Not one lick…
Has there been a more incompetent man to occupy such a position of power? I submit that Obama has gone to the head of the class surpassing Jimmy Carter. Glorious Leader claims the government is too big for one man to monitor what is going on; his lackeys claim it's Bush's fault for the economic bad times, the IRS scandal and so on. But how is it Bush's fault if the government is too big for one man to handle?
The corruption and abuse of power this administration has demonstrated is no surprise to those of us that have been paying attention; this is the Chicago way, using the power of one's position/office to investigate and destroy your political enemies, lying about what is going on convincing the low information voter that what they are seeing is not true. Plus Obama is a community organizer, no experience in leading anything so he does what he knows, sits aloofly by and complains, agitates and blames others for the problems.
While the MSM concentrates on the IRS, gun control and all the other domestic scandals, now including Obama's unilateral decision to decrease our nuclear arsenal even further, the rest of the world is worrying about the Middle East.
Obama is doing something there as well, he has again told the Turkish President that despite the evidence presented again to Obama by Turkey, the U.S. is not convinced that the Syrian army is the one using chemical weapons. President Erdogan was at the White House this week and presented Obama with eye witness testimony from Turkish doctors treating patients; video evidence that Syrian Army units were firing the chemical weapons but Obama said the U.S. wants more specific details...
Israeli P.M. Netanyahu visited Russia and was told by Vladimir Putin that they should keep their hands off of Syria or else. Russia not only shipped the S-300 batteries to Syria but also sent anti-ship cruise missiles to Assad so they can fire upon the Israeli navy. Putin also told Netanyahu that Syria and Hezbollah would be supported by Russia and possibly not just by the supplying of arms, in their threatened war of attrition from the Golan. Hezbollah and related Palestinian military groups have already increased their attacks on Israeli territory from Syrian military controlled sites and Russia is hell bent on supporting them.
Meanwhile Saudi Arabia is turning to Iran of all countries to help 'stabilize' the region. Saudi officials meeting with their counterparts from Iran said they have given up on the U.S. as a partner in seeking peace; Obama is all talk and no action according to one high ranking Saudi foreign ministry official. Saudi Arabia and many in the area have seen the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah coalition forces taking control in the civil war and realize that Lebanon could be next if Hezbollah is victorious in Syria, which appears to be the case. Saudi officials want to ensure the safety of the Sunni government in Lebanon and are negotiating with Iran to that end.
Quite simply, Obama doesn't know how to take action, how to engage and lead and the rest of the world sees it; they've lost faith in the United States and are seeking 'peace' with enemies, a peace which history tells us won't be real and won't last, but will only postpone what seems to be more inevitable by the moment, war with Israel.
It’s your money…
Our government has become very good at one thing, spending your money in idiotic ways. The Department of the Interior is providing a grant to the Bureau of Reclamation in Arizona to assist in training two endangered species of fish to recognize and avoid predators.
From the Grant.com website: “The objective of the proposed project is to determine if training increases Bonytail and Razorback Sucker survival when exposed to predators,” the grant abstract states. “This proposal builds upon the 2012 Bureau of Reclamation assistance agreement with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) tasked with investigating the potential for training Bonytail and Razorback Suckers to recognize and avoid predators.
“One of the early conclusions of the prior work is that the schooling behavior of Bonytail may allow untrained fish to show improved survival because they recognize predator avoidance behaviors exhibited by trained individuals,” the abstract states.
Let's see, if a species can't recognize predators and get away from them or develop some type of defense mechanism, then the laws of nature say they should die. The people coming up with this program are probably the same that worship at the altar of Darwinism and natural selection... really, we've solved all other problems to the point that we believe training fish at the Valle Vista Golf Course in Kingman AZ is the best way to spend $472K? I'm sure some unemployed American will get those jobs...
Quick hits
The IRS scandal continues to get worse as it's now clear that not only were agents in the Cincinnati office involved but their superiors in Washington D.C. also knew what was going on and encouraged or even initiated the probes. This is the worst kind of political chicanery and people not only need to lose their jobs over this but there should be criminal prosecutions. To that end the FBI will be investigating. What we've also found out is that IRS staffers also released confidential documents on conservative groups to a reporters/bloggers from a liberal website. Several of the groups about which ProPublica requested information had not yet been approved for non-profit status and releasing any information about unapproved applications is against the IRS rules and thus against the law.
Add to the ever growing list of privacy rights violations another bombshell from the Holder Department of Justice: the DOJ secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors at the Associated Press. The records obtained included personal and professional phones for potentially over 100 reporters. The DOJ can issue subpoenas to obtain phone records for investigative purposes but must have tried to obtain the sought after information form alternative means first and must notify the targeted organization unless doing so would pose a 'substantial threat' to the integrity of the investigation. The DOJ confirmed those limitations in a letter responding to the AP's president. Yet, DOJ officials have not said there was an investigation of any type being conducted, which since they've been found out would be the simplest thing to claim, wouldn't it? Maybe they were just looking for whistleblowers or leaks... simple fact is, this scandal also takes some heat off of the Benghazi mess because conservatives don't like the media, it doesn't seem as bad as Benghazi.
Obama talks a good game about cooperation and bipartisanship but we know he never puts his words into action, at least not with sincere intent. Two weeks ago during a speaking engagement Glorious Leader told reporters that Rush Limbaugh was irrelevant and would likely soon be of the airwaves because no one was listening to him any more. This week, Obama pointed the finger of blame at Limbaugh claiming Republicans in Congress wanted to work with GL on gun control and other issues but were afraid of what Limbaugh might say about them. So which is it Mr. President, is he irrelevant or is he an influential member of the right wing? Can't be both. But Limbaugh has offered to sit down with GL at a place of the President's choosing, a time of his choosing and discuss the issues in a genuine effort to move things forward and break gridlock. You know how that will end.
17 companies have provided the House Energy and Commerce Committee reports on their estimations of the cost of health insurance once Obamacare kicks in full bore. The average increase, average folks, is 100%. Aetna, Blue Cross-Blue Shield and Kaiser say the increases will be as high as 400%. The average yearly cost of an individual grows from $1896 to $3709. This is due to several factors including requirements to cover a wider array of services and those in poor health being added to the rolls. Think about what that means for those of you that get insurance through your employer. Those costs are prohibitive and can't be absorbed by the company; you will likely be without insurance soon; and those in a union, it's even worse since a contract specifies how much the company will pay for benefits and can't be modified without negotiations and a revision to the contract. Since the pools designed to underwrite the cost of insurance for those that can't afford it have already gone broke, that's not going to be a viable option for you... all part of the grand design mind you, so a single payer system can be adopted.
Quick hits
I don't care who they are, what political party, conservative or liberal, politicians will lie to you straight in the face or they are as ignorant of what they are doing... Sen. Chuck Grassley submitted an amendment to the immigration reform bill put forth by the bipartisan Gang of Eight. The amendment purpose: To prohibit the granting of registered provisional immigrant status until the Secretary has maintained effective control of the borders for 6 months and to apply border security strategies to all border sectors. The amendment was defeated in committee by a vote of 12 to 6. All the Democrats voted against the amendment. So did four of the Gang of Eight, Republicans Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham and Democrats Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer. All four had said unequivocally that border security was a must before amnesty would be granted. Their bill was vague and not so exact so Grassley pushed them to put their money where their mouths were; they balked.
The FDA director is worried about all the caffeinated products being sold to you; the vast number of products that are having caffeine added to help you make it through the day. So they are looking into regulating caffeine; in fact they are so serious about it, they are considering fining companies that add caffeine to products "not traditionally associated with energy enhancement." That would also create a significant liability exposure for those companies in civil suits. Wrigley has already reacted by taking their new caffeinated gum off the market rather than face the exposure and costs of potentially having to submit to FDA approval and control. Would you people quit making bad decisions so the nanny state would stop over regulating us?!
The revelations being 'revealed' in the Benghazi hearings are being touted by some as the death knell for Hillary's chances to run for President in 2016; some even believe it may cost Glorious Leader his job. Both statements should be true but don't get your hopes up, the MSM and low information voter are here to help. The MSM is focusing their coverage on this being a political witch hunt rather than exposing the truth; the low information voter won't know enough about the truth to hold Hillary or GL responsible now or in the future. Thick Ankles will be the top Democrat and it won't make a whit of a difference in 12 months. Think I'm wrong: Cheryl Attkisson at CBS has been dogged in her investigation of Benghazi but CBS execs won't air her stories, which are proving to have been very accurate. The execs say she is "advocating" in her stories, translated that means she's telling the truth that is damaging to their favorite President.
Why did NJ Governor Chris Christie get lap band surgery and start losing weight? He wants to run for President in 2016. Simple as that; he knows that the average American won't vote for him because he's fat. Democrat media strategist says we don't vote for fat or unhealthy looking candidates for President but do make them governors because Presidents have their fingers on the nuclear button. I disagree. In state-wide elections, the candidate has a much better opportunity to directly address the voters and get his or her message out; thus they can overcome the biases against unattractive people. In a national election, the media has a much larger voice than any candidate and just on shear numbers, it's harder for a candidate to directly address the constituency; thus physical appearance plays a much larger role in the decision making process for the low information voter. I think that's also why Christie has embraced Obama, he is currying favor with the left leaning national media so he can soften their coverage.
Quick hits
Racism hits the national airwaves again and once again the MSM ignores it. This time it's one of NM's 'own' espousing his racist opinion. Bill Richardson, former governor of this state and supposed NM resident, although he never really lived here prior to running for the office, said that he disagrees with Ted Cruz' opinions. In fact, Ted Cruz is not really Hispanic because he espouses opinions that are in direct conflict with Hispanics in America. Really?! He even inferred that being from Texas made Cruz less Hispanic. So holding a different opinion on immigration reform disqualifies you from being Hispanic? That's what he said. I thought stereotyping people based upon race, creed, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation was wrong. But as we know, it's OK if you're liberal and are attacking a conservative.
A new study finds that granting illegal immigrants full citizenship or conditional status in this country will cost the American taxpayer $6.3 trillion. Looking at what happened last time we reformed immigration and how many benefits would be given to illegal immigrants it adds up quickly. The typical illegal immigrant is 34 years old, has a 10th grade education, already gets $14K in government benefits and works for minimum wage or less. They aren't going to be paying income taxes so the argument they add to the tax rolls is just dead wrong. Once they become fully eligible for all government benefits, social security, Medicaid, etc and extrapolating the numbers, we'll spend a net $6.3 trillion more in entitlements to add 11 million illegals to the public dole. Where's that money going to come from.
President Barack Obama, speaking in Mexico City on Friday, said the United States is responsible for much of the crime and violence in Mexico because of the demand for drugs and the illegal smuggling of guns across the southern border. He told the crowd, “We understand that the root cause of violence that’s been happening here in Mexico for which so many Mexicans have suffered is the demand for illegal drugs in the United States.” He later added, “We also recognize that most of the guns used to commit violence here in Mexico come from the United States. My big fat white buttocks. Yes, we have a drug problem but that doesn't justify the actions of drug cartels. There's so many things wrong with his statements. Has he forgotten about his Fast & Furious program? Screw it, I'm tired of pointing out the inane statements, it's too obvious...
Another President resigned for less
Facing impeachment Richard Nixon resigned from office after it was discovered that he had attempted to cover up a burglary. No one died; national security was not compromised and Nixon did not even know the burglary was going to take place. But he actively tried to cover it up when he found out and that cost him his job. Now as more and more information comes to light about Benghazi we find out that not only did the highest ranking officials screw up the handling of security but they deliberately lied to the American people. When I say high ranking, it's all the way to Hillary and Obama.
Intelligence officials had already concluded, before the attack in Benghazi was even over, intelligence officials had determined that it was a terrorist attack. However, officials from several agencies, including the State Department, National Security Council, CIA, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the White House conspired to cleanse the talking points and created a new story. The information was found in emails exchanged by the involved parties which were sent in the 24 hour period just prior to Ambassador Susan Rice being sent on the Sunday talk show circuit to blame a video for creating a spontaneous riot.
The emails show that State Department intelligence staff identified Ansar al Sharia as the group behind the attack just 2 hours after the attack began. A cable sent after the attack was over confirmed eye witness reports identifying know terrorists as being involved in the attacks. These reports were widely circulated throughout the aforementioned departments including the White House. CIA Director David Petraeus briefed members of Congress telling them that it was a terrorist attack conducted by al Qaeda related groups in Libya. Democrat Dutch Ruppersburger asked for talking points for members of Congress and the CIA provided an initial draft report. This initial draft included the assertion that the U.S. government "knows that Islamic extremists with ties to al Qaeda participated in the attack." The draft specifically identified Ansar al Sharia as confirming involvement in the attack and said the consulate facilities had been the subject of surveillance and reminded readers that there had been "at least five other attacks against foreign interests in Benghazi" in the previous six months.
The draft was changed after State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland worried that members of Congress would use the information in the memo to criticize state department staff "for not paying attention to Agency warnings." A second draft was prepared by the CIA which removed all references to Ansar al Sharia but Nuland wrote back the problem still remained and her superiors were not happy. Ben Rhodes, President Obama's advisor on national security and foreign policy, said that the issues would be resolved in a meeting of top administration officials the following morning at the White House.
After that meeting Mike Morrell, deputy direct of the CIA, authored what is essentially a new memo. Gone from the original CIA memo was any reference to "Islamic extremists", any reminders of agency warnings about al Qaeda in Libya, reference to "jihadists" in Cairo, mention of possible surveillance of the facilities in Benghazi, and the report of the five previous attacks on foreign interests including the attack on the British ambassador's motorcade. What remained was a generic memo about investigating facts and a spontaneous demonstration by 'extremists'. The Youtube video would become part of the narrative shortly after this memo was given to members of Congress.
It's clear that this process involved the highest members of our government including Hillary and Obama. They would have been briefed on the situation at the very least and may have had direct involvement in cleansing the facts from the talking point memos used by Susan Rice and other officials in the days following the death of U.S. citizens. This type of cover up is reprehensible; it was deliberate and as shown by the comments of Nuland was done only to protect government agencies and staff from criticism. It was also done with deliberate intentions to mislead the American people. If that is not criminal, I don't know what is...
Quick hits
Maybe it's time to put on the tin foil hats and put together the pieces of the puzzle pointing to conspiracy in the White House. Saudi Arabia sent the Department of Homeland Security a written warning about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the Boston bombers, last year. A senior Saudi government official with direct knowledge of the situation told the Daily Mail staff that their intelligence department developed credible evidence separate from the Russians about Tsarnaev's involvement with terror groups. The warning was very specific and said he was involved in a plot to carry out a terrorist act in a major U.S. city. The official response from the staff at DHS and the White House is that no such communication exists or was ever received. However, a high ranking DHS official has told a members of the House Homeland Security Committee that such a letter was received and possibly not passed on to the administration. The Saudis believed in the credibility of their information so much that they denied Tsarnaev a visa to visit Mecca. Given the number of terrorists they harbor and let in, that says a lot. It also makes you wonder why the DOJ sent a judge of all people, to read the younger brother his Miranda rights when the FBI was getting his cooperation.
John Carney is saying Benghazi is an old story and happened so long ago we don't really need to be concerned with it; yet more and more reports are coming out, along with documentation, that the administration knew American lives were in danger and did nothing about it. The State Department has provided Congress with documents showing Hillary signed off on an order denying requests for additional security, despite what intelligence analysts called credible threats from terrorist groups. She denied under oath that she had any knowledge of such analysis or requests for security yet her signature is on the documents. The State Department had hired the February 17th Martyrs Brigade, a militia based in Benghazi as a quick reaction force to protect the mission in Benghazi but the militia notified the Regional Security Officer that it could not and would not protect Ambassador Stevens and his staff; that warning was given on Sept 8th, a day before the Ambassador arrived in Benghazi and was passed on to Washington via email the next day. There was also a report that a temporary RSO in Tripoli received verbal notice of the Militia's decision a week prior to the formal written notification. Yet nothing was done to beef up the security or warn Ambassador Stevens to stay out of Benghazi...
Asked if he thinks a 'red line' was crossed in Syria regarding the use of chemical weapons, Obama hedged saying it was not extremely clear that such weapons had been used although there was some evidence that chemical weapons had been deployed. Furthermore even if the weapons had been used, it's not clear which side has used them. Really? When did the rebels get chemical weapons? We know, everyone knows, Assad has chemical weapons. We've known that he used them more than 3 months ago on civilians standing in line to get bread. Our intelligence agencies, along with those in Russia, France, Israel, Turkey and England all believe Assaad has used the weapons based upon photographic evidence and eye witness accounts. In fact, when it began to be widely reported that Syrian military forces had crossed Obama's self proclaimed red line, Russia's military began obvious and clear preparations for engagement. Now, not surprisingly, our nation has lost credibility in the international community.
Quick hits
"Today we face incredibly well funded gangs of fundamentalist Christians who terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates in our nation's armed forces." Mikey Weinstein founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation wrote those words. He has been selected by Obama to be a consultant to the Pentagon as they develop new religious tolerance policies. This will include court martial offenses for chaplains who share the Christian gospel during the spiritual counseling of our troops. He believes that soldiers who hold traditional Christian beliefs are members of hate groups whose views are incompatible with 'Army values' and should be carefully watched and excluded from military service. That sounds tolerant doesn't it?
The American Life League has tried to buy ad space from the New York Times and Washington Post. Both papers have declined the ads as the drawings the ALL intended to used were too 'sexually graphic'. One little twist to this story; the drawings were pulled from Planned Parenthood publications that are distributed to kids in elementary schools to teach them about sex. So it's OK to show our 6, 7 & 8 year olds these drawings but the same are too graphic for publication in newspapers?
The White House staff, along with intelligence and military experts in the U.S. and around the world have confirmed that Syria's military has used Sarin gas against the rebels. That was a red line drawn in the sand by Obama and Israel's government. There is irrefutable proof including video documentation of the use of Sarin gas. Yet Obama has said he will not take action despite having warned President Assad that action would be taken by the international community should chemical weapons be used. Why? Because the United Nations is unlikely to confirm the allegations. Obama says that without confirmation from the U.N. he does not have the authority to act. Certainly the U.N. failing to make such a declaration has nothing to do with politics or sympathies; it's not like they'd put someone like Iran in charge of human rights councils...
The median household income in the United States is $50,502 (using 2011 data). Since Obama took office in January of 2009, the federal debt has increased by just over $6 trillion. So just the amount of the national debt incurred since GL took office means the household share is $53,616. And GL and our political leaders in Washington want to borrow even more money.
They just want the money…
The liberals know that most Americans are ignorant or they believe everything the politicians tell them without really giving it much thought. That's why they keep getting re-elected. Congress is preparing to raise taxes on flu vaccines. This would hit a wide ranging cross section of Americans but mostly the elderly.
In February identical bills were introduced in both chambers of Congress. The law would add 75 cents to every dose of any "vaccine against seasonal influenza." The CDC expects 135 million doses of flu vaccine to be used this year putting the cost at $100 million roughly.
The tax revenue raised would fund the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund or so they say. The fund is basically a no fault alternative to the traditional tort system. Someone claiming to have been injured by a vaccine can waive their right to sue the manufacturer or distributer or pharmacy and receive compensation from the fund.
However, as of November 2012, the fund has a surplus of $3.5 billion. Since the program was created in 1988 the administrators of the fund have paid out only $2.5 billion for cases involving all types of vaccines, not just flu vaccines. Given that history, the fund could survive another 25 years without receiving another penny of tax money. So why do Republican Orrin Hatch & Jim Gerlach and Democrats Richard Neal and Max Baucus feel the need to raise another $100 million a year, which is about the same amount paid out each year? Where is that money going to go really?
Exempting themselves while enslaving us…
Reports are starting to surface from multiple sources that leaders of both parties in both houses of Congress are nearing a deal that would exempt lawmakers and their aides from having to participate in Obamacare's health insurance exchanges. The White House staff is involved in the talks as well, which have apparently been going on for months. The biggest hurdle in finalizing a deal? Trying to avoid the potential negative fallout from the citizenry.
The talks were prompted by concerns that submitting to health insurance exchanges, like us regular citizens, would add thousands of dollars to the cost of health insurance for lawmakers and their staffs causing many staffers to leave their government jobs in search of higher paying employment. But in today's economy, government workers are paid more than their private sector counterparts, so we know that's not the real reason. The part about staffers leaving because of poor pay; maybe it is if they can then get lobbying jobs.
Michael Steele, speaking on behalf of John Boehner, says the goal is to "spare the entire country from the ravages of the president's healthcare law." Really?! Then why aren't you allowing votes that would repeal Obamacare? Every damn day if need be. This is just another reason we need to make sure that Congress lives under the same laws that they pass. Limit the session of Congress to 90 days, I prefer 60, if they can't get everything done, then it doesn't get done. Then they have to come back to their home states, at least the one from which they were elected, and work regular jobs, run businesses and most importantly see the impact they are really having on America. That would change a lot.