The Story Behind Bush's Medicare Veto

President Bush vetoed a Medicare bill today that postponed a cut in doctor's salaries while initiating cuts in certain Medicare reimbursements to insurers. His stated reason was that it would reduce plan options for seniors.

What he didn't say was that private insurers receive nearly 15% more than Medicare pays for the same services. While Bush claims that competition is the key to keeping health costs low, under his administration, we are paying private companies a 15% premium to cover the extra layer of admin costs that result from their participation.

If competition is supposed to lower heath care costs, why is the private sector receiving a premium?

Discover Card's Worries About New Laws

One of my favorite blogs is footnoted.org which examines public financial documents such as annual reports, 10Qs and other SEC filings to uncover what many companies hate to disclose but have to. They often hide these embarrassing disclosures in footnotes hoping that they won't be read; hence the name.

Here's what the site uncovered about Discover Card which had to acknowledged the following risk factor to its business:

"The company’s second quarter 10-Q, filed yesterday, includes a new risk factor inspired by the Fed’s proposal to tighten its rules on “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” and “truth in lending.” The disclosure says that “if the amendments are adopted as proposed, the amendments would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.”

As I read it, the credit card company is admitting that in its efforts to find new charges and reasons to extort fees from its users, it has probably crossed the line and will suffer under the Fed's efforts to clean up these abuses.

Help the EFF Defend Your Privacy Rights

I recieved this letter from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization which works hard to defend the our rights to privacy and to limit large media companies' efforts to expand copyright law beyond its original intent. They deserve our support.

Next time Barak's team asks for money, I'm sending my donation to the EFF.

"Dear Friend of Freedom,

In a move that I can only describe as cowardice, Congress
just passed legislation meant to immunize telephone
companies for their illegal, disloyal, and irresponsible
behavior. EFF has been fighting against telecom immunity,
and we need your help to bring the fight to the next level:

http://secure.eff.org/wiretapping

Two and a half years ago, EFF sued AT&T on behalf of its
customers, seeking to hold the telecom giant responsible
for its craven complicity in the White House's illegal
warrantless wiretapping program.

Since then, the phone companies and their allies in
Washington have spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying
Congress to grant them retroactive immunity. They ran
ridiculous fear-mongering attack ads against any politician
who dared to oppose them. President Bush threatened to veto
any bill that allowed EFF's lawsuit to continue.

Yesterday, Congress completely capitulated to the
President's threats and voted to let the telecoms off the
hook. If the telecoms are not held accountable, the
administration will remain unchecked in its warrantless
wiretapping of innocent Americans. This must stop!

We need your help to take the fight to the next level.
We're going to challenge Congress's unconstitutional grant
of immunity in our case against AT&T. We're going to fight
for a congressional repeal of immunity in the next
Congress. And we're going to file a new lawsuit against the
government, challenging its warrantless surveillance
practices, past, present and future.

Now, more than ever, we need your support!

http://secure.eff.org/wiretapping

The fight for civil liberties would never have come this
far without your help. We can't give up now. Help EFF
today!

Sincerely,
....Shari Steele
Executive Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation

ACLU Steps Up While Obama Ducks

Given the current make up of the Supreme Court, it may be a long shot, but at least the ACLU has the nerve to sue the Federal Government over its attempt to eviscerate Constitutional protections by allowing unfettered, unsupervised electronic snooping by whenever the President feels like saying "national security".

I'm no longer sure what Obama stands for if not this principle. As I've said before, this law's passage is a major blow to the concept of civil liberties.

Above the Law: Is Rove Hoping Bush will Pardon Him?

As Karl Rove thumbs his nose at a Congressional subpoena to testify about his role in influencing Department of Justice prosecutions without claiming executive privilege, the possibility arises that Rove's game plan is to push things far enough so Bush can pardon him.

One also has to wonder what help the Department of Justice will provide Congress in this test of wills.

Principle vs. Personality

Sen. Obama's vote for the new FISA legislation which provides immunity for telecommunications companies who conspired in secret with the Bush administration to break the law and invade Americans' privacy is deeply disappointing. His assessment that the bill was flawed but necessary is worrisome because it opens the possibility that as President, he would find it attractive to pierce our Constitutional protections without fear of consequence.

It also highlights the difference between voting for personalities and principles. Senator Clinton, whose antics left me cold during the end of her over long campaign voted against the bill. Senator Obama, whose charm converted me during the campaign, voted for it. Awkward Hillary got it right, and smooth Obama got it wrong.