lotstodo

It's just another way that Obama hides the true cost of Obamacare. Foist the costs off on other programs. I'm not sure how you view this as a "better deal". Medicare and Social Security are completely out of control, and guaranteeing the Pharmaceutical industry that you will not attempt to negotiate prices is not a good deal for anyone except the Pharmaceutical industry. Unlike Obamacare, the Republicans have a plan that will actually reduce the costs associated with the delivery of healthcare in the US. The Patient's Choice Act

The 50% discount is part of the $80 billion crony capitalistic deal between Obama and Big Pharma. In exchange, when the $80B runs out the deal runs out, and the government won't use competitive bidding to negotiate prices for drugs in the Medicare program in perpetuity. It's a super sweet deal for the drug companies and ultimately a loser for patients and the government that will allow Big Pharma to set prices without fear of competition. It's called political expediency.

Coal is an acknowledged problem, but not because of CO2. There are known problems with sulpher and heavy metals. These are valid reasons to explore cleaner ways to burn coal and to invest in conservation and research into alternative fuels as well as regulate actual pollutants with a well established cause and affect relationship to the environment. It is not, however, a reason to raise energy prices 30% to the enrichment of well connected industries and politicians and transfer billions of American taxpayer dollars to third world countries. Just because I find the so called science behind

Erosion and Sedimentation Control are first and foremost the purview of the local municipalities, and you are to go through them first. If you feel that you are not satisfied with that response, then you can report the problem directly to the EPD Watershed Protection Branch, who will first attempt to 'correct' the actions of the local inspectors, who work for the counties and cities, not the EPD. If you still feel that your problem has not gotten the full review that it deserves, you may take the complaint higher. I will add that I know some of these people personally, and I find it at b

No, this was always death counseling. The so called death panels were government appointed groups of bureaucrats and "experts" who would decide what patients were to be eligible for which treatments based upon actuarial tables and cost-benefit analysis (ie: as an example, if you are say 80 years old you may not be eligible for certain expensive cancer treatments, while 79 year old patients would, regardless of individual circumstance). The left used confusion over these two completely different sections of the law to state that there were no death panels because this was just an innocuous

The difference between the Chesapeake Bay and AGW are this: The fact that the bay was changing for the worse was self evident and the source of the problem was not only well documented, but was point source and reversible without bankrupting the country. The theory that the entire earth is warming is probably correct, but not undoubted. There is however a strong likelihood that this is part of a climate cycle that has occurred in the past. The theory that the problem is man made is far from settled science. The hypothesis of the connection between relatively small increases in CO2

Correct. The Op ed was published in 2000 in the Washington Post The writer, a senior research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was assistant director for national security in the Congressional Budget Office from 1994 to 1997. The original Article in the Washington Post, Wednesday, January 12, 2000; Page A19

Ate there last night. The catfish is OK, nothing exceptional, and certainly not as good as the old Dogwoods or even J-Rods. The sides were also good, with the exception of the gut bombers, which were over cooked, and the gulf shrimp are excellent.

Riiiiight. So if they don't play along with Kathy they get put out of business, and that doesn't direct premium decisions. I see. As long as they have the option of going out of business, then I guess they aren't being controlled by the Department of HHS then.

Another link This is all an effort to end-run Congress, which by some miracle declined to give HHS the formal legal authority to explicitly block premium increases, despite a direct appeal from President Obama. Instead, Ms. Sebelius is creating by regulatory fiat larger de facto powers to achieve the same end. Yesterday, HHS reiterated Ms. Sebelius's threat to exclude certain insurers from ObamaCare's insurance exchanges if they show "a pattern" of unjustified rate increases. In practice, that would be a corporate death warrant.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius unveiled proposed rules that would let the federal government help decide when and if an insurance company’s proposed premium increases are "reasonable." What do you call that? What euphemism for price controls is NPR using this week?

If they can set the price they completely control the company. It is a DEFACTO take over if the industry. They can call it whatever they want, but if I tell you how much you can make I own you. This is the reason that States must guarantee a "reasonable" profit margin to regulated industries.

Fingers and toes are crossed, and every good thought is going your way. Just remember that you have done your best and you can only control so much in life. I bet you get the contract.

If health insurance companies are now to become regulated utilities, like the power company or the gas company, then shouldn't their profit margin be guaranteed as well as their prices regulated? On what authority does the Federal Government propose to set the prices of these companies? Since when is the Federal Government responsible for this kind of direct interference in the "free market"? This is defacto nationalization of the industry. A government that controls price controls the industry.

They don't seem to value on time performance at all. I can't remember when I had an afternoon Delta flight that arrived on time. I always tell people that my flight will arrive at least a half hour later than the schedule, and so far I haven't surprised anyone by showing up early.

The PCOM e-mail notification system has been e-mailing me messages today and yesterday that another member has responded to a PM or has sent me a PM. This would have been welcome news 2 weeks ago when the conversations actually occurred.

John Hiatt The Open Road

That is exactly where the value of currency is germane to the conversation. It doesn't matter how many "dollars" one worker gets vs. another worker in another country. What matters is an equivalent standard of living. In other words, if a Mexican auto worker can afford 2 cars and a modest home and an education for his children, he may be considered middle class, just like his counterparts elsewhere, even though he makes less than his Japanese or non-union American counterparts makes in terms of dollars. This because of the exchange rate, and the fact that a dollar goes much farther in Mexic

I guess I missed this the first time around. Most nations "float" their currency, that is that they let the market decide the value of their base currency without too much manipulation. Every Country, including the US, manipulates the value to achieve certain goals, such as to stimulate borrowing, buying, or to fight inflation. Basically (very basically) they do so by manipulating the amount of money in the system. The US FED is right now intentionally devaluing the dollar through quantitative easing in a plan to "stimulate" growth by easing credit. Without going into the fallacy of that p

Good. DADT was a compromise equivalent to cutting the baby in half. It was a stupid idea.

Congratulations Surepip. Now maybe you can finally have your day in court. This whole thing is a travesty of the first order. I wish that criminal charges could be filed against the individual members of the previous commission, but I guess that using the legal system as a bludgeon is unfortunately, not worthy of such. That million bucks would sure help the county right about now wouldn't it?

I always pull over. If I'm in a hurry, I just think how much worse these folk's day is, and I'm thankful to be able to pull over and show due respect. In parts of Tennessee, folks get out of their cars and bow their heads.

What one wishes done with their earthly remains is the most personal of decisions and no other living creature is qualified to judge.

RE: the bolded part, the government can not give something that it does not first take away from somebody else. It is not the government's money, it is yours and mine, and our children's. Before you pick a winner, you must pick a loser. I feel for a lot of these folks, but I am not responsible for paying their mortgage. We already back 95% of new residential mortgages in the US through Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. That's more than enough "help".

One week? You are hanging your hat on the results for 1 week? Seriously? And a week during the Christmas Hiring season? Really? A week that showed a "whopping" 4% improvement but still a staggering 421,000 people NEWLY unemployed? Honestly? Full Recovery?