Medicare has stopped paying for diagnostic tests

Are We Aware Yet? "The Obama Administration has stopped paying the bills from hundreds of health care companies, and it has nothing to do with sequestration.

"This is a story of bureaucratic mismanagement at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the harm it’s visiting on the diagnostic testing industry.

"At issue is the way that Medicare reimburses everyone from the big laboratory companies such as the Laboratory Corp of America (LH:NYSE) and Quest Diagnostics Inc. (DGX:NYSE), to the molecular diagnostic labs inside academic hospitals, and especially smaller firms that make proprietary tests used by doctors to more effectively target treatments to patients with conditions like cancer.” "

ObamaCare's effects are not just on patients and doctors, but are beginning to be felt in research and development:
Forbes Magazine states:  "This is having a profound impact on the market for developing new tests. Investors are shunning new investments as this gets sorted out. It says nothing about how these rates are ultimately going to be established, and whether the prices that the government assigns will reflect the value and innovation that these products offer."

Alabama School Bans the Word ‘Easter’

NRO  "Citing “religious diversity conflicts,” Alabama’s WHNT reports that an elementary-school principal has decided to allow teachers and students to hold normal Easter celebrations, but banned the use of the term “Easter.”
"Heritage Elementary School in Madison, Ala., still had an egg hunt and a costumed rabbit last week, but principal Lydia Davenport said neither could be referred to using the word “Easter.” For the hunt, Davenport also produced a compromise, insisting that the contest could go on, but that the prizes had to be of different shapes, rather than just eggs (no word on how much oblong obloquy this decision in particular raised). The celebration still featured a bunny, but Davenport said “we just make sure we don’t say ‘the Easter bunny’ so that we don’t infringe on the rights of others because people relate the Easter bunny to religion.”
"“I don’t get upset about too many things, but this upsets me. What is this world coming to?” one parent wrote in an e-mail. “I am a Christian and proud to announce it. But even non-believers enjoy a good egg hunt. Kids need to enjoy being kids.” "

legalinsurrection.com 

Another source for Civil War buffs

The Gettysburg Magazine  "Published twice a year, The Gettysburg Magazine brings its readers the best material being published on the Gettysburg Campaign of the Civil War. Each issue contains 128 pages with no advertising. Filled with scholarly articles that are well researched and footnoted and supplemented with maps and both period and modern photographs, subscribing to The Gettysburg Magazine is like getting a new book on Gettysburg sent right to your door every January and July."

This will be the year for sources on the Battle of Gettysburg, since this 4th of July will be the 150th anniversary of the pivotal battle as well as the Battle of Vicksburg. In fact, 1863 was perhaps the most eventful year of the entire war and perhaps the bloodiest for American youth.
This May will be the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Chancellorsville, perhaps the most dramatic victory for Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee had total moral domination over General Joseph Hooker and one had only to look at a map of the troop dispositions in the latter part of the battle to see that.

"Flashback: When Democrats Swore They Would Never Back Gay Marriage."

Althouse  "[A] short video composed of the floor speeches some top Democrats made about SSM. At the time, Republicans wanted to block gay marriage in Massachusetts by amending the constitution with an official marriage definition. Democrats argued against that, but they didn't argue in favor of gay marriage. They argued that DOMA made such an amendment unneccessary. They assured people like Rick Santorum that the slippery slope case for gay marriage was bogus." 

The Case for Fewer Primary Debates

allvoices.com

Political Wire  "Former Mitt Romney strategist Stuart Stevens backs the RNC's call for fewer presidential primary debates.

"This debate escalation is somewhere between silly and dumb and serves no public good. We pick a president with three general-election debates but it takes 20 debates to understand that maybe Ron Paul wants to blow up the Federal Reserve? Other important national questions are decided more expediently: it only takes 12 shows for The Bachelorette and The Bachelor to pick a mate."

"The RNC report recommends cutting the number of debates in half and shortening the debating season. That's a good start. But I think we should go further. To improve the quality of the debates and eradicate the commercial toxicity tainting the events, news organizations should get out of the business of sponsoring debates. Let's don't kid ourselves. These 'debates' have become phony entertainment spectacles not serious news events."

But...but the 2012 format worked so well for the Republicans.

Israel's Insightful Cynicism

STRATFOR  "Presently a real underlying worry for Israel appears to be Jordan. Yes, King Abdullah has so far expertly manipulated the growing unrest there, but to speculate about the collapse of the Hashemite dynasty is only prudent. More anarchy. More reason to heed Ariel Sharon's analysis of four decades ago to the effect that Jordan is the real Palestinian state, more so than the West Bank. And because Jordan and Saudi Arabia could conceivably unravel in coming decades, maybe Israel should seek to avoid attacking Iran -- which along with Israel is the only real state between the Mediterranean Sea and the Iranian Plateau. Iran may have a repulsive regime, but its society is probably healthier than most in the Arab world. So there is some hope." Read more: 
 Emphasis added.

60% of M.D.s To Retire Early Because of Obamacare

floppingaces

I know we need to look at statistics with a jaundiced eye* because so many outrageous claims are made to promote liberal causes. This article includes the source of the claims for you to evaluate yourself.

Yid With Lid From the looks of  it there will be a few industries that will have great years because of Obamacare.  Industries such as retirement communities, travel and golf equipment.  At least according to the latest Deloitte survey, which asks physicians feelings about the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). The survey suggest that up to 60% of doctors will retire early so they won't have to deal with Obamacare.
....
"The early retirement of Doctors is one of those "unexpected" consequences of Obamacare that was predicted by the bill's opponents. When you combine the fact that there will be fewer doctors with the reality of millions of people added to the medical rolls expect very long waiting times to see a physician in the near future....thank you Obamacare."  The full study here by Jeffrey Dunetz
Hat tip to Jeffrey Dunetz at Conservative Bloggers on Facebook

"Jaundiced eye"  "The phrase "Jaundiced eye" means to looks at something with a prejudiced view, usually in a rather negative or critical manner.
It was thought that people who suffered with jaundice saw everything ini(sic) yellow tones, but evetuallyl(sic) the phrase "jaundiced eye" came to mean a prejudiced view instead."

Good Luck Finding a Doctor under Obamacare  "The health overhaul law expands health insurance to millions more people without significantly increasing the number of physicians or other providers. And Obamacare has exacerbated the physician shortage because many are considering leaving the practice of medicine altogether rather than practice under the dictates of Washington bureaucracies."

Three Years Later, Obamacare Is Even Less Popular  "In 2010, the Democrats rammed Obamacare through Congress in open defiance of public opinion, and an incensed citizenry responded by giving Republicans their biggest gains in the House of Representatives since before World War II.  Now, coinciding with tomorrow’s 3-year anniversary of President Obama’s signing Obamacare into law, new polling suggests that his namesake is now even less popular than it was at the time of its passage."

Cartoon and the following text from Frugal Café 

 Let me get this straight…we have passed a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn’t read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president who also is exempt from it and hasn’t read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that’s broke.

 What the hell could possibly go wrong?

Obama Vacation, March 2013

Exclusive: Judicial Watch Investigating Cost of Sasha, Malia Bahamas Trip  "When Malia Obama went on a spring break trip to Mexico last year, she brought at least 12 friends and 25 Secret Service agents. According to Judicial Watch’s findings, the cost of that trip was $115,500.87.
"Per Judicial Watch, specific details for Malia’s Mexico trip include:"....

More than a Vacation a Month for Obamas in 2013   "Of course, there's no reason to begrudge the first family for enjoying a good vacation. But at a time when the White House is closed to the public, it all might seem a little odd."

Spring Broke  "And while there's nothing wrong with the girls having a little fun, it does seem pretty tacky to rub Americans' noses in the Obamas' conspicuous wealth (and willingness to also use taxpayer money) while the Whitehouse itself is closed to the young paupers and working-class riff-raff who had hoped to visit during their own spring breaks."

The Left's Continuing War on Women

neveryetmelted.com

Ann Coulter  "As is usually the case when liberals start proposing gun restrictions, they assume only men will be disarmed by laws taking guns from those subjected to temporary restraining orders. But such orders aren't particularly difficult to get. It doesn't occur to liberals that an abusive man could also get one against his wife, whether or not his accusations are true.
"Rather than helping victims of domestic abuse, this -- and other Times' proposals on guns -- only ensures that more women will get killed. A gun in the hand of an abused woman changes the power dynamic far more than keeping a gun out of the hands of her abuser, who generally can murder his wife in any number of ways."

 Tony Branco 

RE-CREATING AMERICA: Cultural Sensitivity in Wisconsin Schools

 

Wisconsin Education Officials Want Students to Wear ‘White Privilege’ Wristbands "Geared towards high school students, the program “seeks to build capacity in schools and districts serving low-income families to develop an effective, sustainable, research-based program of family-school-community partnerships,” according to its Facebook page.

That sounds reasonable enough.
"But the program’s approach becomes a bit suspect when one reads the Gloria Steinem quote on the top of its webpage: “The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.” "

Republican Doctors Caucus Marks Grim Milestone of Obamacare

FreedomWorks  "FreedomWorks recently hosted a conference call for bloggers and reporters with the House Republican Doctors Caucus. The forum allowed caucus members to make statements regarding the third anniversary of the passage of Obamacare, and the murky future of this deeply flawed legislation. Bloggers and reporters were given the opportunity to ask questions of the caucus members, leading to a lively discussion on the future of health care under this onerous bill."
"Dr. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) opened the call with this statement:"....

Hat tip to Jeff Reynolds at Facebook

The Unaffordable Care Act  "As Obamacare begins to roll out, its champions are beginning to have to confront reality. But because they’re getting a lot of leeway and protection from the political press, the results of this confrontation with the consequences of the law’s poor design and misguided economic assumptions often take the form of little nuggets of truth buried in mountains of frantic, wishful obfuscation. Such was the little nugget buried in the middle of a story that was itself buried in the back of the A section of last Friday’s New York Times."....

The article concludes with this: "These are just a few of the many increasingly evident reasons why Obamacare in its current form has no future. For now, you’ve got to dig pretty deep in your newspaper to see it. But it’s going to become clearer and clearer to real voters as implementation proceeds."

Actual AP Story: Virginia Voter ID Passed Because “A More Modest Voter Identification Law Failed To Prevent Obama From Winning”…

Weasel Zippers posted this today:
"I don’t want to hear any crazy wingnut “liberal media bias” conspiracy theories because they’re not true, the MSM is 100% objective and is in no way biased in favor of Dems." Here is the story:

McDonnell signs bill mandating photo ID to vote  Here is the way the report was worded: 

Virginia joins four other states that have strict photo ID requirements in place for elections, an action Democrats decried as a Jim Crow-era tactic to suppress the votes of the elderly, minorities and the underprivileged.

"This is merely a continuation of attempts by Republicans to suppress the vote of individuals who are not likely to support their right-wing agenda. I guess it's true that if you can't win elections the right way, cheat," said Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton and chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.

 

http://arranewsservice.com/