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Minimum Wage Increase About To Happen

WASHINGTON (AP) - After a decade-long wait, America's lowest-paid workers saw Congress poised Thursday to increase the federal minimum wage by $2.10.

For years, the idea of increasing the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour has been stalled by partisan bickering between Republicans and Democrats.

That almost became the fate of this year's proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 over two years. Democratic leaders attached the provision to the $120 billion Iraq war spending bill, which was vetoed by the GOP-controlled White House on May 1 because of Democrats insisting on a pullout date for American troops.

But with the House and Senate ready to pass a rewritten bill, and President Bush signaling his approval at a White House news conference, it seems likely that the end is near for the longest stretch without the federal pay floor rising since the minimum wage was established in 1938.

"We're very hopeful we're going to see finally that increase in the next couple of days," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and chair of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee.

This would be the first change since the minimum wage went from $4.75 to $5.15 on September 1, 1997 under former President Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress.

The minimum wage provisions were one part of the Iraq war spending bill that did not change: the minimum wage goes up to $5.85 two months after Bush signs the bill, then to $6.55 one year later and to $7.25 the next year.

What does the MW have to do with Iraq is above me.

Murtha says "Sorry"

Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania sent a note of apology to Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan Wednesday, the day after a divided House denied Rogers a vote to officially reprimand the powerful senior Democrat.

Murtha apologized for his "outburst" in a handwritten note Rogers received Wednesday morning, the latter's office confirmed. This marks his first acknowledgement of an episode between the two lawmakers on the House floor.

A little too late considering how clean the Dems want their house.

I chose to be Independent now

Two interesting points today, about illegal immigration.

First it appears that a small group of Congressmen are working on this draft bill:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Just off the Senate floor, a dozen Democratic and Republican senators huddle twice a day to decide whether proposed changes to a bipartisan immigration compromise are acceptable tweaks or fatal blows to their fragile agreement.

Survival of the deal that would allow 12 million unlawful immigrants to stay in the U.S. legally - regarded as the best chance to overhaul immigration this year - depends in large part on how effective this "Gang of 12" is in insulating the plan from major changes.

The team grows or shrinks according to what the issues are. At its core are the unlikely partners who cut the deal, led by liberal Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and conservative Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. Assistance comes from GOP centrist Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mel Martinez of Florida and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

Our infamous RINOs are working hand in hand with Democrats to try to secure this draft into a passable piece of legislation. The title of this article is called "Group of 12..." Question: How many member of Congress should be involved with this?
Answer: ALL of them.

Then we read how the GOP RINOs are worried about losing their base, and we can't wonder why:

The bipartisan immigration bill being pushed by the White House and Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, is fracturing rather than "saving" the Republican Party nationally, according to angry party leaders and new poll findings.

Arizona Republican Party officials have received "hundreds and hundreds of calls, e-mails and letters from Republicans angry about the bill," state party Chairman Randy Pullen told The Washington Times.

"They were saying, 'I am going to register independent and not give you any more money' -- and that's the base of our party saying that," Mr. Pullen said.

I don't live in a border state, and I'm damn upset about this. As well, I am no longer registering as a Republican. I chose to be Independent now...where I place my votes to those who put America and her citizens first, above and beyond illegal immigrants. The GOP stands to lose MUCH with this. Let's hope they are very clear with their understanding of it.

2008 GOP Primary Straw Poll - May 2007

The old stale medical model

Doctors are upset over the new walk in health care clinics located within Wal Mart, CVS and other drug stores. It seems to me this is the first step towards a national, consumer driven model of health care. And the first turf war has begun.

Can a retail store deliver healthcare? Wal-Mart, the largest US retailer, thinks so, together with CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid, the leading US drug store chains. But as all four move ahead with plans to expand “walk-in clinics” in their stores, the doctors of Illinois are fighting back.

The state could be the first to impose stricter regulation on the new generation of walk-in clinics, where nurse-practitioners can examine patients, conduct basic procedures such as inoculation, and prescribe for minor illnesses, while charging less than a doctor’s practice.

Massachusetts is also considering whether and how to license the state’s first retail clinics, proposed by drugstore group CVS and its MinuteClinics unit. And the industry expects more challenges ahead.

The medical community has a right to be concerned. They want to know that the people working in these clinics are qualified to dx illnesses and prescribe treatment and medications. They want to make sure the clinics follow sound medical practices. Of course they will do so; and we can all rest assured the staff who work in the clinics are well qualified. Nurse Practitioners are well versed and educated to provide the services the clinics will be offering. I suspect many of these clinics will also have actual doctors on staff as well. Everyone needs to remember- these clinics are in it for the long haul. They want to make a profit. In order to do this, they must offer a service at a competitive rate, and the service must be equal to superior of other clinics (and doctors offices, health care groups and the like).
Why not spice up the old stale medical model of services with some good old fashioned American business model?

