BloggeRhythms 10/31/2013

As expected, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, threw herself under the bus yesterday attempting to defuse the uproar over the quickly imploding new health care tax. Placing the blame for the roll-out failure on herself.

 

While the excuses, finger-pointing and flat-out BS are certainly no surprise, the major problem will never be addressed, and even worse, can’t ever be fixed because it’s ingrained.

 

Simply stated, there’s no function on earth that can’t be performed better by the private sector, regardless. And although things like the military, national defense and naturally, tax administration must be done by the government, even those could be improved significantly. So, it doesn’t really matter what the current excuses are regarding the health care tax, it’ll never run efficiently or professionally, because it can’t so long as government's involved.

 

In that regard, Ezra Klein of Bloomberg Businessweek via Drudge notes that “Even Obama’s allies acknowledge that the healthcare.gov debacle could do damage beyond the health-care system.“ Klein then writes that; Austan Goolsbee who was “Obama’s top economic adviser during the 2008 campaign,“ stated that “This plays into the suspicion that resides in really all Americans that, outside of narrow functions they can see and appreciate like Social Security and national parks, the government just can’t get it done.”

 

Furthering the thought, Klein goes on: “The saga of healthcare.gov has been a symphony of government inefficiency. The effort, directly overseen by the IT department of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, involved no fewer than 55 contractors. The process was thick with lawyers and political interference. In violation of current best practices in the software world, the code was kept almost entirely secret; other engineers weren’t able to point out its flaws, and it wasn’t tested rigorously enough.”

 

However, here’s Klein’s most important point of all: “The Obama administration has been assailed for not calling in Silicon Valley’s top minds to collaborate, but that misses the fundamental problem: The best coders in the Valley would’ve never agreed to work under such deadening, unpleasant conditions.”

 

But, as horrendous as the totally botched technical job was, which took a full three years and still doesn’t function anywhere near the level it should, we come to the truly despicable aspect of the tax’s devastating effects on the nation's population.

 

Noel Sheppard, Associate Editor, newsbusters.org, writes that  “Lisa Myers reported on Monday, the administration predicted that between 47 and 60 percent of individually-purchased policies would be cancelled under ObamaCare. Which means that ”according to Forbes, 51 percent of the employer-based market plus 53.5 percent of the non-group market (the middle of the administration’s range) amounts to 93 million Americans.

 

What this means is that, not only did Obama lie when he repeatedly told Americans that they can keep their plans if they like them, he also lied in Boston on Wednesday when he said he was referring to the majority of Americans covered by their employers.”

 

In closing, Sheppard asked : “Will media report this?”

 

And not to forget other extremely costly government wastes of taxpayer’s hard-earned funds, Chris Stirewalt, digital politics editor for Fox News, writes that “turns out the Obama administration’s “Cash for Clunkers” program was a clunker as a job creator, energy saver and emissions reducer according to a study by the liberal Brookings Institute. The 2009 $3 billion government sponsored car-buying voucher program cost $1.4 million for each job created,  dropped gas consumption by only “about 2 to 8 days worth of current usage,” and resulted in minimal “emissions reduction.”

 

But, apparently that program was just an inconsequential drop in the bucket for liberals who have no problem at all wasting other people’s money. Because on the "Special Report with Bret Baier” All-Star Panel last night, the totally empty-suit flack, Juan Williams, dismissed the 5 percent of Americans losing their insurance under ObamaCare as a “small amount of people.”

 

So, out of curiosity, I did the math to find out that Williams trivial 5% losing insurance amounts to 15,650,00 people. However, since he thinks it’s such a “small amount” of folks, why doesn’t he be magnanimous and help them, by sending them each a quarter.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/30/2013

Evidence is rapidly mounting, establishing that the incumbent’s health care tax pitch was, basically, a total fabrication. It was known from the start that significant numbers were insufficiently covered regarding requirements of the tax to be devised. Consequently, all the promises, repeated constantly about folks keeping plans they liked, was a flat out lie.

 

However, this morning a story by Jonathan Strong in The National Review on-line, demonstrates that despite the incumbent’s falsehoods, party compatriots still won’t admit that their leader’s simply a political hack who’d say anything to anyone, lie or not, if he thought it would help him win voters.

 

Mr. Strong writes: “House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer conceded to reporters today that Democrats knew people would not be able to keep their current health care plans under Obamacare and expressed qualified contrition for President Obama’s repeated vows to the contrary.

 

Asked by another reporter how repeated statements by Obama to the contrary weren’t “misleading,” Hoyer said “I don’t think the message was wrong. I think the message was accurate. It was not precise enough…[it] should have been caveated with – ‘assuming you have a policy that in fact does do what the bill is designed to do.’"

 

So, here we have a Dem leader couching words, because he, or someone reporting to him, surely must have realized that it would be highly unlikely that most folks, especially young ones, had coverage for all the now required categories in the tax plan.

 

Curious myself about what minimum requirements are, I found an article, “Essential Health Benefits Under The Affordable Care Act “ by Jean Folger of Forbes on-line which says:

 

“The Affordable Care Act requires that non-grandfathered health plans (those that were not in existence on March 23, 2010) offered in the individual and small group markets, both inside and outside of the new Health Insurance Marketplace (or “Exchange”), cover a core package of healthcare services known as Essential Health Benefits. These plans must cover – at a minimum – the following 10 general categories:

 

Ambulatory patient services – Care you receive without being admitted to a hospital, such as at a doctor’s office, clinic or same-day (“outpatient”) surgery center. Also included in this category are home health services and hospice care (note: some plans may limit coverage to no more than 45 days).

Emergency services – Care you receive for conditions that could lead to serious disability or death if not immediately treated, such as accidents or sudden illness. Typically, this is a trip to the emergency room, and includes transport by ambulance. You cannot be penalized for going out-of-network or for not having prior authorization.

Hospitalization

Laboratory services

Maternity and newborn care

Mental health services and addiction treatment

Rehabilitative Services and devices – Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices to help you gain or recover mental and physical skills lost to injury, disability or a chronic condition. Plans have to provide 30 visits each year for either physical or occupational therapy, or visits to the chiropractor. Plans must also cover 30 visits for speech therapy as well as 30 visits for cardiac or pulmonary rehab.

Pediatric Services – Care provided to infants and children, including well-child visits and recommended vaccines and immunizations. Dental and vision care must be offered to children younger than 19. This includes two routine dental exams, an eye exam and corrective lenses each year.

Prescription drugs

Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease treatment – Preventive care, such as physicals, immunizations and cancer screenings designed to prevent or detect certain medical conditions. Also, care for chronic conditions, such as asthma and diabetes.

