Kay Hagan Flips On Travel Ban

By William Teach October 18, 2014 – 10:40 am

Someone must be seeing flagging poll numbers

(NY Times) The politics of Ebola have been swirling for awhile, and Senator Kay Hagan, the Democratic incumbent facing a tough re-election race in North Carolina, just made a sharp change in direction.

Earlier this week, Ms. Hagan sided with the Obama administration, arguing against banning flights from the West African countries battling the epidemic.

“That’s not going to solve this problem,” she had said. “That’s not going to contain the epidemic that we see happening in Africa.”

Flip

After facing withering criticism from her Republican rival, Thom Tillis, Ms. Hagan changed her mind on Friday and called for immediate action.

“I am calling on the administration to temporarily ban the travel of non-U.S. citizens from the affected countries in West Africa,” Ms. Hagan said in a statement.

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“I have said for weeks that travel restrictions should be one part of a broad strategy to prevent Ebola from spreading in the U.S. and fighting it in Africa. I am calling on the Administration to temporarily ban the travel of non-U.S. citizens from the affected countries in West Africa. Although stopping the spread of this virus overseas will require a large, coordinated effort with the international community, a temporary travel ban is a prudent step the President can take to protect the American people, and I believe he should do so immediately.”

Except,  she has not been saying for weeks that there should be a travel ban. Typical lying crapweasel.

Read: Kay Hagan Flips On Travel Ban »

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Good News: Obama Plans To Let Ebola Infected Foreigners Into US

By William Teach October 18, 2014 – 7:04 am

Huh. How about that

(Breitbart) Thursday night on Fox News,Charles Krauthammer predicted that it would only take “a couple more cases like Mr. Duncan” flying to the United States from West Africa with Ebola for the president to back down from his no travel ban position.

But ifJudicial Watch’ssources are correct, Obama’s open door policy for people coming from Ebola infected countries, may creak opena little widerto allow the transfer of non-US citizensinfected with the diseaseinto the country for treatment.

It is unclear who would bear the high costs of transporting and treating non-citizen Ebola patients. The plans include special waivers of laws and regulations that ban the admission of non-citizens with a communicable disease as dangerous as Ebola.

JW goes on to note

One source tells us that the Obama administration is keeping this plan secret from Congress. The source is concerned that the proposal is illegal; endangers the public health and welfare; and should require the approval of Congress.

Would Obama do this? Nobody could put it past him to engage in this conduct, based on almost 6 years of his history in the White House. Breitbart’s Matthew Boyle notes in a separate article that Senate Republicans sitting on the Judiciary Committee have written to Obama saying he should stop issuing visas to Ebola ravaged countries immediately.

The Republicans quoted Obama from his Sept. 16 speech at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta.

“Now, here’s the hard truth: In West Africa, Ebola is now an epidemic of the likes that we have not seen before. It’s spiraling out of control,” Obama said then. “It is getting worse. It’s spreading faster and exponentially. Today, thousands of people in West Africa are infected. That number could rapidly grow to tens of thousands. And if the outbreak is not stopped now, we could be looking at hundreds of thousands of people infected, with profound political and economic and security implications for all of us. So this is an epidemic that is not just a threat to regional security — it’s a potential threat to global security if these countries break down, if their economies break down, if people panic. That has profound effects on all of us, even if we are not directly contracting the disease.”

They wrote that they agree with Obama that it’s a national security issue, and that as such it is imperative that Obama institute a travel ban immediately.

“We couldn’t agree more that an Ebola epidemic is a national security issue, and a threat to global security,” the GOP Judiciary Committee senators wrote. “And, we couldn’t agree more with the American people that a travel ban must be put in place to protect our homeland and reduce any spread of the virus. According to officials at the State Department, between March 1, 2014, and September 27, 2014, a total of 6, 398 visas were issued to nationals of the following countries; 3,135 for Liberians, 1,472 for Sierra Leoneans, and 1,791 for Guineans. Meanwhile, according to International SOS, dozens of countries – including many in Africa – have instituted travel and entry restrictions.”

He won’t. What he will do is turn the issue into a political fight. Why did he pick Ron Klain to be the new “Ebola Czar”, despite zero medical background? For the same reason. Politics. People are speechless at the pick…well, metaphorically, because lots are blasting this pick. This will soon (looking into my crystal ball) cause Obama to start blasting “Congressional Republicans”.

