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Benghazi attack could have been prevented if US hadn’t ‘switched sides in the War on Terror’

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“What difference does it make “

Benghazi attack could have been prevented if US hadn’t ‘switched sides in the War on Terror’ and allowed $500 MILLION of weapons to reach al-Qaeda militants, reveals damning report

Citizens Committee on Benghazi claims the US government allowed arms to flow to al-Qaeda-linked militants who opposed Muammar Gaddafi
Their rise to power, the group says, led to the Benghazi attack in 2012
The group claims the strongman Gaddafi offered to abdicate his presidency, but the US refused to broker his peaceful exit
The commission, part of the center-right Accuracy In Media group, concluded that the Benghazi attack was a failed kidnapping plot
US Ambassador Chris Stevens was to be captured and traded for ‘blind sheikh’ Omar Abdel-Rahman, who hatched the 1993 WTC bombing plot

By DAVID MARTOSKO, U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR

The Citizens Commission on Benghazi, a self-selected group of former top military officers, CIA insiders and think-tankers, declared Tuesday in Washington that a seven-month review of the deadly 2012 terrorist attack has determined that it could have been prevented – if the U.S. hadn’t been helping to arm al-Qaeda militias throughout Libya a year earlier.

‘The United States switched sides in the war on terror with what we did in Libya, knowingly facilitating the provision of weapons to known al-Qaeda militias and figures,’ Clare Lopez, a member of the commission and a former CIA officer, told MailOnline.

She blamed the Obama administration for failing to stop half of a $1 billion United Arab Emirates arms shipment from reaching al-Qaeda-linked militants.

‘Remember, these weapons that came into Benghazi were permitted to enter by our armed forces who were blockading the approaches from air and sea,’ Lopez claimed. ‘They were permitted to come in. … [They] knew these weapons were coming in, and that was allowed..

‘The intelligence community was part of that, the Department of State was part of that, and certainly that means that the top leadership of the United States, our national security leadership, and potentially Congress – if they were briefed on this – also knew about this.’

The weapons were intended for Gaddafi but allowed by the U.S. to flow to his Islamist opposition.

Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2610598/Group-US-switched-sides-War-Terror-facilitating-500-MILLION-weapons-deliveries-Libyan-al-Qaeda-militias-leading-Benghazi-attack.html#ixzz2ziJds91d

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Who will protect consumers from the CFPB

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Who will protect consumers from the CFPB
By Thomas Bezas

It is the most powerful agency you have never heard of, and it should be catapulted to the top of the growing list of federal agencies under scrutiny for abusing their authority. The behavior of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is not a rehash of the NSA or IRS scandals; it is bigger and it is time people took notice.

Cloistered in the Federal Reserve, this secretive agency has perhaps the broadest mandate of any government agency, yet the least amount of oversight.  It has the power to regulate virtually every financial product offered in the nation.  From mortgages to credit card transactions, the agency wields a power that can change the way every American banks, shops, obtains a loan, accesses education, and manages their personal finances.

It was created to presumably protect consumers from the unscrupulous practices of banks and other bad actors in the financial services industry.  Their charge is to investigate financial institutions and non-bank entities who offer financial products then promulgate regulations and create enforcement actions to address practices the CFPB deems unfair or fraudulent.

Driving the agency’s work is Director Richard Cordray and a core group of staffers from both President Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren’s campaign teams. One senior advisory board member is even the former vice presidential nominee of the Socialist Party of the United States.  Many of these folks have a substantial political pedigree but little experience in financial services.

Developed purposefully by the Dodd-Frank legislation to be outside the purview of Congressional budget oversight, the CFPB need only answer “no comment” anytime Congress wants answers.  However, the American must people demand transparency from a regulatory agency with the ability to have an enormous impact on our economy and personal freedom.

Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-budget/204008-whio-will-protect-consumers-frm-the-cfpb#ixzz2ziI4t3MZ

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Republicans warn BLM eyeing land grab along Texas-Oklahoma border

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Republicans warn BLM eyeing land grab along Texas-Oklahoma border

Texas officials are raising alarm that the Bureau of Land Management, on the heels of its dust-up with Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, might be eyeing a massive land grab in northern Texas.

The under-the-radar issue has caught the attention of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who fired off a letter on Tuesday to BLM Director Neil Kornze saying the agency “appears to be threatening” the private property rights of “hard-working Texans.”

“Decisions of this magnitude must not be made inside a bureaucratic black box,” wrote Abbott, also a Republican gubernatorial candidate.

At issue are thousands of acres of land on the Texas side of the Red River, along the border between Texas and Oklahoma. Officials recently have raised concern that the BLM might be looking at claiming 90,000 acres of land as part of the public domain.

The agency, though, argues that any land in question was long ago determined to be public property.

“The BLM is categorically not expanding Federal holdings along the Red River,” a BLM spokeswoman said in a written statement late Tuesday afternoon.

The spokeswoman referred to a 140-acre plot “determined to be public land in 1986” – an apparent reference to a 1986 federal court case. Breitbart.com,which reported Monday on the Texas land dispute, reported that a Texas landowner lost 140 acres to BLM in that case, and the agency is now using that decision as precedent to pursue more property.

Tommy Henderson, the rancher involved in that case, told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren on “On the Record” Tuesday that the BLM was “talking about taking another 90,000 acres by using my court case as the precedent to seize the other land…

“They won’t talk to us or be straight with us as to what their plans are,” Henderson said. “…So I have continued to pay for this land or the federal government would seize everything else I had.”

According to background materials put out by Texas Republican Rep. Mac Thornberry’s office, the BLM is revisiting its management plan for lands including those along a 116-mile stretch of the Red River. His office said the possibility has been discussed of opening that land up for “hunting, recreation and management.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/04/22/republicans-warn-blm-eyeing-land-grab-along-texas-oklahoma-border/

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The disappearance of William Shakespeare

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The disappearance of William Shakespeare

APRIL 22, 2014, 4:36 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014, 4:36 PM
BY DANIEL BURNETT
THE RECORD

Daniel Burnett is press secretary of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a higher education nonprofit dedicated to academic excellence.

ROMEO, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Sorry, Juliet. He’s hard to find on many college campuses.

Today is presumed to be William Shakespeare’s birthday, and on the Bard’s 450th, American higher education gives him about as much love as the Capulets gave the Montagues.

Many top American universities don’t require students to study Shakespeare. Think that’s bad? Many don’t even require a Shakespeare course of their English majors.

Right here in New Jersey, students can graduate from Princeton, Rutgers and Montclair without taking a single course in Shakespeare. It’s not even required of these institutions’ English majors. Nor do Yale, NYU or Penn State have a requirement to take a class in Shakespeare.

That’s right — arguably the greatest figure in English literature, who forever transformed theater, influenced great thinkers and shaped the English language by inventing or popularizing now-common vocabulary, is being forgotten on college campuses. Where would we be without words like swagger? Or eyeball? Or puppy dog? Or kitchen wench!

The reason for this wretched state of affairs is that students are routinely allowed to graduate with huge gaps in their skills and knowledge. According to the “What Will They Learn?” study (www.whatwilltheylearn.com), just 38 percent of institutions require even a single college-level course in literature.

And Shakespeare’s not the only one vanishing from the minds of today’s college students. Only 3 percent of institutions require economics and just 18 percent require a basic course in American history or government.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-the-disappearance-of-william-shakespeare-1.1000678#sthash.tJTAFtcf.dpuf

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Regulators open probe of student loan practices

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Regulators open probe of student loan practices

By Tim Devaney

Federal regulators are investigating reports that lenders are pressuring college graduates to immediately repay their full student loan debt when a relative who co-signed the loans dies or files for bankruptcy. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said Tuesday it is probing the phenomenon, which can damage the credit reports of borrowers who are otherwise in good standing.

“Private student loans can sometimes take many years to pay off, and these parents or grandparents may be unaware that their own financial distress or death can lead to a sudden default and demand for payment,” said Rohit Chopra, the student loan ombudsman at the CFPB. 

The CFPB reported it has received more than 2,300 complaints about private student loans over the last six months, many of which concern lenders’ debt collection practices. One theme throughout the complaints was that, in some cases, lenders are collecting on student loans when a co-signor dies but the primary borrower is still alive and paying on time.

Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/finance/204056-consumer-watchdog-investigating-student-loans-defaults#ixzz2ziH33Odu 

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Ridgewood LAX Day Saturday, April 26th

indians lacrosse

Lacrosse was one of many varieties of indigenous stickball games being played by American Indians

Ridgewood LAX Day Saturday, April 26th

All are Welcome !

