Republicans Hide Obamacare Bailout Inside Health Savings Accounts Bill

/0 Comments/in , /by

. . .Multiple Capitol Hill sources confirmed to me on Wednesday morning that the House Ways and Means Committee’s markup of health savings account (HSA)-related legislation later in the day comes with a potential ulterior motive: Committee and leadership staff want to resurrect this spring’s failed Obamacare “stability” legislation—and see the HSA provisions as a way to do so.

When former senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) talked about the problems “if we don’t fix Obamacare” at an event a few weeks ago, he hit the nail on the head. After running for four straight election cycles on repealing Obamacare, House leaders now seem hellbent on propping it up to save themselves from political attacks. . .

The leadership gambit seems simple: with the HSA provisions, placate conservatives who (rightly) don’t want to bail out Obamacare, and allow the package to pass the House solely with Republican votes—because Democrats likely won’t vote to support any “stability” legislation imposing robust pro-life protections. With Democrats intending to make Obamacare premium increases an issue in the November elections, House leaders think the vote would inoculate vulnerable Republicans from political attacks by the Left.

But a “stability” vote would demoralize the Right, by showing how completely Republicans have caved on their repeal promises. It would also set a horrible precedent, officially declaring Obamacare “too big to fail,” which would put taxpayers on the hook for an ever-increasing flow of bailout funds.

That flow would soon vastly overwhelm any small amount of HSA incentives that conservatives received in exchange for their vote. Eventually, lawmakers would run out of other people’s money to spend propping up Obamacare. (Read more from “Republicans Hide Obamacare Bailout Inside Health Savings Accounts Bill” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Court Request From Special Counsel Mueller Hints at Future of Russian Investigation

/0 Comments/in , /by

A request made from special counsel Robert Mueller in court Wednesday provided a hint of the future of his investigations into Russian election interference and alleged collusion.

While many Republican allies of the president are demanding that Mueller wrap up his investigation, the special counsel requested a hundred more “blank subpoenas” from a federal court in Virginia Wednesday. . .

Recipients of the subpoenas would be expected to appear in a U.S. District Court in Alexandria on July 25 – the date of the beginning of the trial for former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

Manafort has been charged with numerous criminal counts including tax evasion and bank fraud, but those that have been made public appear to have been committed before his time as then-candidate Donald Trump’s campaign manager.

Mueller’s investigation has come under attack by those who claim that recent revelations about the bias of certain FBI officials prove that the probe into collusion and interference was politically motivated to damage Trump. (Read more from “Court Request From Special Counsel Mueller Hints at Future of Russian Investigation” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Judge Denies Transgender Teen’s Name Change Request – Parents Appealing

/0 Comments/in , /by

The parents of an Ohio teenager are appealing a court’s decision to deny their transgender “son” a legal name change. . .

Kylen and Leigh Whitaker requested last month that their 15-year-old’s name be officially changed from Heidi to Elliott. Warren County Probate Judge Joseph Kirby declined the request, saying, “Whether [the teen] is experiencing Gender Dysphoria or is just not comfortable with her body is something that only time will reveal. . .

“Age. Develop. Mature,” Kirby further wrote in his decision, reasoning that, “Adolescence is a time of fevered exploration. The Court is sympathetic to the parents of the child and their desire to assuage their child. In essence, the Court isn’t saying ‘no’ to the name change. The Court is simply saying ‘not yet.’” . . .

The Whitakers insist that both they and Elliott are comfortable with formally changing the teen’s name to the preferred moniker. Elliott has been in therapy at Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s transgender clinic since announcing the transition to his parents a year ago.

Leigh said, “We did a lot of therapy to make sure that this was something that was real.” Kylen added, “The judge met with us for 15 to 20 minutes and then decided that he knew better than the parents and the doctors and our child. We just don’t feel that’s right.” (Read more from “Judge Denies Transgender Teen’s Name Change Request – Parents Appealing” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Mueller Reveals Tenuous Link Between Manafort Charges and Trump

/0 Comments/in , /by

It’s often been observed that special counsel Robert Mueller, assigned to investigate alleged Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 presidential campaign, has yet to charge anyone with a crime involving Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 presidential campaign.

The biggest of Mueller’s indictments, that of one-time Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, has no connection at all to collusion. And until a few days ago, it appeared to have no connection to Donald Trump, either.

Now, though, Mueller has revealed why he believes the Manafort prosecution is related to the 2016 Trump campaign. It’s a small part, a very small part, of the overall charges against Manafort. And it has nothing to do with any actions by the candidate — now the president — himself.

Mueller’s revelation came in an argument he is having with the Manafort defense over what subjects can and cannot be discussed in front of jurors in Manafort’s upcoming trial. (Manafort is charged in both Virginia and the District of Columbia with various counts of bank fraud, tax evasion and failure to register as a representative of foreign interests; the Virginia trial is scheduled to begin later this month.)

Manafort doesn’t want the jurors to hear about any theories of collusion between Trump and Russia. Beyond that, Manafort doesn’t even want the jurors to hear about his connection with Donald Trump. Given the degree of anti-Trump feeling in the heavily Democratic District of Columbia and in northern Virginia — the Manafort filing dryly notes that jurors are “likely to have strong views about President Trump” — that’s an understandable feeling. (Read more from “Mueller Reveals Tenuous Link Between Manafort Charges and Trump” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Shameless: Schumer’s Hilarious, Desperate Flip Flop on SCOTUS Nominees and the ‘Ginsburg Standard’

/0 Comments/in , , /by

When you’re going to be a hack, you might as well be a shameless hack. Liberals are humiliating themselves over President Trump’s latest Supreme Court nomination, trafficking in insane conspiracy theories, and launching bogus, half-cocked (“extreme distortion”) attacks, as part of a frenzied “kitchen sink” approach. They’ll grasp at any straw to oppose Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, even as some key red state Senate Democrats are taking pains to avoid talking about the issue. The Associated Press describes the cacophony of resistance and discord:

Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, says it’s all about health care. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., worries about the impact on the special counsel investigation. And Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., sees an assault that could set women’s rights back decades. There’s so much for Democrats to dislike about Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick. And that may be the problem. In the hours after the Republican president tapped the conservative jurist, Democrats struggled to unify behind a clear and coherent message to combat the nomination, which could shift the court to the right for decades. They’re energized, outraged and ready to fight. But what, exactly, is their argument to voters?…It’s an all-too-familiar political challenge for Democrats, who’ve left voters confused in the Trump era about what the party stands for beyond simply opposing the president. And in this case, the muddled messaging threatens to dampen a new surge of voter enthusiasm just a few months before [the] midterm elections.

As for Schumer’s new talking point that the Supreme Court fight is all about…healthcare, or something, it’s a line so unserious that even the Senate’s most moderate Republican couldn’t help but dismiss it with a rhetorical eyeroll:

Someone should inform Schumer that the Supreme Court doesn’t craft healthcare policy. While they’re at it, they should tell Schumer that one of the few Kavanaugh rulings that some conservatives are upset over involved, um, Obamacare. So it’s a stupid point on two levels. Sen. Collins also went on to say that Kavanaugh is obviously qualified for the job and reinforced the so-called ‘Ginsburg standard’ — pioneered by leftist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg — under which Supreme Court nominees decline to discuss specific issues or cases that could come before them on the bench (though, as a former top ACLU attorney, she was willing to talk about abortion):

(Read more from “Shameless: Schumer’s Hilarious, Desperate Flip Flop on SCOTUS Nominees and the ‘Ginsburg Standard'” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Somebody at DOJ Isn’t Telling the Truth About Rosenstein’s Subpoena Threats Against Congressional Staff

/0 Comments/in , /by

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein denied under oath he had threatened to subpoena congressional aides’ communications, but a DOJ spokesman had already admitted that was true in statements to multiple news outlets, claiming it was justified.

“Rosenstein threatened to ‘subpoena’ GOP-led committee in ‘chilling’ clash over records, emails show,” reported Catherine Herridge at Fox News. She quoted from multiple e-mails congressional staff sent to the House of Representatives’ Office of General Counsel after a January 2018 meeting with Rosenstein:

‘The DAG [Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein] criticized the Committee for sending our requests in writing and was further critical of the Committee’s request to have DOJ/FBI do the same when responding,’ the committee’s then-senior counsel for counterterrorism Kash Patel wrote to the House Office of General Counsel. ‘Going so far as to say that if the Committee likes being litigators, then ‘we [DOJ] too [are] litigators, and we will subpoena your records and your emails,’ referring to HPSCI [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence] and Congress overall.’

A second House committee staffer at the meeting backed up Patel’s account, writing: ‘Let me just add that watching the Deputy Attorney General launch a sustained personal attack against a congressional staffer in retaliation for vigorous oversight was astonishing and disheartening. … Also, having the nation’s #1 (for these matters) law enforcement officer threaten to ‘subpoena your calls and emails’ was downright chilling.’

The Department of Justice confirmed that Rosenstein “put them on notice to retain relevant emails and text messages, and he hopes they did so.” The Justice spokesperson said Rosenstein “never threatened anyone in the room with a criminal investigation,” which hadn’t been claimed, but that the “Deputy Attorney General was making the point—after being threatened with contempt—that as an American citizen charged with the offense of contempt of Congress, he would have the right to defend himself, including requesting production of relevant emails and text messages and calling them as witnesses to demonstrate that their allegations are false.” (Read more from “Somebody at DOJ Isn’t Telling the Truth About Rosenstein’s Subpoena Threats Against Congressional Staff” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

‘Children’ at Border Included Murderers, Rapists

/0 Comments/in , /by

Official government incident reports obtained by Judicial Watch after three years of delay provide a clearer profile of the “unaccompanied alien children” who flooded the U.S. border during the Obama administration and continue to arrive, documenting that among them were admitted murderers, rapists, drug smugglers, prostitutes and human traffickers. . .

Significantly, he said, the incident reports “also support the Trump administration’s contention that the UAC crisis, which continues, includes murderers, rapists, drug smugglers and human traffickers being routinely allowed into the United States.”

Trump – who has faced fierce criticism for enforcing a policy in effect under Presidents Bush and Obama requiring that children of parents being prosecuted for illegal entry be temporarily put in the custody of HHS – has argued gangs such as MS-13 have “exploited the loopholes in our laws to enter the country as unaccompanied alien minors.”

Judicial Watch began investigating the matter in 2014 when a wave of “unaccompanied alien children,” or UACs, overwhelmed the government’s capacity at the southwest border. The documents from the Health and Human Services Department’s Administration for Children and Families were submitted to the Office of Refugee Resettlement from May to November 2014.

Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act request Nov. 12, 2014, but only now has received the documents. (Read more from “‘Children’ at Border Included Murderers, Rapists” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Sarah Palin Issues This Challenge to CBS After ‘Disrespectful’ Fake Interview

/0 Comments/in , , /by

By The Blaze. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin challenged CBS and Showtime after she walked out of a fake interview she was duped into agreeing to with a disguised comedian. . .

Palin says she was contacted by an organization that invited her to an interview with a wounded warrior – but the veteran was an imposter and in fact comedian Sacha Cohen, who is known for his fake interviews of famous celebrities. . .

“Out of respect for what I was led to believe would be a thoughtful discussion with someone who had served in uniform, I sat through a long ‘interview’ full of Hollywoodism’s disrespect and sarcasm,” she added, “but finally had enough and literally, physically removed my mic and walked out, much to Cohen’s chagrin.” . . .

“Here is my challenge, shallow Sacha boy,” Palin said. “Go ahead – air the footage. Experience tells us it will be heavily edited, not pretty, and intended to humiliate.”

“The challenge is to Cohen, CBS and Showtime,” she added, “donate all proceeds to a charitable group that actually respects and supports American Vets.” (Read more from “Sarah Palin Issues This Challenge to CBS After ‘Disrespectful’ Fake Interview” HERE)

____________________________________________________

Furious Sarah Palin Reveals She Was Tricked by Sacha Baron Cohen When He Pretended to Be a Wounded Veteran to Interview Her for His New Show ‘Who Is America?’

By Daily Mail. Sacha Baron Cohen has done his best to avoid the spotlight and hide behind the characters he plays for almost 20 years, but that may be about to change.

Sarah Palin revealed on Tuesday that she was duped into filming an interview with Sacha Baron Cohen in Washington DC for his new series Who Is America?, completely unaware of the comedian’s intentions.

She claims that Cohen disguised himself as a wounded veteran for the sit-down, and that to cap things off the production team knowingly dropped her and her daughter off at the wrong airport, knowing they would not be able to get a flight back to Alaska. . . .

DailyMail.com has been told by a source that it was the American Programs Bureau that presented this opportunity to Palin, the same group who manages the likes of Larry King, Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs, Sir Richard Branson and Mikhail Gorbachev, to name a few.

‘For my interview, my daughter and I were asked to travel across the country where Cohen (I presume) had heavily disguised himself as a disabled US Veteran, fake wheelchair and all,’ explained Palin. (Read more from “Furious Sarah Palin Reveals She Was Tricked by Sacha Baron Cohen When He Pretended to Be a Wounded Veteran to Interview Her for His New Show ‘Who Is America?'” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

This Was Ranked America’s Top State for Business

/0 Comments/in , /by

In an article published Tuesday, Texas governor Greg Abbott reacted to his state taking first place in CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business scorecard.

“To keep Texas the best state to build a business big or small, I will continue to implement a blueprint for a new era of economic expansion,” the governor said.

“Innovation and self-reliance are deeply rooted in the Lone Star State, and when freed from the stranglehold of over taxation and overregulation, new ideas flourish. By limiting senseless government restrictions, the opportunity to succeed in business is as limitless as the land itself.”

During an interview on January 19, Abbott told viewers, “Every CEO across the country when they move to the state of Texas I ask them the same thing, why are you coming to Texas? The first words out of their mouth is the same thing, and that is because you have the best workforce in America.” . . .

“The Texas economy is the fastest-growing in the nation,” Abbott said. “More Texans are working than ever before as the Lone Star State leads in private-sector job creation — over the month, over the year and over the past 10 years. And jobs in Texas are now on pace for the strongest growth in four years. This is not accidental.” (Read more from “This Was Ranked America’s Top State for Business” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

San Francisco Earns yet Another Disgusting Moniker: Poopville

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Trash bags full of approximately 20 pounds of human poop were left on the sidewalk over the weekend in downtown San Francisco.

It’s the latest — and perhaps most alarming — sign of the increased filthiness of one of the most popular cities in the United States. . .

“Walked by this yesterday without knowing it had been a reported thing,” wrote Reddit user green_street. “Arguably the worst smell I’ve ever encountered. . .

A spokesman for SF311, San Francisco’s non-emergency customer service for governmental affairs, told The San Francisco Chronicle that though human waste found on city sidewalks might be common, this large of an amount is “not typical.” . . .

“I can’t say I’ve seen anything like that,” said tusi2, who has lived in the Tenderloin for two years. “I’ve seen open feces, smeared feces. I commend whoever put it in a bag. (Read more from “San Francisco Earns yet Another Disgusting Moniker: Poopville” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.