Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019
Robin Respaut and Chad Terhune, - reuters
Stephan: Yet another example, if such were needed, that we do not have a healthcare system in the United States, we have an illness profit system. You, your family, your parents, your kids, are just little cows to be milked of cash. Your wellbeing is not a priority. In fact, it's more profitable for this system if you are sick, and chronic illness is best of all because it goes on for a long time.
What regularly amazes me these days is how docile Americans are. As long as we have our little shiny things to distract us we stand out in the fields of our lives chewing our cuds, like the Angus I used to breed that stood in my family's fields.
A person with type 1 diabetes incurred annual insulin costs of $5,705, on average, in 2016. The average cost was roughly half that at $2,864 per patient in 2012, according to a report due to be released on Tuesday by the nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI).
The figures represent the combined amount paid by a patient and their health plan for the medicine and do not reflect rebates paid at a later date.
The increasing cost of insulin has led some patients to put their own health at risk.
In recent months, anecdotal stories have cropped up from family members and patients describing the rationing of the life-saving medication because they could not afford out-of-pocket expenses for insulin. That has also led to some protests outside company headquarters of insulin makers.
HCCI said the jump in spending was driven primarily by higher insulin prices overall and, to a lesser extent, a shift toward more expensive insulin products. Average daily insulin use rose only 3 percent over the same five-year period, the report found.
“It’s not that individuals are using more insulin or that […]
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Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019
BENJAMIN WERMUND, Education Reporter - Politico
Stephan: Here is some lovely good news, and from a most unlikely source. I like this story for many reasons, particularly though because it is a clear proof of the Theorem of Wellbeing.
Motlow State College
LYNCHBURG, TENNESSEE – Politically and culturally, the capital of Moore County is about as red-state America as you can get. Its rolling green hills are dotted with farmhouses, old barns and beaten-up trucks; the tiny town square features two barbecue joints and a “Dixie Outfitters” shop hawking Confederate memorabilia. Donald Trump drew 80 percent of the vote, and the county went Republican for the four elections before that.
“It’s a very conservative area,” said Ray Tucker, president of Lynchburg’s Chamber of Commerce. “Farmers and all are typically stand-on-your-own-ish. They don’t believe in social programs. They believe in ‘You eat what you kill.’”
So it might come as a surprise that at Motlow State Community College’s Moore County campus, every local attends for free. In fact, anyone from Tennessee can go for free, courtesy of the state government.
The whole idea of free college in America is a linchpin of progressive politics, pushed by Bernie Sanders in his 2016 campaign and endorsed by any candidate trying to burnish his or her progressive […]
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Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019
Jodi Helmer, - Scientific American
Stephan: Here is some unexpected good news about the bee crisis, as well as another proof of the Theorem of Wellbeing.
NREL scientist Jordan Macknick and Jake Janski, from Minnesota Native Landscapes survey a pollinator test plot planted underneath the photovoltaic array at the Chisago Solar Site, part of the Aurora Solar Project in Minnesota. Credit: Dennis Schroeder National Renewable Energy Lab
Credit: Flickr
The tidy rows of gleaming solar panels at Pine Gate Renewables facility in southwestern Oregon originally sat amid the squat grasses of a former cattle pasture. But in 2017 the company started sowing the 41-acre site with a colorful riot of native wildflowers. The shift was not merely aesthetic; similar projects at a growing number of solar farms around the country aim to help reverse the worrying declines in bees, butterflies and other key pollinating species observed in recent years.
Up to $577 billion in annual global food production relies on pollination by insects and other animals such as hummingbirds and bats, according to the United Nations. But more than half of native bee species (pdf) in the U.S. have seen their numbers drop sharply since 2005, […]
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Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019
Elizabeth Baker, - Huffington Post
Stephan: Over the weekend I read several dozen amazing stories by supposed Christian leaders in support of Trump. I say supposed because personally on the basis of their words and actions I don't consider these people Christians at all. It all culminated when I came across a report on a letter they are signing in support of Steve King. Yes, that Steve King.
And, then, this morning, I came across the following report from inside the christofascist bubble.
Oh, who signed that letter supporting King? Here's the list up to this morning.
Tom DeLay
Former Majority Leader
United States House of Representatives
Dr. James Dobson
Janet L. Porter
President & Founder
Faith2Action
Dr. Rick Scarborough
Founder
Vision America
Dick Bott
Founder, Bott Radio Network
Andy Schlafly
Phyllis Schlafly Eagles
Troy Newman
Operation Rescue
Matt Barber
Co-Founder and General Counsel
Christian Civil Rights Watch
Stephen Strang
CEO
Charisma Media
Pastor Paul Blair
President
Reclaiming America for Christ
Lance Wallnau
CEO Lance Learning Group
Rena Lindevaldsen
Professor
Liberty University School of Law
Dr. Jim Garlow
Rosemary Schindler Garlow
International Pro-Family Leader
Pastor Stephen E. Broden
Black Pro-Life Coalition
President
Protect Life and Marriage
Mary Drabik
President
South Florida Bible College
Sandy Rios
Director of Governmental Affairs
American Family Association
Steven F. Hotze, M.D.
Conservative Republicans of Texas
John R. Diggs, Jr., M.D.
