DEDICATED TO EXPOSING DISINFORMATION AND PROPAGANDA AND TO PROMOTING UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS - WITH SHARP ANALYSIS AND BLUNT COMMENTARY. NO ADS. NO TIP-JAR. JUST THE TRUTH.
An Epidemic of Carjackings Afflicts Newark
The sharp rise comes at a time when Newark is experiencing high rates of other violent crimes, and the feeling of lawlessness among residents is palpable.
NYTIMES EXCLUSIVECNN, FOX AND RANKING MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES WITH OVERSIGHT DISAGREE WITH THE NYTIMES AND HILLARY AND SUSAN RICE.Saturday, December 28, 2013 2:14 PM EST
No Qaeda Link Seen in Benghazi Attack; Interviews Show Militia and Insults to Islam Fueled Assault
The September 2012 attack on the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans was led by fighters who had benefited directly from NATO’s extensive air power and logistics support during the uprising against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. And contrary to claims by some members of Congress, it was accelerated in part by anger at an American-made video denigrating Islam. Months of investigation by The New York Times, centered on extensive interviews with Libyans in Benghazi who had direct knowledge of the attack there and its context, turned up no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault.
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!WOE UNTO US IF WE FAIL TO DISLODGE THESE MENDACIOUS SCUMBAGS FROM OUR NATIONAL POLITICAL LIFE.
“All the parade of horribles, the worst predictions about health care reform in Massachusetts never came true,” Obama said. “They’re the same arguments that you’re hearing now…Care didn’t become unaffordable; costs tracked what was happening in other places that wasn’t covering everybody.”
Yet a new report from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission reached a different conclusion.
As Modern Healthcare reports:IF OBAMA DIDN'T LIE, THEN HE'D HAVE NOTHING TO SAY.
Massachusetts, whose healthcare reform program was used as a template for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, had the highest per capita health spending in the U.S. in 2009. According to the commission’s report, the state spent $9,278 per person on healthcare in 2009, which was 36% higher than the national average of $6,815, and 11.2% more than the next-highest state, New York, which spent $8,341.
... gauges of investor sentiment, positioning, and market breadth suggest that caution is warranted.
The gap between bullish and bearish respondents to the Investors Intelligence survey has blown out to levels not seen since 1987 -- exceeding peaks seen during the dot.com and housing bubbles. Just 14 percent of respondents are bearish, while nearly 60 percent are bullish.
The survey results from the National Association of Active Investment Managers is similarly extended, with respondents having spent most of the fourth quarter maintaining a long position that exceeded what they maintained during the entire 2007 market topping event.
There's more.
Cash sitting in money market funds has dropped so low, as folks have piled into stocks, that it can now buy less than 3 percent of the U.S. stock market. According to Jason Goepfert at SentimenTrader, that's the lowest level in 30 years and is a far cry from the 12.3 percent seen during the financial crisis.
And despite all the excitement, fewer and fewer stocks have been participating in the current rally in a sign that buyers are becoming exhausted. On Thursday, during mid-day trading there were just 287 net advancing issues on the NYSE. That's down 72 percent from Tuesday's pre-holiday session and is down from the 2,000+ net advancing issue rally days we saw back in October.
Add it all up, and the evidence is building that this year-end flurry in stocks should encourage caution, not callous overconfidence.UNLESS TWITTER IS REALLY WORTH $40BILLION, WE HAVE A LOT TO WORRY ABOUT!
NYTIMES: The Obama administration has told Vista volunteers and other AmeriCorps workers that their government-provided health coverage does not measure up to the standards of the new health care law, and that they may be subject to financial penalties unless they obtain insurance elsewhere.
The notice has surprised and worried workers in AmeriCorps, the federal community service program that is often described as a domestic version of the Peace Corps.
Mary Strasser, the director of AmeriCorps’ Vista program, described the changes in a bulletin to members on Dec. 16.
The coverage provided by the agency — the AmeriCorps Health Care Benefits Plan — “does not satisfy the individual responsibility requirement of the Affordable Care Act,” which takes effect on Jan. 1, Ms. Strasser said. Accordingly, she said, Vista members may be required to pay a tax penalty if they do not have other coverage and do not receive an exemption.
The impact on community service workers is another unanticipated consequence of the health care law, which is making coverage available at little or no cost to many uninsured people but disrupting coverage for others who already had it."UNANTICIPATED CONSEQUENCE" IS LIBTALK FOR FUCKUP.
Her three children, including 5-year-old Myriam, think their father’s just delayed by work. But Raif Badawi, 30, has been imprisoned since being arrested in June. He is accused of, among other things, breaking Sharia law and starting a website that infringed on religious values.And now, his life could be in danger.
According to Haidar, her husband just wanted to encourage discussion about religion in his homeland. But starting a liberal Internet forum in conservative Saudi Arabia can be a dangerous pursuit.
The Palestinian Authority warned Israel Thursday against announcing new settlement construction in response to prisoner release, as the government did following the two previous releases. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said if Israel announces new construction this time, the Palestinians will seek membership in 63 international organizations, including the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Erekat said they would take Israel to the international court for war crimes and violations of international law.Anyone who threatens that is clearly not interested in friendship.
CBS NEWS: Retail shopping was up 2.3 percent this holiday season, according to initial numbers from MasterCard SpendingPulse -- lower than the 3.9 percent increase in holiday shopping the National Retail Federation had projected. If this first snapshot holds, it would be the first time holiday shopping grew less than 3 percent since 2009.
Deep discounts and extended hours could not get Americans to spend as much as stores expected this holiday season, so now retailers are cutting prices even more. Even along Chicago's exclusive Michigan Avenue, stores were offering 75 percent off Thursday.
"Retailers overshot the mark, in terms of apparel supply," said retail analyst Craig Johnson. "So there's an imbalance of supply and demand in apparel, leading to all the dramatic promotions you're seeing today."
Stores could not make up for storms which hit during two key shopping weekends -- and the lackluster economy.
"People are not buying as much," Johnson said. "Why are they not buying as much? Because their incomes are very soft."
After-tax income grew an average of just 1.1 percent between 2007 and 2012, but this year, it's up only 0.6 percent.THIS WILL LEAD TO BIG CUTS BY CORPORATIONS IN THE 1ST QUARTER.
MSNBC: MARXIST SOCIALIST NEO-GRAMSCIAN BLAME-BUSH COMMIES
When Amer Ahmad abruptly resigned as city comptroller about three weeks ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel heaped praise on his hand-picked aide for helping him “reform government” in Chicago.
[... NOW.... ] Amer Ahmad has pleaded guilty.
Former Chicago Comptroller Amer Ahmad pleaded guilty in Ohio federal court Monday to charges that he steered state business to his financial adviser in exchange for more than $500,000 in kickbacks.The one-time trusted ally of Mayor Emanuel will pay more than $3.2 million in restitution and could face a maximum of 15 years in prison and $500,000 in fines, under conditions of the deal.
Ahmad, who served as Ohio’s deputy treasurer and chief investment official, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud and money laundering. He was hired in Chicago by Mayor Rahm Emanuel after the crimes in Ohio were committed. Mayor Emanuel has said that he knew nothing about the infractions and that nothing criminal was done in Chicago. An audit was done on Ahmad’s work and the results were clear, the mayor’s office has said.
MK Yisrael Eichler (United Torah Judaism, or UTJ) said that the decision to strike down the election results “proves that there is no difference between the judicial dictatorship in Egypt and the judicial dictatorship in Israel.”Am I reading this correctly? He's comparing Haredis to Islamists?!? What will it take for his party's voters to wake up and realize what an insult and embarrassment he's caused them? His comments on democracy also give reason to shudder.
"One day,” he predicted bitterly, “the secular regime will declare hareidim illegal, just as was done in Egypt [to the Muslim Brotherhood]. Everything will be done in the name of democracy... The regimes of Putin and the Egyptian Supreme Court President also find exquisitely democratic excuses for taking out their rivals and trampling human rights in the name of 'enlightenment',” he added.
Prior to her first eight-month tour in Afghanistan in 2011-12, she became part of a new "Cultural Support Team" program to attach women to special ops units to relate to Afghan women.Is she saying the values in the USA are junk?!? That's the vibe I'm getting from her comment. Furthermore, I doubt she for one noticed what similarities the women in Afghanistan have, which is submission to men as property. And what's so "pretty" about a burka that isn't so pretty about a colorful dress? The boat she missed is that whether men or women, Muslims are de facto more accepting of women who submit to their beliefs that a woman must wear oppressive clothing.
"I was always seen as somebody they could relate to and not this American imposter who brings my values to that country," said Washburn, who wore a head scarf when amongst the Afghans.
"We kind of noticed that women everywhere share certain similarities. They obviously care about their home, their children. Women everywhere love pretty things. So if we wore a pretty head scarf, it would be like an icebreaker."
Moscow — Russian forensic experts studying the remains of Yasser Arafat on Thursday said the Palestinian leader died a natural death, ruling out radiation poisoning.Simply put, they're not willing to accept facts on the ground, because hatred for Israel is too much to allow that. This is why they've doubtless rejected the French forensics team's conclusions too. And, to be sure, they're already brewing up more hatemongering amongst their subjects as they have before.
"We have completed all the studies," Vladimir Uiba, head of Russia's Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA), told a news conference.
"The person died a natural death and not from radiation."
A Palestinian envoy, however, said the Palestinian authorities will press on with a probe into the 2004 death of Arafat.
Target Corp. isn’t the only retailer preoccupied with damage control. Retailers, in the final countdown to Christmas, are up against disappointing sales in their biggest season of the year.ITEM #2:
One more sign sales missed the mark: retailers’ in-store sales for the week ended Sunday, Dec. 22, fell 3.1% from a year earlier while traffic plunged 21%, according to traffic tracker ShopperTrak. The decline is worth noting because Friday, Saturday and Sunday, along with Black Friday, were expected to be among the top four shopping days of the season.
Retailers to roll out huge after-Christmas dealsITEM #3:
With just two days to go before Christmas, it's becoming clear that shoppers won the annual game of chicken.ITEM#4:
While retailers aren't exactly tumbling off a cliff, they've rolled out aggressive last-minute efforts to entice shoppers to their stores or websites. Consumers are responding to these promotions, which include staying open for days straight, discounts of 40 percent or 50 percent and free delivery by Christmas as late as Monday.
Even with these inducements, though, shoppers are buying far more selectively than retailers had hoped, and some even say they'll wait until after Christmas to make purchases so they can score even bigger discounts.
“People just held back,” said Jeff Feinberg, managing director with professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal. “They just didn't spend as much, so retailers really had to drop prices in order to spur it,” he said.
After a strong start to the holiday shopping season, sales at stores are down for the third straight week. Overall, holiday sales are expected to be the weakest in four years, those numbers don't include online sales.
Those disappointing sales have left stores with a pile of unsold inventory. That means even bigger than usual sales. Amazon.com is going to have a "2013 after Christmas sale" that will offer 70 percent off on select items. Old Navy launched its "after holiday sale" on Sunday with markdowns of up to 75 percent.
It’ll come as no surprise to retail watchers that Barnes & Noble is in trouble, with Amazon continuing its decimation of the brick and mortar book world. But it’s not the only main street stalwart limping into 2014 by any means.IF THESE FIVE GO UNDER, THEY WILL CERTAINLY NOT BE THE ONLY ONES.
Independent agency Rapid Ratings measures the financial health of companies using public filings, assessing their efficiency based on 62 weighted data points from profitability to cash flow.
Rapid’s year-end figures for 2013 show stores in every category, from apparel to electronics, facing a struggle going into the next quarter.
“What this measures, essentially, is how prepared these companies are to withstand a difficult season,” said James Gellert, Rapid’s CEO.
“The companies we’ve determined as weak or deteriorating should be on a closer watch list.”
Based on Rapid’s 0-100 point scale, these brick and mortar retailers are operating with the least efficiency and are considered “high risk” by the ratings firm.
In reverse order:
Burlington Coat Factory = 50
RadioShack = 30
Sears = 30
Barnes & Noble = 24
Aeropostale = 23
Randy Fritz, a former civil rights investigator with the state of New Hampshire, told the School Board that Islam was not just a religion but also a political philosophy.As seen by how they hang onto their undeserved jobs, pure and simple. Unfortunately, this article predictably looks for a way to slander the interviewee:
He described Islam's tenets as anti-homosexual, "anti-woman" and anti-Semitic, and denounced the faith as "the most bigoted religion on this planet."
"Why don't we get some equal treatment" for Christianity? he asked.
Another speaker, Robert Dreyfus, listed "promoting Islam" among a number of social ills he associated with public education, including weeding out the religious beliefs of "95 percent" of schoolchildren by the time they graduate.
"I know what you'd call that system, but I'd call it evil," Dreyfus said.
"We can fight this nonsense," added a third voice, Linda Miller, "because these people don't care about our children, just the almighty dollar."
In her comments, Stacy said the issue was not just that "World History" appeared to be one-sided for Islam but that its information was incorrect.What if she did specify? Such atrocious reporters and editors at the Ocala Star Banner, who obviously have no interest in researching the Koran on their part. But good to know Jewish reps voiced their own objections. The company that published this degrading textbook appears to be British, which explains a thing or two.
She did not specify which parts were wrong. She only noted that the publisher agreed to make changes to the text after Jewish leaders in Palm Beach County complained.
Thamar Zeidan married when she was just 16, and had her first child at 17. While this is not uncommon in traditional Palestinian society, the marriage eventually foundered. Four years ago, she and her husband divorced and she moved back to her parents’ home in the small conservative village of Deir Al Ghusun near the West Bank town of Tulkarem.Facinating, isn't it, how they refer here to such a Muslim enclave as "conservative". Here's one more item I'll comment on:
Thamar began to fear that her male relatives might harm her. She asked the police to help her, and left with them to spend the night in protective custody. The next morning, her father and uncle assured the police that she would be safe, and she could come home. The men who attacked Na’lweh were also released.I think this says everything. The father and uncle have to shoulder some blame here for convincing her to return. At the same time, the men who attacked her male fried named Iyed Na'lweh were also let off the hook. Is it any surprise this could end up happening? Read the rest of the article in full.
Hadas Gold / Politico:1 - Why did you steal at least 1,500,000 files if only a few hundred or few thousand would have shown NSA overreach?
2 - Why did you go to Greenwald and The Guardian - each well-known for their leftist and anti-American and anti-defense establishment attitudes?
3 - Why didn't you release them to CNN and the NYTIMES or Jonathan Turley and even the Congressional committees which have oversight over the NSA?
4 - If you are really a libertarian, then why did you run away from the USA and go to China and Russia with the hope of eventually going to Cuba as none of these three are nations which have respect for liberty?
5 - Is it mere coincidence that these three are major enemies of the USA and each has major spying operations against the USA and each could benefit immensely from getting secret information about the USA's intel' gathering apparatus?
6 - Why did the CIA flag you as a a suspected security risk in 2009, were you already spying in 2009 for Russia, China and/or Cuba? Since this is before you worked at the NSA and before you could have been aware of the extent of NSA collection methods, were you flagged as risk because you were inappropriately probing for CIA intel' to give Russia and China and/or Cuba?
7 - Why did you begin spying for Russia, China and/or Cuba - was it for money or are you a committed socialist bent of hurting the USA??Answers from Mr. Snowden - or any of his supporters here or in Russia, China and Cuba would be appreciated.
DENNIS PRAGER:
It doesn't matter with which religion or ethnic group you identify; Christmas in America is as American as the proverbial apple pie. That is why some of the most famous and beloved Christmas songs were written by guess who? Jews.THIS JEWS WISHES ALL CHRISTIANS A MERRY CHRISTMAS!
- "White Christmas" was written by Irving Berlin (birth name: Israel Isidore Baline).
- "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" -- Johnny Marks.
- "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" -- composed by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn.
- "Silver Bells" -- by Jay Livingston (Jacob Harold Levison) and Ray Evans (Raymond Bernard Evans).
- "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" -- Mel Torme and Robert Wells (Robert Levinson), both Jews.
- "Sleigh Ride" -- lyrics by Mitchell Parish (Michael Hyman Pashelinsky).
There is much that is appealing in faith-based, conservative- minded communities, particularly in this age of post-modernism that has brought with it a crisis of faith and untethered value-relativism. In Israel, haredim, Muslims, Druse, Beduin and others are interested in conserving their unique identities and values. Often religion is the primary source of values and identity. For many, life is inconceivable outside their respective community.Oh, thanks a lot for normalizing Islam and all its associated atrocities. Beduin adhere to the same sick faith, so they've done no favors there either.
The Takana Forum was created within the religious-Zionist community to combat this self-destructive dynamic. Similar bodies have been created in haredi, Muslim and Catholic communities. Only by providing a discreet alternative to a standard police complaint could sexual scandals be properly treated, believe the creators of these bodies. While the Takana Forum and similar bodies are an improvement to a situation in which almost all complaints are suppressed, they tend to prefer settling matters quietly, behind closed doors, even if sex offenders go unpunished.While there have been outfits set up to deal with sex offenses in Haredi and Catholic communities, have there really been any set up in Muslim communities? Not by a longshot. Several months ago, The Toronto Star told how child abuse is tolerated in Muslim societies like Afghanistan. There's more on the issue at Info on Islam and the BBC spoke about this too. While the case of "rabbi" Elon does tell that even in the national-religious community of Israel, these kind of problems exist too, Islamic double-standards on homosexuality with children should not be whitewashed.
Regarding “The Elon lesson” (Editorial, December 22), when determining appropriate criminal sentences, courts must take into account punishment for harm caused, prevention of repeat offenses by the same person, deterring others from committing similar crimes, and reinforcement of societal norms against intolerable conduct. If the conviction of Rabbi Mordechai Elon was correct, then his sentence fails on all of these.The sad thing is that the court's past hostilities to Zionists may have led to some people in the religious Zionist community unfortunately overlooking the seriousness of the subject, in much the same way as Jews in the 50s thought the Rosenbergs were being persecuted, but as later turned out, the Rosenberg husband was guilty. The fortunate thing is that there are people in the national-religious community who're as disgusted by this as any other sane person, and I'm sure some of them will do what they can to keep a vile turd like Elon turned out to be away from their families. Druckman should be ashamed of himself for siding with Elon, and defrocked just like Elon will hopefully end up being.
One doubts whether Elon will be sufficiently punished for actions that may well negatively impact his victims for years to come. Certainly, there is no guarantee that he will not commit them again. An evaluation presented in court concluded that he was a “low-to-medium risk to society.”
Why must we accept a “medium risk” that other children might be assaulted? The relatively lenient sentence – community service with no jail time – is unlikely to deter others with similar predilections.
Instead, it demonstrates that the court (and, by extension, society) does not view this as a serious crime.
Elon’s role as a religious leader only exacerbated the crime.
Charges involving a second minor were dropped because the victim refused to testify. This suggests the possibility that the victim might have been subjected to outside pressure.
Until we are willing to punish wrong-doers adequately, no matter what their status, many more crimes of this type will be committed, and defenseless victims will be afraid to come forward.
Concerning the Christmas shopping season, the Associated Press’s Anne D’Innocenzio and CNBC’s Krystina Gustafson agree: It has stunk.
D’Innocenzio noted that “sales at stores have fallen for the third consecutive week as Americans continue to hold back on spending during what is traditionally the busiest buying period of the year.” Gustafson, apparently looking over the same ShopperTrak data as D’Innocenzio, added that “store traffic in the final week before Christmas posted the third straight week of double-digit declines.” Neither noted that combination of much lower traffic and relatively slight sales declines appears to indicate that the well-off are splurging, while many families of average means are AWOL. Though it’s hard to see how, the keepers of Christmas data at ShopperTrak the National Retail Federation and the International Council of Shopping Centers still believe they will end up in meaningfully positive territory when all is said and done.
Maybe — no, definitely — it’s expecting too much to believe that business reporters might figure out that millions of people being forced to cough up hundreds of extra dollars per month starting in January to pay their Obamacare premiums might be putting a serious crimp on shoppers’ appetites for extravagance.
Home Secretary Theresa May has stepped up the use of powers to strip British jihadists fighting in Syria of their nationality to prevent their return to the UK.That's spot on. This is something many other European countries should do to rid themselves of worthless jihadists. Then, let the jihadists rot in the hellholes they wanted to go mess around in, for all we care.
Mrs May has targeted 20 dual-nationals this year using "deprivation of citizenship orders", records uncovered by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism show.
It marks a rapid increase in the use of the powers, which had only previously been deployed 17 times in two-and-a-half years.
Almost all of the orders made this year, which do not need judicial approval, were issued while the jihadists were overseas.
The Home Office said: "The government will take all necessary steps to protect the public.
"Citizenship is a privilege, not a right, and the Home Secretary will remove British citizenship from individuals where she feels it is conducive to the public good to do so."
NYTIMES EDITORIAL
Dark Days in Egypt
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
The country's military dictators seem unwilling to stop their crackdown until all the opposition is silenced.
Jerusalem — An explosion aboard an empty Israeli bus near Tel Aviv on Sunday that did not kill or wound anyone was a "terrorist attack," police said.Whether or not jihadists were behind this, one thing is clear: they condone it.
"After examining the explosives retrieved from the scene, we have concluded that this was a terrorist attack," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.
"An investigation has been opened and our forces have been deployed in the area to try to identify suspects."
Police had said earlier that a sapper was examining a suspicious object found on the empty bus in the seaside town of Bat Yam when it exploded, but was unhurt.
The driver of the bus had spotted an unattended bag on board, stopped the vehicle and ordered passengers to disembark, Rosenfeld said.
But bus company Dan said the driver had been tipped off by a passenger.
"The passenger opened the backpack and saw wires," news website Ynet quoted Dan spokesman Eitan Fiksman as saying.
The authorities had initially suggested the attack might have been connected to an often violent power struggle among gangsters in the Bat Yam area.
"We urge the public to be particularly vigilant on public transport including buses and trains, and in shopping centres in case of other attempted attacks," police spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP.
There was no immediate claim for the attack, but a spokesman for the Islamist Hamas movement ruling Gaza praised the operation.
"Hamas welcomes the Bat Yam operation and considers it a courageous and heroic response to the crimes of the occupation," Fawzi Barhum said.
The last bombing to target Israeli public transport was in November last year, when a blast hit a crowded commuter bus as it passed the Israeli defence ministry in Tel Aviv during rush hour, injuring 17 people.
In 2011 an explosion ripped through a bus at a stop in Jerusalem, killing a British tourist and wounding 30 other people.
Israel said the 2011 and November 2012 blasts were the work of Palestinian militants.
In an October 2013 West Bank raid, Israeli troops killed Islamic Jihad militant Mohammed Assi, described by the army as the "planner" of the 2012 Tel Aviv bus bomb, in a firefight.
Senior Israeli officials on Sunday demanded an end to U.S. spying on Israel, following revelations that the National Security Agency intercepted emails from the offices of the country's top former leaders.Interesting how, despite Olmert's offensive MO, they still spied on him nevertheless, along with Barak. As far as I know, even Netanyahu was spied on. And it's got to cease.
It was the first time that Israeli officials have expressed anger since details of U.S. spying on Israel began to trickle out in documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The scandal also spurred renewed calls for the release of Jonathan Pollard, a former American intelligence analyst who has been imprisoned in the U.S. for nearly three decades for spying on behalf of Israel.
"This thing is not legitimate," Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz told Israel Radio. He called for both countries to enter an agreement regarding espionage.
"It's quite embarrassing between countries who are allies," Tourism Minister Uzi Landau said. "It's this moment more than any other moment that Jonathan Pollard (should) be released."
Documents leaked by Snowden and published in The Guardian, Der Spiegel and The New York Times last week revealed that British intelligence agency GCHQ worked with the NSA from 2008-2011 to target email addresses belonging to the offices of then-serving Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
... in a few years we will be discussing the arrest of a Roman Catholic priest for his refusal to officiate at a gay marriage...THE SOCIALIST STATE IS PREDICATED ON THE STATE DECREASING INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY - EVEN CONSCIENCE.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-Nev.): “In fact, one of our core principles is that if you like the health care you have, you can keep it.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S.8642, 8/3/09)
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN: “We believe — and we stand by this — if you like your current health insurance plan, you will be able to keep it, plain and simple, straightforward.” (Sen. Durbin, Congressional Record, S.6401, 6/10/09)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “If you like your insurance, you keep it.” (U.S. Senate, Finance Committee, Bill Mark-Up, 9/29/09)
SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D-Wash.): “Again, if you like what you have, you will be able to keep it. Let me say this again: If you like what you have, when our legislation is passed and signed by the President, you will be able to keep it.” (Sen. Murray, Congressional Record, S.6400, 6/10/09)
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-Mont.): “That is why one of the central promises of health care reform has been and is: If you like what you have, you can keep it. That is critically important. If a person has a plan, and he or she likes it, he or she can keep it.” (Sen. Baucus, Congressional Record, S.7676, 9/29/10)
SEN. TOM HARKIN (D-Iowa): “One of the things we put in the health care bill when we designed it was the protection for consumers to keep the plan they have if they like it; thus, the term ‘grandfathered plans.’ If you have a plan you like — existing policies — you can keep them. … we said, if you like a plan, you get to keep it, and you can grandfather it in.” (Sen. Harkin, Congressional Record, S.7675-6, 9/29/10)
THEN-REP. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-Wis.): “Under the bill, if you like the insurance you have now, you may keep it and it will improve.” (Rep. Baldwin, Press Release, 3/18/10)
SEN. MARK BEGICH (D-Alaska): “If you got a doctor now, you got a medical professional you want, you get to keep that. If you have an insurance program or a health care policy you want of ideas, make sure you keep it. That you can keep who you want.” (Sen. Begich, Townhall Event, 7/27/09)
SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-Colo.): “We should begin with a basic principle: if you have coverage and you like it, you can keep it. If you have your doctor, and you like him or her, you should be able to keep them as well. We will not take that choice away from you.” (Sen. Bennet, Press Release, 6/11/09)
SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D-Calif.): “So we want people to be able to keep the health care they have. And the answer to that is choice of plans. And in the exchange, we're going to have lots of different plans, and people will be able to keep the health care coverage they need and they want.” (Sen. Boxer, Press Release, 2/8/11)
SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-Ohio): “Our bill says if you have health insurance and you like it, you can keep it…”(Sen. Brown, Congressional Record, S.12612, 12/7/09)
SEN. BEN CARDIN (D-Md.): “For the people of Maryland, this bill will provide a rational way in which they can maintain their existing coverage…” (Sen. Cardin, Congressional Record, S.13798, 12/23/09)
SEN. BOB CASEY (D-Pa.): “I also believe this legislation and the bill we are going to send to President Obama this fall will also have secure choices. If you like what you have, you like the plan you have, you can keep it. It is not going to change.” (Sen. Casey, Congressional Record, S.8070, 7/24/09)
SEN. KAY HAGAN (D-N.C.): ‘People who have insurance they're happy with can keep it’ “We need to support the private insurance industry so that people who have insurance they're happy with can keep it while also providing a backstop option for people without access to affordable coverage.” (“Republicans Vent As Other Compromise Plans Get Aired,” National Journal’s Congress Daily, 6/18/09)
SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D-La.): “If you like the insurance that you have, you'll be able to keep it.” (MSNBC’s Hardball, 12/16/09)
SEN. PAT LEAHY (D-Vt.): “[I]f you like the insurance you now have, keep the insurance you have.” (CNN’s “Newsroom,” 10/22/09)
SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.): “If you like what you have, you get to keep it” “Menendez is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which is expected to release a bill later this week. He stressed that consumers who are satisfied with their plans won't have to change. ‘If you like what you have, you get to keep it,’ he said.” (“Health Care Plan Would Help N.J., Menendez Says,” The Record, 6/19/09)
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-Oreg.): “[E]nsuring that those who like their insurance get to keep it” “The HELP Committee bill sets forward a historic plan that will, for the first time in American history, give every American access to affordable health coverage, reduce costs, and increase choice, while ensuring that those who like their insurance get to keep it.” (Sen. Merkley, Press Release, 7/15/09)
SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI (D-Md.): “It means that if you like the insurance you have now, you can keep it.” (Sen. Mikulski, Press Release, 12/24/09)
SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-W.Va.): “I want people to know, the President's promise that if you like the coverage you have today you can keep it is a pledge we intend to keep.” (U.S. Senate, Finance Committee, Hearing, 9/23/09)
SEN. JACK REED (D-R.I.): “If you like the insurance you have, you can choose to keep it.” (Sen. Reed, Town Hall Event, 6/25/09)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.): “‘If you have coverage you like, you can keep it,’ says Sen. Sanders.” (“Sick And Wrong,” Rolling Stone, 4/5/10)
SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.): ‘if you have health coverage that you like, you get to keep it’ “My understanding … is that … if you have health coverage that you like you can keep it. As I said, you may have missed my remarks at the beginning of the call, but one of the things I that I said as a requirement that I have for supporting a bill is that if you have health coverage that you like you should be able to keep that. …under every scenario that I’ve seen, if you have health coverage that you like, you get to keep it.” (Sen. Shaheen, “Health Care Questions From Across New Hampshire,” Accessed 11/13/13)
SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW (D-Mich.): “As someone who has a large number of large employers in my state, one of the things I appreciate about the chairman's mark is — is the grandfathering provisions, the fact that the people in my state, 60 percent of whom have insurance, are going to be able to keep it. And Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that. That's a strong commitment. It's clear in the bill … I appreciate the strong commitment on your part and the president to make sure that if you have your insurance you can keep it. That's the bottom line for me.” (U.S. Senate, Finance Committee, Bill Mark-Up, 9/24/09)
SEN. JON TESTER (D-Mont.): “‘If you like your coverage, you'll be able to keep it,’ Tester said, adding that if Medicare changes, it will only become stronger”. (“Tester In Baker To Discuss Health Care,” The Fallon County Times, 11/20/09)
SEN. TOM UDALL (D-N.Mex.): “Some worried reform would alter their current coverage. It won't. If you like your current plan, you can keep it.” (“What I Learned: About Health Care Reform This Summer, By Your Lawmakers In Congress,” Albuquerque Journal, 9/8/09)
SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-R.I.): “…it honors President Obama’s programs and the promise of all of the Presidential candidates that if you like the plan you have, you get to keep it. You are not forced out of anything.”(Sen. Whitehouse, Congressional Record, S.8668, 8/3/09)Most States have no mechanism for the recall of a Senator, but at a bare minimum, these lying scoundrels deserve to be defeated. This list, and these quotes, are deserving of the widest possible publication and distribution. It is in that spirit that I quoted them here.
