NSA scandal

by

News/Politics 5-28-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Not surprising. This has always been part of the liberal playbook/plan. This way it’s easy to override the will of the people without suffering for it at the polls.

From FoxNews  “State-approved bans on same-sex marriage have been falling at a rapid clip since the Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act last year. 

The changes — gay couples can now wed in 19 states and the District of Columbia — reflect shifting social and political attitudes toward same-sex marriage. But they also reflect, in several cases, the opinions of Democrat-appointed judges who single-handedly struck down state-approved bans.   

In a testament to the influence of judicial appointments, most of the judges responsible for the decisions over the past year were appointed by either President Obama or, two decades ago, Bill Clinton.”

_____________________________________________

2. It’s also the reason for this.

From TheHill  “The federal judiciary has swung to the left as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has confirmed President Obama’s judicial nominees at a torrid pace in recent weeks.

Reid has put his foot on the gas to ensure that Obama will leave his imprint on the courts even if Democrats lose control of the Senate in November, which some political handicappers say is probable.”

“At the start of Obama’s first term, 10 of the nation’s 13 circuit courts had a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents and only one, the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California, had a majority of Democratic appointees. The 2nd and 3rd circuits were evenly split.

Currently, nine circuit courts have a majority of Democratic-appointed judges while only four have a majority of Republican picks. The data was compiled by the Alliance for Justice, a group that tracks the third branch.”

It will be years before they’re finished with their activism, and Obama’s true legacy is known. It won’t be pretty.

______________________________________________

3. Interesting question, and yes, they clearly are. Just ask the guys from Duck Dynasty, the Clippers owner, Mozilla’s former CEO, Paula Dean, those 2 Christian brothers with the TV show, etc., etc., etc……

From TheDailyCaller/ViaYahoo  “Last week, Michelle Obama made headlines when she exhorted graduating high schoolers in a commencement address to monitor their families for politically incorrect thoughts and behaviors.

To one journalist, this was more than an off-hand comment made by the first lady. In the opinion of Cheryl Chumley, a reporter for The Washington Times and the author of “Police State USA,” Michelle Obama’s remark reflects a growing trend in America to target and attack individuals for committing “thought crime.”

“Michelle Obama’s push for kids around the nation to monitor their family members for perceived racist comments is just another way the government seeks to inject itself into an area it doesn’t really belong — the American home,” Chumley told The Daily Caller Monday.

“Having the first lady wag her finger at us and send America’s youth on some sort of quest to scour the homes and backyards of our nation’s families for any mention of a racist joke, slur or slight is nanny-governance run amok — something that belongs in a George Orwell novel, not the White House, Chumley said.”

_____________________________________________

4. This could get really interesting. This was the problem many had with the Patriot Act. They predicted that sooner or later it would be used against the population, instead of to protect them. The critics had that part right.

My question though, and I hope it’s answered, is this. Did they use this to target conservatives and their political enemies as I suspect they did? After all, it seems every other agency has, so why not this one too?

From RealClearPolitics  “The man who helped bring about the most significant leak in American intelligence history is to reveal names of US citizens targeted by their own government in what he promises will be the “biggest” revelation from nearly 2m classified files.

Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who received the trove of documents from Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, told The Sunday Times that Snowden’s legacy would be “shaped in large part” by this “finishing piece” still to come.

“One of the big questions when it comes to domestic spying is, ‘Who have been the NSA’s specific targets?’,” he said. “Are they political critics and dissidents and activists? Are they genuinely people we’d regard as terrorists?

What are the metrics and calculations that go into choosing those targets and what is done with the surveillance that is conducted? Those are the kinds of questions that I want to still answer.”

______________________________________________

5. Hospitals are hiking costs on the poor thanks to ObamaCare.

From HotAir  “There are multiple levels of irony in this New York Times report on the impact of ObamaCare on poor patients in the nation’s hospitals. Congress demanded the power to revamp the health-insurance industry and expand Medicaid in order to help the poor get better medical care for less money. In reality, the opposite appears to be happening, as hospitals attempt to force the poor into ObamaCare:

Hospital systems around the country have started scaling back financial assistance for lower- and middle-income people without health insurance, hoping to push them into signing up for coverage through the new online marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act.

The trend is troubling to advocates for the uninsured, who say raising fees will inevitably cause some to skip care rather than buy insurance that they consider unaffordable. Though the number of hospitals tightening access to free or discounted care appears limited so far, many say they are considering doing so, and experts predict that stricter policies will become increasingly common.

Why did this unintended consequence occur? In part, because ObamaCare penalizes hospitals for extending charitable assistance:”

 Add this to the long list of lies and expired promises from Obama and Democrats.

______________________________________________

by

News/Politics 2-28-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, with a few from me to start things off.

1. Talk about overreach.

From TheGuardian  “Britain’s surveillance agency GCHQ, with aid from the US National Security Agency, intercepted and stored the webcam images of millions of internet users not suspected of wrongdoing, secret documents reveal.

GCHQ files dating between 2008 and 2010 explicitly state that a surveillance program codenamed Optic Nerve collected still images of Yahoo webcam chats in bulk and saved them to agency databases, regardless of whether individual users were an intelligence target or not.

In one six-month period in 2008 alone, the agency collected webcam imagery – including substantial quantities of sexually explicit communications – from more than 1.8 million Yahoo user accounts globally.

Yahoo reacted furiously to the webcam interception when approached by the Guardian. The company denied any prior knowledge of the program, accusing the agencies of “a whole new level of violation of our users’ privacy“.”

2. And on a related note….

From PersonalLiberty.com  “The Internet has provided a forum for average people throughout the world to disseminate, share and debate information unattenuated by gatekeepers in the mainstream media and their politically connected friends. New media outlets like Personal Liberty Digest™ have, for years, been warning readers that the well-connected and ruling elite, displeased by this newfound proletariat freedom, have been prolific in attempts to undermine and marginalize information provided by any media outlet unwilling to obey the same unspoken rules that govern the content choices of major media outlets.

Now, thanks to the efforts of National Security Agency whistle-blower Edward Snowden and journalist Glenn Greenwald, readers no longer have to take the word of “paranoid” bloggers who relate tales of paid government trolls lurking in comment sections and other concentrated top-down efforts to muddy the information provided by alternative media.”

“The documents deal largely with the goals of GCHQ’s previously secret Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG), an apparatus whose mission Greenwald describes thusly: “Among the core self-identified purposes of JTRIG are two tactics: (1) to inject all sorts of false material onto the internet in order to destroy the reputation of its targets; and (2) to use social sciences and other techniques to manipulate online discourse and activism to generate outcomes it considers desirable.””

________________________________________

3. Give it to her, and then let’s hear what she has to say. After all, there’s nothing to lose here, she’s already retired, with her pension, and won’t be charged. At least this way you get her under oath and maybe find out who orchestrated it. 

From USAToday  “Former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner will testify about the IRS handling of Tea Party cases only in exchange for an immunity agreement, her lawyer told a congressional committee Wednesday.

Until then, Lerner will not answer questions unless  ordered to do so by a federal judge, her attorney said.

The response from attorney William Taylor came the day after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ordered Lerner to reappear at a hearing next week.  When Lerner appeared before the committee last May, she asserted her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.”

________________________________________

4. Not shocking. It’s how things are done in this administration.

From TheFreeBeacon  “Several Environmental Protection Agency employees obstructed an investigation into the mismanagement that allowed a senior EPA official to bilk taxpayers for nearly $900,000, the EPA Inspector General said in a letter to Sen. David Vitter (R., La.) released Wednesday.

EPA employees threatened Inspector General investigators, refused to cooperate, and handed out non-disclosure agreements to other employees to keep them from being interviewed, EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins Jr. wrote in response to a request for information by Vitter on the case.

“Over the past 12 months, there have been several EPA officials who have taken action to prevent [the Office of Investigations] OI from conducting investigations or have attempted to obstruct investigations through intimidation,” Elkins wrote.”

