“IN GOD WE TRUST” Lázaro R González Miño Editor
amenper: Ya estamos en Diciembre y todos están pensando en las Navidades y la visita de Santa Claus. Hemos interceptado esta carta a Santa Claus del Presidente Obama y se las estamos reproduciendo.
La casa blanca
Oficina del Presidente
2 De diciembre de 2013
Estimado Sr. Claus ~
En esta jubilosa temporada de Navidad que se avecina, sé que hablo por muchos norteamericanos deseándole lo mejor en su viaje alrededor del mundo y gracias por la alegría que extiende sobre una base anual.
Siempre he sido un admirador suyo y me agrada mucho el color rojo de su traje que me recuerda a la revolución socialista – Por eso me paso la mayor parte de mi tiempo dando regalos como usted a los que no hacen nada para ganárselos.
A pesar de mi afecto personal, sin embargo, las responsabilidades de la Presidencia me obligan a hablar cuando hay errores que deben ser arreglados.
Antes de que se produzcan las fiestas pascuales este año, quiero llamarle la atención que si no adapta su conducta a las regulaciones de las distintas agencias del gobierno, la Navidad tendrá que ser cancelada a menos que usted se comprometa a cumplir con las siguientes normas y reglamentos establecidos por mi administración:
Todas las pequeñas personas que trabajan en su taller tienen que ser inmediatamente sindicalizadas e inscriptas en el programa de salud del Obamacare.
Usted y la Sra. Claus también tendrán que inscribirse en el programa. Tenemos un panel de pagos que tratará personalmente los casos de personas de avanzada edad como ustedes de una manera compasiva.
Cada milla que su trineo viaja a través del espacio aéreo estadounidense debe ser compensada por la compra de créditos por el abuso de emisiones de carbón. Si su vehículo puede proporcionar documentación suficiente para demostrar que se trata de una carga financiera excesiva, estamos preparados para subvencionar la compra de un trineo híbrido, aunque tendrá que parar para cargar el vehículo aproximadamente una vez cada 30 minutos.
La primera dama está preocupada de que su peso es un mal ejemplo para los niños de Estados Unidos. A fin de contrarrestar la creciente epidemia de obesidad en Estados Unidos, a usted ya no se permitirá consumir leche y galletas de dulce en los hogares estadounidenses. No tenemos intención de arruinar una preciada tradición por completo por lo que vamos a emitir un decreto instruyendo a padres en toda la nación que es aceptable a dejar un vaso de jugo de tomate y un plato de tofu.
Nuestro Departamento de educación tiene preocupaciones substanciales sobre el empleo de listas discriminatorias de niños que se ha portado bien o mal, estas listas son consideradas como perjudiciales para la autoestima de los jóvenes de los Estados Unidos. Todos los niños serán iguales, sin excepción de raza o comportamiento, aunque los niños de las minorías deberán de recibir más regalos.
La agencia de protección a los animales nos ha llamado la atención sobre la parte de su vestimenta que tiene lo que parece ser la piel del cadáver de osos blancos, esto tiene que ser corregido. Además la manera que used grita a los venados es abusiva y tiene que ser ajustada.
Previo a su visita, queremos una información detallada de la alimentación y cuidado de sus venados.
Nuestro departamento de seguridad nacional también nos ha llamado la atención sobre su canción que dice que está vigilando a los niños día y noche, esto es una competencia exclusiva de nuestros oficiales y esa conducta suya debe terminar.
.
Por último, sabemos que usted está pensando en retirarse en el futuro cercan o quizás el panel de pagos del Oba macare decida que ya ha vivido demasiado tiempo.
Le pedimos que considere dejar en su lugar al vicepresidente Biden como su reemplazo.
Con frecuencia lo encontramos hablando solo y riéndose sin motivo y siento que sería útil para al menos poner esa tendencia a trabajar de manera productiva.
Me doy cuenta de que muchas de estas peticiones pueden parecer onerosas. Sin embargo, mi gobierno siempre ha sido un lugar donde habitualmente nos sacrificamos por el bien de los demás, y eso es lo que creemos que le estamos queriendo hacer aquí. Queremos que piense de nosotros como su familia federal los colaboradores, no los reguladores. Estamos aquí para ayudar. De hecho, incluso hay la posibilidad de que usted podría ser elegible para el dinero del estímulo si está dispuesto a cumplir con unos requisitos básicos (como la entrega de más regalos a las personas que se inscriban en el Obamacare).
Me disculpo si algo de esto presenta un inconveniente. Por favor sepa que Michelle y yo todavía los consideramos un buen amigo.
Siempre serás bienvenido en nuestra casa,
Presidente Barack Hussein Obama
P.S. – “Siempre eres bienvenido en nuestra casa” es una figura retórica. Si intentas bajar por la chimenea de la casa blanca, el servicio secreto seguro te va a disparar.
Marzo Fernandez: LAS OLIMPIADAS DE LAS ESTUPIDECES
en www.nuevoaccion.com
Por Marzo Fernández( Especial para Nuevo Acción)
Segun informa el periodico Granma y las autoridades cubanas, acaban de concluir con un éxito total los ejercicios militares BASTIÓN, con una derrota total al enemigo. Las fuerzas invasoras , compuestas por las divisiones aerotransportadas AMERICAL y la 82, apoyadas por 2 portaviones 6 destroyers y 4 cruceros del Comando Sur, y los escuadrones de combate radicados en la Base Aerea de Homestad, fueron totalmente aniquiladas.
¿Alguien se puede creer este inventario de estupideces, que este gobierno de USA tenga ni siquiera la idea de invadir a Cuba ? ¿Alguna mente racional puede concebir, que el gobierno de USA está elaborando planes para destruir a Cuba con el famoso GAMS, golpe aereo masivo sorpresivo? ¿Quá ganaria?
Lo mas triste de todo, es que el gobierno cubano, tiene que buscarle un uso al gran inventario de armas obsoletas que tiene en su poder debido a su degradación tecnológica; en su mayoria, excedentes de la II Guerra mundial (desde 1990 Rusia no suministra ni un tornillo) y además convencer al gobierno venezolano, para que financie y participe en esta Olimpiada de estupideces.
Más de 2000 oficiales venezolanos participaron de forma activa y a manera de aprendizaje, en la lucha contra unas supuestas fuerzas invasoras. El costo de estas barbaridades para el gobierno venezolano, es más petróleo, que el gobierno cubano vende en el Mercado Internacional. ¿Ha cuanto ascendió esta estafa millonaria incalculable?
El gobierno cubano, no descansa en buscar un destino, a todo esos armamentos inservibles que almacena en sus túneles de conservación. La mayoría han sido vendidos a Venezuela. En la práctica, para los comunistas el contrabando de armas, es una de las actividades fundamentales para la obtención de divisas. Todavia está en Panamá el barco cargado de armas, con un destino desconocido.
No es ocioso recordar, que cuando Girón los aparatos represivos cubanos, elaboraron las famosas listas de Gusanos. Se recogieron a más de 200 mil cubanos, cuando solo existían 6 millones de habitamtes. Se llenaron las cárceles, y hubo que habilitar como c?árceles, a la Ciudad Deportiva, se llenaron los Fosos del Morro y la Cabaña, el Stadium del Cerro y hubo hasta que acudir al Cine Blanquita. ¿Hay antecedentes de una represión similar en el mundo?
Siguiendo la experiencia de Girón, para este ejercicio militar Bastióntambién fueron elaboradas por las fuerzas represivas las famosas listas de desafectos al sistema, apoyados por los cederistas, chivatones convertidos en esbirros e integrantes de las Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida, con licencia para golpear y maltratar a hombres, mujeres y niños. Cumplimentando a toda costa y costo social, la orden ''LA CALLE ES DE LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS''.
Prohibido olvidar, que a este tipo de represión se incorporan los CHIVATONES por "cuenta propia" que denuncian a amigos, vecinos e inclusos familiares para obtener prebendas del régimen. Los eternos MISERABLES.
Me imagino no, estoy convencido que cuando las autoridades militares recibieron y evaluaron la cantidad de desafectos que hay en el país, hayan determinado que la única forma de controlar a los desafectos es INSTALAR UNA CERCA PERIMETRAL ELÉCTRICA ALREDEDOR DE TODO EL PAÍS. Todos están presos, exceptos los comunistas y sus seguidores, que cada vez son menos, debido al desastre económico y social que vive el país. Todos quieren ser españoles, hasta los incondicionales están reclamando su pasaporte.
En realidad, históricamente Cuba ha sido una gran cárcel, donde el gobierno cubano, de acuerdo a sus intereses políticos internacionales, da eventualmente permisos de salida dirigidos y controlados, siempre buscando coyunturas externas que le reporten beneficios políticos y económicos.
¿Todavía hay alguien que tenga dudas sobre las intenciones de los actuales dirigentes cubanos de perpetuarse en el Poder? El ministro de comercio exterior de Cuba, Rodrigo Malmierca, acaba de anunciar públicamente que jamás existirá otro partido político que no sea el Comunista. Para los excépticos, y los que todavía tienen sus creencias, un consejo: LEAN EL GRANMA. Cierran todos los caminos para una solución democrática.
Hay una realidad, los comunistas han salido victoriosos por amplia mayoría en todos los procesos electorales efectuados. Fidel ha tenido siempre más del 99.8% de los votos depositados, Raúl por el estilo. Siempre votan más del 90% de los electores inscriptos. El que no sale a votar lo van a buscar a la casa y lo acompañan hasta el colegio electoral. EL SISTEMA ELECTORAL CUBANO ÚNICO EN EL MUNDO, EL COLEGIO ELECTORAL LO CUIDAN LOS PIONEROS Y NUNCA HA SIDO ELECTO UN DESAFECTO A UN CARGO PÚBLICO. ¿Y a alguien le pasa por la mente, que ellos van a cambiar?
A los estudiosos del tema cubano, que analicen cuales serían los métodos y opciones a tener en cuenta para acabar con esa plaga que se ha apropiado del país en beneficio de sus intereses personales.
EN MI OPINIÓN, TODAVÍA LA BATALLA ES LARGA, PERO MUY LARGA Y YO NO SOY PESIMISTA. UNA TRAGEDIA SIN FINA
Luis Carril: ¿Por qué renunció realmente el papa Benedicto XVI?
> Cardenales de la Iglesia Católica comienzan a reconocer otras posibles
> razones de la dimisión de Joseph Ratzinger, además de la versión
> oficial
> Los manejos económicos del Vaticano fueron un dolor de cabeza para Benedicto.
> por Mark Dowd
> BBC MUNDO
> En febrero de este año, Benedicto XVI sorprendió al mundo cuando se
> convirtió en el primer Papa en renunciar a la Iglesia Católica en casi
> 600 años. Pero la atención se dirigió rápidamente hacia la sucesión y
> el nombramiento de un nuevo pontífice. En medio de este drama, una
> pregunta nunca fue totalmente respondida: ¿por qué renunció Benedicto?
>
> La respuesta oficial de Joseph Ratzinger ofrece como explicación el
> declive de sus capacidades físicas y mentales, pero ha persistido la
> sospecha de que había otras razones. Mis indagaciones han confirmado
> estas sospechas.
>
> Comencé mi investigación visitando al cardenal nigeriano Francis
> Arinze en su apartamento ubicado en la vecindad de San Pedro. Él es
> una de las principales figuras de la Iglesia y conoce el Vaticano como
> la palma de su mano. Arinze fue incluso mencionado en marzo como uno
> de los posibles sucesores del papa que había dimitido y fue parte de
> la selecta comitiva que escuchó personalmente la noticia de la boca de
> Benedicto en el Palacio Apostólico.
>
> Le pregunté sobre los escándalos que antecedieron la sorpresiva
> decisión del Papa, en particular el tema de los Vatileaks que
> protagonizó el mayordomo del pontífice, Paolo Gabriele, al filtrar
> documentos confidenciales que exponían las luchas de poder dentro de
> la Iglesia. ¿Puedo haber sido ése un factor detrás de la renuncia? Su
> renuncia fue inesperada.
>
> “Es legítimo que cualquiera especule y diga “quizás”, porque algunos
> de esos documentos fueron sacados secretamente. Pudo haber sido una de
> las razones. Tal vez estaba muy afectado por el hecho de que su propio
> mayordomo filtrara tantas cartas que un periodista tuvo material
> suficiente para escribir un libro.
>
> “No creo que haya disfrutado lo que ocurrió”, me dijo el cardenal.
>
> En el Vaticano, los miembros más jóvenes y ambiciosos de la Iglesia
> suelen recibir un consejo: “Escucha mucho, observa todo y no digas
> nada”. El hecho de que una figura tan importante se permita
> esencialmente un desvío de la línea oficial es significativo.
>
> INFIERNO
> Básicamente, el Papa Benedicto XVI fue un papa maestro, un teólogo y
> un intelectual. “Para él, solo que lo mandaran a una semana de
> entrenamiento de habilidades gerenciales sería un infierno”, me dijo
> una persona del interior del Vaticano.
>
> Su mala fortuna fue acceder al papado en un momento en que existía un
> vacío de poder, en el que un número de mandos medios de la curia
> romana -los funcionarios de la Iglesia- se había convertido en
> “pequeños Borgias”, como explicó otro clérigo.
>
> Pero no es sólo mi palabra, esta evaluación viene de la fuente más
> importante, el actual líder de la Iglesia. Y el papa Francisco no
> suele ser tímido con sus palabras. “La corte es el leprosario del
> papado”, ha dicho el sucesor de Benedicto. Él ha descrito a la curia
> como “narcisista” y “autoreferencial”. Con eso tenía que lidiar Joseph
> Ratzinger.
>
> Desde los últimos años del pontificado de Juan Pablo II, el corazón de
> la sede eclesiástica ha estado dominado por camarillas enfrentadas.
> Eso es lo que quiso exponer, según sus propias palabras, Paolo
> Gabriele cuando fotocopió y filtró todos esos documentos.
>
> Pero el exmayordomo también dijo que su relación con el papa Benedicto
> era como la de “un padre y su hijo”. Entonces, ¿por qué actuó de una
> forma que iba a avergonzar inevitablemente a alguien tan cercano a él?
>
> “Él manifestó que había visto muchas cosas horribles dentro del
> Vaticano y que, en determinado momento, no pudo soportarlo más”,
> afirmó su abogada, Cristiana Arru, mientras movía las cuentas de su
> rosario y brindaba su segunda entrevista pública desde el escándalo.
>
> “Y él buscó una salida. Según sus palabras, él había visto muchas
> mentiras y pensaba que el Papa había sido ignorado en temas clave”,
> añadió Arru.
>
> Gabriele fue encontrado culpable de “robo agravado” y pasó tres meses
> en custodia hasta que fue perdonado por el Papa. Pero eso no fue el
> final. El líder de la Iglesia comisionó una investigación para saber
> todo lo ocurrido alrededor de este tema.
>
> Tres cardinales produjeron un informe de 300 páginas. Supuestamente
> iba a permanecer bajo llave pero un diario italiano dijo que había
> sido informado de sus principales contenidos. ¿El resultado? Más
> filtraciones embarazosas, esta vez con rumores sobre una red de
> sacerdotes homosexuales que ejercían “una influencia inapropiada”
> dentro del Vaticano.
>
> LA RUTA DEL DINERO
> Los dolores de cabeza siguieron afectando al Papa alemán. En el
> ambiente periodístico se suele decir que “hay que seguir al dinero”
> para saber qué está ocurriendo realmente, y esto se aplica también al
> Vaticano.
>
> Durante años, manejos económicos implicaban que el Vaticano terminara
> pagando tasas mucho más altas que las del mercado. Cuando un
> informante trató de reformar el sistema, funcionarios en la corte
> papal convencieron al desafortunado Benedicto XVI de promoverlo a un
> cargo a casi 6.500 kilómetros de Roma.
>
> Absurdos similares ocurrieron en el Banco del Vaticano, por años una
> fuente de titulares de diarios poco beneficiosos para la Iglesia
> Católica. Fue creado para ayudar a las órdenes religiosas y agilizar
> la transferencia de dinero más que necesitado en regiones lejanas del
> planeta. Pero cuando una cuantiosa proporción de transacciones se
> realizan en efectivo y terminan en zonas inestables del globo, no es
> necesario ser un genio para ver qué puede estar saliendo mal.
>
> Parece que funcionarios del banco tomaban decisiones clave sin
> informar constantemente al Papa. Cuando el directorio expulsó a su
> presidente reformista, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi (convenientemente el
> mismo día que la historia del arresto de Gabriele saturaba la
> cobertura noticiosa), el Papa no lo supo hasta que fue muy tarde.
>
> Según las palabras de su secretario privado, Benedicto XVI estaba “muy
> sorprendido”. Gotti Tedeschi era un miembro del Opus Dei y se creía
> que era muy cercano al Papa, pero al final esto no lo ayudó.
>
> ¿Fue todo esto demasiado para un anciano pontífice?
>
> Examinemos las precisas palabras del vocero de prensa del pontífice,
> padre Federico Lombardi: “La Iglesia necesitaba alguien con mayor
> energía física y espiritual que pudiera enfrentar los problemas y
> desafíos de gobernar la Iglesia en este cambiante mundo moderno”.
>
> Quizás esto es lo más cerca que usted estará de escuchar de la boca de
> un alto funcionario eclesiástico que la Iglesia se había vuelto
> ingobernable y necesitaba alguien más en el timón para poner fin al
> deterioro.
>
> Esta es una Iglesia que ahora tiene la enorme oportunidad de seguir
> adelante y enfrentar los desafíos del siglo XXI. Muchas veces visto
> como remoto, su liderazgo ahora busca escuchar las opiniones de los
> católicos en temas controvertidos como métodos anticonceptivos y
> matrimonio homosexual. La reforma vino tras el escándalo. Esto no pasa
> desapercibido para el cardenal Arinze.
>
> “Lo que uno debe recordar es que Dios suele escribir recto en líneas torcidas”.
Gitmo Inmates Rejecting Repatriation in Algeria
Friday, 29 Nov 2013 09:35 AM By Sandy Fitzgerald
The Obama administration may be pushing to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, but that doesn't mean all the prisoners want to go home.
Two Algerian prisoners being held at the Cuban naval base are fighting against being transferred out because they fear Islamist extremists will try to kill them when they discover the repatriated men don't share their views on violence, a lawyer for one of them told The Wall Street Journal.
Robert Kirsch, who represents detainee Belkacem Bensayah, said sending him and the other Algerian detainee, Djamel Ameziane, back to the North African country is "the most callous, political abuse of these men," and is being done so the Obama administration can show progress on closing the prison.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has visited both prisoners for their exit interviews this week, said Kirsch, and has asked the United States to reconsider sending them back to Algeria, a claim the Red Cross has not yet confirmed.
They would be returning to Algeria as Islamist violence is growing there and in other North African countries. According to government reports, North Africa now houses 15 al-Qaida affiliates, according to a recent Forbes report, and there have more than 1,000 attacks in Algeria, LIbya, Tunisia, and Morocco since 2010.
Cliff Sloan, the State Department's special envoy on the Guantanamo closing, refused comment on specific cases, telling the Journal that State is "moving ahead on the president's commitment to close Guantanamo responsibly, and we are making progress."
The Cuban prison, which former President George W. Bush opened in 2002, holds 164 prisoners, with 84 already cleared for release with restrictions. The government held a review last week for 21 more prisoners who are eligible to seek clearance, and nine others are either serving sentences or facing charges.
U.S. officials said they have already put off repatriation to some countries, including Tunisia, Syria, and Uzbekistan, along with Algeria, when detainees fear mistreatment upon going home.
Human rights activists say detainees' fears must be taken seriously.
"When you hear people say they would rather spend the rest of their lives in Guantanamo than go to a particular place, you have to take that seriously," said Andrea Prasow, a counterterrorism counsel with Human Rights Watch.
On Thursday, a senior Obama administration official, who was not named, said the United States does consider a detainee's concerns, but 14 detainees have already been sent back to Algeria without incident.
Bensayah, 51, is one of six Algerians who were arrested in Bosnia for plotting to blow up U.S. and British embassies, and was turned over with the others to the United States in January 2002, shortly after Bush opened the prison.
The other five have already been released, but a judge ruled Bensayah was an al-Qaida "facilitator" who planned to go to Afghanistan, but later backed away from the claims, ruling him eligible for release. Bensayah wants to return to Bosnia where his family lives, but the U.S. prefers returning prisoners to their own countries.
Amezian, 46, was caught trying to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan following the U.S. invasion that came after the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks. He has been fighting repatriation to Algeria since 2009 and wants to be resettled in Canada.
Related stories:
NY Post: Guantanamo Inmates Pampered, Overweight
Clock Ticks on Authority for Guantanamo Detention
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Obamacare Site Still 'Hit-and-Miss' as Fix Deadline Looms
The Obama administration has said the government’s troubled HealthCare.gov website will function smoothly by the end of Saturday.
Those paid to help enroll Americans in Obamacare remain doubtful.
From Florida to Alaska, the “navigators” designated to sign people up for insurance under the healthcare overhaul say the online insurance exchange has improved since its Oct. 1 debut, but outages and errors continue to prevent many from using it to buy their coverage.
The site is “kind of hit and miss,” said Karen Basha Egozi of the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida, a U.S. designated navigator. “There have definitely been more hits lately than in the past. But I know there are cases where people still get locked out when they try to purchase a plan.”
Tyann Boling, chief operating officer of Enroll Alaska, a unit of Anchorage-based Northrim Benefits Group LLC, said she now rates the site a four out of 10, with 10 being fully functional. “It’s got a long ways to go,” she said.
HealthCare.gov, which serves 36 states including Florida and Alaska, was designed to help uninsured Americans buy new health plans by March 31, as required under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Delays and software problems, though, have plagued the site since its rollout, giving support to the law’s harshest critics.
Weekend Fixes
Enroll Alaska has signed up 52 people in health plans out of about 2,200 who have requested help since the site opened. Boling said she is mostly successful on the site with simple cases, like a single adult making a set income. For uncommon financial situations, “the website is not able to function at the capacity yet that capture the complications of people’s lives,” she said.
On a Nov. 27 conference call with reporters, Julie Bataille, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, reiterated the administration’s pledge to have the site working smoothly for “the vast majority of users” by Dec. 1. Technicians working on the site will continue making repairs through the weekend, she said.
The government has added storage capacity to the data center and boosted processing power so it should be able to handle 800,000 visits a day and 50,000 users simultaneously, according to Bataille. Still, she said there will likely continue to be unexpected outages, periods of slowness and times when traffic is heavier than the site can handle.
Obama’s Legacy
President Barack Obama said the health-care law will “be a legacy I am extraordinarily proud of,” during an interview with ABC News’ Barbara Walters airing today on “20/20.”
“Obviously my most recent concern has been that my website’s not working,” Obama said, according to a summary of the interview by ABC News. “We’re evaluating why it is exactly that I didn’t know soon enough that [it] wasn’t going to work the way it needed to.”
Recent fixes have made it possible for most consumers to create an account and calculate how much their insurance will cost, according to insurance brokers and non-profit groups helping people enroll. The breakdown often comes at the final step of purchasing a plan, they said.
That’s caused some consumers to give up on the federal exchange with less than a month left for them to buy a plan that will put their coverage in effect on Jan. 1. Increasingly, people are bypassing the federal site and turning directly to insurers, even though that means they can’t get immediate access to U.S. subsidies, said Raymond Magnuson, owner of Magnuson & Associates, a Tucson, Arizona-based insurance broker.
‘Breaking Point’
“This week has become the breaking point,” Magnuson said by telephone. “I have several clients this week that have said exactly that: ‘I give up. I don’t care what the federal subsidy is. Enroll me in a plan. I’ll pay the premium.’”
In those instances, he said, they’re guaranteed coverage for Jan. 1, “but they’re giving up, in some cases, hundreds if not thousands of dollars in federal subsidies because of it.”
Those buying directly through an insurer website would still have to go through healthcare.gov to find out if they qualify for a subsidy, federal officials have said. If they’re applying with the insurer by telephone, they can apply for a subsidy separately through the federal site and have it applied to their plan. The payment then is sent directly to the insurer.
Seeking a Subsidy
While accessing the site may be easier as the result of recent software fixes, using it to figure out the actual cost of a plan can be problematic, said John Foley, supervising attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, a navigator group in Florida.
Some of the data provided on consumer subsidies has turned out to be incorrect in individual cases so people may be charged more or less than they thought. There’s no consistency, he said.
The Legal Aid Society has only managed to sign up 10 to 15 people out of “hundreds” who have come to the organization for help, according to Foley. Even those successes are questionable, he said, because the group hasn’t yet heard that anyone has received notices from their insurers confirming enrollment.
“It’s slow going,” Foley said.
Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, a navigator group, is telling people to log on in the evening after peak hours, recommending paper applications when people get frustrated and the call center, if necessary.
‘Buy it Month’
Healthcare.gov “is improving, literally week-over-week and day-over-day,” Hamler-Fugitt said. “October was homework month, November is window-shopping month. So we certainly hope December becomes ‘let’s buy it’ month.”
In the meantime, navigators are trying to keep consumers calm.
“The message we’re giving people is be patient, that yeah, whenever you have something big, it takes awhile,” said Sue Berkowitz, director of the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center. “But there’s still time, and you can make this happen.”
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Obamacare Site Still 'Hit-and-Miss' as Fix Deadline Looms

Friday, 29 Nov 2013 05:29 PM
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The Obama administration has said the government’s troubled HealthCare.gov website will function smoothly by the end of Saturday.
Those paid to help enroll Americans in Obamacare remain doubtful.
From Florida to Alaska, the “navigators” designated to sign people up for insurance under the healthcare overhaul say the online insurance exchange has improved since its Oct. 1 debut, but outages and errors continue to prevent many from using it to buy their coverage.
The site is “kind of hit and miss,” said Karen Basha Egozi of the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida, a U.S. designated navigator. “There have definitely been more hits lately than in the past. But I know there are cases where people still get locked out when they try to purchase a plan.”
Tyann Boling, chief operating officer of Enroll Alaska, a unit of Anchorage-based Northrim Benefits Group LLC, said she now rates the site a four out of 10, with 10 being fully functional. “It’s got a long ways to go,” she said.
HealthCare.gov, which serves 36 states including Florida and Alaska, was designed to help uninsured Americans buy new health plans by March 31, as required under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Delays and software problems, though, have plagued the site since its rollout, giving support to the law’s harshest critics.
Weekend Fixes
Enroll Alaska has signed up 52 people in health plans out of about 2,200 who have requested help since the site opened. Boling said she is mostly successful on the site with simple cases, like a single adult making a set income. For uncommon financial situations, “the website is not able to function at the capacity yet that capture the complications of people’s lives,” she said.
On a Nov. 27 conference call with reporters, Julie Bataille, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, reiterated the administration’s pledge to have the site working smoothly for “the vast majority of users” by Dec. 1. Technicians working on the site will continue making repairs through the weekend, she said.
The government has added storage capacity to the data center and boosted processing power so it should be able to handle 800,000 visits a day and 50,000 users simultaneously, according to Bataille. Still, she said there will likely continue to be unexpected outages, periods of slowness and times when traffic is heavier than the site can handle.
Obama’s Legacy
President Barack Obama said the health-care law will “be a legacy I am extraordinarily proud of,” during an interview with ABC News’ Barbara Walters airing today on “20/20.”
“Obviously my most recent concern has been that my website’s not working,” Obama said, according to a summary of the interview by ABC News. “We’re evaluating why it is exactly that I didn’t know soon enough that [it] wasn’t going to work the way it needed to.”
Recent fixes have made it possible for most consumers to create an account and calculate how much their insurance will cost, according to insurance brokers and non-profit groups helping people enroll. The breakdown often comes at the final step of purchasing a plan, they said.
That’s caused some consumers to give up on the federal exchange with less than a month left for them to buy a plan that will put their coverage in effect on Jan. 1. Increasingly, people are bypassing the federal site and turning directly to insurers, even though that means they can’t get immediate access to U.S. subsidies, said Raymond Magnuson, owner of Magnuson & Associates, a Tucson, Arizona-based insurance broker.
‘Breaking Point’
“This week has become the breaking point,” Magnuson said by telephone. “I have several clients this week that have said exactly that: ‘I give up. I don’t care what the federal subsidy is. Enroll me in a plan. I’ll pay the premium.’”
In those instances, he said, they’re guaranteed coverage for Jan. 1, “but they’re giving up, in some cases, hundreds if not thousands of dollars in federal subsidies because of it.”
Those buying directly through an insurer website would still have to go through healthcare.gov to find out if they qualify for a subsidy, federal officials have said. If they’re applying with the insurer by telephone, they can apply for a subsidy separately through the federal site and have it applied to their plan. The payment then is sent directly to the insurer.
Seeking a Subsidy
While accessing the site may be easier as the result of recent software fixes, using it to figure out the actual cost of a plan can be problematic, said John Foley, supervising attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, a navigator group in Florida.
Some of the data provided on consumer subsidies has turned out to be incorrect in individual cases so people may be charged more or less than they thought. There’s no consistency, he said.
The Legal Aid Society has only managed to sign up 10 to 15 people out of “hundreds” who have come to the organization for help, according to Foley. Even those successes are questionable, he said, because the group hasn’t yet heard that anyone has received notices from their insurers confirming enrollment.
“It’s slow going,” Foley said.
Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, a navigator group, is telling people to log on in the evening after peak hours, recommending paper applications when people get frustrated and the call center, if necessary.
‘Buy it Month’
Healthcare.gov “is improving, literally week-over-week and day-over-day,” Hamler-Fugitt said. “October was homework month, November is window-shopping month. So we certainly hope December becomes ‘let’s buy it’ month.”
In the meantime, navigators are trying to keep consumers calm.
“The message we’re giving people is be patient, that yeah, whenever you have something big, it takes awhile,” said Sue Berkowitz, director of the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center. “But there’s still time, and you can make this happen.”
© Copyright 2013 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obamacare-healthcare-gov-website-deadline/2013/11/29/id/539222?ns_mail_uid=63178713&ns_mail_job=1548174_11302013&promo_code=15C70-1#ixzz2m8pkCnxQ
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The Collapse of Journalistic Standards in JFK Coverage
NOVEMBER 29, 2013 BY CLIFF KINCAID
Any hope that the media will practice civility and raise journalistic standards has been dashed by the sympathetic coverage given to a new book falsely charging an American president with mass murder and political assassinations.
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The book, The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ, is based in part on the work of a communist operative, Joachim Joesten, who was assigned by the Soviet KGB to divert attention from the communist connections of JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
But author Roger Stone maintains, in the face of the evidence, “I don’t think the Russian state was involved in any way” in the JFK murder.
A former conservative turned libertarian, Stone has been recognized over the years for his role as a “political trickster” and has lately been promoting legalized marijuana, prostitution, and homosexual marriage. He even appeared topless in a gay rights parade. His bio claims he “first tipped off the FBI to Governor Eliot Spitzer’s use of prostitutes.”
“I was born and raised a Roman Catholic,” he said in one interview. “I believe in God, but I think basically organized religion is a hoax.”
Stone has no journalistic credentials to speak of. His bio proclaims, “Aside from politics, he’s also known for his personal style, and writes the annual ‘Ten Best and Worst Dressed Men and Women in the World’ column for the Huffington Post while serving as Men’s Fashion Editor for the Daily Caller.”
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The book is written with Mike Colapietro, described on the book flap as an “investigative journalist”—who is, in fact, a former sports writer and contributor to SMOKE magazine, devoted to cigars.
Nevertheless, the book has been taken seriously by such outlets as the Sean Hannity show on the Fox News Channel, the New York Post, The Huffington Post, The New York Daily News, Esquire (online), The Daily Caller, The National Enquirer, The Globe (the tabloid), The New York Observer, The Daily Beast, Newsmax, USA Today, Glenn Beck’s The Blaze, and Politico.
Stone’s book “stands on the research of citizens who have doubted the government’s version of events as depicted by the Warren Commission,” his preface says. One of these “citizens” is identified as an East German Communist by the name of Joachim Joesten, the author of the 1968 book The Dark Side of Lyndon Johnson. Joesten’s other books on the Kennedy assassination include Oswald: Assassin or Fall Guy?, published by a KGB front company, Marzani & Munsell.
In an email exchange, Stone acknowledged that he cited and read Joesten’s book. “I read his books,” he told me. “They are among the earliest works on the role of LBJ.”
Another one of Stone’s sources, cited in the preface, is Thom Hartmann, the “progressive” media personality featured on the Moscow-funded Russia Today television channel.
Joesten’s book, The Dark Side of Lyndon Johnson, finds Johnson guilty of murder and says, “If Lyndon Johnson has any brains left, he’d blow them out before the law gets around to him. That way he could at least escape the pinnacle of infamy and save his country from foundering in an abyss of national shame.”
Despite such sources, Stone’s JFK book has received sympathetic coverage from outlets on the left and right, including Sean Hannity, who allowed Stone to accuse LBJ of killing Kennedy and eight other people—“murders to cover up corruption, murder to cover up vote theft and electoral fraud.” No proof is offered for any of this.
Significantly, Stone has appeared on Russian media outlets such as the Voice of Russia and RT (Russia Today) television, where he has assured the Kremlin that he holds the Soviet state blameless in JFK’s murder.
As Soviet-bloc defector Ion Mihai Pacepa has written, the purpose of the KGB commissioning Joesten to write his book was to divert attention away from Oswald’s connections to the Soviet Union and Cuba. Variations of this theme have brought in LBJ, the CIA, Texas oil men, or various “right-wingers” as potential culprits in the JFK assassination.
Stone’s book is published by Skyhorse Publishing, which capitalized on the 50th anniversary of JFK’s murder by also releasing Jesse Ventura’s book, They Killed Our President: 63 Reasons to Believe There Was a Conspiracy to Assassinate JFK.
Other books published by Skyhorse include Stories of Lesbian Love and Erotica and Fifty Shades of Ecstasy.
A former aide to various Republican politicians, Stone claims Richard Nixon made “veiled references to Johnson’s complicity in the Kennedy assassination.” In fact, secretly recorded White House conversations involving then-President Nixon were released showing Nixon blaming Kennedy’s murder on the communists. Nixon said, “They pinned the assassination of Kennedy on the right wing, the Birchers. It was done by a communist and it was the greatest hoax that has ever been perpetuated.”
The “hoax” he is referring to is the elaborate KGB disinformation campaign to conceal the truth.
As noted by Professor Paul Kengor, Ronald Reagan also blamed the communists. Speaking in 1968, Reagan gave a speech saying, “Five years ago, a president was murdered by one who renounced his American citizenship to embrace the godless philosophy of communism, and it was communist violence he brought to our land. The shattering sound of his shots were still ringing in our ears when a policy decision was made to play down his communist attachment lest we provoke the Soviet Union.”
Johnson understood this as well. He told journalist Howard K. Smith, “Kennedy was trying to get to Castro, but Castro got to him first.” It was a reference to American plots to overthrow or assassinate the Cuban dictator and Castro’s promise to retaliate. A Cuban communist defector said Castro knew in advance about the communist plot to kill Kennedy.
But Johnson’s fear of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union led him and the Warren Commission to play down Oswald’s international connections to the Soviet Union and Cuba.
Read more at http://www.westernjournalism.com/collapse-journalistic-standards-jfk-coverage/#h5bkjGiiKe1RXJBO.99
Hillary Clinton Supporters Slowly Realizing She Didn’t Do Anything as Secretary of State 29 November 2013 /
But that’s okay since Hillary Clinton also didn’t do anything in the Senate. It could actually be a good slogan for her campaign. “Vote for Hillary:She Won’t Do Anything as President Either.”
But some people close to Mrs. Clinton worry that, because of the high profile given to her work for women’s rights, and the headlines now being generated by the hyperkinetic Mr. Kerry, her efforts on trickier diplomatic situations have been eclipsed.
What exactly did Hillary Clinton do for women’s rights? I mean besides give speeches about it.
What about her 13 trips to Libya in 2011 to build the coalition that led to the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, they ask. Why is no one talking about how she brokered a cease-fire in Gaza? Anyone remember that she furthered economic sanctions on North Korea?
Seriously?
Libya is on fire. Its cities are run by armed Islamist militias. Some of whom murdered 4 Americans in a diplomatic mission that Hillary and her staffers failed to provide security for while they were blowing millions on overpriced Kindles, art in embassies and a YouTube channel for Afghanistan.
Does anyone in her right mind want to give Hillary credit for Libya?
Negotiated a ceasefire in Gaza? You mean the one that consists of Hamas attacking Israel and Israel fighting back?
North Korea? The brutal Communist tyranny that keeps expanding its nuclear power base despite the useless sanctions?
Read More: http://www.frontpagemag.com
Read more at http://minutemennews.com/2013/11/hillary-clinton-supporters-slowly-realizing-didnt-anything-secretary-state/#RaM59e5lboyvOFIt.99
Enrique Artalejo: Hillary Clinton Supporters Slowly Realizing She Didn’t Do Anything as Secretary of State. 29 November 2013 /
But that’s okay since Hillary Clinton also didn’t do anything in the Senate. It could actually be a good slogan for her campaign. “Vote for Hillary:She Won’t Do Anything as President Either.”
But some people close to Mrs. Clinton worry that, because of the high profile given to her work for women’s rights, and the headlines now being generated by the hyperkinetic Mr. Kerry, her efforts on trickier diplomatic situations have been eclipsed.
What exactly did Hillary Clinton do for women’s rights? I mean besides give speeches about it.
What about her 13 trips to Libya in 2011 to build the coalition that led to the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, they ask. Why is no one talking about how she brokered a cease-fire in Gaza? Anyone remember that she furthered economic sanctions on North Korea?
Seriously?
Libya is on fire. Its cities are run by armed Islamist militias. Some of whom murdered 4 Americans in a diplomatic mission that Hillary and her staffers failed to provide security for while they were blowing millions on overpriced Kindles, art in embassies and a YouTube channel for Afghanistan.
Does anyone in her right mind want to give Hillary credit for Libya?
Negotiated a ceasefire in Gaza? You mean the one that consists of Hamas attacking Israel and Israel fighting back?
North Korea? The brutal Communist tyranny that keeps expanding its nuclear power base despite the useless sanctions?
Read More: http://www.frontpagemag.com
Read more at http://minutemennews.com/2013/11/hillary-clinton-supporters-slowly-realizing-didnt-anything-secretary-state/#RaM59e5lboyvOFIt.99
Tengan todos muy buenos dias y buena suerte.
QUE DIOS LOS BENDIGA ABUNDANTEMENTE.
"EN MI OPINION" Lázaro R González Miño Editor.
lazarorgonzalez@hotmail.com, lazarorgonzalez@gmail.com,
"IN GOD WE TRUST"
