“Every time the reform seems less likely that it will happen, the entire group trades higher,” said Perry, who has advised his clients to buy shares of Wellcare Health Plans Inc. (WCG), recently up 1.3% to $36.74, and Humana Inc. (HUM), up 1% to $42.26.
Among the other recent gainers in the sector, Aetna rose 2.7% to $32.65, Cigna Corp. (CI) added 2.3% to $36.41 and Well Point Inc. (WLP) gained 2.7% to $58.07. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) added 1.6% to $30.99.
Desiderata (Latin meaning “desired things”)
by Max Ehrman
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Do not interrupt the flight of your soul;
do not distress what is best in you;
do not enfeeble your spirit with half wishes and half thoughts.
Ask yourself and keep on asking until you find the answer,
for one may have known something many times, acknowledged it;
one may have willed something many times, attempted it — and yet,
only the deep inner motion, only the heart’s indescribable emotion,
only that will convince you that what you have acknowledged belongs to you,
that no power can take it from you — for only the truth that builds up is truth for you.
For the second day in a row, thousands of people lined up for free dental, medical and vision services in South Los Angeles courtesy of a nonprofit group that provides mobile health care for the rural poor.
Remote Area Medical set up for eight days of care at the Forum in L.A. The enormous response to the free care was a stark contrast to recent videos of Glenn Beck-watching Tea Baggers screaming at town hall meetings in opposition to proposed health insurance reform.
I had a little scare today. Last night I was feeling a little run down after work. I had trouble sleeping but when I finally did fall asleep I woke up and couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t the first time, after my bout with bronchitis earlier this year the doc at the walk-in clinic told me I might have asthma and he referred me to a specialist.
Problem is, I don’t have health insurance.
So what do you do when you wake up and can’t breathe? I headed to the emergency room, with a quick side trip to the ATM to get out some cash. I pulled out $600, my daily max.
There are 4000 asthma-related deaths every year in the United States, many of them uninsured (or under-insured) children. Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children. Asthma is treatable, but the most common treatment (inhaled corticosteroids) costs over $100 per month, which is way beyond what many families can afford.
4000 preventable deaths a year…more than all the people who died on September 11th. EVERY YEAR.
Except they aren’t being killed by foreign terrorists, it’s something much more sinister. Our own failed health care system is just letting them die.
This is why I support health insurance reform. Not because I think it’s going fix everything that’s wrong, but we have to do something. Because I know that there’s not always an extra $600 in my account. What if the bill was $4000? or $40,000? Is that when I just become another death statistic?
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, right?
It’s getting increasingly difficult for me to have any respect for anyone who doesn’t support universal health care for all. We are the richest country in the history of the world, and yet we do not take care of our own sick citizens.
The United States is the only developed nation that does not have a comprehensive national health care plan for all its citizens.
Who are these people that hate health care? Why do they hate America so much? Why do they want to continue in a system that gives financial incentives to KEEP PEOPLE SICK?
Sarah Palin said (in a Facebook posting) that Obama’s proposed health plan “is evil” and would create a “death panel” that would deny care to the neediest Americans. She’s like a character out of a Oliver Stone movie.
Rush Limbagh recently said the proposed health care logo was similar to a Nazi symbol. Nice one, you bloated pill popping prick.
The web site “Tea Party Patriots” circulated instructions to anti-health fanatics to attend Obama Town hall meetings and “Yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early. Get him off his prepared script and agenda,” the memo continued. “Stand up and shout and sit right back down.”
The sad part is that Fox is reporting all of this like it is news. If you watch Fox regularly as a source for your news, you need to get your head checked out.
But then again, I don’t think any health insurance plan covers ignorance.
Some gems from a brilliant post by Bill Maher in the Huffington Post:
“This country is like a college chick after two Long Island Iced Teas: we can be talked into anything.”
“Here’s one fun fact you can take away: did you know only about half of Americans are aware that Judaism is an older religion than Christianity? That’s right, half of America looks at books called the Old Testament and the New Testament and cannot figure out which one came first.
“James Madison wrote that “pure democracy” doesn’t work because “there is nothing to check… an obnoxious individual.” Then, in the margins, he doodled a picture of Joe the Plumber.
“A smart guy named Chesterton once said: “My country, right or wrong is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying… It is like saying ‘My mother, drunk or sober.’ To which most Americans would respond: “Are you calling my mother a drunk?”
Friday, December 18
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