News/Politics 12-12-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. The Tea Party members of the party are not a big fan of the budget deal.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “Tea party and conservative groups pounced on the budget proposal that congressional leaders carved out behind closed doors, saying that the plan is based on the faulty premise of increasing spending now in exchange for future spending cuts that will never materialize.

They said that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, the GOP budget negotiator, can kiss goodbye any chance of winning over grassroots activists if he chooses to run for president in 2016 after he surrendered ground on across-the-board “sequester” cuts to spending rolled back in the new deal.”

Mr. Ryan and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, Washington Democrat, announced late Tuesday that they had reached a two-year budget deal that would reduce the deficit by $23 billion over ten years without raising taxes.

The proposal restored $63 billion on the across-the-board “sequester” cuts to defense and non-defense programs. It also included higher fees on airline travel and requires federal employees to contribute more for their retirement benefits.”

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2. Democrats are making use of the change in filibuster rules. This was their motivation, to stack the court that most directly oversees the White House with like-minded liberals.

From HotAir  “Senate Democrats revealed their primary motivation for changing the filibuster rules today when they confirmed Obama nominee Patricia Millett to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on a 56-38 vote:

Senators voted 56-38 to approve Washington lawyer Patricia Millett to join the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the nation’s second most powerful court.

Both sides saw Millett’s appointment as pivotal. It will give Democratic-appointed judges a 5-4 majority over those chosen by Republican presidents for that court, which rules on the legality of White House actions and federal agency regulations.

That last part is the important part: the DC Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over regulatory and executive matters. The last few years have shown us that blurring the lines on exactly what constitutes regulatory and executive authority has been a key tool of the Obama Administration.”

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3. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) has fired his chief of staff Ryan Loskarn after his home was searched in a child porn investigation.

From NBCNews  “Alexander, a veteran senator who’s up for re-election in 2014, said that law enforcement agents had conducted a search this morning of the residence of Ryan Loskarn. Alexander announced earlier in the day that Loskarn had been placed on administrative leave, and later released a statement to announce had been let go.

“The courts will judge Mr. Loskarn’s guilt or innocence, but under these circumstances, he cannot continue to fulfill his duties as chief of staff of this office. Therefore, as of today, I have removed him from the payroll,” Alexander said in a statement.”

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4. Told ya’ so. Why do liberals always have to learn the hard way?

Any aid you give ends up in the hands of the radicals Islamists. It’s who the rebels are. This is a good start, now make sure you turn off ALL of the weapons supply too.

From BuzzFeed  “The United States has suspended delivery of non-lethal aid into northern Syria due to concerns over gains by Islamist rebels there, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

The suspension halts direct U.S. assistance to Syria’s rebel-held north, long an opposition stronghold and the focal point of U.S. efforts to support the country’s moderate opposition. The affected aid includes supplies such as food and medicine, as well as vehicles and communications equipment.

The official said that humanitarian aid — which the U.S. channels through international and non-governmental organizations — will continue “and is not impacted by this suspension.”

The suspension comes in response to a worrisome development for the Free Syrian Army, or FSA, the moderate rebel coalition backed by the U.S. and its western allies. The FSA has been losing ground steadily to hardline rebel factions, including local affiliates of Al-Qaeda and a powerful rival coalition called the Islamic Front. On Friday, Islamic Front fighters overtook several key FSA headquarters and warehouses in Atimeh, a town near the Turkish border, dealing the FSA a bracing blow — and drawing alarm from the U.S.”

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5. Yet another ObamaCare navigator nailed by Project Veritas.

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6. Grinch Alert!!!

This lady thinks Santa needs a PC makeover, so the kids don’t get scarred for life. 🙄

From Slate  “When I was a kid, I knew two different Santa Clauses. The first had a fat belly, rosy cheeks, a long white beard, and skin as pink as bubble gum. He was omnipresent, visiting my pre-school and the local mall, visible in all of my favorite Christmas specials.

Then there was the Santa in my family’s household, in the form of ornaments, cards, and holiday figurines. A near-carbon copy of the first one—big belly, rosy cheeks, long white beard: check, check, check. But his skin was as dark as mine.”

“And so I propose that America abandon Santa-as-fat-old-white-man and create a new symbol of Christmas cheer. From here on out, Santa Claus should be a penguin. That’s right: a penguin.

12 thoughts on “News/Politics 12-12-13

  1. Up here last year, there was a lady wanting to re-write “Twas the Night Before Christmas” so that Santa wasn’t fat, he didn’t smoke a pipe and a whole bunch of other things. Sad.

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  2. In The Red State ReportM/i>, Pat Buchanan says, “Obama’s reputation for competence has been shredded, and so too, has his reputation for truthfulness.”
    Nonsense. Obama never had any reptuation for either competence or truthfulness.
    Everyone knew in 2008 that we were gettinga a lying community organizer who could read a speech from a teleprompter.
    I asserted, and proved that I was more qualified to be President than Obama.
    Still am.
    They just didn’t want McCain nor Romney. I understand that.
    But look what we got!

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  3. Chas, the big difference now (and it’s hugely significant, I hope) is that, according to the recent polls, a fair number of those who voted for him are beginning to realize it, too.

    Amid the “obamamania” of 2008, he not only had (in their minds) a reputation for truthfulness & ability; he was put on a pedestal so high (something that was overtly encouraged by him, BTW) that he had something close to super powers in their view. There was nothing he could not accomplish. He was deemed nothing short of a political savior.

    Frustrating for those of us who realized he was (surprise) really just a politician, after all — and not a very accomplished one at that.

    But at least the bubble has finally burst to let in a little reality. I’m just sorry it took so long, now that we’ll be left with having gone 8 years down the road under his leadership. Sigh.

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  4. Kim, someone on Fb recently pointed out that contradiction — allowing “kids” to stay on their parents’ insurance until they’re 26 and yet expecting them to sign up for Obamacare insurance. Am I missing something? Did no one stop to think about how that likely works out (or doesn’t) if you need a slew of young people signing up for their own policies to make this system fly?

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  5. Donna,

    Yes, they did think about it. And decided to go ahead anyway because they’ll get tons of other people into Medicaid, which was the plan anyway, and taxpayers are on the hook for that even if the rest goes belly up.

    And if they don’t get enough sign ups from people who are actually paying for it, then those people that did will pay even higher rates until it collapses. Either way taxpayers and privately insured working Americans are on the hook here. It’s Wealth Redistribution 101.

    They’re gonna wreck the entire healthcare industry, and they know it. Single payer (govt) for all but the ruling elite. That’s Cloward Piven 101. Obama’s mentors and handlers must be so proud.

    And I must say I’m annoyed at the people who fell for this charade. Really, all the signs were there. The Ayers, Frank Marshall Davis, Rev. Wright, Father Plegher, Valerie Jarrett, and the rest of his CAIR/Brotherhood connections, and assorted, communist, criminals, and others of questionable character. All this was out there, the influence of these folks on his life was well know. He wrote a couple books on it in fact, yet some folks ignored it. And now most don’t even have the decency to admit that we were right, and not just conspiracy nuts. He is exactly what some said he was. And we’re all paying for it now.

    Yes Virginia, elections really do have consequences.

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  6. I just got off the phone with the insurance man. Through Humana my insurance will be $245 per month. I will get maternity benefits, pediatric health and dental and several other things.
    If I don’t buy the insurance my penalty the first year is $95. (This only covers ME BG and Mr. P have insurance). I think I will give Mr. P this information and see what he does with it. OH and my deductable is $6,300. I haven’t spend that much on health care in the last 8 years of paying cash as I go.

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  7. And AJ’s right, there likely will be no putting Humpty Dumpty back together again. It’s messed up now worse than it was before, which was quite an accomplishment. There may be no other choice than single payer. I don’t care at this point, I guess. Whatever.

    I’m quite sure my doctor will be retiring asap and we’ll probably never have the luxury of keeping the same GP for more than a year or two again.

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  8. That is one of the things that upsets me. I have had the same dentist and doctor since I was 23. They KNOW me. I can’t imagine being older than I am and having to switch doctors. My dentist teases me about not making any money off of me and my doctor knows my extended family so he KNOWS to ask me about certain things. A few years ago when I was concerned about BG not weighing enough he said , “Yeah, but her Aunt R isn’t very big either”. He asked if her arm was hurting her and decided to do an x ray so he could check the growth plates THEN we figured out the thyroid issue.
    I don’t want to have to break in a new doctor.

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  9. Oh and Mr. Easy Going in most matters said, “Well, if that is what it is that is what it is, you need insurance”. Only twice in over a year has he gone “all military” on me. Why couldn’t he have been outraged over the cost of insurance. The good news is I have maternity and pediatric dentistry on my plan. I told him the good news was that we could have a baby! You REALLY don’t want to know what he had to say about THAT!!! 😉

    Of course if that happens you all need to start looking for a star in the East.

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