It's Working! Health Insurance Premiums in Vermont Go Up Again!

The Best of the Best
Two great points recently from Rush Limbaugh: 
1-The U.S. military accidentally bombs a hospital in Afghanistan. Obama's name is never mentioned. Had the same thing happened when George Bush was president, Democrats would have called for him to be impeached!
2- Four Americans are killed in Benghazi and Democrats blame the killings on a video. Nine people are killed in Oregon and Democrats blame guns. 

Two great quotes from Ann Coulter's best seller Adios America:
1- Britain used to have an empire, meaning that it wiped out exotic diseases, ended tribal bloodshed, expanded literacy, and generally dragged primitive societies into the nineteenth century.
2- Perhaps we should consider qualifications (for immigration) more stringent than "lives within walking distance."


Reversal
Mrs. Clinton’s position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership represents a reversal of her earlier support for the agreement. She backed the pact while serving in the Obama administration, calling it the “gold standard” for trade deals during a trip to Australia in 2012. As a senator from New York in 2002, Mrs. Clinton described NAFTA as one of the accomplishments of her husband, former President Bill Clinton. (Wall Street Journal, 10/8/2015)

Question: Did Hillary Clinton "flip-flop" or did she "evolve?"

Answer: RedStateVT, why do you always ask this same question? Don't you know by now that Republicans flip-flop and Democrats evolve?

Here's another question, and it is a troubling one. Given what we have often heard from the likes of Eugene Robinson (Washington Post) and Charles Blow (New York Times) about those who oppose Obama, is Hillary Clinton a racist?


Headlines
Nobel Prize Awarded to Tunisian Coalition (New York Times headline, 10/9/2015)
Obama's Nobel Prize Repeat Thwarted by Tunisian Coalition (RedStateVT headline, 10/9/2015)

In Debate, Hillary Clinton Will Display Skills Honed Over a Lifetime (actual New York Times headline, 10/9/2015)
Setting Bernie Sanders Apart From the Field: A Palpable Sense of Conviction (actual New York Times headline, 10/9/2015)
Has Ted Cruz Done Anything Illegal? (possible New York Times headline, 10/9/2015)

Your Christmas Round-Up

Attention Deficit
Last week, in a reversal that deserves more attention, Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin announced that Vermont would no longer create America’s first statewide single-payer health system. Vermont was seeking a waiver from the Affordable Care Act to abolish what’s left of the nominally private insurance market by 2017, but Mr. Shumlin’s budget gremlins concluded the plan was too expensive and would damage the state economy.
...
Then again, maybe Vermonters are smarter than their politicians. Republican Scott Milne ran for Governor against single payer this fall and lost by 2,095 votes. Had Mr. Shumlin disclosed the true costs before the election, he’d have been turned out. (Wall Street Journal, 12/22/2014)

What about the front page article in the New York Times on the death of single payer in Vermont? Oh wait, that didn't happen!

Of course the Legitimate Media smothered the embarrassing news of the collapse of single payer in Vermont. In a year of disastrous news for Liberal bright ideas about health care there was simply no way to spin it. So they ignored it. 

Good point also that Shumlin would have been defeated if he was honest before the election about what he announced after the election. Has Vermont had a more corrupt governor?


History
At the same time, officials cautioned that the gunman had a history of mental health problems.

Mr. de Blasio took care on Monday to describe the gunman as a “very troubled individual,” urging vigilance among New Yorkers who might encounter threats against officers. (New York Times, 12/22/2014)

Liberals discover the possible connection between shootings and mental illness, but only when a cop is murdered.


