RE: [FairfieldLife] RIP Public Option
From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:fairfieldl...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of raunchydog Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 8:54 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] RIP Public Option A month ago, Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address that 'any plan I sign must include an insurance exchange: a one-stop shopping marketplace where you can compare the benefits, cost and track records of a variety of plans - including a public option to increase competition and keep insurance companies honest - and choose what's best for your family.' [Now that we don't have a public option how will Obama keep the insurance companies honest? RD] We've had a process that started out in backrooms with K Street Lobbyists, moved to deliberate campaigns of misinformation by many members of the press, to shows of downright stupidity by the pundit class and members of congress who did everything in town hall meetings from rudely answering cell phone calls, shouting down constituents as outsiders and NAZIs, and demonstrating complete incompetence by explaining why reading the bills they vote on was too complex and long for them. We've had POTUS go back on the campaign trail, completely unable to read a coherent explanation about what the plan is and left to decry things like 'we're not going to kill any one's grandma.' [Ever since Baucus took the public option off the table and Rahm Emanuel said Obama would consider signing a bill without a public option, I knew the fix was in. Saying that we lost the public option because of incompetence is too kind. It was an intentional screw up, a Kabuki dance, a game of distraction and let's you and him fight. The opening act was a beer with the president. The main attraction was right-wing rage and left-wing indignation. It was quite a show. The final act was the insurance companies and Big Pharma getting exactly what they wanted. There aren't any do overs or creep toward a better bill. This is it folks. THERE WILL NEVER BE A PUBLIC OPTION. We will never check the power of the K Street until we change the 14th amendment and corporations are no longer people. Sadly, won't feel the full impact of a health care bill until Obama leaves office and we will have long forgotten exactly how we were fooled. Take a bow, Obama. RD] http://tinyurl.com/r23exl http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/rip-public-option/ This is all written as though there will definitely be no public option. I think it's too early to call. But those who wrote it take delight in doing so because it enables them to grind their anti-Obama ax once again. I agree that the 14th amendment should be changed. Corporate lobbying is this country's greatest curse. And changing it would be a serious Catch 22, as the corporate lobbyists would fight such change so fiercely. BTW, how do you think health care reform would be coming along if Hillary were president? I suspect she'd be getting twice the flak Obama is getting. Her praise for him was quite effusive in last week's Fareed Zakaria interview. Maybe working closely with him has given her a perspective Raunchy can't attain.
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake has been a fearless champion of the public option, obviously ignoring Rahm Emanuel who told lefties to shut up about it. http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/08/07/rahm-goes-apeshit-on-liberals-in-the-veal-pen/ Jane started the Whip count tool for The Pledge and mobilized a left-wing drive for a House Reps pledge they would not vote for a bill if it didn't have a public option. Her efforts are paying off. Jane, today: Many people are rightly upset that the White House is sending stronger and stronger signals that they are willing to jettison a public option. What was once the defining feature of the Obama health care plan has now been dismissed with a bipartisan flourish. Here's Kent Conrad on Fox News: The fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option, there never have been, so to continue to chase that rabbit is just a wasted effort. If Conrad could set aside his More About Me world view for a moment and do some second grade math, he'd see that there aren't enough votes for a health care bill without a public option in the House There are 435 seats on the House. Of those, 257 are filled by Democrats and 178 by Republicans. Which means a majority is 218. The Republicans have vowed to vote against health care, period. The Democrats can pass health care on their own, but if they lose 40 of their own, they only have 217 votes. There are 57 Democrats who signed the July 30 letter saying that they simply cannot vote for a bill that at minimum does not have a public plan (PDF). There are 7 more not listed on the letter who have pledged to vote against any bill that does not have a robust public plan. That makes 64 Democrats who won't vote for the co-ops that both Kathleen Sibelius and Robert Gibbs say the White House is open to. Do the math: 257 - 64 = 193. They need 218 to pass the bill. So thanks to the progressive members of the House who have pledged to vote against any health care bill that does not have a public plan. They represent 76% of Americans who want a public plan, and coming from heavily Democratic-leaning districts as they do, an even greater percentage of their own constituents. http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/08/16/sorry-cant-pass-health-care-bill-without-a-public-option/ Jane's Whip count tool for The Pledge http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/publicoption
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer r...@... wrote: This is all written as though there will definitely be no public option. I think it's too early to call. But those who wrote it take delight in doing so because it enables them to grind their anti-Obama ax once again. I agree that the 14th amendment should be changed. Corporate lobbying is this country's greatest curse. And changing it would be a serious Catch 22, as the corporate lobbyists would fight such change so fiercely. BTW, how do you think health care reform would be coming along if Hillary were president? I suspect she'd be getting twice the flak Obama is getting. Her praise for him was quite effusive in last week's Fareed Zakaria interview. Maybe working closely with him has given her a perspective Raunchy can't attain. Rick, If Obama had half the the passion for health care reform that Hillary does, the public option would not be in question today. The press tears Hillary to shreds over trivialities. Think what they would do if she even hinted a disagreement with Obama.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Silence, Flowing
Very nice examples of grace in the human body. Thanks. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: Tonight I meditated in the garden of the house I'm staying in here in the French Pyrenees, and the Silence was so profound that even though I had intended to meditate only half an hour, I missed dinner. Three hours after sitting to meditate I finally had the thought to open my eyes, and found that it had grown dark around me. Cool. And, after an experience like that, I didn't really feel like dinner, so I retired to my part of the house and listened to the only music I could think of that matched the silence of that meditation. That music is Keith Jarrett's The Koln Concert, part IIb. I have always thought of it as Silence, flowing. If you have never seen Jarrett play solo, you have missed one of the great opportunities available to you on this planet. This very thin, very spiritual man walks out to the piano, sits down, without a clue as to what he is going to play that night, and just trusts Silence to guide him, and turn what he is feeling inside into music. Jarrett is in the moment personified, luring Silence into the world, in the form of music. And the amazing thing is that the Silence is still there, somehow *in* the music, as it flows from Jarrett's fingers, as if he were painting with light.
[FairfieldLife] Re: U.S.-Swiss Tax Deal Throws Scare into Rich
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, do.rflex do.rf...@... wrote: U.S.-Swiss Tax Deal Throws Scare into Rich Wealthy Americans with Offshore Accounts on Notice as Way Cleared for U.S. to Find Tax Evaders [It would, however, be risky for a wealthy tax dodger to wait to see if the government's stepped up efforts continue, said Boggs, the tax adviser. He said his firm usually recommends a strategic surrender to the IRS.] How is the TMorg sitting with this? Any indication? * [244] (AP) A deal with Switzerland settling U.S. demands for the names of suspected tax dodgers from a Swiss bank has a lot of wealthy Americans with offshore accounts nervously running to their tax advisers - and the Internal Revenue Service. They are very frightened, said Richard Boggs, chief executive of Nationwide Tax Relief, a Los-Angeles-based tax firm that specializes in clients with tax debts exceeding $100,000. You have the super rich who are not used to being pushed around and they are finding themselves in unfamiliar territory. The U.S. and Swiss governments announced a court settlement last week http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/12/business/main5236509.shtml in efforts by the IRS http://www.irs.gov/ to force Zurich-based UBS AG to turn over the names of some 52,000 Americans believed to be hiding nearly $15 billion in assets in secret accounts. Justice Department and UBS lawyers told a federal judge in Miami in a brief conference call Wednesday they had initialed a final deal. But they did not disclose any details, such as how many of the 52,000 names sought by the IRS will be revealed. Even before the settlement, the high-profile case - coupled with other U.S. efforts to go after Americans hiding undeclared assets - has scared hundreds of tax dodgers to turn themselves in. Boggs said his firm has been taking on 100 new cases a month, a big increase over previous years. Peter Zeidenberg, a litigation partner at the law firm DLA Piper in Washington, said he, too, is he seeing more people with undeclared assets seeking information about their legal options. His advice: I don't think you have much of a choice but to come forward. ... I think the landscape is permanently changed. The IRS - the federal tax collection agency - long has had a policy that certain tax evaders who come forward before they are contacted by the agency usually can avoid jail time as long as they agree to pay back taxes, interest and hefty penalties. Drug dealers and money launderers need not apply. But if the money was earned legally, tax evaders can usually avoid criminal prosecution. In March, the IRS began a six-month amnesty program that sweetened the offer with reduced penalties for people with undeclared assets. IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said the response has been unprecedented. Shulman would not say how many people have applied so far. But the IRS said 400 people applied to voluntarily disclose undeclared assets in a single week in July, compared with fewer than 100 applications all last year. The amnesty program, which ends Sept. 23, is part of a larger effort by federal authorities to crack down on international tax evaders. Each time someone walks through the door with a disclosure, we get more information. We get more information about other people. We get more information about other financial institutions, Shulman said. If people have been hiding assets in the past, they should be nervous, and they should be a lot more suspect about doing it in the future. The U.S. recently reached agreements with several countries, including Luxembourg and Switzerland, to share more tax information in the future, just as the IRS is strengthening its enforcement ranks. President Barack Obama, in his proposed 2010 budget, asked Congress to pay for 800 additional agents, examiners and lawyers to go after people who hide money overseas. Mr. Obama also wants Congress to require overseas financial institutions doing business in the U.S. to share more information with the IRS. Earlier this year, UBS admitted assisting U.S. citizens in evading taxes as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department. UBS agreed to disclose the names of about 300 American clients and pay a $780 million penalty. The IRS subsequently filed its case seeking the names of 52,000 additional U.S. taxpayers believed to be hiding assets in UBS accounts. So far, four UBS customers whose names were given to U.S. authorities under the prior agreement have made deals to plead guilty to tax charges in federal court. The UBS case, the agreements we are signing, the legislative proposals and the enforcement efforts are all meant to send one message, which is that if you owe tax to the U.S., we are going to use every tool we have available to get that, said Michael Mundaca, acting assistant treasury secretary. Sen. Carl Levin, a
