Usually vandals paint over the candidate's name. This time Loudoun Democrats targeted a black candidate's face for a literal whitewash.
Loudoun County Democrats cover a black candidate's face with white paint
Usually vandals paint over the candidate's name. This time Loudoun Democrats targeted a black candidate's face for a literal whitewash.
How Cuccinelli blew his advantage in the #VaGov race
Thoughts?
By Norman Leahy and Paul Goldman
Last month, we wrote that Ken Cuccinelli II’s campaign to become Virginia’s next governor needed to raise its game or face certain defeat. Has it done so? Unequivocally, no.
Cuccinelli’s strategists and consultants have doggedly followed a baffling strategy.
Even the best campaigns can lose. But an inept campaign guarantees a loss for an underdog, and Cuccinelli (R) has been the underdog since July. The attorney general’s defenders will undoubtedly refute our analysis, claiming instead that bad luck and strong headwinds have hobbled the GOP effort in Virginia. In our view, his problems went much deeper.
Read the article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-ken-cuccinelli-blew-his-advantage-in-the-virginia-governors-race/2013/10/25/16d1a9ce-3a80-11e3-b6a9-da62c264f40e_story.html
Last month, we wrote that Ken Cuccinelli II’s campaign to become Virginia’s next governor needed to raise its game or face certain defeat. Has it done so? Unequivocally, no.
Cuccinelli’s strategists and consultants have doggedly followed a baffling strategy.
Even the best campaigns can lose. But an inept campaign guarantees a loss for an underdog, and Cuccinelli (R) has been the underdog since July. The attorney general’s defenders will undoubtedly refute our analysis, claiming instead that bad luck and strong headwinds have hobbled the GOP effort in Virginia. In our view, his problems went much deeper.
Read the article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-ken-cuccinelli-blew-his-advantage-in-the-virginia-governors-race/2013/10/25/16d1a9ce-3a80-11e3-b6a9-da62c264f40e_story.html
Five Phony Public Health Scares
Five Phony Public Health Scares
Health activists, nutrition nannies, medical paternalists, and just plain old quacks regularly conjure up menaces that are supposedly damaging the health of Americans. Their scares range from the decades-long campaign against fluoridation to worries that saccharin causes cancer to the ongoing hysteria over crop biotechnology. The campaigners' usual "solution" is to demand that regulators ban the offending substance or practice. Here are five especially egregious examples of activist misinformation.
Health activists, nutrition nannies, medical paternalists, and just plain old quacks regularly conjure up menaces that are supposedly damaging the health of Americans. Their scares range from the decades-long campaign against fluoridation to worries that saccharin causes cancer to the ongoing hysteria over crop biotechnology. The campaigners' usual "solution" is to demand that regulators ban the offending substance or practice. Here are five especially egregious examples of activist misinformation.
UK Government raids 3D-printed 'gun factory'
UK Government Announces Raid on 3D-Printed Gun Factory, Uses Parts of the Printer as Evidence
Police in the UK city of Manchester have seized a 3D printer and what they have alleged to be 3D-printed gun parts, during a raid on alleged criminal gangs. However, as an eagle-eyed reader has noted, the parts shown off by police are actually spare parts for a 3D printer....
Police in the UK city of Manchester have seized a 3D printer and what they have alleged to be 3D-printed gun parts, during a raid on alleged criminal gangs. However, as an eagle-eyed reader has noted, the parts shown off by police are actually spare parts for a 3D printer....
First #Bitcoin ATM to Go Live Next Week in Vancouver
First Bitcoin ATM to Go Live Next Week in Vancouver
Built by a Nevada company called Robocoin, the machine will trade bitcoins for cash and vice versa. Bitcoin is the world’s most popular digital currency, and it exists only on the internet, but it can be traded for traditional dollars and euros. Though bitcoin began as niche technology embraced mostly by internet geeks, it is gradually spreading not only to everyday people, but into the everyday world.
Built by a Nevada company called Robocoin, the machine will trade bitcoins for cash and vice versa. Bitcoin is the world’s most popular digital currency, and it exists only on the internet, but it can be traded for traditional dollars and euros. Though bitcoin began as niche technology embraced mostly by internet geeks, it is gradually spreading not only to everyday people, but into the everyday world.
Obamacare's Great Medicaid Expansion Swindle
Obamacare's Great Medicaid Expansion Swindle
This is bad news. Medicaid, the nation’s health care program for low-income citizens and those with certain disabilities, is expensive. States are not required to participate in the program, but all do, though eligibility requirements differ from state to state. In 2011, states devoted nearly 24 percent (PDF) of total spending to Medicaid—the single largest state expense—despite the fact that there’s little evidence that it actually improves the health outcomes of its beneficiaries.
You got that? One of the major tenets of Obamacare is to expand an existing program that is both hugely expensive and massively ineffective.
This is bad news. Medicaid, the nation’s health care program for low-income citizens and those with certain disabilities, is expensive. States are not required to participate in the program, but all do, though eligibility requirements differ from state to state. In 2011, states devoted nearly 24 percent (PDF) of total spending to Medicaid—the single largest state expense—despite the fact that there’s little evidence that it actually improves the health outcomes of its beneficiaries.
You got that? One of the major tenets of Obamacare is to expand an existing program that is both hugely expensive and massively ineffective.
You Can Keep Your Health Insurance Under Obamacare? Not So Much.
You Can Keep Your Health Insurance Under Obamacare? Not So Much.
President Obama (in)famously said, "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan" under the Affordable Care Act. As it turns out, not so much. Hundreds of thousands of Americans, it turns out, are receiving letters telling them that their existing coverage just isn't good enough to satisfy the strict rquirements of the Obamacare law, and that they'll have to sign up for new policies. Those new policies come with new stipulations, and new price tags. Which is to say, it doesn't matter if you like your health care plan, since you probably can't keep it.
President Obama (in)famously said, "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan" under the Affordable Care Act. As it turns out, not so much. Hundreds of thousands of Americans, it turns out, are receiving letters telling them that their existing coverage just isn't good enough to satisfy the strict rquirements of the Obamacare law, and that they'll have to sign up for new policies. Those new policies come with new stipulations, and new price tags. Which is to say, it doesn't matter if you like your health care plan, since you probably can't keep it.
Supreme Court agrees to hear gun case on 'straw purchases'
“I am grateful that the Supreme Court will review this important case. I felt this case was so important, that I joined with Gun Owners of America and other pro-Second Amendment groups to file an amicus curiae brief urging the Court to grant review,” said Stockman.
“ATF’s policy on so-called ‘straw purchases’ is illegal. No one should be convicted and made into a felon for buying and transferring a gun legally. Congress never passed a law prohibiting such purchases, and the ATF has no authority to create new crimes to plug what it perceives to be holes in the law. This case gives the Court the opportunity to rein in a lawless ATF which has repeatedly exhibited hostility to law-abiding gunowners.”
“It is incomprehensible that ATF and the Justice Department wasted federal government resources prosecuting legal gun buyers for nothing more than simple technicalities on government forms while at the same time they helped in sending thousands of firearms to Mexican cartels. This rogue agency must be reined in,” said Stockman
Mr. Abramski is a former police officer. His elderly uncle wanted to obtain a firearm for self-defense. Mr. Abramski made the purchase at a local gun dealer in Virginia who offered discounts to former police officers. Mr. Abramski passed a federal background check at the gun store in Virginia and then brought the handgun to another gun store in Pennsylvania, where the gun was transferred to his uncle, who also passed a federal background check.
Neither Abramski nor his uncle was prohibited from possessing the firearm. Before making his purchase Abramski asked three federally-licensed dealers how he should go about obtaining a firearm for his uncle. All three agreed the sale was legal.
Nevertheless, because Abramski bought the gun from a federally-licensed dealer, he had to fill out an form stating that he was the “actual buyer” of the firearm. The ATF claimed that Abramski’s uncle was the “actual buyer” and Abramski had made a false statement in filling out the form. Abramski was eventually convicted of a felony.
Federal law does not prohibit one eligible person from buying a gun for another eligible person. It is perfectly legal to buy a gun for an eligible gunowner. The law only prohibits transfers to ineligible people. Neither Abramski nor his uncle was ineligible.
The government charged Abramski with making a false statement on the ATF Form 4473, a form that ATF requires. Had Abramski purchased the firearm from his uncle by private sale not involving an FFL, or made a gift of the gun, he could not have been charged.
Briefs in this case will be due in December 2013 and early next year, and a decision is not expected until the middle of next year.
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White House ducks CNN’s attempts at “Keeping Them Honest” on #ObamaCare
CNN
Laments: “The administration won’t tell us how many people have signed
up, and have changed their story in the process. At first the
administration said it didn’t know… Then we were told to ask someone
else… A few days later, wait a month.”
On Monday, Anderson Cooper’s hallmark “Keeping them Honest” segment featured “Obamacare Sign-Up Snafus.” But answers were hard to come by. A CNN correspondent explained “the failed rollout was not a surprise to anyone involved with it.” In an effort to “keep them honest,” CNN “requested an interview today with the White House to ask one question, ‘If the administration knew there would be so many glitches, why did the administration plan ahead with the roll out?’”
Unfortunately they “were told nobody was available to answer that and we are still waiting to find out when the point person for all of this, Kathleen Sebelius, will be able to talk to us. We’re still waiting.”
The Energy and Commerce Committee has many of the same questions as CNN, and committee leaders recently sent several letters to both the administration and the lead IT contractors involved with implementation requesting enrollment figures and answers regarding the “glitches” that have defined the past two weeks.
“Despite our warnings that the law was not ready for prime time, the administration repeatedly brushed us off, proclaiming everything was ‘on track,’” said Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI). “The first two weeks of enrollment have been a nightmare, and we now know despite over three years to prepare, the administration was in over its head. After hundreds of millions of dollars spent on a shoddy website and numerous broken promises, the American people deserve answers, and we are going to get to the bottom of this mess in the coming weeks.”
###
EPA skirts law to grab regulatory power
Chairmen Smith and Stewart demand transparent process, full scientific review of new rule
Under the rule, EPA could expand its regulatory authority to include even the most isolated wetlands, streams and ditches. In their letter, the Chairmen criticize the EPA for pushing through a rule with vast economic implications before the agency’s independent reviewers at its Science Advisory Board (SAB) have had an opportunity review the underlying science, as required by law.
“A sweeping reinterpretation of EPA jurisdiction would give the agency unprecedented control over private property across the nation,” the Chairmen wrote. “Any attempt to issue a proposed rule before completing an independent examination by the agency’s own science advisors would be to put the cart before the horse.”
The Chairmen state, “In light of recent concerns raised by the small business community, the agency’s current approach to CWA jurisdiction appears to represent a rushed, politicized regulatory process lacking the proper consultation with scientific peer reviewers and the American people. If EPA has not already provided SAB with the proposed rule, the House Science Committee urges the agency to do so immediately. Under the law, the advice of scientific experts is a pre-requisite, not an afterthought.”
The letter advises the agency that the Science Committee intends to provide additional questions to the SAB panel related to the new rule in order to ensure that regulations are fashioned with a sound scientific foundation.
The full letter can be found here.
Obama Labor Dept: Job growth drops 12 percent in September
Black unemployment still higher than any month under
Bush
Labor force participation ties 35-year low
WASHINGTON – The nation’s economy continues to flounder and full recovery appears even further away, according to an objective mathematical measurement of the nation’s economic indicators released Tuesday by Congressman Steve Stockman (R-Texas 36.)
“ObamaCare is a sickness plaguing our
economy. Job growth collapsed 12 percent
in one month and black unemployment is still near record highs,” said Stockman
“Our economy won’t recover until we replace Obama’s failed policies.”
“Under Democrats misery is becoming the new normal. We can do better.”
“Under Democrats misery is becoming the new normal. We can do better.”
The economy continues to fail to recover
under Obama as Obama Failometer Score stood at 1,173 last month. This is the fourth-worst
Obama’s Failometer score this year.
Obama can set the Failometer to zero simply by outperforming George W. Bush on the economy and fulfilling his 2008 and 2012 campaign promises to help blacks and Hispanics gain economically.
Obama can set the Failometer to zero simply by outperforming George W. Bush on the economy and fulfilling his 2008 and 2012 campaign promises to help blacks and Hispanics gain economically.
The Obama Failometer uses a fixed
mathematical score to calculate four economic indicators from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. The figures from the
monthly reports are weighted to provide a balanced total score, which ranges
from zero to 1,000. A score of 0 represent economic stability and racial
equality. The higher the score, the deeper the economic failure.
So far, Obama is worse than Bush.
Since its creation Obama has failed to
generate a Failometer score that can be contained within the chart’s range of
zero to 1000.
The Obama Failometer Score was
originally displayed on a ten-foot-long billboard displayed in the hallways of
the Capitol’s Cannon House Office building.
House officials ordered it torn down in January after Democrats
complained.
Here is how the Obama Failometer Score
is calculated:
FACTORS MEASURED AGAINST BUSH
Monthly jobs created: The Hamilton
Project, a liberal economic policy group, stated last year the economy must
create 321,000 jobs a month in order to return the economy to pre-recession
employment levels by December 2016, the end of Obama’s term.
As the economy continues to flounder
under Obama that number has grown, but the Obama Failometer will continue to
use it, which gives him some statistical relief.
Obama promised not only to restore the
economy to where it was under Bush, but grow it. So far Obama has failed to even perform as
well as Bush.
This Obama Failometer score portion is
calculated by subtracting the number of jobs created in the previous month from
the 321,000 jobs claimed necessary by the liberal Hamilton Project and dividing
by 1,000 to balance it against other factors.
The BLS reports the economy created only 148,000 jobs last month, 173,000
fewer than needed to restore the economy.
This portion of the Obama Failometer Score is 173.
Civilian labor force participation
rate: The civilian labor force
participation rate, the ratio between those 16 and over in the labor force
against the national population of those 16 and over, is an important measure
of economic health. After puttering
along during the Bush administration, including through the “Bush years” of the
recession, under Obama it has plunged sharply.
This Obama Failometer score portion is
calculated by subtracting the monthly civilian labor force participation rate
from the average Bush administration rate and multiplying by 100 to balance it
against other factors. According to data from the BLS, under Bush the average
monthly civilian labor force participation rate was around 66.2 percent.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the monthly civilian labor
force participation rate last month stood at 63.2 percent, the worst rate since
August 1978 and 3.0 percent worse than Bush’s average of 66.2 percent. This portion of the Obama Failometer Score is
300.
FACTORS MEASURED AGAINST OBAMA’S OWN
RHETORIC
Black unemployment: No one has suffered more economically under
Obama than black Americans. Obama’s election and re-election has meant
crippling poverty for the black community.
This Obama Failometer score portion is
calculated by taking the monthly unemployment rate for blacks and subtracting
the monthly unemployment rate for all Americans, and multiplying it by 100 to
balance it against other factors.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the black unemployment rate last
month was 12.9 percent, while the national overall rate was 7.2 percent. That is a gap of 5.7 percent. This portion of
the Obama Failometer Score is 570.
Compare Obama’s performance to
Bush’s. The highest monthly unemployment
rate ever for blacks under Bush was 12.1 percent. Obama’s lowest rate is now 12.6 percent in
Jul. He has never performed as well as
Bush’s worst black unemployment rate.
Bush’s average black unemployment rate
was 9.7 percent and an overall national average of 5.2 percent, a 4.5 percent
gap that gives Bush a score of 450.
Hispanic unemployment: Despite winning the Hispanic vote, Obama’s
liberal policies have caused widespread damage to the Hispanic community. Thanks to Obama, they continue to lag behind
the national average in many economic factors.
This Obama Failometer score portion is
calculated by taking the monthly unemployment rate for Hispanics and
subtracting the monthly unemployment rate for all Americans, and multiplying it
by 100 to balance it against other factors.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the Hispanic unemployment
rate last month grew to a stunning 8.5 percent, while the national overall rate
was 7.2 percent. That is a gap of 1.3
percent. This portion of the Obama
Failometer Score is 130.
The Hispanic unemployment rate hit its
all-time historic low of 4.7 percent during Bush's last term. It is almost twice that rate under Obama.
THEREFORE, THIS MONTH’S OBAMA FAILOMETER SCORE IS 1,173.
Remarks by the President at nomination of Jeh Johnson to be Secretary of Homeland Security
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Please have a seat.
As President, my most solemn responsibility is the safety and security of the
American people. And we've got an outstanding team here of folks who work
every single day to make sure that we're doing everything we can to fulfill
that responsibility. And that means that our entire government -- our law
enforcement and homeland security professionals, our troops, our diplomats, our
intelligence personnel -- are all working together. It means working with
state and local partners to disrupt terrorist attacks, to make our borders more
secure, respond to natural disasters, and make our immigration system more
effective and fair.
Addressing any one of these challenges
is a tall order. Addressing all of them at once is a monumental
task. But that’s what the dedicated men and women of the Department of
Homeland Security do every day. And today I’m proud to announce my choice
to lead them -- an outstanding public servant who I’ve known and trusted for
years -- Mr. Jeh Johnson.
We are, of course, enormously grateful
to Secretary Janet Napolitano. Janet couldn’t be here today -- she’s
already made her move to her new position in sunny California, overseeing the
higher education system in that great state. And I know that she’s going
to do an outstanding job there with the incredible young people that are in our
largest state. But we all deeply appreciate the terrific job that she did
over the last four-and-a-half years. I want to thank Rand Beers for his
service and for stepping in as Acting Secretary after Janet left.
Thanks in no small part to Janet’s
leadership, her team, we’ve done more to protect our homeland against those who
wish to do us harm. We’ve strengthened our borders. We've taken
steps to make sure our immigration system better reflects our values.
We’ve helped thousands of Americans recover from hurricanes and tornados, floods
and wildfires. And we’ve worked to clean up a massive oil spill in the
Gulf as well as address a flu pandemic.
In Jeh Johnson, we have the right person
to continue this important work. From the moment I took office, Jeh was
an absolutely critical member of my national security team, and he demonstrated
again and again the qualities that will make him a strong Secretary of Homeland
Security.
Jeh has a deep understanding of the
threats and challenges facing the United States. As the Pentagon’s top
lawyer, he helped design and implement many of the policies that have kept our
country safe, including our success in dismantling the core of al Qaeda in the
FATA.
When I directed my national security
team to be more open and transparent about how our policies work and how we
make decisions, especially when it comes to preventing terrorist attacks, Jeh
was one of the leaders who spoke eloquently about how we meet today's threats
in a way that are consistent with our values, including the rule of law.
Jeh also knows that meeting these
threats demands cooperation and coordination across our government. He's
been there in the Situation Room at the table in moments of decision, working
with leaders from a host of agencies to make sure everyone is rowing in the
same direction. And he's respected across our government as a team
player, somebody who knows how to get folks who don’t always agree to work
towards a common goal.
Jeh has experience leading large complex
organizations. As a member of the Pentagon's senior management team,
first under Bob Gates and then under Leon Panetta, he helped oversee the work
of more than 3 million military and civilian personnel across the country and
around the world. And I think it's fair to say that both former
secretaries Gates and Panetta will attest to the incredible professionalism
that Jeh brings to the job, and the bipartisan approach that, appropriately, he
takes when it comes to national security.
He's also earned a reputation as a cool
and calm leader. Jeh appreciates that any organization's greatest asset
is its people, and at the Pentagon he guided the report explaining why allowing
our men and women in uniform to serve their country openly would not weaken our
military. Congress ended up using that report that Jeh helped to craft to
justify repealing "don't ask, don't tell." And America and our
military are stronger because we did, in part because of Jeh's determined
leadership. I know he will bring that same commitment to our hardworking
folks at DHS.
And finally, Jeh believes, in a deep and
personal way, that keeping America safe requires us also upholding the values
and civil liberties that make America great. Jeh tells the story of his
uncle who was a member of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.
And he and his fellow airmen served with honor, even when their country didn’t
treat them with the dignity and the respect that they deserved. And it
was a lesson that Jeh never forgot. “We must adopt legal positions that
comport with common sense,” Jeh says, “consistent with who we are as
Americans.” Jeh is a pretty good lawyer, so he knows what that
means.
And Jeh understands that this country is
worth protecting –- not because of what we build or what we own, but because of
who we are. And that’s what sets us apart. That’s why, as a nation,
we have to keep adapting to changing threats, whether natural or
man-made. We have to stay ready when disaster strikes and help Americans
recover in the aftermath. We’ve got to fix our broken immigration system in
a way that strengthens our borders, and modernizes legal immigration, and makes
sure everybody is playing by the same rules.
And I’m confident that I could not make
a better choice in Jeh, somebody who I’m confident is going to be moving not
just the agency forward, but helping to move the country forward.
So, Jeh, thank you so much for agreeing
to take on this very difficult and extraordinary mission. You’ve got a
great team over at DHS, and I know that they're looking forward to having you
over there. I urge the Senate to confirm Jeh as soon as possible.
And I thank you, as well as your family, to agreeing to serve. Your wife,
Susan, and your daughter, Natalie, couldn’t be here because they're visiting
Jeh Jr. out at Occidental College, which, by the way, I went to for two years
when I was young. It’s a fine college. I’m sorry I couldn’t be
there to say hi to him. But your son chose well.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to
invite Jeh Johnson to say a few words, hopefully our next Secretary of the
Department of Homeland Security. (Applause.)
MR. JOHNSON: Thank you very much, Mr. President.
As you noted, my wife and two kids are not here because it’s parents’ weekend
at Occidental, and thanks to the cost of a non-refundable airline ticket --
(laughter) -- they could not be in two places at once. They wish they
could be here.
Thank you for the tremendous honor of this nomination and the trust you have
placed in me to carry out this large and important responsibility as Secretary
of Homeland Security. I was not looking for this opportunity -- I had
left government at the end of last year and was settling back into private life
and private law practice. But when I received the call, I could not
refuse it.
I am a New Yorker, and I was present in Manhattan on 9/11, which happens to be
my birthday, when that bright and beautiful day was -- a day something like
this -- was shattered by the largest terrorist attack on our homeland in
history. I wandered the streets of New York that day and wondered and
asked, what can I do? Since then, I have tried to devote myself to answering
that question. I love this country. I care about the safety of our
people. I believe in public service. And I remain loyal to you, Mr.
President.
If confirmed by the Senate, I promise all of my energy, focus, and ability
toward the task of safeguarding our nation’s national and homeland security.
Thank you again, sir. (Applause.)
END
2:14 P.M. EDT
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