Healthcare.gov isn't secure, says Rep. Mike Rogers, the House Intelligence Committee Chairman

House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Rep. Mike Rogers, told CNN on Sunday that he has serious concerns about the security of the Obamacare website.

CNN's Candy Crowley: On the subject of health care..., you expressed again your real fear about the security of Obamacare as we call it, especially with the hub with seven sort of federal entities gathering information in one place.

We're now told that they should have the computer system and the software fixed by the end of November. Can they fix the security problems by the end of November?

Rep. Mike Rogers: Boy, I don't - this worries me a lot, Candy. The fact that they have different segments of people controlling pieces of information and they say, "well, we don't store information." But they have to store your application at some point. And that's a lot of your very personal information. And it was very clear to me in the hearing that they do not have an overarching solid cybersecurity plan to prevent the loss of private information.

I'm even more concerned today than I was even last week. I know that they've called in another private entity to try to help with the security of it. The problem is they may have to redesign the entire system. The way the system is designed, it is not secure. It is something called a "boundary". So every time one agency goes to another agency with a piece of information, that is called a "boundary". That's the most - that's the weakest, most vulnerable part of that conversation. And it was clear to me that they don't have those boundaries secure. And that's what I'm concerned about.

Reagan's Daughter, Patti Davis: Why Am I Losing My Health Insurance?

In a twitter posting on Friday, liberal activist, Patti Davis, the daughter of former President Ronald Reagan, echoed the sentiment of thousands upon thousands of American citizens, when she tweeted the following question: "Could the president please explain why I and others are losing our health ins. plans? Wasn't supposed to happen!" Newsmax reported on Sunday.

Ms. Davis, who is known for her rebellious, liberal streak, had been estranged from her parents for a number of years, Newsmax noted, but she later reconciled with both of them, despite her staunch Liberal views and free-spirited nature.

In recent weeks, Ms. Davis has expressed disappointment with President Obama, particularly with the way he handled the recent government shutdown, Newsmax noted. And, while Davis remains a staunch Liberal activist, who blames the shutdown primarily on Republicans, she nevertheless had some harsh words for President Obama.

In an open letter to President Obama, she wrote:

[Excerpts from the letter] Dear Mr. President.

Since you have quoted my father on a number of occasions, always strategically, always with a political goal in mind, I thought you might like to know something about him as a man... You’re the president. And if you are going to quote my father, you might want to learn from him.

We all remember your campaign tag of “no drama Obama.” Interesting that there has been one drama after another in your presidency, this last one [the government shutdown] really tipping the scales. My father would never have thought to announce he wasn’t about drama. He just wasn’t. It was how he lived, how he conducted himself. If you live it, you don’t need to talk about it. He believed with all his heart that he was given a destiny to fulfill, that whatever he did as president was for the good of all Americans. That’s why he talked to the American people in the heartfelt way that garnered him the title of the Great Communicator.

Mr. President, when you talk to us — on the few occasions that you do — you seem annoyed, as if this job you campaigned for is keeping you from something else you’d rather be doing. It seems like you don’t like us very much [Editors Note: Chris Matthews made the same point last year during an interview], and whether people agreed with my father or disagreed with him, they always came away believing that he liked them...

Announcing that you won’t negotiate is not showing leadership, it’s showing a pouting face to the country and the world. My father understood leadership. He understood that it’s a mix of strength, gentleness, and humor. He would never have frozen out the opposing party...

You have talked often about reaching across the aisle.But do you extend your hand with kindness, with an understanding that the person you’re reaching toward believes as fervently as you do that he is right? Or are you just following a political map?...

[My father] could negotiate successfully with those from the other side of the aisle. He saw their humanity even if he thought they were wrong. He would never have insulted them, or frozen them out. He understood that Americans elect a president... who can handle things better than they do, not someone who complains and grumbles in the same ways they do.

Mr. President..., my father... had humility, and in that humility was great strength. He had a kindness toward other human beings that transcended political boundaries. That’s what brought this country to a standstill when he died. Maybe people are born with those attributes, maybe they can learn them. I don’t know. I’m trying hard every day to learn from the man whose DNA runs through my veins. Maybe you could try a little harder to learn from him too.

Sorry to shatter your dreams, Patti, and I'm sorry that I can't draw upon your father's spirit of optimism in this instance. But Mr. Obama will always remain who he is, and he will never, ever learn from your father the attributes of humility, kindness or any of the other noble character traits that your father possessed.

I'm sorry to shatter your dreams, but what can I do? The truth can be shattering.

Merkel cell phone tap - Obama: 'I know nothing!'; NSA Official: 'The President knows everything!'

President Obama claims he didn't know that the NSA was eavesdropping on the cell phone conversations, and text messages, of German chancellor Angela Merkel; an NSA official, however, refuted the President's assertion.

The economic Times reported that the NSA official is a “high-ranking” official.

This post does not delve into the question of whether eavesdropping on the cell phones of foreign leaders is judicious or not, but rather this post is about 1) hypocrisy and the 2) President's propensity to deny knowledge of the myriad of scandals that have plagued his administration, or any, and all, matters that might be politically damaging to him, if he were to have prior knowledge of these matters.

During the 2012 Presidential campaign, when Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, criticized President Obama for being too soft with Russia, the latter mocked Mr. Romney. "The Cold War's been over for 20 years," the President said. But of course, while the cold war may be officially over, Russia's current relationship with the U.S is anything but warm; and Russia's current foreign policy clearly evokes a cold war sentiment.

Nevertheless, the Politician-in-Chief buried his head in the sand and asserted, "The Cold War's been over for 20 years." Which brings us to the following related news item about eavesdropping on foreign leaders, and consequently, Obama's hypocrisy

A German newspaper said on Sunday that U.S. President Barack Obama knew his intelligence service was eavesdropping on Angela Merkel as long ago as 2010, contradicting reports that he had told the German leader he did not know.

Germany received information this week that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had bugged Merkel's mobile phone, prompting Berlin to summon the U.S. ambassador, a move unprecedented in post-war relations between the close allies.

The [German newspaper], citing a "U.S. intelligence worker involved in the NSA operation against Merkel", said NSA chief General Keith Alexander informed Obama in person about it in 2010.

"Obama didn't stop the operation back then but let it continue," the mass-market paper quoted the source as saying. The [newspaper] said Obama in fact wanted more material on Merkel, and ordered the NSA to compile a "comprehensive dossier" on her. "Obama, according to the NSA man, did not trust Merkel and wanted to know everything about the German," the paper said.

White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden declined to comment and reiterated the standard policy line that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations.

[The German Newspaper] said the NSA had increased its surveillance, including the contents of Merkel's text messages and phone calls, on Obama's initiative and had started tapping a new, supposedly bug-proof mobile she acquired this summer, a sign the spying continued into the "recent past"...

[The newspaper] said some NSA officials were becoming annoyed with the White House for creating the impression that U.S. spies had gone beyond what they had been ordered to do...

Nevertheless, like Sergeant Schultz of Hogans Heroes, Obama apparently "knows nothing" about any or all matters that might be politically damaging to him, if he were to have prior knowledge of these matters. However, in all other matters, he is by far the most knowledgeable person on the planet.

The rift over U.S. surveillance activities first emerged this year with reports that Washington had bugged European Union offices and tapped half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany in a typical month.

Merkel's government said in August - just weeks before a German election - that the United States had given sufficient assurances it was complying with German law.

A similar assurance was given to the American people, in the summer, regarding the NSA's domestic spying program, when President Obama asserted that the NSA was complying with American law.

"I am comfortable that the program currently is not being abused," Obama said. "I am comfortable that if the American people examined exactly what was taking place..., that they would say, `You know what? These folks are following the law.'"

Obama added, "If you are outside of the intelligence community, if you are the ordinary person and you start seeing a bunch of headlines saying, U.S., Big Brother, looking down on you, collecting telephone records, et cetra, well, understandably people would be concerned. I would be too if I wasn't inside the government." Heh......

CBS reported in July:

Responding to reports that the United States has been spying on the European Union, President Obama... suggested that every nation engages in that kind of covert intelligence gathering.

"They're going to be trying to understand the world better and what's going on in world capitals around the world, from sources that aren't available through the New York Times or NBC News," Mr. Obama said. "I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders."

Mr. Obama stressed that European nations remain "some of the closest allies that we have in the world" and that he maintains close, constructive relationships with European leaders.

"I'm the end user of this kind of intelligence," he said. "And if I want to know what Chancellor Merkel is thinking, I will call Chancellor Merkel."

But of course, the President would be too embarrassed to ask Angela Merkel what she had for breakfast, hence, there was no other option but to tap her cell phone.......

Avid screamer, Hillary Clinton, tells heckler to stop yelling, University of Buffalo - Video Remix, Parody

During a speech at the University of Buffalo on Wednesday night, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - an avid and passionate screamer - told a heckler to stop yelling. Heh..........

Video Remix below - Parody:

Obamacare Roll Out, Definition = Heads Roll?

There have been calls from both Democrats and Republicans for heads to start rolling in the Obama administration due to the disastrous implementation of Obamacare and the myriad of problems inherent in the Affordable Care Act.

I was just wondering whether the head-rolling aspect of Obamacare is the reason why the Obamacare implementation has been referred to as the Obamacare ROLL OUT, as in 'roll out the heads'. Just wondering. I'm not really sure.

Comical - Howard Dean blames Republicans for Obamacare roll out, website woes - Video Remix, Parody

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman, Howard Dean, on Thursday blamed Republicans for the disastrous roll out of Obamacare, and the broken Healthcare.Gov website - during an appearance on the the Morning Joe program.

Of course, the Republican opposition to Obamacare has no connection whatsoever to the inoperative, crooked and misleading website - which the Obama administration had over three years to set up. Moreover, the postponement of the employer mandate, the skyrocketing costs of health insurance and the thousands upon thousands of Americans who are losing their current healthcare insurance are huge problems that are completely unrelated to the Republican opposition to Obamacare.

But, Howard Dean is first and foremost a politician, and disingenuously blaming the GOP for the disastrous roll out of Obamacare is right up his alley.

Al Qaeda terrorist's involvement in Benghazi attack omitted from State Department report. But why?

Why did a State Department report omit the involvement of an Al Qaeda terrorist in the Benghazi terrorist attacks?

There's no need to answer that question; the answer is obvious to anyone who followed the Obama administration's cover-up scheme in the days, weeks and months after the Benghazi attack.

Nevertheless it's worthwhile to point out the blatant omission.

Thomas Joscelyn of the The Long War Journal reports 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.

Al Kashef's involvement in an Egyptian terrorist cell [Nasr City terrorist cell] was also omitted from the State Department's report.

But why, you ask?

Answer: Mr. Joscelyn notes that al Kashef, who previously served as an Al Qaeda bodyguard, and another leader of the Egyptian Nasr City cell, "had been imprisoned prior to the Egyptian revolution but [were] released in 2011." They were re-arrested in November 2012. And, as Mr. Joscelyn notes in a separate post: "After his release from prison in 2011, Kashef established training camps in Egypt and Libya. Some of Kashef’s trainees took part in the Benghazi attack, according to multiple reports."

That explains why  the involvement of al Kashef - the al Qaeda bodyguard - in the Egyptian terrorist cell was omitted from the State Department report. But "what difference does it make anyway?".............

Related Post, that is unrelated to al Kashef: Key suspects in Benghazi attack Linked to Top al-Qaida Leaders

Key suspects in Benghazi attack Linked to Top al-Qaida Leaders

From Newsmax:

At least two suspects in the deadly Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi had worked with senior al-Qaida leaders, Fox News reported Wednesday.

Citing two unnamed sources, Fox reported one suspect was believed to be a courier for the al-Qaida network, and the other a bodyguard in Afghanistan prior to the 2001 terror strikes.

The direct ties to the terror group's senior leadership undercut early White House characterizations that attackers in the Libya seige were isolated “extremists" with no organizational structure or affiliation.

Counterterrorism expert Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News investigators are finding "more and more ties -- not just to al-Qaida's branch in North Africa ... but al-Qaida senior leadership in Pakistan."

A year ago, Fox [News] reported a former Guantanamo detainee, Sufian bin Qumu, was suspected of training jihadists in eastern Libya for the attack that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Fox reported Wednesday that Benghazi suspect Faraj al-Chalabi, also a Libyan national whose ties to Osama bin Laden date back to 1998, is believed to be a former bodyguard who was with the al-Qaida leadership in Afghanistan in 2001.

After the Benghazi attack, al-Chalabi fled to Pakistan where reports suggest he was held, then later returned to Libyan custody and eventually released, Fox News said.

“Our sources say al-Chalabi is suspected of bringing materials from the compound to Benghazi to al-Qaida senior leadership in Pakistan," Joscelyn told Fox. "It's not clear what those materials consisted of but he is known to have gone back to Pakistan immediately after the attack."

[Related post: Al Qaeda terrorist's involvement in Benghazi attack omitted from State Department report]

Separately, and for the first time, [the head of the House Intelligence Committee, Chairman Mike] Rogers [R-Mich] laid out a timeline for the attack that suggests significant advance planning, Fox News reported.

According to the congressman, there was an “aspirational phase” several months out, where the idea of an attack was thrown around, followed by “weeks” of operational planning, and then the ramp up to the assault that lasted up to several days...

"And so this notion that they just showed up and decided this was a spontaneous act does not comport with the information at least with what we have seen in the intelligence community," Rogers told Fox News

Initial White House statements said the attack was “spontaneous” and achieved with little planning.

The CIA and the National Counter-terrorism Center declined to comment; the FBI didn't immediately comment.

Healthcare.Gov: President Obama explains the Obamacare Website - Parody, Video

President Obama demonstrates to the American people how to use the disastrous [albeit, comical] Obamacare website:

Obamacare website giving misleading and false price estimates

From CBS News:

The new "shop and browse" feature [on the Obamacare website] often comes with the wrong price tags.[Par for the course.]

Industry analysts, such as Jonathan Wu, point to how the website lumps people only into two broad categories: "49 or under" and "50 or older." Wu said it's "incredibly misleading for people that are trying to get a sense of what they're paying."

Prices for everyone in the 49-or-under group are based on what a 27-year-old would pay. In the 50-or-older group, prices are based on what a 50-year-old would pay.

CBS News ran the numbers for a 48-year-old in Charlotte, N.C., ineligible for subsidies. According to HealthCare.gov, she would pay $231 a month, but the actual plan on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina's website costs $360, more than 50 percent higher. The difference: Blue Cross and Blue Shield requests your birthday before providing more accurate estimates.

The numbers for older Americans are even more striking. A 62-year-old in Charlotte looking for the same basic plan would get a price estimate on the government website of $394. The actual price is $634...

Chini Krishnan is the chief executive officer of GetInsured.com. His company helped design California's new health-care-exchange website. It requires people to enter their birthdays to get a real price quote. Krishnan said, "It's important that the users have a proper, trustworthy, honest brand experience when they interact with HealthCare.gov, and I think providing accurate prices is an integral component of that."

Industry executives CBS News spoke with could not believe the government is providing these estimates, which they said were useless and could easily mislead consumers. They also said that the website repeatedly states the actual prices could be lower, but it makes no mention that they could be higher

Not surprising at all. Par for the course...........

Obamacare Website Debacle: Obama hides the real truth, offers excuse, but says there's no excuse

During a press conference, on October 1, the day the Obamacare website was launched, President Obama offered up an excuse to explain why the website was malfunctioning: The sheer volume of unexpected traffic, he claimed, was the source of the problem. On October 5, in an interview with the AP, Obama offered up the same excuse.

But, on October 21, with the Obamacare website still malfunctioning, Obama was forced to change course.

"There's no excuse for the problems", he admitted [reluctantly]. "There's no sugarcoating it."

However, the President - in typical fashion - refused to reveal the real truth.

What he omitted from his remarks - and what he is still covering up - is the fact, that, in a test run, days before healthcare.gov was launched, the website crashed with just a few hundred people logging on simultaneously. Moreover, a testing group begged for a delay in the launching of the website because it was still riddled with problems.

But Obama, ever the politician that he is, chose to launch the faulty website rather than postpone its debut, because he was not prepared to suffer the political embarrassment of having to delay his prized healthcare exchange debacle.

Par for the course..........

Sebelius unavailable to attend congressional hearing on Obamacare tech problems, but available for Comedy Central interview

From Reuters:

Republicans in Congress chastised President Barack Obama's top health adviser, [Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius], on Thursday for declining to testify before an oversight panel about problems in rolling out the president's signature healthcare program known as Obamacare.

Less than a day after Congress ended a 16-day partial government..., they sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius demanding she make officials available for the October 24 hearing.

The online insurance exchanges that are a central part of Obamacare rolled out on October 1 despite the shutdown but have been hobbled by technical difficulties...

The letter from majority members of the committee said they invited Sebelius on October 11 to appear at the hearing, only to learn on Wednesday that she would not attend. The administration has not agreed to provide other administration officials, the letter added.

"It's well past time for the administration to be straight and transparent with the American people," said a separate statement by Republican Representative Fred Upton, who chairs the panel...

Sebelius recently [last week] appeared on the cable-television comedy program, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" for an interview that focused on the website's problems.

But HHS and the White House have largely declined to disclose information about the problems plaguing the federal marketplace's information technology system, which cost nearly $400 million to build, according to a report by the watchdog Government Accountability Office.

"This is wholly unacceptable. Secretary Sebelius had time for Jon Stewart, and we expect her to have time for Congress," Upton said.

In defense of Secretary Sebelius, however, it is worthy to note that Comedy Central is a comedy news network, and thus it the most appropriate venue to discuss the rollout of President Obama's comedic, albeit disastrous, health care law. A congressional hearing, on the other hand, is a more serious venue, which makes it an unsuitable setting to discuss comical matters the likes of Obamacare, despite the serious effect that this new side-splitting legislation will have on the American people.

Hence, Sebelius prefers Comedy Central over a congressional hearing.

When did Obama learn military families were being denied death benefits?

Fox News reported earlier today:

The Pentagon announced Wednesday that a charity will step in to pay death benefits [$100,000 payments] to the families of fallen soldiers, in response to widespread outrage over the payments being cut off amid the partial government shutdown...

The House voted Wednesday afternoon to restore the $100,000 payments. But in a rapid turn of events, the Pentagon announced minutes later that it had entered into an agreement with the non-profit Fisher House Foundation to keep the payments flowing to families -- without the need for congressional action.

GOP leaders... say legislation approved last week to pay the military should have given the Pentagon the ability to pay death benefits...

During a White House press briefing on Wednesday, Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that President Obama was "very disturbed to learn of this problem" and directed the Pentagon to work with the White House budget office to correct it. This prompted FOX News Chief White House Correspondent Ed Henry to ask Mr. Carney when the President actually learned of the problem. Mr. Carney, however, danced around the issue, and refused to give a straight answer. Instead, he resorted to an old political trick of turning the tables around, feigning indignation, and accussing Mr. Henry of partisanship.

Reuters reported on Wednesday: "A senior administration official said Obama raised his concerns about the stoppage in payments Tuesday night during an evening walk around the White House grounds with his chief of staff, Denis McDonough. He directed McDonough to get the problem solved within 24 hours."

On Wednesday evening, however, Mr. Henry "did some more digging" and discovered that White House aids were cognizant of the problem at least a few days ago.

"I did some more digging tonight," Mr. Henry told Fox News anchor Megan Kelly. "And inside the administration people are saying unofficially that aids around here knew about this a few days ago. Now, how quickly that filtered to the President, we still don't know; they haven't answered that question. But if the President knew about it 2, 3 days ago, that would suggest maybe it would be politically embarrassing for them if they were to say that he knew back then, but didn't actually move quickly to issue an executive order, or whatever may be the case."

And that would explain why Mr. Carney refused to answer Mr. Henry's question.

However, in the President's defense, it's important to note the following: Even if Obama did learn about the problem a few days ago - Sunday is usually his golf outing day, Sunday evening he likely was watching the MLB playoff games, Monday he had to review his golf score and the MLB playoff standings, Tuesday morning he gave a press conference, Tuesday afternoon he was busy assessing his press conference remarks. Hence, Tuesday evening was the first moment in time that he was actually free to address the problem of paying death benefits to the families of fallen soldiers.

Do the math; it all adds up......

Of course, as Mr. Henry pointed out to Megan Kelly, reporters already discussed the death benefit problem a couple of weeks ago - but Obama is not a reporter, hence there's no way he would have been aware of this problem. Moreover, he had more serious problems to deal with: the malfunctioning of the Obamacare websites..........

Violence in Iraq, Obama's "No residual U.S. force" policy, and Afghanistan

From Fox News:

5,740 Iraqis have been killed so far this year. Almost 1,000 died during the past month... In the last year, Al-Qaeda has resurged in Iraq, carrying out attacks in Baghdad and surrounding provinces...

“This reflects the general deterioration of the security situation in Iraq over the past several years since the Obama Administration pulled American forces out,” said John Bolton, the former United States Ambassador to the UN... "Many people thought they [the Obama administration] could have worked out an agreement with the al-Maliki regime to keep [a residual U.S. force] there, but they didn't want to... So... the country itself is again becoming destabilized. And Al Qaeda has returned despite being defeated in the surge of 2006 and 2007.”

From Polisite:

When the NATO combat mission in Afghanistan concludes at the end of 2014 there is a distinct possibility that the US will have no option for a residual force in the war torn nation. The talks to get a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)... have reached an impasse... The impasse, after a year of talks, has increased the prospect of what the Americans call the zero option — complete withdrawal — when the NATO combat mission concludes at the end of 2014.

This is... a situation which is similar to the problematic Iraq withdrawal two years ago. The absence of a treaty, and thus a US residual force, has permitted Al Qaeda to infiltrate Iraq, and Iran is currently overflying Iraqi territory to deliver weapons and possibly fighters to Assad’s forces in Syria

Good grief.........

Female suicide bomber & Booby trap IED's kill 4 U.S. Service Members, Injure 13

From Fox News:

As the coffins of four U.S. service members returned to Dover, Del. Wednesday..., Fox News has learned new details about the attack in which they died Sunday in Afghanistan...

Fox News has learned that 13 other service members were also severely injured in the assault...

A Ranger regiment that included 36 troops and a canine unit were attempting to capture a high value target in Panjwai in southern Afghanistan. When the troops arrived at the home, U.S. military officials said, the unit did a typical “call out” asking for those inside to come out.

One man appeared. Reports from the battlefield suggest he dropped to his knees and lifted his shirt to show the U.S. forces that he was not wearing a suicide bomb vest.

As several members of the Ranger unit moved toward the man to begin questioning him, a woman wearing a suicide vest emerged from the house and blew herself up, killing several members of the unit instantly, along with the dog, and injuring others.

Another Afghan male tried to escape from the compound.

As U.S. army medics, explosives specialists and others in the unit moved in to help the wounded, 13 improvised explosive devices went off, killing and injuring more U.S. forces.

Obama administration: We're "clear-eyed" about Iran, we were "clear-eyed" about Benghazi threat

President Obama explained his decision to reach out to Iran's new President, Hassan Rouhani. "It is our preference to resolve these issues [concerning nuclear weapons] diplomatically," Mr. Obama told reporters on Monday. "But," he added, "we enter into these negotiations very clear-eyed."

Likewise, Hillary Clinton told lawmakers, earlier this year, during a congressional hearing on Benghazi: "We were clear-eyed about the threats and the dangers as they were developing in Eastern Libya, and in Benghazi [in the months prior to the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate]."

It goes without saying that Hillary's comments raised eyebrows.

One man's ObamaCare nightmare!

From Fox News:

Andy and Amy Mangione of Louisville, Ky. and their two boys are just the kind of people who should be helped by ObamaCare. But they recently got a nasty surprise in the mail... from [their] insurance carrier. (The letter said), "your action required, benefit changes, act now."...

It had stunning news. Insurance for the Mangiones and their two boys,which they bought on the individual market, was going to almost triple in 2014 --- from $333 a month to $965.

The insurance carrier made it clear the increase was in order to be compliant with the new health care law.

"This isn't a Cadillac plan, this isn't even a silver plan," Andy Mangione said, referring to higher levels of coverage under ObamaCare.

"This is a high deductible plan where I'm assuming a lot of risk for my health insurance for my family. And nothing has changed, our boys are healthy-- they're young --my wife is healthy. I'm healthy, nothing in our medical history has changed to warrant a tripling of our premiums.

"Well I'm the one that does the budget,” said his wife. "Eventually I've got that coming down the pike that I gotta figure out what we're gonna cut what we're gonna do, to afford a $1,000 a month premium."

Their insurance company, Humana, declined to comment, but the notice to the Mangiones carried this paragraph:

"If your policy premium increased, you should know this isn't unique to Humana -- premium increases generally will occur industry-wide.

"Increases aren't based on your individual claims or changes in health status," it continued. "Many other factors go in to your premium including: ACA compliance, including the addition of new essential health benefits."

ACA, of course, is the abbreviation for the President's new law, the Affordable Care Act -- which for the Mangiones will be anything but affordable because the law adds a new tax on every insurance policy and requires a list of additional benefits the Mangiones didn’t want to pay for.

Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for American Health Insurance Plans, which represents insurers,explained that "for people who currently choose to purchase a high deductible, low premium policy that's more affordable for them, they are now being required to add all these new benefits to their policy.

That," he says, "is also going to add to the cost of their health insurance premiums."...

Syria: Kerry, Lavrov, the Translator [translation], :"Hello?", "Hello?" - Assad and Obama - Geneva

Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, held a joint press conference in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday before sitting down to discuss the ongoing crisis in Syria. Mr. Lavrov concluded the press conference with a few final remarks. But Mr. Kerry said that he had lost some of the translation. When Kerry asked the translator to repeat the end of Lavrov's remarks, he did not receive an immediate response. "Hello?" Mr. Kerry said to the translator. "Hello?" the translator replied.

Mr. Lavrov then interjected and reassured Mr. Kerry that, "It was OK, John, don't worry."

Yep, nothing to worry about, John, everything is going to be hunky dory, dandy, just fine......

Obama falsely maligns George W. Bush in Syria address

During his address to the nation on Tuesday to explain his bumbling and incoherent policy on Syria, President Obama once again chose to engage in his favorite diversion tactic and his preferred pastime: falsely maligning his predecessor.

Mr. Obama suggested that George W. Bush went to war in Afghanistan, and Iraq, without congressional authorization. In truth, unlike Mr. Obama, who circumvented congress when he took military action in Libya, and nearly bypassed congress on Syria - while failing to garner significant global support for his actions - Mr. Bush received overwhelming congressional approval and formed a large international coalition to join the U.S. in its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But sadly, Obama obsessively spends every waking hour falsely maligning Mr. Bush in the hope that this will distract the American people and divert their attention from the failed Obama Presidency. [Hello Benghazi!]

Afghanistan: At least four killed, 120 civilians injured in Taliban attack on Afghan National Directorate of Security headquarters

At least four Afghan intelligence officers were killed and 120 civilians were injured Sunday in a suicide bomb attack and an ensuing gun battle between Taliban insurgents and Afghan security forces at the compound of the National Directorate for Security (NDS) [the Afghan intelligence headquarters] in Maidan Shahr, the capital of Wardak province in Afghanistan.

While U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan wind down operations and hand over security responsibility to the Afghan security forces, in accordance with President Obama's exit strategy, the first half of 2013 has seen a 23 percent increase in Afghan civilian casualties compared to the same period last year, according to a U.N. report.

Related post, January 13, 2013: With Obama's 2014 deadline approaching, Afghans fleeing their homeland

Putin and Obama's "slouch, bored kid" remarks

Asked during an August 9 press conference whether he can get 'big stuff done without having a good personal relationship with Russian Preident Vladimir Putin,' President Obama replied: "I don't have a bad personal relationship with Putin... I know the press likes to focus on body language and he's got that kind of slouch, looking like the bored kid in the back of the classroom. But the truth is, is that when we're in conversations together, oftentimes it's very productive."

The UK-Daily Mail, at the time, referred to Obama's comments as "a stunning dismissal of a head of state..."

Mr. Putin, apparently, isn't too happy with Obama's remarks: According to the New York Times, a Russian official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, said that Mr. Putin was infuriated by Obama's comments.

Perhaps, if the aforementioned slight came from a different U.S President, someone who is not so hell-bent on a reckless policy of appeasement, it would not be that surprising. [Although Rush Limbaugh believes that: "If Bush had said something like this it would be the news of the week and we'd be worried about whether or not nuclear war was about to break out and why in the world is Bush so stupid and insulting a leader like this, why in the world is it happening? Obama says it, and ho-hum."] However, the remarks emanated from Obama, the so-called "diplomat" par excellence, who, at the time, didn't appear to be trying to agitate Putin. "I don't have a bad personal relationship with Putin," Obama said. "When we have conversations, they're candid, they're blunt; oftentimes, they're constructive... The truth is, is that when we're in conversations together, oftentimes it's very productive."

The "diplomat par excellence" appears to be lacking in sensitivity, as he often insults people with his snide remarks and crude speech, like the time he callously took a swipe at Boston Celtic's point guard Rajon Rondo. Or, like the time he called a female reporter "sweetie".

Or, like the innumerable times he has belittled his political adversaries and heaped scorn on various segments of American society. However, when it comes to his political adversaries and various segments of American society, I would not ascribe Obama's crude language to "insensitivity", but rather, to demagogy and being deliberately mean.

Taliban wreaking havoc in Afghanistan as Obama facilitates his Afghan strategy

At least 18 people, including a U.S. soldier, were killed Wednesday when Taliban insurgents attacked a  joint NATO-Afghan military base in Afghanistan. More than 60 people were injured in the attack, including 24 women and schoolchildren and 10 Polish soldiers.

Taliban insurgents also ambushed an Afghan police convoy on Wednesday. Fifteen police officers were killed in the attack and ten were injured.

Additionally, in Helmand province, four Afghan civilians were killed and fifteen were injured Wednesday when a suicide car bomber attacked a coalition convoy. 

In a seperate attack in Hemland Province, a suicide bomber rammed a car into an Afghan army base, killing three soldiers and wounding four.

Additionally, six Afghan truck drivers were killed and 10 others were wounded overnight in a Taliban rocket attack that targeted trucks supplying fuel to NATO forces. Roughly 40 trucks were destroyed in the attack. Coalition forces rely heavily on these civilian truck drivers to transport the fuel. 

Taliban attacks in Afghanistan continue to increase as U.S. and coalition forces continue to withdraw from the country, thereby facilitating the Obama Afghan exit strategy. U.S. and coalition forces have already transferred security for the country to the Afghan forces.

Obama: My butlers are extremely proud of just how far "We've Come!"

President Obama said in an interview on Monday that the butlers currently working in the White House are extremely proud of just how far "We've Come!"

Mr. Obama was discussing the new movie, The Butler. The President said that, while he was watching the movie, he "teared up just thinking about not just the butlers who have worked here in the White House, but an entire generation of people who were talented and skilled, but because of Jim Crow, because of discrimination, there was only so far they could go."

The President went on to say: "The butlers who are now here in the White House, when we first arrived, when Michelle and the girls just first arrived, they could not have been kinder to us and warmer to us. And part of it, I suspect, is they look at Malia and Sasha and they say, well, this looks like my grandbaby, or this looks like my daughter. And I think for them to have a sense that we’ve come that far was a powerful moment for them, and certainly a powerful moment for us. We love them to death. They look after us just wonderfully."

Wife of American Pastor persecuted in Iran "disappointed that President Obama has chosen to remain silent"

“I am disappointed that as a country that was founded on religious freedom, our government has been awkwardly silent as an American citizen is wasting away in an Iranian prison because he chose to practice his religion. My husband is serving 8 years in the notorious Evin prison and facing daily threats and abuse. And yet, my President, President Obama, has not spoken a word about him. As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic speech defending freedom by Dr. Martin Luther King, a brave American who gave his life to fight for the freedom that is so fundamental to our way of life, I am extremely disappointed that President Obama has chosen to remain silent on this critical human and religious rights case of an American imprisoned in Iran.”
Naghmeh Abedini, the wife of Saeed Abedini, an Iranian American Christian pastor, who has been held in Iran in the notroriously brutal Evin Prison since September 2012. Saeed Abedini traveled to Iran to visit his family and continue his work to build an orphanage in the city of Rasht. He has been tortured and beaten while in prison in Tehran. Sadly, the Obama administration has remained notably lethargic and strangely silent while a host of innocent American citizens languished, and continue to languish, in foreign prisons under the directives of evil, corrupt and brutal officials. Meanwhile - because the Obama administration - with the collaboration of its sycophantic allies in the mainstream media - continues its policy of silence - the plight, and identities, of many of these detainees remain largely unknown to the American public.

Obama administration: Activity at Syria chemical weapons sites did not seem unusual. Huh?

U.S. officials detected activity at known Syrian chemical weapons sites in the days prior to Wednesday's chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb. But Obama administration officials claim this activity did not seem out of the ordinary, because, um, well, uh, because the assumption then was that the Syrians were moving things around for security reasons, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reported on Friday.

 Huh? Moving things around for security reasons? Heh. Yeah right, tell it to the marines.........

Obama: Wear my face on your shirt, I'll call on you - Binghamton University, town-hall

During a town-hall event at SUNY Binghamton University [in New York State] on Thursday, President Obama took a question from an audience member who was wearing an Obama t-shirt.

The President explained his decision to call on that individual: "Here's a general rule in a Presidential town-hall, if you want to get called on, wear the President's face on your shirt."

Incomes in U.S. Dropped Twice as Much During the 'Recovery' as During the Recession

The median annual household income in the U.S. has dropped more than twice as much during the so-called economic 'recovery' as it did during the recession.

New estimates derived from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey by Sentier Research indicate that the real (inflation-adjusted) median annual household income in America has fallen by 4.4 percent during the "recovery," after having fallen by 1.8 during the recession. During the recession, the median American household income fell by $1,002 (from $55,480 to $54,478). During the recovery—that is, from the officially defined end of the recession (in June 2009) to the most recent month for which figures are available (June 2013)—the median American household income has fallen by $2,380 (from $54,478 to $52,098). So the typical American household is making almost $2,400 less per year (in constant 2013 dollars) than it was four years ago, when the Obama "recovery" began.

Importantly, these income tallies include government payouts such as unemployment compensation and cash welfare. So Obama's method of funneling ever-more money and power to Washington, and then selectively divvying some of it back out, clearly isn't working for the typical American family.

U.S Home sales plummet to 9-month low, biggest decline in 3 years

Sales of new U.S. homes plummeted 13.4% in July to an annual rate of 394,000, their lowest level in nine months, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was the biggest decline in new home sales since May of 2010, more than three years ago. The government also revised sharply lower its estimate for new home sales in the months of May and June.

Obama gaffes, stumbles while speaking at University at Buffalo, blames it on his age

President Obama delivered a speech at the New York state university in Buffalo on Thursday. During his remarks, Obama called the mayor of Buffalo, Brian Higgins. However, Mr. Higgins is a NY congressman, and not a Mayor. The Mayor of Buffalo is actually Byron Brown. The crowd quickly corrected the President. Mr. Obama acknowledged his confusion, but blamed it on his age. 

"This is what happens when you get to be 52 years old," he said. "When I was 51 everything was smooth."