USA Healthcare

GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) _ The mind-boggling news that the oil leak at the bottom of the sea may be twice as big as previously thought could have major repercussions for both the environment and BP’s financial health, killing more marine life and dramatically increasing the amount the company must pay in fines and damages.

Scientists now say the blown-out well could have been spewing as much as 2 million gallons of crude before a cut-and-cap maneuver started capturing some of the flow, meaning more than 100 million gallons may have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico since the start of the disaster in April. That is more than nine times the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, previously the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

The larger estimates, while still preliminary and considered a worst-case scenario, could contribute to breathtaking liabilities against BP. Penalties can be levied against the company under a variety of environmental protection laws, including fines of up to $1,100 under the Clean Water Act for each barrel of oil spilled.

Based on the maximum amount of oil possibly spilled to date, that would translate to a potential civil fine for simple discharge alone of $2.8 billion. If BP were found to have committed gross negligence or willful misconduct, the civil fine could be up to $4,300 per barrel, or up to $11.1 billion.

“It’s going to blow the record books up,” said Eric Schaeffer, who led the Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement office from 1997 to 2002.

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Flash Floods Kill at Least 20 People in Arkansas, Many of Them Campers

CADDO GAP, Ark. (AP) _ Floodwaters that rose as swiftly as 8 feet an hour rushed into a remote Arkansas valley early Friday, killing at least 20 people, many of them campers who became trapped by a devastating wall of water. Dozens more were missing and feared dead.

Heavy rains caused the normally quiet Caddo and Little Missouri rivers to climb out of their banks during the night. Around dawn, floodwaters barreled through the Albert Pike Recreation Area, a 54-unit campground in the Ouachita National Forest that was packed with vacationing families who were probably still asleep when their tents began to fill with water.

The water poured through the valley with such force that it overturned RVs, peeled asphalt off roads, and swept away tents and their occupants.

Two dozen people were hospitalized. Authorities rescued 60 others.

Marc and Stacy McNeil of Marshall, Texas, survived by pulling their pickup truck between two trees and standing in the bed in waist-deep water.

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Barraged With Cries of `Murderer,’ Van der Sloot Taken to Prison on First-Degree Murder Charge

LIMA, Peru (AP) _ Angry Peruvian onlookers shouted “Disgrace!” and “Murderer” at Joran van der Sloot on Friday after a judge ordered him jailed on first-degree murder and robbery charges in the violent killing of a 21-year-old Lima woman.

Prosecutors said the Dutchman, who was taken to a segregated block of an eastern Lima prison, acted with “ferocity and great cruelty” in killing business student Stephany Flores in his hotel room after they met playing poker.

Van der Sloot remains the lone suspect in the 2005 disappearance of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean resort island of Aruba, and Peru’s criminal police chief says the defendant told interrogators he knows where her body is.

Aruba’s attorney general, Taco Stein, told The Associated Press on Friday he is skeptical Van der Sloot was telling the truth about Holloway’s body. He said Aruban officials will decide whether to sent investigators to Peru to question him once they learn exactly what he is offering.

Lima Superior Court Judge Juan Buendia issued a detention order before dawn for Van der Sloot on the murder charge. He was first taken with other prisoners in an armored truck to Lima’s judicial palace, then alone to the maximum-security Castro Castro prison.

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Rescue Boats Heading to 16-year-old Sailor Drifting in Frigid Indian Ocean on Damaged Yacht

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) _ A 16-year-old sailor on a round-the-world journey alone was drifting in the frigid, rough southern Indian Ocean on Friday as rescue boats headed toward her yacht, damaged by 30-foot waves that knocked out her communications and prompted her to set off a distress signal.

After a tense 20 hours of silence, a search plane launched from Australia’s west coast made radio contact with Abby Sunderland on Friday.

Her boat’s mast was broken _ ruining satellite phone reception _ and was dragging with the sail in the ocean, said search coordinator Mick Kinley, acting chief of the Australia Maritime Safety Authority that chartered a commercial jet for the search.

But the keel was intact, the yacht was not taking on water and Sunderland was equipped for the conditions, he said.

“The aircraft (crew) spoke to her. They told her help was on the way and she sounds like she’s in good health,” Kinley told reporters in Canberra.

