What’s interesting in the news today?
First up, more media editing of tape involving the Zimmerman case. ABC joins NBC in pushing a false meme. Hopefully they join NBC in the lawsuit against them area too.
From SLATE “Did George Zimmerman get away with murder? That’s what one of his jurors says, according to headlines in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and dozens of other newspapers. Trayvon Martin’s mother and the Martin family’s attorney are trumpeting this “new information” as proof that “George Zimmerman literally got away with murder.”
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Next, not surprising given this administration’s policies.
From TheDailyCaller “Federal Bureau of Investigation officials ignored warnings about the radical origins and nature of the mosque frequented by the Tsarnaev brothers for years before this April’s deadly Boston Marathon bombings.”
“But the FBI was warned nearly four years prior to the bombings that the ISB was a nest of Islamic radicalism.”
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The IRS union has said they don’t want ObamaCare. Sure, but they want to expand to enforce it for the commoners huh?
From TheWashingtonExaminer “IRS employees have a prominent role in Obamacare, but their union wants no part of the law.
National Treasury Employees Union officials are urging members to write their congressional representatives in opposition to receiving coverage through President Obama’s health care law.
The union leaders are providing members with a form letter to send to the congressmen that says “I am very concerned about legislation that has been introduced by Congressman Dave Camp to push federal employees out of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and into the insurance exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act.”
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In other ObamaCare news, another company opens it’s doors to the navigators (ACORN) and ObamaCare. Personally just further confirmation to us that we were lucky our plan dumped CVS Caremark.
From Politico “CVS Caremark is joining the effort to encourage Americans to sign up for Obamacare insurance programs, company executives announced Thursday.
CVS officials told POLITICO that they’re planning to use pharmacies at their 7,400 North American stores as a gateway for the uninsured to learn about new coverage options — especially subsidized insurance coverage available to low-income people on state-based insurance exchanges.”
“Foulkes said CVS pharmacies would invite trained “navigators” into their stores to help eligible people sign up for exchanges.”
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And ACORN getting ahold of every American’s personal info isn’t the only worry. Others may too.
From RedAlertPolitics “As the Obama administration frantically tries to enlist the help of organizations to promote the Affordable Care Act, Planned Parenthood could be one of several groups with access to citizens’ sensitive information in the Federal Data Hub.
According to The Illinois Typepad Review, if the organization is granted funding through the Department of Health and Human Services’ $54 million in navigator grants, the nonprofit will have access to Obamacare’s Federal Data Hub. The database contains citizens’ information collected from the Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, and includes Social Security numbers.”
That’s called cronyism folks. The worst kind. You fund us and help push it, we pay you back with federal dollars for pushing it, and for performing abortions.
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And in an ironic twist, the ObamaCare California call centers about to go on-line have decided half their employees will be part-time intermittent. That means no health insurance, and like the Census, they’ll pace work assignments so nobody makes enough to collect UC benefits when the assignments are done.
From NationalReview “One branch of that call center will be located in California’s Contra Costa County, where, reportedly, 7,000 people applied for the 204 jobs. According to the Contra Costa Times, however, “about half the jobs are part-time, with no health benefits — a stinging disappointment to workers and local politicians who believed the positions would be full-time.” The county supervisor, Karen Mitchoff, called the hiring process “a comedy of errors” and said she “never dreamed [the jobs] would be part-time.”
But hey, don’t worry, at least they’ll get a bigger subsidy to buy insurance they still won’t be able to afford. That’s something right? And since they won’t make much, they can probably get food stamps too. You just have to look at the bright side with this stuff. 🙄
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Everything the man says comes with an expiration date. The promise of Change has officially past it’s sell by date.
From TheHuffingtonPost “Amid the Obama administration’s crackdown against whistleblowers, Change.gov, the 2008 website of the Obama transition team laying out the candidate’s promises, has disappeared from the internet.
