President's new health care proposal to include power to block excessive rate increases

If done right, that would be great. Expect Republicans, and Democratic defenders of the insurance industry (et tu, Baucus) to come out howling.

President Obama will propose on Monday giving the federal government new power to block excessive rate increases by health insurance companies, as he rolls out comprehensive legislation to revamp the nation’s health care system, White House officials said Sunday.

Very smart move. It capitalizes on something in the news, something outrageous, and something that every American can appreciate. We should see more of this from the White House. (Hopefully, once the experts get done looking at the details of the proposal tomorrow, they'll be able to confirm that it has teeth.) Read the rest of this post...

UK regulates loud TV commercials, why don't we?

It's something that, as a TV lover, has annoyed me for years. And it's fact. TV commercials are far too loud, and far louder than their accompanying TV program. It's annoying, and I doubt it's good for your ears over a lifetime of watching television. There ought to be a law. And in the UK, there is.

Eight TV adverts shown during an episode of Sherlock Holmes were too loud, watchdogs ruled today.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the slots on digital channel ITV3 were "excessively strident" and breached the sound levels code.

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Fewer hurricanes, but much stronger due to climate change

The bad news in this report outweighs the good, according to researchers. It's unnerving to see that this group sees a doubling in the number of category 4 & 5 hurricanes by the end of the century.

The study offers projections for tropical cyclones worldwide by the end of this century, and some experts said the bad news outweighs the good. Overall strength of storms as measured in wind speed would rise by 2 to 11 percent, but there would be between 6 and 34 percent fewer storms in number. Essentially, there would be fewer weak and moderate storms and more of the big damaging ones, which also are projected to be stronger due to warming.

An 11 percent increase in wind speed translates to roughly a 60 percent increase in damage, said study co-author Kerry Emanuel, a professor of meteorology at MIT.

The storms also would carry more rain, another indicator of damage, said lead author Tom Knutson, a research meteorologist at NOAA.

Knutson said the new study, which looks at worldwide projections, doesn't make clear whether global warming will lead to more or less hurricane damage on balance. But he pointed to a study he co-authored last month that looked at just the Atlantic hurricane basin and predicted that global warming would trigger a 28 percent increase in damage near the U.S. despite fewer storms.

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Video of my CNN appearance today to talk about media coverage of the stimulus

One small correction, it was FOX anchor Tony Snow who endorsed Republican nominee Bob Dole for president in 1996, not FOX anchor Brit Hume. I stand corrected, but my underlying charge remains true, that a FOX "news" anchor publicly endorsed a GOP presidential candidate. Read the rest of this post...

More on the public option's last stand

I'll believe it when I see it. I think the White House doesn't want to see the public option happen, and far too many Dems in Congress are now afraid of it too (even though it polls at around 70%).

The public option, the left’s favorite part of healthcare reform, is mounting an unexpected comeback.

The recess week ended up providing liberal activists and their allies on Capitol Hill with a surprise opportunity to breath life into the proposal to create a government-run health insurance plan – a proposal that had been declared all-but-dead two months ago.

Ironically, it’s a shift that would have been unthinkable before Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) won the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) seat in a special election last month. Though Democrats lost the 60th vote they needed to defeat a Republican filibuster of healthcare reform, they also gained a huge incentive to use reconciliation, a tactic Reid had previously ruled out.

With Democrats gearing up to take a final shot at passing healthcare reform via budget reconciliation rules that require only 51 votes for Senate passage, liberals see an opportunity.

Over the course of three days, 18 Democratic senators signed on to Sen. Michael Bennet’s (D-Colo.) Wednesday letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), requesting a floor vote on the public option should the upper chamber consider a healthcare reconciliation bill. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the vice chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, is the only member of the leadership to sign on so far.

Even Reid appears to be on board. A statement issued by his office on Friday indicates that Reid will bring the public option to the Senate floor.

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Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

John Aravosis is on CNN's Reliable Sources, which airs at 11:00 AM Eastern - his segment should be around 1140am Eastern. He'll be talking about media coverage of the stimulus, and whether he's to blame.

The National Governors Association is holdings its winter meeting in DC this weekend, so we'll see seven of the state leaders on the major shows this morning. At least one of those governors, Tim Pawlenty (MN), is making the noises about running for President in 2012. He's on "Meet the Press."

Colin Powell is the sole guest on CBS, while Gen. David Petraeus makes an appearance on NBC. That should generate some Don't Ask, Don't Tell questions.

The full lineup is here. Read the rest of this post...

Chico Cesar - A Primeira Vista

How do you not love his music?

Yesterday really felt like the end of winter was near. It wasn't necessarily warm (high 30's) but it was sunny. Over here, we probably don't have many, if any, sub-freezing days left. As I rode along the Marne, the path was full of other cyclists, joggers, walkers, dogs, you name it. Little kids right up to seniors were out there. People are can feel that the better weather is inching closer. Read the rest of this post...

New GM CEO to be paid $9 million

Let's see how being the CEO of a telco that had little competition compares to the automobile industry. It will no longer be as easy to control Congress as GM (and ATT) did in the past. If he manages to turn around the company, he'll be worth it though even modest growth will be a challenge. Paying such a luxurious compensation plan this early sounds, well, a bit early.

General Motors (GM) has said chief executive Ed Whitacre will get an annual salary of $1.7m (£1.1m), plus $7.3m in shares at a later date.

The pay package was approved by the US Treasury, which spent billions of dollars bailing out the carmaker last year and now owns a large stake in it.

GM also said Mr Whitacre's predecessor, Fritz Henderson, is being paid $59,090 a month as an adviser.

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