Saturday, January 4, 2014

Her conduct that afternoon and in the ensuring days demonstrated that she, like Barack Obama, is totally unfit to be Commander in Chief. When lives were on the line, she played politics and self-preservation.

◼ Hillary Clinton’s Desperation - Larry Johnson/No Quarter

The coordinated push of the last week to try to create a new narrative for the terrorist attack in Benghazi is all about one thing–trying to immunize Hillary Clinton.

But to quote Mrs. Clinton, “WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?” (Here is where YouTube beats the pants off of mere words on your screen–real tough to give you that screeching, shrill voice that sounds like overgrown finger nails being rasped across a black board).

Yes, what difference does it make? ...

◼ Understanding the Attack in Benghazi and the NY Times Lie - Larry Johnson/No Quarter

This was not an “intelligence” failure. The intelligence correctly noted a worsening threat. It was a policy and leadership failure. The ultimate responsibility for this belongs to Hillary Clinton and Under Secretary Patrick Kennedy. Unfortunately, the Accountability Review Board (which was chaired by Ambassador Thomas Pickering) was appointed by Hillary, supervised by Patrick Kennedy. Pickering and company decided to not interview Hillary Clinton as part of their bogus investigation.
at Labels: , , , , ,

"Further, there is a bipartisan consensus that the Times is completely wrong. Both Republicans and Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee – who have seen the most top-secret intelligence on Benghazi – have stated publicly that the Times is wrong and that Benghazi was an attack by terrorists with ties to al Qaeda."


◼ THE NEW YORK TIMES WHITEWASHES BENGHAZI

On December 28th, the Times published an article based on what it claimed was a massive, months-long investigation of the terrorist attack in Benghazi on September 11, 2012.

The result of this so-called investigation? The retelling of the infamous lie that a YouTube video so enraged hundreds of Libyans that they stormed the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi and murdered four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Never mind that these Libyans just happened to be so well trained and heavily armed that they could defeat American security forces, some of whom were retired Navy SEALs, or that they launched their tactical assault in several waves until they were ultimately successful.

Never mind either that leaders of this supposedly spontaneous Islamist flash mob would be overheard by U.S. intelligence bragging to their terrorist buddies about the attack.

No, you see, the Times interviewed some of the attackers who claimed – truthfully of course – that it was the video that inspired their murderous rage. Case closed?

Hardly.
at Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Fifty States of Obamacare Confusion, Stress, and Aggravation

◼ No matter where you live in the United States, Obamacare is causing headaches, stress, and aggravation for someone near you. - Jim Geraghty/National Review
at Labels: , , , , , ,

(T)he problem with accepting artificial distinctions like “federal”, “state”, and “local” dollars... No. There is only one currency, the dollar. Dollars expended by government are ultimately taxpayer dollars, and, sooner or later, overtly through taxation, or covertly through opportunity costs, are going to come from those taxpayers, sure as the wool comes from the sheep.

◼ The term of art “federal dollars” is just a ruse to quell fears that, somehow, the pain is going to fall on voters, who might punish their collection of rodeo clowns at election time. - The Other McCain
at Labels: , , , ,

Information on Services for Father Eric Freed

◼ UPDATE: Confirmed Service Information

There will be three vigil services for Fr. Eric Freed at St. Bernard Parish in Eureka (615 H Street) on Sunday, January 5.

2:00 PM Fr. Mike Cloney
4:00 PM HSU students and faculty
7:30 PM Bishop Robert Vasa

Fr. Eric's funeral will be Monday, January 6 at St. Bernard Parish at 11:30 AM
at Labels: , , , , ,

The President, currently enjoying a 17-day, $4 Million, taxpayer-funded vacation in Hawaii… attacks Republicans for going home to their families instead of staying in Washington to spend taxpayer money and expand that welfare state.

◼ Typical Obama - Gay Patriot

BTW, when he returns from Hawaii, the top items on this man’s agenda are to enact punitve, job-killing EPA regulations and pass an Amnesty bill to replace American workers with cheap, imported foreign workers.

◼ Obama: Republicans Went Home For Holidays While a Mother Suffers “Who Needs Help Feeding Her Kids” - Jim Hoft/Gateway Pundit

Of course, this is quite a bold statement from the vacationing president who owns the worst economic recovery in history and the worst jobs record since the Great Depression.

◼ Obama's winter vacation hypocrisy - Thomas Lifson/American Thinker

◼ Obama: ‘We don’t abandon our fellow Americans’ - twitchy





at Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

When last we left our heroes, they had successfully evacuated 52 global warming scientists from the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, a Russian ice breaker that was stranded by ice for 10 days.


◼ The Further Adventures of the Chinese Ice Breaker That Rescued the Global Warming Scientists - Rick Moran/PJMedia

The Chinese ship, the Xue Long, used a helicopter to ferry the scientists — who still insist the Antarctic ice is melting due to global warming — to an Australian ice breaker that is now on the way back home.

But rather than get the girl and live happily ever after, the Chinese ice breaker itself has now become trapped by sea ice.

◼ An Australian ice-breaker carrying the rescued passengers has been placed on standby in case the Chinese ship, Xue Long, needs assistance. - BBC (image source)

◼ Xue Long beset by ice, Aurora Australis to abandon SAR and head to Casey base with ‘Spirit of Mawson’ people - Watts Up With That?

◼ $400,000 hit for ice rescue revealed. - The Australian

TAXPAYERS will foot a $400,000 bill for the rescue of a group of climate scientists, tourists and journalists from a stranded Russian research vessel – an operation that has blown the contingency budget of Australia’s Antarctic program and disrupted its scientific work. The Antarctic Division in Hobart said it was revising plans and considering airlifting urgently needed scientific equipment that could not be unloaded from Aurora Australis before the ship was diverted from the Casey base to rescue the novice ice explorers just before Christmas.

◼ Ship of Warmist Fools - Thomas Lifson/American Thinker

...Actually they aren't just a "group of scientists." Many are wealthy eco-tourists, paying handsomely for the opportunity to brag to their friends about their dedication to reversing the pending inferno.... The expedition brought with it 4 journalists, 26 paying tourists.

◼ Schadenfreude is free; Antarctic air-sea rescues are not - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

Price to Americans for helping other countries deal with “climate change”: $7.45 Billion.

Price of an international air-sea rescue of 52 passengers (including 4 journalists and 26 paying tourists, and various academic advocates of “global warming”): Millions of dollars, to be paid by the shipping companies and their insurers.

Price of the enjoyment brought to millions of “global warming deniers” when reading about the expedition of warmists on a Russian ship trapped in ice: Priceless.

It is good that no one has died, sacrificed on the altar of “global warming science.” I think Jim Treacher sums up my feelings best: ◼ Schadenfreude is a dish best served cold.

