Pouncing on Pelosi
U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., thought she'd get the jump on people opposing the demise of the Affordable Care Act after House Republicans recently released their health care plan, so she included a link to the WhiteHouse.gov page in a tweet in urging Americans to share their stories.
What she received was a slew of people - among 1,500 responses - unhappy about the plan, also known as Obamacare.
A sampling:
- "My costs have skyrocketed under Obamacare. Out of pocket almost twice what paid pre-Ocare."
- "Thanks to ACA my boyfriends premium went from $200 to $900 so now he doesn't have insurance. Thanks "
- "Please get rid of [ACA]! It is financially devastating to us in the middle class! We need to care for our families."
- "I'm now spending almost 2oK [per year] on my health insurance and when my primary [physician] retired [it was] near impossible 2 find a replacement."
President Trump got an earful himself last week during a listening session at the White House from people across the country on how the health care program has negatively affected them.
In turn, he promised "a health care plan that lowers cost, expands choice and ensures access for everyone."
In the meantime, Pelosi may be rethinking her tweeting strategy.
Millennial madness
Taxpayer-funded University of Central Florida is still reviewing the application of a club that advocates violence against political conservatives and trains members in a "leftist fight club" open to everyone but Republicans. That the 55,000-student school is reviewing the application may be telling in itself.
After all, Knights for Socialism describes itself as a "coalition of Marxist-Leninists, Anarchists and Democratic Socialists" but assures "no discrimination shall be made on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or veteran status." However, its social media posts for its leftist self-defense classes states it's open to everyone and anyone, except Republicans, according to records obtained by Judicial Watch.
At a recent workshop, the school club taught students to "Bash The Fash" (beat up Republicans). Its social media event page read: "In response to the record number of hate crimes against Latinas, Immigrants, Muslims, Women, the LGBTQIA+ community, Jews, African Americans and other minorities since the rise of Donald Trump and other Alt-Right Neo-Nazis, Knights for Socialism has decided to host a series of self-defense clinics " Women were specifically urged to attend, the article says. "Ladies: The Commander in thief is a sexual predator and rapist," it says. "He has normalized sexual assault and it is expected that sexual violence against women is going to skyrocket in the next 12 months. Please join us!"
Transparent as Swiss cheese
Remember the young Obama administration's promise to be the most transparent presidential administration ever? Well, the numbers are in, and in his last year the administration broke its own record from 2015 in spending a record amount in federal funds ($36.2 million) to fight lawsuits over the release of records requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The most taxpayer money was spent to fight suits against the Department of Justice ($12 million), the Department of Homeland Security ($6.3 million) and the Department of Defense ($4.8 million).
According to the FOIA Project, the number of lawsuits generated by FOIA requests grew every year of his presidency. The eight-year total came in at 3,416 suits, which was a 28 percent jump in the lawsuits filed during the eight years of former President George W. Bush.
FOIA requests, of course, are supposed to be honored unless disclosure would compromise national security.
Mad at Maddow
The left had a bad evening last week when MSNBC host Rachel Maddow proclaimed she had the ultimate scoop in the 2005 tax returns of President Donald Trump. Never mind that federal law says it's illegal to publish an unauthorized tax return or "return information," this was the day liberal America was waiting for - when the president would be proven the tax dodge they were sure he was.
Unfortunately for the left, the return noted the former New York businessman made $150 million and paid $38 million in taxes - about 25 percent of his income, more than then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and more than Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
The Twitterverse had a field day. Among the best:
- "Who would thought Rachel Maddow would be doing PR for President Trump! God does have a sense of humor."
- "Rachel Maddow is the personification of the entire [D]emocratic Party today They committed suicide on national TV."
- "Who else knew that Rachel Maddow was a Republican???"
- "But, but, but Trump haters told us he paid NOTHING in income taxes? $38 million in 2005?! That's a little north of ZERO."