Ferry Dust

Ah... the good old days, way way back to May, 2013, when we were told we would have ferries running across Tampa Bay.

HMS and [Ed] Turanchik formally unveiled plans for what they are calling high-speed ferry service that would start as commuter boat transportation between MacDill Air Force Base and southern Hillsborough County, home to many of its employees. Ferry boats also would be used for transportation to large events on either side of the bay, such as Tampa Bay Rays baseball games in St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay Lightning hockey games in the Channel District.

Speakers at the presentation at the Tampa Bay Times Forum included Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman and Tampa Bay Lightning chief executive officer Tod Leiweke. 

"I think this has got some sex appeal to it," Buckhorn said.

Of course, it cost something to do anything, especially to pay for sex appeal.

Confused Castor Emerges

We have kept asking where in the world is Rep. Kathy Castor on Obamacare? We finally found her on the commentary page of the Tampa Tribune today. She must have written from her deep dark bunker from which she rarely emerges from. Her column today is Kathy Castor: Keep eye out for insurance rebates, but beware new unregulated rates where she joyfully tells us:

In Florida, almost 1 million consumers are expected to receive $42 million in rebates — the most of any state.

Then Castor, knowing health insurance premiums are going up, tried to blame Governor Scott and the Republican legislature for the higher premiums in her editorial.

The governor and Legislature effectively washed their hands of protecting consumers against excessive rate hikes.  

Remember this when new insurance rates are announced soon.

... 

Here, once again, the ideology and deliberate actions of the governor and Legislature are another roadblock for working families.

What about Castor's ideology and the deliberate actions by her and the rest of the Democrats in Congress?  She and her fellow Democrats rammed Obamacare through Congress on a totally partisan basis using a corrupt process of lies, back room bribes and special procedures. Floridians have always OPPOSED Obamacare. 

U.S. Representative Kathy Castor

Now we have chaos as we predicted.  We told Castor that would happen with such bad policy attempting to take over 1/6 of our economy.  But she's out touting a few lucky folks who overpaid and will get a few bucks back.

Where has Castor been as we've witnessed the train wreck and chaos she helped create since she voted for Obamacare? 

Where was Castor last year when the lie of the year "you can keep your healthcare period" was exposed as hundreds of thousands of Floridians were kicked off their insurance plans?

Where was Castor as President Obama unilaterally and arbitrarily took away HER authority in Congress, overreached and decided to change and delay parts of the law he didn't like?

Where was Castor as Floridians lost their doctors, saw their premiums go up, their co-pays go up and their deductibles go up?

Where was Castor as employers dumped their healthcare coverage? 

Where was Castor as employers were afraid to hire due to the chaos and uncertainty created by Obamacare?

Where was Castor as employees hours were cut to part-time because Obamacare arbitrarily decided to redefine what full time employment means?

Where was Castor during the disastrous Obamacare rollout that's cost taxpayers a small fortune to even make workable?

Where was Castor as hackers have already hacked Obamacare and created fraud?

Where was Castor as Obamacare was rolled out without controls in place and the ability to verify those receiving subsidies actually should be receiving them?

Where was Castor as so many enrolling in Obamacare are ending up in a broken Medicaid system which is hammering state budgets while studies show Obamacare has NOT reduced trips to the emergency rooms?

Where was Castor as the "risk pools" are actually inverted so that who enrolled are older and sicker which will mean higher premiums in the exchanges?

Where was Castor who voted for a bill that specifically stated one can ONLY get a subsidy when enrolling in a State exchange which has now created more chaos?

Where was Castor as Obamacare was unconstitutionally forcing those with religious beliefs to go against those beliefs?

Where was Castor when many originally told her Obamacare was a tax and that has now been confirmed by the Supreme Court?

Where was Castor as Obamacare carve outs have been made for special exemptions and waivers for various groups?

Where was Castor when Obama unilaterally delayed the employer mandate when the law she voted on specifically stated a date the mandates must start?

Where was Castor as the employer mandate was delayed but the individual mandate was forced on us?

Where was Castor as seniors were kicked off of their Medicare Advantage plans?

Where was Castor as younger folks the risk pools were relying on did not sign up because they would rather pay the penalty that has little way of enforcement anyway?

Where has Castor been since her town hall meeting in 2009 where a packed room told her they did not want Obamacare?

Loss of ones job, loss of existing health insurance, loss of doctors, cut in working hours, higher premiums, co-pays and deductibles resulting from Obamacare - aren't they considered "roadblocks for working families"?

Where has Castor been as all the issues have been swirling around Obamacare? 

Missing in Action and given a free media pass.

But getting a small rebate and attempting to blame the Republican legislature for premium increases - now that's newsworthy and worthy for Castor to emerge from her bunker.

Media Neglect While Obamacare Implodes

Today’s Federal Appeals Court ruling that Obamacare subsidies can only be provided through state exchanges has created another train wreck. The law very clearly stated that Federal subsidies are available to those who buy their plan from “an Exchange established by the State”. It took a lawsuit to confirm the very language the Democrats rammed through with the bill. Thirty-six states, including Florida, use the Federal exchange, the infamous Healthcare.gov.

Federal Appeals Court Ruling on Obamacare Subsidies

Americans knew that Obamacare was a fraud and a train wreck from the beginning. Democrats had to lie (in fact the biggest lie of last year - you can keep your healthcare period), use special procedures, bribe special interests like insurance companies who were promised tons of new customers, and use back room bribes within their own party to pass Obamacare.

Then when Obama even decided he didn’t like parts of it, he arbitrarily and unilaterally decided what to enforce, what to delay, what to waive for special groups so that the Obamacare that’s implemented today looks nothing like the actual law that was passed. Hundreds of thousands of Floridians got kicked off their existing healthcare plans last year. Many lost their doctors and those who did have insurance saw premiums, deductibles and co-pays go up.

Again, as these Obamacare issues swirl and Obamacare begins to implode, where in the world are Senator Bill Nelson and Rep. Kathy Castor who voted for it? MIA and in hiding on this issue.

Obamacare Imploding?

As we previously posted here, here, here and other posts as well, our local media has continued to give these two representatives who voted for Obamacare a free media pass.

The Hotair.com post linked to above states:

As Pelosi once famously said, they had to pass the law to find out what’s in it. Now they know.

And also brings this up

Michael Cannon, who spearheaded today’s lawsuit, arguing that this also means the individual mandate penalty no longer applies in the 36 states covered by the federal exchange.

Such a ruling would free nearly 1 million Floridians and more than 1.5 million Texans from the individual-mandate tax. In 2016, it would free families of four earning as little as $24,000 per year from an illegal tax of $2,085.

The Obamacare train wreck is literally being pulled apart piece by piece. More lawsuits are winding through our courts. Is it about to implode from within? The chaos and uncertainty this bill has created and is creating is why there was such a push to defund it last fall. How prescient that was as Obamacare continues wrecking havoc on our lives.

Will the Tampa Tribune or Tampa Bay Times ever confront Nelson and Castor? Will they ever hold them accountable for the Obamacare mess and chaos they helped create? Both media have certainly gone after other elected officials about much smaller issues. What are they afraid of?

Inquiring readers want to know where Nelson and Castor stand on Obamacare, what do they propose to do about it, but instead all we get is journalistic and media neglect.


Sharon Calvert