Brandon

Friday, June 28, 2013

Obama's Africa Hypocrisy: Praises Kenya's Voter ID Law While Opposing ALL Similar U.S. Efforts!

This isn't the first of Obama's overseas hypocrisy and it won't be the last!

Readers know that Obama's White House and Department of Justice have been very active in trying to derail voter identification laws in the United States aimed at cutting down vote fraud. So, isn't it odd that the White House went out of it's way to praise such efforts in Kenya during Obama's $60-$100 million summer vacation African outreach tour?

From the Weekly Standard:
As President Obama and his family continue their tour of Africa, the White House put out a Fact Sheet entitled "U.S. Support for Strengthening Democratic Institutions, Rule of Law, and Human Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa." One of the first items highlighted by the White House is a $53 million program in Kenya that helps young people "obtain National identification cards, a prerequisite to voter registration."
Civil society and independent media play a critical role in any vibrant democracy.  Across sub-Saharan Africa, the United States supports efforts to ensure civil society organizations and independent media can organize, advocate, and raise awareness with governments and the private sector to improve political processes, transparency, and government performance.  Examples include: 
• In Kenya, the $53 million Yes Youth Can program empowers nearly one million Kenyan youth to use their voices for advocacy in national and local policy-making, while also creating economic opportunities.  In advance of Kenya’s March 2013 general elections, Yes Youth Can’s “My ID My Life” campaign helped 500,000 youth obtain National identification cards, a prerequisite to voter registration, and carried out a successful nationwide campaign with Kenyan civic organizations to elicit peace pledges from all presidential aspirants. [emphasis added]
At an August 2012 press briefing, Jay Carney had the following to say about a Texas voter ID law:
And on the voter ID case, I can tell you that, as you know, this administration believes it should be easier for eligible citizens to vote -- to register and vote. We should not be imposing unnecessary obstacles or barriers to voter participation.
As I said, this isn't the first time Obama's hypocrisy has been on display overseas. Obama has done everything he can to block development of domestic oil supplies but while in Brazil in 2011 touted Brazil's expanding development of petroleum resources.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

With Snowden Affair Obama's Foreign Policy Humiliations Continue

If only Obama was as tough with America's real foes as he is with the Tea Party!

Russian leader Putin knows a weak American President when he sees one!
Whatever you think of the Snowden leak about National Security Agency spying on Americans the affair did have the benefit of highlighting once again how weak and feckless Obama's foreign policy has become. Both China and Russia refused to turn over Snowden and Secretary of State John Kerry was put in the hapless position of basically begging pretty please for the Russians to return Snowden.

Sec. State Kerry admits that the whole episode is "deeply troubling" and warns that there would be " some effect, an impact on the relationship, and consequences” for Russia if they continue to refuse to turn over Snowden. Clearly Russian President Vladimir Putin isn't worried. He's said "NYET" to extraditing Snowden. Obviously he's milking this for all it's worth.

Russia, like China, Iran, Syria, North Korea and so many other American foes around the world have observed there is no down side to humiliating Obama who is seen as a paper tiger when he's not an outright laughingstock. If you're still not convinced, ask yourself what message was sent when the Benghazi terrorists who killed our Ambassdor in Libya last year have been free of any negative consequences for that attack?
full size image here.

Obama's threats to Russia are as empty as his vapid rhetoric and everyone around the world, friends and foes know it.

It wasn't supposed to be this way was it? In 2008 Obama campaigned on the promise to make the U.S. respected in the world again. Throughout the campaign of 2012 he said "The United States is stronger, safer and more respected in the world"(1,2, 3). He repeated the phrase again when he nominated John Kerry to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. What a shame it's just words, just speeches!

Around the Muslim world our embassies are attacked and our flag ripped down. Our foes thumb their nose at us and respect, as measured in the Pew Global Surveys has plummeted.

