Heart and Hand Accomplished

Rigor
Supporters of President Obama’s health care law had predicted that expanding insurance coverage for the poor would reduce costly emergency room visits because people would go to primary care doctors instead. But a rigorous new experiment in Oregon has raised questions about that assumption, finding that newly insured people actually went to the emergency room a good deal more often.
...
The findings cast doubt on the hope that expanded insurance coverage will help rein in emergency room costs just as more than two million people are gaining coverage under the Affordable Care Act. And they go against one of the central arguments of the law’s supporters, that extending insurance to large numbers of Americans would reduce emergency room use, and eventually save money. (New York Times, 1/3/2014)

Well it is just all falling apart, isn't it? 

If you can't keep your doctor, and you may not be able to keep your hospital, and you pay more (unless you get a government subsidy), and it does not reduce emergency room visits, and it will not reduce health care costs, isn't it time for a time-out? What brave Democrat out there will stand up and say that the president should suspend Obamacare unless and until these issues are resolved? That Democrat could practically be guaranteed re-election.


Lab Rats
Liberals across the country are looking to Bill de Blasio, who was sworn in as mayor early Wednesday, to morph New York City’s municipal machinery into a closely watched laboratory for populist theories of government that have never before been enacted on such a large scale. (New York Times, 1/1/2014)

Detroit. What is it that Liberals don't understand about Detroit?


Deflection
Democratic Party leaders, bruised by months of attacks on the new health care program, have found an issue they believe can lift their fortunes both locally and nationally in 2014: an increase in the minimum wage. (New York Times, 12/29/2013)

It's "Wag the Dog" time for Democrats. Look for them to ramp up their usual grab bag of fringe issues as the 2014 elections near. Next thing you know, they'll declare that Republicans are engaging in a "War on Women."


Law-Abiding
Judge Rules N.S.A. Phone Surveillance Is Lawful in Case Filed by A.C.L.U.
A federal judge in New York on Friday ruled that the National Security Agency’s program that is systematically keeping phone records of all Americans is lawful, creating a conflict among lower courts and increasing the likelihood that the issue will be resolved by the Supreme Court. (New York Times, 12/27/2013)

Here is a good rule of thumb for RedStateVT readers: If the A.C.L.U. is arguing a position, it is usually something that is bad for America. 


Compounded
The September 2012 attack on the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans was led by fighters who had benefited directly from NATO’s extensive air power and logistics support during the uprising against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. And contrary to claims by some members of Congress, it was accelerated in part by anger at an American-made video denigrating Islam. (New York Times, 12/28/2013)

The single biggest issue that could haunt a Hillary Clinton run for president is Benghazi. First, Hillary investigated herself and found that she was not at fault. However that did not make Benghazi go away, what with those pesky journalists at Fox News. Now the Hillary Clinton for President campaign office at the New York Times steps in to squash the concern. And so we are back to: It was the video all along!

This is truly pathetic. 

Empire Building

Titular
Republicans insist the buck stops with the secretary. But although Ms. Sebelius runs the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency directly responsible for the health care law, there are questions about how deeply she was involved in the development of the troubled Web site.

“Kathleen has the title, but she doesn’t have the responsibility or in many respects the kind of wide authority and access to the president that she really needs to make a difference,” said one person close to Ms. Sebelius and the White House, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss internal decision-making. “Everybody thinks that she’s the driving force, but unfortunately she’s not.” (NYT, 10/23/2013)

The alibis and finger pointing over Obamacare will only grow. Here we learn that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (geez, is that a cabinet level position?) may NOT be to blame. What with that limited authority and all....


Thrills and Chills
“Of course, we want to know when it’s going to be over,” Pelosi told POLITICO, referring to the sign-up problems. “But that is not to diminish the thrill that we have about the Affordable Care Act, and member after member emphasized the fact that good things were happening.” (POLITICO.com, 10/23/2013)

Such thrills which include people finding out that their health insurance premiums are doubling. That thrill, Nance?


Noisy
Because of all the noise and disinformation, President Obama and the Democrats don’t just own Obamacare as a political issue. They own health care. Anytime something bad happens — premiums rise, or employers change plans or pare coverage — Obamacare will be blamed, even if the new law had nothing to do with the change.

“It’s one of the most frustrating things,” says Brad Woodhouse, the former Democratic National Committee official who runs Americans United for Change. “If anybody has a problem with health care, Republicans say it has to be a problem with Obamacare.”

Does Woodhouse believe Democrats now own health care? “In some ways we probably do, which is unfair,” he said. “Nobody said Obamacare was a panacea for everything.” (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 10/22/2013)

Milbank goes back in the RedStateVT doghouse (that was quick!) after this column which talks about how darn unjust it is that Dems will be blamed for any and all problems with the health care system going forward. Hold on a second there, Bucky! First, Dems wanted to own the health care issue. It was their way of demonstrating the compassion they had for their fellow Americans, in contrast to the callous disregard of their political opponents. Second, you can bet that if things had gone swimmingly, they would have claimed credit for everything.  (Life expectancy increase! Dems credit Obamacare...and themselves!)


Uproarious
Mr. Obama assured the German leader that the U.S. isn't monitoring her communications and won't in the future, a White House spokesman said. He wouldn't say whether it had occurred in the past.

The uproar in Berlin is the latest sign that the National Security Agency scandal has the potential to continue to inflict damage on Washington's relationships with overseas partners. Earlier this week, Mr. Obama called French President François Hollande, who expressed his "deep disapproval" over reports that the NSA was collecting data on tens of millions of French phone calls and messages. Reports of U.S. spying on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff as well as Mexico's Enrique Peña Nieto during his successful presidential campaign have already strained the U.S. relationship with Latin America. (WSJ, 10/23/2013)

Reset button time!

Wait, wasn't Obama the one who was going to undo decades of American bad behavior and get the rest of the world to love us? How's that working out for him?

And then there is this:

Bluntly, Mr. Obama's partners are concluding that they cannot do business with him. They don't trust him. Whether it's the Saudis, the Syrian rebels, the French, the Iraqis, the unpivoted Asians or the congressional Republicans, they've all had their fill of coming up on the short end with so mercurial a U.S. president. And when that happens, the world's important business doesn't get done. It sits in a dangerous and volatile vacuum. (Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 10/23/2013)

Deep in the Purse

Red Letter Day
As Western powers pressed the Syrian authorities to permit United Nations inspectors to examine the site of a claimed poison gas attack outside Damascus, France said on Thursday that outside powers should respond “with force” if the use of chemical weapons was confirmed.
...
The notion of “red lines” was initially introduced last August by President Obama, who said the use of chemical weapons in Syria would radically alter American calculations about the war.

At the time, Mr. Obama declared that the use or deployment of chemical or biological weapons would “change my calculus” and “change my equation.” (NYT, 8/22/2013)

The Middle East is a cesspool. Bush went in because of 9/11. We get that. Beyond that, however, we believe that the U.S. should stay out other than to back Israel, the only democracy in the region. Obama's hesitancy to get involved is understandable. Give weapons to the "freedom fighters" and they will turn around and kill Americans at the first opportunity. But Obama was the one who said "red line." He created the current problem which has America looking weak because he will not enforce a line that he himself drew in the sand. He is a foreign policy rube.


Soiled
A federal judge sharply rebuked the National Security Agency in 2011 for repeatedly misleading the court that oversees its surveillance on domestic soil, including a program that is collecting tens of thousands of domestic e-mails and other Internet communications of Americans each year, according to a secret ruling made public on Wednesday. (NYT, 8/21/2013)

Let's play a game. Substitute 2007 for 2011 in the above excerpt. How many times would the name of President George Bush appear in this article? If you guessed "more than five times" you would probably be right. 

Now guess how many times the name President Barack Obama appears. 

Correct. Zero.


Chelsea Mourning
Bradley Manning, sentenced to 35 years in military prison for the biggest breach of classified U.S. documents in U.S. history, said in a statement on Thursday he is female and wants to live as a woman named Chelsea.

"As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning, I am a female," Manning, 25, said in the statement read on NBC News' "Today" show.

"Given the way that I feel and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible," Manning said. "I also request that starting today you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun."

Manning's lawyer David Coombs said on the program that he expected Manning to get a pardon from President Barack Obama. (NYT,8/22/2013)

Where to begin? First, perhaps, a rare RedStateVT correction, albeit provisional. Yesterday, we predicted a pardon of Chelsea Manning by President Hillary Clinton. Turns out that Obama might beat her to it.

Next we wonder how taxpayers feel about the fact that they will now be on the hook for Manning's hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery. (That's what they call it, right?)

The world is upside down, my friends. Upside down. 


Usual Suspects
In the past, for example, Mr. Spitzer has railed against offshore tax shelters, portraying them as dubious practices of the financial elite.

On his Current TV news talk show last fall, he wagged his finger at “offshore shelters and other games that are suspect,” as he questioned the personal finances of Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate.

But as of 2011, the last year for which public documents are available, the Spitzer family trust invested in at least four funds that are incorporated offshore.

That strategy has insulated the trust from taxes it would have owed for investing in certain kinds of domestic funds. (NYT, 8/21/2013)

Proof (once again) that there are two sets of Liberal standards. 

Kindness Before Devotion

Liberal Definitions
Close-minded: What Liberals call you when you do not agree with them.


Proof Positive
Representative Jim Langevin, a Rhode Island Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said on Monday that among those in Congress who are most informed, the consensus was strong and bipartisan. “Those who have been fully briefed are comfortable with the capabilities used, the way they have been used and the due diligence exercised in making sure the agency responsible for carrying out and using the tools has been doing so within confines of the law,” he said. “There is nothing nefarious going on here.” (NYT, 6/10/2013)

The Patriot Act provision that allowed the National Security Agency to collect phone records has helped thwart "dozens" of terror events, Gen. Keith Alexander said Wednesday at a congressional hearing on cybersecurity. (Washington Post, 6/12/2013)

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Obama administration on Tuesday over its “dragnet” collection of logs of domestic phone calls, contending that the once-secret program — whose existence was exposed last week by a former National Security Agency contractor — is illegal and asking a judge to stop it and order the records purged. (NYT, 6/11/2013)

The strongest proof that the NSA intelligence gathering is necessary and correct:

-- A Democrat President reviews a program put in place by a Republican President and continues it.

-- The program saves American lives.

-- The ACLU objects.


Knots
With the recreational use of marijuana now legal in Colorado, officers who patrol the state’s roads face a new set of challenges. Though smoking or possessing small amounts of cannabis is no longer breaking the law, anyone who drives while impaired is still subject to arrest.

Which raises a knotty question: How many tokes can a driver take before the ability to control a vehicle is compromised to the point of being a danger on the road? (NYT, 6/7/2013)

Ooops! A minor overlooked issue in the rush to legalize dope.

Local Customs

Lost and Found
The administration has now lost all credibility on this issue. Mr. Obama is proving the truism that the executive branch will use any power it is given and very likely abuse it. That is one reason we have long argued that the Patriot Act, enacted in the heat of fear after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by members of Congress who mostly had not even read it, was reckless in its assignment of unnecessary and overbroad surveillance powers. (NYT editorial, 6/6/2013)

RedStateVT disagrees with the New York Times and agrees with.....President Obama? What is the world coming to? 

Years ago when RedStateVT toiled in the private sector an e-mail went out from an employee to others in the firm warning that cell phone companies were collecting data from subscribers for the purpose of developing more effective target marketing. Some expressed outrage, some yawned. Our favorite comment came from the friend who said: "If they want to spend money to track our phone calls to find out that my wife talks to her mother for two hours everyday, have at it!"

The larger issue - beyond that of faux privacy concerns - is that this country remains at war with Islamic fundamentalists. We love the Patriot Act and encourage the government to do everything possible to keep America safe. Note to Liberals: You cannot argue against government vigilance and then criticize that same government if the terrorists strike. See below:

Well, another day, another Washington furor. This one is over a National Security Agency phone data monitoring program, but unlike the other White House scandals there seems to be little here that is scandalous. The existence of the program was exposed years ago and such surveillance is a core part of the war on terror, if we can still use that term. (WSJ, 6/7/2013)


Friend Indeed
Assad, in contrast, has a real friend. Putin knows Obama. Having watched Obama’s retreat in Eastern Europe, his passivity at Russian obstructionism on Iran, his bended-knee “reset” policy, Putin knows he has nothing to fear from the U.S. president.

Result? The contemptuous Putin floods Syria with weapons. Iran, equally disdainful, sends Revolutionary Guards to advise and shore up Assad’s forces. Hezbollah invades Syria and seizes Qusair. (Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 6/6/2013)

Charles with yet another scathing indictment of Obama, a foreign policy rube if ever there was one. When Putin's henchman reported back last year that Obama had said that he would have "more flexibility after the election," Putin got the message loud and clear.