ObamaCare… Like a Restaurant Where the Owners, Chefs, Workers and Their Families Refuse to Eat…

ObamaCare… Like a Restaurant Where the Owners, Chefs, Workers and Their Families Refuse to Eat…

By Marion Algier – Ask Marion

Would you really eat in a restaurant, trusting their food or service, where the owners, chefs, workers and their families refuse to eat?  Of course you wouldn’t.  Nobody would, but that is what the Democrats, some GOP establishment career politicians and the Obama administration and their staffs are asking you to do.

They are asking, no mandating, that you to sign up and subject yourself and your family’s health, and in many cases losing better coverage, for healthcare coverage that they refuse to sign up for and be covered by themselves.

The so-called tea party Republicans, who are following their constituents wishes, but have now pretty much backed away from all their demands about the budget and upcoming debt ceiling raise, in what seems like their 20th compromise when the left has refused to negotiate or compromise on anything, were willing to pass and extend the budget and debt ceiling negotiations for several months with a clean bill, except for one provision… The Republicans attached the Vitter amendment (DeSantis bill in the House) which would demand that the House of Representatives, the Senate, the White House and their staffs and federal appointees would have to sign up for and live under the same ObamaCare bill that we all will have to suffer under, without any extra provisions or exemptions.  The Democrats’, RINOs’ and administration’s response:  NO…!

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) (KEVIN DIETSCH/UPI/Newscom)

The Vitter Amendment on Obamacare: Senate Liberals’ Curious Complaint

The Foundry:

Last week (mid-September) Senator David Vitter (R–LA) proposed an amendment that would end exemptions for White House political appointees and stop illegal taxpayer subsidies for Congress and staff enrolled in Obamacare’s new health insurance exchanges. In other words, political appointees, Members of Congress, and their staffs would receive the same coverage and be eligible for subsidies available to every other American enrolled in the exchanges. No special deals.

On September 17, Senator Dick Durbin (D–IL) charged that Vitter’s proposed amendment was “unfair” because it would eliminate the employer payment for Members of Congress and 16,000 congressional staffers.

But this is a curious complaint. In 2010, Senator Durbin and all other Senate Democrats voted—lockstep—for final passage of Obamacare, which included Section 1312, which ended Members’ access to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and instead placed them into the Obamacare health insurance exchanges. Without access to employer coverage, there is no employer subsidy—not for Congress and not for any other worker dumped out of job-based coverage into the exchanges. That’s the law.

Durbin also tries to use Vitter’s vote for an amendment (Amendment No. 3564) offered by Senator Chuck Grassley (R–IA) during debate over Obamacare to undermine his current efforts. Yes, Vitter voted for the amendment. The amendment would have put the President, his appointees, Congress, and staff into the exchanges but would have preserved the government contributions for Congress and staff in the new exchanges.

Here’s the catch: Senator Durbin voted against the Grassley amendment, as did Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV), Senator Barbara Boxer (D–CA), and 53 other Senate Democrats. (See The Congressional Record, March 24, 2010, p. S1996.) In other words, these Senators voted to protect the President and his appointees from their own law but also voted to remove the employer contribution to Congress and their staff. Yet these Senators now oppose it.

Senate liberals say they like Obamacare. If that’s the case, it is only reasonable for them to want to make sure they get what they like on the same exact terms and conditions as every other American enrolled in the exchanges, as put forth by Senator Vitter.

So why wouldn’t the Democrats from both Houses of Congress (as well as the Establishment RINO GOP) vote for the Republican’s compromise and embrace ObamaCare on the same terms the American people are getting… the terms they voted for?  And if they aren’t why should the American people?

Why?  Because our politicians know it is a bad plan, bad coverage, certainly worse and more expensive if you compare apples to apples, than they have now, and it opens them up to the same IRS mandates and access into all their records and information.  It also opens them up to having a non-medically trained review board tell them which services they will and will not get… essentially death panels.  But although they don’t want it, it is good enough for the rest of us in their book.  After all what better advertisement for his signature program would there have been than President Obama and Vice President Biden signing themselves and their families up for all to see for the ObamaCare exchanges the day the program opened on October 1st?

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda being fed us through the mainstream media. ObamaCare was never about healthcare, and definitely not about better healthcare, it was always about ideology and control… about the federal government controlling you… all of us!

Just like President Obama and Harry Reid’s refusal to negotiate with the Republicans has nothing to do with what is good for the country or even the budget, or even the truth for that matter, it is about demonizing the Republicans so that the Progressive Democrats win the next election… so they can maintain their control of you!!

Do your homework and then you be the judge… But in my kitchen, the cook eats his own food and no matter how the present shutdown ends… Our politicians still don’t want to eat theirs!

Technorati Tags: CR,Vitter,ObamaCare,Politicians,Congress,Healthcare,Restaurant,Democrats,Obamaland,Division,DeSantis,Sheeple,Common Sense,Voters,Americans,RINOs,MSM,D.C.,Exchanges,double standard,Reid,Control,Let Them Eat Cake,Congressional Record,Progressives,Washington D.C.,Low-Informed

Congress Acts Quickly to Kill Transparency For Their Own Shady Insider Trading

While distracted with the Boston Bombing……

Ever see anything done this quickly?

4/11/2013 Introduced in Senate
4/11/2013 Passed/agreed to in Senate: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
4/12/2013 Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed without objection.
4/12/2013 Presented to President.
On Tuesday the 15th, the President signed the legislation.

Image: CBS

Sarah Jones – Politicususa – h/t to MJ:

What could make the House pass something in 30 seconds that the Senate also passed? What would motivate them to put aside their alleged “differences” and act in the best interest of the people? The answer is when they are not acting in the best interest of the people, but rather, in their own best interests.

To that end, late last week, your congress quickly approved a measure that modified (aka, killed) a part of the STOCK Act (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act ), which was only enacted a year ago. The STOCK Act was supposed to address shady stock trades based on insider information.

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) is taking credit for sponsoring the measure, but clearly he got no pushback from either side of the aisle. Check out the fast movement of this bill, and tell me if you’ve seen anything fly through like this in recent years, sans committee referrals and Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) deep debate over what he can even allow for a debate about a vote:

4/11/2013 Introduced in Senate
4/11/2013 Passed/agreed to in Senate: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
4/12/2013 Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed without objection.
4/12/2013 Presented to President.

On Tuesday the 15th, the President signed the legislation.

The Sunlight Foundation notes that the amendment passed with unanimous consent, though many members had gone home already. Huh. This doesn’t seem to work for measures that protect the security of the American people, like say, jobs. The Sunlight Foundation also pointed out what might be seen as a precursor of times to come, “The bill was not available to the public on the Library of Congress website until after the vote.” NPR noted that it took the House all of 30 seconds. “NPR’s Tamara Keith tells us the House procedure took exactly 30 seconds.”

The STOCK Act took aim at insider trading and insider information, and also required some 28,000 federal employees from the congressional and executive branches post their conflict of interest disclosures online. It followed “a ’60 Minutes’ report on how many members of Congress are making money on stock trades that are illegal for everyone else, correspondent Nancy Cordes reports a bill to ban lawmakers from insider trading is now on the fast track.”

So, while you were paying attention, they passed The STOCK Act, and now, a year later on a Friday, when you’re not paying attention, they quietly killed the parts they don’t like by unanimous consent (the coward’s way, so you can’t hold them individually accountable on the record).

Yes, senior officials will still have to fill out disclosure forms, but news agencies and anyone else who’s interested will have to dig deeply in order to get access to the information. Your congress claims it’s a security measure (apparently, when you hear “security”, you’re supposed to automatically bend over and initiate invasion, paying off too big to fail, etc.). However, the Sunlight Foundation pointed out that they did not merely address the alleged security issues, but found a way to deeply obscure and bury any path to the transparency:

The sweeping exemption goes even farther than critics of the disclosure requirements requested. For those to whom online disclosure would still apply (the president, vice president, members of Congress, congressional candidates and individuals subject to Senate confirmation) the Senate bill made electronic filing of the information optional and struck the requirement that online information be searchable, sortable and downloadable, making even the disclosures that remain in the bill tepid and relatively unusable.

Not only does the change undermine the intent of the original bill to ensure government insiders are not profiting from non-public information (if anyone thinks high level congressional staffers don’t have as much or more insider information than their bosses, they should spend some time on Capitol Hill) but it sets an extraordinarily dangerous precedent suggesting that any risks stem not from information being public but from public information being online.

Are we going to return to the days when the public can use the Internet to research everything except what their government is doing? Will Congress, in its twisted wisdom, decide that information is public if journalists, academics, advocates and citizens are forced to dig through file cabinets in basements in Washington, DC to find it? And does anyone think that makes us safer?

This is heartening, indeed. Your congress can act and does act quickly, in a bipartsian manner, to address their privacy and security. No concerns about who’s read the bill and how it might destroy democracy or cover up crimes against citizens. No debate needed.

Your government can and does at times function much better than conservatives would like you to believe, but this is not one of them. If there’s ever a time when both sides should come together, it’s when elected officials betray the trust of the people in this manner. Not only is it apparent that these bodies can act quickly when their interests are at issue, but the haste with which they’ve agreed to bury transparency without debate should trouble citizens from both sides of the aisle.

Capitol Punishment - The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist – Some things really never change…

Technorati Tags: Congress,tranparency,killing transparency,watch the other hand,insider trading,double standards,smoke and mirrors,STOCK Act,Sunlight Foundation,hanky panky,Obamaland,they represent us,corruption in Congress,CORRUPTION,Washington D.C.

REVEALED: Nancy Pelosi Blocked Credit Card Reform While Investing Millions in Exclusive Visa Stock

REVEALED: Nancy Pelosi Blocked Credit Card Reform While Investing Millions in Exclusive Visa Stock -  biggovernment.com ^ | Sunday November 13, 2011 | Wynton Hall

Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 8:14:43 PM by Bigtigermike

Former Speaker of the House–and current Minority Leader–Nancy Pelosi apparently bought $1 million to $5 million of Visa stock in one of the most sought-after and profitable initial public offerings (IPO) in American history, thwarted serious credit card reform for two years, and then watched her investment skyrocket 203%.

The revelation appears in Throw Them All Out, the new book by investigative journalist and Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer

Schweizer’s investigation of Pelosi and other members of Congress – from both parties–raises a critical question: should it be legal for lawmakers to buy stocks in companies directly affected by their legislative efforts?

In early 2008, Nancy Pelosi and her real estate developer husband, Paul, were given an opportunity to buy into a Visa IPO. It was a nearly impossible feat–one that average citizens almost certainly could never achieve.

Despite Pelosi’s consistent railing against credit card companies, on March 18, 2008, the Pelosis bought between $1 million and $5 million (politicians do not have to report the exact amounts, only ranges) worth of Visa stock at the IPO price of $44 per share. Two days later, the stock price rocketed to $65 per share, yielding a 50% profit. The Pelosis then bought Visa twice more. By their third purchase on June 4, 2008, Visa was worth $85 per share.

How did Nancy Pelosi snag one of the most coveted initial public offerings in history? The facts are still emerging. Yet according to Schweizer, corporations that wish to build congressional allies will sometimes hand-pick members of Congress to receive IPOs.

Pelosi received her Visa IPO almost two weeks after a potentially damaging piece of legislation for Visa, the Credit Card Fair Fee Act, had been introduced in the House.

(Excerpt) Read more at biggovernment.com ...

Throw Them All Out

h/t to Jean Stoner

Related:

Jack Abramoff:  The Lobbyist’s Playbook

Jack Abramoff: The Lobbyist’s Playbook

Crooked lobbyist Jack Abramoff explains how he asserted his influence in Congress for years, and how such corruption continues today despite ethics reform.   This former US lobbyist and Washington power broker, who served 3 1/2 years in prison, tells all in his new book: Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist.

Jack Abramoff explains exactly how he was able to corrupt over 100 Congressmen and get them to pass (or block) any legislation he requested. The message? Congress works for special interests, not for the people.

CBS Video: Jack Abramoff: The lobbyist's playbook  - Interview with Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes

Video: “Casino Jack” Abramoff Has a New Book and Wants a Second Chance

This book: Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist is worth the read so we can demand changes. The lobbyist system must end!!

An Illegal Alien’s Guide to the Top Five Best Places to Live In America

Well America, Just What You Have Been Waiting for!

An Illegal Alien’s Guide to the Top Five Best Places to Live In America

When “relocating” to the United States, it’s best to avoid states that have selfishly put the interests of their legal residents ahead of yours with laws that hinder your access to jobs and benefits. But many attractive destinations remain, endorsed by millions of illegal aliens already living in each.

1. California

California’s state motto “Eureka” (I have found it!) aptly applies here. The state's population includes 3.2 million illegal aliens -- almost 24% of all illegal aliens in America -- have chosen the Golden State as their preferred domicile.

Despite its $26 billion budget deficit, the state spends $21.5 billion dollars annually subsidizing illegal alien health care, education, welfare, other state benefits and criminal justice. Every California native-born household chips in $2438 each year to help.

