Thoughts & Commentary on the Obama Administration

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Interesting...

[Crazed Rabbit]

More of Obama's cunning diplomacy AKA angering allies:
America's 'Bermuda solution' angers Britain

America's 'Bermuda solution' angers Britain

Decision to send Guantanamo inmates to British colony sours 'special relationship'

By Kim Sengupta

Senior aides to President Barack Obama accompanied four Uighur prisoners as they were flown from Guantanamo Bay to the British colony of Bermuda, without the UK being informed, it was revealed yesterday.

In an escalating diplomatic row over the transfer of the former terrorist suspects, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the transfer with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in what was said to be an uneasy conversation. Privately Whitehall officials accused America of treating Britain, with whom it is supposed to have a "special relationship", with barely disguised contempt.

One senior official said: "The Americans were fully aware of the foreign-policy understanding we have with Bermuda and they deliberately chose to ignore it. This is not the kind of behaviour one expects from an ally."

Is this really the improved diplomacy Obama was supposed to bring about?

CR

[KukriKhan]

On the domestic front: has anyone found yet any simple explanation of what kind of universal health care plan is being proposed/crafted? Or is it all hopelessly complicated? I keep hearing huge sums of money being thrown about (trillions), and the argument seems to be over just how many trillions it's gonna cost.

But what is being bought, exactly? From whom, and for whom?

For me personally currently, I pay about $35 per week (matched dollar-for-dollar by my employer) so that if I get in a car wreck and lose my legs (and car), I don't also lose my job, my house, and my pension to pay for fixing me up. It doesn't cover eyeglasses or dental - I pay for that out of pocket, as needed.

Is what is being discussed to provide everybody with this kind of coverage, working or not, or something more? Or less?

[Lemur]

Kukri, I don't believe any details or final proposals have been made public. Should be coming soon, though.

-edit-

Nice to see the major insurers digging holes, piling the dirt up neatly by the side, and placing convenient stone markers at the top. I mean, really, what the **** were they thinking?

Executives of three of the nation's largest health insurers told federal lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday that they would continue canceling medical coverage for some sick policyholders, despite withering criticism from Republican and Democratic members of Congress who decried the practice as unfair and abusive. [...] An investigation by the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations showed that health insurers WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group and Assurant Inc. canceled the coverage of more than 20,000 people, allowing the companies to avoid paying more than $300 million in medical claims over a five-year period.

It also found that policyholders with breast cancer, lymphoma and more than 1,000 other conditions were targeted for rescission and that employees were praised in performance reviews for terminating the policies of customers with expensive illnesses. [...]

But they would not commit to limiting rescissions to only policyholders who intentionally lie or commit fraud to obtain coverage, a refusal that met with dismay from legislators on both sides of the political aisle.

Experts said it could undermine the industry's efforts to influence healthcare-overhaul plans working their way toward the White House.

"Talk about tone deaf," said Robert Laszewski, a former health insurance executive who now counsels companies as a consultant.

Democratic strategist Paul Begala said the hearing could hurt the industry's efforts to position itself in the debate.

"The industry has tried very hard in this current effort not to be the bad guy, not to wear the black hat," Begala said. "The trouble is all that hard work and goodwill is at risk if in fact they are pursuing" such practices.

Current polling:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Barack Obama swatting a fly gets a video and an article in the BBC. Unbelievable.

[drone]

Barack Obama swatting a fly gets a video and an article in the BBC. Unbelievable.

No, this is unbelievable.

PETA is so cute.

[CountArach]

No, this is unbelievable.

PETA is so cute.

To be honest I don't crush flies for the same reason, unless I am particularly annoyed for some reason.

Mosquitoes on the other hand...

[Xiahou]

Interesting...

That's a scandal that we haven't heard much about.

Here's a pretty lengthy writeup on the saga from Jake Tapper.

From what I get, an Inspector General finds that hundreds of thousands of dollars from Americorps were misused by St. HOPE Academy and by Obama ally Kevin Johnson personally. The IG announced that he was referring Johnson and the Academy for criminal charges and both would be ineligible to receive any federal funds until the investigation concludes. The acting Attorney General announced that he reached a settlement that involved the return of about half of the money, including $70k+ from Johnson personally. They were also to admit that they inadequately tracked the federal funds and Johnson agreed to take online courses. The settlement cleared Johnson, as mayor of Sacramento, to receive stimulus funding.

The Inspector General in question claimed he was never informed of the proposed settlement and disagreed vehemently with it. Soon after, the White House fired the IG. That alone might be enough to raise eyebrows, but the grounds of the dismissal are also suspect.

Grassley said Walpin needed to be given 30-days notice, which he said is required by the 2008 Inspector General Reform Act that President Bush signed into law and then-Sen. Obama co-sponsored.

Specifically, Section 3 of the law requires that, “the president shall communicate in writing the reasons for any such removal or transfer to both Houses of Congress, not later than 30 days before the removal or transfer.”

Ironically, Obama co-sponsored this legislation. The administration has placed the IG on a 30days paid suspension prior to his firing. But, does that meet the legal requirements? By my reading of the above quote, it may not. If it's 30 days review before removal or transfer, a paid suspension sounds a lot like "removal or transfer".

Interesting indeed.