““We are starting to see proof of what we had already suspected: John Beale’s time and attendance fraud was the tip of the iceberg at the EPA,” Vitter said in a statement to the Free Beacon. “The whole agency seems to be in complete disarray, which is exactly why we need to have a full [Environment and Public Works] Committee hearing on the fraud surrounding this case and other prevalent problems.””

________________________________________

5. Boko Haram continues it’s bloody rampage. This brings the victim count to around 240 in the last 10 days alone.

From Google/AFP  “Suspected Boko Haram gunmen killed at least 37 people in three separate attacks in northeast Nigeria, including at a theological college, a local government official and residents said on Thursday.

The coordinated attacks in Adamawa state late on Wednesday came just a day after Islamist militant fighters were blamed for killing 43 people, most of them students, as they slept at a boarding school in Yobe state.”

“He had earlier put the death toll in Shuwa, part of Madagali local government area, at 17. But he later told AFP that eight more bodies were recovered in the village, including three from a Christian college, confirming the account of a resident about the three burnt corpse found in the seminary.

“The death toll in the Shuwa attack now stands at 25 after eight more bodies were recovered, including three discovered under the burnt debris of the theological school,” Ularamu said.

In Shuwa, several buildings were burnt, including a Christian theological college and a section of a secondary school.”

________________________________________

6. Planned Parenthood has achieved a new low in what passes for sex education.

With a CONTENT WARNING!!!! for adult subject matter.

From CNSNews  “has produced and posted online a video specifically aimed at teenagers that promotes bondage and sadomasochism (BDSM) and proposes “rules” to follow when engaging in these activities.

“People sometimes think that those who practice BDSM are emotionally  scarred or were once abused—not true, it’s a total myth,” the host of the  video, Laci Green, informs its intended audience of teens. “

“”BDSM relies upon and creates trust,” she says.”

“We are dedicated to protecting the sexual health of teens by providing  accurate information, opportunities to explore and  establish beliefs  and attitudes, and the skills to communicate their  needs,” says PPNNE’s “For Teens” page.”

by

News/Politics 1-24-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. It. Just. Gets. Worse.

From FoxNews  “While the administration publicly expresses full confidence in its health care law, privately it fears one part of the system is so flawed it could bankrupt insurance companies and cripple ObamaCare itself.

 “Week after week, month after month,” says John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis, “the Obama administration kept telling us everything’s working fine, there’s no problem and then they turn on a dime and fire their contractor.”

To justify a no-bid contract with Accenture after firing CGI as the lead contractor, the administration released documents from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services that offered a rare glimpse of its worst fears, saying the problems with the website puts “the entire health insurance industry at risk” … “potentially leading to their default and disrupting continued services and coverage to consumers.”

Then it went even further, saying if the problems were not fixed by mid-March, “they will result in financial harm to the government.”

________________________________________

2. It’s the Chicago way.

From Reuters  “Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner angrily warned the chairman of Standard & Poor’s parent that the rating agency would be held accountable for its 2011 decision to strip the United States of its coveted “triple-A” rating, a new court filing shows.

Harold McGraw, the chairman of McGraw-Hill Financial Inc , made the statement in a declaration filed by S&P on Monday, as it defends against the government’s $5 billion fraud lawsuit over its rating practices prior to the 2008 financial crisis.

McGraw said he returned a call from Geithner on Aug. 8, 2011, three days after S&P cut the U.S. credit rating to “AA-plus,” and that Geithner told him “you are accountable” for an alleged “huge error” in S&P’s work.

“He said that ‘you have done an enormous disservice to yourselves and to your country,'” and that S&P’s conduct would be “looked at very carefully,” McGraw said. “Such behavior could not occur, he said, without a response from the government.”

________________________________________

3. If intimidation is how they respond to a downgrade, I’d be nervous if I was these guys.

From TheHill  “Moody’s announced Thursday it was downgrading its outlook for health insurers from stable to negative based on uncertainty related to ObamaCare.

The credit rating agency cited an unstable environment because of the healthcare law’s difficult rollout, and projected that insurers would earn 2 percent less than forecast in 2014.

“While we’ve had industry risks from regulatory changes on our radar for a while, the ongoing unstable and evolving environment is a key factor for our outlook change,” Moody’s Senior Vice President Stephen Zaharuk said in a statement. “The past few months have seen new regulations and announcements that impose operational changes well after product and pricing decisions were finalized.”

The Moody’s report also cites the slow enrollment of young people into ObamaCare as a reason for the downgrade.”

🙄

________________________________________

4. The IRS intimidation of conservative groups continues. And it looks like they’ve targeted one of the few conservative groups in Hollywood.

From TheNYTimes  “In a famously left-leaning Hollywood, where Democratic fund-raisers fill the social calendar, Friends of Abe stands out as a conservative group that bucks the prevailing political winds. A collection of perhaps 1,500 right-leaning players in the entertainment industry, Friends of Abe keeps a low profile and fiercely protects its membership list, to avoid what it presumes would result in a sort of 21st-century blacklist, albeit on the other side of the partisan spectrum.

Now the Internal Revenue Service is reviewing the group’s activities in connection with its application for tax-exempt status. Last week, federal tax authorities presented the group with a 10-point request for detailed information about its meetings with politicians like Paul D. Ryan, Thaddeus McCotter and Herman Cain, among other matters, according to people briefed on the inquiry.”

“Those people said that the application had been under review for roughly two years, and had at one point included a demand — which was not met — for enhanced access to the group’s security-protected website, which would have revealed member names. Tax experts said that an organization’s membership list is information that would not typically be required. The I.R.S. already had access to the site’s basic levels, a request it considers routine for applications for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.”

“People for the American Way, Mr. Lear’s group, stands as something of a liberal counterpart to Friends of Abe, though the organization is far larger, with an affiliate that spends millions of dollars a year on issue advocacy in Washington and beyond. But the entertainment industry has been crisscrossed by progressive groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council, which maintains a tax-exempt educational adjunct under the 501(c)(3) provision, and includes the producer Laurie David and the actor Leonardo DiCaprio among its trustees. Another, the American Foundation for Equal Rights, is a nonprofit that supports marriage rights for gay people and counts the producer Bruce Cohen and the writer Dustin Lance Black among its founders.”

And none of those have been targeted. Neither has Obama’s OFA.

________________________________________

5. This also stinks of intimidation, but we’ll have to wait and see. If he is guilty, then he’ll pay the price.

From Variety  “Dinesh D’Souza, director of the 2012 documentary “2016: Obama’s America,” was arrested and indicted for campaign finance fraud on Thursday, Reuters reports.

The conservative filmmaker and best-selling author allegedly contributed $20,000 in 2012 in the name of others to Republican Wendy Long’s U.S. Senate campaign. Long ran for Hillary Clinton’s vacated Senate seat, but lost to Kirsten Gillibrand.

Federal law in 2012 limited election campaign contributions to $5,000 per person per candidate. Breaking this law is punishable to two years in prison.

“As we have long said, this Office and the FBI take a zero tolerance approach to corruption of the electoral process,” Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, said in a statement.”

________________________________________

6. And it seems Gov. Cuomo is taking a page from the Obama playbook.

From FoxNews  “Conservative activist James O’Keefe is accusing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration of targeting his group with document requests and a subpoena, claiming the Democratic governor’s recent comments critical of conservatives “aren’t simply words.”

“”Governor Cuomo’s shocking words this past week aren’t simply words,” O’Keefe said in a statement. “Governor Cuomo and the New York Department of Labor are on a witch hunt, demanding all documents and financials since our founding. … His goal, of course, is to harass us and limit our effectiveness by tying us up in court. Just like President Obama used the IRS to target and suppress conservatives, Governor Cuomo is using his Department of Labor to do the same exact thing.”

“The group claims its finances are “meticulously maintained to the penny” and calls the inquiries “meritless.” A statement said Project Veritas would be relocating to New Jersey. 

Further, the group claimed that it complied with an earlier document request and showed up for a scheduled meeting on Dec. 13, but state labor officers “never showed up.”

________________________________________

7. The White House is rejecting a review board’s findings that calls their NSA data sweep illegal.

Also From FoxNews  “The White House on Thursday disputed the findings of an independent review board that said the National Security Agency’s mass data collection program is illegal and should be ended, indicating the administration would not be taking that advice. 

“We simply disagree with the board’s analysis on the legality of the program,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said. 

He was responding to a scathing report from The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), which said the program ran afoul of the law on several fronts. 

“The … bulk telephone records program lacks a viable legal foundation,” the board’s report said, adding that it raises “serious threats to privacy and civil liberties” and has “only limited value.” The report, further, said the NSA should “purge” the files. “

________________________________________

8. We’re all racist, and there’s nothing we can do about it. 😯

From TheFederalist  “One of the most troubling aspects of modern racial discourse is how it often, if not usually, rests upon an unequivocal and unassailable assumption, namely that “society” makes everyone, or nearly everyone, racist. The presumption is not that most of us are racist in the way that a Klansman, or a diehard segregationist, is racist; such bigotry would be easily provable by examining the actions and the stated intentions of a person or a group of people. Nor is the debate given to the idea that people simply believe in genuine racial bigotry but is holding it back for one reason or another. Today’s discussions on race are more often than not informed by the notion that racism is a deep-seated, internal, subconscious set of values within the lion’s share of the populace, fashioned by “culture” or “society,” undetectable in superficial appearances but still omnipresent: this racism is insidious, surreptitious, unconscious and, most importantly, ineradicable without a great deal of dramatic, penetrating, soul-searching mental and emotional labor.”

“The most frequent encounter one has with the “everyone is racist” or “most people are racist” tenet is the one that argues that our “culture” or our “society” has conditioned us to be racist; to use one of the more widespread examples, for instance, it is held that popular perceptions and depictions of black men have created in all of us the tendency to suspect all black men to be criminals, and in many cases, the theory goes, we are not even aware of this tendency, lodged so firmly and deeply in our minds as it is. It is true that the proponents of this theory cannot clearly prove that you contain this invidious judgment within your psyche, but then again, and most importantly, you cannot disprove it. Ideally, the burden of proof would be upon the accuser, as is the case in any competent judicial system; but in instances like these the burden of proof is not even on the accused, because there is no proof to be had—there is only an accusation with which one cannot argue, because one is not even aware of one’s deepest thoughts.”

Welcome to the kangaroo court of the politically correct. Either way, you’re guilty.

by

News/Politics 12-17-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. The ObamaCare contraceptive mandate has suffered a loss in court. Good.

From TheNYPost  “In a blow to President Obama’s signature legislative mandate, a Brooklyn federal judge on Monday sided with several Catholic organizations in New York, saying they do not have to comply with an Affordable Care Act requirement to provide employees with contraceptive coverage.

Citing religious freedom grounds, the organizations filed the lawsuit last year seeking protection from the Obamacare directive.

In the first permanent ruling on the hot-button issue, US District Court Judge Brian Cogan said the religious groups should not be forced to comply with the birth control component of Obamacare. The plaintiffs benefitting from the permanent injunction are Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, Monsignor Farrell High School on Staten Island, the ArchCare healthcare group and Catholic Health Services of Long Island.”

________________________________________

2. It looks like another court loss may be in their future. Again, good.

From Politico  “A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Security Agency program which collects information on nearly all telephone calls made to, from or within the United States is likely unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon found that the program appears to violate the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. He also said the Justice Department had failed to demonstrate that collecting the information had helped to head off terrorist attacks.”

“I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying it and analyzing it without judicial approval,” wrote Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush.

The preliminary injunction Leon granted Monday does not require him to make a definitive ruling on the constitutional questions in the case, but does take account of which side he believes is more likely to prevail.”

________________________________________

3. The GOP is looking into ObamaCare navigator fraud. And Of course they didn’t get background checks. The DoJ says those are racist. This is exactly the type of people the DoJ is trying to protect. Criminals.

From TheHill  “Republicans on the House Oversight Committee released documents on Monday saying that the ObamaCare “navigators” responsible for helping consumers enroll in the new law have made a series of errors and put sensitive consumer information at risk.

Documents released with the report said they have been giving enrollees misinformation, and have not done enough to keep secure consumers’ health information, Social Security numbers, yearly income and other tax information.”

“Some ObamaCare navigators, the report says, “encouraged consumers to commit tax fraud by underreporting income in order to qualify for ObamaCare’s health insurance subsidies.” 

_____________________________________

4. The White House says it’s OK, they trust these “community organizing groups” and that this is just GOP efforts to stifle the navigator program.

Yeah, fraud tends to draw that reaction. 🙄

From TheWaPo  “Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius says in a new op-ed that a House oversight committee hearing in Texas on Monday is “designed to stifle, intimidate and impugn the reputation” of Obamacare navigators.

The hearing, which is being run by committee Chairman Darrel Issa (R-Calif.), will be held in Dallas and is titled, “Who are the navigators?” Navigators are people who help others sign up for Obamacare.

“What opponents of the new law could not do legislatively, at the ballot box, or even by shutting down the federal government, they’re now trying to do through other means,” Sebelius says in the op-ed  in the Dallas Morning News. “Case in point is Monday’s congressional hearing in Dallas, designed to stifle, intimidate and impugn the reputation of people who have been working hard to help their fellow Texans get covered.

In a dueling op-ed, Issa and Dallas-area Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.) cite “numerous examples of fraudulent activity related to health navigators in Texas.”

Please. This is ACORN. They impugned their own reputation long ago. The White House’s repeated backing of them has done the same for their reputation.

________________________________________

5. The anti-Semitism amongst America’s college elite is no secret. But at least now they’re not trying to hide it anymore.

From TimesOfIsrael  “The membership of the American Studies Association endorsed its national council’s call for a boycott of Israeli universities.”

“The membership-wide canvas was unprecedented and was undertaken in part at the behest of boycott opponents, who said at a session during the ASA annual conference in Washington last month that the matter was too sensitive to leave up to the 20-member national council, which unanimously endorsed the boycott.”

“This shameful, morally bankrupt and intellectually dishonest attack on academic freedom by the American Studies Association should be soundly condemned by all who are committed to the ideal that open exchange of ideas is the most effective way to achieve change,” said National Director Abraham Foxman in a statement.

In the resolution passed unanimously by the ASA national council on December 4, the group asserted that Palestinian students and scholars enjoy “no effective or substantive academic freedom” under Israeli rule and that “Israeli institutions of higher learning are a party to Israeli state policies that violate human rights and negatively impact the working conditions of Palestinian scholars and students.”

________________________________________

by

News/Politics 8-16-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, the turmoil in Egypt continues.

From TheNYTimes  “Gathering Thursday morning around a mosque used as a morgue for hundreds killed the day before, many Islamists waited confidently for a surge of sympathetic support from the broader public. But it failed to materialize.”

“With their leaders jailed or silent, Islamists reeled in shock at the worst mass killing in Egypt’s modern history. By Thursday night, health officials had counted 638 dead and nearly 4,000 injured, but the final toll was expected to rise further.       

A tense quiet settled over Cairo as the city braced for new protests by the supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, after Friday Prayer. The new government authorized the police to respond with lethal force if they felt endangered.”

_________________________________________________________

Next up, told ya. And this is on top of the $375,000 already handed to PP in DC. It’s now already over a million dollars, and it’ll be nationwide, and even more money before their done rewarding their favorite donors in the abortion industry. Not to mention all the money they’ll make when health coverage is forced to pay for abortions thru ObamaCare.

From TheDailyCaller  “Three Planned Parenthood affiliates will be receiving a total of more than  $655, 000 grants from the federal government to serve as Obamacare “navigators”  to help people enroll in the health-care exchanges.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced $67 million  in grants to 105 “Navigator grant applicants”  Thursday.

