Comments on: Miscellany: unemployment up…

By: Ymarsakar

Ymarsakar — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 05:39:50 +0000

“So, in the immortal words of Hillary Clinton, what difference does it make if Hagel’s answers were a disgrace?”

It makes the job of those of us who believe civil war is inevitable in the US, a lot easier. When the civilian population no longer believe in their own system nor believe that politics is the answer to their problems, they will be far more amenable to other, more practical, solutions.

By: Rick Caird

Rick Caird — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 22:29:56 +0000

Oh, one other thing on ObamaCare. There seems to be no enforcement mechanism for failure to pay the $2400 penalty except the IRS can take it out of your refund. So, if you withhold correctly, even that will not be possible.

By: Rick Caird

Rick Caird — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 22:27:49 +0000

I know the Democrats thought that ObamaCare was a path to single payer, but I doubt that will happen. ObamaCare already polls poorly and that is before things like reduced hours, layoffs due to the 2.3% tax on the gross revenues of medical device companies, the rapidly escalating cost of health insurance, and all the ins and outs of the contraceptive mandate. The whole of ObamaCare is a mess and there is something for everybody to hate. How about a 50% penalty on low income smokers? Think that might add to the discontent? The, thee is also the problem with the state exchanges and the inability to subsidize people in states without state exchanges.

The problem the Democrats have is that ObamaCare will collapse. It has to. And, then the only thing they can do is reopen it for “fixing” even if that fix is single payer. But, a more likely “fix” if it is reopened is repeal, so they are afraid to do that. Remember, there was not a single Republican vote for it and many of the problems will become visible to even the low information voter in 2014 as we run up to those elections. ObamaCare may well end up being the gift that keeps on giving to the Republicans.

By: Mr. Frank

Mr. Frank — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 21:47:53 +0000

Kerry looks a lot like a horse.

By: Don Carlos

Don Carlos — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:47:57 +0000

Way to go, beverly!!

By: Artfldgr

Artfldgr — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 15:16:14 +0000

wait..
the health care thing being ad is just sinking in on the left
but they have not yet caught on that the process was to remove health insurance as a regular part of what a corporation (large) provides… healthcare became a way to get better employees, till everyone did it, then everyone was kind of obligated to as the best employees would not go there. now how do you get these large companies back to their old progressive fascist ways of not providing insurance?

have the state provide it…

the companies are adapting to that…
for instance. adjunct professors who had health care are losing it in huge numbers now as their hours are being cut to 1 hour below the requirement. not only that, but with so many degrees chasing adjunct positions salaries are down and there is no shortage to make up the disparity of cutting hours with an extra warm body that also doesn’t get healthcare

they have yet to figure out that the size of the very thing belays the concept of not knowing

By: beverly

beverly — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 07:45:18 +0000

Well, we now have a treasonous gasbag, the world’s most expensive gigolo [twice!] as secretary of state: a worthy successor to Thomas Jefferson?

holy fertilizer

also, wikipedia already has a hagiographic portrait of said d-bag on its secretary of state page.

And now Chuckles Hagel as the secretary of defense: what could possibly be next?

I know! Barry O. will appoint a HORSE to take Kerry’s seat in the Senate — and the august body will accept it tamely. Hell, outside of the improvements, they’ll never know the difference.

We are so screwed.

By: neo-neocon

neo-neocon — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 06:02:22 +0000

J. J.: I wrote here that I was disappointed only three senators voted against Kerry. I agree with you that the questioning of Kerry could have been far, far, harder than it was, as well. I think the difference may be that they think they have a chance of getting Hagel replaced, whereas they didn't think they had any chance re Kerry. Another thing (something I read in a comment on another blog; mostly a joke but perhaps a tiny bit serious) is that they were especially eager to finally get Kerry out of the Senate. If he doesn't get the job in the end, he remains a senator, and then they have to listen to him. With Hagel, he's out of their hair already.

By: J.J. formerly Jimmy J.

J.J. formerly Jimmy J. — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 05:52:38 +0000

A wee comment on the confirmation hearings of Hagel and Kerry. Methinks Kerry’s questioning could have been just as hard-nosed as was Hagel’s. Kerry is a big bag of wind, but was given a pass by all but a couple of the R Senators. Why? IMO, he’s just as incompetent as Hagel and could have been shown as such. Yet they treated him with kid gloves. It leaves a bitter taste. Are McCain, Graham, and others as hypocritical as this makes them look? It calls into question the whole damned process.

I commented before on Hagel that he had no major management experience that qualified him to run DOD. His perfomance really showed that, but also made it appear that he can’t even string two coherent thoughts together. (Somewhere in Nebraska a village is missing its idiot?) I’m probably the worst public speaker one could imagine, but Hagel’s performance made me feel positively Churchillian.

Anyhoo, a bizarre and dispiriting perfomance by an august body that is supposed to be serious in its deliberations. I guess it shouldn’t surprise. But it does.

By: Don Carlos

Don Carlos — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 01:22:24 +0000

Scott Brown is a perfect symbol for the malady of our times. He was a thin reed in the Senate, a classic RINO. MA deserves Warren, but the rest of us do not.