Amazon BLOCKED From Filming Union Voting
3 years ago
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Steve Forbes, "How Capitalism Will Save Us"
book recommended to me
alas, more fiction than nonfiction
free markets are not so free and it is a myth they are efficient and self governing
on some things, capatilism is not the most efficient system
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Occupy movement will grow in 2012 1/2
interesting take from Iran on American economy
I believe Occupy folks will grow in number this year as well. In fact, trying to make sure that happens in St. Louis as a matter of fact.
Soar 11-3 (retired steelworkers in St. Louis) has endorsed occupy St. Louis some months ago.
Santa's Workshop - Inside China's Slave Labour Toy Factories
no doubt labor and worker outrages in China.
We have more than our share in America
Outrages or not, China and India might I add have brought about a billion of their citizens or better some better economic times. can we say that in America or Europe?
Sunday, December 25, 2011
occupy christmas ditty
Arrest ye merry bankermen
All profiting today
You crashed the whole economy
Yet nothing did you pay …
still looking for others
All profiting today
You crashed the whole economy
Yet nothing did you pay …
still looking for others
How The West Went Bust - Part 1
excellent doc
urge folks to watch this. many of the topics discussed at soar meeting and indeed Jan, 12 will be discussed.
happy holidays
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
12-21-11 1a - Tax Cut Showdown - Countdown with Keith Olbermann
more insanity from teabaggers in congress
Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi - We Can Solve It
never thought I might find an issue with Newt I agree
Revisionist History: If Bush Ruled The South...
comment on weapons of mass destruction
Iraq war bullshit revisionism is going on now. alas, very sad
Senators Paid By Hedge Fund Managers For Early Information
sorry for ad
alas, no hedge fund folks paying me off.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
politaco medicare Wyden plan article
Ryan, Wyden back new Medicare plan
By: Jennifer Haberkorn
December 14, 2011 05:48 PM EST
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan on Thursday plan to introduce a new Medicare reform plan that would allow seniors to choose between traditional Medicare and new private insurance programs.
The plan has some key differences from the Ryan blueprint that Republicans had rallied around earlier this year — and which Democrats had been united in pummelling in Congress and on the campaign trail as the beginning of the end of Medicare.
The biggest difference is that seniors would have a choice between staying in traditional Medicare, or opting into new private plan alternatives, the two lawmakers said in an interview with POLITICO.
Wyden is the first Democrat on Capitol Hill to so strongly embrace a variant of Ryan’s approach. And Ryan has accepted more flexibility than the Medicare approach in the House budget.
Wyden insists the plan would be designed in ways that would preserve the safety net for the elderly.
“I will never do anything to shred that or weaken it or harm [Medicare] in any way,” the Oregon Democrat said. “I simply believe that there is now an opportunity for progressives and conservatives to come together and to strengthen the program for the long term and particularly, deal with the costs and demographic challenges.”
The Ryan budget plan would have moved seniors in the future into private health plans, with government subsidies known as premium support or — to his critics, vouchers.
Ryan and Wyden plan to release a white paper with more details Thursday at an event sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The plan has the potential to be a political firecracker, but its most significant change — keeping traditional Medicare as an option — eliminates the greatest political assault lobbed at Ryan’s plan: that it would “end Medicare.”
The Wyden-Ryan plan has other significant differences from Ryan’s original proposal: It institutes a series of consumer protections for seniors, it installs a cap on total Medicare spending and changes the way premium support is calculated.
Ryan said he’s concerned that if genuine changes to Medicare don’t take place soon, there won’t be enough of a financial cushion to gradually institute a new plan while allowing seniors to remain in the system they know now.
“If you wait and allow the political paralysis to stop us from fixing and saving this program, then you’re not going to be able to grandfather people,” Ryan said. “Then you’re going to have severe disruptions in seniors’ lives that would just be, I think, morally wrong because we see this problem coming. What Ron and I are trying to do is prepare the ground for a consensus to be accomplished as soon as the politics allow it to happen.”
Just like in Ryan’s House budget, seniors would get premium support — a government subsidy that’s also been dubbed a “voucher” — to help buy coverage, whether in the private market or through Medicare.
Beginning in 2022, they’d buy coverage through a Medicare “exchange.”
Insurers would be able to sell coverage if they meet federal requirements designed to protect consumers. They would have to meet actuarial requirements, sell a program at least as comprehensive as traditional Medicare and agree to offer insurance to all seniors, regardless of age or health status — to prevent insurers from cherry picking the healthy and cheaper clients.
In some ways, the exchange approach and the regulations are similar to the new state-based insurance markets creating by the health reform law for the under 65 population starting in 2014.
Under the Ryan-Wyden approach, the senior would have to pay the difference between the sticker price and the premium support or subsidy, although low-income people would get more help.
The House budget version tied the premium support to the Consumer Price Index. In this plan, it would be tied to the second-least expensive private plan or Medicare, whichever is lower.
Ryan predicts the market would look like the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan, one that insurers want to participate in because of its predictability, stability and large pool.
Wyden and Ryan argue that the consumers’ choices will drive insurers and Medicare to be more efficient and price conscious, which would drive down all Medicare spending. If not, they would require Congress to act if Medicare spending growth exceeded the Gross Domestic Product plus 1 percent.
The cap is a new feature that is designed to ensure that Medicare spending would be kept under control.
It a somewhat similar concept to the health reform law’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, which requires action when Medicare spending hits a certain level. Republicans strongly oppose IPAB.
While IPAB would have a 15-person board decide what to cut when the spending triggers are hit, the Wyden-Ryan plan requires Congress to intervene and choose what to cut, such as provider reimbursements, overhead or means-tested premiums. They’re still discussing if and how it would be enforced.
“Rather than have a group of 15 people impose price controls to live within a cap, we’re giving the power to senior citizens through choice and competition to let the market make those decisions with them,” Ryan said in the joint interview.
The plan also would allow businesses with 100 or fewer employees to offer their employees under 65 the option of buying coverage on the free market instead of at work — with the employer contributing the same amount they would have paid for employer-sponsored insurance. This is similar to the “free choice” vouchers Wyden has favored.
At first blush, Wyden and Ryan may look like an unlikely duo to team up on a Medicare reform plan. But they share an interest in policy over politics and both have worked on health policy issues and bipartisan bills.
On health care especially, Wyden has shown that he’s willing to work outside of what his party supports. During the health reform discussions in 2009, he supported eliminating the employer sponsored tax benefits on a bill co-sponsored by former Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah).
After the reform law passed, he introduced a bill that would allow states to implement their own reforms more quickly than the law would let them, as long as they covered as many people.
President Barack Obama publicly endorsed that state flexibility but Majority Leader Harry Reid hasn’t put the bill on the floor.
Ryan has a record of bipartisanship, too. He and Alice Rivlin, who led the budget office for former President Bill Clinton, released a Medicare reform plan, too, although the version that Ryan led through the House went farther than Rivlin could accept.
Wyden’s move is unlikely to go over well with Democratic leadership. Politically, Democrats feel that Ryan’s plan gave them the upper hand on the Medicare message ahead of a pivotal election year.
Both Ryan and Wyden acknowledge that any Medicare reform proposals can be quickly turned into a political weapon by the other side. But they hope that by releasing a detailed plan without legislative text — and the worry about having to decide whether to vote for it or not — can help foster serious discussion.
“People don’t have to descend on their congressperson [and say,] ‘Don’t vote two weeks from today for such and such,’” Wyden said. “This is a chance to get beyond the discussion that’s been held.”
This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 5:11 p.m. on December 14, 2011.
© 2011 POLITICO LLC
---------------
privatizing medicare is bad idea and one soar and others will oppose.
were is the minds of the democrats. soar 11-3 is on record it will not support any canidate that wishes to prizatize social security or medicare. it is a vow we intend to keep
By: Jennifer Haberkorn
December 14, 2011 05:48 PM EST
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan on Thursday plan to introduce a new Medicare reform plan that would allow seniors to choose between traditional Medicare and new private insurance programs.
The plan has some key differences from the Ryan blueprint that Republicans had rallied around earlier this year — and which Democrats had been united in pummelling in Congress and on the campaign trail as the beginning of the end of Medicare.
The biggest difference is that seniors would have a choice between staying in traditional Medicare, or opting into new private plan alternatives, the two lawmakers said in an interview with POLITICO.
Wyden is the first Democrat on Capitol Hill to so strongly embrace a variant of Ryan’s approach. And Ryan has accepted more flexibility than the Medicare approach in the House budget.
Wyden insists the plan would be designed in ways that would preserve the safety net for the elderly.
“I will never do anything to shred that or weaken it or harm [Medicare] in any way,” the Oregon Democrat said. “I simply believe that there is now an opportunity for progressives and conservatives to come together and to strengthen the program for the long term and particularly, deal with the costs and demographic challenges.”
The Ryan budget plan would have moved seniors in the future into private health plans, with government subsidies known as premium support or — to his critics, vouchers.
Ryan and Wyden plan to release a white paper with more details Thursday at an event sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The plan has the potential to be a political firecracker, but its most significant change — keeping traditional Medicare as an option — eliminates the greatest political assault lobbed at Ryan’s plan: that it would “end Medicare.”
The Wyden-Ryan plan has other significant differences from Ryan’s original proposal: It institutes a series of consumer protections for seniors, it installs a cap on total Medicare spending and changes the way premium support is calculated.
Ryan said he’s concerned that if genuine changes to Medicare don’t take place soon, there won’t be enough of a financial cushion to gradually institute a new plan while allowing seniors to remain in the system they know now.
“If you wait and allow the political paralysis to stop us from fixing and saving this program, then you’re not going to be able to grandfather people,” Ryan said. “Then you’re going to have severe disruptions in seniors’ lives that would just be, I think, morally wrong because we see this problem coming. What Ron and I are trying to do is prepare the ground for a consensus to be accomplished as soon as the politics allow it to happen.”
Just like in Ryan’s House budget, seniors would get premium support — a government subsidy that’s also been dubbed a “voucher” — to help buy coverage, whether in the private market or through Medicare.
Beginning in 2022, they’d buy coverage through a Medicare “exchange.”
Insurers would be able to sell coverage if they meet federal requirements designed to protect consumers. They would have to meet actuarial requirements, sell a program at least as comprehensive as traditional Medicare and agree to offer insurance to all seniors, regardless of age or health status — to prevent insurers from cherry picking the healthy and cheaper clients.
In some ways, the exchange approach and the regulations are similar to the new state-based insurance markets creating by the health reform law for the under 65 population starting in 2014.
Under the Ryan-Wyden approach, the senior would have to pay the difference between the sticker price and the premium support or subsidy, although low-income people would get more help.
The House budget version tied the premium support to the Consumer Price Index. In this plan, it would be tied to the second-least expensive private plan or Medicare, whichever is lower.
Ryan predicts the market would look like the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan, one that insurers want to participate in because of its predictability, stability and large pool.
Wyden and Ryan argue that the consumers’ choices will drive insurers and Medicare to be more efficient and price conscious, which would drive down all Medicare spending. If not, they would require Congress to act if Medicare spending growth exceeded the Gross Domestic Product plus 1 percent.
The cap is a new feature that is designed to ensure that Medicare spending would be kept under control.
It a somewhat similar concept to the health reform law’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, which requires action when Medicare spending hits a certain level. Republicans strongly oppose IPAB.
While IPAB would have a 15-person board decide what to cut when the spending triggers are hit, the Wyden-Ryan plan requires Congress to intervene and choose what to cut, such as provider reimbursements, overhead or means-tested premiums. They’re still discussing if and how it would be enforced.
“Rather than have a group of 15 people impose price controls to live within a cap, we’re giving the power to senior citizens through choice and competition to let the market make those decisions with them,” Ryan said in the joint interview.
The plan also would allow businesses with 100 or fewer employees to offer their employees under 65 the option of buying coverage on the free market instead of at work — with the employer contributing the same amount they would have paid for employer-sponsored insurance. This is similar to the “free choice” vouchers Wyden has favored.
At first blush, Wyden and Ryan may look like an unlikely duo to team up on a Medicare reform plan. But they share an interest in policy over politics and both have worked on health policy issues and bipartisan bills.
On health care especially, Wyden has shown that he’s willing to work outside of what his party supports. During the health reform discussions in 2009, he supported eliminating the employer sponsored tax benefits on a bill co-sponsored by former Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah).
After the reform law passed, he introduced a bill that would allow states to implement their own reforms more quickly than the law would let them, as long as they covered as many people.
President Barack Obama publicly endorsed that state flexibility but Majority Leader Harry Reid hasn’t put the bill on the floor.
Ryan has a record of bipartisanship, too. He and Alice Rivlin, who led the budget office for former President Bill Clinton, released a Medicare reform plan, too, although the version that Ryan led through the House went farther than Rivlin could accept.
Wyden’s move is unlikely to go over well with Democratic leadership. Politically, Democrats feel that Ryan’s plan gave them the upper hand on the Medicare message ahead of a pivotal election year.
Both Ryan and Wyden acknowledge that any Medicare reform proposals can be quickly turned into a political weapon by the other side. But they hope that by releasing a detailed plan without legislative text — and the worry about having to decide whether to vote for it or not — can help foster serious discussion.
“People don’t have to descend on their congressperson [and say,] ‘Don’t vote two weeks from today for such and such,’” Wyden said. “This is a chance to get beyond the discussion that’s been held.”
This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 5:11 p.m. on December 14, 2011.
© 2011 POLITICO LLC
---------------
privatizing medicare is bad idea and one soar and others will oppose.
were is the minds of the democrats. soar 11-3 is on record it will not support any canidate that wishes to prizatize social security or medicare. it is a vow we intend to keep
Friday, December 16, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Repower America - Brian Wahby from St. Louis, MO
sharp guy
some of the guys off tonight to dem party meeting. this is the host and will meet you there
12-14-11 2 - All-American Response, with Chris Murphy - Countdown with K...
I will ask lads and lasses at next soar meeting to do no buying from Lowe's for this type stuff.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
ABC World News with Diane Sawyer: Chesapeake Bay Candle - Made in America
older one and one hopefully spreading
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Extending Payroll Tax Cut Threatens Social Security ‘As We Know It,’ Trustee Warns | CNSnews.com
Extending Payroll Tax Cut Threatens Social Security ‘As We Know It,’ Trustee Warns | CNSnews.com
click link above
I do not agree 100%, but something to think about
click link above
I do not agree 100%, but something to think about
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
2012 GOP Primary Debate Highlights! Newt Gingrich for President! Newt d...
a little treat from right wing
Thursday, December 8, 2011
OccupySTL demonstration
When
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Time
12:00pm until 7:00pm
Where
Freedom Square (7th and Market)
Description
Join Occupy Saint Louis for our BIGGEST Rally and March yet on December 17th (#D17)!
#D17 is the next massive GLOBAL day of action uniting individuals around the world to stand up against corruption and greed! Where will you be on December 17th?
A more specific overview of local action(s) and time(s) will be provided as they are agreed upon via consensus at the Occupy Saint Louis General Assembly. Stay Tuned and Share!
----------
December17th marks the anniversary of many historic events:
- 3 months since the beginning of the Occupy movement! Join us to celebrate all of the successes of the movement and to show solidarity for the future!
- The one-year anniversary of the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian man whose
self-immolation initiated the first of protests which became the Tunisian Revolution, and eventually cascaded into the Arab Spring.
- 24 years since the birth of Bradley Manning, the army private accused of leaking classified information to Wikileaks. Manning's first hearing is scheduled for Dec 16, 586 days after his arrest, where he will face a military panel who will decide if he will go to trial.
----------
RECAP:
On November 17th (#N17) Occupy Saint Louis united with various unions, community groups and citizens for a 700+ person march and action for jobs. The march headed to the MLK bridge to urge Congress to invest in good jobs by putting Americans to work rebuilding our physical and social infrastructure.
-------
try to make it folks from soar and labor
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Time
12:00pm until 7:00pm
Where
Freedom Square (7th and Market)
Description
Join Occupy Saint Louis for our BIGGEST Rally and March yet on December 17th (#D17)!
#D17 is the next massive GLOBAL day of action uniting individuals around the world to stand up against corruption and greed! Where will you be on December 17th?
A more specific overview of local action(s) and time(s) will be provided as they are agreed upon via consensus at the Occupy Saint Louis General Assembly. Stay Tuned and Share!
----------
December17th marks the anniversary of many historic events:
- 3 months since the beginning of the Occupy movement! Join us to celebrate all of the successes of the movement and to show solidarity for the future!
- The one-year anniversary of the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian man whose
self-immolation initiated the first of protests which became the Tunisian Revolution, and eventually cascaded into the Arab Spring.
- 24 years since the birth of Bradley Manning, the army private accused of leaking classified information to Wikileaks. Manning's first hearing is scheduled for Dec 16, 586 days after his arrest, where he will face a military panel who will decide if he will go to trial.
----------
RECAP:
On November 17th (#N17) Occupy Saint Louis united with various unions, community groups and citizens for a 700+ person march and action for jobs. The march headed to the MLK bridge to urge Congress to invest in good jobs by putting Americans to work rebuilding our physical and social infrastructure.
-------
try to make it folks from soar and labor
chinese paint==onion news
Chinese Paint Tops List Of This Year's Must-Have Holiday Gifts
request from one of the folks. kinda funny
satire and sorry for ads
kc occupy gem
Watch live video from OccupyKC on www.justin.tv
looks like teabagger congressfolks have no use for occupy constitutants
sorry for slow load and ads
looks like teabagger congressfolks have no use for occupy constitutants
sorry for slow load and ads
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
GOP Empire's Plan to Crush Tea Party Rebels - Politics - The Atlantic Wire
GOP Empire's Plan to Crush Tea Party Rebels - Politics - The Atlantic Wire
click link above
from article
Elspeth Reeve Oct 12, 2011
The Republican establishment is no longer terrified of the Tea Party, The New York Times' Matt Bai reports. It's now figured out how to absorb them like a slow-moving but powerful star that's swelling into a red giant. How to take these political hooligans over? There are a couple steps.
Step 1: The first rule of the establishment is: Do not admit you are part of the establishment! Bai talked to Fred Malek, a longtime Republican fundraiser who now raises money for the Republican Governors Association. He has photos of himself with various presidents on his wall.
Step 4: Teach them about compromise. Vin Weber, who was elected to Congress in 1980, was "part of a group of rebellious young conservatives who rose up against their affable minority leader, Bob Michel," Bai explains. Weber was "the Bachmann of his day," Bai says, and Weber tepidly agrees. But he's trying to teach them what he learned about Washington since he first arrived 30 years ago.
click link above
from article
Elspeth Reeve Oct 12, 2011
The Republican establishment is no longer terrified of the Tea Party, The New York Times' Matt Bai reports. It's now figured out how to absorb them like a slow-moving but powerful star that's swelling into a red giant. How to take these political hooligans over? There are a couple steps.
Step 1: The first rule of the establishment is: Do not admit you are part of the establishment! Bai talked to Fred Malek, a longtime Republican fundraiser who now raises money for the Republican Governors Association. He has photos of himself with various presidents on his wall.
Step 4: Teach them about compromise. Vin Weber, who was elected to Congress in 1980, was "part of a group of rebellious young conservatives who rose up against their affable minority leader, Bob Michel," Bai explains. Weber was "the Bachmann of his day," Bai says, and Weber tepidly agrees. But he's trying to teach them what he learned about Washington since he first arrived 30 years ago.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Capitalism, Energy, and Climate Change (Occupy Boston FSU)
guy explains dangers of climate change
global warming is real and folks believing otherwise are like ostriches sticking heads in sand to ignore danger
even the department of defense acknowledges climate change as a real danger to defense of America
Monday, December 5, 2011
Fox News Discusses the New Muppets Movie, Claims Liberal Bias
-------
I have seen movie. alas, I am not seeing what fox is seeing nor did little ones with me.
perhaps all brainwashed.
another theory Fox is full of it
see movie for yourself
Dr. Steve Auerbach talks Occupy & Single Payer on Countdown with Keith O...
old one, but one I am late posting
FDR Fireside Chat #2, Better Wage Promises 1933/5/8
would it be nice to have a president taking up for American workers.
Why Rick Perry Ripped Wall Street Bankers
luntz memo is fantastic and will win argument if folks allow them to control the narrative
Sunday, December 4, 2011
We are not occupying America -- they are
Guest commentary: We are not occupying America -- they are
click link above
snip from article
Americans generally are unused to images from the Occupy protests being domestic ones. Grandmothers and unarmed college students pepper-sprayed with alarming casualness. Reporters singled out and beaten. Veterans returning from war in Iraq only to be gravely injured trying to exercise the precious liberties for which they supposedly risked life and limb.
Perhaps, we hoped, that these things were only possible in clearly authoritarian regimes such as Syria, Burma and Iran, but they are now home-grown creations, sharing both technique and intention to keep people from peacefully assembling and asking for a redress of grievances, the most precious right enshrined by the Founding Fathers.
New revelations show complicit activity between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and local police forces to repress the Occupy protests, a collaboration that violates a host of regulations, laws and the very Constitution.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/guest-commentary-we-are-not-occupying-america---/article_424b85cc-8b4a-5240-89e5-6213938dcec8.html#ixzz1fZjoZ1gl
-------------
alas, Americans are "used" to images of protests. they tend to ignore them until brought face-to-face with issues or images of violence/repression enter the picture.
images of violence I fear are all too common with these protesters--something conterproductive in our society, counterproductive for officals and cops doing the repression. movements tend to spred and become stronger faced with repression
click link above
snip from article
Americans generally are unused to images from the Occupy protests being domestic ones. Grandmothers and unarmed college students pepper-sprayed with alarming casualness. Reporters singled out and beaten. Veterans returning from war in Iraq only to be gravely injured trying to exercise the precious liberties for which they supposedly risked life and limb.
Perhaps, we hoped, that these things were only possible in clearly authoritarian regimes such as Syria, Burma and Iran, but they are now home-grown creations, sharing both technique and intention to keep people from peacefully assembling and asking for a redress of grievances, the most precious right enshrined by the Founding Fathers.
New revelations show complicit activity between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and local police forces to repress the Occupy protests, a collaboration that violates a host of regulations, laws and the very Constitution.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/guest-commentary-we-are-not-occupying-america---/article_424b85cc-8b4a-5240-89e5-6213938dcec8.html#ixzz1fZjoZ1gl
-------------
alas, Americans are "used" to images of protests. they tend to ignore them until brought face-to-face with issues or images of violence/repression enter the picture.
images of violence I fear are all too common with these protesters--something conterproductive in our society, counterproductive for officals and cops doing the repression. movements tend to spred and become stronger faced with repression
Don't miss Medicare plan deadline Wednesday
Don't miss Medicare plan deadline Wednesday
click link above for full story
snip from article:
"JIM GALLAGHER jgallagher@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8390 | Posted: Sunday, December 4, 2011 12:05 am | No Comments Posted
Hey, old fellow. Wake up. Smell the Geritol. Get a move on.
Medicare's open enrollment period ends on Wednesday, which is earlier than in previous years. If you don't choose by then, you might be stuck for another year with the Medicare drug or Medicare Advantage plan you have now.
The greyer, balder, older and chubbier I get, the more I like my naps (when the boss isn't looking). But this is a deadline you shouldn't snooze through.
An Advantage plan is Medicare-subsidized private insurance that takes the place of traditional Medicare coverage, which doesn't cover the entire cost of hospitalization or doctor bills.
People with traditional Medicare often buy a "Medigap" supplement policy. Medigap plans can be switched at other times of the year. But if you want to move to an Advantage plan, or change your drug plan, you should act by Wednesday.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/don-t-miss-medicare-plan-deadline-wednesday/article_c9765d34-70db-5666-83b8-bd9f6577da0a.html#ixzz1fZg3zn
-------
note: read everything carefully before you sign up for these programs. freedom of choice is also freedom to get it stuck to you.
click link above for full story
snip from article:
"JIM GALLAGHER jgallagher@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8390 | Posted: Sunday, December 4, 2011 12:05 am | No Comments Posted
Hey, old fellow. Wake up. Smell the Geritol. Get a move on.
Medicare's open enrollment period ends on Wednesday, which is earlier than in previous years. If you don't choose by then, you might be stuck for another year with the Medicare drug or Medicare Advantage plan you have now.
The greyer, balder, older and chubbier I get, the more I like my naps (when the boss isn't looking). But this is a deadline you shouldn't snooze through.
An Advantage plan is Medicare-subsidized private insurance that takes the place of traditional Medicare coverage, which doesn't cover the entire cost of hospitalization or doctor bills.
People with traditional Medicare often buy a "Medigap" supplement policy. Medigap plans can be switched at other times of the year. But if you want to move to an Advantage plan, or change your drug plan, you should act by Wednesday.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/don-t-miss-medicare-plan-deadline-wednesday/article_c9765d34-70db-5666-83b8-bd9f6577da0a.html#ixzz1fZg3zn
-------
note: read everything carefully before you sign up for these programs. freedom of choice is also freedom to get it stuck to you.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
key talking points from Luntz's memo
folks might find this of interest:
mm on Dec 1, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Frank Luntz, arguably the GOP’s top messaging strategist, said Wednesday:
“I’m so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I’m frightened to death. They’re having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.”
So just as he did with his infamous 2003 global warming warming memo – which taught conservatives how to sound like they care about the issue while opposing all action — Luntz has some key advice for Republicans on how to pretend to care about regular people while continuing to screw them over.
Amazingly, “Yahoo News sat in on the session,” where Luntz went through his spin at the Republican Governor’s Association on “How can Republicans do a better job of talking about Occupy Wall Street?”
Here are key do’s and don’ts from Luntz:
Don’t say ‘capitalism.’
Don’t say that the government ‘taxes the rich.’ Instead, tell them that the government ‘takes from the rich.’
Republicans should forget about winning the battle over the ‘middle class.’ Call them ‘hardworking taxpayers.’
Don’t say ‘government spending.’ Call it ‘waste.’
Don’t ever say you’re willing to ‘compromise.’
The three most important words you can say to an Occupier: ‘I get it.’
Out: ‘Entrepreneur.’ In: ‘Job creator.’
“Climate change” is less frightening than “global warming”
Don’t ever ask anyone you want them to ‘sacrifice.’
Always blame Washington.
mm on Dec 1, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Frank Luntz, arguably the GOP’s top messaging strategist, said Wednesday:
“I’m so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I’m frightened to death. They’re having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.”
So just as he did with his infamous 2003 global warming warming memo – which taught conservatives how to sound like they care about the issue while opposing all action — Luntz has some key advice for Republicans on how to pretend to care about regular people while continuing to screw them over.
Amazingly, “Yahoo News sat in on the session,” where Luntz went through his spin at the Republican Governor’s Association on “How can Republicans do a better job of talking about Occupy Wall Street?”
Here are key do’s and don’ts from Luntz:
Don’t say ‘capitalism.’
Don’t say that the government ‘taxes the rich.’ Instead, tell them that the government ‘takes from the rich.’
Republicans should forget about winning the battle over the ‘middle class.’ Call them ‘hardworking taxpayers.’
Don’t say ‘government spending.’ Call it ‘waste.’
Don’t ever say you’re willing to ‘compromise.’
The three most important words you can say to an Occupier: ‘I get it.’
Out: ‘Entrepreneur.’ In: ‘Job creator.’
“Climate change” is less frightening than “global warming”
Don’t ever ask anyone you want them to ‘sacrifice.’
Always blame Washington.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
