The real world of Obamacare repeal

Charles Krauthammer  "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, but for governments it’s not that easy. Once something is given — say, health insurance coverage to 20 million Americans — you take it away at your peril. This is true for any government benefit, but especially for health care. There’s a reason not one Western democracy with some system of national health care has ever abolished it.

"The genius of the left is to keep enlarging the entitlement state by creating new giveaways that are politically impossible to repeal. For 20 years, Republicans railed against the New Deal. Yet, when they came back into office in 1953, Eisenhower didn’t just keep Social Security, he expanded it.

"People hated Obamacare for its highhandedness, incompetence and cost. At the same time, its crafters took great care to create new beneficiaries and new expectations. Which makes repeal very complicated." . . .

Obama's legacy

The mentee of America-hating Bill Ayers and the white-america-hating Jeremiah Wright left behind all we who voted against Barack Obama expected. TD

What the Obama era's memorial to veterans looks like  . . . "Rosebrock is set to stand trial with his co-defendant: the American flag.  Obama's VA took a swing at this veteran for displaying national flag, and as a result, Old Glory will have to prove it is not "a placard."

"So after decades of unmasking corruption and cronyism, Captain Rosebrock has "finally" committed a "crime" so serious that he is threatened with six months in jail?  Betcha local swamp dwellers would prefer to commemorate Bob with a golden statue, too, to dealing with him alive and kicking. 

"What is the final message of Obama's VA to American veterans about this flag trial?  "You will be jailed if you love your Old Placard"?" . . .

conservatoons

U.S. airlines flee Castro's island hellhole  . . ."Doing business in Cuba is so dodgy and money-losing that just doing it now involves reputational risk, according to Control Risks consultancy.

"No wonder airlines don't want to be there – the U-turn they are making is rather visible.  And they are not alone.  According to the FT:

... about 60 per cent of the businesses established here by foreigners since the fall of communism in eastern Europe have closed, according to government statistics. Some of them – analysts and diplomats say – were forced out by the Cuban government.

"What a dump. Best thing out there is to just say no to the hellhole so touted by President Obama."

whatdidyousay.org

President Trump should abandon his predecessor’s feckless policy toward the Castro regime  . . . "It is precisely a continuation of Obama’s feckless Cuba policy that would help lock the Cuban people into a North Korean–style dynasty. President Trump would do well to explore a different path, a more principled stand, on behalf of democracy and human rights, that would empower the Cuban people and give them more opportunities than merely the opportunity to persevere."

Russian Cartoons On Obama’s Legacy  The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) published Russian Cartoons addressing President Obama’s legacy.  

"The following are cartoons published in pro-Kremlin media outlets on U.S. President Barack Obama’s legacy and future after the U.S. elections. The cartoons envision Obama inter alia working as a waiter at McDonald’s and as a pizza delivery, once his term of office as U.S. president expires."

. . . "Caption: What will Obama work at after he retires from office?"

Choice No. 1: A waiter at McDonald’sChoice No.2: A gangster Choice No.3: A poker playerChoice No.4: A farmer

Suppose the Russians know who Joe Wilson is? 

Much more here.

Parts of Los Angeles ethnically cleansed of white people have a new look

Ed Straker

"The heavily Hispanic neighborhood of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles declared victory recently when they managed to drive a "white" art gallery from the neighborhood.  Community groups have been battling to drive out art galleries out of fear of "gentrification," the code word for white people. 

Almost from the moment it opened its doors last year Pssst, a nonprofit gallery, and its creators, have been the focus of protests and criticism on social media.

Last month, they announced they could no longer tolerate it. They were closing up shop.

"This persistent targeting, which was often highly personal in nature, was made all the more intolerable because the artists we engaged are queer, women, and/or people of color," they said on their website. "We could no longer continue to put already vulnerable communities at further risk."

Defend Boyle Heights, one of the activist groups that has called for a boycott of the galleries, said that it considered the closing a victory and that it hoped other galleries would soon follow suit." 

 . . . "Questions for discussion:

1) Having driven out the art gallery, do you think Latinos will come to regret losing a convenient source of "queer art"?

2) Can a "queer art" gallery coexist with check-cashing places and taco trucks?

3) How come businesses in English-speaking neighborhoods don't have bars on their windows?  Is this a cultural thing?

4) Do you think residents of Boyle Heights were right to be alarmed about what an influx of white people might do to their beautiful neighborhood?

Rachel Maddow Blames Her Viewers For Her Tax Reveal Dud

Van Jones: Tax Return Leak a ‘Good Night for Donald Trump’   "The White House soon preemptively released Trump's 2005 taxes ahead of Maddow, showing that the president earned $153 million and paid $36.5 million in income taxes that year."

Weasel Zippers
"How dare the viewers assume that she had anything important given this breathless tweet:" . . .

From MRCTV:  "If only it'd been true.

"What Maddow and the fine folks over at MSNBC actually managed to do was get part of a copy of Trump’s 2005 tax return. Which was already 12 years old. And which the White House had already released.

"And which the Wall Street Journal had already reported on – a year ago.

"Needless to say, the Twittersphere wasn’t all too happy as Maddow droned on...and on...and on during her open monologue, bashing Trump (and throwing out all manner of random, unsubstantiated speculations regarding his finances) without actually giving anyone any new information. Here are a few of the best reactions we found from the less-than-enthused:" . . .

When Obama Compared Slaves to Immigrants, He Got Applause; Carson Gets Called 'Uncle Tom'

Larry Elder



"Dr. Ben Carson, in a speech before employees of Housing and Urban Development, the department he now runs, likened slaves to "immigrants": "That's what America is about, a land of dreams and opportunity. There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder, for less. But they, too, had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great­grandsons, great­granddaughters, might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land." 
"Carson got hammered." . . .
. . . 
"Why the silence over Obama's many slave­equals­immigrant comments versus the desk pounding by the same critics when Carson says the same thing? Carson represents an existential threat to the left. He is deadly to their cause ­­ a black man, raised in poverty by a hardworking, welfare­abstaining single mom who taught her children to embrace hard work and education. The left believes that blacks are perpetual victims of slavery, Jim Crow and racism. It is vital for the existence of the Democratic Party to convince blacks to vote like victims in need of protection from the racist, sexist retrogrades known as Republicans. So black conservatives like Carson, who argues that welfare creates dependency, who demands choice in K­12 education and who believes hard work wins, must be attacked, marginalized and dismissed as "against their own people."

When the violent campus reflects a sordid culture

Scorning Middlebury is easy, but rioting students reflect a civilization in chaos

Suzanne Fields

"Middlebury College, a symbol of violent rioting in the name of tolerance, is easy to scorn and disdain. Nice boys and girls, sons and daughters of nice moms and dads, get caught acting out on intolerant impulses, and a “disturbance” sends a professor to the hospital. (At Ole Miss this would be called a “riot.”)

"Middlebury College is nestled on 350 bucolic acres in the Champlain Valley of Vermont, and the college Web page says all the right things about being welcoming and diverse, and showing respect and resilience to differing viewpoints to train “thoughtful and ethical leaders able to meet the challenges of informed citizenship.”

"But citizenship and challenges ain’t what they used to be, either in the groves of academe or in the culture where we all live. Student riots are not new, of course (almost nothing is), and in the Middle Ages adolescent boys in England and Europe banged their mugs of ale on mess hall tables and repaired to the streets of the town to break things and teach the unwashed townies a thing or two about civilized behavior." . . .

Look at Obama’s Plan to Stop Donald Trump

Independent Sentinel    "Barack Obama left the White House with his appointments embedded in key positions and among the most crucial is the judiciary. His plan was to leave judicial activists in place to fight and overrule Trump’s every agenda item.

"In order for leftists to take power, they have to use force and deceit because they can’t win on policy. One of the avenues of power Obama concentrated on in his eight years in office was the judiciary. While Republicans began to slow-walk some of the judicial appointments, Obama was still remarkably successful in putting activist judges on the court.

"Obama left office having appointed 329 judges to lifetime posts on federal courts, more than one-third of the judiciary. As Politico said, they are “moving American jurisprudence in Obama’s direction”. Judges aren’t supposed to write law, they are supposed to interpret law but that isn’t what is happening.

"Included in the numbers are two leftist Supreme Court justices and four judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the two most powerful courts in the nation.

"Democratic appointees now have a 7-4 advantage on the D.C. panel, and those activist judges will play a major role in deciding cases during the Trump administration related to environmental regulations, health care, national security, consumer protections and challenges to executive orders." . . .

Obamacare in the commentaries

Americans are Suffering Under Obamacare, Hear Their Stories

Galen Institute: ASSESSING THE COVERAGE EFFECTS OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT: A COMPARISON OF ESTIMATES FROM RECENT STUDIES

"The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has taken center stage as the Trump administration promises to repeal it. In response, proponents of the ACA argue that it extended health insurance coverage to as many as 20 million people, many of whom could lose coverage if the ACA were repealed.

"In “Assessing the Coverage Effects of the Affordable Care Act: A Comparison of Estimates from Recent Studies,” Galen Institute Senior Fellow Doug Badger analyzes the effects of the ACA on health insurance coverage in America. Badger reviews recent data and concludes that the popular estimate of 20 million adults gaining coverage from the ACA is likely overstated." . . .

Millions to Forgo Insurance Once the Government Stops Penalizing Them for It, Report Says

It's Not 'Losing' Coverage if You Choose Not to Have It  "The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with deputy online editor Chris Deaton on why "losing coverage" is a mistaken focus in evaluating the CBO's estimates of the GOP health bill." . . .

President Trump dropping in the polls since unveiling of GOP health insurance plan

"In the Rasmussen surveys, President Trump has dropped almost 1 point per day – from 53% support to 47% support in one week.  Senator Tom Cotton is correct: the GOP House majority is at grave risk in 2018 if this Ryan plan is a lousy replacement for a lousy plan.  Some of the early statistical analysis suggests that older, poorer, rural people are most damaged, with far lower tax credits than the prior subsidies.  Whom do you think most of these people voted for?" . . .

Rachel Maddow Turned a Scoop on Donald Trump’s Taxes Into a Cynical, Self-Defeating Spectacle

"By playing into the network’s loyal liberal audience’s fantasy that there exists a Trump silver bullet, it instead delivered Trump a positive news cycle—the guy pays taxes! Who knew!—amidst the debacle of the AHCA, along with more evidence that the media is aligned against him."

Slate

. . . "The longer Maddow went on, ever deeper into a conspiratorial thicket, the clearer it became that whatever tax returns Maddow had, they weren’t as juicy as the ones she was talking about. If she had anything that damning, she would have shared them from the start. TV is a ratings game, but an entire episode about highly damaging tax returns is just as likely to get you great ratings as milking the possibility that you have highly damaging tax returns, and less likely to get you compared to Geraldo. Maddow even went so far as to hold the tax returns back until after the first commercial break, as if we were watching an episode of The Bachelor and not a matter of national importance—because we weren’t, in fact, watching a matter of national importance, just a cable news show trying to set a ratings record." . . .  Naturally President Trump had a reaction

More here:

Trump's Taxes: Another Exploding Cigar for the Left

Fact is, Trump pays his taxes like the rest of us. He gets no special breaks, he gets no special treatment. He shelled out for taxes at a 25% rate of income, quite comparable to what the average taxpayer pays. No wonder the average taxpayer thinks that Trump sees things the same way they do - he does, because he lives in the same world and by the same laws.

MSN Analysis | This 2005 Donald Trump tax return is a total nothingburger

. . . "For all the hoopla surrounding the unearthing of these documents, there simply was no smoking gun -- or anything close to it -- here. A brief scan of Trump's financial status a decade ago shows, roughly, what you would expect it to show. Nothing nefarious, nothing untoward." . . .

Clinton ally David Brock offers $5M for Trump's tax returns
The left never sleeps.

RedState: Donald Trump’s Tax Returns Helps The New York Times Understand How Income Tax Works

. . . "Wait. Look at that closer. What does it say on the second page there?

“Client copy”?" . . .

Professor Is “FED UP” With Anti-Free Speech Thugs On College Campuses After Raging Students Send Fellow Professor To Hospital

"Where are our youth learning such full-on hatred?"  Bob Larimer 

CONSERVATIVE ANGLE

"At Middlebury College last week, Charles Murray needed a safe space — literally.

"In a significant escalation of the campus speech wars, protesters hooted down the conservative scholar in a lecture hall and then roughed up a Middlebury faculty member escorting him to a car.

"The Middlebury administration commendably tried to do the right thing and stand by Murray’s right to be heard, but was overwhelmed by a yowling mob with all the manners and intellectual openness of a gang of British soccer hooligans.

"Sometime soon, we may yearn for the days when college students were merely childish and closed-minded. If campus protests of speech begin to more routinely slide into violence, Middlebury will be remembered as a watershed.

"First, there was the target. Charles Murray is controversial — mainly for his book, “The Bell Curve,” about IQ — but he is one of the most significant social scientists of our age.

"He is employed by the prestigious conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute, and his books are highly influential and widely reviewed.

"His latest, which was to be the topic of his Middlebury talk, is “Coming Apart,” a bestselling account of the struggles of the white working class that illuminated some of the social forces behind the rise of Donald Trump.

"Second, there was the venue. No one has ever mistaken Middlebury, a small Vermont liberal-arts college founded by Congregationalists, for Berkeley. It doesn’t have a reputation as a hotbed and training ground for rabble-rousers, and yet has given us one of the most appalling episodes of anti-speech thuggery in recent memory." . . .

Obama Audited Billy Graham, So Wiretapping Trump Tower is Not a Stretch

obamacartoon.blogspot

Todd Starnes  "The Obama Administration engaged in eight years of political payback and heavy-handed bullying that specifically targeted their "political enemies."
They used the Internal Revenue Service to wage an ugly campaign of bullying and intimidation to silence Tea Party groups and Christian ministries. In 2013 President Obama's minions sent IRS agents to bully the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association."I believe that someone in the administration was targeting and attempting to intimidate us," Franklin Graham wrote in a letter to the White House. "This is morally wrong and unethical - indeed some would call it 'un-American.'"The BGEA's only crime against Obama was to urge voters to back candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles. They also supported an effort to support traditional marriage in the state of North Carolina. I believe the government used the power of the IRS to silence dissent and punish those who refused to comply.They targeted Billy Graham, America's pastor. Just let that sink in, folks.So if the Obama Administration went after Billy Graham, it's not out of the realm of possibility they wiretapped Donald Trump. The Mainstream Media believes such a charge is absurd, but is it really?" . . .

comicallyincorrect.com

Boys Named Sue

WND Cartoons  

"Sean Delonas has transgender studies participants dissing 'crazy' Trump"