Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member

DeSwiss

DeSwiss's Journal
DeSwiss's Journal
October 31, 2013

Wonkette: ''Fox’s Greta Van Susteren Does Actual Journalism On Junk Insurance Story''

[font size=3]WONKETTE[/font]
by Doktor Zoom
2:17 pm October 30, 2013

Talk about surprising — Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren did a far better job than CBS News at explaining one of those stories about how mean old Barack Obama won’t let people keep their crappy insurance plans that don’t “insure” much of anything. Greta had a brief chat yesterday with Dianne Barrette, the subject of a recent CBS story about how because of the Affordable Care Act, Blue Cross of Florida is canceling her $54/month insurance and forcing her to buy a $591/month plan — except, of course, that’s not exactly the case. CBS left out a couple of details, like the fact that Barrette’s plan doesn’t cover hospitalization and only pays $50 toward any of the very few services it does cover. It is the insurance equivalent of wet Kleenex. Unlike CBS, though, Van Susteren got right to the problem with the plan that’s being cancelled:
    “Your $54 a month policy is a pretty, you know, bare bones policy, “Greta said. “Why do you want to keep that one, except for the price? Maybe you can get something better with a subsidy?”



We’ll have more on this, right after we deal with these damn flying pigs that have escaped from Hell, which is all iced over.

*snip*

Van Susteren ended the report by sympathizing with Barrette’s frustration, but also had a suggestion: “You have a real stripped-down policy here, and I think you need to find someone who understands this stuff. It’s pretty confusing, I concede.”

Strange, though, that a blogger who can do some basic research online managed to make some pretty informed estimates of what Barrette should be able to get through the Exchange. You’d think that Teevee news reporters could do that, too. That’s the kind of thing they call “reporting.” And it also looks like Dianne Barrette’s brief career as a Victim Of Obamacare may be ending soon: Erik Wemple reports that “Following her chat with Van Susteren, Barrette got word from a network producer that her appointment to appear this morning on Fox News was cancelled.”

READ MORE



- Practicing journalism at Fox is like a tree falling in the forest when no one is there, does it make a sound? Apparently in the Fox Forest it sounds like Greta.....

October 29, 2013

Margaret Heffernan: The dangers of "Willful Blindness"



TED · Published on Aug 12, 2013

Gayla Benefield was just doing her job -- until she uncovered an awful secret about her hometown that meant its mortality rate was 80 times higher than anywhere else in the U.S. But when she tried to tell people about it, she learned an even more shocking truth: People didn't want to know. In a talk that's part history lesson, part call-to-action, Margaret Heffernan demonstrates the danger of "willful blindness" and praises ordinary people like Benefield who are willing to speak up. (Filmed at TEDxDanubia.)



    ''People think that the universe is outside of us, but actually the
    universe is inside of us and no where else.''
    ~Robert Anton Wilson
October 27, 2013

Carl's Stone Cold Lock Of The Century - Of the Week - Redskins vs. Broncos 2013



- Whether you disagree with Carl or not on the Redskins name, I'd love for the Cleveland Indians to change their name to the Hash Browns. That's my hometown. Yum!

October 26, 2013

TYT: Russell Brand Interview You MUST SEE



The Young Turks ·Published on Oct 24, 2013

"A BBC interview with comedian/actor Russell Brand is getting attention today because, it's said, he speaks for many younger adults who are fed up with politics and politicians.

Brand, who seems almost proud to say he's never voted, makes the case that "the lies, treachery and deceit of the political class that has been going on for generations" make casting a ballot pointless."* The Young Turks hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian break it down.





''I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant.'' ~H. L. Mencken
October 20, 2013

Carl's Lock - Broncos vs Colts 2013 (Gives up on 2013 Giants' season)



- Carl's really come a long way. Facing the monumental suckage that is the 2013 Giants is hard for him, I'm sure. It's the new cross-stitching hobby no doubt......
October 20, 2013

Water Powered Car Unveiled: Yes It's Real

MINDS
October 19, 2013




Everyday the world becomes aware of technologies that have the potential to halt the unnecessary damage we continue to create using fossil fuels. We’ve been talking about it for years, transitioning our way of life to be more harmonious with the planet and its natural systems. I’m not talking about solar or wind power (although great), I’m talking about clean and green technology that render fossil fuel burning technologies inferior and obsolete.

