Fundraising push from Sebelius draws scrutiny from key GOP senator
[FoxNews-AP]
Published May 11, 2013
April 17, 2013: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP)
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ recent push to encourage health care executives and nonprofit organizations to make donations to organizations working to implement ObamaCare is drawing criticism from a key Senate Republican who questions whether she has a conflict of interest.
HHS spokesman Jason Young confirms that Sebelius in recent weeks has asked various charitable foundations, businesses executives, churches and doctors to make financial contributions to nonprofit organizations, such as Enroll America, that are helping to implement President Obama’s health care overhaul.
Young said there is a special section within the Public Health Services Act that allows the HHS secretary to solicit financial support for nonprofit organizations conducting public health work. He said most of the solicitations have occurred through telephone calls, but in some speeches as well.
“For the last several months, the secretary has been working with a full range of stakeholders who share in the mission of getting Americans the help they need and deserve,” Young said. “We have always worked with outside groups and the efforts now ramping up are just one more part of that work.”
The fundraising pitches were first reported by the Washington Post. Young said Sebelius made no fundraising request of entities regulated by HSS, such as drug companies, hospitals or insurers.
Some lawmakers and advocacy groups have voiced concerns in recent weeks that many consumers will have a hard time navigating the health coverage options available to them next year as a mix of government programs and tax credits for private insurance kicks in.
The administration has recently announced it would be directing $200 million to states, private groups and local health centers so that they can hire workers who can help consumers pick the insurance plan best for them. The fundraising pitches appear to be another step along those lines. Beginning Oct. 1, people can start signing up for coverage through new state and federal health exchanges.
But Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said that soliciting money from health care executives is absurd.
“Moving forward, I will be seeking more information from the administration about these actions to help better understand whether there are conflicts of interest and if it violated federal law,” Hatch said.
Hatch’s criticism comes as House Republicans plan yet another vote to try to repeal ObamaCare.
In his remarks at a Mother’s Day-themed event at the White House on Friday, Obama said his signature health care law “is here to stay.”
“There’s a lot that this law is already doing for Americans with insurance,” the president said. “There’s a lot more that’s going to happen for folks who don’t have insurance.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Benghazi Hearing…
[FloppingAces.net]
May 09, 2013
Watching the Benghazi hearings and I’m struck with how the Democrats are trying to filibuster the testimony. One side seems to want to get the facts, one side seems to want to cover Hillary and Obama’s ass.
Sad…but not surprising.
The most important testimony is the fact that the “Foreign Emergency Support Team” was ordered to stand down…
Also, Gregory N. Hicks, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Libya, was angry at the Susan Rice narrative, he let it be known that he was angry and was subsequently told to shut up.
What this all comes down to is that the United States was attacked and our ambassador and his protectors were denied help. Then the cover-up began.
And the cover-up is what always brings down the house of cards.
Click here for Video’s, tweets and updates to follow below: http://floppingaces.net/2013/05/08/benghazi-hearing/
‘Obamacare’ Poll Finds 42% of Americans Unaware It’s Law
[ABCNews.com]
A new poll finds that many Americans are confused about the health care overhaul legislation commonly called “Obamacare. ”The Kaiser Family Foundation released results of a non-partisan study today finding more than 40 percent did not even know the law was in place.“Four in ten Americans (42%) are unaware that the ACA [Affordable Care Act] is still the law of the land,” the report says, “including 12 percent who believe the law has been repealed by Congress, 7 percent who believe it has been overturned by the Supreme Court and 23 percent who say they don’t know enough to say what the status of the law is.”
The survey showed public opinion on Obamacare is at its second-lowest rating in the past two years. Less than half – 40 percent – of adults viewed the ACA favorably, whereas 35 percent said they viewed it unfavorably. Another 24 percent said they did not know or refused to answer.
Jihad Blows Up the Liberal Utopia
[American Spectator]
Credibility shredded from Boston to Benghazi.
Jihad has blown up The Liberal Utopia.
The visionary liberal land of political and social perfection.
