Bonnie
and I met with the VA's Palliative Care Team (two docs, a nurse and a social
worker) on Wednesday to discuss "End-of -Life" issues. Just in case.
(Like Pediatric Oncology, Palliative Care is a medical specialty that would not
be on my list to practice.) They were clearly used to dealing with woe-is-me
folks and my upbeat attitude surprised them. I kept doing Monty Python:
"I'm not dead yet--I don't want to get on the cart--I'm feeling better--I
think I'll go for a walk." And other jokes. They asked about my
end-of-life wishes. "That, like the politically damaging parts of
Obamacare, it keeps getting postponed indefinitely," I said. Still it was
helpful. They proscribed a couple of meds to relieve the shortness of breath
and the BPH symptoms that make nights one long march. Including the PRN stuff,
I'm taking about 40 pills a day, so I won't notice the extras.
In the
afternoon, we went to the Dane County
Veterans Services office.
I hope readers won't think I'm defeatist in that I want worst-case options in
place to help my wife, Bonnie, cope if it comes to that. As you know, I
established my home as a No-Whining Zone years ago to deal with this. I don't
think I've been feeling sorry for myself at all. At DCVS, God let me know he
favors that stance. Bonnie let me off at the door, along with Oscar the O2 tank
and the wheelchair in case it was a long walk. I waited in the lobby for her,
with a group of about eight severely mentally and/or physically handicapped
young adults--none of whom I'd change places with. Compared to so many people,
I've had and still have a blessed life.
Another
bronchoscopy is scheduled for Thursday, 5/22/14. The surgeon wants a second
opinion before putting in a more permanent stent. Onward! ~Bob
Worth Reading : Lead. By Andy Weddington
Excerpt:
Years ago a friend, who at the time was a well-compensated business
executive, sent me something that included a few sentences tag line about
leadership. As I recall, it was at the bottom of letterhead but that
matters not. What I remember is it was vague and missing something -
action.
Worth Reading :
Kangaroo Courts on Campus? By Thomas Sowell
Excerpt: Why are rapists not reported to the police and
prosecuted in a court of law? Apparently this is because of some college women
who say that they were raped and are dissatisfied with a legal system that does
not automatically take their word for it against the word of someone who has
been accused and denies the charge. There seem to be a dangerously large number
of people who think that the law exists to give them whatever they want — even
when that means denying other people the same rights that they claim for
themselves.
Ha! Inequality at the NYT:
Why Jill Abramson Was Fired
Excerpt: As with
any such upheaval, there’s a history behind it. Several weeks ago, I’m told, Abramson
discovered that her pay and her pension benefits as both executive editor and,
before that, as managing editor were considerably less than the pay and pension
benefits of Bill Keller, the male editor whom she replaced in both jobs. “She
confronted the top brass,” one close associate said, and this may have fed into
the management’s narrative that she was “pushy,” a characterization that, for
many, has an inescapably gendered aspect. (A New York Times house editorial,
April 10, 2014: "Wage injustice matters to all Americans,
regardless of party, and those who stand in the way of fairness do so at their
political peril." The New
York Times dismissed its
executive editor, Jill Abramson, Wednesday, sending powerful shockwaves through
the Acela corridor media world and no noticeable ripple through the rest of the
country. Now, in the predictable post-dismissal recriminations, we learn that
the New York Times,
valiant crusader against "wage injustice", was paying its female top editor "considerably less" than previous
male top editors. [What, was the Times paying 77 cents for every dollar it
paid the men?] Who knew the Old Gray Lady was fighting a war on women? -- Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt
http://www.nationalreview.com/newsletters. Tweets about
this: https://twitter.com/davidfolkenflik/status/466719962061479936)
Excerpt: Twitter is abuzz with questions about the
involvement of Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter with a gas company in Ukraine . The
company, Burisma, allegedly appointed Hunter Biden to its board of directors. In late April, around the time the
vice president made an official trip to Ukraine , Burisma allegedly
appointed Devon Archer, one of Hunter Biden’s business partners, to
its board as well. Here’s a brief write-up on the story from the Moscow Times, an English-language news service based in Russia . (Needs independent verification. ~Bob)
Excerpt: Every time you fill up your tank $3.70 cents of
your gas total goes to Uncle Sam. (An equivalent amount goes for state gasoline
taxes.) Gas taxes alone bring in $40 billion dollars into federal coffers. Apparently
Obama's Transportation Secretary thinks that's not enough. They ran the numbers
through the Congressional Budget Office, and Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat from
North Dakota
is preparing a bill that would impose a "miles driven" tax on
American consumers. Obama, his energy czar and the EPA are giving the idea
serious consideration. Wait, it gets worse. If soaring food prices have been
putting a crimp on your budget these days just wait until our trucking carriers
begin paying an extra excise tax for "miles driven". (Just more of the
Democrats' #WaronthePoor. ~Bob)
County clerk rules
Rep. John Conyers ineligible to appear on ballot
Excerpt: The Wayne County Clerk's office ruled Tuesday that
long-serving Michigan Rep. John Conyers (D) is ineligible to appear on the Aug.
5 primary ballot because he did not submit enough valid petition signatures, a
big blow to the Democrat who has served in the House for nearly 50 years. First
elected in 1964, Conyers is currently the longest-serving member of the
House behind fellow Michigan Rep. John Dingell (D), who is retiring this year.
7 Filthy Rich Liberals Railing Against 'The Rich' In
Quotes. By John Hawkins
Excerpt: Yes, the evil, terrible, awful Koch Brothers who
live in Harry Reid's head for free and eat the dreams of Occupy protesters. In
actuality, those guys are only the 59th biggest donors in American politics. Just the six
biggest union donors in American politics combined give 15 times more money than the Koch brothers have – and,
of course, that money went almost exclusively to Democrats. The rich vote
Democrat as well. Eight of the ten richest congressional districts in America are
represented by Democrats. Eight of the ten richest counties in America also
voted for Obama. Why? Crony socialism.
Tim Tebow Mocked
While Michael Sam Praised
http://lastresistance.com/5716/tim-tebow-mocked-michael-sam-praised/
http://lastresistance.com/5716/tim-tebow-mocked-michael-sam-praised/
Excerpt: A more perfect example of double standard usage couldn’t
have come along at a better time. As anyone who follows football or politics
knows, openly gay football player Michael Sam was chosen in the NFL draft last
week. Good for him. If he’s a stellar player, then there was no reason he
shouldn’t have been picked, gay or not. That being said, the heaps of praise
received by Sam was almost too much to bear when contrasted with the loads of
contempt heaped upon Tim Tebow regarding his faith. (I have no problems with gays,
but I don't understand Sam being praised for being gay and Tebow attacked as
divisive for being a Christian. IMHO, neither should have been "news." ~Bob)
Rand Paul:
Republicans Need to Soften Stance on Voter ID because it’s “Offending People”
Excerpt: As has been stated before, America needs
more statesmen, those interested in upholding the law of the land and founding
principles of this country, less politicians. Pandering politicians, whether
toward the party line or special interest groups,
need to go as their policies tend to reflect their rhetoric. It has come out
that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the once Libertarian
candidate, has now criticized Republican efforts to require individuals provide
voter-identification at the ballot box before voting. The
reason for Paul's stance is it is offending people and turning voters away from
the Republican Party. (Ah, Senator, just being a Republican offends a lot of
people. ~Bob)
The Unbearable Whiteness of Liberal Media: If left-leaning
publications value diversity, why don't they have any? By Gabriel Arana
Excerpt: Everyone on the masthead of this liberal
publication is committed to being inclusive—not just of racial and ethnic
minorities but of women; gays, lesbians, and transgender people; and the poor. It's
not just the Prospect. Journalism upstarts like Vox
Media and FiveThirtyEight have come under fire recently for lack of
diversity in their hires, but that's largely because they are drawing from the
milky-white pool of “existing talent.” In the corner of the publishing industry
that caters to college-educated wonks—a slightly fuzzy designation, but I've
included most of the publications my colleagues and I read on a daily
basis—racial and ethnic diversity is abysmal.
