Thursday, February 28, 2013

Bradley Manning never intended to do the USA harm. Quite the contrary, as a whistleblower he sought to save lives.

The Guardian

After admitting guilt in 10 of 22 charges, soldier reveals how he came to share classified documents with WikiLeaks and talks of 'bloodlust' of US helicopter crew

Bradley Manning, (click here) the solider accused of the biggest unauthorised disclosure of state secrets in US history, has admitted for the first time to being the source of the leak, telling a military court that he passed the information to a whistleblowing website because he believed the American people had a right to know the "true costs of war"....

The information released was nothing the American people should not know. As a matter of fact, the information regarding the fallen should have been provided to the families when they were handed a folded flag at the grave site.
Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn stated in an interview with Anderson Cooper there were legislators that left the hearing room before the people from Sandy Hook came into the room. I want to know whom those were that left the hearing room.

While the Senate can't get their act together after walking out on the families of victims, Maryland has passed gun legislation.

Md. Senate passes gun control bill (click here)
Thousands expected in Annapolis Friday as debate moves to House

By Erin Cox, The Baltimore Sun
7:56 p.m. ESTFebruary 28, 2013

The Maryland Senate on Thursday approved a sweeping gun control bill that would give the state one of the strictest firearm laws in the country.
The contentious issue moved immediately to the House of Delegates — where the chamber's first public hearing on the bill and a rally by supporters are expected to draw thousands of people to Annapolis Friday.
The Senate's 28-19 vote to support Gov. Martin O'Malley's bill came after more than 12 hours of often emotional debate Wednesday and Thursday. Supporters said the proposal — which would ban the sale of assault rifles and require a license to purchase a handgun — would save lives....

100 Airport Closures

The way this is transpiring is wrong. I am NOT saying that Secretary LaHood is wrong. I am sure these closings were difficult decisions. I am not saying the closings aren't going to happen, but, if the debt reduction over 10 years is to go forward it needs a different approach.

Air Traffic Control Facilities That Could be Closed (click here)

In all honesty, the President needs to move through the FAA over the next year to have public meetings to ask what the best alternatives are for these airports. The cuts should be delayed and accept public comment for the next six months. Solicit comment from these airports specifically, but, ask for public comment and ask these airports to request public comment to submit from their local media.

There is a chance there will be investors that would seek to add private monies to these airports to begin a private holding to pay the air traffic controllers. It would provide an opportunity for the local economy to own their own airport interests and hire the air traffic controllers currently working at these facilities.

If NASA can privatize space interests there has to be a way for these airports to maintain their operations IF they have private investment. Some won't. But, there is a chance some will.

The public comment will provide insight to the demands of these airports and the viability to maintain their current status with private interests. It is a way of moving these airports out of the federal budget and be self supporting.

It is my guess there will be a fair number of the airports that will have private interests to come forward. There doesn't have to be security consequences either. The privatized airports would have to abide by the laws of the USA. They cannot compromise the larger airports by having compromised security. But, it might work and at least the USA has the obligation to try.

I wish Pope Benedict XVI the peace and serenity he seeks.


What did we learn from the victory of Robin Kelly?

Mayor Bloomberg is not a dishonest man. I am quite confident if there was any deception in the message on the behalf of Ms. Kelly he would disapprove of it. He has a sincere sense of balance, too. 

What I learned from Ms. Kelly's victory is that when the electorate is given good quality information, they make good decisions. No rhetoric. No shadow of corruption. But, simply good information and how life can be better. 

Ms. Kelly didn't win without the support of her electorate and to that end they are better educated today than before her candidacy. 

The monies were significant contributed to her campaign to benefit the people of her district. That only goes to show how entrenched the adverse information was within the electorate. It took a lot of education delivered in a short period of time to reach the electorate. That should be a lesson well learned. 

Those seeking to reduce the number of guns on the street and make the USA safer and happier need to realize it is a continuous message that people come to understand. An underlying truth if you will. When that truth is substituted with a corrupt message it works just as well when it is not contested.

Passive acceptance of the NRA messaging all these years to benefit gun sales over the best interest of reducing the crimes of violence and a drug culture in the name of the Second Amendment was a level of negligence that the nation is paying the ultimate price.

I wish Ms. Kelly the best in her continued candidacy. We need her.

Aamer Madhani and Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY
4:48p.m. EST February 27, 2013

WASHINGTON--Vice President Biden (click here) said on Wednesday that Robin Kelly's victory in the Democratic primary of the Illinois 2nd District special election underscores that politicians who don't support sensible gun control will pay a price.

On Tuesday, Kelly, a former state senator who made her backing of President Obama's gun control agenda a central part of her campaign, beat out Debbie Halvorson, whose 'A+' rating from the National Rifle Association was consistently attacked by Kelly and other opponents during the campaign...
At some point in time, Senator Wyden has to come to terms with the fact Executive Privilege is just that and proceed with the nominee's vote. 

Does it matter if there is a change in candidate? The information is still under Executive Privilege.



WASHINGTON | Wed Feb 27, 2013 7:10pm EST
The committee's (click here) Republican vice chairman, Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, said the panel expects to hold the vote on Tuesday.

No explanation for the delay was immediately available. However, the Obama administration has been at odds with members of the committee's Democratic majority over White House unwillingness to disclose some highly classified legal documents related to "targeted killings," including the use of lethal drone strikes against suspected militants....

...Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, a key committee Democrat who had indicated earlier his preference that the vote not be held until the administration made additional disclosures, said late on Wednesday he was still not satisfied with what the White House had provided.

"Americans have a right to know when their government believes it is allowed to kill them, (It would seem not in this case because it involves national security.) and that's what getting these documents" is about, Wyden said.

"I've made it very clear to the White House that we need those legal analyses before we vote," Wyden said. But he added: "There is certainly additional time to work this out."

The information is too sensitive. The program cannot risk leaks. The Congress does not have the right to dominate the power of the country's Commander and Chief role. The Congress just doesn't. As a matter of fact, the President can conduct war for 90 days without a vote by the Congress.

Presidents can claim executive privilege to withhold documents or to prevent members of the executive branch from testifying in order to protect their communications. The reasoning goes that the president’s advisers must be able to offer advice freely and without fear of censure.

The Executive Branch has been as accommodating as they can and it will have to be enough. Congress can conduct their own studies and legislate the context in which a military program is deployed. It can issue a White Paper. I suggest they get on with it. There is a chance when legislation is conducted, it might still be unconstitutional. There is separation of powers.

Peer reviews abound.

There is nothing like having journalists seek to end a hideous path of pursuit. Slate is correct by the way, the entire line that there is a threat and there is a reason to believe "The Sequester" is the deep dark plan of the evil wizard in the White House to make Republicans look bad is all over the Right Wing media, like NewsMax. I mean, hello?

All the Republicans had to do to prevent their scandalous involvement in tanking the economy again was to act responsibly and make appropriate cuts to budgets that were outdated and useless. Oh. But, wait. Those outdated and useless cuts would throw some of the most fond Republican pork barrel spending out of the budget.

Well, they couldn't do that. So they had to blame the evil wizard in the White House. Whom next will end up in the caldron of Democratic victories?

Bob Woodward Trolls The World


Bob Woodward, (click here) the legendary Watergate reporter turned reliable chronicler of insider accounts of political events, has made a series of bizarre assertions over the past week.
It started with Woodward's odd weekend assertion that the White House is trying "to move the goalposts" by replacing sequestration with a deficit reduction package that includes tax hikes. The idea of sequestration was always that it was something elected officials were going to want to replace with alternative deficit reduction. Republicans have been trying tio replace it with a package of cuts targeted at income support programs for the poor. Obama's been trying to replace it with a mixture of spending cuts and tax hikes. Either everyone's moving the goalposts (which I think is tendentious but even-handed) or no one is moving them. But it really intensified Wednesday morning when Woodward went on Morning Joe to suggest it's crazy of Obama to be applying the law as written to the military, instead of simply ignoring it.
Things moved into the absurd last night when it was revealed that National Economic Council director Gene Sperling had concluded an email disagreement with Woodward with the observation that in Sperling's view Woodward would come to regret clinging so tenaciously to an untenable position.

Everyone knock it off. The Republicans took the measure to bring down the national debt and turned it into a political strategy.



To some extent creating a side show through assigning responsibility to the original legislation is adverse to the outcome of the nation. The fact of the matter is there was plenty of reason to move forward to cut government spending in a responsible way and the Super Committee failed. The GOP continues to seek cuts to entitlements to justify military spending. The answer is "No." There is significant wasteful spending in the Defense Department; the overruns on the F35 are out of control and now the physical integrity of the engines are in question.

So, the GOP has planned to teach the President a lesson since he signed the legislation (IT WAS PASSED IN CONGRESS.) and that is what is maniacal about this. The fact the $1.2 trillion was set aside is not the problem. The problem resulted when the Congressional Supercommittee would not distribute it responsibly. RESPONSIBLY. Evidently, the Republicans can't be trusted with the responsibility of decision making, so President Obama learned his lesson; he should first seek to do what he can for the nation through the Executive Branch without the involvement of Congress as with gun regulation.

That is the lesson here. Journalists know there is a problem in the Republican House and with the use of the filibuster. To distract from that reality and the complete dysfunction of Congress is not helping the country. Nor, might I add, the rehabilitation of the GOP. I mean "The Sequester" is considered a victory by the Tea Party. This should be the future of the country? I don't think so.

Mr. Woodward is a distinguished member of the media and he should be respected in his relationships with the White House and President's staff. I don't always agree with Mr. Woodward's perspective, but, he is a good person and deserves to be treated with respect. I am sure there is more than this instance he has regretted of his own writing, but, that is his to learn for himself through peer review. It is not the place of the White House to seek to give him insight so much as the information he seeks. His opinions are valuable and that is what he seeks to render to assist his readers to find their way through the maze.

His relationship with the White House is enviable. He has earned it. Leave it alone.

The White House is worried beyond our understanding their will be any contraction in the economy. The USA economy impacts the world. The world is struggling more than the USA currently experiences. If the world struggles more it will come back to haunt the USA and entire global economy will begin a tailspin that would be a nightmare worse than the one we all faced in 2008. The stress regarding all this is evidently palpable to them.

Please stop playing with fire, okay?

The EU recognizes the need to stabilize the capital assets of it's banks.


THURSDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2013

...European Union (click here) chiefs have agreed a package of financial laws that includes capping bankers' bonuses at a maximum of one year's basic salary.
The bonuses will only be allowed to reach twice the annual fixed salary if a large majority of a bank's shareholders agrees, said Othmar Karas, the European Parliament's chief negotiator.
"This overhaul of EU banking rules will make sure that banks in the future have enough capital, both in terms of quality and quantity, to withstand shocks. This will ensure that taxpayers across Europe are protected into the future," said Ireland's finance minister Michael Noonan, who led the negotiations for 27 governments.
The bonus cap was part of a sweeping financial reform package introducing higher capital requirements for banks, the so-called Basel III rules.
The UK has been battling to stop the Basel III accord on capital requirements, fearing the impact on the City of London as the EU's leading financial capital....

I can't help but wonder if there are employees and/or former employees of banking institutions that could literally bail out them out without asking governments. It would seem to me the salaries of bank executives should not exceed a percentage of the revenues of the banks. There has to be a threshold whereby the salaries and bonuses are a drag on the solvency of the bank itself.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

His family was held in secondary detention. Isn't that enough to know?

I sincerely believe it is racial profiling. I think LAX detention records need to be audited as to the frequency of their detentions and whom exactly they are detaining and if their are people refused entrance regardless of their Visas.

Everyone who travels knows the clock in detention starts before the authorities record a time in a record book. 

5:28 pm: Burnat was referred to secondary inspection (click here)
5:30 pm: Burnat was admitted to secondary inspection
5:53 pm: Burnat was released from secondary inspection


It is very scary to face those circumstances. Emad Burnat's family was detained while they held they had valid documents. It is nobody's business whether he was attending the Oscars or not attending the Oscars. The issue of the Oscars came into play because he was detained not because he was looking for fans.

So, the fact the Emad Burnat Family was detained while having valid documentation is enough. I am confident, considering the quality of his life and the oppression he and his family live under, any authority presenting themselves as some to contend with is more than frightening. He child was with him, there isn't anything else to understand. He and his family were treated less than appropriately. 

They arrived in the USA after going through all kinds of check points, what was the problem? He wasn't getting on another plane. He was not on "The No Fly List." What the heck when on that even resulted in the detaining of three people at LAX.

I have left and returned from this country and the only problem I ever ran into was the fact I had pumice rocks in my carry on. All six of them. Believe me I never did it again. It is easier and better to ship them than carry them. But, that is the only problem I had and that was because I was getting on another plane after arriving from Iceland.

What is LAX doing detaining people that have traveled that far?

Buzzfed needs to apologize to the Emad Burnat Family. Just that simple. He did nothing wrong, but, everyone including Buzzfeed seems determined to make the family's experience in the USA the worst episode of their lives.

LAX needs to apologize as well. 
Six-year-old primary school student Jesse Lewis, seen with father Neil Heslin, was one of the young victims. Picture: New York Post

Neil Heslin did his son proud today at the Senate hearings.

He is a magnificent Dad. It is completely obvious how much he and his son loved each other. I am sorry for his loss. I can only imagine.

The nation needs to act to honor those lost at Sandy Hook. It is unconscionable to believe we do not need to protect the innocent. There are no arguments that can deny the need for effective laws.


By Eric W. Dolan
Tuesday, January 29, 2013 22:30 EST


Neil Heslin, (click here) the father of a 6-year-old boy who was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School last month, said Tuesday night he wasn’t particularly troubled by gun advocates at a recent legislative hearing.
During the hearing on Monday, Heslin asked why Americans needed “to have one of these assault-style weapons or military weapons or high-capacity clips?” Several gun advocates shouted about the Second Amendment in response. Those who shouted were admonished by the chairman, who threatened to clear the floor.
“It didn’t really phase me,” he told CNN’s Piers Morgan. “It was no more or no less than I would have expected. It wasn’t the answer to my question.”...


"...perpetuation of racial entitlement..." Scalia

Judge Scalia should be ashamed of himself. That statement is a bigoted statement and he made it to be outrageous so he could express his own bias.

The Voting Rights Act is serious law. It provides for limits on discrimination. It removes barriers to voting. 

There is no entitlement in the law. Entitlement? That would indicate minorities and women were given a special status. The law does not provide entitlement, it provides due process of complaints about discrimination. There is no entitlement carrying card that minorities have when they vote. They vote the same as any other American. They stand in line, they vote on the same ballot. 

Honestly. 

Judge Scalia needs to apologize to the minority citizens and women in this country.

It assists in fighting against gerrymandering.

The five Justices involved in this sledge hammer of change is assailing the USA Constitution. Their questions are political, not about equity or the rights of everyone to vote without obstruction.

by Suevon Lee
ProPublica, Aug. 30, 2012, 7:27 a.m
Aug. 30: 
A single provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been playing a key role on the election front this year. Section 5 has blocked photo voter-ID lawsprohibited reduced early-voting periods in parts of Florida and just Tuesday barred new redistricting maps in Texas....
...Not surprisingly, then, Section 5 is increasingly the target of attack by those who say it is outdated, discriminatory against Southern states and unconstitutional....

Those that seek to end the equity of all citizens to vote rely on literal language. So, the reality is today in 2013, the literacy rate in the USA is better than 1964. There may be more than 50 percent of a state registered to vote. So, in this case, the five Justices are looking to remove barriers to Voter ID, opportunities to vote early and gerrymandering. That is basically the issue here. There was a day when the words, "...whether states imposed unfair devices...," would apply to 'state of the art' obstructions, but, that is not the assignment the five Justices are applying here. They have their preferences and hence an additional measure for scrutiny of Alito and his fitness to serve.

...whether states imposed unfair devices like literacy tests in November 1964, whether less than 50 percent of the voting-age population was registered to vote as of that date, or if less than 50 percent of eligible voters voted in the November 1964 presidential election....

* Is Photo ID a state of the art barrier? 

Yes.

* Is limiting the days and hours a barrier to voting?

Yes. Why? By sheer numbers. In 1964 there were 191,888,791 people in the USA. (click here) Today, the USA has 310,000,000 according to President Obama in his State of the Union address. There are many more voters today to place there votes. So, the idea there can be less days and hours for a much larger populous to vote is stacking the deck. The sheer number of voters to cast their ballot prohibits limiting the number of days and hours.

If one voting booth is set up in a city of 5000 voters on the Tuesday of any election, will all 5000 voters have the opportunity to vote? Of course not. So, the number of machines, the number of days and the number of hours have to be increased to accommodate the USA Constitution's demand of democracy.

* Is gerrymandering a problem?

Yes. 

We know one of the most stark examples of how gerrymandering has adversely effected the voting dynamic is the First Congressional District of Texas. Louie Gohmert. 

Since 1845 the Democratic Party dominated the elections of that district, except, three occasions: Lemuel D. Evans was considered an independent. Congressman Evans was a person unattached to a political party. He was there from 1855-57. I doubt seriously the dynamics of corrupt money played much of a role back then. So, a person could be detached from a party to achieve a majority in a national election. Congressman Evans served one term. Then again 1870, but, on for one year a Republican by the name of George W. Whitemore was Congressman. I think he was recalled or something for his term by a Democrat. No lie. He only served one year, a half of a term. From 1971 until 2005 the First Congressional District of Texas was a Democrat. That is history. 

Oral argument: March 1, 2006
After a decades-long dominance (click here) of the Texas congressional delegation by Democratic representatives, the Republican Party won a majority of seats by virtue of new Congressional district lines as reflected by the state's population growth in the 2000 Census. However, the legislature failed to redistrict the state in time for the elections, which were then governed by a district court-drawn plan. After the elections, the new Republican majority engaged in a rare mid-term redistricting plan to replace the court's map. A number of individuals and organizations sued to prevent the redistricting on a variety of grounds. The Supreme Court will decide the constitutionality of the Texas redistricting plan under analyses of due process, equal protection political, racial gerrymandering, and the Voting Rights Act.

Gerrymandering to eliminate minority representatives is the issue. It is a matter of equal protection.

The face of this district literally changed.

These were the counties of the district before gerrymandering...

LamarRed RiverBowieDeltaHopkins,WoodFranklinTitusCampMorrisCass (the entire county)Marion, HarrisonPanolaRuskUpshurShelby, most of Hunt, northern Nacogdoches

...and these are the counties of the district after the gerrymandering. One county, Cass, is even divided. There are five of the same counties in the district. All the others are different and diluted to their importance. It is an equal protection issue. It's ridiculous.

UpshurMarion, HarrisonGreggSmithRuskPanolaNacogdoches,     ShelbySan AugustineSabineAngelina, southeastern Cass

The Voter's Rights Law of 1964 is still important today. I honestly don't see it never being important. And I never see it being an assault on the USA Constitution. Never. How can a law that demands equity of all citizens within their democracy, in the only way they have to practice their democracy, ever be an enemy to the USA Constitution?

The question by Chief Justice Roberts about what state has the largest/best African American voter turnout and which has the smallest/worst, is a hideous question. Mississippi's population is 37% African Americans.

(*African American individuals in Mississippi are 1,110,591 individuals; not all adults;

*African American adults over 18 years of age 830,772 as of 2011;

*according to the 2010 (non-presidential year) voting report of the Mississippi four districts there was a voter "turnout" (not just registered) of 788,549 people;

*that is low;

*the population of Mississippi is 2,977,457 with  2,227,137 adults over 18 years old;

*that is a voter turnout of 35% of all adults 18 years or older;

*if 35% of the adult African American population turned out to vote it would be 290,770 African Americans) 

while Massachusetts' population is 7.8% African American 

(*that is 515,346 African American individuals, not all adults, adults over 18 years of age 405,577 as of 2011;

*according to the 2010 (non-presidential year) REGISTERED voters, not turn out, is 4,190,907;

*the turnout in Massachusetts is 57.4% which is a better turnout than Mississippi;

*the turnout in Massachusetts of registered voters was 2,405,581;

*if a full 7.8% of those voters were African Americans that would be 187,635 African American voters in Massachusetts that turned out;

*so sheer numbers place Massachusetts with a better percentage of African American Voters and

*brings a difference between the two states to 103,135 of African American Voters. 

I don't believe there is any quality argument with those numbers. The voter turnout is better in Massachusetts than Mississippi and the numbers are higher in Mississippi due to sheer numbers of difference in the population. There is no legitimate argument in those numbers by Chief Justice Roberts. He is playing games. In actuality with a 57.4% turnout rate, Massachusetts does a better job.)

The nation's population is 13.1 percent African American. That question is irrelevant to any equity issue. There are more than twice as many adult voters in Mississippi as Massachusetts. Just because there is a larger African American turnout in Mississippi has nothing to do with opportunity so much as numbers in the state. Justice Roberts is being petty to prove something. I am not sure what.


OP-ED COLUMNIST

Rogues, Robes and Racists


Published: May 29, 2009

...Then there’s John Roberts, (click here) who replaced Rehnquist as the chief justice in 2005. That year, Newsday reported that Roberts had made racist and sexist jokes in memos that he wrote while working in the Reagan White House. And, The New York Review of Books published a scolding article in 2005 making the case that during the same period that he was making those jokes, Roberts marshaled a crusader’s zeal in his efforts to roll back the civil rights gains of the 1960s and ’70s — everything from voting rights to women’s rights. The article began, “The most intriguing question about John Roberts is what led him as a young person whose success in life was virtually assured by family wealth and academic achievement to enlist in a political campaign designed to deny opportunities for success to those who lack his advantages.”...

Thank you. Someone finally says the truth.

Meteorite streaked through the sky over the Chelyabinsk Region on February 15 and exploded in the atmosphere


MOSCOW, February 26 (RIA Novosti) – The powerful blast of a meteorite (click here) above the Urals city of Chelyabinsk was probably caused by its previous “space collisions” with other celestial bodies, said Professor Erik Galimov of the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry.
Fragments of the meteorite were taken to the institute’s lab on Monday.
“[The meteorite] experienced collisions in space before entering the atmosphere. Probably, this caused its disintegration, or fragmentation, which later resulted in such a powerful blast. Such blasts to not always occur when meteors fall,” Galimov said.
And the reason there were blasts this time is because the meteor entered the atmosphere abruptly due to the asteroid 2012 DA14's close proximity.
He said that findings made by experts in Moscow confirmed preliminary results of the meteorite’s test in a lab of the Urals Federal University.
Windows were shattered and walls were damaged by shockwaves in thousands of mostly residential buildings, as the meteorite streaked through the sky over the Chelyabinsk Region on February 15 and exploded in the atmosphere. Over 1,500 people were injured, most by flying glass shards.

Scientists from Russia's Urals Federal University (click here) have discovered a meteorite fragment weighing more than one kilogram (2.2 lbs), the largest fragment found so far following the meteorite strike in the Chelyabinsk Region on February 15.

MOSCOW, February 26 (RIA Novosti) - The Chelyabinsk diocese (click here) of the Russian Orthodox Church said on Tuesday it would organize mass prayers on Thursday evening to thank God that no deaths occurred during the recent meteorite blast....

We are getting close. January 1, 2014. It begins.

307 Days, 20 hours and 39 minutes until new health coverage begins for millions of Californians. (click here)

The Affordable Care Act is already a success. It has preserved coverage for college students, provided coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, which is all of us, Right? We were born with flaws according to the Health Care Industry. Women were born with a uterus, boy was that a mistake.

We now have minimum standards for our health care insurance. No deductibles for all the preventive care a person needs.

Essential Health Benefits. 

Newly sold health plans must cover services that fall into these 10 categories of Essential Health Benefits:

o Ambulatory patient care
o Emergency service
o Hospitalization
o Maternity and newborn care
o Mental health and substance abuse disorder treatment
o Prescription drugs
o Rehabilitation and habilitation services and devices
o Lab services
o Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease support
o Pediatric services, including dental and vision care


And Medicaid is fully funded which means our hospitals and doctors will be receive monies they should have been getting for decades.

Those that seek to call the Affordable Care Act unconvincing have no sincere reason for their point of view. The cost of health care should come down. There will be more people participating in health care and those people will have health insurance. The Emergency Room solution will be over.

In the early years of the law there will be upticks in health statistics, both good and bad. Children will have a good start across the country. But, the adult statistics will increase because people who have neglected their wellness due to lack or poor quality health care will be diagnosed. There will be a higher demand for doctors, prescriptions and treatment. The 85% spending will be justified in larger ways than in the years past 2019. For the first time ever, the USA will have a clear understanding of their wellness as a nation. I am quite confident the picture will be stark. To that reality, the political oppositionists will seek to justify their reasons to repeal the law once again. 

So, there it is. The Affordable Care Act is a success already, it will be more of one in the near future. I am looking forward to the challenge the nation will face when the law is fully realized. It will be a matter of understanding where we are as a nation and the path forward. It will take several years to know it's impact, but, it will stabilize the reality of wellness in the USA and that is a good thing. 

The Affordable Care Act is the best of us. Those that opt out will change their mind over time.

The Affordable Care Act is saving lives today and will continue to grow in carrying out that reality in the future. The Emergency Room is not the place to receive a diagnosis of cancer. By then, it is too late. What is the value of a life?

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Winter Storm Nemo body count.


Nemo was a Climate Crisis storm. Heart attacks, shoveling snow and car accidents. The seniors need to stay home and forget about the shoveling. They can call for help if they need groceries or otherwise.
A look at the deaths related to the massive snowstorm (click here) that blanketed the Northeast in 1 to 3 feet of snow and battered the coastline with high winds and some flooding.

Connecticut

A 73-year-old man fell while cleaning up in Danbury and later died.

49-year-old man in Shelton apparently suffered a "medical event" while shoveling snow.

A man was found dead in a driveway in Bridgeport. His body was discovered under snow.

A woman in her 80s who was clearing snow Friday in Prospect was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said five people died; details were not immediately available on the fifth death.

Maine

A 75-year-old man disoriented by whiteout conditions crashed into a tree in Passadumkeag, then drove his pickup onto the Penobscot River. The submerged truck was found Sunday.

Massachusetts

A boy who took shelter in a snowed-in car in Boston while his father shoveled around it died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Authorities said he was 13 or 14.

A man in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood also died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a running, snowed-in car.

A 60-year-old man died Saturday at a hospital after suffering a heart attack while clearing snow at his Webster home.

New York

A 23-year-old man plowing his driveway with a farm tractor went off the edge of the road and was killed in Columbia County.

A driver lost control in snowy conditions in Poughkeepsie and fatally struck a 74-year-old man.

A 58-year-old man apparently suffered a medical problem while removing snow from his car at a senior citizens' apartment complex in Selden on Long Island.

Ontario, Canada

An 80-year-old woman in Hamilton collapsed while shoveling her driveway.

A 49-year-old Oshawa man was killed as a result of a multi-vehicle collision in Pickering, east of Toronto, on Friday.

A 57-year-old Ottawa man died when his car crashed in blizzard conditions near Prescott, Ontario.

Tell me this makes sense.


That is Bill Haslam, the Tennessee Governor.
by Chris Conte
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Most prisoners (click here) end up behind bars because they did something wrong, but it appears hundreds of them may have continued to collect unemployment checks while sitting in jail.
"This isn't an issue where the department has an oversight and money just went out the door," explained Turner Nashe from the Department of Labor.

A few weeks ago Nashe and the department learned inmates received over $1.3 million in unemployment checks over the last year.

"It doesn't surprise me because we run into fraud all the time," he added.

Over the last few years every county in the state has put a new computer system in place that alerts victims' and their families when a criminal is getting out of jail and it turns out that technology found people on unemployment, ineligible for checks because they were incarcerated were still getting paid by the government.

"We've got about 65,000 people a week that receive a check, none of those people are not receiving a check because the people that are incarcerated are receiving a check," Nashe explained. (Huh?)

Officials say 944 inmates received those unemployment checks, spread that out across $1.3 million dollars and you average about $1,300 that each inmate received for the year of 2012.

"I don't think they were trying to cheat the system they just weren't telling the system to quit sending the checks (Huh?) even though they were incarcerated because someone at home was getting it," said State Senator Bill Ketron about the finding....

"I don't think they were trying to cheat the system they just weren't telling the system to quit sending the checks...

When an inmate doesn't inform the jail or prison they are receiving unemployment so the checks can be stopped that is doing something wrong. What the heck goes on in Tennessee?

The economy is showing resilience. We are doing fine.


The down turn in real estate in the USA started in 2007. It was about 18 months before the collapse.
...The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 6.8 percent (click here) from December 2011, the biggest year-to-year gain since July 2006, after advancing 5.4 percent in November, a report showed today in New York. The median projection of 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 6.6 percent advance. Nineteen of 20 cities showed gains.
Near record-low borrowing costs and gains in employment are fueling demand and boosting property values as the number of houses on the market drops and foreclosures ease. The improvement is shoring up household net worth and confidence, which may underpin consumer spending even as an increase in the payroll tax reduces take-home pay....

Prices rising and foreclosures dropping in region's housing market (click here)

Published 9:55 pm, Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Southwestern Connecticut's housing market is on the mend, matching trends in the western part of the region and starting to catch up in the eastern section.

Two key reports on the housing market came out Tuesday and found positive trends in both prices and foreclosure rates....


...The Bridgeport-Stamford metro region is not included in the Case-Shiller index, but real estate agencies reported that prices in the region are climbing on increased sales and a reduction in the number of homes on the market.
Also on Tuesday, California-based CoreLogic released its report on foreclosure rates and the Stamford-Bridgeport market, which includes Danbury, experienced a drop of 0.25 percent to 4.38 percent in December of 2012 compared to a year ago. But foreclosure rates are still higher than the national rate of 2.9 percent, with large concentrations of foreclosed properties still in the Bridgeport area.
"All indications are that our market is better," said Cheryl Scott-Daniels of CSD Select Homes of Westport and president of the Mid-Fairfield County Association of Realtors.
She said the average sales price in December rose 37 percent to $770,208 in December. And sales increased to 511 from 438 a year ago....

The buyer market for a $770,208 home is not the norm. So, the recovery is limited from the beginning. Improvement in moving these homes is more than interesting.