Friday, November 9, 2012
Companies Plan Massive Layoffs Now Knowing Obamacare Will Be Fully Implemented
Freedom Works has put together a list of companies that will be laying off employees as a result of President Barack Obama's health care law:
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Welch Allyn
Welch Allyn, a company that manufactures medical diagnostic equipment in central New York, announced in September that they would be laying off 275 employees, or roughly 10% of their workforce over the next three years. One of the major reasons discussed for the layoffs was a proactive response to the Medical Device Tax mandated by the new healthcare law.
Dana Holding Corp.
As recently as a week ago, a global auto parts manufacturing company in Ohio known as Dana Holding Corp., warned their employees of potential layoffs, citing "$24 million over the next six years in additional U.S. health care expenses". After laying off several white collar staffers, company insiders have hinted at more to come. The company will have to cover the additional $24 million cost somehow, which will likely equate to numerous cuts in their current workforce of 25,500 worldwide.
Stryker
One of the biggest medical device manufacturers in the world, Stryker will close their facility in Orchard Park, New York, eliminating 96 jobs in December. Worse, they plan on countering the medical device tax in Obamacare by slashing 5% of their global workforce - an estimated 1,170 positions.
Boston Scientific
In October of 2009, Boston Scientific CEO Ray Elliott, warned that proposed taxes in the health care reform bill could "lead to significant job losses" for his company. Nearly two years later, Elliott announced that the company would be cutting anywhere between 1,200 and 1,400 jobs, while simultaneously shifting investments and workers overseas - to China.
Medtronic
In March of 2010, medical device maker Medtronic warned that Obamacare taxes could result in a reduction of precisely 1,000 jobs. That plan became reality when the company cut 500 positions over the summer, with another 500 set for the end of 2013.
Others
A short list of other companies facing future layoffs at the hands of Obamacare:
Smith & Nephew - 770 layoffs
Abbott Labs - 700 layoffs
Covidien - 595 layoffs
Kinetic Concepts - 427 layoffs
St. Jude Medical - 300 layoffs
Hill Rom - 200 layoffs
Beyond the complete elimination of a significant number of American jobs is another looming problem created by the health care law - a shift from full-time to part-time workers.
CIA Director Petraeus Resigns Over 'Affair'
Breitbart.com reports:
Just two days after President Obama’s re-election, General David Petraeus, the CIA Director, has resigned from the administration over an extramarital affair. Petraeus was slated to testify before Congress next week on the murder of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, in Benghazi, Libya. Bret Baier of Fox News just tweeted, "With Petraeus’ resignation effective immediately, he will not testify next week & lawmakers are said to be 'stunned' by the announcement."For more analysis on Obama's "cleaning house" immediately after the election, visit http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2012/11/09/CIA-Director-Petraeus-Resigns Tweet
Hillary Clinton To Step Down As Secretary Of State
Hillary Clinton still intends to step down as secretary of state. That will take place likely "days" after President Barack Obama's second inauguration in January. "The Secretary has been honored to serve as President Obama's Secretary of State, and has loved every minute of leading this Department and being part of the State family," a Clintons spokesman says in an email. "But yes, you can confirm yet again that she's been clear about her intention to leave after the first term." When asked for clarification on what date Clinton would stepdown, the spokesman, Philippe Reines, says, "She has said that she wants to ensure continuity, and realizes the confirmation of her successor might take a period of days beyond that." Reines, a long time Clinton loyalist, did not immediately respond to a question concerning what role he might play in (a possible) Clinton 2016 presidential campaign.Tweet
Worrying About The Future After Obama's Victory
With a couple days to think about the election outcome, I have become more pessimistic. Based on the record I voted against, I think our debt crisis will worsen, our enemies will grow stronger, our allies will feel more abandoned, Iran could go nuclear (or Israel might attempt an attack ignoring a U.S. red light), the economy may remain in shambles or else recover far more slowly than needed, and the Supreme Court might irrevocably change to the point that the Constitution might as well be pulled out of the National Archives to be burned and buried (pray for the health of Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy!). Then again, perhaps Obama will become a completely new President compared to what he was his first term when he had to worry about re-election. We will see those indicators four years from now, and I certainly hope for the good of this country and the world they prove me more wrong than right.
I think there will be plenty of opportunities to say "I told you so" over the next four years. Democrats will dispute them or ignore them. But I'm not looking forward to them. Again, I still only pray there are less than anticipated, and that they are limited to those that are less serious. And since I am praying, I might as well pray for the miracle of my being pleasantly surprised on some of those biggest issues.
Chris Matthews said on MSNBC, “I'm so glad we had that storm last week." It's truly sad if the first week of a Hurricane was the October surprise that shifted an election. If that's true, it means we do not have a reality electorate. Instead, we have a reality show electorate.
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Thursday, November 8, 2012
Harry Reid Says He Plans On Changing Filibuster Rules To Make Republican Senate Minority Irrelevant
A sign of what's to come in the Senate:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday that he will try to push through a change to Senate rules that would limit the GOP’s ability to filibuster bills. Speaking in the wake of Tuesday’s election, which boosted Senate Democrats’ numbers slightly, Mr. Reid said he won’t end filibusters altogether but that the rules need to change so that the minority party cannot use the legislative blocking tool as often. “I think that the rules have been abused and that we’re going to work to change them,” he told reporters. “Were not going to do away with the filibuster but we’re going to make the Senate a more meaningful place.” Republicans, who have 47 of the chamber’s 100 seats in this current Congress, have repeatedly used that strong minority to block parts of President Obama’s agenda on everything from added stimulus spending to his judicial picks.Tweet
A filibuster takes 60 senators to overcome it. Leaders of both parties have been reluctant to change the rules because they value it as a tool when they are in the minority. But Mr. Reid said things changed over the last few years when he repeatedly faced off against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, who had said his chief political goal was defeating Mr. Obama. Mr. Reid said that led the GOP to abuse the filibuster.
Man Behind Anti-Muslim Youtube Video Sentenced To Year In Prison
Sentenced for charges "unrelated to the film":
The sentence was the result of a plea bargain between lawyers for Mark Bassely Youssef and federal prosecutors. Youssef admitted in open court that he had used several false names in violation of his probation order and obtained a driver's license under a false name. He was on probation for a bank fraud case.Tweet
Shortly after Youssef left the courtroom, his lawyer, Steven Seiden, came to the front steps of the courthouse and told reporters his client wanted to send a message.
"The one thing he wanted me to tell all of you is President Obama may have gotten Osama bin Laden, but he didn't kill the ideology," Seiden said.
All parties agreed that none of the violations had to do with the content of "Innocence of Muslims," a film that depicts Mohammad as a religious fraud, pedophile and womanizer.
Pentagon: Iran Fired At U.S. Drone For First Time Two Days Before The Election
Spokesman George Little said the incident, which marks the first time the Iranians have fired on a U.S. drone, occurred Nov. 1 at 4:50 a.m. ET. He said the unarmed, unmanned drone was conducting “routine surveillance” over the Persian Gulf when it was “intercepted” by Iran. He said the MQ1 Predator drone, which was not hit, was not in Iranian airspace. According to Little, two Iranian jets fired twice, missing on both attempts — the drone headed away from the Iranian coast, landing safely soon after at an undisclosed location. The Iranian jets pursued the drone for a short period before giving up… Little stressed that the drone was flying 16 nautical miles off the coast of Kuwait in international waters, and never entered the 12-mile limit that would constitute Iranian territory.
I am sure it's just happenstance and pure coincidence that the Pentagon waited until after the election to release this information.
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Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Hamas And Muslim Brotherhood Call For Obama To Now "Implement Those Promises" And Shift American Foreign Policy In Favor Of Islamists And Against Israel
Islamists in the Middle East are speaking out following President Barack Obama’s re-election Tuesday night. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood feels that the only foreign policy change Obama can bring is by “accepting the will of the Arab people.” “We must rely on ourselves and on our resources and build our country,” Issam Al-Aryan, a top Muslim Brotherhood official, said, according to The Times of Israel. “In the absence of direct American influence, Egypt can affect and lead the process of building a democratic and constitutional regime that will become a dream for African and the southern hemisphere.” Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood wants to make Shariah Law the main source of the country’s new constitution. Terror group Hamas is calling for Obama not to be “biased” toward Israeli interests during his second term. “We heard moderate speech from Obama following his first term victory, but his policy was inconsistent with the speeches he gave in Egypt and Turkey,” Taher Nunu, a Hamas government spokesman, said, according to The Times of Israel. “He now has an opportunity to implement those promises to the nations of the region, far from pressures by the Israel lobby and politicized money.” Iran wants Obama to force Israel to get rid of its nuclear weapons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Iran of a possible military strike if the Tehran regime continues its efforts in building a nuclear weapon.Tweet
Putin Celebrates: Kremlin Cheers Obama Victory
ABC News declares that the Kremlin cheers Obama's vicotory:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a congratulatory note to President Obama after his re-election Tuesday, his spokesman said. The Kremlin says it will make the text public after the Americans have received it.
Putin is also expected to call Obama personally "in the near future."
"In general, the Kremlin took the news about Barack Obama's victory in the elections very positively," spokesman Dmitri Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency.
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Obama Defeats Romney: Quick Thoughts On The Election Outcome And The Future Of The Republican Party
Granted, with the economy still in the toilet Republicans thought they
could take back the White House. Given that Republicans did not win a single ethnic minority, perhaps there needs to be some
thinking on how to make inroads in the Hispanic vote. Working to pass
some sort of immigration law
at some point over the next few years may very well take place. I
would also not be shocked if Marco Rubio is the candidate in four years
(and I said long ago that he is who I would have picked as the running
mate this time).
But the Republican party cannot become pro-choice or
whatever else pundits have in mind to save it without cutting drastically into its base
(and core beliefs). This was a razor thin election in the popular vote
against an incumbent and many were shocked with the base voter turnout
Obama pulled off, which was similar to 2008. Republicans need to also
work on getting out their base, which Romney did not accomplish as well as he had to, or as well as Obama or even McCain. Romney took substantially more
independents, which goes to show this is not Republican "extremism" or party "purism" at issue. Not
only that, in the last two elections Republicans did indeed run their
more moderate candidates in John McCain and Mitt Romney, and they lost.
I
don't generally care for this whole lumping of people into groups and
trying to appeal to certain groups to win votes anyhow. That's how the Democrats operate, it is not the way a party that values individual liberty should run for office. Obama ran a
largely negative campaign and maybe that worked this time. I'm not sure
why the American people fell for it, but I don't think he has much in
the way of a decent record over the last four years at all making him
worthy. And yes, others may like the idea of various entitlements or
handouts they receive and it may move their votes. The American people
may not be ready for seriously tackling entitlement reform. Hurricane
Sandy may have even played a shifting role in the election. If the
election were in the thick of the Benghazi scandal unraveling rather
than right after Sandy, Mitt Romney might very well be the President.
Then again, I don't think most voters are very informed to begin with,
most are not actually paying attention, and it's hard for me to know
exactly what the average uninformed person has on his mind when he goes
to the polling place and casts that vote.
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Deputy Speaker Of Israel's Knesset Danny Danon: "The State Of Israel Will Not Capitulate To Obama"
The state of Israel will not capitulate before President Obama, whose “naive” leadership has hurt the U.S., stated Danny Danon, deputy speaker of Israel’s Knesset. Danon, a Knesset member from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, was reacting to the reelection of Obama. Danon told KleinOnline: “Obama’s victory demonstrates that the state of Israel must take care of its own interests. We cannot rely on anyone but ourselves. Obama has hurt the United States by his naïve leadership in foreign policy, which prefers the Arab world over the Western world, along with Israel. The state of Israel will not capitulate before Obama.”Tweet
Mark Levin Gives "Unvarnished Truth" On Romney Loss
MARK LEVIN:
We conservatives, we do not accept bipartisanship in the pursuit of tyranny. Period. We will not negotiate the terms of our economic and political servitude. Period. We will not abandon our child to a dark and bleak future. We will not accept a fate that is alien to the legacy we inherited from every single future generation in this country. We will not accept social engineering by politicians and bureaucrats who treat us like lab rats, rather than self-sufficient human beings. There are those in this country who choose tyranny over liberty. They do not speak for us, 57 million of us who voted against this yesterday, and they do not get to dictate to us under our Constitution. We are the alternative. We will resist. We're not going to surrender to this. We will not be passive, we will not be compliant in our demise. We're not good losers, you better believe we're sore losers! A good loser is a loser forever. Now I hear we're called 'purists.' Conservatives are called purists. The very people who keep nominating moderates, now call us purists the way the left calls us purists. Yeah, things like liberty, and property rights, individual sovereignty, and the Constitution, and capitalism. We're purists now. And we have to hear this crap from conservatives, or pseudo-conservatives, Republicans.To listen to more visit http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/11/07/mark_levin_gives_unvarnished_truth_on_romney_loss.html. Tweet
Monday, November 5, 2012
500 Retired Admirals, Generals Endorse Romney
Five hundred retired generals and admirals are running an ad in Monday’s editions of The Washington Times calling on the country to elect Republican Mitt Romney on Tuesday. In plain terms the officers, who paid for the ad themselves, said they support Mr. Romney: “We, the undersigned, proudly support Governor Mitt Romney as our nation’s next president and commander-in-chief.” The ad then goes on to list all of the officers, in alphabetical order, in four columns of print.Tweet
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