Sunday, December 22, 2013

Larwyn's Linx: Utter Chaos: White House Exempts Millions From Obamacare Mandate

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Nation

Utter Chaos: White House Exempts Millions From Mandate: Instapundit
GOP Picks a Really Stupid Time to Abandon Limited Government: GayPatriot
Obamacare Is Falling Apart Before Our Eyes: James C. Capretta

27 Democrat senators who promised you could keep your coverage: Byron York
National Impeach Obama Protest in full swing (Photos): RWN
Recognizing the Problem, are we losing the war for Liberty?: Elohim Reigns

Chicago, Illinois and Houston, Texas have a lot in common: Mainfo
Four Arrested in NJ Mall Carjack Murder: JWF
When the president rewrites the laws: George Will

The Year of Lying Dangerously: Scott Johnson
Obamacare is Dead: Dick Morris
Oh, my: Sharpton protest devolves into Chicago Tea Party protest: Breitbart

Economy

Early returns: Top ten states for year-over-year job growth: David Freddoso
Ladies' Man: Kevin D. Williamson
Braving the Cold: Hoft and Washington: News Commenter

Scandal Central

ObamaCare, doing what it was supposed to stop: Daley Gator
Time to Shut Down the NSA?: Rick Jensen
Obama Took More Vacation on Average Than Private-Sector Workers 20 Yrs on Job: CNS

Climate & Energy

Nuts at ThinkProgress Want to Tax Your Meat to Save the Planet: AllAm
Man-Style Recycling: Old Virginia Blog
Climate Change and Environmental Socialism: RWN

Media

Dear A&E, congratulations, you just committed suicide: Matt Walsh
A "triple-dog-dare" for those on the political left: Joe Kidd
Sources: 'Duck Dynasty' Will Likely Be Canceled: Breitbart

AGENDAS: Those Who Deny The Role Of Judeo-Christian Ethic In The Founding: Road to Concord
President’s Weekly Address: Good For You, Sucky Republican Jerks: Caleb Howe
TMZ: A&E says Phil Robertson fired because GAY employees were OUTRAGED: Scoop

The 30 Best Quotes Of 2013: John Hawkins
Mixed Messages Add Anxiety as Deadline Nears in Health Act: CowboyByte
Liberal Icon Camille Paglia: Our PC Nation Has Become ‘Utterly Fascist’: Time for Choosing

They Gone: MOTUS
Liberal Kooks at ADL Blast Their Pals at HuffPo for Anti-Semitism: TruthRevolt
Could Saturday Night Live Have Saved Pajama Boy's Reputation?: Chicago News Bench

World

Nuclear Holocaust? Yes, He Can: Melanie Phillips
Cruz: Millions Could Lose Their Lives Because of Obama's Idiocy: Breitbart
Thailand's crisis, in 90 seconds: Commentator

Western Center for Journalism Reports on Obama’s Middle East Allies: MB
The Marine Corps As Psychotherapy: Fred on Everything
Raul Castro issues stern warning to entrepreneurs: AP

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

The definitive collection of secret Nazi weapons: Gizmodo
Fully wearable Iron Man Mark III suit is made to 3D printed order for $35,000: Joseph Volpe
A Year in the Life of the NYPD Glocks: GlockForum

Cornucopia

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Orbitup
Pajamaboy Caption Contest Winner: iOTW
Is Pajamaboy the Secret Love Child of Two MSNBC Hosts?: Looking Spoon

Image: Killer Cops are the Result of Militarization of Local Police Forces.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Want more like Ted Cruz in the Senate? Here's how to help.

QOTD: "Dear A&E,

I read that you are indefinitely suspending Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty after he quoted the Bible and said that the homosexual act is sinful. I get it, guys. I do. You punished the Christian guy for being a Christian because you got some angry emails from a bunch of whiny gay activists who lack the spine and maturity to deal with the fact that there are still people out there who have the guts to articulate opinions that they find disagreeable. In so doing, you’ve kowtowed to a pushy minority of vocal bullies who don’t even watch your channel, while alienating the fan base of the one show that keeps your entire network afloat.

Makes sense.

You’ve got standards, after all. You wouldn’t want to be associated with tasteless and inappropriate things. The people on Duck Dynasty can’t be allowed to run around being all Christian-like. It might ruin the reputation of the network whose other shows include Hoarders and Intervention — programs that invite viewers to gawk at drug addicts and the mentally ill for their own amusement..." --Matt Walsh

Saturday, December 21, 2013

DISGUSTING AND OUTRAGEOUS CRIMINALITY: DHS Helping Drug Cartels Engage in Human Trafficking

Guest post by Investor's Business Daily

Border: A federal judge finds that the Department of Homeland Security, instead of arresting cartel members and the clients who pay them to smuggle children into the U.S., helps the drug lords complete the transactions.

Former DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano once proclaimed the U.S. border to be as secure as it has ever been. Yet her department has been found by Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas to have actively undermined that security by enabling drug cartels engaged in the lucrative smuggling of children.

The case before Judge Hanen — United States of America v. Mirtha Veronica Nava-Martinez — underscores the Obama administration's total disregard for the laws that the president swore to faithfully execute.

It also shows that the administration's cooperation with the cartels goes far beyond supplying them with assault weapons in Operation Fast and Furious.

THE ADVENTURES OF PAJAMABOY: Duck Dynasty Edition

With a tip o' the beret to iOwnTheWorld:


Biff Spackle says he's never gonna get tired of "peein' on Pajamaboy".


THE ADVENTURES OF PAJAMABOY: PJ-Boy Considers Joining the Military Edition

Biff Spackle:


As an aside, have you seen Rep. Steve Stockman's awesome poster?


Stockman's the real deal. You can support him over the RINO Cornyn by clicking here.


LAPDOG MEDIA COMIX: CNN's Brianna Keilar, Laughingstock Edition

"Hump that leg," Brianna:


Feel free to retweet my thanks (below) to Brianna for this tough question, coming as it does on the heels of the collapse of Obamacare's Individual Mandate, a federal court smacking down the NSA's data collection on American citizens, another federal judge hammering the administration for helping Mexican drug cartels traffic in human beings, and revelations the president systematically delayed controversial regulations until after the 2012 election. All of these scandals have come in the last four days alone, but there are dozens more to choose from, "Bri" (or is it "Brie", like the cheese?).


I would call the media a joke, but I don't want to unfairly lump them in with real comedians.

Larwyn's Linx: Obamacare watch: latest spasmodic rule changes openly trampling on the uninsured.

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

Obamacare watch: latest rules openly trampling on the uninsured.: Moe Lane
We're Witnessing the ObamaCare Death Spiral in Real-Time: American Power
Free Exercise Thereof: Christian Mercenary

A Government of Laws? The ObamaCare Rot: Seth Mandel
Catastrophic insurance for the Obamacare catastrophe: LI
Government Screw-Ups-No One Is Ever Fired: Hideout

The Kernel of Resistance: Mountain Guerilla
NDAA 2014: On it’s way to Obama for signature.: Call of the Patriot
The Death of the Individual Mandate: Reihan Salam

Compare and Contrast: iOTW
The man democrats fear the most is already under attack by Obama: Flopping Aces
Ben Carson in His Own Words: AT

Economy

Obama Invites “Worst CEO in America” to Tech Meeting: Daniel Greenfield
Whole Foods CEO: Obamacare Is Hurting Our Employees: WZ
Obama’s $11 million trip to the Mandela funeral – that’s an expensive selfie!: BPR

Scandal Central

Chris Christie DREAMs of illegal aliens: WyBlog
“Jaw Dropping” Obamacare “Get Enrolled Sex Ad” Going Viral–and It Is REAL!: Daily Smug
US deports 109,511 CONVICTED CRIMINAL illegal immigrants in 2013!: Scoop

Federal Judge: The Obama Administration Aids and Abets Human Trafficking: Hans A. von Spakovsky
Judge: DHS Helping Drug Cartels To Smuggle Illegal Immigrant Children Into U.S.: WZ
Court Blasts DHS for Helping Mexican Smugglers Finish “Criminal Mission”: JW

Climate & Energy

We Greybeards Have Destroyed The Planet: Woodsterman
‘MUZZLED’: EPA silenced scientists that challenged their agenda: Michael Bastasch
It's Time to Take a Look at the Global Warming Spending Racket: Kevin Mooney

Media

Bill Whittle Puts It All On the Line: iOTW
MSNBC Racist Gets Her Nonsense Slammed Right Back in Her Face : Publius
10 Truths Mainstream Comic Books Evade To Promote ‘Muslim Superheroes’: Bosch Fawstin

Obama’s Half-Brother: ‘Barack Thought I Was Too White’: TruthRevolt
Jewish Group ‘Appalled’ by Huffington Post Article, SWC Says it Paints Jews as Warmongers: Algemeiner
CBS Begins The 2016 Campaign: Airs Biased Report of Chris Christie 'Scandal': TruthRevolt

May I Point Out That Phil Robertson Was Indisputably Right About One Thing?: Rhymes With Right
"Darwin's Theory Is Wrong", Says Queer Studies/Evolutionary Ecologist, Joan Roughgarden: IBA
And people wonder why professional athletes want to own guns for protection?: John R. Lott

World

After Obamacare, ObamaHaus Insurance?: Lee Cary
Radical Left so despises Europe that it intends to destroy it with immigration: Winter Soldier
Dead Gaza BDS Advocate Sought Israeli Medical Care: Lori Lowenthal Marcus

Hizballah: Iran’s Other Looming Threat to the West: Clare Lopez
North Korea faxes South Korea threat of attack: Doug Powers
Will Hillary’s 2016 Bid End As Her Treasonous Dealings with Muslim Sisterhood are Exposed?: Godfather

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

A College Kid Couldn't Afford a 3D Printer, So He Built One Himself: Samantha Murphy Kelly
On The Table: AutoExtremist
NSA paid $10 Million bribe to RSA Security for Keeping Encryption Weak: Swati Khandelwal

Cornucopia

The Obligatory Duck Dynasty Controversy Post: MOTUS
Smithville police officer lifts car to free man trapped underneath: Lindsay Shively
Magomed Abdusalamov career over: Michael Woods

Image: Bosch Fawstin
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Want more like Ted Cruz in the Senate? Here's how to help.

QOTD: "Without QE to support the markets, in my opinion, the economy will likely slow significantly and the stock and real estate markets will most likely turn sharply downward. As a result, I expect the Fed will do its utmost to keep the markets convinced that the QE program is in its final chapters. But these "Open Mouth Operations" likely represent the full inventory of the Fed's policy options. I suspect that when the economic data begins to disappoint, the Fed will quickly reverse course and increase the size of its monthly purchases. In fact, today's Fed statement was careful to avoid any commitments to additional tapering in the future. It merely said that further changes in the amount of purchases will be dependent on the data. This means that QE could go in either direction.

But more important than the taper "surprise" was the unusually dovish language in which the Fed decided to wrap its seemingly bitter pill. Today's statement goes significantly farther than any prior communications in assuring that interest policy, its main monetary tool, will remain far more accommodative, for far longer, than anyone previously predicted. In fact, they have now committed themselves to keep rates at zero until "well after" the unemployment rate has fallen below 6.5%. On this score the Fed is not simply moving the goalposts, they are running away with them. With such amorphous language in place the FOMC appears to be hoping that it will never have to face a day of reckoning in which they will be forced to actually raise rates. On that score they are similar to the legislators on Capitol Hill who want to pretend that America will never have to pay down its debt." --Peter Schiff

Friday, December 20, 2013

The Adventures of Pajamaboy

Because MSNBC says that "Santa could be transgender", Biff Spackle presents the following:


It would seem that our leftist pals have made quoting the bible a crime.

Which doesn't bode well for a society based on Judeo-Christian values.


The Twelve Days of ObamaCare

Guest post by The People's Cube

The Twelve Days of ObamaCare
(A non-sectarian holiday carol.)

On the first day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
A website that crashed constantly!

On the second day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

On the third day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Three times the premium,
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

ANOTHER HISTORIC FIRST: Federal Judge Rules Obama Administration "Aids and Abets Human Trafficking"

Irony: The first African-American president is actively helping human traffickers, slavers and smugglers:

A federal judge in Texas has issued a searing indictment of the Obama administration’s immigration policy. He accuses the government of “completing the criminal mission” of human traffickers “who are violating the border security of the United States” and assisting a “criminal conspiracy in achieving its illegal goals.” The judge calls the administration’s behavior “dangerous and unconscionable” and says that “DHS should cease telling the citizens of the United States that it is enforcing our border security laws because it is clearly not. Even worse, it is helping those who violate these laws.”

...On December 13, federal district court Judge Andrew S. Hanen of Brownsville, Texas, issued his order in U.S. v. Nava-Martinez. It described in shocking detail the malfeasance of the government. Mirtha Veronica Nava-Martinez, an admitted human trafficker and resident alien, pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle a ten-year-old El Salvadoran girl into the U.S. This was Nava-Martinez’s second felony offense; she was convicted of food-stamp fraud in 2011...

...DHS delivered the child to the mother and took no enforcement action: “It did not arrest her. It did not prosecute her. It did not even initiate deportation proceedings for her.” As the judge said, “instead of enforcing the laws of the United States, the Government took direct steps to help the individuals who violated it,” conduct for which any “private citizen would, and should, be prosecute.”

What especially angered the judge was that this was the fourth case of this nature that he “had in as many weeks.” All involved “human traffickers who smuggled minor children [and] were apprehended short of delivering the children to their ultimate destination.”

As the judge observed, human trafficking is controlled and helps fund the Mexican drug cartels. Which means President Obama and his lawless DHS is helping funding the Mexican drug cartels, having already armed them during its malevolent Operation Fast and Furious.

Make no mistake: these traffickers are slave traders. During the course of 2013 alone, the judge noted that he had "seen instances where aliens being smuggled were assaulted, raped, kidnapped and/or killed" and subject to “exploitation and trafficking of children” as well as “violence, extortion, forced labor, sexual assault, or prostitution” to which they subject children and adults.

Judge Hansen concludes with an angry retort to the Obama administration's oft-used claims of "prosecutorial discretion":

[The Court] is not aware of any accepted legal principle, including prosecutorial discretion, that not only allows the government to decline prosecutions, but further allows it to actually complete the intended criminal mission... The DHS should enforce the laws of the United States — not break them.

This administration is historic, alright: an historic disgrace.


Related: FEDERAL COURT: Obama’s Partnership With Mexican Drug Cartels Goes Far Beyond Guns.

Larwyn's Linx: 28 Pages Later: Shrouding An Act Of War

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

28 Pages Later: Shrouding An Act Of War: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
Putting It All Together: Freedom's Torch
I Don't Believe in Defeat: Right Planet

White House once again rewrites Obamacare rules: Doug Powers
The Dark, Hulking Figure of Government: Christian Mercenary
Fire-Sale on Obamacare!: Grace-Marie Turner

Ted Cruz, Man of the Year: Jeffrey Lord
Dems Defy Obama with Sanctions Bill; Veto Threat Follows: Bridget Johnson
Democrats Cut Money For Military Vets; Spend It On Welfare For Illegals: RWN

Surprise! Majority Of Uninsured Disapprove Of Obamacare: RWN
Gun Control And Murder Rates: A Tale Of Two (Washington) Cities: Chris Dumm
Cook County hopes to obstruct concealed carry in Chicago: Bob Owens

Economy

Illinois: thousands they may have to reapply for Obamacare: Sarah Hurtubise
Bernanke Leaves Yellen With a Massive Migraine: Peter Schiff
There's That Word Again: Instapundit

Scandal Central

Review: American Betrayal: JoshuaPundit
Obama Administration Knew of Healthcare.gov Security Risks Before Launch: Elizabeth Harrington
Senate Leader Reid’s Rule Recalls House Czar Speaker Reed: Don Wolfensberger

Obama Picks Fired Husband of Dem Congresswoman to Fix Healthcare.gov: Daniel Greenfield
Illegal Aliens Caught Voting In 2012 Presidential Election In Swing State: WZ
How Many Of Phil Robertson’s Critics Have Heard Of Floyd Lee Corkins?: Glob

Climate & Energy

Open Letter to the Executive Producers of YEARS of LIVING DANGEROUSLY: Bob Tisdale
All Minnesota Students Want For Christmas Is Climate Change Action Or Something: Cove
If All You See... (NSFW): Cove

Media

Mental Health Laws are Trouble for Democrats: Ann Coulter
Pajamacare dude is a real person and just as douchey as you expected: NakedDC
Bwahaha! OFA #PajamaBoy Deletes His Entire Online Social Media Presence!: American Power

CBS Touts ObamaCare 'Success Story'; Omits His Support of the Obama Campaign: Matthew Balan
So You Think Obama’s 2013 Was Bad? Just Wait Until 2014: Peter Wehner
Feel Good Story o' the Day: This Ain't Hell

Tolerance Community Takes a Scalp: Leather Penguin
They are forcing us to take sides…: Real Revo
‘Boycott A&E’ Facebook Page Gets 1,000,000 Likes In 24 Hours: SHN

World

Al Qaeda is On the Run … to Everywhere: David Gerstman
Europe Turns Blind Eye to Anti-Semitism: Gatestone
Obama's Brother buys Underage Girl : Shoebat

Iran Knows Where It’s Going. Does Kerry?: Jonathan S. Tobin
Egypt Buries the Brotherhood, Barack Obama Hardest Hit: Daniel Greenfield
O Brave New World, that has such pissants in it: Cold Fury

Understanding the new Christian anti-Zionism: Part 1: Martin in the Margins
Lee Rigby killer's UK apologists not just Islamists: Commentator
Hate preacher Omar Bakri Muhammad says he is proud of Lee Rigby killer: Daily Mail

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Samsung, LG to Unveil 105-Inch Curved TVs: ABC
Researchers Find Way to Extract 4096-Bit RSA Key via Sound: Dennis Fisher
China Reveals Hypersonic Plane Design, Could Reach 6600 MPH: MinorityReport

Cornucopia

Greetings from Chuck Norris: Hideout
Selling Socialism: the New American Dream.: MOTUS
PajamaBoy: Let's talk about getting health insurance: Cube

Image: Selling Socialism: the New American Dream.
Sponsored by: Want more like Ted Cruz in the Senate? Here's how to help.

