{"id":23161,"date":"2013-10-23T21:23:43","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T01:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=23161"},"modified":"2013-10-23T21:23:54","modified_gmt":"2013-10-24T01:23:54","slug":"the-daily-gouge-thursday-october-23rd-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=23161","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge, Thursday, October 23rd, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Thursday, October 23rd, 2013&#8230;and here&#8217;s The Gouge!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First up, a fitting rendering of the greatest debacle since the introduction of New Coke:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/mrz102313dAPR20131023124526.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23189\" alt=\"mrz102313dAPR20131023124526\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/mrz102313dAPR20131023124526.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/mrz102313dAPR20131023124526.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/mrz102313dAPR20131023124526-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>And how is the self-proclaimed Most Transparent Administration in History handling the fall-out?\u00a0 With its signature blend of misdirection&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UxsbEDDi7lA\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;obfuscation&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wTBBwIWuaP8\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;and dissimulation&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XO29yvefhSI\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;<\/strong><strong><strong>followed by&#8230;<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mpOXj_7mkms\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><strong>&#8230;a hasty exit stage right!\u00a0 <\/strong>Hells Bells; the &#8220;glitches&#8221; are so glaring even <em>CBS News<\/em> is beginning to sense&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><object width=\"420\" height=\"235\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/cnettv.cnet.com\/av\/video\/cbsnews\/atlantis2\/cbsnews_player_embed.swf\" \/><param name=\"scale\" value=\"noscale\" \/><param name=\"salign\" value=\"lt\" \/><param name=\"background\" value=\"#333333\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"si=254&amp;&amp;contentValue=50157684&amp;shareUrl=http:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/8301-505269_162-57608843\/healthcare.gov-pricing-feature-can-be-off-the-mark\/\" \/><embed width=\"420\" height=\"235\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http:\/\/cnettv.cnet.com\/av\/video\/cbsnews\/atlantis2\/cbsnews_player_embed.swf\" scale=\"noscale\" salign=\"lt\" background=\"#333333\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" flashvars=\"si=254&amp;&amp;contentValue=50157684&amp;shareUrl=http:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/8301-505269_162-57608843\/healthcare.gov-pricing-feature-can-be-off-the-mark\/\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;<\/strong><strong> Der Obafuhrer&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/payn_c11306120131023120100.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23213\" alt=\"payn_c11306120131023120100\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/payn_c11306120131023120100.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"362\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/payn_c11306120131023120100.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/payn_c11306120131023120100-300x235.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><strong>&#8230;has a serious problem:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Is it any wonder then, as this forward from Bill Meisen details&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Feds Ask Blue Cross not to release exchange numbers\" href=\"http:\/\/www.inforum.com\/event\/article\/id\/416090\/\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Feds ask Blue Cross Blue Shield not to release exchange numbers<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Obama-Hushing.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23180\" alt=\"Obama-Hushing\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Obama-Hushing.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Obama-Hushing.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Obama-Hushing-300x178.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>The Obama administration <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>asked North Dakota\u2019s largest health insurer not to publicize how many people have signed up for health insurance through a new online exchange<\/em><\/span>, a company official says&#8230;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Feds Ask Blue Cross not to release exchange numbers\" href=\"http:\/\/www.inforum.com\/event\/article\/id\/416090\/\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #800080;\"><em><strong>http:\/\/www.inforum.com\/event\/article\/id\/416090\/<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>After all, if the MSM doesn&#8217;t report it (see <em>Fast &amp; Furious<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Benghazigate<\/em>,\u00a0<em>IRS Scandal<\/em>, etc., etc., etc. ad infinitum\/nauseum), is it actually news?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>But just as all the king&#8217;s horses and all the king&#8217;s men weren&#8217;t enough to prevent Humpty Dumpty from ending his life as an omelette, the <\/strong><em><strong>Washington Examiner<\/strong><\/em><strong> suggests copious amounts of&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"hd-font entry-title color3\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">White House flackery won&#8217;t fix Healthcare.gov<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Karmel-Allison-faints-obamacare.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23201\" alt=\"Karmel-Allison-faints-obamacare\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Karmel-Allison-faints-obamacare.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Karmel-Allison-faints-obamacare.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Karmel-Allison-faints-obamacare-300x223.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">There&#8217;s probably no truth to the rumor that swept through Washington newsrooms yesterday that Karmel Allison actually fainted because she suddenly realized what thousands of individuals and families are discovering these days &#8211; their health insurance deductibles are tripling or quadrupling, or even worse, under Obamacare. Reports of deductibles zooming from mere hundreds to several thousands of dollars are common in the blogosphere, on cable news, even in the traditional media.