OFA

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News/Politics 12-30-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Anyone notice a pattern from the “most transparent administration ever?”

From NationalReview  “Darrell Issa’s leading role in the IRS investigation may have come to a close — he lost his chairmanship of the House Oversight Committee to term limits — but there is plenty of work left for his successor, Jason Chaffetz of Utah. None of these criminals has been punished; the maddening fact is that Lois Lerner is enjoying a six-figure pension at the expense of the very taxpayers against whom she conducted a corrupt political jihad. And even if that happy day should come when Lerner et al. are given one-way bus tickets to Florence, Colo., or some other suitable destination, Chaffetz and his colleagues still would have a tremendous amount of work to do; if Issa’s time has taught us anything, it is that the federal agencies are in thrall to a culture of criminality, and that the most significant crime in the agencies’ repertoire is the obstruction of federal investigations.

Earlier this year, 47 inspectors general — the officials charged with fighting corruption, waste, and wrongdoing in federal agencies — sent a letter to Issa’s committee complaining that organizations ranging from the EPA to the Justice Department were impeding their investigations by withholding information — despite the fact that federal law specifically forbids withholding that information. These are not a bunch of Republican operatives trying to score a few political points: Those 47 inspectors general comprise more than half of all such officials, and many who signed the letter were appointed by President Barack Obama. Their complaint is that the federal agencies treat them more or less like they do . . . members of Congress: thwarting them, withholding documents, obstruction investigations.

Michael Horowitz, the inspector general for the Justice Department, came to the Oversight Committee practically begging them for a means by which the DOJ – the federal law-enforcement department — might be forced to follow the laws that it is supposed to be enforcing. “It is very clear to me,” he testified, “just as it is to the Inspectors General community, that the Inspector General Act of 1978 entitles inspectors general to access all documents and records within the agency’s possession. Each of us firmly believes that Congress meant what it said in Section 6(a) of the IG Act: that Inspectors General must be given complete, timely, and unfiltered access to agency records.” But under the leadership of Attorney General Eric Holder, the DOJ did no such thing. Horowitz notes that the DOJ specifically tried to withhold information related to the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious.”

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2. Oh goody, because the one we have just isn’t enough. 🙄

From TheDailyCaller  “President Obama’s nonprofit advocacy group Organizing for Action plans to train 10,000 new community organizers in 2015 in a search for the next “organizer-in-chief.”

The OFA Fellows Program set a goal of training 10,000 new organizers to follow in the footsteps of Obama, according to a fundraising email the group sent out Sunday with the subject line “The next Barack Obama.””

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3. Talk about bad optics…..

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “One couple wanted to get married, but President Obama wanted to play golf.

Army captains Natalie Heimel and Edward Mallue Jr. knew Obama was headed to Hawaii for the holidays, so on a whim, they extended him an invite to attend their Dec. 28 wedding — one he politely declined. That same day, they were informed they would have to move their wedding location.

The wedding was set to be at the 16th tee box at Kaneohe Kipper Golf Course on the Marine Corps Base in Hawaii — a favorite of both Mallue and Obama.

“It was kind of ironic they got the letter from them and then, within hours, they were told they had to be moved due to him,” Jamie McCarthy, Mallue’s sister, told Bloomberg Politics. “It was emotional, especially for her — she’s the bride and in less than 24 hours they had to change everything they had planned.”

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4. And some good news…..

From Breitbart  “Though the Chinese Communist Party is the largest explicitly atheist organization in the world, with 85 million official members, it is now overshadowed by an estimated 100 million Christians in China. It is no wonder Beijing is nervous and authorities are cracking down on Christian groups.

Christianity is growing so fast in China that some predict that it will be the most Christian nation in the world in only another 15 years. By far, the greatest growth is coming outside the official state-sanctioned churches, which are rightly considered subservient to the Communist Party. Numbers are increasing, rather, in unofficial Protestant “house churches” and in the underground Catholic church.

“By my calculations China is destined to become the largest Christian country in the world very soon,” said Fenggang Yang, a professor of sociology at Purdue University and author of Religion in China: Survival and Revival under Communist Rule.”

China is on to this as well and they are persecuting many as a result.

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by

News/Politics 10-30-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

The White House has found someone else to throw under the bus rather than admit the obvious. And these folks aren’t happy about it. Nothing is ever the Obama administration’s fault. And as always, they’ll lie when challenged.

From TheLATimes  “The White House and State Department signed off on surveillance targeting phone conversations of friendly foreign leaders, current and former U.S. intelligence officials said Monday, pushing back against assertions that President Obama and his aides were unaware of the high-level eavesdropping.

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The Obama admin and Democrats have blamed CGI for the website issues. They don’t like being thrown under the bus either.

From CNN  “The Obama administration was given stark warnings just one month before launch that the federal healthcare site was not ready to go live, according to a confidential report obtained by CNN.

The caution, from the main contractor CGI, warned of a number of open risks and issues for the HealthCare.gov web site even as company executives were testifying publicly that the project had achieved key milestones.

On Capitol Hill on Monday, Medicaid Chief Marilyn Tavenner, whose job it was to oversee the October 1 rollout of the website, said she did not foresee its problems.

“No, we had tested the website and we were comfortable with its performance,” she said. “Now, like I said, we knew all along there would be as with any new website, some individual glitches we would have to work out. But, the volume issue and the creation of account issues was not anticipated and obviously took us by surprise. And did not show up in testing.”