QOTD: "Before we begin this morning's buffet table of bad news for Obamacare, a quick note on the typically bad-faith accusation from the Left that we're somehow enjoying all the problems stemming from the implementation of this law.

From the beginning, Obamacare fans inside and outside of government insisted that they were right, that we were wrong, and that we were motivated by all sorts of malicious and callous motives. They insisted our skepticism was fueled by ignorance and outdated ideology. Our warnings and dire predictions were dismissed as sour-grapes negativity and pessimism.

Most of the ideas from the right -- medical malpractice reform, interstate sales of insurance -- were ignored or dismissed. We said you couldn't require insurance companies to cover a lot of new expenses -- i.e., pre-existing conditions -- without driving up costs, and that higher costs inevitably would drive up premiums. Obama's promise that his plan would lower premiums by $2,500 per year for families was always industrial-strength snake-oil, and yet somehow we were the bad guys for saying it couldn't possibly happen, short of covering the costs from the discovery of the Leprechaun's pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Now it is exceedingly clear that one-sixth of the nation's economy is being fouled up beyond recognition by a convoluted, complicated, poorly-planned Rube Goldberg of a law that has been implemented by hacks whose overestimation of their own abilities is on an astronomical level." --Jim Geraghty

Thursday, December 19, 2013

PWNT COMIX: The Snowden Effect

Biff Spackle emails:


The NSA reports that Snowden stole 1.7 million classified documents. Although it's not clear that anyone really knows how much he took at this point.

And, yes, in case you hadn't heard: Target Stores suffered a major security breach that has compromised up to 40 million consumer credit cards.


Record High Percentage of Americans Believe Big Government is the Country's Greatest Threat

The latest Gallup survey reports answers to a question it has been asking since the sixties: which is the biggest threat in the future -- big government, big business, or big labor? A record percentage of Americans, including a majority of every political stripe, fear big government most.

Seventy-two percent of Americans say big government is a greater threat to the U.S. in the future than is big business or big labor, a record high in the nearly 50-year history of this question. The prior high for big government was 65% in 1999 and 2000. Big government has always topped big business and big labor, including in the initial asking in 1965, but just 35% named it at that time...


...This pattern is largely driven by Republicans, who generally are more likely to be concerned about the size and power of government, and this concern is amplified when a Democrat is president. Democrats are more likely to see government as a threat when a Republican is in office; however, they tend to see government as less threatening than Republicans do, and their concern about big government topped out at 62% in 2005 under Bush...


...Americans have consistently viewed big government as a greater threat to the United States than either big business or big labor, but never more than they do now. That may be partly a reaction to an administration that favors the use of government to solve problems. Also, the revelation of widespread government monitoring of U.S. Internet activity may be a factor in raising Americans' concern about the government...

If we had a competent, eloquent and principled Republican leadership (i.e., not Johnny Boehner, Eric Cantor and Karl Rove, who appear to represent the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and not American citizens), this kind of information would offer a blueprint for unrivaled success.

The message of constraining government while empowering the individual was that of Ronald Reagan who swept to two massive landslides.

The free market, individual liberty and opportunity for all are concepts that transcend racial, ethnic or religious segmentation: they appeal to all Americans.

We need Republicans who can enunciate those concepts in clear and compelling terms. We need conservative leadership in the Republican Party. We need principled men and women who believe in the sovereignty of the individual.

That is the blueprint for winning elections. And the data proves it.


Hat tip: Mark Levin.

AWESOME NEWS: Obamacare "Navigators" Can Email Your Private Data to Their Home Computers

Guest post by Chris Butler

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Suppose an Obamacare navigator in Tennessee gathered all your confidential information and emailed it to his or her home computer — and then claimed he did it only because he wanted to work from home.

Would you go along with that story?

Conceivably, that Obamacare navigator could have used that information for any number of criminal activities, including selling your Social Security information to others.

While there are no known instances of it happening thus far, the scenario isn’t as far-fetched as you might think — considering what happened in Nashville this week.

A former Tennessee Department of Treasury employee allegedly sent an email to his home computer containing the private information of 6,300 active Metro Nashville teachers, state officials said.

Steven Hunter emailed the information to a computer that was unencrypted, said Treasury spokesman Blake Fontenay.

“All indications are that he sent the information to his personal email to work on a computer at home,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm told Tennessee Watchdog on Wednesday.

