Nothing empowers aggressive action like telling the bully you’ll do nothing to stop him.

WASHINGTON – The White House said Wednesday that President Obama is not actively considering military force as an option in the crisis in Ukraine.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said military action is “certainly not at the forefront of discussions” among the president and his top advisers, saying that Mr. Obama is looking instead at imposing further economic sanctions against Russian leaders for the takeover of Crimea.  “You can expect further costs to be imposed on Russia,” Mr. Carney said.  (link)

One hour later in Ukraine/Crimea: (more…)

Within the insurance industry:  Q1 (Jan-March) cost/expense/enrollment information is collected.  Q2 (April-June) calculations are made to costs (projections) for the following year.  In Q3 (July-Sept) those projections become “premium rates” and are presented to State Insurance regulators for review and notification.   In Q4 (Oct-Dec) the customer (YOU) are notified of the new rate.

What you are seeing now in Q1-2014 are the cost projections, the raw data, being collected and recording an astonishing reality.  And Insurance executives warning that based on current data collection – Q2’s calculations will necessarily skyrocket.

Trying to stop the publicity of this is why Obama DID THIS.  He’s trying to buy time by saying the feds will ramp up payments to insurance carriers – so please don’t tell people their rates are going up.  

WASHINGTON DC – Health industry officials say ObamaCare-related premiums will double in some parts of the country, countering claims recently made by the administration.
The expected rate hikes will be announced in the coming months amid an intense election year, when control of the Senate is up for grabs. The sticker shock would likely bolster the GOP’s prospects in November and hamper ObamaCare insurance enrollment efforts in 2015.
The industry complaints come less than a week after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sought to downplay concerns about rising premiums in the healthcare sector. She told lawmakers rates would increase in 2015 but grow more slowly than in the past. (more…)

From cartoonist A.F. Branco at LegalInsurrection.com.

The Boeing airliner now known as MH-370 carries with it more than just 239 passengers and crew, it carries an unparalleled political consequence.

In essence the analysis points to this:
The United States knows by now [Boeing – Aircraft Health Monitoring System – AHMS], and can more-likely prove, by now [Satellite Optical Locating], where the physical location of the flagged Malaysian airliner is. That’s not really the big issue.
The bigger issue shifts, “what now”?
Think about it. If you are a state government, and this plane is physically located in your nation, and your ambassador has been called to an office within the U.S. security apparatus, and you’ve been told (perhaps shown) the evidence that this plane is sitting in your country, what are you going to do ?
It’s not an issue as long as no-one knows where it is.   But once discovered….  No-one, *NO-ONE*, wants to be the nation of location.
Regardless of your nation’s political ideology – the outcome of your nation attached to this plane’s disappearance on day #12 is disconcerting in infinite magnitudes. It matters not whether or not your central governing body had anything to do with it – we’re beyond the point where that would make a difference. (more…)

Our working theory is essentially HERE.  While it represents a rough outline to explain the Malaysian Government reaction – it’s supported by more recent confirmations including: the passports of the two Iranian Nationals were used the year before to obtain Chinese entry visa’s in June of 2013.   In addition, a commercial flight fitting the profile of a Boeing 777  was potentially spotted flying through the Southern Maldives; just south of heavy shipping lanes which one would seek to avoid if flying dark.

Regardless of whether the Northern Route (through Western China/Himalayas) or Southern Route (around India – Maldives report) was taken, the destination becomes the real question.
Detection, or more aptly the ability to escape detection, is really a no-brainer.   No-one who actually has experience in intelligence or military disputes the ability to fly undetected into an autonomous region – “if you know what you are doing”.    The U.S. Military does it all the time with surveillance flights and drones.
If the theory of Islamists taking the flight is maintained – the supporting state/nation then becomes the larger issue.    Iran or Pakistan ? Both are within flight distance, and both have ideological elements within them which would support such an agenda.
So lets look at what Retired General McInerney has to say: (more…)

I shall not point out the obvious. Even though the media avoid it.

KANSAS CITY – Kansas City Zoo goers described Tuesday afternoon running for their lives after hundreds of teens were involved in fights inside the zoo and shots were fired in a zoo parking lot. “It was very scary,” Liberty resident Jaimi Heckadon said. “All hell broke loose.”
As she and her group bolted for the exit, Heckadon said she heard people screaming about officers using pepper spray. “The problem was these teenagers. None of them were escorted by an adult,” she said.
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(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Fox affiliate KDVR shocked presenters and viewers alike on Tuesday morning when it accidentally aired a photo of a man’s penis during a broadcast about the helicopter crash in Seattle.   The station has blamed staff in the control room and says it has taken steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
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(Newsbusters) Lest there be any doubt, Amanda Marcotte really hates pro-lifers.
In a two-part rant posted March 14 and 17 on Raw Story, the morally challenged feminist writer attacked pro-lifers as “consummate liars,” “anti-choice kooks” with “boring,” “half-baked nonsense” and “shit arguments.”
But Marcotte’s hate doesn’t stop at pro-lifers. It extends to the babies they want to protect.

“Either way, what she [the woman] wants trumps the non-existent desires of a mindless pre-person that is so small it can be removed in about two minutes during an outpatient procedure. Your cavities fight harder to stay in place.”

Did she just compare an unborn child to a cavity?  (more…)