What’s interesting in the news today?
1. The President has made a deal with Iran. Israel is not pleased, and have pointed out that they are not bound by it and will do what they feel necessary.
From TheHill “President Obama phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, promising to consult with him on ongoing efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear program.
Obama told Netanyahu that he wanted to begin consultations “immediately” on Iran, after diplomats struck a temporary deal in Geneva to begin placing limits on Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.”
“Netanyahu blasted that accord after it was struck, calling it a “horrible mistake.” He added that Israel would not be bound by it.”
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2. Will the Senate’s use of the “nuclear option” allow Obama to stack the IPAB (death panel)?
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3. More ObamaCare lawsuits are working their way through the courts.
From TheNYDailyNews “The Obamacare rollout has been a debacle, with delays in the implementation of mandates, technical glitches in the exchanges, cancelled individual policies and more.
It’s about to get worse. The federal judiciary is currently hearing four cases challenging decisions made by the Internal Revenue Service that could soon deliver more major blows to the Affordable Care Act.
One such decision extended subsidies provided by Obamacare for lower-income individuals and families (those making up to four times the poverty level) to people in the 36 states served by the federally-operated exchange, HealthCare.gov.
But the law spells out clearly that such federal subsidies will be granted “through an exchange established by the state” – not that they can be granted by the federal government.”
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4. Sticker shock.
From USAToday “Sweeping differences in health care exchange pricing among states and counties is leading to sticker shock for some middle-class consumers and others who aren’t eligible for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
The average prices for the most popular plans are twice as high in the most expensive states as those with the lowest average prices, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data for 34 states using the federal health insurance exchange.
PPOs, the most popular type of health care plan, carry monthly premiums that range from an average of $819 a month in the most expensive state to $437 in the least expensive. Plans on the federal and state exchanges are grouped into four categories that cover 60% to 90% of out-of-pocket costs. USA TODAY looked at the pricing of PPOs and HMOs across these bronze, silver, gold and platinum categories.
The premiums for bronze-level plans are generally the least expensive, but “the deductibles are simply not affordable,” says Laura Stack, a former financial analyst looking for full-time work and using her 401k to pay for health insurance. “Many will not be able to afford the per person deductibles before insurance begins to pay. What are you really paying for?”
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5. Next, who knew, and when did they know it?
From TheNYPost “Let me be the first to ask: Did the White House know that employment reports were being falsified?
Last week I reported exclusively that someone at the Census Bureau’s Philadelphia region had been screwing around with employment data. And that person, after he was caught in 2010, claimed he was told to do so by a supervisor two levels up the chain of command.
On top of that, a reliable source whom I haven’t identified said the falsification of employment data by Census was widespread and ongoing, especially around the time of the 2012 election.”
“The chief of the Commerce Department usually oversees the Census, which determines how many congressional representatives and how much money each state gets for the next decade. But the Obama administration had decided — the story went — that Emanuel was a better guy for the job.”
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6. Told ya’. Now aren’t you glad the US didn’t do any more for them like the Obama admin wanted too? We shouldn’t have provided arms either, but Obama has a thing for doing that, arming people he shouldn’t. Like Fast and Furious, Egypt, and now Syria.
From TheJerusalemPost “The six largest Islamist rebel factions in Syria declared a new Islamic Front on Thursday, forming the largest alliance of opposition fighters yet in the 2-1/2-year conflict.
Syria’s fractious rebel forces have tried many times to unify their ranks and failed. Islamist rebel commanders, in a video aired on al Jazeera, said their new union would not only seek to oust President Bashar Assad but establish an Islamic state.”
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Wandering Views 
Some of us knew from the beginning that the rebels wanted to establish shariah as the law in Syria. I said months ago, “We have nothing to choose between. There are no good guys in this fight.”
“The White House” is a generic term when asking “Did the White House know?”
Obama may not have known. He doesn’t have to know. Valerie Jarrett knows, that’s all that’s necessary.
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Obama says he’s not a “particularly” ideological person. 🙂
As one person tweeted this morning: Jaw. On. Floor.
http://news.yahoo.com/obama-im-not-particularly-ideological-person-050844120.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory
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Donna,
Let me start by saying….. :Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahaha…….
That’s hilarious! 🙂
Enough said. 🙄
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Thanksgiving obamacare “talking points”? Yep.
http://thefederalist.com/2013/11/25/obamacare-crazy-uncle-thanksgiving-talking-points/
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Some of you have commented on the Common Core before so I thought you might find this column interesting.
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I just did the Math for the Health Savings Account for my new Company. Sticker Shock is mild. The deductible is 6000.00 a year. That is with a monthly premium of 145.00 per month and setting aside 240.00 a month to cover the Deductible. With an in network traditional PPO, the cost is 247.50. Either way we have to change doctors. In a year, the health plan will be history anyway so I might as well go with the PPO plane
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I think Bruni’s article is mixing two things, HRW. What I know about Common Core comes from a university education professor with a PhD in gifted education. She believes the literature portion of CC is detrimental to children’s ability to learn because it strips all the fiction and story out of the curriculum. Surely, you’ve read Bettleheim and others on the value of imagination in learning?
Surely, too, you understand the value of art and music in a classroom? I don’t know where CC stands on those but in the US schools, the arts are going by the wayside in the interest of spending more time on “facts.”
It all reminds me of Mr. Gradgrind’s school in Dicken’s Hard Times.
And I’m not joking. 😦
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