The NRA called me with a push poll today. They are claiming that UN delegates are sitting behind closed doors to create a gun free treaty, and then the UN will somehow force this on the U.S. while it has a gun hating congress. They implicate Hillary Clinton as an accomplice. They then ask should 3rd world dictators be taking away our guns? I was tempted to ask the caller when he stopped beating his wife. Instead I just told him to stop the fear mongering and that he was ruining our wonderful country.

Recently, the state of Texas started requiring all full-time teachers, substitute teachers, and other school employees to be fingerprinted before being allowed to teach. Teachers aren't allowed by law to go on strike and so were forced to go along or lose their teaching license. The teachers will also have to pay $40 themselves for their own fingerprints.

The lawmaker's intent they said was to prevent sex offenders from being in classrooms. Each teacher will be crosschecked with and added to a "massive national database for a criminal history background check and the data will also be shared with the FBI and Texas DPS"

However, state officials or school district admins have apparently been using the data for unintended uses. I know of at least one individual that was fired because he had a DUI in his past. If other schools discriminate against ex-felons the same way (and I believe they will), then it's likely this individual and others will never get a job in a Texas school ever again.

Without warning, he is being forced to change his career or leave the state. It's unfortunate, but Texas doesn't believe in second chances. I foresee more abuse of this system. Where are the protections for the employees? Am I missing something or is this wrongful termination? If it's not, the teacher unions in Texas need to push for a law to make illegal.

The company where I work has been overhauling their employee health benefits. In the past, they had several plans to choose. Recently they began offering us a new plan that was based heavily around co-insurance instead of co-pays. They have been heavily pushing us to buy this plan, but it hasn't gained wide spread acceptance.

The idea is that if the health consumer pays a portion of the cost, they will shop for the best deals. The co-insurance can be much larger than co-pays, but they cap yearly expenses. They also have a fund that can transfer from year to year that acts as a deductible. It gets used up before any out of pocket expenses are incurred and the company I work for puts a modest amount into the fund the first year so you don't immediately get screwed if you get sick the first year after selecting it. You also pay more to see an out-of-network doctor or to use a name brand medicine.

The overall effect is that if you are really healthy or really sick, you pay less. Those that get mildly sick tend to pay more under this plan than the old ones, but not enough to bankrupt you. These changes would be fine, if the premiums were lower. After all, if we're saving the insurance company money by shopping for the best price, we should be charged less for our yearly premiums. Unfortunately it has been one of the more expensive plans.

This year however, my company has dropped all other plans and is instead only allowing this one for next year. They haven't released the cost of premiums for next year, but they will likely be higher than the current plan I have.

Let me repeat. I will have NO CHOICE but to purchase this plan since it's the only employer based plan available to me. Trying to purchase a private plan without going through my employer is so expensive, it's a false choice.

It's at this point I would like to make the case for the Public Option, but I can't since I would likely not be able to get it due to the proposed firewall. Senator Wyden (D-OR) has proposed amendments that would change that. Under his plan, my company would have to offer a voucher worth 70% of the average of the three lowest plans in the exchange. I could also pick the public option or another private insurer using that voucher.

I really, really want this to happen. It will save me and people like me so much money. It will open up competition to make health insurance companies accountable to their consumers. It does a lot of really good things and it needs to happen.

Many politicians seem to be under the impression that a Public Option in health care reform is not popular with the American electorate. These statements seem to be at odds with poll after poll stating otherwise. Since misinformation is abundant on this debate, why not let the American people decide in a national referendum?

This is not only the most democratic (little d) way of deciding a major policy change, but it also would give political cover to Democratic (big D) congressmen and congresswomen who fear (wrongly I believe) that voting for the public option would end their politcal career. How can they be blamed for not representing their constituents' beliefs if they allow their constituents to express those believes themselves when they vote for or against the public option?

It appears that the FBI stopped a terrorist plot with the arrest of Zazi in Denver. This is interesting to me in that it seems to prove how incorrect many GOP assumptions are. For one, it didn't take torture (presumably) to learn about this plot. I hope President Obama comes out and states that fact personally thereby calling out Cheney.

The arrest also comes at a time when we have 60K U. S. troops (plus allies) occupying Afghanistan and preventing that country from being used as a safe haven. If terrorists can attempt to strike us here while we have troops over there, then it effectively counters the "we fight them there so they can't fight us here" argument.

I don't want to politicize the Zazi investigation, but it should bring some terrorist fighting street cred to the White House. Obama should use this cred to silence once and for all the torture loving neo-cons like Cheney. Cheney was betting that Zazi would succeed and bring the GOP back to power. He lost that bet and should be made to the political price for doing so.