August 24, 2007 at 3:26 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: Blogging, Government, Politics
Rumors are circulating that the dictator is dead. Obviously there have been rumors in the past about this, but could it be true this time? Perez Hilton, Cuban-American and famous (infamous?) celebrity gossip blogger says US officials are planning a press conference to announce that Castro is dead. Granted, he’s a gossip blogger, but he seems to be fairly accurate with other stories and has connections in odd places. If it’s true, will the Cuban embargo be ending soon?
Perez says “Castro is dead“
Update (not much of one), but the Babalu blog is also posting about this – South Florida Law Enforcement is on alert, as are the Coast Guard and Border Patrol. It may still be a rumor, but one that people are taking seriously.
Update #2 – Perez now says an announcement will be made at 4 pm EST
Update #3 – they may have pushed back the announcement to wait until rush hour is over in Miami…definitely need to keep safety in mind
Update #4 – Though Babalu claims to have”numerous sources in numerous branches of US agencies” who have confirmed Castro is dead, it’s almost 8pm EST and no official announcement yet…perhaps it is just another rumor?
7 Comments
August 24, 2007 at 11:30 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: Health, Health care, Politics, Republicans
And its got some good points, such as minimizing the restrictions states have on what counts as “insurance.” Most states have some pretty hefty regulations, such as requiring insurance to include chiropractic services or alcohol/drug treatment programs (some even mandate coverage for acupuncture). It’s not that I don’t think those services are useful for some people, but it’s silly to require everyone to purchase plans that include something many will never use – it drives up the cost of insurance premiums thus making insurance out of reach for many people.
Stuart Altman, a health economist, says that Romney has “run away from the Massachusetts plan.” It may be a very different plan, and it is likely that some will criticize this change in strategy, but Romney’s goal in both instances is to increase access to health care. Personally, I think this new plan has a greater chance for long-term survival and positive change than the Massachussetts Plan – the old idea was an attempt at patching a broken system (requiring people to purchase insurance), while this is more of an attempt of fixing the cause of the problem (looking at ways to lower the cost of insurance so more people can afford it). It will be interesting to see what else he has to say about health care along the campaign trail.
NY Times – “Romney to Pitch a State-by-State Health Insurance Plan“
Michael Tanner of Cato – “Romney Abandons RomneyCare“
Leave a Comment
