Code Red

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WyBlog, the best thing about New Jersey since the invention of the 24 hour diner.

Chris Wysocki
Caldwell, NJ

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." - Ronald Reagan

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Tuesday, 31 December 2013

I'm told I'm supposed to wish you all a Happy New Year

So, Happy New Year. May 2014 suck less than 2013.

Sarcasm aside, it's a bit of stretch for me to actually be happy about the new year. Too much bad shit has gone done in WyVille for that, and there's lots more on the horizon. But rather than bore you with yet another tirade against all things Obamunist, I'll just fall back on some Rule 5.

Neither of these ladies are actually featured in my New Year's plans, but I'm sure someone is happy to see, and be seen with them. So there's that.

One final thought. General Mattis, please do this. I'd crawl through broken glass to join you. And it'd improve my mood. Immensely.

Posted at 18:28 by Chris Wysocki [/odds_n_ends] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: 2013 2014 WyBlog Rule5 | Tweet

Newark mayoral hopeful Ras Baraka wrote letters on behalf of notorious gang boss

Cory Booker sometimes hung out with Newark's drug dealers.

One of the guys vying to replace him goes one better. South Ward Councilman Ras Baraka is tight with Al-Tariq Gumbs, aka "Killer Reek," founder of the notoriously violent Brick City Brims street gang. How tight? Baraka wrote letters requesting leniency for Gumbs.

A councilman vying to replace Cory Booker as mayor of New Jersey's largest city has written letters used in motions requesting leniency for one of Newark's most notorious gang leaders, The Star-Ledger has learned.

South Ward Councilman Ras Baraka wrote the letters on behalf of convicted gang lord Al-Tariq Gumbs at his sentencing in 2010, the same year Gumbs was accused of plotting murders from a federal prison cell in Arizona, court papers obtained by the newspaper show.

That first letter was dated Nov. 10, 2010 — 10 months after Gumbs was indicted on the murder conspiracy charges. Baraka's letter was filed in support of a motion to reduce Gumbs' bail.

The second letter was used two years later in an effort to get Gumbs' sentence reduced after he pleaded guilty to some of the conspiracy charges from 2010, according to copies of the letters and court transcripts obtained by the newspaper.

Gumbs' attorney, Thomas Ambrosio, said the second letter was a plea for leniency.

"It was a general, 'Hey, please be lenient on him and I think he's turned his life around' kind of letter," Ambrosio said.

In the first letter, Baraka said he believed Gumbs could be integral to resolving some of the gang disputes that often lead to shootings and homicides in the Brick City.

"Over the past few years I have had the opportunity to communicate with (Gumbs) through mail and have been personally impressed by his writing and passion to self correct and be an asset to our community," Baraka wrote.

Why is Baraka trying to get Gumbs out of prison? To broker a "truce" between the gangs that have turned Newark into the murder capital of the universe.

"All the kids in this city know the legend of 'Killer Reek' in the community," Baraka said, referring to Gumbs' street name. "When you walk into a neighborhood and you say we're trying to put together a truce, and Killer Reek is a part of this truce, that holds a whole hell of a lot of damn weight."

It's the "pretty please stop killing each other" approach to crime fighting.

An interesting idea, until you think about it for more than 10 seconds. Brokering a truce implies tacit endorsement of the gangs' existence and raison d'etre, which of course is crime. Drugs. Prostitution. Robbery. Protection. Carjacking. All that stuff which makes Newark such a fun place to live and work.

It elevates criminal scum to equals of the city's elected officials, inflating their egos and emboldening their nefarious activities. Killer Reek is rubbin' elbows with the mayor man, so he's got juice.

"All the kids in this city know the legend of 'Killer Reek." That's gotta be the saddest commentary on life in Newark that I've ever heard. A murderous thug is a "legend?" In what sane universe?

But in Ras Baraka's universe, coddling gang bangers will be Job 1.

If elected, Baraka said, he would not shy away from writing similar letters. Newark will see its annual homicide total increase for the fourth straight year in 2013, and Baraka said it's long past time to take a different approach to crime-fighting, even if that means working closely with the criminal community.

Part of Baraka's public safety plan, dubbed "Project Chill," involves improved communication with gang members to stymie street disputes. The councilman has been touting his gang intervention plan all week, in the wake of a series of shootings that left several teenagers dead, including a 13-year-old girl who was killed by a stray bullet while taking out the trash on Christmas night.

I'd be beating the bushes trying to catch the killers. But apparently that's so last century, or something. Ras Baraka's kinder, gentler approach involves chillin' while drinking tea and singing Kumbaya and hoping the killers will mend their ways and take jobs delivering pizza.

Which I'm sure will work out just great.

Is it any surprise that Baraka is the front-runner for Booker's job? A guy in the pocket of the street gangs could soon be mayor of Newark. My advice to any decent people still living there is this — Get Out, get out now, while you still can. Because Newark needs a man like Rudy Guiliani. But they're getting another Nucky Johnson.

Posted at 10:18 by Chris Wysocki [/nj_politics] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Ras-Baraka Newark-NJ street-gangs Brick-City-Brims Al-Tariq-Gumbs | Tweet

Monday, 30 December 2013

Obamacare requires you to read a nutrition label before buying chips from a vending machine

Because nagging the crap out of you makes you healthier. And it makes do-gooder bureaucrats happy.

Office workers in search of snacks will be counting calories along with their change under new labeling regulations for vending machines included in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.

Requiring calorie information to be displayed on roughly 5 million vending machines nationwide will help consumers make healthier choices, says the Food and Drug Administration, which is expected to release final rules early next year. It estimates the cost to the vending machine industry at $25.8 million initially and $24 million per year after that, but says if just .02 percent of obese adults ate 100 fewer calories a week, the savings to the health care system would be at least that great.

Here they go again with more potential health care system savings if we'll only listen to our nanny state overlords. They don't care who pays, they just like telling us what to do.

The rules will apply to about 10,800 companies that operate 20 or more machines. Nearly three quarters of those companies have three or fewer employees, and their profit margin is extremely low, according to the National Automatic Merchandising Association. An initial investment of $2,400 plus $2,200 in annual costs is a lot of money for a small company that only clears a few thousand dollars a year, said Eric Dell, the group's vice president for government affairs.

"The money that would be spent to comply with this - there's no return on the investment," he said.

You're missing the Big Picture Mr. Dell. You're helping Society. From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. It's the nanny state mantra. Liberty? Bah, that's so last century.

UPDATE 31 Dec 2013 12:22:
Linked at Conservative Hideout, where Matt notes the Americans With Disabilities Act requires these labels to be available in Braille.

Posted at 14:54 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
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Sunday, 29 December 2013

Success! White House touts 1 million Obamacare sign-ups, ignores 6 million who lost coverage

They expected 3.3 million sign-ups. They got 1.1 million. Break out the champagne!

The Obama administration announced early Sunday that enrollment in the federal healthcare exchange passed the 1 million mark in December as more than 975,000 people signed up between December 1 and the December 24 deadline to ensure coverage beginning on the first of 2014.

Officially, the administration put the total of people now enrolled at more than 1.1 million people now enrolled and boasted that the site was able to support 83,000 concurrent visitors on December 23, the next-to-last day before the sign-up deadline. By contrast, the administration reported only 27,000 sign-ups in October --the website's first, error-prone month -- and 137,000 in November.

Now before you get too excited, remember that 1.1 million figure isn't people who've actually paid for Obamacare. Nope, HHS isn't releasing that number, obviously because it's a fraction of the much ballyhooed total.

And nobody is still quite sure what's gonna happen on January 1^st when at least a few of those folks, temporary Obamacare card in hand, show up at their doctor's office.

The political fallout from the website's calamitous rollout could pale in comparison to the heat that Obama might take if Americans who signed up and paid their premiums arrive at the pharmacy or the emergency room and find there's no record of their coverage.

I'm guessing hilarity will ensue.

Meanwhile, more than 6 million Americans won't be going to their doctor or pharmacy any time soon. They're the forgotten fallout from Obamacare.

Over six million Americans have now lost their health care coverage thanks to Obamacare. In fact, 6,171,890 Americans have already lost their health care coverage. This is just the foreshock as 80-100 million are expected to lose their employer based health care come next fall.

And then there's guys like me who got dumped from the health care plan we wanted to keep into a craptacular Obamacare-compliant plan with sky-high deductibles and astronomical out-of-pocket expenses.

Many will find they must pay costs up to $6,350 — on top of their monthly premiums — before their insurance pays anything for actual medical care. If they have a family, they may have to pay nearly $13,000 in an out-of-pocket "deductible" before insurance starts paying.

Yeah, that gives a whole new meaning to "affordable," don't it?

I can't wait for more surprises in 2014, how about you?

Posted at 11:31 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Obamacare health-insurance healthcare.gov HHS Obama | Tweet

Saturday, 28 December 2013

You voted for Obama. You don't have a job. Your unemployment just ran out. Bwhahahaha!

Really, the schadenfreude is delicious.

Alas, the libtard masses still won't take responsibility for their stupdity.

This week 1.3 million people will be losing unemployment benefits, which will be a disaster for them (just as food stamps are going away, too) and a drag on the economy overall.

WaPo has a map showing where the people losing benefits live. Wow, New Jersey is about to get slammed. What's up with that, Gov. Christie? Hasn't yelling at schoolteachers created more jobs?

LOL. That's The World's Worst Buddhist, aka "Maha," who seems to have to lost sight of the whole Peace and Love thing. Maha hates Tea Baggers. Blames us for all of society's ills. But has never stopped to consider that Obama is the reason for the malaise.

Want to create some jobs Maha? Repeal Obamacare. Deport illegal aliens. Cut corporate taxes. It worked under Reagan, and it'll work again even if the Kenyan usurper keeps playing golf on our dime.

But no, Maha sees curtailing lifetime unemployment benefits as akin to starving a million Irish to death.

When a million Irish died during the Great Famine of the 1850s, many in the English aristocracy said the peasants deserved to starve because their families were too big and indolent. The British baronet overseeing food relief felt that the famine was God's judgment, and an excellent way to get rid of surplus population. His argument on relief was the same one used by Rand Paul.

"The only way to prevent the people from becoming habitually dependent on government is to bring the operation to a close," Sir Charles Trevelyan said about the relief plan at a time when thousands of Irish a day were dropping dead from hunger.

Americans are dropping like flies? Do tell.

Let's try a little personal responsibility. You reap what you sow. You voted for government handouts, when you could have voted for individual liberty and economic growth. Sucks to be you, I guess. The fact is the government does not have infinite money. And you're not entitled to dime one anyway. Because the Constitution does not guarantee equality of outcome.

And your slam at Rand Paul is disingenous. He wants you to be less dependent on government, by showing you how to stand on your own two feet. Yeah, that's harder than showing up at the welfare office once a month, but in the long run it's more rewarding.

But commenter "Goatherd" takes the cake. He's holding out for a management position.

When I graduated from college unemployment in Florida, where I lived, was over 10%. It took me years to catch a break and get a job that offered any hope for advancement. There was a crisis and the non-profit I worked for went belly up. One thing I knew instinctively, was that if I took a job, delivering sandwiches or "any job" as our Randian overlords suggest, I would have thrown away any chance at ever finding a better life.

If you think spending too long a period looking for work, puts the "Mark of Cain" on your brow, try a little stint in "any job." People like Ryan have absolutely no idea how the world works, they don't have to, they don't live in it.

There is so much obtuseness there, I don't know where to start.

The non-profit he worked for went tits up. That seems implausible to me, given how the libtard elite love to fund the pipedreams of their minions. But in any event, delivering sandwiches was beneath him. Presumably because it offered insufficent opportunities for the raising of his consciousness. Putting food on the table was a secondary consideration, because Obama would provide. He must do Important Work, or wither on the vine.

As for his jibe at "people like [Paul} Ryan," take for example, me.

I started in "any job." Putting resistors into pc boards. 8 mind-numbing hours a day. Of course it helps that I didn't go to college to study "race" or "gender" or "activism" or any of the other useless liberal arts majors kids today are wasting their parents' money on. You reap what you sow. And I studied engineering and mathematics. Yeah, that stuff's hard. But guess what, hard work pays off.

I moved on up to running the solder machine. And soon enough I was talking to the professional engineers designing the circuit boards I was building. It helped that we spoke the same language. No that's not a cheap shot at the ESL crowd. We spoke engineer. And one of them suggested I utilize my math and logic skills in the then burgeoning field of computer science.

Did I work my ass off? You betcha. Was it easy? Nope. But it was totally worth every minute.

"Any job" is not the goal. "Any job" is the stepping stone. Because it instills in you the basic building blocks of success. Hard work. Perseverence. Responsibility. And most importantly, reward for your labor.

Why do I laugh at the Obama voters who lament their plight? Because they had a choice. They could have chosen the businessman, the person who spent his entire life creating opportunity. But no, they chose the demagogue, the man dedicated to fomenting class warfare. Because it's easier to envy the rich man than it is to work as hard as he works.

