“That’s a trick question, of course, as illustrated by this biting Henry Payne cartoon. But let’s look at one of the commonalities of Romneycare and Obamacare – higher premiums, thanks to mandates and third-party payer. Here’s a quick look at what’s been happening to premiums in Massachusetts. The same thing is already happening with Obamacare.”
“A former Republican candidate for Agricultural commissioner in Alabama, who once waved a rifle in a campaign ad about ‘thugs and criminals,’ said on Thursday that he had been a victim of ‘conspiracies’ after his second shoplifting arrest in six months. According to the blog Yellow Hammer, Dale Peterson was arrested at a Sam’s Club in Hoover on Wednesday for stealing cashews. Security personnel reportedly observed the former candidate eating the nuts without paying for them. In October of last year, Peter had also been charged with third-degree theft of property after he pushed his cart containing paper towels and beer through a checkout line at Walmart without paying.”
“The former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida was sentenced Wednesday to one-and-a-half years for stealing $125,000 in party funds, completing the fall of a man who once was one of the most powerful political figures in the state. Jim Greer was sentenced in Orlando, more than a month after he pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and a single county of money laundering. Prosecutors said Greer funneled almost $200,000 to a company he had formed with his right-hand man, Delmar Johnson. He kept $125,000 of the money funneled to Victory Strategies for himself.”
“Phil Donahue and Bill Moyers, the last honest men on national television, were the only two major TV news personalities who presented the viewpoints of those of us who challenged the rush to war in Iraq. General Electric and Microsoft—MSNBC’s founders and defense contractors that went on to make tremendous profits from the war—were not about to tolerate a dissenting voice. Donahue was fired, and at PBS Moyers was subjected to tremendous pressure. A leaked MSNBC memo stated that Donahue was hurting the image of the network. He would be a ‘difficult public face for NBC in a time of war,’ the memo read. Donahue never returned to the airwaves.”
http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/the_day_that_tv_news_died_20130324/
“Tthe US and South Korea held a three day naval exercise last month that included, among many other warships, an American nuclear-powered submarine. This month, the US and South Korea are conducting another joint military exercise, this time with the US flying nuclear-capable B-52 bombers over the Korean peninsula. Much of the current escalation came after the US drew up yet another set of sanctions for the UN Security Council to impose on North Korea. The North Korean government retaliated against the new sanctions with bellicose threats to launch a nuclear first strike against the US. The US response to the threats has been entirely predictable.”
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/134351.html
“The Obama administration will argue before a federal appeals court on Tuesday that law enforcement must regain the ability to use GPS tracking devices without a warrant, which it says is necessary to continue the fight against terrorism. The use of GPS devices in warrantless snooping has been illegal since January 2012, when the Supreme Court ruled that vehicles are private property protected by the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. If the Obama administration is successful on its appeal however, GPS devices will be fair game for police nationwide.”
“Dear Mr. President: I am writing to you as a wife and mother of two young daughters, whose 34-year old husband, Matthew Davies, faces 10 years or more in federal prison for providing medical marijuana to sick people in California, even though he complied with state law concerning medicinal cannabis. My questions to you are simple: What has my husband done that would justify the federal government forcing my young daughters to grow up without a father? How can your Administration ignore the will of the California people and prosecute this good, law-abiding man for doing exactly what state law permits?”
http://www.drugwarrant.com/2013/01/must-read-letter-to-the-president/
“The U.S. government, led by the Pentagon and CIA, censored or withheld for reasons of national security the files that the public requested last year under the Freedom of Information Act more often than at any time since President Barack Obama took office. Overall, the Obama administration last year answered its highest number of requests so far for copies of government documents, emails, photographs and more, and it slightly reduced its backlog of requests from previous years. But it more often cited legal provisions allowing the government to keep records or parts of its records secret, especially a rule intended to protect national security.”
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20130311/DA4UU2JG2.html