The Dublin Citizen (Dublin, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 17, 2013 Page: 2 of 22
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Sec. A, Page 2
The Dublin Citizen
Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013
Opinions
An Opinion bv Gus Martin
Obama-Care, will it fulfill
its original promises?
Unfortunately most of the
early claims made for the law
have turned out to be false
Early on, before the
Affordable Care Act came up
for a vote, the White House
and some robotic liberal
Democrat politicians
formulated a list of promised
"benefits" supposed to come
from the all too mysterious
ObamaCare Bill.
Since most of the legislators
scheduled to vote on the Bill
knew little or nothing about
it, courtesy of the severely
limited time that it was
available for legislative review
before the vote, most of them
had to depend on little more
than generalized speculation.
In speech after speech by the
"insider" Democratic
politicians, including the
President, and in the usual
pro-liberal claptrap from a
preponderance of the media,
the proposed ObamaCare Bill
was praised as the answer to
a multitude of medical and
associated economic
problems.
Too, we were assured of
the survival of our current
medical arrangements, except
that they would become
much cheaper for us overall.
Obviously some politicians
and the media Left doesn't
require proof on information
they spout out as long as it
benefits their political
philosophies.
I think that It would be fair
to examine a couple of these
early day rather rosy
predictions and follow them
as time and better evaluation
procedures offer clearer
views of the actual
characteristics of
"ObamaCare".
This column will examine
early-day promises from the
highest levels of the
Democratic Party leadership.
We will also look at some
unintended consequences of
the "Affordable Healthcare
Act" regarding employment
conditions and
unemployment levels.
Lower healthcare costs.
One of the earliest promises
was that the "Affordable"
Healthcare Act would reduce
healthcare insurance costs.
The President himself assured
us a number of times that
this Bill could be expected to
lower the insurance rates, of
an average family, by
$2500.00 a year. He gave the
credit, for coming up with
this optimistic estimate, to a
group of health-policy
"experts".
I would wonder if some of
them helped to write this
"Affordable" monstrosity. So
far I haven't heard anybody
admit that they even
contributed to this ill
conceived stack of paper.
These "experts" cited
improved care coordination
as one reason for the savings;
Yeah right.
As if any government
controlled organization ever
achieves effective co-
ordination. Their usual
coordinating efforts are the
equivalency of herding cats
with a lawn mower. Too they
predicted that investing in
information technology*, and
increasing insurance
marketing efficiency would
bring down the costs.
Well now, since October 1st
I have been observing the
ObamaCare insurance
marketing efficiency at work
as people try to join the
ObamaCare "club". Efficiency?
You be the judge. Recently,
even the advocates of the
Affordable Healthcare Act
admitted that the premiums
will generally rise, not fall.
How much, will depend on
location, age of person
applying, and a bounty of
other considerations.
Here are some examples of
estimated costs of families
buying insurance under the
banner of ObamaCare in
various states. Colorado,
Minnesota, and Wisconsin are
expecting insurance
premiums to increase by as
much as 30%, other estimates
are much higher. Non-group
premiums in Ohio are
expected to rise as much as
85%.
Non-group premiums in
Oregon and Nevada expect
about the same numbers. I
could go on listing states, but
the point of this paragraph is
that ObamaCare is not going
to lower health insurance
costs overall.
Preservation of Present
Insurance:
President Obama has
severally stated that under
the Affordable Healthcare
Act; “If you like the health
insurance you have now, you
can keep it”. Generous, but
this is definitely not possible
in all cases. Many people’s
health insurance has been
provided by their employers.
The large increase in the costs
of this service under
ObamaCare has forced many
employers to move away
from this benefit. They just
can’t afford this increased
cost of operation.
Too, large numbers of
families are receiving notices
from their insurance
providers cancelling their
policies due to the massive
cost increases of ObamaCare’s
mandates. There are many
categories of workers
addressed by the Act with
various health insurance
requirements, some of which
depend on the number of
hours they work a week.
The full time employees are
treated much differently than
the part time workers.
Employers are not required
to provide health insurance
to part time workers so many
employers saw a quick way to
cut costs.
Move as many employees
as possible to a part time
category. Other employers
are deciding to drop their
support of company provided
healthcare insurance allowing
ObamaCare to take over the
costs.
Next week we will complete
the list * The use ofcomputers
in storing patient medical
history.
Friday, October 18
Community Pep Rally
11:30 a.m. Memorial Stadium
Saturday, October 19
Erath Co. Genealogy Society Meeting
2 p.m. - Dublin Public Library
Mcnday, October 21
Red Hat Society Luncheon
11:30 a.m. Senior Citizen Center
Elementary Fall Festival
5-7 p.m. Memorial Stadium
DISD School Board Meeting
7 p.m. - 420 N. Post Oak
Where are we nninn?
STATE CAPITAL
HIGHLIGHTS
By Ed Sterling
Texas Press Association
goingt
As I’ve mentioned previously, Alaska is just huge and
because of a limited population, it seems even bigger. As a
reminder, Alaska has only about 750,000 people as
compared to Texas with 23 million or so in half the
space.
And there are few roads in Alaska. As an example, I
believe there were 23 miles of road in and around the
capitol of Juneau but you can’t drive in or out. You get
there by boat or airplane.
And as a sidenote, most of Alaska is served by water taxi
and people live via weekly shipments by boat. I remember
the days when we waited for trucks to arrive at Western
Auto, White’s Auto, Sears and Montgomery Wards.
The only difference with Alaska, you can’t just drive to
another town to get something.
That’s obviously true of the many islands involved.
And there is limited rail service for freight and passengers
and many of the lines were established during the gold
rush and have been updated. As a result, the train tracks
go over some very primitive areas with extreme beauty. It’s
really difficult to describe.
You don’t get anywhere really fast as the roads are built
along streams and mountains and are not really wide with
few passing lanes.
That leads to some incredible discoveries such as the
one-way tunnel that used to be just for trains and cars and
buses had to be loaded on the train to go almost two miles.
Now, there is limited access to drive over the rails at certain
times going one way.
Around every bend is a new discovery in the rugged
wilderness. It’s almost like a trip back in time.
Our tour director, Annette King (who I have neglected to
mention, shame on me), was terrific and she went above
and beyond her duties. She tried to spring a few surprises
on us and one that really surprised me is when we turned
off the road and went into the back woods.
That led to the question about where in the world are we
going. And then in a few miles of dense forest, we found a
real treasure, a gallery of works by an artist of whom I had
heard and is well known.
Norman Lowell of Lowell Galleries depicts the nature of
his beloved Alaska like no one I’ve ever seen.
Most people know about my love of art. I don’t know a
whole lot about it but I appreciate talent and Lowell has a
great talent for capturing on canvas what he sees.
He and his wife, Libby, settled there after moving to
Alaska some 5 5 years ago and raised a family. They lived
in a large unique log cabin that is just up a hill from the
gallery with his original studio is in a small building nearby
that also has various displays of his work and history of
the area.
In a garden by the cabin, my wife saw the biggest
cabbages she had ever seen.
Lowell paints in every medium using a brush and knife.
He credits his inspiration primarily from the natural world
of Alaska with the unusual and beautiful light of Alaska
playing a big part in his works.
His work can be seen and ordered - originals or prints
- online at www.normanlowellgallerey.net. Also featured
on the web page is a DVT) tour of the gallery.
On his web page, Lowell notes “The result of my fifty
See OBSERVE, A3
\l A
Treasure of the Snow
Court rejects case
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Lifth Circuit Court of
Appeals on Oct. 3 rejected a case challenging the
constitutionality of a 2011 Texas election law regulating
deputy voter registrars.
In a 2-1 ruling, the majority of the panel said the plaintiffs
Voting for America Inc., Brad Richey, Penelope McLadden and
Project Vote Inc. “have not made a clear showing” that certain
provisions of the law violate their Lirst Amendment rights or
are preempted by the federal Voting Rights Act.
Plaintiffs challenged these five points in the state election
law:
(1) Prohibition of non-state residents from serving as
volunteer deputy registrars;
(2) Prohibition of a volunteer deputy registrar from serving
as such in more than one county;
(3) A compensation provision;
(4) Prohibition from photocopying or scanning voter
registration applications submitted to a deputy voter registrar
but not yet delivered to the county registrar; and
(5) Prohibition of voter deputy registrars from sending
completed voter registration applications via U.S. mail.
DPS gives enforcement count
State Highway Patrol troopers made more than 1,600 DWI
arrests during a special enforcement period recently, which
included the Labor Day holiday, the Texas Department of
Public Safety announced Oct. 8. The enforcement effort also
resulted in more than 24,440 speeding citations, more than
3,540 seat belt/child safety seat citations, 1,223 fugitive
arrests and 977 felony arrests.
The targeted DWI enforcement period spanned 18 days
and included additional patrol hours funded by a Texas
Department of Transportation grant.
The precise count of DWI arrests was 1,682, and 218 of
those arrests were a direct result of the increased patrols
funded by the TxDOT grant, DPS Director Steven McCraw
reported.
TXDOT plans to name names
The Texas Department of Transportation on Oct. 2
announced it is notifying the top toll violators and giving
them a deadline to pay their overdue tolls or be included on
a list the agency will publish in the next two weeks.
Authority to report the names of violators publicly and
other powers were provided by Senate Bill 1792 passed in the
recent legislative session, TXDOT said, adding that drivers
owe more than $27 million in unpaid tolls—money that will
be used to pay debt and fund operations on these roads.
Cuckoo protection is proposed
The U.S. Pish and Wildlife Service on Oct. 2 announced its
intention to propose to add the yellow-billed cuckoo to a list
of protected animals under the Endangered Species Act of
1973.
Preferred habitat of the yellow-billed cuckoo, according to
Texas Parks & Wildlife,
includes open woodlands
with dense undergrowth,
overgrown orchards and
pastures, moist thickets and
willow groves along stream
banks.
Grand jury does not
indict
A Travis County grand jury
on Oct. 4 declined to indict
Travis County District
AttomeyRosemaryLehmberg
for her conduct after she was
arrested on April 12.
Lehmberg, who serves as
the state’s chief ethics
prosecutor, on April 19 pled
guilty to drunken driving and
served about three weeks of
a 45-day jail sentence.
Lehmberg still faces a
lawsuit seeking to remove
her from office for
intoxication.
Send Us Your Events
445-2515 938 N. Patrick, Dublin, Tx 76446 publisher@dublincitizen.com
ACROSS
1 "Austin_Fest”
ended in 1998
5 TX George W.
6 Houston crawfish
boil: “Bayou_”
7 Quanah h,s. class
8 sun bronzed
9 fronts of buildings
16 TXism; “he’s tighter
_bark on a tree”
ex-Ranger Josh
Hamilton had to do
this after incidents
in 2009 & 2010
TX Horton Foote
wrote screenplay
for “_Kill a
Mockingbird”
TXism: “got as
much__as a
hibernating bear”
TXism: “worn__
frazzle”
close-up camera
lenses
30 Tex-Mex entree
34 ex-Cowboy RB
great, Emmitt (init.)
preliminary version
of writing (2 wds.)
36 lovers’ quarrel
37 ex-Cowboy DT. Bob
39 Mavs & Spurs
play in this NBA
off-season period
(2 wds.)
WWII bomber:
_Gay"
theater where we
watched from cars
15 _Pepper
16 TX ZZ Top album:
"_H ombres"
harmony with
something or
someone
asks many women
to marry?
“fender bender” result
Culberson Co.
mountain:
",_Capitan"
this John performed
in TX Willie’s “Farm
Aid IV"
TXism: “ran like.
of a burning
slump"
1
2
3
4 I
5
6
7
8
■
TEXAS
CROSSWORD
by Charley & Guy Orbison
Copyright 2013 by Ofbison Bros.
TXism:
anything I ever saw"
snow or water
sliders
_-gallon hat
dir. from Andrews
to Odessa
DOWN
TX AG Greg who
plans to run for
governor in 2014
seat of Hardeman
County
Cruz and Cornyn
are members of
this body
TX Bob Wills line:
“__, take it away
Leon”
“do, re, mi,_...”
natural ability to
do something
TX Joe Don Baker
‘67 film:"_
Hand Luke"
this Alan starred
with TX-born Carol
Burnett in ‘The
Four Seasons”
oil field term for an
amateur geologist:
_.bug”
__Marshall was in
“Superman IP with
TX Valerie Perrine
TXism: “_a spell”
(visit)
TXism: “hog wash”
pro golfer “Fuzzy"
who attended UH
TXism: “__
shooting ducks on
a pond"
first female gov. of
TX: “__” Ferguson
placed in the Azle
News to sell items
disgusting
substance
TXism for "boss”
TX Gene Autry’s
first hit: "That
Silver-Haired
Daddy___"
this Spielberg is
married to TX-born
Kate Capshaw
TXism: “tax
wrangler"
ugly old witch
TXism:
a lick of sense”
38 this Sophia was in
“Houseboat” with
TX Martha Hyer
40 tenant’s payment
41 TXism: “let a
sleeping dog_”
42 TX jazz/blues
singer Anderson
48 house foundation
50 shine or luster
51 Killeen univer,
before UCT
56 bird homes
57 TXism: “it_
a big loop to rope
him" (big man)
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(USPS 006-412)
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The Dublin Citizen (Dublin, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 17, 2013, newspaper, October 17, 2013; Dublin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth759245/m1/2/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dublin Public Library.