USPS to Destroy Stamps Featuring "Unsafe" Activities

From Townhall

The U.S. Postal Service is destroyingthousands of “Let’s Move”-inspired stamps due to allegations from thePresident’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition that a few of the activities on the stamps are “unsafe.” The stamps depict a variety of sporting activities, from baseball to gymnastics.

The government, however, is concerned that some of these images are not safe for people to put on envelopes as they might encourage risky behavior. The main offenders are a picture of a person doing a “cannonball dive” into a pool, a picture of someone “skateboarding without kneepads,” and a picture of a person doing a “headstand without a helmet.”

A. Headstand. Without. A. Helmet.

I cannot even come up with words to describe how stupid it is to recommend a helmet when doing a headstand.

A)That would probably hurt more than doing a headstand without a helmet, and

B)Who wears a helmet during gymnastics?

USA Gymnastics, the governing body for gymnastics in the United States, has compulsory routines for lower levels, which typically involve younger participants.Both the level one and level two (the lowest levels of the sport) routines include handstands—on a balance beam. Without a helmet.

This action is an absolute waste of money and resources. Considering the USPSlost millions of dollars last year, is destroying stamps really a smart thing to do?

Video: CBS News Slams "Disastrous" Obamacare

From Townhall

A follow-up to this morning's post chronicling Obamacare's myriad failures; CBS News surveys the wreckage and renders an unavoidable verdict (via Hot Air):

 "The president's signature achievement has become the butt of late night jokes...no one knows how many people have managed to enroll, and the administration refuses to release those numbers. The website's launch has been nothing short of disastrous. Media outlets have struggled to find anyone who's actually been successful."

If a one-year delay of the Obamacare mandate tax is good enough for Jon Stewart,Wolf Blitzer and the vast majority of the American people, why won't Democrats in Washington even consider it? To add insult to injury, how much did taxpayers fork over to build the non-functioning Obamacare website? According togovernment records, the figure appears to be north of $600 million, (somewhat appropriately) way over budget:

 The exact cost to build Healthcare.gov, according to U.S. government records, appears to have been $634,320,919, which we paid to a company you probably never heard of: CGI Federal. The company originally won the contract back in 2011, but at that time, the cost was expected to run “up to” $93.7 million – still a chunk of change, but nothing near where it ended up.

Three-and-a-half years and more than half-a-billion dollars later, the Obama administration has an unmitigated failure on its hands. This is why people don't trust big government to do big things, especially with spendthrift incompetents at the wheel. People can't enroll, passwords are being reset, insurance companies aren't receivingdata -- and the flaws run so deep that they may not be resolved for "months," based on several expert assessments. In the meantime, as millions try to sign up and, the opening for rampant exploitive fraud grows larger. The Chicago Tribune warns its readers to be wary of scam artists, an admonition citizens would be wise to heed:

 Phony ACA Insurance Cards: There is no Affordable Care Act "insurance card." The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning that con artists are trying lure people into providing Social Security numbers or bank account information so they can "send a new insurance card." With that information, the fraudsters can steal your identity. Remember, unlike Medicare, there are NO ACA cards.

Imposters posing as Navigators: The ACA created a designated breed of advisers known as "navigators," who generally work at nonprofits like the United Way or local agencies. Navigators are supposed to help answer questions and to help individuals enroll for coverage. Imposters are now calling and emailing unsuspecting consumers, posing as navigators and trying to steal their identities or sell them phony health insurance. Remember that NO ONE from the government will call you, email you or show up to your house regarding the ACA, so if one of these posers appears, hang up, hit delete or shut the door!

Medicare Card Scam: The Federal Trade Commission reports that Medicare-related complaints have skyrocketed from 117 in January to 2,164 in August. One new trick has the scammer saying that you need a new Medicare card under the new law. This is 100 percent false: there are no new Medicare cards as a result of the ACA. This scheme attempts to obtain your Medicare card because your Social Security number is printed on it, which allows for a new identity to be established.

Fake websites: The government's official website for ACA is http://www.healthcare.gov. However, cyber thieves are creating false sites with faux government seals that phish for personal information. Avoid any site EXCEPT healthcare.gov, because it could lead to identity theft or nasty computer viruses.

The sad reality is that if you think you've easily signed up for Obamacare, there's a very good chance that you're actually ensnared in a fraud. "Nothing short of disastrous," indeed. A new Associated Press poll shows that just seven percent (!) of Americans say the law's roll-out has "gone well." Who are these people? And haven't they heard that the process is "simple and user friendly"?

College Grad Says Obamacare ‘Has Raped My Future’ In Viral Letter

From CBS News

A University of Michigan graduate penned an open letter that went viral online as she described how President Barack Obama’s signature health care law hurts the working poor, and has “raped” her future. KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

(CBSDC) – A University of Michigan graduate penned an open letter that went viral online as she described how President Barack Obama’s signature health care law hurts the working poor, and has “raped” her future.

Ashley Dionne, 26, posted the now-viral letter to conservative radio host Dennis Prager’sFacebook page earlier this week.

She explains how she graduated from the University of Michigan in 2009, at which point she was told she was “too educated and wouldn’t stay” at low-paying jobs.

Dionne writes that she has a series of medical conditions, and the Obamacare system pushes her out of a system that favors the non-working poor.

“I have asthma, ulcers, and mild cerebral palsy. Obamacare takes my monthly rate from $75 a month for full coverage on my “Young Adult Plan,” to $319 a month. After $6,000 in deductibles, of course,” Dionne wrote in the Facebook post.

“Liberals claimed this law would help the poor. I am the poor, the working poor, and I can’t afford to support myself, let alone older generations and people not willing to work at all.”

The Affordable Care Act allows kids to stay on their parents’ health care plans until the age of 26.

Although she writes that she landed a job at a gym, she states that it only allows for 32 hours each week, for eight dollars an hour. And she bluntly adds that Obamacare costs for will only increase difficulties for young adults.

“This law has raped my future,” she writes. “It will keep me and kids my age from having a future at all. This is the real face of Obamacare and it isn’t pretty.”

–Benjamin Fearnow

Obamacare Supporter: ‘Of Course I Want People to Have Health Care, I Just Didn’t Realize I Would Be the One Who Was Going to Pay for It Personally’

From The Blaze

Supporters of President Barack Obama and his health care law were shocked to learn that their health care plans are being replaced with more expensive ones to comply with all the requirements of Obamacare.

A woman looks at the HealthCare. gov insurance exchange internet site October 1, 2013 in Washington, DC. US President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as it is commonly called, passed in March 2010, went into effect Tuesday at 8am EST. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Cindy Vinson, of San Jose, Calif., will reportedly pay $1,800 more each year for an individual policy. Additionally, Tom Waschura, of Portola Valley, Calif., will pay nearly $10,000 more for insurance to cover his family of four.

Both of the California residents “vote independent and are proud to say they helped elect and re-elect President Barack Obama,” according to the San Jose Mercury News. They also both anticipated their rates would go up, just not so drastically.

“Of course, I want people to have health care, I just didn’t realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally,” Vinson said.

Waschura said he was “laughing” at House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Republicans until he got his new rates in the mail.

“I really don’t like the Republican tactics, but at least now I can understand why they are so pissed about this. When you take $10,000 out of my family’s pocket each year, that’s otherwise disposable income or retirement savings that will not be going into our local economy,” he said.

“Both Vinson and Waschura have adjusted gross incomes greater than four times the federal poverty level — the cutoff for a tax credit,” the report adds.

Even so, Waschura says he is still not against Obamacare, despite the $10,000 yearly increase in his insurance plan.

“It’s just the initial shock. I’m holding out hope that there will be a correction over a handful of years,” he said.