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Articles of Interest

Government Shutdown Will Not Shut Down Obamacare, Says New CRS Report

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

WASHINGTON — If the federal government shuts down, don’t expect the implementation of Obamacare to stop.

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service issued a report on Monday stating that the law would still be in effect even if lawmakers hold up the functioning of the government over budget disputes.

“It appears that substantial [Affordable Care Act] implementation might continue during a lapse in annual appropriations that resulted in a temporary government shutdown,” the report says.

Read More…
More on Mike Lee

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

News, Politics, Government

Estate Tax Repeal In North Carolina Means Big Tax Savings For Some

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By Ashlea Ebeling, Forbes Staff

One wealthy family in North Carolina just heard they’re off the hook for a $2.4 million tax bill, and another is off the hook for a $680,000 tax bill, thanks to the state tax reform deal just signed into law. “We had some happy clients when we found out they wouldn’t have to pay the North Carolina estate tax,” says Elizabeth Quick, an estate lawyer with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in Winston-Salem. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Articles of Interest

Congress’ Plan To Exterminate Every Last Tea Partier

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By Floyd Brown

Congress Congress Plan to Exterminate Every Last Tea Partier

I love the Tea Party members of Congress. They’re courageous, principled, and, at times, innovative in their use of legislative rules to make major statements about policy. It’s too bad they face a wily foe who poses as their friend. You see, the GOP leadership in Congress is committed to Tea Party failure, especially concerning Obamacare.

The latest Tea Party initiative is Senator Mike Lee’s plan to kill the continuing resolution (the bill that funds the government) unless Obamacare is stripped of funding. Lee’s plan is a good one; but sadly, I’m going to predict its failure.

In the end, Republicans who claim to be against Obamacare will scurry like scared children to protect Obamacare’s funding — just as they’ve done at the passage of each continuing resolution since they captured Congress in 2010.

Lee described his plan this way to WBAL Radio:

“I’ll utilize every procedural mechanism at my disposal to do it.” He continued, “I generally don’t signal in advance what procedural maneuvers exactly I’ll use because it’s usually not good strategy. But what I am saying is I will not vote for a continuing resolution that contains funding for further Obamacare implantation and enforcement. So far I have got, I don’t know, 13 or 14 Senate Republicans who have joined me. I think a corresponding effort is starting to be kicked off in the House. And I expect these numbers to grow steadily as Americans realize the president has said he’s not going to implement the law as written. If he’s not going to implement the law, we shouldn’t be forced to fund it.”

The Lee plan is based on sound logic. If Obama won’t follow the law as passed, why should Congress continue to fund his autocratic and capricious manipulation of the program?

The problem Senator Lee and other principled members of Congress don’t seem to grasp is that their plan disrupts the business-as-usual consensus that governs Washington. Their bold plan endangers the power of the established elite and the Republicans who enjoy being part of that elite.

In reality, here’s how the situation will unfold.

Mike Lee will announce the Tea Party plan to great fanfare. Many Republicans in the Senate and in the House will embrace the plan. But the elite in both parties will come together and congeal to protect the status quo. They’ll work to get other conservatives to attack the plan and muddy the waters. They won’t attack the substance of the plan; they’ll  just knock it for being unrealistic or unobtainable.

In fact, a conservative senator -Tom Coburn- has already gotten the ball rolling. He blasted the plan right on cue.

Coburn explained his opposition to the Lee plan to the Washington Examiner: “I’d be leading the charge if I thought this would work. But it will not work.”

And he charged Senator Lee and others of being dishonest: “The worst thing is being dishonest with your base about what you can accomplish, ginning everybody up and then creating disappointment… It’s a terribly dangerous and not successful strategy… You’re …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism

Articles of Interest

Huma Abedin: The Latest “Good Wife”

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By Judy B. Lloyd

Huma Abedin Huma Abedin: The Latest “Good Wife”

We’ve seen it all before in real political life. Hilary Clinton stands by her man after he has engaged in oral sex with Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office. Huma Mahmood Abedin, now the latest victim, stands by her sexting-addicted husband Anthony Weiner.

It’s like a season of CBS’s epic drama, The Good Wife. The show examines the twists and turns of a political wife who stood by her husband after torrid affairs and a corruption scandal landed him in jail. The Good Wife, Alicia Florrick, is left to pick up the pieces for her family. She re-enters the workforce as a junior associate with a prominent Chicago law firm. Four seasons later, she’s granted partnership in the firm.

The Good Wife, Alicia Florrick remains by her husband’s side. Last season, her law firm defended husband Peter Florrick and his campaign as they dealt with charges of voter fraud after he is elected Governor of Illinois. Alicia defends him along with the senior partners. Its’s ironic under the circumstances. It’s why we keep watching.

This early interview with Julianna Margulies, who plays Alicia Florrick on The Good Wife, paints the picture of the modern day political spouse –

A reporter asked why political women don’t tend to get caught in sex scandals. “Women do not have the time,” Margulies answered. “Dear Lord! Between the kids and the job and the cleaning and the cooking, we just don’t have the time!”

Margulies admits that she, too, tended to look askance at the political wives who stood by their wayward men — until she took the role. “[The part] gave tremendous respect for them — so quick to judge until I stood in Alicia’s shoes,” Margulies said. “It’s not like these are silly little women waiting for their husbands to come home. A lot of them have two degrees and are incredibly accomplished.” Read more here.

Enter Huma Abedin, wife of the Weiner (a.k.a. “Carlos Danger”). She shows a striking resemblance to The Good Wife.

In the real life saga, former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who resigned due to a “sexting” scandal in 2012, appears to be rebuilding trust in his marital relationship after the birth of the couple’s first child. After the bitterness, blame, denial, lying and cheating, Weiner decides to run for Mayor of New York; his fully supportive wife at his side. She is once again betrayed; her husband once again caught again “sexting” under the alias “Carlos Danger”.

More people are watching the Weiner-Abedin union now with greater scrutiny. What most people don’t know is this: The saga gets even juicier.

The man who asked America to define what the meaning of the word “is” is regarding sexual relationships presided over the Weiner-Abedin wedding as officiant. Weiner (a Jew) marries Abedin (a Muslim). And Bill Clinton officiates.

It doesn’t get much better than this.

If the true life episode with Weiner and Abedin wasn’t an episode of The Good Wife before, it is most likely going to play a role now.

The question …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism

Articles of Interest

The Governor Of New Jersey Is A Traitor

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By Allan Erickson

Chris Christie SC 1024x781 The governor of New Jersey is a traitor

If it is true that conservatives (i.e. patriots) must unify to defeat Obot forces arrayed to destroy America, then the governor of New Jersey is a sellout at best, a traitor more likely.  Defenders of liberty, which depends upon America’s founding principles, ought to be outraged.

Gov. Chris Christie, the latest Democrat in Lincoln clothing, last week called Sen. Rand Paul’s thinking on national security and civil rights “dangerous.”  He condemned Paul and others for engaging in “esoteric, intellectual debates” critical of government surveillance and the war on terrorism.

In doing so, Christie continues his tradition of holding hands with Obama and schmoozing for position in view of 2016.  If debating security versus liberty and working to strike the appropriate balance is a heady discussion confined to a small group with special knowledge (the definition of “esoteric”), then Christie must believe that most Americans are too dumb and too uninformed to participate; and Sen. Paul’s efforts to enlighten The People amounts to a misguided and dangerous endeavor.   This makes Christie an arrogant elitist.  No wonder his finds Obama kindred.

Strange to learn the governor sides with Obama against efforts to preserve liberty and in favor of policies that shred the Constitution, as if The People are accessories.  Why? Christie makes the age-old mistake: he trusts human nature.  He believes if government is given enormous power, it will use that power to protect us, not turn on us.  History contradicts this illusion time and again, and the Founders made clear.  This is precisely why the core of Americanism is limited government: a central government restrained by the rule of law, the consent of the governed, and three co-equal branches checking and balancing the power of each branch.  Sen. Paul understands human nature and the core of Americanism.

Sen. Paul took to the floor of the Senate not long ago, filibustering for 13 hours, challenging Obama on the use of drones, and forcing the president to issue a statement promising not to kill Americans with drones on American soil.  Killing Americans overseas is something Obama reserves as a presidential prerogative.  Indeed, Obama has been responsible for killing civilians overseas using drones, many hundreds, perhaps thousands of men, women, and children.  But you’ll never hear about that on MSNBC or from the press office of the New Jersey governor.

Sen. Paul has also challenged the Obama/Christie idea that the federal government has a right to spy on citizens.  He has simply called for review and appropriate adjustments to accomplish the dual purposes of protecting American liberty and providing for national defense.  Overreach by the NSA and other agencies under the control of a man like Obama are sufficient reasons for alarm, and significant majorities agree with Sen. Paul and others who work to strike the right balance.

Christie appears only interested in working to promote his political career, even if it means attacking those he should be working with in the interest of saving the country.  Instead, he appears at the GOP nominating convention to egotistically engage self-promotion …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism

News, Politics, Government

America's Most Surprising Six-Figure Jobs

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By Jacquelyn Smith, Forbes Staff

We often associate hefty salaries with corner offices, lab coats and law degrees–but it turns out you can pull in a pretty penny working outside the financial, medical and legal fields. For instance, writers, home economics teachers, and film editors can score six-figure paychecks. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Articles of Interest

Obamacare Train Wreck Is Crashing Employment, Too

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By Breaking News

Obamacare Free Ride SC Obamacare train wreck is crashing employment, too

Every day we hear new reports of challenges surrounding the implementation of the president’s health care law. More workers and businesses are coming forward to express frustration with the law.

Under the law’s employer mandate, businesses are forced to provide government-approved health insurance or pay a penalty. The president’s recent decision to delay the mandate for a year only underscores what many citizens, businesses, and members of Congress have been saying for a long time: The law is a train wreck.

Don’t just take our word, though. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi recently received a letter about the law’s devastating consequences for workers.

The letter states, “When you and the president sought our support for the Affordable Care Act, you pledged that if we liked the health plans we have now, we could keep them. Sadly, this promise is under threat.

Read More at The Washington Examiner  . By Reps. Phil Roe and Tim Walberg.

Related posts:

  1. GOP Warns Of ‘train Wreck’ Ahead Of ObamaCare Rollout Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) warned of a coming “train wreck”…
  2. Top Dem Sees ‘train Wreck’ For Health Law Rollout WASHINGTON— A senior Democratic senator who helped write President Barack…

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism

Articles of Interest

Egypt Resurrects the Police State

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By Ruth Brown

Ending Egypt’s brutal police state was a major reason behind the country’s 2011 revolution, but as violence on the streets continues, the country now seems to be returning back to that very era. The interim government has just revived two policies emblematic of the widely hated pre-Morsi regime: a law… …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home

News, Politics, Government

What the Affordable Care Act Really Means for Job Growth

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By ccorbisiero

Today, the White House released a new analysis of the relationship between the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and job growth on Tumblr in the form of an animated GIF.

Recent news stories have cited anecdotes that restaurants are cutting employees’ hours and refraining from hiring workers due to the ACA. In reality, however, restaurants have had the fastest job growth of any industry in the retail and food services sector since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law. The GIF also shows that restaurants have had even faster job growth than what would have been predicted from their growth in sales. Furthermore, workers in the restaurant industry have seen their average weekly hours increase since the ACA was signed, contrary to the notion that there has been a widespread shift to part-time hours.

During the four years since the recession ended in June 2009, 87% of the increase in employment has been due to a rise in the number of workers in full-time jobs. And looking at the period since ACA was signed in March 2010, more than 90% of the rise in employment has been due to workers in full-time jobs. Moreover, the length of the average workweek for private sector production and nonsupervisory employees has returned to its level at the start of the Great Recession.

And while the number of involuntary part-time workers has declined roughly in line with previous recoveries, it spiked up 322,000 in June. However, nearly 30 percent of the June increase was due to federal employees. This suggests that furloughs contributed to the pickup in part-time employment.

These observations strongly suggest that the Affordable Care Act has not constrained growth in hiring or work hours. So what is the ACA doing? It’s slowing the growth rate of health care costs for consumers, creating new incentives for providers to raise the quality of care, and adding new transparency and accountability in the insurance marketplace—all steps that help the economy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House

White House Press Office

Notice — Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with respect to Lebanon

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By The White House

NOTICE

– – – – – – –

CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY

WITH RESPECT TO LEBANON

On August 1, 2007, by Executive Order 13441, the President declared a national emergency with respect to Lebanon pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States constituted by the actions of certain persons to undermine Lebanon's legitimate and democratically elected government or democratic institutions; to contribute to the deliberate breakdown in the rule of law in Lebanon, including through politically motivated violence and intimidation; to reassert Syrian control or contribute to Syrian interference in Lebanon; or to infringe upon or undermine Lebanese sovereignty and contribute to political and economic instability in that country and the region.

