links for 2010-07-03

Emergency rooms, the only choice for patients who can't find care elsewhere, may grow even more crowded with longer wait times under the nation's new health law.

That might come as a surprise to those who thought getting 32 million more people covered by health insurance would ease ER crowding. It would seem these patients would be able to get routine health care by visiting a doctor's office, as most of the insured do.

But it's not that simple. Consider:

_There's already a shortage of front-line family physicians in some places and experts think that will get worse.
The biggest users of emergency rooms by far are Medicaid recipients. And the new health insurance law will increase their ranks by about 16 million
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Well, duh. Anyone could see this coming – complete repeal of ObamaCare please

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele faced calls for his resignation from within his own party Friday after he described the war in Afghanistan as "a war of Obama's choosing" and suggested the U.S. mission there is unwinnable.

His remarks were made at a RNC fund-raiser in Noank, Conn., Thursday and posted shortly afterward on YouTube. "This was not something that the U.S. had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in," he stated, adding that the mission in Afghanistan may be futile.
"Everyone who has tried, over a thousand years of history, has failed and there are reasons for that. There are other ways you could engage in Afghanistan," he said.
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Steele may be correct but should he make these policy statements as RNC Chairman?

Most probably not

Starbucks is offering free Wi-Fi to all customers, at every location, starting today. Whether you're clicking connect on Starbucks' Wi-Fi or some other unsecured, public Wi-Fi network, here's how to stay safe and secure while surfing a public hotspot.

Just because most wireless routers have a firewall to protect you from the internet doesn't mean you're protected from others connected to the same network. Lots of wireless hotspots these days are completely unencrypted, usually so they're easier to connect to (baristas don't need to be giving out the internet password to everyone that walks in). However, this leaves you unprotected against malicious users in the same coffee shop, so there are a few settings you should always make sure to tweak when you're connected to a public network
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A word to the wise