AmeriCorps volunteers have discovered that the health plans provided by this federal program are insufficient to meet the requirements of Obamacare.

AmeriCorps volunteers have discovered that the health plans provided by this federal program are insufficient to meet the requirements of Obamacare.

If they don’t buy additional health insurance they will be subject to fines under the healthcare law.

I especially like this quote:

Sarah L. Sklaw, a 22-year-old Vista member from New York City, said: “I really support the Affordable Care Act, and I don’t want to be a naysayer. But it was surprising and frustrating to be told that our health coverage would not meet the law’s standards, especially because the Corporation for National and Community Service told us at orientation in August that we did not need to worry about the issue.”

In other words, she supported Obamacare, partly because she was told “if she liked her health plan, she could keep her health plan. Period.” She has now discovered that this was a lie and is angry. Who wudda thunk it?

New York mayor Bill de Blasio: “We are going to get rid of the horse carriages. Period.”

A leftist politician speaks! New York mayor Bill de Blasio: “We are going to get rid of the horse carriages. Period.”

I highlight this story because it illustrates perfectly the priorities of the left. de Blasio wants to shut down the horse carriage industry that takes tourists on rides through Central Park because he and his ilk think it inhumane to the horses. Meanwhile, they don’t seem to care at all what this action will do to the humans who ride, care for, and make a living from those horses.

Moronic Common Core lessons the federal government is imposing on public schools.

Government marches on! Moronic Common Core lessons the federal government is imposing on public schools.

#4 is especially vile, as its whole point is to encourage racial hatred.

I have not written much about the federally mandated education program Common Core, but don’t worry, nothing about it will surprise you. It is like most things the federal government requires these days, poorly thought out, politically motivated, and destructive to our society.

Other than that, it is peachy cream wonderful!

The Obama administration essentially admits that Obamacare has increased the number of uninsured.

The Obama administration essentially admits that Obamacare has increased the number of uninsured.

The signups on the Obamacare website have been far below their goals. Meanwhile, the numbers of people who have had their insurance cancelled is far far higher. The result: fewer people insured.

Way to go, Democrats!

And then there’s this: Five Obamacare news stories to watch out for in 2014.

Except for the midterm elections, none sound like they will be good news.

A tea party look at 2013.

A tea party look at 2013.

In 2013, the five-year old conservative grassroots upsurge has grabbed Washington, D.C. by the collar, tearing the city colloquially known as “Boomtown” in a conservative direction for the first time in decades.

Though the article sees far more success in 2013 for tea party politicians than I think is warranted, I also think it does outline the birth of the future. The left is increasingly old and out of touch. The tea party, small now, has got the right ideas, and will thus grow stronger with time — assuming of course that it stays true to those ideas.

Obamacare includes absurd regulations that will cost the vending machine industry millions.

Finding out what’s in it: Obamacare includes absurd regulations that will cost the vending machine industry millions.

Around 457 pages into Obamcare, section 4205 stipulates “the vending machine operator shall provide a sign in close proximity to each article of food or the selection button that includes a clear and conspicuous statement disclosing the number of calories contained in the article.” This new mandate will cost the vending machine industry an estimated $25.8 million initially and an additional $24 million for every subsequent year.

Expect some companies to go out a business because of this craziness.

Obama’s top ten Constitutional violations for 2013.

The Obama administration’s top ten Constitutional violations for 2013.

The sad thing about this list is that it is incomplete, and it is only for 2013. Moreover, anyone who has been honestly following the news for the past five years will recognize most of these abuses. However, #9 was new to me, and just as egregious.

Responding to complaints about the University of Montana’s handling of sexual assault claims, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, in conjunction with the Justice Department, sent the university a letter intended as a national “blueprint” for tackling sexual harassment. The letter urges a crackdown on “unwelcome” speech and requires complaints to be heard in quasi-judicial procedures that deny legal representation, encourage punishment before trial, and convict based on a mere “more likely than not” standard.

Isn’t it nice how this administration is working hard to recreate Great Britain’s abusive and tyrannical Star Chamber?

Under Obamacare more than half the counties in the 34 states that use the federal Obamacare health exchange have no affordable insurance plans.

What’s not in it: Under Obamacare more than half the counties in the 34 states that use the federal Obamacare health exchange have no affordable insurance plans.

Don’t worry, your doctor won’t see you anyway!

Aren’t we all glad the Democrats stood firm in Congress to make sure this law went into effect?

Here come the Obamacare tax bills!

Finding out what’s in it: Here come the Obamacare tax bills!

The new taxes on one customer’s bill added up to $23.14 a month, or $277.68 annually, according to Kaiser Health News. It boosted the monthly premium from $322.26 to $345.40 for that individual. The new taxes and fees include a 2 percent levy on every health plan, which is expected to net about $8 billion for the government in 2014 and increase to $14.3 billion in 2018. There’s also a $2 fee per policy that goes into a new medical-research trust fund called the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Insurers pay a 3.5 percent user fee to sell medical plans on the HealthCare.gov Web site.

This list doesn’t include the hidden tax imposed on medical equipment that will also be passed on to customers.

Should Republicans again demand that the Obamacare individual mandate be delayed?

Should Republicans again demand that the Obamacare individual mandate be delayed?

I say, no. I say the Republicans should demand that Obamacare be repealed. Agreeing to delay the mandate only acts to cement other parts of the law into place, which is bad as there is literally nothing about this law that is good, for the country or for health care.

Moreover, agreeing to delay parts of Obamacare will then make the Republicans part of the problem. Better to force the Democrats to vote against repeal, even as the law unravels. The result in November can only be good, as this vote will provide conservatives with more ammunition during the election campaign.

Finally, by putting repeal up to a vote we might even be surprised and get enough votes to repeal. Obama would then veto that repeal, but the vote would set the precedent for further repeal votes down the line, when Obama is gone.

The first theorem of government: Government is a racket that benefits the political elite by taking money from everyone else.

The first theorem of government: Government is a racket that benefits the political elite by taking money from everyone else.

He has the data. Look especially at his first graph. And he correctly notes that this has been a bi-partisan effort.

The solution? Vote these bums out of office, repeatedly and often, so that no one has a motive to concentrate power and money in Washington.

The sticker shock of Obamacare only begins when you pick your plan.

The sticker shock of Obamacare only begins when you pick your plan.

As a key enrollment deadline hits Monday, many people without health insurance have been sizing up policies on the new government health care marketplace and making what seems like a logical choice: They’re picking the cheapest one.

Increasingly, experts in health insurance are becoming concerned that many of these first-time buyers will be in for a shock when they get medical care next year and discover they’re on the hook for most of the initial cost.

In other words, the high premiums don’t cover most initial bills. You will have to pay the cost of most of your medical bills yourself.

“An apparent double standard in President Barack Obama’s unprecedented crackdown on unauthorized leaks.”

“An apparent double standard in President Barack Obama’s unprecedented crackdown on unauthorized leaks.”

Disclosures by lower-level officials have been vigorously pursued. For example, seven Navy SEALs were reprimanded for disclosing classified material to the makers of a military video game. Moreover, the administration has prosecuted a record number of intelligence community personnel for leaking.

Rarely, however, has the administration taken criminal action against senior officials for leaking.

Advice for Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty.

I posted this Andrew Klavan commentary back in January 2011, shortly after the Tucson shooting when the left was accusing the right of causing the shooting because of the so-called “incivility” of their speech. It was all lies, merely intended to stifle the speech of anyone who dissented from liberal orthodoxy.

I think it bears viewing again, as it provides good advice and council to Phil Robertson and the entire Duck Dynasty family. It also once again outlines quite starkly how oppressive and fascist the American left has become.

As Klavan concludes, “Whatever you do, don’t shut up.”

The Obama administration has announced another eleventh-hour exemption to Obamacare.

Chaos: The Obama administration has announced another exemption to Obamacare.

The Obama administration, in an 11th-hour change just before the holiday break, announced a major exemption in ObamaCare that will let people who lost coverage and are struggling to get a new plan sign up for bare-bones policies. The move Thursday to allow potentially hundreds of thousands of people to sign up for “catastrophic” coverage plans was blasted by the insurance industry as a shift that would cause “tremendous instability.”

I thought these “bare-bone” policies were “garbage plans” that only a few weeks ago Democrats were telling us we should be happy were cancelled.

It also appears from the above article as well as other sources that the insurance companies are very hostile to this announcement. (Read the second link especially. It outlines the many problems this new ad-hoc exemption causes.)

In a word, this law doesn’t work, it never has, and it should be repealed now.

The Obamacare state exchanges are losing their directors.

The Obamacare state exchanges are losing their directors.

So far, 25 percent of officials in charge of the 14 state-run exchanges, plus Washington D.C., have been replaced, according to Forbes, which compares the turnover rate to professional sports coaching rosters. “More are sure to come as enrollment performance remains poor,” according to Forbes. New Mexico, Massachusetts, Idaho, Washington DC, Nevada and Colorado are posting dismal enrollment numbers, all less than 10 percent of what was expected, the magazine noted.

Gee, I wonder why? Could it be that Obamacare is a turkey that no one wants to buy?

Cuba is lifting the limit on the number of people allowed to buy a car.

Freedom in the socialist paradise: Cuba is lifting the limit on the number of people allowed to buy a car.

The government has a monopoly on the sale of imported new and used vehicles, and has required any potential buyer to obtain a special card from the Transport Ministry authorizing the purchase of a car. The cards took months or years to obtain, creating a black market in cards in which holders would often sell them for more than the price of the car itself.

Don’t count your blessings, however. The change is only in place “of new regulations, which would be made public in coming days.”

The real legal issues surrounding the right to openly carry your pistol.

The real legal issues surrounding the right to openly carry your pistol.

Cooke carefully tears apart the typical but nonsensical arguments of the left against open carry, but then discusses intelligently the problems. As he notes, “The open-carry question is a more complex one than some of its advocates like to admit.”

If only the conversation focused on these issues instead of the absurd fear-mongering of the left.

77% of the uninsured don’t want Obamacare.

But we’re here to help you! 77% of the uninsured — the very people Obama and the Democrats claimed they were trying to get insured — don’t want Obamacare.

Repeal is still the number one favored option of voters:

A majority said they would vote to have the new healthcare law repealed, if they were able, and they wish it had never passed and the old system was still in place, according to the poll taken Dec. 14-16 of 1,027 registered voters across the country.

The Fox News poll was one of two polls published Wednesday that showed the growing unpopularity of the law. The latest New York Times/CBS News poll also showed that a majority disapprove of the new health care law, even the uninsured, who are supposed to benefit from the law.

Obviously all these people are wrong! Obamacare is “the law of the land”, as the Democrats were so fond of telling us in October as they shut the government down to protect it.

A judge has blasted the Obama administration for attempting to keep non-classified materials secret and ordered their release.

A judge has blasted the Obama administration for attempting to keep non-classified materials secret and ordered their release.

From the judge:

The government appears to adopt the cavalier attitude that the President should be permitted to convey orders throughout the Executive Branch without public oversight, to engage in what is in effect governance by ‘secret law.’

This is the second legal ruling this week that has ripped the Obama administration for its illegal willingness to abuse the law.

But hey, why is anyone objecting? Barbara Walters thought Obama would be the next messiah, so anything he wants to do should be okay with us!

The Obamacare contraceptive mandate is struck down again, and here are six reasons why.

The Obamacare contraceptive mandate is struck down again, and here are six reasons why.

At the heart of this mandate is the amazing contempt the Obama administration and the left has for religious belief:

In an astonishing display of anti-religious sentiment, the administration argued that forcing religious organizations to designate a third party to provide contraception coverage to their employees isn’t a big deal (legally: de minimis) because it’s “just a form” to fill out, “a purely administrative task.” The district court rightly found that whether a violation of religious freedom is small or large isn’t for the courts to decide. It would be too easy to simply sweep away deeply-held religious beliefs under the claim that government action is merely “de minimis” infringement of rights.

I am not religious, but I will defend to the death the right of a religious person to practice their religion freely, even when we disagree, as long as they don’t act to limit me in my beliefs. Apparently, Obama believes it is okay to trample on those beliefs if they happen to contradict things he believes in.

A campaign ad that says it bluntly: “You lied.”

A campaign ad that says it bluntly: “You lied.”

It is… remarkable, the way that the Democrats were so bald-faced in that lie. It’s like they thought that the rules simply didn’t apply to them, or something. Apparently, the plan was to simply bull on through and expect nobody to call them on the fact that their entire policy position was based on things that everybody knew just weren’t so.

The Democrats must be called on these lies, strongly and often.

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