Certain ongoing activities, such as continuing arms transfers to Hizballah that include increasingly sophisticated weapons systems, serve to undermine Lebanese sovereignty, contribute to political and economic instability in Lebanon, and continue to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, the national emergency declared on August 1, 2007, and the measures adopted on that date to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond August 1, 2013. In accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency with respect to Lebanon declared in Executive Order 13441.

This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE,
July 29, 2013.

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Source: White House Press Office

News, Politics, Government

Fixing Our Broken Immigration System: The Economic Benefits to Agriculture and Rural Communities

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By The White House

New Report Released by the White House

“So if we’re truly committed to strengthening our middle class and providing more ladders of opportunity to those who are willing to work hard to make it into the middle class, we’ve got to fix the system. We have to make sure that every business and every worker in America is playing by the same set of rules. We have to bring this shadow economy into the light so that everybody is held accountable — businesses for who they hire, and immigrants for getting on the right side of the law. That’s common sense. And that’s why we need comprehensive immigration reform.”

– President Barack Obama, January 29, 2013

Today, the White House released a report, Fixing Our Broken Immigration System: The Economic Benefits to Agriculture and Rural Communities, detailing the important benefits provided by the bipartisan Senate immigration reform bill for the domestic agriculture sector, its workforce, and rural American communities.

As the report states, in recent years, the agriculture sector has seen strong growth, with farm income and agriculture exports both reaching historic highs. In 2013, net farm income is forecast to total $128.2 billion, which would be the highest level since 1973 after adjusting for inflation. Much of this growth is due to the demand for American agricultural exports: the value of agricultural exports has steadily risen in recent years and is projected to reach $135.8 billion in Fiscal Year 2013, which would also establish a new record.

But there’s more work to do, and currently the agriculture industry is hampered by a broken immigration system that fails to support a predictable and stable workforce. Among all economic sectors, the U.S. agriculture sector is particularly reliant on foreign-born workers. Agricultural producers cite difficulty in locating qualified available authorized workers—both foreign and domestic—as one reason for the high rate of undocumented labor. Moreover, there continue to be insufficient U.S. workers to fill labor needs: of those crop workers surveyed between 2007 and 2009, 71 percent were foreign born. By providing a path to earned citizenship for currently unauthorized farmworkers, the bipartisan Senate bill gives unauthorized workers and their families the security they need to invest in their own skills and education and pursue higher-paying employment.

In June, the Senate passed historic legislation that is largely consistent with the President’s principles for commonsense immigration reform with a strong bipartisan vote. This bill would strengthen border security while providing an earned path to citizenship for undocumented farmworkers who are vital to our nation’s agriculture industry, and a new temporary worker program negotiated by major grower associations and farmworker groups. If enacted, the Senate bill would provide a path to earned citizenship for undocumented farmworkers that includes paying a fine, their full share of taxes and is estimated to allow an estimated 1.5 million agricultural workers and their dependents to earn a legal status, and eventually citizenship.

Strength in agricultural production supports …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House Press Office

Health

Howard Dean: ObamaCare's Price-Fixing Is Doomed

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By Kevin Spak

Howard Dean isn’t toeing the party line when it comes to the Affordable Care Act. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Dean praises parts of the law, but takes aim at one of its key provisions: “the so-called Independent Payment Advisory Board,” that will determine what rates Medicare will pay… …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Health

News, Politics, Government

How Immigration Reform Will Benefit Farmers and Rural Communities

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By <a href="/author-detail/3336903">Matt Compton</a>

Today, the White House released a new report detailing the important benefits provided by the bipartisan Senate immigration reform bill for the domestic agriculture sector, its workforce, and rural American communities. As the report states, in recent years, the agriculture sector has seen strong growth, with farm income and agriculture exports both reaching historic highs. But there’s more work to do, and currently the agriculture industry is hampered by a broken immigration system that fails to support a predictable and stable workforce. Among all economic sectors, the U.S. agriculture sector is particularly reliant on foreign-born workers. Agricultural producers cite difficulty in locating qualified available authorized workers—both foreign and domestic—as one reason for the high rate of undocumented labor. Moreover, there continues to be insufficient U.S. workers to fill labor needs: of those crop workers surveyed between 2007 and 2009, 71 percent were foreign born.

As President Obama said in his State of the Union address, “If we’re truly committed to strengthening our middle class and providing more ladders of opportunity to those who are willing to work hard to make it into the middle class, we’ve got to fix the system. We have to bring this shadow economy into the light so that everybody is held accountable — businesses for who they hire, and immigrants for getting on the right side of the law. That’s common sense. And that’s why we need comprehensive immigration reform.”

In June, the Senate passed historic legislation that is largely consistent with the President’s principles for commonsense immigration reform with a strong bipartisan vote. This bill would strengthen border security while providing an earned path to citizenship for undocumented farmworkers who are vital to our nation’s agriculture industry, and a new temporary worker program negotiated by major grower associations and farmworker groups. If enacted, the Senate bill would result in undocumented workers paying a fine, their full share of taxes and is estimated to allow an estimated 1.5 million agricultural workers and their dependents to earn legal status.

To learn more about how the Senate-passed bill and bipartisan commonsense immigration reform would benefit the agriculture sector and rural communities, check out this fact sheet or read the full report released today by the White House.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House

Articles of Interest

Pat McCrory Hasn’t Read Controversial Voter ID Provision That He’s About To Sign Into Law

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

As of Friday, North Carolina’s Republican governor, Pat McCrory, hadn’t read one of the most controversial provisions of an extensive voter ID bill that he plans to sign into law.

Asked at a<a target=_blank href="http://www.robesonian.com/view/full_story/23232282/article-Gov–McCrory-he-will-sign-Voter-ID-into-law?instance=popular
” target=”_hplink”> press conference on Friday about the bill’s prohibition against pre-registering 16- and 17-year-olds, McCrory said, “I don’t know enough … I’m sorry, I haven’t seen that part of the bill.”

Read More…

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

Articles of Interest

Shutting Down The Vital Organs Of Your Healthcare System

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By Doug Book

Health Inspector 202x300 Shutting Down the Vital Organs of Your Healthcare System

Anyone not convinced by now that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was fashioned by those in pursuit of greater power rather than better healthcare apparently doesn’t know that the law features a section which deliberately shuts down many of the best and most effective healthcare providers in the nation. Thanks to a deal forged by ObamaCare’s Democrat authors and associations which represent many of  the nation’s largest hospitals, all clinics, treatment facilities and hospitals owned by physicians are being effectively driven out of business.

For years the nation’s critical care hospitals have been unable to successfully compete with the smaller, more specialized, doctor-owned and operated facilities. As the Wall Street Journal reports, “…many physician-owned hospitals have enjoyed profit margins of 20 to 35 percent in recent years. Meanwhile, community hospitals had profits of just 7 percent in 2010.”  (1)

But rather than worry about finding a way to match the quality of care and services offered by the physician-owned operations, the American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals struck a deal with Mr. Obama. The hospital groups agreed to go all in, right from the very beginning with unconditional support for ObamaCare in return for language in the ACA which would prevent existing doctor-owned hospitals modernizing and expanding, or new doctor-owned facilities being built at all! (2)

How will this scheme work out for patients?

Each year, the federal government rewards hospitals which provide the highest quality patient care according to the government’s own statistics. In 2012, the No. 1 hospital on the government’s list “… was physician-owned Treasure Valley Hospital in Boise, Idaho. Nine of the top 10 performing hospitals were physician-owned, as were 48 of the top 100.” (3) There are only 238 physician-owned hospitals in the US, yet of the more than 3000 hospital entries catalogued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, this small group occupied 48 of the top 100 spots!

Remember, thanks to the promise of ObamaCare, MORE patients will be coming on board, needing “quality healthcare” after the 1st day of 2014, NOT fewer! Effectively shutting down existing providers–many of them the highest quality providers in their area–seems to make little sense. How can this be reconciled with the Barack promise of better healthcare for more people?

It can’t! But then again the Affordable Care Act has little to with the dispensing of healthcare. And that of course is the point.

Authors of the Act made certain that federal agencies would amass and share an unprecedented amount of personal information about each ObamaCare participant while select healthcare officials would enjoy the power of life and death over every patient. For a political regime dedicated to the proposition of rule through intimidation, such an arrangement represents the true heart of the Affordable Care Act. It is for these reasons–reasons of power and control– that the left believe the existence of ObamaCare and its long-term viability MUST be guaranteed regardless of cost or legality.

In fact no inevitable ObamaCare “trainwreck,” may be permitted to interfere with the long …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism