by

News/Politics 11-14-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. The fight for control of the GOP continues.

From Politico  “A takeover is not instigated by a small minority of outsiders but, rather, by  a majority of the shareholders. The transition of power turns “hostile” when the  entrenched management regime strikes back, more concerned with preserving its  own power than advancing a vision to produce something of value.

Sound familiar?

There is a hostile takeover happening within the Republican Party. The senior  management of the GOP has failed its key shareholders, abandoning the founding  vision of individual freedom, equal opportunity, fiscal responsibility and  constitutionally limited government. What’s worse, those passing through the  revolving door of rent seekers like things just the way they are.

That’s why reform efforts by the new generation of principled Republican  legislators like Sens. Lee, Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky are met  with vitriol and media attacks designed to isolate and discredit.”

And the media is all too willing to attack the conservatives, and does it’s part by trumpeting another RINO (Christie) who will lose to Hillary, just like the last 2 as well. 🙄

_________________________________________________

2. This one? Well let’s be honest. Who didn’t see this coming? 🙄

From TheDenverPost  “Dillon, who is now a school resource officer with the Mesa County Sheriff’s  Department, said he is seeing more and younger kids bringing marijuana to  schools, in sometimes-surprising quantities.

“When we have middle school kids show up with a half an ounce, that is  shocking to me,” Dillon said.

The same phenomenon is being reported around Colorado after the  2010  regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries  and  the 2012 vote  to legalize  recreational marijuana.”

“”We have seen a sharp rise in drug-related disciplinary actions which,  anecdotally, from credible sources, is being attributed to the changing social  norms surrounding marijuana,” said Janelle Krueger. Krueger is the  program  manager for  Expelled and At-Risk Student Services for the Colorado Department  of Education and also a longtime  adviser to the Colorado Association of School  Resource Officers.”

_________________________________________________

3. Next up, the numbers are in, and yes, they’re bad.

From NationalJournal  “The Health and Human Services Department said 106,185 people have successfully applied for and chosen private insurance through the health care law’s new marketplaces. That total is only about 20 percent of the administration’s initial enrollment target for October, the first month in which consumers were able to sign up for coverage.”

“HealthCare.gov has performed even worse than expected. Fewer than 27,000 people selected a plan through the website, compared with roughly 79,000 who picked a plan through the 15 state-based insurance exchanges. Unofficial estimates leaked earlier this week suggested the federal website had done slightly better.”

And there were 400,000 approved for Medicaid, so they’re not paying customers.

_________________________________________________

4. This is one of the problems with lying. You have to keep lying to cover it up.

From NationalReview  “The cancellations will affect only a small number of people, those who buy individual policies.

In making this claim, the president focuses on the individual market, which he accurately notes covers about 5 percent of Americans. Still, that is about 14 to 15 million people. So far, as of mid November, roughly 4.8 million individual insurance plans have been canceled, with most estimates suggesting that as many as 10 million will eventually lose their current coverage.”

“But the same conditions that are causing the cancellation of individual policies will eventually result in the cancellation of millions of employment-based policies as well. The only reason that hasn’t happened yet is that the employer mandate was postponed for a year, so employer plans don’t yet have to be ACA-compliant. But they will. Even the Congressional Budget Office estimates that as many as 20 million workers will lose their current employer-sponsored plans. Combine that with those losing individual plans, and more than 30 million Americans cannot keep their current insurance.

It could be far more. As Avik Roy of the Manhattan Institute points out, some 51 percent of the employer-based insurance market will lose grandfathered status and need to make changes to comply with Obamacare provisions. That could mean that, in total, as many as 93 million will lose their insurance. That’s not exactly “a few.””

That shoe should be dropping around elections next year.

_________________________________________________

5. So how bad is it? This bad….

Democrats have actually become camera shy. 🙂

_________________________________________________

6. And this one doesn’t shock me much. Democrats want to pass a bill to override many states new, more restrictive, abortion laws. We know how much these same politicians rely on abortion blood money to fund their campaigns. So of course they’d defend their “Precious” like good little Sméagol’s.

From PJMedia  “Democratic lawmakers will announce this afternoon a bill to override state abortion laws that have placed restrictions on the services.

The Women’s Health Protection Act “would protect a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion by preempting restrictive regulations and laws—such as those in place in states including Texas and Wisconsin—intended to curtail reproductive health services for women,” according to Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-Conn.) office.

Blumenthal will be joined at an afternoon press conference by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.),  Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and Lois Frankel (D-Fla.).

Also at the announcement of the bill will be leader of NARAL, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights.”

_________________________________________________

26 thoughts on “News/Politics 11-14-13”

  1. Christie will lose for the same reason McCain and Romney did. The Liberal media will talk him up, root for him, hold back all the negatives they have on him and they will go after his opposition. Then when he gets the nomination and starts to run against the candidate they really want, he will be portrayed as the devil himself. They want to see the easiest candidate to beat get the nominations.

    Like

    Reply

  2. The straw poll I saw had Christie with 15%. The next 38% was divided between Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Paul Ryan. That 38% needs to get together on a candidate and stand behind them.

    Like

    Reply

  4. Ricky, a third party will give it right back to the Democrats. We need the Tea Party and the conservative Republicans to stand together against the RINO’s in the primaries. Hopefully the RINO’s will then do what we have had to do the last two times and vote for their lesser evil against Hilliary or who ever. I’d like to see a Paul Ryan with Paul or Cruz on the ticket.

    Like

    Reply

  5. KBells, I could definitely support that ticket. One of the most discouraging things about the last two elections is how the young have gone Democratic. One monumentally stupid law has given us the chance to get them back.

    Like

    Reply

  8. You can already see that the media is shoving Christie down our throats. He pretty much handed the last election to Obama on a silver platter.

    I made a comment on here the other day about 3rd party candidates and ruffled some feathers so I will keep my comments to myself.

    I won’t vote for Christie though.

    Like

    Reply

  9. Don’t be too quick to pick Ryan. More times than not, he’s with the “old guard.” While his budgetary prowess is needed, I don’t think he’s top of the ticket material. He’s about as exciting as Romney and McCain. Yawn. I’d take Cruz or Paul over him. But we have plenty of time, so that may change.

    Like

    Reply

  10. Here is a program that is supposed to be scrapped: http://www.infowars.com/1-billion-tsa-chat-down-program-a-complete-failure/#comment-1122840121

    The point of the behavioral observation program is not to catch a terrorist, it is designed to prevent a terrorist from carrying out their objective. I have been to Israel and the program works well. Not only are the Law Enforcement personnel trained but also the employees of the airlines along with the vendors in the concourse. Since the administration has reclassified its mission as a Law Enforcement objective, every police administrator will tell you it is better to prevent a crime rather than react to the crime.

    Like

    Reply

  11. KIm,

    You can ruffle all the feathers you want. Your opinion is as good as any other. 🙂

    And if Christie is the nominee, I’ll gladly go 3rd party too. I’m not wasting my vote on another RINO. I think that point needs to be driven home to the GOP. Give us an actual conservative who truly follows conservative principles, or keep losing elections. Your choice GOP. What’s it gonna be?

    Like

    Reply

  12. Barry’s giving another campaign speech, errr…. I mean press conference offering a 1 year reprieve to individuals. Of course the law they wrote makes making such changes illegal, but it hasn’t stopped him before so….

    So how do you just undo all those cancelation letters? And what about the people who already settled for a new one they don’t like?

    He’s coming on any minute if anyone is interested.

    Like

    Reply

  13. Regarding the sign-up numbers, I read somewhere (here?) that the government is counting anyone who has selected a plan but hasn’t actually enrolled in it (paid for it) to inflate their numbers. Notice how carefully that 106,185 number is described as “applied for and chosen” – NOT “enrolled in.”

    Like

    Reply

  14. I like Paul and Cruz, but I remember that Ryan was the one who made a serious proposal to reform Medicare. That has been the only serious proposal to reform healthcare since Reagan. For that courageous act, Ryan was savaged by Democrats as well as wimpy Republicans like Gingrich.

    Like

    Reply

  15. Correct Ricky.

    He’s got a mind for numbers. Which is why I think he does the most good in the House, where the actual bills are paid. I don’t doubt his fiscal conservatism at all. It’s the rest…

    If you look at some of his economic proposals they’re realistic, but painful as well. There’s no way out of that. But they end up DOA in the Senate, just like the jobs bills the House has sent, which came from Ryan’s committee. I like him more where he is, because if R’s can pull it together and win, he’ll have the opportunity to put some his proposals to work. He’s already got 30+ bills ready, he’ll just have to stop Reid’s office and get them off his desk where they’ve sat for months and years. 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  16. AJ, would it be possible for you to number the items you post to start the thread? That way, we could reference which item we’re commenting on. I find this get confusing sometimes, especially when someone refers to someone or something that’s not even in the post but is in a link in the post. Just a thought.

    Like

    Reply

  17. AJ, The primaries will be interesting. Republicans are going to have to figure out where they stand on three major areas: A. The economy. Paul, Rubio and Cruz have made good speeches, but Ryan is the only one to develop bold proposals to address taxes, spending and healthcare. To be realistic, they must be painful. B. Foreign policy. Just criticizing Obama is not enough. Going Back to Little Bush’s “War on Terror” is fatal in the general election. We need a candidate who can cast a realistic vision for America’s role in the world over the next 50 years, taking into consideration our looming bankruptcy. C. Social issues. Probably going to a States Rights approach is best. This whole area arose when the wrongfully decided Roe v Wade eliminated the right of the conservative (primarily, Southern) states to outlaw abortion. If Californians are foolish enough to send teenage boys and girls to the same restrooms and locker rooms, I have no interest in trying to stop them.

    Like

    Reply

  19. The fight of the GOP is going to be interesting but be careful what you wish for. Harry Reid’s Senate seat was ripe for the taking but by nominating Sharron Angle, the Republicans lost the opportunity. Because of gerrymandering, House seats are generally safe for whoever wins the primary but continuing to nominating inexperienced outsiders may not be a good policy for the senate or presidency. Rubio or Christie are a far better bet than the others if not just for their home states.

    Once the novelty of decriminalized pot wears off, the numbers will decline. Plus I have no doubt some law enforcement and school admins are prone to exaggeration. Decriminalized marijuana has led to a decline in use in almost all jurisdictions — the Netherlands for example. Meanwhile the war on drugs has led to a creation of a privatized American gulag.

    America’s new welfare queens
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-13/how-mcdonald-s-and-wal-mart-became-welfare-queens.html

    Like

    Reply

  22. HRW, As one who was taught as a child that Prohibition was a good idea and has never used alcohol or illegal drugs, I am sympathetic to your views on the War on Drugs. I have never heard a good argument as to why hard liquor should be legal and marijuana should not. I would legalize all drugs but I would have none of this “alchoholism or drug addiction is a disease” nonsense. Businesses should be able to fire workers for being drunk or high on the job and should be allowed to drug test.

    Like

    Reply

  24. Plus 1 on the 3rd party possibility. If there are no decent 3rd party candidates, not casting a vote is a reasonable alternative.

    Regarding Paul Ryan, be sure to look closely, and recall he voted for TARP and bailouts and other *major* garbage of the like. If that’s not a red flag, it’s close.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment