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By chance, we happened upon him in a small gift shop. The clerk recognized me, laughed and said, “What a coincidence! She just bought a copy of your book!” She gestured toward a small woman browsing through a group of men’s sweaters.

That began a cordial conversation when I thanked her for buying the book. Her son, somewhere in his 30s, perked up and listened. He settled himself down on a comfortable sofa and said not a word until his mother said, “My son is a writer, too.”

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/blogs/ronda-rich/11-19-2013/keeping-dream-alive

According to some estimates, there are more than 100 million traffic signals in the U.S., but whatever the number, how many of us would like Washington, in the name of public health and safety, to be in sole charge of their operation?

Congress or a committee it authorizes would determine the position of traffic signals at intersections, the length of time the lights stay red, yellow and green, and what hours of the day they can be flashing red.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/blogs/walter-williams/11-19-2013/does-washington-know-what%E2%80%99s-best-us

One thousand two hundred and eighty-nine days.

That’s how long the Obama Administration had to set up the 36 online health insurance exchanges it’s operating wholly or in partnership with states. Surely three-and-a-half years is enough time to establish websites with at least basic functionality, right?

Not so much. Obamacare’s exchange rollout has been disastrous. The federal government’s Healthcare.gov website is still unusable for most browsers. By last count, fully 47 state exchange sites were generating frequent error messages.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/blogs/sally-c-pipes/11-19-2013/obamacare-exchanges-portend-disaster

I had to read the long letter from Mr. Alaimo a couple of times to really grasp his message. There is one constant thread having to do with this country’s Judeo-Christian roots, and it seems that this is the basis for Mr. Alaimo’s “love” for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Please allow me to respond with a few high-level observations.

1. Mr. Alaimo spoke to his desire to provide healthcare plans to his employees. While this is commendable, we must understand the original reasons for companies providing such plans.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/11-19-2013/obamacare-love-misplaced

So, now that we’ve witnessed a near complete failure of the launch of Obamacare, what should we conclude about the man himself?

Not to mince words, but to quote one of my favorite comedians, Adam Carolla, he’s either a liar or stupid. In either case, that’s a bad thing for our country.

If he’s stupid, that would explain why Obama kept reiterating that you could keep your plan, even after DHS bureaucrats wrote the actual rule and made grandfathering a plan exceedingly difficult.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/11-19-2013/choose-one-liar-or-incompetent

There was a cute, accurate cartoon in The Citizen (2-3 Nov. 2013) which got some people’s noses out of joint. In frame #1, A man is watching a TV screen which proclaims: “New Climate Study: Disaster in a Generation!” The man’s significant other (from another room) asks: “What’s the long-term forecast?”

“Scorching heat in 2060.”

Frame #2: The man’s significant other follows up with: “I mean for this weekend.” Man: “Who knows?”

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/11-19-2013/epa-forecast-more-lies

I give thanks this year for having the privilege to serve on the Board of Commissioners at a time when critical decisions were required at the same time I had colleagues who were willing to cast the tough votes.

I am thankful for the great relationship that exists between the county and city governments these days.

There are times when the workload gets heavy, making it easy to lose sight of the good things in life. I plead guilty on multiple counts.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/11-19-2013/brown-it%E2%80%99s-time-be-thankful