Iowa’s Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Montana’s Intermountain Planned  Parenthood, Inc. DBA Planned Parenthood and New Hampshire’s Planned Parenthood  of Northern New England are included in that list.”

_________________________________________________________

And remember when Obama assured us the NSA wasn’t spying on American citizens? Yeah, the good old days, like a month ago.

From TheWaPo  “The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.

Most of the infractions involve unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the United States, both of which are restricted by statute and executive order. They range from significant violations of law to typographical errors that resulted in unintended interception of U.S. e-mails and telephone calls.

The documents, provided earlier this summer to The Washington Post by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, include a level of detail and analysis that is not routinely shared with Congress or the special court that oversees surveillance. In one of the documents, agency personnel are instructed to remove details and substitute more generic language in reports to the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.”

_________________________________________________________

Now that the Obama admin has forced the DoD to embrace homosexuals in the military, the consequences for believers daring to oppose it are beginning. This will continue. They want to purge all resistance to their agenda.

From FoxNews  “A 19-year veteran of the Air Force said he was relieved of his duties after he disagreed with his openly gay commander when she wanted to severely punish an instructor who had expressed religious objections to homosexuality.”

““I was relieved of my position because I don’t agree with my commander’s position on gay marriage,” Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk told Fox News. “We’ve been told that if you publicly say that homosexuality is wrong, you are in violation of Air Force policy.”

““Are we going to have a ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy for Christians so we don’t get harassed for our beliefs?” attorney Hiram Sasser asked Fox News. “Here’s a guy who wants to have his religious liberty and serve in the military. He shouldn’t have to believe in gay marriage in order to serve.”

“In one of our first meetings, she was talking about her promotion and she mentioned something about a benediction,” Monk told Fox News. “She said she wanted a chaplain but objected to one particular chaplain that she called a bigot because he preached that homosexuality is a sin.”

_________________________________________________________

Meanwhile his hypocrisy on the whole gay marriage issue is being pointed out. And it’s about time someone pointed out the 800lb. Islamic gorilla in the room, and how it handles the issue. When will he get around to mentioning and condemning their horrible treatment of homosexuals?

From NationalReview  “Forbidden,” he curtly pronounced. “Those involved in the act should be punished. In fact, sodomites should be killed in the worst manner possible.”

“Cynically mounting his high horse last week in the cozy confines of Jay Leno’s late-night TV comedy program — a venue popular with his ill-informed admirers, one where hypocrisy won’t be noticed, much less challenged — the president declaimed, “I have no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate or are harmful to them.”

This was his purported human-rights rationale for canceling a summit meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who in June signed an anti-gay law banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations.” Obama told Leno that “making sure people are treated fairly and justly” is a “precept that’s not unique to America” and “should apply everywhere.”

Does the president truly mean what he said? Or was he just pandering to dreamy millennials and the Hollywood glitterati, who are too uninformed or in the tank to mark the chasm between his righteous finger-wagging at Putin and his kowtowing to Islamic leaders? The answers depend on whether he finally condemns sharia’s oppressive and often brutal strictures against homosexuality, which are zealously enforced in most Muslim countries.”

_________________________________________________________

Here’s an update on the story from a month or so ago about Obama not knowing when to keep his mouth shut. His opining has affected the cases of 2 service members charged with sexual assault. His “undue command influence” has restricted the level of punishment they now face. Nice job Barry. 🙄

And shouldn’t a constitutional law professor have known this?

From USAToday  “A military judge says two service members cannot be punitively discharged — even if found guilty — because of “unlawful command influence”  reflected in comments by President Obama.

Citing court documents, Stars and Stripes reports that “Navy Judge Cmdr. Marcus Fulton ruled during pretrial hearings in two sexual assault cases — U.S. v. Johnson and U.S. v. Fuentes — that comments made by Obama as commander in chief would unduly influence any potential sentencing.”

Attorneys for the defendants cited these May 7 comments by Obama on sexual assault in the military:”

“”The judge’s pretrial ruling means that if either defendant is found guilty, whether by a jury or a military judge, they cannot receive a bad conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. Sailors found guilty under the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s Article 120, which covers several sexual crimes including assault and rape, generally receive punitive discharges.”

_________________________________________________________

This one? I knew it. And they said I was crazy. 🙂

From TheAtlanticWire  “Newly declassified documents, obtained by George Washington University’s National Security Archive, appear to for the first time acknowledge the existence of Area 51. Hundreds of pages describe the genesis of the Nevada site that was home to the government’s spy plane program for decades. The documents do not, however, mention aliens.”

_________________________________________________________

And lastly, cat fight! 🙄

_________________________________________________________

by

News/Politics 7-3-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

UPDATE

BREAKING: Egyptian TV Says Morsi Under House Arrest – Update: Travel Ban Placed On Muslim Brotherhood Leaders – Update: Top Morsi Aide: “Call This By Its Real Name – A Military Coup”…

____________________________________________________

First, an update on the continuing backlog of veterans claims. I would say this is ridiculous, but of course it is, this is our govt at work.

From FoxNews

“A new study released ahead of the Fourth of July holiday sheds more light on  the tangle of paperwork facing America’s veterans — showing they’re up against  as many as 613 forms across 18 agencies as they seek services.

The study by the American Action Forum also found the paperwork — in part the result of  roughly 31 million Veterans Affairs claims alone each year — takes federal  employees roughly 43.3 million hours to process.

“Navigating 18 agencies and more than 600 forms has produced absurd results  and unnecessary delays,” the self-described “center-right” leaning nonprofit  said.”

____________________________________________________

And don’t think for a minute that ObamaCare will be any more efficient. The problems are already beginning in fact. So of course Democrats are trying to hide it, because they own it.

From WaPo

“I don’t know if Members of Congress will be hearing about it in town hall gatherings and other meetings back home over the Fourth of July recess, but the rolling thunder of the approaching ObamaCare train can be heard in the distance.  Smart Democrats are beginning to get frantic about the need to suppress the confusion and hide the cost of ObamaCare between now and the 2014 midterm elections.  We are just three months away from the October 1st enrollment start date and so far, nothing about the ObamaCare implementation process should be politically encouraging for Democrats.  In fact, the more people learn about ObamaCare, the more frightened they become.

Right now, small businesses across America are making the final determinations on how to reduce the working hours of their employees so fewer employees qualify for the mandated, employer-provided health insurance.  Employers are also deciding whether it makes more economic sense to pay a fine to the government or pay for healthcare benefits for their employees.  What this means is that hundreds of thousands – and perhaps even millions – of Americans will learn that they are being dismissed from their employer’s healthcare coverage.

The healthcare pink slips will start raining down in late summer and early fall.  This will push people into the healthcare exchanges, where, in some cases, people will be writing health insurance checks for the first time.  And in many cases, people will be facing increased health insurance costs, particularly if they are young and healthy.  The negative effects on personal income and the overall economy will be undeniable.  Sometime next year, before the elections, the penalties associated with not having or providing health insurance will begin to pour in.  Will the fines come in the mail?  Will you be able to appeal?  What happens if someone doesn’t pay?  No one knows.  Or, no one who knows is talking.  The consequences of ObamaCare are being hidden.”

They’re so frightened by it that they’ll now delay the employers mandate until after the 2014 mid-terms. Can’t have people finding out how bad it will be before the elections. Cowards.

From Bloomberg

“Businesses won’t be penalized next year if they fail to provide workers health insurance after the Obama administration decided to delay a key requirement under its signature 2010 health-care law.

The government will postpone enforcement of the so-called employer mandate until 2015, the administration said today. Under the provision, companies with 50 or more workers face a fine of as much as $3,000 per employee if they don’t offer affordable insurance.

