Prescription pain pill addiction was originally seen as a man’s problem, a national epidemic that began among workers doing backbreaking labor in the coal mines and factories of Appalachia. But a new analysis of federal data has found that deaths in recent years have been rising far faster among women, quintupling since 1999.
More women now die of overdoses from pain pills like OxyContin than from cervical cancer or homicide. And though more men are dying, women are catching up, according to the analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the problem is hitting white women harder than black women, and older women harder than younger ones.
In this Ohio River town on the edge of Appalachia, women blamed the changing nature of American society. The rise of the single-parent household has thrust immense responsibility on women, who are not only mothers, but also, in many cases, primary breadwinners. Some who described feeling overwhelmed by their responsibilities said they craved the numbness that drugs bring. Others said highs made them feel pretty, strong and productive, a welcome respite from the chaos of their lives.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-07-04 03:08:342013-07-04 03:08:34Sharp Rise in Women’s Deaths From Overdose of Painkillers
By Ken Klukowski. Obama administration officials are illegally delaying enforcement of a central provision in the president’s namesake legislation in a desperate attempt to manipulate the 2014 midterm elections and swell the ranks of those who look to government for healthcare.
The White House is beginning to sense that when Americans realize the price of “free” healthcare, they’re likely to take swift vengeance on those responsible.
Section 1513 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, better known as Obamacare) requires all large employers to provide health insurance for their employees. “Large employers” are those with at least 50 full-time employees, and “full-time” is defined as averaging 30 or more hours per week…
Yet in a blatantly illegal move, the Obama administration is presuming to rewrite the ACA by choosing not to enforce provisions that are causing visible problems. The IRS—which is tasked with enforcing the Employer Mandate—will simply not enforce it until 2015. Every large employer in the country is under the mandate. If they don’t comply, then they are breaking federal law.
But the IRS not enforcing Section 1513 is like a policeman who patrols a stretch of road who says for the next year, he won’t issue any speeding tickets. He has no authority to suspend the law, but if he chooses to violate his duty by failing to enforce the law, then to all the motorists on the road it’s as if the law does not exist. Read more from this story HERE.
Obama admin delays major requirement of health law
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar. In a major concession to business groups, the Obama administration Tuesday unexpectedly announced a one-year delay, until after the 2014 elections, in a central requirement of the new health care law that many companies provide coverage for their workers or face fines.
The move sacrificed timely implementation of President Barack Obama’s signature legislation but may help the administration politically by blunting an election-year line of attack Republicans were planning to use. The employer requirements are among the most complex parts of the health care law, which is designed to expand coverage for uninsured Americans.
“We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively,” Treasury Assistant Secretary Mark Mazur said in a blog post. “We have listened to your feedback and we are taking action.”
Business groups were jubilant. “A pleasant surprise,” said Randy Johnson, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. There was no inkling in advance of the administration’s action, he said.
“We commend the administration’s wise move,” said Neil Trautwein, a vice president of the National Retail Federation. It “will provide employers and businesses more time to update their health care coverage without threat of arbitrary punishment.” Read more from this story HERE.
By Tom Howell Jr. Facing an outcry from businesses, the Obama administration Tuesday said it would delay a key part of the new health care law for an additional year, to 2015 — a stunning move that officials said gives them a chance to work out kinks over how to administer the so-called employer mandate.
In statements Tuesday evening, White House adviser Valerie Jarrett and Mark J. Mazur, assistant secretary for tax policy at the Treasury, said the goal was to give businesses more time to comply with the rules, though opponents said it was an acknowledgment of a looming disaster.
The delay is to the mandate requiring businesses with more than 50 workers to offer insurance to all full-time employees, or else pay a fine of $2,000 per worker. Business lobbied heavily against it, and now it will not go into effect until after the 2014 midterm elections.
“We have listened to your feedback. And we are taking action,” Mr. Mazur said.
The individual mandate, which applies to those who are self-employed or whose companies don’t offer insurance, is still in effect as of 2014, as are the state-by-state insurance markets, or “exchanges,” which are to be operating as of Oct. 1 and will allow small businesses and individuals without employer-based insurance to shop for health coverage with the help of government subsidies. Read more from this story HERE.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-07-03 03:39:582013-07-03 03:39:58White House Violates Law with ObamaCare Delay
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is accusing Fox News producers of trying to prevent him from talking about the damage immigration reform would cause to the Republican Party during his appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday.
