This and That...

[Warph]

Obumacare Destroying Lives, Killing Businesses

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  November 4th, 2013

http://www.redstate.com/2013/11/04/obamacare-destroying-lives-killing-businesses/

Last week, we asked for your personal Obamacare horror stories, as more and more middle class families are forced to surrender their dignity and grovel before government for their health insurance.  Here is the latest from Charles in Alabama.  You can email me your story at daniel@madisonproject.com.


I am a 53 year old self-employed real estate agent. My wife and I own a small real estate company which has struggled through the economic climate to build our business. From the income that we generate, we must pay all our business expenses, including the monthly costs of a real estate office, all the technology and fees we need to exist, all of our personal and business insurance, and all of our personal expenses as well.  We have two sons who are approaching college age and both plan to attend state public universities, where the average four year cost has been estimated at over $100,000.  I work seven days a week, every week; I only attempt to take a day off work about one day a month.  I work at least 10 hours most days, but it is not unusual for me to work longer hours.

I have been blessed with great health, as have my wife and our two boys. I work very hard to stay healthy; I have never smoked, consumed much alcohol, or done drugs.  I eat a healthy diet, and the one and only thing I do for myself every week is to exercise- almost daily.  When I come home after a long day, I typically go for a 45 minute run or work out at the gym, grab a quick bite of dinner, and then get back to work again from my second office at home.

I have struggled to pay $735 per month to Blue Cross Blue Shield for health care insurance for my family, but I am a believer that it is important to guard against catastrophe, so I have paid that large amount, completely out of pocket, ever since going into business for myself.  This means I write a personal check for the entire amount every month.

We received our Affordable Care Act letter from Blue Cross Blue Shield this week, and were informed that our new monthly premium starting January 1, for much reduced benefits, will rise from $735 to $1,114.61, with our yearly deductible tripling; this monthly premium is more than my house payment.  Upon further investigation, we have found that for our benefits to stay the same as they are today, our premium would be about $1,600 per month. The cheapest alternative for us in an ACA compliant policy is $870 per month, with a yearly deductible of $12,700; in this plan, our family would have the ability to go to a doctor three times in a year (per family) and pay a co-pay; after that, all medical expenses would come 100% out of pocket until the deductible was met.  Under that scenario, I don't foresee any circumstance where any of us would ever again get health screenings, or participate in tests such as colonoscopies.  Preventative medicine will no longer be an option for us.

I have struggled to understand how this law is fair. I am now compelled by federal law to pay for this enormously expensive product that I cannot afford.  I have searched all my alternatives, and there is no other solution available to me; apparently my place on the actuarial tables is dictated solely by my age and address, and since I am over 50 but under Medicare age I am in a worst case scenario.  In the ACA world, "old and sick" are two words that are glued together, as are "young and healthy". Fortunately, I am an old and healthy person; but my healthy lifestyle means nothing anymore.

I am not being petty about this; the absolute fact is that we cannot afford to pay for health insurance at the rates available to us under the Affordable Care Act. For the only time in our lives, we will most likely be joining the uninsured, taking a huge risk, and paying the federal tax penalty.  This is ironic for us, because in all these years, the only major cost we have been to the insurance companies has been the birth of two healthy babies; yet now, as we are approaching the age when we may start needing treatments and more preventative care, we will be dangerously flying by the seat of our pants.

I understand that there have been people in our shoes for a long time, and some may be smugly smiling about this, thinking that now we are getting an idea of how that feels.  It no longer counts for anything that we have worked extremely hard to get where we are; we have done things the right way, making good decisions, taking advantage of opportunities, and always working hard. And most importantly, we were promised by President Obama that the ACA wouldn't significantly harm the people already in the system; that it was an attempt to insure the uninsured, not to completely take away our health care insurance in the process.

I am being crushed under the weight of this financial burden.  My enthusiasm for fulfilling my dream of creating a thriving, vibrant business is fading. Any money we may have contributed back to the economy, such as replacing our car that has over 150,000 miles on it, is gone.  It feels like there will never be circumstances where I can benefit from all my hard work; instead, my hard earned money will be distributed out to other people.  I want to live in a world where sick babies are taken care of, all the time, but with this "solution" came the clear promise that the Affordable Care Act could do that without burying me. ACA proponents were either mistaken or deliberately misled us, the American people.

