Sparing Us Next Year's Pain And Surprise

Team Obama intends to put forth a plan to push off public awareness of next year's individual insurance price hikes until after the election:

President Barack Obama plans to push back the second-year start of enrollment in Affordable Care Act health plans, a move that would let insurers adjust to growing pains in the overhaul and potentially stave off premium increases before the 2014 congressional elections.

The enrollment period, previously scheduled to begin Oct. 15, 2014, will now start Nov. 15, said an official with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services who asked not to be identified because the decision isn’t public.

The usual ACA apologists explain that there are sound public policy reasons for this:

Moving the year-two filing deadline back a month gives insurers more time to analyze claims from the first year of plans sold as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The young, healthy people needed to balance the cost of care for older consumers aren’t likely to sign up in large numbers until March, said Jonathan Gruber, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist who helped design the law.

“This is an important business for them and they want to make smart decisions about how they set their rates,” Gruber said in a telephone interview. “It’s in the nation’s interest they get time to make those decisions.”

BWAHAHA! Eventually others suggest a less beneificient motive:

Starting enrollment after the Nov. 4 congressional elections may also be important to a president seeking to hang onto the Democrat-led Senate and maintain or gain seats in the Republican-led House of Representatives. Popularity of the Affordable Care Act has already fallen to record lows.

...

The one-month delay revealed yesterday is just long enough so “consumers will not see their 2015 premiums until after the midterm elections, instead of immediately before,” said Mike Tuffin, a former insurance industry lobbyist who is now managing director of consulting firm APCO Worldwide’s Washington office. “One doesn’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to divine the motive here.”

I will note that the story includes this about the timing:

The first-year enrollment period that began Oct. 1 runs through March 31, 2014. Insurers would have then had until May to decide if they wanted to participate in the next round and determine what rates they would charge.

The HHS official said that if the rate filing deadline is pushed back, the agency also needs extra time before enrollment begins to review the plans and premiums, certify them, load them into the government’s health insurance website, and let insurers double-check they are correct.

If I am following, insurers will have an extra month to submit proposed pricing for 2015. That means that come the end of June 2014, the 2015 pricing will have been submitted to HHS and the state commissioners. So we can anticipate a four month Administration/media cover-up as HHS tries to prevent the rest of us from seeing the proposed figures. But the various states also have the info, and may choose to trumpet the results (e.g., Ohio was boosting the 'lower than expected' prices for 2014 as of July 2013.)

Well. Plenty of Republican governors will make the numbers available, but it is probably true that people won't really focus until it is time to sign up.

Comments

[Army of Davids]

Democrats deserve the never ending beating they are going to take on ObamaCare. This is just the beginning.

Planning on doing my part from the ground up.

[anonamom]

Everyone needs to commit to doing what the Presidnt has asked of us--having "the conversation" with everybody this holiday season.

Educate the ignorant.

What do you have to lose? You know that if this doesn't stop, they'll be looking to you for food and ammo when it all comes to fruition.

[Old Lurker]

Cross posted because I am angry.

If we had a loyal opposition willing to play hardball, McConnell would use every procedural device available to grind the Senate to a halt. There might not be any remaining now that there are no rules except the rule of 51. In any event, we should never hear about "my friends" again but should use real words to describe the coup underway for what it is. Sugarcoating anything from this point is dangerous.

In a show of solidarity, Boehner should refuse to take up any piece of business from the Senate that had not received 60 votes before being sent to the House. Further, the House should vote articles of impeachment for any action by any official that deserves it and send those to the Senate to give them something to do.

Use the tools that remain before those too are taken away.

[iqvoice]

Damn i like the cut of your giblets, Old Lurker.

If Boehner went along with your scheme, it would make for great political theater. Unfortunately Boehner can do nothing to stop Obummer from the packing the courts with libtard activists.

[peter]

excellent, OL @ 2:59. Mitch is too old and out of touch to understand how endangered the country is, and Boehner too weak. The tea party caucus should suggest this to Boehner, and if doesn't agree, make him explain what he is doing about this naked grab of power.

[Old Lurker]

Trust me, this is about much more than a few court appointments, though I agree those are now unstoppable.

Plus there is no reason now to assume any other rule of the Senate that protects the minority will not also be changed.

Boehner has the only chamber controlled by the opposition and shame on him if he does not use it to enforce to the letter every prerogative the House has such as the requirement that money matters be initiated in the House, ONLY in the House and refusing to play along with scams like that used to get the ACA through. Every time the Administration is caught ignoring a part of a law (ACA), they should seek standing in a court to protest if possible and/or impeaching the official involved.

Nothing that has been done in the past "because that is how things are done here" should be allowed to go around the Constitution.

Anyone in either party who does not get that needs to be replaced at the polls. Anyone. Either party.

[Qrstuv]

Sarah, where are you? We need some pitbulls on OUR side

[Qrstuv]

The American Revolution was fought over much, much smaller matters than these.

[Jack is Back!]

Reminder: For a change of pace from Special Report and Greta, tune into Beach 92.7 Radio on the internet tonight between 6 and 8pm and hear Frederick and his school band playing at the Palm Harbor Shopping Center for the annual Christmas Tree lighting.

We accept tips via Bitcoins.

[Old Lurker]

Are there any rules in the House designed to protect the minority there? Change them unless and until the Senate reverses what it did yesterday.

Where Issa has subpoena power, use it. When the witness lies, jail them. One after the other.

No reason to pretend anymore that the opposition is trying to protect the Country or the Constitution.

[Old Lurker]

Qrstuv...PLEASE be careful which Sarah you are summoning!

[Jane-Rebel Alliance1]

I plan to start any number of rumors that 1st year results are so dismal everyone can expect a 200% increase - at least.

OL, I praised your idea in the last thread and implored you to go to Capital Hill to tell Boehner directly.

I also agree Issa needs to start jailing people.

[Beasts of England]

We should throw 'settled law of the land' at these idiots and ask them how JEF can unilaterally break / change the law on a whim.

[centralcal]

lol, Old Lurker.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

OL-- a minor suggestion if I may. Let's all start a little email campaign to people we know who have some access, and demand that they get the House leadership to pass a couple of bills 1. Repeal all Obummer waivers, 2. Repeal Exchange Insurer bailouts, and 3. No funds to pay for any judicial or Executive Office appointment who did not get 60 votes, or minority waived cloture. These 3 votes attack Dems where it hurts and will give conservatives belief that Repubs will fight for us... and principles of liberty.

[Beasts of England]

Qrstuv@3:38 - I'm not sure of that. Read the indictment portion of the DoI and the long train of usurpations was severe. At least they're not quartering troops at my house. Yet...

[Ignatz]

--The American Revolution was fought over much, much smaller matters than these.--

Exactly. Read through these complaints and count how many this petty tyrant and his party have already performed or are right now performing, not to mention new ones not even dreamed of by King George:

The history of the present King of Great Britain America is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness of his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Revolting.

[Ignatz]

Heh, Beasts.
I'm surprised you're so forgiving. :)

[Porchlight]

I can't keep up, but this appears to be breaking news. The original enrollment deadline of Dec. 15th (in order to be covered on Jan 1) has been pushed back to Dec. 23rd.

But can insurers meet that deadline? Were they even consulted? Nobody knows.

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/11/22/new-delay-deadline-for-obamacare-enrollment-this-year-moved-back-one-week-from-december-15th-to-23rd/

[Porchlight]

Dec. 23-31. Christmas vacation.

Can you imagine what it's like to be working for these insurers right now?

We all know the website isn't going to be functioning on 12/1. There is simply no way that the millions whose policies were being canceled are going to be able to sign up in time.

This is insane. They must be absolutely desperate. This is all going to explode on Jan. 1 if not before.

[narciso]

The Times had a tiny piece, about the Rush to December 1st, and it's usual cheering of Stay Puft and deriding Walker and co,

[Porchlight]

Expect the phrase "coverage gap" to start getting a lot of play in the next week or two.

[narciso]

and the usual light touch, from Carlos Slim's disgruntled chimps;

http://www.redstate.com/2013/11/22/the-new-york-times-equates-opposing-obamacare-with-slavery/

[Old Lurker]

Narc, doesn't Carlos know what that claim will get MSNBC to deposit in his mouth?

[Danube on iPad]

"Are there any rules in the House designed to protect the minority there?"

I'm pretty sure there are none.

"When the witness lies, jail them."

He has no power to do so; the sole power to prosecute lies with the AG.

And I don't know, but I don't think the House can fund some judges and not others. The only way out of this horribly regrettable nightmare is through the ballot box and then in January 2017 unleash hell. Unadulterated hell.

[narciso]

Surprise, surprise, well not really;

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/11/22/cnn-hhs-lied-about-anonymous-shopper-delay-in-healthcare-gov/

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

DoT-- God bless you, you are an honorable and decent man. But our political opponents are not. WHO CARES if there is no mechanism not to pay newly confirmed judges, the House should do it anyway, and let the Judges sue for their wages. Refusing to pay them, makes a political point , not a legal one. Any sub 60 Vote judges are morally and politically unjust and illegitimate, fuck with them. expose their Leftist backgrounds, expose the lying dems to voters for who they are. Obummer has openned Pandora's Box, slam it shut on his tiny litlle...

[Sic Semper Tyrannis]

Yeah, Q, then it was just not wanting to pay the bill for national security. Colonialists along with Englishmen already expected the results of a half century of constitutional development, and of course the Glorious Rebellion was nearly a century earlier.

What Obama is doing now is destroying a millenium of work.

[Old Lurker]

Thought you might say that DoT. I too don't know what House rules might help the minority but there might be some at the committee level that could be jerked. Clarice and Mr. Clarice might know better.

So when the House wants an indictment for lying and Holder says no, impeach him. Yes I know the Senate will not convict him, but do it anyway.

Ultimately the only fix is at the ballot box which is why the education needs to escalate right now.

[narciso]

I hope she gives short shrift to this,

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/sarah-palin-will-discuss-martin-bashir-comments-on-fox-news-sunday/

there's always this layer of carp, hanging around,

[Beasts of England]

@Ig - It's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison - especially the Indian Savages part. Some things are far worse today. However, some of the blame (or maybe all of it) is on us. We continue to elect them, continue to let them to be immune from the laws they pass; yet we do nothing more than write strongly worded comments.

I don't know - maybe I'm just feeling charitable today...

[centralcal]

Iowahawk succinctly sums up Obama and his PR machine:

David Burge ‏@iowahawkblog 1m

The bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral pic.twitter.com/9OMUMuYxv4

[centralcal]

Iowahawks's link:

[cathyf]

Here's a story for y'all...

One of DrF's colleagues is married with 2 children, and the wife and kids are in India because her mother is not well. The children are both American citizens, born here.

Obamacare seems to require that he buy health insurance for his children. But no one can tell him what he can buy. If he adds them to his insurance at the college on family coverage (at $900/mo), it's not clear whether that plan will actually pay for any medical care that they receive in India. He could try adding them to the state's version of CHiP, but, since they are not residents of the state, nobody can tell him if they are eligible.

The sheer arrogance of progressives and their "details are for the little people" attitudes are simply amazing...

[Doctors soon to accept chickens and onions. Mebbe a little gasmoney.]

I believe that the doctor in one of the Little House's stories had a will with the standing record of time it took to resolve it for that state, because he'd taken a small fractional paper interest in sick people's land in payment.

[Carol Herman]

I'm sure the dem's spin rooms are very, very busy! But what if people can bide their time? And, then, on election day decide?

If you were in a Roman Forum you'd watch the crowds to see the "thumb actions."

By the way, those dems that want to get re-elected? You think they'll invite Barry to one of their fund raisers?

The "mistake" was to threaten people's pocketbooks.

Meanwhile, IF insurance rates go too high? And, people judge them unaffordable. You think all they'll do is just vote democraps out of office?

You may also want to notice that Mitch McConnell is a very ugly man who does nothing to attract voters to the GOP.

Heck, Mitt Romney, quite a good looking man, didn't invite the GOP win, either.

Starting in 2014 how many uninsured will there be?

Didn't Obama say his program would eliminate the 30-million who weren't in the system.

Now, how will insurance companies absorb all those with pre-existing conditions who are demanding coverage? Will taxes have to be raised to cover those bills?

