Monthly Archives: October 2012

Where Are The Fact Checkers ?

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Yesterday CNS News reported that despite President Obama’s statement on Thursday that “we got back every dime we used to rescue the financial system,” the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has stated that the government will lose about $24 billion on the bailout.

On Thursday, President Obama stated, “We got back every dime we used to rescue the financial system, but we also passed a historic law to end taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts for good.”

The article reports the CBO’s statement:

“The cost to the federal government of the TARP’s transactions (also referred to as the subsidy cost), including grants for mortgage programs that have not yet been made, will amount to $24 billion,” said the CBO report, which was released on the same day Obama spoke.

…CBO said that the cost of TARP “stems largely from assistance to American International Group (AIG), aid to the automotive industry, and grant programs aimed at avoiding home mortgage foreclosures,” noting that the losses will be so large they will eclipse the financial gains the government will realize from bailing out other large financial institutions.

It really is time to tell the truth about how American taxpayer money is spent and to rein in the budget.

 

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Did He Misspeak Or Was He Lying ?

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CNS News posted a story today about a statement made by Vice-President Joe Biden in a speech at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse on Friday. The article reports that the Vice-President stated that Planned Parenthood “under law cannot perform any abortion.”

The article then states:

Planned Parenthood itself has published fact sheets indicating that it did 985,731 abortions in just the three years from 2008 through 2010. These included 324,008 abortion in 2008, 332,278 abortions in 2009, and 329,445 abortions in 2010.

Biden made his remark in response to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney position that he would defund Planned Parenthood.

“And now these guys pledge that they are going to defund Planned Parenthood, which under law cannot perform any abortion,” said Biden. “You heard it last night again.”

Facts are inconvenient things.

The article reports:

A Congressional Research Service report published on Aug. 28 said that the federal government gives Planned Parenthood about $66 million per year in Title X “family planning” grants. The law prohibits recipients from using Title X money for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

However, there is nothing in the law to prevent these funds from paying office expenses in offices that schedule and perform abortions. Planned Parenthood, along with Public Broadcasting are two examples of things that should be cut from the federal budget. They are not worth borrowing money from China to fund.


 

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Appearance vs Security

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Katie Pavlich at Townhall.com posted an article today about some of the recent comments made about the attack on the American Embassy in Benghazi.

The article explains:

Last week during congressional testimony from State Department officials who were on the ground in Libya, we heard over and over again that more security for the consulate in Benghazi was requested but denied. We also heard repeatedly from Democrats, including Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee Elijah Cummings, claiming a lack of funding was at fault for less security in Benghazi during the time of the attack on 9/11 that left four Americans dead. State Department officials said funding had nothing to do with the situation and now, Chairman Darrell Issa has revealed the State Department is sitting on $2 billion for consulate security, but won’t spend it.

From a common sense perspective, this makes no sense, but the rationale is explained later in the article:

Issa (Rep. Darrell Issa , Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee) claims the State Department will not spend the already approved funds because they didn’t want to the appearance of needing increased security.

“The fact is, they [the State Department.] are making the decision not to put the security in because they don’t want the presence of security,” Issa said. “That is not how you do security.”

Four people are dead because the Obama Administration valued appearances more than they valued security.

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What The State Department Actually Said

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This is the link to the State Department Background Briefing on Libya dated October 9. It is on the website of the State Department.

Here are a few excerpts:

The compound is roughly 300 yards long – that’s three football fields long – and a hundred yards wide. We need that much room to provide the best possible setback against car bombs. Over the next few months, physical security at the compound is strengthened. The outer wall is upgraded, its height is increased to nine feet.It is topped by three feet of barbed wire and concertina wire all around the huge property. External lighting is increased. Jersey barriers, which are big concrete blocks, are installed outside and inside the gate. Steel drop bars are added at the gates to control vehicle access and to provide some anti-ram protection. The buildings on the compound itself were strengthened.

The compound has four buildings on it, and you guys are going to have to get used to this, because I refer them to – as Building C, Building B, Tactical Operations Center, and a barracks. So Building C is a building that is essentially a large residence. It has numerous bedrooms and it is – it has a safe haven installed in it, and I’ll talk more about that in a minute. Building C ultimately is the building that the Ambassador was in, so keep that in your heads.

Building B is another residence on the compound. It has bedrooms and it has a cantina. That’s where the folks dine. The Tactical Operations Center, which is just across the way from Building B, has offices and a bedroom. That’s where the security officers had their main setup, that’s where the security cameras are, a lot of the phones – it’s basically their operations center. So I’ll call it the TOC from now on.

And then there was a barracks. The barracks is a small house by the front gate, the main gate of the compound. In that barracks is a Libyan security force which I’ll describe in a minute. Security on the compound consists of five Diplomatic Security special agents and four members of the Libyan Government security force, which I will henceforth call the 17th February Brigade. It is a militia, a friendly militia, which has basically been deputized by the Libyan Government to serve as our security, our host government security. In addition to all those, there is an additional security force at another U.S. compound two kilometers away. It serves as a rapid reaction force, a quick reaction security team – a quick reaction security team, okay?

…Okay. The Ambassador has arrived in Benghazi on the 10th of September. He does meetings both on the compound and off the compound on that day, spends the night. The next day is 9/11. He has all his – because it is 9/11, out of prudence, he has all his meetings on the compound. He receives a succession of visitors during the day.

About 7:30 in the evening, he has his last meeting. It is with a Turkish diplomat. And at – when the meeting is over, at 8:30 – he has all these meetings, by the way, in what I call Building C – when the meeting is over, he escorts the Turkish diplomat to the main gate. There is an agent there with them. They say goodbye. They’re out in a street in front of the compound. Everything is calm at 8:30 p.m. There’s nothing unusual. There has been nothing unusual during the day at all outside.

After he sees the Turkish diplomat off, the Ambassador returns to Building C, where the information management officer – his name is Sean Smith, and who is one of the victims – the information management officer – I’ll just call him Sean from now on, on this call – and four other – four Diplomatic Security agents are all at Building C. One Diplomatic Security agent is in the TOC, the Tactical Operations Center. All of these agents have their side arms.

A few minutes later – we’re talking about 9 o’clock at night – the Ambassador retires to his room, the others are still at Building C, and the one agent in the TOC. At 9:40 p.m., the agent in the TOC and the agents in Building C hear loud noises coming from the front gate. They also hear gunfire and an explosion. The agent in the TOC looks at his cameras – these are cameras that have pictures of the perimeter – and the camera on the main gate reveals a large number of people – a large number of men, armed men, flowing into the compound. One special agent immediately goes to get the Ambassador in his bedroom and gets Sean, and the three of them enter the safe haven inside the building.

…OPERATOR: The next question is from the line of Brad Klapper with AP. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, yes. You described several incidents you had with groups of men, armed men. What in all of these events that you’ve described led officials to believe for the first several days that this was prompted by protests against the video?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: That is a question that you would have to ask others. That was not our conclusion. I’m not saying that we had a conclusion, but we outlined what happened. The Ambassador walked guests out around 8:30 or so, there was no one on the street at approximately 9:40, then there was the noise and then we saw on the cameras the – a large number of armed men assaulting the compound.

MODERATOR: Okay, thank you. We’re ready for the next question, please.

OPERATOR: The next question is from the line of Toby Zakaria with Reuters. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi. Do you know what the threat level for Benghazi was the day before the attack? And also, did anyone suggest to the Ambassador that it might not be prudent to go to Benghazi on 9/11?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Taking your questions in reverse order, ambassadors travel, ambassadors must travel, ambassadors must get out and meet with a variety of individuals, especially in countries that have multiple centers of energy or power. That’s just – it just must happen.

But secondly, as Official Number One said earlier, the Ambassador did events in the city on the 10th. He had plans to do events in the city later in the week. But on the 11th, he remained in the compound.

As in terms of the – of any kind of security threat, the – both ODNI spokesman and the DNI have been correctly quoted as saying that there was no actionable intelligence of any planned or imminent attack.

MODERATOR: Okay. Thank you. Next question, please.

OPERATOR: The next question comes from the line of David Lerman with Bloomberg News. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi. Did the Ambassador – before the attack, did the Ambassador request that security be increased in Benghazi? And if so, did anything ever come of it?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL NUMBER TWO: The – when the Ambassador traveled to Benghazi, he traveled with two additional security agents over and above the complement of three who were assigned to post. So there were five agents with him there rather than the two who are normally assigned there – the three who are normally assigned. So they were up two.

Please follow the link above to the State Department website to read the entire briefing, which discusses the safe house and a lot of other actual details of the attack.Enhanced by Zemanta

What Happens To The Money We Spend Importing Foreign Oil

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Al Arabiya News reported yesterday that Hezbollah’s CFO has fled to Israel taking with him large sum of stolen money, classified documents and maps.

The article reports:

The news website, Now Lebanon, cited Hezbollah officials saying that the 29-year old telecommunication engineer, Hussein Fahs, has crossed to Israel carrying with him $5 million in embezzled money from the group. Fahs is also head of Hezbollah’s operational communications network.

In September, Fahs, who is native of southern Lebanon, was arrested along with other four Hezbollah members over the suspicion of embezzling the group’s funds and collaborating with Israel, Yoni Alpert’s Terror Watch.

Think about this for a minute, if he embezzled $5 million, he was probably handling considerably more money than that. Where did that money come from? That is the questions I would love to see the answer to. My guess is that it came from Iranian oil sales.

 

 

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Remember The Drone Taken Control Of By Iran ?

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Hal Lindsey is a Biblical Scholar who focuses on current events and how they fit into Biblical prophecy. He hosts a show on Trinity Broadcasting Network that is also available on his website. Every week he sends out an email with a brief summary of what he will be talking about on his show.

This week there was an interesting quote:

I’ll also report on the unmanned drone that the Israeli Air Force shot down over Israel last week. Coincidentally, that Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), was essentially a copy of the RQ-170. Remember the RQ-170? That’s the super-advanced, and highly secret, United States UAV that Iran was mysteriously able to commandeer and capture after it flew into Iranian airspace last December.

At the time, the administration’s spinmeisters assured us that the RQ-170 was much too advanced to be of any use to Iran. In fact, one analyst said that losing the RQ-170 to Iran was a bit like “dropping a Ferrari into an oxcart culture.”

Well, apparently the bumpkins didn’t try to hitch an ox to it! Taking a cue from their friends the Russians and Chinese (who paid dearly to get a look at the technology), they reverse-engineered it and now they (or their proxy, Hezbollah) are flying it over Israel to get a closer look.

This apparent miscalculation by some of our defense and intelligence communities’ experts makes me a little nervous about some of their other evaluations. For instance, last week The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) released a report that estimates that Iran will produce enough weapons-grade uranium to arm a nuclear weapon in the next “two to four months.” That’s 120 days!

But the report drew a “clear distinction” between Tehran’s ability to actually produce a viable warhead and its ability to make the fissile core of a warhead by producing 55 pounds of weapons-grade uranium from its large lesser-enriched stockpiles.

Isn’t that sort of like assuming that if one drops “a Ferrari into an oxcart culture,” the bumpkins will try to hitch an ox to it? The Iranians proved the administration’s experts wrong on that assumption, didn’t they! So why should we think they will not surprise us again with how quickly they can produce a working nuclear missile?

On the other hand, that may be why the United States, NATO, and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council just completed the largest naval exercise ever conducted in the Persian Gulf. They were demonstrating our mine-sweeping prowess and how quickly we can take command of the Strait of Hormuz if Iran decides to try and close it.

I will admit to being a news junkie, and nowhere did I see it reported that the drone shot down over Israel was a copy of the RQ-170 brought down and captured by Iran. This is disturbing. I guess when you are not capable of advancing your own technology, you simply steal from the people who have spent the money and done the work.

