Enrollment In Obamacare’s Federal Exchange, So Far, May Only Be In ‘Single Digits’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: Forbes

Photo Credit: Forbes

On October 1, Obamacare’s subsidized insurance exchanges went live. Most of the exchange websites crashed on the first day, a development that led some of the law’s supporters to conclude that there was overwhelming demand for Obamacare’s insurance products. But the Obama Administration isn’t releasing figures as to the number of Americans who have actually signed up for exchange-based coverage. “Very, very few people that we’re aware of have enrolled in the federal exchange,” said one anonymous insurance industry official to the Washington Post. “We are talking single digits.”

Exchange agencies walk back high-traffic hype

Other exchanges have had to pare down their initial statistics. Covered California, that state’s subsidized insurance exchange, initially claimed that its website had received 5 million hits on October 1. They later had to revise that number down 87 percent, to 645,000. KUSI-TV in San Diego is reporting that not one policy has yet been sold on the California exchange.

According to Megan McArdle, high traffic alone doesn’t explain why the federal healthcare.gov website is having so many issues. For example, the drop-down boxes for security questions aren’t working, which shouldn’t be a traffic-related problem. “The drop-down thing is mystifying,” a programmer source told McArdle. It “could very easily be because deadline pressure caused them to take some shortcuts that impacted their ability to scale.”

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Waxman on 10,535 Pages of Obamacare Regs: ‘Is It Important That I Read It?’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

When asked by CNSNews.com whether he had read all 10,535 pages of final Obamacare regulations that have so far been published in the Federal Register, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) asked in return whether it was “important” the he read them, dismissed the inquiry as a “propaganda question,” and did not ultimately anwer.

CNSNews.com: “What I was going to ask you is if you’ve read those [10,535 pages] of regulations.”

Waxman said: “Have you read them?”

CNSNews.com: “No. Have you read them?”

Waxman said: “Is it important that I read it?”

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Mark Levin: You Lay One Damn Hand on a WWII Vet, I’ll Bring Half a Million People to DC (+video)

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levinConservative talker Mark Levin has a stern warning for President Barack Obama and his administration: Don’t mess with the World War II veterans.

Levin, author of “The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic,” told his audience on his Wednesday radio show should there be any action taken against those veterans for visiting the World War II Memorial on the National Mall, even with the government shutdown, he would bring 500,000 people to march on the Washington, D.C. in response.

“I want to tell you folks something — I want to say this loud and clear to the people who are on Capitol Hill who are listening, to this administration: You lay one damn hand on one of those World War II vets at that memorial, I’ll bring half a million people to that damn memorial,” Levin said. “You got that? I’m sitting here stewing thinking about this — playing these damn games. You will ignite a movement in this country like you have never seen before — the biker patriot army, veterans from all over the country, every single war and battle in this country — Republican, Democrat, Independent, whatever.”

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‘Is your Girlfriend Still on Fire?’ The Moment 911 Dispatcher Laughed While Responding to a Man’s Emergency Call about Freak Accident (+video)

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Photo Credit: KGUN9

Photo Credit: KGUN9

An Arizona man dialed 911 to report that his girlfriend has caught on fire in a freak accident – only to hear peals of laughter on the other end of the line.

Tucson resident Lalo Delgado and his girlfriend were driving to Chiva Falls along a rural road when their car burst into flames, leaving the woman with serious burns.

Delgado called 911 to report an emergency, telling the dispatcher: ‘my car just kinda caught on fire, my girlfriend caught on fire.’

In response, the female operator asked if Delgado’s girlfriend was still on fire.

He answered ‘no,’ and a moment later he heard giggles in the background on the other end of the line.

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Showdown Expected at WWII Memorial, Arrest Threats

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Screen shot 2013-10-02 at 1.06.57 AMAfter a group of veterans “stormed” the barricaded World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, other WWII veterans groups are planning to visit the same site on Wednesday — which only exists because of their service. Meanwhile, another Honor Flight group in Ohio is claiming that the Park Service threatened to arrest its members if they entered the closed memorial during their planned visit on Oct. 9 (assuming the government is still “shut down”).

Andrea Plunkett, a volunteer with the Kansas City-area Heartland Honor Flight, told TheBlaze the group plans to bring about 90 veterans to the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. She said the WWII veterans would arrive at around 11 a.m. with a delegation about about 12 U.S. senators and representatives. The group plans to breach the barricades…

“When we heard the news this morning about the barricades being erected at the memorials, dozens of people started helping us try to find a solution,” she told TheBlaze. “Both Kansas and Missouri officials have been incredibly responsive– we heard back from Senator [Roy] Blunt, [Claire] McCaskill, [Pat] Roberts and [Jerry] Moran’s offices right away. Several members of Congress have been involved as well…”

“Our next flight isn’t until Spring of 2014, and waiting is not an option for many of these vets. Between 600-900 WWII vets die each day, so when it comes to Honor Flights, time is of the essence,” she said. “These veterans can’t wait on the government.”

Lawmakers from Kansas and Missouri plan to be on hand tomorrow to help the veterans gain access.

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No Signs of Government Shutdown Worries in Stock Markets (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Fears about the federal government shutting down appear not to have reached Wall Street.

Stock markets opened higher Tuesday morning after Congress failed to authorize spending overnight. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average gained over the first half of the day, and the Nasdaq composite index also increased by over a percentage point.

To some extent, those gains reflected the fact that markets had already priced in the impact of a shutdown, which was viewed as likely by Monday afternoon when Republicans and Democrats remained far from a deal, if not by the close of business Friday before Congress’ weekend deliberations.

Nevertheless, said Craig Alexander, the chief economist for TD Bank Group, the morning showed “very sanguine movement, so clearly no deep fear in the markets.”

Private-sector economists have said the lapse in government spending could modestly reduce economic output for the quarter, and that a shutdown of longer than a month could start to disrupt the broader economy more significantly as government services were missed.

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Shutdown Hits Parks Across Nation (+video)

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Photo Credit: KAZVorpal

Photo Credit: KAZVorpal

When elderly veterans pushed their way through police barricades Tuesday to get to the World War II memorial on the Mall, they not only became an instant online sensation, but also a symbolic protest against the government shutdown.

It wasn’t just in D.C.

National Park Service sites became a focus of the shutdown debate across the country, as the Grand Canyon and Yosemite national parks closed, and families had to cancel or alter long-planned vacations.

“In Nevada today — it is 7 in the morning out there — they are closing Great Basin National Park,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said as he opened his chamber for business Tuesday morning. “Lake Mead Recreational Park will be closed. Red Rock Recreation Area — over a million people come there every year. The visitor center will be closed.”

With Congress stalemated on how to fund the government for fiscal year 2014, which began Tuesday, government agencies gave nonessential employees a few hours to take care of last-minute business and then sent them home to wait out the legislative gridlock in Washington.

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McCain: ‘Apocalypse is Upon Us’ (+video)

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john_mccain4622Canceled football games and a veterans’ insurrection were among the unexpected events that marked the first day of the federal government shutdown.

The Department of Defense released a statement early Tuesday that shocked college sports fans. The department said that all athletic competitions at the Army, Navy and Air Force academies would be postponed for as long as the government remained closed.

The Air Force and Navy are scheduled to square off in a sold-out, nationally televised football game on Saturday, while the Army has a planned match-up against Boston College. If the government impasse isn’t resolved by Thursday, both games will be suspended.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a graduate of the Naval Academy, told reporters that the cancelation of the Air Force-Navy game would be the “defining moment” of the shutdown.

“The apocalypse is upon us,” McCain lamented.

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‘Deuce Bigalow’ Actor: I Haven’t Made a Movie in California in 7 Years Because of Democrats (+video)

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Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

“Saturday Night Live” alumnus and “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo” actor Rob Schneider appeared in a short video (embedded below) with California Assemblyman — and Republican gubernatorial hopeful — Tim Donnelly and Politichicks reporter Ann-Marie Murrell on Monday. In the video, Schneider declared that he hasn’t worked on a film in California in seven years because of the recent rise of Democrats in state elections.

“The state of California is a mess,” Schneider declared, “and the supermajority of Democrats is not working. I’ve been a lifelong Democrat and I have to switch over because it no longer serves the people of this great state.

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Showdown on Meet the Press and Ted Cruz Doesn’t Back Down (+video)

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Screen shot 2013-09-30 at 12.41.00 AMNBC’s David Gregory repeatedly pressed Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz Sunday, over his strategy aimed at defunding President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare law.

The showdown came on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” with Gregory taking issue with Cruz’s characterization that the Democrats in Congress and the president won’t compromise over their stance on Obamacare.

“There are not protests in the streets arguing to do away with this law in the way that you’d like. Again 56% in one poll said let’s uphold the law,” Gregory continued. “I’m focusing on results. Where have you moved anything?”

Cruz responded, noting even unions are asking for exemptions to the law, but that answer did not satisfy Gregory who continued to grill the Texas firebrand.

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