Sorry for the lack of posts. been dealing with healthcare
and other personal stuff, have a lot of backed up e-mail I can't get through.
Lung update below, if interested. ~Bob
Latest Lung
Transplant Update - Some Issues
My new resume service brought in my first client. I did a
first draft, will work on his cover letter when the resume is final. He was
laid off, driving a cab, supporting a family so I gave him a big discount. Of
course, he may not pay even that, but I like doing them. ~Bob
Excerpt: Politics is often like war. Unfortunately,
politicians, the media and the voting public seldom have the same degree of
realism and discipline with which professional soldiers fight wars. You can
indulge your emotions and base your decisions on wishful thinking in politics,
in a way that you are not likely to when your own life is on the line in
battle.
Worth Reading
Excerpt: Indeed, Versailles
was mild compared with what Germany
had subjected France to in
1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian war — and yet a vengeful France did not preempt Germany in pursuit of payback over
the ensuing half-century. The humiliating terms that Germany
forced upon Russia at
Brest-Litosvk in 1918 were far harsher than anything that Germany suffered at Versailles ,
and yet did it not lead to Russian insurgencies against Germany , much
less lasting enmity between the two states. Just 21 years later, Stalin and
Hitler signed a non-aggression pact.
The Party of Science: Study: Democrats more likely to
think astrology is scientific, less likely to know Earth revolves around the
sun
Excerpt: Another possibility is faith. It may be that the
more devoutly you believe in a religion, the less likely you are to give
credence to a quasi-religious belief system (which nonetheless purports to be
“scientific”) like astrology. That would help explain why Republicans, the more
religious of the two parties, are more skeptical.
Disgraced Democratic
congressman arrested in Zimbabwe
Mel Reynolds (D-Obamaville) has always been a credit to the
Democrat party and a shinning example of a typical leftist. Arresting him
proves they are all racists in Zimbabwe .
~Bob. Excerpt: Mel Reynolds was allegedly in the country illegally since
December, making pornographic films in hotel rooms with at least 10 models. He
reportedly racked up $24,500 in unpaid hotel bills. Reynolds went to prison in
the 1990s for the statutory rape of a 16-year-old campaign volunteer, and for
bank fraud.
Taliban claim the
execution of 23 Pakistani Frontier Corps troops
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/02/taliban_claim_it_exe.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LongWarJournalSiteWide+%28The+Long+War+Journal+%28Site-Wide%29%29#ixzz2tcRwGXOi
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/02/taliban_claim_it_exe.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LongWarJournalSiteWide+%28The+Long+War+Journal+%28Site-Wide%29%29#ixzz2tcRwGXOi
Excerpt: An influential commander in the Movement of the Taliban
in Pakistan
has issued a statement claiming that the group executed 23 Frontier Corps
troops in retaliation for the death of jihadists by security forces.
Excerpt: In an article in today's Daily Star about the sacking of
Salem Idriss, who headed the Free Syrian Army, the Lebanese news outlet said
one reason for his departure was the handling of an incident involving the
theft of Western supplies by rebel fighters. In late November, the Daily Star reported, the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Sham seized Western-supplied vehicles and warehouses at the Baba
al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey
packed with equipment destined for the Free Syrian Army. A week or so later, in
early December, the same warehouses were reportedly taken over by the newly-formed Islamic
Front.
The
Most Dangerous Woman In America
Excerpt:
Cleta Mitchell may be the most dangerous woman in America . She is the prominent Washington attorney who
represents several clients victimized by the criminal misconduct of the IRS
over the past four years. She speaks with authority when she asserts, as she
does in the video below, that the Obama administration is responsible for “lies
upon lies” covering up the multifarious, politically inspired wrongdoing of the
IRS. She gave a short course (seven minutes) for interested citizens at a House
hearing yesterday. Listen to what she has to say.
Huckabee: What would
George Washington have done? The nation's first president rejected imperial
powers
Excerpt: Editor's Note:In 1968, things changed when the 90th
Congress was determined to create a uniform system of
federal Mondayholidays. They voted to shift three existing holidays
(including Washington's Birthday) to Mondays. The law took effect in 1971, and
as a result, Washington's Birthday holiday was changed to the
third Monday in February. But not all Americans were happy with the
new law.
