Hello Everyone -
Just a little informational material that you may find interesting.
- Conference Committee Report to the House (Friday May 11, 2007 at 11:14 PM)
(This is the video of the actual House Session last year on the Conference Committee Report FTBA. I recommend you watch it if you can. It will probably make some of you very
angry. I was there last year at the conference committee hearing and boy what a joke it was. What Rep. Rukavina says in this video about what the conference committee did is
exactly right and I can testify to that! About 9 minutes and 20 seconds into the video, the session actually starts so you can fast forward it to that point and then sit back and watch
our legislators at work.) Eight minutes procedural so the smoking part starts at 17 minutes in. Try listening while doing other computer work. Greg Lang
Added 05-05-08 I reorganised some drawers watching/listening to the 2007 FTB debate and vote 1 hour and a half hour after they got going at 17 minutes. I kept note paper handy with time and quick note of the "interesting" parts. I'll to do a write up tonight, basically a one page with a printable link so someone can hit the high/low points quickly and get through it in maybe 20 minutes. The "bar theater" was brought up and supporters said they expected it to apply to reservations. According to my notes "theater is 42 minutes in, $$$$$ is 01:22 and "tribal" is at 1:50
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/htv/programa.asp?ls_year=85&event_id=1379
- Minnesota Majority E-mail (Below is an e-mail from the organization Minnesota Majority. What I find so interesting about this e-mail are the comments about the MDH. Apparently, the MDH has a problem with laws.)
Are you aware that the state of Minnesota has been amassing newborn baby blood samples for over 10 years? It's true. Unbeknownst to most parents, the Minnesota Department of Health has warehoused DNA information on over 780,000 infants since 1997. In 2006, the state legislature passed a genetic privacy law requiring expressed written patient consent prior to gathering genetic information. But instead of complying with the law, the Department of Health continued its practice collecting newborn DNA without a parent's written authorization. Last year, a Minnesota judge ordered the Department of Health to cease its illegal activity. But the Health Department ignored the judges' ruling and instead vigorously worked to change the law in order to exempt infants from Minnesota's genetic privacy law. The state legislature has caved in to the demands of the Department of Health and passed bill number SF3138 which eliminates the requirement for a parent to opt-in to the collection process. Under the new law, the Department of Health will be able to collect an infant's DNA unless a parent expressly opts-out of the process within 24 hours. While the law require a parental disclosure, reading a disclosure and signing an opt-out form will be the last thing on the mind of the parents the first 24 hours after the birth of a child. Bottom line, this bill reduces a patients right to privacy by changing the law from an opt-in to a opt-out process. It puts thousands of individuals at risk of having their private genetic information inappropriately used by the state without their knowledge or consent.
Governor Pawlenty is the now the only person that can prevent this bill from becoming law.
TAKE ACTION
1. Click on the link below to watch two videos on the infant genetic privacy issue: http://www.minnesotamajority.org/Home/tabid/112/EntryID/78/Default.aspx2. Click on the link below to send a message to Governor Pawlenty urging him to veto HF3138: http://capwiz.com/mnmajority/issues/alert/?alertid=11327671&type=SW3. Forward this message to your friends and ask them to take action as well.
Thanks for doing your part to protect the privacy of children in Minnesota.
Regards,
Jeff DavisPresident, Minnesota Majority
- Sheila's Comments about the Minnesota Majority E-mail
Just want to let you know that this "opt out" option is becoming more and more prevalent. I have had my own experience with this just recently. This year my health insurance changed and it was not obvious how the deductible worked....so I actually picked up the health insurance booklet to see what I could find. Lo and behold, I went through the entire booklet and what did I find on the last page but an "opt out" form. I looked at this and couldn't believe what I was reading...it appears that my family and I were all automatically enrolled in 2 different research type organizations that could access our medical records unless I sent in this "opt out" form. I cannot tell you how shocked I was...if I hadn't actually read the booklet I would have never known. This is a very "sneaky" way of getting people's personal information and is just plain WRONG! If I want someone else to have my information then they need to ask my permission up front and then I will decide if they can have it. So needless to say, I sent in the forms to "opt out". The Health Insurance Policy was Health Partners. In addition, I have also heard some discussions that some states are trying to make "donor organs" an "opt out" option. This is just getting plain ridiculous!! (I also have HP, I've never read the contract. Greg Lang)
######2###Hello Everyone - Another quick update. ##########
- Thanks to those bar owners that will remain un-named.
Thanks guys for continuing to educate the public and other bar owners about the legal exemption for theater performances. Thanks for handing out those packets of information
so other bars can particpate. I appreciate your updates and the stories you tell. I know it has become a mode of survival now for many bars across the state.
- A Reminder & Thanks to Bob for his Support!
"Grab your Nitetimes Magazine at your local establishment!" If not there, please e-mail nitetimebob@comcast.net and we can get papers to you!!
- Another Reminder
Check out the http://www.freedomtoact.com/ website and catch the "Mario and Luigi help celebrate 6000 hits" link!
- People in Duluth
You guys once repealed your local smoking ban ordinance. Any possibility of "repealing" your Mr. Huntley come this November? Give it some thought since he is not finished yet
with the smoking ban. He currently has a bill that would take away the smoking exemption for psychiatric wards. What is up with this guy? Once he is finished with the smoking
ban, what will he turn to next? Based on what he has already done....I would speculate that "liquor" and probably "obesity" is next. He is the chair of the Health Care and Human
Services Finance Division Committee and in my opinion needs to retire!
- Comment to Bugg's Place
Buggs - We are there for you and support you 100% !
- Pioneer Press Article 5-2-08
http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_9130488
Health Department asks court to stop South St. Paul bar's 'theater night'
Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 05/02/2008 06:39:26 AM CDT
The Minnesota Department of Health said a South St. Paul bar is violating the state's smoking ban and wants Dakota County to make it stop.
Buggs Place is holding bogus "theater nights" to get around the ban, which has an exception for theatrical productions, the agency said.
Several bars have staged mock plays in which patrons and employees are deemed actors so they can smoke, but the Health Department ruled in March that the theater exemption was being abused. They agency sent out 17,000 notices detailing its position.
The Health Department asked a court for an injunction against the Bullseye Saloon in Elko on April 11.
- Wisconsin is fighting the good fight. Let's support our neighbor in any way we can. There is a great article on the American Cancer Society...see excerpt below and visit their website for the full article. (WE must BAN together!)
http://banthebanwis%20consin.com/%20acs.aspx
The American Cancer Society: Up in smoke?
2006 Lobbying Efforts
1- $18,498,663
2- $12,810,000
3- $767,360
Can you guess who spent what in 2006?
3 is RJ Reynolds Tobacco (per opensecrets.org), 2 is Phillip Morris (per opensecrets.org) and 1 is the American Cancer Society (per their 2006 from 990). Big tobacco indeed...
When it comes to the American Cancer Society, you really need to read between the lines and understand who and what they are. You are dealing with an organization that brings in hundreds of millions of dollars every year, has over a billion dollars in assets (that includes investments and cash in the bank), and has a CEO that makes over seven figures in total annual compensation. Does this sound like the neighborhood charity that you can be proud of?
Dr. Epstein of the Cancer Prevention Coalition has called for a boycott of the ACS in order to force them to clean up their act - and for good reason. In a paper that he has written, he points out things like for every $1 spent on direct cancer services, $6.40 is spent on compensation and overhead costs. He also points out that even with over a billion dollars in reserve, the ACS continues to fund raise under the guise of a "lack of available funds for cancer research."
A quick look at charitynavigator.org has the ACS as a 2-star charity with a 1-star efficiency rating, and that isn't even using the latest numbers. Their 2007 990 form reveals an even worse mess (including a bigger salary for their CEO) than the Charity Navigator page presents.
Before blindly accepting the American Cancer Society as a legitimate and benign force for good, we need to take a hard look at who and what the ACS really is.
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