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The special interests seeking to gut those portions of the health reform law that would be of greatest benefit to consumers clearly believe there is no such thing as historical memory in Washington.
Why else would they bring one of their old front groups out of the storage locker, with just a single new word added to its name? A front group designed to persuade Americans that what they might have thought was in their best interests really isn’t after all.
In the late 1990s, health insurers and their most reliable business allies — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) — set up a front group called the Health Benefits Coalition. Back then, the industry’s target was the Patient’s Bill of Rights, which would have made insurance firms behave in a more consumer-friendly way. Among other things, the bill of rights would have forced insurers to make an external review process available to health plan enrollees who were denied coverage for doctor-ordered

Want to know what starting a war on lies and getting away with it because nobody has the guts to stand up and yell stop does to a nation?
Want to discuss what happens when a country that prides itself on a bill of rights, starts torturing people?
Care to talk about what happens when greed takes over where morals were lost?
How about what happens when adults start to believe their own lies because its more convenient?
It was bad when Americans took to the streets and celebrated the death of Bin Laden a mere 8 months ago. To me, celebrating murder was something only our enemies would ever do as they had allegedly done on the morning of September 11th when my husband was killed.
What is perhaps even more unsettling is to wake up this morning and witness the young adults at Penn State University rioting in the streets about the firing of Joe Paterno.
Joe Paterno is a man who turned a blind eye to the brutal rape of a 10-year-old boy and perhaps several others for years in exchange for greed, reputation, or even worse to win a few more football games.
I’m no moral compass. But I am a mom.
read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com

So French President Nicolas Sarkozy, not knowing his microphone is hot, expresses his contempt for Bibi Netanyahu, calls him a liar, and President Barack Obama commiserates, lamenting the fact that he has to deal with Netanyahu even more than the French.
Ho hum. As Ecclesiastes would say, is there anything new under the sun?
Surely, there is nothing particularly surprising about a French leader condemning an Israeli leader. It’s a law of nature, like gravity or the orbit of the earth around the sun. Indeed, Sarkozy is a lot better than his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, who practiced undisguised contempt toward

The “Occupy” movement, as confused as it might seem, is clear about one thing. It wants to ask the modern world some uncomfortable questions. Contrary to media portrayal, the questions are not small ones like whether drum circles should be required in schools, or what brand of politician should be in charge. The questions are deeper

Here’s some serious and important news about sleep and heart health: there’s yet more evidence of a link between sleeplessness and heart disease. The results of a large-scale study show that people who suffer from insomnia are at higher risk for heart attacks.
The study, which was conducted by scientists at the Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology, included 52,610 men and women, who began by answering a survey that included questions about their sleep. Researchers followed up with the participants over a period of 11 years, during which time 2,368 people included in the study experienced a first heart

“The Beatles exist apart from my self. I am not really Beatle George. Beatle George is like a suit or shirt that I once wore on occasion, and until the end of my life people may see that shirt and mistake it for me.” — George Harrison
I was working as a musician in the 1970s, and very late one night during a recording session at Capitol Records, George Harrison just sort of wandered in and sat down to listen. Since he knew the producer of the session, he decided to stay for a “few minutes.” We all sat and talked, drank a few beers, and sang background harmonies

Eight years ago I was an Infantryman in the 101st Airborne, when the Humvee I was driving hit a landmine and I sustained severe burns over 40% of my body. Since then, I’ve experienced first-hand the difficult road to recovery faced by an injured veteran. I spent 34 months at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas where I underwent 33 skin-graft surgeries.
It was a long road from that hospital bed to the ballroom floor of Dancing With the Stars. Although it may not seem like much now, there were plenty of moments of self-doubt, fear and

Friends,
In the last 48 hours we have learned that Iran has approached a nuclear capability, Italy is on the brink of economic catastrophe, the stock market is in a serious dive over the pending Euro collapse and the media focus has almost exclusively been about Herman Cain and Joe Paterno. Not to take away anything from the seriousness and tragedy of the Cain and Penn State issues, but their dominance of the national dialogue for the last week has been a political gift for President Obama. Without them, the public focus would be on the aforementioned geopolitical and economic events, very much to the detriment of the president’s re-election campaign. Sometimes, being lucky is better than being good.
Here is a quick snapshot of the current political environment:
Obama has regained his footing and to some extent his

When the verdict was announced, his sister shrieked. She sent a tweet to her 125,000 followers saying “VICTORY,” and ended it with seven exclamation marks. His fans waved their banners praising Jesus, and screamed, and wept, and blew horns. People said, while crying in front of cameras, that there had, at long last, been what their banners had demanded: “Justice for Michael!” His mother

There is one line amid the 23-page grand jury presentment that marks the depth of the alleged depravity in the Penn State scandal. As a father of three sons, it makes me sick to read.
Here is the context:
It was about 9:30 p.m. on March 1, 2002 — the Friday before the beginning of spring break — in the Lasch Football Building on the main campus.
And here is the line:
“He saw a naked boy, Victim 2, whose age he estimated to be 10 years old, with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked [Jerry] Sandusky.”
The “he” has been identified by the Harrisburg Patriot-News and other media outlets as Mike McQueary, then a graduate assistant and now an assistant coach at Penn State. Sandusky, of course, is the former Penn State football coach who has been charged with sexually assaulting eight boys over a decade.
So what did McQueary do in that moment? Did he shout? Did he pry the attacker off the young boy? Did he seek help from anyone who might have been nearby? Did he call the police?
The answer to all these questions is no, at least according to the grand jury report.
Instead, the 28-year-old called his

Seasonal changes have played a significant role in the foundation of human culture since the early days of mankind. Whether it’s religion, agriculture or the calendar industry, our little blue planet’s elliptical traverse around the sun is always a popular topic of conversation. Of the four cycles, winter has by far the most impact and has historically been regarded as a signifier of the end. To phrase “winter is coming” has a number of connotations.
Winter is coming.
For skiers and snowboarders, this is good

By Howard Berkes and Sarah Harris, iWatch NewsThis story is a collaboration between the Center for Public Integrity, NPR and Slate.”This person right here has cancer. His granddaughter has cancer.” Jeff Galemore pointed to house after house as he steered his white pickup through a tree-lined neighborhood in Chanute, Kansas, a town of 9,000 on the state’s southeastern prairie. “This gal has cancer,” the 53-year-old oilfield worker continued. “The one across the street from where I live has

A buddy called me recently looking for advice. He’s a recent college graduate with a great resume, but simply cannot find a job. With over $12,000 in student loans his situation is getting desperate. He needs help but can’t seem to get it.
This much of the story is all too

by guest blogger Maya Rodale, writer of historicaltales of true love and adventure
My mother has shared her classic recipe for hot apple cider, which I heartily recommend and usually make. However, sometimes I’m feeling fancy and like to get creative with this variation that was initially invented by Ma, but that I have perfected–if I do say so myself. I call it sassy because this one has a kick to it, thanks to the cayenne pepper and fresh ginger.
Ingredients:
1 cup cider (I measure using the mug I’ll be drinking out of)
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger
1 orange slice
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Directions:
Heat up the cider on the stove on a medium temperature. Squeeze in the

For some people, loneliness comes and goes. For others, it is a chronic condition. I was talking to a good friend of mine, a successful businessman who travels extensively, and he confessed to me that he keeps himself busy every moment, because he cannot bear the thought of being alone.
I see loneliness as a wall that separates us from our true

There is no three-strikes law for crooked bankers, not even a law for a fifth strike, as The New York Times reported in the case of Citigroup, cited last month in a $1 billion fraud case. Unlike the California third-striker I once wrote about whom a district attorney wanted banished forever to state prison for stealing a piece of pizza from the plate of a person dining outdoors, Citigroup executives get off with a fine and by offering a promise not to do it again, and again and again.
As the Times reported when Citigroup agreed to settle SEC charges last month: “Citigroup’s main brokerage subsidiary, its predecessors or its parent company agreed to not violate the very same antifraud statue in July 2010. And in May 2006. Also as far back as March 2005 and April 2000.”
Not that the bankers face prison time, since the Justice Department has refused to act in these cases, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is bringing only civil charges, which the banks find quite

I was going to start this blog by saying my band Mighty Fine’s new record Get Up to Get Down came out a week ago. But if we’re really going to hang let’s start at the beginning. Not the moment I took my first breath beginning but the moment I met Greg Dulli, fast forward to me becoming a backup singer for the Afghan Whigs, to the Whigs opening for Aerosmith on the “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” tour, to me getting shot 6 times and being left for dead on a rainy New Orleans street.
Waking up in intensive care with family and friends around me one of my first thoughts were “well, I’m not dead,” second ” How long will this take to heal,” and third “as soon as I can walk I’m moving to New York” and that’s exactly what I did.
Moving to New York, specifically Brooklyn was exactly what the doctor ordered for both body and

Watch any episode of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and you’ll see at least one side-splitting wedding clip — usually from the early 90s — with some puffy-sleeved bride taking a dive during the first dance or a mob of single women knocking each other out over the bouquet toss.
These are the staples of a traditional wedding — the first dance, the garter and bouquet tosses, the smearing of the wedding cake. And they’re not just fodder for wedding bloopers — generation after generation, couples have followed them thinking that the blueprint of a good wedding had to have each one.
But few of us actually know where these traditions come from or, quite frankly, if we even enjoy them. In recent years, more and more couples, like my husband and I, have thrown out our parents’ formula and created new traditions of our own — like hand-written vows, unity candles, joint bachelor parties, and other unconventional ways of celebrating.
Here are five traditions that I jettisoned — none of which were missed by our friends and

Here’s a strategy that Herman Cain might want to consider: hire a Republican debate audience to travel with him wherever he goes as a means of warding off uncomfortable inquiries from the press. At the CNBC debate in Rochester, Michigan, Cain found himself in uber-friendly territory, surrounded by a force field of support that for two hours insulated him from the sexual harassment scandal that has scorched his campaign.
When the moderators asked their inevitable questions about the Cain allegations, spectators in the hall expressed their disapproval loud and clear — unfairly so, because in a business-themed debate, it was entirely within bounds for Maria Bartiromo to query Cain about his competence as a CEO, given the nature of the charges. But Cain had the crowd on his side, and this allowed him to bat away the question with boilerplate babble.
The problem for Cain is that every word he speaks now sounds like a double

Five days before the NYC Marathon, a new friend kindly asked who would be accompanying me to the big race, and I said with a bit of apprehension that I was going it alone. Admittedly, I was a bit intimidated to be taking on not only a race of 26.2 miles, but the logistics of flights, subways, ferries, hotels, food, medical, and all of the rest that comes with it. These are not small things in any race, but New York adds a fantastic but huge element, with 47,000 other runners in a city that, on a slow day, has millions of people going here and there.
Not surprisingly, I made lists. Lists of thing not to forget, lists of maps and schedules, and lists of phone numbers in case my lists failed me in some

A huge part of the reason we can’t get out of this unemployment slump is the trade deficit. We don’t buy American and neither do our “trade partners.” We buy from them, they sell to us — that’s not “trade.” Stimulus means we buy from them. Cutting taxes means the extra cash buys from them. Nothing we try brings jobs here because we don’t buy enough here that’s made here and they don’t

Liberals and conservatives each claimed “decisive” victories this week in Ohio. Liberals thrilled to the rollback of curbs on collective bargaining rights for Ohio’s public service unions while conservatives boasted of the majority vote to “opt out” of the Obama administration’s health care mandate. Are Ohioans sending mixed messages? I don’t think so. They’ve just proven, once again, that America cannot be governed by extremes.
These votes merely affirm the principles that bind us together regardless of our political

The Occupy movement has done something amazing, getting Americans to start questioning our economic divides. It’s created spaces for people to come together, voice their discontents and dreams, creatively challenge destructive greed. It’s created powerful political theater, engaged community, an alternative to silence and powerlessness.
But it also faces major

Jill: I had just heard from another (former working musician) friend that had recently been fired from their job and was having a hell of time finding another. They were at the end of their rope — having to move back in with the parents. I jokedthat they had spent a ton of dough in the past trying to have some sort ofhomeless hipsterlook, but now they really were. In “Under the Bridge” I imagined an “Our Man Godfrey” hobo town filled with destitute artists, students, and working class stiffs banding