So the government shutdown continues. Although promises to make furloughed federal workers whole with back pay raises the question when is a “furlough” just another taxpayer-paid vacation?
But as long as the panda-cam at the National Zoo is shut down and parking lots are roped off at national parks, we’ll accept for the sake of argument that the shutdown is real.
But the president really did promise that nothing would stop Obamacare from being implemented — not Tea Partiers in the U.S. House or government shutdowns, NOTHING.
That is unless you consider the dreadfully flawed technology, especially the software, which was to link eager would-be consumers of health insurance to the government that has promised them everything but delivered not so much.
The website that was supposed to direct citizens of 36 states (happily not including Massachusetts, which had a few glitches of its own but nothing like the federal meltdown) pretty much crashed as people tried to set up their online accounts so they could access insurance policies through health care exchanges […].
It was, in short, a nightmare. One that demanded at least a first round of fixes on Sunday — the first time the Obama administration admitted that this just wasn’t working. Another round followed in the wee small hours of Tuesday morning.
Experts who examined the system for The Wall Street Journal found a number of coding problems and what they called flaws in the “architecture” of the system.
Jon Kingsdale, who helped set up the Massachusetts system and served for a time as head of the Connector authority, warned that the feds may be able to weather this October failure, but “this all needs to get fixed by November or they won’t be able to process the volume they’re going to get.”
Of course, putting the law on hold for a year, especially putting the individual mandate on hold as the Obama administration has already done for the employer mandate, would have been a sensible thing to do.
But then when has “sensible” ever entered into the thinking of this administration?
Here’s a simple strategy the each and every GOP House member should be following: first, block out the GOP “consultants” and “pragmatists,” because the advice consultants are offering is to surrender (a sure way to alienate the base), and the “pragmatists” aren’t being terribly pragmatic, acting as they are to ensure that the Cruz / House strategy fails rather than working to win the American people over to it by explaining it clearly and with conviction). Second, call a press conference daily. And not just in DC: House members should be on the phone with the local media in their districts and states — all delivering a singular, straightforward message: “The President and the Democrats want to continue government funding on autopilot despite a debt that keeps growing. On top of that, they want to force you into a health insurance system that they can’t even get operational, and yet are demanding you join anyway.
“But not all of you. The President has decided that some people are worthy of waivers — meaning the individual mandate won’t apply to them for a full year — while others are not. That is, he has granted waivers to his friends and cronies while denying them to the rest of the American people.
“Now ask yourself: if ObamaCare is so wonderful that we all really need to accept it, why are Obama’s friends and clients seeking to avoid it?
“Despite what you may have been told, here is what the House GOP is ACTUALLY asking: 1) that the waivers Obama has given his big corporate pals and his union buddies be extended to ALL Americans, who are presumably equal under the law. Frankly, given the problems with the software, this is a practical as well as an ethical compromise. 2) that the very Congress who demands you follow this law not grant themselves an exemption from it — while asking you to subsidize their own gold plated health care plans.
“To be clear, the government ‘shutdown’ (which really only applies to 17% of the non-essential government functions) is a product of the President and Harry Reid’s refusal to accept those two conditions on a continuing resolution. Or to put it another way, they refuse to negotiate with those who are pushing for equality before the law and resisting the special privileges of a ruling class that passes laws they then elect not to follow themselves.
“Rather than compromising, however, Obama and the Democrats have decided to punish you for your presumptuousness: rather than agree to a deal that would prove fair to everyone, they have decided to fill your lives with inconvenience, to cause you misery, to show you just what happens when you defy your federal government. They have punished vets, elderly home owners, hoteliers, restauranteurs, park visitors, travelers — and the list goes on. And they needn’t have: during other government shut downs, no other President has done any such things. And the American people are taking notice.
“Because what Obama and Sen Reid fail to realize is that, in doing so, they are showing you just how much the federal government, when it desires to, can cause you pain. And that’s because it is too big and too insinuated into our lives. This was not what the Founders and Framers had in mind when they constructed a Constitution built around limited and enumerated federal powers.
“A government that is big enough to shut down views of mountains, open air monuments, and entire oceans, is a government that can demand of you nearly anything. And now they want to control your health care.
“So imagine: if anyone in the future tries to stop the federal government from overspending, and the government can threaten in return to close to access to health exchanges, what recourse will you have then?
“We are fighting now because now is the time to fight. For you, and for your liberty. And despite everything you’ve heard from those who are pushing Obama’s agenda, the failure to compromise is his and the Democratic Party’s.
“We have passed or introduced appropriation measures to fund veterans, the parks, the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and any number of other parts of the government. The Democrats have voted to block those measures until they get everything they want, which in this case amounts to the RIGHT to pick and choose who must follow a law and who doesn’t have to.
“That’s not fair. And that’s not right. And it’s certainly not the American way.”
Get that message down to state and local level, and stop worrying about how the press will frame things, and you win. It really is that simple.
So. Chop chop!
Why does your formatting often go hinky at the end of a post? Do the P tags forget how to function?
I blame WordPress, naturally, and not you.
If we don’t bite that most unpleasant of bullets – doing a slash-and-burn on a Federal Government-Gone-Wild – then the bullets will start flying, sooner rather than later.
I had predicted a Revolution before 2025, and I see nothing to tell me that I have been wrong in the slightest… I may have even been a little over-optimistic, thanks to the damage inflicted by #OccupyResoluteDesk and his cronies… on the economy, on the military, on the War on Terror, on our national security and prestige overseas, and even on the citizens of the various states (Arizona, North Carolina, Texas, and the list grows).
What cannot go on forever… won’t.
The conditions of the Declaration and Resolves of 1774 are come now recapitulated.
When such obvious and powerful tactics are not employed, one naturally turns to the question of why not?
Of course, the reasons why not are well-trodden ground around here.
I just bought a Tristar Atac 12 gauge semi-auto.I would have preferred the Mossberg SA_20 but it was $120 cheaper and about the same otherwise. Sadly trisar doesn’t have any accessory parts out there like the mossburg does so a magazine extension might be tricky. I can’t wait to take it boating with me. On that lake. Still thinking about a Mosin Nagant with the $120 I saved.
I wish I had $1700 for a VEPR 12 or a SAIGA and a Kushnapup kit. Or a Bushmaster ACR. Oh well.
I am still counting on “them” running out of ammo by the time they get to me. One, I am a lousy shot, two basically a coward, and three probably will have already traded most my ammo and weapons on the black market for canned beans.
Obamacare Has ‘Raped My Future,’ College Grad Says in Viral Letter
College Grad had me right up until she said “It will keep me and kids my age from having a future at all.”
She’s 26 years old. At that age, I was married and buying my first home. At that age, my parents were celebrating their 7th anniversary by leaving their two kids with grandma for a day or two.
I sympathize with her plight, and I acknowledge that she makes some very good points, but let’s not pretend that people in the mid-20s are “kids.”
If they are unemployed and still living at home, and are still on their parent’s insurance, they are “kids”, no matter how many birthdays they have seen. I would argue that they shouldn’t be allowed to vote or buy tobacco or alcohol until they maintain their own residence. (I say “residence” instead of “address”, as I know it is possible to have a mailing address, and by corollary, a bank account, yet not have an actual residence.)
Katie Pavlich was on Hannity’s show the other night when he was asking a panel of journos questions about, well, the news.
Someone (little black guy with perma-smirk? I can’t recall his name) was sitting next to her and kept interrupting her until she told him to STFU while she was talking (I paraphrase). Anyway, the question was about Obamacare and health insurances in general. She made the exact same point as Squid, if you’re 26 and still on Mom and Dad’s insurance, there’s something wrong. Grow up, already! was the message.
A Ruger Ranch Rifle can be had for about half the price and do the same job –‘tho not in style.
A Ruger 10/22 can be had for about a fifth of the price, and might very well be more practical than anything save for the Nagant.
And then there’s that Mossberg MVP Patrol that’s trying to seduce me away from the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle –the saucy minx.
I picked up an old Savage 24 (.410 under, .22WMR over) last year for the wife. A lot more practical than you might think at first.
