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Friday, October 25, 2013

Texas Voter ID Law Discriminates Against Women, Students and Minorities

Ari Berman on October 23, 2013 - 11:06 AM ET

A sign guides voters to a polling location, November 6, 2012, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Texas’s new voter ID law got off to a rocky start this week as early voting began for state constitutional amendments. The law was previously blocked as discriminatory by the federal courts under the Voting Rights Act in 2012, until the Supreme Court invalidated Section 4 of the VRA in June. (The Department of Justice has filed suit against the law under Section 2 of the VRA.) Now we are seeing the disastrous ramifications of the Supreme Court’s decision.
Based on Texas’ own data, 600,000 to 800,000 registered voters don’t have the government-issued ID needed to cast a ballot, with Hispanics 46 to 120 percent more likely than whites to lack an ID. But a much larger segment of the electorate, particularly women, will be impacted by the requirement that a voter’s ID be “substantially similar” to their name on the voter registration rolls. According to a 2006 study by the Brennan Center for Justice, a third of all women have citizenship documents that do not match their current legal name.
Just yesterday, this happened (via Rick Hasen), from KiiiTV in South Texas:

“What I have used for voter registration and for identification for the last 52 years was not sufficient yesterday when I went to vote,” 117th District Court Judge Sandra Watts said.
Watts has voted in every election for the last forty-nine years. The name on her driver’s license has remained the same for fifty-two years, and the address on her voter registration card or driver’s license hasn’t changed in more than two decades. So imagine her surprise when she was told by voting officials that she would have to sign a “voters affidavit” affirming she was who she said she was.
“Someone looked at that and said, ‘Well, they’re not the same,’” Watts said.
The difference? On the driver’s license, Judge Watts’s maiden name is her middle name. On her voter registration, it’s her actual middle name. That was enough under the new, more strict voter fraud law, to send up a red flag.
“This is the first time I have ever had a problem voting,” Watts said.

The disproportionate impact of the law on women voters could be a major factor in upcoming Texas elections, especially now that Wendy Davis is running for governor in 2014.
Moreover, the state is doing very little to make sure that voters who don’t have an ID can get one. As I mentioned, 600–800,000 registered voters don’t have an acceptable voter ID, but according to the Dallas Morning News “only 41 of the new cards were issued by DPS [Department of Public Safety] as of last week.”
Getting a valid photo ID in Texas can be far more difficult than one assumes. To obtain one of the government-issued IDs now needed to vote, voters must first pay for underlying documents to confirm their identity, the cheapest option being a birth certificate for $22 (otherwise known as a “poll tax”); there are no DMV offices in eighty-one of 254 counties in the state, with some voters needing to travel up to 250 miles to the closest location. Counties with a significant Hispanic population are less likely to have a DMV office, while Hispanic residents in such counties are twice as likely as whites to not have the new voter ID (Hispanics in Texas are also twice as likely as whites to not have a car). “A law that forces poorer citizens to choose between their wages and their franchise unquestionably denies or abridges their right to vote,” a federal court wrote last year when it blocked the law.
Texas has set up mobile voter ID units in twenty counties to help people obtain an ID, but has issued new IDs to only twenty voters at the sites so far.

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Supporters of the voter ID law, such as Governor Rick Perry, argue that it’s necessary to stop the rampant menace of voter fraud. But there’s no evidence that voter impersonation fraud is a problem in Texas. According to the comprehensive News21 database, there has been only one successful conviction for voter impersonation—I repeat, only one—since 2000.
Texas has the distinction of being one of the few states that allows you to vote with a concealed weapons permit, but not a student ID. Provisions like these suggest that the law was aimed less at stopping voter fraud and more at stopping the changing demographics of the state. Based on what we’re seeing thus far, the law might better be described as the Republican Self-Preservation Act.

MSNBC Panel Brawls Over Who to Blame for Obamacare Website Failure: Obama or GOP

by Noah Rothman | 12:43 pm, October 25th, 2013 63

The guests and fill-in host on MSNBC’s Now tangled during a discussion over just which party was to blame for the failed roll-out of HealthCare.Gov. Some of the guests suggested that the White House was solely to blame and should be “held accountable” for their failure, lest they jeopardize the reputation of the project of expanding health care access to millions of uninsured. Other guests blamed Republican intransigence and sabotage for the website’s failures.
National Journal reporter Alex Seitz-Wald began by identifying a “cognitive dissonance” displayed by opponents of the ACA. He said that many have hampered its implementation and are now “screaming” that people are having a difficult time accessing the coverage portals like HealthCAre.Gov. He noted that state-level outlets that did not have to contend with congressional Republican disruption are faring far better than the federal exchanges website.
“And yet, the Republicans have been incredibly effective at turning the narrative 100 percent onto the website,” said fill-in host Joy-Ann Reid.

MSNBC host Karen Finney said that there is an “opportunity” there for Democrats to display outrage at the “morally disgusting” behavior displayed by Republican governors that refused to create state-level health insurance exchanges or expand Medicaid access.
Huffington Post reporter Sam Stein agreed that the federal government was burdened by the decision of some GOP governors to not create state-level exchange websites on their own. However, he added that the White House is getting a pass that they have not earned.
“They put a promise out to 7 million or so people who were supposed to buy insurance from the exchanges they would have access to this,” Stein said. “That they would get the medical coverage they needed and they have not delivered. And that is a fact.”
“The administration should be held accountable for that,” he continued. “And I will say this: it is creating an image for them that’s not a good one, which is that they cannot administer this president’s signature domestic achievement. I don’t think that’s an insignificant criticism.”
Finney agreed with Stein, but said she was not prepared to let Republicans off the hook for their “morally disgusting” decision to hinder the implementation of the ACA by not creating exchanges or expanding Medicaid.
Watch the clip below via MSNBC:
[Photo via screen grab ]
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Veterans Are Being Told: "We Don't Hire Your Kind"

Forbes - If you read my blog regularly, you’re well aware of my stance on corporations and some of the lackluster veteran hiring initiatives. Although some companies are doing their best, I’ve found that many companies appear to use “We Hire Veterans” campaigns as marketing and public relations ploys to boost their public images. When I contact companies to inquire about their initiatives, I’m always referred to someone in the marketing department, rather than human resources. Shouldn’t I be talking to the people actually filtering through resumes?

I always suspect that this disconnect would not play out too well for us veterans in the long run.
So it’s upsetting, but not surprising, that I read the following post from a recently separated Air Force Veteran named Melissa M. (this has been edited with her permission) in the ‘Veteran Mentor Network” LinkedIn LNKD +1.02%message board:

"Hello everyone. I got out of the Air Force after eight years of service in 2007. For the last six years, I’ve enjoyed supporting the Department of Defense as a contractor. When Sequestration reared it’s ugly head, my company laid me off because I was “too expensive” as one of the more senior analysts. My husband and I decided to move back to his home town, to be close to relatives, thinking we’d just settle into “normal” office jobs. ...Read More

More Than 1/3 Americans Can Never Retire

Posted on October 24, 2013

Wells Fargo Study: 37 Percent of Middle-Class Americans Say They Never Will Retire. Strange How Much Of The Fear & Despair Have Come In The Past Few Years. Thanks Barry.
Dan Weil 10-24-13 Many middle-class Americans apparently aren’t expecting to live their golden years in leisurely retirement. (Thanks To Our Elected Liars Who Certainly Took Well of Themselves, Their Families, Friends & K-Street Crooks)rc
A hefty 34 percent of them think they will work until at least the age of 80, because they haven’t saved enough for retirement, according to a Wells Fargo study survey conducted by Harris Interactive.
That’s up from 25 percent in 2011 and 30 percent in 2012.
But 37 percent say they’ll never retire and will work until they are too sick or die.
What’s the solution to this?
Building savings and creating a retirement plan can improve the retirements for those now in their working years, says Laurie Nordquist, head of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust
Meanwhile, a 59 percent majority of the middle class say paying monthly bills is their chief day-to-day financial concern. That’s up from 52 percent last year.
Saving for retirement takes second place, with 13 percent calling it a priority. Overall, 42 percent say saving for retirement and paying bills concurrently is impossible.
Thus 48 percent don’t have confidence that they will be able to save enough for a comfortable retirement.
The survey of 1,000 middle-class Americans between the ages of 25 and 75 was conducted July 24 to Aug. 27.
“For the past three years, the struggle to pay bills is a growing concern, and the prospect of saving for retirement looks dim, particularly for those in their prime saving years,” Nordquist says in a statement.
“Having a plan and saving not only creates more hopefulness, but it produces results that can grow and lead to a solid retirement.”
In the survey, 52 percent of the middle class say they are confident they will save enough for retirement. But only 29 percent say they have a written plan.
Among those who have a written plan, 70 percent feel confident about their retirement, while only 44 percent of those who don’t have a plan feel confident.
Of those who have a plan, 91 percent say they have willpower to save, compared with 75 percent for those who don’t have a plan.
In the key 40-to-59 demographic, those who say they have written a plan also say they have saved $63,000 for retirement, while those who say they haven’t written a plan say they have saved $20,000.
“This data so clearly shows what a difference a retirement plan makes in that people who have a plan have saved three times what those without a plan have saved,” Nordquist explains. “A plan instills confidence and gives people the discipline to stick with their objectives and reach their financial goals.”
As for the respondents who don’t have a written retirement plan, 45 percent say it’s because they have “so few financial assets.” One-third of the middle class say Social Security will be their “primary” source of income in retirement.
“People say they don’t have a plan because they don’t have enough money,” Nordquist notes. “The most important message I can impart about retirement is that planning is for everyone. It is the foundation for consistent savings, which can allow people to have the nest egg they will need in retirement and can also help people determine the role Social Security will play in their retirement.”
Further, 40 percent say a large unexpected healthcare expense represents their biggest retirement fear, while and 37 percent list the loss or reduction of Social Security as fear No. 1.
As for the stock market, only 24 percent of the middle class view stocks as a good investment for retirement. Meanwhile, 45 percent say “the stock market doesn’t benefit people like me.”
A majority (52 percent) say they shun stocks because “I am afraid to lose my nest egg in the ups and downs of the market.”
Surprisingly enough, fear of the stock market is more intense among those aged 25 to 29, with 56 percent of them afraid they would lose their savings in equities. Asked what they would do with $5,000 given to them for retirement investment, 58 percent of people in this age group say they would allocate it to a saving account or certificate of deposit.
The reluctance for stocks may stem partly from the fact that 51 percent of the middle class say they have little interest in learning about investing.
Nordquist is struck by the fear of stocks. “The middle class just isn’t making the link between being invested and the potential growth of their savings, but on top of this fear is apathy. There is no interest in learning more about investing,” she states.
“Fear and apathy are a bad combination, whereas knowledge about saving and investing is empowering. We’ve got to move people to this mindset.”

DELAWARE: Why is minor damage on some mosque signs worthy of a major TV News report?

It was only minor vandalism at the Islamic Soceity of Delaware but you’d think it was a major terror attack.

(The news story here is condensed from the 3 pages of the original)

Delaware Online A white picket fence was broken into pieces. A wooden sign with the name of the mosque was knocked down, and another sign was damaged. A cross, a sign used by the Christian faith, was created from the resulting debris.

“This is very hard. This is very shocking for us,” said Mahamed Allimulla, president of the Islamic Society of Delaware. “We’re just trying to realize why this happened.” (3 guesses) The destruction at the property was thought to be the first and only problem at the mosque, several leaders there said Friday.

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Syed A. Balkhi, social secretary at the society, was left wondering if this was a message targeting the Muslim community. “Is this the first step? I don’t know,” Balkhi said, adding he wondered what going to happen the next time. “That’s what I’m worried about.” (Ewwww, maybe next time a window will get broken. Call out the National Guard)

The group was expected to meet later that day to figure out what the next step was going to be, Balkhi said. The concern was that the center had never been vandalized in the nearly 25 years the building has been there. “Even after 9/11 this sort of thing never happened,” he said. (It took this long for people to learn how bad the ideology of Islam really is)

State police were at the scene of the incident, and a representative from the state Human Relations Commission was there to gather evidence of a possible hate crime. State police say anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Troop 6 at (302) 633-5000.

In 2011, there were three crimes driven by hatred of another religion reported in the state of Delaware, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. There were a total of 15 hate crimes reported statewide that year, according the federal crime data. (But I bet they didn’t make the evening News)

There’s not yet been any official determination by police or the human relations commission on what was discovered Friday morning at Islamic Center of Delaware.

At the afternoon prayer service, Hadi told those gathered that the Islam faith requires peace with others, no matter their religion. He talked about a teaching from the Koran where someone who was thought to be an enemy was later someone who came in peace. “It might happen the one who broke the fence, one day we might see him here praying with us,” he said. (Don’t dream)

The vandalism is creating concerns that had never occurred to members of the Delaware group, said Irfan Patel, vice president of the Islamic Society of Delaware.

“We’ve being hearing news of these things happening at other Islamic centers and other religious organizations, but the fact that this has hit home it’s very concerning for us,” Patel said. “Mainly for the fact that we have this Islamic school here next door and that school has kids starting from age of 3 to eighth grade.”

While they have security at the center, Patel said they will consider increasing it, this may include hiring guards. Allimulla said he’d like to sit down with whomever is responsible for the damage. That frightening statement, taken while hidden by the darkness of night, should not have happened, he said.

“I would like to send a message: You are a loser and you are a failed person and you are a coward person,” he said. “If you had any questions about the Islamic faith come to the table and we would like to talk to you and and we want to explain everything. Islam is a peaceful religion.” (HAH! And you wonder why people don’t like you?)

Black Tea Party Group Demands Apology from Alan Grayson

By Christian Newswire (Bio and Archives) Thursday, October 24, 2013
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LOS ANGELES, —Conservative and independent-minded Black Americans are demanding a public apology from Congressman Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) for his remarks equating the Tea Party to the Ku-Klux-Klan. Grayson made the remarks on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation” with host Al Sharpton and escalated the attack by issuing a letter to his constituents depicting an image of a burning cross in place of the letter “T” for Tea Party. The image also had the following caption: “Now You Know What the ‘T’ Stands For.” Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President of BOND Action and the South Central L.A. Tea Party, blasted the liberal Democrat. The following is his statement on this issue:

“Rep. Alan Grayson has managed to insult both the Tea Party and sensible Black Americans with his outrageous and callous remarks. I grew up on a plantation near Montgomery, Alabama during Jim Crow and witnessed real racism. Klansmen murdered my great-grandfather. For Alan Grayson to cavalierly compare law-abiding Tea Party people to a violent and racist organization like the Ku-Klux-Klan is offensive and minimizes the suffering of Black Americans.
“Alan Grayson is playing on the worst fears of Blacks in an attempt to continue the brainwashing tactics of the Democratic Party. He knows that for more than 160 years it has been the Democrats who have used the Ku-Klux-Klan, Jim Crow, and failing liberal policies to keep many blacks on the liberal Democrat’s plantation.

“Grayson’s latest actions show a lack of self-control and a complete disregard for the facts. I am seriously concerned about his sanity. It’s disturbing to know that this man is entrusted with our nation’s national security secrets. The South Central L.A. Tea Party is demanding that Congressman Grayson apologizes to black Americans and the Tea Party for his outrageous lies.”

BOND Action and The South Central L.A. Tea Party were founded by Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson for the purpose of “educating, motivating, and rallying Americans to greater involvement in the moral, cultural, and political issues that threaten our great country.” For media inquiries contact (213) 804-1872 or email info@bondaction.org. For more information visit http://www.bondaction.org

Convicted Palestinian Muslim terrorist granted US Citizenship due to lax U.S. Immigration enforcement

Was it just lax? Or was it intentional as ordered by the pro-Palestinian Obama Regime? Palestinian pressure groups in Chicago are outraged after indictment of a Muslim woman accused of hiding her conviction for two 1969 Jerusalem bombings when she applied to become an American citizen.

Algemeiner The anger is not about Rasmieh Yousef Odeh’s alleged lies and secret, murderous past. Rather, the activists are upset with Federal law enforcement officials for daring to charge her. “An attack against any community organizer is [an] attack against us all. Rasmieh Odeh is not alone,” the U.S. Palestinian Community Network wrote in a Twitter post Tuesday.

Odeh’s arrest represents “another example of the continuing repression of Palestinians and people who stand in solidarity with them,” a group called the Committee to Stop FBI Repression said in a statement. “Homeland Security, the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s office now are carrying out enforcement of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.”

Odeh spent 10 years in an Israeli prison after being convicted in connection with two February 1969 bombings by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); one at a crowded supermarket that killed two people, and one at the British Consulate in Jerusalem that caused property damage.

She failed to disclose her arrest, conviction and incarceration when she applied for a visa to come to America and then, in 2004, for naturalization as a citizen. Immigration forms specifically ask about an applicant’s background and associations. Odeh’s failures to disclose, and her sworn signature that her applications were true, are the basis for the new prosecution.

“The United States will never be a safe haven for individuals seeking to distance themselves from their pasts,” William Hayes, acting special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit, said in a statement. “When individuals lie on immigration documents, the system is severely undermined and the security of our nation is put at risk.”

Odeh is an associate director with the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) in Chicago. Last spring, she was honored as a “2013 Outstanding Community Leader” by the Chicago Cultural Alliance, a group which describes itself as a “consortium of Chicago’s ethnic museums, cultural centers, and historical societies whose mission is to effect social change and public understanding of cultural diversity through first voice perspectives.”

Terror-linked CAIR Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab called the investigation “a waste of taxpayer dollars,” “a new low,” and “an example of FBI overreach when it comes to activism or commentary on the (Middle East) conflict.”

If Odeh is found guilty, she would become the latest in a long series of people who enjoyed community support even after their ties to terrorists and support for terrorist groups has been exposed. Cleveland Imam Fawaz Damra was convicted on a similar immigration fraud and later deported. He is shown on video below openly raising money for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Brothers Bayan and Basman Elashi were deported last year after being convicted for their parts in a Hamas-financing network. And former Florida professor Sami Al-Arian, exposed as a Palestinian Islamic Jihad board member, faces a deportation order once a pending contempt case against him is resolved.

OBAMACARE WIPES OUT MORE THAN 1 MILLION PLANS (Already)

Posted on October 24, 2013

Cancellation Notices From Insurers Continue To Mount With Massive More Cancellations Coming After January 1st. Medicare Reductions, Few Doctors, More Patients, Government Running Entire Program; What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Oh, Yeah, I “Hope” To See Real “Change” Soon….
WND 10-24-13 Owners of individual health-insurance policies already have received more than 1 million cancellation notices, according to a compilation of news reports.
But the pain likely won’t end there.
Health-policy expert Bob Laszewski has concluded that about 16 million Americans will lose their current plans because of Obamacare.
Laszewski explained that about 19 million Americans are in the individual health insurance market.
“Because the Obama administration’s regulations on grandfathering existing plans were so stringent about 85 percent of those, 16 million, are not grandfathered and must comply with Obamacare at their next renewal,” he said.
The 16 million, he said, will receive letters from their carriers saying they are losing their current coverage and must re-enroll to avoid a break in coverage .
“Most of these will be seeing some pretty big rate increases, he said.
Blue Cross in New Jersey, alone, is dropping more than 800,000 customers due to Obamacare.
In a letter earlier this month to customers who purchase insurance on the individual and small-employer markets, the insurance giant explained that their health-insurance plan would no longer exist next year because it does not cover all the essential benefits required by the Affordable Care Act.
The Daily Caller reported 1.1 million Aetna customers are at risk in New Jersey, where the leading insurer also won’t be a part of the state’s new Obamacare exchange.
As WND reported, some insurers are canceling plans sold to people with pre-existing medical conditions. Obamacare forbids insurers from rejecting applicants with pre-existing conditions or charging them higher prices.
In Florida, Kaiser Health Network reported, Blue Cross is terminating 300,000 polices.
Half a million Californians with catastrophic plans are losing their insurance plans because they don’t comply with the Affordable Care Act, KNBC-TV in Los Angeles reported Oct. 10.
Those who try to sign up for new ones, KNBC said, are learning the cost may be significantly higher.
Actor Paul Divito asked in KNBC’s report: “Affordable for whom? It’s basically squeezing us right out of the middle class.”
Gerald Kominski, director of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, estimates that “a half million people who are currently insured might be paying more premiums or higher premiums next year because the policies that they have today, those lower-cost, high-deductible skinny benefit policies are not going to be allowed next year on the marketplace.”
Blue Cross dropped Medicare D , the prescription drug plan, for some 13,000 senior citizens in Louisiana, according to the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report.
Blue Cross announced in a letter that prescription drug coverage will end Dec. 31, and seniors enrolled in the plans will have to find new Medicare part D coverage.
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield in New York state announced its Medicaid and Family Health Plus programs will be dropped, affecting 13,000 in certain counties, reported WHAM-TV in Rochester, N.Y.
“The health plan is incurring losses approaching $100 million on these products in 2013 and we expect that amount to increase in 2014,” the company said in a statement.
“Losses of this magnitude are simply unsustainable.”
In September, conservative media entrepreneur Michelle Malkin, founder of HotAir.com and Twitchy, reported Anthem Blue Cross canceled her family plan.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield sent a letter telling customers that plans which don’t meet Obamacare’s requirements will be discontinued in 2014.
The Washington Post reported that the Fairfax County Water Authority in Northern Virginia expects to drop employee coverage because of Obamacare.
The Post cited a letter by Burton Jay Rubin, chairman of the authority’s government relations committee, declaring that if the “Cadillac Tax” is enacted in 2018 as planned – a 40 percent excise tax on insurers – the authority will likely drop insurance coverage for its nearly 400 employees.”
“[I]t is irrefutable that the ACA is fatally flawed,” wrote Rubin. “If it is intended to make health care coverage available to those who do not have it, it does so only by jeopardizing the coverage earned by those who have it.”
Rubin said that by 2018 the Fairfax County Water Authority expects to pay $13,450 to cover individual employees and $33,300 per employee family for coverage.
It only makes sense, he concludes, to pay the fine rather than pay for health insurance.
“[I]f we provide our workforce with no health care coverage, we merely pay the government $2,000 for each employee,” he wrote.
In a wrap-up, the Daily Caller found 10 states, including New Jersey, in which Obamacare will wipe out health plans.
In Missouri, patients of the state’s largest hospital system will not be covered by the largest insurer on Obamacare exchanges, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield.
In Connecticut, Aetna won’t offer insurance on the Obamacare exchange in the state in which it was founded in 1850. The company explained that “modification to the rates filed by Aetna will not allow us to collect enough premiums to cover the cost of the plans and meet the service expectations of our customers.”
In Maryland, 13,000 individuals covered by Aetna and Coventry Health Care won’t be allowed to keep their insurance plans if they want Obamacare subsidies on the exchanges.
In South Carolina, the state’s second largest insurer, Medical Mutual of Ohio, decided to leave the state, dropping 28,000 people.
In New York, Aetna pulled out of the state’s exchange in late August to keep its plans “financially viable.”
In Iowa, the largest insurer, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which sells 86 percent of the state’s individual health insurance plans, won’t offer plans on the Obamacare exchange.
In Wisconsin, two of the three largest insurers in the state won’t offer plans on the exchange.
In Georgia, just five insurers are participating in Georgia’s Obamacare exchange.
Marketwatch reported in August that UPS has joined a growing list of companies kicking spouses off health insurance.
UPS said some15,000 UPS spouses who can obtain health coverage through their own jobs will be dropped from the plan.
Walgreens, the nation’s biggest drug store chain, has dropped 160,000 workers.
The company said it will move its workers into a private health insurance exchange to buy company-subsidized coverage.
It followed similar action this year by Sears and the Orlando-based Darden Restaurants.
Darden Restaurants, the the Orlando Sentinel reported, said about 1,000 employees nationwide who were eligible for its traditional health plan won’t qualify because they did not work an average of 30 hours weekly over the past year.
Darden, which owns chains such as Olive Garden and Red Lobster, employs more than 200,000 people.
The Orlando paper noted that starting in 2015, Obamacare will require large companies to offer insurance to employees working an average of at least 30 hours a week.
Darden will no longer offer part-timers limited-benefit insurance because Obamacare forbids it, the paper said.
Bloomberg reported America’s biggest employers, from GE to IBM, are increasingly moving retirees to insurance exchanges where they select their own health plans.
Time Warner also has said it would move retired workers to a privately run exchange

Administration Caught in New Obamacare Dilemma

Amy Payne

October 25, 2013 at 6:45 am

(29)

Remember sequestration? Those automatic budget cuts that went into effect when Congress failed to do real budgeting a couple of years ago? It’s hitting Obamacare now.
Both laws have been around for awhile, but the Obama Administration hasn’t done anything to prepare for their collision.
The cuts are hitting a set of subsidies that were supposed to help pay deductibles and co-pays for lower-income Americans with Obamacare coverage. An Obama official pledged there would be a plan before the Obamacare exchanges opened on October 1, but that didn’t happen.
So now what? Heritage expert Chris Jacobs writes in today’s Wall Street Journal:

There are two possible outcomes. The first is that individuals who have managed to enroll in subsidized health insurance will find they’ve been misled about their copays and deductibles. Families who currently think their plan will charge a $20 copayment for doctor visits may instead face a $25 charge when the sequester kicks in. Individuals who now believe they face maximum out-of-pocket costs of $2,000 may end up paying hundreds more.

The other option? Stick the insurance companies with the cuts and tell them to deal with it. (That would be about $286 million through next September.)
As Jacobs says, neither looks good for the Administration:

It can tell the American people that the “good deal” President Obama promised isn’t as good as they thought—that those who spent hours and days signing up on Healthcare.gov bought coverage that will cost more than advertised….Or the administration can try to force insurers to bear the full costs of the sequester reductions—and watch them promptly drop out of the exchanges.

Not a day passes when we are spared from another tale of Obamacare falling apart. It simply doesn’t work as promised. Share our video to spread the word about this latest problem.
Read the Morning Bell and more en español every day at Heritage Libertad.

Quick Hits:

Democratic Senator Bill Nelson (FL) says the Obamacare website is so bad “someone ought to get fired.”
Irony: Private sector called in to rescue HealthCare.gov.
Should the farm bill and food stamps go together? Nearly three-fourths of Americans in this poll said no.
You’ll never guess how this creative woman got around government bureaucracy to solve her problem at the DMV.
Soap opera: The White House has blamed a “misunderstanding” for accusing a Republican of insulting the President.
Feeling the squeeze? Plane seats really are shrinking.
The White House is pivoting to immigration reform. What do House conservatives say?

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Amy Payne

Tags: budget, budget cuts, health insurance, insurance companies, Morning Bell, President Obama, sequester, Sequestration, Subsidies, Video, Wall Street Journal

Marines fight to save face after ‘girly’ hat plan i cant wait for them to get the hand bagg teach them not to fight back

Marines fight to save face after ‘girly’ hat plan

By Jeane MacIntosh

October 25, 2013 | 2:16pm

Marines fight to save face after ‘girly’ hat plan

The old hats (left) compared to the new ones (right).

The US Marine Corps is in damage control mode amid the controversy over new caps for its troops.
Marine brass flipped its lid after The Post reported Thursday that the Leathernecks, under an edict from the Obama administration, have been told to choose a “unisex” cap – known as a cover – and that a uniform advisory board was leaning away from the Marine’s iconic cover toward a style that the tough-guy troops have blasted as too feminine.
“The Marine Corps has zero intention of changing the male cover,” the USMC press office claimed in statement posted to its website, www.marines.mil, Friday.
“The President in no way, shape, or form directed the Marine Corps to change our uniform cover. We are looking for a new cover for our female Marines for one overriding reason: The former manufacturer went out of business.”
But that statement flies in the face of the “voting” form sent out to Marines about the cover change.
The form, obtained by The Post, clearly instructs the troops – both male and female — to choose one cap: either the new, slim, female-friendly “Dan Daly” style or the traditional cover that Marines have sported since 1922.

View this document on Scribd

“Provide a vote for either option 1 or option 2 in the appropriate row of the first column below,” the form reads. “Option 1: Adopt the Dan Daly cap as the universal cap, OR Option 2: Adopt the current male frame cap as the universal cap (with some modifications to make it more comfortable but maintain the same distinctive look).”
In an accompanying “Background Information” memo, a “uniform board” – made up of enlisted Marines — points the finger squarely at the Dept. of Defense for the new directive.
“The Marine Corps is being “encouraged” by DoD to standardize on a unisex/universal dress and service cap,” the memo reads.
“They went to the trouble of making sure the word ‘encouraged’ was in quotes,” a senior Marine source told The Post. “Clearly it is meant as a dig, to say ‘this isn’t our idea, it’s the Administration’s.’”
The internal document also noted that the “Dan Daly” style – named for the legendary Long Island Marine who was twice awarded the Medal of Honor – was initially intended as the model for an “improved female cap.” It was then “suggested, via the on-line survey process, that [it] would make an acceptable “universal” cap for all Marines.”
The uniform board is clearly against any switch.
“None of the Working Group members liked the idea of a universal cover for all Marines. When polled, all 12 voting members of the working group voted for gender specific caps (male frame cap for male Marines and Dan Daly cap for female Marines,” the memo stated.

View this document on Scribd

“The male Group members expressed a desire to maintain the current male frame cap, but agreed that it should be re-designed to improve the comfort of the cap. The Group members did not like the appearance of the Dan Daly cap on the male Marine. They said it looked like a “porter’s” cap, and couldn’t envision it with a broader crown.”
But, forced to choose one style or the other, the 10-male, 2-female board picked the Dan Daly – after the female head of the group broke a tie, according to the internal document.
“When they voted on a universal cap (either the Dan Daly cap or the male frame cap) it was a 50/50 split, with 6 members (5 males and 1 female) voting for the Dan Daly cap as the universal cap and 6 members (5 males and 1 female) voting for the male frame cap as the universal cap,” the memo noted.
“The Working Group head (a female) provided the tie breaking vote in favor of the Dan Daly cap.”
According to the documents, switching all Marines to the Dan Daly cover will cost more than $8.2 million. Adopting the traditional cap, with modifications, will save more than $284,000, because the current female covers are more expensive.
The Marines are also being asked to vote on women’s hair braids and a supplemental allowance change, according to the memo.
Meanwhile, despite the sharp denial of a cover switch on its website, USMC spokesman Capt Eric Flanagan indicated in an email to The Post Friday that the choice is between one hat — or the other.
“There is currently an ongoing survey underway asking Marines about their preferences on which type of cover they prefer,” he wrote. “The results of the survey will assist the uniform board in making the final decision.”
About 7 percent of Marines are women, according to recent statistics.
“If the Marine Corps has ‘zero intention’ of changing the male cover, then why did they go to the time and expense to create a prototype male Dan Daly cover? Why bring in at least four Marines to model them for the photographs, in two different uniform combinations?” said the senior Marine source. “Why have the Uniform Board vote on adopting the Dan Daly?”
“I smell bullshit.”

OBAMA LEAVES CODED MESSAGE WHILE CONGRESS FLEES WASHINGTON AHEAD OF FOOD...

Press Releases

Press Release of Senator Cruz Cruz Statement on Texas Trip of HHS Secretary Sebelius

Contact: press@cruz.senate.gov / (202) 228-7561
Friday, October 25, 2013

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today released the following statement on the Texas trip of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius:

"Due to Obamacare, Americans are losing their health insurance, they are seeing their premiums increase, and many are being forced into part time work. That won't change with more salesmanship, a better website, or a temporary delay. We must focus our immediate efforts on bringing relief to working people hurt by Obamacare by staying true to health care's first principle: first do no harm."

###

Obama wants Marines to wear ‘girly’ hats

By Jeane MacIntosh

October 23, 2013 | 10:30pm

Obama wants Marines to wear ‘girly’ hats

The old hats (left) compared to the new ones (right).

A change to the Marine Corps’ uniform hats could take the hard-nosed Leathernecks from the Halls of Montezuma to the shops of Christopher Street.
Thanks to a plan by President Obama to create a “unisex” look for the Corps, officials are on the verge of swapping out the Marines’ iconic caps – known as “covers” — with a new version that some have derided as so “girly” that they would make the French blush.
“We don’t even have enough funding to buy bullets, and the DoD is pushing to spend $8 million on covers that look like women’s hats!” one senior Marine source fumed to The Post. “The Marines deserve better. It makes them look ridiculous.”
The thin new covers have a feminine line that some officials think would make them look just as good on female marines as on males — in keeping with the Obama directive.
“The Marine Corps is being ‘encouraged’ by DoD to standardize on a unisex/universal dress and service cap,” Marine brass noted in an internal memo obtained by The Post.

One of the new hats worn by a female Marine.

Male and female Marines currently wear gender-specific caps.
The controversial covers have been dubbed the “Dan Daly” hat, after a World War I sergeant from Long Island who twice won the Medal of Honor.
But some Marines love the old hat, which has been in use since 1922 and think the new hat is a glorified “porter’s cap.” The new Daly model is based on a style the Marines used from 1904 to 1918 – and then jettisoned.
“The Dan Daly cap looks too French, and the last people we want to associate our Marines with would be the French military,” wrote one commenter on the Marine Times Web site.
As of now, the new covers are only in the proposal stage.
Marines have until Friday to cast their votes on whether to adopt them or keep the old hat with modifications. Marine Corps head Gen. James Amos will make the final decision.
According to the memo obtained by The Post, requiring all troops to use the Daly cover will cost $8,221,958. Going with the traditional cap will save $284,043, because the current female caps are more expensive.
“Why are we even focused on this while we are laying troops off for no budget?” another Marine Times commenter asked.
“None of the [members] liked the idea of a universal cover for all Marines,” the internal memo noted. “The group members did not like the appearance of the Dan Daly cap on the male Marine.”

i deleted my twitter cleo54123

i had it i dont care i wont bring it back up

Exclusive Interview with an Ex-Illuminati Programmer/Trainer

Part 7 - Illuminati Symbols and Clues; Level of Infiltration

Q: 'Yes, tell me more about that (german connection, masonic temple, the 'institute' and the Baal statue in Canada, please [see previous article]). What are some of the Illuminati trademarks, symbols and clues that are placed throughout society as their signals (other than the pyramid and all-seeing-eye of Horus), intentionally or unintentionally. Does the Illuminati get careless?

A: To completely answer these questions, you would need my whole biography. I had thought once about writing it, but I doubt many would read it (seriously, this isn't false modesty) and also I really don't believe people will do anything about the Illuminati even if they know. Sorry for the cynicism, but it is based on a lifetime of experience.

The Illuminists don't care who prints this stuff, or if they are "exposed" because they are counting on the majority not believing it, having done a pretty good job with a media blitz campaign (seen any articles in Newsweek or Time lately that addresses this other than as a laughable conspiracy theory? Guess who owns Time-Warner?).

I have heard them laughing about this very thing in leadership meetings five years ago, and I doubt their attitude has changed much since then. If people DID believe this, if action were able to be taken, then I would be very surprised and quite happy.

I'll give you an example. Two years ago, I tried to find a publisher for my book on how the Illuminati program people. I wanted it available for therapists who work with survivors. I couldn't find anyone willing to consider it; they told me it was much too controversial, and "there is no market for this among the general public". Sad, but true.

At the same time, I do believe that God is in control of world history. I have exposed them, and self published my book for free on the web, to let those who work with survivors realize what they have been through. It's hard to help people leaving a group without understanding the traumas both emotional and physical that they have endured.

Okay, now to your questions.

1. The Bruderheist is the ruling council of Germany. It meets in the black forest region, which is considered the center of the earth, and a vortex for psychical/spiritual energy. They are some of the most vicious people I have ever known in my life, and make the Nazis (who they encouraged) look like fun people. They are still there, manipulating people, running banks, and channeling their dirty money to Brussels, Switzerland, and Cairo, Egypt.

2. Canada has a very large Illuminati and Templar Knight community (they are hand in glove groups) that worship ancient deities. The gold or bronze statue of Baal is in a holy grove on a large private estate between Quebec and Montreal. Since I was only 12 years old when I went there, the details aren't quite as clear. But the ceremonies there were full of people in white gowns, lots of flowers and fruits and votive offerings, singing, then the final sacrifice in the arms of the statue.

3. Illuminati trademarks: these are the most cautionary people on earth. They try to leave absolutely NO tracks. Most of the symbology can be seen on T.V. or movies, and include: the concept of a military government ruling. These people are very, very militaristic.

The Phoenix: this is one of their highest military and spiritual symbols. If you see a German eagle, too, this is a huge sign. Certain companies will use a phoenix as their logo, especially red on black, or the reverse, this is a huge sign, since the Illuminati use many resuscitation rituals in their training, where the person is brought into a death, or near death state, then "resuscitated" and told that Baal, or some other entity, "gave them life" and they owe their new life to him and the group. Thus, the phoenix is a huge trigger and symbol.

Butterflies and rainbow signs are big triggers for people who have gone through the Monarch programming (yes, the Illuminists invented Monarch programming with the CIA). Certain types of jewelry are used as triggers. If a person goes online, and plays certain role games (like Ultima) the games are FULL of trigger symbols, such as gem stones. I don't play them but my husband does, and I have told him what the symbols mean. He thinks it's funny since they don't bother him (he isn't Illuminati).

A tiara, or crown with 13 gems, with a diamond in the center, is a symbol of the coming reign of the "chosen one".

Star of David: believe it or not, one of the highest Illuminati religious symbols is a star of David with a circle around it. Called "the great seal of Solomon" it is used at the highest ceremonies to invoke the demonic.

Earth, water, and fire: these three are used in a lot of ceremonies. Check out how many Saturday a.m. cartoons use this concept. You'd be amazed. In fact, "The Fifth Element" movie was based on it.

Greek and Roman mythology and symbols: The Illuminati use a tremendous amount of Greek and Roman mythology in their programming, and most people will have internal structures with a roman or greek temple inside. Lightening bolts, and any symbols from this time will also trigger those with this inside. For more, just pick up any recent Time magazine. Most of the ads are filled with Illuminati symbology. A picture of a head with a computer inside is another big one, symbolizes delta programming, for example.

Bush is flashing the Horned Owl symbol with his right hand, it is Satanic. Take note of the look on his face too.

Q: Take the lead and tell me about issues you may not have covered in your articles or in this interview.... perhaps some issues I have missed in regards to the New World Order / global government and such...

A:

1. These people are pedophiliacs, they abuse and torture small children and teach them under duress to become perpetrators themselves from earliest infancy. This alone means they should be stopped.

They run the porn industry, along with other groups such as the Mafia. They make enormous amounts of money from drug smuggling, gun running, and human slavery (oh, yes, the buying and selling of human beings is alive and well in the 21^st century).

They are involved in evil and money making in the extreme. If a profit is being made off of human suffering, you can trace the chain back somewhere to these people.

2. They have money and lawyers that could blast anyone confronting them out of the water.

3. They have infiltrated our government, and the governments of every country in the world, and well as the judicial and legal systems.

4. The media as well.

5. They run our financial institutions.

6. They are ruthless, ambitious, and will not stop at killing those they oppose. They invented MK-Ultra with the help of the CIA. Still want to take them on? Sorry, just letting you know what they are like.

7. They are working towards bringing in a new leader, who will usher in a Luciferian reign of joy, prosperity, and rewards to the faithful. Almost an Elyssian type paradise. Of course, the brutality would continue, and those who oppose his reign are to be hunted down and converted or destroyed, but the followers will be so happy and content that they believe these holdouts will want to come over to their side. Sounds unbelievable, but true.

Also, people will have new jobs, and leadership positions in this new order, since the Illuminati believe that their children are the brightest and best (remember that lifetime of training and teaching?) and will be the intellectual elite who will rule over the unintelligent, or "less fit". These people really, truly believe this, and almost worship Plato's ideal Republic as their blue print for the new order.

Now, the other side of the picture.

1. They are arrogant, and this could be their downfall. They view the common man as "sheep" with no intelligence. They are full of pride, believe they are invulnerable (see above) and that any press about them is the equivalent of a gnat to be swatted. Arrogant people make mistakes, and they are becoming more blatant and open in recent years.

2. They believe they can overcome God, which is a huge mistake. God can stay the hand of history, and has so far, in the hope that more from this group will get out, because He is merciful.

3. Most of them are wounded, abused victims, who don't realize that it is possible to leave the group. There is a lot of discontent in the ranks, and there would be a mass exodus if the members believed it were really possible to get out (and live). Many of the trainers I knew (I know, wicked, torturing pedophiles) were NOT happy with what they did. They would whisper quietly, or give a look, to show that they disagreed with what they had to do. They would resignedly do their jobs, in the hope of advancement.

Know what one of the biggest carrots offered to those who advance up in the group is? That you don't have to hurt people anymore, and that you can't be abused (it's true: only those higher than you in the group can abuse you, so everyone wants to move up, where the pool of candidates becomes smaller). Of course, people can choose to abuse anyone beneath them, and that motivates some (but not all!) to move up.

4. As more survivors leave, therapists and churches and support people are becoming more aware of the sophisticated mind control techniques used to control members. They are learning to undo it.

5. Prayer can overcome the greatest evil, and my greatest hope is that those I once knew in this group, including the heads and those who hurt me at times, would get out. That they could know that, yes, it is truly possible to leave.

Q: I have seen Clinton do this hand sign on a few occasion, and now Prince William as well. Any hidden meaning?

A: That is an old, well known greeting of one satanist to another. Usually, the Illuminists are a lot more subtle and don't do that publicly.