Tag: policy

The 13 Democratic Senators up for re-election in 2014 who voted for Obamacare, both in 2009 and last month.

10:43 pm

The 13 Democratic senators up for re-election in 2014 who voted for Obamacare, both in 2009 and last month.

Here are the Dirty Baker’s Dozen:

  • Mark Begich (Alaska)
  • Mark Pryor (Arkansas)
  • Mark Udall (Colorado)
  • Mary Landrieu (Louisiana)
  • Al Franken (Minnesota)
  • Max “Trainwreck” Baucus (Montana)
  • Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire)
  • Tom Udall (New Mexico)
  • Kay Hagan (North Carolina)
  • Jeff Merkeley (Oregon)
  • Tim Johnson (South Dakota)
  • Mark Warner (Virginia)
  • Jay Rockefeller (West Virginia)

It is time for these politicians to find other work.

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Half a million Californians to lose their health insurance because of Obamacare.

5:19 pm

Half a million Californians to lose their health insurance because of Obamacare.

We are learning now that Obamacare was very specifically designed to eliminate many health insurance plans, especially the ones that cost less and provided fewer benefits (the kinds of plans that young, healthy people prefer). Considering the blatant promise by Obama, repeated over and over again before Obamacare was passed, that if people liked their plan they would get to keep it, these appalling numbers and the fact that Obamacare is very clearly designed to eliminate these low-cost plans, Obama either knew his statement was an outright lie, or he is truly one of the most incompetent presidents ever.

In the first case he was dishonest and corrupt, intending to force a change that people did not want. In the second, Obama was pushing for the passage of a law to which he literally had no understanding. I’m not sure which is worse.

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The Washington Times is preparing to take legal action in connection with the raid of a reporter’s home by government officials.

8:20 am

The Washington Times is preparing to take legal action in connection with the raid of a reporter’s home by government officials.

The warrant was narrowly written to limit the raid to a search for weapons owned by the reporter’s husband. Instead, the raiders carefully picked through the reporter’s files and took those pertaining to her stories about the TSA. The man in charge of this search also happened to be a former TSA employee who apparently had a direct interest in those files.

That her private files were seized, says Mrs. Hudson [the reporter], is particularly disturbing because of interactions that she and her husband had during the search of their home, as well as months afterwards, with Coast Guard investigator Miguel Bosch. According to his profile on the networking site LinkedIn, Mr. Bosch worked at the Federal Air Marshal Service from April 2001 through November 2007.

It was Mr. Bosch, Mrs. Hudson says, who asked her during the Aug. 6 search if she was the same Audrey Hudson who had written the air marshal stories. It was also Mr. Bosch, she says, who phoned Mr. Flanagan a month later to say that documents taken during the search had been cleared.

During the call, according Mrs. Hudson, Mr. Bosch said the files had been taken to make sure that they contained only “FOIA-able” information and that he had circulated them to the Transportation Security Administration, which oversees the Federal Air Marshal Service, in order to verify that “it was legitimate” for her to possess such information.

“Essentially, the files that included the identities of numerous government whistleblowers were turned over to the same government agency and officials who they were exposing for wrongdoing,” Mrs. Hudson said.

In other words, Bosch used the search to obtain the files so that the TSA could identify Mrs. Hudson’s sources within the agency. Expect those individuals to be punished in the coming years, for the crime of telling the truth about America’s KGB.

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Data from the Census Bureau reveals that in 2011 the number of people working full time was outnumbered by those getting government aid.

9:40 am

The day of reckoning looms: Data from the Census Bureau reveals that in 2011 the number of people working full time was outnumbered by those getting government aid.

Many of those getting aid according to these numbers could also be full time workers. Nonetheless, the data is stark and depressing, as it illustrates how American culture has declined. Once it was considered shameful to be “on the dole.” Now everybody does it. You can’t have a robust healthy society under those conditions.

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The number of Democratic senators calling for a delay in the Obamacare mandate has now grown to nine.

9:33 am

The number of Democratic senators calling for a delay in the Obamacare mandate has now grown to nine.

So, where were these fools only three weeks ago, when the Republicans offered this very same proposal? Had they voted with the Republicans then, they might have put sufficient pressure on Obama to sign the budget bill. The shutdown wouldn’t have happened and the delay would have gone into effect then.