Victor Davis Hanson: If Only Obama Treated Foes Like Republicans

a great column:
I cannot recall, in the last five years, Barack Obama ever identifying the Iranians, Hezbollah, or the late Hugo Chavez as among our “enemies,” in the fashion that he once urged Latino leaders to punish conservatives at the polls: “We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us.” If only the president would treat those who don’t like the United States in the same manner that he does those who do, he might bring great clarity to his now listless foreign policy. Indeed, why waste his rich vocabulary of teleprompted invective on fellow Americans, when there is an entire world out there that wishes the United States ill?
Read the entire piece filled with examples.

In one area after another Obama's weak, feckless foreign policy has emboldened our enemies thus making the world a place that is less safe and more inclined towards war and violence. I wonder if the Nobel Prize committee would like their Peace Prize returned!

Monday, June 24, 2013

Immigration Update

Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice....

NOTE: The following is a more comprehensive update to the post below. But please do read that post if you have not done so. The conversation I had with Senator John McCain on this issue is of paramount importance to understanding the depth of concerns many of us have on this issue.

Here's the latest. In an attempt to appear to tighten border security requirements in the "Gang of 8" (when are we going to put a stop to these gangs?) Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and John Hoeven (R-ND) put forward an additional proposal which will be voted on Monday. The bill is now 1200 pages and like the ObamaCare bill, plenty of opportunity for mischief. Sen Mike Lee (R-UT), an opponent of the bill said it best: “the best of intentions aren’t enough when you’re dealing with a 1,200-page bill.”

How many Senators will actually read the bill before voting on it? How many little surprises does the bill contain?

A big selling point for the bill's proponents is that the bill will require the completion of 700 miles of  border fencing. Yet those who have looked at the provision find that the Secretary of Homeland Security may at her, or his, discretion refuse to build the fence. Considering how DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano claims the border is already secure and has been opposed to fencing and is now supporting this bill should tell you something. The fact that previous law requiring completion of the fence have been ignored should make us doubly dubious the Administration is serious about this aspect of border security.

Over the weekend, Sen. Corker released a statement in which he insisted that unless the fence is completed and additional border guards hired no person given Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status under the bill will be able to get a Green Card. What Corker fails to point out is that RPI status is de facto legalization. Immigrants who fail to qualify for a Green Card, don't pay a fine or learn English (other dubious selling points of the bill) will still be able to stay in the U.S. indefinitely even though they fail to meet the "goals" of the bill.


Click the player at right for a great parody of Senators McCain and Graham discussing the bill. "Border security, biometric identification, fines, penalties, are all words somewhere in this bill." That pretty much sums it up for me. Lots of words and plenty of wiggle room so that the "best of intentions" ends up being nothing more than that. That's what happened the last time we had an immigration bill and millions more illegals came across the border after similar promises of border security were broken.
 
More Points to Consider:
  • Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said on the Senate floor that deceased Senator Ted Kennedy was "going to smile" down on passage of this bill. That should be enough to warn conservatives about what's really going on.
  • Obama is secretly conducting a "war room" political operation in the Senate to push this bill.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Latest Immigration/Border Security Scam Grinds on in U.S. Senate

Just why is it so damn difficult to put border security FIRST?

They fooled us once in 1986. Will they fool us again? By all appearances it would seem so. Those who are paying attention know that the illegal immigrant amnesty bill of 1986 was supposed to secure the border and end further illegal immigration. It didn't. In 2006 a further immigration measure was defeated because it proved to be too tame on enforcing the border. Now, here we are again with the Senate debating yet another immigration bill which promises amnesty first and then border security....maybe.

That's not the way it's supposed to work. Polls continue to show that Americans support EFFECTIVE border security measures BEFORE another round of amnesty.

John McCain Tells Mike's America Border First, But Now???