BTW, Obama trots out a little strawman during his Weekly Address

Finally, we can’t just cut ourselves off from West Africa, where this disease is raging. Our medical experts tell us that the best way to stop this disease is to stop it at its source-before it spreads even wider and becomes even more difficult to contain. Trying to seal off an entire region of the world-if that were even possible-could actually make the situation worse. It would make it harder to move health workers and supplies back and forth. Experience shows that it could also cause people in the affected region to change their travel, to evade screening, and make the disease even harder to track.

Wait, what? We need to stop it at its source, yet we shouldn’t seal off the area? Of course, what people are demanding is that the US government restrict flights coming from the Ebola ravaged areas. To, you know, stop the spread.

Read: Good News: Obama Plans To Let Ebola Infected Foreigners Into US »

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Obamacare Is Expensive And Doctors Are Scarce, Says….NY Times

By William Teach October 18, 2014 – 6:45 am

Many, including myself, have noted that the NY Times seems to publish articles that often do not conform to the Official Democrat Line on Saturdays. Here’s another, which made the front page

Unable to Meet the Deductible or the Doctor

Patricia Wanderlich got insurance through the Affordable Care Act this year, and with good reason: She suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2011, spending weeks in a hospital intensive care unit, and has a second, smaller aneurysm that needs monitoring.

But her new plan has a $6,000 annual deductible, meaning that Ms. Wanderlich, who works part time at a landscaping company outside Chicago, has to pay for most of her medical services up to that amount. She is skipping this year’s brain scan and hoping for the best.

“To spend thousands of dollars just making sure it hasn’t grown?” said Ms. Wanderlich, 61. “I don’t have that money.”

About 7.3 million Americans are enrolled in private coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, and more than 80 percent qualified for federal subsidies to help with the cost of their monthly premiums. But many are still on the hook for deductibles that can top $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for families — the trade-off, insurers say, for keeping premiums for the marketplace plans relatively low. The result is that some people — no firm data exists on how many — say they hesitate to use their new insurance because of the high out-of-pocket costs.

The original idea from Democrats was to find a way to make health insurance available for the 30-45 million Americans (the number included quite a few legal visitors and illegal aliens). It was a good idea. From that point, it grew into the monstrosity it is. What’s the point of having health insurance if you cannot afford to actually use it when needed?

While high-deductible plans cover most of the costs of severe illnesses and lengthy hospital stays, protecting against catastrophic debt, those plans may compel people to forgo routine care that could prevent bigger, longer-term health issues, according to experts and research.

“They will cause some people to not get care they should get,” Katherine Hempstead, who directs research on health insurance coverage at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said of high-deductible marketplace plans. “Unfortunately, the people who are attracted to the lower premiums tend to be the ones who are going to have the most trouble coming up with all the cost-sharing if in fact they want to use their health insurance.”

You don’t say.

…A survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the average deductible for individual coverage in employer-sponsored plans was $1,217 this year.

In comparison, the average deductible for a bronze plan on the exchange — the least expensive coverage — was $5,081 for an individual and $10,386 for a family, according to HealthPocket, a consulting firm. Silver plans, which were the most popular option this year, had average deductibles of $2,907 for an individual and $6,078 for a family.

Information that was known not long after they started selling Ocare plans almost a year ago. Good to see the Times is timely in their information dumps.

The article really doesn’t address the limited networks beyond a sentence of two, unlike the headline suggests. Of course, limited networks do not matter all that much when people cannot afford the deductibles. If there was one idea that Democrats could have taken from Republicans….since they claim they took a bunch….was national insurance pools, which would have helped significantly reduce those deductibles.

But we’re also running into the problem now that so many of the people enrolling in Ocare are sicker and older than was expected, so it will be interesting to see if the deductibles rise for 2015. Which might be the reason Team Obama won’t release the costs till after the midterms.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Warmist Neil Bhatiya Has Four Questions For All Candidates On Hotcoldwetdry

By William Teach October 17, 2014 – 3:50 pm

This is all obviously aimed at politicians that do not buy into the notion that Mankind, or, as one feminist mildly chided me, Humankind, is mostly/solely responsible for every single change in the weather

(The Hill) One issue in the 2014 elections that has already tripped up a number of significant candidates is climate change. (snip)

Campaigns fueled by thirty-second soundbites are always disappointing. In an ideal world, the questions “Do you believe in global warming?” or “Do you think human beings cause climate change?” would be followed up by more fleshed-out discussion of the consequences.

Actually, it would be good if those questions were asked. Instead, we get “when did you stop beating your wife types when it comes to “climate change”. Anyhow, moving along, Neil offers his version of questions (you’ll have to pop in to the screed to read his full reasoning

1. Why does it matter that you are not a subject matter expert on climate change, given you regularly make legislative decisions on other topics on which you are not similarly educated?

Interestingly, this is aimed mostly at Republicans, but not at the Democrats who proport to Believe in “climate change” (once again, to be clear, what they mean is anthropogenic climate change, hence the quotation marks from me) who themselves are pushing all sorts of legislation.

2. U.S. military and intelligence analysts have repeatedly said that the US needs to plan for a future world that could be made substantially more unstable by climate change. What is your response to this analysis?

Of course, the military plans for everything. Think they don’t have a plan to invade Canada? How about Barbados? It’s what they do, especially when there are so many who aren’t actually shooters in the military. The top brass is very political, and if politicians, especially POTUS, say jump, they jump. Plus, regardless of whether mostly/solely natural or man-induced, the weather has typically played a factor in war, violence, etc.

3. Do you think poorer countries, like India should be allowed some leeway to grow their economies and in doing so, reduce poverty rates, as part of a longer-term commitment to transition to lower-carbon electricity generation?

I have a better question: since you say you believe in “climate change”, how have you changed your own life to comport to your beliefs? Of course, the above is really about forcing developing nations to stop what they are doing and attempt a “green” economy. It’s the ultimate in “I gots mine, yous can’t have”.

4. Would you support major funding for the accelerated construction of nuclear power-plants both here and abroad, if they were supplanting dirtier sources of electricity generation?

That’s actually a fantastic question. Many “climate change” believers are dead set against nuclear power. Others support it in theory. And it should be followed up with questions about actually supporting measures and legislation to build it. And to allow building other alternatives. Warmists say they are for hydro, geothermal, wind, and solar, yet, when it is time to actually build these, they attempt to either shut it down or want it far, far away from themselves. How long did the fight for the Cape Wind Project go on? Warmists have blocked running transmission lines from solar farms, and blocked solar and wind projects. Not only do they want to stop hydro-power dams, they want existing ones destroyed.

I have more questions for them here. And, of course, they are always welcome to take my yearly New Year’s Day Climate Prediction Challenge.

And, of course, we always go back to the main question: what they heck are you doing to live the life you want to legislate for Everyone Else?

Read: Warmist Neil Bhatiya Has Four Questions For All Candidates On Hotcoldwetdry »

Posted in Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach October 17, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is a game that will disappear in Canada because it gets too hot or too cold or too snowy, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Villainous Company, with a post on the predictable results of Ferguson hype.

Read: If All You See… »

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UN Decides It Really Does Not Like Notion That “Climate Change” Can Be Good For Economy

By William Teach October 17, 2014 – 11:26 am

They’ve decided that they are going to spin away the notion in any way they can

(UK Guardian) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has corrected a controversial claim that small amounts of global warming could have overall positive economic impacts, after I pointed out that it was based on inaccurate information.

The final version of the IPCC’s report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability was published without fanfare on the web this week, including a chapter on Key Economic Sectors and Services.

The final draft of the chapter, which was published in April, featured a section on the aggregate economic impacts of climate change, containing the statement: “Climate change may be beneficial for moderate climate change but turn negative for greater warming.”

But the version published this week omits the statement because it was based on faulty data.

You know,  faulty data like history and reality. These people are shameless,  and you had to know they would manufacture a “reason” to remove the phrase. Humanity has done better during Holcombe warm periods than Holcombe cool periods. This is all about politics,  not science.

Read: UN Decides It Really Does Not Like Notion That “Climate Change” Can Be Good For Economy »

Posted in Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

What Say To A Spider Burrowing In Your Chest?

By William Teach October 17, 2014 – 9:16 am

Here’s a perfect story as we approach Halloween. This ain’t Hell…. likes to run feel good stories in the morning. This won’t qualify

(Aussie News) NOTHING tops off a holiday in Bali like discovering there is a spider burrowing under your skin.

Bunbury local Dylan Thomas’ first trip to Bali last weekend was complete with a visit to the Bali International Medical Centre to have a tropical spider pulled out of his stomach.

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21-year-old Dylan awoke after a quiet night in his four and a half star hotel room to find a bizarre red trail two inches from his naval and heading upwards.

“It was as if someone had scratched me with the tip of a knife,” he said.

Later that evening, the trail had moved two or three inches higher.

Have a nice day.

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The Protocol Is Working: Hospital Worker Who Had Contact With Dallas Ebola Specimens Made It On To Cruise Ship

By William Teach October 17, 2014 – 8:15 am

Absolutely no need to panic, you guys!

(ABC News) A Dallas health care worker who handled clinical specimens from an Ebola-infected patient is on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, with the worker self-quarantined and being monitored for signs of infection, the State Department said in a statement.

The unidentified female worker departed on a cruise ship from Galveston, Texas, Oct. 12 and was out of the country before being notified of active monitoring required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the government statement.

The monitoring was established as two nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, tested positive for Ebola.

The hospital worker on the Carnival Magic cruise ship did not have direct contact with patient Thomas Eric Duncan, but may have had contact with his clinical specimens, authorities said. The employee, who has not been publicly identified, has not had a fever or demonstrated any symptoms of illness, authorities said.

Fortunately, the protocols are working

“The worker has voluntarily remained in the cabin and the State Department and cruise line are working to bring the worker back to the U.S. out of an abundance of caution,” the Department of State said in the release.

That should make the other vacationers feel really, really, really, really secure. Since it has been 19 days since her contact with the Ebola specimen, there should be no danger, per the CDC. Belize is, wisely, taking no chances

(USA Today) Belize’s 7 News reports the Belize government refused a U.S. request Thursday to let the Dallas health care worker disembark in Belize so she could be flown home by air ambulance from a local airport.

Smart.

Read: The Protocol Is Working: Hospital Worker Who Had Contact With Dallas Ebola Specimens Made It On To Cruise Ship »

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NC Magistrates Could Face Criminal Charges If Refuse To Perform Gay Marriages

By William Teach October 17, 2014 – 7:29 am

It’s all about tolerance, ya know

(Charlotte Observer) North Carolina magistrates were directed Wednesday to perform civil marriages for same-sex couples or face suspension or dismissal from their state jobs.

Pamela Weaver Best, general counsel for the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, sent a letter to state magistrates saying they would be violating their oaths of office if they refused to marry gay or lesbian couples.

Several magistrates have refused so far, and at least one has resigned

Best said magistrates who refuse to marry gay couples face suspension or dismissal. They could also face misdemeanor criminal charges for failing to discharge their duties.

I’m torn about this, re: criminal charges. On one hand, they are failing to discharge their duties. On the other hand, government officials at all levels are constantly failing to discharge their duties. That list would go on forever. Are our borders secure? Do cities and states allow Marijuana in violation of federal law?

On the third hand, threatening prosecution, even for a misdemeanor, over religious beliefs, is typical in Progressive (nice fascist) World. Oh, and, tolerance

Equality NC, a group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, expressed concern Wednesday that magistrates refusing to marry same-sex couples might escape punishment.

These same people were probably pretty darned upset when they could be prosecuted, or just plain hounded, over being gay. Were upset they could be fired for being gay. And they’d well within their right to be upset. Now they want to turn the shoe around and go after those who oppose gay marriage. Cause tolerance and diversity and liberals are oh so nice!

Read: NC Magistrates Could Face Criminal Charges If Refuse To Perform Gay Marriages »

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“Climate Change” To Cause More Severe Frosts

By William Teach October 16, 2014 – 7:48 pm

The cult is at it again

(ABC Australia) Frosts like the ones that caused so much damage to crops this season could be more common for the next 20 years, according to scientists.

They say greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were changing the way high pressure systems formed and moved, causing severe frost problems for farmers.

Is there nothing that you driving your fossil fueled vehicle which releases heat trapping greenhouse gases can’t do?

“It was very, very large as well, so that’s why it took so long to cross the continent and it basically just dragged very cold, dry, stable air in from the Antarctic and dumped it onto the regions affected.

“Basically what that meant was we had five days in a row of temperatures that were sub-zero in major cropping regions for 12 hours.

“It’s the duration of those events that caused the devastating damage that producers are seeing.”

Ms Rebbeck said the synoptic changes were coming as a result of greenhouse gases.

Got that? Cold is caused by hot. And people wonder why skeptics refer to this as a cult.

Read: “Climate Change” To Cause More Severe Frosts »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 7 Comments | Trackback URL
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