Pros and Cons
The demonstrations sparked by the exoneration of the officers who killed Brown and Garner were pro-accountability, not anti-police. As I’ve pointed out many times, no one better appreciates the need for an active, engaged police presence than residents of high-crime neighborhoods. But nobody should be expected to welcome policing that treats whole communities as guilty until proved innocent — or a justice system that considers black and brown lives disposable. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 12/22/2014)

So according to our friend Eugene Robinson, the demonstrations are pro-accountability, not anti-police. Presumably this also includes the demonstrations in which the chant: "What do we want? Dead cops!" was heard. That was pro-accountability. Also, pro-accountability were the demonstrations in which two cops were assaulted. We are sure glad that we have Robinson to clarify things for us.

For yet more news on pro-accountability see below:

A police officer in suburban St. Louis fatally shot a man who pointed a gun at him outside a gas station on Tuesday night, the authorities said..... After the shooting, a large crowd gathered at the station. Chief Belmar said there were three instances of explosives, likely fireworks, being set off, and bricks or rocks that were thrown at police. At least two officers were injured, and four people were arrested on charges of assaulting an officer. (New York Times, 12/23/2014)


Mostly
With his slicked-back hair, Queens accent and entourage of mostly white, male union lieutenants, Patrick J. Lynch moves through New York as the rough-around-the-edges, unapologetic labor leader for more than 22,000 street officers. (New York Times, 12/23/2014)

New York police union chief's biggest sin is not that he drew a line between the mayor's rhetoric and the death of two cops. No, it is that his entourage is not "diverse" enough.....


Scraps
The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it would scrap a decades-old lifetime prohibition on blood donation by gay and bisexual men, a major stride toward ending what many had seen as a national policy of discrimination.

However, the agency will continue to ban men who have had sex with a man in the last year, saying the barrier is necessary to keep the blood supply safe, a move that frustrated rights groups that were pushing for the ban to be removed entirely. (New York Times, 12/23/2014)

So only celibate gay men can donate blood?

Question: Which is more important, safeguarding the nation's blood supply or making gay men feel better about themselves?


Charged
Mr. Bush — who announced this month that he was “actively exploring” a presidential bid — left office in 2007 after two terms. In those eight years, the state government in Tallahassee had been transformed by his hard-charging and driven style.

Jeb Bush's positions on immigration and education won't endear him to the Republican Party's conservative base, but those concerns may be overrated. Mr. Bush supports Common Core standards in education that are unpopular with some Republicans. And while he did not slash the number of state employees by half, he did privatize thousands of public jobs. The email forecasting that move is one of hundreds of thousands from two accounts — one a government address, the other personal — sent during his time in office and obtained by The New York Times through a public records request. (New York Times, 12/24/2014)

There is nothing more important for the New York Times to do over the next six months than soften up Jeb Bush. Hence they begin a massive effort to troll through his e-mails, much as they once did to Sarah Palin. Now if they could only get a hold of Hillary Clinton's e-mails on Benghazi.......


Once and Future
Law and Order Issues, Once G.O.P.’s Strength, Now Divide the Party (New York Times headline, 12/24/2014)

The headline says it all. There is dissension in the Republican party. And that conflict is between law and order Republicans....and Rand Paul. Apparently the New York Times has determined that Rand Paul is the party's leader. 

Broken Ties

Vermont Healthcare Efficiency
From Vermont Health Connect October 6, 2014:
Hello! We are writing to let you know that you have a new notice regarding your bill for health care benefits from Vermont Health Connect. To view your notice, please click on the link below and log in to your account.

From Vermont Health Connect October 7, 2014:
Hello! We are writing to let you know that you have a new notice regarding your bill for health care benefits from Vermont Health Connect. To view your notice, please click on the link below and log in to your account.

From Vermont Health Connect later in the day on October 7, 2014:
Hello! Earlier today and yesterday, some Vermont Health Connect customers received an email that referenced invoices and online payments. We apologize for this incorrect email and any confusion or inconvenience that it caused. 

We have mailed you a paper invoice this week that correctly describes your two current payment options:

1)    Phone...  

2)    Mail... 

Not to worry, all will be better when Vermont adopts single payer!


Weakly
A corollary point, surely not lost on Mr. Putin, Ayatollah Khamenei and other rogues is that they have a free hand at least until January 2017. The conclusion: If ever there was a time to revise their regional orders in ways more to their liking, better to do so now, when there’s a self-infatuated weakling in the White House. (Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal, 10/13/2014)

Obama's withdrawal creates a vacuum that the bad guys willingly exploit.


Obviously
It’s not too soon to state the obvious: At this point, the war against the Islamic State can be seen only as failing. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 10/13/2014)

When Obama loses Eugene Robinson you know it is over for our novelty president. 


Measured
(The Iranians) have taken the measure of Obama. He lacks menace. Menace is essential in a world leader if he (or she) is going to be feared as well as admired. (Richard Cohen, Washington Post, 10/13/2014)

Liberals are finally catching on: the world's bad actors will only behave if they fear America's power. Unfortunately, no one fears Obama.  


Safety
He’s called America a country founded on guns, and explained that firearms are just in the nation’s DNA. The 50-year-old also said he doesn’t feel safe without a gun in his house when he’s home with his wife and children. (Dailycaller.com, 10/14/2014)

Who is this fifty year old gun advocate? Why it's none other than Hollywood uber Liberal Brad Pitt! Proving again that when Liberals are threatened they turn to automatic weapons...which they would deny to others!

The Emperor's Inclination

Headlines in Today's New York Times:
Port Authority Official Is Out Amid Scandal Over Shut Lanes
Christie Ally Is Undone by Word in an Email
Potentially Explosive Detail in Bridge Scandal Is Unlikely to Be Confirmed
Today's Editorials: A Christie Appointee Quits, Finally
Collins: A Christie Life Primer
Exchange in Bridge Scandal Unlikely to Be Confirmed
A Christie Appointee Quits, Finally

America's paper of record. Meanwhile, because the New York Times is a non-partisan paper we get this single headline:

Newly Released Clinton-Era Papers Show Damage Control During Scandal

Of course, the Times gives us not a word on gun-running California Democrat Leland Yee. Look away people, no media bias here. 


In This Corner
“No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation.” That’s the kind of sentiment you expect from a Miss America contestant asked to name her fondest wish, not from the leader of the free world explaining his foreign policy. (Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 3/27/2014)

Obama’s words and actions matter, however, and his handling of the Ukraine crisis has been firm, steady and realistic. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 3/27/2014)

Krauthammer vs. Robinson. It's just not a fair fight. 


Flaky Fluke
Depending on the court’s rulings, the cases’ outcomes could deny millions of women coverage of any or all forms of birth control, limiting women’s ability to control their reproductive health, plan their pregnancies and manage their lives. (Sandra Fluke, Washington Post, 3/24/2014)

America's oldest law student hasn't been heard from in a while, but she is back with her familiar cause: everyone should get free birth control. Never mind that it is well documented that birth control pills are available at Wal Mart pharmacies for $9.99. Less than a couple of vanilla lattes. No, "millions" of women are at risk. Even Liberals should run from this gibberish. 

Patterns on a Screen

Nobody
I can’t think of any individual who had more influence in 2013. Edward Snowden is the person of the year. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 12/23/2013)

Really, Eugene, no one? 

Robinson considers Pope Francis, but then passes. How about Nelson Mandela? A philanthropist? No, Robinson instead chooses a traitor. How very typical. 


War of the Words
To many Americans, the war on poverty declared 50 years ago by President Lyndon B. Johnson has largely failed. The poverty rate has fallen only to 15 percent from 19 percent in two generations, and 46 million Americans live in households where the government considers their income scarcely adequate. (New York Times, 1/4/2014)

We've written about this many times. The Liberal solution to poverty is to give the poor money so they won't be poor anymore. How is that working out...after 50 years?

Let's consider some conservative ideas on the subject. Like first of all, understanding that the poor are often not a static pool. People rise up out of poverty. Others fall back into it. How about work and training requirements for the poor? How about some tough love? These ideas - embraced by none other than Bill Clinton - were undone by Obama. And finally, how about some RedStateVT suggestions? For the poor; no alcohol, no cigarettes, no fast food, no piercings, no tattoos, no smartphones, public transportation, basic cable. The poor need to be trained to spend their money - and the taxpayer's money - wisely. 


Fighting Words
In his first remarks since Islamic militants with Al Qaeda ties overran the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry promised support for Iraq's government, but emphatically rejected any possibility that the U.S. would send troops back into the country, saying of the Baghdad government "this is their fight." (Foxnews.com, 1/5/2014)

Who lost Iraq? Barack Obama lost Iraq. 


Senior Moment
Concurrently, Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), the paradigm of government-controlled health care, turned 65 years old in 2013 and officially entered senior citizenship. The NHS received its review by the British press this past year on an almost daily basis. Headlines blared across the UK, endlessly documenting scandalous patient care, shameful waiting lists, catastrophic hospital practices, and financial debacle. Directly undermining those who advocate for an even stronger role for government in U.S. health care, the British press has instead been documenting the disgraceful state of the NHS. (Scott Atlas, Foxnews.com, 1/3/2014)

Coming to America.

Liberals continue to tell us how wonderful government run healthcare is by citing every country that now has it (including - incredibly - Cuba!) No it's not.


Confidence Man
If the White House was so confident that “the product is good” and Americans are “willing to be patient,” then they would have been eager for a photo op of the president signing up with other happy customers. But there was no photo op.

Then, to add insult to injury, Obama chose the cheapest of the four plans available — the bronze plan costing $400 a month. Not for his whole family, mind you. They don’t need Obamacare. He chose a low-cost plan just for himself. Which makes sense. He’s not going to actually use it, so why pay sky-high premiums like the millions of people he drove out of their individual market health plans? Besides, most Americans stuck with Obamacare plans can get their families covered elsewhere for free, right?

And finally, to cap it all off, Obama waited until the last minute to sign up. If the president was so enthusiastic about signing up for Obamacare, why wasn’t he customer No. 1 when the exchanges opened in October? Or when the government relaunched the Web site in November? (Marc A. Thiessen, Washington Post, 12/30/2013)

Good smackdown by Thiessen. 


Ten Times Ten
It is incumbent on me as a columnist to do one of those year-end things — the 10 best of this, the 10 worst of that or, as you will see, who had the worst year in politics. That distinction goes, with some reluctance on my part, to Hillary Rodham Clinton. As has sometimes happened in her life, events got away from her. (Richard Cohen, Washington Post, 12/30/2013)

If you thought based on this opening that Cohen was going to give us an honest rendering of Hillary Clinton's year, you would be sadly mistaken. Why was it a bad year for Hill accordingly to Cohen? Because Obamacare was such a dud that it reminds people of Hillarycare. No kidding, this is Cohen's argument.

And what does he ignore? What does he fail to mention? What else might have made it a bad year for Hill? 

You guessed it. Benghazi! 


History Lesson
Historically, after leaving Mecca, Mohammed moved to Medina, where he established the world’s first Islamic polity. He and his followers then launched military operations to raid the caravans of their opponents. Mohammed’s army eventually conquered Mecca and a large portion of the Arabian Peninsula before the Prophet’s death. Within a century of Mohammed’s passing, his followers had forged a vast empire that crossed North Africa and most of Spain to the west, reaching to the borders of China and India in the east. Just as Mohammed and his followers had conquered much of the known world, the jihadists seek to reconquer this empire and then expand it to encompass the earth. (http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/gauging-jihadist-movement-part-1-goals-jihadists">Gauging the Jihadist Movement, Part 1: The Goals of the Jihadists
is republished with permission of Stratfor.)

From the always informative Statfor. Included here because you can never understand the world unless you know history.

Full Bore

Lately
The United States came “late” to efforts to find a political settlement to the war in Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday, as the crisis there deepened with the political uncertainty in neighboring Turkey.....his remarks carried the implication that the Obama administration had moved too slowly in its first term to seek a negotiated political solution to a conflict that erupted more than two years ago and turned into a war. (NYT, 6/3/2013)

Usually it is politicians up for re-election who attempt to distance themselves from the policies of an unpopular president. In this case, it is a member - and a new one at that - of the president's cabinet.


Secrets
The court-martial of Pfc. Bradley Manning, whose secret release of a vast archive of military and diplomatic materials put WikiLeaks into an international spotlight, opened here Monday with dueling portrayals of a traitor who endangered the lives of his fellow soldiers and of a principled protester motivated by a desire to help society who carefully selected which documents to release.
....
Inside the courtroom on Monday, as Private Manning sat quietly, David Coombs, his defense lawyer, told the judge that his client had been “young, naïve, but good-intentioned” and that he had tried to ensure that the roughly 700,000 documents he released would not cause harm.

“He was selective,” Mr. Coombs said. “He had access to literally hundreds of millions of documents as an all-source analyst, and these were the documents that he released. And he released these documents because he was hoping to make the world a better place.” (NYT, 6/3/2013)

Well that changes everything for us. Had we suspected for just one moment that Manning - in releasing only 700,000 documents - was being so selective we would never have been so harsh on him. And besides, he just wanted to make the whole wide world a better place with more harmony and other good stuff. 

For more Liberal wisdom on one of America's foremost traitors, see below.


Allegations
Rather than agree to what strikes me as more than adequate punishment, prosecutors insist on trying to convict him under the 1917 Espionage Act as, essentially, an enemy of the state. Which I don’t believe he is.

I say this even though Manning is allegedly responsible for the biggest unauthorized release of classified documents in the nation’s history. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 6/3/2013)

WaPo's Robinson is conflicted on the Bradley Manning case. How do we know? Well he tells us so himself. It's that old Liberal compassion for criminals. Ultimately Robinson comes down in favor of 20 years with credit for time served. That's certainly more compassionate than we would recommend. Namely, the firing squad. 

Unfinished Work

Keeping On
He’s an anti-ideological leader in an ideological age, a middle-of-the-road liberal skeptical of the demands placed on a movement leader, a politician often disdainful of the tasks that politics asks him to perform. He wants to invite the nation to reason together with him when nearly half the country thinks his premises and theirs are utterly at odds. Doing so is unlikely to get any easier. But being Barack Obama, he’ll keep trying. (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, 5/26/2013)

Dionne's love sonnet to Obama reminds us just how hard it is to be Obama. What with the Tea Party and everything....

And so RedStateVT will offer up again (for the umpteenth time) why Republicans do not trust Obama (and it has nothing to do with the birth certificate stuff that Dionne feels compelled to mention in order to delegitimize all of Obama's critics):

Obama and the Dems used parliamentary tricks to pass a healthcare bill that Republicans unanimously voted against. Never mind the argument that Obamacare was a Heritage idea. It does not matter. No Republicans supported it.

Obama got his bill but he forfeited for the rest of his term(s) any chance of Republicans working with him. 

Dionne and fellow bloggers can call Obama a moderate or a middle-of-the-road guy or a non-ideologue until they are blue in the face. We are not buying it. 

And speaking of the Tea Party, close followers of the political scene (e.g. RedStateVT) note that the Legitimate Media has stepped up their usual negative rhetoric on the Tea Party and (particularly) its pernicious effect on the Republican Party. The reason is, of course, obvious. They cannot have the Tea Party viewed in a sympathetic way by the public as a result of being targeted by the IRS. And so - to achieve the Liberal idea of balance - we get the hit pieces. 


