Obamacare's Ticking Clock

Last week, MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski tried to call the Healthcare.gov helpline and got an operator. That’s right: an operator! The call went through! MSNBC, the unofficial AV department of the Democratic party, had a scoop. The network tweeted out the big news along with a link to the video: “Mika called the Obamacare hotline and got through with no problems — right on air. WATCH.”

It’s a sure sign that the bar has been lowered to curb height when spinners are touting the exciting news that phone calls actually go through. Someone picked up the phone! Quick, hang that “Mission Accomplished” banner. Never mind that you simply cannot buy insurance from the exchanges over the phone. But the fact you can get someone on the line to tell you that is, I suppose, progress of a kind.

A few hours later, the head of the DNC, Florida representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, went on MSNBC to insist that criticisms were overblown because she actually knew a young man in her state who signed up.

This, too, is progress given that the first — widely publicized — young man to enroll, Chad Henderson, actually never signed up. And many of the members of the studio audience for this week’s Rose Garden infomercial hadn’t been able to sign up yet, either. Still, there’s an old saying: “The plural of anecdote is data.” Now we’ve entered the era of “The singular of anecdote is data, too.” 

This can only go on for so long until the Democrats cut and run from a program they’ve invested nearly their entire political identity in. Already you can see the thought bubble over some of their heads: “We lost control of Congress for this hot mess?”

Ah, but Obamacare is more than a website, don’t you know? The president himself said so in his Rose Garden infomercial. And that is absolutely true. But so is this disaster. In fact, for critics of Obamacare the square-wheeled “rollout” of Healthcare.gov was a gimme. Put another way, it’s been like watching a rival football team face-plant on the way out of the locker room.

Via: Real Clear Politics

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BARACK OBAMA: THE MOST UNINFORMED PRESIDENT IN HISTORY

I've always thought of Barack Obama as the "Chauncey Gardiner" of American politics. Like Peter Sellers' character in the classic film, "Being There," Obama is an embodiment of outsiders' hopes and dreams for who they think he is. Reality, like the film, shows there isn't really a lot of there, there.

This weekend, we learned that President Obama "didn't know about" NSA spying on world leaders, especially German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He also "didn't know about" the posthumously obvious problems with the rollout of the ObamaCare website exchanges.According to the New York Times, these problems were evident eight months ago. Yet, it seems, they never made it to the President's desk. 

President Obama was also completely unaware that the IRS was subjecting conservative organizations to undue scrutiny on their tax-exempt applications. At the time of the alleged targeting, the IRS Commissioner visited the White House more than almost any other federal official, but, apparently, never disclosed his agency's targeting of political opponents of Obama. 

President Obama also, presumably, was unaware of the Justice Department's program to allow Mexican drug gangs to purchase military-grade arms from the US. Those arms have been used to murder thousands of Mexicans and at least two US border patrol officers. 

President Obama also, apparently, didn't know that his spy agencies were monitoring millions of phone calls and cataloguing billions of web visits and data transfers. He, it is reported, didn't know that these same agencies were also recording phone calls in foreign countries. 

Via: Breitbart

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Alaskan Company Suspends Obamacare Enrollments, Cites Faulty Subsidy Calculator

Enroll Alaska, an organization that was specifically created to aid Alaskans in enrolling for Obamacare, has thrown in the towel, at least for the time being.

As the Peninsula Clarion reports, Enroll Alaska has been able to enroll a grand total of only three people since the launch of the health-insurance marketplaces on October 1. It has now given up entirely on that goal, at least until Healthcare.gov, the federal health-care exchange, gives Alaskans accurate figures on the subsidies they’re eligible for.

According to Enroll Alaska, the exchange is telling people that they’re eligible for a subsidy $100 less than what they actually qualify for. Spokeswoman Tyann Boling said that Enroll Alaska discovered the issue after comparing manual calculations with those generated by the website. 

Alaska isn’t the only state to have difficulties with a subsidy calculator. Washington’s state-run health-care exchange, Washington Healthplanfinder,overestimated subsidies for approximately 8,000 people. 

Via: NRO

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Obamacare jacks up her insurance

And the irony of her situation is not lost on her. In a recent email addressed to her former boss, Illinois Congressman Bill Foster, and other Democratic colleagues, she wrote:

“I spent two years defending Obamacare. I had constituents scream at me, spit at me and call me names that I can’t put in print. The congressman was not re-elected in 2010 mainly because of the anti-Obamacare anger. When the congressman was not re-elected, I also (along with the rest of our staff) lost my job. I was upset that because of the health care issue, I didn’t have a job anymore but still defended Obamacare because it would make health care available to everyone at, what I assumed, would be an affordable price. I have now learned that I was wrong. Very wrong.”

For Klinkhamer, 60, President Obama’s oft-repeated words ring in her ears: “If you like your health plan, you will keep it.”

Well, possibly not.

Via: Chicago Sun Time

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Court Lets FBI Keep Authorized Racial Profiling Secret

The U.S. has been side-swiped by a robust wave of political correctness, so it may be tough to believe that the nation’s Attorney General actually authorizes federal agents to engage in “limited racial and ethnic profiling” when conducting assessments of criminal and terrorist threats.

It’s probably something the Obama administration would prefer to keep quiet so as not to upset or alienate the president’s liberal base, but evidently it’s considered a valuable homeland security tool. Otherwise, why would this, the most leftist and politically correct administration of modern times, allow it to continue? Furthermore, why would the Obama Justice Department engage in a legal battle to make sure details of the “FBI’s use of ethnic and racial data” are kept secret?

The authorized racial and ethnic profiling began after the 9/11 Commission report determined that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) should be restructured to be the domestic equivalent of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). That included overhauling the FBI and revising its internal manual, known as the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG). Among the manual’s revisions was permission for FBI agents to engage in limited racial and ethnic profiling when conducting proactive assessments of criminal and terrorist threats.

Specifically, the DIOG allows FBI agents to identify and map “locations of concentrated ethnic communities” if doing so would “reasonably aid the analysis of potential threats and vulnerabilities” and “assist domain awareness for the purpose of performing intelligence analysis.” The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asserted this would encourage unlawful racial profiling and took the administration to court to obtain internal documents about the FBI’s use of ethnic and racial data.

As is often the case when a group or individual seeks government records, the FBI turned over some files, would neither confirm nor deny having a portion of the records and refused to provide a large stash. A federal judge ruled in favor of the government’s right to withhold hundreds of pages of documents and the ACLU appealed, determined to expose the administration’s racial profiling initiative.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected the ACLU’s argument, ruling last week that the FBI has the right to protect the information. In its 21-page decision the court also rebuffs the ACLU’s claim that release of the limited public source information it seeks would not tip off targets or impede investigations. “This argument misses the obvious point that while the demographic data itself may be public, its use by the FBI is certainly not,” the court writes.

Via: Judicial Watch

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Global warming gets nearly twice as much taxpayer money as border security

New estimates show the federal government will spend nearly twice as much fighting global warming this year than on U.S. border security.

The White House reported to House Republicans that there are 18 federal agencies engaged in global warming activities in 2013, funding a wide range of programs, including scientific research, international climate assistance, incentivizing renewable energy technology and subsidies to renewable energy producers. Global warming spending is estimated to cost $22.2 billion this year, and $21.4 billion next year.

At the same time, the federal government will spend nearly $12 billion on customs and border enforcement this year.

Obama’s climate agenda has attracted criticism from congressional Republicans who have been hammering the administration over the accountability and transparency of its global warming efforts.

Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee have been calling on the heads of major federal agencies to testify on global warming activities. So far, only the heads of the Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency have opted to testify in front of the House.

“With billions of dollars currently being spent annually on climate change activities, Congress and the public should understand the scope of what the federal government is doing, how the billions of dollars are being spent, and what it will accomplish,” said Kentucky Republican Rep. Ed Whitfield. “Anyone who believes the committee ought to be focusing its attention on climate change related issues should be standing with us to get these answers.”

Earlier this summer, the Senate held a hearing to highlight the immediate impacts of global warming. However, Senate Republicans released a report ahead of the hearing that rejected many of the claims made by scientists, politicians and activists about rising global temperatures.

“Over nearly four decades, numerous predictions have had adequate time to come to fruition, providing an opportunity to analyze and compare them to today’s statistics,” reads the report from Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Via: Daily Caller

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Federal judge rules part of Texas' new abortion law is unconstitutional

A federal judge on Monday blocked part of a recently signed Texas law that requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

District Judge Lee Yeakel wrote Monday that the provision violates the rights of abortion doctors to do what they think is best for their patients and would unreasonably restrict a woman's access to abortion clinics. Attorney General Greg Abbott is expected to file an emergency appeal of Yeakel's order to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

Lawyers for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers brought the lawsuit, arguing that a requirement that doctors have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion clinic would force the closure of a third of the clinics in Texas.

They also complained that requiring doctors to follow the Food and Drug Administration's original label for an abortion-inducing drug would deny women the benefit of recent advances in medical science.

The Texas attorney general's office argued that the law protects women and the life of the fetus.

Via: Fox News

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Health exchange website crashes during road tour

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A mobile enrollment tour for the state's new health exchange hit a speed bump in Olympia when its website went down.

The Washington Healthplanfinder site went down sometime Sunday morning, preventing visitors at the Olympia Farmers Market from enrolling for insurance aboard the trailer that was outfitted with about 20 laptops.

About 50 people showed up, either to get information, start the application process or schedule an appointment to do so, says Bethany Frey, a spokeswoman for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange.

It's not the first time the site has had problems, starting with the first week the exchange went online. And last week, staff discovered and corrected tax-credit miscalculations.

The mobile tour began Oct. 16 in Spokane and will end Nov. 12 on the Seattle campus of the University of Washington. About 35,000 Washington residents have signed up for insurance through the exchange since it opened on Oct. 1.

Via: KOMO News
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WHITE HOUSE GRANTS EXTENSION ON HEALTH LAW SIGN-UP

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration says it's granting a six-week extension until March 31 for Americans to sign up for coverage next year and avoid new tax penalties under the president's health care overhaul law.

Monday's move had been expected since White House spokesman Jay Carney promised quick action last week to resolve a "disconnect" in the implementation of the law. Technical problems continue to trouble the website that's supposed to be the main enrollment vehicle for people who don't get health care at work.

Under the new policy, people who sign up by the end of open enrollment season won't face a penalty.

Previously you had to sign up by the middle of February, so your coverage would take effect March 1.

The extension is for 2014 only.

Via: AP

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Milk prices poised to soar as Congress bickers on farm bill

The farm bill fighting heating up in Congress could leave in its wake a major dent on the household economy — the price of milk.

The big debate is what to do about the $80 billion annual Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. House and Senate members are set to negotiate the fate of the bill and its five years’ worth of funding this week, but if they don’t find consensus, then dairy supports may be left in limbo, The Associated Press reported.

The dairy subsidies expire at year’s end. And as a result, milk prices will soar, industry experts warn. President Obama has weighed in — but only to issue a simple directive, rather than substantive suggestion.

“What are we waiting for?” Mr. Obama said, AP reported. “Let’s get this done.”

But meanwhile, the House and Senate are far apart on the bill. The House has passed a measure that trims $4 billion, or 5 percent, from the food stamp program each year, and reformed eligibility requirements. The Senate only wants a scale-back of funding that’s about a tenth of that, AP reported.

“I think there are very different world views clashing on food stamps, and those are always more difficult to resolve,” said Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union, in the AP report.

Via: Washington Times

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Obama admin. knew millions could not keep their health insurance

President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that after the Affordable Care Act became law, people who liked their health insurance would be able to keep it. But millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.

Four sources deeply involved in the Affordable Care Act tell NBC NEWS that 50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a “cancellation” letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don’t meet the standards mandated by the new health care law. One expert predicts that number could reach as high as 80 percent. And all say that many of those forced to buy pricier new policies will experience “sticker shock.”

Via: USA Today

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