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News, Policy, Politics

obamacare website hacked

(Image Source: sea.sy/indexs/)

If Consumer Reports would like to do another public service, then their site should read: Obama website hacked — stay away until further notice. It appears that a page on President Obama’s presidential campaign website was compromised by a hacking organization Sunday evening.

The page, donate.barackobama.com, temporarily redirected users to a website, sea.sy/indexs/, appearing to belong to hacking group Syrian Electronic Army, which is the group behind the compromised New York Post Facebook page and multiple prominent Twitter accounts. When redirected, users read “Hacked by SEA.”

It is not clear when the Obama website was first compromised, but around 8:15 p.m. Sunday, the webpage ceased redirecting users to the alternate website.

The donation page that was compromised seems to have been old, because Obama’s perpetual never-ending campaign has most recently been using another page on the website, contribute.barackobama.com, to collect funds.

The Syrian Electronic Army is the now-infamous hacking group that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Just when the Obama team thought it was safe to resume operations, Monday the group again struck out at the president, this time hijacking President Obama’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts. The Syrian Electronic Army have claimed that they successfully broke into several of his campaign email accounts.

“Obama doesn’t have any ethical issues with spying on the world, so we took it upon ourselves to return the favor,” wrote the Syrian Electronic Army.

For an unknown amount of time this Monday afternoon, shortened links posted from Obama’s Twitter and Facebook accounts redirected users to a pro-Syrian video.

Twitter reacted by warning users that links from Obama’s Twitter account may be “unsafe to visit!”

obama website hacked

The Syrian Electronic Army has claimed on Twitter that they were able to hack into Obama’s campaign email accounts and, just for proof, the group posted on Twitter a screenshot showing the compromised accounts.

“We accessed many Obama campaign emails accounts to assess his terrorism capabilities,” the Syrian Electronic Army said. “They are quite high.”

obama website hacked

The screenshot below was also posted by the hacking group, which depicts the backend of the Obama website in an effort to show that they had gained access to their control panel, providing them access to fundraising information and contributions.

obama website hacked

It is unclear whether or not the administration will feel the need to respond to these breaches, because they could raise greater questions about both the NSA spying program, as well as the Obama administration’s ability to keep the records of millions of Americans safe on HealthCare.gov.

If Consumer Reports would like to do

News, World

BAGHDAD — Ten bombings mainly targeting Shiite-majority areas of Baghdad province killed at least 41 people on Sunday, while 20 died in bombings and shootings elsewhere in Iraq, officials said.

The coordinated attacks are but the latest in a surge in violence in Iraq that has killed over 650 people so far just this month, while more than 5,350 have been killed since April of this year, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources. The day of bloodshed marks the deadliest single-day series of assaults since October 5, when 75 people were killed in violence.

The complete media blackout of the violence in Iraq has left President Obama largely unaccountable for a failed foreign policy in the region and the massive loss of life. Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, according to some media outlets who have vaguely reported on the situation. But, if fact, violence in Iraq has spiked since April, when the number of killing reached levels surpassing levels in 2008, when thanks to President Bush and “the surge,” the country was beginning to stabilize after a brutal sectarian conflict.

Police officers said the bombs placed in the capital were in parked cars and were set to detonate over a half-hour period, targeted commercial areas and parking lots. Nine blasts hit different areas in and around Baghdad and also wounded more than 110 people.

In Shaab, a neighborhood in north Baghdad with some of the worst bloodshed, two car bombs exploded in a commercial area, killing at least 8 people and wounding at least 18.

Explosions also rocked the areas of Bayaa, Baladiyat, Mashtal, Hurriyah and Dura in Baghdad, and Saba al-Bur, Nahrawan and Tarmiyah near the capital.

The Mashtal blast hit a bus station, while bombs in Bayaa, Dura, Saba al-Bur and Tarmiyah all targeted commercial areas.

Local al Qaeda groups, whom are referred to as Sunni militants by an overly sensitive liberal media, often takes responsibility for the assaults, though so far there has been no one to claim credit for yesterday’s attacks. Al Qaeda, or “Sunni militants” oft-carry out attacks against members of Iraq’s Shiite majority, whom they regard as apostates.

Last month, officials in Iraq restricted car use for many Baghdad residents to only every other day, but thus far the response has failed in preventing the dozens of vehicle bombs exploding in and around the capital.

Meanwhile, in the city of Mosul, which is 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, a suicide bomber drove his explosives-filled car into a group of Iraqi soldiers, killing 14 according to another Iraqi police officer. The soldiers were sealing off a street leading to a bank where troops were receiving salaries. At least 30 people were wounded.

Also in Mosul, police said gunmen shot dead two off-duty soldiers and a civilian in a drive-by shooting in two separate attacks, while a car bomb exploded near an army checkpoint in the city, killing a woman and wounding 8 people. And gunmen killed two Shiite civilians in the Muqdadiyah area, northeast of the city of Baquba.

The surge in bloodshed this year, which has included sectarian attacks, has raised fears Iraq may relapse into the intense Sunni-Shiite conflict that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed tens of thousands of people.

Analysts say the Shiite-led government’s failure to address grievances of the Sunni Arab minority, which complains of political exclusion and abuses by security forces, has been a main cause of the heightened unrest.

The level of violence in Iraq increased sharply following the decision by Iraqi security forces to storm a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq in April, sparking clashes in which dozens died.

And while authorities have made some concessions aimed at placating the protesters and Sunnis in general, such as freeing prisoners and raising the salaries of Sunni anti-Al-Qaeda fighters, the underlying issues remain unaddressed.

A new joint study released this month by academics in the United States, Canada and Iraq found that almost half a million people have died from war-related causes in Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003.

In the afternoon, a bomb killed four people and wounded 11 inside an outdoor market in the Sunni town of Tarmiyah, 30 miles north of Baghdad.

The lack of media coverage on the violence in Iraq is part of larger narrative related to the “war on terror,” which is the result of a collusion between the liberal news organizations, who are bent on protecting President Obama from scrutiny. Since the “war on terror” began, according to a database of U.S. casualties in Afghanistan, 73 percent of all U.S. Afghan War casualties have occurred since Jan. 20, 2009 when Obama was inaugurated.

President Obama was all too quick to bail on the blood and treasure spent on the Iraq War, and now the violence in Iraq threatens to plunge what could have been the greatest U.S. feign policy success in 50 years in to a civil war.

New and deadly coordinated attacks are but

News

The National Association of Realtors reports pending home sales fell by the most it has in more than three years in September, a sign that the economy is so weak it cannot tolerate a rise in mortgage rates. The report showed signed contracts to buy previously-owned homes fell 5.6 percent in September from the previous month – the biggest drop since May of 2010 – and widely missing expectations that contracts would actually rise 0.1%.

The National Association of Realtors said on Monday its Pending Homes Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, plummeted 5.6 percent to 101.6, which is not the fourth monthly fall in a row. Economists polled by Reuters were ay off, as previously stated actually forecasting that there would be a slight increase.

Mortgage rates have risen a bit, but quickly, since May expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would start winding down quantitative easing, or the bod buying program that requires the Fed to print large amounts of money to secure government debt. Rates have eased slightly in recent weeks, keeping the money flowing toward equities.

Many investors believe the Fed will keep its bond buying stimulus intact given September data, which showed the U.S. economy is far weaker than previously thought. Last month, the U.S. economy created just over 140,000 jobs — most of which part-time — which is not even enough to keep pace with population.

The number of newly signed contracts to buy homes was at its lowest level last month since December. It was the largest one-month drop since May 2010, when a home-buying tax credit was expiring, an NAR spokesman said. Contracts fell across all four major regions tracked by the realtors’ group.

The U.S. housing market, which was battered by the 2007-09 recession, had appeared to turn a corner early last year when home prices began to rise again.

The National Association of Realtors reports pending

News, World

Lara Logan of CBS News interviewed a Benghazi survivor going by the name Morgan Jones, a British soldier who snuck into the al Qaeda-controlled hospitable where the body of Ambassador Chris Stevens was being held.

Over the past decade, Morgan Jones has been tasked with keeping U.S. and military diplomats alive, but when he first arrived in Benghazi five months earlier, he noticed the black flags of al Qaeda displayed openly throughout the streets. Instantly I thought we’re going to have to get rid of all these guys,” he says in the interview.

It was no secret — except maybe to the blind voters who bought the Obama campaign’s “Osama bin Laden is dead and al Qaeda is on the run” narrative — the reality was al-Qaeda was very much alive and present, and American personnel were in fear of their lives.

It was just hours earlier that Ambassador Chris Stevens had sought Morgan Jones out, another American visibly scared and concerned about the security at the U.S. Special Mission Compound where Morgan was in charge of the Libyan guard force. But now, he was missing after what was clearly an organized attack on Americans left helpless by the Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the White House.

Morgan frantically search in and around the hospitable for who he calls “a friend,” the late Chris Stevens. “It didn’t take long to get to the room. And I could see in through the glass. And I didn’t even have to go into the room to see who it was. I knew who it was immediately.” As Logan prods he says, “It was the ambassador, dead. Yeah, shocking.”

Despite earlier reports, Morgan told Logan that the armed Libyan guards had fled the battle, leaving the Americans behind just as Morgan had predicted they would months earlier. “If this place is attacked these guys are not going to stand and fight,” he questioned. “We had one option. Leave Benghazi or you will be killed.”

The few Libyans that were present because of being trapped in the heat of battle were given a pass by the al Qaeda terrorist assaulters, who said “we are here to kill Americans, not Libyans,” and proceeded to give them a minor beating before simply letting them go.

And it was no great surprise to the Libyan forces, either. Al Qaeda had stated in an online posting they would attack the Red Cross, the British and then the Americans in Benghazi. “As they did each one of those,” said Green Beret Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Andy Wood. “They made good on two out of the three promises. It was a matter of time till they captured the third one,” he added.

However, the British soldier’s story corroborates past testimony given by Gregory Hicks, the highest ranking State Department official who was on scene the night of the attack. The White House and Democratic lawmakers have tried to discredit Hicks, even demoting him for telling congressional investigators the truth behind the Benghazi attack. Hicks, and now Morgan Jones, have both said that the attack was a coordinated assault by highly trained al Qaeda affiliated personnel, and was carried out in waves over a span of hours throughout the night, with ample time to send rescue forces.

A small CIA attack force ignored orders to stand down and wait for further instructions, opting instead to run on foot through the streets to the compound in an attempt to rescue the Ambassador, his security detail and other American personal. They were successful in repelling the first wave of attackers, recovering the body of Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith and saving 5 American lives.

They were unable to locate the Ambassador, being forced to fight their way out of the CIA Annex. But moments later, the British soldier dubbed Morgan Jones, scaled the 12-foot wall of the compound to find Ambassador Chris Stevens. Joined by a small response force who had previously in Tripoli, the defenders took defensive position atop rooftops to attempt to propel waves of “sophisticated” attackers.

That’s when the mortar fire came from above, smashing through the roof of the building where former Navy SEALS Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were positioned, killing them instantly. The attackers hit the roof with mortar fire three times in the dark, which as Lieutenant Colonel Andy Wood put it, “that’s getting the basketball through the hoop over your shoulder.”

For Wood, Morgan and other Benghazi attack witnesses, the Obama administration flat-out lied about the attack to cover up the truth. “Coordination, planning, training, experienced personnel. They practice those things. They knew what they were doing. That was a– that was a well-executed attack,” Wood definitively added.

The final wave of the attack that took the lives of Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty came at 5:00 A.M., which was sufficient time to mobilize more assets to rescue American personnel. When Hicks had the last conversation with the defense attaché during the night he asked when assets would be coming, to which they responded, “effectively, they’re not.”

“And I– for a moment, I just felt lost. I just couldn’t believe the answer. And then I made the call to the Annex chief, and I told him, ‘Listen, you’ve gotta tell those guys there may not be any help coming,'” Hick told Logan.

As more witnesses recount the events leading up to and during the Benghazi attack, it becomes clearer that the Obama administration lied about the cause of the attack, who was responsible, and whether or not they made a calculated decision to let Americans die. Hicks, who spoke directly with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier that night said, “We–, for us, for the people that go out onto the edge, to represent our country, we believe that if we get in trouble, they’re coming to get us. That our back is covered. To hear that it’s not, it’s a terrible, terrible experience.”

The morning following the attack, Morgan Jones went back to the compound to document the attack, where he took the photos that were given to the FBI and circulated in the media. He was, and still is, haunted by the conversation he had weeks before with Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith, who was visibly and justifiably worried about his safety in Libya.

He told Logan, “I didn’t want to worry him anymore, you know? He’s a nice guy. I sort of promised him he’d be OK.”

Lara Logan of CBS News spoke to

Opinion

WASHINGTON — Perhaps Rick Santorum is demonstrating persistence beyond the call of plausibility, but he says compelling political logic and high duty converge. Although he has not made a decision about 2016, he candidly says he is doing “everything consistent with running” — traveling to speak to sympathetic groups and donors. His hand is on his sword’s hilt.

When Santorum entered the fray for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, he drew his sword and threw away the scabbard. The stakes could not, he thought, be higher, so he was in for the long haul. Which ended with the April 3 Wisconsin primary. Now the former senator from Pennsylvania, who wound up being the last man standing between Mitt Romney and the nomination, probably needs a new scabbard to toss aside.

With disarmingly cheerful ferocity he relishes combat in what he calls “a two-front civil war” within the GOP. The party is, he says, in danger of becoming “a one-legged stool.” The “Eastern establishment types” want to saw off the cultural conservatism leg, concentrating on economic issues. The rising libertarian faction, exemplified by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, wants to saw off the strong foreign policy leg. Furthermore, Santorum says, “Americans are not ready for a dramatic withdrawal of government from their lives” of the sort many tea party types advocate.

This self-described “blue-collar Republican” insists, “We are not the anti-government party.” Government has a role in the creation of “jobs for the majority who are not going to college.”

Santorum became a senator at 36, a member of the Republican Senate leadership at 42, and an ex-senator at 48, when in 2006 he lost by 17 points in his bid for a third term. In 2011, however, this devout Catholic thought the other candidates for the nomination were perfunctory in their embrace of the social issues — principally, opposition to abortion — so he headed to all 99 Iowa counties.

Each rival had a brief moment as “not Romney”; Santorum’s moment came, serendipitously, on the eve of the Iowa caucuses. In the first vote tabulation he lost by just eight votes. Sixteen days later, a revised tally showed that he had defeated Romney by 34 votes, 29,839 to 29,805. He believes he might have won the nomination if the first headlines had said “Santorum Wins.” He won 10 more states but his campaign essentially ended when he lost by seven points in Wisconsin, where he had hoped to prove he could win where evangelical Christians were relatively thin on the ground.

Looking to 2016, Santorum rightly says Republicans “have got to work on the hopeful and optimistic side” of politics. But he wants to compel a troubling conversation the nation would rather not have.

“At any given moment,” wrote George Orwell in 1948, “there is a sort of all-prevailing orthodoxy, a general tacit agreement not to discuss some large and uncomfortable fact.” Today that fact is family disintegration: 41 percent of American children are born to unmarried women, including nearly half of first births, 53 percent of Hispanic children and 72 percent of African-American children. In 2015, these facts will be discussed in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Moynihan Report.

In March 1965, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then a 37-year-old toiling in the Labor Department’s office of policy planning and research, published “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action.” It said that in inner cities “the center of the tangle of pathology” was the fact that 23.6 percent of African-American children were born out of wedlock, compared to just 3.07 percent of white children.

Moynihan knew he was handling dynamite — he had only 100 copies printed, all marked “For Official Use Only” — but was stunned by the way discussion was shut down by accusations of “racism” and “blaming the victim.” Santorum says that if Republicans will not speak for the many millions of voters concerned about social issues, “We’ll be more competitive in states we lose and will lose states we should win,” and “we will become the Whig Party and be done.”

Before the 2012 Iowa caucuses he participated in 381 town hall meetings. One can, however, be a novelty only once, and although Santorum is a young-looking 55, in 2016 he will have younger rivals. Furthermore, he may not strike many Republicans as the answer to the party’s problems with female voters and blue states. Nevertheless, there are gallantry and dignity in his steadfast determination to tack against the prevailing wind.