In other words, three weeks ago this position might have made a difference. Now, it is merely political posturing, intended to give them cover in next year’s election but allowing them to support and keep Obamacare in effect. The voters in their states should note this and dump them accordingly.

Update: The number of Democratic senators calling for a delay has now grown to ten.

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Thousands of elderly New York patients have been told by their insurance company that, because of Obamacare, they will have to find another doctor.

9:25 am

Finding out what’s in it: Thousands of elderly New York patients have been told by their insurance company that, because of Obamacare, they will have to find another doctor.

And I am sure that these blue-state seniors, most of whom are usually knee-jerk Democrats, are pleased that the Democratic Party shut the government down rather than revise Obamacare even a teeny-weeny bit.

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The rise of government-sanctioned home invasions

12:00 pm

The rise of government-sanctioned home invasions.

These incidents underscore a dangerous mindset in which civilians (often unarmed and defenseless) not only have less rights than militarized police, but also one in which the safety of civilians is treated as a lower priority than the safety of their police counterparts (who are armed to the hilt with an array of lethal and nonlethal weapons), the privacy of civilians is negligible in the face of the government’s various missions, and the homes of civilians are no longer the refuge from government intrusion that they once were.

Plain and simple, every single one of these SWAT raids is illegal under the Constitution. They are an abuse of power, and are exactly the kind of abuse that helped inspire the American Revolution in the first place.

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The White House has now delayed the deadline for signing up for health insurance by six weeks.

9:38 am

The White House has now officially delayed the deadline for signing up for health insurance by six weeks.

Gee, didn’t Obama just force a 16 day government shutdown when some Republicans suggested he delay the Obamacare mandate?

Note that this is only the first delay. Before they are done I predict the Obama administration will do exactly what those evil Republicans suggested: delay the Obamacare mandate for one year. Which will essentially prove that the Republicans were right in the first place.

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The definitive guide to how Obamacare is destroying American lives

11:04 am

The definitive guide to how Obamacare is destroying American lives.

The author asked people to write him, describing to him the consequences of Obamacare. This article provides us those stories, and they are not good. In fact, they are routinely horrible. As he says:

This is about people who can no longer afford their health coverage, their mortgages, their lifesaving medication. This is about doctors and nurses leaving medicine behind, driven away by destructive bureaucratic interference. This is about moms and dads losing their jobs so that their employers can compensate for the financial burden of Obamacare. This is about people without insurance because of Obamacare, now being fined for not having insurance because of Obamacare. This is about business owners driven to the edge of bankruptcy. This is real. We heard a lot of fantasies about what Obamacare was “supposed” to accomplish, now it’s time to talk about what it’s actually doing.

So when they say you are “heartless” for opposing Obamacare, show them why it’s heartless to support it.

But don’t worry! Those Democrats will save you all from those evil Republicans who want to delay or repeal Obamacare.

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A D.C. businessman faces two years in jail because he happens to own guns and stores them legally in Virginia.

8:44 am

A D.C. businessman faces two years in jail because he happens to own guns and stores them legally in Virginia.

The story also describes a SWAT team raid on the man’s home, which included barging in on his 16 year old son while he was taking a shower.

Read the whole thing. You will discover what it is like to live in a fascist state, where an unelected official can make your life hell, merely because he doesn’t like you.

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Why the shutdown was a total victory for conservatives, both in the short and long runs.

9:48 am

Why the shutdown was a total victory for conservatives, both in the short and long runs.

The shutdown/debt limit imbroglio wasn’t a defeat. Defeats leave the losers feeling defeated. But the designated losers, the conservative base of the GOP – which, more accurately, now is the GOP – is more eager and excited than it has been in a long time.

Why? Someone fought. Finally.

Sure, we didn’t win the repeal of Obamacare. The only people talking about actually repealing Obamacare as a direct result of the tactical moves of recent weeks were the doddering dinosaurs and their media accomplices trying to put out the notion that Ted Cruz and his band of merry marauders had suckered us numbskull conservatives with promises of total victory right here and right now.

Being very familiar with the Constitution, we realize that it’s kind of difficult to pass a law when we only hold the House. We’re clear on that. We were always clear on that. What Ted Cruz did – and what the go-along, get-along gang of Republican stegosauruses hate – is that he fought. He fought. There’s a huge value to drawing a line, to taking a stand, to rallying the troops.

Real leaders – which the GOP establishment lacks – know that. We’ve had two presidential elections in a row with a demoralized base. That’s bad. Just ask Presidents McCain and Romney. [emphasis in original]

The key for determining which side is winning this battle is to look at the positions that new politicians are taking. That tells you the trend. And what I see is that the challengers all want to be Ted Cruz, not John McCain.

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Even when they admit that Obamacare isn’t working, liberals still refuse to recognize that they are now agreeing with Ted Cruz.

9:27 am

Leftwing bigotry: Even when they admit that Obamacare isn’t working, liberals still refuse to recognize that they are now agreeing with Ted Cruz.

I call it bigotry because that is what it is. No matter what you say to these types of liberals, no matter what they experience or conclude, they remain incapable of considering the possibility that a conservative or Republican might have the right idea. Instead, they believe that conservatives or Republicans must be opposed at all costs because conservatives or Republicans must be evil and wrong.

And such close-mindedness is nothing short of downright bigotry.

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“Let me be clear, there is no option to keep my current plan.”

9:06 am

Finding out what’s in it: “Let me be clear, there is no option to keep my current plan.”

We were promised that under the ACA, we would be able to keep our present insurance plan if we liked it, and we could keep our own doctor, according to President Obama. This is absolutely not true. My current insurance plan is very affordable and has no deductible. This plan has been found to be noncompliant under the new federally mandated insurance law. So my insurance is going to cost nearly 50 percent more and will now have a $1,200 deductible.

The businessman who wrote this has a Democratic congressman who has repeatedly voted for Obamacare.

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Progressives made their beds; it’s time they lay in it.

8:41 am

Progressives made their beds; it’s time they lay in it.

In short: Obamacare is a massive wealth “spreading” from the young and struggling to the old and well off. Add to that Obamacare’s devastating impact on the economy and part-timing of the American workforce, and you can almost see the train flying off the rails.

There will be attempts at bi-partisan “fixes” to some of the more visible problems caused by Obamacare. Republicans and Democrats have been working together to delay or repeal the medical device tax and change the definition of a full-time employee back to 40 hours per week from Obamacare’s 30 – to name just two.

Republicans must resist the urge to help with these “fixes.” We just spent a month being lectured by arrogant know-it-alls about how Obamacare is “settled law.” So keep it settled. Obamacare is failing already, and it will continue to fail in more spectacular ways as we move forward, let it.

Democrats wrote the bill, Democrats voted for the bill, a Democrat president signed it into law. It’s theirs. Make them live with it. As is. [emphasis in original]

I would add that Democrats just re-endorsed the law aggressively during the government shutdown battle. Rather than revise it by the smallest amount, they insisted instead on shutting down the government to defend it.

When the 2014 elections roll around, the responsibility for this Obamacare disaster must fall on the perpetrators of that disaster: The Democrat Party and President Obama.

In related news: Thousands get health insurance cancellation notices. Actually, that’s “Hundreds of thousands,” but who’s counting?

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A person on twitter has threatened both Ted Cruz and his family, posting his home address as well.

8:51 pm

Evil: A person on Twitter has threatened both Ted Cruz and his family, posting his home address as well.

A person identifying himself as Troy Gilmore Jr., posted on Twitter Friday morning: “Take down Ted Cruz, at his home” and listed Cruz’s home address in Houston. “What goes around comes around CRUZ!!” the person wrote.

The person has also done this several times this month, using threatening language each time.

This is a case of an unstable person making violent threats. However, it would be nice if members of the left stood up to condemn it. Sadly, I don’t expect that to happen.

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Extreme weather events in 2013 are at an all time low.

9:53 am

Another global warming prediction fails: Extreme weather events in 2013 are at an all time low.

There have been many forecasts in the news in recent years predicting more and more extreme weather-related events in the US, but for 2013 that prediction has been way off the mark. Whether you’re talking about tornadoes, wildfires, extreme heat or hurricanes, the good news is that weather-related disasters in the US are all way down this year compared to recent years and, in some cases, down to historically low levels.

As I wrote back in April,

Global warming scientists have spent the past two decades telling us that we were all gonna die from increasing temperatures caused by the increase in CO2. Now that this prediction has proved false, they apparently are shifting gears. Instead, it is extreme events — big storms, long droughts, intense heatwaves — that are going to kill us.

But not only have they no evidence that the increase in CO2 will cause these extreme events, there is no evidence that more of these extreme events are even occurring.

In other words, these stories are mere political advocacy. They have nothing to do with science, but with propaganda, based on fantasy with the goal of trying to convince everyone that we are all gonna die if we don’t do exactly what these scientists say. [emphasis in original]

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New York doctors express their strong reluctance to participate in Obamacare.

9:37 am

Finding out what’s in it: New York doctors express their strong reluctance to participate in Obamacare.

Despite a much publicized rollout, many other doctors said they haven’t decided whether to become ObamaCare providers, because they haven’t been notified by insurers or the state about ­reimbursement rates. “I have not spoken with anyone who has made a decision to participate in the exchanges. We simply don’t have any information about which we can make a decision,” said Dr. Paul Orloff, president of the New York County Medical Society. “We have no idea what the reimbursements will be or what the claims-form process will entail.”

This is another problem for Obamacare: If doctors end up refusing to accept the insurance plans and go freelance, then the law cannot work.

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Maryland’s Obamacare exchanges will not be functional until December.

9:15 am

Fail: Maryland’s Obamacare exchanges will not be functional until December.

A week into its launch, the Maryland exchange had reportedly enrolled only 326 people. A week later, the number had improved to just a little over 1,000, and O’Malley told reporters it could be six weeks before the exchange website was working smoothly. “My sense of it is, probably for the next month or so, month and a half, we will be working out glitches in the portal,” he said.

Maryland was enthusiastic about Obamacare and attacked the problem from the beginning. The result is still pitiful. Even though you are required to get a health plan under Obamacare, you might have no way to do it before the deadline arrives next year.

Which is why the real conservatives in Congress had a shutdown battle: They want to repeal Obamacare, but were willing to offer a compromise whereby the mandate was delayed one year. Considering the problems Obamacare is having, what is so unreasonable about that?

And then there’s this: Insurance companies complain that the ObamaCare website is providing them faulty data, even with its low success rate in enrolling anyone.

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A long and detailed assessment of the present technical problems of the Obamacare exchange website.

9:41 pm

A long and detailed assessment of the present technical problems of the Obamacare exchange website.

It is worth the long read. The author appears to have asked the right questions of a lot of the right people, and appears to have approached the issue honestly. Key quote:

In a couple of ways, then, the severe user-interface problems at the front end of the federal exchange has actually had some advantages from CMS’s point of view, because by keeping enrollment volume low it has kept some other huge problems from becoming instantly uncontrollable.

But that low volume is mostly a very bad thing for Obamacare, of course, since the viability of the exchanges depends on a certain size and demographic mix which cannot be attained unless these problems are resolved very quickly. I couldn’t get enrollment numbers from any of the people I spoke with, but I was told that the uptake model that HHS built (using CBO projections) to predict how the exchanges would work made a low-end estimate that just under half a million people would enroll nationwide by October 31st, and that enrollment would then accelerate dramatically between November 15 and December 30th. The October 31 target, which was thought to be modest, now looks essentially impossible to reach, but their bigger worry is that period in November and December.

If the problems now plaguing the system are not resolved by mid-November and the flow of enrollments at that point looks like it does now, the prospects for the first year of the exchanges will be in very grave jeopardy.

As I said, read the whole thing. Whether you support or oppose Obamacare, this article appears to give an honest appraisal of the present situation, which is not good.

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Bankrupt Detroit has dumped the health insurance of all its retirees, forcing them into Obamacare.

4:46 pm

Finding out what’s in it: Bankrupt Detroit has dumped the health insurance of all its retirees, forcing them into Obamacare.

Effective Jan.1, retired city workers under age 65 will no longer receive full coverage from the state and will instead receive a $125 stipend to shop in Michigan’s health-care exchange under the newly-rolled out Affordable Care Act.

The stipend does not come close to paying for the cost of any insurance plan.

These were all government employees in a blue state in a very blue city. Thus, almost all of them were likely Democrats who voted for and strongly supported Obama. Well, they are now finding out what that support has gotten them. For one thing, just because they like their health plan they aren’t getting to keep it.

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