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patriotsnet · 3 years

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Why Do Republicans Want To Repeal The Affordable Care Act

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Why Do Republicans Want To Repeal The Affordable Care Act

Why Republicans Cant And Wont Repeal Obamacare

Editor’s Note:

This article was originally posted on Real Clear Health on January 16, 2017.

Now that the Republicans control both the presidency and both houses of Congress, they must put up or shut up on their promise to repeal and replace Obamacare. Here is a flat-footed prediction: the effort will fail for three reasons. First, the Affordable Care Act has largely succeeded not failed, as president-elect Trump and other Republicans falsely allege. Second, it is impossible for the stated goals of repeal to be achieved. Finally, the political fallout from the consequences of partial or total repeal would be devastating. When it comes to casting votes, enough Republicans will conclude that repeal is a bad idea and will join Democrats to sustain the basic structure of the health reform law.

Second, the stated objectives of repealing Obamacare are mutually inconsistent. Three provisions comprise the core of Obamacare. First, rules barring insurance companies from refusing to sell insurance to people because of preexisting conditions or varying premiums based on those conditions. Second, a requirement that everyone carry health insurance who can afford it. And third, subsidies for those with moderate incomes to help make such insurance affordable. The law contains many other provisions as well, but these three are core.

Slashing Ads And Budgets

Funding for the “navigator” programme, under which trained individuals or organisations help people sign up for insurance through Obamacare, has dropped from $62.5m to $10m under President Trump.

His administration has also cut Obamacare advertising spending to $10m – a 90% reduction.

According to a November 2018 Kaiser Health poll, 61% of Americans aged 18 to 64 said they did not know about any enrolment deadlines.

Republicans Want To Get Rid Of Obamacare But Then What

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President Trump has vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but Sarah Kliff of Vox.com says it’s “an overreach” to say that Republicans have a plan for what comes next.

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. I’m Dave Davies, in for Terry Gross. While President Trump clashed with some Republicans over a variety of issues in last year’s campaign, one thing they all seemed to agree on was the need to repeal the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Now that congressional Republicans have a willing president and the votes to scrap the health care law, they’re finding the task a little more complicated than it seemed. Republican lawmakers have a wide range of ideas about what they might replace Obamacare with. But a secret recording of a Republican policy meeting in Philadelphia revealed many are worried about the political cost of removing coverage from those who’ve come to count on it.

For some perspective on what’s happening in Washington and how it might affect our health care, we turn to Sarah Kliff, a senior policy correspondent at vox.com. Before joining Vox, Kliff covered health policy for The Washington Post and for POLITICO and Newsweek. She co-hosts a policy-oriented podcast for Vox called “The Weeds.” Kliff and co-host Ezra Klein recently interviewed President Obama about the debate over health care and the possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act. I spoke with Sarah Kliff Tuesday.

DAVIES: And where have we seen those pools before?

Board Of Governors Professor School Of Public Affairs & Administration

The Trump administrations efforts to sabotage the ACA and their consequences receive detailed attention in a recently released Brookings book, Trump, the Administrative Presidency, and Federalism. For present purposes, I highlight six major sabotage initiatives which emerged in the wake of congressional failure to repeal and replace the ACA.

1. Reduce outreach and opportunities for enrollment in the ACAs insurance exchanges. Established to offer health insurance to individuals and small business, the exchanges have provided coverage to some 10 million people annually. The Obama administration had vigorously promoted the ACA in part to attract healthy, younger people to the exchanges to help keep premiums down. The Trump administration sharply reduced support for advertising and exchange navigators while reducing the annual enrollment period to about half the number of days.

2. Cut ACA subsidies to insurance companies offering coverage on the exchanges. ACA proponents saw insurance company participation on the exchanges as central to fostering enrollee choice and to fueling competition that would lower premiums. The law therefore provided various subsidies to insurance companies to reduce their risks of losing money if they participated on the exchanges. The Trump administration joined congressional Republicans in reneging on these financial commitments.

Repealing Obamacare Is A Huge Tax Cut For The Rich

This did not play a major overt public role in the 2009-’10 debate about the law, but the Affordable Care Act’s financing rests on a remarkably progressive base. That means that, as the Tax Policy Center has shown, repealing it would shower moneyon a remarkably small number of remarkably wealthy Americans.

The two big relevant taxes, according to the TPC’s Howard Gleckman, are “a 0.9 percent payroll surtax on earnings and a 3.8 percent taxon net investment income for individuals with incomes exceeding $200,000.” That payroll tax hike hits a reasonably broad swath of affluent individuals, but in a relatively minor way. The 3.8 percent tax on net investment income , by contrast, is a pretty hefty tax, but one that falls overwhelmingly on the small number of people who have hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in investment income.

For the bottom 60 percent of the population that is, households earning less than about $67,000 a year repeal of the ACA would end up meaning an increase in taxes due to the loss of ACA tax credits.

But people in the top 1 percent of the income distribution those with incomes of over about $430,000 would see their taxes fall by an average of $25,000 a year.

The Acas Protections Changed Public Opinion In Its Favor Republicans Are Keeping Up

For more than a decade, the Affordable Care Act has been the Republican Partys nemesis. As it was first debated in Congress in 2009, when it was enacted in 2010 and through the next six years of implementation, Republican leaders rallied supporters by vociferously opposing it and calling for repeal. The Trump administration and states controlled by Republicans remain hostile to the ACA.

But the coronavirus pandemics fast-moving destruction has pushed Republicans to rely on Barack Obamas signature law to respond to the crisis, even taking action to strengthen it. The law, as written, requires that Americans who have recently lost jobs and insurance coverage to be permitted to enroll in its insurance marketplace, and they are doing so in swelling numbers. Meanwhile, Republicans recently backed that increased federal funding for a critical part of the ACA: Medicaid for lower-income people. And Trump administration regulators have used their authority to insist that insurance plans pay for coronavirus tests as an essential health benefit under the ACA a Republican target in the past.

Our research shows that this about-face cannot be explained by the pandemic alone. The partys rank-and-file and many other Americans have shifted to supporting the ACA and expanded government payments for health care. The pandemic is giving Republicans cover to follow changing public opinion.

Republicans have spent 10 years trying to kill the Affordable Care Act

Younger Americans Could Get Cheaper Plans

Obamacare was designed so that younger policyholders would help subsidize older ones. That would change under the Republican bill because it would allow insurers to charge older folks more.

This means that younger Americans would likely see their annual premiums go down. Enrollees ages 20 to 29 would save about $700 to $4,000 a year, on average,according to a study by the Milliman actuarial firm on behalf of the AARP Public Policy Institute.

Those under age 30 would also get a refundable tax credit of up to $2,000 to offset the cost of their premiums, as long as their income doesn’t exceed $215,000 for an individual.

Related: What’s inside the Republican health care bill?

The GOP tax credits would also likely be more generous than Obamacare’s subsidies for these folks. For example, a 27-year-old making $40,000 a year would receive $2,000 under the GOP plan, but only gets a $103 subsidy from Obamacare, on average, a Kaiser analysis found.

Also, the bill keeps the Obamacare provision that lets young adults up to age 26 stay on their parents’ insurance plan.

This Is Why Republicans Couldnt Make A Better Replacement

Republicans have made a lot of political hay out of pointing out that the plans available under the Affordable Care Act are, in many ways, disappointing. Unsubsidized premiums are higher than people would like. Deductibles and copayments are higher than people would like. The networks of available doctors are narrower than people would like.

These problems are all very real, and they all could be fixed.

They are not, however, problems that the American Health Care Act actually fixes. While Republicans have made several changes to the AHCA to cobble together a majority of House votes, the core of the bill remains the same: it offers stingier insurance to a narrower group of people.

This is because the AHCA does what Republicans want: it rolls back the ACA taxes. But under those circumstances, its simply not possible for the GOP to offer people the superior insurance coverage that it is promising.

The bill the House is voting on Thursday doesnt get rid of the ACAs tax credits to make it easier to buy health coverage, but it bases them on age, with younger people getting bigger credits, rather than income which means poorer Americans. especially elderly ones, will have a bigger tax burden and more difficulty affording the insurance they need.

Dont Like Obamacare It Was The Republicans Idea Says Liberal Democrat

Susan Jones

Robert Reich served as Labor Secretary for President Bill Clinton.

While Republicans plot new ways to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, its easy to forget that for years theyve been arguing that any comprehensive health insurance system be designed exactly like the one that officially began October 1st, glitches and all, said Robert Reich, who served as President Bill Clintons Labor Secretary.

Reich says Democrats should have insisted on a single-payer system because it would have been cheaper, simpler, and more popular.

In a blog at The Huffington Post website, Reich that Republicans have long argued for a health care system based on private insurance and paid for with subsidies and a requirement that the young and healthy people sign up. Democrats, he says, wanted to model health care reform on Social Security and Medicare, and fund it through the payroll tax.

Reich says President Richard Nixon in 1974, proposed, in essence, todays Affordable Care Act. Thirty years later, then-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, another Republican, made Nixons plan the law in Massachusetts.

Reich adds: When todays Republicans rage against the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, its useful to recall this was their idea as well, as proposed in 1989 by Stuart M. Butler of the Heritage Foundation.

Reichs blog is entitled, The Democrats Version of Health Insurance Would Have Been Cheaper, Simpler, and More Popular

Background On The Health Care Repeal Lawsuit

From the beginning, the Trump administration and allied leaders in Congress and state governments have been committed to dismantling the ACA and the consumer protections it confers by any means possible. The Trump administration has repeatedly key provisions of the landmark law by executive actions and other more covert tactics, including removing essential consumer information from federal websites and defunding outreach and enrollment programs intended to expand coverage. After several failed attempts by President Donald Trumps legislative allies to repeal and replace the ACA, Congress passed a tax bill in late 2017 that zeroed out the individual mandate penalty.

After the tax bill became law, Texas and other states filed a federal lawsuit, claiming that because the mandate had no financial penalty, it made the rest of the law unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Reed OConnor accepted this reasoning and held that the entire law must be struck down in what one legal expert called a partisan, activist ruling. On appeal, a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel also in December that, following the tax bills change to the law, the individual mandate is unconstitutional. The panel then remanded the case back to Judge OConnor to determine which parts of the ACA, if any, can remain given their decision. Since that ruling, the Supreme Court has to hear the case during its upcoming term, and, for now, the ACA remains the law of the land.

Obamacare: Has Trump Managed To Kill Off Affordable Care Act

The Trump administration has ramped up its attack on the Affordable Care Act by backing a federal judge’s decision to declare the entire law unconstitutional.

For now, Obamacare is still standing. Around 4.1 million Americans have signed up for new plans so far this year, according to government reports, down 12% from last year.

At a rally this week, Mr Trump again promised his supporters: “We are going to get rid of Obamacare.” But how much has he delivered on that pledge so far?

Efforts To Repeal The Affordable Care Act

This article needs to be . The reason given is: Missing the May 2018 efforts. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.

The following is a list of efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act , which had been enactedby the 111th United States Congress on March 23, 2010.

This Is Also Why Republicans Might Drop Repeal

While mania for tax cuts is an important driver of the GOP push to repeal the Affordable Care Act, it might also ultimately be what leads them to abandon it. The healthcare debate has already taken more time than either Congress or the White House wanted and the bill hasnt even gotten to the Senate yet.

Meanwhile, many Republicans are itching to move on to their next priority: tax reform.

Republicans have a bunch of different tax plans floating around, but they all feature enormous tax cuts for wealthy households. Democrats will object, but they wont be able to stop the GOP from enacting a big tax cut. The only issue will be how large of an increase in the budget deficit do Republicans consider economically viable. Once thats decided, however, the tight linkage between the ACA and tax policy will be broken, since the entire rate structure will have already been rewritten in a way that makes the ACAs specific financing mechanism irrelevant.

No matter how the budget crunch gets resolved,however, the tax issue is the $500 billion elephant in the room. Its a key reason GOP leaders want repeal, a key reason theyve had trouble coming up with a popular replacement, and potentially a key reason theyll ultimately decide to move on to other matters. Talking about health care politics without talking about the revenue side misses an enormous part of the story.

Republican Views On Obamacare

The Republican Partys view on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Actcommonly known as Obamacareis that its implementation was less about providing healthcare to millions, and more a result of power as the government sought to expand its reach over one sixth of the economy. The party claims that Obamacare has resulted in an attack on the Constitution of the United States because it requires U.S. citizens to purchase health insurance, and its impact on the health of the nation overall has been detrimental. The party is in agreement with the four Supreme Court justices who dissented in the ACA ruling. The justices stated, In our view, the entire Act before us is invalid in its entirety. As of 2012, the partys stance was that Obamacare was the result of outdated liberalism, and the latest in a series of attempts to impose upon the people of America a euro-style bureaucracy to micromanage all aspects of their lives. One of the partys biggest issues with Obamacare is its unpopularity among the peoplewhen polled on the subject, pluralities and even majorities often state they do not like the law.

Older Americans Could Have To Pay More

Enrollees in their 50s and early 60s benefited from Obamacare because insurers could only charge them three times more than younger policyholders. The bill would widen that band to five-to-one.

That would mean that adults ages 60 to 64 would see their annual premiums soar 22% to nearly $18,000, according to the Milliman study for the AARP. Those in their 50s would be hit with a 13% increase and pay an annual premium of $12,800.

Also, the GOP bill doesn’t provide them with as generous tax credits as Obamacare. A 60-year-old making $40,000 would get only $4,000 from the Republican plan, instead of an average subsidy of $6,750 from the Affordable Care Act, according the Kaiser study.

States could also receive waivers to allow insurers to charge older Americans even more than five times the premiums of the young.

Whats Dividing Republicans And Democrats On Healthcare Reform

Since the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010, Republicans have been determined to destroy it while Democrats insist its the countrys best chance at reforming healthcare to make it affordable and accessible. Both parties want reform, but the approach has been fundamentally different and for good reason. There are basic, core reasons why conservatives and liberals cant get on the same page when it comes to healthcare reform. Lets take a moment to dig into the details and figure out what is exactly keeping Republicans and Democrats from being able to find a middle ground on healthcare reform, so far.

Democrats want the federal government to legislate and administer healthcare while Republicans want private industry to helm the healthcare system with as minimal input from the federal government as possible.

Of course, there are always exceptions within each party because people arent one-dimensional. Moderates on both sides, for instance, would seek compromise wherever possible. But in general, these core ideological differences make healthcare reform particularly challenging, especially when one party holds more power. In 2010, Democrats passed the ACA without a single rightwing vote.

Repeal Of Obamacares Taxes Would Be A Huge Tax Cut For The Rich

This did not play a major overt public role in the 2009-10 debate about the law, but the Affordable Care Acts financing rests on a remarkably progressive base. That means that, as the Tax Policy Center has shown, repealing it would shower moneyon a remarkably small number of remarkably wealthy Americans.

The two big relevant taxes, according to the TPCs Howard Gleckman, are a 0.9 percent payroll surtax on earnings and a 3.8 percent tax on net investment income for individuals with incomes exceeding $200,000 . That payroll tax hike hits a reasonably broad swath of affluent individuals, but in a relatively minor way. The 3.8 percent tax on net investment income , by contrast, is a pretty hefty tax, but one that falls overwhelmingly on the small number of people who have hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in investment income.

Tax Policy Center

For the bottom 60 percent of the population that is, households earning less than about $67,000 a year full repeal of the ACA would end up meaning an increase in taxes due to the loss of ACA tax credits.

But people in the top 1 percent of the income distribution those with incomes of over about $430,000 would see their taxes fall by an average of $25,000 a year.

Under the actual AHCA, Jared Kushner would actually pay even less in taxes. As a young person, Kushner would get a larger tax to buy insurance under the AHCA than he does now.

New Threats & Potential Affordable Care Act Changes For 2019

To date, the ACA has been challenged in front of the Supreme Court twice. Judges upheld the constitutionality of the ACA both times. But now, a new effort to strike down the act is making its way through our legal system. Two Republican Governors and 18 Republican state attorneys general, led by Texas, initiated the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, Texas v. Azar, alleges the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional now that TCJA set the penalty tax to $0. In December 2018, a Texas district court judge agreed with the plaintiffs. The judge also concluded that the intent of lawmakers was that the individual mandate was essential to the ACA, and as such couldnt be severed from the larger text. Therefore, the entire ACA was unconstitutional and repealing it was appropriate.

But the ruling hasnt gone into effect yet. The judge is allowing the status quo to remain until all the appeals have been heard. In efforts to combat the ruling, and since the current administration is refusing to defend the law in court, 21 Democratic state attorneys general and the U.S. House of Representatives filed an appeal to challenge the ruling. In July, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard arguments in favor of overturning the original ruling. The court hasnt yet reached a decision, and most believe this lawsuit will eventually make its way to the Supreme Court.

Republicans Are Still Trying To Repeal Obamacare Heres Why They Are Not Likely To Succeed

Conservatives are still trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act even after the Republican-majority Congress failed to overturn the law in 2017. A coalition of conservative groups intends to release a new plan this summer. The groups will reportedly propose ending the laws expansion of Medicaid and convert Medicaid funding into block grants to the states. And just last week the Trump administrations Justice Department argued in a legal filing that key provisions of the law its protections for persons with preexisting conditions are .

Why are Republicans still trying to undo the ACA? We argue in a forthcoming that the laws political vulnerabilities and Republican electoral dynamics drive conservative efforts to uproot it.

In the past, conservatives have thrown in the towel

As politicians and political scientists both know, the can never be taken for granted. Even so, the duration and intensity of conservative resistance to the ACA is historically unusual. The ACA is a moderate law, modeled on that Republicans once supported, such as insurance purchasing pools. Whats more, many red states refuse to accept the ACAs funding to expand Medicaid to more of their citizens such as , which has a large number of uninsured residents even though you would think they would want those federal benefits.

So why is the ACA still politically vulnerable?

The answer lies partly in the way the program was designed.

Is repeal likely?

The Health Care Repeal Lawsuit Could Strip Coverage From 23 Million Americans

Nicole RapfogelEmily Gee

Tomorrow, the Trump administration and 18 Republican governors and attorneys general will file their opening briefs with the Supreme Court in California v. Texasthe health care repeal lawsuit. The lawsuit, criticized across the political spectrum as a badly flawed case, threatens to upend the Affordable Care Act and strip 23.3 million Americans of their health coverage, according to new CAP analysisabout 3 million more than was forecast before the coronavirus pandemic. The anti-ACA agitators who initiated the health care repeal lawsuit, backed by the Trump administration, continue their attempts to dismantle the ACA, including its coverage expansions and consumer protections, amid the pandemic, during which comprehensive health coverage has never been more important. Millions of Americans who have lost their jobs and job-based insurance due to the current economic crisis are relying on the insurance options made possible by the ACA to keep themselves and their families covered.

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statetalks · 3 years

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Why Do Republicans Want To Repeal The Affordable Care Act

Why Republicans Cant And Wont Repeal Obamacare

youtube

Editor’s Note:

This article was originally posted on Real Clear Health on January 16, 2017.

Slashing Ads And Budgets

Funding for the “navigator” programme, under which trained individuals or organisations help people sign up for insurance through Obamacare, has dropped from $62.5m to $10m under President Trump.

His administration has also cut Obamacare advertising spending to $10m – a 90% reduction.

According to a November 2018 Kaiser Health poll, 61% of Americans aged 18 to 64 said they did not know about any enrolment deadlines.

Republicans Want To Get Rid Of Obamacare But Then What

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President Trump has vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but Sarah Kliff of Vox.com says it’s “an overreach” to say that Republicans have a plan for what comes next.

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

DAVIES: And where have we seen those pools before?

Board Of Governors Professor School Of Public Affairs & Administration

Repealing Obamacare Is A Huge Tax Cut For The Rich

For the bottom 60 percent of the population that is, households earning less than about $67,000 a year repeal of the ACA would end up meaning an increase in taxes due to the loss of ACA tax credits.

But people in the top 1 percent of the income distribution those with incomes of over about $430,000 would see their taxes fall by an average of $25,000 a year.

The Acas Protections Changed Public Opinion In Its Favor Republicans Are Keeping Up

Republicans have spent 10 years trying to kill the Affordable Care Act

Younger Americans Could Get Cheaper Plans

Obamacare was designed so that younger policyholders would help subsidize older ones. That would change under the Republican bill because it would allow insurers to charge older folks more.

Those under age 30 would also get a refundable tax credit of up to $2,000 to offset the cost of their premiums, as long as their income doesn’t exceed $215,000 for an individual.

Related: What’s inside the Republican health care bill?

Also, the bill keeps the Obamacare provision that lets young adults up to age 26 stay on their parents’ insurance plan.

This Is Why Republicans Couldnt Make A Better Replacement

These problems are all very real, and they all could be fixed.

Dont Like Obamacare It Was The Republicans Idea Says Liberal Democrat

youtube

Susan Jones

Robert Reich served as Labor Secretary for President Bill Clinton.

Reich says Democrats should have insisted on a single-payer system because it would have been cheaper, simpler, and more popular.

Reichs blog is entitled, The Democrats Version of Health Insurance Would Have Been Cheaper, Simpler, and More Popular

Background On The Health Care Repeal Lawsuit

Obamacare: Has Trump Managed To Kill Off Affordable Care Act

The Trump administration has ramped up its attack on the Affordable Care Act by backing a federal judge’s decision to declare the entire law unconstitutional.

For now, Obamacare is still standing. Around 4.1 million Americans have signed up for new plans so far this year, according to government reports, down 12% from last year.

At a rally this week, Mr Trump again promised his supporters: “We are going to get rid of Obamacare.” But how much has he delivered on that pledge so far?

Efforts To Repeal The Affordable Care Act

This article needs to be . The reason given is: Missing the May 2018 efforts. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.

The following is a list of efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act , which had been enactedby the 111th United States Congress on March 23, 2010.

This Is Also Why Republicans Might Drop Repeal

Meanwhile, many Republicans are itching to move on to their next priority: tax reform.

Republican Views On Obamacare

Older Americans Could Have To Pay More

Enrollees in their 50s and early 60s benefited from Obamacare because insurers could only charge them three times more than younger policyholders. The bill would widen that band to five-to-one.

States could also receive waivers to allow insurers to charge older Americans even more than five times the premiums of the young.

Whats Dividing Republicans And Democrats On Healthcare Reform

Repeal Of Obamacares Taxes Would Be A Huge Tax Cut For The Rich

youtube

Tax Policy Center

But people in the top 1 percent of the income distribution those with incomes of over about $430,000 would see their taxes fall by an average of $25,000 a year.

Under the actual AHCA, Jared Kushner would actually pay even less in taxes. As a young person, Kushner would get a larger tax to buy insurance under the AHCA than he does now.

New Threats & Potential Affordable Care Act Changes For 2019

Republicans Are Still Trying To Repeal Obamacare Heres Why They Are Not Likely To Succeed

Why are Republicans still trying to undo the ACA? We argue in a forthcoming that the laws political vulnerabilities and Republican electoral dynamics drive conservative efforts to uproot it.

In the past, conservatives have thrown in the towel

So why is the ACA still politically vulnerable?

The answer lies partly in the way the program was designed.

Is repeal likely?

The Health Care Repeal Lawsuit Could Strip Coverage From 23 Million Americans

Nicole RapfogelEmily Gee

source https://www.patriotsnet.com/why-do-republicans-want-to-repeal-the-affordable-care-act/

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monophyletic-group-of-the-week · 2 years

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Taxon Tuesday #6: Felidae

Felidae is the cat family. It contains all 36 extant cat species and their closely-related but unfortunately extinct comrades in genera such as Smilodon (a famous saber-toothed kitty). Some unifying traits among felids are: short faces, hypercarnivory (diet of 70%+ meat), large eyes adapted for dim light, retractable claws, highly sensitive ears, and solitary lifestyles. (There are obviously some exceptions...cheetahs have lost the ability to retract their claws, and lions live in complex social groups.)

Felidae is nested in the suborder Feliformia, alongside other cat-like carnivores such as hyenas, civets, and the fossa. Feliformia then combines with Caniformia (dog-like carnivores) to produce the order Carnivora.

The cat species of today are found across 14 genera, and partitioned into 8 lineages. One of those lineages belongs to the subfamily called Pantherinae, the big cats. The other seven are members of Felinae, the kitty cats. Extinct genera in Felidae include (but are certainly not limited to) Homotherium, Nimravides, Dinofelis, Miopanthera, and Proailurus, though their positions in the modern cat tree are still uncertain.

(In the graphic below, “+” indicates an extinct group.)

Sources Used:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felidae

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machairodontinae

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Mammals (Macdonald, 2009)

#felidae #felids #felines #cats #saber-toothed cat #taxonomy #taxon tuesday

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monophyletic-group-of-the-week · 2 years

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Taxon Tuesday #2: Lepidoptera

“Lepidoptera” is the order containing butterflies and moths. Well over a hundred thousand species have been described, making them one of the most diverse groups of organisms in the entire tree of life. The first Lepidopterans in the fossil record appear early in the Jurassic, well before the spread of flowering plants.

Both moths and butterflies undergo metamorphosis and have a very distinct larval and adult form. Their bodies are coated in miniscule scales. They are key pollinators and prey animals, but can also be pests in human agricultural endeavors, and parasites to plants and other insects.

Lepidoptera is nested within the superorder Amphiesmenoptera, alongside its sister order, Trichoptera, the caddisflies. This superorder is nested within the larger clade known as Endopterygota, which houses insects with distinct larval, pupal, and adult stages, including wasps, beetles, and ants. Lepidoptera itself is divided into over 100 families. I will not list them all <3

#lepidoptera #butterflies #moths #insects #bugs #taxonomy #taxon tuesday

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monophyletic-group-of-the-week · 2 years

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Taxon Tuesday #1: Tapirus

"Tapirus” is the genus containing all four species of extant tapirs, as well as a multitude of extinct members (including several who once lived in North America!) Modern-day tapirs are restricted to Central and Southern America, save for Tapirus indicus, who can be found in Southeast Asia.

Tapirs are stocky, fairly large herbivores who inhabit tropical rainforests. As seed dispersers, they are integral members of their ecosystems. The tapirs of 20 million years ago look almost exactly like that ones alive today, which is why tapirs are considered “living fossils". Their own secret language consists of clicks, chirps, and whistles.

Tapirus is a member of the family Tapiridae, a broader group of tapirs and tapir-shaped friends. Tapiridae’s sister family is Rhinocerotidae, the rhinos. These two families, plus the horse family Equidae, make up the order of odd-toed ungulates, called Perrisodactyla.

#tapirs #tapir #tapirus #tapiridae #perissodactyla #odd-toed ungulates #mammal #taxonomy #taxon tuesday

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monophyletic-group-of-the-week · 2 years

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Taxon Tuesday #4: Glires

"Glires" is a clade containing the orders Rodentia (rodents) and Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, and pikas.) Think of it as every animal you'd give buck teeth to if you were drawing them as a cartoon. Rabbits, beavers, squirrels, mice, etc. There are lots of similarities between the two groups--they're small, they're widespread, they have lots of babies, they've got some big ol' incisors. In fact, until 1912, rabbits and their ilk were considered rodents. Then someone looked at rabbit teeth and was like, "No, these things are pretty different from each other, actually", and put them in a new group called Lagomorpha. Most differences between them stem from the fact that Lagomorphs are designed for eating grasses, while the diets of Rodents vary greatly. Glires is found within the superorder Euarchontoglires, which also contains tree shrews, colugos, and primates. Homies with Hands, I like to call them, even though some of them don’t really have hands exactly. Rodentia has too many families, and I simply cannot list them all, especially because they are often changing as we learn more about them. Lagomorpha's easy, though: there's Leporidae (rabbits and hares), and Ochotonidae (pikas).

#glires #rodentia #rodents #lagomorpha #lagomorphs #taxonomy #taxon tuesday

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kevinscottgardens · 3 years

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4 au 10 janvier 2021

It was a very cold week. The ground has been frozen in the mornings. The landscapers have started building a short retaining wall around the Mediterranean garden around the pool. I spent most of the week removing pine needles, olives and leaves from under the plants. I also did a bit of weeding. I lightly pruned a few Brugmansia and will see how they perform.

I weeded around many of the citrus trees. Michel says he thinks the cold will harm the roots, so I didn’t continue. I really hope nothing happens to those trees.

It’s been so cold that I have put off some pruning of Cestrum nocturnum that will have to wait until after the overnight temperatures stop dipping below freezing. I also want to cut down the grasses soon.

I took more cuttings of the Lavendula. There are also some roses that will need to be propagated this year too.

Tuesday Denis stopped by and I gave him a quick show around the garden. Florian was also here. However, he was in a rush so we didn’t have any time for a catch-up. It was great to see him again. He was in my course at London College of Garden Design in 2012/2013.

Thursday my DSL router arrived and that evening Lucien helped me get my WiFi and television all up and running. It’s so nice to have the Internet here.

Saturday night I decided to swap bedrooms, including curtains. I pushed the other bed against the wall to get my desk to fit in the new study. The printer is up and running on WiFi. It’s definitely starting to feel more like home.

Sunday I went to a surprise party for a friend of a friend in Antibes. There were seven of us for the afternoon of good food, dancing and a little fun. Of course we all departed in time to make it home before the 18.00 curfew.

Cours de français hebdomadaire

améliorer - to enlarge

balayer - to sweep [je balaie/balaye, tu balaies/balayes, il balaie/balaye, nous balayons, vous balayez, ils balaient/balayent]

cultiver - to cultivate

eclore - to hatch (les bourgeons éclosent - the buds are breaking) [j'éclos, tu éclos, il éclot, - , - , ils éclosent]

prendre soin de - to take care of [je prends, tu prends, il prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils prennent]

ramasser (les feuilles) - to pick up (to rake leaves)

rehausser - to enhance

souffler / un souffleur - to blow / a blower

soutenir - to support [je soutiens, tu soutiens, il soutient, nous soutenons, vous soutenez, ils soutiennent]

taller - to prune

Plant of the week

Malvaceae Callianthe megapotamica (A.Spreng.) Dorr

common name(s) - trailing abutilon; français: lanterne chinoise, erable de salon synonym(s) - Abutilon inflatum Garcke & K.Schum.; Abutilon megapotamicum (Spreng.) St. Hil. & Naudin., Abutilon vexillarium É.Morren; Periptera megapotamica (A.Spreng.) G.Don; Sida leopoldii Voss; Sida megapotamica A.Spreng. conservation rating - none native to - Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) location - Domaine de l’Orangerie leaves - tapering, narrowly ovate flowers - pendulous, bell-shaped with yellow petals and large crimson calyx, in summer and autumn fruit - no information found habit - deciduous or partially evergreen, vigorous, much-branched, lax, medium-sized shrub to 2m; can be short-lived habitat - dry mountain valleys pests - glasshouse whitefly, glasshouse red spider mite, aphids, mealybugs, scale insects disease - virus hardiness - to -5ºC (H3) soil - moist and well-drained loam or sand sun - full sun, sheltered propagation - seed in spring at 15ºC to 18ºC, or by softwood cuttings in summer pruning - late winter, early spring; shorten the stems by a third, as the growth progresses, pinch off the ends of the young shoots to promote branching and keep a well-flowering velvetleaf, remove faded flowers as you go, if frost damages part of the foliage, a significant pruning of the plant may be necessary at the end of winter nomenclature - Malvaceae - malva - soft, the name in Pliny, cognate via old English, mealwe, with mallow; Callianthe - beautiful-flowered; megapotamica - of the big big river NB - harvested for its edible flowers with a pleasant sweet flavour and the sweetness increases the longer the flower is open

References, bibliography: Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5 IUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [14 Jan 21] Plant List, The [online] http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2610783 [14 Jan 21] Plants of the World [online] http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77146519-1 [14 Jan 21] Promesse de fleurs [en ligne] https://www.promessedefleurs.com/arbustes/arbustes-par-variete/abutilon/abulilon-megapotamicum.html [14 jan 21] Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/details?plantid=11 [14 Jan 21] Useful Temperate Plants [online] http://temperate.theferns.info/plant/Abutilon+megapotamicum [14 Jan 21]

SARS-CoVid-2 update (active cases only)

#Callianthe megapotamica #Abutilon megapotamicum

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kevinscottgardens · 3 years

Text

13 au 19 septembre 2021

Finally back to work after a nasty sore throat. Monday was all about irrigating. Tuesday I spent the day cutting back the wisteria and the rest of the hedge sticking out over the road along the side of my house that leads to my neighbours’ houses. Wednesday I met with Alejandro for a good catch up and list of things to do in September. Then we had a working lunch over sushi.

I’ve been irrigating the hedge along the perimeter of the property that was planted a few years ago. I put it on over night. The rains have started. It is still pleasantly warm.

Thursday I planted cyclamen near a statue of a wild boar in the garden.

I finally found a chiropractor and had my first two visits this week. It’s nice to have someone watching my back for me. Next week I will go to my first visit to a dentist in France.

Tuesday evening I went out to dinner with Vincent who I met Sunday at the beach with Denis. He returned to Paris on Wednesday. Thursday evening we had a leaving dinner for Jacinta who is moving to be closer to her son, between Lyon and Geneva. She was always smiling and a really nice person; she will be missed.

Friday I went to see Francis Cabrel on his Trobador Tour, at the Athéna in Antibes.

Saturday and Sunday I spent with Denis, before he returns to London next week.

Cours de français hebdomadaire

chez le chiropracteur - at the chiropractor

un dos - back

une colonne vertébrale - spine

un cou - neck

une épaule - shoulder

un bassin - pelvis

un muscle tendu - tight muscle

tourne la tete - turn your head

Est-ce que ça fait mal ?- does this hurt ?

face à moi, face au mur - face me, face the wall

faire demi-tour - turn around

s'allonger - lie down

se lever - stand up

s'asseoir - sit down

Plant of the week

Brassicaceae Iberis umbellata L.

common name(s) - garden candytuft, globe candytuft; français : Ibéris en ombelle synonym(s) - Crucifera umbellata E.H.L.Krause; Iberis amoena Jord.; I. coronaria D.Don; I. corymbosa Moench; I. hortensis Jord.; I. platyptera (Burnat) Rouy & Foucaud; I. pulchra Salisb.; I. roseopurpurea Sagorski; I. umbellata subsp. grenieri Rouy & Foucaud; I. umbellata var. brachyptera Burnat; I. umbellata var. platyptera Burnat; I. umbellata var. tenuifolia Vis.; I. visianii Degen; Thlaspi umbellatum (L.) Crantz; Thlaspi umbellatum Stev. ex DC. conservation rating - none native to - Mediterranean location - Domaine de l’Orangerie leaves - stem is twisted at the base while the flowering branches are erect and leafy; basal leaves absent; cauline leaves petiolate or (distal) sessile; blade linear-oblanceolate, margins entire or subentire flowers - corymbs, sepals oblong petals white or pink to purple fruit - ovate, apically notched; valves extending into subacuminate wing; style, included or exserted beyond apical notch; seeds narrowly winged habit - bushy, herbaceous annual to 500mm tall and wide habitat - dry rocky hillsides, in bushy areas and in clearings, preferably on calcareous soils, to 1,300 metres pests - slugs, snails, caterpillars disease - club root hardiness - to -10ºC (H4) soil - poor to moderately fertile chalk, loam or sand, neutral to alkaline, moist and well-drained sun - full sun propagation - seed sown in spring pruning - cut back after flowering nomenclature - Brassicaceae - brassica - Pliny’s name for various cabbage-like plants; Iberis - Spanish, Dioscorides’ name for an Iberian cress-like plant; umbellata - with the branches of the inflorescence all rising from the same point, umbellate, literally a parasol. NB - The biological form of Iberis umbellata is hemicryptophyte scapose, as its overwintering buds are situated just below the soil surface and the floral axis is more or less erect with a few leaves.

References :

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

IUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [29 Sep 21]

Plants of the World [online] http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:324671-2 [29 Sep 21]

Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/41031/iberis-umbellata/details [29 Sep 21]

World Flora Online [online] http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000728977 [29 Sep 21]

SARS-CoVid-2 update (incidence rate per 100,000)

#Iberis umbellata

0 notes

kevinscottgardens · 3 years

Text

6 au 12 septembre 2021

Monday I was with Ann in Gaillac. We made a quick jaunt to town, then spent the rest of the day at home, by the pool.

Tuesday I was on a train all day from Gaillac to Antibes, and two hours longer than scheduled, because one of the conductors was taken away in an ambulance in Arles and we had to wait for a replacement.

Wednesday I spent the entire day watering everything and I’m now starting at 7am. In the evening I was on a Zoom call with the Quinta with great news that Stephane will sign the paperwork for the property by the end of the month. Then I joined the Mediterranean Garden Society online with guest garden designer Valerio Miragoli. He also uses Pépinière Filippi plants. I loved this photo he shared during his presentation of all the plants with their little basins for watering.

Thursday I was woken in the middle of the night with a horrific sore throat, dizziness and a headache, so stayed home.

Friday I made some chocolate chip cookie dough, but didn’t have the energy to actually make the cookies. So I put the dough in the refrigerator.

Saturday, I was finally feeling well enough to accompany Denis to Grasse and help him do a few odd bits around their new home which is now, and will be for the next year, a construction site. The scaffolding was going up around the house in preparation.

Sunday, I finally made the chocolate chip cookies. I joined Denis and we went to the beach late in the afternoon. There we met Vincent. Denis had to go home to have dinner with his parents, I spent the evening with Vincent. We had a nice walk around Antibes, enjoyed a delicious dinner at Restaurant Le Safranier and then we took his dog for a walk before I headed home. It was a late night, though totally worth the lack of sleep.

Cours de français hebdomadaire

un mal de tête - headache

vertiges - dizziness

un mal de gorge - sore throat

difficulté à parler - difficulty speaking

se gargariser - gargle

eau salée - salty water

avoir la nausée - feel nauseous

un antidouleur - pain killer

se sentir mieux - to feel better

se sentir fatigué - to feel tired

Plant of the week

Papaveraceae Glaucium corniculatum (L.) Curtis

common name(s) - red-horned poppy, blackspot hornpoppy, bristly horned poppy synonym(s) - Chelidonium aurantiacum Salisb.; C. corniculatum L.; C. glabrum Mill.; C. phoeniceum Lam.; C. rubrum Poir.; Glaucium aurantiacum Martrin-Donos; G. aureum K.Koch; G. caricum Stapf; G. corniculatum (L.) Rudolph; G. corniculatum f. pinnatifidum Kuntze; G. corniculatum var. aurantiacum (Martrin-Donos) Rouy & Foucaud; G. corniculatum var. flaviflorum DC.; G. corniculatum var. phoeniceum (Crantz) DC.; G. corniculatum var. purpureum E.Rev.; G. corniculatum var. rubrum (Sm.) Boiss.; G. corniculatum var. sublobatum Kuntze; G. corniculatum var. tricolor (Bernh.) Ledeb.; G. corniculatum var. tricolor Loret & Barrandon; G. grenieranum Shuttlew.; G. intermedium Link; G. phoeniceum Crantz; G. rubrum Sm.; G. tricolor Bernh. ex Besser; Mosenthinia glaucium Kuntze; Papaver corniculatum Pall. conservation rating - none native to - Macaronesia, Mediterranean to Iran location - Domaine de l’Orangerie leaves - slightly hairy, scalloped, blue-grey; stems branching; leaves to 250mm; basal few, blade glabrate to moderately pubescent; basal and proximal cauline with blade lyrate, 7 to 9-lobed; distal with blade ovate, not distinctly clasping stem (sometimes slightly cordate-clasping); margins deeply dentate flowers - rich crimson-red to orange poppy flowers usually with a black spot at the base of each petal; pedicels stout, to 50mm; sepals 15mm to 30mm; petals orange to reddish orange, usually with blackish basal spot, obovate, to 40mm fruit - capsules sublinear, straight or slightly curved, to 250mm, appressed- to ascending-pubescent or glabrate habit - clump-forming; biennial; to 450mm tall and wide habitat - mainly in coastal habitats pests - generally pest-free disease - generally disease-free hardiness - to -10ºC (H4) soil - well-drained, chalk, loam or sand sun - full sun; drought-tolerant once established propagation - sow seed in situ in spring or autumn; self-seeds freely nomenclature - Papaveraceae - papaver - the Latin name for poppies, including the opium poppy; Glaucium - green-grey, Dioscorides’ name for the colour of horned poppy latex; corniculatum - having small horn- or spur-like appendages or structures, diminutive of cornus.

References :

Gardenia [online] https://www.gardenia.net/plant/glaucium-corniculatum ]19 Jul 21]

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

IUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [19 Jul 21]

Plants of the World [online] http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:673158-1 [19 Jul 21]

Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/21173/Glaucium-corniculatum/Details [19 Jul 21]

Wikipedia [19 Jul 21] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaucium_corniculatum [19 Jul 21]

World Flora Online [online] http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000703534 [19 Jul 21]

SARS-CoVid-2 update (incidence rate per 100,000)

#Glaucium corniculatum

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patriotsnet · 3 years

Text

Why Do Republicans Want To Repeal The Affordable Care Act

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/why-do-republicans-want-to-repeal-the-affordable-care-act/

Why Do Republicans Want To Repeal The Affordable Care Act

Why Republicans Cant And Wont Repeal Obamacare

Editor’s Note:

This article was originally posted on Real Clear Health on January 16, 2017.

