Wednesday 31 March 2010
free-range or event-horizon
Tuesday 30 March 2010
arguendo or Catchascatchcan
Monday 29 March 2010
eastertide or turkish delight
catagories: ๐น๐ท, holidays and observances, travel
Friday 26 March 2010
universal coverage or dragnet
Wednesday 24 March 2010
cute interlude or the rites of Spring
there's a lake of stew and soda-pop too and you can paddle all around in a big canoe
On Sunday, Obama pushed through the much simonized the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, and I have hope that this is a good thing for America. A lot of compromise and negotiation went into this and are still to come, surely there are more to come with Senate input. I just hope that this does not go the way of other recent, historic overhauls like the Department of Homeland Security or Rumsfeld's mad-bomber approach to reforming the civil service system with NSPS (National Security Personnel System), which is now being rescinded or the half a dozen changes of nomenclature promulgated by the Ministry of Revisions. One can read the full text from the Library of Congress here.
There has been a virtual landslide of commentary on both sides. Here is a bit of point/counterpoint. First Reuter's News Services issued this fact box with a timeline.
-Insurers will be barred from excluding children for coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
-A temporary reinsurance program is created to help companies maintain health coverage for early retirees between 55 and 64.
-Medicare drug beneficiaries who fall into the "doughbut hole" coverage gap will get a $250 rebate...
WHAT HAPPENS IN 2011
-Employers are required to disclose the value of health benefits of employees' tax returns...
There is a virtual landslide of commentary on both sides, and here is a little bit of point/counterpoint.
Investors' Digest Daily has issued the counter-argument:
-You are young and don't want health insurance? You are starting up a small business and need to minize expenses, and one way to do that is to forego personal insurance? Tough. You have to pay $750 per annum for that "privilege."
-Health insurance companies will no longer be able to underwrite on the basis of a person's health status.
-Health insurers will no longer be able to offer policies that do not cover preventive services or offer them cost sharing, despite customer wishes.
-As a hospital administrator, you can only expand your facility if and only if it is located in a county whose population has grown 150% in the last five years proportionally to the population of the surrounding state.
-Employers can no longer offer flexible spending plans, even if that's what the worker wants.
H and I talked about these developments a little bit, and suspects that German who abandon its social healthcare system, if they could get away with it, no matter how equitable it is. I just hope there is some convergent evolution on the part of America.
catagories: ๐บ๐ธ, economic policy, health and medicine
Tuesday 23 March 2010
orange, lemon, cherry, lime
Monday 22 March 2010
playbill
catagories: ๐ฌ, ๐, Blade Runner
Saturday 20 March 2010
spring funk
catagories: health and medicine, lifestyle
Thursday 18 March 2010
MKUltrรฉe
Tuesday 16 March 2010
tiajuana
Sunday 14 March 2010
urban legend
what's up, buttercup?
Thursday 11 March 2010
vade retro satane
That article was cheap sensationalism and intented to be derisive. It is a very serious issue that must be redressed and handled transparently, and an exorcism may or may not be part of that reconciliation process. No one is suggested that blame is shifted and that people were not responsible for their actions--like the Pope's failure to recollect any bad press curried by his Regensberg cohorts, which is either attributable to dishonesty or a failing memory, whichever is worse--and nothing redeemingly diabolical. Reading the story, however, I noticed right away that the chief exorcist and I have the very same silver and enamel crucifixes. The Church is mired in controversy but it will emerge from it better and more accountable, and hopeful no one will have to repeat these repeated sufferings. Hang in there, baby.
Wednesday 10 March 2010
dazzling, but where is the pop!?
catagories: ๐
compliance & complaints newsletter
Tuesday 9 March 2010
abacus
Saturday 6 March 2010
concensus
Friday 5 March 2010
I'm a Sozial!
There are quite a few campaign posters up for the next round of elections. Many, like this one, promote the candidate as trustworthy, progressive and of course "Sozial." In the context, I understand what they are trying to convey but it makes me think of that meme (and perhaps it was only me who thought it was such a bandwagon, per se, like saying "Rabbit, Rabbit" and doing a somersault out of bed on the first day of the month) that Michael Buckley made very funny, teasing some reality show star, I'm sure. I am sure the committee to elect Burgermeister Meisterburger does not endorse this message. In unrelated news, Germany has vowed that Greece will not see one euro from them until they bring their own house in order. Germany suggested that the Greeks sell some of their uninhabited islands to raise cash. This sounds less than optimal in practice. After all, who is the buying spirit lately? Dubai is not prepared to snatch up this real estate, and we would end up with Scylla and Charibdis and the Sirens named for sad old corporate maligners.
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐ช๐บ, economic policy, networking and blogging
Tuesday 2 March 2010
wi-fight
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐ฅธ, networking and blogging
Monday 1 March 2010
zephyr