News/Politics 11-18-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Obama’s 10 point amnesty plan.

But hey, at least they’re gonna spend some on border security….allegedly. 🙄

_____________________________________

2. I wasn’t even aware we had a court like this. But like all the others, it’s govt. run, so delays and inefficiency are to be expected. And isn’t this kind of an admission that some of these might be unsafe for kids?

From TheAP  “While Jeffrey’s injuries were devastating, his parents were told they might not have to bear the costs alone. The doctor explained that Jeffrey could apply for lifelong care paid for by the federal government. The program’s premise is simple: quickly and generously support people in the rare cases when a shot to prevent a sickness such as flu or measles instead is the likely cause of serious health complications.

But 11 years would pass before the McCord family would receive its first check.”

“To investigate vaccine court in depth, the AP read hundreds of decisions, conducted more than 100 interviews, and analyzed a database of more than 14,500 cases. That database was current as of January 2013; the government has refused to release an updated version since. Among the AP’s findings:

-Private attorneys have been paid tens of millions of taxpayer dollars even as they clog the court with more cases than they can handle, some of which the court rejected as totally inadequate. The court offers a financial incentive to over-file – unlike typical civil court cases, attorneys are paid whether or not they win, as was the case with more than 5,000 losing claims that vaccines caused the developmental disability autism. Those who double-bill for their time or consistently submit questionable expenses are not disciplined.

– Prominent attorneys have enlisted expert witnesses whose own work has been widely discredited, including one who treated autism with a potent drug used to chemically castrate serial rapists. Another doctor cribbed his material from an anti-vaccine website. Some of the most prominent experts set up nonprofits questioning vaccine safety, further fueling public skepticism. Meanwhile, many doctors hired by the government to defend vaccine safety in court have ties to the pharmaceutical industry.”

_____________________________________

3. More waste, fraud, and abuse of the food stamp program.

From TheFreeBeacon  “The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued over $2.4 billion in improper payments on food stamps in fiscal year 2014, according to a new audit by the Office of Inspector General (OIG).”

“In addition, 15.25 percent of payments through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) were improper, totaling $1.748 billion. Thirty million children participate in the program, including 21 million who receive free or reduced price lunch from the federal government.

The school breakfast program accounted for $923 million in improper payments, with a rate of 25.61 percent, the highest reported. The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program issued $206 million improper payments, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which provides food and snacks to day cares, issued $10 million worth of improper payments.

In all, the OIG reported $5.325 billion in improper payments from these five programs, the vast majority of which were overpayments.”

_____________________________________