Saturday, November 23, 2013

Tick-Tock: Sharyl Attkisson Documents Increasingly Panicked CMS as Healthcare.gov Counted Down to Launch

Sharyl Attkisson traces final days before doomed HealthCare.gov launch - Twitchy







Launch? Well, detonation on the launching pad, anyway. - Ace Of Spades

Obama Officials, Get This, Lied About Reason For Dropping Customer-Friendly Part of Healthcare.gov - Ace Of Spades

Now remember: The Administration's claim is that this feature was taken out due to technical snags. They're specifically denying they chose to disable the feature, because that would imply they did so for reasons of political dishonesty....

Every single of them is just lying now. Every single thing they say is a lie.

As some of you have noted, news breaking tonight that a deal with Iran has been reached that will lift economic sanctions on Iran:

Iran Thread - Larry Johnson/No Quarter
JOHN KERRY SAYS ISRAEL SAFER BECAUSE OF IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL; OBAMA CALLS IT ‘IMPORTANT FIRST STEP’ - The Blaze



Khamenei: 'Israeli regime is doomed to failure, annihilation' - Jerusalem Post
Khamenei took swipes at Israel and France during his speech to tens of thousands of volunteer Basij militiamen in Tehran, broadcast live on Iran’s Press TV.

“Zionist officials cannot be called humans, they are like animals, some of them,” said Khamenei. “The Israeli regime is doomed to failure and annihilation,” he said.

The “Zionist regime” says things that “only bring humiliation on themselves,” he said, adding that it is a regime that “emerged through force, and no phenomenon that has emerged through force has continued to exist – and this regime will not continue to exist either.”

The allegations that Iran poses a threat to the world are the “words of enemies,” he said, referring to some countries, such as the “rabid dog of the region, namely the Zionist regime,” as quoted by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency.
Barack Obama: ‘Iran Should Be Able to Access Peaceful Nuclear Energy’ (Video) - Gateway Pundit
Iran agrees to ‘dial back’ nuclear program - Twitchy



So there is breaking news that we have reached a deal with Iran on their nuke program. I'm pretty sure I've seen this movie before (see Nork deal with Clinton) and know how it's gonna end. This is nothing more than another short distraction from Obamacare as we really didn't gain anything from this deal (although the media makes it sound like this is awesome!). Tune in next week when Obama gives anti-ballistic missile secrets to Russia for some peanuts. - Ace Of Spades Overnight Open Thread



Iran, world powers reach historic nuclear deal - Washington Post

Obama leaving D.C. for three-day West Coast fundraising blitz - Washington Times

N.S.A. Report Outlined Goals for More Power


Officials at the National Security Agency, intent on maintaining its dominance in intelligence collection, pledged last year to push to expand its surveillance powers, according to a top-secret strategy document. - NYT

Written as an agency mission statement with broad goals, the five-page document said that existing American laws were not adequate to meet the needs of the N.S.A. to conduct broad surveillance in what it cited as “the golden age of Sigint,” or signals intelligence. “The interpretation and guidelines for applying our authorities, and in some cases the authorities themselves, have not kept pace with the complexity of the technology and target environments, or the operational expectations levied on N.S.A.’s mission,” the document concluded.

Using sweeping language, the paper also outlined some of the agency’s other ambitions. They included defeating the cybersecurity practices of adversaries in order to acquire the data the agency needs from “anyone, anytime, anywhere.”
Infected 50K Computer Networks With Malicious Software - nrc.nl
FBI Unit Carries Out Domestic Spying: Meet the Spies Doing the NSA's Dirty Work - Foreign Policy
TWITTER Toughening Security to Thwart Gov't Snoops - NYT

This was given to 6th graders at Milam elementary in Tupelo, MS. It is the 6th grade school. They were told to not speak about it outside of class and to not take it home. She snuck it home because she knew her parents would want to see it.

"People are really fed up with this administration and the way they politicize things. I think the DOJ is just the tip of the spear.”

Obama's Ex Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino "It's Worse Than People Know"



FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT WARNS: PRESIDENT OBAMA SEES GOVERNMENT AS A ‘SHINY NEW TOY’ - The Blaze

Former Secret Service agent Bongino: Holder’s Justice Dept. is a ‘travesty’ - Katie McHugh/Daily Caller

Former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino, author of the newly-released book “Life Inside the Bubble: Why a Top-Ranked Secret Service Agent Walked Away From It All,” left his post after a 12-year run to run for Congress as a Republican, turning his back on President Barack Obama and the “fog of scandals” he believes have enveloped the Obama administration....

Former Secret Service Agent Says Obama's True 'Religion is Government' - Mediaite

Dan Bongino is a 12-year Secret Service veteran who recently announced that after protecting President Barack Obama for four years he would be leaving his job to run for Congress in Maryland as a Republican. Bongino appeared on Steve Malzberg’s NewsMax show Friday to both discuss his campaign and promote his new book, Life Inside the Bubble.

Asked to explain the difference between Obama and President George W. Bush, who he spent most of his Secret Service career protecting, Bongino said Obama “does what’s best for his ideology.” Alluding to those who don’t believe the president is Christian, he said, “his religion is government, and when your religion is government you do anything to further that.”

Former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino: Obama Presidency is 'Worse Than People Know' - IJ Review

"Phony scandals don't come home in body bags."
__________________

Dan Bongino for Congress
◼ Get Dan Bongino's book: Life Inside the Bubble: Why a Top-Ranked Secret Service Agent Walked Away From It All - Available on Amazon

◼ ADDED: Dan Bongino cancels MSNBC appearance because of Martin Bashir’s comments about Palin… - THE RIGHT SCOOP

Silver Lining For GOP: Nuclear Option Could Make Repealing ObamaCare Easier

Conservatives are outraged over Harry Reid pulling the trigger on the so-called nuclear option in the Senate, making it impossible for Republicans to stop President Obama from nominating anyone he wants to positions in the government.

But some on the right are finding comfort in the theory that Reid’s legislative maneuver could actually make it easier for Republicans to eventually repeal Obamacare — if all the pieces come together in 2017.

...“There’s no limiting principle in the principle they’re invoking,” Will said on Special Report on Fox News on Thursday night. “That is majorities should rule all the time.”

He continued: “What this means is if in the spring of 2017 there’s a Republican president, which there could be, the Republicans still hold the House, and they have 51 senators, they can repeal Obamacare with 51 votes. And I’m not sure the people who did this today have thought this.”

They think it’s very likely that they will lose their Senate majority in 2014. They are essentially writing off the last two years of Obama’s presidency, which means getting as much done as possible right now.

Democrats Give Up 2014 With the Filibuster - Megan McArdle/Bloomberg

I’m not going to insult your intelligence by pretending there’s a right and a wrong side in the just-concluded battle over the filibuster. At this point, arguments about the justice of the filibuster are entirely instrumental: At this point, arguments about the justice of the filibuster are entirely instrumental: To know what someone is going to write, you need only know which party they supported in the last election....

What’s left to discuss is what this means.

Saudi Prince Says Iran Playing Obama Like A Fiddle


An influential Saudi prince has offered an astonishingly blunt assessment of Barack Obama and his dealings with Iran over its nuclear threat: Obama is being played. Moreover, the prince even sided with Israel. - Michael Miller/IJ Review

“There’s no confidence in the Obama administration doing the right thing with Iran. We’re really concerned — Israel, Saudi Arabia, the Middle East countries — about this,” Prince Alwaleed bin Talal told Bloomberg.

“Obama is in so much of a rush to have a deal with Iran He wants anything. He’s so wounded. It’s very scary. Look, the 2014 elections are going to begin. Within two months they’re going to start campaigning. Thirty-nine members of his own party in the House have already moved away from him on ObamaCare. That’s scary for him.”

The Smile of Iran’s Chief Nuclear Negotiator - Claudia Rosett/PJMedia

Why is Zarif smiling? There is the obvious. Those world powers across the table are itching to hand Iran what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accurately described as the “deal of the century” — the ticket to the nuclear arsenal the Tehran regime covets, and for which the infrastructure would be left in place. So eager are some of these world powers to produce a signed piece of paper that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, for the second time in a month, decided to race to Geneva, ready to close the deal.

Dangerous Times: A Looming Strategic Disaster in the Middle East. - James Lewis/American Thinker

If you think ObamaCare is bad, just wait till you hear the new "peace" agreement that is due to be imposed on the Middle East over the coming weeks. Even if it works, a giant if, it will make the world much more dangerous:
1. Iran will have nuclear weapons, or it will be balanced right on the edge -- within one month or less to make nukes.
2. Saudi Arabia and Egypt will go nuclear, to balance Iran.
3. America's role as a guarantor of peace will be blown, crushed by Obama's betrayal of Israel and the Arabs. America's nuclear umbrella, which has kept world from major war since 1949, was always based on trust. Once you blow that trust, the umbrella disappears....

SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS:


◼ Via The Kitchen Cabinet

Zogby Report Card: Highest-yet job disapproval at 57%
Rasmussen: Fifty-three percent (53%) disapprove


"Trust is like virginity: once you lose it it's hard to get it back. - Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner

“Most ominous for Mr. Obama is that 57 percent now disapprove of his job. That is his worst number yet. This includes 57 percent of men and 55 percent of women; 51 percent of moderates, 24 percent of liberals and 24 percent of Democrats; 66 percent of independents and 40 percent of Hispanics.

‪#‎Obama‬: Strongly Approve: 24%... Strongly Disapprove: 43%... Index: -19… Total Approval: 46% - Rasmussen

#9724; What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Rasmussen

Have the woes of Obamacare trumped the government shutdown? Republicans have rebounded from a seven-point deficit a month ago to take a one-point lead over Democrats – 40% to 39% - on the latest Generic Congressional Ballot.

Forty-three percent (43%) of voters now trust the GOP more to handle health care. Thirty-nine percent (39%) trust Democrats more. This is the lowest level of trust in Democrats on this issue since January 2011 and the biggest Republican lead since October of last year.

Fallout from the problems associated with the health care law have driven President Obama’s job approval ratings to the lowest levels of his presidency, and those ratings show little sign of improving.

Twenty-four percent (24%) of voters believe those opposed to the president’s policies are motivated by racism. Sixty percent (60%) think the opposition is primarily because the policies are bad.

Seriously, this is the best deconstruction of Obamacare you will ever see



Share this.

The Scheme behind the Obamacare Fraud - Andrew C. McCarthy/National Review
"'If you like your plan, you can keep your plan' barely scratches the surface of Obamacare’s deceit." Brilliant. You need read no other piece about it. - Discussion at Lucianne
Manias, Panics and ObamaCare Crashes - Wall Street Journal Editorial
Obamacare is Obama’s Obamacare. (Not his Katrina.) - Biased JournOlist Ezra Kein/Washington Post
Daily Kos Diarist: My College Betrayed By ObamaCare ´Marketing Slogans´ - John Nolte/Breitbart

At Hot Air, ◼ Guy Benson adds:
Convente insists that he still supports the law, even though it’s doing real harm to the people around him. Good stuff. What’s extra tasty about his sad-face post is that it’s attached to another DailyKos diary entry entitled, “Confessions of an Obamacare advocate with cancelled policy, facing 38 percent premium hike.” Which is not to be confused with a separate ferocious DailyKos rant authored by an embittered Obamacare fan back in September (“what the hell kind of reform is this?”)

Worse Than ObamaCare

Worse Than ObamaCare: Obama’s biggest failure is that he hobbled the U.S. economy. - Wall St. Journal via Instapundit

The ObamaCare train wreck is plowing through the White House in super slow-mo on screens everywhere, splintering reputations and presidential approval ratings.... No question, it's tough on Barack Obama. But what about the rest of us? For many Americans, the Obama leadership meltdown began five years ago....

Washington these days kvetches a lot about what Healthcare.gov is doing to the Obama "legacy." Far worse than ObamaCare, though, is that the 44th president in his second term presides over a great nation that is punching so far below its weight that large swaths of its people have lost heart.

For five years, news stories have chronicled the social and economic deterioration in America of people with no jobs or weak jobs....

Barack Obama has the U.S. economy on lockdown. It's the worst thing this president has done. American resilience, and elections, mean it won't stay this way forever. But for a lot of poor and middle-class folks, living with mom in the basement is getting old.

"Well, golly, Mr. President, think how prepared we might have been to discuss “fixes” if you and the entire White House and HHS hadn’t lied to the American public all year long about the program’s readiness for the October 1st launch. Think about what we might have been able to do to avoid the cancellation of millions of policies if you hadn’t lied for the last three-plus years by insisting, “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan.” Think about what we might have done on real cost-lowering reform had Democrats not shoved an unpopular massive government intervention onto the health-care sector through legislative chicanery in 2010."



Weekly addresses: GOP sticks to health care, Obama pivots to the economy - CNN

Obama: How about we change the subject, mm-kay? - Ed Morrissey/HotAir

Well, who can blame him? Today’s competing radio addresses tell the meta-story, as CNN reports. Republicans focused on the meltdown at HHS over the ObamaCare rollout, while Barack Obama provided his 387th pivot to the economy...
“Think about what we could do if a reckless few didn’t hold the economy hostage every few months, or waste time on dozens of votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act rather than try to help us fix it,” he said.
Think about what might have happened if we had found out what was in the bill before we passed it.

Anyway, President Pivot, good luck with this latest attempt to use the economy as a subject change away from your failures. Say, what is the civilian workforce population rate these days, anyway? At a new 35-year low after 720,000 people left the workforce in October, I see.

Worse Than ObamaCare: Obama’s biggest failure is that he hobbled the U.S. economy. - Wall St. Journal via Instapundit



Democrat Dababneh wins AD 45 special election, restoring dreaded supermajority in California

Democrat Matt Dababneh has narrowly won a Los Angeles-area special election, reinstating a supermajority for Assembly Democrats. - Sacramento Bee

Dababneh's victory once again gives Democrats control over two-thirds of the seats in the Assembly, enabling them to pass taxes or put ballot measures before voters without Republican assent. In a prepared statement, Speaker John A. PĂ©rez, D-Los Angeles, sounded a tone of moderation.

"Although Democrats once again enjoy a two-third majority in the Assembly, we will continue to work on bipartisan solutions to the challenges facing our state," PĂ©rez said. "Creating jobs, keeping our budget balanced, and improving the way state government works will continue to be our priorities, just as they have during the times we did not enjoy the 2/3 supermajority during the past year."

Friday, November 22, 2013

“(E)verything” Tea Partiers said “about Obamacare turned out to be true,” but instead of “thanking the Tea Party, or standing with us, the Republican establishment—led by Mitch McConnell—is threatening to punch us in the nose.”

EXCLUSIVE–TEA PARTY TO MITCH MCCONNELL: 'YOU CANNOT WIN WITHOUT US' - Breitbart

“If they’ve got so much fight in them, then where were they when we needed them to stand up and fight against Obamacare?” (Tea Party Patriots national coordinator Jenny Beth) Martin said.

Exclusive: Mitch McConnell did not criticize Tea Party in conference call to donors - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @charlesspiering

Dad Takes Breathtaking Video of His Premature Son’s 107 Days in the NICU



Benjamin Scot is a photographer for Abercrombie & Fitch and a filmmaker, so what better way to capture son Miles’ fight for life than in video form? - Bristol Palin

"...There's nothing surprising or disturbing about seeing that the party is somewhat organized and disciplined, and the topics raised are all legitimate, on-the-merits attacks on Obamacare, not any weird or scurrilous tactics."

NYT publishes the House Republicans' 18-page talking points memo on Obamacare. - Althouse

The Insiders: New Obamacare marketing
– ‘Sign up and shut up or the IRS will be calling’

Obamacare was marketed to voters as a health-care overhaul that would allow Americans to benefit from lower costs and more options, and keep their current insurance and stay with their existing doctors if they wanted to. Well, for millions of Americans, none of that is true. As the truth about Obamacare reveals itself, President Obama has admitted that he will have to “remarket and rebrand” his plan. - Ed Rogers/Washington Post

The Democrats’ sappy pleas that they understand they have to win back consumers by “fixing” what’s wrong with Obamacare are bogus. Consumers don’t have a choice. Americans won’t be using the Obamacare exchanges because they find the Obamacare branding and marketing pitches informative and appealing, they will use the exchanges because if they don’t, Obama’s IRS will fine them. The gentle appeals that we will be hearing as a result of all the “rebranding” and “remarketing” are just cynical, doe-eyed scams. The truth is, if you don’t sign up for Obamacare, the IRS is coming after you. Now that’s effective marketing. And the White House knows it.

A Nation Mourns: November 22, 1963, Dallas, TX
President John F. Kennedy, Assassinated


Shortly after noon on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. - JFK Library

"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

-John F. Kennedy

How JFK's assassination changed American politics - Michael Barone/Washington Examiner @michaelbarone

Almost every American of a certain age remembers where he was when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963.

The nation stopped and mourned. In their grief, few Americans wondered how the tragedy would affect domestic politics, and in the short run relatively little changed. “Let us continue,” President Lyndon Johnson said when he addressed Congress after the funeral.

In the longer run, the effect on partisan politics, on the people and press and parties, was profound. And those effects continue to reverberate today.


A previously unpublished photograph of John and Jackie's wedding party by Toni Frissell.


50 Years After Kennedy Assassination, New Book Offers Gripping Details - Heritage

ON FURTHER REVIEW, THE SHUTDOWN MAY HAVE BEEN A WIN

Republicans who were willing to shut down the government in order to stop Obamacare now look prescient. - Joel Pollak//Breitbart

The federal government shutdown was rated by most observers as a disaster for Republicans. Yet the failure of Obamacare has sent Democrats into a panic, and should prompt a re-evaluation of the October fight. There is no doubt that Democrats would not be in the same political mess if they had agreed to a one-year delay in Obamacare, perhaps in exchange for passage of immigration reform. Now they have no way out....

Now it is even more obvious that Democrats should have taken Republicans' offer to fund the federal government but delay the individual mandate for a year. Look at all they would have avoided: the public loss of trust in President Obama; the outrage over being forced to buy insurance on a faulty website after losing individual coverage; and, above all, the collapse of public confidence in the prospects of big government....

Thursday, November 21, 2013

OBAMACARE FORCES WOMAN INTO WELFARE PROGRAM

VIDEO AT LINK

Thursday, in the Wall Street Journal, Nicole Hopkins tells the heartbreaking and infuriating story of how the injustice that is ObamaCare forced her mother, 52-year-old Charlene Hopkins, on to the welfare program known as Medicaid. - John Nolte/Breitbart

Yes, forced. First, ObamaCare canceled a policy she was happy with, and then the ObamaCare exchange tricked her into signing up for Medicaid by making that her only option....

So not only was this poor woman conned into signing up for welfare, apparently she can't opt out -- which makes sense. Whether it is against their will or not, the more people Obama can herd onto his scorecard, the better.

The thing is, Hopkins has always been eligible for Medicaid. But she is a dying breed of American -- one with too much self-respect to accept a government handout when she can find a way to make it on her own.

Something cold-hearted leftist technocrats like Barack Obama, Ezra Klein, Josh Barro, and much of the mainstream media will never understand is a woman like Charlene Hopkins: Someone who took great pride in making it on her own but is now despairing and demoralized (her daughter's words) to find herself forced into welfare.
Before ObamaCare, Medicaid was one option. Not the option. Before this, she had never been, in effect, ordered to take a handout. Now she has been forced to join the government-reliant poor, though she would prefer to contribute her two mites. The authorities behind "affordable care" had erased her right to calculate what she was willing to spend to preserve her dignity—to determine what she thinks is affordable.

That little contribution can mean the difference between dignity and despair.
The wake of human destruction behind ObamaCare's rollout is just beginning to be tolled -- millions of cancellations and tens of millions more likely coming, premium and deductible increases on middle class families who can’t afford them, the loss of doctors….

But how many Charlene Hopkins are out there? How many thousands, tens of thousands, or millions have or will be forced by ObamaCare into a choice that was unthinkable just the day before: Go without health insurance or give up a piece of your dignity by accepting a government handout?

◼ AND MORE: TOP CANCER HOSPITAL NOT INCLUDED ON OBAMACARE PLANS SOLD IN NY - John Sexton/Breitbart

One of New York's top hospitals, the first one in the world dedicated to treating cancer, is not currently included in any Obamacare plans being sold in the state.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is one of the largest cancer hospitals in the world, but for the million or so New Yorkers who are eventually expected to purchase insurance over the state's exchange, treatment there will not be part of their coverage....

The situation in New York is a part of a larger pattern. In Washington, Seattle's Children's Hospital is suing the state because it was left out of plans offered on the state's exchange.

Sticker shock hits health exchange shoppers - USA Today

IMUS TO MSNBC PRESIDENT FOR NOT FIRING BASHIR: 'COME ON, MAN!'

"They are going to keep him on the air?" Imus said. "Come on, man. What are you, nuts?" - Tony Lee/Breitbart

MSNBC fired Imus a week after he made his remarks in April 2007, but has not taken any action against Bashir. Back in 2007, Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama said Imus should be fired and MSNBC should not tolerate such "hateful" rhetoric that adds to the "coarsening" of the culture. Obama said such rhetoric made his daughters feel less than anybody else, but Obama has not commented on Bashir's violent rhetoric against females. Bashir apologized on Monday and conceded his words were "wholly inappropriate" and "offensive."

DANA PERINO: BASHIR ATTACK ON PALIN 'PREMEDITATED' - Tony Lee/Breitbart

Appearing on Hannity, Perino noted that "many people had to approve what he said" because it was not like Bashir made an off-the-cuff remark. Perino said there was a graphic on the screen and Bashir's misogynistic remarks were loaded into a Teleprompter.

"It wasn't an accident," she said. "That was a premeditated attack on Governor Palin."

Bashir claimed that nobody at MSNBC besides himself was responsible for his vileness, saying in his apology that his "wholly unacceptable" and "offensive" words "have brought shame upon my friends and colleagues at this network, none of whom were responsible for the things that I said."

MSNBC WOMEN SILENT ON BASHIR, CALLED FOR NFL PLAYER'S JOB AFTER HE THREATEND TO 'SH*T' IN TEAMMATE'S MOUTH - Kevin Scholla/Breitbart

Interestingly enough, some of the MSNBC women (including pseudo-Republican Abby Huntsman on The Cycle) were whistling quite a different tune when it came to Incognito, who was suspended indefinitely after the alleged bullying of Martin. A transcript of a voicemail Incognito left for Martin included, "I want to s--- in your f---ing mouth."

On an episode of The Cycle, Huntsman hoped Incognito's bullying would cost him his job (5:19).

"What’s really going on with this so-called nuclear option is that Obama wants to run this nation out of the Oval Office."


Mark Levin: This nation is in grave jeopardy like nothing I’ve ever seen before… - The Right Scoop



Mark Levin Goes Nuclear On Obama, Reid, McConnell Over Filibuster Vote - Nice Deb

NYTIMES hails return of 'Democracy' to Senate...
FLASHBACK 2005: NYT 'We were wrong'...

Naked Emperor: The real Obama is coming into sight for the American people for the first time, and they don’t like what they see. - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

...There are dangers in what Obama has done. But the bigger point is that slowly but surely he is stripping down to who he really is.

From NSA spying run amok, to usurpation of congressional power through administrative orders, to lying to the American people about keeping their plans, the real Obama is coming into sight for the American people for the first time,

And as the current polling reflects, they don’t like this Emperor without clothes.

California votes against extending canceled health policies

Spurning President Obama’s plan for canceled policies, California's health insurance exchange voted against any extension for about 1 million policyholders in the state. - LA Times

The vote by the state exchange marks a break with the president since California has been a strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act. Some other Democrat-led states, such as Washington and Minnesota, have also rejected the president's idea on cancellations.

Obama's plan last week came in response to a public uproar over millions of consumers nationwide losing their coverage.





BREAK THE RULES


SENATE DEMOCRATS DETONATE “NUCLEAR OPTION” BARRING NOMINEE FILIBUSTER - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

Today, the odious Harry Reid didn’t have much to say about the Founding Fathers and their vision of checks, balances, and extended debate. He very much wants one person, the increasingly dictatorial Barack Obama, and his Party to have total control. He also very much wants everyone to stop talking about the ObamaCare disaster. Democrats desperately needed a distraction, a political win, and enough power to set the table before they risk becoming a Senate minority in the next election. They changed the rule on a party-line vote, 52-48, actually losing three of their number – Carl Levin of Michigan, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas – who sided with the Republican opposition.

Reid, Democrats trigger ‘nuclear’ option; eliminate most filibusters on nominees - Paul Kane/Washington Post
The rule change means federal judge nominees and executive-office appointments can be confirmed by a simple majority of senators, rather than the 60-vote super majority that has been required for more than two centuries.

The change does not apply to Supreme Court nominations. But the vote, mostly along party lines, reverses nearly 225 years of precedent and dramatically alters the landscape for both Democratic and Republican presidents, especially if their own political party holds a majority of, but fewer than 60, Senate seats.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accused Democrats of a power grab and suggested that they will regret their decision if Republicans regain control of the chamber.

“We’re not interested in having a gun put to our head any longer,” McConnell said. “Some of us have been around here long enough to know that the shoe is sometimes on the other foot.” McConnell then addressed Democrats directly, saying: “You may regret this a lot sooner than you think,” he said.









Democrats Have Amnesia About Using the Nuclear Option Ending Filibusters - caffeinatedthoughts

This was a mistake, and it’s amazing how Democrats have forgotten the arguments they employed when Republicans wrongly considered and rightly rejected such a move under President George W. Bush.

In 2005 then Senator Barack Obama called for his colleagues considering the nuclear option to consider “free and democratic debate.” : “Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to think about the implications of what has been called the nuclear option and what effect that might have on this Chamber and on this country. I urge all of us to think not just about winning every debate but about protecting free and democratic debate.” (Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), Floor Remarks, Washington, DC, 4/13/05)

Obama: “The American people want less partisanship in this town, but everyone in this chamber knows that if the majority chooses to end the filibuster, if they choose to change the rules and put an end to democratic debate, then the fighting, the bitterness, and the gridlock will only get worse.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Floor Remarks, Washington, D.C., 4/13/05)



FLASHBACK: Obama: No on Nuclear Option, Must Protect ‘Free and Democratic Debate - Washington Free Beacon
OBAMA, 2005: NUCLEAR OPTION WILL MAKE 'BITTERNESS AND GRIDLOCK' WORSE - Breitbart



FLASHBACK: Biden on Nuclear Option: ‘It’s a Fundamental Power Grab’ - Washington Free Beacon

FLASHBACK: Reid in 2008: Nuclear Option 'Will Ruin Our Country' - JOHN MCCORMACK/WEEKLY STANDARD

This afternoon, Senate majority leader Harry Reid deployed the so-called "nuclear option," changing the Senate rules to get rid of the 60-vote requirement to end a filibuster on judicial nominees or cabinet nominees. The Washington Free Beacon reports that in 2008, Reid denounced Republican consideration of the "nuclear option" and vowed that he would never use it:
“As long as I am the Leader, the answer’s no,” he said. “I think we should just forget that. That is a black chapter in the history of the Senate. I hope we never, ever get to that again because I really do believe it will ruin our country.
Harry Reid's 'nuclear option,' then and now - Washington Examiner



GOP Leader McConnell: Nuclear Option Doesn’t ‘Distract from Obamacare,’ It ‘Reminds’ Voters of It (Video) - Gateway Pundit



Ted Cruz on Nuclear Option: Harry Reid broke his promise just like Obama - The Right Scoop

As President Obama said, They Got Away With It - Heritage

Polls are not elections

A Second Chance for Republicans - Daniel Horowitz/RedState

Now that the entire country sees the ten-alarm fire that has set our healthcare system ablaze, Democrats feel compelled to do something. Their Mr. Fix It plans are akin to an arsonist posing for a photo op with a 2-liter pitcher of water to put out the wildfire. Will Republicans continue to pose with them in the photo op or will they kick them aside and smother the fire?

There are two clear observations about Obamacare at this point: it cannot be fixed and it will not collapse on its own. As we are now seeing from the cancelled insurance plans, the industry has been working on revamping the insurance market for three years. Obamacare has already collapsed the healthcare system. It can only be rebuilt by completely repealing the law.

Similarly, the law won’t go away by itself....

As we’ve said many times, we cannot afford to wait until the website is fixed and the dependency takes root. It’s tempting for Republicans to just sit back and enjoy the polling data, but polling data will not get rid of the law. Polls are not elections. And even 2014 will not save us. In the best case scenario, we will have 51 seats in the Senate with a unified filibuster-strong Democrat minority that, when coupled with the wayward Republicans, will give Senator Harry Reid a defacto majority. Moreover, President Obama will still be president. Waiting until 2017 is simply unacceptable.

Obama’s Image Machine: Monopolistic Propaganda Funded by You

News organizations protest White House restrictions on independent photo coverage. - Ron Fournier/National Journal

...Unlike media photographers, official White House photographers are paid by taxpayers and report to the president. Their job is to make Obama look good. They are propagandists – in the purest sense of the word....

Insurance company pokes fun at healthcare.gov in new ads







"Things don't always work like they're supposed to," the narrator says. "Good thing the government exchange website isn't the only place to buy health insurance." - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @charlesspiering

OFA offers advice to help you ruin Thanksgiving


On Monday, President Obama urged Americans to talk about Obamacare at holiday parties. - Twitchy



PLAN YOUR TALK

Take a moment to plan when, where, and how you’ll talk to your family about health insurance.



DRUDGE:
'TIME' RUNNING OUT...
Obama, Dems dump 'Obamacare'...
VIDEO: White House aides feared website issues before launch...
Email chain details concerns...
Website mocked by insurance company...
POLL: 93% want to see altered or repealed...
ANALYSIS: 50 to 100 million insurance cancellations coming...
Plans sold through exchanges not accepted at some prestigious NYC hospitals...
WSJ: Forced into Medicaid...
VIDEO: 'Navigator' Director Conspires to Release Private Data...
Doctors are concerned about new pay scales...

Domain Awareness Center: Oakland moves forward with surveillance center...

The council voted 6-1 to approve an incremental resolution allowing the city to hire a new contractor to assemble the Domain Awareness Center, a surveillance hub that would allow police and city officials to continuously monitor video cameras, gunshot detectors and license-plate readers across the city.

Dozens of Oakland residents, deeply worried the center would allow the city to spy on people's everyday lives, tried to turn the resolution into a referendum on surveillance and persuade council members to stall, or scrap, the process.

"Nobody in Oakland wants to be monitored 24/7," said Oakland permaculture designer Ryan Rising, 25. "I see it as a pilot program for other cities to build their own surveillance centers."

..."I don't want to live in a city that is testing this giant surveillance system, because I believe it is going to be used to criminalize normal existence," said Magdalena Kazmierczak, 24, who lives in West Oakland.

Obamacare Then, Affordable Care Act Now



Must-see flashback captures Dems’ snicker-worthy evolution on the term ‘Obamacare’ [video] - Twitchy



‘Brilliant’: Dennis Miller smacks down Obama’s newfound distaste for the term ‘Obamacare’ - Twitchy



New GOP strategy on ObamaCare: Let it burn

...the news will get worse for Democrats as the year unfolds anyway. National Journal’s Sam Baker notes (as I have several times) that the decision to delay the employer mandate until 2015 means that the pain of the transition will happen right before the midterms. This may turn out to be the single worst political decision Barack Obama ever made...

It could be a very fortunate catastrophe. Want to repeal Obamacare? Want to pass sweeping national restrictions on abortion? Want to drill for oil in Alaska? Harry Reid is in the process of making all that happen

Let’s get nuclear! Reid threatens to score an own-goal - conservativeintel.com

So, what happens if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid comes forward next week and changes Senate rules with 51 votes — that is, he invokes the so-called nuclear option — in order to shoehorn in a couple of Obama nominees?



Wednesday, November 20, 2013

UGH: Freshman Republican Congressman arrested for COCAINE possession

Freshman Republican Congressman Trey Radel has been arrested on a misdemeanor charge of cocaine possession and he readily admits it - The Right Scoop
FLORIDA REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO COCAINE POSSESSION - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

Radel is a sitting member of Congress, and his decision-making skills are a major component of the job he was elected to do. Hopefully he will indeed take this opportunity to turn over a new leaf and seek redemption. We can all join in wishing him and his family the best, but it’s not easy to see how he can function in Congress after betraying his constituents this way, to say nothing of the demands of a rehab program.

Rubio on his anti-bailout bill: The insurance industry under ObamaCare is headed for a death spiral



Remember, the “risk corridor” (a.k.a. bailout) provisions of the law say that if a plan on the exchange comes in slightly under budget, the insurer has to cut a check for the difference to HHS. If it comes in slightly over budget, HHS cuts a check for the difference to them. - HOTAIR

Without those provisions, an insurer who came in way over budget would need to charge higher premiums next year to cover its loss, and higher premiums are the first baby step towards a “death spiral” — premiums increase, healthy people decide the new premiums are too expensive and drop the plan, the remaining risk pool is thus older and sicker, then the insurer has no choice but to increase premiums again, and on and on. Eventually premiums become so expensive that there’s not enough healthy people left in the risk pool to keep it afloat and the plan goes belly up.

Sarah Palin CANCELS Today Show interview because MSNBC won’t discipline Martin Bashir

Palin has now canceled Lauer’s scheduled trip to Wasilla, a source close to her tells me. It’s not because Palin is upset with Lauer or the “Today” show, but as a protest against NBC for not taking action against Bashir. In fact, Palin once sat in as a “Today”co-host. - The Right Scoop

DEE DEE MYERS, FIRST FEMALE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY CALLS FOR BASHIR'S FIRING - Tony Lee/Breitbart
Myers, who has written a book about why women leaders should rule the world, spoke out after Breitbart News reported that feminist and women's groups had been silent on Bashir's remarks. Talk radio host Mark Levin suggested women's groups were silent because Palin is not a left-wing politician.

After Bashir apologized on his show on Monday for words that he admitted were "wholly inappropriate" and "offensive," Breitbart News exclusively obtained a letter from Palin's PAC, SarahPAC, that asked MSNBC President Phil Griffin and NBC News President Deborah Turness what action the network would take against Bashir for his "appalling" words. It also mentions that MSNBC has set a precedent of firing and disciplining other anchors for "offensive language."

"You fired Don Imus for offensive language in describing the Rutgers University Women’s Basketball team, you suspended Alec Baldwin, and yet nothing has happened to Mr. Bashir," the letter reads. "Are we to assume then, that disciplinary procedures at your network take place based on the target of the remarks rather than the remarks themselves?"
NOW, FEMINIST MAJORITY FOUNDATION GO SILENT ON BASHIR'S PALIN MISOGYNY - Ben Shapiro/Breitbart

On Tuesday, TruthRevolt reported that the National Organization for Women (NOW) had repeatedly ignored request for comment on MSNBC host Martin Bashir’s sexist comments stating that Sarah Palin deserved to have someone “p*ss” and “sh*t” in her mouth. NOW’s website currently lists “Stopping Violence Against Women” as one of its chief goals.

NOW isn’t the only major feminist group to go silent over Bashir’s anti-Palin bigotry. The Feminist Majority Foundation has also avoided comment on Bashir’s statements, despite describing itself as a “cutting edge organization dedicated to women's equality, reproductive health, and non-violence. In all spheres, FMF utilizes research and action to empower women economically, socially, and politically.”

LEVIN CONDEMNS WOMEN'S GROUPS' SILENCE ON MSNBC HOST ATTACKING PALIN - Tony Lee/Breitbart

Healthcare.gov Crashes In Front of Sebelius at Obamacare Promotional Event

The whole project will remain a 'work in progress' well after November 30, she now says. Why, yes. Yes it will (via the Washington Free Beacon):



It's okay. You're allowed to laugh. And these folks were struggling with the site's front end, which Obamacare's IT chief Henry Chao testified yesterday is 100 percent operational -- though he's conceded that major flaws remain. What isn't even close to 100 percent built is Obamacare's technological back end, which entails processing consumers' data and actually enrolling people. Chao mentioned that the program's payment systems and accounting systems still need to be constructed. Health insurance expert Bob Laszewski compared the latter issue to opening a bank without having the capacity to send customers monthly statements....

Sebelius asked to explain $2B in Obamacare loans - Bob Unruh

'What amount does HHS expect to be repaid?'

Just when it seems the Obamacare experience couldn’t get any worse – the website malfunctions, millions of policies have been canceled, only thousands are able to sign up and premiums are skyrocketing – come the questions about loans.

“Out of the $1.98 billion awarded to CO-OPs, what amount does HHS expect to be repaid? What is the period of time by which HHS expects these funds to be repaid?” were among the questions presented to Sebelius.

The questions were raised in a letter from Sens. Orrin Hatch, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee; Lamar Alexander, ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; Michael Enzi, ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families; Tom Coburn, ranking member of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee; and Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee on Oversight....

High-speed rail consultant costs near $600 million even before construction starts

The latest accounting by the California High-Speed Rail Authority to state lawmakers indicates that the agency has spent almost $600 million on engineering and environmental consultants -- all without turning a shovelful of dirt on construction. - Fresno Bee

To date, the only section for which the rail authority and the Federal Railroad Administration have certified environmental review is the Merced-Fresno section -- and even that omits the area around Chowchilla, in Madera County, as consultants evaluate options for a junction where the San Jose-Merced rail line would join with the Merced-Fresno line.

The rail authority initially anticipated that all of those environmental certifications for sections between Merced and Los Angeles would be done by early 2014. The project report now indicates that some of those environmental reports won't be done until late 2015 -- more than two years behind schedule.

BREAKING NEW VIDEO: Enroll America Director (A Kathleen Sebelius-linked group) Conspires to Release Private Data for Political Purposes:



http://www.projectveritas.com/

Texas Enroll America Communications Lead Chris Tarango conspires to release private data to help a political action committee and admits this type of thing has happened in the past....

Do you know where your personal data is going?

After meeting with several Obamacare Navigators who openly encouraged our undercover reporters to lie about income status, health history and more, it became clear that personal data was also being “cross-pollinated.”

Enter Enroll America, a Sebelius-linked group dedicated to signing people up for Obamacare and Chris Tarango, Texas Enroll America Communications Director who Project Veritas caught on tape agreeing to help obtain a private list of potential Obamacare enrollee data for election/political purposes. Tarango goes so far to say he’ll “Do whatever it f****** takes.”







UPDATE: ◼ Enroll America Director Chris Tarango RESIGNS following Project Veritas investigation showing him conspiring to sell private data to a political campaign

California special election in 45th Assembly District remains close

A special election that could restore the Democratic supermajority in California's Assembly hung in the balance on Wednesday, with uncounted ballots representing far more votes than the current margin between the two candidates. - Sacramento Bee

As of Tuesday evening, the Secretary of State's office reported that Democrat Matt Dababneh, a former aide to U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, held a slender 173 vote lead over his opponent, Republican Susan Shelley.

The lefties were too busy drinking their Kool-aid, demonizing anyone who stood in the way of their Obamacare program, and so convinced of their intellectual superiority to even consider that maybe, just maybe we extremely extreme extremist terrorist, anarchist, racist, knuckle dragging, extra chromosomed, low sloping foreheaded, heartless, rednecked, mass-murdering haters were right about Obamacare all along.

◼ Comment by "Michael The Magnificent" at Althouse: Whatever happened to the "Republicans are committing suicide" meme?

Ticking Time Bomb Predicted: 50-100 MILLION insurance policy cancellations coming

A new and independent analysis of ObamaCare warns of a ticking time bomb, predicting a second wave of 50 million to 100 million insurance policy cancellations next fall — right before the mid-term elections. - The Right Scoop

The next round of cancellations and premium hikes is expected to hit employees, particularly of small businesses. While the administration has tried to downplay the cancellation notices hitting policyholders on the individual market by noting they represent a relatively small fraction of the population, the swath of people who will be affected by the shakeup in employer-sponsored coverage will be much broader.

What American Conservatives Can Learn from Margaret Thatcher

Podcast - Brad Jackson/RedState

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Allysen Efferson are joined by Nile Gardiner to discuss his new book Margaret Thatcher on Leadership: Lessons for American Conservatives Today, what the Republican party can learn from her career and what Lady Thatcher may have thought about Barack Obama’s America.

James O’Keefe Tweets Sebelius – “Might Want to Cancel Your Plans Tomorrow”



James O’Keefe tweeted HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday warning her that another bomb is about to drop. - Jim Hoft/Gateway Pundit
Project Veritas

Ted Cruz Calls Obamacare Navigator Fraud “Corrupt”
In an interview over the weekend with NewsMax, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz commented on Project Veritas’ recent videos exposing Obamacare Navigators committing fraud by counseling applicants to lie on their applications.

“The great thing about what James does is that he just runs a camera and lets people explain what they’re doing,” Cruz told Newsmax. “The navigators are all about using taxpayer money to fund partisan operatives, and that’s fundamentally corrupt.
Obamacare Navigator Fraud Continues
Obamacare Navigator Fraud Rampant, Not “Isolated Incident”

MARCO RUBIO on Obamacare: "Look, this law cannot be saved. It will have to be repealed and the question is how long will it take for Democrats to realize that and cooperate in that endeavor"

Eight weeks till Dems might repeal Obamacare, Marco Rubio says - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @charlesspiering

Democrats in Panic Over Obama: ‘They’re freaking out, as they should be’ - JWF

Obama hits new low with Dems - The Hill
...Sources who attended a meeting of House chiefs of staff on Monday say the room was seething with anger over the immense damage being done to the Democratic Party and talk was of scrapping rollout events for the Affordable Care Act.

“Here we are, we’re supposed to be selling this to people, and it’s all screwed up,” one chief of staff ranted. “This either gets fixed or this could be the demise of the Democratic Party.

“It’s probably the worst I’ve ever seen it,” the aide said of the recent mood on Capitol Hill. “It’s bad. It’s really bad....”
How Bad Have Things Gotten for Obamacare? - Weekly Standard

It has certainly been a rough ride for Obamacare to date, to say the least. But in an eye-opening indication of just how close Obamacare might be to really going off the rails, the reliably left-of-center Yahoo! featured an article yesterday afternoon entitled, ◼ “Obamacare Individual Mandate May Be Next to Fall.”

GoldieBlox, Rube Goldberg, & Beastie Boys



"Princess Machine" (a concert for little girls)

CBSNEWS POLL: OBAMA CRASHES TO 37%
57% DISAPPROVE

Approve: 37% Disapprove: 57% - CBS NEWS

President Barack Obama's )ob approval rating has plunged to the lowest of his Presidency. 37% now approve of the )ob he is doing as President, down from 46% in October - a nine point drop in just a month. Mr. Obama's disapproval rating is 57% - the highest level for this President in CBS News Polls.

◼ Plus: CBS POLL: 84% OF DEMOCRATS WANT OBAMACARE CHANGED OR REPEALED - John Nolte/Breitbart

A fascinating number in Wednesday's CBS poll is that only 7% of the American public want ObamaCare "kept in place." A full 93% either believe that changes are needed to the law (48%) or want a full repeal (43%). This pits President Obama and Democrat lawmakers -- who thus far have refused to make any meaningful changes -- against 93% of the American people and 72% of Democrats.

CBS News: 61 Percent Of Americans Disapprove Of Obamacare - CBS DC



President Obama Tuesday sought to tie Republicans to the massive failure of the Obamacare rollout, suggesting that their opposition to Obamacare somehow made things worse. - Keith Koffler/White House Dossier

NFRW Political Briefing

Failed Security of ObamaCare Website

The House Science Committee will call computer hackers to testify on Capitol Hill at committee hearings on the lax privacy safeguards when an individual logs on to the ObamaCare website, and divulging sensitive personal information

The website requires users to input such personal information as birth dates, Social Security numbers and household incomes in order to obtain information about potential health coverage, says House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX), but security experts have pointed out flaws in the site that put the personal data at risk and subject users to the threat of identity theft.

A second flaw will be exposed by testimony from Morgan Wright, an expert in cybersecurity, who will expose operations dysfunction that could lead to fraud when consumers attempt to sign up on the insurance exchange. Wright has said that the Obama administration could not have completely complied with privacy provisions in the Federal Information Security Management Act when it was making changes to the website just before its ill-fated launch. "It is inconceivable that there could have been a comprehensive security review if they were still making major changes and substantial changes to it one or two days before" it went live, he says (The Hill, November 13, 2013).

In a letter to White House Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, inviting Park to appear and defend the website's possible security flaws, Chairman Smith explained that the committee "will examine concerns about the lack of privacy standards for personal information passing through the HealthCare.gov website and the threat posed to Americans if hackers on the Internet gained access to such information."

According to a source, The Hill reports that the White House declined to make Park available to testify. Park has been subpoenaed to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of a hearing on the roll out of the entire website.

Approval Ratings for Obama Drop Drastically

The Washington Post reports that disapproval ratings of President Obama and strong public sentiment against the Affordable Health Care Act have "pushed Obama to the lowest point of his presidency, with dwindling faith in his competence and in many of the personal attributes that have buoyed him in the past" (The Washington Post, November 19, 2013).


Fifty-seven percent of those polled by The Washington Post and ABC News say they oppose ObamaCare with 46 percent of that number stating they are strongly against it. The provision of the law which requires that all individuals obtain health insurance or pay a penalty is opposed by almost 2 to 1, with more than half indicating they strongly oppose it. Disapproval of Obama's handling of the healthcare law's roll-out stands at 63 percent with a majority saying they strongly disapprove.

For the first time in Obama's presidency, 55 percent of Americans polled say they have an unfavorable impression of him with his overall approval rating having dropped six percentage points in a month. Forty-four percent of those polled state they strongly disapprove of the way he is handling his job--the worst numbers of his presidency.

Budget Solutions May Include Farm Bill

A farm bill conference committee began last month along with the budget conference committee and the top stumbling block will most likely be reconciling the $40 billion in food stamp cuts in the House farm bill with the $4.5 billion cut found in the Senate version.

Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE), former Governor of Nebraska and Secretary of Agriculture under President George W. Bush, believes that farmers might be willing to sacrifice annual direct payments which bolster their income and pay into crop insurance programs which provide a backstop in rough years as long as they have the risk management tools they need to succeed. Senator Johanns states that eliminating direct payments to farmers and streamlining duplicative conservation programs could save as much as $13 billion.

He points to the food stamp program as "the biggest sticking point in farm bill negotiations," (The Hill, November 13, 2013). Roughly 80 percent of the farm bills in both houses go to nutrition programs, according to Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN). The Senate bill cuts $4 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or one-half of one percent, and the House bill cuts approximately ten times more. One method of compromise, Senator Johanns adds, would be to crack down on States that skirt eligibility requirements for SNAP recipients by enrolling individuals who do not qualify, thus saving approximately $20 billion and also ensure the limited resources are not being diluted by State programs that "lure unqualified Americans into unneeded federal benefits."
__________________________________
National Federation of Republican Women

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

State by State

◼ Hawaii: Hawaii Has Spent $778,000 In Taxpayer Funds For Each Obamacare Enrollee - Weasel Zippers
◼ DC: Plans in DC Cover Abortion, Not Hearing Aids - National Review
◼ Oregon: No one yet in Oregon - FOX NY
◼ Arkansas: Obamacare: Arkansas breast cancer patient doesn’t know how she’ll pay for chemo because insurance cancelled - The Right Scoop



Technical Note:

We've been getting Google Malware alerts based on two blogs that were regulars in our Bloglist. Tygrrr Express and StopTheACLU. Some blogs are ad-content heavy. The ads on those blogs were the likely trigger. Both have been removed from the Bloglist until they are able to isolate and solve the problem.

Snake Eyes

ObamaCare was a losing ideological bet. - James Taranto/Wall St. Journal

The most interesting opinion survey we've seen about the ObamaCare cataclysm is one that's only indirectly about ObamaCare. Gallup asked Americans: "Do you think it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage, or is that not the responsibility of the federal government?" Only 42% of those surveyed said it is the federal government's responsibility, vs. 56% who said it isn't.

More telling is the trend. Gallup has been asking the question since 2000. "Prior to 2009, a clear majority of Americans consistently had said the government should take responsibility for ensuring that all Americans have healthcare," the firm reports. The proportion answering "yes" peaked in 2006 at 69%--27 points higher than today's number. Then it began declining, to 64% in 2007 and 54% in 2008.

The current 42% is the lowest figure ever recorded, but the percentage answering in the affirmative hasn't risen above 50% since 2009. Remember what happened in 2009?

Not surprisingly, the answers vary by party. The 56% of Americans who say universal health care is not the government's responsibility include 86% of Republicans, 55% of independent and 30% of Democrats. This reflects a more abrupt change among Democrats (up five points since 2012) than among Republicans (down two points) or independents (up one point).

Perhaps the most dramatic finding: The proportion of Democrats who say it isn't the federal government's responsibility in 2013 (30%) is higher than the proportion of all voters who said the same thing in 2006 (28%)....

Eureka Council Candidates Named

There are officially three candidates in the running for a soon-to-be-vacated council seat from Eureka's Fifth Ward....Chet Albin, Leslie Lollich, and Barry Smith - Grant Scott-Goforth/The Journal

Mayor Frank Jager has created a committee that will interview the three applicants and make a recommendation to him. Mayor Jager will then interview the recommended applicant(s) and propose the appointment of the successful applicant at the December 17, 2013 Regular Council meeting.

Which Of These Three People Would You Like to Be Handed a Seat on the Eureka City Council? - Matthew Owen/Lost Coast Outpost

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address



150 years ago on this date, Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the greatest speeches in history. ◼ CRP

“Sixty to 70 percent that needs to be built still?”



OBAMACARE OFFICIAL ADMITS SOMETHING SO INCREDIBLE YOU’LL WONDER WHY YOU’RE JUST NOW HEARING ABOUT IT - Becket Adams/The Blaze

A large portion of the error-riddled, multimillion dollar federal health insurance exchange system has not even been built yet, according to a senior official involved in the construction of the website.

The revelation came Tuesday during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the possible security risks surrounding healthcare.gov.

But here’s something: Later in the hearing, Chao referred to the remaining 30 to 40 percent of the system that has yet to be built.

Perhaps he flipped the percentages in his head? This would seem strange considering Gardner repeatedly pressed him on the 70 percent figure.

“(R)egardless of the exact number, Chao’s response is utterly devastating,” ◼ Townhall’s Guy Benson wrote. “Somewhere between 30 and 70 percent of Obamacare’s online system has not yet been constructed or tested. They’ve had over three years.”

Sebelius Was Warned of Healthcare.gov’s Issues Months Before Its Disastrous Launch - PJMedia

HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius may have lied to Congress about Obamacare website problems.

Obamacare bombshell: IT official says HealthCare.gov needs payment feature - CNBC

"That's like setting up an online bank without setting up a way to make deposits," an industry source told CNBC.