After DC gun ban overturned, city seeks new rules

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Dale Metta, who manages a gun shop just outside the District of Columbia limits in Maryland, has had to turn away dozens of city residents wanting to buy handguns in recent days. Never mind that the U.S. Supreme Court just struck down Washington's 32-year-old ban on possessing handguns. "I'd like to sell anything I have," said Metta. But he won't just yet - not until the city draws up new regulations.

The Supreme Court's decision June 26 rebuffed the strictest gun law in the nation.

The National Rifle Association called it "a great moment in American history." But prospective gun buyers and sellers said they remain on hold, awaiting the response of D.C. officials who are scrambling to draft new handgun regulations that comply with the court ruling.  MORE..

Chicago newspaper calls for repeal of US 2nd Amendment

(CNSNews.com) - A Chicago newspaper's call to repeal the Second Amendment is an "unconscionable attack on the entire Bill of Rights and the freedoms it protects," the Second Amendment Foundation says.

In an editorial published on Friday, the day after the Supreme Court handed down its 5-4 ruling upholding the individual right to own firearms, The Chicago Tribune called the Second Amendment an "anachronism" that should be repealed.  MORE..

National Health Care preview: Video Shows Woman Ignored While Dying in New York Hospital

{NEW YORK — Fox News} Video from a surveillance camera at a Brooklyn hospital shows a woman dying on the floor of a psychiatric emergency-room while staffers initially ignore her.

The video shows the 49-year-old woman keeling out of her chair at 5:32 a.m. and lying facedown on the floor, then thrashing, before going still. An hour passed before a fellow patient gets the attention of a staffer.  MORE..

Unstamped birth certificate suggests Obama may not be "natural born" US citizen

The "birth certificate" claimed by the Barack Obama campaign is not certified as authentic and appears to be a photoshopped fake.

The image, purporting to come from the Hawaii Department of Health, has been the subject of intense skepticism in the blogosphere in the past two weeks. But now the senior spokesman of that Department has confirmed to Israel Insider what are the required features of a certified birth document -- features that Obama's purported "birth certificate" clearly lack. The image became increasingly suspect with Israel Insider's revelation that variations of the certificate image were posted on the Photobucket image aggregation website -- including one listing the location of Obama's birth as Antarctica, one with the certificate supposedly issued by the government of North Korea, and another including a purported photo of baby Barack -- one of which has a "photo taken" time-stamp just two minutes before the article and accompanying image was posted on the left-wing Daily Kos blog.  MORE..

Obama Personally Told Campaign Volunteer to Shut Up About Che Guevara Flag

{NewsBusters} If there were ever a reason that illustrates why newspapers are dying and the mainstream media isn't trusted by many people, this story from the Babalu Blog is a perfect example. Last February, your humble correspondent posted a Newsbusters blog about the studied incuriosity of the MSM over the Che Guevara flag hanging in the office of Barack Obama campaign volunteer, Maria Isabel.  MORE..

   Sarah McIntosh

Blog
Editorial
7-4-08

 

 

Add it to Your Shopping List: Health Care

It’s Saturday morning, you wake up with a sore throat, you know it, you can tell, it’s definitely strep throat. But it’s Saturday and your doctor’s office is closed and a sore throat isn’t something you want to visit the emergency room for. The awful truth: you know you will have to spend the entire weekend feeling worse and worse with a hope that Monday morning you will be able to talk your doctor’s office into finding an appointment for you.

But another option might be right around the corner, literally. Across the nation in-store health clinics are opening in pharmacies, Wal-Marts, Targets, and grocery stores. Such clinics are rapidly grown in numbers with estimates of 1,500 to 1,800 clinics opening by the end of 2008.

These clinics offer an alternative avenue for care for both the insured and uninsured in the United States. As policymakers debate how to approach the concerns of the uninsured in the United States, they should acknowledge the advantages offered by these private sector clinics and make sure not to stifle these innovations.

In-store clinics offer both acute and preventative care. The acute care options are for diagnosis and treatment of basic cases such as strep throat, sinus infections, earaches, bladder infections, and more. Preventative services are generally available for blood sugar testing, cholesterol screening, routine physicals, and vaccinations.

Clinics offer price transparency by posting a list of services and prices for patients to see ahead of time. This is especially helpful for the uninsured who may be paying more than a co-pay.

The convenience of these clinics makes them an attractive option. They are open extended hours, weekends, and sometimes holidays. Most have a pager system so that instead of passing time in a waiting-room, people can shop. An added bonus is that once the nurse practitioner, or physician, writes a prescription, the patient can have it filled right there in the store---making it truly a one-stop venture.

In-store clinics are able to operate in a market where government-run clinics would suffer a loss. It would be difficult for public sector clinics to recover start-up costs. Currently, the average clinic takes one to three years to become profitable. But a company such as Wal-Mart can afford to invest in a clinic they know may take some time to become profitable. Also, their overhead costs are offset because of their locations.

Rather than encouraging individuals to make health care decisions for themselves, governments often want to expand their own programs and create a system where they tell people what they need. But consumer-driven options, such as private sector clinics provide people who perhaps could not afford insurance or a trip to the emergency room, an alternative avenue of treatment they may be able to afford.

Overall, in-store clinics offer a viable, convenient avenue for basic health care concerns. Policymakers should acknowledge them and encourage them in their communities, making sure not to create barriers to their entry.

{Sarah McIntosh is Vice President of Programs for the Kansas-based Flint Hills Center for Public Policy. She can be reached at sarah.mcintosh@flinthills.org. - Ed.}

PUBLIC NOTICE 7-1-08>

Johnson County Sales Tax Renewal Wayne Godsey, KMBC President And General Manager

A quarter-cent Johnson County sales tax to supplement school funding is about to expire. County commissioners want voters to renew the tax to fund public safety.

Public safety should be a priority. So why wasn't that funded first? The answer is simple. Officials think citizens may be willing to pay extra for something as important as law enforcement. They know voters would not voluntarily raise their taxes to pay for many of the other pet projects the commission has funded.

Commissioners have placed this on the August ballot, hoping that low voter turnout will allow contractors and others who benefit economically to get the measure passed.

There are many reasons to defeat this tax. State law requires that over one-third of the money be shared with cities. No one really knows for what. Unlike previous sales taxes, this one will never expire. But the best reason to defeat this tax is to force commissioners to set priorities and pay for critical services first.

{GoPetition.com}Impeach Texas District Judge Barbara Walther Over FLDS Fiasco  Texas Judge Barbara Walther authorized the removal of more than 400 children from an FLDS compound in Texas and their placement in foster care. Both an appellate court and the Texas Supreme Court have ruled that the children and parents must be reunified.

Barbara Walther's actions constitute one of the greatest violation of constitutional rights in the State of Texas and she should be impeached and removed from office. This petition will be forwarded to Texas Lawmakers after enough signatures are collected. Signing this petition does not mean that you necessarily support the FLDS and their religious views.  SIGN PETITION

BEST BUY SHOPPERS - BEWARE! Best Buy charges a 15% restocking fee on most non-defective merchandize. If your purchase is $200 or more you will not receive a refund directly from the store but will be sent a check from their corporate in 7-10 business days.  SNOPES Report..

Bob Weeks

Guest Columnist

 

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius at Earthjustice

On June 26, 2008, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius spoke at an event hosted by Earthjustice (motto: “Because the earth needs a good lawyer”). By the next day, Earthjustice already had a self-congratulatory professionally-produced video available at  Earthjustice & Kansas Governor Talk Clean Energy.

Evidently, Earthjustice, previously known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, was involved in the events leading up to the denial of the permit for Sunflower Electric Power Corporation’s Holcomb Station coal-fired electricity generating plant expansion.

Now, I read the Wichita Eagle, Topeka Capital-Journal, and Lawrence Journal-World regularly, and until last week, I had never heard mention of this group being active in Kansas. A Google search showed no news media coverage, either. It appears, then, that there was a lot of behind-the-scenes maneuvering before the denial of the permit for Holcomb Station, and not covered by Kansas news media.

But now that the permit has been denied and the Kansas Legislature failed to produce legislation that would survive the Governor’s veto, the activity of Earthjustice in Kansas, clearly a group with a radical environmentalist agenda, can be admitted.

I received a copy of the Governor’s prepared remarks to Earthjustice, and in them she thanks the group for their involvement. How did they help Kansas? According to the Governor, Earthjustice “Provided litigation and public support, helped shape the media messaging and outreach, and rallied supporters and engaged the public to get involved.” Somehow this group did this without being noticed by Kansas news media.

{Bob Weeks writes for the 'Voice of Liberty' at www.wichitaliberty.org in Wichita, Kansas. He may be reached at bob.weeks@cox.net - Ed}

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