Clinton May End Paid Speeches

One of the more controversial aspects of Hillary Clinton’s pre-campaign situation is coming to an end.

Her appearance at the New York and New Jersey chapter of the American Camp Association in Atlantic City on Thursday is the last paid speech on Clinton’s known calendar.

The paid speech was a staple of Clinton’s last two years, both a way of staying in the public eye but also a target for critics. Commanding an average fee between $200,000 and $300,000, Clinton spoke to a varying mix of groups.

Clinton headlined events at colleges and universities as well, including Simmons College in Boston, the University of Miami in Florida, and the University at Buffalo in New York.  She went abroad, delivering paid speeches in Canada and Mexico, according to CNN.

Both Democrats and Republicans questioned why she would give paid speeches ahead of ahead of (or during) a presidential bid.

Clinton aides argued that the speaking fees from universities and some nonprofits went to the The Clinton Foundation, not directly to Clinton’s pocket, but the explanation failed to halt concerns, says CNN.

When Clinton spoke at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in October, students protested the fact that the college was paying Clinton a $225,000 speaking fee at the same time that they were raising tuition.

While controversial, the speeches served a purpose for Clinton in addition to collecting a paycheck: They provided the former secretary of state with opportunities to comment on the biggest news story of the moment in a controlled environment where media were kept hundreds of feet away, states CNN.

Rebels Continue Assault On Ukrainian Government Positions Ahead Of Peace Talks

More than 10 civilians and soldiers have been killed in rocket fire deep inside Ukrainian government-held territory on the eve of peace talks. The eastern headquarters of Ukraine’s military in Kramatorsk was hit as well as residential areas.

According to the BBC, urgent talks on ending the deadly conflict in Ukraine have begun on February 11th in the Belarusian capital Minsk, after a week of EU diplomacy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin shook hands with Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko.

Russia has been accused of arming and reinforcing pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine – a claim it denies.

Brokering the ceasefire bid are German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

The talks are set to focus on securing a ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons and creating a demilitarised zone.

euronews

What If We Just Sent People Over 50 To War?

Secular Talk

Podcast host Joe Rogan talks about a plan he has to end stupid wars.

Joe Rogan is a standup comedian and host of The Joe Rogan Experience, a long form podcast on iTunes, Ustream, and Sirius XM.

Republicans Can Still Go After Obamacare

According to Mother Jones, now that Republicans control Congress, they’re again threatening to end Obamacare. On Monday, Senate Majority Leader-elect Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed to hold a repeal vote when Republicans take over the upper chamber in January, adding that GOPers “will go at that law…in every way that we can.”

Obamacare is not going anywhere as long as President Barack Obama is in office. But there is a sneakier way GOPers could deal a blow to the health care law in the next two years: They can make the law look more costly than it is, boosting the case for dismantling it.

In 2012, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)—which produces official budget projections—calculated that the combined effect of the tax increases and spending cuts in the Affordable Care Act will reduce the deficit by $109 billion over the next decade. (This is the CBO’s most recent estimate.)

Conservatives cried foul, saying that the CBO double-counted savings in the law and ignored billions in health care spending in order to make the economic effects of the law seem rosier than they were. They charged that Obamacare actually adds billions to the deficit.

But how does health care spending affect the deficit? Only the Medicaid expansion is government run insurance. The insurance on the exchanges is from private companies, so that wouldn’t affect the government budget.