99 │ prayer for Annie

It is easy to say, Annie,
that we hate life,
and that we thus hate
and rue our lives.

We can hate life, my dear,
and pound away at our pillows
as if we know, most decidedly, better—

the first of three heavy, heavy snows,
and a hard, deep, mysterious tumor,
remember (when is it melting)?

Nutmeg
Nutt Nutt
Nutterbutter Peanut Butter (that’s her real name)
Nutty

But we do not, bamboo.

Today, Sunday, the 2nd of May 2010,
the heat descended on 41 Madison
like a terrible and profound weight,
and the terribly humid evening wore us down
like doves.

Spring had turned a corner.
Vicious winter had finally given way to wistful summer,
and the hummingbird’s flighty metabolic flare
rose like the first red ruby
of the season
(to take a drink).

And we cried as such
needy, needy dogs:

Fuzzy Nut
Weary Nut
Nutt Nutt of Ellis, Nutt Nutt of Doris
Nutty Nutty Ms. Nutty

Earlier in the day, in a wonderfully shaded haven
in a neighborhood far, far away,
a beautiful young girl rescued
a torpid eastern tent caterpillar
from a desperate deckbound
captivity and death,
taking the solitary fern frond
under which the caterpillar
had been found
with her.

This was fortune, what did it mean,
and the caterpillar did go gladly up
the cherry tree
at the delicate drop
of her fingertip.

Nutty.

At the same time, sadly, some 40 miles away,
a beautiful young woman (this one with wild eyes and wild hair)
saw her companion
close her sweet little eyes
for the duration.

We wonder about such things as correlation.
We wonder about fate and lessons.

But for now, Father Time, we beg you, let us not lose sight of what it is that we are doing:

Nutter Butter
Ms. Nutty Nutty
Nutty of Yesteryear
Nutty of Nevermore

For her keepers now we pray for carrots.
We pray for simple bedding and strawberries too.
We pray for brown eyes and the sparkling gift of Christmas.
And to her progenitors we say thank you.

Be well, we pray,
and rest easy, Nutmeg.

Always.

Forever.

Amen.

On the constitutionality of the individual mandate

Best argument on why the individual mandate is both constitutional and necessary that I've seen thus far. . . .

From David Orentlicher:

The Supreme Court would have to overturn 70 years of case law to side with the attorneys general challenging the health care legislation. To be sure, there is a germ of truth to the argument that the federal government may not require people to buy an insurance policy. If Congress passed a law whose only provision entailed a mandate to purchase a product, and violators of the law were automatically subject to incarceration, constitutional concerns would arise. Imagine a criminal law that required people to buy an American-made automobile to bolster the domestic car industry. But that is not the kind of mandate that Congress passed. Rather, the obligation to purchase insurance, with its financial penalty of $750, falls readily within the commerce clause authority of Congress.

Under the commerce clause, Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce, and the health care insurance industry clearly satisfies the Supreme Court's understanding of interstate commerce. Further, the new legislation constitutes an important effort to regulate the health care insurance industry. Key elements of the legislation are the provisions that prohibit insurers from denying coverage or raising prices because of a person's "preexisting" medical conditions. Under current industry practices, many people cannot obtain health care coverage because they have heart disease or other medical problems that cause insurers to refuse coverage or charge higher premiums. The new law would prohibit these denials and higher charges so everyone can purchase affordable coverage.

But insurers cannot be asked to eliminate the higher charges unless everyone is required to have insurance. Otherwise, many people would wait until they became sick before buying coverage. In short, the individual mandate is a necessary component of the effort by Congress to protect people from unaffordable health insurance premiums. And under the Constitution, Congress is entitled to "make all laws which shall be necessary" for carrying out its commerce clause and other specified powers. Thus, the court made it clear in the medical marijuana case (Raich v. Gonzales) that Congress may regulate in areas that might not ordinarily fall within the commerce clause power if the policy is part of a broad regulatory program that falls within the commerce clause power.

Exceeding the record

Tromped through the Patuxent Woods in Columbia, MD this afternoon at the height of this week's second nor'easter. Something is wrong. Snapshots below:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

__________________________

All photos from Columbia, MD, 10 February 2010.

From top to bottom:

1 - Sinewy meshwork from the one and only back patio creature me I
2 - Sinewy meshwork from the one and only back patio creature me II
3 - Implications of leaning right
4 - Welcome to Poplar Glen Apartments!
5 - Faux exodus
6 - On behalf of Populus deltoides
7 - 203, uphill, empty inside, and none too amused
8 - Synaptic futility and failure, early phases
9 - In remembrance of the red-shouldered hawk, not appearing here
10 - God damn
11 - In remembrance of the wondrous and mysterious red fox hiding
12 - Closer to dunking
13 - Tell me why, godly, tell me why (and make it stop)
14 - 11650, buttressed equally and righteously on either side I might add
15 - Corridor to Jesus I
16 - Corridor to Jesus II
17 - Most deeply felt indication
18 - This is no longer amusing
19 - 35!
20 - Bend approaching Watch Chain Way and Poplar Glen, pedestrians no more
21 - Tree of yore no doubt, tree of yore
22 - Grim battles ahead
23 - Snow monster, large, and if I may, forlorn

People are encouraged not to panic

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT

You can quickly become disoriented. Wait for emergency help to arrive. Periodically run your engine for heat. Ensure your exhaust pipe is cleared. Crack your windows, for God's sake, to avoid poisoning. Make yourself visible by tying a colored cloth to your antenna. Move your arms from time to time, your legs, fingers, and toes. Doing so will help keep the blood from coagulating.

_______________

Adapted from National Weather Service, Howard County, MD, 10 February 2010

As yet another system begins to emerge over the central United States

First, a reminder of some predictions. From the Farmers' Almanac online at http://www.farmersalmanac.com:

Blizzards?

Although 3/4 of the US is predicted to see near- or below-average precipitation this winter, that does not mean, natalnorgs, that there will not be any winter storms. On the contrary, significant snowfalls are forecast for parts of every zone. For the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, for instance, we are predicting a major snowfall in mid-February, possibly even blizzard conditions....












And thus:



__________________________

All photos from Annapolis, MD, 5–6 February 2010.

From top to bottom:

- Hill at height
- Madison at height
- Madison after storm
- Trek up Jefferson
- West after storm
- Igloo for a car

In memory of the Donners

THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS STORM IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE RECORD SNOWFALL. TRAVEL CONDITIONS TONIGHT ACROSS THE REGION WILL BE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS AND LIFE-THREATENING. HELP YOUR LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT FIRST RESPONDERS AND TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES BY STAYING OFF THE ROADS.

vl: TIME TO CHECK ME OUT SOME HASTINGS PASS...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings_Cutoff

Snow incredible here. Nearly 1900. Worst yet to come...

Possums

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Blues Clueless
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Michael Moore interview w/ Democracy Now!

Michael Moore's approach is often misguided, bullying, alarmist, and over the top, but sometimes he absolutely nails it, and I thought his interview with Amy Brown was in many ways right on the mark about our current state of affairs. Among the topics covered: Haiti, Afghanistan, this week's Supreme Court ruling on corporate funding in elections (as he rightly points out, a very depressing and debilitating decision indeed), the weakness and ineptitude of both Obama (grow a pair, sir) and the Democrats as a whole, and the fate of Bernanke and Geithner. It's fairly long, but it's well worth a gander in my humble opinion. Nice precursor to the State of the Union tomorrow night too.


Here's hoping everyone's doing well.

- vl

And in so thinking to varying degrees (as I am hereby being stripped) on perhaps another tactic to be used in the war on terror

Why Haiti Matters:
What America Must Do
and How

Adapted from http://www.newsweek.com/id/231131/output/print

Background

During the this past week we have been moved by the devastation in Haiti. Entire swaths of Port-au-Prince are in ruins. Families seek shelter in makeshift camps. Children search desperately for their mothers and fathers; mothers and fathers search desperately for their children. Both to no avail. Anarchy reigns in the darkened streets.

We have ordered

We have ordered a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives in Haiti. We have instructed the leaders of all agencies to make our response a top priority across the federal government. We are mobilizing every element of our national capacity: the resources of development agencies, the strength of our armed forces, and most important, the compassion of the American people. And we are working closely with the Haitian government, the United Nations, and the many international partners who are also aiding in this extraordinary effort. We act on behalf of all who have been affected. We act for the thousands of American citizens who are in Haiti and for their families back home. We act on behalf of the Haitian people. And we act for a very simple reason. In times of tragedy, we step forward and help. That is who we are. That is what we do. At no time is that more true than in moments of great peril and human suffering. When we show our compassion, the world looks to us. That advances our leadership. That shows the character of our country. And it is why every citizen can look at this relief effort with the pride of knowing that America is acting on behalf of our common humanity.

Tell me who,
and why it matters

Right now, our search-and-rescue teams are on the ground, pulling people from the rubble. Americans from Virginia and California and Florida have worked round the clock to save people whom they've never met. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen quickly deployed to the scene. Hand in hand with our civilians, they're laboring day and night to facilitate a massive logistical enterprise; to deliver and distribute food, water, and medicine to save lives; and to prevent an even larger humanitarian catastrophe.

Greater help is on the way. This will be a complex and difficult rescue and recovery operation, and it takes time to move all of the resources necessary into such a devastated environment. But more American rescue teams, doctors, nurses, and paramedics will arrive to care for the injured. More water, food, and supplies will be delivered. An aircraft carrier has arrived. A naval hospital ship has been deployed. And additional aircraft and heavy equipment will restore communications and clear roads and ports to speed relief and hasten recovery.

In the days, months, and years ahead, we will need to work closely with the government and people of Haiti to reclaim the momentum that they achieved before the earthquake. It is particularly devastating that this crisis has come at a time when—at long last, after decades of conflict and instability—Haiti was showing hopeful signs of political and economic progress. As the tremors fade and Haiti no longer tops the headlines or leads the evening news, our mission will be to help the people of Haiti to continue on their path to a brighter future. We will be there with the Haitian government and the United Nations every step of the way.

Grime upon which to return

natalnorgs!

My how I have not missed you.

Nevertheless, a fascinating defense in the making for your perusal...

11 January 2010
Adapted from AP report

On a balmy Sunday morning in May, on the east side of Wichita, Kansas, a man by the name of Scott Roeder rose inconspicuously from his pew at Reformation Lutheran and walked discreetly to the foyer, where two ushers had been chatting around a table. Mr. Roeder carried with him a .22-caliber handgun, and as he moseyed on into the foyer he pressed the barrel to the forehead of one of the ushers, unsuspecting abortion doctor George Tiller, and blew his brains all to hell. Roeder's premeditated, first-degree murder trial begins Wednesday, and no one—not even Roeder himself—disputes the fact that he killed Tiller. But what had been expected to be an open-and-shut murder trial was upended Friday when a judge decided to let Roeder argue he should be convicted of voluntary manslaughter because he believed the May 31 slaying would save unborn children. Prosecutors on Monday challenged the ruling, arguing that such a defense is not appropriately considered with premeditated first-degree murder when there is no evidence of an imminent attack at the time of the killing. Jury selection was thus delayed. A hearing was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon to give the defense time to respond. "The State encourages this Court to not be the first to enable a defendant to justify premeditated murder because of an emotionally charged political belief," the prosecution wrote. "Such a ruling has far-reaching consequences...."
____________

See http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/us/13roeder.html?ref=us

95 ǀ reconnaissance

Let us remember by flight
that we were never designed to fly.

Let us suppose—golden once, then dropped,
starry-eyed and spiraling—that we landed
on the corner of proxy and spin.

At some point during the heralded age of enmity and beyond,
we began to utter our first word.
We were terrified at first,
and we said so.

We said pen and reckoned—
would you not know it?—
we would say it again.

We said paper for the sake of saying something else.

To be sure, all of it was random,
but it was full steam ahead nonetheless,
and section by section
the whole thing fell apart
before us.

We said some other things too, later, ha,
just for kicks—

like whispering was for bursting secrets,
capital for opportunistic trogs.

We even ghoulishly believed in those days
that the wind and flames were equally proportionate
to the classless whims
of our rulers, principles, and aims.

Yes, god,
we believed in anything.

94 │ almsgiving

To be said in the twilight, wandering, and for whom
all of our lives had been numb to the touch
then to think, my god, of this planet
through which we entered unwittingly to form
as strokes of luck inhabiting bodies
the trade off being infinite spaces secret
obsequious flickers and fancies
Forget-me-nots yielding and weeping
and the glorious passing sky that had been
waiting for us suspended
overcome by our whimsical nature
and the very essence
of that we sought

for Gretchen Moer, on the day of her burial, 1 August 2009

93│ colonial parkway triangular

Send me to the pits, La Brea, and did I say wrangling, uneasily?
Sink me, motherfucker, because time is short.
Tomorrow is who I’d rather be. Forget me not
you know how, and who I am I gather
like saber-toothed storm clouds.
Go home. It can be sunny in time.

Alas, I know how to cast spells with my eyes closed—animals.
And just like that a dead deer on the suburban sidewalk this morning.
Only when you disappear down into the hollows
will the deer be gone…

Just a week ago I watched Charlotte burn
the dug-out insides of a canoe. Thanks for the recommendation.
The finishing touches were smoldering but wickedly hot,
and no one, I swore, could see the smoke
rising over the palisade
except for us.

[A large canoe could glide quietly along with twenty men.]

Moments later, while inside the hut,
we took the hearth broom from the wattle- and daub-walled holder
and swept away the leaves and soot
and then imagined the invasion.
We scrambled to latch shut
all the doors and all the windows. Sadly,
there were not too many.

Tourist season was his favorite.
Each time the distant muskets or cannons erratically rang out,
the lollipop man in the gift shop would proudly say:
“Oops, ladies and gentlemen,
there goes another one.”
And would rear back and bellow…

92 │ thunderheads in easy remembrance: a personal account

Perhaps I could write this to say that the disappearance was what mattered.

We were one, once, and all of a sudden we shattered into
an incomprehensible seafaring debris field.

This planet was nearly just an ocean.

Thar—a floating arm, a floating leg, a floating head—behold—that is us!
Thar we blow! Quickly!

Look at us. We had only time
to be mortified, jettisoned, and—if we were lucky—
forgiven.

How sad, but spirited,
and although spiraling like fiery meteors all the same
we became the otherworldly cumulonimbus
from which we came
(and were cushioned): truly, extraordinaire.

However:

It was the sudden outcome that proved to be
most vexing.

Indeed, here we are, but no matter!

In fact, I remember being dead and drowning
and wondering all the while
how I could and could not be both.

And how to explain what eventually went wrong
underwater? ...

6 June 2009

________________________________

See http://www.weathergraphics.com/tim/af447

91│ homebody, missing, put it back together again

Recently mowed mourning man made his way into the meadow. He was a happier sort of scamp now that the rains had ended, and skipping why not he decided that no one, probably (if it could be said), would be looking. It was early. And the sun and sky parabolically reflected in that space all that the heavy glistening could offer. His companion had been there too—and the airplanes, as always, those airplanes—rising and falling again and again in their customary patterns above his head. What a wonder he thought. And how splendid. So like him, anyway, the sadness parted—bidding adieu in most heartbreaking fashion—going away, as he recalled wistfully, some years later, for a little less than forever.

for Isabelle Muneera-Copeland Murdock, my most precious girl,
far away in Essouira, Maroc

30 May 2009

90│ my heavens how good it is to see you

In the hall of sweet persimmons the rule of phantoms marched,
spun, and stood attention—
such squirming, squeamish, garrulous little boys—
a psychophalanx of babble and whims—
flanked on both sides by a mean and virile brand of willow—
and in the rear, a buzzard, a bat—
directed, clearly, toward the impressionable sort—
the spasmodic furies, us, the toasted bursts,
the innumerable moons of Jupiter for god’s sake—
whomever—to be certain—
you did not want to encounter their kind—
still there they were—all the same—saluting you—
pleading

86│ my apologies, it has been too long, and thus here we go again (early spring poem)

It could be that we are hatched as a vulnerable flyer,
and that is how we return.
Let us say in this case, if you’ll forgive me, a robin.

We are hatched again by that robin,
the progression releases anew,

and we flutter back
as we ought and need
to our sanctuary
of dried-up mud and refuse—
dead grass and twigs.

Yes! And from a perfectly blue elliptical sphere
we have cracked,

remembering:

We were nourished almost solely
on worms.


Sunday, 19 April 2009

Wahoo McDaniel wants to know ...

Will you be watching the President's congressional speech esta noche?

Transformative philosophy asks: What can one do today to promote a promise of emancipation through enlightenment?

Interviewer: Hisham Melhem (see brief bio at http://www.publicpolicyseminars.com/melhem.html)

Interesting link to Al-Arabiya profile here: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/04/africa/profile.php

natalnorg note: Interview loops back to beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian segment near the 5-min mark.

People who have been exploited all their lives do not on the whole become with age progressive

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Dave Obey (D - WI), Chairman
http://www.obey.house.gov

e Release
15 January 2009
Contact: Kirstin Brost - (202) 225-2771

American Recovery and Reinvestment: A Summary

Action, and action now. The economy is in a crisis not seen since the Great Depression. Credit is frozen, and consumer purchasing power is in decline. In the last 4 months the country has lost 2 million jobs. We stand to lose another 3 to 5 million in the next year.

The economy is shutting down.¹

In the next 2 weeks Congress will consider the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. This package is the first crucial step in a concerted effort to create and save 3 to 4 million jobs, jumpstart our economy, and begin the process of transforming it for the 21st century. The package includes $275 billion in economic recovery tax cuts and $550 billion in thoughtful and carefully targeted priority investments. Unprecedented accountability measures have also been included.

The package contains targeted efforts in each of the following core areas:

• Energy - $54B
• Science and Technology - $16B
• Transit Infrastructure/Transportation - $90B
• Education - $142B
• Healthcare - $24B
• Worker Protection - $102B
• Public Sector - $91B

Unemployment rates are expected to rise to between 8% and 9% this year (and by some estimates to as high as 12%). Tough choices have been made in this legislation, and fiscal discipline will demand more tough choices in the future. We will face a large deficit for years to come. Without this package, those deficits could be devastating. We face the risk of economic chaos.

Since 2001 US worker productivity has risen, and 96% of the income growth has gone to the wealthiest 10%. While the wealthiest reaped the benefits from record high worker productivity, the remaining 90% of Americans struggled to sustain their standard of living. They sustained it by borrowing … and borrowing … and borrowing. When they could borrow no more, the bottom collapsed.

Our immediate aim is to prevent the loss of millions of jobs. Our ultimate aim is to make the investments that restore the ability of average middle income families to increase their income and build a decent future for their children.

Executive Summary

Accountability

A historic level of transparency, oversight, and accountability will help guarantee taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and Americans can see the results of their investments. In many instances funds are distributed through existing formulas to programs with proven track records and accountability measures already in place. How funds are spent, all announcements of contract and grant competitions and awards, and formula grant allocations must be posted on a special website created by the President.

Program managers will also be listed so the public knows who to hold accountable. Public notification of funding must include a description of the investment funded, the purpose, the total cost, and why the activity should be funded with recovery dollars. Governors, mayors, or others making funding decisions must personally certify that the investment has been fully vetted and is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. This will also be placed on the recovery website.

A Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board will be created to review management of recovery dollars and to signal and investigate any potential problems. The seven-member board will include Inspectors General and Deputy Cabinet secretaries. The Government Accountability Office and the Inspectors General will be provided with additional funding and access to conduct special recovery funding reviews. State and local whistleblowers who report fraud and abuse will be protected.

This plan targets investments to key areas that will create and preserve good jobs while strengthening the ability of this economy to become more efficient and produce more opportunities for employment.

There are no earmarks in this package.

Energy

To put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on foreign oil tomorrow, we will strengthen efforts directed at doubling renewable energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more energy-efficient. Investments include the following:

• $32 billion to transform the nation’s energy transmission, distribution, and production systems by allowing for a smarter and better grid and focusing investment in renewable technology

• $16 billion to repair public housing and make key energy efficiency retrofits

•$6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes

TOTAL: $54B

Science and Technology

We need to put scientists to work looking for the next great discovery. We need to create jobs in new and expanding technologies, making smart investments that will help businesses in every community succeed in a global economy. For every dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment. Investments include the following:

• $10 billion for science facilities, research, and instrumentation

• $6 billion to expand broadband Internet access so businesses in rural and other underserved areas can connect to the global economy


TOTAL: $16B

Transit Infrastructure/Transportation

To build a 21st-century economy, we must engage contractors across the nation. We must create jobs to rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges. We must modernize public buildings and put people to work cleaning our air, water, and land. Investments include the following:

• $30 billion for highway construction

• $31 billion to modernize federal and other public infrastructure

• $19 billion for clean water, flood control, and environmental restoration investments

• $10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption

TOTAL: $90B

Education

To remain prosperous and competitive, we must enable more children to learn in 21st-century classrooms, labs, and libraries. Investments include the following:

• $41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion; see http://idea.ed.gov), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology Program ($1 billion)

• $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas; $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures; and $25 billion to states for other high-priority needs such as public safety and other critical services

• $16 billion to increase the Pell grant (http://www.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.html) by $500

• $6 billion for higher education modernization

TOTAL: $142B

Healthcare

We will lower the costs of healthcare. To save not only jobs but also money and lives, we will update and computerize our healthcare system to cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help drastically reduce healthcare costs (by billions) each year. Investments will include the following:

• $20 billion for health information technology to prevent medical mistakes, provide better care to patients, and introduce cost-saving efficiencies

• $4.1 billion to provide for preventative care and to evaluate the most effective healthcare treatments

TOTAL: $24B

Worker Protection

High unemployment and rising costs have exceeded what most Americans earn. We will provide direct tax relief to 95% of American workers and spur investment and job growth for American businesses. We will also help workers train and find jobs and help struggling families make ends meet. Investments include the following:

• $43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job training

• $39 billion to support those who lose their jobs by helping them to pay the cost of keeping their employer-provided healthcare under COBRA² and providing short-term options to be covered by Medicaid

• $20 billion to increase the food stamp benefit by ~13% to help defray rising food costs

TOTAL: $102B

Public Sector

We will provide relief to states so they can continue to employ teachers, firefighters, and police officers and provide vital services without having to unnecessarily raise middle class taxes.

• $87 billion for a temporary increase in the Medicaid matching rate

• $4 billion for state and local law enforcement funding

TOTAL: $91B
__________________

natalnorg note: The reader should be advised that the outline of this economic stimulus package has been modified (in some cases quite considerably and creatively so) from http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/PressSummary01-15-09.pdf. Changes apart from standard mechanical copyediting include rewording, reformatting, and restructuring. The Editor of alchemy strongly believes, however, that no substantive changes have been introduced here. The bill in its 647-page entirety deserves some perusal as well and is thus made available here: http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/HR1.pdf. Refer back to the outline from the House of Appropriations for a more accessible, detailed review of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. As for the Act itself, the Editor renders no judgment except to say that we will be talking about this legislation for as long as we are a nation. That is the natalnorg promise and guarantee. This is the New Deal for our time, ladies and gentlemen. God bless you for reading. A good Sunday to you. And to the survival of the planet, I say Amen.

- vl

¹ Conservative economist Mark Zandi. See http://www.economy.com/mark-zandi/default.asp.

² See employee's guide at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/cobraemployee.pdf for detailed information regarding this act.