Topic “Thom's Blog”

California regulators are seeking $9.9 billion in fines from health insurer PacifiCare for allegedly mismanaging medical claims, such as losing thousands of patient documents, failing to pay doctors what they were owed, and ignoring calls to fix the problems. The Department of Insurance says PacifiCare violated state law nearly 1 million times from 2006 to 2008 after it was bought by UnitedHealth Group.

President Obama is proposing a huge massive rebuilding program that costs around $50 billion. Obama, hoping to stimulate the economy, will call for 150,000 miles of roads, 4,000 miles of railways, and 150 miles of runways to be constructed or rebuilt. Meanwhile, in a give-a-way to business, Obama will also propose that companies be allowed to more quickly write off 100% of their new investment in plants and equipment through 2011.

Der Spiegel is reporting that a secret Germany military report that was leaked online claims peak oil has happened or will happen this year, and this could threaten the continued survival of democratic governments. The report from a German Military think-tank cautions that disappearing global oil supplies will endanger the world's economic foundations and possibly lead to mass-scale upheaval over the next 15 to 30 years.

Yesterday it was in the news that Koch Industries, who spent millions of dollars opposing health care reform, applied for federal health care dollars to bolster its early retiree program. Today Healthwatch lists more than a dozen members of the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have also applied for these hated federal funds including Pfizer, PepsiCo, New York Life Insurance Company, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Rolls-Royce North America.

For months, far right-wing conservatives have led a hateful campaign against the proposed Park 51 Islamic community center near Ground Zero in New York City. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is even claiming it will be a launching pad for “Sharia law” in America.

Yesterday, far right wing Faux News Performer & Multi-Millionaire Glenn Beck preached to a reported 87,000 supporters at his “Restoring Honor” rally and then later appeared on Faux News Sunday with Chris Wallace.  When Wallace noted that Multi-Millionaire Beck called President Obama’s faith “a perversion of the gospel of Jesus Christ” and Wallace wondered who made Multi-Millionaire Beck “the God Squad,” Multi-Millionaire Beck called the President “de

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is reporting, according to FBI statistics that there's been a spike in anti-Latino hate crimes.  This trend seems to be picking up steam side by side with the national debate over immigration reform. The report also takes a direct aim at politicians’ anti-immigrant rhetoric. For example, Texas Republican Reps.

In some big triumphs this year, the tea party movement has had successful wins against long-time Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT), Tea Partier Trey Gowdy won over “reasonable Republican” Rep. Bob Inglis (SC), and now it looks like Senate candidate Joe Miller (R-AK) will beat current Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in one of the biggest political upsets of the year.

Frontline, The New Orleans Times-Picayune and ProPublica are reporting that in the jumbled days after Hurricane Katrina an order circulated allowing the New Orleans police to shoot looters, according to present and former members of the department. Some officers who were aware of the order say they refused to carry it out.