Oct. 31: CBS News: ObamaCare enrollments the first day? Six!
For 31 days now, the Obama administration has been tell us that Americans by the millions are visiting the new health insurance Website, despite all its problems.  The website launched on a Tuesday. Publicly, the government said there were 4.7 million unique visits in the first 24 hours. But at a meeting Wednesday morning, the war room notes say "six enrollments have occurred so far."  By Wednesday afternoon, enrollments were up to "approximately 100." By the end of Wednesday, the notes reflect "248 enrollments" nationwide. 

The health care exchanges need to average 39,000 enrollees a day to meet the goal of seven million by March 1.

Oct. 30: Fox News: Krauthammer comments on impact of an ObamaCare collapse:
Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer told Megyn Kelly Wednesday on “The Kelly File” that if ObamaCare self-destructs, it could set back American liberalism for at least a decade.  Krauthammer said that if the problems plaguing the health care law eventually lead to its end, Obama's  lame-duck status would not be the liberals’ only problem.  “I would say that what’s really at stake here, is that if this thing really goes south, if ObamaCare truly self-destructs -- I don’t know that it’s certain but I would say right now it is more than likely -- it would really set back American liberalism for a decade at least,” he said.

Oct. 30: The Daily Caller: Obama Denies he is responsible for Healthcare.gov failure:
President Barack Obama declined to take responsibility for his crippled Obamacare Website on Wednesday — but he announced that he would take responsibility for fixing it.  “The website is too slow, too many people have gotten stuck, and I’m not happy about it,” he told supporters in Faneuil Hall, Boston. “I take full responsibility for making sure it gets fixed ASAP.”

Oct. 30: The Daily Caller: Sebelius open-mic comment:
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius showed her frustration under questioning from the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday when she was caught on an open microphone, muttering, “don’t do this to me,” after Missouri Republican Rep. Billy Long peppered her with questions.  At the hearing, meant to examine the rocky and problematic rollout of the HealthCare.gov enrollment Website, Long asked Sebelius to commit to going on the healthcare exchanges herself. The challenge came after she explained that she was not on the exchange, as she was provided insurance by her employer. She said she believed that it would be illegal for her to do so.

Oct. 30: The Hill: Bachmann: Put Chief Justice Roberts on ObamaCare, he’s the one who found it constitutional!
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) on Wednesday said Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. should be forced to purchase health insurance through ObamaCare exchanges because he wrote the opinion upholding the law that she described as “a complete and utter disaster.”  Bachmann made the comments after a closed-door briefing from federal Health Department officials over the Obama administration’s response to initial problems with the implementation of ObamaCare.

But she didn’t stop there.  Not only should Roberts and Sebelius "go into the insurance exchange, the entire Department of Health and Human Services should go into the exchange,” she said.  “Every Cabinet member should go into the exchange. The president, the vice president of the United States should go into the exchange. If we have to be subject to this disaster, they should have to be subject to this disaster.

Oct. 30: The Hill:  Senator Ayotte: Benghazi attacker living the high life, Why?
Republican lawmakers on Wednesday slammed the FBI for allowing the suspects in the Benghazi, Libya, attack to roam free more than a year after the terror attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.  “One person who’s been indicted — and others — are being allowed to just hang out in cafes in Libya without any accountability,” Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) said. “It really makes you wonder what is going on here.”

Oct. 30: The Hill: Budget talks open with fight over taxes:
The budget conference committee met for the first time on Wednesday, and its leaders immediately clashed over the old issue of taxes. Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) said Republicans must agree to close “tax loopholes” as part of any deal to replace automatic spending cuts known as the sequester.  House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) responded, “if this conference becomes an argument about taxes, we’re not going to get anywhere.”

Oct. 30: Fox News: Report: Bankrupt solar panel firm took stimulus money and left a toxic mess:
A Colorado-based solar company that got hundreds of millions of dollars in federal loan guarantees before going belly-up didn't just empty taxpayers' wallets - it left behind a toxic mess of carcinogens, broken glass and contaminated water, according to a new report.  The Abound Solar plant, which got $400 million in federal loan guarantees in 2010, when the Obama administration sought to use stimulus funds to promote green energy, filed for bankruptcy two years later. Now its Longmont, Colo., facility sits unoccupied, its 37,000 square feet littered with hazardous waste, broken glass and contaminated water. The Northern Colorado Business Report estimates it will cost up to $3.7 million to clean and repair the building so it can again be leased.  “As lawyers, regulators, bankruptcy officials and the landlord spar over the case, the building lies in disrepair, too contaminated to lease,” the report stated.

Oct. 30:  The Daily Caller: Sebelius at fault?  Whatever!
Health and Human Services Sec. Kathleen Sebelius brushed off a question from a member of congress Wednesday who pressed her to say that President Barack Obama ultimately bore responsibility for the problematic health-care rollout.  “I want to say I appreciate you accepting responsibility for these initial rollout failures that we’ve had,” said Mississippi Republican Rep. Greg Harper during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “But who is ultimately responsible? It is the president, correct? … The president is ultimately responsible for the rollout, ultimately.”  “No, sir,” Sebelius said, saying that HHS was responsible for it.

Oct. 30: The Washington Post: Obama blames “bad apple insurers” not his signature bill for canceled insurance policies:
President Obama tried a new tack Wednesday as he fought back against criticism of his Obamacare claims.  Obama during a speech in Boston sought to cast the issue Wednesday as trying to weed out "bad apple insurers" who don't provide enough coverage.  "One of the things health reform was designed to do was to help not only the uninsured but also the under-insured," Obama said. "And there are a number of Americans, fewer than 5 percent of Americans, who've got cut-rate plans that don't offer real financial protection in the event of a serious illness or an accident.

Oct. 29: Fox News: Confidential Report cites problems with ObamaCare site weeks before launch:
The key contractor involved in the HealthCare.gov website warned the Obama administration there were problems with the site just weeks before the Oct. 1 launch date, a confidential report reveals.  Fox News obtained a copy of the September report Tuesday night, which states the status of some areas of the website were “TBD,” and that the contractor, CGI, was unclear if those "open issues" and "open risks" would be ready for the Oct. 1 rollout. However, other areas in the report were listed as “on track.”

Oct. 29: Fox News: Health agency chief refuses to disclose ObamaCare enrollment numbers:
Marilyn Tavenner, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, testified Tuesday before the House Ways and Means Committee. At the top of the hearing, she apologized for the failures of the main ObamaCare website and vowed to fix them.  As the head of the agency responsible for overseeing the troubled HealthCare.gov she repeatedly refused to disclose how many people have enrolled in ObamaCare -- during a hearing where she did not deny that officials have that information.   Commentators suggested this is because the number of people actually enrolled is low. 

Oct. 29: Fox News: Lawmakers have until Thursday to decide which staffers will be forced to go on the ObamaCare plans:
House lawmakers have until Thursday to decide whether to designate staffers as "official" or "non-official," in order to determine whether they will keep their existing government insurance or be forced into ObamaCare.   Fox News has learned that rank-and-file members were briefed Tuesday by House Administration Committee Chairwoman Candice Miller during a closed-door meeting and informed of the Thursday deadline.  An "official" staffer is one whose salary is paid entirely from a "Members Representational Allowance." “This is a really good way to start a civil war,” a Republican lawmaker told Fox News. 

Oct. 28: NBC News: Obama Administration knew millions could not keep their health insurance and lied to the American public
President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that after the Affordable Care Act became law, people who liked their health insurance would be able to keep it. But millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.

Oct: 28: Fox News: Federal Judge rules part of Texas anti-abortion law is unconstitutional – State to fight in appeal:
A federal judge on Monday blocked part of a recently signed Texas law that requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. District Judge Lee Yeakel wrote Monday that the provision violates the rights of abortion doctors to do what they think is best for their patients and would unreasonably restrict a woman's access to abortion clinics. 

Attorney General Greg Abbott filed an emergency appeal of Yeakel's order to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.  "As everyone ... has acknowledged, this is a matter that will ultimately be resolved by the appellate courts or the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Lauren Bean, a spokeswoman for the Texas Attorney General's Office. 

Lawyers for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers brought the lawsuit, arguing that a requirement that doctors have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion clinic would force the closure of a third of the clinics in Texas.  They also complained that requiring doctors to follow the Food and Drug Administration's original label for an abortion-inducing drug would deny women the benefit of recent advances in medical science.  The Texas attorney general's office argued that the law protects women and the life of their babies.

Oct. 28: The Daily Caller: ICE Union calls on Congress to investigate DHS prior to moving any immigration reform legislation:
With advocates pushing House members to move on immigration reform this week, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement union is calling on lawmakers investigate the Department of Homeland Security. “If these groups were concerned about public safety, national security and the rule of law they would be joining our call for an investigation of the Department of Homeland Security,” National ICE Council president and ICE officer Chris Crane wrote in an open letter to Members of Congress Monday. “In fact, we are urging all lawmakers to demand an investigation of DHS before moving immigration bills.”

Oct. 28: Roll Call:  Long Term Budget solutions end up with better chance of stop-gap alternatives:
Grand bargains are out. Tax hikes are out. Short-term and stopgap solutions are very much in.  That’s the reality in Washington this week, as budget conferees meet for the first time Wednesday to try to hammer out a deal.  Publicly, the White House and top Democrats are still talking about a “balanced” plan requiring new revenue as part of a long-term budget blueprint that would replace the sequester and tackle the nation’s long-term debt challenges. But almost no one expects that to happen.  Not Senate Majority Leader Reid. Not House Budget Chairman Ryan.

Oct. 28: Politico:  Biden on the sidelines in Gun Control Debate:
President Barack Obama’s behind-the-scenes plans for gun control go on but without Vice President Joe Biden.  Biden, the White House’s public face of and private force behind the push for new gun control laws, and his chief of staff, Bruce Reed, are no longer involved in the long-term planning between the White House and major gun violence prevention groups, officials from several organizations tell Politico. This is a clear signal of how much the focus has shifted from passing gun control legislation in Congress to winning reforms at state capitols. 

Oct. 28:  The Daily Caller: Bloomberg anti-gun group leader wants to replace recalled Colorado State Senator:
A Democrat running for the seat once held by a Colorado state Senate leader recalled for supporting gun control has promised to pick up where John Morse left off.  Democratic candidate Mike Merrifield -- the former state director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the anti-gun organization headed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- officially announced his candidacy on Sunday.

Oct 28: The Times of Israel: Ex-IAEA Chief says Iran is two weeks away from having weapons grade uranium
Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to build an atomic weapon within two weeks and has, “in a certain way,” already reached the point of no return in its nuclear program, a former senior International Atomic Energy Association official said Monday.

“I believe that if certain arrangements are done, it could even go down to two weeks. So there are a lot of concerns out there that Iran can hopefully now address, in this new phase, both at the P5+1 [talks between Tehran and six world powers] and with the IAEA,” former IAEA deputy director Olli Heinonen said, confirming a report released last week by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, which stated Iran could muster enough uranium for a bomb by converting all of its 20-percent enriched stockpile within 1 to 1.6 months.

Oct. 28: The Galveston Daily News: The Basics of Leadership:
Any great golfer, baseball player or coach of any sport will tell you it’s all about the basics.  Being a great success is not about doing something sensational.  That is called a stunt.  Success is about doing the basics, exceptionally well, time and time again. 

Oct. 27: Fox News: Report says Obama knew and approved of NSA spying on Merkel
President Obama knew of the organization’s spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel – and approved of the efforts, a National Security Agency official has reportedly told a German newspaper.  The Economic Times writes the “high-ranking” NSA official spoke to Bild am Sonntag on the condition of anonymity, saying the president, “not only did not stop the operation, but he also ordered it to continue.”

Oct. 27: Fox News: First Western Eyewitness to Benghazi Goes Public with an Account
The first Western eyewitness to the deadly Benghazi terror attacks has given an account of the seven-hour assault on the U.S. outpost in Libya and says Americans knew such an incident was inevitable.  The witness -- a former British soldier who for decades helped protect U.S. diplomats and military leaders -- told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that Al Qaeda forces first attacked the U.S. Special Mission Compound in which Ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed. Then they launched a second attack on a secret CIA annex about a mile across the city.

Oct. 26: The Daily Caller: Obama on the Campaign Trail instead of paying attention to business such as the economy, ObamaCare and Foreign Policy:
President Barack Obama is distancing himself from the critical task of repairing his crippled Obamacare website so he can return to the campaign trail.  “The President is a very interested observer in this [repair] process [and] is being regularly updated on it, and is holding that team accountable for results,” Josh Earnest, his deputy press secretary told reporters Oct. 25, while flying with the president to three fund-raisers in New York.  Obama’s departure Friday from the White House illustrates his focus on electoral and ideological gains for progressives, rather than on economic and practical gains for actual Americans.

Obama’s aides say neither he nor they paid enough attention to the website development program during the summer to realize the site, HealthCare.gov, would crash once it was put online. So far, they have repeatedly refused to explain Obama’s management failure.  In the last few weeks, he’s also distanced himself from the budget impasse that temporarily shut down part of the federal government. He’s walked away from upcoming budget negotiations with the elected GOP majority in the House, from the high-stakes national debate over immigration, and from the unfolding crash of his Middle East Foreign policy.

Oct. 26: Fox News: Sebelius: Republicans are responsible for ObamaCare Website Woes!
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius took a swipe Friday at those calling for her to resign over the botched ObamaCare website rollout, suggesting that Republican efforts to delay and defund the law contributed to HealthCare.gov's glitch-ridden debut.  In an interview on Fox News, when asked about Sebelius’s comments blaming the GOP for the site’s failure, former Governor Huckabee said "Yes and they are also responsible for the sinking of the Titanic, the explosion of the Hindenburg, and the kidnapping of the Lindberg baby!”  The Administration had three years to get this right, they knew the timeframes, and they made a mess of it!

Oct. 26: Fox News: Congress aiming low in new budget talks as Reid dismisses entitlement reform as “happy talk!”
Congressional Democrats and Republicans are setting low expectations about budget talks scheduled to begin next week -- with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid dismissing as 'happy talk' any notion of a grand bargain that would include cuts to entitlement programs. 

