What’s interesting in today’s news?

There’s a whole bunch, so I’ll try to be brief.

1. Politifact has chosen it’s “Lie of the Year.”

From Politifact  “It was a catchy political pitch and a chance to calm nerves about his dramatic and complicated plan to bring historic change to America’s health insurance system.

“If you like your health care plan, you can keep it,” President Barack Obama said — many times — of his landmark new law.”

“For all of these reasons, PolitiFact has named “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it,” the Lie of the Year for 2013. Readers in a separate online poll overwhelmingly agreed with the choice.”

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2. You’ve heard of so-called “white privilege.” Now there’s a new meme.

I give you…. “Christian privilege.”

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “It’s settled, then: Christian conservatives use religion as a justification for their discriminatory behavior, and Americans will only enjoy true religious freedom when their so-called “religious liberty” claims are defeated.

That was the consensus Thursday at a panel discussion sponsored by the Center for American Progress in Washington.

“People [are] using the term ‘liberty’ when they really mean ‘my liberty, your slavery,'” the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, said during the discussion. He made the statement while arguing that liberals’ view of religious liberty springs from a true, originalist reading of the Constitution that was once universally understood. Unfortunately, he said, the American people have become “confused” about this question because of misleading claims made by the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops.” 🙄

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3. I’ve always known that teachers unions went out of their way to fight for bad teachers. But this is disgusting, even for them.

From EAGNews  “The Michigan Education Association is going to arbitration to try to force the West Branch-Rose City school district to pay a former teacher who was convicted of molesting a student a $10,000 severance buyout.

The father of the victim is outraged, calling the union’s efforts on behalf of the sex criminal “ludicrous” and saying any school money due to the teacher should go to his son, who is “out there trying to make it in this world all messed up.”

Neal Erickson, a former math teacher at Rose City Middle School, was convicted this summer of raping a young student over three years, from 2006 to 2009, and sentenced to 15-30 years in prison.”

Disgusting.

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4. OK fine, now do something about it.

From TownHall  “In a letter sent late Wednesday, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa reminded Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that obstructing a congressional investigation is a crime.

  Issa’s Committee has been looking into the details of how Obamacare was implemented, along with the major problems with Healthcare.gov and has requested a number of documents from HHS, none of which he’s received. The documents requested pertain to companies hired by HHS to build and operate Healthcare.gov.

  “The Department [HHS] subsequently instructed those companies not to comply with the Committee’s request. The Department’s hostility toward questions from Congress and the media about the implementation of Obamcare is well known. The Department’s most recent effort to stonewall, however, has morphed from mere obstinacy into criminal obstruction of a congressional investigation,” Issa wrote.”

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5. The natives are getting restless. 🙂

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6. Casual handshake, or something else?

From TheDailyMail  “Obama shook Raúl Castro’s hand after SIX MONTHS of secret U.S.-Cuba talks, report claims

• U.S. and Cuban officials have held mid-level discussions in Washington and Havana

• ‘We’re in talks’ with Cuba on a wide range of issues, agreed Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes on Tuesday

• Middle-men including Latin American diplomats have also been carrying messages back and forth between Washington and Havana

• U.S.-Cuba relations have seen an unprecedented thaw since President Obama took office, and a host of lawmakers with Cuban ties are upset

• America’s 50-year-long trade embargo with the communist nation has been slammed by the UN but embraced by survivors of the Castro regime

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7. In govt circles, I’m sure this is called a bargain. What the rest of us call it is a debacle.

From AmericansForTaxReform  “Taxpayers Shell Out $14,000 per Obamacare “Enrollee”

$5.2 billion for just 364,682 “enrollees”

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8. Harry Reid is up to some pretty slimy dealings. Again.

From TheDailyCaller  “Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid took an intense interest in pushing through visas for dozens of shady Asian investors for a Las Vegas casino represented by his son, Rory Reid, documents and reports show.”

“In a Dec. 5, 2012 email to officials at the Department of Homeland Security obtained by The Washington Times, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Legislative Affairs official Miguel Rodriguez wrote, “This one is going to be a major headache for us all because Sen. Reid’s office/staff is pushing hard and I just had a long yelling match on the phone.””

“Initial attempts by Sen. Reid’s office to expedite the visa requests were denied on Dec. 17, 2012, prompting the majority leader to personally call USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas.”

““Within a few short weeks of Mr. Reid’s personal intervention, the decision not to expedite the visas was reversed, allowing the hotel to secure major funding from JP Morgan Chase,” the Times reports.”

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