What’s interesting in the news today?
UPDATE
BREAKING: Egyptian TV Says Morsi Under House Arrest – Update: Travel Ban Placed On Muslim Brotherhood Leaders – Update: Top Morsi Aide: “Call This By Its Real Name – A Military Coup”…
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First, an update on the continuing backlog of veterans claims. I would say this is ridiculous, but of course it is, this is our govt at work.
From FoxNews
“A new study released ahead of the Fourth of July holiday sheds more light on the tangle of paperwork facing America’s veterans — showing they’re up against as many as 613 forms across 18 agencies as they seek services.
The study by the American Action Forum also found the paperwork — in part the result of roughly 31 million Veterans Affairs claims alone each year — takes federal employees roughly 43.3 million hours to process.
“Navigating 18 agencies and more than 600 forms has produced absurd results and unnecessary delays,” the self-described “center-right” leaning nonprofit said.”
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And don’t think for a minute that ObamaCare will be any more efficient. The problems are already beginning in fact. So of course Democrats are trying to hide it, because they own it.
From WaPo
“I don’t know if Members of Congress will be hearing about it in town hall gatherings and other meetings back home over the Fourth of July recess, but the rolling thunder of the approaching ObamaCare train can be heard in the distance. Smart Democrats are beginning to get frantic about the need to suppress the confusion and hide the cost of ObamaCare between now and the 2014 midterm elections. We are just three months away from the October 1st enrollment start date and so far, nothing about the ObamaCare implementation process should be politically encouraging for Democrats. In fact, the more people learn about ObamaCare, the more frightened they become.
Right now, small businesses across America are making the final determinations on how to reduce the working hours of their employees so fewer employees qualify for the mandated, employer-provided health insurance. Employers are also deciding whether it makes more economic sense to pay a fine to the government or pay for healthcare benefits for their employees. What this means is that hundreds of thousands – and perhaps even millions – of Americans will learn that they are being dismissed from their employer’s healthcare coverage.
The healthcare pink slips will start raining down in late summer and early fall. This will push people into the healthcare exchanges, where, in some cases, people will be writing health insurance checks for the first time. And in many cases, people will be facing increased health insurance costs, particularly if they are young and healthy. The negative effects on personal income and the overall economy will be undeniable. Sometime next year, before the elections, the penalties associated with not having or providing health insurance will begin to pour in. Will the fines come in the mail? Will you be able to appeal? What happens if someone doesn’t pay? No one knows. Or, no one who knows is talking. The consequences of ObamaCare are being hidden.”
They’re so frightened by it that they’ll now delay the employers mandate until after the 2014 mid-terms. Can’t have people finding out how bad it will be before the elections. Cowards.
From Bloomberg
“Businesses won’t be penalized next year if they fail to provide workers health insurance after the Obama administration decided to delay a key requirement under its signature 2010 health-care law.
The government will postpone enforcement of the so-called employer mandate until 2015, the administration said today. Under the provision, companies with 50 or more workers face a fine of as much as $3,000 per employee if they don’t offer affordable insurance.
The move addresses complaints from employer groups to President Barack Obama’s administration about the burden of the law’s reporting requirements. The decision pushes the issue past the 2014 midterm congressional elections, as Republicans have sought to make the health law a symbol of government overreach.”
More here from TheDailyMail
“But the Treasury source said the extra year will give the White House an extra year to persuade health insurers to participate in the exchanges that make up the backbone of the Affordable Care Act.
The revised timetable, the source added, will also push back the final implementation of Obamacare’s penalties past the 2014 midterm elections, providing Republicans fewer chances to highlight the law’s potentially harmful effects on businesses’ bottom lines.”
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Next up, another “Green Scam” is exposed.
From UPI.com
“Electric cars, despite their supposed green credentials, are among the environmentally dirtiest transportation options, a U.S. researcher suggests.
Writing in the journal IEEE Spectrum, researcher Ozzie Zehner says electric cars lead to hidden environmental and health damages and are likely more harmful than gasoline cars and other transportation options.”
Shocked? 😯
No. 🙄
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Things are escalating in Egypt.
From Reuters
“Egypt’s high command said on Wednesday the army was ready to die to defend Egypt’s people against terrorists and fools, in a response to Islamist President Mohamed Mursi that was headlined “The Final Hours”.”
This piece is more specific on what the military leaders have in mind.
Also from Reuters/EI
“Egypt’s armed forces would suspend the constitution and dissolve an Islamist-dominated parliament under a draft political roadmap to be pursued if Islamist President Mohamed Morsy and the liberal opposition fail to agree by Wednesday, military sources said.
The sources told Reuters the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) was still discussing details and the plan, intended to resolve a political crisis that has brought millions of protesters into the streets, could be changed based on political developments and consultations.”
Islamists are rallying to Morsi.
From Reuters/EI
“Islamist demonstrators in Rabea al-Adaweya Square have increased on Tuesday in support of the legitimacy of President Mohamed Morsy, as several marches arrived to the square from various parts of Cairo and other governorates.”
Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamists are warning the Christian population to stay out of it or face the consequences for joining in the demonstrations.
From RaymondIbrahim
“Hours before the June 30 protests against Egyptian president Muhammad Morsi and his party, the Muslim Brotherhood, began, the nation’s Christians were, once again, singled out for behaving like citizens who have the right to participate in the protests.
In Minya, Upper Egypt, where millions of Christians live, letters addressed to the Copts threatened them not to join the protests, otherwise their “businesses, cars, homes, schools, and churches” might “catch fire.” The message concluded by saying “If you are not worried about any of these, then worry about your children and your homes. This message is being delivered with tact. But when the moment of truth comes, there will be no tact.” It’s signed by “People zealous for the nation.”
Such threats are hardly limited to anonymous letters. During a recent TV interview, Sheikh Essam Abdulamek, a member of parliament’s Shura Council, warned Egypt’s Christians against participating in the June 30 protests, threatening them by saying “Do not sacrifice your children” since “general Muslim opinion will not be silent about the ousting of the president [Morsi].”
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In other news, the FBI has yet to contact the victims of the IRS scandal, despite claims that they are “investigating” it.
From CNSNews
“More than a month and a half after it was announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would launch an investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) targeting of conservative groups, the groups and their legal representatives are still waiting to hear from the FBI.
Cleta Mitchell, an attorney representing nine tea party groups who were targeted by the IRS, told CNSNews.com that she has not heard from the FBI regarding the case and questions whether an investigation is actually underway.”
And in other Obama admin scandal news, the National Intelligence Director would like you to know he’s sorry for lying to Congress.
From USNews
“The director of National Intelligence apologized in June to the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee for lying during a hearing, according to a letter published on the DNI website on Tuesday.
Director James Clapper appeared before the committee in March, where Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked him specifically if NSA spies on millions of Americans. Clapper answered, “No.”
Since then, Edward Snowden reportedly leaked government documents that unveiled a secretive government program that did precisely what Wyden suggested in collecting meta data for cell phone and internet records of hundreds of millions of Americans.”
But Roger Clemens was tried for a far less important instance of lying. Why does this guy get a pass?
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This last one is encouraging. The more people know, and technology advances, the more who join the pro-life side. 20 years, and a 20 point swing in America’s opinion.
From TheWeeklyStandard
“Gallup’s most recent polling on the issue, taken this spring, indicates that more Americans actually regard themselves as “pro-life” than “pro-choice.” According to the poll, 48 percent of Americans say they are “pro-life,” while 45 percent say they are “pro-choice.” What’s more, opposition to abortion is rather plainly on the rise, as those numbers were effectively flipped ten years ago — and as, in the mid-1990s, the number of people who considered themselves “pro-choice” outpaced the number who considered themselves “pro-life” by about 20 percentage points.
Another finding from Gallup’s polling, however, is perhaps even more illuminating. Those who work in America’s newsrooms are overwhelmingly in favor of abortion’s legality, and they tend to report the issue as if anyone who opposes abortion is a fringe religious fanatic. (Moreover, they rarely miss an opportunity to subtly editorialize by describing opponents of abortion as being against “abortion rights.”) It’s telling, therefore, that while Gallup’s polling indicates that a plurality of Americans are pro-life, Gallup’s respondents guessed that only about a third of their fellow Americans share those pro-life sentiments.”
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Wandering Views 