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APRIL 2,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:31 P.M. ET:

IF YOU'VE LOST NANCY – From the Daily Caller:  "While Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi took an Obamacare victory lap Tuesday afternoon, she appeared hesitant to make the law the central plank in her party’s push to win in 2014, telling reporters that 'while we’re proud of the Affordable Care Act, we now pivot to jobs.'"  I guess she learned that from Barack.  When he messed up the Mideast, he announced he was pivoting to Asia.  Now Nancy pivots.  They all pivot.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK – There have been a number of recent scandals involving salaries paid to educators.  Consider this, from the L.A. Times:  "New York City Chancellor Carmen Farina oversees more than a million students, 1,700 schools and a budget the size of many states. Her pay: $412,193.  Los Angeles Unified Supt. John Deasy has half a million students, 1,000-plus schools, a $7-billion budget — and made $393,106 last year.  Supt. Jose Fernandez's South Bay school district has just 6,600 students, five high schools and a $70-million budget.  His earnings: $674,559 last year."  And I'm sure his students are zooming right to the top...if there's enough money for textbooks.

MINOR GLITCH – From CBS:  "Las Vegas (CBS LAS VEGAS) – Just days after the deadline to enroll for insurance coverage through Nevada Health Link, the first class-action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of residents who say they signed up and paid their premiums – but were never given coverage.  Law firm Callister & Associates filed the lawsuit on behalf of Larry Basich, who signed up for state health insurance and paid premiums as far back as November, but then was not covered following a Jan. 3 triple bypass procedure that saw his $400,000 in medical expenses passed between the wrong insurance companies, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports."  Stories like this can sink the Dems in November.  Oh, isn't Nevada Harry Reid's state? 

THE CREEP – From The Hill:  "A number of senators are urging the Obama administration to deny a visa to the man Iran has picked as its new ambassador to the United Nations.  The senators say Hamid Abutalebi, who was picked by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s emissary in New York, has links to the group involved in the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced legislation that would prevent a U.N. ambassador from entering the United States if that ambassador was a known terrorist.   'It is unconscionable that, in the name of international diplomatic protocol, the United States would be forced to host a foreign national who showed a brutal disregard for the status of our diplomats when they were stationed in his country,' Cruz said Tuesday, noting that the legislation is aimed at Abutalebi.  Current law allows the president to deny a visa for a diplomat if the applicant has engaged in espionage and poses a national security threat to the country, Cruz said."  The Obamans have been aware of who the Iranians plan to send to the UN.  They apparently have no comment...and no concern.

April 2, 2014      Permalink

BOBBY PRODUCES – AT 10:21 A.M. ET:  Republican Governor Bobby Jindal moved closer to becoming a presidential candidate today by unveiling his plan for a medical-insurance program to replace Obamacare.  From The Hill:   

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) released a 26-page plan on Wednesday to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

The plan marks Jindal’s effort to portray himself as a problem-solver ahead of a possible White House run in 2016. The Louisiana governor has already met with GOP bundlers who worked on Mitt Romney’s 2012 run.

Most of the ideas in Jindal’s plan have been circulating in conservative circles for some time. They could dramatically bring down the costs of health entitlements, but will be criticized by Democrats are changing the social contract with the poor and elderly.

On Medicare, Jindal would have recipients buy private health care plans with “premium support” in the form of payments from the federal government. This would be a big different from the subsidies now provided by the government in the program.

He would create a “global grant program” for Medicaid in which states would get federal block grants to provide healthcare to the poor. Jindal says this would prevent states from having to meet mandates of the federal government.

The proposal also calls for eliminating the tax preference for employer-based insurance, and to allow insurance to be sold across state lines.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  It's worth it.

April 2, 2014       Permalink

CRAZY – AT 9:41 A.M. ET:  A key radical Muslim agitator is about to go on trial right smack in the middle of New York City, only blocks from Ground Zero.  Why is it necessary to have such a provocative trial in a big, populated city?  Because Eric Holder wants it that way.  The NYPD is aware of the serious risks.  From London's Daily Mail: 

The NYPD is on high alert for potential terrorist attacks as the trial of hate preacher Abu Hamza starts later this month.

The first day of the terrorist’s trial coincides with the beginning of Jewish holiday Passover on April 14.

Speaking to a conference of Jewish leaders in New York on Tuesday, NYPD officials said they are aware that the trial may ‘inspire’ terrorist acts.

A decade after Abu Hamza was first arrested in Britain on a US warrant for terrorism charges, he is finally due to go on trial in Manhattan.

The hook-handed cleric is facing allegations that he controlled a global network of jihadists.

COMMENT:  This is complete madness.  Hamza can be tried at a military base, which is well guarded.  He can be tried at Guantanamo.  This trial puts a big bulls-eye on the back of every New Yorker.  It will start only days after an online Al Qaeda magazine, "Inspire," urged young jihadists in the U.S. to start using car bombs.

Putting the trial in New York is part of the Obama administration's campaign to downplay the special nature of terrorism and place terror cases within the civilian criminal-justice system.  Very bad idea.

April 2, 2014       Permalink

WHAT? – AT 9:21 A.M. ET:   Do you ever feel you're being had?  Just read this, from London's Telegraph:

Meteorologists believe they will finally be able to give accurate long-range weather predictions after British scientists developed the world’s best long-term forecasting model, it has emerged.

The breakthrough is expected to have a major impact on the economy, with power companies able to anticipate energy demands and hospitals better prepared for weather-related illnesses and accidents.
Until now, the difficulty of predicting the weather far into the future with any degree of accuracy has defeated even powerful supercomputers.

Experts claim they perform only slightly better than chance when it comes to predicting whether a winter will be mild, severe, freezing, snowy or stormy.

COMMENT:  Are they kidding?  Haven't we been told that, before this "breakthrough," scientists could already predict global warming for almost a century? 

What's going on here?  This story came out just a few days after the UN, that Mecca of integrity, came out with another dire warning that the end is nigh due to climate change.

As we've said before, it's time for a Challenger-type commission to look into this whole vague area of climate prediction and tell us what's really accurate.  Some chance.

April 2, 2014       Permalink

ANOTHER FAILURE? – AT 8:45 A.M. ET:  The Israeli-Palestinian "peace talks" are on the verge of collapse.  And The New York Times is actually playing it straight, for now:

JERUSALEM — The Middle East peace talks verged on a breakdown Tuesday night, after President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority defied the United States and Israel by taking concrete steps to join 15 international agencies — a move to gain the benefits of statehood outside the negotiations process.

Mr. Abbas’s actions, which appeared to catch American and Israeli officials by surprise, prompted Secretary of State John Kerry to cancel a planned return to the region on Wednesday, in which he had expected to complete an agreement extending negotiations through 2015.

In that emerging deal, the United States would release an American convicted of spying for Israel more than 25 years ago, while Israel would free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and slow down construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

COMMENT:  An agreement between the two sides has been a major goal, possibly the major goal of Obama's second term.  But it appears to be a fool's errand.  The Palestinian side sees weakness in Washington, and also sees that Obama has made threatening statements toward Israel, hinting that he'd blame Israel for any breakdown.  So what incentive do the Palestinians have for serious negotiations, when they can get more down the road from the "international community."

Obama and Kerry have put too much emphasis on an Israel-Palestine settlement.  In fact, that conflict is rather stable compared to the rest of the Mideast, which is exploding.  Our foreign policy hasn't been in such bad shape since the Carter administration.  It's one naive failure after another.

April 2,  2014     Permalink

APRIL 1,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:33 P.M. ET: 

GOOD FOR HIM – From Newsday:  "Seventeen-year-old Kwasi Enin of Shirley, New York, took a shot at -- and won -- what amounts to an academic royal flush: He applied to and was accepted at all eight Ivy League schools."  He's an African-American who has relatives who are also high academic achievers.  It shows it can be done.  He should be a role model in his community.  Sadly, he probably won't be.

STRANGE VICTORY – They were doing victory laps at the White House today, with Obama himself claiming that 7.1 million people signed up for coverage under Obamacare.  The deadline for signing was midnight yesterday.  However, some enterprising journalists and researchers are warning that the figure is distorted.  It's estimated by RAND Corporation that only a third of those signing up were previously uninsured.  The rest already had health insurance.  The whole idea behind Obamacare was to insure the claimed 40 million Americans who didn't have insurance.  Clearly, that goal is not being met.  And many people are losing their doctors and hospitals.  Still a loser for the Dems.

LEGAL NEWS – From The Times of Israel:  "Ahmad al-Gamal, an Egyptian columnist for Egyptian daily Al-Yawm Al-Sabi, advocated in the newspaper on March 11 that Egypt sue the State of Israel for damages caused by the 10 Biblical plagues.  'We want compensation for the plagues that were inflicted upon [us] as a result of the curses that the Jews’ ancient forefathers [cast] upon our ancient forefathers, who did not deserve to pay for the mistake that Egypt’s ruler at the time, Pharaoh, committed,' the cranky journalist wrote, according to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute."  I think this will be settled out of court. 

HEROIC MARINES – From Fox:  "Three Marines were attacked early Sunday morning after police say they defended a woman wearing an Angels jersey arguing with two men in a Dodgers jersey.  Huntington Beach police Lt. Mitch O'Brien says the woman got into a heated argument with two men over baseball even though neither team was playing nearby. The passing Marines reportedly got involved when the conflict escalated and tried to help the woman.  Police say two Marines were stabbed, one of them cut with a broken bottle in front of police. They remain hospitalized, but are expected to survive. The third was treated and released."  I hope the Marine Corps formally recognizes the bravery of these off-duty Marines.

April 1, 2014       Permalink

LIBERALISM? – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  President Obama keeps complaining about financial inequality in the United States.  He should.  He's contributed to it.  From Breitbart:   

The rich keep getting richer -- and the gap between the super rich and poor has widened even more under President Barack Obama.

According to a report from Sadoff Investment Research, the "average household in the top 1% pulled in earnings of $1,264,065 in 2012," which is "41 times greater than the $30,997 average income of Americans."

But the top .1% did considerably better than the top 1%, posting "average earnings of $6,373,782, or 206 times the average families' income."

According to the report, nearly a quarter of the .1% work in the financial industry, 40% are "executives, managers and supervisors," and a "vast majority of the 0.1% live in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C. or Houston."

COMMENT:  Even many conservatives agree that the income gap in America is too wide.  But the key to narrowing it, aside from more responsible compensation scales by corporations, is growing the economy, which is not being done to any great effect.  Our "recovery" has been anemic for five years, with little prospect for much improvement.

There is plenty of blame to go around, but a national administration that has a gut antagonism to free enterprise is not helpful.

April 1, 2014       Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 9:48 A.M. ET:  From the great Mark Steyn, commenting on this "age of education":

In 1940, a majority of the US population had no more than a Grade Eight education.

By 2008, 40 per cent of 18-24 year-olds were enrolled in college.

So we're on track to a world in which the typical American is almost twice as old by the time he completes his education as he was in 1940, and has spent over twice as long in the classroom...

Eighth Grade America won the Second World War and emerged as the economic and creative dynamo of the planet. Complacency Studies America can't even put up a building within a decade - or find anyone other than a half-blind Muslim security guard to watch o'er it. (If al-Qaeda had a sense of humor, they'd blow up the empty World Trade Center "Freedom Tower" the day before the ribbon-cutting. But fortunately they don't, so they won't.)

You can't (as Obama wants to do) send everyone to university and still expect it to be "university" as that term was understood through the previous half-millennium. It's now a euphemism for (from the faculty's point of view) a little light social engineering in the manners and mores of progressive conformism and (from the students' point of view) an agreeable and undemanding extension of adolescence for another half-decade. Whether it's worth over a trillion dollars in collective personal debt or the attendant costs in later workplace participation, later family formation and general societal infantilization is another matter. But it's not "university".

COMMENT:  Well said, but don't expect the mainstream media to do any serious reporting on the state of higher education.  There are too many "star" journalists and news executives waiting for their honorary degrees or their invitations to deliver commencement addresses.  Indeed, one of the most corrupt relationships in media is the relationship between journalism and universities.  With all that we read in the alternative media about low standards, political correctness, hate-America-ism, and bloated college budgets and fees, we see little hint of these plagues in the mainstream media. 

And we must ask ourselves whether two generations of college graduates have actually improved the country.  I have my doubts.  Look around you.

April 1, 2014       Permalink

PUTTING US TO SHAME – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  It isn't always the case, but sometimes Britain and some European countries seem to understand the extremist Muslim threat better than we do, or at least better than the president does.  From London's Daily Mail:

David Cameron has ordered an investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood to check whether it is planning attacks in the Middle East from Britain.

Seems a logical investigation to me.

Downing Street confirmed that the review will look at the ‘philosophy and activities’ of the organisation and whether official policy towards it should be hardened.

It was reported last night that the probe will include assessments from MI6, the foreign intelligence service, into whether the body was behind a spate of recent attacks in Egypt.

The domestic intelligence service, MI5, will be asked to look into how many senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood are based in the UK.

The inquiry will also look into claims that leaders of the organisation met in London late last year to decide its strategy.

There are concerns that the capital is being used as a hub for its extremist activities.

Following the army-led coup in Egypt, some Brotherhood leaders are reported to have fled to London, and may be co-ordinating their next move from a flat in the north-west suburb of Cricklewood.

COMMENT:  Compare please to Barack Hussein Obama Jr, who was clearly heartsick when the Muslim Brotherhood regime was overthrown in Egypt.

Maybe there's life in British politics after all.

April 1, 2014       Permalink

WELL, IT IS APRIL FOOL'S DAY – AT 8:41 A.M. ET:  And I suspect we're being made fools of by the sudden "good news" about Obamacare.  From Fox: 

On the last day to sign up for ObamaCare, the program reportedly was on track to sign up more than 7 million Americans for insurance coverage, though the number of enrollees who have paid for their insurance premiums is still unclear.

Very unclear.  Also unclear is the number of people who signed up only because their current coverage has been canceled.  And also unclear is the number of "uninsured" who have signed up.  Covering them was the original purpose of Obamacare, but we don't hear much about it anymore.

Government officials confirmed the 7 million target to The Associated Press late Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter ahead of an official announcement.

Seven million was the original target set by the Congressional Budget Office for enrollment in taxpayer-subsidized private health insurance through new online markets created under President Obama's signature legislation.

That was scaled back to 6 million after the disastrous launch of HealthCare.gov last fall. Several state-run websites also had crippling problems. Time will tell how many of the 7 million or so pay their premiums.

On Monday afternoon, a technical glitch was temporarily preventing people from filing new applications. A tech team, though, was brought in to resolve the issue. Earlier Monday, a series of error messages also came up as the large volume of users stressed the system.

According to HHS, more than 100,000 people were using the system at once as of noon. The increased traffic is good news for the administration, but the recurring website problems are not.

COMMENT:  The devil, as always, will be in the details, and we aren't being given any details.  How many "enrollees" will have to change doctors?  How many will lose coverage at the hospital of their choice? 

And how will the quality of care be affected by the new rules?

Don't expect much talk about quality from a leftist administration obsessed with the equality of mediocrity.

April 1,  2014     Permalink