Unless you commit a violent felony, the state leaves you alone. Los Angeles Special Order 40 – a sanctuary policy that sets the tone statewide - prevents local officers from inquiring about your immigration status.

Many “visitors” head straight for Central Valley, which depends on a combination of immigration and irrigation to produce almost 8 percent of America’s total agricultural output. You’ll be in good company because more than half of the farm workers in California have no work authorization.

Of course don’t forget in-state tuition for illegal aliens. Take advantage of the Dream Act in a place that can only be described as the Dream State for Illegal Aliens.

2. Montgomery County, Maryland

If jobs are what attract you, then this upscale community close to our nation's capital offers the mother of all magnets.

The first step to getting a job is to visit a Casa De Maryland (CASA) Welcome Center. Their employment specialists help you find a job and don’t give a hoot about your legal status. They will even help you acquire an IRS-issued taxpayer identification number because, of course, you’re here illegally and not eligible for a real Social Security number. This powerful organization is truly the illegal alien Welcome Wagon with $16 million in assets, $4.9M of it acquired in 2010 from government contracts!

Don’t worry about Secure Communities because the County recently opposed its implementation. And for college-bound illegal aliens, take advantage of in-state-tuition now that the state passed the Maryland Dream Act.

3. Washington State

There’s nothing like a valid driver’s license in your hip pocket to help you navigate the U.S. at will.

Most states require you to present your Social Security Number (SSN) to get one. Washington has made an exception. If you don’t already have a fake SSN – or aren’t “borrowing” one from a U.S. citizen – simply sign a form and bring a utility bill along to prove you’re living in the Evergreen State.

Don’t have a utility bill? Washington accepts Mexican Matrícula Consular ID cards as proof of identification. The state is not concerned with FBI and Department of Justice warnings that the cards are not reliable forms of ID and pose “major criminal and potential terrorist threats.”

Don’t even have a consular card? That’s even easier than getting a driver’s license. Visit the Mexican Consulate in Seattle and bring a birth certificate (they’re not concerned about whose it is) and proof of address.

Is this a great state or what?

4. Chicago - All of Illinois too!

The Beatles may have had you and Chicago -- the whole state even -- in mind when they sang "I get by with a little help from my friends.” Local politicians will entice you, excuse you, and if you don’t mind terribly, use you.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is a good friend of illegal aliens and a stalwart supporter of the DREAM Act.

U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez is your other friend. He’s on record saying, “I have only one loyalty, and that’s to the immigrant community.”

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is also on your team. He recently told the federal government that Illinois will not participate in Secure Communities.

What does remain is Chicago’s sanctuary city policy. You won’t be asked any questions if you keep out of trouble but should you get jailed, no one will check your immigration status even when you’re in custody.

Finally, Chicago’s mayor, Rahm Emmanuel understands your needs; he used to be President Obama’s Chief of Staff. He’ll do what he can locally to continue the president’s agenda of dismantling of immigration enforcement.

Of course you’ll be expected to vote for all these folks once they figure out a way to make you legal but you'll get used to it, quid-pro-quo voting is a Chicago-style tradition.

5. New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven is what its name implies – a haven for illegal aliens. You won’t need to fuss with legal documents like driver’s licenses, social security card, Green Card, visa or passport; there is a card just for you. In 2007, this town became the first in the country to offer ID cards to residents, “regardless of age or immigration status."

The most useful aspect of having one of these cards is that it allows you to open a bank account and deposit money from the job you’re working -- without legal authorization.

Interestingly, the New Haven ID card has embedded holograms so that no one can ever steal your identity. Yale’s hometown has thought of everything right down to making sure no one in town ever has a phony illegal alien ID card.

Final Tip

Given that the citizens of these destinations keep voting for politicians who enact policies that welcome illegal immigration, we’re certain they’ll be pleased by your arrival.

Bob Dane is Communications Director for FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Kristen Williamson is Communications Assistant for FAIR.

A Country that does not value its sovereignty and secure its borders, soon will not be a Country!!

RELATED STORIES

Dems Push Ahead With DREAM Act, as ICE Offers New Guidelines for Illegal Immigrant Cases

Ex-DC journalist says he's an illegal immigrant

Illegal immigrant youth 'come out' in reform push

Source: http://tinyurl.com/429aqzg

Sarah Palin Is Ready!