President Obama is not happy — and he isn’t alone.
You know the place.
• The Liberal Utopia is a land where gun background checks prevent mass murder.
• The Liberal Utopia is a land where Islamic fundamentalists have changed their perception of America because the President travels to Muslim nations to give lovely speeches, believes that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and elsewhere is a wonderful sign of an Arab Spring, and refuses to use the word “terrorist” whether his administration is investigating Ft. Hood, Boston, or Benghazi.
• The Liberal Utopia is a land where a 2009 presidential video proclaiming a “new beginning” in American relations with Iran will halt the effort to build a nuclear bomb.
Will Media Report: Suspected Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Appears to Be Obama Fan
[Newsbusters.org]
Several posts on what several news organizations have confirmed as the Twitter profile of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev indicate that that the 19-year-old Chechnyan immigrant was a supporter of Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election.
If that is indeed the case, it does not mean that Obama has any sort of connection with or responsibility for the bombing suspect or his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. It does, however, completely reverse the fantasy that many American liberals were openly hoping for: that the bombing suspects might be revealed as Timothy McVeigh 2.0, someone whose very name they could use to smear and deride anyone who stands against their belief system. In other words, one of those “dog whistles” we keep hearing so much about.
Now that information has emerged which not only indicates the suspected bombers were not radical conservatives but that one of them appears to be a supporter of President Obama, how widely will it be spread in the endless series of reports trying to report as many details about the two suspects?
Several news agencies have tracked down a Twitter account which is believed to belong to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger of the two brothers whom the FBI has identified as the people responsible for a pressure cooker bomb which killed three people and injured nearly 150.
Blogger Bob Owens discovered that Tsarnaev made clear his political preferences as he celebrated the reelection of President Obama on November 6th.
As one can see frome the timeline linked above, Tsarnaev retweeted a statement from Obama’s official Twitter account after he won which stated “This happened because of you. Thank you.”
Vet Abused, Disarmed By Cops Because ‘Polite’ Constitution Has No Place For Rights
[PersonalLiberty.com]
April 16, 2013 by Sam Rolley
You have the right to bear arms — still relatively un-infringed in some States — unless, of course, agents of the state deem you are doing so in an impolite manner. A decorated veteran who was on a 10-mile hike with his 15-year-old son was illegally disarmed and arrested on a Texas county road for “rudely displaying a firearm.”
FOX News’ Todd Starnes reports that Army Master Sgt. C.J. Grisham was confronted and illegally disarmed of his AR-15 and .45 caliber pistol by the Temple Police Department, despite having the proper permits to publicly carry the weapons. The incident happened as the man and his son were hiking in a rural area known to be home to wild boars and cougars.
Grisham, who describes himself as a serious Constitutionalist and also recently gained notoriety for a blog post criticizing the President, maintains that he has no idea what caused officers to treat him in the manner in which they did.
Jordan extremist praises Boston bombing
[QuadCities.com]
April 15, 2013
The head of an extremist Jordanian Muslim Salafi group said early Tuesday that he was “happy to see the horror in America” after the explosions in Boston.
“American blood isn’t more precious than Muslim blood,” said Mohammad al-Chalabi, who was convicted in an al-Qaida-linked plot to attack U.S. and other Western diplomatic missions in Jordan in 2003.
“Let the Americans feel the pain we endured by their armies occupying Iraq and Afghanistan and killing our people there,” he said early Tuesday.
Al-Chalabi served seven years in prison for his part in the foiled attack. His group is outlawed in Jordan.
A Mideast counterterrorism official based in Jordan said the blasts “carry the hallmark of an organized terrorist group, like al-Qaida.” He did not give actual evidence linking al-Qaida to the bombing.
Bill Maher: ‘The Second Amendment Is Bulls—t!’
[Newsbusters.org]
By Noel Sheppard | April 13, 2013 | 12:43
HBO’s Bill Maher made a statement Friday that should deeply concern all Americans.
During the panel discussion segment of his Real Time program, he said to loud applause from the audience, “The Second Amendment is bulls—t!” (video follows with transcript and commentary):
BILL MAHER: This is the problem with the gun debate is that it’s a constant center-right debate. There’s no left in this debate. Everyone on the left is so afraid to say what should be said which is the Second Amendment is bulls—t. Why doesn’t anyone go at the core of it?
In reality, the audience applause as well as his panelists – which included sportscaster Bob Costas, former Obama campaign manager Stephanie Cutter, and former Reagan OMB director David Stockman – all appearing to agree with Maher is even more horrifying.
Welcome to the American left, ladies and gentlemen.
Reverend Wright’s Daughter Indicted for Money Laundering
[Breitbart.com]
April 11, 2013 – by Wynton Hall
On Wednesday, the daughter of President Barack Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was indicted on charges of lying to federal authorities and money laundering.
Jeri Wright was charged with seven counts of giving false testimony to a grand jury, two counts of money laundering, and two counts of making false statements to federal officers in a case involving a $1.25 million state grant for a non-profit program called “We Are Our Brother’s Keeper.”
The indictment alleges that Wright bagged three checks totaling $28,000 in funds intended for work related to the grant.
Senators work on possible breakthrough on gun background checks
[FoxNews.com]
Published April 08, 2013
Two prominent senators are working toward forging a compromise proposal on expanded background checks, aiming for a breakthrough on the biggest impasse in controversial gun control legislation.Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, an influential moderate, are said to be working on a deal that would allow the checks to apply to purchases at gun shows and Internet sales — but, importantly, exempt some sales between hunters or close relatives.
It’s unclear whether such a proposal would be embraced by pro-gun rights conservatives and the National Rifle Association, which so far has opposed the kind of comprehensive firearms legislation pushed by President Obama and his allies in Congress. But the issue of family members and others being subjected to an expanded background check system for sales between them has become an obstacle.
The NRA and other gun-rights advocates, while arguing the checks would eventually lead to a federal gun registry, also said they would be too cumbersome for the two groups – citing faraway trips to government offices and mandatory record keeping. They also say criminals would find ways to avoid the checks.
The Jobs Report Is Wrong
[BuzzFeed.com]
A BuzzFeed original analysis. posted on March 8, 2013 at 12:37pm EST
What headlines say about the monthly jobs numbers is actually no more accurate than chance.
Months in red are months where initial headlines said the jobs numbers fell short of economists’ expectations, but then the revised numbers actually exceeded expectations (or vice versa).
Economists’ expectations were drawn from a Bloomberg survey of economists, and jobs figures were gathered from BLS.gov. Final benchmark revisions for the previous March are released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in February of the following year.
Woodward: White House ‘Code: You Better Watch Out’
[Newsmax.com]
Friday, 01 Mar 2013 07:53 AM
By Todd Beamon
Newspaper editor and book author Bob Woodward continued his battle with President Barack Obama’s administration on Thursday, saying the White House is playing the “old trick” of attacking the messenger because he accurately reported the president’s reversal on the upcoming sequester.“They got caught and — this is an old trick — make the conduct of the press the issue rather than their conduct,” Woodward told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Thursday night. “The biggest story in Washington is the town itself. What a craze it has become.”
Woodward, an associate editor for The Washington Post, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday that he received an email he interpreted as threatening from a top White House official — since identified as Gene Sperling, economic adviser to the president — regarding Obama’s actions on the sequester.
Maxine Waters: ‘Over 170 Million Jobs Could Be Lost’ Due To Sequestration [Intentional mistake?]
[FoxNation]
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) claimed today that “over 170 million jobs” could be lost due to sequestration. Later in the presser, Rep. Waters corrected herself, saying it was only “750,000 jobs” that could be lost.
Starting at around 0:30…
WH: Obama Called Hillary at 10PM on Night of Benghazi Attack–About Same Time Clinton First Publicly Linked Attack to YouTube Video
[CNSNews.com]
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama called Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at approximately 10 p.m. on the night of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told CNSNews.com.
