Author: Papa Giorgio

RIP Col. Bud Day

Published by Papa Giorgio

(Front Page Magazine)

America is a poorer place today, a place whose reservoir of valor and determination has been depleted, because George “Bud” Day passed away over the weekend at the age of 88.  He was a synecdoche for heroism, a military man’s military man.  At Medal of Honor get-togethers, his fellow recipients, all of whom had accomplished legendary feats of bravery of their own, would pay special attention when Bud Day appeared.

Affordable Care Act: `Do As We Say, Not As We Do Act` (AETNA Pulls Out of Maryland Exchanges)

Published by Papa Giorgio

Via HotAir:

Much like California, the state of Maryland has been almost ostentatiously gung-ho about the implementation of the Patient “Protection” and “Affordable” Care Act. Also like California, Maryland is encountering some most unfortunate problems the likes of which only they and their fellow esteemed Democrats seem not to have seen coming.

For instance: Maryland would really very much appreciate it if the insurance companies operating in their state could offer rates that the state arbitrarily deems to be affordable and attractive offers, the better to lure potential participants into the state’s ObamaCare exchanges. Insurance companies, meanwhile, would really like it if they could avoid operating at a loss. It’s selfish, really.

Aetna Inc pulled out of Maryland’s health insurance exchange being created under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law after the state pressed it to lower its proposed rates by up to 29 percent. …

[….]

….“Unfortunately, we believe the modifications to the rates filed by Aetna and Coventry would not allow us to collect enough premiums to cover the cost of the plans, including the medical network and service expectations of our customers,” Aetna said in the letter to insurance commissioner Therese Goldsmith.

According to online documents, Aetna had requested an average monthly premium of $394 a month for one of its plans and the agency had approved an average rate of $281 per month.

And it was just the other day that ObamaCare’s supporters were touting Maryland’s lower rates as proof of the health care overhaul’s success….

…read more…

Firemen Raising Flag At Ground Zero Too `Rah-Rah` ~ Dennis Prager

Published by Papa Giorgio

Dennis Prager discusses how liberalism distorts clear thinking on many issues… this one being even the patriotic act in a photo being included in the 9/11 museum. Below is another example by Prager in music.

Further poisoning musical judgment is the Left-wing value of diversity. In 2011, Anthony Tommasini, music critic of the New York Times, published his list of the ten greatest composers who ever lived. Absent from the list was Haydn, who Tommasini acknowledged was the father of the symphony, father of the string quartet, and father of the piano sonata. Indeed, one of the avant-garde’s most celebrated modern composers (and a justly celebrated conductor), Pierre Boulez, “thinks Haydn a greater composer than Mozart,” and one of the greatest pianists who ever lived, Glenn Gould, thought Haydn’s piano sonatas were superior to Mozart’s. So, why did the New York Times music critic omit Haydn? Because, he wrote, “If such a list is to be at all diverse and comprehensive, how could 4 of the 10 slots go to composers—Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert—who worked in Vienna during, say, the 75 years from 1750 to 1825?” Diversity, not greatness, helped determine the New York Times list of the greatest ten composers. That is why Bartok, Debussy, and Stravinsky made the list but Haydn (and Handel) didn’t.

Dennis Prager, Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph (New York, NY: Broadside Books, 2012), 52-53

Larry Elder Lays Down the Law on CNN ~ Kudos to Don Lemon! (Painless Risen `Magnifying Glass` Commentary at Top)

Published by Papa Giorgio

Via The Blaze:

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly—whose comments about the problems in the black community raised a firestorm this week—has at least one supporter.

And he’s African-American and a host for rival network CNN.

Don Lemon said Saturday on his “No Talking Points” segment that O’Reilly has “a point. In fact, he’s got more than a point…In my estimation, he doesn’t go far enough.”

[….]

Lemon then listed five essential reforms black men need to make:

  • pull up pants
  • drop the N-word
  • take care of their communities
  • finish high school
  • lower rate of children born out of wedlock.