What’s interesting in the news today?
First up today, an ObamaCare update.
From SavannahNow “Georgia may not start its Obamacare health exchange Oct. 1 when the rest of the country does because the state issued an emergency request late Monday for a delay.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens asked U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for another 30 days beyond tomorrow’s deadline to approve the health plans submitted by seven insurance companies wanting to do business in the state.
He said some rates were 198 percent higher than current plans available in the state.”
Ouch.
Meanwhile, the IRS chief says no thanks to ObamaCare.
From TheWeeklyStandard “”Mr. Werfel, last week your employees who are a member of the National Treasury Employee’s Union sent a form letter for union members to send in to ask they be exempt from the exchanges,” a congressman asked. “Why are your employees trying to exempt themselves from the very law that you’re tasked to enforce?”
“I don’t want to speak for the NTEU, but I’ll offer a perspective as a federal employee myself and a federal employee at the IRS,” said the IRS chief. “And that is, we have right now as employees of the government, of the IRS, affordable health care coverage. I think the ACA was designed to provide an option or an alternative for individuals that do not. And all else being equal, I think if you’re an individual who is satisfied with your health care coverage, you’re probably in a better position to stick with that coverage than go through the change of moving into a different environment and going through that process. So I think for a federal employee, I think more likely, and I would — can speak for myself, I would prefer to stay with the current policy that I’m pleased with rather than go through a change if I don’t need to go through that change.””
So would a lot of folks, but if they can’t, why should you be allowed too? Finding out the President lied stinks huh?
Next up, an update on the Obama admin and schools getting together in their propaganda efforts. They insist there’s no concerted efforts to do so, yet some schools seem more than happy to do their part. Let me guess….. “It’s for the kids!…..” right? 🙄
From Politico “Supporters of the health law see back-to-school season as a natural time for Obamacare outreach, a chance to find young families who could benefit from new health coverage options. But weeks before the school bells start ringing in parts of the country, there’s no concerted effort to reach parents at the schoolhouse door. It’s yet another sign of how the undying controversy could overshadow attempts to get people enrolled.”
“And the big sign-up campaign from Enroll America, an organization of Obamacare allies and health law stakeholders, hasn’t focused on schools, at least not as of now.
States or school districts can act on their own; Los Angeles, for instance, is training some high school juniors and seniors how to be Obamacare messengers to their families and communities. But the lack of a national strategy is just one more sign of how hard it is for the administration and its allies to focus on health benefits, not health politics, as Obamacare enrollment nears. And the Republicans have made it clear that they don’t want the schools to go anywhere near the controversial health law.
“What authority does the Department of Education have to disseminate information and assist with the implementation of the president’s health care law?” Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), a former Education secretary, and other GOP senators wrote Duncan in July. “How do the Department of Education’s activities further the education of our nation’s students?””
OOOOO, OOOOO, I know! I know this one!…. They don’t. 🙄
But even if all the schools don’t help out, we still have 21 govt. agencies doing their part in the propaganda efforts. It’s becoming painfully obvious why they recently rescinded anti-propaganda law and regulations huh? Yeah……
From TheWashingtonExaminer “Thirty-nine Republican senators want to know who the 21 federal agencies helping to implement Obamacare are and what those agencies are doing to promote the program.
A leaked April 2013 slideshow from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said 21 federal agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture and Education, are working on an educational program to implement Obamacare.
That reference prompted the senators’ curiosity.
“At a time federal agency budgets have been tightened by the sequester and the White House has warned of cuts to basic programs, I would like to know how 21 agencies, such as those overseeing agriculture and education, would have the taxpayer dollars to implement and promote the new health care law — an activity outside of their missions and an expense not authorized by Congress,” Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said.”
Yeah…..
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Next we have a “Phony Scandal” update. I posted a story months ago about the embassy in Benghazi being a CIA arms shipment operation to arm Syrian rebels. This will feed that idea, that’s for sure.
From CNN “Sources now tell CNN dozens of people working for the CIA were on the ground that night, and that the agency is going to great lengths to make sure whatever it was doing, remains a secret.
CNN has learned the CIA is involved in what one source calls an unprecedented attempt to keep the spy agency’s Benghazi secrets from ever leaking out.”
“Speculation on Capitol Hill has included the possibility the U.S. agencies operating in Benghazi were secretly helping to move surface-to-air missiles out of Libya, through Turkey, and into the hands of Syrian rebels.”
Hmmmmmmmmmm………………….
Oh, and US Embassies and consulates throughout the muslim world will close Sunday due to threats. Nice.
From TheAP “The United States is shuttering its embassies and consulates throughout the Muslim world on Sunday after receiving an unspecified threat, officials said.”
“Spokeswoman Marie Harf cited information indicating a threat to U.S. facilities overseas and said some diplomatic offices may stay closed for more than a day.”
And in other terrorism work-place violence news……
From FoxNews “On the eve of his military trial, accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan released seven pages of handwritten and typed documents to Fox News in which he appears to renounce his U.S. citizenship, abandons his military oath as a commissioned officer, and explains his relationship with radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki — the first American targeted for death by the CIA.
Most of the documents also include the acronym “SoA,” which is considered shorthand for “Soldier of Allah.” Hasan’s business card, also bearing “SoA,” was found in his Texas apartment after the shooting.”
“”The government has tried to deny that this was an act of terrorism. I think that, I hope that if people hear the words from Hasan’s own mouth that they will understand that this was an act of terrorism,” Staff Sgt. Shawn Manning, who was shot six times at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009, told Fox News.”
“In the only document bearing a date — Oct. 18, 2012 — Hasan writes: “I, Nidal Malik Hasan, am compelled to renounce any oaths of allegiances that require me to support/defend (any – sic) man made constitution (like the constitution of the United States) over the commandments mandated in Islam … I therefore formally renounce my oath of office … this includes my oath of U.S. citizenship.”
It’s time the Obama admin gives up on this charade and grants these soldiers and their families what they are rightfully due. This was terrorism. Stop lying and admit it.
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Next we have some union stories, irony, and bad behavior.
From TheFreeBeacon “A judge ordered one of Chicago’s most politically powerful labor unions to suspend picketing against 16 funeral homes last week after receiving reports that striking Teamsters had, among other things, disturbed a child’s funeral.
SCI Illinois Services, Inc., one of the nation’s largest funeral home chains, asked a district court to intervene after striking funeral directors and drivers with Teamsters Local 727 allegedly harassed grieving families.
“We are grateful that the court agreed to issue this temporary restraining order, and we are hopeful that it will help protect grieving families who are experiencing the most difficult times of their lives,” Larry Michael, managing director for SCI Illinois Services, Inc., said in a release. “While we recognize and respect the Teamsters’ right to lawfully picket, we have been shocked and saddened by their attempts to make grieving families the target of the cruel and outrageous attacks.”
You won’t get much sympathy to your cause acting like jerks at children’s funerals. Seriously un-cool.
Next, the irony… Considering the way the ACLU uses the threat of litigation and lawsuits to stifle those they disagree with, it’s ironic that they would whine about extortion tactics when someone uses the press against them for a change.
From TheWashingtonExaminer “Did you know that the clerical and other support staff for the American Civil Liberties Union is, well, unionized? Well, they are and that is causing ACLU executive director Anthony Romero some serious heartburn.
Romero told the Village Voice in a July 25 interview that the workers’ union, United Auto Workers Local 2110, was engaging in a “subtle form of extortion” by criticizing the ACLU to the press.
“[The union] is using the press to embarrass us and back us into a corner to make concessions that are not in keeping with the market and not in keeping with other employers,” Romero said. He was responding to a Village Voice piece the previous day titled: “The ACLU Is Going After Its Own Union Workers’ Contracts.””
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And in another waste of taxpayer money…. and govt. employees acting stupidly…… Someone illegally possessing a baby dear? Send the SWAT team in to kill Bambi. Sorry. It’s the law.
From WISN.com “WISN 12 News investigates an operation raising questions about the use of government resources and the state policy that meant a death sentence for a fawn.”
“Two weeks ago, Schulze was working in the barn at the Society of St. Francis on the Kenosha-Illinois border when a swarm of squad cars arrived and officers unloaded with a search warrant.
“(There were) nine DNR agents and four deputy sheriffs, and they were all armed to the teeth,” Schulze said.”
“The focus of their search was a baby fawn brought there by an Illinois family worried she had been abandoned by her mother.”
Stand back folks! That’s weapons-grade stupid right there. Dangerous stuff. 🙄
That one got me thinking of another story I read, so I went and found it. Related? You decide.
From TheAP “Small-town police departments across the country have been gobbling up tons of equipment discarded by a downsizing military — bicycles, bed sheets, bowling pins, French horns, dog collars, even a colonoscopy machine — regardless of whether the items are needed or will ever be used.
In the tiny farming community of Morven, Ga., the police chief has grabbed three boats, scuba gear, rescue rafts and a couple of dozen life preservers. The town’s deepest body of water: an ankle-deep creek.”
“An Associated Press investigation of the Defense Department program, originally aimed at helping local law enforcement fight terrorism and drug trafficking, found that a disproportionate share of the $4.2 billion worth of property distributed since 1990 has been obtained by police departments and sheriff’s offices in rural areas with few officers and little crime.”
“Sometimes he doesn’t get exactly what he’s requested, like the time he asked for a handheld laser range finder for a gun and instead got a $28,000 range finder from the nose of an A-10 Warthog tank-busting jet aircraft.”
Like I said, weapons-grade…
I really need a face-palm smiley. Talk about waste, fraud, and abuse…..
Wandering Views 
Walid Shoebat, a former Muslim Brotherhood member and Palestinian terrorist has unearthed definitive proof that Mohammed Morsi, the ousted president of Egypt had a direct hand in the attack on the consulate in Benghazi. Here is the link:
http://shoebat.com/2013/07/03/ironclad-egypt-behind-benghazi-attacks/
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I have a question maybe someone here can answer. When someone says that a state gets so much federal money for every dollar they send in. Do they mean money sent right to the state government for road, schools, disaster relief and such or are they talking about money sent to individuals who live in the state, such as welfare, Social security etc.?.
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kbells — its the total income and spending both ways. Revenue is gross collections ofl federal tax revenue collected by the IRS from each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. It includes all individual and corporate income taxes, estate taxes, gift taxes, and excise taxes. It does not include federal tax revenue data from U.S. Armed Forces personnel stationed overseas, U.S. territories other than Puerto Rico, and U.S. citizens and legal residents living abroad. Spending includes all federal outlays consisting of retirement, disability, and other direct payments; grants; procurement; and salaries and wages. Spending does not include interest on the debt and other spending not allocated by state. Thus defense spending, agricultural subsidies etc are all included along with accompanying labor cost.
In the past few years, democratic voters have used this to point out that blue states support red states. Wikipedia list in total numbers which states put more than they take out and vice versa. Of the 19 positive states only 5 voted for Romney (Nebraska, Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina, Georgia) and Nebraska is the highest in 7th place — Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Illinois are all before Nebraska. Most negative states have a small population thats mostly rural. Some in this group can be explained and justified …. DC is the capital, Hawaii small population large navy base.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_taxation_and_spending_by_state#Table_of_Federal_Taxation_and_Spending_by_State
The Economist, the British right wing magazine, lists the states in terms of percentage of GDP. This would more accurately reflect a states contribution and its dependence. Using this measure, the US might want to discard the dead weight of Puerto Rico. Nebraska slips to 9th place as the top red state while Texas drops down to 13th. In the bottom 10 we find only 3 blue states (New Mexico, Virginia, Maryland). Of these, two can be explained by their proximity to DC. In fact, the Economist includes DC into Maryland which accounts for its dismal showing. At the bottom we find New Mexico, Mississippi, West Virginia, Montana, Alabama. Not sure but I think Defense spending may account for New Mexico.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/08/americas-fiscal-union
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Its interesting that more Democratic states announced lower premiums while Republican states announced higher premiums. Georgia may find a decline once the open market takes effect. Besides pure propaganda, some of these states may have a greater population relying on bare bones coverage and now being forced to upgrade as opposed to relying on medicare or bankruptcy.
As for federal employees, no surprise. Due to unionization, one can expect better coverage. Its a know fact that unionized workers have higher pay and better benefits. And now they are being force to help the rest of the nation attain the same level of care. Now if only Congress could do the same.
Not surprised to see the Education department involved. Schools routinely help the Public Health department with vaccination programs, eye exams, dental exams, and information sent home to parents. The school system is the one point of contact most people have with the government especially lower income families whose kids could benefit from public health programs.
Its a bit crass but unions normally picket their place of employment during operating hours. Obviously the union needs to come with an alternative in this case. I would think most funeral homes are too small of an operation to be unionized. Most are family owned and run here.
The ACLU and its bargaining unit are follow what is the norm in bargaining. A bit ironic for the ACLU but nothing special.
The militarization of the police and other government agencies continues unabated. When you trade liberty for security you get neither. In all likelihood, its probably standard procedure to carry weapons on all calls just as police carry their sidearm even when on primary school visits.
I suspect the local sheriff is selling his gov’t freebies. Somebody should check Craigs list or ebay.
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HRW, I have since done some of my own reserch. It seems some of the things that put Red states in the negitive cagagory include defense spending (this also accounts for Alabama), support for the large national parks that make up huge sections of western states that the federal goverment owns and medicaid and medicare. Rural areas will have older populations. If you adjust for all that it is all over the board.
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