Your weekend reading

News for your weekend reading. House voted to defund Obamacare today, but I didn’t include. If you don’t already know that, you are asleep. I’ll be offline for the weekend. Have to help my wife with a sleepover for several girls for our granddaughter’s 13^th birthday. Pray for us. ~Bob

Excellent essay on Women in Combat

http://www.baen.com/amazonsrightbreast.asp

By LtCol Tom Kratman, USA (Ret), author of the great military science fiction book, The Amazon Legion.

Indirectly Mistaken Decision Cycles. By Tom Kratman

http://www.baen.com/DecisionCycles.asp

A commentary on the “Boyd Cycle” for those interested in military history ~Bob.

The Fiscal Collapse is Coming: Social Security overpays $1.3 billion in benefits: GAO

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101032599

Excerpt: An upcoming GAO report obtained by NBC News says the federal government may have paid $1.29 billion in Social Security disability benefits to 36,000 people who had too much income from work to qualify.

American Boys Are Falling Behind

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=23619&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD

Excerpt: American boys across the ability spectrum are struggling in the nation's schools, with teachers and administrators failing to engage their specific interests and needs. This neglect has ominous implications not only for the boys' social and intellectual development but for the national economy, as policy analysts are just beginning to calculate, says Christina Hoff Sommers, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. … Women in the United States now earn 62 percent of associate's degrees, 57 percent of bachelor's degrees, 60 percent of master's degrees, and 52 percent of doctorates. (If the genders were reversed, liberals would be demanding a massive government program to correct this clear evidence of discrimination. ~Bob)

Germany's Energy Poverty: How Electricity Became a Luxury Good

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/high-costs-and-errors-of-german-transition-to-renewable-energy-a-920288.html

Excerpt: Germany's aggressive and reckless expansion of wind and solar power has come with a hefty price tag for consumers, and the costs often fall disproportionately on the poor. Government advisors are calling for a completely new start. (Obama and the Progressives are determined to grind the poor and working classes here the same way, because it means votes and campaign dollars from the hard left. ~Bob.)

Same contractor vetted Snowden, Navy Yard shooting suspect
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/20/same-contractor-vetted-snowden-navy-yard-shooting-suspect/?intcmp=latestnews

If I apply to be the superintended of a girls’ dormitory, I hope these guys do the background check. As long as I don’t have to work with Ted Bundy. ~Bob

A Sobering Anecdote About McAuliffe’s Persuasiveness. By Jim Geraghty

http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/359000/sobering-anecdote-about-mcauliffes-persuasiveness-jim-geraghty

The Armageddon Looting Machine: The Looming Mass Destruction From Derivatives

http://www.fedupusa.org/2013/09/the-armageddon-looting-machine-the-looming-mass-destruction-from-derivatives/

Excerpt: Five years after the financial collapse precipitated by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, the risk of another full-blown financial panic is still looming large, despite the Dodd Frank legislation designed to contain it. As noted in a recent Reuters article, the risk has just moved into the shadows: (If you are “Too Big To Fail,” you can take any risk. You get the gains if you win, if not, the taxpayers get the losses. ~Bob.)

Yemen violence: Twin attacks on army 'kill 40'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24171574

Excerpt: Two car bombs reportedly exploded at a camp in Shabwa province, killing about 30 soldiers and wounding many others. In a second assault in the area, gunmen shot dead another 10 soldiers in the town of Maifaa.

Syria’s main opposition group slams al-Qaida-linked militants, their goal of Islamic state

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrias-main-opposition-group-slams-al-qaida-linked-militants-their-goal-of-islamic-state/2013/09/20/c0c6c700-21c3-11e3-ad1a-1a919f2ed890_story.html

Excerpt: Syria’s main Western-backed opposition group on Friday slammed al-Qaida-linked gunmen and their expanding influence in the country, saying the jihadis’ push to establish an Islamic state undermines the rebels’ struggle for a free Syria. (Because, you know, it might cut off western aid. Better not talk about an Islamic state until after we win. ~Bob)

The Obamacare Scams Are Already Starting

http://blog.heritage.org/2013/09/20/morning-bell-the-obamacare-scams-are-already-starting/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Excerpt: Heritage warned that the new Obamacare insurance exchanges could threaten your privacy—and it’s already happening, before the exchanges are even open. In a new report, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee presented these shocking findings: there are already numerous reports of scam artists posing as Navigators and Assisters to take advantage of people’s confusion about ObamaCare. According to recent news reports, scam artists are calling individuals and asking for information to sign them up for their “ObamaCare card,” are asking seniors for their personal information to verify their Medicare and Social Security status and are going door-to-door threatening people with prison time if they do not sign up on the spot. The Administration is keenly aware of these reports and concerns, but has thus far failed to take appropriate measures.

Russia’s Growing Ties with Vietnam. By Stephen Blank

http://thediplomat.com/2013/09/19/russias-growing-ties-with-vietnam/

Excerpt: Recent deals leave Beijing disgruntled and represent an additional layer of complexity in the regional security web. Russia’s policies in Southeast Asia often pass without a great deal of remark. (I don't like this, I would much rather Viet Nam deepen its ties with the USA. However, for the guys in Hanoi, the Russians may be better, since they won't worry about human rights in Viet Nam and still help offset China's pressures on Viet Nam. --Del)

Are We A Society Gone Mad?

http://justcommonsense-lostinamerica.blogspot.com/2013/09/are-we-society-gone-mad.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FMoXTa+%28Lost+in+America%29

Excerpt: Having now achieved six decades in this life I'm not easily shaken by societal changes. Thankfully, they usually evolve in small day to day increments, allowing us to adjust to them. However, this week there have been so many bizarre stories about American comings and goings that I am left flabbergasted and stunned by what is happening in America. Just last week I discovered that there's a Face Book Page celebrating teen pregnancy. On this site you will find seemingly sane adults awing and cooing over sixteen year old girls having babies. 

Benghazi investigators gave Hillary Clinton heads-up on findings

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/19/independent-benghazi-investigators-gave-clinton-he/

Excerpt: The leaders of the State Department’s Benghazi probe defended their inquiry into the 2012 attack, but they acknowledged to Congress on Thursday that their mission was limited in scope and faced questions over why they gave Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton an advance look at their findings.

Guns Don't Kill - Gun Free Zones Do

http://eaglerising.com/1842/guns-dont-kill-gun-free-zones/

Excerpt: In no way do I want to minimize or trivialize any of the mass shootings we have watched take place in recent years by dumbing down the causes to one or two issues. However, with the liberal media’s withering attack on gun rights which uses these attacks as their “ammunition,” some kind of response is necessary to combat the misinformation. 

Deadly Combination: Political Correctness in a Gun-Free Zone. By Larry Elder

http://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2013/09/19/deadly-combination-political-correctness-in-a-gunfree-zone-n1703694/page/full

Excerpt: How does someone with three arrests, two of which are gun-related, become a military contractor's employee? How does someone with a military record that includes several citations for "misconduct" pass security background checks, obtain a "secret"-level security clearance, and get hired by a military contractor? Were disqualifying factors overlooked or minimized for fear that Alexis, a black man, would accuse the military of racism?

Remember when Obama promised to bankrupt coal? That’s tomorrow. By Ben Howe

http://www.redstate.com/2013/09/19/remember-when-obama-promised-to-bankrupt-coal-thats-tomorrow/

Excerpt: That was way back in 2008 when President Obama was merely a candidate. Five years later, his dreams of bankrupting coal are getting taken up a notch. Tomorrow, Dear Leader is set to unveil a regulation that forms the centerpiece of his “anti-climate change” policy announced awhile back to much green fawning. This new regulation will reportedly ban all future coal-fired power plant construction. (The poor have no heat? Let them burn Obama Phones to keep warm! ~Bob.)

The War on Coal Puts Democrats on Defense

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/brian-walsh/2013/09/19/epa-coal-restrictions-put-obama-and-senate-democrats-on-defense

Excerpt: While McCarthy claims the administration's new rules "provide certainty" to the coal industry, the only "certainty" of their renewed war on coal is that thousands of jobs will be lost and Democrats running for the House and Senate in key states across the country will be further put on the defensive. (The UMW supported Obama in 2008, but sat out 2012. Guess we know why. ~Bob)

Navy Yard murderer Aaron Alexis created webpage with name "Mohammed Salem"

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/09/navy-yard-murderer-aaron-alexis-created-webpage-with-name-mohammed-salem.html

Excerpt: There has been no other published indication that Aaron Alexis was a Muslim or had any interest in Islam. It may be, however, that in his delusional madness, he began to identify with the jihadists who have committed mass murder in the name of their bloodthirsty god.

More than 1,500 women victims of genital mutiliation in shock statistics compiled by ONE hospital... and most are from Somalia

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2424556/More-1-500-women-victims-genital-mutiliation-shock-statistics-compiled-ONE-hospital--Somalia.html

If this concerns you, you are probably a racist Islamophobe. ~Bob

Beloved Librarian Claims She Was Fired for Defending 9-Year-Old Contest Winner

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/closing-a-chapter--beloved-librarian-fired-following-reading-contest-controversy--185514741.html

Excerpt: hat 9-year-old is Tyler Weaver — the self-proclaimed "king of the book club" and one of the library's most frequent visitors — who will be taking his book business elsewhere, now that a longtime library aide who stuck up for him in a contest controversy has been fired. (When liberals are in charge, there can be no winners and losers, so why put in the effort? Everyone gets a "participation trophy"...something to be proud of. – LLW. Obama has been called “the first president of the “everyone gets a trophy” generation. Such things do not prepare kids for life. It is not too strong to call them child abuse. ~Bob.)

Desperate U.K. Turns to Shale Gas. By Peter Fairly

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/518936/desperate-uk-turns-to-shale-gas/

Excerpt: Proposed U.K. government policies to encourage hydrofracking of natural gas ignited a firestorm of protest this summer, with critics complaining that they were not consulted and that rules will restrict local planners’ authority. But the country appears to have few other options. The United Kingdom is in an energy quagmire that is forcing it to turn to shale gas.

Spitting on their graves: most Democrats leave Bengahzi hearing before testimonies of victims' families. By Katie Pavlich

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2013/09/19/spitting-on-their-graves-democrats-leave-benghazi-hearing-before-testimony-from-benghazi-families-n1704732

Excerpt: During the second portion of a House Oversight and Government Reformhearing about Benghazi Thursday on Capitol Hill, the majority of Democrats on the Committee left the room and refused to listen to the testimony of Patricia Smith and Charles Woods. Ms. Smith is the mother of Sean Smith, an information management officer killed in the 9/11 Benghazi attack. Charles Woods is the father of Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, who was also killed.

From Clinton Foundation to Muslim Brotherhood Biggie. Carol Platt Liebau

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/carolplattliebau/2013/09/19/from-clinton-foundation-to-muslim-brotherhood-n1704784

Excerpt: Just one question: How did a Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer -- connected enough to become a top communications official in the Morsi government -- came to be employed at the Clinton Foundation? Gehad al-Haddad, who was a senior official in the Muslim Brotherhood/Morsi government, has been arrested in Egypt on charges of inciting violence.

[The writer of this piece was kind of at Leningrad State University in the Seventies with] Vladimir Putin, the Neo-Soviet Man. By Cliff May

http://townhall.com/columnists/cliffmay/2013/09/19/vladimir-putin-the-neosoviet-man-n1704462

Excerpt: Allow me to offer an alternative theory: Putin is deeply committed to winning, to beating Obama like a rented mule, to diminishing the United States, exacting a little revenge for all America did to undermine the Soviet empire and for inviting former members of the Soviet bloc to join NATO after the fall of the Berlin Wall. As for the gassing of women and children by Bashar Assad, Russia’s friend and Iran’s loyal servant, I think Putin will leave it to bourgeois humanists to shed the salty tears. 

Scotland Jails Man For Ten Months For Putting Bacon On Mosque Doors. By Daniel Greenfield

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/scotland-jails-man-for-10-months-for-putting-bacon-on-mosque-doors/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=scotland-jails-man-for-10-months-for-putting-bacon-on-mosque-doors

Excerpt: Freedom! No sorry. You’re thinking of a different Scotland.

Another reason not to drink Starbucks.

http://moonbattery.com/?p=36717

Excerpt: Starbucks will serve coffee either hot or cold. No one would want it lukewarm. Yet that is how the company serves its politics regarding the struggle to defend the precious Second Amendment. Carriers aren’t banned; they just aren’t welcome:

Hats off to Australia!: New Prime Minister Tony Abbott Could Save Australia.

http://moonbattery.com/?p=36787

Excerpt: This could be the moment when the rising tide of moonbattery begins to recede. Hats off to Australia for putting Tony Abbott in a position to fight back on behalf of Western Civilization, as he has made clear he will do from the beginning: 

Louisiana Fourth-Graders Taught About 'Pimps' And 'Mobstaz,' School Says It's Age Appropriate Based On Common Core Standards.

http://weaselzippers.us/2013/09/19/louisiana-fourth-graders-taught-about-pimps-and-mobstaz-school-says-its-age-appropriate-based-on-common-core-standards/

Excerpt: “I try to instill values in my son,” parent Brittney Badeaux told Fox News. “My goal is for him to ultimately to become a great man, a family man, a well-rounded man. And now my son wants to know what a pimp is.” (Tell him “Jay Carney.” ~Bob)

Our litigious society finds a new low

http://projectlawsuitabuse.com/2013/9/20/our-litigious-society-finds-new-low

Excerpt: At first Holloway thought the pictures on Twitter he saw of teens partying at his house were a joke but the tweets kept coming and he saw kids dancing on a table he bought with his Super Bowl winnings and he soon realized that it was no joke. … Holloway is fighting back by posting the pictures of the teens on the Internet to identify them. … In other words, a few parents are threatening to sue after their kids illegally broke into a man’s house, illegally engaged in underage drinking and illegally did damage to the man’s property and then gleefully posted it all on Twitter!

County Board chair proposes spending $1.1 million on Obamacare launch

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/dimitrijevic-proposes-spending-11-million-on-obamacare-launch-b99101829z1-224412051.html

Excerpt: County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic on Thursday called for spending $1.1 million in taxpayer money to help inform residents of next month's launch of the federal Affordable Care Act.

Marshals halt Jesse Jackson Jr. auction

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/marshals-halt-jesse-jackson-jr-auction-97120.html

Excerpt: An auction of furs and memorabilia that used to belong to convicted former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was canceled Friday over questions about the authenticity of some of the items.

Tweet from Jennifer #Benghazi ‏@thejenn999

I am Native American & I see nothing racist about Redskins. I am Proud of my Redskin & heritage of Warriors. (My grandmother claimed that granddad was ¼ Cree, making me 1/16 if true. So I’m offended at Washington 1/16^th of the time. ~Bob.)

Household income in nation’s capital rises as rest of the country declines. By Caroline May

http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/20/household-income-in-nations-capital-rises-as-rest-of-the-country-declines/#ixzz2fRyWXuIA

Excerpt: While the residents of most states and localities have seen their incomes decline since 2000, the population of the nation’s capital experienced something quite different. (Thomas Sowell points out that the decrease in household size over the years makes individual income a better metric than household income. Plus the spike in non-marital births as the culture has collapsed means many more single parent homes, highly correlated with poverty. ~Bob>)

7 Random Things Democrats Have Compared Republicans To In The Debt Limit Battle

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bennyjohnson/7-random-things-democrats-have-compared-republicans-to-in-th

All part of the “new civility” some guy called for in Arizona a few years ago. ~Bob

Madison elementary art teacher posts students’ anti-Walker cartoons

http://watchdog.org/106723/madison-elementary-art-teacher-posts-her-students-anti-walker-cartoons/

Excerpt: Kati Walsh, an elementary art teacher at the Madison Metropolitan School Districtin July posted some of her students’ drawings of Gov. Scott Walker  in jail. Walsh suggests her young Rembrandts’ ideas for their sketches popped up out of thin air.

Pakistani Muslim Cites ‘Blasphemy’ in Slaughter of Christian Rival in Business

http://morningstarnews.org/2013/09/pakistani-muslim-cites-blasphemy-in-slaughter-of-christian-rival-in-business/

Excerpt: Shouting that he was killing “an infidel who blasphemed against Muhammad,” a Muslim in Karachi on Saturday (Sept. 14) slit a Christian’s throat as police and others looked on, according to the slain man’s son.

Three Years Later, Obamacare Arrives – Little Understood and Not Well-Liked

http://www.langerresearch.com/uploads/1151a4HealthCare.pdf

Excerpt: More than three years after Obamacare was signed into law and fewer than two weeks before its health insurance exchanges are to launch, many Americans don’t know a lot about the pending changes except this: They don’t much like them.

Tweet from CounterMoonbat ‏@CounterMoonbat

Paul #Krugman was an #Enron advisor. But now he's the high priest of Liberalism & gets to call us "crazy."

Tweet from Lapu ‏@navy8r

Lady in front of me in long black burka, three screaming kids hanging off her, doesn't speak English, uses EBT card to pay. ...America...

Canada Will Ask For Fingerprints From Visitors From Muslim Countries

http://destroyislamnow.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/canada-will-ask-for-fingerprints-from-visitors-from-muslim-countries/

Excerpt: Starting from this October (December in some countries), the Canadian government will have special requirements for travellers from specific countries, in other words most of these countries are Muslim. Now along with a passport and Visa, people travelling from countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Yemen, Nigeria, Albania, and Somalia will also have to give a finger print to Canadian Immigration, to ensure that multiple people are unable to enter Canada with the same Visa.

Tweet from Salty Black Broad ‏@SaltyBlackBroad

That was not a white man that sold our PPL into slavery. It was an African w dark skin whose children looked just like ours. It was tribal

Robbers hold iPhone campers at gunpoint outside southwest Houston store

http://www.khou.com/news/local/iPhone-camping-robbery-Houston-store-5c-5s-224546771.html

Excerpt: Apple fans waiting in an early-morning line for the release of the new iPhone were robbed at gunpoint on Friday, Houston police said. (What’s an iPhone? The cell phone I have still makes calls just fine. Have even bee4n able to respond to a few text messages. And my granddaughter says it would take pictures, too, if I wanted to. ~Bob.)

Collection of interesting maps

http://twistedsifter.com/2013/08/maps-that-will-help-you-make-sense-of-the-world/

Pricing Glitch Afflicts Rollout of Online Health Exchanges

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324807704579085472970959370.html

Excerpt: Less than two weeks before the launch of insurance marketplaces created by the federal health overhaul, the government's software can't reliably determine how much people need to pay for coverage, according to insurance executives and people familiar with the program. (Say, is that a train whistle I hear? But the bridge is out! ~Bob.)

'Military-grade weapon' used in shooting that injured 13: cops

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-multiple-people-including-3yearold-shot-in-south-side-attack-20130919,0,352520.story

Excerpt: Police believe the shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute between the Black P. Stones and Gangster Disciples, a law enforcement source said. (Lets see, Holder gave military grade weapons to the Mexican drug cartels in Fast and Furious, and the cartels are strong in Chicago…Nah. ~bob.)

Lovefest on Capital Hill: Caroline Kennedy's Senate Confirmation Hearing United Parties. By James Warren

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/caroline-kennedy-confirmation-hearing-unites-parties-article-1.1461124#ixzz1z4hUuYsg

Excerpt: Finally, there’s a lovefest on Capitol Hill. The Senate confirmation hearingThursday for Caroline Kennedy’s appointment as ambassador to Japan was a bipartisan tribute to her and her legendary family. For a woman who swam 3 miles from Nyack to Sleepy Hollow to raise money for leukemia prevention over the weekend, this was a piece of cake. [Jackie was a major swimmer too. Kate]

Largest Bank In World Announces Crash

http://beforeitsnews.com/economics-and-politics/2013/09/largest-bank-in-world-announces-crash-2456544.html

Excerpt: The Bank for International Settlements, the most powerful bank in the entire world, has just announced ‘the crash’ according to this story below translated below from Germany. (Extremely important. Financial pundits have been predicting this for years and anyone who knows a little math knew that Bernanke et al. were brewing up a perfect storm guaranteed to cause a gargantuan crash. Now the BIS agrees. The financial world is finally waking up, not that it is too late. --Don Hank)

Gang Aft Agley: Health Exchange Fun - Part 1

http://oftgoawry.blogspot.com/2013/09/health-exchange-fun-part-1.html

Excerpt: I have to say, as a middle aged white guy, I am starting to feel a little awkward, like I wondered into the wrong bathroom or something...I then went to the 'Choose Your State' selection bar to see what my options were. Clicking on the menu, I noticed right away that territories and the District of Columbia had apparently become states with the adoption of Obamacare. COMMENT Salt LickSeptember 20, 2013 at 10:26 AM You clearly did not get the memo. White guys are expected to either die or self-terminate. Because, slavery.

Americans Opting to Pay Penalty Rather Than Enroll in ObamaCare Trainwreck

http://www.jammiewf.com/2013/americans-opting-to-pay-penalty-rather-than-enroll-in-obamacare-trainwreck/

Excerpt: Keep in mind these are CNN viewers, so it’s a 99% likelihood they’re also Obama voters. Meanwhile, the only person who still believes it’s affordable is the schmuck in the White House. 

Tweet from Lachlan Markay ‏@lachlan

Pro tip: having a sense of humor is less exhausting than being perpetually outraged.

Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for May 21, 2013

Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for May 21, 2013

Robert A. Hall

Your one-stop-shop for political news and opinion--who needs newspapers or TV? Please forward to friends who need to be informed. This SitRep (Military for “Situation Report”) is created by many readers who send me items for inclusion, which I would have likely missed or skipped. And I can only spend at most three hours a night pulling stuff, plus the healthcare or economic stuff that crosses my desk at work. As always, I—and you—owe them thanks and appreciation. I post articles because I think they are of interest and will stimulate thought and discussion. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree (or disagree) with every—or any—opinion in the posted article, or that I was able to verify the information presented, which is the responsibility of the author. I try not to post things that are false, or too far a stretch, regardless of the view point, but I don’t always succeed. As always on the Net, or in the legacy media, you must read critically and with skepticism.

CYA Tweet

I thanked one of my blog readers for Tweeting about my book CYA. He sent the following response: “My pleasure. My 13 year old is reading it currently... I told him that his generation desperately needs it.” -- Chris

C.Y.A. Protecting Yourself in the Modern Jungle

If you order directly from CreateSpace, the PFF receives a larger royalty:

https://www.createspace.com/4133396http://www.amazon.com/C-Y-Protecting-Yourself-Modern-Jungle/dp/1481989103/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358787454&sr=1-8&keywords=C.Y.A+.+Robert+A+Hall

First published in 2010, this book has been reissued through CreateSpace/Amazon at a lower price, with all royalties going to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. A humor/self-help book, this is advice with an attitude.

Worth Reading: It Can Happen Here. By Victor Davis Hanson

http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/it-can-happen-here/

Excerpt: I ended my prognostications with the warning, “And so a reckoning is on the near horizon. Let us pray it does not take us all down with his administration.”

Four months later, it almost has. In January, of course, we all knew that Obama had misled the country on the nature of the disaster that is called Obamacare—a bill forced through on an entirely partisan basis through extraordinary legislative pay-offs and exemptions. 

Worth Reading: The Loss of Trust. By George Will

http://patriotpost.us/opinion/18218

Excerpt: Liberalism's agenda has been constant since long before liberals, having given their name a bad name, stopped calling themselves liberals and resumed calling themselves progressives, which they will call themselves until they finish giving that name a bad name. The agenda always is: Concentrate more power in Washington, more Washington power in the executive branch and more executive power in agencies run by experts. Then trust the experts to be disinterested and prudent with their myriad intrusions into, and minute regulations of, Americans' lives. Obama's presidency may yet be, on balance, a net plus for the public good if it shatters American's trust in the regulatory state's motives.

Canada for Medical Care, 2012

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=23187&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD

Excerpt: Among the consequences of poor access to health care in Canada is the reality that some Canadians will ultimately receive the care they require outside of the country. Some of these patients will have been sent out of the country by the public health care system due to a lack of available resources or the fact that some procedures or equipment are not provided in their home jurisdiction. Others will have chosen to leave Canada in response to concerns about quality; to avoid some of the adverse medical consequences of waiting for care such as worsening of their condition, poorer outcomes following treatment, disability or death; or simply to avoid delay, says Nadeem Esmail, director of health policy studies at the Fraser Institute. Understanding how many Canadians receive their health care in another country each year gives some insight into the state of health care in Canada, as well as the state of medical tourism among Canadian residents. Data on this topic are not readily available but an estimation is possible using annual wait times data from the Fraser Institute.

WH: ‘Irrelevant’ Who Edited Benghazi Talking Points

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/19/WH-Benghazi-talking-points-irrelevant

Excerpt: Appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation, White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said that it was “largely irrelevant” who edited the talking points the Obama administration trotted out in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Benghazi on September 11, 2012. Host Bob Schieffer asked, “That was just a PR plan, to send out somebody who didn’t know anything about what had happened. Why did you do that? (just as it was irrelevant who broke into the Watergate, or who lied under oath in a sexual harassment trial. ~Bob.)

State and local spending: Do tax and expenditure limits work?

http://www.aei.org/papers/economics/fiscal-policy/taxes/state-and-local-spending-do-tax-and-expenditure-limits-work/

Excerpt: Since 1978, 30 states have enacted formal limitations on taxes, budgets, or outlays as tools with which to strengthen fiscal discipline. These tax and expenditure limits (TELs) vary substantially in terms of their details, definitions, and underlying structures, but the empirical finding reported here is simple and powerful: TELs are not effective.

Big Data And Microseismic Imaging Will Accelerate The Smart Drilling Oil And Gas Revolution. Bt mark P. Mills

http://www.forbes.com/sites/markpmills/2013/05/08/big-data-and-microseismic-imaging-will-accelerate-the-smart-drilling-oil-and-gas-revolution/

Excerpt: Looking for good news in American innovation? Over the past five years, technology has improved the productivity of the typical oil or gas rig on America’s shale fields between 200 and 300 percent according to industry experts at Bentek. This stunning gain in energy yielded per dollar of capital explains why U. S oil production has grown faster than anywhere in the world.

Widow of slain Fairfax County officer endorses Cuccinelli in new TV ad

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/widow-of-slain-fairfax-county-officer-endorses-cuccinelli-in-new-tv-ad/2013/05/19/a0bb6b88-c0fb-11e2-ab60-67bba7be7813_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines

Excerpt: Ken Cuccinelli II is launching his first television ad since being named GOP nominee for Virginia governor on Monday, featuring the widow of a slain Fairfax County police officer, who endorses the attorney general.

The White House is taking a hard line on scandal talk. Can they make it stick? By Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/05/20/the-white-house-is-taking-a-hard-line-on-scandal-talk-can-they-make-it-stick/?wpisrc=nl_politics

Excerpt: The question is whether Pfeiffer can make good on that pledge. The White House has clearly decided — with Pfeiffer’s tone and rhetoric being the prime examples — that simply taking all of the political blows to come on the IRS, Benghazi and the secret seizure of phone records of Associated Press journalists without throwing a few punches of their own won’t work. Their goal then? Paint further inquiries — beyond those already ongoing — as politically motivated rather than non (or at least bi) partisan attempts to get all of the facts out. (Nixon took a hard line on Watergate, but didn’t have the media on his side. Clinton did, so established a new standard that perjury wasn’t a big deal if it was a sexual harassment case. ~Bob.)

Law Suits from the Howe & Hutton Report

Donor-Recipient Tit For Tat — This could get interesting. An unhappy donor and law center alumnus sued Georgetown University Law Center in federal court in Dallas, Texas, demanding it return his gift of $7.5 million after the university declined to name its law center fitness and health center (gym) after the donor as promised. After his initial gift of $5 million in 2000, the law center continued to solicit him and used his name on the project as part of its project promotion. But then he ran afoul of Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges of insider trading, and was found guilty by a jury and fined $1 million. The law center held off on naming the gym after him, but he pledged another $11 million in 2003, and has since paid $2.5 million. The gym was never named after him, so now he wants all of his money back. Georgetown responded by countersuing the unhappy donor, saying not only would it keep his money, but demanding he make good on the remainder of his $11 million pledge. The factual allegations of this donor-recipient lawsuit distinguish it from other such disputes. Supposedly after the donor, a wealthy entrepreneur-businessman who describes him-self as having a big ego, was informed the law center gym would not be named after him, or at least not until things quieted down, he was induced to make a much larger pledge which he fulfilled in part, according to Georgetown. But the donor’s version differs from Georgetown’s version about what would happen after the initial notoriety died down. Well, disputed facts make for good lawsuits, but perhaps the lesson for donors and recipients is to be clear, specific and comprehensive on all terms in writing regarding contributions, especially when major dollars and big egos are involved.

Obama Rex of Thebes D.C.

http://floppingaces.net/2013/05/19/obama-rex-of-thebes-d-c/

Excerpt: “If you deny Obama Rex’s omnipotent benevolence, he can destroy your reputation by leaking facts concerning your mental health, abortions, and treatments for STD. Your health records, once considered private, will now be at the disposal of this same “Secret Police” known as the IRS and will be used against you to destroy your reputation and or family if you are foolish enough to resist the inevitable. Our Leftists and the chorus cries out, “But Obama isn’t like that, he is a wonderful and beautiful man with only your best interests at heart.”

WH: “Offensive’ To Question Obama’s Actions During Benghazi

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/19/Obama-WH-offensive-Benghazi

Excerpt: Going on the offensive about President Obama’s mysterious whereabouts during the Benghazi terrorist attacks of September 11, 2012 that resulted in the deaths of four Americans including Ambassador Chris Stevens, White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said it was “offensive” for anyone to question whether the White House could have done more. The assertion “from Republicans” that Obama was not responsive enough during the attack, said Pfeiffer, is “offensive.” (This Pfeiffer was such a motor mouth, he sounded like a used car salesman doing a spiel. Razzle dazzle….smoke. –Barb. Nixon thought the same about Watergate, Clinton about his perjury. ~Bob.)

Politico: AG Holder Now Untouchable

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/05/19/Politico-AG-Holder-Now-Untouchable

Excerpt: What Politico doesn't mention is the overtly politicized manner in which Holder has run his office. From refusing to prosecute real examples of voter intimidation--because it was the Black Panthers that was doing the intimidating--to hiring extremist, left-wing activists to serve in his DOJ Voting Section, to his refusal to obey Congress during Fast & Furious, to his using intimidation to try and stop states from implementing voter ID laws, all the way to his overbroad use of powers to snoop on the phone calls of journalists, Holder has used his office to further Obama's political aims instead of to assure compliance with the nation's laws. That President Obama refuses to fire him and stubbornly stands by Holder despite all his actions is not evidence that Holder is innocent as Politico claims but merely evidence that Obama has no sense of shame. (Remember the PushMePullYou? Each one cover’s the other’s vulnerable backside….very pragmatic Machiavellian creature from a childhood movie…. –Barb. During the 2008 campaign, I met a teamster official at the local flea market. He said that one of his duties was to attend dinners of the Illinois Legislature black Caucus. All the4 boys were there, Jesse, Barack. He said one, I think Jesse, spoke about the “Big N” project. “When I get in office, I help him get in office, then he helps him” gesturing at the other black attendees. ‘They are all racists,” this union Democrat told me. ~Bob.)

Obama Administration Knew of IRS Probe During 2012 Campaign
http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/irs-scandal-political-groups/2013/05/18/id/505159?promo_code=11550-1&utm_source=11550Breitbart&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1#ixzz2TmwI1l5g 

Excerpt: "First and foremost, as acting commissioner, I want to apologize on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service for the mistakes that we made and the poor service we provided," he told the committee. "The affected organizations and the American public deserve better." But the hearing turned prickly when Miller insisted he did not deceive Congress, though he repeatedly failed to reveal the controversy last year when he was asked about it by lawmakers — even after he had been briefed. "I did not mislead Congress or the American people," Miller said. (Gee if we deserve better, can we redo the election? –Barb)

Benghazi 'Cover-Up To Protect Hillary': Attorney claims Clinton ordered Stevens to Libya facility

http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/benghazi-cover-up-to-protect-hillary/#YWjRSG8z0dVgy1ka.99 

Excerpt: “Stevens was in Benghazi because Clinton told him to go there,” Toensing explained. Hicks’ attorney also charged the Accountability Review Board, or ARB, headed by Ambassador Thomas Pickering and Admiral Michael Mullen, was a cover-up designed to contain blame for the Benghazi terror attack at a level below Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the State Department.

Obama Versus The Free Press

http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/obama-versus-the-free-press/#5Oo5Ei0m26rf3Kwh.99 

Excerpt: Last week, the Obama White House was finally exposed to Americans on both the left and right as the abusive and arrogant administration that it is. Throughout this presidency, we’ve seen examples of the constant abuse of power and living above the law – the executive orders on gun control, the assault on religious liberty through Obamacare and the refusal to enforce immigration laws to gain political favor – are just a few among many. And last week, three more egregious offenses came to light that concern all freedom-loving Americans.

Suspects Butt Dial 9-1-1 During Alleged Burglary

http://www.marklevinshow.com/common/more.php?section_id=1&m=58&ts=1368980611&article=0DC27BB1C0A211E286DEFEFDADE6840A&mode=2

Excerpt: Accidentally butt dialing someone is embarrassing or inconsequential to most, but for two Fresno, Calif., men, their cell phone mishap landed them in jail. 

Western leaders study 'gamechanging' report on global drugs trade: Review by Organisation of American States on illicit drugs 'could mark beginning of the end' of prohibition

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/18/western-leaders-game-changing-drugs-report

Excerpt: European governments and the Obama administration are this weekend studying a "gamechanging" report on global drugs policy that is being seen in some quarters as the beginning of the end for blanket prohibition….The report represents the first time any significant multilateral agency has outlined serious alternatives to prohibition, including legal market regulation or reform of the UN drug conventions. (Let the drugs in, take a percentage, sell them to addicts with money supplied by regime for disability; keep them hooked and stoned; and profit from their purchases. And all we heard from the press about SA conference was a bunch of Secret Servicemen not paying for hookers and causing a commotion and HC having beer and a “girl’s night out.” –Barb)

The Autocrat Accountants: Once government is ensnared in every aspect of life, a bureaucracy grows increasingly capricious. By Mark Steyn

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/348687/autocrat-accountants-mark-steyn

Excerpt: Speaking at Ohio State University earlier this month, Barack Obama urged students to pay no attention to those paranoid types who “incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity.” Oddly enough, in recent days the most compelling testimony for this view of government has come from the president himself, who insists with a straight face that he had no idea that the Internal Revenue Service had spent two years targeting his political enemies until he “learned about it from the same news reports that I think most people learned about this.” Like you, all he knows is what he reads in the papers. Which is odd, because his Justice Department is bugging those same papers, so you’d think he’d at least get a bit of a heads-up. 

Georgia Gov. Deal orders Bibles returned to state-owned park
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/19/georgia-gov-deal-orders-bibles-returned-to-state-owned-park/#ixzz2To1Npdyv

Excerpt: When Ed Buckner and his family went to a north Georgia state park to celebrate his son's birthday, he was surprised and concerned to find Bibles in the state-owned cabin he had rented. An atheist, Buckner believes that no religious literature should be provided in government-owned lodging, and he presented that concern to management at the Amicalola Falls State Park. Officials told Buckner they would remove the Bibles from all state park resorts while the state attorney general looked into the matter. (Heard about this on the news; knew it had to be about Gideon Bibles. Couldn’t bear to listen to the story. Per report, AG ruled okay because State did not pay for Bibles and “Wednesday, Gov. Nathan Deal ordered the Bibles returned.” Used to be Gideon Bibles and phone books in every motel room, too….no more. –Barb)

Islamic Jihad Urges Muslim Confrontation with Israeli Aggressions

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9202242130

Didn’t get the memo. ~Bob. Excerpt: "It is the time for the Islamic Ummah (community) to confront this cancerous tumor and wipe it out from the region." 

‘Rule of tyrant should fall’: Salafi protesters and police clash violently in Tunisia (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

http://rt.com/news/tunisia-tear-gas-islamists-496/

Didn’t get the memo. ~Bob. Excerpt: A young protester has died and at least 15 policemen injured, after Tunisian security forces clashed with Salafis. Police fired teargas and shots into the air to disperse the stone-throwing crowd, which gathered despite a ban.

PA continues crackdown on journalists in W. Bank

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/PA-continues-crackdown-on-Palestinian-journalists-in-WBank-313542

These are the ‘moderates” the media loves. ~Bob. Excerpt: Despite promises to honor freedom of the media, the Palestinian Authority is continuing its crackdown on Palestinian journalists in the West Bank.

Terror link of 7/7 widow and 'bomb factory'

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/400850/Terror-link-of-7-7-widow-and-bomb-factory

Didn’t get the memo. ~Bob Excerpt: THE British wife of one of the 7/7 suicide bombers may have been more closely involved in the planning of the London terror attacks than previously thought.

The 8-years-old bride who was brutally killed on first night of her wedding

https://www.facebook.com/Combatjournalistpage/posts/10151402448030583

Excerpt: Sourced from the Mullah’s animal behavior, he took out the sharp knife that he always carried with himself in his pocket and tore apart the girl’s vagina from the clitoris side upwards as well as tore it downwards towards her anus in order to make the vagina larger enough so he can enter his penis into her vagina. ("The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with 'Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death)." -- Bukhari 7.62.88. Muslims take this seriously and imitate Muhammad in this. –Robert Spencer, JihadWatch.Org. It’s their culture and we are not to judge other cultures, the progressives assure us. Tough on the little girls, though. ~Bob.)

Kenya police shoot dead "terror couple" who wounded 5 police officers in grenade attack
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/19/kenya-police-shoot-dead-terror-couple-who-wounded-5-police-officers-in-grenade/#ixzz2TqUcsvqF

Didn’t get the memo. ~Bob. Excerpt: Police shot dead a couple suspected to be terrorists after they threw four grenades, wounding five officers in an overnight stand-off, a police official said Sunday.

Kerry urges Nigerian army "restraint" against jihad terrorists

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/05/kerry-urges-nigerian-army-restraint-against-jihad-terrorists.html

Excerpt: Boko Haram has murdered 2,000 Nigerians, torched churches, terrorized untold numbers of Infidels, and John Kerry urges the Nigerian army to treat it gently. They will not, however, return the favor.

Inequality. By John Goodman

http://healthblog.ncpa.org/inequality-3/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HA#more-30390

Excerpt: Why has the topic of “inequality” been getting so much attention in recent years? I have a theory, which I’ll advance in a future piece. But first things first. What do the writers who are obsessing about it mean by “inequality”? They basically mean inequality of income. That would make sense if we all agree that the most important way in which people are unequal is differences in income. But what if that isn’t the case? Almost all of the people who are doing the complaining have chosen professions that earn less income than they could have had. That is, all these professors and editorial writers could have gone to law school or gotten an MBA or done something else that would have earned them more money. Obviously, money isn’t the most important thing in their lives. (When Conservatives speak of equality, they mean equality of opportunity. Liberals mean equality of outcomes. If I don’t study at all, and another student cracks the books, should she get an A and I an F, or should we both get a C to be equal? If men work longer hours, have more experience and more education than women, should women still be paid the same? If an orthopaedic surgeon puts in 14 years of education in the specialty, should the pay be the same for someone who majors in Peace Studies? Liberals also talk of fair, as in “paying their fair share” without defining it. And when they say “Justice” they mean “Stand and Deliver! ~Bob)

Congressman: IRS asked pro-life group about 'the content of their prayers

http://washingtonexaminer.com/congressman-irs-asked-pro-life-group-about-the-content-of-their-prayers/article/2529924

Excerpt: During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing today, Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., grilled outgoing IRS commissioner Steven Miller about the IRS targeting a pro-life group in Iowa.

Obama's Legacy? Scandal. By L. Brent Bozell 

http://patriotpost.us/opinion/18183

Excerpt: In 2011 and 2012, a disturbing number of Obama's media coddlers tried to suggest he was miraculously free of any Obama scandals. Forget Fast and Furious. Who ever heard of Solyndra? One of Obama's top Democratic fundraisers ran MF Global into the ground. Who knew? Tingly Chris Matthews said Obama was "perfect" and "clean as a whistle" and has "never done anything wrong." Some journalists still care more for Obama's image than they do about the truth. 

Before AP: DOJ Targeted Fox News' James Rosen

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/19/Obama-Administration-Pursued-Cases-Like-AP-s-In-2009?utm_source=e_breitbart_com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Breitbart+News+Roundup%2C+May+20%2C+2013&utm_campaign=20130520_m116101231_Breitbart+News+Roundup%2C+May+20%2C+2013&utm_term=More

Excerpt: Even though it has not been proven to this day that it’s illegal for a reporter to solicit information, because of the First Amendment’s protection of the press, the Obama Administration went to work. The Justice Department not only grabbed Rosen’s telephone records, they used security badge access records to track the Rosen’s visits to the State Department, traced the timing of his calls with Kim, and obtained a search warrant for Rosen’s e-mails.

Jail to the Chief

http://conservativevideos.com/2013/05/jail-to-the-chief/

Watch the video. (Wishful thinking. Wasting time and energy on the impractical. Can’t do anything without Democrat support, and they dare not anger their black constituents, regardless of the facts. ~Bob.)

Navigating the ObamaCare Maze: The government is the worst vendor possible for managing health insurance exchanges. By John C. Goodman

http://www.ncpa.org/pdfs/20130520_Navigating_the_ObamaCare_Maze-WSJ-op-ed.pdf

Excerpt: Already, the Department of Health and Human Services has thrown in the towel on small-business exchanges that were supposed to allow employees to choose among competing health plans. The opportunity to make those choices has been put off for at least a year, leaving small-business employees with only their employer's plans as options. Prospects for the individuals acquiring insurance on their own aren't much better.

The 10 P.M. Phone Call: Clinton and Obama discussed Benghazi. What did they say

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/348677/10-pm-phone-call-andrew-c-mccarthy

Excerpt: So if I were investigating Benghazi, I’d be homing in on that 10 p.m. phone call. That’s the one between President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — the one that’s gotten close to zero attention. (easy. Obama said “Don’t do anything that will inflame the Muslims. Riots will ruin the narrative that I defeated terrorism and hurt my reelection. That comes first.” ~Bob.)

Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste: Abolish the IRS

http://politicaloutcast.com/2013/05/never-let-a-good-crisis-go-to-waste-abolish-the-irs/
Excerpt: We have been presented with the opportunity of a lifetime and that’s not hyperbole.

What Hurts the Most about Benghazi. By Karin McQuillan

http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/m-what_hurts_the_most_about_benghazi.html#.UZo3BmEfQ3g.twitter

Excerpt: I can't look my old liberal friends in the eye after Benghazi. Most partisan disagreements are forgivable, and I try hard not to lose dear friends over politics. Benghazi is different. Benghazi isn't political for me. Benghazi is about Americans fighting jihadis for their lives and being abandoned to die by politicians. It is about Obama and Clinton calculating what the headlines would look like if they tried to save them or if they did nothing. They chose nothing, and they almost got away with it. (Almost? Obama was reelected and Clinton leads for 20216. ~Bob.)

Suppress the press: The Obama administration’s history of targeting the mediahttp://dailycaller.com/2013/05/20/suppress-the-press-the-obama-administrations-history-of-targeting-the-media/#ixzz2Tqq9CoD8

Excerpt: While this full-frontal assault on the media — and more importantly, news consumers — may suddenly have the press rubbing the sleep out of their eyes, it’s far from the first time Obama and his allies have used the power of the office to try to silence their critics.

Holy Cannibalism, Bat Man: Liberals Are Eating Liberals
http://clashdaily.com/2013/05/holy-cannibalism-bat-man-liberals-are-eating-liberals/

Excerpt: Grab some popcorn, folks. Pull up a chair. Get yourself a 6 pack. No … a 12pack and join with me and other liberty-minded folks as we watch the Left finally sink their comedic and inquisitive teeth into the rotted flesh of the Hope & Crap Machine that we’ve been caterwauling about for the last five, seems like twenty, years.

New York Times’ handpicked commenters love the IRS. By Patrick Howley
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/19/new-york-times-handpicked-commenters-love-the-irs/#ixzz2TqqreyMo

Excerpt: Each of the six comments Times staff selected to feature below a Saturday piece attributing the scandal to “confusion” and “staff troubles” rationalizes the federal agency’s politically motivated witch hunt of conservative groups, which included a coordinated search for conservative activist training materials. (I hope I live long enough to see the well-deserved NYT’s coming bankruptcy and going out of business sale. ~Bob.)

Susan Rice, likely NSC head, had string of failures in Africa before Benghazi
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/18/susan-rice-likely-nsc-head-had-string-of-failures-in-africa-before-benghazi/#ixzz2Tqrb3B4U

Excerpt: U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, reportedly the leading contender to be President Barack Obama’s next national security adviser, failed during the 1990s to prevent unnecessary deaths in Rwanda, provide adequate security prior to the bombings of the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, or deal effectively with the Robert Mugabe’s dictatorship in Zimbabwe.

Amid scandals, White House announces star-studded concert in East Room
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/17/amid-scandals-white-house-announces-star-studded-concert-at-white-house/#ixzz2Tqs1yKy4

Sequester for thee, but not for me. If it rains, will need some little people to hold the umbrellas so the guests don’t get wet coming in. ~Bob

5 Dead, 15 Wounded In Weekend Violence In Chicago

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/05/20/5-dead-15-wounded-in-weekend-violence/

Excerpt: Five people have been killed and at least 18 others wounded — including a 12-year-old boy left in critical condition — in shootings across the city since Friday night. (But I can’t carry a gun to protect myself from them. ~Bob.)

GPO group names over 45 firms planning to pass device tax on to providers. By Jaimy Lee
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130228/NEWS/302289957

Excerpt: More than 45 medical supply and device manufacturers have informed hospitals that they plan to pass the cost of the medical-device excise tax on to providers, according to a list compiled by the Healthcare Supply Chain Association. The HSCA, which represents group purchasing organizations, published the names of 48 companies on a new website that launched Thursday. (Obamacare bending the cost curve…up!)

At least 40 Hezbollah fighters killed in Qusayr as troops fight rebels

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/05/19/Watchdog-Syria-military-pounds-rebel-town-killing-13.html

Excerpt: At least 40 Hezbollah fighters have been reportedly killed in the Syrian town of Qusayr late on Sunday, sources told Al Arabiya, following clashes between Syrian rebels and regime forces who attempted to enter the town earlier in the day.

Police arrest 12 after large group converges on Gold Coast

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-05-19/news/chi-police-arrest-5-after-large-group-converges-on-gold-coast-20130518_1_members-heavy-police-presence-michigan-avenue

Excerpt: Eleven juveniles and one adult were arrested last night after a large group converged near the Gold Coast and were blocking traffic, police said. (Wouldn’t be PC to call it a black flash mob. ~Bob.)

Chinese Hackers Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/world/asia/chinese-hackers-resume-attacks-on-us-targets.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130520&_r=1&pagewanted=all&

Excerpt: The Obama administration had bet that “naming and shaming” the groups, first in industry reports and then in the Pentagon’s own detailed survey of Chinese military capabilities, might prompt China’s new leadership to crack down on the military’s highly organized team of hackers — or at least urge them to become more subtle. But Unit 61398, whose well-guarded 12-story white headquarters on the edges of Shanghai became the symbol of Chinese cyberpower, is back in business, according to American officials and security companies.

Karzai seeks Indian military aid amid Pakistan row

http://news.yahoo.com/karzai-seeks-indian-military-aid-amid-pakistan-row-103234707.html

Excerpt: Afghan President Hamid Karzai will seek increased military aid from India during a three-day visit starting Monday and will discuss recent cross-border clashes with Pakistan, India's archrival, an aide said. (Jizra from kuffer. ~Bob.)

About E.W. Jackson. (VA GOP candidate for Lt. Governor)

http://www.jacksonforlg.com/about/

Excerpt: E.W. Jackson served three years and was honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps. He then graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree(BA), Summa Cum Laude with a Phi Beta Kappa Key from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Three years later he graduated from Harvard Law School with a Juris Doctor (JD). While in law school, he was accepted into the Baptist ministry and studied theology at Harvard Divinity School.

True Scandal: A tea-party group targeted by Democrats gets attention from the IRS—and the FBI, OSHA, and the ATF. By Jillian Kay Melchior

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/348756/true-scandal-jillian-kay-melchior

Excerpt: Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who specializes in representing conservative organizations, says that the Engelbrecht family’s experience is “just the tip of the iceberg. . . . I think there’s definitely a Chicago-politics-style enemies list in this administration, and I think it permeates this branch of the federal government.”

Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall. By Hannan Adely

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0513/palestinian_flag_raised.php3#.UZpa-6K-o0E

Excerpt: The raising of a flag Sunday at Paterson's City Hall was like any of the dozen or so similar events held in the city each year in a nod to its diversity. Except it wasn't. That's because the flag raised — for the first time in Paterson, and possibly at any city hall in the United States — was Palestinian. (What did they do to celebrate? Stone a teenage rape victim for “adultery”? Call for the slaughter of the town’s Jews? ~Bob.)

Keeping America Afloat. By (Marine & Congressman) Duncan D. Hunter

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/9/keeping-america-afloat/

Excerpt: The old saying "he who rules the seas rules the world" is still relevant today. National and global interests—for America, in particular—are inextricably linked to the seas. With oceans covering 70 percent of the Earth's surface, they are just as important now as they were centuries ago when exploration and discovery were possible only by setting sail.

U.S. Companies Engage In Financial Jiu-Jitsu To Get Around Obamacare. By Sally Pipes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypipes/2013/05/13/u-s-companies-engage-in-financial-jiu-jitsu-to-get-around-obamacare/?utm_source=followingweekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130520

Excerpt: Obamacare’s most notorious regulations — including the mandate that employers provide health insurance to their workers or pay a fine — are still several months off. But businesses are wasting no time finding ways to free themselves from the law’s strictures.

For Barack Obama, speech isn't free when it criticizes him. By Tim Carney

http://washingtonexaminer.com/tim-carney-for-barack-obama-speech-isnt-free-when-it-criticizes-him/article/2530024?utm_source=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest%20-%2005/20/2013&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest

Excerpt: Benghazi. The IRS targeting the Tea Party. Feds snooping on the Associated Press. These dizzying controversies around the Obama administration all carry the same lesson: Watch what you say.

Fox News Says It Will Defend Reporter Against 'Co-Conspirator' Charge

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/20/justice-department-obtained-records-fox-news-journalist/

Excerpt: The Justice Department, already under fire for seizing AP phone records, also viewed e-mails of Fox News chief Washington correspondent James Rosen, calling him a criminal 'co-conspirator' for his reporting. Fox News responded: 'We will unequivocally defend his right to operate as a member of what until now has always been a free press.' 

Robert Gibbs: Maureen Dowd Has Written The Exact Same Column For The Past Eight Years
http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-gibbs-maureen-dowd-column-eight-years-same-2013-5#ixzz2Trft3NfM

Excerpt: Robert Gibbs, President Barack Obama's former press secretary, snarkily pushed back at the latest criticism from one of the administration's most prominent liberal critics — the New York Times' Maureen Dowd. On Sunday, Dowd wrote a column that unfavorably cast his last week in the same light as the scandals during the Clinton presidency. She has been a frequent critic of Obama in his second term, and Obama made special mention of her in his White House Correspondents' Dinner speech last month.

White House Chief of Staff knew about damaging IRS audit, kept Obama in the dark

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/white_house_chief_kept_staff_knew_NrteVRBP6JX3KBSX27Lw6O?utm_source=SFnewyorkpost&utm_medium=SFnewyorkpost

Excerpt: Internal Revenue Serviced scandal today spread further within the White House and closer to President Obama. White House spokesman Jay Carney today disclosed that Obama’s chief of staff, Dennis McDonough, and other top White House officials had advance warning that the IRS was targeting conservative groups. But he insisted McDonough and the other White House officials purposely kept Obama out of the loop. (You fire staff for keeping you out of the loop. Unless they did so at your orders. ~Bob.)

College Ed In This Country
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid949801312001?bckey=AQ%7E%7E%2cAAAACEco_Vk%7E%2c9bOat4XcfB_88ri1a3UMdKnLpH9aM8Fv&bclid=0&bctid=1271237687001

This is a very telling lecture. It hits at the root of what is happening in American Universities, and what is happening to our culture. This fight is as real and costly as any combat this nation has been through in the past. The battlefield is non-conventional, but so are the methods of our enemies. Please take the time to listen. (This is one of the best emails I've watched, I knew about the content, but Bridgette Gabriel's simple but passionate explanation, elaborates on how far the danger has progressed in America. I strongly urge you to take 14 minutes and watch the whole thing...it is information which is terribly important to realize and understand. One area she didn't mention is the number of Mosques being build in America when the Muslim population is so small in the same areas...funding again by the Saudi Arabians –ME)

DOJ Targeting Of Fox News Reporter James Rosen Risks Criminalizing Journalism

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/doj-fox-news-james-rosen_n_3307422.html?1369078100

Excerpt: The Obama administration’s Justice Department has moved beyond investigating and prosecuting leaks at an unprecedented level to claiming in court documents that committing a standard act of journalism may itself be criminal.

DOJ IG report rips former U.S. Attorney for leak designed to smear Fast and Furious whistleblower; Update: Two more Fox News reporters’ e-mails obtained by DOJ

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/05/20/doj-ig-report-rips-former-u-s-attorney-for-leak-designed-to-smear-fast-and-furious-whistleblower-update-two-more-fox-news-reporters-were-monitored-by-doj/

Excerpt: Today the DOJ’s Inspector General released his report and found, yep, it most certainly was Burke’s intent to retaliate against Dodson for whistleblowing.

Chief IRS Counsel Got Jeremiah Wright's Church Out of IRS Probe

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2013/05/chief-irs-counsel-got-jeremiah-wrights-church-out-of-irs-probe.html

Excerpt: It was the former IRS chief Lois Lerner who dropped the IRS bombshell in a planted question during a lawyers’ conference earlier this month. The IRS broke the IRS story in the Friday (in a night news dump, of course). Reverend Jeremiah "God damn America" Wright, Obama's long time hate preacher, got special treatment from the demagogue-in-chief.

Great news: Sequester not impacting federal bonuses. By Ed Morrissey

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/05/20/great-news-sequester-not-impacting-federal-bonuses/

Excerpt: For months, we’ve heard practically nothing from the Obama administration except how awful the sequester will be for ordinary Americans. Fortunately, it won’t be so awful for our dear leaders in the federal government — especially in the General Services Administration. The reduction of 2.3% in federal spending, which is actually a reduction in planned increases in federal spending, won’t take a bite out of the bonuses paid out to our betters in Washington:

WaPo on IRS Scandal “Hearkens back to the WORST of Watergate” – VIDEO

http://newsninja2012.com/whats-this-wapo-on-irs-scandal-hearkens-back-to-the-worst-of-watergate-video-2013-05-15/#ixzz2TrnMScs1 

Excerpt: On “Morning Joe” today, here is The Washington Post’s David Ignatius saying the “IRS Scandal” really is the kind of thing “we fear most” from Government in our country. He then said it “hearkens back to the worst of Watergate.”

Big rig carrying fruit crashes on 210 Freeway, creates jam

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-big-rig-crash-20130520,0,2642136.story

Groan.

Never Mess With This Girl’s Purse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrhSf8CEgC8

Here is a good video on why one should not mess with a Southern female--BW