Obama vs. the Generals

Politico   "McDonough insisted, and has “close, and in some instances warm, relationships with his military chiefs,” as the Post put it. During my own time at the Pentagon, where I worked as an Obama appointee from the spring of 2009 until mid-2011, few seemed to hold this view. I recall asking one general, recently back from Afghanistan, if he’d shared his experiences and insights with the president. Rolling his eyes, he told me grimly that the White House preferred the military to be seen but not heard."...  Full article

No soldier in his right mind would guarantee ‘no boots on the ground,’” a retired senior commander told me. “You can never make such guarantees.”

...."According to most of those I interviewed, Gates’s scathing words reflect an unhappiness with the commander in chief that is widely shared in the military. “The military does not take kindly to people asking them to do things without thinking them through,” Eaton observes. “Military guys get kind of bemused when civilians tell them it’s OK to blow people to smithereens using bombs, as long as you don’t kill them with chemical weapons.”....

Our military, both standing and in coffins, I feel are nothing more that photo-ops for this president. The same might be said for the Clintons as well

The future for President Obama is looking dim

Volokh Conspiracy; The Legality of the Latest ObamaCare Fix  ..."Does this make the renewal of non-compliant policies legal? No. The legal requirement remains on the books so the relevant health insurance plans remain illegal under federal law. The President’s decision does not change relevant state laws either.  So insurers will still need to obtain approval from state insurance commissioners. This typically requires submitting rates and plan specifications for approval. This can take some time, and is disruptive because most insurance companies have already set their offerings for the next year. It’s no wonder that some insurance commissioners have already indicated they have no plans to approve non-compliant plans." ...

 

 New James O’Keefe sting reveals rampant Obamacare navigator fraud   This is subsequent to the similar one O'Keefe posted a few days ago with more to follow this, he says. 

 "Conservative provocateur and undercover filmmaker James O’Keefe released a video on Thursday revealing rampant fraud among Obamacare navigators." 

Related post from Black Quill and Ink: Barack Obama…Brilliant Politician or Bumbling Idiot?  "... Americans must decide if President Obama is a brilliant man or, as facts would suggest, an inept, bumbling and detached narcissist who sees himself as a great leader but who in fact lacks the skills to lead. Well I feel he is the former."

James O'Keefe @JamesOKeefeIII       

We have so much footage, so many offices. So many employees. So much fraud caught on tape. We're going to release them all one by one.

PJ Media; The backlash to the Obamacare fix has already started   "It took about three hours exactly for states to start pushing back against President Obama’s request that regulators allow insurance plans to offer current products in 2014."

Was Benghazi Not Enough? Obama Should Resign over Obamacare 

"If I were Barack Obama, I would resign as president. Forget all the temporary fixes and limited hangouts, I would be too ashamed of myself for having lied so blatantly to the American people — and on matters of such great significance.
Yes, I am a highly imperfect person. Yes, I have lied. But I doubt I would ever have done what he did, lie so repeatedly and manipulatively to my fellow citizens for my own aggrandizement or for what I personally believe is their better good (even if they don’t)."  Roger L Simon

 

High School Senior’s Testimony Devastates Common Core

"Ethan Young is a student who has been subjected to the Common Core in the Knoxville School system and is currently a senior at  Farragut High School.  He testified on November 6th at the  at Knox County (TN) Regular Board Meeting.  His five-minute testimony to a packed house is devastating to the Common Core initiative."

First he takes on the facade of the Common Core Standards as “State Led .”   "He then takes some time to defend teachers and to speak against the teacher evaluation, then gets to the crux of the matter with common core, that it is a model of industrialized learning."

Somewhere our founding fathers are turning in their graves, turning and screaming and trying to say to us is that we teach to FREE MINDS….we teach to inspire, we teach to equip.  The careers will come naturally…ask yourselves: haven’t we gone too far with data?

Steyn to president for revelations of Obamacare difficulties: ‘Well, thanks a lot genius’

Daily Caller  Click for the audio of this interview.

"Conservative commentator Mark Steyn says that President Obama’s Thursday press conference proposing an Obamacare “fix” was underwhelming, and that Obamacare’s disastrous rollout stems from the fact that he never ran anything prior to his presidency."

Reaction to the Obama speech today

Howard Dean: I Wonder If Obama Has the 'Legal Authority to Do This'

Obamacare: Is it time to gloat yet?  "The must-read column of the day is Jonah Goldberg's hilarious take on the Obamacare belly flop in National Review Online. Acknowledging the "obligatory caveats" ("It is no laughing matter that millions of Americans' lives have been thrown into anxious chaos as they lose their health insurance, their doctors, their money, or all three," for example), Jonah wields a rapier (or is a stiletto?) on the big fat target of liberal hubris, as expressed in the president's "signature legislation.' " More

Goldberg writes, "A big part of the fun is the pompousness of Obama himself:"...  Then he teaches us the words, "schadenfreude” and "hubris".

That Goldberg article in which he states: "The primary wellspring of schadenfreude can be attributed to Barack Obama’s hubris — another immigrant word, which means a sinful pride or arrogance that causes someone to believe he has a godlike immunity to the rules of life."

Obama Announces Obamacare ‘Fix’ That Doesn’t Fix Anything, Blames Insurance Companies   "Barack Obama’s credibility is now entirely gone. Having never had any Republicans on board with Obamacare, he cannot blame them. He cannot accept blame himself or blame Congress, as it was controlled entirely by Democrats when Obamacare passed. It’s not in his character to accept responsibility for anything he does that doesn’t turn out good. His only hope was to try shifting blame to the insurance companies, so that’s what he intends to do."...

 

There is a wealth of material on this subject at Lucianne.

 

Is Obama Any Good at Politics?  ..."Not campaigning; we know he can do that—at least so long as he’s got a teleprompter in tow.  But today’s press conference may well be the worst since Nixon’s “I am not a crook” and “let others wallow in Watergate” press debacles 40 years ago.  His petulant parting shot at the media today— “The things that go right, you guys aren’t going to write about”—could stand with “You won’t have Dick Nixon to kick around any more.' ”

Today, Obama Repeated the Five Percent Lie  "Many conservatives are exulting over an exchange between Major Garrett of CBS and President Obama during today’s press conference. Garrett called Obama on his “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it” lie, and asked whether the American people aren’t owed greater accountability. He also asked about Obama’s apparent ignorance of the problems with the Obamacare web site."

 

Man, this guy can talk non-stop. And does.

The Volokh Conspiracy: The Constitutionality of the ObamaCare “Fix”  ..."The “fix” amounts to new legislation – but enacted without Congress. The President has no constitutional authority to rewrite statutes, especially in ways that impose new obligations on people, and that is what the fix seems to entail. And of course, this is not the first such extra-statutory suspension of key ObamaCare provisions."

Now is the time to pull this out of storage and use it once more:

 The Country's in the Very Best of Hands

When Obama is scared of Iran - The U.S. is now afraid of war against Iran.

By Abdulrahman al-Rashed.   Who won the last time?

 

"What prevents many regimes and terrorist organizations from engaging in adventures is their fear that the price may be high. The idea of deterrence based on the option of using power has, for around seven decades, succeeded at decreasing the number of wars and maintaining stability in most of the world. The opposite is also true - making threats without implementing them deepens wars and encourages crimes to be committed."   (Emphasis in the original)

 

The natural result of countries no longer trusting the US as an ally: Russia and Egypt in key Cairo talks
..."Top Russian and Egyptian ministers are holding talks in the Egyptian capital Cairo that will reportedly include possible arms deals that could be worth as much as $2bn (£1.2bn).
"It is the highest level visit to Egypt by a Russian delegation in years.
"It follows the US decision to cut defence aid to Egypt in response to the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi."

 

The fecklessness of Democrats and their voters will cost this nation dearly, both economically and militarily in the future. But I fear the voting public is no longer educated nor perceptive enough to comprehend the importance of foreign policy. Nor do I see anyone in this nation able to inform them. TD

Warm up the teleprompter – Obama to address nation at 11:35am this morning regarding Cancelled Health Plans As we speak

News Ninja  ..."Obama will attempt to spin his Obamacare failure — hoping you people will still be gullible enough to believe everything Obama says.
Finally I think even loony liberals are seeing what a phony, what a liar Obama is."

Count the ways he will blame the insurance companies. Lets hope they push back.

Obamacare Architect Ezekiel Emanuel; a rude piece of work as an interview. See his bullying here.

But Megan Kelley stands her ground with him: Obamacare Architect Emanuel: Whether Obama Knew About Cancellations Is Irrelevant, It’s Fox’s Fault
 

"Spin, spin spin. He basically acknowledges they knew but they didn’t care and don’t think all of this hullbaloo over Obama lying is important, because after all, those cancelled “are getting something better”. In a pig’s eye."

Ezekiel Emanuel VS. Chris Wallace On FNS  The man's rudeness is overbearing and when someone tries to reign him in, he yells "LET ME FINISH!"

 

"The architect of the Affordable Care Act insisted on “Fox News Sunday” that President Obama isn’t to blame for the rocky rollout of ObamaCare and deflected charges that the administration misled Americans about being able to keep their current health plans.

"Ezekiel Emanuel, a bioethicist, was part of the president’s health care reform team for two years and is the brother of former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel."   Democrats can be as crass and rude as they like, no problem.

 

Quite a few have noticed the rudeness of this man

..."Dr. Emanuel is part of a school of thought that redefines a physician’s duty, insisting that it includes working for the greater good of society instead of focusing only on a patient’s needs. Many physicians find that view dangerous, and most Americans are likely to agree." Joshua Black for Florida House, District 68       

GOP Rep: Ezekiel Emanuel Is the Future of Gov't Health Care  "Fleming notes that bullying the interviewer is Dr. Ezekiel's standard operating procedure. "He did the same with Megyn Kelly, too, on Fox News," he notes, pouncing on her suggestion that President Barack Obama had lied when he promised Americans that no one would have to give up their insurance for Obamacare."


Politifact: Ezekiel Emanuel 'Mostly False' to Blame Insurance Companies   "The problem, as Politifact explains, is that the law does require that existing plans comply with new standards, or be canceled: "[T]here’s little doubt the new law is influencing their changes in coverage." So while insurance companies technically "decide" to cancel policies, they have no choice. (The White House says these policies are junk, but that's not necessarily true, either.)
" 'Mostly false" is one step above the "pants on fire" rating."

Other Ezekiel Emanuel stories

 

A few cracks in the Obama media shield

 

Some of Obama's shield is still solidly in place; NYT: Obama's Health Insurance Lie an 'Incorrect Promise'   "An incorrect promise is sort of like a “white Hispanic” – a phrase made up by the media in order to reach a predetermined political endpoint. There are those of us in the real world who label an “incorrect promise” what it is: a lie. And then there is The New York Times."   Weasel Zippers picked up this little factoid on the subject:

Byron York @ByronYork Follow

Nexis database for NYT goes back to late 70s. Never in that time, until today, did paper use phrase 'incorrect promise.'

 

CNN's Tapper: No Dems Will Talk to Us After Obamacare Numbers   "On CNN’s The Lead, host Jake Tapper said that Democrats had refused to come on the program to discuss the abysmal Obamacare enrollment numbers released on Wednesday afternoon.

...."Dana Bash reported, “Republicans are tripping over themselves to come out and talk.” She continued, “we’re not hearing from Democrats so far, the sounds of silence, tells you everything you need to know.' ”

Leno on Obamacare; "When Clinton is  lecturing you on commitment..."

 

Brent Bozell: Digging For News vs. Digging Out Obama  "The spin control is actually amusing when you consider that it isn’t Team Obama trying to influence the media. It’s the media doing damage control for Team Obama."

ABC, CBS Notice Obama's 'Lowest Ever' Approval Rating; NBC Out to Lunch  ..."Correspondent Jonathan Karl then trumpeted that "Bill Clinton said what President Obama's harshest Republican critics have been saying – that he may need to the change the health care law to help the millions of people who have seen their insurance canceled, despite the President's promise that would not happen.' " (Emphasis in the original)

Nearly Twice As Many People Trust Fox News Than Obama  "A new poll by YouGov finds that more people trust Fox News for information about the so-called "Affordable Care Act" than trust President Obama. As you can see, almost twice as many people trust Fox than the President."

 

Liberal solutions cause a Great Mediocrity

My own father died nearly destitute, largely because of my hypochondriac mother who required bags-full of prescriptions and a schedule filled with doctor appointments.

Another good friend was forced out of his home due to the oppressive expenses of caring for his wife with Alzheimer’s. The same happened to another relative whose wife had dementia. I see what long-term illness can do to a family’s finances and desperately wish something could be done to help.

But I also see how the present solution of Pelosi-Obama’s vast plan can reach into every corner of our lives; and make no mistake about it, this government or one like it will. Liberal solutions unfailingly bring about mediocrity in everything they touch and you can be sure this will happen to medical practice. I saw socialized medicine during a three-month stay at the Camp Lejeune hospital where dependents of Marines seeing doctors were given the standing appointment time of 0800.
There the room was filled with mothers and children, waiting in folding metal chairs for their turn with a doctor to come. Their numbers gradually grew smaller through the day while the remaining children grew more and more restless with no place for them to play, only to run around the rows of steel chairs where their mothers continued to wait.

By the afternoon, there were only a couple of families left, waiting since 8 a.m. All this because the hospital was government-run and had no incentive to encourage patients’ selection of them as medical provider.

I desperately wish those mentioned here could have been taken better care of, but never by committed socialists whose supporters hang Che posters and communist flags in their offices.
The Tunnel Dweller
My April, 2012 article originally printed in the Tillamook, Oregon Headlight-Herald
 

Grievance, incorporated

Obamacare ads called racist for targeting mostly white youths  "But the Gateway Pundit's Jim Hoft panned the ads on Wednesday as racist, saying that the collection of 21 ads only contains two African-Americans and no Asians.
" 'The rest of the models are white," he wrote."
Somehow one thinks  Mr. Hoft is being sarcastic and yanking the chains of the race pimps. TD

Michelle Malkin;  Obamacare’s Bros and Hoes

"Modeled after the “Got Milk?” ads, the latest print and web promos pander to young people with pop-culture memes and entitlement-friendly appeals. The dumbed-down website address: doyougotinsurance.com."

Related: Limbaugh: New ‘Hosurance’ Ads Selling Kids on Sandra Fluke’s ‘Promiscuity’  "Rush Limbaugh reacted to the Colorado progressive “hosurance” ads in a way that may generate another phone call from President Obama to Sandra Fluke."

 

Rich Lowry; Our culture is surreally obsessed with taking offense  "The Kimmel kerfuffle is worthy of a Monty Python skit, but also typical of the surreal theater of offense-taking in contemporary America. Are we, in such matters, a ridiculous country? One that encourages a sense of victimhood and grievance? One that lacks any sense of proportion? Yes, yes, and yes."

 

 Conan O’Brien Discovers: Muslim Polygamy Is No Joke   "Late-night comic Conan O’Brien tweeted Friday night: “Marvel Comics is introducing a new Muslim Female superhero. She has so many more special powers than her husband’s other wives.” The predictable self-righteous firestorm ensued."

Obama and veterans

Video from American Overlook

Obama and Veterans Day
"President Obama is giving a speech about veterans.

"I can’t listen. I didn’t serve, but both my parents did and I grew up on Camp Pendleton (Marine base) and Guam (Navy base).I can’t hear Obama talk about veterans as if he cares.Just hearing his voice today makes me angry. (Not that I enjoy hearing him on any other day, either. After all, if his lips are moving, he’s lying.)

"In the context of his making war, perhaps even nuclear war, so much more likely by his desperation to make a deal with Iran, I’m even angrier.

"But it’s Monday and I don’t want to be angry, so I’m just turning him off.Maybe later, someone who really cares, and who really has a clue what he’s talking about, will say something worth listening to.
"In the meantime, I just sent a “thank you” e-mail to a gentleman I know — a retired US Army Special Forces full-bird colonel who is also a medical doctor — who won a Silver Star for parachuting into the jungles of Viet Nam to set up field hospitals for wounded soldiers.

"That, my friends, is a hero.

"To think that President Obama (or his self-loathing Secretary of State who should look at what the hero I just mentioned did, and feel tremendous shame at his own life) represents that man or anyone like him does all veterans, indeed all Americans, a tremendous dishonor.
"The hero is too well-mannered to disrespect the commander-in-chief. So I’ll do it for him. 
"Barack Obama, please sit down and shut up, and let veterans be celebrated and honored by those who really know, and those who really care.

Did You Catch the Ironic Part in Obama’s Veterans Day Speech?  "President Barack Obama on Monday heralded one of the oldest living veterans in America, even talking about his trip to the nation’s capital this year as part of the Honor Flight program."

"That would be the same Honor Flight program that brought veterans to Washington, D.C., last month who entered the World War II Memorial in defiance of the government shutdown.

"Barricades were placed around the World War II Memorial and other monuments on the National Mall to keep visitors out during the shutdown. Some veterans, aided by members of Congress, ignored the barricades and went to visit the memorial anyway."