florida

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

Reports and exits polls this entire political season have built a narrative of tremendous, even record-breaking voter participation, pushing us to believe that voter turnout in November will exceed all expectations.

Maybe.

If Charlie Crist becomes John McCain's VP, you will be hearing a lot about how he brought Universal Health Care to Florida. So, I thought you should know what has happened there. Gov. Crist has accepted a bill, "Cover Florida", that provides low-premium insurance to the state's 3.8 million uninsured. The plan will provide insurance for $150 a month or more. But. Yeah, there is a big, fat, stinking butt in this plan. In exchange for providing this "low-low" insurance cost, the state agreed to wave a set of restrictions on the health insurance companies. What restrictions?

Health insurance companies will offer policies for $150 a month or more, in exchange for an exemption from the 50-plus mandates in current law that require insurers to cover items ranging from bone marrow transplants to acupuncture.

The plans — which aren't the "Cadillac of coverage," as Crist concedes — would cover some health screenings, doctor visits and office surgeries, but not medical attention that requires a specialist or prolonged hospital stays.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


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Down With Tyranny's Howie Klein reports that Pat McHenry's office confirmed North Carolina Conservative's off-the-record story that connects the Congressman to the shooter in last month's Florida murder/suicide involving three Republican dirty-tricks operatives.

But, in another bizarre twist, someone using the name of the blogger who has repeatedly reported that shooter's motivation was tied to a gay porn murder case in Pennsylvania commented on my post that he made it up "draw more viewers" to his blog.

What can I say but read on, follow the links, and decide for yourself.

It is always a surprise when you begin to write one story and end up writing another, and that is the situation we have today.

Originally this was to be a story set in the future, but it turns out the future is now.

Here’s the deal: while watching the Super Bowl (love the mouse commercial!), I was considering the economic consequences of a flooded Miami, seeing as the ocean level is projected to rise over the next century, and Florida isn’t.

Specifically, I was thinking about what will happen to the economy of the state when you can no longer transfer real estate because the property is uninsurable.

In my mind, there would be a sort of tipping point where the State would have to look for outside assistance for their collapsing insurance situation, perhaps even seeking some sort of Federal bailout.