◼ EARLIER: Now that the ‘Ship of Fools’ is safe in Antarctica, tough questions need to be asked... will the Akademik Shokalskiy join the list of recent ships that have been sunk in Antarctic waters?
◼ Rescue of trapped climate-change researchers from ice and blizzard finally succeeds
◼ The Antarctic ‘research’ fiasco: It probably seemed like an excellent idea: Load a bunch of tourists and journalists aboard a ship for an expedition to Antarctica in December (the height of summer at the South Pole) so they can see for themselves how global warming is melting the ice.
◼ So much sea ice in Antarctica that a research vessel gets stuck, in the middle of summer!
at Labels: , ,

Dad of viral video kid ‘Trick Shot Titus’ is ‘outed’ as conservative



◼ Titus Ashby is an adorable boy who makes trick basketball shots. He’s appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel Show and in viral videos with celebrities such as Bradley Cooper and Channing Tatum. Titus’ father, Joseph Ashby, is a radio host and AmericanThinker.com contributor. - Twitchy
at Labels: , , , ,

It's now legal to buy a new car in Cuba. This is what passes for "reform" in socialist countries.


◼ Cubans are now able to buy modern cars freely for the first time since the revolution in 1959. - BBC via ◼ Ron Nehring

Now, Cubans will no longer need the government's approval to buy new cars from state-owned sellers.

But prices remain out of reach for many.

The BBC's Sarah Rainsford, in Havana, says a new Peugeot 508 estate at a showroom in the Cuban capital is on sale for an extraordinary $262,000 (£160,000).

That is eight times more than what it would cost in Britain, for example.

And used cars are not much cheaper. Our correspondent says a five-year-old Peugeot 206 is priced at $85,000 (£52,000).

The vast majority of people in Cuba earn a state wage of around $20 (£12) per month.

The government says some of the profits from sales will go towards developing Cuba's decrepit public transport system.

◼ Meanwhile: ‘This cannot possibly be real’: Rolling Stone’s five economic reforms sure sound like Marxism - Twitchy

at Labels: , , ,

Republicans have their best shot in years at taking back the Senate in 2014, but a lot has to break their way

◼ They have to pick up just six seats and defend 14, unlike Democrats who have to defend 21 seats. - Politico

The mood is right for the GOP: The president is unpopular. The economy is still lagging. And Obamacare has ticked off independents.

But Republicans blew it in 2012, letting the Senate slip away despite favorable circumstances. Democrats, meanwhile, will do their best to hang on, distancing themselves from the president and his health care law.... POLITICO has winnowed down the list to the 10 matchups that are most likely to flip between parties — and decide who will control the Senate.
at Labels: , , ,

Friday, January 3, 2014

Small Business Owner Pleads With Senator Merkley



◼ This small business owner, who has 12 employees, had to cancel insurance their plans, thanks to a massive increase in cost due to Obamacare. - Jim Hoft/Gateway Pundit

Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) brushes him off, tries to pass Obamacare off as being amazing, and basically belittles the guy. Merkley tells him to sign his employees up for Cover Oregon, which still doesn’t function.
at Labels: , , , , ,

Detroit police chief: Want crime to drop? Start carrying


◼ Detroit police chief: Legal gun owners can deter crime - The Detroit News

If more citizens were armed, criminals would think twice about attacking them, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Thursday.

Urban police chiefs are typically in favor of gun control or reluctant to discuss the issue, but Craig on Thursday was candid about how he’s changed his mind.

“When we look at the good community members who have concealed weapons permits, the likelihood they’ll shoot is based on a lack of confidence in this Police Department,” Craig said at a press conference at police headquarters, adding that he thinks more Detroit citizens feel safer, thanks in part to a 7 percent drop in violent crime in 2013.

◼ (James) Craig has some advice for his fellow citizens in Motor City if they really want a drop in crime — arm yourselves:

Craig wasn’t always in favor of carry permits. While serving in Los Angeles, where permits are issued on a notoriously miserly (and some would add arbitrary) manner, Craig thought that disarmament was the answer. It wasn’t until he went to a carry-friendly jurisdiction that he understood the difference:
Craig said he started believing that legal gun owners can deter crime when he became police chief in Portland, Maine, in 2009.

“Coming from California (Craig was on the Los Angeles police force for 28 years), where it takes an act of Congress to get a concealed weapon permit, I got to Maine, where they give out lots of CCWs (carrying concealed weapon permits), and I had a stack of CCW permits I was denying; that was my orientation.

“I changed my orientation real quick. Maine is one of the safest places in America. Clearly, suspects knew that good Americans were armed.”
It’s not the first time that Craig has endorsed carry permits. Two weeks ago, the Detroit News notes, he told a local radio show that responsibly armed citizens act as a deterrent, in a city that can clearly use one. Even though the murder rate has dropped, Detroit had as many homicides in 2013 as New York City, which has more than ten times its population. Chicago had only 29 more than Detroit despite having nearly four times the population. It’s worth noting that both New York City and Chicago have extraordinary restrictions on gun ownership, let alone carry permits, and Chicago routinely ranks among the worst American metropolitan areas for homicides and violent crime.

◼ New Study Demolishes Almost Every Gun Control Myth - Mediaite

The study, “An examination of the effects of concealed weapons laws and assault weapons bans on state-level murder rates,” conducted by Quinnipiac University economist Mark Gius, examined nearly 30 years of statistics and concluded that stricter gun laws do not result in a reduction in gun violence. In fact, Gius found the opposite – that a proliferation of concealed carry permits can actually reduce incidents of gun crime.
at Labels: , ,

BREITBART EDITOR-IN-CHIEF TO 'KEEP THE PRESSURE ON' ESTABLISHMENT MEDIA, POLITICIANS IN 2014

◼ Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alexander Marlow, 27, recapped the myriad victories of the conservative grassroots in 2013 and highlighted some of the major issues Breitbart News intends to pursue doggedly in the new year. - Tony Lee/Breitbart

Outlets like Breitbart News, Marlow said, will continue to find what the mainstream media often omits in its press to protect liberals. He made a point to note that there is a foot race to build new media enterprises before the mainstream media gets so out of control that "there is no free speech left in this country."
at Labels: , ,

It fell to eleven Republican Attorneys General to stand up for the rule of law, in letter to the most powerful (and hapless) bureaucrat on Earth...


◼ 11 attorneys general challenge legality of Obamacare fix – is nullification possible? - Allen West

Maybe this year is getting off to a good start. Eleven GOP attorneys general are willing to take on the legality of the executive directives in changing status – the so-called fixes to Obamacare. As reported by the Fiscal Times, the Attorneys General say the president is breaking the law because he is making changes without first going through Congress. The group sent a letter yesterday to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius regarding the constitutionality of Obama’s most recent executive action decreeing that insurance companies may continue to offer plans that he previously considered “junk plans” and were cancelled. The letter called the rule change “flatly illegal under federal constitutional and statutory law” and said “the illegal actions by this administration must stop.” Gee, ya think?

◼ It’s a really bad idea for the American people to give up the rule of law in exchange for government goodies. They’ve been doing it for a long time, but ObamaCare is a real gut-check moment for the Republic. There is simply no way to legally justify Barack Obama’s abuses of executive power to modify this twisted “law” on the fly. He has given several orders he simply does not have the legal authority to issue. - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

It fell to eleven Republican Attorneys General to stand up for the rule of law, in letter to the most powerful (and hapless) bureaucrat on Earth...

◼ Led by Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia (no relation), the consortium of AGs protested the changes in a letter to Kathleen Sebelius: HHS does not have the statutory flexibility that it has arrogated to itself for these “fixes,” nor does it have the constitutional power to change statute. - Ed Morrissey/HotAir
◼ Eleven Attorneys General Blast Obamacare Fixes as 'Flatly Illegal' - IJ Review
◼ Re: Comments from the States of West Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia on legal and consumer privacy issues in HHS's proposed Affordable Care Act rule (CMS-9954—P) PDF
__________________

◼ OBAMACARE FOUL-UPS LEAD TO CHAOS AT HOSPITALS - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

As expected, it’s chaos in the hospitals, as the disastrous system Barack Obama inflicted on America leaves medical staff uncertain whether patients have valid insurance.....
◼ AP - In California, employees of the state health exchange were still going through some 19,000 paper applications sent in the early days after Covered California launched on Oct. 1, spokesman Dana Howard said. He could not say how many were outstanding.

The entire tracking system was “in a sort of chaos” Thursday as consumers tried to use or confirm their new insurance, said Kelly Fristoe, an insurance agent in Wichita Falls, Texas.

“I’ve got pharmacies that are calling in to verify benefits on these new plans that are getting incorrect information,” he said. “I have people that are calling to make their initial premium payment, and they’ve been on hold for maybe three or four hours at a time and then they get hung up on.”
And we’re only three days into this nightmare. Depending on how seriously one takes the Administration’s claims of 2.1 million “enrollees,” and the failure rate for information relayed from the ObamaCare exchanges to insurance providers, we could be looking at 700,000 to 1 million people in coverage limbo. Obviously, most of them haven’t tried seeing a doctor or filling a prescription… yet. A report at The Hill says everyone in the industry is bracing themselves for a “spike” of activity next week, which is when gale-force winds of wackiness will truly begin howling across the fruited plain. Wal-Mart and Walgreens are already offering to hand out a free month of prescriptions, with no upfront cost, to ObamaCare victims… er, customers… through the end of January....

◼ Obamacare signups only covering 10% of uninsured and mostly older, sicker people… - The Right Scoop
at Labels: , , , , , ,

Due to the progressive nature of our income tax system, the actual number is likely somewhat past the midpoint, so perhaps 72 or 73 percent of Americans are actually receiving more from the government than they pay in with only a bit more than one quarter of the country actually paying more in than they are getting back.

◼ Romney Was Wrong About The 47 Percent, The Problem Is Much Worse - Jeffrey Dorfman/Forbes

The Congressional Budget Office is just out with a new report that shows exactly how much income redistribution the government is accomplishing. Recently, liberal politicians and the media have been focused on income inequality, but they almost always use data on pre-tax and pre-transfer income before the government’s income redistribution programs have done their work. Looking at the data after income taxes, after refundable tax credits, and after government transfer programs tells quite a different story.
at Labels: , , , ,

But then the counterculture became the culture and the left became Officer Obie.



◼ President Obie - Sultan Knish

In 1967, folk singer Arlo Guthrie played a song on a left-wing New York City radio station that was supposed to sum up the cultural difference between the culture and the counterculture.

On one side of the moral equation in Alice’s Restaurant you had Office Obie and the nameless army officers who were rulebound fascists and on the other side you had the easygoing hippies who believed in community, hanging out and letting things slide. Culture would drag you into court for littering with twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy photographs as evidence while counterculture would shrug and invite you to dinner.

Culture was bureaucratically and violently absurd. Counterculture was humanely lovingly absurd.

That's still the image that the left likes to wear like an old pair of jeans. It's still just a bunch of easygoing fellows out to build community and take on Officer Obie’s senseless repressive rules. But then the counterculture became the culture and the left became Officer Obie.... read the rest.
at Labels: , , ,

Suspect Gary Lee Bullock, accused of murdering Rev. Eric Freed was arrested and taken into custody Thursday afternoon. Police reveal new details about the circumstances leading up to Rev. Freed's death.

◼ Suspect arrested, parents surrender him - News Channel 3 via Robyn Ridpath
◼ HCSO: Slain Priest’s Vehicle Recovered - Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost

According to Lt. Steve Knight of the Humboldt Co. Sheriff’s Department (HCSO), Sgt. Kenny Swithenbank of the Garberville office, and other law enforcement officials conducted a felony traffic stop at approximately 12:30 P.M. today on Briceland Road in Southern Humboldt. Gary Bullock, suspect in the alleged murder of Fr. Eric Freed, was arrested.

◼ Fourth update: Family surrendered suspect Gary Lee Bullock in Briceland area - Times-Standard

Gary Lee Bullock, who is suspected in the recent killing of Father Eric Freed, was surrendered to sheriff's deputies by family members in the Briceland area today, according to Chief Andrew Mills of the Eureka Police Department.

"We contacted them, and they told us where he was," Mills said. He said he was taken into custody without incident.

◼ Previously: Tragedy in Eureka: Eureka Pastor Eric Freed murdered.
__________________


◼ Remembering Father Eric...with photos from Mark McKenna - Lost Coast Outpost

__________________

Services for Father Freed:

Vigil services will be held Sunday, at St. Bernard Church in Eureka at 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and a main vigil service at 7:30 p.m. with the bishop in attendance, with an all-night prayer vigil to follow.

