He's Not Old Enough to Have a "Pre-existing Condition!"

Health insurer Rocky Mountain Health Plans has denied coverage to a four-month-old infant, the Denver Post reported Saturday. According to the insurance company the tot is too obese to qualify for coverage, apparently due to excessive breast feeding.

If this kid were vegetating in front of the TV with chips and wings and beer, maybe that would be something to think about, but this is just a normal active infant chugging momma's own. For crying out loud, it's all he's ever had! What else will the insurance industry start blaming on breast feeding? Crooked teeth? Infantile narcolepsy? Male pattern baldness?

Ordinarily, a newborn is automatically covered under the parents' policy for a time, then rates are increased - usually quite reasonably - to reflect a new insured. Nothing wrong with that in principle. But this time the parents' insurance company immediately jacked up their rates by 40%, making ongoing coverage unaffordable. Not wanting to get reamed by their current insurance company, they went shopping for other coverage, and gave Rocky Mountain Health Plans the opportunity to tag the infant forever as uninsurable because of a pre-existing condition.

Unless they can find an insurance company with a lick of common sense, this family is on its way to joining the millions of Americans booted into penury by the medical industrial complex. I wonder what's for lunch on the corporate jet today.

ORR Lineup for August 15

Health insurance Reform - Weld County Commissioners try to block constituents from meeting with Congresswoman Betsy Markey.

Back to School - Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner will talk about safety in schools and safety getting to and from school.

Back to School - Joni Reynolds, Director of Colorado's immunization program will give us the state's advice on children's health in schools and update on preparations for a possible early outbreak of the H1N1A flu virus. Here are some links to more information we will cover:

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Know what to do about the flu

Updating Today's Lineup

Just completed interview with Hadai Ghaemi from International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Will air today.

ORR Lineup for August 8

Congressman Jared Polis interview on health insurance reform and reactions at town hall meetings, immigration and conditions in detention centers and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

I'll update on developments in Iran. (At this writing still trying to make an international phone link with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.)

Justice Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in today. We'll hear from Polly Baca from the evening of the Senate confirmation vote.

Colorado Representative Jim Reisberg will join us for a long-overdue update on state issues.

Colorado Foreclosure Hotline - Help for Homeowners

Spokeswoman Bronwyn Morrissey will discuss free resources for homeowners in trouble with their mortgages on ORR Saturday.

The non-profit Colorado Foreclosure Hotline at 1-877-601-HOPE (1-877-601-4673) has been helping Coloradoans since 2006.

Global Day of Action July 25

United for Iran to get updated reports and more information.

ORR Lineup for July 25, 2009

Congresswoman Betsy Markey opens our show to discuss bank failures that affect agriculture, health insurance reform, dairy farms and more.
We will hear from another Iranian-American in Colorado who shares our concerns about what is going on with the Green Revolution.
Polly Baca, family friend of SCOTUS nominee Sonia Sotomayor, will tell us about the Senate confirmation hearings. Does the NRA really support foreign drug dealers in the US? Yes, there is a connection.
Tune in to 1310 in northern Colorado or stream Rhonda Solis and me on the web at 1310kfka.com.
Call in with questions at 970-353-1310 or 1-877-353-1310.
E-mail your questions to ken@openangeradio.us or click on the comment icon on this blog.

Iranian Evolution - July 11

Some quick links:

Green Brief # 24 - Daily summary from Iran.

Documentary on protests by Al Jazeera English, July 10. Footage from days before foreign press ejected from Iran. (26 minutes)

Discussion of Arab public opinion on Iran. Al-Ahram Weekly (Cairo)

Irony or insanity? Iranian state PressTV.

Today's Show - July 11

On the air at 2:00 p.m. MDT on 1310 KFKA in northern Colorado and streaming at 1310kfka.com.

Updates on Iran, immigration and a few idiots getting stupid with guns.

Grace Lopez Ramirez, Colorado Democratic Party Outreach Director, will discuss plans to consolidate gains in the last election.

Hollis Berendt reports on her recent D.C trip to promote health care reform and we will discuss recent developments in the insurance industry war on sick people and the working poor.

Iranian Evolution - Afternoon Update June 26

Credible sources report that high-profile opposition leaders are being tortured to coerce them into making false confessions of collaboration with foreign interests. The Guardian.

Having congratulated Ahmadinejad on his re-election, Russia now expresses "serious concern" about use of force against protesters. Radio free Europe.

Iranian diplomats disinvited from official Canada Day celebration. CTV.

"... there are no violent demonstrations on the streets anymore ..." State-owned Iran Daily editor to Al Jazeera, who does not sound thoroughly convinced.

Australian PM condemns violence. Brisbane Times.

US accused of denying visa to Iranian official. Reuters.

Weird. Pro-regime hackers. KATU in Portland.

Iranian Evolution - Evening Update

Celebrity infatuation has slowed Twitter to a crawl, so fresh information is becoming harder to come by.

A solid and potentially influential third faction appears to be emerging around Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. EurasiaNet.

Summary of events of July 25. Anonymous Iran, Green Brief #9 at whyweprotest. Reports are carefully qualified when there are uncertainties.

(Later) All Twitter trending topics are shut down due to volume. A communication tool that for 13 days transformed reporting of major world events now might as well not exist.

Afternoon Update

McCain as "Ahmadinejad's useful Idiot." Sullivan in TheAtlantic.

Follow the money - lots if it - out of Iran. The Telegraph.

Mousavi breaks silence. LATimes.

More on a US-based internet fifth column intervention. More specifics from Forbes. Seems McCain et al advocate punishing companies for how their customers use their products. That is the same position of some gun control advocates who want to hold manufacturers liable for individuals' misuse of their products, even if acquired illegally. (Thank you for providing me another topic to discuss on my show Saturday.)

Morning Update

Thoughtful reflections on divisions within the ruling regime from BBC's John Simpson. Link to podcast at the end.

Another sign of division, this time in Iranian parliament. BBC.

Moussavi may be under house arrest. NYTimes Lede blog, see 10:43 a.m. update.

TehranBureau has frequent updates and is widely cited in Twitter Trending Topics, but seems sometimes rather speculative. Okay source for what the news might be but I can afford to wait for some confirmation.

US Senate opponents to diplomatic engagement with Iran now are proposing that the US form a fifth column by providing opposition with internet technology. CNN report. When they fill out the FedEx shipping form, under Special Delivery Instructions they should put "Recipient may be in hiding or running for his life from police who are trying to capture, torture or kill him."

Violence in Iran Increases

The Ali Khamenei regime is cracking down on opposition with increasing aggression. More shooting and new reports of Basiji exchanging clubs for axes, but that may have occurred already in at least one killing.

Demonstrations are no longer about the doubtful re-election of Ahmadinejad but now are about whether Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shall retain power. If he is deposed it will be because he will have lost his credibility and his grip on other powerful religious leaders and because he has lost the loyalty of IRG commanders. Without the IRG he has no fist with which to strike the opposition.

Viral spread of blogs, photos and videos is making it increasingly difficult to filter out what is current and reliable and what is being repeated by people newly engaged in following developments. Be skeptical of what you read. Main Stream Media (MSM) remain appropriately cautious. The rest of may be suckered, even me, but I am at least testing or qualifying sources before repeating. If I get snookered I'll admit it.

Another problem is that Iranian government agents are getting better at tracking down people sending information out. One of the most reliable sources lost two contacts today. Under these conditions lost means detained or killed; if not killed will probably be subject to torture - already confirmed by Western media sources - and then killed. Two others have been able to maintain only intermittent internet connectivity while they move, trying to stay one step ahead of government agents.

Many wounded and dead are disappearing from hospitals without positive identification. In fact, people are being warned - apparently with cause - to take wounded to embassies for treatment. Unfortunately Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) and Basiji are blocking routes to foreign embassies.

Here are some links to catch up on today's developments.

US withdraws invitations to Iranian diplomats to join in July 4 celebrations at US facilities around the world. Reuters.

Updated tally of dead and detained in Iran. International Project for Human Rights in Iran.

Live phone report from streets of Iran today, describes beatings. CNN report on YouTube.

First-hand account from 17-year-old torture surviver. GRAPHIC PHOTOS. Salon.com.

Locations of foreign embassies providing medical treatment to wounded protesters. Note the cluster at the north end of Tehran, making it easier for government forces to restrict access. Songs of Earth has been updating this information regularly.

Video of the death of Neda Agha Soltan after being shot by one who was probably a Basiji sniper has been circulated widely. * She has effectively acheived martyr status among opposition to the Khamenei regime and has become symbolic around the world of the struggle. Her family continues to be punished for their loss. The Guardian.

* Find it easily if you want to. I do not recommend it for most people. This is not an exercise in special video effects or creative editing. She really dies as you watch.

Open Range Radio Today

On air at 2:00 p.m. MDT at 1310 in northern Colorado, streaming at 1310kfka.com.

Iran update - Hadi Ghaemi for International Project for Human Rights in Iran discusses today's events and implications for future of Iran and US relations.

Immigration Reform - Congressman Luis Gutierrez and CO Rep. Jim Reisberg.

Health Care Reform - Hollis Berendt on local efforts to mobile support for health care reform, follow up from Health Care for America Now.

Updates as available on events in Iran, and I hope we don't have another tornado alert.

Today's demonstrations in Tehran

Sites providing regular or continuous coverage from Iran on this critical day.

Streaming updates from Huffington Post.

Streaming audio from CNN.

oxfordgirl Gov fax to Foreign press in Iran telling them they can't report from inside Tehran. Iran been closed down. Twitter 07:17 MDT.

Dawn in Iran

From someone who has been able to maintain continuous contact with people in Iran: "Dawn is upon us - Allah Akbar - Let us pray together today."

Political Unrest May Widen Rifts Among Iran's Clerics. The News Hour.

Digest of information exclusively from tweets. Carefully checked and generally reliable.

No confirmation that this took place yesterday, but important indication of widespread opposition if it did. The Field.

This week on ORR

Iran, Immigration, Health Care reform.

Tune in Saturday 2:00 p.m. MDT on AM 1310 in northern Colorado or streaming at 1310kfka.com.

Catching up on the day

Needed a few hours viewing the prairie. After all the rain we've had in the last few weeks, what a sight! Green as it gets, carpets of wildflowers miles across, all the wildlife fat and sassy.

Back to work...

Four scenarios for Iran, the opposition strikes back at Basiji. WashingtonNote.

Video from rooftops of Tehran tonight. (Tehran is MDT + 11.5) Moving. Huffington Post.

Amnesty International alarm over Khamenei speech today. Amnesty International.

Under threat from Khamenei, the risk is real. Iranian blogger reposted on The Atlantic.

Friday Morning Links

Reaction to Khameini speech. BBC.

Ayatollah warns he is following >65 million on Twitter. HuffingtonPost. (But not and have time to keep up the arrests.)

Canadian journalist arrested. Globe and Mail.

Back in the Saddle

Brief clear explanation of how news is still getting out of Iran. computerworld

Good cartoon about Twitter. Cagle post.

Updated Twitspam list.

The toll: dead and injured. Grim and explicit but not gratuitous. iranbodycount

Children of former Iranian President Rafsanjani forbidden from leaving Iran. If I don't find another source I'll post a translation later. LeMonde.

And life goes on ...

While this Iranian Evolution is not so dominated by students as the 1979 Revolution, they still represent a significant majority of activists. Not surprising since 70% of the population is under 30 years of age.

This from a student on Twitter: "less than 3 hours until exam, S****** said we should give it a try. I'm going to sleep a little."

Yep, he or - more likely - she (65% of Iranian university students are women) has been taking a lead role in maintaining communication links with the rest of the world and still has to take final exams. Some universities have suspended exams indefinitely but apparently not all.

This kid takes for granted that there will be a tomorrow. How inspiring is that?

All those **** mean that I am not going to post the name of any Iranian because the Iranian government is monitoring everything and arresting, beating or killing opposition leaders. Okay, maybe they aren't giving this blog a good going over but it is so easy not to put someone else at risk, however remote.

More Updates and Information

A primer on joining the cyberevolution in Iran. Be aware that Denial of Service (DoS) attacks are generally illegal, but so is dragging students out of their dorms and shooting and beating them to death.

Updating: Fake Tweeters listed. Many more fakes and deceivers.

The official view on saboteurs causing disruption in Iran. From PressTV.

PressTV is funded by the Iranian government. Wikipedia entry here.

If I remember anything from a graduate level statistics course a few decades ago, I think this means that pre-election polls do not necessarily predict outcomes.

A thoughtful profile of Moussavi. NYTimes.

More Updates

Letter from Tehran: "We are in a terrible situation." from NPR.

Protest not weakening, Iran doesn't want Obama involved - blog account of reports from family on Iran, linked from Twitter.

Video of Green demonstration on subway. Upbeat tone of chants and laughter reveal hope, not despair, making it all the more dangerous to the Ahmadi regime. On YouTube.

Iranians once reluctant to speak out now involved in reform. From LATimes, which is finally restoring news space lately dedicated to Lakers.

Doing the math, voter turnout more than 100%. The Guardian.

Iranian Evolution

Social Media - "In requesting that Twitter delay a scheduled outage, the Obama administration acknowledged that the message service could change history in Iran." NYTimes

From Twitter - "Election theft memo from Iran Interior Ministry (NOT VERIFIED)"

A welcome bit of levity here.

Satrapi/Makhmalbaf, the press conference in Farsi and English on YouTube.

Iranian Evolution Updates

man who leaked the real election results from the Interior Ministry killed in a suspicious car accident - go to 11: a.m. posting

Government calls foreign media 'mouthpiece of rioters'

via Twitter - from Iran: We'd like to show the world what the police did to our dorms & computers

Iranian football team forced to remove green armbands (showing solidarity with protesters) at halftime of game in South Korea. Regular auto updates at The Guardian.

Wednesday morning front-page headlines in Colorado (print editions)

Denver Post
'Fiscally, city above C level,' 'Rockies run out at home,' 'Educators to file complaint about DPS,' 'Holder issues call for tougher hate-crime laws,' and 'Wavering on radio.'
Page 15A: 'Iran's senior cleric backs claim of rigged vote.'

The Tribune (Greeley, Colorado)
'Selling a taste of home,' 'Flood relief comes slow,' 'Iran's media clampdown meets Web age,' and 'Safeway, city ponder options for $2M remodel.'
Page A6: 'Election rivals' rallies continue.'

The small regional paper has more than 2X column inches of coverage of Iran Evolution than the statewide 'newspaper of record.'

Tweets & Links re: Iran Election

Christiane Amanpour's Photos - Iran Revolts . Warning - There are dead protesters in some of these photos.

Some arrested have been identified.

Fake Tweeters listed.

Iranian religious leadership starting to split over election.

Tweets & Links re: Iran Election

Quote of the day- "140 chars is a novel when you're being shot at." #iranelection

Link to join constructively in the hashtag revolution.

The last time I posted regularly was to elect a new US President. Let's see if it works in Iran.

Evolution/Revolution in Iran

Hard to tell from mainstream media but there is serious change underway in Iran. Caution in verifying sources is important to press credibility, putting such momentous events in the back pages is editorial filtering.
Best way to follow is #iranelection on Twitter. Overwhelming at times but many links to reports not otherwise available in U.S. Be aware of warnings about 'disturbing' photos if you are uncomfortable seeing people break, bleed and die to have their votes counted.

ACLU Complaint on behalf of Amalia's Translation and Tax Service

Follow this link to documents filed on this case:
http://www.aclu-co.org/docket/200821/200821_description.html.

Inaugural Celebration is On Nationwide

I don't know when it started but apparently a nationwide party started ramping up Saturday as travelers passed through DIA according to one coffee shop waitress. "We had groups passing through all day long to see the Philadelphia Eagles play Arizona and heading to Washington for the inauguration," she told me while I waited for my flight to board. She is taking Tuesday off from work to watch the inauguration on television.

Since I had to go through Chicago, it was a sedate flock of travelers on my first flight, heading home to chilling cold or connecting through to Frankfurt. Walking the concourse at O'Hare the atmosphere took on that of a happy pilgrimage more than a chore. Scores of people with Obama buttons tripping along laughing and chatting. Overheard repeatedly: "Are you going to the inauguration, too?"

My plane to Washington was packed to capacity with fellow pilgrims so happy to participate in such a landmark moment in America's history that I never heard even a muttered complaint about the shortage of overhead storage. That is rare because if someone else doesn't I usually do, even though I routinely carry no more than a briefcase and a coat.

Friends from Colorado I met at the baggage claim described the enthusiasm of their fellow passengers on a direct flight from Denver in a way that sounded more like a Rally for Change than a four hour slog through the unfriendly skies littered with boxes of dessicated snacks and cans of domestic lite beer at $6 a throw.

On approach to Washington National Airport those with window seats on the port side of the plane could see tens of thousands of revelers still milling about the Mall after an earlier gala concert attended briefly by Barack and Michelle Obama. The airport itself was fairly festive.

With several dozen balls and other events Sunday night the party is well on. Tuxedos and formal gowns common in the Metro stations and block-long lines at taxi stands tell of a very special occasion indeed. Bars have special permission to stay open until 4 a.m. this week. No formal wear in the windows of Hooters in Chinatown but better restaurants saw no signs of clearing until near midnight.

Three Days Until the Inauguration

In less than 72 hours we will have a new president, and not a moment too soon.
Check here and follow openrangeradio on twitter.com for my updates on preparations and events in Washington DC.