Month: November 2013
Rants! and Raves! 11-9-13
It’s Saturday, and you know what that means….
Rants! 😦
and
Raves! 🙂
News/Politics 11-9-13
What’s interesting in the news today?
Looks like we’re about to make a deal with the devil.
From TheTelegraph/UK “America has proposed a short-term nuclear agreement with Iran at a meeting in Geneva which would allow Tehran to continue enriching uranium at low levels, according to an aide briefed on the talks.
The goal is to freeze Iran’s nuclear programme for perhaps six months in order to create a breathing space for a comprehensive agreement to be negotiated.”
“Mr Kerry will go to Geneva “in an effort to help narrow differences in negotiations”, said a senior State Department official.
But Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, warned on Thursday that any deal which failed to stop Iran from enriching uranium would be a “mistake of historic proportions”.”
And don’t think for a minute that this will stop Israel from doing what they think is necessary to protect themselves.
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Here’s something to keep in mind as the ObamaCare fiasco rolls on. Don’t forget, this is the home state of a certain community organizer turned politician. I imagine ObamaCare will operate in the same way when it comes to reigning in fraud.
From HotAir “Remember Medicaid? You know, the massive, costly federal healthcare program for America’s indigent? Within the last few months, it’s been (a) exposed as an empirical failure by the most comprehensive study ever done, and (b) expanded hugely by Obamacare, natch. Here’s how Medicaid is working in the Land of Lincoln.
The early findings of an ongoing review of the Illinois Medicaid program revealed that half the people enrolled weren’t even eligible. The state insisted it’s not that bad but Medicaid is on the federal government’s own list of programs at high risk of waste and abuse. Now, a review of the Illinois Medicaid program confirms massive waste and fraud. A review was ordered more than a year ago– because of concerns about waste and abuse. So far, the state says reviewers have examined roughly 712-thousand people enrolled in Medicaid, and found that 357-thousand, or about half of them shouldn’t have received benefits. After further review, the state decided that the percentage of people who didn’t qualify was actually about one out of four.
Not to fear, taxpayer-fleecing fraudsters, Big Labor has heroically filed a lawsuit to block the state from using private workers to purge ineligible recipients from the Medicaid rolls. This thing may be tied up in court for awhile:”
I imagine they won’t be real concerned with making sure those getting subsidies deserve them either, and that the Medicaid fraud will grow nationwide as a result.
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Democrats are about to introduce more job-killing legislation. And everyone will pay higher prices across the board if they’re successful. Hopefully it’s DOA in the House.
From TheWashingtonExaminer “Senate Democrats, hoping to move beyond the disastrous rollout of the new health care law, plan to pivot to legislation that would increase the federal minimum wage by nearly $3, to over $10 an hour.
Democratic lawmakers met privately Thursday to discuss proposals, including one by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, which would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, a nearly 40 percent increase. It would also would tie wage levels to inflation.”
“Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., called the proposed minimum wage increase “long overdue, an important economic issue and a message to working families struggling paycheck to paycheck that we can help.”
They’ll be struggling even more when they lose their job because of this.
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Louisiana is about to crack down on folks who took advantage of the EBT system shutdown last month.
From HotAir “Last month, a malfunction in the EBT system used by Louisiana and 16 other states led to a “no-limit” food run on several a whole lot of stores in Louisiana, with over 12,000 transactions made during the malfunction being declined for lack of funds . Those who abused the system in places like the Walmart in Many, Louisiana, which chose to not enforce the emergency $50 per account limit that was supposed to be enforced during the malfunction, thought they were in the clear after Walmart and local police decided not to pursue charges:
The Many Police Department posted this week on its Facebook page: “Apparently after reviewing surveillance tapes and interviewing witnesses, Wal-Mart has no evidence of any theft, nor any other criminal activity during the October 12th disturbance at the store. With this information, the Many Police Department has closed the investigation at this time.”
They were wrong:
The Louisiana governor’s office said Wednesday night that it would strip food stamp benefits from anyone who took advantage of an EBT card malfunction that in some cases caused an all-out shopping frenzy in some stores across the state, The Advocate reported.”