Oct. 25: The Daily Caller: First Lady’s classmate is executive for firm that built the Healthcare.gov Website under a NO BID contract:
Michelle Obama’s Princeton classmate is a top executive at the company that earned the contract to build the failed Obamacare website. Toni Townes-Whitley, Princeton class of ’85, is senior vice president at CGI Federal, which earned the no-bid contract to build the $678 million Obamacare enrollment site at Healthcare.gov. CGI Federal is the U.S. arm of a Canadian company.

Oct. 25: The Daily Caller:  ObamaCare kicks 11,000 poor residents off of Indiana healthcare plans:/
Obamacare will cause 11,000 low-income residents of Indiana to lose their existing health coverage.  The Obama administration demanded that an Indiana health insurance program for the poor alter its eligibility requirements and recommended that booted patients seek out Obamacare plans instead.  In September, Indiana became one of the only states to win an Obamacare waiver from the federal government to keep running a state health insurance program aimed at covering the poor. The Healthy Indiana Plan can keep operating until December 31, 2014, but only for a portion of its current customers.

Oct. 25: The Washington Times: Armed agents seize reporter’s notes: The Times prepares for legal action:
Maryland state police and federal Homeland Security agents used a search warrant from an unrelated criminal investigation to seize the private reporting files of an award-winning former investigative journalist for The Washington Times who had exposed problems in the Homeland Security’s Federal Air Marshal Service. The warrant, obtained by the Times, offered no specific permission to seize reporting notes or files.

Oct. 25: Breitbart.com: Rep. Sensenbrenner to introduce bill to rein in NSA Surveillance Activities:
The United and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet Collection, and Online Monitoring Act, or USA FREEDOM Act, is somewhat of a step beyond the controversial “Amash Amendment” that narrowly failed to pass the House in July that would have stripped funding for NSA programs collecting the telephone records of those in the United States.

Oct 24: Jerusalem Post: Peace through strength suggested at a new level!
During a panel at Yeshiva University on Tuesday evening, Sheldon Adelson, noted businessman and owner of the newspaper Israel Hayom, suggested that the US should use nuclear weapons on Iran to impose its demands from a position of strength. 

Adelson then imagined what might happen if an American official were to call up an Iranian official, say “watch this,” and subsequently drop a nuclear bomb in the middle of the Iranian desert. "Then you say, ‘See! The next one is in the middle of Tehran. So, we mean business. You want to be wiped out? Go ahead and take a tough position and continue with your nuclear development. You want to be peaceful? Just reverse it all, and we will guarantee you that you can have a nuclear power plant for electricity purposes, energy purposes’," Adelson said.

Oct. 23: CBS News: Healthcare.gov has drastically underestimate costs for healthcare coverage:
CBS News has uncovered a serious pricing problem with Healthcare.gov. It stems from the Obama administration's efforts to improve its healthcare site. A new online feature can dramatically underestimate the cost of insurance.  The administration announced it would provide a new "shop and browse" feature Sunday, but it's not giving consumers the real picture. In some cases, people could end up paying double of what they see on the website, CBS News' Jan Crawford reported Wednesday on "CBS This Morning."
As President Obama promises to fix HealthCare.gov, his administration is touting what it calls "improvements" in design, specifically a feature that allows you to "See Plans Now." White House press secretary Jay Carney has said, "Americans across the country can type in their zip code and shop and browse."  But CBS News has learned the new "shop and browse" feature often comes with the wrong price tags.

Oct. 23: The Weekly Standard:  Millions of Americans are losing their current healthcare plans
While ObamaCare was making its way through Congress in 2009 and 2010, President Obama famously promised the American people over and over again that if you like your health plan, you can keep it.   “Let me be exactly clear about what health care reform means to you,” he at one rally in July 2009. “First of all, if you’ve got health insurance, you like your doctors, you like your plan, you can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan.  Nobody is talking about taking that away from you.”  

But the president's promise is turning out to be false for millions of Americans who have had their health insurance policies canceled because they don't meet the ObamaCare requirements.

Oct. 23: The Daily Caller: White House “hides” enrollment numbers from Democrats in closed-door meeting:
The White House isn’t sharing Obamacare exchange enrollment numbers with anyone — not even Democrats who support the health care law.  Obama administration officials in charge of the federal exchange briefed House Democrats on the HealthCare.gov problems at their weekly caucus meeting Wednesday, but refused to give members any information on enrollment other than that the administration is “not where it wants or needs to be,”  The White House has indicated it will announce enrollment numbers on a monthly basis, but hasn’t released the first set of figures yet. 

Oct. 23:  BreitBart.com:  Senate Democrats who are up for reelection in 2014 are backing delay of ObamaCare enrollment deadline
On Wednesday, CNN’s Dana Bash tweeted that all Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2014 will reportedly support a delay of Obamacare’s enrollment deadline.  This, just weeks after they voted to not negotiate with the Republican-controlled House that was seeking to delay the individual mandate.

Oct. 22: Galveston Daily News: It's Deja vu all over again! Budget "Deal" Eliminates Debt Limit Restraints for Four Months:
The Texas conservative Republicans all voted against the “Deal” and all the Texas Democrats voted for it.  Why?  Because the Democrats see no problem with continuing to spend more than the IRS collects and borrowing the difference, with no concern about paying it back! 

The one saving grace in the recent “Deal” is that it keeps intact the automatic sequester cuts.  If an agreement on spending levels is not reached by January 15th two things may happen 1) we could see another government shutdown and 2) we could see another continuing resolution. But on January 15th the second round of automatic sequester cuts will take effect, something the President and the Democrat leadership in Congress diametrically oppose.  Maybe this will force serious cuts to federal spending.

Oct. 22: The Daily Caller: White House stonewalls questions about fixing ObamaCare Website
White House spokesman Jay Carney stonewalled numerous media questions Tuesday about the rushed and secret efforts to repair the crippled Obamacare website.  The secrecy is spurring concerns that the White House hasn’t formally hired the unnamed private-sector and academic experts who are said to be working to repair President Barack Obama’s greatest expansion of government power.  Carney also declined to explain the problems that have plagued the website or predict when it would be ready to use.  Carney repeatedly told reporters to ask the Department of Health and Humans Services for answers to questions about the White House’s top priority. Meanwhile Senator Rubio introduced legislation to delay the individual mandate until the Healthcare.gov website becomes operational. 

Oct. 22: Fox News: Dept. of Justice faces questions about Grenade maker linked to Mexican murder
In a case that is prompting comparisons to the botched Operation Fast and Furious, police believe explosives found at a murder scene in Mexico may have come from an American bomb-maker whom the U.S. attorney in Arizona refused to prosecute.  According to an internal U.S. Department of Justice memo, a "Kingery grenade" was among the 10 explosives found at the scene of a shootout between police and drug cartels in Guadalajara on Oct. 10 in which three officers were killed.  The "Kingery grenade" refers to those manufactured by Jean Baptiste Kingery, a California resident who made grenades in Mexico from parts sourced in the U.S. He also converted AK-47s from semi- to fully-automatic weapons.

Oct. 22: Fox News:  IRS pays illegal immigrants while stalling TEA parties
While harrying and stalling Tea Party groups seeking nonprofit status, the Internal Revenue Service mailed $4.2 billion in child-credit checks to undocumented immigrants.  Critics say midlevel IRS bureaucrats continue to abuse the Additional Child Tax Credit program by dispensing $1,000 checks to families in this country illegally.  “The law needs clarification that undocumented immigrants are not eligible,” Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) told Watchdog.org in a statement.  Grassley co-sponsored a clarifying amendment with Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) making this clarification.  “Unfortunately, the majority leader (Harry Reid) cut off debate, so we weren’t given the chance to offer our amendment,” said Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Oct 22: The Hill: Some Regulations to Watch now that the shutdown is over
Hundreds of federal rules are making their way through the regulatory pipeline at government agencies and the White House. Many of the forthcoming regulations are required under the Dodd-Frank Act, ObamaCare and other federal laws approved by Congress. But battles rage daily in Washington over their final shape and scope.

• The Volcker Rule: A fundamental piece of the landmark financial reform law, the Volcker rule would prohibit banks that get federal backing from engaging in risky speculative trading. The goal behind the provision is simple: banning financial institutions from gambling with taxpayer money, a practice that helped cause the 2008 economic crisis.
  
  
• Executive Pay: The SEC  released a controversial Dodd-Frank rule making companies disclose how much their chief executives are paid compared to the average worker. The measure, written in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and during an uproar about high pay for executives at major Wall Street firms, has divided lawmakers and activists largely along party lines.
  
  
• New Power Plants: The EPA moved forward this month with a major pillar of President Obama’s ambitious plan to tackle climate change in his second term: emission limits for new power plants.  Republicans, industry groups and supporters of coal energy accused the first proposal of being too harsh. The revamped version earned similar treatment, including criticism from some coal country Democrats.  The new version of the rule includes different standards for emissions from coal and natural gas facilities, and requires coal plants use a pollution-reduction tool that power companies have said is too expensive.
  
  
• Existing Power Plants: Even more contentious than the regulations for new plants is EPA's yet-to-be unveiled rule imposing new emissions standards on existing plants.  Energy firms are expected to be especially vocal in their opposition to the rule, and the EPA faces technical challenges in lowering emissions from plants now in operation.  The coal industry in particular stands to take a major hit, as some suggest the new standards could be set at a level impossible for plants to meet with currently available technology.  Critics warn that the rule could deal a fatal blow to the coal power industry, which supplies more than a third of the country’s electricity.
  
  
• Healthcare: Individual Mandate: The centrepiece and most controversial portion of ObamaCare, the individual mandate, requires that almost all Americans either obtain health insurance or pay a fine. The mandate was also at the center of the Supreme Court’s ruling last year that upheld the constitutionality of ObamaCare.  In the first year, people who do not obtain health insurance will be charged $95 per person or 1 percent of household income, though that fee will rise to $695 or 2.5 percent of income in 2016. After that, it will grow according to a cost-of-living formula.

Oct. 21: Fox News: White House will not rule out postponement of the Individual Mandate!
The White House appeared to leave the door open Monday to delaying the so-called individual mandate in the federal health care law, as President Obama acknowledged the main website for enrollment is not working as it should.  Press Secretary Jay Carney was peppered with questions on whether the administration would be open to delaying the requirement on individuals to buy health insurance, if the website continues to lock out would-be customers. Echoing Obama, Carney said repeatedly that the country is just three weeks into a six-month enrollment process and suggested it's too early to make any decisions of that magnitude.  But he did not close the door on the option. 

To a large extent it is the individual mandate that will “encourage” young and healthy people to purchase healthcare from the exchanges.  Getting these kinds of “healthy buyers” is needed to keep the premiums from skyrocketing.  The inability to purchase coverage online is having a major impact and discouraging “healthy buyers”  making the delay of the individual mandate a possibility.  Delaying this mandate was one of the key things the House tried to enact as part of the government shutdown and budget battles earlier this month.  Perhaps they will get their way afterall.

All of this bring us back to the question – regardless of the impact – are we a country of laws?  If so, then since when can our chief executive officer pick and choose what parts of what laws will be enforced and which ones will not; which ones implemented and which ones will be delayed?  We cannot have it both ways.  Either all the laws are enforced or the whole system starts to fall apart!

Oct. 21: Politico: Five ObamaCare questions Kathleen Sebelius won’t answer
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has offered to testify before Congress next week on the Obamacare website disaster, and it’s a moment that Republicans can look forward to.  The administration’s top health official sitting at a hearing table under bright lights, facing a fusillade of questions and criticism.  See some questions she may not be able to answer.

Oct. 21: National Review: President gives out ObamaCare Hotline number but users cannot get through:
President Obama emerged on Monday to assure Americans that the “kinks” surrounding the federal and state health-care exchanges are improving and urged consumers to call the exchange hotline if they continue to encounter problems online. Shortly after he made the suggestion, Twitter lit up with reporters and others who attempted to do so but failed to get through to a navigator as promised. After dialing the number, some callers got a busy signal, others received an automated message, and yet others were referred back to Healthcare.gov.

Meanwhile Real Clear Politics reports Fox News’ Hannity dials the ObamaCare number, gets through, and the Call Center Operator says “Nobody Likes It!” At the top of his radio program today, Sean Hannity called in to an Obamacare call center. Hannity was able to get through to an operator after only several moments of waiting. He spoke to the operator for nearly 10 minutes about Obamacare, what her thoughts of it are and what kind of response she has received so far.

Oct. 20: Politico: TEA Party Snubs GOP in 2014 election cycle
Hard-line conservatives aren’t just sticking it to the national GOP by shutting down the government and bringing the nation to the brink of default – they’re also refusing to pony up to help their party defend the House in 2014.  With a little more than a year until the midterm election, many leaders of the shutdown strategy have yet to donate to the National Republican Congressional Committee, records show. At least eight of the debate’s 20 or so most outspoken figures have not given any money to the NRCC, and others have forked over token amounts.

Their refusal to contribute to the House GOP’s political arm, coming as Republicans are getting thumped by Democrats in the money race, is causing heartburn and frustration among Republican strategists charged with laying the groundwork for next year’s races. They say it is reinforcing a perception of the conservative gang that they’re only out for themselves and don’t much care about advancing the party’s larger cause.

Oct. 20: The Hill:
Here’s a really bad idea and non-starter: Take authority to raise the debt ceiling out of the hands of Congress!
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will propose legislation that would make permanent a plan to take the decision to raise the country’s debt limit out of Congress’s hands.  By making the so-called “McConnell rule” permanent, the president would have ultimate authority to raise the debt limit and prevent the United States from defaulting.  Talk about putting the fox in charge of the hen house!   But according to Schumer Congress would still have power to oppose raising the debt ceiling, but would not have to vote to increase the borrowing limit. But with the current “balance of power” in the Congress, under this scenario  the Senate could stop any attempt by House to limit increases to the borrowing limit instead of requiring Congress to take action in order to increase borrowing limitations.

Oct. 20: Fox News: With new budget deadlines looming – Disagreements continue”
Top Washington lawmakers appeared no closer Sunday to reaching deals on upcoming budget negotiations than they were on the recent ones -- disagreeing over an entire range of issues including taxes, spending and ObamaCare.   Among the key issues is whether negotiators for the Republican-controlled House and Democrat-controlled Senate can agree on an alternative to the indiscriminate cuts know as sequester, a result of the 2011 Budget Control Act.

Oct. 20: The Daily Caller: Reports that ObamaCare is putting Political Correctness head of Healthcare services:
“If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” under Obamacare — if you both belong to the same race.  Reports indicate that Obamacare’s spectacular flop of a rollout distracts from its crude calculus that encourages the allocation of healthcare resources along racial lines and a doctor-patient system splintered into ethnicities. 

Oct. 20 Fox News: Obama Administration Responds to ObamaCare Website Issues:
Obama administration officials and other Democrats appeared to respond Sunday to increasing pressure for a full, public explanation from the Health and Human Services Department about the problem-plagued federal health care website. The agency on Sunday posted a blog on its site with some preliminary statistics and an assurance to Americans that officials are “working around and clock” and “committed to doing better.”

Oct. 19: NBC News: Texas Gun Owners stage rally at the Alamo
Hundreds of gun-rights advocates, many toting rifles and shotguns, gathered early Saturday at the Alamo in San Antonio to rally in support of gun ownership and the right to bear arms.  The rally, called "Come and Take It San Antonio," comes in response to what organizers called San Antonio police's "disregard for Texas law and The Constitution." Organizers said the police department has harassed gun owners and created a hostile environment for legal gun ownership.

Oct. 19: The Hill: Federal Regulators fire up engines again:
The federal rulemaking machine is rumbling back to life as agency officials tackle the backlog of work that was created by the government shutdown. Conservatives worry officials are preparing a surge of new regulations to make up for lost time and meet upcoming deadlines.   Liberals, meanwhile, are relieved that rule makers are back on the job to investigate hazards and issue strengthened protections.   The 16-day government shutdown choked the daily flow of regulations to a trickle as hundreds of thousands of federal workers were furloughed.  During the shutdown, days went by without a new regulation being published in the Federal Register, where the executive branch logs its daily work. On normal days, the book can run hundreds of pages.

Oct. 18: The Washington Times:
U .S. Debt Jumps a record $328 billion in One Day – Puts Debt over $17 Trillion for the First Time:
U.S. debt jumped a record $328 billion on Thursday, the first day the federal government was able to borrow money under the deal President Obama and Congress sealed this week.  The debt now equals $17.075 trillion, according to figures the Treasury Department posted online on Friday.  The $328 billion increase shattered the previous high of $238 billion set two years ago.

Republicans initially sought to attach strings to the debt increase, but surrendered this week, instead settling on a bill that reopened the government and included some special earmark projects, but didn’t include any spending cuts.  Democrats insisted that the debt increase be “clean,” meaning without any strings attached. They say the debt increase only allows Mr. Obama to pay for the bills he and Congress already racked up, and that it doesn’t encourage new spending.

Oct. 18: Fox News: Reports raise concerns about backgrounds of Obama’s Navigators:
New concerns are being raised about so-called ObamaCare "navigators" following a string of reports about the questionable backgrounds including the missing of outstanding warrants of those selected to guide Americans through what is shaping up to be a rocky roll-out of the health care law.   The concerns come on top of the drama over the HealthCare.gov site itself, which is the main federal hub for would-be participants and has been riddled with technical problems. The "navigators" are outreach workers, funded by federal taxpayer dollars, who are supposed to help people sign up for coverage. 

Oct. 18: The Daily Caller:  Thus far, about 2,100 percent more people have signed up for a single bondage and sadomasochism website than have signed up for Obamacare.
The Obama administration expected nearly half a million people to enroll in the Obamacare exchanges in the first month. According to an analysis by Millward Brown Digital, though, only 36,000 completed enrollments in the first week.  The Atlantic estimates that at least 115,000 people completed applications through the state-based exchanges in the first two weeks of their highly-touted existence.
How do these numbers stack up against other things in the world for which people can sign up?  [See More Details]

Oct. 18: Fox News: Insurers report getting wrong data from ObamaCare Exchanges:
Insurers say faulty data from ObamaCare marketplaces is straining their ability to handle even the first wave of consumers who were able to sign up for health insurance using federally run exchanges during the glitch-ridden rollout of the new law.  Executives at more than a dozen health insurance companies say they have received data from online marketplaces that is riddled with errors, including duplicate enrollments, missing data fields and spouses reported as children, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. [See More Details]

Oct. 17: The Weekly Standard: ObamaCare Website violates license agreement for copyrighted software:
Healthcare.gov, the federal government's Obamacare website, has been under heavy criticism from friend and foe alike during its first two weeks of open enrollment.  Repeated errors and delays have prevented many users from even establishing an account, and outside web designers have roundly panned the structure and coding of the site as amateurish and sloppy.  The latest indication of the haphazard way in which Healthcare.gov was developed is the uncredited use of a copyrighted web script for a data function used by the site, a violation of the licensing agreement for the software.

Oct. 17: Fox News: House panel questions firms paid for troubled ObamaCare Website:
A House committee is probing the widespread technical problems with the launch of the ObamaCare website, including the contractors that were paid hundreds of millions of dollars to create it.  The House Energy and Commerce Committee, amid the dispute over the now-lifted partial government shutdown, has been steadily firing off letters over the past several days seeking answers to why the HealthCare.gov site was not fully operational when it launched on Oct. 1.  "Despite the widespread belief that the administration was not ready for the health law's October 1 launch, top officials and lead IT contractors looked us in the eye and assured us all systems were a go," Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) said in a written statement.   He said the technical problems have reached "epidemic proportions" and the American people "deserve to know what caused this mess." 

Oct. 17: Fox News: With budget “Deal” the national debt if free to soar again:
- The good news: The national parks are open, furloughed federal workers are back on the job, and the country will not cut off benefit payments because it can't borrow. 
- The bad news: The national debt is back on course to hit $17 trillion any day now, with no deal in sight to ever reverse the climb. 

The latest increase in the debt cap is the sixth since President Obama took office, when the debt was $10.6 trillion. It was raised three times when Democrats controlled Congress, and has been raised three times since Republicans took control of the House.  Fiscal conservatives and government watchdog groups reacted with dismay Thursday after Washington, following weeks of hard-nosed negotiations, produced only a stopgap bill to end the partial government shutdown and raise that cap. And despite the chaos of the past few weeks, they are once again trying to refocus Washington on the need to -- seriously -- lasso the nation's debt and break the habit of endless over-spending. 

Oct. 17: Fox Business: Sticker Shock: U.S. Debt Bill is $123K per working American
If the last few weeks on Capitol Hill has taught us anything, it’s that Washington doesn’t have the best concept of living within your means.  Last night’s 11th-hour deal raised the country’s borrowing limit to avoid a possible default on our payments. When Congress passes laws that require spending, the Treasury Department is tasked with providing the funds, but when they don’t have the cash from tax revenues to cover the expenditures, it forced to borrow money—and that’s where we’ve gotten in trouble.

Oct 17: BreitBart: Dems push to take up amnesty, think Boehner will cave:
On Thursday, President Obama took to the White House podium to announce the end of the government shutdown. In doing so, he proclaimed that he wanted to push forward with other legislative priorities, including a budget, immigration reform, and the long-stalled pork-laden farm bill.

Oct. 17: The Daily Caller: With the next possible shutdown 90 days away, Obama pushes immigration reform:
The next potential government shutdown is a little over 12 weeks away and President Obama using the time to push for passage of the stalled immigration reform bill, plus approval of higher taxes and higher spending.  If the GOP doesn’t agree to his tax and spending plans in the next 90 days — despite bitter disagreement since Obama was inaugurated, almost 250 weeks ago — Obama gets to play the government-shutdown card against the GOP all over again.

Oct. 16: The Hill: Partial Shutdown is over, for now!
Congress moved Wednesday to end the government shutdown and prevent a possible default, as both the House and Senate approved a Senate agreement in separate, bipartisan votes.  The House voted 285-144 in favor of the agreement, which would fund the government until Jan. 15 and eliminate the debt ceiling until Feb. 7. That followed an 81-18 Senate vote on the same measure. 

Oct. 16: Fox News: Where Does This Leave Us? [Opinion Piece]
American taxpayers have once again been trampled by establishment Republicans – a thundering herd of chicken-hearted Republicans in Name Only (RINOs) galloping to the Left.  The debt ceiling deal struck between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is a victory for President Obama and Democrats.  ObamaCare is still the law of the land. The government is still spending money it does not have. And thousands of government workers just got a two-week vacation courtesy of the taxpayers.

Oct. 16: The Hill: Ryan votes against shutdown deal
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) split with his party’s leadership and voted against the Senate fiscal agreement on Wednesday night.  In a statement, Ryan called the legislation to reopen the government and lift the debt ceiling “a missed opportunity” for failing to reduce the debt.  “To pay our bills today —- and to make sure we can pay our bills tomorrow -— we must make a down payment on the debt,” Ryan said. “Today’s legislation won’t help us reduce our fast-growing debt. In fact, it could extend the debt ceiling well into next year, further delaying any action. In my judgment, this isn’t a breakthrough. We’re just kicking the can down the road.” The debt limit measure passed the House on Wednesday despite opposition from a majority of Republicans. Eighty-seven Republicans voted no and 144 voted yes.

Oct 16: The Washington Times: Deal struck in the Senate – Nobody Wins!
Top senators struck a deal Wednesday to reopen the government and extend the federal borrowing authority into next year and both sides of the Capitol are hoping for quick action.  The deal would reopen the government with a stopgap spending bill running to Jan. 15, and would provide the government with unlimited borrowing authority through at least Feb. 7. It would also require both the House and Senate to name negotiators to try to reach a final deal on a 2014 budget, giving them a December deadline. 

Oct. 16: Fox News: The Time is now for the GOP to turn its attention to the train wreck known as ObamaCare:
Radio host Guy Benson told Megyn Kelly Wednesday on “The Kelly File” that after suffering a setback on the partial shutdown fight, the Republican Party should now turn its attention to the “train wreck” that is ObamaCare.   “The best thing, actually, for the party is that these crises are temporarily over and now the real attention can shift to the slow-motion, jaw dropping, train wreck that is the president’s health care law,"said Benson, who is also TownHall.com political editor.

Oct. 15: The Daily Caller: Forbes: ObamaCare Website Troubles are meant to weed out healthy middle class who face massive premium increases:
The technical disasters of the ObamaCare exchange debacle over the past two weeks are not an accident, but rather a way to disguise the costs of healthcare plans and weed out people who don’t qualify for a federal subsidy, Forbes reports.  Tech experts examining the Obamacare federal health exchange, Healthcare.gov, are becoming increasingly convinced that the traffic bottlenecks and site crashes experienced over the first two weeks were not by accident, wrote Forbes.

Oct. 14: Fox News: Rollback of cuts fuels claims that government-inflated impact of partial shutdown:
Two weeks into the partial government shutdown, the Obama administration is increasingly easing off some of its most painful cuts -- fueling the perception among critics that the government initially imposed visible, but ultimately unnecessary, cutbacks as a way to pressure Republicans.   The Department of the Interior late last week agreed to let states use their own money to reopen some national parks. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel also determined football and other sports could continue at service academies through October.   Following outrage from military groups, the Pentagon contracted with a charity to provide death benefits to the families of fallen soldiers, before President Obama abruptly signed legislation to do just that. 

Oct. 14: Fox News: Senate leadership scrambles to put together a new budget plan:
The top two Senate leaders scrambled late Monday to iron out the specifics of an emerging budget proposal aimed at ending the partial government shutdown and lifting the debt ceiling -- after a string of prior plans fizzled. 

Oct. 14: The Hill: Unions poised to win delay in ObamaCare tax:
Labor unions are poised to score the delay of an ObamaCare tax in the bipartisan budget deal emerging in the Senate. The bargain under negotiation would make small adjustments to the healthcare law, including delaying the law's reinsurance fee for one year. The reinsurance tax figured prominently in discussions at a recent AFL-CIO convention, where workers passed a resolution demanding changes to ObamaCare.  The White House recently denied labor's top priority on ObamaCare, ruling that union health plans are not eligible for the new subsidies because they are already helped by the tax code.

The possible Senate deal would raise the nation's debt ceiling until mid-February, immediately reopen the government and provide funding until Jan. 15. By doing so the next automatic sequester cut would be avoided, a key issue to Democrats who want to do away with sequester spending cuts.  It remains to be seen if House Republicans will accept a package that does little to thwart ObamaCare.   

Oct. 14: The Daily News: Government Overreach and the Supremacy Clause:
God gave our forefathers wisdom as they created our unique form of government, designed to keep it from spinning out of control through heavy taxation and choking laws.  Yet, today the unbounded Federal reach consisting of limitless debt, unlimited spending, and unwieldy controls choke our spirits and freedoms.  May we once again find wisdom and return to our framer intended structure and roles for government. 

Oct. 14: The Daily Caller: VA spends more than $3.5 million on furniture the day prior to shutting down:
The VA spent more than $3.5 million on furniture the day before the government shutdown, according to a Daily Caller analysis of government purchasing records.   They spent $7,559,675 on September 30, the last day the government was fully operating before this month’s partial shutdown. Federal government agencies faced a “spend it or lose it” scenario on that day, the last day of the 2013 fiscal year, prompting excessive spending binges as the White House and Congress failed to reach a continuing resolution agreement.

Oct. 14: Roll Call: New untested procedure in the Senate could be used to move Debt Ceiling increase legislation:
The process for moving any agreement to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling could get tricky in the Senate this week.  If the House doesn’t send over what’s known as a “message” containing tax provisions, Senate leaders may have to resort to using a new, untested procedural tool.  Without unanimous consent, that process could still put the floor activity past the supposed deadline.  Back in January, the Senate set up a new procedure for the 113th Congress that would allow Majority Leader Harry Reid to truncate the process of limiting debate on legislative business.  The Nevada Democrat has yet to deploy it though, because it could create new unpredictability for both Reid and his GOP counterpart, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

In short, the resolution created a way around the usual process which forces the Senate to spend days on breaking a filibuster of a motion to proceed. But it also allows each party to offer two amendments. The agreement came about as part of the deal to avoid use of the “nuclear option” to change the Senate’s rules with a simple majority vote.  Here is how it is suppose to work:

• It eliminates the right to filibuster a motion to proceed if the majority leader permits up to four amendment votes.
• If the majority leader wants to bring up a bill, he can get a vote to do so four hours after he files a motion to proceed.
• At least two amendments from the majority and two from the minority must be allowed.  If one of the first four amendments isn’t germane to the bill, it will be subject to a 60-vote threshold for passage.

Oct. 13: The Miami Hearld:  People who have signed up for ObamaCare have become an Urban Legend, We’ve heard of them but not actually met them:
Will the people who have enrolled for Obamacare please stand up?  Nearly two weeks after the federal government launched the online Health Insurance Marketplace at HealthCare.gov, individuals who have successfully used the choked-up website to enroll for a subsidized health insurance plan have reached a status akin to urban legend: Everyone has heard of them, but very few people have actually met one.

Oct. 13: USA Today: Hospital Engine Sputters as thousands of Jobs are cut are imposed due to reduced insurance payments
Hospitals, a reliable source of employment growth in the recession and its aftermath, are starting to cut thousands of jobs amid falling insurance payments and inpatient visits.  The payroll cuts are surprising because ObamaCare whose implementation was suppose to take a big step forward this month, is eventually suppose to provide health coverage to as many as 30 million additional Americans.  So far this year, the health care sector has announced 41,085 layoffs, the third-most behind financial and industrial companies.

Oct. 13: USA Today: Mr. President, Tear Down These Walls!  WWII Memorial Protest
A crowd converged on the World War II Memorial on the National Mall, pushing through barriers Sunday morning to protest the memorial's closing under the government shutdown.  Republican Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) were among those who gathered Sunday morning, along with former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, according to WTOP radio. Cruz said President Obama is using veterans as pawns in the shutdown.  "Tear down these walls," the crowd chanted. Protesters also sang God Bless America and other patriotic songs as they entered the memorial plaza. 

Oct. 13: Politico: Federal Judges forget decorum and blast Capitol Hill; Guess it depends on who’s ox is being gored!
Federal judges, long used to being blasted as “judicial activists” by members of Congress, are now directing a stream of anger and vitriol right back at Capitol Hill.  Driving judges’ ire: the budget austerity and chaos lawmakers have imposed on the judiciary. Jurists say funding for the courts has already been cut to the bone by way of sequestration — and now the government shutdown has added insult to injury, leaving the government’s third branch running on fumes that likely won’t last out the week. “It is time to tell Congress to go to hell,” Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf wrote on his blog last week. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Oct. 13: The Hill: GOP standing firm on sequester spending limits:
Rolling back the automatic budget cuts known as the "sequester" has emerged as a critical sticking point in the negotiations to reopen the government and avoid default.
Democrats don't want to lock in 2014 government funding at the reduced level required by the sequester, but Republicans refuse to increase spending and say Democrats are overplaying their hand. "If you break the spending caps, you're not going to get any Republicans in the Senate," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) declared on "This Week" on ABC.

Oct. 13: The Washington Times:  International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Concerned over U.S. Flirtation over Debt Ceiling
The chief of the IMF said Sunday the United States’ stalemate over spending and its debt limit is “very, very concerning” and has rocked the organization’s annual meeting in Washington.  Christine Lagarde of the IMF threw cold water on claims by GOP lawmakers that Thursday’s deadline to raise the debt limit is not consequential, since it might not lead to automatic default on the country’s debts.  Members of the GOP have pointed out that even if the debt ceiling is reached there are more revenues coming into the U.S. Treasury than would be required to pay the interest on the existing debt so the issue is whether to raise the amount of debt, thereby increasing the interest payments in the future.  The GOP contend, and a majority of those surveyed agree, that the problem is the level of federal spending.

Oct. 13: The Hill:  Democrats may seek the “Nuclear” Option on the Debt Limit
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WVA) suggested Sunday that Democrats would consider raising the debt limit with only 51 votes in the Senate.  Democrats tried to pass a $1.1 trillion increase in the debt limit Saturday, but they failed to achieve the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster. 

Oct. 12: The Daily Caller:Obama Clueless about the USA in some profoundly disturbing ways
President Obama successfully portrayed himself as a uniting candidate during the 2008 election, but his actions in office deepened the partisan divide, author and American Enterprise Institute scholar Charles Murray told The Daily Caller in an exclusive interview. “In the 2008 campaign, I actually believed that he was going to try to be a president who would bridge the partisan divide and compromise,” Murray said. “His rhetoric was really pretty good, and his behavior since he got into office has been the polar opposite. And it is getting worse rather than better.”  However, Obama’s air belied an unsettling lack of understanding of the American spirit — and his “you didn’t build that” line revealed that.  “Remember his line — he said, ‘You didn’t [build] that.’ When he was talking about entrepreneurs

Oct. 12: The Daily Caller: Obama Summons Democrat Leaders to the Oval Office after Hill defeat
President Obama held a Saturday afternoon meeting in the Oval Office with top Senate Democrats after the GOP blocked an Obama-backed bill to sharply raise the government’s credit-limit by $1.1 trillion.  The bill only won 52 yes votes, when it needed 60. Roughly one-sixth of Obama’s administration is shut down because 2013 spending bills have expired, and he is expected to hit his credit-limit Oct. 17. Since his 2009 inauguration, his government has borrowed $6 trillion to fund its ambitious spending programs.

Oct. 10: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: World War II Memorial Shutdown
Tears filled John Lichko's eyes as he thought of the Army Air Corps comrades he served with in England and France. The memories flooded back as he posed for a picture under a pillar at the World War II Memorial that commemorates the contributions of Pennsylvania veterans. The government shutdown that began 10 days ago nearly robbed him of the chance to remember them. A week ago, National Park Service employees, citing the shutdown, blocked access to the World War II Memorial.

Oct. 9: The Weekly Standard: National Park Service shows politics involved in selecting site closures:
Consider the actions of the National Park Service since the government shutdown began. People first noticed what the NPS was up to when the World War II Memorial on the National Mall was “closed.” Just to be clear, the memorial is an open plaza. There is nothing to operate. Sometimes there might be a ranger standing around. But he’s not collecting tickets or opening gates. Putting up barricades and posting guards to “close” the World War II Memorial takes more resources and manpower than “keeping it open.” The closure of the World War II Memorial was just the start of the Park Service’s partisan assault on the citizenry. Read more of the story.

Oct. 9: The Daily Caller: White House and IRS exchange confidential taxpayer Information:
Top IRS Obamacare official Sarah Hall Ingram discussed confidential taxpayer information with senior Obama White House officials, according to 2012 emails obtained by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and provided to The Daily Caller.  Lois Lerner, then head of the IRS Tax Exempt Organizations division, also received an email alongside White House officials that contained confidential information.

Oct. 9: Breitbart.com: Immigration Agents Bash House Lawmakers push for Amnesty:
U.S. Immigration Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agents have expressed strong concerns over House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and other Representatives pushing for immigration legislation that would legalize the
status of America’s at least 11 million illegal immigrants.   In a public statement USCIS Council president Kenneth Palinkas warned that Goodlatte (R-VA), Ryan (R-WI), Cantor (R-VA), and Gutierrez (D-IL) seem to be following the same pathway that Senate “Gang of Eight” members did, regarding how they are working on immigration legislation.

Oct. 8: The Hill: Justices clash over campaign finance law:
The Supreme Court looked set to, at least partially, strike down certain limits on political donations during a crucial case on campaign finance Tuesday.  The justices split largely along ideological lines as they heard oral arguments. At issue was a challenge to aggregate campaign limits — caps on how much one person can donate in total, across all of the candidates and party committees he or she supports.  Chief Justice John Roberts could hold the deciding vote in the case. Although his questions were skeptical of aggregate limits, he also appeared to be looking for ways to circumscribe the scope of a ruling.  Limiting the total amount a person can donate in one election cycle “seems to me a very direct restriction” even on small contributions, Roberts said. 

President Obama weighed in on the case during a news conference Tuesday afternoon, arguing that wealthy “extremists” have too much power to push politics toward their own interests.  “What it means is ordinary Americans are shut out of the process,” Obama said. “And Democrats aren’t entirely innocent of this in the past.”  Individuals can currently donate roughly $123,000 per election cycle to candidates and official party committees. The Republican National Committee and a wealthy Republican donor, Shaun McCutcheon, want the court to eliminate that cap, allowing individual contributions to total as much as $3.5 million.

Oct. 8: The Daily Caller: I like Obama, but I’m broke! Americans upset that ObamaCare costs money!
Firsthand comments from those who sought coverage.

Oct. 8: Roll Call: Republicans Say Obama Underestimates their Resolve as the Debt Ceiling Debate Heats up:
If you thought Republicans weren’t serious about a debt default, think again.  While Democrats refuse to negotiate on the continuing resolution and the debt limit, apparently assuming the GOP will eventually cave, House Republicans insist they are prepared to bring borrowing authority to a screeching halt.  “I can assure you it’s not posturing. It’s not a political play or anything like that,” Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-GA, told CQ Roll Call on Tuesday.  Gingrey said Republicans were “absolutely” prepared to lose the House to extract concessions on the CR and the debt limit, and he said the White House is “missing the determination of the Republican Party.”

Oct. 8: Fox News: Poll shows majority are against raising the debt ceiling:
Soon Congress will have to vote on raising the nation’s debt limit so the federal government can borrow more money to make good on its spending commitments.  If it were up to the American public, they would vote no -- with a majority saying the debt limit should only be raised after major spending cuts have been made. Most Republicans (78 percent) and a majority of independents (57 percent) would vote against raising the limit. So would almost all Tea Partiers (88 percent).  

Oct. 8: Fox News: Boehner calls Obama position on the fiscal crisis “non-sustainable”
House Speaker John Boehner dismissed President Obama’s position on the fiscal crisis as “not sustainable” Tuesday, only hours after Obama held a non-press conference to say he was willing to compromise but not negotiate. "What the president said today was, if there's unconditional surrender by Republicans, he'll sit down and talk with us. That's not the way our government works," Boehner said. "It's time for us to just sit down and resolve our differences," Boehner said.

Oct. 8: Fox News: Making the “Shutdown” as painful as possible by closing down various operations that don’t cost much money to run such as shutting Websites:
Republicans continue to allege the Obama administration is trying to make the partial government shutdown "as painful as possible," by closing down various operations that don't cost much to run anyway. Here are just a handful of things that were shut down by Washington, despite a strong suspicion that doing so is not saving taxpayers money. 

- Websites: A number of federal government websites have gone off-line since last week, due to the partial shutdown. [Editorial Comment:  When I served as a Web Master at the Department of Commerce in Washington, DC I kept the site up and current from my home during the September 11th attack and in the days that followed.  There was no reason to take the site down.  Our view back then was “we are here to serve the public!”  But things have changed in the past 12 years.  Now it is about making political statements instead of serving the taxpayers!]
- Open-Air Memorials: The short-lived effort to close off the open-air World War II Memorial from visitors last week became the veritable symbol, for critics, of the government going the extra mile to make shutdown-related changes more visible.  
- Parking Lots:  A northern Virginia parking lot lies between the heavily traveled George Washington Memorial Parkway and the Potomac River, and is a popular pull-off for weekend runners and bikers. Thanks to the budget stalemate, though, the lot has been cleared out and barricaded.
- Views:  Some officials went beyond closing down America's parks and monuments. In South Dakota, officials put up traffic cones to prevent passersby from pulling over to take pictures of Mount Rushmore. 

Oct 7: The Washington Examiner: Park Service OKs Immigration Reform Rally on grounds of the Closed National Mall:
A planned immigration reform rally will take place on the National Mall on Tuesday even though the site is closed due to the government shutdown.  Organizers for the "Camino Americano: March for Immigration Reform" were spotted Monday setting up a stage and equipment on the National Mall for the rally which will take place on Tuesday.  A few scattered barriers around the park have signs informing visitors that the area is closed as a result of the government shutdown. The decision to allow some to use the mall but others not has caused some to question whether a group's political persuasion is the determining factor!

Oct. 7: The Daily Caller: Third Colorado State Senator may face a recall election:
Energized by historic recalls of two Colorado state senators last month, activists have begun collecting signatures to oust state Democratic Sen. Evie Hudak from office.  Hudak, who represents Westminster, a suburb northwest of Denver, is the target. Under Colorado election law, those wishing to prompt a recall election must collect 18,900 signatures from district residents – 25 percent of the total votes cast in the last election.

The recall petition cites strict new gun restrictions passed by the Colorado legislature as a reason for recalling Hudak. “She has infringed upon our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. She has voted to make all citizens less safe and to drive hundreds of jobs from Colorado,” the petition reads.

Oct. 7: US News and World Report: Truckers for the Constitution plan to slow down the Capital beltway in rolling protest:
Tractor-trailer drivers will intentionally clog the inner loop of the Washington, D.C., beltway beginning on the morning of Oct. 11, according to a coordinator of the upcoming "Truckers Ride for the Constitution" rally.  Organizers of the three-day ride want to call attention to a litany of trucker frustrations and express their disapproval of national political leaders. 

Earl Conlon, a Georgia trucker who is handling logistics for the protest, told U.S. News tractor-trailer drivers will circle the beltway "three lanes deep" as he rides with other participants to Congress to seek the arrest of congressmen for allegedly disregarding the Constitution. The truckers circling Capital Beltway will keep the left lane open for emergency vehicles, Conlon said, but "everybody that doesn't have a supporter sticker on their window, good luck: Nobody in, nobody out." The trucks will be going the 55 mile-per-hour speed limit.

Oct. 5: The Daily Caller:  Issa: Benghazi attack result of Clinton’s reckless, ill-advised ‘war on terror’ policies:
Responsibility for the September 11 Benghazi assault and the deaths of four U.S. citizens — including Libyan ambassador Chris Stevens — lies personally at the feet of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa. 

“We know from Hillary Clinton on down there was a policy of normalization to make it appear as though we had won the war on terror,” Issa said. “I was in Libya just the other day, and one thing that I came back with was a strong opinion that that ‘stand down’ had everything to do with the fight between Department of State headed Hillary Clinton and the Defense Department, and that ultimately, State was willing to put their assets in, and did not want any military assets in, because they did not want to escalate what ultimately should have been escalated to a real rescue mission.”

Oct. 5: Fox News: House passes bill to pay federal employees back pay once shutdown is over:
In a unanimous vote of Republicans and Democrats (407-0) the House passed a bill Saturday to give thousands of furloughed federal workers back pay when the government reopens, but Democrats – playing politics as unusual –  promptly characterized it as a signal the GOP doesn’t want the partial shutdown to end.  “Now we're saying to federal employees: We're going to pay you when this is all over with,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said minutes after the unanimous House vote. “But right now, you just stay home … watch TV,  play chess, whatever you’re going to do, because we won't let you work.”

Oct. 5: The Daily Caller: Lee: He and Cruz faced ‘demeaning’ and ‘all-out attack’ from GOP colleagues
Senate Republicans furiously attacked Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Utah Sen. Mike Lee behind closed doors and leaked details of an off-record meeting to the media to harm the two senators, according to Lee.  Lee divulged some of the details of a closed-door meeting on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show on Friday, since he said much of it had been leaked to the media by his own colleagues. 

“It was an all-out attack against Ted Cruz and me,” he continued. “It was unflattering. It was unfair. It was demeaning. It was demeaning to Sen. Cruz and me, but more than anything, it was demeaning to those who engaged in the attack.”  Lee said a number of senators had rose to speak against he and Cruz — “enough that I lost count.” 

“I have to ask the question — why weren’t those who leaked this and leaked it in an unflattering and unfavorable way — why were they not willing to attach their names to those quotes?” he said. “You know, Ted Cruz and I spoke after the meeting and you know, we would both be fine with the American people seeing and hearing what we said in that meeting. But we’re pretty sure most of our colleagues would be very uncomfortable and downright embarrassed if their constituents saw the way they were behaving.”

Oct. 5: The Hill: House to Obama: Let furloughed military chaplains serve!
Furloughed chaplains should be able to give prayer services on a volunteer basis, according to a House vote on Saturday.  The House resolution approved in a 400-1 vote argues the Obama administration should allow contract chaplains who have been furloughed to continue offering prayer services on a volunteer basis.  Right now, chaplains who do so could be charged with trespassing or arrested because of the government shutdown.  The only "no" vote came from Rep. Bill Enyart (D-IL).

Oct. 5: Fox News: Pentagon orders 200,000 civilian furloughed workers back to work:
The Pentagon is ordering most of its approximately 400,000 furloughed civilian employees back to work.  The decision by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is based on a Pentagon legal interpretation of a law called the Pay Our Military Act.  That measure was passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama shortly before the partial government shutdown began Tuesday.

Oct. 5: Fox News: ObamaCare Website Glitches show the President’s Healthcare plan is not ready for prime time?
House Speaker John Boehner criticized the Obama administration's plan to disable a key part of its health overhaul website this weekend to resolve glitches that overwhelmed the launch of new health insurance markets.  “The news that its enrollment system is already going offline confirms that the launch of the president’s health care law has been an unmitigated disaster," Boehner said in a statement Friday.

Oct. 4: Politico: HHS to take ObamaCare applications off line while Website is shutdown for maintenance this weekend:
Why would the HHS ObamaCare website be down for maintenance just four days after it opened for business?  Is something not going according to plan? 
The agency reports that it will take down the application section of Healthcare.gov this weekend during off-peak hours “for scheduled maintenance.”  In a release titled “Week One Success,” the agency touts “sustained improvements” to the consumer experience since the launch Tuesday, despite the ongoing and widespread prevalence of long waits and error messages greeting people around the country who are trying to use the site.

Oct. 4: The Daily Caller: Dead people can sign up for health care in Kentucky:
Obamacare can help dead people, too.  This is apparent in Kentucky, where application forms for the state’s new Obamacare benefit exchange asks if the application is for someone who has recently died.

Oct. 4: The Daily Caller: White House distances self from celebrating shutdown quote:
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was left playing damage control Friday after a “senior administration official” told The Wall Street Journal that the administration doesn’t care how long the government shutdown continues.  “We are winning,” the unnamed official told the Journal. “It doesn’t really matter to us” how long the shutdown lasts “because what matters is the end result,” the official said.

Oct. 4: The Hill: “This isn’t some damn game” Speaker Boehner says:
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) urged Republicans to stick together Friday at a closed-door conference meeting, leaving for another day talk of a possible “grand bargain” to end standoffs over the government shutdown and raising the debt ceiling. “This isn’t some damn game,” Boehner told reporters after the conference, angrily responding to reports that the White House thought it was winning the showdown. 

Oct. 4: The Daily Caller: Obama promises to veto funding bills:
The President is threatening to veto another stack of Republican-drafted government funding bills until the GOP gives up its efforts to reform the Obamacare network.  “If the President were presented [with the 10 funding bills for individual agencies]… he would veto the bills,” said a Oct. 4 White House statement about the bills, which are being voted through the House Oct. 4.  “Instead of opening up a few Government functions, the House of Representatives should re-open all of the Government,” it said.

Oct. 4: Politico:  Chris Wallace: “White House debt message is bull”
Although President Barack Obama has said that negotiating over the debt ceiling would be unprecedented, Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace isn’t buying it.  “The White House keeps saying, the president says this has never happened before, we’ve never had a negotiation on the debt limit,” Wallace told Politico for this week’s “Turn the Table” series. “That’s bull. It just isn’t true.” 

Oct. 4: The Hill: GOP halts Democrat attempt to pass a clean spending bill less the defunding of ObamaCare:
House Republicans on Friday stood firm against a move by Democrats to call up the Senate's continuing resolution funding the government.    The vote came on the fourth day of the government shutdown, and is an indication the House GOP remains united in its effort to press ahead with smaller spending bills for the next several days.  Democrats, in contrast, want a vote on a "clean" funding plan passed by the Senate that funds all of the government, including ObamaCare.

Oct. 4: The Daily Caller: Social Security Admin. instructs employees to scare recipients about the Debt Ceiling:
Social Security Administration employees are being instructed to tell people who ask that if the debt ceiling is not raised, their social security benefits could be in danger.  In an email sent Friday, obtained by The Daily Caller, employees are instructed:  “If a member of the public asks whether their Social Security payment will be affected if the federal debt ceiling is not raised, you may give the following response: ‘Unlike a federal shutdown which has no impact on the payment of Social Security benefits, failure to raise the debt ceiling puts Social Security benefits at risk.’  “Direct all program–related and technical questions to your supervisor.”

Oct. 4: The Daily Caller: Carney can’t cite any actions by Obama to ease the government shutdown:
White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to describe any steps taken by President Obama to soften the impact of the government shutdown on Americans.  Instead, Carney tried to blame Congress for the actions of officials in Obama’s agencies who have denied use of free government services by blockading public spaces and parks, shutting down White House and agency websites, and excluding Catholic priests from military bases.  Officials, including Obama, have also tried to spur alarm among investors and pensioners, and Obama promises to veto GOP bills that fund individual agencies.

Oct. 4: The Hill: Walker defies Fed and keeps state parks funded with federal money open:
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is defying orders from Washington, D.C., to close down several state parks that receive federal funding.  Despite receiving a closure directive from the National Park Service, Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has decided instead that parks partly funded by the federal government would stay open to the public. 

Oct. 4: The Daily Caller: Democrats cling to one vote majority in Colorado after recall election:
Following historic legislative recall elections in Colorado last month, the Democratic Party’s legislative majority in the Centennial State has been worn down to paper-thin margin. With two Democrats, including Senate President John Morse, recalled for their sponsorship of new gun-control laws, the Democrats are left with a one-seat majority in the state Senate. The Democratic caucus must choose a new leader to take charge of the rattled ranks.

Two Republicans, elected as part of last month’s recalls in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, were sworn in Thursday inside a Senate chamber packed with pro-gun activists and other recall proponents. Bernie Herpin, a former city councilman, won Morse’s seat while former police chief George Rivera will replace Pueblo’s Angela Giron.

Oct. 2: Fox News: House to try again to pass emergency government funding bill. 
The House of Representatives will make another attempt Wednesday to pass three emergency funding bills after each failed to obtain the required two-thirds majority under the suspension of the rules procedure on Tuesday.  The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday to consider the three measures backed by House Republicans, which are aimed at reopening parks and monuments, continuing veterans’ benefits and allowing the municipal government of the District of Columbia to function.

Unlike on Tuesday, the latest bills will not be treated by House GOP leaders as suspension bills, which means they only need a simple majority vote to pass. On Tuesday, each measure needed 286 votes to pass. The parks funding bill went down by a tally of 252 in favor to 176 against, the veterans programs by 264 in favor to 164 against and the D.C. government funding by 265 in favor to 163 against.
However, even if the bills pass the House Wednesday, they are almost assuredly doomed in the Senate, where Democrats suggested GOP House members had picked high profile parts of the government to fund as a cover for their part in forcing a government slowdown, while overlooking other critical areas such as the National Institutes of Health.

Both the Senate and the White House say the bill is a non-starter.  So who is to blame for where we are?  The House has sent the Senate numerous bills that would fund the government and the Senate refuses to compromise.  It almost feels like the Democrat-controlled Senate wants the government shutdown for political reasons.  It is time that they come to the table and give a little! [See Related Story on the Shutdown Battle from September 30th]

Oct. 2: The Daily Caller: Obama allows Government shutdown on the first day of National Bullying Prevention Month NEA press release says:
President Barack Obama contemptuously chose to allow the first federal government shutdown in almost two decades on the first day of National Bullying Prevention Month, according to a press release sent to The Daily Caller by the National Education Association (NEA).  “With nearly one-third of students reporting being bullied in school and nearly half of adolescents and teens saying they have been bullied online, bullying has reached epidemic levels, especially as some studies connect bullying with suicidal thoughts,” said the press release, which TheDC received via email from NEA spokeswoman Sara Robertson.

Oct. 2: The Daily Caller: U.S. Supreme Court considers two cases involving religious liberties:
The U.S. Supreme Court on November 6th will hear its first legislative prayer case in 30 years, along with a case challenging ObamaCare’s requirements on religious grounds.  The town of Greece, New York, with a population of close to 100,000, has been holding Christian prayers at town meetings since 1999. But in a unanimous 2011 decision, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the prayer practice was unconstitutional.  The Supreme Court’s decision could determine whether prayer before official public meeting will be permitted and  set the guidelines in which all cases involving religion will be decided.

Another case with a similar controversial issue is Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius, in which the Christian-owned company argues that using certain types of birth control violates their religious beliefs.  “If the Hobby Lobby wins, the next case will be exemption of gay marriage,” said Ian Millhiser, Senior Constitutional Policy Analyst for The Center of American Progress.  Hobby Lobby is one of the 40 lawsuits filed across the country asking federal courts to exempt ObamaCare’s contraception requirement.

Oct 1: Fox News: Much of the government is not shutdown, only slimmed down
With all the talk of a government shutdown, it's important to remember that much of the government will technically remain open.  The following is a list of government services that will continue, rain or shine ... or shutdown: 
- While roughly half of the Defense Department's civilian employees will be furloughed, the 1.4 million active-duty military personnel stay on duty.
- Most Homeland Security agents and border officers, as well as other law enforcement agents and officers, keep working.
- Social Security checks will continue to go out. Medicare benefits will keep coming.
- The Postal Services will keep delivering mail.
- Though most of the  Department of Veterans Affairs services will continue.
- Meat inspections by the Agriculture Department will continue.
- Air traffic controllers will remain on the job.
- Railroad and pipeline safety inspectors will also remain at work.
- The National Security Agency -- as part of the nation's national security infrastructure -- will continue to operate.
- Except for some potential glitches, passport and visas will be handled as usual, both at home and abroad.

Oct. 1: The Daily Caller: Dr. Ben Carson: “I had my first encounter with the IRS after challenging Obama”
At an event in Birmingham, Ala. Monday night, former Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Ben Carson revealed that he had received a visit from the Internal Revenue Service following his much-noted remarks at a National Prayer Breakfast earlier this year.  “I had my first encounter with the IRS this year, unsurprisingly after the prayer breakfast,” Carson told an audience that at the annual Business Council of Alabama Chairman’s Dinner, according to a report from Cliff Sims of the Montgomery, Ala.-based Yellowhammer News.  Carson’s February speech made him a conservative darling for criticizing President Barack Obama’s 2010 health-care reform law, while Obama was sitting just a few feet away.

Sept. 30: Roll Call: Shutdown Battle About Setting the Stage for the Debt Ceiling Fight:
Don’t let the cable news shutdown countdown clocks fool you: Monday’s Congressional fight over how to keep the government operational isn’t really about avoiding a shutdown, it’s about the two parties positioning themselves for a fight over the more consequential debt limit.  Democrats for the first time in years are digging in as a major deadline nears, sending a signal to Republicans that they won’t dismantle the health care law in order to appease demands they believe are fueled by the fringe of the opposing party and are unreasonable in relation to the fight at hand. And at this point, Democrats have no choice but to stand strong on a clean continuing resolution. Because if they were to relent now, they would prove that President Barack Obama’s words — that he won’t negotiate around the full faith and credit of the United States — are just lip service and that the GOP again can exact demands in October with a potential government default on the line.

Democrats cannot repeat their performance from two years ago, largely because there are not really any more politically viable discretionary domestic cuts to be made. Quite the contrary, Democrats such as Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., are pushing aggressively to roll back the sequester that mandates the cuts in the first place.  While they would never say so vocally, there are likely some Republicans who quietly hope Democrats stand firm against the conservatives pushing to attach Obamacare provisions to the spending bills, because without Democrats being the enemy in this case, the GOP establishment will have a difficult time turning its attention back to its comfort zone: cutting spending.

Sept. 30: Fox News: Senate kills latest House counteroffer, kicks the can back to the House:
The Senate voted for the second time Monday to kill a Republican counteroffer that would rein in ObamaCare while funding the government, kicking the bill back to the House with less than an hour left on the clock before the government begins to shut down.   Lawmakers are facing a midnight deadline to reach an agreement on a government spending bill. Senate Democrats vow they will not accept any proposal that targets ObamaCare. The rhetoric was getting more heated as the deadline neared.

“Senate Democrats have made it perfectly clear that they’d rather shut down the federal government than accept even the most reasonable changes to ObamaCare,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell countered.  The latest House bill, which the chamber backed on a 228-201 vote, would have delayed the law's individual mandate while prohibiting lawmakers, their staff and top administration officials from getting government subsidies for their health care.  The Senate voted 54-46 along party lines to reject it.