Jesse Watters goes
head-to-head with Democrats who say Republicans are racist
Excerpt: First setting his sights on Israel , who said last month he believes the Republican base is
“animated by racism,” Watters asked the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee chair to explain his comments. “Well, you know, you are picking up on
something that was out of context and happened three weeks ago. So I question
why you would even ask that three weeks after,” Israel replied, as he stepped into
an elevator.
Excerpt: “It would be perfect for Obama to live with a group
of monkeys in the world’s largest African natural zoo and lick the breadcrumbs
thrown by spectators.” Barack Obama “still has the figure of a monkey while the
human race has evolved through millions of years.” That may sound like a memo
from the Ku Klux Klan but was actually part of a May 2 diatribe from North Korea .
The Communist regime in Pyongyang
also called Obama a “clown,” a “dirty fellow” and somebody who “does not even
have the basic appearances of a human being.” Further, “He is a crossbreed with
unclear blood,” and a separate article called Obama a “wicked black
monkey.” ... As Thomas Sowell noted in Marxism: Philosophy and Economics, Marx called German socialist
Ferdinand Lassalle, a “Jewish ni***r,” based on his “cranial formation” and
hair growth. His paternal grandmother or mother, Marx said, was “crossed with a
ni***r” and “the fellow’s importunity is also ni***r-like.” ... Ugly and
disrespectful as it was, North
Korea ’s racist attack on Barack Obama
elicited less comment than the Donald Sterling episode.
Worth Reading :
Science as
McCarthyism: Another scientist gets blackballed for his
skepticism about global warming. By Rupert Darwall
Excerpt: One of the most telling features of climate science
is just how few climate scientists changed their minds as the evidence changed.
The pause in global temperature in the last 15 years or so has been unexpected.
Now we know why: Yesterday, Bengtsson dropped a bombshell. He was resigning
from the think tank. In his resignation letter, Bengtsson wrote:
I have been put under such an enormous group pressure in
recent days from all over the world that has become virtually unbearable to me.
If this is going to continue I will be unable to conduct my normal work
and will even start to worry about my health and
safety. . . . Colleagues are withdrawing
their support, other colleagues are withdrawing from joint authorship etc.
I see no limit and end to what will happen. It is a situation that reminds me
about the time of McCarthy.
Excerpt: , get ready for another round of crippling
taxation. Parallel to the Obamacare mandate at gunpoint, the state will expand
government coverage of Medi-Cal next year. Around one third of the state’s
population, more than 11 million people, will be enrolled in the program. New
estimates of participation exceeded expectations by 1.4 million people. (A long
distance moving company, based just across the CA border, might be a good
investment. ~Bob)
The Media
over-hyped the West Antarctica climate propaganda reporting.
Studies do not address sea level rise projections alleged by misleading media
headlines. By Larry Hamlin
Excerpt: As seems to always be the case the climate fear
propaganda news media have completely mislead the public once again regarding
climate related issues this time by alleging claims of 4 meter high future sea
level rise increases supposedly addressed in two recent studies which performed
analysis of glacier melt behavior of six large glaciers in West Antarctica. ...
Amazingly enough and considering how the press manufactured headlines about sea
level rise increases being determined from these studies neither of the studies
addresses or make any claims about the impact of their research results on
specific future sea level rise projections.
Global Cooling: Antarctic Sea Ice Coverage Continues To Break
Records
http://dailycaller.com/2014/05/12/global-cooling-antarctic-sea-ice-coverage-continues-to-break-records/#ixzz31eJ2Heo7
http://dailycaller.com/2014/05/12/global-cooling-antarctic-sea-ice-coverage-continues-to-break-records/#ixzz31eJ2Heo7
Excerpt: It was a cold summer down in Antarctica ,
with sea ice coverage growing about 43,500 square miles
a day, according to the
National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSDC). April 2014 beats the
previous sea-ice coverage record from April 2008 by a whopping 124,000 square
miles.
But even with autumn in full swing
in the South Pole, “record levels continue to be set in early May,” reports the
NSDC. Sea ice levels have been “significantly above” satellite data averages for 16 consecutive
months.