I remember a testy conversation with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in 2007 during his presidential campaign:
On immigration, Senator McCain admits that he's learned his lesson. "Americans want a secure border first" he said, because they "have no confidence, no trust in government" to implement a workable comprehensive reform. Under McCain's plan "border state governors will certify" whether or not the border is secure.
In his 2010 campaign for re-election to the U.S. Senate McCain reiterated his support for border security first. But now? GOP Senators Graham (SC) McCain (AZ) and Rubio (FL) have consistently voted against amendments to the current senate bill which would strengthen border security.

From all appearances it looks like we're in for another senate "deal" which gives away the goodies but the hard part of the deal never happens. Sort of like budget deals with tax increases that take place right way and spending cuts that never materialize. Voters are right to be skeptical. After all, previous border security measures like the one to build the fence were signed into law but the fence was never built.

Perhaps the best wrap up of the issue comes from the editors of National Review online. In an article titled "Rubio's Folly Cont." this excerpt is a must read:
It is an amnesty-first, enforcement-maybe program drawn up mainly to reflect the priorities of 11 million citizens of other countries rather than the concerns of more than 300 million citizens of the United States.

Most of the so-called security triggers in the bill are paper tigers.
The requirement that those applying for amnesty have clean criminal records in fact allows for two misdemeanor convictions and, like most of the triggers, can be waived by the Department of Homeland Security. Senator John Cornyn of Texas has sought to have those with drunk-driving convictions excluded, but he is meeting resistance — Senator John McCain called the Cornyn amendment, which modestly strengthens other security provisions as well, a “poison pill.” The bill as written excludes only those with three or more drunk-driving convictions — “habitual” drunk drivers.

Likewise, the fines for illegal immigrants contemplated by the Gang of Eight can, under the current bill, be waived by DHS, and the collection of unpaid taxes applies only to levies already assessed by our dear friends at the IRS. The main security provisions of the legislation require only that DHS draw up a plan for security. (That is classic Washington: a plan to have a plan.) The much-vaunted requirement that DHS achieve 90 percent effectiveness for border security requires only self-certification by the DHS; in the unlikely event that DHS does not give itself a passing score, the only result under the law would be the creation of a commission to study the problem. Completing a border fence is left to the discretion of the DHS, which does not support doing so. Likewise, the requirement that the federal government institute a system of controls on those who overstay their visas — which already is a legal requirement and has been since 1996 — is left largely to the discretion of DHS.

All of the concerns above are problematic on their own, but they are rendered especially troublesome by the fact that the legalization of millions of illegal immigrants happens first, immediately and irreversibly. If this bill should be signed into law, the amnesty would go into effect immediately, and the most that any of the so-called triggers would do is delay the process of allowing the formerly illegal immigrants to apply for green cards and citizenship. That is the fundamental flaw of Senator Rubio’s design, and none of his playing Hamlet about the issue is going to change that. The bill is not wrong only in its details, but in its fundamental architecture, including in its guest-worker program and increases in other categories of low-skilled workers.
Giving power to the Obama Administration to determine whether the border is actually secure is a surefire way to assure that the border will NOT be secure. After all, Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has already declared that the border is more secure than ever. Really? Illegal border crossings are way up.

John McCain was right when he told me Americans "have no confidence, no trust in government" on this issue. I thought he had learned his lesson and I'm disappointed that he's involved in this deal and has dragged Marco Rubio into the mess with him!

UPDATE: Amendment to require 90% border violation apprehension watered down. On Thursday, an amendment which would have "a requirement that 90 percent of the people who attempt to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally must be apprehended or turned back," has been changed to one requiring the hiring of 20,000 new border agents. The problem is that there is nothing requiring these new agents from actually enforcing the law. They could end up investigating the Tea Party!

UPDATE 2: Obama killed 90% border apprehension measure. Do you think he's serious about border security?


Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Germans Stay Home From Obama Speech in Berlin

Like the rest of us the Germans are tired of being suckered!

It was just five years ago when Berlin welcomed Obama like the second coming of Jesus. Photos from that event show massive crowds of 200,000 or more. Now, five years later, Obama has trouble filling a modest venue in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

The Daily Mail provides this contrast:



Five years ago Obama presented himself as a new kind of politician who would change the world. Now, he's exposed as just another corrupt Chicago politician who did change the U.S. but for the worse!

Monday, June 17, 2013

Feds Planned Boston Bombing Simulation Targeting Right Wing Groups

No wonder they can't catch the REAL terrorists!

The Boston Globe broke the story. The Department of Homeland Security in conjunction with the Boston Police Department had planned an exercise where terrorists used backpack bombs to attack. The exercise was never held because the real attack occurred first.

What's most interesting about the planned exercise is that Boston Police and Homeland Security created a fictional right wing group "Free America Citizens" as the perpetrators. One wonders if someone at the IRS involved in targeting Tea Party groups might have come up with the name.

Of course this isn't the first time that Homeland Security or other agencies of the U.S. government and law enforcement have pointed the finger at right wing groups. It isn't the second time. Or third, fourth, fifth, sixth and so on. (1,2,3)

Meanwhile, the real terrorists go undetected. Despite knowing that Major Nidal Hassan carried a business card declaring himself a "soldier of Allah" and actively corresponding with terrorist mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki, the Army and federal agencies did nothing to stop his murder spree at Fort Hood. Ditto with the Tsarnaev brothers in Boston. Despite warnings, and travel to a terrorist hot spot the Feds turned a blind eye. We're scooping up all the phone records of innocent Americans but the Feds can't take a look at the jihadi postings on Tamerlan Tsarnaev's web page?

It's an open question whether the FBI spent more time investigating Tea Party groups than they did looking into any of these real threats. The focus of federal law enforcement and Homeland Security seems more tuned to investigating Obama's political foes than terrorists who are plotting to kill Americans!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

GOP Repeating Same Mistake While Dems Charge Ahead with 21st Century Campaign Techniques

How many more elections will GOP throw away before they figure this out?

Don't say I didn't warn you. After Obama's big win in 2008 I pointed out that he achieved this sad result by massive spending on direct grass roots operations in the handful of key states he needed to win. I repeated this warning again in 2010 when despite the Tea Party surge (which Obama later suppressed with help from the IRS) we lost seats that we might otherwise have won. In August 2011 I warned that the Obama campaign had initiated a massive data operation (probably got the idea from NSA spaying). The campaign bragged that this would be "the most innovative and effective digital campaign in history, a team that will not just surpass but demolish our fundraising, communications, and organizing goals.” I suppose it's not bragging if you can do it.

Finally in August 2012 I warned again that Romney was way behind in grassroots field operations with Obama outspending him 3 to 1 in the handful of key states Obama needed to win. In the end Romney lost to Obama by less than 400,000 votes in four states: Colorado, Florida, Ohio and Virginia.

In the aftermath of the election Republicans, largely driven by Democrat allied media, insisted that the loss was due to an inability to reach out to Hispanics, women and minorities. But analysis shows that even if Romney had nearly tripled his take of the Hispanic vote he still would have lost. The major problem for the GOP is NOT outreach to minorities but a more effective way to identify and get likely GOP voters to the polls.

Want to see an eye opening report on the problem? I urge you to take a few minutes to see this:



Considering how successfully the Obama campaign exploits the personal data of every American voter it's not surprising that Obama's government is doing the same. The real question is whether the GOP will give greater emphasis to replicating these efforts or will they continue to be mired in the blame game of politically correct criticism most of which is manipulated by Democrat media?

2014 is not that far away. I wish I could say the GOP has learned the lesson!

FBI Director Stonewalls House Committee Investigating IRS Scandal

Can he really be THIS clueless or does the Obama corruption reach the top level of the FBI as well?

A few days ago I posted a story describing how difficult it is to get any kind of transparency or accountability for the American people regarding the activities of the Obama Administration when so many of their top officials either lie or simply claim they "don't know" when asked direct questions by Congress while under oath. Here's another stunning example. It involved FBI Director Robert Mueller being questioned by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) last Thursday:


From the Blaze: “Can you tell me who the lead investigator is,” Jordan pressed.

“Off the top of my head, no” the FBI chief replied.

“This is the most important issue in front of the country the last six weeks, you don’t know who is heading up the case?” Jordan asked.

Mueller also said he hasn’t been briefed recently on the IRS case and couldn’t say how many officials were assigned to the investigation.

When asked if he had talked to any of the targeted groups since May 14 or if officials were attempting to contact them, Mueller said he had not and didn’t know if other officials had contacted the groups.

“Some of them testified that they were paid a visit by the FBI,” Jordan continued. “If the FBI did contact people involved in the IRS scandal, victims, groups, prior to the investigation when they were applying to tax exempt status, why was that the case?”

“I do not know,” Mueller responded, later adding “You are asking questions about details of the investigation…I’ll be happy to get back to you.”
So, once again an Administration official repeatedly tells a congressional oversight panel he does not know anything. Even though some of the questions at Thursday's hearing were submitted a week in advance and Director Mueller had to  know this would be a prime topic.

It short of shoots down any idea that the Obama, who expressed outrage when he claims he first learned of the scandal saying "I have got no patience with it, I will not tolerate it, and we will make sure that we find out exactly what happened on this," is any too serious about finding out what happened.

In further news, not one of the Tea Party groups that are parties to lawsuits against the IRS have been contacted by the FBI. It's as if the FBI were supposed to track down a bank robber but never bothered to ask the bank teller what the robber looked like!

It seems it's OK to use the FBI to intimidate Obama's political opponents, but they can't be bothered to find out what happened once the scandal was exposed!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Why is Hillary Clinton Tweeting Front Page News but State Dept. Covering up Drug Selling, Pedophila and Prostitution Not?

It's no wonder the majority of Americans are so poorly informed about Obama Administration corruption and deceit!

On Monday, in the online edition of the Washington Post a small story described how investigations of criminal wrongdoing, including an Ambassador (also a major Obama campaign donor) accused of soliciting sex from children, were swept under the rug while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. Her own Chief of Staff and another high up, both of which were involved in the coverup of the attack in Benghazi, are implicated.

The story appeared on page A2 of the print edition of the Post on Tuesday, June 11. It's doubtful too many people saw it since it was dwarfed by a 29 paragraph story which began on the front page and spilled over onto page 2 discussing Hillary Clinton's first tweets on Twitter. All laid on with photos showing Hillary supposedly tweeting and also hugging Henry Kissinger.

Which story, Hillary joins Twitter, or coverup of State Department criminality is more important and newsworthy? Apparently the Post thinks a puff piece about Hillary is.

Just another sad case of media bias which also highlights why it is so difficult to inform the American people about government wrongdoing when Democrats are in power. Can you imagine how different the news coverage would be if the story about State Department criminal coverups had happened while Condi Rice was Secretary of State?

Why the Post's slobbering fascination with Hillary tweeting? Columnist Maureen Dowd has a thought. She wonders whether the media might be trying to make Hillary Clinton the new "cool" Democrat onto which gullible and disillusioned Obama followers might flock to as the lamest of lame duck Presidents sinks beneath the waves of scandal, corruption and incompetence.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

New Obama Scandals Highlight the Problem of Oversight and Accountability

How can there be proper oversight if Obama Administration officials lie or suppress investigations?

It seems there's a new scandal every few days rocking the world of King Barack, the Corrupter in Chief. The two latest highlight the same issues we have seen throughout this season of scandal.

The latest is a State Department scandal where investigations of drug rings and prostitution were hushed up by top political appointees. In one of the worst cases, Howard Gutman, U.S. Ambassador to Belgium and a major Obama campaign donor was suspected of soliciting sex from minor children. The investigation was terminated by Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy. In yet another case, Hillary Clinton's Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills intervened to protect another of Obama's ambassadorial appointments from scrutiny.

Both Mills and Kennedy are prime figures in the Benghazi scandal. Is it any wonder that the investigations seeking answers in that scandal have gone nowhere?

Then there's the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper who apparently told a falsehood in a senate hearing in March when he told the Senators that the government was not collecting data of any kind on Americans.

And who can forget Attorney General Eric Holder judge shopping an apparently false warrant against Fox News' James Rosen. Holder left an entirely misleading impression in a previous hearing under oath before Congress. But then, that's not the first time he's done that.

Same deal with the IRS with Commissioner Shulman falsely assuring Congress in 2012 that there was " absolutely no targeting" of conservative groups seeking tax exempt status.

President Transparency or Corruption?

Obama, always good for a laugh, asserted  in February that “This is the most transparent administration in history.” Responding to the domestic spying scandal insisted last Friday that "Congress is continually briefed on how these are conducted. There are a whole range of safeguards involved." Yet, to paraphrase Senator Ron Wyden how can there be proper oversight by Congress to protect the American people from abuse when Administration officials either don't inform Congress or are deliberately misleading or dishonest?
Furthermore, how can the American people have faith that our government will not abuse our rights when officials like Attorney General Holder and the IRS have done just that?

At some point a Special Prosecutor(s) must be named to go into all these misdeeds and clean house. The corruption and incompetence of the Obama team is starting to stink up the place!

Saturday, June 08, 2013

Obama's Scandals Point to Systemic Corruption Which Threatens ALL our Liberties

When you connect the dots of corruption they point directly to the President and Democrats!

The White House has had just about as many explanations for the IRS scandal as they did drafts of the Benghazi big lie talking points. I lost count after Politico published a list two weeks ago. But of course the great thing about the big lie is that no matter how often it's exposed, Dems will always find a way to repeat it. They did so again this past week when Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) called the hearings that were taking place a "circus" and "political theater" then played the role of the clown by suggesting that the actions of IRS employees was simply the result of overwork and went on to blame the Tea Party groups for applying in the first place.

It didn't matter to McDermott that the number of applications for tax exempt organizations had dropped over much of the period in question. Besides, it's preposterous to assume that even if these IRS employees were deluged with work their response would be to create more work by issuing reams of intrusive new questions such as demanding to know the content of applicant's prayers.

It also doesn't matter that the myth that only low level employees at an IRS office in Cincinnati were involved was been exploded by the revelation that the scandal covers multiple IRS offices including the Washington headquarters. There are some who will keep repeating the lie anyway and hope you didn't notice the truth.

Scandal is Bigger than IRS

But all of this, the changing story line, the putting up of false walls that are later demolished all suits the Administration's purpose. It keeps us looking at the trees instead of the forest. When we step back from the IRS scandal we see similar activities taking place across the federal government directed at suppressing and punishing political activity of those who might dissent from Obama.

The best illustration of this comes from the group True the Vote whose mission is to support "free and fair elections" by exposing voter fraud. That's an important issue especially when you consider that a top Democrat congressional aide resigned recently after being implicated in a ballot scheme in Florida which may have cost Rep. Allen West (R-FL) his re-election last fall.

Democrats went after True the Vote with a vengeance and it wasn't long before The IRS, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and an EPA funded group all descended one of the group's founders Catherine Engelbrecht. Coincidence? I don't think so. Imagine the chilling effect on free speech when armed federal agents come to your door repeatedly after you dared to start a group to combat voter fraud!

Speaking of voting rights, Attorney General Eric Holder was very vocal about defending voting rights for minorities yet also active in eliminating any investigation or prosecution of blacks involved in voter suppression. See the case of the Philadelphia Black Panthers for more.

What happened to True the Vote was an extreme example but it's hardly the only one. There's Mitt Romney supporter and businessman Frank VanderSloot who was investigated by both the IRS and Department of Labor after his name appeared on an Obama campaign web site suggesting he was a ”wealthy individual with less-than-reputable record." And how about the 25 year Army veteran and conservative Christian who is being punished for having a bumper sticker that reads "Political Dissent is NOT Racism." Master Sgt. Nathan Sommers has also been told he cannot read books by conservative authors while on duty as it might cause "unit disruption" and offend other soldiers. Imagine the Army telling a Muslim he can't read the Koran!

Also, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave preferential treatment (hello IRS) to liberal groups and denied the same privileges to conservative or libertarian groups.

These are just a few examples and I invite readers to share more. Where did all this discrimination and abuse come from? The top of course.

Obama's Heavy Handed Chicago Politics

A few weeks ago I shared with you the article by Chicago columnist John Kass in which he describes why his family members, outspoken on political issues, feared to take a stand in Chicago. They understood that if any of them spoke up, the power of City Hall would descend on their homes and businesses in the same way we are seeing it done now by the federal government.

I've often said you can take the politician out of Chicago but you can't take the Chicago out of the politician and it fits this case perfectly. What's happening now with this systemic corruption and abuse across the government is no accident. Writing at the Wall Street Journal Kimberly Strassel has been on the front lines exposing how this toxic environment started during the 2008 Obama campaign with officials demanding investigations into groups which  were critical of Obama. Bob Bauer, general counsel for the campaign led that effort. He later became Counsel to the President at the White House. After he left, his deputy  Kathryn Ruemmler succeeded him. Ruemmler is a prime figure in the IRS scandal.

At the same time that Bauer and others were working behind the scenes, the President and his allies launched a full scale public attack on groups opposed to Obama's policies. Beginning in August 2010, at the same time the IRS began targeting conservative groups Obama made repeated attacks on conservative groups calling them "shadowy" and suggesting they were some sinister "foreign-controlled entity" (never mind that George Soros, the prime moneybags for liberal groups is foreign born who as a child helped send Jews to the gas chamber in Nazi occupied Hungary). Obama went so far as to call conservative groups a "threat to our democracy."

In a follow on piece Kimbery Strassel at the WSJ has the political timeline of Obama's attacks and concludes:
These were not off-the-cuff remarks. They were repeated by the White House and echoed by its allies in campaign events, emails, social media and TV ads. The president of the United States spent months warning the country that "shadowy," conservative "front" groups—"posing" as tax-exempt entities and illegally controlled by "foreign" players—were engaged in "unsupervised" spending that posed a "threat" to democracy. Yet we are to believe that a few rogue IRS employees just happened during that time to begin systematically targeting conservative groups? A mere coincidence that among the things the IRS demanded of these groups were "copies of any contracts with and training materials provided by Americans for Prosperity"?

This newspaper reported Thursday that Cincinnati IRS employees are now telling investigators that they took their orders from Washington. For anyone with a memory of 2010 politics, that was obvious from the start.
At the very center of this web is Obama. Whether there is a smoking gun directly linking him to each of these scandals is unclear. But he did make his position very clear and it's hard to see how other bureaucrats with similar attitudes could fail to pick up on the call to action. Wherever the current investigations lead, it's Obama that is responsible. But will he be held accountable for this rampant corruption and abuse? Don't bet on it. You'd be called a racist for even suggesting he be blamed!

Friday, June 07, 2013

Obama's Massive Domestic Spying Fails to Protect Us and Threatens Civil Liberties

Obama's trampling of civil liberties is worse than anything that happened during the Bush years!

It seems that nearly every day we turn on the news and are stunned by some new outrage coming from the Obama Administration. This latest slap in the face is the news that the Obama Administration, under the National Security Agency is collecting phone records of wireless customers. Not just Verizon, but ATT and Sprint and probably others as well. Not only that but they're collecting your emails, video chats and the pictures and documents you send online.

