Misconceptions Could Lead to Health Law ‘Train Wreck,’ Baucus Warns

A routine Senate budget hearing turned into a public scolding as a prominent backer of the health care overhaul warned that a lack of public information could cause a “train wreck” as the law’s implementation moves forward.

Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, grilled the health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, during a hearing on Wednesday about the administration’s plans to educate the public about benefits. With the enrollment period for insurance exchanges set to begin Oct. 1, Mr. Baucus said that citizens, especially small businesses, had “no idea what to do.”

He said he gave a “failing grade” to the administration’s public information efforts.

“I’m concerned that lack of clear information is leading to misconceptions and misinformation, and people generally dislike what they don’t understand,” Mr. Baucus said, citing a March poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation showing that high proportions of Americans had misconceptions about the law’s provisions.

The Kaiser poll showed that 40 percent of respondents believe erroneously that the law creates a government panel to make end-of-life decisions for Medicare recipients, and that 57 percent think it includes a public insurance option.

The Health and Human Services Department has pledged a major outreach effort this fall around the exchanges.

A finding in the Kaiser poll that Mr. Baucus did not specifically mention was that 40 percent of respondents had an unfavorable view of the law, compared with 37 percent favorable.

“I just see a huge train wreck coming down,” Mr. Baucus said. “You and I have discussed this many times, and I don’t see any results yet.”

Ms. Sebelius responded, “We certainly take outreach and education very, very seriously.” However, Mr. Baucus, who faces a potentially difficult re-election battle in 2014, appeared exasperated when she was unable to provide specific benchmarks or details on planned efforts.

As chairman of the finance committee, Mr. Baucus was instrumental in securing the law’s passage in 2010. He remains a strong proponent, a spokeswoman said.

“He still thinks it’s a great law, and he just is very intent on seeing it implemented correctly and making sure that all the benefits are communicated to people thoroughly,” said Meaghan Smith, a committee aide.

Obama Decries Senate’s Rejection of Gun Safety Measures

Doug Mills/The New York Times President Obama on Wednesday was joined by families of the victims of the Newtown, Conn. school shooting and former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, before making a statement following the failed gun vote on Capitol Hill.

Flanked by family members of the Newtown shooting victims and former Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, President Obama decried a Senate vote defeating gun control legislation, saying a minority of senators “blocked common-sense gun reforms even while these families looked on from the Senate gallery.”

“All in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington,” Mr. Obama said.

Speaking from the Rose Garden, a visibly angry president charged that the “gun lobby and its allies willfully lied” about the compromise background check bill worked out by a Democratic and a Republican senator.

Mr. Obama said that Republicans, and some Democrats, “caved to the pressure” from what he called a vocal minority of people who support gun rights. “There were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn’t do this,” he said. “It came down to politics.”

The president said his administration would do “everything it can” without Congress to protect Americans. But he criticized opponents of gun control legislation who had said the lobbying by Newtown families was inappropriate.

“Are they serious?” he said. “Do we really think that thousands of families whose lives have been shattered by gun violence do not have a right to weigh in?”

Before Mr. Obama spoke, the father of one of the young children killed in Newtown spoke of his anger at the bill’s defeat.

“Any dad in America could be in my shoes. No one should feel our pain,” said Mark Barden, the father of Daniel. “We will not be defeated. We are not defeated and we will not be defeated.”

For Mr. Obama, whose campaign for tougher gun legislation has been among the most emotional of his presidency, his tone was alternately bitter, sarcastic, and sorrowful.

“If action by Congress could have saved one person, one child, a few hundred, a few thousand,” Mr. Obama declared, “we had an obligation to try.”

He urged people who supported the legislation to register their displeasure at the polls. And he questioned whether some politicians who pledged a new direction after the schoolhouse slaughter in Newtown, or other mass shootings, had uttered “empty words.”

Despite the defeat, Mr. Obama insisted the fight over gun laws was in “round one.” He said the administration would work to insure that states had access to existing data on gun buyers.

“Sooner or later, we are going to get this right,” Mr. Obama said. “The memories of these children demand it, and so do the American people.”

An earlier version of this item gave an incorrect name for a victim of the Newtown shootings. His name is Daniel, not Brian.

Public Opinion Stands Behind Democrats on Gun Measures

As the Senate prepares to vote on a series of gun measures Wednesday afternoon, recent polls show a slim majority of Americans place a higher priority on enacting new gun laws to reduce gun violence over protecting the right to own guns. Yet, support for toughening up gun laws has dropped since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting in mid-December.

As the weeks and months have passed since the Newtown tragedy, the public’s resolve to enact stricter gun laws has softened, which may also explain what is happening on Capitol Hill. An AP/GfK poll conducted in the last week found that support for enacting stricter gun laws is now at 49 percent; down from 58 percent in January.

With agreement on a measure to shore up background checks on gun buyers faltering in the Senate, a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted late last week found that the public continues to stand firmly behind increased background checks. Nearly 9 in 10 Americans (including majorities across party lines) support background checks for gun purchases at gun shows and online.

And Americans over all also still support nationwide bans on both assault weapons and high capacity magazines - Democratic-backed amendments that are not expected to pass in the Senate on Wednesday.

If the Senate fails to pass any gun control measures, the AP/GfK poll found, a 56 percent majority of Americans would like President Obama and Congressional Democrats to keep trying to make a deal with Congressional Republicans.

Both nationwide telephone surveys were conducted on both landlines and cellphones and have margins of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The Post/ABC News poll was conducted April 11-14 with 1,003 adults while the AP-GfK poll was conducted April 11-15 with 1,004 adults.

Mark Sanford Is Accused of Trespassing by Ex-Wife

Mark Sanford, the former governor of South Carolina who is now a Congressional candidate, pushed back on Wednesday after court documents revealed that his ex-wife had accused him of trespassing at her house.

Jenny Sanford, filed a complaint with police on Feb. 4 after she found Mr. Sanford leaving her house on Sullivan’s Island, according to The Associated Press. The couple’s 2010 divorce agreement says neither may enter the other’s house without permission.

Mr. Sanford said Wednesday he had been watching the Super Bowl with his 14-year-old son that night, while Ms. Sanford was out of town. “As a father I didn’t think he should watch it alone,” he said in a statement through his campaign. “It’s an unfortunate reality that divorced couples sometimes have disagreements that spill over into family court.”

Mr. Sanford is in the midst of a comeback campaign. In 2009 he confessed to an affair with an Argentine woman after he had lied about his whereabouts, and he served out the rest of his term as governor until 2011.

Polls show Mr. Sanford is in a close race with his Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Colbert Busch, to represent the Congressional district that surrounds Charleston. Ms. Colbert Busch’s campaign declined to comment on the trespassing accusations.

Mr. Sanford is scheduled to appear before a family court judge on May 9, two days after the special election.

National Republicans said they were caught off guard by Tuesday’s report. The National Republican Congressional Campaign had debated spending millions on Mr. Sanford’s campaign but said Wednesday it would no longer donate any money. The group is keeping up a web site, www.WordswithElizabeth.com, that tries to paint her as a liberal.

“Mark Sanford has proven he knows what it takes to win elections,” said Daniel Scarpinato, a spokesman. “At this time, the NRCC will not be engaged in this special election. ”

The Associated Press reported that the complaint filed by Ms. Sanford’s lawyer, Deena Smith McRackan, said that Mr. Sanford “entered into a pattern of entering onto plaintiff’s property. Plaintiff has informed defendant on a number of occasions that this behavior is in violation of the court’s order and has demanded that it not occur again.”

Ms. Sanford told reporters on Wednesday that she did not intend the complaint to be leaked to the press. But Mr. Sanford questioned how the documents had become public.

“I am particularly curious how records that were sealed to avoid the boys dealing with embarrassment are now somehow exposed less than three weeks before this election,” he said in the statement. “I agree with Jenny that the media is no place to debate what is ultimately a family court matter.”

A Protective Case for Your Phone’s Glass

Which is more vulnerable, the plastic or aluminum housing on the back of your phone, or the glass screen on front? It would seem to be the glass screen. And screen protectors abound; the latest, the Impact Shield, is from the case maker Tech21.

Tech21’s claim is that its three unique layers of polymers - one adapted from bulletproof glass - does more to protect your screen than others, while providing better optical clarity.

In a test, the $30 screen protector was easy to apply. You peel off a tab, line up the clear screen and then let go. A silica-based adhesive takes over, sticking itself to the screen. You can squeeze out any bubbles if need be, or peel the shield off and reapply it. Some other screen protectors can’t be removed and reapplied. Others require much more careful application to keep out bubbles.

In a demonstration using a wire brush, small scratches on the surface of the protecter visibly filled themselves in. It was like watching  a time lapse of a wound healing or the demonic self-repairing Plymouth from Stephen King’s Christine.

There are quite a few screen protectors available, and all make claims of substantial protection. In fact, the screen protector manufacturer ClearPlex posted a video in which its screen protector appears to stop pellets from a .410 shotgun shell. There are also companies like Zagg, Amzer and Spigen sgp that demonstrate the hardiness of their screen protecters by hitting them with hammers, sanding them, sawing them and everything short of dropping them from 100,000 feet.

So which one is the best? There is no way of knowing without tests, and there is no standard for testing, just stunts. It’s probably safe to say that any of them are better than nothing.

To Light Up a Room, a Liquid-Filled Bulb

The Switch60 LED bulb from Switch Lighting.

In the debate over the merits of incandescent light bulbs versus compact fluorescent lamps, LED bulbs have become a viable alternative. Switch Lighting is hoping to ride the wave of rising consumer interest with its own series of LED bulbs.

Switch assembled a team of engineers and physicists in its Silicon Valley headquarters in 2007, and produced a bulb last year with distinct design that has won several innovation awards.

The bulb incorporates technology that Switch calls a LQD cooling system, a patented design that bathes the LED with a coolant made of liquid silicone. The liquid diffuses the light over the surface of the bulb, producing light that is omnidirectional and illuminating a room similar to the way an incandescent does. The shape is similar, too, for those who prefer traditional A-series light bulbs.

The Switch bulbs turn on instantly, unlike fluorescent lighting, and are compatible with standard dimmers. Their durable design makes them much harder to break than incandescent or fluorescent bulbs.

But Switch bulbs are still relatively expensive, and they are hard to find. I had to do a little searching on the Web and found the Switch60 bulb at Batteries Plus for $50 (rival brands were about $20).

Make the investment now, Switch says, and you will be rewarded with lower electric bills for years to come. According to Switch, the bulbs have a lifespan of 25,000 hours, 25 times longer than an incandescent. They come in wattage equivalents of their incandescent counterparts; for instance, the Switch60 bulb emits 800 lumens, about the same as a 60-watt incandescent bulb.

Switch says its bulbs can be used in any fixture, even enclosed, recessed or outdoors. However, I live in a tiny apartment in New York, and have none of those options. So I replaced the CFL bulb in a table lamp in my living room with a Switch bulb.

The light was warm, reminiscent of the incandescent bulbs I used to use, and not as white as the light from the CFL. This is a personal preference, but visitors noticed the difference in the quality of the light almost immediately, remarking that they had lost their ghostly pallor. Switch bulbs probably won’t appeal to everyone, but those who value good design from a premium product will appreciate them.

Live Coverage: Senate Debates Gun Measures

The Senate will vote Wednesday on a series of gun measures that may determine the shape of legislation inspired by the shootings in Newtown, Conn. Senators took to the floor on Wednesday morning to make their case for amendments including some that are supported largely by Democrats, like a provision expanding background checks to firearms bought at gun shows or on the Internet; a reinstatement of an assault weapons ban; and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines. Other have Republican backing: a mandate that any state permit for carrying a concealed weapon be honored by virtually every other state, a broad alternative gun measure aimed at mental health care and school safety, and another helping veterans clear their names to obtain firearms. Votes are expected in the afternoon.

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A Worthy Tablet for Children

The Polaroid Kids Tablet

The Polaroid Kids Tablet ($150) is yet another seven-inch Android 4.0 portable option for children. But it’s worth a second look, because unlike the now dozens of others, both the power and volume controls are well marked, easy to find and right there on the front panel. You can’t miss them.

This might seem like a small detail, but when you mix this simplicity with a drop-proof rubber bumper, 35 preinstalled apps and a book and music player, you can see an Android-based tablet that is as easy to use as the more toylike LeapPad2 and InnoTab 2. The price is comparable, too, once you consider the batteries and game cartridges required by the LeapPad and the InnoTab.

Unlike the toy options, this tablet gives you Wi-Fi and access to thousands of Android apps. I also liked the regular-size SD card, which you can use to supplement the 8 GB of memory. I was able to hand our test tablet right out of the box to a group of children, and I had trouble getting it back.

Q&A: Skipping Songs When Shuffling

Q.

I have Christmas music on my iPhone. (I know, it’s April.) When I am in shuffle mode for all my music, it plays. How do I stop iTunes from playing that category, but playing all the rest?

A.

The iTunes software includes a setting that allows you to skip selected tracks when the program is in shuffle mode. To use the feature with the Music library in recent versions of iTunes, click the names to select the genre (like Holiday or Christmas), songs or albums you want to exclude. Go to the File menu and choose Get Info; you can also press Ctrl+I or Command-I on the keyboard.

If asked, confirm that you would like to edit multiple items. Click the Options tab in the Get Info box, turn on the checkbox next to “Skip when shuffling” and set the drop-down menu to Yes. Click the O.K. button. The next time you sync the iPhone with iTunes, the new settings should copy over to take the holiday tunes out of the shuffle rotation there as well. Reverse the process next Thanksgiving to restore your holiday tunes to the lineup.

The Early Word: Scare

In Today’s Times

• A letter sent to Senator Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, has tested positive for the poison ricin, adding to security concerns around the Capitol after the Boston Marathon bombing, Jonathan Weisman reports. The Senate post offices on Capitol Hill were shut down and will most likely remain closed for the rest of the week.

• A bipartisan group of eight senators introduced immigration legislation on Tuesday, and the story of how the senators struck an agreement is one of intense across-the-aisle bargaining in an age when compromise is hard to reach, Ashley Parker writes. It was built on unlikely friendships, survived near-stalemates and involved an apology in the form of a cheese pizza.

• Senate leaders will vote on as many as nine gun control amendments on Wednesday, and the outcome could determine the fate of a bill inspired by the shootings in Newtown, Conn., Jonathan Weisman and Jennifer Steinhauer report. In the flurry of crucial votes, some include an expansion of gun rights. If that provision prevails, the Democratic-controlled Senate may end up killing its own bill.

Happenings in Washington

• President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will welcome the Wounded Warrior Project’s “Soldier Ride” to the White House. The cycling event is aimed at raising awareness of wounded troops who continue to battle the physical and psychological damage of war. Later, Mr. Obama will have dinner with Democratic senators at the Jefferson Hotel.

• Mr. Biden will also participate in a Google Plus Hangout with mayors from across the country to discuss gun violence.

The Early Word: Scare

In Today’s Times

• A letter sent to Senator Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, has tested positive for the poison ricin, adding to security concerns around the Capitol after the Boston Marathon bombing, Jonathan Weisman reports. The Senate post offices on Capitol Hill were shut down and will most likely remain closed for the rest of the week.

• A bipartisan group of eight senators introduced immigration legislation on Tuesday, and the story of how the senators struck an agreement is one of intense across-the-aisle bargaining in an age when compromise is hard to reach, Ashley Parker writes. It was built on unlikely friendships, survived near-stalemates and involved an apology in the form of a cheese pizza.

• Senate leaders will vote on as many as nine gun control amendments on Wednesday, and the outcome could determine the fate of a bill inspired by the shootings in Newtown, Conn., Jonathan Weisman and Jennifer Steinhauer report. In the flurry of crucial votes, some include an expansion of gun rights. If that provision prevails, the Democratic-controlled Senate may end up killing its own bill.

Happenings in Washington

• President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will welcome the Wounded Warrior Project’s “Soldier Ride” to the White House. The cycling event is aimed at raising awareness of wounded troops who continue to battle the physical and psychological damage of war. Later, Mr. Obama will have dinner with Democratic senators at the Jefferson Hotel.

• Mr. Biden will also participate in a Google Plus Hangout with mayors from across the country to discuss gun violence.