Obamacare Website Quietly Deletes Reference to 'Free Health Care'

Even as President Obama and his administration are making a last minute push to encourage enrollment in Obamacare, a quiet change was made on the Healthcare.gov website regarding those who will still not be able to afford coverage after the program kicks in. From at least June 26, 2013 to as recently as September 15, under the topic, "Where can I get free or low-cost care in my community?" the following statement appeared: "If you can't afford any health plan, you can get free or low-cost health and dental care at a nearby community health center." Here is how the page in question appeared:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obamacare-website-quietly-deletes-reference-free-health-care_757348.html 

Tesla Motors and the Folly of Government Intervention

Anyone searching for a case study to explain what is wrong with capitalism in America today can stop looking. We have the perfect specimen: Tesla Motors. Federal and state programs have conferred huge advantages to help the electric-vehicle company sell its cars — which state laws then make almost impossible to sell.
Left to its own devices, Tesla one day might have epitomized everything good about market economics. In an industry whose fundamentals have changed little since the introduction of the Model T, the California-based company, led by the visionary Elon Musk, made a long-term bet that it could prevail through disruptive innovation and superior products (Motor Trend named its Model S the 2013 Car of the Year, and Consumer Reports raved about it). Instead, Tesla now epitomizes the folly of government intervention.
Start with all the special benefits Tesla receives — including a $465 million loan from the Energy Department, conferred in January of 2010. That is two-thirds more than Tesla initially raised from private investors, and more than double the $226 million the company raised from its initial public offering five months later, even though the loan surely encouraged investors to buy.

http://reason.com/archives/2013/09/30/tesla-motors-and-the-folly-of-government

Government Shutdown: The Fight Is Win-Win for GOP

If they manage to extract a concession from Senate Democrats in exchange for voting to approve a continuing resolution to fund the government’s operations, then they’ve won. The House Republicans are asking for a repeal of Obamacare’s tax on medical devices and a one-year delay of the implementation of the health care law. If they get either one, they’ll have achieved something that they wouldn’t have achieved had they been as pliant as President Obama wanted.
And — here is the underappreciated point — if the Republicans fold and approve the spending bill without extracting any concessions from Democrats, then they’ve also won. Because in that case, Americans will actually get a chance to see for themselves what a train-wreck Obamacare is. If the law is really as bad as Republicans say it is, then as a political matter, what could be better for Republicans than voters finding out firsthand?
Polls have consistently shown the public’s attitude to Obamacare as skeptical verging on hostile. That’s based on opinion shaped in part by Republican descriptions of the law. If the real thing matches the scary scenario painted by Republican critics — or simply fails to live up to the utopia promised by President Obama and the Democrats — the politics of that should be great for the Republicans.

http://reason.com/archives/2013/09/30/government-shutdown-the-fight-is-win-win 

Boehner Blasts Senate Democrats for Inaction on Shutdown

Republican unity showed unmistakable signs of fraying Monday as the Senate swatted aside the latest tea party-driven demand to delay the nation's health care overhaul in exchange for averting a partial government shutdown at midnight. 
Even in advance of the 54-46 party-line Senate vote, the stock market dropped as fears spread that the first shutdown in 17 years would inconvenience millions and harm the economy. "We're at the brink," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., as House GOP leaders calculated their next move.
Ironically, the issue at the core of the dispute, implementation of key parts of Obamacare, will begin Tuesday on schedule, shutdown or no.
As lawmakers squabbled, President Barack Obama urged them instead to "act responsibly and do what's right for the American people."

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/US-Budget-Battle-Boehner/2013/09/30/id/528359?ns_mail_uid=38419335&ns_mail_job=1539704_09302013&promo_code=1507F-1#ixzz2gQ8Z3t8e

Americans Aren't Bound To Pay the Government's Debts

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew says if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling—or, as I call it, the debt sky, because apparently the sky is the limit—the government won’t be able to pay all its bills starting October 17. The Congressional Budget Office says that dire condition won’t set in until sometime between October 22 and 31.
As he has each time this issue has come up, President Obama emphasizes that increasing the debt would only permit the government to pay expenses already incurred and would not finance new spending. To which I again reply, rhetorically: Why is Congress allowed to spend money that it knows it won’t possess unless the debt limit is raised? Not only does that violate good sense, it also rigs the debate over the debt limit by threatening default as the price of voting no.
Such a query about the debt sky assumes that Congress operates in a context of legitimacy. So what we really need to do is step back and question that context itself. To do that, there is no better person to turn to than Lysander Spooner (1808–1887), lawyer, abolitionist, entrepreneur, and libertarian subversive. It so happens that in section XVII of his 1870 essay “The Constitution of No Authority” (number 6 in his No Treason series), Spooner took up the question of government debt with his signature fresh look. As you might imagine, he left nothing standing.

http://reason.com/archives/2013/09/29/the-national-debt-according-to-lysander

Keeping the Poor Poor (Until They're Not)

Government data indicate that the U.S. remains far from winning the longest war in its history: the war on poverty.

The latest line of argument from defenders of the welfare system is that we are measuring poverty inaccurately; counting welfare as income, they suggest, would show that we are winning the war on poverty.  Proponents of changing the way we classify the data on America's poor would accomplish little more than a subterfuge to distract from glaring flaws with the status quo of government social welfare programs. 

The economic downturn that began in 2007 has officially been over since June of 2009, but the end of the recession did not mark the beginning of meaningful prosperity for many Americans.  With the coming of the debt ceiling and proposed reforms to the government's food stamp program, there is a serious debate unfolding about what the government should do to bring people out of poverty.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/09/keeping_the_poor_poor_until_theyre_not.html#ixzz2gNj7T7L6

Established Obamacare Consequences

Just a few days ago the President publicly declared that there is no evidence that Obamacare is harming the economy or hurting jobs.  Lets take a brief look at the facts.  Here are a few items that do just that.

1.  Cutting the number of hours for a full work week from 40 to 30 doesn't harm workers?  The logic of that part of Obamacare makes no sense whatever.  htttp://news.investors.com/politics-obamacare/092513-669013-obamacare-employer-mandate-a-list-of-cuts-to-work-hours-jobs.htm  and here:  http://www.teaparty.org/rand-paul-its-obama-whos-shutting-down-government-28848/

2.  The claim of proponents is that Obamacare will expand coverage and enhance American healthcare.  How can that be if Obamacare results in the shut-down of healthcare facilities?  http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/18/us-usa-health-clevelandclinic-idUSBRE98H14V20130918

3.  And, what about unions?  You will recall that they were big supporters of Obamacare before it was enacted.  They spent millions of dollars and much leg work in support of its passage.  How do they feel now that they see what's in it?  Here is a partial answer to that question.  http://washingtonexaminer.com/seiu-unionists-strike-over-obamacare-related-cuts/article/2536458

4.  And what about the claim that Obamacare would reduce costs?  It may well for a select few but not for the majority of people.  In fact tax payers will have the privaledge of paying for their own coverage along with paying through their taxes for the subsidies that the government claims it provides to those who qualify.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/27/despite-administration-assurances-some-rates-may-soar-under-obamacare/

5.  And

here is a related item.  Not only has the median income of Americans declined since Obama too office the number in poverty has climbed.  Check out this item lifted from Newsmax.com.  Do you think Obamacare will fix that problem? The median income of American households dropped by $2,627 during President Barack Obama's first term — and the number of people in poverty rose by about 6,667,000, according to a new report from the Census Bureau. Some 46,496,000 Americans are now in poverty, the highest number ever and a 16.73 percent increase from 2008 when Obama took office. Overall, 15 percent of Americans are considered to be living in poverty, up from 13.2 percent in 2008. But the figures are much higher for blacks and Hispanics — 27 percent of blacks and 25.6 percent of Hispanics are living in poverty. The rate for non-Hispanic whites is 9.7 percent. More than one-fifth of all Americans under age 18 — 21.8 percent — are in poverty, as are 9.1 percent of those 65 and older. A single individual earning less than $11,270 last year was considered to be in poverty. For two-person households, the threshold is $14,937; for three-person households, $18,284; for a family of four, $23,492. Last year, the real median household income in America was $51,017, a 4.89 percent drop from 2008. Median income dropped in every year of Obama's first term. For black households, median income last year was $33,321, according to the report "Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States," released on Tuesday. The income and poverty estimates shown in the report are based solely on money income before taxes and do not include the value of noncash benefits, such as those provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicare, Medicaid, public housing, or employer-provided fringe benefits.

Was Ted Kennedy a Terrorist?

Political rhetoric in Washington is heating up, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says humans are to blame. We're just kidding about the IPCC, but blaming "humans" generally would come closer to the truth than what we've been hearing from the White House and its supporters in the media, who are attempting to cast all blame on their antagonists.
As the "government shutdown" crisis moves toward a resolution, another "debt limit" crisis quickly approaches. With the federal government nearing the statutory maximum amount of public debt, House Republican leaders plan to use the need to increase the limit as leverage to extract policy concessions from Senate Democrats and President Obama. The Christian Science Monitor describes the GOP wish list:

House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday he would agree to raise the nation's debt ceiling before the federal government hits its credit limit on Oct. 17, but only if Democrats agree to delay implementation of Obamacare for one year.

Though still in the formative stage, the House GOP's debt bill right now would also authorize construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, permit more energy exploration on federal lands, block federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, establish a timeline for comprehensive tax reform, limit medical malpractice suits, and raise the cost of Medicare for wealthier Americans.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303796404579101271130203610.html#printMode 

Private Sector Jobs Decreased By 278,000 Last Month

Despite the decline in jobs the President still says the economy is continuing to get better.  Huh?  That is simply not possible.  The decline in the number of jobs coupled with the increasing number of people dropping out of the labor force is what produced the 7.3%  unemployment rate, not an improving economy.
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-number-of-private-sector-jobs-fell-by-278000-last-month-but-the-economy-is-getting-better  And get this, the President has stooped so low that he is now claiming that "there's no widespread evidence" that Obamacare is causing a cutback in jobs.  The man is either in denial or once again is willfully lying to the public.  Not only is Obamacare negatively impacting jobs/the economy.  It is increasing taxes (not counting that tax payers pay for both their insurance premiums and subsidies for those who qualify for them), flying in the face of forecasted declines in the number of available medical doctors willing to participate in Medicare and a decline in the number of total number of available doctors, complaints coming from both those in government and those outside government who helped pass the law in the first place, and more.  This is literally unbelievable.   http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/26/obama-claims-no-widespread-evidence-health-law-hurts-jobs-amid-cutbacks/?cmpid=NL_fntop    

George Burns

Even "Big Bird" has fallen victim to Obamacare

The President's proclamation that there is no evidence of Obamacare impacting jobs or the economy is just one of his many great big lies.  Why anyone believes anything he says is beyond me.  It is obvious he does not care one bit about hurting the middle and low class people he proclaims are his biggest focus.  His actions speak far louder than his words - and they have hurt those he claims to help.  The fact is that he is so committed to his progressive/socialistic philosophy that it trumps everything else - his way is the right way and he expects us to just do what he says.  Our interest, our desires, our opinions, our beliefs, our rights are of no interest to him.  In other words for him it is "my way or the highway".  He would not recognize or acknowledge the truth/facts if they hit him in the face.  Here is the Big Bird job situation and don't tell me that he does not know about this and the hundreds of other similar situations widely known but suppressed or ignored by him and his loyal subjects in the White House, Congress and the mainstream media.  http://www.redstate.com/2013/09/26/barack-obama-health-care-big-bird/   Those who join him in propagating the lies and hiding the truth will be just as culpable as he is when the full force of disaster hits.    

 

George Burns

The Thinking And Behaviors Of Nancy Pelosi And Progressives

Last Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" in a segment regarding the nation's budget and the national debt representative Nancy Pelosi said “Put everything on the table, review it...But you cannot have any more cuts just for the sake of cuts.”  It is truly unbelievable the things she says.  Her progressivism and absolute faith that big government as good, all knowing, just, kind, benevolent, etc. blinds her to truth and reality.  She actually believes that the government wisely spends every penny of our tax dollars and would never do anything to hurt businesses, the nation's economy or the public.  She and her progressive friends, therefore, truly believe we as a nation cannot cut one penny from the budget, that endlessly raising the debt ceiling is absolutely necessary.  To them it matters not that we borrow over 40% of what the government now spends. How to pay it back never enters their conciousness.  Progressives believe they have access to an endless supply of taxpayer and borrowed money to mete out all the goodies a benevolent government can dispense. 

This article reflects how far Representative Pelosi and her progressive friends are out of touch with reality.  http://redalertpolitics.com/2013/09/22/nancy-pelosi-on-spending-no-more-cuts-to-make/  Just one quote demonstrates how she thinks.  "When challenged by Crowley on whether or not the legislation was intended to prevent Obamacare from hurting businesses, Pelosi dismissed that claim, calling it 'an excuse...'It is an excuse, it is not a reason,' Pelosi said. 'Now for the 42nd time, this week, they voted to defund one approach or another, defund the Affordable Care Act.'"  Nowhere does she acknowledge both the rising costs of the program for American taxpayers nor the myriad of problems which suggest it will be a total disaster.  It is not possible for a bill they wrote and "forced" through Congress to be flawed in any way.  Government is good, government can do no wrong, government can spend and borrow money endlessly without any harm to anyone.  Government is all knowing and all supreme.  Almighty government officials can pass laws they don't even read without any possibility of negative consequences.  That's her view along with her fellow progressives.

