THAT MEANS IT’S WORKING: UnitedHealth Group to exit Obamacare exchanges in all but a ‘handful’ of exchanges…

Instapundit » Blog Archive » THAT MEANS IT’S WORKING: UnitedHealth Group to exit Obamacare exchanges in all but a ‘handful’ o…:
THAT MEANS IT’S WORKING: UnitedHealth Group to exit Obamacare exchanges in all but a ‘handful’ of states.

“We will be down to a handful of states that we will be actively participating in the exchanges,” Stephen J. Hemsley, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group said in an earnings call, noting that the small market size and greater expense of patients insured through the marketplaces led the insurer to make the decision.

UnitedHealth plans to withdraw from health insurance marketplaces in Arkansas, Michigan, Connecticut and parts of Georgia. The decision is a sequel to an announcement by executives late last year that the insurer had suffered financial losses and might leave the health exchanges altogether in 2017. UnitedHealth reported that it expects to lose $650 million in the exchanges in 2016.

UnitedHealth is only a minor player on the exchanges, yet the company still expects to lose most of a billion dollars just this year.

But UnitedHealth is hardly alone. Even the pro-ObamaCare Kaiser Family Foundation said that “Something has to give” on the exchanges, and that “Either insurers will drop out or insurers will raise premiums.”

Black Kean University Student Admits to Tweeting Fake Anti-Black Threats

Black Kean University Student Admits to Tweeting Fake Anti-Black Threats » Louder With Crowder
"A black Kean University student is getting her butt handed to her in legal fees because she’s a liar.
To recap, the dame cried racist and caused a panic for no good reason.
On social media this is called “a tweet” but in the real-world, it’s called “fraud.”
Sound familiar?
(Black Professor Cries ‘Racial Profiling!’ New Camera Footage Says…NO)
This is becoming a common pastime.
You ever feel the need to be oppressed because you’re an insignificant wastoid?
That’s all this lady wanted.
But when she looked around campus for some good ole racism, she found none. 
So what did she do? 
Took to Twitter and created some of her own.
According to prosecutors, the 25-year-old McKelvey tweeted threats from a campus library because she wanted more people to attend [a] rally on racial issues. 
She then returned to the rally to tell people about the threats.
State prosecutors will recommend that Kayla KcKelvey be sentenced to 90 days in jail and that she pay restitution of about $82,000 to cover the costs of the police response and heightened security at Kean University after the threats.
It’s important to note that this gal had to literally fabricate racism because there wasn’t enough to go around..."

Brussels boss Jean-Claude Juncker fears EU will collapse

Brussels boss Jean-Claude Juncker fears EU will collapse | Politics | News | Daily Express:
Jean-Claude Juncker said the dream of European integration could collapse “in ruins”.
Public support has collapsed right across the EU’s 28 member nations, said Mr Juncker, who is European Commission President.
In an astonishing confession of failure, he added: “We are no longer respected in our countries when we emphasise the need to give priority to the EU.”.
His remarks, in a speech in Strasbourg, were being seen last night as recognition of public revulsion at the EU ahead of Britain’s in-or-out referendum on June 23.
Campaigners for an EU exit said Mr Juncker’s confession proved the UK will be better off out.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Vote Leave campaign group, said: “Even the Eurocrats admit the EU isn’t working for Europe.
“Juncker should have added that Brussels costs too much – £350million a week for British taxpayers..."

Press Freedom Plummets Across the Globe — and U.S. Doesn’t Rank So Well During Obama’s Second Term | TheBlaze.com

Press Freedom Plummets Across the Globe — and U.S. Doesn’t Rank So Well During Obama’s Second Term | TheBlaze.com:

“It is unfortunately clear that many of the world’s leaders are developing a form of paranoia about legitimate journalism,” Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire said in a statement.
The United States, which is supposed to be a bastion of the free press, managed to move up eight spots from its 2015 ranking but still is not strong.

“U.S. media freedom, enshrined in the First Amendment to the 1787 Constitution, has encountered a major obstacle — the government’s war on whistleblowers who leak information about its surveillance activities, spying and foreign operations, especially those linked to counter-terrorism,” the report says. “Furthermore, U.S. journalists are still not protected by a federal ‘shield law’ guaranteeing their right not to reveal their sources and other confidential work-related information.”

