JJ Husker

Papuchis looks like a lost puppy. Beck can't avoid going all air Coryell now and Bo's head is about ready to explode. We're in good hands.

Till it can't be tweaked

And leave defenders standing on the field, watching Ameer go by....

We ask for a ligament that's fair.

I have never seen a Pelini team sellout to stop the run to the same extent other teams are willing to sellout to stop us. That is either serious disrespect of our passing game or some extreme stubbornness on Bo's part or both. I sure would like to see us stack the box like that but I doubt it happens. I think The Dude ^^^^^ nailed it.

Those carp are sumthin, aren't they?

On a merry-go-round, in the middle of the day in broad daylight, in a city park....back in my late teens. Sorry, I know that isn't super exciting although it was for me at the time. And of course the requisite "mile high" club on a short trip from Denver to Vegas. A guy sitting adjacent to the toilet winked knowingly at me when I exited a couple minutes after my wife.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/upshot/first-look-at-health-insurance-rates-for-next-year-is-encouraging.html?rref=upshot&smid=tw-upshotnyt&abt=0002&abg=1 There may be some ways to spin it that way. However, I rely on my real world experiences and that isn't what I've seen. In fact, the KP plan I just signed up for the month of December will be increasing 13.4% going into January 2015. $1,068 to $1,211. I realize that is anecdotal but it sure means a lot more to me than a study that claims otherwise. Let's hope that really is some sort of trend that will become more widespread.

Yeah . . . I really don't understand why the federal government is so afraid of punishing the big banks . . . $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Exactly. It's not that they're afraid to do what's right. It's that so much $$$'s can make their way back to these career politicians and government functionaries. Future jobs, campaign contributions, actual cash under the table deals....the options are endless.

Happy Birthday Buddy! Hope the Huskers give you a present this weekend.

Interesting article. Thanks for posting. I guess we all sort of knew/suspected as much but it shines a new light on it when you know more about the efforts to silence the truth.

And....returning to the point I have been trying to make all along about the ACA....runaway, continually escalating costs. Yes, this was a problem before implementation of the ACA and yes, it is still the number one problem. Without the rapidly increasing insurance premiums and care costs, there would've been no impetus to change anything from the status quo. Low income people still could've enrolled in Medicaid, lower to medium income people struggling to try to afford coverage would've been able to afford it if costs weren't climbing out of control and, of course, higher income people could've continued without concern. So, my point is, the major problem that required solving did not get addressed and really has been exacerbated by the implementation of the ACA. Yearly premium increases are still in the 12% to 18% range generally and, figure in the 25% +/- one time increase due to the all inclusive provisions of the ACA, health care is still unaffordable as ever. I think it's great that everyone can get (maybe not really afford but-can get) coverage and that pre-existing conditions and portability are no longer concerns. Those are the things they got right. Now they need to fix the problem. I hate to say it but it is going to require single payer and some heavy handed socialism to fix. That is going to be an extremely tough sell to a good portion of our citizens. Hell, I realize that is the only solution but it still rubs me the wrong way enough that I'm not sure I could fully support it. The only solution is not the American way many of us idealize.

Well I ventured into the Colorado insurance marketplace for ACA insurance.......mixed feelings. The Ugly and the Bad; 1- Experienced technical glitches quite a few times. Got booted out/off and had to start over many times. 2- The information on the available plans is pretty darned limited compared to what I am used to getting from our insurance broker. The general public trying to navigate this system and make decisions can't be a good thing. I know a LOT about health insurance plans, how they work, etc. because I have been selecting plans for myself and my company for many years. This marketplace has to be an absolute nightmare for people that aren't well versed in deciphering these plans. 3- Started down the path to determine if I would be eligible for any financial assistance or reduced premiums (note-was pretty sure I wouldn't be but was curious because I will also be helping some of my employees sign up). That path (determining eligibility for assistance) was an absolute nightmare. Once I got started it would not let me bail out or cancel the process. They required WAY more information than I wanted to provide. So I determined fairly early on I wasn't going to complete that line of questioning on the application. I couldn't stop it or avoid it. I had to actually call in to their help line and have them delete the app I had started so that I could start over without determining financial assistance. Of course, being a government entity, the financial determination had to first consider Medicaid and CHiP (a Colorado assistance plan) eligibility which made it very involved and cumbersome. Would've been nice if it had offered the option to skip determining Medicaid eligibility and gone right into determining premium reduction eligibility. 4- Since our prior company plan was on a December 1st renewal date, I needed to secure coverage beginning December 1, 2014. It has always been my experience that when signing up health insurance the plans are 1 year (12 months) to renewal. So, I enrolled only to find out that the plan I signed up for would only be good for 1 month. Yep, gotta do it all over again in December for the 2015 year. It is not a fun or quick process so finding that out after I signed up was discouraging. Nowhere along the way did the system inform me that I was selecting a plan for only 1 month. So, after verifying that with another call to the help line, it sunk in that I was basically getting screwed for a month; new deductible that would only be good for only 1 month. If I actually have to use the plan in December, it will likely be all out of pocket anyway. So, I called a third time to see if that was in fact the case. They could not reach a consensus on an answer so I am waiting for a call back. The Good; 1- I had 66 plans to choose from that ranged in price, for our family of 4, from about $720/mo to around $2700/mo. Some of the best plans were not at the upper end of the price range but rather down around the $1100 to $1300 range. I did find a couple plans that had lower premiums and much better coverage than the Anthem BCBS PPO plan I have just given up. The new plan will be a Kaiser Permanente HMO rather than a PPO. HMO's are a little more restrictive than PPO's as far as they afford zero coverage out of network. The only downside I really see is that our primary care physicians will no longer be in network so, we will have to select new doctors. That doesn't break my heart because our long time doc just retired about a year ago anyway and we are not impressed or attached with his replacement. The Best Thing; 1- I no longer have to select the plans my company will offer to our employees or comply with an endless stream of ever changing rules, notifications, and legal requirements. It was a draining, seemingly constant, slog that sucked ass bad. All we had to do was give everybody a raise which more than covered the company's share of the insurance premium and now they can all make their own health care decisions. The employees don't like it but I love it. Sorry if this is boring to ya'll. I just thought it would be good to post a real life experience with the ACA changes.

"I'm a woman, this huge duck scared me." Got some winners out there don'tcha?

Link The short snippet you posted from your link is just flat out wrong on two accounts. 1- The conclusion that voting is suppressed because the government "provide the appropriate polling place with a list of those qualified to vote. The voter just has to show up." I would need it explained how that suppresses voting. gasp....the government actually tells you where you can go vote.....the horror. 2- And this gem- "We also hold elections on just one day instead of several and that day is an otherwise normal Tuesday instead of a weekend or a holiday." IDK, maybe that is true some places but around here with mail-in ballots, early voting centers, etc. there are multiple options, numerous days, and many places a person can vote. In the past few elections, I literally could vote at any time of day in multiple ways, at many different locations, over the course of around a month to 6 weeks. Of course I am a registered voter with an actual right to vote. Seems like the people we are most concerned about in this country are the non-citizens that don't have a right to vote. It might be a little tough for them because the government probably isn't sending them mail in ballots with multiple polling locations detailed on them. It is not a question with a correct and incorrect answer, unless the answer is they are both bad. Of course people need to register to vote. On what basis would anyone even begin to think a person should not have to be actually authorized to vote in an election? Allowing an unauthorized person (non-citizen) to vote has the exact same adverse effect on an election as suppressing a legitimate person's right to vote. It's ridiculous to think otherwise.

It's the NEJM. They're generally not too interested in dumbing it down. Good point. However, it would be nice if their little study couldn't be referenced for increases, decreases, or whatever the hell a person might want to claim it shows. I could claim that study shows why we'll beat Wiscy and I'm pretty sure that would be just as valid of a claim.

Root for Miami....no problem. HAVE to root for Texass? Nope, ain't gonna happen, eva. Homey don't play that.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMhpr1310415 Wow that is some convoluted mumbo jumbo. BTW that does NOT show receding or reducing costs but rather spins it and indexes "real" health spending to other factors such as GDP and/or per person etc. There are so many other factors involved that it means nothing. I guess it might be able to be claimed as some sort of "downward curve", possibly by some stretch of the imagination, but that is not what I had in mind and it sure doesn't help the poor schlub whose insurance premiums keep increasing roughly 15% per year. That is the opposite of a downward curve.

Enrollment figures was the highest profile "better than anticipated" aspect. That curve has been bending downwards for the past few years . . . Could you point me to the data that shows some downward curve? Everything I have seen, from my small company's point of view, has premiums still increasing min 10% per year plus the one time 25% +/- increase when making the leap to an ACA approved plan.

It isn't. I'm not sure how many times I have to repeat this: the ACA is better than the status quo. It's not the best option . . . but it's the one that was politically feasible. Fortunately for all of us, it's working even better than anticipated. I've stayed out of this discussion for quite some time but, I am curious, what about the ACA is working better than anticipated? Please keep in mind I am of the opinion the biggest problem with health care in this country was, and still is, the runaway and rapidly increasing costs. I have not seen this problem change course at all but rather has gotten even worse to allow for the new provisions of the ACA.

I think they are equally bad so I did not vote in the poll. Either problem is the flip side of the other problem, machts nicht. Now if you meant to ask which problem is more prevalent......I guess I do not know for sure.

Of course it's a good thing but we'll have to forgive the people who aren't dancing in the streets over it. It is sort of like.....Before- they raped our wives and daughters at will. Now- They may rape our wives a bit less. Progress? yes. Something to get overly happy about? meh, only relatively speaking.