[FairfieldLife] Re: Alternative to Transcendental Meditation
Natural Stress Relief (NSR) going back into this thread, NSR seems an American project. I spoke over the weekend with someone just back from a summer in London who now was visiting FF. That person observed that an English group widely promotes alternative Transcendental Meditation there for the same reasons as NSR is stating here. This person was saying that the alternative was really the only meditation being widely promoted around publicly. Posters on public transport, articles and ads. At temples around London the alternative was the only thing available meditation wise. Same thing in yoga studios there. The alternative was what was available. Is TM in trouble for its public costume? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: An alternative to Transcendental Meditation August 10, 6:29 PMPhoenix Alternative Religions ExaminerWayne Purdin NSR Inc. Founder David Spector Some readers think that I am a proponent of Transcendental Meditation. And I've received email from TMers accusing me of putting TM in a bad light by allowing negative comments about it. They're both wrong. I am an objective reporter. In this article I will objectively report on an alternative to TM, called Natural Stress Relief (NSR). You might ask, if TM is so great why do we need an alternative? Unfortunately, TM has developed several aspects that prevent many people from being able to learn. Its course fee has become prohibitively high ($1500.00 for adults, $750 for students and $375 for children under 18), and it includes nonessential elements that many find to be religious or mystical, and therefore objectionable to some people. The need for an alternative was clear, and a nonprofit group in Italy called Istituto Scientia, led by physics researcher Fabrizio Coppola, got together in the late 1990's to develop a comparable technique that did not have these objectional aspects. By 2003, Istituto Scientia was offering their own course, called la Tecnica Naturale Anti-Stress (TNAS) in Italian, and Natural Stress Relief in English. In 2006 David Spector, a former TM teacher, was inspired to help. David founded Natural Stress Relief, Inc., an independent nonprofit corporation, to produce and distribute the NSR learning materials in hardcopy and CDs throughout the world in cooperation with Istituto Scientia. Since 2006 nearly one thousand individuals have learned NSR Meditation through NSR Meditation/USA. I recently talked with David about NSR and this is what he had to say: Q. Doesn't NSR violate copyright law? Aren't you guilty of plaigarism? A. We have copied no written or copyrighted TM material except for very brief and attributed quotations from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of TM. Q. When I became a TM teacher, I had to sign a legal document promising not to teach it outside of the TMO. How did you get around this? A: When I graduated from 8 months of teacher training in residence with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1972, our group was asked orally not to teach TM outside of Maharishi's organizations, and I have not done so. My last TM teaching was done in 1974. I was also asked not to reveal that pledge, but you did ask a direct question and I believe that only an honest answer is ethical. Maharishi was certainly very concerned (as am I) about what he liked to call the purity of the teaching, but he was at the same time supportive (at least in the early 1970s) of people teaching the simple, natural, effortless, and effective technique of transcending to as many people as possible. He taught us that this knowledge is no one's property but that it comes to us from the long and freely available Vedic tradition passed from teacher to student in India. He said we should enlighten the world, whether we called it TM and worked through his organizations or whether we called it something else and worked independently of his organizations. An early example was Deepak Chopra, a disciple of Maharishi who decided to form his own organization and teach his own techniques based on the same Vedic tradition of effortless enlightenment. Maharishi reluctantly approved his doing so and Deepak is still helping the world today. Another example is the Advaita Meditation organization, which is teaching mantra meditation independently with the blessing of the current leader of that Vedic tradition in South India at Sringeri (Maharishi was a disciple of the leader of the same tradition in the north of India at Jyotir Math). Q. What do you say to critics who accuse you of being in it for the money? A. Natural Stress Relief, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The NSR organizations are not only nonprofit, but volunteer as well. The officers receive no income
[FairfieldLife] Nice page on Swami Brahmananda Saraswati
[FIRST PAGE] http://oaks.nvg.org/index.html Swami Brahmananda: Teachings 3 2 2 [THE SET] http://oaks.nvg.org/pega17.html[SITE MAP SECTION] http://oaks.nvg.org/ind-3.html#c2[SITE QUERIES] http://oaks.nvg.org/ind-3.html[SITE SEARCH] http://oaks.nvg.org/ind-6.html[YOGA TERMS] http://oaks.nvg.org/yogord.html [COLUMN SETTING] [RESERVATIONS] http://oaks.nvg.org/reservations.html [PREVIOUS] http://oaks.nvg.org/ind-3.html#c2 [NEXT] http://oaks.nvg.org/tm-.html * Preliminaries http://oaks.nvg.org/vo1ra2.html#prel * Shankaracharya Brahmananda - Extracted Teachings http://oaks.nvg.org/vo1ra2.html#extea [The Guru Dev Shankaracharya Brahmananda Sarawati Ji] Sri Shankaracharya Brahmananda Sarawati Ji IN 1941, after twenty years of entreaties, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (1871-1953) agreed to be the Shankaracharya [spiritual head] of Jyotir Math in India, after the chair had been vacant for a century. His close disciple Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brought the simple diving method TM (Transcendental Meditation) to the West in 1959. NOTE: The hog plum (species: Spondias mombin) is cultivated for its edible, plumlike fruits. The large stone in each fruit bears many spines and is difficult to separate from the pulp. [Ebu hog plum] PreliminariesAt his first press conference in the USA on Wednesday, 29 April 1959, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi told of his intention to spiritually regenerate the whole world, adding: My life truly began 19 years ago at the feet of my Master when I learned the secret of swift and deep meditation, a secret I now impart to the world.Maharishi also says, Right from the beginning the whole purpose was just to breathe in his breath. This was my ideal. His Guru was Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, and they met when Maharishi was 23. One look at the glowing silent face of Swami Brahmananda had the young man enthralled at once. Swami Brahmananda insisted that before he accepted Mahesh as a disciple he should complete his studies at university; and receive parental permission before joining him. Tuesday, 1 April 1941 the highly respected Brahmananda became the Shankaracharya (head) of Jyotir Math, Badrikashram, Himalayas, and was since known as Jagadguru Shrimad Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Maharaj Ji. In TM circles he is referred to as Gurudev or Guru Dev. A Story from His Training [Swami Krishnananda - sepia-toned from a larger picture] Swami Krishnananda Saraswati (detail) http://www.shrigurudevji.com/photo_gallery.htm AFTER completing his study of the scriptures and having discovered the truth about his innermost Self, the twenty-five years old Brahmananda accompanied his guru Krishnananda. For about a month they stopped over at the nice little village of Kajliwan near Rishikesh. They were given a rousing welcome. Among those who thronged to have a blessed glance at them was a Brahmin milkman. He used to offer milk to the holy guests that visited the place. Brahmananda arranged with him to bring half a litre of milk every day, and would boil and serve it to his gurudev every night. But one day the Brahmin's wife said to her husband, The cow has given very little milk today. It will not be enough even for the children. The husband, however, paid no heed to her and supplied half a litre as usual to the honoured guests. When Brahmananda warmed up the milk and served it to his Master, the latter said, There is woe in the milk today. I shall not drink it. Please return it to milkman and tell him to stop giving it. Brahmananda did so. About fifteen days later the milkman's son died. The whole place feared that Krishnananda was displeased with the Brahmin milkman, who therefore had lost his son. On hearing it, Krishnananda said to Brahmananda, When the people take the boy's corpse to the cremation grounds, tell them to send for me before making the funeral pyre. It so happened. The corpse was placed on the ground and Krishnananda came to the place. He kicked the lifeless head gently with his foot, saying, Why do you sleep so much? And then the boy was on his feet. Afterward, on reaching their hut, Krishnananda said to Brahmananda, It's better to leave this place right now before all the dead people here start pestering us for life! And with that he left. [Retold from The Whole Thing - The Real Thing [Link http://www.shrigurudevji.com/ ] Quick Returns Required [HOHO] Years later, high up in the mountains Brahmananda in turn gave his disciple Mahesh a certain errand. He was asked to run to a place high up and far away (probably distant Tapoban) to deliver a message to a holy man who lived there. On arriving, the breathless and exhausted disciple waited for the reply. The saint, after reading the message, merely bid him return quickly to his guru. Many times did the brahmachari find himself on such a mission. But once he tripped and fell as a result of his undue haste. After dusting himself
[FairfieldLife] 'Shri Charpata Panjarika Stotram' ('Bhaja Govindam') sung by Guru Dev
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbEDqdJSxoofeature=channel_page http://tinyurl.com/nstpqe
[FairfieldLife] Hugh Jackman and Howard Stern discuss Transcendental Meditation
http://tinyurl.com/qjepgv
[FairfieldLife] David Lynch - Transcendental Meditation
http://tinyurl.com/ryd26z
[FairfieldLife] David Lynch: Ten Minute Transcendental Documentary Preview
http://tinyurl.com/p7dyps
[FairfieldLife] Cosmically Conscious / Paul McCartney Ringo Star
http://tinyurl.com/ovot4j
[FairfieldLife] Paul McCartney- Money Can't buy me love
http://tinyurl.com/n3nmbh
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Alternative to Transcendental Meditation
On Aug 17, 2009, at 7:19 AM, dhamiltony2k5 wrote: Natural Stress Relief (NSR) going back into this thread, NSR seems an American project. I spoke over the weekend with someone just back from a summer in London who now was visiting FF. That person observed that an English group widely promotes alternative Transcendental Meditation there for the same reasons as NSR is stating here. This person was saying that the alternative was really the only meditation being widely promoted around publicly. Posters on public transport, articles and ads. At temples around London the alternative was the only thing available meditation wise. Same thing in yoga studios there. The alternative was what was available. Is TM in trouble for its public costume? Very possibly, if recent nuisance legal threats to people criticizing TM or even mention of one of it's old teachers, Robin Carlsen, are any indicator, their honest image and reputation are becoming more widespread--and they don't like that. The recent wikileaks documents of the seedy inside of TM Org maneuvering and their great desire to close down sites critical of TM or TM research or TM being banned from schools would seem to indicate they have been in damage mode for some time now. The fact that they also have scientology-like leagues of TM digital-jihadists searching blogs referring to TM and controlling Wikipedia entries, so they can interject 'their version of history and theirs alone' is not a good sign IMO. Now should be a good time for alternative mantra-yogas to advertise their wares. Wanna make some money? Shemp McGurk TM (SMcTM) or Mc-TM for short would be a low cost, pure original version of TM without any of the ancillary programs, and will be able to be taught in any building. It's low cost does however require the signing of an unstressing waiver.
