Portuguese Government Falls As Socialists, Communists Topple PM

Well it wasn't hard to see this coming.

As detailed here on Tuesday, Antonio Costa and the Socialists have fulfilled their promise of ousting Portuguese PM Pedro Passos Coelho's government just days after President Anibal Cavaco Silva reappointed the premier on the heels of largely inconclusive elections. 

PORTUGUESE PARLIAMENT REJECTS PM COELHO'S GOVERNMENT PROGRAM
PORTUGAL GOVERNMENT FALLS AFTER LAWMAKERS BLOCK COELHO PLAN

For those who missed it, the Socialists moved to form a government with the Left Bloc and the Communists and when Silva decided to give them the political equivalent of a swift slap in the face by reappointing Coelho, the stage was set for a veritable mutiny.

Today's events validate Communist leader Jerónimo de Sousa's contention that Silva's decision would amount to a "manifest waste of time."

Here's AP:

Anti-austerity lawmakers have forced Portugal's new center-right government to resign by rejecting its policy proposals.

The showdown comes less than two weeks after the center-right government was sworn in.

The moderate Socialist Party forged an unprecedented alliance with the Communist Party and the radical Left Bloc to get a majority in the 230-seat Parliament and vote down the proposals Tuesday.

After four years in power the government lost its parliamentary majority in an Oct. 4 general election, which saw a public backlash against austerity measures adopted following a 78 billion-euro ($84 billion) bailout in 2011.

Socialist leader Antonio Costa is expected to become prime minister in coming weeks, supported by the Communists and Left Bloc. The have promised to alleviate austerity, though critics fear a return to borrow-and-spend policies.

So get ready Brussels and Berlin, because you might be in for another anti-austerity battle only this time, the country in question "matters."

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Pocketbook Pain: The Rapidly Rising Cost Of Living Is Absolutely Killing The Middle Class In America

All over America, the middle class is dying and poverty is on the rise.  One of the primary reasons for this is the rapidly rising cost of living in the United States.  The cost of just about everything that average families shell out money for on a regular basis – food, rent, health insurance, etc. – is rising much faster than wages are.  In a previous article I noted that the federal poverty level for a family of five is $28,410, but 51 percent of all American workers are making less than $30,000 a year at this point.  We have seen an explosion in the number of people in this country that are considered to be “the working poor” and it gets worse with each passing year.

One of the most frustrating things for me personally is the rising cost of health insurance.  Barack Obama promised that his program would result in a decline in health insurance premiums by as much as $2,500 per family, but in reality average family premiums have increased by a total of$4,865 since 2008.

Just recently, I got a letter informing me that my health insurance premiums would be going up by close to 20 percent in 2016.  That is on top of an increase of more than 30 percent in 2015.  Sadly, the exact same thing is happening to millions of other families all over the nation.  The following comes from TruNews…

The Obamacare increases for 2016 have been released. Premiums will increase 3 times faster than officials claim.

Every state is different. Every insurer is different. New Mexico residents, for instance, can expect increases of 8 to 40 percent for the second-lowest cost silver plan. But for people in other states, including Arkansas the cost will increase less than 4 percent. Overall the average increase is 20.3 percent, according to analysis by The Daily Caller News Foundation, instead of the 7.5 percent originally asserted.

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Garth Brooks to play first-ever Baltimore show with Trisha Yearwood in January

WASHINGTON – He just passed Elvis as the top-selling solo artist of all time and remains second only to The Beatles overall.

Now, country legend Garth Brooks is about to play his first-ever show in Baltimore, Maryland.

Garth and wife Trisha Yearwood will play Royal Farms Arena on Friday, Jan. 29 and Saturday, Jan. 30.

Tickets go on sale on Friday, Nov. 20 at 10 a.m.

This will be Garth’s first appearance in Maryland in over 19 years.

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RussRant: The Poppy Cover-Up Book?

Several years ago, when I heard that George H.W. Bush’s “biographer” was preparing an authorized account of the 41st president’s life, I was curious, to say the least. How would he handle the remarkable fact that Bush 41, known to friends and family as “Poppy,” was nothing like the man the public thought he was?

Two Faces, Neither Good

For anyone unfamiliar with my work: I spent five years researching Poppy and his clan for my book, Family of Secrets. In the course of my digging, I was positively gobsmacked to discover that this supposedly mild-mannered, nerdy, inarticulate, awkward, indecisive fellow had actually been much more interesting and consequential.

From the moment he went to World War II as a naval aviator through successive stints as an oilman, congressman, diplomat, and party official, his official work masked the fact that he was deeply immersed in the spy world. He was involved with a succession of highly secretive covert operations affecting not just outcomes in his own country but around the world — from the Bay of Pigs to coups abroad and scandals and cataclysms at home — including Watergate and Iran Contra. (To learn more, begin here,Part 1 of a series of 10 excerpts from Family of Secrets.)

Publicly, he said he couldn’t recall where he was when John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, but I found out. Guess where? Dallas! Guess who he was working for? The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)! Whose longtime director and master coup planner, Allen Dulles, a close friend of the Bush family, had two years earlier been forced out by JFK.

This “double life,” explains why in 1976 — at a moment when Congress was digging into the deepest secrets of the CIA and threatening to dismember that powerful and unaccountable club — the man chosen to run it was none other than the “pleasant”, preppy, purported non-spook, George H.W. Bush.

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Utah judge removes child from lesbian foster parents

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah state child welfare officials on Wednesday were reviewing a ruling by a juvenile court judge who ordered a baby to be taken from lesbian foster parents and instead placed with a heterosexual couple for the child's well-being.

Judge Scott Johansen's order Tuesday raised concerns at the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, agency spokeswoman Ashley Sumner said.

Its attorneys plan to review the decision and determine what options they have to possibly challenge the order.

The ruling came during a routine hearing for April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce. They are part of a group of same-sex married couples who were allowed to become foster parents in Utah after last summer's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made gay marriage legal across the country, Sumner said.

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How Law Enforcement Can Use Google Timeline To Track Your Every Move

THE RECENT EXPANSION of Google’s Timeline feature can provide investigators unprecedented access to users’ location history data, allowing them in many cases to track a person’s every move over the course of years, according to a report recently circulated to law enforcement.

“The personal privacy implications are pretty clear but so are the law enforcement applications,” according to the document, titled “Google Timelines: Location Investigations Involving Android Devices,” which outlines the kind of information investigators can now obtain.

The Timeline allows users to look back at their daily movements on a map; that same information is also potentially of interest to law enforcement. “It is now possible to submit a legal demand to Google for location history greater than six months old,” the report says. “This could revitalize cold cases and potentially help solve active investigations.”

The report was written by a law enforcement trainer, Aaron Edens, and provides detailed guidance on the wealth of historic location information available through Google Timeline and how to request it. A copy of of the document was obtained by The Intercept.

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Hillary Acolytes 'Trying to Shut Down FBI Probe'

The Clinton “spin machine” appears to be behind a report claiming Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has overruled the finding of Intelligence Community Inspector General Charles McCullough that two Hillary Clinton emails sent on her private server contained highly classified information, investigative author Ed Klein told WND.

“It’s not true that Director of National Intelligence Clapper has overruled Inspector General Charles McCullough,” Klein said after a careful reading of news articles regarding the FBI’s probe of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state.

The FBI is investigating whether she violated the Espionage Act’s subsection pertaining to “gross negligence” in the safekeeping of national defense information, a source familiar with the investigation told Fox News in October.

“I’m assuming the Obama response team has gone to work, as they always do, and made the phone calls needed to make, including, I’m sure, to the office of the director of national intelligence, James Clapper,” said Klein, known for his exposes of the Kennedys, Clintons and Obamas.

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Ineligible recipients received millions in Virginia Medicaid benefits

Virginia’s Medicaid program has a backlog of applications for eligibility that has cost the state and federal governments up to $38 million in benefits to ineligible recipients, according to a new report that identifies gaps in the $8 billion system.

A new study documents an overburdened social services system — supervised by the state but administered locally — that has allowed people to re-enroll for benefits for which they are no longer eligible at an estimated cost of $21 million to $38 million in the 2014 fiscal year.

Republicans in the House of Delegates pounced quickly on the report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission as evidence of a broken Medicaid system, but Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration said the legislature has thwarted attempts to fix some of the problems identified in the study.

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‘White Privilege’ Now Means the Privilege to be Fired for Being White

More proof that progressives don't believe in equality

“White privilege” now counts for so much that the president of the University of Missouri was forced to resign for little more than being white.

President Tim Wolfe made the announcement today after a baying mob demanded that he acknowledge his “white privilege” in the aftermath of less than a handful of alleged racist incidents that occurred at the university over the last few months.

Wolfe himself made no racist comments, nor did he perform any racist actions. His crime was refusing to kowtow to the Maoist-style intimidation tactics of the ideological lynch mob.

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Baltimore: Police Involved Shooting

On November 11, 2015 at approximately 7:45 p.m., detectives from the Special Enforcement Unit were in the area of Oakmont Avenue off of Reisterstown Road in Northwest Baltimore.

They encountered a man, on foot, with a handgun. During the encounter, the man fired the handgun at officers, striking one of them. At least one of the officers returned fire, striking the suspect.

Medics arrived on scene and transported the officer and the suspect to local hospitals. The suspect was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The officer is listed in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries with a gunshot wound to his calf.

The suspect is described as a 32-year-old male.
The officer who was shot is a five-year veteran of the agency.

The second officer on scene was not injured.

This is an active investigation. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call homicide detectives at 410-396-2100.

Additional details will be provided at a later date.

FBI Increases Scrutiny in Hillary Clinton Email Probe

Former official says it looks like ‘full-blown investigation’

The FBI is making increasing inquiries into the security of Hillary Clinton’s private email system and aides’ communications, leading a former FBI official to surmise that the probe has escalated into a full-fledged investigation.

Politico reported:

The FBI around early October requested documents from a company involved in the server arrangement after Clinton left State. It also interviewed a former high-ranking policy official at State about the contents of top Clinton aides’ emails. The official, who spoke to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity, said the questions explored whether anyone at State was concerned about classified information being put at risk by communicating over email. The source did not know of any such concerns. Confirmation of the interview and document requests is the first public indication that the agency is moving ahead with its inquiry–and possibly expanding it.

The former State Department official approached by the FBI was not involved with the set-up or approval of the personal email system Clinton used while she served as secretary of state, which indicates that the FBI may now be examining staff communications in addition to the security of Clinton’s server.

“This sounds to me like it’s more than a preliminary inquiry; it sounds like a full-blown investigation,” former assistant director of the FBI Tom Fuentes said. “When you have this amount of resources going into it …. I think it’s at the investigative level.”

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Donald Trump: Hillary Running for POTUS 'Because She Wants to Stay Out of Jail'

On Monday at a Springfield, Illinois rally, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump said that Hillary Clinton in running for president to avoid going to jail.

“People are in jail right now for doing five percent of what she did and the Democrats are not gonna to prosecute her, and it’s frankly a disgrace,” Trump said. “And you know it and so do I and so do these people right here—they know it.”

Regarding Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State and mishandling of classified information, Trump said that “and you better remember that there’s a six-years statute of limitations on that crime.”

“Hillary is running for a lot of reasons—one of ‘em is because she wants to stay out of jail.”

Trump added that, “if we had honest government, Hillary wouldn’t be allowed to run.”

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'Welcome' Guide for New Immigrants Includes Public Benefits

The Obama administration has released an updated welcome guide for new immigrants in the U.S. featuring detailed sections about obtaining public benefits including food stamps, welfare, and Obamacare.

“You or members of your family may be eligible for other federal benefits, depending on your immigration status, length of time in the United States, and income level,” the guidebook reads.

Titled the “Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants” the publication is available in 14 languages: Arabic, English, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Portuguese,Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu, Vietnamese, and two varieties of Chinese.

The guide offers detailed information on the expectations and rights of a permanent resident, tips on settling in the U.S., employment advice, and available public benefits. It also highlights reasons to become a citizen.

“This comprehensive guide contains practical information to help you settle into everyday life in the United States. It also contains basic civics information that introduces you to the U.S. system of government,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services explains.

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Maryland Gun Tracking Database Scrapped After Failing To Solve A Single Crime

"Fingerprinting" Registry cost taxpayers untold millions

The system worked by storing photographs of spent casings fired by every gun sold in the state, which manufacturers were mandated to provide.

The idea behind the registry is that every firearm leaves unique markings on the casings it fires, creating a “ballistic fingerprint,” thus police would theoretically be able to trace casings found at crime scenes to a specific firearm.

Even if you look beyond the ridiculous notions that most criminals adhere to gun laws and keep registered firearms, the database still never worked, because the software was too poorly designed and implemented.

Police were never able to match up a shell found at a crime scene to a registered gun using the system, NOT ONCE in fifteen years.

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Police Arrest Mother of Man Charged in Infant's Death

Police have charged the mother of Wayne Anthony Green, who is charged in the death of 16-month-old Jerimiah Perry, with harboring a felony fugitive and obstruction of justice in relationship to the case.

Members of Baltimore's warrant apprehension task force arrested 59-year-old Roxanne Walston of the 2400-block of Mayfield Avenue on Tuesday.

In addition, Green is expected to be extradited back to Maryland in the coming days.

U.S. marshals arrested Wayne Anthony Green Jr. without incident at a hotel in North Carolina late Friday night. Authorities believe he arrived there earlier in the day.

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Mizzou Tells Students To Call Cops Over 'Hurtful' Speech

As tensions at the University of Missouri continue to rage, the college’s police department has sent a new email to students advising them to call the police if they witness any incidents of “hurtful speech.”

The email arrived in the inboxes of Missouri students Tuesday morning, and copies of it were quickly posted on Twitter.

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Medicare Deductibles & Co-Insurance

Effective January 1, 2016


Part B Premium                     $121.80 per month –
(Premium stays $104.90 if enrolled in Medicare and receiving Social Security income during 2015.)

Part B Deductible                  $166.00 per-year


Part A Inpatient Deductible
01-60 days                            $1,288.00 per benefit
61-90 days                               $322.00 per day
91-150 days                             $644.00 per day


SNF – Day 1-20                      $0.00 per benefit
21-100                                 $161.00 per-days


Part A Premiums

40 + quarters                        Free
30-40 quarters                    $226.00
Less than 30 quarters         $411.00

Father flips car, runs half-mile to get to children in burning home

KETTERING, Md. (ABC7) - A father rushing to get to his two children home alone inside their Kettering townhouse while a fire raged on the first floor flipped his car Wednesday morning, Prince George's County Fire Department said.

The father received a call on his cell phone about the fire and immediately rushed home. On his way back, he rolled his vehicle in the intersection of Central Avenue and Enterprise Road. The man freed himself from the vehicle that was upside-down in a ditch and ran a half-mile home to be reunited with his children, who had exited the home when they smelled smoke, police said.

Medics evaluated the man and transported him to a local hospital with minor injuries, according to officials.

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2016 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles Announced

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the 2016 premiums and deductibles for the Medicare inpatient hospital (Part A) and physician and outpatient hospital services (Part B) programs.

Part B Premiums/Deductibles

As the Social Security Administration previously announced, there will no Social Security cost of living increase for 2016. As a result, by law, most people with Medicare Part B will be “held harmless” from any increase in premiums in 2016 and will pay the same monthly premium as last year, which is $104.90.

Beneficiaries not subject to the “hold harmless” provision will pay $121.80, as calculated reflecting the provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Act signed into law by President Obama last week. Medicare Part B beneficiaries not subject to the “hold-harmless” provision are those not collecting Social Security benefits, those who will enroll in Part B for the first time in 2016, dual eligible beneficiaries who have their premiums paid by Medicaid, and beneficiaries who pay an additional income-related premium. These groups account for about 30 percent of the 52 million Americans expected to be enrolled in Medicare Part B in 2016.

“Our goal is to keep Medicare Part B premiums affordable. Thanks to the leadership of Congress and President Obama, the premiums for 52 million Americans enrolled in Medicare Part B will be either flat or substantially less than they otherwise would have been,” said CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt. “Affordability for Medicare enrollees is a key goal of our work building a health care system that delivers better care and spends health care dollars more wisely.”

Because of slow growth in medical costs and inflation, Medicare Part B premiums were unchanged for the 2013, 2014, and 2015 calendar years. The “hold harmless” provision would have required the approximately 30 percent of beneficiaries not held harmless in 2016 to pay an estimated base monthly Part B premium of $159.30 in part to make up for lost contingency reserves, according to the 2015 Trustees Report. However, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 mitigated the Part B premium increase for these beneficiaries and states, which have programs that pay some or all of the premiums and cost-sharing for certain people who have Medicare and limited incomes. The CMS Office of the Actuary estimates that states will save $1.8 billion as a result of this premium mitigation.

CMS also announced that the annual deductible for all Part B beneficiaries will be $166.00 in 2016. Premiums for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug plans already finalized are unaffected by this announcement.

To get more information about state-by-state savings, visit the CMS website at

https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2015-Fact-sheets-items/2015-11-10.html. 

Since 2007, beneficiaries with higher incomes have paid higher Part B monthly premiums. These income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA) affect fewer than 5 percent of people with Medicare. Under the Part B section of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, high income beneficiaries will pay an additional amount. The IRMAA, additional amounts, and total Part B premiums for high income beneficiaries for 2016 are shown in the following table:

Carson: ‘I have no problem being vetted,’ Hillary must get similar media treatment

Ben Carson has no problem getting vetted, but said in the GOP debate Tuesday that he does take issue with the media spreading lies about him.

Mr. Carson also said that he has a beef with the double standard in the news media, arguing that it should give a similar examination of Hillary Clinton’s record.

“I have no problem with being vetted, but I do have a problem is being lied about and then putting that out there as truth,” Mr. Carson said. “I don’t even mind that so much if they do it with everybody.”

Mr. Carson criticized Mrs. Clinton’s record on the attacks on the diplomatic post in Benghazi that left the U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens of Libya and three others dead.

“When I look at someone like Hillary Clinton who sits there and tells her daughter and a government official that this was a terrorist attack and then tells everybody else that it was a video, where I came from they call that a lie,” he said, alluding to the original response that came out of the state department during Mrs. Clinton’s tenure.

Mr. Carson said the way the news media handled Mrs. Clinton on the issue is very different from the way they have attacked the story he has told about being offered a full scholarship to West Point.

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