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Below are some of the stories I am researching for my guest host appearance today on 550, KTSA, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. central.Listen live from anywhere. (Kinetico 15-second ad runs first) Call in at 210.599.5555.
DRIVERS PULLED OVER, ASKED FOR DNA SAMPLES BY FEDERAL CONTRACTORS IN FORT WORTH
Some drivers along a busy Fort Worth street on Friday were stopped at a police roadblock and directed into a parking lot, where they were asked by federal contractors for samples of their breath, saliva and even blood.
It was part of a government research study aimed at determining the number of drunken or drug-impaired drivers.
"It just doesn't seem right that you can be forced off the road when you're not doing anything wrong," said Kim Cope, who said she was on her lunch break when she was forced to pull over at the roadblock on Beach Street in North Fort Worth.
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FEDS MAY MANDATE NEW CARS BROADCAST LOCATION, DIRECTION AND SPEED
Before the end of this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will decide whether or not to begin the rulemaking process to mandate that newly manufactured cars include what is being called "vehicle-to-vehicle" (V2V) communications technology that constantly broadcasts via radio wave the car's location, direction, speed and, possibly, even the number of passengers it is carrying.
ALAMO PLAZA CHRISTMAS TREE IS SET UP
A sign of the holidays, a 55-foot white fir arrived at Alamo Plaza at about 8:55 a.m., all the way from Mount Shasta in northern California. Using a crane, it took about an hour for a 12-man crew to hoist the tree off a jumbo flatbed trailer, and stand it up in the middle of the open common area in front of the Alamo. But late morning, crews were still fastening the tree in place.
This year's H-E-B Christmas tree will have a military theme. The next few days, crews will put the red, white and blue lights, and silver ornaments, all in time for the 29th Annual H-E-B Tree Lighting Celebration 3-6 p.m. on Nov. 29. The Ford Holiday River Parade & Lighting Ceremony follows the plaza festival and begins at 7 p.m.
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SOME D.C. EXCHANGE PLANS COVER ELECTIVE ABORTION BUT NOT HEARING AIDS
Multiple individual plans available on the D.C. health insurance exchange specifically cover elective abortion but not hearing aids, routine foot-care, and routine eye-care. One such plan, Healthy Blue PPO $1500 (you can check it out on the DC Healthlink website here), has a summary on the D.C. exchange's website titled "Excluded Services & Other Covered Services."
It says enrollees can receive coverage for abortions performed for a non-medical reasons, but not for a number of other services that could seem medically necessary. The plan also excludes coverage for some other procedures, including cosmetic surgery, bariatric surgery, and infertility treatment.
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COLO. MAN SIGNS UP FOR HIS INSURANCE, HIS DOG GETS COVERED INSTEAD
The Colorado healthcare exchange has processed applications for thousands of people ... and one dog.
Shane Smith, of Fort Collins, says his dog Baxter received a letter informing him that a health insurance account had been opened in his name through Connect for Health Colorado.
"I thought, 'Wow, this is so awesome,'" Smith said with a laugh. "They have gone out of their way to insure my 14-year-old Yorkie."
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NOT ONE OREGONIAN HAS BEEN ABLE TO SIGN UP FOR OBAMACARE
With all the problems facing the roll-out of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, nowhere is the situation worse or more surprising than in Oregon, a progressive state that has enthusiastically embraced the federal law but has so far failed to enroll a single person in coverage through the state's insurance exchange.
Despite grand ambitions, an early start, millions of dollars from the federal government and a tech-savvy population, Oregon's online enrollment system still isn't ready more than a month after it was supposed to go live. The state has resorted to hiring or reassigning 400 people to process insurance applications by hand.
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WELLPOINT CEO SAYS OBAMACARE SIGN-UPS STILL 'ANEMIC'
The HealthCare.gov website is so problem-plagued that WellPoint Inc., the nation's second-largest insurer, is backing away from advertising its new health-care offerings, its chief executive said Tuesday.
"I'll be very candid, we have pulled back from marketing, not knowing how to get people enrolled at the moment," Joseph Swedish, WellPoint's chief executive, said in an interview at the WSJ CEO Council Tuesday.
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ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: OBAMACARE PAYMENT SYSTEMS STILL NEED TO BE BUILT
The information-technology systems of Obamacare are still anywhere from 30 to 70 percent unfinished, an administration official testified today.
Admittedly, the answer from Henry Chao, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services deputy chief information officer, in a House hearing today isn't really clear. At one point he seems to indicate 30 to 40 percent of the information-technology system supporting the Obamacare exchanges is unfinished; at another point it sounds more like he's saying 60 to 70 percent. But the news is stunning either way: HealthCare.gov was launched with some massive parts unfinished, and they are still unfinished.
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EXPERT: HACKERS CAN ACCESS PRIVATE INFO ON HEALTHCARE.GOV
Not only is healthcare.gov at risk, it may already have been compromised, a security expert testified before the Senate.
"Hackers are definitely after it," said David Kennedy, CEO of information security firm TrustedSEC before a House Science, Space, and Technology committee hearing on security concerns surrounding the problematic Healthcare.gov website.
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PERKS EASE WAY IN HEALTH PLANS FOR LAWMAKERS
Members of Congress like to boast that they will have the same health care enrollment experience as constituents struggling with the balky federal website, because the law they wrote forced lawmakers to get coverage from the new insurance exchanges.
That is true. As long as their constituents have access to "in-person support sessions" like the ones being conducted at the Capitol and congressional office buildings by the local exchange and four major insurers. Or can log on to a special Blue Cross and Blue Shield website for members of Congress and use a special toll-free telephone number - a "dedicated congressional health insurance plan assistance line."
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NEW ANTI-OBAMACARE DOCUMENTARY: WAIT TILL IT'S FREE
"Wait Till It's Free," a provocative documentary, looks at every relevant aspect of modern medicine -- from the escalating cost of health insurance to the move towards universal government healthcare.
The film asks what kind of alternatives there are for families caught between expensive insurance-based coverage and the "Free" government solutions.
Finally, the film explores the alternatives for individuals, churches, and families, and offers moving and enlightening stories about those that have chosen to follow innovative and independent approaches to healthcare.
Learn more about the documentary Wait Till It's Free.
DONOR FATIGUE? TICKETS TO OBAMA FUNDRAISER IN CALIFORNIA NOW 50 PERCENT OFF
The Democratic National Committee is reducing ticket prices for a high-dollar fundraiser in San Francisco next week that features President Obama, according to an email sent to donors Monday.
Obama is set to appear at a luncheon at the SFJAZZ Center on Nov. 25 to benefit the DNC, but whether it's a sign of donor fatigue or a general lack of interest, tickets have not been selling as expected.
"An exciting new update I would love to mention is that we have reduced the price for the general admission luncheon tickets to $500/person," Shefali Razdan Duggal, a member of the DNC's national finance committee, wrote in the email. "In addition, all current $1000 ticket holders will be upgraded to VIP (this includes premium seating near the stage and Presidential rope line access)."
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OBAMA TOO BUSY FOR GETTYSBURG ANNIVERSARY BECAUSE OF 'WHOLE WEBSITE THING'
Barack Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer says the president won't be attending the Gettysburg address anniversary today because the "whole website thing." He appears to be talking about the ongoing problems with the Obamacare website, Healthcare.gov.
Pfeiffer made the comments today in a Twitter exchange with a couple reporters:
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FIRST LADY RALLIES ON OBAMACARE: 'THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD GO I'
The president has dispatched first lady Michelle Obama to rally Democrats around his beleaguered Obamacare which she has boiled down to one religious phrase: "There but for the grace of God go I."
At a New York City fundraiser for Senate Democrats Monday, the first lady opened with a long defense of Obamacare, suggesting her audience lives by the principle that everyone should have insurance.
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EXPERT ADVISES NOT TO USE OBAMACARE OVER SECURITY CONCERNS
A panel of IT experts had one answer for Congress when asked if Americans should use the Obamacare exchanges on Healthcare.gov in light of its security concerns: "No."
A quartet of experts testifying before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology cited numerous security flaws within Healthcare.gov. They attributed the risks to the complexity of its 500 million lines of code and a rushed rollout that failed to properly test the website.
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TOM BRADY DROPS F-BOMB ON NATIONAL TELEVISION AFTER PATRIOTS LOSS TO PANTHERS
Following the 24-20 loss, Brady dropped an F-bomb on national TV as ESPN cameras picked up his audio while he furiously chased and complained to referee Clete Blakeman about a controversial call which ended the game.
"That is f----ing brutal," Brady is heard screaming.
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GITMO GOOD LIFE: U.S. SPENDS MILLIONS ON LANDSCAPING, ART CLASSES FOR TERROR DETAINEES
Thanks to a multimillion-dollar federal contract, Guantanamo Bay prisoners can enroll in seminars to learn all about basic landscaping and pruning, calligraphy and Microsoft PowerPoint while the U.S. figures out what to do with them.
Prisoners also can get in touch with their artistic sides.
"At a minimum, the art seminar shall include water color painting, charcoal sketching, Arabic calligraphy, acrylic painting and pastel painting," contract records reviewed by The Washington Times state.
The documents surfaced last week in a U.S. Court of Federal Claims lawsuit stemming from a dispute over a more than $5 million contract to provide library and seminar services to detainees at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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NORTH KOREA PUBLICLY EXECUTES 80 PRISONERS; CRIMES INCLUDE POSSESSING BIBLES
North Korea has reportedly executed 80 prisoners across several cities, some for offenses like possessing a Bible, with a human rights group calling the executions a sign that the regime of Kim Jong-un is increasingly fearful of its own people.
"These executions are a reflection of two things at work: First, unlike his father, Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong Eun has had to work aggressively to consolidate power once his father died. Remember that Kim Il Song had prepared for the transition to his son, Kim Jong-il and he was already in major leadership roles when Kim Il Song died," Suzanne Scholte, president of human rights group Defense Forum Foundation, said in an email to The Christian Post on Tuesday.
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'HOMELAND SECURITY' STILL HASN'T FIRED BLACK SUPREMACIST WHO CALLED FOR MASS MURDER OF WHITES
The black-nationalist Department of Homeland Security employee who was placed on leave almost four months ago for running a website that espouses the mass murder of whites has still not been fired, an agency spokesperson told National Journal.
The Southern Poverty Law Center first exposed Ayo Kimathi in August, prompting a small media firestorm that led DHS to place the procurement officer on administrative leave with pay pending review. DHS deputy press secretary Gillian Christensen confirmed that his status has not changed and that he is still on leave pending review.
Kimathi, using the online nom de guerre "the Irritated Genie," called for "ethnic cleansing" of "black-skinned Uncle Tom race traitors" on his website, which envisioned a massive race war on the horizon. "In order for Black people to survive the 21st century, we are going to have to kill a lot of whites-more than our Christian hearts can possibly count," he wrote.
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CENSUS 'FAKED' UNEMPLOYMENT DATA AHEAD OF '12 ELECTION
In the home stretch of the 2012 presidential campaign, from August to September, the unemployment rate fell sharply - raising eyebrows from Wall Street to Washington.
The decline - from 8.1 percent in August to 7.8 percent in September - might not have been all it seemed. The numbers, according to a reliable source, were manipulated.
And the Census Bureau, which does the unemployment survey, knew it.
Just two years before the presidential election, the Census Bureau had caught an employee fabricating data that went into the unemployment report, which is one of the most closely watched measures of the economy.
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TOM DELAY: OVERTURNED CONVICTION 'WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL GODSEND'
Former House Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) wore a relieved expression this morning at the Hay Adams Hotel where he was spotted dining with a plump man named "Ames."
When approached by a few journalists, DeLay rose, smiled and relented to answering a couple of questions. At this point in the meal, there was no food in front of the former House Whip known as "The Hammer." Just black coffee.
The first question: "How does it feel to be free?"
"It's not quite finished, but it has been appealed," he said, calling the decision a "wonderful, wonderful Godsend." Rolling his eyes, he said they "finally got it right."
In mid-September, DeLay's conviction for funneling corporate funds to Texas candidates during the 2002 election cycle was overturned, bringing him one step significantly closer to freedom. During the appeal process, the ex-congressman was out on bail and hoping to avoid the three-year prison sentence he received.
These days, DeLay said he spends the majority of his time in Houston, not Washington. His friend, Ames, said Washington ought to be shut down. DeLay grinned, and, at least visibly appeared to agree with the sentiment.
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MORE SENIORS LIVING WITH THEIR CHILDREN, BUT DON'T BLAME RECESSION
More seniors are living with their children these days, but don't blame the slow U.S. economy. Blame demographics.
Since the mid-1990s, the share of people 65 years old and over living with their children or other relatives has risen from around 6.6% to 7.3% in 2013, according to an analysis of data from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey by Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia, a real-estate listings site.
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GRANDMA'S MOVING IN! - NEW CHILDREN'S BOOK BY COMFORT, TEXAS AUTHOR
We are living in a day when grandparents are disposed of. They are sent away from those who love them to impersonal institutions where they are viewed as simply more needy people requiring care. But that's not the vision of ''honor thy father and thy mother'' which we seek to communicate.
In this uplifting illustrated children's book, little Albert wonders how he can care for his elderly grandmother who is moving into his home.
Will caring for Grandma be too hard? What can Albert even do to help her?
Journey with Albert as he discovers that caring for Grandma isn't as frazzling as he had imagined. From Benjamin the bakery man to Workout Wendell, Albert learns that you don't have to be a grown up to help care for an aging loved one. By God's grace, even a little boy like Albert can help care for his Grandma.
Author Stephanie Cone has drawn upon her own personal experience of caring for her grandmother and teamed up with illustrator Matthew Sample to produce this beautiful book which will inspire your children to embrace the opportunity to care for Grandma or Grandpa.
get the children's book Grandma's Moving In
read Stephanie Cone's blog "A Little But Older" about her motivation for writing the book.
CROWD DECLARES '2ND REVOLUTION' OUTSIDE WHITE HOUSE
Calls for Obama's resignation: 'We the People have had enough!'
Former Reagan Justice Department lawyer Larry Klayman hopes the 19th of November will rank with the 4th of July, someday.
He called the day the beginning of "The Second American Revolution."
Klayman organized a rally Tuesday at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, by the "The Reclaim America Now" coalition.
That coalition is composed of about three-dozen conservative groups, including 2 Million Bikers to D.C., Jihad Watch, Freedom Watch, Gun Owners of America, Accuracy in Media, Tea Party Patriots and the Western Center for Journalism.
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SEQUEL TO IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE IN PRODUCTION
A sequel to the 1946 holiday classic It's A Wonderful Life is finally underway and will feature an original cast member who uttered a famous line.
The follow up movie to the Frank Capra film, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, will be called It's A Wonderful Life: The Rest Of The Story.
The original black-and-white film told the tale of troubled small businessman George Bailey whose near-suicide on Christmas Eve prompts an intervention from his guardian angel.
The sequel will feature 73-year-old Karolyn Grimes, who played young Zuzu Bailey in the original film that was set in fictional Bedford Falls, according to an article on Monday in Variety.
She will return as an angel to the grandson of George Bailey, who shares the same as his grandfather.
Grimes' Zuzu character in the original film delivered the famous line, 'Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings!'
'The storyline of the new film retains the spirit of the original - every life is important as long as you have friends,' Farnsworth told Variety.
A decision about who will take on the lead role of Bailey's grandson won't be made until December.
Star Partners has been behind a number of Hollywood blockbusters such as The Right Stuff, The Color Purple and Rain Main.
 | Every Time a Bell Rings an Angel Gets His Wings -
It's a Wonderful Life Movie CLIP (1946) |
RAND PAUL: OBAMA'S ATTEMPTS TO FIX OBAMACARE ARE 'UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Obamacare is not "fixable," and the president's administrative attempts to fix it are "unconstitutional," Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told Fox News on Monday.
"One of the clear separations of powers was that the legislature was supposed to legislate and the president wasn't. He's essentially amended Obamacare maybe 20- some-odd times, and I don't think he's allowed to. And so I think it needs to be decided in court," Paul said.
watch video
MSNBC HOST'S HIDEOUS AND GRAPHIC ATTACK ON SARAH PALIN IS SO OVER-THE-TOP, WE CAN'T EVEN PUT IT IN THE HEADLINE
In an over-the-top and vile attack on Sarah Palin on Friday, MSNBC's Martin Bashir argued that the former Alaska governor is an "outstanding candidate" to receive the same horrific "dose of discipline" that a slave endured in the 1700s.
The "discipline" included being flogged with "eating kanes" and having a slave defecate in another slave's mouth. Bashir was responding to a slavery analogy Palin made when talking about the implications of American debt.
"And he mentions a similar incident in 1756, his time in relation to a man he refers to as Punch: 'Flogged punch well, and then washed and rubbed salt pickle, lime juice and bird pepper, made Negro Joe piss in his eyes and mouth,'" Bashir continued.
Finally, he got to his underlying message - that if anyone is qualified for such treatment, it's Palin.
"When Mrs. Palin invokes slavery, she doesn't just prove her rank ignorance. She confirms if anyone truly qualified for a dose of discipline from Thomas Thistlewood, she would be the outstanding candidate," he concluded.
 | | Martin Bashir Suggests Someone Should Defecate in Palin's Mouth and Urinate in Her Eyes |
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MSNBC'S MARTIN BASHIR APOLOGIZES TO SARAH PALIN
watch video apology
CHARLIE DANIELS: AMERICA CAN'T SURVIVE THE OBAMA YEARS IF HE'S LEFT ALONE TO HAVE HIS WAY
If you are offended by political incorrectness just stop reading right now - 'cause I'm going way out of bounds on this one.
When deficit spending became an accepted policy of the United States government, the nation began its long and painful journey toward an inefficient, top-heavy government and the insolvency we are now facing eye to eye.
Both parties are guilty, both parties are culpable, both parties preach fiscal responsibility and practice undisciplined, flagrant spending of the public funds, with bridges to nowhere, airports that service two planes a week and pie-in-the-sky energy projects that drain billions of dollars from the depleted public coffers and quietly go out of business leaving the treasury with not so much as a promissory note.
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BLACK LEADER TO OPRAH: PUT UP OR SHUT UP!
Black leader Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson is challenging Oprah Winfrey to put up or shut up.
Peterson, a columnist for WND and the president of the Brotherhood Organization of A New Destiny, or BOND, cites Winfrey's recent "outrageous claim that blacks in America are still terrorized by whites because of their race."
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SECRET SERVICE AGENT TO BURST OBAMA'S 'BUBBLE'
With Washington under Obama in near-meltdown mode, it's no surprise that former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino's explosive new expos� - "Life Inside the Bubble" - is already one of the hottest books in the nation as the author promises to "tell all" to the national media beginning Wednesday.
Published by WND Books, "Life Inside the Bubble" tells the story of Bongino's experiences inside the Washington, D.C., "matrix" - including within the inner sanctum of the White House - and shows readers why a government filled with some very dedicated people nevertheless continues to make tragic and perhaps fatal mistakes.
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COURT: OK TO FIRE TEACHER FOR 'RELIGIOUS MATERIALS'
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled a school district justifiably dismissed a science teacher on grounds of insubordination who kept a Bible on his desk and taught his religious beliefs in class, but the majority in the 4-3 opinion was scolded a dissenting justice for evading the constitutional issues presented by the case.
The majority opinion by Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor concluded the court didn't need to reach the constitutional issue of whether teacher John Freshwater of Mount Vernon Middle School in Mount Vernon, Ohio, who had taught for 24 years, "impermissibly imposed his religious beliefs in his classroom" because "there was ample evidence of insubordination to justify the termination decision."
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JOHN EDWARDS GETS BACK TO TRIAL LAWYERING
Before he served as a United States senator, before he made a run at the presidency and before his political career collapsed amid a sex scandal and fraud trial, John Edwards was a trial lawyer.
Now, Mr. Edwards is returning to his roots and opening a new law practice. The plaintiffs' firm, Edwards Kirby, reunites him with his former partner, David F. Kirby, and includes on its payroll his eldest daughter, Cate Edwards.
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BUTTERBALL WARNS OF SHORTAGE ON FAT TURKEYS
Just in time for Thanksgiving, the nation's top turkey producer is coming up a little short.
Butterball, based out of North Carolina, told retailers that orders for fresh 16-pound turkeys and larger have been cut in half.
The shortage is nationwide.
Woody Hunt, manager of Rainbow Foods in St. Louis Park, says 40 years ago, Butterball was like the "Cadillac of turkeys."
"Everybody wanted a Butterball, and if you didn't have a Butterball on your table you couldn't brag to your neighbors that you had the best turkey," Hunt said.
Butterball produces about 20 percent of the nation's turkeys. That's about 1.3 billion pounds of turkey meat a year.
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FLORIDA CITY UPROOTS COUPLE'S 17-YEAR-OLD GARDEN, OVER NEW ORDINANCE
Few things in life are as benign as a home vegetable garden.
But for the residents of Miami Shores, Fla., growing veggies can land you a fine - the type you eventually can't afford.
That's what happened to Hermine Ricketts and her husband, Tom Carroll. For the past 17 years they've grown a garden in the front yard of their modest South Florida home. The backyard, they say, doesn't get enough sunlight.
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