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In a major setback for the Affordable Care Act, the D.C. Circuit just released a fractured opinion invalidating the IRS’s rule extending tax credits to federally facilitated exchanges. The case, Halbig v. Sebelius, centers on the portion of the ACA governing the calculation of tax credits. The statute specifies that tax credits are available to most people who purchase a health plan “through an Exchange established by the State under 1311.” (See my earlier posts for a more detailed recap.) About two-thirds of the states, however, declined to establish exchanges. In those states, the federal government stepped in and established...

Statement regarding Halbig v. Burwell.July 22, 2014 | (202) 228-7561WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today released the following statement regarding the Halbig v. Burwell decision: "The D.C. Circuit's decision today in Halbig v. Burwell is a repudiation of Obamacare and all the lawlessness that has come with it," said Sen. Cruz. "The Obama Administration, through the Internal Revenue Service, has attempted to dispense revenues to the states without proper congressional authorization, robbing Congress of its constitutionally-provided power of the purse. This decision restores power to Congress and to the people and if properly enforced, should shield citizens...

At first blush, a federal appeals court’s decision on Tuesday that dealt what many considered to be a near” fatal blow” to the Affordable Care Act could also appear to be a blow to Republicans’ hopes for retaking the Senate in November. Obamacare supporters are enraged. The decision in Halbig v. Burwell, which invalidated the federal government’s ability to provide subsidies for those Americans who purchased insurance through a federal health insurance exchange, could mean a major increase in premium rates for more than half of the 8 million who enrolled in ACA plans. The appeals court ruled that, as...

The issue of illegal immigration continues to cover national headlines. After reading articles and talking with friends and coworkers, it’s easy to hear a lot of terms trying to personify an international issue. You have probably heard the words “immigrant,” “migrant,” “alien” or maybe even “refugee” to describe people who come into the U.S. illegally. We wanted to look at what these terms specifically mean. Merriam-Webster dictionary describes the word ‘immigrant‘ as “a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence.” The word ‘migrant‘ means “a person who goes from one place to another especially to find...

Sally Quinn founded the “On Faith” section of The Washington Post, and she’s shown a repeated pattern of loathing conservative Christians, especially Sarah Palin. In Saturday’s , she went there again, trashing Sarah Palin as selfishly ruining our political culture, insisting she recommends a “long long silent retreat for her.” Rather typically, Quinn was cooing over a feminist Buddhist lecturer named Tara Brach: Brach quotes the spiritual teacher Swami Satchidananda as saying that the difference between illness and wellness is the I in illness and the We in wellness. What has been happening in politics in Washington lately is symptomatic...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)During a town hall with young people, President Obama explained how he deals with people who criticize him. “I just don’t watch TV,” Obama joked, after he was asked about his critics during a town hall promoting the White House "My Brother's Keeper" initiative. Obama advised young people to listen to critics who actually had their interests at heart. “Who gives you constructive criticism because they’re invested in the same things you are but maybe can see the things you can’t, versus folks who are just -- what’d someone say -- hatin’? Somebody just hatin’, just haters?” Obama said. Obama...

Southwest Key Programs is the largest provider of services to unaccompanied children in the United States. The group has illegal child units in seven states.An Austin-based company has received over $120 million so far this year to shelter illegal immigrant children.(VIDEO-AT-LINK) KEYE TV reported: More than $100 million of federal grant money this year has gone to an Austin based company that runs unaccompanied minor shelters across the country. Its website says Southwest Key Programs is the largest provider of services to unaccompanied children in the United States. Their headquarters is in Austin, Texas. A brief online description details the...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)The British newspapers, like the British government, are pinning the blame for the Malaysian Airlines disaster on Putin. Most Americans, whether Democrats or Republicans, would see things the way these UK headlines do: "Putin is a pariah – he must be treated as such" "Britain and America implicate Russia in Flight MH17 missile attack" "Two British families killed by 'Putin the terrorist'" And over a column written by Prime Minister David Cameron, this headline: "This is an outrage made in Moscow" However, some well-informed conservatives in Britain are pointing the finger for the war in Ukraine not at Putin, but...

A House Democrat is calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban e-cigarette flavors and celebrity marketing practices that she says target children. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) wrote to the FDA Monday warning e-cigarette makers are trying to entice children with flavors such as “chocolate, gummy bear, bubble gum and strawberry.” She also warned the industry is using “celebrity endorsements” to encourage young people to take up smoking the nicotine vaporizers. “Due to the growth in child and adolescent experimentation with these alternative delivery systems, I urge the FDA to move quickly to ban child-friendly flavorings and youth-oriented...

