Congress is preparing to take action on a bipartisan proposal to raise taxes on flu vaccines. This is not a tax on the wealthy, but rather on a broad swath of Americans, or at least those who choose to be immunized against the flu. Affordable health care? Affordable for whom?
In February, identical bills were introduced in the House and Senate to add seasonal flu vaccines to the IRS code as taxable. The legislation would exact a 75¢ per dose tax on any "vaccine against seasonal influenza." Given that the Centers for Disease Control projects that 135 million doses of flu vaccine will be used this year, the government's take on flu vaccines alone is over $100,000,000 per year. The Government Beast is never satiated.
Along with taxes on other vaccines, this tax would fund the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund. The fund is a "no-fault alternative to the traditional tort system for resolving vaccine injury claims that provides compensation to people found to be injured by certain vaccines." However, the fund is by no means in the same kind of trouble that other government "trust funds" are.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/25/2013 11:10 ||
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Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obamas health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.
The talks which involve Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Obama administration and other top lawmakers are extraordinarily sensitive, with both sides acutely aware of the potential for political fallout from giving carve-outs from the hugely controversial law to 535 lawmakers and thousands of their aides. Discussions have stretched out for months, sources said.
A source close to the talks says: Everyone has to hold hands on this and jump, or nothing is going to get done.
Yet if Capitol Hill leaders move forward with the plan, they risk being dubbed hypocrites by their political rivals and the American public. By removing themselves from a key Obamacare component, lawmakers and aides would be held to a different standard than the people who put them in office.
Democrats, in particular, would take a public hammering as the traditional boosters of Obamacare. Republicans would undoubtedly attempt to shred them over any attempt to escape coverage by it, unless Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) give Democrats cover by backing it.
There is concern in some quarters that the provision requiring lawmakers and staffers to join the exchanges, if it isnt revised, could lead to a brain drain on Capitol Hill, as several sources close to the talks put it.
The problem stems from whether members and aides set to enter the exchanges would have their health insurance premiums subsidized by their employer in this case, the federal government. If not, aides and lawmakers in both parties fear that staffers especially low-paid junior aides could be hit with thousands of dollars in new health care costs, prompting them to seek jobs elsewhere. Older, more senior staffers could also retire or jump to the private sector rather than face a big financial penalty.
Plus, lawmakers especially those with long careers in public service and smaller bank accounts are also concerned about the hit to their own wallets.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is worried about the provision. The No. 2 House Democrat has personally raised the issue with Boehner and other party leaders, sources said.
Mr. Hoyer is looking at this policy, like all other policies in the Affordable Care Act, to ensure theyre being implemented in a way thats workable for everyone, including members and staff, said Katie Grant, Hoyers communications director.
Several proposals have been submitted to the Office of Personnel Management, which will administer the benefits. One proposal exempts lawmakers and aides; the other exempts aides alone.
When asked about the high-level bipartisan talks, Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesman, said: The speakers objective is to spare the entire country from the ravages of the presidents health care law. He is approached daily by American citizens, including members of Congress and staff, who want to be freed from its mandates. If the speaker has the opportunity to save anyone from Obamacare, he will.
#4
Quelle surprise! From the same people who've exempted themselves from insider trading regulations.
In the next version of the Constitution under the subsection on the Legislative branch will be the prohibition to exempt themselves from laws and regulations they impose on the people.
#6
As a US Citizen, a person is both qualified for public office and to be taxed. To exempt oneself gives the appearance of a foreign entity holding office and creating laws which they can pick and choose which ones to be subject to.
#7
"gives the appearance of a foreign entity holding office"
Appearance, my ass!
Posted by: Barbara ||
04/25/2013 16:31 Comments ||
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#8
Zero chance of this. It's Democrat suicide, I suspect the Rethuglicans are trying to figure a way to get it to a vote and then leave the asses hanging, but the asses aren't that stupid.
#9
It seems the lawmakers realize that O-Care isn't worth a plug nickle. They are a little slow coming to that realization. They must have finally gotten around to reading it after passing it.
#10
Read it? I doubt it! Heard about it, maybe. Had their aides describe how the public hates it, perhaps. Got a few phone calls from small business owners and doctors? Possibly.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/25/2013 18:15 Comments ||
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In response to reports that congressional leaders from both parties are seeking exemptions from Obamacare, Speaker John Boehner's spokesman released the following statement.
"The fact that Democratic leaders want to opt themselves out of the ObamaCare exchanges shows that Sen. Baucus isn't the only one who realizes the President's healthcare law is a 'train wreck.' The Speaker would like to see resolution of this problem, along with the other nightmares created by Washington Democrats' health law, which is why he supports full repeal. In the meantime, it is Democrats' problem to solve. He will not sneak any language into bills to solve it for them - and the Democratic leadership knows that," says spokesman Michael Steel.
#12
There is concern in some quarters that the provision requiring lawmakers and staffers to join the exchanges, if it isn't revised, could lead to a "brain drain" on Capitol Hill
So, like, the average IQ on Capitol Hill would drop from "fern" to "single-cell organism"?
Posted by: Matt ||
04/25/2013 22:24 Comments ||
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[NEWS.YAHOO] Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a rising star in Democratic politics, said Wednesday that he is considering making a run for the White House in 2016 and will likely make a decision later this year. O'Malley has been described as a "one-man economic wrecking crew."
O'Malley, in Jerusalem on a Mideast tour, said he was still undecided but intends to dedicate "reflection time" on whether to seek the Democratic nomination. He's been planning on it since his first term, and likely since he was about eight.
"I plan for the latter half of this year to dedicate some more thought time -- reflection time -- to the question of whether or not I would run in 2016," O'Malley, a former mayor of Baltimore, told reporters. O'Malley succeeded Kurt Schmoke, who had run on a promise to continue the work of William Donald Schaeffer, who had revitalized Baltimore almost single-handedly. He was, coincidentally, the last Dem I've ever voted for (Schaeffer, not Schmoke). Schmoke had two terms marked by ineptitude and cronyism, running for his second term almost exclusively on race. He shouldn't have been a tough act to follow, but O'Malley turned out to be just a white Dem machine pol following a black one and preceding another black Dem machine pol.
"The key question in running for any office is having a clear and refined understanding of the shared reality we face," he said. My wife tells me--I don't follow state politix very closely for obvious reasons--that they're implementing a new tax, on lot sizes, so we can pay a square footage assessment for the eentsy bit of the state covered by Stately Rantburg Manor. She said the next step is, and I'm not kidding, a tax on air, presumably dressed up in Green.
"I arrived at that freedom and that clarity when I ran for mayor and when I ran for governor, and the interior challenge is whether or not I can arrive at that clarity, and that freedom and that sense of responsibility and urgency with regard to making a run in 2016." The country needs him like it needs Ostrogoths.
O'Malley, 50, is frequently touted as a potential presidential candidate, along with former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He is favored by Democrats who want the party to look to younger candidates, noting that Clinton will turn 69 shortly before Election Day 2016, and Biden will turn 74 soon after.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Well, Maryland is already taxing rain; taxing air should be a no-brainer after that.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/25/2013 0:13 Comments ||
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#2
Sounds like a faithful representative of Democratic Party values.
#3
#1 Well, Maryland is already taxing rain; taxing air should be a no-brainer after that.
"air" is just the space between raindrops trying to evade the rain tax
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/25/2013 11:00 Comments ||
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#4
White, from a will-never-go-Red-barring-complete-landslide state, taxaholic, bureaucratic-minded, a malaprop, and apparently not all that smart.
Yeah, Martin, go for it. But dial it back a little. We don't want you pulling up short at the hurdle and letting a more-palatable candidate take the nomination from you!
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/25/2013 14:54 Comments ||
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Joseph will not be running in 2016 except under exceptional circumstances beyond his control.
[POLITICO] Anthony Weiner admitted in an interview Wednesday that there might be other embarrassing photos of him out there that have yet to surface.
In the one-on-one with RNN-TV, Weiner didn't deny that there was a possibility there could be other photos like the one that led the former congressman -- who is now attempting a comeback -- to be disgraced, and ultimately forced to resign in 2011.
"If news hounds want to go try to find more, I can't say that they're not going to be able to find another picture, or find another ... person who may want to come out on their own, but I'm not going to contribute to that. The basics of the story are not gonna change," Weiner told RNN-TV's Dominic Carter.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
This boggles my mind. You'd think a guy who was no doubt teased relentlessly in school about his name, would have been especially mindful to ensure that his lasting public legacy would be something, anything, other than his wiener.
Even worse, dick pics gross out the ladies anyway. No matter how fantastic it is (regrettably, I've seen the pic and cannot now un-see it, and IMO, his is nothing special) or how much we love the guy, dick pics are never a wise move. Not even when the gentleman has gone to the trouble and expense of getting a "man-zilian," which is actually even worse. I presume the ladies of Rantburg agree?
It's a meaningless subject unworthy of commentary - I am just really tired of hearing about this loser's well-landscaped junk!
#4
this POS has no other job skills than "politician" and "dirtbag", one of which is ancillary to the other. Get a marketable skill you asshat and a real job
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/25/2013 10:47 Comments ||
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#5
"Can't say" =
"Don't know if the recipients deleted the photos."
"Don't know if the girls are going to undelete them and sell them to TMZ."
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
04/25/2013 11:16 Comments ||
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#6
Everything to do with that man is ick. He's the kind one doesn't shake hands with when introduced.
#7
LOL, tw! As Rantburg's Miss Manners, perhaps you could advise if this alternative would be proper etiquette:
(1) I'd shake his hand.
(2) Then immediately, conspicuously, reach into my purse for a bottle of hand sanitizer.
(3) Bathe my hands liberally.
(4) Offer him a squirt. To be polite.
#9
I wouldn't want to touch his hand - no telling where it's been. >:-(
(On second thought, I think I know exactly where it's been. Yecch.)
Posted by: Barbara ||
04/25/2013 18:36 Comments ||
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#10
LOL, tw! As Rantburg's Miss Manners, perhaps you could advise if this alternative would be proper etiquette:
(1) I'd shake his hand.
(2) Then immediately, conspicuously, reach into my purse for a bottle of hand sanitizer.
(3) Bathe my hands liberally.
(4) Offer him a squirt. To be polite.
All except a single adverb, silly RandomJD. You must be seen to be trying to be inconspicuous, then sheepishly offer to share when your behaviour is noticed. It's like being kind to one's ex's new wife -- niceness is nastier than nastiness in such a situation. I had planned on having my hands full managing teacup and cookie, or wine glass and hors d'oeuvre, depending on the occasion, and therefore unable to extend anything in that man's direction beyond my chin in a nod of recognition.
[WASHINGTONTIMES] President B.O. has canceled plans to deliver a keynote address at Planned Parenthood's ...has received federal funding since 1970, when President Richard Nixon signed into law the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act. It is sometimes described as the gynecololgical wing of the Democratic party. annual fundraising dinner Thursday night after critics decried his high-profile role at the abortion rights group amid new concerns about the brutality of illegal forms of abortion.
White House front man Jay Carney announced the decision to cancel the keynote speech at the gala during his daily press briefing with news hounds Wednesday. He attributed the schedule change to Mr. Obama's desire to spend more time at a memorial service in Waco, Texas, for family members of the victims of the fertilizer plant kaboom.
Mr. Carney said the president will still address Planned Parenthood and its supporters Friday morning. Still, the shift to a lower-profile address at a more low-key morning event, rather than an evening gala fundraiser, is significant.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#2
He already has the support of the folks at the gala dinner, so it's no big deal for him to miss it.
He (or his handlers) wants the venue at Waco for reasons other than simply spending time with grieving families. Interested to see what the meme will be.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
04/25/2013 9:16 Comments ||
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I'm really not at all sure that the Big O's presence will be that much of a consolation for the families in West. Aside from all being carbon-based life forms currently living in the US of A, he seems to have absolutely zilch in common with the residents of West. Link to brief obits here. Lots of NASCAR and rodeo fans, hunters, small business people, members of fraternal organizations and churchgoers, volunteers in community organizations.
[WEEKLYSTANDARD] Secretary of State John Kerry announced today in Brussels, Belgium that the Boston bomber was radicalized in Russia, Chechnya. "[H]e learned something where he went and he came back with a willingness to kill people," Kerry said in response to a question from the press.
The question from the reporter, according to a transcript provided by the State Department, was, "Sir, with the problem we have that young people go to Syria (inaudible), does that matter also to the U.S., do you have the same problem?"
"I think the world has had enough of people who have no belief system, no policy for jobs, no policy for education, no policy for rule of law, but who just want to kill people because they don't like what they see."
"Well, of course we have the same problem. We just had a young person who went to Russia, Chechnya, who blew people up in Boston. So he didn't stay where he went, but he learned something where he went and he came back with a willingness to kill people," said Kerry.
"I think the world has had enough of people who have no belief system, no policy for jobs, no policy for education, no policy for rule of law, but who just want to kill people because they don't like what they see. There's not room for that. That's what we've been fighting against after all of the wars of the 20th century. Now we're in the 21st century, and it's time for a different organizational principle. And we need to, all of us, do a better job of communicating to people what the options of life are. And we're open. Democracies are open to people participating in the democracy, not killing people. And so I hope that we can all figure out how we translate these better opportunities more effectively in our politics."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The Tsarnaev Brothers' mother may get arrested for a past crime of theft iff she tries to return to the US to see surviving son Dzhokhar.
* FYI DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > WIFE OF [deceased]BOSTON BOMBER [Tamerlan] WAS ARRESTED FOR SHOPLIFTING FROM CLOTHES STORE - YEARS BEFORE HIS MOTHER WAS HIT WID SIMILAR CHARGES.
There are also allegations of personal drug use by the young Widow Tamerlan.
Apparently the Widow Tamerlan is not quite the "All-American Girl" she's described as being???
* FYI also from DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > OFFICIAL: SUSPECT [Dzhokhar] SAYS IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN DROVE BOSTON BOMBINGS.
[WashingtonExaminer] Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano does not have the authority to refuse to enforce laws that require undocumented Democrats to face deportation, according to the federal judge hearing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement union's lawsuit against DHS.
"The court finds that DHS does not have discretion to refuse to initiate removal proceedings [when the law requires it]," U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor said today, per Business Week. O'Connor asked DHS and the ICE union to offer additional arguments before he makes a final ruling on the legality of President B.O.'s "deferred action on childhood arrivals" (DACA) program, which invoked prosecutorial discretion as a means of allowing people to stay in the country if they would have qualified for amnesty under the DREAM Act, which never passed through Congress.
#1
Nonsense. The Obama administration is above Congress and the courts. They can choose to enforce or neglect any laws, solely at their own discretion. And if Congress will not comply with Obama's command and pass the laws he wants, he will simply issue executive orders.
/sarcasm, if you haven't figured that out.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/25/2013 0:16 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[POLITICO] Anthony Weiner admitted in an interview Wednesday that there might be other embarrassing photos of him out there that have yet to surface.
[WASHINGTONTIMES] 
[WEEKLYSTANDARD] Secretary of State John Kerry announced today in Brussels, Belgium that the Boston bomber was radicalized in Russia, Chechnya. "[H]e learned something where he went and he came back with a willingness to kill people," Kerry said in response to a question from the press.