If Scotland
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peteroborne/100260139/if-scotland-wins-independence-should-they-bring-back-the-stuart-dynasty/
Excerpt: However, an even more promising candidate might be the 87-year-old Duchess of Alba. Officially she is the: Doña Maríadel Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y
Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba de Tormes, Grandee of Spain. She is the most titled
nobleman or woman in the world, with many honours beyond those just listed.
Hiding within her novel of a name is the crucial "Stuart", reflecting
the fact that she too can trace her line back to that extraordinary Scottish
dynasty. She has the undoubted advantage that she is one of the richest women
in the world. According to the Spanish Vanity Fair Magazine, her net wealth is
estimated at almost $5 billion. (Though I have a romantic, Jacobite, SNP heart,
I am intellectually a supporter of republican government run on democratic
principles.[These terms do not refer to our parties!] And I think non-Scots
shouldn't have an opinion on the subject--it's not our country. ~Bob)
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peteroborne/100260139/if-scotland-wins-independence-should-they-bring-back-the-stuart-dynasty/
Excerpt: However, an even more promising candidate might be the 87-year-old Duchess of Alba. Officially she is the: Doña María
Excerpt: Every so often you run across some people that
think they have it all figured out. They claim America
is need of “social change” and start ranting about all the rampant injustice in
America ,
and if you listen closely, the story they are telling is radically different
from the one you know. I knew people like this in college, they would
accentuate the words “social change” to win the professors favor but when
pressed to define what they meant, they usually fell silent. Most of them
couldn’t even tell you the first amendment to the bill of rights, they would
argue that claiming Muslims are terrorists is offensive, and such language
should be banned in the name of “social change.”
The Metcalf Assault –
An Attack on American Soil
Excerpt: One of the more remarkable acts of potential
domestic terrorism to have occurred in 2013 began to receive public scrutiny
only this month. Recent reports indicate that on April 16, 2013, just outside San Jose , California Silicon Valley .
It is not yet known who coordinated or conducted the attack, but the mere fact
that it has occurred should send a clear message to public officials that
domestic threats targeting critical infrastructure are no longer an academic
afterthought. They are today’s reality. (Knocking out a major power station,
leading to a collapse of a large power grid, is a very serious idea on how to
wreak havoc on the lives of Americans. The feds should be all over this. Whoever
these people are, they need to be found out, and taken out. --Del )
Holder's Felon
Re-Enfranchisement A Ruse
Excerpt: The Obama administration isn't satisfied with
locking in votes for Democrats by giving amnesty to illegal immigrants. Now
it's also trying to unlock ex-con's votes through felon re-enfranchisement. In
a Georgetown University Chicago
politics, and should be rejected roundly by everyone with an IQ over 80. --Del.
Blacks are over represented in prison because they are over represented in
committing crimes. Since most of their victims are other black folks, doing
something about reducing the black crime rate would help decent black people
much more than this. But it doesn't get them votes. ~Bob)
A weekly talk show in
China
Every week in China , there is a talk show that is
a mindblower for us Westerners. A woman journalist interviews death row
prisoners very shortly before their executions. Executions are very public in China , a bullet
to the back of the head, and sometimes the bodies are then used for organ
transfers. There are 55 dealth penalty crimes in China , from horrible murder all the
way down to some kinds of theft. She focuses only on the murderers. The program
has been running for four years, and is extremely popular. I'm not sure what
this says about Chinese government and society, but it sure doesn't sound
uplifting to me. --Del
The bottom line truth
of the IRS scandal
Excerpt: This is a bit over 7 minutes, and the lady is a
lawyer for assorted groups that have been stone-walled on their applications
for tax exempt status. No news agency would take time to show the video in its
entirety, and most of us probably don't watch a lot of C-span. This was
published 6 February 2014, and clarifies the gravity of the situation.
