Your Virtual Front Page, Wednesday, September 25, 2013

aria130924_cmyk.8yv2ca7y1eymscwogs8cw4gc8.6uwurhykn3a1q8w88k040cs08.th

Here’s a quick overview:

  1. After Cruz yields, Senate advances spending bill (WashPost) — And what did he accomplish? He ensured that the House will have almost no time to deal with the matter, after the Senate sends it back with Obamacare intact. That Cruz; he’s some brilliant strategist. But then, when it’s all about attracting attention to yourself, well, mission accomplished.
  2. Treasury Puts a Date for When Cash May Run Out: Oct. 17 (NYT) — With only $30 billion on hand, we’ll be teetering on the edge of default.
  3. Iran’s Rouhani recognises Holocaust (The Guardian) — I guess we should all celebrate the fact that Iran is now caught up with the rest of us as far as 1945…
  4. South Carolina worst in country in latest domestic violence ranking (The State) — This is our third time to be the worst in the country in numbers of women killed by men.
  5. J.P. Morgan Discussing Settlement of $11 Billion (WSJ) — All that money, and I can’t even remember what it is they’re supposed to have done. Does this have to do with the “whale?” I forget.
  6. CCTV shows Navy Yard gunman’s attack (BBC) — There’s no actual violence shown, just this guy stalking the halls…

27 thoughts on “Your Virtual Front Page, Wednesday, September 25, 2013

  1. Kathryn Fenner

    Andy Borowitz quips that the extremists in Iran are more willing to deal with Obama than the extremists in Congress.

    Kudos to McCain for calling out Cruz!

    Reply
    1. Doug Ross

      “Kudos to McCain for calling out Cruz!”

      That’s what is known as the last gasps of a man desperate to appear relevant any more. Nobody listens to him.

      Did anyone criticizing Cruz actually watch any of his speech/filibuster? I saw bits and pieces throughout the day and he didn’t sound like the luncatic the Left is trying so hard to portray him to be.

      Reply
      1. FParker

        McCain’s ship has come and sailed, he’s lost most of the respect of any common man Republicans. He could switch parties and I doubt voting results would change much if at all.

        Reply
  2. FParker

    I think the problem the Treasury is most worried about is a shortage of paper and ink. The dollar is basically meaningless ever since we abandoned the Gold Standard. What is a dollar worth today… whatever Bernanke says it’s worth.

    Reply
  3. Doug Ross

    “Treasury Puts a Date for When Cash May Run Out: Oct. 17 ”

    They always lie about that date. Every single time. At the last minute they “find” more money. Pure scare tactics.

    Reply
  4. Doug Ross

    We keep hearing about the subsidies that will make Obamacare affordable to low income people. Do you know where those subsidy dollars are coming from? It’s basically a tax on the rich to pay for it. So I hope liberals will thank the rich with as much vigor as they used the “you didn’t build that” meme. Because when it comes to Obamacare, you didn’t pay for it.

    http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-taxes.php

    Here’s the list…

    ObamaCare Taxes That Most Likely Won’t Effect the 98%

    • Medicare Tax on Investment Income 3.8% over $200k/$250k
    • Medicare Part A Tax increase of .9% over $200k/$250k• 2.3% Tax on Medical Device Manufacturers
    • 10% Tax on Indoor Tanning Services
    • Blue Cross/Blue Shield Tax Hike
    • Excise Tax on Charitable Hospitals which fail to comply with the requirements of ObamaCare
    • Tax on Brand Name Drugs
    • Tax on Health Insurers
    • $500,000 Annual Executive Compensation Limit for Health Insurance Executives
    • Employer Reporting of Insurance on W-2 (not a tax)
    • Corporate 1099-MISC Information Reporting (repealed)
    • Codification of the “economic substance doctrine” (not a tax)
    • Elimination of tax deduction for employer-provided retirement Rx drug coverage in coordination with Medicare Part D
    • Employer Mandate on business with over 50 full-time employees to provide health insurance. $2000 per employee $3000 if employee uses tax credits to buy insurance on the exchange.

    Reply
  5. Leon

    Brad, Sen. Cruz is not to blame for leaving the House with little time to deal with the spending bill. The House and Senate did go on a five week vacation during the summer, right? As far as Sen. Cruz doing the talkathon to draw attention to himself, I am not so sure about that. I watched his speech off and on and he seemed pretty darned sincere in his belief that Obamacare should be defunded. Whether he is right or wrong, I was impressed with a senator who stood up for what he believes in. He put himself out there when 96 or so other Senators were home or wherever when they should have been in the Senate chamber challenging him or supporting him. I certainly do not agree with one of my least favorite Senators, Harry Reid, when he said it was a total waste of time. Since when is debating issues as important as the spending bill and defunding Obamacare a waste of time? At least a few Senators cared enough to be there. Most, Republicans and Democrats, had better things to do. Sen. Cruz called them out on it, too. Very refreshing.

    Reply
    1. Bryan Caskey

      Bad News: The *only* thing that the Cruz stunt accomplished was drawing attention to himself. Now, that may not be a bad thing for Cruz. He certainly put some campaign contributions in his back pocket over the last 48 hours. He’s no fool. Other than that, he accomplished nothing of substance. Talk is cheap.

      Good news: I had some excellent bourbon tonight. So I’ve got that going for me.

      Reply
      1. Silence

        Well of course it isn’t. Debating is about dialog, the exchange of ideas and changing people’s minds based on persuasive arguement and factual evidence. That’s not what goes on in the Capital… Plus this was a bit one sided for a debate.

        Reply
      2. Bryan Caskey

        Not sure why, but Mark’s comment made me think of this:

        Governor Tarkin: If you’re right, he must not be allowed to escape.
        Darth Vader: Escape is not his plan. I must face him, alone.

        Reply
  6. Doug Ross

    From today’s Washington Post – expect a lot more stories like this in the next few weeks:

    “Just days away from launch, the District of Columbia’s health marketplace is announcing a pretty significant delay. While the D.C. Health Link will launch a Web site on October 1, shoppers will not have access to the their premium prices until mid-November. The delay comes after the District marketplace discovered “a high error rate” in calculating the tax credits that low- and middle-income people will use to purchase insurance on the marketplace.”

    Reply
    1. Doug Ross

      This is one of my pet peeves in the IT industry in general. Here we are less than a week from when Obamacare exchanges are supposed to go live and now they are announcing a six week delay? How does that happen?

      Reply
      1. Kathryn Fenner

        Agreed on the inexplicable IT delays. I was hoping you could explain it. Also why USC has appalling IT, despite spending years redoing it, and then redoing it…..

        Reply
        1. Mark Stewart

          Because, as in our other conversation, there is no (real) assumption of risk in IT. It remains a support function – a cost center. Plus, there often isn’t anyone with both the leadership mandate and the technological savvy to keep the systems focused, lean, and adaptable.

          IT is the kitchen sink. The Smorgasbord. It is the land of misfit toys.

          Reply
  7. Rose

    He rather missed the point of “Green Eggs and Ham,” which is about trying something before you decided whether or not you like it. Seussologists are not happy. Seuss himself was a registered Democrat, by the way.

    Reply
  8. Silence

    More people support the Tea Party than consider themselves liberal, and almost 3/4 of the electorate does not oppose the Tea Party.

    Reply
    1. Brad Warthen Post author

      Well, I certainly do — oppose it, that is. And I don’t have much good to say about a lot of the stuff that wears the “liberal” label these days, either.

      In fact, the minute someone starts touting themselves as “liberal” or “conservative,” instead of talking specifically about what they, personally, think about the issue at hand, they lose me…

      I just want people to think. And I don’t think folks who really fervently embrace the “Tea Party” label are engaging in a lot of critical thinking. They’re FEELING rather strongly, but thinking? Not so much.

      Of course, my own feelings come into it as well. I’ve always had a gut, negative reaction to the Boston Tea Party. I think it was an appalling action, wantonly trespassing and destroying all that property. If I could have caught them, I’d have locked up everybody involved in it. That’s because I’m a personal who has an actual conservative attitude, in the proper sense of the word.

      So, they lose me as soon as they use that label.

      Reply
      1. Bryan Caskey

        Hey, hey, hey….the colonists only *allegedly* did that, right? I believe there was eyewitness testimony from the scene that indicates the people who destroyed those crates of tea looked a lot like American Indians. I don’t believe anyone was actually convicted of that, so let’s not rush to judgement. 😉

        Reply
      2. FParker

        So if you had to take sides, would you be a Tea Party member or an Occupier member? What am I saying, you’d be labeling yourself a Republican/Conservative or a Democrat/Socialist with that answer.

        Reply
        1. Brad Warthen Post author

          For my part, I could be neither. My objections to both are too strong. They are both terribly wrong-headed, and in fact seem much alike to me.

          As powerful as my aversions to the Democratic and Republican parties are, I prefer them both to Occupy and the Tea Party.

          Reply
  9. Silence

    Did anyone read Cassie Cope’s article in “The State” over the weekend about SC Pride Festival? It’s fixed now, but on Saturday it said that the festival’s slogan was “Apart, Not A Part” which is the opposite of the actual slogan, “A Part, Not Apart”. I just thought that was a funny typo.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *