It’s How They Wrote the Law

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/392446/its-how-they-wrote-law-editors
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear King v. Burwell, a case that threatens to undermine the basic architecture of Obamacare � if it is decided on what the law actually says rather than on what the Obama administration wishes it would say at any given moment.

The language of the so-called Affordable Care Act is, on this matter at least, straightforward: Health-insurance buyers are eligible to receive subsidies when they buy plans on exchanges set up by the states. The problem for the Obama administration and for congressional Democrats is that the states and their people behave as though they have minds of their own, as though they were something other than administrative subdivisions of the federal government and clients of the Democratic party. As a result, most of the states refused to set up Obamacare exchanges � only 14 of them did so. The White House, flummoxed by this development, had the federal government step in and set up its own exchanges, and then announced � with no legal justification whatsoever � that subsidies would be available on these exchanges, too.

Lest you suspect that we are taking an opportunistically narrow reading of the law, let us revisit the words of Jonathan Gruber, the architect of the Affordable Care Act:

What�s important to remember politically about this is if you�re a state and you don�t set up an exchange, that means your citizens don�t get their tax credits � but your citizens still pay the taxes that support this bill. So you�re essentially saying [to] your citizens you�re going to pay all the taxes to help all the other states in the country. I hope that that�s a blatant enough political reality that states will get their act together and realize there are billions of dollars at stake here in setting up these exchanges. But, you know, once again the politics can get ugly around this.

This isn�t just about subsidies. Obamacare is a carrot-and-stick program: Businesses and individuals are mandated to do certain things, and they receive subsidies when they comply. But if the Americans in those states that refused to set up exchanges are ineligible for subsidies � as the law clearly states � then many of them will become exempt from the insurance mandate, too: Those who are not eligible to receive subsidies are exempt from the mandate when the cost of the least expensive policy exceeds 8 percent of their income. In addition, should a state not establish an exchange, it frees businesses in that state from the fees and regulations imposed by Obamacare�s employer mandate. Competition among states � how quaint.

The Democrats argue that if the Supreme Court insists on the letter of the law, then the results will be absurd. Of course they will: This is an absurd law, a Frankenstein�s monster sewn together from spare parts gathered from the graveyard of big-government health-care schemes. The Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act without a single Republican vote and without Republican input � it says what it says because that is the way they wrote it. Even if Democratic legislators are not very deft at crafting legislation, it is not the responsibility of the Supreme Court to bail them out.

Rather, the responsibility of the Supreme Court is to interpret the law. We have the language of the statute itself and the unambiguous declarations of its leading craftsman to guide us on the subject. There is no plausible case for the Supreme Court to decide in the administration�s favor on this issue.

If that throws open the legal architecture of Obamacare to revision, then that is not an entirely undesirable outcome. A great many congressional Democrats are implicitly aligned with a unified Republican party in recognizing that the Affordable Care Act is in many ways defective. The two parties may not agree on how to go about undoing the damage that the Obama-Pelosi-Reid model of government has inflicted on the American health-care system, but that is why we have elections. John Boehner and Mitch McConnell might remind the president of his own argument: �We won.�

The only media outlets to publish this were in the U.K.

Billy and Karen Vaughn, parents of Aaron Carson Vaughn of SEAL Team VI
(KIA), penned a blistering letter to President Obama calling for his resignation.

The must-read letter, in its entirety, is below:

Mr. Obama,

”After finally choosing to view the barbaric, on-camera beheading by ISIS of
freelance war correspondent James Foley, I have been left with a level of
rage known only to those of us who have sacrificed unspeakable offerings on
the altar of world peace.

My offering was my only son — Aaron Carson Vaughn. Aaron was a member of
SEAL Team VI. He was killed in action when a CH47D Chinook, carrying thirty
Americans and eight Afghans was shot down in the Tangi River Valley of
Afghanistan on Aug. 6, 2011.

Many times over the past three years, I have been asked what drove my son to
choose his particular career. What made him want to be a Navy SEAL? My
answer is simple.

Aaron Vaughn was a man who possessed the courage to acknowledge evil. And
evil, once truly acknowledged, demands response. Perhaps this is why so few
are willing to look it in the eye. It is much simpler — much safer — to look
the other way.

That is, unless you are the leader of the Free World.

As Commander-in-Chief, your actions — or lack thereof — Mr. President, cost
lives. As you bumble about in your golf cart, slapping on a happy face and
fist-pounding your buddies, your cowardly lack of leadership has left a
gaping hole — not only in America’s security — but the security of the
entire globe. Your message has come across loud and clear, sir: You are not
up to this job. You know it. We know it. The world knows it.

Please vacate the people’s house and allow a man or woman of courage and
substance to seize the reigns of this out-of-control thug-fest and regain
the balance we, America, have provided throughout our great history.

Thanks to your “leadership” from whatever multi-million dollar vacation you
happen to be on at any given moment, the world is in chaos. What’s been
gained, you’ve lost. What’s been lost, you’ve decimated. You’ve demolished
our ability to hold the trust of allies. You’ve made a mockery of the title
“President.” And you’ve betrayed the nation for which my son and over 1.3
million others have sacrificed their very lives.

But this should come as no surprise, since your wife uttered a vile
statement on Feb. 18, 2008, during the primary campaign — one that speaks
volumes of your true convictions. “For the first time in my adult life, I am
really proud of my country,” she said.

I am sure my deceased son thanks you for that, Mrs. Obama. Oh, and you’re
welcome.

Never in my lifetime have I witnessed such despair and such growing fear
that the world’s last best hope, America, has finally been dismantled.
Perhaps the better word is transformed — fundamentally transformed. Come to
think of it, it’s become difficult — if not impossible — to believe things
haven’t gone exactly as you planned, Mr. President.

Amazingly, in five short years, your administration has lurched from one
disaster to another. You spearheaded the ambitious rush to end the wars in
both Iraq and Afghanistan — with no plan on how to do so effectively. Also,
the release of “the Taliban five” in exchange for one American — without
consulting Congress — is also on your shoulders.

You have been at the helm during unprecedented national security leaks —
including, but not limited to the outing of SEAL Team VI on the Bin laden
raid, the outing of the Pakistani doctor who provided the intelligence for
that raid, the outing of Afghanistan’s CIA station chief, and the outing of
your personal “kill list” to make you look tough. In addition, 75 percent of
American deaths in Afghanistan and 83 percent of Americans-wounded-in-action
have occurred on your watch, according to icasualties.org.

And now, we have this recent, heinous event: the beheading of an American
citizen by a barbaric organization you foolishly referred to as “the JV
team” in your statements to the New Yorker magazine in January.

You, sir, are the JV team. It’s time for you to step down and allow a true
leader to restore our honor and protect our sons and daughters.

America has always been exceptional. And she will be again. You, Mr.
President, are a bump in our road.”

Billy Vaughn

Finally – a well-dressed Wal-Mart shopper

Just a housewife out shopping in Alaska
No permit required in Alaska for either open carry

(must be 18) or concealed carry (must be 21)

CHECK THEIR CRIME RATE, LOWEST IN OUR NATION?
Why would that be??

NOT one school shooting either!
KIND OF PUTS A TEAR IN YOUR EYE – RIGHT?

PEOPLE ARE AWESOME 2013

http://safeshare.tv/w/MRMDIWCFec

A Powerful thought… please take a moment and share..

From a Westborough Friend:

This is a powerful message to all of us. If you do nothing else today, you should read this.

Lisa Beamer on Good Morning America – you may remember, she is the widow of Todd Beamer who said

‘Let’s Roll!’ and helped take down the plane over Pennsylvania that was heading for Washington, DC

back on 9/11.

She said it’s the little things that she misses most about Todd, such as hearing the garage door open as

he came home, and her children running to meet him.

Lisa recalled this story:
“I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack.

“About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students.

“As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly

over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there.

“With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, ‘Class is over. I would like to share with

all of you, a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important.

‘Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows

when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment.

‘Perhaps this is heaven’s way of telling us that we should make the most out of every single day.’

“Her eyes, beginning to water, she went on, ‘So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on

your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn’t have to be something

you see, it could be a scent, perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone’s house, or it could be

the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one

autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground. Please look for these things, and cherish them.

‘For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the stuff of life — the little things we are put here

on earth to enjoy… the things we often take for granted.’

The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently. That afternoon,

I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole semester.”

Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I

try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.

Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot or walk on the beach at

sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double dip ice cream cone. For as we get older, it is not

the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn’t do.

If you like this, please pass it on to a friend, if not just delete it and go on with your life!