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Friday, September 13, 2013

News Nuggets 1298


DAYLEE PICTURE:  Colors turning at the University of Cambridge in the UK.  From the Daily Mail of the UK.

THREE UP-FRONT HEALTH CARE NUGGETS!!
(1)  Obamacare: Affordable after all from the Editorial Board of the Boston Globe
"... this much is clear: Those premiums are not exorbitant. They give the lie to the idea that Obamacare will saddle millions of people with a insurance requirement that is simply unaffordable."

(2)  Stop playing politics with Texans’ health from the Editorial Board of the Longview News-Journal [of Texas]
"If you’re among the “I have mine, let them get their own” crowd on health coverage, another recent report might interest you. This one indicates your cost of insurance will increase because of the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid. Rates for individuals purchasing private coverage could jump between 8 percent and 10 percent in Texas and other states where political leaders have decided against expanding Medicaid for the poor."

(3)  South unites against its poor: Medicaid expansion is new Confederate battlefield from the Montgomery Advertiser [of Alabama]
"Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Alabama have elected not to help their poor and low-to-moderate wage earners receive health care through expanded
Medicaid. [...] [T]he fact that the Deep South has united in opposing the health care plan when the region is inhabited by so many poor and unhealthy people is worthy of further examination. What — other than geographical proximity — unites us in this crusade to prolong the physical, mental and financial anguish of our people?"

Snowden Disclosures Finally Hit 12 on a Scale of 1 to 10 from Mother Jones Magazine
"A few days ago, NBC News quoted a former intelligence official about the fallout from Edward Snowden's NSA leaks. "The damage, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a 12," he said. At the time, I thought it was an odd thing to say.  ...  So what was this former intelligence official talking about? I suspect it was this: The agency has circumvented or cracked much of the encryption, or digital scrambling, that guards global commerce and banking systems ..."

Conspiracy Theories Haunt Benghazi Anniversary (Jamelle Bouie) from the Daily Beast
"On the anniversary of the Benghazi attacks, GOP congressmen call for a new investigation. Jamelle Bouie on why this controversy will not die any time soon."

Health Insurance Change Coming to State That Fought It from the New York Times
"Despite South Carolina’s refusal to expand Medicaid eligibility, a choice made by about half the states, enrollment is likely to grow under the new health law."

A.F.L.-C.I.O. Wants to Add Millions of Nonunion Members from the New York Times
"Pescaszie Mukauruziga works at Sea-Tac Airport, where groups seek a minimum wage of $15.  Richard Trumka, the labor federation’s president, says a broad coalition could help restore the struggling movement’s clout."

GOP's unhealthy obsession with Obamacare from the Editorial Board of the Los Angeles Times
"The House GOP's obsession with Obamacare is really just a sideshow to the long-running fiscal dispute the two sides have been embroiled in since the GOP took control of the House. Ultimately, Republicans and Democrats will have to compromise on total spending levels, entitlement reforms and taxes. The longer it takes them to strike some kind of deal, the more of these exercises in brinkmanship we'll go through."

The Rise of the New New Left (Peter Beinart) from the Daily Beast
"Bill de Blasio’s win in New York’s Democratic primary isn’t a local story. It’s part of a vast shift that could upend three decades of American political thinking."

GOP fears fundraising disaster from Politico
"Senate Republicans have high hopes heading into the 2014 midterm elections, since President Barack Obama’s approval rating is down, his polarizing health care law is about to go into full effect and the economic recovery is dragging along. But Republicans have a problem: cash."

House GOP: United against Obama on Syria, divided on everything else (Byron York) from the Washington Examiner
"Here's what a leading House Republican said recently about the state of relations among GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill: "I believe the White House wakes up every morning thinking how they can punch us in the nose. And we wake up every morning thinking how we can punch each other in the nose.""

Burn! Sen. Lindsey Graham, ‘Leader of the Surrender Caucus’ (David Catanese) from the Daily Beast
"The Republican senator took a drubbing in his own state from Democratic strategist Pat Caddell. And the worst part: the conservative audience cheered and laughed."

Opponents in Kentucky Make Mitch McConnell Useless in the Senate (Patricia Murphy) from the Daily Beast
"The Republican leader in the Senate is being held hostage in a reelection battle against a Democrat and a Tea Party challenger. Patricia Murphy reports on a leader who is running scared."

Rush Limbaugh Has No Business Teaching History to Our Kids (Michelle Cottle) from the Daily Beast
"Gather round while Rush Limbaugh retells American history for young readers. Or not. Michelle Cottle on why you should take your kids and run as fast as you can in the other direction."
What do we expect?!  If Americans are not willing to fund quality history education either in primary or secondary school, then it will be left to the Limbaughs, Hannitys and Becks of this world to do the job!

WORLD WAR II NUGGET!!
Inside the Nazi Mind at the Nuremberg Trials from the Daily Beast
"At Nuremberg, 24 of the highest-ranking Nazis were put on trial, but behind the scenes they were also being analyzed by leading American psychologists to figure out the root of their evil. Thomas Harding on what they discovered."

TREE HISTORY NUGGET!!
Trees Tip Off Researchers to Secrets of Genghis Khan from the WESA program, Allegheny Front
"Hessl went to study climate change and forest fires. While she was there, she and her team came upon trees growing on an 8,000-year-old lava field. It was there where she discovered what are essentially preserved natural records of times gone by."

HOLLYWOOD MOVIE NUGGET!!
Fall Movie Preview: 16 Oscar Contenders to Watch For from the Atlantic 
"That time of year when studios bring out their most award-worthy films."

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