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The Obama administration quietly finalized the Health Insurance Tax (HIT) over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a provision in Obamacare that will cost nearly $60 billion over the next five years and raise health care premiums by 3 percent.The final rule, published on Nov. 27, imposes a fee beginning in 2014 for health insurers with premium revenues over $25 million per year. The annual tax is levied for “United States health risks,” and is hidden from consumers since it is directly assessed on health insurance companies.David R. Burton, a senior fellow in economic policy at the Heritage Foundation, said the tax...

Just over two weeks ago, MSNBC host Martin Bashir delivered a harsh piece of commentary that culminated in the suggestion that someone should “s-h-i-t” in former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin‘s (R-AK) mouth. Bashir offered an abject apology on his next broadcast, but a chorus of critics continued to demand action against the host. After a reported “vacation” for the host earlier this week, Bashir announced, Wednesday afternoon, that MSNBC and Martin Bashir are parting ways.

Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, is taking on a new and formidable immigration policy director, a sign that he could be more serious about passing immigration legislation than his critics suggest. Rebecca Tallent, who currently serves as director of immigration policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, will join Boehner’s staff on Wednesday. Before joining the BPC, Tallent held several senior staff positions with Sen. John McCain, including chief of staff. During her time with McCain, she helped the Arizona Republican draft a handful of immigration overhaul measures, including the last big push McCain made with the late Sen. Edward M....

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has hired Rebecca Tallent to work on immigration reform. She is currently the immigration policy director at the Bipartisan Policy Center. "The Speaker remains hopeful that we can enact step-by-step, common-sense immigration reforms -- the kind of reforms the American people understand and support," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner. "Becky Tallent, a well-known expert in this field of public policy, is a great addition to our team and that effort." According to her BPC bio, Tallent has worked as a policy aide on immigration and energy issues to Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and...

PRESIDENTIAL POWERS AND THE CONSTITUTION HEARINGS.

<p>The Supreme Court has turned away a Christian university's attempt to overturn a key part of the Obama administration's health care law.</p> <p>The justices did not comment Monday in leaving in place a federal appeals court ruling dismissing Liberty University's lawsuit.</p>

The Obama administration promised the healthcare.gov website would be fixed by today. The Obamacare reboot began with 11-hour website shutdown. That’s not all… Unfortunately there are still bugs and glitches. CNN reported this morning the website crashes during the signup process. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59VTIDjKDZ4

Four people were killed and 63 injured when a Metro-North commuter train derailed Sunday morning in the Bronx, officials said. All of the train’s seven cars came off the curved track about 100 feet north of the Spuyten Duyvil station around 7:20 a.m., MTA officials said. One car came to rest feet from the water.

The Talk Shows December 1st, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Michael Hayden, a former chief of the CIA and National Security Agency.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn.; Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis.THIS WEEK (ABC): Reps. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and Tom Cole, R-Okla.; Tom Donilon, former national security adviser to President Barack Obama.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Rogers; Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.;...

The key to renewed US-Iran relations: an ancient chalice, according to the LA Times. An ancient Persian chalice, hewn from silver and featuring a mythical winged creature, had been seized by US Customs officials in 2003. After sitting for over a decade in a Queens, NY warehouse, diplomats decided to use the anitquity as a bargaining chip for talks - as a gesture of friendship to Iran from the US.

After an internal debate, the Obama administration has decided to tell American commercial airlines to comply with China's demands to be notified of any flights through a broad swath of international airspace that it has claimed as an air defense zone, officials said Friday. Even as the United States continued to send military planes into the zone in defiance of China's declaration, officials said they expected civilian planes to go along with Beijing's new demands out of an abundance of caution. Officials said they were worried about an accident or unintended confrontation that could endanger civilian passengers. The administration’s decision...

Two explosions were heard near the US Air Force base located near the Japanese capital of Tokyo. Japanese police and US officials reported that remnants of two IED's (Improvised Explosive Device) had been found in the area. No caualties...

And we do have much to be thankful for. Thank God for all our blessings. Thank God we live in America and we have each other. Thank God that the good people of America are finally waking up to the horrors of Obama's Marxist policies. Thank God we have an election coming up and we have a good chance of retaking the senate. Thank God that the corrupt evil doers will soon be defeated and we can begin righting the wrongs. And thank God this FReepathon is nearly completed. And thank you all very much for your continuing support and...

The zone includes a groups of islands known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku by Japan Continue reading the main story Related Stories Tensions rise across region Watch Viewpoints: China air zone tensions Why China air zone raises risk China has sent warplanes to its newly declared air defence zone in the East China Sea, state media reports. The vast zone, announced last week, covers territory claimed by China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. China has said all planes transiting the zone must file flight plans and identify themselves, or face "defensive emergency measures". But Japan, South Korea and the...

What would you do next if you had successfully brokered a “Neville Chamberlin” style deal with a rogue state that wants to annihilate America and her Middle East allies? Well. . . You’d downgrade diplomatic ties with the Vatican, of course. At least, that’s what you would do if you were working in the Obama White House. The White House has recently announced that they will shut down the US Embassy to the Holy See, and relocate it to a “safer” location on the grounds of the American Embassy in Italy. Officially, the US is explaining the relocation effort as...

<p>WASHINGTON—A pair of American B-52 bombers flew over a disputed island chain in the East China Sea without informing Beijing, U.S. officials said Tuesday, in a direct challenge to China and its establishment of an expanded air-defense zone.</p> <p>The planes flew out of Guam and entered the new Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone at about 7 p.m. Washington time Monday, according to a U.S. official.</p>

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted an Obamacare law appeal over contraception coverage.

Iran has reached an agreement with world powers over its nuclear activities. In a televised address, the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, welcomed the deal, saying the country had the right to continue its uranium enrichment programme.

The Talk Shows November 24th, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Ben Cardin, D-Md.; former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Pre-empted by coverage of Formula One auto racing.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.; former Secret Service agent Clint Hill.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sens. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Facebook President and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., and Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.; Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

Secretary of State John Kerry confirms there is a deal on Iran's nuclear program in Geneva.

The move comes after the administration announced a more significant delay to the start of next year's ObamaCare enrollment period. That decision was pitched as a way to give consumers and insurance companies more time to study their options, but also conveniently pushes the second round of enrollment past the 2014 midterm elections.

On Thursday, Fox News’ Ed Henry tweeted that MSNBC hosts Ed Schultz and Lawrence O’Donnell, as well as Ezra Klein of the Washington Post and Fox News’ Juan Williams, had been invited for a private off-the-record chat with President Obama. Obama’s signature program, Obamacare, has been flailing in the press for weeks, and Obama apparently believes that it is about time to reshift the narrative:

Repeal: Democrats might think the Frankenstein's monster they've created with ObamaCare can be tamed before the next election by applying a few bandages and stitches. If so, they are badly misinformed. On CNN last week, DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz told Candy Crowley that "Democratic candidates will be able to run on ObamaCare as an advantage leading into the 2014 election." It reminds us of what David Axelrod claimed back in March 2010, when he told Crowley that Democrats would be rewarded in November for enacting ObamaCare. Axelrod was profoundly wrong. Voters severely punished Democrats for ObamaCare, handing control of...

Planned Parenthood Action Fund has created a series of videos featuring tearful mothers who underwent late-term abortions to prevent the birth of their children who had medical problems. These are mothers who say they wanted a baby, but decided on abortion once the problems were diagnosed. The videos were produced in an attempt to derail late-term abortion bans—those after 20 weeks gestation. In the first instance, the mom was told that the baby’s brain was malformed and, in her devastation, she decided to end her child’s life. The political ad then finds the mom saying that this has nothing to...

The Senate is on the verge of striking down the long-standing filibuster rules for most presidential nominations, potentially doing so on a party-line vote that would alter nearly 225 years of precedent. Democrats, infuriated by what they see as a pattern of obstruction and delay over President Obama’s nominees, expect to trigger the showdown by bringing up one of the recent judicial nominees whom Republicans blocked by a filibuster. According to senior Democratic aides, Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) will set in motion a complicated parliamentary process that ends with a simple-majority vote setting a new rule that will...

Oh my gosh — This is really bad— James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas released video tonight showing an Obamacare navigator conspiring to release private data for political purposes. Busted! Do you know where your personal data is going? After meeting with several Obamacare Navigators who openly encouraged our undercover reporters to lie about income status, health history and more, it became clear that personal data was also being “cross-pollinated.” Enter Enroll America, a Sebelius-linked group dedicated to signing people up for Obamacare and Chris Tarango, Texas Enroll America Communications Director who Project Veritas caught on tape agreeing to help obtain a...

A new and independent analysis of ObamaCare warns of a ticking time bomb, predicting a second wave of 50 million to 100 million insurance policy cancellations next fall -- right before the mid-term elections. The next round of cancellations and premium hikes is expected to hit employees, particularly of small businesses. While the administration has tried to downplay the cancellation notices hitting policyholders on the individual market by noting they represent a relatively small fraction of the population, the swath of people who will be affected by the shake-up in employer-sponsored coverage will be much broader. An analysis by the...

DEVELOPING: The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to block controversial Texas abortion restrictions that have been called some of the strictest in the country. The court by a 5-4 vote denied a request by Planned Parenthood to block a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which allows key parts of the Texas abortion law to stay in effect while the case plays out.

The White House is "as sorry as we can be" that a Washington state woman held up as an example of the success of the Affordable Care Act marketplaces appears to be falling through the cracks, press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday. In mid-October, President Obama cited single mother Jessica Sanford as an exchange success story after she wrote to him after being able to sign up for insurance in early October. She's since learned that her state's system miscalculated her tax credit and that her out-of-pocket costs will be substantially higher than expected.

Looks like some cracks have finally opened up in Obama's teflon armor. Even the liberals are beginning to criticize his failures. Chances are increasing that ObamaCare will actually collapse. If so, liberalism will suffer a huge setback. And this is proving the conservative tea party is right and the GOP-e was on the wrong side when it refused to help Cruz and Lee defund ObamaCare. And this should be obvious to all in the rank and file soon. Go, Cruz! Your political stock will be soaring soon!! Go, FReepers!! Full speed ahead!! Keep the pressure on!! We’re going to need...

The rollout of Obamacare has been "absolutely chaotic," said Tommy Thompson, who served as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary under George W. Bush. But worse, he added, the new law is flawed and needs dramatic changes. "It's actuarially unsound," the former Republican governor of Wisconsin said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday. "If you don't have the healthy young people involved, ... Obamacare cannot function. It's going to require a huge infusion of tax dollars or huge cuts." One of the cornerstones of the new health-care law is that healthy young people will pay for medical insurance that they...

MIILLBORO, Va. (WRIC)—Former gubernatorial candidate and Democratic State Senator Creigh Deeds is in critical condition after being stabbed in his home Tuesday morning. At 7:25 a.m. on Nov. 19, Virginia State Police responded to Deeds' home in Bath County, where Deeds had been stabbed. The senator's son, Gus, was found fatally shot at the scene. Deeds was flown to the University of Virginia Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition. The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Salem Field Office is conducting an investigation into the assault. 8News crews are headed to both Deeds' Millboro home and the...

BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts' top insurance official said Monday that the state won't allow consumers to keep health insurance policies that fall below the minimum requirements of the federal health care law. State Insurance Commissioner Joseph Murphy said in a letter sent Monday to the Obama administration that substandard insurance policies are "virtually non-existent" in Massachusetts because of its first-in-the-nation health care law that took effect in 2007.

Blasts target Iranian embassy in Beirut, killing 23 By Laila Bassam and Erika Solomon BEIRUT Tue Nov 19, 2013 6:29am EST (Reuters) - Two explosions, at least one caused by a suicide bomber, rocked Iran's embassy in Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least 23 people, including an Iranian cultural attaché, and hurling bodies, cars and debris across the street. A Lebanese-based al Qaeda-linked group known as the Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for what it described as a double suicide attack on the Iranian mission in southern Beirut. Lebanon has suffered a series of bomb attacks and clashes linked to...

In the home stretch of the 2012 presidential campaign, from August to September, the unemployment rate fell sharply — raising eyebrows from Wall Street to Washington. The decline — from 8.1 percent in August to 7.8 percent in September — might not have been all it seemed. The numbers, according to a reliable source, were manipulated. And the Census Bureau, which does the unemployment survey, knew it.

George Zimmerman has been arrested and was en route to the Seminole County Jail, according to Sheriff Don Eslinger. It's not clear what happened or what crime he's accused of committing, but just before 1:30 p.m., Eslinger confirmed that Zimmerman had been arrested today and was being driven to the county jail in Sanford. He said more information would be available shortly. WESH-Channel 2 reported that Zimmerman was accused of domestic violence by a girlfriend. The Sheriff's Office, in a short news release, reported that the agency had arrested Zimmerman after being called to a disturbance on Topfield Court in...

Pelosi: Democrats 'stand tall in support' of Obamacare By REID J. EPSTEIN | 11/17/13 10:52 AM EST House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says House Democrats running in 2014 will embrace the Affordable Care Act in their re-election campaigns. Appearing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the California Democrat declined to say whether the issue would help Democrats win a House majority but said there'll be no abandoning health care as a campaign issue. “I don’t think you can tell what will happen next year, but I will tell you this, Democrats stand tall in support of the Affordable Care Act,”...

The Talk Shows November 17th, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Liz Cheney, Republican candidate for Senate in Wyoming; Ben Nelson, CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America's Insurance Plans; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Patrick Kennedy.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Luci Baines Johnson; journalists Hugh Aynesworth and Mike Cochran; Dr. Ronald Jones, among those who attended to President John F. Kennedy after the president was shot in Dallas.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Kirsten...

WASHINGTON — In the view of America’s spy services, the next potential national security threat from Russia may not come from a nefarious cyberweapon or intelligence gleaned from the files of Edward J. Snowden, the former security contractor now in Moscow.

Israel is working on coordinating plans for a possible military strike with Saudi Arabia, with Riyadh prepared to provide tactical support to Jerusalem, a British newspaper reported early Sunday. The two countries have both united in worry that the West may come to terms with Iran ...

The House easily passed Republican legislation on Friday allowing insurers to keep offering old insurance plans for another year in response to President Barack Obama’s broken “if you like it, you can keep it” promise.

(CNSNews.com) - The latest Monthly Treasury Statement, which was released on Wednesday afternoon, relies on the estimate made by the White House Office of Management and Budget to say that federal tax revenues will top $3 trillion for the first time in the nation’s history in fiscal 2014. In fact, the record $3,023,004,000,000 in tax revenues that the White House is predicting the federal government will rake in during fiscal 2014 not only exceeds the inflation-adjusted revenue taken in by the government in any previous year, it also equals $29,673 in tax revenue for every full-time worker in the country....

Just hours after President Obama announced changes to his health care law to give insurance companies the option to keep offering consumers plans that would otherwise be canceled, Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler says those changes will not be allowed in our state.

A live thread for the Clown's lies. See, his poll numbers are in the toilet, so Valerie sends him out.

The Health and Human Services Department said 106,185 people have successfully applied for and chosen private insurance through the health care law's new marketplaces. That total is only about 20 percent of the administration's initial enrollment target for October, the first month in which consumers were able to sign up for coverage.Officials have long acknowledged they would fall short of that target because of the problems surrounding HealthCare.gov, the problem-plagued website that handles enrollment for 36 states.HealthCare.gov has performed even worse than expected. Fewer than 27,000 people selected a plan through the website, compared with roughly 79,000 who picked a...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday will convene a special meeting of the Senate Democratic caucus and senior White Officials to discuss the troubled rollout of ObamaCare. Reid on Wednesday told reporters he would not answer questions about the hundreds of thousands of insurance policy cancellations or other issues until he has further discussions with the White House. The Senate leader said President Obama called him Tuesday evening to discuss healthcare and other issues. Several Democrats have signed onto a proposal sponsored by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) that would force insurance companies to let people keep their health...

Authorities in Pittsburgh, Pa., responded to reports of gunfire near an area high school just after dismissal Wednesday afternoon. Police officers rushed to Brashear High School, where three male students were reportedly injured, according to KDKA. Authorities were searching for the suspected shooter or shooters in the woods behind the school, WPXI reports.