US soldier and two coalition troops killed in roadside bombing in Kabul, as attacks continue to escalate

Three NATO military personnel, including one American, were killed in a roadside car bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday. At least six civilians also died in the explosion which occurred while a convoy of armored vehicles was driving along a highway near Camp Phoenix, an American military base in Kabul. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Over the last week and half, 13 NATO troops have been killed in Afghanistan.

The attack on Friday comes just two days after US diplomats and embassy staffers in the US embassy in Kabul were sent rushing to bomb shelters when rockets struck the US embassy compound.

The AP noted on Wednesday that "Afghan insurgents have increased attacks in recent months, intensifying a campaign to regain territory as foreign forces draw down ahead of full withdrawal at the end of 2014."

Two rockets hit US Embassy in Kabul on Christmas Day, as attacks continue to increase ahead of Obama's 2014 timetable

From NBC News:

Two rockets hit the U.S. Embassy compound in Afghanistan [on Christmas] just before dawn Wednesday, an embassy spokesperson said. A source said the rockets did not cause any damage to the embassy, but rather impacted the ground within the compound perimeter.

Additionally, the AP reported:

A bicycle bomb was remotely detonated in front of a restaurant... 60 kilometers east of Kabul, killing six people and wounding 13.

Two of the killed were policemen and four were civilians... The attack also wounded 13 civilians, including several children.

Earlier in the day, a roadside bombing in eastern Kabul wounded three Afghan policemen...

Afghan insurgents have increased attacks in recent months, intensifying a campaign to regain territory as foreign forces draw down ahead of full withdrawal at the end of 2014.

BNO News reported that the rocket attack on the US embassy "was followed by a tip that led Afghan police officers to an improvised explosive device (IED) in the vicinity of the embassy compound... The device exploded at around 7:30 a.m. local time while officers were attempting to defuse it, seriously injuring four of them."

ABC News reported on the embassy attack:

The explosions sent staff at the embassy – who live on the same compound during their off-hours – scurrying to bomb shelters for cover.

The AFP reported:

The mortar rockets sent US diplomats rushing for shelter as the heavily-fortified embassy in the city center sounded its emergency sirens and loudspeakers broadcast a "duck and cover" alarm warning...

Previous Taliban mortar attacks on Kabul have lacked accuracy, and the Christmas Day attacks will raise concerns that the militants have improved their ability to launch and direct the rockets.

Obama staffers, Secret Service spending quality Christmas time with Obama, away from their families

A Time magazine article in 2009 noted that, during his Presidency, Ronald Reagan "remained in Washington over Christmas — reportedly so members of the Secret Service could be near their families."

Likewise, the GOP-USA website noted last year: "Although President Reagan could have spent his White House Christmases with family at his beloved ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif., he instead stayed in Washington, D.C. This way, his sacrifice allowed Secret Service agents and other aides to spend Christmas at home with their families. He was a thoughtful person."

The GOP website made no mention of President Obama, and his luxurious holiday getaways, but others have pointed out that - unlike the thoughtful Ronald Reagan - Obama spends his Christmas holidays in Hawaii, far from Washington DC. Consequently, the secret service, and other members of the White House staff, bid farewell to their families and spend the holiday with Mr. Obama, tending to his every need.

And, in the holiday spirit of giving, taxpayers gift Mr. Obama with their hard-earned money to pay for the extra security detail that protects him during his golfing excursions and his basketball, beach and shave ice outings etc. The taxpayers also pay for various other expenditures of Obama's luxurious holiday get-aways.

And although the Secret Service, and the rest of the White House staffers, may not be spending Christmas with their families, they do get to spend quality holiday time with Obama! And that experience, no doubt, far surpasses all other forms of enjoyment, including the most memorable and intimate family get-togethers.

To top it all off, American taxpayers have been given the unique privilege to partake in this incredible and lavish experience, and to share in this most extravagant, enormous and grand expenditure!

It can't possibly get any better than that!

Poll: Support for Obamacare reaches new low

Support for Obamacare has reached a new low, according to a new CNN/ORC poll released on Monday.

62% of the CNN poll respondents say they are opposed to Obamacare, while only 35% say they are in favor of the new law.

Every CNN/ORC poll, from the middle of March of 2010, when Obamacare was about to be signed into law, and when the polls were first taken, until now, revealed that a significant majority of Americans are opposed to the new law. But 62% is a new high for the CNN poll. And, it bears mentioning that CNN is a Liberal news organization which tries its utmost to cast the best possible light on President Obama.

Obama signs up for Obamacare, excludes family, and manages to avoid security-flawed, glitched website

President Obama over the weekend enrolled in one of the new health insurance exchanges created by Obamacare, a White House aide said Monday.

The White House aide added that, “The act of the president signing up for insurance coverage through the DC exchange is symbolic since the president's health care will continue to be provided by the military... The President selected a bronze plan.”

The White House aide seemed to suggest that the President's decision to choose the bronze plan, one of the cheapest plans available, was due to the fact that the President's enrollment was only symbolic, since he and his family already receive their insurance coverage through the military.

Incidentally, countless Americans, in the individual insurance market, have been dropped from their insurance plans and forced to purchase more expensive plans as a result of Obamacare, but, luckily for Mr. Obama, he was able to choose the plan that he liked... [The government has since revised its rules to let insurance companies, in the individual market, offer the original plans for one more year. After the year is up..., knows.]

The President, however, excluded the First Lady and his daughters from the symbolic sign-up and did not enroll them in the new plan, the White House said.

Apparently, when it comes to symbolic gestures, Obama prefers to make small, token, and less expensive gestures that involve only himself - hence the decision to exclude his family from the insurance exchange.

The President was also spared the pain and agony of having to sign up online via the technically-glitched, security-flawed Obamacare and exchange websites. Instead of enrolling online, a White House staffer went down to the DC exchange and signed up for Obama. A White House official offered the following explanation:

"Like some Americans, the complicated nature of the president’s case required an in-person sign-up. As you’d expect, the president’s personal information is not readily available in the variety of government databases HealthCare.gov uses to verify identities.”

The end result is that Obama's personal information still remains safe and secure, which is more than I can say for the thousands of Americans who sign up online.

Ultimately, all of the above just proves one thing: What's good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander........

Obama heads to Hawaii Golf course after being updated on failed attempt to evacuate endangered US citizens in South Sudan

The White House released a statement on Saturday reassuring the American people that President Obama had been briefed about the attack on four US service members who tried unsuccessfully to evacuate American citizens in Bor, South Sudan. The President received a briefing on Friday evening, shortly after he arrived in Hawaii for his holiday vacation. And, prior to his golf outing on Saturday morning, he received some additional updates.

"Last night, upon landing in Hawaii, President Obama was updated on Air Force One on the status of the four American service members who were wounded attempting to evacuate American citizens in Bor, South Sudan," the White House statement read. "He directed his national security team to ensure the safety of our military personnel, and to continue to work with the United Nations to evacuate our citizens from Bor.... The President was briefed on the status of our military personnel, and the safety of our citizens in Bor and U.S. personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Juba."

Apparently satisfied that he had addressed the dire situation facing U.S. personnel in Bor, South Sudan, and that he had ordered his administration to ensure their safety, the President headed out to the Golf course Saturday morning after receiving some additional updates.

"Obama, in white golf shirt, hat and sunglasses, was all smiles as he drove past reporters accompanying him to the coastal golf course," the AP reported.

"Last year, Obama had to temporarily abandon his vacation to fly home amid a congressional standoff over the so-called fiscal cliff," the AP noted. "The year before, a showdown over payroll tax cuts forced him to delay the start of his Hawaii hiatus. In 2010, it was congressional wrangling over repeal of the ban on gays in the military and other issues that delayed the trip. And in 2009, Senate deliberations over Obama's signature health care law meant that Honolulu had to wait another few days."

But apparently, Mr. Obama has no plans to return to Washington DC in the midst of his current Hawaii vacation just so he can properly deal with the dire security threat facing U.S personnel in South Sudan. Trivial matters can wait till after the vacation has ended.

"Throughout his vacation," the AP notes, "Obama will continue to get regular briefings from advisers traveling with him, White House officials said. Obama and his supporters were hoping those routine updates wouldn't interfere with regular rounds of golf and family outings for shave ice, the Hawaii version of a snow cone."

Judging from the President's actions, or his lack of action, on the evening of September 11, 2012, when terrorists in Benghazi killed four Americans, it is safe to assume that Obama's Hawaii golf excursions and his family outings for shave ice will resume without interference.

Obama's first day of vacation is proof of that.

Obama, Washington Post's Liar of the Year!

President Obama has uttered a myriad of lies over the course of his political career. But three lies, among Obama's seemingly endless stream of lies, have the prestigious honor of being among the Washington Post's top ten lies of 2013.

David Letterman might want to use this for his Top Ten list. Heh......

The three Obama lies on the Washington Post's Top Ten list:

1) “If you like your health-care plan [and doctor], you can keep it.”

2) “The day after Benghazi happened, I acknowledged that this was an act of terrorism.”

3) “The Capitol Hill janitors just got a pay cut.”

In lie number 3, President Obama claimed that the janitors working on Capital Hill were facing a pay cut as a result of the sequester. [The sequester, incidentally, was a ridiculous idea crafted by the White House.]

"Starting tomorrow, everybody here, all the folks who are cleaning the floors at the Capitol..., [are] going to have less pay!" Obama exclaimed in March of this year. "The janitors... just got a pay cut, and they’ve got to figure out how to manage that! That’s real!"

However, Obama's statement was false. "Capitol Hill administrative officials even issued a statement saying the president’s remarks were 'not true' ", the Washington Post writes. "Then the White House tried to argue that janitors at least faced a loss of overtime. That was not correct either. The episode was emblematic of the administration’s sequester rhetoric."

In truth, the President has uttered so many lies this year and over the course of his political career, that it seems a bit humorous to choose just 3 lies from 2013 and thereby absolve him of the myriad of other lies he has made. Nevertheless, the question arises whether this most deserving honor from the Washington Post might influence Time Magazine to select Barack Obama as its Person of the Year in 2013.

Time Magazine chose Obama as its Person of the Year in 2012 and 2008. And, as I noted last year, "virtue" is not necessarily the deciding factor used by the magazine to choose its person of the year, as evidenced by the slew of heinous individuals who have been bestowed with this honor in the past, including the late Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979.

Hence, Obama's unique ability to lie over and over again without even batting an eyelash might very well qualify him to be Time Magazine's Person of the Year for the third time in six years. Obama is clearly deserving of the award; it behooves the editors of the magazine to join their counterparts over at the Washington Post, and to honor the Liar of the Year as their Person of the Year once again!

Obama postponed Obamacare, EPA rules till after 2012 election

From the Washington Post:

The White House systematically delayed enacting a series of rules on the environment, worker safety and health care to prevent them from becoming points of contention before the 2012 election, according to documents and interviews with current and former administration officials.

Some agency officials were instructed to hold off submitting proposals to the White House for up to a year to ensure that they would not be issued before voters went to the polls, the current and former officials said.

The delays meant that rules were postponed or never issued. The stalled regulations included crucial elements of the Affordable Care Act, what bodies of water deserved federal protection, pollution controls for industrial boilers and limits on dangerous silica exposure in the workplace.

The Obama administration has repeatedly said that any delays until after the election were coincidental and that such decisions were made without regard to politics. But seven current and former administration officials told The Washington Post that the motives behind many of the delays were clearly political, as Obama’s top aides focused on avoiding controversy before his reelection...

Those findings are bolstered by a new report from the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), an independent agency that advises the federal government on regulatory issues. The report is based on anonymous interviews with more than a dozen senior agency officials who worked with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which oversees the implementation of federal rules.

The report said internal reviews of proposed regulatory changes “took longer in 2011 and 2012 because of concerns about the agencies issuing costly or controversial rules prior to the November 2012 election.”...

Ronald White, who directs regulatory policy at the advocacy group Center for Effective Government, said the “overt manipulation of the regulatory review process by a small White House office” raises questions about how the government writes regulations...

The recent decision to bring on Democratic strategist John Podesta as a senior White House adviser is likely to accelerate the number of new rules and executive orders [now that President Obama is safely ensconced in his second term], given Podesta’s long-standing support for using executive action to achieve the president’s goals despite congressional opposition....

In September of 2011, former Vice President Al Gore excoriated Mr. Obama when the latter ordered the EPA to postpone certain environmental regulations. Mr. Gore - who previously praised Obama on environmental issues - accused the President of bowing "to pressure from polluters who did not want to bear the cost of implementing new clean air standards." But Mr. Obama countered that claim by insisting that he was simply putting the regulations on hold in order to create jobs. However, it has now been confirmed by current and former administration officials that President Obama was lying at the time, and that Al Gore's assessment was off the mark. For ultimately Obama's true intention for postponing the regulations was to ensure that the regulations would not be issued before voters went to the polls.

Podesta portfolio to include executive actions, Heh

From the Politico:

John Podesta, a Democratic Party heavyweight and former chief of staff in the Clinton White House, has agreed to serve as a counselor to President Barack Obama, according to officials familiar with the move.

Podesta will return to the White House as Obama struggles to regain his credibility after the troubled rollout of HealthCare.gov. The president has already recalled Phil Schiliro, a former legislative affairs director, to serve as the White House’s point person on Obamacare policy...

Podesta's portfolio will include Obamacare and executive actions — a concession that the White House expects Obama's legislative agenda to continue to get nowhere in Congress, according to one source familiar with the plans.

Podesta's office space hasn't yet been assigned, but he will work out of the West Wing, the source said.

With his approval ratings at an all-time low, and his administration awash in a slew of scandals, and his signature health care law beset with all kinds of problems, President Obama is desperately seeking help.

Obama is hoping that John Podesta, the man who helped the Clinton administration extract itself from various quagmires, and scandals - including the Whitewater and Travelgate scandals - can offer him the same kind of assistance.

Politico also noted that "Podesta's portfolio will include Obamacare and executive actions."

'Executive actions' is right up Podesta's alley: While serving as Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff, Podesta advised Bill Clinton to bypass congress through the abusive and inordinate use of executive orders. In 2010, Podesta asserted that Obama should follow Clinton's path and also use his executive powers to circumvent congress. And indeed, President Obama has relied heavily on executive actions to bypass congress and the law.

Obama and Podesta, what a lovely pair!

Obamacare: Obama administration contradicting itself on paper applications, in typical fashion

From the AP:

Federal health officials, after encouraging alternate sign-up methods amid the fumbled rollout of their online insurance website, began quietly urging counselors around the country this week to stop using paper applications to enroll people in health insurance because of concerns those applications would not be processed in time.

Interviews with enrollment counselors, insurance brokers and a government official who works with navigators in Illinois reveal the latest change in direction by the Obama administration, which had been encouraging paper applications and other means because of all the problems with the federal website. Consumers must sign up for insurance under the federal health overhaul by Dec. 23 in order for coverage to start in January...

Federal health officials also discussed the issue during a conference call Wednesday with navigators and certified counselors in several states.

"They've said do not use paper applications because they won't be able to process them anywhere near in time," said John Foley, attorney and certified counselor for Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, who was on the call.

That contradicts what federal health officials told reporters during a national media call this week, during which they said there were no problems with paper applications.

"There is still time to do paper applications," Julie Bataille, communications director for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told reporters on the call Wednesday.

A CMS spokesman declined to comment directly on the issue Friday when asked whether they discouraged navigators from using paper applications...

In early November, President Barack Obama himself encouraged paper applications as one of several alternatives to the federal website.

"I just want to remind everybody that they can still apply for coverage by phone, by mail, in person," Obama said on Nov. 4 in remarks to Affordable Care Act supporters at a Washington hotel.

The paper application problem comes as insurance agents and brokers are dealing with a massive backlog of applications that they can't process because of problems with the federal website, including incomplete enrollment files sent electronically to insurance companies...

Kelly Fristoe, an insurance agent in Wichita Falls, Texas, has submitted 25 paper applications since early October and hasn't received a response from federal health officials yet.

"At this time, we are not using any paper applications," he said.

That also contradicts what CMS told reporters this week.

Bataille, the spokeswoman for the federal agency, said all paper applications received during October have been processed.

Julie Bataille was hired in 2011 to be the spokeswoman for CMS, the federal agency tasked with developing and operating the HealthCare.gov website. And, apparently, she shares a common attribute with her boss over at the White House: President Obama and Julie Bataille both have a penchant for being untruthful.

Bataille previously served as Deputy Director of Communications for Vice President Al Gore and the Gore 2000 Presidential Campaign. According to the CMS website, Bataille "coordinated proactive outreach of key Gore messages." Perhaps her aversion to telling the inconvenient truth is something she picked up while serving under Gore.

Bataille also served as Assistant Press Secretary at the White House during the Clinton administration, and she worked in the office of Joe Biden when he was still a US Senator, which might also explain her mendacity. However, working with Obama these past two and a half years certainly helped Bataille consummate and perfect the art of fibbing.

According to the CMS website, Julie Bataille is also an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America. Hmmm, prevarication might be an essential part of Public Relations, but the inconvenient truth is Bataille still needs to improve on her PR work just a tad bit.....

Executions in Iran have escalated during Rouhani Presidency

According to the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, at least 529 people have been executed in Iran this year, and more than 300 of the executions took place after Hassan Rouhani ascended to the Presidency in August. Other estimates put the number of executions in Iran, this year, at more than 600.

Iran activists also point out that executions in Iran have increased markedly since the Obama administration and the Iranian regime began its most recent faze of negotiations, which concluded with a deal to give the Mullocracy the green light to enrich uranium while easing sanctions against them.

Benghazi security excluded from State Department's frivolous spending sprees

The Weekly Standard reported last week that, in late September, as "the federal government's fiscal year was drawing to a close and the threat of a government shut down was increasing," the State Department agreed to purchase over a million dollars of artistic work to place at several U.S. embassies and consulates around the globe. The purchases, part of the State Department's Art for Embassies program, included a granite sculpture produced by Irish-born artist Sean Scully, at the cost of $1,000,000, which will be installed at the new U.S. Embassy in London.

The Weekly Standard noted that "although the form of the Scully sculpture is not identified in the award notification, the artist has produced granite sculptures before, including this one entitled "Wall of Light Cubed 2" in 2008 - or, as Front Page magazine calls it, "A pile of rocks".

It is worthy to note, that in the aftermath of the Benghazi terrorist attacks, the State Department initially cited budget concerns as the reason it did not respond to requests for additional security at the U.S. consulate in the months prior to the attacks. And yet, Front Page Magazine notes, the State Department didn't have any budgetary concerns when it spent, and squandered, a $1,000,000 for "a pile of rocks."

Moreover, the Weekly Standard reported that the State Department's 2013 budget request included a total of $2.5 Million for the Art in Embassies program.

Bloomberg news noted last year that "through the State Department’s art-in-embassies program, US ambassadors can surround themselves with the finest works of art." Bloomberg also noted that many US ambassadors, who were appointed by President Obama, received their appointments as payback for the huge amounts of cash they brought in to Obama's Presidential campaign coffers. Hence, it certainly goes without saying that, on the basis of their campaign-bundling activities on behalf of Obama, the aforementioned ambassadors are clearly deserving of being surrounded by the finest works of art - or, the finest pile of rocks.....

On the flip side, it is highly doubtful that any of the four Americans killed in the Benghazi attacks brought in any significant amounts of cash to Barack Obama's presidential campaign, hence there was clearly no reason to surround these people with the finest security - or even adequate security.

But truth be told, the State Department's decision to deny requests for additional security in Benghazi had nothing to do with budgetary concerns, but rather it was due to various other motives:

1) As others have noted previously, Gregory Hicks, the former State Department deputy chief of mission in Libya, testified to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee earlier this year that one of the primary reasons why ambassador Chris Stevens traveled to Benghazi prior to the attack was because the Obama administration, according to Stevens, had plans to convert the temporary facility in Benghazi to a permanent State Department facility - and Stevens traveled to Benghazi to help facilitate those plans.

And thus, the State Department was reluctant to comply with the request to send additional security personnel to Benghazi to defend against the increasing al Qaeda threat, because it would have most certainly stonewalled the administration's plans to establish a permanent presence there. If the increasing threat of al Qaeda, in Benghazi, required additional security personnel, how could the Obama administration proceed with its plans to establish a permanent State Department facility there? How could the Obama administration make the case that setting up a permanent and larger facility was a safe, feasible and viable plan?

2) The Obama administration, on a number of occasions, has expressed a reluctance to take necessary action in Benghazi for fear that such action might not sit well with the new Libyan government. Hence, sending additional security personnel to the US consulate, which already had a Libyan security presence there - albeit a Libyan security presence with ties to militants - was something the Obama administration was not keen on doing because it might agitate the Libyan government.

There are additional motives that we can add to the mix. But the bottom line is the budgetary concern cited by the State Department was clearly nothing more than a lame excuse for denying Ambassador Stevens' urgent requests for additional security.

Here are a few more examples of the State Department's unnecessary and frivolous spending sprees:

Frontpage magazine notes that the Obama administration is spending millions of dollars to help rebuild Islamic mosques and minarets in 27 different countries.

According to the State Department, the aforementioned projects are  “cultural preservation” projects designed to “fight Islamic extremism by building relationships with Islamic leaders.”

Judging from the fanatical, extremist leaders that Obama has chosen to rebuild relationships with, it is clear that the tax-payer money being squandered on these kind of projects is money well-spent. Ahem. Heh....

Frontpage Magazine also notes:

"While the State Department was busy repairing Egyptian mosques, scores of Egypt’s Coptic Christian churches were being burned down by Muslim mobs....

"In 2010 the State Department provided monetary support for saving three mosques on Zanzibar Island off the coast of Tanzania... That generous American donation was repaid in July 2012 when Muslim mobs, shouting, 'Away with the church — we do not want infidels to spoil our community, especially our children,' burned down three Christian churches on Zanzibar Island."

"In 2011 the State Department provided funds to restore the 15th century Gobarau Minaret in Katsina State in Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north, an area which has become a virtual killing field for Christians at the hands of Muslim militants, led by the al-Qaeda-linked terror group Boko Haram.

"Since 2009 over 288 Christian churches in Nigeria have been burned, thousands of Christian-owned homes destroyed, and over 2,000 Christians killed, including in July 2012 when fifty members of a northern Nigerian church were burned to death in their pastor’s house."

And, apparently the State Department has an affinity for booze expenditures too:

Fox News reported:

"The department spent about $180,000 on alcohol in September and $400,000 in all of 2012, three times the $118,000 spent in 2008.

"The booze tab reportedly has risen every year since 2008, but the end of fiscal 2012 saw a particular spike. Part of the reason could be that, toward the end of the year, federal agencies often try to spend what's left in their budgets in order to reduce the risk that Congress will target them for cuts.

"Records for U.S. embassies show that alcohol spending went up at American posts around the world. The purchases included nearly $16,000 for bourbon and whiskey in Moscow, and more than $22,000 for wine in Tokyo...

"[State Department Spokesperson Marie] Harf said that the September alcohol purchases were made after the department's fiscal operating plan was approved by Congress, which coincidentally ended up being right before the partial government shutdown."

But of course, booze, and the fine art works that surround Obama's campaign-bundling US ambassadors, and the Islamic Mosque restoration projects are far more important than the lives of four lowly American citizens in Benghazi - especially when these American citizens went to Benghazi for the sole purpose of helping Obama rebuild a new Libya - a new Libya, which, unfortunately for the four dead Americans, is being dedicated to the Al Qaeda movement and to the Al Qaeda flag.........

Harry Reid in September: Staffers will join Obamacare exchanges! - Video

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has exempted some of his staff from having to purchase health insurance through the Obamacare exchanges, news media outlets reported on Wednesday, despite having said in September that senate staff members would join the Obamacare exchanges because, "That's what the law says."

"Let's stop these really juvenile political games — the one dealing with health care for senators and House members and our staff," Reid told Reporters in September. "We are going to be part of exchanges, that's what the law says and we'll be part of that."

Technically, congressional committee staffers and leadership staffers - unlike ordinary congressional staffers - can be exempted from joining the health care exchanges due to a loophole in the law that allows these exemptions. But Reid's statement in September was clearly mendacious.



Sen. Ted Cruz issued a statement regarding Reid's decision to exempt staff members from the Obamacare exchanges:

"Sen. Reid's decision to exempt his staff from Obamacare exchanges is the clearest example yet of Obamacare's failures and Washington hypocrisy," Cruz said. "[Reid's] staff worked to pass it and continue to promote it, now they don't want to be part of it because it's a disaster. No one wants to lose their plans, pay higher premiums, higher deductibles, and have healthcare choices taken away from them. But, by passing Obamacare that’s exactly what Leader Reid and his staff did to millions of Americans. Now they understandably don't want to live with it. The only fair path forward is to repeal Obamacare, in its in entirety, for everyone."

Kerry, Obama & Rouhani boast about Iran nuclear agreement - Video Spoof

Video Spoof of Secretary of State John Kerry, President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani boasting about the recent nuclear agreement that was signed between the Obama administration and the Khamenei regime that would 1) allow the regime to continue to enrich uranium, 2) loosen the sanctions imposed on Iran, 3) and create an irreparable fissure in the sanctions coalition.

Iran urges Afghanistan not to sign security pact with US

Iran’s foreign ministry urged the Afghan government not to sign a security pact with the U.S. that would allow a residual force of US and coalition troops to remain in Afghanistan after NATO withdraws from the country in 2014.

The Obama administration - wary of repeating the blunder it made when it insisted that no residual U.S. force would remain in Iraq after US troops left the country in 2011 - would like to leave behind a residual force of US and coalition troops in Afghanistan post 2014. But the Iranian regime, a primary backer of the Afghan insurgency, would prefer that no such arrangement be made, despite the fact that the Iranian regime is enjoying a cozy relationship with President Obama.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran does not consider the signing and approval of the pact useful for the long term expediencies and interests of Afghanistan," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said Tuesday in her weekly press conference.

Did Obama reside with his uncle after his uncle received a deportation order? Is that why the White House lied about the matter?

From the Washington Post:

President Obama's uncle said at a deportation hearing Tuesday that Obama stayed with him while he was a student at Harvard Law School in the 1980s -- despite the White House having said that Obama never met the man.

Onyango “Omar” Obama, 69, was arrested for drunk driving in 2011 and faced deportation after living in the United States for five decades. The judge decided to let the Kenyan national remain in the United States.

According to the Boston Globe, Omar Obama testified [at the hearing] that the president stayed with him in Cambridge [for three weeks] when he came to attend Harvard Law School [ in the late 1980s.]

[Onyango's] landlord, Alfred Ouma, who served as a witness at the hearing, confirmed that Barack Obama lived with his Uncle Omar....

The White House said following Omar Obama's arrest that he and the president had never met, [and that the] president was not close to his father's side of the family given his father's absence in his life.

The White House did not immediately comment on Omar Obama's claim [and the landlord's claim].

Weasel Zippers asks:

Why lie about this, just to not seem to have connection to illegal uncle? It’s a dumb lie, especially if uncle, et. al, wouldn’t back you up.

The Blaze also wonders "why the White House would even bother to tell such a seemingly inconsequential lie?"

But perhaps Obama had a good reason to lie, aside from the fact that he felt uncomfortable admitting he had met an uncle who was residing in the US illegally - and aside from the fact that Obama happens to be a habitual and casual liar.

The Boston Globe notes the following:

Immigration judges’ rulings obtained by the Globe through the Freedom of Information Act show that Onyango Obama was ordered deported in 1986 and 1989 and then lost his appeal in 1992. The issue of deportation arose again after Onyango Obama was arrested for drunken driving in 2011 in Framingham, where he lived.

In January, the Boston Globe noted:

According to the earlier judges’ decisions obtained by the Globe, an immigration judge first ordered [Onyango] deported in October 1986 because he had no legal basis to stay and no connection to the United States such as US-born children. Obama came to America at age 17, in October 1963, to enroll in a Cambridge boys’ school. Federal records show he was supposed to have left the United States by Dec. 24, 1970.

Instead, [Onyango] Obama worked from 1973 to September 1984, when immigration officials found him, according to the court’s decision. In 1989, the judge again ordered him deported...

Barack Obama entered Harvard Law School in 1988. If he stayed with his uncle in Cambridge when he came to attend Harvard Law School, that means he stayed with his uncle after the latter had already received a deportation order. I'm not sure whether it was against the law for Barack Obama to board with an uncle who was residing in this country illegally, but the President's reason for lying about the matter is pretty obvious.

Incidentally, I noted in December of 2011:

Shortly after his arrest on DUI charges in 2011, Onyango Obama was asked whether he wanted to make a telephone call to arrange for bail.

"I think I will call the White House," he replied.

However, he was later detained without bail by Federal immigration officials for defying an earlier deportation order to return to his native country, Kenya.

But, a little more than two weeks after his arrest, he was quietly released from prison.

Federal immigration officials refused to divulge whether he posted bail........ Source - Boston Globe

And, I suppose we'll never know whether he made that call to the White House or not...... Heh.....

Today the Boston Globe quoted a court official who said that, after his arrest in 2011, Onyango "served a year’s probation, attended an alcohol education class, paid fees, and the case was dismissed."

Obama: I'll fight another THREE YEARS to make sure Obamacare is working

More than three years have passed since Obamacare was signed into law and yet the new health care legislation is still plagued with all sorts of problems. But President Obama reassured the American people, during a White House event on Tuesday, that there is no need to worry because, if necessary, he will fight another three years to make sure the new health care law is working.

"If I've got to fight another three years to make sure this law works," the President said, "then that's what I'll do, that's what we'll do."

Heh.... He'll spend another three years to make sure Obamacare is working.......

UN Report: Attacks against Aid Workers in Afghanistan escalate as Obama continues to hand over security to Afghan forces

According to a UN report released over the weekend, there were 237 attacks on Afghanistan’s aid workers from January through November of 2013, which left 36 people dead, 46 wounded, 72 abducted and 24 detained. Last year, from January through December, there were 175 attacks on Afghanistan’s aid workers, which left 11 people dead, 26 wounded and 44 detained or abducted.

U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, Mark Bowden, said that the increase in attacks on Afghanistan's aid workers was a result of the Obama administration handing over the country's security to the Afghan security forces

"I am extremely concerned with this trend at a time when the country is in the midst of a difficult transition that may lead to increased humanitarian needs," Mr. Bowden said in a statement. “The nature of the fighting has changed. You have more disseminated ground-level fighting than you’ve had before, and this has come as a result of a change of tactics by handing over the fighting to the Afghan national security forces. So civilian casualties have increased dramatically this year, so obviously you’re seeing more widespread displacement of people as well.”

According to a mid-year report released by the UN in July, Civilian casualties in the first six months of 2013 increased 23% compared to the same period in 2012.

A UN official said at the time that, “The growing loss of life and injuries to Afghan women and children in 2013 is particularly disturbing. Deaths and injuries to women and children increased by 38 per cent in the first half of 2013 reflecting a grim reality of the conflict today in Afghanistan.”

News media outlets protest White House press access limits; a legitimate complaint, but they're hypocrites

From the AP:

Dozens of leading news organizations are protesting to the White House against restrictions that sometimes keep journalists from taking pictures and video of President Barack Obama performing official duties. At the same time, two press groups urged their members to stop using official photos and video handed out by the White House, dismissing them as little more than “government propaganda.”

The news organizations’ letter to White House press secretary Jay Carney detailed a number of recent examples in which photographers weren’t allowed to cover presidential events that were deemed “private” by administration officials — even though the White House indicated their newsworthiness by releasing its own photos of the same events.

“As surely as if they were placing a hand over a journalist’s camera lens, officials in this administration are blocking the public from having an independent view of important functions of the executive branch of government,” the letter states, adding that the restrictions imposed by the Obama White House represent a major break from the practices of past administrations.

The news organizations said Thursday that the White House limits on access raise constitutional concerns about infringement on First Amendment press freedoms and have “a direct and adverse impact on the public’s ability to independently monitor and see what its government is doing.”

The press coalition, which included The Associated Press, major broadcast and cable networks, wire services, online services and newspapers, said the access limits also undercut Obama’s pledge to create a more transparent government, and impose “an arbitrary restraint and unwarranted interference on legitimate newsgathering activities.”

The groups requested an immediate meeting with Carney on how to restore full press access.

Simultaneously, the presidents of the American Society of News Editors and the Associated Press Media Editors sent a letter to their members urging them to stop using handout photos and video from the White House.

“We must accept that we, the press, have been enablers,” the ASNE-APME letter states. “We urge those of you in news organizations to immediately refrain from publishing any of the photographs or videos released by the White House, just as you would refuse to run verbatim a press release from them.”...

I take exception with that last paragraph.

The mainstream media organizations are Obama "enablers", not because they're using handout photos and videos from the White House, but rather because their ultimate goal, desire and purpose is to prop up Obama.

The news media organizations say they're asking their members to "refrain from publishing any of the photographs or videos released by the White House, just as you would refuse to run verbatim a press release from them.” Heh... The fact of the matter is, news media reports often resemble White House press releases.

Moreover, a great deal of the information in the news media comes via anonymous White House officials; and sadly, a lot of Americans are often unaware that the information they're consuming is being fed to them via these Obama operatives and White House propagandists.

Truth be told, the mainstream news media outlets are unhappy, not because they've become Obama enablers - which is their ultimate goal, desire and purpose - but because they're being locked out of the process and because they're being treated like second class citizens - like a bunch of nobodies.

However, in fairness to the President, it should be noted that, in restricting press access to the White House, Obama is merely exercising his autocratic and dictatorial authority. There's nothing wrong with that, except for the fact that it is unwise for an autocratic ruler to lock out his enablers, lest they suddenly accuse him of forcing them to be his enablers.....

In addition to the AP, those signing the coalition letter to [White House Press Secretary Jay Carney] were ABC News, Agence France-Presse, American Society of News Editors, American Society of Media Photographers, Associated Press Media Editors, Associated Press Photo Managers, Association of Alternative Newsmedia, Association of Opinion Journalists, Bloomberg News, CBS News, CNN, Dow Jones & Co. Inc., Fox News Channel, Gannett Co. Inc., Getty Images, Lee Enterprises Inc., The McClatchy Co., McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, National Press Club, National Press Photographers Association, NBC News, New England First Amendment Coalition, News Media Coalition, Newspaper Association of America, The New York Times Co., Online News Association, Professional Photographers of America, Radio Television Digital News Association, Regional Reporters Association, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reuters, Society of Professional Journalists, Tribune Co., The Washington Post, White House Correspondents’ Association, White House News Photographers Association, Yahoo Inc.

President Obama Pardons Turkey - Thanksgiving Spoof

Here's a Thanksgiving video spoof which I first posted in 2010:

Sen. Thune Blasts Administration’s Proposed Rule to Exempt Unions From ObamaCare Reinsurance Tax

Press release from South Dakota Senator John Thune:

U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, tonight criticized the Obama administration’s decision to publish a proposed rule that would exempt union health care plans, known as Taft-Hartley plans, from the ObamaCare reinsurance tax, which would likely force other self-insured plans, including those of employers, charities, and faith-based organizations, to pay more to meet the amount of revenue required by law.

“By publishing this proposed rule, the Obama administration moves closer to ensuring that its political allies will receive special treatment under the law,” said Thune. “Despite endorsing ObamaCare and working fervently to get it passed, unions are now experiencing the ugly reality of this law, and they want out. This exemption is crony capitalism at its worst. I will continue to push for passage of my Union Tax Fairness Act, which would ensure that unions are not treated as if they are above the law.”

The ObamaCare reinsurance tax is scheduled to begin in 2014 and requires all self-insured plans to pay a tax for each person covered under a health plan. The tax was designed to provide funds to health care plans in the ObamaCare exchanges to help absorb the cost of care for people with pre-existing conditions.

On November 19, 2013, Thune introduced the Union Tax Fairness Act (S.1724) to explicitly prevent the White House from exempting unions from the reinsurance tax. His legislation currently has 12 co-sponsors.

With IRS scandal long forgotten, Obama seeks out new tactic to target Conservative groups

The Obama administration took a lot of flack earlier this year when it targeted various conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. Hence, the White House has decided to seek out another avenue and tactic to reign in the aforementioned groups who pose a significant threat to the Obama/Democratic party machine, and to the latter's vote hoarding allies.

Bear in mind, Obama is an autocratic ruler who does as he pleases.:

The Obama administration proposed new rules on Tuesday to rein in tax-exempt groups that have transformed the U.S. political landscape in recent years by harnessing hundreds of millions of dollars in anonymous donations to influence elections.

The proposal would alter definitions in the tax code that allow limited campaign and fundraising activities by the tax-exempt groups, some of which have been at the center of allegations that the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny.

These tax-exempt "social welfare" groups, organized under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, mushroomed after a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that relaxed campaign finance rules. Part of their appeal is that the groups do not have to disclose the identities of their donors as long as they spend less than half their time and money on political activities.

The proposed rules do not address other tax-exempt fundraisers such as labor unions and business organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which are classified as 501(c)(6) tax-exempt organizations and can also raise and spend political money anonymously.

"The fact that the administration's new effort only affects social welfare organizations - and not powerful unions or business groups - underscores that this is a crass political effort by the administration to get what political advantage they can, when they can," said Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican.....

Related news item - The Daily Caller reported on Monday:

More than half a year after the IRS targeting scandal broke in May, federal investigators have still not contacted any of the 41 conservative groups represented in the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) lawsuit against the IRS.

Though the FBI and IRS both launched investigations into the wrongdoing, and Eric Holder’s Justice Department vowed to cooperate with the FBI probe, none of these agencies has contacted the ACLJ’s clients to figure out what happened.

“It’s now been more than six months since the public revelation of the IRS targeting scheme. The Obama Administration — including the White House — has repeatedly promised that an investigation would ensue and that we would get to the bottom of this unlawful and unconstitutional scheme. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be happening. To date, not one of our 41 clients has been contacted by the FBI, the Justice Department or any other federal investigative agency,” ACLJ chief counsel Jay Sekulow told The Daily Caller.

“What we do know is the continual release of documents and emails by Congressional investigators clearly show that this scheme was well orchestrated, extremely broad, and politically motivated. Our lawsuit continues to move forward and we urge Congress to continue its investigation to determine the depth and scope of this scheme that violated the constitutional rights of our clients,” Sekulow said

Hussein Onyango - Obama never mentioned his paternal grandfather's bigoted letter?

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, while delivering a speech about race relations, Barack Obama asserted, among other things, that his maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, was "a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."

Obama mentioned the aforementioned incident [his grandmother's confession] in his 2007 memoir, Dreams from My father:

Obama, as a youngster, lived with his maternal grandparents in Hawaii. He awoke one morning and noticed that his grandmother seemed highly agitated, and that she had gotten into a heated argument with his grandfather.

Obama went on to explain in his memoir that his grandmother had been accosted by an assertive panhandler the previous morning while she was waiting to take the bus to work. Fearful that she might meet up with the aggressive panhandler again, she asked her husband, the following morning, to drive her to work, but he refused.

Madelyn Dunham told her grandson [Barack] that morning that the panhandler, "was very aggressive, very aggressive. I gave him a dollar and he kept asking. If the bus hadn’t come, I think he might have hit me over the head.”

But Obama's grandfather, Stanley Dunham, rejected Madelyn's assertion.

Madelyn had "been bothered by men before," Stanley told his grandson.

"You know why she’s so scared this time?" he told Obama. "I’ll tell you why. Before you came in, she told me the fella was black. That’s the real reason why she’s bothered. And I just don’t think that’s right.”

Obama then noted in his memoir: "[My grandfather's] words were like a fist in my stomach, and I wobbled to regain my composure."

After he delivered his speech on race relations, Obama was asked to elaborate on this incident, which seemed to cast a poor light on his grandmother.

“The point I was making," Obama said, "was not that my grandmother harbors any racial animosity, but that she is a typical white person. If she sees somebody on the street that she doesn’t know – there’s a reaction in her that’s been bred into our experiences that don’t go away and sometimes come out in the wrong way and that’s just the nature of race in our society."

However, it is worthwhile to note another incident that occurred with Obama's paternal grandfather - a race-related incident that Obama, to best of my knowledge, never mentioned... Hmmm..... I wonder why......

When Obama's parents announced their intention to get married, Obama's paternal grandfather, Hussein Onyango, was furious. He wrote an angry letter to Obama's maternal grandfather - Stanley Dunham - saying, that he did not want "the Obama blood sullied by a white woman."

Onyango also wrote a letter to his son reminding him that he still had a wife and children in Kenya.

Would your future, prospective wife "accept that you already have a wife and children?" Onyango asked his son. "I have not heard of white people understanding such things. Their women are jealous and used to being pampered."

Conclusion: Obama's maternal grandmother was fearful of an overly aggressive panhandler, who happened to be an African American. Hence, she was clearly a "typical white person" who exemplified "the nature of race in our society," a woman who made Obama "cringe". On the flip side, since Obama has never made mention of the bigoted letter that his paternal grandfather, Hussein Onyanga, penned to his son, that could only mean that Onyango was clearly an unprejudiced, unbiased and open-minded individual, who rightfully had legitimate concerns about "the Obama blood" being "sullied by a white woman." If this was not the case, Obama would certainly have mentioned the aforementioned letter in his book and in his speech about race relations. You can be certain about that one! Ahem..............

Obama lies again: Grandmother Madelyn Dunham unable to attend college? Bias?

While many in this country have long recognized the President's penchant for lying, sadly, there are millions of Americans who are only now beginning to take notice of this phenomenon. But of course, as the old adage goes: "Better late than never."

Nevertheless, this incredible urge to lie grabbed hold of the President once again during a fundraiser in San Francisco on Monday, when he told the crowd:

"Every morning I try to think back to how I got involved in public service in the first place, and I think back to my own family’s story... And I think about my grandmother, who, partly because of how women were treated when she was growing up, wasn’t able to go to college herself, but worked her way up from being a secretary to being the vice president of a bank — and then hit the glass ceiling, and probably could have gone a little further if it hadn’t been for some of the bias that existed at the time."

The President asserted that, "my grandmother..., partly because of how women were treated when she was growing up, wasn’t able to go to college herself."

Problem is, Obama's grandmother - who later became a vice president of a bank - DID go to college.

While residing in Berkeley, California, Obama's grandmother - Madelyn Dunham - attended the University of California, Berkeley. When she moved to Washington State, she attended the University of Washington.

Dunham later expressed regret that, while she DID go to college, she never finished college, and never got a degree. Dunham worked at various jobs over the years to help support her family, and that appears to be the reason she never completed college.

Hence the aforementioned statement from President Obama: "My grandmother..., partly because of how women were treated when she was growing up, wasn’t able to go to college herself," appears to be just one more lie among the seemingly endless list of Obama lies.

As far as the second half of the President's statement is concerned: "My grandmother... worked her way up from being a secretary to being the vice president of a bank — and then hit the glass ceiling, and probably could have gone a little further if it hadn’t been for some of the bias that existed at the time."

Suffice it to say that Obama's grandmother became the Vice President at the Bank of Hawaii [Bankoh], which reportedly was the No. 1 bank in Hawaii during that period of time, in terms of assets. Likewise, Joe Biden became the Vice President of the World's No. 1 superpower, but he never did make it to the top, and will likely never make it to the top. Hence the question arises: Did Mr. Biden hit the "glass ceiling"? Or was the "glass ceiling" a special device created exclusively for Obama's grandmother?

Related Post: Stanley Ann Dunham - Flashback - Obama also lied about his mother's health care coverage

Same old, same old Hassan Rouhani boasts of creating rift in the opposition & the sanctions

A numbers of years ago, while Hassan Rouhani - the current President of Iran - was serving as the top negotiator on Iran's nuclear program, Rouhani boasted to a group of Iranian clerics that while he was stalling and conducting protracted negotiations with the west, Iran was able to utilize that period of time to improve its nuclear capabilities.

Rouhani also recounted to the clerics an essential component of his negotiating strategy, namely to create a rift in the opposition, a split among those western countries who were opposed to Iran's nuclear program.

Fast forward to the current moment in time, and Rouhani is once again boasting about his unique prowess in using negotiations, and the current agreement he signed with the Obama administarion, to create a rift in the sanctions and a split among the opposition in the west.

Same old, same old Rouhani. But even sadder than that, same old, same old, Obama........

Video below:

Obamacare: Baucus asks Sebelius, "What's a Navigator?"; Curly, of the Three Stooges, responds

During a Senate Finance Comittee hearing in April, Sen. Max Baucus asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius: "What's a Navigator?"

The Senator asked her that question because, at that time, he felt very few people knew what a Navigator was.

However, after Secretary Sebelius admitted to Sen. John Cornyn, during a senate hearing last week, that convicted felons could potentially become Navigators, because there is no federal requirement for them to undergo criminal background checks - and, after an undercover camera crew recently filmed Obamacare Navigators advising applicants to lie on their enrollment forms to avoid higher insurance premiums - there is no doubt that most Americans now know with absolute clarity what a Navigator is.

But apparently, the ever-prescient Curly - of the Three Stooges - was already able to foresee, in his time, what a Navigator is. See the video below.

If only Curly were alive today, Sen. Baucus could have asked him the question.

Oh, well......

Cornyn calls for Obamacare Navigator program to be stopped after undercover video showed navigators advising applicants to lie

During a Senate Finance Committee hearing last Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted, in response to a question from Senator John Cornyn, that there is no federal requirement for Obamacare navigators to undergo a criminal background check and that is possible for convicted felons to become navigators.

Over the weekend, Conservative activist James O'Keefe and his undercover camera team - who helped bring down ACORN through a series of undercover videos - released a video which shows Obamacare navigators advising applicants, in Cornyn's home state of Texas, to lie on their enrollment forms to avoid paying higher premiums.

Apparently, Sen. Cornyn has heard and seen all he can stomach:

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) called on President Obama to halt the navigators program after it was reported that navigators are encouraging people to lie to evade the new health care system:

“Last week, Secretary Sebelius admitted that it’s ‘possible’ Obamacare navigators could be convicted felons. Now we’re seeing reports that navigators are encouraging the people they are supposed to help to lie.

“This behavior is unacceptable, and is yet another broken piece of a deeply flawed system. The Obama Administration should stop this program immediately. Texans should not be purposefully misled and more importantly, their privacy should not be put at risk.”

Afghanistan - U.S. paid over $150 million to companies who've financed terrorist attacks against U.S. soldiers

From ABC News:

The United States has paid more than $150 million to companies in Afghanistan that are accused of helping to finance terrorist attacks on American soldiers and facilities, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction...

A list of 43 companies in Afghanistan was compiled by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) using data from both classified Pentagon investigative reports and Commerce Department lists of terror-connected companies.

Among them is a road construction company the U.S. says is partly owned by a leader of the brutal Haqqani network, which was blamed for an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul that claimed 16 lives in 2011.

The cover letter of a classified investigation by the U.S. Army said there was evidence of a direct role of both the company and its owners "in the facilitation and operation of the Haqqani Network" and that "approximately $1-2 million per month flow[s] to Haqqani Network to finance its activities."...

But despite the broader findings, the Pentagon has resisted permanently blocking the companies from getting more U.S. contracts because, its lawyers say, it would violate the "due process" of the companies which would not be able to see the classified information that details their alleged ties to terror groups.

"The reason they've given us is that it's not fair to these contractors that the evidence that we've presented, and this is evidence collected by the United States government, is classified," said John Sopko,  the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). "That's the absurdity of it. We can probably attack them via drone on Monday and we'll issue them a contract on Tuesday."...

Sopko says the Army needs to permanently block the companies from receiving any more U.S. taxpayer money, given the seriousness of the information.

"I am a former prosecutor, I've seen the information and it made my hair stand on end," Sopko said.

In a quarterly report to Congress last July Sopko wrote, "I am deeply troubled that the U.S. military can pursue, attack, and even kill terrorists and their supporters, but that some in the U.S. government believe we cannot prevent these same people from receiving a government contract."

"I feel such a position is not only legally wrong, it is contrary to good public policy and contrary to our national security goals in Afghanistan," he said.

Obamacare: Obama evolving on the 'scare' factor, [heh] - Scare tactic? Or, a reality?

President Obama has asserted in the past that Republicans, in their criticism of Obamacare, have engaged in scare tactics.

The Republicans' contention that many Americans would not be able to keep their health insurance as a result of Obamacare, amounted to fear mongering, Obama asserted.

However, during an interview with Chuck Todd of NBC on Thursday, when Mr. Obama was asked about the latest reports confirming that many people will indeed lose their health insurance as a result of Obamacare, the President said, "You know, it means a lot to them, and it's SCARY to them. We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and that we're going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this."

Apparently, Mr. Obama was finally forced to confess, and to admit publicly, that Republicans were not engaging in scare tactics or fear mongering; they were simply stating the facts. And, as Mr. Obama so eloquently explained to Chuck Todd, the facts surrounding Obamacare are indeed "scary", and horrifying, to the millions of Americans who will lose their health insuranse as a result of Obamacare.

A belated confession from the President, who had no choice but to confess - but a confession nonetheless.

In September of 2009, Mr. Obama warned Republicans: "If you misrepresent what's in this [Obamacare] plan, we will call you out!"

However, it is the President who's been called out for deliberately lying about Obamacare.

"Do you feel like you owe these folks an apology for misleading them?" the President was asked last week.

"You know, it means a lot to them," said Obama, "and it's SCARY to them. We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and that we're going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this."

Sadly, the country at large finds itself in a tough, and horrifying, position as a consequence of Obamacare. And, without a repeal of the new law, the scare factor will remain hanging over this country indefinitely.

The President told Chuck Todd last week that he hears the frightened voices - but, has he really taken into account the vast majority of Americans who are strongly opposed to Obamacare? Has he listened to their voices at all?

The answer, scary as this may sound, is, "No"; he really couldn't care less.......

Obama offers no apology for lying on Obamacare; sorry, it was an accident - Like the Three Stooges

In an interview with Chuck Todd of NBC News on Thursday, President Obama  refused to apologize for lying to the American people when he pledged numerous times in the past  that, after the implementation of Obamacare, those who like their health insurance and doctors could keep them.

The President, instead, lied once again, and said that the infamous fib he had repeated over and over again was unintentional - an accident - despite the fact he knew with certainty millions could not keep their health insurance, as NBC News reported last month.

Unintentional, an accident; yeah, right; tell me about it. Heh.....

In the video below, the President explains everything, while clearing up all of the confusion, with the help of the Three Stooges.....

Ted Cruz introduces legislation to Offer Reward on Benghazi Terrorists who've been deliberately excluded from State Department's 'Rewards for Justice' program

Republican lawmakers have questioned why Al Qaeda terrorists involved in the Benghazi attacks were excluded from the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, a program which offers huge cash payments for tips leading to the capture of wanted terrorists.

Some have questioned whether this is more evidence that the Obama administration wishes to minimize the terrorism angle, and the Al Qaeda connection, in the Benghazi attacks.

Similarly, I noted last month that a State Department report, detailing the terror activities of Muhammad Jamal al Kashef - who previously served as a bodyguard to Al Qaeda chief - omitted Mr. Kashef's involvement in the Benghazi attacks.

Once again the aforementioned question arises.

Nevertheless, Senator Ted Cruz Thursday, introduced legislation to counter the State Department's refusal to include the the Benghazi terrorists in the Rewards for Justice program.

A press release issued by Sen. Cruz on Thursday noted:

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today introduced legislation to require the Secretary of State to offer a reward of up to $5 million for information on the Benghazi attacks or information that leads to the capture and prosecution of a suspect.

"The State Department's Rewards for Justice Program exists to help the U.S. identify and apprehend its enemies, but the Obama Administration has not used it to pursue the terrorists who attacked our personnel in Benghazi," Cruz said. "This legislation enables the Secretary of State to offer a substantial reward for information leading to the apprehension and prosecution of the suspects who have been identified.

The Rewards for Justice program has been a visible and successful element in the ongoing battle against terrorism. Since 1984, over $125 million has been distributed to more than 80 people.

To date, there has been no reward offered for the Benghazi terrorist suspects under the Rewards for Justice Program. Earlier this week, the State Department announced that they are giving out up to $5 million in exchange for info on drug lords. They did this without any new authorizing or appropriating legislation.

Last year, then-Senator Kerry and Senator Coons offered similar legislation to expand the Rewards for Justice program to help capture Joseph Kony. This bill passed the Senate unanimously and was enacted into law last year.

h/t - Washington Free Beacon

Time Magazine likening Chris Christie to an Elephant prompts Limbaugh to ask interesting question

The cover of Time Magazine's latest issue features a huge silohuette of Governor Chris Christie, with the tagline, "the Elephant in the Room," a reference to both the GOP symbol and Mr. Christie's weight.

Late night talk show host, David Letterman, for quite some time, made similar jokes about Gov. Christie, until the latter started chumming up to Mr. Obama - which ultimately compelled Letterman, a staunch Liberal advocate and strident critic of the GOP, to ask Mr. Christie, how he felt about him [Letterman], and if the Governor was, at all, bothered by his barbs.

"How do you feel about me?" the Liberal late night comedian, and renowned critic of the GOP, asked Gov. Christie.

"I made jokes about you - not just one or two, not just ongoing here and there [and] intermittent... Is it an issue, or is it not an issue? You tell me how you see things," said Letterman, who typically never shows any remorse about his past slights, unless the person he slighted is a newfound pal of  President Obama.

Nevertheless, Rush Limbaugh on Thursday questioned whether Time Magazine would have the gall to feature a similar cover with Barack Obama's image and the tagline "the Jackass in the Room", a reference to the Democratic Party symbol and, well..., President Obama.

Interestingly, various sources note that, "Presidential candidate Andrew Jackson was the first Democrat ever to be associated with the donkey symbol. His opponents during the election of 1828 tried to label him a "jackass" for his populist beliefs... Jackson was entertained by the notion and ended up using it to his advantage on his campaign posters."

President Obama and Time magazine could follow Andrew Jackson's lead and use the aforementioned symbol to their advantage, by attaching the tagline proposed by Mr. Limbaugh beneath the President's silohuette.

If Andrew Jackson "was entertained by the notion", no doubt, President Obama and the editors at Time Magazine would also find it extremely entertaining.......

Stanley Ann Dunham - Flashback - Obama also lied about his mother's health care coverage

President Obama's infamous pledge that those who like their health insurance plans and their doctors, can keep them, even after the implementation of the so-called Affordable Care Act, has already been discredited as an outright lie.

Sadly, Mr. Obama repeated this lie over and over again - in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and as late as September 2013.

However, it is worthwhile to recount another one of Obama's outright lies regarding health care - specifically regarding the late Stanley Ann Dunham's health insurance policy - a blatant lie which the President and First Lady repeated during the 2008 and 2012 Presidential campaigns.

The aforementioned lie is not on the same scale as the, "you can keep your insurance plan, if you like it" lie, because it does not directly impact the lives of millions of Americans in the same fashion. But it is a lie, nonetheless, and one deserving of an honorable mention. Heh.

The President made the claim that his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, shortly before her death, had been denied health care coverage for her medical treatment because of a pre-existing condition.

In October of 2008, during a Presidential debate with Senator John McCain, Obama went so far as to say: “For my mother to die... at the age of 53 and have to spend the last months of her life in the hospital room arguing with insurance companies because they’re saying that this may be a pre-existing condition and they don’t have to pay her treatment, there’s something fundamentally wrong about that.”

However, not surprisingly, Obama was lying.

Journalist, Janny Scott, in her biography of Stanley Ann Dunham, “A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother” - released in 2011 - tells the real story.

Scott reviewed correspondence between Dunham and the insurance company, and discovered that there was a dispute over disability coverage, not health insurance coverage.

Dunham, despite Barack Obama's claims, had health insurance that “covered most of the costs of her medical treatment," Scott revealed.

"According to [Dunham's] correspondence, Barry [Barack] helped her with insurance forms and letters in the immediate aftermath of her surgery,” Scott writes. "The hospital billed her insurance company directly, leaving Ann to pay only the deductible and any uncovered expenses... To cover those charges as well as living expenses, she filed a separate claim under her employer’s disability insurance policy. That policy, however, contained a clause allowing the company to deny any claim related to a preexisting medical condition."

The insurance company denied Dunham's disability claim because, two and a half months before she took on her new job, her doctor in Honolulu diagnosed her as having a serious and life-threatening illness. But, nevertheless, as noted earlier, despite Barack Obama's claims, the insurance company covered most of the costs of her medical treatment.

After the book was published in 2011, the White House released a statement, saying. “The president has told this story based on his recollection of events that took place more than 15 years ago.”

Apparently the President's memory started to grow dim in 2008, and he forgot that he had "helped [his mother] with insurance forms and letters in the immediate aftermath of her surgery," and that she had received insurance coverage for her medical treatment.

But, nevertheless, Mr. Obama repeated the lie, in 2012, even after the book was published.

What's more, in a 2012 campaign video, while trying to promote her husband's health care initiative, Michelle Obama falsely suggested that her mother-in-law's death could have been prevented were it not for the aforementioned insurance company and the supposedly bad insurance that she had.

"She never really had good, consistent insurance," the First Lady said. "That's a tough thing to deal with," watching a close one die of something that “could have been prevented. I don't think [Barack] wants to see anyone going through that."

An unadulterated lie.

The President's affinity for lying is deeply troubling - especially when it relates to serious matters like health insurance. But his ability to be so comfortable, and so at ease, when he lies - over and over and over again, without batting an eyelash - is deeply troubling too.

Ultimately, Mr. Obama is first and foremost a politician - perhaps the greatest, and most artful, politician of all-time - who has absolutely no anxieties or qualms with lying; it's part of his make-up. And, unless the mainstream media begins to call out Obama on all his lies, he will continue to be a cunning, serial liar, who lies unabatedly - without batting an eyelash - while craving, and enjoying, every minute of his lying sprees.

Sebelius to Senator Cornyn: It's possible for convicted felons to become Obamacare navigators

Responding to a question from Senator John Cornyn, during a senate hearing on Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted that there is no federal requirement for Obamacare navigators to undergo a criminal background check and that is possible for convicted felons to become navigators.

This latest admission from Secretary Sebelius, coupled with the inherent security flaws in the Obamacare website, should make the American people extremely happy and hopeful.



h/t - Fox News

"The Response was... 'Silence'!": Sen. Tim Scott grills Marilyn Tavenner about Healthcare.gov security flaws

Sen. Tim Scott R-S.C. grilled Marilyn Tavenner, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - the agency responsible for overseeing the troubled HealthCare.gov website - about security flaws in the Obamacare website, during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Tuesday.

Mr. Scott cited the case of a South Carolina constituent, Thomas Dougall, who used the website, and learned later that some of his personal information had been made available to a different user: North Carolina resident Justin Hadley.

Mr. Dougall said that he received a message from Mr. Hadley last Friday, saying he had received both Mr. Dougall's personal information and his wife's personal information after attempting to log on with his own username and password. Mr. Hadley emailed some screen shots of the personal info he received.

"I believe somehow the ACA, the Healthcare website has sent me your information, is what it looks like," Hadley told Dougall "I think there's a problem with the wrong information getting to the wrong people."

"He clearly had my information," Dougall said. "I knew he was legit. He wasn't a hacker. He's just a nice young guy who's frustrated because now he doesn't trust the system. I feel really sorry for him."

During Tuesday's hearing, Senator Scott grilled Ms. Tavenner about this issue, while raising a number of security concerns he had with the dreadful Obamacare website.

Mr. Dougall said late Tuesday that he "finally" received a phone call from Health & Human Services after the Senate hearing had ended on Tuesday afternoon - after Senator Scott had finished grilling Marilyn Tavenner.

"Miraculously, it appears that they have finally granted my request and taken all of my information and my account off of the website," Dougall said.

Dougall added that he was lucky to receive the phone call from Mr. Hadley informing him of the security breach.

But, he said, "I don't know who else besides Justin [Hadley] in North Carolina got my information. There are just no assurances."

"When I initially went to the website," Dougall said, "the first week, everybody was being told [the site] was secure, and as of yesterday, HHS finally admitted to me that my information wasn't secure. And, we've seen all these stories that this system is not secure, so I have no faith in that system anymore."

White House was warned 3 years ago about problems with the Obamacare rollout

The White House was warned about problems with the implementation and rollout of Obamacare three years prior to the launching of the Healthcare.Gov website, the Daily Mail reported on Monday, via CBS News.

In 2010, David Cutler, a health adviser to Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign, wrote a [four-page] memo to former White House economic adviser Larry Summers and former White House budget director Peter Orszag, warning them that the people involved in the healthcare rollout were lacking both the business experience and necessary skills to implement the new healthcare rollout. But the White House brushed aside these and other warnings.

The Washington Post reported that Mr. Summers, Mr. Orszag, and their staffs, agreed with Cutler's assessment. Subsequently, the Post reported, an ensuing battle inside the White House broke out: Summers, Orszag and members of the White House economic team urged the president to appoint an outside health reform “czar” with expertise in business, insurance and technology. However, the president’s top health aides, who steered the bill through congress, argued that they could handle the task.

Ultimately, the economic team never had a chance, the Post reported, because President Obama was insistent on having his health policy team be in charge of the rollout.

Obamacare speech, Obama cited Lincoln as his role model for Truth & Honesty, HEH!

The day before Obamacare passed the House, President Obama spoke to Democratic lawmakers about the debate surrounding the so-called Affordable Care Act, and stated: "I was tooling through some of the writings of some previous presidents, and I came upon this quote by Abraham Lincoln: 'I am not bound to win, but I'm bound to be true'..."

Whether Abraham Lincoln actually uttered those words is doubtful; historians say that there is no evidence Lincoln ever uttered the aforementioned statement.

Nevertheless, the President continued on with the, "I'm bound to be true'" theme, and later went on to say: "I noticed that there's been a lot of friendly advice offered all across town. (Laughter.) Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Karl Rove -- they're all warning you of the horrendous impact if you support this legislation... It turns out that in fact people who like their health insurance are going to be able to keep their health insurance.... People will discover that if they like their doctor, they'll be keeping their doctor..."

Truer words have never been uttered; Honest Abe would be proud of Obama. Heh......

"I am not bound to win, but I'm bound to be true..."

Heh.......

Why is there no Health Warning posted on the Obamacare, Healthcare.Gov website?

The US Surgeon General is the nation's leading spokesperson on matters of public health. His primary tasks are to educate the American people about health matters and to issue health warnings, like the warning labels on cigarettes packages, where the Surgeon General cautions the public to be aware of the hazards of cigarette smoking.

Question: Why is there no health warning posted on the Healthcare.Gov website cautioning the American people that the severe anguish and torturous ordeal of logging on to the  website can be extremely hazardous to one's mental health?

The Healthcare.Gov website also has the potential to cause harm to one's physical health, when one loses his old health insurance due to Obamacare stipulations, and he is misled to believe - via the website - that an equally [low] priced health policy, with identical coverage, can be obtained through Obamacare.

It would behoove the Surgeon General to see to it that these health warnings are posted on the Healthcare.Gov website.

Obamacare website Halloween Horror Parody, President explains website - Video Parody version 2

President Obama explains how to use the Obamacare, Healthcare.gov website in this frightening Halloween horror parody.



An earlier parody of the President demonstrating the use of his website can be found by clicking here.

Obama administration's reluctance to capture Benghazi terrorist brings old questions to the fore

The Obama administration passed up an opportunity to capture an Al Qaeda terrorist facing charges in the Benghazi terror attack because the White House feared the raid to apprehend him would evoke a negative reaction from the Libyan people and possibly destabilize the fragile Libyan government, CNN reported on Tuesday, via anonymous U.S. officials - who undoubtedly work in the Obama administration.

Earlier this month, U.S. special operations forces seized another al Qaeda operative in Tripoli, and,  were just hours away from potentially launching an additional raid to capture Ahmed Abu Khattalah, the aforementioned terrorist involved in the Benghazi attacks, CNN reported.

However, U.S. officials [Obama administration cronies] told CNN that, "With the Libyan government dealing with public outcry about the U.S. incursion into Libya, the White House became worried any raid in Benghazi could destabilize, and potentially bring down the fragile Libyan government."

Mr. Khattalah had openly operated in Benghazi for months and was interviewed by CNN's Arwa Damon, CNN reported.

Of course, the Obama administration's anxiety about evoking a negative reaction from the Libyan people, and consequently its reluctance to send U.S. Special Ops to capture Ahmed Abu Khattalah, raises the old question of whether the White House' failure, last year, to rescue the four Americans killed in the Benghazi attacks, was also due to similar anxieties, including potential public outcry from the Libyan people, anger from the Libyan government, battling Al Qaeda terrorists in Benghazi in light of the President's promise that support of the Libyan rebellion would not entail sending boots on the ground - and a looming Presidential election.

Ultimately, the Obama administration's inaction during the 2012 Benghazi attacks raised a host of questions, which were never really answered.

Defense Department officials, the likes of former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey, and U.S. Army Gen. Carter Ham, offered up contradictory statements - often contradicting their own statements - about the Benghazi debacle.

However, one of Panetta's contradictory statements is one of my all-time favorites from the Benghazi fiasco.

As I noted previously:

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta offered up two contradictory explanations as to why there was no military operation to rescue U.S. officials who were under attack in Benghazi on September 11, 2012.

During an October 2012 press briefing, Panetta claimed he was lacking real-time information at the time, and as a result of not having this information, he felt he couldn't send the FAST platoons, and other forces that were deployed in the region, into "harm's way" in "that situation". Hence, he made the decision not to send the forces to Benghazi.

However, during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February of 2013, Panetta offered up a different excuse [prevarication]: There was no conscious decision, on his part, not to send forces to Benghazi, into "harm's way". But rather, the reason why U.S. forces did not head out to Benghazi was because the attack at the U.S. consulate had ended before they could get off the ground. And, Panetta added, there was no reason to assume that the CIA annex would later come under attack - despite the fact that there were two attacks on the annex, more than four hours apart.

Two different, contradictory, explanations from Panetta; par for the course, for this administration...

Benghazi terror attacks omitted Twice by State Department - 1) 'Rewards for Justice program' 2) Terror designation report

Republican lawmakers want to know why the Al Qaeda terrorists involved in the Benghazi attacks were excluded from the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, a program which offers huge cash payments for tips leading to the capture of wanted terrorists.

Fox News reported that a ranking Republican lawmaker believes this is "more evidence that the Obama White House wants to minimize the terrorism angle in that attack."

In a related post on Thursday, I noted that Thomas Joscelyn of The Long War Journal reported that:

The UN, on Oct. 18, added Muhammad Jamal al Kashef - who previously served as a bodyguard to Al Qaeda chief, Ayman al Zawahiri - to its its list of individuals and entities subject to sanctions, including the freezing of assets, travel bans etc.

However, Mr.  Joscelyn  notes that, although the State Department - like the UN - added al Kashef to its list of designated terrorists, and although the State Department's report on al Kashef contains many of the details mentioned in the UN report, nevertheless two key elements in the UN report, pertaining to al Kashef's terrorist activities, were omitted from the State Department's report.

The UN report notes that al Kashef - who previously served as a bodyguard to Al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri - and members of al Kashef's terrorist network are "reported to be involved in the attack on the United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya, on 11 Sep. 2012."

But the State Department, in its report, blatantly omitted this fact.

But, as the honorable Hillary Clinton would say: "What difference does it make?" Lol.

Read the full post here.

Ultimately, 1) the Al Qaeda terrorists involved in the Benghazi attacks were excluded from the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, and,  2) the terrorist attacks in Benghazi were omitted from the State Department's report on the Al Qaeda bodyguard, Muhammad Jamal al Kashef.

Interesting, to say the least......