“From the forensic analysis of that computer by TBI agents, the information does not appear to have been disseminated. At this time, the TBI’s investigation is still open and will be turned over to the District Attorney General for review when completed to determine how to proceed.”

State officials explicitly trained Hunter not to do that, Fontenay said.

The Treasury first employed Hunter in July, but he resigned last week, Fontenay said.

YIKES! Health Insurance Brokers Still Unable To Enroll Consumers

Don't throw me under the bus, but I was listening to NPR this evening on the drive home. Consider it studying the enemy.

In any case, NPR's political reporter -- Hacky McStatist, I think, though my memory grows dim with advancing age -- made the bizarre assertion that Healthcare.gov's problems were largely behind it. That is, the website and the exchanges are operating pretty much as designed and that delighted, newly insured Americans are now frolicking in the fields, picking sunflowers.

The reality is, of course, quite different.

Web-Based Brokers Still Unable To Enroll Consumers


...Private health insurance exchanges still are not able to directly enroll consumers in subsidized health plans offered through Obamacare even though the government has said problems doing so should have been cleared up weeks ago. Executives from three online health exchanges that contract with both insurance companies and government agencies to enroll consumers eligible for federal subsidies in marketplace plans say the process still isn't ready to go and that more work remains. This despite several promises from government officials that technical fixes have been made to allow for business to be conducted on those sites, which are alternatives to the troubled HealthCare.gov website and health exchanges sites run by states...

...Obamacare Tech Hurdle Looms Right Before Enrollment Deadline

Some technical experts are perplexed at the U.S. government's plan to switch web hosts for its new health insurance portal, HealthCare.gov, in the midst of an expected last-minute rush to beat a March 31 enrollment deadline for 2014 coverage. Switching hosts is not in and of itself a huge risk if it is done carefully and with lots of preparation, according to technical experts interviewed by Reuters. It is the timing of the highly complex maneuver that is risky...

Things must be going exceptionally well if HHS intends to flip the server infrastructure from one host to another.

With the geniuses who've run the project thus far, I can't see how anything could possibly go wrong.

As an aside, a CBS/NYT poll reports that only 15 percent of insured Americans believe that Obamacare will help them.

I can promise you that 15 percent of insured Americans are wrong.


Hat tips: BadBlue Money for the story and Sooper Mexican for the image.

Larwyn's Linx: New White House Advisor John Podesta: GOP 'A Cult Worthy of Jonestown'

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

White House Advisor Podesta: GOP 'A Cult Worthy of Jonestown': TruthRevolt
Baltimore Sun: MD must consider scrapping state exchange: Moe Lane
Sebelius: Some Will Pay More for Health Insurance with Obamacare: WS

The lost generation: Young people have been had: Victor Davis Hanson
Illegal immigrants are winning out over military veterans in budget bill: Allen West
GOP Fears Nominating Convention Woes in Virginia: Emily Cahn

Blue Cross NJ: “Government Told Us You Can’t Keep Your Policy”: WZ
Missouri Looks To Nullify All Federal Gun Laws: Cove
Eyewitness to Hitler Warns: “Keep Your Guns and Buy More Guns”: Kimberly Paxton

Economy

Inequality Does Not Matter : Kevin D. Williamson
Paul Ryan and GOP Must Own Cuts to Veterans Benefits: Erick Erickson
Ryan-Murray and the Fundamental Lack of Seriousness in Washington: Erick Erickson

Obamacare's Silent Insurers: Jonah Goldberg
Obama’s $4 Million Hawaiian Vacation: LoneCon
Florida sheriff’s undercover sting busts $2.8M welfare fraud scam: BPR

The case for repealing Dodd-Frank: Peter J. Wallison
Obama’s Annual Hawaii Boondoggle: Keith Koffler
Despite the taper, Bernanke Fed stays in pro-growth mode: James Pethokoukis

Scandal Central

Benghazi Scandal Heats Up – Clear Stand-Down Orders – Video: IM41
Rand Paul prepares to file class-action lawsuit against the NSA: RWN
Who Knew What 50 Seconds Before The FOMC Release?: ZH

Climate & Energy

Satellite Measurements Confirm Arctic Ice Is Increasing Massively: MB
Obama's War on America's Energy Needs: Alan Caruba
Does the federal government think we are dim bulbs?: CFP

Media

Media Ignoring That Colorado School Shooter Was Stopped by Armed Security Guard: Publius
CBS/NYT Poll: Only 15% of Insured Say ObamaCare Will Help Them: JWF
Blast from Past: Hannity airs Ronald Reagan’s warning to America: BPR

Scumbag Laurence O'Donnell Libels James Madison: MRC
A&E Fires Duck Dynasty Star After Gay Rant: GWP
MARK LEVIN: I have first amendment concerns about A&E firing Phil Robertson: Scoop

Sen. McCain: Let His Carcass Caucus With Democrats: R.S. McCain
Obama's Favorite Columnist Invents Fake Child to Get Amazon Mom Discount: TruthRevolt
AFL-CIO's Trumka Asks MSNBC Hosts to Unionize Network: TruthRevolt

World

Hillary Clinton: Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!: R.S. McCain
Biggest change in Middle East is “breathtaking diminution of American influence”: Scoop
CNN’s Amanpour Smears Israel at Mandela Memorial Service: CAMERA

Russia Is Making Nuclear Moves: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
Sessions: Leave military retiree pay alone, close tax loophole for illegal immigrants: Leada Gore
Valerie Plame lied to Congress and Chairman Henry Waxman knew it: IP2P

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

$19 million might produce the first ever image of a black hole: Rich McCormick
A fight where the referee wears Google Glass? A uniquely awesome perspective.: NextWeb
Filmmaker Makes Cheeky Commercial for a Used Nissan–And Nissan Buys It: Mashable

Cornucopia

You Gotta’ Break a Few Eggs To Make An Obama Anomaly: MOTUS
When America is too big to fail: Looking Spoon
Obama, ‘If I Had A Son, He’d Look Exactly Like The Metrosexual In My ObamaCare Ad’: SHN

Image: Roll Call
Sponsored by: Support Matt Bevin for U.S. Senate - Give Mitch McConnell a Pink Slip

QOTD: "...the Obama administration ... argues to the Supreme Court that Hobby Lobby is a corporation seeking to make profits and that only religious nonprofits can qualify for any First Amendment rights and protections. It doesn’t argue that Hobby Lobby thereby forfeited religious rights specifically. Rather, it argues that by seeking profit, Hobby Lobby has forfeited its First Amendment rights in general. In this case, freedom of religion is surrendered. In future cases, disallowing other free-speech rights could be used to stop a media company’s embarrassing stories, eavesdrop on reporters, prosecute whistleblowers or otherwise control the media owing to the taint of an “evil” profit motive." --Ernest Istook

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

When Memes Collide

When some ask "why?", I ask "why not?"


Twitchy calls it "Twitter Gold" -- and they're right!


JUDGE SLAMS HHS: Your Regulations Do Not Trump the Constitution

Guest post by Investor's Business Daily

Health Reform: In yet another legal blow to the president's signature law, a federal judge rules that its contraceptive mandate does not trump Catholic groups' right to exercise their religious liberty and conscience.

Religious liberty advocates and First Amendment defenders are cheering the stunning decision by U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in New York that promises to speed up the unraveling of ObamaCare. Cogan not only found that the Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation that requires health insurance to include contraceptive coverage was constitutionally questionable, he actually forbade HHS from enforcing it.

As the New York Post details, in ruling on the lawsuit, Cogan decided that the plaintiffs "demonstrated that the mandate, despite accommodation, compels them to perform acts that are contrary to their religion. And there can be no doubt that the coercive pressure here is substantial."

Most prior lawsuits have focused on the law's constitutionality. Cogan's ruling deals with its regulatory enforcement based on the phrase "the secretary shall determine" that appears in the Affordable Care Act no fewer than 1,005 times. This ruling essentially says that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius cannot enforce a mandate that Congress did not approve and that she cannot unilaterally decide what the First Amendment means or whether it is rendered irrelevant by her edicts.

In other words, regulations do not trump the Constitution.

Larwyn's Linx: Schumer: Military Veterans — Not Congress — Must Face Budget Cuts

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Nation

Schumer: Veterans — Not Congress — Must Face Budget Cuts: Moonbattery
Year of the Republican Primaries: Daniel Horowitz
Obama argues profit-seekers forfeit their First Amendment rights: Ernest Istook

Obamacare: A Law or a Shakedown?: Rich Baehr
Not Trying to Ban Guns Except When We Are: Clayton E. Cramer
Incrementalism vs. Fundamentalism: The Republican Civil War: Ricochet

The Crony Obama Donors in Charge of DHS: Michelle Malkin
Texas Voting Rate Increased in Its First Voter ID Test: Bryan Preston
Free Speech is Dead: Oregon Bans Criticism of Obamacare Exchange: TPNN

Put guns in the schools, because that’s the only sane thing to do: Matt Walsh
Dr. Milton Wolf for Senate: Erick Erickson
Logistics: CMP advisory on .22 Long Rifle.: SSI

Economy

Coburn’s 2103 Government Wastebook : Bryan Preston
This Went Unnoticed: Obama Added Living Wages to the Bill of Rights: Sara Noble
The Federal Reserve's Century of Failure: Bruce Walker

Scandal Central

Obama Makes the IRS Free Speech Cop Too: Diana Furchtgott-Roth
Obamacare’s expanded Medicaid asset seizure bonanza.: Moe Lane
Is President Obama 'too big to jail?': Wayne Allyn Root

Climate & Energy

Podesta’s White House return means a more aggressive green agenda: CEI
Bummer: 8 Ways “Climate Change” Is Ruining Christmas: RWN
Supreme Court won't take up Obama administration violation of judge's order in Gulf case: AP

Media

NBC: 'Escalating Battle' Between White House and Press Corps Over Obama's 'Pure Propaganda': Kyle Drennen
This Is The Ad Every Republican Should Run In 2014: Glob
Photoshop This!: Caleb Howe

At What Point Does Millennial Fury At Obama Kick In?: HayRide
5 Things Obamacare Teaches You About Liberals: John Hawkins
The Dozen Funniest Variations of Obama’s Pajama Boy Propaganda: Mollie Hemingway

Re-Branding the GOP : John Fonte
Obama’s OFA – Onesie For America: iOTW
WaPo/ABC Poll: More Americans Trust Republicans To Manage Economy Than Obama: HyScience

World

DOD official: Snowden ‘stole everything — literally everything’: Giuseppe Macri
RESET: After Years of Threats, Russia Deploys Missiles Near NATO’s Borders: CNS
Banzai Speaks: Western Rifles

Center for America-Iran Progress: Alana Goodman
Kerry forces Israel’s moment of decision: Caroline Glick
A Good Communist: Western Rifles

Federal Judge: Obama Admin. Must Release Document Its Been Trying to Hide: Jason Howerton
The ASA: Where Foolishness and Ignorance Collide: Walter Russell Mead
Marine Could Be Discharged For Warning About Possible Threat Days Before Deadly Attack: FNI

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Meta Unveils Meta Pro, Its $3,000 AR Glasses Now Available For Pre-Order: Ryan Lawler
Cornell researchers print 3D speaker: Martyn Williams
The Case for a Compulsory Bug Bounty: Krebs

Cornucopia

Cover Versions: The Little Drummer Boy: HayRide
Who Let the Dogs Out?: MOTUS
Steve Stockman Sells Obama Barf Bags: WFB

Image: Obama’s OFA – Onesie For America
Sponsored by: Support Matt Bevin for U.S. Senate - Give Mitch McConnell a Pink Slip

QOTD: "Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden stole vastly more information than previously speculated, and is holding it at ransom for his own protection...

“He stole everything — literally everything,” the official said.

Last month British and U.S. intelligence officials speculated Snowden had in his possession a “doomsday cache” of intelligence information, including the names of undercover intelligence personnel stationed around the world.

“Sources briefed on the matter” told Reuters that such a cache could be used as an insurance policy in the event Snowden was captured, and that, “the worst was yet to come.”" --Giuseppe Macri

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Just Biden Time

Guest strip by @BiffSpackle:



Hat tip: Liberal Logic 101.

A Quiet Rage Building Across the Nation

Guest post by Richard Larsen

Earlier this week I posted a graphic on my FaceBook wall that stated, “All across America a quiet rage is building against the assault upon American values. More so than ever in the history of America, the concerns and patience of its people are being tested, tried, and attacked by a group of elitists that are hell-bent on the destruction of this country.” It then ended with the phrase, “Refuse to remain silent!”

The post elicited responses by some who concurred with the sentiment, and some who didn’t. The posting afforded a teaching moment about what the right of the political spectrum feels about the “fundamental transformation of America” that has been occurring for several years, but accelerated dramatically over the past five.

Some were upset that the term “rage” was used, and thought it improper to be enraged toward those who’re dismantling our republic. But in a politico-cultural context, emotions like anger and rage can be a powerful motivator, especially in regard to values, convictions, and ideals that are violated and impinged upon.

Likewise, those of us who treasure America as the land of the free and the home of the brave, see contemporary statists, those who are actively engaged in expanding centralized governmental authority at the expense of personal liberty, as adulterators and enemies of freedom.

They are “fundamentally transforming America” into a fiercely potent centralized government that was never intended for this republic; a fascist police state that, regulates, coerces, bullies, and spies on its citizens. And they have done it surreptitiously, clandestinely, and dishonestly. How any thinking person, who professes love for America, can accede to the destruction of American idealism perpetrated by those who have a stated objective of “fundamentally transforming” the nation is beyond my comprehension!