Obamacare intentionally set up to fail; "Zero tolerance" for health insurers; Global tax

Sorry for no post last week; I was enjoying Labor Day weekend with my dad. Some items of note from that week: The feds are suing Sheriff Joe Arpaio for “discrimination against Hispanics”; another oil rig blew up in the Gulf; and the White House submitted a report to the UN in which it cited Arizona as having committed human rights violations. Now, in honor of 9/11: “Todd Beamer told the GTE Airfone operator he knew he was going to die, asked her to pray with him and uttered his last, defiant words. ‘Are you guys ready?‘ the operator heard the 32-year-old Beamer ask fellow passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Then he said: ‘Let's roll.’” (from http://perpetuallyonline.com/ToddBeamer/article.htm). 1) Sen. Coburn: Democrats Intentionally Set Up ObamaCare to Fail See: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/sen-coburn-democrats-intentionally-set-up-obamacare-to-fail/ 1a) HHS Secretary Sebelius vows 'zero tolerance' for insurers blaming premium hikes on health law WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's top health official on Thursday warned the insurance industry that the administration won't tolerate blaming premium hikes on the new health overhaul law. "There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a letter to the insurance lobby. "Simply stated, we will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement that they provide consumers with basic protections," Sebelius said. She warned that bad actors may be excluded from new health insurance markets that will open in 2014 under the law. They'd lose out on a big pool of customers, as many as 30 million people nationwide. The letter to America's Health Insurance Plans was the latest volley in a war of words over who gets the blame for rising premiums. Polls show that many people expect their costs to go up as a result of the law, but there's also widespread mistrust of the insurance industry. An HHS official said the letter is a pre-emptive move, after the department learned that several smaller carriers around the country are blaming the new law for rate increases this year. UNBELIEVABLE! “Zero tolerance”? “Not stand idly by”? WTH? Who does she think she is? And what American is stupid enough to believe that the new health care law doesn’t raise premiums or increase costs? The industry's top lobbyist responded that the health care law is a factor behind higher rates, but not the only one. "Health insurance premiums are increasing because of soaring prices for medical services, the impact of younger and healthier people dropping their insurance during the weak economy, and additional benefits required under the new law," said Karen Ignagni, president of the insurers' trade group. "It's a basic law of economics that additional benefits incur additional costs." Sebelius asked Ignagni to help stop "misinformation and scare tactics." See: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/09/hhs-secretary-sebelius-vows-zero-tolerance-insurers-blaming-premium-hikes/ 2) Ground Zero Mosque Investor Declines Trump's Buyout Offer NEW YORK -- Donald Trump's offer to buy an investor's stake where a mosque is planned near ground zero is falling flat. Wolodymyr Starosolsky is a lawyer for the investor in the real estate partnership that controls the site. He says Trump's offer is "just a cheap attempt to get publicity and get in the limelight." In a letter released Thursday by Trump's publicist, the real estate investor told Hisham Elzanaty that he would buy his stake in the lower Manhattan building for 25 percent more than whatever he paid. "I am making this offer as a resident of New York and citizen of the United States, not because I think the location is a spectacular one (because it is not), but because it will end a very serious, inflammatory, and highly divisive situation that is destined, in my opinion, to only get worse," the letter said. Trump also attached a condition to his offer: He said that as part of the deal, the backers of the mosque project would need to promise that any new mosque they constructed would be at least five blocks farther away from the World Trade Center site. See: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/09/trump-offers-buy-investor-ground-zero-mosque-site/ 2a) Fla. pastor will 'not today, not ever' burn Quran NEW YORK – A Florida pastor says his church will "not today, not ever" burn a Quran, even if a mosque is built near ground zero. Pastor Terry Jones had threatened to burn the Muslim holy book on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks over plans to build an Islamic center near where terrorists brought down the World Trade Center nine years ago. He flew to New York and appeared on NBC's "Today" show. He says that his Gainesville, Fla., church's goal was "to expose that there is an element of Islam that is very dangerous and very radical." He tells NBC that "we have definitely accomplished that mission." He says no meeting is planned with the imam leading the center but he hopes one will take place. A "Burn a Koran Day" banner outside his church has been taken down. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100911/ap_on_re_us/quran_burning 3) No Compromise: Obama Will Not Extend Tax Cuts for Wealthiest Americans CLEVELAND (AP) – President Barack Obama strongly defended his opposition to extending Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans on Wednesday and delivered a searing attack on Republicans and their House leader for advocating “the same philosophy that led to this mess in the first place.” Obama said the struggling U.S. economy can’t afford to spend $700 billion to keep lower tax rates in place for the nation’s highest earners despite a call by House Minority Leader John Boehner and other GOP leaders to do just that. Speaking in the same city where Boehner, an Ohio Republican, recently ridiculed Obama’s economic stewardship, Obama said Boehner’s policies amount to no more than “cut more taxes for millionaires and cut more rules for corporations.” …“Let me be clear to Mr. Boehner and everyone else. We should not hold middle class tax cuts hostage any longer,” the president said. The administration “is ready this week to give tax cuts to every American making $250,000 or less,” he said. Actually, Obama and other Democratic leaders want to extend the tax cuts except for individuals making over $200,000 a year – or families earning over $250,000. The sweeping series of Bush tax cuts expires at the end of this year unless Congress renews them. Obama went after Boehner – who would probably become House speaker if Republicans win control of the House in November’s midterm elections – directly by name. …Obama gave one of his strongest pitches yet on allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire at the end of this year for wealthy Americans but allowing them to remain in place for everybody else. Republicans, and even some Democrats, have suggested that it was no time to raise taxes on anybody, given the fragile state of the economy (emphasis mine). Who does he think provides all the jobs for those families making under $250,000, hmm? …Even Obama’s former budget director, Peter Orszag, has said that while he prefers Obama’s proposal to impose the higher taxes on the wealthy, getting such a formulation through Congress in this politically charged time might be extremely difficult. Orszag suggested a compromise – extend all the tax cuts, but just for two years, and then let them all expire. See: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/no-compromise-obama-will-not-extend-tax-cuts-for-wealthiest-americans/ 3a) Boehner says he'd support a middle-class tax cut WASHINGTON – House Minority Leader John Boehner says he would vote for President Obama's plan to extend tax cuts only for middle-class earners, not the wealthy, if that were the only option available to House Republicans. Boehner, R-Ohio, said it is "bad policy" to exclude the highest-earning Americans from tax relief during the recession, and later Sunday he accused the White House of "class warfare." But he said he wouldn't block the breaks for middle-income individuals and families if Democrats won't support the full package. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100912/ap_on_bi_ge/us_tax_cuts 4) Key Obama Ally Works with Socialists for Global Tax (VIDEO) “It is possible for us to get a financial tax around the world.” See: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/key-obama-ally-works-with-socialists-for-global-tax/ 5) GOP Takes Unprecedented 10-Point Lead on Generic Ballot (from last week, but worth seeing) PRINCETON, NJ -- Republicans lead by 51% to 41% among registered voters in Gallup weekly tracking of 2010 congressional voting preferences. The 10-percentage-point lead is the GOP's largest so far this year and is its largest in Gallup's history of tracking the midterm generic ballot for Congress. See: http://www.gallup.com/poll/142718/GOP-Unprecedented-Lead-Generic-Ballot.aspx 6) Murkowski, Haase talk ballot switch …Murkowski appeared to be leaving the race for good just a week ago, telling supporters in her concession speech last Tuesday that she was ready to come “back home” after this year after a stunning GOP primary loss to Sarah Palin-backed attorney Joe Miller. But now it appears the senator is weighing her options to stay in the race, which include running as a write-in candidate or becoming a third-party candidate. Not only has Murkowski met with Haase, but the state Libertarian Party chairman also confirmed Monday that the senator’s top aides reached out to him about meeting to discuss whether Murkowski could run on their ticket. Murkowski, a Libertarian! Ha ha ha ho ha ha! YOU LOST! Go home or you will split the conservative vote! See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/41855.html 7) Coast to coast, tea partiers promote their cause SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Originally billed as a chance to reflect on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a series of raucous tea party rallies around the country on Sunday ended up focusing almost entirely on an event still to come — the Nov. 2 election. "We are your everyday, average, churchgoing families, we represent the majority of people in this nation, and we're ready to take back our government," said Pam Pinkston of Fair Oaks, Calif., one of about 4,000 people to attend Sacramento's "United to the Finish" gathering. Thousands of tea party activists also turned up at rallies in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis to spread their message of smaller government and focus their political movement on the pivotal congressional elections in November. Several thousand people marched along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Washington Monument to the Capitol, many carrying signs reading "Congress You're Fired" and "Let Failures Fail and "Impeach Obama." …Many attending the various rallies wore red, white and blue clothing and carried yellow flags with the picture of a snake coiled above the inscription "Don't Tread On Me." In Sacramento, speakers railed against health care reform, the economic stimulus and President Barack Obama while standing in front of a 12-foot plastic replica of the Statue of Liberty. In St. Louis, crowds packed the area between the Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River while a band dressed in powdered wigs and 18th century clothing belted out KISS's "I Want to Rock 'N Roll All Night." Organizers say the events intended to call attention to what they describe as big government run amok and to recall the sense of national unity Americans felt the day after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100912/ap_on_el_ge/us_tea_party_rallies 8) Education secretary urged his employees to attend Sharpton's rally President Obama's top education official urged government employees to attend a rally that the Rev. Al Sharpton organized to counter a larger conservative event on the Mall. "ED staff are invited to join Secretary Arne Duncan, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and other leaders on Saturday, Aug. 28, for the 'Reclaim the Dream' rally and march," began an internal e-mail sent to more than 4,000 employees of the Department of Education on Wednesday. Sharpton created the event after Glenn Beck announced a massive Tea Party "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial, where King spoke in 1963. The Washington Examiner learned of the e-mail from a Department of Education employee who felt uncomfortable with Duncan's request. Although the e-mail does not violate the Hatch Act, which forbids federal employees from participating in political campaigns, Education Department workers should feel uneasy, said David Boaz, executive vice president of the libertarian Cato Institute. "It sends a signal that activity on behalf of one side of a political debate is expected within a department. It's highly inappropriate ... even in the absence of a direct threat," Boaz said. "If we think of a Bush cabinet official sending an e-mail to civil servants asking them to attend a Glenn Beck rally, there would be a lot of outrage over that (emphasis mine)." See: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Education-secretary-urged-his-employees-to-go-to-Sharpton_s-rally-651280-101839293.html 9) Light bulb factory closes; End of era for U.S. means more jobs overseas WINCHESTER, VA. - The last major GE factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs in the United States is closing this month, marking a small, sad exit for a product and company that can trace their roots to Thomas Alva Edison's innovations in the 1870s. The remaining 200 workers at the plant here will lose their jobs. "Now what're we going to do?" said Toby Savolainen, 49, who like many others worked for decades at the factory, making bulbs now deemed wasteful. During the recession, political and business leaders have held out the promise that American advances, particularly in green technology, might stem the decades-long decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs. But as the lighting industry shows, even when the government pushes companies toward environmental innovations and Americans come up with them, the manufacture of the next generation technology can still end up overseas. What made the plant here vulnerable is, in part, a 2007 energy conservation measure passed by Congress that set standards essentially banning ordinary incandescents by 2014. The law will force millions of American households to switch to more efficient bulbs. The resulting savings in energy and greenhouse-gas emissions are expected to be immense. But the move also had unintended consequences. Rather than setting off a boom in the U.S. manufacture of replacement lights, the leading replacement lights are compact fluorescents, or CFLs, which are made almost entirely overseas, mostly in China. See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/07/AR2010090706933.html 10) NJ Gov. Christie Clashes with Teacher at Town Hall New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is known for telling it like he sees it. At a town hall meeting yesterday in Raritan, NJ, he made sure to bolster that reputation. The fireworks start in the beginning and go until about 1:53. The rest of the video is worth watching, however, as Christie explains how the teacher‘s union in the state refused to compromise to save the state’s crucial education dollars. See: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/nj-gov-christie-clashes-with-teacher-at-town-hall/