications been distorted by pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturers keen to increase their profits?
If the focus on cholesterol has been a mistake, then the greatest cost is associated with the lost opportunity to tackle heart disease.
15/ GIF's are endless loops of video, mostly 4 or 5 seconds, usually featuring something silly.....as these are. Someone with way too much time on their hands has compiled GIF's of the dumb bits of informercials.....
Yes they're stupid, and you will hate yourself for looking at them, but they are fascinating in their awfulness.....
16/ "The Economist" is one of the most respected news magazines in the world, and leans conservative, so it was interesting to find this article about climate change and why Americans have such a hard time believing in it.......
Why don't Americans believe in global warming?
Feb 8th 2011, 20:03 by E.G. | AUSTIN
FIRST of all, I apologise for the slightly inflammatory headline of this post. The fact is that a majority of Americans (58%) do think climate change is a serious problem, according to the January 2011 Rasmussen Energy Update, and fully one-third, 33%, "see it as a Very Serious problem." Still, the United States is less exercised about climate change than a lot of countries, and it's one of the few places where you can turn on the television and catch a debate between mainstream figures about whether climate change is even real. Over the weekend, for example, Charles Krauthammer suggested that a belief in global warming has the same epistemological status as a religious belief.
I've been wanting to take a step back and think about why America is a laggard in the fight against climate change. I would posit a handful of explanations:
Psychological: The consequences of climate change are too awful to contemplate. Therefore, we're denying the issue, as we used to deny monsters in the room by hiding under the blanket. If you don't look at it, it can't look at you.
Economic: The costs of a large-scale effort to fight global warming are too steep to bear. Therefore, we're trying to ignore the issue, or pretending it doesn't exist, or we believe that the economy (including development) is more important.
Political: The fact that Democrats are always hammering on about climate change and Republicans aren't suggests that this is a political issue, not a scientific one. This creates a feedback loop: if climate change were real, why is it so polarising? Because it's so polarising, it must be slightly suspicious.
Epistemological: Why should we believe in climate change? Where's the evidence? All we know is what scientists say, and scientists are sometimes wrong. And don't even get me started on Al Gore.
Metaphysical: God isn't going to let millions of people die in an epic drought.
Todays video - Diving Giraffes.....incredible animation from a French filmmaker.....
Todays Catholic joke
On their way to Church to get married, a young Catholic couple was involved in a fatal car accident.
The couple found themselves sitting outside the Pearly Gates waiting for St. Peter to process them into Heaven.
While waiting they began to wonder: 'Could they possibly get married in Heaven?'
When St. Peter arrived, they asked him if they could get married in Heaven.
St. Peter said, "I don't know. This is the first time anyone has asked. Let me go find out," and he left.
The couple sat and waited for an answer... for a couple of months.
While they waited, they discussed the pros and cons.
If they were allowed to get married in Heaven, should they get married, what with the eternal aspect of it all? "What if it doesn't work? Are we stuck in Heaven together forever?"
Another month passed. St. Peter finally returned, looking somewhat bedraggled.
"Yes," he informed the couple, "You can get married in Heaven."
"Great!" said the couple. "But we were just wondering what if things don't work out? Could we also get a divorce in Heaven?"
St. Peter, red-faced with anger, slammed his clipboard on the ground.
"What's wrong?" asked the frightened couple.
"OH, COME ON!!!" St. Peter shouted.
"It took me 3 months to find a priest up here! Do you have ANY idea how long it'll take to find a lawyer?"
The couple found themselves sitting outside the Pearly Gates waiting for St. Peter to process them into Heaven.
While waiting they began to wonder: 'Could they possibly get married in Heaven?'
When St. Peter arrived, they asked him if they could get married in Heaven.
St. Peter said, "I don't know. This is the first time anyone has asked. Let me go find out," and he left.
The couple sat and waited for an answer... for a couple of months.
While they waited, they discussed the pros and cons.
If they were allowed to get married in Heaven, should they get married, what with the eternal aspect of it all? "What if it doesn't work? Are we stuck in Heaven together forever?"
Another month passed. St. Peter finally returned, looking somewhat bedraggled.
"Yes," he informed the couple, "You can get married in Heaven."
"Great!" said the couple. "But we were just wondering what if things don't work out? Could we also get a divorce in Heaven?"
St. Peter, red-faced with anger, slammed his clipboard on the ground.
"What's wrong?" asked the frightened couple.
"OH, COME ON!!!" St. Peter shouted.
"It took me 3 months to find a priest up here! Do you have ANY idea how long it'll take to find a lawyer?"
Todays joke for the ladies
The room was full of pregnant women with their husbands.
The instructor said, "Ladies, remember that exercise is good for you. Walking is especially beneficial. It strengthens the pelvic muscles and will make delivery that much easier.
Just pace yourself, make plenty of stops and try to stay on a soft surface like grass or a path."
"Gentlemen, remember -- you're in this together. It wouldn't hurt you to go walking with her. In fact, that shared experience would be good for you both."
The room suddenly became very quiet as the men absorbed this information. After a few moments a man, name unknown, at the back of the room, slowly raised his hand.
"Yes?" said the Instructor.
"I was just wondering if it would be all right if she carries a golf bag while we walk?"
"I was just wondering if it would be all right if she carries a golf bag while we walk?"
Brings a tear to your eye doesn't it? This kind of sensitivity just can't be taught.
Todays Norwegian joke
When the volunteer fire fighters appeared on the scene, the chemical company president rushed to the fire chief and said, "All our secret formulas are in the vault in the center of the plant. They must be saved. I will give $50,000 to the fire department that brings them out intact."
But the roaring flames held the firefighters off.
Soon more fire departments had to be called in as the situation became desperate. As the firemen arrived, the president shouted out that the offer was now $100,000 to the fire department who could bring out the company's secret files.
From the distance, a lone siren was heard as another fire truck came into sight. It was the nearby Norwegian rural township volunteer fire company composed mainly of Norwegians over the age of 65. To everyone's amazement, that little run-down fire engine roared right past all the newer sleek engines that were parked outside the plant.
Without even slowing down it drove straight into the middle of the inferno. Outside, the other firemen watched as the Norwegian old timers jumped off right in the middle of the fire fought it back on all sides. It was a performance and effort never seen before.
Within a short time, the Norske old timers had extinguished the fire and had saved the secret formulas. The grateful chemical company president announced that for such a superhuman feat he was upping the reward to $200,000, and walked over to personally thank each of the brave fire fighters.
The local TV news reporter rushed in to capture the event on film, asking their chief, "What are you going to do with all that money?"
"Vell," said Ole Larsen, the 70-year-old fire chief, "Da first thing ve gonna do is fix da brakes on dat damn truck!"