It should have made huge waves all across this country, but
nobody picked it up, apparently even the guys at Fox missed it, and so all
of America
rolls along being totally duped about what has gone on and what is still
going on with this Administration and the IRS. Please watch the video, the 7
minutes will go by like nothing because she is so clear and convincing about
something that should concern everyone. And then pass it on, far and wide, and
especially to your friends who still believe in Mr. Obama. Just maybe it will
force some of them to start thinking more about The One. --Del
The Christie scandal everyone overlooked: A $12 million
self-motivated political scheme. By Rob Richie and Devin McCarthy
Excerpt: We now know that in 2013, the administration of New
Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at least twice used its executive powers of
governance for political ends. The story that’s received the most attention, of
course, is high-level Christie aides calling for lane closures on the George Washington
Bridge , possibly for political
retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee . But
another scandal received far less attention: the news that Christie called for
a costly, self-motivated and unnecessary U.S. Senate special election just
weeks before Election Day to boost his own vote percentage.
The Colonialism of the Anti-Israel Left. By Daniel Greenfield
Excerpt: The first error in John Judis’ book “Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and the
Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict” is in its title. The genesis of this
conflict took place thousands of years before Truman when the Roman Empire
imposed its colonial rule on the Jewish population using Arab mercenaries and
when the Muslim Arab conquerors colonized Israel.
The Affordable Care
Act's Risk Spreading Mechanisms
Excerpt: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has a number of
"risk mitigation" provisions, specifically reinsurance, risk
corridors and risk adjustment. These provisions were put in place to encourage
insurers to join the exchanges, as the ACA requires that insurers issue
policies without regard to the health status of the applicant and charge the
same premiums to applicants in the same age group, says Emily Egan, a senior
health care policy analyst at the American Action Forum. Insurers must price
their policies based on their best guess as to who -- and how many people --
will enroll in the exchanges. The ACA's risk spreading mechanisms are meant to
mitigate this uncertainty.
Obamacare And The Coming Debt Crisis. By James C. Capretta
Excerpt: In addition, CBO projects that rapid entitlement
growth will increasingly burden the federal budget and the American economy.
Deficits over the next decade will be $1 trillion higher than previously
forecast. CBO notes in the report that the agency now believes Obamacare will
lead to the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time workers leaving the labor force
by 2024. This finding has sent shock waves through the political system, and
rightly so.
Excerpt:
I'd not planned commentary for today. But it's appropriate - it's
"hump" day and in the Marine Corps "hump" is something near
and dear to infantrymen. As today's commentary includes Marine infantry
thus I post in honor of those who "hump" - and every Marine,
too.
Excerpt: If we combine a 15% (FICA) payroll tax with a 25%
federal income tax and a 5% state and local income tax, a middle income family
is facing a 45% marginal tax rate. In high tax states, the rate can exceed 50%
— even though the family is far from wealthy. At a 50% marginal tax rate,
government at all levels is paying for half the cost of any additional
insurance the family chooses to buy. Insurance that costs $1 will be viewed as
worthwhile, even if it is worth only 51 cents to the buyer. In other words,
insurance can be extremely wasteful and still be attractive to subsidized
purchasers. Alternatively, if the buyer saves a dollar by choosing less
generous coverage, that dollar will become taxable income. The government will
seize one-half of it. No wonder our health care system has so much waste in it.
Uproar over ObamaCare’s menu rules
Excerpt: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is close to finalizing a
rule requiring calorie labels on vending machines and at restaurants and
“similar retail food establishments.” … “Specifically, the proposed rule limits the ability of
businesses to determine for themselves how best to provide nutritional
information to customers,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to FDA Commissioner
Margaret Hamburg.
President Ben
Franklin is Rolling in His Grave
Excerpt: The discount web site Groupon promoted a $10
discount for President’s Day, noting that Alexander Hamilton appears on the $10
bill and that he is “undeniably one of our greatest presidents and most widely
recognized for establishing the country’s financial system.” Hamilton
indeed founded America ’s
financial system, and was the first Secretary of the Treasury, but he never
served as president. When people pointed this out to Groupon, they got
responses from the company ranging from “We’ll just have to agree to disagree.”
to “We respect everyone’s beliefs. You’re certainly entitled to your opinion."
Friday Afternoon Roundup: I Tow the Line. By Daniel
Greenfield
Excerpt:
TOW BE OR NOT TOE BE: The problem isn't that our progressive friend with a PhD
and a teaching position somewhere thinks that it's Tow the Line. We all go
through life discovering on occasion that we got something very simple wrong.
It's that he believes in his own intelligence because he has the right values.
He's gay and liberal, therefore he's smart. I'm conservative, therefore I must
be stupid. (I went through my whole life thinking Phil Everly was Don Everly. --Kate)
California Sen. Ron
Calderon Accused of Accepting $100,000 in Cash Bribes. Prosecutors allege that
California Sen. Ron Calderon and his brother were involved in a bribery scheme
Excerpt: A Democrat serving Montebello , Calderon took about $100,000 in
cash bribes plus plane trips, golf trips and gourmet meals, according to
prosecutors. The alleged scheme involved working for or against certain state
legislation.
Medal Of Honor
Awarded To Veterans Possibly Passed Over Due To Racism
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/22/medal-of-honor-racism_n_4837454.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share
Excerpt: Seeking to correct potential acts of bias spanning
three wars, President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor to 24 Army veterans
following a congressionally mandated review to ensure that eligible recipients
were not bypassed due to prejudice. The unusual mass ceremony, scheduled for
March 18, will honor veterans, most of Hispanic or Jewish heritage, who had
already been recognized with the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's
second-highest military award.
Don't
you dare tell me to check my privilege. By Julie Burchill
Excerpt:
It’s easy for me to sentimentalise those days when the trade unions held sway,
chiming as they did with the calf country of my communism, but whatever their
beery and sandwichy limits, they were far better than what replaced them; the
politics of diversity. While working-class left-wing political activism was
always about fighting the powerful, treating people how you would wish to be
treated and believing that we’re all basically the same, modern,
non-working-class left-wing politics is about… other stuff. Class guilt, sexual
kinks, personal prejudice and repressed lust for power.
Obama
Blames California
Excerpt:
In 2009, the Obama administration upset that agreement by requiring the
diversion of water away from farmers and residents to help ensure enough water
for salmon and a three-inch fish called the Delta smelt. The Obama
administration justified this under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but
California Republicans say this decision led to a government-created drought
for regions of California ’s Central
Valley . (We had a film about the poor little Delta Smelt in Commie
Geography at Los Angeles
City College Central Valley . Last night on the news
they said the prices of fruit and veg will rocket in the summer. --Kate)
How
a Fanatical Environmentalist Deliberately Caused UK
Excerpt:
And here’s why it happened. The
Environment Agency has created a £31m bird sanctuary on the Steart peninsula,
but can’t find a few million to dredge rivers, remove silt and improve river
capacity. Farmers wouldn’t mind doing the job themselves, but then they
discover that the silt is now classed as a controlled waste requiring removal
to a licensed tip. They can’t simply dump it on farmland to the side, a
practice that for centuries has produced, when combined with the natural peat,
an incredibly rich soil. Not only that, they would be asked to take oxygen
readings of the water.
Pensioner waits nine
years for hip replacement
Excerpt: A Collinstown grandfather who has been practically
confined to his home for the past year as he waits for his arthritic hip to be
replaced has spoken of his frustration at how slowly the wheels turn in the
health system. (The single-payer system the left wants for you. ~Bob)
Drug lord 'El Chapo'
Guzman captured in Mexico
Excerpt: The head of Mexico 's
Sinaloa Cartel was captured overnight by U.S.
and Mexican authorities at a hotel in Mazatlan ,
Mexico U.S.
law enforcement official confirmed to Fox News that Joaquin "El Chapo"
Guzman is in the custody of Mexican law enforcement. (I suggest an
immediate trial followed by an immediate shooting--if they don't want to lose
him. ~Bob)
Officials: Agent
kills man in rock attack
Excerpt: A Border Patrol agent fatally shot a man who
officials said assaulted him with a rock in rugged terrain near the
border Tuesday morning. The shooting occurred about 6:40
a.m. in a mountainous area about four miles east of the Otay Mesa border
crossing, sheriff's Lt. Glenn Giannantonio said. Two agents were tracking a
group of suspected border-crossers when the agents split up and one of them
moved to a location to cut off the group, Giannantonio said.
The Pentagon's Bow to
Islamic Extremism. By Raymond Ibrahim
Excerpt: "Caving to pressure from Muslim groups, the
Pentagon has relaxed uniform rules to allow Islamic beards, turbans and hijabs.
It's a major win for political correctness and a big loss for military unit
cohesion," said a recent report. (When PC infects the military, who will be
left to protect us--from Islamist extremists? Cordially, Larry Greenberg.)
The FCC Wades Into
the Newsroom: Why is the agency studying 'perceived station bias' and asking
about coverage choices? By Ajit Pai
Excerpt: News organizations often disagree about what
Americans need to know. MSNBC, for example, apparently believes that traffic in
Fort Lee , N.J. U.S.
diplomatic compound in Benghazi
more heavily than other networks. The American people, for their part, disagree
about what they want to watch. (OK, this is maybe beginning to get some
traction. It should have a lot more, and I would only ask everyone to consider
what would have happened if George Bush had this same program come out while he
was in office. If you don't believe there would have been screaming to the
skies and beyond, you have a very different memory of the relations between
President Bush and the media than I do. A survey on how newspeople report the
news, with a set of federal standards about what is important (the CIN list)
will of course lead to a federal set of "recommendations" or even
written standards about how the news MUST be prioritized and reported upon. And
gee, that could just maybe become a way for the government to tell the media
what to tell the citizens. For instance, we might all get told officially and
repeatedly that Climate Change is a total reality and we must change how we
generate and use energy, and then the EPA becomes truly an all powerful
bureaucracy that dictates to every business how they can run, to every town or
city how they must run, and conceivably to every person in a log cabin in the
remotest mountains how they can use their fireplace. The man writing the
article below is one of five FCC commissioners, yet he had no input to this new
program. How does a giant federal bureaucracy undertake a huge new project
without the commissioners who supposedly govern the agency being involved? The
answer to that is that pen and phone in the Oval Office, it's the use of
executive power overriding everything else in the system. This should not be a
matter for concern for Conservatives, it should be a matter of concern for
citizens. Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press are the granite
foundations of our nation, and no one should be even trying to touch either
one. --Del )
Victory: FCC Pulls
the Plug on its Controversial “Study” and Pledges not to Snoop in American
Newsrooms
Excerpt: In breaking news, the Federal Communications
Commission has pulled the plug on its plans to monitor American newsrooms. In a statement issued lateFriday afternoon, the FCC
shelved the study and promised not to question station owners, managers, and
reporters: (Well, enough screaming about a totally inappropriate move on the
Free Press, and finally the Administration backs off. Really a wonderful
victory for the nation. The sneaky jerks should never have even tried for it,
it was a great demonstration of their arrogance, but also of their
overconfidence. Now we wait to see what they try next. --Del )
Is Talking the Shortest Path to War? By Michael Rubin
Excerpt: On January 21, 2013, President Barack Obama
outlined his vision for his second term and legacy, saying, “We will show the
courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully — not
because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more
durably lift suspicion and fear.” His desire to engage was both genuine and in
alignment with long-held conventional wisdom among senior statesmen. A half
century worth of experience, however, does not support the thesis that
diplomacy with rogue regimes or terrorist groups brings peace. Rather,
diplomacy misapplied can be the shortest path to war.
Cover-up? Army
historian says report on deadly Afghan battle was altered to absolve faulty
gun. By Owen Scarborough
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/20/cover-up-army-historian-says-report-on-deadly-afgh/?page=all#pagebreak
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/20/cover-up-army-historian-says-report-on-deadly-afgh/?page=all#pagebreak
Excerpt: A former Army historian
who chronicled the infamous Battle of Wanat in Afghanistan,
where nine U.S.
soldiers died after their M4 carbines jammed, tells The Washington Times that
his official account was altered by higher-ups to absolve the weapons and
senior officers. M4 critics have long pointed to the Afghanistan battle
on July 13, 2008, as evidence that the rifle’s design was flawed. They cite
reports from soldiers on the ground that their guns overheated and jammed that
day. (Reaction: The author does not address at least two questions I would
regard as central: 1) would any rifle have met the test posed by the Battle of
Wanat? and, 2) why were these apparently extra ordinary rates of fire required? --TH)
Hamas Tests
Anti-Aircraft Missiles Against Israel
Excerpt: While Israel
and the Palestinian Authority engage in peace negotiations, Hamas continues to
bolster its military capabilities for the next round of fighting with Israel . Al-Monitor is
reporting that Palestinian terrorists had conducted a field test, firing an anti-aircraft missile at an Israeli airplane
circling above Gaza 's
eastern border last month.
Video Proof –
Democrats Break the Law to Win Elections
Excerpt: Video provocateur James O’Keefe is back with more undercover video showing Democrat activists
breaking the law in an attempt to win elections. Mr. O’Keefe has a long history
of proving that Democrats can be very undemocratic when it comes to winning
elections. In fact, it seems that they would rather win by cheating and
breaking the law than lose an honest election. Watch as the folks at
Battleground Texas lie, cheat and steal in an
attempt at “turning Texas
blue.”
Caught: Democrats
Laughing at ObamaCare Nightmare
Excerpt: But there’s something even worse than that —
something more disgraceful. That’s when the ones laughing are also the very
ones who caused the fears and misfortune. Case-in-point: Three politicians from
Minnesota ,
all Democrats – two congressmen, Collin Peterson and Tim Walz, and U.S. Senator
Amy Klobuchar. Congressman Walz and Senator Klobuchar voted yes for ObamaCare.
And now, well, they are laughing at what it’s doing to so many Americans.
Listen to this exchange at a recent forum.
Record U.S.
Excerpt: Almost as many guns -- 26.1 million -- were produced during Democrat Barack Obama’s
first term as president as during the entire eight-year presidency of his
Republican predecessor, George W. Bush,
the ATF data
show.
More Blacks Aborted
Than Born. From The Patriot Post
Excerpt: It's no secret that minorities make up a
disproportionate number of abortions, but new statistics out of New York City shed a different light on the
startling figures. According to the city's Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene, black and Hispanic babies totaled 73%, or 54,245, of the city's 73,815
abortions in 2012. Some 31,328, or 42.4%, of the aborted babies were blacks.
Most disturbingly, this equates to 6,570 more than the number of blacks who
were actually born. Somewhere, eugenicist Margaret Sanger --
founder of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and a staunch proponent of
the forced sterilization and abortions of black and minority children -- is
smiling.
The Myth of
‘Settled Science.’ Computer models of climate change have been
dead wrong, yet alarmists aim to quell debate. By Charles
Krauthammer
Excerpt: I repeat: I’m not a global-warming believer.
I’m not a global-warming denier. I’ve long believed that it cannot be good for
humanity to be spewing tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. I also
believe that those scientists who pretend to know exactly what this will cause
in 20, 30, or 50 years are white-coated propagandists.
Excerpt: Germany ’s
radical initiative to subsidize renewable electricity generation has resulted
in higher carbon dioxide emissions and the most expensive electricity in Europe , with the poor disproportionately bearing the
burden. (What Obama's Green Cronies want for you. ~Bob)
The Walker
Excerpt: A trove of the Wisconsin
governor’s aides’ emails released this week so far appear to contain few of the
elements of a career-damaging digital scandal. Instead, the most serious
accusations involve campaign laws more likely to elicit yawns than outrage.
(Well, the "Occupy Reality" crowd in Madison are going nuts over it. ~Bob)
The New York
Excerpt: The New York Public Library is drastically purging
its book collections, eliminating a great number of older books in circulation
and making books that in remain in its collection much less accessible. With
the famous 42nd street
library, it means the outright vandalism of one of the most famous libraries in the country whose books will be banished to New Jersey. At local branches, it
means fewer books, more computers and more gimmicks.
Military Charities:
Most Pure Ripoff Or Bad Investment
Excerpt: Eight veterans charities, including some of the
nation’s largest, gave less than a third of the money raised to the causes they
champion, far below the recommended standard, the American Institute of
Philanthropy says in a report. One group passed along 1 cent for every dollar
raised, the report says. Another paid its founder and his wife a combined
$540,000 in compensation and benefits last year, a Washington Post analysis of
tax filings showed.
We Are One Electon
Away from Losing Our Freedom. By Daniel Greenfield
Excerpt: In the United States , cities aren't
burning and streets aren't filling up with bloodied bodies, but the government
of phone and pen also shows us that we are always one election away from losing
our freedom. When a political system becomes polarized between the forces of
freedom and the forces of totalitarianism, then the forces of freedom have to
win every single election. Meanwhile the totalitarians only have to win one
election and then spend the rest of time reconstructing civic institutions,
mobilizing thugs and making it structurally impossible for the other side to
compete. (Unfortunately, it was held in 2012. ~Bob)
The
Obama-Clinton-Kerry Legacy. By Hugh Hewitt
http://townhall.com/columnists/hughhewitt/2014/02/19/the-obamaclintonkerry-legacy-n1797291/page/full
Excerpt: The list of just those countries we know about
because they have have made huge headlines include Iran and its lost Green
Revolution, Egypt and the years of chaos begun when the president and his team
had four policies vis-a-vis Egypt in as many days, Libya where "leading
from behind" was coined, Syria where the red line faded into black,
Lebanon and Jordan where the Syrians sought refuge, Iraq where the peace has
been forfeited and civil war begun again, Afghanistan where our scamper is
underway and the Taliban is waiting, and this week Venezuela and Ukraine where American fecklessness has emboldened the
worst of the locals to imprison and kill. (Nice article, accurate, factual, and
of course utterly depressing. But that's what we've got. And she's going to be
running for President in three years. I can hardly wait. --Del )
Eric Holder Can’t
Explain If Constitution Allows Obama’s Executive Actions
Excerpt: Attorney General Eric Holder flubbed a question
from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) that is of vital importance to the rule of
law. While the Constitution allows – and sometimes requires – executive
action on many matters, President Barack Obama has asserted executive authority
in unprecedented ways. When Lee asked why one of Obama’s orders does not
violate the Constitution, Holder – the chief legal officer of the nation – had
no answer.
Health Law's Impact
Has Only Begun. Insurers Seek Healthy Enrollees, Doctors Educate New Patients,
Employers Wrestle With Added Costs. By Anna Wilde Mathews
Excerpt: On Jan. 1, the key provisions of the
Affordable Care Act took effect. Americans gained access to new health plans
subsidized by federal dollars. Insurers no longer can turn away people with
existing conditions. Millions are now eligible for new Medicaid benefits. (A
very even toned comment on what's going on with ObamaCare. It is almost too
nice, for instance it says that "Millions are now eligible for new
Medicaid benefits" without mentioning that finding doctors to accept
Medicaid patients was difficult before, and now it will just get much worse. We
aren't making lots of new doctors eager to take on patients for whom they will
receive the absolute least pay allowance from the federal government programs.
It also doesn't mention the millions of people presently taking advantage of
Obama's illegal bending of the "settled law" of the ACA to tell the
insurance companies they can give people one more year of their old plan. All
of these people will hit the fiscal wall next year, which will add to the upset
already building. Also the other delays of ACA implementation that Obama has
put in place, all to keep the impact from hitting fully before next November's
election. It's hard to not consider that this is really only likely to keep
rolling downhill as more and more people find out they will be paying more
money for higher deductibles and lower coverage. Yes, some small fraction of
people will be better off, maybe 5%. Another small fraction will be worse off,
and the huge majority will be facing more cost for less coverage, in what
really is a wealth transfer scheme. I'm figuring that by Fall the impact will
have at least started to hit a very large fraction of the population, and that
should have some effect on the elections. --Del )
Obama(S)care: Con
Artists and Criminals in Charge
Excerpt: Question: If Obamacare officials cannot prevent
accused embezzlers from infiltrating their offices, how can they protect
enrollees from grifters, con artists and thieves in the federal health
insurance exchange system? Here in my home state, a director of Connect for
Health Colorado
— the state-sponsored Obamacare health insurance exchange — was just put on
administrative leave. No, Christa Ann McClure did not go on leave over the
chronic problems plaguing the cursed Connect for Health website. She's on leave
because she has been indicted for filching funds from her last employer in Montana .
Excerpt: President Obama came into office just over five
years ago promising to reduce the power of corporate lobbyists and to increase
government’s role in the economy. But his $787 billion-dollar stimulus provided
the lesson: Every time government gets bigger, some special interest is getting
richer.
Excerpt: If your community is suffering from sub-par K-12
education you ought to look seriously at what some states are doing with the
charter school programs. Arizona
has gone all out in this state's challenging the teacher's unions and bloated
public school administrators who, for too long, have produced high school
graduates that can't read or write even at the sixth grade level.
Posts
As for the Stuart dynasty, one of my Scottish history tutors at St. Andrews once described that family as "as thick as two bricks."
ReplyDeleteI would as happily have another Clinton in the White House.....