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aaaaaa5a's JournalPolls Show Rising Acceptance for Obamacare
Source: The Fiscal Times
As it turns out, the majority of Americans say they are okay with businesses adding a nominal surcharge to each bill in order to help pay for their employees health coverage.
That’s according to a new survey from Bankrate.com, which found that 68 percent of those polled say they don’t mind paying a higher bill so businesses can provide their workers with insurance. Younger people especially seemed to approve of this approach—about 64 percent of 18-29 year olds, while only 39 percent of people 65 and older said they were okay with this practice.
“While most Americans may be able to swallow an extra 25 cents on their bill at their favorite restaurant, a sizable chunk (22 percent) said they would stop going to the business. I can only imagine this number increasing if businesses try to charge too much,” Bankrate.com insurance analyst Doug Whiteman said in a statement.
Still, for the time being, the survey’s findings are more good news for the White House—which has enjoyed a slew of recent polls suggesting that the public’s perception of the ACA is beginning to improve
Read more: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/polls-show-rising-acceptance-obamacare-091500620.html
This might be too soon but................
I fully understand the tragedy ongoing in the Indian Ocean. But I thought this was funny. Mods feel free to yank this if it lacks sensitivity. I do understand.
Cop pulls gun on African American kids building a tree house
Police in Georgia forced a group of fifth graders to the ground at gunpoint this week as they attempted to build a tree fort in their own neighborhood.
According to 911 records, Henry County Police were called after a neighbor noticed the children “chopping off tree limbs,” an activity she claimed was hurting the environment and creating “tripping hazards.”
Police arrived on scene to find 11-year-old Omari Grant and his friends playing in a small patch of trees, prompting at least one officer to reportedly draw his firearm and force the boys to the ground.
“I was thinking that I don’t want to be shot today, so I just listened to what they said,” Grant said.
As the children lay face down, the officer allegedly screamed profanities as he forced them to spread their arms and legs. Grant’s mother, Janice Baptiste, detailed her son’s experience in an interview with WSB-TV.
“All he could get out at the time was, ‘Mom, he had a gun in my face, he had a gun in my face,’” Baptiste said. “So my son was of course traumatized by that.”
After the children were searched, Grant was taken back to his home by the officer, who also startled Baptiste with his unstable appearance.
“He just came with such an attitude,” Baptiste said. “His whole physical appearance was one of, ‘I’m Mr. Big and bad.’”
Grant says he is now hesitant to play outside in his own neighborhood, afraid of the very police he always looked up to.
“I learned that they’re supposed to help you, not make you feel scared to even come outside,” Grant said.
Edgar Dillard, whose wife made the 911 call, was reportedly stunned to hear of the neighbor boys’ encounter with police.
“Yeah, that’s pretty shocking to hear that a gun was pulled on a child,” Dillard said.
Baptiste has filed an excessive force complaint with the department, which has now opened an internal investigation. When questioned about the officer’s actions, Sgt. Joey Smith remained relatively tight-lipped.
“If it was justified then we’ll deal with it, if it wasn’t we’ll address it as well,” Smith said.
Despite the investigation, both officers remain on duty.
Full Story (including video) below:
http://mto.mediatakeout.com/external/68555
Man charged with neglect after young son fires rifle, killing 13-year-old boy
Source: FOX 59 News/Indianapolis, IN.
GREENSBURG, Ind. (March 21, 2014)—The father of a 6-year-old boy who fired a gunshot that fatally struck his 13-year-old half-brother has been arrested in connection with the incident.
Jason Forshee, 34, was taken into custody on charges of Neglect of a Dependent Child Resulting in Death, a Class A felony, and Dangerous Control of a Child, a Class C felony.
On March 11, Greensburg police responded to a house in the 1000 block of North Carver Street in reference to a person shot. When officers arrived, they located 13-year-old Craig Roberts suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Forshee said he set his rifle on a table in the living room in order to clean it. He told authorities he removed the magazine, but he did not realize there was still a bullet in the chamber. He said he left the firearm unattended for just 10-15 seconds when he heard a “pop,” stated court documents. During that time, Forshee’s 6-year-old son fired the weapon, striking Roberts.
Read more: http://fox59.com/2014/03/21/man-charged-with-neglect-after-young-son-fires-rifle-killing-13-year-old-boy/#axzz2wdjwBQ6a
Great Lakes Approaching 100% Ice Cover – For The First Time On Record
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http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/great-lakes-approaching-100-ice-cover-for-the-first-time-on-record/
FDA halts sales of 23andMe DNA test kits
Source: USA TODAY
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration has ordered Google-backed genetic test maker 23andMe to halt sales of its personalized DNA test kits, saying the company has failed to show that the technology is supported by science.
23andMe's saliva-based test kit, launched more than 5 years ago, claims to tell customers if they are at risk for more than 250 diseases and health conditions. The FDA says only medical tests that have been cleared by the government are permitted to make such claims.
For years, 23andMe resisted government regulation, arguing that it simply provides consumers with information, not a medical service. But last year the company changed course, submitting several of the disease-specific tests included in its test kit.
Consumers order the company's $99 product online. Once the kit arrives by mail they are instructed to spit into a small tube, providing a saliva sample which is sent back to the company for analysis. 23andMe says the customer's DNA is analyzed to determine their likelihood of developing various diseases and responding to various drugs. The test also claims to provide information about ancestral background, though this information is not regulated by the FDA.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/25/23andme/3699329/
I love MSNBC's political music.
After 5 years it has really grown on me. Every time I hear it I think about the President. It has almost become Obama's theme music to me.
I hope they never change it.
The ugly way Sarah Palin turns down a cable news interview
Sarah Palin found a novel way to turn down an interview request from Piers Morgan on Friday, posting a picture on Facebook of a bear she had shot dead and a note saying she was busy.
The former Alaska governor thanked chat show host Morgan for inviting her on his 'shambolic show' but added she was 'kind of busy right now'.
The Facebook message, which had been liked by nearly 3,000 of Palin's supporters within two hours of it being posted, is part of an online spat between the pair after Morgan poked fun at her intellect.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2477047/Sarah-Palin-taunts-Piers-Morgan-picture-bear-shot-dead-posted-Facebook.html#ixzz2j0ztVzWo
This is just part of how tax payers subsidize the labor force of the 1%
Two studies released today make some different calculations to determine the total cost to American taxpayers of a large, low-wage workforce. It comes to an average of $7 billion a year. That’s the amount of annual public assistance families of fast-food workers received between 2007 and 2011, according to a new report written by economist Sylvia Allegretto and others, sponsored by the University of California at Berkeley’s Labor Center and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and funded by Fast Food Forward, the group that helped organize the summer’s labor strikes. The authors used publicly available data.
The report calls out the fast-food industry for its low wages, citing a median salary of $8.69 an hour and a history of offering part-time work. That might have been fine when those behind the counter were mostly teenagers living at home. These days, though, 68 percent of fast-food workers are single or married adults who aren’t in school—and 26 percent are raising children.
Source:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-15/mcdonalds-low-wages-come-with-a-7-billion-side-of-welfare
Retail giants like Walmart are no better.
Walmart in Wisconsin
The report begins:
“While employers like Wal-Mart seek to reap significant profits through the depression of labor costs, the social costs of this low-wage strategy are externalized. Low wages not only harm workers and their families—they cost taxpayers.”
How much? About $5,815 per employee, they say. The Democratic staff members analyzed data from Wisconsin’s Medicaid program, which released data on enrollment by employer as of the end of 2012. Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) ranked first on the list, with 3,216 of its employees enrolled in Wisconsin’s Medicaid program, called BadgerCare+. The authors assume that the workers who are on Medicaid would also be receiving reduced-price school meals, housing assistance, and other help. They figure that at a single Supercenter in Wisconsin, the 300 or so employees would rely on public assistance programs that cost $904,542 a year.
Source:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-03/are-american-taxpayers-subsidizing-walmarts-low-wages
Is it too much to ask to have Chris Matthews do a "Live" show at 7pm?
First he had two great time slots at 5pm and 7pm for the same show. Then he gets bumped to 7pm only. And so now his show is taped? How much pull does the guy have? Who wrote his TV contract?
There have been several instances just since MSBC's new format began where Matthews show being taped has clearly hurt the network.
Today is one of them.
Tonight his show is completely irrelevant.
Why didn't he go live? With all of the talent at MSNBC, and with 3 networks in a heated cable news war, how does MSNBC justify having a taped show at 7pm?
I guess have to watch GOP wannabe Erin Burnett to get updated news. Her show is terrible. But while her news is bad. At least its not old.
I'm sure Alex Wagner (or somebody who actually wants to work at the network) could have filled in and done a good job.
I don't get it.
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