[Extraneus]

The only way out of this horribly regrettable nightmare is through the ballot box and then in January 2017 unleash hell. Unadulterated hell.

I'm there, but what if no 2016 primary candidates who would actually follow through with that are "electable?"

Secession or revolution are all I can come up with.

[Beasts of England]

Just got another NYC update. Ex and daughters were filmed as part of a commercial for Nissan Taxis. Big yellow minivan. Sent me a photo with all the cameras, soundboards, lights. Too funny. Right in the middle if the street. In Chelsea, I think...

[Trolls Anonymous]

@ 5:19 - My, my, my, aren't we shallow and opinionated?

[pagar56]

"No reason to pretend anymore that the opposition is trying to protect the Country or the Constitution."

IMO, there has been none since John (Leading the protests in Favor of North Vietnam while North Vietnam is killing American Soldiers) Kerry was named Sec of State.

One of the reasons the leftists appear to win is:

http://www.mrc.org/articles/journalists-union-helped-push-nuclear-option-huffpo-admits

IMO, there is no way we can win until we get a media voice not controlled by the journalist union.

[Danube on iPad]

This delay seems a very odd move for a party that says it's going to campaign on Obamacare in 2014. At least that's what Pelosi and Debbie say.

[MaryD]

Excellent point, DoT, but we have to remember that they are both Bat-poop crazy, and Debbie is the love child of Baghdad Bob and Nancy.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

BoE-- look at that --your daughters come to the Big City and become celebs. Congrats.

[Thomas Collins]

Well, we'll see whether in a few hours my only Facebook friends are JOMers. I dared put the CNN article (see the link at narciso's 4:43 PM post) up on Facebook for all my Facebook friends with the "proper" coastal/upper crust urban opinions to see.

[Extraneus]

Obama Officials, Get This, Lied About Reason For Dropping Customer-Friendly Part of Healthcare.gov

They lied to Congress about the reason for dropping the "anonymous shopper" function, which would have allowed people to see the prices before entering their personal information.

Chao said he made the decision in conjunction with colleagues and testified before Congress last week that it was because the feature “failed so miserably that we could not conscionably let people use it.”

...

The source close to the project, however, said the anonymous shopper function did pass testing conducted in the weeks ahead of the HealthCare.gov launch.

...

The successful test occurred on September 17, according to a source familiar with the project. The next day, in an internal e-mail obtained by CNN, Chao wrote the shopper function “isn’t needed and thus should be removed.”

The simplest thing the website could have done was scrapped, because it supposedly didn't work.

A complete lie.

[Beasts of England]

Thanks, NK! Very fun...

[matt]

Cancelling price shopping on the internet would raise a major shitstorm, and yet these grifters blindly game the system to deceive and inveigle consumers.

As one of the most expensive and important purchases in one's life, transparency should be a given. Obama even promised it to us, even.

A tar & feather index would be a good addition to COMEX.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

I thought I remembered Chao testifying there was no way to get the shopping function --ANONYMOUS shopper-- on the Website, in fact he said it didn't work and it was a lie. Issa needs to refer this to Holder for perjury. Everytime one of thses grifters lies to Congress, refer it for perjury. After '14 elections Impeach Holder for dereliction for no prosecutions. Shit all over these bastards at every opportunity.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

BTW-- deleting the Shopper IMO proves that this whole thing is one big datamining project and voter grooming-- using MY Tax Dollars.

[Extraneus]

Well, we knew they did that. What we didn't know was which one of them should be targeted for assassination.

Ok, maybe just tar and feathers, but real tar and real feathers.

Those were the days.

[Jane-Rebel Alliance1]

But can insurers meet that deadline? Were they even consulted? Nobody knows.

The actual insurers deadline is in May. So the delay doesn't affect them at all.

[Old Lurker]

Well, you already know what I would do to Chao.

[Extraneus]

The Levin Plan

Thank you, Harry. You just showed the Senate Republicans how to repeal Obamacare. If they take the Senate in 2014, they should suspend the filibuster rule just long enough to allow their majority to repeal Obamacare by 51 votes as well as Dodd-Frank. And they can do it again in 2017 if they hold their majority.

The Democrats have violated longstanding rules and the Constitution to impose Obamacare on the nation. They've done the same now to flood the courts with radicals who'll receive lifetime appointments. Obama is ruling by executive fiat and bureaucratic regulations. We must recognize that we live in a post-constitutional period. The GOP must take steps to begin to blunt this lawlessness.

I mentioned this on yesterday's program and will elaborate further on this evening's show.

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

I'm with narc on the 4:57. Why is she doing this? It was a horribly distasteful thing that he did which deserves no response. What I would like her to do is respond to that gasbag, and fellow Fox employee, BOR for trashing her. All on the same team, right Bill?

[Porchlight]

Jane, I don't think that is correct. The deadline was that you had to be enrolled and have paid your first premium by December 15th in order to be covered on January 1st. That's according to all the reporting I've read and Healthcare.gov.

Now they've moved it to December 23rd.

Asked via email whether this change complicates matters for insurers, Robert Zirkelbach spokesman for the insurance industry group America’s Health Insurance Plans, responded, “It makes it more challenging to process enrollments in time for coverage to begin on January 1. Ultimately it will depend on how many people enroll in those last few days. It is also important to keep in mind that consumers need to pay their first month’s premium before their coverage can begin.”

[Extraneus]

link

[MarkO]

The rules of the game have changed. The GOP must play by those rules or lose.

There are no gentlemen on the other side. The truth is fungible. Because the House is the arbiter of its own rules, it should make up some good ones. The Courts will not intervene.

Find those areas that are non-justiciable and act in those spaces.

Come on, man.

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

Oh MarkO, didn't the Ted Cruz experience prove than only wacko birds do that?

[Jane-Rebel Alliance1]

Porch,

I'm talking about the next round - where notifications were supposed to go out before the election and the administration just postponed them. Their excuse is a lie (to give insurers more time) because insurers have to report in May.

Hope: PROF. JACOBSON: Democrats Nuked The Ratchet.

The seemingly inexorable march towards economic socialism and political statism has been accomplished through legislative and judicial ratchets which, once established, were all but impossible to reverse in part because the filibuster helped lock in the agenda and those supporting the agenda.

Because of the ratchet, the nation moved only in one direction: Towards redistribution of wealth, and bigger government.

Because of the ratchet, there was little or no hope of fundamental reversals.

Not anymore.

Well, then, the GOP just needs to take the Senate back. And the White House.

Dr. Krautheimer seems to believe this is permanent and he is close to giddy about it.

[narciso]

What is the proper answer to the honorable gentleman;

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2013/11/22/Dem-Senator-Says-Nuclear-Option-Will-Not-Create-Ill-Will-Between-Parties

[narciso]

Has Krauthammer thought at least two steps ahead, like Admiral Painter said about the Russians, they don't do anything without a plan;

http://www.jammiewf.com/2013/another-obamacare-victim-chief-of-hawaii-exchange-to-resign/

[Porchlight]

Thanks, Jane - sorry for my confusion. Hard not to be confused with these bastards changing everything at will nearly every day.

[narciso]

Yes, it was 'turtles all the way down'

http://twitchy.com/2013/11/21/sharyl-attkisson-traces-final-days-before-doomed-healthcare-gov-launch/

[MarkO]

Capt'n,

Without inciting yet another riot about Cruz, whom I support, the House has the votes to do whatever it wishes. It could use some rearranging, maybe new rules about powers of committees, maybe some penal power for perjury, maybe its own jail.

Think about it.

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

Tim "Bad Hair Life" Kaine is another example of Virginia being mostly people who make very strange choices.

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

I'm pretty sure the House has a jail.

[AliceH]

Moving the 2015 Open Enrollment to after the 2014 elections doesn't help insurers (much) because, as Jane points out, their deadline to submit pricing/plans to regulators for review was May 2014. I think they do get another month now, though - deadline of June 2014, and thus the regulators' deadline for finalizing plans is always pushed back a month. It's a reverse domino thing.

Personally, I think the reason for those 2014 deadline changes is more to do with the expectation that Ins Cos already in the exchanges are eyeing the exits, and those outside the exchanges still are more convinced then ever not to join. That is, the govt has some serious strong arming to do to avoid having huge areas of the country not having any Ins providers on the exchange at all.

[Jane-Rebel Alliance1]

Porch,

I'm usually the one confused, so I get that.

I don't think the right will reinstate the filibuster no matter what they say now.

[Ignatz]

--What is the proper answer to the honorable gentleman;--

The same one Cheney gave to the honorable Pat Leahy.

[whitehat]

In remembrance.

Report to the American People on Civil Rights

June 11, 1963

The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the Nation in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing a high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day, one-third as much chance of completing college, one-third as much chance of becoming a professional man, twice as much chance of becoming unemployed, about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year, a life expectancy which is 7 years shorter, and the prospects of earning only half as much.

This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics. This is not even a legal or legislative issue alone. It is better to settle these matters in the courts than on the streets, and new laws are needed at every level, but law alone cannot make men see right.

[whitehat]

Speech to Irish Parliament

June 28, 1963

The 13th day of September, 1862, will be a day long remembered in American history. At Fredericksburg, Maryland, thousands of men fought and died on one of the bloodiest battlefields of the American Civil War. One of the most brilliant stories of that day was written by a band of 1200 men who went into battle wearing a green sprig in their hats. They bore a proud heritage and a special courage, given to those who had long fought for the cause of freedom. I am referring, of course, to the Irish Brigade. General Robert E. Lee, the great military leader of the Southern Confederate Forces, said of this group of men after the battle, “The gallant stand which this bold brigade made on the heights of Fredericksburg is well known. Never were men so brave. They ennobled their race by their splendid gallantry on that desperate occasion. Their brilliant though hopeless assaults on our lines excited the hearty applause of our officers and soldiers.”.

[Ignatz]

--I'm pretty sure the House has a jail.--

Problem is it's empty.
The delightful Adam Cohen, still one of the dancing chimps, as narc would say, provides us with a useful primer on how to fill it. Of course he was hoping Pelosi Galore would fill it with Republicans at the time, so I'm sure none of it is applicable any longer if you were to ask Adam.

[Account Deleted]

The insurers will not hold their pricing secret from the policy holders they wish to retain, nor will they refrain from making current offerings known via eHealth and other venues in October.

We're going to have SarBox compliant reports on the impact of BOzocare from publicly held insurance companies beginning not later than the last week in January and repeated each quarter thereafter.

I can understand the futile desperation driving the Democrats to erratic behavior, bless their hearts, but the bell is going to toll anyway.

[whitehat]

Remarks Prepared for Delivery at Trade Mart, Dallas(Transcript)

November 22, 1963.

There will always be dissident voices heard in the land, expressing opposition without alternatives, finding fault but never favor, perceiving gloom on every side and seeking influence without responsibility…

But today other voices are heard in the land—voices preaching doctrines wholly unrelated to reality, wholly unsuited to the sixties, doctrines which apparently assume that words will suffice without weapons, that vituperation is as good as victory and that peace is a sign of weakness. At a time when the national debt is steadily being reduced in terms of its burden on our economy, they see that debt as the greatest single threat to our security.[Emphasis added.] At a time when we are steadily reducing the number of Federal employees serving every thousand citizens, they fear those supposed hordes of civil servants far more than the actual hordes of opposing armies.

We cannot expect that everyone, to use the phrase of a decade ago, will “talk sense to the American people.” But we can hope that fewer people will listen to nonsense…

[Jack is Back!]

From tonight's band concert at the tree lighting. Frederick is on the right playing alto sax and wearing the Christmas hat.

[Jack is Back!]

Let's try that again:)

[Jack is Back!]

I don't understand that first posting. When I refreshed and looked at it on the blog it was 3 times taller than wide and you coiuldn't see Frederick but now I resize it and both photos are the same. Weird.

[MaryD]

Jack -- thank you so much! That picture made my day.

[narciso]

Wonderful, JiB

the triumph of hope over experience;

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/11/22/is-an-iranian-nuclear-deal-imminent-again/

[Jack is Back!]

Can you all see Frederick in the Christmas hat next to the kid in glasses? I just refreshed and the photos are back to being tall and only the kid in glasses can be seen. Do not understand this at all.

[henry]

Both pics look fine. That kid has excellent glasses.

[Miss Marple]

I see Frederick in both pictures. It's a great shot and he looks so serious, concentrating on his music!

[Jack is Back!]

Can you all see two kids playing sax. I just went to Chrome and its the same. Only one kid in glasses playing sax but I can't see Frederick.

[Miss Marple]

I see both kids.

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

Mark, as a first step, and this is long overdue, Boehner should use whatever tools he has at his disposal and which DoT can't remember, to stop the JEF from rewriting laws.

Gaylord Focker hasn't ever left being a community organizer behind. That horrible presser he gave a week ago may as well have been to some local group for which he promised a lot and delivered next to nothing. He does nothing but screw things up but nobody calls him out for it. It's time to play hardball.

[henry]

Both sax players, & the clarinet on the left.

[narciso]

He does make some good points, yes I know his conflicts of interest;

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304337404579211742820387758

[Jim Miller]

Mitch McConnell had polio when he was a kid, so he may be less graceful now because of that.

He had triple bypass surgery in 2003, too.

[narciso]

F Chuck is as usual wrong, and Taranto explains why;

"This has been something that many in the activist base of the Democratic Party have been wanting Harry Reid to do for a while," he continued. "So, I think this is also about a moment of reassurance to the Democratic base who is feeling a little bit, you know, under attack and under siege a little bit because of how poorly the health care rollout is going."

[Jack is Back!]

That is strange. I have now gone to Firefox and its the same as Chrome and Safari. Yet the rest of you see him but not me:(

[narciso]

When the Post gets bought out from a decent oligarch, when Bezos dumps it, there will be a whole new set of chimps;

Obama's problem with messaging is not the only consequence of a schedule crowded with ceremonial events and the delicate politics of Iran's nuclear program. He also faces a problem with consistency.

[daddy]

An amazingly beautiful shot overtop Saturn from Cassini:

Saturn from Cassini.

[narciso]

Not so perky now, are you?

http://www.deadline.com/2013/11/abc-news-parts-company-with-katie-couric/

[Beasts of England]

Nice pic, JiB!

[Danube on iPad]

I don't quite understand the Levin Plan. A GOP Senate could vote for repeal on the first day of the 2015 session, but it would be nothing more than symbolic (which might be a good thing) so long as Obama is president. It would not repeal the law.

I am trying to think of retaliatory moves the House might make. Unfortunately, I just don't know enough about parliamentary crap to have any ideas.

They do have a jail in the basement of the capitol, which I believe has not been used in 70 years or so. What I would recommend is the creation of a House Commando Squad that would be dispatched to seize Harry Reid, tie him to a tree and horsewhip him. Then let those assholes figure out who has standing.

[boatbuilder]

I'm not entirely sure that Dr. K. is right, but I generally trust his judgment more than my own in these matters, and if he is right then go with it.

However, if the Republicans truly consider the death of the filibuster to be a Constitutional violation and a threat to the future of the Republic, then I suggest an immediate measure in the House to defund not just the judges appointed with fewer than 60 votes, but to defund EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE ESSENTIALS (military, entitlements, etc.) and not to consider any new funding legislation until and unless Harry Reid gets with the program. Why the hell not?

[Account Deleted]

The majority in the House has complete discretion and control over the House budget and minority membership on committees. The majority can cut or eliminate money for minority staff and can eliminate the minority from membership on committees.

It's a two edged sword but Boehner should take a few swings with it and tell Botoxica to take it up with the Searchlight Pederast if she doesn't like it.

[narciso]

Do they understand this, boatbuilder, that is not at all, clear, McConnell for one, how did the reading material go.

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

Keep the pressure on, DoT. Every time the JEF vetoes a repeal of an increasingly unpopular law, a new set of Senators is put on the spot. Reagan had to deal with a donk House when his tax cuts passed; he was able to apply pressure on the right people because popular opinion was on his side.

There's no reason whomever would head up a Republican majority Senate couldn't do the same thing because his mere existence means the new minority party members left in office have one foot on a banana peel and the other on a trap door when it comes to facing the voters.

[Jane on Ipad hi there NSA]

I think the House should defund HHS, and the DC Courts, and maybe the Senate too.