Wednesday, October 02, 2013

MSNBC 'journalist' tries in vain to sign up for Obamacare - hilarity ensues

Politics: MSNBC 'journalist' tries in vain to sign up for Obamacare - hilarity ensues | Best of Cain:
"So, MSNBC anchor and journalist, Mara Schiavocampo, was told to get on the exchange website and explain just how simple signing up for the new system is.

...then it crashed.

...then she called the help line, where she couldn't get any help.

...then she was trapped in voice-mail hell.

...then she spent a half hour on hold.

....then she got frustrated and gave up.

"At this point," Schiavocampo said, "I'm going to hang up and call it a day. If I were signing up for myself, this is where my patience would be exhausted.""

Movin’ on out… of Illinois

Champion News | Movin’ on out… of Illinois:
"For Illinois, the share of outbound moves in total shipments has consistently been above 50 percent, meaning more households are moving out of state than into the state.
Since 2006, that outbound shipments percentage has trended higher, and in 2011, Illinois “led” the nation on this metric, ranking as the No. 1 state.
It slipped to No. 2 in 2012, barely trailing New Jersey (coincidentally, another state with pressing government fiscal strains).
The accelerating outmigration from Illinois isn’t just a Midwest-to-Sunbelt issue.  
For example, chart here shows how Indiana has seen significant improvement since 2009 – in part as outmigration from Illinois has included moves to Indiana."

The "Greatest Generation" and then there are these guys....WWII veterans storm D.C. memorial closed by government shutdown

WWII veterans storm D.C. memorial closed by government shutdown - News - Stripes:
"WASHINGTON — Wheelchair-bound elderly veterans pushed aside barricades to tour the World War II Memorial Tuesday morning, in defiance of the government shutdown which closed all of the memorials in the nation’s capital.

The four bus loads of veterans — visiting from Mississippi as part of a once-in-a-lifetime Honor Flight tour — ignored National Park Police instructions not to enter the site as lawmakers and tourists cheered them on.

“We didn’t come this far not to get in,” one veteran proclaimed.

The scene was both emotional and comical at once.
After it was clear they had lost control of the situation, Park Police officials stood aside, telling press that they had “asked for guidance on how to respond” to the breach of security."

WWII Vets Knock Over Shutdown Barrier to Visit Memorial

WWII Vets Knock Over Shutdown Barrier to Visit Memorial | Washington Free Beacon:
 "A group of World War II veterans in an Honor Flight group Tuesday knocked over barriers imposed during the government shutdown at the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C., to get inside.

Why The Federal Government Wants To Redefine The Word 'Cancer'

Why The Federal Government Wants To Redefine The Word 'Cancer' - Forbes:
"The federal government wants to reduce the number of Americans diagnosed each year with cancer.
But not by better preventive care or healthier living.
Instead, the government wants to redefinethe term “cancer” so that fewer conditions qualify as a true cancer. 
What does this mean for ordinary Americans — and should we be concerned?

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

EPA official who faked CIA ties takes the Fifth -Keeps pension

EPA official who faked CIA ties takes the Fifth - Erica Martinson - POLITICO.com:
"The former senior EPA adviser who stole $900,000 from taxpayers while posing as a CIA agent pleaded the Fifth on Tuesday morning — shortly before House members expressed outrage upon learning that he’s still due to get his government pension."

Doh!....Search | HealthCare.gov

Well, the Obamacare checkin system is down so I tried the helpful "search" function......
I have Dupuytren's disease.
Had 14 hand surgeries.
Got some serious gimp-fingers.
I guess I'm gonna need a bigger healthcare plan......

Search | HealthCare.gov














Yerrrrr OUT!-First day batting average for online Obamacare applications

First day batting average for online Obamacare applications: .000 - Health Exchange - MarketWatch: "President Barack Obama was right when he said there would be a few glitches when signups for the Affordable Care Act began on Tuesday — there were at least 51 of them.

A quick check of all the state Web sites where exchanges have been set up — plus the HealthCare.gov site that will service three-fourths of the country — shows that it was virtually impossible to sign up on the first day."

Health Insurance Marketplace: Please wait

Health Insurance Marketplace: Please wait

Even computers on furlough-Dept. of Ed Shuts Down Web Site. Common Core Hearing Tomorrow

Dept. of Ed Shuts Down Web Site. Common Core Hearing Tomorrow:
"The Michigan Department of Education's website is expected to go dark today because the Legislature has failed to act on allowing the department to spend money to implement the Common Core State Standards, which are integrated throughout the site.

In a memo that went out to school administrators statewide Monday, MDE officials said the site -www.michigan.gov/mde - has to be taken down....

...."If we cannot expend funds on any information, or support and assistance to local schools, then we have to scrub our entire website and restore pages as they are deemed fit," State Superintendent Mike Flanagan said in the Monday memo."

Commander-in-chief cancels football games tellin' us who's boss-BIG TIME

Government shutdown threatens cancellation of college football games involving service academies - ESPN:
"Two college football games on Saturday -- Air Force at Navy and Army at Boston College -- are in danger of being canceled due to the government shutdown caused when Congress did not pass a spending bill to fund the government.
The Department of Defense announced Tuesday that it has temporarily suspended all sports contests at the nation's service academies due to the impasse, which put 800,000 federal workers on furlough."

Trees petrified! US Forest Services non-essential services reduced!

See how the Muskegon area is being affected by federal government shutdown | MLive.com:
"“Due to the lapse in federal government funding, the U.S. Forest Service, as with other federal agencies, is closed with the exception of certain essential services,” the forests' staff wrote in a statement on the forests' website."

Too broke to fix roads, help kids in Detroit but lots of moolah for the rich counties-Michigan budget extends dental care to 64,000 kids

Michigan budget extends dental care to 64,000 kids | Crain's Detroit Business:
"LANSING — About half of Michigan's Medicaid-eligible children and young adults now qualify for dental coverage.

An additional 64,000 kids in Ingham, Ottawa and Washtenaw counties are included in the Healthy Kids Dental program in the state budget that took effect today.

The program is available to a half-million enrollees under age 21 in 78 of Michigan's 83 counties.
It remains unavailable to nearly a half-million poor kids in heavily populated Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Kent and Kalamazoo counties."

Black-hole eruption nearby is a warning for us all

Black-hole eruption nearby is a warning for us all - opinion - 30 September 2013 - New Scientist
We might take it as further evidence of the precariousness of our existence: how the universe teems with threats, some still unsuspected, that might wipe us out in an instant. 
Had our planet orbited a star closer to the Milky Way's black hole, it would have been bathed in radiation – probably killing off our ancestors.

Fraud firm gets OK to sign people up for ObamaCare

Fraud firm gets OK to sign people up for ObamaCare | New York Post:
"Rampant fraud on a New York City contract last year didn’t stop a major nonprofit from landing a slew of federal contracts to sign people up for ObamaCare.
Seedco, a New York-based community-development organization, was sued by the federal government for faking at least 1,400 of 6,500 job placements under a $22.2 million federally funded contract with the city.
Eighteen months later, the feds and Seedco are teaming up again, this time to help medical-insurance seekers maneuver through the maze that is the Affordable Health Care Act."

The answer-It ain't our money....Government shutdown won't be felt in Detroit -- as long as it ends quickly...

Government shutdown won't be felt in Detroit -- as long as it ends quickly, state says | Crain's Detroit Business:
"But if it drags on longer there will no doubt be ramifications as more than 40 percent of the state's roughly $50 billion budget is made up of federal funding."

The religion of "peace"........Arifa Bibi Stoned To Death in Pakistan for Possessing a Cell Phone

Arifa Bibi Stoned To Death in Pakistan for Possessing a Cell Phone:
"“Stoning is a cruel and hideous punishment,” said Shameem.
“It is a form of torturing someone to death.
It is one of the most brutal forms of violence perpetrated against women in order to control and punish their sexuality and basic freedoms.”"

Dallas Acquires MRAP Armored Vehicle As Militarization Of Police Continues

Dallas Acquires MRAP Armored Vehicle As Militarization Of Police Continues - Investors.com:
"In early August, a SWAT team broke through the gates of a 3.5-acre farm in Arlington, Texas, that promotes a sustainable lifestyle and did a 10-hour search of the property. Residents were handcuffed and held at gunpoint as police looked for nonexistent marijuana plants and various city code violations.

As the owners watched, 10 tons of their private property was hauled off in trucks — dangerous items such as blackberry bushes, okra, tomatillo plants, native grasses and sunflowers that provided food and bedding for animals, everything from furniture to compost.

The city said the code citations were issued to the farm after complaints by neighbors "concerned that the conditions" at the farm "interfere with the useful enjoyment of their properties and are detrimental to property values and community appearance."

Do they not understand we're BROKE?!!!!

Tax increase for Muskegon County-wide school technology likely on February ballot | MLive.com:
"The February date was chosen so as not to interfere with a millage request from Muskegon Community College, Sipka said.
The college is asking voters on Nov. 5 to approve $24 million in improvements, which will include some sort of a presence in downtown Muskegon."

For Well Connected Cronies Only...

90 Miles From Tyranny : For Well Connected Cronies Only...: