Sebelius Goes from 'Will Get Covered' to 'Can' to 'May'

Tuesday morning, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius announced on Twitter:

Big news! Nearly 6 in 10 uninsured Americans will #GetCovered for less than $100/month starting Jan 1 #Obamacare #ACA pic.twitter.com/RimQkFIuPJ

— Kathleen Sebelius (@Sebelius) September 17, 2013

However, while Sebelius's claim sounds like a sure thing ("will" get covered,) the accompanying graphic is somewhat less unequivocal, employing the phrase "can"get covered.  But the truth is even one additional step removed.  The HHS press release, which Sebelius refers to but does not link to, reads as follows [emphasis added]:

A new report released today by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shows that 56 percent, or nearly six in ten of the people who don’t have health insurance today may be able to get coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace for less than $100 per month.

Sebelius's words recall President Obama's confident pledge that Americans will be able to keep their doctors under Obamacare, a pledge that changed to "may" on the HealthCare.gov website just this summer.

The authors of the new report released today are careful to point out that they are not making any claims about rates, but are only drawing conclusions about what the uninsured are likely to pay out of pocket towards new insurance premiums after taxpayer subsidies. 

Via: Weekly Standard

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Sen.Manchin Says Obama's Coal Policy's Beating The Crap Out His State (Too Late Joe You Helped To Elect Him)

West Virginia knew what it was doing when it overwhelmingly voted against President Obama in the recent election, they were trying to save their jobs. The number two coal mining state in the country knew that the President's energy policy has a goal of killing the coal industry. Well not everybody in the state knew. West Virginia Democratic Senator Manchin woke up this morning and realized that the president he helped to elect is anti-Coal.

Manchin exploded over the Obama administration’s anti-coal policies during a senate hearing today. 

We’re getting the living crap beaten out of us, there has been nothing more beat up than coal.

Manchin voiced his frustrations with rules put forward by Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency which have made it more costly and difficult for coal plants and coal mines to operate. 

They just beat the living daylights out of little West Virginia, but they sure like what we produce,” Manchin added. “We could do it a lot better if we had a government working with us as a partner. 

Manchin’s remarks were made while questioning Ron Binz, Obama’s nominee to head up the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates electric grids, gas pipelines, natural gas export terminals and hydroelectric power plants.

Hopefully come election time, West Virginia voters will remember that Joe Manchin helped to elect the guy who put them out of business.  Especially when one considers it is about to get much, much, worse.

This week, the EPA is expected to finally release its New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), which will set emissions standards not just for the construction of future power plants, but for existing ones also.

Via: The Lid

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Obama renews call for Congress to act on background checks

In the wake of the shooting at a Washington naval facility that left 13 dead, President Barack Obama renewed his call for Congress to pass background check reforms to keep guns out of the hands of those who would do harm.

“The fact that we do not have a firm enough background-check system is something that makes us more vulnerable to these kinds of mass shootings,” he said in an interview with Telemundo, adding that “ultimately this is something that Congress is going to have to act on.”

Obama defended giving an address on the economy – which contained more than one barb about legislative gridlock, aimed mostly at Republican lawmakers – even as the manhunt for the shooter was still underway just a few miles from the White House.

“I think that everybody understands that the minute something like this happens, I'm in touch with the F.B.I., I'm in touch with my national security team, we're making sure that all the assets are out there for us to deal with this as well as we can,” he said, noting that he did address the shooting and offer prayers for the victims at the beginning of his Monday speech.

Via: NBC News

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CPI up 0.1% for August as Fuel Oil, Food, Medical Care Cost More

The Consumer Price Index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for August, according to a Labor Department report (link opens as PDF) released today. 

After cheap natural gas kept July's Index to 0.2% gains, analysts' expectations for August proved right on the money. 

Source: Labor Department. 

According to the report, the Index's edge up was largely a result of steady 0.1% gains in food prices (pushed higher by more expensive fruits, vegetables and meats), as well as a 1.2% jump in fuel oil and a 0.7% increase in medical care services. Utilities marked a third month of declines with a significant 2.3% dip. Excluding more volatile food and energy prices, the CPI still managed 0.1% gains. 

The shelter index increased 0.2%, the same increase it notched in June and July, with the rent index increasing 0.4% and the index for "owners' equivalent rent" rising 0.2%.

Today's report showed gas prices slipped 0.1% last month, the first drop since April. New-car prices were unchanged. Travel costs eased: Air fares plunged 3.1% , the third straight drop. Hotel prices fell 0.7%.

Over the last 12 months, the CPI has headed 1.5% higher, pushed up by a 3.2% increase in energy services. Overall energy prices have remained low, however, with energy commodities dipping 2.2% and gasoline specifically notching a 2.4% decline. Food prices are up 1.4% in the last year. 