In the wake of President Obama’s reelection in 2012, reporters found one source of solace for the GOP. “One race the Republicans appear to be winning is the one for the deepest bench of rising stars,” wrote the Washington Post, and plenty of folks followed up. Democrats, meanwhile, had nobody on the bench but Hillary Clinton – a formidable candidate if she were to run, but that wasn’t even certain. Beyond Clinton, there seemed to be a wasteland populated by ambitious governors no one had ever heard of (Martin O’Malley), and some who were well known but not widely liked...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK) HBO supernatural drama takes aim at conservatives in bloody takedown. HBO's “True Blood” took another stab at conservatives on Sunday's episode when it left a bloody mess of an event held in Ted Cruz's honor. It was exactly what the doctor ordered for an ailing Eric (Alexander Skarsgard), who has been infected with the dangerous virus that's killing vampires. He was all ready to meet the true death until his progeny Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten) informed him that Sarah Newlin, part of the group manufacturing the virus, was still alive and on the run. That was enough for...

Rows of candles were set up last week at the home of Rabbi Zalman and Toba Grossbaum, co-directors of Chabad of Livingston, N.J., so community members and family could welcome in Shabbat and pray for the people of Israel.With the Sabbath approaching, Israel Defense Force troops are on the ground in Gaza, with Jews everywhere praying for their safety. Throughout the world came calls for prayer and good deeds on behalf of the Israeli soldiers, and all people threatened by ongoing missile attacks, with special emphasis on Jewish women and girls lighting Shabbat candles, and for families to join with...

MILITARY UPDATE: VA Asks Hill Not To Open ‘Floodgates’ to Private Care.The ambitious push by Congress and its veteran affairs committees to swiftly solve a health care wait-time crisis for tens of thousands of veterans by granting access to private sector care appears to have run hard aground. After four weeks, House-Senate conferees, working through their staffs to iron out differences in separate veteran health reform bills, need some major breakthroughs, according to lawmakers and staff. “I am very concerned that this conference committee will end up taking a step backward for veterans’ health care in this country,” said Sen....

On July 7th, the Mississippi GOP Executive Committee certified the results of the June 24th primary run-off, declaring Thad Cochran the winner. Senator McDaniel has not accepted this result, and has refused to concede the election. McDaniel volunteers have been scouring ballot boxes and poll books across Mississippi’s 82 counties .. when they have been allowed access. Approximately two dozen county clerks still refuse to allow the McDaniel camp to examine the records. McDaniel representatives are expressing confidence that they have a case to make, believing they can cast overwhelming doubt on the 7,600 vote margin of victory that the...

Barring any groundbreaking new developments, Congressional Republicans have no intention of trying to impeach President Barack Obama, despite calls for the commander-in-chief’s ouster by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin. “The Constitution is very clear as to what constitutes grounds for impeachment of the President of the United States,” House Judiciary Chair Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., told ABC's George Stephanopoulos last week. “He has not committed the kind of criminal acts that call for that.” Other establishment Republicans have similarly dismissed impeachment talk as little more than blowhards seeking headlines. “No responsible Republican elected official has called for impeachment,”...

As Obama moves toward allowing millions of undocumented people to stay in the U.S., Republicans face a defining choice.Inflammatory as it's been, the debate over unaccompanied Central American children crossing the U.S. border is only the warm-up for an approaching immigration confrontation with even greater stakes. Regardless of how Congress handles his request for more border resources, President Obama is moving toward a historic—and explosive—executive order that will provide legal status to a significant number of the estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. One senior White House official says that while "what's happening at the border will provide...

Texas Rep. Joaquín Castro on Monday said Gov. Rick Perry is “militarizing our border” with his reported decision to deploy state National Guard troops there. “We should be sending the Red Cross to the border not the National Guard to deal with this humanitarian crisis,” the Democratic congressman said in an email. “The children fleeing violence in Central America are seeking out border patrol agents. They are not trying to evade them. Why send soldiers to confront these kids?” Militarizing our border is the wrong response to the arrival of children,” Castro continued. “I remain hopeful that our state can...

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak reached a deal with the leader of the pro-Russian separatists in control of the MH17 crash site to allow "safe access" for international investigators. "Under difficult and fluid circumstances, we have been discussing the problems that have occupied us all: securing vital evidence from the aircraft, launching an independent investigation, and above all recovering the remains of those who lost their lives," Razak said in a statement. "Tonight, we have established the basis of an agreement to do just that." The remains of 282 victims of the crash, currently in Torez, will be moved by...

Speaking at the Western Conservative Summit at Colorado Christian University on Saturday, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) made the case for the undocumented immigrant children flowing over the American-Mexican border to be sent to places liberals are known to dwell. “Notice they (law enforcement officials) are not hauling illegals to those swanky ‘hoods of D.C. or Manhattan or San Francisco,” Palin said. “They’re housed in vacant schools in working class neighborhoods? Why not [unintelligible] and Columbia U? There, too, school’s out for summer.” Palin also dubbed the border situation an “invasion” that has been facilitated by President Barack Obama....

On Saturday, 200 people marched through the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles protesting racial profiling and gun violence on the first anniversary of the verdict acquitting George Zimmerman of murdering Trayvon Martin. The crowd, led by Trayvon Martin’s parents, carried banners and chanted, “What do we want?... Justice. What do we want?… Justice.” According to CBS2 Los Angeles, the rally was organized by the Trayvon Martin Foundation, which states on its website that its purpose is to “create awareness of how violent crime impacts the families of the victims and to provide support and advocacy for those families in response...