DiscussionDIVAS

The week: Hospital rights for same-sex couples; A view of Tea Partiers; Lookin at Lucky

ONE...
Obama demands new rules to allow same-sex couples to make medical decisions for each other and be granted hospital visiting rights. 

It's hard to believe, but gay partners can be banned from hospital visits because they aren't legally family. Problem is, if you're gay, you're not legally allowed to marry in 45 of 50 states, and thus may be banned even if you wanted to make your union legal.

So Obama asked the health secretary to change the rules. (Here's a good example of the challenges gay couples face in hospitals.) 

TWO...
Tea Partiers rallied on Tax Day to protest, well, taxes; poll finds them wealthier than the average American.

Eighteen percent of Americans identify themselves as part of the Tea Party movement, which was out in full force across the country on Thursday.

According the poll:

37% are college educated (vs 25% overall)

75% are older than 45

89% are white

59% are male

36% are Southerners

39% are "very conservative" 

See the poll here.

THREE...
Lots of nuclear talk... 

Forty-seven nations convened in Washington for a Nuclear Summit and discussed ways to keep nuclear arms away from "non-state" actors--groups like al Qaeda. May be easier said than done as these groups bleed across borders and operate very differently than organized countries.

The big six—France, Germany, Russia, United States, China and Britain—separately discussed a possible fourth round of sanctions on Iran over their nuclear aspirations.

A FEW + ONE...(on the lighter side)
Competition is fierce ahead of the Kentucky Derby on May 1. 

How much a horse earns determines if it gets one of the 20 spots in the Derby. Last year the lowest-ranked horse earned just $55,000. This year the low guy has made over $200,000, meaning it's a competitive field. Lookin at Lucky has earned the most--$1.5 million in his three short years.

Alas, it's an all boy's race this year. Makes us long for Rachel Alexandra.

 

Looking ahead to 2010

2010 Census We’ll get a fresh look at U.S. demographics with the 2010 Census, which will count same-sex couples for the first time. The Census results influence Congressional districts and funds going to government-funded services like schools. As a side benefit, new census readers will mean an injection of about 1.2 million temporary jobs into the economy. The Year of the Tiger No, not that Tiger! (For good or bad, 2009 was his year.) Rather, the 2010 Year of the Tiger refers to the Chinese New Year, which begins on February 14 (it changes each year based on the moon). The tiger is one of 12 animals associated with the Chinese lunar calendar, with each bringing certain characteristics to the year. Think courage in the year of the Tiger. Estate tax Unless you fall into the 0.2% of America’s wealthiest people, this won’t apply to you, but you’ll hear a lot about it in the news. In a nutshell, prior to 2010, big estates were subject to an estate tax of 45% on assets above $3.5 million. But after nine years of phasing out the tax under a law passed by Congress in 2001, the estate tax—or “death tax” as Republicans like to call it—completely disappears. The Wall Street Journal reports some wealthy Americans were clinging to life to avoid the taxes by passing away in 2010. The reprieve only lasts a year. In 2011, the tax increases to 55% on assets over $1 million. Congress will likely take up the issue in 2010. Roth IRA conversions

Free mammograms: Women's health in reform

You might have thought that all the sports news this week revolved around Tiger Woods and his “transgressions.” 

But of course politics is something of a sport as well, and there was plenty of gamesmanship on display this week, from President Obama’s decision to both send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan and outline a timeline for withdrawal by 2011; to reminding the American public that the government is still focused on a jobs stimulus despite everything else that's going on; to the football-like grappling in the U.S. Senate over the health reform bill.

Senators locked horns over costs, and also women’s health—namely, mammograms.

Free mammograms
A couple weeks ago a government panel said women who aren’t predisposed to breast cancer should get mammograms starting at age 50 rather than 40, setting off a firestorm. So the Senate passed an amendment to its version of the health bill (they pass many amendments to revise the bill that came out of committee beforevoting on the whole bill) that would require insurance companies to cover mammograms before age 50 and also make them—and other types of screenings and preventative services—FREE. The amendment passed 61-39.

Fear of rationing
Exactly why they should be free and not subject to some kind of a co-pay is not entirely clear. 

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