Tornado Alley (PROG)

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To-do list

by Tom Tomorrow
Mon Dec 09, 2013 at 06:50 AM PST



© Kos Media, LLC

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/09/1260725/-To-do-list [with comments]


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20 Things the Rich Do Every Day
So what do the rich do every day that the poor don’t do?
November 27, 2013
http://www.daveramsey.com/blog/20-things-the-rich-do-every-day


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20 things the poor really do every day
3 December 2013
http://benirwin.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/20-things-the-poor-do-every-day/ [with comments]

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MUST READ: 20 things the poor do every day
Dec 07, 2013
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/07/1260903/-MUST-READ-20-things-the-poor-do-every-day [with comments]

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Poverty is more than a matter of poor decision-making

4 December 2013
https://benirwin.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/poverty-is-more-than-a-matter-of-poor-decision-making/ [with comments]


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Wealth Inequality in America

Published on Nov 20, 2012 by politizane

Infographics on the distribution of wealth in America, highlighting both the inequality and the difference between our perception of inequality and the actual numbers. The reality is often not what we think it is.

References:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph
http://danariely.com/2010/09/30/wealth-inequality/
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/03/334156/top-five-wealthiest-one-percent/
http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/19/news/economy/ceo-pay/index.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM [with (over 41,000) comments]


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How Poverty Taxes the Brain

Aug 29, 2013
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2013/08/how-poverty-taxes-brain/6716/ [with comments]

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Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function
30 August 2013
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6149/976.abstract


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Why I Make Terrible Decisions, or, poverty thoughts
10/22/13
http://killermartinis.kinja.com/why-i-make-terrible-decisions-or-poverty-thoughts-1450123558 [with comments] [also at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-tirado/why-poor-peoples-bad-decisions-make-perfect-sense_b_4326233.html (with {nearly 8,000} comments)]

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Your Brain on Poverty: Why Poor People Seem to Make Bad Decisions

And why their "bad" decisions might be more rational than you'd think.
Nov 22 2013
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/your-brain-on-poverty-why-poor-people-seem-to-make-bad-decisions/281780/ [with comments]


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'American Dream' More Alive In Canada Than The U.S., In 2 Charts


12/10/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/10/american-dream-canada_n_4420022.html [with comments]


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Iowa Medicaid Expansion Plan Gets Federal OK

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has approved GOP Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's plan to expand Medicaid using private health insurance plans.
12/10/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/10/iowa-medicaid-expansion_n_4420424.html [with comments]


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No, Sen. Santorum, you fighting Obamacare is NOT like Mandela Fighting Aparthied

by Vyan
Fri Dec 06, 2013 at 10:36 AM PST

In fact, you yourself are much more like former South African President Botha, fighting to return us to a system of Medical Aparthied - to torture the analogy - that we've been suffering under for decades.

This he said, after of course, O'Reilly had to toss a few Dead Commie shots at the Late South African President and Nobel Peace Prize Winner [(linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=94736850 and preceding and following].

“Nelson Mandela just died,” O’Reilly said. “I don’t know if you’re aware. Ninety-five years old. Nelson Mandela — I spent some time in South Africa, he was a communist, this man. He was a communist. But he was a great man anyway. The sacrifices he made for his people were just stunning. But he was a communist. A great man, but a communist.”

“I would never attack Nelson Mandela,” O’Reilly continued. “I told Bishop Tutu, who’s like that too, but I told him ‘I respect you.’ Why can’t you guys in the Republican Party bring that to the forum?”

“Well, Nelson Mandela stood up against a great injustice,” Santorum replied. “And he was willing to pay a huge price for that. And it’s for that reason he — he — he is mourned today, because of that struggle he performed. But what he was advocated for was not necessarily the right answer, but he was fighting against some great injustice.”

“I would make the argument,” Santorum continued, “that we have a great injustice going on too, in this country, with an ever-increasing size of government that is taking over and controlling people’s lives, and Obamacare is front-and-center in that.”

Oh. NO! He didnt!

Yes, yes, after less than 24 Hours, with President Mandela barely cooled down, he did. He certainly did.



Mother McCree!

"Government Taking over People's Lives" - eh?

Ok, so Obamacare mandates that you have to purchase Health insurance. It does this because of an idea that originated with the Heritage Foundation, that everyone should be willing - if they are able - to chip in and pull their own weight. They argued, that investing in Health Insurance was a way to show Personal Responsibility [ http://americablog.com/2013/10/original-1989-document-heritage-foundation-created-obamacares-individual-mandate.html ].



And now Conservatives are really, Really, REALLY, against that because - eventually - President Obama (who did not originally endorse such a mandate even though Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton did), signed on to it.

Now that Highly Conservative idea has got like... Terminal Cooties. It's THEIR idea, but now it's Bad. Bad bad BADDY bad Bad!

So if you choose not to get insurance what happens? Well, if you don't get hit by a truck, fall down a sewer hole, contract Meningitis, Gall Stones, Kidney problems, Diabetes, Fall down a Flight of Stairs, Stub your toe, cut off your thumb with shears or come down with the Flu - you might get assessed a penalty on your taxes.

And what if you decide not to pay the penalty, then what?

Nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

Well, ok, almost nothing.

The IRS is specifically prohibited from criminally pursuing you if you don't pay your Obamacare penalty. That is documented here [ http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=2ec1e180-afbf-4a48-ba12-8dea812ac30a ] via the Office of Sen Tom Coburn.

Section 5000A(g)(2) of the IRC limits the means the IRS may employ to collect the penalty established in the section. First, the taxpayer is protected from either criminal prosecution or penalty for failure to pay the penalty. Second, the IRS is prohibited from either filing a NFTL or levying any property in an effort to collect the penalty.

They can however, issue a Levy on or Lien for the unpaid amount.

Thirty days after providing a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to Appeal, the IRS may levy the taxpayer’s property, both real and personal.22 This means that wages may be garnished until the tax is paid in full. All funds in a bank account that are available for withdrawal on the date the levy is received by the bank may be taken.23 In some cases, the IRS may sell property belonging to the taxpayer after providing public notice and advising the taxpayer of the minimum bid price.

But that isn't the case for everyone. For some not purchasing Health Care - assuming they don't already have it through your Employer, aren't on Medicare, Medicaid, CHiP, TriCare or VA and also can't afford to pay for care either because it's too expensive for them in their area even with subsidies or their yearly income is so low they don't even reach the minimum IRS filing limit - means NOTHING because those people are Exempt From the Mandate and the Penalty.

Nevertheless, individuals who fall into one of these two categories (individuals who pays no net income taxes or falls below the federal poverty guidelines) may qualify for any of three income based exemptions... 1) the exemption for individuals who cannot afford coverage [Must be greater than 8% of their family income] 2) the exemption for individuals whose household income does not exceed the filing threshold; or 3) the hardship exemption as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

In other words, if you already have Healthcare, or you have the money to pay for insurance and there are affordable plans available but you simply refuse to get it anyway, what you get is a BILL from the IRS, which you can pay or not pay depending on how much you value your Credit Rating.

That's like Aparthied how?

Where exactly is one group of individuals are being forced to live in a separate homeland (aka "Reservation") away from everyone else? Where in fact, those individuals aren't even considered Citizens of their own nation, and must have "Passports" to travel outside those designed homeland areas in order to work? Where are they prohibited from traveling at night? Where are they prohibited from working in certain types of jobs or industries?

The Affordable Care Act does have a Government Component, and I've just described the most intrusive portion of it, but it doesn't tell you where to live, or how to live. In fact, most of the Government Power in the ACA isn't directed at individuals - it's directed at Private Corporations because there's something we often forget about the ACA -- its full name is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The PPACA includes a Patients Bill of Rights [ http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2010/june/22/document-patients-bill-of-rights-fact-sheet.aspx ] which include the following.

-- Stop insurance companies from limiting the care you need.
-- Remove insurance company barriers between you and your doctor.
-- Reviewing Insurers’ Premium Increases. [85% MLR]
-- Getting the Most from Your Premium Dollars.
-- Keeping Young Adults Covered. [Until Age 26]
-- Providing Affordable Coverage to Americans without Insurance due to Pre-existing Conditions:
-- No Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions
-- No Arbitrary Rescissions of Insurance Coverage.
-- No Lifetime Limits on Coverage
-- Restricted Annual Dollar Limits on Coverage.
-- Protecting Your Choice of Doctors
-- Removing Insurance Company Barriers to Emergency Department Services.
-- Reducing the "hidden tax" on insured Americans (due to the Uninsured)
-- Improving Americans' health [With Free Preventive Measures]
-- Protecting Americans' savings [Avoiding Medical Bankruptcies]

Rick Santorum is fighting to take all that away. To return us to the "Aparthied" of the sick being treated dramatically differently from the healthy by the insurance industry. These are things that the Insurance Industry can NO LONGER do To Individuals. This provides People With Freedom, not Oppression.

And not only would Rick Santorum take these Freedoms back from you- he'd apparently take them back for his own daughter Bella who was born with a severe genetic disorder which generates high Medical Costs that he has had to pay out of pocket. Or so he says. Santorum himself brought this up in 2012 as his rationale for his own giving only 1.7% of his income to Charity [ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/05/1071262/-Santorum-admits-to-key-reason-why-the-ACA-is-needed (and see {linked in} http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=72379799 and preceding {and any future following}, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=93801147 and preceding {and any future following})].

As Thinkprogress Puts it [ http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/03/04/437240/santorum-concedes-need-for-obamacare/ ]...

By admitting that the health care system has created a financial burden for families, Santorum is essentially conceding the need for the Affordable Care Act. Even though he has repeatedly claimed that children like Bella would receive inferior treatment under “socialized medicine,” the ACA actually guarantees that insurance providers cannot use disabilities like Bella’s as an excuse to deny service, nor can they cap how much money is spent on an individual’s medical benefits. It also prevents insurers from denying or limiting benefits. Children of families that don’t have a million dollars would have a better chance of managing costs.

So now, because of the PPACA, Bella can be insured anywhere. She can no longer be blocked from coverage by insurance companies. And Rick Santorum's own out-of-pocket costs for her care are now subject to a yearly CAP, which should be able to save HIM a significant amount of funds.

He might even now have The Freedom to be able to give more than 1.7% of his income to charity in the future.

That is, if he actually cares one wit about people in need. Other than himself, of course, since he so desperately and deeply Needs a Clue.

2:36 PM PT: I posted this video [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY3w9gLjEV4 (below, as embedded)] 3 Years ago myself, taken from my own VHS Copy of the Original Full Length "Sun City" Video - which I still have - and in the last day it's had over 3,500 views, and counting.

© Kos Media, LLC (emphasis in original)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/06/1260677/-No-Sen-Santorum-you-fighting-Obamacare-is-NOT-like-Mandela-Fighting-Aparthied [with comments]


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Ted Cruz says his dad was right: Obama is ‘dictatorial’ like Castro

December 5, 2013
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/05/ted-cruz-says-his-dad-was-right-obama-is-dictatorial-like-castro/ [with embedded video, and comments]

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Why is Ted Cruz going to Mandela's memorial service?

December 10, 2013
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/09/politics/cruz-mandela-trip/ [with comments]

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Sen. Cruz walks out on Castro speech at Mandela memorial

December 11, 2013
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/11/sen-cruz-walks-out-on-castro-speech-at-mandela-memorial/ [no comments yet]

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Ted Cruz Walks Out on Castro's Speech at Mandela Memorial

Cuban President Raul Castro speaks at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela on Dece. 10.
10 Dec 2013
http://www.newsmax.com/John-Gizzi/Ted-Cruz-Raul-Castro-Nelson-Mandela-walks/2013/12/10/id/541107 [with comments]

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Sen. Ted Cruz walks out on Raúl Castro’s speech at Mandela memorial
December 10, 2013
http://twitchy.com/2013/12/10/sen-ted-cruz-walks-out-on-raul-castros-speech-at-mandela-memorial/ [with comments]


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