“I told the people at Fox, I wanted to talk about this today three or four times,” Limbaugh said. “And they wouldn’t do it. They were not interested in bringing this subject up.”
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-07-03 03:39:132013-07-03 03:39:13Rush Limbaugh Accuses Fox of Trying to Censor His Criticism of Amnesty Bill (+video)
Supporters of Egyptian president say military coup is underway
By Richard Engel, Charlene Gubash and Erin McClam. Armored cars, tanks and troops deployed in the Egyptian capital on Wednesday, and advisers said they had lost contact with President Mohammed Morsi in what they described as a military coup.
In a scene reminiscent of the earliest days of the Arab Spring, tens of thousands of Egyptians who had demanded the president’s ouster staged a jubilant celebration in Tahrir Square — dancing, cheering and setting off fireworks.
Earlier in the day, the president and the military each swore to fight to the death for control of the country, and a military deadline for Morsi to step aside came and went with no statement from the president.
“We swear to God to sacrifice with our blood for Egypt and its people against any terrorist, extremist or ignoramus,” the military said in a statement. “Long live Egypt and its proud people.”
The army took control of state television and sent troops to parts of Cairo where crowds sympathetic to Morsi had gathered. Supporters of the president said democracy was being subverted by a military intervention, and the Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Morsi, said some of its leaders had been arrested. Read more from this story HERE.
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23 Killed in Protests; Morsi Teeters…
By Fox News. Egypt teetered on the brink of overthrow late Tuesday after a defiant Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rejected an ultimatum issued by the military and at least 23 people were reported killed in clashes between his supporters and opponents.
Defense officials have pledged to intervene if the government does not address public demands and end the political turmoil engulfing Cairo.
In a speech to the nation broadcast live late Tuesday, Morsi said he would not step down and would protect his “constitutional legitimacy” with his life.
The deadly clashes came just one day before the deadline set by the military for Morsi and his opponents to work out their differences.
The Associated Press reported that at least 23 people were killed in Cairo Tuesday and more than 200 injured, according to hospital and security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Most of the killings took place outside Cairo University located at Cairo’s twin city of Giza. The official Al-Ahram website reported that the armed forces deployed armored vehicles to the area.
By Reem Abdellatif and Matt Bradley. Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rejected protesters’ calls for him to step down, telling Egyptians in a late-night address that he is willing to give his life “to protect the legitimacy” of the country’s ballot box and Islamist-drafted constitution.
Without elaborating, he mentioned the possibility of parliamentary elections in six months, part of a list of proposals he said he would consider during talks with the opposition.
Moments later, antigovernment protesters in four provinces across Egypt chanted against the president, calling for him and his Muslim Brotherhood-backed party to leave, according to live footage. Antigovernment protests again swelled on Egypt’s streets, reaching millions, according to local media estimates, just hours ahead of the military’s Wednesday deadline for Mr. Morsi to patch relations with the country’s opposition.
Morsi supporters and antigovernment protesters clashed near Cairo University in the suburb of Giza late Tuesday, leaving at least four people dead, according to the Ministry of Health. The groups traded fire of rubber bullets and pellets in Cairo’s Kit Kat district, according to residents and local media.
The Obama administration has used U.S. diplomatic and military channels to deliver quiet messages and warnings to Mr. Morsi and Egyptian commanders to try to head off the crisis and avert any military coup, according to current and former officials. Read more from this story HERE.
‘All of you infidels will die’: Christians battle radical islamists in deadly Egypt clashes
By Billy Hallowell. The southern Egyptian city of Assiut has long been a haven for radical Islamists, and its Christian minority has largely kept a low profile. That all changed this weekend. These believers, who have been relegated and silenced for so long, have spoken up in the past few days — and with force.
An estimated crowd of 50,000 packed the streets this weekend to join protests calling for President Mohammed Morsi’s ouster, prompting a violent response that left three people dead.
The show of defiance can only be fairly measured in view of the city’s bloody history and the shifts in the local centers of power when Morsi became president a year ago, empowering many of the hard-line Islamist groups around the country, including those in Assiut.
The bloody end of the protest — 32 people were also injured — points to the high risks that Assiut residents, particularly Christians, face if they were to join the wave of opposition to Morsi’s rule that culminated Sunday when millions of Egyptians came out across the country to demand his ouster.
“I, my kids Mariam and Remon and my husband, Nabil, came out because we miss the Egypt we know and we want it back,” Assiut resident Mary Demian said. “These people (militant Muslims) say we are infidels and they terrorize us, but we are not scared. This is our nation and we have always lived with Muslims in peace.” Read more from this story HERE.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-07-03 03:38:282013-07-03 03:38:28Egypt Teeters on Brink of Overthrow, 23 Reported Killed in Protests; Update: Coup Now Underway (+video)
John Cusack wants you to stop paying attention to Edward Snowden.
The actor lashed out at reporters Tuesday for fixating on Snowden’s saga, which has taken on the flavor of an international thriller in recent weeks.
Criticizing media personalities by name who have questioned either Snowden’s or Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald’s character—such as CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin, The New York Times’s David Brooks, and NBC News’s David Gregory—Cusack in a conference call said focusing on Snowden at the expense of the information he uncovered was “the oldest bait-and-switch in the book.”
“We’re not morons,” he said. “The questions this NSA scandal raises aren’t going away. How long do we expect rational people to excuse the abuse of power?”
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-07-03 03:35:362013-07-03 03:35:36John Cusack: We’re Not Morons, Stop the Bait and Switch with Snowden
Governor Rick Perry’s special session concerning pro-life legislation adjourned today for Independence Day and will reconvene on July 9, 2013.
Despite the adjournment, pro-life and pro-abortion groups have continued to face off in the rotunda. Earlier, a pro-life contingent was singing “Amazing Grace” while pro-abortion protesters tried to drown them out with their own shouts, whistling, and screams.
Toward the end of the song, a group of protesters began yelling, “Hail Satan” over and over. According to one pro-life participant, pro-abortionists were chanting “Hail Satan” throughout the day.
Here’s a video of the singing pro-lifers versus the chanting pro-abortionists:
By Jessica Chasmar. Dennis Rodman sat down with Sports Illustrated’s Franz Lidz to talk about his controversial trip to North Korea, saying that his efforts in world diplomacy should be enough to earn him a Nobel Peace Prize.
“My mission is to break the ice between hostile countries,” he said. “Why it’s been left to me to smooth things over, I don’t know. Dennis Rodman, of all people. Keeping us safe is really not my job; it’s the black guy’s [Obama’s] job. But I’ll tell you this: If I don’t finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something’s seriously wrong.”
The former NBA player recently traveled to Pyongyang with a few members of the Harlem Globetrotters and a crew from HBO’s television series “Vice,” Sports Illustrated reported.
Mr. Rodman said he knew very little of North Korea or Kim Jong-un before the trip. Read more from this story HERE.
Dennis Rodman says he should be considered for Nobel Peace Prize
By Cindy Boren. It’s been a busy year for Dennis Rodman, the former NBA bad-boy-turned-diplomat.
He’s traveled to North Korea. He’s talked with Kim Jong Un and pronounced him a “friend for life.” He’s gone to Vatican City and kindly offered to assist with the selection of a new pope. All of which leads him to one conclusion: He should win the Nobel Peace Prize, like some sort of blond, pierced, tattoed version of, oh, Jimmy Carter or Al Gore.
“My mission is to break the ice between hostile countries,” Rodman told Sports Illustrated in an interview for its annual “Where are they now?” issue. “Why it’s been left to me to smooth things over, I don’t know. Dennis Rodman, of all people. Keeping us safe is really not my job; it’s the black guy’s [that would be President Obama] job. But I’ll tell you this: If I don’t finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something’s seriously wrong.”
Rodman, who said in March that “I want to be anywhere in the world that I’m needed,” plans to return to North Korea next month.
“I’m just gonna chill, play some basketball and maybe go on vacation with Kim and his family,” Rodman said. “I’ve called on the Supreme Leader to do me a solid by releasing Kenneth Bae.” Read more from this story HERE.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-07-03 03:30:282013-07-03 03:30:28Dennis Rodman Wants a Nobel Peace Prize For His NBA Diplomacy (+video)
By Fox News. As an international round of asylum rejections piled up Tuesday for Edward Snowden, a plane carrying Bolivia’s president home from Russia was diverted to Vienna because of suspicions the NSA leaker might be onboard.
Officials in both Austria and Bolivia said that Snowden was not on the plane, which had to land in Vienna after Bolivian officials said France and Portugal refused to let it cross their airspace.
“We don’t know who invented this lie,” a furious Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said. “We want to denounce to the international community this injustice with the plane of President Evo Morales.”
He said the decision by France and Portugal “put at risk the life of the president.”
Morales had said in an interview with Russia Today television that Bolivia would be willing to consider granting asylum to Snowden. He was reported meeting there Tuesday night with the plane’s crew to reprogram his return to Bolivia. Read more from this story HERE.
Snowden Affair Diverts Bolivian President’s Plane in Europe
By Thomson/Reuters. The diversion of Morale’s plane on Tuesday was another strange turn in the 30-year-old American’s cat-and-mouse game with the United States. Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca blamed it on “unfounded suspicions that Mr. Snowden was on the plane.”
“We don’t know who invented this lie,” Choquehuanca said. “We want to express our displeasure because this has put the president’s life at risk.”
Bolivia is among more than a dozen countries where Snowden has sought asylum and Morales, who was attending an energy conference in Russia this week, has said he would consider granting the American refuge if requested.
Bolivian Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra said the State Department may have been behind the decisions to not allow Morales’ plane to land in Portugal or fly over French air space…
Snowden’s options seem only to have narrowed since he arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on June 23 with no valid travel documents, after the United States revoked his passport. Read more from this story HERE.
Venezuela’s President Maduro defends Edward Snowden: ‘He did not kill anyone’
By Valerie Richardson. Mr. Snowden’s increasingly desperate bids for asylum to escape prosecution on espionage charges could lead him back to America — specifically, South America.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro defended the accused leaker to Russian reporters Tuesday during a visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“He did not kill anyone and did not plant a bomb,” said Mr. Maduro, according to the Interfax news agency. “What he did was tell a great truth in an effort to prevent wars. He deserves protection under international and humanitarian law.”
Mr. Maduro avoided saying whether he would admit the accused leaker, but Bolivian President Evo Morales said in an interview with Russian Today television that his country would be willing to consider granting asylum to Mr. Snowden.
“If there were a request, of course we would be willing to debate and consider the idea,” Mr. Morales said on RT Actualidad, a Spanish-language broadcast, adding that in the past, “Bolivia was there to shield the denounced.”
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-07-03 03:27:422013-07-03 03:27:42Bolivian President’s Plane Diverted Due to Suspicion of Snowden on Board, Reportedly Endangers Passengers (+video)
First Lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday described living in the White House as like being in a “really nice prison.”
Obama’s comment came during her discussion with former First Lady Laura Bush at the African First Ladies Summit in Tanzania during an interview moderated by journalist Cokie Roberts…
Obama said she loved her job and found it liberating in some respects, but confining in others.
“There are some prison elements to it,” she joked. “But it’s a really nice prison.”
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00kathleenhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngkathleen2013-07-03 03:25:422013-07-03 03:25:42Michelle Obama: Being First Lady is Like Living in a ‘Really Nice Prison’
A Sonoma State University student was ordered to remove a cross necklace by a supervisor who thought other students might find it offensive, in a case that prompted even one campus official to speculate that “political correctness got out of hand.”
Audrey Jarvis, 19, a liberal arts major at the northern California university, said she had no choice but to seek a “religious accommodation” in order to wear the cross. Her lawyer said she deserves an apology, and the school seems ready to oblige.
“It’s amazing in this day of diversity and tolerance on university campuses that a university official would engage in this type of obvious religious discrimination,” said Hiram Sasser, an attorney with Liberty Institute, which is representing Jarvis.
Jarvis was working for the university’s Associated Students Productions at a June 27 student orientation fair for incoming freshmen when her supervisor told her to remove the two-inch-long cross necklace, according to Sasser.
Sasser said the supervisor told her that the chancellor had a policy against wearing religious items and further explained “that she could not wear her cross necklace because it might offend others, it might make incoming students feel unwelcome, or it might cause incoming students to feel that ASP was not an organization they should join.”
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-07-03 03:24:552013-07-03 03:24:55University Tells Student to Remove Cross Necklace Because it Might Be “Offensive” to Other Students