Ms. Folger goes on to note that: “Starting Jan. 1, 2014, you can’t be denied for preexisting conditions and plans can’t limit how much they pay for your lifetime medical expenses. Also, all Marketplace and many other plans must cover a list of preventive services at 100%. You will not owe a copayment or coinsurance even if you haven’t met your yearly deductible – as long as the service is delivered by a network provider (otherwise, you will be responsible for payment). Services include:

•Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (“AAA”) one-time screening for men of certain ages who are or who have been smokers

•Alcohol misuse screening and counseling

•Aspirin use to prevent cardiovascular disease (applies to both men and women of certain ages)

•Adult blood pressure screening

•Cholesterol screening for adults of certain ages and high-risk adults

•Colorectal cancer screening for adults over 50

•Adult depression screening

Type 2 Diabetes screening for adults who have high blood pressure

 

 •Diet counseling for adults who are at a higher risk for chronic disease

•HIV screening for everyone ages 15 to 65 and for other ages if the person is at an increased risk."

Now, I’m no insurance expert by any stretch, and frankly don’t even know what’s in my own plan. But I’ve got to bet that there are droves and droves of folks who don’t want, need or care about slews of stuff in this new tax, yet now have to pay for it anyway.

 

So, perhaps when all the smoke clears, the whole situation will boil down to simple market demand. And whereas, most folks have no use whatsoever for what they’re now being forced to buy, the tax plan itself won’t need medical assistance, but require funeral services instead.

That’s it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/29/2013

During the past few days, I’ve seen several items in the news where the incumbent, when asked about his failing health care tax, simply changes the subject, addressing something else on his agenda.

 

That’s when it occurred to me that it’s as if he has a list of tasks, and as each is accomplished to his satisfaction, he moves on to the next one without comment or looking back.

 

So, I guess, it goes something like this.

 

Okay, I helped the environmentalists block the Keystone pipeline, and now a gallon of gas costs two or three more times than it should due to imports. I did a pretty good job with that one. Time to move on.

 

In the Benghazi case, I had my dimwit U.N. mouthpiece say that there was no evidence of terrorism whatsoever. Hilary and I walked away clean from that one, Time to move on.

 

According to plan, I now have half the nation on some kind of government welfare program, with no hope of ever finding, or even desiring jobs any time soon. Having accomplished almost total disillusion in the American Dream. Time to move on.

 

Combining overregulation with health care tax requirements has reduced the average work-week for millions from 40 to 30 hours.  Reducing incomes will, sooner or later, shrink the nation’s GDP further. That means the entire economy will likely decline, making us look more like Europe, especially Spain and Greece in time. My job well done here. Time to move on.

 

Then there’s the situations in the Middle East with raging battles everywhere you look. That’s why it was a stroke of genius to abandon them all, including Israel, and turning the problems over to Russia, Iran and the U.N. so I can keep playing golf unencumbered. Time to move on. 

 

But, of all things accomplished to date, my health care tax was the most ingenius plot of all. In one fell swoop, more citizens were harmed than by any other action since World War II. The unions hate it, the church is upset, workers all over the nation are losing coverage in droves. Employees are finding their cost increasing dramatically. Insurers can’t figure out their responsibilities. Doctors are rapidly leaving the profession. And the uninsured ones who it was intended for can’t sign up because the technology doesn’t work and likely won’t. But, in the web-site’s case, that’s what happens when you do business with family and friends.  However, regarding this entire fiasco, my work’s done here. Time to move on.

 

And here’s the remaining list of things that can still be ruined beyond repair if I apply myself to them. Gun control legislation, expanded preschool education, an immigration overhaul, a higher minimum wage and initiatives to address climate change.

 

Gun control’s a subject no one cares enough about to even discuss except for fanatics and politicians. Expanded preschool education never gets mentioned by anyone at all. Immigration overhaul will probably never be accomplished properly and climate hasn’t changed an iota in the past fifteen years. So, even though there really isn’t much of substance to address at all, if I really put my mind to it, I can probably make a mockery of every one of them in the time I have left in office.

 

And now, back to the news.

 

According to Chris Stirewalt’s column on Fox News.com, “Even as President Obama was assuring voters in the 2012 election that “you will keep your health insurance” under ObamaCare, the White House knew that between 40 percent and 67 percent of individual policy holders were going to lose their coverage under the law now moving toward final implementation. An NBC News investigation revealed that Obama officials were already forecasting 7 million people would lose their insurance under the president’s plan, even as Obama was reassuring voters nervous about their coverage under his law. As Megyn Kelly reported on “The Kelly File,” an IRS regulation pushed by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2010 outlined the massive disruptions.”

 

Next, “White House leaks this week have portrayed President Obama as having been kept in the dark about spying on key American allies, particularly German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Today, current and former intelligence officials are making that deniability sound a lot less plausible. From the LAT: “The White House and State Department signed off on surveillance targeting phone conversations of friendly foreign leaders … certainly the National Security Council and senior people across the intelligence community knew exactly what was going on, and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous.’”

 

And finally, “From David Shepardson of the Detroit News Washington Bureau: “The U.S. Treasury has booked a $9.7 billion loss on its $49.5 billion bailout of General Motors Co. on the sale of nearly all of its shares it received as part of its $49.5 billion bailout.

 

In a quarterly report to Congress Tuesday, the Special Inspector General overseeing the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program bailout fund disclosed that the Treasury had realized a significant loss on its sale of most of its 60.8 percent stake in GM. Through Sept. 30, Treasury sold 811 million shares of the 912 million shares it received in the automaker as part of its 2009 bankruptcy restructuring.”

 

So, the legacy building continues with new items every day illustrating a degree of incompetence, or purposeful destruction, never before seen in the nation. And, as I keep mentioning, the happiest individual on earth has to be Jimmy Carter, who now is being made to look like an administrative genius compared to the total washout in the White House now.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/28/2013

Some time ago, I had the distinct pleasure of heading the finest salesforce ever developed in a particular segment of the equipment financing industry.

 

Some of the most important keys to our overall business success was the open structure of our management approach wherein we applied common sense to decision-making, chose productivity over protocol, and built the finest state-of-the art, automation driven, internal processing capability our industry segment had ever seen.

 

Our business approach, coupled with the capabilities of our young, aggressive, extremely talented, always learning employees  permitted and fostered incredibly rapid business growth.

 

As we grew, our profile was such that we drew the attention of one of the largest businesses in the nation, who at the time was attempting to build a diversified financial resource of their own. And as it turned out, for our particular specialization segment, it made more sense to them that instead of building their own operation, to simply write a check and buy us.

 

I mention this because, while reading about the health care tax “glitches,” I recall a district manger calling me one morning after we were purchased. She was in a town in the Midwest, and told me about a tradeshow she’d been invited to the next afternoon for which she needed promotional material, supplies and some assistance. The fact that I was the senior officer responsible for our entire sales organization never occurred to her. She needed help, she picked up the phone and called Mike.

 

I packed up a supply of needed materials and decided to print up some show-special promotional offerings, but having no time for professional preparation, I had some one-page sheets laid out and photocopied, zipped off to the airport and took off for my destination.

 

A few weeks later a troop of guys, looking like Fed’s, walked into my office and told me that they needed to meet with me immediately. It was more than urgent, regardless of what I was presently doing.

 

In a closed door conference room they began to grill me about my recent trade show activities. To which I replied that I had absolutely no idea of what they were babbling about. That’s when one of them slid one of my hastily made trade-show fliers across the table as if I’d shot the parent corporation’s chairman, to tell me that the crime I’d committed was unauthorized use of the company logo, which required legal department approval, that I had failed to comply with.

 

Having no excuse, no alibi, no knowledge of the requirement and even more important, no interest in addressing the matter any further, I got up from my chair, and left the room, only stopping momentarily to suggest a good place where each of them might roll up and stick a trade-show flyer.

 

So, here we have a tiny example of how a bloated behemoth with far too many worthless employees having far too much time on their hands can take a streamlined, ultra-efficient operation and bleed it to death like leeches applying no intellect whatsoever. In all, it took them just four years to kill our business and sell it for peanuts.

 

And what’s even more pitiful is that the major corporation in this scenario is still today a growing concern in its core industry, despite its bloat and self-inflicted barriers to even greater accomplishment. However, if this is how major corporate America works in the free economy, its beyond comprehension as to what government bureaucracy will do to the health care system.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/27/2013

A story on Fox News.com this morning, listed three key indicators of the new health care tax’s results so far, as follows: “The IRS on Saturday reported handling more than 330,000 requests from ObamaCare exchanges to calculate whether Americans are eligible for federal tax credits when purchasing insurance through the program.

 

The IRS also reported that it has received and responded to more than 1.3 million requests from the marketplaces about household income and the size of families, which the agency called “critical” information in determining applicants’ eligibility for “income-based financial assistance

 

The Obama administration has yet to release information on the number of Americans who have bought insurance through the exchange, perhaps the best indicator of public interest and the success of the program, but has vowed to in the coming months.”

 

So, as certainly should have been expected, those looking for a free or discounted ride are the one’s having the most interest in the new tax. But for some reason, the numbers aren’t available as yet for those having to pay their own way. Which certainly suggests that there simply aren’t that many of them. Because if there were, the adminitration not only would have made the significant demand headline news, the incumbent would already have delivered twenty or thirty speeches on the subject by now surrounded by gleeful customers waving checks in their hands, eager to pay the new tax.

 

But aside from the false promises the incumbent made about his new health care tax, there was another story yesterday illustrating how this phony performs.

 

I remember clearly all the noise that was made about his special visit to New Jersey, to fly over the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy to illustrate in a photo op how concerned the administration was, and that he himself was promising to do all he could to help the unfortunate victims.

 

And just yesterday, Fox News.com reported that: “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he understands victims' frustrations a year after Superstorm Sandy but maintains that his administration isn't to blame for delays in aid reaching victims.

 

In an interview with The Associated Press as the anniversary of the Oct. 29 megastorm approached, Christie blamed Congress, which took three months to approve a $50.7 billion relief package for the region, and a thicket of red tape put in place to prevent the type of fraud that occurred after Hurricane Katrina.”

 

So, while significant numbers of folks are still without homes and don’t know where to turn anymore for help, where’s the incumbent now? Probably out on the links somewhere warm, thinking about how he can blame “W” for the health care tax fiasco.

 

And then, in another example of monumental presidential BS, Fox News.com also reports that Jonah Goldberg, at-large editor of National Review Online, said it's "just simply factually untrue," when discussing the President's prior statements on how the Affordable Care Act would allow people to keep their insurance and that premiums wouldn't go up.

 

From the beginning, President Obama's statements about how you can keep your insurance, your premiums won't go up will go down in history, conceivably at least, it looks like it, as the biggest single domestic policy lie in presidential history. It is just simply factually untrue and there is copious data, copious video of him saying these things."

 

Which brings me to the best summation I’ve seen regarding the new health care tax so far, by Fred Barnes, executive editor at The Weekly Standard, who wrote: “But ponder this: Had Obamacare been created as a private enterprise with Obama as CEO, it wouldn’t have lasted a week. Not only would the stumbling company have been put out of business, so would its incompetent CEO. And we’d all—well, most of us—be better off.”

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/26/2013

When all is said and done, here are two small examples of why the new health care tax, or any other major government encroachment into the private sector, can never, ever work and never has.

 

According to Fox News.com, “During a visit to a community health center in Austin, (Kathleen) Sebelius conceded that there wasn't enough testing done on the website, but added that her department had little flexibility to postpone the launch against the backdrop of Washington's unforgiving politics.

 

In an ideal world there would have been a lot more testing, but we did not have the luxury of that. And the law said the go-time was Oct. 1," she said. "And frankly, a political atmosphere where the majority party, at least in the House, was determined to stop this anyway they possibly could ... was not an ideal atmosphere."

 

So, here we have the head of a quickly failing program using the excuse that political pressure caused the technically flawed new tax launch to implode. And, this isn’t an issue that can ever be cured, because problems will certainly continue to mount whereas, so long as the government's involved, politics will always override practical matters, regardless.

 

Further proof of this premise can be seen because there’s little doubt that in the incumbent’s case, health care itself  wasn’t likely even the issue. Instead the tax became a vehicle to further socialize the nation, penalizing as many have’s as possible to support have not’s. And if the cost turned out to be ruination of the nation’s health care system for political purposes, so what? 

 

Along the very same lines, an article from dailycaller.com reports that “First Lady Michelle Obama’s Princeton classmate is a top executive at the company that earned the contract to build the failed Obamacare website.

 

Toni Townes-Whitley, Princeton class of ’85, is senior vice president at CGI Federal, which earned the no-bid contract to build the $678 million Obamacare enrollment website at Healthcare.gov. CGI Federal is the U.S. arm of a Canadian company.

 

Townes-Whitley and her Princeton classmate Michelle Obama are both members of the Association of Black Princeton Alumni.”

 

So, what this looks like, if the article’s correct, that cronyism had much more effect on building the vehicle for implementing the health care tax than a desire to do it right. However, as is often the case where inside connections count more than capability, massive failure results.

 

Consequently, if the Republicans are smart, which is questionable, they won’t overplay their hands right now. But instead, sit back and wait and watch as the heath care tax and the economy in general continue to fall apart. And then, a few months from now quietly send the incumbent, his wife and key Dem’s in Congress notes of thanks for making a Republican return to national power a piece of cake. 