In addition to the last paragraphs of the above link, here are a few more links that reflect reality, not Pelosi's progressive "pixy dust" fantasies.

1.  Not only does government waste countless millions of our tax dollars every year it loses a bunch to various means by fraud and abuse. http://www.humanevents.com/2013/09/26/irs-loses-67-million-out-of-billion-dollar-obamacare-slush-fund/

2.  And it is improbable, don't you know, that government politicians like Ms. Pelosi would waste "our" tax money taking care of matters of their personal vanity.  Their view?  They are the American elites and have every right to do so.  http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/09/5-25-million-senate-hair-care-21-ways-politicians-living-high-life-expense/

3.  And surely we should have no concern whatever about government sponsored loans/gifts to "favored" industrial interests that end up in the loss of billions of taxpayer dollars.   http://www.moneynews.com/Economy/General-Motors-Government-Stock-GM-shares/2013/09/26/id/527824?ns_mail_uid=38419335&ns_mail_job=1539449_09272013&promo_code=1503B-1

4.  And what do these wonderful progressives think about anyone who opposes them as a matter of principle?  As the linked case illustrates, those that believe our national debt is getting well out of hand are given the "respect" they are due.  It is the way all progressives, including the President, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, treat those who differ with them.  This specific example comes from the White House.  It should be noted that although issued by a presidential spokesman, they are words he sanctioned since he has either used them or similar ones many times.   http://www.businessinsider.com/debt-ceiling-republicans-obama-terrorist-hostage-deadline-2013-9

George Burns

NSA Spying: 4th Amendment Protection

This resource and action page is not intended to explain WHY the NSA spying program is wrong. It assumes you’re already on board with that fact. This page exists to provide you the tools needed to begin resisting it.
Passage of the 4th Amendment Protection Act in your state, county, city and town will create obstacles to implementation that will help thwart the unconstitutional spying efforts of the federal government. State laws, local resolutions, and even campus legislation are all important pieces of the puzzle to resist and nullify NSA spying. (model legislation here)
The 4th Amendment Protection Act is an important first step to stopping NSA spying. You can be sure that this one bill (and no single piece of legislation) will stop the NSA on its own. Passage of this legislation will be a big piece of the puzzle to the overall resistance. Once your state completes this first step, there are more…aggressive…measures that will be implemented to push back.

http://tracking.tenthamendmentcenter.com/issues/nsa-spying/ 

No clear path to ending U.S. debt limit, spending impasse

U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Thursday refused to give in to President Barack Obama's demand for straightforward bills to run the government beyond September 30 and to increase borrowing authority to avoid a historic default.
In a direct challenge to Obama, they said they will seek a one-year delay in the full implementation of the national healthcare law known as "Obamacare" in return for raising U.S. borrowing authority by enough to let Treasury borrow through the end of 2014.
The move does not bode well for prompt resolution of these fiscal battles that could lead to a government shutdown on October 1 and a default in mid-October. Precious time will be consumed on both issues as they bounce back and forth between the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic Senate, with each party anxious to make the other look uncompromising and thus responsible for any economic damage that might occur.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/26/us-usa-fiscal-idUSBRE98N11220130926

The Federal Government's Budget: Basic Facts You Need To Know

As the federal government’s fiscal year 2013 wheezes to a close without a budget in place for fiscal 2014, here is some basic information everyone should understand.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), current spending levels are estimated to result in a $560 billion federal deficit in 2014, smaller than last year, but projected to start growing again by 2016.
Deficits can hurt the economy by forcing the government to borrow and add to the national debt owed to the public—presently about $12 trillion, or roughly 72 percent of the whole economy—which hurts the economy in the long run. That same borrowing might cause businesses to delay investing in the economy in case their taxes are raised to pay for the added debt, and creating short-term pain. So, what would it take to actually eliminate the deficit?
Let’s start by considering how much of federal spending is “mandatory” and how much is “discretionary.”

http://reason.com/archives/2013/09/26/the-federal-governments-budget

Chattanooga VW workers to file federal charges against UAW, group says

Seven workers at Chattanooga's Volkswagen plant are filing federal charges against the United Auto Workers, saying the union misled and coerced them and other employees to forfeit their rights in its card-signing campaign to gain their support, a group said today.
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation said its attorneys are to file the charges today with the National Labor Relations Board's regional office in Atlanta.
Earlier this month, the UAW said a majority of the plant's workers had signed cards authorizing the union to represent them. It also said it was asking VW to recognize the union because of the cards rather than hold a secret-ballot election at the plant.
According to the foundation, VW workers were told by UAW organizers that a signature on the card was to call for a secret-ballot election. The workers also charged other "improprieties" in the card-check process, including using cards that were signed too long ago to be legally valid.

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2013/sep/25/vw-workers-to-file-nlrb-charges-against-uaw-group/ 

Mobilizing Election Integrity, at Judicial Watch

Judicial Watch is mobilizing resources for the fight over election integrity — the organization has just announced the hiring of former Department of Justice Voting Section Deputy Chief Robert Popper. This is very bad news for vote fraudsters, vote deniers, and organizations (including Eric Holder’s Justice Department) that stand in the way of election integrity.
Popper worked with me on the New Black Panther case at the Justice Department. This means that three of the four lawyers who worked on that case have left DOJ, and are now on the side of preventing lawlessness in voting rather than aiding and abetting it.

http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2013/09/26/mobilizing-election-integrity-at-judicial-watch/?singlepage=true 

The Great Big GOP Establishment Obamacare Lie

Among the many insightful things Ted Cruz said during his historic filibuster through the night was that there is no honesty in the Republican Party.  He noted that it would be better to have a Senate full of Republicans like Mike Lee and Democrats like Bernie Sanders – people who actually believe what they say, and are honest and open about it.  What he meant to say is that most of Washington is full of finger lickin’ frauds like Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, and Harry Reid.
We all know that Mitch McConnell and his mealy-mouthed minions believe that Obamacare is the law of the land and will never be repealed [root and branch].  But they are not man enough to publicly promulgate that belief.  Instead they lie to their constituents and claim to be pushing defunding Obamacare, albeit with a smarter strategy.  McConnell claims that the real fight will be when he becomes Majority Leader.  He says so even as he admits that “parts of the law are OK.”

http://www.redstate.com/2013/09/25/the-great-big-gop-establishment-obamacare-lie/ 

More Evidence

This piece provides more evidence that President Obama has little regard for the Constitution he has sworn multiple times to uphold.  He also cares little for what most Americans think.  It is what HE thinks that is important.  Seeking to sign on to a UN gun control treaty is nothing short of an abridgement of the Constitution.  But, he does not care...he is more interested in making a political statement in support of his progressive ideals.  The Senate will never ratify this foolishness and he knows it.  

http://www.redstate.com/2013/09/24/arms-treaty-senate-john-kerry-united-nations/  

George Burns

Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) Leaves Americans at the Mercy of Obama’s EPA

Somber news came out of AAA this week: the nationwide average price per gallon for gasoline has been above $3.00 for over 1,000 days straight. This is a new and unprecedented record and undoubtedly one of the unsung reasons why the national economy continues to flounder in what the Obama Administration embarrassingly champions as a recovery.
The implications of this unsavory distinction are obvious to average American business owners and families that are stuck holding bigger bills for everything from groceries to utilities. Yet, apparently, some members of Congress think almost 3 years of record high prices for a commodity as essential as gasoline just isn’t enough.

http://www.redstate.com/freedomworks/2013/09/25/rep-john-shimkus-r-il-leaves-americans-at-the-mercy-of-obamas-epa/ 

Americans Turn on Washington; 68% Say Wrong Track in Poll…

As the U.S. heads toward a potential government shutdown or default, the public is more alienated from Washington than at any time since the aftermath of the 2011 downgrade of the nation’s credit rating.

Americans are pessimistic about the course of the country, with 68 percent saying it’s headed in the wrong direction, the most in two years, according to the poll of 1,000 adults conducted Sept. 20-23.

President Barack Obama’s 47 percent favorability rating and the 34 percent positive reading for Republicans are the worst ever for both in the Bloomberg National Poll, which began in 2009. The 44 percent approval rating of the Democratic Partyis at a two-year low.

http://www.teaparty.org/americans-turn-on-washington-68-say-wrong-track-in-poll-28725/ 

Pelosi Speaks Out, Again

I'm sorry but this lady is either a total idiot or an ignoramous if she believes the government spends taxpayer's money wisely.  There are hundreds of examples we could toss out that contradict what she says.  How she, a millionaire, thinks average Americans would believe anything she says about government fiscal responsibility is beyond me.  And what about the fact that in order to pay the bills she and her colleagues dream up requirers the government to borrow money hand over fist.  And, remember she demonstrated her lack of ethics and absence of any sense of reponsibility when she declared that "we must pass the bill so we can see what's in it." Neither she nor any of her colleages even read the Obamacare bill before casting their vote.  Yet she offered high praise for it. Again I say, what an idiot.  

 http://www.redstate.com/2013/09/23/nancy-pelosi-says-the-federal-cupboard-is-bare-there-are-no-more-spending-cuts-to-make/   

George Burns

DOJ trying to end voucher program in Louisiana

Department of Justice attorneys pursuing the case against the Louisiana school choice program have a history of liberal advocacy, a fact that experts say calls into question the DOJ’s contention it is not against school vouchers.
The DOJ said it is not opposed to the voucher program in a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner (R., Ohio), insisting that it is only seeking information to ensure the state is in compliance with desegregation laws.
“We are neither opposing Louisiana’s school voucher program nor seeking to revoke vouchers from students,” the DOJ said. “When properly run, state and local voucher programs need not conflict with legal requirements to desegregate schools.”

http://freebeacon.com/doj-lawyers-attacking-louisiana-voucher-program-tied-to-liberal-causes/ 

Obama Has Dismantled America

Does the extinguished candle care about the darkness?  Ask the huddled masses who are  yearning to be free.  America was once thought of as a light unto nations.  Obama has single-handedly extinguished that light.
I saw it all coming.  In my 2010 book The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, I noted that one student who was interviewed after an Obama town hall meeting during his first presidential trip to Europe in 2009 said happily: "He sounds just like a European."  That is, not like an American president who loves his country.  And he doesn't: asked during that visit to Europe about American exceptionalism, Obama answered: "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism."

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/09/obama_has_dismantled_america.html#ixzz2fzW7qJdk

House Republicans Ready to Retreat, Easing Shutdown Fears

Conservative Republicans in the House appear ready to back off their demands that the short-term funding resolution Congress must pass to avoid a government shutdown also defund or delay Obamacare.
In a shift that could spare John Boehner a damaging uprising from his majority's right wing, conservatives have begun to acknowledge their lack of leverage in the funding debate and are now coalescing around the House speaker's preferred strategy of forcing the White House to accept health-law changes by holding the debt ceiling hostage.
Still, Republicans are searching for some concessions that might allow them to escape the debate over the continuing resolution with a scaled-down policy victory.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/house-republicans-ready-to-retreat-easing-shutdown-fears-20130925 

EPA admits banning coal plants won’t impact global warming

The Obama administration is effectively banning the construction of new coal-fired power plants, a move officials admit will have little to no impact on global warming.
“The EPA does not anticipate that this proposed rule will result in notable CO2 emission change … by 2022,” the agency writes in its proposal to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
“EPA knows there aren’t benefits,” Dan Simmons, director of regulatory and state affairs at the Institute for Energy Research, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “EPA and environmentalists are being disingenuous when they claim this rule will have an impact on the climate or the environment.”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/25/epa-admits-banning-coal-plants-wont-impact-global-warming/#ixzz2fwwKw4RO

IRS Watchdog: $67 Million Missing from Obamacare Slush Fund

The IRS is unable to account for $67 million spent from a slush fund established for Obamacare implementation, according to a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) report released today. 
The “Health Insurance Reform Implementation Fund” (HIRIF) was tucked into Obamacare in order to give the IRS money to enforce the tax provisions of the healthcare law.  The fund, totaling some $1 billion of taxpayer money, was used to roll out enforcement mechanisms for the approximately 50 tax provisions of Obamacare. 
According to the report:  “Specifically, the IRS did not account for or attempt to quantify approximately $67 million [from the slush fund] of indirect ACA costs incurred for Fiscal Years 2010 through 2012.”
The report also found several other abuses of taxpayer funds, including:

Read more: http://atr.org/irs-watchdog-million-missing-obamacare-slush-a7886#ixzz2fww2yPWe

Global Gun Grab: Kerry Signs U.N. Arms Trade Treaty

The Senate is unlikely to ratify a United Nations arms treaty signed by John Kerry, but gun control zealots will use it as justification for "common sense" infringements on our constitutional right.
The secretary of state signed the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty on Wednesday despite repeated indications that it would be dead on arrival in the U.S. Senate. One warning was a letter from Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., that said the treaty would be rejected just like "other U.N.-sponsored treaties which threaten our country's sovereignty."
Inhofe reminded Kerry that the pact would "collect dust alongside the Law of the Sea Treaty, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Kyoto Protocol, to name a few, which have all been rejected by the U.S. Senate and the American people."

Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/092513-672497-kerry-signs-un-arms-trade-treaty.htm#ixzz2fwuZY2Ze

More Bad News For Obamacare For Supporters

The Continuing Resolution remains a front burner item because the House of Representatives in its version of the bill voted to defund Obamacare.  The matter is now before the Senate.  Senator Ted Cruz's filibuster serves to highlight the objections the majority of the country have to Obamacare and affirms that they do not want it.  But, as usual, what the people's elected representative want trumps the desires of their constituents...solely for political reasons.  The fact is that this bill passed Congress on a strictly Democratic vote.  What's worse not a single member of Congress read the bill before casting their votes...if that is not an abridgment of their responsibilities I do not know what is.  The fact of the matter is all those who voted for a bill they knew nothing about should be subject to recall.  Not only was their behavior irresponsible it was unethical.  They have no business serving in office.

The Democrats now make the point that the "irresponsible" Republicans are willing to risk shutting down the government over a silly thing like seeking to defund the unpopular bill which happens to impose the highest taxes on the American public in history, and has a multitude of documented implementation problems many of which are expected to degrade our Health Care system.  That the Democrats were irresponsible in passing the bill in the first place is ignored as they continue to press for funding of the program which is now nearly 3 times more expensive than promised.  Blaming the Republicans for wanting to shut down the government is nothing more than cover for their butts.  They want them, against their will, to keep Obamacare afloat. The Republican's bill now before the Senate keeps the government running but, rightfully I think, does not fund Obamacare.  It's current cost as estimated by the non-partisan Congressional Budget office is $2.6 trillion rather than the promised $.9 trillion.  That in the face of a nearly $17 trillion debt and the President's insistence that our nation's debt ceiling be raised, too, so he has the money (borrowed money, mind you) to pay for Obamacare.  Fiscal responsibility is not part of the President's make-up nor that of his fellow progressives in Congress both Democrat and Republican.  

Now for a bit more information which confirms that Congress should either defund or repeal this bad, bad law and the President, for once, should listen the the people he is suppose to serve and sign the bill which does one of those two things.  Because I have provided a number of items discussing Obamacare's negative consequences, here are just four more examples.

1.  You will recall that the President, Pelosi and Reid promised that if you like your doctor you can keep him.  Well not so fast.  Even the New York Times, an extreme liberal publication and huge supporter of Obamacare passage, now admits that may not be true.  And fewer choices of hospitals, too.  And take note that government mandated insurance coverage will not cover the normal cost of medical services so expect either less qualified providers or lower standard hospitals.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/health/lower-health-insurance-premiums-to-come-at-cost-of-fewer-choices.html?pagewanted=all

2.  I bet you did not know that Obamacare mandates the use of a calculator to determine relevant taxes due.  Here is just a taste:  "Those who enroll in Obamacare’s exchanges will be subjected to a brand new system of income-based federal taxation (again, their word) over and above Uncle Sam’s existing income and FICA (Social Security and Medicare) tax regimes. This will include marginal rates for most enrollees ranging from 9.5 percent to 18 percent, along with myriad “cliffs” where premiums — er, taxes — skyrocket when a person or couple earns just one dollar of additional income."  And note the discussion about how Obamacare  disincentivizes workers to work.  http://pjmedia.com/blog/obamacares-cool-calculator-work-disincentives-like-weve-never-seen-before/?singlepage=true

3.  Not only will many of us be subjected to lower standards of healthcare as noted in item 1 above, fewer doctors will be available to service the public's healthcare needs.  Here is the American Association of Medical Colleges estimates and what we have to look forward to.   https://www.aamc.org/newsroom/newsreleases/2010/150570/100930.html

4.  If you need proof that members of Congress had no idea what they were imposing on the nation when they passed Obamacare, check out this link.  They are now telling their staffs to hold off signing up for Obamacare through the exchanges until they can get more information about the law they passed without reading it or understanding its consequences.   http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/senators-staff-told-not-to-enroll-in-obamacare-exchanges-yet/

Lawmakers who think the know what is best too often do not have a clue.  As past history tells us bad law makes for bad consequences on the public.  If you have not yet done so DEMAND that your elected officials cast aside personal political considerations for a change and do what is right for the public they are suppose to serve.

George Burns

Hail To The King!

Dutch King Willem-Alexander captured headlines last week when he announced an end to his nation’s welfare state. In a solid blow to the leftist gut, the king declared that the “classic welfare state of the second half of the 20th century” was “unsustainable in its current form.” It would be replaced, he continued, by a “participation society,” in which people are expected “to make their own choices, to arrange their own lives, and take care of each other.”

It’s like a fairy tale written by Ayn Rand: the handsome prince slays the welfare state, and they all live happily ever after. A hereditary monarch who proves he has a firmer grasp on liberty than 90 percent of the elected leaders of the modern West is enough to make many of us shout, “Long live the king!”

http://thefederalist.com/2013/09/24/hail-to-the-king/ 

A letter to the FDA raises concerns about the marketing of e-cigarettes to children.

Forty attorneys general sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday urging the agency to meet its own deadline and regulate electronic cigarettes in the same way it regulates tobacco products.
The letter, co-sponsored by Massachusetts Attorney Martha Coakley and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, says e-cigarettes are being marketed to children through cartoon-like advertising characters and by offering fruit and candy flavors, much like cigarettes were once marketed to hook new smokers.
At the same time, e-cigarettes are becoming more affordable and more widely available as the use of regular cigarettes decline as they become more expensive and less socially acceptable.
"Unlike traditional tobacco products, there are no federal age restrictions that would prevent children from obtaining e-cigarettes, nor are there any advertising restrictions," DeWine wrote.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/24/fda-regulation-e-cigarettes/2862641/ 

Be Afraid of NSA Spying

In the missive, published Thursday by Kevin Gosztola of Firedoglake.com, Alexander and his lieutenant, John C. Inglis, fret that: “Our agency has frequently been portrayed in the news as more of a rogue element than a national treasure.”
If each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, the source of domestic strife for the “NSA family” is particularly unusual. Rollicked by former family member Edward Snowden's exposure of secret domestic surveillance programs, NSA is suffering Watergate-era “flashbacks,” and morale “has plummeted,” the LA Times reports.
But these troubles are self-inflicted — and a letter packed with distortions isn’t likely to help.
The “Dear Family” letter repeats what the agency told Congress this summer that NSA has kept “the nation and its allies safe from 54 different terrorist plots ... just part of the great work that your family members are doing every day.”

http://reason.com/archives/2013/09/24/be-afraid-of-nsa-spying 

More About Coal, The EPA and Reality

Regarding its destructive restrictions set on the coal industry the EPA's logic is seriously flawed in the face of emerging facts for a number of reasons, not to mention their mistaken rationale that the relationship between CO2 and global warming is off base.  An abundance of evidence refutes that claim and the global warmist have no logical explaination.  Even long standing global warmist are now admitting that the relationship between CO2 and warming is tenuous at best.  But, as usual the President and his fellow warmist ignore facts as they pursue their political agenda.   http://www.nationalreview.com/article/359337/wonderfully-wasteful-editors  and here:  http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Obama-Climate-Change/2013/09/20/id/526951   

George Burns

What We Could Do With a Postal Savings Bank: Infrastructure That Doesn't Cost Taxpayers a Dime

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is the nation’s second largest civilian employer after Walmart. Although successfully self-funded throughout its long history, it is currently struggling to stay afloat. This is not, as sometimes asserted, because it has been made obsolete by the Internet. In fact the post office has gotten more business from Internet orders than it has lost to electronic email. What has pushed the USPS into insolvency is an oppressive 2006 congressional mandate that it prefund healthcare for its workers 75 years into the future. No other entity, public or private, has the burden of funding multiple generations of employees who have not yet even been born.
The Carper-Coburn bill (S. 1486) is the subject of congressional hearings this week. It threatens to make the situation worse, by eliminating Saturday mail service and door-to-door delivery and laying off more than 100,000 workers over several years.
The Postal Service Modernization Bills brought by Peter DeFazio and Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, would allow the post office to recapitalize itself by diversifying its range of services to meet unmet public needs.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/19017-what-we-could-do-with-a-postal-savings-bank-infrastructure-that-doesnt-cost-taxpayers-a-dime 

Covering Up The [Gulf] Oil Spill With Corexit Was a Deadly Action

Preface: Additional interviews of leading government-affiliated experts concerning the Gulf oil spill here and here.
As we reported at the time, the EPA allowed BP to dump mass quantities of a highly-toxic chemical into the Gulf of Mexico in order to help BP hide the amount of oil in the Gulf … and to help to cover up what was really going on.
Last month, 60 Minutes made a fantastic exposé on the whole shenanigan.
We contacted Gulf toxicologist Dr. Susan Shaw – Founder and Director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute – for comment.  Background on Dr. Shaw’s involvement with the BP oil spill here and  here.
Unfortunately, the government has a habit of covering up disasters – including not only oil spills, but everything from nuclear accidents to  financial problems – instead of actually fixing the problems so that they won’t happen again.

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/09/bps-gulf-oil-spill-covering-up-the-oil-spill-with-corexit-was-a-deadly-action-what-happened-in-the-gulf-was-a-political-act-an-act-of-cowardice-and-greed.html 

Stop the Monsanto Protection Act

The Monsanto Protection Act is an outrage. It allows big agricultural and biotech corporations to ignore food safety regulations and sell genetically engineered foods even after a court order to stop.
The good news? The Monsanto Protection Act expires on September 30.
The bad news? Some in Congress want to extend the Monsanto Protection Act as part of the must-pass budget bill that will keep our government operating past September 30.
The Monsanto Protection Act was written anonymously and in secret - and prevents courts from doing their jobs. For Americans concerned about health and environmental damage, it leaves no legal recourse.
We have to act now to stop big special interests from running roughshod over our democracy.
Join Sen. Jeff Merkley, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, and the Daily Kos community. Tell Congress to stop the Monsanto Protection Act.

http://www.stopthemonsantoprotectionact.com/2013/09/24/stop-monsanto-protection-act-merkley-mo/ 

President Obama’s Speech to the UN General Assembly

President Barack Obama delivered his annual address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 2013, the opening day of the UN’s general debate session with many heads of state and other government leaders present for the occasion.
He tried to articulate a middle ground for the United States between continued engagement in long, expensive nation-building exercises, which he rejected, and disengagement from the world, which he also rejected. He said that “the United States has a hard-earned humility when it comes to our ability to determine events inside other countries.” However, he said that it would be a mistake for the U.S. to disengage from the world.
“I believe America must remain engaged for our own security,” the president declared. “I believe the world is better for it. Some may disagree, but I believe that America is exceptional - in part because we have shown a willingness, through the sacrifice of blood and treasure, to stand up not only for our own narrow self-interest, but for the interests of all.”

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/58118

Constitutionally Illiterate

Displaying their ignorance of the U.S. Constitution, Democratic bigwigs are excoriating Republican members of the House of Representatives for attaching a condition — no Obamacare — to a stopgap bill to fund the government. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called it “extortion.” Rep. Steny Hoyer labeled it “hostage-taking.” Rep. Nancy Pelosi termed it “legislative arson.”
In truth, what the House Republicans are doing is not blackmail. It’s checks and balances in action. Congress has always had the power to attach almost any condition — including repealing or changing a law — to appropriations. The framers wrote the Constitution that way for good reason.
The nation’s first plan of government, the Articles of Confederation, had no president. When the framers gathered in 1787 to write a second, more effective plan, they reluctantly created the presidency. Reluctantly, because the founders worried that a president would accumulate power and spend flagrantly as they had seen the despotic kings of Europe do.

http://spectator.org/archives/2013/09/25/constitutionally-illiterate 

There They Go Again

So in the end President Obama did not let the Navy Yard tragedy go to “waste.” He finally addressed the nation last Sunday to explain why the deaths of a dozen innocent victims on September 16 should mean more power for him and the government, and less freedom for millions of innocent, law-abiding citizens across America — who are actually reducing gun violence (and much more effectively than Obama and the Democrats).
Obama recounted in his September 22  remarks, “As president I have now grieved with five American communities ripped apart by mass violence: Fort Hood, Tucson, Aurora, Sandy Hook, and now the Washington Navy Yard. And these mass shootings occur against a backdrop of daily tragedies as an epidemic of gun violence tears apart communities across America, from the streets of Chicago to neighborhoods not far from here.”

http://spectator.org/archives/2013/09/25/there-they-go-again 

Why the Establishment Is Wrong and the Defund Gambit Can Work

"Dumbest idea I've ever heard."  "Can't happen."  "Picket had a better chance."

So say some of the right's sharpest and most experienced political minds of the defund ObamaCare effort.  Finding Beltway critics of the defund gambit is like finding oil in the Bakken Formation (in that critics are plentiful, not that the Beltway oozes unrefined black sludge under pressure).

The defund gambit carries risk; there is no way around that.  As long as Harry Reid and Barack Obama are willing to shut down the government rather than spare people from the added expense, reduced choice, and invasions of privacy that ObamaCare brings, things will get dicey.  Ironically, however, it will be the Democrats themselves who serve as the catalyst for conservative success.

Here's how it can happen.

In order to score a political win in a government shutdown, Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and others must portray the situation as intolerable.  That portrayal stimulates an incentive within the Beltway crowd, the media, and (to a lesser extent) the citizenry to end the shutdown.



Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/09/why_the_establishment_is_wrong_and_the_defund_gambit_can_work.html#ixzz2fty2uWTf

Republican Strategy for the Debt Ceiling Crisis

We are coming up on the deadline for raising the debt ceiling of the country. What should Republican strategy be on this issue?
In the end, the debt ceiling is going to be raised. The question is whether the Republicans can get something in return. Last time they got the sequester only because Obama didn't think they would have the brass to use it. The sequester is a clumsy tool in that it is impacting our defense capabilities in an unhelpful way. But it has worked, which is the reason why Obama is not likely to accede to another one.
But the president has given a critical opening to the Republicans in the House. In a breathtaking example of his refusal ever to take responsibility, the president is arguing that Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling because all the bills that need to be paid are Congress' spending! Of course, this is technically true in that no money can be spent except as approved by Congress. But the reality is that Congress accedes to the priorities of an administration and it has been historically considered that the president is responsible for the levels and priorities of spending.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/09/republican_strategy_for_the_debt_ceiling_crisis.html#ixzz2ftxmGPmf

Senator Cruz rails through night against Obamacare

Republican Senator Ted Cruz slogged into the second day of his marathon attack on Obamacare from the Senate floor on Wednesday, showing almost no signs of relenting after speaking for nearly 16 hours.
Standing in a nearly empty Senate chamber, Cruz made his case to deny funding to implement President Barack Obama's landmark overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, calling it the country's "biggest jobs killer."
Most of the Tea Party firebrand's Republican colleagues shunned his diatribe against the health insurance reform law, which is delaying Senate consideration of a stop-gap funding measure needed to avoid a government shutdown in six days.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/25/us-usa-fiscal-idUSBRE98N11220130925

Hillary’s roots give her away

Will she or won’t she? Not even her hairdresser, who is only called in occasionally, knows for sure. But the lady knows how to keep everyone guessing. Only her roots are showing.
Bill and Hillary Clinton are the longest-running soap opera in American politics, and as Bill continues a slow fade into the woodwork, Hillary emerges as the sound and light show illuminating the lives of the Washington political class. She’s the favorite story line of the chattering class, too. Nobody prods and pokes these classes, teasing with hints, intimations and insinuations, better than she does.
Hillary told an ABC News interviewer in January that she had “no plans or intentions” to run for president in 2016, the standard argle-bargle from everyone the Great Mentioner christens as a presidential prospect. “I’m going to be focusing on my philanthropies, my charities, my writing and speaking. So I’m looking forward to having something resembling a kind of a normal life again.”

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/24/pruden-hillarys-roots-give-her-away/#ixzz2ftwNKkTW

Big Business Pushes For Illegal Immigration While Laying Off American Workers.

Here is a lift from the first article linked below.  "According to Reuters, U.S. employers announced 50,462 layoffs in August 2013, a 34 percent increase from July and a 57 percent increase from August 2012. (Id.) Nationwide, over 20 million Americans are currently unemployed or underemployed."  Does it make sence to bring in more workers while over 20 million Americans are out of work or underemployed?  

http://www.fairus.org/legislative-updates/legislative-update-9-18-2013?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FAIR%20Legislative%20Update%20&utm_content=FAIR+Legislative+Update+9-18-2013#1

 George Burns

The Clintons Employ Muslim Brotherhood Officials?

I don’t know who is more shocked about this, me or Huma Abedin, but it turns out that a former top Clinton Foundation official is also … a senior Muslim Brotherhood official who has just been arrested for – you’ll never guess – inciting violence in Egypt. Not to worry, I’m sure it was only moderate violence.
The Washington Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo reports on Gehad [as in Jihad] el-Haddad:
A senior Muslim Brotherhood official who, until recently, had been employed by the William J. Clinton Foundation was arrested in Cairo on Tuesday and charged with inciting violence.
Gehad el-Haddad served as one of the Muslim Brotherhood’s top communications officials until Egyptian security forces seized him as part of a wider crackdown on officials loyal to ousted former President Mohamed Morsi.
Before emerging as a top Brotherhood official and adviser to Morsi, el-Haddad served for five years as a top official at the Clinton Foundation, a nonprofit group founded by former President Bill Clinton.

http://pjmedia.com/andrewmccarthy/2013/09/18/the-clintons-employ-muslim-brotherhood-officials-you-cant-be-serious/?singlepage=true 

What You Need to Know About the Debt Limit

The Congressional Budget Office just dropped a budget update on Washington, and it’s not good. The U.S. government is spending recklessly—and Obamacare is adding fuel to the fire.
The new report comes at a crucial time, as negotiations over the debt limit are starting up again. Here are some basics to help you cut through all the political spin.
What is the debt limit?
Yes, it’s the legal limit on federal government borrowing—but the debt limit is a wake-up call. It’s a chance for Congress and the President to stop the spending insanity.

http://blog.heritage.org/2013/09/19/morning-bell-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-debt-limit/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign&utm_content&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell 

Harry Reid's Temper Tantrum

What I don't understand is why Harry Reid throws a temper tantrum when the Republicans in the House and Senate who want to defund or repeal Obamacare.  They disagree on principle with the law.  He, apparently on principle,wants the law to stand.  The bill passed in the first place only because the President and Harry cut backroom deals with fellow Democrats.  The bill itself passed with NOT one Republican voting for it.  His behavior before the bill passed was dispicable on several accounts other than the backroom deals because he refused to bring to a vote on the floor a multitude of Republican admendments to improve the bill.  He insistend the Republicans had no ideas to offer.  What a crock!  Now his childish behavior rises to the fore again.  He is of the ilk that if he can't get his way then he throws a temper tantrum.  The Democrats want the Republicans to be reasonable YET it is the Democrats who have been unreasonable throughout this whole charade.  See this link.   http://www.wnd.com/2013/09/reid-goes-ballistic-on-tea-party-anarchists/

Free Speech Is So Annoying to Elected Officials

“There’s just way too much money in politics,” said a candidate for governor earlier this month. Since the candidate was Terry McAuliffe, a political fundraiser of Brobdingnagian proportions, the remark could go down as the funniest line from this year’s contest.
McAuliffe had just been asked if he would support campaign-finance reform, so he may simply have been pandering to his audience. Unfortunately, many others who have said much the same mean every word of it. That spells bad news for ordinary citizens like Edmund Corsi.
Corsi lives in Geauga County, Ohio, where he strives to be a burr under the saddle of public officials who disregard the Constitution, which to Corsi means most of them. So a few years ago he started a blog (why should he be different?) and got together with a couple of like-minded folks. The called themselves the Geauga Constitutional Council.

http://reason.com/archives/2013/09/23/free-speech-is-so-annoying-to-elected-of

How Much Surveillance Can We Accept?

Three months after Edward Snowden’s leaks began to reveal the extent of the U.S.’s mass surveillance program, “serious people” are beginning to make the case that it’s time for the outrage and indignation to subside and give way to a “national conversation” about the future of surveillance. So has the moment come for us to consider how much surveillance we can accept?
The national debate we’re supposed to have is routinely framed as one about choosing how much privacy and liberty to give up in exchange for security, not about whether such a tradeoff is necessary at all.
“It’s important to understand that you can’t have 100 percent security and then have 100 percent privacy and zero inconvenience—we’re going to have to make some choices as a society,” President Obama has said. And echoing him, former NSA director Michael Hayden last week said: “The question is how much of your privacy, and your convenience and your commerce do you want your nation’s security apparatus to squeeze in order to keep you safe. And it is a choice that we have to make.”

http://reason.com/archives/2013/09/23/how-much-surveillance-can-we-accept

Former FBI agent to plead guilty in leak to AP

A former FBI bomb technician who later worked as a contractor for the bureau has agreed to plead guilty to disclosing national defense information to the Associated Press about a disrupted terrorist plot to bring down a civilian airliner headed for the United States, the Justice Department said Monday.
Officials described the disclosure as one of the most serious national security leaks in history, saying it came in the middle of a sensitive intelligence operation. The case led to the Justice Department’s controversial decision to secretly subpoena two months’ worth of phone records from the Associated Press.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ex-fbi-agent-to-plead-guilty-in-leak-to-ap/2013/09/23/4a17a3ce-2491-11e3-b3e9-d97fb087acd6_story.html 

Americans' Belief That Gov't Is Too Powerful at Record Level

Six in 10 Americans (60%) believe the federal government has too much power, one percentage point above the previous high recorded in September 2010. At least half of Americans since 2005 have said the government has too much power. Thirty-two percent now say the government has the right amount of power. Few say it has too little power.
These most recent data come from Gallup's Governance survey, conducted Sept. 5-8. The 7% who feel the government has too little power has been mostly steady since Gallup started tracking the measure regularly in 2002.
Republicans and Democrats Divided on Views of Government
This new high encompasses Republicans (81%), who are now more likely than at any time since 2002 to say the government has too much power, and Democrats (38%), who now are more likely to say this than at any time since President Barack Obama took office in 2009.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/164591/americans-belief-gov-powerful-record-level.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=All%20Gallup%20Headlines

GOP Food Stamp Bill Will Increase Government Spending

The food stamp bill passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives earlier this month, widely criticized for supposedly cutting the nutrition assistance program to the poor, would actually raise spending over the next decade by 57 percent, to $725 billion from the $461.7 billion that was spent on the program in the last decade.
No sooner had the House voted, 217 to 2010, on September 19 to pass the Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act than the usual suspects were rushing to portray the measure as stingy and coldhearted. “House Republicans Pass Deep Cuts in Food Stamps,” was the headline  in The New York Times national news section. The Republican “war on food stamps” shows that the congressmen are “meanspirited class warriors,” wrote  Nobel laureate Paul Krugman.
That line of attack seems to be getting traction. “I agree with Krugman here,” a prominent New York rabbi wrote on Facebook. A news reporter at the Wall Street Journal posted on Facebook, “It’s stark to have this wonderful Pope preaching charity at the same time House Republicans are defunding food stamps.”

http://reason.com/archives/2013/09/23/gop-food-stamp-bill-will-increase-govern

Weaker US manufacturing data takes shine off news from China and Europe

European and Chinese firms have reported strong factory orders in September, sending a strong signal that the global economy is healing. But weaker than expected US manufacturing activity hit stock market sentiment.
Financial data firm Markit said its "flash", or preliminary, US manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) retreated to 52.8 this month from 53.1 in August, confounding analysts' forecasts of an improvement. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
The weaker PMI was widely seen as a signal that jobs growth in the sector had entered a slower phase, justifying the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain its stimulus to boost the economy – a move that had initially bolstered stock markets last week.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/sep/23/weak-us-manufacturing-data-china-europe 

The End of Overkill? Reassessing U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

US security does not require nearly 1,600 nuclear weapons deployed on a triad of systems—bombers, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs)—to deliver them. A smaller arsenal deployed entirely on submarines would save roughly $20 billion annually while deterring attacks on the United States and its allies. A missile dyad is more politically feasible but saves less.
The triad grew from the military services’ competition to meet the Soviet threat. The arguments for it arrived to rationalize its components. The public rationale was a second strike: a diversity of delivery systems insured the nuclear arsenal’s survival against a Soviet preemptive attack. The more sophisticated rationale was a first strike: deterring Soviet aggression against European allies required the ability to preemptively destroy their nuclear forces.

http://www.cato.org/publications/white-paper/end-overkill-reassessing-us-nuclear-weapons-policy 

Egypt has the guts to do it—Will America before it is too late?

It is official now.  The Muslim Brotherhood has been outlawed and all its assets confiscated according to the AP.  Related funding and Muslim Brotherhood social groups are also being shut down.  This means throughout Egypt the military supported interim government is taking control of the Muslim Brotherhood’s entire money supply and buildings. They are destroying anything that keeps them going—period!
We have seen the fruits of the Muslim Brotherhood since their creation in Egypt in 1928 at the hands of Islamic scholar and teacher Hassan al-Banna.  In their very charter and goals they called Islamics to violent Jihad—it is their duty.  Their stated goal was and is to build the Islamic Muslim Brotherhood-controlled caliphate that controls the world.
They have been connected with nothing but violence since the 1920s, including links to the assassination of political opponents like Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha.  They have been credited with many other assassination attempts and murders of Christians, Muslim opponents and Jews.  They are a regular happy family of serial killers.

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/58094