Month: November 2013
Rants! and Raves! 11-16-13
It’s Saturday, so time for…
Rants! 😦
and
Raves! 🙂
News/Politics 11-16-13
What’s interesting in the news today?
We lost power last night and didn’t get it back until the wee hours. So only a few from me today, but it’s an open thread so I’m sure you folks can come up with more. 🙂
1. The House passed the Upton Bill, with Democrat support I might add. Why they would give Democrats an out like this is beyond me.
From Politico “The White House reiterated its veto threat of a just-passed House bill to allow insurance companies to continue selling insurance plans that don’t meet the minimum requirements of the Affordable Care Act.
The House passed the legislation introduced by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) with 261 votes, including 39 Democrats who defied President Barack Obama’s veto threat issued Thursday evening.
“We absolutely do not support and oppose the Upton bill,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said minutes after Friday’s House vote.”
Obama will veto it. He kinda has to. He can’t have Republicans getting credit for fixing his mess.
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2. Once again, Congress gets special perks the rest of us aren’t allowed to have.
From CNSNews “Under Obamacare — as it is being implemented under a regulation issued by the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) — a middle-aged member of Congress who earns an annual salary of $174,000 from the taxpayers, and who has a wife and children, will get a $10,000 subsidy from the taxpayers (over and above his $174,000 salary) to buy a health insurance plan that a regular citizen making almost $80,000 less than the congressman will not get.”
“Americans in the private sector who buy health insurance through the Obamacare exchanges only get a federal subsidy (a tax credit) if their income/family situation is below 400% of poverty, the ceiling for which is $94,200 for a family of four.
If they surpass that 400% level, then no subsidy. Theoretically, a family bringing in $174,000, like a member of Congress, would have to have 12 children dependents to even be eligible for a subsidy under the Obamacare rules.”
We don’t even get cake to eat.
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3. The more we know, the worse it gets. Now we know why a cover-up from the White House was necessary. They had to hide details like this, which raise even more questions.
From FoxNews “The terrorists who attacked the Benghazi consulate last year knew the location of the safe room where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his security team sought shelter, according to a congressman who spoke for 90 minutes with the diplomatic security agent severely injured in the assault.
“He confirmed this – that it was a very well orchestrated, and well organized, almost a military operation, using military weapons and using military signals,” the late Florida Rep. Bill Young said after meeting diplomatic security agent David Ubben at Walter Reed Medical Center last summer, when both were patients there.”
“”He (Ubben) emphasized the fact that it was a very, very military type of operation they had knowledge of almost everything in the compound,” Young explained. “They knew where the gasoline was, they knew where the generators were, they knew where the safe room was, they knew more than they should have about that compound.”
“An August 16 classified cable, reviewed and reported on by Fox News last fall, showed there was an emergency meeting in Benghazi less than a month before the attack due to rapidly deteriorating security. The cable warned the office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and other State Department leaders in Washington, that the consulate could not sustain a coordinated assault.
The cable also reflected a grave concern among officials on the ground that the Libyan militia charged with protecting the consulate had been compromised, perhaps even infiltrated by extremists.”
And Obama’s White House and Hillary’s State Dept ignored these warnings. These deaths would not have happened had they listened and installed some proper security.
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4. And Obama’s war on the military continues.
From Politico “After a spate of news stories this summer citing tensions between President Barack Obama and his top military commanders over the possibility of U.S. intervention in Syria, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough hastened to assure the Washington Post that everything was, in fact, copacetic: The president “appreciates” candid military advice “above all else,” McDonough insisted, and has “close, and in some instances warm, relationships with his military chiefs,” as the Post put it. During my own time at the Pentagon, where I worked as an Obama appointee from the spring of 2009 until mid-2011, few seemed to hold this view. I recall asking one general, recently back from Afghanistan, if he’d shared his experiences and insights with the president. Rolling his eyes, he told me grimly that the White House preferred the military to be seen but not heard.
Curious about whether things had changed since then, I asked a dozen serving and recently retired senior military officers with high-level White House access, many of whom were not comfortable speaking on the record, if they knew of any military leaders with whom the president had a close and warm personal relationship. In every case, the initial response was a long silence. “That’s a great question,” said one retired senior officer, after a lengthy pause. “Good question. I don’t know,” said a second. “I don’t think he’s close to anyone,” commented a third. He just doesn’t seem to have any interest in “getting to know” the military, a retired general concluded.”
