Public Option Please

I got a notice from the home insurance company that covers a rental home my wife and I own. They said that they were canceling the policy because we now had a swimming pool on the property. I called and told them no renter had asked me to pay to put a pool at the house and what were they talking about? They hummed and hawed and sort of, kind of admitted perhaps their agent had checked the wrong home. They will check again they said. I couldn't even blame the government for this stupidity, this is a private insurance company hard at work showing us how well the private sector operates. Here's another, more grievous example from the Huffington Post. Remember: I don't for one minute believe that that Big Pharma is spending a million and a half dollars a day lobbying Congress against the public option because it is in the best interests of We The People. Nor should you. Of course one has to wonder what tort reform will do in cases like these. Texas has reformed tort laws to no visible effect on the cost of medical insurance.

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The South Carolina Supreme Court has ordered an insurance company to pay $10 million for wrongly revoking the insurance policy of a 17-year-old college student after he tested positive for HIV. The court called the 2002 decision by the insurance company "reprehensible."

That appears to be the most an insurance company has ever been ordered to pay in a case involving the practice known as rescission, in which insurance companies retroactively cancel coverage for policyholders based on alleged misstatements - sometimes right after diagnoses of life-threatening diseases.

The ruling emerges from a conservative Southern state with one of the most pro-business climates in the country. And it comes as progressive Democrats on Capitol Hill are pressing for health care reforms, such as a public insurance option, that reflect wariness about the private insurance industry's motives.

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a lower court's verdict against Fortis Insurance, now known as Assurant. The trial jury had awarded the former college student, Jerome Mitchell, $15 million in punitive damages; the Supreme Court reduced that amount by $5 million.

Mitchell learned that he had HIV when, while heading to college, he donated blood. Fortis then rescinded his coverage, citing what turned out to be an erroneous note from a nurse in his medical records that indicated that he might have been diagnosed prior to his obtaining his insurance policy.

Before the cancellation of the policy, an underwriter working for Fortis wrote to a committee considering whether or not to rescind his policy: "Technically, we do not have the results of the HIV tests. This is the only entry in the medical records regarding HIV status. Is it sufficient?" The underwriter's concerns were ignored and the rescission went forward.




Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/17/insurance-company-must-pa_n_289841.html

Night Walk

It's rainy season in Key West still, and there is something quite refreshing about taking a lunch time walk after the latest storm:The city has quieted down for the most part by two in the morning, but I'm sure a good few of them are lying awake wondering where the thunder and lightning has gone:

It's a time of day I can stand on the street and fiddle with exposure settings and see what looks most interesting on the street. A Honda Metropolitan 50cc scooter, in my view one of the best values in reliable useful transportation, an economical clean four stroke with lots of storage and a very low seat height. My wife became a confident scooter rider with her yellow Metropolitan before Hurricane Wilma drowned it for her:I gave this house six seconds open shutter, transforming it into daylight almost:

Outdoor dust catchers. Why Laurel and Hardy? Who knows...

Jeep Wranglers and their ilk are popular in Key West, I think because they speak of carefree vacation time. To me their 14 mile per gallon fuel consumption would give my high mileage habits a headache. Their wide un-aerodynamic, old fashioned mud guards make a good place for rain drops to settle:

This is the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah's Witnesses on White Street even though all the lamps make it look like a the gulag at two in the morning. Approach at your peril.

Sometimes I am amazed when I speculate how these funky little houses have survived and even flourished in the climate of mad rebuilding that swept America in the modernizing 1960s.

And I am forced to wonder if the residents ever do sit out and watch the world go by from these chairs. Probably in another couple of months it will be pleasant enough to do just that:

I must have spent ten minutes trying to get this one to come out crisp and clear, but I couldn't park the camera anywhere where I could get the reflection and i couldn't hold the squeeze box still enough to eliminate the fuzzy picture entirely.

I ride past this motel-like complex quite frequently, on Catherine Street near White. I like the covered walkway facing the street.

Two men were standing in the street arguing about some drama, the details of which escaped me. I wished them a good morning as I drew near, and they pulled apart, shocked into silence. The silence continued as I splashed on by, leaving a cone of no sound behind me the way a ship leaves a wake in the ocean. Then, when they judged I was out of earshot they started up again, whispering passionately about some human frailty or another.

The irony is that I couldn't get a crisp shot of them, but this palm tree cooperated entirely with my camera and allowed itself to be photographed entirely clearly:
As I drew close to my destination I came across a reminder of the passions of electoral politics. I don't suppose Craig Cates was thinking about it when he chose his colors but yellow on green makes for a very visible sign in the middle of the night.

His opponent, incumbent Mayor Morgan McPherson chose red which makes quite a splash in daytime. But I work night shift and because I live in the county I am a bystander in city elections.

There was only one motorcycle in the police lot when I got back to work, which gave me a clear shot. Chief Lee is also a big fan of recycling; he's a fifth generation Conch so I like to think he's keen to preserve his town while keeping it clean, which suits me just fine.

Baucus Sells Out

The Chair of the Senate Finance Committee Max Baucus, a supposed Democrat representing Montana has offered up his version of health care reform. he is viewed as the stumbling block to a public option and he came through for the insurance industry. Bear in mind insurance companies have funded his reelection campaign to the tune of three million dollars, though of course he would tell you no way is he influenced by more money than I will earn in the rest of my working life. Also interesting to note, none of the Republicans on Baucus's critical committee have joined with him in supporting his plan and he has gutted the public health care option to bring Republicans into his supposed "compromise." I tell you this: if the insurance companies don't want a public option it has to be good for we the people. Period. Let me also point this out: no member of the US Congress has ever been denied health insurance through their collective Congressional health insurance scheme for pre-existing health conditions or for rescissions (which are claims by private insurers that people lied on their applications and thus void their policies when they need them the most). How I wish we had FDR at the helm in the White House right now, a man who was reviled far more than President Obama ever has been and who stood up and did what was right. The only trouble is, in a country that doesn't know it's own history no one knows what I mean when I mention FDR, the New Deal or the Great Society.

I found this Associated Press report on Baucus's explanation of his sell out plans on the Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON — Sen. Max Baucus on Wednesday brought out the much-awaited Finance Committee version of an American health-system remake – a landmark $856 billion, 10-year measure that starts a rough ride through Congress without visible Republican backing.

The bill by Baucus, chairman of the Finance Committee, would make major changes to the nation's $2.5 trillion health care system, including requiring all individuals to purchase health care or pay a fine, and language prohibiting insurance company practices like charging more to people with more serious health problems.

"This is a unique moment in history where we can finally reach an objective so many of us have sought for so long," said Baucus, D-Mont. "The Finance Committee has carefully worked through the details of health care reform to ensure this package works for patients, for health care providers and for our economy."

Consumers would be able to shop for and compare insurance plans in a new purchasing exchange. Medicaid would be expanded, and caps would be placed on patients' yearly health care costs. The plan would be paid for with $507 billion in cuts to government health programs and $349 billion in new taxes and fees, including a tax on high-end insurance plans and fees on insurance companies and medical device manufacturers.

But the bill fails to fulfill President Barack Obama's aim of creating a new government-run insurance plan – or option – to compete with the private market. It proposes instead a system of nonprofit member-owned cooperatives, somewhat akin to electric co-ops that exist in many places around the country. That was one of many concessions meant to win over Republicans.

In other ways though, including its overall cost and payment mechanisms, the bill tracks closely with the priorities Obama laid out in his speech to Congress last week.

Baucus is still holding out hope for GOP support when his committee actually votes on the bill, probably as early as next week.

Salt Run Bridge

There is a canal that runs through Key West and it enters or exits the island here:

The Salt Run Bridge separates North Roosevelt Boulevard into two pieces at the Overseas Market Plaza, pictured below where TGIF restaurant holds court:

The bridge marks the transition from the 30mph zone closer to downtown from the wild west 35mph nose-bleed zone of the outer reaches of North Roosevelt. The channel itself, as close as you could come to a river in Key West flows south, covered by mangroves, towards the airport and flows under Flagler Avenue near 10th street before turning east and becoming Riviera Canal and debouching into Cow Key Channel under the Riviera Canal Bridge, similar in all respects to this one:

The Riviera Canal essay is here: http://conchscooter.blogspot.com/2008/08/riviera-drive.html The Salt Run Bridge is a convenient access point for shopping, weirdly enough, for people who live at anchor in the waters north of Key West and it isn't uncommon at all to find boats, like this inflatable pulled up in the mangroves. It's almost axiomatic in Key West, if there is a mangrove bush there may be someone living in it, or under it or simply using it as a trash can:Despite the abundance of public trash cans in Key West these days, people still somehow manage to dump their trash where it is most unsightly. I remember these unsightly garbage heaps even when I lived aboard in these areas nearly twenty years ago. I used to land my dinghy in the bushes across the street from Burger King just down the road from here and I was always struck by the heaps of trash. My buddy Curt shrugged and put it down to Key West being a transient town. I figured it was the shortage of public trash disposal facilities back then. Yet today it is still an issue, intractable as ever.

One shouldn't be surprised, this is a major bicycle and foot thoroughfare and people, even of good will, spill stuff all the time I suppose, though I didn't see anyone doing that.This is a far cry from the narrow streets of Old Town, Home depot is off to the left, and Overseas Market and Key Plaza are to the right:
This looks like anywhere suburban South Florida, but it's actually North Roosevelt inbound toward everyone's favorite vacation town:

Key West efficiency:

That this isn't suburban mainland Florida is given away by the abundance of scooters:

In winter this is the only easy way to cross North Roosevelt though one can see pedestrians running the gauntlet almost anywhere day and night. Accidents aren't frequent but they do happen and people do get hurt.

Call me cowardly but I like to choose my battles more carefully. This lot is in a hurry:
Why some people insist on riding their bikes on the Boulevard (as North Roosevelt is known) I couldn't say when there is an ample bike path on the seaward side of the street:
Besides from the bike path you get to see all manner of interesting things, like the mains pipe that brings water to Key West from the South Florida Aquifer about 140 miles away:This is the view looking north up Salt Run creek past Parrot Bay Resort towards the anchorage:
And this is looking south at the lagoon that sits behind TGIF and Ross and Pier One department stores in the Overseas Market:

And this is the No Trespassing sign next to the well worn trail that leads mysteriously off into the mangroves.

Like I said, show me a mangrove bush and I'll show you someone making use of it in Key West.

Bike Path

The bench reads Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, more an idea than a reality as the trail is a series of interrupted segments.I lost my oomph on my way to work, the line of traffic was endless and going 42 miles per hour and I got bored with dawdling along. So I pulled over to take a break in the middle of the Saddlebunch Keys near Mile Marker 13 and pull out my camera. Cars used to drive on these old 1910 railroad bridges. Up till 1982 when they were used for the main roadway they had narrow handrails on the sides made of welded up railroad track. Now the road bed is made narrow by the massive cement parapets on each side, but the bridges were never very wide: There is a plan in the works, and with federal money stimulating it, it might even happen, to create a bike/pedestrian path the one hundred sixty kilometer length of the Keys. Bits of this hundred mile plan are completed as we see here with this illegally parked motorized vehicle on the bike path: The proposed heritage and scenic trail would run alongside the Overseas Highway, and it would have to owing to the general lack of land around here:
In winter I see a fair number of joggers, dog walkers and cyclists along this stretch. I think they come from the RV park just down the road and their presence tells me the winter snowbirds are back. Right now the place is pretty much empty:

Except the roadway isn't too empty during rush hour. One of the pleasures of working nights is that the city of Key West is emptying itself of all the office workers as the night shift comes into town, and there are fewer of us than them:I was struck by the image the hurricane resistant power lines made:
For some reason I was also struck by the distorting mirro effect of the turn signals on the motorbike. The Bonneville comes equipped with big old fashioned turn signals. On the Triumph forum, home to people who modify their bikes at vast expense rather than riding them, people love to spend hundreds of dollars replacing these things with tiny, barely legal turn signals. I remember when turn signals were an invention of the dastardly Japanese bike industry and real riders never used them. Nowadays they are so common I would feel odd not using my signals every time I change lanes or direction. And I would like to think a few cagers out there might bother to notice them.

In a few months perhaps the ambient roasting conditions will have chilled out enough to make sitting out here a pleasant experience, instead of the sort of torture approved as an alternative to water boarding by people who should know better.

Summer views are magnificent...

...wilderness without even a mountain:

But enough of such day dreaming, it's time to get back on the road to work. Mile Marker Nine:One day that 50cc Yamaha Zuma may be able to sneak a rather safer 40 mph ride on an expanded shoulder while cyclists might get their own path well out of traffic between Big Coppitt and Stock Island.