CURL: The president thinks you’re stupid (and so do ) …

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

… the vice president, the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, everyone in Congress (even the dumbest guy there, Al Franken), the Supreme Court, the Washington media — enough, you get the picture, right? You’re Stupid.

How else to explain everything they do, much of what they say? They must think we’re all idiots or they simply wouldn’t do what they do, say what they say — it’s the only explanation.

Consider this: On Aug. 31, after dodging questions on Syria for more than a week, President Obama headed to the Rose Garden to give a 10-minute statement. He’d made some decisions, and he had to let America know right away — because this was urgent, URGENT!

“Now, after careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets,” the president said about the then 10-day-old “chemical weapons” attack on civilians (he was on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard when the attack happened).

But wait, there’s more! Americans, he said, should get to speak about this burning issue, “And that’s why I’ve made a second decision ” he said, announcing he’d go to Congress for approval. He’s “ready to act!” to face down this immediate threat to America, he declared.

Then, he and Joseph R. Biden headed to the links for a five-hour round of golf. That’s right, they went golfing. The buck, apparently, stops with Congress, freeing up America’s top leaders for a little R&R.

What’s more, the day after Mr. Obama made this dire announcement, he jetted off to … Sweden! Yes, land of his Nobel Peace Prize. No, he did not cancel his tour through Scandinavia to work members of Congress for support. Instead, he headed to the Royal Institute of Technology to view the “First Commercially Viable Hybrid Solution for Trucks and Buses.” Important stuff.

Via: The Washington Times

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10 Ways Obamacare Isn’t Working

Obamacare is an unworkable law.

It’s obvious because the Administration keeps trying to “fix” it—to no avail. It has delayed parts of the law, ignored others, and carved out exemptions for its political allies.

1. WAIVERS: The Administration established a legally questionable program of temporary waivers when firms announced they were considering dropping coverage rather than comply with the law’s costly requirements. Even though more than half of the recipients of these waivers were members of union plans, many union leaders are still not satisfied—they wantanother waiver, to receive taxpayer-funded subsidies for their employer-provided coverage.

2. ILLEGAL TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES FOR CONGRESS: Last month, following heavy lobbying from leaders in both parties—and an intervention from President Obama himself—the Administration issued a rule regarding coverage for Members of Congress and their staffs, who will retain their taxpayer-funded insurance subsidies in the exchanges. Unfortunately, asprevious research has documented, the Administration had no legal basis on which to make this ruling.

3. EMPLOYER MANDATE: In July, the Administration announced it would not enforce Obamacare’s employer mandate until 2015, effectively granting big business a one-year delay. This action came despite language in Section 1514(d) of the law requiring employers to act “beginning after December 31, 2013,” and despite the fact that hard-working Americans are not getting a delay from the other harmful effects of Obamacare.

4. PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS: Immediately after Obamacare was signed, Democratic staffers admitted that under the law as written, insurers “still would be able to refuse new coverage to children because of a pre-existing medical problem.” The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took it upon itself to issue regulations prohibiting plans from turning down such applicants three years earlier than the law required. As a result, insurersstopped offering child-only plans in 17 states, fearing that only parents of sick children would apply for insurance coverage.

Via: The Foundry

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The Right Medicine

Despite Democratic claims to the contrary, conservatives 

have their own plans for reforming health care

Conservatives have a wealth of policy ideas about reforming healthcare but have failed to unite around any specific policy proposal, according to multiple healthcare experts who rejected claims from Democrats that the GOP has no substantial alternatives to Obamacare and is seeking to do nothing but delay and obstruct.

Lanhee Chen, policy director for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, voiced frustration with the GOP for failing to cohere around a single reform strategy.

“I feel very strongly that Republicans have to be able to articulate an alternative to Obamacare,” said Chen. “I don’t think it’s enough for us to say Obamacare stinks and we don’t like it. I think everybody gets that.”

Avik Roy, a healthcare expert at the Manhattan Institute, concurred that this has been a problem.

“It hasn’t been a policy priority for conservatives,” Roy said.

Several Republican legislators have taken on the challenge of introducing actual legislation since Obamacare has become the law.

Rep. Tom Price (Ga.) reintroduced his “Empowering Patients First Act” this year, while the Republican Study Committee will release its own legislation as Congress comes back from the August recess, although details have been kept tightly under wraps.

Both of these proposals begin by replacing Obamacare.

“It sets up an alternative, a positive alternative,” said Price. He touted his reform as the “most comprehensive” alternative to Obamacare.

Via: WFB

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China sending warship to Syrian coast

We spend a lot of time debating the domestic ramifications of President Obama’s handling – to use the word loosely – of the situation in Syria, ranging from political fallout to impacts on upcoming elections. But it’s a big world out there and other countries have taken a keen interest in the subject. You can now bump up the level of engagement that China has in this mess, as they have dispatched a warship of their own to the party.

China has reportedly sent warships to the coast of Syria to “observe” the actions of US and Russian ships as tensions build in preparation for a potential military strike on Syria which could come as soon as next week.

According to the Russian news outlet Telegrafist.org, the People’s Liberation Army dispatched the Jinggangshan amphibious dock landing ship and the vessel was seen passing through the Red Sea towards the Suez Canal, the waterway in Egypt that leads to the Mediterranean Sea and waters off the coast of Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

It may be for “observation” purposes, but this is no Carnival cruise ship. Launched in 2011, the Jinggangshan was built for action.

China has launched its largest amphibious dock landing warship, the 19,000 metric ton Jinggangshan, in Shanghai.

The 689-foot-long warship can carry 1,000 soldiers, helicopters, armored fighting vehicles, boats and landing craft, a report in the China Daily said.

The vessel is the second Type 071 dock landing ship built by Shanghai’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding.

In addition to the troop and chopper carrying capabilities, the ship has a number of conventional guns. This comes on the heels of news that Russia already dispatched ships to the region this week, so it’s starting to get a little crowded out there. I was watching Fox and Friends this morning – where I first saw the story – and there were some probablyhyperbolic comparisons being made to 1914, but it does make one wonder. Over the past two decades, when the United States has decided to launch any sort of air strikes from mobile / naval platforms, it was just taken as a given that we could do it. And our targets generally don’t have much in the way of sea power to challenge elements of the most powerful navy on the planet. But the Russians and the Chinese have considerable forces as well.

Via: Hot Air

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Americans Being Forced to Pay for Al Jazeera

Two weeks ago, Al Jazeera America launched, beaming into 48 million homes across the country. The media company that allowed Osama bin Laden to use it as a vehicle to communicate with jihadists around the world is now on your TV screen and you are paying for it. The network pushed its way onto basic cable packages with several providers. If you subscribe to Verizon, Comcast, Dish Network or DirecTV, you are forced to subsidize Al Jazeera's propaganda as part of your cable bill whether you like it or not.

I represent a district about 70 miles north of where the Twin Towers once stood. Thousands of my constituents commute to Manhattan every day.  People from this area perished in the savage attacks of September 11, 2001.  Serviceman from our community made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting to prevent another attack.  Four Marines I served with left everything they had on the battlefields of Iraq.  When constituents contacted my office to express outrage that Al Jazeera America is now part of their basic cable package, I took it very seriously.

We should not have to fund Al Jazeera through our cable bills. Americans do not want to pay for their vile propaganda. I'm launching a petition drive calling on cable companies to drop Al Jazeera from their basic cable packages.

Via: American Thinker

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Picture this: Time for officials to pay for their own portraits, lawmaker says

A Louisiana Republican has introduced a bill to put an end to taxpayers footing the bill for official, commissioned portraits of Washington’s movers and shakers.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Rep. Bill Cassidy introduced the legislation – called the EGO Act, or Eliminating Government-funded Oil Painting – after reports

"Lisa Jackson can borrow my camera for free," he suggested as an alternative, the paper reported.

"Lisa Jackson can borrow my camera for free."- Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-La.

"At a time of trillion-dollar deficits, it is not appropriate to spend thousands of dollars on official paintings," Cassidy wrote to the House Appropriations Committee.

"If agency administrators, Cabinet secretaries or members of Congress feel it necessary to commission portraits, they should be responsible for paying for them."

But it could turn out to be a hard tradition to end, as the capital is full of portraits of government officials. And in the case of Elliot Richardson, there are four oil paintings – one for each department he headed in the 1970s, the Los Angeles Times reported

Via: Fox News Politics

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Corporations Switching to Healthcare Exchanges to Cover Retirees

More companies are beginning to use private healthcare-exchange programs, similar to those being set up under Obamacare, to cover their retirees and to give participants more choices of plans at fixed costs, The Wall Street Journal Reports.

Time Warner Inc. is the latest corporation to announce the change, that will take effect Jan. 1, according to the Journal. It joins IBM, which also announced recently it would move 110,000 retirees off of its company-sponsored plan to an established private Medicare insurance exchange. 

Time Warner said in a memo the change to a healthcare exchange would give its former employees more insurance choices, while creating more stability for the company to predict costs. 

For its part, IBM says the current retirees benefit plan has become increasingly more expensive and that the change will cut costs. The company will use Extend Health, an exchange created in 2004 that already includes 300 companies, including 50 that are Fortune 500 companies.

"There are still quite a few others coming," said Bryce Williams, managing director of Towers Watson Exchange Solutions, the parent company of Extend Health.
"We are at the front end of the wave.

Under the new exchange system, retirees will get an annual payment through a health retirement account to purchase Medicare Advantage plans, supplemental Medicare polices, and pay for other medical expenses.

Williams said the change would understandably cause some initial concern for seniors.

"This starts out being scary for most people," he said.

However, Ariel Gonzalez, director of federal health and family government affairs for AARP, said his advocacy group and others see the exchanges as a positive development so long as benefits are not cut and costs remain low.

"If cost sharing becomes too burdensome for retirees, then that would definitely raise concerns," Gonzalez said.

Via: Newsmax

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Syria welcomes international control over chemical weapons

After meeting Syrian counterpart, Russian foreign minister says he’ll push Assad to give up WMDs to avoid airstrikes; Kerry: Attack can be averted if Damascus agrees to cede ‘every single bit’ of its chemical arsenal by week’s end

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem on Monday welcomed Moscow’s proposal to submit Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles to international control, Reuters reported. The surprise announcement came following a meeting between Moallem Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry said such a move could avert a limited US strike on the country in retaliation for a lethal August 21 chemical weapons attack.

“Syria welcomes the Russian proposal out of concern for the lives of the Syrian people, the security of our country and because it believes in the wisdom of the Russian leadership that seeks to avert American aggression against our people,” Moallem said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, a key US ally, reacted favorably to Syria’s declaration, saying the notion of putting the Assad regime’s stockpile of chemical weapons under international supervision was “a big step forward.” He warned, however, that “we have to be careful, though, to make sure this is not a distraction tactic to discuss something else rather than the problem on the table.”

Via: The Times of Israel

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Are Obama’s sarin videos released to CNN propaganda?

At least celebrated investigative journalist Jake Tapper admits that the Obama videos depicting sarin attacks in Syria, released by CNN 8 p.m, last night could not be verified for authenticity.

CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of these videos but we’re reporting on them because we have verified the Obama administration is showing them to members of congress as they hope to build a case to support military strikes against the Assad regime.” (CNN, Sept. 7, 2013).

If CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of these videos, then why are they showing them?

Some 13 videos graphically depicting the gruesome Sarin attack in Syria make up the White House compilation video turned over to CNN, even though many of them had been previously posted on YouTube.  But Tapper points out that the CNN collection of footage is “significant” because the Intelligence Community has given it a stamp of authenticity.

More significantly, the video images CNN described as “hard-to-stomach” were already shown by the Obama administration to a select group of senators in closed-door briefings to make the case that a limited military attack on Syria is justified.

In other words, a “select group of senators” were shown the videos on Thursday, but the television and Internet world got to release them two days later on Saturday.

Via: Canada Free Press

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Susan Rice Will Brief Congress on Syria on Anniversary of Benghazi

(CNSNews.com) - Susan Rice, who falsely told the nation that the terrorist attacks in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012 had developed out of a spontaneous demonstration against a YouTube video, will mark the one year anniversary of those attacks by briefing Congress to make the administration's case for authorizing President Barack Obama to use military force in Syria.

Speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation" today, House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R.-Mich.) pointed to the administration's decision to have Rice brief members of Congress about this issue on the anniversary of the Benghazi attacks as emblematic of the administration's bumbling approach to making its case for intervening in Syria.

On Monday, Rice will give a speech about Syria to the New America Foundation, then speak to the Congressional Black Caucus and participate in a classified briefing that the administration will provide to members of Congress, the Associated Press has reported. She will then participate in another classified briefing for Congress on Wednesday--which will be the twelfth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. homeland and the one year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the State Department and CIA facilities in Benghazi, Libya.

