"The State Department certainly had its priorities straight in the weeks leading up to the government shutdown: In September, the last month of the fiscal year, it spent $180,000 ... on booze. That includes $11,550 on "gratuity whiskey" and "gratuity wine" at the embassy in Rio, $22,416 in wine for the embassy in Tokyo, and $15,900 worth of bourbon and whiskey in Moscow, The Washington Times reports. The president of a watchdog group explains that toward the end of the fiscal year, departments "have a 'use-it-or-lose-it' mentality," trying to use up the money in their budgets so as not to invite congressional cuts the following year. More here. [BJS] [ECS]
12/4/13
Knight Commander of the Order of Dung Beetles is...
12/3/13
Obama abuse of power could ignite rebellion, says expert
During a congressional committee hearing about the constitutional limits imposed on the presidency and the implications of President Barack Obama’s disregard for implementing the Affordable Care Act as written, an expert testified that the consequences of the president’s behavior were potentially grave. Michael Cannon, Cato Institute’s Director of Health Policy Studies, said that the precedent set by Obama could eventually lead to an armed revolt against the federal government. Read it all [ECS]
The Dung Beetle Award goes to...
[ECS]
Exchanges exclude top hospitals
Many insurers offering plans through the Washington Healthplanfinder, the exchange marketplace where shoppers can apply for subsidies, are using narrow provider networks. These networks are not the broad, include-all-providers networks that many big employer plans currently enjoy. Find out more here. [BJS]
Revised Healthcare.gov stumbles out of the gate
The new and supposedly improved HealthCare.gov isn't off to a great start. The site flooded with traffic yesterday morning, slowing it to a crawl and spiking its error rate, the LA Times reports. By 10am the government had turned on a "queuing" feature, essentially putting would-be applicants on hold. At that point about 35,000 people were on the site—less than its promised capacity of 50,000. Later in the day the administration said that performance had improved, and that 750,000 had used the site by 5:30pm.
But here's the rub: Many of those people might not actually be insured. Insurers began sounding the alarm yesterday, because errors are still plaguing the back end of the site where people actually buy coverage. Many may not actually be enrolled, NBC News reports. The administration says it's urging people to make sure they've submitted a payment, and to check with their insurer. [Source] BJS
But here's the rub: Many of those people might not actually be insured. Insurers began sounding the alarm yesterday, because errors are still plaguing the back end of the site where people actually buy coverage. Many may not actually be enrolled, NBC News reports. The administration says it's urging people to make sure they've submitted a payment, and to check with their insurer. [Source] BJS
12/2/13
Progress Notes for Patient 540463: OBAMA, Barack, H.
12/2/13: Just when I thought Patient was regaining some sense of proportion regarding his massive ego, that
equally egotistical twat, Piers Morgan, broadcast a segment about patient on CNN in which Morgan wondered aloud whether the physically unfit Chris Christie could follow the "perfect physical specimen" Barack Obama into the White House: Patient had been rerunning the segment on his DVR ever since. "It was only a matter of time before my superb physique was noticed by the great and famous." said patient as he continued to do crunches and push-ups on the floor of his private quarters as I entered. He was clearly trying to impress me. "I'm impressed," I said in the hope that it would stop him exercising and enable me assess his mental progress "...38..39...40!" the moron said triumphantly. "Push-ups?" I asked. "No, the number of people who have signed up on the revised health.gov site today" ---Dictated by SH Rink, M.D. ECS
Barack Obama's Diary: 'O' must go
12/1/13
Obama joke o' the Day
One sunny day in January, 2017, an old man approaches the White House from across Pennsylvania Avenue where he’d been sitting on a park bench. He speaks to the U.S. Marine standing guard and says, “I would like to go in and meet with President Obama.” The Marine looks at the man and says, “Sir, Mr. Obama is no longer President and no longer resides here. ”The old man says, “Okay,” and walks away.
The following day the same man approaches the White House and says to the same Marine, “I would like to go in and meet with President Obama.” The Marine again tells the man, “Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr. Obama is no longer President and no longer resides here.” The man thanks him and again just walks away.
The third day the same man approaches the White House and speaks to the very same U.S. Marine, saying, “I would like to go in and meet with President Obama.” The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looks at the man and says, “Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Obama. I’ve told you already that Mr. Obama is no longer the President and no longer resides here. Don’t you understand?”
The old man looks at the Marine and says,“Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it.” The Marine snaps to attention, salutes, and says, “See you tomorrow, Sir!” [ECS]
The following day the same man approaches the White House and says to the same Marine, “I would like to go in and meet with President Obama.” The Marine again tells the man, “Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr. Obama is no longer President and no longer resides here.” The man thanks him and again just walks away.
The third day the same man approaches the White House and speaks to the very same U.S. Marine, saying, “I would like to go in and meet with President Obama.” The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looks at the man and says, “Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Obama. I’ve told you already that Mr. Obama is no longer the President and no longer resides here. Don’t you understand?”
The old man looks at the Marine and says,“Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it.” The Marine snaps to attention, salutes, and says, “See you tomorrow, Sir!” [ECS]
When civilians shot back at the Texas Tower Sniper...
"On the morning of August 1, 1966, not long before summer classes at the University of Texas at Austin were about to let out for lunch, an architectural engineering major named Charles Whitman arrived at the Tower dressed as a maintenance man. He would be described the following day in the Austin American as “a good son, a top Boy Scout, an excellent Marine, an honor student, a hard worker, a loving husband, a fine scout master, a handsome man, a wonderful friend to all who knew him—and an expert sniper.” The footlocker he wheeled behind him contained three rifles, two pistols, and a sawed-off shotgun, as well as a cache of supplies (among them canned peaches, deodorant, an alarm clock, binoculars, toilet paper, a machete, and sweet rolls) that suggested he planned to stay awhile. After a receptionist switched on an elevator that Whitman had been trying in vain to operate, he smiled and said, “Thank you, ma’am. You don’t know how happy that makes me.”
Whitman rode the elevator to the twenty-seventh floor, dragged his footlocker up the stairs to the observation deck, and introduced the nation to the idea of mass murder in a public space... the 25-year-old ushered in the notion that any group of people, anywhere—even walking around a university campus on a summer day—could be killed at random by a stranger. [Read it all] [BJS]
Whitman rode the elevator to the twenty-seventh floor, dragged his footlocker up the stairs to the observation deck, and introduced the nation to the idea of mass murder in a public space... the 25-year-old ushered in the notion that any group of people, anywhere—even walking around a university campus on a summer day—could be killed at random by a stranger. [Read it all] [BJS]
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