Short of being a sniper though, when you are talking about that much money I will continue to go for quantity over quality. A good .22 is a must unless you can afford $1 a round to practice.
Goodness, I do love when threads jut off suddenly into discussions on firearms.
There Is Some Random Guy Mowing The Lawn Of The Lincoln Memorial Right Now
Have the Mall Cops shot him dead yet?
Lately it’s been easier to find .223 and 5.56 NATO than it’s been to find .22lr in these here parts.
And the .223/5.56 has been running$0.45 to $0.50/round for the FMJ
Same here Ernst. Of course, the kiddos are practicing for hunting season.
YOU CAN”T HUNT DEER WITH AN ASSAULT RIFLE!!!!!!!
said the liberal panty-twister
Well I’ve run 20 rounds through my new twelve gauge and bought it a little sailor hat for it’s upcoming boat trip. Semi-auto shotguns it turns out are pretty rad if a bit kicky. Way to go Turkey(the nation)!
Sailor hats are cute, but aren’t life jackets more practical?
Now Palaeo has the right idea for hunting season. Load that baby up with slugs and wait ’til you hear the deer rustling through the leafy cover.
Then blast ’em like you were shooting an intruder through your door.
Jus’ like Joe would.
Too bad he has to make that dangerous boat trip to get to his deer stand.
“YOU CAN”T HUNT DEER WITH AN ASSAULT RIFLE!!!!!!! said the liberal panty-twister ”
Of course not. That shoulder thing that goes up would scare the deer away. That is if the bayonet lug doesn’t start killing people the moment you unzip your gun bag…
Maybe I can have my gun painted a non-scary color. Lavender maybe? Teal? What color are chicks painting their toe nails lately? I could add some sparkles if that helps. Or glow in the dark stickers.
Ted Cruz poll shows GOP gained in fight over Obamacare despite shutdown
Teal is tres hip for interior decoration. That trend can’t die soon enough.
The real danger is the high capacity bullets inside the assault magazine. When they all go off at once like that, it’s bambi puree.
Yes, but the people who have those now, they’re going to shoot them. So, if you ban them in the future, the number of the high-capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will have been shot and there won’t be any more available….
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I better make sure I don’t startle my ammo boxes.
When you think about it shot shells are sort of like MIRVs, Only without the guidance. Or the payload. Or the reentry. Or the independence. I’m not sue that the whole vehicle thing applies either. THANKS CARTER!
Waste of a stout bolt action on the 5.56/.223, which is a weak-sauce round for largish game. I’d rather have that chambered in 7.62×39 (accepting, of course, the 30-round AK mags), if one had to have a bolt action in such ‘small’ chamberings. Give me 30-06 or 308 in that rifle, I’m much happier.
Palaeo, the CW is that semi-auto shotties are less kicky due to the bolt and carrier group absorbing more of the recoil. Of course, if the whole gun is very light-weight, forget what I just said.
Regardless, enjoy!
RI, it’s a six and a half pound gun unloaded and a bit too long for me. I probably need to to look into adapting a youth-length stock to the thing, and a better butt-pad for my shoulder. It’s not beating me up though. It’s for home defense not bringing down a wild turkey or anything like that. It’s just got to be comfortable enough to practice with once a week or so. Unless I lose it to the hungry hungry waters due to boat treachery.
Supposedly there is or soon will be a 7.62 NATO version of the MVP Patrol.
Now if only Mossberg would come out with a left-handed bolt….
Stuff I won’t be doing with my shotgun.
Taofledermaus…sort of like curious physics students and firearms mixing to make a sort of “Will it blend” type of short only with shotguns.
Crazy shotgun loads 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwqKMbPfeSI
Crazy Shotgun loads 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFut0f920X8
Silly Putty shotgun loads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1tsdfq16Ho
Neodymium magnet shotgun loads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuzqSIBlaA
Dimes Out of a shotgun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPbGvjslY6A
Taofladermaus?
Tao of the bat? I don’t want to know.
They put box cutter blades on a child’s string-spun top once to see if it would cut stuff like an egg. They do stuff.