One of these “new” technologies is a water fuelled car, and it has been unveiled on a number of occasions. It’s an automobile that derives its energy directly from water, and water alone. It is not hard to see why it’s not available to the masses. An engine powered by water would wipe out a large chunk of the fossil fuel industry and change the way these companies do business all together. The oil and gas corporations combine to bring in trillions of dollars every year. Inventions like these are a direct threat to the industry.

JAPANESE COMPANY UNVEILS WATER POWERED CAR


A Japanese company called Genepax unveiled their water powered car in 2008 in Osaka, Japan (1). It doesn’t matter if it’s tap, bottled, or lake water, anything type of water can make this car run. An energy generator splits the water molecules to produce hydrogen and this is used to power the car. They use a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) to split the Hydrogen from the Oxygen through a chemical reaction. The cell needs only water and air, eliminating the need for a hydrogen reformer and high pressure hydrogen tank.

This isn’t a conspiracy! The reality of this device has been verified by patent offices all over the world. To search a Japanese patent, you have to go through the Industrial Property Digital Library (IPDL). This organization makes patents available to the intellectual property department of the Japan Patent Office. The IDPL provides over 60 million documents and their relevant information as published since the end of the 19th century. The fact that these are even published for patent pending says a lot.

Click HERE to view the water energy system patent. You can also visit the Industrial Property Digital Library itself, do a “PAJ” search. Type in the publication number **2006-244714**. Documents are also on file with the European Patent Office, you can view them HERE. Reuters also did a brief report on the vehicle as you can see in the video below.

MORE

October 17, 2013

ACLU Sues Feds To Disclose Secret Surveillance In Criminal Cases

Source: Talking Points Memo

Dylan Scott – October 17, 2013, 5:55 PM EDT

The ACLU sued the Obama administration Thursday, demanding that the Justice Department respond to its request for information about evidence derived from secret surveillance being used in criminal prosecutions. The lawsuit stemmed from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that the organization filed in March. The ACLU alleged Thursday that the administration had failed to comply fully with its request.

The surveillance in question -- authorized under the 2008 amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and commonly known as FAA -- was at the heart of the leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden this summer. At issue is whether the Justice Department must disclose to criminal defendants that some of the evidence against them was originally derived from warrantless surveillance under the FAA.

"In the five years since the FAA was enacted, not a single criminal defendant has received notice of the government's intent to use or disclose FAA-derived evidence," the ACLU's lawyers wrote. "The failure of these DOJ components to process and release responsive records is of particular concern because the Request relates to a highly controversial surveillance authority whose wisdom, effectiveness, and legality is a matter of intense and ongoing public debate."

As TPM previously reported, the problem of FAA disclosures in criminal cases has been vexing federal prosecutors for the last year. It started when Solicitor General Donald Verrilli assured the Supreme Court last October during oral arguments in Clapper v. Amnesty International that prosecutors would have to disclose to whether FAA surveillance had been used in compiling a criminal case against them -- and the defendant could challenge its constitutionality.




Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/aclu-sues-feds-to-disclose-nsa-surveillance-in-criminal-cases



October 17, 2013

Republican Congressman From Staten Island Denies Having Sex In Brooklyn Wine Bar

By Joey Scarborough , Dan Friedman AND Corinne Lestch / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, October 16, 2013, 5:17 AM



[font size=1]Elisa Miller/for New York Daily News
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) denies that he had sex with a woman in a Brooklyn wine bar.[/font]

Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm denied reports Tuesday that he had a kinky 17-minute sex romp with a woman in the unisex bathroom of a Brooklyn wine bar.

The Republican congressman, who is single, said he didn’t score at The Owl’s Head in Bay Ridge on the Friday preceding the government shutdown two weeks ago.

“I will not dignify this absurd distortion of the facts with a response,” the pol said, calling the accusations a “Democrat-led smear campaign.”

A source said Grimm went to the bathroom only to check on the woman, who was upset. “It wasn’t 17 minutes,” the source added.

MORE



- Normally I avoid posting the NYDN, but then I saw his picture and I couldn't resist! I too think ''17 minutes'' was a totally excessive exaggeration......
October 16, 2013

Adult Wednesday Addams: (1) Apartment Hunting (2) Job Interview (3) Internet Dating

- And every one them, deliciously perverse and hilarious!!!!


[center]





[/center]

Profile Information

Member since: Wed Jul 5, 2006, 11:17 PM
Number of posts: 27,137

Journal Entries

Latest Discussions»DeSwiss's Journal