Despite the intense media spotlight on Donald Trump and now Ben Carson, many media insiders believe Marco Rubio could still snatch away the nomination.
On paper, Rubio is a strong candidate: Young, charismatic, Hispanic, son of immigrants, a great communicator, and hails from the crucial state of Florida. He’s certainly running a better campaign than his mentor, Jeb Bush, even though plenty of folks think he showed ingratitude by challenging the former governor. …
t’s tricky to figure out how the senator blazes a trail to the nomination, but it comes down to this: If you accept the notion that the GOP won’t nominate the two non-politicians—because that hasn’t happened since Ike, who won a war—then you position Marco as the one “establishment” candidate who could fill that vacuum.
That’s the case that conservative New York Times column Ross Douthat makes in predicting a Rubio nomination. …
___________
“I wish this headline was more surprising but these days it’s probably just another brick in a very large wall. The Daily Caller has been peeking under the covers of the Obamacare system of co-ops across the country in the wake of several of them going under recently, including outfits in Tennessee and Nevada. It turns out that, unbeknownst to both the public and Congress, nearly a dozen other co-ops have been placed on a special watch list because their future is highly uncertain and they may be at risk of folding as well. So how did nobody know about this? (Daily Caller)
Federal officials have a secret list of 11 Obamacare health insurance co-ops they fear are on the verge of failure, but they refuse to disclose them to the public or to Congress, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation has learned…
The 11 unidentified co-ops appear to be still operating but are now on “enhanced oversight” by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which manages the Obamacare program. The 11 received letters from CMS demanding that they take urgent actions to avoid closing.
Aaron Albright, chief CMS spokesman, said 11 co-ops “are either on a corrective action plan or enhanced oversight. We have not released the letters or names.” He gave no grounds for withholding the information from either the public or Congress.
So the bottom line is that there were two dozen of these co-ops set up originally as Obamacare became the law of the land and began casting its net across the country. In the past year, nine of them already announced that they were closing, located in Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, Tennessee, Vermont and West Virginia. In a worst case scenario, if all eleven of the co-ops on this secret list go under… well, I’m no math major but that sounds like a pretty high percentage of 24 to me.”
“The real world effects of this go far beyond the political optics of a failed policy. Uncle Sam has issued a mandate that everyone must have a policy and millions of Americans signed up through these co-ops. When the original eleven finish folding all of their customers will have to go somewhere or face the wrath of the government. (If you like your doctor you might be able to keep your doctor, but he’s still going to want to know who your insurance is through.) So all of these newly uninsured clients will be signing on to one of the other programs, many of which are already struggling to keep their heads above water because – surprise – many of the newly insured were sicker than expected and suddenly started using their benefits. Who could have possibly seen that coming?”
The Obama administration is having trouble selling insurance plans to healthy people. That’s a big problem: When the young and healthy don’t enroll, premiums have to be hiked to cover the costs of older, sicker people, discouraging even more young people from signing up.
Last Thursday, the administration predicted enrollment for 2016 will be less than half what the Congressional Budget Office predicted in March.
Despite subsidies to help with premiums and out-of-pocket costs, most of the uninsured who are eligible for ObamaCare are saying “no thanks.” Only one in seven is expected to sign up. That’s despite a hefty increase in the financial penalty next year for not having insurance.
The president sees the writing on the wall. You won’t be seeing the customary nationwide TV campaign to encourage sign-ups, as there were in previous years. Remember the young guy in plaid pajamas — “Pajama Boy,” to conservatives — well, he won’t be back this winter.
Bad enough that healthy people aren’t buying. Worse is that the administration is spending billions of your tax dollars covering up the problem, paying insurers to keep offering the plans, even though they’re losing their shirts. But facts are facts — and there’s no hiding these.”
——————————–
Paying insurers to prop up an already failing system with tax dollars is more accurate.
“Conservatives have been saying it for months and now new data back up the claims. America isn’t a shooting gallery. Our schools are not war zones. And there is no gun violence epidemic. According to Pew Research, homicides rates have stabilized, with the overall gun death rate dropping 30 percent since 1993:
Several mass shootings this year have brought renewed attention to the issue of gun violence in America, and President Obama has again called for Congress to change the nation’s gun laws.
But the increased spotlight on guns does not reflect the overall gun violence trend in the country. Although most Americans think the number of gun crimes has risen, the U.S. gun homicide rate has actually stabilized somewhat in recent years, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of death certificate data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[…]
The nation’s overall gun death rate has declined 30% since 1993. This total includes homicides and suicides, in addition to a smaller number of fatal police shootings, accidental shooting deaths and those of undetermined intent. For example, in 2013 there were 467 fatal police shootings, up from 333 in 2009.
Yet, Pew did note that suicides are growing, which is something that needs to be tackled, hopefully in congruence with reforming our mental health system. In 2013, Pew found there was a 49 percent drop in gun homicides between 1993-2010. The Bureau of Justice Statistics marked a 39 percent drop in gun-related homicides between 1993-2011, roughly the same period. Recently, the FBI noted a 3.9 percent drop in gun homicides between 2013 and 2014. The numbers might be different, but the conclusion is the same: gun homicides are down.”
—————————————————————-
“he Washington Post is publishing its own findings that in 95% of fatal police shootings, the criminal brandished a weapon and in most cases, shot first. It is only 5% of officer-involved shootings where the details are unclear to make a precise determination. But it’s that small percentage that leads to all of the second-guessing and public outcry.
If that fact alone doesn’t assuage the narrative that police officers are bloodthirsty homicidal maniacs, this next one should slam the prison cell shut for good. Despite what the media and the #BlackLivesMatter movement would have us all believe, the perpetrators killed by officers are mostly white.
But what’s that you say? You thought police officers were trigger-happy racists? That couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Post has been following all officer-involved shootings in 2015. Of the 800 so far, half of those shot by police are white. Only one-quarter are black and even less are Hispanics.
And the people being shot aren’t helpless and unarmed. Ninety-five percent of them are brandishing a weapon, mostly guns, and most of them shot first. If it wasn’t guns, then the perpetrators are rushing officers with knives, hatchets, chemical agents, and vehicles, notes the Post. It is noted that in the “vast majority” of these incidents, the police officers are the intended targets.
So far this year, thirty-one officers have been killed by gunfire in the line of duty. At least 11 others have been victims of assault by various means. “
Just something to keep in mind as the press wallows in the glory of the Boehner-Obama budget deal.
Between the 2 of them, they’ve already cost each household over 33,000 dollars in increased tax debt since 2011. Who knows how much this new one will add to the bill.
“The federal debt has increased by $3,970,023,503,348.07 since House Speaker John Boehner cut his first spending deal with President Barack Obama in 2011.
That equals $33,832.64 for every household in the United States.
After the Republicans won a majority of the House of Representatives in the 2010 elections, Boehner was elected speaker in January 2011. At that time, the government was operating under a continuing resolution that expired on March 4, 2011. Before that CR expired, Boehner cut a spending deal that President Obama signed to fund the government after that date.
Ever since March 4, 2011, all federal spending has been authorized by laws that first passed a Republican-controlled House led by Boehner and then were signed by President Obama.”
“The former secretary of state refused an invitation to testify in private, as other witnesses had done, probably because she thought her appearance would benefit her presidential prospects in at least three ways: She could make the Republican committee members look inept; the major media would protect her, and average people would not pay attention; and if they did, they would believe what the media told them. She was right on all three counts.”
I like the Five but I have two problems with Eric Bolling. One, he seems to be rooting for Trump and two he referred to last year’s Oregon/Ohio Championship game as “finally getting it right”.
Wandering Views 
On the handicapping going on in the horse race:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/10/27/rubio-may-hate-senate-but-could-be-stealth-front-runner/?intcmp=hpbt2
____________________________
Despite the intense media spotlight on Donald Trump and now Ben Carson, many media insiders believe Marco Rubio could still snatch away the nomination.
On paper, Rubio is a strong candidate: Young, charismatic, Hispanic, son of immigrants, a great communicator, and hails from the crucial state of Florida. He’s certainly running a better campaign than his mentor, Jeb Bush, even though plenty of folks think he showed ingratitude by challenging the former governor. …
t’s tricky to figure out how the senator blazes a trail to the nomination, but it comes down to this: If you accept the notion that the GOP won’t nominate the two non-politicians—because that hasn’t happened since Ike, who won a war—then you position Marco as the one “establishment” candidate who could fill that vacuum.
That’s the case that conservative New York Times column Ross Douthat makes in predicting a Rubio nomination. …
___________
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Another day, another instance of tens of thousands of people losing their private health insurance coverage thanks to Obamacare:
http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20151022/PC05/151029792
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Tychicus,
It’s much worse than that.
The collapse has begun…… get ready for a massive taxpayer bailout.
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/10/19/feds-hiding-list-of-11-more-obamacare-co-ops-in-danger-of-going-under/
“I wish this headline was more surprising but these days it’s probably just another brick in a very large wall. The Daily Caller has been peeking under the covers of the Obamacare system of co-ops across the country in the wake of several of them going under recently, including outfits in Tennessee and Nevada. It turns out that, unbeknownst to both the public and Congress, nearly a dozen other co-ops have been placed on a special watch list because their future is highly uncertain and they may be at risk of folding as well. So how did nobody know about this? (Daily Caller)
Federal officials have a secret list of 11 Obamacare health insurance co-ops they fear are on the verge of failure, but they refuse to disclose them to the public or to Congress, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation has learned…
The 11 unidentified co-ops appear to be still operating but are now on “enhanced oversight” by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which manages the Obamacare program. The 11 received letters from CMS demanding that they take urgent actions to avoid closing.
Aaron Albright, chief CMS spokesman, said 11 co-ops “are either on a corrective action plan or enhanced oversight. We have not released the letters or names.” He gave no grounds for withholding the information from either the public or Congress.
So the bottom line is that there were two dozen of these co-ops set up originally as Obamacare became the law of the land and began casting its net across the country. In the past year, nine of them already announced that they were closing, located in Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, Tennessee, Vermont and West Virginia. In a worst case scenario, if all eleven of the co-ops on this secret list go under… well, I’m no math major but that sounds like a pretty high percentage of 24 to me.”
“The real world effects of this go far beyond the political optics of a failed policy. Uncle Sam has issued a mandate that everyone must have a policy and millions of Americans signed up through these co-ops. When the original eleven finish folding all of their customers will have to go somewhere or face the wrath of the government. (If you like your doctor you might be able to keep your doctor, but he’s still going to want to know who your insurance is through.) So all of these newly uninsured clients will be signing on to one of the other programs, many of which are already struggling to keep their heads above water because – surprise – many of the newly insured were sicker than expected and suddenly started using their benefits. Who could have possibly seen that coming?”
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The death spiral has begun….
That sucking sound you hear is billions of taxpayer dollars going down the toilet….
http://nypost.com/2015/10/19/obamacare-is-entering-its-dreaded-death-spiral/
“ObamaCare is heading toward a death spiral.
The Obama administration is having trouble selling insurance plans to healthy people. That’s a big problem: When the young and healthy don’t enroll, premiums have to be hiked to cover the costs of older, sicker people, discouraging even more young people from signing up.
Last Thursday, the administration predicted enrollment for 2016 will be less than half what the Congressional Budget Office predicted in March.
Despite subsidies to help with premiums and out-of-pocket costs, most of the uninsured who are eligible for ObamaCare are saying “no thanks.” Only one in seven is expected to sign up. That’s despite a hefty increase in the financial penalty next year for not having insurance.
The president sees the writing on the wall. You won’t be seeing the customary nationwide TV campaign to encourage sign-ups, as there were in previous years. Remember the young guy in plaid pajamas — “Pajama Boy,” to conservatives — well, he won’t be back this winter.
Bad enough that healthy people aren’t buying. Worse is that the administration is spending billions of your tax dollars covering up the problem, paying insurers to keep offering the plans, even though they’re losing their shirts. But facts are facts — and there’s no hiding these.”
——————————–
Paying insurers to prop up an already failing system with tax dollars is more accurate.
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Oh look, once again the rhetoric from the White House, Democrats, and BLM are shown to be less than accurate on a couple of matters.
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/10/26/pew-gun-deaths-are-down-30-since-1993/
“Conservatives have been saying it for months and now new data back up the claims. America isn’t a shooting gallery. Our schools are not war zones. And there is no gun violence epidemic. According to Pew Research, homicides rates have stabilized, with the overall gun death rate dropping 30 percent since 1993:
Several mass shootings this year have brought renewed attention to the issue of gun violence in America, and President Obama has again called for Congress to change the nation’s gun laws.
But the increased spotlight on guns does not reflect the overall gun violence trend in the country. Although most Americans think the number of gun crimes has risen, the U.S. gun homicide rate has actually stabilized somewhat in recent years, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of death certificate data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[…]
The nation’s overall gun death rate has declined 30% since 1993. This total includes homicides and suicides, in addition to a smaller number of fatal police shootings, accidental shooting deaths and those of undetermined intent. For example, in 2013 there were 467 fatal police shootings, up from 333 in 2009.
Yet, Pew did note that suicides are growing, which is something that needs to be tackled, hopefully in congruence with reforming our mental health system. In 2013, Pew found there was a 49 percent drop in gun homicides between 1993-2010. The Bureau of Justice Statistics marked a 39 percent drop in gun-related homicides between 1993-2011, roughly the same period. Recently, the FBI noted a 3.9 percent drop in gun homicides between 2013 and 2014. The numbers might be different, but the conclusion is the same: gun homicides are down.”
—————————————————————-
And this one….
http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/wapo-admits-vast-majority-police-shootings-justified
“he Washington Post is publishing its own findings that in 95% of fatal police shootings, the criminal brandished a weapon and in most cases, shot first. It is only 5% of officer-involved shootings where the details are unclear to make a precise determination. But it’s that small percentage that leads to all of the second-guessing and public outcry.
If that fact alone doesn’t assuage the narrative that police officers are bloodthirsty homicidal maniacs, this next one should slam the prison cell shut for good. Despite what the media and the #BlackLivesMatter movement would have us all believe, the perpetrators killed by officers are mostly white.
But what’s that you say? You thought police officers were trigger-happy racists? That couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Post has been following all officer-involved shootings in 2015. Of the 800 so far, half of those shot by police are white. Only one-quarter are black and even less are Hispanics.
And the people being shot aren’t helpless and unarmed. Ninety-five percent of them are brandishing a weapon, mostly guns, and most of them shot first. If it wasn’t guns, then the perpetrators are rushing officers with knives, hatchets, chemical agents, and vehicles, notes the Post. It is noted that in the “vast majority” of these incidents, the police officers are the intended targets.
So far this year, thirty-one officers have been killed by gunfire in the line of duty. At least 11 others have been victims of assault by various means. “
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Just something to keep in mind as the press wallows in the glory of the Boehner-Obama budget deal.
Between the 2 of them, they’ve already cost each household over 33,000 dollars in increased tax debt since 2011. Who knows how much this new one will add to the bill.
But hey, Yay for Bipartisanship!!!!!
Or something…. 🙄
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/boehner-obama-spending-deals-have-increased-debt-397002350334807
“The federal debt has increased by $3,970,023,503,348.07 since House Speaker John Boehner cut his first spending deal with President Barack Obama in 2011.
That equals $33,832.64 for every household in the United States.
After the Republicans won a majority of the House of Representatives in the 2010 elections, Boehner was elected speaker in January 2011. At that time, the government was operating under a continuing resolution that expired on March 4, 2011. Before that CR expired, Boehner cut a spending deal that President Obama signed to fund the government after that date.
Ever since March 4, 2011, all federal spending has been authorized by laws that first passed a Republican-controlled House led by Boehner and then were signed by President Obama.”
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Oh, Pajama Boy, I’d almost forgotten about him … 😦
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Pretty much.
“The former secretary of state refused an invitation to testify in private, as other witnesses had done, probably because she thought her appearance would benefit her presidential prospects in at least three ways: She could make the Republican committee members look inept; the major media would protect her, and average people would not pay attention; and if they did, they would believe what the media told them. She was right on all three counts.”
http://www.worldmag.com/2015/10/hillary_escapes_again
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Last week I called Dana Perino a “bubble head”. I take it back. Any fan of Peggy Noonan can’t be bad. Noonan has written a new book.
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I like Dana Perino. She does go out of the way to be fair, but still come out very conservative,
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I like the Five but I have two problems with Eric Bolling. One, he seems to be rooting for Trump and two he referred to last year’s Oregon/Ohio Championship game as “finally getting it right”.
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Thanks for the “heads-up”, KBells. I always liked Eric Bolling. Apparently my finely tuned Yankee Detector is malfunctioning.
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