That was more than six hours after the attacks started, more than an hour before Tryone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed–and about the time that Clinton first released a statement linking the attacks to “inflammatory material posted on the Internet,” a reference to an anti-Muslim video on YouTube.
“Like every president before him, he has a national security adviser and deputy national security adviser,” Carney told CNSNews.com on Tuesday. “He was in regular communication with his national security team directly, through them, and spoke with the secretary of state at approximately 10 p.m. He called her to get an update on the situation.”
Feds admit: Gun laws won’t slow crime
[WND.com] EXCLUSIVE
February 19, 2013
By Garth Kant
Department of Justice report undermines bans
A study by the Department of Justice’s research wing, the National Institute of Justice, has the feds admitting that so-called “assault weapons” are not a major contributor to gun crime.
“The existing stock of assault weapons is large, undercutting the effectiveness of bans with exemptions,” it said. “Therefore a complete elimination of assault weapons would not have a large impact on gun homicides.” The report finds no significant link between “assault weapons” and murders.
Rahm Emanuel May Be Toying With 2016 Presidential Run
[TheDailyBeast.com]
by Lloyd Grove Feb 14, 2013 5:15 PM EST
Obama’s former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel might make a go for 2016, two well-connected Democrats tell Lloyd Grove—as long as Hillary doesn’t. And the potty-mouthed Chicago mayor could win.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is said by well-connected Democrats to be considering the idea of running for president if Hillary Clinton opts out of the 2016 race.
ABC, CBS, NBC Slant 8 to 1 for Obama’s Gun Control Crusade
[MRC.org]
At next week’s State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama is likely to continue his ongoing push for more gun control. It’s a push first spurred on by Obama’s gun control allies in the liberal media. In the wake of the horrific school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, the Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) networks quickly moved to exploit the tragedy to push for more gun control legislation while mostly ignoring solutions that respect gun owners’ Second Amendment rights.
MRC analysts reviewed all 216 gun policy stories on the Big Three networks’ evening (ABC’s World News, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News) and morning show programs (ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, NBC’s Today), beginning with the evening of the shooting through January 17, the morning after Obama made his speech surrounded by children who had sent him letters pushing for more gun control.
Extortion call, somber visit bring nightmare home for parents of Marine jailed in Mexico [UPDATE: Hammer was released before Christmas]
[FNC]
By Joseph J. Kolb
Published December 13, 2012
Jon Hammar Jr. has been held in Mexico’s notorious CEDES prison since August.
The father of a U.S. Marine jailed in Mexico after being caught with his grandfather’s antique shotgun heard the fear in his son’s voice and felt helpless.
The phone call came at midnight from Mexico’s notorious CEDES prison, where Jon Hammar, Jr. has been held since August. The caller demanded $1,800, then put Hammar on to drive the point home.
“They’re serious, Dad,” Jon Hammar, Sr. heard his son say. “I’ll pay you back; they are going to kill me.”
“They’re serious, Dad. I’ll pay you back; they are going to kill me.”
- Jon Hammar, Jr., speaking by phone from a Mexican jail
NY Observer: Quran ads debut in NY “Pamela Geller is at it again”
[AtlasShrugs.com]
Posted: December 07, 2012
The quran ads are coming to New York on the 17th, and be glad of it. The NY Observer tries to incite anger and hate towards the message. But it is the calls for jihad, genocide and violence in the quran that are the real incitement to hate.
‘New Anti-Islam Ads to Debut This Month, Now With 25% More MTA Disclaimer” NY Observer, December 6, 2012
Pamela Geller is at it again.The outspoken blogger and Executive Director of the American Freedom Defense Initiative has just purchased a slew of advertising space in several subway stations and on numerous Metro-North platforms in order to display her newest anti-Islam message.
Her latest ads, shared exclusively with The Observer, will feature a panorama of the sky the moment the World Trade Center burst into flames in 2001, accompanied by a quote from the Quran that reads “Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers.”
