What's with MSNBC, anyway?

Romney: Apology accepted, but …   "As expected, Mitt Romney took the high road on Fox News Sunday regarding MSNBC’s attack on his family and Melissa Harris-Perry’s apology – but not without a bit of scolding from both Romney and Fox News anchor Chris Wallace." ...

From the Department of Intelligence-insulting: MSNBC's Harris-Perry: Intent Was To Be 'Positive and Celebratory' About Romney Grandson

Rachel Maddow is part of the new matriarchy running NBC News behind the scenes.   ... "Few, though, suspect that Harris-Perry will suffer the same fate as her less fortunate colleagues, and MSNBC declined to comment on the matter. That’s because Harris-Perry is part of Maddow’s in-crowd, the liberal, wonkish elite now ascendant at MSNBC.
"Sources say it is Maddow rather than Phil Griffin who provides MSNBC’s editorial direction, and that she also holds considerable sway over personnel decisions." ...

After Harris-Perry Apologized for Racist Romney Comment, MSNBC Renews Claim Tea Party is Racist  ... "On the same show that host Melissa Harris-Perry was forced to apologize for her attack on Mitt Romney's adopted African-American grandson, MSNBC kept up its drumbeat of dealing the race card against its enemies by declaring that the core of tea party is racist."

Kurtz: 'Has MSNBC Developed a Culture in Which Harsh Personal Attacks Are Encouraged?'  "Since that point, the format of "Shoot first, ask questions later" has moved throughout the network's primetime lineup as hosts seem to compete for who can be the most inflammatory.
"Even worse, people such as Chris Matthews - who used to actually be quite a fine host when Hardball began in the '90s on CNBC - bear absolutely no resemblance to their prior on-air personas."

The National Debt in One Picture

Heritage   "Congress is beginning its new year with a budget deal that busts right through “caps” it was supposed to have on spending. At Heritage, we want to hold Congress accountable for its tax-and-spend ways, even as Members claim there’s no room to cut.
"A good place to start is understanding the mountain of debt Americans are already under. Check out and share our infographic below that puts it in perspective."

 

De Blasio: Enabler of Extremists

"The hard-left speakers at his inauguration do not bode well for his mayoral priorities."

John Fund

 

"I passionately believe in free speech. But there should be private standards that allow one to publicly shun unapologetic, intolerant nutters on both the right and the left.

"So where was the judgment of New York’s newly elected mayor, Bill de Blasio, when he selected the activist singer Harry Belafonte — a peddler of hatred, an apologist for totalitarian regimes, and someone who has compared the U.S. government to the 9/11 hijackers — to give the keynote speech at his inauguration last week?" ...

Melissa-Harris Perry Cries During On-Air Apology to Romney Family

Newsbusters  "As NewsBusters previously reported, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry and a panel of comedians last weekend senselessly mocked a picture of former Governor Mitt Romney’s family because it included his adopted black grandson.
"Although she’s already apologized on Twitter, Harris-Perry began her show Saturday with a heartfelt apology much of the time fighting through a lump in her throat and tears (video follows with transcript and commentary):" ...


,,,
"As Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz asked Friday, "[H]as the channel developed a culture in which harsh personal attacks are encouraged, or at least tolerated?"
"As the answer to this question is a resounding "Yes," it behooves the powers that be at this network to examine exactly what is the culture there that would encourage a child of an interracial family to mock an interracial family all because its patriarch is a Republican."

Thomas Lifson asks, Has Melissa Harris-Perry learned anything?  "Harris-the community," and likening "Obamacare" to the n-word. Her most famous image, that will haunt her until her death, is the notorious tampon earrings moment."
"Perry has a history of outrageous, unhinged progressive provocations, such as claiming that children don't belong to their parents, but to  "the community," and likening "Obamacare" to the n-word. Her most famous image, that will haunt her until her death, is the notorious tampon earrings moment.  "

Thomas Sowell on Hit Piece Journalism

Townhall  "Front-page editorials, disguised as news stories, have become such familiar features of the New York Times that it should have been no surprise to discover in the December 28th issue a front-page story about a professor of finance at the University of Houston who has been a paid consultant to financial enterprises.

"Since professors of all sorts have been paid consultants to organizations of all sorts, it is questionable why this was a story at all, much less one that covered an entire inside page, in addition to a central front-page opening, under the headline "Academics Who Defend Wall St. Reap Reward.' "

Speaking of hit pieces:
Controversial black sports columnist Jason Whitlock compared black conservative scholar Thomas Sowell to a house slave in a series of tweets on Wednesday.
This is how the left treats those who dare to have the courage to speak openly about race and liberal policies toward blacks.

