Archive
The Center for Public Integrity – Back-Room Deals on Medical Fees
From The Center For Public Integrity:
Back-Room Deals on Medical Fees
We reported this week that a little-known American Medical Association panel has been quietly recommending pricing for medical procedures and services that are nearly always adopted by the Medicare system. The AMA’s Relative Value Scale Update Committee, or RUC, has had a powerful influence on Medicare payment rates for almost two decades. Since 1991, the panel has submitted more than 7,000 recommendations to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the value of physician work. The agency has overwhelmingly rubber-stamped RUC recommendations, accepting more than 94 percent.
A Closer Look at a Shadow Campaign Funder
The mid-term election is awash in anonymous, partisan money. A new Center investigation by Peter H. Stone discloses that Americans for Job Security has spent almost $9 million on ads to help Republican Senate and House candidates this year. The nonprofit group has a track record of offering help to wealthy donors seeking to cover their tracks. The outfit’s founder, David Carney, is a top adviser to Texas Gov. Rick Perry and has earned a reputation with some GOP insiders as a man who sometimes pushes the boundaries of campaign finance law.
Louisiana Legal Aid Shop Fails Audit
What is it about Louisiana and corruption? A federal audit found $318,768 in spending irregularities at Capital Area Legal Services Corp. of Baton Rouge, La., according to documents obtained by the Center. The nonprofit group provides legal aid to poor residents in 14 Louisiana parishes and receives the majority of its annual $1.5 million budget from the federal Legal Services Corp. Most of the questionable expenses cited by the LSC inspector general involved the organization’s executive director, James A. Wayne, Sr., and his frequent dining at a private club and personal use of a leased car.
Board Approves New Center Strategy
On October 22, the Center’s board of directors unanimously approved a new strategy for our organization. The goal is to generate more accountability reporting and create new audiences and earned revenues in the digital marketplace. The plan includes revamping the Center’s web site to become a daily destination for investigative reporting, growing our newsroom to generate more in-depth journalism and expanding our reach through a new digital delivery system that will connect with readers, viewers and listeners in whatever format they choose. These are exciting times and I will keep you posted on new developments as they transpire.
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Paul Craig Roberts – America’s Jobs Losses are Permanent
From CounterPunch:
Globalism Comes Home to Roost
America’s Jobs Losses are Permanent
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
Now that a few Democrats and the remnants of the AFL-CIO are waking up to the destructive impact of jobs offshoring on the US economy and millions of American lives, globalism’s advocates have resurrected Dartmouth economist Matthew Slaughter’s discredited finding of several years ago that jobs offshoring by US corporations increases employment and wages in the US.
Countercurrents – Two Worlds Collide At Cancun Climate Talks
From Countercurrents:
Two Worlds Collide At Cancun Climate Talks
By Laura Carlsenhttp://www.countercurrents.org/carlsen281010.htm
Two worlds will collide in Cancun. The first is a world in denial where profits come before people and the planet, and the most threatening environmental crisis in history is viewed as a business opportunity. This world will be heavily represented by most developed country leaders and representatives of corporations hawking green projects as they continue to trash the environment and pursue unfettered access to ever-scarcer natural resources. The second is a world of small farmers, indigenous peoples, poor urban communities, and islanders that are suffering unprecedented droughts, water scarcity, and storms
Child Soldier Omar Khadr
Coerced Into Plea-Bargain
By Keith Joneshttp://www.countercurrents.org/jones281010.htm
In exchange for his guilty plea, the US government has agreed that Khadr will be incarcerated for one year in solitary confinement at Guantanamo Bay, then transferred to Canada, where he was born and his family now resides, to serve out the remainder of a sentence of no more than eight years imprisonment
Fun With Arithmetic – Winning The War In Afghanistan
By Nicholas C. Arguimbauhttp://www.countercurrents.org/arguimbau281010.htm
Michael Nasuti of Kabul Press recently published an article in which he calculated that killing each Taliban soldier in Afghanistan costs on average of $50 million to the US. The article, seemingly carefully. researched with all assumptions laid out so that anyone can examine them, is well worth reading
American Democracy: Pro-Israel
Tweedledum And Tweedledee
By Maidhc Ó Cathailhttp://www.countercurrents.org/ocathail281010.htm
Helen Keller’s pithy observation about American democracy being little more than a choice “between Tweedledum and Tweedledee” was never more true than in the upcoming midterm elections in the ninth congressional district of Illinois. Tthe central issue here is not the two wars—or is it now three?—the country is fighting, nor is it the tanking economy, in great part caused by those debt-inducing wars. No, the burning issue here is… who cares more about Israel?
Franklin Roosevelt’s Second Bill of Rights
By Stephen Lendmanhttp://www.countercurrents.org/lendman281010.htm
These benefits are fast eroding today, Obama administration neoliberal ideologues wanting social benefits slashed, and Social Security and Medicare privatized so Wall Street racketeers can pillage them for profit until nothing’s left for the needy
Interview With Syed Ali Shah Geelani
By Yoginder Sikandhttp://www.countercurrents.org/sikand281010.htm
Syed Ali Shah Geelani of the Jamaat-e Islami of Jammu and Kashmir is a veteran Kashmiri politician. Presently, he heads the Tehrik-e Hurriyat-e Jammu Kashmir. He talks about the Kashmir conflict and its possible solution in this exclusive interview with Yoginder Sikand
TPM – Boehner To Appear with Nazi Reenactor
From TPM Editors Blog:
Boehner To Appear with Nazi Reenactor
Josh Marshall | October 27, 2010, 9:54PM
Other…
From TPMMuckraker:
Sheriff Joe Joins Anti-Voter Fraud Crusade
Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Ryan J. Reilly | October 28, 2010, 4:41PM
Sheriff Joe Arpaio recently wrote an e-mail to supporters asking them to “join me today and help me STOP ILLEGALS FROM STEALING THIS ELECTION!”
Arpaio, the controversial Sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona, has railed against illegal immigration, but is under investigation by the Justice Department due to allegations that his anti-illegal immigration techniques are discriminatory.
More…
From TPMDC:
Rand Paul: On Second Thought, No I Won’t Give That Stomper’s Money Back
Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 27, 2010, 7:00PM
David Sirota – Thank You Sir, May I Have Another: Labor Leaders Destroy Their Own Ability to Influence Democrats
From Open Left:
Thank You Sir, May I Have Another: Labor Leaders Destroy Their Own Ability to Influence Democrats
by: David Sirota
Wed Oct 27, 2010 at 13:30
A few weeks back, I wrote a post on the politics of organized labor – a post that was fundamentally about how political power is wielded through both both the carrot of reward and the stick of punishment. Same thing for the converse: If you only use the carrot – or worse, if you hand over the carrot without something in return – you incinerate whatever political power you have, as politicians will know they never have to do anything you ask.
Ecologist – Revealed: how deep-sea mining could destroy the ‘cradle of life on earth’
From the Ecologist:
Biodiversity loss seen as greater financial risk than terrorism, says UN
Jonathan Watts, Guardian Asia environment correspondent
28th October, 2010
Loss of ecosystems perceived by banks and insurance companies to be a greater economic risk than terrorism, finds UN report
more…Campaigners issue warning on refrigerant emissions
Dearbhla Crosse
October 27th, 2010
UK efforts to combat ozone-depleting CFC gases has seen supermarkets and other refrigerant users switch to a problematic alternative in HFCs
more…EU food safety chief forced to quit GM lobby role
Jemima Roberts and Tom Levitt
26th October, 2010
Questions raised over why European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) chair Diana Banati failed to make clear her connections to International Life Science Institute (ILSI), which advises biotech giants like Monsanto, Bayer and BASF
more…Revealed: how deep-sea mining could destroy the ‘cradle of life on earth’
Tom Levitt
28th October, 2010
As Papua New Guinea gives go-ahead to a Canadian mining company to dredge its coastal seabed for minerals, critics say environmental assessments have been inadequate, local objections ignored and new species of life could be extinct before they have even been discovered
more…‘Stop robbing land from the poorest’ urges UN food expert
Tom Levitt and Jemima Roberts
25th October, 2010
Improving smallholder rights to the land they depend on is becoming more of a necessity as farmland speculation and competition between food and energy crops threatens their tenure
more…Ban pesticide-use in public parks and school grounds – campaigners
Tom Levitt
25th October, 2010
Awareness of pesticide-use in public areas used by children is low but the health dangers demand our attention