Why would he? They have nothing in common. Their views are quite the opposite of his.
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Our Daily Thread 11-15-13
Good Morning!
It’s Friday!!! 🙂
On this day in 1777 the Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, precursor to the U.S. Constitution.
In 1867 the first stock ticker was unveiled in New York City.
In 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC.
In 1940 the first 75,000 men were called to Armed Forces duty under peacetime conscription.
In 1986 a government tribunal in Nicaragua convicted American Eugene Hasenfus of charges related to his role in delivering arms to Contra rebels. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and was pardoned a month later.
In 1992 Richard Petty drove in the final race of his 35-year career.
And in 1993 a judge in Mineola, NY, sentenced Joey Buttafuoco to six months in jail for the statutory rape of Amy Fisher. Fisher was serving a prison sentence for shooting and wounding Buttafuoco’s wife, Mary Jo.
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Quote of the Day
“To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”
Thomas Jefferson
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Today is David Carr’s birthday. No, not the guy who was the Giant’s back-up QB. The other one from Third Day. 🙂
And it’s Miguel DeJesus’ of Smalltown Poets too.
And today in 1956 this man made his acting debut in this movie.
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Anyone have a QoD?
Prayer Requests 11-15-13
Who would like to share a request with us today?
On Wednesdays we always remember to pray for the Gambia and those ministering there. Today I thought maybe we could pray for Roscuro and Ajisuun, and include some others as well. So how about you name some missionaries you’d like us to pray for? I’ll start off by adding 2 more to the list, our friend Jo in PNG, and my brother Don at BCM here in the States. Who would you like us to add to the list?
Psalm 90
¹Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
News/Politics 11-15-13
What’s interesting in the news today?
1. As I’m sure you’ve heard, the President has proposed some changes to ObamaCare in order to quiet down the commoners. He’s decided to let you keep your sucky plan for one more year. 🙂
Democrats still aren’t happy, neither are the American people.
From Politico “Senate Democrats are still considering legislation to repair President Barack Obama’s broken Obamacare promise, despite the White House plans for an administrative fix.
Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) still want to see votes on their separate, alternative proposals aimed at helping Americans who lost insurance plans. Several of the other Democrats who are up for reelection in 2014 want to vote on a legislative fix, too.”
“Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), one of the most vulnerable Democrats up next year, called Obama’s plan a “step in the right direction,” but said, “a one-year fix is not enough, and we need to do more.”
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2. Even Howard Dean is wondering if the President has the legal authority to make this “fix.”
From TheWeeklyStandard ““I wonder if he has the legal authority to do this, since this was a congressional bill that set this up,” said Dean of Obama’s proposed fix.
The former Vermont governor suggested that since the Obamacare website isn’t working, the president’s signature legislation might fail.”
When you’ve lost Howard Dean, you’ve got problems.
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3. And O’Keefe strikes yet again. More ObamaCare navigator fraud. Yeah.
From CapitolCityProject “James O’ Keefe’s Project Veritas has released a second video showing even more Obamacare Navigators in Texas suggesting fraud and deceit to undercover reporters — despite some in the mainstream media calling the first exposé an “isolated incident.”
“Today, Project Veritas released a second investigation exposing more Obamacare navigators counseling applicants to lie and cheat the health care system by erroneously reporting income status, health history, and more,” Project Veritas wrote.
They continue, “Critics said the first video was an isolated incident so we decided to visit with even more navigators funded by your American tax dollars. What we found was disturbing and showed a clear pattern of fraud through the Obamacare navigator program.”
Within the new video, Obamacare Navigators in Texas yet again counsel the reporters to lie in order to avoid higher premiums.”
The video shows it’s hardly an isolated incident.
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4. Huh….. That’s funny. Democrats, the President, and Attorney General insist that Voter ID is racist and a Republican effort to suppress voter turnout. Yet the real results are actually quite the opposite…….
From TheDailyCaller “The first Texas elections under a contentious new photo ID law drew interesting conclusions for an off-year election that normally draws a low amount of voters.
There were nine proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution, and the number of votes tallied was nearly double what it was in 2011. Democrats and civil rights groups have long argued that voter ID requirements suppress turnout, particularly in poor and minority communities.”
“In Hidalgo County, which is 90 percent Hispanic, just over 4,000 voted in the constitutional amendment election in 2011. In 2013, an average of over 16,000 voted according to the Texas secretary of state’s office.“
Doh!
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5. This one should be fun to watch.
From Breitbart “Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) has introduced an Articles of Impeachment resolution against Attorney General Eric Holder for his role in Operation Fast and Furious and other scandals of President Barack Obama’s administration.
Seven congressman have signed onto the resolution thus far in addition to Olson. They are Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-IN), Blake Farenthold (R-TX), Phil Roe (R-TN), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), Roger Williams (R-TX), Ted Yoho (R-FL), and Randy Weber (R-TX).
The Articles of Impeachment has four different sections. The first calls for Holder’s official removal because of his failure to comply with congressional subpoenas relating to Operation Fast and Furious. Holder has been voted on a bipartisan basis into both criminal and civil contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with the Fast and Furious subpoenas from House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA).”
Another of the Articles is for his refusal to enforce DOMA.
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6. Some scathing words for the Obama admin from a former secret service agent tuned congressional candidate who has a released a book on the whole affair.
From TheNYPost “Dan Bongino, the Secret Service agent who turned on President Obama and is running for Congress, says he believes the “toxic” administration is “using government as a weapon exclusively to intimidate enemies.”
““That wasn’t necessarily the case with the Clintons, and I was pretty much enmeshed in Hillary’s Senate campaign. Although I disagreed with a lot of their political positions . . . I can’t tell you that they thought government was a weapon exclusively to intimidate their enemies. But this administration constantly seems to use government [as a weapon] because they are inexperienced with it — it’s like giving a kid a Bowie knife and saying, ‘Have fun.’ They gave this administration which has no experience the reins of government and they have just gone wild.””
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Our Daily Thread 11-14-13
Good Morning!
On this day in 1851 Herman Melville’s novel “Moby Dick” was first published in the U.S.
In 1881 Charles J. Guiteau’s trial began for the assassination of President Garfield. Guiteau was convicted and hanged the following year.
In 1889 New York World reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) began an attempt to surpass the fictitious journey of Jules Verne’s Phileas Fogg by traveling around the world in less than 80 days. Bly succeeded by finishing the journey the following January in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes.
In 1943 Ernie Nevers of the St. Louis Cardinals became the first professional football player to score six touchdowns in a single game.
In 1969 the Apollo 12 blasted off for the moon from Cape Kennedy, FL.
And also in 1969, during the Vietnam War, Major General Bruno Arthur Hochmuth, commander of the Third Marine Division, became the first general to be killed in Vietnam by enemy fire.
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Quote of the Day
“People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it’s simply necessary to love.”
Claude Monet
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Today would be the birthday of Johann Georg Leopold Mozart.
It’s also Joy Williams’.
And it’s James Young’s as well.
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Anyone have a QoD?
Prayer Requests 11-14-13
Who has a request or praise to share today?
Psalm 89:15-26
15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.
16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.
17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.
18 For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:
21 With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.
24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.
26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
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. 🙄
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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5. So how bad is it? This bad….
Democrats have actually become camera shy. 🙂
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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.”
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Our Daily Thread 11-13-13
Good Morning!
On this day in 1775, during the American Revolution, U.S. forces captured Montreal.
In 1789 Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to a friend in which he said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
In 1805 Johann George Lehner, a Viennese butcher, invented a recipe and called it the “frankfurter.”
In 1927 the Holland Tunnel opened to the public, providing access between New York City and New Jersey beneath the Hudson River.
In 1982 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC.
And in 1995 Greg Maddox (Atlanta Braves) became the first major league pitcher to win four consecutive Cy Young Awards.
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Quote of the Day
“You cannot run away from weakness; you must some time fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?”
Robert Louis Stevenson
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Today is Russ Lee’s birthday.
Today is George Whitefield Chadwick’s birthday too.
And today in 1968 this movie premiered in the US. I only bring it up so I can ask a question.
What were you people thinking? 😯
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Wandering Views 