#ObamaCare Wreckage: Target Drops Health Insurance for Part-Time Employees

It's the MediCaid-ization of health insurance, c/o ObamaCare.

At Bloomberg, "Target to Drop Health Insurance for Part-Time Workers." And at WSJ, "Target Cuts Health Coverage for Part-Time Workers: Retailer Points to Insurance Options Available Through Public Exchanges" (at Google).

Here's the announcement at Target's homepage, "Talking Health Care with EVP of Human Resources Jodee Kozlak" (via Yid With Lid):

At Target, we have a longstanding commitment to our team members’ health and well-being. We have been researching and evaluating how the transforming health care landscape will impact our team members and our company. Along the way, we have been firmly committed to making the best decisions for our team members and Target.

The launch of Health Insurance Marketplaces provides new options for health care coverage that we believe our part-time team members may prefer. In fact, by offering them insurance, we could actually disqualify many of them from being eligible for newly available subsidies that could reduce their overall health insurance expense.

In addition, the majority of our part-time team members who have been eligible for our health insurance coverage don’t enroll. Today, less than 10 percent of our total team member population participates in our part-time plan.

As a result, and after much thoughtful consideration, we have decided to discontinue part-time health insurance coverage for our stores’ part-time team members, beginning April 1, 2014.

Well, their enrollment for part-timers of course would have surged due to the individual mandate, so low enrollment can't be a reason for the corporate policy shift. Frankly, Target's going to save money by dumping employees onto the exchanges, and in turn their workers will be left with substandard MediCaid-style insurance, waiting lists, doctor shortages, and substandard care. We'll be hearing lots more of these stories throughout the year. Great job Democrats. And good luck in November.

Don Henley Interview

At the Los Angeles Times, "Don Henley 'thrilled' with Forum, talks about Eagles concerts there":

A major concern in the concert business has been "What happens when the Eagles stop touring?" — a question that's also been posed of other veteran acts that generate top-grossing concert tours whenever they hit the road. But last year, for the first time, seven of the top 10 grossing tours were by relative newcomers — Beyonce, Pink, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, etc. What does that say to you about what's happening in music today?

These box office charts are relatively meaningless because they're computed based on the calendar year and some tours don't fit into that timetable. For example, our tour didn't begin until July of last year and we toured until Thanksgiving, then we took a break for the holidays. The tour commences again tonight, here in Los Angeles, and runs through mid-June. So our tour spans exactly half of two different years. In any case, the concert business seems to be healthy and there is room for acts from multiple generations, playing diverse styles of music. But it's reasonable to expect that someday, in the not-too-distant future, the "classic rock" generation of performers will cease touring. But not just yet — not while so many people still want to come to our shows and we're still making them happy...

RTWT.

Henley should say that the "classic rock" bands will keep touring as long as they're able to. They're not getting any younger. Looking at you Mick Jagger!

PREVIOUSLY: "Music Review: The Eagles at the Inglewood Forum."

Sean Hannity to Leave New York After Gov. Andrew Cuomo Rant Attacking Conservatives

At Instapundit, "THE EXODUS IS HERE: Sean Hannity to Leave New York After Andrew Cuomo’s Anti-Conservative Rant."

He's not kidding. Listen at the Right Scoop, "Hannity to Cuomo: I’m leaving New York and I’m taking all my money with me…"

New Video Shows Rob Ford Using Jamaican Patois in Obscenity-Laced Monologue at Fast-Food Restaurant

At Blazing Cat Fur, "Rob Ford Sews Up the Jamaican Vote."

And at the New York Times, "Video Shows Toronto’s Mayor Using Jamaican Patois in Obscene Rant About Police Surveillance."

Katy Perry for GQ

I'm actually behind on my Rule 5 blogging, as measured by the roundups. They take a lot time to aggregate and post. I love getting everybody linked up, however. So, until then, here's some lovely Katy.

At GQ, "The GQ Cover Story: Katy Perry" (via Memeorandum). Also, "Photos: Katy Perry's GQ Cover Shoot."

And at Egotastic!, "Katy Perry is Super Hot in GQ Magazine February 2014."



RELATED: At White House Dossier, "Katy Perry: I Might Have Delivered Wisconsin for Obama."

Just keep up with the hot-tease photos and we'll overlook it.

Ezra Klein Leaving Washington Post: Split Underscores Larger Tension in Era of 'Personal Brand Journalism'

I like the idea of the "personal brand." And it's especially cool when your brand is bigger than the biggest corporate media behemoths.

Ezra Klein's gonna be just fine, whatever he does.

At Politico, "Why The Washington Post passed on Ezra Klein":

Breaking: white dude journos like Ezra Klein, very excited to see what he does next.

— allisonkilkenny (@allisonkilkenny) January 21, 2014

The Washington Post would do anything for Ezra Klein. Well, almost anything.

For nearly five years, the Post has steered a bounty of financial resources to its star economics columnist and blogger. It has allowed him to have a contributor deal with MSNBC, a column with Bloomberg View, and to write long-form for The New Yorker. It has provided him with eight staffers to keep Wonkblog, his popular policy vertical, flowing with up-to-the-minute charts and analysis. The PR department has promoted him in profile upon profile.

But when Klein proposed the creation of an independent, explanatory journalism website — with more than three dozen staffers and a multiyear budget north of $10 million — the Post said enough is enough. Indeed, Jeff Bezos, the Post’s new owner, and Katharine Weymouth, its publisher, never even offered an alternative figure, sources familiar with the negotiations said.

Now, Klein is set to take his talents elsewhere. The Washington Post’s Wonkblog account tweeted the announcement Tuesday that he is leaving: “It’s official: Ezra is leaving the Post. Hoping for the best for him.”

As early as this week, Klein is expected to announce a new venture — described in a memo to Post staffers as a new “news organization” — that will look to staff more than 30 people on the editorial side alone. Meanwhile, the Post, which for four years has benefited immensely from housing the Ezra Klein brand — Wonkblog averages more than four million page-views a month — will lose its star columnist and its claim to some of the most widely read policy analysis on the Internet.

The split, which has become a point of tension in the newsroom and the talk of the town in Washington, underscores a larger tension in the era of personal-brand journalism. Big media institutions go to great lengths to feed the egos (and pockets) of their growing stars, cultivating their image and reaping the rewards of high traffic. But when that brand becomes too expensive, or so big it threatens to outshine the institution itself, the institution is forced to let it go.

And seriously, I fail to see the white privilege racism here, but Allison Kilkenny's pretty much psycho like the rest of the leftist trans* freaks I've been dealing with.

Volokh Conspiracy Partners With the Washington Post

Via Ed Driscoll, "Volokh Conspiracy Takes the Boeing."

Check that link for the announcement, and here's Eugene Volokh at the Post, "In Brazil, you can always find the Amazon — in America, the Amazon finds you."

And flashback, to Right Wing News, "The Slow, Painful Coming Death of the Independent, Conservative Blogosphere":

Really, it’s simple: Get big or go home.

Yeah, well, partnering with the Washington Post is going pretty big. But read Volokh's entry. It's pretty funny how many assurances he gives that his blog will still have community, still have independence, etc. Indeed, he's not giving up Volokh.com in case "going big" ain't so hot after all. So, if you're a blogger, take heart. Diversity is strength. I personally don't trust (most) blogs that go all corporate. Smaller blogs keep the independent spirit alive. I mean, really. The Other McCain at the New York Times? I don't think so.

Crazed British Leftist Tries to Place Former Prime Minister Tony Blair Under Citizen's Arrest

This dolt was emboldened to attempt a citizen's arrest on Tony Blair by this stupid website called "Arrest Blair." The charge? "Crimes against peace." Yep. That's it. Reminds me of something my old stalker Repsac3 would be all about. Peace, love and all that. Imagine.

At London's Daily Mail, "Cheeky barman tried to put Tony Blair under a citizen's arrest for 'crimes against peace' while the former Prime Minister dined with his family in a trendy east London restaurant."

Also at Independent UK, "The day I tried (and failed) to arrest Tony Blair for war crimes: An encounter between the former Prime Minister and Shoreditch barman Twiggy Garcia."

Idiots. Bleedin' idiots.

Seahawks' Richard Sherman: Straight Outta Compton, So Don't Be 'Two-Faced' About It

Personally, I'd like to see more sportsmanship in the NFL.

Thus I'm not really down with Bill Plaschke's argument here, at LAT, "It's hypocritical to rip Seahawks' Richard Sherman for rant":

The national vilifying of the Seattle Seahawks' Richard Sherman for his taunting televised postgame remarks Sunday after the Seahawks' 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game cuts to the heart of sports hypocrisy.

Everyone wants to watch their heroes make incredible plays under pressure, but few can stomach the depths of the emotion required to make those plays. After cornerback Sherman literally single-handedly sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl by tipping a pass away from San Francisco's Michael Crabtree in the end zone, he plumbed those depths.

"I'm the best corner in the game," Sherman screamed at Fox Sports interviewer Erin Andrews as a stadium rocked around him in celebration. "When you try me with a sorry receiver like [Michael] Crabtree, that's the result you're gonna get. Don't you ever talk about me."

When Andrews asked who was talking about Sherman, he shouted, "Crabtree!" and then added, "Don't you open your mouth about the best or I'm gonna shut it for you real quick." Throughout the country, mouths opened in shock. The reaction on social media was quick and decisive. Sherman was overwhelmingly ripped for being a loudmouth, a bad sport, and even a thug. Criticism mounted further when Sherman called Crabtree "mediocre" during a postgame news conference. He was also nationally ripped for giving the choke sign after the play, a taunt for which he was

penalized. On Monday, Sherman showed remorse for his actions in a text message to ESPN's Ed Werder in which he wrote, "I apologize for attacking an individual and taking away from the fantastic game by my teammates … that was not my intention."

But the damage has already been done. This bright and engaging kid who ranked second in his class at Compton Dominguez High before later graduating from Stanford is somehow America's new sports villain. He is the main reason why many folks will be cheering for the Denver Broncos in the upcoming Super Bowl. He is the latest example of everything that is wrong with the modern professional football player.

Yet the truth is, he is the example of everything that is wrong with some modern professional football fans.

Oh screw that.

People thought Sherman a thug because he was acting like a thug. The choke sign, the patting on the ass with the faux handshake, and then the Erin Andrews interview. Sorry. It was a bit much. The fans are the fans. I'm surprised Bill Plaschke would respond as he does.

RELATED: More responses to Sherman from Robert Stacy McCain, "David Zirin, Marxist Sports Blogger."

Obama, Socialism and the Unlearned Lessons of Castro's Revolution

At Cambrian Dissenters:

Personally I have never subscribed to the view that socialists/progressives are afflicted by some kind of mental illness; I have always put their blind obedience to a failed ideology down to immaturity, delayed adolescence or a lack of normal intellectual abilities. Judging by the fact that they are surrounded by a mountainous amount of incontrovertible evidence, I may have to reassess my attitude.

Even historical facts fail to convince supposedly intelligent people that the continuous, abject failure of their socialist/progressive ideology is an aberration and a stain on humanity...

Keep reading. And then check this Twitter exchange here, and R.S. McCain's here (with the same "psycho").

BONUS: Via iOWNTHEWORLD, "Leftist Paradise – Cuban Bus."

Obama's Legacy: Paranoid Conspiracy Theories Aren’t Crazy Anymore

From Glenn Reynolds, at USA Today, "Government conspiracy theories aren't crazy":

The problem with government is that to be trusted, you have to be trustworthy. And the problem with the Obama administration is that, to a greater extent than any since Nixon's, it is not. Do not be surprised if the result is that people mistrust those in authority, and order their lives accordingly. Such an outcome is bad for America, but bad governance has its consequences.

RTWT.

Women 'Duped' Into Shaving Their Legs by EVIL Capitalists!

Heh.

From Darleen Click, at Protein Wisdom, "First World Problems: Women ‘duped’ into shaving their legs by EVIL capitalists."

Portsmouth Middle School Warns Parents About Schoolkids Snorting 'Smarties'

Oh god this is gross --- and I love "Smarties"!

At London's Daily Mail, "Parents warned of alarming new trend of students snorting Smarties that can lead to NASAL maggots."

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin.

Now I've seen it all: Kids are snorting Smarties candies..and attracting nasal maggots => http://t.co/TmaxU35WE5

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) January 20, 2014

Islamists Threaten Sochi Winter Olympics

At BCF, "Militant Islamist video threatens Winter Olympics."

And at Toronto's National Post, "Sochi terror fears grow as new Islamic militant video threatens to strike tourists at Olympics":

An Islamic militant group in Russia’s North Caucasus claimed responsibility Sunday for twin suicide bombings in the southern city of Volgograd last month and posted a video threatening to strike the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

There had been no previous claim of responsibility for the bombings, which killed 34 people and heightened security fears before next month’s Winter Games.

In the video, two Russian-speaking men warned President Vladimir Putin that “If you hold these Olympics, we will give you a present for the innocent Muslim blood being spilled all around the world: In Afghanistan, in Somalia, in Syria.”

They added that “for the tourists who come, there will be a present, too.”

More at London's Daily Mail, "Hunt for 'Black Widow' suicide bomber on the loose in Sochi: Wife of dead militant feared to be targeting Winter Olympics - along with THREE other female terrorists."

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Mystery! Is That 'Blurred Lines' Model Emily Ratajkowski at Bikini Photographer's Instagram?

OMG this is going to be great!

At London's Daily Mail, "EXCLUSIVE: Blurred Lines model Emily Ratajkowski scoops prestigious shoot in Sports Illustrated's 50th anniversary Swimsuit Issue."

And you know, Kate Upton's coming back for another encore. That's pretty good. They got a nice deal going over there at SI.

Grantland Grovels Before the Transgender Community's Thought Police of the Left's Ministry of Truth

Look, sometimes the left's virtually murderous backlash is too much for publishers (or producers, etc.) to withstand.

So it's no surprise that we have the obligatory (and ideologically correct) "rebuttal" piece on the pages of the website, saying Caleb Hannan's journalism "figures to be a permanent exhibit of what not to do, and how not to treat a fellow human being." The piece is written by Christina Kahrl, an ESPN reporter who's on the board of directors at GLAAD. According to GLAAD's website, Kahrl's an "out trans* woman" who was "elected into the inaugural class of the Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame in 2013." (She's officially approved to enforce sanctions against ideologically incorrect thought criminals.)

This essay by @ChristinaKahrl on Dr. V's @Grantland33 story is mind-bogglingly important. http://t.co/S9viG6vVM7
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) January 20, 2014

So proud to call @ChristinaKahrl an @espn colleague … http://t.co/1JicbSuWEs
— Kate Fagan (@katefagan3) January 20, 2014

calling this a "well-written" piece by a "curious reporter, nothing more" reads like a defense, but it's exactly the problem
— Amanda Hess (@amandahess) January 21, 2014

Young white man's career more important than trans woman's life. Where have we heard something similar before?
— Sarah Jaffe (@sarahljaffe) January 20, 2014

"It never occurred to us," and other great moments in white cis male privilege.
— allisonkilkenny (@allisonkilkenny) January 20, 2014

And then there's the official apology from Grantland's editor Bill Simmons, "The Dr. V Story - A Letter From the Editor: How 'Dr. V's Magical Putter' came to be published." As always, read the whole thing. Simmons is torn, anguished even. Deep down, you can tell, he still thinks publishing was the right thing to do. Over a dozen editors and copy editors read the final draft, as well as a handful of lawyers. No matter. He bows down low to the commissars of correctness, issuing the classic apology invoking the "mistakes were made" line (abominable mistakes, mea culpa, mea culpa!). Most important, the apology's appropriately spruced up with copious abject groveling to appease the blood-starved enforcers. Grantland's crime was that it got on the wrong side of the homosexual community's transgender mob. These are the same people who told Phil Robertson of "Duck Dynasty" to "get in line."

Here's Simmons:

Whether you believe we were right or wrong, let’s at least agree that we made an indefensible mistake not to solicit input from ANYONE in the trans community. But even now, it’s hard for me to accept that Dr. V’s transgender status wasn’t part of this story. Caleb couldn’t find out anything about her pre-2001 background for a very specific reason. Let’s say we omitted that reason or wrote around it, then that reason emerged after we posted the piece. What then?

Before we officially decided to post Caleb’s piece, we tried to stick as many trained eyeballs on it as possible. Somewhere between 13 and 15 people read the piece in all, including every senior editor but one, our two lead copy desk editors, our publisher and even ESPN.com’s editor-in-chief. All of them were blown away by the piece. Everyone thought we should run it. Ultimately, it was my call. So if you want to rip anyone involved in this process, please, direct your anger and your invective at me. Don’t blame Caleb or anyone that works for me. It’s my site and anything this significant is my call. Blame me. I didn’t ask the biggest and most important question before we ran it — that’s my fault and only my fault.

Anyway, we posted the piece on Wednesday morning. People loved it. People were enthralled by it. People shared it. People tweeted it and retweeted it. A steady stream of respected writers and journalists passed along their praise. By Thursday, as the approval kept pouring in, we had already moved on to other stories and projects.

So what happened on Friday afternoon...

You can guess what happened. The left's totalitarian thought police got wind of the story and the jig was up. (Keep reading.)

And the bottom line? Well, the Grantland editors "made one big mistake." They failed to run the piece by the transgender lobby's Ministry of Truth. Frankly, as Simmons remarks, it "never occurred to us" to get the transgender commissars' permission slip. Had they done so, they'd have had the GLAAD commissars approving every word, with the handy politically correct GLAAD manual of pre-approved style thought.

And now Simmons is scarred for life:

To my infinite regret, we never asked anyone knowledgeable enough about transgender issues to help us either (a) improve the piece, or (b) realize that we shouldn’t run it. That’s our mistake — and really, my mistake, since it’s my site. So I want to apologize. I failed.

Really. Infinite. As in infinity? That's a long time, although I'm surprised that the "Dr. V" piece itself hasn't already been incinerated in the Ministry's official memory whole for published ideological crimes against the people. (I think, actually, it's being left up as Grantland's OFFICIAL WARNING, to permanently remind writers of the boundaries of the acceptable, of how "to treat a human being" according to official diktats of the totalitarian homosexual left.)

Added: A Memeorandum thread. Plus, at the Other McCain, "The #JusticeForDrV Madness: ESPN Offers Belated ‘Condolences’? Really?"

Lying Liar Wendy Davis Called Out for Lies

This was big yesterday, via TPNN, "Democrat Wendy Davis, Candidate for Governor of Texas, Caught in Major Lies."

And now here's Robert Stacy McCain, "Let’s Slut-Shame @WendyDavisTexas!":

Smitty already took a whack at the Wendy Davis piñata today, and that’s probably enough Wendy Davis bashing for the week.

She’s so far down in the polls as to be hopelessly doomed. She will lose to Greg Abbott in November without any further help from us.

However, the point of mocking progressive celebrity women is not because such mockery will contribute to their electoral defeat. No, the purpose of deriding Democrat women is to inspire feminists to frothing rage over the alleged sexism of conservatives.

Heh. I love the frothing.

So, Abortion Barbie is a liar? I'm shocked -- shocked, I tell you!

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) January 20, 2014

Hmmm. @WendyDavisTexas: "My language should be tighter" http://t.co/1qFp97J6Yw Yeah. She's been loose with that, too.

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) January 20, 2014

To be clear: My last tweet was not meant to imply @WendyDavisTexas is a cheap dishonest two-timing floozy. Obviously, she's not cheap.

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) January 20, 2014

And I love Robert Stacy McCain.

.@RSMcCain You're positively incorrigible, lol.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 20, 2014

Seattle Seahawks' Richard Sherman Angry Michael Crabtree Rant

Here's the video, "Richard Sherman rant on Michael Crabtree!! 2014 NFC Championship."

And at Twitchy, "‘Insane’: Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman goes off during post-game interview with Erin Andrews [Vine]."

Richard Sherman needs to ingest some of that legalized weed and just chillax.

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) January 20, 2014

Plus, "‘Candid response’: Fox Sports’ Erin Andrews offers reaction to Richard Sherman sideline interview; Update: ‘Loved the emotion!’."


And at USA Today, "Could postgame rant by Seahawks' Richard Sherman become Super distraction?"

Alfonzo Rachel: Live MLK's Dream, And Get Called 'White Man's Whore' For It

ZoNation, via Theo Spark:

A Messy Divorce for Chris Christie and MSNBC

I saw something on this earlier, at Politico, "Chris Christie aide slams MSNBC’s hurricane-fund ‘assault’."

And now over at the New York Times, "For Christie and MSNBC, a Messy Divorce Plays Out in Public View":

It was a match made in moderately minded Northeast Corridor heaven.

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey needed a TV network that would burnish his bipartisan bona fides and showcase his gleefully contrarian style. MSNBC craved a Republican who cut against the party grain and lit up the screen with his everyman-ish, Springsteen-loving spontaneity.

An on-air romance blossomed, forged over chummy strolls along the Jersey Shore and heart-to-hearts in the studio about everything from overeating to education, embodying the aisle-crossing aspirations of this partisan era.

Now, the improbable relationship between a governor with his eyes on the White House and a network determined to break into the top tier, up to now so beneficial to both, has curdled in a spectacularly public fashion.

Mr. Christie is confronting the worst crisis of his career, stemming from his aides’ role in shutting down approach lanes to the George Washington Bridge. The governor’s predicament is a ratings bonanza for MSNBC, whose left-leaning viewers are eating up every development in the sordid scandal.

Over the weekend, Mr. Christie, who has appeared on MSNBC many times since taking office, angrily denounced it as a “partisan network” that is “almost gleeful in their efforts attacking” him. Christie aides have called it a “feeding frenzy.”

“There is a difference between treating this matter seriously and seeking out the truth and irresponsibly using hearsay and conjecture without confirming the facts,” Colin Reed, a spokesman for Mr. Christie, said on Sunday. Feelings are frayed on both sides. Mika Brzezinski, a co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” who makes no secret of her affection for Mr. Christie, seemed taken aback by the governor’s harsh critique.

“I was a little surprised when he took a jab at us,” she said in an interview on Sunday.

“I don’t think it’s legitimate to say this is a partisan attack,” she added. “I think this is a very real story, with legs.”

Right.

Just like how Benghazi is a Republican witch hunt, or whatever the f-k it is they're saying over there. I rarely watch the network, it's so bad. As for Christie, he got in bed with them. Screw him. No one told him the MSNBC progs were playing him for the fool? Perhaps they did, but he got so full of himself --- and the national limelight as "the one" to overcome the partisan polarization --- he just couldn't help himself. It's gotta be a harsh wake-up call.

Matthew McConaughey and Jered Leto in 'Dallas Buyers Club'

My oldest son and I saw the film last night at the Irvine Westpark 8 Cinema.

I've been wanting to see it, and it turns out that McConaughey won the SAG "Best Actor" award and Jared Leto won the SAG award for "Best Supporting Actor. See, "SAG Awards 2014: The complete list of winners and nominees." (More here, "SAG Awards 2014: 'Hustle' cast wins, tightens race to Oscars.")

We went to the 10: 15 showing, and the theater was completely empty except for me and my son. It's fun to have an entire big screen showroom to yourself. I was dancing in the aisles during the preview, lol.

In any case, the film's not for everyone (which helps explain why the theater was empty). It's a very explicit look at the homosexual scene in 1980s Dallas. I personally don't believe the term "homophobe," because the left throws around the word to slur conservatives indiscriminately, but McConaughy's character --- the real-life AIDS patient Ron Woodruff who started the "Dallas Buyers Club" after rejecting the conventional and corrupt AZT drug trials of the day --- is a macho gay-hating cowboy bullrider who nearly partied himself to the grave by the time he found out he'd contracted HIV. But as he interacts with others similarly afflicted --- especially Jared Leto's transgendered "Rayon" --- Woodruff is humanized by the experience and develops a tremendous compassion to help others. It's a great movie, but again, if you're not open minded to cinema as art and performance (and history, in this instance), then it's not going to be for you. (And of course, I don't approve of homosexuality whatsoever, although despite what people might think from blogging, I have never had problems with friends or acquaintances IRL who did the flippy-floppy.)

So, watch it when you get the chance. Jennifer Garner's also in the movie. She's a sweetie.



There's a review, with links, at Contact Music, "Matthew McConaughey Stuns In 'Dallas Buyers Club'."

And FWIW, from Patrick Mulcahey, Puff Ho, "Not Buying Dallas Buyers Club."

Shifting Marijuana Attitudes Could Spur More Legalization

Actually, shifting attitudes will spur more legalization. It's only a matter of time. But then, it's also only a matter of time before we witness the devastating social fallout. It ain't gonna be pretty.

At the Los Angeles Times, "As marijuana attitudes shift, this may be a year of legalization":

SEATTLE — The new year is shaping up to be one of the marijuana movement's strongest ever.

The first legal pot storefronts in America opened to long lines in Colorado 20 days ago. Washington state is poised to issue licenses for producing, processing and selling the Schedule I drug — once officials sift through about 7,000 applications.

Signature gatherers have been at work in at least five states, including California, to put marijuana measures on the ballot in 2014. On Wednesday, organizers announced they had gathered more than 1 million signatures in favor of putting a medical marijuana measure before voters in Florida, a high-population bellwether that could become the first Southern state to embrace pot.

"Florida looks like the country as a whole," said Ben Pollara, campaign manager for the Sunshine State's effort. "If Florida does this, it is a big deal for medical marijuana across the country."

RTWT.

Folks were also getting a laugh out of Matt Drudge yesterday:

POT BOWL! http://t.co/gtMloG2LEF

— DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) January 20, 2014

Or, as Robert Stacy McCain noted:

Really: Seattle vs. Denver? It's the Sinsemilla Super Bowl!

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) January 20, 2014

Cut Two Years Ago, Peyton Manning to Return to Super Bowl

From Bill Plaschke, at LAT, "The Peyton Manning of old spurs a new Denver Broncos feat":

DENVER — As the clock ticked to zeros amid a roaring sea of rattling orange, Peyton Manning took off his helmet and ran away from the celebration.

Before even shaking his fist into the air, he shook hands with the defeated New England Patriots.

As his Denver Broncos teammates danced into the raucous Sports Authority Field locker room after a dominating 26-16 victory in the AFC championship game, Manning walked quietly through the madhouse with the most unusual of posses.

He was accompanied by his two brothers. They hugged and posed for photos. Peyton would not stand in the middle.

It was long after the quarterback's brilliant 400-yard game Sunday returned him to his third Super Bowl that one could confirm this was really about Peyton Manning. That moment finally occurred when he was sitting alone, facing his locker, shirtless.
Only then could one see the long scar running down the back of his neck.

Manning, 37, is back in the Super Bowl just two years after many thought he would never be back in football. Manning is taking the Broncos to the biggest sporting event in America just two years after being cut by the Indianapolis Colts after missing a year because of neck surgery. Manning is headed for what could be not only his most glorious football moment, but perhaps his last football moment, as he may be forced to retire depending on a postseason neck exam.

It was an unseasonably warm afternoon chilled with such emotion that Manning's close friend and tight end Jacob Tamme wept on the field, his father Archie teared up in the locker room, and his teammates set the record for superlatives.

Said receiver Demaryius Thomas: "To do what he just did in a conference championship game? Now, that's amazing."

Said defensive tackle Terrance Knighton: "All the years going against him, all he's been through, he is just unbelievable."
Start spreading the news. The New York Super Bowl is Manning up.

"You do take a moment to realize that we've done something special," said Manning later...

Continue reading.

It's gonna be a great game.

Vanity Fair Retrospective: 50th Anniversary of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue

The February issue was going all Rule 5 or something.

See, "The Girls of Winter."

Plus, "The Luckiest Photographer on Earth":

For 38 years, Walter Iooss has photographed the world’s most beautiful women—from Cheryl Tiegs to Kathy Ireland, to Petra Nemcova—in exotic waterside locales for Sports Illustrated’s annual Swimsuit Issue. His new book, Heaven, showcases his iconic images as well as never-before-seen pictures from the shoots. Here, Iooss flips through the pages and relives his favorite moments for VF.com.

Nice work if you can get it.

From the National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Here's the report, "Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey."

It's a serious thing, although that's just the executive summary. Leftist Sarah Lennox was tweeting it out last night to argue (unsuccessfully) from authority. She was trying to attack and shame me as "hetero-privileged." I smacked that back down hard and after a few more interactions, she left the field bloodied:

@Sarah_LNX You're now attacking me as privileged? That's rich. Who are you to judge my privilege. Check my TL. My grandparents were slaves.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 19, 2014

In any case, Robert Stacy McCain had this earlier, "Journalist @CalebHannan Exposes Sociopath and Is Accused of Transphobia." And on Twitter:

@timsimms You're nuts. Dr. V was a lying con artist, and the sex-change was directly material to the scam. @calebhannan

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) January 19, 2014

And in a bizarre twist, ESPN issued a statement? At BuzzFeed, "ESPN Responds to Criticism of Grantland’s 'Dr. V' Story."

PREVIOUSLY: "Secretive Trans* Woman 'Dr. V' Kills Herself (Himself?) After Being Outed by Journalist Caleb Hannan."

Former Pro Scott Hostert Picks Up Skateboarding After 35 Years

My mom tipped me off to this article in the Los Angeles Times, which was buried way down inside the newspaper, at the Saturday wellness feature: "Middle-aged skateboarders defy family skeptics, and falls.

I laughed because my old skateboarding pals posted this picture of Scott Hostert on Facebook, at the Big O group page. I used to work at Big O Skatepark when I was in high school. Spent nearabouts every day at the park while it was open during its roughly three year run.

Hostert was on the Sims Skateboards pro team back in the day. That's me (at bottom left) just sitting, watching the action, next to the park's capsule pool, one of the greatest skatepark pools of that era.



Big O built a water slide sometime around 1981, and that was the beginning of the end for the park. The novelty wore off fast. And the water slide not only leaked all over the skateboarding pipes and pools, but it ended up being a death trap as well. See this old Los Angeles Times article, "Water Slide Victims Settle for More Than $300,000."

I would have been about 16 years old in the photograph, and going into my senior year in high school.

Not sure when, but I plan to get a new skateboard soon, and all the requisite safety gear, and head out to some of the great new skateparks that have opened up these days. I won't be looking to rekindle my former glory. Mostly, I just want to get some exercise and feel young again. I'll keep you posted.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies," and Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

CARTOON CREDIT: William Warren.

President Obama Believes Marijuana is Less Dangerous Than Alcohol

Of course he does.

From the New Yorker, "GOING THE DISTANCE: On and off the road with Barack Obama."

Image Credit: The People's Cube, "Another Newsweek Cover: The First Stoned President."

Ana Ivanovic in Epic Upset Over Serena Williams at Australian Open

The hot Serbian just decimated Serena. One of the best ladies' matches I've seen in a long time.

At LAT, "Serena Williams upset by Ana Ivanovic at Australian Open," and NYT, "Serena Williams Diplomatic in Australian Open Defeat to Ana Ivanovic":

MELBOURNE, Australia — Serena Williams sat before a bank of television cameras, below a gaggle of reporters, in both an unfamiliar and impossible position. There were no right answers, only questions. Lots of questions.

Most centered on her back and a previously undisclosed injury and how it may have impacted her fourth-round contest of the Australian Open against Ana Ivanovic on Sunday. Answer truthfully, that she nearly withdrew from two matches, and Williams risked a public lambasting for not giving Ivanovic enough credit. The alternative was to lie — and be perceived as holding back.

Williams, as best she could, opted for diplomacy. When pressed, she admitted to back pain, to taking pain medication and to needing a few days off. But she tried (mostly) to steer the conversation back toward Ivanovic, a former No. 1 who all but went missing in recent seasons.

Ivanovic, a Serbian, recorded the upset, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals. She put Williams on the defensive, controlled the rallies, ably returned serves, smacked 33 winners and attacked Williams’s backhand as if to say she had found a weakness. Ivanovic deserved much credit, and a welcome back.

And yet, it was difficult to ascertain how much credit Ivanovic deserved.

Difficult even for Williams, who said: “I don’t want to blame anything. I feel like Ana deserves all the credit. It’s not like I gave her the match.”

But, she added, “I almost didn’t play.”

For almost a year now, Williams had won professional tennis matches at an improbable 96 percent clip. Since her exit from last season’s Australian Open, she had played 80 matches, and before Sunday, she had won 77 of them.

Ivanovic had never beaten her, and had made one Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance since her French Open triumph in 2008. Yet Ivanovic said she could sense early she had a chance, at 2-2 in the first set.

For the first week of the tournament, Williams collected broken records.

She set one for most match wins in women’s singles at this tournament (with 61) and another for most women’s singles matches played (70).

All the while, she eyed an even bigger milestone: an 18th Grand Slam singles championship. That would have put Williams in even rarer company, tied with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for second-most all-time, within sight of Steffi Graf and her historic 22 titles in the open era.

To conquer Williams, opponents must return well, for her serve remains her primary weapon. Ivanovic said Williams’s serve did not seem as fast on Sunday, and while Williams garnered 13 aces, she did seem to lack some of her usual zip. Ivanovic dominated, in particular, William’s second serve, winning 59 percent of those points.

Williams cruised through the first three rounds of this Australian Open behind a succession of swift victories. She did not drop a set.

Yet she looked off on Sunday, even as she took the first set. She did not bend well on the backhand side, and she moved sluggishly. After she missed a return early in the second set, she bent over in apparent pain...

Forget all the baloney about "diplomacy" and "holding back." Williams got her butt kicked, and hard. Ivanovic was on fire. Outstanding tennis. And no there's no spin that can disguise poor play and poor sportsmanship. Williams had it handed to her.

And at the video at top, that's Chrissy Evert for ESPN with the Ivanovic interview.

Serena's press conference is here, "Serena Williams Falls to Ana Ivanovic in Australian Open."

Cuomo's Version of Liberal Tolerance

From Jonathan Tobin, at Commentary.

Also at Blazing Cat Fur, "VIDEO: Governor Cuomo: Pro-Life People Have 'No Place in the State of New York'."

And to think, I used to respect Cuomo's father, Mario. But peel off a few layers and all leftists are ultimately totalitarians.

Judge Jeanine Pirro Opening Statement Slams Hillary Clinton on Benghazi

Via Fire Andrea Mitchell.

In an Age of Lessening Privacy, Some Family Secrets Persist

Yeah, well. Life's a bitch sometimes.

At the New York Times, "Secret Histories":

After Itzhak Goldberg’s father died in 1995, at age 86, his mother gave him a watch in a red case. The 18-karat gold Patek Philippe was a rare indulgence for his father, a Polish Holocaust survivor who married, moved to Israel and ran a produce business.

As Mr. Goldberg wrote in the online magazine Tablet, when he opened the box, he was stunned to find, tucked in the folds of the guarantee booklet, a tiny, yellowing photograph of two beautiful young women he didn’t recognize. His mother was startled but made no comment. For 17 years, out of deference to her, Mr. Goldberg, now a clinical professor of radiation oncology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, did nothing. But after his mother died, he went looking for the truth.

“I knew my father wanted me to find that photograph,” he told me recently. “He was saying, ‘This is a part of my life, and I want you to know about it after I pass away.’ ”

One truism about contemporary life is that there are no more secrets. In the age of selfies, sexting, Twitter and Facebook, people are constantly spilling every intimate detail of their lives. Video cameras trace our every move; our cellphones know where we are at all times; Google tracks our innermost thoughts; the N.S.A. listens in when we dream. Everything is knowable, if you just know where to look.

But that idea is flawed. Secrets endure. Especially in families...

It's the "age of knowing." (I think that's from an AndroGel commercial, but it rings true in the contemporary culture, as I pointed out last night.)

But continue reading.

Jimmy Fallon With Alessandra Ambrosio and Doutzen Kroes for Vanity Fair

I read the full piece in hard copy. Jimmy Fallon's taking over "The Tonight Show" and the production is moving back to New York after 42 years in Los Angeles (or Burbank, blah blah). He's a great guy and the show should be great. I'll check it out.

Meanwhile, I must admit the cover's pretty killer.

See, "VF Cover Star Jimmy Fallon: 'I Could Have Been a Supermodel'," and "Jimmy Fallon: Lorne Michaels Advised Me on Who to Date (and Not Marry)."

Secretive Trans* Woman 'Dr. V' Kills Herself (Himself?) After Being Outed by Journalist Caleb Hannan

Well, the story's not quite what you'd imagine from the hysterical leftist outrage. Simply, context matters. When you live a lie, bad things are bound to happen.

First, the hysteria, at Autostraddle, "Dr. V Is Dead, Caleb Hannan Is Celebrated: Why We Can’t Accept Lazy, Transmisogynistic Journalism."

Also from far left Melissa McEwan, at Shakesville, "Careless, Cruel, and Unaccountable." And from the precious boys at The League of Ordinary Gentlemen, "Caleb Hannan, Gender Identity and Journalistic Ethics."

Look, these people lost my sympathy (and respect) at "Transmisogynistic." Society's FUBAR, doubly so, and never hesitate to lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of the left's Gramscian cultural collectivists.

Not sure what to say other than this is the strangest story I've ever worked on. http://t.co/3x9FXS2dy1
— Caleb Hannan (@calebhannan) January 15, 2014

OMFG, subject of sports "journalist" @calebhannan's story killed herself after he told her he'd out her as trans http://t.co/Nmb8nB2Glv
— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) January 18, 2014

If you want #JusticeForDrV continue to call out media's giant trans* exploitation problem. She was not the first.. http://t.co/Z94h6WIXXu
— GenderTerror.com (@Wolferfly) January 18, 2014

Hannan's main argument seems to be "yeah, I seem to have killed this woman, but that makes me a great reporter, plus she's a bitch, so."

— Sady Doyle (@sadydoyle) January 17, 2014

The lukewarm response outside of the trans* community is bewildering. It physically hurts to think about. #JusticeForDrV

— Gersande (@gersandelf) January 19, 2014

Whatever. Just do yourself and favor and see Hannan's piece at Grantland, which is probably 5,000 words but should be read in its entirety: "Dr. V’s Magical Putter."

Here's some of the key bits, but again, RTWT:

Here is what I now know about Dr. Essay Anne Vanderbilt, inventor of the Oracle GX1 putter.

She was born a boy on July 12, 1953, in Philadelphia. She was given the name Stephen Krol, a person who has not received degrees from MIT or the University of Pennsylvania. She has been married at least twice, and the brother of one of Krol’s ex-wives says Dr. V has two children, possibly more. She was once a mechanic at a Sunoco station that she also may have run in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She filed and subsequently dropped a lawsuit against Sunoco. She moved to Arizona at some point after marrying her second wife in 1997. She ended up in Bonney Lake, Washington, a short time later. She filed a “petition for change of name” on October 14, 2003, in the Pierce County, Washington, District Court. She scratched out an unsuccessful first attempt at writing “Essay” on that petition. She wrote “OLD NAME DOES NOT MATCH ME” where the court paperwork asked why she no longer wanted to be known as Stephen Krol. She worked as general manager at Trax Bar and Grill, an LGBT bar in Kent, Washington. She was the subject of three separate harassment claims from her time there, including one from a male coworker who said she made “inappropriate comments about her breasts and genitalia.” She moved to Arizona again sometime later. She met Gerri Jordan. She built a putter. She met Gary McCord. She told me the focus should be on the science and not the scientist.

What little else I know about Stephen Krol in the years before and after he changed his name comes from people who knew him, but didn’t know him well. My attempts to get in touch with members of his family and his ex-wives were unsuccessful. Some people didn’t pick up or return my calls. Others, like Ewa Kroll, whose name showed up alongside his in searches and whose relationship to Stephen I still haven’t been able to parse, hustled me off the phone as quickly as possible. “I have not talked to him for years,” she said. “I’m just going to have to say ‘good-bye’ now.”

The darkest discovery was something that occurred after Krol had decided to live as Dr. V. In 2008, she tried to kill herself with an overdose of prescription drugs and carbon monoxide poisoning from closing herself in a garage with her car running. A police report offered some explanations for why she might have tried to take her own life — Yar’s business was slow and Dr. V’s romantic relationship was on the ropes. She had recently fought with her girlfriend, Gerri Jordan, president of Yar Golf. Jordan told police that she and Dr. V were in a monogamous relationship and that they had gotten into an argument two days before. She had found Dr. V in the passenger seat of her car after the suicide attempt and tried to keep her awake. Jordan had also presumably been the first person to read the suicide note Dr. V had taped to the window of the car door, which read in part, “Tell Gorgeous Gerri that I love her.”

♦♦♦

What began as a story about a brilliant woman with a new invention had turned into the tale of a troubled man who had invented a new life for himself. Yet the biggest question remained unanswered: Had Dr. V created a great golf club or merely a great story? ....

The last time I heard from Dr. V she warned me that I was about to commit a hate crime. But before that, I received a voice mail from Jordan.

Neither of them had contacted me in months, since I had sent an email trying to confirm what I had discovered, and Jordan wrote back to deny everything. “Your attack tale should be published in the National Enquirer,” Jordan wrote, “right next to the article on Martians … If I am to believe your diatribe, what you are telling golfers is that the most scientifically advanced Near Zero MOI putter, and the science of the Inertia Matrix was invented by a lesbian auto mechanic.”

Now, Jordan’s message said she was calling to propose a deal. When I phoned her back, Jordan explained the offer. I could fly to Arizona and meet with Dr. V at her attorney’s office, where she would show me proof of her degrees from both MIT and the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. V then got on the phone and added another detail. Once I saw the documents I would have to sign a nondisclosure agreement barring me from revealing any of the details I’d learned about Dr. V’s past.

The “deal” was one I could not accept, and when I explained this Dr. V got upset. “What is your intention?” she asked. “Are you being paid by someone to destroy Yar?” Dr. V’s anger made it so that what she said came out fast and with almost no interruption. I tried to record everything she said and ask the occasional question, but it was like yelling into a wind tunnel. When she finally had said her piece, she handed the phone back to Jordan. “Well, I guess you’re just going to print what you’re going to print,” Jordan said. “Try to lead a decent life. Have a good one.” Then she hung up.

A few days later, Dr. V sent one final email. It had her signature mix of scattered punctuation and randomly capitalized words. Once upon a time I had brushed off these grammatical quirks, but now they seemed like outward expressions of the inner chaos she struggled to contain. “To whom this may concern,” it read. “I spoke with Caleb Hannan last Saturday his deportment is reminiscent to schoolyard bullies, his sole intention is to injure or bring harm to me … Because of a computer glitch, some documents that are germane only to me, were visible to web-viewers, government officials have now rectified this egregious condition … Caleb Hannan came into possession of documents that were clearly marked: MADE NON-PUBLIC (Restricted) … Exposing NON-PUBLIC Documents is a Crime, and prosecution of such are under the auspices of many State and Federal Laws, including Hate Crimes Legislation signed into Law by President Obama.”

Over the course of what was now eight months of reporting, Dr. V had accused me of being everything from a corporate spy to a liar and a fraud. She had also threatened me. One of the quotes I was able to type down during our last conversation was this: “You have no idea what I have done and what I can do.” It’s not all that menacing when transcribed, but her tone made it clear she believed she could harm me. Yet despite all that, the main emotion I felt while reading her desperate, last-ditch email was sadness. Although there were times when I had been genuinely thrilled with the revelation that Dr. V’s official narrative didn’t line up with reality, there was nothing satisfying about where the story had ended up. People had been hurt by Dr. V’s lies, but she was the person who seemed to be suffering most.

Not long after she sent her email, I got a call from a Pennsylvania phone number that I didn’t recognize. It was Dr. V’s ex-brother-in-law, who represented the closest I had gotten to finding someone who could tell me what she’d been like in her previous life. “Well, there’s one less con man in the world now,” he said. Even though he hated his former family member, this seemed like an especially cruel way to tell me that Dr. V had died. All he could tell me was what he knew — that it had been a suicide. A few weeks later a police report filled in the details.

Around 11 a.m. on October 18, Jordan walked into the home office she shared with Dr. V and found pieces from her business partner’s jewelry collection laid out on a desk next to some handwritten letters. Each letter explained which friend or family member was to get which piece of jewelry in case of Dr. V’s death. Jordan then noticed that Dr. V’s car was missing. At first, Jordan explained to the police, she didn’t think much of the missing vehicle. Jordan prepared some breakfast and then drove to her nearby apartment. When Jordan arrived and reached her bedroom, she found Dr. V lying on the floor curled in a fetal position with a white plastic bag over her head; an empty bottle of pills sat on the kitchen counter.

Writing a eulogy for a person who by all accounts despised you is an odd experience. What makes it that much harder is that Dr. V left so few details — on purpose, of course. Those who knew her in her past life refused to talk about her. Those who knew her in the life she had created were helpful right up to the point where that new life began to look like a lie. The only person who can provide this strange story with its proper ending is the person who started it. The words she spoke came during our last conversation, when she was frantically trying to convince me of things I knew couldn’t possibly be true. Yet though they may have been spoken by a desperate person at one of the most desperate times in a life that had apparently seen many, it’s hard to argue with Dr. V’s conclusions. “Nobody knows my life but me,” she said. “You don’t know what the truth is.”

Everything's a "hate crime" nowadays.

Oh brother. See more of the leftist outrage at Mediagazer.

Music Review: The Eagles at the Inglewood Forum

I was watching L.A.'s Eyewitness News on Wednesday night, and reporter Leanne Suter couldn't contain her glee at the show, "Forum in Inglewood officially reopens with Eagles show."

Sports fans will recall the Inglewood Forum as the home of the Lakers for many years. I saw my first arena concert there in 1979, when Foreigner played (the original Foreigner, of course, with the great Lou Gramm).