Insanity!!-----GOP-Passed Solyndra Subsidies Use Enron-Style Accounting to Fuel Federal Housing

GOP-Passed Solyndra Subsidies Use Enron-Style Accounting to Fuel Federal Housing:
"...To make matters worse, the Senate voted yesterday on an amendment sponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), which will require the Federal Housing Administration to count the projected savings from “energy efficiency” in the home towards the income of the borrower for a prospective mortgage. 
This “increased income” will in turn allow the home buyer to qualify for a larger government-backed loan.
Folks, you can’t make this stuff up.
This is a mix of Solyndra, Freddie Mac, and Enron accounting all in one.
Republican lawmakers are now doubling down on the same failed affordable housing social engineering agenda and are using notional and intangible green energy savings as income in order to encourage riskier loans on the taxpayer’s dime.
This is a quintessential example of the problem with the Republican Party.
They accuse conservatives have harboring unrealistic expectations in terms of how much government they have the ability to cut.
The problem is, far from cutting any government intervention, almost every piece of legislation they pass expands government involvement in the private sector.
This bill combines two of the worst federal policies — green energy social engineering and the federal housing scheme — and doubles down on the very impetus for our economic failure."

AM Fruitcake

History for April 21

History for April 21 - On-This-Day.com:
Friedrich Froebel 1782 - Teacher, author, toy maker, invented kindergarten in 1837, Anthony Quinn 1915 - Actor ("Viva Zapata! [1952]," "The Guns of Navarone"), Elizabeth II (Elisabeth Mary) 1926 - Queen of the United Kingdom


Patti LuPone 1949 - Actress ("Evita", "Driving Miss Daisy"), Tony Danza 1951 - Actor ("Who’s the Boss," "Taxi," "Angels in the Outfield"), Andie MacDowell (Rosalie Anderson) 1958 - Actress ("Groundhog Day", "St. Elmo’s Fire," "Four Weddings and a Funeral")


753 BC - Today is the traditional date of the foundation of Rome.


1789 - John Adams was sworn in as the first U.S. Vice President.



1836 - General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. This battle decided the independence of Texas.


1898 - The Spanish-American War began.


1918 - German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, "The Red Baron," was shot down and killed during World War I.


1943 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt announced that several Doolittle pilots had been executed by the Japanese.


1967 - Svetlana Alliluyeva (Svetlana Stalina) defected in New York City. She was the daughter of Joseph Stalin.


1986 - Geraldo Rivera opened a vault that belonged to Al Capone at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago. Nothing of interest was found inside.

LIBERTY REVIEW

LIBERTY REVIEW:

http://libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2016/04/april-20-2016-guidance-policy-by-tammy.html

Guidance Policy

By Tammy Derouin

It’s good to see that more of the underhanded tactics of our government have come to light over the past couple of weeks.  Of course, if the press was still free and independent, we would have known about this a long time ago. But then again, if we still had a free press which acted like the government watch dog they used to be, would we be dealing with all the scandalous activity which has taken place in the current administration?  Would we be dealing with the outrageous absurdities of the Left?

The State of Michigan Department of Education released a “Guidance” policy for public schools concerning Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) students, back in February.  Did you hear anything about this?  Although a guideline at this point, such a policy would undoubtedly have disastrous effects on our children and our society as a whole.  This policy would allow students of any age to choose their gender, change their name and use the restroom of their choice, without parental knowledge.

Have we completely lost our minds?  The Left will apparently stop at nothing.  Politics aside, this is just plain wrong.  Those on social media have been weighing in quite heavily on this issue. Fathers and husbands are not happy.  Women are deeply concerned.  Just suggest the idea to an adolescent and see how far you get.  Talk about sincere honesty; they’ll tell you the idea is stupid in no uncertain terms.  Of course, they are shocked that such a thing would even be suggested.  After a moment fear settles in as they consider the possibility. You can see the concern in their eyes.

Seriously, does the Michigan State Board of Education really believe that’s its fine to allow individuals who identify with the opposite sex, but are not that sex, into the restroom of their choice?  Males, who identify themselves as females, at any age, could use the girl’s restroom.  Our children, our society is at high risk.  Are we still enjoying the fundamental transformation of America?

The guidance policy states:..... 

What kinds of taxes do Americans pay?

What kinds of taxes do Americans pay? | pgpf.org:
"Too often, debates about the federal tax code confuse or misrepresent important facts because they focus on only one part of our federal tax system — usually the individual income tax — and ignore the fact that Americans pay many other taxes."

Is the Pope Infallible? It depends.

Is the Pope Infallible? It depends. | Intellectual Takeout:
Since Pope Francis has seemingly jumped into the American presidential election with his comment about Donald Trump and building a wall on the southern border of the United States (see below), it’s worth clarifying what the Catholic Church actually teaches on papal infallibility.

“‘A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,’ Francis said when a reporter asked him about Mr. Trump on the papal airliner as he returned to Rome after his six-day visit to Mexico.”

Understandably, there’s been quite a bit of furor over Pope Francis’ comment. Even here at Intellectual Takeout, we felt compelled to point out that quite a few popes have engaged in wall building.

In all the discussion, though, we noticed a number of comments about papal infallibility. Is the pope always right? Simply put, no.

So what does papal infallibility mean and how does it work? For that answer, we turn to Catholic Answers, an organization setup to answer those kinds of pressing questions about Catholics. Here’s the short answer:

“Papal infallibility means that the pope is protected from error when he ‘proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals’ (CCC 891). This does not mean that he is impeccable (incapable of sin) or inerrant (incapable of error).”

Here’s a longer answer:

UnitedHealth Exits Most ObamaCare Exchanges, Citing Over $1 Billion In Losses - Breitbart

UnitedHealth Exits Most ObamaCare Exchanges, Citing Over $1 Billion In Losses - Breitbart:

"Some of these providers have made it clear that only substantial premium increases – which taxpayers will be looted without mercy to subsidize, so ObamaCare enrollees don’t panic and drop their coverage – will keep them in the program.

The AP also reports that the Administration is planning to rewrite the Affordable Care Act yet again, presumably through regulatory fiat or executive orders, to make it harder for customers to “sign up for coverage outside regular enrollment windows and then dump expensive claims on their books.” UnitedHealth evidently didn’t want to stay in the game for another year to see how that new adventure in hyper-regulation worked out."

Students, faculty call University of Washington police racist, demand they be disarmed

Students, faculty call University of Washington police racist, demand they be disarmed - The College Fix:
"A vocal group of students and faculty at the University of Washington have demanded that campus police be disarmed, saying officers are racist and the department is guilty of institutional racism.
The recent unrest largely centers on an incident on campus Sunday, March 6, in which an officer arrested a visiting male on a felony warrant, The Daily student newspaper reports.
The arrested man was among a small group of Seattle Center College students visiting the campus with Amman Girma, a black academic adviser in the Department of Global Health.
Girma claims officers racially profiled his friends, held them at gunpoint, and “humiliated” them, 
The Daily reports, adding Girma is currently on leave..."

'Orwellian,' 'ghettoization': Criticisms mount against UConn's dorm wing for black males

'Orwellian,' 'ghettoization': Criticisms mount against UConn's dorm wing for black males - The College Fix:
The University of Connecticut has been on the receiving end of growing criticism over its plans for a wing dedicated to housing black males inside a new dorm building.
It’s billed as a living-learning community for black students, some sort of safe space, with campus officials suggesting such an arrangement will help them get through college.
...“We know our African-American males have the skills and knowledge to excel, and this initiative builds on that by engaging their potential with programs and services that better help them incorporate into the daily grind of college,” she said.
The dorm wing, expected to open this fall, is called the ScHOLA2RS House initiative.
It stands for Scholastic House of Leaders who are African American Researchers and Scholars.
...But the News Times reports that “critics said if UConn is trying to improve the low 55 percent graduation rate for black men — compared to the 83 percent graduation rate for all students — the solution should promote integration, not segregation.”...

Noon-toon

Retired Lt. Colonel BLASTS Obama For Sheltering Saudis: 'Where Are The Politicians With Integrity?'

Retired Lt. Colonel BLASTS Obama For Sheltering Saudis: 'Where Are The Politicians With Integrity?':

"Retired military intelligence officer Lt. Col. Ralph Peters argued on “Fox and Friends Weekend” that 28 classified pages of the 9/11 Commission report hadn’t been released primarily to spare Saudi Arabia from any repercussions of shocking revelations. “Where are the politicians with integrity, who will stand up for Americans and say, ‘Hey Saudi [Arabia], game over’?

Congressman Massie's 500-Yard Run That is Driving Congress Crazy

Congressman Massie's 500-Yard Run That is Driving Congress Crazy - Michael Esch - Liberty.me:
"Recently, Congressman Thomas Massie came to speak at the University of Cincinnati.
He was the keynote speaker for the Young American for Liberty’s Ohio State conference. Massie gave an eye opening speech on how the House of Representatives works.
One of his most revealing stories centered around his 500-yard run that he frequently makes from his office to the House floor.
For those that are not aware, Congress passes a lot of bills!
In the 112th Congress, there were 561 bills that passed in one year.
If we do some basic math, Congress is in session for 132 days and in that time they pass 561 bills, meaning they are passing roughly 4 bills a day.
An example of one of these bills is the 600-page Highway Flood Student Loan bill that was given to the Senate the day of the vote.
On top of that the bill had 23 additional amendments.
Congressman Massie explained that voice votes are frequently used to pass motions, amendments, and resolutions.
There are several problems with taking voice votes on important issues. 

• First, the voice vote does not hold politicians accountable for their votes. Many of our congressmen that we send to Washington are voting against what they ran on, but we do not have a record of all of these votes. 
• The second problem with this method of voting is that it is solely at the discretion of the House Chair. Under normal circumstances, this would be Speaker of the House John Boehner. He is the only one that is allowed to interpret the vote.

The House is supposed to have something called a “quorum” to have a vote. A quorum is defined by at least 218 congressmen.
The way that Boehner decides if there is a quorum is by squinting his eyes and declaring he thinks he sees 218 people.
Congressman Massie said sometimes there will only be ten congressmen present.
There are about 500 yards in between Massie’s office and the house floor. 
When the speaker starts to do voice votes when no one is in the house, Congressman Massie will sprint from his office to the House floor and demand a recorded vote.
When Congress has a recorded vote, it forces there to be a quorum and politicians to be held accountable for their votes.
Massie said that he had done this a lot since he was elected in 2012.
One of the most memorable votes was in December of 2014.
The speaker indicated that the Congress was over, so all the congressmen left. 
It just so happened that Massie’s flight had been canceled, when he went back to his office he saw that the house was passing bills with no one present.
He made the 500-yard dash, and when he got onto the house floor they were conducting a voice vote on whether or not to allow President Obama to arm Ukraine’s military.
They recessed before he could make a point that a quorum was not present. 
The next day, after he left, they passed more bills by voice before adjourning the 113th congress.
This is clearly something that Congress should debate since the results could lead to a global conflict.
We have seen how joining into global conflicts has unintended consequences. 
For example, Hillary’s War in Libya, and the McCain/Graham’s support for arming ISIS in Syria. These should be heavily debated and open to the public..."

Rap Song Threatens Riots, Trump Assassination; Media Celebrates

Rap Song Threatens Riots, Trump Assassination; Media Celebrates » Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!:
A new viral rap song that encourages the assassination of Donald Trump and calls for riots of he wins the presidency is being celebrated by the music media.

Entitled ‘F**k Donald Trump’, the track was performed live in front of 20,000 people at the Coachella music festival this past weekend by hip-hop artists YG and Nipsey Hussle.

The lyrics for the song openly invoke death threats against Trump and vows to stage violence if he takes the Oval Office.

Here are some choice excerpts;

All the niggas in the hood wanna fight you

Surprised El Chapo ain’t tried to snipe you

Surprised the Nation of Islam ain’t tried to find you

Have a rally out in L.A., we gon fuck it up
Home of the Rodney King riot, we don’t give a fuck

You built walls? We gong prolly dig holes
And if your ass do win, you gong prolly get smoked
F**k nigga, f**k you!

When me and Nip link, that’s Bloods and Crips
Where your L.A. rally? We gon crash your shit

The song also explicitly encourages criminals to commit voter fraud with the line, “And if you been to jail you can prolly still vote.”

Much more at link.

Uncovering the Hidden Truths of 9/11

Uncovering the Hidden Truths of 9/11 | Observer
For nearly 15 years, ever since jihadists took down the Twin Towers and killed nearly 3,000 Americans, many have wondered how a bunch of novice terrorists—several of whom could barely fly an airplane, much less a big jetliner—could pull off such complex and audacious attack.
What al-Qa’ida termed their ‘Planes Operation’ was meticulously planned prior to execution—but by whom, exactly?
That key question remains partly open, and the American public has never received the full explanation from our government that they deserve.
I know what they have not been allowed to see: 
When 9/11 happened I was a counterintelligence officer with the National Security Agency and part of my purview was looking into state connections to international terrorism.
I was one of the few officials in our Intelligence Community seriously looking into al-Qa’ida’s links to foreign intelligence before the Twin Towers fell.
In the months after the attacks, a complex intelligence picture emerged of who secretly aided al-Qa’ida in the run-up to 9/11—large portions of which were kept highly classified.
Why they remain classified still is a good question that needs to be asked.
Regrettably, the 9/11 Commission, which was established to get to the bottom of that national tragedy, dodged certain key questions—though in fairness to its members the Commission was not allowed to see some important evidence.
Read on!

Ted Cruz Gives Perfect Response to Gay Marriage Question (VIDEO) | RedState

Ted Cruz Gives Perfect Response to Gay Marriage Question (VIDEO) | RedState:

"Senator Ted Cruz was on Good Morning America Monday morning for a live town hall event.  When asked about his feelings on gay marriage, here is what he had to say:"

Watch: College Kids Can't Explain Why a Short White Man Isn't a Tall Asian Woman

Watch: College Kids Can't Explain Why a Short White Man Isn't a Tall Asian Woman:
"...Watch as the students struggle to explain why an adult male shouldn’t enroll in a first-grade class, why he’s not a woman, why he’s not substantially taller, or why he’s not Asian. 
...And we’ve barely dipped our toe in the water of the brave new world, where it’s totally cool if men believe they’re female dragons.
But there’s no trace of regret or humility in the cultural revolutionaries — the people who’ve so profoundly influenced the young people on the video above.
Just keep doing what you want.
If you get hurt, it’s probably some Christian’s fault.
Only intolerance can stop utopia now."

AM Fruitcake

History for April 20

History for April 20 - On-This-Day.com
Daniel Chester French 1850 - Sculptor, created Minute Man statue in Concord, MA, Abraham Lincoln seated in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, Adolf Hitler 1889 - German leader during World War II, Lionel Hampton 1908 - Singer, songwriter, jazz musician, bandleader


George Takei 1937 - Actor ("Star Trek", "Star Trek" movie series), Clint Howard 1959 - Actor ("Backdraft", "Cocoon"), Carmen Electra 1972 - Actress ("Baywatch"), singer/rapper 


1534 - Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, set sail from St. Malo to explore the North American coastline.


1769 - Ottawa Chief Pontiac was murdered by an Illinois Indian in Cahokia.


1902 - Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.


1912 - Fenway Park opened as the home of the Boston Red Sox.


1916 - Chicago's Wrigley Field held its first Cubs game with the first National League game at the ballpark. The Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings.


1942 - Pierre Laval, the premier of Vichy France, in a radio broadcast, establishes a policy of "true reconciliation with Germany."


1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.


1988 - The U.S. Air Forces' Stealth (B-2 bomber) was officially unveiled.

Obama Talked to Putin Monday — but One Major Issue Was Left Out of the Conversation | TheBlaze.com

Obama Talked to Putin Monday — but One Major Issue Was Left Out of the Conversation | TheBlaze.com:

"President Barack Obama spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday, but the leaders did not discuss the issue of Russian attack planes buzzing a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Baltic Sea last week, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

Earnest told reporters that the incident “did not necessitate a presidential-level conversation.”"

What Percent Of The Population Is Transgender? The Results May Surprise You

What Percent Of The Population Is Transgender? The Results May Surprise You - Chicks On The Right
"...The way the media talks about it, you’d think that at least a quarter of society identified as LGBT. Seriously.
The propaganda is EVERYWHERE.
Now, almost all of my T.V. shows feature at least one gay romance.
When I was in D.C. last summer, I noticed that the gay hotel ads practically outnumbered the straight.
And look.
 I don’t deny that the LGBT community exists.
That would be silly.
But I don't believe that they’re as big as MSM would like us to think.
The NY Times took some time off from digging into Marco Rubio’s traffic violation history and did a little research on the population of the LGBT community.
I’m sure it was painful for them to publish.
As it turns out, the LGBT community only makes up about 3.5 percent of the population, according to an estimate from the Williams Institute.
Of that, 0.3 percent of the population identifies as transgender. 
That’s less than one half of one percent.
Shocking, isn’t it?
...0.3 percent of society shouldn’t get to determine what the "new normal" is."