Monday 13 March 2017

Ryemilla born, Brexit Bill passed and Obamacare repeal predictions

First step towards the end of the Brexit Tunnel as Brexit Bill passes Commons and Lords
Back to work; Ryemilla, daughter of sourdough Camilla; Brexit Bill passes through commons and Lords; Obamacare repeal bill to lead to 14 million more uninsured by next year.

Almost surreal to be back home and at work again today. I added the new kindle book on 'Photographing your own Artwork' to the social media and on our Milton Contact website. Followed this with editing the Quekett Bulletin.

Last night, I also had to feed my sourdough Camilla that had been neglected due to our absence. I used the opportunity to create a daughter culture, Ryemilla, a 50:50 mix of strong white bread flour and rye flour. This morning Ryemilla used to set up a half pound wheat/rye loaf that relied on the natural yeasts and lactobacilli to rise during the day. It was baked by 8:30 pm.Quite a mild sourdough taste.

With the Brexit bill being debated in Parliament, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of Scotland called for a second independence referendum for Remainer Scotland in 2018. Apparently this announcement was totally unexpected and generated a sharp rebuke from the Prime Minister Theresa May to the recalcitrant child. Surprise? Surely we all knew it was on the cards.

The Brexit bill finally moves through the Commons with votes against the Lords' amendments even greater than the first passage in the commons. Only the Liberals stood their ground and voted for the amendments The unchanged bill passed back to the Lords who approved it. We are now on the road to Brexit. Whilst initial speculation was that article 50 would be acted upon this week, rumours now trend towards action at the end of the month, to avoid the elections in the Netherlands on Tuesday and the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome on the 25th March - oh, and to avoid constant questions on the Scottish referendum.

The US Congressional Budget Office finally released their calculations for the Obamacare repeal bill and predicted it would lead to 14 million fewer Americans being covered by health insurance by 2014, 24 fewer by 2020. Whereas previously it was understood that CBO's mandate is to 'provide Congress with: Objective, nonpartisan, and timely analysis to aid in economic and budgetary decisions on a wide array of programs covered by the federal budget; And the information and estimates required by the Congressional budget process', current Republican consensus is now that the non-partisan organisation is unreliable and not taking the whole plan into consideration.

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