National Conservative Leader
Cynthia Dunbar
National Committeewoman
RNC
Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,
Executive Director
Help Rescue Our Children
Father Stephen Imbarrato
LifeMinistriesUS
Frank Gaffney
Founder and President
Center for Security Policy
Bill Johnson
President
American Decency Association
James Michael Francis Komaniecki
President, CEO
Restore American Liberty
Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt, PhD
Pray in Jesus Name Ministries
Nationally Syndicated PIJN NEWS
(in 54 million homes)
Ed Martin
President
Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagles
Beni Johnson
Bethel, Redding, CA
Bill Federer
Best Selling Author,
National Speaker
Joe Shrewsbury
The Obadiah Fellowship
Pastor Rodney Lord
Sr. Pastor Freedom Gate Church
Marietta, Ohio
Randall Murphree,
American Family Association Journal
Larry Pratt
National Conservative Leader
Pastor Kevin Folger
Cleveland Baptist Church
Rachelle Heidlebaugh
Witness
Scott Lively
President
Scott Lively Ministries
Brian Camenker
President
Mass Resistance
Art Ally
President, The Timothy Plan
Lori Viars
Chairman Warren County
Republican Party Central Committee
Pastor Ernie Sanders
What’s Right What’s Left
Radio Ministry (12 million)
Golda Ross
Morningstar
Willem McAndrews
Obadiah Fellowship
Ann C. Eubank
Alabama Legislative Wachdogs
Caleb Moore
President
Conservative States of America PAC
Mauren Hendricks
Intercessors of South Carolina
Cathy Martin
Fort Mill, Republicans
South Carolina
Thom Smith
President
Early Light Fund
Peter Han
LA House of Prayer
Pastor Mark Valenti
People’s Baptist Church
Lisa Pannett
The Sanity Project
Jim Walchle
Films4Flyovers, Inc.
Marian DuVall
Freedom Gate Church
Steve Baer
Former President
United Republican Fund of Illinois
Ron Feathers
Washington County
Ohio Commissioner
Mike Foreman
Pastor Rejoicing Life Church
Stacy Lynn Harp
Bible News Radio
Twanna Aman
Executive Director
Broward County Right to Life
Scott Ross
President
Healed by Love
Amy Contrada
Research Director, Mass Resistance
Pastor Justin Perry
MorningStar Fellowship Church
Pastor Dean
The Life Center
Tom Trento
President & Founder
The United West
Craig Bergman
President
Fair Taxation for America
Bonnie Jones
Bonnie Jones Ministries
July Busby
President and Founder
Malachi
Stephanie Cartin
Global Intercessors
Mark Gurley
Director
Michigan Oak Initiative
Pastor Jeff and Mary Jane Kolodziej
Founders
Psalmist Global
Jason Jones
President
Movie to Movement
Rev. Bill Niesmith
Founder & President
Harvest Light Ministries
Glenn Newman
Past President Ohio Liberty Coalition
Founder Marietta OH 9-12 Project
Founder GOV Connector
Monica Rylski
Turn Around Toys
Kayla Moore
President
Foundation for Moral Law
Peter LaBarbera
President and Founder
Americans for Truth
Judd Saul
Vice President
Patriots for Christ
Melanie Moore
Director
Ashland Pregnancy Care Center
Monica Rylski
Turn Around Toys
Rich Swingle
Actor, International Speaker
Jeremy Salupo
President & Founder
Elevate
Larry Cirignano
40 Days for Life
Capitol Hill
Dr. Joel Brind
Co-founder Breast Cancer Prevention Institute
Natural Food Science, LLC.
Gregory Quinlan
President
The Center for Garden State Families
Bobby Radeck
Former State Director
Concerned Women for America of Ohio
V. Rev. Dr. Mark Hodges
Saint Stephen Orthodox Church,
The Orthodox Church in America
Pastor Mark Able
Senior Pastor
Southview Grace Brethren Church
Tom Trento
President & Founder
The United West
Martin Angell
A Choice for Every Child Foundation
I don’t sleep through the night anymore. I suffer from near daily panic attacks and almost constant anxiety. The source of my joy, my security and my identity has vanished, leaving me with an angry grief that almost no one in my immediate circle understands. I have relationships that were once life-giving but have turned toxic. I feel manipulated, deceived and abused. And why?
The church that raised me is gaslighting me.
I am a 39-year-old, white, straight, suburban mom. And I am a Christian ― at least I think I still am. I grew up in a privileged bubble, in deep red Republican country, where identifying as a Christian didn’t set me apart from the majority of my peers. Being a Christian certainly wasn’t any risk to my life or reputation. I spent my childhood in Sunday school, church camp and youth group, learning Bible stories about heroes who battled a giant with a slingshot, survived a lions’ den due to unshakable […]
2 Comments
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019
Charlsie Agro and Luke Denne, - CBC (Canada)
Stephan: DNA profiling to get your family history is the new hot thing. The problem is what you get may be bogus. On what evidence do I say this? Read this story. Buyer beware.
Marketplace host Charlsie Agro, left, and her identical twin sister, Carly, check out some DNA ancestry results.
Credit: CBC
One set of identical twins, two different ancestry profiles.
At least that’s the suggestion from one of the world’s largest ancestry DNA testing companies.
Last spring, Marketplace host Charlsie Agro and her twin sister, Carly, bought home kits from AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA and Living DNA, and mailed samples of their DNA to each company for analysis.
Despite having virtually identical DNA, the twins did not receive matching results from any of the companies.
In most cases, the results from the same company traced each sister’s ancestry to the same parts of the world — albeit by varying percentages.
But the results from California-based 23andMe seemed to suggest each twin had unique twists in their ancestry composition.
According to 23andMe’s findings, Charlsie has nearly 10 per cent less “broadly European” ancestry than Carly. She also has French and German ancestry (2.6 per cent) that her sister doesn’t share.
The identical twins also apparently […]
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