Alas, sooner or later you run out of other people's money. And when you do, yes, it's your fault. Not Paul Ryan's or Rand Paul's. And not mine.

Maha and his ilk chose poorly. Oops. Elections have consequences. And this time the consequence is that their life sucks. Yeah, you guys "won." Look up Pyrrhic Victory. You might learn something.

Posted at 22:14 by Chris Wysocki [/economy] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: economy unemployment Obama jobs | Tweet

Friday, 27 December 2013

Thinking about it, A&E did Phil Robertson a favor

Because now pretty much everyone in America knows who Phil Robertson is.

And they know what he stands for.

More importantly, by their actions on social media, and by their boycott of A&E and its sponsors, millions of Americans stood up and said "we agree with Phil."

The consensus is in. Homosexuality is yucky. But hey, if you're gonna do it, please do it privately, and leave us out of it.

That's not hatred. That's tolerance. Which of course is different from acceptance or endorsement. Unless you're a homofascist.

On the flipside, almost no one knows who Dan Savage is. And the average American couldn't pick a GLAAD goon out of a lineup if you held a gun to his head.

God is winning! And He works through A&E.

Posted at 22:49 by Chris Wysocki [/media] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: A&E Phil-Robertson Christianity Dan-Savage GLAAD homosexual | Tweet

A&E reinstates Phil Robertson, homofascist drama queens hardest hit

In the Beginning was The Word…

And today's word is Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk. Because A&E has totally reversed their "temporary suspension" of Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson. The free market has spoken, and profit trumps political correctness run amok every time.

Well that, and God. The Word of God was made flesh, and except in GLAAD headquarters and certain parts of Tenafly, NJ, the Truth of God's Word is immutable, regardless of what some idiot on MSNBC might tell you.

There is no Constitutional Right to not be offended. Because if there was, I'd be first in line touting the indignities thrown my way by gay goons preaching "tolerance." They hate the religious, and by projection assume we hate them. Alas their hatred has blinded them. I don't hate them, I pity them for the emptiness of their ignorance. And I pray for their salvation.

Phil Robertson never tried to impose his views on a single person. He spoke from his heart, and he made it clear he held no ill will toward anyone. But the vitriol hurled his way exposed homofascism as an ugly intolerant strain of coercive groupthink. Alas, "diversity" does not mean conformity. And the First Amendment guarantees Freedom of Religion, even if your "religion" is buggery.

Posted at 18:58 by Chris Wysocki [/media] Comments | Perm Link |
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Thursday, 26 December 2013

Lone transvestite defeats Newark Airport's $300 million perimeter security system

The TSA spent $300 million dollars on a perimeter security system for Newark Airport, and it was no match for a jilted transvestite.

The Port Authority's pricey perimeter-protection system failed again Wednesday when it failed to detect that a man — dressed as a woman — had hopped a fence at Newark Airport and wandered across two runways, sources told The Post.

Siyah Bryant, 24, of Jersey City, was wearing women's red pants and a smart brown sweater as he allegedly walked onto the tarmac at about 4:20 a.m. after a tryst in a car near the airport went bad.

Newark's Perimeter Intrusion Detection System should have alerted officials to Bryant's presence long before he took his turn on the runway — but the $300 million-plus system flunked.

"The [PIDS] cameras were operating and he was not detected by the PIDS system," a source said.

DHS, TSA, the whole thing is a big joke. They vacuum up tax dollars by the tractor-trailer-full and then fall down on the job time and time again.

I'm sure you're as pleased as I am to learn that while TSA was busily protecting us from diabolical snow globes a Rocky Horror wannabe wandered around on the runways and nobody noticed him. That musta been some sweater he was sporting, eh? Because for all their checkpoint kabuki it only takes one jilted transvestite to demonstrate once again how pointless their depredations really are.

And of course nobody will get fired over this. Nothing will change. The traveling public will continue to be terrorized by agents of our own government, while the terrorists laugh their keffiyehs off.

Posted at 15:46 by Chris Wysocki [/terrorism] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Newark-Airport TSA terrorism PIDS security | Tweet

Monday, 23 December 2013

Today is the last day to sign up for Obamacare! Oh, wait, no it's not

Deadlines, smedlines. Dear Leader has quietly extended his December 23^rd deadline to sign up for Obamacare by one more day. The new deadline? December 24^th, at midnight.

Maybe he expects Santa to bring him a working website.

Fat chance, that. You've been a naughty boy Barry. No presents for you!

By the way, can you guess the one thing Obama hasn't postponed?

The tax hikes to pay for this fiasco!

On January 1, 2014 the Section 179 deduction, which is hugely helpful to small businesses, drops from $500,000 to $25,000! Why is this important? It means that small businesses will have to pay tax on earnings they otherwise could reinvest in the business. Government gets tax, business doesn't grow, fewer jobs are created.

But government gets bigger and takes over more parts of your life, so there's that.

Posted at 15:03 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Obamacare Obama HHS healthcare.gov deadlines | Tweet

Friday, 20 December 2013

Chris Christie DREAMs of illegal aliens

Break the law, get a taxpayer-subsidized college education. Because Chris Christie is a Conservative dontcha know.

Thousands of students who grew up in New Jersey but are in the country illegally will soon be able to pay in-state tuition at its public colleges and universities after passage of the so-called "Dream Act" Thursday.

After some procedural back-and-forth, Christie agreed to sign legislation (S2479) that would allow unauthorized immigrants who graduated high school in New Jersey after attending that school for at least three years to be eligible for the lower in-state rates at public higher educational institutions, including in-county rates at community colleges.

Earlier in the day, the Assembly started the bill moving by sending Christie a version that would also make the students eligible for state financial aid programs, including tuition aid grants (TAG). Christie then conditionally vetoed the bill to remove that provision and sent it back to the Senate and Assembly, which both promptly concurred with the change.

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the governor will sign the bill today.

In-state tuition rates are, of course, subsidized by the hard-working taxpayers of New Jersey. You know, those of us who don't flout the law.

But the entitlement mentality of these scofflaws isn't sated. Because they want to attend college for free.

Giancarlo Tello, whose parents brought him in the country illegally when he was 6 years old, said he had to drop out of Rutgers-Newark because he couldn't keep up with the out-of-state tuition rates.

"I'll finally be able to go back to school," Tello, 23, said.

But Tello, who helps lead an organization that fought for the bill, said the group is "begrudgingly" accepting compromise and faulted Christie for not agreeing to sign the whole bill.

"We are going to remember our friends who stood by us," Tello said. "And we'll remember those who thought we only deserve crumbs, such as Gov. Christie, and we're not going to forget that. And we're going to come back next year."

How's that for gratitude? Gimme, gimme, gimme. It's all these grievance-mongers know. So Christie sold out for nothing, apparently. Because did he ever stop to consider what illegal aliens with a free college degree are gonna do with their lives?

They can't work in America. Not legally. So any job this Tello fellow gets will be under-the-table, and you can bet he won't be too concerned about paying his "fair share" of taxes. Why should he? It's not like he's got respect for our laws. His contempt for us is glaringly apparent.

"This is the reality: Illegal immigrants suppress wages while creating a gray economy outside of the oversight of the law," said Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose (R-Sussex). "They are breaking the law. So what are we doing today?"

You're rewarding lawbreakers. That's what you're doing today.

And meanwhile, tens of millions of American citizens are unemployed, and forgotten. I'm sure they appreciate a governor and potential presidential candidate kicking them while they're down. Giving illegal aliens a college education puts even more pressure on Congress to legitimize their entry into the job pool. The day that happens there won't suddenly be millions of new jobs for them to take. They'll compete with Americans who've been struggling for years, chasing too few jobs in a lackluster economy.

The result will of course be lower wages and less opportunity for American citizens. That's not a dream, it's a nightmare.

Posted at 09:30 by Chris Wysocki [/immigration] Comments | Perm Link |
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Thursday, 19 December 2013

Hidden in Obamacare fine print: The Feds can seize your house, and give it to Pajama Boy

Obamacare really is Wealth Redistribution, on steroids.

A hidden clause in Obamacare allows the government to loot your estate after you die.

As thousands of state residents enroll in Washington's expanded Medicaid program, many will be surprised at fine print: After you're dead, your estate can be billed for ordinary health-care expenses.

Affordable Care Act of 2010. Estate recovery will be forced on millions of people who might have otherwise gone without insurance. Why? Because the plan is that millions more Americans have health insurance. That would be accomplished by expanding Medicaid and implementing premium assistance (subsidies). When a person is found to be eligible for Medicaid, they will be automatically enrolled into their state's Medicaid program. Those forced into Medicaid will, due to the federal law, also be forced into estate recovery. Their estates will be partly or fully taken over by the federal or state government when they die.

If you like your house, you can keep your house.

Ha! Just kidding!

You thought you bought insurance. Instead you bought a predatory reverse mortgage.

I wonder what are the Feds going to do with your house after they seize it.

Why, they'll give it to Pajama Boy of course! He needs a place to live, and Mom's basement is cramping his style. He voted for Obama, he deserves Free Stuff!

As a wise man once said, a government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.

Posted at 11:32 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
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Wednesday, 18 December 2013

Camden, NJ has a $371 million school budget, and exactly 3 kids are "college ready"

Their Superintendent calls it "a kick-in-the-stomach moment."

I call it a crime against humanity. And the taxpayers. Camden has an annual school budget of $371 million dollars. And they produced exactly 3 "college ready" students this year. Three. Out of 15,400.

The new school superintendent in Camden says it was a "kick-in-the-stomach moment" when he learned that only three district high school students who took the SAT this year scored as college-ready.

Paymon Rouhanifard on Tuesday told the school board and the community what he learned on a "listening tour" after he was named to the post in August.

He told the city's Board of Education that low college readiness shows the district must do better.

No shit Sherlock.

You really needed a "listening tour" to deduce that?

The Camden public schools have failed. And they'll continue to fail until somebody stops "listening" to the same old educratic bullshit and starts making drastic changes.

What's the answer? I honestly don't know, except to say this. Continuing to do what you've always done, and expecting different results, is what Einstein called the textbook definition of insanity. It's long past time for the education establishment to be shaken to its very core, busted down for incompetence and replaced with a system more focused on results than it is on feelings and platitudes.

And maybe that means some sort of triage approach where the kids who don't want to be in school are cut loose (along with the teachers who are just punching timeclocks) to make it easier on the (presumably more than 3) kids who want to learn. The idea that no child can be left behind has instead guaranteed that all children are forced into failure. Camden is living proof — the race to the bottom is complete. They have achieved full equality, of mediocrity.

But it occurs to me, if that's what you want, you could buy it for a lot less than $371 million dollars a year.

Posted at 14:36 by Chris Wysocki [/education] Comments | Perm Link |
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Tuesday, 17 December 2013

Call it WimpyCare: Obama will gladly pay insurers Tuesday for health care today

Some of us remember Wimpy from Popeye, and his famous scam — "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

Well, guess what? That's now Official Obamacare Premium Payment Policy.

Insurance first, payment … Tuesday.

In a press release, HHS stated that it would be "requiring insurers to accept payment through December 31 for coverage that will begin January 1, and urging issuers to give consumers additional time to pay their first month's premium and still have coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2014." HHS is also "strongly encouraging insurers to treat out-of-network providers as in-network to ensure continuity of care" and to "refill prescriptions covered under previous plans during January."

In the course of a conference call about the changes, "the administration even suggested that insurers should consider accepting as enrolled anyone who has signed up for a plan by December 23 — even if the person in question has not paid the first month's premium at all. Payments could be made after January 1, and after coverage kicked in."

Free health insurance! Pay whenever you feel like it!

What could go wrong?

And, if an insurer insists on being paid before coverage is delivered? No more subscribers for him!

All you have to do is read the menacing language in the new regulations that HHS published this week, in which HHS says it may throw otherwise qualified health plans off of the exchanges next year if they don't comply with the government's "requests."

"We are considering factoring into the [qualified health plan] renewal process, as part of the determination regarding whether making a health plan available … how [insurers] ensure continuity of care during transitions," they write. Which is kind of like the Mafia saying that it will "consider" the amount of protection money you've paid in its decision as to whether or not it vandalizes your storefront.

Does HHS have the statutory authority to promulgate such an odious edict? Of course not. But ignoring the laws and ruling by decree is the Obama Administration's signature move. And why not? It isn't like Congress is going to stand up to their thuggery. For all his bluster, at the end of the day Darrell Issa is a paper tiger. And now that Harry Reid nuked the Senate, Obama can pack the DC Circuit Court with far-left ideologues who'll eagerly rubber-stamp his every diktat.

In 3 short years our government has gone from the then-novel concept of forcing us to buy insurance to requiring that insurers cover us for free. All in the name of, and this is double-speak at it's finest, "fairness."

Our Constitution, and our Republic, is in tatters. The Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves. And we are well on our way to perdition.

Posted at 16:09 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Obamacare HHS health-insurance premiums | Tweet

Monday, 16 December 2013

Can't find a job? Blame Obamacare

Forced to comply with Socialism on Steroids, companies aren't hiring full-time employees.

HealthCare.gov may be functioning better, but consumer and corporate acceptance of Obamacare may continue to bedevil the law, according to two recent surveys.

The Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook survey, a quarterly poll of corporate finance chiefs, found that a significant percentage of companies will hold back on hiring full-time workers because of the impact of the Affordable Care Act.

Nearly half of U.S. companies said they are reluctant to hire full-time employees because of the law. One in five respondents said they are likely to hire fewer employees, another one in 10 may lay off current employees and 44 percent of companies said they will consider reducing health benefits to current employees in response to the health care law.

"I doubt the advocates of this legislation would have foretold the negative impact on employment," said Campbell R. Harvey, a professor of finance at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. "The impact on the real economy is massive. Nearly one-third of firms may either terminate employees or hire fewer people in the future as a direct result of ACA."

Small wonder then, that 4 out of 5 Americans now loathe Obamacare.

Americans who already have health insurance are blaming President Barack Obama's health care overhaul for their rising premiums and deductibles, and overall 3 in 4 say the rollout of coverage for the uninsured has gone poorly.

An Associated Press-GfK poll finds that health care remains politically charged going into next year's congressional elections. Keeping the refurbished HealthCare.gov website running smoothly is just one of Obama's challenges, maybe not the biggest.

The poll found a striking level of unease about the law among people who have health insurance and aren't looking for any more government help. Those are the 85 percent of Americans who the White House says don't have to be worried about the president's historic push to expand coverage for the uninsured.

In the survey, nearly half of those with job-based or other private coverage say their policies will be changing next year — mostly for the worse. Nearly 4 in 5 (77 percent) blame the changes on the Affordable Care Act. . . . Disapproval of Obama's handling of health care topped 60 percent in the poll.

Hey, to make an omelet you gotta break a few eggs, right? And if some folks never work again, or most of us get screwed over in the name of "fairness," well that's just the price of progress.

Because as it turns out, when Obama promised to "fundamentally transform" America, he meant he'll turn us all into beggars 'cause they're easier to please.

Posted at 12:22 by Chris Wysocki [/economy] Comments | Perm Link |
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Sunday, 15 December 2013

Slippery slope alert: Utah judge rules polygamy is constitutional

What did I tell you guys? Once you open the door to deviancy, all kinds of previously verbotten stuff sneaks on in.

Advocacy groups for polygamy and individual liberties on Saturday hailed a federal judge's ruling that key parts of Utah's polygamy laws are unconstitutional, saying it will remove the threat of arrest for those families.

U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups said in the decision handed down Friday that a provision in Utah law forbidding cohabitation with another person violated the First Amendment right of freedom of religion.

The ruling was a victory for Kody Brown and his four wives who star in the hit TLC reality show "Sister Wives" and other fundamentalist Mormons who believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.

Anne Wilde of Salt Lake City, co-founder of the polygamy advocacy group Principle Voices, said polygamous families have lived under the threat of arrest for decades and no longer have to worry about being charged with a felony.

First, homosexuality was decriminalized, and before we knew it, same-sex "marriage" was here to stay.

Now it's only a matter of time before we're going to have to "tolerate" polygamy. Or be labeled a "hater."

Wanna take bets on which taboo is next to fall?

My guess is incest or bestiality, although the case for pedophilia seens to be coming on strong.

Somewhere, Caligula is laughing.

Alas, I am not. Because sometimes it sucks to be right.

Posted at 10:34 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
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Friday, 13 December 2013

Smooth move ex-lax, Senate Republicans plan to filibuster House budget deal

What's the Big Story of the month? Obamacare's epic fail.

What's gonna be the Big Story of the month if the Senate GOP is as stupid as Jeff Sessions says they are?

Not Obamacare's epic fail.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the ranking GOP member of the Senate Budget Committee, said Thursday that Senate Republicans plan to filibuster the budget deal that House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) cut with Senate Budget Committee chairwoman Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA).

Jeez Louise, don't you bozos ever learn?

Look, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative. I know this budget deal stinks. And yes, I know Cryin' John Boehner is gleefully using it to kick guys like me in the nuts.

That doesn't matter. Not now.

What matters is that if the Senate doesn't pass this deal we get to watch Obama shut down the government again and blame us. And then after you're all sufficiently humiliated, he'll get a deal that's better for him and worse for the country.

Was that as much fun for you as it was for me last time?

Besides, I think it was yesterday that I read where Lizzie "Fauxcahontas" Warren and her Senate Libtard Caucus were gonna filibuster this deal for you.

Far-left senators like Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Al Franken, D-Minn., Tom Udall, D-N.M. and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., can't be happy about maintaining more than half of the spending caps from the 2011 debt-limit deal and making no provisions for extended welfare benefits. Given that so many Democrats are secretly rooting for a shutdown, it might even seem like the strategic thing to do for a party stuck in the bogs of ObamaCare. Reid, who needs four Republican votes if he has all 56 Democrats on board, will have to pick up one GOPer for every liberal who walks away from the deal.

Hello? Are you knuckleheads listening? Harry Reid needs you.

Yes, I fully realize he's a turd with feet, and you can't trust anything he says, but right now Harry Reid needs you.

So, for the love of God, be smart for one time in your lives. Let Lizzie and the Libtards do the heavy lifting. If they shut down the government, get your faces on TV to explain how reasonable you're all trying to be. And don't forget to get in a dig at Obamacare while you're at it.

Meanwhile, put the screws to Dingy Harry to get something useful in exchange for your votes. Like say an up-or-down vote on the Make-Congress-And-Obama-Join-Obamacare bill. When Democrats like Mary Landrieu inevitably vote "no" we can use that to help retake the Senate in 2014.

The budget deal is a sideshow. Obamacare's implosion is the Main Event. Anything you guys do to distract from that helps Obama and the Democrats. Keeping the public focused, and angry at being screwed over by Obamacare helps us.

But the mere fact that I have to sit here and explain this stuff to you turkeys means you've already decided to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Hey, we conservatives don't call you The Stupid Party for nothing.

Posted at 14:38 by Chris Wysocki [/gop] Comments | Perm Link |
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Thursday, 12 December 2013

New Jersey's got the "T minus 11 days and counting" Obamacare website blues

The deadline is hard and and approaching fast. Sign up for Obamacare by December 23^rd, or come January 1 you won't have health insurance.

There's just one wee little problem. The website. It still doesn't work.

With just 12 11 days to go before the first deadline to enroll in health plans under the Affordable Care Act, New Jersey residents are still having trouble getting on the federal website to purchase medical coverage.

Technical glitches with the website continue to stymie efforts by both individuals and the application counselors who are trying to help them. They have until Dec. 23 to enroll if they want coverage to begin on Jan. 1.

Counselors at the North Hudson Community Action Group, which has nine community health centers scattered across North Jersey, had been successfully enrolling about 50 clients a day using paper applications. But since federal officials told them recently to use the healthcare.gov website instead, they've been able to sign up only about a dozen each day, said Manny Diaz, the outreach supervisor for the group.

"It's not a smooth process at all," Diaz said. "The problems are very similar to before, just less frequently — people are getting error messages or screens that ask them to wait, and sometimes the wait is very long."

Wow. A whopping twelve people a day are able to enroll. Break out the champagne, Kathleen Sebelius has finally got things running smoothly!

Joe Porzio, a 57-year-old construction worker in Wayne, has bought his own insurance through Aetna for years. When he received a letter saying his plan was being canceled by Dec. 31, he began looking at the federal marketplace for new options soon after it went live Oct. 1. He was eventually able to fill out an application, but the website locked him out and he has not been able to access it.

He finally completed a new application last week by phone but, as of Wednesday, was unable to access that one also. "The deadline is approaching, and I'm still in limbo," Porzio said. "I also found out that my doctors, who I have been seeing for years, will now only accept the highest offered plans. So, it's true, you have to pay to keep your doctors."

Remember now, Obama considers Mr. Porzio to be a success story.

Of course, it depends on what the word "success" means to you, Joe.

Numbers released by federal officials Wednesday morning show the difficulties nationwide: Four times as many people signed up on the federal marketplace for health insurance in November as in October, but the numbers are still small — 137,204 compared with the 1.2 million federal officials had predicted.

Oh, that says Obama defines "success" as "missed our target by 89%."

Hmmm, sounds OK to me. How about you?

The total included 3,259 people in New Jersey who selected a marketplace plan. The state has about 900,000 uninsured residents.

Only 896,741 to go!

Let's see. At 12 signups a day, Obama will have all of New Jersey insured by … the year 2217.

Posted at 10:43 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
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Wednesday, 11 December 2013

Businesses prepare to pass Obamacare's higher premium costs on to their customers

Gee, I'll bet nobody saw this coming. As Obamacare increases health insurance costs across the board, businesses who foot the bill for their employees' health insurance are preparing to pass those costs on to their customers.

U.S. finance chiefs say they are mostly ready to deal with widespread health reform, but remain concerned about the impact it will have on labor costs.

Many are prepared to shift that burden onto employees and customers.

When asked about the potential negative impacts health-care reform may have on the economy, 67% of CFOs named costs stemming from wide-scale health-care changes as a "significant concern," with most fearing a potential surge in labor costs.

To help mitigate those higher expenses, executives say they are prepared to shift costs to employees and cut spending in other areas of their business. A large chunk are also warning that the burden may be shifted onto consumers through higher prices for products and services.

So, after we're done paying the new higher rates for our own health insurance, and after we're taxed to subsidize health insurance for legions of deadbeat Obama voters, we're also gonna get hosed at the checkout stand when the price of pretty much everything we buy goes up as well.

It's a triple-whammy ripple effect that'll squeeze our wallets until we bleed.

Honestly, if I wanted to destroy the U.S. economy I'd be hard-pressed to come with something more devastating than Obamacare to do it.

Posted at 11:01 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
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Monday, 09 December 2013

It's not just the NSA, every beat cop in America has your cellphone records

Big Brother really is everywhere.

Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies conducting criminal investigations collected data on cellphone activity thousands of times last year, with each request to a phone company yielding hundreds or thousands of phone numbers of innocent Americans along with those of potential suspects.

Law enforcement made more than 9,000 requests last year for what are called "tower dumps," information on all the calls that bounced off a cellphone tower within a certain period, usually two or more hours, a congressional inquiry has revealed.

The little-known practice has raised concerns among federal judges, lawmakers and privacy advocates who question the harvesting of massive amounts of data on people suspected of no crime in order to try to locate a criminal. Data linked to specific cell towers can be used to track people's movements.

But wait, it gets better.

Carriers, following requests from law enforcement agencies, are providing a range of other records as well. Those include GPS location data, website addresses and, in some cases, the search terms Americans have entered into their cellphones.

You have no privacy.

The police know everything you're doing. Usually even before you do it. Because they're reading your text messages and tracking your Google searches. In real time. Day in, and day out. Without a warrant, or so much as even cursory judicial oversight.

With just a few taps on his dashboard computer, before he pulls you over Barney Fife knows what you had for breakfast, that you're fighting with your wife, and what time you're meeting your mistress for drinks. He knows where you've been, and he knows where you're going.

At least 25 police departments own a Stingray, a suitcase-size device that costs as much as $400,000 and acts as a fake cell tower. The system, typically installed in a vehicle so it can be moved into any neighborhood, tricks all nearby phones into connecting to it and feeding data to police. In some states, the devices are available to any local police department via state surveillance units. The federal government funds most of the purchases, via anti-terror grants.

It's a power far beyond anything the KGB ever dreamed of. And it's available to every beat cop in America whenever he wants it.

We are all Robert Clayton Dean now. And the Bill Of Rights has lost all meaning.

Posted at 10:35 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
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Sunday, 08 December 2013

The numbers don't lie, NJ small businesses are getting hosed by Obamacare

I have yet to actually meet a person who's been "helped" by Obamacare. And according to this report on the impact Dear Leader's socialist schemes are having on New Jersey's small businesses, I probably never will.

Kim Greene warned her small-business clients that 2014 would be ugly.

But not like this.

At the start of last month, renewal notices for health plans that take effect in January began arriving at her insurance brokerage, Name Benefits in Hillsborough. And as she opened each notice, it became apparent to her just how confusing, complex and, in many cases, costly health insurance will be for small businesses next year.

"Sixty-eight percent, 43 percent, 40 percent," Greene said as she read off the rate hikes that her small-employer clients are facing in 2014. "Wow, 70.33 percent."

"I've never seen anything like this," she said. "Before the (Affordable Care Act), the highest increase I saw was 47 percent, but it was an old plan with very rich benefits."

In my day job we got hit by Aetna with a 38% increase. Which we then traded for a craptacular Oxford plan that only jacked up our rates by 15%, mostly by limiting our doctor network to 2 Pakistani interns with a clinic in Paterson.

OK, I exaggerate, but only a little. Our doctor and hospital network is indeed significantly smaller, and Oxford provides zero out of network benefits. And before they pay Dime One, I have to meet a $1,500 deductible and a $4,000 out-of-pocket max. We used to call that "catastrophic coverage" and it came with a low price tag. Not any more.

These days the catastrophe is Obamacare.

Thanks Democrats! I like getting hosed! Really. It's the best part of my otherwise boring life.

Posted at 11:56 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
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Friday, 06 December 2013

Bald eagles cause Global Warming? Obama says it's OK for wind farms to kill them

The Obama Administration plans to let wind farms sacrifice bald eagles on the altar of green energy.

The Obama administration is moving toward finalizing a rule that would give alternative energy farms a pass for killing bald and golden eagles for decades.

The rule by the Interior Department extends the length of the permits that allow farms to unintentionally kill the eagles without penalty from five to 30 years, according to department records.

The rule authorizes the "non-purposeful" killing of eagles, but also will require farms to implement certain guidelines to help with eagle conservation. The White House finalized its review of the rule Thursday, The Hill reports.

So let me get this straight. The bald eagle, that stately, gallant, and graceful symbol of American patriotism, a species specifically protected by federal law, is fair game so long as you're genuflecting to green energy?

Meanwhile, the Keystone XL pipeline languishes, its construction held up by a never-ending parade of econuts who are apopleptic over the possibility of temporarily disrupting a few square miles of swampland in the middle of nowhere.

But then again, a swamp doesn't symbolize everything Barack Obama detests about America.

Posted at 15:28 by Chris Wysocki [/agw] Comments | Perm Link |
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Thursday, 05 December 2013

Why Capitalism is better than Socialism, in one tweet

Courtesy of the indefatigable Robert Stacy McCain:

Obama has a web site that doesn't work and drones that kill people. Amazon has a functioning web site and drones that deliver gifts.
— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) December 3, 2013

Any questions?

Posted at 11:11 by Chris Wysocki [/odds_n_ends] Comments | Perm Link |
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According to NJ Liberal groups, if you don't understand Obamacare, it's Chris Christie's fault

Because the Real Problem with Obamacare is that nobody has explained it to you yet. And apparently, it's Chris Christie's job to do that.

The Christie administration's failure to use $7.6 million in federal money to help explain Obamacare to New Jerseyans has left them confused about their options, a coalition of consumer groups said today.

"The governor continues to pass the ball. His passivity really is a problem for consumers. They're not hearing what they need to hear," said Maura Collinsgru, health policy advocate at New Jersey Citizen Action.

Christie's spokesman batted away the criticism, pointing to the governor's previously expressed disdain for the coalition's Democratic ties.

So let me get this straight. The Democrats touted this turkey from Day 1. Dear Leader's been talking about it non-stop for more than 3 years now. The Ministry of Propaganda (aka the Main Stream Media) shills for it at every opportunity.

But if someone still hasn't bothered to learn his options, that's Chris Christie's fault? Puh-lease.

Maybe if these ignorant multitudes had done their homework we wouldn't be in this mess right now. But they voted for Obama, and now they're whinging because all his promises turned to shit. The joke's on you suckers, next time try being informed before you vote.

And not for nothing, but Chris Christie has already told you all you need to know about Obamacare.

It sucks.

Clearly you weren't paying attention then either.

Posted at 10:10 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
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Wednesday, 04 December 2013

Dear Leader's new spin: Obamacare is "working" because it redistributes wealth

And Pravda is positively giddy that he's going back on the offensive.

President Obama leaves the White House on Wednesday for one of the capital's most struggling neighborhoods to talk about the economy, not simply to divert attention from his troubled Affordable Care Act but to explain how that law, for all of its flaws, fits into his vision for Americans' economic security and upward mobility.

"President Obama will discuss the twin challenges of growing income inequality and shrinking economic mobility and how they pose a fundamental threat to the American dream," the White House said in a statement.

He will describe "the steps he has taken to help reverse these trends, restore mobility and increase economic security for every American, including the economic benefits of the Affordable Care Act," the statement said.

Economic benefits? Like the higher premiums? Or the astronomical deductibles and co-pays?

Nah, the wealth transfer! That's what he's talkin' about. Robbing "the rich" to give to his sycophantic supporters. Why should they work when Obama will give them free stuff?

After being on the defensive for weeks about the health care program's malfunctioning website and his own faulty promises, Mr. Obama previewed his economic case for the Affordable Care Act on Tuesday in a White House appearance with 19 people identified as its beneficiaries.

"For too long, few things left working families more vulnerable to the anxieties and insecurities of today's economy than a broken health care system," he said. So we took up the fight because we believe that, in America, nobody should have to worry about going broke just because somebody in their family or they get sick."

Um, who broke the health care system? Obama! Who still hasn't fixed his fiasco? Obama! Who keeps pretending rainbows and unicorns fly out of his ass? Obama!

"Now that the website is working for the vast majority of people," Mr. Obama added, we need to make sure that folks refocus on what's at stake here, which is the capacity for you or your families to be able to have the security of decent health insurance at a reasonable cost through choice and competition on this marketplace, and tax credits that you may be eligible for that can save you hundreds of dollars in premium costs every month, potentially."

The website is "working?" ROFL.

Trust me, I'm an IT guy. If I tried to pass off that piece of crap as "working" I'd be out of a job.

And I know exactly what's "at stake" here. I get to pay higher premiums and higher taxes; Obamabots get more free stuff. From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. Yay Socialism.

Posted at 10:02 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Obama Obamacare socialism income-inequality | Tweet

Tuesday, 03 December 2013

The "New And Improved" Obamacare website: Garbage in, garbage out

If you manage to get yourself through the signup phase of the New And Improved Healthcare.gov website you probably think you're home free.

Guess again. Your data, garbled it is.

Despite the Obama administration's claim that HealthCare.gov is "vastly improved," insurance companies are still grappling with error-riddled files fed to them from the flawed website. The lingering glitch could cause major problems weeks down the road, resulting in people thinking they've signed up when insurance companies have no record of them doing so.

These so-called "back-end" problems were largely glossed over when federal health officials confidently claimed over the weekend they had met their own goals for improving the website by Dec. 1.

Administration officials said early Sunday that they have fixed roughly 400 computer "bugs" and increased capacity so the site can now handle more than 800,000 users daily with an error rate of less than 1 percent. Jeff Zients, the official appointed to fix the ObamaCare site since its disastrous Oct. 1 rollout, said it is "night and day from what it was."

Um, 1% of 800,000 means 8,000 errors per day. Success!

But insurers continue to deal with the same set of problems that have shaken their confidence for weeks in the system they have to rely on to enroll new customers.

"Until the enrollment process is working from end-to-end, many consumers will not be able to enroll in coverage," Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, said in a statement.

She said "significant 'back-end' issues'" need to be addressed, and particularly the "ongoing problems" processing enrollment files known as "834 files."

These are forms that give insurance companies basic information about would-be customers.

But they've had problems for weeks. AHIP spokesman Robert Zirkelbach told FoxNews.com that companies are receiving duplicative and inaccurate forms, and "in some cases, plans are not getting the enrollment files at all."

Getting that fixed, he said, is "critical."

The New York Times reports that companies are getting flooded with phone calls from people who think they've signed up -- though they're not on record as having done so.

The ongoing problems mean that people who believe they have a health plan could be in for a surprise on Jan. 1.

Though the administration has given people until the end of March to sign up for coverage if they want to avoid a fine, coverage for many is supposed to start on Jan. 1. That leaves just 30 days to fix the remaining glitches.

"This is not a functioning website yet," James Capretta, senior fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told Fox News.

People are starting to notice these things. The Washington Post now calls it PotemkinCare.

"The Obama administration has not created a functioning Web site. Rather, it has erected a Potemkin village online — a facade that temporarily conceals the lack of architecture behind it. . . . The Web site provides the illusion of a working health-care exchange, but while it takes your information, there's no telling what it will do with it. . . . Ironically, the president was the one to point it out: Obamacare is more than a Web site. The Web site is a portal. Now that you can enter it, you expect to get the insurance you paid for? Silly you."

And, in the coup de grace, Obamacare website security is still non-existent.

"It doesn't appear that any security fixes were done at all," David Kennedy, CEO of the online security firm TrustedSec, told the Washington Free Beacon.

Kennedy said fundamental safeguards missing from Healthcare.gov that were identified by his company more than a month ago have yet to be put in place.

So, it's easier for hackers to steal your personal information than it is for Obamacare to successfully transfer that information to someone who can sell you an actual health insurance policy.

It's almost like they wanted this thing to fail. Because then, single payer!. But before you libtards go all "yeah, that's the ticket" on me, consider this. These asshats can't run a website. What makes you think they can provide us with decent health care?

Posted at 16:23 by Chris Wysocki [/obamacare] Comments | Perm Link |
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Monday, 02 December 2013

Taxation Without Representation: SCOTUS affirms New York State's Amazon Tax

If you're an online retailer, New York State wants to tax you, no matter where you are. And the U.S. Supreme Court says they can.

The US Supreme Court upheld Monday New York state's law requiring Amazon to collect sales tax on items sold online, the latest decision in a long battle over ecommerce taxes.

The top US court dismissed without comment an appeal from Amazon and online retailer Overstock.com, after the New York state Court of Appeals ruled the tax constitutional in March.

The decision requires Amazon to collect and remit sales taxes for goods sold to residents of New York state, an important battleground over the question of taxes for online sales.

State governments and brick-and-mortar retailers have long argued that online retailers should be required to collect sales taxes, to avoid giving an unfair advantage to ecommerce sites.

Amazon and others have argued that the US constitution bars taxes on interstate commerce, and prior court decisions have held that etailers must collect sales taxes only in states where they have a physical presence.

"The world has changed dramatically in the last two decades, and it may be that the physical presence test is outdated," the state court opinion said.

It added that "active, in-state solicitation" establishes a presence in the state which requires the collection of sales taxes.

So, what's a "physical presence?" It used to be a building with your name on it. Now, SCOTUS says it's anyone who even tangentially works on your behalf. Like say, the mailman. Or a web site viewed in New York that displays your banner ad. Congratulations! Pixels are a "physical presence." Please make your check payable to Andrew Cuomo.

Sales tax is one of the most convoluted creatures ever conceived. Big guys like Amazon will easily handle all the nuances of every state, county, city, town, school district, and sewer authority's myriad tax rules. But the little guy trying to eke out a living on eBay? Yeah, he's toast.

And just wait until New York wants to audit you. They really won't care if you're in Idaho either. Taxation without representation, it's now The Law Of The Land.

What's that old saying about death and taxes? Because thanks to SCOTUS, taxes are gonna be the death of us.

Posted at 12:27 by Chris Wysocki [/news] Comments | Perm Link |
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Sunday, 01 December 2013

Essex County College graduates a whopping 5% of their 100% taxpayer-subsidized students

Because their main job appears to be giving your kids the education the billions of dollars we throw at the Abbott districts doesn't give them.

Essex County College President Gale Gibson is known to march from office to office with a poster-sized board under her arm.

With crushed corners and tears, the well-worn board makes one thing clear: ECC ranks at the bottom of New Jersey's 19 county colleges as far as graduation and retention rates.

Gibson — who was appointed interim college president in April and confirmed as president Oct. 15 by the board of trustees — has made boosting ECC's rank her top mission and has laid out an ambitious five-year plan.

"There's no place for Essex County College to go but up," Gibson said in an interview. "I see the college in a better place in five years and if it isn't I shouldn't be sitting in this chair. It cannot remain where it is right now."

The numbers on the ranking chart paint a stark picture: 5 percent of full-time ECC students who began in fall 2007 graduate within three years and just 46 percent of students who began in fall 2009 returned in fall 2010.

But inching up the rankings means overcoming major academic challenges — especially at a college where an alarming number of students arrive unprepared for college level work from Newark, East Orange, Irvington and nearby towns. About 90 percent of students take at least one remedial course and 80 percent of students enroll in at least two.

Newark receives more than $672 million of our tax dollars in education funding. East Orange garners $170 million, and Irvington gets $106 million. Add in $63 million for the City of Orange and that's more than a billion dollars a year to subsidize a public school system which graduates a crop of students who are utterly unprepared for the rigors of community college.

95 out of 100 kids who enroll in ECC fail to graduate.

Your Tax Dollars At Work. Or so the educrats would like you to believe.

You know, Mark Zuckerberg rode into Newark with a check for $100 million dollars and they gave him a parade. But the taxpayers of Essex County pony up ten times that much year after year and we don't get so much as a card saying "kiss my ass." And why not? Because if you question how the teachers union spends your money you're a racist. Or anti-teacher. Or an anti-teacher racist.

But to my mind, for a billion dollars a year those kids ought to be enrolling in Harvard instead of ECC's Remedial Reading for Rejects. Of course the educrats will disagree. They've got charts, and statistics, and studies, and excuses. Lots and lots of excuses.

But it all boils down to one thing. Send more money. Send lots and lots and lots of money. Then send some more. Because all the money we've already dumped into their toilets has worked out so well already, hasn't it?

Posted at 21:37 by Chris Wysocki [/education] Comments | Perm Link |
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