What’s interesting in the news today?
Penn State will pay 60 million to the Jerry Sandusky victims.
From MSNNews “Penn State said Monday it is paying $59.7 million to 26 young men over claims of child sexual abuse at the hands of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, a man once revered as a university icon who is now serving what is effectively a life prison sentence.
Nearly two years after the retired coach was first charged with child molestation, the school said 23 deals were fully signed and three were agreements in principle. It did not disclose the names of the recipients.”
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A federal judge has ruled that Texas’ new abortion law violates the rights of women seeking abortion.
Also From MSNNews “A federal judge has determined that new Texas abortion restrictions violate the U.S. Constitution, a ruling that keeps open — at least for now — dozens of abortion clinics that were set to halt operations Tuesday had key parts of the law taken effect.
In a decision released Monday that the state is certain to appeal, District Judge Lee Yeakel wrote that the regulations requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital creates an undue obstacle to women seeking an abortion.”
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Congressional investigators have “grilled” Benghazi witnesses. A move the White House isn’t happy with.
From TheLATimes “Responding to congressional subpoenas, the State Department security agents were asked how the Libyan terrorists stormed the mission and set parts of it on fire, how they were armed and how they killed four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, sources with knowledge of the matter said. The agents also were asked about security breakdowns and whether the administration reacted appropriately to the Sept. 11, 2012, assault.
How those highly guarded and secret interviews came about was part of an increasingly bitter dispute between two branches of the federal government.
Prosecutors are under intense pressure to arrest and convict the terrorists, while the Republican-led House is determined to find who is responsible for any lapse in security that night, and whether the administration misled the public when officials initially said the attack stemmed from a protest.”
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Separation of Church and State?…….. Anyone?
From News4Jax “Community organizers went to churches across the country, talking to members about the new health care law, with help from pastors.
Pastor John Newman introduced two community organizers from Enroll America who talked about the act, everything from coverage, cost, to how to enroll.”
“Our pastor, he keeps us real informed and grounded in what’s going on in the community, and he’s always bringing stuff to help us, so I love him for that,” Fletcher said.
That bond between a pastor and church members is what Enroll America is counting on as a part of their nationwide initiative called “Health Care from the Pulpit.”
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The Obama admin has finally admitted to the most obvious ObamaCare lie.
From NBCNews “President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that after the Affordable Care Act became law, people who liked their health insurance would be able to keep it. But millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.
Four sources deeply involved in the Affordable Care Act tell NBC NEWS that 50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a “cancellation” letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don’t meet the standards mandated by the new health care law. One expert predicts that number could reach as high as 80 percent. And all say that many of those forced to buy pricier new policies will experience “sticker shock.”
Be sure to welcome your liberal friends to reality. They’re new here, so a friendly, smiling face is important to helping them adjust. They’ll be plenty of time for saying “I told you so” later. 🙂
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Turns out the cancellations are the most efficient part of this whole fiasco. 🙄
From NationalReview “So far the part of the Obamacare rollout that is going most smoothly and affecting the most people is the cancellation of current insurance polices. In states around the country, hundreds of thousands of people are getting notices from insurers that their plans are no longer allowed by the law. All told, 16 million people may be dumped from their policies, in flagrant contradiction of President Obama’s famous promise that you can keep your health plan if you like it.
Maybe the president didn’t understand the basic architecture of his own health care law, which depends on a government takeover of the individual insurance market. The rules governing the new system impose a novel federal definition of insurance on the country, and plans that don’t meet it, regardless of how well they may have served their customers in the past, are, by and large, verboten. Some are grandfathered, but the rules are strict and a great many existing plans won’t pass muster.”
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Wandering Views 
Before Obamacare, the government already paid for 65% of healthcare costs, doing it in a stupid manner that raised prices for those who had to private pay. The only part of the system that was free enterprise was the cheap, high deductible plans purchased by wise Americans. The only reason to eliminate those plans is that the Democrats are trying to communize us. They aren’t just communists, they are lying communists.
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I have a question. If a person opts to pay the fine instead of buying insurance, what will happen when he gets sick and shows up at the hospital door? Will he still be treated (outside of the system, as he is today)?
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Linda,
Pretty much. You can pay the fine and not get insurance. If you get sick though, you will have to sign up to be covered by insurance, and it won’t be a quick procedure to do so. Until insurance kicks in, you owe for the bills. They can’t deny you or charge a higher rate for pre-existing conditions. And as always, hospitals must still provide life saving treatment, even if you can’t pay.
One word of warning though…
The fines will be increasing over time. It’s only $95 now, but once they see this happening, they’ll respond. Look for that to accelerate and the fines to grow quickly as a response to folks doing what you suggested. And if you get sick and do this, the govt may fine you for flouting the law as well.
So it’ll work, for now….
http://money.msn.com/health-and-life-insurance/article.aspx?post=f856a6b6-e9fb-4e6d-8429-67429f3b4f03
“It may seem like a clever idea to save yourself cash by not purchasing health insurance, but with Obamacare kicking in, you’ll have penalties to pay, which could cost you big bucks in the long run.
Not only are you playing financial Russian roulette — you could be forking out tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars if you’re injured in an accident or become seriously ill — you’ll also have to pay a penalty to the federal government for flouting the law, costing you hundreds or thousands of dollars more.”
“If you skip the insurance, you’ll pay a penalty. For 2014 the fine is $95 for an individual or 1% of your income, whichever is greater, along with $47.50 per uninsured child, maxing out at $285 for the year.
But by 2016, an individual would pay $695 or 2.5% of your income.”
They’ll take whichever is higher, the 2.5% or $695.
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A coupleof days ago, I posted on the Daily Thread a bit about Michelle’s classmate getting the contract for Obamacare. I said that I, or anyone with management experiecne could have brought it on, and described how it was done.
After consideration, I must insert a MAJOR caviat.
The things we worked with had clear goals and we described in clear terms what we wanted.
Someone said that the Medicare Program consisted of 57 pages.
Obomacare has over 2000 pages.
These pages were writen by many people over several years. Part of it is the Hillarycare project which was rejected years ago.
Other parts were things hidden in a drawer somewhere and pulled out to be inserted in a new law.
These parts don’t have anything to do with each other.
They may, in fact, contradict each other.
That means that a project manager may not really understand the goal of the programs he is writing.
That means that, ultimately, it is unworkable.
I got an e-mail, called, “The Forever Stamp” The stamp was a picture of a train wreck.
It is Obamacare.
Rush says that’s the objective. That it mess up the entire patient provider system.
Next station?
Single pay.
That’s where we’re headed all the time. We’re on the train and can’t get off.
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On Obama’s “light” style of governance:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304655104579163412724696396
“Call Mr. Obama’s style indifferent, aloof or irresponsible, but a president who governs like this reaps the whirlwind—if not for himself, then for his country.”
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That would be Michelle Obama, not me . . .
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🙂 Chas is chummy with the First Lady, apparently. Took me a few moments to realize who he was talking about, too.
Of course, our michelle is now almost exclusively posting incognito for some reason. …
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