News/Politics

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News/Politics 10-11-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

I’ve got a bunch today, so I’ll be brief. Or not. 🙂

First up, an interesting read on the spitefulness from the White House and the similarities to other spiteful leaders in history.

From TheSultanKnishBlog  “The Berlin Blockade was a siege in all but name. Beyond the sheer fact of food and coal being cut off to a city of millions were a thousand minor humiliations by Soviet officials designed to break the will of their enemies to resist. That was their mistake. And it’s a mistake that the left often makes.

The barricades around the Lincoln Memorial and the WW2 Memorial, the traffic cones blocking the view of Mt. Rushmore and the sawhorses around Old Faithful are no Berlin Blockade, but they come out of the same meanness of spirit and the same motives.

The petty harassment extended to a 24-hour blockade of an inn that had tried to stay open and rangers arriving to block Old Faithful every time it erupted. There are few moments that sum up the meanness of spirit of the Obama Blockade as well as a park ranger angrily telling senior citizens to get back on the bus and stop taking photos because they are engaging in forbidden “recreating”.

The Obama Blockade has no valid justification. Like the Berlin Blockade, it is about power and control.”

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Next, good, let’s see more.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “Taking their lead from the veterans who first pushed through the barricades  to visit the World War II Memorial,  Americans nationwide are defying the federal government shutdown, tossing aside  traffic cones and toppling wooden fences to get to national parks and other  federal lands that the administration has deemed out of bounds.

As the shutdown hits the middle of its second week, civil disobedience has  become a sensation. Some proudly post online photos of themselves overcoming the  government’s obstacles, and others use more subtle ways to make their point.”

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And here’s more.

From TheWaPo  “Organizers of the “Truckers Ride for the Constitution” rally say they are indeed coming to Washington on Friday — but whether they will shut down the Beltway or just make a lot of noise remains to be seen.”

“Zeeda Andrews, one of the organizers of the event, said the ride is a go, but emphasized that it will be peaceful. She said that Georgia trucker Earl Conlon “overstepped his boundaries” earlier this week in saying the event was just a ploy to get attention for the group’s agenda.

“Yes, it is happening,” she said about the rally. Andrews said she expects “a few thousand truckers” to descend on the District on Friday.”

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Veterans are sick of the poor treatment and are planning a protest as well.

From VetMarch  “In a mean-spirited fit of selfish anger, Barack Obama has shut down our nation’s war memorials. And he has declared open war on our honored veterans!

 The World War II memorial … the Vietnam Veterans Memorial … the Korean War Veterans Memorial – Obama has shut them all down to force his will on the House of Representatives and frankly, to get revenge on the American people who oppose Obamacare and his other naked power grabs.

Let’s put it plainly: Barack Obama is behaving like a vicious tyrant. And if he succeeds in this assault on the democratic system, the Republic we love is at mortal risk. It’s just that simple.

That’s why I am asking you now to take two decisive moves to show Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi – and all of their oppressive ilk in Washington – that “We the People” are still in charge. And we won’t rest until we take back our memorials and monuments!”

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Some folks are picking up the slack. 🙂

From USAToday  “Most everybody complains about the government shutdown, but Chris Cox is actually doing something about it.

With many government operations shuttered by the political standoff in Washington,  Cox took a lawn mower to the National Mall this week and began cutting  grass areas between the Lincoln and World War II memorials.

“These are our memorials. Do they think that we’re just going to let them go to hell?” Cox told Washington radio station 99.1 in a story recounted by Columbia, S.C., TV station WIS.”

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Maybe de-funding ObamaCare won’t be necessary. It could just collapse on its own.

From TheDailyMail  “Obamacare’s main sign up engine attracted  just 6,200 new customers on its launch day and 51,000 after the first  week

At the same rate, the 6-month open  enrollment period would sign up just 2 million Americans, including 14 states  and D.C., which have their own insurance exchanges

The Congressional Budget Office says  Obamacare needs at least 7 million customers to stay afloat  financially .

Numerous Obama administration officials  have denied seeing any enrollment figures at all

MailOnline’s sources are two Health and  Human Services workers who have access to the data as it’s  crunched

So the White House lied yesterday when asked if the numbers were available. Not surprising.

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And it’s look like 800,000 NJ residents just found how it will impact them.

From NJ.Com  “Hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans opened the mail last week to find their health insurance plan would no longer exist in 2014 because it does not cover all the essential benefits required by the Affordable Care Act.

The news surprised some who were unaware that provisions in the new law known as “Obamacare” were forcing insurance companies to scrap some plans they had previously offered.

“The Affordable Care Act is driving many changes to products and pricing,” said Thomas Vincz, a spokesman for Horizon. “Horizon BCBSNJ is actively working to help our members find new insurance plans that meet their needs and budget.”

Sorry folks. But elections have consequences’.

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News/Politics 10-10-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, as always.

We have some interesting ones today.

First up, Wow. 🙄

From DigitalTrends.com  “It’s been one full week since the flagship technology portion of the  Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) went live. And since that time, the befuddled  beast that is Healthcare.gov has shutdown, crapped out, stalled, and  mis-loaded so consistently that its track record for failure is challenged only  by Congress.

The site itself, which apparently underwent major code renovations over the  weekend, still rejects user logins, fails to load drop-down menus and other  crucial components for users that successfully gain entrance, and otherwise  prevents uninsured Americans in the 36 states it serves from purchasing  healthcare at competitive rates – Healthcare.gov’s primary purpose. The site is  so busted that, as of a couple days ago, the number of people that successfully  purchased healthcare through it was in the “single digits,” according to the Washington Post.

The reason for this nationwide headache apparently stems from poorly written code, which buckled under the heavy influx of  traffic that its engineers and administrators should have seen coming. But the  fact that Healthcare.gov can’t do the one job it was built to do isn’t the most  infuriating part of this debacle – it’s that we, the taxpayers, seem to have  forked up more than $634 million of the federal purse to build the  digital equivalent of a rock.”

You say digital rock, I say Obama’s legacy. Either works.

Oh wait……. Never mind, his legacy isn’t working. 😯

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California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a new law allowing non-physicians to perform abortions.

From Breitbart  “The legislation, which had been pushed vigorously by Planned Parenthood, had been strongly opposed by pro-life groups and some physicians, arguing that it amounted to legalizing back-alley abortions for profit.

In a statement, Gov. Brown boasted that AB 154 was one of seven bills signed Tuesday “to support the health and well-being of women in California.”

How exactly does letting unqualified people perform a medical procedure supportive? And well-being? Really? Unbelievable.

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But….but….but…. they’re mostly moderates. Obama and McCain said so.

From TheLATimes  “U.S. intelligence officials are increasingly concerned that Al Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups could carve out a haven in Syria that will offer the kind of sanctuary they once enjoyed in northwestern Pakistan, current and former U.S. officials say.

Officials say a clandestine CIA program that provides rudimentary training and weapons to U.S.-backed politically moderate insurgents is unlikely to curb the growing strength of extremists among the opposition militias seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Though the fighting remains limited to Syria, U.S. intelligence officials already are looking at worst-case scenarios if the country breaks into distinct government- and rebel-controlled enclaves. The alarm grew recently when militants from Al Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate considered the most capable and best-armed rebel force, and its allies seized a border crossing between Syria and Jordan near the Syrian city of Dara.”

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This one wouldn’t surprise me at all. Their do-gooder efforts rarely work out as planned.

From Dallas/FtWorthCBSLocal  “It started as a simple look at bullying. University of Texas at Arlington criminologist Seokjin Jeong analyzed data collected from 7,000 students from all 50 states.

He thought the results would be predictable and would show that anti-bullying programs curb bullying. Instead — he found the opposite.

Jeong said it was, “A very disappointing and a very surprising thing. Our anti-bullying programs, either intervention or prevention does not work.”

The study concluded that students at schools with anti-bullying programs might actually be more likely to become a victim of bullying. It also found that students at schools with no bullying programs were less likely to become victims.”

But are there just more reported at schools with programs, which could skew the numbers?

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Here’s an interesting case, although I’m surprised it went this far. Seems like a stretch to me. You can’t get plastered and then say you’re not responsible for your actions and what happens once you are. Or can you? We’ll see I guess.

From MSNNews  “Three people convicted of murder in deadly crashes urged New York’s highest court Tuesday to throw out their convictions, arguing they were too intoxicated to know the threat they posed to others.

The murder convictions of Martin Heidgen, Taliyah Taylor and Franklin McPherson all hinge on the prosecution’s contention they acted with “depraved indifference to human life” in fatal crashes that share a number of common threads: driving too fast in the wrong lane while under the influence.

Defense attorneys argued prosecutors failed to prove their clients acted with depraved indifference and, in fact, their clients were too impaired to know what they were doing.”

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by

News/Politics 10-9-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

A new low in the shutdown fight. Denying benefits to the families of those killed in combat. In many cases this benefit is used to help with burial and travel for the families. This is for no other reason but spite. But thankfully, a group has stepped up to help.

From NBCNews  “A Maryland foundation is stepping into the breach to cover death benefits for the families of fallen service members that were suspended during the government shutdown — including the families of five killed in Afghanistan over the weekend.

In what veterans call an outrageous slight after the ultimate sacrifice, the shuttered federal government is withholding a $100,000 payment, known as the death gratuity, that is normally wired to relatives of fallen service members.”

“It is upsetting because my husband died for his country, and now his family is left to worry,” said Ashley Peters of Springfield, Mo., whose husband, Jeremy, was a special agent assigned to the Army’s 5th Military Police Battalion and was among the five killed. “My husband always said if something happened to him we would be taken care of.”

“As outrage over the lapse built Tuesday, the Fisher House Foundation of Bethesda, Md., offered to cover advance grants until the government can make reimbursements to the foundation.”

One father blames the Tea Party for this. But the order for this came from the Obama White House, not Congress. His anger seems misdirected.

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VA offices and benefits are being used to inflict more pain.

From TheHill  “Regional offices run by the Department of Veterans Affairs closed Tuesday as  furloughs began for 7,000 employees of the agency’s Benefits  Administration  (VBA).”

““All public access to VBA regional offices and facilities will be suspended …  due to a lack of funds,” Veterans Affairs Department spokeswoman Victoria Dillon  said in a statement provided to The Hill.”

“House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.)  slammed Senate Democrats for not agreeing to piecemeal bills to fund the VA. The  ball, Miller said, is now in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) court.  

“Harry Reid could stop these furloughs and ensure veterans’  benefits immediately by acting on either of these bills, but instead he’s  content to let them gather dust on his desk,” he said in a statement. “It’s well  past time for Harry Reid to stop the games and fund VA. If not, he owes  America’s veterans an explanation for why he’s putting their benefits at risk.”

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This admin has specifically targeted veterans, but they’re not the only victims. Here’s the top six.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “A partial government shutdown just wasn’t going to hit people the way the Obama administration needed it to, so officials resorted to some unprecedented acts to make Americans feel the pain, as Conservative Intel’s David Freddoso notes:

Most people — even the poor in state-run safety net programs — don’t have that many interactions with the federal government agencies affected right now by the shutdown.

So it’s a challenge to make people notice that your agency is vital to the survival of the Republic. The feds have to apply a lot of force and behave in unsubtle ways to make you angry with Congress.”

Folks are cited for trespassing and threatened with arrest for trying to access parks and monuments. Well, except for the rally for immigration reform, they got a pass.

Aren’t we at least supposed to get cake or something? Maybe a circus?

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The President held an hour-long press conference Republican Bashfest. Funny thing though, the press got him in person for an hour with questions, and yet not one asked about the failure that is the ObamaCare Exchanges. Gee, I wonder why……. 🙄

From Politico  “President Barack Obama sustained an hour-long press conference today without a single question about his signature healthcare law and the glitches that continue to plague the insurance exchanges — a point that frustrated several conservatives.

“Explain to me how in a dozen questions the second biggest story of the week, the healthcare.gov debacle, doesn’t even come up,” Brendan Buck, the press secretary for House Speaker John Boehner, asked in an email to POLITICO.

“”Questions from WH press corps are pathetic,” Brit Hume, the Fox News analyst tweeted. “As of this moment, not a single tough or challenging inquiry.”

Liberal outlets are blaming……. wait for it…… wait……

The shutdown. 🙄

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That’s a shame, because they could have asked some good ones. Like maybe ask why our personal info will be shared with law enforcement and for audits, and why you hide that fact in the fine print?

From TheWeeklyStandard  “Maryland’s Health Connection, the state’s Obamacare marketplace, has been plagued by delays in the first days of open enrollment.  If users are able to endure long page-loading delays, they are presented with the website’s privacy policy, a ubiquitous fine-print feature on websites that often go unread. Nevertheless, users are asked to check off a box that they agree to the terms.

The policy contains many standard statements about information automatically collected regarding Internet browsers and IP addresses, temporary “cookies” used by the site, and website accessibility.  However, at least two conditions may give some users pause before proceeding.

The first is regarding personal information submitted with an application for those users who follow through on the sign up process all the way to the end.  The policy states that all information to help in applying for coverage and even for making a payment will be kept strictly confidential and only be used to carry out the function of the marketplace.  There is, however, an exception: “[W]e may share information provided in your application with the appropriate authorities for law enforcement and audit activities.”

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Here’s an update on that whole Obama saved GM thing. Not only are the taxpayers out billions, they managed to create a new sub-prime bubble that’s about to burst. And we’ve known all along they were fudging the sales numbers by overstocking inventory. That’s showing up now too.

From TheFreeBeacon  “General Motors of Canada President Kevin Williams is warning that subprime loans could doom the auto industry just as it did the housing industry in 2007.

Williams told the editorial board of Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper on Monday that record Canadian auto sales could be attributed to cheap credit loans.”

“Using subprime loans and easy credit to move cars off the lot may not be GM Canada’s goal, but its parent company, bailed-out, Detroit-based General Motors, has been moving in that direction, as the Washington Free Beacon reported in February. Nearly 90 percent of loans issued by GM Financial were subprime.”

“GMF has the riskiest lending portfolio of any major car company: 96 percent of its customers have credit scores below 660.  GM’s lending habits parallel those in the housing market leading up to the 2008 crash…GM finished the year with 8.5 percent of loans in delinquency, the highest rate since 2010 and larger than the delinquency rates at Ford, Toyota, and Honda combined.”

They’ve learned nothing. Well, to be fair they have learned they can milk the taxpayer when they have friends like Obama.

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by

News/Politics 10-8-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Republicans in Congress are beginning a probe into the Obama admin’s shutdown related nonsense.

From FoxNews  “Republican lawmakers plan to investigate mounting reports that federal officials are kicking families out of their homes and shuttering private businesses because they sit on federal parkland — describing the spectacle as an over-the-top response to the partial government shutdown. 

“We are receiving a lot of reports” of businesses being shut down, said Mallory Micetich, spokeswoman for Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee. 

She confirmed the committee is investigating these reports, as part of a widening probe into the National Park Service’s response to the partial government suspension.”

“”Many of these non-federally funded sites exist throughout the United States and operate with no staff or resources from the National Park Service,” a statement from Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee said. “This is yet another example of the Obama administration attempting to make the government shutdown as painful as possible and forcing closures of private and nonprofit operators that did not happen during previous government shutdowns.” 

That’s because they weren’t orchestrated by a vindictive President using Chicago style politics

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But as with most things, the President exempts his friends and supporters. That’s why illegal rights activist are using the Mall today when it’s closed to the commoners. And like with ObamaCare, his friends and associates get waivers.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “The Obama administration quietly changed its furlough guidance Friday to allow government employees who are also union representatives to return to work and receive a regular paycheck during the government shutdown.

On the fifth day of the government shutdown the House unanimously passed a bill approving back pay for 800,000 furloughed federal workers, a rare moment of bipartisan unity, even as House Republicans and Democrats continued their bitter budget standoff.

The vast majority of those workers do not serve as union representatives and will not receive a pay check as long as the government remains shuttered. But the Office of Personnel Management Friday opened the door for some of their co-workers, those who serve as union representatives, to return to work and get their regular paycheck.”

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Gee, I wonder if this guy gets Obama’s “excepted/essential” status too?

From JudicialWatch  “A prominent Muslim advisor at the Obama Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has close ties to a convicted Hamas fundraiser and other radical Islamist causes, including a nonprofit that proclaims sharia is the only legitimate law according to Islam.

Incredibly, this Homeland Security advisor, Mohamed Elibiary, has regular access to classified information and is a prime mover behind two of the Obama administration’s most dangerous policies; normalizing relations with domestic and foreign Islamist groups (including the Muslim Brotherhood) and arduous enforcement restrictions of laws related to material support for terrorism.

While this may seem incomprehensible to many, it’s all documented in a disturbing report published this week by the Center for Security Policy, a Washington D.C. think tank dedicated to promoting national security. The 33-page document is actually based on a lengthy, five-part interview with Elibiary, an influential member of Obama’s Homeland Security Advisory Council.

Elibiary admits he’s a longtime friend of a self-described Islamist (Shukri Abu Baker) convicted in 2008 of financing the terrorist organization Hamas through his U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity, the Holy Land Foundation. Elibiary reveals that he donated to the Holy Land Foundation monthly until it was shut down by the U.S. government and he defends Baker, depicting his prosecution as a case of political persecution.”

He’s behind the Obama admin’s embrace of the Brotherhood as well.

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The ATF and Obama admin are trying to block the publication of a book on the Fast and Furious gun walking scandal.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “The Bureau  of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is blocking the main  whistleblower in the Fast and Furious case from publishing a book, claiming his  retelling of the Mexico “gun-walking” scandal will  hurt morale inside the embattled law enforcement agency, according to documents  obtained by The Washington Times.

ATF’s dispute with Special Agent John  Dodson is setting up a First Amendment showdown that is poised to bring  together liberal groups like the American  Civil Liberties Union and conservatives in Congress who have championed Mr.  Dodson’s protection as a whistleblower.

The ACLU is slated to  become involved in the case Monday, informing ATF it  is representing Mr.  Dodson and filing a formal protest to the decision to reject his request to  publish the already written book, sources told The Times, speaking only on the  condition of anonymity.”

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Uh-oh, sounds like someone’s getting a trip to the woodshed. Good.

From WeaselZippers  “Former U.S. Attorney Joe DiGenova: SCOTUS Aware DOJ Advising Universities To Disregard Their Ruling On Race Based Admissions, Preparing To “Slap Them Down”

“Joe DiGenova is a Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. He spoke on WMAL this morning, noting that the DOJ actually advised universities in writing to ignore the SCOTUS ruling on race based admissions. The ruling determined that you could not use race as the primary factor in determining admission. Yet, the DOJ letter advises the universities that they could carry on as they had been doing.”

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News/Politics 10-7-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

The shutdown continues. And so does the petty nonsense and closings.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “Most of the furloughed Department of Defense civilian employees will be recalled, according to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who acknowledged that government lawyers interpreted a Pentagon funding law passed on the eve of the shutdown too narrowly.

“Today I am announcing that most DOD civilians placed on emergency furlough during the government shutdown will be asked to return to work beginning next week,” Hagel said Saturday.”

“House Republicans passed the Pay Our Military Act to the Senate on the eve of the government shutdown in order to insulate the Pentagon from the effects of the lapse in government appropriations.

The Senate passed and President Obama signed the measure, but the Pentagon furloughed about 400,000 civilians anyway.”

Of course they did. This is supposed to be painful because that’s what Obama wants.

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Boehner continues to refuse a stand alone CR.

From Bloomberg  “U.S. Speaker John Boehner said the House can’t pass an increase to the U.S. debt ceiling without packaging it with other provisions — a nonstarter for President Barack Obama.

“We are not going to pass a clean debt limit,” Boehner said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” program. “The votes are not in the House to pass a clean debt limit.”

“Boehner said he believed the country could end up in default if Obama doesn’t negotiate. “That’s the path we’re on,” Boehner said.

Boehner’s comments came as the stalemate between the White House and House Republicans showed little sign of thawing just 11 days from when Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew told lawmakers the U.S. will exhaust measures to avoid breaching the debt ceiling. The House and Senate aren’t scheduled to be in session today and there are no meetings planned between the two sides.”

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Say it with me now….. Most transparent administration evah! 🙄

From HotAir  “Remember when the media rushed to talk about transparency in the Barack Obama “Hope and Change” era? Good times, good times.  Leonard Downie, who once worked as the executive editor of the Washington Post and wrote a novel about Washington corruption and the Iraq War, finds a bigger and non-fictional problem in the successor to George W. Bush.  Downie gives the Post a preview of his report from the Committee to Protect Journalists which outlines the Obama war on reporters and their sources:

“A memo went out from the chief of staff a year ago to White House employees and the intelligence agencies that told people to freeze and retain any e-mail, and presumably phone logs, of communications with me,” Sanger said. As a result, longtime sources no longer talk to him. “They tell me: ‘David, I love you, but don’t e-mail me. Let’s don’t chat until this blows over.’ ”

Sanger, who has worked for the Times in Washington for two decades, said, “This is most closed, control-freak administration I’ve ever covered.”

Many leak investigations include lie-detector tests for government officials with access to the information at issue. “Reporters are interviewing sources through intermediaries now,” Barr told me, “so the sources can truthfully answer on polygraphs that they didn’t talk to reporters.”

Nice.

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And a new term of the Supreme Court is about to start. Should be some interesting cases to follow.

From TheLATimes  “The Supreme Court term that opens Monday gives the court’s conservative bloc a clear opportunity to shift the law to the right on touchstone social issues such as abortion, contraception and religion, as well as the political controversy over campaign funding.

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News/Politics 10-5-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, I’d like to say I’m shocked. I’d like to….

From TheDailyCaller  “In a stunning development, some military priests are facing arrest if they  celebrate mass or practice their faith on military bases during the federal  government shutdown.

“With the government shutdown, many [government service] and contract priests  who minister to Catholics on military bases worldwide are not permitted to work  – not even to volunteer,” wrote John Schlageter, the general counsel for the  Archdiocese for the Military Services USA, in an op-ed this week. “During the shutdown, it  is illegal for them to minister on base and they risk being arrested if they  attempt to do so.””

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Republicans are continuing their efforts to fund some govt departments. FEMA could be an important one if the hurricane in the Gulf causes widespread damage. Let’s see if the obstruction on piecemeal bills continues from the Senate and White House.

From FoxNews  “The House voted Friday to fund the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as Republicans cast the bill as an emergency measure to help Americans threatened by the approaching tropical storm.”

The bill was one of several House Republicans have pushed in recent days to fund chunks of the government amid the partial government shutdown. 

They’ve been pressuring Democrats, with little success, to support these mini-spending measures while the budget impasse drags on. Republicans upped that pressure on Friday, saying disaster response is critical as Tropical Storm Karen tracks toward the Gulf Coast and is poised to hit this weekend. 

“When you’ve got a storm in the Gulf of Mexico, this is not a time for partisanship,” Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., said after the vote, flanked by Gulf state lawmakers. Scalise called on President Obama to remove his veto threat and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to pass the bill in the Senate. “

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Meanwhile the firm responsible for the ObamaCare implementation has been identified. And no offense to our Canadian friends, but couldn’t we have found a US company instead of outsourcing to Canada?

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “A Canadian tech firm that has provided service to that country’s single-payer health care system is behind the glitch-ridden United States national health care exchange site healthcare.gov.

CGI Federal is a subsidiary of Montreal-based CGI Group. With offices in Fairfax, Va., the subsidiary has been a darling of the Obama administration, which since 2009 has bestowed it with $1.4 billion in federal contracts, according to USAspending.gov.

The “CGI” in the parent company’s name stands for “Conseillers en Gestion et Informatique” in French, which roughly translates to “Information Systems and Management Consultants.” However, the firm offers another translation: “Consultants to Government and Industry.”

The company is deeply embedded in Canada’s single-payer system. CGI has provided IT services to the Canadian Ministries of Health in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Saskatchewan, as well as to the national health provider, Health Canada, according to CGI’s Canadian website.”

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And the last one from me today is this. The founder of McAfee speaks out about the lack of security with the ObamaCare sites. Still needin’ that face palm smiley. 🙄

From TheDailyCaller  “For starters, McAfee said the way it is set up makes it possible for fake  websites be set up to fool people to think they’re signing  up for Obamacare.

“It’s seriously bad,” McAfee said. “Somebody made a grave error, not in designing the program but in simply implementing the web aspect of it. I mean, for example, anybody can put up a web page and claim to be a broker for this  system. There is no central place where I can go and say, ‘OK, here are all the legitimate brokers the examiners for all of the states and pick and choose one.’”

“According to McAfee, there’s not a quick fix — and as long as it set up this  way, it could be a playground for computer hackers.”

““Here’s the problem: It’s not something software can solve,” McAfee continued. “I mean, what idiot put this system out there and did not create a central  depository? There should be one website, run by the government, you go to that  website and then you can click on all of the agencies. This is insane. So, I will predict that the loss of income for the millions of Americans who are going  to lose their identities — I mean, you can imagine some retired lady in Utah, who has $75,000 dollars in the bank, saving her whole life, having it  wiped out in one day because she signed up for Obamacare. And believe me, this  is going to happen millions of times.”

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News/Politics 10-4-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

It’s been an interesting few days hasn’t it? In the past few days the perceived enemies of the President have been called extremists, terrorists, jihadists, murderers, un-American, hostage takers, arsonists, accused of being anarchists, and of holding a gun to the country’s heads.

And yet actual terrorists, jihadists, extremists, murderers (and the rest of the list) who actually do these things, are labeled as moderate rebels, and freedom-fighters by the same people. And the same RINO’s too. Go figure. Actual enemies of this country are treated better than the Republicans. Very sad, not to mention cowardly.

New tone? Anyone?

From TheWashingtonTimes  “Democrats, who have long posed as the party of peaceniks and doves, have been  anything but during the great rhetorical war of 2013. In fact, the party of  George McGovern and Jimmy Carter has been mad as hell as of late, leading an  offensive of bombastic insults and rhetorical bullying that has dominated the  government shutdown. It’s a perfect storm, with Democrats leading the pace.

President Obama called Republicans “reckless and irresponsible,” casting the  Grand Old Party in the role of villain. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid,  Nevada Democrat, referred to Republicans as “anarchists,” and House Minority  Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, deemed Republicans “legislative  arsonists.””

““Democrats have hurled every insult imaginable, such as ‘terrorist,’ ‘arsonist’  and ‘murderers’ against Americans who differ with President Obama. Despite their  threats and childish behavior, the speaker has been steadfast in his vision to  reduce the size and scope of government and treat everyone fairly,” Mr. Stockman  said.”

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Liberal religious leader Jim Wallis gets in on the act as well. He says these “political extremists” are acting in an unbiblical manner. Thoughts?

From TheBlaze  “Progressive faith leader Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, is joining a chorus of Americans who are frustrated over the government shutdown. In a video monologue this week, he unleashed his views on the matter, calling the closure “unbiblical” and hitting back at the “political extremists” he believes are responsible for it.

While most of the debate surrounding the shutdown is partisan in nature, Wallis argues that the conundrum is deeper than mere strife between the parties; in fact, he says it’s spiritual.

“There is a deeper problem here than politics. There’s a theological problem,” he proclaims in the clip. “As a Christian I want to say shutting down government is unbiblical. Yes, that’s what I’m saying — it’s unbiblical.”

“Wallis goes on to instruct readers to explore what the Bible has to say on the matter and specifically cites the 13th chapter of the Book of Romans, which discusses the importance of complying with government.”

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Harry Reid yet again shows himself to be “anti-veteran” by even his low standards.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “Senate Democrats blocked four resolutions to fund government programs, including paying the National Guard and opening national parks, as Republicans offered the limited measures in an attempt to win the government shutdown fight by financing popular programs and leaving those they oppose untouched.

“Unbelievably, today Senate Democrats went on record to oppose funding for National Guard and Reserve salaries, veterans’ services, lifesaving medicine and cures, and national parks and museums,” Senate Republican Conference chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said in a release following the procedural battle.

“Congress unanimously passed a bill to ensure active-duty military personnel are paid during this lapse in government funding, and it’s unclear why Senate Democrats wouldn’t pass similar measures to fund these important services,” Thune said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., asked for unanimous consent to pass funding for the Veterans Affairs Department and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, requested unanimous consent to pass a bill funding the national parks and monuments. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., rejected both.”

He won’t fund veteran services to try and force people to give in to his wishes, but they’ll fund terrorist rebels in other countries with no strings attached.

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Folks on the Gulf Coast are preparing for Tropical Storm Karen, which appears to be turning into a full-fledged hurricane.

From AccuWeather  “Tropical Storm Karen has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and will move into the southern United States this weekend with heavy rain, gusty winds and rough seas.

Karen will continue to move along a curved northward path over the central Gulf of Mexico through Friday. During Saturday, Karen will begin to turn toward the northeast and will make landfall along the upper Gulf Coast from southeast of New Orleans to west of Panama City, Fla.

There is a chance Karen becomes a hurricane prior to making landfall. Shortly after being officially named a tropical storm, Karen’s maximum sustained winds had reached 65 mph. The threshold for a tropical system to become a hurricane is sustained winds of 74 mph.”

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News/Politics 10-3-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, “The Water Carriers”.

Or If you prefer an alternate headline, “Remember Folks, Liberal Bias is a Myth”.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “The nation’s big three news networks are falling right into place for President Obama and the Democrats, blaming the Republican Party for the government shutdown by a whopping 21-0 story count.

According to a survey by the conservative media watchdog Media Research Center, in 39 stories during the two weeks leading up to the shutdown, CBS, ABC and NBC blamed the failure to cut a budget deal on the Republicans 21 times, both parties four times, and Democrats zero times. In 14 stories, nobody was to blame.”

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Really? Good grief. More from the RINO faction. 🙄

From TheChristianScienceMonitor  “The tea party created an existential threat to America, not Obamacare”

By pretending that the Affordable Care Act poses such an existential risk to the republic that it merits dragging our national character through the mud of a government shutdown, tea party Republicans are belittling the very real crises America soon may face.”

Harry Reid called Justin, he needs those talking points he gave you back for his evening press conference. Thanks.

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Two words Mr. President…… Bad Optics….

From Breitbart  “The Obama Administration has decided to block access to public memorials on the National Mall as a result of the government shutdown. Like its decision to end White House tours when the sequester cuts took effect, there is no rational reason for this. The Park Police, nominally in charge of monitoring these spaces, isn’t even effected by the shutdown. Shutting off access to these sites is gratuitous and petulant. “

“Having lived in DC for 18 years, I can tell you, the WWII Memorial is simply an architectural structure in an open public space. There is no official “access” to it. There are no guards. It’s a building in a park. Yet, the Obama Administration tried to block veterans from viewing the public memorial, even after hearing about the planned visit.”

“This is nothing more than a petulant response by the Obama Administration to the government shutdown.”

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Have these veterans, and the bad PR Obama and Dems have received as a result, caused them to blink?

From LegalInsurrection  “Everything has changed since the Obama administration Barry-caded the World War II Memorial and tried to keep out a group of visiting WWII Veterans, and then the Democrats in the House killed funding for the Veterans Administration.”

“Democratic hubris and Harry Reid’s fisticuff-style of politics were no match for elderly WWII Vets seeking to pay homage to their fallen comrades in what for many of them would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the WWII Memorial.

Everything changed overnight.  Even the biased mainstream media is being forced to cover the protests today.

Harry Reid has blinked in the face of the Scooter and Wheelchair Brigades, pathetically tweeting out blame for the Republicans even though the barricades were on order of OMB and funding for National Parks was killed by Democrats in the House.”

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More on the failed launch of ObamaCare.

Not what we would expect? Speak for yourself Junior.

And don’t you just love the Govt shutdown clock CNN is running? 🙄

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At least somebody is enjoying the ObamaCare launch….. Oh, wait….

From AmericanSpectator  “If you’ve been listening to Rush Limbaugh’s radio show today, you know this already: President Obama’s old friends in the ACORN crime syndicate have decided to get a piece of the big-money Obamacare action.

United Labor Unions (ULU) Local 100 in New Orleans, which is run by ACORN founder Wade Rathke, announced on its Facebook page that it’s gearing up “to do mass enrollment and help navigate people into the marketplaces in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas under the Affordable Care Act!”

“Wherever Rathke goes, lawlessness follows.

Before his calamitous 38-year tenure as ACORN chief organizer ended in his expulsion from the group in 2008, Rathke covered up a million-dollar embezzlement involving the nonprofit’s pension funds. He presided over massive campaigns involving identity fraud in furtherance of voter fraud. (ACORN even knowingly hired felons convicted of identity theft to work on voter registration drives, giving them custody of sensitive voter information.)”

And these are the guys and types of groups the Obama admin has hired to help “navigate” the system. Just give them your personal info, I’m sure it’ll be fine…. 🙄

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And last today, blood money is trying to buy the Virginia governorship. He’s promised taxpayers funds as repayment for the abortion mill money.

From TheWashingtonPost  “Planned Parenthood Votes has spent more than $1 million on television and radio ads that will soon air in the Norfolk and Richmond areas, telling women that they should not trust Ken Cuccinelli II, the Republican candidate for Virginia governor.”

“Planned Parenthood’s various political advocacy groups have been heavily involved in the Virginia race for more than eight months, pushing a campaign dubbed “Keep Ken Out” and endorsing the Democratic candidate, Terry McAuliffe. Women’s issues, especially those related to abortion, have dominated campaign commercials and debates.

Planned Parenthood Votes plans to release its television ad on Wednesday. It will hit airwaves in the Richmond and Norfolk areas later this  week. The ad warns voters about Cuccinelli’s stances or actions that the group considers dangerous to women’s health, including limiting access to birth control, opposing emergency contraception and banning abortions.”

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News/Politics 10-2-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, it’s finally time to panic. The Apocalypse has come. 🙄

From TheHill  “The Department of Defense released a statement early Tuesday that shocked  college sports fans. The department said that all athletic competitions at the  Army, Navy and Air Force academies would be postponed for as long as the  government remained closed.”

“The Air Force and Navy are scheduled to square off in a sold-out, nationally  televised football game on Saturday, while the Army has a planned match-up  against Boston College. If the government impasse isn’t resolved by Thursday,  both games will be suspended.

 Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a graduate of the Naval Academy, told reporters  that the cancelation of the Air Force-Navy game would be the “defining moment”  of the shutdown.

“The apocalypse is upon us,” McCain lamented.”

As an ARMY fan, I say big deal, it just delays the next loss. 🙂

Dems are throwing a hissy fit. The name calling, Taliban comparisons, and what not sure are predictable. And childish.

They’re also refusing to do stand alone funding for Veteran services and others affected. Despite their cries of “extremist Republicans” it’s they who refuse to compromise.

King, McCain, and the other surrender monkeys in the RINO faction are fretting and handwringing over the whole affair.

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Here’s an update on the story of the vets crashing the gates at the WWII memorial.

From TheDailyCaller  “The White House and the Department of the Interior rejected a request from Rep.  Steven Palazzo’s office to have World War II veterans visit the World War II  memorial in Washington, the Mississippi Republican told The  Daily Caller Tuesday.”

“Palazzo’s office was in touch with the heads of the National Park Service,  the Department of the Interior and the Capitol Police. He says all these  officials rejected his request to allow the veterans, many of whom are  octogenarians and some of whom are in poor health, to  attend.

Palazzo, a Gulf War Marine veteran who has participated in all five of the  Honor Flights, blames the  White House for making  it harder on veterans and playing politics. “At first I thought it was a huge  bureaucratic oversight,” Palazzo told The Daily Caller, “but having talked with  the officials I can’t help but think this was politically motivated. Honor  Flights, which bring WWII veterans to the nation’s memorials, are planned a year  in advance and cost anywhere between $80,000 to $100,000. How low can you get  with playing politics over our nation’s veterans?”

Much like the Sequester, people must be made to suffer. It’s the way these folks do business.

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They could agree to separately fund these things, yet they choose not to.

From Boehner, via USAToday  “The president isn’t telling the whole story when it comes to the government shutdown.  The fact is that Washington Democrats have slammed the door on reopening the government by refusing to engage in bipartisan talks.  And, as stories across the country highlight the devastating impact of Obamacare on families and small businesses, they continue to reject our calls for fairness for all Americans.

This is part of a larger pattern:  the president’s scorched-Earth policy of refusing to negotiate in bipartisan way on his health care law, current government funding, or the debt limit.”

“As of this morning, Senate Democrats, acting in concert with President Obama, have rejected four different proposals from the House of Representatives to keep the government running and fund basic services.”

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I see the new ObamaCare exchanges opened without a hitch yesterday. 😆

From NY/CBSLocal  ” The online insurance marketplaces that are at the heart of President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul struggled to handle the wave of new consumers Tuesday, the first day of a six-month open enrollment period.

A combination of high demand and technical glitches seemed to overwhelm the online system early in the day. Federal and state officials were working to address the problems, which led to long waits on government websites and a federal call center.”

“Even employees at a help center on Southern Boulevard couldn’t get past the homepage.

“It’s too confusing. It’s not user friendly,” one employee said. “It’s confusing for us as well, so I can imagine what its like for customers.”

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Once again, Twitter and Twitchy provide a source of amusement for me. Today, the Twits who think the failures of the ObamaCare websites are the result of a GOP/Tea Party conspiracy. A vast right-wing one even. 🙄

From Twitchy  “As Twitchy has reported, the much-heralded Obamacare signup sites are proving to be nothing less than a giant festival of fail. But surely that’s not due to the government’s unpreparedness or all-around incompetence, right? Surely more nefarious forces must be at play:”

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Meanwhile, McAfee is warning about actual hackers and attacks that may result from visiting the healthcare sites. But they didn’t mention Republicans or the Koch brothers.

From FoxBusiness  “Security firm McAfee warned Tuesday that hackers are likely to take advantage of the rollout of ObamaCare exchanges this week by launching phishing attacks aimed at stealing personal information.

Phishing attacks are designed to dupe users into revealing credit-card numbers or other confidential data by delivering phony links or attachments in emails and messages on social media sites.

“I can say with a high degree of certainty that they will come. We live in a world where people look at compelling events and look to do something malicious. This is just the nature of the beast,” said Gary Davis, vice president of global consumer marketing at McAfee, which is owned by Intel (INTC).”

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News/Politics 10-1-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, as always.

Well, it’s shutdown. So this is either the worst thing ever if you listen to Dems, or it’s no big deal. I hate not knowing whether it’s time to panic or not. 🙂

From NBCNews  “With just hours to go before a midnight deadline, the Senate swiftly nixed a House-passed government funding proposal late Monday, tossing the legislation back to the lower chamber with unusual speed as the nation careened towards a federal shutdown. 

Shortly after receiving the House proposal to fund the government and delay a key provision of the president’s health care law, the Senate voted along party lines to send the bill back to the House for a last-ditch effort at meeting a midnight deadline to keep the government’s lights on. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on the Senate floor before the vote that Republicans “have lost their minds” by repeatedly voting for “ridiculous policy riders” destined for failure in the Democratically-controlled Senate.”

If it’s the end of the world, why do I feel fine?

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This one? Well it’s kinda like that Sequester thingy. It’s supposed to be bad, and it might be for the little guys in the federal food chain. But rest assured, the people in charge are gonna be OK.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “A federal government shutdown will temporarily cut off pay of thousands of Uncle Sam’s workers, but for those considered “excepted employees,” there could be a nice salary bump thanks to rules allowing overtime, compensatory time and other benefits provided to those the administration feels too important to furlough.

In advance of the potential shutdown, the Office of Personnel Management distributed a 30-page “Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs” that spells out who will get what, if anything, if President Obama and House Republicans can’t negotiate a break in the budget stalemate by Monday night, the end of the fiscal year.

Most workers won’t be considered excepted employees, but OPM emphasized that it’s not because their work isn’t valued. “Excepted employees include employees who are performing emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property or performing certain other types of excepted work,” said the guide.”

Comp time and overtime will be permitted for the lucky ones. The ones who get furloughed will get back pay when they get back to work, at least they have the last 17 times this has happened.

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Today is the scheduled launch day for ObamaCare. And yes, it breaks federal law on taxpayers not funding abortions.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “The Office of Personnel Management ruled Monday that members of Congress and  their staffs will be able to buy health care plans that pay for abortions, even  though the premiums are funded largely by taxpayer money — a move that  conservatives say breaks federal law on abortion funding.

Under the terms of Obamacare, lawmakers and their aides are required to  ditch their government-sponsored plans and buy insurance on state-based health  care exchanges, though unlike most people on the exchanges, the staffers and  members will have most of the costs of their premiums paid by their employer —  in this case, taxpayers.”

“Federal law generally prevents taxpayer money from being used to pay for  abortions, but OPM said the health care plans offered through the exchange were  private. The agency also said it will make sure the money is segregated so that  the portion that pays for abortions comes out of the employees’ own  contributions, which amounts to about a quarter of the premiums.”

Please. Don’t insult our intelligence. That’s hogwash and they know it. It’s a distinction without a difference.

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And last one from me today…

The Obama DoD continues their war on Christians.

From FoxNews  “Evangelical Christian airmen at Lackland Air Force Base are facing severe threats and retribution for their religious beliefs and some personnel have been ordered to publicly express their position on gay marriage.

“There is an atmosphere of intimidation at Lackland Air Force Base,” said Steve Branson, the pastor of Village Parkway Baptist Church in San Antonio. “Gay commanders and officers are pushing their agenda on the airmen. There is a culture of fear in the military and it’s gone to a new level with the issue of homosexuality.”

Branson tells me at least 80 airmen attended a private meeting at the church where he heard them voice their concerns about religious hostilities at the Air Force base. It was a standing-room only crowd.

“The religious persecution is happening,” the pastor said. “It’s getting bigger every day. Gay and lesbian airmen can talk about their lifestyle, but the rest have to stay completely quiet about what they believe.”

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UPDATE

Looks like the govt isn’t the only thing down this morning.

From Twitchy  “Surprise! Obamacare health insurance exchange websites don’t work”

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Now by now you’re all aware that I’m a bit snarky. But I’m a rank amateur compared to some of these. 🙂  Via Twitter, the first hour of shutdown Tweets.

And the fun continues in the comment section. 🙂

Also from Twitchy  “We’ve just lost the Eastern Seaboard. Pray.”

“I think I just saw a star go out.”

“The space station is spinning out of control and the polar bears are dying.”