COLUMBUS, Ind. — The lead story in the morning paper had delivered just the latest kick in the shins to Richard G. Lugar in the hottest Senate primary in the country. “Like many Senate Republicans who have spent a few decades in Washington,” it said, “U.S. Senator Richard Lugar was for the individual health mandate before he was against it.” Read full article > >
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Richard Lugar: Too mild to be memorable?
If the individual mandate falls, the Washington health policy community is left with a difficult question: What policy, that isn’t a tax penalty, could stand in its place? Some might say the question is moot. If the Supreme Court rules against the mandate, congressional Republicans will never permit the Obama administration to repair the battered law. But it might not be up to them. If the mandate is overturned but the rest of the law stands, many states might go looking for policy solutions to stabilize the health-care markets that they set up under the Affordable Care Act, but that are now missing the steadying influence of the mandate. And they’ll probably start with a 2011 Government Accountability Office report that lays out nine alternatives to the individual mandate. Read full article > >
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What happens if the individual mandate falls
The quick read is that today went very badly for supporters of the individual mandate. As one of the experienced Supreme Court watchers who runs SCOTUSblog tweeted , “Paul Clement” — the attorney arguing against the health-care law — “gave the best argument I’ve ever heard. No real hard questions from the right. Mandate is in trouble.” Read full article > >
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A bad day for Obamacare’s supporters
The idea and practice of hijab are endlessly contested, by Muslims and others alike. As the recent discussions on altmuslimah suggest, there is no conformity of opinion about the veil. Cultural norms, religious interpretation and the individual exercise of faith all play roles in determining the ‘meaning’ of hijab. Nothing in past or present trends suggest that a single coherent definition or mode of practicing hijab will emerge.
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Many Layers: Examining The Complex Meaning of Hijab
The Transportation Security Administration says it plans to fire the screener who left a note in the luggage of a female passenger. A message posted on the agency’s blog late Thursday said, “TSA has completed its investigation of this matter, and has initiated action to remove the individual from federal service.” Read full article > >
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TSA to fire ‘Get your freak on girl’ screener
KABUL — Haji Shahzada never leaves home without a neatly folded scrap of paper that is the closest thing to an apology the United States offered after keeping him locked up in Guantanamo Bay for more than two years. “This individual has been determined to pose no threat to the United States Armed Forces or its interests in Afghanistan,” reads the April 2005 release document, which includes a squiggle of a signature and the initials of a sergeant first class. “This certificate has no bearing on any future misconduct.” Read full article > >
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For some former Guantanamo detainees, present bleaker than past
THE CONSTITUTIONALITY of the new health-care law — specifically, the constitutionality of the requirement that every individual obtain health insurance or pay a fine — is now squarely teed up for the Supreme Court. One federal appeals court, the Cleveland-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, has upheld the individual mandate by a 2 to 1 majority. On Friday, another, the 11th Circuit based in Atlanta, found the mandate unconstitutional , again splitting 2 to 1. The issue is also before the 4th Circuit in Richmond and the federal appeals court in the District. The mandate does not take effect until 2014. But given the central importance of the individual mandate to the architecture of the health-care law, the sooner the Supreme Court finally decides the matter, the better. Read full article > >
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Health care and the Constitution
BEIJING — China warned the United States on Wednesday not to let Southeast Asian countries drag it into ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, saying Washington should instead counsel its allies to show restraint. “I believe the individual countries are playing with fire,” Cui Tiankai, China’s vice foreign minister, told a small gathering of correspondents Wednesday. “I hope the fire doesn’t reach the United States.” Cui was speaking ahead of a scheduled weekend meeting in Hawaii, where U.S. and Chinese officials plan to open the first round of bilateral talks devoted specifically to concerns in the Asian and Pacific regions. The U.S. side will be headed by Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. Read full article > >
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China warns U.S. in island dispute
Let’s get one thing straight: No matter what Mitt Romney says in his big health care speech tomorrow, it won’t solve the huge political problem he faces with conservatives unless he flatly repudiates the individual mandate at the center of Romneycare. I’ve now obtained two more examples of Romney in the past praising the individual mandate, including one instance in which he plainly said he thought it should go national, envisioning “a nation that’s taken a mandate approach.” Romney’s speech tomrrow is not expected to address his role in passing Romneycare as Governor of Massachusetts, or his embrace of the individual mandate at its center. But that’s why conservatives are angry at him — they have come to view the mandate as tyranny, now that Obama used it — and they want Romney to renounce it. Read full article > >
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Flashback: Mitt Romney hoped for “a nation that’s taken a mandate approach”
America, as a nearly 20-year professional journalist, it is with the utmost sadness that I offer to you a heartfelt and sincere apology for my industry’s creation and spectacle of the individual we all know, some love, and others despise, as Donald John Trump Sr.
