News/Politics

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News/Politics 11-4-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Kirsten Powers has long been one of my favorite liberals. On a lot of issues, she get’s it. And now I have another reason to like her. 🙂

From ChristianityToday  “Just seven years ago, if someone had told me that I’d be writing for Christianity Today magazine about how I came to believe in God, I would have laughed out loud. If there was one thing in which I was completely secure, it was that I would never adhere to any religion—especially to evangelical Christianity, which I held in particular contempt.”

“I didn’t know what to do, so I spoke with writer Eric Metaxas, whom I had met through my boyfriend and who had talked with me quite a bit about God. “You need to be in a Bible study,” he said. “And Kathy Keller’s Bible study is the one you need to be in.” I didn’t like the sound of that, but I was desperate. My whole world was imploding. How was I going to tell my family or friends about what had happened? Nobody would understand. I didn’t understand. (It says a lot about the family in which I grew up that one of my most pressing concerns was that Christians would try to turn me into a Republican.)

I remember walking into the Bible study. I had a knot in my stomach. In my mind, only weirdos and zealots went to Bible studies. I don’t remember what was said that day. All I know is that when I left, everything had changed. I’ll never forget standing outside that apartment on the Upper East Side and saying to myself, “It’s true. It’s completely true.” The world looked entirely different, like a veil had been lifted off it. I had not an iota of doubt. I was filled with indescribable joy.

The horror of the prospect of being a devout Christian crept back in almost immediately. I spent the next few months doing my best to wrestle away from God. It was pointless. Everywhere I turned, there He was. Slowly there was less fear and more joy. The Hound of Heaven had pursued me and caught me—whether I liked it or not.”

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Well we already know that “If you like your insurance, you can keep it” turned out to be a lie. Looks like “If you like your Doctor, you can keep them” will be the next lie exposed.

From TheWallStJournal  “My grievance is not political; all my energies are directed to enjoying life and staying alive, and I have no time for politics. For almost seven years I have fought and survived stage-4 gallbladder cancer, with a five-year survival rate of less than 2% after diagnosis. I am a determined fighter and extremely lucky. But this luck may have just run out: My affordable, lifesaving medical insurance policy has been canceled effective Dec. 31.

My choice is to get coverage through the government health exchange and lose access to my cancer doctors, or pay much more for insurance outside the exchange (the quotes average 40% to 50% more) for the privilege of starting over with an unfamiliar insurance company and impaired benefits.”

“Before the Affordable Care Act, health-insurance policies could not be sold across state lines; now policies sold on the Affordable Care Act exchanges may not be offered across county lines.

What happened to the president’s promise, “You can keep your health plan”? Or to the promise that “You can keep your doctor”? Thanks to the law, I have been forced to give up a world-class health plan. The exchange would force me to give up a world-class physician.”

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The number of cancellations continues to grow.

From TheAP  “Now is when Americans start figuring out that President Barack Obama’s health care law goes beyond political talk, and really does affect them and people they know.

With a cranky federal website complicating access to new coverage and some consumers being notified their existing plans are going away, the potential for winners and losers is creating anxiety and confusion.”

“The Obama administration insists nobody will lose coverage as a result of cancellation notices going out to millions of people. At least 3.5 million Americans have been issued cancellations, but the exact number is unclear. Associated Press checks find that data is unavailable in a half the states.”

“Speaking in Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall this past week, Obama said the problem is limited to fewer than 5 percent of Americans “who’ve got cut-rate plans that don’t offer real financial protection in the event of a serious illness or an accident.”

But in a nation of more than 300 million, 5 percent is a big number – about 15 million people.”

It’s not Obama’s fault you picked a plan you liked. He’s saving you from your own bad decisions, right Barry? Sure it costs way more, but it’s for your own good. 🙄

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This is how the Obama admin treats whistleblowers. Character assassination and smears.

From TheDailyBeast  “The Benghazi whistleblower whose new book details massive security failures in the run-up to the September 11, 2012 attacks denies he wrote an incident report made public this week that undermines key details in his memoir.

The debate over the Obama administration’s actions before and after the attack on the U.S. mission was reignited following an Oct. 27 60 Minutes report featuring an interview with Morgan Jones, a pseudonym for a British security contractor who trained and advised the local Libyan guard force for the U.S. mission in Benghazi. Jones’s book, The Embassy House, was released two days later and contains a firsthand account of his time in Benghazi and his actions during the series of attacks that resulted in the death of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.”

“In an interview Saturday with The Daily Beast, Davies said he did not write the incident report, nor had he ever seen it.

“I am just a little man against some big people here,” Davies said. “They can do things, make up things, anything they want, I wouldn’t stand a chance.” Davies said he did not know who leaked the report to the Post but said he suspected it was the State Department, an allegation that could not be independently corroborated. “It would not be difficult to do,” Davies said. “I knew I was going to come in for a lot of flack and you know mud slinging, so yeah I’d say it was them, but I can’t be sure.” 

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Here’s an interesting poll. 🙂

From PublicPolicyPolling  “PPP’s newest national survey finds that in the wake of the shutdown, Republican voters now view Ted Cruz as their party’s leader. 21% picked Cruz to 17% for Chris Christie, and 15% for John Boehner. Cruz finished well ahead of the other GOP Senators we tested- Rand Paul got 9%, John McCain 7%, and Mitch McConnell only 4%. Mitt Romney at 8% and Sarah Palin at 4% were the other people we tested.

Numbers PPP will release next week show Ted Cruz would be an exceedingly weak Presidential candidate in the general election. The good news for the GOP is that even if the party base sees Cruz as their leader Democrats and independents actually see Chris Christie, who has far broader approval, as the leader of the Republican Party these days. With Democrats Christie gets 23% to 17% for Boehner and only 10% for Cruz. And with independents Christie gets 25% to 17% for Cruz and 10% for Boehner. Even if Republicans themselves see Cruz as their leader, they’re better off with everyone else seeing it as Christie.”

Cruz is the conservative type candidate, Christie appeals to the same folks as McCain and Romney did. We were told they were more electable too. We know how that turned out. Maybe this time we shouldn’t let the RINO’s, Independents, and Dems chose the candidate. Just a thought….

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News/Politics 11-2-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

The Obama admin’s assault on the military, and Christians in it, continues. Now you can add privileged white males to the mix.

From FoxNews  “A controversial 600-plus page manual used by the military to train its Equal Opportunity officers teaches that “healthy, white, heterosexual, Christian” men hold an unfair advantage over other races, and warns in great detail about a so-called “White Male Club.”

“Simply put, a healthy, white, heterosexual, Christian male receives many unearned advantages of social privilege, whereas a black, homosexual, atheist female in poor health receives many unearned disadvantages of social privilege,” reads a statement in the manual created by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI).”

“DEOMI instructors were also responsible for briefings at bases around the country that falsely labeled evangelical Christians, Catholics and a number of high-profile Christian ministries as domestic hate groups.”

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The social experimentation and purging of folks who disagree with it continues as well.

From WND  “Retired Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, recipient of the U.S. military’s  highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, as well as other top retired officers,  say President Obama’s agenda is decimating the morale of the U.S. ranks to the  point members no longer feel prepared to fight or have the desire to win.

“There is no doubt he (Obama) is intent on emasculating the military and will  fire anyone who disagrees with him” over such issues as “homosexuals, women in  foxholes, the Obama sequester,” Brady told WND.”

“Not only are military service members being demoralized and the ranks’ overall  readiness being reduced by the Obama administration’s purge of key leaders,  colonels – those lined up in rank to replace outgoing generals – are quietly  taking their careers in other directions.”

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And if you’re going to attempt a take-over and reconstruction of the military, you need to get rid of the symbols of the old guard. And I’m sure this has plenty to do with another group who uses the same symbol at times.

From TheDailyCaller  “The Navy Jack is the ‘don’t tread on me’  flag, one that has earned a revered place in America’s naval history and a  beloved place in sailor’s hearts, through its use for over two centuries. This  symbol of America’s naval ferocity has spanned our country’s entire existence,  flying from the masts of the Continental Navy during the war of independence, to  today’s War on Terror. In fact, an amendment to the Navy code called SECNAV Instruction 10520.6 clearly  states that as of 31 May 2002 all ships are to fly the flag throughout the  duration of the War on Terror.

So why would ranking SEAL commanders ban the historical symbol? Is the  proverbial top bass banning the flag? Is President Obama?

Clearly the administration and sycophant “top brass” officers have degraded  America’s military prestige; from hand-tying rules of engagement, to uniform  regulations that make our military allegedly more compatible with foreign  forces, to the banning of an awe-inspiring flag that traces its roots to the  first U.S. Navy. We have a civilian-led military, but why should our ranking  commanders be complicit in the administration’s war on it? Why don’t they stand  up to Obama and his leftist cronies?”

That’s a good question.

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The Obama admin has suffered another court defeat over the contraceptive mandate.

From TheWaPo  “A divided appeals court panel sided Friday with Ohio business owners who challenged the birth control mandate under the new federal health care law.

The business owners are two brothers, Francis and Philip M. Gilardi, who own Freshway Foods and Freshway Logistics of Sidney, Ohio., and challenged the mandate on religious grounds. They say the mandate to provide contraceptive coverage would force them to violate their Roman Catholic beliefs and moral values by providing contraceptives such as the morning-after pill for their employees. The law already exempts houses of worship from the requirement.”

“The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is one of several on the birth control issue, which likely will be resolved by the Supreme Court. There are at least three other rulings by federal appeals courts on the mandate: One sided with Oklahoma businesses; and two sided with the Obama administration in challenges brought by Pennsylvania and Michigan companies.”

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So let me get this straight…

The Obama donor who got the contract which created the website mess is now getting more money to fix it? Cronyism on steroids.

From TheNYPost  “A tech firm linked to a campaign-donor crony of President Obama not only got the job to help build the federal health-insurance Web site — but also is getting paid to fix it.

Anthony Welters, a top campaign bundler for Obama and frequent White House guest, is the executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, which owns the software company now at the center of the ObamaCare Web-site fiasco.

UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Quality Software Services Inc. (QSSI), which built the data hub for the ObamaCare system, has been named the new general contractor in charge of repairing the glitch-plagued HealthCare.gov.

Welters and his wife, Beatrice, have shoveled piles of cash into Obama’s campaign coffers and ­apparently reaped the rewards.”

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by

News/Politics 11-1-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, as always.

Well that didn’t take long. 🙂

From USNews/NBCNews  “A federal appeals court on Thursday issued a ruling reinstating most of Texas’ tough new abortion restrictions.

A panel of judges at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling a day after District Judge Lee Yeakel said one provision serves no medical purpose.

The panel says the law requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital can take effect while a lawsuit moves forward. The restrictions could take effect Friday.”

“The panel left in place a portion of Yeakel’s order that prevents the state from enforcing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration protocol for abortion-inducing drugs in cases where the woman is between 50 and 63 days into her pregnancy. Doctors testifying before the court had said such women would be  harmed if the protocol were enforced.”

The court ruled that the restrictions were well within the legislature’s authority to enact.

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The Rev. Billy Graham is about to hold what could be his last crusade. This one will be broadcast on television and the internet due to his health issues. I’ve never had the privilege of attending one, so I’m looking forward to it. I will provide the link and broadcast info when it’s available, but it looks like it will be on his birthday Nov. 7th.

From NewsMax  “Evangelist Billy Graham’s voice is softer and his body weaker, but the man who helped transform Christianity in America and counseled U.S. presidents will  reach out to the nation on his 95th birthday in an effort to revitalize the church.

In early October, Graham gave  an exclusive interview to Newsmax during which he said the sermon  he was preparing might be his last.

Graham, whose last crusade will be  via video, told Newsmax that America is drenched in a “sea of immorality” and suggested that the second coming of Christ is “near.”

“Graham, who has not preached publicly since 2006 because of  frail health, has filmed a public message to air on national television on his Nov. 7  birthday, giving fans a rare and possibly final opportunity to see the man dubbed “America’s Pastor.”

“Our country is in great need of a spiritual awakening,” Graham says in a program titled “The Cross.” “With all my heart, I want to leave you with the truth.”

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Looks like more Benghazi lies have been exposed.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “Masked from public view, two of the U.S. military’s elite special operations commandos have been awarded medals for  bravery for a mission that further undercuts the Obama administration’s original story about the  Benghazi tragedy.”

“The Pentagon, under intense public criticism for not coming to the aid of besieged Americans, published an official timeline in November that carefully danced around the issue.

It said time and distance prevented any commandos outside Libya from reaching a CIA compound under  attack. The timeline disclosed that a reinforcement flight 400 miles away in Tripoli contained two “DoD personnel” but did  not describe who they were. Later, the official State Department report on Benghazi said they were “two U.S. military personnel” — but provided no other details. It made no mention of special operations forces.

But sources directly familiar with the attack tell The Washington Times that  a unit of eight special operators — mostly Delta  Force and Green Beret members — were in  Tripoli the night of the attack, on a counterterrorism mission that involved capturing weapons and wanted terrorists from the streets and helping train Libyan forces.”

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I’m sure the DoJ will be charging this leaker with felony charges. We know how they hate leakers, and I’m sure they’ll treat him just like the others. 🙄

From NationalReview  “A House committee investigating the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of right-leaning groups has identified the IRS agent who leaked the confidential donor list of the National Organization for Marriage, a conservative organization that opposes gay marriage. NOM’s donor list, contained in a Form 990 Schedule B, which it is required by law to file with the IRS, was obtained in March 2012 by its chief political opponent, the Human Rights Campaign, and subsequently became the subject of several national news stories that centered on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s donation to the group.”

“Though the House Ways and Means Committee, which began investigating the scandal in the wake of revelations that the IRS had inappropriately singled out conservative groups, has identified the individual who divulged the information as an employee in the IRS’s Exempt Organizations Division, it can’t divulge his name to the public or to NOM. It can’t even confirm when the leak took place, whether the perpetrator was disciplined, or even whether he is still employed by the IRS or the U.S. government. That’s because of a peculiarity of the Internal Revenue Code’s section 6103, which is intended to protect the confidentiality of taxpayer information. The law makes it a felony to disclose tax returns or related information to the public, but in an odd twist, the results of investigations conducted by congressional committees or by inspectors general are considered the confidential tax information of the alleged perpetrator.“

Yep. They’ll be on this guy soon. Any minute now……..

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by

News/Politics 10-31-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, a video of Ted Cruz’s remarks during the “Stand Your Ground” hearing yesterday.

Next up, Cruz again, this time warning of the DoJ trying an end run around the constitution. The DoJ is making the argument that international treaties should override US laws. The idea being Obama signed the UN Arms Treaty so we have to honor that and if it restricts the 2nd Amendment, too bad. Leftists could create all kind of mischief with this.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “Justice Department attorneys are advancing an argument at the Supreme Court that could allow the government to invoke international treaties as a legal basis for policies such as gun control that conflict with the U.S. Constitution, according to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

Their argument is that a law implementing an international treaty signed by the U.S. allows the federal government to prosecute a criminal case that would normally be handled by state or local authorities.

That is a dangerous argument, according to Cruz.”

“”If the administration is right, the treaty power could become a backdoor way for the federal government to do everything from abolishing the death penalty nationwide, to outlawing homeschooling, to dramatically curtailing the states’ rights to regulate abortion,” she told the Washington Examiner.”

2 Constitutional Scholars, one is right, the other is so very wrong. And he knows it too.

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Next up, Mr. “It’s Never My Fault”.

It’s those evil, for-profit companies canceling policy holders.

Because they followed ObamaCare rules and have to cancel them……..

From TheWaPo  “President Obama tried a new tack Wednesday as he fought back against criticism of his Obamacare claims.”

“Fact-checkers and journalists have ruled that Obama wasn’t being truthful when he claimed that people who liked their insurance could keep it. Obama during a speech in Boston sought to cast the issue Wednesday as trying to weed out “bad apple insurers” who don’t provide enough coverage.

“One of the things health reform was designed to do was to help not only the uninsured but also the under-insured,” Obama said. “And there are a number of Americans, fewer than 5 percent of Americans, who’ve got cut-rate plans that don’t offer real financial protection in the event of a serious illness or an accident.

“Remember, before the Affordable Care Act, these bad apple insurers had free rein every single year to limit the care that you received or used minor pre-existing conditions to jack up your premiums or bill you into bankruptcy.”

liar

🙂

I’ve been waiting for a spot for that one.

What?….  Too much? 🙂

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Meanwhile the White House is pressuring these same companies to just shut up and take it. It’s the Chicago way.

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More questions about just how secure the Healthcare.gov site is.

From TheAP  “An internal government memo obtained by The Associated Press shows administration officials were concerned that a lack of testing posed a “high” security risk for President Barack Obama’s new health insurance website.

The Sept. 27 memo to Medicare chief Marylin Tavenner said a website contractor wasn’t able to test all the security controls in one complete version of the system.

Insufficient testing “exposed a level of uncertainty that can be deemed as a high risk,” the memo said.”

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Shockingly it appears Senate Democrats are having a little trouble defending it all. 🙄

From TheWeeklyStandard  “Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire expressed shock that so many Americans are losing their current plans. “We knew that they would need to sign up again, but obviously I don’t think anybody thought people would be kicked off their health insurance plan,” said Shaheen, who refused to say if Americans should be able to keep the plans they had in 2013.

“He didn’t say anything wrong,” Senate majority leader Harry Reid said when asked about Obama’s promise. “That was true.”

According to Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Democrats had only promised that Americans could keep their insurance if it was “good insurance.”

“Many Senate Democrats tried to avoid answering questions about the president’s broken health insurance promise. Senators Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mark Pryor of Arkansas (both of whom are up for reelection next year) held their cell phones against their ears when approached for questions. Mark Warner of Virginia simply scoffed and walked away when asked if Americans should be allowed to keep their current health plans. Oregon senator Ron Wyden asked if we could talk later.”

You own it Democrats.

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And last one today for me, a story of local interest. It asks some interesting questions. And this is also why I find such displays tacky, juvenile, and just plain wrong. It demeans a legitimate charity effort in my opinion.

From MSNNews  “The court battle between two girls and their Pennsylvania school over “I (heart) Boobies!” bracelets could be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“The Easton Area School District board voted 7-1 Tuesday night to appeal a federal appeals court’s decision that rejected its claim the bracelets are lewd and should be banned from school. The case started in 2010 when two girls, then ages 12 and 13, challenged the school’s ban on the bracelets designed to promote breast cancer awareness among young people.”

“The Third Circuit Court has compromised administrators’ abilities to intervene in what is and what is not appropriate in school,” he said.

In court sessions, Reinhart had called the bracelets “cause-based marketing energized by sexual double-entendres.”

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Oh yeah, one more thing. Apparently Boston won last night and it’s supposed to be a big deal or something….  I don’t see it, but whatever, to each his own I suppose….

😆

From YahooSports  “About two minutes after the hit that won the Boston Red Sox the World Series, dozens of Boston Police officers started streaming off two buses hard by Lansdowne Street. What everyone else could sense, the BPD already knew. The Red Sox were going to win a championship in front of a home crowd for the first time since 1918, and a hundred more buses full of cops weren’t going to be enough to contain the coming party.

 Shane Victorino necessitated the police presence with a bases-clearing double off the Green Monster, John Lackey emerged victorious in a title-clinching game for the second time and the Red Sox sent Fenway Park, the city of Boston and all of New England into a tizzy with a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of the World Series on Wednesday night that delivered their eighth championship.”

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News/Politics 10-30-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

The White House has found someone else to throw under the bus rather than admit the obvious. And these folks aren’t happy about it. Nothing is ever the Obama administration’s fault. And as always, they’ll lie when challenged.

From TheLATimes  “The White House and State Department signed off on surveillance targeting phone conversations of friendly foreign leaders, current and former U.S. intelligence officials said Monday, pushing back against assertions that President Obama and his aides were unaware of the high-level eavesdropping.

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The Obama admin and Democrats have blamed CGI for the website issues. They don’t like being thrown under the bus either.

From CNN  “The Obama administration was given stark warnings just one month before launch that the federal healthcare site was not ready to go live, according to a confidential report obtained by CNN.

The caution, from the main contractor CGI, warned of a number of open risks and issues for the HealthCare.gov web site even as company executives were testifying publicly that the project had achieved key milestones.

On Capitol Hill on Monday, Medicaid Chief Marilyn Tavenner, whose job it was to oversee the October 1 rollout of the website, said she did not foresee its problems.

“No, we had tested the website and we were comfortable with its performance,” she said. “Now, like I said, we knew all along there would be as with any new website, some individual glitches we would have to work out. But, the volume issue and the creation of account issues was not anticipated and obviously took us by surprise. And did not show up in testing.”

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Oh look, more no-bid funny business in ObamaCare contracts.

From FoxNews  “The Dept. of Health and Human Services has quietly canceled a contract to a Chicago-based advocacy group that planned to promote ObamaCare benefits to recently paroled prisoners, after GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions wrote a letter to the agency in July questioning how the contract was funded.

 The HHS awarded the no-bid contract to Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities in July in order to “increase insurance enrollment for… individuals involved in the criminal justice system,” but then quietly updated the solicitation’s status to “canceled” on its website, saying it would be re-issued.

In his letter, Sessions, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, questioned why the advocacy group was awarded a special contract to promote the health care law to recently released convicts when the government has already spent over $200 million on the Navigators program, which is supposed to help educate all Americans about the law and its benefits and help them sign up.”

“Sessions also questioned why the contract was awarded to the group without on a no-bid basis, without offering the chance for other groups to offer the same services for less money.”

Probably a campaign donor or “friend of the prez”.

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The numbers for ObamaCare keep rising. No not the sign-ups, the cancellations.

From HotAir  ““If you like your doctor or health care plan,” Barack Obama repeatedly promised, “you can keep it.” Politifact rated that as “half true,” but for at least 2 million Americans, it’s a pants-on-fire lie from the White House.  CBS reports this morning that their contacts in the insurance industry confirm that millions have been booted from existing plans, and millions more may follow.”

“Well, it’s not unexpected for the White House and HHS, which made decisions three years ago that guaranteed millions would be pushed out of existing plans.  Levitt estimates that after subsidies are applied, about half will pay less in premiums while half will pay more, but that doesn’t take into account the escalating deductibles on the new plans.

The “subsidies will cover the difference” response also doesn’t address a fundamental truth about ObamaCare: it’s making everything more expensive, not just premiums.  Premiums increase as costs go up; that’s a fundamental point in risk-pool economics.  The subsidies only hide that cost, and don’t even do that well.  The subsidies will come from higher taxes and/or borrowing, and those taxes will be paid by Americans on top of the premiums they are now forced to absorb.  The only difference is that the taxes are indirect — either through income-tax increases or on costs associated with higher taxes on medical devices and services.”

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The fight for control of the future of the Republican party rages on. Maybe stuff like this is why people have the opinion that the party only cares about big business. Looks like the RINO’s are teaming up with big business to seize control of the party.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “The recent fiscal crisis has opened a major rift between the tea party wing  of the Republican Party and business  groups that traditionally have backed Republicans, with many business leaders  now vowing to get involved more in GOP primaries to try to counter insurgent candidates.

Tea party leaders are defiant, saying they will not change course despite  criticism from the U.S. Chamber of  Commerce, Business Roundtable and  other top business groups.

But business leaders argue that the scorched-earth tactics used by tea party  Republicans during the 16-day shutdown and debate over raising the federal  government’s borrowing limit marked the fourth time since the GOP took control of the House in 2011 that tea party adherents precipitated a  governmental crisis that zapped consumer and business confidence, raised  uncertainty and exerted a major drag on economic  growth.

Besides encouraging more business-friendly candidates in primary contests,  business groups are rallying behind establishment Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky  Republican who is being targeted by tea party activists for brokering a deal to  temporarily raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government, while launching a  negotiation with Democrats over budget cuts and proposed tax and entitlement  reforms.”

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The public however seems to disagree with RINO’s, big business, and Dems in some of their views of the Tea Party.

From Rasmussen  “Voters are evenly divided when asked whether they agree more politically with President Obama or with the average member of the Tea Party. But an enormous partisan gap colors virtually all opinions of the Tea Party.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% of Likely U.S. Voters think the president’s views are closest to their own when it comes to the major issues facing the country. But just as many (42%) say their views come closest to those of the average Tea Party member instead. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure.”

“Thirty-four percent (34%) now believe their personal views are closest to those of the average member of Congress when it comes to the major issues of the day. But slightly more (36%) say their views are closest to those of the average member of the Tea Party. A sizable 30%, however, are not sure.”

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And it seems Obama and his love of abortion (and their dollars) has rubbed off on OFA, the (totally non-partisan and unconnected to the White House honest we swear) advocacy group.

From LifeNews  “Operation Rescue has learned that the pro-abortion Respect ABQ Women Coalition, which is the main opposition to the Albuquerque “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance,” is actually an affiliate of Pres. Barack Obama’s “Organizing for Action,” which encourages activism for radical leftist causes. The two groups are working together under the banner of “Stand With Women,” which is coordinating a national effort against the municipal ordinance through BarackObama.com. [View screen shot of website]

Operation Rescue received a copy of an e-mail concerning a “Stand with Women” national conference call held on October 24, which originated from Kelli Lamb, Barack Obama.com, who is the Women’s Issues Coordinator for Obama’s Organizing for Action.”

“During this “strategy call,” Jennifer Lawson, the field director for the Planned Parenthood Action Fund in Albuquerque, solicited funds and volunteers to oppose the late-term abortion ban, according to a pro-life supporter who debriefed Operation Rescue after listening in on the call.”

“It appears that Obama is behind an organized effort to ensure the continuation of late-term abortions up until birth, and is attempting through subterfuge to subvert the will of the vast majority of the people of Albuquerque who oppose the heinous practice of aborting babies halfway through pregnancy and up until birth,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “These are the same leftists who are condemning support for the ordinance by national pro-life groups. The deception is appalling.”

But not at all surprising.

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News/Politics 10-29-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Penn State will pay 60 million to the Jerry Sandusky victims.

From MSNNews  “Penn State said Monday it is paying $59.7 million to 26 young men over claims of child sexual abuse at the hands of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, a man once revered as a university icon who is now serving what is effectively a life prison sentence.

Nearly two years after the retired coach was first charged with child molestation, the school said 23 deals were fully signed and three were agreements in principle. It did not disclose the names of the recipients.”

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A federal judge has ruled that Texas’ new abortion law violates the rights of women seeking abortion.

Also From MSNNews  “A federal judge has determined that new Texas abortion restrictions violate the U.S. Constitution, a ruling that keeps open — at least for now — dozens of abortion clinics that were set to halt operations Tuesday had key parts of the law taken effect.

In a decision released Monday that the state is certain to appeal, District Judge Lee Yeakel wrote that the regulations requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital creates an undue obstacle to women seeking an abortion.”

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Congressional investigators have “grilled” Benghazi witnesses. A move the White House isn’t happy with.

From TheLATimes  “Responding to congressional subpoenas, the State Department security agents were asked how the Libyan terrorists stormed the mission and set parts of it on fire, how they were armed and how they killed four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, sources with knowledge of the matter said. The agents also were asked about security breakdowns and whether the administration reacted appropriately to the Sept. 11, 2012, assault.

How those highly guarded and secret interviews came about was part of an increasingly bitter dispute between two branches of the federal government.

Prosecutors are under intense pressure to arrest and convict the terrorists, while the Republican-led House is determined to find who is responsible for any lapse in security that night, and whether the administration misled the public when officials initially said the attack stemmed from a protest.”

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Separation of Church and State?…….. Anyone?

From News4Jax  “Community organizers went to churches across the country, talking to members about the new health care law, with help from pastors.

Pastor John Newman introduced two community organizers from Enroll America who talked about the act, everything from coverage, cost, to how to enroll.”

“Our pastor, he keeps us real informed and grounded in what’s going on in the community, and he’s always bringing stuff to help us, so I love him for that,” Fletcher said.

That bond between a pastor and church members is what Enroll America is counting on as a part of their nationwide initiative called “Health Care from the Pulpit.”

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The Obama admin has finally admitted to the most obvious ObamaCare lie.

From NBCNews  “President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that after the Affordable Care Act became law, people who liked their health insurance would be able to keep it. But millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.

Four sources deeply involved in the Affordable Care Act tell NBC NEWS that 50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a “cancellation” letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don’t meet the standards mandated by the new health care law. One expert predicts that number could reach as high as 80 percent. And all say that many of those forced to buy pricier new policies will experience “sticker shock.”  

Be sure to welcome your liberal friends to reality. They’re new here, so a friendly, smiling face is important to helping them adjust. They’ll be plenty of time for saying “I told you so” later. 🙂

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Turns out the cancellations are the most efficient part of this whole fiasco. 🙄

From NationalReview  “So far the part of the Obamacare rollout that is going most smoothly and affecting the most people is the cancellation of current insurance polices. In states around the country, hundreds of thousands of people are getting notices from insurers that their plans are no longer allowed by the law. All told, 16 million people may be dumped from their policies, in flagrant contradiction of President Obama’s famous promise that you can keep your health plan if you like it. 

Maybe the president didn’t understand the basic architecture of his own health care law, which depends on a government takeover of the individual insurance market. The rules governing the new system impose a novel federal definition of insurance on the country, and plans that don’t meet it, regardless of how well they may have served their customers in the past, are, by and large, verboten. Some are grandfathered, but the rules are strict and a great many existing plans won’t pass muster.”

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News/Politics 10-28-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, 60 Minutes/CBS had a new piece on Benghazi last night. Basically everything CBS and Fox News has reported has been confirmed.

No wonder they’ve tried to cover it up.

And now you know why releasing Gitmo terrorist detainees isn’t a good idea as well.

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Next up today, complaints about Hurricane Sandy and associated relief efforts. Gov. Christie is blaming the feds. And Congress.

From Verizon/AP  “Gov. Chris Christie says he understands victims’ frustrations a year after Superstorm Sandy but maintains that his administration isn’t to blame for delays in aid reaching victims.

In an interview with The Associated Press as the anniversary of the Oct. 29 megastorm approached, Christie blamed Congress, which took three months to approve a $50.7 billion relief package for the region, and a thicket of red tape put in place to prevent the type of fraud that occurred after Hurricane Katrina.”

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A name you’ll recognized has come up in the relief discussion too. One that’s already associated with a large scale govt failure.

From DailyCaller  “CGI Federal Inc., the mastermind behind healthcare.gov, is assisting the U.S.  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the distribution of $1.7  billion in relief for Hurricane Sandy.

In a memo obtained by FreedomWorks titled, “Minutes of the 295th  meeting of the members of the Housing Trust Fund Corporation held on May 9,  2013, at 8:30 a.m.,” CGI Federal is tasked with implementing the Disaster  Housing Assistance Program. Additionally, they are asked to aid in the  implementation of the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery  Program, an assistance program that had recently obtained $1.7 billion.”

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And that’s not all, they’re associated with other govt offices, and even more govt money. And more failure. The NSA and PRISM ring a bell? Foreign govts too.

From WeaselZippers  “A great deal of media focus has been devoted to the epic failure of Healthcare.gov, the Obamacare website. Less has been said about the company who was engaged by HHS with responsibility for the design of the website and the roll out.

The company was CGI, a Canadian company. CGI has a long and checked past of failures and overruns on projects from Canada to Hawaii.”

“CGI, the Canadian company whose U.S. subsidiary built the failed Obamacare website, was once contracted to build a federal gun registry for the Canadian government, Breitbart News has learned.”

“CGI has a subsidiary called Silver Oak Solutions (SOS) which operates the PRISM platform. If that rings a bell, it’s because the NSA uses the PRISM platform to help spy on people.”

Getting worried yet?

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And we now also know that one of their top executives was a classmate of Michelle Obama, and that the company president is an Obama supporter. No bid contracts and cronyism don’t mix well for taxpayers.

From TheDailyCaller  “First  Lady Michelle  Obama’s Princeton classmate is a top executive at the company that earned the  contract to build the failed Obamacare website.

Toni Townes-Whitley, Princeton class of ’85, is  senior vice president at CGI Federal, which earned the no-bid contract to build the $678 million  Obamacare enrollment website at Healthcare.gov. CGI Federal is the U.S. arm of a  Canadian company.”

“Toni Townes ’85 is a onetime policy analyst with the General Accounting Office and previously served in the Peace Corps in Gabon,  West Africa. Her decision to return to work, as an African-American woman, after  six years of raising kids was applauded by a Princeton alumni  publication in 1998

George  Schindler, the president for U.S. and Canada of the Canadian-based CGI  Group, CGI Federal’s parent company, became an Obama 2012  campaign donor after his company gained the Obamacare website contract.”

Nice huh? 🙄

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Meanwhile the middle class continues to experience sticker shock from ObamaCare.

From TheLATimes  “Thousands of Californians are discovering what Obamacare will cost them — and many don’t like what they see.

These middle-class consumers are staring at hefty increases on their insurance bills as the overhaul remakes the healthcare market. Their rates are rising in large part to help offset the higher costs of covering sicker, poorer people who have been shut out of the system for years.

Although recent criticism of the healthcare law has focused on website glitches and early enrollment snags, experts say sharp price increases for individual policies have the greatest potential to erode public support for President Obama‘s signature legislation.”

“”This is when the actual sticker shock comes into play for people,” said Gerald Kominski, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. “There are winners and losers under the Affordable Care Act.”

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My wife has been telling me this for years. It’s why we don’t go to the doctors for colds, respiratory infections, and minor illnesses. Antibiotic use is out of hand, and it not working like it used too 😯

From TheDailyMail  “‘For a long time, there have been newspaper  stories and covers of magazines that talked about “The end of antibiotics,  question mark?”‘ said Dr Arjun Srinivasan. ‘Well, now I would say you can change  the title to “The end of antibiotics, period.”’

The associate director of the CDC sat down  with Frontline over the summer for a lengthy  interview about the growing problem of antibacterial resistance.

Srinivasan, who is also featured in a  Frontline report called ‘Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria,’ which aired  Tuesday, said that both humans and livestock have been overmedicated to such a degree that bacteria are now resistant to antibiotics.

‘We’re in the post-antibiotic era,’ he said.  ‘There are patients for whom we have no therapy, and we are literally in a position of having a patient in a bed who has an infection, something that five years ago even we could have treated, but now we can’t.’”

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News/Politics 10-26-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread, here’s a few from me.

The US Army has finally decided to stop some of the nonsense.

From FoxNews  “The Secretary of the Army has ordered military leaders to halt all briefings on extremist organizations that labeled Evangelical Christian groups as domestic hate groups. The shutdown comes just four days after I reported exclusively about a briefing at Mississippi’s Camp Shelby that labeled the American Family Association as a domestic hate group.”

“Men and women of faith – who have served the Army faithfully for centuries – have been likened to those who regularly threaten the peace and security of the United States,” said Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance. “It is dishonorable for any U.S. military entity to allow this type of improper characterization.”

““The groups identified in the instruction were not ‘extremist’ organizations as that term is defined in Army Regulation,” McHugh wrote in his memorandum.”

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Holder has some more ‘splainin’ to do.

From TheHill  “Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) accused Attorney General Eric Holder of forcing  African American students in Louisiana into failing schools for the sake of  diversity. 

“The fact that Attorney General Holder would block any child from obtaining a  good education is bad enough,” Toomey said Thursday. “The fact that he is doing  so based solely on the children’s race is inexcusable.”

Toomey along with more than 20 of his Senate Republican colleagues sent  Holder a letter Thursday requesting more information on why the Justice Department filed a  petition to keep 570 students from “escaping failing public schools, solely on  the basis of the children’s skin color.”

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CBS is reporting that more Medicaid plans paid for by taxpayers are being received from the new exchange than private plans paid for by the individuals. Shocking right? 🙄

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Now who’s pushin’ Granny off the cliff? 🙄

From TheNYPost  “ObamaCare is making seniors sick.

Elderly New Yorkers are in a panic after getting notices that insurance companies are booting their doctors from the Medicare Advantage program as a result of the shifting medical landscape under ObamaCare.

That leaves patients with unenviable choices: keep the same insurance plan and find another doctor, pay out of pocket or look for another plan where their physician is a member.”

You can’t cut 700 billion and expect this wouldn’t happen. And we’re dumping even more people into the system while cutting funds and doctors. What could possibly go wrong?

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And the last one for today is an interesting one, with an easy solution. Don’t do it. And if you do anyway because you enjoy playing around in social experiments and giving away body fluids, then expect that there might be consequences.

Or will this be like weddings, cakes, and photos and you can’t refuse to perform it without being sued?

From NBCNews  “A Kansas district court heard arguments Friday in the case of a man who is being sued for thousands of dollars in child support by the state after donating his sperm to a same-sex couple he found through a Craigslist ad.

William Marotta, a mechanic, and his wife Kimberly are fighting the state’s contention that the man should be required to pay child support, arguing that a Kansas law requiring a licensed doctor to perform artificial insemination is antiquated.”

“Bauer and Schreiner have separated since the artificial insemination, and have struggled financially because of an injury that left Schreiner unable to work. Marotta has said that he has seen the girl twice in her lifetime – once soon after her birth, and another time by coincidence at the Kansas State Fair. But he has never identified himself as her father, he said.”

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News/Politics 10-25-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, the more we know, the worse it gets.

From TheWeeklyStandard  “Let me be exactly clear about what health care reform means to you,” Obama said at one rally in July 2009. “First of all, if you’ve got health insurance, you like your doctors, you like your plan, you can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan.  Nobody is talking about taking that away from you.”  

But the president’s promise is turning out to be false for millions of Americans who have had their health insurance policies canceled because they don’t meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. 

According to health policy expert Bob Laszewski, roughly 16 million Americans will lose their current plans because of Obamacare:”

“These 16 million people are now receiving letters from their carriers saying they are losing their current coverage and must re-enroll in order to avoid a break in coverage and comply with the new health law’s benefit mandates––the vast majority by January 1. Most of these will be seeing some pretty big rate increases.”

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Even one of the Democrat supporters is saying it’s too expensive, even for his rich constituents. And he wants a waiver for these 1%ers. 😯 The folks at Occupy will not be pleased.

From FoxNews  “One of President Obama’s most ardent liberal supporters has defected from ObamaCare.

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, told a Colorado health policy think tank that ObamaCare premiums will be too expensive for some of the wealthiest addresses in America – ski resorts like Breckenridge and Keystone. 

He says he’s asking the feds to let them sit out the president’s national health system.

“We will be encouraging a waiver,” Polis told Health Policy Solutions in a story that ran today. “It will be difficult for Summit County residents to become insured. For the vast majority, it’s too high a price to pay.”

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Here’s more on something we talked about yesterday.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “Even if Obama wanted to extend the open enrollment period, he wouldn’t be allowed to without an act of Congress — at least if he wants to follow the law he signed.

Though the health care law granted the Secretary of Health and Human Services discretion to define dates for the open enrollment period to occur each year, it also specified that the initial enrollment period (i.e. the current one) had to be announced by July 1, 2012.

Specifically, Section 1311 of the healthcare law reads, “ENROLLMENT PERIODS: The Secretary shall require an Exchange to provide for– (A) an initial open enrollment, as determined by the Secretary (such determination to be made not later than July 1, 2012).”

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Meanwhile the cost for set up has gone over a billion dollars.

From TheHill  “A surge in government spending in the six months before the ObamaCare exchanges  went live pushed federal spending to top government contractors over the $1  billion mark, a new study finds.”

“According to the report released Thursday by Bloomberg Government analyst Peter  Gosselin, federal spending ramped up in the months leading up to Oct. 1, with  $352 million of the $1 billion in federal contracts to the top 10 ObamaCare  contractors awarded during this time.

“In a typical IT project, spending  ramps up to a peak, then trails off during the final phase,” Gosselin  wrote.

The price tag usually associated the Affordable Care Act rollout  is $394 million, based on a Government Accountability Office report. Gosselin  argued that study was too narrowly focused, so he expanded his search of a  federal contractor databases to include all awards where the acronym “ACA” or  other related words and phrases appeared.”

Wow. The GAO was wrong? Color me shocked…. 🙄

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I can’t wait to hear the justification from the NEA and Dems on this one.

From FoxNews  “A bipartisan bill that would stop convicted sex offenders from working in schools has been passed by the House but is running into a foe as it heads to the Senate: major teachers’ unions like the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.

Kyle Olson, with the Education Action Group Foundation told Megyn Kelly Wednesday night on “The Kelly File” that the unions’ objection to the bill proves “unions are out to protect the adults…they are not out for the interests of the children.”

“We should have zero tolerance for issues like this,” Olson said. “We have zero tolerance policies for weapons, a kid who bites a Pop Tart into a gun or has a Hello Kitty bubble-maker will be suspended or expelled if they have those sorts of things…”

“Additionally, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., has spoken out against the bill, saying it does not allow for people to overcome their criminal backgrounds.”

Ummmm, no, sorry Keith. Just because someone served their time for it doesn’t mean they should be allowed around children in a position of authority as if it never happened. Not buyin’ it.

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And the last one today is a little comic relief from the folks at ReasonTV.

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News/Politics 10-24-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Looks like the White House will finally admit a delay in the individual mandate is necessary.

From MarketWatch  “The Obama administration will delay enforcement of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance mandate, extending how long Americans may go uninsured before facing a penalty under the law, MarketWatch has learned.

The health care law requires most people to have health insurance by Jan. 1, 2014 or face a penalty, but the Administration may postpone when those penalties will go into effect. The law allows for “short coverage gaps” of up to three months before imposing the penalty, which is $95 or 1% of an individual’s income (whichever is greater) next year. Under the current rules, someone would have to be covered by March 31, an official with the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed, which is the final day that people will be able to purchase health insurance on the public exchanges, or marketplaces, created by the ACA.”

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Maybe a four year delay is in order?

From Forbes  “For people who have been following the story closely, it’s been clear for months that Obamacare’s exchanges were not ready to go live on October 1, and that their implementation needed to be delayed. The Obama administration insisted otherwise, claiming that everything was hunky-dory, and that reports to the contrary were simply the work of partisan saboteurs. But earlier this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted the truth. “We didn’t have enough testing…for a very complicated project,” she conceded to the Wall Street Journal. The exchanges needed five years of construction and one year of testing, and instead had only “two years [of construction] and almost no testing.” That leaves us with an obvious question: Why, then, did Sebelius insist on rolling out the exchanges four years ahead of time?”

“The answer may be that she was under direct instructions from the White House. According to a letter sent to White House officials by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, CGI Federal—one of the key contractors involved in the project—said that officials with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the government agency tasked with running the exchanges, “constantly mentioned the ‘White House’ when discussing matters with CGI. For example, CGI officials told Committee staff that the ability to shop for health insurance without registering for an account—a central design feature of the health insurance exchange—was removed ‘in late August or early September.’”

It’s time to drag her in front of Congress, with a subpoena if necessary.

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Who are the ObamaCare Navigators, and how much are we paying for them?

From WeaselZippers  “1. Millions and millions of dollars It is important to understand that all the navigators listed are not just helping steer people through the Obamacare maze out of the goodness of their hearts. Each group/person listed has been awarded a grant (translate: tax payer dollars) to “navigate” people through the process.

For example, the Community Action Network of Nebraska (CAN) which has a few chapters amongst the listings, was awarded a grant for $562, 457.

There are 454 listings other than CAN.”

“There are also multiple “community action” groups, many of which sound like ACORN reborn. Amongst those, there is Seedco. Seedco has a “seedy” past. Seedco was under investigation by both NY State and the Federal government for fraud for falsely reporting jobs they supposedly had obtained for workers pursuant to a grant. The U.S. Attorney brought a civil fraud charge against them and they paid $1.725 million in a settlement in December 2012. Despite this, President Obama gave them a multi-million dollar contract for Obamacare. Or should I say, we paid the settlement at least in some measure, since they received more tax dollars for training for Obamacare. “As a result of these and other operational changes, we strongly believe that Seedco has the experience, integrity and commitment to carry out this work,” a Seedco statement said when queried about their involvement in Obamacare.”

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The Army keeps saying this isn’t official policy and these are “rogue” instructors doing this, and yet it keeps happening.

From FoxNews  “Soldiers attending a pre-deployment briefing at Fort Hood say they were told that evangelical Christians and members of the Tea Party were a threat to the nation and that any soldier donating to those groups would be subjected to punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

A soldier who attended the Oct. 17th briefing told me the counter-intelligence agent in charge of the meeting spent nearly a half hour discussing how evangelical Christians and groups like the American Family Association were “tearing the country apart.”

““The American public should be outraged that the U.S. Army is teaching our troops that evangelical Christians and Tea Party members are enemies of America, and that they can be punished for supporting or participating in those groups,” said Berry, a former Marine Corps JAG officer.”

“And while a large portion of the briefing dealt with the threat evangelicals and the Tea Party pose to the nation, barely a word was said about Islamic extremism, the soldier said.”

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Maybe that has something to do with this.

From TheBlaze  “Nine senior commanding generals have been fired by the Obama administration this year, leading to speculation by active and retired members of the military that a purge of its commanders is underway.

Retired generals and current senior commanders that have spoken with TheBlaze say the administration is not only purging the military of commanders they don’t agree with, but is striking fear in the hearts of those still serving.

The timing comes as the five branches of the U.S. armed forces are reducing staff due to budget cuts, and as U.S. troops are expected to withdraw from Afghanistan next year.

“I think they’re using the opportunity of the shrinkage of the military to get rid of people that don’t agree with them or not tow the party line. Remember, as (former White House chief of staff) Rahm Emanuel said, never waste a crisis,” a senior retired general told TheBlaze on the condition of anonymity because he still provide services to the government and fears possible retribution.”

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Next up, the Unemployment Rate is down, the number of Americans not in the workforce is up, and fuzzy math rules the day.

From CNSNews  “The number of Americans who are 16 years or older and  who have decided not to participate in the nation’s labor force has  climbed to a record 90,609,000  in September, according to data released  today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The BLS counts a person as participating in the labor force if they  are 16 years or older and either have a job or have actively sought a  job in the last four weeks. A person is not participating in the labor  force if they are 16 or older and have not sought a job in the last four  weeks.

In from July to August, according to BLS, Americans not participating  in the labor force climbed from 89,957,000 to 90,473,000, pushing past  90,000,000 for the first time, with a one month increase of 516,000.”

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And because of the above, you get this as one of the results as well.

Also From CNSNews  “In the fourth quarter of 2011, 49.2 percent of Americans received benefits from one or more government programs, according to data released Tuesday by the Census  Bureau.

In total, the Census Bureau estimated, 151,014,000 Americans out of a  population then estimated to be 306,804,000 received benefits from one  or more government programs during the last three months of 2011. Those 151,014,000 beneficiaries equaled 49.2 percent of the population.

This included 82,457,000 people–or 26.9 percent of the population–who lived in households in which one or more people received Medicaid benefits.”

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And the cost for all this continues to rise. But remember, we don’t have a spending problem. 🙄

From TheWeeklyStandard  “New research from the Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee shows that over the last 5 years, the U.S. has spent about $3.7 trillion on welfare.”

“We have just concluded the 5th fiscal year since President Obama took office. During those five years, the federal government has spent a total $3.7 trillion on approximately 80 different means-tested poverty and welfare programs. The common feature of means-tested assistance programs is that they are graduated based on a person’s income and, in contrast to programs like Social Security or Medicare, they are a free benefit and not paid into by the recipient,” says the minority side of the Senate Budget Committee.

“The enormous sum spent on means-tested assistance is nearly five times greater than the combined amount spent on NASA, education, and all federal transportation projects over that time. ($3.7 trillion is not even the entire amount spent on federal poverty support, as states contribute more than $200 billion each year to this federal nexus—primarily in the form of free low-income health care.)”

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And this should scare everyone, but especially the youngsters who will be left holding the bag.

From ZeroHedge  “Did you know that the U.S. national debt has increased by more than a trillion dollars in just over 12 months?  On September 30th, 2012 the U.S. national debt was sitting at $16,066,241,407,385.89.  Today, it is up to $17,075,590,107,963.57.  These numbers come directly from official U.S. government websites and can easily be verified.  For a long time the national debt was stuck at just less than 16.7 trillion dollars because of the debt ceiling fight, but now that the debt ceiling crisis has been delayed for a few months the national debt is soaring once again.  In fact, just one day after the deal in Congress was reached, the U.S. national debt rose by an astounding 328 billion dollars.  In the blink of an eye we shattered the 17 trillion dollar mark with no end in sight.  We are stealing about $100,000,000 from our children and our grandchildren every single hour of every single day. This goes on 24 hours a day, month after month, year after year without any interruption.

Over the past five years, the U.S. government has been on the greatest debt binge in history.  Unfortunately, most Americans don’t realize just how bad things have gotten because the true budget deficit numbers are not reported on the news. The following is where the U.S. national debt has been on September 30th during the five years previous to this one…

09/30/2012: $16,066,241,407,385.89

09/30/2011: $14,790,340,328,557.15

09/30/2010: $13,561,623,030,891.79

09/30/2009: $ 11,909,829,003,511.75

09/30/2008: $10,024,724,896,912.49″

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