The Healthcare.gov Monstrosity 

With Halloween just a few days away, the thought struck me over the weekend that it is a blessing in disguise that many people can't get into the Obamacare website. Those who do get in desperately want to get out once they realize how much Vampire Government is going to suck out of their wallets to pay for this monstrosity! Here are the latest horrifying headlines: 
 

• The Los Angeles Times reports that thousands of Californians are experiencing rate shock as they learn what Obamacare is going to cost them. There are winners and losers in Obamacare, and many middle class Americans are finding out that they are the "losers" stuck with unaffordable options. 
   
• CBS News continues the theme of rate shock with a report on Dianne Barrette of Florida. Barrette was recently notified that her $54/month policy was being cancelled. Her insurance company is offering her a new plan that costs $591 a month -- more than ten times what she is currently paying. Like many Americans, Barrette is demanding to know, "…why I can't keep what I have? Why do I have to be forced into something else?"  
   
• Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is raising the alarm about Healthcare.gov's lack of cyber-security, warning that the entire site might have to be redesigned to prevent fraudsters from stealing your personal information. 
   
• Okay, so the website doesn't work well and went down again over the weekend. What about that Obamacare hotline and the paid personal navigators? Without a working website, they don't work either.

What Does Obama Know? 

Last week news broke that the National Security Agency has been spying not only on our enemies and the American people but also on world leaders, including allies like German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Foreign media reports say that Obama not only knew that the NSA was taping Chancellor Merkel's cell phone but that he approved of the effort in 2010. 

The NSA denies that Obama knew about that program until this summer, at which time the White House reportedly stopped the spying. There seems to be an awful lot going on in the Obama Administration that Obama does not know about. Perhaps it would be easier to ask, "What does Obama know?" 

But for the sake of argument, let's assume that Mr. Obama did not know about the IRS scandal, the NSA scandals or any of the warnings leading up to Obamacare's colossal launch failure. Who has he held responsible for any of these scandals? 

One thing this president does know is basketball and golf. He's played nearly 150 rounds of golf and every year he gives us his predictions for the NCAA basketball tournament. We don't need to know his golf score, Super Bowl picks or NCAA bracket choices. 

Before the next scandal catches him off guard, Obama should drop the clubs and brackets and start doing his job. 

Eye On Benghazi 

CBS News deserves kudos for revisiting another major scandal -- the Benghazi attacks -- during last night's broadcast of "60 Minutes." 

Reporter Lara Logan interviewed a former British soldier and security expert who was hired to train Libyan guards assigned to protect the consulate. But the State Department refused to arm the men he trained. When the jihadists attacked our consulate, killing our ambassador and three other Americans, the Libyan guards were unarmed and unable to do their jobs.

Logan also spoke with Lieutenant Colonel Andy Wood, a Green Beret who commanded a security team in Libya. Lt. Col. Wood warned Ambassador Stevens that Al Qaeda had published internet postings promising to attack "the Red Cross, the British and then the Americans in Benghazi." He warned they had in fact carried out two of the three attacks and that our consulate in Benghazi was next.

Every warning, every plea for more security and help -- even on the fateful night of September 11, 2012 -- was ignored. Logan notes that in spite of the obfuscation that came from the administration following the attack, for "those who lived through [the Benghazi attacks], there's nothing confusing about what happened, and they share a sense of profound frustration because they say they saw it coming." 

If you missed last night's "60 Minutes" broadcast, you can watch it here. 

Liberals Celebrate Abortion? 

When it comes to the sanctity of life, conservatives have made considerable progress in recent years. But the left wants to roll that back too. 

For years liberals tried to downplay the extremism of their left-wing pro-abortion allies. The procedure was described as a "necessary evil." Bill Clinton said he wanted abortion to be "rare." But that language was stripped from the Democrat Party platform and Obamacare is forcing religious institutions to pay for medical procedures they find morally objectionable, including abortion and sterilization.

Last week pro-abortion groups began a nationwide campaign encouraging women who have had abortions to proudly speak out about their experiences. The goal is to reverse recent gains by the pro-life movement and generate public support for "access to legal and safe abortion care in our communities." 

Translation: The left wants more of your hard-earned tax dollars to pay for abortions, but it must first convince you that the destruction of innocent unborn life is a good thing. 

Can a presidential phone call of encouragement be far behind? After all, Barack Obama called Sandra Fluke to thank her for championing "free" condoms and birth control pills. And he went to Planned Parenthood's national conference and concluded his speech by saying, "Thank you, Planned Parenthood. God bless you."