Saturday, March 2, 2013
6) A good tactic is one that your people enjoy.
Sometimes Republicans get too serious about politics. Why not hold a fund raiser at the gun range? What's wrong with having Kid Rock or a bunch of popular country musicians play at a massive voter registration drive? How about building some giant puppet heads of our own, featuring Nancy Pelosi injecting botox into her face or Barack Obama punching the Pope in the stomach? A little controversy and fun draw in the eyeballs and gets people excited. ◼ 12 ways to use Saul Alinsky's Rules For Radicals Against Liberals - Townhall
California Republican Convention in Sacramento
◼ Outgoing CA GOP chair Tom Del Beccaro: Gay marriage is 'difficult issue' for GOP - Sacramento Bee
"I think the reality is you're going to find that the Republican Party is going to have members on all sides of this issue for years to come and I think across this country for years to come it's going to be debated," he said.
◼ Karl Rove addresses CA GOP county chairs - Sacramento Bee
"He talked about being cohesive and keeping the party together," Westfall said. "Just basically that we have to try to get together and get the message out there."
Part of that process involves rehabilitating the party's image in the eyes of voters. Donald S. Preston, chair of Solano County, said the party's central tenets of self-reliance and family values have " been distorted so badly" by critics.
"[Rove] says we have to work on image, on our branding," Preston said.
◼ KARL ROVE: GOP NEEDS TO ‘GET UP OFF THE MAT’ & FIND MORE DIVERSE CANDIDATES - The Blaze
...Rove told activists at the Republican Party’s spring convention in Sacramento that rebuilding would be “a big task,” but offered Texas as an example. Once a Democratic stronghold, the state elected Republicans to 95 of 150 state House seats in November. Democrats have not won a statewide office in Texas since 1994.
Republicans hold the opposite status in California, where Democrats won supermajorities in the Legislature last fall and hold every statewide office. The GOP accounts for less than 30 percent of the state’s voters and has been losing favor with Latinos, women and younger voters.
“It’s not just the tactical stuff,” Rove stated. “[We've] got a strategic issue. We have great principles, but we sometimes talk about those principles in a way that makes it sound like it’s in 1968 or 1980 or 2000 and it’s not. It’s 2012 on its way to 2014.”
The former George W. Bush aide said rebuilding the California Republican Party might be so tough that party activists might choose to continue on their current path, “or you can get up off of the mat and throw yourself back into this contest.”
“Think smart, be active, be committed, rebuild the organization, ask for the vote in the right way, and speak boldly and proudly about our universal principles in a way that attracts support of your fellow Californians,” he said....
◼ Karl Rove tells California Republicans to step up communication - Sacramento Bee
"If our values are universal then we have obligation to argue on behalf of values in every corner, in every crevice, in every community of our great country," he said.
Rove also urged Republicans to modernize their message, applying "timeless principles" of conservatism to new circumstances.
"It's not just the tactical stuff," Rove said. "(We've) got a strategic issue. We have great principles, but we sometimes talk about those princples in a way that makes it sound like it's in 1968 or 1980 or 2000 and it's not. It's 2012 on its way to 2014."
Rove met with county GOP chairs, Republican legislators and posed for photos with delegates at a $300-a-head reception ahead of his lunchtime speech. Lawmakers said he stressed the need to improve campaign technology and messaging efforts.
◼ Abel Maldonado: 'I'm not going to give up on California' - Sacramento Bee
◼ Republican leaders emphasize Latino recruitment - Sacramento Bee
◼ NEW: Texas grateful to CA for sending the best and brightest - Katy Grimes/Cal Watchdog
...The bottom line
“There is not enough revenue, and too much spending,” Rove said. “Government getting too big, and too expensive.”
Rove said the debt is up about 60 percent from the $10 trillion Obama inherited.
According to the latest data, U.S. gross domestic product rose just 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. Economists had expected GDP to increase 1 percent. “But there is no European Union to bail us out,” Rove said.
“The biggest problem is our economy. We’re in a recovery,” he said mockingly. “This is the weakest recorded recover in history of country, which means this is the first recovery in which median household income has dropped.
“We used to say everything important in America happened first in California. A Republican resurgence could happen in California. The future of this state is so important. The future of country depends on it.”
But, Rove added, “We in Texas are grateful for you sending your best and brightest to us.”
"I think the reality is you're going to find that the Republican Party is going to have members on all sides of this issue for years to come and I think across this country for years to come it's going to be debated," he said.
◼ Karl Rove addresses CA GOP county chairs - Sacramento Bee
"He talked about being cohesive and keeping the party together," Westfall said. "Just basically that we have to try to get together and get the message out there."
Part of that process involves rehabilitating the party's image in the eyes of voters. Donald S. Preston, chair of Solano County, said the party's central tenets of self-reliance and family values have " been distorted so badly" by critics.
"[Rove] says we have to work on image, on our branding," Preston said.
◼ KARL ROVE: GOP NEEDS TO ‘GET UP OFF THE MAT’ & FIND MORE DIVERSE CANDIDATES - The Blaze
...Rove told activists at the Republican Party’s spring convention in Sacramento that rebuilding would be “a big task,” but offered Texas as an example. Once a Democratic stronghold, the state elected Republicans to 95 of 150 state House seats in November. Democrats have not won a statewide office in Texas since 1994.
Republicans hold the opposite status in California, where Democrats won supermajorities in the Legislature last fall and hold every statewide office. The GOP accounts for less than 30 percent of the state’s voters and has been losing favor with Latinos, women and younger voters.
“It’s not just the tactical stuff,” Rove stated. “[We've] got a strategic issue. We have great principles, but we sometimes talk about those principles in a way that makes it sound like it’s in 1968 or 1980 or 2000 and it’s not. It’s 2012 on its way to 2014.”
The former George W. Bush aide said rebuilding the California Republican Party might be so tough that party activists might choose to continue on their current path, “or you can get up off of the mat and throw yourself back into this contest.”
“Think smart, be active, be committed, rebuild the organization, ask for the vote in the right way, and speak boldly and proudly about our universal principles in a way that attracts support of your fellow Californians,” he said....
◼ Karl Rove tells California Republicans to step up communication - Sacramento Bee
"If our values are universal then we have obligation to argue on behalf of values in every corner, in every crevice, in every community of our great country," he said.
Rove also urged Republicans to modernize their message, applying "timeless principles" of conservatism to new circumstances.
"It's not just the tactical stuff," Rove said. "(We've) got a strategic issue. We have great principles, but we sometimes talk about those princples in a way that makes it sound like it's in 1968 or 1980 or 2000 and it's not. It's 2012 on its way to 2014."
Rove met with county GOP chairs, Republican legislators and posed for photos with delegates at a $300-a-head reception ahead of his lunchtime speech. Lawmakers said he stressed the need to improve campaign technology and messaging efforts.
◼ Abel Maldonado: 'I'm not going to give up on California' - Sacramento Bee
◼ Republican leaders emphasize Latino recruitment - Sacramento Bee
◼ NEW: Texas grateful to CA for sending the best and brightest - Katy Grimes/Cal Watchdog
...The bottom line
“There is not enough revenue, and too much spending,” Rove said. “Government getting too big, and too expensive.”
Rove said the debt is up about 60 percent from the $10 trillion Obama inherited.
According to the latest data, U.S. gross domestic product rose just 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. Economists had expected GDP to increase 1 percent. “But there is no European Union to bail us out,” Rove said.
“The biggest problem is our economy. We’re in a recovery,” he said mockingly. “This is the weakest recorded recover in history of country, which means this is the first recovery in which median household income has dropped.
“We used to say everything important in America happened first in California. A Republican resurgence could happen in California. The future of this state is so important. The future of country depends on it.”
But, Rove added, “We in Texas are grateful for you sending your best and brightest to us.”
Labels:
2013,
CA GOP Convention,
Convention,
Karl Rove,
Republicans,
Tom Del Beccaro
Guide to Surviving Obama Drone Strikes
◼ White House Guide For Americans To Survive an Unconstitutional Drone Strike!! - Sooper Mexican
Remember to follow the co-creator, Matt Dawson at ◼ @SaintRPH, and visit his site ◼ The Morlock Revolt!!
Labels:
drones
Busty squad of fake Rachel Maddow fans promotes her show with identical spam tweets; Update: Accounts suspended
CHARGE:Rachel Maddow Busted Using Multiple Fake Twitter Accounts To Boost Mentions Of Her Show? bit.ly/Wvanh0 via @instapundit
— Instapundit.com (@instapundit) March 2, 2013
◼ A search yields hundreds of identical tweets like this: - Twitchy
Confession: I yell at my TV while watching Rachel #Maddow talk about filibuster reform in the same way most people do during football.—
Kassie Scattergood (@its_kassie5838) March 02, 2013
Confession: I yell at my TV while watching Rachel #Maddow talk about filibuster reform in the same way most people do during football.—
Tran Manhardt (@therealtranmanh) March 01, 2013
The tweets from cleavage-flaunting Maddow “fans” date back to at least Feb. 23. Using the DoesFollow service, Twitchy checked dozens of the accounts to determine whether any actually follow Rachel Maddow on Twitter. The answer? NO.
◼ Twitter suspends fake accounts that pimped Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC show - Twitchy
◼ Zing! Greg Gutfeld weighs in on Rachel Maddow’s buxom spambot brigade - Twitchy
Confession: I use faux tweets to boost interest in my faux outrage #maddow
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) March 2, 2013
Labels:
Facebook/Twitter,
Fraud,
Maddow,
Women in the News
Obama has 'poisoned' relations with campaign-style attacks...
◼ While Obama has made a strategic calculation that he needs to marshal public support to push through his agenda, centrist Republicans warn the president and his allies could go too far with partisan events and campaign-style ads targeting GOP lawmakers. - The Hill
One recent point of contention: Organizing for Action, Obama's former campaign arm, made its first post-election foray into campaigning this week with ads pressuring swing-state Republicans to support new gun control measures.
Among the targets was Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is working to build support for a bill focused on cracking down on gun trafficking.
“The way to tackle this difficult issue is to continue to have a constructive dialogue. Obviously ads run against me are not what I would call constructive dialogue,” Collins told The Hill. “I personally have very little interest in the White House's campaign activities on this issue. It's just not a factor in my consideration.”
In addition to the ads, Obama has been barnstorming the country on sequestration, a sign he sees the permanent campaign for public opinion as more valuable than private negotiations with Republicans. He also launched his push for immigration with a campaign-like speech in Nevada.
His leading of congressional Democrats in a chant of “they deserve a vote” on gun control during January’s State of the Union speech also was seen as an effort to raise the political stakes on the issue rather than encouraging Congress to debate behind closed doors.
..."It is strange to have President Obama's arm reaching out and attacking members of the House Republicans when in theory he's trying to work with us," he said. "I'm not sure how smart that is. If he really wants cooperation, why would you just sort of, intentionally antagonize? I don't know."
But (Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee) admitted relations are already at a nadir.
"The well is fairly poisoned right now, so we'll see," he said.
One recent point of contention: Organizing for Action, Obama's former campaign arm, made its first post-election foray into campaigning this week with ads pressuring swing-state Republicans to support new gun control measures.
Among the targets was Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is working to build support for a bill focused on cracking down on gun trafficking.
“The way to tackle this difficult issue is to continue to have a constructive dialogue. Obviously ads run against me are not what I would call constructive dialogue,” Collins told The Hill. “I personally have very little interest in the White House's campaign activities on this issue. It's just not a factor in my consideration.”
In addition to the ads, Obama has been barnstorming the country on sequestration, a sign he sees the permanent campaign for public opinion as more valuable than private negotiations with Republicans. He also launched his push for immigration with a campaign-like speech in Nevada.
His leading of congressional Democrats in a chant of “they deserve a vote” on gun control during January’s State of the Union speech also was seen as an effort to raise the political stakes on the issue rather than encouraging Congress to debate behind closed doors.
..."It is strange to have President Obama's arm reaching out and attacking members of the House Republicans when in theory he's trying to work with us," he said. "I'm not sure how smart that is. If he really wants cooperation, why would you just sort of, intentionally antagonize? I don't know."
But (Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee) admitted relations are already at a nadir.
"The well is fairly poisoned right now, so we'll see," he said.
'I am one of the Fukushima fifty': One of the men who risked their lives to prevent a catastrophe shares his story
◼ They displayed a bravery few can comprehend, yet very little is known about the men who stayed behind to save Japan’s stricken nuclear plant. In a rare interview, David McNeill meets Atsufumi Yoshizawa, who was at work on 11 March 2011 when disaster struck - The Independent.uk
...About 250 km south in Tokyo, the government feared a nightmare scenario: a vast toxic cloud heading toward the world’s most populated metropolis. Rumours swirled that Tepco was preparing to completely pull out its staff from the Daiichi plant, leaving it to spin out of control. Mr Yoshizawa denies this. “We never intended to abandon our jobs,” he insists. “At the time that rumour was circulating I was volunteering to go back.” He recalls despairing at the situation. “Most people thought we would not be coming back from the plant,” he says, on the verge of tears. In the media the Fukushima 50 was born, although Mr Yoshizawa says that in reality there were 70 of them, mostly in their middle age. “We had all resolved to stay till the end.”
Throughout the following weeks on the frontline of the crisis, the men endured brutal conditions. Deliveries stalled, food almost ran out and water was restricted to a single 500ml bottle every two days. Working in shifts, surviving on biscuits and sleeping when he could inside the radiation-proofed bunker, Mr Yoshizawa lost weight and grew a beard. As elite firefighters succeeded in getting water to the overheating reactors, the collective psyche inside the bunker lightened and the dreaded words “oshimai da” (it’s the end), were no longer heard. Exhausted and dishevelled on his first trip back to a sunny Tokyo a month after the quake, he was startled to find life going on as normal.
...a select list of employees who absorbed potentially harmful amounts of radiation are qualified for unlimited aftercare. His own final tally of internal exposure was 50 millisieverts – the upper annual limit in the US for nuclear plant workers....
...About 250 km south in Tokyo, the government feared a nightmare scenario: a vast toxic cloud heading toward the world’s most populated metropolis. Rumours swirled that Tepco was preparing to completely pull out its staff from the Daiichi plant, leaving it to spin out of control. Mr Yoshizawa denies this. “We never intended to abandon our jobs,” he insists. “At the time that rumour was circulating I was volunteering to go back.” He recalls despairing at the situation. “Most people thought we would not be coming back from the plant,” he says, on the verge of tears. In the media the Fukushima 50 was born, although Mr Yoshizawa says that in reality there were 70 of them, mostly in their middle age. “We had all resolved to stay till the end.”
Throughout the following weeks on the frontline of the crisis, the men endured brutal conditions. Deliveries stalled, food almost ran out and water was restricted to a single 500ml bottle every two days. Working in shifts, surviving on biscuits and sleeping when he could inside the radiation-proofed bunker, Mr Yoshizawa lost weight and grew a beard. As elite firefighters succeeded in getting water to the overheating reactors, the collective psyche inside the bunker lightened and the dreaded words “oshimai da” (it’s the end), were no longer heard. Exhausted and dishevelled on his first trip back to a sunny Tokyo a month after the quake, he was startled to find life going on as normal.
...a select list of employees who absorbed potentially harmful amounts of radiation are qualified for unlimited aftercare. His own final tally of internal exposure was 50 millisieverts – the upper annual limit in the US for nuclear plant workers....
Labels:
Earthquake: Japan,
Japan: Nuclear Reactor
GOP's Rodgers: The problem is not a lack of taxes, it's too much Obama spending Read More At IBD: GOP's Rodgers: The problem is not a lack of taxes, it's too much Obama spending by Andrew Malcolm
◼ Weekly Republican Address Transcript: Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) - Andrew Malcolm /IBD
◼ Obama's sequester idea is now Congress' fault - President Obama's weekly remarks Transcript - Andrew Malcolm /IBD
◼ A President Who Wants Power but No Responsibility - Dr. Susan Berry/Breitbart
...(Rush) Limbaugh has hypothesized that many Americans, perhaps the “low-information voters,” are not connecting Obama’s policies to what is actually happening in the country, because the president never actually governs. Obama’s is a non-governing presidency, one that is built on an eternal campaign, a never-ending community organization effort.
Aided by a relatively weak Republican Party, Obama travels around the country, appearing to be fighting against the horrific consequences of his own policies. Consequently, the president has remained fairly popular without having to own any of his destructive strategies and programs. It’s all about perception.
The situation with the sequester is a perfect example. The White House came up with the idea of sequestration as a punishment/enforcer during the debt ceiling debate of 2011. The sequestration--an across-the-board spending cut, or a slowing in the growth of spending--was the compulsory “trigger” designed to appear to cut spending. The White House believed it would never happen because Republicans allegedly would do anything to avoid cuts to defense spending in particular.
Fast forward to the present day, however, where we have Barack Obama traveling around the country denying he came up with the sequester idea as he warns Americans of the apocalypse that is upon them because of the compulsory cuts the Republicans want them to endure.
...Using terms like “meat-cleaver approach” to attempt to whip Americans up into a fearful frenzy, Obama is even now, with the sequester upon us, doubling down on images of budgetary cuts that will cause enemy invasions because of a weakened military, criminals being let free because of a debilitated justice system, injured people dying in the streets because of a lack of emergency personnel, and a rampant rise in communicable diseases because of cuts to medical and preventive care.
To be sure, whatever negative event befalls the United States over the next several months, it will be blamed upon the “Republican Sequester.”
Thiessen urged legislation, which Senate Republicans did eventually draft, to give Obama total authority to allocate the automatic cuts as he sees fit, allowing him to “replace the ‘meat cleaver’ with a scalpel.”
In other words, Republicans would be placing Obama in a position in which he must govern. Even if they did not agree with the cuts he made, the cuts would belong to him.
However, while Thiessen advised, “Republicans should give him the power to cut bloated programs and protect vital services,” he also admitted, “Obama may not want such authority.”
In fact, on Tuesday, campaigning again against the “Republican” cuts, this time in Newport News, Virginia, Obama said that he rejected any suggestions that he should have more power to carry out the sequestration cuts.
Instead, the president insisted that Congress work out a better solution by raising taxes on the wealthy. He told shipyard workers that he doesn’t want responsibility for making the sequester “cuts,” because “there is no smart way to do it.” Read the rest at breitbart.com
Labels:
Cathy McMorris Rodgers,
GOP Weekly Address,
Spending,
Taxes
INCOMES DROP MOST IN 20 YEARS
◼ Personal income decreased by $505.5 billion in January, or 3.6%, compared to December (on a seasonally adjusted and annualized basis). That's the most dramatic decline since January 1993, according to the Commerce Department. - CNN Money
◼ Money left over after taxes biggest plunge since 1959
Household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, climbed 0.2 percent after a 0.1 percent gain the prior month, a Commerce Department report showed today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 76 economists called for a 0.2 percent advance. Incomes slumped 3.6 percent, sending the saving rate down to the lowest level since November 2007....
Disposable income, or the money left over after taxes, dropped 4 percent after adjusting for inflation, the biggest plunge since monthly records began in 1959. The drop also reflected the lapse of the payroll tax holiday. Excluding the effect of the tax and other special factors such as the timing of bonuses and dividends, disposable personal income would have increased 0.3 percent in January, the same as in December, the report said.
◼ Money left over after taxes biggest plunge since 1959
Household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, climbed 0.2 percent after a 0.1 percent gain the prior month, a Commerce Department report showed today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 76 economists called for a 0.2 percent advance. Incomes slumped 3.6 percent, sending the saving rate down to the lowest level since November 2007....
Disposable income, or the money left over after taxes, dropped 4 percent after adjusting for inflation, the biggest plunge since monthly records began in 1959. The drop also reflected the lapse of the payroll tax holiday. Excluding the effect of the tax and other special factors such as the timing of bonuses and dividends, disposable personal income would have increased 0.3 percent in January, the same as in December, the report said.
Inside an east-west rail feasibility study
◼ For a little more than a year, our community has been discussing an idea to explore the feasibility of an alternative rail route, aka east-west route, that would connect Humboldt Bay's deepwater seaport to the national rail network at a connection in the Sacramento valley. - David Hull and Lance Madsen/for the Times-Standard
Throughout these discussions, people have wondered: Where will it go? How much will it cost? What are the environmental impacts? How long will it take to build? What will it carry? The truthful answer to all of those is “it will be in the feasibility study”; but what does that mean exactly?
◼ Related: North-south rail: A plan that can hold water - John Moore/for the Times-Standard
_______________ Bring your questions to our HRWF meeting, March 21st, David Hull will be speaking on this topic.
Throughout these discussions, people have wondered: Where will it go? How much will it cost? What are the environmental impacts? How long will it take to build? What will it carry? The truthful answer to all of those is “it will be in the feasibility study”; but what does that mean exactly?
◼ Related: North-south rail: A plan that can hold water - John Moore/for the Times-Standard
Labels:
Humboldt County,
Local News,
Meetings,
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Friday, March 1, 2013
Arlene Mae Breitbart, RIP; Remembering a Warrior
◼ Today is the anniversary of Andrew's death. - Ace Of Spades
Two days ago, his mother died.
I think on this anniversary of his death we should honor him -- and ourselves -- by seeking to be Warriors. And not just in politics, though certainly that was where Breitbart encouraged it the most frequently.
Breitbart himself lived a brave life, confident in himself, always questioning and always questing. He made himself bigger than life by living as outrageously as he could.
He always had big plans -- Breitbart notoriously had five other plans cooking on his stove when he was talking to you about one -- and I think he had an idea, intuitively perhaps, but perhaps arrived at by conscious probing, that there's more to life that what we're given.
Politically he revolted openly at the media-Democratic prison -- he wasn't here to meekly take the scraps the media-Democratic complex had seen fit to offer, he was here to demand his right to a proper meal.
And I think that sense informed every part of him. He wasn't on this earth to take what little the material world was offering him; he was here to insist upon more.
He was a big man, but his spirit was gigantic.
There aren't many like him. The world couldn't hold too many like him.
He would have made an outstanding Pirate.
Two days ago, his mother died.
With great sadness we announce the passing of Arlene Mae Breitbart, wife of Gerald Breitbart, mother of Andrew and his sister Tracey, and grandmother of seven terrific grandchildren....The largest compliment Breitbart could give someone was, "He's a warrior." All men respect guts, and Breitbart more than most men.
Arlene passed away from natural causes yesterday in Los Angeles, two days shy of the one-year anniversary of the unexpected death of her beloved son, Andrew.
I think on this anniversary of his death we should honor him -- and ourselves -- by seeking to be Warriors. And not just in politics, though certainly that was where Breitbart encouraged it the most frequently.
Breitbart himself lived a brave life, confident in himself, always questioning and always questing. He made himself bigger than life by living as outrageously as he could.
He always had big plans -- Breitbart notoriously had five other plans cooking on his stove when he was talking to you about one -- and I think he had an idea, intuitively perhaps, but perhaps arrived at by conscious probing, that there's more to life that what we're given.
Politically he revolted openly at the media-Democratic prison -- he wasn't here to meekly take the scraps the media-Democratic complex had seen fit to offer, he was here to demand his right to a proper meal.
And I think that sense informed every part of him. He wasn't on this earth to take what little the material world was offering him; he was here to insist upon more.
He was a big man, but his spirit was gigantic.
There aren't many like him. The world couldn't hold too many like him.
He would have made an outstanding Pirate.
◼ Remembering the Day Andrew Breitbart Saved My Life - Gary P Jackson/A Time For Choosing
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Obama Tipped His Sequester Strategy in 2012 Des Moines Register Interview
◼ I've got a story from 2012 during the presidential campaign and the debates about Obama and the sequester that I know everybody's forgotten about, and, to me, in the real world it would be a bombshell or close to it. - RUSH
It won't be in this case, because I guarantee you the way the low-information voter is seeing Obama, they'd probably stop being able to keep up with him ten minutes into the press conference. But, all they know is, my gosh, he's trying, and it's the Republicans' fault. He came out and he started this press conference today with a blatant lie. It's amazing. The low-information voters just eat it all up. There's nothing you can do about it. He came out and said the sequester is Boehner's idea. The sequester is the Republicans' idea. Everybody in the media, in that room, knows that's not true now because Bob Woodward has reported it, and they know it themselves anyway.
Not one of them is challenging him on it, and not one of them will. And he's using his usual straw dogs, "every economist, all economists, a consensus of economists" agree. He's talking about all the people that are gonna suffer greatly, but that most people won't. As I say, I have seldom seen a more self-absorbed codependent individual in utter denial. We're dealing with somebody that in his mind is totally blameless....
I want to get to this sequester story that we remembered. We went back to our archives last October. Do you remember that Obama, in a heat of the presidential campaign, and during the period of time the presidential debates were going on, Obama granted an interview to the Des Moines Register and then put a hold on it. He granted an interview and then refused to let them run it. This, of course, created a lot of curiosity. What's in this? Something about that kept gnawing at me. There was something in that that would be relevant to what we're doing today. And, lo and behold, there is.
Now, two weeks before the election, Obama went on TV in the last presidential debate, October 22, and basically lied. He said that he didn't want the sequester to happen. This was in a debate with Romney. I'm sure you'll remember this as I refresh your synapses, as it were. He didn't want the sequester to happen and he said, in fact, it wouldn't happen. He accused the Republicans of creating the sequester. When you go back and look at this interview that he gave to the Des Moines Register, that's how you know that he's lying somewhere. He either lied to the Des Moines Register or he lied in the presidential debate.
In the debate, again, October 22nd, 2012, Obama said he didn't want the sequester, and it wouldn't happen. The very next day, October 23rd, 2012, is when Obama gave an interview to the editors of the Des Moines Register. And in that interview, I want to quote what President Obama said.
"[T]he good news is that there’s going to be a forcing mechanism to deal with what is the central ideological argument in Washington right now, and that is: How much government do we have and how do we pay for it?"
I want you to listen to what comes next. This is in quotes. "So when you combine the Bush tax cuts expiring, the sequester in place ... we're going to be in a position where I believe in the first six months we are going to solve that big piece of business. It will probably be messy. It won’t be pleasant. But I am absolutely confident that we can get what is the equivalent of the grand bargain."
He was counting on the sequester being reality.
Labels:
Dishonesty,
He Lied,
President/Candidate Obama,
Rush,
Sequestration
White House Report Claims Sequestration Will Affect Federal Department That No Longer Exists
◼ If you want a thorough agency-by-agency rundown of the budget cuts sequestration would deliver, the Office of Management and Budget has you covered. - Reason
In compliance with The Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012, the OMB sent a detailed report to Congress in September 2012. But there's a small problem with the report: One of the cuts it warns against would affect an agency that no longer exists--and didn't exist when the OMB sent its report to congress.
The first line item on page 121 of the OMB's September 2012 report says that under sequestration the National Drug Intelligence Center would lose $2 million of its $20 million budget. While that's slightly more than 8.2 percent (rounding error or scare tactic?), the bigger problem is that the National Drug Intelligence Center shuttered its doors on June 15, 2012--three months before the OMB issued its report to Congress.
In compliance with The Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012, the OMB sent a detailed report to Congress in September 2012. But there's a small problem with the report: One of the cuts it warns against would affect an agency that no longer exists--and didn't exist when the OMB sent its report to congress.
The first line item on page 121 of the OMB's September 2012 report says that under sequestration the National Drug Intelligence Center would lose $2 million of its $20 million budget. While that's slightly more than 8.2 percent (rounding error or scare tactic?), the bigger problem is that the National Drug Intelligence Center shuttered its doors on June 15, 2012--three months before the OMB issued its report to Congress.
Labels:
Budget,
Sequestration,
Spending Cuts
Michael Hastings: "There Are People Waiting For Woodward To Die So They Can Dish Stuff On Him"
◼ Buzzfeed and Current TV contributor Michael Hastings joins Current TV to talk about Bob Woodward’s claims that the White House threatened him and his ongoing criticisms of the Obama administration. - Real Clear Politics
“[Woodward's] such a great microcosm of the media in Washington. He went from challenging the government to being like a spokesperson for the establishment, and that right there in a nutshell is exactly what happened to the Washington media between the 1970s and now.” Hastings says, “He does hold all of these [politicians'] secrets. The reason Woodward doesn’t feel totally threatened is because he knows all the dirt about all these people too… He’s like a J. Edgar Hoover type. There are people waiting for Woodward to die so they can dish stuff on him that they’re too afraid to say now.
◼ Obama Takes Aim at Defiant Reporters - David Limbaugh/Newsmax
It's most gratifying that people are beginning to wake up to the bullying tactics of the White House toward those in the press who occasionally stray from the government-owned media model, but this has been going on for a while.
Veteran reporter Bob Woodward has said in interviews with Politico and CNN that a White House official warned him he would "regret" publishing a story reporting that the sequestration was President Obama's idea.
"(The White House aide) yelled at me for about a half hour," said Woodward. The aide later apologized to Woodward in an email and claimed he was not making a threat but merely observing that Woodward would regret "staking out that claim."
Does the aide's story sound credible in light of the context? He was yelling at Woodward, not making a casual observation about Woodward's journalistic accuracy. Why? Because Woodward's account undermines Obama's credibility on the story dominating the political landscape now: the sequestration....
Similarly, former Bill Clinton aide Lanny Davis, an Obama supporter, said that a White House official once threatened to revoke The Washington Times' White House credentials over columns Davis had written for the paper. "I couldn't imagine why this call was made," said Davis.
These accounts of White House press intimidation are nothing new. In my books "Crimes Against Liberty" and "The Great Destroyer," I chronicle many other examples of this practice, which is especially bizarre given the unprecedented support the media have lavished upon Obama. Could fear of reprisals be part of the reason?
...The White House blacklisted San Francisco Chronicle reporter Carla Marinucci for posting to the Internet a cell phone video of protesters at an Obama fundraiser in the Bay Area. Characteristically, the White House denied it had threatened the banishment, but the Chronicle's editor, Ward Bushee, stood by the story.
Phil Bronstein, another Chronicle reporter, corroborated Bushee's story. Also, numerous other journalists confirmed that the White House had issued implied threats of additional punishment if the story of its banishment of Marinucci became public.
◼ New Yorker Slimes Woodward's Work as 'Downright Misleading' - Warner Todd Huston/Breitbart
Now that it is OK for the Old Media to slam Bob Woodward, hit pieces on his work are coming out of the woodwork. One of the latest is from The New Yorker, where Woodward's body of work was termed, "revelatory, informative, incomplete, infuriating, and downright misleading."
Only a few short years ago, attacks by fellow journalists on Woodward, the man that took down President Richard Nixon, would have been unthinkable. But after Woodward revealed that a highly placed White House operative warned him that he would "regret" writing negative stories on President Obama, that has all changed.
◼ "Why the 'threat' on Bob Woodward matters." - Althouse
◼ Why the ‘threat’ on Bob Woodward matters - Kathleen Parker/Washington Post
Killing the messenger is a time-honored method of controlling the message, but we have already spilled that blood. And the First Amendment’s protection of a free press, the purpose of which is to check power and constrain government’s ability to dictate the lives of private citizens, was no accident.
“[Woodward's] such a great microcosm of the media in Washington. He went from challenging the government to being like a spokesperson for the establishment, and that right there in a nutshell is exactly what happened to the Washington media between the 1970s and now.” Hastings says, “He does hold all of these [politicians'] secrets. The reason Woodward doesn’t feel totally threatened is because he knows all the dirt about all these people too… He’s like a J. Edgar Hoover type. There are people waiting for Woodward to die so they can dish stuff on him that they’re too afraid to say now.
◼ Obama Takes Aim at Defiant Reporters - David Limbaugh/Newsmax
It's most gratifying that people are beginning to wake up to the bullying tactics of the White House toward those in the press who occasionally stray from the government-owned media model, but this has been going on for a while.
Veteran reporter Bob Woodward has said in interviews with Politico and CNN that a White House official warned him he would "regret" publishing a story reporting that the sequestration was President Obama's idea.
"(The White House aide) yelled at me for about a half hour," said Woodward. The aide later apologized to Woodward in an email and claimed he was not making a threat but merely observing that Woodward would regret "staking out that claim."
Does the aide's story sound credible in light of the context? He was yelling at Woodward, not making a casual observation about Woodward's journalistic accuracy. Why? Because Woodward's account undermines Obama's credibility on the story dominating the political landscape now: the sequestration....
Similarly, former Bill Clinton aide Lanny Davis, an Obama supporter, said that a White House official once threatened to revoke The Washington Times' White House credentials over columns Davis had written for the paper. "I couldn't imagine why this call was made," said Davis.
These accounts of White House press intimidation are nothing new. In my books "Crimes Against Liberty" and "The Great Destroyer," I chronicle many other examples of this practice, which is especially bizarre given the unprecedented support the media have lavished upon Obama. Could fear of reprisals be part of the reason?
...The White House blacklisted San Francisco Chronicle reporter Carla Marinucci for posting to the Internet a cell phone video of protesters at an Obama fundraiser in the Bay Area. Characteristically, the White House denied it had threatened the banishment, but the Chronicle's editor, Ward Bushee, stood by the story.
Phil Bronstein, another Chronicle reporter, corroborated Bushee's story. Also, numerous other journalists confirmed that the White House had issued implied threats of additional punishment if the story of its banishment of Marinucci became public.
◼ New Yorker Slimes Woodward's Work as 'Downright Misleading' - Warner Todd Huston/Breitbart
Now that it is OK for the Old Media to slam Bob Woodward, hit pieces on his work are coming out of the woodwork. One of the latest is from The New Yorker, where Woodward's body of work was termed, "revelatory, informative, incomplete, infuriating, and downright misleading."
Only a few short years ago, attacks by fellow journalists on Woodward, the man that took down President Richard Nixon, would have been unthinkable. But after Woodward revealed that a highly placed White House operative warned him that he would "regret" writing negative stories on President Obama, that has all changed.
◼ "Why the 'threat' on Bob Woodward matters." - Althouse
◼ Why the ‘threat’ on Bob Woodward matters - Kathleen Parker/Washington Post
Killing the messenger is a time-honored method of controlling the message, but we have already spilled that blood. And the First Amendment’s protection of a free press, the purpose of which is to check power and constrain government’s ability to dictate the lives of private citizens, was no accident.
The newly disclosed figures, cited in internal government budget documents reviewed by the AP, are significantly higher than what the Obama administration acknowledged this week as a "few hundred" illegal immigrants who were released under the budget-savings process.
◼ DHS RELEASED OVER 2,000 IMMIGRANTS - Alicia A. Caldwell/AP
The states where immigrants were released include Arizona, California, Georgia and Texas.
The states where immigrants were released include Arizona, California, Georgia and Texas.
Top-down federalized “Common Core” standards are now sweeping the country. It’s important to remember that while teachers-union control freaks are on board with the Common Core regime, untold numbers of rank-and-file educators are just as angered and frustrated as parents about the Big Ed power grab.
◼ ROTTEN TO THE CORE, PART III: LESSONS FROM TEXAS - Michelle Malkin/Human Events
Texas is a right-minded red state, where patriotism is still a virtue and political correctness is out of vogue. So how on earth have left-wing educators in public classrooms been allowed to instruct Lone Star students to dress in Islamic garb, call the 9/11 jihadists “freedom fighters” and treat the Boston Tea Party participants as “terrorists”?
Here’s the dirty little secret: Despite the best efforts of vigilant parents, teachers and administrators committed to academic excellence, progressive activists reign supreme in government schools.
That’s because curriculum is king...
The program was concocted not at the grassroots level, but by a bipartisan cabal of nonprofits (led by lobbyists for the liberal Bill Gates Foundation), statist business groups and hoodwinked Republican governors. As I’ve reported previously, this scheme, enabled by the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” funding mechanism, usurps local autonomy in favor of lesson content and pedagogical methods.
One teacher described a thought-control training seminar in her school district titled “Making the Common Core Come Alive.” A worksheet labeled “COMMON CORE MIND SHIFTS” included the following rhetorical muck:
Claims that Common Core bubbled up from the states are bass-ackward. A shady nonprofit group called “Achieve Inc.,” stocked with federal-standards advocates who’ve been around since the Clinton years, designed the materials....
Texas is a right-minded red state, where patriotism is still a virtue and political correctness is out of vogue. So how on earth have left-wing educators in public classrooms been allowed to instruct Lone Star students to dress in Islamic garb, call the 9/11 jihadists “freedom fighters” and treat the Boston Tea Party participants as “terrorists”?
Here’s the dirty little secret: Despite the best efforts of vigilant parents, teachers and administrators committed to academic excellence, progressive activists reign supreme in government schools.
That’s because curriculum is king...
The program was concocted not at the grassroots level, but by a bipartisan cabal of nonprofits (led by lobbyists for the liberal Bill Gates Foundation), statist business groups and hoodwinked Republican governors. As I’ve reported previously, this scheme, enabled by the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” funding mechanism, usurps local autonomy in favor of lesson content and pedagogical methods.
One teacher described a thought-control training seminar in her school district titled “Making the Common Core Come Alive.” A worksheet labeled “COMMON CORE MIND SHIFTS” included the following rhetorical muck:
–The goal of curriculum should not be the coverage of content, but rather the discovery of content. … If done well, Common Core will elevate our teaching to new heights, and emphasize the construction of meaning, while deepening our understanding of our students.”Blah, blah, blah. In practice, Common Core evades transparency by peddling shoddy curricular material authored by anonymous committees. It promotes faddish experiments masquerading as “world-class” math and reading goals. Instead of raising expectations, Common Core is a Trojan horse for lowering them. California, for example, is now citing Common Core as a rationale for abandoning algebra classes for 8th graders. Common Core’s “constructivist” approach to reading is now the rationale for abandoning classic literature for “informational texts.”
–”In our classrooms, it is the students’ voices, not the teachers’, that are heard.”
Claims that Common Core bubbled up from the states are bass-ackward. A shady nonprofit group called “Achieve Inc.,” stocked with federal-standards advocates who’ve been around since the Clinton years, designed the materials....
Hey @DonnaBrazile — look at this
◼ Donna Brazile sent the Tweet of the Day earlier this week when she expressed amazement that her health insurance premiums were rising... - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion
Well take a look at this, Donna, ◼ IRS moves to collect billions in fees from healthcare law - The Hill
Well take a look at this, Donna, ◼ IRS moves to collect billions in fees from healthcare law - The Hill
Why Do Some Liberals Become Conservatives?
◼ These days it may seem as though the entire nation is moving ever leftward. But on the personal level it’s actually much more usual for political change to go in the opposite direction: from left to right. - Jean Kaufman/PJM
It’s not that uncommon an event, either — in fact, there’s a whole literature of political memoir written by left-to-right changers (such as David Horowitz and Norman Podhoretz, to name just two).
One changer closer to home is founder and former CEO of PJ Media Roger L. Simon, who talked about his own story in a recent speech in which he admitted that, despite his having written a book about his change experience, the how and why of political change is still a mystery to him.
Political change is something I’ve thought about long and hard because it happened to me, too, about ten years ago. In fact, struggling to understand and explain that change was one of the things that first drew me to blogs and blogging. I agree with Roger Simon that the vast majority of people are exceedingly reluctant to change their political beliefs and identification, and that was my experience, too; in fact, I’ve titled my own change story “A mind is a difficult thing to change.”
...Rarely, if ever, are prospective changers actually seeking change. In fact their previous political positions on the left may be quite firmly and strongly held, and they would probably consider anyone quite mad who had the audacity to inform them of the transformation about to take place.
But although they may not be interested in change, change is interested in them. It usually begins with something external, some new information encountered seemingly by accident, something that starts to bug the person because it contradicts or doesn’t fit easily into his or her pre-existing framework. It’s like a buzzing fly that won’t quit and can’t be ignored. It causes discomfort, a sense of unease, and the disequilibrium that comes from the dilemma known as cognitive dissonance.
It’s such an unpleasant experience that people are usually eager to resolve it. How they do that is one point at which changers split off from non-changers. The latter group, if faced with that very same information, might just swat that fly — that is, in their discomfort at the knowledge that seems incongruous with their previous beliefs, they would either discredit the new information, minimize it, rationalize it, or shut it out entirely, thus ending the discomfort and the dilemma.
But those who ultimately end up as changers can’t seem to put it away that easily. For them, something once seen cannot be unseen. Perhaps they have a different habit of mind to begin with, one more accustomed to challenging its own beliefs and assumptions, one more uncomfortable with contradictions.
...Another less dramatic way a change experience can begin is with the perception that the mainstream media has lied about something. It can even be something that seems quite small and unimportant by itself, but then it happens again, and again, and a pattern begins to emerge. This learning usually also comes about by accident. For example, a person might happen across the original of a speech from which a truncated quote had been taken, and suddenly realize that the quote was probably edited that way in order to purposely mislead. The advent of the internet has increased the opportunities for this sort of discovery, because it’s much easier to compare the two texts.
...Being on the receiving end of this experience can’t help but be profoundly disturbing. Perhaps it even drives some people under cover, and or back into the liberal fold. But for most, it seems there is no turning back, because — as a fortune cookie I got a few years ago succinctly put it — “one’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” (Read the whole piece, at the link.)
It’s not that uncommon an event, either — in fact, there’s a whole literature of political memoir written by left-to-right changers (such as David Horowitz and Norman Podhoretz, to name just two).
One changer closer to home is founder and former CEO of PJ Media Roger L. Simon, who talked about his own story in a recent speech in which he admitted that, despite his having written a book about his change experience, the how and why of political change is still a mystery to him.
Political change is something I’ve thought about long and hard because it happened to me, too, about ten years ago. In fact, struggling to understand and explain that change was one of the things that first drew me to blogs and blogging. I agree with Roger Simon that the vast majority of people are exceedingly reluctant to change their political beliefs and identification, and that was my experience, too; in fact, I’ve titled my own change story “A mind is a difficult thing to change.”
...Rarely, if ever, are prospective changers actually seeking change. In fact their previous political positions on the left may be quite firmly and strongly held, and they would probably consider anyone quite mad who had the audacity to inform them of the transformation about to take place.
But although they may not be interested in change, change is interested in them. It usually begins with something external, some new information encountered seemingly by accident, something that starts to bug the person because it contradicts or doesn’t fit easily into his or her pre-existing framework. It’s like a buzzing fly that won’t quit and can’t be ignored. It causes discomfort, a sense of unease, and the disequilibrium that comes from the dilemma known as cognitive dissonance.
It’s such an unpleasant experience that people are usually eager to resolve it. How they do that is one point at which changers split off from non-changers. The latter group, if faced with that very same information, might just swat that fly — that is, in their discomfort at the knowledge that seems incongruous with their previous beliefs, they would either discredit the new information, minimize it, rationalize it, or shut it out entirely, thus ending the discomfort and the dilemma.
But those who ultimately end up as changers can’t seem to put it away that easily. For them, something once seen cannot be unseen. Perhaps they have a different habit of mind to begin with, one more accustomed to challenging its own beliefs and assumptions, one more uncomfortable with contradictions.
...Another less dramatic way a change experience can begin is with the perception that the mainstream media has lied about something. It can even be something that seems quite small and unimportant by itself, but then it happens again, and again, and a pattern begins to emerge. This learning usually also comes about by accident. For example, a person might happen across the original of a speech from which a truncated quote had been taken, and suddenly realize that the quote was probably edited that way in order to purposely mislead. The advent of the internet has increased the opportunities for this sort of discovery, because it’s much easier to compare the two texts.
...Being on the receiving end of this experience can’t help but be profoundly disturbing. Perhaps it even drives some people under cover, and or back into the liberal fold. But for most, it seems there is no turning back, because — as a fortune cookie I got a few years ago succinctly put it — “one’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” (Read the whole piece, at the link.)
Labels:
Awakening,
Conservatives,
Liberals,
Roger L Simon
It was easy to be brave with Andrew around. People drew from his courage when theirs had dissipated.
◼ One Year Later - Dana LoeschAll day March 1, we are remembering and celebrating the life of @andrewbreitbart. Join us at Breitabrt.com, happy warriors! #WAR
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) March 1, 2013
◼ Breitbart Lives On - Political Fireball
◼ The Legacy Andrew Breitbart Left for The Next Generation - PJM
◼ My Boy, Sweet Andrew - Orson Bean
Labels:
Andrew Breitbart,
Remembrance
4A) Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.
Conservatives have a tendency to try to win every debate with logic and recitations of facts which, all too often, fail to get the job done because emotions and mockery are often just as effective as reason. The good news is that liberals almost never have logic on their side; so they're incapable of rationally making the case for their policies while conservatives can become considerably more effective debaters by simply adding some emotion-based arguments and sheer scorn to their discourse. This has certainly worked on Twitter, where conservatives keep making the Obama campaign look like buffoons by taking over its hashtags. ◼ 12 ways to use Saul Alinsky's Rules For Radicals Against Liberals - Townhall
FOIA finds two NLRB lawyers making way over $100k, but not for doing government work
◼ Interesting facts are often found when journalists, activists and individual citizens file Freedom of Information Act requests seeking information somebody in the federal government might not want the public to know. - Mark Tapscott/Washington Examiner
Take the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB has been ground zero for much of President Obama's tenure in the Oval Office for his efforts to reward Big Labor for its campaign support in 2008 and 2012.
As a result, the NLRB has issued hundreds of rulings since 2009 that critics in the business community and elsewhere say too often give unfair - and sometimes maybe even illegal - advantages to the unions.
...there are other interesting things happening at NLRB, as the Americans for Limited Government, one of the conservative activist non-profits that keeps a very close eye on Big Labor, discovered recently by filing an FOIA.
◼ NLRB Pays Two Employees $100K Each to Work for the Union - Brad Tidwell/Net Right Daily
Americans for Limited Government (ALG) has discovered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that there are two official time full-time employees of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) who make over $100,000 each. These are employees whose official job is to handle internal NLRB union activities exclusively, rather than carrying out any of the NLRB’s official responsibilities.
Bert Pearlston, General Attorney (Labor) for the NLRB, made $141,726.00 per year, and Steven Sloper, Labor Management Relations Examiner made $116,240.00. With the national median salary at $40,300 and unemployment of 7.9%, jobs like these would be highly sought in the private sector.
This is in addition to the approximately $510,000 the NLRB pays other employees for part time “official time” union work, or work that only deals with internal NLRB union activities, not the actual official work of the NLRB. ◼ As Breitbart reported last week:
Take the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB has been ground zero for much of President Obama's tenure in the Oval Office for his efforts to reward Big Labor for its campaign support in 2008 and 2012.
As a result, the NLRB has issued hundreds of rulings since 2009 that critics in the business community and elsewhere say too often give unfair - and sometimes maybe even illegal - advantages to the unions.
...there are other interesting things happening at NLRB, as the Americans for Limited Government, one of the conservative activist non-profits that keeps a very close eye on Big Labor, discovered recently by filing an FOIA.
◼ NLRB Pays Two Employees $100K Each to Work for the Union - Brad Tidwell/Net Right Daily
Americans for Limited Government (ALG) has discovered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that there are two official time full-time employees of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) who make over $100,000 each. These are employees whose official job is to handle internal NLRB union activities exclusively, rather than carrying out any of the NLRB’s official responsibilities.
Bert Pearlston, General Attorney (Labor) for the NLRB, made $141,726.00 per year, and Steven Sloper, Labor Management Relations Examiner made $116,240.00. With the national median salary at $40,300 and unemployment of 7.9%, jobs like these would be highly sought in the private sector.
This is in addition to the approximately $510,000 the NLRB pays other employees for part time “official time” union work, or work that only deals with internal NLRB union activities, not the actual official work of the NLRB. ◼ As Breitbart reported last week:
…the agency with the highest per-capita use of official time is the National Labor Relations Board. NLRB used 12.38 hours per employee, meaning each of the NLRB’s 1,043 employees required a day and a half of paid representation over the course of FY 2011. The cost of that time was $768,465.14.The NLRB has run rampant for far too long. ALG is working on legislation to reform the NLRB, and you can get involved. ◼ Visit our website at ReformtheNLRB.com to get involved.
Labels:
Cronyism,
Fraud,
NLRB,
Power Grab,
President/Candidate Obama,
Unions
Thursday, February 28, 2013
‘Twas the night before sequestration…
◼ “Nothing to report from here,” says a Senate aide. “Wish I had a good story to share.” - Byron York/Washington Examiner @ByronYork
The much-discussed slowdown in the rate of growth of federal spending called sequestration goes into effect when the clock turns to March 1, so I decided to ask a number of people on Capitol Hill what is actually going on in the last few hours before the super-controversial spending measure becomes a reality. Are people frantically trying to avoid what the administration claims will be devastating cuts? Are they negotiating? Are they yelling at each other? Hiding under their desks?
Answer: None of the above. In fact, nothing much is going on, because sequestration really is about to become a reality. And on the Hill, that means business as usual.
◼ What Difference, At This Point, Does It Make Whose Idea The Sequester Was? - Smitty/The Other McCain
The much-discussed slowdown in the rate of growth of federal spending called sequestration goes into effect when the clock turns to March 1, so I decided to ask a number of people on Capitol Hill what is actually going on in the last few hours before the super-controversial spending measure becomes a reality. Are people frantically trying to avoid what the administration claims will be devastating cuts? Are they negotiating? Are they yelling at each other? Hiding under their desks?
Answer: None of the above. In fact, nothing much is going on, because sequestration really is about to become a reality. And on the Hill, that means business as usual.
◼ What Difference, At This Point, Does It Make Whose Idea The Sequester Was? - Smitty/The Other McCain
Labels:
Budget,
Sequestration,
Spending Cuts
Meanwhile Obama maintains plausible deniability, keeping himself removed from the dirty work that continually swirls around him, and of which Bob Woodward is hardly the only recipient. He just may be the one who’s talking about it.
◼ Woodward's gone rogue! - Althouse
◼ Why Bob Woodward Must Now Be Destroyed - Bryan Preston/PJM
◼ And will the media come to Woodward's defense? He says No, and I've been saying the same thing. - Ace Of Spades
#9724; If only Obama knew - neoneocon
◼ WASHINGTON MOCKS WOODWARD - New Yorker
◼ Press turns on one of their own - Politico
◼ Andrew Sullivan: He's 'a liar' - Politico
◼ Plouffe: He's getting old - FOX
◼ Bam! Brit Hume: ‘Woodward clearly established that Pres. & Co. twice told whoppers’ - Twitchy
◼ National Journal Editor-In-Chief Ron Fournier: Clueless Hack -- or Touchingly Naive Drone? - Doug Ross
◼ Obama’s Abusive Staff - PETER WEHNER/COMMENTARY
...I actually believe this conduct can be what Mr. Obama wants. He is himself quite thin-skinned and closed-minded, so it makes perfect sense for his staff to be as well. And while the press coverage they get often ranges from favorable to fawning, it is never good enough for them. The job of intimidation is a full-time one, after all, and it clearly works with some journalists.
One of the extraordinary talents the president has is projecting an image of decency and civility while giving home to staffers who are known for being abusive and threatening.
It’s perfectly appropriate to judge a president by his White House staff. And Ron Fournier has done us the favor of lifting the curtain, just a bit, on this one.
It isn’t a pretty sight.
◼ Obama Takes Aim at Defiant Reporters - David Limbaugh/Newsmax
◼ Why Bob Woodward Must Now Be Destroyed - Bryan Preston/PJM
Ace sums up the three reasons that the medialeft, and in particular the BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo and Media Matters JournoList mafia, are now doing everything they can to tear down Bob Woodward.
There are several lies Woodward has exposed:In sum, President Obama’s administration is going out of its way to hurt the American people, so that he can achieve his goal of destroying the Republican Party en route to obtaining total power in the mid-terms next year. That’s his goal, the sequester was part of his plan, and Bob Woodward had to go and report the facts. Can’t have that.
1. Obama, despite the media blitz to blame the GOP, actually conceived of and proposed the sequester.
2. Obama, despite now claiming that tax increases must be part of the deal to avoid the sequester, agreed last year that only spending cuts would constitute the plan to avoid the sequester. Thus, he’s “moved goalposts” yet again.
3. Obama does not in fact have to release illegal aliens or cancel ship deployments due to the sequester — he’s doing these things by choice, for political purposes.
◼ And will the media come to Woodward's defense? He says No, and I've been saying the same thing. - Ace Of Spades
#9724; If only Obama knew - neoneocon
◼ WASHINGTON MOCKS WOODWARD - New Yorker
◼ Press turns on one of their own - Politico
◼ Andrew Sullivan: He's 'a liar' - Politico
◼ Plouffe: He's getting old - FOX
◼ Bam! Brit Hume: ‘Woodward clearly established that Pres. & Co. twice told whoppers’ - Twitchy
@brithume In other words, Woodward practiced real journalism, and for that he will never be forgiven by Obama media supporters
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) February 28, 2013
◼ National Journal Editor-In-Chief Ron Fournier: Clueless Hack -- or Touchingly Naive Drone? - Doug Ross
◼ Obama’s Abusive Staff - PETER WEHNER/COMMENTARY
...I actually believe this conduct can be what Mr. Obama wants. He is himself quite thin-skinned and closed-minded, so it makes perfect sense for his staff to be as well. And while the press coverage they get often ranges from favorable to fawning, it is never good enough for them. The job of intimidation is a full-time one, after all, and it clearly works with some journalists.
One of the extraordinary talents the president has is projecting an image of decency and civility while giving home to staffers who are known for being abusive and threatening.
It’s perfectly appropriate to judge a president by his White House staff. And Ron Fournier has done us the favor of lifting the curtain, just a bit, on this one.
It isn’t a pretty sight.
◼ Obama Takes Aim at Defiant Reporters - David Limbaugh/Newsmax
4) Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.
This is something conservatives have gotten much better at in the last few years, but we seldom take it far enough. If we did, a tax cheat who advocates higher taxes could certainly never be our Treasury Secretary, Barack Obama would be afraid to associate with race hustlers like Al Sharpton or one percenters like Warren Buffet, and Al Gore would have either given up his mansion or his status as the leader of the cult of global warming. ◼ 12 ways to use Saul Alinsky's Rules For Radicals Against Liberals - Townhall
'Organizing for Action,' formerly Obama's campaign apparatus 'Organizing For America,' (OFA) sends out campaign-style email attacking congressional Republicans
(Former Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter – now a high ranking member of Organizing for Action) ◼ OFA Email: Attack Congressional Republicans on Sequester
The email pushes the boundaries of the standard that defines allowable communications that can be sent out by "issues advocacy" social welfare non-profit groups organized under Section 501(c)4 of the Internal Revenue code. In effect, Wednesday's OFA email constitutes one of the first campaign ads of the 2014 mid-term Congressional elections, sent by a partisan Democratic organization billing itself as a social welfare group.
In the email, Stephanie Cutter, who served as the Deputy Campaign Manager in the 2012 Obama for America presidential campaign, attacked "congressional Republicans" four different times in the email. The message was sent to an email list of 17 million Obama supporters that was developed over several years using millions of dollars of political contributions to Obama for America.
It remains to be seen whether there are grounds for Republicans to mount a legal challenge to this effort by the Obama campaign team operating under the framework of Organizing for Action.
◼ Obama Signs Fundraising Email for 'Non-Partisan' Organizing for Action - JERYL BIER/Weekly Standard MAY 29, 2013
Kill that Baby "Abortion Battles"
◼ ‘KILL THAT BABY!’: VIRAL VID OF ‘ABORTION BATTLES’ SHOWING STUDENTS TRYING TO STAB MOCK BALLOON FETUSES SPARKS OUTRAGE
Students at Hunter College in New York City are under fire after they posted a video on the Internet showing them partaking in an eyebrow-raising game. The clip shows the group playing “Abortion Battles” — the title of which gives clues to its contentious attributes.
The activity, which has captured the ire of anti-abortion advocates, involves wearing an inflated balloon under one’s shirt. Then, opponents face-off with plastic forks in an effort to pop one another’s faux fetuses.
The uploaded clip, which was apparently captured in the Hunter College cafeteria, was posted to YouTube and subsequently went viral on Wednesday. The individuals depicted in it can be seen with plastic forks — the tool they use to “attack” one another, WCBS-TV reports.
Students can be heard yelling, “Kill that baby! Just do it!” among other sentiments.
...A Hunter College spokesperson told the Post that the college is investigating the incident and that it was not something the school had sanctioned or supported.
Anti-Sharia Bills are the real "Violence Against Women Act"
◼ Once again the Dems take their anti-freedom, anti-America agenda and package it as something entirely different. This week's steaming pile of dung in a pretty blue box is the Violence Against Women Act. - Atlas Shrugs
Yes, of course we are against violence against women -- or are we? Where is the vocal support for anti-sharia bills? Sharia is the most brutal and misogynist system of governance. Where are the bills against honor violence, honor killing, FGM?
Yes, of course we are against violence against women -- or are we? Where is the vocal support for anti-sharia bills? Sharia is the most brutal and misogynist system of governance. Where are the bills against honor violence, honor killing, FGM?
Labels:
#WarOnWomen,
Federal Legislation,
Sharia Law,
Womens Rights
Lars Hedegaard: Courageous Danish Leftist
◼ Dennis talks to Lars Hedegaard, Danish journalist, who narrowly escaped death at the ends of a Muslim assasin. - Dennis Prager
You can learn more about his incredible story ◼ here. You can support him and read his paper ◼ here.
...Dispatch International is critical of mass immigration to Sweden and Denmark from third-world countries and takes a dim view of Islam. As a consequence, we have been reviled as "racist." We are not. We simply insist on our right to defend freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and individual and sexual equality. We also insist on our right to criticize religious fanatics of every stripe who try to impose theocratic laws and customs on free societies.
When I was a young Marxist during the 1960s and '70s, these opinions used to be described as characteristic of the political left. Nowadays the defenders of such positions are routinely labeled as right-wing or as belonging to the "extreme right." Meanwhile, what used to be the left is cozying up to holy men who want adulterous women to be stoned, homosexuals to be hanged, apostates from Islam to be killed, and 1,200-year-old laws emanating from somewhere in the Arabian desert to replace our free constitutions....
Unfortunately, the attempt on my life is one in a wave of political assassinations or attempted assassinations that has swept Europe since Ayatollah Khomeini issued his so-called fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989. Some have been killed—among them the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn and Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Others, like writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali, have been forced to flee Europe or go into hiding.
I am determined not to be silenced, come what may. I refuse to live in a world ruled by the gun.
If you can listen to the show or the podcast, highly recommended.
You can learn more about his incredible story ◼ here. You can support him and read his paper ◼ here.
...Dispatch International is critical of mass immigration to Sweden and Denmark from third-world countries and takes a dim view of Islam. As a consequence, we have been reviled as "racist." We are not. We simply insist on our right to defend freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and individual and sexual equality. We also insist on our right to criticize religious fanatics of every stripe who try to impose theocratic laws and customs on free societies.
When I was a young Marxist during the 1960s and '70s, these opinions used to be described as characteristic of the political left. Nowadays the defenders of such positions are routinely labeled as right-wing or as belonging to the "extreme right." Meanwhile, what used to be the left is cozying up to holy men who want adulterous women to be stoned, homosexuals to be hanged, apostates from Islam to be killed, and 1,200-year-old laws emanating from somewhere in the Arabian desert to replace our free constitutions....
Unfortunately, the attempt on my life is one in a wave of political assassinations or attempted assassinations that has swept Europe since Ayatollah Khomeini issued his so-called fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989. Some have been killed—among them the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn and Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Others, like writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali, have been forced to flee Europe or go into hiding.
I am determined not to be silenced, come what may. I refuse to live in a world ruled by the gun.
If you can listen to the show or the podcast, highly recommended.
Labels:
Freedom of Speech,
International News,
Islam/Muslim,
Sweden
Media Turns Against Obama's Sequester Narrative
◼ The Overhyped, Overblown, & Overly Politicized Sequester Fears - Niraj Chokshi and Nancy Cook/National Journal
It turns out that the next big fiscal crisis will seem more like a whimper when it hits on March 1.
Let’s be clear about one thing: The across-the-board spending cuts known as the "sequester” aren’t a doomsday scenario, or a meteorite that will blow up the economy.
Teachers, FBI agents, and Border Patrol officers will not get fired tomorrow, when the sequester kicks in. The Internal Revenue Service will still be able to process your tax return in April. Preschool programs won't kick out 70,000 little kids until the fall, according to Education Secretary Arne Duncan—and that’s if the spending cuts stick. Unemployed people, arguably some of the worst-off of the lot, will not see their federal benefits reduced by 11 percent until April at the earliest, says the National Employment Law Project. This is roughly four weeks away, giving Congress and the White House time to act beyond the March 1 deadline that has been touted in headlines and press conferences for the past week.
The immediate impact of sequester is “absolutely overhyped,” says Steve Bell, senior director for economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former Republican staff director for the Senate Budget Committee. “A sequester will occur and, the next day, the likelihood is that almost no one will know that it started.”
◼ The President's justified confidence in a media that long ago sold its soul on his behalf put him way out over his skis, and now, thanks to a few honest reporters, it's all tumbling down around him. - John Nolte/Breitbart
Over the past weeks, President Obama has been running around the country like Chicken Little spreading falsehoods about sequester, all in the hopes of blaming a 2% budget cut (which he proposed and signed into law) for an anemic economy that might be headed into a double-dip recession. Simply put, the White House and its media are pushing this fabricated Narrative in the hopes of shifting blame away from Obama's failed economic policies and onto the GOP and a lack of government largess.
◼ President Obama’s Legacy: Government Greed - Bobby Jindal
It seems as if President Obama sends out another cabinet secretary every hour to tell the public about the dire consequences we will face if the sequestration cuts are not averted.
You’ve heard them — no vaccinations for children, teachers losing their jobs, less security from terrorist attacks, longer wait times at airports, and fewer food inspections. Now there are even reports that government officials are releasing hundreds of immigrants from deportation centers. What’s next? Is the president going to threaten to open the doors of federal prisons? This is silly....
Even after the sequestration reductions, the federal budget will actually be larger than it was last year. Let that one sink in. Only in Washington, D.C., would this be called a cut.
It turns out that the next big fiscal crisis will seem more like a whimper when it hits on March 1.
Let’s be clear about one thing: The across-the-board spending cuts known as the "sequester” aren’t a doomsday scenario, or a meteorite that will blow up the economy.
Teachers, FBI agents, and Border Patrol officers will not get fired tomorrow, when the sequester kicks in. The Internal Revenue Service will still be able to process your tax return in April. Preschool programs won't kick out 70,000 little kids until the fall, according to Education Secretary Arne Duncan—and that’s if the spending cuts stick. Unemployed people, arguably some of the worst-off of the lot, will not see their federal benefits reduced by 11 percent until April at the earliest, says the National Employment Law Project. This is roughly four weeks away, giving Congress and the White House time to act beyond the March 1 deadline that has been touted in headlines and press conferences for the past week.
The immediate impact of sequester is “absolutely overhyped,” says Steve Bell, senior director for economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former Republican staff director for the Senate Budget Committee. “A sequester will occur and, the next day, the likelihood is that almost no one will know that it started.”
◼ The President's justified confidence in a media that long ago sold its soul on his behalf put him way out over his skis, and now, thanks to a few honest reporters, it's all tumbling down around him. - John Nolte/Breitbart
Over the past weeks, President Obama has been running around the country like Chicken Little spreading falsehoods about sequester, all in the hopes of blaming a 2% budget cut (which he proposed and signed into law) for an anemic economy that might be headed into a double-dip recession. Simply put, the White House and its media are pushing this fabricated Narrative in the hopes of shifting blame away from Obama's failed economic policies and onto the GOP and a lack of government largess.
◼ President Obama’s Legacy: Government Greed - Bobby Jindal
It seems as if President Obama sends out another cabinet secretary every hour to tell the public about the dire consequences we will face if the sequestration cuts are not averted.
You’ve heard them — no vaccinations for children, teachers losing their jobs, less security from terrorist attacks, longer wait times at airports, and fewer food inspections. Now there are even reports that government officials are releasing hundreds of immigrants from deportation centers. What’s next? Is the president going to threaten to open the doors of federal prisons? This is silly....
Even after the sequestration reductions, the federal budget will actually be larger than it was last year. Let that one sink in. Only in Washington, D.C., would this be called a cut.
LANNY DAVIS: WH threatened me, too... UPDATED
◼ 'All the President's Thugs'... - J. Christian Adams/PJM ◼ Via Drudge
◼ Former Clinton aide, columnist joins Woodward in claiming White House threat - FOX
The latest claim comes from Lanny Davis, who served as counsel to former President Bill Clinton and later went on to write a column for The Washington Times. In a radio interview on WMAL, Davis said that a "senior Obama White House official" once called his editor at the Times and said that if the paper continued to run his columns, "his reporters would lose their credentials."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/28/white-house-denies-staffer-threatened-watergate-journalist-woodward/#ixzz2MGnt7Bxb
◼ Ron Fournier: Yeah, I Got the Abusive Treatment From the WH and the Same 'You Will Regret This' Threat - Ace of Spades/Breitbart
WHITE HOUSE THREATENS WOODWARD: 'YOU WILL REGRET DOING THIS'...
Watergate reporter blasts Obama 'madness'...
'It makes me very uncomfortable'...
◼ Color me prescient — Woodward in the crosshairs - Bookworn Room
Obama “senior advisor” David Plouffe went on Twitter to say that Woodward has become too old to matter. Other current generation reporters, the ones who confuse sycophantic propaganda with old-style investigative reporting, were equally vicious and/or dismissive of this one-time journalism icon.
Though no one’s disputed Woodward’s reporting, the media’s Cult of Obama began pushing back against the Watergate legend even before he dropped the bomb last night that he had been threatened by a top White House official.
But when that news hit, many in media immediately chose to protect Obama by ridiculing Woodward, questioning his motives, and/or dismissing his reporting....
◼ Sperling Email To Bob Woodward revealed - Nice Deb
Almost sounding like a character in The Godfather, Sperling cautions Woodward “As a friend” to rethink his position. He tells him that he thinks Woodward will “regret” his claim.
◼ Woodward’s Basic Point Still Holds: The Woodward, Sperling emails revealed - Riehl World View
◼ Obama Takes Aim at Defiant Reporters - David Limbaugh/Newsmax
You could have listened to Michael Barone. He saw it coming even before Barack Obama was elected. In October 2008, he penned “The Coming Obama Thugocracy.”◼ LANNY DAVIS: WH threatened me, too... - WMAL
...there is something unique about the Obama White House. It borrows tactics and standards from the darker figures in history — threats, projection, unrepentant dishonesty, towering columns in stadiums, and even bloody mayhem like Fast and Furious hatched for political purposes.
Richard Nixon seems like a fluffy kitten compared to this crowd.
Which brings us back to you, Mr. Woodward. What’s happened when you, of all people, are the bad guy?
◼ Former Clinton aide, columnist joins Woodward in claiming White House threat - FOX
The latest claim comes from Lanny Davis, who served as counsel to former President Bill Clinton and later went on to write a column for The Washington Times. In a radio interview on WMAL, Davis said that a "senior Obama White House official" once called his editor at the Times and said that if the paper continued to run his columns, "his reporters would lose their credentials."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/28/white-house-denies-staffer-threatened-watergate-journalist-woodward/#ixzz2MGnt7Bxb
◼ Ron Fournier: Yeah, I Got the Abusive Treatment From the WH and the Same 'You Will Regret This' Threat - Ace of Spades/Breitbart
Now National Journal reporter Ron Fournier -- whom I believe to be a liberal in good standing with his paperwork in order -- drops this tidbit:◼ Left ramps up campaign to discredit...Woodward - Twitchy
As editor-in-chief of National Journal, I received several e-mails and telephone calls from this White House official filled with vulgarity, abusive language, and virtually the same phrase that Woodward called a veiled threat. “You will regret staking out that claim,” The Washington Post reporter was told.
Once I moved back to daily reporting this year, the badgering intensified. I wrote Saturday night, asking the official to stop e-mailing me. The official wrote, challenging Woodward and my tweet. “Get off your high horse and assess the facts, Ron,” the official wrote.
WHITE HOUSE THREATENS WOODWARD: 'YOU WILL REGRET DOING THIS'...
Watergate reporter blasts Obama 'madness'...
'It makes me very uncomfortable'...
Nearly everyone in the Beltway media attacked Woodward for daring to challenge the WHITE HOUSE's version of events. That's amazing. #tcot
— RB (@RBPundit) February 28, 2013
@brithume In other words, Woodward practiced real journalism, and for that he will never be forgiven by Obama media supporters
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) February 28, 2013
◼ Color me prescient — Woodward in the crosshairs - Bookworn Room
Obama “senior advisor” David Plouffe went on Twitter to say that Woodward has become too old to matter. Other current generation reporters, the ones who confuse sycophantic propaganda with old-style investigative reporting, were equally vicious and/or dismissive of this one-time journalism icon.
Though no one’s disputed Woodward’s reporting, the media’s Cult of Obama began pushing back against the Watergate legend even before he dropped the bomb last night that he had been threatened by a top White House official.
But when that news hit, many in media immediately chose to protect Obama by ridiculing Woodward, questioning his motives, and/or dismissing his reporting....
◼ Sperling Email To Bob Woodward revealed - Nice Deb
Almost sounding like a character in The Godfather, Sperling cautions Woodward “As a friend” to rethink his position. He tells him that he thinks Woodward will “regret” his claim.
◼ Woodward’s Basic Point Still Holds: The Woodward, Sperling emails revealed - Riehl World View
***VIDEO: White House Official Accused of Threatening Bob Woodward Berated Maria Bartiromo on Obama Budget bit.ly/VOTFGw #tcot #p2
— El SOOPer!! (@SooperMexican) February 28, 2013
◼ Obama Takes Aim at Defiant Reporters - David Limbaugh/Newsmax
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
CBS News’ Sharyl Attkisson reviews the many still-unanswered questions about Benghazi terror attack
◼ Sharyl Attkisson is one of only a handful of journalists still bothering to ask the questions, although she’s getting little help from the most transparent administration ever. - Twitchy
As promised, I will give an update on the Benghazi info CBS asked the Admin. to provide last Oct.
— Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) February 28, 2013
I tweeted out the outstanding questions a month ago. Since then, while the Admin. hasn't provided CBS additional info...
...some of the questions were asked by Congress, and some of them were answered.
So let's go through the answered and as-yet-unanswered.
This is to the best of my knowledge. Since answers weren't provided to me, I've tried to find them in hearings, etc.
UNANSWERED: What time was Ambassador’s Stevens’ body recovered, what are the known details surrounding his disappearance and death...
...including where he/his body was taken/found/transported and by whom?
UNANSWERED: Who made the decision not to convene the Counterterrorism Security Group (CSG) the night of the Benghazi attacks?
UNANSWERED: We understand that convening the CSG a protocol under Presidential directive (“NSPD-46”). Is that true? If not, please explain..
UNANSWERED: .... if so, why was the protocol not followed?
UNANSWERED: Is the Administration revising the applicable Presidential directive? If so, please explain.
ANSWERED AT CONG. HEARINGS: Who is the highest-ranking official who was aware of pre-911 security requests from US personnel in Libya?
Secy Clinton said she was unaware of Stevens' security concerns/requests & that Undersecy Kennedy was highest official below her who knew.
UNANSWERED: Who is/are the official(s) responsible for removing reference to al-Qaeda from the original CIA notes?
UNANSWERED: Was the President aware of Gen. Petraeus’ potential problems prior to Thurs., Nov. 8, 2012?
UNANSWERED: And What was the earliest that any White House official was aware? Please provide details
UNANSWERED: What is your response to the President stating that on Sept. 12, he called 911 a terrorist attack, in light of his CBS interview
...on that date in which he answered that it was too early to know whether it was a terrorist attack?
UNANSWERED: Is anyone being held accountable for having no resources close enough to reach this high-threat area within 8+ hours on Sept. 11
ANSWERED: and has the Administration taken steps to have resources available sooner in case of emergency in the future?
Chmn of Jt Chiefs Dempsey testified that troops in the region were put on higher alert status after the 9/11/12 attacks..
...he said he wasn't sure how long the higher alert status could be maintained. He didn't address the alleged lack of certain aircraft at
..major US naval base very close to libya
UNANSWERED: A Benghazi victim’s family member stated that Mrs. Clinton told him she would find and arrest whoever made the anti-Islam video,
Is this accurate? If so, what was Mrs. Clinton’s understanding at the time of what would be the grounds for arrest?
If true, what is the Administration’s view regarding other videos or future material that it may wish were not published, but are legal?
PARTIAL ANSWER: We requested timeline of Pres. Obama's actions and decision making on Benghazi night.
Secy Clinton testified Pres. Obama didn't speak to her that night or throughout the attacks.
After the initial briefing on LIbya and other matters at the very outset, Chmn of Jt Chiefs said Pres. Obama didn't communicate with him and
Def Secy Panetta testified Pres. Obama didn't speak with him either throughout the attacks.
Officials have said Pres. Obama was very much kept informed of what was happening.
UNANSWERED: White House still will not respond to our request for any White House photos taken Benghazi nite.
UNANSWERED: Admin. still hasn't provided Benghazi surveillance video originally promised for public release around last Thanksgiving
UNANSWERED: Admin. hasn't provided accounting of Benghazi survivors or the transcripts of their interviews done shortly after the attacks.
\At a press conference 11/14/12, President Obama stated that his Admin. has provided all info regarding "what happened in Benghazi."
No agency has provided documents responsive to our Freedom of Info (FOI) requests on Benghazi.
We've asked the NSA, State Dept, Defense Intelligence Agency, CIA
So far, not one piece of paper generated by these public agencies on Benghazi nite is deemed a document the public is entitled to see.
Let's be real: if enough people in the public, media and Congress don't ask, then any Administration has the option to not answer.
I'm a big fan of FOI (Freedom of Info) but the Administrations I've covered (both Dem & Repub) seem to have made an art form out of ignoring
His presentation was similarly dramatic to the claims he made on CBS on Sunday, insisting that “there are literally teachers now who are getting pink slips, who are getting notices that they can’t come back this fall.” But, when questioned further about that claim in his press briefing today, well… awkward:
◼ Oops: Arne Duncan may’ve been a bit overenthusiastic in his dire sequester warnings - Erika Johnsen/HotAir
When he was pressed in a White House briefing Wednesday to come up with an example, Duncan named a single county in West Virginia and acknowledged, “whether it’s all sequester-related, I don’t know.”Ahem. It would appear that the “firemen first” principle is alive and well.
And, as it turns out, it isn’t.
Officials in Kanawha County, West Virginia say that the “transfer notices” sent to at least 104 educators had more to do with a separate matter that involves a change in the way West Virginia allocates federal dollars designated for poor children.
She said those 104 notices will ultimately result in the elimination of about five to six teaching jobs, which were likely to be cut regardless of the sequester.
Labels:
Campaign tactics,
Sequestration,
Spending,
Spending Cuts
RULES FOR RADICALS 3) Wherever possible go outside the experience of the enemy.
The GOP often foolishly retreats from social issues. This is a huge mistake in an era when 76% of the country is Christian and most liberals find sincere Christian beliefs to be repellent. We don't have to preach at anyone, wag our fingers, or turn into legions of Ned Flanders, but we shouldn't be afraid to talk about our Christian beliefs, stick up for Christians who are under attack, and hammer the Left for its anti-Christian bigotry. Conservatism is a pro-Christian ideology and liberalism is an anti-Christian ideology. We should never be afraid to drive that point home. ◼ http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2012/04/13/12_ways_to_use_saul_alinskys_rules_for_radicals_against_liberals/page/full/ - Townhall
Does Feinstein Really Have ‘All the Police’ Backing Her ‘Assault’ Weapons Bill? One Former Cop Says No.
◼ Yesterday on MSNBC, California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein made a startling claim. She claimed that “I think we’ve got all the police,” backing her latest “assault” weapons ban, adding that “we have all the mayors virtually.” - Bryan Preston/PJM
Is that true? Feinstein may have the support of most big city mayors, liberals like Michael Bloomberg foremost among them, but what about police officers?
...Fast forward and (former Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL).) is elected to Congress in the 2010 Tea Party class. She has a strong opinion, as a former law enforcement officer, on the subject of firearms and an armed citizenry. They don’t square at all with Sen. Feinstein’s take.
“I can tell you she doesn’t have all the police because I just met with a large group of rank and file police and they don’t agree. None of the ones I spoke with were supportive.”
◼ THEBLAZE FACT-CHECKS SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN’S ANTI-GUN CLAIMS MADE DURING SENATE COMMITTEE HEARING - Jason Howerton/TheBlaze
...do the facts support Feinstein’s argument?
Let’s start with the claim that mass killings are on the rise in the United States. According to the Associated Press, those who study mass shootings say they are not becoming more common.
“There is no pattern, there is no increase,” says criminologist James Allen Fox of Boston’s Northeastern University, who has been studying the subject since the 1980s, spurred by a rash of mass shootings in post offices.... MORE at the link.
Is that true? Feinstein may have the support of most big city mayors, liberals like Michael Bloomberg foremost among them, but what about police officers?
...Fast forward and (former Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL).) is elected to Congress in the 2010 Tea Party class. She has a strong opinion, as a former law enforcement officer, on the subject of firearms and an armed citizenry. They don’t square at all with Sen. Feinstein’s take.
“I can tell you she doesn’t have all the police because I just met with a large group of rank and file police and they don’t agree. None of the ones I spoke with were supportive.”
◼ THEBLAZE FACT-CHECKS SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN’S ANTI-GUN CLAIMS MADE DURING SENATE COMMITTEE HEARING - Jason Howerton/TheBlaze
...do the facts support Feinstein’s argument?
Let’s start with the claim that mass killings are on the rise in the United States. According to the Associated Press, those who study mass shootings say they are not becoming more common.
“There is no pattern, there is no increase,” says criminologist James Allen Fox of Boston’s Northeastern University, who has been studying the subject since the 1980s, spurred by a rash of mass shootings in post offices.... MORE at the link.
WHITE HOUSE THREATENS BOB WOODWARD:
'YOU WILL REGRET DOING THIS'
◼ BOB WOODWARD: A 'Very Senior' White House Person Warned Me I'd 'Regret' What I'm Doing - Brett LoGiurato/Business Insider
Woodward began stirring controversy last weekend, when he called out Obama for what he said was "moving the goal posts" on the sequester by requesting that revenue be part of a deal to avert it....
◼ Bob Woodward: ‘Very senior person’ at White House said you’ll ‘regret’ reporting on sequester [video] - Twitchy
The most transparent WH ever is now threatening journalists that report things in a way they don't like.
— AG (@AG_Conservative) February 27, 2013
Media Matters attacks Bob Woodward, White House threatens Bob Woodward, now all the people he inspired are turning on him. #CultofObama
— RB (@RBPundit) February 28, 2013
◼ White House Tells Bob Woodward: "You Will Regret Doing This" - The Video - Breitbart
◼ #StandWithWoodward - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion
The #StandWithWoodward hashtag started with this post has really taken off on Twitter. - ◼ See more at:
Labels:
Bob Woodward,
Media bias,
President/Candidate Obama
Dr. Carson: White House Repeatedly Asked for Advanced Copies of Speech Before Prayer Breakfast
◼ Carson, a prominent neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins University, declined to do so, noting that he doesn’t put his speeches down on paper beforehand. - The Hill via ◼ FOX
“I told them that I don’t have an advance copy because I don’t write out my speeches and I don’t use teleprompters …they asked more than once ... I gave them the [Biblical] texts around which the remarks would be framed ... I said read those texts, the remarks will be framed around those ... that should have told them something,” Carson said in an interview with The Hill this week.
“I told them that I don’t have an advance copy because I don’t write out my speeches and I don’t use teleprompters …they asked more than once ... I gave them the [Biblical] texts around which the remarks would be framed ... I said read those texts, the remarks will be framed around those ... that should have told them something,” Carson said in an interview with The Hill this week.
An 'Impeachable Offense'
◼ Napolitano blasted Obama for using the “Sequester” to “hurt” the nation; Possible Impeachable Offense!! - NewsNinja
Here is video of Judge Andrew Napolitano on “Fox & Friends” this morning saying what Barack Obama is doing with the “Sequester” is “almost an impeachable offense.” Napolitano blasted Obama for using the “Sequester” to “hurt” the nation, when it is his Constitutional duty to “make the Government work.”
"He can decide where the cuts happen," Napolitano said, even though Obama is acting as if his hands are tied and the most essential services must be cut. In reality, Napolitano pointed out Obama could fund anything he wishes to fund and cut something else less important, since he is the Chief Executive of the nation. Instead, he wants to use the "Sequester" as a political tool to demonize Republicans. Lost in all of this, of course, is that the "Sequester" was Obama's idea to start with.
◼ Rush Limbaugh Says Obama's Illegal Immigrant Release Is An 'Impeachable Offense' - PolitixDavid/Politix
Rush Limbaugh has had it with President Barack Obama. The conservative radio show host is livid over a move to release detainees who are in the country illegally. Limbaugh called it an "impeachable offense" on his show Wednesday morning, according to DailyRushbo.
"The president of the United States has opened up the jails," Limbaugh said. "Because of budget cuts that have not happened yet, the president of the United States has released 500 or so illegal immigrants. And by definition of law they are criminals."
...White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday the administration was unaware of ICE's decision to release detainees until the agency announced it, Politico reported....
Obama’s 13 Taxes on The Middle Class
◼ Obama repeatedly promised the nation that he wouldn’t raise their taxes by “a single dime.” No, his raising them about 3000% more than that. - Nice Deb (Blogs We LOVE!)
Via ◼ The Foundry:
President Obama is crisscrossing the country to scare Americans about sequestration. But what’s really frightening are the 13 Obama tax hikes that took effect in 2013.
These tax increases, which range from new Obamacare taxes to a payroll tax hike on workers, will slow the economy. Heritage Foundation President-Elect Jim DeMint warned on Fox News last night these tax hikes have the potential to cause more harm than the budget cuts that will happen as a result of sequestration:
Most of the media is so sold out to Obama that they’re missing the obvious. The policies the President has in place, especially the tax increases that just got in, are going to hurt our economy, probably actually bring it down. The President is desperate to blame it on Republicans. He wants to blame it on a reduction in government spending. But the taxes are taking almost two-and-a-half times more out of the economy than this sequester will.So how do the Obama tax hikes compare to sequestration? It’s a whopping $149.7 billion in taxes vs. $85 billion in spending cuts.
Labels:
Middle Class,
President/Candidate Obama,
Taxes
#SpendingIsTheProblem: What Could You Do With Your $52K Share of the National Debt?
◼ From Speaker John Boehner:
In the nearly four years since Senate Democrats last passed a budget, government spending has driven our national debt up past $16 trillion (and rising). That’s more than $52,000 for every man, woman, and child. Our new infographic released this morning looks at just some of the things an average American could do with that money. For example, you could:
◼ Put a down payment on a house, pay off a chunk of your mortgage, or have your rent covered for the next four years. At the end of 2012, the average home price was about $200,000 and the average monthly rent was $1,048.
◼ Pay off all your personal debts, including student loans, and live debt free. According to AOL’s Daily Finance, the average American has a personal debt of about $47,000. The average student loan debt is $23,000.
◼ Become your own boss by starting your own business. The Small Business Administration pegs the average cost of starting a new business at $30,000.
◼ Never worry again about money for back-to-school clothes and supplies. According to the Huffington Post, surveys show average back-to-school costs can range anywhere from $688.62 to $800 for a family of four.
◼ Pay for groceries every week for nearly 7 years. A Gallup survey found Americans spend an average of $151 per week on groceries. At that rate, you’d have almost seven years’ worth of grocery bills covered.
◼ Help your child pay for college – and avoid costly student loans by investing in a 529. A 2011 article in USA Today said 529s are a “superior way for most people to save for their children’s higher education.” At an average rate of interest, your share of the national debt – set aside for your baby today – could, in 18 years, be enough to cover the cost of a four year college degree.
◼ Start a rainy day fund and cover home maintenance costs for more than 25 years. MSN Real Estate says homeowners can assume maintenance costs “will come to about 1% of the property’s value — every year.” Your share of the national debt could cover more than 25 years of maintenance costs at that rate – a pretty nice rainy day fund.
◼ Treat yourself and buy NFL season tickets every year, for nearly 67 years. The average ticket price for 2012 was $78.38. At that price, for a 10 game package, you’re pretty much covered for season tickets for the rest of your life.
◼ Cover all car maintenance, gas, and insurance for five years. AAA says it costs $8,946 a year to own and operate an automobile in the United States. That means you’d have your fuel costs, insurance, maintenance, everything – all covered – for about five years.
◼ Donate to charity, and help those less fortunate or our wounded warriors and their families.
While our debt continues to grow, President Obama and Senate Democrats are demanding more tax hikes to fuel more ‘stimulus-style spending. That’s why Speaker John Boehner says we don’t need higher taxes -- “It’s time to focus on the real problem here in Washington, and that is spending.”
Republicans voted twice to replace the president’s sequester with smarter spending cuts and reforms. And – for the third year in a row – the House will pass a budget that promotes economic growth and addresses our debt crisis. Now we need Senate Democrats and President Obama to do the same.
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CALIFORNIA SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN TELLS GUN OWNERS SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLES ARE UNNECESSARY ‘PERSONAL PLEASURES’
◼ link - Jason Howerton/THE BLAZE
“We will make the case that these weapons do not belong on the streets of our cities,” Feinstein said. “I recognize it’s an uphill battle. But I also know that these events are going to continue and America has to step up. The mothers, the women, the men of America have to make a decision as to whether their personal pleasure is more important than the general welfare.”
“We will make the case that these weapons do not belong on the streets of our cities,” Feinstein said. “I recognize it’s an uphill battle. But I also know that these events are going to continue and America has to step up. The mothers, the women, the men of America have to make a decision as to whether their personal pleasure is more important than the general welfare.”
‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?’: BOB WOODWARD ESCALATES HIS WAR WITH THE WHITE HOUSE
◼ "That’s a kind of madness that I haven’t seen in a long time.” - The Blaze
Bob Woodward, who, along with fellow reporter Carl Bernstein, is credited with bringing down Richard Nixon, took his fight with the Obama administration over its handling of sequester (i.e. automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect March 1) to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” accusing the president of acting with a “kind of madness.”
“I think peoples’ heads are about to explode about all of this, you know, what the hell is going on here?” Woodward said Wednesday. “I’m not sure the White House understands exactly what happened in all of these negotiation at the end of 2011 with the sequester and the super committee, because they were really on the sidelines.”
He continued, turning his attention to the White House’s recent claim that spending cuts would prohibit it from deploying aircraft carriers to the Persian Gulf.
“Can you imagine Ronald Reagan sitting there and saying ‘Oh, by the way, I can’t do this because of some budget document?’” Woodward said.
◼ Woodward: Obama Exhibiting 'A Kind of Madness I Haven't Seen in a Long Time’ - Noel Sheppard/Newsbusters
◼ Zing! Brit Hume slams ‘sky-is-falling’ fear-monger Obama; ‘Is he a great man or what?’ - Twitchy
It turns out our sky-is-falling president has much more flexibility in imposing the sequester than he is admitting. online.wsj.com/article/SB1000…
— Brit Hume (@brithume) February 27, 2013
The president is now seeking to make as painful as possible a set of budget cuts he proposed and signed into law. Is he a great man or what?
— Brit Hume (@brithume) February 25, 2013
◼ The Sequester Revelation: Obama has the legal power to avoid spending-cut damage. - Wall Street Journal
And when the Republicans opened the seventh seal of the sequester, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black and the stars fell unto the Earth; and our nation's ability to forecast severe weather, such as drought events, hurricanes and tornados, was seriously undermined. Lo, and the children were not vaccinated, and all the beasts starved in the zoos, and the planes were grounded.
Or so President Obama and his Cabinet prophets have been preaching ahead of the automatic budget cuts due to begin Friday. The bit about the weather is a real quote from the White House budget director.
But if any of these cataclysms do come to pass, then they will be mostly Mr. Obama's own creation. The truth is that the sequester already gives the White House the legal flexibility to avoid doom, if a 5% cut to programs that have increased more than 17% on average over the Obama Presidency counts as doom....
Neither the legal details of the sequester nor the practical work of reforming government are as interesting to the media as Mr. Obama's invocations of plagues and pestilence. The real revelation is that if the world does end, it will be Mr. Obama's choice.
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