Ann Romney To Visit Cancer Center That Benefited From Stimulus Funds

By Igor Volsky on Oct 10, 2012 at 9:28 am

Ann Romney, a breast cancer survivor, will visit the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida on Wednesday — which has received millions from the stimulus (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). Her husband and his running mate Paul Ryan both opposed the measure, which President Obama signed into law in February of 2009.

Ann will tour the location and “meet with patients and members of their families.”

The Moffit H. Lee Cancer & Research Institute is Florida’s only Comprehensive Cancer Center that conducts “extensive research on cancer as well as providing advanced forms of treatment.” It benefits from “significant federal research funding,” including $23,920,428 from the stimulus:

Romney and Ryan have criticized the president’s stimulus and its results. Romney has said the president’s vision has failed and released a statement saying “the only thing President Obama’s stimulus has produced is a series of broken promises” on the three-year anniversary of the stimulus. These comments haven’t stopped the candidates from campaigning at sites that have benefited from the funding, however.

Romney appeared at Watson Truck & Supply in Hobbs, New Mexico, which benefitted from $400,744 in stimulus funds, fundraised at the home of a recipient of stimulus funds, and bashed the stimulus at a small Ohio college that took $80,000 in Recovery Act money. 

Toyota to recall 7.4 million vehicles over power window glitch

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• Timeline: Major global recalls in the auto industry
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Double Trouble for Toyota.

6:37am EDT

• Double Trouble for Toyota

By Yoko Kubota

TOKYO | Wed Oct 10, 2012 8:48am EDT

(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said it would recall more than 7.4 million vehicles worldwide as a faulty power window switch was a potential fire hazard, the latest in a series of setbacks that have dented the reputation of Japan's biggest automaker.

The voluntary move is the biggest single recall since Ford pulled 8 million vehicles off the road in 1996 to replace defective ignition switches that could have caused engine fires.

Toyota has battled its way back from multiple difficulties since 2008, including a series of recalls involving more than 10 million of its vehicles in 2009-11, and crippled supply chains from last year's earthquake and tsunami in Japan and floods in Thailand. It posted its biggest quarterly operating profit in four years in April-June.

The firm regained its crown as the world's best-selling automaker in the first half year and expects to sell 9.76 million cars and light trucks globally this year, including the Daihatsu and Hino brands.

More recently, though, Toyota - and other Japanese brands - have seen sales plummet in China, the world's biggest autos market, as a result of protests in a simmering Sino-Japanese territorial dispute. Toyota said on Tuesday that its China sales fell 48.9 percent year-on-year in September. Sales in China account for about 12 percent of its total.

QUICK FIX

The recall, intended to fix a malfunctioning power window switch on the driver's side, primarily affects cars in the United States, China and Europe.

Toyota's main rivals in the U.S. include Ford and General Motors Co (GM.N), while in China they include Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T), and in Europe, Hyundai and Nissan.

The recall will include some Yaris and Corolla models, with repairs taking about 40 minutes, the company said.

"The process to repair (the power window switch) is not an extensive one," spokeswoman Monika Saito said, adding that it would involve putting heat-resistant grease on the switches, or exchanging them.

Toyota declined to say how much the recall would cost, or what impact it may have on futureearnings.

Koichi Sugimoto, senior analyst at BNP Paribas Securities in Tokyo, estimated the recall could cost at least 10 billion yen ($128 million).

"Of course, 7 million vehicles is a huge number, but it's probably not going to be like last time when customers in the United States avoided buying Toyota cars. This sounds like a completely different scale from then," he said.

GLOBAL SCALE

The recall will include 2.47 million vehicles in the United States, 1.4 million in China and 1.39 million in Europe, the company said.

No accidents, injuries or deaths have been reported as a result of the problem, though there is a possibility the malfunctioning switches could emit smoke, Saito said. Toyota's U.S. news release said the problem could lead to fire if commercially available lubricants were used on the switch.

Toyota will take in for repair about 459,300 vehicles in Japan, including the Vitz model, produced between 2006 and 2008.

The firm is also recalling 650,000 vehicles in Australia and Asia, 490,000 in the Near and Middle East, 240,000 in Canada and 330,000 elsewhere, said Shino Yamada, another spokeswoman for Toyota.

The vehicles recalled outside Japan include some models of the Yaris, Vios, Corolla, Matrix, Auris, Camry, RAV4, Highlander, Tundra, Sequoia, xB and xD produced between 2005 and 2010.

The first time the problem was reported was in September 2008 in the United States, Saito said.

Shares in Toyota ended down 1.9 percent, in line with the broader Nikkei index .N225.

Suddenly Centrist: The New Moderate Mitt Romney

By Aviva Shen on Oct 10, 2012 at 9:15 am

In a last ditch effort to win over undecided moderates, Mitt Romney is finally fulfilling his adviser’s prediction that he would become the “Etch-a-Sketch” candidate. During the first presidential debate, Romney started reversing positions he espoused all year while he was trying to placate the Republican base. Since the debate, he’s continued to shed his hard-line stances that alienated moderates.

Here are 5 examples of the new moderate Romney:

1. “There’s no legislation with regards to abortion that I’m familiar with that would become part of my agenda.” In an interview with the Des Moines Register on Tuesday, Romney backed away from the promises listed on his own website to appoint Supreme Court judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade and end all federal funding for Planned Parenthood. He has also said he would be “delighted” to sign a bill banning all abortions.

2. “We want to reduce the burden on middle-income taxpayers, and we’re not going to provide a tax break to high-income taxpayers.” In the same interview, Romney disavowed his own tax plan, which would give high-income taxpayers a litany of tax breaks, including an across the board 20 percent tax cut and the elimination of the estate tax. During the Republican primary, Romney admitted that his plan gives tax breaks to high income tax payers, promising he was “going to cut taxes on everyone across the country by 20 percent, including the top 1 percent.” In order to pay for these tax cuts on the wealthy, Romney would have to raise taxes on middle class families by more than $2,000.

3. “Pre-existing conditions are covered under my plan.” Romney misrepresented his health care plan during the debate. In fact, only people who were continuously insured are protectedfrom discrimination. Millions of Americans who have been denied insurance for their pre-existing conditions would be left to their own devices under Romney’s plan.

4. “You have to have regulation. And there are some parts of Dodd-Frank that make all the sense in the world.” Also during the debate, Romney suddenly embraced the bank reform law he previously said he would repeal entirely.

5. “The people who have received the special visa that the president has put in place, which is a two-year visa, should expect that the visa would continue to be valid.” Considered the mosthard-line immigration candidate in a field of extreme Republican candidates, Romney said he would allow the young undocumented immigrants to keep their special work permits issued by President Obama, though he plans to end the directive if president.

Romney surrogates have admitted that Romney is changing his positions for political gain. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) explained that “strong conservatives would understand” that Romney needs to lean center to cull moderate votes.

EXCLUSIVE: Outside Groups Spend Millions On Ads Featuring Medicare Misinformation

By Josh Israel on Oct 10, 2012 at 9:00 am

American Action Network ad

The false claim that the Affordable Care Act of 2010 cut $716 billion out of Medicare has been oft-repeated in political ads and speeches in recent weeks. The law eliminates current over-payments to insurance companies, limits fraud and waste, and slows the growth of the program. Based on aCongressional Budget Office finding that repeal of the landmark healthcare reform law — and those important provisions — would increase Medicare costs by $716 billion between 2013 and 2022, many have incorrectly asserted that that means the bill will cut that amount from the program. A ThinkProgress analysis of independent advertisements and data from Kantar Media’s CMAG system reveals that between September 1 and October 1, an array of conservative outside groups spent about $8 million in attack ads, repeating the false claim, against House and Senate candidates across the country.

The 60 Plus Association, American Action Network, American Crossroads, the Center for Individual Freedom, the Congressional Leadership Fund, Crossroads GPS, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ran a total of television 27 ads over the period accusing candidates in House and Senate races of supporting “$716 billion in Medicare cuts,” “slashing Medicare spending by over $700 billion,” “cutting $716 billion from Medicare,” and similar variations. Their spots have run in targeted House races in California, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Utah — and in key Senate races in Florida, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

One ad — a U.S. Chamber of Commerce spot running in Wisconsin — consists of fake constituent complaints left on an answering machine of the candidate complaining about the alleged cuts. A woman says “My Ma depends on Medicare. Why would you vote to cut it?” A man demands: “Keep your hands of my Medicare.” Another man asks “716 billion?”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, representing 300,000 businesses, opposed the health care reform law. The NFIB, which claims to represent 350,000 small business owners, unsuccessfully sued to get the law overturned.

With about $15.2 million spent by all outside groups on TV ads in House races and about $19 million spent on these “independent” ads in Senate races, the $7,996,260 spent on these “$716 billion in Medicare cuts” ads accounts for almost a quarter of all outside spending over the 31-day period.

Thanks to the Supreme Court’s 5-4 Citizens United ruling, outside groups like this are free to run ads for and against political candidates using as much corporate money as they wish. Due to weak disclosure laws, most of those outside groups need never publicly identify the companies and individuals funding their ads.

Despite thefts, no new Medicare IDs

WASHINGTON — More than a quarter-million Medicare beneficiaries are victims of identity theft and hampered in getting health care benefits because the government won’t issue new IDs, according to an investigation report released today.

Medicare officials say it’s too expensive and too many agencies are involved to reissue those numbers to patients victimized by identity theft — about 284,000 beneficiaries, according to a report by the Department of Health and Human Service’s inspector general.

Beneficiary numbers are directly connected to a patient’s Social Security number, and the government is unable to create a new Social Security number for a patient whose Medicare identity has been stolen, according to the report, which was obtained by USA TODAY.

And beneficiaries can do little more than report abuse of their beneficiary numbers because the government does not provide them with updates about investigations or amend their records with correct billing information. That, investigators say, slows down access to care.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) “should mitigate the damage of medical identity theft by ensuring that beneficiaries retain their access to services if their Medicare numbers have been misused by others,” the report states.

Investigators suggested that the CMS, which administers Medicare, place an indicator in breached records or records known to have been used fraudulently so claims processors know when a legitimate claim should go through. The agency agreed to consider that suggestion, the report said.

The report also said the government should find a way to issue new numbers, even if it means moving away from using Social Security numbers.

Investigators also found that though the government has created a database that includes the 284,000 breached or stolen beneficiary numbers, contractors have not received guidance about what to do with that list. In some cases, contractors continue to send out government checks even after the numbers have been compromised.

The government said the system is being fixed now.

Medicare should also correct beneficiaries’ billing records when fraudulent activity has occurred, investigators recommended, but the CMS disagreed.

“Our major concern is that CMS's adjustment of beneficiary billing records could have a negative impact on criminal and civil prosecutions and on the underlying integrity of the Medicare claims processing system,” wrote Marilyn Tavenner, acting administrator for CMS.

In 2011, the government recovered a record-breaking $4.1 billion in health care fraud money. Between 2009 and 2011, it collected $7.20 for every dollar spent on fighting fraud — a jump of $5.10 for every dollar spent between 1997 and 2008, according to inspector general reports.

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Petitioning Senior VP, US Bank

US Bank: Allow the Gearing family to purchase their own home back from foreclosure.

by Jeannette Gearing

Sautee-Nacoochee, GA

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My family wants to buy our family farm of many years -- but because we are in foreclosure, US Bank (5th largest bank in the US) is refusing to even hear an offer until we have been evicted, forcing my husband and I, our seven children, and our aunt who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease to move out and compete with investors to buy back our own property!   

When our family business went under due to the recession, we fell behind on payments and our family farm went into foreclosure. We have tried tirelessly to work with the bank to keep our home, but have been given the run-around by the bank each time—often calling and being forwarded to scores of representatives, none of which say they can do anything to negotiate! The bank (then Chase) even sold our mortgage at one point (to US Bank), causing even more confusion over who we should talk to. Now, we have managed to find outside financing and are trying to submit an offer to US Bank to buy back our home (in cash) so that our seven children and aunt will not have to be evicted. But US Bank, claiming bureaucratic process, is refusing to even hear or consider offers on the property until we have been evicted. 

The time between eviction and when the sale of the property takes place will allow investors to come in and buy our family farm before we can even make an offer to purchase it back ourselves.  According to the bank, we will be forcibly displaced on November 5th. With seven young children (ages 7-17), all of whom have grown up in the home, and my husband Bill's ailing aunt who we provide care for, this will create a scar that may never be healed. Not only does US Bank's bureaucratic requirement of "eviction before sale" put our family in the ridiculous position of having to pack and move all our belongings to vacate the home which we hope to buy and move back into just days later, it also opens the door for outside real estate investors to swoop in and offer the bank far more than we owed on the house, leading to both the bank and the outside investors profiting off our tragic loss.

US Bank claims that when we choose them “you don't just get one of us, you get all of us serving you.” Sign the petition to ask US Bank to honor this commitment and allow us to buy back our home.

Thousands of people currently have mortgages that have been sold from bank to bank like ours was, and it's unacceptable for banks to use this reason to deny families the chance to pay back money for their homes.

Please sign our petition, asking US Bank to meet with us and hear our offer to purchase our own home prior to the forced eviction on November 5th. 

Petition Letter

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: US Bank National Association.

----------------
Allow the Gearing family to purchase their own home back from foreclosure

The Gearings are a good family with seven young children. As a result of an unfortunate business dealing gone sour, they, like many Americans, have come upon lean financial times and their home has been foreclosed on.

Since the foreclosure took place, the Gearings have managed to find outside financing and are currently in the process of trying to submit an offer to US Bank (the 5th largest bank in the U.S.) to buy back their home so that their seven children will not have to be evicted from the beloved place where they have grown up.

However, US Bank and its many confusing corporate entities are refusing to even hear or consider offers on the property until the family has been evicted.

This means that the Gearings and their seven young children will be forcibly displaced from the home that they are currently trying to BUY back (not get for free!) all in the name of satisfying US Bank’s bureaucratic requirement that foreclosed homes be unoccupied and listed on the open market for a minimum of five days before being sold.

Not only does this requirement put the Gearings in the ridiculous position of having to pack and move all their belongings to vacate the home which they hope to buy and move back into just five days later, it also opens the door for outside real estate investors to swoop in within those five days and offer the bank far more than the Gearings owed on the house, leading to both the bank and the outside investors profiting off the Gearings’ loss.

Since the Gearings are not trying to get their home for free – they are indeed trying to purchase it back from the bank – it is unthinkable that US Bank will not even hear their offers and is instead simply moving forward with evicting their large family.

US Bank, please allow this wonderful family to buy back their own home rather than sell it to outside investors. Their seven young children need it far more than the vultures waiting to steal it away.

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Sincerely,


[Your name]