House Intelligence Chairman Rogers, who supports taking military action against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad to punish that regime for using chemical weapons, said he does not believe Obama has effectively made the case for doing so.

Via: CNS News

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Bikers denied no-stop permit for 9/11 rally, apologize to residents

The countdown to Sept. 11 commemoration demonstrations by patriotic bikers versus a fringe Muslim “truther” group is taking shape, and despite some confusion about the technicalities, the court of popular opinion isn’t even close:

Let the good guys roll.

Denied a permit by the nation’s capital for a special “non-stop” ride through town with a waiver for red lights, stop signs and other traffic controls, organizers of the “2 Million Bikers to DC” ride to remember 9/11 are undeterred.

Just riding on a public street doesn’t take any special permission after all, even if you have a million people doing it. They just sought the permit to make life easier on the city’s residents and businesses.

So the ride will go on. It’s just going to take a little longer.

“We find this regretful for the residents and businesses of that great city, and humbly offer our apologies,” organizers wrote on Facebook  Saturday. “What could have been a one or two hour ride through will now likely be an all-day event. We will be obeying all laws. We will be stopping at all stoplights, stop signs, and yielding to all pedestrians.”

The ride’s route won’t be posted in advance for security reasons, but the lineup is set to begin at 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Harley Davidson of Washington(9402 Livingston Road, Fort Washington, Md.) with a blessing, Pledge of Allegiance and guest speakers.

Via:Biz Pac

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LINDSEY GRAHAM POLLING UNDER 50 PERCENT IN PRIMARY, COULD FACE RUNOFF

Ten months out from his primary election against three different Tea Party candidates, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has dropped to below 50 percent in the polls, meaning he is particularly vulnerable to a runoff strategy conservatives have employed against him.

Graham received just 42 percent of support from likely South Carolina GOP voters in an Aug. 25 poll of 500 likely GOP voters conducted by Landmark Communications and Rosetta Stone Communications, UnitedLiberty.org reports.

“These numbers should be of concern to the Graham campaign. The senator fails to reach 50% of the vote against any of his opponents,” Rosetta Stone Communications president John Garst said. “Graham does not break 40% among voters who think of themselves as evangelistic conservatives, and that group makes up 58% of the primary electorate.”

Lnadmark Communications president Mark Rountree added that Graham “has developed a serious problem with male voters and conservative voters in particular.”

“His support among those demographic groups is weak,” Rountree said. “But worse for Senator Graham is that he currently does not even win an outright majority in a potential runoff primary election, despite the fact that his opponents are not even well known to the general public.”

As Breitbart News has reported, Graham’s three primary challengers—State Sen. Lee Bright, public relations executive and first female graduate of The Citadel Nancy Mace, and pro-life activist and businessman Richard Cash—aim to take Graham to a runoff after the primary next June. If Graham receives less than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, then the second-place candidate will go head-to-head with him in a runoff election a couple weeks later.

Via: Breitbart

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This week in bizarro, unconstitutional tyranny at and around Oberlin College

The Daily Caller has taken a keen interest in Oberlin College after breaking the story about how an Obama-supporting white kid and his sidekick allegedly circulated virulently racist, anti-Jewish and anti-gay messages around campus. (RELATED: Students perpetrated cruel Oberlin race hoax)

Turns out, things just keep getting creepier at that hothouse of leftism 30 miles south of Cleveland.

As The Plain Dealer reports, Oberlin’s administration recently altered the school’s bizarre trespassing policy, which dates back to the 1970s.

Previously, the school had maintained a secret list of people blackballed from the campus. Only the school’s safety and security department and local police knew the names on the list.

School officials did not notify the individuals on the clandestine no-trespassing list that they were on it — or how long they had been on it, or how long they would stay on it. These people were also barred from finding out what they had done to merit placement on the list in the first place.

The Plain Dealer notes that minor infractions, such as playing sports without proper Oberlin identification or skateboarding on campus property, could lead to placement on the secret no-trespassing list. Serious crimes, like theft, could also be the cause.

People on the no-trespassing list continue to face arrest if campus police or real police spot them on campus.

A group of Oberlin students led the campaign to change the school regulation. At a February meeting attended by both students and townies, speakers lamented the gated-estate atmosphere at the school.

Via: The Daily Caller

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