Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Politically Correct Cartoons





Wearing red, white and blue lands high school students in hot water


Every heart beats true ‘neath the red, white and blue – although some people apparently see overt displays of patriotism as offensive to immigrants and refugees.
George M. Cohan probably never thought about adding that coda to his patriotic anthem “You're a Grand Old Flag,” and the Iowa high school students who donned red, white and blue to support their men’s basketball team last week probably didn’t think about their actions being controversial. But the patriotic garb worn by some Valley High School students on Wednesday upset students at Des Moines North High School, which is described as being more diverse and full of refugee families.
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“Any normal person, any educated person can look at that and think, ‘What the hell are these kids thinking?’” North High School assistant coach Morgan Wheat told WHOTV.com.
Now, North High basketball coach Chad Ryan is speaking out -- and says it's possible the opposing team's fans may not have had sinister intentions. "What I will say is we’re proud of our diversity at North High School — not only on our basketball team, but our population."
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Valley High School’s student council responded to the hullabaloo by sending an apology letter to Des Moines North students.
“It has been brought to our attention that the decision by the Valley High School student section to wear U.S.A. apparel at our game last night was offensive to members of your community and fan base,” the letter, obtained by the Des Moines Register, began. “We are deeply sorry if we have offended anyone in any way.”
The letter continued, “We have traditionally dressed in such a fashion for great games such as the one last night. Everyone here at Valley has immense respect not only for your team and players but for your community as a whole. Please know that our intent was in no way to offend or demean – just to support our own team in a way we have done before.”
The students had dressed in patriotic-themed clothing on at least one other occasion this school year, during a football game against Dowling Catholic that was witnessed by WHOTV.com.
And though Valley ended up submitting the apology letter, it would only serve as consolation for Des Moines North; Valley won the Wednesday basketball game, 57-55.

Gingrich Blasts 'Disgustingly Wrong' CBO: It 'Should Be Abolished'

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) slammed the Congressional Budget Office, which released a critical score of the Republicans' ObamaCare replacement bill, declaring that it should be abolished.
On "The First 100 Days," Martha MacCallum asked Gingrich what he thought of the CBO's scoring, which said 14 million more people will be uninsured by 2018 under the plan championed by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
"They should abolish the Congressional Budget Office," Gingrich said. "It is corrupt, it is dishonest, it was totally wrong on ObamaCare by huge, huge margins."

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Gingrich said he does not believe a single word they print in their reports.
He said, as House Speaker in the 1990s, he balanced the federal budget for four straight years, and "fought the CBO every time."
Gingrich said the organization, billed as a nonpartisan scorekeeper for legislation, used an ObamaCare architect to help score the Affordable Care Act.
"[They're] totally dishonest, disgustingly wrong," he said. "That whole thing should be abolished."
Gingrich also pointed out that Health & Human Services Secretary Dr. Tom Price said the CBO did not score several sections of the current legislation.

Trump administration disagrees with CBO report on health care



The Trump administration on Monday lashed out at the Congressional Budget Office’s report that estimated that about 24 million more Americans in a few years would be uninsured under the new legislation.
The bill, called the American Health Care Act, would be “less generous” with new tax credits for those receiving subsidies under the current law and the plan would likely increase average premiums in the nongroup market until 2020.
Tom Price, the Health and Human Services secretary, downplayed the report and said, “we disagree strenuously with the report that was put out. It’s just not believable is what we would suggest.”
The CBO report, compiled along with staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, also determined that the Republicans’ American Health Care Act would save money for taxpayers. According to the study, it would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion from 2017 to 2026.
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The report’s estimate on the number of uninsured nevertheless could overshadow projections about premiums and taxpayer savings, fueling critics. Criticism so far has come from Democrats, Republicans from states that benefit from Obama's law and many corners of the health-care industry.
According to the CBO, the projected loss in insurance coverage is related mostly to a provision repealing penalties associated with the ACA’s requirement to buy insurance.
The CBO report, compiled along with staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, also determined that the Republicans’ American Health Care Act would save money for taxpayers. According to the study, it would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion from 2017 to 2026.
The report’s estimate on the number of uninsured nevertheless could overshadow projections about premiums and taxpayer savings, fueling critics. Criticism so far has come from Democrats, Republicans from states that benefit from Obama's law and many corners of the health-care industry.
According to the CBO, the projected loss in insurance coverage is related mostly to a provision repealing penalties associated with the ACA’s requirement to buy insurance.
“Obamacare all of a sudden the last couple of weeks is getting a false rep that maybe it’s OK. It’s not OK,” President Trump said Monday, according to Politico. “It’s a disaster, and people understand that. It’s failed, and it’s imploding. And if we let it go for another year, it’ll totally implode. In fact, I’ve told the Republicans, ‘Why don’t you just let it go for another year?’ That way everybody will really understand how bad it is.”

Officials say pirates hijack freighter in latest test for Trump


Pirates have hijacked an oil tanker off the coast of Somalia, Somali officials and piracy experts said Tuesday, in the first hijacking of a large commercial vessel there since 2012.
The area where the hijacking occured is overseen by the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which is based in Bahrain.
It was not immediately clear what the pirates' intentions are, but it may become one of the Trump administration's first international tests.
The Aris 13 on Monday reported being approached by two skiffs, John Steed with the organization Oceans Beyond Piracy said. The ship had been carrying fuel from Djibouti to Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, Steed said.
An official in the semiautonomous state of Puntland said over two dozen men boarded the ship off Somalia's northern coast. Another Puntland official said the ship was being moved toward the coast. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
A Britain-based spokeswoman for the European Union Naval Force operation off Somalia, Flt. Lt. Louise Tagg, confirmed that an incident involving an oil tanker had occurred and an investigation was underway.
An official said no ransom demand had been made.
"The vessel's captain reported to the company they were approached by two skiffs and that one of them they could see armed personnel on board," the official said. "The ship changed course quite soon after that report and is now anchored." The official spoke on condition of anonymity as no one was authorized to speak publicly about the incident.
It was not immediately clear who owned the ship or there it was flagged. Steed said it was UAE-owned and Sri Lankan-flagged, but the Middle East-based official said it was Greek-owned and Comoros-flagged with plans to re-flag it to Sri Lanka.
Piracy off Somalia's coast was once a serious threat to the global shipping industry. It has lessened in recent years after an international effort to patrol near the country, whose weak central government has been trying to assert itself after a quarter-century of conflict.
But frustrations have been rising among local fishermen, including former pirates, at what they say are foreign fishermen illegally fishing in local waters.
Salad Nur, an elder in Alula, a coastal town in Puntland, told the AP by telephone that young fishermen including former pirates have hijacked the ship.
"They have been sailing through the ocean in search for a foreign ship to hijack since yesterday morning and found this ship and boarded it," he said. "Foreign fishermen destroyed their livelihoods and deprived them of proper fishing."
Somali pirates usually hijack ships and crew for ransom. They don't normally kill hostages unless they come under attack, including during rescue attempts.
This would be the first commercial pirate attack off Somalia since 2012, Steed said.
A United Nations report seen by the AP in November said it had been almost three years since Somali pirates successfully hijacked a large commercial vessel, but they retain the capacity and intent to resume the attacks and lately have shifted to targeting smaller foreign fishing boats.
The EU force website currently lists no vessels or hostages held by pirates.
Concerns about piracy off Africa's coast have largely shifted to the Gulf of Guinea.

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