National Libertarian Party Responds to Supreme Court Decision

Posted on by

The National Libertarian Party has issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court's ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:

"The Supreme Court Ruling on ObamaCare does not matter. It will make little difference to America in the short run, and no difference in the long run.

"Why? Because almost all elected Republicans and Democrats are Big Government politicians - in all things - including health care. After this Supreme Court decision, they will get back to work expanding government involvement in all things - especially health care.

"One thing could make things worse. Electing Republican Mitt Romney President.

"Why?

"Republicans fiercely oppose, and often defeat Democratic Party attempts to massively expand government involvement in Health Care - such as HillaryCare.

"But Democrats usually vote for Republican Party legislation to massively expand government's role in Health Care.

"Republican President George Bush's $1.1 Trillion Government Prescription Drug Program was voted into law by Republicans and Democrats.

"Republican Governor Mitt Romney's Massachusetts state government expansion into Massachusetts health care - RomneyCare - was voted into law by both Republicans and Democrats. With virtually no resistance.

"A Republican-controlled House of Representatives and US Senate would oppose Democratic President Barack Obama's health care proposals.

Originally posted here:

National Libertarian Party Responds to Supreme Court Decision

'Dindo' makes landfall over Calayan islands

Posted on by

MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) Tropical storm Dindo (international name: Doksuri) made landfall over the Calayan group of islands Thursday night, the state weather bureau said.

In its 11 p.m. bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the storm has maintained its strength and is still moving in a west-northwest direction.

Public storm signal warning number 1 remains hoisted over the following areas:

Cagayan Calayan group of islands Babuyan group of islands Batanes group of islands Apayao Kalinga Ilocos Norte Ilocos Sur Abra Mt. Province Ifugao Benguet La Union Pangasinan

PAGASA said heavy to intense rainfall is expected within the storms 500-kilometer diameter.

Residents of Regions 1, 2 and Cordilleras are warned on possible floods and landslides due to heavy rains and strong winds brought by the storm.

Dindo was spotted 115 kilometers north northwest of Laoag City as of 10 p.m.

It is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Friday morning.

The weather bureau said weather condition over Mindanao is expected to improve by Friday.

The eastern section of Luzon and Visayas will experience rains until Saturday because of the storms effect on the southwest monsoon.

Read more:

'Dindo' makes landfall over Calayan islands

Tortoise Lonesome George to be embalmed

Posted on by

Lonesome George. Credit: Galapagos National Park Service

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, Ecuador, June 28 (UPI) -- Lonesome George, the giant Galapagos tortoise who died on Sunday as the last of his species, will be embalmed and put on display, officials in Ecuador say.

The Pinta Island tortoise will be on display on Santa Cruz Island for future generations to see, Environment Minister Marcela Aguinaga said.

A necropsy determined Lonesome George, estimated at 100 years old, died of old age, she said.

As the only known living example of his subspecies, Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni, Lonesome George was considered the rarest creature in the world.

Efforts to get the Pinta Island tortoise to reproduce with females from a similar subspecies on the Galapagos Islands all met with failure, the BBC reported.

Lonesome George had become a symbol of the Galapagos. An estimated 180,000 people annually visit the islands where Charles Darwin began to formulate his theories on evolution.

Visit link:

Tortoise Lonesome George to be embalmed

Southern islands offer adventure, quiet

Posted on by

By: By Bill Charles

Date Posted: 2012-06-29

Theres plenty to see and do anywhere in Okinawa Prefecture, but there comes a time to break out of the familiar comfort zone, become adventurous, and explore a few breathtaking regions of the southern zone.

And getting there is now cheaper and more convenient than ever. A good place to check prices and special offers is Okinawa Tourland Hotel Booking website at http://eng.tourland.co.jp

Miyako Islands

The Miyako Island group consists of eight main islands --Miyako, Ikema, Kurima, Irabu, Shimoji, Oogami, Tarama and Minna Island-- located about 300 kilometers southwest of the mainland and 2,000km from Tokyo. Its a sparsely populated set of islands, with only about 55,000 people occupying the total land area of 164 square kilometers.

Miyako Island is almost flat, filled with sugar cane fields spread throughout the entire area, and blessed with a lot of as white beaches, beautiful shoreline and coral reefs. The biggest coral reef group in Japan is located north of the island, called Yaebiji, and it is well known as a diving and snorkeling point. On Miyako Island, there are plenty of beautiful beaches where visitors are able to enjoy sunbathing and snorkeling, or just spending relaxing time looking at the unbelievably turquoise and highly transparent ocean.

The real excitement is the pleasure of snorkeling and watching colorful tropical fish swimming among the coral reefs close at hand. There are tours to a coral reef by boat or kayak to do snorkeling, and there are many diving shops that deal with snorkeling tours. And thats where it gets even more special. Working with the dive shops, guides will go with you and teach you basics of snorkeling, so, it is safe.

There are seven other inhabited islands around Miyako Island; Ikema and Kurima islands are connected to Miyako by bridges, and thus accessible by car, and Irabu and Shimoji will soon be connected to Miyako by a 3,500-meter long bridge, the second longest in Japan. Oogami is a tiny island off Miyakos east coast, and Tarama and Minna islands are halfway between Miyako Yaeyama island Group further south-east.

To Irabu Island, its possible to sail across by ship from Hirara port while the new bridge is being completed. Irabu and Shimoji Island are linked by several bridges built over a narrow waterway. Irabu Island and Miyako Island will be linked by bridges later this year.

See the original post:

Southern islands offer adventure, quiet

One supreme court justice could make or break health care act – Video

Posted on by

26-06-2012 20:24 Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's vote in the health care ruling could prove decisive. Joe Johns reports. Obama to give press conference over health care reform act at 12:15 EST. Watch it LIVE at Health care reform act upheld. Watch the reactions LIVE here: For more CNN videos, check out our YouTube Channel at Or visit our site at

See the article here:

One supreme court justice could make or break health care act - Video

Health Care Ruling: more coverage from the AP

Posted on by

We've collected several reports from the Associated Press on Thursday's critical ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act of 2009. We hope you'll take advantage of this resource, learn about the Act itself, the Supreme Court's ruling on it and the ongoing debate over its implementation.

Meantime, continue watching FOX 8 Thursday evening and monitoring http://FOX8Live.com for the rulings impact here in Louisiana.

View post:

Health Care Ruling: more coverage from the AP

Health-care decision: What happens now?

Posted on by

The Supreme Courts decision to uphold all but one provision in the Affordable Care Act means that for now, at least, one of the most far-reaching overhauls of the nations health-care system will be the law of the land. New rules for insurers that have taken effect will remain in place, while new opportunities to gain health-care coverage will begin in 2014.

Read the full text of the Supreme Court's decision on President Obama's health-care law.

More from PostPolitics

David A. Fahrenthold, N.C. Aizenman and Michelle Boorstein

House Republicans have pledged a repeal vote on July 11.

Amy Gardner

Decision sets the issue up to figure prominently for the remainder of the presidential campaign.

This tool estimates what the three most talked about health care ruling scenarios could mean for your coverage, based on your info.

THE BIG STORY | Keep track of full coverage of the health-care decision and the political fallout.

If I dont have health insurance, what will happen?

Here is the original post:

Health-care decision: What happens now?

Health care law survives in Supreme Court (9th update)

Posted on by

WASHINGTON - In a momentous ruling touching virtually every American, the Supreme Court narrowly upheld President Barack Obama's historic health care overhaul Thursday with the unlikely help of conservative Chief Justice John Roberts.

But the decision also gave Republicans unexpected ammunition to energize supporters in the battle for the White House and to fight "Obamacare" as a new tax on people who don't obtain health insurance.

Roberts' vote, along with those of the court's four liberal justices, preserved the largest expansion of the nation's social safety net in more than 45 years, including the hotly debated core requirement that nearly everyone have health insurance or pay a penalty. The aim is to extend coverage to more than 30 million people who now are uninsured

John Roberts, Supreme Court chief justice (AP file photo)

The 5-4 decision meant the huge overhaul, still taking effect, could proceed and pick up momentum over the next several years, with an impact on the way that countless Americans receive and pay for their personal medical care.

The ruling handed Obama a campaign-season victory in rejecting arguments that Congress went too far in approving the plan. However, Republicans quickly indicated they would try to use the decision against him.

At the White House, Obama declared, "Whatever the politics, today's decision was a victory for people all over this country." Blocks away, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney renewed his criticism of the overhaul, calling it "bad law" and promising to work to repeal it if elected in November.

Demonstrators for and against the law crowded the grounds outside the Supreme Court Building on Capitol Hill as Roberts, sitting at the center of the nine black-robed justices inside, announced the decision to a packed courtroom.

Breaking with the other conservative justices, Roberts read the judgment that allows the law to go forward. He explained at length the court's view of the insurance mandate as a valid exercise of Congress' authority to "lay and collect taxes." The administration estimates that roughly 4 million people will pay the penalty rather than buy insurance.

Congress called the payment a penalty, not a tax, but Roberts said the court would not get hung up on labels. Among other indications it is a tax, Roberts said, "the payment is collected solely by the IRS through the normal means of taxation."

View post:

Health care law survives in Supreme Court (9th update)

Health care, bank stocks lead stock market lower

Posted on by

NEW YORK (AP) When the stock market began tumbling Thursday, many people assumed the selloff had something to do with the Supreme Court ruling to uphold President Barack Obama's health care law. But for a lot of investors, it was the same old concerns about Europe, along with a few new worries.

The market fell sharply in early trading, before the high court's announcement, as investors questioned whether a European Union meeting in Brussels would yield the same results as many meetings before it vague pledges, rather than concrete plans for what to do with struggling countries like Greece and Spain.

Bank stocks also declined, in part because of a report that a trading loss at JPMorgan Chase first estimated at $2 billion could be as much as $9 billion.

U.S. stocks still closed lower for the day, but they bounced back in the last half-hour of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down nearly 25 points, after falling as much as 177.

There were varying explanations for the late comeback, but most seemed to focus on Europe, including rumors that the European Central Bank would cut interest rates and that EU leaders might actually emerge from this week's meetings with a plan. Late Thursday, a top EU official said leaders had agreed to devote $149 billion to "immediate growth measures."

Nicholas Colas, ConvergEx Group chief market strategist, said blaming the health care ruling for the market's losses was "a convenient excuse."

"No doubt that the court's decision was disappointing," he said, "but I really think the indecisiveness of European policy makers at the nth summit on the same topic is the cause of the decline."

Other traders had similarly low expectations.

"The first one thousand summits, I was pretty excited," deadpanned Jeff Sica, president and chief investment officer of SICA Wealth Management in Morristown, N.J.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down about 100 points around 10 a.m., just before the Supreme Court ruled. Then it fell more steeply but recovered most of those losses, ending down 24.75 points at 12,602.26.

View original post here:

Health care, bank stocks lead stock market lower

Health care reform: How it impacts your insurance coverage

Posted on by

The Supreme Court's ruling Thursday to uphold health care reform has widespread implications for both insured and uninsured consumers.

Beginning in 2014, uninsured individuals must buy coverage -- either on their own, through an employer's plan or through a health insurance exchange -- or else pay a tax penalty. Meanwhile, insured consumers will continue to enjoy key mandates of the law, such as free preventive care and coverage of adult dependents up to age 26, but at the expense of higher out-of -pocket costs.

In the United States, more than half of the population -- or 160 million people -- gets health insurance directly through their employers, while 50 million people have no insurance, according to the government. Tens of millions more consumers either buy their own private insurance or are covered by government programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare.

Several key mandates of health reform have already gone into effect since the law passed in 2010. Here's a rundown of those provisions and new mandates rolling out over the next two years that will impact almost all of these consumers.

If you have insurance through your employer: Employees will continue to enjoy key benefits mandated by health reform that have already gone into effect.

"For consumers who are insured through their employers, this is good news," said Mike Thompson, principal with PwC's Global Human Resources Services.

Among the main provisions: Employers must provide coverage for adult dependents of workers up to age 26; health plans must cover certain preventive services, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, without charging a deductible, co-pay or coinsurance; and insurers can't impose a maximum lifetime dollar limit on a customer's medical care.

In 2013, eight additional preventive care services for women, including HIV and HPV (Human Papillomavirus) screening, will be covered under health reform.

Related: Justices say insurance mandate is a tax

But some industry experts also said that employers who offer insurance will now be even more focused on controlling their health care costs, especially since the individual mandate is expected to add more people -- including more high-risk individuals -- to their plans.

See the rest here:

Health care reform: How it impacts your insurance coverage