Smart Cities are Future Agenda 21 Hi-Tech Monitored Concentration Camps

Staff Writer, DL Mullan
Agenda 21 / Communitarianism 
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Smart Cities are Future Agenda 21 

Hi-Tech Monitored Concentration Camps

How the rights of the community restrict individual rights.

Source: News from the Truth

1776 to 1478: How the Evangelical Right has taken Women back to the Inquisition

Staff Writer, DL Mullan

Women's Rights / Religion
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The alternative right and conservative media proclaim a return to the ideals of 1776, but that group has hidden their extreme views to get their candidate elected. Articles and radio shows from the right have characterized their point of view as the Renaissance for all. Comparisons of their religion versus other religions has been used to highlight the right's commitment to freedom and rights for all.

It has all been a lie. 

When the alternative right and conservatives' control of the United States Congress and Presidency happened, their behavior changed. Now shows are full of making fun of and demeaning women as well as using their religious ideology to pass laws condemning women and eliminating their health choices.

In reality, the Religious Right is no better than the other patriarchal religions on Earth. Man made deities and dogma seek to undermine society through manipulation of girls, young women, and adult women. That leaves the quality of women's lives below being subpar. 

That was more apparent when President Donald Trump signed an executive order gagging healthcare providers across the world from mentioning the word: abortion. In extreme poverty, there is extreme sexual violence. Unintended pregnancies are forced upon women and their only recourse is to terminate the pregnancy. Now with the burden of reality even heavier than before, women will have to resort to other means, which will end up killing women and children alike. 

Children will be abandoned at orphanages. Some children will be left to die because their mother cannot take care of them. Others will be neglected and abused. 

Instead of ending suffering, the Religious Rights' interference in basic reproductive medical needs will now lead to a growing humanitarian crisis. To the pro-birth agenda, a child born is a success no matter the pain that will afflict that life. Hunger, war, and rape are acceptable to the patriarchy since that experience is a woman's concern. 

This negative attitude toward other people's belief systems is reminiscent of a bygone era, though not of the Renaissance, but of a darker time ruled by the unfeeling, uncaring vision of the patriarchy.

It was 1478. The year the Spanish Inquisition began. This religious witch hunt led to even more egregious historical events.

Who can forget the religious purity movement of the Reconquista in the 15th Century? With the alternative right and conservative agenda to purify America of women's rights, liberation, and equity, has the American electorate ushered in another age of submission by torture? 

At first, the Spanish Inquisition sought to convert or expel Spanish Jews. Then the state set its sights on ridding their land of Muslims.

At Torquemada’s urging, Ferdinand and Isabella issued an edict on March 31, 1492, giving Spanish Jews the choice of exile or baptism; as a result, more than 160,000 Jews were expelled from Spain. Francisco, Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros, promoted the suppression of Muslims with the same zeal that Torquemada had directed at Jews. In 1502 he ordered the proscription of Islam in Granada, the last of the Muslim kingdoms in Spain to fall to the Reconquista. The persecution of Muslims accelerated in 1507 when Jiménez was named grand inquisitor. Muslims in Valencia and Aragon were subjected to forced conversion in 1526, and Islam was subsequently banned in Spain. The Inquisition then devoted its attention to the Moriscos, Spanish Muslims who had previously accepted baptism. Expressions of Morisco culture were forbidden by Philip II in 1566, and within three years, persecution by the Inquisition gave way to open warfare between the Moriscos and the Spanish crown. The Moriscos were driven from Granada in 1571, and by 1614 some 300,000 had been expelled from Spain entirely.

As the state's uncontrollable hunger for religious justice continued more and more ideologies were attacked:

When the Reformation began to penetrate into Spain, the relatively few Spanish Protestants were eliminated by the Inquisition. Foreigners suspected of promoting Protestant faiths within Spain met similarly violent ends. Having largely purged the country of Jews and Muslims—as well as many former members of those faiths who had converted to Christianity—the Spanish Inquisition turned its attention to prominent Roman Catholics. Saint Ignatius of Loyola was twice arrested on suspicion of heresy, and the archbishop of Toledo, the Dominican Bartolomé de Carranza, was imprisoned for almost 17 years. Nominally Christian groups that diverged from the Inquisition’s orthodoxy, such as the followers of the mystical Alumbrado movement and adherents of Erasmianism (a spiritualized Christian belief system influenced by the teachings of humanistDesiderius Erasmus), were subjected to intense persecution throughout the 16th and into the 17th century.

This religious intolerance spread across into Christian nations like a wave of fear and hatred. This fervor led to the infamous Salem Witch Trials, that arrested 200 and killed 20. The religious justice happened all in the name of religion. It happened all in the name of GOD. 

Except in the United States of America, our founding principles are not Christian based. Nowhere in our Constitution or Bill of Rights claim any Christian values, morality, or ethics. Yet year after year, Christians have demanded the Ten Commandments be placed in the People's court houses, their religion be given national holidays, and the Nativity scene honored on public lands.

If you question the religious favoritism, then the Religious Right screams: the War on Christmas!!!

All the while, the Evangelist preachers and celebrities try more manipulations to make America a One God, One Religion nation, but those individuals lie for profit and power.

So how can the Religious Right claim superiority over other Abrahamic practices with their dubious track record of deceit and tantrums? America is not for one ideology. What cannot be argued is what our founders outlined for this nation: 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights is clear: there can be no establishment of religion, but the Evangelicals try and try. The Religious Right elect their selected politicians in hopes of changing our Constitution to establish their very own theocracy.

However the Religious Right's Era of Evangelical Inquisition has met with the ire of the People. Namely, women have risen to meet history to derail the plan to overthrow our government. Protests commenced around the world. The largest was the Women's March on Washington.

The seed of equity was planted, no matter by whom, and women are taking responsibility for their government in ways the Religious Right has never taken responsibility for destroying our economy, finances, soldier's lives, or welfare of its citizens.

But women face an uphill battle as alternative media celebrities dismiss women and their concerns as that time of the month or just needing a daddy. When verbal tirades from talk show hosts and article writers depict real life issues as the old-standby hysteria (a woman's uterus problem: hysterectomy) excuse, that disingenuous mockery shows the true nature of the patriarchy: contempt.

As one alternative radio show host ended his broadcast yesterday to the effect that Soros brainwashes women who do not have a man. Most women have never met George Soros. The marches are not about George Soros but a failing patriarchy that yells about women needing a daddy like the state to live off but then the same men jump in exuberance that "Daddy's Home" when President Trump was elected.

Smell the transference? It's the extreme far right who needs a male role model to lead as an alpha male because the rest are incapable of being mature. The rest of us expect honor, honesty, and equity out of our government as any adult should. We don't need a daddy. We certainly do not need the patriarchal inquisition.

As women in America brace for the next wave of religious extremism to wash over the halls of political power, only time will tell how far and how unethical the Religious Right will be in condemning women into sexual slavery like that of the 1940's. Whatever the religious zealots have planned, women will bide their time to reclaim their rights.

Religion like other communitarianist regimes always place privileges on others for social control. That leads to groups to form against such hypocrisy. The Woman's March will be the next Tea Party, except to strip power away from the religious elite and back into the hands of the meek, the women... the People. 

Religion was never supposed to rule in America.

As Thomas Paine wrote: 

“All religions are in their nature kind and benign, and united with principles of morality. They could not have made proselytes at first by professing anything that was vicious, cruel, persecuting, or immoral. Like everything else they had their beginning; and they proceeded by persuasion, exhortation, and example. How is it then that they lose their native mildness, and become morose and intolerant? . By engendering the Church with the State, a sort of mule-animal, capable only of destroying, and not of breeding up, is produced, called The Church established by Law.”( Rights of Man, pg. 16

Source: Britannica, FindLaw, Thomas Paine,

God is Misrepresented by the Patriarchy

Staff Writer, DL Mullan

Religion / Politics 

________________________________

A good phrase for what we have been observing in the right, alternative right, and conservative media is: the lack of godliness. Talk show hosts jump up and down screaming about god. These men pray on air and act arrogant that their pick for President of the United States ascended into office.  

Should we say prey on air instead?

The last few weeks has shifted the plane of existence into a gambler’s dream. Our timeline is now filled with new possibilities of reality. Some good results are ridding the world of the New World Order slave system. The bad outcome manifests as threats to social equity by antiquated superstition disguised as patriotism.

With the promise of jobs and a better economy, President Donald Trump swept into office like a tsunami. Yet, he and other conservatives believe their divine right of kings promises them the power to revoke any women’s right or health initiative. The rapture of ego has grown to the point that the patriarchy cannot relate to the People they were entrusted to serve.

“Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn’t these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly,” Trump tweeted early Sunday morning.

This statement supports the out of touch religious mindset of the administration. The protests were to inform the government that women will not be sitting this administration out. Women know their rights and will be exercising those rights to the fullest extent that their creator has deemed.

“Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions established by law. Take away the law-establishment, and every religion re-assumes its original benignity.”
~Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man, 1791

On the other side, the alternative right media has poked fun, made horrible comments, and relished in derogatory statements about women and men who protest against the alt rights’ adopted religious edicts. These holier than thou egotists are not Christians but hiding behind that identity to force their agenda onto others. These imposters revel in the putting down of people as a form of social control, especially of non-followers and women.

Christian comportment should subtract the judgment and misinformation coming from this segment of the media. If one can call right, alt right, and conservative religious sources in any way shape or form news media at this point, it would be difficult to support factually. Alternative media for the most part worships the cult called religion in order to garner fandom and support.

Journalism is not about exalting religion but pointing out the faults and corruption of government. Mainstream media has faltered under corporate rule as does everything monopolies and privatization touch. News for new’s sake is a dying institution.

Where does this disparity leave the American People when objectivity is sacrificed for illusion? The Fourth Estate is not only For Sale, but in disrepair with a cemetery plot being dug in the driveway. Is the new media as corrupt and subjective as the old establishment media?

The American states have gone far in assisting the progress of truth; but they have stopped short of perfection. They ought to have given every honest citizen an equal right to enjoy his religion and an equal title to all civil emoluments, without obliging him to tell his religion. Every interference of the civil power in regulating opinion, is an impious attempt to take the business of the Deity out of his own hands; and every preference given to any religious denomination, is so far slavery and bigotry.”
~Founding Father Noah Webster, calling for no religious tests to serve in public office, Sketches of American Policy, 1785

If the majority of alternative media purports to be media than it will have to do so at the altar of facts, freedom, and reason or the Republic is lost before it even restarts. Empirical reporting cannot happen when colored with the filter of propaganda be it political or religious. Alternative media has to be one or the other: factual media or a church. Media for the People cannot be both.

“The legislature of the United States shall pass no law on the subject of religion.”
~Founding Father Charles Pinckney, Constitutional Convention, 1787

Yet that direction is where states like Texas demand America’s course to drift from our promise and the current federal administration intends to tread with the exuberant climax of the right, alt right, and conservative media.

This blind adherence to cult tenets has left alternative media to push causes not outlined specifically in their own religious doctrines. The alt right media has grabbed onto women’s issues like their view is god’s view, except it’s not. How’s this list for a reality check:

·  Drinking alcohol

·  Smoking cigarettes or cigars

·  Gambling

·  Dancing

·  Watching R-rated movies

·  Listening to secular music

·  Watching MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)

·  Using birth control

·  Sporting tattoos or piercings

·  Sending your kids to public school

·  Owning a luxury car or other extravagant possessions

·  Working on Sunday

·  Observing Halloween

These items denote all the topics NOT discussed in the Bible. Why? Because men wrote the Bible, not god. If an all-knowing god had written the text then the future would be represented, but no word about women’s issues like birth control, equity, equality, or even abortion exist. Still the People are convinced that their religion represents these political juggernauts.  

Men are representing their interpretation of what god wants as the patriarchy has for thousands of years. There is no basis for religion in women’s issues, modern, progressive, or otherwise. So in reality god is being misrepresented by the hubris of certain media outlets, religious leaders, and politicians to their own ends. Hint, hint, Mr. President.

“I never liked the Hierarchy of the Church — an equality in the teacher of Religion, and a dependence on the people, are republican sentiments — but if the Clergy combine, they will have their influence on Government”
~Founding Father Rufus King, Rufus King: American Federalist, pp. 56-57

The shame is on those media outlets who believe that their platform is to preach instead of maintain the checks and balances of this Republic. Religion should never take place of reason. Religion should never dictate law or policy. Yet here we stand on the crossroads of history and we have a patriarchy too in love with itself to see a defining moment of freewill is at hand but instead to hand out reprisals based on mythical parables.

“Knowledge and liberty are so prevalent in this country, that I do not believe that the United States would ever be disposed to establish one religious sect, and lay all others under legal disabilities. But as we know not what may take place hereafter, and any such test would be exceedingly injurious to the rights of free citizens, I cannot think it altogether superfluous to have added a clause, which secures us from the possibility of such oppression.”
~Founding Father Oliver Wolcott, Connecticut Ratifying Convention, 9 January 1788

We are faced with such oppression twice over. Americans are faced with the choice of economic and spiritual tyranny. So many have taken to the streets to secure their freedoms from both.

Since Roe v Wade was established in law by the Supreme Court in 1973, women have been protested, attacked, and their physician’s murdered for the ideals of Christianity. The Clinton years were rife with violent conservative misconduct against women. Women have seen the ugly side of religious doctrines masquerading as moral authority.  

In many respects, Christians have a very selective memory when it comes to history and facts. Even conservative, alt right media cherry pick their version of reality to feed their followers a false sense of self and entitlement. If the topic is not about homosexuals or gay marriage then the ire is raised about women having the ability to make decisions about their lives and health.

“It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin. Let us, then, look to the great cause, and endeavor to preserve it in full force. Let us by all wise and constitutional measures promote intelligence among the people as the best means of preserving our liberties.”
~Founding Father James Monroe, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1817

Have the People fallen into the abyss of communitariansim so far that they believe their religious ideology is worthy of lawful acknowledgement?

As a people will Americans rise above the confines of ego, hubris, misrepresentation, and selective inclinations to recover our Republic from the hands of tyrants?

Or shall we slip from one political nightmare and surrender to a theocracy of dunces?

If the new media does not avail itself to reason, then spiritual tyranny is the future. There is no one god. There is no god. Men have written and defined society at the determent of all others.

This uneven course is sure to implode America into a new battleground for elites to feast. As reason dictates, we must refuse the temptations of ego-driven ideologies and do the work of the People. Without reason, America has no chance at all in defeating the tyrants of this world.

No matter how we feel about theology.

Source: Addicting Info, National Post, Bible, 

Movie Night: The Choice is Ours

Staff Writer, DL Mullan
Psychology / Behavior 
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The Choice is Ours

What makes up the behavior of a human being? The mindset of scarcity is destroying the world. So can scientific principles be used to solve the problems created by money and politics?

But is technology the answer? Or, is technology in charge of our world just as dangerous as human greed? 

The film asks the questions about our current system and offers a new system to replace the old, but is a new system based on methodology superior? Or can a combination of the old and new foster a better world without losing ourselves in a global collective? 

Source The Venus Project

Conservative Whine: The Original Social Justice Warriors

Staff Writer, DL Mullan

Patriarchy / Theocracy 
______________________________

In the age of your rights end where my feelings begin Social Justice crapola, we get another example of the hypocrisy from the patriarchy. The message is clear that freedom is when conservatives do not have to take responsibility for living in a Republic but demand all of the protections created by it.

The Religious Right is the birth parents of Social Justice tantrums and look what it has gotten us. Women are sacrificed on the alter of whaaa! Conservatives defund birth control and abortions citing religious exemptions and morality.

Except birth control reduces the number of abortions, so what is immoral, unethical, or impractical about making sure birth control is available to all young women? The problem is not having control of women. Control of anyone is slavery. Isn't the Religious Right against that too? 

In an article on LiveScience called Free Birth Control Cuts Abortion Rate by 62 Percent, anyone can see that proper medical care counters the number of unintended pregnancies.

Among women in the free contraceptive program, the teen birth rate was 6.3 per 1,000 women, a huge difference from the national teen birth rate of 34.3 per 1,000 women.

Likewise, the abortion rate among women in the program was 4.4 to 7.5 per 1,000 between 2008 and 2010. Nationally, there are 19.6 abortions per every thousand women, a 62 percent to 78 percent difference. In the St. Louis area, the overall abortion rate in that time frame was between 13.4 and 17 abortions per 1,000 women.

So shouldn't that study be lauded by conservatives of the Religious Right to protect women's' health initiatives? That would be a resounding: no. One quote garnered from a conservative, alt right radio host is: "I don't want to have to pay for it!"

But in reality, no legislation has ever had to be passed to force employers or insurance companies to cover erectile dysfunction treatments, most types of male reproductive prescriptions are covered by insurance. In 52% of the human population that is female, why are women paying for that cost when women's protection from unwanted pregnancies are refuted, if conservatives want to be petty about it?

Conservative men have no problem having sex with women and creating babies. Yet, these same men who help create the problem of abortion refuse women the opportunity of not having one.

Problem Reaction Solution.

Sounds like conservative men do not understand that women are not pleasure bots. We are feeling human beings who want to find a balance between family and self-fulfillment. Without birth control or abortions, especially for the life of the mother, genetic abnormalities, or worse, women become nothing but sexual toys burdened by antiquated theology. 

In the light of fairness, freedom, and equity, the conservative argument against preserving women's reproductive health services including birth control loses all credibility. 

To take the reality further, many neglected and abused children live as prisoners in foster care.

Over 400,000 American children are in foster care, taken away when their families are in crisis and can’t take care of them.

How many of these children were unintended pregnancies?  We have to wonder. We are also left to wonder where all the conservatives are to adopt these children? 

These children and their families are directly effected by the "let someone else care" philosophy of the Religious Right. The Right has no problem dictating economic, political, and religious policies to the rest of America. The question remains: can America afford to keep entertaining these religious tantrums? Anyone with a moral or ethical conscience would be remiss to do so.  

Still the cry for religion to be exalted in society is prevalent as preachers interfere with politics, push their religion in public schools, and never pay a dime in  property taxes. 

On the website called Christianity an interesting point was made:

I find it fascinating that certain groups on the Right want pastors to "speak up." What they mean by this, of course, is to more overtly endorse their preferred candidates and/or moral issues. But what they don't understand is that pastors are speaking up, it's just that what pastors are speaking up about may not be the taking points of the current season.And, the Bible cuts against both parties, against all political persuasions....So some would say the Bible is very conservative. And yet that would be incomplete, because you will also find in Scripture many texts on justice, the plight of the poor, treatment of the immigrant. And who Jesus' chief antagonists were in the gospels? The Pharisees, the Religious Right of their day.  

Should pastors speak about in the pulpit about contemporary issues? Yes, but only when the texts of Scripture clearly articulate it. They shouldn't bow to any party's talking points. They shouldn't slant their sermons to fit a political profile. They shouldn't become wannabee pundits in the pulpit. They should preach the Word and let it do it's work in the hearts of the people, who will then go influence their communities. 

And, the argument from the Founding Fathers of the United States would say: No. Religion should not be apart of our political or justice systems. The simple fact of swearing on the Bible is hypocrisy. 

 

In the article, 10 Founding Fathers Quotes That Will Make Conservatives’ Heads Explode, we can read of list of statements made by Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and others that contradict the political, social, and religious edicts demanded by the Religious Right in our country. Statements such as

“The power of all corporations ought to be limited, […] the growing wealth acquired by them never fails to be a source of abuses.”
— James Madison

Corporations were never intended to become megaconglomerates or transnationals. The fact that corporations bribe our politicians and write their own laws supports Madison's assertion. America needs to break up monopolies as well as make corporations less influential.

Another concern: a conservative radio show host has also expressed his intolerance for worker's protections under the law. 

“He who is the author of a war, lets loose the whole contagion of hell, and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to death.”
— Thomas Paine: The Crisis No. V, 1797

Conservatives under the banner of Globalism have murdered millions of people and destroyed the environment for the sake of controlling other people's natural resources.

“In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. It is error alone that needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.”
~Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Horatio Spofford, 1814

Religion was not the foundation of the American Dream. The subtraction of religion was the impetus. Freedom and rights cannot be weighed in the fantasy of a god.

Just ask women.

“As to Taxes, they are evidently inseparable from Government. It is impossible without them to pay the debts of the nation, to protect it from foreign danger, or to secure individuals from lawless violence and rapine.” –= Alexander Hamilton: Address to the Electors of the State of New York, March, 1801

A certain level of taxation is necessary for the sake of our society, yet taxes are cut for the wealthiest time and time again with the promise of jobs and prosperity that never come. 

Conservatives cry: taxation is theft, but when everyone else not making a living wage is forced onto social services because the taxes for that segment of society are too high and the good paying jobs were outsourced to the Third World to make Share Holders rich, conservatives scream: "laziness!," "you waste your money on junk food!," and, of course: that women are sluts for having children or feminists for divorcing their abusive husbands.

Conservatism has been a bane to freedom and rights since the beginning of history. Our forefathers wrote of such concerns and repudiated religious exercise in politics. Today, conservative radio shows, celebrities, and writers want to rewrite history and revert back to a stifling theocracy for anyone who is not white, male, and Christian.

Those days are over. The patriarchy needs to understand that the rest of us live here too. Time to grow up, stop flailing your tantrums on television and radio, and finally realize that you cherry pick ideals to stand behind all the while negating your duties to this Republic.

Source: Foster Club, Christianity, Democratic Underground,  

Winter Storms on the Prowl

Staff Writer, DL Mullan

Winter Storm / Weather

___________________________

Winter storms are set to hit Arizona with a one two three punch. Snow for the high country and rain for the central and lower deserts will start today, then continue with another storm on Friday and a weaker system on Monday.

Forecast Discussion: The initial wave of showers has arrived, albeit light showers. Doppler radar is indicating scattered rain entering the Valley as of 8:00 AM. The scattered nature of rain prevails today. Watch for a general west to east progression of showers tracking over the area. An improvement of air quality values commences when precip and breezes reach our monitors. Around a quarter inch of rain for the day is foreseen. Air quality values shift deeper into the Good AQI range tomorrow with continued wet and breezy conditions. Accumulations in the region do rise more quickly Friday afternoon through early Saturday. The second storm is more dynamical of the two. We could add another half inch plus in the lower deserts. Another feature with the latest storm is wind. Winds are to be quite gusty (20-30+ mph) out of the southwest ahead of and adjacent to the impending cold front. Had it not been for a wet winter to date and measurable rain falling in southeastern California and south-central Arizona in the present, there would have been concern for blowing dust threatening air quality concentrations. Not the case this time. Bring that coat if you are planning on being outside the rest of the week. A third storm reinforces cool weather and rain chances late Sunday/Monday. Any given day, afternoon temps reach low 60s at best.

Source: AirNOW,

Central Intelligence Agency's Library

Staff Writer, DL Mullan
CIA / Intelligence
________________________________

The work of the Globalist New World Order... here is the library of the CIA. Check out all the blacked out declassified documents. 

CIA's Library

Source: CIA

Keiser Report: Putin, Hacking & Conspiracy

Staff Writer, DL Mullan

Russia / Free Press
_______________________________

Keiser Report: Putin, Hacking & Conspiracy 

In this episode of the Keiser Report from Pensacola, Florida, Max and Stacy discuss the ‘birthering’ of the Democrats as Keith Olbermann turns xenophobe, and conspiracy theories flourish in the media. They also discuss Russia’s latest gold purchases. In the second half, Max interviews former Assistant Treasury Secretary under Ronald Reagan, Paul Craig Roberts, about the attempted Electoral College coup on Trump, and the differences between the last Cold War and the new one.

Source: RT  

Congressional Research Office's Medicaid: An Overview

Staff Writer, DL Mulla
Research / Statistics 
________________________________

Congressional Research Office 

Medicaid: An Overview

Summary

Medicaid is a means-tested entitlement program that in FY2012 financed the delivery of primary and acute medical services as well as long-term services and supports to an estimated 57 million people, and cost states and the federal government $431 billion. In comparison, the Medicare program provided health care benefits to nearly 50 million seniors and certain individuals with disabilities in FY2012 at a cost of roughly $557 billion. Because Medicaid represents a large component of federal mandatory spending, Congress is likely to continue its oversight of Medicaid's eligibility, benefits, and costs.

Participation in Medicaid is voluntary for states, though all states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories choose to participate. In order to participate in Medicaid, the federal government requires states to cover certain mandatory populations and benefits, but the federal government also allows states to cover other optional populations and services. Due to this flexibility, there is substantial variation among the states in terms of factors such as Medicaid eligibility, covered benefits, and provider payment rates. In addition, there are several waiver and demonstration authorities that allow states to operate their Medicaid program outside of federal rules.

Historically, Medicaid eligibility has generally been limited to low-income children, pregnant women, parents of dependent children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities; however, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148, as amended) included the ACA Medicaid expansion, which expands Medicaid eligibility to individuals under the age of 65 with income up to 133% of the federal poverty level (FPL) (effectively 138% FPL) at state option.

The ACA makes a number of other changes, which together represent the most significant reform to the Medicaid program since its establishment in 1965. In addition to the ACA Medicaid expansion, the ACA also expands Medicaid eligibility for children ages 6 to 18 and former foster care children; transitions to the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) counting methodology for most nonelderly Medicaid enrollees; requires alternative benefit plan (ABP) coverage for certain Medicaid enrollees; provides enhanced federal matching funds for the ACA Medicaid expansion; increases uniformity among Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) program integrity activities; and provides the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with the ability to test methods to improve coordination of care for dual-eligible beneficiaries, among a number of other changes.

This report describes the basic elements of Medicaid, focusing on who is eligible, what services are covered, how enrollees share in the cost of care, how the program is financed, and how providers are paid. The report also explains waivers, program integrity activities, and the dual-eligible population. In addition, the report describes the following selected issues: the ACA Medicaid expansion, the impact of the ACA health insurance annual fee on Medicaid, and the ACA maintenance of effort (MOE) with respect to Medicaid eligibility.

Source; FAS

Movie Night: BEST OF 2016 Redacted Tonight!

Staff Writer, DL Mullan

Comedy / News
_____________________________________

BEST OF 2016 Redacted Tonight!

It's the Best of Redacted Tonight 2016 Special! From in the studio to out in the field, watch the funniest moments from this past year from host Lee Camp and correspondents John F. O'Donnell, Naomi Karavani and Natalie McGill. Keep watching into 2017 AND keep fighting!

Source: Redacted Tonight,

2017's Upcoming Solar Eclipse

Staff Writer, Nathaniel Diaz

Astronomy / Solar Eclipses
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Where will be you be during this upcoming historic eclipse?

On August 21, 2017 a total eclipse of the sun will be visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses the United States. The path of the moon’s umbral shadow begins in the northern Pacific and crosses the U.S. from west to east through parts of the following states: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina. The moon’s penumbral shadow produces a partial eclipse visible from a much larger region covering most of North America.

Source: EarthSky 

President Obama's Executive Orders

Staff Writer, DL Mullan
Executive Orders / President 
__________________________________

A list of the Executive Orders a President has signed can be found on the White House's website. 

If you would like to see what the current President of the United States has done in his terms of office, the visit:

White House's Executive Orders page

Source: White House

Network of Global Corporate Control 12 20 16

Staff Writer, DL Mullan
News / History
__________________________________

Network of Global Corporate Control 12 20 16

White historians, in their bid to make ancient Europeans seem White, have chosen to ignore the "obvious" relationships that must have existed between the Moors, also called the Berbers of North Africa and the people of Iberia


Source: Karen Hudes