Governor Rick Perry’s Sacrifice For His Ideology?

The Death Of Texans!

by Egberto Willies

Where is the outcry? Where is the empathy? Where are the moral values? Governor Rick Perry wrote an op-ed about the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in the Dallas Morning News that is nothing short of evil. If he is to be believed, the question every Texan and every American must ask is “what have you, Mr. Perry, done to help the millions of Texans and Americans without healthcare?” What have your Party done to assist the ever increasing medical catastrophe in this country over several decades of Republican obstruction to humane healthcare for all.

Rick Perry supports insurance companies ‘legally defrauding’ Americans.

Rick Perry begins with what he believes to be the new perfect attack against Obamacare.

People all across the country have witnessed what a disaster this program has been from its earliest stages, ranging from the $600 million website debacle to the sad fact that President Barack Obama flat-out deceived the American people when he promised that those who like their coverage could keep it.

He fails to acknowledge that these policies were cancelled not because the president broke a promise, but because these policies came into effect after the law was passed but before the regulations kicked in. The policies did not protect Americans and were simply insurance companies taking premiums for little or no service. Obamacare make those policies illegal. You cannot like what you do not know you do not have. Rick Perry in effect is supporting the ‘legal’ defrauding of Texans and Americans by that accusation.
Rick Perry shows who he really cares about in the op-ed. He says,

The insurance industry — already being forced to cover more people without seeing the promised influx of younger, healthier uninsured purchasing coverage to help cover costs — is being forced to cut costs and raise premiums, meaning less choice, less coverage and longer wait times for Americans at doctor’s offices and hospitals, despite paying more money out of their pockets.

Insurance companies do not add value to healthcare. Their sole purpose is to make a profit from paying your bill. They must only concern themselves with risk management and the composition of their pool of people to ensure they make a profit. The American citizens are nothing but raw material for them. If one assumes that all people are entitled to humane healthcare, there should be no risk pool. Everyone should pay a premium proportional to their income. That should afford them humane healthcare  that one should expect from a rich country.
Rick Perry’s above assertions implies America does not have a medical establishment capable of addressing the medical needs of the entire population. At the same time it implies the cost for this substandard system seeing more people is higher prices. In his closed loop system, that implies even further profits not only for insurance companies but the entire medical establishment. You cannot have your cake and eat it too.

Rick Perry believes one must be destitute before assistance.

The following statement is likely one of the most un-empathetic statements. On the surface it seems benign. At its core is the new Republican ideology.

Another consequence of Obamacare is the effort to cram more people into an already broken and costly Medicaid system without any reforms. Increasing income disregards, eliminating asset testing and forcing previously ineligible individuals into Medicaid all function as a backdoor expansion of Medicaid. Yet Obamacare’s own system to transfer Medicaid applicants to Texas doesn’t even work.

Rick Perry accuses the Medicaid system, one of our social safety nets as being broke and costly. Costly? Ask doctors who receive Medicaid payments how costly it is. They get less than Medicare rates. Many doctors complain but their standard of living remains high.
Within Rick Perry’s words lay something more ominous. The statement “asset testing and forcing previously ineligible individuals into Medicaid “ is a requirement of his ideology. It is what Obamacare is intent on eliminating. This implies that, as in Texas, one must be near destitute or one must become destitute before qualifying for any assistance.
The shortsightedness of said stance, said ideology is profound. If one gets a helping hand without having to be destitute the ability to grow out of poverty is that much greater. One has a base to build from. In Rick Perry’s world you must be relegated to a permanent underclass or die on the path to permanent underclass seeking healthcare. This is not hyperbole. It is reality.
Unfortunately most of the indigent in America gets no press. They suffer in silence. They feel as if they have no voice. As such they do not vote. They do not participate in the body politic. The constant attack on them by Rick Perry and his ilk demoralizes them.

Rick Perry must be stopped.

It is our civic responsibility as Americans who love democracy to ensure the failure of Rick Perry and his ilk in their immoral endeavors. It is time to get up from the keyboard and computer screen and help that demoralized neighbor. It is time to engage them. Talk to them. Listen to their problems. Share their problems. Help them with solutions and bring them back into the body politic. It is time that all Americans know this is their country and it is up to them to take away the reigns from those that have decimated the poor and the middle class as they built up the wealth of the few on their backs.

5 Million Uninsured Because They Live in repugican States

5 Million Uninsured Because They Live in repugican States 

About 5 million people will be without health care next year that they would have gotten simply if they lived somewhere else in America.

They make up a coverage gap in President Barack Obama's signature health care law created by the domino effects of last year's Supreme Court ruling and states' subsequent policy decisions.
The court effectively left it up to states to decide whether to open Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor and disabled, to more people, primarily poor working adults without children.

Hawaii woman with long last name gets new ID cards

A Hawaii woman whose last name is 36 characters long has finally gotten the whole thing to fit on her driver's license and state identification card.
Janice "Lokelani" Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele (KAY'-ee-hah-nah-EE'-coo-COW'-ah-KAH'-hee-HOO'-lee-heh-eh-KAH'-how-NAH-eh-leh) has a surname that consists of 35 letters plus an okina, a mark used in the Hawaiian alphabet. She received her new license and ID after her campaign to get her full name on the cards prompted the state Department of Transportation to change its policy to expand the number of characters that can appear.
Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, 54, said Monday that she's happy she was able to help fix the problem of identification cards lacking sufficient space for long names.
"Now, in the state of Hawaii, we are no longer second class citizens because of the length of our name," she said.
Hawaii driver's licenses and ID cards previously had room for names totaling up to 35 characters. The new policy allows 40 characters for last names, 40 for first names and 35 for middle names.
Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele got the name when she married her Hawaiian husband in 1992.
He used only the one name, which his grandfather gave him after it came to him in a dream.
Under the old policy, Hawaii County issued Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele her driver's license and state ID with the last letter of her name chopped off. And it omitted her first name.
She told news media about the issue earlier this year after a policeman gave her a hard time about her driver's license during a traffic stop.
Last month, the state Department of Transportation announced it expanded the character limits.
Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele is now hoping to get the Social Security Administration to allow more characters on its identification cards.
The agency's cards have two lines for names. The first line has 26 spaces for first and middle names while the second line has 26 spaces for a last name and suffix.

Friday night is science movie night

All this month, Turner Classic Movies will be having a special "Science in the Movies" spotlight on Friday nights, with a weekly marathon of science-themed classics hosted by physicist Sean Carroll.

What Einstein and Szilard did in their spare time

Did you know that Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd once invented a refrigerator? 

And a life-saving refrigerator, at that.

5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the true grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beetroots, spinach and tumbleweeds.

Quinoa is widely considered as one of the healthiest foods of all time. If you've only recently jumped on the bandwagon, there's probably a few things about this ancient grain you don’t happen to know yet.

Can a Dietary Supplement Treat a Concussion?

Can a Dietary Supplement Treat a Concussion? No

Exploiting the public’s rising concern about concussions, some companies are offering untested, unproven and possibly dangerous products that claim to prevent, treat or cure concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). The Food and Drug […]

Ancient Origin Of The Word 'Diarrhea' And Other Common Medical Terms

Human beings have suffered from many of the same chronic illnesses and conditions since the dawn of recorded history. In fact, many of the words we use to describe medical maladies today date back to the birth of classical civilization, when Greek and Roman physicians first began studying medicine.

For example, Hippocrates is credited for coining the term diarrhea. Derived from the Greek word diarrhoia, which means 'flowing through,' the term is found in numerous places in the Hippocratic corpus, as it is a symptom of a variety of diseases.

Chinese doctor admits to selling newborns

Zhang Shuxia, an obstetrician involved in baby trafficking, stands trial in Weinan Intermediate People's Court in Weinan, Shaanxi province.

Beijing - A Chinese doctor has admitted in court that she stole babies from the hospital where she worked and sold them to human traffickers, state media and a court said.

Zhang Shuxia, a locally respected and soon-to-retire obstetrician, stood trial on Monday in northern Shaanxi province's Fuping county, according to online postings from the court.

Zhang told parents their newborns had congenital problems and persuaded them to “sign and give the babies up,” the court postings said.

Calls to the Weinan Intermediate People's Court and the local Communist Party propaganda department went unanswered.

The case exposed the operations of a baby trafficking ring that operated across several provinces centering on Zhang, who delivered babies at the Fuping County Maternal and Child Hospital.

Child trafficking is a big problem in China, despite severe legal punishments that include the death penalty. Families who buy trafficked children are driven partly by the traditional preference for male heirs, a strict one-child policy and ignorance of the law.

The indictment said that from November 2011 to July 2013, she sold seven babies to middlemen who sold the babies to “couples” in central and eastern China. Six of the babies were rescued, but one that was trafficked for 1,000 yuan ($165) in April later died.

Zhang was found out when a mother suspected her baby had been abducted and reported her to police in July. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that Zhang had taken the baby home with her and sold him to a man in a neighbouring province for 21,600 yuan ($3,600) the same night. He in turn resold the baby to a villager in central China for 59,800 yuan ($9,900). Several other suspects have been detained in at least four provinces, Xinhua said.

The case has added to public frustration with China's medical profession over rampant bribery and other abuses.

The Beijing Times newspaper called for a “fair punishment” for Zhang to deter other doctors. “It will inject the authoritativeness of law into professional ethics of doctors and will warn doctors not to take the wrong step that brings them lifelong regret,” the paper said.

Random Photos

America’s Monument to Its Most Infamous Traitor

Benedict Arnold

In the United States, the name of Benedict Arnold is synonymous with treason. In exchange for cash and a commission in the British army, Major General Arnold promised to betray his cause and hand over the American fort at West Point. When American leaders discovered the plot, Arnold fled.
But it’s important to note that Arnold gained his command at West Point by dint of his previous battlefield service. Arnold was a brave, daring and aggressive commander. He had helped seize Fort Ticonderoga, participated in the invasion of Quebec and led American naval forces at the Battle of Valcour Island.
General Arnold’s greatest moment came during the Saratoga campaign, which ended with the surrender of an entire British army. The senior American commander, Horatio Gates, was often indecisive and shy of battle. Arnold, in contrast, was eager for battle. He personally led a successful charge on a British redoubt. During that fight, Arnold was shot in the leg and his horse fell on him.
Had Benedict Arnold died that day, he would likely be known as one of the great heroes of the American Revolutionary War. There would be towns, counties and schools named for him.
But he didn’t die. Arnold lived on to betray his country.
Which brings us to the Saratoga battlefield and the scene of Arnold’s most heroic moment.
Part of the Saratoga battlefield area is a national park. On the grounds are assorted monuments to various leaders and events. These were, of course, all built well after Arnold’s betrayal. How does it address the critical and heroic role of America’s most infamous traitor in that battle?
Like this:

The monument to Arnold is known as the Boot Monument. That’s because it makes no mention of Arnold by name and honors the leg that was broken during the battle. The inscription reads:

In memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental army, who was desperately wounded on this spot, winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution, and for himself the rank of Major General.

John Watts de Peyster, a general in the New York State Militia during the Civil War, erected the monument in 1887. Perhaps de Peyster made it in response to the primary monument, which was erected a few years earlier. The 155-foot tall obelisk has niches for four statues. There are statues for three of the four great American leaders of the battle: General Horatio Gates, General Philip Schuyler and Colonel Daniel Morgan. The fourth niche is empty.

P.S. Arnold’s name has not been completely erased from American military epigraphy. The monument for the Battle of Valcour Island mentions him by name.

Medieval Cone Shaped Princess Hats Were Inspired by Mongol Warrior Women

Nothing says 'princess' like a pointy, cone-shaped hat. From kids' costumes to medieval paintings, the cone hat - more formally known as a hennin (or henin) - is a sure sign of royalty.

But here's something you might not know about the hat that adorn the heads of pale-skinned ladies: they were actually modeled after the hats of Mongol warrior queens.

In Celtic Tradition

MABON was the young son of Mother Modron. Throughout the world there was not a huntsman who could hunt with the dog Drudwyn, the whelp of Greid, the son of Eri, except for Mabon the son of Modron. He was taken from his mother when three nights old, and it was not known where he was, nor whether he were living or dead.
Gwynn Mygdwn, the horse of Gweddw, that was as swift as the wave, carried Mabon the son of Modron to hunt the boar Twrch Trwyth.
Mabon could not be sought for it was not known where he was unless Eidoel, his cousin kinsman in blood, the son of Aer, was found.
The whereabouts of Mabon son of Modron who was taken away at three nights old from his mother were known only to the Salmon of Llyn Llyw. In Gloucester it was that Mabon the son of Modron was imprisoned; and no imprisonment was ever so grievous as that of Mabon, neither that of Lludd Llaw Ereint, nor that of Greid the son of Eri.
Arthur summoned the warriors of the Island, and they journeyed as far as Gloucester, to the place where Mabon was in prison. Kai and Bedwyr went upon the shoulders of the fish, whilst the warriors of Arthur attacked the castle. And Kai broke through the wall into the dungeon, and brought away the prisoner upon his back, whilst the fight was going on between the warriors. And Arthur returned home, and Mabon with him at liberty.
And after that Arthur went into Armorica, and with him Mabon the son of Mellt, and Gware Gwallt Euryn, to seek the two dogs of Glythmyr Ledewic. And when he had got them, he went to the West of Ireland, in search of Gwrgi Severi; and Odgar the son of Aedd king of Ireland, went with him. And thence went Arthur into the North, and captured Kyledyr Wyllt; and he went after Yskithyrwyn Benbaedd. And Mabon the son of Mellt came with the two dogs of Glythmyr Ledewic in his hand, and Drudwyn, the cub of Greid the son of Eri. And Arthur went himself to the chase, leading his own dog Cavall.
Mabon the son of Modron, came up with Arthur at the Severn, upon Gwynn Mygddon, the horse of Gweddw, and Goreu the son of Custennin, and Menw the son of Teirgwaedd; this was betwixt Llyn Lliwan and Aber Gwy. And Arthur fell upon Twrch Trwyth together with the champions of Britain. And Osla Kyllellvawr drew near, and Manawyddan the son of Llyr, and Kacmwri the servant of Arthur, and Gwyngelli, and they seized hold of him, catching him first by his feet, and plunged him in the Severn, so that it overwhelmed him. On the one side, Mabon the son of Modron spurred his steed and snatched his razor from him, and Kyledyr Wyllt came up with him on the other side, upon another steed, in the Severn, and took from him the scissors.

Ziggy

Why It’s Called Lake Superior

Lake Superior contains ten percent of all the fresh water on the planet Earth.
It covers 82,000 square kilometers or 31,700 square miles.
The average depth is 147 meters or 483 feet.
There have been about 350 shipwrecks recorded in Lake Superior
Lake Superior is, by surface area, the largest lake in the world.
A Jesuit priest in 1668 named it Lac Tracy, but that name was never officially adopted.
It contains as much water as all the other Great Lakes combined, plus three extra Lake Erie ‘s!!
There is a small outflow from the lake at St. Mary’s River (Sault Ste Marie) into Lake Huron , but it takes almost two centuries for the water to be completely replaced.
There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover all of North and South America with water one foot deep.
Lake Superior was formed during the last glacial retreat, making it one of the earth’s youngest major features at only about 10,000 years old.
The deepest point in the lake is 405 meters or 1,333 feet.
There are 78 different species of fish that call the big lake home.
The maximum wave ever recorded on Lake Superior was 9.45 meters or 31 feet high.
If you stretched the shoreline of Lake Superior out to a straight line, it would be long enough to reach from Duluth to the Bahamas .
Over 300 streams and rivers empty into Lake Superior with the largest source being the Nipigon River
The average underwater visibility of Lake Superior is about 8 meters or 27 feet, making it the cleanest and clearest of the Great Lakes .
In the summer, the sun sets more than 35 minutes later on the western shore of Lake Superior than at its southeastern edge.
Some of the world’s oldest rocks, formed about 2.7 billion years ago, can be found on the Ontario shore of Lake Superior ..
It very rarely freezes over completely, and then usually just for a few hours.  Complete freezing occurred in 1962, 1979, 2003 and 2009.

4.3B-Year-Old 'Diamonds' Aren't Exactly Diamonds

Back in 2007, a team of researchers said they'd found 4.3-billion-year-old diamonds inside zircon crystals taken from Australia's Jack Hills. But those researchers had used a grinding paste made of synthetic diamonds to polish the zircons in preparation for lab tests ... and now a different team of scientists has discovered the so-called "diamonds" are actually just fragments of that polishing grit that got pushed into tiny cracks, LiveSciencereports. The first team of researchers agrees with the conclusion, but insists there might still be ancient diamonds deeper inside the zircon; the second team of researchers—and some other experts—say that's extremely unlikely.

Daily Comic Relief

One of the last known photos of the Formosan Clouded Leopard is a picture of a vest

 

It's a nice-looking vest, but it does make a rather strong point about humans' role in animal extinctions. The Formosan Clouded Leopard was one of the animals declared extinct in 2013.

10 Animals That Went Extinct in 2013

We get excited about new species discovered every year, but at the same time, there are those that we've given up hope of ever seeing again -alive. Researchers have searched for the Formosan Clouded Leopard in Taiwan for years, but what they found was this photograph of one that had been made into a vest. A living leopard has not been seen in thirty years.

We did just about everything we could to eliminate this animal; we destroyed their habitat, killed them for their skins, and got rid of the other animals they normally ate. They didn't have a chance.

And there are nine other species now on the extinct list that you can read about at Living Alongside Wildlife.

Dogs prefer to defecate and urinate along a north-south axis

Let's start the new year with something in trivial knowledge department.  Here's the introduction and results from an abstract published in Frontiers in Zoology:

Several mammalian species spontaneously align their body axis with respect to the Earth's magnetic field (MF) lines in diverse behavioral contexts. Magnetic alignment is a suitable paradigm to scan for the occurrence of magnetosensitivity across animal taxa with the heuristic potential to contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of magnetoreception and identify further functions of magnetosensation apart from navigation. With this in mind we searched for signs of magnetic alignment in dogs. We measured the direction of the body axis in 70 dogs of 37 breeds during defecation (1,893 observations) and urination (5,582 observations) over a two-year period. After complete sampling, we sorted the data according to the geomagnetic conditions prevailing during the respective sampling periods. Relative declination and intensity changes of the MF during the respective dog walks were calculated from daily magnetograms. Directional preferences of dogs under different MF conditions were analyzed and tested by means of circular statistics.

Dogs preferred to excrete with the body being aligned along the North-south axis under calm MF conditions. This directional behavior was abolished under Unstable MF. The best predictor of the behavioral switch was the rate of change in declination, i.e., polar orientation of the MF. 

Conclusions here.

An Intimate Look at Tigers

An Intimate Look at Tigers

Photographer Steve Winter has traveled to India, Sumatra, Myanmar and Thailand to photograph one of the most endangered big cats in the world.