more…Defra rejects claims UK legal system is blocking environmental justice
Tom Levitt
22nd October, 2010
Charities and NGOs complain high costs make it almost impossible for them to bring legal challenges against damaging environmental decisions – despite them being in the wider public interest
more…Campaigners launch ‘last ditch’ attempt to save Javan rhino from extinction
Jemima Roberts
October 21st, 2010
With fewer than 50 Javan rhino left in the wild immediate action is needed to save the species from extinction according to conservationists
more…Spending review: ‘Greenest government ever’ reserves worst cuts for Defra
Juliette Jowit, Observer environment editor
21st October, 2010
Environment department has budget cut by 30 per cent compared to government average of 19 per cent
more…Lack of forest definition ‘major obstacle’ in fight to protect rainforests
Kara Moses
20th October, 2010
In the second in our series examining REDD we report how ambiguous forest definitions are putting the future success of forest protection schemes in doubt and allowing logging companies to destroy biodiverse habitats
more…
Tom Philpott – Obama’s riding the (cellulosic) ethanol pony—here’s why he should buck the trend
From Grist:
Not your father’s mindless ethanol boosterism
Obama’s riding the (cellulosic) ethanol pony—here’s why he should buck the trend
Like a generation of politicians before him, Obama is striving to shore up his political support in the Midwest by brandishing goodies for the ethanol industry. This time, though, it’s cellulosic ethanol — which, Tom Philpott argues, isn’t nearly as ecologically benign as advertised. Read more.
David Roberts – My first and last ‘climate hawk’ follow-up
From Grist:
My first and last ‘climate hawk’ follow-up
I want to thank everyone for the thoughtful discussion that’s taken place around the term “climate hawk,” on Grist and elsewhere. I’m going to round up some reactions, offer one or two more thoughts, and then explain why my fondest hope is for this discussion to end and for simple usage to begin.
First a roundup. A post soliciting ideas kicked things off, then a post introducing the term appeared on Grist, Huffington Post, Mother Jones, and ClimateProgress — there are interesting conversations going on in every one of those threads. Joe Romm wins first place for reprinting the post, explaining the term, and endorsing it all at once. Andrew Leonard at Salon had kind words, as did Milan, Chris Oestereich, and RL Miller. There was also an amusing-if-brief Twitter flurry and a new Twitter account, @climatehawks. (Who is that, anyway?)
Adam H. Shah – Rand Paul Headstomper Just the Latest Violent Right-Winger: 17 More Instances of Recent Violence by Conservatives
From AlterNet:
Media Matters for America / By Adam H. Shah
A woman whose head was deliberately stomped is only the most recent outbreak of violence in a sickening trend.
October 27, 2010
As media outlets have reported, a MoveOn.org worker who attempted to approach Paul at an October 26 rally in Lexington, Kentucky was attacked, apparently by Paul supporters. The woman was thrown to the ground and then stepped on, causing her head to be smashed into the pavement. According to MoveOn.org, the victim was diagnosed with a concussion at a local hospital.
The attack on the MoveOn worker was the latest in a string of violence and threats against progressives.
Democracy Now! – At $4 Billion, Midterm Elections Poised to Become Most Expensive Non-Presidential Vote in US History
From Democracy Now!:
At $4 Billion, Midterm Elections Poised to Become Most Expensive Non-Presidential Vote in US History
A new report says spending for the 2010 elections will break the previous record for a midterm vote by around $1 billion. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, total spending could reach as much as $4 billion this year. The report also says right-wing groups are spending more than double on advertisements than liberal organizations. We speak to the president of Common Cause, former Pennsylvania Congressman Bob Edgar. Common Cause is a nonprofit citizen’s lobby promoting an accountable and transparent government.
From ThisBoyTV | October 28, 2010
Democracy Now! – “Free Speech for People” Coalition Calls for Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United Decision Allowing Unlimited Corporate Spending on Elections
From Democracy Now!:
Part of the reason for the record-high campaign spending in this year’s midterm elections is the Supreme Court’s January ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled corporations have First Amendment rights and that the government cannot impose restrictions on their political speech, which cleared the way for corporations and other special interest groups to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections. Earlier this month, a group of more than fifty law professors and prominent attorneys issued a letter calling on Congress to consider a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision. We speak with two people involved with Free Speech for People, a coalition of public interest organizations that formed after the Citizens United ruling.
From ThisBoyTV | October 28, 2010
NEJM – A “Broader Regulatory Scheme” — The Constitutionality of Health Care Reform
From the New England Journal of Medicine:
A “Broader Regulatory Scheme” — The Constitutionality of Health Care Reform
NEJM | October 27, 2010 | Topics: Health Law, Politics of Health Care Reform
Sara Rosenbaum, J.D.
Although a federal court in Florida has allowed a state challenge to the constitutionality of health care reform to proceed to the next stage of litigation,1 a second federal court in Michigan has already swiftly dispatched identical claims on the merits. In rejecting the plaintiffs’ claim, in Thomas More Law Center et al. v. Barack Hussein Obama et al., that the 2010 health care reform is unconstitutional, Judge George Steeh wrote on October 7 that according to a wealth of U.S. Supreme Court precedent, Congress’s power to regulate individual activity under the Commerce Clause (in this case, through a mandate that individuals obtain health insurance) rests on whether the activity amounts to an “integral part of a broader regulatory statutory scheme that permissibly regulates interstate commerce.”2 In this regard, Steeh’s opinion contains two central and intertwined conclusions. First, “economic decisions as to how to pay for health care services have direct and substantial impact on the interstate health care market.” Second, the “minimum coverage provision is essential to the Act’s larger regulation of the interstate business of health insurance.”2
NEJM – Writing New Rules for Insurers — Progress on the Medical Loss Ratio
From the New England Journal of Medicine:
Writing New Rules for Insurers — Progress on the Medical Loss Ratio
NEJM | October 27, 2010 | Topics: Insurance Coverage
Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, J.D.
Few undertakings in the short history of the implementation of health care reform have been as difficult or contentious as the drafting of regulations to define the statute’s “medical loss ratio” requirement. Beginning in 2011, health insurers must report annually the percentage of their premium revenue (excluding expenditures for taxes and regulatory fees) that they spend on “reimbursement for clinical services” and on “activities that improve health care quality.” This is their medical loss ratio. If the medical loss ratio of an insurer in the individual or small-group market falls below 80% (or, for large-group insurers, 85%), the insurer must rebate to its enrollees the difference between the reported ratio and the target percentage.
GRITtv: David Cay Johnston: Still-Growing Wage Gap
GRITtv: Sarah Ludwig on Foreclosure Fraud
From lauraflanders | October 27, 2010
Sarah Ludwig notes that the foreclosure fraud accusations rocking the nation’s biggest banks are just a new round in the abuses that have been going on for years now. “These practices are rancid and they go from the beginning stage all the way to foreclosure,” she says, pointing out that in 27 states, lenders don’t even have to go to court to file a foreclosure, making fraud even easier.
So what can we do? Ludwig, co-director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, joins us in studio to break down the crisis for us, and to give some solid advice to those facing foreclosure: don’t give up without a fight.
GRITtv: Part two of Harry Hanbury’s investigative series on the Chamber of Commerce
From lauraflanders | October 27, 2010
The election is getting closer, and the money keeps on flowing. Today we’re bringing you part two of Harry Hanbury’s investigative series for GRITtv’s new investigative series, GRITtv Digs. In part one, we looked at the Chamber of Commerce’s contributions to the campaign cycle–now, we ask, who’s watching the Chamber? Why does it get away with this?
Part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG-ts0m0T98
Related…
Local Chapters Revolt as U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tries to Buy the Election for Republicans
Kickingcrow's Weblog 