…also known as the majority of Americans.

Read it and weep.

I don’t think that this should come as a surprise to anyone.  When corporations are faced with increased costs, they tend to raise prices or reduce expenses.  Or both.  So, I’m guessing that not only will current employees and retirees be losing prescription drug benefits, AT&T won’t be doing much new hiring in the short term either.

Is this the change we were hoping for?

AT&T Inc. will take a $1 billion non-cash accounting charge in the first quarter because of the health care overhaul and may cut benefits it offers to current and retired workers.

The charge is the largest disclosed so far. Earlier this week, AK Steel Corp., Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co. and Valero Energy announced similar accounting charges, saying the health care law that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday will raise their expenses. On Friday, 3M Co. said it will also take a charge of $85 million to $90 million.

AT&T also said Friday that it is looking into changing the health care benefits it offers because of the new law. Analysts say retirees could lose the prescription drug coverage provided by their former employers as a result of the overhaul.

AT&T rival Verizon Communications Inc. was among 10 companies that sent a letter to congressional leaders in December warning that their costs would increase with the health care changes. Verizon spokesman Peter Thonis said the company had no comment.

Also on Friday, Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said they are asking the CEOs of Caterpillar, Verizon, Deere and others to testify at an April 21 House subcommittee hearing on claims that the health care law could hurt their ability to provide health insurance to workers.

Yo, Waxman and Stupak!  Here’s a clue for ya–maybe you should have had those hearings BEFORE passing this destructive law.

Me, I don’t find the word (or the body part) dirty or otherwise offensive.

Back home in the USA the television networks have forbidden use of the word “vagina”.  This ad substituted “down there” for vagina, and was still turned down by two networks.  Give it a watch, I thought it was funny to see the Kotex folks mocking the industry advertising euphemisms for “feminine hygiene products”.

More info on the controversy here, and I loved this quote:

That provoked Amanda Hess, author of The Sexist blog, to observe: “Now, the commercial contains no direct references to female genitalia – you know, the place where the fucking tampon goes.”

Not sure if this banning is sexism or not.  I remember some of those Viagra ads which were chock full of double entendres about sustaining a woody.  But I think it’s probably more about prudish attitudes.  After all, if we start talking about vagina’s on TV,  the whole moral foundation of great nation is at risk.  Or something.

By the way, if anything, Korean ads for “sanitary products” are even more subdued.

…Arguing that a few raisins managed to make it through the Congressional intestinal tract doesn’t make us any happier about having to eat it.” 

Wish I’d said that.

It boggles the mind.  Truly.

Elections have consequences and I fear these will be reverberating for generations to come.  I don’t have much to add to what has already been said (heh, do I ever?), but some things do stand out to me from my vantage point far away.

First, it will be the young and healthy who carry the biggest burden.  Perhaps that is as it should be.  But I do find it amusing that the biggest winners appear to be the demonized insurance providers.  I mean, let’s force the millions of people who don’t have insurance to buy insurance–that will teach those profit mongers!

And the Democrats told the overwhelming majority of Americans who opposed Obamacare to go to hell.  I expect that will have consequences come November.  As the Washington Examiner puts it:

Never before in American history has a measure of such importance been imposed on the country by the majority party over the unanimous opposition of the minority. Democrats have continually sought to create a halo effect for Obamacare by associating it with Social Security and Medicare. But the reality is that both of those landmark programs were approved with strong bipartisan support in both the Senate and House. The Senate vote on Social Security in 1935 was 77-6, with 64 Democrats being joined by 14 Republicans. In the House, the 373 votes for Social Security included 77 Republicans. When Medicare passed in 1965, the 68-21 Senate vote included 13 Republicans, while 65 Republicans were among the 313 affirmative House votes. Such bipartisan consensus was what the Founders sought with the Constitution. But Democrats made a mockery of bipartisanship by shoving Obamacare down the throats of Republican lawmakers and snubbing the popular majority that opposed it. The Democrats have undercut the credibility of the law they created.

I think you should also see what The Atlantic’s Megan McArdle has to say along these lines.

Is there a bigger fool than Congressman Stupak?  Of course, no one believes he was stupid enough to sell out his “pro-life” principles  for an empty Executive Order.  Was he?  Because of course, the law (as contained in the Senate bill and unchanged by today’s reconciliation vote) trumps an XO.  No, I think the Dems think the American people are that stupid.  I’m betting they were wrong about that.

And for those looking for a silver lining, you might find comfort in this post at PowerLine.

Me, I just feel sad for my country today.  And glad to be living far enough away that I can ignore it for the most part.  Sure, like everyone else, I will pay more for my insurance and have my taxes go up.  But for those living in the states and relying on American health care providers, well, higher costs are the least of your worries.

God Bless America.  She’s gonna need it.

You know, I guess I should get on board as well.  If the President is to be believed (shut up!) my health insurance premium will be reduced under Obamacare.  How is this possible?  Well, apparently, most of the uninsured who will be mandated to purchase heath insurance (a mandate opposed by candidate Obama, and supported by President Obama) are young healthy people.  Adding them to the insurance pool will lower the premium costs for everyone.

Cool.  As a baby boomer, I’m all about being subsidized by the younger generation.  Especially since young people are apparently Obama’s biggest fans.

And oh by the way.  You and your kids will be paying for this boondoggle long after I’ve joined Grandpa Munster in the great hereafter.

Thanks again!

Hat Tip: JammieWearingFool

TigerHawk links to a Harvard study that seems to indicate diversity training is ineffective.

Heh, imagine that.

But here’s the thing.  Anyone other than an ignorant knuckle dragger already knows that discrimination based on race/sex/age/origin etc. is wrong and counterproductive.  And no amount of training is going to help someone who believes otherwise.

Here’s an example of what I got out of some mandatory diversity training I attended several years ago.  The theme was being sensitive so as not to offend minorities.  I’m down with that, because as a white male, I am, demographically speaking, a minority (in the USA).  Anyway, as an example of insensitivity the instructor solemnly informed us that the visual aid commonly referred to as a “flip chart” was offensive.  Seriously.  You see, “flip” is a derogatory term applied to Filipinos.   And so according to the trainer we should henceforth call the flip chart a rip chart.

To our credit, we didn’t let the trainer get away without asking some clarifying questions.  Like, it is wrong to “flip a coin”?  Is it permissible to “flip through the pages of a book”?  Or how about if someone cuts you off in traffic–can you “flip them the finger”?  Yeah, it’s true.  We were certainly being “flip” about the subject.

Anyway, as far as I am concerned there is only one race that matters and no amount of diversity training is going to shake my deeply held belief about which race is best.

And what race is that you ask?  It should be obvious really.  The human race.

News Item:  Cartoon Network beats CNN, MSNBC.