Ukraine and Russia: An Idyllic State For An Old Grandstanding US Politician

A soldier rests atop a Russian armored personnel carriers with a road sign reading “Sevastopol – 32 kilometers”

The anticipated crisis in the Ukraine is unraveling just as expected.  Vladimir Putin is a “Cold War(ist)” just as John McCain and Lindsey Graham. We should expect nothing less than invasion (Strategic insertion) from Putin. His actions are no different than we could have expected from McCain had the nation fell into an abyss and elected McCain and Sarah Plain to the White House. For that matter, Mitt Romney would be same.

The GOP is ever-seeking opportunity for military intervention. When they cannot find such, they procreate intervention (WMD). We should be recall McCain “….I voted with Bush  95% of the time.” [ Linked A, Linked B ] He once said the US could be in Iraq for 100 years, he was photographed with an Al Qaeda operative while encouraging Obama to Bomb in Syria, and the man has never found a potential war he did not love. Factually, the links above relegate the warmongering McCain to that of a “non-issue” mouthy old man.

It is also critical to know that McCain’s saber-rattling throughout the morning is pure “self-aggrandizing” lobbying for seats on tomorrow’s Sunday Morning New Shows.  

One last thought. Imagine McCain/Palin serving even one term in the White House. Of course, Palin would have quit about one third the way through that horrific thought (McCain/)Palin in the White House).

There is so much to report on developments in the Ukraine. I have posted a few news ‘decks’ via RePost.US.

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Over 10,000 protest in Ukraine’s pro-Russia city of Donetsk (via AFP)

More than 10,000 people carrying Russian flags protested Saturday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the stronghold of ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, an AFP journalist said. Protesters declared they supported “the aspirations of Crimea to…

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Trending: Crisis in Crimea means more Ukraine troubles (via NJ.com)

Just days ago, American tweets converged on tumult in Kiev, capital of Ukraine. By week’s end, the Crimea region, located on a peninsula at the country’s southern tip, had hit headlines, too. Crimea drew tweets from the United States and 50,000 Google…
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Britain summons ambassador over Russia troops move (via AFP)

British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Saturday condemned the Russian parliament’s decision to authorise military action in Ukraine and said he had summoned the Russian ambassador to register his concerns. “This action is a potentially grave threat
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Putin moves to send troops into Ukraine (via AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin won the green light from parliament Saturday to send troops into Ukraine after a bloody three-month uprising swept new pro-EU leaders to power while also sparking unrest in the pro-Kremlin Crimean peninsula. The stark…

CNN Video segments

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/03/01/ac-inside-ukraine.cnn.html

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/03/01/nr-magnay-russian-soldiers-present.cnn.html

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/03/01/nr-lee-ukraine-russian-troops.cnn.html

AFP Ad Again Manipulates People

Nice UNI-demographic crowd, eh?

The Koch funded Americans for Prosperity continues to run anti-ACA ads that are not fully revealing while reaching into your psyche for pity. 

We are certain there are people who are being negatively impacted by the cancellation of policies some felt was “their cup of tea.”

Yesterday February 28, 2014, Steve Benen addressed the Lamb commercial, and her medical insurance experience, here. 

Benen’s article is particularly noteworthy in its probing of Lamb’s actual insurance experience. 

Here’s Lamb’s message:

“I was diagnosed with lupus when I was 27. Lupus is an autoimmune disorder. It’s dramatically affected my life. I voted for Barack Obama for president. I thought that Obamacare was going to be a good thing. Instead of helping me, Obamacare has made my life almost impossible.“Barack Obama told us we could keep our health insurance if we liked it. And we can’t. I got a letter in the mail saying that my health insurance was over, that it was gone. It was canceled because of Obamacare. My premiums went from $52 a month to $373 a month. I’m having to work a second job to pay for Obamacare. For somebody with lupus, that’s not an easy thing. “If I can’t afford to continue to pay for Obamacare, I don’t get my medicine; I don’t get to see my doctors. I am very disappointed in Barack Obama as a president. He made promises he didn’t keep. And that’s disheartening.”

Benen cogently and concisely address the Lamb’s insurance experience, thus showing the AFP ad for what is is worth: Propaganda. 

Lamb’s old insurance plan included low premiums because it was part of a Tennessee program that split the costs between consumers, their employers, and state funds. The plan, however, wasn’t very good – it included, among other things, a low annual cap, exactly the sort of thing the Affordable Care Act prohibits. So it’s true that those with bad insurance were required to make the transition to better insurance. But what about her high premiums? Glenn Kessler took a closer look. 

Once Lamb was required to go on Obamacare, she discovered she qualified for a $15-a-month subsidy, which could be applied to nearly 40 different options. She chose one of the more expensive options – a Platinum plan – because it limited out of pocket expenses to $1,500, as her doctor fees and blood tests would be higher under the Obamacare plans. She also considered a plan with a lower premium, but it would have meant higher out of pocket expenses. “Instead of paying $6,000 a year, I would have been paying $10,000 a year” with the plan with a lower premium, she said. […] In other words, AFP has managed to highlight a very unique case – someone with a chronic condition who did not face high annual costs. A very unique case, indeed. Kessler flagged a more typical experience for someone with Lupus. 

One Lupus sufferer, Erin Kotecki Vest, blogged that she was amazed at Lamb’s tale of woe after she researched the coverage provided by CoverTN. “Just ONE of my treatments ALONE wipes out everything CoverTN had to offer me,” she wrote. “I would hit CoverTN’s $25,000 annual limit the first week of January.” In contrast to Lamb, this Lupus sufferer is thrilled to be on Obamacare. Kotecki Vest gleefully wrote in November that her family ditched her husband’s employer-provided plan after they discovered they would save nearly $19,000 a year by switching to a plan offered on healthcare.gov. For some reason, Kotecki Vest was not asked to appear in an AFP ad. 

Imagine that.

Concerned Americans should know, the Kochs are would be plutocrats who would love nothing more than an American oligarchy with their faces emblazoned across the first 50 feet of the Washington Monument.