BloggeRhythms

While most Democrats in Congress, aided by the mainstream media, tried every means possible to stem Republican attempts to uncover the truths of the Benghazi raid, the facts are now finally being exposed.

 

On Fox News.com, Charles Krauthammer yesterday opined on newly released emails showing a senior White House aide communicated directly with then-U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to prepare for a series of talk show appearances where she blamed the Benghazi attack on an Internet video “the smoking document” behind the administration’s attempt to divert blame.

 

He stated: “I think the Republicans have something here that really ought to be looked at, I just don't know if there's going to be any interest in the mainstream media.

 

They should, because this exposes a cover up of a cover up. The fact that it was redacted when the documents were asked for, and only revealed by a court order is telling you this is a classic cover up of a cover up. And that is a serious offense.”

 

Which goes to demonstrate that despite the attempts to suppress their efforts, Republicans have been correct all along in their pursuit of the facts. And the timing may work quite well to their advantage, because lately many in the usual united mainstream press seem to be losing their willingness to help cover up the growing mass of this administration’s mistakes.

 

On another, but similar subject, yesterday Rush Limbaugh offered a tongue-in-cheek solution to how a sale of the LA Clippers basketball team could be arranged, now that their owner Donald Sterling’s been banned from the NBA for life.

 

El Rushbo said, “Vladimir Putin is reassembling the Soviet Union. Hey! I have it! How about sell the Clippers to Putin? That's it, folks!  Sell the Clippers to Putin!  Oh, yeah.  We already have a Russian oligarch that owns the Brooklyn Nets.  Let Putin have the Clippers! Oh, is that not brilliant?  Have I not come up with the solution for everybody?  Vlad Putin, the new owner of the LA Clippers. 

 

By the way, we know Vladimir Putin's interested in sports 'cause he stole Robert Kraft's Super Bowl ring.  You heard about that?  Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots, showed Putin his Super Bowl ring and Putin took it.  Now, Kraft claims he gave it back, but the jury's still out on whether Kraft was just being properly politic.  Putin may have made off with Kraft's Super Bowl ring.’

 

The sad thing is that while Rush continues to frame situations brilliantly, his show’s so commercial heavy I haven’t tuned in for seven or eight years though a listener from day one. Facebook posts written recaps, however, so I still get many of the key stories in print. 

  

While Rush was lampooning Russia’s expansion and growth, Financial Times on-line reported that “The US is on the brink of losing its status as the world’s largest economy, and is likely to slip behind China this year, sooner than widely anticipated, according to the world’s leading statistical agencies. 

 

The US has been the global leader since overtaking the UK in 1872. Most economists previously thought China would pull ahead in 2019.”

 

And here’s the most incredible part, “In 2005, the ICP thought China’s economy was less than half the size of the US, accounting for only 43 per cent of America’s total. Because of the new methodology – and the fact that China’s economy has grown much more quickly – the research placed China’s GDP at 87 per cent of the US in 2011.”

 

So, what that means is that aided by the stagnation and growth loss caused by policies of the current administration, the U.S. has seen China quickly pass it economy-wise by almost 60%, while U.S. worldwide leadership status has been lost for the first time in 142 years. Therefore, its highly unlikely that any dedicated enemy could be more harmful to the nation than that.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

While the administration's continually backed away from the U.S.’s formerly solid support of Israel, just how much weaker the relationship's become was made obvious by Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday.

 

According to the Daily Beast, Kerry “apologized for warning last week that the lack of a two-state solution in the Middle East could lead to Israel becoming an ‘apartheid state.’ Kerry’s remarks, made in a closed door meeting of the Trilateral Commission and first reported by The Daily Beast Sunday night, provoked strong reactions from across the political spectrum.”

 

Regarding “apartheid” the definition is: “a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.”

 

Some further research on the matter showed, that as usual, in pursuing its causes the administration is significantly altering the truth as demonstrated by Charles Krauthammer on “Special Report with Bret Baier,” who said the following:

 

“What the secretary of State of the United States has succeeded in doing, in what he thought was a private comment, is to echo and therefore to legitimize the worst of the libelous claims against the Jewish state. If there is one minority in the Middle East that enjoys the rule of law, and protection, and democracy it is Arabs in Israel. One out of every five Israelis is a Palestinian, overwhelming they are Muslim. There are Arabs in the government, in the Supreme Court, in all walks of life, in the universities.  There's actually affirmative action if you are a Palestinian in the universities. And to compare that in any way with the systematic discrimination against black Africans in South Africa is truly appalling and hurtful.”

 

Which makes one wonder why the vast majority of Jewish voters still adhere to the Democrat party that hasn’t truly supported them for about forty years and is now trying to alienate them altogether.

 

Then we come to the latest on Bubba Clinton’s wife.

 

The Washington Post reports that  “Boeing chief executive W. James McNearney faced pointed questions during the company's annual shareholder's meeting Monday about Boeing's decision to make a charitable donation to the Clinton Foundation in the same year that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had advocated on behalf of the company's sales in Russia.”

 

David Almasi, “a Boeing shareholder and a representative of the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank whose members attend shareholder meetings to challenge corporate executives, asked: “Assuming that building schools in Haiti was a key goal of this Company's philanthropic programs in 2010, why was it so important to support this work specifically through the Clinton Foundation and not one of the many other reputable, independent charities then working in Haiti?”

 

Almasi then called the Boeing donation a “clear conflict of interest’ that seemed ‘reckless and unnecessary”

 

The amount contributed was “$900,000 to the Clinton family foundation to rebuild schools in Haiti in 2010, just months after Clinton had traveled to Russia, where she made what she called a ‘shameless pitch’ for a state-owned company to buy Boeing passenger jets… Boeing won the $3.7 billion Russian contract in June 2010.”

 

So, just like almost every other case regarding the Boss and his wife, there isn’t anything you can’t figure out about them if you take the simplest steps and just follow the money. Because that’s all that this pair has ever been about.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Passage of time is now making clear exactly how ill-equipped the incumbent was to take on the position of POTUS. And worse, instead of growing into the job, he’s done the reverse.

 

Today’s example of wrongheadedness comes from conclusions drawn in a new report from the National Employment Law Project, a research and advocacy group, analyzing employment trends four years into the recovery.

 

The report’s author, Michael Evangelist, writes that “The deep recession wiped out primarily high-wage and middle-wage jobs. Yet the strongest employment growth during the sluggish recovery has been in low-wage work, at places like strip malls and fast-food restaurants. In essence, the poor economy has replaced good jobs with bad ones.”

 

Mr. Evangelist goes on, “Fast food is driving the bulk of the job growth at the low end — the job gains there are absolutely phenomenal,’ … But job losses and gains have been skewed. Higher-wage industries — like accounting and legal work — shed 3.6 million positions during the recession and have added only 2.6 million positions during the recovery. But lower-wage industries lost two million jobs, then added 3.8 million.”

 

And the saddest aspect of the trend away from skilled position opportunity is that it reflects the condition of the entire U.S. economy, which, according to  www.heritage.org, now ranks twelfth in the world behind, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Chile, Mauritius, Ireland, Denmark, and even Estonia.

 

So, while we watch the incumbent take fabulously expensive trips with his entourages, burger flippers and strip mall clerks have nowhere to turn to improve their lot. However, the administration doesn’t really have to worry about dreadful statistics in the news, because as education quality also sinks under this regime, fewer and fewer folks actually know how to read.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

A news item yesterday on www.tmz.com disclosed L.A. Clippers basketball team owner Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend that he doesn’t want her bringing black people to his games ... including Magic Johnson. The report also claims the interchange is recorded on tape. 

 

No longer interested in basketball, I would have skipped over the story, however, a few more details were mentioned so I dug a little deeper to find that “Sterling has a documented history of allegedly racist behavior -- he's been sued twice by the federal government for allegedly refusing to rent apartments to Blacks and Latinos.

 

He was also sued by former Clippers exec Elgin Baylor for racial discrimination -- though a jury was ultimately not convinced and shot down Baylor's case. 

 

But here’s the most interesting revelation.

 

According to National Review Online’s Tim Cavanaugh in his column “The Corner”; L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling, whom commentators have tried to tie to the Republican Party after his alleged racist statements, is in fact a Democrat, according to campaign contribution records.

 

Furthermore, Sterling’s donations to liberal causes caused left-leaning commentators to laud him in the past. And, unbelievably, “At the time TMZ released its recording, Sterling was scheduled to receive a lifetime achievement award from the NAACP.”

 

So, here we have another proclaimed liberal turning out to be just about the most incredible self-serving phony on the planet.

 

And then, on the subject of phonies. This morning Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Gary Doer reacted to the incumbent’s tabling of the Keystone pipeline.

 

Speaking with Maria Bartiromo on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures” show, the ambassador illustrated exactly how the administration is misleading the public on the issue because, although the pipeline’s been stalled, the oil is still flowing here by rail.

 

However, despite environmentalist’s claims, rail produces higher emissions than does a pipeline, while costs and risks involved are substantially greater. Such as the emissions from the 500 trucks already hauling oil here every day. 

 

Commentator Eric Shawn also related that when the pipeline's approved, 42,000 jobs will be created while billions of dollars will be pumped into the economy as well (no pun intended.) Which is why even the usually administration -friendly unions are irate too.

 

At the same time, while the State Department has already cleared the project, the five year’s already spent on analysis have taken longer than World Wars I & II, the Civil War and building the 1,907-mile transcontinental railroad, which was completed in 1869.

 

And what’s just as bad, but rarely discussed, is that delaying the pipeline increases Europe's problems with Russia. Because, without a viable alternative, they enrich and embolden Putin who presently can’t be sanctioned heavily for fear of loss of the fuel.

 

In the meantime, Canada isn’t standing still, and despite environmentalist's claims otherwise, the oil’s flowing to Asia from it’s West Coast and to India from the East.

 

So, everywhere one looks its obvious that this purely political stance taken by a politician who’s been bought with $100 million from a self-interested stock-marketeer is an incredibly bad position all the way around. Which led the Canadian ambassador to conclude that from his nation’s point of view, the incumbent's chosen Hollywood over jobs. 

 

That’s it  for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

It doesn’t seem to matter where you look regarding the current administration, but you’ll find politics always overrides effective governance while political hacks continually attain powerful positions of leadership.

 

Today’s example comes from Alicia A. Caldwell of the Associated Press, who writes about the Homeland Security Department.

 

Newly arrived Secretary, Jeh Johnson, who’s starting off by trying to appear efficient and conscientious, “put his agency's former internal watchdog on leave within hours of the publication of a Senate report that concluded the employee was too cozy with senior agency officials and delayed or classified some critical reports to accommodate President Barack Obama's political appointees.”

 

It seems that, “Charles K. Edwards had been allowed to quietly resign as acting inspector general and transfer to another post within the Homeland Security Department in December, just before Johnson took office.” However, Secretary Johnson, found that arrangement unacceptable, among many other departmental faults.

 

Ms Caldwell then goes on to point out the laxity and favoritism practiced by his predecessor, Janet Napolitano, “who on several occasions allowed problems to fester until they become unavoidable.”

 

Napolitano also “dealt with plenty of controversy, including a 2012 Secret Service prostitution scandal, in her more than four years at the helm of Homeland Security.

 

In 2010, The Associated Press obtained nearly 1,000 pages of internal emails that revealed that for at least a year Homeland Security officials detoured requests for federal records to senior political advisers for unusual scrutiny, looking for information about the requesters and delaying disclosures deemed too politically sensitive.

 

In 2012, the chief of staff at Immigration and Customs Enforcement was accused in a lawsuit of sexual discrimination and retaliation. She was granted a leave of absence and later resigned.

 

And last year, the department spent weeks dealing with the fallout from the release of thousands of immigrants being held in immigration jails.”

 

In the last case, “The department and the White House initially said the releases involved only a few hundred people. The AP later reported that more than 2,000 people were released for budgetary reasons.

 

Napolitano said the AP's story was "not really accurate" and developed "its own mythology." But about a week later, then-ICE Director John Morton contradicted her and confirmed to a House panel that the government released 2,228 immigrants from jail.”

 

As far as the man Johnson replaced is concerned “Thursday's suspension came within hours of a report that concluded that Edwards was not only politically influenced, but wasn't qualified for his job. The report said that he also lacked the independence required of an inspector general.”

 

So, here’s another blatant case of cronyism overriding needs of the nation added to those rampant in just about every aspect of the current administration.

 

But, in the outgoing inspector general's case  he certainly knows what to look forward to. Because when the spotlight turns off and the heat dies down, he’ll accompany the incumbent on a taxpayer funded reward trip, just like Susan Rice just did, to a few first class days of luxury in some of the safest world capitols on the globe.  And perhaps, maybe he plays golf too.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios  

BloggeRhythms

Not much ‘new” in the news today. But an altercation in Las Vegas, between Steve Wynn and an actor, pretty much sums up the attitude of typical incumbent supporters when it comes to facing the truth.   

 

According to Wikipedia, Mr. Wynn is “an American business magnate. He played a pivotal role in the 1990s resurgence and expansion of the Las Vegas Strip. His companies refurbished or built what are now widely recognized resorts in Las Vegas, including the Golden Nugget, The Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn, and Encore.”

 

Politically, he’s previously described himself as a Democrat and  “has supported Nevada Senator Harry Reid.”

 

However, “over the last few years, Wynn has been very critical of President Barack Obama, whom he originally supported and voted for in the 2008 Election. He has accused Obama of being a job killer rather than a job creator, and has stated that he has created friction between him and his employees with the use of class warfare tactics. He has also stated that Obama has been the biggest "wet blanket" to business in his lifetime.”

 

In that regard, I’ve often seen Mr. Wynn interviewed on various business channels and find he’s extremely well-versed not only on his own enterprises, but the business climate in general here in the U.S. as well as around the world. A testimonial to his expertise is his amassing a self-made $2.8 billion net worth after his father died of complications from open heart surgery in Minneapolis, leaving $350,000 of gaming debts, shortly before Wynn graduated from Penn with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature.

 

And then yesterday, according to Norm Clarke of the Las Vegas Review Journal, and many other media outlets reported that, “two weeks ago Mr. Wynn was at a table in the Botero restaurant, in his Encore hotel with actor friend George Clooney.”   

 

Clooney said, “He called the president an a** hole ... that is a fact ... I said the President was my longtime friend and then he said ‘your friend is an a** hole.’ ... At that point I told Steve that HE was an a** hole and I wasn’t going to sit at his table while he was being such a jackass.

 

“And I walked out. There were obviously quite a few more adjectives and adverbs used by both of us. Those are all the facts. It had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with character.”

 

However, the point is that the actor’s reaction is what always happens when one of their idols is disparaged or even questioned in any way whatsoever. There is no discussion, there is no chance for rational differences, only blind faith despite significant evidence proving dissenters correct.

 

Which always leads me to ask how these  big-name Hollywood types might feel if they actually had to work for a living like other folks do. Or even worse, found themselves out of a job. But then, this administration would gladly support them through various other programs, guaranteeing their votes no matter which rung of the financial ladder they were on.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Dana Milbank, Opinion Writer for the Washington Post headed yesterday’s column; “Overseas, President Obama projects a whole lot of nothing.“

 

Mr. Milbank lists this agenda: “The seven-day, four-country Asian tour promises to be an excellent adventure for the president. He’ll visit the Meiji Shrine in Japan and dine with the emperor. He’ll visit Gyeongbokgung Palace in South Korea and lay a wreath at the National War Memorial. In Malaysia, he will attend a “royal audience” and visit the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur. And in the Philippines, he’ll check out an electric vehicle, place another wreath and enjoy his third state dinner.”

 

However, Mr. Milbank also reports, “But one thing is missing from the president’s otherwise exciting itinerary: making news. The one hope for a breakthrough on the trip — an announcement of a trade deal called the Trans-Pacific Partnership — fell through. National security adviser Susan Rice said work will continue in the “coming weeks and months.”

 

While the incumbent enjoys $300.00 sushi, though, other parts of the real world keep developing into unbridled turmoil with no real involvement from the U.S. at all. Examples include Vladimir Putin’s conquests, China’s paranoia, fizzling Israeli-Palestinian talks, and the Syrian civil war. But, those situations require leadership to help resolve them which is something the nation hasn’t had in the last five years.

 

On the other hand, the administration lends full support to fictions that don’t even exist, yet that’s where the money is. Such as supporting billionaire Tom Steyer who told Politico that “he hopes to use his vast personal fortune to make climate change a top priority in the upcoming midterm elections.” 

 

Which raises an interesting question because how do you prevent something from changing that hasn’t changed at all for the past seventeen years all on its own? It’s like spending all that money to prevent forest fires in the Sahara Desert.   

 

And, apparently, once again the incumbent's bet on the wrong horse because while stopping the Keystone pipeline is a major Steyer goal, according to the the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey: “61% of likely U.S. voters now at least somewhat favor building the major oil pipeline from Canada to Texas, while just 27% are opposed. This includes 37% who Strongly Favor the project and 10% who Strongly Oppose it. Thirteen percent (13%) are undecided.”

 

So, here we have a typical day in the life of the current administration. The incumbent himself is in a part of the world where nothing's happening at all, eating expensive dinners with his dedicated subordinates. And while he’s away his wealthy backers are investing heavily in self-serving personal projects that two thirds of voters know are hoaxes. Even Jimmy Carter wouldn’t fall for that one. 

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Today’s theme involves the agency that’s become what’s most likely the most corrupt in the nation’s history. The IRS.

 

And along the same lines, money underlies several other issues as well.

 

Fox News disclosed that a “report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that while for the most part the reward program for IRS workers complied with federal regulations, employees who had themselves failed to pay their federal taxes and had discipline problems were also rewarded.”

 

Additionally, “The watchdog found that in the period from October 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012 over 2,800 employees who had been disciplined for conduct problems, including issues with federal tax compliance, had received over $2.8 million in monetary awards and over 27,000 hours in time-off awards.”

 

So, here we have the agency responsible for overseeing and collecting taxes, empowered with immense latitude and scope, that cannot even control its own employees. And perhaps, doesn’t even want to. However, keeping people employed who themselves flout the laws they’re charged with upholding by not paying taxes themselves, while also rewarding bad behavior at taxpayer's expense, is so far beyond the realm of sanity there aren’t even any words to describe the magnitude of the hypocrisy.  

 

But then, the IRS isn’t the only agency managed irrationally. The Washington Examiner reports today that “Despite controversial delays in Obamacare and costly problems with its healthcare.gov website, most officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were paid more last year than the year before, newly released data show. …The total cost of the CMS payroll data released to the Examiner increased to more than $76 million, compared to $69 million in 2012.”

 

And then, while these stories of horrendous abuse of taxpayer’s funds were released, www.businessinsider.com notes that “On the first day of President Barack Obama's trip to Asia, he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dined at a legendary sushi restaurant made famous by a 2011 documentary.

 

Chef Jiro Ono, 87, is considered to be one of the top sushi chefs in the world. Ono prepares the sushi himself. His recommended special course — which features a rare, endangered species of bluefin tuna — starts at about $300. It includes more than a dozen courses served in about 20 minutes. Obama and Abe's dinner lasted about an hour and a half.”

