Taxes for thee but not for me-----Unions Get Big ObamaCare Christmas Present As Other Self-Insured Groups Get Scrooged

Unions Get Big ObamaCare Christmas Present As Other Self-Insured Groups Get Scrooged - Forbes

Obama’s latest constitutional violation will exempt unions from a fee the law imposes upon all large group health plans.
That provision which appears in Section 1341 (b)(1)(A)  establishes a reinsurance program to compensate insurers on exchanges in the individual market if they are hit with higher than expected costs to cover those with pre-existing conditions. This will come from insurers and self-insured employers who pay in proportion to the number of people they cover.
The target is to raise $25 billion during 2014, amounting to $63 per covered employee.
The union exemption would kick in for 2015 and 2016.

As reported in a Wall Street Journal editorial, “The unions hate this reinsurance transfer because it takes from their members in the form of higher premiums and gives to people on the exchanges.”

The union exemption deal will require that insurers who aren’t fully reimbursed by fees along with non-exempted self-insured employers will have to pay more to make up the shortfall.
How will they make that up? 
How else but by passing on higher costs to their customers? 
The Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed that the fee for other non-exempt plans will be higher as a result.

This is creepy----Obama moves to impose his vision of how we should live, Part One

Obama moves to impose his vision of how we should live, Part One | Power Line

In essence, President Obama seeks to fulfill the left’s longtime dream of redistributing money from the suburbs to the cities and inner-ring suburbs, and imposing racial and income balance in every neighborhood.

Terry Eastland, writing in the Weekly Standard, explains how the new HUD rule would enable the federal government to use its power to create communities of a certain kind, each having what the government deems an appropriate mix of economic, racial, and ethnic diversity:

Grantees​—​the states, localities, and public housing authorities—​are required to 

improve choice, through “planning, strategies, and actions.” And HUD promises to help by providing data on “patterns of integration and segregation; racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty; [and] access to education, employment, .  .  . transportation, and environmental health, among other critical assets.”

From the data, statistically expressed in terms of race and other protected classes, grantees are directed to identify “fair housing issues” in their communities. “Fair housing issue” is a technical term for a segregated living pattern, a racial concentration of poverty, or disparate access to some community asset. Grantees are to determine what accounts for the “fair housing issues” they have identified as they prepare, under a process involving community participation, an “assessment of fair housing” (AFH).

And that’s what they are to submit to HUD for approval. The AFH is to include goals that “will inform housing and community development policy and investment planning.” The proposed rule gives as an example of such a goal “promoting greater mobility and access to areas offering vital assets such as quality schools, employment, and transportation.” A program participant whose AFH is not approved could lose its federal housing dollars. In other words, you satisfy HUD, or you do without your grants.

By requiring the use of statistical analysis to infer the existence of “unfair housing,” HUD is imposing on states and localities its view that unfair housing means much more than discriminatory housing, a view that the Obama administration has turned summersaults to insulate from Supreme Court review. 

For HUD and for those who accept its money, unfair housing encompasses any race-neutral policy that has the “effect” of creating “disparate access” for minorities to good jobs, schools and other suburban “assets.”

And there’s more:

The rule states that “tenant selection and assignment policies should be designed to reduce racial and national origin concentrations, including racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty, and to reduce segregation and promote integration.”

Every city on the list has a democrat mayor and city council----This is America's Most Apocalyptic, Violent City — And You’ve Probably Never Heard Of It

Liberalism.
Progressivism.
Communism.
It's all the same.
And it destroys everything and everyone in its path.
Big unions hurry the process.
This is America's Most Apocalyptic, Violent City — And You’ve Probably Never Heard Of It - PolicyMic:
"The city, which was No. 1 on Forbes' "most miserable cities" list, has 78,000 vacant buildings; 40% of the streetlights do not work, and more than half of the city's parks have closed since 2008.
It takes an average of one hour for the police to respond to any call.
But this story is not about Detroit.
It's about Detroit's failing and forsaken neighbor, 66 miles to the northwest. It's a story about Flint, Michigan."

Make no mistake about the C of C. Economic fascists to the core-----Chamber of Commerce Spending $50 Million to Fight Tea Party

Chamber of Commerce Spending $50 Million to Fight Tea Party:
"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is ready to take on the tea party in 2014 Senate primaries and elections with a deep-pocketed boost of establishment and business Republican candidates.

"Our No. 1 focus is to make sure, when it comes to the Senate, that we have no loser candidates," Chamber strategist Scott Reed told The Wall Street Journal. "That will be our mantra: No fools on our ticket."

Editor’s Note: 5 Reasons Stocks Will Collapse . . .

The financial support, which The Hill reported would pour at least $50 million into the campaigns of centrist GOP candidates, is part of an aggressive approach toward tea party Republicans since the 16-day October government shutdown.

The Chamber has expressed its displeasure with tea party favorites Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who resisted passing a budget without a provision to defund Obamacare, triggering a stalemate."

It's genetic. They live to steal--------Big Spanish Labor Union Facing an Investigation on Misuse of Funding

Big Spanish Labor Union Facing an Investigation on Misuse of Funding - NYTimes.com:
"MADRID — Spain’s shrinking labor unions have struggled during the economic crisis to put a brake on the government’s austerity measures and help reduce record unemployment."

Unemployed mother-of-two borrows £1,700 from EIGHT payday loan companies to buy 'hundreds' of Christmas presents for her children... but says she can't pay them back | Mail Online

Unemployed mother-of-two borrows £1,700 from EIGHT payday loan companies to buy 'hundreds' of Christmas presents for her children... but says she can't pay them back | Mail Online:
"Meet the unemployed mother-of-two who borrowed £1,700 from EIGHT payday loan companies to buy 'hundreds' of Christmas presents... and now she says she can't pay any of them back
Katie McGil, 28, from Devizes, Wiltshire, will have to repay £3,000
Unemployed mother, who is on benefits, wanted to 'treat' her family
Has claimed she will be unable to provide for her children when she starts to pay money back"

Chicago-AS CITY CYCLING GROWS, SO DOES BIKE TAX TEMPTATION

News from The Associated Press:
"A city councilwoman's recent proposal to institute a $25 annual cycling tax set off a lively debate that eventually sputtered out after the city responded with a collective "Say what?"
A number of gruff voices spoke in favor, feeding off motorists' antagonism toward what they deride as stop sign-running freeloaders.
Bike-friendly bloggers retorted that maybe pedestrians ought to be charged a shoe tax to use the sidewalks."

"Womyns studies" or "white racists in america" won't cut it with the auto guys?--------------Auto suppliers struggling to find qualified engineers

Auto suppliers struggling to find qualified engineers | Crain's Detroit Business:
"As North American vehicle production rises, suppliers are scrambling to find many types of engineers: mechanical, software, electrical, manufacturing -- you name it.

Last month, a survey of 100 North American suppliers revealed that 90 percent planned to expand their engineering staffs. Of those, 75 percent said they were having trouble finding candidates, according to the survey by the Original Equipment Suppliers Association."

RNC issue a statement honoring Kwanzaa

RNC issue a statement honoring Kwanzaa | North Dallas Gazette:
"Yes, the Republican National Committee
WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus and RNC Co-Chairman Sharon Day released the following statement commemorating Kwanzaa:

“I want to extend my best wishes to all who are celebrating Kwanzaa,” said Chairman Priebus. “For families coming together to mark the occasion, I hope it is a joyous time of celebration with loved ones–and a time of meaningful reflection ahead of the New Year.”

“From December 26 through January 1, many families will take time to celebrate African culture and history. Kwanzaa is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to honor the importance of family and community, and it reminds us of the great diversity in America. Happy Kwanzaa!” said Co-Chairman Day."

Argentina Launches A Rocket While Its Infrastructure Collapses

Argentina Launches A Rocket While Its Infrastructure Collapses - Investors.com:

Geopolitics: It's always questionable when a nation that can't keep its lights on goes on a military spending spree. So now Argentina has just launched a new space rocket to "recover" its defense capacity. This won't end well.

Last Friday, Argentina's air force launched a research rocket connected to its space program that its defense minister called "a milestone," according to a report in Mercopress.

What's really going on, though, was spilled by Argentina's defense minister, Agustin Rossi, who called it a "step toward the recovery of scientific-technological capabilities for defense" and hailed it as "of the utmost importance." If it isn't clear, Argentina began the launch on the 20th anniversary that its last missile program was scrapped, following Argentina's Falklands defeat.

But the same week Argentina launched its nifty new rocket, the power grid blew out in Buenos Aires due to its creaky infrastructure and an overbearing government hand in the electrical industry.

Although the crash was blamed on a heat wave (it's summer down there), it represents just the tip of Argentina's iceberg of fiscal problems. Making a priority of its rocket program seems strange indeed.

The Argentinian government is extremely unpopular these days. The electrical blackout, for one, triggered pot-banging protests as thousands of Argentines sweated in the dark.

The socialist-Peronist government has blown out its budget, watched as price inflation rocketed 26% in December from a year earlier, gotten scolded by the IMF for lying about its inflation data and tightened its grip on the media.

It all just underlines how suspect its missile launches are. Argentina — which still hasn't sorted out its $100 billion sovereign default with all its creditors dating back to 2001 — has absolutely no money to be shoveling out on space programs. It's doing it anyway.

The rocket launch is part of a broader ramp-up of military spending, which goes to $6.1 billion in 2014.

Argentina's defense spending has risen 132% since 2003, according to the Swedish defense think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, while Jane's reports that that latest defense budget represents a 33.4% increase over 2012.

With no malevolent neighbors, the only purpose of this space jaunt can be to raise pressure on Britain over the Falklands and whip up the shirtless ones to cheer it. We all know how well that turned out for them in 1982.

Liberal Commercial Talk Radio Disappears in NY, LA, SF in 2014

Liberal Commercial Talk Radio Disappears in NY, LA, SF in 2014 | Truth Revolt

2014 will mark the beginning of a massive change for liberal talk radio across the country.
In New York, WWRL 1600 AM will flip to Spanish-language music and talk, throwing Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann, Randi Rhodes, and Alan Colmes off the air.
In Los Angeles, KTLK 1150 will be dumping Stephanie Miller, Rhodes, Bill Press and David Cruz off the air in favor of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.
In San Francisco, KNEW 960 will leave Miller, Hartmann, and Mike Malloy without a radio home in the market.

Thanks to radio consolidation and the secondary status of leftist talk in major markets across the country, the final death knell for liberal talkers could be tolling.
Leftist talkers simply don’t have the same radio draw as conservatives; KTLK was ranked #41 in the market in November 2013, with WWRL registering almost no pulse at all. KNEW registered just an 0.4 in the San Francisco market in December 2013, placing it #31 in the market.

The failure of commercial leftist talk means that only government-sponsored NPR remains in many major markets.

EPA Pushes Gun Control Through Green Ammunition Mandates

EPA Pushes Gun Control Through Green Ammunition Mandates - Investors.com

Expanded regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency have forced the closing as of Dec. 31 of the country's last bullet-producing lead smelter — a facility operated by Doe Run Co. in Herculaneum, Mo., that first opened its doors in 1892. 

As a result of the closure, a company press release notes, 145 Doe Run employees and some 73 contractors will lose their jobs.

The Herculaneum smelter, according to the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, is the only one in the U.S. that can produce lead bullion from raw lead ore and the components for traditional lead ammunition.

The only alternatives, the institute says, will be to import the ammo components or use EPA-approved "green" ammunition.

The Arms Trade Treaty may be unratified, but it provides the administration with a justification for restricting U.S. imports of ammunition and components.

While there are a number of secondary lead smelters that recycle lead from various sources such as car batteries, the net effect is that prices will climb high enough, the administration hopes, to curtail gun purchases and use.

How dare they... not die, that is --------------------Medicare rules create a booming business in hospice care for people who aren’t dying

Medicare rules create a booming business in hospice care for people who aren’t dying - The Washington Post:
 "Hospice patients are expected to die: The treatment focuses on providing comfort to the terminally ill, not finding a cure.
To enroll a patient, two doctors certify a life expectancy of six months or less.

But over the past decade, the number of “hospice survivors” in the United States has risen dramatically, in part because hospice companies earn more by recruiting patients who aren’t actually dying, a Washington Post investigation has found.
Healthier patients are more profitable because they require fewer visits and stay enrolled longer."

History for December 27 - No drinks, Funny Money, Debut Doody, How'd that work out for ya?

History for December 27 - On-This-Day.com
1900 - Carrie Nation staged her first raid on a saloon at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, KS. She broke each and every one of the liquor bottles that could be seen. 








1945 - The World Bank was created with an agreement signed by 28 nations. 





1947 - The children's television program "Howdy Doody," hosted by Bob Smith, made its debut on NBC. 









2001 - U.S. President George W. Bush granted China permanent normal trade status with the United States. 

america's new heroic saint----------Church Displays Bleeding Trayvon Martin Nativity Scene

Church Displays Bleeding Trayvon Martin Nativity Scene
Outside the Claremont United Methodist Church is a nativity scene with a bleeding Trayvon Martin. The California Church has turned their nativity scene "into a piece of art that comments on our times" for the last seven years.

John Zachary, the artist, told me the acquittal in July of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot the 17-year-old African-American in 2012, struck him as a worthy subject for Christmas comment.

For one thing, the backdrop to the Christmas story is the slaughter by King Herod of all infants in Bethlehem, a barbarous attempt to kill the Messiah.

Zachary described that when looking for pictures of Trayvon "one of the teenager lying dead on the pavement particularly tore at him. 'What if Jesus was lying there bleeding to death? I was kind of thinking of that,' Zachary said."

The title of the nativity "art" is called " 'A Child is Born, a Son is Given,' the wording outlined in red formed from a pool of blood at Trayvon’s feet."

The Church's pastor, Sharon Rhodes-Wickett, said the scene was hard to to look at. 

"I found this year’s hard to look at. It’s hard to look at a young man who’s shot and bleeding to death. But even though I’m uncomfortable with it, that’s the point," Rhodes-Wickett said. "We have to take a look at the violence."

Response to the display has been "muted." 

"I thought this would be more controversial, but I come to find out people don’t really like people gettin’ shot,” Zachary said with a chuckle. “They may not agree what to do about it, but they agree it’s a bad thing."

Rhodes-Wickett described her congregation and explained,  "Some people think it’s too edgy. I understand that point of view," she added. "I don’t know what the future will bring, but at this point it’s an annual thing."

Finally, some justice......Woman beaten over way she parked car in Lake Mary

Woman beaten over way she parked car in Lake Mary | News - Home:
"LAKE MARY, Fla. -
A woman enjoying the holidays with her children in Lake Mary was attacked and beaten by another woman because of the way she parked her car."

Obama's america-----Small Alabama Town Accidentally Hires Black Drag Queens to Dance in Christmas parade...

How American soldiers proved a festive hit with British families in WWII

How American soldiers proved a festive hit with British families in WWII | Mail Online:
"Christmas with the GIs: How American soldiers proved a huge hit with British families during WWII as they 'filled the chairs left empty by British fighting men'
-American soldiers were encouraged to spend Christmas with Brits who saw them as Johnny come latelys to war 
-GIs given ration packs to share, containing fruit juice, bacon and sugar
-Families issued so many invitations there were 50 for each GI
-Troops also arranged Christmas parties for British children"

Production of incandescent bulbs disappears with new year

Production of incandescent bulbs disappears with new year - Time Warner Cable News:
 "GREENSBORO—Starting in January, it will be hard to find incandescent light bulbs.

The United States has been phasing out the lights and next year companies won't be allowed to make them anymore.

The alternatives that hardware stores recommend include halogen lamps, CFL, and LED lights.

"They're more up front. They're going to last forty years versus lasting three or four months. So the difference that you would make up is quite a lot of savings.," said Home Depot department supervisor Janet Maslick.

The Home Depot predicts they'll be all out of the incandescent lights by the end of January."

UK faces 47 lawsuits for breaching EU's rules: Britain is being persued over items ranging from tractors to toys and garlic

UK faces 47 lawsuits for breaching EU's rules: Britain is being persued over items ranging from tractors to toys and garlic | Mail Online:
 "And UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: 'What have we sunk to when we cannot even make a minor decision about how we live our lives, without being subject to a European bureaucrat or judge?

‘You only have to look at the list of proceedings to understand that the EU now regulates and controls every single, little aspect of our lives.’

A Foreign Office spokesman said Britain has fewer so-called open infringements than other countries and supported the ‘timely and consistent’ application of EU law across the union.

It comes as Boris Johnson has said the key question the government will have to answer is ‘what is the point of the EU?’

The homosexual speech NAZIs are just gettin' started. Do we really want them to win? -------------- Group targeting Newhart, Catholics is funded by Soros

"Belief" in traditional marriage is the new "-ism".
These speech thugs win, America changes forever.
And it's not gonna be a good "forever".

Group targeting Newhart, Catholics is funded by Soros | The Daily Caller:
"The gay advocacy group that launched a pressure campaign to block comedian Bob Newhart from speaking at a Catholic summit is funded by progressive billionaire George Soros and has close links to President Obama’s new White House counselor, records reveal.

Newhart, 84, pulled out of speaking at a Christmas Week conference in Orlando organized by the Catholic networking group Legatus, which was founded by Republican Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan in 1987 to provide networking opportunities for Catholic business leaders.

Newhart backed out after the gay rights group GLAAD launched a targeted campaign to pressure the legendary comedian and his representatives to disavow his association with Legatus, a supposedly homophobic group that believes in traditional marriage.
GLAAD double-teamed Newhart with the gay Christian activist group Faithful America, which launched a petition to force the “Elf” star off the stage."

The "american dream"-------2 black Michigan state troopers win $5.2M for racial discrimination

2 black Michigan state troopers win $5.2M for racial discrimination | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"Hall and Johnson were presented certificates at a 2010 public ceremony for “successfully completing” the department’s firearms examiner training.
But two months later, the department removed both of them from the program, citing poor performance in the course."

If you add "...when America had a half-black president" to the phrase they could call it the worst storm ever "...during Christmas week...."------Consumers Energy working to restore power in Genesee County, across state after 'worst storm in 126-year history' at Christmastime

Say anything.
Anything, that might deflect the fact that in the year 2013, thousands of American citizens have the same access to electrical power that President Obama's ancestors in Africa had 2000 years ago.
Consumers Energy working to restore power in Genesee County, across state after 'worst storm in 126-year history' at Christmastime | MLive.com:
""This is the worst storm we've ever had in our 126-year history that has hit during the Christmas week.""

NOW they tell me------Study: Alcohol Can Boost Your Immune System

Study: Alcohol Can Boost Your Immune System « CBS Atlanta:
"Moderate alcohol consumption boosts your immune system while chronic alcohol consumption leads to a suppressed vaccine response.
The difference between moderate and chronic is defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
They define moderate as no more than four drinks on a single day and no more than 14 in a week for men.
For women, it is defined as no more than three drinks on a single day and no more than seven in a week."

Doc on Obamacare : Dr Barbara Bellar sums up Obamacare in one sentence.

▶ Doc on Obamacare : Dr Barbara Bellar sums up Obamacare in one sentence. - YouTube: "

Into Year 6, Obama admits he's clueless

CURL: Into Year 6, Obama admits he's clueless - Washington Times

But who’s counting.

One truly has to wonder how the vaunted White House staff of advisers and sycophants came up with the battle plan for Friday’s presser, the last of a terrible year:
“Hey, what if he goes out, lists all the things he did wrong, apologizes repeatedly, then promises to do better next year?
Anyone?
OK, how about he goes out and makes a few balloon animals.
C’mon, gimme’ some help, people!”

Sure, he had a compliant press filling the White House briefing room, ready to lob softballs, but still, he’d have to explain a lot:
The Obamacare mess, the NSA spying debacle, America’s appeasement of Iran, the gridlock on Capitol Hill that he engendered — the list goes on and on.
Perhaps that explains why he was nearly 20 minutes late to his own press conference.

Right at the open, this: “When you take this altogether, has this been the worst year of your presidency?” a reporter asked.

Mr. Obama dodged, blaming Congress for inaction.
But then he named two things his administration got exactly right.
“We don’t always get attention for it,” he said before citing the “ConnectEd” program and a “manufacturing hub that we set up in Youngstown.” 
So there, America, it isn’t all bad news.

That, it seems, is the president’s new mantra.
“At this point, my goal every single day is just to make sure that I can look back and say we’re delivering something.”
Just “something.”
Pretty low bar, that.

Actually not a bad list. But think about it. Winter in Detroit......Winter in Detroit......10 Things to do in Detroit this Weekend

10 Things to do in Detroit this Weekend | Crain's Detroit Business

Chicago sandwich shop fires all its staff in an EMAIL just days before Christmas

Chicago sandwich shop fires all its staff in an EMAIL just days before Christmas | Mail Online:
 "Chicago sandwich shop fires 20 employees in an EMAIL just 2 days before Christmas
Staff at Snarf's Sub Shop in River North received the bad news on Sunday night in a group email
They were notified the drastic action was effective immediately
The company blamed 'increased competition and losses' for the firings
Director of operations Doug Besant said in the email the restaurant will likely close for a month as they reconcept the business into a burger joint
It comes less than a month after Snarf's workers rallied for higher wages"

Government is NOT the answer-------Anarchy in Detroit

Anarchy in Detroit - Reason.com:
Tom Nardone is the founder and president of the thriving e-commerce site, PriveCo, which specializes in products that customers don't want their friends and neighbors to know they're buying—vibrators, enema bags, hair loss treatments, etc.
Three years ago, Nardone started applying his entrepreneurial expertise to a different problem: the dreadfully maintained parks in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan.
Weeds and trash have transformed Detroit's playground jungle gyms into actual jungles.

Detroit's future, to put it mildly, looks bleak. 

About one-third of its 138 square miles are deserted, it has no tax base, and its schools are horrendous. 

Last year, one in every 1,800 residents was murdered. 

In July, the city filed for bankruptcy, and politicians, unions, and investors are currently slugging it out in court, grasping for whatever little cash remains in the Motor City's coffers. 

But the Mower Gang is just one example of how individuals all over the city are taking it upon themselves to make life better.

Nardone knew it was no use approaching the city's hapless Department of Recreation, so he brought his ride-on lawnmower down to a public park and got to work. 

Then he invited some friends to join him. 

"When the first person showed up, I was like, 'OK, I guess someone's as crazy as I am.'" 

So the Mower Gang was formed, a group of volunteers sporting skull-and-crossbones insignia. 

They gather every week at a different stretch of neglected parkland to drink beer and mow.

Another example is the Detroit Threat Management Center (TMC), a private security firm that provides a range of affordable public safety services, including car-to-front door escorts, security details, and neighborhood patrols. 

"I attribute the bankruptcy and all the economic issues to a lack of safety," says TMC president Dale Brown. "If you don't feel safe, why would you invest here?"

Obama's america-----"Southeast Santa," shot with pellet gun at toy giveaway

VIDEO: Xavier Hawkins, "Southeast Santa," shot with pellet gun at toy giveaway | WJLA.com: "WASHINGTON (WJLA) -
A man in a Santa Claus suit who has been identified as Xavier Hawkins was shot in the back with a pellet gun Tuesday morning during a toy giveaway in a part of Southeast Washington plagued by crime.
The video is disturbing. 
The man dressed as Santa has led the annual Barry Farm gift giveaway for the last seven years, and according to an ABC7 photographer who was interviewing the victim at the time of the shooting, the he was struck in his upper back then transported to a nearby hospital with the pellet still lodged in his shoulder."