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Bernice Vetsch

St Paul, MN
Commenter for
5 years 24 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 02/17/12 at 04:37 pm in response to Eating-disorder patients fight double battle: their disorder, and insurance firms

Only in America are insurers allowed to decide what illnesses they will cover and which they will not, and even when ostensibly covered, deny payment because the patient had a similar illness twenty years ago or some other lame excuse.

We don't choose our illnesses or weaknesses, they just happen. And no family should have to bankrupt itself to pay the full cost of care for any member whether or not they are insured.

Insurers know pretty well exactly what price premiums have...

Posted on 02/17/12 at 04:47 pm in response to Iran to Europe: Want oil? Meet these demands.

In light of the US's latest sanction, the one forbidding any payment for oil to go through the major (only?) processor of such payments, there may be no way any European country could actually pay Iran for oil. Perhaps there is a way around that sanction for Asian countries, in which case Iran should be developing new markets there for its country to remain at least somewhat solvent.

As long as people like John McCain are describing Iran as "the most dangerous country in the world...

Posted on 02/17/12 at 04:11 pm in response to Minnesota House votes to scrap seniority-only rule for teachers

There's nothing wrong with Betty McCollum's brain or her and Keith Ellison's ability to differentiate between a good idea and a bad one.

The freeway-sized bridge proposed by MnDot and Senator Klobuchar would involve more jobs, but had to receive an exemption from the regulations that protect the St. Croix, probably because it would obliterate both the "wild" and "scenic" aspects of the view.

The big bridge would cost $574 million to $690 million. The smaller bridge favored by...

Posted on 02/17/12 at 04:26 pm in response to It’s back to the future for elder care

I read a couple of years ago that the way some long-term care insurers stay profitable is to just delay paying benefits for care until the elder has died. Very efficient. Very Ayn Randlike.

Long-term care insurance is expensive, more than many workers can afford, especially if they are near retirement.

Assisted living retirement homes can seem somewhat affordable at, say, $2,000 - $3,000 per month, but there are add-ons for every time a person needs to see or talk with a...

Posted on 02/16/12 at 05:16 pm in response to Who's for (and against) voter photo ID, and why?

ACORN was convicted of zero incidents of voter fraud because it did not commit any.

Their part-time employees were paid by the number of voter registration forms turned in. ACORN then reviewed each form and removed any that were incomplete or, in the case of some from a very few people, were supposedly the registrations of non-existent people -- like "Mickey Mouse" -- from a few employees who wanted to increase their pay.

ACORN fired these employees and turned in the...

Posted on 02/16/12 at 05:41 pm in response to Republicans, League of Women Voters go at it over Voter ID

Mary Kiffmeyer is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and, in 2011, its state chair. She participates in ALEC national meetings at which legislators and large corporations create legislation to be passed, whenever possible, in the states.

Voter i.d. and the other constitutional amendments on offer are ALEC creations. As are most of the bills proposed by the current Republican majority. They punish the poor to further enrich insurance companies and...

Posted on 02/16/12 at 02:35 pm in response to To understand Iran’s nuclear program and ambitions, look to the past

The IAEA's latest report said merely that Iran's work on the develop of nuclear energy for peaceful uses (electricity, medical) could conceivably lead to military use. As a signer to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, it is legally and morally entitled to do the work it is doing.

In January 2007, the author of an article in the journal of the Association for the Advancement of Science noted that Iran had neither drilled new wells to replace some nearing exhaustion nor maintained...

Posted on 02/17/12 at 11:39 am in response to To understand Iran’s nuclear program and ambitions, look to the past

Israel is resented by the neighboring countries it has invaded (Gaza, Lebanon), by farmers whose land it keeps taking for illegal settlements on the West Bank, and for imprisoning the people of Gaza behind an illegal embargo and onerous checkpoints. I don't believe the Israeli PEOPLE -- including the Arab citizens whose civil rights are now being whittled away -- are hated. Other countries know it's not their fault what their government chooses to do.

Whether or not Iran is...

Posted on 02/17/12 at 11:04 pm in response to Neorenaissance: Climate denial bombshell

According to a February 16 Guardian article, The document claimed to be false is titled "Confidential Memo: Heartland Climate Strategy" and "largely duplicates information contained in the other documents. "

The Guardian's several articles, two or more reprinted at www.commondreams.org, are based on leaked documents from Heartland posted by a "misinformation watchdog website" called DeSmogBlog. These documents...

Posted on 02/15/12 at 06:03 pm in response to The new MinnPost

I much prefer to have the oldest comment first. If they're in reverse chronological order you have to read from the bottom up in order not to be reading replies to comments you haven't yet read.

See, as an example, the comments section to articles at www.commondreams.org. They are in chronological order, oldest first. Your reply to any previous comment (or any reply to a previous reply) follows the item you...