Obamacare

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News/Politics 5-8-13

What’s interesting out there today?

The 3 women rescued from captivity in Cleveland continues to be the headline. On the good side of this story the women have been reunited with family. What a joyous occasion that must have been. After it seemed all hope was lost, the families finally get to be together. And Cleveland dishwasher Chuck Ramsey is being hailed as a hero.

But on the bad side of the story, the details can be hard to read, so a CONTENT WARNING!!!

This is a pretty good summary of the details so far, with numerous links to different sources. From WeaselZippers

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If you’re interested, here’s a link for the live stream of the Benghazi Hearings from the House Oversight Committee It starts at 11:30AM EST

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Mark Sanford has defeated Elizabeth Colbert Busch in the S.C. special election for a House seat. From NBCNews

“Once the disgraced and tearful figure at the epicenter of an embarrassing scandal, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford will return to public life as a U.S. congressman.

The Associated Press has projected Sanford to be the winner of Tuesday’s special election in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District race.

Sanford, a Republican, defeated Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch after a race that captivated national media attention despite the district’s solidly Republican record. The win caps an unlikely ascent to political redemption after Sanford’s extramarital affair and subsequent divorce made him fodder for national headlines and late-might comedy sketches.”

The comment section is full of upset Dems, so be warned.

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These next 2 are on the danger, hostility, and difficulties facing brothers and sisters in the Mid East and Africa. From FoxNews

“A mass exodus of Christians is currently underway.  Millions of  Christians are being displaced from one end of the Islamic world to the  other.

We are reliving the true history of how the Islamic world, much of which  prior to the Islamic conquests was almost entirely Christian, came into  being.

The U.S. Commission on International  Religious Freedom  recently said: “The flight of Christians out of the region is unprecedented and  it’s increasing year by year.”  In our lifetime alone “Christians might  disappear altogether from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt.””

The next one is from CBN

“Last year more Christians were killed in Nigeria than any other country. The onslaught of bombings gave Nigeria the sad distinction of being the nation with the highest Christian death toll.

More than 900 Christians reportedly were killed in Nigeria in 2012, all victims of the Boko Haram group and other Islamic militants.

“They are so radical they don’t even spare Muslims. If Muslims are sympathetic to any cause at all…if they are sympathetic to the Christians cause, or the minorities cause, they are also termed as infidels,” Mark Lipdo, program coordinator for the Stefanos Foundation, said.

In 2013, radicals have killed more than 120 Nigerians, most of them Christians.”

And yet in many instances in the Mid East and Libya, our govt. supports those perpetrating the violence against them.

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Next we have Biden and Democrats attempting to use churches to push their agenda. He’d like churches to make a gun control, and immigration argument for them from the pulpit. No mention of separation of church and state here though. From CNSNews

“Vice President Joe Biden wants pastors, rabbis and nuns to tell their flocks that enacting gun control is the moral thing to do. But another vote may have to wait until Congress wraps up work on an immigration overhaul.

Biden met for two-and-a-half hours Monday with more than a dozen leaders from various faith communities — Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh, to name a few. Both Biden and the faith leaders encouraged each other not to give up on what has been an arduous and thus far fruitless effort by Biden and President Barack Obama to pass new gun laws in the wake of December’s schoolhouse shooting in Connecticut.

Around a large, circular table in a conference room on the White House grounds, Biden waxed optimistic about prospects for passing a bill, according to four participants who spoke to The Associated Press after the meeting. Biden’s chief of staff, Bruce Reed, joined the group, as did a handful of Obama aides who work on faith-based outreach. The meeting closed with a meditation and a prayer for action.”

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And I wonder if that has anything to do with this, or if it’s just a coincidence? Either way, it’s good news. From HotAir

“Obama administration retreating from contraception mandate?”

“At least in one instance, and it’s an important one.  Last November, Tyndale House Publishers won a third injunction against the Department of Health and Human Services to block enforcement of the HHS mandate, while the Obama administration took the absurd position that a publisher of Bibles didn’t qualify for a religious exemption.  Yesterday, HHS threw in the towel, at least for now:

In a huge victory for pro-life advocates taking on the controversial HHS mandate, the Obama administration is giving up its effort to force a Bible publisher to obey it.”

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And this last one, he’s still one of the few good men willing to stand on, and up for, his beliefs. From CNSNews

“Amid increased reports of a policy for courts martial over so-called proselytizing in the military, Coast Guard Rear Admiral William D. Lee recalled giving a Bible to a distressed serviceman who had previously tried to kill himself.

“Yet, if I do something, such as I did several weeks ago when I was looking into the face of a young man, 20-something years old, who had 18 months before put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger and survived, when I looked at that young man and I heard his story, the rules say send him to the chaplain. My heart said, give this man a Bible,” Lee said last week during a speech on the National Day of Prayer on Capitol Hill.”

““The higher you are, the more vulnerable you are to being taken down,” Lee continued. “You get in the cross hairs of those people who lay and wait outside the gate, waiting to take us to task for expressing our faith for so much as whispering to a young man who is on his last hope that ‘there is hope. Take it home. We can talk about it if you want.’ The lawyers tell me that if I do that, I’m crossing the line. I’m so glad I have crossed that line so many times.””

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News/Politics 5-2-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread, as always.

Here’s a few to start.

Some of the Benghazi whistleblowers are bringing their whistles to the House next Wednesday. From TheHill

“Eyewitnesses with potentially damaging information on the Obama  administration’s handling of last year’s terror attack on the U.S. mission in  Benghazi will testify at a hearing next week, Republicans said.

The House oversight committee is holding a hearing next week that will “expose new facts and details that the Obama administration has tried to  suppress,” oversight chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Wednesday.

Two of Issa’s lieutenants said the witnesses at the hearing would include  federal employees with direct knowledge of the attack that killed Ambassador  Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Libya.”

The White House would like to remind you that it was a long time ago. 🙄

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Here’s an update on the military’s assault against Christians. And yes, Mikey Weinstein wants proselytizing to be a court-martial offense. From FoxNews

“Religious liberty groups have grave concerns after they learned the Pentagon is vetting its guide on religious tolerance with a group that compared Christian evangelism to “rape” and advocated that military personnel who proselytize should be court martialed.”

“The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is calling on the Air Force to enforce a regulation that they believe calls for the court martial of any service member caught proselytizing.

President Mikey Weinstein and others from his organization met privately with Pentagon officials on April 23. He said U.S. troops who proselytize are guilty of sedition and treason and should be punished – by the hundreds if necessary – to stave off what he called a “tidal wave of fundamentalists.””

““Someone needs to be punished for this,” Weinstein told Fox News. “Until the Air Force or Army or Navy or Marine Corps punishes a member of the military for unconstitutional religious proselytizing and oppression, we will never have the ability to stop this horrible, horrendous, dehumanizing behavior.””

A Hat Tip to Pastor Roy

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I told you about the creative new accounting trick the govt will now use to boost the GDP numbers. But the “real” jobless rate remains over 10% in most states according to CNBC

“Two months from now, revised government estimates are likely to show that the economy is even bigger than the currently stated $15 trillion.

And while the numbers may make some blink or gasp, the mere size of gross domestic product won’t hide the reality that in terms of actual growth, this is also the worst economy in 83 years.

GDP growth is in the midst of its longest sub-3 percent annual growth rate since 1929, the beginning of the Great Depression, according to Bespoke Investment Group. The economy hasn’t topped 3 percent since 2005—before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took over—and is unlikely to do so this year.”

“Though employment has risen by 1.3 million over the past year, unemployment that counts the discouraged and underemployed, as well as the jobless (often called the “real” unemployment rate) has remained stubbornly high, at 13.8 percent of the workforce, according to the most recent count.”

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And ObamaCare isn’t just costing you more for healthcare coverage through rising premiums. Other benefits are falling because of it as well. From InvertorsBusinessDaily

“Employer spending on benefits rose at the slowest pace on record in the first  quarter, as companies began bracing for higher health costs with next year’s launch of ObamaCare.

Total benefits, such as insurance and pension contributions, rose just 0.1%  vs. the end of last year, the smallest gain in Labor Department data going back to 2001. By comparison, payroll employment grew by a half-million, or 0.4%, in  Q1. So benefits-per-worker declined.

Total employee benefits provided outside of government jobs declined outright.”

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Reid admits it’s rollout is turning into a train wreck, but they could fix it if they had more money. I won’t put on my shocked face because I’m not. From TheHill

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says he shares colleagues’ concerns  that the Affordable Care Act could become a “train wreck” if it’s not  implemented properly.

Reid warned that people will not be able to choose  health insurance plans on government health exchanges if federal authorities  lack the resources to set them up and educate the public.”

“Reid warned the federal government is not spending enough money to implement the  law because of Republican opposition to ObamaCare.”

“The shortage of funding to implement the law has forced President Obama to shift  funds from other parts of the law.”

As expected, it’s already costing more than estimated, and that’s with next to nothing being paid out yet. FAIL.

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by

News/Politics 4-19-13

In other news today………

Reid has had to pull the gun bill from consideration.

From TheWashingtonPost

“Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) announced Thursday that the Senate will “take a pause” and return to consideration of gun legislation at a later date.”

“Reid’s decision came the day after President Obama’s comprehensive gun control effort suffered defeat in the Senate, with all the major proposals he backed failing to gain enough votes.”

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How Obama misread the politics of gun control. From NationalJournal

“Watching President Obama’s fury after Congress failed to pass any gun-control legislation was a sign of his political helplessness. Despite aggressively pushing for expanded background checks, despite enlisting the victims of recent gun violence to lobby their representatives, despite getting one of the more conservative senators to support a watered-down background-check measure, he fell five votes short of getting anything passed in the Senate, including losing four members from his own party.

If this doesn’t demonstrate the limitations of the president’s political muscle and the influence of his newly minted Organizing for Action lobbying group, I don’t know what does. Yet, despite the embarrassing setback, Obama nonetheless argued that he still held the upper hand, politically: “If this Congress refuses to listen to the American people and pass commonsense gun legislation, then the real impact is going to have to come from the voters.”  That couldn’t misread the political environment heading into 2014 anymore. That’s the audacity of mope.

Put simply, the 2014 Senate elections will be fought predominantly on the very turf that is most inhospitable to gun control–Southern and Mountain West conservative states. It’s no coincidence that three of the four Democrats who opposed the Toomey-Manchin bill are facing difficult reelections in 2014 and presumably are attuned to the sentiments of their constituents. Blame the National Rifle Association for the bill’s failure, but the lobby is feeding into already deeply held opposition to gun regulations and a broader sense of anxiety about the president’s and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s intentions–particularly given the president’s past publicized remark about “bitter” rural voters who “cling to their guns and religion.”  It doesn’t take much for the gun-rights crowd, significant in these states, to jump to inaccurate conclusions given that history.”

Inaccurate conclusions? I think he’s describing Obama, not the “bitter clingers.”

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We’ve all seen the President and Senate Dems pitching fits over the whole thing in front of the cameras. But the fits the media are throwing over their failure to persuade the commoners is just as bad. From Politico

“Even by the standards of today’s partisan media environment, the response has  been noteworthy. Television hosts, editorial boards, and even some reporters  have aggressively criticized and shamed the 46 Senators who opposed the plan,  while some have even taken to actively soliciting the public to contact them  directly.

The decision by some members of the media to come down so  firmly on one side of a policy debate has only served to reinforce  conservatives’ longstanding suspicions that the mainstream media has a  deep-seated liberal bias.

“I guess the liberal media get annoyed when Senators listen to their  constituents and think for themselves, rather than doing the media’s bidding,” Bill Kristol, the editor-in-chief of the Weekly Standard, told POLITICO.”

Bias? What bias? 🙄

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So the President plans on doing the only think he can. Make like a third world dictator and do it by decree. From TheWeeklyStandard

“Joe Biden says the president of the United States is preparing to take “executive actions” to deal with guns.

BuzzFeed reports:

Vice President Biden told White House allies in the gun control fight Thursday that President Obama will be announcing new executive actions on gun violence in the days after the Senate voted down a gun violence bill.”

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Meanwhile the Senate has a bi-partisan amendment to prevent the media from releasing gun owner info, with strong support.

From TheWashingtonExaminer

“Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., in an attempt to prevent local newspapers from publishing lists of gun owners in a given area, convinced 66 of his colleagues to support an amendment that cuts funding for state and local governments if they release the information.

“If a state or local government releases private information on gun owners — which we know has happened — then that state or local government will lose part of its funding that comes from the Federal Government,” Barrasso said while arguing for the amendment.  “This includes private information on individuals who have licenses to purchase, possess, or carry firearms.”

Wow. Look at that. Some common sense for a change.

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ObamaCare is causing rate increases? 😯

Say it ain’t so! 🙄 

But Dems like Franken would like you to believe it’s not true, just an insurance industry plot or something. From KaiserHealthNews

“Few aspects of the Affordable Care Act are more critical to its success than affordability, but in recent weeks experts have predicted costs for some health plans could soar next year.

Now health law supporters are pushing back, noting close ties between the actuaries making the forecasts and an insurance industry that has been complaining about taxes and other factors it says will lead to rate shock for consumers.

“Most actuaries in this country — what percentage are employed by insurance companies?” Sen. Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, asked an actuary last week at a hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.”

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And for the last one today, another abortion related story the national media will ignore. From LifeNews

“The former director of a leading abortion advocacy group who was caught in a child sex sting pleaded guilty to his crimes.

Scott Richard Swirling, who was the director of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), was arrested for attempting to arrange for a sexual encounter with a twelve-year-old girl. He was charged with traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct, a crime which carries a penalty of up to 30 years.”

“Sexual predators who impregnate underage girls rely on cooperative abortion clinics to cover up their crimes.  As Live Action, Life Dynamics, and others have documented, Planned Parenthood abortion clinics frequently fail to comply with mandatory reporting laws,” it said.

“The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association strongly supports taxpayer funding for abortion clinics.  Many Planned Parenthood affiliates are NFPRHA members,” it added. “There is no mention of Mr. Swirling on the NFPRHA website.”

That’s not surprising.

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by

News/Politics 4-11-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

This morning we go fast and furious. We won’t be running guns, but we will talk about them. Since there’s so many, I’ll try to be brief. 🙂

First the expanded background checks. Seems mostly reasonable, but any attempts to limit rights make me nervous. I just don’t trust ’em to leave it at this. From TheHill

“The proposal would expand background checks to cover all sales at gun shows and  over the Internet. Those background checks would have to be accompanied by  records proving to law enforcement officials they took place.

It would exempt gun sales and transfers between friends and acquaintances  without the help of an online intermediary.”

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Meanwhile more than half of Colorado’s Sheriffs have signed on to a lawsuit against that state’s new gun grab laws. From FoxNews

“The Denver Post reports that 37 of the state’s 62 sheriffs will sue to  overturn laws passed in March that set limits on ammunition magazines and expand  background checks for firearms.

Weld County Sheriff John Cooke told the paper that the proposed lawsuit would  argue the laws violate Second Amendment rights. He said the lawsuit would likely  be filed within the next few weeks.”

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Now on to the President’s idea of a budget. Or as I like to call it, DOA. From TheDailyMail

“Early analysis: Obama’s 2014 budget numbers are based on bad math, phantom  revenues, imagined spending cuts and a middle-class tax hike”

“White House promises $1.8 trillion in  deficit reduction, although similar previous claims have been  debunked

New method of measuring cost-of-living  increases will lower benefit payouts and push middle-class earners into higher  tax brackets

Speaker Boehner’s spokesperson: ‘Any deficit  reduction will come exclusively from tax hikes’

Administration’s formula depends on cost  savings from Obamacare, which may be more costly to implement than previously thought”

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ObamaCare savings? I think not. From Bloomberg

“The $1.3 trillion U.S. health-care system overhaul is getting more expensive and will initially accomplish less than intended.

Costs for a network of health-insurance exchanges, a core part of the Affordable Care Act, have swelled to $4.4 billion for fiscal 2012 and 2013, and will reach $5.7 billion in 2014, according to President Barack Obama’s budget sent to Congress today. Spending would be more than double the projections, even though less than half the 50 U.S. states are participating.”

So if all states participate, it’s even worse. Savings? Please. It’s working out just as we said it would. And just think, all this, with no benefits yet. Just imagine how far off they’ll be once they actually have to start paying out benefits.

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Even some Dems are catching on to the fact that they created a monster. From TheWashingtonExaminer

“Decrying the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as way too complex, he warned the acting Medicare director that Obamacare is “so complicated and if it isn’t done right the first time, it will just simply get worse.”

“”I believe that the Affordable Care Act is probably the most complex piece of legislation ever passed by the United States Congress. Tax reform obviously has been huge too, but up to this point it is just beyond comprehension,” said Rockefeller.”

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Looks like they’d like to use the same rush tactic on immigration that they used for ObamaCare. From TheWashingtonExaminer

“Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, faulted Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vt., for limiting the committee review of the gang of eight’s immigration proposal to just one hearing, scheduled for next week.

“A single hearing scheduled so quickly to discuss legislative language that is not yet even available is completely inadequate for Senators or the American people to get answers to the many questions a bill of this magnitude will inevitably raise,” Lee said in a statement. “We could not possibly have a meaningful hearing with a substantive discussion of what will surely be over 1,000 pages of provisions we haven’t even yet seen.””

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Just one more reason to dislike the IRS. From TheHill

“The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has claimed that agents do not need warrants to read people’s emails, text messages and other private electronic  communications, according to internal agency documents.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which obtained  the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request, released the information on Wednesday.”

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And since we’re on the subject of unconstitutional power grabs and abuse of power, we’ll stay with it. From TheWashingtonExaminer

“A bill aimed at pressuring the Boy Scouts of America to lift its ban on gay members by making the organization ineligible for nonprofit tax breaks cleared its first vote on Wednesday in the California Legislature.”

“The Youth Equality Act, sponsored by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Long Beach, would deny tax-exempt status to youth groups that discriminate on the basis of gender identity, race, sexual orientation, nationality, religion or religious affiliation.”

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Another example? Really? I see a pattern here. From FoxNews

“The Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged Tuesday that it released  personal information on potentially thousands of farmers and ranchers to  environmental groups, following concerns from congressional Republicans and  agriculture groups that the release could endanger their safety.

According to a document obtained by FoxNews.com, the EPA said “some of the  personal information that could have been protected … was released.” Though the  EPA has already sent out the documents, the agency now says it has since  redacted sensitive details and asked the environmental groups to “return the  information.””

Sure, after the horse has left the barn.

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And to finish, some words from Clarence Thomas on the decline of black communities. From TheObserver-Reporter

“Thomas spoke to an appreciative audience at Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh. The crowd of about 1,200 people responded with both applause and laughter as he discussed politics, the makeup of the Supreme Court, race, and his own struggles to find his path in life.”

“If I was going to have hard feelings, it’d be mostly on race issues,” Thomas said. “My heart is broken because I worked in the inner cities.”

He said he’s seen terrible decline in some black communities over the years and today “virtually every crime is drug related.” Many young people have no families and no education and numerous anti-poverty programs have failed to make a difference, he said.

“We should at least fess up and say something is wrong,” Thomas said.”

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by

News/Politics 4-8-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread.

I guess we’ll start with the Obama budget.

And of course, more class envy. From TheHill

“President Obama’s budget, to be released next week, will limit how much wealthy  individuals – like Mitt Romney – can keep in IRAs and other retirement accounts.

The proposal would save around $9 billion over a decade, a senior administration  official said, while also bringing more fairness to the tax code.

The senior administration official said that wealthy taxpayers can currently “accumulate many millions of dollars in these accounts, substantially more than  is needed to fund reasonable levels of retirement saving.”

Under the plan, a taxpayer’s tax-preferred retirement account, like an IRA,  could not finance more than $205,000 per year of retirement – or right around $3 million this year.”

Once again, punishing success.

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ObamaCare is taking friendly fire. From TheHill

“Delays in implementing popular pieces of ObamaCare are hurting it with  Democrats.

Ahead of an election year in which Republicans promise to make  healthcare an issue again, Democrats are criticizing the White House for  delaying policies that could help build support for the unpopular law.

“Senate Republicans will have the opportunity to campaign against Obamacare’s  rising health care costs, burdensome paperwork and broken promises and could use  it to motivate voters against Democrat candidates, especially vulnerable ones in  red states,” Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said.”

This is all on them. Point it out repeatedly.

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And remember folks, this is who our govt is supporting and funding.

From TheTimesofIsrael

“A mob threw rocks and fired birdshot Sunday at several hundred Christians marching in a protest against Egypt’s Islamist government after the funeral of four Christians killed in sectarian clashes over the weekend.

The Christians were chanting slogans against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, just as several thousand did earlier during the funeral service nearby in the Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo.

Riot police later arrived, firing tear gas at the Christians and the mob. Several tear gas canisters landed inside the cathedral’s grounds, causing a panic among women and children who attended the funeral.”

Central Security Forces are being accused of allowing the attack to continue.

Tweeted by Alastair Beach on site……

“Csf doing absolutely nothing to stop the fighting. Standing around as the rocks and molotovs continue to fly over the wall”

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Meanwhile a group of 700 retired special forces members are asking the House to investigate Benghazi. From Breitbart

“Seven hundred retired Military Special Operations professionals from the organization “Special Operations Speaks” sent a letter to the House of Representatives urging members to support H.Res 36, which will create a House Select Committee to investigate last September’s deadly terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

“It appears that many of the facts and details surrounding the terrorist attack which resulted in four American deaths and an undetermined number of American casualties have not yet been ascertained by previous hearings and inquiries,” the letter states. It continues further, “Additional information is now slowly surfacing in the media, which makes a comprehensive bipartisan inquiry an imperative. Many questions have not been answered thus far.” The letter puts forth over twenty unanswered questions the select committee should address.

Congressman Frank Wolf, a sub-committee chairman on the House Appropriations Committee, issued a resolution for a House Select Committee to investigate issues surrounding the Benghazi Attack last November in the 112th Congress. He re-issued his resolution for the select committee when the 113th Congress began. The resolution currently has over 60 co–sponsors.”

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The mother of one of the victims is speaking out against the White House handling of the situation. From Mediaite

“On Friday, Sean Hannity brought Pat Smith, mother of the late Sean Smith, on his radio program. The 34-year-old information management officer was one of four Americans murdered in the Benghazi embassy attack on September 11, 2012.

In the chilling interview, a distraught Ms. Smith, in tears, pleaded for answers and spoke of the efforts to silence her.

Ms. Smith first relayed how her son, prior to the attack, requested additional security in advance and warned the State Department:

He did tell them, ahead of time, he typed it into his little typewriter over there, that they were going to be attacked, ‘please they needed more security,’ and they were ignored. And I don’t appreciate everybody going to bed and going to sleep and not taking care of the guys that they put in harm’s way, one of them being my son.”

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We talked a little last week about the love Hollywood and the left have with terrorists and radicals. It’s a new week, new celebrity, and new radical, but it’s the same old story. Greg Gutfeld has noticed too. And while he may be a bit abrasive, I don’t see where he’s wrong. He seems to have nailed it if you ask me.

From TheFive on Fox with a content warning for extreme sarcasm.

“Gutfeld: Why The Left Embraces Armed Radicals, Mocks Law-Abiding Gun Owners”

Take the time to watch the video.

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by

News/Politics 4-5-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Lots to talk about today.

First off the North Korea mess. Did we just blink? I think we blinked.

From HotAir

“Report: U.S. backing off shows of force against North Korea for fear of what Kim might do”

“This isn’t merely a failure of nerve, it’s a failure of intelligence and a failure to keep operational secrets. The White House had a “playbook,” agreed to by O, Hagel, and John Kerry, on how to rattle its saber at North Korea during the next crisis without rattling it so much that NK would get spooked and do something rash. E.g., first comes some B-52 flights over South Korea, then the B-2s make a cameo, then the F-22s, and so forth. Problem one: Kim’s gone further in his bellicosity than U.S. analysts expected and now they’re unsure if they know where his personal red line is. Problem two: The deployment of two destroyers last weekend to the Pacific wasn’t part of the “playbook” and wasn’t supposed to be publicized. That was a bona fide strategic move, not a show of muscle-flexing designed for North Korean and international consumption. But then the news leaked and the Navy confirmed it, which turned the deployment into an inadvertent, potentially war-sparking audible.

One screw-up on top of another, so now it’s time to cool things off before someone gets nuked.”

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This one I’m a little confused about. But the atheists and the ACLU aren’t happy about it, so that’s good at least. 🙂

From ChristianityToday

“The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) may have thought it had the upper hand when it filed suit against a North Carolina county for opening its board meetings with explicitly Christian prayers. After all, the federal Establishment Clause of the Constitution prohibits the government from interfering with citizens’ religious exercise.

But a new bill introduced in the North Carolina state legislature would protect the county’s right to prayer in an unconventional way: by nullifying any federal regulations or court rulings regarding religion.

Eleven House lawmakers already have signed on to the bill, which “would [allow North Carolina to] refuse to acknowledge the force of any judicial ruling on prayer in North Carolina—or indeed on any Constitutional topic,” according to WRAL, a local news source.

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Wait, am I reading this right? In this one the ACLU is on the right side?

From TheDailyCaller

“In an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller, a top lobbyist for the ACLU  announced that the group thinks Reid’s current gun bill could threaten both  privacy rights and civil liberties.

The inclusion of universal background checks — the poll-tested lynchpin of  most Democratic proposals — “raises two significant concerns,” the ACLU’s Chris  Calabrese told TheDC Wednesday.

Calabrese — a privacy lobbyist — was first careful to note that the ACLU  doesn’t strictly oppose universal background checks for gun purchases. “If  you’re going to require a background check, we think it should be effective,” Calabrese explained.”

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I don’t know why the ACLU is making a big deal of this. Obama and Reid have both assured us this national registry thing won’t happen. Yeah, except once again they’re being dishonest.

From Heritage.org

“As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) must know, Americans who own firearms have a special sensitivity to a “Big Brother” federal government that wants to keep centralized records on who owns what guns and where in America. Loose language in his gun control bill (S. 649) could start America down that slippery slope.

Since the Second Amendment guarantees to the people the right to keep and bear arms, many Americans look askance at efforts to create centralized records that might some day, in some distant future neither wanted nor expected, facilitate a despotic government’s efforts to disarm the populace or ensure that its supporters but not its opponents possess arms. Some Americans look at history and view that concern as far-fetched; others look at history and see careful attention to that concern as essential to maintaining freedom.

Congress has attended carefully to the concern about a federal gun registry in the past.”

“Unfortunately, the Reid legislation deviates from this strong guarantee that protects against misuse of the NICS process to start a national firearms registry.”

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Meanwhile, more obvious flaws with their approach emerge. They say they want a national conversation on guns, yet they ignore obvious pieces of the conversation. Not shockingly, the part of the conversation that points to Hollywood as part of the problem. Must protect the cash cow.

From TheWallStJournal

“There was something missing from President Obama’s Wednesday speech in Denver about gun violence. He focused almost exclusively on passing gun-control laws, and not at all on one of the nation’s biggest promoters of violence: the entertainment industry.

The president’s campaign against gun violence has produced a stale debate marked by lots of speeches with little achieved. A more creative chief executive would have used this moment to widen the discussion by drawing attention to the increasingly graphic violence so pervasive in television shows, movies and videogames. Mr. Obama is particularly well positioned to challenge Hollywood because of his special relationship with the media world’s elites. They might be more likely to heed criticism coming from Mr. Obama than from any other president or member of Congress.”

Yeah, don’t hold your breath.

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In ObamaCare news……  

From HotAir

“This sounds remarkably like what we’ve been writing, and it’s nice to see a few Obamacare supporters recognize this reality. Holding Obamacare to its promises is rather important, no matter which side you’re on. On my side, it’s to ameliorate the damage and prevent such debacles in the future. For Klein, it’s to make sure this debacle doesn’t make activist government biting off way more than it can chew competently look, well, incompetent.

“Let me try to understand this: The key incentive for small businesses to support Obamacare was that they would be able to shop for the best deals in health care super-stores—called exchanges. The Administration has had 3 years to set up these exchanges. It has failed to do so.

This is a really bad sign. There will be those who argue that it’s not the Administration’s fault. It’s the fault of the 33 states that have refused to set up their own exchanges. Nonsense. Where was the contingency planning? There certainly are models, after all—the federal government’s own health benefits plan (FEHBP) operates markets that exist in all 50 states. So does Medicare Advantage. But now, the Obama Administration has announced that it won’t have the exchanges ready in time, that small businesses will be offered one choice for the time being—for a year, at least. No doubt, small business owners will be skeptical of the Obama Administration’s belief in the efficacy of the market system to produce lower prices through competition. That was supposed to be the point of this plan.”

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And despite their best efforts, people ain’t buyin’ what they’re selling. 

From InvestorsBusinessDaily

“The White House recently released details about how it plans to market ObamaCare  to the uninsured. What it reveals is that most of them don’t want what the  administration is trying to force them to buy.”

“Let’s leave aside for a minute the oddity of this effort. Its backers have  endlessly touted ObamaCare as a miracle of modern government that will at long  last bring insurance within reach of 48 million people who desperately want it.  Besides, the law mandates that everyone buy ObamaCare coverage.

So why the need for a big marketing push at all?”

“What they’ve learned since is that more than half of the 48 million who the  government says are uninsured aren’t interested in health insurance, which is  why they don’t bother to buy it in the first place.”

Whaaaaaat……!!!!  I’m 😯 

Yeah, not really. 🙄

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Here’s a look at the future of medical care.

From FoxDC

“Walgreen Co. has expanded the reach of its drugstore  clinics   beyond treating ankle sprains and sinus infections to handling chronic   diseases such as diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure.

The company, based in Deerfield, Ill., said Thursday  that most of its   370 in-store Take Care Clinics now will diagnosis, treat and  monitor   patients with some chronic conditions that are typically handled by    doctors.

Drugstore clinics, which are run by nurse  practitioners or physician   assistants, have grown popular in recent years as a  convenient way for   patients to get immunizations, physicals and treatment for  relatively   minor illnesses when their regular doctor is unavailable. But the    clinics have been broadening their scope of care: Walgreen’s decision   follows  a move by CVS Caremark Corp. a few years ago to handle chronic   conditions at  most of its 640 MinuteClinics.”

Oh Goody! 🙄

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And we’ll finish up with some immigration news. And yes, more misleading and false claims from the Obama admin.

From TheLATimes

“Vader, a system originally used to track the Taliban, finds that more immigrants elude capture at the U.S.-Mexico border than previously estimated.”

“The number of “gotaways,” as the Border Patrol calls those who escape apprehension, is both more precise and higher than official estimates.”

“According to internal reports, Border Patrol agents used the airborne radar to help find and detain 1,874 people in the Sonora Desert between Oct. 1 and Jan. 17. But the radar system spotted an additional 1,962 people in the same area who evaded arrest and disappeared into the United States.

In contrast, the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, estimated in January that the Border Patrol had caught 64% of those who illegally crossed into the Tucson sector in 2011.”

They say they catch 64%. The actual numbers are less than 50%.

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Unlike the Obama admin, the public wants the border secured before reforms begin.

From Rasmussen

“President Obama argues that more border security is not a necessary first step before legalizing the status of illegal immigrants already here. But most voters are willing to support immigration reform only if it includes both border security and a way for some illegal immigrants to remain in the country.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Likely U.S. Voters favor an immigration plan that gives illegal immigrants legal status to stay in the United States provided the border is really secured to prevent future illegal immigration. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 25% are opposed to this plan. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

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Oh yeah, and the Yankees finally won! 🙂

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News/Politics 4-4-13

What’s interesting out there today?

Here’s a few and then you folks can have at it.

That North Korea things is getting a bit outta hand.  From Google

“North Korea dramatically escalated its warlike rhetoric on Thursday, warning that it had authorised plans for nuclear strikes on targets in the United States.

“The moment of explosion is approaching fast,” the North Korean military said, warning that war could break out “today or tomorrow”.

Pyongyang’s latest pronouncement came as Washington scrambled to reinforce its Pacific missile defences, preparing to send ground-based interceptors to Guam and dispatching two Aegis class destroyers to the region.”

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More on North Korea, from TheHill

“Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said Tuesday that the United States had the right to  take preemptive military action against North Korea if there was “solid  evidence” that Kim Jon Un planned to attack the U.S. or South Korea.

“If we have good reason to believe there’s going to be an attack, I believe  we have the right to take preemptive action,” King said on CNN’s “Erin Burnett  Outfront.”

“I don’t think we have to wait until Americans are killed or wounded or injured  in any way,” he continued. “I’m not saying we should be rushing into war, don’t  get me wrong, but if we have solid evidence that North Korea’s going to take  action, then I think we have a moral obligation and an absolute right to defend  ourselves.””

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White House tours cut. Money to improve Armenia’s pension system not cut. Priorities people.

From NationalReview

“Today the “Spared by the Sequester” spotlight falls once again on the Agency for International Development. On March 29, USAID awarded $3,881,188 to Chemonics International, Inc. to help implement reforms to Armenia’s pension system.”

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Now this one is being blamed on Sequester cuts, but that doesn’t really make sense. How exactly does a 2% reduction in INCREASED spending cause this, yet 70 billion of 700 billion in ObamaCare cuts hasn’t impacted it? Really? I’m not buyin’ it. And I’d also note that this is small clinics affected, not hospitals.

From TheWashingtonPost

“Cancer clinics across the country have begun turning away thousands of Medicare patients, blaming the sequester budget cuts.

Oncologists say the reduced funding, which took effect for Medicare on April 1, makes it impossible to administer expensive chemotherapy drugs while staying afloat financially.

Patients at these clinics would need to seek treatment elsewhere, such as at hospitals that might not have the capacity to accommodate them.”

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First the Unions get exemptions, and now they’ll be paid to help the commoners navigate a system they’re not forced to participate in, at least to start. Nice racket they got goin’ there.  And of course the ACORN type community activist folks get a cut too. It’s the Chicago way after all. 🙄

From TheWashingtonExaminer

“Tens of thousands of health care professionals, union workers and community activists hired as “navigators” to help Americans choose Obamacare options starting Oct. 1 could earn $20 an hour or more, according to new regulations issued Wednesday.

The 63-page rule covering navigators, drawn up by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, also said the government will provide free translators for those not fluent in English — no matter what their native language is.”

“That could be an expensive proposition. The proposed rules, now open for public comment, suggest an estimated pay of $20-$48 an hour.”

As well as benefits too I’m sure.

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And this one doesn’t surprise me. There are many military jobs where this will be the case. That’s not sexist, it’s the physical realities and differences in the sexes. Unless the standards are lowered.

From TheFreeBeacon

“The only two women to participate in the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course (IOC) failed ongoing tests to determine which infantry positions should be available to women, according to the Marine Corps Times:

The women failed the introductory Combat Endurance Test, a punishing test of physical strength and endurance, officials at Marine Corps headquarters said Tuesday. The latest class began March 28 at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., with 110 lieutenants participating. Ninety-six men passed the initial endurance test. Twelve men and two women — the only female Marines taking part — failed.

The two women both volunteered to participate in the IOC. Two other women had previously volunteered in September but also failed.”

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Life Matters 3-28-13

The murder trial of Kermit Gosnell continues in Philadelphia. With multiple charges against Gosnell and others, you’d think this would be news. As far as the major networks go, you’d be mistaken.

From LifeNews

“ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, NPR and PBS Ignore Gosnell’s Abortion Horrors”

“The liberal media know an abortion outrage when they hear it. Sadly, they only seem to hear them from the mouths of Republican candidates, and it only takes a statement to outrage the press. Can’t they find a single abortion outrage inside an abortion clinic? Such is their radicalism that nothing, absolutely nothing regarding this gruesome procedure raises their eyebrows, never mind their ire.

One emerging story proves the degree to which our “objective” media’s views on abortion are dogmatic and extreme. Abortionist Kermit Gosnell is on trial in Philadelphia, and not just for killing babies outside the womb, but also for killing a mother through reckless use of anesthesia. Network TV coverage of the trial? Zero on ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, NPR and PBS. CNN’s entire coverage seems to be one sentence from Jake Tapper on March 21.”

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Yesterday Gosnell’s attorney was involved in a shouting match with the presiding judge.

From LifeSiteNews

“The Kermit Gosnell murder trial opened Tuesday with a heated dispute over the prosecution’s toxicology expert witness that soon degenerated into a loud shouting match between defense attorney Jack McMahon and Judge Jeffery Minehart, who ordered McMahon to sit down.

According to a local news report, minutes after the argument between McMahon and Judge Minehart, McMahon exchanged angry words with prosecutor Joanne Pescatore in the hallway outside the courtroom that also escalated to the point of shouting.”

“Judge Minehart halted the trial and dismissed the jury until he could hear further arguments related to the admissibility of Rohrig’s testimony. After McMahon’s five-hour attempt to prevent Rohrig’s testimony from reaching the jury Minehart ruled that Rohrig should be allowed to testify.”

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And in other news the Obama admin continues it’s sordid relationship with Planned Parenthood.

From LifeNews

“While the White House says sequestration has eliminated funds for children touring the White House, President Obama has no problem spending $350 million federal tax dollars for sexual indoctrination programs starting in kindergarten for those same children.

This is not your grandmother’s sex education about how things work and what can go “wrong.” In fact, the exact opposite is the essence of the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP): Obamacare funnels $75 million annually into PREP, which must be used exclusively for Planned Parenthood-style “comprehensive” sex ed programs where no type of sex is wrong and the only sexual behavior PP considers “unsafe” is becoming pregnant.

More than one-fourth of the funds ‒ $20 million ‒ has been awarded to a coalition of six Planned Parenthood affiliates, operating under the name Northwest Coalition for Adolescent Health, to implement HHS’s TOP program across Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Alaska at over 50 sites. In Oregon schools, Planned Parenthood is paying children cash incentives to participate.”

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And one of Mrs. Obama’s aides has been named the new CEO of the Florida PP. From LifeNews

“A former aide to pro-abortion First lady Michelle Obama has become the CEO of the Florida affiliate of the Planned Parenthood abortion business.

Stephanie A. Marshall is also the former communications director at the U.S. Health and Human Services and will now become the new president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Collier County. See succeeds Char Wendel, who is leaving at the end of March.”

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News/Politics 3-27-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

I guess we start with some good news from North Dakota. 🙂

From LifeNews

““Gov. Jack Dalrymple today signed HB 1305, HB 1456 and SB 2305 and provided the following statements to the Legislature:”

“I have signed HB 1305 which would ban abortions performed solely for the purpose of gender selection and genetic abnormalities.

I have signed HB 1456 which would ban abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. Although the likelihood of this measure surviving a court challenge remains in question, this bill is nevertheless a legitimate attempt by a state legislature to discover the boundaries of Roe v. Wade. Because the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed state restrictions on the performing of abortions and because the Supreme Court has never considered this precise restriction in HB 1456, the constitutionality of this measure is an open question. The Legislative Assembly before it adjourns should appropriate dollars for a litigation fund available to the Attorney General.

I have signed SB 2305 which requires admitting and staff privileges at a nearby hospital for any physician who performs abortions in North Dakota. The added requirement that the hospital privileges must include allowing abortions to take place in their facility greatly increases the chances that this measure will face a court challenge. Nevertheless, it is a legitimate and new question for the courts regarding a precise restriction on doctors who perform abortions.””

More here on the banning of abortion based on Down Syndrome, as well as gender preference based abortions. Also via LifeNews

“With the governor’s signature on the ban today, North Dakota has become the first state to ban abortions based on genetic “defects” like Down Syndrome. When diagnosed before birth, such genetic abnormalities prompt couples to have abortions 90 percent of the time.”

“The measure would also ban abortion based on gender selection, an issue of increasing concern in the United States has people from nations like China and India migrate to the United States and bring their cultural preference for boys with them.”

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Then some possibly good news. Or just wishful thinking. But the quicker we lame duck the current President, the better.

From Bloomberg

“U.S. Senator Tim Johnson’s announcement that he’ll retire after the 2014 election just made the Democrats’ job of holding their Senate majority a lot tougher.

Johnson, 66, the Senate banking committee chairman, is the second Democrat from a state won by Republican nominee Mitt Romney last year to say he won’t seek re-election in 2014. The announcement today means his party must defend two open seats and support five other Democratic incumbents running for re-election in Republican-leaning states.”

““The battle for the Senate will come down to Democrats’ability to hold seats in Republican-leaning states,” said Nathan Gonzales, deputy editor of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report, based in Washington. “A lot depends on how popular the president is” next year “because if people are dissatisfied, their option is to vote against the president’s party.””

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And then it starts to go downhill. 😦

It sounds like good news for a change due to ObamaCare, more jobs. But there’s a catch.

From HotAir

“Today, the Washington Post discovers that the Law of Unintended C0nsequences applies to ObamaCare, too.  Thanks to the massive costs added to hiring full-time workers, businesses now want to operate on cash-only relationships with labor:

The health-care law could prove to be a boon for temporary-staffing companies as employers outsource jobs to sidestep complex requirements for medical insurance.

But some experts say the Affordable Care Act’s exceptions for temporary employees could undercut the goal of expanding coverage to more American workers.

“That could lead to an increase in part-time workers” who lack insurance, said Susan N. Houseman, an economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research who studies staffing companies. “You regulate something and people will always try to find a way around the regulation.”

Gee, nobody saw that comin’ huh? 🙄

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Then we get a GRINCH ALERT!!! and it’s not even Christmas. 😦

From FoxNews

“Boys and girls at an Alabama elementary school will still get to hunt for eggs – but they can’t call them ‘Easter Eggs’ have the principal banished the word for the sake of religious diversity.”

““We had in the past a parent to question us about some of the things we do here at school,” said Heritage Elementary School principal Lydia Davenport. “So we’re just trying to make sure we respect and honor everybody’s differences.””

““Kids love the bunny and we just make sure we don’t say ‘the Easter Bunny’ so that we don’t infringe on the rights of others because people relate the Easter bunny to religion,” she told the television station. “ A bunny is a bunny and a rabbit is a rabbit.”

🙄 And you’re a weasel Ms. Davenport. They’d probably lock the school down if anybody dared mention Jesus’ name in connection with Easter.

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But I guess as annoying as that is, it’s nothing compared to the persecution other believers face. And this is who our govt. is supporting and funding.

From FoxNews

“Islamic hard-liners stormed a mosque in suburban Cairo, turning it into  torture chamber for Christians who had been demonstrating against the ruling  Muslim Brotherhood in the latest case of violent persecution that experts fear  will only get worse.

Such stories have become increasingly common as tensions between Egypt’s  Muslims and Copts mount, but in the latest case, mosque officials corroborated  much of the account and even filed a police report. Demonstrators, some of whom  were Muslim, say they were taken from the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in  suburban Cairo to a nearby mosque on Friday and tortured for hours by hard-line  militia members.

“They accompanied me to one of the mosques in the area and I discovered the  mosque was being used to imprison demonstrators and torture them,” Amir Ayad, a  Coptic who has been a vocal protester against the regime, told MidEast Christian News from a  hospital bed.”

““There is no longer anything to hold them back. The floodgates are  open.”

And in Libya more of the same, from CNSNews

“On Feb. 12, about two years after the U.S. government first militarily intervened in Libya to advance the cause of Libyan revolutionaries and five months after Libyan terrorists murdered Amb. Chris Stevens and three other Americans in that country, the  post-revolutionary Libyan government arrested a U.S. citizen for  allegedly “proselytizing” Christianity in Benghazi.

As of today, according to both a senior administration official and a State Department spokesperson, this U.S. citizen remains imprisoned in  post-Qaddafi Libya.

The Libyan government also arrested seven other Christians in Benghazi in connection with the same alleged case of Christian proselytizing. These include a South African woman, a South Korean man  and five Egyptian men.”

And again, this is who we’re propping up.

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News/Politics 3-26-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

There’s a lot going on.

Let’s start with ObamaVote, just another “free” service ObamaCare provides. They even have community organizers on hand to help out! They’ve thought of everything. What could possibly go wrong?

And now you know what happened to ACORN. They sold out to the man and went legit.

From TheWashingtonExaminer

“The 61-page online Obamacare draft application for health care includes asking if the applicant wants to register to vote, raising the specter that pro-Obama groups being tapped to help Americans sign up for the program will also steer them to register with the Democratic Party.

On page 59, after numerous questions about the applicant’s identity and qualification for Obamacare, comes the question: “Would you like to register to vote?” The placement of the question could lead some to believe they have to register to vote to get health care.”

“Boustany, a Louisiana Republican, said the application raises two alarming issues: What does HHS plan to do with all the information it collects on each applicant and will pro-Obama groups like AARP and Families USA that might be tapped as “navigators” to sign people up to Obamacare, steer them to register as Democrats. Others have indicated that groups like Planned Parenthood and ACORN could also act as a navigator.”

And the worst part is it’s not even shocking. This is exactly the kind of behavior you’d expect.

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More fun facts on ObamaCare here, from HotAir

“Remember when we were told that there was no way that Obamacare would result in driving up costs of healthcare, and in fact would lower it? Well, that ship has already sailed. But there was another popular “myth” which many of us were accused of falling for.  It was the prediction that government meddling in cost setting would drive health care professionals out of business resulting in less available services and a subsequent decline in quality of care. That was just a myth, right? Ah, good times… good times….

Unfortunately, the early projections show that precisely such a result is already kicking into gear.

“The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has recently triggered a debate within the medical community about both its potential impact on medical trainees and on practicing physicians. While the president of the American Medical Student Association has publicly supported the changes in a recent official memo, a recent survey indicates that 40 percent of medical students may not even be aware of the provisions of the act.

Institutional changes can often be double-edged swords, and this series of proposed changes is no different. There are both potential benefits and downsides to what is now widely seen as almost inevitable healthcare reform.”

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So what can we do about it? First, we need to hang this albatross where it belongs, around the necks of Dems. This is all their doing.

From TheNYPost

“Democrats hope to retake the House of Representatives in next year’s elections. They won’t — and they’ll have themselves to blame, because 2014 is when ObamaCare kicks in.

With a vengeance.

The authors of the Obama health law postponed the pain until after the 2012 election. Some popular provisions went into effect immediately, such as allowing children to stay on their parent’s plan until age 26. And the White House granted 1,472 waivers to various companies and unions, exempting them from insurance reforms so they wouldn’t drop coverage for employees and members before the presidential contest.

Yet a majority of voters on Election Day still opposed the health law (though, obviously, it wasn’t the deciding issue in the presidential race). And opinion will only sour more as the law takes full force starting in January.”

Plenty of low info voters are still under the impression that it’s all free. Reality will not be kind to them. Let’s make sure they are reminded of who is responsible for it.

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And on the gun issue we have this, from Politico

“Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are threatening to filibuster  gun-control legislation, according to a letter they plan to hand-deliver to  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office on Tuesday.

“We will oppose the motion to proceed to any legislation that will serve as a  vehicle for any additional gun restrictions,” the three conservatives wrote in a  copy of the signed letter obtained by POLITICO.”

“Reid plans to bring up a gun-control measure that focuses on broadening  background checks and cracking down on interstate gun-trafficking after the  current Senate recess.”

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And it’s been one misstep after another from liberals on this issue. NY didn’t think to exempt police in their rush to pass something. Then they didn’t think through the magazine capacity issue either. They don’t even make the magazines they said were the only ones now legal to possess. Now we have Bloomberg, the next clown who knows little about guns acting like he’s an expert. Oh well, at least the 12 million he’s blown on this was his money. If this commercial is any indication, maybe we should just ban liberals from possessing guns, for the safety of others.

From TheWashingtonTimes

“Mike Bloomberg is spending $12 million on  attack ads designed to force U.S. senators to vote for national gun control laws  that will supposedly save lives. However, the New York mayor’s commercials  running in 13 states over the next two weeks could cause injury or death by  showcasing irresponsible handling of a firearm.

Mr. Bloomberg’s organization, Mayors  Against Illegal Guns, produced two ads featuring a man holding a shotgun,  wearing plaid flannel with a camouflage cap and sitting on the tailgate of a  pickup truck. While a child swings on a tire in the background, the man says, “I  support comprehensive background checks so criminals and the dangerously  mentally ill can’t buy guns.”

“The ad does not specify if the man is an actor, but the text accompanying it  says he is a “gun owner.”  Either way, the man violates all three gun  safety rules taught by the National Rifle Association (NRA).”

It’s Amateur Hour in NY. 🙄

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Remember folks, we don’t have a spending problem. We have a revenue problem, as in not enough revenue for the elitists in charge. And sadly this isn’t new. Waste like this has been going on for years. But these people seem to have perfected it.

From CNN

“Official business took him last month to Europe, a trip that included a bill of $585,000 for his one-night stay in Paris.

Also on the receipt was $321,665 for a limousine company and $459,338.65 for a hotel stay in London.

And while Biden was only in each town for one night, the London hotel bill, for example, included 136 rooms for multiple nights for his advance team, according to the documents posted on the website for Federal Business Opportunities and unearthed by the conservative magazine, The Weekly Standard.

Whether or not the figures were posted online intentionally remain unclear, as similar reports for previous overseas trips could not be located on the same website.”

Oh I’d wager it was done intentionally. More than likely by someone who actually had to deal with Sequester cuts, unlike the VP and Vacationer in Chief and his family. No word yet on the cost for this year’s taxpayer funded Spring Break trip to Atlantis for the Obama girls, or if Mrs. O is joining them. And still no tours for the children of taxpayers. Priorities people!

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