Via: The Motley Fool

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Biden’s niece busted after roommate dispute

Vice President Joe Biden’s niece  was arrested Tuesday for allegedly swinging at a police officer in her TriBeCa apartment — and later transported to the hospital for what law enforcement sources described as “difficulty breathing.”

Caroline Biden, 26, was “screaming at the top of her lungs” and “beating on doors” after her roommate confronted her about unpaid rent at their Desbrosses Street apartment when police were called at 9:15 a.m. for a “threat,” sources said.

While cops were filling out a report, Biden’s niece started mouthing off to the officers and then threw a punch and lunged at a female officer, sources said.

Biden struck a male officer in the arm and chest who jumped in between them and “flailed her arms frantically” to resist being handcuffed, cops said.

She was charged with resisting arrest, obstruction of government administration and harassment.

At the 1st Precinct, she resisted going into a holding cell “by grabbing a police officer’s arm,” cops said.

“She was being irrational,” a witness said. “She went berserk.”

After complaining of “not feeling well” and difficulty breathing she was transported to Beth Israel hospital shortly before 4:30 pm.

“What isn’t she complaining about?” a cop at the precinct griped.

She was described as “highly uncooperative,” and was issued a desk appearance ticket. Biden must show up in court on the complaint Oct. 29.

Via: NYP

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IHS: Shale Oil Boom Could Go Global

The shale oil boom that has led to resurgence in U.S. production could be replicated internationally, according to a new study from research firm IHS Global Insight.

Oil is recovered from shale formations using a combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The process has also allowed for a significant increase in gas production, particularly at the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.

Domestic oil production recently hit its highest level since May 1989, driven by shale plays like North Dakota’s Bakken and Eagle Ford in Texas. Previous studies by IHS have shown North America has about 43 billion barrels of commercially recoverable oil.

The group’s latest report suggests global shale formations potentially hold seven times the amount of technically recoverable oil located in North America.

While it remains to be seen how much of the oil is commercially recoverable, the geological study from IHS identified 148 global shale plays that may have 300 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil.

Because well-level data does not exist outside of North America, IHS grouped international plays based on their geographical characteristics. It then compared each play to its closest equivalent in North America to get an estimate of its technical potential.

Via: Fox Business

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About That Other Debacle For ObamaCare, it's only the end of the beginning.

If you're the kind of driver who can't help but gawk at the wreckage when you pass an accident--and honestly, who isn't?--you'll enjoy today's lengthy account in The Wall Street Journal of the runup to last week's Putin-Assad triumph.

Right off the bat we learn, which is to say our suspicion is confirmed, that this was a case of a willful president with atrocious political instincts. When Obama consulted his cabinet and top staffers about the idea of seeking congressional approval for a strike in Syria, "senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer pegged the chances of Congress balking at 40%. . . . Mr. Obama took the gamble anyway and set aside the impending strikes to try to build domestic and international support for such action."

In retrospect, it seems clear that while Pfeiffer was on the right track in warning that Congress might scuttle the plan, he underestimated the probability of that outcome. Given the political obstacles that stood in the way of the president's call for authorization to use force--Republican control of the House, Democratic misgivings about military intervention, and, most important, crosspartisan public misgivings--it seems absurd to suggest Obama was ever likelier than not to win a vote.

In fact, one could make a case that the probability of gaining congressional assent was already so low as to be indistinguishable from zero on Aug. 31, when the president announced his request. The best counterargument is that in the ensuing days, Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry did such an inept job making their case that they worsened the odds. That would imply they had at least a slim chance of success to begin with.

"Leadership as we experience it in life is usually more declarative," observes the Washington Post's David Ignatius with considerable understatement; "Leaders take action, and people follow. But Obama's style is different. As we've learned after nearly five years, he's more cautious and deliberative." We don't think we take any substantive liberties when we rephrase Ignatius's statement more bluntly: What he is saying is that Obama's manner of executing his official duties, in this instance for sure, is unrecognizable as leadership by any ordinary understanding of the term.

Via: WSJ

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Health care in Syria is 'hell on earth,' doctors say

DO I HEAR OBAMACARE???

Syria’s once sophisticated health system is “at breaking point” and parts of the country are completely cut off from any kind of medical service because of “deliberate and systematic attacks” on medical facilities and staff, senior doctors said on Monday.

Horrific injuries go untended, women are giving birth with no medical care and patients battling cancer, diabetes and heart disease, as well as victims of sexual violence, have nowhere to turn, 55 medical professionals from across the world said in a joint letter in The Lancet medical journal.

More than half of Syria’s hospitals have been destroyed or badly damaged in attacks, nearly 470 health professionals are imprisoned, and about 15,000 doctors have been forced to flee abroad, said the letter’s signatories.

“Such attacks are an unconscionable betrayal of the principle of medical neutrality,” wrote the doctors, who include Gro Harlem Brundtland, former director-general of the World Health Organization and Hany El Banna, founder of the Humanitarian Forum and Islamic Relief.

Of the 5,000 physicians in the city of Aleppo before the conflict started, only 36 remain, the letter said.

Via: Fox News

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‘You’re a Lousy Parent’: Ed Shultz Insists Parents Tolerant of GTA 5 ‘Play a Role’ in Mass Violence

IS THIS WHAT THEY CALL NEWS THESE DAYS?  HE SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER JOB!!!!

On Tuesday, MSNBC host Ed Schultz tore into what he saw as hypocrisy in the national debate about how best to stem violence in the United States in the wake of the attack on the Washington Navy Yard on Monday. Schultz attacked parents across America who might be allowing their children to purchase and play Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 5. 

“It’s a dandy,” Schultz said, holding up a picture of the game which he noted cost $250 million to produce. “It’s called Grand Theft Auto.”

“It’s got stealing cars, shooting people, and beating up hookers,” he continued. “If you’re a parent and you allow your son or daughter to watch this – even if they’re beyond 18-years-old, you’re a lousy parent in my opinion.”

‘You play a role in this,” he insisted. “We all play a role in this.”

RELATED: Fox’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck: Forget Gun Control, What About Video Game Control?

Shultz questioned why the “freedom of speech” enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution which protects the right of game makers to make and sell products like Grand Theft Auto 5 is not an unlimited right.

“When did the First Amendment and responsibility part ways?” he asked. “If you think as a parent this is good for your kid, you’re wrong. It’s not.”

“Oh, by the way, the guy that did the shooting yesterday – he was a big fan of this kind of stuff,” Schultz added.

Via: Mediaite.com

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Forbes: 7 Ways to Fix Obamacare

Congressional Republicans should develop their own healthcare proposal as an alternative to Obamacare, banking on the deepening public opposition to the president's healthcare law, according to former presidential candidate Steve Forbes.

In an article for Forbes Magazine, he says that crafting a pro-patient, pro-free-market healthcare package will not only be popular, but will avoid the political backlash associated with plans by some GOP lawmakers to defund Obamacare and cause a government shutdown.

"Obamacare is becoming more unpopular as people realize that it increases medical expenses and restricts their choice of doctors and where they get treated," Forbes, the magazine's editor-in-chief, writes.

Editor's Note: Obamacare Secrets Revealed in New Book, ObamaCare Survival Guide. Get It Here!

"Defunding this monstrous legislation, however, is even more unpopular than the bill itself. People feel that would be underhanded: If it's bad, repeal it or substantially change it. The problem, of course, is that the Democrat-controlled Senate would block any such move, and the president would veto it, even if Congress passed it.

"So what should the GOP do? It should take the president up on his taunt that the Republicans have no alternative: 'There's not even a pretense now that they're going to replace it with something better.'"

Forbes outlines seven key guidelines that should be part of a GOP proposal. They would: 

1. Allow interstate shopping for insurance;
2. Give tax deductions for insurance premiums currently limited to businesses and the self-employed to everyone;
3. Prevent Medicare money from being used to fund Obamacare;
4. Stop the exemption of Congress and staff from Obamacare;
5. Encourage high-risk pools to lower costs for everyone else;
6. Push medical malpractice reform; and
7. Eliminate Obamacare's mandated benefits and let people decide what coverage they want.

Forbes concludes by saying, "GOP House leaders, apparently having done nothing on this front so far, may say there's no time left to craft such legislation. Well, then, take up a batch of individual bills covering these areas and offer them as a package."

Via: Newsmax

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[VIDEO] Priebus: Obama is orchestrating a government shutdown

On Hugh Hewitt’s radio program on Monday night, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus fired a couple of salvos at President Barack Obama for what appears to be his desire for a government shutdown.

But Priebus told Hewitt that strategy, along with his foreign policy, could backfire on Obama and his fellow Democrats.

“I think you’re exactly right,” Priebus said. “I think he wants this thing to happen — a shutdown of the government. I’m totally cynical on the thing. I think that’s exactly what he wants. I in fact think he’s got a bunch of Democrats that are sick and tired of it as well because they’re sitting in red states and they’re nervous as anything they’re going to get stuck with Obamacare then they’re going to have to go out there and defend it. I think it’s actually going to be a big problem in the end though, Hugh, for the Democrats.”

“I think he’s being cute by half, and the biggest albatross around his neck is not only the economy but Obamacare,” Priebus continued. “It’s his foreign policy. He picked the absolute worst time in the agenda to come across as weak and you know he’s not only doing his best to humiliate himself but he’s doing his best to humiliate this country and I think it’s going to come back to bite him.”

Listen:

Via: Daily Caller

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