ttp://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/prolonged-radiation-exposure-0515.html MITニュース May 15, 2012 A new look at prolonged radiation exposure MIT study suggests that at low dose-rate,radiation poses little risk to DNA. ●これまでは長期にわたる低レベル被曝の影響についての研究はなかった。この研究 はバックグラウンドの400倍のレベル(これは毎分0.0002センチグレイ、あるいは年間 105 cGyに相当)での遺伝子の損傷について調べた最初のものである ●「殆どすべての放射線被曝の健康に対する研究は、短期間の被曝についてのもので、 それは長期被曝とは異なった生物学的影響を与える」とMITのバイオロジカルエンジニ アリング部門の准教授であるEngelwardが述べている。 ●通常のバックグラウンド放射線のレベルというのは宇宙からの放射線や自然界のアイ ソトープに依るもので年間 0.3 cGyに相当する。以前の研究では、 10.5 cGyの放射線 を一時期に浴びるとDNAの損傷があるとされた。、しかし今回の研究は5週間にわたって、 日本の福島原子力発電所で起こったのと同じレベルの被曝を与えている。5週間の被曝 の後で、研究者は最も鋭敏な手法でDNAへの悪影響を調べたが、DNA構造の塩基障害や DNA螺旋構造の破壊などのDNAへの損傷は検知できなかった。 ●DNAの損傷はバックグラウンドレベルの放射線でも発生するもので、その確率は一日、 細胞あたり10,000 changesであるが、殆どの損傷は修復される。研究者は、今回の調査 で与えたバックグラウンドの400倍の放射線で、追加的に一日あたり、細胞ごとに1ダー ス程度の塩基障害が発生すると見ているが、それらは明らかに全て修復されている。
(Reuters) - Almost three months before the botched launch of HealthCare.gov, a U.S. health official expressed frustration with a main contractor working on the website, fearing quality assurance issues could "crash the plane at take-off," according to government documents obtained by Reuters. ロイターに入手した文書によればオバマケアWebサイトの開始の3ヶ月前に、厚生省高官 はサイトの構築にあたるメイン・コントラクターに対するフラストレーションを表明し 品質管理の問題で「飛行機が離陸時にクラッシュする」事を危惧していた。
Two series of internal emails in July between officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), including HealthCare.gov project manager Henry Chao, describe struggles with contractors, staff shortages and software problems long before the federal healthcare website crashed on its October 1 launch and threw the rollout of Obamacare into political turmoil. 厚生省のCMSのプロジェクトマネージャーの Henry Chaoを含む高官の間で7月に交わされ た電子メールによれば、 Henry Chaoはコントラクターやスタッフの不足、ソフトウェア の問題で苦闘しており、10月1日の稼働開始でWebサイトがクラッシュし、政治的混乱の起 きることを危惧していた
A day after writing the email about CGI, Chao assured a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee that HealthCare.gov would be ready on time. しかしChaoはコントラクターのCGIにクラッシュを危惧するメールを送った翌日に下院の 政府改革サブコミティの聴聞でHealthCare.gov開発は予定通りに進行と述べている
If a relatively small population of people get extensions, as some experts think likely, the effect on premiums in the overall health insurance market may be minimal. Even so, this disturbing reversal is caused by the incompetence of the administration in ushering in reforms that millions have been waiting for.
VOAの記事 ttp://www.voanews.com/content/caroline-kennedy-arrives-japan-begin-ambassadorship/1790690.html President Kennedy was popular in Japan; his youth appealed to an economically booming and newly confident Japan as it prepared to host the Summer Olympic Games in 1964. A state visit had been planned for January 1964, and an advance team, including then-Secretary of State Dean Rusk, was in the air and en route to Tokyo for talks when Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963. The plane turned around over the Pacific and headed back. JFKの日本訪問は1964年1月の予定であったが先行して日本を訪問の途上にあった ラスク国務長官は、11月22日に飛行機内でケネディ暗殺事件を知らされた。飛行 機は太平洋上で方向を転換し米国に(ry
中国は「一人っ子政策」を転換 ttps://twitter.com/XHNews/status/401301923682213888 (新華社のツイッター) Xinhua News Agency?@XHNews China will loosen its decades-long one-child population policy, allowing couples to have two children if one of them is an only child. 両親の一人が一人っ子なら、その夫婦には二人の子供を許可
ttp://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304243904579198223229925250 POTOMAC WATCH By KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL The President's ObamaCare Backpedal His proposal to allow people to keep their health plans will not provide a political escape hatch for beleaguered congressional Democrats. ポトマックウオッチ:大統領のオバマケア修正は追い詰められた民主党議員の 脱出口にはなり得ない WSJワシントン駐在KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL
The question is whether blame-shifting is even possible. The Obama announcement was designed to quell the cancellation furor, to push it beyond next year's midterms. But what's becoming clear to horrified Washington Democrats is just how successfully they re-engineered health care. ObamaCare's pieces are vastly complex, intricately linked, and built upon each other. For Democrats who want political cover, there are no "fixes" around the edges. 大統領のオバマケア部分修正は当面の怒りを他に向ける弥縫策だが成功するかは疑問。 ワシントンの民主党議員たちはオバマケアのリエンジニアリングがうまくゆくかにつ いて疑問がある。オバマケアは大変複雑で相互にリンクしていて互いに他部分に依存 して組み立てられている。政治的に(来年の中間選挙での)嵐を避けたい民主党議員 にとって修正というのは無理がある。
A Democratic aide this week told The Hill that the party was concerned about "being dragged into this nonstop cycle" of bad news. It is way too late for that, especially if the GOP continues to stay out of the way and let this be about Democratic liabilities and divisions. The only real "fix" for this law?and for Democratic political pain?is to scrap it. ある民主党の参謀は雑誌ヒルに語って、民主党は「(gdgdの)ノンストップサイクル に引きずり込まれる」事を危惧しているという。しかし時は既に遅く共和党は完全に オバマケアの外側にいて、この問題は民主党固有で党内を分裂させる。この問題を完 全に修復しようとすれば、それを破棄するしか無い。
In general, Obama's personal reactions to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) rollout have resembled those of misbehaving boyfriend. "I'm sorry you feel that way" instead of a real apology and "I meant it when I said it" instead of an explanation. 言い訳がましくて誠意が感じられない・・
In other words, "I'm too smart to have lied to you knowing I'd get caught." If a straying boyfriend says that, all it means is that he'll try harder not to get caught next time. 自分は貴方より頭が良いと思っているけれど
Even the repeated feints at the right technological parallel ? which are both doomed and inadequate ? contain an element of condescension. First in the sense of "Grandma, it's just like that time you bought airline tickets", and now, "It's complicated, you wouldn't understand".
ttp://ace.mu.nu/archives/344971.php Noah Rothman @NoahCRothman Uh oh. Chris Murphy slams media's ACA coverage on MSNBC. Tamron Hall snaps. "I, the media, didn't create these problems." 4:26 AM - 15 Nov 2013
ttp://www.nationaljournal.com/political-connections/obamacare-s-problems-could-haunt-democrats-for-years-20131115 Obamacare's Problems Could Haunt Democrats for Years The party's strategists thought the program would show white voters that government programs can help them. It's not going so well. By Ronald Brownstein November 15, 2013 オバマケアの問題は、この前何年にも渡って民主党の亡霊となるだろう 民主党のストラテジストはオバマケアが白人層を魅了する政府からの支援と見てきたが そういう風にうまくはゆかないかもしれない By Ronald Brownstein ナショナルジャーナル
This resurgence of resistance has emboldened Republicans and significantly increased the odds that the 2016 GOP presidential nominee will again run on repealing the law, as Mitt Romney did in 2012. It has also unnerved the president’s party. The Democratic confusion was visible in former President Clinton’s suggestion this week that Obama should allow consumers receiving cancellation notices in the existing individual market to keep their current plans. (gdgdに端を発した)オバマケアへの抵抗の突然の表出で共和党は2016年大統領選挙を 勇気づけられていて、共和党側候補はロムニーが2012年にしたようにオバマケア反対に 向かう可能性がある。民主党の混乱は明らかに見えてビル・クリントンがキャンセルさ れた保険契約者の救済を求めたことはその現れである。
Even if the former president intended to distance Hillary Rodham Clinton from the backlash with his remarks, his remedy would expose her, and other Democrats, to greater risk that the new system will sink entirely and submerge them all in future elections. Helping those losing policies to afford new coverage makes more sense for Democrats than allowing them to remain outside the system. ビル・クリントンはヒラリーのためにオバマから距離を置く意図でその発言をしたのかも しれない。それでも彼の元大統領としての影響力はヒラリーや民主党一般についてオバマ ケアが政策的に沈没する危険を犯している。保険契約を失った人たちをオバマケアの外側 におく(=既存契約を復活させる)よりも、それらの人を(別の手法で)助けてオバマケ アに取り込むことのほうが(本来のオバマケアの趣旨から見て)より意味がある。
As the health law teeters, the stakes are so great because the struggle encapsulates each party’s core argument. It embodies the Democratic belief that society works better when risk is shared?between young and old, healthy and sick?and government intervenes in private markets to try to expand both security and opportunity. The fury of the Republican resistance reflects the party’s insistence that markets work best unfettered, that centralized government programs cannot achieve their goals, and that Democrats are unduly burdening the “makers” to support (and politically mobilize) the “takers.” オバマケアが(成否の)分岐点に有ることの意味はとても大きくて、この問題は民主党と 共和党の核心的な議論につながるからである。民主党は老人や若者が、健康な人や病気も ちの人がリスクをシェアして政府が民間(保険)市場に介入し保証と機会を拡大すること で社会が良くなると考える。共和党は市場は政府の介入のない状態が最良で中央集権的な 政府の管理というのは上手く機能しないと考える。
If most Americans conclude Republicans are right about the health care law, that judgment would inevitably deepen doubts about other government initiatives. In this world, Democrats could still hold the White House in 2016 around cultural affinity, but they would likely struggle to achieve much if they do. If the president can’t extinguish the flames surrounding Obamacare, this runway explosion could reverberate for years.
In considering the public rage about Obamacare, one factor is often ignored. It is true that about 15 per cent of residents used to have no healthcare at all. But for those who did, the system was the best in the world. In 2009, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 95 per cent of Americans who had healthcare were satisfied with it. That is why health-reform debates ? under Presidents Truman, Johnson, Nixon and Clinton ? always began with an earnest public desire to make the system more comprehensive, but fell apart as citizens realised their own coverage would suffer. To wavering voters, Mr Obama’s promise of unchanged coverage was everything.
オバマケアに対する有権者の怒りにいついて、ひとつのファクターが度々見過ごされて きている。国民の15%が無保険というのは事実であるが、しかし保険医加入している人 々にとっては、それは世界最良である。2009年のKaiser Family 財団の調査によれば、 保険医加入しているアメリカ人の95%は満足している。これが医療保険改革のディベー トで、トルーマン、ジョンソン、ニクソン、クリントンの各時代に医療保険をより包括 的なものにしたいという強い要望があるにも関わらず、自分の持つ保険が被害にあうこ とを国民が恐れるあまり白紙に戻されてきた理由である。この問題で揺れ動く国民にと ってオバマの公約した「保険契約は変化がない」というのは大変重要な意味が有る。
Whatever hope there was of passing immigration reform before next year’s midterm elections is now waning. There are also concerns about whether Congress can reach a deal to stop the next scheduled government shutdown in mid-January. 来年の中間選挙前に移民改革を実現する望みは薄くなってきている。1月中旬の政府の シャットダウンを避けるための議会交渉も心配がある。
History shows that once a president’s approval ratings turn negative ? as Mr Obama’s now have ? they are rarely retrieved. It also means that none of a president’s agenda is adopted. Mr Obama still has a bully pulpit. He must use it to restore the public’s belief that he is in charge and tell them the truth. If he cannot convince Americans of that, then he ? and Washington ? face a bleak three years indeed. 歴史の事例に従うならオバマの現在の支持率のように一旦低下した国民の支持は稀に しか回復しない。そういう状況下では大統領のアジェンダを導入することも出来ない。 オバマ大統領は依然として大衆を説得する高い公的地位に有る。彼は国民に真実を告 げる指導者だという信頼を回復しなくてはならない。もしそれが出来ないとオバマと アメリカ政府は暗い3年間をむかえることになる。
Will the insurance market/government hybrid/utter disaster of Obamacare end up cracking liberalism, exposing its contradictions for the nation to see? Perhaps. But Obama and his health-care boosters are still scrambling. Meanwhile, in other news, the New York Times recently reported that China is still building mass- planned, central-controlled imitation “cities” and transporting uneducated farmers to work and live there. What could go wrong? Sometimes the simplest lessons are the hardest to learn.
メインコントラクターであるCGI Federalと二番手のQSSIのコーディネ ーションのなさ Coordination issues between two main contractors ? CGI Federal and QSSI. In all, HealthCare.gov has at least 47 different federal contractors involved, but CGI and QSSI won the big contracts for major chunks of the build. It seems QSSI and CGI couldn't seem to work smoothly together. At one point, Centers and Medicare and Medicaid Services' Henry Chao wrote of the contractors, "I just need to feel more confident they are not going to crash the plane at take-off." Today, QSSI is the "lead contractor" in charge of getting everyone on the same page.
重要部分を担当したCGIのプログラマーの能力不足 The only developer who was working on the payment pages for enrollment quit CGI without programming the 10 key user interface pieces of the transaction part. "Needless to say it is in jeopardy," wrote CMS' Jeffrey Grant.
CGIの人材の質の不足が深刻な問題 "Seriously substandard staffing," is how Grant described its contractor's people power. The key contractor, CGI, missed deadlines due to "insufficient" programmer resources. A month from testing certain parts of the system, no development work had even started. CGI Federal got at least $93.7 million to build HealthCare.gov.
実績や能力の不十分なCGIがメインコントラクターに選ばれた購買手続きに問題 The HealthCare.gov wreckage highlights the systemic issues with federal IT purchasing: Contractors with serious technical chops often don't compete for these bids. Contractors experienced at navigating the complex world of winning contracts win bids. President Obama reiterated his calls for systemic federal procurement reform in remarks to the press on Thursday.
THIS IS A precarious moment for President Obama. His poll ratings have slipped, and health-care reform, his most significant accomplishment, is in danger. In a White House news conference Thursday, Mr. Obama forthrightly accepted blame and offered two ways to repair the damage. One is crucial. The other is misguided. これはオバマ大統領にとって危険な(不安定な)モメントである。彼の支持率は低下 し、彼の最大の実績であるオバマケアが危険に晒されている。木曜日のホワイトハウス の記者会見ではオバマ大統領は批判を素直に受け入れて、そのひとつは重要なものであ り、他のひとつは誤ったものである、
He admitted that he was wrong to have pledged that those who liked their insurance plans could keep them, and he took responsibility for misleading representations that other Democrats made based on his promises. He rightly said he would have to earn confidence back by making the Affordable Care Act work. 大統領は被保険者が保険契約の変更を強制されることはないとした公約が誤っていた事 を認めた。彼はオバマケアへの信頼を回復するため、それを確実に機能させなくてはな らないとした。
Mr. Obama’s big announcement Thursday, though, was a “fix” to the Affordable Care Act meant to redeem his promise that “if you like your health-care plan, you can keep it.” Unfortunately, it was his promise that was wrong, not the design of the law. At best, his proposed fix will have little impact except to let him shift the blame; at worst, it will undermine reform. しかし重要であることは「保険契約者は変更を強制されない」という公約を果たすための 修正を大統領は言ったわけであるけれど、誤っているのは彼の公約の方で、オバマケア法 の設計が誤っているのではない。最善の場合であっても彼の提案した修正は彼への非難を シフトさせるに効果が少ない。最悪の場合には、この修正案は医療保険改革を危うくする。
(以下に何故改革を危うくするのかの説明があるけれど、その論点は既出なので省略)
The chief ? the only ? advantage of Mr. Obama’s proposal is that it’s not as bad as the “fixes” being floated by panicked Democrats and gloating Republicans in Congress.
The most important thing about the policy move announced by President Obama on Thursday is not its practical significance?which is frankly very hard to predict?but rather what it tells us about the mindset of the president and his top lieutenants. In that respect, I think the past few days have marked a significant change, and signaled a new and unprecedented level of panic and chaos.
Given the season, the timing of these un-glad tidings could not be worse. Soon enough, Americans will figure out whether Obamacare is the gift Democrats promised ? or if Obama is the Grinch who stole, you know, the holiday season. サンクスギビング休日の終わる頃にはオバマケアについて国民の評価が出てくるのだろう ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ttp://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/11/16/when_the_obama_magic_died_120680.html When the Obama Magic Died By Fouad Ajami - November 16, 2013 オバママジックの終わるとき By Fouad Ajami フーバー研究所
The current troubles of the Obama presidency can be read back into its beginnings. Rule by personal charisma has met its proper fate. The spell has been broken, and the magician stands exposed. ・・・ Valerie Jarrett, the president's most trusted, probably most powerful, aide, once said in admiration that Mr. Obama has been bored his whole life. The implication was that he is above things, a man alone, and anointed. Perhaps this moment?a presidency coming apart, the incompetent social engineering of an entire health-care system?will now claim Mr. Obama's attention.
McMillan's perspective comes from serving in a Department of Defense Designated Approving Authority role, where he oversaw the certification of defense IT systems as secure and correctly implemented. There, the process typically took a month to a month and a half, he said, "and that was just for a regular system," not a monster system like the insurance portal. "That's where I said there's no way in hell they're going to get this all done -- they're rushing it, and they're going to put it up, come hell or high water," McMillan said. "The question is, how much risk have they introduced into the whole process?"
The controversy over healthcare is sucking the energy out of Mr Obama’s ability to prosecute his other key second-term initiatives, with Mr Boehner this week scuttling further debate of a bipartisan immigration reform bill passed by the Senate in June. オバマケアにつぐ大きな目標で有る移民改革について共和党が攻勢を・・
Healthcare and immigration together form the nucleus of Mr Obama’s second term domestic agenda. After this week, both are in trouble. Norm Ornstein, of the American Enterprise Institute think-tank, said it was too early to suggest that Mr Obama would not be able to regain his clout but there were many “bad signs” for the president. “Even if his presidential approval fluctuated in the past, his personal approval did not, because people liked and trusted him,” he said. “But the news of the last few weeks has really tarnished him.” シンクタンクAEIのNorm Ornsteinは、何かを断定するには時期尚早としながらも 多くの悪いサインがオバマ政権の第二期に現れたとみる。「過去には大統領の 支持率が上下することはあっても、人格への支持は揺らぐことはなかった。それ は人々が彼を好み信頼したからだ。でも、この数週間のニュースは、それを危う くさせている」
仏蘭西の国民戦線とドイツのGEERT WILDERSのParty for Freedomの連携について論じている Far-right politicians are a touchy lot, and the new collaboration could be doomed by the same national cleavages that have hobbled earlier efforts to form cross-border Eurosceptic alliances. The European Parliament already boasts one such coalition, the Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group, which has done little to slow integration. ・・・ If international co-operation leads voters to take them more seriously, European elections next May could end up sending a strong one.
ttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/15/far-right-threat-europe-integration The rise of far right parties across Europe is a chilling echo of the 1930s Having played down their fascist sympathies they're re-emerging now after a PR facelift. Time is running out to counter them John Palmer The Guardian, Friday 15 November 2013 19.45 The Guardian 欧州各地の極右勢力の台頭は1930年台を思わせる John Palmer 英国ガーディアン
Time is running out, not only for the European Social Democrats, but also for the wider socialist left and the greens, to show they can create a counterbalance to the rightward drift of the centre. Without that, the new far-right alliance may only have to hold together and wait for its hour to strike. リベラル勢力は手遅れにならないように極右に対するカウンター運動が必要という
NYTの論説ページ編集長(ニュースページ編集長とは別の論説部分だけの編集長)である ANDREW ROSENTHALの書いているもので、言っていることは、キャンセルされた保険契約を 復活させる共和党提案の救済法案に、下院で39人の民主党議員が賛成した事は許し難い事 でオバマケアの根幹を揺るがしかねない、ぷんぷん;
So, if your Congressman is one of these 39 Democrats who voted for that mess today, you might want to ask why. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *39人もの民主党下院議員が、あえて「極悪非道」の共和党の法案に賛成した理由はただ ひとつ、来年の中間選挙で生き残りたいからであって、それは選挙区の有権者がオバマの 公約違反の既存保険契約キャンセルに怒っているから。NYTは、そうではあっても、大統領 の嘘にもかかわらず国民皆保険という理想を目指すことは尊いから、その根幹を揺るがす ような行為は許しがたいという。つまりNYTにとっては有権者の意見よりは自己のイデオロ ギーが重要で、それに逆らう輩を許しがたいという。
ttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/opinion/blow-disrespect-race-and-obama.html In an interview with the BBC this week, Oprah Winfrey said of President Obama: “There is a level of disrespect for the office that occurs. And that occurs, in some cases, and maybe even many cases, because he’s African-American.” 「大統領を嫌う人の一部は、あるいは多くは、彼が黒人であるから嫌うのだ」 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 彼女は恐らくティーパーティなどを念頭に置いて言っているのだけれど、そういう発想 は人種差別的というもので・・
Go back to June 23, 2009. The House Education and Labor Committee, chaired by Democratic Rep. George Miller, held a hearing on a draft of Obamacare. Christina Romer, then chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, testified. Among the Republicans who questioned Romer was Rep. Tom Price, who is also a doctor. Price pressed Romer to cite a basis for the president's promise, and in the process predicted much of what would happen more than four years later, in late 2013. Obama's promise fell apart right there in the hearing room. Here is the Price-Romer exchange:
・・・・・ REP. PRICE: What if you like what you have, Dr. Romer, though, and it doesn't fit with the definition in the bill? My reading of the bill is that you can't keep that. MS. ROMER: I think the crucial thing -- the bill is talking about setting a minimum standard of what can count -- REP. PRICE: So it's possible that you may like what you have, but you may not be able to keep it? Right? MS. ROMER: We'd have -- I'd have to look at the specifics. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *いわゆる典型的な I told you so というケースで日本なら「予算の無駄を無くし て福祉財源にあてる」「そんなことで10兆円規模の資金とか捻出できるわけはない」 というのに似ている。メディアもこの問題を知りながら大統領の嘘を指摘しなかった のは日本国内のケースと同じ;
On Meet the Press this morning, Nancy Pelosi was shown a video of her own words from June of 2009: “What we’re talking about is affordable, quality, accessible health care for all Americans. It’s about choice, if you like what you have and want to keep it, you have the choice to do that.” Called on it, Pelosi then re-framed what she said and tried to explain why her statement was not incorrect:
Except the ones facing tough re-election battles next year, because 90 percent of Dems who voted for the Upton bill fall into that category. Pelosi must be planning to give “I heart Obamacare” Pez dispensers pre-loaded with Paxil to all Dems up for re-election next year.
Eric Longstreet This is SO MUCH FUN, watching this looney desperately trying to candy coat a turd.
Ernest Baker ・ Wake Forest, North Carolina Please Please Please support Term Limits so the Reids and Pelosis of congress are forced out! This lady has lied about Obamacare since day one and continues to lie now.
Roger Schulke ・ CIO at Medicurx Corporation How does she know anything about the law, SHE ADMITS SHE NEVER READ IT. ttp://www.conservativeintel.com/2013/11/17/pelosis-painful-embarrassing-re-write-of-her-own-promise-on-health-care/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 今は誰でもようつべとか自分のビデオライブラリーを編集して、いい加減な発言をするよ うな政治家とかの証拠を集めて、おもしろおかすいビデオを作りあげ、政治家を笑いもの にすることが出来る時代。 公職に有るしとたちは、自分の発言が記録蓄積されて後で利用される事を考えておかない と。こういうもので、出来の良い作品はネットで拡散して多くの人がスマホで見て楽しむ という時代;
ttp://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2013/1117/Nancy-Pelosi-says-HealthCare.gov-will-be-fixed-but-is-damage-done-for-Democrats Obama's health care calamity began with the flood of computer problems that crippled HealthCare.gov, the website that had been billed as a quick and easy way for people to purchase insurance. Those troubles were compounded when at least 4.2 million people started receiving cancellation letters from their insurance companies despite Obama's repeated assurances that anyone who liked his or her insurance plan could keep it.
The widespread problems have spurred questions about the normally cool and confident president's management style and his competence. It has also shaken his allies.
Why was the White House so poorly prepared for the long-anticipated rollout of Obama's major legislative achievement? Why did the president seem personally unaware of the extent of the problems until they became publicly known?
Unless the HealthCare.gov website miraculously gets fixed by next month, there's a growing likelihood that over time, enough Democrats may join Republicans to decide to start over and scrap the whole complex health care enterprise. That became clear when even Obama, to stop the political bleeding, offered an administrative fix that threatened the viability of the entire individual exchange market to forestall a House Democratic mutiny the next day. It was as clear sign as any that the president is pessimistic about the odds that the federal exchange website will be ready by the end of the month, as promised.
This tsunami of blowback, which built in just the last month, is unsustainable for Democrats over the long haul. The president isn't just losing his skeptics from the chaotic Obamacare rollout but his allies who stood to gain from the law's benefits -- namely Hispanics, whose approval of the president has dropped more than any demographic subgroup since the problems began. The simplest solution -- if only to stop the bleeding -- is to get the website fixed. (When former DNC Chairman Howard Dean's proposal is to hire tens of thousands of young phone operators to sign people up for insurance -- straight out of a Jerry Lewis telethon -- as he suggested on "Morning Joe," it's clear the website problems are really bad.).
Democrats are in better shape on the Senate side, but not by as much as conventional wisdom suggests. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will do everything in his influence to protect the president -- and block embarrassing legislation from being voted on -- but not if it means he'll be losing his majority gavel next year. There are 21 Democratic held-seats up in 2014, with 17 Democratic senators running for re-election. Of those 17, 10 are running in states where Obama won less than 55 percent of the vote, approximately the baseline of where House Democrats began splitting with the president on the Upton vote. Excluding Reid, an additional 15 Democrats aren't up in 2014, but represent battleground (< 55% Obama) states where support of the law could become a long-term burden. And then there's California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has emerged as a surprising blue-state critic of the law, retiring Montana Sen. Max Baucus, who famously predicted the implementation was shaping up to be a "train wreck," and retiring moderate South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson.
To overcome a veto, Republicans would need 22 of those 28 winnable votes. Right now, they wouldn't come close. But Reid and the White House may end up relying on swing-state Democrats like Claire McCaskill and Bob Casey to protect the law. If the political mood doesn't improve in short order, will they want to be in that position? And if Republicans retake the Senate in 2015, the political momentum for repeal would only grow.
That's the type of thinking that could endanger a health care law that seemed untouchable several months ago. If the administration can't fix the myriad problems ailing the health care exchange website, and more sob stories emerge about people losing or paying significantly more for their insurance, it's an unsustainable formula for Democrats. There's not much time left on the election clock to turn things around. They've shown unfailing loyalty to the president, but unless he manages an unlikely fourth quarter comeback, those bonds could break -- and the results could get ugly.
tp://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/healthcaregov-goal-80-percent-able-to-enroll-for-insurance-through-web-site/2013/11/16/04fa02a2-4e1a-11e3-ac54-aa84301ced81_story.html HealthCare.gov goal is for 80% of users to be able to enroll for insurance
The Obama administration will consider the new federal insurance marketplace a success if 80 percent of users can buy health-care plans online, according to government and industry officials familiar with the project.
It acknowledges that as many as one in five Americans who try to use the Web site to buy insurance will be unable to do so.
アレルギー症状は「Th2」という細胞が体内で増え、アレルギーを 引き起こす物質を大量に分泌することで発症することが分かっています。 千葉大学大学院医学研究院の中山俊憲教授などの研究グループは、 遺伝子の働きを抑える「EZH2」と呼ばれるタンパク質に注目し、マウスを使って実験しました。 その結果、「EZH2」ができないように遺伝子を操作したマウスは、 6日後には正常なマウスに比べて、アレルギーを引き起こす物質が 2倍から4倍多く分泌されていたということです。 また正常なマウスの血液に「EZH2」ができない細胞を注入したところ、 アレルギーの症状が悪化したということです。 これらのことから、タンパク質の「EZH2」には、アレルギーのもととなる 「Th2」細胞が体内にできるのを抑制したり、アレルギーを引き起こす物質を 分泌させるのを抑えたりする働きがあることが確認できたということで、 中山教授は「今回見つけたタンパク質の機能を強める薬を開発すれば、 アレルギー症状を根本的に治療できる可能性があると思う」と話しています。 NHK 11月18日 6時58分 http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20131118/k10013131141000.html Immunity The Polycomb Protein Ezh2 Regulates Differentiation and Plasticity of CD4+ T Helper Type 1 and Type 2 Cells http://www.cell.com/immunity/abstract/S1074-7613(13)00469-X?script=true
UnitedHealth Group dropped thousands of doctors from its networks in recent weeks, leaving many elderly patients unsure whether they need to switch plans to continue seeing their doctors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The insurer said in October that underfunding of Medicare Advantage plans for the elderly could not be fully offset by the company's other healthcare business. The company also reported spending more healthcare premiums on medical claims in the third quarter, due mainly to government cuts to payments for Medicare Advantage services. The Journal report said that doctors in at least 10 states were notified of being laid off the plans, some citing "significant changes and pressures in the healthcare environment." According to the notices, the terminations can be appealed within 30 days.
WSJの報道によれば保険会社のUnitedHealth Group は保険契約で適用可能な医師の数を 数千人削減した。このため、長年かかりつけの医師を持つ老人層などでは保険契約を変 えるか医師を変えるかの選択を迫られる。この削減の理由は政府が Medicare Advantage servicesへの支出を削減したため。WSJによれば少なくとも10の州で保険適用医師の数 の削減が起こっている。この変更による影響は今後30日以内に発生する。
これは「カウンター・パンチ」に掲載の評論。このメディアはどちらかと言えば左翼的 なのだけれど典型的リベラルメディアに比べて野次馬的、独立的で、時には保守傾向も 見せたりするという異色のもの。タブロイドチックの匂いも無しとしないという・・ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://www.counterpunch.org/2013/11/15/the-dynastic-hillary-bandwagon-2/ NOVEMBER 18, 2013 The Poison of Party Loyalty The Obamacare Disaster by NORMAN SOLOMON 党派的忠誠心の毒:破滅的なオバマケア
Lauding the president’s healthcare plan for its structure of “regulation, mandates, subsidies and competition,” New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote in July 2009 that the administration’s fate hung in the balance: “Knock away any of the four main pillars of reform, and the whole thing will collapse ? and probably take the Obama presidency down with it.” Such warnings were habitual until Obamacare became law eight months later.
Today, in terms of healthcare policy, the merits and downsides of Obamacare deserve progressive debate. But at this point there’s no doubt it’s a disaster in political terms ? igniting the Mad Hatter Tea Party’s phony populism, heightening prospects for major right-wing electoral gains next year and propagating the rancid notion that the government should stay out of healthcare.
That ominous takeaway notion was flagged days ago on the PBS NewsHour by commentator Mark Shields, who worried aloud that “this is beyond the Obama administration. If this goes down, if … the Affordable Care Act is deemed a failure, this is the end ? I really mean it ? of liberal government, in the sense of any sense that government as an instrument of social justice, an engine of economic progress… Time and again, social programs have made the difference in this country. The public confidence in that will be so depleted, so diminished, that I really think the change ? the equation of American politics changes.” そういうふうなのでリベラルの論客は、例えばPBSのニュースアワーのコメンテーター であるMark Shieldsのように大いに危惧していて、此れはオバマケアのみならず リベラル政府の崩壊、リベラルの諸価値観の崩壊につながりかねないとする。国民の オバマとオバマケアへの信頼が崩壊するなら影響は極めて大きい
At this pivotal, historic, teachable moment, progressives should not leave the messaging battle about the ACA to right wingers and Obama loyalists. 此れは歴史的で分水嶺的なモメントであるから進歩派勢力は言論の戦いを右派と オバマ・ローヤリスト(オバマ信者)にだけまかすわけにはゆかない
Obamacare is a mess largely because it builds a revamped healthcare system around the retrenched and extended power of insurance companies ? setting back prospects for real healthcare reform for a decade or more. Egged on by corporate media and corporate politicians, much of the public will blame higher premiums on government intervention and not on the greedy insurance companies which, along with Big Pharma, helped write the law in the Obama White House and on Capitol Hill. オバマケアの問題は削減され拡大された保険会社のパワーのまわりに構築された医療 保険のシステムであることからくる部分が多くて複雑すぎる。企業メディアと企業の お抱え政治家にけしかけられて、国民は保険料の値上げや政府の介入を非難するが保 険会社を非難しない。この保険会社というのはオバマ政権と民主党議員がオバマケア をっ作り上げることを支援してきた
It should now be painfully obvious that Obamacare’s little helpers, dutifully reciting White House talking points in 2009 and early 2010, were helping right-wing bogus populism to gather steam. Claiming that the Obama presidency would sink without signing into law its “landmark” healthcare bill, many a progressive worked to throw the president a rope; while ostensibly attached to a political life preserver, the rope was actually fastened to a huge deadweight anvil.
With such disingenuous sales pitches four years ago, President Obama and his Democratic acolytes did a lot to create the current political mess engulfing Obamacare ? exaggerating its virtues while pulling out the stops to normalize denial about its real drawbacks. That was a bad approach in 2009. It remains a bad approach today.
After the reports, Bloomberg’s Web site was blocked to Chinese viewers, and journalists were denied visas. Recently, according to the New York Times, Bloomberg spiked an investigative report about a billionaire’s connection to Chinese leaders, with its editor in chief arguing that it was important to maintain his reporters’ access to the country.
そういう幼稚なやり方はアメリカの利益にも中国の利益にもならない。大国でしょ? The leaders’ desire to have China be seen as a confident new power on the world stage is undermined by their apparent fear of honest scrutiny. And stifling scholarship and journalism doesn’t just harm Americans’ ability to understand the complexities of the world’s most populous country, it also limits information and analysis for China’s decision makers. In the end, that can’t be an advantage.
ttp://www.cnbc.com/id/101211556 Obamacare bombshell: IT official says HealthCare.gov needs payment feature Published: Tuesday, 19 Nov 2013 | 2:37 PM ET By: Dan Mangan オバマケア問題の新たな爆弾発言:厚生省高官は支払いシステムが未完成と発言
The official, Henry Chao, visibly stunned Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) when he said under questioning that a significant fraction of that online insurance marketplace has yet to be constructed. 火曜日の議会のオバマケア問題の聴聞で、Cory Gardner議員(共和党)の質問に答えて Henry Chao(MMSのCIO)は、オバマケアの支払いを担う部分の開発が未完であると答えた
"We still need to build the payments system to make the payments [to insurance companies] in January," Chao said during testimony. That so-called financial management tool was originally supposed to be part of HealthCare.gov when it launched Oct. 1, but officials later suspended its launch as part of their effort to get the consumer interface part of the site ready. Chao on Tuesday said other areas that need to be built include "the back-office systems, the accounting systems." 「我々は(保険会社に対して保険料金の)支払いを行う部分の開発が未完である」と述べた。 これは金融管理ツールと呼ばれる部分で、本来は10月1日に完成されているべきものであっ たが、消費者インターフェイス(フロントエンド部分)の開発を優先するために延期された。 Henry Chaoは、今後開発する必要のあるソフトウェアが「バックオフィスシステム、アカ ウンティングシステム」を含むと答えた。
Overall, Chao said, about 30 percent to 40 percent of the federal Obamacare marketplace has yet to be developed. Chao is deputy chief information officer of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that operates HealthCare.gov. Henry Chaoは、全体的に見て30−40%のオバマケア・イクスチェンジ(保険契約の選択や 契約を行う市場的な売買契約システム)が未完であると述べた。
ttp://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/11/obamacare-payment-system-still-unbuilt-official-testifies/ Applicants’ payments are processed directly with the insurance issuer, outside the marketplace, CMS officials clarified on a conference call with reporters. However, any government subsidy payment to the issuer would rely on the system in question. 保険契約者から保険会社への保険料金支払いは政府のオバマケ・アシステの外側で直接 的に契約者から保険会社に支払われるが、保険料金の支払いに関与する政府補助が含ま れる場合には、オバマケアのシステムがその仕事(保険会社への支払い)を担う。
“We do not need that online until about the middle of January given how the payment schedule works and we’re on track to do that,” CMS communications director Julie Bataille said on the call. Chao told lawmakers that development of the “back end” of the website is continuing while the “front part” is operating and collecting consumer data. “When we’re trying to calculate a payment, derive a payment, do data matches on the back end, that doesn’t affect the Healthcare.gov operations,” he said. このバックエンドシステムは1月半ば(の支払の時期)までは必要とされず、CMSのチーム はその目標に向けて開発を進めている
The first payment to the insurance companies will occur in early January, officials have said. “We’re focused on a troubled website that needs to be fixed. We’re focused on solutions to problems that exist and rather than, you know, an ongoing political effort to undermine the Affordable Care Act without any alternative,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told ABC’s Jonathan Karl when asked whether President Obama was concerned about the situation.
ttp://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/190782-obama-aware-of-mckinsey-report The Washington Post reported Monday that McKinsey & Co. warned senior administration officials this spring that attempting to launch the website by Oct. 1 was a risky endeavor. ワシントン・ポストの月曜日の記事によれば、コンサルティング会社のMcKinsey & Coは 今年の春に政府高官に10月1日のオバマケアの展開開始の危険性について警告していた
The consulting firm provided a 14-slide presentation to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Marilyn Tavenner, who was then acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and White House Chief Technology Officer Todd Park outlining potential problems with the website. コンサルティング会社は14枚のスライド資料で、この危険についてKathleen Sebelius厚生 長官、Marilyn TavennerCMS局長、Todd ParkホワイトハウスCTOなどに警告した。
On Tuesday, Carney said those officials were subsequently briefed on how the administration would attempt to address the issues raised by the report, and that Obama was told how the administration planned to tackle the concerns. 火曜日の厚生長官の説明によれば。この警告の後で、指摘された問題点への対策が報告さ れ、オバマ大統領にはこれらの問題への取組みについて報告があった。
The revelation came as Carney was again peppered with questions about the botched implementation of ObamaCare. The repeated questions elicited sarcastic replies from the spokesman, who has spent the past month battling back against questions about shortcomings of the law. (後略) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *警告はされていたにせよ、「対策を講じて何とかやり遂げます」というしとたち(=Yes マンたち)がいて、政府高官やオバマ大統領は、それを信じたの鴨。結局は誰を信用し、 何を信用しないかというマネジメントの判断の問題・・
ttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/11/19/the-morning-plum-heres-why-dems-should-stick-with-obamacare/ However ? and this is key ? the public remains divided, at 49-49, on whether the government can ultimately get the law working or whether it is unworkable. Crucially, majorities of the core Dem constituencies think it can still be made to work: 69 percent of non-whites; 56 percent of young voters; 59 percent of moderates; 51 percent of women; and 52 percent of college graduates (college educated whites, especially women, are an increasingly important part of the new Dem coalition) all think the law can recover.
オバマケアへの批判が復活している。この分野で一貫して政治経済的な、まともな 反対論を書き続けてきた Megan McArdleが改めてその状況を総括している ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-19/wishful-thinking-can-t-hold-obamacare-together.html Wishful Thinking Can't Hold Obamacare Together By Megan McArdle Nov 20, 2013 12:02 AM GMT+0900 ウイッシュフル・シンキングに基づいてオバマケアを維持し続けることは出来ない By Megan McArdle ブルームバーグ 20日
The Obamacare story is as much a political story, and a media story, as it is a policy story. If people think that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act won’t work, then it probably won’t; the politicians will start passing “fixes” that undermine the functionality of its interlocking parts, and companies and consumers will abandon the fledgling markets. If people think that Obamacare will work -- well, it might not work anyway, because the real world does not always deliver rhetorically pleasing symmetry. But it certainly has a much better shot. オバマケアは政治的な話であるのと同じように、メディアの話であり、政策の話である。 もし国民がオバマケアは維持不可能と考えるのであれば、それは恐らく維持不可能であ る。政治家はオバマケアへの部分修正(Fix)をやり始めて、それは互いにインターロッ クしているオバマケアの部品を機能的に不全にして企業や消費者は未熟な保健市場の商 品を買うのを止める。もし国民がオバマケアは機能すると思うのであれば、それでも機 能しないかもしれなくて、それはリアルワールドではレトリカルなシンメトリーを常に 保証しないからであるが、それでも(そう思わない場合よりは)可能性は良くなる。
Of note, then, is one development you saw over the weekend: People are starting to talk about repeal. In early October, most people -- including me -- would have ranked this as wishful Republican thinking, along the lines of “repeal the Fed.” But the weekend brought us the National Journal’s Josh Kraushaar suggesting that Democrats might begin calling for repeal if things don’t get better soon. 先週末までの事件を見て国民はオバマケアの廃棄について語り始めた。10月初旬までは 私を含めて多くの人が、そういうことは共和党のウイッシュフルシンキングだと思って いた。FRBを廃棄するのと同じくらいの。でも週末にナショナルジャーナルにJosh Kraushaarが評論を書いていて、彼は状況が改善しないなら民主党がオバマケアの廃棄 を言い出すかもしれないという。
Sounds crazy, right? After all, once entitlements are expanded, they never get pared back, unless they maybe go to welfare mothers. But not middle-class entitlements. 此れは気狂いじみた言辞だと思いますか? 政府の社会保障給付などが一旦始まれば、 母子家庭に対するようなものは決して廃棄されない。でも中間階層に対するものは、 そういう慣例に当てはまらない(略)
To be clear, I still don’t think that repeal is probable. But I do think it’s possible, and getting somewhat more likely, though not under Obama’s presidency. Having two outlets talk about this as more than a Republican pipe dream tells you that people are starting to think that this is actually possible. And that by itself makes it more likely to happen. Not all at once, the way the Republican Party dreamed. But it might be dismembered in pieces, until there’s no reason not to repeal what’s left of the desiccated corpse.
To return to what I said earlier, this is no longer mostly a policy story; it’s a political story. And at a deeper level, it’s a story about game theory. Democratic politicians and insurers are locked in a prisoner’s dilemma. 始めに書いたようにオバマケアは主として政策の話で、政治の話で、そしてより深いレ ベルではゲームの理論の話である。民主党と保険会社は「囚人のジレンマ」にとらわれ ている(略)
The moment that it looks like there’s a big risk that Obamacare won’t work, both Democrats and insurers are going to stampede for the exit. Yes, Obama can veto anything that threatens his favorite law. But if it gets that far, he’s already lost. 現時点のモメントとしては、オバマケアが機能しない大きなリスクが生じたようにみえ、 民主党も保険会社も脱出口に殺到している。オバマ大統領はオバマケアを危うくするよ うな法案を全て拒否する大統領権限を持っているが、それを行使せざるを得ないように なるのであれば、それは彼の敗北である。それは時期選挙に大きな悪影響を与える。 (後略)
Thirty-seven percent now approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing as president, down from 46 percent in October -- a nine point drop in just a month. Mr. Obama's disapproval rating is 57 percent -- the highest level for this president in CBS News Polls. オバマ大統領の支持率が最新のCBS世論調査で37%となり、10月の46%から大きく低下 した。不支持率は57%で過去最高となった。
A rocky beginning to the opening of the new health insurance exchanges has also taken its toll on how Americans perceive the Affordable Care Act. Now, approval of the law has dropped to 31 percent - the lowest number yet recorded in CBS News Polls, and a drop of 12 points since last month. Sixty-one percent disapprove (a high for this poll), including 46 percent who say they disapprove strongly. 支持率低下はオバマケアが主たる要因で、オバマケアの支持率は31%と過去最低を 記録。10月に比べて12%低下した。不支持率は61%で、そのうちの46%は強く不支持 と答えている。
Almost six in ten Democrats continue to support the law, but their support has dropped 16 points from last month - from 74 percent in October to 58 percent today. Support has dropped 11 points among independents and five points among Republicans. 民主党支持者のオバマケア支持率は10月の74%から16%下落して58%となった。共和党 支持者のオバマケア支持率は5%低下、無党派層のオバマケア支持率は11%下落した。
And just a third of Americans are confident that the federal government's healthcare website - HealthCare.gov - will be fixed by the December 1st deadline set by the Obama administration. 12月1日のデッドラインまでにHealthCare.govの不調が修復されると信頼を寄せている 国民は全体の3分の1
Thirty-four percent are at least somewhat confident, while almost two thirds are either not very or not at all confident. Fifty-five percent of Democrats are at least somewhat confident. 35%は少なくともいくらか信頼。3分の2近くはあまり信頼できない、あるいは全く信 頼出来ないと答えた。55%の民主党支持者は、少なくとも幾らかは信頼と答えた。
Just seven percent of Americans think the Affordable Care Act is working well and should be kept in place as it is. Far more, 48 percent, think there are some good things in the law, but changes are needed to make it work better, and another 43 percent think the law needs to be repealed entirely. オバマケアは上手く機能していて維持されるべきとするのは7%、48%はオバマケアに 良い点があるが、より良くする修正が必要と答えた。43%はオバマケアを完全に破棄 すべきと答えた(後略)
>>570−571 このCBS世論調査の数字について保守系ブロガーのパワーライン ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ttp://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/11/obama-in-free-fall.php POSTED ON NOVEMBER 20, 2013 BY JOHN HINDERAKER IN BARACK OBAMA, OBAMACARE OBAMA IN FREE-FALL オバマ支持率がフリーフォールしている
The Democrats are in a panic, but there isn’t much they can do other than try to entice Republicans into joining with them to “fix” the law, thereby making the disaster bipartisan. Things are only going to get worse, as tens of millions lose their existing health insurance and a large majority of Americans, in both the employer-sponsored market and the individual/small group market, find that the cost of health insurance is rising.
ttp://hotair.com/archives/2013/11/20/cbs-poll-obama-approval-sinks-nine-points-in-a-month-to-37/ Obama can’t even get to 40% with women, among whom his approval rating is 39/54. It’s worse among independents, a disastrous 29/63. His overall approval (37/57) is nearly the same as George W. Bush at this point in his presidency (35/57), two months after Hurricane Katrina. オバマ支持率は女性票で、これまでの最低線40%にも満たない39/54、無党派層に ついてみれば破滅的な29/63。全体の支持率は39/54、これはカタリーナの2ヶ月後の ブッシュ支持率の35/57に比肩する
As with the WaPo/ABC poll, the ObamaCare fiasco has taken a toll on voter perceptions of Obama’s personal qualities. In September 2012, respondents considered Obama honest and trustworthy by a 60/35 margin. Today’s it’s 49/48, and among independents it’s down to 43/53. オバマの人格への評価も、「正直で信頼できる」が2012年9月の60/35がら49/48、 無党派層では43/53
More granular analysis of Democratic losses in recent weeks can be found by comparing two Quinnipiac polls, the first released on Oct. 1, 2013 when Democrats had a nine point, 43-34, advantage on the generic voting question; and the second released on Nov. 13, when the Democratic lead was erased and the parties were tied at 39-39. 10月1日には共和党が9ポイント優位の43-34、11月13日には両者タイの39-39.
The biggest drops were among self-identified independents, who went from slightly favoring Democrats, 32-30, to decisively Republican, 37-26; men, an 11-point shift; voters making less than $50,000, 11 points; and young voters 18-29 who showed the largest shift of all, 24 points. The dropoff among lower income and young voters strikes at the heart of the Obama coalition. Voters 65 and over, who had backed Republicans by large margins in 2010, but who favored Democrats 43-37 in the October poll, were back in the Republican fold, 41-38, by November. この民主党優位の消失をおこしている最大の支持層は無党派層で、民主党優位の 32-30から共和党優位の37-26に変わった。男性票が11%、年収5万ドル以下の層 は11%、18−29の若年層は24%のシフトを見せている。低収入層や若年層の支持 率低下というのはオバマ支持勢力のハートに打撃。65歳以上の老人層は10月には 民主党優位の43-37だったが11月には共和党優位の41-38となった。
The Affordable Care Act “is often compared to Social Security and Medicare, but these comparisons are imprecise and misleading,” as Edward Carmines, a political scientist at Indiana University, put it in an email: “The distinctive feature of the new health care law is its redistributive nature, which is mostly absent from Social Security and Medicare.” ttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/20/opinion/edsall-the-obamacare-crisis.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 The Obamacare Crisis By THOMAS B. EDSALL Published: November 19, 2013
・・・All was working wonderfully well in the President’s mind until October 1, when the glory of Kayak, the beauty of Amazon Prime, and the convenience of Uber would converge, creating Healthcare.gov, a website that would win the Internet instantly and put Facebook and Google to shame. 大統領の心中ではすべてが上手く行っていた。10月1日までは(後略)
Combined with the survey results released Monday, these attitudes capture the tenuous political situation facing Obama and the law's Democratic supporters: While the earlier results found that only about two-fifths of Americans want to repeal Obamacare, these findings show that most adults, particularly whites, view it largely as a transfer program that will mostly benefit the poor rather than the nation broadly. 世論調査の結果は以前の調査と同様に、5分の2の国民はオバマケアの廃棄を望むが、そ の理由はこれが所得転移のものであり、貧民(の医療)を助けるが広範な国全体の医療 を助けないとする見方による
The United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, surveyed 1,013 adults by landline and cell phone from Nov. 14-17. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. 調査は1013人の成人に11月14−17日に実施、誤差はプラス・マエナス3,5%
Amid all of the turmoil surrounding the law, solid majorities of Americans continue to say they believe it will "make things better" for people who do not have health insurance (63 percent) and the poor (59 percent). Only about one-third thought the law would "make things … worse" for each group. In each case, that's a slight improvement in the overall judgment since the July poll. Back then, 58 percent thought the law would help the uninsured and 55 percent believed it would benefit the poor. オバマケアが無保険者を助ける(63%)あるいは貧者を助ける(59%)という見方が 多いものの
In a Sept. 25 email to staff developing the website, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project manager Henry Chao cited “this fear the WH has about hc.gov being unavailable” and urged the team to “think about a better way to convey to the public when the site is not available.” “I am picturing in my mind all the major print and online publications taking screenshots of what is below and just ramping up the hyperbole about hc.gov not [being] functional,” Chao wrote. 明らかになった9月25日のCMSプロジェクトマネージャーのHenry Chaoの電子メールはWeb サイトのダウン時の‘System Is Down’の画面が現れることをホワイトハウスが危惧して いることを示している。
Republicans say it proves the White House knew the site was likely to fail, even as President Obama told Americans signing up for health insurance would be as simple as buying a plane ticket. Top administration officials have repeatedly said that they were caught entirely off guard by the breadth and depth of the site’s technical problems on Oct. 1. 共和党議員はこの電子メールを元に、大統領がオバマケアを喧伝し「飛行機の切符を買う のと同じくらい容易に」保険契約が出来ると述べていたもののWebサイトにトラブルのある ことを知っていたとして対応を非難した。政府のオバマケア関連の高官はシステムが大き なトラブルに見舞われる事は予想していなかったとこれまで述べてきている。
While advance warning might have never reached the Oval Office, Chao seems to indicate that at least some White House staff believed the problems were sufficiently concerning to necessitate a push for ways to minimize bad press. 事前のトラブルの予想が大統領に直接届いていたかは疑問であるものの、少なくともホワ イトハウスのスタッフには問題の有ることが事前に報告されていたとみられ、印象の悪い 報道への対処を検討したとみられる。
When Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius first testified on Capitol Hill this month, the ‘System Is Down’ warning appeared in split-screen with her testimony on many cable channels and in the hearing room. During her visit to a health care Navigators site in Florida Tuesday, it again came back to haunt her. この‘System Is Down’の画面はKathleen Sebelius 厚生長官の議会証言の際にも、また 長官のフロリダ州のオバマケア登録支援センター訪問時にも現れ(Tvで報道され)ている ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *現時点では、オバマ大統領と民主党の最大の敵が「システムの中の虫」である事は確実
If shut down, the site would take about seven to 12 months to fix でも機密保護上の理由でシャットダウンすると、修正には12ヶ月必要という意見もある デイリーテック Tiffany Kaiser 20日
Security experts said that shutting the HealthCare.gov website down entirely until all fixes are made would be in the best interest of consumers' private information. According to a report from Reuters, Representative Chris Collins (R-NY) asked four experts about the security of the healthcare site during a congressional hearing by the House of Representatives Science, Space and Technology Committee. 議会の聴聞で共和党議員のChris Collinsがオバマケアのサイトの機密保護の評価をIT機密 保護の専門家に聞いたたところ、プライバシー保護のための最善の方法はシステムをシャッ トダウンして機密保護対策を十分行うこととの答えを得た。
The experts consisted of two academics and two private sector technical researchers. Collins asked the experts a series of questions during the hearing, but two in particular stood out: Is HealthCare.gov secure, and would they recommend shutting it down entirely until it's completely fixed? As to whether the site is secure today or not, all four experts agreed that it is not as of today. 議員は2つのアカデミックな組織と2つの民間研究組織の専門家に質問し(1)HealthCare.govの サイトの機密保護は充分か?(2)不十分な場合にシャットダウンが必要か?と尋ねた。 4人の専門家は現時点の機密保護は不十分と答えた
"The privacy and security of consumers' personal information are a top priority," said Jay Carney, White House spokesman. "When consumers fill out their online marketplace applications they can trust that the information that they are providing is protected by stringent security standards." ホワイトハウスの広報官はオバマケアのサイトで個人情報保護はトップ優先順位の事項で 厳しい機密保護基準に則っているとしている
When asked if the site should be shut down, three of the experts said "yes" while the fourth said they'd need more information before they could give an answer. シャットダウンが必要かとの問に3人の専門家はYes、一人の専門家は情報不足で答えられ ないとした
However, if this were to happen, David Kennedy (head of computer security consulting firm TrustedSec LLC and a former U.S. Marine Corps cyber-intelligence analyst) said it would take about seven to 12 months to fix. This is due to the size of the site, which runs 500 million lines of code. もしシャットダウンして修復する場合には前米軍海兵隊のサイバー諜報アナリストでTrustedSec LLCのコンサルタントであるDavid Kennedyは、システムのサイズが5億ラインの規模であるため その機密保護対応修正には7−12ヶ月が必要と答えた。
At the moment they are buying a trillion dollars a year -- that’s a trillion with a “T” -- of assets. Eventually we will see that they stop that if they do or slow it down.
What will probably happen is that they will slow it down at first to see what happens, and if things aren’t too bad at first -- and they probably won’t be too bad at first -- well what is likely to happen is they will slow it down, things will drop, and then they will rally and the Federal Reserve will say “Hey, this is not so bad, we can do it.” And they’ll cut some more. Things will drop again and then rally, because it will take a while for people to really believe how bad it can get, or will get. And so eventually they will try to cut [QE], it will finally cause the collapse, at that point we will have a big change, because they will throw them out, whether it’s the politicians or the central bankers or whoever … will continue because they like it, they got the job because of the collapse and then we’ll finally start over. But it may be really painful in the meantime. http://www.birchgold.com/jim-rogers-interview-qe-currency-gold-inflation/
An analysis by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, shows the administration anticipates half to two-thirds of small businesses would have policies canceled or be compelled to send workers onto the ObamaCare exchanges. They predict up to 100 million small and large business policies could be canceled next year. 保守系シンクタンクAEIの研究者であるStan Veugerによれば、オバマケアの法的規制に より、中小企業の既存の従業員向け健康保険が来年秋には1億人規模までの契約キャンセ ルに見まわれる
"The impact I'm mostly worried about is on small young, entrepreneurial firms that will suddenly face much higher health insurance premiums if they want to offer health insurance to their employees," said AEI resident scholar Stan Veuger. "I think for a lot of other businesses ... they can just send their employees to the exchanges or offer them a fixed subsidy every month to buy health insurance themselves." 「私の予想では、この結果、新規保険契約は従来よりも高額になるので、中小企業は定額 の保険給付を従業員に支払い、個別に従業員が保険契約を結ぶことになる」
Under the health care law, businesses with fewer than 50 workers do not have to provide health coverage. But if they do, the policies will still have to meet the benefit standards set by ObamaCare. 法律は50人以下の中小企業は従業員に医療保険を提供する義務はないが、もし提供する場 合にはオバマケアの規制に見合ったものであることが必要である。
In December, Aetna Chief Executive Mark Bertolini said he expects that premiums for individuals or small groups seeking coverage on health insurance exchanges will rise by 20% to 50% in 2014. Aetna保険会社の社長、Mark Bertoliniは来年の個人及び中小企業向けの保険契約は20% から50%の値上げになると言っている。この規模の保険契約のキャンセルと値上げがおこ おれば、その政治的影響は甚大と予想される。
A statement Thursday from the Saudi Embassy in Lebanon urged its citizens to "return to the kingdom and be cautious." Lebanon has been a popular holiday spot for Saudis, but numbers have dropped off sharply since Hezbollah joined the battles in Syria.
There is little chance that congressional Republicans will let up on hammering Democrats over the law. But the hope among some Democrats is that Republican inaction on pressing issues will take some of the heat off them and put the attention back on the GOP. Not even a month ago, Republicans took a beating at the polls over the shutdown, but as the problems with Obamacare have piled up, now it’s Democrats who are seeing their approval ratings tumble. 先の政府負債の上限問題で共和党が政府のシャットダウンに関連して支持率を下げた事に 鑑みて、民主党は議論の争点をオバマケアから予算問題に変えようと努力
“I’ve been here for a little under a year and if I’ve learned anything in September there was this national obsession with Syria, October it was the shutdown, right now it’s the website,” said freshman Rep. Eric Swalwell. “This too shall pass we’ll get it fixed, and we don’t want to miss opportunities right now as this is going on. You can’t just obsess over this, there are other things the American people are counting on us to do.” 民主党下院議員のEric Swalwellは「現時点では(オバマケアの)Webサイトの問題ばかり が議会で論じられていて、それは不自然」という。 Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday night that Democrats would not be running only on Obamacare and that her members would continue to “stand by the policy.
(巻頭記事) ttp://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2158133,00.html Obama's Race for the Cure The President's second term may hinge on how fast his health care reform can recover By NANCY GIBBS Monday, Dec. 02, 2013 オバマ大統領の打撃からの癒やし 大統領の第二期は、どのくらい素早く、オバマケアの回復を行えるか、にかかっている
Obama's supporters can decry a "feeding frenzy," but this is a critical moment for a President whose agenda for a second term amounted to little more than being not as lame as the other guy. The HealthCare.gov website may or may not get fixed on deadline, the senior staff may be booted and rebooted, but it is already too late to avoid a pageant of media scrutiny, Republican merriment, a rebuke even from Bill Clinton and a host of existential questions: Can this policy be saved? What is left of Obama's second term if it is consumed by fixing an unpopular policy from the first? How could a White House appear so confident and incompetent at the same time?
ttp://www.nationaljournal.com/health-care/love-it-or-hate-it-obamacare-redistributes-americans-wealth-20131121 HEALTH CARE Love It or Hate It, Obamacare Redistributes Americans' Wealth Not everyone comes out ahead as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Somebody has to foot the bill when you shift that much wealth. By James Oliphant November 21, 2013 オバマケアに賛成か否かを問わず、それは富の転移なので、すべての人に良きもの とは限らず、誰かがツケを支払う必要があるのだ By James Oliphant November 21, 2013 ナショナル・ジャーナル ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- *オバマ大統領は2009年の演説で医療改革が全ての人にメリットをもたらすと強調して オバマケアを売り込んできたが、これは基本的に誤っていて、無保険者や長期の病気に 苦しむ人に大きなメリットをもたらす医療保険改革は、誰かがその金銭的穴埋めをする 必要があって、一部の人たちの保険料は当然ながら上昇せざるを得ない。オバマ大統領 は、そういう基礎的事項を無視して複雑なオバマケアを国民に売り込んだという解説。 具体的にわかりやすい仕組みの説明がある。
全米アジア研究機構(National Bureau of Asian Research)の研究員は、「中国政府 が中国漁船の違法操業を直接的に管理・統制する可能性は低い」とした上で、中国が遠 洋漁業船を現在の2000隻から2015年までに2300隻に増やす計画を立てていることについ て、「世界の漁業にとっていいニュースではない」と述べた。(翻訳・編集/NY)
これにより、上院の少数党(現在は45議席の共和党)がフィリバスターを使うことへの制約が強くなった。 少数党にも強い発言力を与えることを誇りとしてきた上院にとって、フィリバスターは少数党の主要手段となってきた。 過去には映画「Mr. Smith Goes to Washington(スミス都へ行く)」でフィリバスターの意義が鮮やかに描写されている。
In 2008, he seemed like the coolest cat to hit the national scene in a long time, almost scientifically engineered to appeal to idealistic young Americans. How times have changed. 2008年当時はオバマは理想主義的なアメリカの若年層にとってのうってつけの、とっても クールな奴(coolest cat)に見えたのだけれど、時がたてば状況が変わる
A new Quinnipiac Poll finds that only 36 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 approve of the job the president is doing while fully 54 percent of the kids give him the thumbs down (10 percent didn’t know or care enough to respond to the topic). Back in March 2009, 62 percent of 18 to 29 years approved, compared to just 20 percent disapproving. 最新のQuinnipiac世論調査では18−29歳のオバマ支持率は僅か36%にすぎない。この層の 54%は不支持である。2009年3月には同じ若年層が62%支持し20%が不支持だった。 ・・・ While there’s no question that the launch of Obamacare has been a major disaster, the fact is that the youth revolt against Obama started almost immediately after he moved into the White House. In 2008, Obama won 66 percent of votes cast by 18-29 year olds. In 2012, he racked up just 60 percent. More tellingly, the participation rate among younger voters dropped precipitously between those elections, with Obama pulling 2.4 million fewer votes from 18-29 year olds in 2012. The second time around, he just wasn’t putting young asses in the voting booth anymore. オバマケアの開始が破滅的であったことに疑いの余地は無いのだが、若年層のオバマ離れ は2008年当時から始まっている。2008年の18-29歳の支持率は66%、2012年にはこれが 60%になった。より重要と思われることに、これら若年層の投票率が下がってきている。 2012年大統領選挙でオバマの獲得した若年層の票は第一期に比べて240万票少ない。オバマ 第二期選挙では若年層が第一期ほどの牽引力を持ってはいない。
Who can blame them for not showing up? The abysmal and pathetic launch of healthcare.gov is simply the cherry on top of a shit sundae Obama’s been whipping up for the kids. You can protest that the stimulus should have been bigger, but when you judge its success against what the Obama administration claimed it would do, it was an epic fail. While masquerading as the peace and freedom candidate ? easy to do against such hawkish characters as Hillary Clinton in the primaries and John McCain in the general election ? Obama prided himself on tripling troop strength in Afghanistan and tried to extend our stays there and in Iraq. But for the vocal pushback from Rand Paul, Justin Amash, and a bunch of younger, non-interventionist Republicans, there’s every reason that the U.S. would have started an unsanctioned war in Syria, just as it did in Libya (where things are working out...how, again?). 経済活性化対策は、もっと積極的であるべきだったし失業率の改善は予想されたよりも 穏やかだった。オバマは保守的なヒラリーやマケインに比べて反戦平和の人だったが アフガニスタンの米軍を強化しイラク駐留の引き伸ばしを試みた。オバマはシリア介入 をやりそうになったが、これも不介入主義に傾く勢力の不興をかった。
The revelations of widespread, Obama-approved drone strikes, the compilation of a presidential kill list, and the data collection of phone logs and internet traffic don’t exactly inspire warm and fuzzy feelings from a generation that lives online. His response to the Gulf oil spill was dithering to non-existent and his alt-energy plans have come to naught even as fracking has put the country on a path to something like energy independence. And clandestine attempts to expand onerous copyright laws and outlaw cellphone unlocking via the Trans-Pacific Partnership Treaty aren’t helping either. 無人攻撃機の海外での使用をオバマは許可し殺人標的リストを承認し電話盗聴やインター ネット盗聴をさせてきたことは若年層にアピールするものではなかった。メキシコ湾石油 漏出事件への対応は不十分でオバマの代替えエネルギー開発計画は上手くいっていない。 そのかわりにクラッキングでガスや石油を採掘する方向に進んでいる。著作権の年限延長 とかスマホのアンロッキングの違法化とかTPP推進とかいうのは若年層にアピールしない。
In terms of basic demographics, the future belongs to Millennials because they are young. For good and ill, they will inherit the world their elders made for them. In terms of politics, the future belongs to leaders and parties who not only agree with the record-high percentage of Americans who think the government has too much power but actually propose to give some of it away. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *飴の若年層のオバマ離れは、むしろ2008年当時の熱狂が異常で、若い有権者が勝手に誤 解して作り上げたクールなオバマという虚像に実態のないことが次第にバレてきただけだ と思うけど。そういう誤解をしたのは、若者の未熟さとリベラルメディアの扇動(ry