Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : ECHARTERS -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E. Charters who wrote (3417)	11/30/2009 4:04:50 PM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 3744

Meet the Future Death Panel Czar by Robert Wenzel Nov. 30, 2009 economicpolicyjournal.com Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will determine what medical treatments are and are not available to you under the Senate health bill. It is quite possible she will determine if you live or die. A search of the Senate health bill will bring up "secretary" 2,500 times, according to Susan Ferrechio, Chief Congressional Correspondent for the Washington Examiner. Ferrechio continues: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would be awarded unprecedented new powers under the proposal, including the authority to decide what medical care should be covered by insurers as well as the terms and conditions of coverage and who should receive it. "The legislation lists 1,697 times where the secretary of health and humans services is given the authority to create, determine or define things in the bill," said Devon Herrick, a health care expert at the National Center for Policy Analysis. For instance, on Page 122 of the 2,079-page bill, the secretary is given the power to establish "the basic per enrollee, per month cost, determined on average actuarial basis, for including coverage under a qualified health care plan."...And the bill even empowers the department to establish a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation that would have the authority to make cost-saving cuts without having to get the approval of Congress first. "It's a huge amount of power being shifted to HHS, and much of it is highly discretionary," said Edmund Haislmaier, an expert in health care policy and insurance markets at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Haislmaier said one the greatest powers HHS would gain from the bill is the authority to regulate insurance. States currently hold this power, and under the Senate bill, the federal government would usurp it from them. This could lead to the federal government putting restrictions and changes in place that destabilize the private insurance market by forcing companies to lower premiums and other charges, he said. Destabilizing the private insurance sector is part of the plan to "nudge" everyone into a public plan. It will take time to pull off, but that is the goal. In the meantime, Sebelius will be able to control treatments via capping of price, any treatment she deems unnecessary she can mark the price down so low that any health provider won't be able to provide it without losing money. Once most are in public plan the real cost cutting will begin, including cutting back on treatments that will prolong your life.

To: E. Charters who wrote (3417)	12/3/2009 2:16:05 PM
From: joseffy	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3744

Baltimore mayor convicted on fraud charge By Associated Press December 2, 2009 boston.com BALTIMORE - Baltimore’s mayor was convicted yesterday on a single charge she took gift cards intended for the city’s poor. Although Sheila Dixon was acquitted of felony theft charges, her misdemeanor conviction could force her from office. Jurors deliberated more than six days after hearing accusations that the Democrat improperly used or kept $630 worth of gift cards. She was accused of soliciting most of the cards from a developer and buying electronics at Best Buy, clothes at Old Navy, and knickknacks at Target. The jury convicted her on one count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and acquitted her on two counts of felony theft and one count of misconduct in office. Jurors failed to reach a verdict on another count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary. The conviction carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, but prosecutors have not decided whether they will seek jail time. They also haven’t decided whether to seek a retrial on the undecided charge. Prosecutors painted a picture of a corrupt official going on shopping sprees and described a collection of electronics found during a raid of her home, including an Xbox, a PlayStation 2, and a video camera. Dixon’s lawyers blamed the case on developer Ronald Lipscomb, a married man who they said lavished her with gifts, including gift cards sent anonymously. Dixon thought gift cards delivered anonymously by another developer also came from Lipscomb, the defense argued. _________________________________________________ Why couldn't they give the girl a break? Just like they picked on Kwami (Detroit) Jefferson ($100,000 in the freezer) Alcee Hastings (he took a few bribes--so what) Marion Barry (the bitch set him up) And now they are even talking about picking on poor Charlie Rangel. Nothing but racism, if you ask me.