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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (163986)	1/3/2014 4:12:17 PM
From: longnshort	2 Recommendations Recommended By Honey_Bee locogringo Respond to of 224749

‘Affordable’ ObamaCare: Woman With Chest Pains Skips X-Ray After Realizing She Has a $5,500 Deductible Posted by Jammie on Jan 03, 2014 at 10:43 am There’s going to be a lot of this going on. These suckers have no clue that if they have a $5,500 deductible on top of their $450 per month “Affordable” health care they’re on the hook for all of that $5,500 before the wonderful benefits of their insurance kick in. Another ObamaCare success story: Hospital staff in Northern Virginia are turning away sick people on a frigid Thursday morning because they can’t determine whether their Obamacare insurance plans are in effect. Patients in a close-in DC suburb who think they’ve signed up for new insurance plans are struggling to show their December enrollments are in force, and health care administrators aren’t taking their word for it. In place of quick service and painless billing, these Virginians are now facing the threat of sticker-shock that comes with bills they can’t afford. ‘They had no idea if my insurance was active or not!’ a coughing Maria Galvez told MailOnline outside the Inova Healthplex facility in the town of Springfield. She was leaving the building without getting a needed chest x-ray. ‘The people in there told me that since I didn’t have an insurance card, I would be billed for the whole cost of the x-ray,’ Galvez said, her young daughter in tow. ‘It’s not fair – you know, I signed up last week like I was supposed to.’ The x-ray’s cost, she was told, would likely be more than $500. Galvez said she enrolled in a Carefirst Blue Cross bronze plan at a cost of about $450 per month through healthcare.gov, three days before Christmas. ‘No one has sent me a bill,’ she said. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified in a December 11 congressional hearing that the federal government can’t say how many new enrollees have written checks for their first month’s premiums. ‘Some may have paid, some may have not,’ she conceded. It’s unlikely that a valid insurance card would have changed Galvez’ fortunes, however. Her Carefirst plan, identified on the Obamacare website as BlueChoice Plus Bronze, carries a $5,500 per-person deductible for 2014 – an amount she would have to pay out-of-pocket before her coverage would apply to medical expenses. It won’t be long until people start dying because they couldn’t afford to pay their deductibles for treatment.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (163986)	1/3/2014 7:10:11 PM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	Respond to of 224749

Science of climate change not on the same course as reality Republish Reprint Terence Corcoran \| January 2, 2014 8:24 PM ET More from Terence Corcoran \| @terencecorcoran AP Photo/Australasian Antarctic Expedition/Footloose Fotography, Andrew PeacockPassengers look at the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy as it sits trapped in ice off the Antarctic on Dec. 31, 2013. [iframe id="f37cb1855" name="f19a02487c" scrolling="no" title="Like this content on Facebook." class="fb_ltr" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?api_key=138801856165024&channel_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.ak.facebook.com%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter.php%3Fversion%3D28%23cb%3Df21242eb14%26domain%3Dopinion.financialpost.com%26origin%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fopinion.financialpost.com%252Ff3b283646c%26relation%3Dparent.parent&colorscheme=light&extended_social_context=false&font=arial&href=http%3A%2F%2Fopinion.financialpost.com%2F2014%2F01%2F02%2Fterence-corcoran-science-of-climate-change-not-on-the-same-course-as-reality%2F&layout=button_count&locale=en_US&node_type=link&sdk=joey&send=true&show_faces=false&width=150" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; position: absolute; border-style: none; overflow: hidden; height: 20px; width: 127px;"][/iframe] Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Email Comments More The key to success when stuck on a giant floe of irony is to pretend it doesn’t exist, which is exactly the trick performed by Prof. Chris Turney, leader of the global warming science expedition that was rescued Thursday by a Chinese icebreaker off the coast of Antarctica. Aboard the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, a research vessel hunting for evidence of climate change in the world’s coldest polar extremity, Prof. Turney demonstrated his unflagging media skills by turning adversity into an opportunity. On New Year’s Eve, he tweeted: “Just broadcast live to Times Square, to celebrate New Year with @AC360. Great fun! Definitely heading there next year!” [iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" title="Embedded Tweet" width="500" height="210" style="padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; display: block; max-width: 99%; min-width: 220px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238) rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(187, 187, 187); border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.14902) 0px 1px 3px; position: static; visibility: visible;"][/iframe]Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, Prof. Turney was indeed live on CNN New Year’s Eve. Video of festivities aboard the Shokalskiy, where the bar was mostly open, was seen round the world. Fortunately, Prof. Turney was not asked to explain how a global climate expert found himself and 51 other passengers — including numerous scientists — trapped near the South Pole in thick icebreaker-proof ice in desperate need of rescue. Related Helicopter scoops up trapped passengers from icebound Antarctica ship MV Akademik Shokalski Scientists trapped in Antarctic ice await dramatic helicopter rescue after week spent ‘singing with the seals’ And rescued they were, ironically by a tandem of carbon-burning Australian and Chinese ships and helicopters. All scientists and passengers — including reporters from the BBC and The Guardian — were airlifted by a Chinese helicopter from the Akademik Shokalskiy and transported to an ice floe near an Australian icebreaker, which then transported them to a warmer, safer place. Left behind on the Shokalskiy are 22 Russian crew; they could be there for days or even weeks waiting for a little warming. [iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" title="Embedded Tweet" width="500" height="210" style="padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; display: block; max-width: 99%; min-width: 220px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238) rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(187, 187, 187); border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.14902) 0px 1px 3px; position: static; visibility: visible;"][/iframe]And so now the political debate and the scientific finger pointing are underway, beginning with appropriate polar extremes. Is Prof. Turney — a climate specialist at the University of New South Wales — a guinea pig trapped in the folly of global warming science, his ship still mired in ice that should not be there? “We’re stuck in our own experiment,” said Prof. Turney, no irony intended, while still aboard the Shokalskiy. Or was his ice-bound expedition the victim of unusual ice floes brought on by carbon-induced climate conditions? In this case, the argument is that carbon cycles make parts of the world colder. The objective of the Shokalskiy venture was to retrace the Australasian Antarctic Expedition route followed by Sir Douglas Mawson 100 years ago. Specifically, the 2013 version planned to duplicate Mawson’s climate and animal measurements so as to identify the changes in conditions allegedly brought on by carbon emissions over the past century. But the expedition also highlighted a new phenomenon: climate-based science tourism. The team of scientists aboard was partially subsidized by a collection of tourist passengers and four reporters who paid $8,000 to be part of the expedition, estimated to cost $1.5-million. To offset the carbon emitted by the Shokalskiy during the trip, expedition members were to plant trees when they got back home. There was no word on whether they would also plant trees to offset the carbon emitted by the icebreakers and helicopter rescue effort — nor how they would pay for the rescue effort itself. The Shokalskiy left Bluff, New Zealand, on Nov. 28, knowing that sea ice conditions in the Antarctic had been at their worst since satellite records began. So the ice trap should have been no surprise, raising questions about the wisdom of the expedition. AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang JiansongThe first group of passengers aboard the trapped Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy arrive at a safe surface off the Antarctic Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. The Turney Antarctic expedition joins other global warming expeditions that have hit extreme cold and ice. In mid-2013, dozens of yachts and other vessels had to turn back from the Arctic due to extreme ice conditions. Many vessels had to be abandoned and their crews rescued. One reason for attempting to sail the Arctic in 2013 was a prediction from NASA scientists in 2008 that the Arctic would be “mostly free of ice by 2013.” Jay Zwally, the ice satellite project scientist at NASA Goddard, said in 2008 that the Arctic appeared to be at a “tipping point” from which there was no return. “We not only have the warming of the atmosphere, we have a warming of the ocean that is affecting this. It has been surprising to everybody, this decrease in area. This is a marked departure, and this is suggesting to us that maybe we are getting at this tipping point.” Five years later, however, Arctic ice coverage had rebounded by 60% in 2013, forcing early closing of the passage and trapping sailors and climate tourists. Douglas Pohl, the North West Passage correspondent for Sail World, said the Passage became blocked in late August. “At least 22 yachts and other vessels are in the Arctic,” he reported on Aug. 29. “Some who were less advanced have retreated and others have abandoned their vessels. Still others are caught in the ice, in an unfolding, unresolved drama.” The Arctic rescues were eventually completed, but Mr. Pohl says the chances of an ice-free Arctic look slim. In an email exchange Thursday, Mr. Pohl warned against expectations of an open NW Passage. “I seriously doubt that the Arctic will be ice free anytime soon. I for one would not be planning a NW Passage without extensive research demonstrating to my satisfaction as the vessel master that there is a likely reduction in ice levels when compared to 2013.” At both the South and North Poles, then, the science and experience of climate change and global warming are still not quite on the same course.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (163986)	1/4/2014 7:56:16 AM
From: lorne	2 Recommendations Recommended By lightshipsailor locogringo Respond to of 224749

Detroit police chief to citizens: Arm yourselves Former gun-control advocate changes tune in combating crime Drew Zahn Saturday, January 04, 2014 During his 28 years on the police force in Los Angeles, James Craig tended to agree with his state’s tight control over concealed carry permits, believing fewer guns would lead to fewer violent crimes. But when he moved to Portland, Maine, in 2009 to serve as the city’s new police chief, he discovered a different culture – one where guns actually made people safer. Now Craig, the chief of police in Detroit, Mich., has a message for the law-abiding folks in his crime-ridden city: Arm yourselves, and criminals will think twice about attacking you. At a press conference at police headquarters Thursday, the Detroit News reports, Craig praised the deterrent power of a legally armed citizenry. “When we look at the good community members who have concealed weapons permits,” he said, “the likelihood they’ll shoot is based on a lack of confidence in this Police Department.” Craig’s statements echoed those he made Dec. 19 on WJR Radio’s “The Paul W. Smith Show”: “There’s a number of [concealed pistol license, or CPL] holders running around the city of Detroit. I think it acts as a deterrent. Good Americans with CPLs translates into crime reduction. I learned that real quick in the state of Maine.” At the press conference Thursday, Craig described his conversion from gun hater to gun advocate. “Coming from California, where it takes an act of Congress to get a concealed weapon permit, I got to Maine, where they give out lots of [carrying concealed weapon permits, or CCWs], and I had a stack of CCW permits I was denying; that was my orientation,” he said. “I changed my orientation real quick. Maine is one of the safest places in America. Clearly, suspects knew that good Americans were armed.” Robyn Thomas, director of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in San Francisco, however, criticized Craig’s conclusion. “I think at its core, his position is an emotional one, based on the idea that people feel safer when they have guns. But studies have shown more guns don’t deter crime,” Thomas told the News. “There’s no research that shows guns make anyone safer, and it does show that, the more guns in any situation, the higher the likelihood of them harming either the owner, or people who have access to them.” Yet just two months ago, the very research Thomas says doesn’t exist was published in Volume 21, Issue 4, of the prestigious Applied Economic Letters, whose editorial board includes professors from Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, MIT and more. According to the study’s abstract, published Nov. 26, 2013, Quinnipiac University’s Mark Gius found that even after adjusting for state- and year-specific trends, passing restrictive concealed weapons laws may actually increase murder rates. “The purpose of the present study is to determine the effects of state-level assault weapons bans and concealed weapons laws on state-level murder rates. Using data for the period 1980 to 2009,” writes Gius, “the results of the present study suggest that states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murder rates than other states. It was also found that assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level. “These results suggest that restrictive concealed weapons laws may cause an increase in gun-related murders at the state level,” Gius concludes. “The results of this study are consistent with some prior research in this area, most notably Lott and Mustard (1997).” Rick Ector of the Firearm Academy of Detroit, which teaches gun safety classes, told the Detroit News Craig’s comments are unusual for a police official. “It’s a huge, radical departure for the police chief to say good people should have access to firearms,” said Ector. “I’m not ready to say he’s pro-gun just yet, but it’s vastly different from what police chiefs have said in the past.” The News further reports, “Although Craig said more responsible gun owners would likely lower crime, in the past he also has called for a ban on assault weapons, regulating high-capacity magazines, tighter restrictions on Internet ammunition sales and more stringent background checks for merchants who sell firearms at gun shows.” Craig has also spoken up on the controversial practice of “stop and frisk,” advocating its use and claiming it’s not racist – as some critics charge – when the city is 85 percent black.