A funeral Mass will be held Monday at 11:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church in Eureka, followed by interment at St. Bernard’s Cemetery and a reception at St. Bernard Church.
__________________

◼ A Facebook page has been set up to honor and remember Father Eric Freed
at Labels: , , , ,

Interesting, and thoughtful, post from Dan Bongino, a response to a hate-filled tweet

◼ If I might humbly suggest a major between right and left, it’s that conservatives aren’t against a lot of the abstract goals that leftists are, it’s just they think harder about the costs, whether or not the means are ethical, and what groups of people or individuals are best to carry them out. It’s like the 19th Century French author Frederic Bastiat wrote:
“Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain.”
It’s not that conservatives are against people being insured, it’s just that they don’t believe that government mandates, bloated bureaucracies, and endless handouts are the way forward to a better country....
at Labels: , , , ,

Goodbye, Colorado: Magpul Industries moving operations to Wyoming and Texas



◼ Last February, gun accessory manufacturer Magpul Industries announced it would leave Colorado if Democrats pushed through a ban on magazines that hold more than 15 rounds. In March, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill establishing a 15-round limit on ammunition magazines and, as promised, Magpul has announced that it is pulling up stakes in Colorado for more gun-friendly environments. - Twitchy

Magpul made the announcement on its website Thursday

at Labels: , , , , , , ,

Stop the presses! Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee makes shocking discovery

◼ link - Twitchy







at Labels: , ,

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Now that the ‘Ship of Fools’ is safe in Antarctica, tough questions need to be asked

◼ Now that the ‘Ship of Fools’ is safe in Antarctica, tough questions need to be asked - Watts Up With That?

1. Who paid for this expedition?
2. How did the expedition team come to include Turney’s wife and two young children?
3. How serious was this scientific endeavor?
4. Was the choice of ship wise, given it is not an icebreaker?
5. How did the ship, in these days of satellite imaging, high quality weather forecasts and radar, come to get stuck in ice?
6. How much did the rescue cost?
7. Who pays for this rescue?
8. Why have the ABC and Fairfax media, so keen at first to announce this expedition was to measure the extent and effects of global warming, since omitted that fact from their reports after the expedition became ice-bound?
9. Why have all those reports – and the expedition leader himself – neglected to mention that sea ice around Antarctica has increased over the past three decades – and is greater than the ice cover Douglas Mawson found a century ago?

◼ Meanwhile, the beginning of this domino effect has been traced back to a sightseeing expedition by the passengers of the Akademik Shokalskiy that spent too much time getting back on the ship. - Watts Up With That?

...the passengers weren’t heeding the captain’s warning quickly enough. Clearly the captain knew what was coming, but the passengers were just too slow. He couldn’t abandon them, so he had to wait, and this delay put the ship in jeopardy.

◼ ...Now, with such a fantastic failure in full world view, questions are going to start being asked. - Watts Up With That?

For example, with advanced tools at their disposal (that Mawson never had) such as near real-time satellite imaging of Antarctic sea ice, GPS navigation, on-board Internet, radar, and satellite communications, one wonders how these folks managed to get themselves stuck at all. Was it simple incompetence of ignoring the signs and data at their disposal combined with “full steam ahead” fever? Even the captain of the Aurora Australis had the good sense to turn back knowing he’d reached the limits of the ship on his rescue attempt. Or, was it some sort of publicity stunt to draw attention? If it was the latter, it has backfired mightily....

Yes, the cost and risk is significant. These folks trapped on-board don’t seem to be cognizant of that issue, following the #spiritofmawson Twitter feed, it’s like watching reports (with pictures and video) from a high school class party....

Now, with the ship to be evacuated via helicopter, will the Akademik Shokalskiy join the list of recent ships that have been sunk in Antarctic waters?


The sunken remains of the 76-ft Mar Sem Fin, aka “Endless Sea”, which sunk on April 7, 2012, lies at a depth of about 9 meters (30 ft) in Ardley Cove, Antarctica.


In November 2007, the Linblad Explorer hit sea ice and sank.... And there are others, these are just a few recent ones. ◼ MORE pics, info and discussion at Watts Up With That?

◼ UPDATE7: Trouble on the rescue ship – reaching open water not so easy - Watts Up With That?

◼ Aurora Australis rescue ship told to hold position to potentially assist Chinese vessel Xue Long - Watts Up With That?

It looks like the “rescued” climate scientists, journalists, and tourists will have to wait on-board the Aurora Australis awhile longer while this episode plays out. There is still a lot of ice ahead according to the webcam on Aurora Australis (seen below) which had been slowed to a crawl, making only 1/4 knot.


AMERICANS SPENT $7.45 BILLION FIGHTING 'GLOBAL WARMING' -- IN OTHER COUNTRIES...
ANTARCTIC ICE SHELF MELT 'LOWEST EVER RECORDED'...
MSNBC HOST COMPLAINS OF 'SNOW TROLLING'...
NOW ANTARTIC RESCUE SHIP STUCK IN ICE...
at Labels: ,

CURL: At Christmastime, George W. Bush was Santa, Obama is Scrooge


◼ Great story on former President George W. Bush. - Joseph Curl/Washington Times

Every year, in the week between Christmas and New Year‘s, I think about George W. Bush.

It was in that week each year for the eight that I covered him as a reporter that he gave me a spectacular gift — and he knew it.

I started covering the newly elected president in 2000, when I was in my late 30s. Back then, as a reporter for The Washington Times, we went everywhere the president went. If he went to Charlotte, N.C., to give a 30-minute speech on an airport tarmac, we went. Up at 4 a.m., an hourlong commute to Andrews Air Force Base, in place on the ground hours before POTUS landed, and there for hours and hours after he left — sometimes right through the evening news so network reporters could file live from the site.

We also went with the president to Texas every summer — often for a month — and every winter, too, over the holidays.

But here’s the thing: In December, we never left Washington, D.C., until the day after Christmas. Never. Mr. Bush and his wife Laura would always depart the White House a few days before the holiday and hunker down at the presidential retreat in Maryland, Camp David. After a few years, I asked a low-level White House staffer why.

I still remember what she said: “So all of us can be with our families on Christmas.”

Who was “us”? Hundreds and hundreds of people, that’s who. Sure, the reporters who covered the president, but also dozens and dozens on his staff, a hundred Secret Service agents, maybe more, and all of those cops required whenever the president’s on the move in D.C.

For me, that one-day delay was huge. My kids were 6 and 8 when Bush took office. When he went home to Prairie Chapel that last time in 2009, my girl was driving, the boy was 6 foot 1. But in the meantime, I was home for eight Christmas mornings, playing Santa, stoking the fire, mixing up hot chocolates.

That was President Bush. And every year for the last five, I’ve thought about what that meant to me....
at Labels: , ,

Starting on Jan. 2, every single D.C. resident who has registered a firearm since 1976 must go to police headquarters to pay a $48 fee and be photographed and fingerprinted.


◼ Gun reregistration begins in D.C., may lead to arrest and confiscation - Emily Miller/Washington Times

For the first time in the United States, a citizen who has legally registered a gun will have to submit to a renewal process. The consequences of not knowing about this new law or missing the specific 60-day window are dire....

If the registrant does not go to the police station within three months after a set time frame, the registration is revoked. That citizen is then in possession of an unregistered firearm, which is a felony that carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.

