Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/187262436?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
FACT CHECK: Distortions in GOP debate (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Mitt Romney ignored the most significant expansion of trade ties in nearly two decades when he accused the Obama administration Monday night of doing nothing to open new markets. Rick Santorum claimed to be taking purely the high road in campaign ads even as a new one from him veered from that path.
Newt Gingrich mischaracterized the Chilean retirement system that he favors as a partial model for the United States, declaring that the system of private accounts is voluntary when it's not.
So it went in the latest Republican presidential debate as the candidates took shortcuts with complex realities and committed some outright distortions. A look at some of the claims and how they compare with the facts:
___
ROMNEY: "This president has opened up no new markets for American goods around the world in his three years, even as European nations and China have opened up 44."
THE FACTS: Actually, Obama revived Bush-administration-era free-trade pacts with South Korea, Panama and Colombia, all passed by Congress in October, in the biggest round of trade liberalization since the North American Free Trade Agreement and other pacts of that era.
In particular, the agreement with South Korea is designed to break down barriers between the United States and the world's 15th-largest economy. The South Korea deal has the potential to create as many as 280,000 American jobs, according to a recent assessment by the staff of the U.S. International Trade Commission, and to boost exports by more than $12 billion.
Obama also, on a recent trip to Asia, endorsed an Asia-Pacific free-trade pact that would also boost U.S. exports to Asia. With economies weak, the benefits of freer trade may not be immediate but Romney was incorrect to say President Barack Obama has opened "no new markets."
___
SANTORUM: "My ads have been positive. The only ad that I've ever put up has contrasted myself with the other candidates, and does so in a way talking about issues."
THE FACTS: Santorum is coming out with an ad this week accusing Romney of being "just like Obama" and saying Romney "once bragged he's even more liberal than Ted Kennedy on social issues," two negative assertions that go beyond a mere look at issues.
As a Massachusetts senate candidate in 1994, Romney wrote to a group of gay Republicans that outlined a plan to do better than Kennedy to make "equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern." But that's not bragging about liberalism, and Romney is hardly more liberal than the late senator ? or Obama ? on social issues. Romney, for example, supports a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
Santorum has, in fact, stayed positive in the campaign but the new ad is a departure from that.
___
GINGRICH on Chile's system of private retirement accounts: "First of all, it's totally voluntary. If you want to stay in the current system, stay in it. If you are younger and you want to go and take a personal savings account, which would be a Social Security savings account, you can take it."
THE FACTS: There is nothing voluntary about Chile's system. It requires that all workers contribute 10 percent of their salaries to private pension plans, plus other fees for insurance, instead of a government program like Social Security.
Workers had a choice when Chile created the private pensions in 1981 but after that phase-in, all new employees have been required to contribute 10 percent of their first $33,360 in annual wages, choosing among five funds whose investments range from safe bonds to riskier stocks.
The Chile model was also a favorite of Herman Cain when he was in the Republican race. He, too, mischaracterized the system as optional.
___
ROMNEY: "We invested in well over 100 different businesses. And the people have looked at the places that have added jobs and lost jobs and that record is pretty much available for people to take a close look at."
THE FACTS: Romney's record as a venture capitalist at Bain Capital has been presented by his campaign highly selectively; namely, by detailing several big success stories and ignoring the job losses that resulted from Bain-owned plants and companies that closed or shrank their workforce.
His overall record is not even close to being known, because it is so complex. Many of the companies are private, without the public disclosure requirements that big corporations have, and his campaign has not released details.
Under scrutiny, Romney has stepped back from claiming that he created more than 100,000 jobs overall with his Bain investments. That claim was never substantiated. In the debate, he named four successful investments in companies that now ? a decade after he left Bain ? employ about 120,000 people, a more measured and accurate statement, but one that still does not account for losses elsewhere.
___
RON PAUL: "Taliban are people who want ? their main goal is to keep foreigners off their land. It's the al-Qaida ? you can't mix the two. The al-Qaida want to come here to kill us. The Taliban just says we don't want foreigners. We need to understand that or we can't resolve this problem in the Middle East."
THE FACTS: What Paul is missing is that the Taliban harbored foreigners in their land ? al-Qaida terrorists who came to the United States and killed Americans_ and that the Obama administration fears that might happen again if the Taliban regain control in Kabul.
He was correct that the U.S. prior to the 2001 terrorist attacks did not consider the Taliban to be a threat to the U.S. homeland.
___
ROMNEY: "Three years into office, he doesn't have a jobs plan."
FACT CHECK: Like them or not, Obama has proposed several plans intended to spur the economy and create jobs. The most well-known was his stimulus plan, introduced in February 2009, which included about $800 billion in tax cuts and spending.
At the end of 2010, Obama struck a deal with GOP congressional leaders on a package intended to stimulate hiring and growth. The deal cut the Social Security payroll tax, which provided about an extra $1,000 a year to an average family. It also extended an unemployment benefits program that provided up to 99 weeks of aid.
And in September, Obama introduced his most recent jobs plan, rolling it out in a speech to the full Congress in which he urged Congress to "pass it right away." It included $450 billion in tax cuts and new spending, including greater cuts to payroll taxes and tax breaks for companies that hire those who've been out of work for six months or more. Almost none of it has been passed into law.
___
GINGRICH: Romney "raised taxes."
ROMNEY: "We reduced taxes 19 times."
THE FACTS: Both assertions were basically true, though decidedly one-sided.
Romney largely held the line on tax increases but there were notable exceptions. The state raised business taxes by $140 million in one year with measures mostly recommended by Romney. As well, the Republican governor and Democratic lawmakers raised hundreds of millions of dollars from higher fees and fines ? taxation by another name. Romney himself proposed raising nearly $60 million by creating 33 new fees and increasing 57 others. Romney won praise from anti-tax advocates by firmly backing income tax cuts ? and criticism over the business taxes and fees.
___
GINGRICH: "More people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history."
THE FACTS: It's gotten easier to qualify for food stamps in the past decade but that is because of measures taken before Obama became president.
It's true that the number of people on food stamps is now at a record level. That's due mainly to the ailing economy, which Republicans blame on Obama, as well as rising food costs.
The worst downturn since the Great Depression wiped out 8.7 million jobs, pushed the unemployment rate to a peak of 10 percent in October 2009 and increased poverty.
More than 46.2 million people were on food stamps in October 2011, down slightly from a record 46.3 million in September. That's up from fewer than 31 million people three years earlier.
Eligibility rules were relaxed in 2002 and 2008 during the Bush administration. Obama's stimulus package, passed in February 2009, relaxed the program's work requirements through September 2010.
___
Associated Press writers Christopher S. Rugaber, Tom Raum, Steve Peoples, Robert Burns and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Arizona health-insurance companies targeted
by Ken Alltucker - Jan. 16, 2012 11:18 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
The federal government has stepped up scrutiny of health-insurance companies in Arizona, with regulators calling one company's most recent rate increase "unreasonable" and vowing thorough reviews of 32 other health-insurance plans that are pursuing double-digit rate increases.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said last week that Trustmark Life Insurance Co.'s plan to raise health-insurance rates on Arizona consumers by 13 percent is unreasonable and called on the company to rescind, refund or justify the rate increase.
The federal agency has started similar reviews and posted detailed rate information on 32 other health-insurance plans that will raise rates from 14 to 44 percent this year for thousands of Arizona consumers.
It's the first time such detailed rate information has been made available for Arizona consumers.
On Sept. 1, the HHS took over review of health-insurance rate increases of 10 percent or more from the Arizona Department of Insurance when the federal agency said Arizona was among the states that did not have regulations in place for effective rate review.
The federal government does not have the authority to reject or modify health-insurance rate increases in Arizona because state law does not allow such oversight.
But consumers may see some rate relief under the new federal health-care law. The Affordable Care Act requires that 80 to 85 percent of revenue collected by insurance companies be spent on medical care instead of administrative costs and profit. Insurers that don't meet that ratio must issue rebates to customers beginning later this year.
Still, some observers question whether the federal law ultimately will result in long-term rate relief for Arizona consumers.
"Initially, it should keep costs down for consumers because of this heightened scrutiny," said David Weissman, a Rose Law Group attorney who specializes in employment law and advises employers on the nation's new health law. "That will translate to lower premiums for group plans."
But Weissman said the real test will be whether insurance companies continue to market plans as the nation's health-care law matures. He said insurance companies will expect to meet profit goals, but they may discontinue plans that are not profitable, creating less competition in the health-insurance marketplace.
The health-care law's big changes will come in 2014, when nearly all Americans will be expected to purchase health insurance, some with the help of federal subsidies.
Arizona received a $29.8 million federal grant to plan a health-insurance exchange in which consumers and businesses can purchase health insurance. Private insurance companies are expected to list their plans on this new exchange and solicit customers.
Insurers object to feds
The federal oversight of Arizona's health-insurance industry has generated backlash among insurers.
Insurance companies have urged the Arizona Department of Insurance to beef up its rate review so that companies don't have to submit paperwork to the federal government when they seek to increase rates.
"The (health insurance) industry would like us to review what it would take to become an effective rate-review state," said Erin Klug, spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Insurance.
Klug said insurers want to avoid sending duplicate paperwork to the federal government and the Arizona agency.
Under Arizona law, health insurers that sell policies to individuals still must submit paperwork to the Department of Insurance detailing proposed rate changes. Insurers that sell small-group policies only need to provide a certificate each year that indicates their filings comply with Arizona law.
Klug said her agency is using proceeds from a $1 million federal grant to investigate how the state can improve its rate-review process to pass muster with the new federal requirements. The Department of Insurance expects to submit proposed changes to the Governor's Regulatory Review Council.
Insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona support the state's efforts to take control of rate review.
"Local oversight from the Arizona Department of Insurance is an important protection and takes into consideration the local market forces that Beltway regulators are not in a position to assess," said Regena Frieden, a spokeswoman for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.
1 review is complete
The federal government so far has completed a rate review of just one company that sought a double-digit rate increase in Arizona.
Trustmark Life Insurance Co. submitted a plan to raise rates by 13 percent on a small-group policy that covers 6,302 Arizonans. When combined with another rate increase within the past 12 months, the rate increase for consumers and small businesses would be 18.1 percent.
Federal regulators said the rate increase was unreasonable because it would allow the insurer to collect too much for administrative costs while not spending enough on medical care.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius cited Trustmark as an example of the type of rate increase that consumers would not be aware of without the nation's new federal law.
"Before the Affordable Care Act, consumers were in the dark about their health-insurance premiums because there was no nationwide transparency or accountability," Sebelius said. "It's time for Trustmark to immediately rescind the rates, issue refunds to Arizona residents or publicly explain their refusal to do so."
Trustmark representatives disputed the "assumptions and conclusions" from the federal agency.
The Lake Forest, Ill.-based insurer said its rates are driven by rising costs and increased use of medical care. The company added that because it is a smaller insurer, the amount of money it spends on medical care can swing widely from year to year.
The company said it will maintain compliance with the nation's new health-care law and promptly refund customers if regulators find the company has not met the "medical-loss ratio" requirements.
The medical-loss ratio describes the percentage of health-insurance premiums that insurers spend on medical care. Health insurers must spend at least 80 percent of revenue on medical care for individual insurance and small-group plans. Larger plans for big employers must spend 85 percent of revenue on medical care.
Cigna plan: Up 44 percent
A review of the rate-increase database for Arizona shows that Cigna HealthCare of Arizona Inc. has filed paperwork for the largest rate increase in 2012 as measured by percentage increase.
Cigna plans a 44 percent rate increase for an Arizona plan marketed to small-business owners. Cigna is seeking a smaller increase of 21 percent for a plan marketed to individuals.
Cigna spokeswoman Mariann Caprino said she did not have details on the plan for small-business owners, but she said the plan geared toward individuals has been a money-loser for the insurer the past three years.
"Even with this rate increase, we are not going to be able to cover the cost of providing this group medical care and other services," Caprino said.
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El Salvador massacre apology on 20-year peace mark (AP)
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador ? El Salvador President Mauricio Funes apologized Monday for the 1981 El Mozote massacre of 936 civilians in an army counterinsurgency operation. Funes also commemorated the 20th anniversary of the 1992 peace accords that put an end to the country's 12-year civil war.
Funes said the El Mozote massacre, named for the town where it occurred between Dec. 11 to 13, 1981, was "the biggest massacre of civilians in the contemporary history of Latin America." He formally acknowledged the government's responsibility for the killings.
He also asked for forgiveness from the relatives of the estimated 12,000 people disappeared in the conflict, which left 75,000 dead.
"I ask forgiveness of the mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters of those who still today do not know the whereabouts of their loved ones. I ask forgiveness from the people of El Salvador, who suffered an atrocious and unacceptable violence," Funes said in a speech in front of thousands of farmers at the massacre site.
Funes was elected on the ticket of the former leftist rebels, who were allowed to turn themselves into a political party after the 1992 peace accords. Funes himself never belonged to the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front rebel movement, nor did he serve in the army. He was a journalist at the time.
Soldiers from the now-disappeared Atlacatl battalion entered El Mozote looking for rebels and sympathizers. They apparently believed that any village in the area was backing the insurgents, and they killed anyone they could catch: men, women, children, infants. Many of the bodies were tossed into a church that was then set ablaze.
But Funes said the peace accords helped change the army.
"Twenty years after the peace accords we have a different armed forces, democratic and obedient to civilian power," Funes said. He urged the army to revise its military history and avoid honoring officers who ordered or carried out rights abuses.
Msgr. Gregorio Rosa Chavez, the assistant bishop of San Salvador, said the peace accords were valuable "but there is still a lot to do" 20 years later.
"We have a lot of ground to make up in human rights," Chavez said, "as there is in the economic situation of the poor, the poorest part of the population continue to be the poorest."
Former rebel leader Eduardo Sancho, known during the war by the code name Ferman Cienfuegos, said the accords marked a watershed, "changing the life of a guerrilla for life as a citizen."
"It was the arrival of democracy, and that was something we had never had," Sancho said. "We had lived under a dictatorship."
Former president Alfredo Cristiani, who signed the peace pact as president from 1989 to 1994, said the accords were not an end in themselves.
"They were just a beginning, but they were good enough for us to leave behind war and have the democracy we have today," Cristiani said.
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Sunday, January 1, 2012
Factbox: Presidential candidate Ron Paul (Reuters)
(Reuters) ? Ron Paul, a congressman from Texas, is one of the leading candidates in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses, the first contest on the road to the Republican presidential nomination.
Here are some facts about Paul.
* Paul, 76, is considered a godfather of the Tea Party movement for lower taxes and limited government.
* During campaigning, he has warned of eroding civil liberties, a Soviet Union-style economic collapse in the United States and violence in the streets. He once wrote a book called "End the Fed," referring to the U.S. Federal Reserve, and has called for eliminating the central banking system that underpins the world's largest economy.
* Paul has a level of mobilization other candidates lack and thus a loyal base of supporters who are expected to come out on Iowa caucus night on Tuesday.
* This is Paul's third bid for the White House. In 2008, he ran for the Republican presidential nomination as an anti-war candidate, raising $35 million in small donations from a fervent group of backers, but failed to win any primary or caucus. In 2008, he came in fifth in the Iowa caucuses.
* As part of his small government philosophy, Paul has refused his congressional pension. When working as a doctor he refused to accept Medicare or Medicaid payments and would not let his children accept federal student loans.
* Reuters reported a direct-mail solicitation for a Paul campaign two decades ago that warned of a coming "race war" in America and a government conspiracy to cover up the impact of AIDS. Paul is now under fire for connections to extremist right-wing views. He says a ghostwriter on his campaign wrote the document.
* Paul is part of the only father-and-son team serving together in the U.S. Congress. His son, Republican Rand Paul, is the junior senator from Kentucky.
* A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Paul settled in Texas where he began an obstetrics and gynecology practice. He says he's delivered more than 4,000 babies.
(Reporting by JoAnne Allen and Lily Kuo; Editing by Deborah Charles and Vicki Allen)
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Baseball Stuff I Got For Christmas
All throughout the year my wife insists that it's going to be a small Christmas. "Let's keep it simple, the kids don't need anything, we don't really need anything. We have debt to pay off."
One of several books I've wanted for a long time. An Angels history book with interviews with some of the most well-known Angels.
Dig that old-time Nolan Ryan picture.Odd Man Out - Matt McCarthy 2009
Angels minor leaguer tell-all, supposedly. I'll take this one with a grain of salt. I know that many of the "facts" in this book have been challenged and many disproved or shown to be exagerated. But it's a must for the Angels library.Always An Angel - Tim Salmon 2010
How can an Angels collector not have a book by Tim Salmon. Now I do. This book has had a reserved space next to my Nolan Ryan books for the last year.
My two most favotorite Angels.
Two packs of 2011 Bowman Platinum and 2 packs of Bowman Chrome.
Nice cards but not a single Angel.
Blaster of 2011 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects.? Nice cards but not a single Angel in the box.? Hmmm.
I always heed her wisdom.
Then a couple weeks before Christmas she goes into flat-out gang-buster spend mode.
And I laugh and love her for it.
Aside from all the "necessities" like clothes and socks, and a couple other items like tools and such, here's the baseball stuff she got for me, most of which were stocking stuffers:
Once They Were Angels - Robert Goldman 2006One of several books I've wanted for a long time. An Angels history book with interviews with some of the most well-known Angels.
Dig that old-time Nolan Ryan picture.Odd Man Out - Matt McCarthy 2009
Angels minor leaguer tell-all, supposedly. I'll take this one with a grain of salt. I know that many of the "facts" in this book have been challenged and many disproved or shown to be exagerated. But it's a must for the Angels library.Always An Angel - Tim Salmon 2010
How can an Angels collector not have a book by Tim Salmon. Now I do. This book has had a reserved space next to my Nolan Ryan books for the last year.
My two most favotorite Angels.
My wife also gave me an Amazon gift card in my stocking. There are several other books I've had on my want list for a while. Time to see if I can get some crossed off.
Next up- baseball cards.?
Two packs of 2011 Bowman Platinum and 2 packs of Bowman Chrome.
Nice cards but not a single Angel.
Blaster of 2011 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects.? Nice cards but not a single Angel in the box.? Hmmm.
She did well though.? I was Toppsed-out so I put "No Topps, Bowman OK" on my Christmas list.
Be looking for a trade bait post coming soon.
Two?books of stamps for my TTM autograph requests.Mike Napoli Rangers jersey t-shirt.? Yes I actually asked for this.? I go to a lot of Ranger games, and only wear my Angels gear when the Angels are in town.? So I combined the 2 - Nap will always be an Angel in my heart.Baseball Activity Book - goes immediately to my toilet reading rack.Here's a puzzle for you all before this little book gets Red Flagged!Source: http://angelsinorder.blogspot.com/2011/12/baseball-stuff-i-got-for-christmas.html
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