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Another Doc Fix in ObamaCare

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 7:27:28 PM

Obama health bill hid $30 billion in Medicaid costs, critics say

By Jon Ward - The Daily Caller | Published: 04/01/10 at 1:20 AM | Updated: 04/01/10 at 12:16 PM

Call it Doc Fix 2.0.

The federal government already has the “Doc Fix,” an annual shortfall of about $20 billion that must be paid to maintain current payment rates to physicians under Medicare.

Now, it looks like President Obama’s health-care bill created another funding cliff, costing an additional $5.5 billion or so each year.

Critics say the costs were hidden from view in the $940 billion health-care bill to lower the price tag by about $30 billion, and also as a way to gain the support of doctors and hospitals without angering governors.

The recently passed bill mandated that, starting in 2013, state governments must pay primary care physicians the same amount for Medicaid recipients, who are mostly poor, as it does for Medicare recipients, who are mostly elderly.

http://dailycaller.com/2010/04/01/obama-health-bill-hid-30-billion-in-medicaid-costs-critics-say/

Tags: health care  
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RNC "Census" Mailer Offers Phone Sex Number

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 2:15:38 PM
Via Ben Smith:

RNC "census" mailer offers phone sex number

A new entrant in the when-it-rains-it-pours category.

The Republican National Committee sent a fundraising mail piece earlier this month with a return number that leads to a phone-sex line offering "live, one-on-one talk with a nasty girl who will do anything you want for just  $2.99 per minute."

At the bottom of a piece designed to resemble a census form, a toll-free number is listed next to the national party's address.  

A voter in Minnesota received the mailer and called the number intending to complain about the attempt to raise money with a form that looks like a government document.

But the Minnesotan was instead directed to a second toll-free number that greets callers as "sexy guy" before offering them the chance to talk with "real local students, housewives and working girls from all over the country."

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0410/RNC_Census_mailer_offers_phone_sex_number.html
Tags: RNC  
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Favorite Rating of the Democrat Party has Fallen to its Lowst Since Since Gallup Started to Ask the Question in 1992

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 2:12:13 PM
USA fumes over politics

By Susan Page, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Seven months before the midterm elections, Americans seem disaffected about nearly everything political.

A majority disapprove of both political parties, their leaders and most members of Congress, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds.

Attitudes are reminiscent of those in 1994 and 2006, when control of Congress switched from one party to the other.

The favorable rating for the Democratic Party has fallen to its lowest level since Gallup began asking the question in 1992 —its standing has dropped 14 percentage points since President Obama's election — but the Republican Party fares no better. Three of four Americans say they are dissatisfied with the country's direction.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-03-31-1Apoll_N.htm

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States Now are Looking to Tax Services

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 2:06:12 PM

States Being Taxing Services

States looking desperately for sources of revenue are adding taxes to services, not just goods.

By BARBARA PINTO and MICHAEL MURRAY
March 31, 2010
Cash-strapped states across the country are looking to their cash-strapped residents for even more money – by taxing services they buy, not just goods. Everything from car repairs and dry cleaning to personal training and party clowns are being targeted for new taxes.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/cash-strapped-states-country-cash-strapped-residents-money/story?id=10254754
Tags: tax  
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Rep. Mark Kirk, Who Voted for the Greatest Tax Increase in American History, and Senator Richard Burr are Not so Sure about Repeal of ObamaCare

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 2:03:48 PM

Two Republicans soften stances on repealing health law

By Aaron Blake - 04/01/10 08:26 AM ET

Two Republicans running for the Senate are backing away from calls to repeal the healthcare law.

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who is running for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat, was forced to reassert his desire for repeal after refusing to say whether he supported it.

Separately, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who is up for reelection this year, told a local radio host “it may not be repeal at the end of the day; it may be a series of fixes over the course of this bill getting enacted that enable us to possibly change and bend that cost curve down.”

To be sure, Burr still said he supports repeal. But he also noted that there are “many good things” in the bill.
 
Conservatives have made it clear they want a full repeal, so even Burr’s amended statement is unlikely to completely satisfy them.

Kirk, who is knkown as a centrist, knows what it’s like to face heat from his right. He quickly corrected himself when the Club for Growth spoke out about his initial statement.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/campaign-blogs-roundup/90169-top-of-the-ballot-some-in-gop-soften-on-repeal

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Geithner: Unemployment Rate will Remain High for a While

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 2:01:36 PM

Geithner: Jobless rate to stay 'unacceptably high' for some time

By Michael O'Brien - 04/01/10 09:46 AM ET

The unemployment rate will remain "unacceptably high" for some time, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Thursday.

Geithner said that while the Obama administration's had made great strides toward repairing the "huge amount of damage" the recession has done to businesses and families, there was still time ahead before the U.S. sees job growth.

"The economy's growing now, that's the first step," Geithner said during an appearance on NBC's "Today" show. "But the unemployment rate is still terribly high, and it's going to stay unacceptably high for a long time."

"It's going to take a long period of time to bring it down because of the damage that was done," the Treasury secretary added.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/90175-geithner-unemployment-will-stay-unacceptably-high-for-some-time

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More People Blame Obama for Economy

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 1:59:06 PM
Poll: More blame Obama for poor economy, unemployment
By Susan Page, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Americans anxious about unemployment and the economy increasingly blame President Obama for hard times, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, amid signs of turbulence in November's midterm elections.

Last week's jubilant signing of the health care overhaul, Obama's signature domestic initiative, seems to have given the president little boost. Instead, his standing on four personal qualities has sagged, and 50% of those surveyed say he doesn't deserve re-election.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-03-31-poll_N.htm


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ClimateGate Inquiry Clears Phil Jones

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 1:56:38 PM

Hacked climate email inquiry cleared Jones but serious questions remain

Climate inquiry has dodged key questions in its rush to clear the name of the harangued head of the Climate Research Unit

Gaunt, beta-blocked and stood down from duty, Phil Jones is the fall guy for the wider failings that triggered the hacked climate email scandals. But at its hearings into the affair a month ago, the Commons science committee was kind to the director of the Climate Research Unit (CRU), but short-tempered with his grinning sidekick, the University of East Anglia's vice-chancellor Edward Acton.

And so, in their report, Jones gets the benefit of a few doubts. At their final drafting meeting last week, only the MPs' in-house cryptosceptic, Graham Stringer, voted against a sentence saying that, on the evidence they had, "the scientific reputation of Professor Jones and CRU remains intact".

Instead, the university administration gets chastised for presiding over a culture of secrecy and possible illegality within the CRU that led to a public relations meltdown.

The MPs are clear that there are serious issues to address both in climate science and in the operation of freedom of information law in British universities. But in their desire not to single out Jones, they end up bending over backwards to support a man who is the pillar of the establishment they are criticising.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2010/mar/31/hacked-climate-email-inquiry-phil-jones

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Republicans Move Ahead of Democrats in 2010 Generic Congressional Ballot Poll

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 12:15:57 PM

Republicans Move Ahead in 2010 Vote for Congress

Hold 47% to 44% advantage in registered voters' preferences

by Jeffrey M. Jones

PRINCETON, NJ -- Registered voters now say they prefer the Republican to the Democratic candidate in their district by 47% to 44% in the midterm congressional elections, the first time the GOP has led in 2010 election preferences since Gallup began weekly tracking of these in March.


2010 Trend: Candidate Preference in 2010 Congressional Elections, Among Registered Voters

http://www.gallup.com/poll/127073/Republicans-Move-Ahead-2010-Vote-Congress.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=Politics

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Romney Endorsed Ted Kennedy When He was Praising RomneyCare

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 12:14:59 PM
Via Time:

Reading Collins' piece, I was suddenly taken back, as if in a dream, to a more wondrous time, for me at least, during the 2008 Iowa Straw Poll at Ames. Back then, Romney was on a different tack, arguing that his past embrace of Ted Kennedy's health care vision for Massachusetts was something of a badge of honor. This really happened. I have video, though I must apologize for the shaky camera work and poor audio quality.

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/04/01/when-mitt-repeal-romney-embraced-teddy-kennedy/

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Boxer to Her Colleagues: Don't Take Your Seats for Granted

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 12:12:21 PM

Democrat Boxer warns colleagues: Don't take your seats for granted

By Michael O'Brien - 04/01/10 07:52 AM ET

Democratic incumbents must be wary of taking their seats for granted this election cycle, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Thursday.

Boxer, who's facing one of the most competitive election challenges in her own career, warned colleagues of overlooking the "tough times" many voters are facing with the economy.

"I really think nobody can take their seat for granted," Boxer said during an appearance on California CBS affiliate KCAL. "These are tough times we're going through in California and America, and I'm not going to sugarcoat that."

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/90159-boxer-warns-colleagues-dont-take-your-seats-for-granted

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Jason Mattera Meets Up with Rep. Jim Moran and Moran Says that $6.4 Billion that went to Phantom Districts was Just a "Clerical Error"

Posted by Defend America on Thursday, April 01, 2010 9:06:37 AM
Via Ed Morrissey:



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