The 2nd that is. If there was ever anything that cried out for a cost-benefit analysis it is surely the more recent Supreme Court interpretations of our ‘Second Amendment Rights’. On The Benefit Side: The right to protect our family and selves at all times and in all places from all dangers both real and imagined with deadly force. The right to experience any pleasure one might get from firing automatic and semi-automatic weapons...
Read More »Rail Workers Are Fighting On After Biden Blocked a National Strike
Politicians may have headed off their strike, but rail workers haven’t stopped organizing for paid sick leave, safe staffing, and time off. AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department: “The American people should know that while this round of collective bargaining is over, the underlying issues facing the workforce and rail customers remain,” As take from: “Here’s How Rail Workers Are Fighting On After Biden Blocked a National Strike,” In...
Read More »Gun Violence vs Democracy
California Ranked #1 for Gun Safety, Death Rate 37% Lower than National Average In 2021, California was ranked as the #1 state for population and gun safety by Giffords Law Center, and the state saw a 37% lower gun death rate than the national average. According to the CDC, California’s gun death rate was the 44th lowest in the nation, with 8.5 gun deaths per 100,000 people – compared to 13.7 deaths per 100,000 nationally, 28.6 in Mississippi,...
Read More »2023 ACA Open Enrollment Period is the best ever
The 2023 ACA Open Enrollment Period is the best ever. The prime reason being the expansion of enhanced premium subsidies, first introduced in 2021 via the American Rescue Plan. ACA premiums became less costly for those who were already qualified. The lower pricing of ACA plans resulted in the expansion of eligibility to millions who were not previously eligible. The ARP ACA expansion will continue for at least another 3 years under the Inflation...
Read More »Interesting Stuff from my In-Box, January 25, 2023
It has taken a bit of time after Christmas to get back into the swing of things. A week during Christmas while in Breckenridge, I spent it in bed due to Attitude Altitude sickness. One night I was looking at the vertical wood slats on the wall which appeared to be populated with numbers similar to an Excel Spread Sheet. Looking at numbers and doing quick comparisons in manufacturing, distribution, and planning was a good part of my job. I reached for...
Read More »Jury Findings for the January 6 Insurrectionists
I am waiting to see what the courts dish out for the insurrectionists who thought it was kind-of-“kool” to attack the Senate and House while in session certifying the 2020 presidential election vote. The insurrectionist sitting at Nancy Pelosi’s desk was sentenced last week. He claimed he was looking for a bathroom. So far, I have not been impressed with the sentences handed down to insurrectionists. I believe the sentencing is too lenient. If we...
Read More »Changing the Student Loan System
Recently, The American Prospect‘s David Dayen’s introduced us to a new student loan system. A new program implemented for income driven based repayments (IDR). It requires lesser payback amounts and shorter a time period than the of 25 years to pay back. Unfortunately, a person would still be in their mid-forties if everything works out as planned. No restraints on tuition yet having the freedom to grow. There is a question of whether earlier relief...
Read More »Tomorrow, January 22, is the fiftieth anniversary of the Right to Decide
A bit of history as reviewed on a “woman’s right to decide,” by Professor Heather, “Letters from an American.” Tomorrow marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court decided that for the first trimester of a pregnancy, “the attending physician, in consultation with his patient, is free to determine, without regulation by the State, that, in his medical judgment, the patient’s pregnancy...
Read More »Sparsely Illumed
Illumed, Illusion, Ill used one Another commentary done in a unique style by a former Slate commenter Weldon Berger. I had read about the Walgreen’s shoplifting media frenzy elsewhere. If you have been in a Walgreens, you have probably seen the cameras in the ceiling, wide open aisles, “Sparsely Illumed,” Weldon Berger, Bad Crow Review (substack.com) _____________________________________________________ “Where’s the hammer?”...
Read More »Medicare Advantage has Overcharged FFS Medicare by Billions for Years
And the news Media is waking up to this? In December 2022, NPR wrote, “Medicare Advantage plans overcharged Medicare by millions,” Health News : NPR Citing an April 26, 2016 example of US government auditors asked a Blue Cross Medicare Advantage health plan in Minnesota to turn over medical records of patients treated by a podiatry practice whose owner had been indicted for fraud. Medicare had paid the Blue Cross plan more than $20,000 to...
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