Walk-in clinics represent one of the most advanced and aggressive attempts by US business and entrepreneurs to drive reform of the healthcare system.

This year hundreds will be opened in some of the US’s largest drugstore and retail groups, and thousands of clinics could be running in the next decade.

Advocates say the clinics will improve access to healthcare and reduce costs; that they will reduce more expensive visits to hospital emergency rooms; and that they will catch some illnesses before they become serious and costly. As a result, physicians will have more time for complex cases.

I cannot think of anyone who would not benefit from these clinics. Really. Open 7 days a week, located at the local Wal Mart, one can bring their two year old son who is complaining of an earache to the clinic at 8pm on Saturday night...the NP will assess and DX an infection and recommend and write a prescript for an antibiotic. She will depend upon YOU to share pertinent information such as allergies and previous illness history. You can bring the prescript over to the pharmacy counter, and they will charge you a mere $4.00 for the drug. The visit will cost you around $35.00 (cash, check, debit, credit)...that is a bargain.

Dr Rodney Osborn, president of the Illinois State Medical Society, said: “This is a brand new animal. That’s why we believe legislation is important to guarantee patient safety ... They’re not putting these things in to provide healthcare; these people are businessmen.”

Oh the doctors are somewhat threatened by it all. It's really too bad a group or two of doctors don't get together and form a similar BUSINESS model and watch it bloom and grow, without all the overhead of a practice. Without all the insurance headaches.

On a national level, the American Medical Association, the doctors’ lobby group, has taken a cautious tone, issuing guidelines last year for clinics. They call for a well-defined scope of services; standardised medical protocols; and clear definitions of medical qualifications. They also call for closer doctor oversight, and emphasise the importance of referrals to doctors, which the leading clinics promise.

In any case, retail clinic companies are expanding nationally. In May, Walgreens bought Take Care, following CVS’s MinuteClinic acquisition last year. Both Wal-Mart and Target, the leading discounters, are opening clinics.

Their national footprint could eventually support the development of a much-discussed but elusive electronic records system for the US, as the clinics build patient databases, see more patients, and give patients printouts of their diagnoses and treatments.

These walk in health care clinics could have a huge impact upon how the nation delivers health care to everyone. Access is an issue for many people- especially those who work during standard MD office hours of operation. Someone almost always has to cut out of work early. Another issue many of us are familiar with is the After Hours "urgent care centers"= located in a nearby or not so nearby city that we HAVE to go to per our insurance rules...and, most of us have to pay a higher co pay when we or a loved one requires medical attention after standard MD office hours. We're punished when we get sick at 6pm on a Sunday night. These walk in clinics will help alleviate some of the hassle we face with our insurance. Heck, the rates are cheap enough I wouldn't even need to seek a reimbursement from my insurance.

With all the debate that is sure to come, this last sentence is well worth reading and thinking about:

More than anything, however, the retail clinics show that business is pushing for change on its own without waiting for government. And walk-in clinics could do for US healthcare what low-cost Southwest Airlines did for the airline industry, by making healthcare better, faster, and cheaper.

Remember: 19 Young Angry Muslim Men

As far as I'm concerned, even 1 Muslim is too many.

Politics And Demographics:
We've been told for years that Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, and that the size of the Muslim population here has swelled to 6 million to 7 million. A new study pops that myth.

The Pew Research Center just concluded an exhaustive scientific study of the size of the U.S. Muslim population. It was able to identify only 2.35 million Muslims — less than half the figure commonly cited by Muslim activists.

Pew, a liberal group with certainly no interest in marginalizing Islam, described its study as "perhaps the most rigorous effort to date to scientifically estimate the size of the Muslim American population."

Yet it practically apologized for its more accurate reading, being that it came in "significantly below some commonly reported estimates frequently cited by Muslim groups."

Foremost among such groups is the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which claims to represent Muslims in Washington. CAIR commissioned its own survey in 2001 and came up with 6 million to 7 million, an estimate it always touts in its press releases and on its Web site.

As a result, most media outlets — as well as Congress, the White House and the State Department — have parroted the figure to describe the size of the nation's Muslim population.

Politicians in Washington are intimidated by the figure, which CAIR uses as a cudgel to help advance its Islamist agenda. They believe it.

We all know CAIR manipulates numbers. They also manipulate the American people by defending those who seek to kill us.

The other point of this study today:

While nearly 80 percent of U.S. Muslims say suicide bombings of civilians to defend Islam cannot be justified, 13 percent say they can be, at least rarely.

That sentiment is strongest among those younger than 30. Two percent of them say it can often be justified, 13 percent say sometimes and 11 percent say rarely.

"It is a hair-raising number," said Radwan Masmoudi, president of the Washington-based Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, which promotes the compatibility of Islam with democracy.

He said most supporters of the attacks likely assumed the context was a fight against occupation � a term Muslims often use to describe the conflict with Israel.

Remember, it took 19 Muslim men to kill almost 3000 people one day back in September 2001.