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/25/2013

When you sort through all the news, there’s really not a lot worth very much attention. The botched health care roll-out, of course, is getting most of the coverage.

Reading numerous articles on the subject, one short paragraph in a column by Howard Kurtz on FoxNews.com summed the whole situation up perfectly for me. Which makes me wonder what the purpose of turning our health care upside down was all about in the first place.

Mr. Kurtz writes: “By all accounts, the new policies will offer consumers better coverage, in some cases, for comparable cost -- especially after the inclusion of federal subsidies for those who qualify.”

 

So, what this simple four lines says, as opined by the Supreme Court on June 29, 2012, the health care law’s nothing but a tax.

 

According to the Wall Street Journal that day in June, “By a 5-4 vote, the court held the law's mandate requiring Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty valid under Congress's constitutional authority to levy taxes. The financial penalty for failing to carry insurance possesses "the essential feature of any tax," producing revenue for the government, Chief Justice Roberts wrote.”

 

So, my basic question is why are we going through these incredible gyrations, spending hundreds of billions dollars to date, and much, much more to come, on an unworkable idea devised by incompetents, when all that had to be done was to increase taxes on those who pay to support those who don’t? Because any way you try to mask, hype or disguise what’s been done it’s a tax hike period, case closed.

 

And I suppose that’s just the basic flaw of socialism to begin with. Because while trying to paint a rosy picture of wealth redistribution, you always get the same result. Those at the top, in this case the administration, are unaffected at all, reaping the rewards of power to the n’th extent, while everyone earning at all contributes to their cause. And those on the bottom remain there, receiving the dregs as if they were truly being helped.

 

But in this particular case, the ultimate damage is far worse than ever before, whereas in order to cover up the tax and redistribution scam, the finest health care system in the world has been destroyed.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/24/2013

A primary reason for starting this blog was presenting thoughts, especially about important issues and events as they occurred. Particularly appealing because reading much about current happenings, daily entry's provide opportunity to record and track actual eventualities against original expectations, be they correct or mistaken.

 

In most cases, opinions could only be addressed regarding expectation, whereas, early on, future results couldn’t possibly be known in advance. And, as eventualities turned out, some predictions were precisely correct, others decidedly wrong.

 

However, some anticipated results were so obvious, requiring far less than the smallest modicum of common sense, that just about anyone capable of thinking at all would reach the same glaring conclusion. And that’s what today’s entry is about, because I simply can’t understand how anyone with an iota of intellect could truly be surprised by the abominating introduction of the incumbent’s health care tax.

 

Yet, folks as knowledgeable as Daniel Henninger of The Wall Street Journal writes that, “The collapse of ObamaCare is the tip of the iceberg for the magical Obama presidency.

 

From the moment he emerged in the public eye with his 2004 speech at the Democratic Convention and through his astonishing defeat of the Clintons in 2008, Barack Obama's calling card has been credibility. He speaks, and enough of the world believes to keep his presidency afloat. Or used to. 

 

All of a sudden, from Washington to Riyadh, Barack Obama's credibility is melting.

 

Amid the predictable collapse the past week of HealthCare.gov's too-complex technology, not enough notice was given to Sen. Marco Rubio's statement that the chances for success on immigration reform are about dead. Why? Because, said Sen. Rubio, there is "a lack of trust" in the president's commitments.”

 

But, while it seems folks like Henninger are just waking up, where have they been for last five years? Because, other than speeches and denigration of dissidents, what has the incumbent ever done or accomplished? And, everything touched so far has been one type of disaster or another. 

 

Just yesterday I wrote: “The nation’s economy is so mired in over-regulation that’s its basically at a standstill, foreign policy’s been reduced to reliance on other nations and the U.N. to repair the huge mistakes that have been made. Half the population's on some sort of government assistance program with no hope for employment any time soon. Education’s value is deteriorating at a faster pace than ever before. Stifling government interference is strangling business growth. Dependency on foreign oil for no reason still remains far higher than need be due to fears of non-existent climate change while the environment’s improving consistently because of completely natural changes in weather patterns. And these are only some of the myriad problems that have been created.”

 

So, once again, where have these people in the press been for the last five years? Because if this current health tax disaster is the first indication of administrative failure and incompetence they’ve noticed, they’ve either got mental blocks or suffer from incurable stupidity.

 

Which brings me to my next and last point.

 

Yesterday, realclearpolitics.com reported that “Former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke to a large crowd at the University at Buffalo Wednesday night, as part of the university's Distinguished Speaker Series, and was heckled.

Benghazi, you let them die," the heckler shouted.

 

So, if Bill Clinton’s wife hasn’t even started campaigning yet, what’s the tired old bag going to do when asked if she’s seen Vince Foster lately, or how are things going at the Rose law firm today, and has she still got the hundred thou made overnight on a fictitious future’s trade?

 

Then again, I’m not even sure she can actually run. At her age, she might have to walk, crawl or take a bus.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/23/2013

I have to believe that by this point, any rational human being evaluating the incumbent’s performance honestly, disregarding their political preferences completely, would have to conclude that he simply doesn’t know what he’s doing in virtually every aspect of job performance.

 

The nation’s economy is so mired in over-regulation that’s its basically at a standstill, foreign policy’s been reduced to reliance on other nations and the U.N. to repair the huge mistakes that have been made. Half the population's on some sort of government assistance program with no hope for employment any time soon. Education’s value is deteriorating at a faster pace than ever before. Stifling government interference is strangling business growth. Dependency on foreign oil for no reason still remains far higher than need be due to fears of non-existent climate change while the environment’s improving consistently because of completely natural changes in weather patterns. And these are only some of the myriad problems that have been created.  

 

The reason for the horrendous condition the nation’s sunk to is very easy to grasp, becoming more obvious as each day goes by. The one at the top is absolutely and unequivocally unqualified for the position he holds. Having no technical or job-related skills or knowledge, every decision made is purely political, having nothing whatsoever to do with the situations at hand, other than what’s best for partisan image.

 

Now, this is not news because while campaigning the incumbent’s attack was rife with accusations against his opponent. Vicious attacks on character, beliefs and prior profession took place, going so far as to smear his competitor’s business accomplishments as practically un-American.

 

To Mitt Romney’s credit, even though he narrowly lost the election, he refused to reduce himself to the lowest level of gutter-fighting, leaving that tactic to the Chicago huckster who’d stop at nothing to keep a job he’d already proven himself unable to handle competently.

 

Bringing us to the present moment, where the showcase health care tax is quickly imploding and not only in dire need of a fix, but probably an entire rebuilding if that can even be accomplished. And in yesterday’s news a name came up of a new top economic deputy chosen because of his vast experience and proven capabilities, who happens to be a former management consultant who worked for Governor Mitt Romney’s Bain & Company investment firm.

 

According to the dailycaller.com, “The appointment of Jeff Zients as head of the National Economic Council is likely to annoy some union officials and some liberal groups who are focused on declining working-class wages and  growing poverty, and it clashes with the populist anti-business invective used by Obama and his aides on the 2012 campaign trail to paint Romney as uncaring.”

 

However, whether parts of the incumbent’s base are happy or not, there’s a monumental problem that need s solving ASAP. Which means that even he understands this isn’t a situation that can be overcome by endless verbiage designed to wear down audiences and paint over incompetence with countless tons of fabricated BS. This one can sink the worst administration in history even further.  

 

But, the most important thing to me is that there probably isn’t a greater testimonial to Mitt Romney’s skills, accomplishments, knowledge and managerial capabilities than to hire one of his top employees to help solve the problems created by a band of bozos in the White House who know absolutely nothing at all about what they’re doing, regardless of subject. 

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/22/2013

I’m convinced I need professional help, and really quickly. Because there’s not a shred of doubt left that I’ve lost my mind.

 

For what seems like months now, I’ve been writing about the valid Republican efforts to at least delay, and at best completely void the incumbent’s health care tax. The tax not only makes no sense, but in its aim to disrupt the perfectly acceptable health care coverage of 283 million people for the sake of 30 million others, its as pure an illustration of socialism’s failed premises as one can find. Because a tenth of the population is degrading the quality of care for the other 90% for purely political reasons and nothing else.

 

However, when the Republicans steadfastly tried to make that point, asking that some simple common sense be applied, leading Dem’s said absolutely not. In fact, the head imbecile in Congress, Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, went so far as to respond to a GOP counteroffer by saying Republicans had “lost their minds.”

 

And now today, after three years of preparation, $500 million taxpayer dollars spent, $300 million of which went to outside contractors to set up the website, the technology doesn’t work and will take hundreds of millions more to fix. What’s more, it doesn't seem like the target group expected to carry the financial burden will ever want to sign up. 

 

So, here we have a failure more massive than ever seen before, in the hands of abject incompetents and yet, those who can see the issue clearly, doing nothing but try to curtail it are branded as political fanatics, disruptive losers and, according to Harry Reid, have lost their minds.

 

And that’s why I’m so convinced that I need expert help and guidance. Because for the life of me, I still think the Republicans are correct in their assessment and that the tax itself should be sent to a liberal state where they permit abortion so they can kill it now, before its really too late.

 

But let’s step back and consider that its more than likely the tax will stay in place. Which got me thinking that if the government can’t even figure out how people should sign up, what will happen to those eventually really needing care in the future. 

 

And then I had this thought about a woman dashing into an emergency room, screaming that her husband passed out and was unconscious outside in their car. That’s when the clerk at the desk handed her a form, telling her the patient had to fill it out, to which she replied “He can’t, he’s in a coma.” Which led to the clerk informing her that until the boxes on the sheet requiring cause for the visit and symptoms were filled out by the patient himself, nothing could be done. That's when she finally lost her composure, demanding a superior, and was directed to a line where twenty others stood in front of her. As she approached, the last one turned around to say that he’d come in for some pills to combat a 24 hour virus, however in twenty more minutes.it would pass by itself.

 

But, it seems, I may not be the only one thinking the Republicans are right. Because, according to Rasmussen, the incumbent’s approval rating’s dropping like a rock.  He “averaged a 44.5% job approval rating during his 19^th quarter in office, a decline of more than three percentage points from his 18^th quarter. That is one of the largest quarter-to-quarter declines of his presidency, behind a nine-point drop in his third quarter and a six-point drop in his 11^th quarter”

 

What was most interesting though was reading that “Three post-World War II presidents, Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower, and Bill Clinton, had significantly higher 19^th quarter averages, all near 60%, than Obama.“ And that, while “a decline in approval from the 19^th to the 20^th quarter has been the norm for presidents; only Reagan and Clinton did not see at least slight declines in their 20^th quarter, and only Reagan's rating notably improved.”

 

So, what the statistics indicate is, this nation not only does run on its economy for sure, voters appreciate leaders who do best in that regard. Two of the top three were Republicans themselves, and the third, Bill Clinton, had Allen Greenspan, a Republican, running the economy via the Fed. 

 

But, even though the leadership models are there to be followed now, as they say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But even worse, if all the dog does is sit on its tail and barks, nothing good will ever happen at all.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/21/2013

The incumbent’s speaking this morning on the completely botched rollout of his signature health care tax. He’s supposedly going to address the start-up glitches, which is like having nuclear fission and atom-splitting formulae explained by Forrest Gump. 

 

But obviously, as a practical matter, it really doesn’t matter a whit what he says or does, because another speech, or a thousand of them, have absolutely nothing to do with the problems. It’s the whole program that doesn’t make sense.

 

The government couldn’t even run the post office efficiently, which simply entails getting mail or items, from one place to another on time. Which is why people who want to be absolutely sure deliveries are made as promised, use Federal Express, UPS or other proven provider.

 

Then there’s the somewhat more difficult, but still not overwhelming job of collecting taxes via the IRS. That too, turned turned into a quagmire, when politicization overtook the process and abuses of power led to scandals still being discovered, while several participants, or more, may yet go to jail.

 

Furthermore, as anyone adept enough to walk and chew gum simultaneously knows, if you want something done correctly, the last place on earth you’d consider going would be any governmental agency.  The only time folks willingly interface with the bloated bureaucracy is when the law says they have to, which is smart because those g-folks can arrest you and they carry guns.

 

I also don’t think it was just to be funny that someone compared most government regulations as camels designed by bureaucrats asked to create horses.

 

And what’s even funnier, though not in an amusing way, is that this morning it was said that the incumbent’s rage at the bungled job that’s been done and his desire to fix it immediately will include bringing in yet unidentified “outside experts” to help solve the myriad problems.

 

So, perhaps someone should tell him that before he got involved and decided to implement his new tax, the free-market U.S. health care system was the best on the planet by light years. And only since his muscling in has it turned into a worthless fiasco for which people can’t even figure out how to sign up.

 

Which leads to the most important question of all: If the government can’t even figure out enrollment, what happens when folks get sick? There’ll probably be week-long White House meetings to discuss hangnails.

 

And finally, I heard on Fox News just now that their program's asking viewers to submit things they’d like the incumbent to say at his meeting later this morning. As for me, since this my own forum, I’d like to hear him say: “I resign, as of today.”

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/20/2013

Saw a headline one day last week for an article mentioning something Bill Clinton’s wife did. Didn’t read it, but seeing her name caused me to consider that she’ll almost certainly run for the presidency next time around.

 

That set me to further pondering why anyone would vote for her. Because aside from celebrity gained from fawning media coverage, the sum total of her personal accomplishments, other than marrying Willy, are zip, zero, nada or less.

 

On the other hand, however, there are some things she’s responsible for that haven’t worked out so well. Such as the Benghazi raid that cost four American lives, which occurred on her watch no matter how much the press tries to cover it up. Then there’s her short stint as the New York Senator from Arkansas who had no track record at all.

 

Then, of course, if she actually does run next time, I’m sure that all the skeletons quietly residing in closets right now will resurface so I won’t reproduce the ten or twelve pages of negative or questionable activity attributed to her today.

 

Instead, I’ll simply focus on the demographic aspects of what her candidacy might look like in 2016.

 

At that time, she’ll be 67 years old, which means she’ll be out of touch, age-wise, with about 88% of the population. At present, according to the Census Bureau, 27.3% of the citizenry is under 20 years old. 50.13% is under 50, while the nation’s median age is 36.8. Old folks, over 65 like her, equate to only 12.8%.

 

But even worse for her, is that as old as she is, she looks even older than that, which is diametrically the reverse of most women today, a significant part of the voting base.

 

More and more women work today for myriad reasons, and are smart, responsible and involved significantly in achieving on their own. So, the question is, what could they possibly see as commonality with a political hack who married her way into a political career, accomplishing nothing since? Even Nancy Pelosi’s accomplished more that that.

 

So, it should be interesting watching the scenario play out. Unless ,of course, old man time proves to be too big a burden on her back, forcing her to drop out. Or, something like the Benghazi cover-up finally exposes her total incompetence. But for right now, it’s far to soon to tell.

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/19/2013

The massive national debt’s come up several times during the past few weeks, because it’s the clearest example of  management failure I’ve ever seen. If the government was a business, it would have been forced to close it doors six years ago. 

 

What’s even worse than the size of the debt, however, is the cause. Because there’s not only no visible cure, those responsible for the financial calamity haven’t the slightest idea of how the economy works nor grasp the horrendous damage they’re doing.

 

A perfect example of why the nation’s in the worst financial condition since Jimmy Carter, appeared today in washingtontimes.com/news.

 

Stephen Dinan writes that when House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, was asked repeatedly about pork-barrel items snuck into the debt and spending bill, including a $174,000 payment to the widow of the late multimillionaire Senator Frank Lautenberg and a $2 billion maximum price increase on a dam project on the Ohio River that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had supported, she responded: “What difference does it make?”  

 

She then said, there were other reasons to be upset with the bill, including that it doesn’t spend as much as she wanted. But she said focusing on pork projects was missing the fight.

 

“If you want to have an objection to the bill, there are bigger things.” she said.

 

So, in a sentence or two, a leading Dem politician provides a very clear answer as to why the nation isn’t recovering at the rate it should, and probably will decline far further. Because something that’s broken can’t ever be fixed if the one’s who did the damage in the first place, intentionally keep breaking it again. 

 

Which brings me to a perfect item I found on Facebook, posted by a friend.

 

That's it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/18/2013

Fully realizing that politicians as a group contain very few Mensa members , probably none,  I nonetheless hope that Republicans understand what they’ve accomplished due to the government shutdown.

 

Tuning into the news, reading posts on the web and in general conversation, I see supposed “experts” treating the shutdown as if it was some kind of contest wherein the winner was whoever prevailed in the end. However, that isn’t truly what happened at all.

 

As  a practical matter, Democrats control two-thirds of government at present. Aside from that, the incumbent has veto power just about guaranteeing him getting his way. Consequently, it's quite remarkable that Speaker Boehner and Senator Cruz pushed the issues as far as they did.

 

But now, what did the Democrats really “win?”

 

I mentioned this yesterday, but think its worth repeating.

 

Democrats have now unquestionably saddled themselves as owners and supporters of a health care tax that will almost certainly implode. The more people that learn, especially young folks, about this burden placed on their backs, the more they realize that government now requires them to support elders. Despite the fact that they can’t even support themselves. This is taking the “American Dream” and turning into a socialist nightmare.

 

And if that isn’t enough, the incumbent and his loyal cohorts are now admitting once again that they can’t get the economy working as it should, requiring a raise in the limit on debt. While policy after policy, regulation upon regulation, and law upon law strangle the economy, these anti-business, anti-growth zealots simply want to spend all they can beg, borrow or steal without a care or concern about how, or when, or by whom it will ever be paid back. So long as it’s not them.

 

So, the key for Republicans is to simply sit back and patiently wait.

 

The clock keeps ticking, and one things for absolutely sure. Be they politicians, pundits, pollsters or any other kind of self-appointed expert there is, basic fundamentals don’t change because of rhetoric, they’re functional realities. Consequently, flawed, unmanageable legislation will deconstruct on its own, while a house built on debt alone will collapse without significant income growth to support it.

 

And, unfortunately for Democrats, none are financially sophisticated enough to grasp the inevitable outcome. Therefore, Republicans are going to prevail in the end, whether they even know it or not. All they really need do is have patience. 

 

Along those lines, here’s another nail in the health care tax coffin I found this morning on Drudge by Christopher Weaver and Louise Radnofsky of MarketWatch. 

 

“Insurers say the federal health-care marketplace is generating flawed data that is straining their ability to handle even the trickle of enrollees who have gotten through so far, in a sign that technological problems extend further than the website traffic and software issues already identified."

 

Emerging errors include duplicate enrollments, spouses reported as children, missing data fields and suspect eligibility determinations, say executives at more than a dozen health plans. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Nebraska said it had to hire temporary workers to contact new customers directly to resolve inaccuracies in submissions. Medical Mutual of Ohio said one customer had successfully signed up for three of its plans.”

 

So, if practically nobody has even signed up yet, what’s going to happen if these incompetent providers actually get significant numbers of applicants, or even worse, what does someone do who actually gets sick? 

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/17/2013

Early start today, there’s a lot to consider.

 

First and foremost, of course, is the incumbent’s “win” in the debt increase. While that was no surprise, just another extension of the game that’s played every time the debt clock runs out, what has he really “won?”

 

According to Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner; “The U.S. debt, which has jumped 55 percent under President Obama, is now so high that if working Americans had to pay their full share, the bill would be over $123,000, according to a new Harvard University Institute of Politics study of the nation’s empty bank accounts.

 

The school's fiscal 2012 Annual Report of the USA, which examines the federal budget, put the total debt at $16.7 trillion. But that's such a big number that the student authors tried to put it in perspective.

For example, that $16.7 trillion, which would go up under Obama’s debt ceiling plan the House and Senate are considering, is equal to: About $53,000 per every inhabitant of the United States, including children and the unemployed.”

Now, if this administration was a business, no prudent lender would lend it a quarter. Because knowledgeable financiers understand debt should be paid back from earnings and growth. It’s only operations that can’t pay their bills on their own that continually have to borrow to stay alive. And, if you stop to think about it, that makes absolute sense. Because sooner or later, if all you can do economically to survive is borrow, you’ll eventually be buried in debt you can’t ever pay back. Consequently, insatiable borrowing’s a sign of total management failure, as is the current administration. 

 

A further thought on the “win” came from Tim Stanley’s US politics in London’s Telegraph who asks,”What has Obama really won? He keeps his precious healthcare reform and he gets government open again – but tomorrow morning he'll still have the same gridlocked political system that he had the night before. The shutdown is a rare example of him winning, but remember that this lame duck president has not only had a very simple (and, frankly, inoffensive) gun control bill killed in the Senate but was so spooked by bad poll numbers that he tried to dump responsibility for military action in Syria onto the Congress – before quietly dropping the idea altogether. Any thought that the shutdown payoff will be that he can sail an immigration reform package comfortably through Congress is pure fantasy. This is a broken presidency living out its last few years either holding off Republican attacks or lazily cruising the country on some pointless, endless, fatuous campaign trail. Obama's administration is politically bankrupt.”

Mr. Stanley’s thoughts have similarly been confirmed by the latest Rasmussen poll which they also introduced by asking “What has he won? Just 13% of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the week ending October 13. That's down from 17% the week before and the lowest finding since the week of October 20-26, 2008, when George W. Bush was still president.  

 

Confidence in the country's direction has fallen 15 points since the government shutdown began two weeks ago and is down from a high of 43% the week before Election Day last fall.”

So, now that the debt farce is over, and the incumbent’s “won”, where are we really? Debt’s at its highest in history, the health care tax is still going to strangle the entire economy, thirty hours have become the new work-week, part-time employees are becoming the standard, we still depend greatly on foreign oil, the Keystone pipeline’s still stifled, foreign policy’s being run by others including Russia, and GDP is now likely to shrink.

Therefore, if this is what Dem’s think is “winning,” I can’t even begin to imagine what losing looks like, but it probably has something to do with with being blown up by a nuclear explosion, which isn’t all that far from where they’ve taken us now.

In closing, I found an article on Drudge that sums our economic situation up nicely and is a very accurate precursor of the fiscal train wreck to come: Ice cream plant SHUTTING DOWN because of Obamacare.

That’s it for today folks

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/16/2013

Something I learned long ago in business, was to never overreact when facing competitive offerings sounding too good to be true.

 

Although the premise sounds entirely logical, for salespeople, patience isn’t generally their long suit, most often prodding them to respond immediately with a counterproposal of their own.

 

However, by stepping back, letting reality take its course, unrealistic competition will generally disqualify itself by being unable to perform as promised. And once that occurs, that same completion not only loses transactions at hand, but most often doesn’t ever recover regarding those they initially misled.

 

I mention this because it’s the same situation Republicans find themselves in right now, regarding the incumbent’s heath care tax.

 

As I’ve suggested quite frequently recently, the odds are that the tax will destruct by itself, and take slews of Democrat politicians with it.

 

In that regard, CNBC's Dan Mangan interviewed  Mark Bertolini, Aetna's CEO who “gave a harshly critical review Monday of the federal government's Obamacare marketplace, saying, "There's so much wrong, you just don't know what's broken until you get a lot more of it fixed."

 

Asked if he would have delayed the launch of the exchange given its earlier problems, Bertolini said, "I would have, if I'd been in their seat." But, he added, "the politics got in the way of a good business decision."

 

However, Bertolini also said, "it's the law of the land, number one. Number two, public exchanges are going to be here to stay, so we need to make them work somehow. ... The question is: How do we get from here to there?" 

 

He then said "it could take three years or so before the marketplace's problems are fully sorted out.”

 

So, if Mr. Bertolini’s right, and he probably is, for the next three years the program will be saddled with considerable problems. Which suggests to me that during that time, since politicians will be still be deeply involved, the program has no chance of ever working properly, more than likely destructing by itself.

 

A further real world observation strongly confirms that assumption.

 

According to Fox news, “The CEO of a major American fast-food corporation says President Obama was “wrong” when he claimed that the costs of ObamaCare are not hurting job creation in the U.S.”

 

Appearing with Megyn Kelly on “The Kelly File” on Fox, “Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants Inc. parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, told  her that "his company and others will choose to hire part-time employees instead of full-time employees because of increased costs from the health care law.”

 

His rationale was, “It’s very simple if you increase the cost of something businesses will use less of it. If you decrease the cost they will use more of it. So if you increase the cost of full time employment, there will be less full time employees. If you decrease the cost of part time employment, you’ll have more part time employment.”

 

So, here we have continuing proof that while the incumbent attempts to turn the nation into a socialist haven, those providing employment, creating wealth and paying the bills are doing business as usual. 

 

Because while he’s scrambling feverishly to redistribute wealth, those having it are reading his ground rules, finding ways to work around them, leaving the incumbent at the head of a growing group of unskilled, inept, incapable cadre of whining losers just like himself.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/15/2013

Here’s real proof illustrating how and why the new health care tax will fail miserably in time. Because, simply stated, the government simply doesn’t have anywhere near the expertise, talent, knowledge, ability, nor certainly the skilled personnel required to manage the tax competently. They've had three years to develop the program and can’t even get the administrative introduction right, so just imagine what will happen when people actually need medical care, help, support or advice. 

 

According to FoxNews.com, “Robert Gibbs, who served as White House Press Secretary from 2009-2011, said in an interview with MSNBC Monday the first two weeks of open enrollment for the president’s health care overhaul were “bungled badly” and called it “excruciatingly embarrassing for the White House and for the Department of Health and Human Services.”

 

He went on to say “he hopes some of those in charge of setting up the law’s website will be fired.”

 

Now, that’s a typical bureaucrat’s perspective, which hasn’t a shred of connection to the real world. Because, firing incompetent's accomplishes nothing toward the program’s effectiveness, it only creates job opportunities for equally inept replacements.

 

The real fault lies in the government’s misguided assumption that it has, or can obtain, personnel with the required skills, talents and capabilities to properly establish and manage a process that demands constantly changing state-of-the-art capabilities, coupled with in-depth hands-on industry knowledge and experience. 

 

And those kind of folks don’t work for bureaucracies, they build profit-making organizations themselves or work within them. An endeavor like this needs Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, not empty suits like Nancy Pelosi or Anthony Weiner.  

 

I know that if I got ill and needed medical help, I’d much prefer calling a doctor’s office or practice instead of some government clerk.

 

So, when all the smoke clears and the ashes of the heath care tax are eventually sifted through, the reason for its demise will be vividly apparent. The misguided colossal waste of effort and time will have failed primarily because the task itself is countless miles over the heads of those trying to implement it. And that’s something for which there’s simply no fix, nor will there ever be.

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/14/2013

As the incredibly boring budget battle goes on in Congress, the situation remains the same. The likelihood is that a last-minute deal will be struck, making the situation moot. Or it won’t.

 

Either way they’ll be finger-pointing distortions of fact, and politicizing of the issue, with very little regard from either side on what’s actually best for the nation’s people.

 

As for me, I hope a deal isn’t reached, causing the incumbent’s becoming the first POTUS in history to fail in this regard. He could have solved this issue long ago himself, but puts image over responsible governance every single time. And, sadly for him, history will cast his mistaken priorities forever in stone.

 

On another recurring matter, the Washington Examiner’s Byron York takes the same position as many other pundits as he “imagines what the past two months might have looked like had Republicans not been focused on bitter internal fighting: Instead of pounding Obama on the mandates, defects, false promises, and expense of Obamacare, Republicans ended up pounding themselves…Obamacare will still be a major, and for many unwelcome, factor in American life. But what an opportunity missed, at such a crucial time.”

 

However, as stated often during the health care tax ramrodding by the administration, I believe the Republicans have been indeed “pounding” the subject. And, as I’ve noted all along, when it self-destructs, they'll gain significantly by having been squarely on the side of the taxpaying public.  

 

A small but very important reflection of that reality can be seen by the results of Saturday's straw-poll of religious conservatives at the 2013 Value Voters Summit in Washington.

 

Senator Ted Cruz, Republican from Texas, won with  took 42 percent of the vote. Newcomer Dr. Ben Carson and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum got 13 percent. However, loud-mouthing Senators, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida scored a mere 6 percent and 5 percent respectively.

 

So, what these numbers indicate is that  since voters care considerably about the health tax issue, Cruz’s major cause, his message is getting through and the rest of the pack isn’t having much impact at all.

 

Now, I fully realize that this kind of poll really doesn’t indicate significant national trends. But, as I mention all the time, it’s best to remember that in virtually every aspect of life, pay close attention to the little things, because they always count.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/13/2013

News-wise, things couldn't be much duller which I guess is a pretty good thing. There’s still no debt deal, and the health care tax continues to unravel in every imaginable way.

 

So for today I have only these simple suggestions for Republicans. Find some way to close a debt deal, keep government running, and leave the health tax alone for now.

 

However, in doing that, be absolutely certain to make clear that both issues are owned entirely, in every way measurable, by Dem’s who are responsible in full for both.

 

It’s a practical certainty that the nation will continue to struggle economically due to its overbearing debt. Furthermore, every attempt Republicans make to prevent fiscal calamity is thwarted from inception. Therefore, it makes the most sense to simply back off from the issue, leaving those responsible to bear the brunt of this failure solely.

 

Similarly, the consensus keeps growing that the health care tax will almost assuredly self-destruct. And since every effort to delay or deflect the inevitable is ignored, let the blame for this fiasco rest where it should.

 

In fact, it might even be best to subtly influence additional deficit spending and help increase health tax enrollment. Because as I’ve mentioned before, from a practical viewpoint, if one senses that competition is drowning, throwing them more water often works well.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 10/12/2013

I write about politics often because it consumes so much time and space in the news, having such an important effect on everyone’s lives. But, nonetheless, I really know very little about how and why folks vote like they do, often finding political preferences not only extremely confusing, but frequently completely baffling too.

 

In  that regard, an article today from newsbusters.org/blogs via Fox makes absolutely no sense to me about a Sean Hannity interview with Tavis Smiley, as follows:. 

 

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: My last question to you. You often do these seminars with the state of black America. I've watched them on C-Span and different channels, right?

 

TAVIS SMILEY: Right.

 

HANNITY: Are black Americans better off five years into the Obama presidency?

 

SMILEY: Let me answer your question very forthrightly. No, they are not. The data is going to indicate sadly that when the Obama administration is over, black people will have lost ground in every single leading economic indicator category. On that regard, the president ought to be held responsible.

 

But here's the other side. I respect the president. I will protect the president. And I will correct the president. He's right on this government shutdown. Republicans are thwarting the rule of law with the Constitution. If they let this debt go into default, they're trampling again on the Constitution.”

 

So, here’s a well-informed, responsible individual, readily admitting that the incumbent’s done a miserable job regarding an important segment of the population. Yet, he not only willingly continues to respect and protect him, he uses a misinterpretation of the Constitution to do so. 

 

Because the Construction clearly says that; “Congress is the body required by law to pass a budget annually and to submit the budget passed by both houses to the President for signature. Congressional decisions are governed by rules and legislation regarding the federal budget process. Budget committees set spending limits for the House and Senate committees and for Appropriations subcommittees, which then approve individual appropriations bills to allocate funding to various federal programs.”

 

Consequently, on key issues important to citizens Mr. Smiley admits a totally unacceptable jobs been done, while on another he pledges total support yet apparently doesn’t understand the facts at all. 

 

And that’s the part that completely confuses me. Because everywhere you look, people like Mr. Smiley, and whole segments of the population, are being abused financially, professionally and intellectually, yet they continue to deliver total support to one’s who don’t give a good GD about any of them which makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.     

 

On another recurring subject, yesterday Kathleen Sebelius appeared in Pittsburgh to tout the new health care tax.

 

According to triblive.com/business, she told an audience of about 100 people that Healthcare.gov was “open for business.” Continuing on with “Believe me, we had some early glitches. But it's getting better every day.”

 

However, the article goes on to report that “At the back of the room, it was a different story. About 20 people armed with laptops and certified by the government to sign up people for coverage were meeting with uninsured people, answering questions and fruitlessly trying to access the website. 

 

LaKesha Lowry, 41, came to the event to find out about her health insurance options. But the North Side resident said she was not able to access the site, even with the help of a certified application counselor.” 

 

“It said, ‘Try again later,' ” Lowry said. 

 

So, here’s another case where facts keep interfering with the administration’s sales pitch for their version of the Edsel, which Ford not only couldn’t sell but quickly closed the division down. But, that was Ford, a profit driven organization that has to support itself or disappear from the market.

 

The government though is a different story, running on taxpayer’s money. Which is why the health care debacle will stay in place up until there’s nothing left in the public’s pockets even though it’s the worst piece of legislation devised in the last 50 years by far. 

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios