Great roundup, Fatster! Sorry, posted too soon.

slowdown in the growth of health spending [is occurring and] may persist

My mother had private insurance with a major firm during that time. Her coverage dropped and her premiums doubled every year. Her deductibles grew so much she had to choose the smaller plans. Even under the best plan, she still had to pay most of doctor visits, all labs, most of her medicine costs, and this was a ‘cadillac’ plan under BC&BS. The BS part was right.

The great reduction in spending is the soaring costs and the punitive actions for those who actually use their health care coverage. Her healthcare plan actually punished her for using it. They negotiated less and less on what they would pay on the bills, then shifted the costs of that to her, demanding she pay more, both in premiums and ‘deductibles’. Sometimes, the only thing the doctors/labs got was from her, so a lot of them dropped BC&BS from accepted insurance providers.

“Gun violence has dropped dramatically nationwide over the past two decades…”

Do you think the Brady Bill and AW Ban had anything to do with that?

George Jones passed yesterday at age 81.

Greetings, Fatster, sad news today, I am glad you could bring it to us, though.

“wearing almost the exact same outfits”

Silly black people, when are they going to learn it’s not about being original, it’s all about imitation. That way, there’s no threat of actual black people.

Greetings, most fatster!

When are we going to hear from Obama himself? Obviously someone else is in control of the White House. Is he on drugs again? I hear coke is popular on the hill still.

My reply is moderated again. I’m clueless.

The autonomy of the ‘little guy’ against the corporate interest that control our country is always a wonderful thing to me. Evo only had one thing that I dislike, he generalizes us all as one entity. I disavow all acknowledgement of our government as legitimately ‘by the people, for the people’. They don’t even qualify as adults.

Another unsettling world today. Thank you for the roundup, Fatster.

While I am laughing at the idiot who lost his gun license for being an idiot, I am quite concerned that no body was arrested in the Portland case. Brandishing assault weapons downtown should be considered threatening under the legal definition. There was no legal reason to be walking with them strapped to their backs. It was a deliberate act of intimidation, which is the legal statute of a threat under the law.

Regarding the Republican/Democratic attempts at restricting abortion and women’s rights, has anyone ever tried a civilian legal action against these politicians? What they are doing has been declared illegal by the Supreme Court. For a moment, put aside the legalities of this as a legislative action.

Their first amendment rights should not be guaranteed on this. They are public officials, the physical embodiment of our government. Shouldn’t what they say be held to a higher standard, placed under a stricter scrutiny by the law and courts? As the ‘voice of the people’ they hold power and sway over our country. What constitutes a legal definition of threatening or hate speech for them should be more rigid than it is for a civilian.

Now, back to their attempts at legislating an already decided legal battle. These laws were voided before they were even put forth as a bill after the Supreme Court decision. Isn’t there a legal or punitive damage that can be brought against these politicians? I know about recalls and elections, but there has to be another way to make someone who is deliberately trying to do something illegal such as this pay for their crimes.

Greetings, Fatster, most important and treasured of all Fatsters. Thank you for another stimulating roundup.

Those whales trapped under ice near Inukjuak, Quebec…

I found on this Livescience.com. Killer Whales May Have Been Trapped By Climate Change. This is what I’m afraid of happening. Things are progressing so much faster than was predicted. A mini-ice age might be in the make. With global temperatures rising, there is more moisture in the air. That’s dangerous as it increases the power of storm systems and makes the changes to the environment even more radical.

Obama Overturns One Of Bush’s More Reasonable Laws. In other news, pigeons fly and fire is still hot.

Democrat Keeps Word, World Continues To Spin Unabated. Someone get the smelling salts. I still can’t believe it. Not only did something good come from a democratic super-majority, it accomplished what they set out to do in a sensible way without any terrible compromises (that I can tell). Is it truly possible to get something done in the legislative branches again? I’m not being facetious, and that’s the terrible part.

Lord Voldemort Learns Lesson In Mathematics, Mainly, His Butt And Hole In Ground Are Not The Same Thing.

Crazy Train, Next Stop: Jail!

Conservation, Florida Style. I approve, both as an environmentalist and as a fan of snake skin wallets. The penalty for releasing one of these damned snakes should be jail plus penalties in the hundreds of thousands.

Ancient Greek Style Treasure Horde Found In Once Besieged City.

Ancient 1500 Year Drought Wiped Out Aboriginal Tribe. Could This Be A Sign Of Things To Come Down Under? I know that the shifting of the Aussie tectonic plate is what mostly gave rise to their current climate from the ancient one. But clearing the land by the ancient Aborigines led to scrub lands where were once rainforests. It’s something that needs to be studied more.

Ancient Neolithic Era Clay Figures Found In Greece.

Youtube Video To Make You Smile.

Greetings, Fatster, a great roundup tonight.

I have just one thing to share. I’ve been busy and this just threw me:

Spain Steals 90% Of Social Security Funds, In Part To Bail Out Banks.

I just…I have no words. Our government has been doing the same for decades, but this…it’s unimaginably horrible and criminal. There’s no possible way they can pay this back. I believe this might be the end of their government.

Greetings today, most honorable Fatster! Thank you for your roundup of courage. I salute you!

Dunno if it was here I saw this or somewhere else: Bobcat Attacks Man, Man Shoots Back.

And The Rats Take To The Liferafts. Rachel Maddow was right 5 years ago.

Someone’s Been Weeding The Olive Garden.

Taco Bell Joins Wendy’s In Screwing Their Over-worked, Underpaid Employees.

Drinking Diet Soda Linked To Depression? Or maybe people who are depressed drink diet soda. I know I do, it gives me a false sense of doing something about my weight.

Heehee, I didn’t see a vid. The hard part was their experience, not that I’d have to read it. I’m a writer, I better be well read.

That’s amazing, and so difficult to read.

Holy Cow!

Salut, dear Fatster! I commend you for your excellent roundup today.

Here’s my turd sandwich recipe:

Two pieces of good news bread, stuffed full with congressional bullshit.

Tomato Pill Could Save Lives. Doesn’t matter, I still refuse to eat tomatoes unless you cook them.

Brace Yourself, ’cause We Gonna Party Like It’s 2010. Or should that be crap your pants?

Health Conscious Wasps Wash Their Roaches Before They Eat Them. And yet another reason I love these little winged monsters!

Greetings, most mighty Fatster! Thank you for this most insightful roundup.

I present thee with my offering:

Move aside John Carter. Flowers Of Mars.

Chicago’s Historically Low Amount Of Snow. I don’t care, so long as my Cubs can play in March.

Lightbulbs Might Cause Skin Damage/Cancer. Muffins are surprisingly high in calories!

Rain Cycles Linked To Rise In African Baby Brain Infections.

Permian Mass Extinction Part II

Despite Rain, Drought Continues.

Bushfires In Australia Leave Path Of Destruction.

Higher Corn Prices Didn’t End The World (And Chicken Farming), But Are Still Felt. Read how they are cutting back production to raise prices when the expected high prices never materialized.

Greetings, Fatster, another informative roundup. There is some hope and less horror today. I hope it gets better than that tomorrow just for your peace of mind.

I am sorry about no links for you today, I was outta town for most of the day.

Thank you, Fatster. Like always, there’s a mixture of harrowing and disheartening. Some times I wish we had a legal system. Maybe someday. In the place of the joke we have, I’ll take Anonymous any day, though.

Here’s my offering to the vast and awe inspiring mind that is Fatster:

Government Puts 50k Bounty On Robocallers’ Heads.

New Year Snow Coverage Now At Record Breaking 67%. Not really, back in the last Ice Age, we had more than that.

Deepest Corals Yet On Great Barrier Reef Discovered.

Climate Change Makes Hepheastus Work Overtime.

Curiosity Now Old Enough To Like Justin Bieber. Up next, resentment at having to watch younger rover instead of spending time with rock monster friends.

Petra, Come For The Carved City, Stay For The Agricultural Architecture.

Woman Arrested After Using Food Stamps To Try And Buy, Then Stealing Ipad. Could this be one of the so-called ‘Welfare Queens’?

Voice Of The People Provides Outlets To The Downtrodden. Or WCNBC, the W stands for Whore.

Water Found In 2 Billion Year Old Meteorite.

Biogen Ceases Production On ALS Drug After Third Phase Failure.

Bigots Still Control Pentagon, Rain Still Wet, Bears Still Shit In Woods.

Another part of the new Defense Bill. President Codifies Homophobia Into Military Law, Possible Other Discrimination As Well With Defense Bill. It’s not the first time this moron has signed a bill without reading it. I have to assume this because as a lawyer, he’s supposed to be aware of the constitution.