I have so much to say, but will remain silent since I'm the host of this thread....

Damn!

But Definitely worth a watch!



I'll leave it at that, 'cause gotta get my work out.

Published on Friday, January 22, 2016 by Common Dreams by Andrea Germanos, staff writer

'Single-payer is the only health reform that pays for itself'



The idea of a single-payer healthcare system has entered the presidential debates—and that's a very good thing, a doctors group says, as it is "only equitable, financially responsible and humane cure for our healthcare ills."

In a statement released Friday by the non-partisan Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), its president, Dr. Robert Zarr, calls it "a welcome development," and also refutes a number of myths surrounding such a plan, sometimes referred to as a Medicare-for-all plan, including supposed high costs and lack of public support.

On cost, says Zarr, "Single-payer is the only health reform that pays for itself;" in contrast, "keeping the current private-insurance-based system intact is not [affordable.]"

Enacting a single-payer system would entail "[r]eplacing hundreds of insurers and thousands of different private health plans," and that, in turn, would mean "$400 billion in health spending would be freed up to guarantee coverage to all of the 30 million people who are currently uninsured and to upgrade the coverage of everyone else, including the tens of millions who are underinsured."

As far as the myth of lack of support, Zarr cites various surveys showing a single payer system is backed by a majority of Americans, and points to one survey finding as much as two-thirds of Americans support it, not to mention being backed by numerous medical, political, faith-based, and community organizations.

Much More insight at the Link:
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/22/debating-medicare-all-system-good-nations-health-say-doctors

Ahead of Iowa

With wall-to-wall crowds, climbing poll numbers, and a wave of critical new endorsements, Bernie Sanders is riding high.



With wall-to-wall crowds, climbing poll numbers, and a wave of critical new endorsements, less than one week before the primary contests officially commence, Bernie Sanders is riding high.

Two new polls out on Wednesday show that the senator from Vermont is not only holding fast on his lead in Iowa, but also continues to gain against frontrunner Hillary Clinton nationally.

The voter enthusiasm that has defined much of Sanders' candidacy was on full display Tuesday evening when an overflowing crowd of 14,000 people rallied at an exhibition center in St. Paul, Minnesota, following an afternoon rally in Duluth that saw a crowd of 6,000 people.

"You, and millions of other people, need to come together," Sanders said in Duluth. "You need to say loud and clear that when so many men and women fought and died to save our country, that we the people are going to have a government that represents us, not just a handful of billionaires."

Sanders' message—that in order for political revolution to happen, voters must come out to the polls—echoed statements he made earlier in the day Tuesday during a campaign stop in Iowa.

"In my mind," Sanders told reporters, "we will win here in Iowa if the voter turnout is high. And frankly, if the voter turnout is not high, we're going to be struggling."

A new Quinnipiac University poll (pdf) out Wednesday confirmed Sanders' viability in the February 1 Iowa contest. The survey found that Sanders leads Clinton 49 percent to 45 percent among likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers, results which are "virtually unchanged" from the January 12 survey which had Sanders ahead of Clinton 49 to 44 percent.

More from Staff Writer Lauren McCauley over at CommonDreams:

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/27/huge-crowds-surging-polls-sanders-revolution-revs-engine-ahead-iowa

to Save Their Poisoned City

Published on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 by Common Dreams

Residents and advocacy organizations are seeking outside intervention, and a complete overhaul of the state government

by Lauren McCauley, staff writer


Ahmirah Porter, 9, of Flint stands outside City Hall to protest Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's handling of the water crisis. (Photo: Jake May/ MLive.com)

Fed up with an administration whose policies caused the devastating water crisis and subsequent health epidemic, advocacy organizations and community members are calling for nothing less than a complete overhaul of the way government works in Michigan.

On Tuesday, Flint residents met with leaders of the national NAACP to draw up a "15-point priority plan" for addressing the lead-tainted water crisis. Chief among their demands is the repeal of Michigan's contentious emergency manager law, which was enacted in 2011 under Gov. Rick Snyder.

A memo (pdf) by the national civil rights group notes that throughout talks with Flint community members, "Most stridently, we heard the need for a return to democracy by repealing the Emergency Financial Manager Law, under which the string of decisions were made that brought Flint to this crisis."

As Flint native Art Reyes III explained, "The emergency manager law gave unchecked power to the governor in the name of helping these communities emerge from financial distress. But in reality, it unleashed a series of devastating austerity and privatization measures adopted in the name of progress, and took away democratic rights from poor communities of color."

Indeed, a number of the city and state officials—empowered by that very statute—who oversaw the decision to change the source of Flint's water supply were named in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Wednesday. The complaint argues that those officials repeatedly violated a number of federal laws, including the Safe Water Drinking Act, and will continue to do so without court intervention.

More at Link:

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/27/people-flint-call-pro-democracy-revolt-save-their-poisoned-city

Source: Los Angeles times


An Orange County woman has sued billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III for $70 million, alleging that the Broadcom Corp. co-founder reneged on his promise to support her financially for life and subjected her to violent and abusive behavior during the four years they lived together.

In her complaint, filed Jan. 8 in Orange County Superior Court, Melissa Montero said she was 34 and Nicholas was 50 when they met in January 2009. Montero eventually quit her job as a restaurant manager and moved in to his Newport Coast mansion, according to the lawsuit.

“Nicholas promised Montero that if she would quit her job and dedicate her life to him, he would provide her financial support and pay her expenses and other needs for the rest of her life,” her complaint alleges, stating that Nicholas went on to give her about $25,000 a month.

“In exchange, Montero gave up her own life and devoted her every waking hour to Nicholas and his needs and demands,” the lawsuit contends. It describes her as his “personal assistant, secretary, business advisor, life coach, confidante, nurse … social companion, household manager, social coordinator, stepmother to Nicholas’ children and liaison to Nicholas’ ex-wife.” The lawsuit also states that Montero sought a monogamous relationship and children with Nicholas but instead learned that he was romantically involved with another woman, to whom he was paying $125,000 a month. It also alleges that he abused an array of drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy and nitrous oxide.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-broadcom-billionaire-sued-20160114-story.html

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oh.. how the priveleged class view their 'entitlements'. But we hold these kind of people as our success's and who to achieve to be like. I hope we are seeing the start of a true cultural change - and none too soon.

To understand the two sides of Steve Martin’s performing talents, check out his one and only hit single, 1978’s King Tut. On the A-side was the novelty funk hit about the Egyptian boy king. On the B-side, two deep cuts that showed off Martin’s formidable Americana/banjo chops: the traditional “Sally Goodin” (circa 1860, but existing on recordings since 1922 ), and “Hoedown at Alice’s” an original written for his then stand-up manager Bill McEuen’s wife.

It’s not what you’d expect from the “Wild and Crazy Guy,” but Martin’s banjo had always been a part of his act. He taught himself at 15 years old, playing along very slowly to Earl Scruggs records. He told an interviewer:

The reason I played it on stage is because my act was so crazy I thought it’s probably good to show the audience I can do something that looks hard, because this act looks like I’m just making it up. I really wasn’t. I worked very hard on it.

Which is a long way of saying: When Martin recorded an album of banjo favorites in 2009, The Crow, won a Grammy without relying on a single joke, then enlisted the help of the North Carolinian Steep Canyon Rangers to go on a tour, it should not have really been a surprise.

When he teamed up next with The Steep Canyon Rangers and recorded Rare Bird Alert in 2011, Martin started to combine comedy and music once again, and with this above novelty song, he gets to indulge in the beautiful harmony singing that bluegrass groups like The Stanley Brothers, The Louvin Brothers, and the Osbourne Brothers made so popular in the mid-century. (There wasn’t just banjo pickin’ on those LPs, you know.) The above appearance on Letterman is a great rendition of a concert favorite, “Atheists Don’t Have No Songs.”

So in this month of arguments over the Starbucks holiday cup, let Mr. Martin and group add a palliative to any hurt atheist feelings. You guys rock.

P.S. Martin got a chance to play with his hero on the same late-night program.




sorry upon edit; did not know how difficult to embed youtube links in text was to accomplish

Adorable Predators vs Prey







More: (IA... Sorry)
https://imgur.com/gallery/68wL7

Humans have a unique affinity for bitter food, like dark chocolate, coffee, and broccoli. Most other animals interpret a bitter taste as a warning to stay away from a non-edible material, but some humans can’t get enough of it, though scientists have never been quite sure why. How much you like those bitter foods could be a reflection of your personality, according to a new study in the journal Appetite—and people with the greatest affinity for bitter foods may even have more psychopathic and antisocial tendencies.

In the study, 500 participants were asked how much they enjoyed different examples of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter foods. Then, they were asked to take a series of personality assessment quizzes to evaluate their aggression, each of the Dark Triad measures (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism), everyday sadism (verbal, physical, and vicarious), as well as Big Five personality traits, which include extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and....

More from the Source
http://www.popsci.com/psychopaths-may-prefer-bitter-foods

Can't say I'm New to the DU.
It has just about been only main 'Go-to' for any
information I have found worthy to pay attention to, and that said; it has always been an amazing treasure trove of wonderful people and very exciting topics that are being discussed. I have stayed silent for the most part of the 10yrs perusing the headlines and decided to jump in a little with the excitement of this very important election on the way and hope to contribute and support where needed.

Thank you for all your wonderful views and inclusiveness!
We are very much, A big Tent!