Land Of The Flea

NY’s SAFE Act Imperils Yet Another Victim

"David Lewis is a librarian who lives in Amherst, New York, and owns several pistols. He once swallowed some anti-anxiety medication -- allowing cops to grab his guns pursuant to the SAFE Act's cruel discrimination against people with 'mental-health issues.' Turns out cops had the wrong 'David Lewis.' ''I was extremely shocked and saddened and immediately just felt embarrassed knowing that someone had thought negatively of me and wrongly. I had absolutely no idea how this could have happened,' said Lewis...' He also 'hoped his health record would be confidential. 'It's not right. i always thought people could expect more privacy than that,' said Lewis.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNY’s SAFE Act Imperils Yet Another Victim

Dealing with Cops These Days

"In a word – don’t. You are dealing with perhaps the worst possible tag-team combination: Someone with legal power over you who is held to a different – and far more lenient – standard than you are. A cop can: Commit assault with near-impunity. He can draw his firearm and point it at you – even shoot at you – without fear of life-altering consequences – such as a felony record for brandishing and reckless endangerment. He can rely on his cronies and the system to cover up or minimize his errors of judgment, even when they involve serious harm to innocent people such as yourself. His word will be treated as legal tender in court – while yours is considered suspect. His very person is anointed." Continue reading →

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Arbitrary enforcement, secrecy, self-interest, and the loss of government legitimacy

"The drug war and the national security scandals have overlapped in so many ways, not the least of which is a growing sense of the erosion of the very foundation of legitimacy of government. There are laws you must follow, but we’re not going to tell you what they are, or our interpretation of what they mean, but you must follow them anyway, and we’re going to gag you so you can’t talk about these laws you must follow, and if you try to take it to court, we’re going to invoke national security and say that the courts can’t be allowed to discuss it, plus since it’s secret it doesn’t exist anyway." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArbitrary enforcement, secrecy, self-interest, and the loss of government legitimacy

ObamaCare Pushes Big Medical Practice Changes

"More than half the doctors are now working for hospitals and other institutions, rather than in private practice. Hospitals are using their new doctor employees to get more money out of Medicare. The other major unintended consequence is the boost to consumer-directed health care. The cheapest plans are going to have deductibles of $5,000 or more. Millions of patients are going to be buying care with their own money, rather than with a third-party payer’s money. Accenture predicts the number of walk-in clinics is going to double in the next few years. They are doing what the ACOs are unlikely to do: lowering costs, increasing quality, and improving access to care." Continue reading →

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Don’t Be Fooled, ObamaCare Will Drive Up Unemployment and Healthcare Costs

"To the extent that prices are prevented from rising, it will create enhanced rationing by waiting. And almost anything patients and doctors to do circumvent the cost of waiting will also add to the money cost of care. For example, an increasing number of primary care doctors are becoming concierge doctors. For a fee of about $2,000 a year, patients get same day or next day appointments, more time with the physician and someone who acts as their agent in dealing with other parts of a complex heath care system. Yet physicians who become concierge doctors typically replace a practice that sees about 2,500 patients with one that sees only about 500." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDon’t Be Fooled, ObamaCare Will Drive Up Unemployment and Healthcare Costs

2009 Promise of Cheaper Health Care Has Morphed Into 2013 Price Hikes

"Remember when President Obama promised back in 2009 that his health care reform plan would cut insurance premiums for the average family by $2,500? Four years later, those promised cuts have morphed into admissions of price hikes. According to a new study from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, 70 percent of chief financial officers cite health costs as their top concern, up from 51 percent last year, mainly because of what they expect Obamacare to do to costs. Many smaller companies are contemplating dropping family coverage — and will instead offer benefits to workers only, thanks to the higher costs on the way because of Obamacare. Continue reading →

Continue Reading2009 Promise of Cheaper Health Care Has Morphed Into 2013 Price Hikes

Disturbing report finds U.S. hospitals profit more when surgery goes wrong

"US hospitals face a disincentive to improve care because they make drastically more money when surgery goes wrong than when a patient is discharged with no complications, a study published Tuesday found. An estimated $400 billion is spent on surgery in the United States every year. Privately insured patients with complications provide hospitals with a 330 percent higher profit margin than those whose surgeries went smoothly. Patients whose bills are paid by Medicare — a government insurance plan for the elderly and disabled — produced a 190 percent higher profit margin when complications arose following surgery." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDisturbing report finds U.S. hospitals profit more when surgery goes wrong

Gun Confiscation Begins in California

"As reported by David Knight, California law enforcement is now confiscating legally purchased guns from registered gun owners who have been labeled 'Armed Prohibited Persons' (APPs.) Police shoved two M16s within inches of gun owner Joe Mendez’s face during a raid on his house to seize his legally-purchased firearms. Fourteen officers total were involved. Police even showed up later to lie to Mendez’s wife about the raid, saying that they were only taking a report after her car was involved in a 'hit and run.' All of the targeted APPs had purchased their firearms legally but the State of California declared afterwards that they were prohibited from gun ownership." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun Confiscation Begins in California

Gun Confiscation Begins in California

"As reported by David Knight, California law enforcement is now confiscating legally purchased guns from registered gun owners who have been labeled 'Armed Prohibited Persons' (APPs.) Police shoved two M16s within inches of gun owner Joe Mendez’s face during a raid on his house to seize his legally-purchased firearms. Fourteen officers total were involved. Police even showed up later to lie to Mendez’s wife about the raid, saying that they were only taking a report after her car was involved in a 'hit and run.' All of the targeted APPs had purchased their firearms legally but the State of California declared afterwards that they were prohibited from gun ownership." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun Confiscation Begins in California

Gun Confiscation Begins in California

"As reported by David Knight, California law enforcement is now confiscating legally purchased guns from registered gun owners who have been labeled 'Armed Prohibited Persons' (APPs.) Police shoved two M16s within inches of gun owner Joe Mendez’s face during a raid on his house to seize his legally-purchased firearms. Fourteen officers total were involved. Police even showed up later to lie to Mendez’s wife about the raid, saying that they were only taking a report after her car was involved in a 'hit and run.' All of the targeted APPs had purchased their firearms legally but the State of California declared afterwards that they were prohibited from gun ownership." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun Confiscation Begins in California