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Oh look, more no-bid funny business in ObamaCare contracts.

From FoxNews  “The Dept. of Health and Human Services has quietly canceled a contract to a Chicago-based advocacy group that planned to promote ObamaCare benefits to recently paroled prisoners, after GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions wrote a letter to the agency in July questioning how the contract was funded.

 The HHS awarded the no-bid contract to Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities in July in order to “increase insurance enrollment for… individuals involved in the criminal justice system,” but then quietly updated the solicitation’s status to “canceled” on its website, saying it would be re-issued.

In his letter, Sessions, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, questioned why the advocacy group was awarded a special contract to promote the health care law to recently released convicts when the government has already spent over $200 million on the Navigators program, which is supposed to help educate all Americans about the law and its benefits and help them sign up.”

“Sessions also questioned why the contract was awarded to the group without on a no-bid basis, without offering the chance for other groups to offer the same services for less money.”

Probably a campaign donor or “friend of the prez”.

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The numbers for ObamaCare keep rising. No not the sign-ups, the cancellations.

From HotAir  ““If you like your doctor or health care plan,” Barack Obama repeatedly promised, “you can keep it.” Politifact rated that as “half true,” but for at least 2 million Americans, it’s a pants-on-fire lie from the White House.  CBS reports this morning that their contacts in the insurance industry confirm that millions have been booted from existing plans, and millions more may follow.”

“Well, it’s not unexpected for the White House and HHS, which made decisions three years ago that guaranteed millions would be pushed out of existing plans.  Levitt estimates that after subsidies are applied, about half will pay less in premiums while half will pay more, but that doesn’t take into account the escalating deductibles on the new plans.

The “subsidies will cover the difference” response also doesn’t address a fundamental truth about ObamaCare: it’s making everything more expensive, not just premiums.  Premiums increase as costs go up; that’s a fundamental point in risk-pool economics.  The subsidies only hide that cost, and don’t even do that well.  The subsidies will come from higher taxes and/or borrowing, and those taxes will be paid by Americans on top of the premiums they are now forced to absorb.  The only difference is that the taxes are indirect — either through income-tax increases or on costs associated with higher taxes on medical devices and services.”

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The fight for control of the future of the Republican party rages on. Maybe stuff like this is why people have the opinion that the party only cares about big business. Looks like the RINO’s are teaming up with big business to seize control of the party.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “The recent fiscal crisis has opened a major rift between the tea party wing  of the Republican Party and business  groups that traditionally have backed Republicans, with many business leaders  now vowing to get involved more in GOP primaries to try to counter insurgent candidates.

Tea party leaders are defiant, saying they will not change course despite  criticism from the U.S. Chamber of  Commerce, Business Roundtable and  other top business groups.

But business leaders argue that the scorched-earth tactics used by tea party  Republicans during the 16-day shutdown and debate over raising the federal  government’s borrowing limit marked the fourth time since the GOP took control of the House in 2011 that tea party adherents precipitated a  governmental crisis that zapped consumer and business confidence, raised  uncertainty and exerted a major drag on economic  growth.

Besides encouraging more business-friendly candidates in primary contests,  business groups are rallying behind establishment Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky  Republican who is being targeted by tea party activists for brokering a deal to  temporarily raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government, while launching a  negotiation with Democrats over budget cuts and proposed tax and entitlement  reforms.”

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The public however seems to disagree with RINO’s, big business, and Dems in some of their views of the Tea Party.

From Rasmussen  “Voters are evenly divided when asked whether they agree more politically with President Obama or with the average member of the Tea Party. But an enormous partisan gap colors virtually all opinions of the Tea Party.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% of Likely U.S. Voters think the president’s views are closest to their own when it comes to the major issues facing the country. But just as many (42%) say their views come closest to those of the average Tea Party member instead. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure.”

“Thirty-four percent (34%) now believe their personal views are closest to those of the average member of Congress when it comes to the major issues of the day. But slightly more (36%) say their views are closest to those of the average member of the Tea Party. A sizable 30%, however, are not sure.”

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And it seems Obama and his love of abortion (and their dollars) has rubbed off on OFA, the (totally non-partisan and unconnected to the White House honest we swear) advocacy group.

From LifeNews  “Operation Rescue has learned that the pro-abortion Respect ABQ Women Coalition, which is the main opposition to the Albuquerque “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance,” is actually an affiliate of Pres. Barack Obama’s “Organizing for Action,” which encourages activism for radical leftist causes. The two groups are working together under the banner of “Stand With Women,” which is coordinating a national effort against the municipal ordinance through BarackObama.com. [View screen shot of website]

Operation Rescue received a copy of an e-mail concerning a “Stand with Women” national conference call held on October 24, which originated from Kelli Lamb, Barack Obama.com, who is the Women’s Issues Coordinator for Obama’s Organizing for Action.”

“During this “strategy call,” Jennifer Lawson, the field director for the Planned Parenthood Action Fund in Albuquerque, solicited funds and volunteers to oppose the late-term abortion ban, according to a pro-life supporter who debriefed Operation Rescue after listening in on the call.”

“It appears that Obama is behind an organized effort to ensure the continuation of late-term abortions up until birth, and is attempting through subterfuge to subvert the will of the vast majority of the people of Albuquerque who oppose the heinous practice of aborting babies halfway through pregnancy and up until birth,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “These are the same leftists who are condemning support for the ordinance by national pro-life groups. The deception is appalling.”

But not at all surprising.

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