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Typical of such reports was a Chicago Tribune story on Alex Weldzius, a nurse practitioner and single father: \u201c<em>If the 33-year-old single father wants the same level of coverage next year as what he has now with the same insurer and the same network of doctors and hospitals<\/em>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>his monthly premium of $233 will more than double<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em>If he wants to keep his monthly payments in check, the Carpentersville resident is looking at an annual deductible for himself and his 7-year-old daughter of <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">$12,700<\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">a more than threefold increase from $3,500 today<\/span><\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XierBpLGgwQ\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Weldzius&#8217; experience will be repeated millions of times in coming months as more Americans learn a harsh reality about Obamacare that 100 perfectly choreographed sales pitches by President Obama cannot erase. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>It is impossible to expand health insurance to 30 million previously uncovered people while saving everybody else $2,500 on their premiums, as the president promised would happen.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Here&#8217;s something else that won&#8217;t erase the reality of the damage Obamacare is just beginning to wreak on the private health insurance system: invoking messaging scams like calling the crash effort to fix Healthcare.gov \u201ca tech surge,\u201d as an unnamed White House aide described it to Politico, or calling the repair brigade \u201cthe best and brightest\u201d to evoke the Kennedy era.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Such tactics warm the cockles of political consultants and crisis-management experts, but they will do nothing to keep millions of Americans from realizing in coming months that Obamacare is why they can no longer see the doctor who treated them for years, why their monthly premiums have gone through the roof and why their full-time job has suddenly become part time.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dGZ4WeQwmIk\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Here&#8217;s yet another reason why the crash repair effort is unlikely to make the web site fully useful any time soon: As the Washington Examiner&#8217;s Richard Pollock reported Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services&#8217; Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is managing Obamacare, took the highly unusual step of being the systems integrator on the design of Healthcare.gov.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">That difficult role is typically reserved for a highly experienced private-sector IT firm with the skills required to coordinate the work of hundreds of sub-contractors. If any one of those sub-contractors makes a mistake in its programming or its efforts aren\u2019t properly integrated with everything else, the web site will be plagued with problems. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Put another way, the government is the weakest link in the Healthcare.gov web site development chain, and no amount of PR \u201cdamage control\u201d by the Obama White House will fix it.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>As Jim Geraghty recently noted while quoting Charlie Cooke&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><em><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Obamacare, recall, was sold with a specific set of political promises: The new regime, advocates insisted, would reduce the deficit, cover the needy, and reduce total health spending \u2014 all while lowering the premiums of those who were already insured.<\/strong><\/span> Back in 2007, when Obama was running for the Democratic nomination, he introduced what was then an embryonic proposal with the quixotic assurance that, \u201cif you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums.\u201d Then he adumbrated what would happen to the \u201camount of money\u201d that Americans would \u201cspend on premiums.\u201d <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>\u201cThat will be less,\u201d Obama told anybody who would listen.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">That is why Obamacare is truly destined to fail. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>It\u2019s not just the website; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>it\u2019s a series of ultimately contradictory promises<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>And its most <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>nominal<\/em><\/span> form of success &#8212; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>avoiding the death spiral<\/em><\/span> &#8212; hinges on two <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>extremely<\/em><\/span> big gambles.<\/strong><\/span> The first is that most Americans will warmly embrace the process of comparison-shopping for health insurance. The second is persuading young invincibles to buy insurance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s a house of cards, friends; and the wind is finally starting to pick up.\u00a0 So, Olympia Snowe and Bart Stupak&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/25lDX4wA1SQ?start=4\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Oh, and&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/douchebag1243519591.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23215\" alt=\"douchebag1243519591\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/douchebag1243519591-215x300.jpg\" width=\"215\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/douchebag1243519591-215x300.jpg 215w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/douchebag1243519591.jpg 287w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 215px) 100vw, 215px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;both of you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Meanwhile, back at the ranch with The Gang That Still Can&#8217;t Shoot Straight, courtesy of the <em>WaPo<\/em> via <em>AEI<\/em>, Marc Thiessen believes&#8230;<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The Tea Party Needs a General Washington<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Portrait_of_George_Washington.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23198\" alt=\"Portrait_of_George_Washington\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Portrait_of_George_Washington-246x300.jpeg\" width=\"246\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Portrait_of_George_Washington-246x300.jpeg 246w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Portrait_of_George_Washington-840x1024.jpeg 840w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Portrait_of_George_Washington-600x730.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Portrait_of_George_Washington.jpeg 972w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 246px) 100vw, 246px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Amid the smoldering wreckage of the government shutdown and the failed effort to defund Obamacare, it is time for conservatives to figure out why they lost \u2014 and how they can win the next time.<\/p>\n<div class=\"policy-article-copy  class\">\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Since the tea party takes its inspiration from the American Revolution, it might want look to that period for answers. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>It can learn a lot from the contrasting strategies of two revolutionary war generals: Horatio Gates and George Washington. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">One led the patriots into disaster, while the other led them to victory.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article_body entry-content classic\">\n<article>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Gates commanded American forces at the Battle of Camden, the British victory depicted in Mel Gibson\u2019s classic movie \u2018The Patriot.\u2019 <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Gates thought he had the British cornered but played right into their hands, positioning inexperienced militia fighters opposite the best troops the crown had.<\/strong><\/span> When the more capable redcoat forces advanced with bayonets, Gates\u2019s forces (who did not have bayonets) were compelled to flee. The continentals were routed. It is considered to this day one of the most catastrophic defeats in U.S. military history.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">By contrast, George Washington knew better than to go muzzle-to-muzzle with superior British forces in an open field. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>He followed what was known as the \u201cFabian Strategy\u201d (named for the Roman leader Quintus Fabius Maximus), avoiding large, unwinnable battles in favor of smaller strategic engagements.<\/strong><\/span> As historian James Scythes explains it, \u201cunless his army enjoyed a distinct advantage, Washington believed he must avoid direct battle\u201d and \u201cinstead resorted to swift raids against detachments of the enemy\u2019s army.\u201d In the Battle of Princeton, for example, Washington knew he could not defeat Cornwallis\u2019s 8,000-man force in direct combat. So he left his campfires burning as a diversionary tactic, snuck around the British camp, and took on the British in a series of smaller rear-guard engagements.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/washington-debacle.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23199\" alt=\"washington-debacle\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/washington-debacle.gif\" width=\"500\" height=\"234\" \/><\/a><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><em>Current cast for the upcoming remake of <\/em>Ship of Fools<em>.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">For taking this cautious approach, Washington was accused by some at the time of being a RINO (\u201cRevolutionary in Name Only\u201d). Scythes writes, \u201cCritics of his strategy would grow impatient with Washington\u2019s lack of victories, which would lead to frustration amongst patriots.\u201d They wanted him to fight! But despite his aggressive nature, Washington refused to send his troops on suicide missions. His Fabian Strategy worked because he picked smaller, winnable fights and defeated the British in a war of attrition.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">This is precisely the approach today\u2019s patriots should have taken in the fight against Obamacare.<\/span>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\">(First and foremost by insisting <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>NO ONE<\/em><\/span> in the White House, Congress or federal judiciary be exempt from ObamaScare!)<\/span> Shutting down the government had zero chance of succeeding, and it played right into Democratic hands.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Today, some on the right are rationalizing defeat, claiming they won in a lot of ways. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) boasted: \u201cOh my gosh, we\u2019ve lit up Obamacare for the whole nation.\u201d <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>No, you <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>didn\u2019t<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">You <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><i>distracted<\/i><\/span> the nation from Obamacare\u2019s disastrous rollout, pushing the Obamacare implosion off the front pages and giving the media an excuse to focus on the disarray in the Republican Party instead of the disarray in the Obama administration.<\/span><\/strong> <\/span>You <i>ruined<\/i> the chance to delay implementation of at least parts of Obamacare. And you <i>alienated<\/i> independent voters who agree that Obamacare is a disaster but opposed a government shutdown.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Tea party patriots need to understand: There is no silver lining in the shutdown cloud.<\/strong><\/span> It was an unmitigated disaster. Remember the tea party\u2019s successful fight to ban earmarks? The continuing resolution passed to reopen the government contains earmarks for things like the Olmstead Locks and Dam in Kentucky and Colorado highway funds. The Obamacare income verification provision was watered down to be meaningless. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>The final legislation was worse than what Sen. Harry Reid put forward before the shutdown.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Boehner.Washington.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23200\" alt=\"John Boehner\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Boehner.Washington.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Boehner.Washington.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Boehner.Washington-300x178.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong>&#8220;I gave you Liberty and this fool&#8217;s the best you do?!?&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Amazingly, even some leaders of the defund debacle are now admitting the fight was unwinnable from the start. Last week, Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham told Fox News, \u201cEverybody understands that we\u2019ll not be able to repeal this law until 2017. And we have to win the Senate and win the White House.