Holder: No Plans to Investigate Deaths at VA Hospitals
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Eric-Holder-veterans-hospitals/2014/05/14/id/571263#ixzz31iSGZcHO
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Eric-Holder-veterans-hospitals/2014/05/14/id/571263#ixzz31iSGZcHO
Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department does
not have any plans to investigate the deaths of 40 veterans who were placed on
secret waiting lists at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Arizona . "Well, obviously these reports, if they're true, are
unacceptable, and the allegations are being taken very seriously by the administration.
But I don't have any announcements at this time with regard to anything that
the Justice Department is doing," Holder said at a news conference Tuesday,
according to the Daily Mail. (I can only speak to the Madison, WI
VA, where all the personal, from the surgeon down to the housecleaning crew,
have been terrific as I've gone through the lung transplant process. I became
good friends with many of the nurses and CNAs. The food, on the other
hand...~Bob)
Dear Chairman Gowdy –
America
is Counting on Your Backbone!
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/dear-chairman-gowdy-america-is-counting-on-your-backbone?f=must_reads
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/dear-chairman-gowdy-america-is-counting-on-your-backbone?f=must_reads
Excerpt: To: The Chairman Trey Gowdy and the Select
Committee on Benghazi
Your investigation is a huge relief to millions of Americans
like me who have wondered and agonized over the past almost-two years about
the actual events that happened before, during and after the
September 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in the horrific
murders of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, information officer Sean Smith, and
embassy security personnel and former Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods.
Op/Ed: Steinberg has
it wrong. By Raquel Mitchell -
Black Republicans are like the Jews of Nazi Germany
“[selling] out the interests of their groups in return for personal benefit...”
The column written by Neil Steinberg of Chicago Sun-Times comparing
Black Republicans to Jews that sold out other Jews during World War II is no
surprise to Black Republicans. At least the insult is a century more current
than the Civil War and Reconstruction characters we hear used so often - Aunt Jemima
and Uncle Tom. It is also no surprise that our hapless kamikaze, Governor Pat
Quinn, aboard his doomed aircraft the “Illinois ”,
willingly re-tweeted Steinberg's comments to his followers. Black Republicans
should not spend one moment on the absurd nature of this statement. Instead, we
should embrace this moment as an opportunity to expose exactly who’s selling
out whom. (I have a Liberal friend who tells me that it's the crazy extremists
in the GOP who say and do stupid, deeply offensive things that show them to be
the vicious and ignorant fanatics they are. He loves to send me the occasional
idiot comment by some Conservative or GOP politician. But without even trying I
came across this magnificent piece of utter trash by a Democrat, saying things
about Black Conservatives that would get any Conservative lynched within hours
if expressed by a White person about Blacks. I could hardly wait to send it off
to my friend. The only question, as always, is what fantastic exercise in
fantasy and twisted logic will he come up with to say what Steinberg said is
really not that bad. --Del )
Fencing Team Banned from North Dakota State
University Because of
"Weapons Policy." By Christine Rousselle
Excerpt: Fencing, an Olympic sport sponsored by more than 30
NCAA schools, involves two athletes engaging in what is effectively a sword
fight with a foil, saber, or épée. (I was class champion in beginner foil
at U-Mass in 1971, due to aggressiveness more than technique. So I can say,
"When foils are outlaws, only outlaws will foil you. ~Bob)
National Climate
Assessment: A False Alarm
Excerpt: The recent climate report released by the Obama
Administration seems to suggest that the U.S. will be inundated with all
manner of misfortune if we do not act immediately to cut down on greenhouse gas
emissions and halt our use of fossil fuels. This is not so, Knappenberger
writes, detailing several of the problems with the government's latest report: The
report conflates climate and climate change: Extreme weather events --
tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, freezes -- are not unusual and are a natural
part of the climate. Yet, the National Climate Assessment suggests that these
events are due to carbon dioxide emissions, despite the fact that there is little
scientific understanding about the impact of human-caused climate change on
weather events. Greenhouse gas emissions
from the U.S. have a minimal
effect on Earth's climate: According to research, eliminating all greenhouse
gas emissions from the U.S.
forever would only impact warming by less than two-tenths of one degree by
2100. Furthermore, the cost to the U.S. economy would be astronomical.
No Knock Raid Results
in Multiple Cops Shot - One Killed
Excerpt : Killeen, Texas resident Marvin Louis Guy
is currently being held at the Killeen City Jail on a $3 million bond for
opening fire on a Killeen Tactical Response Unit and a Central Texas Organized
Crime Unit that jointly descended on his home at 5:30 in the morning without
knocking first to serve a narcotics search warrant last Friday. (Cops on the
list welcome to respond. the story doesn't say if the guy was a drug deler or
an innocent civilian. But if someone breaks into my house, even if they yell
"Police," I have to assume they are bad guys, because real police
wouldn't be interested in me. Madison
recently experienced a home invasion by three thugs [they were in the wrong
house] who savagely beat the guy and raped the wife, not wanting the invasion
to be wasted. They could have yelled "police," who would know until
it was too late. Tough calls here. ~Bob)
This West Virginia 17-year
old just beat an incumbent state delegate
Excerpt: Saira Blair will graduate from a West Virginia high school later this month.
She posts photos of her smoothie habit on Instagram, volunteers at the
Martinsburg VA hospital and helps raise money for the Make-a-Wish foundation.
She will not be eligible to vote until July. ... Blair
campaigned on an antiabortion, pro-Second Amendment platform, offering her
cellphone number to constituents and pledging not to go negative. (Kids today.
I waited until I was 26 to run for and get elected to the Massachusetts Senate
in 1972. ~Bob)
If 36,000 criminal aliens walking around your community
wasn’t enough, Obama’s Department of Homeland Security is aiming to make it
even easier for aliens to be released from detention. That’s what the groups
agitating for immigration reform are demanding. That’s what the groups are
likely to get. (Per report, "The 2013 jailbreak included rapists,
kidnappers, arsonists, burglars, sex offenders, and car thieves." Once in
general population, home free. --Barb)
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Putin-space-station-ban/2014/05/13/id/571127#ixzz31iRK6joV
Excerpt: Russia cast doubt on the long-term future of the International Space Station, a showcase of post-Cold War cooperation, as it retaliated on Tuesday against U.S. sanctions over Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said
Bad Omens for
Democrats. From The Patriot Post
Rep. David Jolly (R-FL) won a special election in
March in what was seen as a bellwether over ObamaCare. To try to knock off
Jolly in November, Democrats turned to Ed Jany, a Marine and former police
officer. Unfortunately for Democrats, Jany just dropped out of the race because
he doesn't have time to run and keep working his regular jobs, leaving
Democrats without a candidate now that the deadline has passed. The even
funnier part is that they strong-armed a prominent black minister out of the
race to clear the way for Jany. But an even worse embarrassment for Democrats
comes out of Michigan ,
where 25-term Rep. John Conyers failed to garner enough signatures to qualify
for the Democrat primary in August. No doubt he'll wage a write-in campaign. If
these two stories are any indication, Democrats are in for a bad November.
Worth Reading :
The Oh-So-Fragile Class of 2014 Needs to STFU And Listen to Some New
Ideas. By Olivia Nuzzi
Excerpt: Another powerful woman has been discouraged from
speaking on campus. Because God forbid my fellow, fragile millennials have
their ears damaged by words with which they don’t agree. ... Millennials have
grown up in a world where you are never forced to see, hear or read anything
that you haven’t personally selected. 7,000 TV channels, a DVR to skip
commercials, millions of websites—we have been able to curate our own little
worlds using technology, wherein nothing unpleasant or offensive can creep in.
So when we’re forced to sit through a commercial or, heaven forbid,
listen to someone talk who isn’t Mary-freakin’-Poppins, we can’t handle it. The
entire point of college is to be exposed to different things: Different types
of people, different ideas...
Fox News Poll: Obama,
Clinton seen as deceitful on Benghazi
Excerpt: A majority thinks the White House has tried to
deceive people about the September 11, 2012 terrorist attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi , Libya .
At the same time, Republicans are seen as politicizing the issue rather than
trying to get to the truth. These are just some of the findings from the
latest Fox News poll.
Excerpt: The who, what, where, when and how of China’s HD-981 oil
rig foray into Vietnamese waters have been addressed comprehensively, both
by commentators here at The Diplomat and elsewhere. The enduring question, as with many of China ’s
provocative actions in the Asia-Pacific, remains why? The opacity of
China’s internal decision-making processes makes it rather difficult to
conclusively answer that question, but a good amount of evidence suggests that
the oil rig crisis with Vietnam was manufactured to test the mettle of ASEAN
states and the United States. It gives Beijing
an opportunity to gauge the international response to China asserting
its maritime territorial claims. (The writer is correct, this is China pushing the envelope, and while Mr. Obama
is not all that ready to get involved in any serious friction with China (or
anyone else), it does seem their judgment about timing is really good. We
needed to react strongly, but how many of us have even heard about this? --Del )
Telemedicine's
Quality of Care
Excerpt: As the use of "telemedicine" spreads
across the U.S. ,
medical regulators are asking whether a phone call can actually take the place
of an office visit, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The number of web-based health care companies is rising, as
doctors evaluate patients over the phone or online, even sending prescriptions.
Evaluations typically cost $40 to $50. Just last year, Teladoc, MDLIVE, and
American Well -- three telemedicine companies -- processed between 400,000 and
500,000 doctor-patient interactions, twice the amount that took place in 2011.
But some doctors and medical boards are concerned about the
online doctor visits, insisting that doctors should not diagnose and prescribe
medicine for patients that they have never met.
Where the voters are
left without a choice. By George Will
Excerpt: Democracy can be cruel because elections deprive
the demos of the delight of alibis and the comfort of complaining. Illinois voters have
used many elections to make theirs the worst-governed state, with about $100
billion in unfunded public pension promises, and $6.7 billion in unpaid bills. The
state is a stark illustration of prolonged one-party rule conducted by
politicians subservient to government employees unions.
Jon Stewart Trashes 'Hypocrite' Harry Reid. By Heather Ginsberg
Excerpt: Jon Stewart jokingly praised Harry Reid’s brave
crusade against the Koch brothers, but also called him out as a hypocrite for
not calling out Sheldon Adelson at the same time. Adelson, also has donated to
Reid’s funds. Stewart mocked Reid by saying the “crusader for good, money-free
politics” is no more than a hypocrite who only thinks money in politics is bad
when the people involved are not ones politically connected with him.
Obamacare News
Hitler finds out he
can't keep his doctor under Obamacare
Another very funny version, best yet. ~Bob
It's Official:
Obamacare Sparks 2015 Double-Digit Premium Hikes
Excerpt Opponents of President Barack Obama's controversial
Obamacare program warned that the health law would fail to reduce insurance
costs and could result in double-digit premium jumps. Now it's official: 2015
filings in the states of Washington and Virginia show large groups of customers
paying proposed rate hikes as high as 14.2% and 16.6% more, respectively, in
each state.
Virginia First To
Release Post-Obamacare Premium Proposals: Rate Hikes For All
http://dailycaller.com/2014/05/12/virginia-first-to-release-post-obamacare-premium-proposals-rate-hikes-for-all/#ixzz31eJzG1YJ
http://dailycaller.com/2014/05/12/virginia-first-to-release-post-obamacare-premium-proposals-rate-hikes-for-all/#ixzz31eJzG1YJ
Excerpt: Virginians will see upped health insurance premiums
in 2015 ranging from 3.3 percent to 14.7 percent, according to the filings from
the first state to release any information about what Obamacare could bring
next year. The premium proposals were submitted to the state insurance office
for official approval and were made public Monday. Each health plan expects to
increase its prices in 2015 past nominal increases for inflation, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Half of Doctors Won't
Accept New Medicaid Patients
Excerpt: Health care consulting firm Merritt-Hawkins
released the results of a survey of
doctors across five specialties (cardiology, dermatology, orthopedic survery,
obstetrics-gynecology and family practice) in 15 metropolitan markets. The
report found that the average Medicaid acceptance rate was just 45.7 percent,
down from 55.4 percent in 2009.