George Will’s email address is [email protected].

(c) 2013, Washington Post Writers Group

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George Will discusses Rick

Opinion

conservative views

Since the 2012 election and now the shutdown, I have heard some seriously outrageous claims about the status of American politics, none of which favorable to the future of the Republican Party. From the Left, the oft-made claim that demographic changes have finally overwhelmed what has long been an increasingly shrinking share of a white Republican-dominated electorate, seems to be a favorite. From the Right, the embarrassingly simple claim that an ever-expanding welfare state has finally produced more “takers than makers” who vote only to keep their government assistance, is just as often stated.

I, however, have been pushing back on these claims with a little something neither the Right or Left seems to care much about – the facts. Without having to re-litigate the Census Bureau report, the bottom line was that a “record turnout” among Hispanic voters did not reelect Barack Obama. In fact, following their usual pattern, Hispanics again voted at a lower rate than the prior election. Nevertheless, let’s go through the issues and determine which party is more in line — ideologically speaking — with the views of the American people.

Entitlements And Government Spending

Regarding the latter claim, selfish “welfare queens” have been around for a long, long time. If you recall that term “welfare queen” was used by then-candidate Ronald Reagan, 35 years ago. During the 2012 campaign, thanks to Jimmy Carter’s grandson, Mother Jones posted the now-infamous video, in which Mitt Willard Romney decided to make his elitist – if not somewhat true – 47 percent comment. Yet the senior citizens who receive the lion’s share of federal transfer payments voted for Mitt Romney, something prior GOP presidential nominees have had a very hard time accomplishing, except for President George W. Bush in 2004.

Furthermore, we can look at actual state data and compare them to the state’s voting behavior to find several examples that debunk this superficial claim. For instance, West Virginia is the largest recipient of federal transfer payments, with 27 percent of the state population dependent on federal checks for income. Yet, West Virginia has seen an astounding rightward shift in their political leanings, despite registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans 3 to 1. PPD currently rates the 2014 Senate race “Likely Republican.” In 2012, Obama lost the seven West Virginia counties he had carried in 2008, which was the first time that any major party’s presidential candidate saw a 55-county shutout.

We can also find evidence of a nationwide willingness to sacrifice in order to shrink the size of government. In fact, before the government shutdown a majority of Americans — 53 percent — said they supported a partial shutdown to force concessions on ObamaCare and government spending, with 2 to 1 opposition to raising the debt ceiling. However, after the Republican Party began to cave, that support fell to 45 percent the following week, and we all know how that ended. But the problem for the GOP was unity, not ideology. People don’t follow leaders that do not have the courage of their own convictions.

Views On Government And Community

A recent Gallup poll found that a record level of Americans believe that the government is “too powerful,” with 6 in 10 Americans saying that is the case. Interestingly, just 7 percent said the government has “too little” power, which is roughly the 9 percent of Americans who identify as being “liberal.” In fact, since Gallup began tracking, at least half of Americans have said the government has too much power, with the latest number reflecting a 1-point increase since the previous high measured last year.

In a recent Fox Poll, a whopping 74 percent of all registered voters said they “think Americans rely too much on the government and not enough on themselves.” In a follow-up question, 50 percent said “to rely on friends, family, their church or other charitable organizations” for fulfillment of needs “is the better way to get families who fall on hard times back on their feet again.” Only 35 percent said that a reliance on “government programs such as food stamps and welfare” was the way to go, and by a 52 percent – 35 percent margin, Americans would rather friends and family in need ask them for a place to stay instead of relying upon government assistance. Furthermore, 57 percent essentially agreed with Mitt Romney’s implied statements that too many people “take advantage” of government assistance, compared to just 36 percent who said most were truly in need.

Rasmussen found that “beyond family, 35 percent say their personal allegiance is to their church and community, while 31 percent say the country comes first – which mirrors the same ideology that accounts for the responses in the Fox Poll, and further demonstrates that Americans overwhelmingly hold conservative views. How is it that President Obama has presided over a rightward-shifting electorate far more conservative than the electorate under President Reagan, when both Obama and Reagan were reelected; Reagan of course, in a landslide election?

conservative views

In the graph above, which uses an omnibus measure of the public’s support for government entitlement programs that was created by political scientist James Stimson. Stimson gathered hundreds of different survey questions, in which we can easily observe that the prevailing wisdom calling for the imminent destruction of the Republican party, is incorrect. In this graph, the absolute numbers are arbitrary; by itself, “50” doesn’t mean anything. What is important is how the numbers shift over time. Again, we can see that Americans are far less liberal — and it’s still dropping — then they were when President Reagan won two landslide victories in a D+15 electorate.

Religious Freedom And Religion In Society

On the issue of religion in society, for instance, which is always portrayed as a liability for conservative candidates in the liberal media, such as it was with former Sen. Rick Santorum and Gov. Mike Huckabee, the political Right in America is truly the political center. Gallup found that 75% of Americans believe that more religion in society would be positive for America, while Rasmussen found almost 60 percent believe it is “essential to a healthy society.” A survey just released found 52 percent of Americans think public schools need more religion, and a plurality thinks the legal system is used to attack religion far too much, with 53 percent saying liberal justices are more hostile to religion than our Founding Fathers intended.

Yet the consultants in the GOP establishment, and consequentially those they advise, cower at the debate over secularization in the face of deeply unpopular groups like the “New Atheists” and the ACLU.

The same is true of offshoot religious issues, such as abortion, where liberals have completely lost the argument and now live on the fringe, yet never cower from a fight, even when they are extreme. Since 1995, when Gallup measured a 23 percent advantage for the pro-choice designation, support for abortion has steadily ceded ground to the pro-life designation. Support for late-term abortion bans is broad and cuts across party, gender and demographics.

Illegal Immigration, Reform, And Amnesty

On the issue of immigration, even though 53 percent favor an immigration reform plan that gives legal status to many of those now here illegally as long as the border is really secured to prevent future illegal immigration. Liberals would like to apply the new California standard nationwide, but 63 percent oppose public benefits for those who receive work permits, while 68 percent believe illegal immigrants should not be eligible for a driver’s license in their state, up from 63 percent measured in August of 2012.

Again, we find that the GOP establishment is caving, because they are less in touch with the American people than the Democratic establishment. That is not to say that the Demcoratic Party cares about what the American people want and need, it just means that they know what they want, which enables them to exploit Americans. They need a permanent underclass, and couldn’t care less about opportunity to Hispanics. You can read why and how that is true, by clicking here if you’d like.

Why The GOP Loses When Majority Holds Conservative Views

The simplest way to explain this anomaly is to recognize the sad fact that – even though they may agree with their ideology – Americans do not like the Republican Party. The reason: the Republican Party – at least the element referred to as the GOP — is just very stupid, plain and simple. Americans’ views of the Republican Party have always trailed the Democratic Party, though they are now both at historic lows, but Americans principally hold conservative views. What good does that do when you are led by leaders who do not live or govern by those principles, and cannot practice effective message discipline? Americans know BS when they see it and, at least with the Democrats, they know that they will use government to help them.

Following the financial crisis, the Democratic Party successfully pinned the blame on the Republican Party, whom of which have since ran from the debate and their principles, rather than fighting back and standing up to cronyism and for the everyday American. On almost every issue or ideological preference, the GOP runs from their beliefs — which are beliefs held by a majority of Americans — because they fear the false narratives being carved out by liberals and a complicate liberal media.

Until the financial crisis, it was the Democrats who were running scared, staring into the mirror and wondering if they were looking at a dead party walking (for reference, please see the aftermath of the 2004 election). We, too, can rebuild our party into an unbeatable conservative Republican Party coalition, as I wrote in an earlier article, but we must be unafraid to be who we are and offer real solutions that reflect an unabashed belief in true conservatism.

We cannot constantly attempt to brew a new brand of Democrat-light beer that tastes and smells like bitter old skunk, because when the ObamaCare train wreck hurts the lives of real Americans, and it will, we need to be ready with bold conservative ideas that will once again offer our fellow-citizens the opportunity to live free and prosper.

Despite the mainstream media narrative, Americans hold

US

hollywood obamacare

LOS ANGELES –  PPD had to put a bunch of seats in the corner for all of the Hollywood ObamaCare, #GetCovered ‘Dunces” now fleeing for cover. The Hollywood ObamaCare propagandists have been quite quiet since the failed October 1 launch of the not-so Affordable Care Act website — or, HealthCare.gov — including great political thinkers such as Lady Gaga, Marlon Wayne, Amy Poehler, Nina Dobrev, Rosario Dawson, Sarah Silverman, Olivia Wilde, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Pearl Jam, Lance Bass, John Legend, Alyssa Milano and Kerry Washington (sarcasm emphasized).

Let that be a lesson to Hollywood and any low-information American voter who may have been persuaded to hear them out. It is probably best if they just stay away from the debate, because it isn’t simply technical glitches associated with ObamaCare website that they may be asked to explain, but actual policy implications they have no intellectual capacity to discuss.

Could you imagine asking Marlon Wayne or Lady Gaga why they didn’t foresee sticker shock in 45 out of 50 states? Or, why would they actively promote a program that everyone knew would result in millions of Americans getting thrown off of their health care plans?

There will be no celebrities flocking to Capitol Hill to answer these question, because the stars that helped launch the so-far failed entitlement are now being advised to take cover, instead of advising others to #getcovered. But we know the answers to these questions anyway, and it is simple. They were too stupid to know the difference, and most can barely act well, let alone understand the complexities of the free market. And that’s okay, but what isn’t, is their failure to use their roles as influencers on young Americans in a responsible manner.

A Hollywood agent told FOX411 “that while Obama and ObamaCare are separate issues, and that you can support one without the other,” agents in public relations teams across the industry are advising their Hollywood clients to bail on the Hollywood ObamaCare bandwagon. Even Oprah Winfrey, who is one of Obama’s most ardent supporters, reportedly refused to help out with the public relations disaster.

“Hollywood has gone from pushing #getcovered to heading for cover,” Dan Gainor, VP of Business and Culture at the Media Research Center told FOX411. “Stars like Lady Gaga and Sarah Silverman pushed their ObamaCare propaganda to more than 67 million fans on social media. But don’t expect them to be honest about the situation.”

Georgia attorney Patrick Millsaps, who served as chief of staff of Newt Gingrich’s 2012 presidential campaign and manages several Hollywood names, said celebrities, like most public figures, know where to draw the line.

“They are starting to realize they too were sold a bill of goods and aren’t going to be accomplices in a continued fraud,” he said. “This is an easy decision for a manager – you can’t let your client promote a crappy product.” But they already promoted a “crappy product,” which shows their credibility is nil on all matters of policy. Only fools speak in support of a policy or program they do not understand.

“Many of my Hollywood friends still believe in this guy,” Millsaps added. “But I think their faith is being tested.”

Publicist Ronn Torossian of 5WPR jumped in saying. “When things go wrong, naturally celebrities won’t want to be outspoken. But don’t expect them to be quiet for long,” he said. “They will stand up again as soon as President Obama asks them to.”

One of President Obama’s best celebrity friends is Scarlet Johansson, who graced us all with that knowledge she is Obama’s texting buddy, offered her voice for the Planned Parenthood message that’s played when calls are made to some of the health centers. She says, “Did you know you may be able to enroll in new, more affordable health insurance plans?”

Did Scarlet Johansson learn how to read? Did Scarlet Johansson know it is indisputable that there is nothing affordable about the so-called Affordable Care Act? Every study to date, including the Manhattan Institute study, the study conducted by Heritage, and even the analysis conducted by CBS News — a so-called mainstream outlet — has debunked the claims that overall costs will decrease. This may be a bit hard for the intellectually challenged to understand, but even in the rare event that premiums for some Americans are lower, the deductibles and co-pays — when factored in — show health care costs under ObamaCare will necessarily skyrocket.

Again, it may be a bit hard for them to comprehend, but when you put restrictions on insurers to offer only government-mandated plans filled with a bunch of garbage Americans do not need, then costs much increase. Also, when you give young people the option to opt-out or stay on their parent’s plan until they are 26 if able, then there will not be enough money to pay for the rush of people flocking to Medicaid. That is particularly true when the rate of uninsured Americans is at an all-time high, precisely because of the law’s adverse effect on economic growth.

Rather than offering herself up as a spokeswomen for federally funded abortion, Scarlett Johansson should instead be asking someone to teach her the basic principles of free market capitalism. In fact, they all should, because none of these for-sale “Dunces” know even the most basic of our founding principles and ideals they speak so loudly against.

Maybe they can, at least, act like they don’t know as much as they really don’t and admit they are tools.

LOS ANGELES – PPD had to

Polls

Public support for the Obama gun control agenda has plummeted since the exploitation of the tragedy at Newtown, Connecticut, a survey from Gallup found. While the public remains divided, public support for stricter gun control laws is down from 58 percent in the days following the Newtown shootings back in December of 2012, and is lower than it was from 2000 through 2006.

The new survey also found public opposition to banning handgun ownership is holding at a record-high 74 percent, which is identical to 1 year ago, with just 1 in 4 Americans thinking the law should limit possession to police and other persons with government authority.

A noteworthy point, recent public opinion on gun control laws is vastly different from the 1980s, when just barely half of all Americans opposed a ban on civilian handgun ownership. Today, proponents of the Obama gun control agenda have suffered serious defeat, with pushback over new Colorado gun laws resulting in a historic ousting of Democratic lawmakers, and currently Gov. Hickenlooper is in deep trouble in his reelection bid.

Public sentiment also represents a massive turnaround from a half century ago, when just 36 percent opposed a ban. Americans’ opposition to handgun bans began climbing in the 1990s and 2000s, but first passed the 70 percent threshold under Barack Obama in 2009.

Even though Barack Obama renewed his push for congressional action to pass stricter federal gun laws after the Washington Navy Yard massacre in September, there is next to zero chance — if not zero — that Republicans and some Democrats in either house of Congress will feel the inclination to support any element to the Obama gun control agenda. Simply put, public outrage leading to support for stricter laws has waned, considerably.

But what may be behind the decline? The answer is quite simple. The American people do not trust the Obama gun control agenda, and do not believe that the Obama gun control agenda will even be effective in decreasing gun violence. However, they do think help for the mentally ill will do much more than gun control to reduce the number of shootings, which is more in line with Republican and conservative proposals.

Following the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, a Rasmussen survey found 76 percent of Americans strongly believe it is not possible to entirely prevent mass shootings with gun control laws.

Distrust in the government is not solely stemming from gun rights advocates, as many liberals will no doubt claim, but rather is fairy widespread. A strong majority of Americans who oppose stricter gun control laws — 88 percent — don’t trust the government to justly enforce those laws, and 37 percent of those who would like to see tougher gun control laws, actually agree.

In total, most Americans — 63 percent – said that they did not trust the government to fairly enforce gun control laws, and just 34 percent rated the president’s handling of issues related to gun control as “good” or “excellent,” which is Obama’s lowest level of trust on the issue ever measured.

So, what would the American people support if not the Obama gun control agenda?

There is broad bipartisan support for reforming mental health laws, despite how vigorous the ACLU may defend them. In late December, Democrats were far more likely to agree with the president and look to gun control over mental health treatment to prevent mass shootings. However, that has now reversed, with Democrats prioritizing increased mental health treatment over gun control along with Republicans and those not affiliated with any party. Republicans and unaffiliated Americans now believe more strongly than ever that more mental health treatment is the way to limit mass shooting incidents.

The vast majority of the American people — 74 percent — feel strongly that more enforcement of existing gun laws is needed, rather than more laws the federal government will not justly enforce. The Rasmussen survey is almost identical to Gallup, with 46 percent open to stricter gun control laws, while 47 percent disagree.

Following the Connecticut school shootings in December, more than half of American women supported stricter gun control laws. Following the DC shootings, female support for the Obama gun control agenda has decreased 15 percent, while opposition has increased by 7 percent.

At least for now, or until Barack Obama parades out and exploits more helpless victims, the Obama gun control agenda, is dead. That means we can hold on to our freedom, for now.

Public support for the Obama gun control

News, Politics

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in Iowa Friday doubled-down on his argument to dismantle ObamaCare and attacked the GOP establishment and liberals who said his strategy led to an unnecessary, partial government shutdown.

Cruz, who appearance is a clear indication he is serious about a presidential bid, told supporters in Iowa on Friday — which you can watch in entirety below — that the fight he led to defund ObamaCare will carry them to victory in the 2014 midterm and 2016 presidential race.

“One of the things we accomplished in the fight over ObamaCare is we elevated the national debate over what a disaster, what a train wreck, how much ObamaCare is hurting millions of Americans across this country,” Cruz said at the GOP’s annual fundraising dinner in Des Moines, Iowa. “Senate Republicans didn’t stand together. Had we stuck together, the outcome might be very different. The House does now, but I’m confident that the U.S. senate will in time listen to the American people.”

The conservative, first-term senator made clear that future efforts will bypass the establishment, saying he will focus on grassroots efforts and taking his argument directly to the American people, much like the town hall-style meetings he helped lead this summer to garner support to defund ObamaCare.

“For everyone who says we need to think about winning elections in 2014, nothing energizes voters more than a grassroots election,” Cruz said. “We got our clock cleaned in ’06, ’08 and ’12. But we had grassroots in 2010. Republican strategists say let’s go back to ’06, ’08 and ’12. They say keep your head down; that’s how you win. What complete poppycock.”

Thus far, Cruz has made three visits to Iowa, which is slated to hold the first GOP nominating caucuses ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

For Iowans, Ted Cruz is the candidate they have been looking for, particularly longtime Republicans in Iowa who say wavering on conservative principles is at the root of the party’s inability to win elections. Nationally, that sentiment has grown with the defeat of Mitt Romney and the blown chance of taking back the Senate, which has caused an open, public intraparty fight over the soul of the Republican Party.

Much to the horror of the liberal media and establishment Republicans, even though Ted Cruz ultimately lost with the defund ObamaCare fight, he seems to be gaining steam in the intraparty fight. Furthermore, no one can discount that he also successfully persuaded the Republicans in the House of Representatives to follow him.

The event, which was the final and perhaps most important of Ted Cruz’s recent public tour, was used by Cruz to present his ideas and contrast them with the opposite ideas for the GOP’s national future.

Underscoring that divide immediately before the Cruz spoke, was the popular five-term Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who barely acknowledged Ted Cruz in his preceding speech and said the way forward for the party nationally was by way of the route cleared by Republican governors.

The story of reform-minded, successful GOP governors across nation also wasn’t a story told by Republican candidates in 2012, nor is it being told in races such as the Virginia governors race, where it could have a tremendous impact.

Gov. Terry Branstad, now 66, is at the core of Iowa’s GOP establishment. He called Cruz “a bright, up-and-coming senator” before turning his attention to the tangible successes of Republican governors, including and beginning with Cruz’s own governor, Rick Perry of Texas.

“The results of conservative governors are making a difference,” said Branstad, who is preparing to seek election next year and is current;y cruising to victory.

He pointed to Gov. Walker in Wisconsin and Gov. Snyder in Michigan governors moves to reign in union overreach and debt as reasons for falling unemployment, and Texas’ reduction in regulation for rising job growth.

Cruz, during his 40-minute speech, argued ObamaCare was the main cause of the anemic economic growth, which is antithetical to American economic progress in the past.

“What I think is critical is we keep the focus on ObamaCare, we keep the focus on the fact that this bill isn’t working,” he told reporters after the speech.

“Shutting down the government, in my view, is not conservative policy,” he said. “A number of us were saying back in July that this strategy could not and would not work, and of course it didn’t. So there will not be another government shutdown. You can count on that.”

Skip to the 53:34 mark for Ted Cruz Speech

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in Iowa

Health & Well-Being

On many days, slugging through the workday is predictable and unavoidable, but it would be nice to have tips for fighting fatigue available, nonetheless. Maybe you stayed up late because you couldn’t turn off a riveting show or, you ate too much on your lunch break.

Whatever the case, the next day you are face first in the keyboard of your laptop — see above — or something relevant to your life. The point, is that many times and many days the reason you are experiencing fatigue is clear, but sometimes it isn’t that obvious.

Anything from a hidden health issue to particular gym habits could be the cause. Everyone would like to have no energy to help them get through the day to be sure, so here are some tips for fighting fatigue. When you identify the potential causes — which we have listed below — then, you can either avoid or correct the problem and whistle while you work, once again.

You’re dehydrated

According to a 2012 study in the Journal of Nutrition, healthy women who failed to replace just 1.5 percent of their body’s water weight regularly experience mood swings and, yes, low energy levels. The study authors suspect neurons in your hypothalamus — or the region of the brain that is responsible for controlling hydration and body temperature, among other functions — will send mood-altering signals to the rest of your brain as an early warning to drink more water.

Action Required: Drink and forget about the 8-glasses-a-day myth, because a no one water measurement works for everyone, as your hydration needs vary from others based on things like the weather and your workouts. Basically, you should have to pee at least once every three hours and your urine should be neither clear nor dark, but have a light lemonade-colored tint.

You’re low on B12

Vitamin B12 is an absolute must if you hope to have you body make red blood cells and keep neurons functioning correctly. B12 deficiency will decrease the amount of oxygen your blood can carry through your body, which will cause the open-eyed nodding we all do so well. And as you age, you will produce less of a protein called intrinsic factor, which helps you process the nutrient.

Only animal foods naturally contain B12, which is why vegetarians and vegans face an increased risk of running low, as well as do people who have had stomach or intestinal surgeries (these procedures often alter the tissue where B12 absorption takes place, Sirchio said). Even low or borderline levels — not necessarily full-blown deficiency — can wear you down.

Steps to take: If your fatigue comes with restless legs, forgetfulness, or numbness and tingling, a lack of B12 could be your potential problem. One should always ask your nutritionist or doctor for a blood test for your levels, you may need supplements. Your doctor will tell you how much to take, though typically the dose will range from 100mcg – 500mcg. Choose a formula labeled methylcobalomin instead of cyanocobalamin, it is easier for your body to use. Supplements will only increase your energy if you are low to begin with, unlike caffeine, B vitamins will not give you an added boost if you already have an ample supply.

You are overwhelmed with stress

Usually, levels of the stress hormone cortisol runs highest in the morning and dip down by night, creating an normal daily rhythm. However, chronic stress will throw off the normal pattern in either direction. If your body remains on a constant awareness, the cortisol levels may never fall by the evening, causing disruption while sleeping. An individuals adrenal glands may eventually fall behind in cortisol production, leaving you sleepwalking through the morning,

Steps to take: You can’t always control the sources of stress, but you can change your reaction. Mindfulness practices have been shown to ease stress and fatigue in people with chronic medical conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, and they work for healthy people, too. Try breathing techniques: Concentrate on your breath (don’t change it—just observe it). On each inhale, think “I am.” On each exhale, “at peace.” Repeat it for a few minutes while you’re waiting in line.

You may have hidden heart disease

In the journal Heart & Lung there was a study that found half of women who had heart attacks reported that they had trouble sleeping and felt strangely fatigued in the weeks leading up. There are red flags that you should be aware of. Weariness and shortness of breath when you exercise, climb stairs, or exert yourself are a few. Blocked arteries or a weak heart muscle will reduce the flow of blood, which will end up preventing your muscles and tissues from getting the oxygen they need to function normally.

Steps to take: You need to see the doctor now, especially if you have trouble getting motivated and up in the morning, or if you have other symptoms, such as chest pain, anxiety, or difficulty concentrating. Your doctor may recommend a stress test or an echocardiogram to test screen for heart disease.

Your iron levels could either too low — or even too high

Most women are aware that anemia leads to fatigue, but you cannot just assume taking iron supplements will be sufficient to increase energy and awareness. Low iron levels result in poorly formed red blood cells, which will deprive your body of much needed, refreshing oxygen. But too much iron can wear you down and make you tired, as well. The body uses vitamins, minerals, and energy to rid your system of excess, which leaves you with little left to run on.

Steps to take: Be aware of the risk factors: Iron deficiency often appears with vegetarians and vegans, people with digestive diseases or thyroid problems, women on hormonal birth control, and women with a very heavy menstrual flow. On the other hand, however, high levels can run in your family or even result from taking supplements, which frequently causes other symptoms that include feeling cold, thinning hair and nails, or dizziness when you stand up. Finding the right balance or equilibrium is important, so don’t take iron pills on your own. It is wise to first speak with your doctor about yearly blood tests to check these levels. If they’re found to be abnormal, then have them checked more frequently — even monthly — until they level off. Afterwards, every three to six months should be considered until you steadily see normal readings.

You’re not working out enough or at all

Being idle, especially when you have chronic stress, can drain your body of energy. A stressful day at work drives up cortisol and blood glucose levels, triggering a knee-jerk reaction to fight or flee in your body. However, when you spend your afternoon and evening barely moving between your computer screen and your couch, your body never releases that built-up energy and tension. This can make you restless and deter you from sleeping at night — or burn out your body’s cortisol factory so much that you’re dragging the next morning.

Steps to take: Start moving, if at least a little at a time. According to a recent study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, women who get the government-recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week consistently report feeling less fatigue and having more energy and vigor than those who don’t. If you’re using exercise to help you sleep better, give your new regimen time to take hold — another study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found you will be required to move consistently for a few weeks or even months to you find you are reaping benefits.

You might be exercising too much

On the other hand, you still can have too much of a good thing, or in this case, exercise. If you’re sweating every day or training to the point of full exertion for an event such as a triathlon, fatigue and trouble sleeping can be a sign that you’re pushing your body beyond its limits. Workouts, particularly endurance sports such as long-distance running and cycling — also cause an increase in cortisol. Again, if you’re not finding the right balance or equilibrium between activity and rest, you can overload your system with physical stress, just as you can with emotional or mental pressure.

Steps to take: If you’re exercising regularly but all of a sudden find that you tire more easily, you may be over doing it. Try taking a few days of rest, but really rest. Afterwards, ease back into your routine, starting with about 25 percent of your usual activity for a week and adding another 25 percent each week until you’re back up and running.

You may have a urinary tract infection

If you’ve had a UTI before, then you know the burning urgency that comes when you have to pee. About half of all women who show up with UTIs also report fatigue and a general feeling of illness, as well, and the rate increases among those 40 or older.

Steps to take: Of course, you should go to the doctor if you suspect a UTI. Prescription antibiotics can take care of the bacteria. All your symptoms, including fatigue, should subside within seven to 10 days of completing treatment. As you’re healing, get plenty of rest, stay hydrated, and eat a healthy diet, Carroll advised. If you’re prone to frequent UTIs (more than a couple per year) talk with your doctor—long-term prophylactic antibiotics can ward off future infections.

On many days, slugging through the workday

People's Pundit Daily
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