The Sunlight Foundation notes that it last could be viewed on June 8, which was two days after the first revelations from Edward Snowden (who had then not yet revealed himself) about the NSA’s phone surveillance program. One of the promises Obama made on the website was on “whistleblower protections:””
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Next we have attack cats preying on the French. 😯
From TheTelegraph/UK “About six cats pounced on the unnamed dog owner as she walked her poodle in the city of Belfort, in the popular Franche-Comte region, on the Swiss border, dragging her to the ground and mauling her.
Wandering Views 
Headline in today’s Times-News:
US: Snowden won;’t receive death penalty
I know that will have him on the next plane home.
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Yup, it doesn’t sound too encouraging to me either.
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I’ve heard the theory that B29 was most likely bullied AFTER the trial.
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Is it just me or has there been a recent acceleration in the sea change that’s been going on in our country over the past 20-30-40-50 years? I keep feeling that something fundamentally has shifted (and won’t ever shift back) — and that the change (cultural, political) has been especially rapid in the past few years.
Maybe my perspective is changing as I get older. Or maybe it’s the current administration & the huge tangle of new messes it’s brought about that has me in such a funk about America and its future.
Really, what WERE we thinking? 😦
That final jarring scene from the original 1968 Planet of the Apes film comes to mind — where a broken and fallen Statue of Liberty is seen lying on a deserted beach.
But the cause of our downfall won’t be so much from our weapons of mass destruction (which is hinted at in the movie). Rather, it’s all pretty much been an inside job, as the core of our character as a people has steadily been eroded.
Then again, maybe I’ve been listening to Dennis Prager on the radio too much.
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Donna, I’ve been feeling that too. For most of my life I’ve been optimistic that things going the wrong way could turn around, but the last few years I’m not very optimistic. What was almost unthinkable 20 years ago is almost normal now. It seems like the operation of the Overton Window that Chas has often mentioned.
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Donna and Anonymous, Think Chile, Poland, the Cook Islands, Singapore or Palau. Alternatively, if you want to try to ride out the storm I suggest Oklahoma or one of the five cities in West Texas.
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That Anonymous comment was me.
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Why those five countries?
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Kevin, yes, it’s as if something at our core has now changed. Texas is way too hot for me.
I would like to go live in a castle in Scotland, I think. 😉
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Oh but wait.
Can you get wifi in a castle?
Could I install a doggie door easily?
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Donna, if you get your castle could you use a Lady-in-Waiting, a 10-year-old squire and a guy who could get Wifi in your castle.
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😀
We can wear tiaras.
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And throw handkerchiefs at the Knights.
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Kevin, In my countries, cities or states of refuge, I like: Free enterprise, a healthy church, and minimal perversion.
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Ricky, the Overton Window works there too. Culturally and morally, the southern part of the US is still the best place to be.
They still play humns on the commercial radio stations here.
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Chas, I respect what you say. In addition, of all parts of the South there are certain aspects of Oklahoma and West Texas that repel those who would damage our culture and our morals.
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They’ll just see it as a challenge to be brought into line, ricky.
But what we’re seeing really does go to the root of our vastly changed cultural attitudes — we can complain about our leaders, they are horrible, granted. But sadly they’re probably just a reflection of what we’ve become as a nation.
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Donna, that is only partly true. I think, mostly not true.
The abortion issue was imposed by the supreme court by people who have an agenda. If it were left up to the public, it wouldn’t be as rampant.
The same sex marriage issue is not one the culture originated. It was initiated by a group with an agenda. Governments are imposing it.
Most people in America are not in favor of legalizing narcotics.
Most people in America are not in favor of providing free birth control to college students.
I could go on. Global warming, oil production & pipelines, ethanol, etc.
I think the culprit is what Rush calls “uninformed voters”. i.e. voters who get their news from ABC News on the Hour.
Or from late night comedy shows.
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Chas, There are differences in the worldviews of people in different parts of the country. Everything you said would be 100% accurate if you were talking about the people of Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi, etc. However, a majority of the people of Vermont, Oregon, etc. favor many of those liberal ideas. Donna is right that our leaders reflect our values, but conservative Southerners can no longer elect national leaders who share their values. Last November we didn’t even have a candidate who shared our values.
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The majority of state governors are Republican. Maybe we have to begin to fight the fight on the state level.
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I’d argue that growing acceptance of same-sex marriage, in just one example, has driven the legal course (not to mention the many politicians who are now streaming into the cause).
It’s “safe” for lawmakers now to be in favor of gay marriage because attitudes have shifted on the issue. A substantial majority of young voters — across the board — strongly favor same-sex marriage. And they’re the ones who are/will be running the country shortly.
I think long-term people may be able to look back historically and see the lack of wisdom in that movement. But that won’t be the case anytime soon.
And many young libertarians — who are a new force within the GOP — do, in fact, favor abandoning the so-called ‘war against drugs.’
I just think we’re seeing the first fruits of what has been a growing sea change in cultural norms — again, focused on younger generations, people under 30 or 40 years old, highly secularized who have been raised with much broader ideas of what is “acceptable” — that is now forming new kind of America.
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Not surprised by the juror interview. When the verdict was announced, one juror was said to be the obstacle and the reason for the delay. I only saw excerpts from the video. One of the anchors definitely was pushing for the bullying angle but even in the small excerpts it was evident that the juror stated there was no bullying. She simply felt that Florida law didn’t allow for a conviction even though she viewed it as murder and this was evident from the excerpt I saw …. thus no media conspiracy here.
The use of contractors and deliberately limiting their contract is standard operating procedure these days. Both the private and public sector do it …. after all, they all went to the same management schools and had the same training. Obviously this is a disconnect from the administration but it should come as no surprise.
The IRS workers move should also come as no surprise. In one of the countless attempts of the House Republicans to repeal Obamacare, a House Democrat proposed an amendment repealing Congressional medical plans, it of course was defeated. Health care for your representatives none for you.
As you note, contractors are involved in the implementation of the ACA. Again this is nothing new, contractors have been involved in government for years and have had access to many of the nation’s top secrets. Technically, Snowden was a contractor. Apparently the administration likes to hire community organizers. The last administration preferred to hire his VPs own company.
The use of contractors has been breaching gov’t data for over a decade and part of a general stench of corruption and cronyism. And now the right wing pundits are shocked…. a little late for the show.
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http://hotair.com/archives/2013/07/27/pot-its-the-new-beer/
“Fans attending a major NASCAR race this weekend will see a most unlikely video posted on a giant video screen shortly before entering the track: a pro-marijuana legalization ad.”
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The general shift in cultural values some of you have noted is not new but the US has been a little late to the party. In general, the change in cultural values reflects the growth of urban communities and the decline of rural communities. The US is the last western country to become more urban than rural. In part, this is because of its size, resource based economies and its subsidies to rural areas. Subsidies include agricultural and a transportation policy which favors highways over public transit not too mention policies which favored new suburban growth over urban renewal. Other factors including race and regionalism are also in play in the US.
One of the countries mentioned by Ricky does have a large rural base — Poland. Ironically for a communist state, Poland maintained a large small landholding base well after it disappeared in the West. But what communism didn’t merge, capitalism will and the small self sufficient peasantry of Poland is disappearing. The EU agricultural policies won’t help because a condition of admission to the EU was a minimum size farm which could apply for subsidies. Thus consolidation is occurring in the rural area and urban growth in Poland begins and with that a change in values — less religion, more tolerance, greater individualism, etc.
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I think it highly unlikely but apparently religion is going to disappear by 2041
http://guardianlv.com/2013/07/religion-to-disappear-by-2041-claims-new-study/
Meanwhile the Swedes are so good at recycling and using garbage as a source of fuel, they need to import garbage.
http://www.pachamama.org/blog/models-of-sustainability-sweden-runs-out-of-garbage
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God always has His remnant, hwesseli. On that point we’re not worried no matter how grim things may look for a season.
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I guess I’m bothered by the lack of discernment. Not far from where I live, the “medical” marijuana lifestyle has been going on for 12 years. The place is a disaster. The kids are looking at dead end lives and nothing good has come of the –inevitable–scofflaw marijuana use.
And then Colorado, where voters apparently did not do their homework, adopts legalization that is even more liberal than what we’ve seen in Mendocino County.
Tell me, truthfully, do you want your children driving on narrow winding country roads filled with drivers who have just smoked pot? What responsible person thinks that’s a good idea?
And the corruption . . . tragic.
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HRW, The five cities of West Texas (Lubbock, Amariilo, Abilene, San Angelo and Midland) are as politically, morally and culturally conservative as the West Texas rural areas. The same could probably be said of Oklahoma City and Tulsa. I think the reason is that you don’t have many outsiders moving into West Texas or Oklahoma.
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And Europe is something to emulate? Really? 🙄
OK, I finally saw “Brave” tonight and despite the film’s paganism it further convinced me I was meant to live in a Scottish castle. 🙂
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Donna?
Scottish castles did not have:
Central heat,
microwaves,
flush toilets,
elevators,
nor any of the other things that make your life pleasant.
The most wealthy castle owner didn’t have the comforts you have.
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But you see Chas, I have already arranged for Sir Hubby of the Order of the Geeky Engineers to figure out how tot get all that installed.
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There. See? 😀 It’ll all be grand.
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Marijuana use does not correlate well to its legal status. As many know, marijuana use is permitted in Amsterdam yet the percentage of Dutch who use marijuana is among the lowest in the western world. Furthermore, the availability of marijuana does not correlate to its legal status. Obtaining marijuana is far easier for a 15 year old than obtaining alcohol or tobacco both of which are strictly regulated and controlled (in Ontario tobacco use is 18 and alcohol is 19 years of age).
I’d be constantly bumping my head in a castle and I’m “only” 6′. It would need more than the prowess of a geeky engineer to fix that. If not for the height I could forgo some of the other modern comforts just to live in a castle.
Ricky — in my world an urban area is far more than a medium sized city. I’m thinking of urban conglomerates as shown in this mp. Correlate these areas to voting patterns and social attitudes and you should find that the “Texas Triangle” is the only conservative area and even in this area three counties did vote for Obama.
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Interesting comparison between the cost of the royal birth and the cost of giving birth in the US
the ABC clip
http://aattp.org/watch-abcs-full-interview-of-juror-b29-hes-guilty-because-the-evidence-shows-hes-guilty-video/
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Juror B29, you had your chance. It would be more interesting if she were to point to specific aspects of a law or laws on the Florida books, then detail how Zimmerman violated any of those laws, and failed to offer a reasonable defense.
Here’s a different take on B29:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/07/juror-b29-and-zimmerman-revisionism.php
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Good link above from the attys over at powerline, solar.
From their post:
“It is a typical case of juror remorse. It will, of course, be woven into the revisionist Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman narrative. As usual, liberals will not accept defeat in their persecution of Zimmerman, but will continue to insist on an alternate reality, divorced from the evidence that was presented in the courtroom, until their fiction becomes the new truth. We are seeing this effort on a daily basis. Whether it can ultimately succeed, only time will tell.”
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This is the kind of thing that’s happening now that I find to be especially chilling:
http://theaquilareport.com/military-censors-christian-chaplain-atheists-call-for-punishment/
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Juror B29 is academic, anyway. The verdict has been rendered; there’s no going back. But also academic because, as far as I know, the public has all the information she did, and we’re entirely able to determine for ourselves what the verdict should have been. She hasn’t brought anything new to shine a different light on Z.
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