Tag Archives: card check

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Another Reason To Say “Thanks Obama!”

09/17/2015 Nativegrl77

New Census Data Provides Further Evidence That The ACA Works

Much to the (probable) chagrin of ACA opponents everywhere, more evidence that the law is working came out of census data released this morning. The number of uninsured Americans fell by 8.8 million last year alone, according to the census report. This new data adds to the recently released National Health Interview Survey that found as of early 2015, the national uninsured rate has fallen to a historic low of 9.2 percent bringing the total number of people who have gained insurance under the ACA to 15.8 million.

For a more detailed look at the census insurance data, check out this Center for American Progress column. For now, here are a few key facts from today’s report:

Every single state saw a drop in their uninsured population. From 2013 to 2014, every state and DC saw their uninsured rates fall significantly.
States that expanded Medicaid saw a much bigger drop in uninsured rates. States that expanded Medicaid before 2015 saw their uninsured rates drop by an average of 25 percent, while states that did not expand Medicaid saw an average drop of only 13.4 percent.
Florida and Texas—the two states with the largest uninsured populations—highlight the significant effect Medicaid expansion has on the uninsured rate. Florida’s uninsured population fell by 17 percent last year, but if the state had expanded Medicaid, it could have dropped by an additional 8 percent. Texas would see even bigger gains from Medicaid expansion. The state saw a 13 percent drop in its uninsured rate last year, but if it had expanded Medicaid it could have seen an additional 11.4 percent drop.

The results are clear: the Affordable Care Act is working in every state, but if the 20 states that have so far refused to expand Medicaid took this important step, the impact of the law would be even greater. This new evidence showing the ACA is working comes just in time for the second GOP presidential debate where each of the 11 candidates participating in the main event has promised to repeal the ACA. Be sure to tune into tonight’s debate and follow along with @CAPAction on twitter.

BOTTOM LINE: This most recent census data adds to the ever-growing stockpile of evidence proving that the Affordable Care Act has succeeded in bringing quality, affordable health insurance to millions of Americans. It also serves as further evidence of how out-of-touch the GOP presidential candidates–who still insist on repealing the ACA–remain.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Right of Reagan … The Progress Report

09/15/2015 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Today’s Republicans Are More Extreme Than Their Conservative Idol

In two days, the GOP candidates for president will head to the Reagan Library for their second debate. Most will likely espouse their love of Reagan and try to highlight similarities between the Gipper’s policies and their own. However, as a new report from the Center for American Progress Action Fund shows, today’s candidates are in fact far more extreme than their Republican idol. To be sure, Reagan was no progressive. He has a record that includes initiating failed trickle-down economic programs that only help the wealthy, creating the false narrative of the welfare queen that still exists today, and gutting President Carter’s clean energy and energy efficiency efforts.

But, unlike today’s GOP candidates, he also was not a pure ideologue who was unwilling to negotiate and work across the aisle. His former chief of staff, James Baker, explained it well: “If Reagan told me once, he told me fifteen thousand times—I’d rather get 80 percent of what I want than go over the cliff with my flags flying.” In practice, this philosophy meant that President Reagan adopted moderate, bipartisan stances on several important policy positions – positions that the current presidential contenders would find abhorrent. Over the course of his presidency:

Reagan provided a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. In 1986, Reagan supported and signed the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, which provided a pathway to citizenship for 2.7 million undocumented immigrants. Current GOP candidates oppose a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, though creating such a pathway would boost the U.S. economy by $1.2 trillion over 10 years.
Reagan stood up to the National Rifle Association, or NRA, to establish background checks. He strongly supported the establishment of national background checks for gun purchases, as well as a ban on assault weapons. Current GOP candidates wouldn’t dare stand up to the NRA as most act to preserve their ‘A’ rating from the organization. Sens. Rubio, Cruz, Paul, and Graham have blocked legislation to expand background checks.
Reagan signed the Montreal Protocol, a multilateral international treaty to reduce pollution. In the face of scientific research showing that chemical gasses were depleting the protective ozone layer, Reagan signed the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty that phased out nearly 100 of these dangerous gases, many of which are also greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Current GOP candidates either deny that climate change is real or ignore the science behind it and have strenuously opposed the Obama administration’s effort to regulate pollution.
Reagan negotiated with the Soviet Union to reduce nuclear proliferation. As president, Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with the Soviet Union, eliminating an entire category of nuclear missiles. Current GOP candidates have adopted an unyielding stance on national security, especially as it relates to President Obama’s recent deal with Iran. Mike Huckabee threatened to topple Iran using military force, and many of the other candidates also have stated that they would not uphold the current Iran nuclear deal.
Reagan grew the federal government through deficit spending. Despite his public image as the champion of small government, Reagan tripled the national debt, increased the federal workforce by about 324,000 workers, doubled the U.S. Department of Education’s budget, and created a new federal agency, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Current GOP candidates have embraced uncompromising positions on the federal budget, opposing any deficit spending, even in the face of pressing national need. Sen. Cruz demonstrated astounding fiscal irresponsibility, costing the economy $20 billion by orchestrating the government shutdown in 2013.
Reagan closed tax loopholes favoring the wealthy and raised taxes to reduce the federal deficit. In fact, he raised taxes 7 out of his 8 years in office and has said that tax loopholes “sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing, while a bus driver was paying ten percent of his salary, and that’s crazy.”

To be clear, Reagan was no progressive hero, but at times he was able to mix pragmatism with conservatism, something the current GOP candidates refuse to do. As the Washington Post puts it, despite their proclaimed love of Reagan, current GOP candidates “actually represent a break from core aspects of his approach to the presidency.”

BOTTOM LINE: Regardless of what the GOP candidates say in Wednesday’s debate, the reality is their positions are far to the right of Reagan’s actions on a number of critical issues. Despite the folklore, it is hard to imagine any of these candidates claiming fidelity to Reagan and his principles in a way that the 40th president could embrace.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Caroline Pla, age 13 & Marycecelia Pla via Change.org

09/15/2015 Nativegrl77

Last year, my mom and I won our Change.org petition to let girls in my city play football, but now the Archdiocese (which runs the sports program) has changed its mind. Sign my mom’s new petition to let girls play!

Sign the petition

~ my 2cents ..., ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Eco ~ friendly

09/12/2015 Nativegrl77

Jute bags

Jute has an advantage …

it’s an eco-friendly and great option to that of poly and paper bags! polybags are made from petroleum and are non-biodegradable and manufacturing paperbags requires large quantities of wood.

http://www.bonanza.com

Jute has none of these problems and is therefore being used widely for these purposes although higher cost does place jute at a disadvantage. Jute is also used for making fashion & promotional bags.

Other Uses

Jute stalks can be dehydrated under the sun, later they will be used as fuel.Diversified byproducts from jute can be used in cosmetics, medicine, paints, and other products.

Features

** Jute fibre is 100% bio-degradable and recyclable and thus environmentally friendly.

** It is a natural fibre with golden and silky shine and hence called The Golden Fibre.

** It is the cheapest vegetable fibre procured from the bast or skin of the plant’s stem.

** It is the second most important vegetable fibre after cotton, in terms of usage, global consumption, production, and availability.

** It has high tensile strength, low extensibility, and ensures better breathability of fabrics. Therefore, jute is very suitable in agricultural commodity bulk packaging.

** It helps to make best quality industrial yarn, fabric, net, and sacks.It is one of the most versatile natural fibres that has been used in raw materials for packaging, textiles, non-textile, construction, and agricultural sectors. Bulking of yarn results in a reduced breaking tenacity and an increased breaking extensibility when blended as a ternary blend.

** The best source of jute in the world is the Bengal Delta Plain in the Ganges Delta, most of which is occupied by Bangladesh.

** Advantages of jute include good insulating and antistatic properties, as well as having low thermal conductivity and a moderate moisture regain. Other advantages of jute include acoustic insulating properties and manufacture with no skin irritations. Jute has the ability to be blended with other fibres, both synthetic and natural, and accepts cellulosic dye classes such as natural, basic, vat, sulfur, reactive, and pigment dyes. As the demand for natural comfort fibres increases, the demand for jute and other natural fibres that can be blended with cotton will increase. To meet this demand, some manufactures in the natural fibre industry plan to modernize processing with the Rieter’s Elitex system. The resulting jute/cotton yarns will produce fabrics with a reduced cost of wet processing treatments.

** Jute can also be blended with wool. By treating jute with caustic soda, crimp, softness, pliability, and appearance is improved, aiding in its ability to be spun with wool. Liquid ammonia has a similar effect on jute, as well as the added characteristic of improving flame resistance when treated with flameproofing agents.

** Some noted disadvantages include poor drapability and crease resistance, brittleness, fibre shedding, and yellowing in sunlight. However, preparation of fabrics with castor oil lubricants result in less yellowing and less fabric weight loss, as well as increased dyeing brilliance. Jute has a decreased strength when wet, and also becomes subject to microbial attack in humid climates.

Jute can be processed with an enzyme in order to reduce some of its brittleness and stiffness. Once treated with an enzyme, jute shows an affinity to readily accept natural dyes, which can be made from marigold flower extract. In one attempt to dye jute fabric with this extract, bleached fabric was mordanted with ferrous sulphate, increasing the fabric’s dye uptake value. Jute also responds well to reactive dyeing.

This process is used for bright and fast coloured value-added diversified products made from jute.

info from wiki

Be a Seed for Change

http://www.bonanza.com