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The unemployment rate has ticked back up to 7.3%. Mostly it’s fuzzy math. Once again, another nearly million Americans dropped out of the labor force last month.
From ZeroHedge “First, the labor force participation rate, which plunged from 63.2% to 62.8% – the lowest since 1978!
But more importantly, the number of people not in the labor force exploded by nearly 1 million, or 932,000 to be exact, in just the month of October, to a record 91.5 million Americans! This was the third highest monthly increase in people falling out of the labor force in US history. “
Carteresque no?
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And this one demonstrates the fuzzy math at play here. Last month much was made about an unexpected increase of 691,000 full-time jobs. But this month we learn that 621,000 full-time jobs were lost. BLS numbers have become a useless joke.
Also from ZeroHedge “So much for the surge in 691,000 full-time jobs in September. One short month later, indicating just what a farce the BLS’s sampling process is, while the algo frenzy-inducing establishment survey showed a gain of 204,000 workers, the household survey had some other ideas. True, the headline household survey number rose by an almost identical 213,000 workers, however it is when trying to foot that number into the actual components, when one gets a headache. Because according to the same survey, a whopping 623,000 full-time workers (supposedly government) lost their jobs in October, nearly offsetting the entire 691,000 gain the month before which it turns out was purely for Obamacare (now hopelessly damaged) optics.”
And part-time jobs showed a loss as well.
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Our Daily Thread 11-8-13
Good Morning!
It’s Friday! 🙂
On this day in 1656 Edmond Halley was born. Halley, an astronomer/mathmatician, was the first to calculate the orbit that was named after him. The comet makes an appearance every 76 years.
In 1805 the “Corps of Discovery” reached the Pacific Ocean. The expedition was lead by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis. The journey had begun on May 14, 1804, with the goal of exploring the Louisiana Purchase territory.
In 1887 Doc Holliday died at the age of 35. The gun fighting dentist died from tuberculosis in a sanitarium in Glenwood Springs, CO.
In 1910 William H. Frost patented the insect exterminator.
In 1950, during the Korean conflict, the first jet-plane battle took place as U.S. Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15.
And in 1966 Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California.
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Quote of the Day
“If somebody mistreats you, treat ’em good. That kills ’em.”
Bobby Bowden
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This first one covers 2 of today’s birthdays, Bonnie Raitt’s and Rickie Lee Hooker’s.
It’s Patti Page’s too.
Look out! Angry cat! in the selections at the end of the video. 🙂 ↑
Today is also Roy Wood’s birthday.
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Anyone have a QoD for us?
Prayer Requests 11-8-13
Who has a request or praise to share?
Psalm 82
¹God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.
News/Politics 11-8-13
What’s interesting in the news today?
First up, this should be interesting. How ObamaCare changes employer-provided insurance.
From CBSNews “If you’re one of the 80 percent of Americans who is insured or covered through an employer plan or through Medicare or Medicaid, or the Veterans’ Administration, there is no change for you except for an increase in benefits that everyone receives as a result of the Affordable Care Act,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday.
Yet in the years to come, some workers with employer-provided benefits will see their benefits scaled back because of an Obamacare tax. That portion of the law — known as the “Cadillac tax” — isn’t set to take effect until 2018, but it’s already influencing the benefits packages that employers offer.
“Every employer plan since the passage of the health care law has been working to make sure their health care cost trends keep their plans under the ‘Cadillac tax,'” Steve Wojcik of the National Business Group on Health, a nonprofit that represents large employers, told CBSNews.com.”
“Yet in the years to come, some workers with employer-provided benefits will see their benefits scaled back because of an Obamacare tax. That portion of the law — known as the “Cadillac tax” — isn’t set to take effect until 2018, but it’s already influencing the benefits packages that employers offer.”
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The White House has given vulnerable Democrats permission to bash ObamaCare if they need to do so to get re-elected, as long as they don’t call for delays. How nice of them… 🙄
Still doesn’t change the fact that they voted for it, so they own it. Nice try though.
From Politico “At the pleading of senior White House officials, Senate Democrats are holding off on demands to delay major aspects of the health care law until the Obama administration has the opportunity to fix the website problems that are thwarting enrollment in the program.
Democratic senators facing reelection have a green light to bash the White House and call for certain legislative fixes. But they’ve been urged by senior administration officials not to insist on delaying the controversial law’s core: The mandate for individuals to purchase insurance coverage or face penalties.”
“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has no plans to put legislation on the floor to delay any of the Obamacare deadlines, putting him in line with the White House. But it’s unclear how long Reid can hold off if the administration continues to stumble and pressure grows within his ranks to act in order to protect his fragile Senate majority.”
So as always, politics is what they worry about, not what’s best for the American people. Buncha cowards IMO.
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The House has scheduled the vote for the “Keep Your Healthcare Bill.” 🙂
From TheHill “House Republican leaders announced Wednesday the lower chamber will vote next week on a bill that would allow people to keep their health insurance plan if they like it.
The vote hits at President Obama, who, during the debate over the Affordable Care Act, said people could keep their healthcare plans if they like them. Millions of people, however, have gotten cancellation notices because of ObamaCare’s new standards.
Late Wednesday afternoon, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) announced via Twitter that the bill would get a vote.”
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This next one however, will not be getting a vote in the House.
From NBCNews “The Senate approved historic legislation Thursday to expand workplace protections for gay, lesbian and transgender Americans. But the bill faces a bleak future in the GOP-led House.”
“The Senate’s approval of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) comes after a failed attempt in 1996, when the bill — championed by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts — failed by a single vote.
Despite the bipartisan vote in the upper chamber, the legislation appears unlikely to get a vote in the House. Republican House Speaker John Boehner opposes the bill, saying through a spokesman this week that it would “increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs.”
“”The bill is currently not scheduled in the House,” said spokesman Rory Cooper. “I hope Majority Leader Reid soon addresses the dozens of House-passed bills that have been ignored in the Senate that create jobs, improve education and create opportunity while Americans struggle to find a good-paying job.”
Talk about differing priorities huh? One chamber is concerned with jobs and people keeping their healthcare, the other is busy with unnecessary, feel-good legislation. Unnecessary because they already have the same rights and protections as everyone else.
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Peter’s Pack of Pickled Pigskin Picks-Week 10
Once again, it’s time for the weekly venture into voluntarily vociferating about a violent sport, expressing visionary predictions on the victorious teams in ten games.
Don’t forget the score in the tie breaker. I hope nobody minds that there are five SEC contests this week. But I tried to spread the other five among the other major conferences, even including another B1G 10 pillow fight,
in which Illinois tries to get its first conference win against Indiana, which has only one of its own. If I had been on the ball I could have done this yesterday and included the two major games tonight with top 10 teams, (#10
Oklahoma at #6 Baylor and #3 Oregon at #5 Stanford). But there is the SEC showdown of #13 LSU taking on #1 Alabama.
So have at it, sports fans.
If you have a relative who wants to join in, just mark the entry as such. Open to all readers of this blog and their family or acquaintances, regardless of favorite team, political affiliation, marital status, number of Facebook friends, or global location.
1. #2 Florida State @ Wake Forest
2. #8 Missouri @ Kentucky
3. #9 Auburn @ Tennessee
4. Texas @ West Virginia
5. Iowa @ Purdue
6. Mississippi State @ #15 Texas A&M
7. #13 LSU @ #1 Alabama
8. Vanderbilt @ Florida
9. Pillow Fight: Illinois (0-4) @ Indiana (1-3)
10. Tie Breaker: #19 UCLA @ Arizona
Our Daily Thread 11-7-13
Good Morning!
On this day in 1874 the Republican party was first symbolized as an elephant in a cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper’s Weekly.
In 1893 the state of Colorado granted its women the right to vote.
In 1918 the Rev. Billy Graham was born in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In 1916 Jeanette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress.
In 1932 “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” was broadcast for the first on CBS Radio.
And in 1965 the “Pillsbury Dough Boy” debuted in television commercials.
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Quotes of the Day
“God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.”
“The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service. The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless.”
Billy Graham
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Whenever I think of Billy Graham, this gentleman comes to mind as well.
🙂
Today is also the birthday of composer William Alwyn. So it’s “Autumn Legend for Horn and Orchestra”.
Very nice job on the video scenery shots as well.
And here’s another from Mr. Shea.
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QoD?
Have you ever heard Rev. Graham speak, or attended a Billy Graham Crusade? If yes, what did you think?
Prayer Requests 11-7-13
Who has a request or praise to share today?
Psalm 81
¹Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
4 For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
5 This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
9 There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
10 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
14 I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.
News/Politics 11-7-13
What’s interesting in the news today?
First up today, the Rev. Billy Graham has a message he’d like to share. He says it may be his last “crusade” opportunity due to age and illness, and I for one, would like to hear what he has to say. If you’re interested, here is a link for the listings on when this message will air. TBN has it at 8PM tonight, Fox News will show it at 10PM. Further showings on numerous other networks are available at the link.
http://watchbillygraham.com/
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ObamaCare memos are painting a pretty bad picture of the days leading up to the law’s rollout.
From YahooNews “More than 175 pages of internal Obama administration memos, obtained by the House Oversight Committee, released Tuesday and reviewed by ABC News, present the most detailed account yet of the troubled rollout of the federal health insurance exchange, HealthCare.gov.
While there are no bombshell revelations, the documents make clear that the administration grossly underestimated the scope of the website’s technical problems; struggled to contain widespread confusion among insurers and applicants; and now faces a barrage of new challenges triggered by its emphasis on paper applications.
The memos from Oct. 1 through Oct. 27 are “war room notes” from the government team charged with overseeing the health care law rollout. They don’t provide any hard enrollment figures, which officials have promised to release later this month. But they do suggest the administration likely fell well short of its 500,000 enrollment target in the first month, possibly reaching fewer than one tenth of that goal.”
The numbers from individual states that have reported are nowhere near a tenth of that, or 50,000 When the numbers come, it won’t be pretty.
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Again here, I’m having trouble feeling much sympathy for ’em. This is their baby too, they all own it.
From RollCall.com “President Barack Obama heard an earful at the White House Wednesday from Senate Democrats running for re-election next year who are fuming about the Affordable Care Act’s rocky rollout.
During a two-hour meeting that was not on the president’s public schedule, the president met with 15 Senate Democrats facing the voters next year, as well as Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Michael Bennet, D-Colo.
Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska issued a release after the meeting torching the administration.
“It is simply unacceptable for Alaskans to bear the brunt of the Administration’s mismanagement of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and that is the message U.S. Senator Mark Begich delivered to President Obama today,” his office said in a statement blasted to reporters.”
Reading it, or maybe delaying it to work out the bugs may have helped huh? 🙄
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Wait a minute………. I thought Photo ID requirements were racist and an attempt to disenfranchise old people?
From RedAlertPolitics “America rejoiced when the White House announced it would re-open for tours after cuts to funding from sequestration. But in a blatant display of irony, visitors to President Barack Obama’s home must show a government-issued photo ID to enter, but not to vote.
Tours of the White House resumed after a seven month hiatus, with the first official tour given to tourists yesterday. But for visitors looking to head inside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., they must show valid, government-issued photo ID.
“All guests 18 years of age or older will be required to present a valid, government-issued photo identification … . All foreign nationals must present their passport,” it states on the White House’s ‘Tours & Events’ page.
This criterion is particularly ironic given the fact that the man living inside the White House adamantly opposes voters showing photo ID before heading the the polls.”
Yeah….. 🙄
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The campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination has begun. Paul has a point here too. Anyone who’s seen the ad will probably agree.
From HotAir “Rand Paul: Can you believe that certain people who shall remain nameless used Sandy relief funds for campaign commercials?”
“Alternate headline: “GOP primary campaign officially under way.” New Jersey got $60 billion of federal funds for Sandy relief, $25 million of which went to a “Stronger than the Storm” tourism campaign that showcased a certain gubernatorial candidate and his family. Here’s Rand Paul celebrating that candidate’s victory last night by basically accusing him of corruption. Not the first time he’s smacked Christie over Sandy funding, either: That’s what prompted the “king of bacon” comment back in July when the two of them first started throwing punches at each other. The outline of his strategy against Christie in 2016 is already fairly clear. He’s going to knock him not only as a big spender who cares more about buying off constituents with federal money than he does about shrinking government but as someone who’s ethically dubious across the board.”
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The old guard and RINO faction want the nominee to be another RINO or old guard type. Romney says Christie and Ryan should be the top choices. Yeah Mitt, that whole picking milquetoast candidates worked out so well the last 2 elections huh? 🙄
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, the media would be all too happy to pick another RINO for us, they’ve been tooting Christie’s horn in an effort to have a say in the selection. So how about we decide instead of liberals? Here’s a few good reasons why Christie is the wrong guy, despite the media’s opinion.
From TheAmericanSpectator “Arnold Schwarzenegger won re-election handily in 2006, defeating his hapless opponent Phil Angelides by a 56% to 38.9% margin. Yet this sizable win was a meaningless victory for the GOP. Similarly, Chris Christie’s thumping victory on Tuesday night over an equally forgettable candidate contains almost no national meaning, save that Chris Christie is good for Chris Christie. Like Schwarzenegger, Christie cruised to re-election not as a real Republican but as a preening non-partisan moderate. Like Schwarzenegger, Christie’s popularity hasn’t translated into any support for Republicans in his own legislature.”
“The breathless burbling about how Chris Christie’s victory “shows the path forward for the GOP” conveniently ignores his inability to turn New Jersey red for anyone but himself. Before election day, the New Jersey media didn’t see any reason for the Dems to worry about a Christie victory, as they enjoy a 48-32 majority in the Assembly and a 24-16 lead in the state Senate. While these numbers may change, early reports indicate most incumbents will be reelected. The New Jersey media reported that most polls indicate support for Christie won’t help any down-ballot Republicans. In 2009, Christie’s coat-tail effect was negligible too, resulting in only one new Assembly seat for the Republicans.”
“Even the media found it a little difficult to sustain the this-is-a-defeat-for-the-Tea-Party narrative after the Virginia results came in, as they showed a race that the Republicans could easily have won, had the Libertarian not run, had Cuccinelli actually tried, had stingy Republican fat cats donated money to ad campaigns, had Republicans bothered to expose McAuliffe’s radicalism, etc.
The future of the GOP is not Christie but Cruz. Have the Republicans learned nothing from Romney’s loss, McCain’s loss, Dole’s loss? The lesson is simple: do not run moderates; that just hands victory to the Dems from the start. A basic test for any GOP nominee should be: Can this candidate win his own state? In Christie’s case, the question, despite Tuesday’s results, remains open. After all, he wasn’t exactly running against Hillary Clinton. Another test is: Can this candidate reclaim his own legislature for his party? If not, all the enthusiasm is empty. Republican governors in blue states that remain for all intents and purposes blue always end up doing damage to the party, racking up personal victories for themselves while selling out the party’s principles.”
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And yesterday someone mentioned Common Core. Here’s yet another reason to be against it.
From FoxNews “It’s exactly what critics of the Common Core school curriculum warned about: Partisan political statements masquerading as English lessons finding their way into elementary school classrooms.
Teaching materials aligned with the controversial national educational standards ask fifth-graders to edit such sentences as “(The president) makes sure the laws of the country are fair,” “The wants of an individual are less important than the well-being of the nation” and “the commands of government officials must be obeyed by all.” The sentences, which appear in worksheets published by New Jersey-based Pearson Education, are presented not only for their substance, but also to teach children how to streamline bulky writing.”
““Parents should insist on reviewing their children’s school assignments,” said Glyn Wright, executive director of the Eagle Forum, a think tank that opposes implementation of Common Core. “Many parents will be shocked to find that some ‘Common Core-approved’ curriculum is full of inappropriate left-wing notions, disinformation, and fails to teach the truth of American exceptionalism and opportunity.”
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Wandering Views 