Obama Health Care Opponent On Paltalk Today

Bunn

President Obama's health care proposal would pit a government backed insurance system against private insurers. The president says, this is a good thing because the competition will be good for all Americans. Plus, it gives everyone the option of keeping his or her current health insurer provider. No one would be forced into taking a government program.

But that's not sitting well with private health insurance companies, who fear the law would give the government a competitive advantage over them and force some of them out of business.

Joining us at 5 PM New York time today to voice the insurance industry's objection to the plan will be Andy Bunn, a partner at McCarter & English, a New Jersey law firm that represents managed care companies.

Bunn, a litigator who represents his clients in disputes with hospitals and doctors over reimbursement and in disputes with individual policy holders as well as in disputes with other health care plans, says the government plan would be attractive to employers. He fears companies would switch to the government plan which would offer fewer benefits to employees. And the resulting loss of clients could force some private health insurance companies into insolvency.

Federal Judge Calls For Sentencing Revamping

Carnes

A federal judge told a congressional committee today that mandatory minimum sentencing has become “a blunt and inflexible tool” that lacks “the ability to meaningfully distinguish between serious offenders and those who are substantially less culpable.”

Julie Carnes, chief judge of the northern district of Georgia, made the comments before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Carnes argues that current mandatory minimum sentencing provisions sweep quite broadly. So thata a penalty that might be appropriate for an egregious offender might be imposed on a less culpable violator. For example, a mandatory minimum statute would impose a 20-year sentence not only on the kingpin who had organized and operated an extensive drug trafficking ring, but also on the manual laborer hired to offload a shipment of that kingpin’s drugs.

The Story Of Iran's 'Other' Mousavi Emerging - A Family's Struggle To Find Their Daughter

By now we've all heard the story of Mir Houssein Mousavi, the Iranian presidential candidate who believes his votes were stolen from him. But I want to tell you about another Mousavi, a beautiful young woman who has been missing for days and who may, or may not, still be alive.

This story is culled from Twitter feeds, dispatches from contacts in Iran, discussions with expatriate Iranian journalists and Iranian experts. Obviously, it's impossible to verify. But like Neda Soltan, the young woman who was gunned down and died on camera near a demonstration in Tehran, Taraneh Mousavi is becoming a cause celeb among the freedom loving people of Iran and their supporters world wide.

From what I've been able to piece together, Taraneh disappeared on June 25. She and some friends were detained by the authorities. Her friends were released. She was not.

Her family knows this much from accounts from her released companions.

For days the family searched for Taraneh - and for information about her - but the authorities were not forthcoming. Then came word that she had been hospitalized, the victim of a car accident. But a quick trip to the hospital found no record of her being there. Still, medical personnel were kind enough to say, yes, a woman matching Taraneh's description had been brought in, in critical condition. She had injuries consistent with a violent sexual assault.

The family still has no idea about her whereabouts or even if she is alive. Iran's sadistic militia is apparently telling her parents that she had sexual relations outside of marriage and that, depressed, she attempted suicide. The more likely explanation is that she was raped while in custody and taken, unconscious, to the hospital.

The family continues to search for Taraneh Mousavi - or at least some word about her whereabouts and condition. But like the families of so many other missing people in Iran, the mystery of her disappearance at the hands of the authorities may never be solved.

Recession Destroying Company Loyalty Authors Say

Too many managers are taking their employees for granted creating a lack of loyalty in the workplace, and that's affecting bottom lines.

That's the view of authors Timothy Keiningham and Lerzan Aksoy who will be my guests at 5 PM New York time Thursday on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com.

Keiningham and Aksoy argue that employers, recognizing that there's a huge pool of unemployed people out there, aren't showing loyalty toward their own workers. And in return, employees show reduced loyalty to their companies, viewing work as - well - just work - a means of collecting a paycheck.

Their new book, Why Loyalty Matters, explores ways bosses can inspire those who work for them and increase workplace productivity.

Tiny Airports Take Off With Stimulus

By Michael Grabell, ProPublica

Watch the "Follow the Money" report [1] that aired on CBS Evening News With Katie Couric.

A plane lands on the resurfaced runway at Wiliamson-Sodus Airport near Lake Ontario in upstate New York. The airport is owned by the private Williamson Flying Club. (CBS News)

The village of Ouzinkie [2] is one of the remotest outposts in the United States -- home to a mere 165 people on an island off another island off the coast of Alaska. There are no stores, no gas stations and no stoplights.

Yet the village will soon be home to a new $15 million airport paid for by taxpayers under the federal stimulus package.

Officials say the airport is a critical link for the Alutiiq natives and the descendants of Russian otter hunters who call the village home. Residents depend on a $200 round-trip flight just to go to the grocery store. The only alternative: a 40-minute skiff ride across the sometimes choppy Ouzinkie Narrows to Kodiak.

The Federal Aviation Administration has now allocated all [3] of its $1.1 billion in stimulus money for airport improvements. But the complex set of rules [4] laid out in the recovery act has led to some counterintuitive results.

The biggest winners aren't the busiest airports. And more than $100 million is going to airports that have fewer than one flight an hour [5] -- airports that cater to recreational fliers, corporate jets or remote communities.

The Alaskan villages of Ouzinkie, Akiachak and Fort Yukon are each getting the maximum $15 million stimulus grant. Other winners include an airport owned by a private flying club, one used mostly by Purdue University and a landing strip on an American Indian reservation that has roughly one flight every two days.

By contrast, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport [6] -- the busiest in the world -- hasn't received any stimulus money from the FAA. Neither have hubs in Newark and Las Vegas.

The FAA says politics aren't to blame for the inconsistency. The stimulus was designed to supplement infrastructure funding, not supplant it. Projects weren't eligible if they had already received money from federal, state or local governments, or from private sources such as landing fees, and that ruled out many bigger, busier airports.

When the stimulus plan was announced, for example, McCarran International [7] in Las Vegas was already in the middle of a $3.5 billion capital improvement program.

"In other words, there was no supply of 'shovel-ready' work that was not already funded or under way at McCarran," said Chris Jones, spokesman for the Clark County Aviation Department, which operates the airport.

Boost for Tribe's Air Ambulance

See which airports got the most stimulus funds.

[8]To qualify for stimulus money, airports were required to have a project ready to start in 30 days. Awards were limited to $15 million per project, and no airport board could receive more than $20 million.

That means the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- which operates Newark Liberty, LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports -- couldn't get any more money than the airport authority in Mott, N.D., pop. 692.

The government also waived the usual requirement that airports put up some of their own money, making the stimulus grants attractive to smaller airfields.

"We tried to target the ones that have the most urgent needs," said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown. "It was designed to fund projects that otherwise might not have been funded. ... For some airports, this is probably a unique opportunity."

So it is at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation [9] in North and South Dakota, where unemployment is 45 percent in the summer and tribal funds are limited. "You need to devote as much of the money as you can to taking care of the social needs," said the tribal chairman, Ron His Horse Is Thunder.

Under the stimulus package, the Standing Rock Airport in Fort Yates, N.D., about 60 miles south of Bismarck, will receive $1 million to repave the runway, install lights and build a fence.

The airport has about 200 takeoffs and landings a year, roughly the traffic Atlanta has every 90 minutes. But the upgrades might help the reservation attract new wind energy business or defense contracts, His Horse Is Thunder said.

Most important, it will improve the chances of getting air ambulance service for emergencies, he said. The Standing Rock reservation is roughly the size of Connecticut.

Private Club Gets New Runway

The stimulus package lands in the middle of a running political battle about airport finances. Airlines have complained [10] for years that hobbyists and business fliers aren't paying their fair share, causing airline passengers to pay more for tickets.

Unlike the usual grants for airport improvements, stimulus money doesn't come from ticket fees but from an increase in the national debt.

Funding for little-used airports also has been a focus for Republican critics [11] of the stimulus. They’ve singled out a regional airport in Johnstown, Pa., that bears the name of Democratic Rep. John Murtha, whose generous earmarking is under FBI scrutiny.

The Washington Post reported [12] in April that the airport has received $200 million in federal funds in the past decade, including $800,000 in stimulus money. The National Republican Congressional Committee dubbed it the "Airport for No One."

But larger chunks of stimulus money are going to airports that are closer to major cities and get far less use than Murtha's.

The grants were open to any publicly owned airport regardless of size. Private groups could compete so long as their airports served more than 2,500 passengers a year or were designated as "reliever" airports to reduce air traffic congestion.

The resurfaced runway at Williamson-Sodus Airport (CBS News)

That's what opened the door for the Williamson Flying Club [13].

The group of roughly 200 hobbyists who fly Pipers and Cessnas owns and operates the Williamson-Sodus Airport near Lake Ontario in upstate New York. The private club recently resurfaced its runway [14] with the help of a $555,000 stimulus grant.

According to club bylaws, prospective members must be approved by a two-thirds vote and pay a $345 membership fee plus $30 a month in dues and insurance. But President Joe Ebert said the rules are a formality and not intended to be exclusive.

"I don't think we've turned away but a half a dozen people," he said. "We can't tell people they can't use our airport because we've accepted public funds."

Williamson-Sodus is also a "reliever" runway for Greater Rochester International Airport, about 35 miles west, and is used by the Coast Guard to store supplies.

But according to the FAA, 90 percent of the flights are by local recreational or business aircraft. During one recent week, 10 of the 22 takeoffs and landings recorded on the air traffic Web site FlightAware.com [15] were by the flying club or one of its officers.

Then there is the Purdue University Airport [16] in West Lafayette, Ind.

The two-runway airfield was closed to commercial flights more than five years ago and is mainly used by students in the aviation technology program, the football and basketball teams and senior administrators. Most students use Indianapolis International Airport, an hour's drive south, said Betty Stansbury, the Purdue airport drector.

Under the stimulus package, Purdue's airport will get $1.45 million to raise its fence from 8 feet to 12 feet and add a barrier to prevent animals from burrowing underneath.

The FAA recommended the project several years ago to meet new standards, Stansbury said. "I said, 'We'd be happy to do it if you provide funding for it because we don't have the resources to be able to do that,'" she said.

The taller fence and barriers will prevent wildlife from getting in the way of planes, Stansbury said. "A deer can jump an 8-foot fence."

But since 1990, 13 of the airport's 14 reported animal strikes [17] were birds. The other one involved a burrowing animal -- when the propeller of a Piper Cherokee hit a skunk.

An Air Lifeline for the Economy

Aside from California, Alaska has received the most airport money. Many communities there are so isolated they lack construction equipment, increasing costs.

To repair the gravel runway in Allakaket, the contractor will have to ferry equipment in on barges that are specially designed for the shallow bottom and hairpin curves of the Koyukuk River, said the project manager, Cindie Little.

"Doing construction work in rural Alaska is not for the faint of heart," Little said.

Many Alaskan villages wouldn't survive without airports, said Roger Wetherell, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. With 82 percent of communities unserved by roads, Alaskans rely on airports for food, mail and medical transport.

In Ouzinkie, there is little alternative, said Tom Quick, the city's utility manager and vice mayor. Residents pay $50 to fly to the supermarkets on Kodiak Island. On the way back, the boxes of groceries that have to go in cargo raise the price to $150, he said.

The existing gravel runway is too short, subject to 60-mph crosswinds and built near a landfill frequented by seagulls, Quick said. A new airport might attract a fish-drying facility or a tourist lodge, he said, leading to a rare commodity -- stable jobs.

And that could keep Ouzinkie's youths from fleeing, he said.

"How many people you've got," Quick said, "doesn't deny the fact that a community needs essential services."

Open Letter From Iranian Director Bahman Farmanara

The following is an open letter from Iranian director Bahman Farmanara. I have been asked to publish it in my blog. This is a translation from the original Farsi published on June 24, 2009:

Greetings To All My Friends:

I am an Iranian living in Iran and I do believe in the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. But nowhere in that constitution is indicated that I should also believe all the official lies. To this day, I have not signed any petition with any of my colleagues or friends because I wanted to be solely responsible for what I say and sign. Hence the following note.

These days we are being invited to a Banquet of Silence; I believe that by attending it we will not only lose our own voice forever but, more importantly, we will bring eternal shame on ourselves by ignoring the bloody death of Neda on the streets of Tehran. I believe in what Shakespeare says in his play Julius Caesar that, "A coward dies a thousand times before his death. The valiant never tastes death but once." It is in the hope of freedom and social justice for all Iranians that I take this perilous step.

It is not important if I do not make any more films. But it is paramount that I do not dance to any official tune, because at the age of 68, it is not very honorable.

I am not a hero nor do I aspire to be one and I am not sure how long this feeble body of mine can endure pain in captivity before I sign anything that I am dictated to.

I like to end this note with a quotation from a poem by our esteemed poet Simin Behbahani which ironically was written in 1973, six years before the Islamic Revolution.

"Where Silver rules, Gold becomes God,
Where Lie can be the judge and jury in every case,
Where the air, the air we breathe, the air sustaining life,
becomes the muffling blanket on the voices of hundreds…"

ONE CAN NOT REMAIN SILENT.

I'll live hoping for the day that the sounds of freedom and social justice ring throughout our ancient homeland, and we can sing the hymn "Oh, Iran!" together, with this belief in our heart of hearts that our land is a blessed one.

Yours ever,

Bahman Farmanara

News Talk Online July 14, 2009: Gay Soldier Challenging Don't Ask Don't Tell

First Lt. Dan Choi, an infantry platoon leader and officer in the National Guard and a West Point graduate who is a linguist expert in Arabic who is being drummed out of the armed services for being openly gay will be my guest today on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com

Throughout his tour of duty in Iraq, Choi, while leading patrols or meeting with local Iraqi government officials and Army leaders acted as his own interpreter. He built friendships and added to the counterinsurgency push. Soon he was leading reconstruction efforts in the “Triangle of Death” to rehabilitate a county’s water and sewage infrastructure. He still has contact with many Iraqi leaders and friends.

“I wanted to return to Iraq immediately when we returned home but also found love and for the first time started a romantic relationship," Choi said.

"I could not lie about my identity anymore. I left active duty.”

Since coming out on the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC, the military announced it had begun proceedings to discharge him. Choi described the notification letter from the military as a "slap in the face."

Choi will be my guest at 5 PM New York time today on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com