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Pope Begs Forgiveness for Abuses by Priests, Vows to ‘Do Everything Possible’ to Protect Kids

VATICAN CITY (AP) _ Addressing the clerical abuse scandal from the heart of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI begged forgiveness Friday from victims and promised to “do everything possible” to protect children at a Mass celebrated by 15,000 priests from around the world.

While symbolic, Benedict’s pledge failed to satisfy victims groups who said promises were useless without a clear-cut action plan to root out pedophile priests, expose the bishops who protected them and change the Vatican policies and culture that allowed abuse to continue.

His comments came during a Mass at St. Peter’s Square marking the Vatican’s Year of the Priest _ a year marred by revelations of hundreds of new cases of clerical abuse in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere, as well as cover-ups by bishops and evidence of long-standing Vatican inaction.

It was the first time Benedict had spoken of the crisis from St. Peter’s Basilica, the center of the church.

Benedict implied the devil was behind the timing of the scandal, saying the Year of the Priest was supposed to have been a year in celebration of the priesthood and encouragement for new vocations.

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Deafening Noise, Dazzling Color: Africa’s First World Cup Begins Amid National Euphoria

JOHANNESBURG (AP) _ Nelson Mandela would have loved it. The joy, the pulsating music and dazzling colors, the big party to celebrate the world’s embrace of South Africa _ even the scrappy 1-1 draw.

Dashing the hopes of many, the anti-apartheid hero and former president couldn’t make it to the opening of the World Cup Friday. Nearly 92, Mandela is frail, and his family was sent into shock when his 13-year-old great-granddaughter was killed in car crash on the way home from Thursday night’s gala pre-tournament concert.

But Mandela sent a message, via South African President Jacob Zuma, that the revelers should enjoy themselves. They took it to heart.

From the start of the ceremony to the final whistle of the first match, four hours later, Soccer City was abuzz with vuvuzelas _ the plastic horns favored by South African fans that collectively sound like the amplified interior of a beehive.

Most of the crowd of 84,000 wore the yellow jerseys of Bafana Bafana, the host country’s team, with a few pockets of green _ fans of Mexico, South Africa’s foe in the opener.

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Despite Obama’s Assurances, New Health Care Law Will Force Changes in Employer Plans

USA Healthcare Update

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Over and over in the health care debate, President Barack Obama said people who like their current coverage would be able to keep it.

But an early draft of an administration regulation estimates that many employers will be forced to make changes to their health plans under the new law. In just three years, a majority of workers _ 51 percent _ will be in plans subject to new federal requirements, according to midrange projections in the draft.

Republicans said Obama broke his promise. Employer groups were divided.

It’s more evidence that the law will raise costs, said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But the Business Roundtable _ representing CEOs of major firms _ saw encouraging signs of flexibility, though it’s withholding final judgment. Some experts believe increased regulation will lead to improved benefits for consumers.

“On the face of it, having consumer protections apply to all insurance plans could be a good thing for employees,” said Alex Vachon, an independent health policy consultant. “Technically, it’s actually improved coverage.”

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Kagan Played Role in Defending Clinton in Jones Sex Suit, But Many Memos to Be Kept Secret

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Bill Clinton’s presidential library won’t publicly release memos and notes Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan wrote about the sexual harassment lawsuit that triggered Clinton’s impeachment.

Kagan was involved in defending Clinton in the lawsuit brought by ex-Arkansas state worker Paula Jones, according to documents released Friday. Clinton’s testimony for the Jones lawsuit, denying a sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, led to his impeachment.

The library held back several of Kagan’s memos to Clinton’s top advisers in the case, saying that publicly releasing them would divulge confidential advice. They were turned over to the Senate Judiciary Committee that will hold hearings on Kagan’s nomination, however.

It’s clear from files that were made public that Kagan had a hand in the Jones case. In a September 1996 memo, Kagan writes that she’s been in touch with other lawyers on a brief in the Jones lawsuit and, “I am happy with the direction they seem to be taking.”

Earlier that year, she forwards to colleagues a brief written by then-Solicitor General Walter Dellinger supporting Clinton’s bid to postpone the civil trial until after he had left office.

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Allergic Reaction: Feds May Ban Airlines from Serving Peanuts as Mile-High Grub

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) _ Federal regulators are considering a snack attack on the nation’s airlines that would restrict or even completely ban serving peanuts on commercial flights.

Advocates say the move would ease fears and potential harm to an estimated 1.8 million Americans who suffer from peanut allergies. Peanut farmers and food packagers, however, see it as overreaching and unfair to their legume.

“The peanut is such a great snack and such an American snack,” says Martin Kanan, CEO of the King Nut Companies, an Ohio company that packages the peanuts served by most U.S. airlines. “What’s next? Is it banning peanuts in ballparks?”

Twelve years after Congress ordered it to back off peanuts, the U.S. Transportation Department gave notice last week that it’s gathering feedback from allergy sufferers, medical experts, the food industry and the public on whether to ban or restrict in-flight peanuts.

The peanut proposals were listed in an 84-page document including several other proposed consumer protections for air travelers. Three options were given: banning serving of peanuts on all planes; prohibiting peanuts only when an allergic passenger requests it in advance; or requiring an undefined “peanut-free zone” flight when a passenger asks for one.

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Nebraska asks Big Ten for Membership, Confident it Will Be Accepted in Another Blow to Big 12

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ Nebraska fans accustomed to making road trips to Columbia, Mo., better get ready to reset their GPS units for Columbus, Ohio.

Nebraska made it official Friday and applied for membership in the Big Ten Conference, a potentially crippling blow to the Big 12 and the biggest move yet in an offseason overhaul that will leave college sports looking much different by this time next year.

Chancellor Harvey Perlman disclosed the plan during a meeting of the university’s Board of Regents, proposing that play in the new conference begin in 2011 after one more year in the Big 12.

The move offers stability “that the Big 12 simply cannot offer,” Perlman said, and the regents unanimously approved a resolution supporting a move to the Big Ten.

Nebraska must be accepted by Big Ten presidents and Perlman said he expected that vote to come soon. The Big Ten confirmed it had Nebraska’s application but offered no timeline for a decision.

More than 20 bills have been introduced and as many as a dozen might be voted on this week as lawmakers face a deadline to pass bills out of their house of origin.

Because of California’s sheer size, its implementation of the new law could serve as a model for other states. The state has 8.2 million uninsured residents, nearly equivalent to the population of New Jersey. The number has ballooned in recent years as Californians lost jobs and health insurance due to the recession.

The bills seek to enact reforms signed into law by President Barack Obama in March. Among other changes, they would prohibit health insurers from denying coverage because of preexisting conditions and create an exchange through which individuals could buy insurance.

A separate bill would take state reforms further than federal requirements by making insurance companies obtain state approval before raising their fees.

The bills are considered works in progress that will change over the course of the legislative session, as the state learns more from the federal government about specific requirements in the law.

Republican lawmakers say the flurry of legislative activity is premature because upcoming elections could shift the balance of power in Congress and result in a repeal of the federal reforms. They also say the exchange, a marketplace through which individuals and small-business owners can buy health insurance at affordable rates, could lead to higher insurance rates because fees will be imposed on insurers to recoup its operational costs.

Despite resistance from members of his own party, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made health care reform a priority. He introduced his own plan in 2007, but it failed, in part because of concerns about runaway costs to the state in future years.

The Republican governor threw his support behind the national reform plan in April, and his office has been meeting with lawmakers to work through the details.

One of the first steps is to establish an exchange. The idea is to create a consumer-friendly website that could be used to compare and buy health insurance plans, similar to the packages offered by employers.

It also would serve as a place to screen whether an individual is eligible for Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for the poor, or other state services.

The state would use federal money to run the exchange. It would create a new entity to operate it or work with a nonprofit organization, said Jennifer Kent, Schwarzenegger’s deputy legislative secretary.

Under the federal law, states can decide whether their exchanges will act as tough negotiators to get the best rates for customers or play a less intrusive role in the market.

Kent said Schwarzenegger wants to have the exchange created before he leaves office in January, although it would not be fully operational until 2014.

“He really has always grasped the issue, in terms of if you don’t reform this system, because it’s so badly broken it only succeeds to be a drag on the economy,” Kent said.

Legislative leaders have introduced two bills to create the exchange.

Under SB900, the exchange would have a website and online calculator that would allow consumers to compare plans and cost, said Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, who introduced the bill and is chairwoman of the Senate Health Committee.

“The goal is to get Californians enrolled in a health plan in 30 minutes or less, rather than in hours or days,” Alquist said in an e-mailed response.

Under Alquist’s proposal, the exchange would negotiate and enter into contracts with health plans. It would be run by a board whose members are appointed by the governor and Legislature.

AB1602, a similar proposal introduced by Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, also is expected to be voted on next week. That bill would create an exchange, eliminate annual and lifetime limits on health care coverage, and raise the age for children to stay on their parents’ insurance to 26, among other provisions.

The state is closely following the example of Massachusetts, which set up its own exchange in 2006. Lawmakers and the governor’s staff have met with Jon Kingsdale, the executive director of Massachusetts Connector, that state’s health insurance exchange, who will consult with California as it develops its own version.

“He runs the largest exchange in the country, but from a scale factor, we are so going to dwarf that,” Kent said.

Still, there is plenty to be learned from Massachusetts, especially when it comes to insurance companies jacking up premiums, said Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento.

“Massachusetts thought prices would go down,” he said. “But what happened was, when people were legally required to buy insurance, insurers took advantage of that and raised their prices.”

That’s one reason Jones introduced AB2578, which would require insurance companies to obtain approval from the state Department of Insurance or the Department of Managed Health Care before raising their prices on premiums and copays. He calls it the missing piece of national health care reform.

Anthem Blue Cross proposed raising health insurance premiums by 39 percent before rescinding the increase, and Blue Shield announced an increase of up to 75 percent on small group policy holders.

“I think the public and policy makers have finally had it with these yearly double-digit health insurance and health premium increases,” Jones said.

Other bills seek to ban insurers from denying health insurance or specific treatments to patients with pre-existing conditions.

Children would be protected from this practice under a bill by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles. AB 2244 would prohibit health insurers from excluding or limiting coverage to anyone under the age of 19 because of a pre-existing condition. It also would get tough on insurers by declaring that if a company does not sell policies to families with children, it would forfeit its right to sell insurance to large employers.

“We have an opportunity here in California … to be a catalyst for the strongest protections for kids in the nation,” Feuer said.

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Online:

The main health care bills to be considered in the Assembly and Senate this week are AB1595, AB1600, AB1602, AB1825, AB1887, AB2244, AB2470, AB2477, AB2578, SB890, SB900, SB1088 and SB1163.

http://www.assembly.ca.gov

http://www.senate.ca.gov

After a year of riotous argument, decades of failure and a century of spoiled hopes, the United States is reaching for a system of medical care that extends coverage nearly to all citizens. The change that’s coming will reshape a sixth of the economy and shatter the status quo.

To the ardent liberal, President Barack Obama’s health care plan, passed by the House on Sunday night, is a shadow of what should have been, sapped by dispiriting downsizing and trade-offs.

To the loud foe on the right, it is a dreadful expansion of the nanny state.

To history, it is likely to be judged alongside the boldest acts of presidents and Congress in the pantheon of domestic affairs. Think of the guaranteed federal pensions of Social Security, socialized medicine for the old and poor, the civil rights remedies to inequality.

Change is coming, but in steps, not overnight. The major expansion of coverage to 32 million people _ powered by subsidies, employer obligations, a mandate for most Americans to carry insurance, new places to buy it and rules barring insurance companies from turning sick people away _ is four years out.

In contrast, on June 30, 1966, after a titanic struggle capped by the bill signing a year earlier, President Lyndon Johnson launched government health insurance for the elderly with three simple words, as if flicking a switch: “Medicare begins tomorrow.”

Obama practically needs a spreadsheet to tell people what’s going on and when with the law he will sign after the Senate takes final action this week.

Yet he and LBJ share a distinction: They are the only two presidents to succeed with a transcendent health care law.

“We rose above the weight of our politics,” Obama said late Sunday night in relishing the House victory on a 219-212 vote. “We proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things.”

You can be sure Obama, a student of history, is aware of how LBJ captured the moment when Medicare became law with his pen. That happened in Independence, Mo., in the presence of the very first American to sign up for the program: Harry Truman. The ex-president had ended a world war but could not achieve national health insurance in his time.

“Care for the sick, serenity for the fearful,” Johnson promised that day. “In this town, and a thousand other towns like it, there are men and women in pain who will now find ease.”

Said Truman: “I am glad to have lived this long.”

Ted Kennedy lived long enough to see a goal of his lifetime take shape but not long enough for it to happen. His death last summer was almost the death of the whole plan because a Republican won his Senate seat, changed the voting balance and left despondent Democrats in search of a second wind, which they found.

Why is this so hard? In part, because self-reliance and suspicion of a strong central government intruding into people’s lives are rooted in the founding of the republic, and still strong.

In 1854, President Franklin Pierce vetoed a national mental health bill on the basis that it would be unconstitutional to treat health as anything but a private matter that is none of the government’s business.

Seventy-five years later, the American Medical Association denounced proposals for organized medical services as an “incitement to revolution” at the hands of “Medical Soviets.”

And that wasn’t even about government-run health care. The AMA’s fierce opposition to collectivism included objections to private health insurance, the norm today, and the pooling of doctors into what became health maintenance organizations decades later.

No wonder would-be health reformers were thwarted one generation after another even as they made deep imprints on the nation in other ways.

Teddy Roosevelt couldn’t do it _ and he’s carved into Mount Rushmore.

Franklin D. Roosevelt rewrote the social compact with his job and retirement security and regulatory expansion, all in the jagged teeth of the Depression, then took the nation to war. He made national health insurance a second-tier priority and it eluded him.

Even so, social responsibility for medicine grew.

In 1930, citizens paid nearly 80 percent of the nation’s medical costs from their own pocket. Government at all levels covered a mere 14 percent, with industry and philanthropy picking up the few remaining crumbs. Insurance was barely in the picture.

Federal and state programs now cover half the cost of health care purchased in the country and were expected to go over 50 percent in the next year or two even absent Obama’s plan. By that measure, the government takeover of health care that opponents warn about is happening regardless of congressional action.

Why the creep of government in health care? In part, because individualism isn’t the entire American story. The idea of watching out for each other is also in the nation’s fabric.

Besides, as much as Americans hate overbearing government and higher taxes, give them a federal benefit and then just try to take it away. Today’s hot potato becomes tomorrow’s cherished check.

That’s one reason government programs grow _ and why Democrats dared to push for a less than popular package mere months from congressional elections, when people were telling their leaders to create jobs instead.

Johnson, full of beans after his Medicare victory, realized all of this.

“The doubters predicted a scandal; we gave them a success story,” he crowed a month after the law took effect, as hundreds of thousands of patients entered hospitals for treatment covered by the government and some 6 million children and needy adults began getting benefits.

“Where are the doubters tonight?” he asked. “Where are the prophets of crisis and catastrophe? Well, some of them are signing their applications; some of them are mailing in their Medicare cards because they now want to share in the success of this program.”

Obama can only hope for such a first-blush reception. He took on the cause of universal coverage after a campaign in which he did not promise it, intending only to secure insurance for all children and shrink the pool of uninsured adults. His health care ambition grew in office, quickly.

More than a quarter century before, Ted Kennedy came close to the prize with none other than the Republican president, Richard Nixon, who embraced ideas that mainstream Republicans today cannot tolerate. Nixon was ready to force businesses to provide health insurance to their workers or pay heavy penalties.

Sound familiar? It will.

At its core, Nixon’s proposal is a pillar of Obama’s plan today. Nixon’s willingness to subsidize coverage for the working poor is also seen in the plan, though writ larger.

Back then, Kennedy’s union and liberal allies gambled that by spurning Nixon, they’d get something better later. They didn’t. In similar fashion years after that, President Bill Clinton aimed high and crashed hard.

Clinton no doubt drew on his own failure when, in December, he advised Democrats to pass what they could manage and not make it an all-or-nothing fight. “America,” he said, “can’t afford to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Obama absorbed these lessons.

For him, a system with government as the sole or principal payer of everyone’s medical bills was a nonstarter, nice for the ideologues and other countries but not the American way. He would have liked the option of a government-run plan competing in the marketplace, but didn’t need it.

For months he stood so far back from the legislative nitty-gritty that it was hard to tell what he stood for.

In the end, he stood for more than the incremental steps that succeeded in the past, and for less than the towering ideas that failed.

And I’m one of the lucky ones! The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) claims that there are 46.3 million uninsured Americans (John Briley, AARP Bulletin Today, September 11, 2009). With approximately 305 million people living in the United States, that means 15% of the population can’t afford to get sick! The figure is not only astoundingly mind-boggling…..it’s a disgrace.

Before delving into the ongoing healthcare reform initiated by President Barack Obama, with bills wending their way through five Congressional committees, we have to appreciate the current landscape. Right-wing Republicans are, by their own admission, hell-bent on making the president fail at every turn. The President should not count on any cooperation from that part of the Republican Party. These Republicans are spreading false rumors, spewing hatred and hoping that the public will be riled up (or scared) enough to say “no” to everything that Obama proposes, without giving it a fair hearing.

Naysayers are claiming that the American healthcare system is fine just the way it is, and that Obama wants to institute socialized medicine. Yes, the healthcare system is great….if you are working! Lose your job and you are one catastrophic illness away from losing your home or your life savings. Even though the U.S. has many good doctors, the country has more infant deaths per capita than Canada, Sweden, France and even Cuba (CDC, NCHS Data Brief, November 2009). And, by the way, those other countries have the dreaded socialized medicine disease!

If socialized medicine was as bad as Republicans want us to believe, then these other countries should be suffering from the plague. The fact is that in countries with government-sponsored healthcare, the citizens are healthier on average than in the United States. The simple reason is that they are able to go to the doctor whenever they are sick without worrying about the financial implications.

Which takes us to the “dreaded” public option scenario in Obama’s original plan. The idea was that the government would administer a healthcare plan that would compete with private industry to help keep costs down and provide more affordable option for the citizenry. Opponents coined the term “ObamaCare” to describe this governmental intrusion into the most hallowed of industries. Insurance companies are scaring people by saying that their premiums will increase. Yes friends, your premiums will increase because these insurance companies are going to increase their premiums in anticipation of more affordable competition. You might remember the credit card companies increasing their rates as legislation limiting interest rates made its way to the Senate this past summer. The legislation failed, but credit card companies still dug the knife deeper into the backs of consumers by keeping their rates high.

Similarly, insurance companies will raise their rates just in case the future brings added competition from the government.

I think all this opposition to the president trying to help those without healthcare insurance points to mean-spirited behavior coming from moderate Democrats and Republicans. The next time any of these politicians decry socialized medicine, ask them what kind of healthcare plan they have. Members of Congress have health insurance for life that is fully paid by the taxpayers. They have no problem accepting this largesse from us. What is wrong with the public having something similar to this? What about Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security? These are government-run programs that are almost untouchable come budget time

So friends, we already have public options. It’s just that these hypocritical and selfish members of Congress want to deny the rest of the public the sort of healthcare benefits that have been extended to them as part of the ruling class.

In a survey conducted by Drs. Salomeh Keyhani and Alex Federman of Mount Sinai School of Medicine earlier this year, they found that 73% of doctors supported the public option, even though the leaders of the American Medical Association (AMA) were against it. The AMA leadership apparently thinks that any government-run program will lead to doctors getting lower fees. Even if this happens, what’s wrong with us giving back a little so that all Americans can have the benefit of affordable healthcare? Again, the selfishness of those who have at the expense of those who have not.

This is one time when I think liberal Democrats should hold out for as long as possible to get this public option into any bill that comes to the floor. They need to turn back the lies about socialized medicine. No system is perfect, but to vilify something that has worked for years in Europe is silly. Europeans have been far better off than Americans for the kind of healthcare system they have had.

Let’s not talk about waiting long to see a doctor. I pay plenty to be part of the vaunted American healthcare system, and sometimes I have to wait a month or more to see a specialist!

In the final analysis, President Obama will have to decide if the campaign promise of a better and more equitable healthcare system is worth fighting for. He’ll have to decide if he’s going to spend the political capital to fight for the public option. I believe a public option would help-working class families—and I believe that despite the drivel coming from the hate-filled right-wingers.

World Map

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti _ Aid workers hoping to distribute food, water and other supplies to a shattered Port-au-Prince are warning their efforts may need more security Friday as Haitians grow increasingly desperate and impatient for help.

United Nations peacekeepers patrolling the capital said people’s anger is rising that aid hasn’t been distributed quickly, and the Brazilian military warned aid convoys to add security to guard against looting.

“Unfortunately, they’re slowly getting more angry and impatient,” said David Wimhurst, spokesman for the Brazilian-commanded U.N. peacekeeping mission. “I fear, we’re all aware that the situation is getting more tense as the poorest people who need so much are waiting for deliveries. I think tempers might be frayed.”

The U.N. World Food Program reported Friday that its warehouses in the Haitian capital had been looted since Tuesday’s cataclysmic earthquake. It didn’t know how much of its pre-quake stockpile of 15,000 tons of food aid remained.

A spokeswoman for the Geneva-based agency, Emilia Casella, noted that regular food stores in the city also had been emptied by looters.

Bound for Haiti, 82nd Airborne brigade and a Navy carrier are part of US relief effort

WASHINGTON _ Some 800 infantry soldiers and a Navy aircraft carrier are bound for Haiti to aid the massive relief effort under way, the first major influx of U.S. troops since the catastrophe struck.

The troops, expected to arrive Friday, were a clear sign that President Barack Obama was intent on rescuing the ravaged nation, despite the strain that such a vast undertaking would invariably take.

“To the people of Haiti, we say clearly and with conviction, you will not be forsaken,” Obama said. “You will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you.”

Military personnel began trickling into Haiti on Wednesday to restore operations at the airport and join the relief effort. An early assessment team has outlined an urgent requirement for helicopters to ferry supplies and victims, as well as equipment to purify water and clear road debris.

A primary challenge is the badly damaged seaport that will make it difficult for ships _ carrying the kinds of mass amounts of supplies and helicopters needed in a natural disaster _ to offload their equipment. Likewise, the small airport at Port-au-Prince was described as congested and chaotic with civilian flights canceled and planes stranded without the ability to refuel.

Official says as many as 8 officers could face punishment for Ft. Hood shooting rampage

WASHINGTON_ As many as eight Army officers could face punishment for failing to do anything when the alleged shooter in the Fort Hood rampage displayed erratic behavior early in his military career, a U.S. official says.

The officers supervised the suspect when he was a medical student and during his work as an Army psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates was expected to refer findings on the officers to the Army for further inquiry and possible punishment. The report on what went wrong in the case of Army Maj. Nidal Hasan is expected to be released Friday.

The official said Thursday that a Pentagon inquiry finds fault with five to eight supervisors who knew or should have known about the shortcomings and erratic behavior of Hasan, who’s accused of killing 13 people at the Texas Army base on Nov. 5.

The official described the confidential report on condition of anonymity because it has not been made public.

Democrats break logjam on tax dispute, reach for final deal on health care bill

WASHINGTON _ President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats stand within days if not hours of striking final deals on historic health care legislation after key labor unions won concessions and pledged their support.

“We are on the doorstep of accomplishing something that Washington has been talking about since Teddy Roosevelt was president, and that is reforming health care and health insurance here in America,” Obama told rank-and-file House Democrats on Thursday during a visit to the Capitol complex.

As he spoke, heads of the nation’s leading labor unions were announcing a deal to resolve a highly contentious dispute over Obama’s desire to tax high-cost insurance plans to help pay for the health legislation. Unions had objected strongly, saying union workers ultimately would pay the 40 percent levy, and House Democrats backed the unions. But labor bowed to the White House demands after extracting agreements that would significantly soften the blow of the tax.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said that, assuming the deal and other labor priorities hold, labor will be behind the final bill.

“We will endorse it, and we’ll do that proudly,” he said.

Hudson River miracle passengers, crew gather for 1-year anniversary, celebration of survival

NEW YORK _ It should have been a death knell: “Brace for impact.”

But a year after 155 people lived through the water landing of the incapacitated US Airways Flight 1549 in the middle of the frigid Hudson River, many of them are gathering to celebrate the anniversary of their unlikely survival.

On Friday, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger is expected to join other crew and passengers to revisit the site where he deftly set down his Airbus A320 on Jan. 15, 2009, after it crossed paths with a flock of Canada geese that disabled its engines.

The group, which will include First Officer Jeffrey Skiles and the plane’s three flight attendants, is to gather in the morning for a breakfast to thank first responders and the Greater New York and Northern New Jersey chapters of the American Red Cross.

In the afternoon, they will meet with boat crews and other rescuers to board one of the passenger ferries that plucked them from the icy water. Together, they’ll return to the place where they made their escape.

China tries to keep Google conflict from damaging business confidence, ties with Washington

BEIJING _ China tried Friday to keep its censorship row with Google from damaging business confidence or ties with Washington, promising good conditions for foreign investors but giving no sign it might relax Internet controls.

U.S.-China trade and economic ties will not be affected by any Google Inc. decision to withdraw from China, said Commerce Ministry spokesman Yao Jian at a regular briefing. However, he insisted foreign companies must obey Chinese law.

“China will still strictly adopt a policy of openness and offer a good investment environment,” Yao said. “We emphasize that foreign companies including Google should all follow international standards and respect local law and regulations and local culture and customs to shoulder social responsibility.”

The loss of such a high-profile company would be an embarrassment to communist leaders, who want to make China a technology leader. But the ruling party sees control over information as critical to maintaining its monopoly on power.

U.S.-Chinese ties are periodically strained by disputes over trade, human rights and U.S. support for self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as its own territory. But the two sides maintain dialogue in a series of forums and say they want constructive relations.

Columbia social scientist says outlawing marriage creates added mental health issues for gays

SAN FRANCISCO _ A Columbia University social scientist says California’s voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriages contributed to the social stigma that makes gay men and lesbians more susceptible to depression, suicide and substance abuse.

Testifying in the federal trial to decide if Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution, Ilan Meyer said the measure sent a message of “You are not welcome here” to gay people by erecting a barrier to a “desirable and respected” institution.

“People in our society have goals that are cherished by all people, that are part of the social convention,” Meyer said. “We are all raised to think there are certain things we want to achieve in life, and this Proposition 8 says if you are gay or lesbian, you cannot achieve this particular goal.”

The trial, the first in a federal to examine the constitutionality of state gay marriage bans, is scheduled to resume Friday with testimony from Michael Lamb, a Cambridge University psychologist who will discuss gay and lesbian parenting and the benefits to children of allowing same-sex couples to marry.

During Thursday’s session, Howard Nielson Jr., a lawyer for the measure’s sponsors, mounted an exhaustive cross-examination, using Meyer’s own research showing that black and Latino gays had fewer mental health problems than white gays to try to undercut the professor’s assertion. Meyer had hypothesized in his study that black and Latino gays would have more mental health issues because of their dual minority identities.

Treasury Secy. Geithner defends secretive AIG bailouts as another committee joins probe

WASHINGTON _ Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner responded to a rising chorus of questions about controversial bailout deals Thursday, defending decisions that funneled billions to Wall Street banks.

Geithner said the “backdoor bailouts” of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and others were necessary and agreed to appear before a House committee probing his handing of the $182 billion rescue of American International Group Inc.

Geithner said he will appear at a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Affairs later this month to discuss the matter.

Hours earlier, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee said his panel also will investigate bailout decisions Geithner signed off on when he was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The New York Fed paid billions to banks to satisfy financial commitments AIG had with them. The deals might have cost taxpayers billions more than necessary because Geithner declined to demand concessions from the banks, an earlier watchdog report said.

Kimmel tweaks Leno, NBC over late-night dispute; NBC sets shows for post-Leno prime time

LOS ANGELES _ Jimmy Kimmel stepped into NBC’s late-night fray on Jay Leno’s turf, taking comic aim at him and NBC on “The Jay Leno Show.”

Appearing by satellite Thursday for Leno’s “Ten at Ten” question-and-answer segment, the ABC late-night host was asked to relate his best prank ever. Kimmel replied that he told a guy five years ago that he’d give him his show, and “then I took it back.”

It was a thinly veiled reference to Leno’s agreement in 2004 to surrender “The Tonight Show” to O’Brien in 2009, after 17 years as host.

NBC, which is ending Leno’s prime-time show, wants to return him to 11:30 p.m. EST by bumping O’Brien and “Tonight” to midnight, a plan O’Brien has rejected. The network was in talks with both hosts.

Kimmel also joked that Leno had “$800 million, for God’s sake,” and advised him to leave other hosts’ shows alone.

‘Goof ball’ goes before the judge: Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas charged with felony gun possession

WASHINGTON) _ Ever since he first acknowledged keeping guns in his locker, NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas has publicly employed the “goof ball” defense, claiming he wasn’t aware of the law, meant no harm and never takes anything seriously.

The NBA and the Washington Wizards had a far more serious response. Now it’s time to see how it plays before a judge.

Arenas is scheduled to appear in court Friday to answer a felony charge of carrying a pistol without a license, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The charge was filed Thursday in D.C. Superior Court in an “information,” a document that indicates Arenas has reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

The three-time All-Star has acknowledged storing four unloaded guns in his locker at the Verizon Center, saying he wanted to keep them away from his young children and didn’t know it was a violation of the city’s strict gun laws. He says he took them out of the locker Dec. 21 in a “misguided effort to play a joke” on a teammate.

The charge was made hours after the teammate, Javaris Crittenton, had his northern Virginia apartment searched by police looking for a silver- or chrome-colored semiautomatic handgun with a black handle. The search warrant indicated police were investigating crimes that include brandishing a weapon. No evidence was seized, according to court documents, and Crittenton has not been charged.