There is also an effort underway by some House members to request a conference committee -- a bicameral committee tasked with hammering out the differences between the warring pieces of legislation.  At this point, it’s unclear what common ground the two sides can find. The latest GOP proposal stirred dissension in the ranks, with some lawmakers reluctant to hurt their own staff by taking away additional subsidies for their health care costs. According to the site Legistorm, the average House staffer salary is under $60,000. Twelve House Republicans peeled off in the latest vote to oppose the bill. 

The Senate earlier Monday rejected a GOP proposal that would delay the health care law by one year and repeal an unpopular medical device tax. Reid warned Republicans not to fiddle with the spending bill any more.

Sept. 30: The Daily Caller:
As the Government starts to shutdown big Democrats are partying it up a Hillary’s House:
While Washington, D.C. braced Monday evening for the federal government to shut down, Hillary Clinton hosted rich, connected, powerful Democrats at her swanky northwest D.C. home to raise money for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe.  The Democratic nominee for governor declined to answer questions from The Daily Caller about the Virginians likely to be furloughed in a government shutdown. An estimated 150,000 Virginians are likely to be affected.  Despite the shutdown threat, a Who’s Who of national Democrats still attended the fundraiser at the invitation of the former Secretary of State, First Lady and likely 2016 presidential candidate.

Sept. 30: The Galveston Daily News:
The Search for Truth and Freedom of the Press:
Look at the reporting we see today.  Instead of keeping reporting to the facts (e.g., the truth) of what happened (the who, what, when, where, and why) we often see an agenda in the news we read.  We often hear comments like “You can’t believe what you read in the ________(fill in the blank)!”    

Is there a place for “investigative journalism?”  Absolutely, but true investigative journalism is about seeking truth based upon facts and not looking for facts to line up with a preconceived storyline. The members of the press have a serious role to play in keeping government honest.  That is why the first amendment protects them.  At the same time, those to whom this freedom has been guaranteed carry a larger responsibility to tell the truth free of bias.

Sept. 29: The Hill: Boehner slams Senate Dems for their “arrogance”
Senate Democrats must meet Sunday to vote on legislation funding the government, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said, calling their failure to do so “an act of breathtaking arrogance.”  House Republicans last night on a spending bill that delays ObamaCare by a year. Senate Democrats say they'll vote it down when they convene Monday, all but ensuring a government shutdown come Tuesday.  

“The House worked late into the night Saturday to prevent a government shutdown, and the Senate now must move quickly, today, to do the same,” Boehner said in a statement.  “If the Senate stalls until Monday afternoon instead of working today, it would be an act of breathtaking arrogance by the Senate Democratic leadership.”  Boehner went on to accuse Democrats of “deliberately bringing the nation to the brink of a government shutdown for the sake of raising taxes on seniors’ pacemakers and children’s hearing aids and plowing ahead with the train wreck that is the president’s health care law.” The Republican spending bill would also eliminate the health law's tax on medical devices.

The White House has made it clear President Obama would veto any spending bill delaying his signature healthcare reform law. Democrats are convinced the public will blame Republicans in case of a shutdown. Republicans are ready to take the gamble.  “The American people will not stand for it,” Boehner said. “I call on the Democratic leaders of the Senate to act today on the measure passed by the House last night, and urge senators on both sides of the aisle to listen to the American people, who do not want a government shutdown and do not want the president’s health care law.”

Sept. 29: Fox News:
House passes Short Term CR, Delays ObamaCare one year, Will Pay Military if there is a shutdown:
Stand by for the NON-Headline in the mainstream media... "Senate and Obama Shutdown the Federal Government!" Last night the House voted in favor of a temporary spending bill that includes a one-year delay for ObamaCare, a move that increases the chance of a government shutdown with Senate Democrats and the White House vowing to reject the measure ahead of a Monday night deadline.  The Republican-led House passed the proposal 231-192 in one of two amendments attached to a Senate spending bill passed Friday night. Within minutes, the White House vowed President Obama would veto the plan, resulting in the federal government technically running out of money Monday night and forcing a partial shutdown.

Sept. 29: The Hill: GOP Lawmakers call ACA anything but Affordable
In floor speeches, TV interviews and town halls, Republicans often refer to President Obama’s signature healthcare law either as “ObamaCare” or a healthcare “bill” — subtly implying that it’s not truly permanent.  “The bill is named after the president. Why wouldn't the president want to be under the bill?” Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) asked in a floor speech earlier this month, making the case that the president should get his healthcare through ObamaCare.

Sept. 29: The Hill: Senator Kaine (D-VA) says Senate likely to pass military funding bill even if CR is not adopted:
The Senate on Monday is likely to pass a military funding bill to ensure that U.S. troops will be paid in case the government shuts down, a Democratic senator said.   Sen. Tim Kaine said Sunday that "in all likelihood" the Senate would approve the measure when the upper chamber returns on Monday afternoon.

Sept. 29: The Hill: Barrasso: “Duct tape and chicken wire” are holding ObamaCare exchanges together:
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) on Sunday said that ObamaCare insurance exchanges set to go live this week “are being held together right now with duct tape and chicken wire.” The physician said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that consumers are in for a case of sticker shock, adding that Americans will have difficulty finding a doctor to care for them. “The president made a couple of promises. One with the exchanges, and he said it would be cheaper than a cell phone bill. And I don't expect a lot of people to be able to find something less than $71 a month on the exchanges,” he said.

Sept. 28: The Daily Caller:
Kiss your present healthcare plan goodbye – 10 states where ObamaCare wipes out existing health plans:
President Obama famously promised, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” He later got even more specific.  “If you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have,” Obama said. But there are ten states where this is not the case: 1) California 2) Missouri 3) Connecticut 4) Maryland 5) South Carolina 6) New York 7) New Jersey 8) Iowa 9) Wisconsin and 10) Georgia

Sept. 28: Fox News: House to vote tonight on Continuing Resolution with one year hold on ObamaCare
House Republicans are preparing to vote Saturday night on a temporary spending bill that includes a one-year delay for ObamaCare, resulting in the White House saying President Obama would veto such a proposal, almost guaranteeing a government shutdown Monday night.  The House Republican Caucus earlier in the afternoon agreed on the plan – to add to the Senate’s spending bill amendments to delay ObamaCare, repeal the law’s medical device tax and fund the military should Washington fail to agree on a spending bill and the government technically runs out of money Monday night.  The lower chamber votes are scheduled to take place later tonight. The tax on medical devices is one of the administration’s main sources of funding for ObamaCare.

The House earlier this month sent a spending bill to the Senate that called for defunding Obama’s health-care law. On Friday, the Senate passed a temporary spending bill that re-inserted the ObamaCare funding and funds the government through Nov. 15.  "If the president was presented with [a spending bill] as amended by these amendments, he would veto the bill,” the White House said. “The House proposes amendments that advance a narrow ideological agenda and threaten the nation's economy," the White House said Saturday.

Though leaders of the Republican-led House knew the plan would not sit well with Obama and the Democrat-controlled Senate, they struck a defiant tone upon emerging from the one-hour meeting Saturday.  “ObamaCare is not ready, and the delay is essential,” California GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Affairs, said before lashing out at a reporter. “How dare you assume this will be a failure. ... How dare you.”  The House proposal will fund the federal government -- except for ObamaCare -- through December 15.

Sept. 28: Roll Call: Speaker Boehner signals the House will amend the Senate Continuing Resolution (CR):
Speaker Boehner signaled Thursday that the House would not simply vote on the version of the continuing resolution the Senate sends back, running up against a timeline that could suggest at least a temporary government shutdown.  Asked if he would now accept a “clean” CR from the Senate to avoid a government shutdown, the Ohio Republican was plain-spoken: “I do not see that happening.”

On Friday the Senate voted 54 to 44 for a stripped down version of the CR, one that eliminates the House defunding language for on ObamaCare.  Then they set the time for the Senate to reconvene as 2 p.m. on Monday, September 30, trying to send a clear signal to the House not to change what they are giving them or face a possible government shutdown.  It is highly likely that the House will ignore Senate Majority Leader Reid’s attempt to manipulate them and make changes before returning the bill to the Senate for its further consideration.

“I’ve made it clear now for months and months and months that we have no interest in seeing the government shut down, but we’ve got to address the spending problems that we have in this town,” Boehner said. “And so there will be options available to us. There’s not going to be any speculation on what we are going to do or not do until the Senate passes their bill.”

Still, the speaker expressed some optimism.  Asked if he expected the government to shut down, Boehner said, “No, I do not. No, I do not expect that to happen.”

Sept. 27: The Hill:
The Senate approves full funding of ObamaCare while also keeping the government operating:
The Senate voted along party lines Friday to pass a stopgap spending measure lasting until Nov. 15 after removing controversial language to defund ObamaCare.  The 54-44 vote puts the Senate on a collision course with the House, where Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has said the stripped-down bill will not reach the floor.  House conservatives on Friday rallied around a proposal to attach a one-year delay of the healthcare law and send it back to the Senate. Senate Democrats say this will be rejected and result in a government shutdown.  If Congress does not resolve the impasse by Tuesday, funding will expire and many government services will be limited.

Sept. 26: Roll Call:
Senator Grassley Frustrated over the fight on his healthcare amendment:
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, said Thursday he is frustrated by the continuing battle over health benefits for members of Congress and their staff, which he attributes to a drafting mistake in the Affordable Care Act by Democrats.  Grassley sponsored the original amendment requiring lawmakers and staffers to enter the Obamacare exchanges, but he didn’t intend for them to lose the employer subsidy. 

Sept. 23: Fox News: One man’s ObamaCare Nighmare:
Andy and Amy Mangione of Louisville, KY and their two boys are just the kind of people who should be helped by ObamaCare. But they recently got a nasty surprise in the mail.  "When I saw the letter when I came home from work," Andy said, describing the large red wording on the envelope from his insurance carrier, "(it said) 'your action required, benefit changes, act now.' Of course I opened it immediately."  It had stunning news. Insurance for the Mangiones and their two boys,which they bought on the individual market, was going to almost triple in 2014 --- from $333 a month to $965.  The insurance carrier made it clear the increase was in order to be compliant with the new health care law.

Sept. 23: The Daily Caller: Public worry about government power hits an all time high:
The percentage of Americans who believe the government has too much power has risen to record heights.  “Six in 10 Americans believe the federal government has too much power, one percentage point above the previous high recorded in September 2010,” according to a new survey by Gallup. That’s up from 39 percent in 2003 and 56 percent in 2008.  “Thirty-two percent now say the government has the right amount of power,” down from a high of 52 percent in 2003 and from 42 percent in early 2009 said Gallup, whose results were drawn from a survey of 1,510 adults in early September.

The year-long upward shift is powered by post-election worries among President Barack Obama’s Democratic and independent supporters, amid news reports about drone strikes, surveillance of the media, Obamacare’s data collection, IRS pressure on political groups and the National Security Agency’s far-reaching anti-jihadi surveillance.   However, Gallup’s results do not show if any of the new-worried adults plan to vote for a small-government candidate in 2014 or 2016.

Sept. 23: The Daily Caller: GOP Representatives press ICE on re-naming a defunded advocacy position;
A Republican member of Congress is investigating whether the Obama administration circumvented the law by simply re-naming a position Congress specifically defunded.  Tennessee Republican Rep. Diane Black is trying to ascertain whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “ignored” the law when the nation’s immigration law enforcement body renamed ICE’s “public advocate” instead of eliminating the position after Congress defunded it.

In February 2012, Andrew Lorenzen-Strait was appointed ICE’s “first-ever public advocate” to work with groups and those in immigration proceedings to answer questions and respond to recommendations.  That summer, Black argued the position was a waste of taxpayer money — a position intended to serve as a lobbyist for illegal immigrants — and introduced legislation to defund it.  “My amendment would deny the Obama administration funding for the illegal alien advocate position at ICE,” she said at the time.  “Contrary to what the Obama administration seems to think, the Department of Homeland Security was not created to act as a lobbying firm for illegal aliens,” Black continued. “Using taxpayer dollars to fund a position whose primary purpose is to advocate on behalf of individuals who have come into our country illegally is ridiculous and certainly a waste of precious taxpayer dollars.”  On April 1, 2013, according to Black’s office, Lorenzen-Strait received a title change with no apparent changes to his job function.

Sept. 23: The Daily Caller: IRS scandal figure Lois Lerner retires:
Embattled Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner is finally retiring from the scandal-plagued agency. Lerner has been on administrative leave since May.  Lerner, head of the IRS division Washington, D.C. tasked with evaluating tax-exempt nonprofit applications from groups, apologized in May for her division’s improper scrutiny of conservative and tea party groups between 2010 and 2012.  Lerner tried to plead the Fifth to avoid self-incrimination in congressional testimony, but the House Oversight Committee ruled that she waived her Fifth Amendment rights when she said “I have not broken any laws” before attempting her plea

Sept. 23: The Daily Caller:
Conservative group suing IRS receives tax-exempt status, DOJ seeks to have case dismissed:
The Internal Revenue Service has granted the Texas-based “election integrity” group True the Vote its tax-exempt status after more than three years, the organization announced Monday.  “We are pleased and relieved that the IRS and the DOJ are finally doing what should have been done three years ago, which is to recognize TTV as a charitable and educational organization, which we have always been and will continue to be,” Catherine Engelbrecht, president of True the Vote, said in a statement.

Sept. 23: The Galveston Daily News:
Meaning and Importance of the First Amendment: Freedom of Religion:
As we see the movement of our nation, and even some of our churches, away from the God who has had His hand of protection over us, we see the deterioration of our country.  We pray daily that the people of our nation will return to, or come to know, the Lord who is alive, who knows our every thought, who sees every step we take, and who will speak to us if we would but only listen. Listen first and then be obedient to His voice. 

Sept. 22: The Daily Caller:
Why do GOP Conservatives like Ted Cruz so much?  Maybe it’s because the GOP Leadership doesn’t!
Angry Republicans — not Democrats — sent Fox News opposition research on Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz before his appearance on a broadcast of “Fox News Sunday,” according to host Chris Wallace.  During his “Power Panel” segment, Wallace told Karl Rove he received unsolicited ammo to use against Cruz before his interview.  “This has been one of the strangest weeks I’ve ever had in Washington,” Wallace said. “As soon as we listed Ted Cruz as our guest this week, I got unsolicited research and questions, not from Democrats, but from top Republicans to hammer Cruz. Why are Republicans so angry at Ted Cruz?”  Rove insisted it was because Cruz and fellow Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee decided to devise a strategy to defund Obamacare without consulting Republican Leadership!

Sept. 22: Politico:  Cruz: A vote for cloture is a vote for ObamaCare:
Sen. Ted Cruz on Sunday reiterated his commitment to blocking a procedural Senate vote on a House-approved spending bill, saying that Senate Democrats would have too much leeway to add in funding for Obamacare.  "Any vote for cloture, any vote to allow Harry Reid to add funding to Obamacare with just a 51-vote threshold, a vote for cloture is a vote for Obamacare," the Texas Republican said on "Fox News Sunday." "And I think Senate Republicans are going to stand side-by-side with Speaker [John] Boehner and House Republicans, listening to the people and stopping this train wreck that is Obamacare."

Sept. 22: Politico:
Hunt for Red October, Capt. Mancuso: “ In the game of chicken it’s all about knowing when to flinch!”
Obama calls Boehner: “I will not negotiate on the Debt Ceiling!”  Who will flinch first?  Who has the power?  The House of Representatives does if it will but use it. 

President Barack Obama is once again warning House Republicans that he will not negotiate over a debt-ceiling increase, even as the U.S. government moves closer to its borrowing limit. Obama called Speaker John Boehner Friday night to reiterate his hard-line stance. The Ohio Republican’s office said the president called to say “he wouldn’t negotiate with him on the debt limit.” The question is, “Is this another of Obama’s ‘Red Lines” and will he cave on this line drawn in the sand like he did on Syria?”

Sept. 22: The Daily Caller and Politico: Efforts have been renewed by the media and gun control advocates to move forward stricter laws on guns in the wake of the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. I worked and served at this facility during my time in the Navy. It is another "gun-free" zone and requires those entering to have a bona fide pass based upon having a background check. The federal background check on the shooter failed to take into acccount that he was discharged from the Navy with a "General" not an "Honorable" discharge. Nor did it discover the mental issues this individual had. It appears that the failure here was not in gun control laws but in security at this naval facility in heart of our nation's captial. But the debate coming from the mainstream media and the gun control advocates begs that a couple of questions be asked:

Sept. 21:  The Daily Caller: McConnell taking a low profile because he can count the votes in Kentucky:
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller, long-term conservative activist Richard Viguerie sharply criticized Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell over his leadership, accusing him of hiding behind Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain to avoid a TEA party primary challenge.  “Mitch McConnell can count votes. And he sees that his neck is on the line here, and he can’t get out front right now and lead on the things that he would like to,” Viguerie said. “He would like to expand government and be part of the Washington insider crowd here, but he’s going to keep a low profile. He’s going to let the Lindsey Grahams and the John McCains lead, because he feels that he could be in trouble in his primary in Kentucky.”

Viguerie believes House Speaker John Boehner has adopted the same tactic. “Conservatives are going to be challenging him and I think that some of the other House leadership and Senate leadership are going to find themselves being primaried,” he said. “Conservatives have found their voice and they are no longer willing to ‘go along to get along.’”

Sept. 20: The Hill: Cruz: House should pass military only funding bill:
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Friday that the House should pass a government funding measure for only the military if the Senate sends back a spending bill that does not defund ObamaCare.  “I hope they respond to the Senate, if Harry Reid does try to force a government shutdown, by passing one continuing resolution (CR) after another funding each specific piece of government, starting off with funding the military,” Cruz said on Fox News.  “Send it over and say, ‘Alright Harry Reid: Are the Senate Democrats, is President Obama going to shut down the military? Is that what you want to do? And see if Harry Reid is going to do that.” [See Comments on Facebook about this tactic.]

Cruz’s comments are the first specific suggestion he’s put forward about what the House should do next week if the Senate passes a continuing resolution (CR) that does not defund ObamaCare, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has indicated he plans to do.  House leaders have not said yet how they will react to a Senate-passed funding measure that does not repeal ObamaCare.

Sept. 20: Fox News: House votes to fully fund the government while defunding ObamaCare
The House voted Friday to keep the government open through mid-December but only if Congress strips funding from ObamaCare.  The vote was 230 to 189, and largely expected.  One Republican from the Tidewater area of Virginia voted against the measure while two Democrats who represent marginal districts and who were elected by close votes supported passage.  Current funding for the government is set to expire at the end of the month, and lawmakers must approve the stopgap bill in order to keep Washington open.

Sept. 20: The Daily Caller:
Two top GOP leaders drop out of the “Gang of Seven” immigration group blaming Obama
Two leading Republicans have dramatically quit the House’s “Gang of Seven” immigration panel, likely dealing a crippling blow to President Barack Obama’s top-priority effort to push through an immigration rewrite.  The two legislators blamed Obama’s practice of not enforcing laws, including immigration enforcement laws.  “We have reached a tipping point and can no longer continue working on a broad approach to immigration,” said a statement from the two Texas Republicans, John Carter and Sam Johnson, who were working with four Democratic legislators to craft a bill to increase immigration. “Instead of doing what’s right for America, President Obama time and again has unilaterally disregarded the U.S. Constitution, the letter of the law and bypassed the Congress — the body most representative of the people — in order to advance his political agenda,” they wrote. 

Sept. 20: The Hill: Reid has lowest approval rating among congressional leaders
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) holds the lowest net approval rating among House and Senate leadership — but others are not far behind.  According to a Gallup poll released Friday, Reid's approval rating is 33 percent with 53 percent disapproving of his job performance, leaving him with a net rating of negative 20 percent.  Speaker John H), who leads the Republican majority in the House, holds a net approval rating of negative 17 percent, with 37 percent of people approving while 54 percent disapprove. 

Both minority leaders in the House and Senate hold a net approval rating of negative 12 percent.  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has a 35 percent approval rating, while 37 percent disapprove of him. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has the approval of 39 percent of people, but 51 percent disapprove.   The poll comes as Congress bumps up against a duo of fiscal deadlines, one to fund the government and another to raise the debt ceiling in mid-October. Congressional leaders have been at loggerheads about how to proceed. 

Sept. 18: Fox News: House Conservatives submit bill to replace “ObamaCare” amid defunding fight:
A group of House conservatives introduced legislation Wednesday that members say will replace ObamaCare and its “unworkable” taxes and mandates with a plan that expands tax breaks for Americans who buy their own insurance.   Under the proposal endorsed by the 175-member Republican Study Committee, Americans who purchase coverage through state-run exchanges can claim a $7,500 deduction against their income and payroll taxes, regardless of the cost of the insurance. Families could deduct $20,000.

Sept. 18: The Daily Caller:
Ousted Democrat campaign manager calls for Vote Fraud investigation in Colorado:
Jon Caldara, the president of the Independence Institute, is the target of a criminal complaint submitted to the Colorado attorney general’s office.  Caldara made headlines by switching his voter registration from Boulder to Colorado Springs — roughly 100 miles away — so that he could “vote” in the Sept. 10 recall election. He cast a blank ballot.  But his larger point was to show that a new Democratic-sponsored election reform law that allowed him to do so was ripe for abuse. It allows people to register as late as Election Day and to affirm that they intend to make the district their permanent home, even if they “moved” to the district that day.

Caldara and others have pointed out that such a promise is impossible to enforce. Shortly before the election, he rented a room in a friend’s house in Colorado Springs, told elections officials that he planned to make it his permanent home and was allowed to cast a ballot.  “I’ll see what the town is like,” Caldara told reporters when he voted. “I’ve heard great things about it. I’m looking forward to checking out Colorado Springs.” Later, however, he changed his mind and decided to continue living in Boulder.

Sept. 18: Fox News: House Republicans: State Dept. officials should have been fired over Benghazi:
House Republicans on Wednesday criticized a ranking State Department official for the failure to hold other top agency officials accountable for security lapses at the Benghazi mission, where four Americans were killed last year.  “Let’s look at how the department’s review process has played out,” said California Republican Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The Accountability Review Board “failed to interview the secretary of State and improbably capped responsibility at the assistant secretary level.” 

Sept. 18: Fox News:
IRS continued to target groups after granting then Tax Exempt Stutus, Lawmaker says:
The Internal Revenue Service continued to target conservative political groups even after approving their applications for tax exempt status, a key Republican lawmaker said Wednesday. The IRS acknowledged in May that agents had improperly targeted tea party and other conservative groups for additional, sometimes burdensome scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.  An investigation by the House Ways and Means Committee has uncovered evidence that IRS agents also subjected conservative groups to special scrutiny after they were granted tax-exempt status, said Rep. Charles Boustany, R-LA, who chairs the panel's oversight subcommittee.

Sept. 18: The Daily Caller:
Washington Post Coverage of TEA Party targeting inspired IRS officials to target conservatives:
The Washington Post’s anti-tea party coverage inspired IRS officials to improperly target conservative groups, according to a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee memo.  “The IRS first identified and elevated the Tea Party applications due to media attention surrounding the Tea Party…Media attention caused the IRS to treat conservative-oriented tax-exempt applications differently,” according to a September 17 House Oversight memo entitled “Interim update on the Committee’s investigation of the Internal Revenue Service’s inappropriate treatment of tax-exempt applications.”

Sept. 17: Roll Call: House May Vote to Defund ObamaCare After All:
Unable to find the votes for a strategy that only superficially defunds ObamaCare, it now appears the House GOP may pursue the plan that tea-party-inspired members have been clamoring for and that I suggested back in February of this year  — a stopgap spending bill that will actually defund the health care law but keep the rest of the government running.  As first reported by National Review Online, the House will likely vote this week on a continuing resolution that funds the government but cuts off funding for Obamacare. 

Sept. 17: Politico:  GOP vs. GOP Battle Brewing over ObamaCare:
A new GOP vs. GOP battle is brewing over Obamacare — this time, over health care coverage for lawmakers and their staff.  A growing number of Republicans are scoffing at Louisiana Sen. David Vitter’s push to stop federal contributions that will help pay for health coverage for lawmakers and their staff under the new Obamacare exchanges. Vitter’s crusade has effectively put his GOP colleagues in the unenviable position of hurting themselves and their staff financially or siding with another political attack on a law the party universally despises.

Sept. 17: The Hill: House GOP weighs more aggressive ObamaCare push:
House Republican leaders will present options for dismantling President Obama’s healthcare reform law to their members in a closed-door meeting Wednesday morning as they seek a more aggressive posture in a pair of looming fiscal fights.  The leadership is giving increased consideration to stripping out funding for the healthcare law in a continuing resolution to keep the government running after Sept. 30, Republican lawmakers said as they exited a meeting of the leadership Tuesday afternoon.   A senior GOP aide said it was "likely" the House would send to the Senate a continuing resolution that defunded the healthcare law but that leaders had decided not to combine it with legislation raising the debt ceiling.

Sept. 17: The Hill:  Franchise owners come to Washington to plead for ObamaCare relief:
Franchise restaurant owners have come to Washington seeking a change to ObamaCare that they say could prevent them from having to cut their employees’ hours.  The healthcare law requires large employers to provide insurance to employees who work at least 30 hours per week.  Franchise owners say the employer mandate threatens to erase their narrow profit margins and are telling lawmakers they need to overhaul the law before it’s too late. 

Sept. 17: The Daily Caller: Feinstein can’t get her hair done without a gun control argument
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California doubled down on her call for heavier gun control Tuesday, lamenting that gun rights zealots wait to buttonhole her at her hair salon.  Feinstein said  a background check law, of the variety that congress failed to pass earlier this year, would have flagged Aaron Alexis, the gunman who shot and killed 12 people at Navy Yard on Monday morning, and prevented him from purchasing the weapon he used. But in question is whether the gun controls proposed by Feinstein would have actually prevented the Navy Yard  Shooter from obtaining a shotgun which recent reports indicate was the only weapon he had.

Sept. 17: Fox News: House panel investigating Benghazi attack could recall senior witnesses, Issa says
The State Department's investigation into the Benghazi terror attack – put forth by the White House as the final word on the incident - is deeply flawed, according to the chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee.  Darrell Issa of California told Fox News in an exclusive interview his panel will not hesitate to recall the most senior witnesses who have testified about the Sep.11, 2012 attack.  "We can certainly have Mrs. Clinton back,"  Issa said of the former Secretary of State.  "We want to be respectful of her time, so getting to the facts, including people below her, first is critical."

Sept. 16: Fox News: State Department Review Let Senior Officials Off the Hook: Report on Benghazi Finds
The State Department review of the Benghazi terror attack let senior officials off the hook for the policy decisions that led to sub-standard security at the U.S. compound in eastern Libya, according to a draft House committee report obtained by Fox News.   The nearly 100-page report concludes that the State Department’s internal review board -- called the ARB -- was flawed. The report by Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee alleges the board’s probe was not comprehensive, its interviews were not thorough, and the investigation itself may have been damaged by conflicts of interest.

Sept. 16: The Daily Caller: Colorado recall groups now aiming for repeal of new gun laws:
The two citizens groups that organized Colorado’s historic recall of two Democratic state legislators last week now have their eyes on the gun laws that led to the ousters.  According to the website Complete Colorado, the Basic Freedom Defense Fund and Pueblo Freedom and Rights are circulating a questionnaire to Colorado lawmakers asking them if they would vote to repeal “Colorado’s unlawful new gun restrictions” in 2014 and if they would support a statewide ballot initiative to see the new laws repealed.

Sept. 16: The Daily News: The Colorado recall elections show that once voters understand what is happening they will act and hold their elected leaders accountable.  This should be a wakeup call to all those who represent us and for those seeking public office.  Stop being career politicians! Stop focusing on getting elected and keeping your job.  Instead, be citizen legislators or public officials who see their role as serving their constituents for a short period of time and then turning over the reins to others who will continue the fight for liberty.  And while they are serving, be about the people’s business.  There have been many good people serving us, but not all.  Our recommendation?  Be honest with yourself and with us and always remember you serve us.

Sept. 14: Fox News: Gun control advocates say the Colorado recall is stifling efforts in Congress:
Colorado's historic recall of two state legislators who backed new gun restrictions may have national repercussions, as advocates say the effort will make it harder to revive stalled efforts in Congress to tighten firearm laws.  In April, federal legislation expanding background check requirements for gun buyers fell five votes short in the Senate, despite political momentum from last December's massacre at a Connecticut elementary school. Gun control backers say they have yet to win a single new Senate supporter, and many worry that the muscle shown by pro-gun groups and voters last week in Colorado will make it even harder to find converts. 

Sept. 14: The Hill:
State Dept. could have fired employees over Benghazi attack, Pickering says
The State Department could have fired two employees over last year’s terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, the chairman of the independent panel that investigated the crime told The Hill.  “Our report recommended two people should leave their jobs, nothing more, nothing less,” former Ambassador Thomas Pickering, the chairman of the Accountability Review Board, told The Hill in an e-mail.  Asked if that meant firing or reassignment, he said “either,” but that it was “up to the Department of State.”  “We left open their staying on in the Department,” Pickering said.

Sept. 14: The Hill: Confident Democrats want separate showdowns with House on Fiscal Battles
Senate Democrats want to have separate fights with the House GOP over a potential government shutdown and raising the nation’s debt limit, confident they will win showdowns on both issues.  Some House Republicans want to bundle the question of setting federal funding levels and raising the debt limit into one vote but a senior Senate Democrat has rejected that possibility.  Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said repeatedly raising the debt limit in small increments wreaks havoc on government operations.  “The longer you extend the debt limit, the more thoughtless it is,” he said.

Sept. 14: The Hill: Obama Administration rejects AFL-CIO request for subsidies under ObamaCare.
The Obama administration on Friday denied a request from labor unions to have their healthcare plans receive tax subsidies under ObamaCare. A White House official said the Treasury Department has determined that the healthcare plans used by many union members — known as multi-employer or Taft-Hartley plans — cannot be made eligible for subsidies that are intended to help uninsured people afford coverage. Nevertheless, the administration said it plans to work with unions to make sure members can obtain coverage through the new insurance exchanges. 

Sept. 13: The Daily Caller: Sen. Vitter: Reid and Boxer using bribery and intimidation:
Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter on Friday accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of engaging in a “intimidation and payoff scheme” to “bribe” colleagues to vote a certain way on a bill, after it was reported Friday morning that Democrats were trying to rekindle Vitter’s 2007 prostitution scandal to stop him from opposing an energy bill.  Politico first reported that Democrats were drafting legislation that would deny any lawmaker government contributions to their health care, a perk of life in Congress, if there is “probably cause” that he or she solicited prostitutes.

“Even if the proposed amendment is not actually introduced,” Vitter wrote in a letter to the Ethics Committee, “the fact that such legislation has not only been drafted, but also released to the press, has already induced the intended intimidating effect.” He asked that the Ethics Committee launch an investigation into Reid and Boxer. He asks that Boxer, who chairs the committee, recuse herself from the investigation, and suggests she be removed from the committee if found guilty of an ethics violation.

Sept. 13: The Hill: States accuse EPA of exceeding its authority over “climate change”
The attorneys general in 17 states contend the Environmental Protection Agency has overreached in pursuit of President Obama’s plan to counter the effects of climate change via federal regulation.  Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), who is preparing to convene a hearing on the contentious plan, released a legal white paper late Friday spelling out the states’ case against forthcoming limits on carbon emissions from power plants.  The attorneys general, along with a high-ranking official from an 18th state, concede that the EPA has the power to adopt “procedural regulations” that govern state adoption of performance standards for plants.  But they contend that federal statute dictates the standards themselves are up to the states.

Sept. 12: The Daily Caller: Dangerous: Lois Lerner Knew about TEA Party Targeting in 2011, emails show:
House Ways and Means chairman Rep. Dave Camp vowed that “there will be consequences” after revealing secret emails that embattled Washington-based IRS official Lois Lerner sent to her colleagues suggesting collusion between the IRS and Democratic operatives and claiming that tea party applications should not be processed through the agency’s Cincinnati office.  “Tea Party Matter very dangerous… Counsel and Judy Kindell need to be in on this one… Cincy should probably NOT have these cases,” Lerner said in a February 2011 email, despite the fact that IRS officials initially claimed that the agency’s Cincinnati office was solely responsible for the improper targeting of tea party and conservative groups.

Sept. 12: Roll Call: 43 GOP Lawmakers Float Alternative CR that Defunds ObamaCare
Forty-three House Republicans have introduced their own continuing resolution that they think would achieve the goal of both cutting spending and defunding Obamacare better than the plan GOP leaders put forth Tuesday.  And, instead of relying on a legislative maneuver to force the Senate to vote on defunding ObamaCare without risking a shutdown at the end of the month, it contains language that would actually zero out funding for the president’s signature health care law.  “Our plan will achieve fairness for every American by fully delaying and defunding Obamacare until 2015,” Rep. Tom Graves of Georgia said in a statement. “This approach builds upon the Obama Administration’s policy of delaying portions of Obamacare and relieves taxpayers of the burden of funding a program that is not being implemented.”

Sept. 12:  Politico: AFL-CIO Not Happy with ObamaCare:
Key parts of organized labor have a case of buyer’s remorse over Obamacare and they’re letting everyone know about it.  The AFL-CIO at its convention this week passed a resolution calling President Barack Obama’s health law “highly disruptive” to some union insurance plans, “substantially changing the coverage available for millions of covered employees and their families.”  

Sept. 12: Politico: White House determined not to give ground on ObamaCare:
Don’t blink first.  That’s the strategy President Barack Obama and Capitol Hill Democrats are pursuing as the nation faces a government shutdown, a historic default on its debt and the final phase of Obamacare. 

Sept. 12: Fox News: DNC head Wasserman Schultz Blames Colorado loss on “Voter Suppression”
The historic Colorado recall election that resulted this week in two Democratic lawmakers being ousted from office was seen by many as a rebuke to their support of gun control legislation. The head of the Democratic Party had a different take.  "This was voter suppression, pure and simple," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-FL, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement.  Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler's office also questioned Schultz' argument.  "When you look at the results of this recall election, when more people showed up, Democrats got crushed," he told Politico. "So why she has any credibility whatsoever just blows me away when she says stuff that's just completely contradicted by facts on the ground." 

Sept. 12: Fox News:
Colorado Recall not about Guns It’s about not being heard: Voter Suppression by political leaders
You see, for the people of Colorado, the recall was about something much more fundamental and personal - their right to be heard.  The American people will tolerate many things but as history has shown, the one thing that can serve as a catalyst for revolution is action without representation.  We have a fervent belief in our right to be heard.  The entire idea of our democracy is predicated on the notion that our representatives have an obligation to at least listen to their constituents before taking action on their behalf.  That absence of an ability to gain an audience with their representatives is why Coloradans from across the ideological spectrum recalled State Senate President John Morse and State Senator Angela Giron.

Sept. 12: The Daily Caller: Arkansas Teachers Can Carry Guns After All
An Arkansas licensing board voted to let teachers keep their weapon permits for at least two years, meaning that districts wishing to protect schools with armed staff members may do so.  The board initially revoked all licenses it had issued to teachers, but then decided on Wednesday to reinstate them for a period of two years, according to The Arkansas Project.  The vote affects Clarksville School District, which had been training staff this summer to carry guns as a safeguard against school shootings, and Lake Hamilton School District, which has allowed its staff to carry weapons for 20 years.

Sept. 11: The New York Times:
Colorado Lawmakers Ousted in Recall Election over Vote on Strict Gun Control Laws
Two Colorado Democrats who provided crucial support for a package of state gun control laws were voted out of office Tuesday in a special election that is seen as a test of whether swing-state voters would accept gun restrictions after mass shootings in gun free zones (a movie theater in Aurora, CO and a school in Newtown, CT).   The election had outside support with New York Major Bloomberg chipping in $350,000 and the NRA helping to support those who brought the repeal effort.

Sept. 11: The Washington Post:
Colorado recall shows the risks of supporting gun restrictions in battleground states:
Democratic voters in Colorado helped remove two state senators of their own party who voted for tighter gun control. Democrats, who maintain control of the Legislature, tried to spin the loss saying it was “purely symbolic.”  But they could be a sign of things to come in 2014, both in Colorado’s governor’s race and in scores of other political contests around the country.  Outspent by about 5-to-1, recall supporters won both contests.

Sept. 10: The Hill: Conservatives skeptical of ObamaCare defunding move. Some call it a way to say one thing but do another:
House Republican leaders are floating a "trick" plan to force a vote to defund ObamaCare in the Senate while clearing the way for the Senate to pass the a Continuing Resolution without defunding ObamaCare and sending it directly to the President for signature. The GOP House leadership's goal is to avert being blamed for a government shutdown but the result will be to fully fund ObamaCare.

Under the plan, the House would vote on a continuing resolution (CR) that maintains federal spending at sequester levels. The measure would include a separate concurrent resolution defunding the healthcare law, and under the rule governing debate, the Senate would have to vote up-or-down on the healthcare resolution before it could vote on the spending bill. Assuming the Senate vote to defund ObamaCare failed, the continuing resolution could then be sent to the president without returning to the House.

Meanwhile some conservative groups are calling this a trick rule.  In a recent email we received it reports about the measure proposed by the House GOP leadership:   “House Republican leaders have chickened out and decided to fund a program that will destroy our country.  According to media reports, GOP leaders will attempt to pass a "trick rule" that allows them to pretend to defund Obamacare without actually doing so. Under the trick rule, the House will pass a continuing resolution that fully funds Obamacare along with separate phony bill that defunds Obamacare. Democrats in the Senate will then throw the defunding bill in the garbage and send the real bill that funds Obamacare to the president's desk.  It's the "now you see defunding, now you don't" strategy.”

Sept. 9: The Daily News: Syria: Leadership should actually Lead:
Our view? We oppose any military response that will end up like Libya and Egypt.  Neither side in the Syrian conflict is our friend so why should we risk the lives of American servicemen and women?  Additionally, unless there is a well-defined goal that is achievable we oppose a military response.  In short, we are not willing to go to war in order to keep our President from being embarrassed by statements he makes before counting the cost.

Sept. 8: The Hill: Congressman McCaul: Obama trying to save face on Syria:
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said he does not think "lobbing a few Tomahawk missiles" will restore American credibility overseas.  The head of the House Homeland Security Committee thinks that President Obama’s proposal to launch a military intervention in Syria will do little to strengthen the United States’ influence in the region. “We always are concerned about our credibility,” McCaul said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. “The problem is, I think, lobbing a few Tomahawk missiles will not restore our credibility overseas. It’s kind of a face-saving measure for the president after he drew the red line.” 

McCaul is among several House Republicans who have broken with party leadership to oppose Obama’s effort to get involved in Syria after President Bashar Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons.   Though Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) have endorsed the president's proposal, they are leaving the job of convincing fellow lawmakers to the White House.  McCaul warned on Sunday that American intervention would only lead to a prolonged conflict in the nation.  “Little wars start big wars,” he said.
[See this Monday's Column in the Galveston County Daily News]

Sept. 8: The Daily Caller:  So much for Global Warming!  Arctic Ice Cap grows 60% in a year!
A chilly Arctic summer has left nearly a million more square miles of ocean covered with ice than at the same time last year — an increase of 60 percent.  The rebound from 2012’s record low comes six years after the BBC reported that global warming would leave the Arctic ice-free in summer by 2013.   

Sept. 7: Fox News: Ohio to limit food stamps to some 130,000 adults:
The administration of Ohio Gov. John Kasich plans to limit food stamps for more than 130,000 adults in all but a few economically depressed areas starting next year.  According to The (Columbus) Dispatch, the requirement will cover able-bodied adults without children.  They will be required to spend at least 20 hours a week working, training for a job, volunteering or performing a similar type of activity unless they live in one of 16 high-unemployment counties.  The requirements begin next month but those failing to meet them would not lose benefits until Jan. 1.  More than 1.8 million Ohioans receive food stamps.

Sept. 6: Fox News: Clash over Common Core as Opposition to national educations standards grows:
Erika Russell, a mother of four from Maine, had no intention of embroiling herself in the fight over Common Core.   As she put it, “I sent my kids to public school, so I wouldn't have to worry about what they’re learning.”  Then her then-9-year-old, second-grade daughter returned home from school one day in January of 2012 with a frown.  “She asked me, ‘Mom, Can you home school me?’ I said, ‘What about your friends?’ and she just told me she would see them at sports. Then, I knew something was wrong and I should start looking into this.”

Over the next 18 months, the 36-year-old Russell, who resides in Sidney in the central part of the state, helped found “No Common Core Maine,” a coalition of concerned parents, educators and activists– and one of a growing number of organizations nationwide who have made it their mission to stop Common Core's implementation.  “My kid was honestly concerned, and I thought if a second-grader was concerned, maybe I should start paying attention. And you know what? The more I looked into it, like all things that are sinister, it’s packed in a nice, little box with a pretty little bow on top, but once you untie the bow, and start unpacking these so-called federal educational standards, you realize it’s all a pack of a lies.”

What Education Secretary Arne Duncan hailed in 2010 as a “quiet revolution” in American education has metastasized into a full-blown battle now being waged in Congress and state houses and at school board meetings, rallies and classrooms around the country.

Sept. 5: The Hill: Obama needs “Game Changer” to win House Vote
President Obama’s request for congressional approval of a military strike in Syria is facing failure and could need a significant game-changer to pass the House.  While the authorization request might pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, substantial numbers of war-weary Republicans and Democrats oppose it in the GOP-held House. The administration has launched an all-out offensive to turn the tide, with President Obama making calls to lawmakers and Cabinet members offering both classified and unclassified briefings. So far, it’s failed to reverse the drift of congressional or public opinion.

A Washington Post/ABC poll released this week found 59 percent of voters opposed a military strike, while a Pew Research poll found opposition at 48 percent.  According to The Hill’s Whip List, 100 House members are now "no" votes or are leaning against military authorization. Seventy-two of them are Republicans and 28 are Democrats. Only 31 House members — 10 Republicans and 21 Democrats — are "yes" votes or are "leaning yes."  Those numbers make it clear the administration certainly has a long way to go to secure majority approval. Here are some things it is considering or may need to consider.   [See this coming Monday's Column in the Galveston County Daily News]