Jesus Malverde
Jesus Malverde's JournalInsurers under fire as Obamacare kicks in
Source: LA TIMES
Obamacare's biggest problem isn't the troubled HealthCare.gov website anymore.
Consumers are easing up on criticism of government exchanges and turning their frustration and fury toward some of the nation's biggest health insurers. All too often, new policyholders say, the companies can't confirm coverage, won't answer basic questions, and haven't issued identification numbers needed to fill prescriptions or get medical care.
Day after day, people say, they contact insurance company call centers waiting hours at a time with no response. Meantime, insurers have already taken many customers' payments for coverage intended to take effect Jan. 1.
But without proof of insurance, patients are having to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket for medications and doctor visits, if they can afford it. Insurance agents say dismal service has become commonplace across many companies.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insurers-overwhelmed-20140110,0,2341080.story
Obama backs repeal of law that green-lighted Iraq War
Source: Yahoo News
The law that green-lighted the March 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq is still on the books ― but maybe not for much longer if President Barack Obama has his way, the White House said on Tuesday, two years after he declared the war officially over.
“The Administration supports the repeal of the Iraq AUMF,” national security spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden told Yahoo News, referring to the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
Obama frequently cites the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq as one of his key foreign policy successes. He has repeatedly defended the pull-out, even as he pursues a strategy to leave only a residual force of maybe 8,000 to 10,000 troops in Afghanistan after 2014. His administration recently promised it would not put boots back on the ground in Iraq in response to the current bloody chaos that threatens its stability.
But leaving the Iraq military force authorization in place could probably come in handy if he, or a future president, wanted to send troops in.
The last serious attempt to roll back the law came in late 2011, when Sen. Rand Paul, R.-Ky., introduced an amendment to do so. On Nov. 29 of that year, the measure failed in a lopsided 67-30 vote with three lawmakers not voting. Senators of both parties told Yahoo News at the time that the White House had opposed repeal.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-backs-repeal-of-law-that-green-lighted-iraq-war-172954248.html
Utah mom to give birth to daughter's daughter
A 58-year-old Utah woman is set to give birth in a few weeks — to her granddaughter.
Julia Navarro is serving as a gestational surrogate for her daughter and son-in-law.
Lorena McKinnon says after struggling with fertility issues, she and her husband tried to find a surrogate.
After several offers fell through, the Provo woman says her mother stepped up and offered to carry the baby.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Utah-mom-to-give-birth-to-daughter-s-daughter-5124693.php
Police: Okla. man says he gave stepfather atomic wedgie, killed him
Deputies have arrested a man accused of suffocating his stepfather with his own underwear and striking him in the head in McLoud, Okla.
Brad Davis, 33, was arrested Tuesday night after he reportedly told Pottawatomie Sheriff’s investigators he had given his stepfather an “atomic wedgie,” NewsOk reports.
For those who don’t know, a wedgie occurs when someone lifts someone’s undergarments so that they become “wedged” between their buttocks. An atomic wedgie is similar, but goes one step further by lifting a person’s undergarments over their head.
http://blog.sfgate.com/hottopics/2014/01/08/police-okla-man-says-he-gave-stepfather-atomic-wedgie-killed-him/
JPMorgan to pay over $2.5 billion in Madoff fraud
Source: SFGate
JPMorgan Chase & Co., already beset by costly legal woes, will pay more than $2.5 billion for ignoring obvious warning signs of Bernard Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme, authorities said Tuesday.
The nation's largest bank will forfeit a record $1.7 billion to settle criminal charges, plus pay an additional $543 million to settle civil claims by victims. It also will pay a $350 million civil penalty for what the Treasury Department called "critical and widespread deficiencies" in its programs to prevent money laundering and other suspicious activity.
The bank failed to carry out its legal obligations while Madoff "built his massive house of cards," George Venizelos, head of the FBI's New York office, said at a news conference.
"It took until after the arrest of Madoff, one of the worst crooks this office has ever seen, for JPMorgan to alert authorities to what the world already knew," he said.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/JPMorgan-to-pay-over-2-5-billion-in-Madoff-fraud-5120459.php
Fifty US senators line up behind new Iran sanctions bill
Source: Jerusalem Post
Support among Senate members for new Iran sanctions bill has doubled since the measure was introduced last month; Obama administration stands by veto threat saying action is not necessary.
Support among Senate members for a new sanctions bill against Iran has doubled since the measure was introduced last month.
50 senators across party lines now co-sponsor the Nuclear Weapons Free Iran Act of 2013, according to multiple Senate aides, who expect support to increase in the coming days. That amounts to half of all Senate members, just one shy of the number required for a bill to pass.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Robert Menendez introduced the bill just before Christmas with 25 co-sponsors. The move was an affront to the Obama administration, which fears the bill could derail fragile nuclear talks among Iran, the US and world powers.
If enacted, the bill would provide the president with a window of up to a year to negotiate a final settlement with Iran over its controversial nuclear program. Iran would also have to comply with an interim agreement forged between its government and the P5+1 powers— the US, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany— that effectively halts uranium enrichment and construction on its Arak plutonium reactor in exchange for modest sanctions relief.
Read more: http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Fifty-senators-line-up-behind-new-Iran-sanctions-bill-337397
Debbie Wasserman Schultz Blocking Bipartisan Iran Sanctions
Tim Johnson won’t consider Iran bill during talks
Let's blow all Iran nuclear sites up: US lawmaker (Rep. Louie Gohmert)
Wind Map - Cool visualization of wind.
An invisible, ancient source of energy surrounds us—energy that powered the first explorations of the world, and that may be a key to the future. This map shows you the delicate tracery of wind flowing over the US.
http://hint.fm/wind/
Testimony of the National Intelligence Director
“Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower” (editorial, Jan. 2) repeats the allegation that James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, “lied” to Congress about the collection of bulk telephony metadata. As a witness to the relevant events and a participant in them, I know that allegation is not true.
Senator Ron Wyden asked about collection of information on Americans during a lengthy and wide-ranging hearing on an entirely different subject. While his staff provided the question the day before, Mr. Clapper had not seen it. As a result, as Mr. Clapper has explained, he was surprised by the question and focused his mind on the collection of the content of Americans’ communications. In that context, his answer was and is accurate.
When we pointed out Mr. Clapper’s mistake to him, he was surprised and distressed. I spoke with a staffer for Senator Wyden several days later and told him that although Mr. Clapper recognized that his testimony was inaccurate, it could not be corrected publicly because the program involved was classified.
This incident shows the difficulty of discussing classified information in an unclassified setting and the danger of inferring a person’s state of mind from extemporaneous answers given under pressure. Indeed, it would have been irrational for Mr. Clapper to lie at this hearing, since every member of the committee was already aware of the program.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/04/opinion/testimony-of-the-national-intelligence-director.html
Five Doctors Without Borders workers abducted in Syria
Source: CNN
Five workers for Doctors Without Borders were abducted from a house the organization was using in northern Syria, a spokesman for the group tells CNN.
The five were abducted Thursday evening "by a group allegedly for questioning," said Guillermo Agar, in an e-mail from his base in Madrid.
Rebel forces and Islamic militants control much of Syria's northern territories.
"We are in contact with all the relevant stakeholders and the families of our staff members, and are doing all we can to reestablish contact with our colleagues," Agar said. He said that he does not know all the nationalities of the workers and would not release more information, citing safety concerns for the workers.
Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/03/world/meast/syria-civil-war/
Hey Federal government! Don't f!@# it up!
Millions of otherwise law abiding and productive citizens are counting on you to prove that it should be legal.
Be responsible while they enjoy the new freedom.
For context...http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024257808
Profile Information
Name: Jesus MalverdeGender: Male
Hometown: SF
Current location: Japan
Member since: Fri May 17, 2013, 11:44 PM
Number of posts: 10,274