Lax Day held Saturday, April 26th is a celebration of youth lacrosse in Ridgewood conducted in a festival setting and marked by games, activities and apparel sales. All of the Ridgewood Lacrosse Association youth boys and girls teams play a home game that day. In addition, the RHS varsity boys lacrosse team will host Somerville HS, in a battle of NJ lacrosse regional powerhouse. Ridgewood High School will be the center of the festival activities. Lax Day generally runs all day. Youth games begin at 8am. Food and activities commence between 10-11am. RHS game is about 2pm. The day ends at 4-5pm.

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N.J. led nation in construction-job loss last year

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BILL MOORE LICENSED NJ LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

N.J. led nation in construction-job loss last year

APRIL 23, 2014    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

* Job losses tied in part to a very tough winter

Despite hopes that rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy would boost New Jersey’s construction industry, that sector shed more jobs in the past 12 months here than in any other state in the nation.

From March 2013 through March this year, New Jersey lost 4,600 construction jobs, a 3.4 percent drop year-over-year, according to an analysis of federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the Associated General Contractors of America, a trade group. New Jersey construction employment sank to 131,500 from 136,100 during that 12-month period, the trade group said.

Economic experts blamed the Northeast’s particularly severe winter with putting a damper on construction in New Jersey, as well as the red tape and bureaucratic delays that have thwarted the reconstruction of homes and businesses damaged by Sandy. In addition, the state’s office market is depressed, capping that kind of development.

Charles Steindel, chief economist for the New Jersey Department of Treasury, was one of the experts who blamed the tough winter for resulting in construction-job losses. In a normal year the number of construction workers on the job in New Jersey in midwinter is more than 10 percent lower than in the fall, he said.

“The numbers everybody looks at are corrected for this normal seasonal variation,” Steindel said. “But this winter has been far from normal. The average temperature in New Jersey from December to March was 31.7 degrees, 4 degrees colder than the average for the last 20 years. With such bitter cold, compounded by the heavy snowfalls in January and February, construction was at an unusually low ebb. We anticipate that the spring thaw will be reflected in better construction numbers.”

Kenneth Simonson, chief economist for the Arlington, Va.-based AGC, also said that even though the labor statistics are seasonally adjusted, based on averages from prior years, this year that may not have been enough to offset the impact of the winter.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/bleak-construction-figures-for-state-1.1000998#sthash.OgFEQxpp.dpuf

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Daffodil Festival – Art Show, Antique Cars, Plant Sale, Kids Crafts, Dog Parade- April 27th

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Daffodil Festival – Art Show, Antique Cars, Plant Sale, Kids Crafts, Dog Parade- April 27th

Artists specializing in watercolors, acrylics, photography, oils, pen and ink and jewelry will exhibit their talents at a Fine Art Show and Sale set to be held in conjunction with the Daffodil Festival on Sunday, April 27th. This special event will be held at the Ridgewood Train Station and Plaza, between the hours of 12 noon and 3 pm. Artist will be displaying their works inside the plaza building as well as the area adjacent to facility, rain or shine.

Last fall, the Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands and volunteer residents of the Village purchased 7,000 daffodil bulbs as an enhancement and beautification project for the entire Village to enjoy. In celebration of the hard work and anticipated beauty, a Daffodil Festival is being planned. In addition to the Fine Art Show and Sale, additional activities include a 12:30PM ribbon cutting ceremony rededicating the renovation of the Broad Street gardens, a classic antique car show, a spring plant sale, a 1:00PM “Daffy Dog Parade”, children’s arts and craft projects and a variety of refreshments.

The mission of the Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands is to provide funding and support to restore and enhance the Village parklands in accordance with the Master Plan for development. Now, three years in existence, the Conservancy has fundraising and a few major projects accomplished. Please refer to the website www.cfrpl.org for further information or to become a member.

The Fine Art Show and Sale is co-sponsored by the Ridgewood Parks and Recreation Department and the Conservancy. To obtain additional details or to join as an artist, please contact the Recreation Office at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, 201-670-5560. Several spaces are still available for interested artists.

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Reader says No question having one of the top eleven Fire Departments in NJ is a great benefit – but it is a luxury?

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Reader says No question having one of the top eleven Fire Departments in NJ is a great benefit – but it is a luxury?

No question having one of the top eleven Fire Departments in NJ is a great benefit – but it is a luxury. Only 4 municipalities in Bergen County have career fire suppression depts. Less than 3% of the total incident calls between 2010-12 were fires vs. +35% for rescue & emergency service calls, and 22% for alarm activations. The operating cost is reasonable and helps to make Ridgewood an attractive community to live in, no question. But the operating budget ignores the long-term cost for new equipment & buildings, as well as annual salary, step wage and longevity increases well in excess of both private sector wage growth and inflation for the last 15 years. Add in very generous defined benefit pension & healthcare benefits for life vs. an average retirement age of 52, and the fixed, long-term costs to taxpayers escalate rapidly. Is it redundant to have 27 EMTs at RFD when Valley’s EMS department has 80 staff members including Paramedics, Registered Nurses and EMTs providing 24/7/365 paramedic services including Advanced Life Support (ALS) units ? Does it make sense to have a three person crew on duty 24 hours a day at Engine 31 in response to resident concerns about serious fires in the mid 1940s ? This blog post is about living within our means, so we need to ask these questions of all taxpayer funded entities, including the BoE.

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Ridgewood Film Festival to feature visit from actor Danny Aiello

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Ridgewood Film Festival to feature visit from actor Danny Aiello

APRIL 22, 2014    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014, 12:03 AM

Actor Danny Aiello will join the fourth annual Ridgewood Guild Film Festival as the first celebrity honoree.

The festival will be held on Wednesday, April 23 and Thursday, April 24 at the Bow Tie Cinema (formerly the Clearview Warner) in downtown Ridgewood. Red-carpet festivities begin at 6 p.m. each night with film programming running in two theaters simultaneously, beginning at approximately 7 p.m. Attendees will be treated to short subjects, animated films, documentaries, music videos, as well as feature-length films. Select filmmakers will hold Q-and-A sessions.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/clubs-and-service-organizations/ridgewood-film-festival-to-feature-visit-from-actor-danny-aiello-1.1000544#sthash.8dCVdRYg.dpuf

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Schedler Neighbors Endorse Knudsen and Sedon

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Schedler Neighbors Endorse Knudsen and Sedon

Ridgewood Eastside Development (RED) has added its enthusiastic endorsement of Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon for Ridgewood Village Council to those of other grassroots groups.

Knudsen has shown herself to be a thoughtful and respectful candidate ready to balance the needs of Village sports and recreation programs with those of individual and unique neighborhoods within the Village. Her proposal for the Zabriskie-Schedler property has consistently included active recreation along with much needed preservation of both natural and historical elements.Susan recognizes the historic value of the Zabriskie-Schedler house, believing the Bergen County Historic Society’s interest in preservation of the Dutch frame structure, one of the last of its kind, will be an asset to the Village. She is confident that the property can be developed to include recreational space along with a natural park for the eastside Ridgewood neighborhood, which currently has no Village parks or amenities nearby. Her plan accommodates RBSA/sports needs while greatly improving aesthetics and the quality of life for Village residents in the immediate neighborhood.Susan Knudsen brings a sincere desire to negotiate and compromise and the ability to work with many types of people. She is committed to serving our community as a voice and advocate for all.

We endorse the candidacy of Mike Sedon based on his belief that working with the Bergen County Historical Society to explore saving the structure with complete restoration would be a win for Ridgewood, as the society intends to use the structure to house its collection. Sedon supports the neighbors who oppose clear-cutting of the property and demolition of the historic home. Mike envisions a center to display some of the Society’s artifacts in the restored home, a research library that—coupled with the local collection of historic material at the Ridgewood Library—could attract scholars and students to Ridgewood, making it a destination for those studying early American history and the Revolutionary War.

Mike also believes the land itself can be developed in a balanced family park that addresses the needs of organized sports and neighborhoods in general.

Ridgewood Eastside Development’s unequivocal endorsement comes with great thoughtfulness and understanding of all three candidates for Village Council. Both Knudsen and Sedon have taken a wholehearted interest in the future of Ridgewood by attending Village Council, Planning Board, and other committee meetings for years, as evidenced by their depth of knowledge and command of Village issues along with a personal commitment to better the Village.

We urge Ridgewood residents to join us and vote on Tuesday, May 13, for the two candidates who clearly represent all members of a diverse Ridgewood community: Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon.

Isabella A. Altano

Ridgewood Eastside Development (RED)

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Existing home sales fall three months in row

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Existing home sales fall three months in row
Paul Davidson, USA TODAY

The housing market continued to sputter in March as adverse weather, low supplies and higher costs discouraged home buyers.

Existing home sales declined 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.59 million, the lowest level since July 2012, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Home sales have fallen in seven of the past eight months.

Still, the market was a bit firmer than expected. Economists’ median estimate was for an annual sales rate of 4.57 million, according to Action Economics’ survey.

A brutal winter continued to play a role in the weak showing. Although March brought milder temperatures and fewer storms, sales activity largely reflected closings on purchase agreements signed in January and February, says Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist of High Frequency Economics.

Other factors are also holding down sales. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is at 4.27%, low by historical standards but up from about 3.4% a year ago. And higher home prices and a tight supply of homes for sale discouraged some buyers, NAR said.

There was a a 5.2-month supply of homes last month, up from a five-month supply in February, but six months is normal. Some of the tight inventory is welcome as the housing market recovers from the 2006 crash. Distressed homes, including foreclosures and short sales, accounted for 14% of sales in March, down from 21% a year ago.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/22/march-existing-home-sales/7998533/

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Supreme Court upholds Michigan affirmative action ban

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Supreme Court upholds Michigan affirmative action ban

By Rebecca Shabad


The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld Michigan’s ban on affirmative action in the college admissions process.

In a 6-2 ruling, the justices said Michigan voters had the right to change their state’s constitution to prohibit public colleges and universities from considering prospective students’ races in admissions decisions.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the plurality opinion in the case, Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, and was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/204041-supreme-court-upholds-michigans-affirmative-action-ban

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Ben Carson: ‘We’re Being Manipulated’ by Those ‘Trying to Divide Us’

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Ben Carson: ‘We’re Being Manipulated’ by Those ‘Trying to Divide Us’
Alissa Tabirian
April 18, 2014 at 10:17 pm

Dr. Ben Carson slammed the culture of political correctness and partisan labels at a WPEC-TV town hall panel held Thursday at the station’s studio in West Palm Beach, Florida, arguing that it has stifled free expression in America—namely religious freedom.

“We’re being manipulated. We’re being played by those people who want to divide, conquer, and control,” Carson said, alluding to the labels attached to those who disagree with their liberal counterparts. (Carson’s comments begin at at the 19:08 mark on the second video,WPEC Town Hall Religion 2. Scroll down the page and the three videos of the event are on the right side).

“If you are pro-life, then you’re anti-woman. If you’re pro-traditional marriage, then you’re homophobic. If you’re a white person and you say something against a progressive black person, you’re a racist,” Carson explained, calling for Americans “to realize that we are not each other’s enemies. The enemies are those people who are trying to divide us up.”

The panel featured religious leaders and a representative of an atheist organization speaking about religious freedom in society, including prayer in schools and the roots of morality.

Carson noted that when it comes to religion in the public sphere, secular progressives “try to impose a code of silence upon those who believe differently than they do.”

He cited the role of the Founding Fathers in building America as “a very spiritual nation” despite the claims of those “who try to re-write history,” and spoke of his own faith throughout his life’s work in pediatric neurosurgery.

Commenting on the split between science and religion on human biological development, Carson said, “It requires an enormous amount of faith to believe that something came from nothing.”

https://blog.heritage.org/2014/04/18/ben-carson-manipulated-trying-divide-us/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

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Dem Congressman on Obamacare: The Worst Is Yet to Come, It’s ‘Going to Hit the Fan’

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Dem Congressman on Obamacare: The Worst Is Yet to Come, It’s ‘Going to Hit the Fan’

By Andrew Johnson
April 21, 2014 2:45 PM

Massachusetts representative Stephen Lynch isn’t just worried about the negative impact Obamacare will have on his party’s performance this fall — he also thinks its worst effects on our health-care system are still to come. Lynch, who voted against the Affordable Care Act in 2010, warned that the situation is “going to hit the fan” when the law’s delayed provisions go into effect down the road.

“There are parts of Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, that were postponed because they are unpalatable,” he told the Boston Herald. The “Cadillac tax” that goes into effect in a few years and taxes employer health plans over a certain value, he said, will be “the first time in this country’s history that we have actually taxed health care.”

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/376191/dem-congressman-obamacare-worst-yet-come-its-going-hit-fan-andrew-johnson?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter