politics

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News/Politics 10-15-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, not really surprising. Muslim groups that support terrorists set training policy for DHS and law enforcement, so why not let a hate group like the SPLC decide who the hate groups are. The radicals set the policy in this admin.

From FoxNews  “Several dozen U.S. Army active duty and reserve troops were told last week that the American Family Association, a well-respected Christian ministry, should be classified as a domestic hate group because the group advocates for traditional family values.”

“A soldier who attended the briefing contacted me and sent me a photograph of a slide show presentation that listed AFA as a domestic hate group. Under the AFA headline is a photograph of Westboro Baptist Church preacher Fred Phelps holding a sign reading “No special law for f***.”

American Family Association has absolutely no affiliation with the controversial church group known for picketing the funerals of American service members.

“I had to show Americans what our soldiers are now being taught,” said the soldier who asked not to be identified. “I couldn’t just let this one pass.”

Who cares if it’s false, as long as it fits their meme, right?

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The next few are ObamaCare related.

Think ObamaCare is too expensive? You’re in luck, a solution to that has been found. Just make less money! 😉

From HotAir  “This is a story out of California that’s been making the rounds this weekend and definitely needs to be filed under, “Who could have possibly seen this coming?” Some of the people who managed the feat of getting through the dysfunctional web site and actually getting quotes on health care policies under Obamacare have already been finding out that “low priced” can mean something entirely different than they may have thought. This is particularly true of older citizens on fixed incomes. But if your income is low enough, you can just scratch off a lot of the cost of those premiums with a taxpayer funded subsidy, right? Sure… but what if your income is too high? Well, duh… you should make less money!

People whose 2014 income will be a little too high to get subsidized health insurance from Covered California next year should start thinking now about ways to lower it to increase their odds of getting the valuable tax subsidy.

“If they can adjust (their income), they should,” says Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow with the Kaiser Family Foundation. “It’s not cheating, it’s allowed.”

Under the Affordable Care Act, if your 2014 income is between 138 and 400 percent of poverty level for your household size, you can purchase health insurance on a state-run exchange (such as Covered California) and receive a federal tax subsidy to offset all or part of your premium.”

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Many places are now demanding co-pays and deductibles up front.

From Bloomberg  “When Barbara Retkowski went to a Cape Coral, Florida, health clinic in August to treat a blood condition, she figured the center would bill her insurance company. Instead, it demanded payment upfront.

Earlier in the year, another clinic insisted she pay her entire remaining insurance deductible for the year — more than $1,000 — before the doctor would even see her.

“I was surprised and frustrated,” Retkowski, a 59-year-old retiree, said in an interview. “I had to pull money out of my savings.”

The practice of upfront payment for non-emergency care has been spreading in the U.S. as deductibles rise. Now, the advent of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is likely to accelerate that trend.”

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And things will only get worse. The job killing will continue as well. Some are saying it’s temporary, but that remains to be seen.

From USAToday  “Hospitals, a reliable source of employment growth in the recession and its aftermath, are starting to cut thousands of jobs amid falling insurance payments and inpatient visits.

The payroll cuts are surprising because the Affordable Care Act (ACA), whose implementation took a big step forward this month, is eventually expected to provide health coverage to as many as 30 million additional Americans.

“While the rest of the U.S. economy is stabilizing or improving, health care is entering into a recession,” says John Howser, assistant vice chancellor of Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Health care providers announced more layoffs than any other industry last month — 8,128 — largely because of reductions by hospitals, according to outplacement firm Challenger Gray and Christmas.  So far this year, the health care sector has announced 41,085 layoffs, the third-most behind financial and industrial companies.”

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Oh look, more special treatment for Obama’s friends.

From TheHill  “Labor unions are poised to score the delay of an ObamaCare tax in the bipartisan  budget deal emerging in the Senate.

The bargain under negotiation would make small adjustments to the healthcare law, including delaying the law’s  reinsurance fee for one year. The three-year tax is meant to generate revenue  that will stabilize premiums on the individual market as sick patients enter the  risk pool.”

“The tax applies to all group health plans, but unions argue it will raise their  healthcare costs while providing them no benefit.”

So basically it does the same thing to them that it does to many of us. But we get no special treatment.

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News/Politics 10-14-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread.

I’m taking the holiday off. 🙂 But I did have one I wanted to post.

Mr. President, tear down those Barrycades.

Oh wait, never mind, they already did.

There’s only one thing left to do with them, return to sender.

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So of course they get treated like hardened criminals by park police. You know, ‘cuz these are the domestic terrorists DHS has been warning about. 🙄  Funny though, everything was pretty peaceful, until the armed guards, SWAT, and armored vehicles showed up.

From TheBlaze with lots of pics  “Members of the so-called “Million Vet March” descended on Washington, D.C., Sunday to protest the Obama administration’s decision to close the city’s public memorials.

Thousands of demonstrators arrived early in the morning and tore down barricades that had been set up to block people from visiting the popular attractions, WTOP reports.

The group said military personnel and veterans are “being used a political pawns in the ongoing government shutdown and budget crisis,” according to a statement on its website.

The group also said it has no political leaning, but believes that the closing of memorials is “a despicable act of cowardice.”

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Some politicians like Cruz, Palin, and Lee joined them. Funny though, I didn’t see any Democrats. 🙄  As expected, most of the media treats it like a Tea Party Rally, and attempts to dismiss it.

From USAToday  “Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas were among those who gathered Sunday morning, along with former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, according to WTOP radio. Cruz said President Obama is using veterans as pawns in the shutdown.

“Tear down these walls,” the crowd chanted. Protesters also sang God Bless America and other patriotic songs as they entered the memorial plaza.

The memorial has become a political symbol in the bitter fight between Democrats and Republicans over who is at fault since the shutdown began. Earlier rallies have focused on allowing access for World War II veterans visiting from across the country with the Honor Flight Network.

Sunday’s rally was more political. A protest by truckers converged with a rally by a group called the Million Vet March at the World War II Memorial. Participants cut the links between metal barriers at the National Park Service site and pushed them aside.”

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Here’s a photo, video, and Tweet montage of more of the fun from the nation’s capitol. Via WeaselZippers

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News/Politics 10-12-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

The other day I was hard on Gov. Jerry Brown for his signing of the non-physician abortion law. He was wrong to do so IMHO, but this time he gets it right, so it’s only fair I point that out too.

From ABCNews  “California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill Friday that would have banned future sales of most semi-automatic rifles that accept detachable magazines, part of a firearms package approved by state lawmakers in response to mass shootings in other states.

The governor announced signing other gun-related legislation but rejected the centerpiece bill, which would have imposed the nation’s toughest restrictions on gun ownership.

Brown’s veto message said it was too far-reaching. The bill by Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg would have outlawed future sales of an entire class of weapons that includes most assault rifles.”

“”I don’t believe that this bill’s blanket ban on semi-automatic rifles would reduce criminal activity or enhance public safety enough to warrant this infringement on gun owners’ rights,” the Democratic governor wrote in his veto message.”

Golf clap.

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Funny, now they’re called non-essential, but they have no problem activating these units for Iraq and Afghanistan though. More discretionary cuts meant to hurt. They didn’t have to do this. The White House and DoD chose to.

From PewStates.org  “Nearly 50,000 full-time National Guard employees have been furloughed as a result of the federal government shutdown. The standoff in Washington also has resulted in the cancellation of most of this weekend’s training exercises, depriving even non-furloughed guardsmen of the salaries they receive for drilling. 

The furloughed guardsmen are paid by the federal government, even though they are under the command of their states’ adjutant generals and governors. The guardsmen who have been affected generally work as full-time computer programmers, or are engaged in cybersecurity or administrative work. Guardsmen whose salaries come from state funds will not be furloughed.  In some states, that is about half of the total.”

“Several governors were furious about having to issue furlough notices to guardsmen in their states. “Some of these men and women have been deployed multiple times,” Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage said in a statement. “This is a shameful tactic to use against Mainers who have put their life on the line to protect our freedoms.”

In Colorado, where National Guard troops are helping with the recovery from massive flooding, Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, ordered the state to pay the salaries of the 650 furloughed guardsmen who were assisting with cleanup.

“We can’t afford to lose one day in rebuilding areas destroyed or damaged by the floods,” Hickenlooper said. “Our National Guard troops are an invaluable part of the team working on the recovery. We need them to stay on the job.”

Not smart.

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The Senate has approved a bill restoring funding to military chaplains. But due to changes to the House bill, it now goes back to the House.

From FoxNews  “The Senate has approved a bill to let military chaplains work despite the partial government shutdown.

The Senate backed a version of the measure late Thursday. The version expressed the sense of Congress that chaplains should continue offering their services to members of the military and their families, and it had already passed the House.

Slight changes to the House measure were made by Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin of Michigan. Levin added a provision expressing Congress’ hope that the defense secretary could figure out how to pay contractor clergy.”

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One group challenging the shutdown of a federal park has won a court case challenging the closing. At least for now.

From TheWashingtonPost  “Fed up that the federal shutdown was keeping them off their practice fields, a group of young lacrosse players in Northern Virginia challenged the government in court. And at least for now, they won.

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the National Park Service to immediately reopen Langley Fork Park in McLean — which was closed Oct. 1 — and allow the boys and girls of the McLean Youth Lacrosse organization back onto the fields.”

“The judge’s order was not final. Attorneys are scheduled to return to federal court in Alexandria on Oct. 18 — provided the courthouse is still open and judges are still hearing civil cases  — to hash out a more permanent resolution. But until then, Langley Fork Park will be open for the hundreds of kids in the youth lacrosse group, which sued the Park Service, and for anyone else who might want to use it.”

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Fizzled.

From FoxNews  “A trucker protest aimed at clogging the Capital Beltway around Washington to protest government “corruption” was not shaping up to be quite the commuter nightmare organizers had threatened. 

 As of Friday morning, dozens of tractor-trailers were said to be on the road as part of the protest convoy.”

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And last today, I’m going to do my Rant! 😦 for the week here…….  

Now I’m a fan, but this is not helpful.

From WashingtonCBSLocal  “Dr. Ben Carson slammed President Barack Obama’s signature health care during his speech at the Value Voter’s Summit Friday.

“Obamacare is really, I think, the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery,” Carson declared. “It is slavery in a way because it is making all of us subservient to the government.”

Carson said the implementation of the Affordable Care Act was never about health care, only control.”

First off, as bad as I think ObamaCare is, it certainly isn’t the worst thing to happen since slavery. 50 million unborn children killed by abortion is certainly many degrees worse than ObamaCare. Be serious.

And while I agree it’s about control and making people rely on, and be subservient to the govt, the comparison to slavery is unfair. This is nothing like the physically and mentally forced subservience that slaves were subjected to. It’s nothing of the sort. I feel the same way about it when homosexuals attempt to compare themselves and their struggles to what slaves went through. It’s inaccurate and insulting. These things are bad, but they’re not slavery bad. There is no comparison.

This type of hyperbole is just gross, whether it’s from Sharpton, gay activists, or conservatives. Just my 2¢.

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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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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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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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