The move addresses complaints from employer groups to President Barack Obama’s administration about the burden of the law’s reporting requirements. The decision pushes the issue past the 2014 midterm congressional elections, as Republicans have sought to make the health law a symbol of government overreach.”

More here from TheDailyMail

“But the Treasury source said the extra year  will give the White House an extra year to persuade health insurers to  participate in the exchanges that make up the backbone of the Affordable Care  Act.

The revised timetable, the source added, will  also push back the final implementation of Obamacare’s penalties past the 2014  midterm elections, providing Republicans fewer chances to highlight the law’s  potentially harmful effects on businesses’ bottom lines.”

____________________________________________________

Next up, another “Green Scam” is exposed.

From UPI.com

“Electric cars, despite their supposed green credentials, are among the  environmentally dirtiest transportation options, a U.S. researcher suggests.

Writing in the journal IEEE Spectrum, researcher Ozzie Zehner says electric cars lead to hidden environmental and health damages and are likely more harmful than  gasoline cars and other transportation options.”

Shocked? 😯

No. 🙄

____________________________________________________

Things are escalating in Egypt.

From Reuters

“Egypt’s high command said on Wednesday the army was ready to die to defend Egypt’s people against terrorists and fools, in a response to Islamist President Mohamed Mursi that was headlined “The Final Hours”.”

This piece is more specific on what the military leaders have in mind.

Also from Reuters/EI

“Egypt’s armed forces would suspend the constitution and dissolve an Islamist-dominated parliament under a draft political roadmap to be pursued if Islamist President Mohamed Morsy and the liberal opposition fail to agree by Wednesday, military sources said.

The sources told Reuters the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) was still discussing details and the plan, intended to resolve a political crisis that has brought millions of protesters into the streets, could be changed based on political developments and consultations.”

Islamists are rallying to Morsi.

From Reuters/EI

“Islamist demonstrators in Rabea al-Adaweya Square have increased on Tuesday in support of the legitimacy of President Mohamed Morsy, as several marches arrived to the square from various parts of Cairo and other governorates.”

Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamists are warning the Christian population to stay out of it or face the consequences for joining in the demonstrations.

From RaymondIbrahim

“Hours before the June 30 protests against Egyptian president Muhammad Morsi and his party, the Muslim Brotherhood, began, the nation’s Christians were, once again, singled out for behaving like citizens who have the right to participate in the protests.

In Minya, Upper Egypt, where millions of Christians live, letters addressed to the Copts threatened them not to join the protests, otherwise their “businesses, cars, homes, schools, and churches” might “catch fire.” The message concluded by saying “If you are not worried about any of these, then worry about your children and your homes.  This message is being delivered with tact.  But when the moment of truth comes, there will be no tact.”  It’s signed by “People zealous for the nation.”

Such threats are hardly limited to anonymous letters.  During a recent TV interview, Sheikh Essam Abdulamek, a member of parliament’s Shura Council, warned Egypt’s Christians against participating in the June 30 protests, threatening them by saying “Do not sacrifice your children” since “general Muslim opinion will not be silent about the ousting of the president [Morsi].”

____________________________________________________

In other news, the FBI has yet to contact the victims of the IRS scandal, despite claims that they are “investigating” it.

From CNSNews

“More than a month and a half after it was announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would launch an investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) targeting of conservative groups, the groups and their legal representatives are still waiting to hear from the FBI.

Cleta Mitchell, an attorney representing nine tea party groups who were targeted by the IRS, told CNSNews.com that she has not heard from the FBI regarding the case and questions whether an investigation is actually underway.”

And in other Obama admin scandal news, the National Intelligence Director would like you to know he’s sorry for lying to Congress.

From USNews

“The director of National Intelligence apologized in June to the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee for lying during a hearing, according to a letter published on the DNI website on Tuesday.

Director James Clapper appeared before the committee in March, where Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked him specifically if NSA spies on millions of Americans. Clapper answered, “No.”

Since then, Edward Snowden reportedly leaked government documents that unveiled a secretive government program that did precisely what Wyden suggested in collecting meta data for cell phone and internet records of hundreds of millions of Americans.”

But Roger Clemens was tried for a far less important instance of lying. Why does this guy get a pass?

____________________________________________________

This last one is encouraging. The more people know, and technology advances, the more who join the pro-life side. 20 years, and a 20 point swing in America’s opinion.

From TheWeeklyStandard

“Gallup’s most recent polling on the issue, taken this spring, indicates that more Americans actually regard themselves as “pro-life” than “pro-choice.”  According to the poll, 48 percent of Americans say they are “pro-life,” while 45 percent say they are “pro-choice.”  What’s more, opposition to abortion is rather plainly on the rise, as those numbers were effectively flipped ten years ago — and as, in the mid-1990s, the number of people who considered themselves “pro-choice” outpaced the number who considered themselves “pro-life” by about 20 percentage points.

Another finding from Gallup’s polling, however, is perhaps even more illuminating.  Those who work in America’s newsrooms are overwhelmingly in favor of abortion’s legality, and they tend to report the issue as if anyone who opposes abortion is a fringe religious fanatic.  (Moreover, they rarely miss an opportunity to subtly editorialize by describing opponents of abortion as being against “abortion rights.”)  It’s telling, therefore, that while Gallup’s polling indicates that a plurality of Americans are pro-life, Gallup’s respondents guessed that only about a third of their fellow Americans share those pro-life sentiments.”

____________________________________________________

by

News/Politics 7-1-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, he who laughs last……..

From HotAir

“In an exclusive* Hot Air interview, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst of Texas insists that the attempt to hijack the legislative process by pro-abortion activists this week will not stop the state from passing a limitation on late-term abortions and requirements for clinics to meet the same standards as other ambulatory surgical centers.  Dewhurst also says that his office is reviewing the security tapes from the demonstration that derailed the bill at the end of the regular session, and that arrests may be made for inciting a riot — including perhaps some members of the media.

“I had the votes,” Dewhurst told me, “I had the strategy.” He had wanted the Senate to tackle the bill, SB5, a little earlier in the session to prevent the obstructionism that he foresaw.  When it came time to clear the galleries, Dewhurst lacked the resources to finish the job on time.  “These are common sense … measures that the majority, the big majority of Texans support,” Dewhurst insisted, “so I was frustrated.  I’m not going to let a minority group of demonstrators — Planned Parenthood and ACLU — block the will of the majority. And I will pass this bill.””

“Dewhurst talked about how the “ugly mob … went wild,” and ripped the media for its coverage of the event.  When I asked whether the same media would provide the glowing coverage of a demonstration where Tea Party activists blocked a tax increase, Dewhurst said, “Absolutely not.” Dewhurst went on to tell me that he suspects that reporters may have helped incite the crowd to riot, and that his office plans on reviewing security tapes to identify any individuals who did.

“We have reports, and I have my staff taking a look at the video,” Dewhurst explained, “and if I find, as I’ve been told, examples of the media waving and trying to inflame the crowd, incite them in the direction of a riot, I’m going to take action against them.” Dewhurst continued, “We take a democratic policy seriously.” I asked whether Dewhurst could confirm whether members of the media took part in pushing the demonstration forward. “We have reports that members of the media on the floor, on the floor of the Senate, were looking up at the people in the gallery, waving their hands, trying to motivate them to yell more,” he replied. “If I find examples of that, proof certain on our video,” Dewhurst warned, “I’m going to address this firmly.””

Unbiased media? Anyone?………

____________________________________________________

Looks like the Muslim Summer has begun. Alternate title, We Backed the Wrong Horse.

From WeaselZippers

“Millions came out in protests all over Egypt today, but especially in Cairo, where there were hundreds of thousands, with huge crowds outside the Presidential Palace.

Chanting against the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and demanding that Morsi leave office, they cut a huge swath throughout the area. The majority seen in this video were secular in their expression, shouting “Muslim and Christians are one!”

Many also called on Obama to “stop supporting terrorism” against the Egyptian people through his support of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

See also,

Video Of Uniformed Egyptian Police, Joining Protests Against Morsi, Calling For A Military Coup

Here’s further evidence we backed the wrong horse in Syria as well. With a CONTENT WARNING!!!

From TheBlaze

“Syrian Catholic priest Francois Murad killed last weekend by jihadi fighters was beheaded, according to a report by Catholic Online which is linking to video purportedly showing the brutal murder.

As TheBlaze reported last week, Murad, 49, was setting up a monastery in Gassanieh, northern Syria. Last Sunday, on the Christian leader’s Sabbath, extremist militants trying to topple President Bashar Assad breached the monastery and grabbed Murad.””

“The Catholic news service quotes local sources who report that the radical Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, or Al-Nusra Front, was behind the savage killing.”

The same group our govt is now arming and training. Again, the politically correct muslim influence in the Obama admin has us siding with our enemies, and ignoring the treachery and bloodshed they’re responsible for.

____________________________________________________

The number of federal wiretaps rose 71% in 2012.

From TheWashingtonPost

“The number of wiretaps secured in federal criminal investigations jumped 71 percent in 2012 over the previous year, according to newly released figures.

Federal courts authorized 1,354 interception orders for wire, oral and electronic communications, up from 792 the previous year, according to the figures, released Friday by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. There was a 5 percent increase in state and local use of wiretaps in the same period.”

““This is just one more piece of evidence demonstrating the need for a full, informed public debate about the scope, breadth, and pervasiveness of government surveillance in this country,” Mark Rumold, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said in an e-mail. “We have a secret surveillance program churning in the background, sweeping in everyone’s communications, and, at the same time, in the shadows (and frequently under seal), law enforcement is constantly expanding its use and reliance on surveillance in traditional criminal investigations.””

EU officials aren’t pleased with the news that they were bugged too. Must be more of that “smart diplomacy” Obama is using in the Mid-East.

From TheNYPost

“Senior European officials expressed concern Sunday at reports that U.S. intelligence agents bugged EU offices on both sides of the Atlantic, with some leftist lawmakers calling for concrete sanctions against Washington.

The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, said he was “deeply worried and shocked about the allegations of U.S. authorities spying on EU offices” made in a report published Sunday by German news weekly Der Spiegel.The magazine said the surveillance was carried out by the U.S. National Security Agency, which has recently been the subject of leaks claiming it scanned vast amounts of foreign Internet traffic. The U.S. government has defended its efforts to intercept electronic communications overseas by arguing that this has helped prevent terror attacks at home and abroad.

Schulz said that if the allegations that the NSA bugged European Union offices were confirmed “it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-US relations.””

____________________________________________________

Next up, the stupidity over Paula Dean’s decades old remarks continues.

From TheWashingtonTimes

“Just a couple days after Paula Deen’s  forthcoming cookbook topped Amazon’s best-sellers  list, Ballantine Books, a Random House imprint, announced Friday it was making  the “difficult decision” to cancel publication of the book.

Advance  sales for “Paula Deen’s New  Testament: 250 Favorite  Recipes  All  Lightened Up,” which was scheduled to be  released in October,   skyrocketed  after numerous sponsors dropped the TV chef  after she   admitted to using  racist language more than two decades ago.”

🙄   Meanwhile Alex Baldwin’s days old homophobic rants elicits barely a chirp from the PC crickets. It’s hard not to call the left total hypocrites.

____________________________________________________

And lastly, atheists get tossed a bone. It has absolutely no historical significance unlike what it seeks to compete with, but hey, if it shuts them up, whatever…..

From Yahoo

“A group of atheists unveiled a monument to their nonbelief in God on Saturday to sit alongside a granite slab that lists the Ten Commandments in front of the Bradford County courthouse.

As a small group of protesters blasted Christian country music and waved “Honk for Jesus” signs, the atheists celebrated what they believe is the first atheist monument allowed on government property in the United States.”

Again, 🙄

____________________________________________________

by

News/Politics 6-12-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Here’s more info on one of the newer scandals to hit the Obama admin. This reflects poorly on Mrs. Clinton big time. This is all under her leadership, or lack of. Our govt. is out of control. Especially self-control. From TheNYPost

“A State Department whistleblower has accused high-ranking staff of a massive coverup — including keeping a lid on findings that members of then-Secretary Hillary Clinton’s security detail and the Belgian ambassador solicited prostitutes.

A chief investigator for the agency’s inspector general wrote a memo outlining eight cases that were derailed by senior officials, including one instance of interference by Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills.”

“Among the bombshell findings: * A DS agent was called off a case against US Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman over claims that he solicited prostitutes, including minors.”

“* At least seven agents in Clinton’s security detail hired prostitutes while traveling with her in various countries, including Russia and Colombia.”

Investigator say the hiring of prostitutes by Clinton’s security detail was “endemic”.

And if the interference came from her CoS, it came from her.

____________________________________________________

Next up, did the HHS Secretary violate the Anti-Lobbying Act? From TheAmericanSpectator

“Ever wonder what Kathleen Sebelius does when she isn’t sentencing children to death, shaking down health care providers, or violating campaign finance laws? Well, it seems she spends her spare time, and a lot of taxpayer money, dabbling in illegal lobbying. The Anti-Lobbying Act forbids federal bureaucrats from using money appropriated by Congress to influence “an official of any government, to favor, adopt, or oppose… any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation.” Sebelius evidently didn’t get the memo.

Specifically, it looks like Madam Commissar and her HHS minions have been using federal money to lobby state and local officials to “favor, adopt or oppose” countless initiatives involving everything from local zoning rules to ordinances concerning tobacco use to the imposition of new taxes on soft drinks. The cash they are thus spreading around comes from an obscure Obamacare trove called the “Prevention and Public Health Fund,” which provides Sebelius with what amounts to $12.5 billion in pin money.”

____________________________________________________

And in the middle of the IRS scandal they are about to begin enforcing ObamaCare, and deciding who gets the religious conscience exemptions from ObamaCare. Let the targeting begin! Again. From TheWeeklyStandard , via LifeSiteNews

“On August 1, the one-year “safe harbor” for religious charities objecting to provisions of Obamacare will end. Starting then, these nonprofit employers will be forced to violate their religious beliefs or pay large fines. In charge of collecting the fines will be our recently newsworthy friends at the Internal Revenue Service.”

“As details of the IRS scandal continue to emerge, it’s evident that religious values were indeed scrutinized by bureaucrats. A growing number of religious groups and charities are coming forward to report delays in their applications for tax-exempt status, including the Catholics United Education Fund, Christian Voices for Life, and Focus on the Family affiliate Family Talk Action. Others, like Samaritan’s Purse, underwent audits or other IRS scrutiny that seemed out of left field. One targeted group, the Coalition for Life of Iowa, was asked by the IRS about the content of its prayers.

What’s more, Lois Lerner, the head of the IRS’s division on tax-exempt organizations who was placed on administrative leave last month after declining to testify before a House committee, was rewarded with that job after a history of harassing religious people in a previous position as head of enforcement at the Federal Election Commission from 1986 to 2001.

Having lost whatever reputation it had for politically neutral enforcement of the tax code, the IRS, come August 1, will nevertheless gain new authority to determine what constitutes religious activity and which religious employers are entitled to conscience rights under Obamacare. If the case for repealing this unjust intrusion on the free exercise of religion was always strong, in recent weeks it’s gotten stronger still.”

____________________________________________________

Here’s the piece on the “Wacko Birds” I mentioned yesterday. The Birds aren’t popular with Dems or the Old Guard Establishment Republicans. Which is probably why I like them. From TheDailyCaller

“There is rebellion afoot in the United States Senate. A new breed of conservatives and libertarians are loosed, unconcerned with The New York Times, unfettered by back-bench rank and unintimidated by Washington politics.

Elected over the past three years, Republican Sens. Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz have had a meteoric impact in Washington, soaring to grassroots stardom, crashing into the Democratic majority and raining down on the old bulls  of the Republican Party.”

“Dubbed “Wacko Birds” by top Republican John McCain, these three wear the senior Arizona senator’s scorn as a badge of honor.”

“The Democrats and Republican leadership are  furious. And it isn’t simply because these young upstarts exist — it’s because they’re scoring real points. Using the difficult and arcane rules of the Senate  to their advantage, they have several victories under their belts that have  earned them the respect and support of the conservative grassroots. And despite the ire of both parties — and both parties’ well-connected allies in the press — the Wacko Birds continue undeterred.”

____________________________________________________

Obama’s going with the Stand By Your Man act. For now at least. Just give it time, that may change. From CBSNews

“The White House on Tuesday came to the defense of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, after a senator blasted the intelligence official for failing to give “straight answers” on the government surveillance of Americans.”

Clapper has come under fire for the testimony he gave before the Senate Intelligence Committee in March, when Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked him, “Does the [National Security Agency] collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?”

“Clapper responded unequivocally, “No, sir. Not wittingly. There are cases where they could, inadvertently perhaps, collect — but not wittingly.”

That contradicts the recent revelations about the NSA’s collection of all of Verizon’s U.S. phone records.”

More from YahooNews

“Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is really struggling to explain why he told Congress in March (see video above) that the National Security Agency does not intentionally collect any kind of data on millions of Americans. His latest take: It’s an unfair question, he said, like “When are you going to stop beating your wife?” And it seems to depend on the meaning of “collect.”

“I responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful, manner by saying ‘no,'” Clapper told NBC News on Sunday.”

Least untruthful? What does that even mean? And did he just pull the ol’ Clinton “depends of what the meaning of is is ” too? 😯  🙄

____________________________________________________

Here’s another example. It’s not Math, it’s Arithmetic. But I guess that depends on what the meaning of Math is. Or what the meaning of Arithmetic is too. Or isn’t. I’m confused, and he’s acting like Larry the cucumber.

Wait, what? I’m convinced they just make stuff up as they go along.

I think we need more Wacko Birds and way less of these Cuckoo Birds. 🙂

Oh, and if it doesn’t have a tail, it’s not a monkey. It’s an ape. That’s about all I’m sure of right now.

They’ve become cartoon characters.

____________________________________________________

Oh, and the ACLU is suing them. From TheHuffingtonPost

And Lindsey Graham says the snooping went far deeper into Americans phone records than the Obama admin admits. From YahooNews

And anyone who still thinks this is the same thing Bush did should read this. Maybe it is the same. But the big difference is in the amount. If Bush was bad with the Patriot Act, then Obama is a 1000 times worse. That is a fact. From NBCNews

“The FBI has dramatically increased its use of a controversial provision of the Patriot Act to secretly obtain a vast store of business records of U.S. citizens under President Barack Obama, according to recent Justice Department reports to Congress. The bureau filed 212 requests for such data to a national security court last year – a 1,000-percent increase from the number of such requests four years earlier, the reports show.”

“Taken together, experts say, those revelations show the government has broadly interpreted the Patriot Act provision as enabling it to collect data not just on specific individuals, but on millions of Americans with no suspected terrorist connections. And it shows that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court  accepted that broad interpretation of the law.

“That they were using this (provision) to do mass collection of data is definitely the biggest surprise,” said Robert Chesney, a top national security lawyer at the University of Texas Law School. “Most people who followed this closely were not aware they were doing this.  We’ve gone from producing records for a particular investigation to the production of all records for a massive pre-collection database. It’s incredibly sweeping.”

____________________________________________________

by

News/Politics 6-11-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Well it’s Tuesday, a new day. And a new scandal. Can you say insider trading? Yeah, I knew ya’ could. From TheWashingtonPost

“Hundreds of federal employees were given advance word of a Medicare decision worth billions of dollars to private insurers in the weeks before the official announcement, a period when trading in the shares of those firms spiked.

The surge of trading in Humana’s and other private health insurers’ stock before the April 1 announcement already has prompted the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Wall Street investors had advance access to inside information about the then-confidential Medicare funding plan.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) told The Washington Post late last week that his office reviewed the e-mail records of employees at the Department of Health and Human Services and found that 436 of them had early access to the Medicare decision as much as two weeks before it was made public.”

More here from HotAir

“Is this scandal number five or number six? There’s Benghazi, the IRS, the DOJ snooping on reporters, Sebelius shaking down health executives for ObamaCare contributions, and now the NSA/PRISM/Snowden story. This new WaPo story makes six. No, wait — seven. Ed just posted on the State Department covering up misconduct. We’re going to need a bigger boat.

Actually, there are two potential scandals here. One is HHS tossing around what was supposed to be sensitive information to a huge swath of employees in-house. The other scandal is who actually leaked it, assuming anyone did. It might not have come from HHS at all but rather from some old-fashioned Beltway congressional/lobbyist incest. As with most of the other Obama scandals, this story is less about O himself than about the foreseeable abuses that result as the federal whale grows. You can have bigger government or you can have more accountable government. The guy who signed ObamaCare into law has made his choice.”

Yeah. Welcome to Washington. You didn’t think Congress critters were the only ones doing it did you? 🙄

____________________________________________________

The govt would like us to believe that we shouldn’t worry about FISA snooping. After all, it’s all overseen by a court. A rubber stamp court, but still, a court. 🙄  Also from TheWashingtonPost

“Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, the government is required to obtain a judicial warrant — similar to those issued in criminal investigations — before federal intelligence agencies can conduct electronic surveillance and gather intelligence within the United States in the interest of national security. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was established by Congress to approve or deny warrant applications related to national security investigations. Read related article.”

34,000 warrant applications. Only 11 have ever been denied. That’s a rubber stamp court if I ever saw one.

And in case you were wondering, this is what hypocrisy looks like.

Meanwhile, the IRS wants in on the whole spying thing too. From CNSNews

“The IRS, currently in the midst of scandals involving  the targeting of conservative groups and lavish taxpayer-funded  conferences, is ordering surveillance equipment that includes hidden  cameras in coffee trays, plants and clock radios.

The IRS wants to secure the surveillance equipment quickly – it  posted a solicitation on June 6 and is looking to close the deal by  Monday, June 10.  The agency already has a company lined up for the  order but is not commenting on the details.

“The Internal Revenue Service intends to award a Purchase Order to an undisclosed Corporation,” reads the solicitation.

“The following descriptions are vague due to the use and nature of the items,” it says.”

I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. I can’t think of any, but I’m sure there’s some. 🙄

____________________________________________________

As the Senate prepares to vote on immigration/amnesty, keep this in mind. It’s all broken promises and they haven’t even passed it yet. They don’t even try to hide the lies anymore. From Senator Sessions, via TheLATimes

“The so-called Gang of Eight immigration plan now being considered by the Senate fails to live up to every major promise made by its sponsors. Far from improving the immigration system, their 1,000-page proposal would exacerbate many of its flaws. It would dangerously undermine future enforcement while imposing substantial burdens on taxpayers and taking jobs and pay from U.S. workers.

Indeed, the two unions representing our nation’s immigration and customs officers and those who process immigration applications have strongly urged opposition.

The sponsors’ promise of enforcement first was broken when lead sponsor Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared: “First, people will be legalized…. Then we’ll make sure the border is secure.” About 11 million immigrants who are here illegally — which includes 4 million who have overstayed their visas — would receive work permits, Social Security numbers and access to state and local benefits within six months of passage. The Department of Homeland Security merely has to submit a border plan, not accomplish that plan. Those legalized will then be free to compete for jobs at a time of low wages and high unemployment. It’s amnesty first, not enforcement first.”

“The sponsors promised that people here illegally would not be eligible for public benefits. But, after the immediate grant of legal status, the legislation confers permanent residency within 10 years after passage (in many cases sooner), guaranteeing eligibility for federal benefits at a staggering long-term cost. In the short term, many would become eligible for state public assistance programs upon receiving the initial amnesty.”

____________________________________________________

I posted a story on this guy a week ago. Now that we know more, it looks even worse. I understand and support the restrictions placed on soldiers when it comes to the CiC. But this goes well beyond that. What is going on in our military resembles what went on at the IRS. A witch hunt against conservatives and religious folks. This is a man with a spotless 25 year record. From FoxNews

“A member of the U.S. Army Band who said he was reprimanded for having anti-Obama bumper stickers on his personal car, serving Chick-fil-A sandwiches at a party and reading books written by conservative authors like Sean Hannity is now facing Article 15 charges – which cropped up shortly after he went public with his complaints.”

“The Military District of Washington disputed allegations that Sommers had been reprimanded or disciplined. “The Soldier is not, and never has been, ‘facing retribution and punishment from the military for having anti-Obama bumper stickers on his car, reading books written by conservative authors like Mark Levin and David Limbaugh, and serving Chick-fil-A sandwiches at his promotion party,’” Public Affairs Director Michelle Roberts told Fox News in a written statement.”

“The MDW spokesman was either uninformed or was being disingenuous,” he said. “The counseling form clearly stated that he was being reminded of his limited ability to disagree with the President’s policies and implied that displaying the bumper stickers could lead to prosecution under the Hatch Act.””

“Sommers also came under fire for reading the works of Mark Levin, Sean Hannity and David Limbaugh. Last summer he was reading Limbaugh’s “The Great Destroyer” backstage at a concert when a superior officer told him that he was causing “unit disruption” and was offending other soldiers. “It wasn’t read aloud,” Sommers told Fox News. “I was just reading privately to myself.”

____________________________________________________

by

News/Politics 6-10-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

The claims by the President and his admin that the NSA snooping prevented a terror attack appears to be not exactly accurate. Looks like just another inaccurate and ever evolving excuse. From BuzzFeed

“Defenders of the American government’s online spying program known as “PRISM” claimed Friday that the suddenly controversial secret effort had saved New York City’s subways from a 2009 terrorist plot led by a young Afghan-American, Najibullah Zazi.

But British and American legal documents from 2010 and 2011 contradict that claim, which appears to be the latest in a long line of attempts to defend secret programs by making, at best, misleading claims that they were central to stopping terror plots. While the court documents don’t exclude the possibility that PRISM was somehow employed in the Zazi case, the documents show that old-fashioned police work, not data mining, was the tool that led counterterrorism agents to arrest Zazi. The public documents confirm doubts raised by the blogger Marcy Wheeler and the AP’s Adam Goldman, and call into question a defense of PRISM first floated by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who suggested that PRISM had stopped a key terror plot.

Reuters’s Mark Hosenball advanced the claim Friday, based on anonymous “government sources”:

The NSA leaker has come forward to tell his story. From TheGuardian

“The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell.

The Guardian, after several days of interviews, is revealing his identity at his request. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. “I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong,” he said.”

Gee, I wonder if this leaker get’s a pass like this one did? Something tells me no, since it didn’t benefit Obama. From TheNYPost

“Ex-CIA Director Leon Panetta while in office revealed “top secret” details of the Osama bin Laden raid during an event attended by “Zero Dark Thirty” screenwriter Mark Boal, according to a draft of a Pentagon inspector general report.

The report, which was published yesterday by the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, appears to support allegations made two years ago that the Obama administration was leaking information to Hollywood about the raid.

The report shows that Panetta disclosed “top secret” and “classified” information during a speech at a June 2011 award ceremony at the CIA headquarters.”

I doubt Panetta get’s the treatment they’re about to give Snowden. In fact Clapper is already out telling anyone who will listen what a grave danger this is. From WeaselZippers

“Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in an interview that aired Saturday night that the leaks regarding the Obama administration’s surveillance programs are “literally gut-wrenching” and that the administration has requested a criminal investigation into who leaked the information.

“For me, it is literally – not figuratively – literally gut-wrenching to see this happen because of the huge, grave damage it does to our intelligence capabilities,” Clapper told NBC News’s Andrea Mitchell.”

And Greenwald, who broke the story at the Guardian, says save the melodrama, there’s more coming. Should be interesting.

Meanwhile Feinstein and Rogers want an investigation into the leaker. No word when the Penatta investigation will begin though.

Here’s more on it from TheWashingtonTimes

“The National Security  Agency’s collection of phone data from all of Verizon’s  U.S. customers is just the “tip of the iceberg,” says a former NSA official who estimates the agency has data on as many as 20  trillion phone calls and emails by U.S. citizens.

William Binney, an award-winning  mathematician and noted NSA whistleblower, says the collection dates back to when the super-secret  agency began domestic surveillance after the Sept. 11 attacks.”

The author of the Patriot Act wants the abuses stopped. Seems Jim’s a bit late to the party. This is the kind of stuff that people warned about when he wrote it. From TheGuardian

“This abuse of the Patriot Act must end

President Obama falsely claims Congress authorised all NSA surveillance. In fact, our law was designed to protect liberties”

____________________________________________________

Conservative counties in Colorado have had enough. Introducing the 51st state? From FoxNews

“Officials in eight northern Colorado counties united in opposition to the  state’s new gun control laws and oil and gas regulations are reportedly  considering forming a 51st U.S. state called North Colorado.

The Denver Post reports that a proposal to separate Weld, Morgan, Logan,  Sedgwick, Phillips, Washington, Yuma and Kit Carson counties from the rest of  the state was hatched at a meeting of county commissioners last week.

Weld County commissioners Sean Conway, Mike Freeman and Doug Rademacher said  they will conduct public meetings and decide whether to draft a ballot measure  by Aug. 1., according to a report in The Greeley Tribune.”

____________________________________________________

This one is going to cause a lot of hand wringing from one side of the aisle. From TheDailyMail

“Strain’s northwest Houston  community of Oak Forest is the  first neighborhood in the country being trained  and equipped by the Armed  Citizen Project, a Houston nonprofit that is giving  away free shotguns to single  women and residents of neighborhoods with high  crime rates.

While many cities have  tried gun buy-backs and other tactics  in the ongoing national debate on gun  control, the nonprofit and its supporters  say gun giveaways to responsible  owners are actually a better way to deter  crime. The organization, which plans  to offer training classes in Dallas, San  Antonio, and Tucson, Ariz., in the  next few weeks, is working to expand its  giveaways to 15 cities by the end of  the year, including Chicago and New  York.”

“It costs the organization  about $300 to arm and train an  individual and about $20,000 for an entire  neighborhood. All costs are paid  through donations, said Coplen, though he  declined to say how much his  organization has raised so far.

While some residents in  the neighborhood are supportive,  several officials have mixed feelings about  it.”

Oh I bet they do. Better make sure Feinstein is sitting when they break it to her. 🙂

____________________________________________________

Here’s a story that’s interesting from New Mexico. Nixon would be so proud. From HotAir

“Hoo boy… Moe Lane at Red State has come across a nasty little piece of business coming out of New Mexico this past week. If the story plays out as early reporting indicates, there are a number of people – including prominent Democrats and a potential gubernatorial candidate – who will have some ‘splaining to do. The story begins in the campaign offices of Governor Susana Martinez, one of the rising stars of the GOP who has already been mentioned as possible POTUS or VPOTUS material in the future. Moe gives us the top line:

Executive summary: Jamie Estrada, former campaign manager for Susana Martinez (now the Republican governor of New Mexico), is accused of stealing* emails from her campaign account and passing them along to Democratic operative (and accused pedophile[**]) Jason Loera. Loera is likewise accused of passing along selected emails to Democratic state chair Sam Bregman, who then used those emails in at least one court case. Loera and Bregman are linked – the former consulted for the latter – and at this point, well. The whole thing is getting quite close to New Mexico Attorney General (and Democrat) Gary King.”

Here’s  a news report with the sordid details.

____________________________________________________