"That's some good sushi right there," Obama told reporters as he left the restaurant.

And who else ate there too? “Obama and Abe were joined at dinner by the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, and White House national security adviser Susan Rice.”

So, I guess if you back up the incumbent with fables about the terrorist attack on Benghazi, calling it only a crowd upset by a movie, you get rewarded with a fully taxpayer funded trip to Japan and a few thousand bucks for meals that cash-strapped health care taxpayer’s couldn’t even afford in the first place. 

Then, in the most recent article about the Boss’s wife, the Washington Free Beacon reports that, “State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki was unable to cite one accomplishment from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2010 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) Tuesday in a press conference.” 

Willy himself, though, stayed in step with his continual politics-over-all mantra by doing something truly incredible.

 

According to the NY Daily News: “Former President Bill Clinton is endorsing Rep. Charles Rangel, [D-N.Y.,] for re-election, giving the embattled Harlem lawmaker crucial support as he tries to fend off a stiff primary challenge. Clinton's endorsement will be announced Wednesday in a press release. Clinton also has agreed to record robocalls for Rangel and lend his name to e-mail fundraising appeals for the congressman.”

 

Which only goes to prove that slime is a substance that has very magnetic powers. All you need do is find one who’s slimy and then if you look around you’ll notice that others will come oozing out of the woodwork. And then, in time, they’ll all mass together and form an entire political party.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

It looks like we now know what the incumbent whispered when making the “open-microphone” gaffe in March of 2012.

 

Back then, according to the Washington Times, “he promised incoming Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States will make itself weaker for Russia by agreeing not to improve our anti-missile defenses against any possible ballistic missile attacks.”

 

When the promise was given to then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the incumbent pleaded for more “space” to maneuver, saying he’d have more flexibility after his presidential election was over. Implying he’d then be able to give the Russians what they wanted.

 

And now, today, we see the results of that conversation. The incumbent has indeed lived up to his word, doing nothing while Putin has taken over the resource-rich Crimea and prepares to occupy the Ukraine. So, for the rest of us, our only real hope is that he didn’t give Putin permission to conquer too much of the United States.

 

Along the same lines, although he didn’t mention the current administration, former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole addressed the dangers of inexperience at the presidential level.

 

Yesterday he opined for the Wichita Eagle that "A number of the younger members, first-termers like Rand Paul, [Marco] Rubio and that extreme-right-wing guy - Ted Cruz? All running for president now. I don't think they've got enough experience yet."

 

But he didn’t just criticize conservatives. “He also slammed the Obamacare website's botched rollout as "a disaster" and questioned if 8 million people actually signed up for private health insurance via the exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act.

 

"They say they got 7 million signed up. Well, I don't believe them, that they have 7 million," Dole said. "It was such a mess, I don't believe what they say anymore."

 

And Senator Dole’s suspicion was confirmed in an article on Fox News on-line in which David Hogberg of National Center for Public Policy Research in Washington said “8 million have enrolled in the federal exchanges, but the CBO said in a recent report only 6 million are newly insured and some say even fewer than that did not have prior insurance. Twenty to 33 percent are actually newly insured and out of 8 million, that would be no more than 2 to 3 million people." 

 

Which means that, when all is said and done, “That is why the CBO showed that at the end of this year, there will still be 42 million uninsured and 31 million without insurance ten years from now.”

 

So, after the turmoil, disruption and stress inflicted on the population, except for undoing the premier medical system in the world, the health care tax has done nothing much at all regarding increasing the numbers of those covered.

 

Therefore, while weakening the nation for Vladimir Putin overseas, the incumbent’s done similar damage right here at home. Which makes one wonder as to who exactly sent him here and why.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Several items of interest, all reaching the same conclusion. There’s no effective leadership in the nation today at all.

On “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace,” George Will opined that the incumbent decides when, where and how the effectiveness and worth of his actions are measured by edict.

Mr. Will put it this way, ““Well, ‘the debate is over’ is something of a mantra. The debate is over about climate change -- everyone, be quiet. The debate is over about early childhood education -- everyone, be quiet. Lots of things are supposedly over. You hear that from people who are finding the evidence inconvenient. Now, is it working? That's a fairly minimal claim. I mean, the farm subsidies in this country are working. Whether or not they are doing good work is another matter…And he is contradicting himself. He says, we should all stop talking about this except Democrats this fall should campaign on the basis of the multiform excellence of the Affordable Care Act.”

 

Along the same lines, but with a different slant, other “leading” Dems employ double-talk when cornered by evidence of horrendous mismanagement.

 

Debbie Wasserman Schultz when asked about the once-again delayed decision regarding the Keystone pipeline on “NBC’s “Meet The Press,” replied: “‘The decision over the Keystone pipeline is complex and it has to be examined very carefully. It affects multiple states.” And, “Because of the weight of the issue, she wants to make sure the right decision is arrived at and the president makes that decision carefully and doesn’t put politics in his decision.”

 

However, what she left out was that this “decision-making” process has already taken more than five years. Everybody and his brother has signed off on the project, except for a handful that are in the incumbent’s pocket. And the only reason the project’s halted is that environmentalists have paid off handsomely and intend to keep doing so as California billionaire Tom Steyer announced last Thursday.

 

In the meantime, though, while politics and back-scratching continue, no one seems to want to really consider what the extent of dependency on foreign oil really costs us all. As a general rule of thumb, every one-cent increase in gas prices takes $1 billion out of consumers' pockets.

 

In that regard, Julie Roy of WBTW News 13 South Carolina notes that for gasoline, “The national average has increased 11.9 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 12.1 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.” Which means that roughly $12 billion dollars has been taken from citizens for nothing more than political reasons. And, if that isn’t utterly despicable regarding leadership, I don’t know what is.

 

As far as leadership goes, retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters believes there simply isn’t any.

 

While explaining on Fox News that no one should be surprised that one with no experience, whose Senate voting record was mostly “present,” has no leadership capabilities, the colonel compared the presidency to a parent. 

 

Leadership and decision-making aren’t about making people happy, he said, they’re about doing what's called for when difficult circumstances arise. And just because so many don’t like war, or even getting seriously involved, doesn’t mean that the issues will go away or somehow or other be resolved.

 

He than made an excellent comparison, which is what really drew my attention. The colonel said ducking tough decisions was like a parent of a difficult ten and twelve year old finding out he can’t raise them. But, realizing you don’t like the situation you’re in doesn’t mean you can just walk away and leave them, it simply doesn’t work that way.

 

And that’s what every issue facing the nation has come to. The one at the top doesn’t know how, nor even want to, make decisions that really call for leadership. Relying instead on like-minded constituents who always want the easy way out, regardless of the horrendous damage left behind them. 

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Yesterday, Drudge linked an article by Jonathan Martin, national political correspondent for The New York Times. Titled, “Democrats Confront Vexing Politics Over the Health Care Law,” the piece discusses reasons for the law’s continued unpopularity.

 

The item’s interesting because it clearly points out in a well-written newspaper column several huge issues underlying not only the law itself, but beyond that, what the entire political system’s become.

 

The first key point’s a quote from Stanley B. Greenberg, a Democratic pollster: “It was sold as small, minor change because of the need to pass it through Congress and assure the vast majority of people that it wouldn’t disturb their existing health insurance. But why defend it, why mobilize behind it if it’s just small change?"

 

Consequently, as is quite well known by now, the founding premise was a flat out lie by the incumbent from the very beginning. Otherwise, as he knew clearly then, the law never would have passed to start with.

 

Farther on came a comment from David Axelrod, presidential backer and political hack who said, “I think it is viewed more as a social welfare program than a social insurance program, but that’s not right because it is social insurance.”

 

However, the program isn’t social “insurance” at all, as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s a tax.  Which is why, as Mr. Martin points out, “That contrasts sharply with Medicare and Social Security, which remain popular because almost everyone who benefits paid something into the system. “That was done because it sat better with the American cultural idea of self-reliance,” said David M. Kennedy, a Stanford University historian.

 

And that leads up to what’s been done, especially by this administration, to change the perception of government by most citizens. Because, writes Mr. Martin, “But when Medicare was passed in 1965, Americans had more faith in the federal government. Just 2 percent of those surveyed in a recent Quinnipiac Poll said they trusted Washington to do what is right almost all the time."

 

“In the ’60s, we felt like we could do anything,” recalled Joseph A. Califano Jr., a top domestic aide to Johnson. “We could feed the hungry, cure disease and clean the air. Now there’s just a lot more skepticism.”

 

However, today, “Conservatives say that skepticism is well founded. “Systems that would have worked 30 years ago don’t work now,” said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker. “Outside the military and air traffic control, tell me a large bureaucracy that functions. It’s not that the country has changed. It’s that the country’s experience with systems has changed.”

 

Which brings me to the same place I’ve been typing about daily for the last four years. And in that regard, Newt Gingrich, has done me a great service I truly appreciate. Because most often I list all the things the administration’s done miserably, which takes hundreds and hundreds of keystrokes. But, doing it Newt’s way, listing what’s been done correctly and well, takes almost no keystrokes at all.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

A news item this morning is absolutely astounding. The Keystone XL pipeline has been delayed once again.

 

Fox News on-line reports that “The Obama administration Friday extended the review period for the pipeline, effectively pushing back the final decision until after this fall’s midterm elections. The State Department said they need more time to review public comments and assess any impact a pending lawsuit might have on the project.”

 

Columnist Charles Krauthammer said that, "This is the most open and shut case, for any energy project, for any project anywhere that I have ever seen."

 

Opining that the argument against the pipeline fails on its own terms, he said it is "favorable economically, in terms of national security, our independence on Venezuelans, on the Middle East, clearly in terms of jobs, in terms of energy independence."

 

Also according to Fox, “Senator  Mary Landrieu, D-La., who is in a tough re-election fight this year, said the decision amounts to an "indefinite delay" of the project. "By making it clear that they will not move the process forward until there is a resolution in a lawsuit in Nebraska, the administration is sending a signal that the small minority who oppose the pipeline can tie up the process in court forever. There are 42,000 jobs, $20 billion in economic activity and North America's energy security at stake." 

 

Further reading shows, however, why the incumbent continually blocks or delays the project, despite how its opening provides relief on so many fronts. A major underlying reason for the delay is consistent pandering to environmentalists. One of them “California billionaire Tom Steyer, has been vowing to back vulnerable Democrats with big money if they oppose the pipeline. He called the latest announcement "good news on Good Friday for those who oppose Keystone as not being in our nation's best interest."

 

So, as usual with this administration, follow the money and find the truth.

 

Next is the latest on Bill Clinton’s wife.

 

In an article titled: "Released! Clinton files on media enemies," www.wnd.com/2014 writes that “Most notable in the sections of the report released publicly is the concern the White House had for the impact of the new media, hearkening back to Hillary Clinton’s concern about the Internet that there were “no gatekeepers.”

 

“The Internet has become one of the major and most dynamic modes of communication,” the report warns. “The Internet can link people, groups and organizations together instantly. Moreover, it allows an extraordinary amount of unregulated data and information to be located in one area and available to all. The right wing has seized upon the Internet as a means of communicating its ideas to people. Moreover, evidence exists that Republican staffers surf the Internet, interacting with extremists in order to exchange ideas and information.”

 

Journalist Joseph Farah then points out that “No one had yet heard of Matt Drudge. No one knew about the ‘blue dress.’ This was before WND, or WorldNetDaily as it was originally known 17 years ago. To keep things in perspective, I think Monica Lewinsky was a teenage undergraduate student at the time.”

 

So, going back 17 years or more ago, Bill’s wife feared political foes gathering electronically and sharing information potentially harmful. And that’s a case in which she was certainly correct. But the real irony remains that today, almost two decades later, that same information highway’s very likely to sink her campaign this time around.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Numbers made news yesterday, good or bad depending on which side of the political fence one’s on.

 

According to Dylan Scott, reporter for Talking Points Memo, yesterday in the White House briefing room, the incumbent announced that 8 million Americans had signed up for his new health care tax. He claimed that the results were “blowing past projections.”

 

At the same time, Lauren Ashburn, FoxNews.com reported that “A new Fox News poll, and a new number's making news. It's 61. As in, 61 percent of respondents say the president lies about significant issues “most” or “some” of the time. And guess what Republicans have to say about that? It begins with "broken" and ends with "promises."

 

So, I guess, six out of ten might suspect the results the incumbent presented regarding the success of his health care tax.

 

Charles Krauthammer opined on Special Report with Bret Baier “that the Affordable Care Act is working in that it exists, but is hurting the doctor, hurting the hospital, hurting the patient, it’s hurting the economy, it’s going to cost a fortune.”

 

“He also criticized the president’s comments about the reduction in health care costs, noting, “he makes this stuff up with a brazenness that is almost admirable.”

Mr. Krauthammer’s reference to fabrication leads right into today’s update on the latest regarding Bill Clinton’s wife.

 

Chris Stirewalt of FoxNews.com reports that the New York Times “considers whether Hillary Clinton’s thin record as secretary of State combined with the repeated foreign policy setbacks for the nation since her departure could add up to a negative for the 2016 Democratic frontrunner. “From Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the grinding civil war in Syria to the latest impasse in the Middle East peace process, the turbulent world has frustrated [President Obama] and is now defying Mrs. Clinton’s attempts to articulate a tangible diplomatic legacy.”

 

However, the problem for the Boss’s wife isn’t to “articulate a tangible diplomatic legacy.” Because other than running up a humungous bill for travel cost’s at taxpayer’s expense, she has no legacy to present at all.

That's it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms

An article on Drudge this morning, by Terence P. Jeffrey of CNSNews.com provides significant insight regarding how poorly the economy’s actually performing, as follows:

 

“Buried deep on the website of the U.S. Census Bureau is a number every American citizen, and especially those entrusted with public office, should know. It is 86,429,000.

 

That is the number of Americans who in 2012 got up every morning and went to work — in the private sector — and did it week after week after week.”

 

At the same time, “There were 108,592,000 people in the fourth quarter of 2011 who lived in a household that included people on "one or more means-tested program."

 

What the statistics show is, “Those 108,592,000 outnumbered the 86,429,000 full-time private-sector workers who inhabited the United States in 2012 by almost 1.3 to 1.”

 

Additionally, 16,606,000 worked for the government. 12,597,000 at state and local government levels, and 4,009,000 federal. And these are positions paid for by taxpayers in the private sector too.

 

So, steadily and surely, the U.S. is being turned into a far more socialistic nation where those who produce revenue support those who don’t, which is an extremely attractive concept to many, if not most. The only problem, however, is that simply cannot work now or ever in the future.  

 

Mr. Jeffrey put it this way; ”As more baby boomers retire, and as Obamacare comes fully online — with its expanded Medicaid rolls and federally subsidized health insurance for anyone earning less than 400 percent of the poverty level — the number of takers will inevitably expand. And the number of full-time private-sector workers might also contract.”

 

And here’s his absolutely correct conclusion: “Eventually, there will be too few carrying too many, and America will break.”

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Two items today, both illustrating the flaws and hypocrisy's of leftist philosophy.

 

First and foremost, the most concisely accurate description of the huge harm inflicted by the incumbent’s health care tax.

 

Fox News on-line notes that according to “Dr. Joel Zinberg, associate clinical professor of surgery at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, writing for City Journal: “But even for those enrollees paying premiums, having health insurance is not the same thing as getting good health care, or any health care. In fact, it doesn’t matter how many Americans obtain insurance under the ACA. Most will have difficulty finding a physician.”

 

Next, Breitbart on-line reports that, “As predictable as the media silence to follow comes the news that New York City's new left-wing mayor, who ran on a platform based in large part on raising taxes, paid an effective 8.3% tax rate in 2013 based on a total income of over $200,000.

 

Mayor de Blasio and his wife made $167,047 in income, $52,000 in rental income on a second home in Park Slope, and reported charitable donations that totaled just 3% of their income, or $5,597.”

 

According to “TurboTax” on-line, tax for that amount of  income should be $44,603.25 plus 33% of the amount over $183,250. Which equates to a rate of 19.85% on the base amount plus another $13,660.02.

 

However, just like about every other leftist, the mayor’s preaching applies to everyone else, but never himself or those close to him.

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

An article by Shannon Bream on FoxNews.com is somewhat confusing, concerning the push for photo-identification of voters. It seems that those most in favor are predominately on the left. exactly the opposite of what one would suspect.  

 

According to the text, while the incumbent himself says, “the right to vote, "is threatened today in a way that it has not been since the Voting Rights Act became law.” Ms. Bream writes that “it doesn't mean he's on board with a proposal coming from the left to add photos to Social Security cards for use as a form of voter ID.”

 

The idea itself is being promoted by former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. and one-time Democratic Congressman Andrew Young who calls it "an idea whose time may have come."

 

Other supporters include Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton who at a gathering to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, said, "It would be a good thing - just put them on everyone's Social Security card and give somebody something else to argue about."

 

While some critics on both sides, left and right, are pushing back, “voicing concerns about potentially putting sensitive information at risk,” Senator Rand Paul calls it a "really bad idea" worrying that it could lead to some form of national ID card. He’s opposed the idea in the past, expressing concerns about the impact on privacy rights.

 

More in line with what would normally be expected, “White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says the president has seen no formal proposal and takes no position, adding, "The president is interested in making it easier for eligible citizens to vote - not harder."

 

The support aspect of the idea’s quite odd because, as a rule, it’s Dem’s that ordinarily seek unrestricted voting. Feeling its too demanding to require voters to identify themselves. They’re normally interested only in how many Dem votes are cast, not caring at all whether the voters are legal or not.

 

On the other hand, Republicans often have issues with multiple votes and various types of fraud when there’s no legal way to demand any kind of proof of identity. Therefore, their reactions seem somewhat odd.

 

However, what’s happening more frequently lately, as candidates get more exposure, is fundamental ideas, core principles, life-long philosophies and ingrained beliefs change along with their odds of being elected.

 

In the meantime, regarding philosophies and their worth, cnsnews on-line reports that according to data from the Department of Agriculture and the Census Bureau: Food Stamp Recipients Outnumber Women Who Work Full-Time

 

And, “So far, 2011 and 2012 are the only back-to-back years on record when the number of Americans taking food stamps outnumbered the women working full-time year-round. “

 

Considering that this administration's founded on overcoming poverty, raising standards and providing equal opportunity for all, this total failure speaks for itself.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Two items today illustrate clearly that no matter the subject, politicians care far more about image and winning than any principle, theory, or true concern for citizens at all.

 

The Associated Press via Fox News on-line, reports that Senator Rand Paul says potential White House rival Jeb Bush was “inarticulate” when he described immigrants who come to the United States illegally as committing an "act of love," merely trying to provide for their families.

 

Paul went on to say that, those immigrants "are not bad people" but added the United States "can't invite the whole world" inside its borders. Further suggesting that Bush should have kept his focus on controlling the U.S. borders.

 

In this case, Paul who’s ordinarily quite outspoken and definitive, seemed to have chosen his words very carefully. Whereas by acknowledging that illegals aren’t necessarily evil or criminals, he’s likely leaving the possibility open of some kind of softening of his position down the road. Depending on how the immigration wind is blowing then, if or when he needs minority votes.

 

Then, of course, it’s a new day so there’s another comment from outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius. 

 

On a Sunday talk show, she said, “Clearly, the estimate that it was ready to go Oct. 1 was just flat-out wrong.” And that, the roughly first eight weeks of the glitch-filled rollout was the low point of her five years as secretary.

 

“Still, she defended the President Obama's signature law, arguing millions of Americans now have access to health care because of it.”

 

So, here we have a government hack who oversaw a program devised simply for its political value, which due to incompetency and management failure negatively affects twenty percent of the nation’s budget and 80% of the population. All to pander to 5 million others who don’t seem all that excited about signing up either.

 

And now that Sibelius is on the way out, she has no qualms about admitting freely that her prior estimates and status reports were totally mistaken. She also seems to have no remorse whatsoever regarding the damage caused to health care insurance customers harmed by the new taxes’ implementation. Which goes to underline the damage incurred when politics is the driving force, instead of rational economic practice. 

 

Then, in keeping with her consistently inferior performance, Breitbart reports that “Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius misspelled the name of her successor, Sylvia Burwell, in her final goodbye email to her HHS coworkers… ‘As you’ve no doubt heard by now, in the coming months I will be passing the baton to my friend and colleague, Sylvia Burrell [sic]...I've worked closely with Sylvia in her role as director of OMB…”

 

Which, I guess, confirms quite clearly the capability of the one the administration selected to head up the biggest government program ever attempted. 

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Tens of thousands of Russian troops are amassed along the Ukrainian border, causing the nation and its allies to worry that Russia could follow its annexation of Crimea by invading eastern Ukraine.

 

According to Yahoo News via Drudge, “Washington warned Moscow of "additional consequences" if it fails to reduce tensions with Ukraine.”

 

Additionally, “During a telephone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry "made clear that if Russia did not take steps to de-escalate in eastern Ukraine and move its troops back from Ukraine's border, there would be additional consequences," a senior State Department official said.”

 

Having forgotten what the current “consequences” were, I looked them up to find that, on “April 10th A first wave of US sanctions unveiled in March had blacklisted officials and businesspeople close to Russian President Vladimir Putin to protest Moscow's takeover of Crimea.”

 

So, here we have the formerly most powerful nation on Earth reacting to an international crisis by blacklisting a handful of individuals who likely have their assets hidden all over the planet. Yet, in the meantime, Russia’s president does as he pleases, knowing full well the U.S. will never truly retaliate so long as its current administration remains in office.

 

While all this goes on, NBC’s Channel 4 in New York reports that, “President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama attended the Broadway revival of "A Raisin in the Sun," a play about an African-American family in 1950s Chicago.

 

The play, which stars Denzel Washington, capped a rare evening out in New York for the first couple. They were in the city for activist Al Sharpton's National Action Network conference, which the president addressed earlier Friday.”

 

This is the same Al Sharpton that New York Post wrote up this way: 

 

“The Rev. Al Sharpton’s nonprofit paid him nearly $242,000 — even as it carried $1.6 million in debt, according to documents obtained by The Post.

 

In all, the controversial activist and his empire, including the National Action Network and two for-profit companies, were $5.3 million in the red, public records show.

 

Most of NAN’s money woes stemmed from more than $880,000 in unpaid federal payroll taxes, interest and penalties. It also paid more than $100,000 to settle two lawsuits, byproducts of the unpaid bills.

 

And it still owed $206,252 in loans to Sharpton’s for-profit Bo-Spanky Consulting Inc. and Sharpton Media LLC, the records show.

 

Sharpton drew a $241,732 salary and perks that included first-class or charter air travel, tax filings show. He owes the IRS $2.6 million in income tax, and nearly $900,000 in state tax.”

 

As far as the incumbent’s concerned tax-wise, Fox News on-line states that “President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama paid $98,169 in taxes on $481,098 income last year, according to tax returns the White House released Friday. They paid an effective federal income tax rate of 20.4 percent.” Which means, I guess, that fortunately Sharpton won’t consider running for the presidency and taking the cut in total income. 

 

And now, coming back to today’s subject. Considering the international threat Russia poses once again, it would seem that a truly concerned U.S. president would remain in D.C., trying to resolve the crisis at hand. However, this one obviously prefers attending the theater with a tax-evading scam artist instead.

 

Which is likely why Charles Krauthammer, remarked on Thursday, “I think you have to go after Syria, the Iran negotiations, the Crimea, Ukraine, what’s happening in Eastern Europe. I mean this really is a collapse of America’s stature in the world.”

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios    

BloggeRhythms

The longer this administration remains in power, the more frequent and blatant their wrongheaded incompetence arises.

In today’s case, the issue's one often critiqued here. Non-existent global warming and the Keystone XL pipeline.

According to Fox News.com, the “pipeline has emerged as an election-year dilemma for Democrats."

Wealthy party donors are funding candidates who oppose the project — a high-profile symbol of the political debate over climate change. But some of the party's most vulnerable incumbents are pipeline boosters, including six who signed a letter Thursday favoring rapid construction.

Further compounding the situation, even unions comprising the core of Dem electoral strength are revolting, as follows:

“One of the nation's leading building trades unions is stepping up pressure on House Democrats who oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, calling on union members in 27 congressional districts to punish their representative in the midterm election.

A letter distributed by the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) to the 27 districts calls for union members to make sure their representative "feels the power and the fury of LIUNA this November," The Hill reported.

"Your member of Congress is trying to destroy job opportunities for our LIUNA brothers and sisters," read the letter signed by Terry O'Sullivan, the general president of LIUNA, and obtained by The Hill on Friday. 

"For every action, there is a reaction, and our reaction to this frontal assault on our way of life needs to be loud and clear. If you do not stand with us, we sure as hell will not stand with you," O'Sullivan wrote, citing the jobs Keystone would create.

Making things worse for climate zealots, Real Science via Drudge posted this headline: “Northeast US Having Their Coldest Year On Record So Far.”

At the same time, via Fox, “Several former Obama administration officials, including ex-Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and former national security adviser James Jones, have called on Obama to approve the pipeline. Jones told Congress last month that approval would send Russian President Vladimir Putin a message that "international bullies" can't use energy security as a weapon.”

So, summing it up. By selling their integrity to the highest bidders, in this case climate change fanatic's, the administration's weakened the economy, curtailed job opportunity, and significantly increased costs of living while providing an edge to foreign enemies. Therefore, its highly unlikely any outside power could do more damage to the nation than that.

And lastly, another item about Bubba’s wife.   

Barbara Boland of cnsnews.com, writes that “Hillary Clinton was the planned keynote speaker at the 17th Annual Western Healthcare Leadership Academy in San Diego on April 11 - but she's cancelled her visit in the midst of planned protests from San Diego locals and military families.”

 

However, the good news for the Boss’s wife is that while disgruntled Scrap Recycler's throw shoes at her speeches, hostile healthcare leaders probably throw contents of bedpans. So, by cancelling her engagement and not delivering her usual BS, none will get tossed back at her.

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Really busy day today. Very late start. Found two quick items, however.

 

Keeping in tune with the failing health care tax program, resigning Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’s resignation speech didn’t go off without a glitch.

 

According to thehill.com/blogs, "Unfortunately, a page is missing," she announced in the middle of a speech she had printed out in front of her.”

 

And if that isn’t a perfect example of how everything in the current administration works, I don’t know what is.

 

Then there’s the latest on Bubba Clinton’s wife.

 

The dailymail.co.uk/news reports that “A woman was taken into custody after throwing what she described as a shoe at Hillary Clinton during a Las Vegas speech.

 

The incident happened moments after Clinton took the stage Thursday at an Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries meeting at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino.”

 

Well, it’s still very early in the game, but I’m sure many others would love to throw lot’s of things at the Boss’s wife. But for now, welcome to shoe business Mrs.Clinton.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Late start today. Very busy morning. Found three items worth mentioning, all from Chris Stirewalt’s column on Fox News.com.

[A] “new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center for USA Today said that a candidate’s stance on the troubled health law is important to them, with 54 percent saying it is “very important.” The worst news for Democrats is that among the majority of registered voters who said the law was “very important,” there were twice as many opponents as there were supporters.

Overall, support for the signature Obama initiative, which pairs expanded welfare and entitlement programs with far-reaching regulations on health insurance, fell to 37 percent. That’s the lowest level since the summer after the law was passed in 2010 when incumbents’ town halls across the country erupted with ObamaCare outrage. The takeaway: The electoral climate this year is defined by ObamaCare and the forecast is getting worse for Democrats.”

Now, although the poll's interesting because it illustrates considerable dissatisfaction with the health care tax on the part of many voters, the situation doesn’t really require too much arithmetic detail. Because, as I’ve pointed out often for quite a long time now, if you disrupt, degrade services while increasing costs for 85% of the population previously satisfied with their health care coverage simply to appease the other 15%, logic alone dictates that the plan can’t ever work well for the vast majority.

However, health care isn’t the only aspect of governance the incumbent’s been incorrect on. Foreign policy has gone down a similar chute. Charles Krauthammer, remarked yesterday that “I think you have to go after Syria, the Iran negotiations, the Crimea, Ukraine, what’s happening in Eastern Europe. I mean this really is a collapse of America’s stature in the world.”

And then we have Bill Clinton’s wife whose '”new book on her time as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state will be released on June 10, her publisher says.”

In reality, however, publication should be quite simple. Because if she lists all her personal achievements in government the text will need about two lines on only one page. And that would be stretching the subject, whereas in actuality, other than marrying Bill, there’s no need for any pages at all.

That's it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms

A couple of eye-opening statistics today, both from dailycaller.com via Drudge.  

“According to a report released Monday by the Tax Foundation, this year Tax Freedom Day falls 111 days into 2014, on April 21.”

That’s the day the nation’s collectively made enough money to pay its total tax burden for the year, equaling $3 trillion in federal taxes and $1.5 trillion in state taxes. 

But here’s the truly astonishing part. It’s “more than they will spend on food clothing and housing combined.”

Furthermore, Americans have recently been hit with some of the largest premium increases in years, according to a Morgan Stanley survey of insurance brokers.

In item two, Forbes’ Scott Gottlieb, reports that, “The investment bank’s April survey of 148 brokers found that this quarter, the average premium increase for customers renewing an insurance plan is 12 percent in the small group market and 11 percent in the individual market.”

The hikes are the “largest in the past three years, according to Morgan Stanley’s quarterly reports” and “largely due to changes under the [Affordable Care Act],” analysts concluded. Rates have been growing increasingly fast throughout all of 2013, after a period of drops in 2012”.

And here’s the health care tax Achilles Heel. “While insurers were hiking premiums since 2012 by smaller amounts, the lead-up to the Obamacare’s launch has seen the average rate at which premiums are growing fourfold. Morgan Stanley’s results echo what consumers are already seeing: the Affordable Care Act’s intensive regulation of the insurance market is driving health care premiums up strikingly."

Consequently, Mr. Gottleib concludes, “The real measure will be in how the law affects the insurance policies of the 85 percent of Americans who had coverage before the ObamaCare experiment began. If this forecast holds true and voters see insurance premium increases of the kind outlined in the survey, there’s no spin or strategy that can save a Senate majority.”

Then, a few more illustrations of Dem hypocrisy cropped up in Chris Stirewalt’s column this morning.

“Emily Miller notes that as Senate Democratic leaders celebrate “Equal Pay Day” with a symbolic vote and floor speeches attacking Republicans for sexism, the same leaders all have male chiefs of staff and communications directors.”

Add to that the perhaps biggest bozo that ever existed, whereas  Chuck Schumer, “told MSNBC on Monday in defense of his party’s 2014 strategy of attacking conservative patrons Charles and David Koch: “The Koch brothers aren’t just sitting there innocently on the side. They’re spending $40, $50 million in ads that are not focused on their real agenda, which is just eliminating all regulation on corporations, cutting taxes to virtually nothing. And so that demands a response. So I don’t feel sorry for them.”

But here’s what Schumer said about the Kochs’ political activities in 2010: “Again, I can’t thank you enough. All of my best to you and yours and I look forward to working with you throughout this election.  The difference, according to the letter posted by PowerLine’s John Hinderaker, is that in 2010 Schumer was the beneficiary, receiving a “generous” contribution from KOCHPAC, the political action committee for Koch Industries."

Then, not to be outdone regarding fabrication and double-talk, the Washington Free Beacon reports that, “According to campaign finance records, former Koch Industries lobbyist Robert P. Hall III donated $500 to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s campaign in 2003.”

So, today’s another where Democrat strategy, posturing and outright lies are painting them into a corner they built themselves. Because while they can point fingers and talk till they faint, truth after truth continues to surface. Which means that when folks are in voting booths after their medical insurance premium just quadrupled, they’re not going to care very much about Reid and Schumer dissing two brothers named Koch who’ve done absolutely nothing to harm those voters at all.

That’s it for today folks.

Adios