liberal N proud
liberal N proud's JournalThe end of the needless wars?
Obama Signals a Shift From Military Might to Diplomacy
The success of either negotiation, both long sought by President Obama, is hardly assured — in fact the odds may be against them. But the two nearly simultaneous developments were vivid statements that diplomacy, the venerable but often-unsatisfying art of compromise, has once again become the centerpiece of American foreign policy.
At one level, the flurry of diplomatic activity reflects the definitive end of the post-Sept. 11 world, dominated by two major wars and a battle against Islamic terrorism that drew the United States into Afghanistan and still keeps its Predator drones flying over Pakistan and Yemen.
But it also reflects a broader scaling-back of the use of American muscle, not least in the Middle East, as well as a willingness to deal with foreign governments as they are rather than to push for new leaders that better embody American values. “Regime change,” in Iran or even Syria, is out; cutting deals with former adversaries is in.
For Mr. Obama, the shift to diplomacy fulfills a campaign pledge from 2008 that he would stretch out a hand to America’s enemies and speak to any foreign leader without preconditions. But it will also subject him to considerable political risks, as the protests about the Iran deal from Capitol Hill and allies in the Middle East attest.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/world/middleeast/longer-term-deal-with-iran.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131126&_r=0
We can only hope that this is becomes the way we deal with international crisis and we end the needless bombing others into submission.
Krugman: If Obamacare can work in a state of 38 million people, it can work in America as a whole
California, Here We Come?
Well, your wish is granted. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you California.
Now, California isn’t the only place where Obamacare is looking pretty good. A number of states that are running their own online health exchanges instead of relying on HealthCare.gov are doing well. Kentucky’s Kynect is a huge success; so is Access Health CT in Connecticut. New York is doing O.K. And we shouldn’t forget that Massachusetts has had an Obamacare-like program since 2006, put into effect by a guy named Mitt Romney.
California is, however, an especially useful test case. First of all, it’s huge: if a system can work for 38 million people, it can work for America as a whole. Also, it’s hard to argue that California has had any special advantages other than that of having a government that actually wants to help the uninsured. When Massachusetts put Romneycare into effect, it already had a relatively low number of uninsured residents. California, however, came into health reform with 22 percent of its nonelderly population uninsured, compared with a national average of 18 percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/opinion/krugman-california-here-we-come.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131125&_r=0
My GOD, the GOP is getting bold in their assault on Obama and Obmacare...
G.O.P. Maps Out Waves of Attacks Over Health LawThe document, the product of a series of closed-door strategy sessions that began in mid-October, is part of an increasingly organized Republican attack on the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s signature legislative initiative. Republican strategists say that over the next several months, they intend to keep Democrats on their heels through a multilayered, sequenced assault.
The idea is to gather stories of people affected by the health care law — through social media, letters from constituents, or meetings during visits back home — and use them to open a line of attack, keep it going until it enters the public discourse and forces a response, then quickly pivot to the next topic.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/21/us/politics/gop-maps-out-waves-of-attacks-over-health-law.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131121&_r=0
Waves of attacks? They literally are waging war on Obama!
Solution for those who do not want to purchase health care insurance...
If you do not want insurance, do not expect care.
It is that simple, the ACA is there to help people get insurance against medical costs. For those who think that forcing people to buy insurance here is a simple solution. Not one that is humane or makes sense, but then not having insurance against the inevitable does not make sense either.
So if you are adamant about not being covered, sign and affidavit stating that you are turning down the option to purchase coverage and the either a) you can afford what ever medical bills come your way or; b) you simply do not want to be treated for any medical emergency or otherwise because you do not want to burden other with footing the bill for your medical costs. You should be required to wear a tag or ID that indicates that you turned down coverage.
It is that simple, get covered or don't complain that you can't pay the bill.
We fought for years to get everyone health-care, it is not the single payer we all hoped for but it is a way to keep everyone else from paying for your medical bills through higher bills of their own. Why should responsible people have to pay for those who are not?
University Of Texas Students Cancel 'Catch An Illegal Immigrant Game'
Update at 10 a.m. ET. Game Has Been Cancelled:
Our friends at NPR member station KUT report the Young Conservatives of Texas has called off a game of "catch an illegal immigrant," which had sparked condemnation from the University of Texas at Austin community at large.
According to KUT, the head of the group's University of Texas chapter, Lorenzo Garcia, said he cancelled the event because he feared retaliation from the university and he also worried that it would "create a safety issue for our volunteers."
Our Original Post Continues:
A conservative group of students has sparked a heated discussion on the campus of University of Texas at Austin after it announced a game of "catch an illegal immigrant."
The Young Conservatives of Texas say some of its members will walk around campus on Wednesday with an "illegal immigrant" label on them.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/11/19/246122143/university-of-texas-slams-catch-an-illegal-immigrant-game
The media is giddy this AM - they have driven Obama's approval ratings to 41%
What I saw of broadcast propaganda this morning, I thought they were going to bust a gut with their elation over driving down his numbers.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/116479/barack-obama-presidential-job-approval.aspx
They are quite proud of their feat of driving the nations views and what are they attributing this to: Obamacare. Not the roll-out of Obamacare, but the whole law.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/11/botched-aca-rollout-hammers-obama-job-disapproval-reaches-a-career-high/
It is as if it isn't even news anymore.
Two in custody after fatal shooting at house party in Houston
Two young men are in custody following a shooting at a house party in Houston that left two people dead and 19 others injured, according to police.
Willie Young, 21, and Randy Stewart, 18, were arrested Monday morning in connection with the shooting late Saturday night, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Department. Police said the suspects opened fire around 11 p.m. inside a house in Cypress where more than 100 young adults had gathered for a birthday.
After the gunfire erupted, two people were dead, police said. One victim, 17-year-old Qu’eric Danariu Richardson, has been identified by police. Identification is still pending on a female victim, aged 16, who died at the hospital.
Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia said that most of the 19 injured suffered from gunshot wounds, but in the frenzy during the shooting, some also suffered sprained ankles and one broken leg, adding that some party goers tried to escape the gunfire by jumping out of second-floor windows.
None of the injured has life-threatening injuries, Garcia said, but two are in critical condition.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/11/21406409-two-in-custody-after-fatal-shooting-at-house-party-in-houston?lite>1=43001
What took me so damn long? Firefox
I just downloaded Firefox browser. It's like lightning fast, WOW!
I kept getting messages telling me that I couldn't use a site because of IE version I was using, but my system would not update to allow the installation of IE9. So long microsoft, hello Mozilla
The Real Reason That The Cancer Patient Writing In Today’s Wall Street Journal Lost Her Insurance
Monday’s Wall Street Journal features an op-ed from Edie Littlefield Sundby, a stage-4 gallbladder cancer survivor who won’t be able to keep the coverage she currently has. Her insurer, United Healthcare, is pulling out of the individual health care market, forcing Sundby to find new coverage in California’s health care exchange.
But the plans available through Cover California don’t offer in-network coverage for all of the care Sundby needs. As a result, she has to choose between her two health care providers if she wishes to remain in-network. “Stanford has kept me alive—but UCSD has provided emergency and local treatment support during wretched periods of this disease, and it is where my primary-care doctors are,” she writes:
But Sundby shouldn’t blame reform — United Healthcare dropped her coverage because they’ve struggled to compete in California’s individual health care market for years and didn’t want to pay for sicker patients like Sundby.
The company, which only had 8,000 individual policy holders in California out of the two million who participate in the market, announced (along with a second insurer, Aetna) that it would be pulling out of the individual market in May. The company could not compete with Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and Kaiser Permanente, who control more than 80 percent of the individual market. “Over the years, it has become more difficult to administer these plans in a cost-effective way for our members,” UnitedHealth spokeswoman Cheryl Randolph explained. “We will continue to keep a major presence in California, focusing instead on large and small employers.”
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/11/04/2881581/wall-street-journal-horror-story-cancer-patient-losing-doctors-wrong/
I imagine there are thousands of stories with similar cause.
I voted! - Don't foget Tuesday, Nov. 5th.
I got to the BOE office at 4:25 just in time to vote early.
Some lady showed up at 4:35 as I was leaving wanting an absentee ballot. Little late for that!
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