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer r...@... wrote: Maybe working closely with him has given her a perspective Raunchy can't attain. By the way, Rick, this makes no sense at all and smacks of off-putting elitism. Is Obama so magical that he transforms whoever is in presence into a more agreeable, therefore acceptable person, and those less fortunate cannot become so transformed? Hillary is an acceptable person in her own right whether or not she expresses strong opinions agreeing or disagreeing with Obama and so am I.
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, raunchydog raunchy...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@ wrote: This is all written as though there will definitely be no public option. I think it's too early to call. But those who wrote it take delight in doing so because it enables them to grind their anti-Obama ax once again. I agree that the 14th amendment should be changed. Corporate lobbying is this country's greatest curse. And changing it would be a serious Catch 22, as the corporate lobbyists would fight such change so fiercely. BTW, how do you think health care reform would be coming along if Hillary were president? I suspect she'd be getting twice the flak Obama is getting. Her praise for him was quite effusive in last week's Fareed Zakaria interview. Maybe working closely with him has given her a perspective Raunchy can't attain. Rick, If Obama had half the the passion for health care reform that Hillary does, the public option would not be in question today. The press tears Hillary to shreds over trivialities. Think what they would do if she even hinted a disagreement with Obama. So she's afraid of the press? Think what they'd do to her if she was president and pushed single-payer. If you think the right wing screamers and Big Money Insurance Industry influence is bad now, think single-payer health care a la Hillary aggression. And then look at the history of her last health care reform failure. Obama is likely going to pull off the best possible health care solutions possible, under the very REAL oppositional powers of massive, trillion dollar Big Corporate influences. You have to be realistic with what you want to accomplish. I totally believe that Obama would fully pursue single-payer [as he openly indicated some years back] if he thought it currently had a rats ass of a chance passing. It doesn't. Neither apparently does the public option - which, under the recommended mandates for insurance companies in the reform plan, wouldn't amount to a whole lot of differences anyway. Wait and see how things really DO change. As Bill Clinton said recently. The minute the president signs this bill, his approval will go up. Within a year, when the good things begin to happen, and the bad things they're saying will happen don't happen, approval will explode.
Re: [FairfieldLife] RIP Public Option
On Aug 16, 2009, at 11:27 PM, Rick Archer wrote: http://tinyurl.com/r23exl http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/rip-public-option/ This is all written as though there will definitely be no public option. I think it's too early to call. But those who wrote it take delight in doing so because it enables them to grind their anti- Obama ax once again. I agree that the 14th amendment should be changed. Corporate lobbying is this country's greatest curse. And changing it would be a serious Catch 22, as the corporate lobbyists would fight such change so fiercely. BTW, how do you think health care reform would be coming along if Hillary were president? I suspect she'd be getting twice the flak Obama is getting. Her praise for him was quite effusive in last week'sFareed Zakaria interview. Maybe working closely with him has given her a perspective Raunchy can't attain. The lobbyists have already made one of the biggest wins they could have prayed for and that was, despite huge, almost astronomical purchasing powers for hordes of meds, Obama appears to have conceded to not give the taxpayers a price reduction for the millions and millions of drugs they will have to purchase from Big Pharma. One widget one price, a million widgets the same price? WTF? How can we pretend to be anything like the Canadian plans, when they get HUGE discounts for a much smaller population for their pharmaceuticals. Seniors in Maine line up for buses to New Brunswick and get 60+% savings on the same meds in Canada. And he can't get a discount. It's insane. Time to scrap the plan.
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
It looks like the White House is trying to put the cat back in the public option bag AGAIN. Apparently Sebelius misspoke that a public option is not part of health reform. Let's see who else gave away the true intentions of Obama willing to sign a health care bill without a public option and had to cover for him? Oh yeah, Raham Emauel, misspoke when he said Obama would sign a bill without a public option. Max Baucus, Senate Finance chair, had no problem taking the public option off the table, giving away a significant bargaining chip when he didn't have to. Even the Blue Dog Dem Rep, Kent Conrad knows the score, The fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option, there never have been, so to continue to chase that rabbit is just a wasted effort. Obama disparately wants the cat to stay in the bag just long enough to make nice with the lefties. Jane Hamsher, doesn't buy it. She saw the cat trying to get out of the bag long ago and she preemptively launched a very successful campaign to lock House Reps into a pledge to reject any bill without a public option, and Rahm is pissed about leftie resistance. Good for Jane and good for all the lefties willing to stand strong on the public option. Get involved with Jane at Firedoglake and help fight for the public option: Jane's Whip count tool for The Pledge http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/publicoption An administration official said tonight that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius misspoke when she told CNN this morning that a government run health insurance option is not an essential part of reform. This official asked not to be identified in exchange for providing clarity about the intentions of the President. The official said that the White House did not intend to change its messaging and that Sebelius simply meant to echo the president, who has acknowledged that the public option is a tough sell in the Senate and is, at the same time, a must-pass for House Democrats, and is not, in the president's view, the most important element of the reform package. A second official, Linda Douglass, director of health reform communications for the administration, said that President Obama believed that a public option was the best way to reduce costs and promote competition among insurance companies, that he had not backed away from that belief, and that he still wanted to see a public option in the final bill. Nothing has changed., she said. The President has always said that what is essential that health insurance reform lower costs, ensure that there are affordable options for all Americans and increase choice and competition in the health insurance market. He believes that the public option is the best way to achieve these goals. A third White House official, via e-mail, said that Sebelius didn't misspeak. The media misplayed it, the third official said. http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/08/administration_official_sebelius_misspoke.php
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 9:19 AM, raunchydograunchy...@yahoo.com wrote: It looks like the White House is trying to put the cat back in the public option bag AGAIN. Apparently Sebelius misspoke that a public option is not part of health reform. #1, RD, I know what open option is with respect to the health care bill(s). I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about the issues and of course getting the rest of my information from Rachael Maddow. #2. You keep on running off that the sky is falling. You are not doing the White House any good and I'm sure they have many of your hysterical rants about health care posted here. The fact is, this is politics. Congress is in recess. It would be utterly stupid for Obama to waste his energy doing a lot of campaigning on health care right now. The president uses TV and Air Force One. No need to hop on a private rail car like Harry Truman and do whistle stop campaigning. Obama is a smart cookie and he's got some smart staff. He's also got a lot of people who voted for him to get health care passed. When recess is about to end, expect Obama, Joe Biden, cabinet members to be saturating the air waves, flying all over the country for town hall meetings and expect a lot of quid pro quo bargaining. Obama will get the best deal he can at the time, knowing that once he opens the door, it'll be easier to open further and harder to close back again. With respect to the mere pittance Obama worked out with pharm about lowering prices. Wait until Obama really squeezes their gonads to lower more. We have hurricane and swine flu season coming. Things to capitalize on. To paraphrase my favorite philosopher Joe Dimaggio, it ain't over until Hilary sings.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Alternative to Transcendental Meditation
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, dhamiltony2k5 dhamiltony...@... wrote: Natural Stress Relief (NSR) going back into this thread, NSR seems an American project. I spoke over the weekend with someone just back from a summer in London who now was visiting FF. That person observed that an English group widely promotes alternative Transcendental Meditation there for the same reasons as NSR is stating here. This person was saying that the alternative was really the only meditation being widely promoted around publicly. Posters on public transport, articles and ads. At temples around London the alternative was the only thing available meditation wise. Same thing in yoga studios there. The alternative was what was available. Is TM in trouble for its public costume? MMY put all of TM's credibility on the line with the TM Siddhis program (aka Yogic flying, yep we're ready for that), the party's over my friend, the fat Lady sang post Merv Griffin..IMO.
[FairfieldLife] Canadian Health Care Imploding
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jbjzPEY0Y3bvRD335rGu_Z3KXoQw http://tinyurl.com/lhfkyp Overhauling health-care system tops agenda at annual meeting of Canada's doctors By Jennifer Graham (CP) – 2 days ago SASKATOON — The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says this country's health-care system is sick and doctors need to develop a plan to cure it. Dr. Anne Doig says patients are getting less than optimal care and she adds that physicians from across the country - who will gather in Saskatoon on Sunday for their annual meeting - recognize that changes must be made. We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize, Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press. We know that there must be change, she said. We're all running flat out, we're all just trying to stay ahead of the immediate day-to-day demands. The pitch for change at the conference is to start with a presentation from Dr. Robert Ouellet, the current president of the CMA, who has said there's a critical need to make Canada's health-care system patient-centred. He will present details from his fact-finding trip to Europe in January, where he met with health groups in England, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands and France. His thoughts on the issue are already clear. Ouellet has been saying since his return that a health-care revolution has passed us by, that it's possible to make wait lists disappear while maintaining universal coverage and that competition should be welcomed, not feared. In other words, Ouellet believes there could be a role for private health-care delivery within the public system. To subscribe, send a message to: fairfieldlife-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!'Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: mailto:fairfieldlife-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:fairfieldlife-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: fairfieldlife-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[FairfieldLife] Lou Valentino's New E-Book is here...........................
Full Moon Messages from the Pleaidian’s by Lou Valentino is an intimate conversation with an advanced interdimensional race. They have provided 70 pages of information on “The Preparation Phase” 2012 - 2026. Copyright 2009. You can order the e-book by calling 860-664-9247. It can be purchased by using Visa or MasterCard. It will be available on my website to purchase by August 24th. The e-book is $10.00. If you would like a printed version bound in a folder the cost is $29.95 which includes shipping and handling. What will you gain by reading this channeled information? Ø You will discover the new model of Healthcare for humanity Ø The new Education of the “Preparation Phase” 2012 to 2026 Ø A new model of Economics based on small family groupings Ø A new model of Real Estate with get away vacations for everyone Ø A new approach to Romance and the definition of Soul Mates/Soul Twins Ø The new Guru/Disciple Relationship with information on the new Holy Tradition Ø Answers on how to prevent Cancer cells from staying alive Ø Information on the Pleiadian’s and how this culture lives Ø UFO appearance dates and its connection to the Mayan prophesies year 2012 Ø Meditations and Affirmations for better health, romance and abundance Endorsements are coming. The following endorsement was made so far: “Lou Valentino’s insights could help us look through the window of great possibilities for the future. I encourage everyone to explore his work.” Deepak Chopra A Radio interview by Mike Quinsey on BBS Radio will happen on Friday August 28th, 2009 to promote the new book. I will e-mail everyone next week to remind you with updated information and endorsements. Love and Light, Lou Valentino Swa Ha http://cdn-cf.aol.com/se/clip_art/gstres/anmls/dolphin-jumping http://cdn-cf.aol.com/se/clip_art/gstres/anmls/dolphin-jumping http://cdn-cf.aol.com/se/clip_art/gstres/anmls/dolphin-jumping IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TAKEN OFF OF THE MAILING LIST PLEASE TYPE “TAKE OFF LIST” IN THE SUBJECT FIELD WHEN YOU REPLY. THANK YOU. _
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Balance the budget now...or...impeach!
shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: shempmcgurk wrote: What would I do? I would institute a flat tax rate for everyone. I would cut spending on everything across the board in the percentage that the deficit was to total budget. That would be a windfall for the rich. They wind up paying less of their income in taxes than the lower and middle classes. So what exemptions do you propose for those classes? I would immediately eliminate Social Security, to boot. So what are the retirees depending on Social Security supposed to do? Go get jobs? What jobs? The poor seniors (those without assets) could go on welfare; those better off could live off of other assets or incomes, such as the IRAs most of them don't touch during their lifetimes (except for required minimum distributions that start at age 70 1/2). And those that need income can use their main asset -- their home -- and get a reverse mortgage to live off of. Certainly, for those that go on public assistance that would just be shifting the costs over to another department; but it would be less than the SS payout. In case you haven't been spending much time on planet Earth many people IRAs are in the toilet so fat chance they are going to have enough of one to retire on. And what home if it is under water or foreclosed? This is not the way it was supposed to work but we didn't have grownups in charge of things either in government nor business.
Re: [FairfieldLife] RIP Public Option
Rick Archer wrote: Corporate lobbying is this country's greatest curse. And changing it would be a serious Catch 22, as the corporate lobbyists would fight such change so fiercely. This has been a battle since the founding of this country. Immigrants from Europe came here to escape feudalism while feudalism lords have been trying to establish it here. The feudalist lords are winning. They are the lords of Wall Street and the boardroom. They want to make the populace their serfs. I hope that if they get anywhere near that far the public wakes up and burns the feudalist lords alive in their mansions.
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, It's just a ride bill.hicks.all.a.r...@... wrote: On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 9:19 AM, raunchydograunchy...@... wrote: It looks like the White House is trying to put the cat back in the public option bag AGAIN. Apparently Sebelius misspoke that a public option is not part of health reform. #1, RD, I know what open option is with respect to the health care bill(s). I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about the issues and of course getting the rest of my information from Rachael Maddow. #2. You keep on running off that the sky is falling. You are not doing the White House any good and I'm sure they have many of your hysterical rants about health care posted here. The fact is, this is politics. So Bill, have you called your Congressperson to pledge support for a public option? Do you think Jane Hamsher's activism is not doing the White House any good? Jane is a responsible lefty she is holding Congress and Obama accountable for a public option. If she hadn't started the pledged campaign early, Congress would have passed a bill without a public option before recess. Because of Jane's activism they could not have gotten away with it. Since recess, we have seen quite a show of right wing disinformation and left wing indignation, so that Obama will be forced to say, oops, sorry folks, I had to compromise the public option. Start looking behind the curtain. Congress is in recess. It would be utterly stupid for Obama to waste his energy doing a lot of campaigning on health care right now. The president uses TV and Air Force One. No need to hop on a private rail car like Harry Truman and do whistle stop campaigning. Obama is a smart cookie and he's got some smart staff. He's also got a lot of people who voted for him to get health care passed. When recess is about to end, expect Obama, Joe Biden, cabinet members to be saturating the air waves, flying all over the country for town hall meetings and expect a lot of quid pro quo bargaining. Obama will get the best deal he can at the time, knowing that once he opens the door, it'll be easier to open further and harder to close back again. With respect to the mere pittance Obama worked out with pharm about lowering prices. Wait until Obama really squeezes their gonads to lower more. We have hurricane and swine flu season coming. Things to capitalize on. To paraphrase my favorite philosopher Joe Dimaggio, it ain't over until Hilary sings.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 11:28 AM, raunchydograunchy...@yahoo.com wrote: So Bill, have you called your Congressperson to pledge support for a public option? Yes I did. And his aide told me I had called the wrong office. This is the office of one of the main opponents of the health care bill, Bill, he said. Public option is still on the table. Obama has front stage (read Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman) let public option slide. It is alive still and president Obama hasn't started fighting yet. I will definitely admit this president doesn't act like most. Most are out there ahead of the crowd, butting the heads of MCs, gathering public support, threatening MCs (especially Blue Dogs) with loss of national support and his support come their re-nomination, and using the bully pulpit. Obama doesn't use the bully pulpit all that well but he does get things (like a beer party between a cop and a scholar at the WH) done in his own way. The Israelis are complaining that Obama is anti-Semitic in his dealings in the Middle East. Well, score one for Obama, since we've been kissing ass of the Israelis since FDR. Obama, Biden, perhaps your secret lover, the rest of the Cabinet and White House staffers will come out swinging when it's time. And if Obama only gets half a loaf, he's accomplished a lot. When Congress passed the first income tax in 1916, it opened the door. Whatever Obama gets this time around will be a lot. Patton had on his wall, drag them by the balls and their hearts and minds will follow. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, Take the first step. You don't have to see the top of the stairs. Just take the first step. Congress is in recess. It would be utterly stupid for Obama to waste his energy doing a lot of campaigning on health care right now. The president uses TV and Air Force One. No need to hop on a private rail car like Harry Truman and do whistle stop campaigning. Obama is a smart cookie and he's got some smart staff. He's also got a lot of people who voted for him to get health care passed. When recess is about to end, expect Obama, Joe Biden, cabinet members to be saturating the air waves, flying all over the country for town hall meetings and expect a lot of quid pro quo bargaining. Obama will get the best deal he can at the time, knowing that once he opens the door, it'll be easier to open further and harder to close back again. With respect to the mere pittance Obama worked out with pharm about lowering prices. Wait until Obama really squeezes their gonads to lower more. We have hurricane and swine flu season coming. Things to capitalize on. To paraphrase my favorite philosopher Joe Dimaggio, it ain't over until Hilary sings. To subscribe, send a message to: fairfieldlife-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!'Yahoo! Groups Links -- Ignorance is thinking you know everything. Wisdom is knowing you don't... but I may be wrong.
[FairfieldLife] Was Kaplan's books business the straw that broke the Donkey's back?
Was Kaplan's books business the straw that broke the Donkey's back? http://tinyurl.com/obc4fy OffWorld
[FairfieldLife] Re: Oh, bama is kRSNa?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, John jr_...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, WillyTex no_reply@ wrote: cardemaister wrote: According to some DNA-studies, the dark-skinned people of India came from Africa... All humans probably came 'out of Africa'. However, according to linguists, the native inhabitants of South Asia probably came from Micronesia, until the arrival of the Aryan-speaking people, who probably came from the Caucasus area by way of what is now Iran. According to the Srimad Bhagavatam, humans are millions of years old, thus predating the fossils that were found. Maybe, but they evolved on planet Mercury which has an orbit of the sun every 80 days or so, so a million years for them was only about 150,000 years for us in Earth. OffWorld
Re: [FairfieldLife] Was Kaplan's books business the straw that broke the Donkey's back?
off_world_beings wrote: Was Kaplan's books business the straw that broke the Donkey's back? http://tinyurl.com/obc4fy OffWorld Have you bought a magazine lately? Have you noticed the prices? No longer are they the inexpensive items they used to be. No wonder publishers are having a hard time. We serfs are getting priced out of everything including food. I was just noticing price increases last week on food. No excuse for this other than speculators who should be hung from the nearest tree. How long are we going to stand for the rich screwing us?
[FairfieldLife] TONIGHT: Bill McKibben on The Colbert Report!
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=GfBs1oXRfOOJsST76TLN 1CV%2FcTjr5OoJ 350.org _ http://www.350.org/sites/all/files/images/polaroid_top.jpg http://www.350.org/sites/all/files/images/polaroid_left.jpg http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=MQWIi%2F5%2FGwIL516q R5AhtSV%2FcTjr5OoJ http://www.350.org/sites/all/files/images/polaroid_right.jpg http://www.350.org/sites/all/files/images/polaroid_bottom.jpg http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=j13Ud9VLOEPr7HGXu7bv xSV%2FcTjr5OoJ Tune in Tonight at 11:30PM on Comedy Central to watch Bill McKibben promote 350.org on The Colbert Report - and spread the word on Facebook by clicking here! Dear Friends in the USA, Tonight, at 11:30pm on Comedy Central, Bill is appearing on the The Colbert Report. For those of you who haven't seen it, The Colbert Report is a satirical (and hilarious!) late-night TV show that criticizes politics, media, and just about everything else. Its fictional anchorman, Steven Colbert, is a right-wing bully who has often declared his skepticism of global warming. Going on The Colbert report is very exciting, and it gives us a chance to reach a very wide audience with the 350 message. It's also a bit of a gamble--Colbert himself is sharp as a tack, and his writers come up with questions designed to embarrass and flummox his guests. Which is probably why Bill didn't want to publicize tonight's show. :) But the secret is out--so make some popcorn, tell your friends, and prepare to watch Bill and Stephen duke it out Monday at 11:30! And it repeats on Tuesday at 8:30 if you miss it! Enjoy the show tonight, May Boeve P.S. Have a Facebook account? RSVP http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=3S6xLYk%2FgncTmtk0Jr UOIyV%2FcTjr5OoJ to the Colbert Watch Party Facebook Event and help spread the word. You can also use Twitter to help build http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=J2zJtZKtxYvLdmavBTkB ISV%2FcTjr5OoJ the buzz about tonight's show or to send http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=Zj2MTBQF3FAOj2Kvinyy NyV%2FcTjr5OoJ Bill your tips on surviving an interview with Colbert. You should join us on Facebook by becoming a fan of our page at http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=dCw2kMILy066K04usuFe 2iV%2FcTjr5OoJ facebook.com/350org and follow us on twitter by visiting http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=j2ju9ksyW%2BDAMJbXEi wxbSV%2FcTjr5OoJ twitter.com/350 To join our list (maybe a friend forwarded you this e-mail) visit http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=RJ7j5IKcFFH1RPmNhIV% 2F6SV%2FcTjr5OoJ www.350.org/signup 350.org needs your help! To support our work, donate securely online at http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=Kl2Dz4IbS0lPltT%2FJE O0%2F08ynPXfB8lh 350.org/donate You are subscribed to this list as r...@searchsummit.com. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=2IpSyI%2B0yQl7vWhDvn zkOCV%2FcTjr5OoJ Click here to unsubscribe http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=aIlBMvdG52ySEffOQ3Gh 4yV%2FcTjr5OoJ 350.org is an international grassroots campaign that aims to mobilize a global climate movement united by a common call to action. By spreading an understanding of the science and a shared vision for a fair policy, we will ensure that the world creates bold and equitable solutions to the climate crisis. 350.org is an independent and not-for-profit project. What is 350? 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Scientists measure carbon dioxide in parts per million (ppm), so 350ppm is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change. To get there, we need a different kind of PPM-a people powered movement that is made of of people like you in every corner of the planet. http://www.350.org/sites/all/files/images/350footer2.jpg http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/TrackImage?key=1107257125
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
Can we have *tort reform* now? Please! A great Republican, conservative idea to reduce health care costs! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort_reform
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
BillyG. wrote: Can we have *tort reform* now? Please! A great Republican, conservative idea to reduce health care costs! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort_reform Until an MD leaves a medical tool inside you during surgery. You'd better leave recourse for that. Certainly malpractice insurance adds a ridiculous amount to our medical bills. It probably wouldn't be so necessary if all doctors were interested in practicing medicine and not just as a source of revenue so they can spend more time on the golf course. And malpractice insurance is only part of the medical bloat. Requiring a staff to deal with health insurance companies is another. Gee, it all comes back to insurance. Time to scrutinize the ENTIRE insurance scam ... er I mean industry.
[FairfieldLife] What did I tell ya?
Last week or so someone posted a news item or two that said we're coming out of the recession. I said bullshit to that. It was just a scam to get you back in the market and buying their stocks so they can laugh all the way to the bank or the gold seller. Well now our experts are saying maybe recovery isn't here after all. Don't you just love this comedy series? Optimism about a recovery starting to fizzle Observers expect stocks’ rally to end as economic reality starts to set in By John W. Schoen Senior producer updated 10:27 a.m. PT, Mon., Aug 17, 2009 What happened to all the optimism? Less than a week ago, many people were celebrating the beginning of the recovery. The Federal Reserve itself claimed the economy is “leveling out.” Now some investors and market watchers say the stock market may have overestimated the prospects for an economic rebound — and share prices could be due for a bigger pullback after a 50 percent surge since March. More here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32448488/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/ To subscribe, send a message to: fairfieldlife-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!'Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: mailto:fairfieldlife-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:fairfieldlife-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: fairfieldlife-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[FairfieldLife] Re: Was Kaplan's books business the straw that broke the Donkey's back?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, off_world_beings no_re...@... wrote: Was Kaplan's books business the straw that broke the Donkey's back? http://tinyurl.com/obc4fy OffWorld Who's to say? Reader's Digest paid something like $350 million to Kaplan and then he bought it back from them, as I understand it, for a far less figure. Did Reader's Digest, while owning Books are fun (or whatever it was called), make money or lose money on the enterprise? What was the difference between what they paid Kaplan and what they got back? And whatever this net (loss) was, was it the straw that broke the camel's back? Gosh, it very well could have been but in such cases it is very difficult to assign cause and effect as to whether it was this or that that caused the bankruptcy. It seems that apart and separate from buying and running Kaplan's company that Digest wasn't doing very well anyways.
