6 Million Americans Will be Fined Under Obamacare

Congressional budget analysts released information, on Wednesday, that to some is shocking, to others is what they've been saying for a while, and others yet had been denying.

Once Obamacare is fully in place, around six million Americans, mostly in the middle class, will be fined via a tax penalty, for not having had insurance.

In 2016, the average penalty would be $1,200.

The data is from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, who in 2010 had said that it would only be four million people.

This all the more shows the blatant lies of Obama, who promised that no single person making less than $200,000 a year, or couples who combine for $250,000, would see a tax increase.

Furthermore, the great majority of those fined, nearly eighty percent, would be people making less than $55,850 or less for an individual and $115,250 or less for a family of four.

Tal Abyad Crossing Captured by Syrian Rebels

Rebels seized a border crossing from Syrian government troops, along the Turkish border, on Wednesday.

Heavy fighting had been happening, over the Tal Abyad crossing, since early Tuesday.

This marks the third border crossing, with Turkey, that the rebels have captured.

The captures are key, as they secure supply routes for the rebels, especially for weapons.

It also gives them safe zones that they control.

Nationally Respected Arizona Sheriff Dead

Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever died unexpectedly last night. According to reports, Sheriff Dever was involved in a single car accident near Williams, Arizona in Coconino County at around 7pm on September 18, 2012.

Sheriff Dever, though a local county sheriff, had national level attention. As sheriff of the border county where rancher Robert Krentz was assassinated by a drug and human trafficking cartel, Dever was among those conservative law enforcement leaders to support several landmark laws in Arizona. Among those laws were the controversial SB1070, the Arizona law that requires local police to enforce federal immigration laws, and Arizona's state law that removed the requirement for a permit to carry a concealed firearm.

Other key events Sheriff Dever's leadership impacted greatly include the 2011 Monument Fire that consumed Palominas, half of Hereford, much of the Coronado National Forest, and several small towns between Sierra Vista and the Mexican border.


The Official Cochise County Sheriff's Office  press release:

From the Sheriff's Office

It is with deep sadness and regret that the Cochise County Sheriff's Office must advise the following:

Sheriff Larry Dever was involved in a one vehicle accident near the town of Williams on Tuesday September 18, 2012 at approximately 7:00 pm. As a result of this accident Sheriff Dever was fatally wounded and did not survive. The Coconino County Sheriff's Office is in charge of the investigation.

The Dever family is aware that many will want to make contact with the family to express their condolences, however, they request that no calls be made to them at their personal residence. The Cochise County Sheriff's Office will relay all messages to the family directly. God bless the Dever family.

Condolences can be added to the Sheriff's Office Facebook page:

Please direct all calls, cards, etc to the Cochise County Sheriff's Office:

             205 N Judd Dr

                      Bisbee AZ 85603

Phone	(520) 432-9500
Email	=   Sheriff-Tips@cochise.az.gov
Website

 Original article and personal reflections posted at Mental Aikido. .

Surge in Unlocked Car Robberies

Jefferson County Sheriffs are reminding people to lock their car doors.

So far in September, the county has seen sixty-four incidents of thieves stealing from unlocked cars.

In all of September, last year, there were less than thirty, a dramatic climb.

Forty of the robberies occurred in the Ken Caryl Ranch subdivision, between September 13-16.

GPS units, wallets, purses, tools, cellphones, and cash are amongst the items stolen from the unlocked vehicles.

The Sheriff's department is also asking for the public to report any suspicious activity.

Starbucks Changes Gold Card Rewards

Regulars at Starbucks know the value of having a Starbucks gold card, and the rewards of it. A free to join membership, all it requires is that you load money on to a gift card, and that you use it every time you buy something there. Every swipe means a star, thirty stars in a year gives you gold status and rewards.

Tuesday afternoon, Starbucks announced some changes to the rewards it gives you. Instead of receiving a free drink after every fifteen stars, you'll now be getting it after every twelve. Want some free food instead of a drink? That's no longer a problem, as you can choose what you want to receive for it. Never get you postcard giving you the free drink? No problem there either, now the free drink will be automatically loaded onto your card.

Sadly, a few things have been taken away, with the changes. Soy milk and syrups will no longer be free, with your gold card. The company is also doing away with the free tall drink when you buy your pound of coffee.

Changes will not take effect until October, 16.

Chicago Teacher's Strike Suspended

Chicago Teachers Union's House of Delegates met Tuesday afternoon and overwhelmingly voted to suspend their strike.

Classes, which have been non existent since the strike started last Monday, will resume tomorrow.

Teachers had decided that they might as well teach whilst negotiations between the union and the school district occurred.

Three hundred and fifty thousand students had been effected by the strike.

Some parents of the effected children had begun counter protesting the teachers, on Tuesday, and teachers realized they were losing the support of the public.

Preview: Occupy Unmasked

Before he died, Andrew Breitbart had begun, and nearly finished, work on a film to expose Occupy's roots.

Breitbart and his team went into the Occupy camps, beyond what was shown by the press.

It shows not just what actually goes in the camps, but also who has organized them and what their future plans are, for the movement.

The movie shows the dangers that the country is facing, dangers that are purposefully being aimed for by Occupy's leaders.

Occupy Unmasked hits select theaters and goes to DVD this Friday, September 21.

Response to the 47 Percent

The Twitterverse and political junkies are fixated on a "secret Romney tape" released yesterday where the Republican presidential nominee characterizes forty-seven percent of Americans as being "dependent upon government...believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it."

Finally, we have someone willing to tell the truth about the situation America finds itself in - if only he sticks to it and doesn't wimp out under the glare of CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS... whoever.

He told the truth.

His comment brings to the surface the biggest disagreement between the two groups, conservatives and liberals - that being, who best makes decisions for the individual? To whom does the individual look for security, stability, and sustenance? Liberals view the individual as too stupid and helpless to take care of themselves - so a government grant or program has to do it for them.

I can't believe in less than 250 years our nation has gone from a group of people who conquered a continent to those sitting on their fat asses in front of a doublewide, butt-crack likely hanging out, waiting for a check, a job, food, birth control, you name it. What a group of soft wimps (well, at least forty-seven percent or so) we've become! No wonder people in the Middle East don't take our warnings or threats seriously - look at our backup! There is none!

People used to come to this country with a few coins (maybe) in their pocket, content with the OPPORTUNITY and FREEDOM to make something of themselves - OR NOT.  Sean Hannity speaks of his grandfather coming to New York from Ireland at a time when most signs said "Irish Need Not Apply" and, through hard work and sacrifice, making something of himself. Romney's father was a poor immigrant from war-torn Mexico to the United States and worked his way up to becoming the president of a major corporation.  My great-grandparents put themselves and their two children on a boat from Holland to the US - and my grandfather became a successful business owner (of a fishing lodge in Ketchikan, Alaska).

These immigrants didn't expect anything from the government except for their rights to be preserved. And there was nothing to get from the government - handout programs didn't begin until the 1930's and later. Yet these generations built a world superpower. They discovered an entire continent - mapped it, braved the elements to plow virgin ground and create the world's most productive agricultural economy. They built all of the industry to support it - railroads, steamboats, telegraph, telephone.  They innovated and developed ways to increase productivity - cotton gin, ELECTRICITY.

Yes, all of this happened in America first, not Europe. Why? Because we ENCOURAGED innovation. We REWARDED individuals for their hard work. We didn't have burdensome taxes and tariffs and fees - that scenario's been failing in Europe for hundreds of years.

And NEED, not GOVERNMENT DECREE, powered innovation. (See: Solyndra, et al.)
In Europe, the rich lived off the backs of others. There was no way to work hard and become wealthy. Maybe for a few, but not  in general. America, and the promise of equality and freedom, changed that. The only thing you had to do was get there and join the opportunity to DRIVE YOUR OWN DESTINY.
WHAT HAPPENED?

In large part, that opportunity is still here. But as a nation we've become soft. We now believe American exceptionalism means we are owed something just because we were born here. We've let our government tell us they know better - and clearly they don't. We trust the government to "fix" some problem - whether through Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance, Crop Insurance, yada yada - and it never works. It just makes it worse. And recently the current administration has shown us they won't even protect our government representatives overseas - they'll just let them be raped and murdered without consequence.

Come on, America! Wake up! We are still the most free society in the world. Freedom drives innovation. Freedom rewards hard work. Those of you in the forty-seven percent - YOU ARE NOT OWED ANYTHING. It's not "ask what your country is going to do for you."  It's "ask what you can do for your country." Well, all you're asked to do right now is take care of yourself! Yes, I know it's a difficult economy out there. But get off the government teat! Take whatever job you have to to make ends meet.  I have! I work my butt off to provide for myself and my children. As a self-employed single mom it's not easy... but possible.

Barack Obama and the Democrats don't believe you can do it. They believe you need a government jobs program, training program, or something else attached to a government handout to make it in the world. Prove them wrong.

Crossposted from "Oh, You're Right" 

132 Inmates Escape Mexican Prison

One hundred and thirty-two prisoners escaped from the prison in Piedras Negras, which is near the Texan border.

The inmates had dug a nine foot tall tunnel, that ran for nearly thirty feet, from the carpentry shop to outside the fence.

Mexican authorities have arrested the prison director and two members of his staff whilst the incident is investigated.

In Mexico, a massive manhunt is under way, and US police and border guards are doing their best to ensure that none of the escapees make it across the border.

A reward of two hundred thousand pesos, or $15,600, has been offered for the capture of each prisoner.

Mexican Pipeline Monitoring Station on Fire

A Mexican monitoring station on a natural gas pipeline near the US border has caught fire.

The pipeline near Reynosa, Mexico and McAllen, Texas, is run by Petroleos Mexicanos.

Pipelines in Mexico often fall victim to thieves who tap into the pipes to steal the oil, gas, or diesel that is being carried in them.

Multiple explosions and fires in the past have been blamed on such tappings, and it is thought that this is another such case.