What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Yesterday was the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. I’m sorry, but I just can’t help but shake my head and say “WHAT!!?” to some of the President’s remarks. We’ll start with this one. How does a man who supports abortion so vehemently have the gall to make such a statement? Is he so used to yes men that he thinks no one will point out his record on the matter? Can he be so tone-deaf as to not see his own hypocrisy?

From CNSNews “At the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. on Thursday,  President Barack Obama said that “killing the innocent” is the “ultimate  betrayal of God’s will.”

But the president was talking about terrorism, not abortion:

“Extremists  succumb to an ignorant nihilism that shows they don’t understand the  faiths they claim to profess, for killing the innocent is never  fulfilling God’s will. In fact, it is the ultimate betrayal of God’s  will,” Obama said.”

You sure don’t understand it Mr. President, because your own extremism and nihilism get in the way.

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2. Here’s the second “WHAT!!?” moment. Freedom of religion, except on the matter of contraceptives right Mr. President? And again, the dignity of every human being, except the unborn. We know they’re not covered by his statement.

From RealClearPolitics  “PRESIDENT OBAMA: Today we profess the principles we know to be true. We believe that each of us is wonderfully made in the image of God. We, therefore, believe in the inherent dignity of every human being. Dignity that no earthly power can take away. And central to that dignity is freedom of religion. A right of every person to practice their faith how they choose, to change their faith if they choose, or to practice no faith at all. And to do this free from persecution and fear.”

“History shows that nations that uphold the rights of their people, including the freedom of religion are ultimately more just and more peaceful and more successful. Nations that do not uphold these rights sow the bitter seeds of instability and violence and extremists. So freedom of religion matters to our national security.”

Empty platitudes Mr. President. Your actions prove your words false.

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3. The taxpayers are about to get hammered again. Billions in taxpayer dollars will be paid to insurance companies to make up for the rollout debacle.

From Forbes  “There’s been a lot of discussion about whether the risk adjustment tools embedded in ObamaCare amount to a bailout for the insurance companies, or are a reasonable feature of the law. There’s been far less information about how much money the insurers stand to gain from these measures, to offset their expected losses.

Now we have some hard numbers. Humana announced that it expects to tap the three risk adjustment mechanisms in ObamaCare for between $250 and $450 million in 2014. This amounts to about 25 percent of the insurer’s expected exchange revenue. This money is needed to offset losses that the insurer will take as a result of slower enrollment in its ObamaCare plans, and a skewed risk pool that weighs more heavily toward older and less healthy members than it originally budgeted.

More than half of the money will come from the $25 billion reinsurance pool that ObamaCare provides (collected through a tax on employer-sponsored health plans). The other half will come mostly from the risk corridors. Humana is expected to book the money as revenue to offset shortfalls between what it collects in exchange premiums and pays out in medical claims.

The company blamed the Obama Administration’s decision late last year to extend grandfathering of individual market plans for the overall deterioration in the risk pool. That means that Humana (like other insurers) was counting on people from the individual market being forced to transition into ObamaCare plans. It’s widely perceived that the Obama Administration counted on that migration as well. But Humana’s statement was a very clear expression of this expectation.”

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4. Do you smell that? Smells like desperation, doesn’t it? Pad the numbers, and still bill the taxpayers. State govts are off the hook, and we add it to the federal debt and Medicaid bill.

From Bloomberg  “Being arrested in Chicago for, say, drug possession or assault gets you sent to the Cook County Jail to be fingerprinted, photographed and X-rayed. You’ll also get help applying for health insurance.

At least six states and counties from Maryland to Oregon’s Multnomah are getting inmates coverage under Obamacare and its expansion of Medicaid, the federal and state health-care program for the poor. The fledgling movement would shift to the federal government some of the more than $6.5 billion in annual state costs for treating prisoners. Proponents say it also will make recidivism rarer, because inmates released with coverage are more likely to get treatment for mental illness, substance abuse and other conditions that can lead them to crime.”

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5. The widow of a fallen police officer is being blocked from testifying on an Obama DoJ nominee.

From FoxNews  “The Philadelphia district attorney is speaking out against President Obama’s nominee for a top Justice Department post, saying his link to the case of a convicted cop killer “sends a message of contempt” to police — as the widow of the fallen officer is apparently denied the chance to testify. 

Maureen Faulkner, whose husband Daniel Faulkner was killed in 1981, was hoping to speak publicly on the case before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which plans to vote Thursday on the nomination of Debo Adegbile to lead the Civil Rights Division. 

But she told FoxNews.com she’s “extremely frustrated” after being told by representatives of Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., that she won’t be able to do so.”

“Faulkner, in seeking to testify, claimed Adegbile “personally took on” the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal while working with the NAACP to overturn Abu-Jamal’s death penalty. Abu-Jamal was convicted in the 1981 killing of Daniel Faulkner.”

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6. This one? Good. I can name a few more that should get similar treatment.

From TalkRadioNewsService  “Dave Brat is challenging Rep. Eric Cantor in a Republican primary — and giving the House majority leader a verbal thrashing on immigration.

“Cantor is following the agenda of the Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce — pursuing policies that are good for big business, but come at the exclusion of the American people,” said Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College.”

“Brat asserts that Cantor has lost his way on Capitol Hill after seven terms in office. Once considered a reliable conservative, Cantor, along with other Republican leaders, appears more interested in seeking cooperation with Democrats while courting Hispanic votes this election year.”

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