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Some Good News From The Medical Profession

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The U.K. Express is reporting today that a drug has been discovered to slow the amount of brain damage suffered by people who have multiple sclerosis (MS).

The article reports:

Data presented at the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis congress, showed the drug cut the risk of an attack by up to 60 per cent and brain shrinkage by 35 to 39 per cent.

Gavin Giovannoni, Professor of Neurology at Barts and the London NHS Trust, said the “important” research should bring patients improved quality of life.

Please follow the link above to the article to see the specifics. This is fantastic news for people suffering from MS.

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I Love Elmo, But This Is Ridiculous

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Reuters reported on Friday that a “Million Muppet March” is being planned for November 3 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The event is a response to Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney‘s statement that he loves Big Bird, but it is time to stop subsidizing PBS with taxpayer money. The implication is that it is time to kick Big Bird out of the public nest.

I like Big Bird too, but enough is enough. If Dora the Explorer can survive without public assistance, why can’t Big Bird? Do you know how many “Tickle-Me Elmo‘s” I have bought for my grandchildren? How many Sesame Street books? Sesame Street coloring books? I realize that Public Broadcasting is more than Sesame Street, but it seems that with an income generator like Sesame Street, it ought to be easy to make Public Broadcasting profitable. What about the fund raisers they do throughout the year? I understand that ‘they do not do commercials,’ but what about all the names mentioned of contributors in between shows?

Anyway, I hope those supporting Big Bird have a happy march. I also hope that someone comes up with a few ideas on some small places to cut the federal budget. If we can’t make little budget cuts, how will we ever make big ones?

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Mistaken Priorities

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Investors.com posted an article on Friday about some of the money spent on American Embassies overseas.

The lead paragraph of the article points out:

While our consulate in Benghazi was guarded by unarmed Libyan contractors making $4 an hour, our embassy in Vienna received an expensive charging station for its new electric cars to help fight climate change.

The article also states that there were 230 security incidents in Libya between June 2011 and July 2012. Forty-eight of those incidents took place in Benghazi. Was anyone paying attention?

The article states:

In a May 3, 2012, email on which Ambassador Stevens was copied, the State Department denied a request by a group of Special Forces assigned to protect the U.S. Embassy in Libya to continue their use of a DC-3 airplane for security operations throughout the country.

Four days after the use of an ancient DC-3, along with other security requests, was being denied, on May 7, 2012, the State Department authorized the U.S. Embassy in Vienna to purchase a $108,000 electric-vehicle charging station for the embassy motor pool’s new Chevrolet Volts.

The article concludes:

Instead of an “Energy Efficiency Sweep Of Europe,” money should have been provided for a terrorist sweep of the Middle East that included protection for our diplomats in places like Benghazi. The $535 million wasted by Obama-Biden on Solyndra would have helped.

It seems that someone’s priorities were misplaced.

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What I Learned On The Radio This Morning

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First of all, I would like to thank DaTechGuy for inviting me on his radio show. He blogs at DaTechGuyBlog.com and has been one of the few people who has been investigating the numbers behind the numbers in the Presidential polls.

Second of all, I would like to apologize for my Emily Latella moment (if you don’t understand that, google the name and you will find numerous video clips). I asked a candidate running for the U. S. House of Representatives about a state issue. Just for the record, the issue was forced unionization of family run daycare centers. This was on my mind because I had blogged about it earlier in the week (rightwinggranny.com).

Now to my point. One of the guests on DaTechGuyOnDaRadio this morning (if you missed the show, it will be up on DaTechGuy’s blog sometime this week) was Doctor Andrew Smith. Dr. Smith is the Director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which specializes in election polling. Dr. Smith has been involved in polling since the mid 1980’s.

Dr. Smith pointed out that a poll is simply a specialized conversation. His organization randomly selects the people that they poll. There are two main aspects to taking a poll. First, will people talk to you? This can depend on the political situation at the time. If the candidate a person supports is not doing well, that person may be reluctant to talk to a pollster. Second, is the person you are polling being completely honest? Are they simply giving the pollster answers in order to make themselves look good? In many cases if a person is asked if they are likely to vote, they will answer yes because voting is considered a good thing–not because they actually intend to vote.

In polling the public, a pollster needs to ask questions people might actually have the answers to. If a pollster is asking very specific questions about a piece of legislation, the person answering may simply give an answer in order to avoid appearing ignorant.

The key to a successful poll is a random sample and interviewers that exactly follow the script they are given. The wording of questions and the order of questions can determine the answers that will be given.

When evaluating a poll, find out who is doing it and why. It is probably not a good idea to take polls conducted by candidates too seriously.

Most of the time a random sample will be accurate. One reason polls get more accurate as the election nears is that people begin to pay attention. In some cases, voters are not focused on the election until the week before and will give an answer to a pollster a month before that may change when the voter starts paying attention.

Dr. Smith described polling as an art with a scientific method behind it. I think that is a very accurate description.

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His Nose Is Growing…

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On Friday, the Washington Free Beacon posted a story specifically listing the lies Vice-President Joe Biden told during the Vice-Presidential debate this week. I will attempt to summarize.

The article reports:

“We weren’t told they wanted more security there,” Biden said in response to a charge from Republican opponent Paul Ryan. “We did not know they wanted more security.”

…The White House now claims Biden only meant that neither he nor President Obama was personally informed of the security requests, but press secretary Jay Carney on Friday awkwardly declined to say whether or not they ever were briefed on the matter.

It is bad enough that the Vice-President might have lied–it is worse if he and the President were not made aware of the problem after the numerous previous attacks on the Embassy.

The article further reports:

Ryan and House Republicans “cut” embassy security by $300 million.

…A senior State Department official who testified before Congress earlier this week said budget considerations were not a factor in the decision to deny the U.S. Libyan delegation’s repeated requests for additional security.

Wouldn’t the Vice-President have had some idea of the Congressional testimony–it wasn’t even a good lie.

The next lie:

The Obama administration has “decimated” al Qaeda.

…Lara Logan, chief foreign correspondent for CBS News, recently described the Obama administration’s declaration of victory in the war on terror a “major lie.”

The next lie:

Obama doesn’t want to raise taxes on families and small businesses earning less than $1 million a year.

…President Obama has often stated his desire to raise taxes on all individuals and small businesses earning at least $200,000 a year, a proposal he included in his most recent budget resolution. Doing so is estimated to raise about $800 billion in new revenue over the next decade.

The next lie:

Syria is five times the size of Libya.

Check you Atlas. I have no words.

The next lie:

Obama has ordered all American troops out of Afghanistan by 2014.

…However, the administration has discussed maintaining an “enduring presence”—in the words of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta—in Afghanistan beyond 2104. That would likely consist of somewhere between 10,000 to 15,000 military advisers and special forces troops, contingent on an agreement with the government of Afghanistan.

Always read the fine print.

The next lie:

The federal government is not forcing Catholic institutions to cover contraception.

…Yet 35 lawsuits against the HHS mandate, which forces insurance companies to cover contraception for free, are pending right now, including many from Catholic universities. The Becket Fund pointed out this fact in an email this morning objecting to the Vice President’s comments.

It depends on the meaning of the words Catholic institution.

The next lie:

Biden voted against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

…Then-Sen. Biden voted for the Afghanistan resolution on Sept. 14, 2001, authorizing “the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States.”

And on Oct. 11, 2002, Biden voted for a resolution authorizing unilateral military action in Iraq.

Biden did, however, vote against the First Gulf War to repel the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, arguing that the U.S. had no “vital interests” in the region.

Generally speaking, Vice-President Biden has been wrong on almost every statement he has ever made regarding foreign policy.

And that is the Washington Free Beacon’s list of lies Vice-President Biden told during the debate this week. For further details, follow the link above to the Washington Free Beacon.

 

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One Major Problem With The Obama Administration’s Story About Benghazi

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Today Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted his take on last night’s Vice-Presidential debate. The article focuses on Vice-President Biden’s comments about the attack on the American Embassy at Benghazi. The Vice-President stated that neither he nor President Obama were aware that the Embassy at Benghazi had requested more security.

