{"id":22704,"date":"2013-09-30T22:18:28","date_gmt":"2013-10-01T02:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=22704"},"modified":"2013-09-30T22:18:40","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T02:18:40","slug":"the-daily-gouge-tuesday-october-1st-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=22704","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge, Tuesday, October 1st, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Tuesday, October 1st, 2013&#8230;and here&#8217;s The Gouge!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It a slight break with tradition, we lead off the month with another classic bit of political satire from the great Michael Ramirez&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/RAMclr-100113-asteroids-IBD-FIRST-COLOR121212.gif.cms_.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22722\" alt=\"RAMclr-100113-asteroids-IBD-FIRST-COLOR121212.gif.cms\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/RAMclr-100113-asteroids-IBD-FIRST-COLOR121212.gif.cms_.gif\" width=\"550\" height=\"382\" \/><\/a><strong><\/strong><strong>&#8230;highlighting the fact Dims need mandatory training in the accurate identification of friend and foe:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Obama-Enemies-SC.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22739\" alt=\"Obama-Enemies-SC\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Obama-Enemies-SC.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Obama-Enemies-SC.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Obama-Enemies-SC-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Then again, given the\u00a0The Obamao&#8217;s core beliefs, from his perspective&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Obama-Constitution.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22742\" alt=\"Obama Constitution\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Obama-Constitution.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Obama-Constitution.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Obama-Constitution-300x254.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;he&#8217;s got it right.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next up, the\u00a0<em>WSJ<\/em> reports on the latest example of the President looking for&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GIbCAxyOoF4\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<strong>&#8230;or more precisely, looking out for the union label!\u00a0 With commercials like that, is it any wonder union membership is down?!?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Speaking of union entities\u00a0headed South, the <em>WSJ<\/em> offers the details of&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Obama&#8217;s Detroit Bailout <\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"subhead\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">The White House finds $320 million to reward city mismanagement.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/detroit.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22734\" alt=\"detroit\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/detroit.jpg\" width=\"280\" height=\"206\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong>Unless, of course, it becomes politically expedient; say&#8230;once the unions start calling for the repeal of the Unaffordable Care Act!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The White House announced on Friday a $320 million bailout, er, aid package for the bankrupt city of Detroit because of &#8220;exceptional&#8221; circumstances. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>But to adapt President Obama, every broke city believes in its own exceptionalism, and now others will want a financial infusion too.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The federal funds, which were cobbled together from programs including TARP and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are supposedly intended to encourage private investment. <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The aid includes $150 million to remove blight and spur redevelopment; $30 million for public safety and to hire 150 firefighters; and $140 million to improve transportation. <span style=\"color: #008000;\">(All of which will be spent in the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>least effective<\/em><\/span>, <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">pro-union<\/span><\/em> manner possible!)<\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">The Administration is also offering its technical expertise to help overhaul the city&#8217;s dysfunctional computer systems.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Let&#8217;s hope those aren&#8217;t the same guys who designed the ObamaCare exchanges<\/em><\/span>. <\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Foundations such as Kresge, Ford, Knight and Skillman have already poured more than $70 million this year into initiatives to rebuild Detroit. Kresge alone has committed $35 million for the city&#8217;s new street-car system and $150 million over five years to implement the Detroit Future City plan to revive downtrodden neighborhoods. Two weeks ago, NCB Capital Impact and Kresge announced a $30.25 million fund to support development along the street-car line.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/750767154_GG_BLOG_670x425_xlarge.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22736\" alt=\"750767154_GG_BLOG_670x425_xlarge\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/750767154_GG_BLOG_670x425_xlarge.jpeg\" width=\"350\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/750767154_GG_BLOG_670x425_xlarge.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/750767154_GG_BLOG_670x425_xlarge-300x190.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong>Guess the $80 billion (yes, that&#8217;s &#8220;billion&#8221;&#8230;with a &#8220;b&#8221;!) sunk into GM and Chrysler just wasn&#8217;t enough!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Businesses have also chipped in. The Downtown Detroit Partnership, which includes Penske Automotive, Quicken Loans, Ford, GM and Chrysler, is donating 100 new police cars and 23 ambulances. All of this private philanthropy preceded the Obama Administration&#8217;s pledged assistance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Emergency manager Kevyn Orr has welcomed the Obama Administration&#8217;s assistance while insisting that the cash infusion will not affect his plans to restructure the city in bankruptcy. That&#8217;s nice of him to say, but federal cash is never free. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Grants from the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Departments will require the city to pay prevailing union wages, which will jack up costs.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Mr. Orr&#8217;s bankruptcy plan includes re-investing $1.25 billion in city services over 10 years by reducing debt service and pension costs. About $50 million in debt savings this year are earmarked for blight removal. These plans are crucial to getting the city back on a sustainable path that matches revenue. <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>But with the arrival of federal aid, the unions will argue the city no longer needs to cut pensions.<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"> That may have even been part of the White House calculation.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\">(Like we said!)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/2f1b8-hiroshima-detroit.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22735\" alt=\"2f1b8-hiroshima-detroit\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/2f1b8-hiroshima-detroit.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/2f1b8-hiroshima-detroit.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/2f1b8-hiroshima-detroit-300x207.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>White House spokesman Jay Carney had previously said there would be no bailout. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">But according to National Economic Council director Gene Sperling, who flew to Detroit to announce the gift, Detroit&#8217;s bankruptcy was &#8220;an exceptional thing happening during the Obama administration&#8221; and merited an exceptional federal response.<\/span> However, Detroit&#8217;s problems\u2014debt, crime, failing schools and public-union dominance\u2014<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>are endemic to urban America<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Congressman Jerry McNerney (D., Cal.) sent the White House a letter on Friday asking why &#8220;comparable assistance&#8221; was not offered to the San Joaquin Valley city of Stockton, which declared bankruptcy in 2012 and suffers from many of the same problems as Detroit. &#8220;This is not a time for favoritism,&#8221; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">The Administration&#8217;s back-door bailout of Detroit is pure political favoritism. <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">It reinforces the belief among government unions that some cities are too-big-to-fail and rewards politicians who obstruct reform.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Maybe if Illinois&#8217;s politicians let their state and city pension deficits get worse, the White House will come to their rescue too<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/obama-if-i-had-a-city-it-would-look-like-detroit.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22740\" alt=\"obama-if-i-had-a-city-it-would-look-like-detroit\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/obama-if-i-had-a-city-it-would-look-like-detroit.jpg\" width=\"397\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/obama-if-i-had-a-city-it-would-look-like-detroit.jpg 397w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/obama-if-i-had-a-city-it-would-look-like-detroit-300x259.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 397px) 100vw, 397px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Obamao&#8217;s complete reversal of his earlier position also highlights the hypocrisy and deliberate misrepresentation inherent in Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s recent claim&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>\u201d<em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The cupboard is bare.<\/span> \u00a0<span style=\"color: #333399;\">There\u2019s no more cuts to make,\u201d Pelosi gibbered.<\/span> \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u201dIt\u2019s really important that people understand that.<\/span> \u00a0<span style=\"color: #333399;\">We <\/span><\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #333399; text-decoration: underline;\">all<\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #333399;\"> want to reduce the deficit.<\/span><\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/390656960_PelosiDerp_xlarge.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-22732\" alt=\"390656960_PelosiDerp_xlarge\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/390656960_PelosiDerp_xlarge-300x234.jpeg\" width=\"300\" height=\"234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/390656960_PelosiDerp_xlarge-300x234.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/390656960_PelosiDerp_xlarge.jpeg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Evidently, some more than most; guess this was $350M Nancy just overlooked!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Since we&#8217;re on the subject of hypocrisy and deliberate misrepresentation, they&#8217;re the subject of our next item:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u00a0<span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"><a title=\"Holder DoJ to sue North Carolina\" href=\"http:\/\/newmediajournal.us\/indx.php\/item\/10663\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-size: 25px; text-align: left; color: #00ccff;\">Holder DoJ to sue No. Carolina Over Voter ID Law<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/thingsrequiringIDs.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22712\" alt=\"thingsrequiringIDs\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/thingsrequiringIDs.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/thingsrequiringIDs.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/thingsrequiringIDs-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Submitted for your perusal, two real-time, factual experiences which belie Progressive&#8217;s claims to the contrary. \u00a0We went over to the Howard County office complex Monday morning to pick up a building permit; needed to sign in and show our driver&#8217;s license (i.e., <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>PHOTO ID<\/em><\/span>!!!) before we could proceed to the counter.\u00a0 On the way home, we stopped at the post office to mail a letter; had to show our driver&#8217;s license (i.e., <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>PHOTO ID<\/em><\/span>!!!) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>again<\/em><\/span> before they would accept our MasterCard for a $1.32 charge.\u00a0 What?!?\u00a0 Negroes in North Carolina aren&#8217;t <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>ever<\/em><\/span> required to produce a valid photo ID other than at the polls?!?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Seriously&#8230;tell us again why showing a valid photo ID prior to exercising the greatest privilege this country can bestow upon its <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>citizens<\/em><\/span> constitutes an undue burden?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next up, contrary to anything you&#8217;ll hear from either the Left of their shills in the MSM, <em>FOX News<\/em> lists&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Ten states where Obamacare wipes out existing health care plans <\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/872e68a724ae4639a5c016a6049991a1-e1372801773732.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22710\" alt=\"872e68a724ae4639a5c016a6049991a1-e1372801773732\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/872e68a724ae4639a5c016a6049991a1-e1372801773732.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/872e68a724ae4639a5c016a6049991a1-e1372801773732.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/872e68a724ae4639a5c016a6049991a1-e1372801773732-300x128.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">President Barack Obama famously promised, \u201cIf you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.\u201d He later got even more specific. \u201cIf you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have,\u201d Obama said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>But as Obamacare\u2019s rollout approaches, we have learned <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>this is not true<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #008080;\">Here are the ten states where consumers may like their health care plans, but they won\u2019t be able to keep them.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>1) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">California<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> 58,000 will lose their plans under Obamacare. The first bomb dropped in California with a mass exodus from the most populated state\u2019s Obamacare exchange. Aetna, the country\u2019s largest insurer, left first in July and was closely followed by UnitedHealth. Anthem Blue Cross <span class=\"external\">pulled out<\/span> of California\u2019s Obamacare exchange for small businesses as well. <strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\">Fifty-four percent of Californians expect to lose their coverage, according to an August poll.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>2) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Missouri<\/span>:<\/strong> <\/span>Patients of the state\u2019s largest hospital system \u2014 which spans 13 hospitals including the St. Louis Children\u2019s Hospital \u2014 will <span class=\"external\">not be covered<\/span> by the largest insurer on Obamacare exchanges, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield. <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Anthem covers 79,000 patients in Missouri who may seek subsidies on Obamacare exchanges, but won\u2019t be able to see any doctors in the BJC HealthCare system.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>3) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Connecticut<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> Aetna, the third largest insurer in the nation, <span class=\"external\">won\u2019t offer insurance<\/span>\u00a0on the Obamacare exchange in its own home state, where it was founded in 1850. The reason? <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>\u201cWe believe the modification to the rates filed by Aetna will not allow us to collect enough premiums to cover the cost of the plans and meet the service expectations of our customers,\u201d said Aetna spokesman Susan Millerick.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>4) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Maryland<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> <span class=\"external\">13,000 individuals<\/span> covered by Aetna and its recently-purchased Coventry Health Care won\u2019t be able to keep their insurance plans if they want Obamacare subsidies on the exchanges. <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Aetna and Coventry canceled plans to offer insurance in the exchange when state officials wouldn\u2019t allow them to charge premiums high enough to cover costs.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>5) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">South Carolina<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong><span class=\"external\">28,000 people<\/span> were insured by Medical Mutual of Ohio, SC\u2019s second-largest insurance company, until it decided to leave the state entirely in July due to Obamacare\u2019s \u201cvast and quite complex\u201d new regulations.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">Company spokesman Ed Byers said Medical Mutual\u2019s patients would be switched over to United Healthcare plans instead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>6) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">New York<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Aetna <span class=\"external\">pulled out<\/span> of New York\u2019s exchange in late August in an effort to keep their plans \u201cfinancially viable,\u201d said Aetna spokeswoman Cynthia Michener.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>7) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">New Jersey<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>1.1 million Aetna customers are at risk in <span class=\"external\">New Jersey<\/span>, where the leading insurer also won\u2019t be a part of the exchange.<\/strong> <\/span>Just 2,600 patients purchase individual plans with the company, but any looking to take advantage of subsidies on the exchange for unaffordable employer-based insurance won\u2019t be able to do with Aetna.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>8) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Iowa<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Iowa\u2019s largest health insurer, decided <span class=\"external\">not to offer<\/span> plans in the Obamacare exchange. <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>It sells 86 percent of Iowa\u2019s individual health insurance plans.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>9) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Wisconsin<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Two of the three largest insurers in the state <span class=\"external\">won\u2019t offer plans<\/span> on the exchange.<\/strong><\/span> United Healthcare and Humana patients will have to get a new health insurer to buy insurance on Obamacare exchanges.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>10) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Georgia<\/span>:<\/strong> <\/span><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Just five insurers are participating in Georgia\u2019s Obamacare exchange.<\/strong> <\/span>Medical Mutual of Ohio <span class=\"external\">left<\/span> Georgia and Indiana as well as South Carolina, due to Obamacare regulations. Aetna, along with Coventry, also <span class=\"external\">decided against participating<\/span> in the George health exchange.<\/p>\n<p><strong>As we noted, we&#8217;re not only living in one them, ours is one of the plans the Unaffordable Care Act killed.\u00a0 Which makes this, as Michelle Malkin noted yesterday, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>personal<\/em><\/span>, NOT business!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a related item, Americans for Tax Reform notes how bad the implementation of the Unaffordable Care Act&#8217;s likely to be:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Navigators Warned: Don\u2019t Leave Tax Returns on the Fax Machine<\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"content-intro\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"> \u201cDo not leave documents that contain PII [Personally Identifiable Information] or tax return information on printers and fax machines.\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"content-intro\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"content-intro\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/images1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22744\" alt=\"images\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/images1.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"content-intro\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"content-intro\">As Obamacare enrollment begins, the Department of Health and Human Services has a helpful tip for the program&#8217;s so-called Navigators: <strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">\u201cDo not leave documents that contain PII [Personally Identifiable Information] or tax return information on printers and fax machines.\u201d<\/span> <\/strong><\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The warning is contained in <em>Section 2.4.3<\/em> of the 207-page <em>Health Insurance Marketplace Navigator Standard Operating Procedures Manual. <\/em>The same section asks navigators to \u201cdouble-check\u201d the fax number before faxing Obamacare enrollee\u2019s tax returns:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 0.5in;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><em><strong>\u201cWhen faxing PII or tax return information, double-check that the recipient\u2019s fax number is correct and that someone is able to pick up the faxed information immediately.\u201d<\/strong> <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Because the key components of Obamacare will be enforced by the IRS, navigators will have access to highly sensitive identifying information.<\/strong><\/span> The Navigator manual describes Personally Identifiable Information as follows:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<li style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Identifying information such as consumers\u2019 names, addresses, or SSNs<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Information about consumers\u2019 incomes, personal finances, debts, deductions and exemptions<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Any action taken by the IRS against consumers, such as investigations or penalties<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Any private written agreements (such as a pricing agreement) with the IRS and any background information about these agreements<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Relevant information, even if not found on the return (e.g., expenses)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Additional excerpts from the Navigator Manual:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<li style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>No fake smiles:<\/strong><\/span> &#8220;Do not pretend to smile, or produce a false smile; these are easy to spot and send the wrong messages.&#8221; \u2013 Section 2.2.1<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Listen:<\/strong><\/span> \u201cBy not listening you can become very frustrating to consumers.\u201d \u2013 Section 2.2.3<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Apologize:<\/strong><\/span> \u201cApologizing when things go wrong demonstrates that you care about consumers and their experiences.\u201d \u2013 Section 2.2.4<\/li>\n<li style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>&#8220;Be Memorable &#8211; For the Right Reasons.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Section 2.2.6<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Where are they getting these prompts; from The Obamao&#8217;s teleprompter?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And in today&#8217;s\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\">Money Quote<span style=\"color: #000000;\">, the <em>WSJ<\/em> offers this excerpt &#8220;f<\/span><\/span>rom a Sept. 22 letter written by Jason Morgan, a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, complaining to his supervisor about the school-mandated diversity training for teaching assistants&#8221;: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>&#8220;<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>At the end of yesterday&#8217;s diversity &#8220;re-education,&#8221; we were told that our next session would include a presentation on &#8220;Trans Students.&#8221; At that coming session, according to the handout we were given, we will learn how to let students &#8216;choose their own pronouns&#8217;, how to correct other students who mistakenly use the wrong pronouns, and how to ask people which pronouns they prefer (&#8220;I use the pronouns he\/him\/his. I want to make sure I address you correctly. What pronouns do you use?&#8221;). Also on the agenda for next week are &#8220;important trans struggles, as well as those of the intersexed and other gender-variant communities,&#8221; &#8220;stand[ing] up to the rules of gender,&#8221; and a very helpful glossary of related terms and acronyms, to wit: &#8220;Trans&#8221;: for those who &#8220;identify along the gender-variant spectrum,&#8221; and &#8220;Genderqueer&#8221;: &#8220;for those who consider their gender outside the binary gender system&#8221;. <span style=\"color: #003300;\">I hasten to reiterate that I am quoting from diversity handouts; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I am not making any of this up<\/span>.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: #003300;\">Please allow me to be quite frank. My job, which I love, is to teach students Japanese history.<\/span> This week, for example, I have been busy explaining the intricacies of the Genpei War (1180-1185), during which time Japan underwent a transition from an earlier, imperial-rule system under regents and cloistered emperors to a medieval, feudal system run by warriors and estate managers. It is an honor and a great joy to teach students the history of Japan. I take my job very seriously, and I look forward to coming to work each day.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #003300;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">It is most certainly not my job, though, to cheer along anyone, student or otherwise, in their psychological confusion<\/span>.<\/em><\/span>&#8220;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In other words, identifying the idiocy inherent in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any<\/em><\/span> PC initiative!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On the Lighter Side&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/12_13812320130929112724.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22733\" alt=\"gmc11257320130930050400\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/gmc11257320130930050400.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/gmc11257320130930050400.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/gmc11257320130930050400-300x226.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22715\" alt=\"12_13812320130929112724\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/12_13812320130929112724.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/12_13812320130929112724.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/12_13812320130929112724-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/bg093013dAPR20130930044523.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22716\" alt=\"bg093013dAPR20130930044523\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/bg093013dAPR20130930044523.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/bg093013dAPR20130930044523.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/bg093013dAPR20130930044523-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cb093013dAPR20130929044514.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22717\" alt=\"cb093013dAPR20130929044514\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cb093013dAPR20130929044514.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cb093013dAPR20130929044514.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cb093013dAPR20130929044514-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/payn_c11254520130930120100.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22719\" alt=\"payn_c11254520130930120100\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/payn_c11254520130930120100.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/payn_c11254520130930120100.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/payn_c11254520130930120100-300x240.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/gv093013dAPR20130930014512.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22718\" alt=\"gv093013dAPR20130930014512\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/gv093013dAPR20130930014512.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/gv093013dAPR20130930014512.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/gv093013dAPR20130930014512-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/ballscotton.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22721\" alt=\"ballscotton\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/ballscotton.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/ballscotton.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/ballscotton-300x207.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Uncivil-Defense.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22707\" alt=\"Uncivil-Defense\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Uncivil-Defense.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Uncivil-Defense.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Uncivil-Defense-300x144.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/hA527EAB3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22708\" alt=\"BreakingMedsm\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/BreakingMedsm.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/BreakingMedsm.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/BreakingMedsm-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22706\" alt=\"hA527EAB3\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/hA527EAB3.jpg\" width=\"464\" height=\"572\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/hA527EAB3.jpg 464w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/hA527EAB3-243x300.jpg 243w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 464px) 100vw, 464px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we&#8217;ll call it a wrap with the Sports Section, as we pay homoge, courtesy today of Ed Harvey, to one of the greats:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">Former Steelers DE Greenwood dies<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/greenwood_20130929190528718_660_320.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22746\" alt=\"greenwood_20130929190528718_660_320\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/greenwood_20130929190528718_660_320.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/greenwood_20130929190528718_660_320.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/greenwood_20130929190528718_660_320-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/hub.video.msn.com\/embed\/e11c1a76-a390-4beb-91cc-44dcbef236fc\/?vars=bGlua292ZXJyaWRlMj1odHRwJTNBJTJGJTJGbXNuLmZveHNwb3J0cy5jb20lMkZ2aWRlbyUzRnZpZGVvaWQlM0QlN0IwJTdEJmNvbmZpZ05hbWU9c3luZGljYXRpb25wbGF5ZXImYnJhbmQ9Zm94c3BvcnRzJnN5bmRpY2F0aW9uPXRhZyZsaW5rYmFjaz1odHRwJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3Lmdvb2dsZS5jb20lMkYmY29uZmlnQ3NpZD1NU05WaWRlbyZta3Q9ZW4tdXMmZnI9c2hhcmVlbWJlZC1zeW5kaWNhdGlvbg%3D%3D\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>He was an integral part of one of the greatest teams in sports history, and he&#8217;ll be missed.\u00a0 They truly don&#8217;t make &#8217;em like that anymore.<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Tuesday, October 1st, 2013&#8230;and here&#8217;s The Gouge! It a slight break with tradition, we lead off the month with another classic bit of political satire from the great Michael Ramirez&#8230; &#8230;highlighting the fact Dims need mandatory training in the accurate identification of friend and foe: Then again, given the\u00a0The Obamao&#8217;s core beliefs, from his [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1988,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1988"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22704"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22749,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22704\/revisions\/22749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}