My wife and I have seen the Eagles in concert a couple of times in recent years (we took our boys to see the band last year at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas). And no doubt Glenn Frey and Don Henley have got this traveling show tuned in tight as a button.

Here's Randall Roberts at the Los Angeles Times, "Live review: The Eagles christen the Forum, take it easy":

Throughout the history of Southern California rock, two bands have loomed largest in America's popular imagination: the Beach Boys and the Eagles.

While the Beach Boys presented a more wholesome lifestyle involving fun (fun, fun), surfing, and chasing girls, the Eagles sold more records, attracted more groupies, preferred dusk to midday and smoked more pot. Or, as Glenn Frey said during the Eagles' return to the Forum on Wednesday: "The Beach Boys were pioneers. The Eagles were settlers."

Playing the first of six nights at the beautifully renovated Inglewood arena, the band presented a three-plus hour retrospective dubbed "History of the Eagles," a sort of concert companion to the band's 2013 documentary of the same name. Over the night, Frey, Don Henley and bandmates guided fans through the peaks and valleys of their catalog -- "Hotel California," "Lyin' Eyes," "Take It to the Limit" and more -- offering everything your average Eagles fan would want to hear, with plenty of bonus Joe Walsh wildness.

Theirs is a fascinating history, one that unfolded over the evening with instrumental clarity, pretty harmonies and many guitar solos. Delivering steady, stoned ballads and relatively revved up rockers with fellow members Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit and, for some of the night's best moments, founding member Bernie Leadon, the Eagles presented a valid argument that the best of their hits warrant continued exploration.

The messages that the Eagles spread about California life were, after all, some of the most prominent of the era. Delivered over FM airwaves at the peak of terrestrial radio's power and ingrained into the minds of anyone living through the 1970s and '80s, the Eagles' best songs captured a California settling into itself, more concerned with its valleys and hanging out than surf and sun.

The cover of "Hotel California" alone is one of the defining California images of the '70s, an updated version of orange crate art that exudes warmth and mystery. For better or worse, the Eagles helped to further characterize the region in the cultural imagination (and helped propel the careers of both David Geffen and Irving Azoff)...

There's still more at the link.

Roberts fails to mention guitarist Steuart Smith, who replaced Don Felder in 2001. Smith plays some of the band's most iconic lead solos, for example, teaming up with Joe Walsh on "Hotel California." Stay with that video at top all the way through. It's a decent amateur mobile recording and shows the jumbotron images during the song's guitar solo. Great stuff.

More at Billboard, "The Eagles Reopen The Forum in L.A. With a Nostalgic Night of Hits."

'Aquarius - Let the Sunshine In'

William Jacobson had this posted at the sidebar the other day, at Legal Insurrection.

What a blast (enjoyably so).

The Fifth Dimension - Aquarius - Let The Sunshine In http://t.co/PVvNIFkmD1 Heh. Via @LegInsurrection #Music

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 15, 2014

Denver's Peyton Manning and New England's Tom Brady Go Head-to-Head This Weekend

From CBS News, yesterday morning.



RELATED: From Jayson Jenks, at the Seattle Times, "Does NFL Have Its Manning-Brady 2.0?"

#ObamaCare Exchanges See Little Progress on Uninsured

At the Wall Street Journal, "Early Estimates Suggest That Majority of Sign-Ups Already Had Health Plans" (via Google):

Early signals suggest the majority of the 2.2 million people who sought to enroll in private insurance through new marketplaces through Dec. 28 were previously covered elsewhere, raising questions about how swiftly this part of the health overhaul will be able to make a significant dent in the number of uninsured.

Insurers, brokers and consultants estimate at least two-thirds of those consumers previously bought their own coverage or were enrolled in employer-backed plans.

The data, based on surveys of enrollees, are preliminary. But insurers say the tally of newly insured consumers is falling short of their expectations, a worrying trend for an industry looking to the law to expand the ranks of its customers.

About 48 million Americans were uninsured in 2012. The health law is expected to cut 25 million from that total by expanding state-run Medicaid programs and the pool of privately insured people who buy through state marketplaces, also called exchanges.

Only 11% of consumers who bought new coverage under the law were previously uninsured, according to a McKinsey & Co. survey of consumers thought to be eligible for the health-law marketplaces. The result is based on a sampling of 4,563 consumers performed between November and January, of whom 389 had enrolled in new insurance.

One reason for people declining to purchase plans was affordability. That was cited by 52% of those who had shopped for a new plan but not purchased one in McKinsey's most recent sampling, performed in January. Another common problem was technical challenges in buying the plans, which 30% mentioned.

Health Markets Inc., an insurance agency that enrolled around 7,500 people in exchange plans, said 65% of its enrollees had prior coverage. Around 10% were dropping out of employer coverage, either because the employer stopped offering its plan or because they could qualify for subsidies on the marketplaces. Fifteen percent had previous individual plans canceled, and 40% decided to switch into coverage bought through an exchange from previous individual plans.

At Michigan-based Priority Health, only 25% of more than 1,000 enrollees surveyed in plans that comply with the law were previously uninsured, said Joan Budden, chief marketing officer.

The trend underscores a central test for the health law, whose marketplaces are meant to steer a broad cross section of new paying customers to private insurers.

"One of the intents of the law was to address the uninsured problem in our country," said David M. Cordani, chief executive of insurer Cigna Corp. Cigna doesn't yet know what coverage its health-marketplace enrollees previously held.

Many health plans and providers are looking for the expansion of coverage to fuel growth. Insurers need to draw healthy uninsured people to offset costs, given that plans can no longer deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

People have until the end of March to choose plans under the law, so more of the uninsured could still flock to the marketplaces.

"We are in the middle of a sustained six-month open-enrollment period, and we have seen a strong interest in the product overall across the range of demographics so far," said Aaron Albright, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. which is overseeing the rollout. "We are ramping up outreach activities so that more Americans learn how they can now benefit from affordable health insurance."

More at that top link.

And from Ed Driscoll, "Krauthammer: ‘Stop the Bailout — Now’."

Illiterate Athletes a Symptom of Nationwide Problem

From Luke DeCock, at the Charlotte News & Observer, "North Carolina now a national symbol of dysfunction in college athletics":

As bad as things are at North Carolina, the truth is, North Carolina is far from alone. This time, everybody else is doing it.

We’ve been told a million times that it’s OK for athletic departments, bowls and television networks to make billions of dollars on the backs of these kids, primarily basketball and football players, because “they get a free education.”

Well, what if they don’t?

What if they’re admitted unprepared for college, given just enough help to stay eligible, and then given the boot when their time is up, no better prepared for real life, no better educated than they were when they first arrived on campus?

That’s not compensation. That is, as McAdoo put it, “a scam.”

The exploitation of college athletes, unpaid employees in an industry that generates billions of dollars, is crooked enough even when they get the education they’re promised. If they’re just being shuffled along, ignored or put deliberately into sham classes, it’s not only intellectually dishonest, it borders on fraud.

More at that top link.

I've been aggressive in covering this story because it hits so close to home. Athletes are the least prepared and least successful students in my classes. I've complained about it for years on campus, but even lowly community colleges have a huge investment in big-time sports programs. And LBCC is a large community college with a big athletic program. Needless to say, blacks are the very least prepared of all my students. It's such a problem, and so frustrating, I pull my hair out every semester. But there's little discussion institutionally, and little sympathy with the faculty on the matter.

Month One of the Anti-Israel Academic Boycott

From William Jacobson, at Legal Insurrection, "Propagandists with Ph.D.s.":

The pushback from a wide segment of American civil and political society has been breathtaking for so short a period of time. Beyond expectations.

But don’t become complacent. You really need to understand who is behind this movement.

Researching the numerous articles I have written this past month has been an eye-opener — and that from someone whose eyes were already wide open as to the nature of the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement. The hatred of Israel among the academic boycotters is beyond anything you can imagine.

The hatred of Israel is visceral, and beyond reason. Everything good about Israel is turned into a negative.

RTWT.

New Revelations in François Hollande Scandal

At the Guardian UK, "Hollande visits Trierweiler in hospital as fresh affair allegations are published":

Actress linked to president denies pregnancy rumours as French magazine Closer claims affair with Julie Gayet began in 2011.

And at Jewish News One, "New Hollande affair claims surface."

50 Ways to Celebrate Michelle Obama's Birthday

From Doug Powers, at Michelle's, "ABC has news you can use: 50 ways to celebrate Michelle Obama’s birthday":

At first I thought I was participating because after dinner during dessert I told my kids they had to give up more of their pie so others (me) could have more, but unfortunately that’s on on ABC’s list of approved ways to celebrate.

I’m looking for ABC News’ 2006 article “60 ways to celebrate Laura Bush’s birthday,” but so far I’ve turned up nothing.

President "I didn't know" has a statement about Michelle's 50th birthday. #RedNationRising #MakeDCListen #tcot #tgdn pic.twitter.com/HboTNhZ0Bx
— Diann Russell (@DiannyRants) January 17, 2014

You Cannot Be Serious! Covered California Richard Simmons #ObamaCare Dance Off Debacle

I mean let's get real. Someone on staff of California's ObamaCare exchanges thought that a Richard Simmons dance off video would encourage young people to sign up? This is literally the worst thing I've ever seen associated with promotion of the ACA. It's positively radioactive. Clips of Simmons doing the spread eagle will no doubt make their way into political ads for 2014. Heads should be rolling even as we speak.

I can't in good conscience embed the video, so see how long you can hold out without gagging at the link, "Tell a Friend - Get Covered: Richard Simmons Dance Off."

This was on Greta's this afternoon, "ObamaCare Unplugged."

And at Twitchy, "Covered California’s ‘Richard Simmons twerk-a-thon’ tries to reach uninsured Millennials."

.@TwitchyTeam The most dorky thing ever, and produced by the so-called "cool" Democrats. #Fail
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 18, 2014

This is your government on LSD http://t.co/Dx3nYpx80U
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) January 17, 2014

Whoever thought Richard Simmons was the way to get young people to sign up for Obamacare needs to get fired. Stat. http://t.co/CU3vwlvNER
— Francesca Chambers (@fran_chambers) January 17, 2014

More at the Blaze, "Yes, California, Your Tax Dollars Were Used to Finance a Richard Simmons Pro-Obamacare Dance-a-Thon," and at Hot Air, "Video: Who’s up for an ObamaCare enrollment dance-off featuring Richard Simmons?"

And at AoSHQ, "That Should Do the Trick: Obamacare's Six Hour Internet Telethon to "Get Covered" Features Contortionist, Guy Whose Expertise is "Drunk Cooking," and of Course... Richard Simmons."

OUT: Footie Pajama Guy

IN: Richard Simmons, Disco Contortionism, and cocaine-fueled gay nightmares

University of North Carolina Suspends Athlete Illiteracy Research by Mary Willingham

I've covered this story quite a bit.

And now Business Week reports, "Scandal Bowl: UNC Suspends Research by Academic Fraud Whistle-Blower":

The most outrageous scandal infecting the business of big-time college sports just took a turn for the much worse. The University of North Carolina, famed for its outstanding academics and championship-winning basketball team, announced late Thursday that it had suspended research on athlete literacy by Mary Willingham.

A campus tutor employed by the university, Willingham has done more than anyone else to shed light on classroom corruption at Chapel Hill related to keeping sports stars eligible to play. The shadow cast on her research speaks volumes about the university’s unwillingness to come to terms with the undermining of academic standards in the service of athletics.

Keep reading.

And see Glenn Reynolds, at USA Today, "Higher education, lower standards."

The Myth of the Poor, Oppressed Jihadist Never Dies

From Michelle Malkin, "John Kerry, Jihad Coddler":

The myth of the poor, oppressed jihadist never dies. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is the latest Obama administration official to peddle this odious narrative. Cue John Lennon’s cloying “Imagine,” don your plaid pajamas, and curl up with a warm cup of deadly naivete.

While meeting with Catholic Church officials at the Vatican in Rome on Monday, Kerry expounded on their “huge common interest in dealing with this issue of poverty, which in many cases is the root cause of terrorism or even the root cause of the disenfranchisement of millions of people on this planet.” In other words: If only every al-Qaida and Taliban recruit had a fraction of Kerry’s $200 million fortune, they’d all be frolicking peacefully with infidels on jet skis sporting “Coexist” bumper stickers.

This wasn’t a one-off. Kerry delivered a similar Kumbaya-style discourse at the Global Counterterrorism Forum last fall: “Getting this right isn’t just about taking terrorists off the street. It’s about providing more economic opportunities for marginalized youth at risk of recruitment.” Naturally, the Foggy Bottom apple doesn’t fall far from the Pennsylvania Avenue terror-excusing tree.

President Obama subscribes to the very same “midnight basketball” theory of counterterrorism. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Obama asserted that jihad “grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.”

The chronic cluelessness of the root-cause apologists of jihad never ceases to amaze. Britain’s MI5 reported in 2011 that two-thirds of the U.K’s jihad suspects were from middle-class backgrounds, “showing there is no simplistic relationship between poverty and involvement in Islamist extremism.” Thorough reviews of the empirical evidence shows, as the RAND Corporation reported, that “(t)errorists are not particularly impoverished, uneducated or afflicted by mental disease. Demographically, their most important characteristic is normalcy (within their environment). Terrorist leaders actually tend to come from relatively privileged backgrounds.”

Here’s a refresher cheat sheet...

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Emily Ratajkowski Photoshoot by Dominic Petruzzi

At Egotastic!, "Emily Ratajkowski Pictures: Hot and Bothered."

Customer Kills Gunman Who Burst Into Store Threatening to Kill Everyone

Down in Alabama.

At Breitbart.

And at WSFA TV in Montgomery, "Names released after customer kills gun-wielding man in Dallas Co. store."

This is local coverage. The national lamestream media won't touch it.

Lucy Pinder 2014 Official Calendar

Egotastic! had a preview last year, "Lucy Pinder Topless 2014 Calendar."

And check Lucy on Twitter.



BONUS: From Joblo Media, "Lucy Pinder is the one of the sexiest of 2014."

President Obama Speech on NSA Reforms: Draping the Banner of Change Over Surveillance Status Quo

The full speech is here, "President Obama Speaks on U.S. Intelligence Programs."

I went back to bed and missed it, although I've seen numerous clips on CNN by now.

And here's the big story at the Wall Street Journal, "Obama Says NSA's Mass Collection of U.S. Phone Data Will End: President Also to Require Court Order for Search of Information."

Folks'll be talking about this all weekend, and I already need to dump my browser tabs with more on this, but I'm intrigued how Glenn Greenwald took to the Guardian today to denounce the administration. Greenwald left the newspaper in a cloud over his partner's arrest as a courier for stolen documents. Greenwald's no longer a "journalist" in the traditional sense. He's now joined the rogue's gallery of hackers and cyberterrorists as a full blown danger to public safety. He's a traitor who'd face arrest if he stepped foot back in the United States.

In any case, here's his piece, "Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public." (Also at Memeorandum.)

.@ggreenwald returns (briefly) to @commentisfree: 'Obama's NSA 'reforms' are little more than a PR attempt' http://t.co/ZvMD8x6eAm
— GuardianUS (@GuardianUS) January 17, 2014

And here's Greenwald on the far-left Alex Wagner's show on the socialist MSNBC network.