You Helped Pay The Tab on a $22,000 Portrait of Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack

Via Cousin John

 

Or, is it our children who will not only pay for the portrait, but the interest on the loan taken out to pay for it:

It’s not always easy to tell who’s coming or going as the Obama administration starts its second term, but multiple agencies have quietly commissioned artists to paint official portraits of Cabinet secretaries and other top appointees — an expenditure often seen when officials are on the way out the door or already gone.

The Environmental Protection Agency spent nearly $40,000 on a portrait of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, while a painting of Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley will cost $41,200, according to federal purchasing records. The price tag for a 3-by-4-foot oil portrait of Agriculture Department Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack: $22,500.
All told, the government has paid out at least $180,000 for official portraits since last year, according to a review by The Washington Times of spending records at federal agencies and military offices across government.

Brilliant.

Meanwhile, over at Reason:

More @ Liberty News

PHC Offers Samuel Adams Scholarship for Journalism

Abigail Pilgrim

  travels the globe as an Associate Producer for National Geographic Television. 

Patrick Henry College is offering aspiring Christian journalism students the opportunity of a lifetime.
Up to three scholarships are available to students planning to major in journalism. The major award will be between $7,000 and $10,000, granted annually for four years. This is for well-qualified applicants who can demonstrate interest and talent in journalism through reporting or editing experience. Have you interned at your local newspaper, written for a news website, worked on your school newspaper, or designed your homeschool association’s newsletter? You might well qualify for this award.

We also have two smaller awards of up to $5,000, also granted annually for four years, for applicants who show excellent potential for careers in journalism but do not yet have much experience. We’re looking for students whose applications show excellent writing ability, a keen intellect, and a strong desire to serve society through journalism.

These privately funded scholarships will make it more financially viable for talented, dedicated young people to take advantage of the unique education opportunities available to Journalism students at PHC. The application deadline for the Samuel Adams Scholarship is January 1, 2013.

Why Study Journalism at PHC?

Founded in 2000, Patrick Henry College is known for its Christian
classical liberal arts approach and emphasis on apprenticeship methodology. This prepares students well for excellence in writing and reporting as well as communication disciplines such as public relations.

The Journalism major prepares Christian students to be outstanding journalists and communications professionals, equipped with a biblically-based philosophy of journalism and the skills, knowledge and experience they will need to compete effectively for positions in a rapidly-changing media environment. On campus, they learn their craft through the hands-on production of online and print news publications, podcasting and other fast-changing new media technologies. Our Journalism majors have gone on to work for National Geographic, Fox NewsChannel 8 in D.C. and local and national print and web publications.

We are very excited to announce that PHC students will have exclusive opportunities to intern at WORLD Magazine. Dr. Marvin Olasky, editor-in-chief of WORLD and a well-known conservative scholar and author, has joined the faculty of PHC as Professor of Journalism.  His wife Susan Olasky, a Senior Writer at WORLD, will serve as Assistant Professor of Public Policy.  They will continue to live in Asheville, N.C., but will regularly be on the PHC campus.

Samuel Adams Scholarship Application Process

More @ PHC

Lessons and Carols returns to PHC Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.

A beautiful tradition at Patrick Henry College for the past six years will return Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. in the The Barbara Hodel Center. Help us kick off the holiday season by joining us for this poignant celebration of the “Word made flesh,” the traditional Lessons & Carols service of carols and readings presented by the PHC Chorale that tells the story of the coming of the Savior. The service will be webcast live, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET.

More @ Patrick Henry College

Allen West concedes to Patrick Murphy

After the partial recount he only needed another .08 to trigger an automatic recount of the complete election. He states he didn't think a further recount would have given him a win, but he didn't need to win it at that point, only receive enough to force the whole election to be recounted with nothing to lose except his backer's money which might have been the problem.  Strange, up 2,000 and then they do a partial recount in the midst of the election and he's down 2,500.

==============

Florida Rep. Allen West — the tea party pugilist and face of the class of House Republicans that stormed to power two years ago — conceded Tuesday to 29-year-old construction executive Patrick Murphy in one of the nation’s highest-profile congressional races.

After two weeks of battle with St. Lucie County elections officials — and a recount of early votes that wound up extending Murphy’s lead — West acknowledged that he couldn’t surmount his 1,904-vote, or 0.58 percent, deficit. That difference was just outside the 0.5 percent threshold to automatically trigger a recount of all votes.

More @ Politico

Economist: US GDP Growth ‘Is Gone Forever’

 

British investor and economist Jeremy Grantham is regarded as a highly knowledgeable investor in various stock, bond, and commodity markets, and is particularly noted for his prediction of various bubbles. He has recently released his forecast for America’s economic future. According to Grantham’s report, the once normal annual GDP rate of growth of 3% “is gone forever.”

Grantham writes,

The U.S. GDP growth rate that we have become accustomed to for over a hundred years – in excess of 3% a year – is not just hiding behind temporary setbacks. It is gone forever. Yet most business people (and the Fed) assume that economic growth will recover to its old rates.

He goes on to state that “GDP growth (conventionally measured) for the U.S. is likely to be about only 1.4% a year and adjusted growth about 0.9%.”

In addition to that Grantham also points out that population growth is down and will only grow at a crawling rate of one half of one percent and with more women moving into the work force and that cultures disregard for children it could slow further.

In addition Grantham points out that resource costs have been rising and will continue to escalate higher. He writes:

More @ Freedom Outpost

Comment on : You’re Not Free If You Can’t Secede From an Oppressive Government

You’re Not Free If You Can’t Secede From an Oppressive Government

 

Anonymous November 20, 2012 9:10 PM

I am an American who grew up loving his country.

I believed from a political standpoint, that defending this country against all comers was most important.

I am a patriot, and have served my country in the US Navy, as a submariner.

And I signed the petition to PEACEFULLY secede from the corrupt kleptocracy the so-called government has become.

We have already tried the incorporation scheme, obviating the Republic. The corporation's performance failures are painfully evident, in that overall, it has become a tyranny, that oppresses rather than protects We The People of this once-great nation and spreads its errors and terror all around the world, to order, of the dark cabal which owns it.

The corporation has failed. It must be removed and the rightful, and lawful government of the Republic per the Constitution be re-instated. We are NOT wishing to secede from that original form, rather, we want a divorce from the usurper that has infiltrated and taken over. And that usurper, by the "law" they created, only has jurisdiction in Washington DC, but has unlawfully extended itself into our lives and turned them upside down. We are NOT seceding from each other, in the several states, we are seceding from the evil criminal organization that has shown itself in Washington DC and without right or law, has assumed tyrannical dominance over the several states.

From the very beginning, the nation state republics formed a "perpetual union", meaning that union would stand, but the rights of sovereignty were retained, as agreed by all the states joining. What right does then a criminal corporation that seeks to suck out our substance have to rule over us in this tyranny far worse than any Crown has heaped upon us at any point in our history?

That is what the secession movement is about. It is not Anti Obama based on his ethnicity or religious background. This is true because the patriots who are expressing their dissatisfaction with the tyrannical corporation do not care about ethnicity. Obama could be purple for all we care, because we would love him dearly if he fulfilled his oath, and conducted his administration in keeping with all articles of the Constitution. Do you understand this distinction?

Thus, it is not anti Obama specifically; it is anti corporate beast, and Obama so happens to be employed by the beast. If it was anyone else, doing the same things, our outrage wouldn't be any the less piqued. This is an important part for Obama supporters to understand. Their support and allegiance has been misplaced, because for the love of an impossibly immature idea, they over-look a host of faults and failings because denial of the failings is so much easier than confronting them so they can be corrected.

There was patriotic outrage (not the vicious false attacks in the mainstream media) at the failings of the Bush administrations, both Presidents Bush, which was conveniently swept away and ignored, but make no mistake, both have been criminal, and their actions set the stage for Obama to come in and finish the job. These are patriotic presidents? I think not!

But as I said above, this is the nature of the beast. It is what we can expect it to do so long as we continue allowing it to exist. We can do better, and for the sake of our children, we have to do better. This has been an explanation of what the secession movement is about. I don't care which side of the divide you place yourself with respect to this movement, but hopefully, this has helped you to see either side of this issue and realize it is far more complex than and 2D definition people want to label this with.

2012 Junior 2 Division National SHAG Dance Champions

Via DailyTimewaster 

They are good!  Strange that the Shag is only popular on the coast of Southern North Carolina and Northern South Carolina. 

 Memories Beach Club: Atlantic Beach, NC: Beach Music and Shag

Preparation

Via Ten Smiths

Caught On Camera: Woman Goes Into Cardiac Arrest During Traffic Stop

Via Don

A video taken by the California Highway Patrol may be the first time a camera has captured all of the events leading up to a cardiac arrest following the use of a TASER® electronic control device.

On June 4, CHP officers stopped to check on the welfare of 50-year-old Angela Jones after finding her sitting in a parked vehicle on Haskell Avenue, near the Ventura (101) Freeway.

A camera mounted on the officers’ car captured the incident.

“How much have you had to drink tonight?” an officer asked the Studio City resident.

“Nothing,” Jones said.

“Nothing?” the officer responded. “What about medication or drugs?”

Officers questioned Jones for 15 minutes, suspecting she might be under the influence, and then asked to look through her purse.

“I just don’t feel like I want you to take my purse from me,” Jones said.

She held her purse tightly to her chest and ran back to her vehicle.

According to the arrest report, the CHP officer hit the trigger on his TASER® X-26 TM three times, sending three separate jolts into Jones’ chest.

“Do not move! Do not move! Stop moving!” the officer can be heard yelling.

The officers then pulled the driver out of the car, placed her on the sidewalk and realized she wasn’t breathing.

“Do you have a pulse?” one officer asked.

“Subject is unresponsive,” the other officer said.

One officer began performing CPR and Jones was revived.

Heart surgeon Dr. Kathy Magliato said Jones is lucky to be alive.

More @ CBS

Exceptional Cased Colt Model 1860 Army Percussion Revolver With Documentation Of Shipment to Richmond, Va., Four Days After the Firing on Fort Sumter.

 

Serial no. 2789, .44 caliber, 7 ½-inch barrel with single-line New York address. Blued finish. Fluted cylinder. Blued screws. Case-hardened lever, hammer and 4-screw frame. Recoil shields rebated at bottom for shoulder stock. Blued screws. Frame marked: Colts Patent. Brass triggerguard, the left side stamped: "E". Blued steel backstrap.

One-piece walnut grips. Contained in original dusty rose velvet-lined, partitioned, keyed Colt walnut case together with correct accoutrements for this model, including: fine brass and copper Colts' Patent "Stand of Flags and Cannon" powder flask; Blued two-cavity Colts' Patent .44 caliber bullet mold with integral sprue cutter; unopened and shrink-wrapped Eley japanned cap tin with mottled paper wrap and crisp white paper lid label; original shrink-wrapped pack of .44 caliber skin cartridges; blued "L" shaped nipple wrench, 5 extra nipples and case key.

Sold together with Colt factory letter confirming configuration [type of stocks not listed] and shipment to Peter Williams & Co., Richmond, Va., April 15, 1861 in a shipment of 50 guns. According to page 67 of The Book of Colt Firearms by Sutherland and Wilson, 

"Colt's final shipment South was on April 15, 1861-just four days after Fort Sumter had been fired upon and the same day after Colt's efforts were directed at supplying the Union with weapons..." 

Condition: Excellent. Retaining approximately 90-95% finish with scattered light wear present. Grips near mint with minor bruises present on butt. Action crisp. Case excellent with minor hairline crack in lid, fading to interior and light wear present. Minor chip to upper right partition wall near hammer location. Accoutrements are all fine to excellent, superb, showing light wear and patina. A nicer ensemble of this type, with these accessories would be difficult to locate. 

-- Estimate: $80,000 - $100,000.

More @ Heritage Auctions

Fox News' 'Hannity' to Air One-Hour 'District of Corruption' Special on Thanksgiving

 

Fox News' "Hannity" on Thursday at 9 p.m. eastern will air a one-hour special about the "District of Corruption" movie and the permanent political class and crony capitalism on both sides of the aisle the film exposes and indicts.

The film, “District of Corruption,” directed by Stephen K. Bannon and produced by Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton and Victory Film Group, traces the roots of the modern disenchantment with the political system back to the Clinton administration, which shamelessly commercialized government. This continued under George W. Bush's administration. And the Obama administration has put crony capitalism on steroids.

The Thanksgiving evening special on "Hannity" will have panelists discussing some of the Obama administration's biggest scandals, such as Fast and Furious, green boondoggles like Solyndra, the politicization of the Department of Justice not limited to voter intimidation cases, and bailouts to Wall Street cronies.

Most of these scandals would not have seen the light of day had it not been for Judicial Watch, the watchdog organization that has been relentless in its pursuit of the truth and documents that administrations from both sides of the aisle have tried desperately to hide. This is detailed extensively in the film.

More @ Breitbart

You’re Not Free If You Can’t Secede From an Oppressive Government

Via midnightrider

LRC 

VERBATIM

by Ron Paul

Is all the recent talk of secession mere sour grapes over the election or perhaps something deeper? Currently there are active petitions in support of secession for all 50 states, with Texas taking the lead in number of signatures. Texas has well over the number of signatures needed to generate a response from the administration, and while I wouldn’t hold my breath on Texas actually seceding, I believe these petitions raise a lot of worthwhile questions about the nature of our union.

Is it treasonous to want to secede from the United States? Many think the question of secession was settled by our Civil War. On the contrary, the principles of self-government and voluntary association are at the core of our founding. Clearly, Thomas Jefferson believed secession was proper, albeit as a last resort. Writing to William Giles in 1825 he concluded that states “should separate from our companions only when the sole alternatives left are the dissolution of our union with them, or submission to a government without limitation of powers.”

Keep in mind that the first and third paragraph of the Declaration of Independence expressly contemplate the dissolution of a political union when the underlying government becomes tyrannical. Do we have a government without limitation of powers yet? The federal government kept the union together through violence and force in the Civil War, but did might really make right?

Secession is a deeply American principle. This country was born through secession. Some thought it was treasonous to secede from England, but those “traitors” became our country’s greatest patriots. There is nothing treasonous or unpatriotic about wanting a federal government that is more responsive to the people it represents. That is what our revolutionary war was all about and today, our own federal government is vastly overstepping its constitutional bounds with no signs of reform. In fact, the recent election only further entrenched the status quo.

If the possibility of secession is completely off the table there is nothing to stop the federal government from continuing to encroach on our liberties, and no recourse for those who are sick and tired of it. Consider the ballot measures that passed in Colorado and Washington state regarding marijuana laws. The people in those states have clearly indicated that they are ready to try something different where drug policy is concerned, yet they will still face a tremendous threat from the federal government. In California the feds have been arresting peaceful medical marijuana users and raiding dispensaries that state and local governments have sanctioned. This shouldn’t happen in a free country!

It remains to be seen what will happen in states that are refusing to comply with deeply unpopular mandates of Obamacare by not setting up healthcare exchanges. It appears the federal government will not respect those decisions either.

In free country governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed. When the people have very clearly withdrawn their consent for a law, the discussion should be over. If the feds refuse to accept that and continue to run roughshod over the people, at what point do we acknowledge that that is not freedom anymore? At what point should a people dissolve the political bands which have connected them with an increasingly tyrannical and oppressive federal government? And if people or states are not free to leave the United States as a last resort, can they really think of themselves as free? If a people cannot secede from an oppressive government they cannot truly be considered free.

How Obama Will Ban Guns without Congressional Approval

Via midnightrider

 

In Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Purloined Letter”, the criminal fools the police by hiding the stolen letter in plain sight.  While the police were expecting all these elaborate twists and turns, the thief just cleverly disguised his crime simply so that nearly none could deduce it.

So too, does President Obama plan on banning guns in such an outright simple way.  And in so doing making it all the more nefarious.

Will Obama try to continue to push for the UN Arms Trade Treaty that will cripple the industry and force a national firearms registration for all participants of said treaty?  Yes.

Will Obama continue to pack the courts with militantly anti-gun judges?  Yes.

But these are just misdirection.  Because, while Second Amendment activists can rouse the masses and fight against such moves by entreating our Senators against such madness, Obama will quietly be changing the rules to which he need not seek permission from anyone.

The law he would utilize is all ready on the books and will undermine the 2nd Amendment by criminalizing millions of guns currently in the possession of law abiding citizens.

I speak of the Gun Control Act of 1968.  How can Obama accomplish the banning of so many guns?  Simple…he will just reclassify them.  All Obama has to do is instruct the BATF to classify semiautomatic firearms and multiple capacity ammunition feeding devices as Title 2 National Firearms Act items under the Gun Control Act of 1968.

Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968 is a revision of the National Firearms Act of 1934, and pertains to machine guns, short or “sawed-off” shotguns and rifles, and so-called “destructive devices” (including grenades, mortars, rocket launchers, large projectiles, and other heavy ordnance). Acquisition of these weapons is subject to prior approval of the Attorney General, and federal registration is required for possession. Generally, a $200 tax is imposed upon each transfer or making of any Title II weapon.

With the reclassification of so called “Assault Rifles” and large capacity magazines to fall under Title II, the Federal Government can all but ban outright millions upon millions of guns.

More @ GOA

Flying Camera From Animal Rights Group Shot Down at Pigeon Shoot

Via Don

 

Police are investigating an incident at a Berks County hunting club in which someone on the hunting grounds allegedly targeted a mechanical flying object rather than a living and breathing one.

SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) are in the midst of a campaign against the Wing Pointe commercial hunting grounds in Hamburg, Berks County and its live pigeon shoots in which the birds are shot down. SHARK began to use an “Octocopter,” a remote controlled flying machine with a high tech video camera, to secretly record the pigeon shoots as they happen. 

"The pigeon shooters are basically going into hiding," said Steve Hindi, president of SHARK. "So they're using a ring that's up a hill and completely surrounded by trees. So the only way you can get to it is through the air."

The drone, nicknamed “Angel,” was recording a live pigeon shoot on Sunday around 3 p.m. when investigators say it was suddenly struck by gunfire.

More @ NBC 10

The fiscal cliff: While the government teeters, investment jumps off

Excellent news, everybody: American businesses are now scaling back on investment plans at the fastest pace since the official recession — and seeing as how investment is a very basic and key driver of economic growth, I’d say that that doesn’t bode too well for our weaksauce ‘recovery.’ Who could’ve seen this coming?

Half of the nation’s 40 biggest publicly traded corporate spenders have announced plans to curtail capital expenditures this year or next, according to a review by The Wall Street Journal of securities filings and conference calls.

Nationwide, business investment in equipment and software—a measure of economic vitality in the corporate sector—stalled in the third quarter for the first time since early 2009. Corporate investment in new buildings has declined. …

Corporate executives say they are slowing or delaying big projects to protect profits amid easing demand and rising uncertainty. Uncertainty around the U.S. elections and federal budget policies also appear among the factors driving the investment pullback since midyear. It is unclear whether Washington will avert the so-called fiscal cliff, tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to begin Jan. 2.

Companies fear that failure to resolve the fiscal cliff will tip the economy back into recession by sapping consumer spending, damaging investor confidence and eating into corporate profits. A deal to avert the cliff could include tax-code changes, such as revamping tax breaks or rates, that hurt specific sectors.

More @ Hot Air

Half Your Paycheck To The Government In 2013

All told, next year, total taxes will go to almost 50% for the middle class; the very group that the president says he wants to protect. That means 50 cents out of every dollar earned has to go to the government. Half of everything will go to an entity that didn't earn that money, and shouldn't be entitled to all that dough.

Unbelievable. You think most Americans agree that's fair?

I don't think so.

More @ Gerri Willis

Day 7 of the Gaza War 20-Nov-2012

9:05 PM At this point 56,000 reserve soldiers have been called up to military duty.

8:25 PM A female driver was shot near the Husan bypass near Beitar Ilit in a drive-by shooting. Medical forces are treating her on site, but she is in serious condition. UPDATE: Injuries caused by rock attack, not shooting.

8:00 PM Permitted for release: Reserve soldier killed by mortar fire in Eshkol region.

7:51 PM Netivot and S'de Negev now under rocket fire.

7:45PM A total of 8 rockets were fired at Be'er Sheva. 3 were shot down by the Iron Dome system.

7:33 PM  Four rockets fall in Be'er Sheva. Sirens in Be'er Tuvia, Ashkelon, Kiryat Melachi. One rocket falls in built up area, no injuries.

7:32 PM Senior Israeli sources deny that there is any agreement on a cease fire.
  
7:09 PM Photo of building hit by Gazan Fajr5 rocket in Rishon LeZion.

 

More @ Muqata

Secession in These United States

Via Horace

Survival

VERBATIM

In response to the article involving the constitutionality of secession, a few other points to consider to perhaps gain a clearer view of the secession situation.  Understanding the individual states sovereignty in relation to the United states government is crucial.

1.  Abraham Lincoln claimed that the Union preceded the states which gave the Federal government authority over the states.  This view is incorrect as the original 13 colonies adopted the Articles of Confederation in which each state retained its freedom, independence, and sovereignty.  Each state delegated a portion of its sovereignty to the Union, thereby making the Union a creature of the state, not the other way around.  Further each state was by name acknowledged as free, independent, and sovereign in the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

2.  Sovereignty is indivisible.  A portion of a states authority, or power may be delegated as is seen in the 9th and 10th amendments to the Constitution.  But the sovereign state retains the right to recall its authority otherwise it is no longer sovereign.  "The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."- 10th amendment. In Chisholm v. Georgia (1793) the court found "To the Constitution of the United States the term sovereign, is totally unknown.  There is but one place where it could have been used with propriety.  But, even in that place it would not, perhaps, have comported with the delicacy of those, who ordained and established that Constitution.  They might have announced themselves "sovereign" people of the United States:  But serenely conscious of the fact, they avoided the ostentatious declaration....Let a State be considered as subordinate to the People:  But let every thing else be subordinate to the State".- Chisolm v. Georgia, 2 US 419

3.  Shortly after the ratification of the Constitution, the federal government began its encroachment upon the states.  With the passage of the Sedition Act in 1798,  Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, (creator of the Virginia plan which evolved into the Constitution), were asked by the state of Kentucky and Virginia to  author the "Kentucky and Virginia Resolves of 1798" which nullified the enforcement of the Sedition Act within their states.  All three branches of the Federal government had conspired against the people of the states in violating their right to freedom of speech and press.  The sovereign authority of the states of Kentucky and Virginia interposed between the citizens of these states and the Federal government.

4.  For those states which were admitted into the Union who were not participants in the ratification, the equal footing doctrine would apply basically stating that all states shared the same powers and sovereignty as the original thirteen.  See: Pollard v. Hagan, and Permoli v. First Municipality of New Orleans.

5.  This now brings us to Texas v. White.  This case was decided on a 5-3 vote.  The 5 who voted as a majority were Lincoln appointees.  One of the three dissenters Justice Robert Cooper Grier, an appointee to the court by President Polk in 1846, called Chief Justice Chases opinion a "legal fiction" as he considered Texas to not be a state in the union at the time this case was being decided.  Further  Chief Justice Chase should have recused himself from this case do to himself being involved in the case in 1862 as secretary of the treasury.  There are many more details involved in this case in which one who is interested in further details should consult John Avery Emison, Ph.D. book called Lincoln Über Alles: Dictatorship Comes to America.

In conclusion,  as one searches out the true history of the formation of our Federal government through the eyes of the anti-federalists who foretold with incredible accuracy the results of adopting this contract known as the Constitution with its inherent flaws, one of which would be a supreme court which could interpret its own actions and laws within itself.  A court which eventually saw its actions as sovereign having no higher authority to hold them in check.  Is it any wonder that we should have such absurd decisions as that found in Texas v. White, which become the foundation for the premise of secession as being unconstitutional or at the very least, the supreme court being accepted as having jurisdiction in this area which has not been delegated to them by the states?  I would think that we have been swindled into the notion of thinking of secession as a "rebellion" and  should rather view it as a God given right which is protected under the 9th and 10th amendment to our Constitution.  In contrast the terms and phraseology used to characterize the actions of the Federal government over the past 150 years I'll leave for the reader to decide. - C.L. from Montana

Fallin: Oklahoma Won’t Implement Obamacare Exchange

 

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said on Monday that she will not set up a state-based insurance exchange, a key feature of Obamacare.

The Sooner State is the latest GOP-led state to say it won’t set up the portal for people who do not have insurance through their employers to shop for coverage and compare costs and services.

Such individuals would receive a federal subsidy to defray costs.

Fallin added that Oklahoma will not participate in Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, The Hill reports.

"It does not benefit Oklahoma taxpayers to actively support and fund a new government program that will, ultimately, be under the control of the federal government, that is opposed by a clear majority of Oklahomans – and that will further the implementation of a law that threatens to erode both the quality of American healthcare and the fiscal stability of the nation," Fallin said in a statement reported by The Hill.

More @ Newsmax

Sam Davis Monument

Via Calvin Johnson

The 11th Annual Eastern Sam Davis Youth Camp

NC Senate Update

Phil Berger
Senate President Pro Tempore

 

In his very first presidential proclamation George Washington created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the federal government. In it he expressed his hope that all may unite in rendering to God our sincere and humble thanks for the great degree of tranquility, union and plenty which we have enjoyed. As we gather together with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, let us channel President Washington’s grateful heart in remembering our men and women in uniform, and others, who have sacrificed so much to maintain our freedoms and liberties which are unrivaled anywhere else in this world.

While the holidays are fast approaching the General Assembly is once again ramping up its work in anticipation of the legislative session starting in January. I am eager to begin working with Gov.-elect McCrory and the newly elected House and Senate members to continue moving North Carolina down a more prosperous path.

One of the biggest issues the new legislature will face is how North Carolina will implement the health insurance exchanges mandated by Obamacare.

Make no mistake: Senate Republicans are fundamentally opposed to Obamacare. It is a bad policy that raises premiums, hikes taxes and puts the government bureaucracy between you and your doctor. That’s why we passed a bill in 2011 to allow North Carolinians to opt out of major provisions of the new federal health care law. While we overrode Gov. Perdue’s veto of that bill the House did not have enough votes to do the same.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld much of the law. And with President Obama’s reelection, it looks like the states are going to be forced to comply, like it or not. One of the burdens the law imposes on North Carolina is the requirement that each state put a health exchange in place where individuals and small businesses, which are now mandated to have insurance, can purchase health care coverage. There are three options: a state-run exchange, a state/federal “partnership” exchange, or a federally-run exchange.

The legislature plans to thoroughly evaluate each type of exchange and determine the best course during the 2013 long session.  But before choosing any of these options, we must carefully consider the short and long-term implications of expanding this entitlement program. Regrettably, the federal government has not provided key information, like a list of potentially costly rules and regulations, which is crucially important to making a well-informed decision.

Last week Gov. Perdue decided to short-circuit this democratic process to pursue her own agenda. In a news conference the governor declared her intent to pursue a state-federal partnership – three months before the preliminary deadline required for this decision. It was not necessary or appropriate for Gov. Perdue to make this choice. The voters elected a new legislature and governor and policy decisions of this magnitude should be left to them.

###

2008 Legislative Building

Raleigh, NC 27601-2808

Phone: 919.733.5708

Fax: 919.754.3246

philbe@ncleg.net

CAROLINA IN MY MIND by Allison Krauss & Jerry Douglas

Via Carl

Secession: On Dunces, Cowards, And Courage

 

 & screw Glenn Beck yet once again, PLEASE.

WRSA 

VERBATIM

Read.

Compare this mainstream scoffing.

Now consider deeply Tom Baugh’s recent comment: