BloggeRhythms

May as well end the year by noting a story appearing today about the president’s health care tax in which, according to FoxNews.com: “Obama adviser Gruber admitted ObamaCare might not be affordable.” 

 

Back in 2009, according to the dailycaller.com, Gruber asked: “Why should we hold 48 million uninsured people hostage to the fact that we don’t yet know how to control costs in a politically acceptable way? Let’s get the people covered and then let’s do cost control.”

 

He also said; “that the only way to control costs is to effectively deny treatment.” And that: “despite the president’s pitches to the contrary, Obama also knew that his health care bill was unlikely to control costs, Gruber said.”

 

The Fox story is short and filled with interesting details, so here’s a link: Obama adviser Gruber admitted ObamaCare might not be affordable

 

Now, bringing the status of the health care tax up to date, a story appeared this morning saying: “Federal officials on Monday sought to lower expectations for upcoming enrollment in Obamacare, announcing that they now believe that only between 9 million and 9.9 million people will be enrolled in Affordable Care Act health insurance plans by the end of 2015. 

 

That is well below the 13 million people that the Congressional Budget Office has projected for Obamacare enrollment by the end of 2015. Open enrollment for 2015 plans resumes Saturday. 

 

The new projection, as much as 30 percent reduced from the CBO estimate, comes from the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the Obamacare health reform program. 

 

HHS also said it now appears that it will take longer—perhaps quite a bit longer—than 2017 to reach a "steady state" of 25 million Obamacare enrollees that CBO had been projecting for 2017 enrollment.”

 

Which means that the original plan which has already cost more than $1 billion in total to assist .077% of the population, is highly likely to fall far short of that target. Which also suggests that as health care costs increase in the future for everyone actually paying for their insurance, a significant number of those whom the assistance plan was designed for, don’t want it either. 

 

Beyond the plan itself, however, there’s another indication of how outrageously incompetent and uncaring the government is regarding taxpayer’s hard-earned money. Because Gruber, a designer of the unmanageable, unworkable fiasco has received at least $5,886,150 in taxpayer-funded health-care-consulting fees, mainly from the federal government.

 

Which suggests that he surely knew what to expect regarding his own pocketbook when he said back in 2009, “Let’s get the people covered and then let’s do cost control.”

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Spending considerable time reading, analyzing and opining daily on issues and events occurring in the nation and world, teaches one to pay close attention to what's seen and heard. Because accuracy is critically important when trying to present one’s point of view.

 

That’s why an article today by Daniel Halper of the weeklystandard.com via Drudge, took several readings,  to assure there was no misunderstanding of his commentary.

 

Mr. Halper writes about the president’s recent interview with “NPR when he called Tehran a "country." But, as Mr. Halper further points out, “the gaffe isn't the news from the interview at all.”

 

Mr. Halper then quotes the president as saying about Iran that, “They have a path to break through that isolation and they should seize it. Because if they do, there's incredible talent and resources and sophistication inside of — inside of Iran, and it would be a very successful regional power that was also abiding by international norms and international rules, and that would be good for everybody. That would be good for the United States, that would be good for the region, and most of all, it would be good for the Iranian people."

 

And then, “In the same interview, President Obama acknowledges that Iran sponsors terrorism and wants a nuclear bomb, “ as follows: 

 

"Tehran is a large, sophisticated country that has a track record of state-sponsored terrorism, that we know was attempting to develop a nuclear weapon — or at least the component parts that would be required to develop a nuclear weapon — that has engaged in disruptions to our allies, whose rhetoric is not only explicitly anti-American but also has been incendiary when it comes to its attitude towards the state of Israel," he said, mistaking Tehran for Iran.”

 

Mr. Halper concludes by stating that, “And yet a "path" exists, in Obama's mind, for this nation to be "a very successful regional power."

 

So, here we have a president of the United States pushing for improvement in the relationship with Iran because it would be “good” for everybody involved if they simply agreed to abide by international norms and international rules. However, as he himself explained at the exact same time, they presently don’t and from their present actions, probably won’t.

 

Which is like saying we probably wouldn't have needed to invade Iraq if Saddam Hussein hadn’t been so hard to get along with.  

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios 

BloggeRhythms

By now, most people all over the nation are likely aware of the disintegration of the relationship between NYC Mayor, Bill De Blasio, and the largest and finest police organization in the world. That caused me to do some research, to find out what the mayor’s occupational background was. And more specifically, his qualifications for the job he now holds.

  

New York City itself is the most populous city in the United States.The 2013  census-estimated its population to be 8,405,837, distributed over a land area of just 305 square miles. Therefore, its also the most densely populated major city in the United States.

 

Wikipedia shows that, “New York City's financial district, anchored by Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, has been called the world's leading financial center, and the city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Manhattan's real estate market is among the most expensive in the world. Manhattan's Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 468 stations in operation. New York City's higher education network comprises over 120 colleges and universities, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, which have been ranked among the top 35 in the world.”

 

However, the brief synopsis doesn’t even come close to the magnitude of the city’s dynamics, omitting things like the hospital and medical networks, banking, museums, transportation aside from subways, law, accountancy, banking and management consultancy, the top global center for the advertising industry, referred to as "Madison Avenue"; while Silicon Alley, is a broad-spectrum in the high technology sphere. 

 

But, while the financial, insurance, health care, and real estate industries form the basis of New York's economy, there's still more. Because the city is also the most important center for mass media, journalism and publishing in the United States, and is the preeminent arts center in the country. Creative industries such as digital media, advertising, fashion, design and architecture also account for a growing share of employment, with New York City possessing a strong competitive advantage in these industries.

 

And now, what are Bill de Blasio’s qualifications for leadership over this metropolis that’s practically a nation unto itself?

 

According to biography.com, “In 1989, Bill de Blasio entered politics to work on David Dinkin's mayoral campaign. After Dinkins won and became the first African-American mayor of New York, de Blasio worked in his administration.

 

“Afterward, de Blasio's career shifted to a national scale. He led Bill Clinton's re-election campaign in New York, and went on to work in the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development under Andrew Cuomo. He then managed Hillary Clinton's 2000 campaign for the U.S. Senate, although he was allegedly pushed out of the campaign toward the end of the race in favor of a more aggressive style.

 

“In 2001, de Blasio joined the New York City Council, where he represented Brooklyn's 39th district. In 2009, he won the public advocate position, making him the second-highest elected official in the city. In his role, de Blasio focused on keeping the government accountable and fought against the city's controversial stop-and-frisk strategy.”

 

According to the New York Times, when Bill de Blasio was 26, he “went to Nicaragua to help distribute food and medicine in the middle of a war between left and right. But he returned with something else entirely: a vision of the possibilities of an unfettered leftist government.

 

“Mr. de Blasio, who studied Latin American politics at Columbia and was conversational in Spanish, grew to be an admirer of Nicaragua’s ruling Sandinista party, thrusting himself into one of the most polarizing issues in American politics at the time. The Reagan administration denounced the Sandinistas as tyrannical and Communist, while their liberal backers argued that after years of dictatorship, they were building a free society with broad access to education, land and health care.”

 

So, here we have a leftist politician who, except for a short time in the Dinkin's administration, has absolutely no background, experience, or capability preparing or enabling him to fulfill the major managerial responsibilities of his job. Which certainly explains why, when confronted with a situation requiring considerable knowledge of managing and controlling major agencies, such as the NYPD, he took a wrong-headed political route, failing miserably.

 

Thus, the problem for New York City is the same as the one the entire nation faces simultaneously. The one’s in charge, having no professional qualifications, are trying to solve extensive, complex, managerial tasks without a shred of comparable preparatory experience or capability between them.

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Foxnews.com/politics reported on Jeff Bush’s saying 11 days ago that he’d release 250,000 emails, presumably to show Americans his leadership ability in times of crisis.

 

On Friday, a liberal group, American Bridge, that has also targeted potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, released a sample via the Wall Street Journal in an attempt to highlight negative aspects of a Bush presidency. Below are the two examples they cited.

 

“I believe my brother will win if the law is adhered to,” Bush wrote to a man days after the Nov. 7, 2000 vote.

“Bush also writes about the international crisis involving Elian Gonzales that started in 1999 when the young Cuban boy, now 21, was found floating on an inner tube off the Florida coast. His mother had died during the journey to the United States. Gonzales was given to Miami relatives until taken by armed federal agents and returned to his father in Cuba.

“I am heartbroken over the federal government’s actions this morning,” Bush wrote to a correspondent on April 22, 2000, hours after the agents raided the Miami home.”

So, after poring over thousands of emails, this is what this anti-Bush group has come up with. A belief that his brother would win an election, which in fact, he did. And a 13 year old motherless child of Cuban birth with family in the US was returned to his father in a communist dictatorship.

After reading the article, I did some research out of curiosity, finding an 8 page article by David Kraemer of ConservativeAmerican.org listing 333 lies or false claims made by Bill Clinton’s wife. 

 

A few samples include:

“Hillary Demonstrates She Knows Nothing About Economics! Her “You Didn’t Build That!” Moment

“While ‘the Madame’ claims to be some kind of champion for women, Fox News reports 7 of the 8 women she campaigned for lost their election bids big time. 

 

“First, Clinton will appear at a fundraiser for Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.), an embattled Democrat who favors construction of the massive Keystone XL oil pipeline opposed by environmentalists. Just two hours later, Clinton is due back on a different stage to deliver a speech to the League of Conservation Voters – a mainstream environmental group that strenuously opposes Keystone…

“Hillary Clinton praised the Obama administration for concluding a landmark deal re-establishing economic relations between the United States and [Communist] Cuba, saying that the normalization of relations between the two countries is beneficial for the Cuban people.” However, with nothing changing for citizens of Cuba, Clinton failed to explain how it would be beneficial. 

 

“T. Becket Adams at the Washington Examiner reports, “The State Department’s Office of Inspector General has released another “management alert” detailing rampant mismanagement within the agency, much of it during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s tenure. The inspector general’s latest “management alert” — the third released by the agency’s internal watchdog in a little over a year — warns that the State Department’s management and oversight of grants has become a serious financial liability. “The management and oversight of grants poses heightened financial risk to the Department of State,” Inspector General Steve A. Linick said in a report dated Sept. 26

“Reporters have found a few letters Hillary wrote to Saul Alinsky. From looker Ellison Barber at the Blaze.”

Therefore, it might be wise for liberals to do some homework before raising issues where they’re highly likely to wind up on the losing side. Because, as today’s results illustrate, if Jeb Bush’s emails disqualify his presidential candidacy, Bill Clinton’s wife’s history precludes her from not only the US presidency, but any job in the world requiring an iota of intellect, ounce of talent or shred of integrity.  

 

The article’s interesting, so here’s a link: http://conservativeamerican.org/the-hillary-clinton-lies-list/

In closing, here’s a comment from reader LibtardDestroyer who writes: “If the GOP hasn't learned by this time that RINOs like McCain and Romney never win, they deserve to lose again, with Bush.”

However, if memory serves correctly, since two other Bush’s held the White House for 12 of the past 25 years its hard to grasp exactly where the GOP risk is. Not to mention the additional 8 years H.W. spent as VP to Ronald Reagan, bringing Bush years in executive office to 20 of the past 33. Which makes one wonder precisely who someone like LibtardDestroyer thinks could produce a better track record. Because history shows, that candidate doesn't even exist. 

 

That's it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms

This morning, the funeral of Rafael “Ralph” Ramos was held. He’s the NYC police officer, and 40-year-old father of two, who was shot dead with his partner, Wenjian Liu, as they sat in their squad car on a meal break in Brooklyn on December 20th. The shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, later killed himself.

 

With more than 20,000 police officers from around the country attending, Stephen Davis, the police department's chief spokesman, said today’s service may prove to be the largest funeral in the police department's history.

 

Emily Wax-Thibodeaux writes on washingtonpost.com: “It’s important to be here because it’s an attack on the whole society,” said Anthony Pastore, a Long Island officer and veteran of the Marine Corps. “When I saw the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases, all I thought about was the idea of voluntary  compliance. When a police officer stops you, you don’t fight. You go through the process. You both stay calm. My guys didn’t have the luxury, he said with tears in his eyes. “They were just executed. They never had a chance.”

 

Officer Pastore’s comment brings me to the subject of todays entry, which is the question of how the entire rebellion against police procedures began in the first place.

 

What hasn’t been clear to me from the start of the recent anti-police rhetoric and disruptive goading by the president and AG Eric Holder, is what they’re trying to accomplish. While the like’s of Al Sharpton is quite obvious, whereas he’ll do anything for money and personal gain, the objective of those at the top of government isn’t quite the same. So, what do they really want to happen? 

 

If one looks at the matters regarding white officers acting aggressively toward African Americans, facts seem to indicate that the police were performing according to procedural guidelines. But, what’s extremely confusing is how anti-police protesters have been rebelling against those actions.

 

Because it’s hard to fathom why anyone performing within the law would have a problem following the steps outlined by Officer Pastore regarding the “the idea of voluntary  compliance.” Which means that, “When a police officer stops you, you don’t fight. You go through the process. You both stay calm.”

 

Leading to the simple question of who but an illegal alien, thief, crook, murderer or criminal could possibly have a problem with that?

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

A very quiet day today. As usual for the day after Christmas. Many  around the nation are vacationing, including Congress and, of course, the president. Which makes me wonder every year around this time that if the nation, and world, can maintain relative peace and calm for these few days, why can’t that be done all year round?

 

And that reminds me of the old joke about the town that only had one lawyer, which meant he had almost nothing to do and practically starved to death. Then one day, another hung out a shingle across the street and both eventually retired as millionaires.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

The original plan for today was to wish the merriest Christmas to all, and sign off. A short story on Drudge this morning,  however, just can’t be overlooked.

 

Jennifer Since Kelleher of Associated Press headlined her item: “Blizzard gives Hawaii summits a White Christmas”

 

The text begins: “HONOLULU (AP) -- Some people in Hawaii are dreaming of a White Christmas.

 

“A blizzard warning remained in effect Wednesday for the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii. While snow on the mountains is common, a blizzard with significant accumulation is unusual.

“Up to 8 inches of snow could accumulate above 11,500 feet, the National Weather Service said. "Usually it's just a dusting or up to an inch or two," said weather service Meteorologist Norman Hui. "Right now we have a pretty powerful winter storm."

Therefore, Mother Nature and Santa Claus got together and in a single stroke not only clearly refute the global-warming farce, but picked always warm Hawaii, the president’s birthplace, to do it. And then, just to add a bit of icing (no pun intended) to the cake, they bring their blizzard on a day when the president’s there playing golf.

It simply doesn’t get better than that.

That’s it for today folks.

Merry Christmas!

BloggeRhythms

Twas the day before Christmas, half the population on some kind of government welfare all through the nation.

At the same time, the president played golf in Hawaii, on a multi-million dollar, taxpayer funded, holiday vacation.

 

In the City of New York anti-cop protestors marched to and fro,

despite Mayor de Blasio’s desperate pleas not to do so.

He wished them to wait until after two slain police officers funerals were held in memorial.

Instead, angry marchers showed him he sorely needed a job-management tutorial.

 

At the same time, Al Sharpton, the president’s new-found advisor

realized his newest race-baiting cause could have been handled far wiser.

Yet, although evidence proves he’s continually on the wrong side of most arguments he spins,

the upside is that while he may not be welcome in most places around the US, the White House is always open to him.

 

So, while Santa and his reindeer-pulled sled streak through the night,

people everywhere will try to get him in sight.

And while they’re all hoping he’ll bring them whatever their yen,

He’ll wisely try to deliver peace, happiness, and goodwill toward all women and men.

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Happy Holiday

BloggeRhythms

It’s highly probable that most reasonably intelligent people would agree that there’s no life-form lower than most politicians. Which is why only the most naïve, and highly gullible, pay very much attention to what politico’s say and certainly don’t believe a word from them that’s uttered or promised.

 

The public distaste generally stems from the fact that political slugs continually mislead, dodge the truth, and create incredible fables when caught in lies red-handed. However, as despicable as most of them are, at the present time a faction of them has produced some of the most colossal untruths seen or heard in a very long time.     

 

In today’s case, a recap of the recent shooting of police officers in NYC was posted by a reader on Drudge, as follows: “No one can deny that Al Sharpton encouraged evil murderers to murder the NY police officers. So did Eric Holder, so did Barack Obama. All three are cowardly murderers just like the monster (who was a liberal Democrat by the way) who pulled the trigger. It is not surprising that these three showed jubilation over the murder of those police officers.”

 

Now, whether or not the reader’s comment is precisely accurate or subject to discussion, the verbiage seems to reflect the feelings and beliefs of a very large segment of the nation’s population. There’s also little doubt that the president and AG have thrown their official weight behind probable perpetrators and against the police. Up to and including employing agitator Al Sharpton in that endeavor.

 

And now, today, another voice has joined the anti-law enforcement push, NYC mayor, Bill  de Blasio, who’s been holding press conferences to denigrate police performance, including personal references of fears of harassment against himself and family members.

 

Yet, now that shootings have taken place in his city, and on his watch, yesterday he said at police headquarters that, "We are in a very difficult moment. Our focus has to be on these families. I think it's a time for everyone to put aside political debates, put aside protests, put aside all of the things that we will talk about in all due time."

 

So, now that his words and behavior have come back to haunt him, because someone’s actually gone out and committed murder, he and his DC cohorts, along with their puppet Sharpton, want to unwind the tense racial situation they themselves started by asking those they’ve provoked to “put aside” what they know to be the truth. And if that isn’t the height of hypocrisy, what is?

 

On another issue, liberalism is apparently continuing its shrinkage, as evidenced by another media outlet missing its financial targets.

 

Joe Pompeo reports on.capitalnewyork.com via Drudge that “Heading into the new year, The Huffington Post is planning to stop using Associated Press stories while increasing its reporter headcount, gearing up for a relaunch and rolling out more international editions.”

 

However, the most interesting part of the story discloses that, “At the end of 2013, AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong told Reuters he expected the site to be profitable in 2014. But during an interview earlier this month at Business Insider's Ignition conference, Armstrong said the ongoing international rollout, which includes about a dozen foreign editions from Brazil to France to Maghreb, had prevented HuffPost from breaking into the black. Annual revenues are in the hundreds of millions, Armstrong said, declining to provide a specific dollar figure.”

 

So, here we have a further indication that regardless of how hard biased media outlets try to present their point of view to the public, or slant their offerings to reflect their own goals and objectives, fewer and fewer choose to accept the approach. Which means that if those outlets don’t soon acknowledge that the public now has access to huge, and still growing, sources of unvarnished information, before long they will talking to themselves.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Repercussions from the war on police started by the president with AG Eric Holder and now being perpetuated by their puppet self-serving activist, Al Sharpton are generating a national backlash that they may not have expected to grow so huge.

 

Former NYC mayor, Rudy Giuliani, summed the situation up this way yesterday on Fox News: “We’ve had four months of propaganda starting with the president that everybody should hate the police. The protests are being embraced, the protests are being encouraged. The protests, even the ones that don’t lead to violence, a lot of them lead to violence, all of them lead to a conclusion: The police are bad, the police are racist. That is completely wrong.”

 

However, the former mayor then took the issue further, saying that “he did not agree with statements like those from Pat Lynch, the president of the largest police union in New York City, who said the current New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio (D), had blood on his hands.”

 

Mr. Giuliani added, “I think it goes to far to blame the mayor for the murder or to ask for the mayor’s resignation.

 

“I feel bad for the mayor,” Giuliani continued. “He must be heartbroken over the loss of two police officers. I can’t believe this is what he wanted. I don’t think he’s a bad man in any way.”

 

Mr. Giuliani's attempts to shelter the current NYC mayor are most interesting. Because while they appear to be designed to offer support, the context of the verbiage presents a very different picture, whereas he went on to say that, de Blasio is “pursuing the wrong policies” and should not have given protesters demonstrating against the police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown as much leeway.

 

“I don’t think it goes too far to say the mayor did not properly police the protests,” Giuliani said. “He allowed the protesters to take over the streets. He allowed them to hurt police officers, to commit crimes, and he didn’t arrest them. And when you do that, similar to what happened in Crown Heights, you create a great riot. He should have known better. For that he has to take accountability.”

 

So, it seems clear that Mr. Giuliani is trying his best to help stem the tide of dissension now erupting between anti-police politicians and much of the public. However, he’s obviously been around too long, and is far too well-informed about the subject, to ignore the obvious underlying hatred of the current NYC mayor for the police and the outstanding job they do. As evidenced by his acknowledgement that the current mayor, "should have known better." 

 

On another issue, statistics once again serve to prove a point where political goals, supported by biased reporting in the major media, attempt to mislead the public for self-serving purposes.  

 

An article by Tori Richards in FoxNews.com this morning is headlined: “Despite Dem losses, don’t count out billionaire backer Tom Steyer yet.”

 

Ms Richards writes: “Billionaire green energy activist Tom Steyer may have been shut down in his bid to elect a slate of hand-picked governors and U.S. senators, but don't count him out just yet. 

 

“The PAC he founded is stacked with officers who have Hillary Clinton on speed dial, a California Supreme Court justice as a spouse and former colleagues in the White House. 

 

“And a Nov. 24 Federal Election Commission report showed that NextGen Climate Action Committee still has $4.7 million cash on hand after spending $72.9 million in a failed attempt to elect Democratic governors in Florida and Maine and senators in Colorado, Michigan and Iowa. Steyer donated $67 million of that amount.”

 

So, what the numbers show is that global-warming activist Steyer put up 91.9% of the funds himself in attempt to elect three senators and two governors, all of whom lost to Republicans. Which means that each loss cost approximately $13,400,000 in a losing battle.

 

Therefore, what the arithmetic indicates is that, unless Steyer comes up with more bucks to invest in his pointless endeavor, he can presently afford to support 2.85% of a single candidate. Which is just about the same percentage of gullible voters who believe the hoax now called “climate-change,” because global-warming just isn’t happening here or anywhere else on the planet. 

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Today’s extremely sad for the nation, and also quite perplexing. Because the tragic shooting of two unsuspecting police officers in New York City raises some very profound questions as to why the incident happened at all.

 

As far as background is concerned, its been painfully obvious for several months now that the US president and attorney general have been stirring emotions by often questioning a Missouri grand jury’s refusal to indict an officer in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.

 

As an additional ingredient to the drama, activist Al Sharpton has gained national status as a frequent White House invitee, and top level recognition as an expert in race relations. In that regard, he’s used his new-found spotlight to further incite audiences in anti-establishment behavior wherever he can, including the recent public battle over treatment of officers following the grand jury’s decision not to indict an officer in the death of Eric Garner in NYC.

 

Consequently, the level of tension across the nation has risen to the extent that demonstrators around the country have staged die-ins and other protests as a result. Culminating yesterday when 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley, approached the passenger window of a marked police car and opened fire, killing two New York police officers in cold blood.

 

Now, whatever political beliefs a person may have, there's little doubt that the president and attorney general are two reasonably intelligent individuals. Even Sharpton, who may not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier, certainly has enough intellect to know precisely what he’s doing most of the time. Which leads to the question, in view of their recent attempts at stirring up constituents, what did they think would happen as a result of their race-baiting diatribes?

 

There are only two logical answers to the query.

 

Either they knew full well that somewhere, somehow a racial disaster would occur. Or, they simply didn’t consider the potential damage or consequences when shooting their mouths off for self-aggrandizing purposes.

 

Which means that, either way, they not only bear considerable personal blame for what happened, but together have set the nation back 50 years in racial relations.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Some interesting statistics in the news today.

 

The president has now left for his annual holiday vacation in Hawaii. According to Judicial Watch, the cost of flying Air Force One to Honolulu, “amounts to $228,288 per hour.” Last year, the family trip to Hawaii cost $4.1 million for the round-trip flights alone, which didn't include other costs such as for security, communication and staff.

 

At the same time, Susan Ferrechio reports in washington examiner.com that, “Labor statistics show that foreign-born workers account for all net gains in U.S. employment in the past seven years.”

 

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) issued a report Friday, based on information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that found “1.5 million fewer U.S.-born workers employed in 2014 than prior to the recession in 2007. Foreign-born employment for both legal and illegal immigrants increased by more than 2 million workers during the same time period.”

 

CIS claims that this is evidence that native-born workers could have a harder time finding jobs under President Obama’s plan to allow more than 5 million illegal immigrants to obtain work permits.

“If we continue to allow in new immigration at the current pace or choose to increase the immigration level it will be even more difficult for the native-born to make back the ground they have lost in the labor market,” the report’s authors, Steven A. Camarota and Karen Zeigler, wrote.

While overall, “The number of U.S.-born workers fell from 124,014 million in November 2007 to 122,558 million in November 2014, foreign-born workers, who make up 17 percent of the workforce, increased from 23,104 million to 25,108 million in the same time period.”

What’s even more disturbing is that the “BLS figures showed that 11 million fewer U.S.-born workers are in the labor force now compared to 2007, and that figure has not improved in the last year.”

So, now the president's enjoying his holidays in Hawaii, sunning, surfing, playing lots of golf, then dining with family and friends in the evenings. Which makes one wonder if he’ll think at all about the US job market taken over by those illegal aliens he helps enter the country whenever they want to, leaving millions of American citizens broke, displaced and hopeless on Christmas and every other day, too.

That’s it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Yesterday, El Rushbo delivered one of his typically accurate, down to earth analyses of the reaction in Hollywood to North Korea’s threats regarding Sony’s decision to cancel the opening of a new movie they deem unacceptable to them.   

 

Defining the situation, Rush said: “Okay, so let's apply that to what we have going on here.  Let's look at the hypocrisy, first off.  We were told last night, we were told yesterday, we're being told all day today, that everybody in Hollywood is livid over Sony caving to the Norks.  We are told that people in Hollywood are outraged.  They are fit to be tied. How dare we cave to a bunch of tiny, small-time terrorist cyber hackers? We're a bunch of cowards.”

 

He then took the Hollywood reaction a step further, pointing out that: “The same people who, a few short years ago, ripped George W. Bush for including North Korea in the axis of evil. The same bunch of people who said, "North Korea?  Come on.  A small sliver of land that you can't even see at night 'cause they don't have electricity.  They're so poor, they can't amount to anything.  North Korea, Bush, you're an enemy; Bush, you're Hitler; Bush, you're crazy.  North Korea, axis of evil, screw you, Bush."

 

Observing this reaction of people who have difficulty facing truths they were warned about, but refused to acknowledge for political purposes, illustrates a consistent tendency among liberals. Whereas, eventually, they're always forced to confront problems arising from their own obstinate ideology that never seems to work out as promised because it can't.

 

That mistaken approach to reality arose again yesterday, as reported by Corey Charlton for MailOnline, as follows: “A number of militants have been killed in Islamic State's very first battle with U.S. ground troops after the extremists attempted to overrun an Iraqi military base.

 

“The militants attacked Ein al-Asad military base on Sunday where more than 100 U.S. military support troops are based.

 

“Despite launching the surprise attack just after midnight, ISIS's offensive was swiftly repelled when U.S. troops and F18 jets joined in the skirmish in support of the Iraqi Army.”

 

At the same time, AP’s Lolita C. Baldor reports that Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel, signed orders Wednesday for the first group of U.S. troops to go to Iraq as part of the administration's recent decision to deploy 1,500 more American forces to the country. The troops are to advise and train Iraqi forces.”

 

In that regard, the president “reiterated the U.S. commitment to train and assist the Iraqi military, provide weapons and equipment and continue to launch airstrikes against the militants.”

 

But, the most interesting comment came from, the top U.S. commander for the mission in Iraq and Syria, who said on Thursday that, “the next wave of American troops will begin moving into Iraq in a couple of weeks, and cautioned that it will take at least three years to build the capabilities of the Iraqi military.”

 

So, after years of promises, endless speeches and the ignoring of mountains of evidence, the incumbent president’s putting us right back where we were when he took office, except at a much higher coat and in an extremely weaker position. 

 

Which means that, when you combine the current situations concerning the Middle-East and North Korea, and add them to the ridiculous moves toward acceptance of the Castro regime in Cuba, you realize that the US isn’t the only nation the current administration knows nothing about how to deal with whatsoever.  

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

While the current administration has made many of the very worst decisions in the nation’s history, some are far worse than others. Which is why in trying to find out the cause of such ineptitude, many months ago this writer came across the preaching's of community activist, Saul Alinsky, whose philosophies if followed, are purposefully designed to unnerve opponents while amassing power.

 

The strangest part about today’s subject, however, is that while it seems likely that the current president frequently follows Mr. Alinsky’s suggestions in attempts for personal and political gain, he’s presently pursuing a situation where nobody wins except Fidel Castro and his government in Cuba.

 

FoxNews.com reported that, “Obama said the United States will cease what he called an “outdated approach” with Cuba, and take steps to normalize diplomatic relations -- including opening an embassy in Havana -- after American Alan Gross was released from the country following five years in prison as part of an agreement that also included the release of three Cubans jailed in the U.S.”

 

He also, “called on Congress to have an "honest and serious debate" about lifting the trade embargo, which has been in place since 1962.

 

What’s most interesting though, is that in return the Cuban government does practically nothing. Which means that there has to be another reason for bending over for the Castro regime. And that brings us to Mr. Alinsky’s teachings.

 

In Rules for Radicals, Mr. Alinsky addressed the 1960s generation of radicals, and outlined his views on organizing for mass power in a list of twelve steps, three of which seem to fit the president’s out of the blue move toward acquiescing to Cuba.

 

Mr. Alinsky recommends:

 

“Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new.

 

“Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.

 

“Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.” Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.

 

So, facing a dilemma caused by the nation, and world, moving along despite all the roadblocks put in place for the past six years, it looks like the president has just about run out of ideas for stopping progress. Even global warming threats aren’t working, due to a contrary Mother Nature.

 

However, this time around, it isn’t even only the US that loses. Because, after the Castro regime avails itself of its newfound opportunities for personal gain, the Cuban people will still be left with nothing either. A lose/lose situation for just about everyone, no matter how you slice it.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

An article today on FoxNews.com suggests that House Speaker, John Boehner, likely knows far more about how the system works in DC than many of his Congressional associates. Many of them were clamoring for a government shutdown due to dislike for the president’s executive actions providing amnesty for illegal aliens.

 

While a government shutdown, even if well-deserved, would surely backfire on Republican Congress members, as history has proven, the action was yesterday shown to be unnecessary. 

 

Fox reports that, “A federal judge has declared parts of President Obama's immigration executive actions unconstitutional, in the first court opinion to tackle Obama's controversial policy changes."

 

"U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Schwab, in Pennsylvania, said Obama's immigration actions are invalid and effectively count as "legislation" from the Executive Branch and, “President Obama's unilateral legislative action violates the separation of powers provided for in the United States Constitution as well as the Take Care Clause, and therefore, is unconstitutional.”

 

In regard to the president’s argument that he was proceeding with executive action after Congress failed to act on comprehensive immigration legislation, the judge countered: "Congressional inaction does not endow legislative power with the Executive," which is precisely what Speaker Boehner was counting on.

 

On another issue, it’s very interesting to note that no matter the issue, some faction in the nation is negatively affected by virtually every occurrence. 

 

While the inflated cost of oil, and therefore gasoline and fuel, have been strangling the nation’s economy, but now have plunged dramatically, there are now some who are quite unhappy with the results. 

 

Kelly David Burke writes on FoxNews.com, that "If oil drops five dollars a barrel, that's about a $17 million loss to our general fund and $17 million to schools in Wyoming -- a total of about $35 million," Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead told Fox News. He said, depending on various factors, the oil industry makes up about 30 percent of the state's revenue. 

 

While Mead acknowledged that in the short term, lower gas prices will benefit businesses and residents in his sparsely populated state, “If we see low prices continue for some time, we'll see rigs start to lay down. And it's not just the direct revenue. It's the hotels, restaurants and all that goes with that." 

 

Now, although $17 million is surely a considerable amount of money, some research shows that according to industry statistics, “In 2013, the United States consumed a total of 6.89 billion barrels of petroleum products, an average of 18.89 million barrels per day.”

 

Which means that in total, the funds now available for expenditure on other items, will stimulate the nation’s economy in so many trillions of dollars that the amount lost by Wyoming isn’t even a drop in the bucket, comparatively.

 

Then there was this item from The Hill: “ObamaCare signups are likely to surpass the administration’s goal of 9.1 million, beating the lowered target set by the administration at the start of the enrollment period. About 10.5 million people are expected to purchase health insurance by the end of 2015, according to a report by consulting and research firm Avalere Health..”

 

This one’s worth mentioning because after all the disruption caused by passage of the president’s health care tax, and millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars spent in the effort, 10.5 million people amount to a mere .0285714% of the nation’s population. Another drop in the bucket.

 

And finally, today’s update on Bill Clinton’s wife.

 

Jaime Fuller notes on washingtonpost.com/blogs, that, “According to a report from AdWeek on Monday, the June 16 issue of People featuring the former first lady and senator was the magazine's worst selling of 2014 with 503,890 copies sold. The magazine's best-selling issue --1,169,800 copies -- was the one featuring Robin Williams after his death in late August. AdWeek said that celebrity weeklies saw poor performances with issues that featured the Kardashians and Beyonce on the cover.”

 

The article goes on to state that, “It has not been a good year for Hillary Clinton and print media. Her book, "Hard Choices," also failed to sell as many copies as initial estimates assumed it would.”

 

Which means that today looks like a good one for Elizabeth Warren and a whole host of Republican presidential hopefuls.

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

The AP reports that on Monday, the Senate “approved President Obama's nomination of Dr. Vivek Murthy to serve as U.S. surgeon general."

 

He’s worth mentioning because his approval is one of the last chances Democrats have for pushing their agenda before the Republicans take control of the Senate month.

 

The doctor’s most well known for co-founding Doctors for America, a group that has pushed for affordable health care and supports Obama's health care law as well as his support for gun control and past statements that gun violence is a public health issue.

 

That caused Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyo., to say that “most of Murthy's career has been spent as an activist focused on gun control and other political issues, rather than on treating patients. "Americans don't want a surgeon general who might use this position of trust to promote his own personal campaign against the Second Amendment of the Constitution."

 

Therefore, it seems very likely that his tenure will be one of the shortest on record. Because when Republicans gain the Senate majority, this guy will probably be tossed out in a heartbeat.

 

On another issue, it seems that Jeb Bush has decided to run for president in 2016. Today, he announced formation of an exploratory committee organized to assess his chances of success.

 

What's most interesting, however, is the immediate knee-jerk reaction of many who feel he isn’t “conservative” enough, making them clamor for someone else more in line with their beliefs. 

 

In that regard, one Republican whose name I didn’t catch, told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News this morning that when conservatives actually review Jeb’s record in Florida, and how well he performed as governor, they'll soon realize that if they truly want the White House, he’s an excellent choice.

 

Nonetheless, the comments following an article on Drudge were quite solidly against Jeb, many calling him a RINO, and grumbling that they wouldn’t cast votes for him or would rather support a third-party candidate should he eventually win the presidential nomination. Which led me to research the following information.

 

While the unquestioned idol of conservatives that ran for president, whereas William F. Buckley never did, was Ronald Reagan by far. And even today he is recognized by them as the paramount leader, lionized by Rush almost daily. However, President Reagan clearly knew what was called for to get his job done realistically above all else.

 

That point is proven in an article by Amy Gutmann, President and Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania who write about the “Tax Reform Act of 1986  a bipartisan compromise, forged with the support of President Reagan, Democratic House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, and later with the help of Republican Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Bob Packwood and Democrat Bill Bradley.”

 

So, what these hard-line conservatives ought to consider is that in order to gain ground toward fulfilling their hopes and ideals, they first have to find a candidate who’s electable to begin with. And the firmer they stand in demanding that their every wish be met by a presidential candidate, the more they insure victory for whichever Democrat runs for the office.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Much press attention is still directed toward Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren, and whether or not the hard-line leftist will disrupt the anointment of Bill Clinton’s wife’s run for the presidency by running herself. At this point, chances are quite high that she will.

 

What’s more, the way that undercurrents of support from those feeling that a new face is needed, including the incumbent president, Bill’s wife current lead in most polls will likely shrink quite rapidly once another contender enters the contest.

 

Another story getting headlines is the rapidly declining price of oil, mainly due to US production and fracking technology. Among the benefits is more consumer spending on other items, driving sales on food, clothing, entertainment, and even rent.

 

On the other hand, there are losers as well such as OPEC, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Venezuela and perhaps, even the Keystone pipeline which may no longer be critically needed.

 

The UK too, is seeing benefits, as noted by Tom Bawden, Environment Editor of the independent.co.uk, who writes that, “The collapsing oil price that is reshaping the global economy could derail the green energy revolution by making renewable power sources prohibitively bad value, experts have warned.

 

“A new “era of cheap oil” would be good news for consumers and motorists – but analysts say the consequences for politics, industry and the climate could be even more radical.”

 

What was most interesting, however, were comments following the article in which well-informed readers illustrated serious negative side-affects of alternative energy that the mainstream press never, ever, talks about, as follows:  

 

HappyCamper  writes, “Wonderful! All those windmills are slowing average wind speeds and contributing to solar soil heating, killing microorganisms in the soil while spurring vertical air currents which toss dust and heat far into the atmosphere. Meanwhile solar panels shield other parts of the surface, causing catastrophic changes to microclimate that threaten fauna beneath them.”

 

And then, Maud St James pointed something out that also never gets mentioned, but makes far more sense than any negativity I’ve ever read, regarding the viability of alternative energy.

 

“Good! It's about time. Green energy has been nothing but a boondoggle that kills birds by the thousands (and where are the environmentalists?), steals from the taxpayers and enriches the political elite and their cronies. If green energy were good and viable, private enterprise would have perfected it long ago.”

 

And there you have it. Because while environmentalists tend to make lots of waves, the vast majority seem dedicated to their cause out of personal belief and genuine concern about their surroundings, whether valid or not. 

 

At the same time, a few, such as AlGore and Tom Steyer have found ways to enrich themselves via the issue itself. 

 

But where reader, Maud St James, truly confirms that there’s little truth to the subject for just about all the others is that, if there was any value at all to green energy production whatsoever, private market entrepreneurs would have already built those businesses a long time ago.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Senator Diane Feinstein’s broadside attack on the CIA and its methods for questioning terrorist captives continues to fester. Rebuttals illustrate, however, that her recent release of a report claiming prisoner abuse was not only a reversal of her former acquiescence to the methods employed, but the tactic was also well known to other high-profile Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi and Jay Rockefeller.

 

In that regard, on December 5th Jose A. Rodriguez Jr a 31-year veteran of the CIA, and author of “Hard Measures: How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9/11 Saved American Lives,” wrote a column in the Washington Post which included his noting that, “The men and women of my former organization, the CIA, are accustomed to frequent and sudden reversals of direction from their political leaders. But the latest twists and turns are especially dramatic.”

 

The article reveals some very interesting information about what the CIA has to deal with from Congressional members, so here’s a link: 

  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/todays-cia-critics-once-urged-the-agency-to-do-anything-to-fight-al-qaeda/2014/12/05/ac418da2-7bda-11e4-84d4-7c896b90abdc_story.html

 

Which brings us to Senator Elizabeth Warren, who threatened blocking passage of the just passed spending bill whereas she and many other liberal Democrats expressed deep reservations about the legislation. Largely over a provision in the measure reversing a rule in the “Dodd-Frank” financial regulation law.

 

She led the charge against the bill, telling reporters Wednesday “there are some things that are so reckless and fundamentally wrong that we have to stand up and say no.”

In this case, her positions noteworthy because of the history of the law, and why it was drafted to begin with.

The US financial crisis began when the housing market boomed due to laxing of credit criteria for people seeking home mortgages. Funds became so easily available that lenders ran out of credit-worthy people to buy homes or take out a third mortgage or home equity loan. 

 

Credit-easing produced mega-profits for small banks, mortgage originators, real estate companies, investment banks and hedge funds. But when those markets began to fizzle out, thanks to U.S. taxpayer’s guarantee on all Freddie and Fannie mortgages, the world’s banks and super-rich concocted a scheme to keep the record profits coming in: sub-prime lending.

Which brings us to Senator Warren who either forgets, or overlooks, that the financial market and eventually, entire US economy collapse was not only caused by Democrats to begin with, but even involved the incumbent president himself. 

His association with the financial debacle began in 1991, 23 years ago when he took time off from his law firm to run a voter-registration drive for Project Vote, an Acorn partner that was soon fully absorbed under the Acorn umbrella.

By registering 135,000 voters, it was considered a major factor in the upset victory of Democrat Carol Moseley Braun over incumbent Democratic Senator Alan Dixon in the 1992 Democratic Senate primary. 

The key point, though, was Acorn’s reputation because they were most well-known for thug tactics, fraudulent voter registrations, and its role in popularizing risky subprime lending which is why Dodd Frank regulation was needed in the first place.

Therefore, what today’s items illustrate clearly is that while Democrat politicians claim to be on the virtuous side of all issues, while Republican rivals are painted as despicable, self-serving, elitist mercenaries, most of the nation’s problems, including the CIA’s prisoner treatment and banking debacle, involve Democrat leadership up to its eyeballs.

That’s it for today folks.

Adios  

BloggeRhythms

People on both sides of the soon to be passed “Cromnibus” $1.1 trillion spending bill are beside themselves. Upset because they believe their party’s have sold out to the other side. 

 

Liberal Democrats, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren are incensed whereas they feel their party has acquiesced to Wall Street, abandoning basic anti-capitalist leftist tenets. Conservative Republicans think that funding of the health care tax should be curtailed, even if that forces a government shutdown.

 

The situation became so intense that John Boehner was forced to align with the president to garner enough votes for passage in the House. And, as a result, Speaker Boehner may very  well prove to be the most level-headed individual in this situation, and in the long run attain most, if not all, of his party’s objectives calmly, coolly and highly professionally.

 

If nothing else, the Speaker understands better than most that any government shutdown, even if it’s clearly the right thing to do for the nation, will be employed by the media as a tool to incite a significant percentage of voters against Republicans. 

 

On the other hand, when Elizabeth Warren expressed deep reservations about the bill, largely over a provision reversing a rule in the “Dodd-Frank” financial regulation law, she was actually threatening a government shutdown if needed. She even told reporters Wednesday “there are some things that are so reckless and fundamentally wrong that we have to stand up and say no.”

 

But, since in her case the press would have fully supported her anti-capitalist actions, Speaker Boehner understands that you have to play the hand you’ve been dealt. Which means that for now, he has to curtail many of his plans for the future, whether its defunding the health care tax, sealing the border, or trimming the power of the EPA for starters. 

 

However, in January , only six weeks away, the whole ballgame changes. Which is when Republicans will really find out what Speaker Boehner’s all about. 

 

Along the same lines, Chris Stirewalt posted an item on Thursday illustrating an example of what the Congressional power shift means, as follows:

 

“As Obama’s time winds down, it’s obvious the members of his party are thinking about the future.

 

“And it comes as we watch Senate Republicans debate whether to undo the “nuclear option” rule change Democrats enacted this year to allow the president to pack courts and federal agencies with simple-majority confirmations. Every indication is that Republicans will not turn back and restore clout to the party in minority. The lesson about the next presidency is clear, giving liberals lots to worry about. What would the next president do with a precedent such as this? What could President Hillary Clinton do for Wall Street? What could President Ted Cruz do to the tax code?”

 

And then, Mr. Stirewalt’s conclusion really slammed the point home. 

 

“As his time comes to an end, Obama Democrats should remember how they built so many excuses for so many years on the basis of “But Bush did…” They ought to get ready to hear a million times more “but Obama did…”

 

Which goes to illustrate clearly the axiom that what goes comes round, sooner or later. And that in good time there will be numerous cases of legislative reversal. But what Speaker Boehner obviously understands more clearly than many others in his party is that well thought out remedies are far more effective and sensible than knee-jerk, childish reactions.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

A variety of articles today illustrate that the upcoming year should be quite interesting in politics, and especially for resurging Republicans.

 

One came from Rush, wherein the subject was immigration but the verbiage shows that the incumbent president is acutely aware of all that goes on around him. Although he usually claims to know nothing about anything even remotely negative, thereby dodging responsibility and confrontation, as follows:  

 

“During a town hall event in Nashville to discuss immigration reform, Obama admitted that there are many Americans were angry about his actions."

 

Therefore, Rush explained, “Obama admitted that there were 'good people who actually believe in immigration' but were 'concerned about rewarding somebody who broke American laws,'" and yada yada yada.

 

However, there was more to the incumbent’s comment than simply an admission of awareness regarding citizen’s opinions. Because most often when talking about immigration he talks about amnesty for people he believes deserve it. But he never discusses specifics of the law itself, and the fact that illegals are blatantly breaking it.

 

Nonetheless, his comment proves he’s obviously fully aware of his abetting criminal activity and simply doesn’t care about the legalities involved. 

 

On another matter, Senator Feinstein’s attack on the CIA is getting considerable blowback from many who believe the agency has been critically valuable in the nation’s fight against terrorism, including former Vice President, Dick Cheney.

 

Many perceive the damning report as a personal reaction to her perception of being slighted by the agency’s directorship, even though those directors might have taken proper actions. Yet, they cannot really respond sufficiently in their own defense, because doing so might disclose information critical to the defense of the nation.    

 

However, there’s a reason we haven’t been seriously attacked again since 9/11, while several attempts have been foiled. Which means that perhaps the Senator ought to have taken the nation’s safety further into consideration before politicizing her personal animosities toward those involved in protecting our population, and the damage that might very well result.

 

And then there’s this item from the climate meetings in Peru where, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Thursday of climate "tragedy" if quarrelling derails a global pact against global warming.

 

Kerry said, “But the fact is we simply don't have time to sit around, going back and forth about whose responsibility it is to act.

 

And, from Kerry’s position, he’s absolutely right. Because, in less than two months there’s going to be a new Congress in the US which will take a totally different view on climate change.

 

First and foremost, Republicans understand that climate hasn’t changed in the past eighteen years. They also know that man has little, or nothing at all, to do with climatic trends or events. And, most importantly, they grasp the fact that the EPA is a major factor in the entire economy's stagnation. 

 

But even worse for Kerry and AlGore, oil now costs less than $60 a barrel and will sink lower, eliminating the need for the Keystone pipeline. Meanwhile, advancing technology will drive prices lower. And in the meantime, Mitch McConnell who’s from coal country’s heartland is going to have a major voice in the Senate as its leader.

 

Which means that all the environmentalist whacko’s can scream all they want to against dangers to the nation wrought by carbon. But the combination of rational legislation, reduced regulation, a growing economy and Mother Nature aren’t going to induce many rational people to listen to them.

 

And finally. According to Daniel Halper on weeklystandard.com, “A group of more than 300 hundred former Obama staffers have written an open letter urging Elizabeth Warren to run for president of the United States. "We helped elect Barack Obama — now we’re calling on Elizabeth Warren to run in 2016," the letter is titled.”

 

So, once again, it looks like the best laid plans of the Clinton’s may have just had another monkey wrench tossed into their path. 

 

Yet, even though Ms Warren is the beneficiary of the staffer’s actions, the real winner is whoever the Republican candidate turns out to be. Because while Bill Clinton’s aging wife and the leftist extremist duke it out for their party’s presidential nomination, shredding its unity, any Republican will win the presidential election quite handily from either of them.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Yesterday, Senator Diane Feinstein of California demonstrated clearly why politicians should not be allowed to make decisions on situations beyond their acumen, capabilities and intellect.

 

In a fit of personal animosity toward the CIA, which she apparently believes slights her, she released information potentially damaging to the nation and its future safety from attack by enemies. As head of the senate intelligence panel, she ordered the release of a report that the CIA employed techniques that, in some cases, amounted to "torture."

 

What was most interesting is that the senator doesn’t seem to understand that things changed dramatically on September 11, 2001 when terrorists flew hijacked planes into the World Trade Center towers in NYC, killing more than 3000 U.S. citizens. Furthermore, had it not been for the passengers and crew of Flight 93, who stopped the terrorists on board from reaching their target, that aircraft was likely bound for destroying the White House.

 

In retort, former Vice President, Dick Cheney, appeared on Fox News' “Special Report with Bret Baier last evening to provide his input on dealing with terrorists which was extremely insightful, whereas he was the one making the most serious decisions during the attack.

 

Mr. Cheney “slammed the recently released Senate report on CIA interrogation techniques Wednesday, calling it “full of crap,” and a “terrible piece of work” that was “deeply flawed.” What’s was more, he said some of the controversial techniques used on militants had been previously tested and the interrogations produced results.

 

While, “Cheney acknowledged he had not read the entire 500-page report summary. He strongly defended the tactics, including waterboarding and rectal hydration.” And then asked the most important question: “What are you prepared to do to get the truth against future attacks against the United States?” 

 

It would be interesting, although probably worthless, to hear Senator Feinstein’s answer to that one.

 

On another issue, dailycaller.com posted an article by Myron Ebell, Director of Global Warming and International Environmental Policy, CEI regarding AlGore’s arrival at COP-20 (The 20th session of the Conference of the Parties) hosted by the Government of Peru, in Lima. 

 

According to Mr. Ebell, Gore presented one of the opening speeches at an all-day conference put on by the Chinese delegation on Making the Future of Cities Green. 

 

“The former U. S. Vice President arrived early, but did not start speaking until 1:30. That may be because there weren’t many people in the very large room.  By the time he began to speak, perhaps half the seats were occupied. More people came as he continued talking. At the end, he got a polite round of applause. Such are the indignities of being a former movie star.”

 

So, what this indicates is that people everywhere are likely tiring of hearing about climate change that’s been predicted for the past eighteen years, but hasn’t happened yet and most likely won’t according to many top-rung scientists.

 

But, even more importantly, with the price of fossil fuel falling through the floor, nobody with an IQ higher than their shoe size will now have an iota of interest in any kind of alternative energy. Because it doesn’t work effectively and its costs are prohibitive, making it significantly undesirable.

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms

Several news items today, when put together, form a very clear picture of an administration falling apart at the seams. Because, no matter the issue, just about every belief, decision, and step taken has been absolutely incorrect.

 

Fox News.com reports that: “The IRS paid more than $6 billion in child tax credits in 2013 to people who were not eligible to receive them, a government watchdog said Tuesday.

 

“Payments went to families that mistakenly claimed the tax credit or claimed the wrong amount, as well as taxpayers who committed fraud, according to an audit by J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.”

 

“The 2009 economic stimulus package temporarily expanded the credit to more families that don't make enough money to pay federal income tax.” The credit expires at the end of 2017.

 

While these families receive $1,000-per-child credit in the form of a tax refund, the IRS has said the risk is low for improper payments related to the child tax credit. However, “The report says that assessment is incorrect.”

 

As an excuse, the IRS said, budget cuts are hurting compliance efforts because, "funding limitations severely hamper our efforts on these and other compliance areas. Since 2010, the IRS budget has been reduced by $850 million and we have 13,000 fewer employees."

 

“Earlier this year, the IRS said fewer agents are auditing tax returns than at any time since at least the 1980s,” while, “More than 36 million families claimed about $57 billion in child tax credits in 2013, according to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation.”

 

Another article regarding the IRS reports that, “Aside from overseeing non-tax issues like disbursement of welfare payments and regulating political speech, the agency is doubled over trying to implement the long-delayed but most cumbersome parts of ObamaCare. While the Obama administration has so far successfully blocked efforts to punish those responsible for targeting the president’s political enemies, if Republicans get the presidency in 2016 you can expect a thorough scouring.”

 

Therefore, an understaffed, poorly managed, ill-run agency that managed to misappropriate $6 billion in taxpayer’s money is now also responsible for overseeing the president’s healthcare tax. Which means that future errors will not only reduce the quality of health care but cost untold billions on top of that. 

 

At the same time, according to washingtontimes.com, “Secretary of State, John F. Kerry, told Congress Tuesday that President Obama wants expansive war powers to pursue the Islamic State terrorists wherever and however he deems necessary, stunning lawmakers by requesting a war authorization that would even allow the Pentagon to commit American combat troops to the fight.”

 

Kerry went on, “Though Mr. Obama doesn’t want combat troops, he won’t have Congress tie his hands against unforeseen directions the war could take should the Islamic State evolve, expand its fight to other countries or prove more difficult to rout.

 

The key point, though, is that, “Lawmakers had hoped Mr. Obama, who won the presidency in 2008 in part due to his opposition to the Iraq War, would support strict limits. But Mr. Kerry said they don’t want to see them written into law.”

 

Therefore, after totally mishandling the nation’s hard-fought gains in the Middle-East, abandoning the accomplishments completely for political purposes, the U.S. is not only right back where it started militarily, but now having to pay for it all over again with treasure and, now likely, combat troops.

 

As far as treasure is concerned, telegraph.co.uk’s  Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writes that, “Bank of America said the oil price crash is worth $1 trillion of stimulus for the global economy, equal to a $730bn “tax cut” in 2015.” 

 

What’ more, and hugely beneficial, “If the forecast is correct, the LNG flood could have powerful political effects, giving Europe a source of mass supply that can undercut pipeline gas from Russia. Much of Europe may not need Russian gas at all within a couple of years.”

 

Which means that not only will the U.S. economy benefit, as will the rest of the free world, Russia will sustain considerable losses, weakening their efforts to regain power in Ukraine and elsewhere.

 

Even, the totally misguided environmentalists, who've continually led the POTUS down the wrong path for the nation, ought to be able to see the benefits from that eventuality. 

 

And lastly, an item from Rush, who said:

 

“Well, it turns out that on Friday -- two days before I appeared on Fox -- Obama appeared on Black Entertainment TV and did an interview in which he acknowledged that there has been some progress.  So now the media is saying, "Obama has responded to Limbaugh and buried Limbaugh!" Well, I didn't know what Obama said on Friday, and neither did the press.  He did the interview Friday; it wasn't released until yesterday.”

 

What’s truly amazing about this one is that all El Rushbo does is sit behind his golden microphone and talk for three hours a day, with about a zillion commercial interruptions. And yet, he’s so well-versed and influential that he gets personal attention from the POTUS who’s aided and abetted by the fawning media who didn’t even know what day the Fox show aired or what Rush said.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios