Industry spokeswoman Karen Ignagni immediately threatens retaliation against consumers.

Washington Post, October 21st, 2009

The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to strip federal antitrust protections shielding health insurers from investigations into price fixing and other business practices, the first step in a legislative bid to clamp down on the much-maligned industry.

Although Democrats have led the repeal push in recent weeks, the committee’s 20-9 vote came with the support of three Republicans. The legislation would repeal portions of the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act that allows states to regulate health insurance providers without federal intervention. But critics of the law say that 64 years after its passage, the result has been regional monopolies that inflate premiums and discriminate against people based on their health status, gender and other factors. More…

Huffington Post, October 5th, 2009

Apple is the latest corporation to exit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, citing its opposition to climate change legislation.

The New York Times reports that Apple’s resignation is effective immediately. Catherine Novelli, vice president of worldwide government affairs at Apple, called the chamber’s stance on climate change issues “frustrating” in a letter addressed to its president and CEO.

“We strongly object to the chamber’s recent comments opposing the E.P.A.’s effort to limit greenhouse gases. … We would prefer that the chamber take a more progressive stance on this critical issue and play a constructive role in addressing the climate crisis.

The tech giant isn’t the first company to quit over the chamber’s policies. Nike recently resigned from its position on the chamber’s board of directors. Several energy companies, including Exelon, the nation’s largest provider of nuclear power, and Pacific Gas and Electric have also left in protest of the business association’s strict opposition to climate change legislation. More…

Baucus wants to stuff our money into Blue Cross and the insurance industry!

No public option even a weak one!

New York Times, September 16th, 2009

WASHINGTON — Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat, on Wednesday unveiled his plan to extend health coverage to 29 million uninsured Americans, providing a detailed look at a legislative proposal that meets many of the requirements that President Obama laid out in his address to Congress last week.

The proposal is the result of more than a year of preparation by Mr. Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee, and three months of intense talks among a small group of Democrats and Republicans. The three Republicans in that group so far have refused to endorse the bill but negotiations will continue in the days ahead.

The Baucus plan calls for the creation of private, nonprofit health insurance cooperatives, a compromise aimed at bridging the gap between Democrats who want a government-run insurance plan and Republicans who adamantly oppose that idea. More…

New England Jouranal of Medicine poll of 5,000 physicians from all specialties

Huffington Post, September 14th, 2009

A new study finds that a majority of physicians support the creation of a public health care option.

A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) study published in Monday’s New England Journal of Medicine shows that 63 percent of physicians support a health reform proposal that includes both a public option and traditional private insurance. If the additional 10 percent of doctors who support an entirely public health system are included, then approximately three out of four physicians nationwide support inclusion of a public option. Only 27 percent support a private-only reform that would provide subsidies for low-income individuals to purchase private insurance.

Surveying a nationally representative sample of 5,157 physicians across America, researchers Salomeh Keyhani, M.D., M.P.H., and Alex Federman, M.D., M.P.H., from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City queried physicians about a range of options for expanding health insurance coverage.

“There should be no confusion about where doctors stand in the debate over expanding health insurance coverage: they want reform,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “This survey reveals important information about the perspective of physicians on issues central to the health reform debate. Policy makers should listen to their doctors.” More at Huffington Post…

Here is a link to the New England Journal of Medicine article on the poll.

Red Orbit.com, August 20th, 2009

July Global Ocean Temperatures Reach Record High

Average ocean surface temperatures reached an all-time high in July, according to a new US agency report. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center reported Thursday that the average global ocean temperature reached 62.6 degrees in July – replacing the previous high temperature record set in 1998.

The combined average of global land and surface temperature during July ranked fifth in the overall warmest since records began in 1880, according to the Asheville, N.C.-based NCDC. Last month, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature reached 1.03 degrees F above the 20th century average of 60.4 degrees F.

Ocean surface temperature in July was 1.06 degrees F above the 20th century average of 61.5 degrees F.

Additionally, the global land surface temperature rose 0.92 degree F above the 20th century average of 57.8 degrees F. It also tied the figures from 2003 as the ninth-warmest July on record.

“The greatest departures from the long-term average were evident in Europe, northern Africa, and much of western North America,” said the NCDC. “Broadly, across these regions, temperatures were about 4-7 degrees F (2-4 degrees C) above average.” More…

Organizing for America announces nationwide conference call in response to outpouring of frustration.

In response to an avalanche of emails, phone calls and negative feelings from Liberals, Organizing for America (Obama’s campaign group) announced a national phone confercerence to be held Thrusday, August 20th at 2:30pm Eastern Time (11:30am here in Arizona). Obama will be talking about health care reform and plans “to update us on the fight to pass real health insurance reform — what’s happening in D.C. and what’s happening around the country. He’ll lay out our strategy and message going forward and answer questions from supporters like you. And we’ll unveil the next actions we’ll organize together.”

If you want to participate in the call, you must sign up (RSVP) at a particular website and OFA will call your telephone number on Thursday morning.

Click this link to be taken to the OFA website where you will need to provide your email address, zip code, and a phone number where you’ll receive the call.

Analysis: Liberals tired of health care compromise

Associated Press, August 18th, 2009

WASHINGTON – Frustrated liberals have a question for President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers: Isn’t it time the other guys gave a little ground on health care? What’s the point of a bipartisan bill, they ask, if we’re making all the concessions?

A case in point:

Sen. Charles Grassley, a key Republican negotiator on health care, was on a winning streak as Congress recessed for August, having wrung important concessions from Democrats, including an agreement not to tax employer-provided health insurance and a limit to demands on drug companies.

How did Grassley reciprocate? With an attack that struck Democrats as stunning and baseless. Grassley told an Iowa crowd he would not support a plan that “determines when you’re going to pull the plug on Grandma.” The remark echoed conservative activists who wrongly claim a House health care bill would require Medicare recipients to discuss their end-of-life plans with doctors.

For liberals supporting far-reaching changes to the nation’s health care system, it was another sign that months of negotiations have been a one-way street. It’s time to move on without Republicans, they say. More…

So, at last Minnesota gets it’s second Senator

McClatchy Washington Bureau, June 30th, 2009

WASHINGTON — Comedian Al Franken officially won the Minnesota U. S. Senate seat Tuesday, as the state’s Supreme Court ordered that he be certified as the winner of last year’s election and incumbent Republican Norm Coleman conceded.

Franken’s win gives Democrats control of 60 Senate seats, a filibuster-proof majority. That means that Democrats, if they’re unified, will be able to block Republicans from exploiting Senate rules to prevent votes on legislation, enhancing the Democrats’ ability to enact their party’s agenda into law. More…

Senator John Coryn R-TX who declared WORLD WAR III over this issue now says “the courts have spoken and I join Norm…[this decision gives] the American people particularily clear choice next year.”

China Gains in Tangled Bidding at Iraq Oil Auction

New York Times, June 30th, 2009

BAGHDAD — The long-awaited auction of licenses to develop Iraq’s huge oil reserves began Tuesday amid unusual contentiousness, as multinational companies demanded far more revenue from every barrel of increased production than the authorities were willing to allow.

Scores of Chinese, Russian, American and British oil executives, representing 8 of the world’s top 10 non-state oil companies, gathered in a hotel meeting room in the Green Zone. They listened closely on headphones to translations as bids for six oil fields and two natural gas fields were read out and then rushed into consultations.

In the latest indication of China’s aggressive interest, its three main oil companies all bid in partnerships with Western firms, and the first contract went to a pairing of BP and the China National Petroleum Corporation. More…

New York Times, June 27th, 2009

WASHINGTON — The House passed legislation on Friday intended to address global warming and transform the way the nation produces and uses energy.

The vote was the first time either house of Congress had approved a bill meant to curb the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change. The legislation, which passed despite deep divisions among Democrats, could lead to profound changes in many sectors of the economy, including electric power generation, agriculture, manufacturing and construction.

The bill’s passage, by 219 to 212, with 44 Democrats voting against it, also established a marker for the United States when international negotiations on a new climate change treaty begin later this year.

At the heart of the legislation is a cap-and-trade system that sets a limit on overall emissions of heat-trapping gases while allowing utilities, manufacturers and other emitters to trade pollution permits, or allowances, among themselves. The cap would grow tighter over the years, pushing up the price of emissions and presumably driving industry to find cleaner ways of making energy. More…

Major energy-climate bill chugs toward House vote

Associated Press at Yahoo, June 26th, 2009

WASHINGTON – With President Barack Obama lobbying by phone, the Democratic-controlled House churned toward a showdown vote Friday night on historic legislation to reduce pollution linked to global warming and power the nation with cleaner but more expensive energy.

Democrats struggled to solidify a fragile coalition needed for passage and appeared headed for success. “We don’t have the votes to stop this bill,” conceded Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., as the roll call neared on a measure that Republicans said would kill jobs across the country while pushing consumer energy costs higher.

Supporters and opponents agreed the result would be higher energy costs but disagreed vigorously on the impact on consumers. Democrats pointed to two reports — one from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the other from the Environmental Protection Agency — that suggested average increases would be limited after tax credits and rebates were taken into account. The CBO estimated the bill would cost an average household $175 a year, the EPA $80 to $110 a year, but Republicans and special industry groups said the real figure would much higher. More from Associated Press…

Republicans and special interest groups pull out the stops to say no, no, and no again!

Washington Post, June 26th, 2009

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) today launched the equivalent of a filibuster of landmark climate-change legislation, using special unlimited speaking privileges granted only to party leaders to speak for more than an hour.

Boehner, leading opposition to the bill, was slated to be the second-to-last lawmaker to talk, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (R-Calif.) waiting in the wings to conclude a debate that had already been going on for more than five hours. More from the Washington Post…

It’s passed, and now on to the Senate.

Huffington Post, June 26th, 2009

After a tense debate, in which the margin of success or failure never moved beyond a handful of votes, the House of Representatives passed the most sweeping climate change policy ever considered by Congress early Friday evening.

The outcome had remained up in the air up until the actual vote, with the White House and the president himself engaging in a heavy lobbying campaign aimed at restoring Democratic Party unity that seemed to be fracturing. More from Huffington Post…