Obama and Osama Are Allies ...

... in the war on ... climate?

(Don't blame me.  I'm just the messenger.)

That Big Elephant In The Room

Curiously missing from this Roanoke Times editorial lamenting the looming loss of physicians in the Commonwealth of Virginia are two words - OBAMACARE and MEDICARE.  From "Doctor shortage coming to Virginia":

Virginia is trying to prepare for upheavals in the health care system that are coming at the state in that great demographic wave known as the baby boomers.

It's none too soon to be looking for policy strategies to head off a significant shortage of doctors as the boomers retire from the medical field just as they and their aging contemporaries need more health care.

Add the greater accessibility that federal health care reform will afford Virginia's uninsured and underinsured middle class and working poor, should they be allowed to benefit from it, and a coming doctor shortage looks all the more critical.

The author of this piece of work blames the pending shortage on the aging of the physician population and the reimbursement tables used by the state in Medicaid transactions. While both are indeed factors to consider, there's another, even greater, looming large:

OBAMACARE.

Study: ObamaCare will make doctor shortage 50% worse by 2015
By Ed Morriseey

[A] new study by the Association of American Medical Colleges and reported by Reuters shows that the bill will have a big impact on an expected shortage of physicians over the next few years — by amplifying it:

"The U.S. healthcare reform law will worsen a shortage of physicians as millions of newly insured patients seek care, the Association of American Medical Colleges said on Thursday.

"The group’s Center for Workforce Studies released new estimates that showed shortages would be 50 percent worse in 2015 than forecast.

"'While previous projections showed a baseline shortage of 39,600 doctors in 2015, current estimates bring that number closer to 63,000, with a worsening of shortages through 2025,' the group said in a statement."

The artificial cap on reimbursements — a form of price-fixing — will be the main culprit. With education becoming more and more expensive, physicians need to recoup their investment in it from plying their trade. Unfortunately, government reimbursement schedules will force payments down through the entire industry, making specializations in areas that have Medicare or Medicaid implications much less attractive. Those who can choose specialties will be more likely to go into cosmetic surgery, Lasik, and other areas where third-party payer structures are not an issue. [link] [emphasis mine]

I wonder why the Times mentioned Medicaid and not Medicare?

Could it be because Barack Obama and his federal government are only indirectly involved with the former (with the primary remunerator being Bob McDonnell), but directly responsible for the latter?

Regardless, the feds are involved in both.  And the man at the top has seen to it that both medical assistance programs will starve doctors out of their profession.  To the tune of tens of thousands.

A question:  How can the Roanoke Times applaud ObamaCare and, at the same time, criticize that which is oozing from it?

This Should Shock No One

Since there isn't a reasonable explanation for the state of Virginia continuing to be in the booze business, the following poll should be met by everyone with a big DUH:

More than half of VA voters open to privatizing state liquor system, poll shows
By Julian Walker, HamptonRoads.com

By a margin of 57-35 percent, Virginians favor Gov. Bob McDonnell's plan to end the state-run liquor system and turn retail responsibilities over to private companies, according to a new poll released by a coalion of businesses that support (and likely would profit from) privatization.

The statewide poll results are based on telephone conversations with 600 likely voters conducted over a few days late last month. It has a 4 percent margin of error and was paid for by McDonnell's political action committee, Opportunity Virginia.

On the subject of privatization, respondants were asked this question:

"As you may know, Virginia owns all of the liquor stores in the state. Do you favor or oppose selling the state-owned ABC liquor stores with the revenues to be dedicated to transportation projects across the state.”

The poll found that 33 percent of those interviewed strongly support the concept, while another 23 percent were less firm in their commitment.

Among those who oppose the plan, 20 percent strongly reject the idea and 15 percent are somewhat against it. About 9 percent of those surveyed didn't express a definitive opinion. [link]

As is the case with national politics, the Democrats here in Virginia find themselves, with their opposition to privatizing the liquor business, in a very weak minority.  Do they thrive on that sort of thing, or is there some other reason why they seek out such territory?

We the people want the state out of the business of selling demon rum.  What part of We the People do those jokers not grasp?

This Is About All We Can Expect

He couldn't do anything to stop his Democrat friends in the House of Representatives from passing legislation that would destroy jobs in his district, but our congressman, let it be known, could at least get a bill passed that requires TV stations to turn down the volume on commercials.

For the love of God:

Senate votes to turn down volume on TV commercials
By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Writer

Washington – Legislation to turn down the volume on those loud TV commercials that send couch potatoes diving for their remote controls looks like it'll soon become law.

The Senate unanimously passed a bill late Wednesday to require television stations and cable companies to keep commercials at the same volume as the programs they interrupt.

The House has passed similar legislation. Before it can become law, minor differences between the two versions have to be worked out when Congress returns to Washington after the Nov. 2 election. [link]

This was THE pressing issue on Boucher's plate this year.  A year in which unemployment remains near 10%, home foreclosures set a new record, the number of bank failures accelerates, and consumer confidence languishes in the toilet. 

TV volume.

How proud Rick Boucher, Democrat, must be.

Why 'Science' Loses Credibility

It goes well beyond "climate change," with all its preposterous notions.  And alar, which was "proven" to be deadly to all forms of life on this earth, and then not.  It's this every day drip, drip, drip ...

Back from the dead: One third of 'extinct' animals turn up again
By David Derbyshire, Environment Editor, London Daily Mail

Conservationists are overestimating the number of species that have been driven to extinction, scientists have said.

A study has found that a third of all mammal species declared extinct in the past few centuries have turned up alive and well.

Some of the more reclusive creatures managed to hide from sight for 80 years only to reappear within four years of being officially named extinct in the wild. [link]

Good grief.

Some Things Will Never Change

Just like the good old days:

Labor trouble at Cruze plant and GM Indianapolis a sign of deeper discontent
By David Barkholz, Automotive News

Detroit -- Labor unrest in the past week at two General Motors plants illustrates the fragility of the peace between the UAW and Detroit 3.

To hear UAW President Bob King recently sing the praises of the Detroit 3 comeback, you'd think relations were hunky-dory.

Not so. Just below the surface is a rank-and-file, including some local UAW officials, often resentful that they have clawed back precious little except tuition assistance since the auto recovery began. And in some cases they were asked to go backward even more after major concessions that King says took $7,000 to $30,000 per worker in wages and benefits since 2007.

That's a bad omen heading into new master contract talks that officially get under way early next year. [link]

They came within a hair's breadth of losing their fantastic positions with GM had it folded, but now they go right back to bellyaching about how bad off they are and how crappy the company is treating them..

To think, you and I kept these ingrates afloat.