Seemingly
Was there really any meaningful connection between the bloody Boston rampage and international jihadism? It seems likely that an al-Qaeda Web site taught the Boston bombers how to build their pressure-cooker bombs, but what about the alienation they obviously felt? What about their mental health? (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 5/27/2013)

Washington Post columnist Robinson concurs with Obama that the Bush War on Terror is over. (Yes, there are going to be things like the Boston Marathon bombing and that guy in Britain who decapitated a soldier, but not to worry!)  We'll refrain from a larger discussion about the dangers of the Obama/Robinson mindset because Robinson gives us an unexpected gem here. 

You already noticed it, didn't you?

Yes, the "mental health" of the  domestic terrorists. Liberals absolutely refused to talk about mental health when it came to Adam Lanza and the Newtown massacre. 

Refused. 

Why? 

Because they wanted to make the issue about gun control and gun control only. Now because they do not want to talk about Islamic fascism they suddenly do want to talk about mental health. Thankfully you have RedStateVT to expose the hypocrisy. 

Epoch Of Belief

Starving
What is it? It’s a proposal to raise the auto registration fees on all those vehicles that use little or no gasoline, and therefore pay little or no gasoline tax. That means they make no (or paltry) contributions to the Transportation Fund, which is now so starved for cash that lawmakers are on the verge of raising the gas tax by … well, by almost 7 cents a gallon now but primed to go up automatically as fuel prices rise.

And as the legislators know, the Transportation Fund’s troubles have barely begun. As cars get more fuel efficient and more drivers opt for hybrids like the Toyota Prius or all-electric vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt, gas tax revenues are likely to decline even more. (VtDigger.com, 3/24/2013)

Here's a head-turner for ya! Because cars like the Toyota Prius use less gas, their owners do not pay as much in gas taxes. So Repubs suggest an extra levy. (Because we have to pay for all those crumbling roads and bridges. And whatever else that politicians use gas taxes for.)  It sounds like a guerrilla tactic to us.  

Dems in Vermont probably do not like taxing their green constituents, but say that they will have to look at it because, well it's a tax and Dems love taxes!


Slim Shady
Senate Democrats face a tough battle next year to hold on to their slim majority. Going on record in support of legislation that the gun lobby so vehemently opposes could cost some vulnerable incumbents their seats — and potentially make Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) the majority leader. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 3/21/2013)

Actually Robinson is imprecise. He should have written: "Going on record in support of legislation that voters so vehemently oppose could cause some vulnerable incumbents their seats..." 

See the difference?


Live And Let Die
“Keep Santa Cruz Weird” was the longstanding, if unofficial, motto for this small beachfront city proud of its tolerance and its offbeat vibe. People came for Santa Cruz’s 1960s-imbued live-and-let-live attitude, its progressive politics, the great weather, the University of California campus, the hard-partying surfing scene and the freewheeling drug culture.

But “Keep Santa Cruz Safe and Clean” began appearing on bumpers in recent years as the city was rattled by acts of violence, its streets and parks seemingly overwhelmed by homelessness and drugs. To hear the supporters of the new slogan, Santa Cruz’s famous tolerance was guilty of enabling. (NYT, 3/24/2013)

The city of Santa Cruz is doing some soul searching after the death of two police officers. According to the article, the accused killer had similar run-ins with law enforcement in Portland, Oregon and Berkeley, California. 

Let's think for a moment. What is the connective thread in this story?


Imagining
A $585,000.50 bill for one night at a hotel is either the result of an unimaginable amount of room service, or, if you're a member of Vice President Joe Biden's posse, it's just another night in Paris. (Huffington Post, 3/25/2013)

Still no word on when White House tours will resume...


Goal-Oriented
Obama's real goal, of course, is to destroy employment-related insurance and force everyone into the insurance exchanges. This will lay the basis for single-payer, government-funded, socialized medicine in the United States: his stated goal. (DickMorris.com, 3/19/2013)

You already know this, but a good reminder from Morris.