Maryland Officials Knew A Year In Advance That Obamacare Website Was A Disaster

By William Teach January 12, 2014 – 8:23 am

Say, I wonder whether the problems and negligence surrounding the Maryland Exchange website will be a national story, where media dig into just who knew and when they knew, and what Governor Martin O’Malley (D) knew, and publish breathless reports, where we see crazy op-eds about the end of his career. Or will this just be a “local” story?

(Washington Post) More than a year before Maryland launched its health insurance exchange, senior state officials failed to heed warnings that no one was ultimately accountable for the $170 million project and that the state lacked a plausible plan for how it would be ready by Oct. 1.

Over the following months, as political leaders continued to proclaim that the state’s exchange would be a national model, the system went through three different project managers, the feuding between contractors hired to build the online exchange devolved into lawsuits, and key people quit, including a top information technology official because, as he would later say, the project “was a disaster waiting to happen.”

The repeated warnings culminated days before the launch, with one from contractors testing the Web site that said it was “extremely unstable” and another from an outside consultant that urged state officials not to let residents enroll in health plans because there was “no clear picture” of what would happen when the exchange would turn on.

Within moments of its launch at noon Oct. 1, the Web site crashed in a calamitous debut that was supposed to be a crowning moment for Maryland officials who had embraced President Obama’s Affordable Care Act and pledged to build a state-run exchange that would be unparalleled.

Surely someone told the Governor, right? The monthly reports were basically saying “oh, crap, things are NOT going well”

Two of O’Malley’s Cabinet members, his senior IT advisers and leaders of the exchange received copies of the confidential monthly reports, according to distribution lists. The first was also summarized in the technically worded letter to lawmakers. Aides to the legislative leaders said that the significance of the warning was not clear at the time and that they never knew the outside audits continued.

It is a long, long story about just how bad the whole process was, about communications and memos of “dear lord, this thing is a mess”. But, you know, “lane closures”.

As of Friday, 20,358 people had selected private plans, and state officials have said they do not expect to come close to their initial goal of 150,000 by the end of March.

“Selected” (and certainly not “private plans”, considering the links to government). Have they paid? Received confirmation that they are officially enrolled? How many had to use paper and pen to “select”? One has to wonder how much this same story occurred in the other states that created their own Exchanges, along with the national Marketplace, and whether the media will investigate? Sorry, lane closures.

Read: Maryland Officials Knew A Year In Advance That Obamacare Website Was A Disaster »

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No Faked Research On Link Between Hotcoldwetdry And Floods Is A Scandal Or Something

By William Teach January 11, 2014 – 3:25 pm

Looking at this BBC article it seems more like the “scientists” have already decided what the results will be before the “research” is even started

(BBC) Questions about the link between flooding in the UK and climate change could be answered within two years, according to a leading scientist.

Prof Myles Allen from Oxford University said the only thing holding back the work was the lack of investment.

Around £10m a year would provide a real time attribution system on the role of humans in extreme weather.

He said it was a “scandal” that the public should be denied clarity on this issue.

Here’s a novel idea: he could spend his own money, instead if pigging out at the taxpayer trough.

Scientists are notoriously cautious about linking single weather events, such as the recent storms and flooding in the UK, to rising global temperatures.

Except Warmists attempt to link virtually every weather occurrence to “climate change”. Because it’s an unhinged cult.

Read: No Faked Research On Link Between Hotcoldwetdry And Floods Is A Scandal Or Something »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach January 11, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is wine that will be soon grown in Siberia, you might just be a Warmist

photo its_an_flbp_kinda_monday_50_photos13_zpsk0aomvuc.jpg

The blog of the day is Atlas Shrugs, with a post on Muslim students in Canada refusing to do course work with women.

PS: apparently someone didn’t like me using the previous photo. Oh, well.

Read: If All You See… »

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Oh, Snap: Dana Milbank Calls Chris Christie A Narcissist

By William Teach January 11, 2014 – 11:48 am

This probably isn’t the dumbest and hyper-partisan piece written over “lane closures”, but it certainly rises pretty high up

New Jersey narcissist

Things we learned about Chris Christie during his 108-minute apologia:

“I’m a very loyal guy.”

“I am not a focus-group-tested, blow-dried candidate.”

“I’ve worked for the last 12 years in public life developing a reputation for honesty.”

“I’ve engendered the sense and feeling among the people closest to me that we’re a family.”

“I’m a person who cares deeply about doing my job well.”

Milbank is very upset that Christie used the word “I”, along with similar words, hundreds of times during the PC, which leads to

When Christie delivered the keynote address at the 2012 nomination, the criticism was that he spoke more of himself than of the nominee, Mitt Romney. Now we see that even in adversity, Christie regards himself as the hero.

This tendency is what is likeliest to doom Christie’s presidential hopes — more than the details of “Bridge-gate” or the question of whether he is a bully. Christie’s greatest obstacles are his own self-regard and his blindness to the possibility that he might have erred.

Narcissism is the dominant theme in American politics today, and the man Christie would succeed in the Oval Office appears to suffer from an acute sense of his own righteousness. But Christie takes worship of self to a whole new level.

Love it! “Sure, Obama’s a narcissist, but that Christie guy, wow, massive out of control!” Right. Sure thing, sparky. Has Christie ever done something like make the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death about himself? How about honoring Rosa parks with a picture of himself? How about pictures of himself looking in a mirror? Taking selfies at Mandela’s funeral? Saying that ”those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf”? How about this quote

“This is the moment that the world is waiting for. I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions.”

Yeah, but Christie said “I” a lot.

(Axis Of Greed) Perhaps the only time the nation has truly been united under President Obama was when he delivered the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed. And why let a great opportunity for self-aggrandizement go wasted? Taking full credit for the operation, Obama referenced himself (I, I’m, me, my) 15 times! Oddly, never once during this speech did he mention the brave Navy SEALs who actually carried out the operation. But, to Obama, that was a minor detail.

How many times did Obama say that he got Bin Laden? Remember the Greek columns at the DNC in 2008 for his winning the Democrat presidential nomination? How about using every event to push himself?

Nice try, Dana.

Read: Oh, Snap: Dana Milbank Calls Chris Christie A Narcissist »

Posted in Barry Obama, Wonky Media | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

We’ve Become A Nation Of Weather Wimps Or Something

By William Teach January 11, 2014 – 7:14 am

I’m not quite sure how this helps the “climate change” narrative, as hyper-Warmist Seth Borenstein pushes the cult

(AP) We’ve become weather wimps.

As the world warms, the United States is getting fewer bitter cold spells like the one that gripped much of the nation this week. So when a deep freeze strikes, scientists say, it seems more unprecedented than it really is. An Associated Press analysis of the daily national winter temperature shows that cold extremes have happened about once every four years since 1900.

When computer models estimated that the national average daily temperature for the Lower 48 states dropped to 17.9 degrees on Monday, it was the first deep freeze of that magnitude in 17 years, according to Greg Carbin, warning meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

That stretch — from Jan. 13, 1997 to Monday — is by far the longest the U.S. has gone without the national average plunging below 18 degrees, according to a database of daytime winter temperatures starting in January 1900.

According to lots of data, the cold snaps occurred more frequently before 1990, of which only two have occurred since (not including the recent one), and none since 1997 (an El Nino year), so, obviously that means man-caused “climate change”, and we’re all doomed or something.

Said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the private firm Weather Underground: “It’s become a lot harder to get these extreme (cold) outbreaks in a planet that’s warming.”

Except, around much of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in Europe and western Asia, they have had brutal winters 4 out of the last 5, and this winter looks to be the same.

Here’s the thing: none of the warming since 1850 proves mostly or solely anthropogenic causation. Nor do weather events. What’s happening is what would be expected as happened during the numerous warm periods, most of which were warmer, during the Holocene period. That’s not to say Mankind has no influence: we do. But it is small, and is mostly from agriculture, landfills, land use, and the urban heat island effect. The last two being localized, not global. So, perhaps 10-20% of the warming/appearance of warming is Man related.

In the same way, the 17 year pause, and 13 year dip, are no proof of a coming cool period. We could end with a slight dip similar to the 40’s through the 70’s. We could kick into a little ice age type climate. We could kick into a big uptick of warming. Nature will do what nature does. But Warmists want to destroy economies, increase unemployment, and increase Big Government control of individuals and private entities for their insane cultish beliefs, which they themselves don’t hold strong enough to change their own lives. Because this is political, an attempt to implement far left Progressive governance.

As far as being a nation of wimps, well, at least the Warmists are, since they freak out over ever weather related event.

Read: We’ve Become A Nation Of Weather Wimps Or Something »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Staff Of Sen. Mark Udall Applied Inappropriate Pressure Over Cancellation Notices

By William Teach January 11, 2014 – 6:45 am

And Udall apparently knew about it. Fortunately, most of the media has applied a collective yawn over this abuse of power. Lane closures are more important cause Republican governor

(Fox News) Democratic Colorado Sen. Mark Udall is under fire following reports that his staff pressured the Colorado Division of Insurance to walk back its claims that 250,000 people in the state had their health insurance canceled due to ObamaCare.

“It’s downright shameful that Sen. Udall would attempt to intimidate state employees to give him political cover,” Colorado GOP Chairman Ryan Call told FOX31 in Denver.

The allegations surfaced Thursday after the news site Complete Colorado published emails between Udall’s office and the Colorado insurance agency last November. At the time, controversy was heating up over the hundreds of thousands of insurance cancellation notices going out — the cancellations undercut President Obama’s campaign-trail assertions that those who like their health plans can keep them.

Udall’s staff challenged the Colorado agency for saying there had been 249,000 cancellations.

The issue wasn’t it about challenging the numbers, it was about how they challenged

One email showed the same insurance agency official telling colleagues she got a “very hostile phone call” from Udall’s deputy chief of staff.

Another email showed a Udall staffer telling the division “we need to move on this ASAP — or we’ll be forced to challenge the 249K number ourselves.”

So here you have a sitting US Senator’s staff placing phone calls and sending emails that were intimidating and hostile, and it looks like Udall knew about it. Is this appropriate behavior? Or is this abuse of power? Good thing all the news media is investigating this…oh, they aren’t. Democrat.

Powerline has more.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Posted in Democrats, Journalistic Malpractice | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Cult: “More To Climate Change Than Warming”

By William Teach January 10, 2014 – 3:35 pm

It’s not just a sin, ya know. Here’s Ms. Ann McFeatters practicing climate witchcraft

More to climate change than warming

Folks, climate change is real. And, dear fellow citizens, we have to do something about our infrastructure.

I know, I know. You are muttering something about a polar vortex, and how this deep freeze has been really unusual and what you will tell your grandchildren: “It was so cold my swear words froze over the hood of the car that I couldn’t get started. I couldn’t even get through to AAA!”

The trouble with climate change is that “they” started out calling it global warming. That was fine when the weather was 102 degrees and the nation’s sweat would have overflowed the Hoover Dam and crops were crumbling from lack of moisture.

But the truth is that climate change, subscribed to by more than nine out of every 10 scientists (picture them standing in lines with the truly dweebily hopeless ones refusing to hold up their hands), means that extreme weather gets more extreme. Hot weather and droughts get more intense. Cold weather and snow and ice get worse.

(PS: This is what Jeffrey calls “science” from Warmists.)

Read: Cult: “More To Climate Change Than Warming” »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 17 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach January 10, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible CO2 infused beer, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Lonely Conservative, with a post noting that if you don’t want to see Lena Dunham naked, you’re a misogynist or something. Something.

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Posted in If All You See | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Humana: Yeah, The Enrollment Mix Is Worse Than Though

By William Teach January 10, 2014 – 12:01 pm

Surprise!

(Reuters)  Health insurer Humana Inc said on Thursday that it projected its enrollment mix in private plans through the exchanges created by President Barack Obama’s healthcare law will be, “more adverse than previously expected.”

Humana attributed the enrollment trend to regulatory changes allowing people to remain in previously existing plans not sold on the exchanges. Obama proposed allowing insurers to keep selling plans that did not comply with the Affordable Care Act after political fallout that he was not keeping his promise that people can keep insurance plans if they like them.

In other words, people weren’t forced to give up the plans they liked (remember, this is only for one year), as Obama promised ad nauseum, and forced into the more expensive Exchange plans. Which is certainly only one of the reasons why there is a poor mix of healthies to sicks. Ezra Klein interviews Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates

The other challenge now is getting people to pay for coverage. I was surprised today calling around to people to find only about 50 percent have paid. That’s not a reason to panic yet. The due dates for payment have been sliding all around, so people can be confused. But it can be a mess. Some insurers are doing autocalls like politicians do the night before the election asking people to pay.

We can speculate on the reasons for low payment rates, but, suffice to say, that’s a big number. On the mix of healthies and sicks

RL: It’s not positive. I don’t want to say people have given up on the notion they’ll get a good mix. They know the administration will make a big push. The insurance companies will spend big on advertising and outreach. So no one has given up. But it doesn’t look good right now.

There’s a big misconception that this is about young people. That’s baloney. It’s about healthy people. A healthy 20-year-old might only pay a $100 premium. You want healthy 40 and 50-year-olds. The big problem right now is really total enrollment. We only have about 10 percent of the uninsured in here. Insurers think you need more like 70 percent of a pool of people to sign up.

Good point. It’s not just the young, but all healthies. Without a good mix, death spiral.

Read: Humana: Yeah, The Enrollment Mix Is Worse Than Though »

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San Fransciso Warmists Want Warming Labels On Gas Pumps

By William Teach January 10, 2014 – 9:43 am

Yes, I did intentionally type “warming”, not “warning”

(San Fran Chronicle) Buy a pack of cigarettes, and a printed warning from the surgeon general will remind you that smoking causes cancer.

Obviously, you’ve chosen to smoke anyway. But perhaps one day you’ll look at that message, printed on the pack, and resolve to change your ways.

Now, apply that idea to global warming.

A group of Bay Area environmentalists wants to slap warning stickers on gasoline pumps, telling drivers that the fuel they’re buying is cooking the planet. The stickers would constantly remind consumers of the link between driving and climate change.

“Human beings are not really wired for seeing the cause and effect of climate change,” said Jamie Brooks, with the Bay Area chapter of 350.org. “The cause is burning fossil fuels, but we’re not going to feel the effects until well into the future. There’s no immediate signal to a consumer of gasoline to show their effects on climate.”

This is supposedly being pushed by the Bay Area chapter of the unhinged 350.org, without input or guidance from the international wackadoodles.

The global warming stickers, Brooks said, could be a relatively easy way to prod drivers to use less gasoline, perhaps by buying a car that uses fuel more efficiently or runs on electricity.

“The goal isn’t to take transportation away from people and say, ‘You’re a bad person,’” Brooks said. “The goal is to create a signal saying, ‘You need to change your behavior.’”

Wait, wait, they’re saying fossil fuels are evil and causing the climate to boil (and freeze, rain, snow, ice, drought, you name it) but aren’t recommending that people stop using them? Seems rather hypocritical, wouldn’t you say?

My favorite comment from the story by normkat

Well, duhhhhh.. just slap a warning sticker on a baby’s behind at birth too, why don’tcha?

they exhale CO2, yaknow.. maybe that’s why so many libs support abortion, to prevent climate change.

Warmists want the warning stickers to spread awareness, but they won’t push for ending the use of fossil fuels, because they themselves mostly refuse to dive them up.

Read: San Fransciso Warmists Want Warming Labels On Gas Pumps »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Barking Moonbats, Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL
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