December 2009
35 posts
Robert Reich: Shame Doesn't Work On Wall Street
Yes! Three simple and important steps to help our economy from the former Labor Secretary:
Shame won’t work. Only political muscle and courage will. Congress and the Obama administration should give homeowners the right to go to a bankruptcy judge and have their mortgages modified.
And while they’re at it, resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act that used to separate investment from...
November 2009
36 posts
Health insurer fined for mishandling claims →
Providence Health Plans was recently fined $30,000 by the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) for mishandling insurance claims improperly filed and never covered.
Senate Report: Bin Laden Was 'Within Our Grasp' In... →
The report asserts that the failure to kill or capture bin Laden at his most vulnerable in December 2001 has had lasting consequences beyond the fate of one man. Bin Laden’s escape laid the foundation for today’s reinvigorated Afghan insurgency and inflamed the internal strife now endangering Pakistan, it says.
“I don’t think they [mortgage companies] ever intended to do permanent loan...”
– Margery Golant, a Florida lawyer who previously worked for a major mortgage company. [Read the full NY Times story on the Obama administration’s failed mortgage relief program.]
Sen. Wyden moves to tighten rules on terrorism... →
Moving to slow what they view as a dangerous rush to renew the Patriot Act, Senator Ron Wyden and [Dick Durbin of Illinois and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin], asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to declassify information about the government’s broad authority to vacuum up business records during terrorism investigations.
Wasn’t there a time when Republicans were worried about governmental...
Geithner's Gift To Wall Street: Report Details New... →
The Dimes skip the usual tortured love, and dig up... →
Maggie and I went to The Dimes release last night at Mississippi Studios. The songs were great and the band sounded awesome.
“Last year, they did chocolates, and it didn’t generate anything.”
– Rosewood Middle School Principal Susie Shepard explaining her school’s fundraiser to sell test points for $20.
WatchJon Stewart catches Fox News falsifying footage during prime time.
Chrysler drops three electric vehicles despite... →
WatchRepublican Leader John Boehner confuses the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence at an anti-health care bill rally. What’s 11 years and a completely different document among [ignorant, hypocritical, anti-government] friends?
Labels and Gay Benefits in Health Bill →
Under the bill, such benefits [to gay couples] would be tax-free, just like health benefits provided to the family of an employee married to a person of the opposite sex.
Brasserie Montmartre: restored, reopened and... →
Very cool. Great of the Maletis family to invest and re-open the restaurant.
It's Official: Voters expand same-sex rights in WA →
Seattle Attorney, Non-Profit Leader Winning... →
McGinn spent just under $3,000 a month on overhead costs, relying on volunteers, many working full time. Mallahan [his opponent] spent close to $35,000 a month, including about $24,000 in salaries for his staff.
Fortune's CEO of the Decade: The decade of Steve →
In the past 10 years alone he has radically and lucratively reordered three markets — music, movies, and mobile telephones — and his impact on his original industry, computing, has only grown. The company [Apple] was worth about $5 billion in 2000, just before Jobs unleashed Apple’s groundbreaking “digital lifestyle” strategy… Today, at about $170 billion,...
Helmet crushed, cyclist survives after SUV runs... →
I want to know what brand of helmet she was wearing!
Man shows up at his own funeral in Brazil →
Wall Street Banks Getting Swine Flu Vaccine Before... →
I wish this was a joke.
Budget Monitor Says G.O.P. Bill Leaves Many... →
The Republican bill…would extend insurance coverage to about 3 million people by 2019, and would leave about 52 million people uninsured… the Democrats’ health care proposal would extend coverage to 36 million people, meaning that 96 percent of legal residents would have health benefits… The Republican bill would reduce future federal deficits by $68 billion over 10 years,...
The Other Gay-Rights Vote: Why Referendum 71 in... →
(via antsonalog)
Thank God for Washington and especially King County (which was passing Ref. 71 with 67% in support at last count).
9-1-1 call over missing juice box costs Aloha man... →
Washington County Sheriff’s deputies said Osman was unwilling to listen to them explain that 9-1-1 wasn’t in the business of straightening out fast food orders.
Loss in Maine Sets Back Drive for Same-Sex... →
The loss is likely to further splinter a movement that has been debating the best tactics for success.
WatchEarl rides NYC!
Driver who hit 6-foot-tall orange rabbit riding a... →
The guy was drunk driving (again after a conviction in 2005). He should have received jail time and had his license revoked for at least five years. No justice here.
America's pro-flu labor laws →
Wall Street Cries ‘Feed Me’ or World Will End →
Finance’s version of Audrey II is thrashing about with threats that, crisis or not, they’d better get their extravagant pay and light-touch regulation. Anything less and — real horrors — financial innovation will decline and the world as we know it will end… Am I supposed to be losing sleep that new rules might impede the creation of the new, new thing in tax evasion? Or...
Health Care Abroad: Taiwan →
Taiwan instituted universal insurance in 1995 — in just one year. Taiwan spends 6 percent of G.D.P. on health care, compared to 16 percent in the United States… Within the first year, Taiwan managed to insure 95 percent of the population… Now they have close to 99 percent enrollment… Every patient has a Smart Card… Hospitals and doctors get paid in a week or two....
Portland doctor who changed how Americans... →
I had the honor and privilege of serving on the City Club early childhood committee with Dr. Connor. He was insightful, intelligent, and kind — without a hint of ego. My deepest condolences to his family. (Here is a nice tribute from Rev. Chuck Currie.)
Gay marriage advocates look to the Oregon 2012... →
The Defining Moment →
Employer Mandate Becomes Sticky Issue in... →