Emails Show Feds Knew Months Ago ObamaCare Site Headed for Delay

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

Newly released emails show officials designing the main ObamaCare exchange knew as early as August that the website catering to small businesses might have to be delayed — though the administration did not announce the delay until shortly before the Oct. 1 launch.

In one of the August emails, HealthCare.gov project manager Henry Chao responded to a proposal to delay the launch by writing: “Can we sign this with blood?”

The details were included in a handful of emails released Friday by Republican lawmakers probing the troubled launch. The lawmakers charged that the communications offer more evidence that the administration kept quiet for months about urgent problems with the website.

“As the paper trail broadens, we see more and more evidence that the administration was fully aware its signature health care law was not ready for prime time,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said. “The documents we are now reviewing tell a much, much different story than what officials testified to Congress.”

The emails pertained to the online SHOP Marketplace, which is meant for small businesses and has suffered a series of setbacks. The administration announced in late September that it was pushing off the launch until mid-November. But then one day before the Thanksgiving holiday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it would push off online enrollment by another year.

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County Office Bans Criticism of Obamacare

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Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

Santa Clara County, Calif., officials have banned a 20-year employee from making “less than positive” remarks about Obamacare, because they can cause stress for listening co-workers.

The county made the stunning move when Norina Mooney was chatting with a co-worker about the Affordable Care Act, according to the Pacific Justice Institute, which is representing the woman.

The organization has asked for a response by next week to its letter raising several issues with Lorie McKeown in the Santa Clara County Department of Child Support Services, where Mooney works.

Pacific Justice said Mooney was further informed that her comment had caused another co-worker — not the person to whom it was directed — to feel “stressed out.”

Her speech, therefore, was too political for the workplace, the county officials insisted.

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White House: Obama Won’t Insist on Jobless Aid in Budget Deal

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo Credit: Getty Images

The White House will not insist that an emerging budget deal include an extension of the unemployment benefits program set to expire at the end of the year, press secretary Jay Carney said on Friday.

Carney said that it would be “terrible to tell more than a million families across the country just a few days after Christmas that they’re out of benefits,” but that the White House was agnostic on how the extension happened.

“The vehicle that they use to do that is less important than the fact that they do it,” Carney said.

The statement from Carney echoed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said Thursday that an extension of the jobless benefits did not have to be included in a budget deal to win Democratic support.

“Hopefully, it could be part of the budget, but it doesn’t have to be part of the budget,” Pelosi said. “It could be on its own vehicle, as it goes forward, but it’s something we must consider.”

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North Korea Frees U.S. Korean War Veteran After Seven Weeks

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Photo Credit: REUTERS/KYODO

Photo Credit: REUTERS/KYODO

North Korea freed an 85-year-old retired American soldier on Saturday after detaining him for more than a month for crimes it said he committed during the Korean War six decades ago.

The veteran, Merrill E. Newman, flew to China from North Korea in the morning. Hours later he left on a United Airlines flight to San Francisco to be reunited with his family, sources at Beijing airport said.

North Korea’s official KCNA news agency earlier said he was being deported on humanitarian grounds and because he had admitted to his wrongdoing and apologized.

“I’m very glad to be on my way home,” Newman told Japanese reporters as he arrived at Beijing airport. “And I appreciate the tolerance the DPRK government has given to me to be on my way. I feel good, I feel good. I want to go home to see my wife.”

The DPRK – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – is the official name of North Korea, one of the world’s most isolated and unpredictable states.

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Mississippi Bloodbath: 76 Year-Old Cochran Seeks Reelection Against Tea Party

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) announced Friday he would seek reelection to a seventh term in the U.S. Senate.

“I’m comfortable with my decision,” Cochran, who turns 76 years old this weekend, told Gannett on Friday. “I’m looking forward to it. People have been very generous and expressed appreciation. Some have even started sending contributions and helping in that way.”

Tea Party-backed State Sen. Chris McDaniel has already launched a bid for the GOP nomination for Cochran’s seat. In response to Cochran’s announcement, one that surprised most in GOP politics who expected him to retire, McDaniel said he is undeterred. “Sen. Cochran has had a long and distinguished career representing the people of Mississippi,” McDaniel said. “I look forward to a positive campaign based on the future of our state, our country, and the Republican Party. As a strong conservative, I will fight to bring those values to Washington.”

McDaniel has the support of an amalgam of state lawmakers in Mississippi, as several of his state senate colleagues have joined his campaign. He also has the support of conservative organizations throughout the state, plus national conservative support from groups like the Tea Party Express, Club for Growth, Madison Project, FreedomWorks, the Senate Conservatives Fund, and others.

In response to Cochran’s announcement he would be seeking reelection, Club for Growth president Chris Chocola said voters in Mississippi have a “real choice” between someone who is conservative and someone who is not.

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Judge Orders Baker to Serve Gay Couples Despite his Religious Beliefs

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

A Colorado judge says a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex ceremony must serve gay couples despite his religious beliefs, a ruling that a civil rights group hailed as a victory for gay rights.

Administrative Law Judge Robert N. Spencer ruled Friday that Jack Phillips, the owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop in suburban Denver, will face fines if he continues to turn away gay couples who want to buy wedding cakes.

“The undisputed facts show that Respondents (Phillips) discriminated against Complainants because of their sexual orientation by refusing to sell them a wedding cake for their same-sex marriage,” Spencer wrote.

Last year, David Mullins and Charlie Craig visited the Masterpiece Cakeshop to order a cake for their upcoming wedding reception. The couple had planned to marry in Massachusetts and hold a reception in Colorado.

Phillips told the men that he could not bake their cake because of his religious beliefs opposing same-sex marriage. He offered to make them any other baked item, but not a wedding cake. The couple immediately left the shop and later filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division.

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Immigrant Students Seek Georgia’s In-State Tuition Rates

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Photo Credit: stephenhanafin

Photo Credit: stephenhanafin

A judge said Thursday that he needs more information and time to decide the case of a group of young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children and want the Georgia university system to grant them in-state tuition.

The roughly three dozen young immigrants have been granted temporary permission to stay in the U.S. under an Obama administration policy introduced last year. They filed a lawsuit in August asking a judge to instruct the university system’s Board of Regents to allow them to qualify for in-state tuition.

At a hearing Thursday, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Mark Anthony Scott heard arguments on the state’s request to move the case to Fulton County Superior Court because that’s where the Board of Regents is located. Charles Kuck, a lawyer for the young immigrants, argued that the board can be sued in any county where it has a school.

Scott said the arguments were complex and asked both lawyers to submit an additional filing within 60 days.

The Board of Regents has repeatedly said it does not comment on pending litigation.

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Obama Gives Green Energy Cronies Green Light to Kill Eagles for Thirty Years

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Wind EagleThe Obama administration said Friday it will allow some companies to kill or injure bald and golden eagles for up to 30 years without penalty, an effort to spur development and investment in green energy while balancing its environmental consequences.

The change, requested by the wind energy industry, will provide legal protection for the lifespan of wind farms and other projects for which companies obtain a permit and make efforts to avoid killing the birds.

An investigation by The Associated Press earlier this year documented the illegal killing of eagles around wind farms, the Obama administration’s reluctance to prosecute such cases and its willingness to help keep the scope of the eagle deaths secret. The White House has championed wind power, a pollution-free energy intended to ease global warming, as a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s energy plan.

In other areas, too, such as the government’s support for corn-based ethanol to reduce U.S. dependence on gasoline, the White House has allowed the green industry to do not-so-green things. Another AP investigation recently showed that ethanol has proven far more damaging to the environment than politicians promised and much worse than the government admits today.

Under the change announced Friday, companies would have to commit to take additional measures if they kill or injure more eagles than they have estimated they would, or if new information suggests that eagle populations are being affected. The permits would be reviewed every five years, and companies would have to submit reports of how many eagles they kill. Now such reporting is voluntarily, and the Interior Department refuses to release the information.

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Ted Cruz: Obama Disregards the Law Like in ‘Dictatorial Societies’ (+video)

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U.S. Senator Cruz speaks during the fifth annual Washington Ideas Forum at the Newseum in WashingtonBy Patrick Howley

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said that President Barack Obama disregards the law and behaves like the leader of “dictatorial societies.”

The conservative senator, who proudly calls himself a “Wacko Bird” to poke fun at establishment Republican criticisms of him, appeared on Fusion TV’s “America with Jorge Ramos” to accuse the president of outright law-breaking — on his own health-care law.

“One of the most disturbing aspects of the Obama presidency is the willingness of this president to disregard the law, to ignore the law,” Cruz said.

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Ted Rafael Caroline Cruz By Tal Kopan

Sen. Ted Cruz said while there are some differences between President Barack Obama and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Obama is displaying “dictatorial” tendencies as president.

During an interview by Jorge Ramos on Fusion, the Texas Republican was asked about comments his father has made comparing Obama to Castro and whether the analogy was “fair” and if he’d like to draw a distinction between the two.

“Obviously, there are enormous differences; the United States is not imprisoning and torturing political dissidents,” Cruz said on Wednesday. “But the point my father was making, he was focusing on a sentence that President Obama used in the last two State of the Union addresses where he said, ‘If Congress doesn’t act, I will.’”

Cruz said the line shows how the Obama administration has displayed “disturbing” tendencies similar to a dictatorship.

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Cruz’s Dad, Son Destined by God

Sarah Palin Reacts to Bashir Resignation (+video)

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Screen shot 2013-12-06 at 1.24.32 AMSarah Palin on Thursday dismissed the attacks of former MSNBC host Martin Bashir, saying in her first comments since his resignation that she’s “used to it.”

“At this point, I’m used to it. That’s kind of a sad state of affairs to have to admit that I am used to it,” Palin said on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.”

Bashir quit on Wednesday for comments he made on his Nov. 15 broadcast during which he called Sarah Palin “a world class idiot” and referenced a diary of a former plantation manager who forced a slave to defecate in another slave’s mouth, adding Palin would be an “outstanding candidate” for such treatment.

However, Palin praised the media for criticizing Bashir’s remarks.
“It was refreshing to see though, that many in the media did come out and say, ‘Look our standards have got to be higher than this,’”

Palin said. “Those with that platform, with a microphone, a camera in their face, they have to have some more responsibility taken.”

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