Monday, August 19, 2013

If Hillary is a lock, what’s a Democrat to do? Campaign for veep

Photo - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, (D-Minn.), spoke at the North Iowa Democratic Wing Ding at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, Friday Aug. 16, 2013. (AP/The Globe Gazette, Jeff Heinz)
While several leading Republicans have visited Iowa to lay the groundwork for possible presidential runs, until Friday not a single Democrat considering a run for the White House in 2016 had traveled to the nation’s first-voting state. Even though Sen. Amy Klobuchar is a decidedly long shot in her party’s sweepstakes, her trip to Clear Lakeover the weekend marked a beginning for Democrats in Iowa. And perhaps more importantly, it illustrated the dilemma facing every Democrat not named Clinton who is thinking about running for president.
As Democrats convened in Clear Lake’s Surf Ballroom for their annual Wing Ding fundraiser, the presence of Mrs. Clinton was so powerful, and the assumption that she would be the Democrats’ 2016 nominee was so strong, that Klobuchar appeared to conclude that her only choice was to campaign for vice president.
“You are the state that has gained notoriety for picking the country’s presidents,” she told the audience in an extended comparison between Iowa and her home state of Minnesota, “and we are the state, thanks to the great Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, that supplies the country with vice presidents.”
“In fact,” Klobuchar continued, “it is a long-time tradition in Minnesota that new moms, gushing with pride, bounce their babies on their knee and say, ‘One day you can be growing up to be vice president.’”
Even when Klobuchar made a joke at the expense of the most famous vice-presidential candidate in recent years — “I am literally only two hours from here, and I can see Iowa from my porch!” — it only served to position her as a candidate for the second place on the ticket. And when she became serious, she had to pay tribute to Clinton for “the incredible work that [she] has done promoting economic opportunity for all, making the country a safer place, and the incredible work she has done for women, in the Senate, in the country, and all over the world.”
The shadow of Clinton hung over the Surf Ballroom, and not just in Klobuchar’s remarks. Before Klobuchar spoke, the party gave its annual Beacon Award to none other than Mrs. Clinton (who was, of course, not there). Accepting the award on Clinton’s behalf was a woman named Joy Newcom, who just happened to be the Winnebago County chairman of the Clinton campaign back in 2008. No paid advertising could have portrayed Clinton in any more favorable light. “I don’t think any of us have lived to see a woman achieve a greater set of goals,” Newcom said. “Hillary Clinton, this beacon of light, her beacon of light, has shone regardless of the title she has held.”

Over 100K New Jersey Residents to Lose Their Affordable Health Plans under Obamacare

The latest casualty of Obamacare may be a low-cost New Jersey health-care policy. Though President Obama promised “if you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period,” that will not be the case for approximately 106,000 New Jersey residents whose plans will disappear under the law. 

Known as the “basic and essential,” or B&E, health-care plans, the policy costs as little as a couple hundred dollars per month and is the choice of 71 percent of New Jersey residents on the individual insurance market. It provides minimum coverage for things such as doctor’s visits and procedures that don’t involve a hospital stay. According to the Newark Star-Ledger, B&E policy holders will, under Obamacare, “be left with may be a choice among pricey, pricier and priciest” plans.

So what happened to the B&E plans? They don’t meet the regulations imposed by the Affordable Care Act because they do not cover services that the law will force every individual health-insurance plan to provide. The Star-Ledger warns that B&E customers who don’t qualify for a federal tax credit to purchase insurance can likely expect an three or fourfold increase in the cost of their next plan. According to Rutgers University’s Center for State Health Policy director Joel Cantor, the monthly plans of $150 for a 25-year-old male or $1,100 for a family with parents in their 40s will “easily” be three or four times more for a standard policy on the individual market.

Last year, about a quarter of those enrolled in B&E plans were under the age of 24. The plan is also popular among those who retire early and are looking for cheap coverage before they qualify for Medicare.

Obamacare Strikes At Forever 21 Which Forcibly Demotes Some Workers To 29.5 Hours Per Week

A firestorm broke out during the weekend over the latest part-timing impact from Obamacare (covered here extensively previously), this time in the form of a leaked memo by retailer Forever 21, which announced that some employees would be demoted to part-time status. The memo, which announced forcible part-time changes would take place on August 18 with full loss of benefits to take place by August 31, was leaked by a disgruntled employee on their Facebook page.
The highlight from the memo:
Company-wide, Forever 21 recently audited its staffing levels, staffing needs and payroll in conduction with reviewing its overall spending budget. As a result, we are reducing a number of full-time non-management positions.... As a Part-Time employee your regular schedule will not exceed 29.5 hours per week.
As is well known, with the ACA mandating companies who employ 50 full-time workers or more to provide health insurance coverage, one much exploited loophole is to cut full-time workers to part-time status, i.,e., have them work less than 30 hours. Or 29.5 hours in this case.  Following this forcible full-time demotion, employees will lose medical, dental, vision and voluntary coverage on Aug. 31 and will no longer accrue paid time off.
The memo is below:

Al Jazeera America launches without significant advertiser base

When Al Jazeera America hits the air tomorrow, it will come with a big budget, a global network of 1,000 journalists and a mission to compete with entrenched rivals like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
What it won’t have? Advertisers.
The network launches with just six minutes of commercial time an hour — less than half the typical ad load of a cable news channel. Most of those will be in-house promos and local ad spots as national advertisers shun the controversial network.
The Mideast news outlet, funded by the government of Qatar, is gunning for an American audience despite a deep distrust in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Iraq war.
While Al Jazeera is spinning the lack of ads as a positive for viewers, behind the scenes it is having a tough time persuading Madison Avenue to buy airtime on a network perceived as anti-American.
“I wouldn’t give them a dime, especially since we are in New York,” said one advertiser, who asked not to be named.
“They’re owned by an Arab country and they ran the [Osama] bin Laden tapes. I just wouldn’t trust them,” he said, referring to Al Jazeera’s role in gaining access to the late al Qaeda leader.
A major ad agency buyer who was pitched on the channel was even more blunt: “Not touching that one.”
“[Advertisers] have been especially interested in our decision to limit the number of commercial minutes each hour and how our commitment to fact-based, unbiased and in-depth reporting appeals to the same audience they are trying to reach,” an Al Jazeera spokesperson said.
By all appearances, Al Jazeera America isn’t having much better luck online. Its website, which is still in “beta” test mode, is devoid of ads so far, although the network said it will have launch sponsors.

New Obamacare Enrollment Campaign Unveiled By Kathleen Sebelius

obamacare enrollmentSINGING TO THE MASSES, OFF KEY OF COURSE!!!

WASHINGTON -- With precious time remaining before the health care exchanges established by the president's health care law are up and running, the Obama administration is rolling out new initiatives to encourage enrollment.
The latest of these is set to be unveiled on Monday, when the Department of Health and Human Services will debut a video contest -- complete with cash prizes -- designed to persuade younger consumers to get insurance.
The administration will partner with Young Invincibles, a non-profit youth issues organization, to run the contest, with the goal of reaching those younger Americans who are skeptical of the need for health coverage.
Participants will be encouraged to submit three different types of videos advertising the benefits of the exchanges: a song, an animated short, or a video designed to convince viewers that they aren't invincible. Using funds from the Affordable Care Act's education and outreach budget, HHS will award $3,000 each to the creators of the three most popular and persuasive videos, while second and third place winners will get $2,500 each.
“Educating young people about new coverage options requires an all-hands-on-deck approach," Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will say Monday during a speech at a Young Invincibles conference in Houston, according to advanced remarks provided to The Huffington Post. "For millions of young people, health insurance hasn’t been an option because it’s always been out of reach—because it costs too much, or isn’t offered through a job."
The contest is designed to dispel the notion that even young and healthy individuals would be better off simply not purchasing health insurance. It may seem like an odd choice of battlegrounds. But attracting the young demographic is key to the effectiveness of the exchanges, providing insurers with the type of low-risk customers that will help lower premiums across the board. It's no coincidence that many conservative opponents of the Affordable Care Act are actively urging young people to skip the exchanges altogether, even though doing so would mean incurring the tax penalty for not having insurance coverage.

Report: Al Qaeda Planning Attacks on High-Speed Trains in Europe

A train station in Mainz, Germany. A German newspaper reported Monday that al Qaeda is planning attacks on European high-speed rail. (AP image)BERLIN (Reuters) – Al Qaeda is planning attacks on high-speed trains in Europe and the authorities in Germany have stepped up security on the country’s rail system, a German newspaper reported on Monday.
The information about the planned attacks came from the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA), which apparently intercepted a call between senior al Qaeda members several weeks ago, the mass-circulation daily said.
But the German Interior Ministry said it regularly received information about such threats and was not planning to increase overall security.
“It is known that Germany, along with other Western states, is a target for jihadist terrorists so we always assess warnings on a case-by-case basis but we already have a high level of protective measures and we do not plan to step these up at the moment,” spokesman Jens Teschke said at a routine government news conference.
The scandal surrounding the NSA’s global electronic spying operation has become a major headache for Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the September 22 election. Government snooping is a sensitive subject in Germany due to the heavy surveillance of citizens in the former communist East and under Hitler’s Nazis.
Bild said German authorities had tightened security on high-speed Intercity-Express (ICE) routes and at stations with “invisible measures”, including the deployment of plain clothes police officers.

Sympathy Tour: Obama hits the road Thursday to talk college affordability

With his poll ratings down, President Barack Obama is taking a two-day road trip to show sympathy for those hit hard by rising university costs during his four-and-a-half-year tenure.
The trip will allow him to make three speeches in New York on Thursday, and speak at two town halls and at one speech in Pennsylvania on Friday.
“At each stop, the President will discuss the importance of ensuring that every American has the opportunity to achieve a quality education by reducing cost and improving the value of higher education for middle-class students and their families,” a White House statement said.
The event may bump up his poll numbers prior to the high-stakes political fights this fall, when he’s expected to clash with the House GOP over spending. He’s also expected to push the GOP to pass a hotly contested bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants residing in the country.
Gallup reported Aug. 15 that Obama’s economic ratings have sunk to 35 percent, far less than the Democratic base of about 45 percent of the electorate. The 35 percent score is a sharp drop from June’s 42 percent rating.
Obama’s overall approval rating fell to 44 percent, down from 47 percent in June, concluded Gallup.
Even if he doesn’t increase his ratings, he’s expected to use the speeches to continue his sharp invective against the GOP.
In his Saturday weekly address, for example, Obama claimed Republican legislators are debating whether to cut off health care to Americans or shut down the government.


Unpublished CRS Memo: Obama Administration Has Missed Half Of Obamacare's Legally Imposed Implementation Deadlines

In recent months, President Obama and his subordinates have waived or delayed a number of Obamacare’s notable features, such as the law’s employer mandate, and its procedures for protecting taxpayers from fraud and identity theft. Earlier this month, in that context, I obtained a heretofore-unpublished memorandum from the Congressional Research Service. The CRS, Congress’ non-partisan in-house think tank, compiled 82 deadlines that the Affordable Care Act mandates upon the first three years of its own implementation. Remarkably, it turns out that the White House has missed half of the deadlines legally required by the ACA. And some of those deadlines remain unmet to this day.

Via: Forbes

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Dem Senator: I'm Embarrassed to Go to Europe Because Some Americans Lack Health Insurance

featured-imgDemocratic senator Mary Landrieu says she's embarrassed to go to places in Europe like France and Spain because some Americans do not have health insurance. Landrieu, who is up for reelection in 2014, represents the state of Louisiana.
“People are scared when they’re sick, and they’re much stronger when they’re well,” Landrieu said at a Friday lunch, according to the American Press. “It’s embarrassing to me to go to places like France and Spain ... and their workers all manage to have health insurance that can’t be taken away.”
The report adds:
Landrieu said Louisiana has “more working people that are poor” than any other state. Of the 2 million people who file taxes in the state, she said, 70 percent have incomes lower than $50,000 a year. She said another 12 percent have an- nual incomes between $50,000 and $75,000.

“When people ask me what kind of health care people need, I think they need something they can afford,” Landrieu said.
Landrieu has doubled down on her support for Obamacare.
Republican governor Bobby Jindal, also of Louisiana is already blasting Landrieu for her comments.
Via: The Weekly Standard

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Report: Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to be freed

hosni_mubarak.jpgEgyptian judicial officials have ordered former President Hosni Mubarak freed from jail, a stunning turnaround for the 85-year-old strongman who ruled the nation for three decades before being ousted in a popular revolution, and a move that could plunge the unraveling North African nation into further violence.

The announcement, which comes as Egypt is roiling with new protests following the July 3 ouster of Mubarak's successor, Mohammad Morsi, stoked fears of even more violent reprisals from the Muslim Brotherhood, whose supporters have clashed with security forces and torched dozens of Coptic churches. As many as 1,000 Egyptians, including 70 soldiers and police officers,have been killed in the last week in fighting between the Muslim Brotherhood and the nation's more secular Muslims and Christians. On Sunday, some 25 Egyptian police were ambushed and executed in the lawless Sinai Peninsula, where the Muslim Brotherhood appears to have aligned with Al Qaeda fighters.

Also on Sunday, 36 Islamists died as they were being transported to a prison outside Cairo. Government officials said they suffocated in the back of a prison van after tear gas was used on them as they rioted. The Muslim Brotherhood accused the interior ministry of killing the detainees "for their opposition to the bloody military council".

Mubarak, who is on retrial for the killings of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to his ouster, will be released from jail in the next 48 hours after a prosecutor cleared him of a corruption charge, his lawyer Fareed El-Deeb told Reuters. Still, The New York Times reported that the government could still find a way to hold Mubarak and that his release was not imminent.

Via: Fox News


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Feds: More Americans selling their food stamps for cash

food_stamps4.jpgThe percentage of Americans selling their food stamps back to stores for cash has increased by 30 percent over the past several years, according to a new Agriculture Department study.

The study on food stamps trafficking -- which the agency said included “covert investigation” in stores -- compared the periods of 2006 -2008 to 2009 -2011.

Despite the increase, trafficking has declined since the 1990s, when the rate was nearly 4 percent of food stamps, also known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs benefits.  

The total amount of SNAP benefits is now at roughly $858  million, compared to $330 million annually in the 2006-2008 period.

The increase reflects the overall growth  in SNAP participation and benefits, the agency said in the August 2013 report.
Recipients typically sell back their benefits at a discount, according to the agency, which said its undercover investigations and research into electronic SNAP transactions focused on  stores that showed “suspicious activities.”

However, the numbers were later adjusted to reflect activity within the entire program.

Via: Fox News


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Palin: Hell is Breaking Loose and Obama’s Having a ‘Gay Old Time’

Courtesy APAll hell is breaking loose in Egypt and all President Obama is interested in doing is riding his bicycle and playing golf, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told me.

“It’s sad for America,” Palin said, calling the president’s handling of the crisis dithering. “Literally all hell seems to be breaking loose and President Obama is in Martha’s Vineyard having a gay old time, riding his bike, partying it up.”

featured-imgPalin said it’s time for the president to pull all funding from Egypt until the violence stops.

“Until there is a crackdown on this atrocious violence, they should not be receiving aid or weaponry,” she said. “We are contributing to the deadly chaos that is going to lead to even more hell breaking loose.”

Palin said Obama’s handling of the crisis in Egypt has been appalling and she said it’s beyond time for him to exert authority and leadership.

“It’s sad for our allies and sad for anyone who believes that America can still exert some positive influence for good in this world without unnecessary intervention,” she said. “We can use a less than dithering message from our less than dithering president.”

Via: Fox News Radio


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John McCain: US must cut aid to regain credibility in Egypt

Photo - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on CNN's "State of the Union" that the United States had "no credibility" there because it had continues to provide $1.3 billion in annual aid to the country after first threatening to cut it off in response to the military's ouster of the government.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)Sen. John McCain on Sunday urged the Obama administration to take more forceful measures against the Egyptian military, which he said not only conducted a coup but "orchestrated a massacre."
McCain, who recently traveled to Egypt, said on CNN's "State of the Union" that the United States had "no credibility" there because it had continues to provide $1.3 billion in annual aid to the country after first threatening to cut it off in response to the military's ouster of the government.
"We are not in compliance with the law about a coup, which is clearly what it is," McCain, R-Ariz., said.
Officially labeling the military's ouster of the Egyptian government as a coup would under law require the U.S. to cut off about $1.3 billion in annual aid. The Obama administration has refused to characterize the ouster as a coup, allowing aid to continue in hopes of maintaining leverage with Egypt and to protect Israel's interests.
"For us to sit by and watch this happen is a violation of everything that we stood for," McCain added. "When we threaten something ... and then not do it, then you lose your credibility and your influence."
McCain said that while there was a risk to Israel if aid was cut off, the Egyptian generals currently running the country's government are "stoking anti-Americanism to a large degree and anti-Israel rhetoric is very high."

Fox’s Bob Beckel: ‘It’s Time to Move On’ From 9/11, Scrap the Patriot Act

Appearing on Fox News Saturday morning, Fox analyst Bob Beckel said that the Patriot Act had been passed in panic after 9/11, but that the event was over a decade old and the laws it spurred needed to be revised.
“A lot of these abuses began with the Patriot Act,” Beckel said, responding to a discussion about surveillance. “As usual, when we have a crisis, we pass laws very quickly. And the Patriot Act, if you read it, allowed for a lot of the blanket interpretation for this stuff to happen. The Patriot Act should go away. I know you hate to hear this, but 9/11 is over a decade old. It’s time for us to move on.”
“Mvoe on, Bob?” said Jonathan Hoenig. “What about ‘Never Forget?’ I think it’s disgusting.”
“It’s a day you shouldn’t forget, it’s also a day that shouldn’t tie you down,” Beckel said.
Hoenig followed up after the show:

Watch the full clip below, via Fox News:

Big Business Banks on Union Power

Earlier this week, former state Sen. Gloria Romero published a lengthy article in the San Diego Union-Tribune entitled “Fixing California: The union chokehold.” It described how public sector unions, virtually unopposed, have undermined the effectiveness and overpriced the costs of government at all levels in California.
union collective bargaining public sectorRomero, a Democrat who served as Senate majority leader, knows what she’s talking about. Her focus is on education, where the teachers’ unions have blocked meaningful reforms for years by protecting bad teachers from being terminated, promoting based on seniority instead of merit, taking over local school boards with hand-picked, union-financed candidates, attacking charter schools, prioritizing teacher compensation and job security over student achievement, and pushing a social agenda in front of academic fundamentals. Romero considers it a civil rights issue, since the negative impact of the union takeover has disproportionately harmed public education in low-income and minority communities.
What Romero discusses publicly — criticizing not only teachers’ unions for undermining public education, but also public safety unions for pricing their services beyond the ability of cities and counties to afford them — is privately echoed by Democratic lawmakers throughout California. And it should come as no surprise that Romero, along with virtually all Democratic lawmakers, places equal if not greater blame on the corrupting influence of corporate special interests in Sacramento.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Commodities: Egyptian bloodbath threatens crucial routes for oil and gas supplies

Egyptian protesters throw rocks at security forces during the clearing of one of the two sit-ins near Rabaa Adawiya mosque, Cairo
Brent crude prices were propelled to a four-month high of $111.23 on Thursday

After last week’s bloody crackdown by the Egyptian army, fears of a disruption of oil supplies to the West have boosted the oil price. If the turmoil gets worse – or unrest spreads to other countries – the risk premium currently factored into the price of crude is likely to increase further.

Egypt is not a major energy exporter, producing a nominal amount of the world’s oil and gas. The North African country appears at number 54 on the list of the world’s largest oil exporters, producing about 0.9pc of the world’s oil and 1.8pc of global natural gas supply.

However, Egypt plays a vital role in international energy markets through the operation of the Suez Canal and the Suez-Mediterranean (Sumed) pipeline. These are vital pieces of infrastructure in the global oil market.

Last year, about 7pc of all seaborne traded oil and 13pc of liquefied natural gas (LNG) travelled through the Suez Canal, according to data collected by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The Suez Canal, a 101-mile link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, and the 200-mile Sumed pipeline are strategic routes for Persian Gulf oil and gas shipments to Europe and North America.

Via: The Telegraph

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Gibbs: Ties to Clinton & Obama Presidencies Could Hurt Hillary’s Campaign

Former White House Press Secretary and Obama campaign advisor Robert Gibbs said Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign could experience problems if it is viewed as an extension of either President Obama or former President Bill Clinton Sunday on “Meet the Press”:
DAVID GREGORY: There is a question, Robert Gibbs, that I have, which is how does Hillary Clinton position herself, vis-a-vis Barack Obama? She wants a coalition that he has built her in 2012. She wants that certainly to be her coalition in 2016, but the legacy of Obama could both help and hurt her. How does she distinguish herself and have room to run?
ROBERT GIBBS: Well, she also has to distinguish herself from her husband, too, right? Listen, if her campaign becomes an extension really of either her husband’s term or the current president’s term, it’s not necessarily a good deal for her. I completely agree with Chuck. I as a strategist am fairly floored that she has decided to enter the public fray so quickly. She could do the foundation work, she could do issue work, she could build the campaign, she could develop a message without having to be so far out front there. And Chuck talks about strong bipartisan approval ratings, those will whittle quite quickly as she steps further and further –

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