Is Sarah Palin Ready To Be President If Necessary

I had an old friend ask me if I really wanted Sarah Palin a heartbeat away from the Presidency...
My answer is yes, because I think Sarah Palin is capable and would be a fine and capable V.P or President, if put in that position!! And she will get even better with time! I also think that McCain-Palin and the experience team that McCain will bring with him to the White House is exactly what we need during these difficult times. (The constant chant by the Democrats of more of the same is b.s... I have even heard several honest informed Democrats speak about how McCain has stood up to fellow Republicans, including George Bush, many times!). And Sarah Palin certainly is not more of the same!

She seems to be a quick study, full of energy and is obviously not controlled by Washington or previous alliances there... nor other negative influences and associations like Obama. And I think Biden is a bumbling idiot!! Sarah is also not hiding things like her or her husband's thesis or college records etc etc, like 'both the Obamas are. As soon as people have to have things closed or hidden until 'after the election', no matter how benign it may seem, it raises a flag... and is often just the tip of the iceberg. And Obama just has too many of those unknowns, unclear and unquestionable issues for me!

Neither presidential candidate would have been my first choice for President... but we have to work with what we have. And I am not a Hillary fan either, so it is not like I'm for Palin because she is a woman. I have read all four of the candidates' books, and just about every book about them, written by anybody and everybody that is out there. I watched both Conventions, virtually in full, have seen all four candidates and several of their rivals in the primaries speak in-person at rallies, and I read whatever I can on line, on the paper or magazines listen to contrary views on the radio. And I try to watch news about them on TV from varying sources, including BBC Coverage. And I blog myself and do some ghost writing on politics for several sources... so I consider myself better informed than most.

First of all, John McCain's mother is 96 years old and as ‘with it’ as you or I... although sometimes I worry about myself. ;-)  So longevity with mental acuity runs McCain's family. So I am really not that worried about McCain not making it through at least one term, if not two in decent health, and Palin will be ready if she needs to step into his shoes in the future. And some of what makes McCain seem older is due to the injuries he suffered in service of this Country, while many people were burning their draft cards, for which he should be thanked... not penalized or made fun of, as I heard by some young journalists doing after the last debate. I say shame on them!! He could have and maybe should have died his hair, for this reason, but I see it as a lack of vanity and an example that he is comfortable being himself...

Secondly, Sarah Palin has more executive experience than Obama, just not at the national level, so some of the things Katie Couric and gang asked her, in order to make Sarah Palin look stupid, just weren’t in her frame of reference or things she had needed to know up to his point. And as she said herself, in the end, she stopped answering the questions because she thought they were getting to be stupid. I heard Brian Williams, a journalist that prides himself on being neutral and reporting the news, not his opinions, say that Sarah Palin really has gotten kind of a raw deal and that he would love to interview her. Sarah Palin is also full of raw excitement that hasn’t been marred by the battle scars of being Washington.

All of Obama’s cloak and dagger stuff coupled with his lack of experience and game playing… like voting ‘present’ 45% of the time because he doesn’t want to look even more liberal and less mainstream than he is or already does, if that is even possible, plus his propensity for spending boils down to lack of trust, lack of character and questionable motives to me… and Biden is a ninny who spends half his time taking his foot out of his mouth and the other half changing his position from what it was before Obama chose him! Whereas McCain, who is not perfect… but again who is or could be after 30+ years in Washington, is pretty honest and does have a record of reaching across the aisle and standing up against his own party over the years… and he is a generally honest man who has given his life to the service of our Country, so has the experience we need. And Palin is a breath of fresh air!! She is a "real" person and closer to the concerns of average American than any of the other 3-candidates... and Obama is the most elitist of them all. Obama is great at talking in circles, but if you look at his voting record and do the math of the bits and pieces of his elaborate plans vs. his tax policy that he actually talks about... we can't afford him and he will definitely put us on the road to socialism and cut our freedoms!

"And some of this Obama philosophy is discussed in the book, The Case Against Obama… that I really feel everyone needs to read before the election, but he does not speak about it often… which again, in itself, is odd! In writing, he also candidly explains that effect of his (Obama’s) purposeful ‘opacity’ and lack of specificity on voters: 'I am new enough on the national political scene that I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views. As such, I am bound to disappoint some, if not all, of them." Indeed... and he has taken money and created alliances with all kinds of worrisome associates that just might add to that disappointment!

By Ask Marion - I encourage everyone to check out the Audacity of Socialism