Supreme Court ruling revives ObamaCare backlash

Any time ObamaCare is in the headlines -- especially when its various mandates are concerned -- it reminds opponents why they don't like the law. 
This week's Supreme Court decision limiting the law's requirement on employers to provide free contraceptive coverage was no different. 
"I think it's a reminder of how many things ObamaCare regulates it would never have occurred to you a federal law should regulate in the first place," said Avik Roy, of the Manhattan Institute. 
The 5-4 decision ruled that certain "closely held" for-profit businesses can opt out of the mandate by citing religious objections. 
Two years ago, the court upheld the law's so-called "individual mandate" -- the requirement on individuals to buy health insurance. But together with a prior decision reining in the law's Medicaid expansion, the decision in the case brought by arts-and-crafts chain Hobby Lobby and other businesses marked a blow for the law and a reminder for critics of its reach. (Hobby Lobby provides coverage for 16 of 20 forms of contraception, but objected to those it claims can work after conception.) 
Joe Antos, of the American Enterprise Institute, said it "touches on issues related to what is the power of the president versus the power of the Congress to decide how we run our lives." 
Kellyanne Conway, who polls on issues affecting women, noted the health care law has struggled to win public approval. 
"The majority of the Americans in everyone's polling rejects the Affordable Care Act as way too intrusive and invasive and also way too expensive for them," she said. 
Several polls have uncovered deep skepticism about the law. A Fox News poll from late June found a 56 percent majority disapprove of President Obama's handling of health care while only 41 percent approve. 
A poll from early June found 55 percent wish the law had never passed, compared with 38 who said the opposite. 
In the same poll, 44-29 percent said the country will be worse off under the law, while 24 percent say it'll make no difference. 
The court case once again raises the issue ahead of looming midterm elections. Democrats are using the ruling to highlight the impact on women, and defend the law's intent of providing contraceptive coverage to female employees. 
But Republicans are likely to highlight the rebuke to the law itself. 
"The election isn't for another few months," Antos said, "and I think there will be other issues that will come up that will remind people that this is not the law that they would have hoped for." 
Roy added that "this whole case was really about showing that ObamaCare's ability to regulate every aspect of the way the private sector and private economy works was not appropriate." 
In mid-week, a poll by Bankrate.com found 68 percent of Americans say ObamaCare will play a role in deciding how they vote this fall. Thirty-two percent said they're more likely to vote Republican, while 26 percent said they're more likely to vote Democrat. 
And 52 percent, according to the poll, would like to see the new Congress make changes in the law, while only 12 percent of Americans want to keep it exactly as it is.

The Real Meaning of the Fourth of July.

It's the Fourth of July weekend. We’re supposed to be celebrating Independence Day. 

But what makes this day special?

What gives the Fourth of July its significance is that our Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress in 1776. 

It was in Philadelphia, and the signers of that document, composed by Thomas Jefferson, knew that this declaration of independence from the dictatorial rule of Great Britain might also be — literally — their death sentence.

They knew full well that the wrath and might of the British army would be sailing across the Atlantic to descend on the relatively defenseless colonies. They knew their scattered “states” didn’t have the numbers or arms or training to stand against the British, much less defeat them militarily. Yet they put their signatures, and their lives, their families, their destiny, on that parchment.

And so, against all odds, and even against reason, that Declaration told the world that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states.” 

The only importance of the 4th day of July, then, is that it marks the birth of the United States of America.

 The very words should send awe-filled shivers up your spine, as they do mine. 

Most of the people living in those colonies had simply had enough of British domination, of working and virtually existing at the pleasure of a king they didn’t know and who obviously considered them his indentured servants. 

They wanted to be free, to make their own decisions, to govern themselves and breathe the sweet air of liberty. 

The first celebration of American Independence took place four days later in Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress was still meeting. 

The ceremony began with a public reading of the Declaration of Independence. Then, from the tower of the State House, now called Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell rang out.

The coat of arms of the king of England was taken down. And there was a parade. And cannons boomed. The people, though aware of what lay ahead, cheered! A new nation sprang to life.

That’s what this day is meant to be about.

John Adams, himself a signer of the Declaration, thought that Americans should henceforth celebrate a “great anniversary festival.” In a letter to his wife Abigail he wrote, “It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.”

So it began. A more elaborate celebration was held there in 1788, after the new Constitution had been ratified. Then there was a much larger parade, speeches and a dinner. 

But between those two celebrations, in 1776 and 1788, there was much horrible fighting, rivers of bloodshed, the deaths and bankruptcies of many of the signers of the Declaration, families torn apart and businesses and farms destroyed. The freedoms declared by the Declaration — and ushered into fact by the Constitution — were secured at a terrible cost.

Soon, across the growing nation, at sunrise on July 4, salutes were fired and bells were rung. Flags were flown from buildings, from homes, and along the streets. Shop windows were decorated with red, white, and blue. Churches held special services.

What’s Independence Day like today? Do most people you know actually make time to purposely celebrate our independence in meaningful ways?

Even while we’re again locked in a deadly combat on foreign soil  — still involving hundreds of thousands of our finest young men and women?

What are they fighting for now? Is it anything like what motivated our Revolutionary Army? 

Is it “freedom from religion,” the necessity to take “under God” out of our pledge, or even to do away with it altogether? Is it the “right” to end the lives of unwanted babies, or the “right” for two men or two women to “marry”? 

Or is it still the impossible dream of a nation under God, with unalienable rights endowed equally to all — among these life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

Surely this weekend is a time for all of us who really cherish that original dream, the one for which so many have died, to individually and collectively re-declare our independence from tyranny, despotism, taxation without representation, and debts that no free society should ever bear. 

And allegiance to the blood-bought foundation of government of, by, and for the people . . . people who are determined to live free.


© 2014 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Obama Cartoon

'Wrong side of the Constitution'? Obama likely to delay deportations, say experts

Bailey: "Our problems with immigration is caused by the Mexican Government!"

One of President Obama’s first moves toward trying to “fix” the U.S. immigration system without Congress will almost certainly be to expand on his 2012 executive order postponing deportation for potentially millions of young illegal immigrants, say experts on both sides of the debate.
Obama will likely sidestep Congress on immigration reform by expanding on his so-called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals memorandum, which essentially allows young illegal immigrants to remain in the United States if they were brought into the country illegally by their parents and have not been convicted of a major crime, Federation for American Immigration Reform spokesman Ira Mehlman predicted.
“I expect him to continue to ignore U.S. immigration law,” Mehlman said. “This can all be traced back to the DACA program … under the guise of not splitting up families.”
Although many Republicans believe President Obama is overreaching on the issue by advancing his immigration agenda without the support of Congress, there is broad support among Latinos, labor groups and other Democrat constituencies for him to act unilaterally. 
The idea of extending delayed deportation to parents of young illegal immigrants also appears popular among Hispanic voters and will likely be recommended to the president by pro-immigration-reform groups with whom he has reportedly met in recent weeks.
A poll of registered Hispanic voters for the Center for American Progress Action Fund found strong support for renewing DACA as well as delaying deportation for the parents of young illegals protected under the program, people married to U.S. citizens and those living illegally in the United States for more than 10 years.
The respondents were “super excited” about such actions if they included the option of a work permit for illegals, said Gary Sugura of Latino Decisions, the opinion research group that conducted the poll. He also pointed out that Democratic candidates running in 2014 and beyond would benefit significantly from such changes.
The respondents were less supportive of so-called prosecutorial discretion, which essentially gives immigration officials say over which cases to pursue and prosecute.
As a sign of just how important the work permit issue is to pro-immigration advocates, particularly big business and organized labor, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Janet Murguia, head of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy group, on Tuesday called on Obama to provide work permits to everyone who would have been eligible for citizenship under the bipartisan immigration bill passed last year by the Senate.
Obama has already taken the first step in directing Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to shift resources from the U.S. interior to the Mexico border. And he has asked both for recommendations by the end of summer on the types of executive actions he could take.
“And I intend to adopt those recommendations without further delay,” Obama said in his Rose Garden remarks Monday.
In addition, the Center for American Progress, the liberal-leaning think tank influential in shaping Obama administration policy, released a 42-page study, which Marshall Fitz, the group’s director of immigration policy, calls “a roadmap for executive action on immigration.”
The study claims Obama has authority to use enforcement reforms and affirmative relief to implement his immigration agenda in spite of opposition in the House.
Reform involves prioritizing how and whether enforcement is conducted when someone comes into contact with the authorities. And the relief focuses on identifying illegal immigrants considered low priority for deportation, then creating a procedure for them to seek temporary protection from being removed from the country, according to the report.
Sugura and Center for American Progress officials acknowledge that Obama cannot stop all deportations, that any executive action is temporary and only Capitol Hill legislation can provide a permanent solution, which they say should include a path to legal status and eventual citizenship for the roughly 11.7 million illegal immigrants living in the country. 
Obama argues he has been compelled to act in large part because of the recent surge in unaccompanied Central American children showing up by the thousands at the U.S.-Mexico border and the GOP-controlled House’s unwillingness to vote on the issue until at least after the November elections.
"American cannot wait forever ... ," Obama said Monday. "That is why, today, I am beginning a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress."
House Speaker John Boehner and other members of the House Republican Caucus argue the recent border problem is the result of executive actions that have enticed people to try to enter the U.S. illegally. And they plan to sue Obama over his use of such actions, serving notice that more moves by the president on immigration would only stiffen their opposition.
"If the president insists on enacting amnesty by executive order, he will undoubtedly face a lawsuit and will find himself, once again, on the wrong side of the Constitution and the law," said Texas GOP Rep. Lamar Smith.

U.S. Goalie Tim Howard Delivers World Cup Performance For Ages, Becomes National Hero

“I don’t want to be the hero,” U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard told the London Times a decade ago when he was playing for Manchester United. “I don’t want to be the goat. Somewhere in the middle’s all right by me.”
But at the World Cup in Brazil over the past two weeks, the unassuming 35-year-old who would rather spend a quite night at home than go out partying, put himself so far over into the “hero” column. The middle may never be an option for him again.
After solid performances against Ghana and Portugal, Howard turned in arguably the finest work of his career in back-to-back matches against Germany—a 1-0 loss for the U.S.—and Tuesday’s 2-1 Round of 16 overtime loss to Belgium that sent the Yanks home.
Against Belgium, Howard kept the ball out of the net with slides, with dives and with leaps.
He just couldn't do it forever.
With the U.S. trying to reach the Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, he saved 12 of Belgium's shots in regulation to keep the game scoreless. Some of them in truly spectacular fashion—with the tip of his foot or leaping to push the ball over the crossbar.
But Kevin De Bruyne finally got the ball past him a couple of minutes into overtime, and Romelu Lukaku did it again in the 105th minute to build a two-goal lead for the Red Devils, who hung on for a 2-1 win.
Howard finished with 16 saves, the most in a World Cup game since FIFA started keeping track in 2002. It was his finest performance in 13 years with the national team.
"I'm just trying to do all the things that have gotten me here and gotten us here," he said. "That's what I signed up to do — stick my face in front of balls. It's nothing startling."
Other people were a little more impressed.
"For my heart, please don't give me too many games like this," Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said. "He was in a state of grace."
U.S. captain Clint Dempsey was equally effusive.
"Tim was awesome for us," Demsey said. "As you would expect from him."
Howard yells a lot during games. More than most goalkeepers.
And his teammates love him for that.
"He's somebody that we rely on so much for his performances on the field but also his leadership and his presence," midfielder Michael Bradley said. "There's not enough good things to say about him as a player, as a man, as a leader."
Howard was born in North Brunswick, N.J., in 1979, and he suffers from Tourette’s—the neurological disorder that is characterized by physical and vocal tics.
“It’s never hindered me in any way,” he told the U.K. paper the Observer in 2004. “I kept quiet about it for 9 years, not telling my family as if I was ashamed But what’s the point in that?... I’ve never dropped a cross because of it. At least not yet.”
In high school, his first love was basketball, but at 6-foot-3 he didn’t have much of a chance of making it to the NBA. As a goalie, however, his height and agility proved a major asset.
“Basketball’s been good for me,” he told the Times. “The principles of defending are similar.”
After stretches with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (as the Red Bulls were then known), Man U, and Aston Villa in the U.K., Howard has been the starter for Everton in the Premier League since the middle of the 2007-08 season.
He is signed with the team through 2018 and plans to play "as long as my body lets me," although he acknowledges, "That's obviously not a question that I can really answer now."
He also won't commit to continuing to play for the U.S. national team beyond Brazil.
"Those decisions will be made, obviously, when I'm less emotional and things settle down and I have a few important conversations with important people," Howard said.
Brad Guzan, who is Aston Villa's current goalkeeper, is Howard's No. 2 and, at 29, is positioned well for the 2018 World Cup—should Howard decide to retire from the national team, that is.
U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati didn't sound as if Howard would be leaving anytime soon.
"I'm not sure Timmy is ready to not look towards Russia," he said. "He's one of the players that matters. And nobody goes into a tournament like this with our team and doesn't expect Timmy to play really well."
Howard was among the final American players to leave the locker room of the stadium in Salvador after the loss to Belgium, suddenly and unhappily facing a few weeks off before having to report to Everton for preseason training.
He carried a small silver-colored case, clearly not part of the gear he had when he arrived at Arena Fonte Nova. Despite the U.S. defeat, he was selected the Man of the Match and was given an award.

King Obama Cartoon

ObamaCare coverage for millions in jeopardy as watchdog finds widespread data flaws

The Obama administration is struggling to resolve data discrepancies that could jeopardize coverage for millions who sought health insurance on the federal exchange HealthCare.gov, according to a watchdog report on the still-rocky implementation of ObamaCare. 
Though the system's troubles have faded from the headlines since the problem-plagued launch last October, a report from the health department inspector general provided the first independent look at widespread issues the government is having effectively fact-checking the information applicants are putting in the system. 
According to the report, the administration was unable to resolve 2.6 million so-called "inconsistencies" out of a total of 2.9 million such problems from October through December 2013. 
The government needs to determine applicants' eligibility in order to verify they can enroll and, in some cases, get government subsidies. Without that step, coverage could be jeopardized. Critics fear these issues also could cause chaos during the 2015 tax-filing season, as many would have to pay back subsidy money they were not entitled to. 
According to the report, those running the federal marketplace are having trouble resolving problems "even if applicants submitted appropriate documentation." 
"The federal marketplace was generally incapable of resolving most inconsistencies," the report said, claiming the government could not resolve 89 percent of the problems. 
And of the roughly 330,000 cases that could be straightened out, the administration had only actually resolved about 10,000 during the period of the inspector general's audit. That worked out to less than 1 percent of the total.
The report said that most of the problems dealt with citizenship and income information supplied by consumers that conflicted with what the federal government had on record. The report said the government's eligibility system was not fully functional. 
The data above doesn't even reflect what's happening with the state-run exchanges. According to the same report, four of the 15 state marketplaces reported they were "unable to resolve inconsistencies." They are: Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Vermont. 
The findings come after President Obama celebrated 8 million sign-ups as proof that technical problems which initially kept many consumers from enrolling had finally been overcome. It now turns out that some of those problems continued out of sight. The inspector general said the efforts of the administration and states to clear up the discrepancies were complicated by lingering computer issues. 
The issue is one of the top challenges facing newly installed HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell. 
Republicans pointed to this and one other IG report -- which questioned internal safeguards for checking eligibility -- as evidence the system still is not working, and fraudulent payments could be made. 
"This report is one more example of just how flawed the president's health care law is," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. "Whatever one's opinion of ObamaCare, the American public deserves to know that their tax dollars are allocated appropriately and that public officials take their responsibility to accurately and faithfully apply the laws enacted by Congress seriously." 
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said the system has allowed "millions of Americans to enroll in a system that may be handing them the wrong subsidies -- too much or too little -- and they've left taxpayers vulnerable to fraud." 
But White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest downplayed the findings. 
"Resolving those inconsistencies is important, but isn't necessarily complicated and doesn't necessarily indicate any sort of problem with the application that someone has filed," he said Tuesday. 
The report was requested by congressional Republicans as a condition of ending the budget standoff that triggered a partial government shutdown last fall. Republicans say they are concerned that people who are not legally entitled to the law's government-subsidized private health insurance could nonetheless be getting it. 
The inspector general stopped short of drawing such conclusions. 
"Inconsistencies do not necessarily indicate that an applicant provided inaccurate information ... or is receiving financial assistance through insurance affordability programs inappropriately," the report said. 
However, the watchdog office called on the administration to publicly explain how and by what date it will resolve the data problems in the 36 states where Washington is operating new insurance markets. 
In a written response to the report, Medicare chief Marilyn Tavenner said the administration concurs with the recommendations and is working on a plan. Tavenner also said that some of the computer issues that were getting in the way of resolving the problems have now been overcome. 
"It is not surprising that there are inconsistencies between some information provided by application filers and the (government's) electronic data sources," she said. 
The law provides the administration with the option of extending an initial 90-day period for clearing up discrepancies.

Illegal immigrants already being released to neighborhood near you

Tens of thousands of immigrants who illegally crossed the Mexico border into Texas are in the process of being released into communities throughout the nation rather than being indefinitely detained or immediately deported, a congressman told Watchdog.org.
The releases have already started and the Border Patrol did not disclose how many. At least 60,000 Central Americans have entered the country illegally this year, though some news reports say the figure is as high as 170,000. An effort is under way to place children in foster homes or with relatives already living in the U.S., said Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas.
The adults are being given a “notice to appear,” something like to a traffic ticket that requires they show up for a deportation hearing. Following that notice, they are simply being released. Those who return for the hearing will face a federal immigration judge to determine their fate.
“You know good and well they won’t show up and we won’t go looking for them,” Gohmert said. “When they get their piece of paper saying report back on such a day at such a time, they take that as their legal permit to stay in the country and they go do what they want.”
A senior Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detective who routinely deals with illegal immigrants said a “massive number – 80 to 90 percent” do not show up for deportation hearings. Detention is not even being considered because Homeland Security facilities are not equipped to hold a large number of people, said the detective, who spoke on a guarantee of anonymity.