What’s news today folks?
The new health reform rules have been released.
From NBCNews
“Long-awaited federal rules for health insurance plans came out Tuesday, and they make clear that insurance plans that people can buy on the open market next year will look a lot like some of the most popular plans on offer now – with a few big differences.
As the 2010 health reform law requires, insurers will no longer be able to dump patients who are starting to cost too much, they won’t be able to charge women more than men, they have to cover anyone who can pay and they’ll have to pay for maternity care, eye exams for kids and for mental health services.”
“The rules on so-called essential health benefits –specific services that insurers have to offer and conditions they must cover — include 10 areas: Ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment, prescription drugs, rehabilitative services and devices, laboratory services, preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.
“The proposed rule defines essential health benefits based on a state-specific benchmark plan, including the largest small group health plan in the state,” HHS says. These can be the largest plan, for instance, or the largest commercial health maintenance organization in a state.”
Here’s a story most will dislike, and which could cause some problems for foreign relations.
From TheHill
“The United States used U.S.-Israeli spy software to hack into the French presidential office earlier this year, the French cyberwarfare agency has concluded, according to the newsmagazine l’Express.
The magazine reported late Tuesday that the computers of several close advisers to then-president Nicolas Sarkozy – including Chief of Staff Xavier Musca – were compromised in May by a computer virus that bears the hallmarks of Flame, which was allegedly created by a U.S.-Israeli team to target Iran’s nuclear program. Anonymous French officials pointed the finger at the United States.”
“Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano reportedly did not deny the allegations when asked point-blank about them.”
Here’s another on the UN Small Arms Treaty.
Also from TheHill
“Several dozen members of the House have introduced a resolution that calls on President Obama not to sign the United Nations’s Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). It also demands that if Obama does sign it, the government should not spend any time or money on implementation until the Senate approves it.
The resolution, whose main sponsor is Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), argues that the ATT does not recognize the right of American citizens to keep and bear arms, and thus threatens to undermine the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The ATT aims to regulate international trade in conventional arms.
“There is considerable cause for alarm regarding the UN’s renewed efforts to forge an Arms Trade Treaty that could trample the constitutional rights of Americans, and could seriously compromise our national security and the security of our allies, whom we will be less able to arm and less quick to defend due to the restrictions placed on us by the ATT,” Kelly said Friday. “My colleagues and I stand committed to fighting this threat to our sovereignty and to standing up for the U.S. Constitution, which we are all sworn to support and defend.””
Well we know what the House is doing, let’s check on the Senate.
From C/NETNews
“A Senate proposal toutedas protecting Americans’ e-mail privacy has been quietly rewritten, giving government agencies more surveillance power than they possess under current law, CNET has learned.
Patrick Leahy, the influential Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has dramatically reshaped his legislation in response to law enforcement concerns, according to three individuals who have been negotiating with Leahy’s staff over the changes. A vote on his bill, which now authorizes warrantless access to Americans’ e-mail, is scheduled for next week.
Leahy’s rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies — including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission — to access Americans’ e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge.
CNET obtained a draft of the proposed amendments from one of the people involved in the negotiations with Leahy; it’s embedded at the end of this post. The document describes the changes as “Amendments intended to be proposed by Mr. Leahy.””
And yet these are the same people who told us they were worried about the Patriot Act stealing liberties. Go figure.
Solyndra Redux?
From CNSNews
“The White House announced the federal government will spend $6 billion over four years for a “sustainable energy future” plan with Asian countries that involves loaning tax dollars to other countries to increase their purchasing power for U.S. technology, services and equipment.
“Recognizing that energy and the environment are among the most pressing issues confronting our region, President Obama, in partnership with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and President of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, today proposed the U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Partnership for a Sustainable Energy Future,” the White House announced Tuesday as Obama visits Asian Pacific countries.
The initiative comes after the Obama administration has been criticized for spending billions to subsidize U.S.-based green energy companies that went on to declare bankruptcy, including Solyndra, Ener1, A123, Beacon Power and other failed renewable energy ventures.”
Sure it’s a failure, so act like Democrats and just throw more money at it. It’s worked so well for Education and such, right?