Slashing Ads And Budgets

Funding for the “navigator” programme, under which trained individuals or organisations help people sign up for insurance through Obamacare, has dropped from $62.5m to $10m under President Trump.

His administration has also cut Obamacare advertising spending to $10m – a 90% reduction.

According to a November 2018 Kaiser Health poll, 61% of Americans aged 18 to 64 said they did not know about any enrolment deadlines.

Republicans Want To Get Rid Of Obamacare But Then What

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President Trump has vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but Sarah Kliff of Vox.com says it’s “an overreach” to say that Republicans have a plan for what comes next.

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

DAVIES: And where have we seen those pools before?

Board Of Governors Professor School Of Public Affairs & Administration

Repealing Obamacare Is A Huge Tax Cut For The Rich

For the bottom 60 percent of the population that is, households earning less than about $67,000 a year repeal of the ACA would end up meaning an increase in taxes due to the loss of ACA tax credits.

But people in the top 1 percent of the income distribution those with incomes of over about $430,000 would see their taxes fall by an average of $25,000 a year.

The Acas Protections Changed Public Opinion In Its Favor Republicans Are Keeping Up

Republicans have spent 10 years trying to kill the Affordable Care Act

Younger Americans Could Get Cheaper Plans

Obamacare was designed so that younger policyholders would help subsidize older ones. That would change under the Republican bill because it would allow insurers to charge older folks more.

Those under age 30 would also get a refundable tax credit of up to $2,000 to offset the cost of their premiums, as long as their income doesn’t exceed $215,000 for an individual.

Related: What’s inside the Republican health care bill?

Also, the bill keeps the Obamacare provision that lets young adults up to age 26 stay on their parents’ insurance plan.

This Is Why Republicans Couldnt Make A Better Replacement

These problems are all very real, and they all could be fixed.

Dont Like Obamacare It Was The Republicans Idea Says Liberal Democrat

Susan Jones

Robert Reich served as Labor Secretary for President Bill Clinton.

Reich says Democrats should have insisted on a single-payer system because it would have been cheaper, simpler, and more popular.

Reichs blog is entitled, The Democrats Version of Health Insurance Would Have Been Cheaper, Simpler, and More Popular

Background On The Health Care Repeal Lawsuit

Obamacare: Has Trump Managed To Kill Off Affordable Care Act

The Trump administration has ramped up its attack on the Affordable Care Act by backing a federal judge’s decision to declare the entire law unconstitutional.

For now, Obamacare is still standing. Around 4.1 million Americans have signed up for new plans so far this year, according to government reports, down 12% from last year.

At a rally this week, Mr Trump again promised his supporters: “We are going to get rid of Obamacare.” But how much has he delivered on that pledge so far?

Efforts To Repeal The Affordable Care Act

This article needs to be . The reason given is: Missing the May 2018 efforts. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.

The following is a list of efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act , which had been enactedby the 111th United States Congress on March 23, 2010.

This Is Also Why Republicans Might Drop Repeal

Meanwhile, many Republicans are itching to move on to their next priority: tax reform.

Republican Views On Obamacare

Older Americans Could Have To Pay More

Enrollees in their 50s and early 60s benefited from Obamacare because insurers could only charge them three times more than younger policyholders. The bill would widen that band to five-to-one.

States could also receive waivers to allow insurers to charge older Americans even more than five times the premiums of the young.

Whats Dividing Republicans And Democrats On Healthcare Reform

Repeal Of Obamacares Taxes Would Be A Huge Tax Cut For The Rich

Tax Policy Center

But people in the top 1 percent of the income distribution those with incomes of over about $430,000 would see their taxes fall by an average of $25,000 a year.

Under the actual AHCA, Jared Kushner would actually pay even less in taxes. As a young person, Kushner would get a larger tax to buy insurance under the AHCA than he does now.

New Threats & Potential Affordable Care Act Changes For 2019

Republicans Are Still Trying To Repeal Obamacare Heres Why They Are Not Likely To Succeed

Why are Republicans still trying to undo the ACA? We argue in a forthcoming that the laws political vulnerabilities and Republican electoral dynamics drive conservative efforts to uproot it.

In the past, conservatives have thrown in the towel

So why is the ACA still politically vulnerable?

The answer lies partly in the way the program was designed.

Is repeal likely?

The Health Care Repeal Lawsuit Could Strip Coverage From 23 Million Americans

Nicole RapfogelEmily Gee

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kevinscottgardens · 3 years

Text

12 au 18 juillet 2021

This week has been a bit of a blur. The sunrise is now after 06.00, when I’ve been starting work, so I’m able to see the sunrise from atop the domaine. This week there have been several amazing sunrises. Monday and Tuesday I continued reducing the Reseda lutea in the prairie and weeded and tidied up around the pool. The party on Saturday was around the pool, so that area needed to be looking its best.

Tuesday after work, Lucien and I went to Saint-Raphaël where his father lives. We were there to celebrate 14 juillet, Bastille Day, my first in France. Wednesday we went to his step-sister’s house and enjoyed watching the fireworks over the bay from her flat, high on a hill with a spectacular view.

Thursday we headed to Marseille for the day.

Friday I frantically watered everything in the morning, preparing to use the blower around the pool in the afternoon because the pine trees are shedding copious amounts of needles. Then, surprise, it rained and guests were sleeping in the pool house, so I couldn’t blow.

Saturday at midday I headed up the hill to blow while the family was out to lunch. It looked much better afterwards; however, the wind coming up the hill prevented me from blowing over the edge so I had to blow everything across the garden, into the path, where I could finally collect it.

The most exciting thing of the weekend was when my scooter arrived two days early. Saturday afternoon, I used my new scooter and we headed to Biot for a celebration drink. It caught the eye of our server who even took photos of it. I was going 40 kph (25 mph) on the way. It only struggled when going up the steep hill to the domaine.

Aperós after my first trip on my scooter.

Sunday we went by scooter to baie des Anges to lunch in the marina. Then we went along the bord du mer to Antibes where we enjoyed dessert. Then back home where we enjoyed a barbecued côte de bœuf for dinner.

Cours de français hebdomadaire

un banc - bench

un canapé - sofa

une causeuse - loveseat

une chaise - chair

une chaise longue - lounge chair

une étape - step

une selle - saddle

un siège de vélo - bicycle seat

un tabouret - stool

un fauteuil - armchair

Plant of the week

Apiacaeae Bupleurum fruticosum L.

common name(s) - shrubby hare's ear; français : buplèvre ligneux synonym(s) - Bupleurum insulare Rouy & E.G.Camus; Bupleurum terminale Salisb.; Buprestis fruticosa Spreng.; Tenoria fruticosa Spreng. conservation rating - none native to - Mediterranean location - Domaine de l’Orangerie leaves - simple, obovate, blue-green leaves flowers - clusters of tiny yellow flowers in summer and early autumn that persist for a long time; pollinated by wasps habit - evergreen shrub to 2m tall and wide habitat - sunny hills, walls and rocky places pests - generally pest-free disease - generally disease-free hardiness - to -10ºC (H4) soil - chalk, loam, sand; well-drained sun - full sun to part shade propagation - seed in containers in a cold frame in spring; root semi-ripe cuttings in summer pruning - tolerates hard pruning nomenclature - Apiacaeae - apium - a name used in Pliny for celery-like plants; some relate it to the Celtic apon, water, as its preferred habitat; Bupleurum - ox-rib, an ancient Greek name used by Nicander; fruticosum - of shrub-like habit NB - This species makes a very good wind-shelter hedge in exposed maritime positions, and is fast growing.

References :

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

IUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [11 Jul 21]

Plants of the World [online] http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:839164-1 [11 Jul 21]

Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/2555/Bupleurum-fruticosum/Details [11 Jul 21]

Senteurs du Quercy, Les [online] https://www.senteursduquercy.com/bupleurum-buplere/138-bupleurum-fruticosum-buplevre-ligneux.html [11 Jul 21]

Wikipedia [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bupleurum_fruticosum [11 Jul 21]

SARS-CoVid-2 update (incidence rate per 100,000)

#Bupleurum fruticosum

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kevinscottgardens · 3 years

Text

5 au 11 juillet 2021

Monday was a big watering day. I removed several Lomelosia that had died and continued weeding the prairie and thinning out this plant, that I am still trying to identify...

Tuesday I removed Tulipa bulbs from a sand area and prepared it for my Mediterranean plants. Adam (aka Christian) doesn’t want the sand in one bed in the glasshouse so I’ll use it to extend my planting area - a win-win because I also have a place to put the soil I don’t want that is currently in the bed.

Wednesday Mme. worked with me to plant some seeds that Alejandro left with me. I hope they don’t fry. I’ll have to keep them at my house.

Mira and Martin arrived Monday. He brought me some seeds and a few Pelargonium cuttings from Amsterdam. They are in the utility room where it is bright and warm, to encourage them to root quickly. We celebrated Martin’s birthday Tuesday evening in Biot. Wednesday night we headed to Juan le Pins for dinner at a Thai restaurant which was delicious. They headed back to The Netherlands Thursday morning.

I had my second Phizer jab Wednesday afternoon and this time no soreness in the arm, just a big headache all day Thursday that was barely kept in check by paracetamol.

Friday Alejandro came by and we had a very good meeting with Mme and her son. We checked out the new prairie and tried to identify all the flowering plants. I’m going to continue to thin out the Reseda lutea which is too dense and I really don’t want it going to seed for next year. We planted the first few plants in the new sand bed by the serre.

James dropped off Charlotte, a student working with him, to work here for a bit and to do some drawings of the planting plan and density. After we did some work in the garden and Alejandro had a good chat with Adam, the three of us headed to a delicious sushi meal. My first sushi since leaving London. I’m so happy to have found a nice place for sushi, and not too far, just at baie des anges.

Saturday I chopped back the wisteria and did some work in the garden for a few hours. I’m now watering all the citrus and fig trees for around an hour each every weekend. Later that evening Lucien arrived from Paris and we ate a restaurant with a view of Port Valbonne.

Sunday was a lazy day. Lucien made a delicious lunch of fish with onions. At the end of the day we went up to the atilier to check on some plants and to show Lucien the amazing views from up there. We enjoyed apero in the garden then we had a light dinner of leftovers.

Cours de français hebdomadaire

directions

aller de l'avant - go forwards

au bout de la rue - at the end of the street

derrière - behind

devant - in front of

juste au coin de la rue - just around the corner

pas loin - not far

prochain à droite - next right

prochain à gauche - next left

reculer - go backwards

tout droit - straight ahead

Plant of the week

Asteraceae Centaurea jacea L.

common name(s) - brown knapweed, brownray knapweed; français : centaurée jacée, tête de moineau, fleur de galant, herbe d'amour, bleuet rose, ambrett synonym(s) - Behen jacea Hill; Calcitrapa jacea (L.) Peterm.; Calcitrapa pratensis (Salisb.) Peterm.; Centaurea commutata (Koch) Stankov; C. croatica (Hayek) Soest; C. decumbens Dubois ex Pers.; C. hastata Gugler; C. humifusa Gueldenst. ex Ledeb.; C. jacea f. jacea; C. jacea f. majuscula Rouy; C. jacea f. scopulicola Rouy; C. jacea subsp. jacea; C. jacea subsp. jungens Gugler; C. jacea subsp. lusitanica Hayek; C. jacea var. jacea; C. jungens Gugler; C. lacera Simonk.; C. lusitanica (Hayek) Soest; C. majuscula (Rouy) Soest; C. media Gugler; C. mollis Schleich.; C. nemophila Jord. ex Nyman; C. nigrescens Gren. & Godr.; C. platylepis Peterm.; C. pratensis (Lam.) Salisb.; C. scopulicola (Rouy) Soest; C. syrmiensis Gugler; C. variabilis H.Lév.; C. viretorum Jord. ex Nyman; Jacea pratensis Lam.; Jacea tomentosa Gilib.; Rhaponticum jacea (L.) Scop. subspecies - C. jacea subsp. banatica (Roch.) Hayek; C. jacea subsp. dracunculifolia (Dufour) A.Bolòs; C. jacea subsp. forojuliensis (Poldini) Greuter; C. jacea subsp. gaudinii (Boiss. & Reut.) Gremli; C. jacea subsp. haynaldii Hayek; C. jacea subsp. julica (Hayek) Greuter; C. jacea subsp. substituta (Czerep.) Mikheev; C. jacea subsp. timbalii (Martrin-Donos) Braun-Blanq. & al.; C. jacea subsp. vinyalsii (Sennen) O.Bolòs, Nuet & Panareda; C. jacea subsp. weldeniana (Rchb.) Greuter conservation rating - none native to - Europe to W. Siberia and Caucasus location - Domaine de l’Orangerie leaves - stems are ridged and may have purple stripes; basal leaves are oblanceolate to elliptic becoming smaller as they ascend the stem; these smaller leaves are lanceolate and attach directly to the stem flowers - pink to red, the capitula always looks as if it is rayed, forming a more open star rather than a brush-like tuft fruit - small light brown, plumeless seeds, about twelve per head habit - to 800mm tall habitat - dry meadows, underbrush and open woodland pests - generally pest-free disease - generally disease-free hardiness - to -15ºC (H5) soil - well-drained, neutral to calciferous sun - full sun propagation - seed pruning - deadhead to encourage flowering nomenclature - Asteraceae - star; Centaurea - centaur, centauros, mythical creature with the body of a horse replacing the hips and legs of a man, the name used by Hippocrates in Pliny, in Ovid the centaur Chiron was cured with this plant of Hercules’ arrow wound in the hoof; jacea - medieval name with Spanish roots for knapweed NB - the root can be peeled and washed to be licked or sucked fresh like a stick of licorice providing a sweet and refreshing sensation; young leaves that have a pronounced bitterness can be eaten in salads or as a cooked vegetable. Edible flowers can decorate dishes; good bitter tonic, it has diuretic, astringent, calming, stomach and digestive properties.

References :

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

Invasive Plant Atlas [online] https://www.invasiveplantatlas.org/subject.html?sub=5278 [11 Jul 21]

IUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [8 Jul 21]

Plants of the World [online] http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:190753-1 [8 Jul 21]

Promesse de fleurs [en ligne] https://www.promessedefleurs.com/vivaces/vivaces-par-variete/centaurees/centaurea-jacea-centauree-jacee.html [11 jui 21 ]

Wikipedia [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurea_jacea [11 Jul 21]

Wikipédia [en ligne] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaur%C3%A9e_jac%C3%A9e [11 jui 21]

World Flora Online [online] http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000095537 [8 Jul 21]

SARS-CoVid-2 update (incidence rate per 100,000)

Things are ticking upward...

#Centaurea jacea

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kevinscottgardens · 3 years

Text

21 au 27 juin 2021

Monday started with the driveway being repaired, so no vehicles all day. I potted up the other Arbutus into a pot by the front door.

Tuesday I started making little paths through the meadow with a hoe. It should make it look like little animals are running through it. It will also give me access to the middle of the beds.

I pruned the rampant Bougainvillea on the back patio that was blocking the shudders from opening. I picked up a hire car and went looking for bedside tables; unfortunately, I didn’t find any I liked. It was odd being in a shopping mall for the first time in two years. I washed sheets, caught up on my blog and cleaned the floor preparing for Susie and Stephan.

The garden is looking fantastic in the late summer evening light.

Susie arrived Wednesday. We headed into town and enjoyed a nice lunch at a Lebanese place right on the water. Thursday we went for a hike. Friday she had her Covid test to return to the UK. Unfortunately it came back with her maiden name. So Saturday morning we went to Nice Cote d’Azure Airport so she could get another one.

Stephane and Lady arrived around 16.30. Susie and I were just heading back from Antibes where we had dropped off the hire car then lunched. I was surprised by a nice birthday carrot cake provided by the restaurant, Merry Mary, who overheard it was my birthday.

That evening we all walked up to Biot. We explored a bit then made our way to Les Arcades for my birthday dinner. It is located in the middle of the village, and the tables take up most of the square. It was a very nice evening and good food.

Sunday was a quiet day. We looked into going into Italy to see Susie’s daughter who is moored in Ventimiglia. Between Covid regulations and the boss not disembarking until much later than scheduled, that didn’t happen. Instead, we enjoyed a Lebanese late lunch and a nice walk around Antibes.

Cours de français hebdomadaire

bouturage à bois sec - hardwood cuttings

boutures de racines - root cuttings

boutures de résineux - softwood cuttings

filet d'ombrage - shade netting

humidité - humidity

propagation - propagation

sec - dry

semer des graines - to sow seeds

sol acide - acidic soil

sol calcaire - calcareous soil

Plant of the week

Malvaceae Althaea cannabina L.

common name(s) - hemp-leaved hollyhock, hemp-leaved marshmallow, palm-leaf marsh mallow synonym(s) - Althaea kotschyi Boiss.; Althaea narbonensis Jacq.; Althaea narbonnensis Pourr. ex Cav. conservation rating - none native to - Mediterranean to Pakistan location - Domaine de l’Orangerie leaves - hairy, lobed leaves, up to 400mm long flowers - cup-shaped, 30mm to 50mm across; appear singly or in clusters on long stalks from the leaf axils and are lavender-pink with dark pink-purple anthers, from midsummer to early autumn fruit - somewhat longer than calyx and not concealed, 7mm across; mericarps 12–16, brown, unwinged, reniform, striate with ribs radiating from rugose central area, back herringbone-veined, glabrous habit - erect, woody-based herbaceous perennial with strong, branched stems, up to 2m high habitat - grow at an altitude of 0–800 m above sea level; prefer coastal thickets, forest edges, meadows, weedy places, roads, wasteland, pastures and parks, especially with rocky and calcareous soils pests - flee beetles disease - hollyhock rust hardiness - to <-20ºC (H7) soil - wide range of situations; rarely needs staking; for best results grow in fertile, moist and well-drained soil sun - sheltered, full sun to part shade propagation - seed, division pruning - none required; stems can be cut to the ground once flowering is over if desired nomenclature - Malvaceae - soft, malva, the name in Pliny, cognate via old English, mealwe, with mallow; Althaea - healer (Greek), a name used by Theophrastus; cannabina - cannabis-like, leaves of hemp agrimony, wild hemp (Dioscorides)

References :

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

IUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [8 Jul 21]

Pépinière Lepage [online] https://www.lepage-vivaces.com/detail-article.php?ID_ARTICLE=7920 [8 Jul 21]

Plants of the World [online] http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:558787-1 [8 Jul 21]

Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/1023/Althaea-cannabina/Details [8 Jul 21]

Wikipedia [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Althaea_cannabina [8 Jul 21]

World Flora Online [online] http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000528921 [8 Jul 21]

I forgot about the Covid update. Thankfully, new daily infections are still dropping.

#Althaea cannabina

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kevinscottgardens · 3 years

Text

18 au 24 janvier 2021

Monday and Tuesday I worked a bit with Kevin. We removed all the Linnaea, formerly Abelia, from around the pool house to make way for Mediterranean planting. He also showed me how to take care of chickens, in the event that more are purchased this year. Kevin only has one more week here, then Sebastien has one more week. Then who knows who will work in the glasshouse and potager...

Tuesday after work, on my drive down the hill to my place, I saw a bird of prey finishing up his latest meal of pigeon.

Wednesday M. et Mme. returned from Switzerland, so I spent the day tidying up around the house.

Thursday we bottled olive oil for M. et Mme. to take back to Switzerland. After both Michel and Karim broke a bottle each, Karim came up with an inventive way of attaching the lids to the bottles - he used a clamp and with each squeeze the clamp tightened the cap until it popped on. I didn’t try. I applied the labels to the bottles. Later in the week, I saw it for sale in the butcher shop in Biot.

Friday we had a meeting at 8.15 with M., Mme, Michel, Karim, James et Bruno to place the new trough for the donkeys and look at the new garden. It lasted two hours. After that it rained incessantly the rest of the day. I managed to take some cuttings of the Brugmansia I later chopped down. I started clearing an area due to be replanted in the last stage of the new garden. Later, Sarah-Jane and I treated ourselves to another pizza because it is rumoured that we will be back in confinement either next week of the following.

This week I heard something scurry across my ceiling, in the attic, I’m guessing squirl, it sounds huge. Also I asked if I could have screens put on my windows before the summer and mosquito season. Unfortunately, the screen guy has Covid at the moment, so our meeting was cancelled. I also occasionally hear a strange knocking noise, that I haven’t been able to figure out where it’s coming from; perhaps my house is haunted.

Saturday I did chores around the house and met up with Mandy and Barbara in the late afternoon. Barbara is from Marin County. We enjoyed getting to know each other and she has a bit of work she’d like me to do around her garden. Sarah-Jane treated me to an outstanding dinner of barbecued ribs, corn on the cob, baked potato and coleslaw.

Sunday morning I started with my daily French lesson. I am finally back in the routine of doing a bit of French every night. It’s taken eight weeks. It’s hard to believe I’ve been in France now two months. It also means my CDI contract is now permanent. I’m hoping my Carte Vitale arrives just after my third month anniversary, when it should appear.

Cours de français hebdomadaire

une étiquette - label

mettre (de l'huile d'olive) en bouteille - to bottle (olive oil)

la serre-joint - clamp

une auge - trough

le grenier - attic

une ampoule - blister

la moustiquaire - screen or mosquito netting

le lave-linge - washing machine

le linge - laundry

le linge de lit - bed linen

Plant of the week

Rutaceae Citrus japonica Thunb.

common name(s) - kumquat synonym(s) - Atalantia hindsii (Champ. ex Benth.) Oliv.; × Citrofortunella madurensis (Lour.) D.Rivera & al.; Citrus × aurantium var. globifera Engl.; Citrus × aurantium var. japonica (Thunb.) Hook.f.; Citrus × aurantium subsp. japonica (Thunb.) Engl.; Citrus aurantium var. japonica (Thunb.) Hook.; Citrus × aurantium var. olivicormis Risso ex Loisel.; Citrus aurantium var. oliviformis Risso ex Loisel.; Citrus erythrocarpa Hayata; Citrus hindsii (Champ. ex Benth.) Govaerts; Citrus inermis Roxb.; Citrus japonica subf. crassifolia (Swingle) M.Hiroe; Citrus japonica subf. hindsii (Chapm. ex Benth.) M.Hiroe; Citrus japonica var. fructu-elliptica Siebold & Zucc.; Citrus japonica var. madurensis (Lour.) Guillaumin; Citrus japonica var. margarita (Lour.) Guillaumin; Citrus kinokuni Yu.Tanaka; Citrus madurensis Lour.; Citrus margarita Lour.; Citrus microcarpa Bunge; Citrus nobilis var. inermis (Roxb.) Sagot; Citrus × nobilis subf. kinokumi (Tanaka) M.Hiroe; Citrus × nobilis var. microcarpa Hassk.; Fortunella bawangica C.C.Huang; Fortunella chintou (Swingle) C.C. Huang; Fortunella crassifolia Swingle; Fortunella hindsii (Champ. ex Benth.) Swingle; Fortunella hindsii var. chintou Swingle; Fortunella japonica (Thunb.) Swingle; Fortunella margarita (Lour.) Swingle; Fortunella obovata Tanaka; Fortunella venosa (Champ. ex Benth.) C.C.Huang; Limonia monophylla Lour.; Sclerostylis hindsii Champ. ex Benth.; Sclerostylis venosa Champ. ex Benth. conservation rating - none native to - China location - Domaine de l’Orangerie leaves - dark glossy green, simple, leathery, aromatic, usually with winged stalks flowers - fragrant white or pink-tinged, similar to other citrus flowers, and can be borne singly or clustered within the leaves' axils fruit - globose orange fruits 30mm to 40mm across habit - slow-growing evergreen shrubs or short trees that stand 2.5 to 4.5 meters tall, with dense branches, sometimes bearing small thorns habitat - evergreen broad-leaved forests; 600m to 1,000m pests - generally pest-free disease - generally disease-free hardiness - to -5ºC (H3) soil - moist and well-drained sun - full sun, sheltered propagation - do not grow well from seeds, so are vegetatively propagated by using rootstock of another citrus fruit, air layering, or cuttings pruning - damaged, dead, diseased, congested or crossed nomenclature - Rutaceae - ruta - unpleasantness, the ancient Greek name for rue; Citrus - from ancient Latin; japonica - from Japan, Japanese NB - previously classified as forming the now-historical genus Fortunella, or placed within Citrus sensu lato; They were introduced to Europe in 1846 by Robert Fortune, collector for the London Horticultural Society,

References, bibliography:

Flora of China [online] http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242313265 [24 Jan 21]

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

IUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [24 Jan 21]

Plant List, The [online] http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2724150 [24 Jan 21]

Plants of the World [online] http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:771939-1 [24 Jan 21]

Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/83394/Citrus-japonica-(F)/Details [24 Jan 21]

Wikipedia [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumquat [24 Jan 21]

SARS-CoVid-2 update (active cases only)

#Citrus japonica

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