Month: November 2013

Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-NC  just won that title.  According to politicalticker.com:

To the best of your knowledge, has a man ever given birth to a baby? As the hearing moved toward its end, Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-North Carolina, asked Secretary Sebelius that question, aiming to highlight that some men may be forced to buy maternity coverage as part of an insurance package under Obamacare. Sebelius responded that some men do need maternity coverage for their spouse and family, who could be covered under their policy. Ellmers insisted this is an example of why health care costs are going up, insurance coverage that may not be necessary for everyone.

Ellmers also asked why a 31 year old single man would need maternity coverage,  Well, isn’t that an interesting question.  What if Mr. 31-year-old  impregnated a woman and he married her, and picked her up on his policy.  Just out of curiosity, haven’t men always paid for maternity coverage?  Haven’t I always paid for prostate issues?  That is just such a hokey thing to get in a knot over.  I have never seen a policy where you can itemize what you want on your plan.  Add this, take this off, just isn’t open to most of us.

The worst thing about Ellmers was that she smiled behind her coffee cup after she delivered what she thought was the knock-out punch to Sebelius.  I found her behavior to be rude and juvenile.  She made an ass of herself and yet she was too smug to realize that it was she who looked like a 13 year old.

One more crazed wacko shoots up LAX Airport.  One more crazed wacko who shouldn’t have had a gun, much less an assault rifle.  Yea, that’s what many of us call those guns that are used to assault people and can kill lots of people in a matter of seconds.  One TSA agent was killed and 2 others wounded.

The shooter was shot in the stomach/chest several times and is in serious condition (obviously).  He had contacted his family.  They described him as rambling and angry.

Passengers were terrorized and ran for their lives.  Services were disrupted well into the night.

Are those of us who watched on TV just desensitized to this gun violence committed by crazed idiots with some sort of piss off at the world?  Obviously the NRA will justify why nothing should be done and that we just need more good guys with guns.

What will it take?  We have had schools, airports, colleges, malls, movie theaters, shot up.  The American public is outraged…well sort of.  Obviously not outraged enough to prioritize this issue during elections.   Obviously not outraged enough to stand up to the NRA and its talking heads.

Washingtonpost.com:

Few phrases in the Constitution have divided Supreme Court justices quite like the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which says simply: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof .”

Next week the Supreme Court will hear a case, Greece vs. Galloway,  dealing with prayer before town meetings  in Greece, NY.   Opponents of the prayers feel that Christian prayers have dominated in a pluralistic  setting.  Greece, New York has many different religions.

Read More

Finally the leaves are showing color.  The oranges and yellows are brilliant.  Some of the trees are still green.   I went to the Skyline Drive a week and a half ago and the leaves were simply uneventful.  Now it looks like there is hope.

Where are the good leaf watching spots?  There is an Episcopalian Church over in Clark County, on the way to Berryville that is one of the prettiest places on earth in the fall.  The reds and oranges are brilliant.  Maybe I should head on over!

Jon Stewart takes a look at the Sebelius testimony and the monkey court that interrogated her.  Enjoy.

vpap.org:

This is the first time, during the first five days of pre-election reporting, when a gubernatorial candidate has been out-raised by one of his or her downticket running mates. Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli reported donations of $147,000, compared to $1.3 million reported by Mark Obenshain, the GOP candidate for attorney general.

Republicans are pouring the bux into the down ticket, specifically into the Obenshain war chest.   That’s a lot of money to pour into a campaign that is obviously to deny the Democrats the sweep.

This news sent me scurrying to the Mark Herring website for a little feed the kitty time.  I have been stingy this fall.  My family has given time to the political process.  Tonight I decided to part with some of my hard earned dollars.  It’s time to keep Obenshain over in the Valley, not in Richmond.

More reading:  National Journal