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Martin: Sorry, folks, for Donald Trump
An LGBT retirement community geared toward open living What began as an innovative project for LGBT retirees seeking refuge from cookie-cutter approaches to conventional retirement has evolved into something much more ambitious. More than 100 acres in the Mojave Desert will soon be the site of a $250 million idea, bringing together 10 architectural firms from five countries to succeed where so many fail by reclaiming shared community spaces that invite pedestrians and casual interactivity among neighbors. Located near Palm Springs, California —an area known for perennial sunshine and wide-open spaces— Boom will cater to outdoor living with pedestrian pathways and communal spaces, as well as eateries, wellness centers and shops. Living spaces include private homes, assisted living and a nursing home. Each separate development will differ as the individual architects are being given free reign to realize their ideas of livability, adding diversity to the common goal of functionality and livability. The first phase envisions 300 homes, but that figure could eventually double after full build-out. To get in on the ground floor, you can request an invite from Boom’s website . Another exciting facet to the project is that the Boom community already exists in virtual space. Participants can brainstorm and create a shared vision with the developers and architects in these early stages when the buildings are still rendered lines in an AutoCAD program. Stateside, recruited architectural talent includes Diller Scotidio + Renfro (known for their Blur Building in Switzerland) who have proposed cast waves that oscillate with each dwelling’s highest point, with its lower troughs serving as access points for lush greenery. Reinforcing the sense of community, not all of the effort is reserved for the luxurious homes. Arakawa + Gins , the firm behind Tokyo’s Reversible Destiny Lofts , plan a “Healing Fun House” designed for all ages, a sort of playground for children and adults alike to recreate the body and mind. Ideas from abroad include Berlin-based J Mayer H Architects whose plans call for one- and two-story units with communal gardens. The Israeli duo L2 Tsionov-Vikton of Tel Aviv envision terraced roof gardens in modular dwellings designed to blend in with the desert environs. But the overarching idea is a space where denizens celebrate life with each other rather than retreat into isolation that so many other modern developments ultimately foster—as lead designer Matthias Hollwich from HWKN explained to his fellow architects, “Boom has to be about living, not retiring, about inclusion and not seclusion.” See more images in the gallery below.
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Boom
When looking for the ideal holiday present, shoppers often search for that special something not found in chain stores, which will make the recipient feel extra warm. Etsy , an online marketplace for handmade goods, might be the perfect place to find such gifts. Founded in 2005, the cyber craft market hosts hundreds of thousands of buyers and sellers, each dealing in unique handcrafted goods. Story continues after the gallery. Please use a JavaScript-enabled device to view this slideshow With quirky offerings like a hand painted Mr. Spock cell phone key charm , or a clock made from a recycled turntable , Etsy provides an alternative to big box stores and the generic products they sell. In an age where giant corporations dominate, Etsy sees itself as a counter to the homogenization of the American consumer: We’ve seen what the corporations are doing to our culture, they’re stifling everything that America used to stand for and I think that world wide interest in the individual is very important…. Etsy is providing a viable alternative to shopping at places like Walmart. Sure, Etsy offers lots of fun one-of-a-kind presents, but the site acts more like a supplement, rather than an alternative, to Walmart. Some may do all of their holiday shopping at the online bazaar, but plenty of consumers are heading to Walmart for iPads, iPods and lots of other machine-made products. For those who are not willing to give up their favorite mass-produced electronics, but want to maintain some individuality, there are plenty of handmade Etsy products for your favorite gadgets. We’ve selected 10 of our favorites. For the crafts displayed above, we pulled the captions from the sellers’ original descriptions.
A judge’s ruling on Monday that the individual mandate in health-care reform is unconstitutional hasn’t thrown the legislation off course yet: “Implementation of the act will proceed,” a White House official said Monday. “The ruling will not materially…
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Obama Pushes Ahead With Health Care
Investors say none of the individual bits of scuttlebutt they pick up constitute material insider information.
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DealBook: Tidbits, or Material Facts for Insider Trading?
In some cultures asking how the kids are doing is a colloquial way of asking how the individual is faring, acknowledging that the vitality of the younger generation is a good metric for the well-being of society as a whole. In the United States, the state of the kids should be an important indicator. Young workers bear the significant burden of funding intergenerational transfer programs and maintaining the structure of payments that flow in the economy. read more
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How Are the Kids? Unemployed, Underwater, and Sinking
For some former Guantanamo detainees, present bleaker than past
Saturday, September 10th, 2011Flashback: Mitt Romney hoped for “a nation that’s taken a mandate approach”
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