While this started in the last year or so of the Bush Administration there is reason to believe that the program has expanded, perhaps dramatically so, under Obama. And all of this runs counter to what then candidate Obama repeatedly said would be the hallmark of his "transparent" Administration. In a speech to the Woodrow Wilson center in August 2007 then candidate Obama laid out his foreign policy and national security vision:


OBAMA: This [Bush] Administration also puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand. I will provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to track and take out the terrorists without undermining our Constitution and our freedom.

That means no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. No more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. No more ignoring the law when it is inconvenient. That is not who we are. And it is not what is necessary to defeat the terrorists. The FISA court works. The separation of powers works. Our Constitution works. We will again set an example for the world that the law is not subject to the whims of stubborn rulers, and that justice is not arbitrary.

This Administration acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our security. It is not.
Of course one of the primary criticisms of Obama is that he's "just words, just speeches" and on more than one occasion we've seen how Obama's failed record on foreign policy and national security is just that.

Patriot Act Author: NSA Domestic Spying is Illegal

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) was a prime author of the Patriot Act insists that scooping up the records of innocent Americans is inconsistent with the provisions of the law.

Domestic Spying on Innocent Americans Doesn't Keep Us Safe

If the collection of our email and phone records kept us safe the Administration might have a stronger case to make. But this system did not stop Major Nidal Hasan from killing 13 in Fort Hood even though U.S. intelligence had intercepted emails Hasan sent to  terrorist mastermind Anwar Awlaki in Yemen. The Army and U.S. intelligence refused to see the writing on the wall (or the email) perhaps because of political correctness which prohibits profiling Muslims.

Ditto for the Boston Bombers. We we warned by the Russians and had ample evidence that the Tsarvaev brothers had radicalized but we did nothing.

Meanwhile, we're told that average Americans have nothing to worry about. The NSA is an independent agency with ironclad safeguards against the abuse of information. Yeah. We heard the same thing about the IRS too!





Thursday, June 06, 2013

Obama's Arrogance of Power in Promoting Susan Rice

Giving the voice of the Benghazi lie the job of National Security Advisor is a slap in the face to any who care about the truth in Libya terrorist attack!

If you needed proof that Obama's so-called "charm offensive" to bridge the gap with congressional Republicans was all for show you need look no further than Obama's promotion of Susan Rice from UN Ambassador to National Security Advisor.

The woman who repeatedly lied to the entire country by claiming a You Tube video was the cause of the attack which led to the murder of our Ambassador in Libya and three other Americans will now sit at the right hand of President Obama in one of the most sensitive and important positions in the Executive Branch of government.

It's a move that had to be made with deliberate intention to offend all those who seek the truth about the Libya attack. Ms. Rice has refused to answer for her role in the big lie and now she will be shielded by the Executive Office of the President from congressional scrutiny.

Obama's move basically will basically assure her silence on the matter and continue to drag out the search for answers to questions surrounding the attack and it's aftermath.

Contrast Obama's evident stonewalling in this case to the Valerie Plame scandal where President Bush ordered the White House staff to cooperate fully with the investigation. Of course no one died in the Plame leak case!

Obama's foreign policy is nothing short of a disaster. And the placement of Rice, who has no credibility among congressional leaders, will only weaken any coherent national security policy IF one were to exist!

It's the Chicago Way. Keep witnesses quiet one way or another. Ms. Rice might want to avoid visits to Fort Marcy Park!

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Britain Celebrates 60th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's Coronation with Westminster Abbey Service

June 2, 1953-June 2, 2013

 photo article-2335835-1A2530CD000005DC-472_634x919_zps50d8755f.jpg
 
Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family leave Westminster Abbey on Tuesday, June 3, 2013 after service commemorating the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation.
 
More photos at the Daily Mail. Video of service is available here.
fsg053d4.txt Free xml sitemap generator