Calling 'BS' On The Death Benefit Shutdown Theatre

Pentagon hacks shamed themselves and enraged a nation with their petty attempt to score politcal 'Shutdown!' points by denying death benefits to the familes of fallen shoulders. Even the Times feels obliged to call "BS" on their charade:

WASHINGTON — Pentagon officials said Wednesday that they would contract with a charity group, the Fisher House Foundation, to restore death benefits to families of service members killed in action, including a $100,000 payment, that have been stopped by the government shutdown. The officials said the Pentagon would reimburse the group after the shutdown ended.

...

Although Pentagon officials insisted on Tuesday that they could not do anything about restoring death benefits without Congressional approval, their agreement with Fisher House on Wednesday suggested that the officials had changed their minds.

Yes, they changed their minds after relieving their cranial-anal impaction.

What is (or ought to be) shocking about this story is that some bright light in the Pentagon advised that the legal authority to continue these death benefits was ambiguous, so the safer course would be to discontinue them and blame the Republican shutdown. And rather than throw the fool out and demand better lawyers, Defense Secretary Hagel, who normally pretends to care about the troops he notionally leads, played along. What, they were worried that an aggressive Inspector General or House Committee would be outraged by this possible overstep of authority and demand impeachment? I guess the legal haze has cleared and statutory intent (don't screw the troops, even dead ones) has come clear to them.

That said, I do see their subtle plan. Now that Moodys has joined the debt default deniers, the notion that the Treasury can prioritize payments to avoid a default on US Government securities has gotten new life. I think Team Obama is trying to convince us that they really do have the sort of mix of incompetence (cf the Obamacare website) and evil that would lead the Treasury to screw up its cash management and default on an interest or principal payment just for the political theatre.

Comments

[henry]

rse provided a link from Sultan Knish on the prior thread that compares the Admin's activities (including the death benefit dance) to the Soviet blockade of Berlin. Petty actions equal weakness.

[narcisoM]

I think this is'

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-obama-blockade.html

[narcisoM]

They are really making themselves proud at your Almamter Captain, faceppaalm.

[OldTimer]

Debating whether this link is off topic so soon on the thread. Even though most who comment here understand what drives the Dem's to do the underhanded things they do, sometimes we need to review the long list of depraved, unscrupulous and grossly anti-American deeds they commit to understand why Barry is Barry, doing what Barry does best (why does anyone think he would ever do anything helpful/necessary for our country?):

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/david-horowitz/the-threat-we-face-2/

[NK(tryin'2.0)]

If I may-- I am reposting my comment from the end of the last thread-- no we shouldn't allow the Obamaniacs to prioritze, instead very short-term Debt extension and no CR, until Obummer agrees to cuts: I consider this link smart politics because it was what I suggested 3 weeks ago-- focus on the Debt and spending b/c Indy/persuadable voters all hate the Debt, forget ObummerCare defund b/c there is no massive Indy support to do that, and it will NEVER happen. In the 3 weeks since then, the major developments have been the "Slimdown" hasn't hurt Repubs (and the barrycades and death benefits backfired badly on Obummer), and the ObummerCare roll out is a disaster. So those 2 developments reinforce the idea to focus on the Debt and Spending not ObummerCare. It's a twofer, First, the longer the slimdown goes on the more Indies say why do we have to reinstitute that spending, and let ObummerCare's incompetence increase dislike for it-- especially when the IRS announces tax collections starting 1/1/14-- second any 'Entitlement Reform' agreed to by Dems to get a Debt Increase, starts breaking down the Entitlement Wall. It's the way to go and it will pass the House. http://hotair.com/archives/2013/10/10/short-term-debt-limit-hike-strategy-gaining-steam-gop-unity/

[Liam]

narciscoM @ 9:37 - You'll have to explain that to me, and to others here, too, I suspect

[NK(tryin'2.0)]

a UofMaryland problem?

[sbwaters]

rse, I have heard that NYC is refusing to adopt Expeditionary Learning's core modules adopted by the rest of New York State.

The EL modules I have seen inject insidious values. I'd like to look at some other firms modules to see if they have been subverted.

Who do you recognize as the other major Common Core module providers and can you suggest representative states for each?

[Threadkiller]

http://therightscoop.com/must-listen-mark-levin-vs-sen-ron-johnson-over-obamacare-defund-strategy/

[narcisoM]

Why do they think they can have a deal honoored, the poer of the purse, is the power to chose, whatever man,, it will tunen out like that pyrhic victory in the pring of 2011.

[Dave (in MA)]

"US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that he has canceled a scheduled trip to the Philippines due to the threat posed by tropical storm Nari." That, plus he heard that they were going to make him wear funny clothes.

[NK(tryin'2.0)]

Couldn't disagree with you more about 'pyrrhic' victories-- the 2011 sequester pulled back overall spending alot. It was the best deal that could have been done with just the House, and the ONLY reason Bam agreed to it was b/c he arrogantly assumed the dems would win the House with him in '12. Now on to entitlements. PS: If anyone doubts the Dems evil plan to bust out the Treasury, here's Meghan McCardle slicing up the Detroit pension boards bustin' out Detroit. Obummer wants to do this nationally: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-26/detroit-s-pension-madness.html

[narcisoM]

So what they got a 100 million as stimuluslis

[MarkO]

The word is that Boehner will take all the pressure off Obama with a short term deal.

Hagel should be fired.

[George Will in today's]

George Will in today's WaPo notes that the Democratic Leftist lie machine really started when JFK was assassinated. Very quickly they began to blame society rather than the crazy commie with a Mannlicher-Carcano. Some very good points on how they went off the rails.

[maryrose]

Marko: You are correct on Hagel. What a dope!
Lew On C-span is showing his ignorance wrt the definition of default. He says any delayed payment of any bill is a default. That is not true.Says president will negotiate. Obviously he has not seen the last 3 press conferences where Bammy says no negotiation.
Hatch asks point blank-How much do you want and for how long? Lew cannot answer the question.

[MarkO]

As Dr. K said last night, Obama's request is for a blank check, not a "clean" increase.

[NK(tryin'2.0)]

Lew is a pitiful court jester. PS: why does a 2-3 month extension of debt limit, thereby keeping it in the news until ObamaCare taxes for 20-30 somethings come due, take all the pressure off him? The issue that's worst for him (Debt/Spending) stays as the top story and then is followed up by the IRS Brown Shirts demanding 1% of income from the uninsured as the ObamaCare Tax, and threatens to withold it from their paycheck. Personally I like that calendar.

[NK(tryin'2.0)]

Obummer demands a 'blank' and 'perpetual' debt check.

[rich@gmu]

the media is doing its part:

Andrew Dugan / Gallup:
Republican Party Favorability Sinks to Record Low
Politico:
GOP quietly backing away from Obamacare
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
As Pressure Mounts, House G.O.P. Weighs Short-Term Debt Deal

[OldTimer]

Lew: Medicare, Social Security, military checks first on chopping block if debt deadline missed

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/10/treasury-secretary-lew-delivers-warning-to-congress-on-debt-ceiling/?cmpid=cmty_twitter_fn

[DublinDave]

Democrats are now officially the party of big business.

[1_cathyf_says_typepad_is_the_most_wonderful_software_in_the_world_2]

He says any delayed payment of any bill is a default.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Then the federal government has been in default for DECADES!

(I once read an excellent point about minority preferences in government contracting. It pointed out that the stereotype of the minority business that you would want to help with the preferences is a business starting up, run by some fresh-faced entrepreneur who could really use the government contract to make up for the other businesses having a head start because of historical racism. Except that having the government as a customer would KILL any business like that. When the government pays a bill on time it's an alert-the-media rarity.)

[Ignatz]

It's not PC to say this obvious truth, but the only way to fix this country and prevent what the far left, which has captured the Democratic party, is doing to it, is to shoot and kill a good many of them.

They are ideologues who will stop at nothing to transform us into a one party state, converting we the people from the rulers of the state to its subjects. And in that pursuit a leftwing ideologue is precisely as well intentioned and as reasonable as a rabid dog.

What is the remedy for a rabid dog?

[Ignatz]

I have spoken here at times of my nutjob Narcissistic Personality Disordered/Psychopathic brother.
It is worth noting that David Horowitz's description of the left matches a description of my brother word for word.

That's what we face; political psychopaths.

[rse]

sbw-those Expeditionary Learning modules were created with the Core Knowledge Foundation which I have been sparring with as they acknowledge on of us is wrong. And I have told them I am quoting from Gates financed materials. Let me see what their response is.

I suspect NYC's response is just an indication of how fast this is all going to digital and project based learning and gaming so that parents and taxpayers cannot model what really is going on. http://www.icic.org/connection/blog-entry/blog-cities-as-the-engines-of-economic-prosperity is a summit in NYC earlier in week. Click on the programs and see who was there and you will see the urban areas are going their own way and then insisting all must follow. This relates to (co)lab and Metropolitanism.

I am going to explain this today going back to Uncle Karl along with a book confessing all evil intentions put out by MIT Press last year.

I have not seen anything that is not bad because the intent is bad here. I read Jeb's remarks from Education Nation and he is getting bad intel and, I believe, relying on friendships as with Klein with people who have, I hope, different political visions from him. The I hope refers to Joel leaving little doubt when he spoke last year at a Chamber luncheon I was at and he was about 10 feet away. I think he thought Southerners were slow and poorly informed because he should not have been as confessional as he was.

Condi now chairs the Eli Broad funded Ed Lab at Harvard that is heavily tied into the behavioral sciences going forward and wants to be in charge of all ed innovation in the future. We have lots of famous people guided more by their sentiments as to what ought to be going on in ed than the actual facts and the declared intentions if you know where to look. Public officials really have no incentive though to be that diligent as only financial upside and not downside goes with these recs.

[Jane]

I think we should refuse to fund the IRS (until they produce all discovery). I can't imagine anyone on the left would disagree with that.

[Ignatz]

NYT headline at Memorandum;

Business Groups See Loss of Sway Over House G.O.P.

Hallelujah!
The free market not businesses acting like organ grinder monkeys holding out tin cups should hold sway over any party with principle.

[narcisoM]

He's extoriting the bodoes from an engagementt he committed s to, muse on that, there can be no deal.

[centralcal]

Great post, Tom Maguire.

Looks like the GOP congress critters are getting wise to Mr. Costa, perhaps:

jimgeraghty ‏@jimgeraghty 5m

@j_strong's highly placed sources leak to him that the GOP leadership warned members about leaking to National Review in the meeting.

[Beasts of England]

Ignatz is on a roll. I second everything he has said...

[Danube on iPad]

Knish excerpt:

"The National Park Service’s abusive antics, which include kicking senior citizens out of their cabins and detaining others at a hotel under armed guard and with warnings not to step outside, are about power. For these same reasons, Soviet officials subjected trains and water freight to pointless inspections, made petty demands and resorted to buzzing the Allied aircraft carrying out the Berlin Airlift. The tactics may have been petty, but they were making a big statement; this is our territory. We are in control here.

"The petty harassments of officialdom all make the same statement. The power to make people jump through hoops, to do unnecessary and useless things, to accept indignities and tolerate harassment are a demonstration that the power lies on the other side of the desk. It’s not a tactic unique to the left, but the left really thrives on it."

The chilling thing is that many of these Park Rangers no doubt are not of the Left at all. They are simply people in authority who have been directed by a Leftist government to inglict indignities and inconveniences on their fellow citizens. Like Hitler' Willing Executioners, they mindlessly but quite viciously do ss they are told.

Americans would do well to consider a future in which their government can use the withholding of their medical care as a political weapon.

[*Bill in AZ*]

Typhuspad (birther) won't let me agree with Ig 11:05AM, but I'm sure NSA captured my response.

[DublinDave]

Ha ha-sounds like the wheels are finally coming off the bus. Boehners making a deal for a clean short-term debt limit increase (which is actually long-term cause you don't take the debt limit hostage twice in one season) and Obamacare funding is squarely off the table.

We won. Redstate and other Conservative blogs are up in arms while JOM cruises along in its own little world,untouched by the harsh realities outside its windows.

We won. You lost. Ignatz can use colorful language all day long and it won't change a thing; Obamacare is the law of the land, the President is still barrack Obama, we'll raise the debt limit and soon we'll re-open the government. The tea party now knows who their friends are (clearly no one from this fucking group) and we'll be seeing you in 2014-less tea party support.

[C.R.]

Americans would do well to consider a future in which their government can use the withholding of their medical care as a political weapon.

But many won't. That is the thought that goes around and around in my head as I see what is going on today or as I read Knish's article. Why don't people see what is happening & where it is leading? They screamed like Banshees under Bush, and the nature of man & government hasn't changed since then even though the party in power has. The naivete of it is stunning to me.

Knish's article reminded me of one I'm sure many here have read that the Anchoress has posted a time or two that is from a 1940's Harper's article called, "Who Goes Nazi?"

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2010/07/25/the-game-who-goes-nazi/

[OldTimer]

I'll probably be waiting 'til you know what freezes over, to hear one word from congressional GOP accurately defining their 'friends' across the aisle.

I wonder if they even know what a domestic enemy is and how they operate.

And as to what it takes to confront an implacable adversary intent on your personal destruction while whispering sweet nothing's in your ear, the always well-informed poster above has zeroed in on the correct prescription.

[narcisoM]

How does civil discourse, happen again;

http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/10/the-atlantic-photoshops-boehners-head-onto-arrest-photo-of-irish-republican-army-murderer/#comments

[Janet]

Super interesting link, CR.

[Ignatz]

Funny thing about that link of CR's is that Haprer's magazine itself went Nazi a long time ago.

[Janet]

Wow to your LI link too, narciso. Oh my goodness....

[OldTimer]

Writing in DSA’s Democratic Left, October 2013, “A Century and Counting: The Campaign for National Health Insurance,” Friedman claimed that the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare, was doomed, but would pave the way for what was planned all along – “single payer” socialized healthcare.

http://www.trevorloudon.com/2013/10/socialist-leader-obamacare-will-fail-single-payer-comes-next/

[OldTimer]

When O-Care slams inevitably into the ground at warp speed, the GOP better have a three point memorable campaign slogan for returning health care to patients, doctors and the free market, while saving trillions in future costs and our freedom to choose.

[Frau Pfui Teifi!]

The Harper's article was indeed a good one. So much for learning from the past.

When did journalism schools start teaching that the journalists' mission was to change the world, not report the news? During the long march? That would explain why Benghazi is not newsworthy--or any of the other "phony" scandals.

[Beasts of England]

DD is already spiking the ball, huh? Charming...

[Jane]

Kwame gets 28 years.

Will Obama pardon him?

[Frau Pfui Teifi!]

BTW - I heart cathyf even more today than I did yesterday.

[Frau Pfui Teifi!]

Beasts - ixnay on allbay and DD in the same sentence. An excited troll may stay for four hours before seeking medical help.

[DebinNC]

"...while saving trillions in future costs and our freedom to choose."

I think a majority now see "freedom to choose" as a burden, not a blessing.

[Beasts of England]

@Frau - point taken.

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

I've been on board with what Iggy states for a long time.

narc, how has my alma mater stepped in it this time?

[sbwaters]

Iggy, you need to recalibrate your weapon of choice for the far left.

The far left wants you to get incensed and threaten violence so they can point out how violent and deranged you are.

The proper weapon to puncture the far left is laughter. Gales of derisive laughter coming from all quarters. The horselaugh works.

[Stephanie]

Laughter doesn't eliminate the problem at the roots.

[Stephanie]

The proper weapon is the witholding of cash.

If everyone who is riled up simply refused to participate in witholding below say 9 or 12 or even "exempt" and quit sending in their quarterlies, the cash would STOP. I'd push for doing this with 940s, 941s and all other remittances to the gov.

Pickle this... who does that affect more, the taxpayer or the gov???

[sbwaters]

No, Stephanie, to get at the root we need to laugh at schools.

Unfortunately, going to jail for tax evasion isn't practical.

[Stephanie]

Clogging up the courts and not having the funding for the courts solves the 'jail' problem. Besides, if the IRS has no funds, who does the audits to determine if you have been paying on time? Didn't say never pay, said to buck the current system...designed to lock you into the smooth flow of funds into the treasury ON TIME. I propose we do a little defaulting of our own.

[Stephanie]

Time to live outside the box not continue to abide by its strictures.

[bgates]

The proper weapon to puncture the far left is laughter.

That reminds me of the inscription they don't have on the memorial at Auschwitz, "They Weren't Funny Enough".

[Ignatz]

--The proper weapon to puncture the far left is laughter. Gales of derisive laughter coming from all quarters. The horselaugh works.--

Derision works at cocktail parties, SBW.

If it worked on the political and actual battlefield our country would have begun with the Chuckle Heard Round the World.

[BR]

Great Sultan Knish article, especially this:
"The petty harassment of the Obama Blockade is a sign of impotence."

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