Monday, April 30, 2012

Health care rebates could average $127

Health care rebates could average $127

click link above

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Employers do not have to pass their rebates on to workers, and can also take them as a discount on next year's premiums.
Insurers serving large employers face a stiffer requirement. Under the law, they must spend 85 percent of premiums on medical costs. The study found that 125 plans covering 7.5 million people at large employers will give back a total of $541 million.
Most plans operated by major national employers are exempt from the requirement. The biggest companies usually set aside money to cover most of their workers' medical expenses. Typically they hire an insurer to administer their plan, but they do not buy full coverage from the insurer.
Separately, a Goldman Sachs report estimated insurers would pay rebates of $1.2 billion. Among major insurers, UnitedHealth would pay $307 million, Aetna $177 million, WellPoint $94 million and Coventry $50 million.
Supporters of the requirement say it will keep insures from padding their profits at the expense of unsuspecting consumers.
 
 
 
cancos will most likely not return money to employees.   creative accounting, greed and more.  most workers at cancos do pay part of their income for healthcare and inferior healthcare to that in the past

Graduates, meet Oligarchy, your new overlord

Graduates, meet Oligarchy, your new overlord

click link

snip

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Those of you with practical degrees have probably never heard of an oligarchy. Let me define it for you. It is a society in which power and wealth belong to a privileged few, but its most telling feature is the lack of a large and robust middle class.
The middle-class thing is what's most important. A person could argue that power and wealth are always concentrated among a privileged few. What was it George Orwell said in "Animal Farm" — all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others?
The America in which I grew up was distinguished by a massive and powerful middle class. The middle class drove the country.
That has changed. The middle class is shrinking. People fall out of it every day.
I won't bother you with theories about why this is happening. I suspect much of it has to do with globalization and the transfer of manufacturing jobs to lower-cost countries.
Some of you will be fortunate and will become functionaries in the oligarchy. Maybe you will be accountants or engineers. But eventually — and probably sooner rather than later — you will become obsolete and will fall out of the middle class.
Many of you, particularly those of you with liberal arts degrees, will head directly into the growing underclass.

Hardball - Millions poured into Obama attack ads in battleground states







The Last Word - Secret meeting to take down Obama exposed

Martin Bashir - Presidential politics and the environment

The ED Show - Republicans Want To Raise Taxes On The Poorest 45% of Amer...

2010 NPC Opening Video

Thursday, April 26, 2012

What will Romney and Republicans run on in 2012 without the promise to k...

Year later, Corps stands by decision to breach Birds Point levee

Year later, Corps stands by decision to breach Birds Point levee

click link

snip


But the Southeast Missourian reports that farmers in the floodway are still reassessing the cost to them. The Food and Agriculture Research Policy Institute estimates that crop losses alone amounted to $85 million, and a broader economic impact exceeded $156 million.
The corps had authority to intentionally breach the levee to relieve pressure from the flooding Mississippi River, in part to save nearby Cairo, Ill. The breach on May 2 flooded 130,000 acres of Missouri farmland.
The corps says the decision prevented more than $112 billion in damages along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

Rubio can't help Romney with Latinos - Wasserman Schultz

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Paul Krugman: The amnesia candidate

Paul Krugman: The amnesia candidate

click link

snip


Yes, it does. Mr. Romney constantly talks about job losses under Mr. Obama. Yet all of the net job loss took place in the first few months of 2009, that is, before any of the new administration's policies had time to take effect. So the Ohio speech was a perfect illustration of the way the Romney campaign is banking on amnesia, on the hope that voters don't remember that Mr. Obama inherited an economy that was already in free fall.
How does the campaign deal with people who point out the awkward reality that all of the "Obama" job losses took place before any Obama policies had taken effect? The fallback argument — which was rolled out when reporters asked about the factory closure — is that even though Mr. Obama inherited a deeply troubled economy, he should have fixed it by now. That factory is still closed, said a Romney adviser, because of the failure of Obama policies "to really get this economy going again."
Actually, that factory would probably still be closed even if the economy had done better — drywall is mainly used in new houses, and while the economy may be coming back, the Bush-era housing bubble isn't.
But Mr. Romney's poor choice of a factory for his photo-op aside, I guess accusing Mr. Obama of not doing enough to promote recovery is a better argument than blaming him for the effects of Bush policies. However, it's not much better, since Mr. Romney is essentially advocating a return to those very same Bush policies. And he's hoping that you don't remember how badly those policies worked.
For the Bush era didn't just end in catastrophe; it started off badly, too. Yes, Mr. Obama's jobs record has been disappointing — but it has been unambiguously better than Mr. Bush's over the comparable period of his administration.

Osama Bin Laden Killed By Bush & Cheney According to John Bolton

Monday, April 23, 2012

Bipartisan Opposition to Shane Schoeller's HB2109

Editorial: Lots of 'ifs' in Missouri's latest nuclear gambit

Editorial: Lots of 'ifs' in Missouri's latest nuclear gambit

click link for full

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snip


On Thursday, Gov. Jay Nixon and executives from Ameren and nuclear-industry giant Westinghouse announced a grand plan to seek a $452 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop the next generation of nuclear reactors: small, modular units that produce about 225 megawatts of power compared to the 1,000-megawatt monsters now in disfavor.
If Westinghouse gets the grant, it says it intends to design and build the first units for use at Ameren's Callaway County plant, working with researchers at the University of Missouri's engineering programs in Columbia and Rolla, thus planting the seeds for a multi-billion-dollar industry based right here in the Show-Me State.
If a chunk of that $452 million is spent in Missouri, it would be a welcome boost to the state's economy.
The key word here is "if."
If Westinghouse gets the grant, and if Congress appropriates the money, and if a market actually develops for new nuclear power, and if the smaller reactors are financially feasible, and if the industry ever figures out what to do with its dangerous waste, then, yes, the agreement could be, as Mr. Nixon said Thursday, "transformational."

Friday, April 20, 2012

The 1% Strategy

another segment of the spring training

Welcome to WICD ABC Newschannel 15 - Champaign, Illinois! mitch daniels

Welcome to WICD ABC Newschannel 15 - Champaign, Illinois!:
click link

"Protesting in Champaign
The protesters want to send the message to the Republican party and the Tea party, Americans have the right to labor organizations. The protest came just hours before Indiana Governor Mitch Daniel makes the key note speech at the Champaign County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner.
Thursday, April 19 2012, 18:08 PM CDT"

'via Blog this'

The 1% Economy

this is part of the training program of the 99% spring training program worth watching for history and more

Don't 'occupy Wall Street' -- 'own' it

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels speaks in Champaign | NewsTalk 1400 WDWS-AM

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels speaks in Champaign | NewsTalk 1400 WDWS-AM:

click link

I was at the demonstration yesterday.  good turnout, good speeches and good time.

folks from Granite City soar and from all over came to rally

alas, seems little news coverage.  somewhat standard media coverage for labor events

'via Blog this' he is good speaker

Thursday, April 19, 2012

‘Don’t let Rio Tinto tarnish the Olympic Games’ unions warn

‘Don’t let Rio Tinto tarnish the Olympic Games’ unions warn

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NEWS ADVISORY
WHEN: Thursday 19 April 2012, 10:00
WHERE: The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, SW1P

Union members and workers will be handing out medals to Rio Tinto shareholders’ saying ‘Don’t let Rio Tinto tarnish the Olympic Games’ at its AGM in London tomorrow (Thursday 19 April).

Workers Uniting, the world’s first global union, along with other unions are protesting over the four month-long lockout of 780 United Steelworkers (USW) members in Alma, Quebec, Canada. The dispute is over Rio Tinto’s plans to replace retiring employees with contract workers on half the wages with no benefits at its profitable smelter in Quebec, Canada. When the workers refused to accept, Rio Tinto locked them out.

The unions will bring to shareholders’ attention Rio Tinto’s unethical and illegal actions in Canada and the damage this is doing to the reputation of the London 2012 Olympics by tarnishing it with the company’s reprehensible labour practices. Rio Tinto, one of the sponsors of the 2012 London Olympics, is providing 99 per cent of the metal for the London Olympic medals.

Unite is supporting the USW, which is calling for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to drop the company as an official supplier of the 2012 London Games because the company’s treatment of its own workers does not live up to the Olympic spirit and disrespects the Olympic values of fair play.

Republican Gas Prices Legislation Does Nothing To Reduce Costs

President Obama Speaks on Skills for American Workers

Would Sigmund Freud have a field day with Republicans?

DNC's Ted Nugent Mitt Romney Attack Ad

Monday, April 16, 2012

'Craziness': The war on women and voter ID laws

Economy killers: Inequality and GOP ignorance--paul Krugman

Economy killers: Inequality and GOP ignorance

click link

snip


America emerged from the Great Depression and the Second World War with a much more equal distribution of income than it had in the 1920s; our society became middle-class in a way it hadn’t been before. This new, more equal society persisted for 30 years. But then we began pulling apart, with huge income gains for those with already high incomes. As the Congressional Budget Office has documented, the 1 percent — the group implicitly singled out in the slogan “We are the 99 percent” — saw its real income nearly quadruple between 1979 and 2007, dwarfing the very modest gains of ordinary Americans. Other evidence shows that within the 1 percent, the richest 0.1 percent and the richest 0.01 percent saw even larger gains.

By 2007, America was about as unequal as it had been on the eve of the Great Depression — and sure enough, just after hitting this milestone, we plunged into the worst slump since the Depression. This probably wasn’t a coincidence, although economists are still working on trying to understand the linkages between inequality and vulnerability to economic crisis.

Here, however, we want to focus on a different question: Why has the response to the crisis been so inadequate? Before financial crisis struck, we think it’s fair to say that most economists imagined that even if such a crisis were to happen, there would be a quick and effective policy response

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Working at Ford in the 1920s -



Unionization at Ford in 1930s and early 1940s

Bush: 'I wish they weren't called the Bush tax cuts'

Editorial: Latest in voting hypocrisy: Republicans target military voters

Editorial: Latest in voting hypocrisy: Republicans target military voters

click link

snip


No one in the Legislature is more committed to trampling on this right than Rep. Shane Schoeller, the third-term Republican from Willard who is running for secretary of state.

Mr. Schoeller not only wants to ask voters to weaken the state constitution and then disenfranchise any state voters who lack a specific form of government-issued photo identification, now he also wants to take away the right of absentee voters — including members of the armed services — to mail in their ballots.

House Bill 2109 is horrendous for a variety of reasons. Examining its origins, its sloppy construction and its potentially devastating results sheds light on how far modern conservative ideals have drifted from what Mr. Reagan had espoused for the Republican Party.

Nothing new since Caligula: Wealth always has been concentrated

Nothing new since Caligula: Wealth always has been concentrated

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snip


No, we are not experiencing “Income inequality on a scale to make Caligula blush.” From time immemorial, wealth has always, and everywhere, been highly concentrated. And political power along with it. The overwhelming majority of people were poor and counted politically for nothing. Society was divided into two classes -- the Rich and the Poor. Only in the last century was extreme concentration of wealth reversed, although only moderately, and temporarily, in certain developed countries. Today America is once again a nation divided, no longer between the Rich and the Poor, but between the Rich and the Rest.

Adam Smith tells us with brutal incisiveness that “Wherever there is great property there is great inequality. The affluence of the rich excites the indignation of the poor”. This, he says, is why government has been established -- for “the security of property”. Government “is in reality instituted for the defence of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all.” Little has changed since his day, except that the poor in our own country are today a small, although shameful, minority.
The rich of Smith’s day (and of all preceeding ages) were nobles and landed aristocrats. Government belonged to them of hereditary right and served their interests. For example, to help pay for Great Britain’s wars against Napoleonic France, income tax (paid by the property-owning few) was imposed and excise taxes (paid by everyone) were increased. When the war was over, only income tax was repealed.

Today’s rich are super-rich businesspeople and powerful commercial, financial and industrial interests.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/nothing-new-since-caligula-wealth-always-has-been-concentrated/article_fae8b774-8037-11e1-b8a2-0019bb30f31a.html#ixzz1s7lXslq4

Horrigan: The GOP in 2052

Horrigan: The GOP in 2052

click link

snip

In the spring of 2052, the pressures that had been building since the Great Seclusion finally erupted. The last 2 million Republicans, barricaded since 2041 within the borders of Kansas, kept safe by one of those 15-foot electrified fences that their ancestors once had proposed to keep Mexicans out, met for what was billed as the Last Caucus.

Eighty-eight year old Sarah Palin, the party's Dowager Empress since the tragic loss of her husband, eaten by the world's last free-ranging polar bear when his snowmobile was stranded on an ice floe, called the meeting to order. As honorary chairwoman, she spoke for 90 minutes before reluctantly surrendering the gavel to Rush Hudson "Hud" Limbaugh IV, the putative heir of the famous radio host and one of his later wives.
"My friends," said Hud. "The time has come. Everything we had feared has come to pass. White people are a minority in this country and white Republicans are a minority within a minority. It started back in '11, when more minority babies were born than white babies, and now those babies have grown up.

"Some of you remember the shock of aught-eight when President Malia Obama's father was elected. A black president!"

Hud Limbaugh stopped to choke back tears. He continued, his voice cracking:

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Hartzler's Contributions from Big Oil

Jacology: St. Louis NRA Convention



sorry for ad

The Turkey that Ate St. Louis (1969)



another st. louis classic

Saint Louis Bank Robbery (1959) - Full Movie



old classic

many of the real estate shown is still there today.

only copy besides this is a vhs in the library

Mitt Romney criticizes Obama at NRA convention

Mitt Romney criticizes Obama at NRA convention

click link

from article
ST. LOUIS • Facing the prospect of a less than enthusiastic crowd at Friday's National Rifle Association convention, Mitt Romney, who has a mixed record on gun issues, brought in his own secret weapon.
"My sweetheart," Romney told the audience, "Ann Romney."
Mitt Romney — who once vowed not to erode tough state gun laws in his home state — may never win the hearts and minds of gun owners in this campaign.
But, given their disdain for the Democratic incumbent, he will likely win their votes, one reason Friday's speech was a pivot toward the general election.
The former Massachusetts governor in effect clinched the nomination on Tuesday, when Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, suspended his campaign.
Appearing in front of the nation's largest gun rights group, Romney sought out a larger audience, homing in on economic issues and continuing his campaign's pitch to middle-class women that began this week when a Democratic commentator brought Ann Romney into a d

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/mitt-romney-criticizes-obama-at-nra-convention/article_cb7285c4-7529-5067-91c6-e92cfc56d230.html#ixzz1s1Kb9DL7

Romney Addresses NRA Convention

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

WHO: Dementia cases projected to triple worldwide by 2050 – USATODAY.com

WHO: Dementia cases projected to triple worldwide by 2050 – USATODAY.com

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 ome 35.6 million people were living with dementia in 2010, but that figure is set to double to 65.7 million by 2030, the U.N. health agency said Wednesday. In 2050, it expects the number of dementia cases to triple to 115.4 million.
Most dementia patients are cared for by relatives, who shoulder the bulk of the current estimated annual cost of $604 billion, WHO said.

Newt Gingrich stiffs a small business owner -- who still says he'd vote ...

Rep. Dan Benishek Scolded and Mocked By Senior Citizens at Town Hall Mee...

St. Louis businesses welcoming this week's NRA convention

St. Louis businesses welcoming this week's NRA convention

click link above for full story


NRA convention highlights at America's Center

5 p.m. Thursday • NRA Foundation banquet
9 a.m. Friday • Exhibit floors open
1 p.m. Friday • Political forum, including GOP presidential candidates
7:30 p.m. Saturday • Entertainment forum, including broadcaster Glenn Beck
7 a.m. Sunday • Prayer breakfast; exhibits close at 5 p.m.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

nra annual meeting in St. Louis, april 13-15

Join us for the 141st NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits at America's Center in the heart of St Louis, MO April 13-15, 2012.

With over 500 exhibitors covering 340,000 square feet of exhibit hall space, educational seminars, celebrities, and fun filled special events, bring the whole family- there will be something for everyone! Spend the day exploring the products from every major firearm company in the country, book the hunt of a lifetime in our exclusive outfitter section, and view priceless collections of firearms in our gun collector area. You'll also see knives, wildlife art, shooting accessories, hunting gear, ATV's, and much more!

Note: The city of St. Louis prohibits the carrying of firearms at the America's Center Convention Complex.

Shoot-em-up Charlie Discovers ALEC

Barbie For President



good looking canidate, might win

Friday, April 6, 2012

soulard market tomorrow raise the rate- Missouri Jobs with Justice

Have you Signed?
#GiveMOaRaise #CapTheRate

Tell us you'll be at
Soulard Farmers Market this Saturday, April 7
8a - 11am
--
Already Signed?
Tell us where!

Dear G

If you haven't signed our petitions yet to raise Missouri's minimum wage $1 to $8.25/hour and cap Payday Lending interest rates at 36% - we are going to be very close to where you live this Saturday morning! We are very close to reaching our goal of 40,000 signatures, and collecting the 120,000 we need across the state to qualif each of these two initiatives for the November ballot. We want you to put us over the top!

Email me, Aaron Burnett, and tell me if you want to meet us at Soulard Farmers Market this Saturday, April 7, between 8am - 11am and sign these two important petitions for economic justice in Missouri.

Already signed them? We want to know where!

Did you sign the petitions in your church or union meeting? Or did you encounter one of our volunteers in Florissant, at a Fish Fry, on South Grand, in Forest Park, or elsewhere? Let me know in a quick email - we want to know where our people found the petition in the streets.

Onward,
Aaron Burnett

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with luck, I will be there. Then intend to shop for Easter goodies at Soulard Market

3 Corporate Myths that Threaten the Wealth of the Nation | Economy | AlterNet

3 Corporate Myths that Threaten the Wealth of the Nation | Economy | AlterNet

click link for full

from article


 
Photo Credit: shutterstock
 
 
 
 
 
 
Corporations are not working for the 99%. But this wasn’t always the case. In a special 5-part AlterNet series, William Lazonick, professor at UMass, president of the Academic-Industry Research Network, and one of the leading expert on the American corporation, along with journalist Ken Jacobson and AlterNet’s Lynn Parramore, will examine the foundations, history, and purpose of the corporation to answer this vital question: How can the public take control of the business corporation and make it work for the real economy?

The wealth of the American nation depends on the productive power of our major business corporations. In 2008 there were 981 companies in the United States with 10,000 or more employees. Although they were less than two percent of all U.S. firms, they employed 27 percent of the labor force and accounted for 31 percent of all payrolls. Literally millions of smaller businesses depend, directly or indirectly, on the productivity of these big businesses and the disposable incomes of their employees.

Nixon supports proposed pipeline project

Nixon supports proposed pipeline project

click link above







The Flanagan South Pipeline, proposed by Enbridge Inc. in CalgaryAlberta, would run around 600 miles from Flanagan, Illinois to Cushing, Oklahoma, crossing 11 counties in the Show-Me State.
The pipeline would follow the existing Spearhead Pipeline System.

“Major investments in domestic pipelines create skilled construction jobs, support community growth and ensure reliable access to North American energy,” Nixon said in a prepared statement.