NYT: Arms Shipments ‘Secretly’ Approved by Obama Ended Up in Hands of Islamic Militants
[TheBlaze.com]
- Posted on December 5, 2012 at 10:10pm by
Jason Howerton
Rebels in Ras Lanuf, Libya, March 11, (Credit: AP)
The Obama administration “secretly” approved arms shipments to Libyan rebels from Qatar last year, however, U.S. officials quickly became concerned as evidence suggested Qatar was handing the weapons over to Islamic militants, The New York Times reports, citing a number of United States officials and foreign diplomats.
There is no evidence available that suggests the U.S.-approved weapons were involved in the deadly terrorist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, which left four Americans dead on Sept. 11. But the revelation is sure to ignite speculation.
More from The New York Times:
But in the months before, the Obama administration clearly was worried about the consequences of its hidden hand in helping arm Libyan militants, concerns that have not previously been reported. The weapons and money from Qatar strengthened militant groups in Libya, allowing them to become a destabilizing force since the fall of the Qaddafi government. The experience in Libya has taken on new urgency as the administration considers whether to play a direct role in arming rebels in Syria, where weapons are flowing in from other countries.
Egypt’s president sets date for constitution vote
[FoxNews.com]
Associated Press
Published December 01, 2012
Dec. 1, 2012: Supporters of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rally in front of Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. (AP)
CAIRO – Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi called Saturday for a referendum in two weeks on a contentious draft constitution, setting a date for another milestone in the country’s transition to democracy. Widespread disputes over the charter and Morsi’s recent seizure of near absolute power have marred the process and thrown the country into turmoil.
As has been the case in nearly two years since Hosni Mubarak was ousted, what should have been a cause for national celebration turned into dueling protest between opponents and supporters of how the transition has been managed– largely divided along Islamist and secular lines.
More than 100,000 Morsi supporters organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafi groups took to the streets of Cairo and other cities a day after a massive opposition demonstration against his recent decrees giving him immunity from judicial oversight and the charter that was rushed through an assembly packed with allies.
The presidency has been locked in a tug of war with the powerful judiciary and secular and Christian activists since Morsi granted himself far-reaching powers on Nov. 22 in a bid to pre-empt an expected decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday to dissolve the constitutional panel, as it had done the Islamist-led parliament earlier this year.
FBI asked to probe Obama ‘vote-changing’ machines
[WND.com] EXCLUSIVE
State lawmaker says she has concerns over election tampering
Posted: November 28, 2012
by 
Subscribe to author feedA state lawmaker in Maryland has asked the FBI to impound two voting machines used in the 2012 election to determine whether there was a malfunction or something nefarious going on.
“I just feel it is my duty to try to get to the bottom of this,” state Delegate Kathryn Afzali told WND today. “We’re not making any accusations. The Board of Elections are good people. They have checks and balances … but we want to make sure everything is fair.”
She said a number of people contacted her after the Nov. 6 election to report that they pressed a touch-screen button for GOP candidate Mitt Romney, but the vote registered for Barack Obama.
Israeli envoy meets with Egyptian officials about ceasefire with Hamas
[FoxNews.com]
Associated Press
Published November 18, 2012
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – An Israeli envoy held talks with Egyptian officials Sunday on a ceasefire in his country’s offensive on Gaza as Israel widened the range of its targets, striking more than a dozen homes of Hamas militants and two media officials. Seven civilians were killed, including five children, in the conflict’s highest one-day civilian toll yet, according to security officials and witnesses.
Upon arrival at Cairo’s international airport, the Israeli official was whisked away directly from the tarmac and taken to talks with Egyptian authorities, Egyptian security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. They did not identify the Israeli official.
Egypt has been leading international efforts to broker a truce since Israel launched its offensive five days earlier aimed at stopping Gaza rocket attacks. But Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers remain far apart on any terms.
Rep. Gohmert Nominated Newt Gingrich to Replace John Boehner as Speaker
[CNSNews.com]
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas).(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) nominated former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) to replace current Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Wednesday.
Gohmert reportedly felt it was time to halt “business as usual” in Congress. His nomination of Gingrich did not receive a second and House Republicans voted to retain Boehner as speaker.
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