The Hostess mediation has failed.
From ZeroHedge
“Last week, when discussing the next steps for the company, and specifically the hope that mediation may resolve the epic animosity between management and workers, we stated that “What makes a mediation improbable is that the antagonism between the feuding sides has certainly hit a level of no return: “Several unions also objected to the company’s plans, saying they made “a mockery” of laws protecting collective bargaining agreements in bankruptcy. The Teamsters, which represents 7,900 Hostess workers, said the
company’s plan would improperly cut the ability of remaining workers to use sick days and vacation.” Sure enough, moments ago we learned that mediation has now failed and the liquidation may proceed. And since in America nobody understands that proper sequence of events involved in a bankruptcy liquidation, where the valuable parts always end up being acquired by someone, in this case the Twinkie brand and recipe, let the pointless Ebay bidding wars over Twinkies continue.”
More from the WallSt.Journal
“Hostess Brands Inc. will continue down the path to a full liquidation after a last-ditch mediation session with its striking bakers’ union failed to save the Twinkie maker.
The company, which has already shuttered its plants and sent its workers home, will push ahead with its bid to embark on a shutdown that will leave about 18,500 people unemployed and its iconic brands either in the hands of new owners or gone forever, a company spokesman said Tuesday evening.”
😦
Wandering Views 
Will, the small arms treaty will certainly try to take away our weapons. This is why arm sales are soaring right now. If the Useless Nations want my weapons, they can have them. BULLETS 1ST.
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Everyone in college who is interested primarily in getting rich should switch majors to psychology or psychiatry. Since insurers will have to provide coverage for mental health and since modern America believes all Americans have some mental problem (ADD, OCD, IUD, etc), this is the biggest blank check since Medicare. Of course, this will drive up the cost of insurance and further ruin the country, but purely materialistic college students could make their fortunes and then flee to a better governed nation.
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So this AM, I’m reminded of that (ahem) person that said something to the effect that if someone shot at him 120 times and missed he’d cease worrying.
Well, they stopped missing. Is that stupidhead now worrying?
http://news.yahoo.com/amid-gaza-diplomacy-bus-bomb-hits-tel-aviv-115729349.html
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“loaning tax dollars to other countries to increase their purchasing power for U.S. technology, services and equipment.”
How dumb can it get?
I’ll loan you the money to buy my car and you can pay me back when you win the lottery.
The Chinese will be glad to buy our technology with our money.
I can’t think of a single stable country that needs money to buy our service, etc.
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There continue to be rumors on the arms treaty regarding gun rights — don’t be fooled by marketing techniques meant to get you into the gun store to buy more guns. The treaty does not and will not affect the second amendment or second amendment gun rights.
If you have read that this treaty has been concluded, that is also false. The treaty is still under negotiation. If you have read that this treaty affects domestic gun legislation, that is also false. The treaty addresses the international small arms trade.
a link to snopes: http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/untreaty.asp
and a link to the treaty itself. Please read it — original source material: http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/SALW/
Chas
Loans like this to foreign countries to buy US stuff really ought to be simply labeled: subsidy for US business.
AJ
Thanks for picking up the CNET story — this is something folks ought to get to writing their Senators and Congressmen about. Both parties have been supporting this type of legislation — they both need to stop.
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CB. I do not trust this administration. If they lied about Bengazi, they will lie about an arms treaty. The UN has become a click of despots ruled from Saudi Arabia. They are not to be trusted. Pure and Simple.
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drives
Read the treaty for yourself. Read the record of negotiations for yourself. Then make an informed opinion. pure and simple.
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CB,
I need no incentive from gun manufacturers for anything. One need look no further than the evening news to see why you should be armed, for home protection at a minimum. The world is a very dangerous place, now more than ever.
Here’s a simple solution for the UN and Obama to address concerns like these.
“The resolution, whose main sponsor is Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), argues that the ATT does not recognize the right of American citizens to keep and bear arms, and thus threatens to undermine the Second Amendment of the Constitution.”
If this is still in the draft stage and under negotiation, then simply put in some language that recognizes our rights as American citizens under the 2nd Amend. of the our Constitution. If it really isn’t a backdoor attempt to limit private citizens rights, then simply state that. It’s that simple, problem solved.
But I see no effort by Obama to push for such protective language, and I don’t trust him to not use something like this to restrict gun rights. He’s already stated his wish to put further restrictions on gun purchases as well, as have most Dems. The solution is simple. If they don’t do it, then this should be fought against, because they are not to be trusted. If it’s not your goal, state it in the document and protect it. Easy-peasy.
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AJ, I suspect the arms treaty is also a ploy by Riyadh to limit arm sales to Israel as well to take away firearms from American’s. In Israel, every Israeli carries a weapon. If Smith and Wesson, Colt, Winchester or Glock can no longer ship weapons to Israelis, the Jews will no longer have a means to protect themselves from the Religion of Peace.
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Heard from my daughter-in-law’s childhood friend who lives in Tel Aviv. They are fine, scared and hoping things will end soon.
And she is grateful for prayers.
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“stupidhead”
I read this blog for the mature level of discourse. That, and I am nostalgic for Junior High School.
🙂
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AJ
There’s no effort to introduce language that harkens to national law because its an international treaty — when we introduce such language it invites countries like North Korea to apply national law. You can imagine how that works out if human rights issues are introduced in the treaty itself … Moreover, such language is not necessary. UN treaties are not self-executing in the US. Ratification processes also add reservations and understandings to the package. It’s standard practice for ratification packages to include language that subjects the treaty itself to the US Constitution.
Kelley’s amendment is silly, unnecessary and would make the negotiation more complicated.
Drives
I don’t even know what to write with respect to that. It is so far from the realm of reality I can’t begin to know where to start.
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http://cfif.org/v/index.php/commentary/42/1505-real-danger-of-the-uns-arms-trade-treaty-is-in-the-interpretation-not-the-text-
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Drives
Dick Morris’ video begins with incorrect information. The treaty was not signed in July. It’s good to see him with a strong batting record of wrong uninterrupted. Morris also predicted a landslide for Romney and we know how that went too. If you can find me a link that doesn’t start out with wrong information, I’ll have a look at it.
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The second link is someone (don’t know who would have to look up the organization) on Harold Koh’s beliefs regarding transnational legal theory and the origins of the Declaration of Independence. The article is mistaken when it states that the Declaration had naught to do with international legal thinking at the time. The bill of particulars in the Declaration is a specific legal attempt to prove why the King had not met his duties as a ruler — this was cutting edge international law thinking at the time.
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All this talk about treaties is useless. What good is a treaty with North Korea, and Iran? They will supply Hamas, al Quada and all the others with all the arms they need. The US government supplied the Mexican drug dealers with enough to last ten years. The bad guys will never run out of guns. Bigger and better guns.
It’s unenforceable.
Forget about it.
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http://www.poa-iss.org/PoA/poahtml.aspx
To destroy surplus small arms and light weapons designated for destruction, taking into account, inter alia, the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on methods of destruction of small arms, light weapons, ammunition and explosives (S/2000/1092) of 15 November 2000.
30. To support, where appropriate, national disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, particularly in post-conflict situations, with special reference to the measures agreed upon in paragraphs 28 to 31 of this section.
At the global level
32. To cooperate with the United Nations system to ensure the effective implementation of arms embargoes decided by the United Nations Security Council in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
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DrivesGuy, Would you feel better if Texas was a member of the UN Security Council?
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I would feel better if we sent the Useless Nation of despots packing. Let New York turn the UN building into public housing for the victims of super storm Sandy until the people can get back on their feet.
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Drives, Let’s wait a little while before you run the UN out of New York. Texas plans to send a particularly outrageous ambassador who will make full use of his diplomatic immunity.
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Ricky, I would like to see a new Republic formed where all the states that are looking toward secession would elect Colonel Alan West as the Republic’s New President
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Meanwhile, the TSA once again lives up to its reputation of employing perverts and sexual predators under the guise of protecting the public. http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/national/airport-pat-down-congressmans-niece-sparks-federal/nTBy9/
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Good news (from AP): BREAKING: Egypt announces cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas effective Wednesday evening.
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Drives, I like Colonel West, but I have already established the Kingdom of Texas by pulling a sword from a stone last weekend. I would expect quick recognition from the nations of Niue, Transnistria, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Nauru and Comoros.
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Joe B.,
That one is bad. This is even worse. Apparently it’s hard to find decent airline industry workers.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/11/14/paralyzed-vet-sues-airport-airline-workers-for-mistreatment-at-ohare/
“A former U.S. Marine, who was left in a wheelchair following his service in Afghanistan, is filing a lawsuit alleging he was injured and left soaked in his own urine after he was mistreated by airline and airport workers at O’Hare International Airport nearly two years ago.
WBBM Newsradio’s Terry Keshner reports former Marine Sgt. Joseph Smith was wounded in Afghanistan in 2004, and confined to a wheelchair.
Smith is suing Air Serv Corporation and United Airlines for $300,000 in damages, claiming an Air Serv employee carelessly dumped him out of his wheelchair at O’Hare in November 2010, after ignoring warnings a wheel had become stuck.”
“I flew out of my chair, hit my head on the left side of my head. … I landed on my head,” Smith said.
He suffered a concussion, and said he was denied an aisle seat on his United Airlines flight, and was forced to drag himself to his seat without help. His catheter bag spilled in the process, soaking him with urine.”
Idiots.
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You may not believe this, but there was a time when stewardesses were all women. They were trained for all emergency situations that could arise in an airplane.
Circa 1960, I visited the American Airlines stewardess training station in Dallas (or maybe Fort Worth). They had a large turnover because their stewardesses were always getting married and left.
In those days, they quit when they got married. I don’t know why.
In those days, people would dress up for an airline trip.
When I did lots of flying, I always removed my tie before boarding a plane.
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Circa 1975, That facility still existed and it also contained the latest flight simulators. As the Dad of one of my friends was a senior pilot at American, we could take college girls out there and give them (supervised) rides on the simulators. (We never had them practice jumping out of the floating fuselage into the pool (that simulated the ocean).
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Illinois Rep. Jackson resigns from Congress —-
There were reports he was going to step down to avoid jail time and that his wife is going to take his seat.
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As for the UN, it is one of the most anti-american group out there. The UN is even talking about how they can tax’s people and then give the money to the poorer nations…
I wonder how Mr. Obama is going to handle that treaty onces it gets pass the UN, since our Nation is clear all tax’s start in the House and then goes to the Senate.
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Drives
You do know what a post-conflict nation would be right? And you do know that the small arms destruction contemplated is for arms that have been traded illegally. That would include any weapons you might have purchased in the wake of the big scare now being perpetrated on fearful gun owners.
Aj
I have a couple of wheel-chair bound founds who tell me that what happened in the story you cite is fairly common. Airlines are not so good at handling folks with wheelchairs.
Donna
yes, a bright spot. Let’s hope it holds.
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If it bleeds, it leads and hence the over -reporting of violent crime. Since the 70s and mostly due to demographics, violent crime has been in the steady decline. Now there are any number of reasons to buy a gun but self-protection is not very valid.
According to Steven Pinker, in The Better Angels of Our Nature, violence has been on a long term decline since ancient times. He makes a pretty good case for it …. and its a good read.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11107244-the-better-angels-of-our-nature
As for the rest of the world, we really don’t care how many guns Americans buy. In all likelihood, most of us probably don’t even think about it except when contemplating a holiday in the US. Hence, the current mutterings of some republicans that the current treaty is a plot to take away your 2nd ammendment rights is an appeal to the parnoid style of american politics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paranoid_Style_in_American_Politics
Since most Isrealis prefer Uzis over small arms I highly doubt this treaty is a plot to disarm the Isrealis.
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Now there are any number of reasons to buy a gun but self-protection is not very valid.
There’s not a statistic in the world that could validate that opinion. If confronted by a violent criminal, having a gun can be an effective method of self-defense. That’s valid, because there *are* violent criminals.
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its still valid but not “very” valid. to clarify, the chances of being subject to a violent act which necessitates the use of a gun for self defense is extremely rare.
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CB, I will have you know Madam. I have purchased all my weapons LEGALLY. If fact, I consider your accusation that I would purchase a weapon illegally is a personal insult.
I do not trust Washington, period. The pinheads in DC have long digressed from the intent of the founding fathers.
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
Thomas Jefferson
“One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them.”
Thomas Jefferson Letter to George Washington, 1796
“A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercise, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball and others of that nature are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks.”
Thomas Jefferson’s advice to his 15 year-old nephew Peter Carr 1785
“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed, and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country: but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be compelled to render military service in person.”
James Madison, Proposed Amendments to the Constitution June 8, 1789
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Well if rarity of something means precautions to mitigate that something are “not very valid,” what’s the point of seatbelts or steel-toed shoes? Is there some degree of likelihood–like a certain percentage or something–that causes a thing to go from absurd to valid? What’s that percentage or something?
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Chas, as I recall stewardesses HAD to resign if they got married. Maybe I’m remembering that wrong, but I thought that was the deal until it finally got changed either in the very late 1960s or early 1970s with the advent of the women’s movement.
I think part of the job requirement was being single.
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Maybe it was more in the 1950s, that probably would have taken in the early ’60s (I was a kid in ’60, but seems like I remembered hearing all about the strict requirements of old when I was in college):
http://airandspace.si.edu/americabyair/activities/stewardess/index.cfm
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Ah, here we go: (from http://femininityinflight.com/activism.html )
Late September 1965:
The EEOC issued general guidelines on sex discrimination, including the finding that firing female employees for marriage when the policy was not applied to male co-workers was discriminatory.
…..
January 20, 1966:
Northwest flight attendant Judith Evenson filed the first Title VII civil action against an airline in a Virginia federal court, charging that her termination for marriage was illegal sex discrimination. (Evenson would never receive a ruling on the merits of her case, however; apparently she settled with the carrier eventually.)
…..
April 1967
Despite the growing number of grievance cases in which flight attendant successfully challenged terminations for marriage, Terry Van Horn Baker lost her marriage grievance against United. The loss was a major setback for flight attendants, because of United’s size and its particularly staunch resistance to changing discriminatory policies in the face of growing legal and labor relations challenges.
…….
May 1967:
Nancy Wheelock won her marriage grievance against American Airlines. Because American was, like United, among the largest employers of stewardesses and
resistant to their anti-discrimination efforts, Wheelock’s victory was an important step forward for flight attendants after the failed grievance at United the month before.
……
August 1968
The Air Line Stewards and Stewardesses Association and American Airlines ended a protracted contract dispute. The carrier’s no-marriage rule had been a major
sticking point. The dispute was finally settled just before the stewardesses were scheduled to go on strike. Under the new contract of August 1968, American’s all-female
flight attendants finally won the right to marry without forfeiting their jobs.
…..
November 1968
United and the Steward & Stewardess Division of the Air Line Pilots Association signed a new contract that granted stewardesses the right to marry and remain
employed. The new United stewardess contract effectively brought an end to airlines’ enforcement of single-women-only policies.
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So I guess that would explain the rapid turnover in stewardesses in the early ’60s. It was either quit or be fired!
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Donna, now that you mention it, I remember that it was so, they were required to resign.
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When my mother-in-law was in nursing school in the late forty’s it was against the rules for the students to get married. She eloped and kept it a secret until she got pregnant and had a miscarriage on the job. She was afraid she would get kicked out of school. Then they told her that they had changed the rules a few months earlier but hadn’t told the students for fear they would all run off and get married. She became the first married student in the school.
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KBells, I was thinking that a lot of the stewardesses also probably tried to *hide* their marital status at the time. Pregnancies likely ended the guise.
But insisting that stewardesses be only young, trim, single women really emphasized a sexualization of the job, I think. Nice that we now have professional “attendants” of both sexes on our flights.
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Donna, for some reason, I still don’t like male stewardesses.
But we had male flight attendants on our flights to Thule. They wouldn’t let women go there.
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Oh Drives, I’m so sorry. I did not mean to accuse you or anyone on this board of illegal purchases. I did mean to underscore that only illegally traded arms come under the Treaty — which would not include those being sold legally in the US. Sorry for any confusion on that point.
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I accept your apology CB.
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