[FairfieldLife] Re: What did I tell ya?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: Last week or so someone posted a news item or two that said we're coming out of the recession. I said bullshit to that. It was just a scam to get you back in the market and buying their stocks so they can laugh all the way to the bank or the gold seller. Well now our experts are saying maybe recovery isn't here after all. Don't you just love this comedy series? What? Bhairitu, don't you believe that your Messiah, the Chosen One, Barry Obama, isn't taking us to the promised land? Are you suggesting he is failing? Optimism about a recovery starting to fizzle Observers expect stocks' rally to end as economic reality starts to set in By John W. Schoen Senior producer updated 10:27 a.m. PT, Mon., Aug 17, 2009 What happened to all the optimism? Less than a week ago, many people were celebrating the beginning of the recovery. The Federal Reserve itself claimed the economy is leveling out. Now some investors and market watchers say the stock market may have overestimated the prospects for an economic rebound and share prices could be due for a bigger pullback after a 50 percent surge since March. More here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32448488/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, BillyG. wg...@... wrote: Can we have *tort reform* now? Please! A great Republican, conservative idea to reduce health care costs! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort_reform I haven't read the wiki entry yet but someone here posted an article on what is causing waste in healthcare and tort reform not only would save money on the astronomical fees doctors pay for mal-practise insurance but, more importantly, there would be hundreds of billions of dollars saved each year because we could then do away with unnecessary diagnostic tests, scans, and what-not that are ordered each year by doctors afraid that they aren't covering their butts if they are eventually sued. Of course, Barry Obama made it quite clear when he was in front of the AMA giving that speech a month or so ago that he would NOT be implementing or introducing tort reform with the healthcare reform bill. Gosh...and why is that? Because attorneys make astronomical contingency fees off the backs of victims who sue doctors for malpractise. John Edwards is a case in point because he is worth about $100 million which he made off of lawsuit contingency fees (remember when he channelled a dead baby in front of jurors?). And the attorney lobby has been squarely in the Democratic Party camp for the last 30 years and have successfully managed to veto ANY attempts at tort reform. No healthcare reform should happen WITHOUT tort reform...and if Barry were actually serious in bipartisanship and in getting the healthcare bill through then that is what he should accept.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
But.. but... what about... all those poor lawyers? --- On Mon, 8/17/09, BillyG. wg...@yahoo.com wrote: From: BillyG. wg...@yahoo.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 17, 2009, 7:42 PM Can we have *tort reform* now? Please! A great Republican, conservative idea to reduce health care costs! http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Tort_reform
[FairfieldLife] Canada doesn't have these multi-million dollar medical suits
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: BillyG. wrote: Can we have *tort reform* now? Please! A great Republican, conservative idea to reduce health care costs! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort_reform Until an MD leaves a medical tool inside you during surgery. You'd better leave recourse for that. [snip] But...but...but...Bhairitu, aren't you one of those who admire the Canadian one-payer universal healthcare system? And want it implemented here? Well, it may interest you to know that these mega multi-million dollar mal-practise suits are virtually unknown in Canada. So why not adopt that Canadian practise, too?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
EXactly! I think we aught to ban golf! Screw those rich people out of having a good time with all that *easy money*. Just think of all the neat new reality based TV programming that could replace it like *ManTracker Through Mine Fields* or *Escape From North Korea* or *Busted Gay in Iran*. --- On Mon, 8/17/09, Bhairitu noozg...@sbcglobal.net wrote: From: Bhairitu noozg...@sbcglobal.net Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 17, 2009, 8:11 PM BillyG. wrote: Can we have *tort reform* now? Please! A great Republican, conservative idea to reduce health care costs! http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Tort_reform Until an MD leaves a medical tool inside you during surgery. You'd better leave recourse for that. Certainly malpractice insurance adds a ridiculous amount to our medical bills. It probably wouldn't be so necessary if all doctors were interested in practicing medicine and not just as a source of revenue so they can spend more time on the golf course. And malpractice insurance is only part of the medical bloat. Requiring a staff to deal with health insurance companies is another. Gee, it all comes back to insurance. Time to scrutinize the ENTIRE insurance scam ... er I mean industry.
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, BillyG. wg...@... wrote: Can we have *tort reform* now? Please! A great Republican, conservative idea to reduce health care costs! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort_reform Not much of a reduction at all: U.S. health care spending totaled about $1.4 trillion in 2002 (excluding spending on public health and capital improvements), according to data from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Malpractice costs amounted to an estimated $24 billion in 2002, but that figure represents less than 2 percent of overall health care spending. -- Congressional Budget Office JANUARY 8, 2004 http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/49xx/doc4968/01-08-MedicalMalpractice.pdf ALSO - - Texas Judges Agree: Tort Reform Unnecessary - A recent two-year survey of Texas judges shows that runaway juries and frivolous lawsuits are mostly fictional events and that tort reform legislation isn't necessary. To evaluate the nation's need for tort reform, Baylor Law School researchers surveyed a broad sample of trial judges, whose unique position allows them to view the same evidence as jurors, yet remain non-partisan regarding trial outcomes. Impartial observation of numerous trials over time also guards against the possibility that a judge would adopt broad generalizations based on individual, isolated verdicts. All 389 judges on the bench in Texas at survey time received detailed questionnaires, and 78% participated. Their responses demonstrate that tort reform advocates, at least in Texas, have made many unfounded claims regarding the need to cap jury awards with legislation. Eighty-three percent of responding judges reported that in the last 2 years, they hadn't seen a single runaway jury verdict. In fact, 58% believed that juries awarded damage amounts that were inappropriately low at least at times. Forty-four percent said that they hadn't presided over a single frivolous case in four or more years, and 86% said no additional legislation was needed to properly address those cases (Texas, like many other states, already has Rules of Civil Procedure that allow sanctions to be imposed for bringing frivolous suits). The report also addresses the impact of many popular tort reform anecdotes that are alternately misleading or fabricated. It is published in the Spring 2007 issue of Baylor Law Review. http://www.dcmedmalblog.com/tort-reform-texas-judges-agree-tort-reform-unnecessary.html
Re: [FairfieldLife] Canada doesn't have these multi-million dollar medical suits
shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: BillyG. wrote: Can we have *tort reform* now? Please! A great Republican, conservative idea to reduce health care costs! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort_reform Until an MD leaves a medical tool inside you during surgery. You'd better leave recourse for that. [snip] But...but...but...Bhairitu, aren't you one of those who admire the Canadian one-payer universal healthcare system? And want it implemented here? Well, it may interest you to know that these mega multi-million dollar mal-practise suits are virtually unknown in Canada. Probably because they have doctors who actually want to practice money rather than get rich quick?
[FairfieldLife] Malpractice Lawsuits Are Red Herring in Obama Plan
Malpractice Lawsuits Are `Red Herring' in Obama Plan A 2004 report http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/49xx/doc4968/01-08-MedicalMalpractice.pdf by the Congressional Budget Office also pegged medical malpractice costs at 2 percent of U.S. health spending and even significant reductions would do little to reduce the growth of health-care expenses. The proportion of medical malpractice verdicts among the top jury awards in the U.S. has declined during the past 20 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Of the top 25 awards so far this year, only one was a malpractice case. At least 30 states cap damages in medical suits, primarily for pain and suffering awards. By Alex Nussbaum [220] June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Protecting doctors from lawsuits may do more to gain political cover for President Barack Obama http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Barack+Obamasite=wnewsclient=wne\ wsproxystylesheet=wnewsoutput=xml_no_dtdie=UTF-8oe=UTF-8filter=pge\ tfields=wnnissort=date:D:S:d1 's health-care overhaul than to rein in medical costs. While Obama vowed to address physicians' malpractice worries in a speech yesterday, annual jury awards and legal settlements involving doctors amounts to a drop in the bucket in a country that spends $2.3 trillion annually on health care, said Amitabh Chandra http://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/amitabh-chandr\ a , a Harvard University economist. Chandra estimated the cost at $12 per person in the U.S., or about $3.6 billion, in a 2005 study http://ksghome.harvard.edu/%7Eachandr/HA_PhysicianMalpracticeNatlPracti\ tionerData_2005.pdf . Insurer WellPoint Inc. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=WLP%3AUS said last month that liability wasn't driving premiums. Obama told an American Medical Association http://www.ama-assn.org/ meeting in Chicago yesterday that his efforts to cut costs and increase coverage couldn't succeed without freeing doctors from the fear of lawsuits. While that may be what his audience needed to hear, the evidence that malpractice drives up health-care costs is debatable, said Robert Laszewski http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Robert+Laszewskisite=wnewsclient\ =wnewsproxystylesheet=wnewsoutput=xml_no_dtdie=UTF-8oe=UTF-8filter=\ pgetfields=wnnissort=date:D:S:d1 , an Alexandria, Virginia, consultant http://www.healthpol.com/ to health insurers and other companies. Medical malpractice dollars are a red herring, Chandra said in a telephone interview. No serious economist thinks that saving money in med mal is the way to improve productivity in the system. There's so many other sources of inefficiency. Obama, appealing for doctors' support for health-care legislation, said he would explore a range of ideas to reduce the effect of lawsuits, without giving specifics. While he opposes caps on jury malpractice awards, Obama said he recognized the legal threat spurs doctors to perform unnecessary tests and procedures -- so-called defensive medicine. `Fear of Lawsuits' Making U.S. care more efficient will be harder if doctors feel like they are constantly looking over their shoulder for fear of lawsuits, the president said. One possibility the Democratic administration has mentioned is shielding doctors from liability if they follow best practice guidelines developed by physicians' groups, said J. James Rohack http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/about-ama/our-people/board-trustees/our\ -members/j-james-rohack.shtml , incoming president of the 250,000-member AMA, in a news conference after the speech. Doctors were thrilled to hear Obama acknowledge the issue, even with the lack of specifics, said Nancy Nielsen http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Nancy+Nielsensite=wnewsclient=wn\ ewsproxystylesheet=wnewsoutput=xml_no_dtdie=UTF-8oe=UTF-8filter=pg\ etfields=wnnissort=date:D:S:d1 , the outgoing president. What we heard we were very pleased with, Nielsen said. He is open to considering options that will lower the cost of defensive medicine. While stating opposition to caps, the president has not taken that off the table, she said. In a letter http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/31/stakeholders-to-obama.pdf\ to Obama on June 1, the doctors suggested Congress fund pilot projects for state courts or administrative agencies specializing in malpractice. They also recommended experimenting with predetermined schedules for injury awards and early offer initiatives designed to speed settlements. Exorbitant Premiums Exorbitant malpractice premiums are making it harder for doctors to stay in the business, and hurting taxpayers whose money goes for publicly funded clinics, said William C. Parrish Jr., chief executive officer of the Santa Clara County Medical Association, based in San Jose, California. The group represents 3,600 physicians. Capping awards is going to ruffle the feathers of trial bar attorneys, he said by phone. They are going to say it's affecting these poor victims. But if we could provide 5,000 more free visits at the
[FairfieldLife] Re: RIP Public Option
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mike Dixon mdixon.6...@... wrote: But.. but... what about... all those poor lawyers? Q: What do you call 5000 dead lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A: A good start, nyuk, nyuk! (From an evil, mean-spirited Republican)
Re: [FairfieldLife] Canada doesn't have these multi-million dollar medical suits
On Aug 17, 2009, at 4:13 PM, Bhairitu wrote: shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: BillyG. wrote: Can we have *tort reform* now? Please! A great Republican, conservative idea to reduce health care costs! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort_reform Until an MD leaves a medical tool inside you during surgery. You'd better leave recourse for that. [snip] But...but...but...Bhairitu, aren't you one of those who admire the Canadian one-payer universal healthcare system? And want it implemented here? Well, it may interest you to know that these mega multi-million dollar mal-practise suits are virtually unknown in Canada. Probably because they have doctors who actually want to practice money rather than get rich quick? Don't you mean practice medicine? Freudian slip...:) Sal
[FairfieldLife] Re: Was Kaplan's books business the straw that broke Readers Digest ?
Probably some truth to that. Locally, was a sorry deal for Fairfield employment when Books are fun sold as a business to Readers Digest. On the whole, Readers Digest acquired a pretty well run business model. Then took them only a very few short years to consult the living daylights out of it and `manage' it completely to death. Readers Digest evidently took it from 360 million to 17 million in what, three years? Stunning example of American run corporate business of the 90's and 00's. In listening to people who worked Books are Fun through the demise of the business by Readers Digest, it was pretty clear that Readers Digest should rate a `sell' if you would be holding the Readers Digest stock. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, off_world_beings no_reply@ wrote: Was Kaplan's books business the straw that broke the Donkey's back? http://tinyurl.com/obc4fy OffWorld Who's to say? Reader's Digest paid something like $350 million to Kaplan and then he bought it back from them, as I understand it, for a far less figure. Did Reader's Digest, while owning Books are fun (or whatever it was called), make money or lose money on the enterprise? What was the difference between what they paid Kaplan and what they got back? And whatever this net (loss) was, was it the straw that broke the camel's back? Gosh, it very well could have been but in such cases it is very difficult to assign cause and effect as to whether it was this or that that caused the bankruptcy. It seems that apart and separate from buying and running Kaplan's company that Digest wasn't doing very well anyways.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Canada doesn't have these multi-million dollar medical suits
Sal Sunshine wrote: On Aug 17, 2009, at 4:13 PM, Bhairitu wrote: shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: BillyG. wrote: Can we have *tort reform* now? Please! A great Republican, conservative idea to reduce health care costs! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort_reform Until an MD leaves a medical tool inside you during surgery. You'd better leave recourse for that. [snip] But...but...but...Bhairitu, aren't you one of those who admire the Canadian one-payer universal healthcare system? And want it implemented here? Well, it may interest you to know that these mega multi-million dollar mal-practise suits are virtually unknown in Canada. Probably because they have doctors who actually want to practice money rather than get rich quick? Don't you mean practice medicine? Freudian slip...:) Sal Yes, sometimes I just type way too fast! :-D Practicing money is something Shemp wishes he could do.
[FairfieldLife] So, Raunchy, Obama has given up on the public options, huh?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/health.care/index.html http://tinyurl.com/leefle But making the issue negotiable might be a necessity for any legislation to pass through the Senate. Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, one of six Senate Finance Committee members who have been trying to hammer out the first bipartisan compromise bill, said Sunday a public option simply won't make it through Congress. The fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for a public option. There never have been, Conrad told FOX News Sunday. Video Watch bloggers give their opinions of the focus on the public option » Instead of a public option, the negotiators are considering a plan proposed by Conrad to create nonprofit health insurance cooperatives that could negotiate coverage as a collective for their members. Such cooperatives, which have already been established in cities such as Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Seattle, Washington, are designed to provide better coverage at a lower cost for their members in part by funneling profits back into the system. They are also designed to help alter the larger health care landscape by forcing private competitors to lower their prices. Liberal critics note, however, that membership in a cooperative is not free of cost. Cooperatives can -- and often do -- reject prospective members, and are therefore less likely than other public alternatives to help reach the goal of universal health coverage. -- Ignorance is thinking you know everything. Wisdom is knowing you don't... but I may be wrong.
RE: [FairfieldLife] So, Raunchy, Obama has given up on the public options, huh?
From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:fairfieldl...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of It's just a ride Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 5:51 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] So, Raunchy, Obama has given up on the public options, huh? http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/health.care/index.html http://tinyurl.com/leefle But making the issue negotiable might be a necessity for any legislation to pass through the Senate. Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, one of six Senate Finance Committee members who have been trying to hammer out the first bipartisan compromise bill, said Sunday a public option simply won't make it through Congress. The fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for a public option. There never have been, Conrad told FOX News Sunday. Video Watch bloggers give their opinions of the focus on the public option Instead of a public option, the negotiators are considering a plan proposed by Conrad to create nonprofit health insurance cooperatives that could negotiate coverage as a collective for their members. Such cooperatives, which have already been established in cities such as Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Seattle, Washington, are designed to provide better coverage at a lower cost for their members in part by funneling profits back into the system. They are also designed to help alter the larger health care landscape by forcing private competitors to lower their prices. Liberal critics note, however, that membership in a cooperative is not free of cost. Cooperatives can -- and often do -- reject prospective members, and are therefore less likely than other public alternatives to help reach the goal of universal health coverage. -- Ignorance is thinking you know everything. Wisdom is knowing you don't... but I may be wrong. What am I missing? This implies that he may have given up on a public option and that these cooperatives would be a substitute, and maybe inferior.
Re: [FairfieldLife] So, Raunchy, Obama has given up on the public options, huh?
On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 6:43 PM, Rick Archerr...@searchsummit.com wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/health.care/index.html http://tinyurl.com/leefle What am I missing? This implies that he may have given up on a public option and that these cooperatives would be a substitute, and maybe inferior. If YRTFA you'd see that Obama has not given up on a public option. I listed out his fallback position if he can't get a public option.
[FairfieldLife] Post Count
Fairfield Life Post Counter === Start Date (UTC): Sat Aug 15 00:00:00 2009 End Date (UTC): Sat Aug 22 00:00:00 2009 176 messages as of (UTC) Mon Aug 17 23:43:42 2009 23 shempmcgurk shempmcg...@netscape.net 19 raunchydog raunchy...@yahoo.com 18 Bhairitu noozg...@sbcglobal.net 14 do.rflex do.rf...@yahoo.com 11 Rick Archer r...@searchsummit.com 11 It's just a ride bill.hicks.all.a.r...@gmail.com 9 nablusoss1008 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 9 WillyTex no_re...@yahoogroups.com 7 off_world_beings no_re...@yahoogroups.com 6 TurquoiseB no_re...@yahoogroups.com 5 dhamiltony2k5 dhamiltony...@yahoo.com 5 BillyG. wg...@yahoo.com 4 bob_brigante no_re...@yahoogroups.com 4 Vaj vajradh...@earthlink.net 4 John jr_...@yahoo.com 4 Alex Stanley j_alexander_stan...@yahoo.com 3 cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com 3 Sal Sunshine salsunsh...@lisco.com 3 Mike Dixon mdixon.6...@yahoo.com 2 shukra69 shukr...@yahoo.ca 2 ruthsimplicity no_re...@yahoogroups.com 2 gullible fool ffl...@yahoo.com 2 Michael Gurevich m...@thepump.com 1 wayback71 waybac...@yahoo.com 1 metoostill metoost...@yahoo.com 1 guyfawkes91 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 1 wle...@aol.com 1 Mike m...@thepump.com 1 Ghanesh PV ghan...@gmail.com Posters: 29 Saturday Morning 00:00 UTC Rollover Times = Daylight Saving Time (Summer): US Friday evening: PDT 5 PM - MDT 6 PM - CDT 7 PM - EDT 8 PM Europe Saturday: BST 1 AM CEST 2 AM EEST 3 AM Standard Time (Winter): US Friday evening: PST 4 PM - MST 5 PM - CST 6 PM - EST 7 PM Europe Saturday: GMT 12 AM CET 1 AM EET 2 AM For more information on Time Zones: www.worldtimezone.com
[FairfieldLife] Howard Dean: Bill Will Pass With The Public Option
Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag51uG9T2b4eurl
[FairfieldLife] MORE - Howard Dean: Bill Will Pass With The Public Option
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, do.rflex do.rf...@... wrote: Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag51uG9T2b4eurl MORE: Howard Dean on Morning Joe The president knows very well that you aren't really going to have health care reform without a public option. But he also knows he has to get this out of the Senate, Dean said on Morning Joe. He's got a very important member of the Finance Committee, Kent Conrad, who doesn't want to vote for this bill if it's got a public option in it. And he knows he's not going to get any Republican votes, of any kind. So at the end of this day, this bill is going to be written by Democrats. It's got to get out of the Senate. And you only need a few Democrats to take out the public option. He added that with Republicans unlikely to support any version of health care legislation, he had no doubt that the final reform bill would be passed with the help of reconciliation, which means Democrats need only to muster 50 votes in the Senate rather than the usual 60. Dean told RCP earlier this year that a health care reform bill without a strong public option was pointless. If it doesn't, all we have is the same old stuff, and I don't think it's worth spending $634 billion on what we've already got, he said. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/2009/08/dean_confident_public_option_w.html
