Author Archives: Robbie Sutter

Fox Host Claims She’s in Talks to Replace Sean Spicer

Mother Jones

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Is Sean Spicer a dead man walking?

Nearly a week after he survived one of the most tumultuous episodes of the young Trump administration, it appears as though Spicer’s tenure as White House press secretary could be coming to an end. Kimberly Guilfoyle, the co-host of Fox’s The Five, told the Mercury News Tuesday that she is in active discussions with several White House officials about taking Spicer’s job, and she signaled she would accept the position.

“I’m a patriot, and it would be an honor to serve the country,” Guilfoyle told the San Jose-based paper. “I think it’d be a fascinating job, it’s a challenging job, and you need someone really determined and focused, a great communicator in there with deep knowledge to be able to handle that position.”

Though she declined to go into details about her conversations with the White House, Guilfoyle described Spicer as a “patriot” and acknowledged that the role of press secretary was a “very tough position.”

In his short time as press secretary, Spicer has committed numerous gaffes in his attempts to justify President Donald Trump’s policies and erratic behavior, provoking ridicule both in the media and among White House officials. Trump has hardly kept his own disdain for Spicer a secret: According to a recent New York Times report, the president openly talks about replacing Spicer and purposely keeps him in the dark concerning major decisions, such as last week’s firing of FBI Director James Comey.

As for Guilfoyle, she appears to be a good fit for the Trump White House. She has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and once suggested that Secret Service agents should “kill” rappers Snoop Dogg and Bow Wow for making disparaging comments about the president.

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Fox Host Claims She’s in Talks to Replace Sean Spicer

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Medicare Advantage Might Not Be a Boondoggle Anymore

Mother Jones

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I’ve written periodically in this space about the problems with Medicare Advantage. In a nutshell, it costs a lot more but provides very little in the way of additional services. It’s really not much of a poster child for the benefits of program choice.

But wait! Apparently a big part of the problem with MA was the fact that people were allowed to switch in and out of their plans on a monthly basis. If they got sick, they could quickly switch into MA if that was a better deal for them. This obviously raised the cost of MA as sick people switched in to avoid the copays and other limitations of traditional Medicare.

However, that changed in the mid-2000s, when beneficiaries were required to choose a plan and stick with it for a full year. Austin Frakt provides the details of a new study:

By 2006-2007, health differences between beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage and those in traditional Medicare had narrowed….Also, in contrast to studies in the 1990s, more recent work finds that Medicare Advantage is superior to traditional Medicare on a variety of quality measures. For example, according to a paper in Health Affairs by John Ayanian and colleagues, women enrolled in a Medicare Advantage H.M.O. are more likely to receive mammography screenings; those with diabetes are more likely to receive blood sugar testing and retinal exams; and those with diabetes or cardiovascular disease are more likely to receive cholesterol testing.

That Health Affairs paper also found that H.M.O. enrollees are more likely to receive flu and pneumonia vaccinations and about as likely to rate their personal doctor and specialists highly.

So now things are a little murkier. MA still costs more than traditional Medicare, but only by 5-6 percent. And recent evidence suggests that MA beneficiaries might be getting enough additional benefit to justify that much extra money. It’s still not clear that MA is worthwhile, but it appears now to be at least worth further study.

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Medicare Advantage Might Not Be a Boondoggle Anymore

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Learning About Agriculture Through Philippe Van Den Bossche

I am of the opinion that experience is the most important factor when it comes to farming and other agricultural practices. You have to be able to understand the best actions to take and the times that are most crucial for them to be carried out. What are some of the specific ways in which you can actually pick up on information that can be used in the long term? Philippe van den Bossche may be able to help you understand this more than you might have imagined.

You should keep in mind that one of the best ways to attain your start in farming is to speak to the most knowledgeable minds in this field. Philippe van den Bossche, for example, will be able to tell you a tremendous amount about sustainable agriculture and everything that it entails. There are many factors to keep in mind as well, ranging from fertilizer to the utilization of certain pests. Getting in touch with authorities such as Philippe will do you a world of good.

If there are opportunities out there for you to learn under others, make sure that you take them up. Those who have years of experience in the fields will be able to dispense that knowledge onto you but it’s likely that you will do more in the way of hands-on work as opposed to anything else. The ability to work in the fields can offer you a tremendous learning experience. This is especially true when there are many who learn better by doing as opposed to simply watching.

Agricultural conventions can prove to be useful for your learning experience as well, so do not overlook these. I believe that you will be able to gain a tremendous amount from attending seminars, especially when they are done by those who have years upon years of experience in agriculture. It is also worth noting that you are probably going to be learning alongside others in this field. What this means is that your chances of making friends and growing your network will increase that much more.

Everyone has to start somewhere and I believe that the idea of agriculture is no exception. You want to be able to see success in this endeavor but you will only be able to get to that point if you take it upon yourself to learn. This can happen both in the hands-on sense as well as the cognitive sense. Both of these fields should be looked to and, before long, the body of work that you will have in regards to agriculture will be all the stronger.

Get in touch with Philippe van den Bossche if you would care for more details about the optimal methods for sustainable agriculture.. This article, Learning About Agriculture Through Philippe Van Den Bossche is released under a creative commons attribution license.

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Winter Work For Gardeners By Philippe Van Den Bossche

As one can imagine, it is not exactly easy to go about gardening during the cooler, winter months. Not only is the temperature sometimes unbearable for farmers to be outside for long but many crops do not thrive without the presence of sunlight. You may think that gardeners and farmers alike do not have work to do during these times but this is not true. In fact, there are other fields to cover, as Philippe van den Bossche most likely will be able to tell you.

The Wahoo Newspaper posted an article about gardening, more specifically the way in which it has been done in cold Wahoo, Nebraska. Even still, it’s easy to become busy during this time and Lorri Urban, a gardener in the area, affirmed this idea. She made it a point to mention that growers, “don’t hibernate or go to Arizona.” Instead, they find themselves becoming involved in other areas of work. What are the ones which seem to be the most useful when given the importance of the future?

The Wahoo Newspaper made mention of the idea that gardeners can usually find themselves getting lost in certain publications while the winter months are underway. A couple of examples of this are books and magazines, both of which can allow for learning experiences, which is a vital point that Philippe van den Bossche can bring up. What if you have not been spacing apart or rotating your crops enough? Maybe this is where you can learn by going over the details the success someone else has had.

Gardeners have to be able to make note of the types of crops that will be grown in the future and the colder months is the ideal time for the planning process to take place. Seeds have to be looked at and, based on the inventory that is seen, the right ones have to be selected. The article said that certain seeds will most likely have certain expiration dates tied to them. Peppers and kale are two such examples as they have two years and three years, respectively, tied to them.

It’s clear that gardening of the highest degree cannot be done until the weather itself becomes much more manageable. I am sure that most would be able to agree, especially when the chillier environment is one that does not exactly bode well for all crops. However, with certain jobs that can be taken up – many for the sake of the future – it’s not like work is going to be short. In fact, because of such jobs as taking inventory, the future is going to be that much clearer.

Contact Philippe van den Bossche if you would like further information about sustainable agriculture and general natural products.. Check here for free reprint license: Winter Work For Gardeners By Philippe Van Den Bossche.

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Gardening Tips By Philippe Van Den Bossche

Gardening can be done for many reasons, as you can very well imagine. There are a number of benefits associated with it in terms of health, as it can offer not only a lighter form of exercise but a way to relieve stress as well. It is also very possible that crops can rise to the surface, which can only expand on the idea of health that much more. With that said, though, what are some of the tips that Philippe van den Bossche can offer you in order to bring about the best garden?

What are some of the most important qualities to consider as far as soil is concerned? Philippe van den Bossche will be able to tell you all about them, amongst them being the moisture that is associated with the healthiest types of soil. What about the deepness that it possesses as well? These are just a couple of aspects to look to and I am sure that authorities such as Philippe can tell you that there are ways to easily see if your soil is not of the utmost quality.

As you can probably imagine, soil itself is very dark in color, which is a good indicator of just how healthy it is. What this means is that this type of soil should be put to use in order to bring some of the best possible crops to the surface. While the type of soil is vital, there is also a level of importance to keep in mind when it comes to the ways in which crops can be brought to the surface. There are a couple of points to consider as far as this idea is concerned.

One of said aspects is to give your plants and crops enough room so that they will be able to grow more effectively. One of the biggest rookie mistakes that anyone can make in the way of gardening is to place seeds too close together, which can impede growth. Instead, try to space seeds out as much as possible. In addition, if you are concerned about pests negatively impacting what it is that you are growing in the long term, crop rotation can be looked into as well.

If you want to maintain the best possible garden, these tips are more than worth taking into account. These are just a few nuggets of information that, in my view, Philippe van den Bossche can support. To me, though, it’s just a matter of making sure that your garden is maintained over the course of several days. If you are able to work on it each day without fail, it’s easy to say that your ability to grow crops will prove to be that much greater.

If you would like to learn more regarding organic agriculture and the positives it can offer, please get in touch with Philippe van den Bossche for further details.. This article, Gardening Tips By Philippe Van Den Bossche is available for free reprint.

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Philippe Van Den Bossche & The Potential Of Aquaponics

For the longest time, the methods utilized in order to cultivate crops have been relatively unchanged. The basics have been utilized – sunlight and water included – and they have yielded good results, especially under weather conditions which can change on a day to day basis; sometimes without the shifts being able to be predicted. That being said, a new development has been occurring and it goes by the name of aquaponics. To say the least, it is intriguing and Philippe van den Bossche would be able to agree.

According to an article on Mashable, aquaponics is a method that can come into effect in order to perpetuate plant growth. In the same body of water, said plants exist with fish and the two parties work in tandem. Fish are able to create waste, which is circulated by the water and then converted into feed which the plants can then utilize in order to grow. According to Parcs Holman, it was “replicating nature,” which is a very accurate description to give on the matter.

This is not an entirely new process, though, as it has been one which has been around for quite some time. Plants and fish alike have been able to grow in the water together before but there is far more of a scientific approach seen here, as Philippe van den Bossche would be able to support. The system is one that relies on detail and it is a sensitive system to boot. Attention is the key point to consider and names the likes of Philippe understand that this is vital if chemical imbalances are not to be had.

There were a number of details showcased in this article but the one that stood out the most, at least to me, was the use of water. If you were to water plants through standard means, only about 2 to 5 percent of said water would be able to reach the plants. On the other hand, aquaponics entails the constant stream of water, which makes an instance like evaporation something of a non-issue. It’s important to keep this in mind, as plants will have a steadier source of nourishment.

It’s not plausible to believe that everyone will be able to run their own structure for the sake of aquaponics. That being said, I have to believe that this can result in much greater crop growth than what standard methods have entailed. I can only imagine just how much easier farming, in general, will be made. Aquaponics, in my view, is a process that was able to seamlessly blend methods in nature with the processes developed in the field of science, which is more than worth praising.

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