Obama gave away all our troops fought and died for

Battle of Fallujah Redux: Al-Qaeda rises in Anbar province
"The president's failure to sign a new status of forces agreement with the Maliki government led to our early withdrawal from Iraq. Many analysts believe Obama gave up on the negotiations too early - as he appears to be doing in Afghanistan with his inability to come to an agreement with President Karzai on future American troop deployments there."

Obama’s Afghanistan Mess    "It’s safe to say that “freeing imprisoned Taliban and al-Qaeda jihadists who targeted and killed American troops” wasn’t on any military family’s New Year’s wish list.
"As for the commander-in-chief? It’s back to the golf course. Fore!"

From DEBKAfile: " Ironically, the tribal militias backing al Qaeda are the same “Awakening” groups which the US army sustained and armed for the battle to root out Al Qaeda from western Iraq during the 2005-2007 landmark “surge” campaign devised by Gen. David Petraeus.
"That surge wheel has clearly turned round in favor of al Qaeda." ...
Obama has been al Qaeda's main ally in their return:
"1.  There is no military force in the region capable of going into Iraq and stopping al Qaeda’s advance, which was allowed to happen in consequence of the US army’s precipitate exit from the country three years ago."

Blackfive: Al Qaeda seizes partial control of 2 cities in western Iraq  "The ISIS began retaking control of areas in Iraq after the US withdrew military, intelligence, and logistical support from the Iraqi military and intelligence services and abandoned its support of the Awakening in December 2011. The Syrian civil war and a political standoff between Prime Minister Maliki and Sunnis in Anbar have also fueled the resurgence of al Qaeda in Iraq." 

 

Is our healthcare going to work well, or are we condemned to a lifetime of this?

I still think of Michael J. Fox on a daytime talk show discussing treatment for Parkinson's; he said nobody can do it as well as the US government. We'll see.

Doctor’s Office Spends 2 Hours On Hold With Health Insurer For Patient’s Surgery Authorization

 

Certified Enrollment Specialist, Marlene Nesmith, waits on the HealthCare. gov website that reads, “HealthCare.gov has a lot of visitors right now!” as she waits for it to allow her entry into the Affordable Care Act website at a Miami Enrollment Assistance Center on Dec. 20, 2013 in Miami, Fla.

 

"The new year brought relief to some Illinois patients newly insured under the nation’s health care law. Others still weren’t sure whether they were covered, despite their best efforts to navigate the often-balky new system.

"The major benefits of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul took effect Wednesday, the first day of 2014." ...

 

This next is from the UK Daily Mail, where people have known screwed-up nationalized healthcare for decades. Even they think our health Obamacare is bad.
Obamacare confusion reigns as frustrated patients walk out of hospitals without treatment  "Patients in a close-in DC suburb who think they've signed up for new insurance plans are struggling to show their December enrollments are in force, and health care administrators aren't taking their word for it.
In place of quick service and painless billing, these Virginians are now facing the threat of sticker-shock that comes with bills they can't afford.
" 'They had no idea if my insurance was active or not!' a coughing Maria Galvez told MailOnline outside the Inova Healthplex facility in the town of Springfield.

She was leaving the building without getting a needed chest x-ray.

" 'The people in there told me that since I didn't have an insurance card, I would be billed for the whole cost of the x-ray,' Galvez said, her young daughter in tow."

Gallup: U.S. Uninsured Still Rate Exchange Experience Negatively
"Uninsured Americans who have visited a health insurance exchange website mostly say their experience was negative rather than positive, by 59% to 39%. That reading, from Gallup Daily tracking throughout December, is only a slight improvement from Gallup's combined October and November polling, when 63% reported a negative experience and 33% a positive one."

That health care law, by the numbers  "The government churns out tons of numbers, but here's one you won't see: 0.0002. That's the percentage of estimated online visitors to healthcare.gov who actually signed up for coverage the first day. Altogether, that's six people out of just over 3 million. Not all the figures associated with the rollout of President Barack Obama's health care law are so ridiculously dreary. Three million tells a happier tale, too..."

Galen Institute: Obamacare's utter chaos 

 

"Grace-Marie Turner and Avik Roy join Larry Kudlow to discuss the recent decision by the Obama administration to exempt millions of previously insured Americans from the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate." ...

Krauthammer: Republicans can end Obamacare by stopping the impending bailout of insurance companies.

Charles Krauthammer

... "Nancy Pelosi was right: We’d have to pass the damn thing to know what’s in it. Well, now we have and now we know.

"The whole scheme was risky enough to begin with — getting enough enrollees and making sure 40 percent are young and healthy. Obamacare is already far behind its own enrollment estimates. But things have gotten worse. The administration has been changing the rules repeatedly — with every scrimmage-line audible raising costs and diminishing revenue."

Incandescent light bulbs; should auld acquaintance be forgot?

The Burdensome Bulb Ban by Bok from Bokbluster

"It’s 2014 and, thanks to President Bush, the creation of incandescent light bulbs is now banned.

"Will mercury contamination from EPA mandated fluorescent lightbulbs become the lead paint issue of the future?  
"A story in the Washington Examiner blames the light bulb ban on a conspiracy between big makers of the low margin bulbs and government."

 

The Comical Conservative

Steve Hayes on Benghazi and the New York Times

Stephen F. Hayes   "To hear it from the New York Times editorial page, the many issues surrounding the attacks in Benghazi are now settled.

"In a December 30 editorial, published under the headline “The Facts About Benghazi,” the newspaper proclaims an end to the 15 months of debate about the fatal attacks on the U.S. consulate on September 11, 2012. Citing an “exhaustive investigation by The Times” that it says “goes a long way toward resolving any nagging doubts about what precipitated the attack” and “debunks Republican allegations,” America’s Newspaper of Record declares that “in a rational world” the investigation “would settle the dispute over Benghazi.”

 

"Well then.

 

"It’s hardly surprising that the New York Times would find the New York Times the final word on an issue.

 

"But for the rest of us, rational and irrational alike, this revisionist account is neither authoritative nor definitive. The central thesis of the piece is wrong, and the sweeping claim the author has made in defending it is demonstrably false.

 

"Here’s the background...."    Full article here.

....

"And contrary to the claims of the New York Times, many of those in the U.S. intelligence business continue to insist that members of this al Qaeda network participated in the Benghazi attacks."   H/T to Lucianne.

Stephen F. Hayes is a senior writer at The Weekly Standard and author of two New York Times bestsellers: Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President and The Connection: How al Qaeda's Collaboration with Saddam Hussein Has Endangered America. He is a regular Fox All Stars panelist on Special Report with Bret Baier.

2014: The Year of Obama's Reckoning

The Weekly Standard  "Two days after Christmas I found myself in a doctor's office in New Jersey at eight o'clock in the morning. As I sat in the waiting room, a middle-aged woman came in and began a discussion with the receptionist. It seemed that her daughter, who would turn 26 on December 31, was trying to figure out what to do about health insurance.

"The woman explained that her daughter had been on a policy with a low co-pay and deductible (she didn't specify what they were) that cost $240 a month. But Obamacare had scuttled that policy and the most affordable plan open to her was a lot more in monthly costs (again, she didn't specify), but with a $6,000 deductible and $50 co-pays. What this woman was inquiring, on her daughter's behalf, was how much the doctor actually charged just for a garden-variety visit, in case she got sick. Sighing, she said that she and her daughter both suspected that it was probably best if she just skipped insurance, paid the penalty—her word—and then bore any healthcare costs directly.

 

"The entire conversation almost sounded like the script of an RNC ad. But it wasn't. These were real people trying to navigate the real problems caused by Obamacare. And I suspect that over the holidays this scene was replicated all over the country."  Jonathan V. Last

The character of this Democrat president

Obama’s Half-Brother ‘Floored’ About President’s Lying About Meeting Him   ..."When Ingraham pointed out that Obama doesn’t spend very much time with his extended family and seems to prefer the company of celebrities such as Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Ndesandjo said she “had a point.' ”

Related links:
Thomas Sowell;  Obama and the Art of Phoniness 

Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland and leader of the Solidarity movement is not enamored with President Obama and his leadership.   "Walesa, in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, spoke negatively about President Obama's leadership skills."
....
"Where we aren't getting kicked out, we're retreating. No one fears us, no one trusts us. No one much likes us. The thugs of the world rejoice that President Obama is in office, while our former allies try to make sense of our policies."

Dumb and dumber: 2014  Hey, he said that, not me.  But Valerie Jarrett says President Obama has never been challenged intellectually.

American Thinker and PJMedia  author Kyle-Anne Shriver claimed that if Obama were really smart he wouldn't have done these things:

REGAL R and R: Obamas live like royalty on lavish Hawaiian holiday

... "What’s more, hundreds of federal workers — from White House staffers to the Secret Service security detail needed to protect the Obamas — join in for what turns out to be an all-expenses-paid vacation. "

http://www.tobytoons.com/td/

 

Obama goes to bed during Benghazi but pulls ‘all-nighter’ for campaign  "Obama’s sure not going to explain why his campaign schedule and a good night’s sleep was more important than protecting Americans trapped in a terrorist attack and so far no one else is talking."  Also here.

 

 President Obama spills military secrets for political gain   And just in time for the election, I might add.  "Panic is never pretty. When it involves a politician scrambling desperately to stay afloat, it is ugly. When it involves a president of the United States trading national-security secrets for political gain, it is obscene."