Bring Back the Complaint Department

Conceptual
(Secretary of State John Kerry) added that President Obama had charged his aides with “coming up with any concepts that will, in fact, work, and which could help change the situation on the ground.” (New York Times, 11/24/2015)

Kerry and Obama nail exactly what is required in the fight against ISIS: concepts that will in fact work.

How these geniuses ever got to the pinnacle of power is something that future historians will study.


Shady
“One of the things I insisted on the day I walked into the Oval Office was that I don’t want intelligence shaded by politics. I don’t want it shaded by a desire to tell a feel-good story,” he said. (New York Times, 11/23/2015)

So is this why Obama told the American public that Al Queda was neutralized and ISIS contained? It would be just like him to throw the military under the bus. It may be difficult to find out the truth because it would also be just like him to lie for political reasons.

“It’s not as if I’ve been receiving wonderfully rosy, glowing portraits of what’s been going on in Iraq and Syria over the last year and a half,” Mr. Obama said, adding: “At my level, at least, we’ve had a pretty cleareyed, sober assessment of where we’ve made real progress and where we have not. (New York Times, 11/23/2015)

So upon further review, Obama seems to be saying that he did NOT get "feel-good" assessments about Iraq and Syria. He got the truth. That his policies have created chaos and put American lives at risk. And he did what?


It's Working! (Part 47)
UnitedHealth is the largest U.S. insurer by enrollment, and the company is warning it may withdraw from ObamaCare in 2017. The insurer has already suspended advertising for its ObamaCare coverage and stopped paying commissions to insurance brokers for signing people up. It literally doesn’t want consumers to buy its products. (Wall Street Journal, 11/23/2015)

Don't forget to sign up for Obamacare. While there are still insurance companies.


Deceivers
Texas and a handful of other states — including Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana — have moved to eliminate Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood amid the controversy. Secretly recorded videos that were released starting in July purported to show Planned Parenthood officials trying to illegally profit from the sale of aborted fetal tissue and discussing the issue with abortion opponents who posed as representatives of a biomedical firm.

Planned Parenthood said that the videos were deceptively edited and that the group did not do anything illegal or unethical. (New York Times, 11/24/2015)

Whenever Liberals are caught red-handed on tape they resort to their standard defense: who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes? Of course, the full, unedited videos are available and prove that Planned Parenthood officials were doing exactly what it is they were alleged to be doing.

Lying does not matter to Liberals because Planned Parenthood is serving a higher purpose: ensuring that the government continues funding abortion.

Liberals Complain: Mitt Romney was too successful in business; Carly Fiorina not successful enough

Tweaks
But the truth is, people like Mr. McKibben can’t afford practical, meaningful progress—because it would be unnoticeable and undramatic. Modest tweaks to incentives, then seeing how energy technology and the energy economy adapted over time, would not fulfill their need for a pressing global crisis that casts them as moral warriors (well-funded ones) whose victory over deniers and climate criminals is always just around the corner—and must remain so in order to keep the money, media attention and political fealty flowing. (Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., Wall Street Journal, 10/27/2015)

Jenkins skewers Middlebury College's Bill McKibben who - you may have heard - in desperate need of attention just got himself arrested by blocking access to a Burlington, Vermont gas station. McKibben was processed at police headquarters and then walked back to Middlebury.

CORRECTION: We have just received word that McKibben drove back to Middlebury in a car that contained an internal combustion engine. We apologize for the error. 


An Open Letter to Ashley Parker
Of course, attacking the media, especially the so-called liberal media, is a popular and time-tested Republican trope. (Ashley Parker, New York Times, 10/31/2015)

Dear Ash:
The Liberal Media is real! Read RedStateVT regularly for the proof. 

(Hint: Your paper is part of the Liberal Media.)

Regards

RedStateVT


It's Working! Obamacare is Working!
In Tennessee, the state insurance commissioner approved a 36 percent rate increase for the largest health insurer in the state’s individual marketplace. In Iowa, the commissioner approved rate increases averaging 29 percent for the state’s dominant insurer. Health insurance consumers logging into HealthCare.gov on Sunday for the first day of the Affordable Care Act’s third open enrollment season may be in for sticker shock, unless they are willing to shop around. Federal officials acknowledged on Friday that many people would need to pick new plans to avoid substantial increases in premiums.
...

“Shopping can save you money,” said Richard G. Frank, an assistant secretary of health and human services, who unveiled a huge collection of data on health plans that will go on sale on Sunday in the 38 states served by HealthCare.gov.
...

The Obama administration said nearly nine out of 10 consumers with marketplace coverage would be able to choose from three or more insurers in 2016. That is important, Mr. Frank said, because in insurance and other industries, “competition intensifies when there are three or more firms in a market.” (New York Times, 10/31/2015)

The big news is not that Obamacare premiums are going up. That was inevitable and entirely predictable. No the big news is that Obama administration officials admit that competition results in market efficiencies. 

Capitalism works!

Of course this will all be forgotten the next time that Liberals push for single-payer. Then we will only hear about the great inefficiencies of the private sector insurers. 

Just For You

Unmentionables
Not mentioned was Mr. Biden’s own history with the financial services industry, an economic power in his home state of Delaware, or the critics who saw him as too close to credit-card companies in more than three decades in the Senate. (New York Times, 8/31/2015)

The New York Times is conflicted, seriously conflicted. On the one hand, it has already settled on Hillary Clinton. She meets their number one requirement for president: she is a woman. (The fact that she is a grandmother is just icing on the cake.) And so the Times has largely buried Clinton's biggest problem: Benghazi. The e-mail scandal has caused consternation at the Times, no doubt. Rouge elements there have been dogged in pursuing the story. Our thought is that editorial pressure will eventually lead to a concluding article that Hill may have been a tad careless, but THERE IS NO CRIME. Onward to the coronation.

Suddenly, however, Uncle Joe comes along. Biden's main qualification...how to put it delicately? Well, it can't be put delicately. Biden's main qualification is that his son died tragically young. So the Times has to acknowledge Biden's status as a victim of horrible family tragedies. The Times loves victims. But ultimately Biden cannot be allowed to get in the way of Hillary. And so the Times runs a second soft hit piece on Uncle Joe. Call it another warning shot across the bow. 


Unconvinced
One of Mr. Biden’s likely priorities as a candidate would be to make a convincing argument that his approach to consumer issues has evolved since his time as a senator. (New York Times, 8/31/2015)

Once again we are reminded that Democrats evolve while Republicans flip-flop.


Spent
Mrs. Clinton spent the weekend fund-raising in the Hamptons.... (New York Times, 8/31/2015)

With the 1%ers?


Catch and Release
The State Department is scheduled to release another trove of Mrs. Clinton’s emails on Monday, as part of its monthly production of messages from the personal email account she used exclusively as secretary of state. (New York Times, 8/31/2015)

We are impressed. Usually these data dumps take place on Friday so that they can be ignored over the weekend. 

What's that?

Oh, sorry. Monday is Labor Day.


Origins
Originally it (Obamacare) was going to lower rates. Then it was going to keep them roughly the same. Then the Democrats admitted that the rates would go up, but they would go up more slowly than they would if we never passed the legislation. (But hey… we had to pass it to find out what was in it, so I suppose all’s fair in love and legislative war.) (Jazz Shaw, Hotair.com, 8/31/2015)

Well put. 

Do You Prefer Bernie Claus or Santa Sanders?

Relationships
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s relations with the political news media had been tense long before she declared her candidacy in April, and her campaign’s efforts to try and improve those relations have backfired at times. (New York Times, 7/11/2015)

Such efforts to try and improve those relations which include - literally - roping off the press. Funny that the New York Times does not mention that.

From the same article, Big Dog Bill tells us who is really too blame for bad relations between politicians and the press: 

"...Mr. Clinton ultimately put the blame squarely on the political press."

And the fawning lapdog Liberal Media responds: "Hit us again, sir, harder!"


Honesty
This summer insurers must submit rates to state regulators for approval on the ObamaCare exchanges in 2016—and even liberals are shocked at the double-digit requests, or at least the honest liberals are. Under ObamaCare, year-over-year premium increases above 10% must also be justified to the Health and Human Services Department, and its data base lists about 650 such cases so far. (Wall Street Journal, 7/11/2015)

It's working! Obamacare is working!


Nuked
While U.S. and Iranian negotiators gave themselves more time Friday to reach a nuclear deal that could improve the countries’ ties, crowds of Iranians here chanted “Death to America,” just as they have for 36 years. (latimes.com, 7/11/2015)

Coming soon, a nuclear deal with Obama's BFFs: the Iranian mullahs!


Do Black Lives Still Matter?
Now the surge in violent crime — as of Wednesday there had been 155 homicides in Baltimore this year, up from 105 in the same period last year — has made the mayor’s balancing act even trickier: Can she rein in a Police Department with a long history of aggressive, sometimes abusive behavior and at the same time bring crime under control? ... Homicides are higher than a year ago in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, St. Louis and other cities. In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti recently announced a 12 percent increase in overall crime, though killings were down slightly. (New York Times, 7/12/2015)

Of course black lives matter. But Liberals are pathologically focused on the occasional death of a black man in police custody - yes, tragic - under ambiguous circumstances. Meanwhile hundreds more are being killed.


Mr. Sanders Goes to the Vineyard
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has risen in the polls thanks in part to his denunciations of the forces of concentrated wealth, drawing thousands of liberals to hear his jeremiads against corporate power in early nominating states and liberal hubs such as Madison, Wis.

But Mr. Sanders quietly stepped off the campaign trail this weekend to visit Martha’s Vineyard, a favorite summer destination of the country’s elite, in order to mix with representatives of some of the same interests he inveighs against in his stump speech. (New York Times, 7/12/2015)

Speaks for itself....

Former Democrat Senator Jim Webb: Another white guy enters race for Democrat presidential nomination

With the entrance of Webb, the Democrats are now running four white men for president. In addition to Webb, these include Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley and Hillary Clinton. If Joe Biden revives his presidential comedy tour, the number will grow to five. 

Where is the diversity?


Seekers
Health insurance companies around the country are seeking rate increases of 20 percent to 40 percent or more, saying their new customers under the Affordable Care Act turned out to be sicker than expected. Federal officials say they are determined to see that the requests are scaled back. (New York Times, 7/4/2015)

It's working! Obamacare is working!


Of the 10.2 million people who obtained coverage through federal and state marketplaces this year, 85 percent receive subsidies in the form of tax credits to help pay premiums. (New York Times, 7/4/2015)

And has been reported previously, 79% of the people who are getting their health care paid for by someone else like it! 

Obamacare is working!