[FairfieldLife] Re: So, Raunchy, Obama has given up on the public options, huh?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer r...@... wrote: From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:fairfieldl...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of It's just a ride Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 5:51 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] So, Raunchy, Obama has given up on the public options, huh? http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/health.care/index.html http://tinyurl.com/leefle But making the issue negotiable might be a necessity for any legislation to pass through the Senate. Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, one of six Senate Finance Committee members who have been trying to hammer out the first bipartisan compromise bill, said Sunday a public option simply won't make it through Congress. The fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for a public option. There never have been, Conrad told FOX News Sunday. Video Watch bloggers give their opinions of the focus on the public option Instead of a public option, the negotiators are considering a plan proposed by Conrad to create nonprofit health insurance cooperatives that could negotiate coverage as a collective for their members. Such cooperatives, which have already been established in cities such as Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Seattle, Washington, are designed to provide better coverage at a lower cost for their members in part by funneling profits back into the system. They are also designed to help alter the larger health care landscape by forcing private competitors to lower their prices. Liberal critics note, however, that membership in a cooperative is not free of cost. Cooperatives can -- and often do -- reject prospective members, and are therefore less likely than other public alternatives to help reach the goal of universal health coverage. -- Ignorance is thinking you know everything. Wisdom is knowing you don't... but I may be wrong. What am I missing? This implies that he may have given up on a public option and that these cooperatives would be a substitute, and maybe inferior. You're right, Rick. Kent Conrad, Blue Dog Dem, is one of the last people you want to hear talking about health care. Co-ops are useless excuses for a public option, crumbs for the people and a backdoor exit from the conversation about a public option. Such a compromise is an admission of defeat. Either Bill is taken for a ride and equates a public option with a co-op, or buys into the notion that this is a smart political move that lets Obama sign a bill, any old crappy bill. If so, Obama is doing what I predicted...giving insurance/big pharma exactly what they wanted all along. Today Matt Taibbi, I love this guy, wrote Obama's Pre-emptive Health Care Surrender Matt does his home work. He recently had a well received investigative report for the Rolling Stone on the historical shenanigans of Goldman Sachs. The Great American Bubble Machine Matt works independently, he has no axe to grind. Now that he has set his sights on Obama's health care plan, I'm confident we can rely on him to give us the straight scoop. He will give more details in a forthcoming piece this week. Matt: But the notion that our president not only does not have any use anymore for a public option, but in fact will be satisfied if there is merely choice and competition in the market is, well, disgusting. Read more: http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/2009/08/17/key-feature-of-obama-health-plan-may-be-out-washingtonpost-com/ http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/29127316/the_great_american_bubble_machine ALSO: Business Week: The Health Insurers Have Already Won DemocracyNow! Amy Goodman: In a cover story for BusinessWeek earlier this month, reporters Chad Terhune and Keith Epstein argue UnitedHealth and other insurers maneuvered to shape healthcare reform for their own benefit. The story is titled The Health Insurers Have Already Won, and the authors argue that the insurers have succeeded in redefining the terms of the reform debate to such a degree that no matter what specifics emerge in the voluminous bill Congress may send to President Obama this fall, the insurance industry will emerge more profitable. We speak with Chad Terhune, senior writer at BusinessWeek, where he's covered healthcare for several years. Read More: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/17/business_week_the_health_insurers_have
[FairfieldLife] Re: So, Raunchy, Obama has given up on the public options, huh?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, It's just a ride bill.hicks.all.a.r...@... wrote: On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 6:43 PM, Rick Archerr...@... wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/health.care/index.html http://tinyurl.com/leefle What am I missing? This implies that he may have given up on a public option and that these cooperatives would be a substitute, and maybe inferior. If YRTFA you'd see that Obama has not given up on a public option. I listed out his fallback position if he can't get a public option. The only way we are going to get a public option is to reject the idea that a co-op is an acceptable fallback position. Co-ops are an admission for defeat. Anthony Weiner was on TV today kicking ass about the public option. http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/08/17/weiner-senate-healthcare-deal-could-cost-100-house-votes/ Show your appreciation for him fighting the good fight. http://weiner.house.gov/email_anthony.aspx
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: So, Raunchy, Obama has given up on the public options, huh?
On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 8:50 PM, raunchydograunchy...@yahoo.com wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, It's just a ride bill.hicks.all.a.r...@... wrote: The only way we are going to get a public option is to reject the idea that a co-op is an acceptable fallback position. Co-ops are an admission for defeat. Why oh why do you have to keep seeing this as Earth, The Final Battle (a terrible former TV series)? Co-ops are not an admission for defeat. They are the shits, as they deny people with pre-existing conditions and toss out people who become expensive. But a co-op system is closer to a public option system next go around than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. I want it all, so does Obama. But if we have to hammer away year after year, any step would be a start. Stop hating insurance companies and big pharma. They will both be put in their place, just not in one swell foop. You know if we forbid pharma from advertising, they'd have more money left over than what they spend on RD? Water can wear away rock. We'll get to a good place, just maybe not by January.
Re: [FairfieldLife] The Lord of the Universe is still around
On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 8:58 PM, Rick Archerr...@searchsummit.com wrote: This guy's been on Fairfield's FPAC local TV 9 lately.Turns out he's THE original Maharaji, boy guru and Lord of the Universe from 40 years ago. Read this before you buy a bridge from him. Classic (his?) techniques follow. OMG. I remember this guy. I lived in a spiritual commune for a while and some of the members of the commune followed The Lord of The Universe. AFAIK their meditation consisted of attaining inner light by mashing their fingers into their eyes until they saw stars. What very weird followers. And to think The Lord of The Universe was deposed by his mother.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: So, Raunchy, Obama has given up on the public options, huh?
It's just a ride wrote: On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 8:50 PM, raunchydograunchy...@yahoo.com wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, It's just a ride bill.hicks.all.a.r...@... wrote: The only way we are going to get a public option is to reject the idea that a co-op is an acceptable fallback position. Co-ops are an admission for defeat. Why oh why do you have to keep seeing this as Earth, The Final Battle (a terrible former TV series)? Co-ops are not an admission for defeat. They are the shits, as they deny people with pre-existing conditions and toss out people who become expensive. But a co-op system is closer to a public option system next go around than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. I want it all, so does Obama. But if we have to hammer away year after year, any step would be a start. Stop hating insurance companies and big pharma. They will both be put in their place, just not in one swell foop. You know if we forbid pharma from advertising, they'd have more money left over than what they spend on RD? Water can wear away rock. We'll get to a good place, just maybe not by January. Maybe we should wish for coup d'etat that would make the US a socialist state and then we can have single payer. Those who complain, well off to the camps for them. ;-) Unfortunately that may be the only way we'll ever see a decent health care system due to the brainwashed folks who think free market capitalism is the cat's meow. We call them the me people or is it the me ow people?
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Lord of the Universe is still around
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, It's just a ride bill.hicks.all.a.r...@... wrote: On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 8:58 PM, Rick Archerr...@... wrote: This guy's been on Fairfield's FPAC local TV 9 lately.Turns out he's THE original Maharaji, boy guru and Lord of the Universe from 40 years ago. Read this before you buy a bridge from him. Classic (his?) techniques follow. OMG. I remember this guy. I lived in a spiritual commune for a while and some of the members of the commune followed The Lord of The Universe. AFAIK their meditation consisted of attaining inner light by mashing their fingers into their eyes until they saw stars. You gotta be kidding. Spiritual growth through pressure phosphenes?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Lord of the Universe is still around
On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 10:06 PM, Alex Stanleyj_alexander_stan...@yahoo.com wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, It's just a ride bill.hicks.all.a.r...@... wrote: You gotta be kidding. Spiritual growth through pressure phosphenes? Let's put this into perspective. For $5,000 I'll teach you how you can eventually attain the strength of an elephant. Take home tapes and two week in residence in a Hell hole are required but cost extra $$$.
[FairfieldLife] Swiss health care for US?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/opinion/17krugman.html
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: So, Raunchy, Obama has given up on the public options, huh?
From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:fairfieldl...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of It's just a ride Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 9:16 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: So, Raunchy, Obama has given up on the public options, huh? On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 8:50 PM, raunchydograunchy...@yahoo.com mailto:raunchydog%40yahoo.com wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife%40yahoogroups.com , It's just a ride bill.hicks.all.a.r...@... wrote: The only way we are going to get a public option is to reject the idea that a co-op is an acceptable fallback position. Co-ops are an admission for defeat. Why oh why do you have to keep seeing this as Earth, The Final Battle (a terrible former TV series)? Co-ops are not an admission for defeat. They are the shits, as they deny people with pre-existing conditions and toss out people who become expensive. But a co-op system is closer to a public option system next go around than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. I want it all, so does Obama. But if we have to hammer away year after year, any step would be a start. Stop hating insurance companies and big pharma. They will both be put in their place, just not in one swell foop. You know if we forbid pharma from advertising, they'd have more money left over than what they spend on RD? Water can wear away rock. We'll get to a good place, just maybe not by January. I hope you're right. I think Obama wants to do the right thing and I think that we armchair quarterbacks have no idea what he's up against. They say that the job is like drinking from a fire hose - so much coming at you. I find it encouraging that he finds the job exhilarating (his word) and not overwhelming, as some of his predecessors obviously did. Howard Dean was on the news tonight trashing the co-op idea. He says many of them have collapsed. Maybe they'd be more successful it they became more mainstream and millions were members.