CNN Poll: Only 12%
Call Obamacare A Success
Employers Eye Moving
Sickest Workers To Insurance Exchanges
Excerpt: Can corporations shift workers with high medical
costs from the company health plan into online insurance exchanges created by
the Affordable Care Act? Some employers are considering it, say benefits
consultants. "It's all over the marketplace," said Todd Yates, a
managing partner at Hill, Chesson & Woody, a North Carolina benefits consulting firm.
"Employers are inquiring about it and brokers and consultants are
advocating for it." Health spending is driven largely by patients with
chronic illness such as diabetes or who undergo expensive procedures such as
organ transplants.
What Happens If There Is No Employer Mandate for Obamacare?
By Drew Gonshorowski
Excerpt: A recent Urban
Institute report provides the “news” that Obamacare’s employer mandate has
negative labor market effects, particularly for low-income Americans. Even
think tanks that support Obamacare have realized it broke the labor market,
particularly for low-skilled workers. This revelation shouldn’t be news to
anyone, but the report does provide a set of important reminders:
ObamaCare contractor
pays employees to do nothing, whistleblower says
Excerpt: Employees at an ObamaCare processing center in Missouri with a contract
worth $1.2 billion are reportedly getting paid to do nothing but sit at their
computers.
"Their goals are set to process two applications per
month and some people are not even able to do that," a whistleblower
told KMOV-TV,
referring to employees hired to process paper applications for ObamaCare
enrollees.
Negative Consequences
of the Employer Mandate
Excerpt: Failure to comply with the mandate results in
fines. However, the Obama administration announced in July 2013 that it would
be delaying enforcement of the mandate until 2015. Additionally, the
administration announced further delays in February 2014, giving employers with
less than 100 employees until 2016 to comply with the mandate. ... The ACA
encourages employers to shift their employees onto the health car exchanges,
because the cost of providing insurance exceeds the penalty (between $2,000 and
$3,000 per employee) of not offering insurance. The mandate encourages
businesses to stay small (under 50 employees) and not expand. An employer with
50 employees is subject to $40,000 in fines for failing to offer health
insurance. According to a 2013 Gallup
poll of small businesses, 41 percent held off hiring new employees, 19 percent
reduced their workforce and 18 percent reduced employees to part-time work.
Religion of Peace News
US Muslim Groups Won’t Move To
Excommunicate Boko Haram
http://dailycaller.com/2014/05/12/us-muslim-groups-wont-move-to-excommunicate-boko-haram/#ixzz31dhxqXwU
http://dailycaller.com/2014/05/12/us-muslim-groups-wont-move-to-excommunicate-boko-haram/#ixzz31dhxqXwU
Excerpt: Established Islamic leaders “have to look
long and hard at the Sharia [Islamic law] that Boko Haram is using … [because]
it is an ideology of violence,” said Raza, who is president of Muslims Facing Tomorrow, a Canadian Islamic group. ”We’ve got to stop living in
the past, stop living in the 7th and 8th centuries and start living in the 21st
century,” she said.
DHS Secretly Allowed
Suspects with Terror Ties Into Country
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/dhs-secretly-allowed-suspects-with-terror-ties-into-country/
Excerpt: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretly
assembled a terrorist “hands off” list that permitted individuals with
terrorist ties unfettered entrance into the United States , according to
document released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa).
Worth Reading : Were
Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Jews from Boca Raton ?
http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/were-nigerian-schoolgirls-kidnapped-by-jews-from-boca-raton-17480/#x6S5VbHKvUUUg3I7.99
http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/were-nigerian-schoolgirls-kidnapped-by-jews-from-boca-raton-17480/#x6S5VbHKvUUUg3I7.99
Excerpt: If it was Obama’s children, their father might
actually do something. Other people’s children will get platitudes followed by
“decisive inertia” and “smart meaningful impotence.”
The murder of young girls is a tragedy. The unwillingness
and inability to prevent it from repeatedly happening is a global disgrace.
This is what happens when leftist plutocrats convince themselves that the
biggest threat to the world is climate change and not radical Islam. An
Islamist sect kidnapped and most likely murdered girls in the forest, and
American leaders neither heard or made a meaningful sound.
Worth Reading : Tweets Won’t Stop
Modern Barbarians: Boko Haram and the Sultan of Brunei
couldn’t care less about Western outrage. By Victor Davis
Hanson
Excerpt: Nigeria ’s
homegrown, al-Qaeda linked militant group, Boko Haram, brags openly that it
recently kidnapped about 300 young Nigerian girls. It boasts that it will sell
them into sexual slavery. Those terrorists have a long and unapologetic history
of murdering kids who dare to enroll in school, and Christians in general. For
years, Western aid groups have pleaded with the State Department to at least
put Boko Haram on the official list of terrorist groups. But former Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton’s team was reluctant to come down so harshly, in
apparent worry that some might interpret such condemnation as potentially
offensive to Islamic sensitivities. (Welcome to the fight of the Century. In
this corner, representing the Obama Administration's Decisive Action Team,
wearing spangled Spandex, Michele Obama holding a #BringBackOurGirls hashtag
sign. In the far corner, representing Boko Haram, wearing a filthy burnoose and
a dynamite-spangled vest, Mohammad Akbar, holding an
#AllahPermitsSexWithSlaveGirls hashtag sign--and an AK-47. Let the battle
begin. ~Bob)
Excerpt: Islamic militants again attacked the remote
Nigerian town from which nearly 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped, Nigeria 's
military said Wednesday, resulting in a firefight that killed 12 soldiers and
led angry troops to fire on a commanding officer.
9/11 Museum Film's
Critic Says Jews Killed Jesus
Excerpt: During a news conference Wednesday which
cast aspects of a film about al-Qaida at the new 9/11 museum as prejudiced
toward Muslims, a speaker invoked the anti-Semitic claim that Jews killed
Jesus. Talat Hamdani, whose son Salman Hamdani was a Muslim New York Police Department
cadet killed on 9/11, said religion often is overlooked in other historic
crimes. "Who crucified Jesus?" she said. "Do we ever question
that? Bring in the fact that not only the Romans but there were Jews who
crucified Jesus?"
The New York Times: Making the world safe for terrorism. By Steven
Emerson
Excerpt: On the front page of Sunday's New York
Times was a hysterical article charging the New York Police Department with
trampling Muslim civil rights by trying to recruit Muslims who had been
arrested on other charges to be informants. The headline screamed "New
York Police Recruit Muslims as Informants on Terrorism" and proceeded to
"expose" the "profiling of Muslims" by the NYPD to serve as
potential informants from within their communities. Reporter Joseph Goldstein
interviewed people who had been questioned by police and found the exercise
"coercive."
Excerpt: Islamic apologists in the West routinely claim that
Islam has no death penalty for apostasy. Unfortunately, misunderstanders of
Islam abound in large numbers, and for some reason they cannot shake the notion
that Islam does mandate death for those who are considered to have left the
faith. Why do they persist in this misunderstanding? Maybe it’s because
Muhammad commanded: “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him”
(Bukhari 9.84.57). This is still the position of all the schools of Islamic
jurisprudence, both Sunni and Shi’ite. :" As the U.S. Celebrated Mother’s
Day, a Christian carrying her second child to term has been convicted of
adultery and apostasy, penalties that are punishable in Sudan by 100 lashes and
death, respectively, according to International Christian Concern. Meriam Yahia
Ibrahim, a pregnant practicing physician in Western Sudan ,
is married to Daniel Wani, a South Sudanese Christian. But as a Sudanese,
Ibrahim is considered a Muslim by birth through her father’s Islamic faith,
making her marriage to a Christian illegal. According to sharia, any Muslim
woman who marries a non-Muslim man commits adultery; therefore, any children
that arise from that marriage are illegitimate in the eyes of Islam."
Islamist group claims
Urumqi bombing
Excerpt: In a rare interview with Reuters in March, Abdullah
Mansour, who says he is the leader of the Turkistan Islamic Party, said it was
his holy duty to fight the Chinese. (Jihad is a "holy duty" for
Muslims? He must be Islamophobic to link Islam with violence. ~Bob)
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