I respectfully ask President Obama to at least acknowledge what this is. He will never know how demoralizing it is to see smiling faces from his ranks telling me through my television that the Affordable Care Act is good; a fabulous, raging success.  It is because of great restraint that my television isn't in a shattered heap in the den floor right now.

I respectfully ask that all sides stop using me as a political pawn; I don't care whose fault in Washington this is. President Obama, please become a leader. Members of Congress, please step up to the plate and work together to fix this disaster. Stop gauging every single move based on how it will affect you politically.  Our nation needs your leadership, and I pray that you will see that one day before it's too late.

[Bullwinkle]

Sounds Like Our Group , is On the March !!!   







The typical U.S. household headed by a person age 65 or older has a net worth 47 times greater than a household headed by someone under 35, according to an analysis of census data released Monday. If all of us old farts have all of the money, then let us try to elect someone who might be near honest and not be after feathering their own nests.

They like to refer to us as senior citizens, old fogies, geezers, and in some cases dinosaurs. Some of us are "Baby Boomers" getting ready to retire. Others have been retired for some time. We walk a little slower these days and our eyes and hearing are not what they once were. We have worked hard, raised our children, worshiped our God and grown old together. Yes, we are the ones some refer to as being over the hill, and that is probably true. But before writing us off completely, there are a few things that need to be taken into consideration.

In school we studied English, history, math, and science which enabled us to lead America into the technological age.







Most of us remember what outhouses were, many of us with firsthand experience.  We remember the days of telephone party-lines, 25 cent gasoline, and milk and ice being delivered to our homes. For those of you who don't know what an icebox is, today they are electric and referred to as refrigerators. A few even remember when cars were started with a crank. Yes, we lived those days.

We are probably considered old fashioned and outdated by many. But there are a few things you need to remember before completely writing us off. We won World War II, fought in Korea and Viet Nam. We can quote The Pledge of Allegiance, and know where to place our hand while doing so. We wore the uniform of our country with pride and lost many friends on the battlefield. We didn't fight for the Socialist States of America ; we fought for the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave." We wore different uniforms but carried the same flag. We know the words to the Star Spangled Banner, America , and America the Beautiful by heart, and you may even see some tears running down our cheeks as we sing. We have lived what many of you have only read in history books and we feel no obligation to apologize to anyone for America.

Yes, we are old and slow these days but rest assured, we have at least one good fight left in us. We have loved this country, fought for it, and died for it, and now we are going to save it. It is our country and nobody is going to take it away from us. We took oaths to defend America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that is an oath we plan to keep. There are those who want to destroy this land we love but, like our founders, there is no way we are going to remain silent.

It was mostly the young people of this nation who elected Obama and the Democratic Congress. You fell for the "Hope and Change" which in reality was nothing but "Hype and Lies."

You have tasted socialism and seen evil face to face, and have found you don't like it after all. You make a lot of noise, but most are all too interested in their careers or "Climbing the Social Ladder" to be involved in such mundane things as patriotism and voting. Many of those who fell for the "Great Lie" in 2008 and again in 2012 are now having buyer's remorse. With all the education we gave you, you didn't have sense enough to see through the lies and instead drank the 'Kool-Aid.' Now you're paying the price and complaining about it. No jobs, lost mortgages, higher taxes, and less freedom.

This is what you voted for and this is what you got. We entrusted you with the Torch of Liberty and you traded it for a paycheck and a fancy house.

Well, don't worry youngsters, the Grey-Haired Brigade is here, and in 2014 we are going to take back our nation. We may drive a little slower than you would like but we get where we're going, and in 2014 we're going to the polls by the millions.

This land does not belong to the man in the White House nor to the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. It belongs to "We the People" and "We the People" plan to reclaim our land and our freedom. We hope this time you will do a better job of preserving it and passing it along to our grandchildren. So the next time you have the chance to say the Pledge of Allegiance, Stand up, put your hand over your heart, honor our country, and thank God for the old geezers of the "Grey-Haired Brigade."

Footnote:
This is spot on. I am another Gray-Haired Geezer signing on. I will circulate this to other Gray-Haired Geezers all over this once great county.

Can you feel the ground shaking???
It's not an earthquake, it is a STAMPEDE.







Thought for the day:


We are always hearing about how Social Security
is going to run out of money.                       


How come we never hear about Welfare running
out of money?





The first group paid for their Social Security!





The second group has never paid for a damned thing!

[Ross]

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

Pentagon Security Chief Cited For Ethics Abuses

Nov 05, 2013
Military.com| by Richard Sisk


The Pentagon's chief of security has been cited for a range of ethics violations, including using his staff for meal runs and allowing favored employees to play in golf tournaments while on administrative leave.

A highly-redacted report released Monday by the Defense Department's Inspector General's office also charged that Steven Calvery, head of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, arranged to have friends use the agency's firing range and played favoritism with promotions.

Calvery disputed the conclusions of the IG report and his status as head of the FPA was unclear. The IG's report recommended that Michael Rhodes, director of the Pentagon's office of Administration and Management, consider "appropriate action"against Calvery, a former Army helicopter pilot and Secret Service agent who took charge of the PFPA's 1,300 officers in 2006.

Calvery allegedly violated DoD's "Joint Ethics Regulation" by arranging in 2010 for a non-employee to use PFPA's firing range and get weapons training from two PFPA range personnel.

The non-employee's name was redacted, but the IG's report suggested that he may have been a relative by noting that "other family members of PFPA employees were not offered the same benefit."

The IG's report said that Calvery also "improperly authorized the use of administrative leave" to let employees play in annual PFPA golf tournaments and "provided preferential treatment" to a subordinate who was promoted ahead of others with better qualifications.

Calvery allegedly "selected the subordinate for promotion based on their relationship rather than on the subordinate's experience or scope of responsibilities."

In his response to the allegations, Calvery said subordinates would occasionally get him lunch and coffee but "only when he was really busy."

"I would hope if they felt uncomfortable doing it, they would tell me," Calvery said. "And if they did feel uncomfortable, then that would be okay. You know, they wouldn't have to do it, and they don't have to do it now."

Calvery said he authorized administrative leave for 100-150 employees to play in the golf tournament as a way to build "espirit de corps" in the PFPA.

On the allegation of promotional favoritism, Calvery said he felt it was his "prerogative to select for promotions" and the individual in question was a loyal employee "who does his job in an exemplary manner, and I thought he needed to be promoted."

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/11/05/pentagon-security-chief-cited-for-ethics-abuses.html?ESRC=eb.nl

[Ross]

The Supreme Court can use a soap-opera case to stop federal overreach

By Ted Cruz, Published: November 4

Ted Cruz, a Republican, represents Texas in the Senate.

In 2006, Carol Anne Bond of Lansdale, Pa., burned a woman with caustic chemicals as revenge after the woman became pregnant by Bond's husband.

Ordinarily, Bond would have been prosecuted for assault, aggravated assault or harassment — in other words, for violating Pennsylvania criminal laws. Instead, federal prosecutors charged Bond with violating the federal legislation implementing the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons. This treaty outlaws the production, collection and use of chemical weapons, including poisonous gases and bacterial weapons, to prevent chemical warfare.

When the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral argument Tuesday in Bond v. United States, the fundamental issues will be U.S. sovereignty and the Constitution's structural limits on federal power. The questions raised by this case go to the heart of our constitutional system: Does the federal government, through the treaty power, have authority to trump our system of federalism and separation of powers? Does the president's power to make treaties and Congress's power to implement treaties have unlimited reach?

The answer to both should be an emphatic no.

The Roberts court has previously ruled to restrict the federal government's treaty power.

In the 2008 case Medellin v. Texas, which I argued as solicitor general of Texas, the high court upheld U.S. sovereignty and prevented the president from using a treaty to overrule the Texas judicial system. The central questions in that case were: one, could the World Court use a treaty to order American courts to reopen final criminal convictions; and, two, could the president order state courts to submit to the World Court's authority?

Texas argued that the answer to both questions was no, and the Supreme Court agreed, 6 to 3.

In Bond, the court should again say no to those who would undermine U.S. sovereignty. The treaty power should not trump every other structural protection of our constitutional government.

The U.S. Constitution enumerates powers given to the federal government, and it reserves unenumerated powers to the states and the people. In other words, the Framers created a system of dual sovereignty: the federal government possesses specific powers that allow it to govern over certain subject matters, and the states have authority in areas where the federal government's powers do not reach. In these separate spheres, either the federal government or the state government is sovereign.

The Constitution does not give the federal government the power to criminalize ordinary assault with ordinary chemicals. That is purely intrastate.

And if treaties can be used to circumvent the Constitution's enumerated limits on federal power and usurp power given to the states under the Tenth Amendment, the American concept of dual sovereignty would be grievously undermined.

When they consider these points, the justices will surely reflect on this long-disputed sentence from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes's 1920 opinion in Missouri v. Holland: "If the treaty is valid, there can be no dispute about the validity of the statute [implementing it] under Article 1, Section 8, as a necessary and proper means to execute the powers of the Government."

But the broadest reading of that sentence cannot possibly be correct. Could the federal government enter into a treaty that gives Congress the power to ban all political speech? Of course not.

Yet this sentence has been relied upon by the Obama administration and some in the legal academy for the radical proposition that the treaty power can be used to circumvent the structural limits of the federal government.

If the Supreme Court concludes that a treaty can be used to prosecute Americans, regardless of their constitutional rights, the ramifications could be alarming were these treaties to be ratified:

●Nothing would stop the United Nation's Arms Trade Treaty from being used to vanquish Americans' Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

●Under the Convention on the Law of the Sea, U.S. businesses could be subject to the decisions of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea based in Hamburg, Germany, rather than the rulings of American courts.

●The Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities could allow decisions on how to educate a child with disabilities to be made by foreign tribunals rather than by the child's parents.

Or, consider that state laws favored by liberals, such as California's environmental laws or a state's punitive damage laws, could be tossed aside if a conservative president, with Senate approval, crafts a treaty with a foreign country to ban these laws.

It is the province and duty of the Supreme Court to interpret U.S. law. No treaty should abdicate this decision-making power to another authority.

In Medellin v. Texas, the Supreme Court rightly defended U.S. sovereignty and upheld the structural limitations on government power, which serve to protect individual liberty in the United States.

Likewise, in Bond v. United States, the Roberts court should remain faithful to the Constitution and affirm that Bond's case belongs in Pennsylvania state courts.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ted-cruz-the-supreme-court-can-use-a-soap-opera-case-to-stop-federal-overreach/2013/11/04/bf0542f0-4574-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html

[Ross]

I dated the Obamacare girl.

And why wouldn't I...she was so optimistic and promising when we first met. Big brown eyes and a warm smile. She even wore those long, dangly earrings – those get me every time. She told me, "If you take me out, you'll find that I'm more than a date.Much more!"

Wowsers! That's a hard promise to pass up. So, we went out. Well, sort of. O-girl told me to pick her up, but when I reached her front door I found a note that read, "I can't go out at our scheduled time, but please keep standing at the door until I'm able."

An odd way to begin, I thought. But, what could I do? There was no getting out of the date at this point—promises were made. So, I stood on her stoop...for several days. One day, long after the flowers in my hand had wilted, I could hear her shuffling around inside. "Are you there," I asked. "Is this date going to happen?"

- See more at: http://selfgovern.com/lawmaker-lunacy/author-admits-i-dated-the-obamacare-girl/#sthash.2qAsjZWj.dpuf

[Warph]

Clinton's man McAuliffe wins Virgina by a nose booger!

McAuliffe

(Exit Polling in Virginia Shows Obumacare Lost: 45% support Obamacare, 53% oppose it in VA exit poll.  Cuccinelli was way behind in the weeks leading up to the election, yet closed phenomenally in the last two weeks because of Obumacare, despite not having Republican leadership behind him, being massively outspent and an Obuma bundler funding the "libertarian" Sarvis he siphoned off at least 5% points.

Demo-rats should be massively scared, given what this race presages and the anger evident at Obumacare... )

[Warph]

Caption This: What The Hell Is Happening With Gov Christie's Wife?

"Oh man, I can't believe Chris farted ...NOW on national television"

[Warph]

First Lady Clown Mooch Obuma Celebrates Diversity!
"We Want To Honor And Embrace All... Faith Traditions"

(Except Christianity... and is that some kind of ghetto gang sign, Mooch?  Crips or Bloods?   Speaking of Diversity, this is what I celebrate, Mooch):

Via CNS News:
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/michelle-obama-we-want-honor-and-embrace-allfaith-traditions

At a White House Diwali celebration on Tuesday afternoon, First Lady Michelle Obama said that she and her husband wanted to celebrate all the faith and culture traditions 'that make us who we are as Americans."

Even as she was saying this, there were 200 plaintiffs pursuing 77 lawsuits asking federal courts to protect their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion from a regulation issued by the administration under Obamacare that requires health insurance plans to cover sterilizations, contraceptives and abortion inducing drugs and devices.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty maintains a website that tracks the lawsuits.

The plaintiffs range from the Hobby Lobby stores to the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. In September, the Department of Justice appealed the Hobby Lobby case to the Supreme Court, asking the court to force the family that owns Hobby Lobby to act against their Christian faith by making them buy insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs and devices.

[Warph]

Pope Francis Halts Weekly Audience In St. Peter's Square
To Hug And Kiss Badly Disfigured Man

(God bless Pope Francis)

Via Daily Mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2489534/Pope-Francis-halts-weekly-general-audience-kiss-hug-sick-man-covered-BOILS.html

Pope Francis concluded Wednesday's general audience in St Peter's Square in Rome by kissing a man covered in boils and joining him in prayer.

Photos of the pontiff embracing the severely disfigured man have gone viral online, with commenters praising the pope's for his compassion and kindness.

In Italian press, the pope has drawn comparisons to his illustrious namesake, St Francis of Assisi – a revered 13th century holy figure, who according to legend kissed a leper he had encountered on a road after receiving a message from God.

Images of Pope Francis comforting the ailing worshiper were taken at the end of the general audience Wednesday, when a man covered in neuronal tumors approached the leader of the Catholic Church asking for a blessing.

The man reportedly suffers from a rare and painful disease called neurofibromatosis, which causes boils, impaired vision and in some cases cancer, according to the Catholic News Agency.

Patients suffering from the ailment, with is genetic and not contagious – are often shunned by society because of their appearance.

(Which is exactly what Christ would have done)

Matthew 8:1-4: When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean." He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I do choose. Be made clean!" Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

[...]

Last week, the pontiff allowed a little boy to remain on stage with him and cling to his leg during a speech in front of a crowd of 150,000.

Earlier this year, the pope tweeted to his 3.2million followers: 'The Pope must serve all people, especially the poor, the weak, the vulnerable.'

On Tuesday, the pontiff fired off this message: 'We need courage if we are to be faithful to the Gospel.'

[Warph]

Awesome: GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal Moves To Strip Food Stamp Benefits
From Welfare Leeches Who Stripped Walmart Shelves Clean

(Feel good story of the day)

Via Baton Rouge Advocate:
http://theadvocate.com/home/7514395-125/jindal-moves-to-strip-food

The Jindal administration announced late Wednesday that it is moving to strip food stamps from recipients who took advantage of a technical glitch last month to stock up on free groceries.

The announcement came after U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., pressured state officials to take action by taking away food stamp benefits and forming a task force with local prosecutors to bring criminal charges. Retailers lost money when they allowed food stamp recipients to leave their stores with groceries even though they could not check spending limits. When the transactions were processed later, thousands bounced back because recipients exceeded their food stamp balances.

Smartphone images of empty store shelves and bulging grocery carts at Wal-Marts in Springhill and Mansfield made national news.

The state Department of Children and Family Services said Wednesday that retailers across the state got 12,000 nonsufficient funds messages when the food stamp system came back online. The agency's spokeswoman, Lindsey deBlieux, said investigations are ongoing to determine how many people took advantage. Retailers could have tried to process transactions multiple times. Recipients also could have made multiple purchases.