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.