What’s interesting in the news today?
I’ve got a bunch today, so I’ll be brief. Or not. 🙂
First up, an interesting read on the spitefulness from the White House and the similarities to other spiteful leaders in history.
From TheSultanKnishBlog “The Berlin Blockade was a siege in all but name. Beyond the sheer fact of food and coal being cut off to a city of millions were a thousand minor humiliations by Soviet officials designed to break the will of their enemies to resist. That was their mistake. And it’s a mistake that the left often makes.
The barricades around the Lincoln Memorial and the WW2 Memorial, the traffic cones blocking the view of Mt. Rushmore and the sawhorses around Old Faithful are no Berlin Blockade, but they come out of the same meanness of spirit and the same motives.
The petty harassment extended to a 24-hour blockade of an inn that had tried to stay open and rangers arriving to block Old Faithful every time it erupted. There are few moments that sum up the meanness of spirit of the Obama Blockade as well as a park ranger angrily telling senior citizens to get back on the bus and stop taking photos because they are engaging in forbidden “recreating”.
The Obama Blockade has no valid justification. Like the Berlin Blockade, it is about power and control.”
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Next, good, let’s see more.
From TheWashingtonTimes “Taking their lead from the veterans who first pushed through the barricades to visit the World War II Memorial, Americans nationwide are defying the federal government shutdown, tossing aside traffic cones and toppling wooden fences to get to national parks and other federal lands that the administration has deemed out of bounds.
As the shutdown hits the middle of its second week, civil disobedience has become a sensation. Some proudly post online photos of themselves overcoming the government’s obstacles, and others use more subtle ways to make their point.”
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And here’s more.
From TheWaPo “Organizers of the “Truckers Ride for the Constitution” rally say they are indeed coming to Washington on Friday — but whether they will shut down the Beltway or just make a lot of noise remains to be seen.”
“Zeeda Andrews, one of the organizers of the event, said the ride is a go, but emphasized that it will be peaceful. She said that Georgia trucker Earl Conlon “overstepped his boundaries” earlier this week in saying the event was just a ploy to get attention for the group’s agenda.
“Yes, it is happening,” she said about the rally. Andrews said she expects “a few thousand truckers” to descend on the District on Friday.”
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Veterans are sick of the poor treatment and are planning a protest as well.
From VetMarch “In a mean-spirited fit of selfish anger, Barack Obama has shut down our nation’s war memorials. And he has declared open war on our honored veterans!
The World War II memorial … the Vietnam Veterans Memorial … the Korean War Veterans Memorial – Obama has shut them all down to force his will on the House of Representatives and frankly, to get revenge on the American people who oppose Obamacare and his other naked power grabs.
Let’s put it plainly: Barack Obama is behaving like a vicious tyrant. And if he succeeds in this assault on the democratic system, the Republic we love is at mortal risk. It’s just that simple.
That’s why I am asking you now to take two decisive moves to show Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi – and all of their oppressive ilk in Washington – that “We the People” are still in charge. And we won’t rest until we take back our memorials and monuments!”
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Some folks are picking up the slack. 🙂
From USAToday “Most everybody complains about the government shutdown, but Chris Cox is actually doing something about it.
With many government operations shuttered by the political standoff in Washington, Cox took a lawn mower to the National Mall this week and began cutting grass areas between the Lincoln and World War II memorials.
“These are our memorials. Do they think that we’re just going to let them go to hell?” Cox told Washington radio station 99.1 in a story recounted by Columbia, S.C., TV station WIS.”
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Maybe de-funding ObamaCare won’t be necessary. It could just collapse on its own.
From TheDailyMail “Obamacare’s main sign up engine attracted just 6,200 new customers on its launch day and 51,000 after the first week
At the same rate, the 6-month open enrollment period would sign up just 2 million Americans, including 14 states and D.C., which have their own insurance exchanges
The Congressional Budget Office says Obamacare needs at least 7 million customers to stay afloat financially .
Numerous Obama administration officials have denied seeing any enrollment figures at all
MailOnline’s sources are two Health and Human Services workers who have access to the data as it’s crunched
So the White House lied yesterday when asked if the numbers were available. Not surprising.
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And it’s look like 800,000 NJ residents just found how it will impact them.
From NJ.Com “Hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans opened the mail last week to find their health insurance plan would no longer exist in 2014 because it does not cover all the essential benefits required by the Affordable Care Act.
The news surprised some who were unaware that provisions in the new law known as “Obamacare” were forcing insurance companies to scrap some plans they had previously offered.
“The Affordable Care Act is driving many changes to products and pricing,” said Thomas Vincz, a spokesman for Horizon. “Horizon BCBSNJ is actively working to help our members find new insurance plans that meet their needs and budget.”
Sorry folks. But elections have consequences’.
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Wandering Views 
I would favor transferring the national parks to the states in which they reside. Utah would get a gold mine, but I believe we could trust its people to be good stewards.
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Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined all that is happening with this shutdown. It is quite literally unbelieveable.
Where is the spirit of kindness and concern and the stories about park rangers, people I would normally trust……
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I said I wouldn’t say anymore on the open thread. However, you started it again:
In a letter to the editor in the Times-News a lady says she sat by a man at a dinner who manages the Great Smokey Mountains visitor’s center. According to him, the Visitor’s Center grossed $7 million last year and gave $1.2 million to the park. It is not a government facility, but an asset for the park. It is closed.
She concludes, “These are the same cynical evil (or maybe stupid) jerks who are trying to take over our health care. Doesn’t that make you nervous?”
It does, but that’s not the real reason I’m nervous. They are not stupid, it’s part of the Saul D. Alinsky plan.
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http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/10/10/USPS-lets-move-stamps
Here’s some more government stupidity. Maybe they could print and sell disclaimer stamps to go with them.
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KBells, I saw that on FoxNews last night.
Dumb. Just sell the stamps. Nobody looks at them anyhow.
😆
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Everyone will look at them now. They’ve drawn a attention them. 🙂
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Chas,
Don’t forget his mentor too, Frank Marshall Davis.
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I just don’t understand denying entrance to those citizens who have given so much for their country, but allowing entrance to those non-citizens who have illegally taken what is not theirs.
Speaks volumes about this administration.
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Lot’s of Alabamians were posting on FB last night about how much their insurance was going up. I have said it before and will say it again, Obama is a petty little man.
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Our insurance has already gone up $300 a month. I hope it doesn’t go any higher.
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I’ve felt a bit convicted about this after posting a bunch of stuff about the shutdown on Facebook. But I do refrain from posting anything that is outright offensive or sarcastic.
“Politics, Social Media, and More Important Things
All those political rants may be hindering your Christian witness.”
http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2013/october/politics-social-media-and-more-important-things.html?utm_source=ctdirect-html&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=9474712&utm_content=215393339&utm_campaign=2013
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Some of the closures and barriers strike me as liability protection, however some of other reports from blog strike me as fanciful. If the government is shut down, wouldn’t the gate be closed at the entrance to national parks thus rendering sawhorses at old faithful unnecessary. There seems to be some hyperbole in the right wing echo chamber.
I do like AJ’s comment perhaps defunding Obamacare isn’t necessary, it might just collapse. If the Republicans are correct, the ACA will turn into failure. Allowing the ACA to go forward only to collapse would be politically beneficial for the Republicans so why not let it go .. . unless they are afraid it will succeed. After all, the current shutdown is just money down the drain anyway.
Of course, it might be that the ACA is not failing and will succeed. According to the Daily Mail (AJ’s link) only 51,000 signed up nationwide for the first week but according to NYT over 16,000 signed up in the first five days in California alone (covering 29,000) with an additional 27,000 people starting their applications. At this rate California could possibly reach a million persons covered. Given California represents only 15% of the uninsured, seven million is easily within reach. Now we could argue sources but the conservative DailyMail is a UK paper quoting anonymous sources whereas the so-called liberal NYT quotes a named source from a California gov’t agency.
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HRW,
They signed up…… for an account. Big deal. Anyone can go on and set up an account, if they’re lucky. They did not get insurance. That number is miniscule. My guess is the first sign ups will be folks with pre-existing conditions and folks who will get it free. So far there doesn’t seem to be much interest from actual paying customers.
Let’s look at some other states. How about Delaware? 18,000 hits, ZERO sign ups.
How about Miami Fla.? In the first week, 260 signups, ONE successfully enrolled.
Web hits and signing up for an account isn’t what’s needed, actual humans with actual policies are. That’s not happening much at all. But the cheerleaders at the NYTimes won’t tell you that.
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Well if that’s true then the Republicans should be confident that the ACA will fail and there’s no need to attach defunding Obamacare to the latest spending bill. Right now they are wasting millions with this standoff whereas if they let the law take its course, it will fail anyway and to their political advantage. Given their actions however, I don’t think this is the scenario the Republicans predict.
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