The article reports:

Vice President Joseph Biden speaks only for himself and President Barack Obama, and neither man was aware that U.S. officials in Libya had asked the State Department for more security before the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, a top White House official told The Cable.

Biden has come under fire for saying at Thursday night’s debate, “We weren’t told they wanted more security. We did not know they wanted more security there.”

The Cable asked Deputy National Security Advisor for Communications Ben Rhodes whether Biden was speaking for the entire Obama administration, including the State Department, which acknowledged receiving multiple requests for more Libya security in the months before the attacks. Rhodes said that Biden speaks only for himself and the president and neither of them knew about the requests at the time.

I find that more disturbing than the possibility that he was lying. Isn’t it the job of the President to know that an American Embassy has requested more security? Was the President aware of the numerous attacks on the Embassy since June? The attack on the Embassy at Benghazi is a major blunder in President Obama’s foreign policy. It speaks of gross incompetence.

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Statement By The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

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This is the statement regarding last night’s Vice-Presidential debate issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on October 12:

Last night, the following statement was made during the Vice Presidential debate regarding the decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to force virtually all employers to include sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion, in the health insurance coverage they provide their employees:

“With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution—Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital—none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact.”

This is not a fact. The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain “religious employers.” That exemption was made final in February and does not extend to “Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital,” or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served.

HHS has proposed an additional “accommodation” for religious organizations like these, which HHS itself describes as “non-exempt.” That proposal does not even potentially relieve these organizations from the obligation “to pay for contraception” and “to be a vehicle to get contraception.” They will have to serve as a vehicle, because they will still be forced to provide their employees with health coverage, and that coverage will still have to include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients. They will have to pay for these things, because the premiums that the organizations (and their employees) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries.

USCCB continues to urge HHS, in the strongest possible terms, actually to eliminate the various infringements on religious freedom imposed by the mandate.

For more details, please see USCCB’s regulatory comments filed on May 15 regarding the proposed “accommodation”: www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/rulemaking/upload/comments-on-advance-notice-of-proposed-rulemaking-on-preventive-services-12-05-15.pdf

 

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Be Careful What You Believe Between Now And the Presidential Election

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Yesterday Fox Business posted an article about the jobless claims data reported this week.

The article reports:

A sharp drop in the number of weekly jobless claims filed last week was caused by the failure of one large state to report all of its claims, a Labor Department spokesman confirmed to FOX Business.

Initial jobless claims, which are a measure of the number of people recently laid off, fell by 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000, the lowest level in more than four years.

But the Labor Department spokesman said the numbers were skewed by one large state that underreported its data. The spokesman declined to identify the state, but economists believe California is the only state large enough to have such a significant impact on the overall numbers.

Evidently, the state that did not report their numbers forgot to include that stockpile of unprocessed claims in their tally for this week (which is the first week of a new calendar quarter),

This is the equivalent of saying all of your bills are paid because you are haven’t gotten to the pile of bills you left on the kitchen table. We are truly in the silly season and need to discount at least ninety percent of what we read or hear from the media. Just for the record, the number will be revised upward, but at a time when no one is paying attention.

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We’re Still Not Done With Solyndra

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On Wednesday, the Washington Times posted an article about the bankruptcy of Solyndra.

The article states:

The Internal Revenue Service urged a bankruptcy judge to reject solar panel maker Solyndra LLC’s bankruptcy plan Wednesday, saying it amounts to little more than an avenue for owners of an empty corporate shell to avoid paying taxes.

“The undeniable conclusion is that tax benefits drive this plan,” attorneys for the IRS wrote in a bankruptcy pleading.

The attorneys for the IRS stated that that the tax breaks would be worth more money than funds set aside for creditors.

The article explained the bankruptcy plan:

Under Solyndra’s reorganization plan, two big investors in the company, Madrone Partners LP and Argonaut Ventures, together would own nearly all of a shell company formed in the wake of Solyndra’s bankruptcy reorganization.

But the IRS said in court papers that there was little reason for the shell company to exist other than to help the owners avoid taxes. Argonaut is the investment arm of a family foundation headed by Oklahoma businessman George Kaiser, a fundraiser for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Madrone has ties to the family that owns Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

The article concludes:

The government attorneys said that while the reorganization plan had “some marginal benefits,” there was no doubt that the most important priority was to “preserve a shell corporation to be able to reduce future tax liabilities by hundreds of millions of dollars.”

This is what crony capitalism looks like.

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A Few Thoughts On The Vice-Presidential Debate

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The debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan last night probably didn’t change anything. I felt that the moderator was reasonably fair. Joe Biden had slightly more time than Paul Ryan, but it was basically even. The only thing I would have changed was to have the moderator stop the frequent interruptions by Joe Biden when Paul Ryan was talking. I was also totally turned off by Joe Biden’s lack of respect for Paul Ryan, as shown in the smirking, laughing, etc. at Paul Ryan’s answers.

The Daily Caller posted its commentary this morning.

The article quotes Charles Krauthammer:

“If you read the transcript, I think it’s dead even,” Krauthammer said. ”If you heard it on radio, Biden won. If you watched on television, he lost. In the transcript, if you just look at the raw arguments I think it was even because each side had points to make and made them. I think on balance, not one side was stronger than another.”

The article also pointed out that Paul Ryan was not always able to follow up when Joe Biden made statements that were not true:

…And Ryan reacted with, I thought, excessive deference, allowing himself to be cut off and often just ending with a point that you might understand — for instance, when he talked about the Catholic Bishops — he made a point after Biden had said, ‘Oh, the Bishops of the Catholic church is not going to be compelled to do anything under ObamaCare.’”

“Ryan said, ‘Then why is that the Bishops are suing the administration?’ But that is almost an aside, and it was lost, and then it was over by the next question.”

All in all, I thought it was a good debate. I don’t think it changes anything, but it was a good debate. I also appreciated that Martha Raddatz pressed Joe Biden when he repeated the lies that the Obama Administration has told about the attack on the American Embassy at Benghazi. Much of the mainstream media has not covered the Congressional hearings on the attack, and the American people need to be aware that they were purposely lied to.

An Interesting Twist On The Massachusetts Senate Election

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Today’s Weekly Standard posted an article (and a video) stating that union members who showed up to support Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren during the Wednesday night debate in Springfield, Massachusetts, were told that they would be fined if they were not there.

This is the video:

The article states:

This isn’t the first instance in a Massachusetts Senate race where unions have been accused of generating fake grassroots support for the Democrat.

In 2010, before Brown‘s victory in the special election, a union member wearing a shirt supporting the Democratic candidate, Martha Coakley, told a local blogger on camera that he had been paid $50 to wear the shirt but that he was actually voting for Brown.

Don’t believe that all the union support for Ms. Warren is real.

 

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I Have Totally Mixed Emotions On This

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On Wednesday, the Daily Caller posted an article detailing some close ties between vice presidential debate moderator Martha Raddatz and President Obama. Among other things, President Obama was a guest at the moderator’s wedding in 1991. The article reports that Obama and groom Julius Genachowski, whom Obama would later tap to head the Federal Communications Commission, were Harvard Law School classmates at the time and members of the Harvard Law Review.

The article at the Daily Caller goes on to detail a rather close relationship between President Obama and Mr. Genachowski which has continued over the years.

The article reports:

Genachowski’s friendship with Obama would continue through the campaign trail in 2008 and into the White House: He aggressively fundraised for Obama in 2008 as a campaign bundler, and served on the presidential transition team before winning his appointment to chair the FCC.

It should be mentioned that Martha Raddatz and Julius Genachowski divorced and are now married to other people.

I do find this a little unsettling. I think ABC could have found a moderator without a direct connection to the President, but I am willing to watch the debate and hope that Ms. Raddatz is fair and objective.

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Unionization of Home Based Family Care Providers In Massachusetts

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The following letter is reprinted with the permission of the writer. It originally appeared in the Community Advocate which covers Hudson, Marlboro, Northboro, Southboro, Westboro, and Shrewsbury.

Dear Editor,

I’m writing to set the record straight about the recently passed legislation forcing family care providers into a state employee union if they accept one child on a state voucher.

Rep. Carolyn Dykema has claimed that is untrue. As a family care provider who is living with the situation, Dykema is wrong. We are home based businesses that care for children. We are the ultimate small business.

For the past eight years, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has tried to recruit us into their union. No one joined. That should be an indication that we don’t want to be part of a union. Unfortunately, the legislature did not pay attention to what we wanted and they passed the bill anyways.

Dykema will say there were hearings and testimony. The people who testified were connected to the SEIU. The rest of us were working managing our small business. How were we supposed to know about this legislation being forced upon us?

Unlike the big corporate centers which are exempt from being forced into a union, we don’t have a lobbyist. We are just normal people trying to run a home based business. We expect that our legislators will protect us not betray us for a big powerful labor union.

Dykema will also say that this legislation was passed to help us providers get an increase in our reimbursement rates from the state. That’s untruthful as well. The legislature can increase those rates without forcing us into the union. The Senate took a vote on increased rate in July and it was rejected.

If this can happen to home-based family care providers like us, then it can happen to your business. I urge voters to hold Rep. Dykema accountable for this very anti-small business vote.

Kathy D’Agostino
Kathy’s House Family Child Care and PreSchool
Watertown

Just for the record, Marty Lamb is opposing Carolyn Dykema in the 2012 House of Representatives election in Massachusetts. He does not support this legislation.

 

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Rest In Peace, Alex Karras

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The Detroit Free Press is reporting today that Alex Karras died today in Los Angeles.

The article describes Alex Karras in the weight room :

“He was 6-2, 260, and in the weight room, he never lifted weights,” Walker (longtime linebacker Wayne Walker) said. “Once a year, he’d come in, smoke a cigar, trim down to his shorts, get under the barbell and bench-press 300 pounds twice. He’d dress, and you’d never see him in the weight room again.”

The article further reports:

“He was a giant of a man with a big heart, a great sense of humor, and very grounded outlook on life,” actor Emmanuel Lewis, who played Karras’ adoptive son, Webster, told si.com. “He might have towered over you . . . but he had a knack of being able get down to your level without being small about it.”

Alex Karras will be missed. He was one of the true gentlemen in the game of football.

 

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The Cost Of ObamaCare

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Yesterday the Washington Examiner posted an editorial explaining the impact Obamacare will have on jobs.

The article reports:

And so in order to avoid paying fines or buying massively more expensive health plans that are Obamacare-compliant, Darden is now experimenting with limiting its employees’ hours instead. By keeping workers to fewer than 30 hours per week, Darden can categorize them as “part-time.” Thus, the company avoids the Obamacare fines and leaves employees to the new government health insurance exchanges, where they may receive subsidies to purchase insurance. At least two other restaurant chains — White Castle and McDonald’s — are considering similar plans.

Thus, Obamacare is resulting in people working fewer hours, less tax revenue for the government, and bigger government.

The article concludes:

So to sum up, Obamacare is leading to fewer hours worked, less tax revenue for the government and bigger government subsidies for health insurance for people who were already insured in the first place. If enough companies do this, Obamacare will become a massive dead weight on the federal budget, even as it does little more than shuffle people from one insurance plan to another, whether they like it or not. The Congressional Budget Office estimates, at the high end, that 20 million workers could see their health plans dropped thanks to Obamacare.

One person who commented on the article at the Washington Examiner stated:

In 2009, Barack Obama stood up before the nation, and boasted that, if Obamacare was passed, you could keep your original health care plane.   That clearly was an out and out lie.

The more we see of Obamacare, the worse it gets. It needs to be repealed and replaced as soon as possible. The replacement needs to balance the needs of the health insurance consumer with the needs of the health insurance companies. There is nothing wrong with health insurance companies making a profit–that is why they are in business. The challenge is to make sure that they also meet the needs of the consumer.

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