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07 Nov 2009 19:03
- US: How Bad is The Stupak Anti-Abortion Amendment in Congress?
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- pandapajamasradicalsouth
- November 7th, 15:52
From the Washington Post, as relayed via DailyKOS."Because of the limits placed on the exchanges, most of the participants will have some form of premium credit or affordable subsidy. That means most will be ineligible for abortion coverage. The idea that people are going to go out and purchase separate "abortion plans" is both cruel and laughable. If this amendment passes, it will mean that virtually all women with insurance through the exchange who find themselves in the unwanted and unexpected position of needing to terminate a pregnancy will not have coverage for the procedure. Abortion coverage will not be outlawed in this country. It will simply be tiered, reserved for those rich enough to afford insurance themselves or lucky enough to receive from their employers."- disgusted
The amendment is expected to pass with relative ease. Republicans will join with anti-choice Democrats to push it over the finish line. Once the amendment passes, the bill is cleared for a vote, and all parties expect that vote to succeed. Today looks likely to end with a historic, and important, vote. A vote that is a first step towards helping more than 30 million people secure health-care coverage, and making sure hundreds of millions are better protected from the vagaries of the insurance industry. But Stupak's amendment is a bitter start. It is, however, not the end. Even if it muscles into the House bill, it will also have to pass in the Senate, and then survive conference, before it becomes law.My note: Even the most ardent, supposed "feminist" politicians have stated they are willing to vote to allow this amendment to stand, as long as they can pass the reform today. This is PATHETIC. And we have a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate who can't seem to buck up and get a spine, so I dunno folks. What do YOU think is the best way to deal with this grassroots style?
- US Congress May Create "de facto Ban on Abortion" via Health Care Reform!
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- pandapajamasradicalsouth
- November 7th, 11:18
Edited to add: Congress is in fact OPEN today (Saturday) and people CAN call their Reps NOW! I just called Speaker Pelosi's office in DC and they had people answering the phones. PICK UP THE PHONE AND MAKE IT HAPPEN, FOLKS!!! This is SERIOUS!- Current Mood:
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anxious
The Capitol Switchboard is RINGING BUSY, so go here to find the contact info for your reps: http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/mcapdir.html
Don't know who your rep is??? Go here to locate them by zip code (top left corner): http://www.house.gov/Hello Friends,Please forward widely!This morning around 1am, Members of the US Congress House ofRepresentatives agreed to allow an Up or Down Vote TODAY to createwhat would essentially become a "de facto ban" on abortion servicesfor private as well as potential public insurers. This is outrageousand NEEDS TO BE STOPPED!Where do your reps stand?Check here: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/11/7/801738/-HCR-House-Debate:-The-S tupak-AmendmentMake sure to contact your Representative in the House and Senate viaemail and follow up on Monday morning with a phone call!!!Go here: http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/iss ues/abortion/access-to-abortion/health-c are-reform.htmlNews from The NY Times:http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.c om/2009/11/07/abortion-fight-erupts-in-h ealth-care-debate/
From The Hill (DC):
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/66789-stupak-to-get-up-or-down-vote-on-am endment-to-block-abortion-funding
In Pro-Choice Solidarity!
- Runners doing the Mountain Mist?
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e_phemera
huntsville
- November 7th, 11:34
Just wondering if there are any local ultra runners here on list...
I'm registered for the Mountain Mist 50k Trail race in January, but it'll be my first MM. I could use a trail buddy and some advice.
I'm already training up at Monte Sano, but I don't know all the trails well yet. I also generally suffer from being "directionally impaired" and am getting a little paranoid and fretful about always running alone. I think it would be useful to have a partner lead me through some of the tougher portions of the course. (And then I can train like hell on them for the next 10 weeks.)
Yesterday was just TOO nice a day not to go to the park and hit the trails. However, it was also a bit discouraging---as I stated off trying to follow the McKay's Hollow trail, but lost the trail markings about a mile in and gave up and turned around! All the falling leaves made the trail hard to follow, and the yellow paint blazes must of blended in with the Autumn colours too. Oh, well, McKay's is a bit technical anyway, and I guess I didn't need to be pushing it as I'm tapering for the Flying Monkey Marathon in Nashville in two weeks.. Besides, didn't want to twist an ankle or get lost or something equally stupid. So, ended up just doing some of the easier trails, as well as roads in the park and Bankhead to and from 5 Points.
I feel I've got a fairly decent mileage base (45-55 miles per week and am participating in marathons in Nov and Dec), but I could use some support on the trail aspects of Mountain Mist training. I know it's going to be a major challenge for me, but I'm determined to give it my best effort!
- out of curiosity
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Whose silhouette is in the spine of biography books outside of the USA? We use the silhouette of Abraham Lincoln. Do other countries use somebody else- or someone specific at all?
- Current Mood:
- curious
How about in books about history? We use a covered wagon, which may not be relevant to the history of many other places.
Games I played Friday night:
Quantum (real one's easier than my emulation at home)
Sally (still hard as hell)
Kings & Queens (Legendary electro-mechanical [E.M.] Gottlieb game)
Mayfair (LOTS of stuff going on for a 1965 EM! Damned game almost plays ITSELF.)
Slick Chick (totally restored... lots of fun! Can't wait to get mine repaired)
Banzai Run (used to LOVE this one when it was new, still love it)
Black Hole (mega challenging but I got to multilevel multiball after a few plays)
Black Pyramid (run of the mill early 80's Bally)
Medusa (total dark horse, WOW what a game... if I ever run across one I'm picking it up.)
Apollo 13 (great game, didn't make it to 13 ball multiball)
Lord of the Rings (played it practically in my sleep at 1:30am, got #1 high score. This game is too easy)
Gorgar (original talking game, not in good shape, couldn't hear speech over the din)
C.S.I. (Stern's newest game is MUCH better than expected)
F14 Tomcat (I used to kill at this game, unfortunately couldn't even get to multiball)
Spy Hunter pinball (never played this before; much better than expected)
Simpsons Pinball Party (great game, and I made it to multiball; difficult on this game)
Varkon (rare vertical pinball - wow... need to play this one some more)
Pinbot (lousy condition playfield, but it played really well)
High Speed (amazing restoration, with some really cool 'custom shop' touches and BLINDING lighting)
Earthshaker (great restoration, but I didn't like the look of the LED lamps the owner had used.)
I also played some great Williams EM's that weren't at any past expos. Unfortunately I can't remember the names...
LED lighting seems to be the new trend, and there's a bunch of companies selling the aftermarket bulbs. These bulbs are brighter than the incandescents they replace and put out less heat than their predecessors, which is great for reducing wear on the game's transistors and heat damage to a game's plastics and paint. However, on a couple of these games, the light is TOO blinding - distracting in areas that never had so much light output, and MPU controlled lights (feature lights) tend to exhibit an annoying stroboscopic effect, as LED's have no filament and therefore no 'phosphor lag' - so you can see their refresh rate. This leads to a 'digital' look as your eye follows the ball around the playfield (sort of like the LED taillights on cars these days.) Nevertheless, I think I will be treating my games to some LED's on the more inaccessible areas of the playfield, next time I do a major shop job on them...
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