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Right Analysis | Right Hook | Right Opinion Patriot Headlines | Grassroots Commentary FOUNDER'S QUOTE DAILY "[T]he jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government." --George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796 TODAY'S 'TOP TEN' FROM RIGHT HOOK Sebelius Demands Investigation Healthcare.gov has been such a cataclysmic failure that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius -- the person overseeing Obama's signature achievement -- has requested an investigation of her own site from the Inspector General. She made the announcement on her blog: "I have asked our Inspector General, Dan Levinson, to review the development of HealthCare.gov. We need a thorough review of the contractor performance and program management structure that resulted in the flawed launch of the website. I am asking the Inspector General to review the acquisition process, overall program management, and contractor performance and payment issues related to the development and management of the HealthCare.gov website." The one thing we can guarantee Mr. Levinson won't conclude is that the federal government is incapable of managing anything effectively. Comment | Share Signed Up but Not Paid Up Obama's HHS announced Wednesday that nearly 365,000 Americans had signed up for health insurance under ObamaCare. Most came from state exchanges; only 137,000 signed up through Healthcare.gov. That number is pathetically small given initial expectations, or especially compared to the number of cancelled policies under ObamaCare, but it gets worse. Many insurers are reporting that anywhere from 5% to 20% of enrollees have actually paid for their coverage. One industry consultant says "a plan will be lucky if half of applicants pay first month's premium on time for January coverage start." Asked in Congress about this new "glitch," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reiterated that someone who hasn't paid is "not covered. They are not enrolled." So about that 365,000... Comment | Share Oregon Trail of Cash The state of Oregon was supposed to be a poster state for setting up its own ObamaCare exchange. It is, but not in the way we were led to believe. The state squandered more than $300 million in building its exchange only to sign up a grand total of 44 people so far. According to HHS, that's the fewest people in the nation. Remember, this isn't some stubborn red state hoping to torpedo ObamaCare due to ideological opposition. Oregon is a blue state that enthusiastically embraced ObamaCare, agreeing early on to set up its own exchange. Only California and New York received more federal money to make it happen. But nearly $7 million per enrollee isn't too bad. Comment | Share Hammering Small Business We've known for some time that ObamaCare is a costly burden for small businesses that often must choose among several bad options: cutting employee hours, eating the high cost of additional benefits or paying hefty fines. The Washington Post now reports on another obscure part of the law that could really hit small business owners who own more than one business hard. Most of these owners consider their businesses to be separate enterprises. "However," the Post reports, "for the purposes of the law, regulators don't consider them all separate businesses. Instead, because they share an owner, they are treated as a single employer -- and with all those workers tallied, each of their firms must now provide health insurance." Such an onerous requirement will undoubtedly mean that these business owners opt not to open new businesses, or at least cease to expand present ones. Just another way ObamaCare is hindering the economy. Comment | Share 'Income Inequality' Explained Columnist Arnold Ahlert on one of Obama's favorite talking points, "income inequality": "[T]he 'wealth gap' that ostensibly antagonizes the president is in fact occurring. The word 'ostensibly' is critical because it is precisely this administration's embrace of the Federal Reserve's Quantitative Easing policy most responsible for it. ... [W]hat amounts to little more than a debasement of our currency, represented by the $85 billion per month of newly-created money, exacerbates the wealth gap even more: devalued currency amounts to a de facto tax on everything Americans buy. Yet while this utterly misguided policy has been a boon for the rich, the massive amount of government 'stimulus' that has necessitated it has done virtually nothing for the poor, other than providing an increasing disincentive to work. ... It is precisely the maintenance of ... dependency -- rather than the liberation from it -- that forms the heart of progressive policy-making." Comment | Share Nuclear Option Pays Off After the Senate went "nuclear" to eliminate the filibuster on judicial nominations, Democrats wasted little time in confirming a leftist to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The Senate confirmed Patricia Millett 56-38, giving Democrats a 5-4 advantage on the court. That's critical because the DC Circuit hears most cases involving federal regulations and the like. Obama now has a big advantage to preserve his various executive orders and bureaucratic rule-making. And it's just the beginning. Comment | Share Iran Deal Worse Than Feared The Obama administration initially insisted that the value of sanctions relief for Iran in the recent nuclear deal would be around $7 billion dollars. Israel, which was largely shut out of the process, objected, estimating that the benefit would be closer to $20 billion. Surprise -- it turns out the Israelis were much closer. The Iranians are lining up oil deals already, and will benefit greatly from U.S. capitulation. Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry kicked off his I'll-run-for-president-if-Hillary-doesn't tour with a thud, making asinine comments about the recent deal. Asked why he didn't bring up the subject of American hostages in Iran, Kerry said, "We don't want them to become the hostages or pawns of [the] process." Um, they already are hostages, which is sort of the point. Comment | Share Farm Bill Delayed The House and Senate won't be voting on a farm bill before lawmakers leave for Christmas recess. The reason? Wintry weather. According to Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), "We thought we were going to have a CBO score Monday morning. Turns out, there's two guys that do [these scores]. One of them has his work done, the other went to a wedding in northern New Jersey over the weekend and got stuck, and is still not back." The bill will have to wait until January at the earliest when Congress returns to Capitol Hill. And if the two sides fail to meet the deadline, at least Demos can blame climate change... Comment | Share Obama Sinking A new WSJ/NBC poll shows that Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated with Barack Obama. According to the WSJ, "Disapproval of Mr. Obama's job performance hit an all-time high in the poll, at 54%, amid the flawed rollout of the health law." (The AP reports a 58% disapproval rating.) Notably, the Journal adds, "Asked what shaped their view of the president this year, almost 60% cited the 2010 health-care law, the Affordable Care Act, as a chief factor." There's more than enough scandals plaguing this administration to run a Republican out of office, so imagine Obama's disapproval rating if the Left's low-info constituency wasn't merely concerned with how Obama's new entitlement program isn't providing all those faux promises. Comment | Share Call a Spade a Spade Columnist Burt Prelutsky: "I am equally disgusted with Republicans who have such an overinflated and infantile respect for the office of the presidency they feel they must refrain from using words such as 'liar,' 'thug,' 'bully' and 'hypocrite' -- none of which is even slightly obscene -- to describe Obama. A free people should not confuse their beloved nation with some bumbling leftist just because he happens to have won a popularity contest." Comment | Share Share Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis! Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform -- Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen -- standing in harm's way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. *PUBLIUS* The Patriot Post is protected speech pursuant to the "unalienable rights" of all men, and the First (and Second) Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. In God we trust. Copyright © 2013 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved. REPRINTING, FORWARDING AND POSTING: Subscribers may reprint, forward or post original content from The Patriot Post, in whole or part, in accordance with our Terms of Use, with the following citation: "The Patriot Post (www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/ )" You have received this email because you are subscribed to The Patriot Post. To manage your subscription or to unsubscribe, link to http://patriotpost.us/manage/.