\u201d <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Now<\/em><\/span> he tell us?<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Then what on earth was the point of the government shutdown<\/em><\/span>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">If conservatives had instead followed the Fabian approach of Gen. Washington \u2014 avoiding a battle they knew could not be won in favor of smaller engagements \u2014 they might have succeeded in delaying parts of Obamacare and rallying the American people for its eventual repeal. Instead, they were completely routed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Those responsible for this disaster ought to be held to account. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>After leading his forces into an unwinnable fight with a disastrous strategy, Gen. Gates was fired by the Continental Congress. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">No one questioned his patriotism, but they questioned his competence.<\/span><\/strong><\/span> His reputation never recovered.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Those who led the tea party into an unwinnable fight with a disastrous strategy should be equally discredited today. Yet many on the right are hailing Sen. Ted Cruz and the rest of the defund caucus as heroes. At least they stood and fought, they say. No, they led us into a trap. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Make no mistake: The shutdown was the tea party\u2019s Battle of Camden.<\/span> Those who botched it are the modern equivalent of Gen. Gates.<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em> The tea party needs a Gen. Washington<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>With all due respect to Marc Thiessen, which in our estimation is a lot, we&#8217;ll take Lee and Cruz over the likes of McCain and Graham any day of the week.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And in the Diplomatic Pouch, as <em>The Daily Caller<\/em> informs us&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"White House, State Department and NYT conspired on national security leaks\" href=\"http:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2013\/10\/23\/emails-white-house-state-department-coordinated-with-journalist-on-national-security-leaks\/#ixzz2iahHRs3L\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Emails: White House, State Department coordinated with journalist on national security leaks<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/102320131.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23192\" alt=\"10232013\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/102320131.jpg\" width=\"350\" height=\"242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/102320131.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/102320131-300x207.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">White House and State Department officials cooperated extensively on background with a New York Times journalist during the period that he broke confidential national security information in a series of leaks that prompted outrage from lawmakers, according to unearthed 2011 and 2012 emails. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The nonprofit organization Freedom Watch, which obtained the internal State Department emails through a Freedom of Information Act request, believes that the Obama administration carried out the leaks to bolster a tough image for itself on Iran.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;[Freedom Watch founder Larry] <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Klayman also said that he believes <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Clinton and former National Security Advisor Donilon were complicit in leaking details of the Stuxnet worm<\/em><\/span>, based on his review of the documents&#8230;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #003399;\" title=\"White House, State Department and NYT conspired on national security leaks\" href=\"http:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2013\/10\/23\/emails-white-house-state-department-coordinated-with-journalist-on-national-security-leaks\/#ixzz2iahHRs3L\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">http:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2013\/10\/23\/emails-white-house-state-department-coordinated-with-journalist-on-national-security-leaks\/#ixzz2iahHRs3L<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Think about it: be it national security or the national welfare, the existence of the Stuxnet malware or the grossly premature launching Healthcare.gov,\u00a0there is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>NOTHING<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>NO ONE<\/em><\/span> this Administration won&#8217;t sacrifice in pursuit of pure politics.\u00a0 Any Republican Administration engaged in similarly treasonous activity would have already have been serving time&#8230;in its entirety.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next up, two items from the <em>WSJ<\/em> dealing with issues no one on Capitol Hill or in the MSM seem to care about, but which clearly indicate where we&#8217;re headed.\u00a0 First, Bret Stephens watches as&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 itemprop=\"headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Iraq Tips Toward the Abyss\" href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB10001424052702304402104579149420879742530?mod=djemEditorialPage_h\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Iraq Tips Toward the Abyss<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"subHed deck\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Iraq Tips Toward the Abyss\" href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB10001424052702304402104579149420879742530?mod=djemEditorialPage_h\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">So far this year, some 7,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, but Americans don&#8217;t seem to have noticed.<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/r-AL-QAEDA-IRAQ-ATTACKS-large570.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23204\" alt=\"Mideast Iraq Violence\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/r-AL-QAEDA-IRAQ-ATTACKS-large570.jpg\" width=\"425\" height=\"177\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/r-AL-QAEDA-IRAQ-ATTACKS-large570.jpg 425w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/r-AL-QAEDA-IRAQ-ATTACKS-large570-300x124.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;Altogether some 7,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed so far this year, approaching levels last seen in 2008. Most of the killing has been done by al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), a group that in 2009 had been so thoroughly beaten by the combination of the U.S. surge and the Sunni Awakening that it barely existed. <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Now it&#8217;s back, killing more people than any other al Qaeda franchise, attempting to tip Iraq toward civil war and joining ranks with its jihadist allies in Syria.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">At what point does all this start to, you know, worry us?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Maybe when they start killing Americans again.<\/strong><\/span> Until then, the reflex political reaction regarding the return of AQI is to insist that it is a local group with mostly local ambitions, and that it is largely a reaction to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki&#8217;s purportedly anti-Sunni policies. Nothing in life is harder to unseat than a settled and comfortable assumption.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Still, assumptions must inevitably run up against facts. <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>No ostensibly &#8220;local&#8221; al Qaeda branch has ever remained local for long, a point brought home last month when Somalia&#8217;s al-Shabaab went on an epic killing spree at Nairobi&#8217;s Westgate Mall&#8230;<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Iraq Tips Toward the Abyss\" href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB10001424052702304402104579149420879742530?mod=djemEditorialPage_h\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong>http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB10001424052702304402104579149420879742530?mod=djemEditorialPage_h<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>And second, James Freeman asks a question, the answer to which inquiring minds already know:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 itemprop=\"headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Is America Really $17 Trillion in Debt?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/tip-of-the-iceberg.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23207\" alt=\"Tip of the Iceberg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/tip-of-the-iceberg-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/tip-of-the-iceberg-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/tip-of-the-iceberg-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/tip-of-the-iceberg-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/tip-of-the-iceberg.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Recent headlines say that President Obama succeeded in breaking the debt limit to allow federal borrowing beyond $17 trillion. But Stanley Druckenmiller, one of the most successful money managers of all time, says &#8220;there&#8217;s just one little problem&#8221; with Washington&#8217;s math. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>&#8220;Everyone&#8217;s running around saying the debt is $17 trillion,&#8221; notes Mr. Druckenmiller. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">But the government can acknowledge that titanic burden on future generations <em>only by ignoring <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">even larger<\/span> obligations<\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;If you borrow money from an individual with the agreement to pay them back in benefit payments in Social Security and Medicare after the age of 65, in their brilliance the United States accounting experts call that revenues,&#8221; says Mr. Druckenmiller. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">&#8220;But in any corporation in America\u2014other than maybe Enron\u2014if you borrow money from someone with the agreement to pay it back in the future, <em>that&#8217;s called a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">debt<\/span><\/em>.&#8221;<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>And these future commitments don&#8217;t appear on Uncle Sam&#8217;s balance sheet<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/dollarshock.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23206\" alt=\"dollarshock\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/dollarshock.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/dollarshock.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/dollarshock-300x187.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>What&#8217;s the real burden when you count these promises?<\/strong><\/span> Taking the &#8220;alternative fiscal scenario&#8221; from the Congressional Budget Office, which still understates the problem but is the closest Washington gets to reality, Mr. Druckenmiller calculates the net present value of Beltway commitments. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>He concludes that &#8220;<em>the future liabilities are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">$205 trillion<\/span>, not 17<\/em>.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span> It&#8217;s a staggering sum, roughly 12 times the size of the U.S. economy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Mr. Druckenmiller notes that he&#8217;s counting up all the federal promises from here to eternity, while others prefer to focus on shorter time horizons. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">And to be sure, investors in U.S. Treasury debt have a legal claim to repayment whereas future retirees have only promises from politicians.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>But that doesn&#8217;t make the need for reform any less urgent<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Not if we don&#8217;t want to see Athens&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/large_Fire-Dec8-08_GREECE_RIOTS_Meye.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23210\" alt=\"APTOPIX GREECE RIOTS\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/large_Fire-Dec8-08_GREECE_RIOTS_Meye.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/large_Fire-Dec8-08_GREECE_RIOTS_Meye.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/large_Fire-Dec8-08_GREECE_RIOTS_Meye-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;coming to America!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here&#8217;s the juice:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/252698_213683595423236_1369796190_n.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23194\" alt=\"252698_213683595423236_1369796190_n\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/252698_213683595423236_1369796190_n.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/252698_213683595423236_1369796190_n.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/252698_213683595423236_1369796190_n-300x243.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>That&#8230;and you&#8217;re an uninformed idiot.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On the Lighter Side&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/mrz102213dAPR20131022024529.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23167\" alt=\"mrz102213dAPR20131022024529\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/mrz102213dAPR20131022024529.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/mrz102213dAPR20131022024529.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/mrz102213dAPR20131022024529-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Foden20131020-Sebelius20131021031326.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23168\" alt=\"payn_c11306020131022120100\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/payn_c11306020131022120100.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/payn_c11306020131022120100.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/payn_c11306020131022120100-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23187\" alt=\"Foden20131024-OBailout20131023030603\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Foden20131024-OBailout20131023030603.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Foden20131024-OBailout20131023030603.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Foden20131024-OBailout20131023030603-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23169\" alt=\"Foden20131020-Sebelius20131021031326\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Foden20131020-Sebelius20131021031326.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Foden20131020-Sebelius20131021031326.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Foden20131020-Sebelius20131021031326-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/gv102213dAPR20131022044512.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23170\" alt=\"gv102213dAPR20131022044512\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/gv102213dAPR20131022044512.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/gv102213dAPR20131022044512.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/gv102213dAPR20131022044512-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/131021techteamRGB20131022064304.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23165\" alt=\"131021techteamRGB20131022064304\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/131021techteamRGB20131022064304.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/131021techteamRGB20131022064304.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/131021techteamRGB20131022064304-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/lb1022cd20131021091543.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23166\" alt=\"lb1022cd20131021091543\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/lb1022cd20131021091543.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/lb1022cd20131021091543.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/lb1022cd20131021091543-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/h4CCB9BB7.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23188\" alt=\"h4CCB9BB7\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/h4CCB9BB7.jpg\" width=\"450\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/h4CCB9BB7.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/h4CCB9BB7-300x240.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Then there&#8217;s this from Carl Polizzi via Zero Hedge:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/carlpolizzizerohedge1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23172\" alt=\"carlpolizzizerohedge\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/carlpolizzizerohedge1.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/carlpolizzizerohedge1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/carlpolizzizerohedge1-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we&#8217;ll call it a day with News of the Bizarre&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">Man&#8217;s body found hanging after eight years in flat near Paris <\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/brooks-was-here.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23203\" alt=\"brooks-was-here\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/brooks-was-here-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/brooks-was-here-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/brooks-was-here.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The new owner of an apartment near Paris made a shocking discovery last week when he took possession: the mummified body of the previous owner which had been hanging for eight years. <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>The body was found in the apartment in the Paris suburb of Bussy-Saint-Georges on Friday, after the flat was sold at auction following its repossession by the bank, police and judicial sources said.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The previous owner, a former security guard of Cambodian origin, appears to have committed suicide by hanging himself with a sheet. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>The man, aged around 40 when he died, had not been heard from since 2005 when he filed a labour complaint against his firing.<\/strong><\/span> He had cut ties with his family years before and neighbours believed he had returned to Cambodia. His apartment was eventually sold after he failed to make mortgage payments and to cover building charges.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Neighbours said they had no inkling of what lay inside the flat. &#8220;I thought it was an abandoned apartment,&#8221; said Camille, who lives in one of the four-storey building&#8217;s 20-odd apartments. <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>&#8220;Bussy is a commuter suburb, people don&#8217;t see each other much,&#8221; she said.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>At least no one had the gall to say &#8220;he&#8217;ll be missed&#8221;.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Thursday, October 23rd, 2013&#8230;and here&#8217;s The Gouge! First up, a fitting rendering of the greatest debacle since the introduction of New Coke: And how is the self-proclaimed Most Transparent Administration in History handling the fall-out?\u00a0 With its signature blend of misdirection&#8230; &#8230;obfuscation&#8230; &#8230;and dissimulation&#8230; &#8230;followed by&#8230; &#8230;a hasty exit stage right!\u00a0 Hells Bells; the [&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-23161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23161","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=23161"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23217,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23161\/revisions\/23217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}