Most Republicans were too embarrassed to publicly support insurance industry price-gouging. But not Republican leader John Boehner, who was one of 19 Republicans to vote against the bill. Click here to see our new ad calling him out
Unlike just about every other industry in America, health insurance companies are completely exempt from antitrust laws.
They can establish monopolies and raise rates without having to worry about competition, like Blue Cross just did in California, where they’re raising premiums by up to 39% for some customers.
It’s the end of the weekend and while all tsunami warnings have been cancelled the assessments and clean up begins in Chile and around other areas hit by the earthquake and tsunami.
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The state Senate’s Democratic majority has narrowly approved its plan for balancing the state’s $2.8 billion budget deficit.
The Senate budget counts on about $920 million in tax increases. But Senators haven’t settled on the details of their tax package yet.
The budget also calls for about $840 million in spending cuts, $580 million in federal aid, and $500 million in one-time fixes like fund transfers.
Majority Democrats say it’s a balanced approach that would protect critical state programs. But Republicans say it relies too heavily on tax hikes and short-term solutions.
The budget passed on the Senate a 25-19 vote. It will have to be blended with a competing budget from the House before legislators can adjourn their short, election-year session.
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s doctor says the commander in chief’s first medical checkup since he took office finds the 48-year-old is in “excellent health” and is “fit for duty.”
The 4man US bobsled team won GOLD, the first in 62yrs. Saturday 2/27/2010 at or around 1:30AMET an 8.8 earthquake rocked Chile, 200miles from the epicenter, with after shocks of up to 6.9 even 8hours after the original, over 900times stronger than the Haiti earthquake. Over 400thou victims in the BioBio region; This quake has made an impact on 2million or more people in Chile and south of there as well as the entire Pacific basin. Warnings of Tsunami’s possible all along the coast of the epicenter, people have been told to move to higher ground; with some possibility of Tsunamis threats to the Philippines, Alaska,Russia, Japan, California, Oregon, Guam, American Samoa, and the Australian coast as well as Hawaii. A 6.0 earthquake hit Argentina killing 2 people.
TVNZ reports that Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said a huge wave hit the Juan Fernandez islands, and archipelago where Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned in the 18th century inspiring the novel Robinson Crusoe. “There was a series of waves that got bigger and bigger, which gave people time to save themselves,” pilot Fernando Avaria told TVNZ television by telephone from the main island. Six people were killed and 11 are still missing there, he said.
Bachelet said residents were evacuated from coastal areas of Chile’s remote Easter Island, a popular tourist destination in the Pacific famous for its towering Moai stone statues.
Unusually big waves battered Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, where residents were moved to higher ground as a precaution.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a Pacific-wide tsunami warning for the US state of Hawaii and countries as far away as Japan, Russia, Philippines, Indonesia and the South Pacific. French Polynesia was also put on alert. “Chile probably got the brunt force of the tsunami already. So probably the worst has already happened in Chile,” said Victor Sardina, geophysicist at the warning centre. “The tsunami was pretty big too. We reported some places around 8 feet. And it’s quite possible it would be higher in other areas,” he added.
To find info about your loved ones please call 1 888-407-4747
other news this weekend ... leading up to Tuesday …
The President call’s for the GOP to help get HCR done sooner than later will probably ring on deaf ears as they seem to have decided to remain being the Political Party of NO; Cap and Trade is all but dead if you listen to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, yet, the Washington Post reports that Senator Reid (D-Nev.) told Kerry this week that he and his colleagues need to produce a bill as soon as possible to have any chance of passage in 2010. Jim Manley, Reid’s spokesman, said it is the majority leader‘s “hope to bring it up to the floor for a vote,” adding, “But we’ve got a whole host of other things on our plate, and a Republican Party that’s making it difficult for us to pass all but the most routine legislation.” Kerry said that although the package the three senators will unveil will not have 60 votes when it becomes public, he is confident that it will win over skeptical lawmakers. “What people need to understand about this bill is this really is a jobs bill, an economic transformation for America, an energy independence bill and a health/pollution-reduction bill that has enormous benefits for the country,” Kerry said.
and …
Monday will be filled with meetings to move ui benefits, cobra and other temp measures forward as they expire on Sunday; votes for these may not happen until Tuesday. The Cape Wind project meeting is scheduled on March 1, with hopes of an agreement by both parties involved; rumors that land being used was sacred, while tribal leaders have said the wind turbines would be in everyone’s best interest, which, made me confused because of the information about NPS ruled the Nantucket Sound a historic landmark because of it’s cultural and spiritual significance to 1st nations people; however, that has been challenged and information should be corrected after the March 1 meet-up.
things we should know about …Rubio brings up in his attack on Crist the name of Terri Schiavo…stay classy Rubio; can i say yup this is the real deal right there…not worthy of a Public Servant position; if you didn’t know before … Newt Gingrich runs A HEALTH INDUSTRY “TRADE ASSOCIATION,anyway he says he wont register as a lobbyist/TP; ok, so who is his proxy?
The last year has been a whole lot of contradiction on the behalf of Republicans …Democrats need people to see it for themselves… Republicans have promoted bills, initiatives and endorsed political action for the same things the President is now endorsing; that they now oppose: as Senator DeMint said this could be his waterloo; Republicans cannot be considered true Americans with this kind of behavior can they ?
McCain can’t seem to find the words to express how bad it would be to use reconciliation; does he have memory problems or planning to score a cameo on Jersey Shore … because the Republicans did lay the ground work for its use;for example the 2TAX cuts Bush gave out and didn’t pay for, to the rich,which help cause our current economic crash
will be spent analyzing what actually was accomplished at the Thursday Summit or not, this will probably go on through the weekend maybe more. My take on the summit was that Democrats, specifically the President, Pelosi and Reid were able to see through the wall the continued rhetoric from Repubs as a sign that after a year no major moves to the center was on the Republican agenda; hoping Americans watched and truly listened to the need to move forward with HCR. The governing body has the right to keep bills that passed already; I hope our Democratic Party finally understands the ramification and votes HCR through reconciliation; we are the majority and it’s time to act like it… don’t we use majority rules in most things we do in our lives.
In the news this Friday …
**Governor Paterson will not be running in 2010: Democratic officials in Washington were informed of Paterson’s plans early Friday. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because Paterson had not publicly disclosed his plans.huffpost
Democrat Charlie Rangel is under investigation for breaking House rules… taking gifts(trips)
**VP Biden will be announcing new Labor Regulations aimed at protecting worker’s retirement savings
**Our economy grew by 5.9% stronger than expected but it’s not expected to carry forward for too long
**The House passed extensions to unemployment benefits with a voice vote and Senate Republicans JimBunning and McConnell have been blocking the temp extension of unemployment benefits,which end on 2/28/10 the vote next Tuesday… TP reports that Senator Bunning was missing his BB game,tough sh-t on unemployment benefits. Democrats made repeated attempts to pass the extension by unanimous consent, and Bunning blocked them all. He then complained that the Democrats’ insistence on trying to ensure that unemployment benefits not expire had caused him to miss a college basketball game: GOP Rep. Dean Heller claims extending unemployment benefits is creating ‘hobos.’ TP
HR2701- Intelligence programs; Democrats stripped the torture amendment
First Hundred Years of the NAACP
Panelists talked about history and the future of the NAACP. Panel: – Patricia Sullivan, University of South Carolina, history professor; author “Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement” – Robert Zangrando, University of Akron, history professor; author “The NAACP Crusade Against Lynching, 1909-1950” – Kenneth Mack, Harvard University, law professor; author “Representing the Race: Creating the Civil Rights Lawyer, 1920-1955”
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs conducts a daily briefing at the White House.
Hearing examines small business and commercial real estate lending
The House Financial Services and House Small Business Committees hold a joint hearing on lending programs for small businesses. Witnesses will likely discuss the state of lending, and how credit standards affect small businesses.
Joint Economic Committee Chairman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) holds a hearing to discuss ways to promote job creation. The committee hearing, titled “The Road to Economic Recovery: Prospects for Jobs and Growth,” will include witnesses from Manpower Inc., the jobs services agency.
Tobacco taxes are a win-win-win for states facing budget shortfalls — a BUDGET WIN that will raise billions in revenue and help preserve essential services such as health care and education; a HEALTH WIN that will prevent kids from smoking and save lives; and a POLITICAL WIN that is popular with voters.
This report details the revenue and health benefits to each state of increasing its cigarette tax by $1 per pack, as well as the national benefits if every state took such action.
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V.P. Biden Remarks
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