The America Our Grandparents Built Is Gone

How Gay Marriage Succeeded
The Gay Media (New York Times, Washington Post, MSNBC, etc.) likes to say that Americans have evolved on the issue of gay marriage and now a majority support it. They cite polls (taken in places like San Francisco and Fire Island) to make the case. But we doubt that the support is anywhere near the levels talked about. What the gay marriage movement has done is not to engage in a fair dialog with the public on the issue. Instead, it has undertaken a campaign of fear and intimidation. Have doubts about gay marriage? Homophobe! Bigot! You are attacked publicly and your livelihood is threatened. In the face of such attacks you may not change your mind, but you certainly go silent. We like to quote the brave gay man from several years ago who said: "We used to be bullied, now we are the bullies."

We also loved the following analysis describing what gay marriage advocates accomplished:

... convinced a critical mass of the public that there is only one side in this debate, despite the fact that the side claiming the monopoly had only existed in any meaningful form for perhaps 20 years.

... convinced a critical mass of the public that race and sexual orientation are directly analogous.

... branded opponents as simple “bigots” for daring to hold a different view on a live political issue, going so far as to take punitive action against those who did not adopt the “correct” viewpoint.

... portrayed the battle as, literally, love versus hate. 
(Tom Garrett, theaxisofego.com, 6/27/2015)

A reminder...RedStateVT's creed: Love whoever you love, stop talking about your sexuality.


Rightful
Ever notice how Liberals keep making up new "rights" but taking away ones they don't like?

Abortion is a right. Health care is a right. Gay marriage is a right.

Drinking a large soda is not a right.


Say So
Mr. Obama himself says: “When you talk to people who actually are enrolled in a new marketplace plan, the vast majority of them like their coverage. The vast majority are satisfied.”

And the polls indeed show that 74% of ObamaCare’s eight million enrollees are “satisfied” with their plans, because the polls fail to count the 12 million who are eligible but decline to enroll.

Of the eight million who have signed up, some 87% are receiving taxpayer subsidies. In other words, they are getting health care partly or wholly at someone else’s expense. (Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., Wall Street Journal, 6/24/2015)

We've mused about this very point many times. Obamacare is working! People are getting health care paid for by someone else! And they like it!


Just One Day at The New York Times: June 29, 2015
Jubilant Marchers at Gay Pride Parades Celebrate Supreme Court Ruling 
Fashion World Reacts to Same-Sex Marriage Ruling
Smile and Say Same-Sex Marriage: Photo Editor’s Notebook
Same-Sex Marriage Is A Right: Readers React
With Same-Sex Decision, Evangelical Churches Address New Reality
On the Ground: Where Same-Sex Couples Live
Was This the Right Way to Legalize Gay Marriage?
Review: ‘Larry Kramer in Love & Anger,’ Portrait of the Rebel as Gay Activist
Fate of Domestic Partner Benefits in Question After Marriage Ruling
Frank Bruni: Our Weddings, Our Worth

Sins and Slanders

Characters
President Barack Obama in 2014 said Mr. Gruber was “some adviser who never worked on our staff.” Mr. Gruber told Congress last year he disagreed with the widespread characterization of his role as the “architect” of Mr. Obama’s health-care plan.
....
“Thank you for being an integral part of getting us to this historic moment,” according to Sept. 9, 2009 email to Mr. Gruber from Jeanne Lambrew, a top Obama administration health adviser who worked at HHS and the White House. In a November 2009 email, she called Mr. Gruber “our hero.” (Wall Street Journal, 6/22/2015)

We already knew that Jonathan Gruber was a liar. Now we have confirmation that President Obama is also a liar. 


Battle Lines
Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina on Monday called for removal of a Confederate battle flag from the State Capitol grounds, taking sides on an emotional issue, after the white man accused of killing nine black people was seen brandishing that flag in widely circulated pictures. (New York Times, 6/22/2015)

We like Nikki Haley but she engages in Liberal logic here. So if the killer had posted Facebook pictures of himself with the American flag would Liberals call for a ban on that flag too?

The Sunlight Brightly Gleams

Going Mobile
After delivering a frustrated speech about gun violence in Washington D.C., President Obama traveled to Santa Monica for a fundraiser with Hollywood star Tyler Perry.

During the speech, he called for his supporters to mobilize against gun violence in order to change the current political environment that refused to act. (Breitbart.com, 6/19/2015)

Asking Hollywood to mobilize against gun violence is akin to asking heroin addicts to mobilize against smack. It is not going to happen. Hollywood is addicted to guns.

Also, write this down. At some point in the future we will learn that the South Carolina shooter was obsessed with violent video games. As are most of these mass murderers. Liberals want to make the issue about guns, but guns are not the problem. Cultural decay is the problem.


RedStateVT Responds!
Loyal Liberal reader Global View recently takes a swipe at Republicans over Obamacare and the whole "pre-existing conditions" canard. We have written about this before, but we will do it again as a public service.


It goes like this:
As long as you as a responsible citizen maintained health insurance coverage continuously, you could not be denied coverage because you had a pre-existing condition. Have health insurance through your employer, but lost your job? No problem. Under COBRA you could maintain coverage. Subsequently get a job, but your employer did not offer health insurance? No problem again. You could purchase individual health insurance in fifty states. 

You could only be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition if you did NOT maintain continuous coverage. The reason is obviously because failure to do so represented an uninsurable risk to the insurance company, i.e. if allowed, no one would buy health insurance until they got sick. 

So what Obamacare has done is to legitimize irresponsible behavior. But then again, that is what Liberals always do.

Grasping Disposition

Court Upholds Texas Measures That Imperil Abortion Clinics (New York Times headline, 6/9/2015)
Not imperiled by the 'Texas Measures' are, of course, the unborn. 


Once More with Feeling
In his speech on Tuesday at the annual conference of the Catholic Health Association, Mr. Obama will once again try to make his case that the 2010 law has brought dramatic improvements to the lives of millions of people who had previously been unable to afford basic health care, officials said. (New York Times, 6/9/2015)

About 13 percent of people who signed up for health insurance coverage in 2015 under the Affordable Care Act have fallen off the rolls, many because they failed to pay their share of premiums, the Obama administration said Tuesday. (New York Times, 6/2/2015)

Who are you going to believe? Obama or Obama?


Fluidity
Also, gender identity can be fluid and hard to define in a multiple-choice list. There are now more than 50 gender options on Facebook, for instance. (New York Times, 6/9/2015)

Do you ever get the feeling that Liberals are taking us all straight to hell?

Bernie Would Make EVERYTHING Free

Goalie
Gov. Peter Shumlin says he will not be a candidate for a fourth term in 2016....He said intends to leave politics entirely, noting he plans to go back to work at his family's business in Putney after leaving office in January 2017.

"This is not driven by poll numbers; this is not driven by politics," Shumlin, 59, said. "I decided to make this decision now because I want these next 18 months in office to be focused entirely on continuing the work we started together." (Burlington Free Press, 6/8/2015)

Shummy finally does something good for the state of Vermont. Unfortunately it will take years for Vermont to recover and then only if Shyster Smith is not the next governor.

And just to be clear, the decision is ABSOLUTELY about poll numbers. 


Blunts
President Obama bluntly challenged the Supreme Court over a pending ruling on the validity of ObamaCare subsidies, complaining Monday that the court should never have taken up the case -- and warning that a ruling against subsidies would be a "twisted interpretation" of the law. (Foxnews.com, 6/8/2015)

Obama fires a warning shot across the bow of John Roberts. Once again the Chief Justice is being warned that Dems are prepared to reveal whatever it is that they have over him should the Court not rule Obama's way. 


Sorrows
A Democratic legal fight against restrictive voting laws enacted in recent years by Republican-controlled state governments is being largely paid for by a single liberal benefactor: the billionaire philanthropist George Soros. (New York Times, 6/6/2015)

Dems have billionaires too? Who knew?

Democrats have never explained - never - why it is reasonable too require identification to get on a plane, but not to vote for president. The answer, of course, is that it is a convenient smokescreen to convince poor, uneducated people that Republicans are out to get them. 


Glimpsey
But emails sent by Mr. Hastert, his former aides and staff members at his firm, Dickstein Shapiro, offer unusual glimpses into how a high-profile elected official like Mr. Hastert makes the transition from public officeholder to a big-money rainmaker, a transition that was taking place, according to federal investigators, at a time of personal crisis. (New York Times, 6/7/2015)

Another example which offers a glimpse 'into how a high-profile elected official makes the transition from public officeholder to a big-money rainmaker' is Bill Clinton! 

Hillary too!

RedStateVT: Your Source for All Things Transgendered

Quadrangle
The Pentagon, shamefully, has yet to rescind anachronistic personnel guidelines that prohibit openly transgender people from joining in the military, labeling their condition a “paraphilia,” or perversion. The policy has forced thousands to serve in silence, repressing an essential part of their identity. (New York Times editorial, 6/4/2015)

Yes, there are "thousands" of transgenders in the Pentagon. You didn't know that did you? In fact, transgenders are everywhere and you probably don't even realize it. That might be a transgender sitting next to you at Starbucks. You could be living next door to a transgender. You could be living WITH a transgender! You yourself could, in fact, be a transgender and not even know it.


Pitiful
Just a few years ago, lawmakers in this left-leaning state viewed President Obama’s Affordable Care Act as little more than a pit stop on the road to a far more ambitious goal: single-payer, universal health care for all residents.

Then things unraveled. The online insurance marketplace that Vermont built to enroll people in private coverage under the law had extensive technical failures. The problems soured public and legislative enthusiasm for sweeping health care changes just as Gov. Peter Shumlin needed to build support for his complex single-payer plan. Finally, Mr. Shumlin, a Democrat, shelved the plan in December, citing the high cost to taxpayers. He called the decision “the greatest disappointment of my political life.” (New York Times, 6/4/2015)

When the New York Times is writing about the Vermont health care debacle, it cannot be good. And no matter how bad they say it is, remember this: it is worse.


Intrusive
The Obama administration on Thursday announced what appeared to be one of the largest breaches of federal employees’ data, involving at least four million current and former government workers in an intrusion that officials said apparently originated in China. (New York Times, 6/5/2015)

It needs to be pointed out that had this happened when George Bush or Scott Walker were president, the New York Times, Washington Post and MSNBC would personally blame the (Republican) president.

Obama is president....crickets.

Bernie's Next Target: Too Many Breakfast Cereal Choices

Tumultuous
In a sign of the tumult in the health insurance industry under the Affordable Care Act, companies are seeking wildly differing rate increases in premiums for 2016, with some as high as 85 percent, according to information released on Monday by the federal government for the 37 states using HealthCare.gov as their exchange. (New York Times, 6/2/2015)

Barack Obama: "You can keep your insurance. In fact, it is going to cost less. We're bending the cost curve. Everything will be wonderful."


Shot Through
Shootings in New York City have been rising for two straight years, the first time that has happened since the end of the 1990s, when the city was still in the early years of a remarkable downturn in crime. 
....
New York is not alone in seeing a rise in violence. In some cities, like Baltimore and Chicago, the increase has been far greater, a fact that New York officials are quick to highlight, albeit privately. (New York Times, 6/2/2015)

So to be clear, chaos reigns in cities where Liberals rule and where the aforementioned Liberals have defanged the police. 


Her Highness
Hillary Rodham Clinton will hold the first major rally of her presidential campaign on June 13 on Roosevelt Island in New York City, before embarking on a five-day swing through the four states with the earliest Democratic nominating contests, her campaign said on Monday. (New York Times, 6/2/2015)

In keeping with protocol, Clinton will not take any questions from the press. Or from attendees. She will, however, take contributions. Make your check out to the Clinton Crime Family Foundation.


Kidding
When the media describe the Clintons as resilient or unsinkable or bulletproof—the ultimate “Comeback Kids”—what they really mean is that they are shameless. Nothing embarrasses them, so nobody stops them. (Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal, 6/2/2015)

Kinda makes sense, doesn't it?


Asked and Answered
Monday while President Barack Obama was answering questions at a town hall with YSEALI Fellows, an exchange program for community leaders from ASEAN, The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, he said his administration has restored the United States as the “the most respected country on earth.” (Breitbart.com, 6/2/2015)

This is not a joke. Obama actually said this.

Breaking: Hillary Clinton concedes, will release e-mails related to her yoga routines

Shredder
Hillary Clinton said today she has deleted more than 30,000 “personal” emails from her days as Secretary of State and won’t allow access to the private server she used to send them. “The server will remain private,” she declared. (NYPost.com, 3/10/2015)

This is now.

In 2007, Mrs. Clinton, then a senator from New York and candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, accused the George W. Bush administration of using “secret White House email accounts” along with secret wiretaps and military tribunals. “You know, our Constitution is being shredded,” she said at the time. (New York Times, 3/11/2015)

That was then.


AKA
Attorney General Eric Holder has used three different email aliases during his six years in the top job at the Justice Department, officials say. (Foxnews.com, 3/11/2015)

RedStateVT can confirm that among the aliases used by Holder were the following: SexyAG@AOL.com, thefunkmeister@yahoo.com and BlackPowerMan@gmail.com


Cooled Off
It is a cool, businesslike approach, similar to the way Mr. Obama deals with members of Congress, donors and activists at home. But historians and some of the president’s former foreign policy advisers say the distance the president keeps from foreign leaders leaves him without the durable relationships that previous presidents forged to help smooth disagreements and secure reluctant cooperation. (New York Times, 3/10/2015)

Liberals love the idea of Obama as a too-cool-for-school hipster. The politics is beneath him. He is playing a different game than everyone else, etc. 

The truth is that he is a loner who does not connect with people. He does not like others and generally they do not like him. 


Not Viable
The two most viable alternatives to Clinton spoke at the IAFF gathering Monday: Biden, who projects sincerity, blue-collar appeal and solid competence; and Warren, who, with her passion and righteous indignation, could ignite a populist movement. But the senator from Massachusetts doesn’t want to run, and the vice president would like to but sees no way to upend the Clinton juggernaut. (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 3/10/2015)

Biden projects "sincerity" and "competence?"

OK, it is official. Nothing Milbank says can ever be taken seriously again. 


Say It Again
The Obama administration said Tuesday that 11.7 million Americans now have private health insurance through federal and state marketplaces, with 86 percent of them receiving financial assistance from the federal government to help pay premiums. (New York Times, 3/11/2015)

Eighty-six percent of Americans getting health insurance through the exchanges are getting subsidies! To Liberals, this is success. To others, this is further evidence of the nanny state gone awry.

Examining the Bill O'Reilly Controversy

There is no real mystery to the attacks on Bill O'Reilly from Fox News. It is exactly what it appears to be: the Liberal media's attempt to deflect attention from one of their shining stars: Brian Williams. 

Every journalist exaggerates...bring Williams back! 

To fit that narrative, Liberals had to search thirty year old archives and parse whether O'Reilly said "to" or "at." Nice try.

Undaunted, the New York Times gives us a thirty paragraph article on the subject wherein they conclude in paragraph seven that O'Reilly is guilty:

The accusations against Mr. O’Reilly, which have since been substantiated by other journalists in Argentina at the time, have played neatly into the network’s narrative of being the conservative outlier in an industry dominated by liberals.

Proving that the authors (never mind the editors) of New York Times articles do not read their own pieces, the ironclad guilty verdict against O'Reilly is called into question six paragraphs later:

In the days after the Mother Jones article was published, Mr. O’Reilly mounted an aggressive campaign against the article and its authors on Fox, and aired a video clip and an interview with a former NBC journalist that he said supported his version of events. (New York Times, 2/26/2015)

Oh well...

The O'Reilly kerfuffle is also important to the Liberal media because it deflects attention from the news at MSNBC that the show of Pulitzer Prize winning wunderboy Ronan Farrow is being canceled. Apparently, even though Farrow attracted twelve viewers, two more than Al Sharpton, MSNBC pulled the plug. 

MSNBC is in a real bind with Sharpton because canceling his show will lead to charges by the Rev of...RACISM! Don't you love it when Liberals get caught in their own games?


Seasonal
ObamaCare customers who received health insurance subsidies last year are getting an unpleasant surprise this tax season -- with many finding they have to repay hundreds of dollars. 

An analysis by tax-preparer H&R Block found that to date, 52 percent of those who enrolled in Affordable Care Act coverage are paying back part of their premium tax credits. (Foxnews.com, 2/26/2015)

Obamacare....it's working!

The Exaction of Justice

Unfocused
Indecisiveness is the predominant characteristic of how Mr. Obama executes U.S. national-security policy. Undoubtedly there are other influences: ideological blinders; mistrust of America’s presence in the world; inadequate interest, knowledge, focus and resolve. But in implementing his policies, good or bad, the president has shown that equivocating is what he does best. (John Bolton, Wall Street Journal, 2/18/2015)

That pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? There is almost no decision that Obama isn't willing to postpone.

Best line from Bolton? This one:
Colin Powell as secretary of state once advised British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw that “if you want to bring the Iranians around, you have to hold an ax over their heads.” Instead, Mr. Obama is holding a selfie stick over his own.


Ending
CNN reports that “between 4.5 million and 7.5 million taxpayers received subsidies,” and an earlier CNN report cites an H&R Block estimate that 3.4 million of them will end up owing the IRS money on the deal. (Wall Street Journal, 2/18/2015)

OK, for the one-thousandth time: What would be the reaction to news like this if George Bush and Republicans had promulgated a policy like Obamacare? Answer: Rioting in the streets, egged on by MSNBC and the New York Times.


Error
About 800,000 taxpayers who enrolled in insurance policies through HealthCare.gov received erroneous tax information from the government, and were urged on Friday to hold off on filing tax returns until the error could be corrected. (New York Times, 2/20/2015)

Liberals prove - once again - that government cannot be trusted to do much of anything correctly. 

Liberal answer? Hire more government workers.


Avoidance
President Obama chooses his words with particular care when he addresses the volatile connections between religion and terrorism. He and his aides have avoided labeling acts of brutal violence by Al Qaeda, the so-called Islamic State and their allies as “Muslim” terrorism or describing their ideology as “Islamic” or “jihadist.”

With remarkable consistency — including at a high-profile White House meeting this week, “Countering Violent Extremism” — they have favored bland, generic terms over anything that explicitly connects attacks or plots to Islam. (New York Times, 2/19/2015)

In his ceaseless quest not to offend Muslims Obama is all-too-willing to offend just about everyone else - Christians, Jews, Americans, Europeans, etc.

In return for his delicacy, radical Muslims continue with the beheadings. We're guessing this is just another example of how Obama has been "set free to be himself" because he has no more elections. 

Best line from the WSJ on this topic:
Foreign policy is not a Harry Potter tale of good versus He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. (Wall Street Journal, 2/19/2015)


Argumentative
As he sought to rally the world behind a renewed attack on terrorism, President Obama argued on Thursday that force of arms was not enough and called on all nations to “put an end to the cycle of hate” by expanding human rights, religious tolerance and peaceful dialogue. (New York Times, 2/20/2015)

Because what the radical Islamists are really seeking is human rights, religious tolerance and peaceful dialogue....


Uniformed and Ignorant
The government should open a special enrollment period that lasts beyond April 15, the traditional filing time for most taxpayers. That would be fair to millions of consumers who remain uninformed about the health care law and ignorant about the subsidies it provides and the penalties for failing to enroll. And it would strengthen implementation of health care reform. (New York Times editorial, 2/19/2015)

New York Times editors apparently believe that there are still "millions of consumers" out there who do not know about the free health care available to them courtesy of Obamacare.


Endurance
Still, the country was treated to a level of detailed testimony on sexual indiscretion that surely surpassed what President Bill Clinton was made to endure over the liaison that eventually led to his impeachment in 1998. (New York Times, 2/20/2015)

In an article on French pervert Strauss-Kahn, the New York Times throws this line in. "What Bill Clinton was made to endure." Never mind what Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky and others endured.... In just a few short years, the Times will have reshaped Clintons travails from a sordid case of sexual abuse of an employee into a Republican hit job. 

Actually the Times has pretty much already done that, haven't they?


Supportive
He does not return phone calls. He does not ask for support. He arrives late for meetings. And he acts as if he has all the time in the world. The complaints have piled up for weeks, dismaying many longtime supporters of Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and sending others into the arms of his rivals for the presidential nomination, according to interviews with more than two dozen Republican donors and strategists. (New York Times, 2/20/2015)

Jeb Bush. Chris Christie. Scott Walker. Jeb Bush. Jeb Bush. Scott Walker. Jeb Bush. Chris Christie. Scott Walker. 

What is it?

The New York Times rotation for hit pieces on potential Republican presidential contenders. 

Dianne Feinstein: American Traitor

Candy-Colored Clown
Candy Crowley resigned from CNN last week. Crowley will be remembered for her many achievements, such as becoming the first woman to win a presidential debate.

Speaking of Crowley, she will remain at CNN until January for State of the Union Address, where she is expected to load all necessary talking points into President Obama’s teleprompter. (Jodi Miller, Newsbusted, quoted on Newsbusters.org, 12/9/2014)

Now that is funny!


Irresponsible
As a president who receives regular briefings on terrorist threats and is responsible for stopping them, Mr. Obama sees the situation differently than he did as a candidate denouncing the incumbent of the other party. (New York Times, 12/11/2014)

Ya think? Of course Obama's default is always to blame Bush. 


Head Bump
Maybe it’s easier to get tenure at MIT than we thought. At least that’s our reaction to the Forrest Gump routine put on Tuesday before Congress by MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, who sounded for all the world as if he knew nothing more about politics and health care than the lovable bumpkin who always showed up when history was being made. (Wall Street Journal, 12/9/2014)

Why do you think that Dianne Feinstein and Democrat co-conspirators chose yesterday to release their treasonous report on the CIA? If you guessed: to deflect attention away from Gruber's Obamacare mea culpa, you would be exactly right!

Obama: Turns Out I Am An Emperor!

Broadly
But accusations of a presidential abuse of power appear to have gained traction in recent days, as a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found just 38 percent support for Mr. Obama’s executive actions even as there was broad support for a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants. In the poll, 48 percent said they opposed Mr. Obama’s actions. Even a few Democrats have expressed concern about the propriety of the president’s actions. (New York Times, 11/21/2014)

Actually - if only 38% of the country supports Obama - he has lost more than "a few" Democrats. We wonder how many Democrats are quietly saying: "this guy is going to hurt our brand for years...." 


Zoned Out
I don’t know how ObamaCare will go, but it won’t last as it is. If the White House had wisdom, they’d declare that they’d won on the essential argument—health coverage is a right for all—and go back to the drawing board with Congress. The only part of the ObamaCare law that is popular is its intention, not its reality. The White House should declare victory and redraw the bill. But the White House is a wisdom-free zone. (Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, 11/21/2014)

Another score for Noonan!


Wanted
People who wanted market-driven health care now have it in the Affordable Care Act (Alice M. Rivlin, Washington Post, 11/20/2014)

Completely dishonest analysis from Rivlin. Liberals do this all the time. They impose draconian rules and then talk about free markets. 


Inflation
President Barack Obama's much-touted 8 million Obamacare enrollment number was inflated by 1.3 million, the Obama administration now admits. "The mistake we made is unacceptable," tweeted Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell. "I will be communicating that clearly throughout the department." (Breitbart.com, 11/23/2014)

Is there anything that the Obama administration will not lie about? Answer: no. 


At Least
President Obama decided in recent weeks to authorize a more expansive mission for the military in Afghanistan in 2015 than originally planned, a move that ensures American troops will have a direct role in fighting in the war-ravaged country for at least another year. (New York Times, 11/21/2014)

Hey, don't get us wrong we think fighting the terrorists on their home turf is a good idea. But where is Code Pink? Where is the condemnation by the New York Times editors? Where is the rambling incoherent speech by Harry Reid on the Senate floor? Where is the reminder of how many soldiers have died already? Oh, and where are the apologies to George Bush and Dick Cheney?


Holy Holy Holy
McAllister points out that the usual separation-of-church-and-state crowd has been remarkably quiet about the president’s invocation of the Old Testament, that bloodiest and most patriarchal part of holy writ. “No scathing posts. No statement from the Freedom From Religious Foundation. Oh, right,” she says, “this is a Democratic president, so it’s okay.”(Ian Tuttle, nationalreview.com, 11/21/2014)

Killer point! Recall the endless criticism any time a Republican politician invokes religion. Liberal secularists are mute when Obama quotes scripture. 

Coming Soon from Democrats: The Republican War on Children!

Bernie Sanders: Keystone XL 'makes no sense to me' (Washington Examiner, 11/18/2014)

RedStateVT: Bernie Sanders 'makes no sense to us' (RedStateVT, 11/18/2014)


Currently
In the current Democratic-controlled Senate, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, has long refused to bring a Keystone bill to a vote for fear that it could hurt the re-election chances of environmental-minded Democrats who might have voted against a project that is popular with many voters. (New York Times, 11/18/2014)

So to fellow bloggers who write endlessly of Republican obstructionism we forward the passage above. Turns out Harry Reid's Senate (which never passed a budget either, by the way) may have doing some obstruction of their own! Also nice to hear that the Keystone pipeline is "popular with many voters." We are guessing that said voters like jobs and low gas prices. 


Starkly
President Obama is poised to ignore stark warnings that executive action on immigration would amount to “violating our laws” and would be “very difficult to defend legally.”

Those warnings came not from Republican lawmakers but from Mr. Obama himself.

For years, he has waved aside the demands of Latino activists and Democratic allies who begged him to act on his own, and he insisted publicly that a decision to shield millions of immigrants from deportation without an act of Congress would amount to nothing less than the dictates of a king, not a president. (New York Times, 11/18/2014)

For any of you cynics out there, remember: Republicans flip flop, Democrats evolve.


Mutually
But since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010, the relationship between the Obama administration and insurers has evolved into a powerful, mutually beneficial partnership that has been a boon to the nation’s largest private health plans and led to a profitable surge in their Medicaid enrollment. (New York Times, 11/17/2014)

During the Obamacare debate, Charles Krauthammer once famously said: "I care not a whit about the insurance companies." We agree. They sold their souls to Obama for short term profits but given the opportunity Obama will sell them out in a heartbeat.


Surely
As headlines go, “ Obama Moves Close to Calling Russian Action in Ukraine an Invasion,” from a weekend story in the New York Times , must surely rank among the year’s most revealing. The Obama presidency has long been at odds with the obvious. Once this was called hope.

Now it is generally recognized as farce. (Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal, 11/17/2014)

Bret Stephens picks up on RedStateVT's recent point!


Extensively
Mr. Gruber wrote a 2011 cartoon book called “Health Care Reform” that aimed to explain the federal law. A note about the author says Mr. Gruber “consulted extensively with the Obama administration and Congress during the development” of the law. (Wall Street Journal, 11/17/2014)

Of all the egregious sins that Gruber has perpetrated, surely this is the worst: he wrote a cartoon book on Obamacare. 


And Then This
Here comes the tea party of the left. (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 11/17/2014)

Honest column from Milbank. Yes, the Dems have a tea party too.

"Stupid" Americans Face Large Health Insurance Price Hikes

Substantially
The Obama administration on Friday unveiled data showing that many Americans with health insurance bought under the Affordable Care Act could face substantial price increases next year — in some cases as much as 20 percent — unless they switch plans. 
....

“Consumers should shop around,” said Marilyn B. Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the federal insurance exchange serving three dozen states. “With new options available this year, they’re likely to find a better deal.” She asserted that the data showed that “the Affordable Care Act is working.” (New York Times, 11/14/2014)

So apparently, a "better deal" and "working" describe a situation wherein Americans pay substantially more for health insurance. Got it.


Checked Out
 “We’re really making sure the website works super well before the next open enrollment period. We’re double- and triple-checking it.” President Obama
...

The health insurance marketplace opened for business on Saturday and performed much better than last year, but some consumers reported long, frustrating delays in trying to buy insurance and gain access to their own accounts at HealthCare.gov. (New York Times, 11/15/2014)

Quadruple-check?


Dysfunctional
Vermont is the only state that requires purchase of any individual health care insurance policies through the state exchange. Yes, that’s the same exchange that isn’t functioning. Shumlin has turned health care in Vermont into a Kafka-like cartoon: you must buy through the exchange and the exchange doesn’t work. (Stuart Stevens, thedailybeast.com, 11/13/2014)

Wonderful article which describes how corrupt and arrogant Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin is and how he nearly blew the recent election to an almost unknown Republican, Scott Milne. Speaking of Vermont Health Connect, here is a recent e-mail: 

"You are receiving this email because you have chosen email as your communication preference.  Usually this email would include a link to your account, but at this time account log-ins and online payments are unavailable due to a period of extended maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Got it.


Identity Crisis
The Democrats’ widespread losses last week have revived a debate inside the party about its fundamental identity, a long-running feud between center and left that has taken on new urgency in the aftermath of a disastrous election and in a time of deeply felt economic anxiety. (New York Times, 11/14/2014)

So after fifty-two thousand articles on how the Republican party is being torn apart by the Tea Party the Times concedes that Democrats face their own rifts. Got it.


Wonderful
Sometimes we wonder if President Obama has even the vaguest idea how a private economy works. (Wall Street Journal, 11/14/2014)

We just liked this line.


Get Closer
Obama Moves Close to Calling Russian Action in Ukraine an Invasion (New York Times headline, 11/16/2014)

Months after Putin invades Ukraine, Obama threatens to accuse Putin of......invading Ukraine. Vlad must wake up every day and pinch himself thinking about how lucky he is to have Obama.

The Best of Ebola News

The Real Reason That Obama Won't Halt Flights To The U.S. From Liberia
The hearing thrust the Ebola virus and the government’s halting management of it into the realm of politics in the midst of a national election season. (New York Times, 10/17/2014)


Ebola isn't Obama's Katrina, the growing pile of his unprecedented incompetence is. After the ObamaCare rollout, the IRS, NSA, VA, ISIS, and the economy that wouldn't recover, the Obama Administration's arrogant, ignorant, and deadly mishandling of Ebola could finally tip the pile over. (John Nolte, Beitbart.com, 10/16/2014)


Fear of Ebola is spreading faster than the disease itself, and the growing paranoia in the United States is fueling calls to impose a travel ban on people coming from the three West African nations struggling with the outbreak.
...
Ultimately, health specialists said, a ban would do more harm than good because it would isolate impoverished nations that are barely able to cope with the outbreak, and possibly cut them off from the international aid workers who provide critical help to contain the disease.

The White House on Thursday repeated its opposition to such a ban. President Obama said that he was following the advice of health experts and that “a travel ban is less effective than the measures that we are currently instituting.” (New York Times, 10/17/2014)

So the nitwits in the White House will not institute a travel ban because that would isolate the countries where Ebola is found. Isn't that exactly the point?

And the real reason that Obama is against a travel ban? As a Kenyan-American, the optics of such a ban would destroy what is left of his presidency. The only continent where he is stilled liked is Africa and the only remaining constituency in the U.S. that supports him overwhelmingly are African-Americans. A ban would erode this support.


Hooked
About 7.3 million Americans are enrolled in private coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, and more than 80 percent qualified for federal subsidies to help with the cost of their monthly premiums. But many are still on the hook for deductibles that can top $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for families — the trade-off, insurers say, for keeping premiums for the marketplace plans relatively low. The result is that some people — no firm data exists on how many — say they hesitate to use their new insurance because of the high out-of-pocket costs. (New York Times, 10/18/2014)

Actually it is even worse than the Times lets on. For those who DO NOT get federal subsidies, Obamacare has delivered high deductibles AND high premiums. 

Yet another Liberal-conceived federal entitlement program screw-up. 


Oddly
In an odd moment in the trial of Robel Phillipos, a friend of the man accused of the Boston Marathon bombings, Michael Dukakis, the former Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, testified Thursday for the defense. Mr. Phillipos, 20, a friend of the suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is charged with lying to the authorities about his movements days after the attack. (New York Times, 10/16/2014)

The country sure dodged a bullet in 1988 by not electing Dukakis.