The gun itself is put into a category of weapons that can never be registered, just as though it were a machine gun or a sawed-off shotgun.

The city has not made clear how it will enforce the law, but the police are in possession of all registrants’ home addresses so confiscation and arrests would be simple.

◼ CALIFORNIA GUN LAW EXPANDS INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CONFISCATION - Steven Greenhut/Human Events (image source)

Gun registration had always seemed like the “line in the sand” — a proposal that would so offend the nation’s gun-rights advocates that they would bring out their full political muscle to stop it. Yet a California law mandating government record-keeping for all new long-gun purchases goes into effect on Jan. 1 and few people even seem to know about it.

This year, gun owners were relieved that Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the toughest gun-control measures that came to his desk, including one that would have banned sales of almost all semi-automatic rifles. But back in 2011, after much debate, the governor signed the registration law, AB 809, with a 2014 start date. It’s far broader than any of the bills the governor dealt with in the last session.
__________________

◼ The Gods of the Copybook Headings

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."
at Labels: ,

Snowpocalypse 2014: Deadly winter storm Hercules threatens 100million people, 2,000 flights grounded and temperatures colder than MARS


◼ New record low set in the coldest city in the continental USA – much of the country headed for a deep freeze - Watts Up With That?
◼ Storm Hercules to sweep across a third of America and affect 100million as Canada records temperatures colder than MARS - Daily Mail [UK]
◼ 'GLOBAL WARMING' INTENSIFIES...World's climate warming faster than feared, scientists say - Telegraph UK

◼ More than 1,950 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. have been cancelled today, according to FlightAware.com, as a major snowstorm bears down on the Northeast. More than 5,000 flights have been delayed. - Business Insider

◼ NYC WINTER WARNING - National Weather Service
◼ UP TO 14" IN BOSTON - National Weather Service
◼ RADAR - Intellicast
◼ 1,800+ flights stopped - NY Post
◼ Cuomo Closes Highways Across State - FOX NY
◼ Declares state of emergency - WBTAI
◼ De Blasio: 'Stay home tonight' - Gothamist
◼ Meteorologist: 'Exposed skin could freeze in 15 minutes' - Wall St. Journal

Blizzard to Reach From NYC to Boston...
USA ushers in 2014 with record-low temps...
Chicago Sees Biggest Snowfall In 15 Years...
NFL: Bitter cold coming to Green Bay on Sunday - High of four degrees...

◼ Parts of Manitoba hit -53 C, colder than Mars - CBC Canada

In terms of astonishing weather facts, it doesn't get much more impressive than being as cold as a distant planet for a day.
at Labels: ,

IT BEGINS: Hospital workers go unpaid

◼ Obamacare Contractor Blamed for Slow Medicare Payments to Hospitals - Jeryl Bier/Weekly Standard via Drudge

The contractor building the financial management system for Healthcare.gov is being blamed by a Houston hospital for delayed Medicare reimbursements that have caused the hospital to miss payrolls for weeks. Novitas Solutions is the federal government's new Medicare payment processor for the south-central region of the country hired by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS.) ABC-KTRK in Houston reports:
According to the CEO Jason Leday, more than 150 employees haven't been paid in nearly a month.

"I understand that they have children and a house payment, bills. Not getting paid is wow," nearby resident Theresa Gutierrez said.

The hospital is strapped for cash not because its not making money, but because Leday says a new Medicare payment facilitator named Novitas Solutions is taking too way long to pay out Medicare claims to the hospital.

Leday says he's owed nearly $3 million in payments from Medicare and can't make payroll...
◼ Obamacare rings in new year with more mayhem - CBS Minnesota
◼ It’s official: Obamacare debuts with more canceled plans than enrollments - Sarah Hurtubise/Daily Caller
◼ New Taxes and Fees - Heritage
◼ More hurdles to come - Washington Free Beacon

◼ Prof blames 'Southern white radicals' - Daily Caller

It’s not clear how Browne-Marshall reasoned her way to the conclusion that “southern White radicals” derailed Obamacare. As College Insurrection notes, a CNN poll conducted just before Christmas shows that 62 percent of Americans oppose the president’s signature legislation.

More than 4.7 million Americans have had their health insurance cancelled as a result of the massive new healthcare regime. At the same time, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Tuesday that, between federal and state exchanges, just 2 million Americans have signed up for Obamacare coverage.

◼ 'Cheerleader' Learns She Can't Afford Coverage For Herself, Toddler Son - CBS Seattle

“I’ve been a cheerleader for the Affordable Care Act since I heard about it and I assumed that it was designed for people in my situation,” Holly, a freelance yoga instructor, told KOIN. “I was planning on using the Affordable Care Act and I had done the online calculator in advance to make sure I was going to be able to afford it.

Holly’s husband works for a non-profit organization that pays for his health care, but the couple is unable to afford to have her and their son covered under his plan. And she’s been told their combined income is too much to qualify for a subsidized health care plan under Cover Oregon.

◼ Poll: 59 percent report negative experience with ObamaCare - The Hill
at Labels: , , , , ,

I believe our nation is at a point where there are enough irreconcilable differences between those Americans who want to control other Americans and those Americans who want to be left alone that separation is the only peaceable alternative.

◼ PARTING COMPANY - Walter Williams/Human Events

Here’s a question that I’ve asked in the past that needs to be revisited. Unless one wishes to obfuscate, it has a simple yes or no answer. If one group of people prefers strong government control and management of people’s lives while another group prefers liberty and desires to be left alone, should they be required to enter into conflict with one another and risk bloodshed and loss of life in order to impose their preferences on the other group? Yes or no. My answer is no; they should be able to peaceably part company and go their separate ways.

The problem our nation faces is very much like a marriage in which one partner has an established pattern of ignoring and breaking the marital vows. Moreover, the offending partner has no intention to mend his ways. Of course, the marriage can remain intact while one party tries to impose his will on the other and engages in the deviousness of one-upsmanship and retaliation. Rather than domination or submission by one party, or domestic violence, a more peaceable alternative is separation.

I believe our nation is at a point where there are enough irreconcilable differences between those Americans who want to control other Americans and those Americans who want to be left alone that separation is the only peaceable alternative....
at Labels: , , , , , ,

Rescue of trapped climate-change researchers from ice and blizzard finally succeeds

◼ The nine-day crisis unfolded a bit like a Monty Python sketch. A Chinese ship attempted to rescue the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, only to get stopped by the ice as well. - HotAir

A third ship arrived, but could not reach the stranded researchers, either. The rescuers finally used a helicopter when researchers were able to build a crude heliport on the ice that surrounded them, but a barge brought in to move them outside the ice couldn’t reach the Chinese vessel intended for their transport — so the helicopter landed on another ice floe near an Australian ship that arrived.

Oddly, the CNN reports seem to be missing something fairly important to understand the reason why the researchers were out in the Antarctic seas in the first place:

At least the word “climate” appears once in their web report, although not as an explanation. It doesn’t appear at all in the CBS report. The Associated Press report similarly avoids this key data point. Scott Johnson called this expedition the “ship of fools,” and perhaps that can be applied to these reports on the denouement, too.

◼ Frozen Out: 98% of Stories Ignore That Ice-bound Ship Was On Global Warming Mission - Newsbusters

In fact, rather than point out the mission was to find evidence of climate change, the networks often referred to the stranded people as “passengers,” “trackers” and even “tourists,” without a word about climate change or global warming.



◼ The Antarctic ‘research’ fiasco - Watts Up With That?
◼ Now that the ‘Ship of Fools’ is safe in Antarctica, tough questions need to be asked - Watts Up With That?
at Labels: , , , ,

Nobel Prize Winning Anti-Communist Icon: Obama Has Failed Politically And Morally

◼ In an interview with CNN that aired Wednesday, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former president of Poland, Lech Walesa, says Barack Obama has failed to reclaim America’s role as a world leader. - Independent Journal Review
“When he was elected…there was great hope…we were hoping Obama would reclaim moral leadership for America. That failed.

[I]n terms of politics and morality, America no longer leads the world. America did not regain its leadership status. We were just lucky there were no big conflicts in the world.”
Walesa said the world has relied on a strong America to maintain the balance of power around the globe.
at Labels: , , ,

And you thought it was bad last year...

◼ More New Taxes and Fees: How You’ll Pay for Obamacare in 2014 - Alyene Senger/Heritage

Obamacare contains 18 specific tax hikes, mandates, or penalties that cost Americans money, and three new ones take effect in 2014. This is only the beginning... two of these taxes get worse in the years to come.

1. Individual Mandate Tax. The individual mandate is designed to strong-arm individuals into purchasing government-approved health insurance or facing a tax penalty. In 2014, the penalty for not purchasing insurance will be either $95 or 1 percent of annual income (whichever is greater). Very few, if any, people will end up paying just $95, because individuals with an annual income of only $9,500 or less would likely qualify for Medicaid or a hardship exemption from the mandate. The mandate increases drastically in coming years, rising to $325 or 2 percent of income in 2015, and $695 or 2.5 percent of income in 2016—whichever is greater.

2. Health Insurer Tax. One of the largest tax increases in the law is an annual fee imposed on health insurers based on their share of the market. It is estimated to raise $8 billion in 2014 alone. The tax will more than likely be passed on to consumers through premium increases.... read the rest
at Labels: , , , , ,

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Tragedy in Eureka: Eureka Pastor Eric Freed murdered.


◼ Beloved Eureka priest killed in St. Bernard Church rectory - ◼ Times-Standard

Mourners are gathering outside St. Bernard Church in Eureka, where the Rev. Eric Freed was found dead in the rectory this morning. The EPD confirms it is conducting a murder investigation. No suspect has been arrested.

◼ St. Bernard's Pastor Killed Overnight in Church Rectory - ◼ Grant Scott-Goforth/The Journal
◼ Murder in the St. Bernard’s Rectory This Morning; Victim is Reportedly Father Eric Freed (VIDEO) - ◼ Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost

◼ EPD says this is a murder investigation - ◼ News Channel 3


UPDATE: ◼ EPD Seeks Vehicle Thought To Be Related to Today’s Homicide The Eureka Police Department is seeking the publics assistance in locating a vehicle associated with the homicide, which occurred at St. Bernard’s Rectory on 1-1-2014. (images from Lost Coast Outpost)

The vehicle is described as a dark grey Nissan Altima Hybrid, bearing California license plate 6NDW400.

The Eureka Police Department requests that if the public has information regarding the vehicle’s whereabouts or if the vehicle is located, do not approach the vehicle, and contact the Eureka Police Department Communications Center at 707-441-4044.

Times-Standard
Update: The vehicle being sought in connection to the killing of St. Bernard Parish Pastor Eric Freed belonged to him.

EPD is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Freed’s vehicle, a gray Nissan Altima Hybrid, license plate 6NDW400. EPD Chief Andrew Mills said it’s unclear when the vehicle was last seen or if it was at St. Bernard Church prior to Freed’s death, but the department is warning anyone who may see the vehicle not to approach it and to instead call police.

◼ A Tragic New Year’s Day: Images From the St. Bernard’s Crime Scene - Andrew Goff/Lost Coast Outpost
◼ Intruder at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Today - Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost

According to Lt. Steve Knight of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department, the caretaker of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Myrtle was confronted by an intruder today inside the building today around 2 P.M. The woman stopped by to check on the grounds and spotted a bicycle inside the building.

She opened the door and went into the dark interior. A man, approximately 6 foot tall wearing dark clothing including a sweatshirt and a beanie or a hat, began to move towards her. She retreated behind another door and called 911. She was not injured or confronted further. The man fled left the scene and has not been found.

Lt. Knight said that there was nothing to indicate a connection with the murder of Fr. Eric Freed but neither is his office ruling out the possibility. Deputies have been asked to keep an eye on all churches at this time—”especially,” Knight said, the “Catholic churches.”
__________________

Note: There's good coverage of this - and other breaking news - at each of the news outlets above - if you're trying to get information, We recommend you follow them on Facebook, and bookmark their webpages. I linked their names to their Facebook pages, so just click there. The article links, of course, link to the articles on their webapges.
at Labels: , , , ,

Despite her criticism of the feminists who would deny the biological distinction between the sexes, (Camille) Paglia thinks the movement can be saved if feminists would abandon the “nanny state” mentality that grew into political correctness.

◼ CAMILLE PAGLIA: WAR ON MEN DESTROYING AMERICAN CULTURE - DR. SUSAN BERRY/Breitbart

According to Weiss, Paglia says the women’s movement needs to get back to "serious matters, like rape in India and honor killings in the Muslim world, that are more of an outrage than some woman going on a date on the Brown University campus.”

◼ TIME: 'Men Are Obsolete: Five Reasons We Are Definitely Witnessing The End of Men' - Noel Sheppard/Newsbusters
◼ Men Are Obsolete: Five reasons we are definitely witnessing the end of men - TIME
at Labels: ,

More Obama Propaganda: Curiously, OFA's Obamacare success stories page does not include the last name of each individual. Instead, it lists only their last initial.

◼ EXCLUSIVE: OFA OBAMACARE 'SUCCESS' STORIES INCLUDE FORMER DEM CANDIDATE, ACTIVIST - Wynton Hall/Breitbart

The revelation, made on the inaugural day of OFA and the Obama administration's publicity push, is just the latest embarrassment for the White House and Democrats' effort to find and promote Obamacare success stories. In October, the White House touted a young man named Chad Henderson as one of the first successful Obamacare enrollees--only to later find out he had not enrolled in Obamacare and was an Organizing for Action volunteer.
at Labels: ,

SOTOMAYOR DROPS BALL ON OBAMACARE...

◼ Four injunctions against the Obamacare contraceptive mandate yesterday - Thomas Lifson/American Thinker

Is this some kind of record? On the last day of 2013 four different federal appeals courts issued temporary injunctions against enforcement of the Obamacare contraceptive mandate. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals acted on two different cases, Michigan Catholic Conference v. Sebelius and The Catholic Diocese of Nashville et al v. Sebelius, while the DC Circuit Court of Appeals acted in The Catholic Archbishop of Washington et al v Sebelius. Meanwhile, no less than Obama-appointee Sonia Sotomayor issued an injunction in the case of The Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged, Denver, v Sebelius.

All in all, quite a way to kick off Obamacare.

◼ Halts Contraception Rule for Catholic Nuns... - Edvard Pettersson and Greg Stohr/Bloomberg
◼ Thankful Nuns Celebrate Sotomayor's Contraceptive Mandate Stay - Newsmax

Sotomayor's Tuesday ruling gave Roman Catholic Church-affiliated organizations temporary exemptions from a part of the Obamacare healthcare law that requires employers to provide insurance policies covering contraception.

She granted the temporary injunction to the Little Sisters of the Poor and Illinois-based Christian Brothers Services, plus related entities.

Sotomayor is giving the government until Friday morning to respond to her decision.
at Labels: , , , , ,

40,000 new laws take effect in 2014



◼ Legendary attorney, Harvard law professor, and author of "Taking the Stand" Alan Dershowitz joins Jake Tapper's "The Lead" to discuss some of the other fascinating – and controversial – new laws of 2014. - The Lead/CNN
at Labels: , , , ,

Arcata Collects First Grow House Taxes

◼ The City of Arcata has received its first payment from PG&E of monies collected under the Excessive Energy Use Tax. It’s a lot less than expected. - Kevin Hoover/Mad River Union

...The 2011 figures on which the tax’s financial projections were based tallied 633 households using excessive electricity, defined as three times normal residential use. The current number of homes in that category – presumed to be mostly cannabis grow houses – is less than one-sixth the 2011 figure.

◼ Arcata: Marijuana Leaves? - Mike Dronkers/Lost Coast Outpost

If you haven’t read his piece yet in the Mad River Union, go do it right now. Then listen to the KHUM interview at the link, in which MRU reporter Kevin Hoover talks about what looks like a massive reduction in large-scale grow houses in Arcata.

..The newly implemented Measure I levies a 45 percent surcharge on residences that use, effectively, a supermarket’s worth of power. PG&E’s data showed that Arcata had over 600 houses that met the criteria. Now that the tax bill is due, only 96 households meet the criteria.

...Hoover told KHUM that the growers may have relocated — to West End Road, say, or up to McKinleyville.
at Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Ten 2013 stories that should make news in 2014

◼ from Sharyl Attkisson

◼ Prediction: 2014 Will Be Even Crazier - The Other McCain

◼ A Year of Fear: 2013 brought little more than uncertainty to an already uncertain nation. - Kevin D. Williamson/National Review

◼ The Progressive Honor Roll of 2013 - John Nichols/The Nation
at Labels: , ,

Exclusive: Emails Reveal Deceased Hedge Fund Manager Refused To Join Bill Gates’ "Worthless" Giving Pledge

Read more »
at Labels: , , , , , ,

Even though she is a well-documented liar, she is still “most admired.” Tell the truth (well) and end this. And end the hostility toward each other before you destroy all of us and our children’s future.


◼ (T)he New York Times (the very model of that propagandistic veneer) already knows their bread is buttered with Hillary, not Obama. They demonstrated that Saturday with their revisionist article on Benghazi, bent on taking that scandal (Hillary’s Achilles’ heel) off the table for the coming elections or at least seriously defusing it.

She is so far in front, in fact, that her competitors are not even in hailing distance. Hillary is the one who can consolidate and solidify the “gains” of the Obama era in a way Obama himself never could because she is much more politically savvy — Obama was only savvy about getting elected, not governing — and has the backing of her even more politically savvy husband. Hillary is the one who can fully remake the United States into some version of Western Europe or, yet more frighteningly, China, a permanently stratified state capitalism governed by quasi-totalitarian bureaucrats. (We can call this system Soros Marxism, meaning a ruling clique of increasingly rich corporate czars employing a propagandistic veneer of socialist equality to keep the power and wealth for themselves.)

...2014 is a time for victory not defeat. We shouldn’t be wasting our ammunition on each other. Nobody has unlimited quantities. Concentrate on principal enemy Hillary. Even though she is a well-documented liar, she is still “most admired.” Tell the truth (well) and end this. And end the hostility toward each other before you destroy all of us and our children’s future.
at Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Happy New Year!















at Labels:

The New Year's bountiful blessing:

Three hundred sixty-five
bright mornings and starlit evenings;
fifty-two promising weeks;
twelve transformative months
full of beautiful possibilities;
and four splendid seasons.
A simply abundant year
to be savored.
◼ Sarah Ban Breathnach: Simple Abundance
at Labels: , ,

SARAH PALIN, 'DUCK DYNASTY' CLAN TO RING IN NEW YEAR ON FOX NEWS


◼ Over the weekend, Fox News's Twitter account teased an appearance by some members of the Robertson family: - FOX

Palin wrote on her Facebook page on Monday that she would be talking about some of her resolutions for 2014 on Fox News:
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Gear up for a great new year, and I'll see you on Fox's New Years Eve Special to talk about joyous resolutions for 2014!



__________________

Meanwhile, on CNN: ◼ Left-wing comedian Kathy Griffin has been co-hosting CNN's New Years Eve coverage with Anderson Cooper for a few years now, and every year she does something cheap to draw attention to the low-rated cable news network. - John Nolte/Breitbart

Last year, Griffin simulated oral sex on the air. The year before that, she ripped off her blouse. The year before that she dropped the f-bomb. This year Griffin is promising to show up topless.
at Labels: , , , ,

MSNBC host semi-apologizes for mockery of Mitt Romney’s adopted grandson



◼ Live by racial obsession, die by racial obsession - Doug Powers/Michelle Malkin

◼ MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry apologizes for attack on Mitt Romney's adopted black grandson - NY Daily News

Sarah Palin slammed the 'lamestream media' for an MSNBC segment on Melissa Harris-Perry’s show mocking Mitt Romney’s adopted black grandson. The host apologized Tuesday for causing offense. This marks the second time the cable network has been criticized for a personal attack against a Republican personality....

MSNBC did not provide a network comment.

◼ Unpopular Personality @MHarrisPerry on Obscure MSNBC Network Apologizes - The Other McCain

It goes without saying, of course, that Melissa Harris-Perry’s apology was insincere: She hates and despises Mitt Romney, she hates and despises the entire Romney family, and she hates and despises everyone who voted for Romney. Whatever offensive thing she said about Romney’s grandchild was simply an expression of her partisan hatred and — because partisan hatred is the entire raison d’être of MSNBC — there’s no way Melissa Harris-Perry is going to apologize for that, is there?

◼ Sarah Palin says MSNBC should ashamed of a “despicable” segment in which they mocked Mitt Romney’s adopted black grandson. - Politico

“You really need a conscience, yellow journalists. May your 2014 New Year’s Resolution be to find one,” she added.

Meanwhile, conservatives, as well as other networks, joined in in lambasting MSNBC.

“I’m not even sure what the threshold anymore is for MSNBC going too far,” CNN contributor and Republican Ana Navarro told guest-host Don Lemon during “Erin Burnett OutFront” on Monday.

at Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Monday, December 30, 2013

Guess Who's Funding the Republican Civil War

◼ Labor unions. And they're doing it through a pro-business Republican PAC. - By Scott Bland/National Journal
at Labels: , ,

With this kind of health coverage, why on earth did the president make such a show of “signing up” for Obamacare?

◼ The Obamacare Obama gets - Marc A. Thiessen/Washington Post

...since he was showing solidarity with the rest of America, did the president actually get on his computer like the rest of America and try to navigate the disastrous Obamacare Web site he created? Nope. While most people had to plug their personal information into a Web site that ABC News reports still has “serious security vulnerabilities,” the White House decided that for “security reasons” sharing the president’s personal information on government Web sites was unwise. So, an administration official said, “Like some Americans, the complicated nature of the president’s case required an in-person sign-up.”

...If the White House was so confident that “the product is good” and Americans are “willing to be patient,” then they would have been eager for a photo op of the president signing up with other happy customers. But there was no photo op.

Then, to add insult to injury, Obama chose the cheapest of the four plans available — the bronze plan costing $400 a month. Not for his whole family, mind you. They don’t need Obamacare. He chose a low-cost plan just for himself. Which makes sense. He’s not going to actually use it, so why pay sky-high premiums like the millions of people he drove out of their individual market health plans?
at Labels: , ,

When exactly when did the nation transition from the USA to USSA — the Untrustworthily Surveillanced States of America; the Ubiquitously Spy-Saturated America; the Unfree, Security-Strangled America; the Unhinged, Solemnly Scolding America?

◼ In 2014, Relaunching the Barbaric Yawping Vagina of Fury! - Elizabeth Scalia/The Anchoress

Having spent half a day — far too much time – perusing the headlines and growing more and more disturbed by them, I find I am in a mood.

Such a mood, I am in...
at Labels: , , , ,

(T)he organized left is only a small cadre of sociopaths – its strength comes from the apathy and cowardice of those who won’t stand up to them. They win only when we surrender.

◼ But we won’t surrender. - Kurt Schlichter/Townhall

In 2014, let’s resolve to preserve some semblance of freedom in our culture and respond to the next blitzkriegs by the progressive fascists with an unequivocal “Go to hell.”

Demanding that Americans hide their religious beliefs. Banning dissenting views on the climate change scam. Slandering people with charges of the kind of racism pioneered and perfected by the Democrat party.

...This campaign is not being pushed by “gays” any more than other campaigns are pushed by “minorities” or “women” or “climate scientists” or whoever else is the day’s designated oppressee. They are pushed by leftists to achieve progressive ends. Leftists care nothing about gay people, or minorities, or women, or global warming. They care about their own power.

Remember, everything progressives tell you about protecting “free speech” and “diversity” is a lie. They don’t want free speech or diversity. They want a plodding, creepy conformity of thought – their thought. Free speech and diversity were useful to them before they gained cultural power; now that they have it, these quaint ideas are liabilities that must be stamped out before someone normal exercises them.

For too long, we have sat back and let these jerks try to dictate what we think, what we feel and what we say. But that’s over. We’re done. Just ask Cracker Barrel.

...Remember, we don’t need to silence our opposition – empirical evidence demonstrates the meritlessness of leftist ideology. Liberals need to silence us because we’re right and they’re wrong.

They want a cultural war, and I say let them have it. We’re fighting for a vibrant, free culture with a multitude of religious expressions, with a plethora of ideas and a refusal to hide truth so as to not offend some vocal component of the leftist coalition. They demand a mindless, fearful conformity with everyone paying homage to the same pagan liberal idols.

To hell with that.
at Labels: , , , , ,

Judge Rules in Favor of Eureka City Council Religious Invocations

◼ On Dec. 24, Judge W. Bruce Watson handed the City of Eureka some yuletide cheer by dismissing half of the lawsuit brought against it earlier in the year — the one that claims the city is violating the California Constitution by engaging in a couple of religiousy practices. - Hank Sims/Lost Coast Outpost
at Labels: , , , ,

New Yorkers Take Last Ride on Carriage Horses Before DeBlasio Ban


◼ It’s a tradition for New York City mayors to start banning innocent things that everyone before them found completely inoffensive. For Mayor Bloomberg, it was large sodas. For Red Bill de Blasio, it’s carriage horses. - Daniel Greenfield/Front Page

Bill de Blasio, like any good Communist, isn’t just pushing the horse ban at random. His elevation was made possible by NYCLASS; a bunch of rich people posing as animal rights activists who don’t think that ordinary tourists should be able to ride horses in their backyard.

The man behind the Anti-Horse Jihad is Steve Nislick, a real-estate tycoon with an eye on their stables, and a hand in Bill de Blasio’s greasy pocket.

In the slimy world of New York politics, Nislick found useful idiot environmentalists to pursue his land agenda, and when Speaker Quinn proved to have more ethics than to go along with his horse ban, he turned to a slimier fellow; Bill de Blasio.

◼ Bill de Blasio May Save NYC's Carriage Horses by Slaughtering Them - Dan Riehl/Breitbart

Following through on a campaign promise, New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio has pronounced the traditional horse drawn carriage industry in NYC's Central Park "over," claiming he will act quickly to end a practice he views as inhumane.

Unfortunately, as pointed out in the New York Post back in October, the move may result in the animals' slaughter.
There are more than 200 horses used in the city's carriage industry and their fate remains unknown as mayoral election approaches. It's possible the animals could be destroyed due to the expensive maintenance.
at Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)