This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: “The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves”

  • And In the “Shoulda Seen This Coming” Department . . . .

    Remember that little thing called “Medicaid expansion” that was an optional part of ObamaCare? You know, the one where states could optionally expand Medicare eligibility and the Federal government would pick up the tab – for a while?

    Well, guess what. Pretty soon (2017) part of the bill starts getting transferred to the states.  (Even so, the Federal government still will pick up 90% or more of the cost for the expansion.)  And guess what that means?

    If you guessed “big bills for the states who signed up” – give yourself a pat on the back.

    Moreover, those bills are significantly larger than originally projected. Because you see – enrollment under those “expanded eligibility” guidelines has been much higher than projected.  Many states are seeing an overage of over 100% of projections.

    Gee – people finding out that they can get “free sh!t” and taking advantage.  Why would anyone ever think that might possibly happen in greater numbers than expected?  Sheesh.

    Predictably, several states are now re-looking their ObamaCare Medicare expansions. I can’t say that I blame them; in the case of one state – Florida – the projected additional cost to the state is about $5 billion over the first 10 years. Guess who’s going to pay for that if they stick with it?

    You see, when it comes to goods and services – like medical care – there isn’t really any such thing as “free”. Someone, somewhere pays for it.

    And if it’s a government giveaway like ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion . . . that means we pay for it in the form of higher taxes and interest rates. Well, at least those of us who ever pay taxes or borrow money do.

    Fox today has an article that gives more details.  It’s worth a read.

  • Doesn’t Surprise Me One Bit

    As Jonn’s previously noted, it seems that a guy named Seymour Hersh – a longtime investigative reporter well-known for his work regarding the US military and Intelligence Community – has looked into the bin Laden raid. His conclusion?

    Well, Hersh says that the POTUS did order the raid. He also says that US Navy SEALs carried it out.

    He also says damn near everything else the current       gang of fools and tools running the show in DC       Administration has said about the raid is . . . well, pretty much bull. From a very long (approx 10,000 word) article Hersh recently published in the London Review of Books:

    This spring I contacted Durrani and told him in detail what I had learned about the bin Laden assault from American sources: that bin Laden had been a prisoner of the ISI at the Abbottabad compound since 2006; that Kayani and Pasha knew of the raid in advance and had made sure that the two helicopters delivering the Seals to Abbottabad could cross Pakistani airspace without triggering any alarms; that the CIA did not learn of bin Laden’s whereabouts by tracking his couriers, as the White House has claimed since May 2011, but from a former senior Pakistani intelligence officer who betrayed the secret in return for much of the $25 million reward offered by the US, and that, while Obama did order the raid and the Seal team did carry it out, many other aspects of the administration’s account were false.

    “Kayani and Pasha” here were Pakistan’s two most senior military leaders at the time of the bin Laden raid.

    Yeah, Hersh is a liberal; I don’t much care for his politics either. But he’s also quite good at what he does. He the guy in the press who first went bigtime public with the My Lai scandal. He beat Jack Anderson to the Glomar Explorer story (Anderson only gets credit for breaking that one because the CIA Director convinced the New York Times – who Hersh worked for at the time – to sit on Hersh’s story about same that was ready considerably earlier than Anderson’s). He’s also gone public with a number of other stories related to various national intel communities and/or governments blatantly lying to the public.

    Jonn’s take on Hersh’s latest is quite different than mine.  FWIW:  best I can tell Hersh has been far closer to right over the years much more often than he’s been wrong when he’s writing about clandestine and/or intel matters. Believe him or not about this one as you like.

    I’d not recommend dismissing out-of-hand his main points here, though. Hersh is one reporter who truly knows how to do his “homework” on this kind of subject – then actually does it before he publishes. Plus, he’s been raising questions about the “official” account of the bin Laden raid for approaching 2 years – and calling out the media for not raising more questions about that account.

    Again:  I don’t agree with Hersh’s politics, but the man knows his business.  And when writing about the intel world, he’s got a pretty good track record.

    As I said earlier, the article is quite long (about 10,000 words) – but if you have some time, IMO it’s damn well worth a read.

    Yeah, IMO your leg was wet again, courtesy of the current Administration, circa mid-2011.  And I’m pretty sure that wasn’t rain.

     

    (PS:  no taradiddles were utilized during the preparation of this article. [smile])

  • More Federal Follies

    Time for another synopsis of       sh!tbaggery       “wonderful conduct” from our fine Federal government, courtesy of Drudge.

    From the VA:

    • What? Retaliate against whistleblowers? US? You must be joking!

    • Looks like it’s not just the new Denver VA hospital project that’s got problems.

    • If you’re feeling down . . . looks like you might want to keep several different Suicide Hotline numbers handy, too.

    Meanwhile, from DHS:

    • Yeah, your luggage is really secure when you travel. (Though to be fair, TSA employees don’t seem to be the big offenders here.)

    • But we’re deporting fewer criminals – we must be getting safer, right?

    • And don’t forget those “scanner anomaly” checks. Jonn wrote about those yesterday.

    Finally: speaking of US safety and security these days – we have this “improvement”, too.

    Sheesh. It will be so good to see some adult leadership in DC again.

  • Who Can It Be Now?

    Thru the “majik” of the Internet, I ran across some youthful photos of . . . well, that’s the problem. The link went down before I could read the bio info.

    So, folks – we need your help. Who might these two photos be at age 15 or so? Does anyone know them?

    No, neither of them is me. I didn’t comb my hair in a pompadour when I was that age, and still don’t.

    And I’m pretty sure neither is a youthful Colin Hay from Men at Work, either. (smile)

    Remember, please keep it clean. At least mostly. (smile)

  • Yeah, This REALLY Makes Sense

    We’ve all heard that Purple Hearts were finally authorized for those at Fort Hood gunned down by that turncoat terrorist, Hassan Nidal.  So, that means they’re recognized as having been injured in combat, and will receive all the “bennies” due them – right?

    Perhaps.  But then again, maybe not – as shown by the case of then-SSG Shawn Manning.

    Manning applied for retroactive combat-related benefits associated with his Purple Heart.  He was shot by Nidal multiple times, and still has two bullets in his body.

    On 6 April, the Army sent Manning a letter in response to his application.  They rejected his application for combat-related benefits on technical grounds.  The linked article gives the details.

    Yeah, that makes perfect sense.  And in case you’re wondering:  yeah, that last sentence was indeed 100% pure sarcasm.

    C’mon, DA.  This decision is so obviously, ludicrously wrong that it’s not even funny.  You need to fix this error pronto.

    Are you listening, Mr. McHugh?  Mr. Carter?  Hello?

  • Can You Say, “Whitewash”? Sure. I Knew You Could.

    Continuing on the theme of “transparency”, Lois Lerner – yes, the former IRS bigwig – is back in the news again.

    As I’m sure you remember, some time back Ms. Lerner refused to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The House then asked the Department of Justice to look into whether Lerner was guilty of criminal contempt.

    Well it seems as if the DoJ took a look at her refusal to testify before Congress about the IRS matter. In fact, the DoJ indeed did an “investigation” of Ms. Lerner – if you can call it that. And they’re now done with that “investigation”.

    Wanna guess what they said? Aw, c’mon – take a guess!

    Did you say, “No criminal case will be referred to a grand jury”? No? Well, why not?

    Because that’s exactly what the DoJ said. “Nothing to see here; move along.”

    Yeah, right. If you or I had pulled that stunt, we’d still be behind bars today.

    Sheesh. “Most transparent Administration in history” my freakin’ ass. More like “most obvious flimflam involving whitewash since Tom Sawyer”.

  • Still Fudgin’ Numbers All These Years

    Jonn’s article yesterday got me thinking.  And that’s sometimes not such a good thing – as regular TAH readers know all too well.  (smile)

    So, with appropriate apologies to Paul Simon:  an ode to today’s VA.

    Still Fudgin’ Numbers All These Years

    That VA manager
    In his office, right
    He seemed indiff’rent and
    Petty (though he smiled)
    As he grabbed for more resources
    To build his empire dear
    Been fudgin’ numbers many years
    Been fudgin’ numbers many years

    He’s not the kind of man
    Who enjoys making waves
    He loves to live by
    His rulebook
    And he ain’t no fan of changes
    Or reporting bad news clear
    Just fudges numbers every year
    Just fudges numbers every year

    Four in the PM
    Nodding, and
    Yawning
    Droning his life away
    He’ll never worry
    Why should he?
    It’s all gonna fade

    Now he’s got that corner office
    Plays God every day
    He swears he’ll clear that backlog
    Some damn way
    But he will not be replaced, no
    By a more competent peer
    Still fudgin’
    Yes, fudgin’
    Still fudgin’ numbers all these years

    I wish I could in good conscience say the above is satire.  But after Jonn’s article yesterday – and the recent “secret waiting list” scandals, plus the VA’s longtime covering for hundreds of fake POWs that Jonn’s written about repeatedly – I’m not really sure it is.

  • What A Crock!

    Among those trying to make a buck by screwing over GIs, add . . . the freaking Girl Scouts???

    Well, according to the Girl Scouts – no.  Rather, it’s the company with whom they’ve contracted to ship Girl Scout Cookies.

    As you might expect, Girl Scout Cookies can now be ordered online.  However, if you have them shipped to a “military address”, there’s a slight surcharge – as in $20 per order.

    The surcharge applies to military addresses overseas, including AK and HI.  Well, I can understand that – to an extent.  Shipping to those locations does often cost a bit more.

    But the extra fee also applies to military addresses in CONUS.

    I wish I was kidding – but I’m not.  I’m dead serious.

    Talk about an example of pure, outrageous bullsh!t.  Think about it: USPS is available at every installation in CONUS.  APO service is available overseas.  And any reputable shipping company can access US military installations in CONUS, AK, and Hawaii to deliver packages.

    Hey, I can see an extra fee for AK/HI/OCONUS.  But hell:  even in AK and HI, actual cost plus a fixed handling fee should be the norm – not some bogus $20 per order “surcharge”.

    Not convinced?  OK, then you tell me: why should a package delivered to, say, Fort Hood, TX, cost any more than one delivered to the adjacent community of Kileen?

    The answer: it shouldn’t – because it freaking doesn’t.  Shippers typically operate on a zone pricing basis.  Whoever is adding that extra fee for CONUS military addresses is simply generating profit via screwing over the troops and their dependents.

    As I said above: the Girl Scouts are blaming their “shipper” for this blatantly outrageous fee.  Maybe that’s actually true.

    However, given some of the other stuff I’ve seen lately about the Girl Scouts, their policies, and their political agenda . . . well, let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that they’re getting a hefty chunk of that “surcharge”.