Is there any wonder that less than half of Americans (45%) now view Obama as an "honest and trustworthy" president? Funny how that 45% aligns with another (see Obamanomics 45% recovery). Honestly, I don't even know how this joker is still trusted that much with the scandal-laden administration he's running (or not running), atop his disastrous policies, starting with Obamacare...
The latest report certifies once again that, no, you can't keep your plan if you like it...
FoxNews: New health insurance rules under ObamaCare could lead to a host of personal insurance plans being canceled as early as this fall, a scenario expected to cause consumer confusion.
Under the federal overhaul, those policies that cannot meet new insurance plan standards may be discontinued. This means individuals, and some small businesses, that rely on those plans will have to find new ones.
[This] seems to run afoul of one of the president's best-known promises on the law: "If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan."
In fact, state insurance commissioners largely are giving insurers the option of canceling existing plans or changing them to comply with new federal requirements.
Oops.
Of course, that's just one of the President's LIES about his healthcare takeover, er, overhaul. Mark Levin takes us through a triad of ‘flat-out’ ObamaCare LIES...in Obama’s own damn words!
"Isn't it amazing, ladies and gentlemen, how a man can so confidently lie over and over again? He knew all of this to be a lie...and he's never held to account. As a matter of fact, he's reelected. That should tell you the system is busted, where a demagogue like this can sound so truthful, so effective, so confident, so knowledgeable...flat-out lie. There he is, he's caught red-handed...but the truth doesn't matter."
August 13th. That's the release date of Mark Levin's new as-of-yet untitled book, which he announced on Thursday night's program!
"I'm addressing what I consider the huge problems that we have, and I'm trying to give us what I consider to be important solutions."
Expect both the statist Left and the mushy Right, both of whom are at the heart of our nation's problems, to cast aspersions against this one. Can't wait!
Here's more from Levin tonight...
On Thursday's Mark Levin Show: We are looking at the societal makeover that President Obama is doing and that the liberals support; the Framer's would have called this despotism. There is a huge gap between the will of the people and the will of the federal government - Congress could do something to defund agencies or programs, but they don't. Too many of them are invested in how the system works - be it the IRS or other groups, and that is the problem.
It just keeps getting better and better...for the illegal, that is. For the taxpaying citizen, who has to pay for it all, not so much...
TheDC: The conservative Heritage Foundation’s $6.3 trillion cost estimate for the amnesty bill is overstated because taxpayers are already on the hook to pay most of the costs used to calculate that total, said Robert Lynch, an immigration expert at the progressive Center for American Progress.
Heritage’s comprehensive prediction that it will cost $6.3 trillion over 50 years to legalize 11 million undocumented immigrants includes the cost of putting all of them on national retirement programs, such as Social Security and Medicaid.
But current law allows American-born, adult children of illegal aliens to seek green cards for their parents and siblings, Lynch told a May 29 panel discussion hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The exclusion of that loophole is “astonishing,” said Lynch, who backs the controversial immigration rewrite that would bring in 30 million immigrants over the next 10 years.
Did you catch that? This progressive just explained how illegals are already eligible for retirement programs, while dismissing the Heritage report's inclusion of such calculations, then supports a plan that would bring in nearly 3x as many immigrants!
Now, here's where the math gets interesting...
Heritage study author Robert Rector fired back, saying half of the current population of roughly 11 million illegal immigrants has U.S.-born children that could enroll them in retirement programs, which cost taxpayers roughly $22,000 per retiree each year. And the amnesty would allow all illegal immigrants to sign up for retirement programs, and also to bring in millions of their relatives who could also sign up for the retirement programs.
“If your interest is saving the American taxpayer trillions of dollars, close that loophole,” Rector said. “We should not grant amnesty and we should also close that loophole.”
Alright. If we buy that the current population of illegals is roughly 11 million (I'll get to that later), then half of that number (5.5M) times the $22,000 it's gonna cost taxpayers to pay per retiree is $121B (billion). And that's just per year. That number will jump to $1.2T (trillion) over a 10 year period, or nearly $2.5 if you factor in all 11 million, which the amnesty would allow all to sign up retirement benefits. That's a pretty significant chunk just in retirement costs of Heritage's overall $6.3T price tag. But remember, Mr. Progressive (Lynch) wants to bring in more...thus costing America much, much more!
If we do the math on that (30 million immigrants over a 10 year period), the initial cost of the first 3 million doesn't look so astonishing (considering how this administration spends). However, if you calculate adding 3 million each year for 10 years, the price tag on retirement benefits gets progressively terrifying:
That's a whopping $36.3T ($36,300,000,000,000) cumulatively spent after just 10 years! That's well over twice our national debt! After Year 3, we've surpassed anything Rector is calculating. I'd say the Heritage estimate of $6.3T over 50 years is extremely conservative.
And of course, there's more...
The 11 million illegal immigrants have an average education equivalent to the 10th grade, said Rector. If amnestied, the May 6 Heritage Foundation report states they would be on track to received $9.3 trillion in benefits over the next 50 years, and pay $3 trillion in taxes — just like similarly unskilled Americans.
“We cannot afford to throw away $6 trillion on individuals whose claim to those resources is that they came here in violation of our laws,” Rector said. “It is an unnecessary burden on U.S. taxpayers.”
So besides the nearly $2.5T tax burden over 10 years (which remember, grows the higher the number of amnestied immigrants), we're looking at an automatic $6T revenue loss over the next 50 years if this amnesty is adopted. 'Eh, what's that over 50 years?' you might say. Well, we know that number isn't static. It will certainly grow as well. Just look at the current skyrocketing of welfare benefits among the citizenry under this administration, many of whom are paying little-to-no taxes. Our future is more people, more welfare, but less across the board taxes? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who's paying for that unsustainable load: middle class working Americans. 'Fair share,' my @$$!
Let's also factor in something I said I'd get to later: buying into that 11 million figure...
Notice how that number has shrunk from just a few years ago? Remember how it started at over 20 million? Then down to 16? Then lower and lower, to the current 11 million figure? What, did illegals begin a process of self-deporting attrition? Although the law-abiding citizenry has encouraged that, while our government works against us, tossing out fallacious figures, the illegal trends say otherwise. This number has consistently been downplayed and reduced by advocates, including our governmental ruling class, in hopes of presenting a more acceptable, dare I say compassionate, case to opponents to just go ahead and give these poor people amnesty (you heartless, racist s.o.b's).
This wrongheaded approach presents an unnecessary and unprecedented burden that too many politicians are ready to foist onto the very citizens who elected them. Don't let'em get away with this without a fight, America.
ADDENDUM: This Grade-A sponge is a dime a dozen...and poor thing needs more!
Navigating us towards the precise redistributive goals that D'Souza warned us of.
Not that there has been any real cooperation in the first place...but don't expect anymore from here on out...
NRO: House Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa today issued a subpoena to secretary of state John Kerry, requesting that he turn over all documents and communications relating to the Benghazi talking points, including those belonging to Cheryl Mills, Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff at the time.
In a letter to Kerry, Issa said that the e-mails released by the White House in mid May did not indicate who at Foggy Botton aside from former State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland had expressed reservations about various aspects of the original talking points written by the intelligence community, “including language that made clear the State Department that had received prior warnings of threats in the region and was aware of previous attacks on foreign intersts in eastern Libya, and that extremists linked to al Qa’ida may have participated in the attacks.”
The State Department has thus far refused to turn over the documents voluntarily and, according to Issa, the materials are key to understanding why State Department leadership had reservations about acknowledging that extremists were involved in the attack that left four Americans dead.
It's not difficult to conjure up an image of shredders warming up while fingers hover over delete buttons with this so-called 'most transparent administration in history.'
NBCNews: Additional scrutiny of conservative organizations’ activities by the IRS did not solely originate in the agency’s Cincinnati office, with requests for information coming from other offices and often bearing the signatures of higher-ups at the agency, according to attorneys representing some of the targeted groups. At least one letter requesting information about one of the groups bears the signature of Lois Lerner, the suspended director of the IRS Exempt Organizations department in Washington.
Jay Sekulow, an attorney representing 27 conservative political advocacy organizations that applied to the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status, provided some of the letters to NBC News. He said the groups’ contacts with the IRS prove that the practices went beyond a few “front line” employees in the Cincinnati office, as the IRS has maintained.
“We've dealt with 15 agents, including tax law specialists -- that's lawyers -- from four different offices, including (the) Treasury (Department) in Washington, D.C.,” Sekulow said. “So the idea that this is a couple of rogue agents in Cincinnati is not correct.”
Brian Preston of PJTatler writes that 'At least one letter' is low-balling it. Sekulow says at least 15 of the letters that the groups received from the IRS bore Lois Lerner’s signature. This evidence has triggered Sekulow to move forward with a lawsuit on behalf of the conservative groups he's representing.
You heard that right...they're still targeting conservative groups! Sekulow appeared with a fellow ACLJ attorney on Hannity last night to discuss the case moving forward.
Also, there's another bit of interesting info from the NBC piece to note...
Cleta Mitchell, another attorney representing conservative groups that allege they were targeted, said an IRS agent in Cincinnati told her a “task force” IRS office in Washington, D.C., was making the decisions about the processing of applications, and that she subsequently dealt with IRS representatives there.
“(The IRS agent in Cincinnati) told me that in fact the case would be transferred to a special task force out of Washington, and that he was told – he was the originally assigned agent – that he wasn’t allowed to make decisions, the decisions were all going to be made in Washington,” Mitchell said. “I know that this process was going on in Washington because I’ve dealt with those people.”
Time to discover the identity of that particular agent and subpoena him/her NOW, Mr. Issa.
"The politicians, especially the Democrat Party, want to change the nature of the people they represent, and not for the better but rather to empower themselves." ~ Mark Levin
With the marked-up Senate amnesty bill, which now soars past 1000 pages and chalked full of pro-amnesty amendments, the Gang of Eight's approach to illegal immigration now finds itself with less and less public support. But as usual, the politicians are promising the moon...
Breitbart: The Schumer-Rubio amnesty bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week doesn't reform our broken immigration system so much as it doubles down on the failed policies that got us here.
The bill guarantees amnesty now in exchange for promises of future enforcement, just like the failed 1986 amnesty. In addition to inviting the next wave of illegal immigration, though, the bill would double legal immigration and vastly expand guest worker programs for both low- and high-skilled foreign workers. It is a recipe for sustained high unemployment, ever-expanding government, and fiscal deficits.
The Gang of Eight Senators (Schumer, Rubio, McCain, Durbin, Graham, Menendez, Flake, and Bennet) wants us to trust that this bill will end illegal immigration and make America more prosperous. That’s asking a lot, considering that the bill breaks every promise the Gang has made to America.
All promises, no improvements. That's what Rosemary Jenks documents in several of the Gangsters' broken promises:
Gangster Rubio promised the “toughest enforcement measures in the history of this country.” Instead, the bill requires a plan for 90 percent effective border control, as measured by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who insists the border is already secure.
Gangster Graham promised the bill would “make situations like in Boston less likely to happen.” That’s interesting considering that the bill actually loosens asylum rules and lengthens the appeal process for illegal aliens denied asylum.
Gangster Schumer promised the bill “will pay for itself” and not cost taxpayers a dime. Call me crazy, but I’m more inclined to believe Heritage’s Robert Rector, whose research shows that the net cost of amnesty alone (not including the bill’s massive increase in low-skilled immigration) will be $6.3 trillion, rather than Chuck Schumer and his fellow gangsters.
Gangster Flake promised amnestied aliens would have to “pay all back taxes” to get green cards. Not only does the bill not require amnestied aliens to pay all back taxes, it doesn’t require the employers who paid them off the books to pay back taxes.
Gangster Rubio promised the bill will “moderniz[e] our legal immigration system.” Rather than considering legal immigration based on what is in the national interest, though, the bill proposes a system that would grant 33 million green cards in the next decade alone—that’s more than were granted over the four decades between 1972 and 2012.
Damn lies from damn liars. This is so reminiscent of Obamacare passage...but with useless Republicans going along this time. Pathetic.
El Rushbo also weighs in on the likely strategy for deceptive passage of this bill and what it will surely lead to...
"The amnesty bill as it's written...delays citizenship for a number of years. That's why you're hearing 'pathway to citizenship'. Well, what'll happen, the theory is, and it's a good one...if the law is passed, then it'll immediately be challenged that this citizenship provision is unconstitutional. 'You can't bring these people out of shadows, you can't grant them this, you can't do that, they're citizens now!' And all you need is one Obama judge, one liberal judge, and they're not hard to find these days, and bammo, you've got instant citizenship and instant voting."
Jenks concludes, as is, this bill is a smorgasbord "for special interests—employers seeking cheap labor, unions seeking to increase dues, ethnic-identity groups seeking to expand their influence, immigration lawyers seeking clients, illegal aliens, and liberals seeking to expand the government and their voting bloc—but it is a disaster for American sovereignty and for American workers and taxpayers."
Folks, as big of a deal as the current Obama scandals are, this one takes the cake, simply because it has the ability to effect this nation for generations...that is, if sovereignty can be maintained at all afterwards.
Unfortunately, this story isn't new...another establishment Republican is dredged up to excoriate his own party for obstructionist activity and lacking new ideas, while not contributing a shred of conservative principle to build upon (and never leveling anywhere near the same criticism of a Democrat Party and its President who've completely embraced statism either!). That was Bob Dole this weekend on Fox News Sunday...
Rush framed Dole's ruling class comments perfectly this morning: "Striking deals with the Democrats is what got us into the mess that we're in today!"
So in Dole's view, this party's gotten so far to the right, it's so extreme, that not even Reagan would fit in. Not even Reagan could win, and certainly Bob Dole couldn't, and Nixon couldn't and so forth. So he wants the party to put a "closed for repairs" sign up because it lacks vision and is unable to strike deals with Democrats. That's Dole's major complaint is that we don't have anybody willing to strike deals with Obama. That's what legislation is to people in Dole's generation: You strike deals, make deals.
The way the deals happen is this: The Democrats put forth an idea to advance their agenda. The Republicans are sitting there not doing anything. The Republicans are not putting forth anything to advance their agenda; they don't do that. They sit around. All they do is wait for the Democrats to put forth something to advance their agenda, and then the Republicans say, "We must have an alternative!" So the Democrats set the table. The Democrats set the agenda.
The Democrats buy the groceries and cook the meal. We argue about the caloric content. That's about the extent of it. There are Republicans today saying, "You know, we've gotta have alternatives every time they propose something." Why don't we just say no? They ought to say no to Obamacare, say no to amnesty. Say no to all this stuff. What do you mean we have to come up with our own alternative? But Bob Dole's generation believed in deal making. That was it: Striking a deal, coming up with compromise.
I would venture to say that today's Republican Party is actually doing pretty good at making deals with Obama... but it's interesting and illustrative of the continuing internecine battle going on inside the Republican Party. Here we have the most radical, leftist president and agenda that this country has ever faced, and the Republicans are in an argument over whether or not they ought to agree with part of it.
Here they have (and have had for five years) the greatest opportunity ever to contrast what they believe and what we believe with what's actually happening. We have gone beyond theory now. The liberals are actually implementing a genuinely radical agenda. We've got an opportunity that's being squandered to contrast what we believe, 'cause we're buying into all this same old criticism that we're not bipartisan enough and we're not cooperative enough. It's sad in its own way.
Striking deals with the Democrats is what got us into the mess that we're in today! Too many of those deals were struck by old line Republicans who believe that when the Democrats put something forward, we must have an alternative. They still set the agenda. All we do is mess around at the margins with it. Bob Dole further said he was disturbed by his party's obstructionist behavior on Capitol Hill...
Does it not matter what the legislation is? Does it not matter what the budget is? Is it that no matter what they put forth, we're supposed to strike a deal with 'em? Again, folks, I rear my head and say, "This is what happens when people do not look at things ideologically." Eh, it's just a bunch of Republicans and Democrats running around. The Democrats happen to have the power right now so we'll strike some deals with 'em and so forth and we'll win a couple elections down the road and they'll strike some deals with us.
And the ruling class inside the Beltway continues on uninterrupted.
Another embrace. If this image isn't enough to make you understand not only what a phony Chris Christie is, but also how phony this kind of bipartisanship is...
Let me tell you what this bipartisanship is, the president and Governor Christie taking another stroll on the beaches of New Jersey. Never mind, folks, that seven months after Hurricane Sandy there are still a lot of people that haven’t been helped. That’s not the point.
The good intentions matter far more than the results. Now, this bipartisanship that the media is salivating over? There isn’t any bipartisanship here. Obama has money. Governor Christie wants the money, Governor Christie needs the money, so the people will be helped. So Christie praises Obama.
It’s a master-servant relationship. That’s exactly the kind of bipartisanship that the Drive-By Media wants. Master-servant. That’s “bipartisan” That’s what’s going on here. ... Obama’s got the money; Christie needs the money. “Obama wants to walk the beach; that’s what we’re gonna do. Obama wants a photo-op; it’s what we’re gonna do.”
Yet, this is the next non-conservative that many Republican establishment types are eyeballing for 2016. Ughhh.
Good...and, he did! I guess enough noise was made Friday for Congress to get involved...
TheHill: The House Judiciary Committee is investigating whether Attorney General Eric Holder lied under oath during his May 15 testimony on the Justice Department’s (DOJ) surveillance of reporters, an aide close to the matter told The Hill.
The panel is looking at a statement Holder made during a back and forth with Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) about whether the DOJ could prosecute reporters under the Espionage Act of 1917.
“In regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material – this is not something I’ve ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be wise policy,” Holder said during the hearing.
However, NBC News reported last week that Holder personally approved a search warrant that labeled Fox News chief Washington correspondent James Rosen a co-conspirator in a national security leaks case.
The panel is investigating whether NBC’s report contradicts Holder’s claim that he had not looked into or been involved with a possible prosecution of the press in a leaks case.
"Honor our fallen heroes today and every day. And, pray for comfort for their families who grieve for their loss." ~ Ted Cruz
Hat tip to WeaselZippers for reminding us of Reagan's 1986 address...
Memorial Day is an occasion of special importance to all Americans, because it is a day sacred to the memory of all those Americans who made the supreme sacrifice for the liberties we enjoy. We will never forget or fail to honor these heroes to whom we owe so much. We honor them best when we resolve to cherish and defend the liberties for which they gave their lives. Let us resolve to do all in our power to assure the survival and the success of liberty so that our children and their children for generations to come can live in an America in which freedom’s light continues to shine.
The Congress, in establishing Memorial Day, called for it to be a day of tribute to America’s fallen, and also a day of national prayer for lasting peace. This Nation has always sought true peace. We seek it still. Our goal is peace in which the highest aspirations of our people, and people everywhere, are secure: peace with freedom, with justice, and with opportunity for human development. This is the permanent peace for which we pray, not only for ourselves but for all generations.
The defense of peace, like the defense of liberty, requires more than lip service. It requires vigilance, military strength, and the willingness to take risks and to make sacrifices. The surest guarantor of both peace and liberty is our unflinching resolve to defend that which has been purchased for us by our fallen heroes.
On Memorial Day, let us pray for peace — not only for ourselves, but for all those who seek freedom and justice.
There are those who would say “Happy Memorial Day” but this is a solemn day. Today we remember the service, sacrifice, and commitment of those who were willing to give the last full measure of devotion in order for us to enjoy the blessings of liberty, freedom, and democracy.
Before you head to the beach, or fire up the grill, take your children and grandchildren to a national cemetery. Let them know there were men and women who made it possible for them to have their summer fun.
And if you are anywhere near Marietta National Cemetery in Georgia, please, for me, go by the grave site of Army Corporal Herman West Sr and render a salute to my dad and tell him thanks.
...another from the NRA...
This Memorial Day, we honor the countless heroes who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to answer our country’s call to arms. Please take a few minutes to watch our Memorial Day Tribute featuring Norman St. Germain, Seaman First Class, USS Gambier Bay who spent 47 hours in the shark-infested waters of Leyte Gulf after his ship was sunk during WWI.
I'll conclude with a very fitting Anglican prayer on this Memorial Day...
ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead; We give thee thanks for all those thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence, that the good work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.
WeeklyStandard: It would be a major understatement to say that Obamacare has had a bad spring. Around the time of Lincoln’s birthday, registered voters told Fox News that, by a margin of 6 percentage points (48 to 42 percent), it would “be better to go back to the health care system that was in place in 2009” than it would be “to leave the new health care law in place.” Three months later, as we head into Memorial Day, nostalgia for the good ol’ days of 2009 now beats Obamacare by a whopping 22 points (56 to 34 percent).
But it's not enough for the law to fall out of public favor. The article goes on to accurately conclude that in order for anything to actually happen, 'full repeal and real reform' must occur 'hand-in-glove.'
TheDC: President Barack Obama has asked his friend Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate Holder’s unprecedented investigation of a Fox News reporter.
Holder approved the Justice Department’s extraordinary 2010 investigation of contacts between a Fox News reporter and a State Department official who has since been charged with leaking classified information, according to NBC.
The Justice Department searched the reporter’s e-mails and phone calls under the legal claim that he may have contributed to a crime.
The Fox News revelation followed the news that the Justice Department had investigated the phone records of reporters working for The Associated Press.
On May 24, however, Obama reacted to growing alarm in the media by asking Holder to review the Justice Department’s procedures for investigating the media.
Umm, here's how that'll go: 'Our investigation found no wrong doing on the part of the DoJ.'
Come on...even Bob Schieffer admits it 'makes no sense': 'How about someone other than' Holder investigating Holder?
And some of the biggest RINOs are saying the same. Here's Coburn addressing the IRS scandal and the press probes...
Breitbart: Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) stated that Attorney General Eric Holder should be prevented from investigating himself over accusations concerning Department of Justice targeting of journalists. “Allowing the very person that authorized the two things we are very aware of today to investigate whether or not he did that appropriately, is inappropriate.”
Also, Goober Grahamnesty is among the first of the establishment to finally call for a special prosecutor...
TheHill: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday called for a special prosecutor to investigate both the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups and the Justice Department’s investigations of reporters.
Graham, appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” said that the IRS scandal illustrated a culture of revenge that permeates President Obama’s administration.
The Justice Department’s push to obtain emails from James Rosen, a Fox News reporter, was “clearly an overreach,” Graham said.
“James Rosen is a lot of things, but a criminal co-conspirator he is not,” Graham added. “We’re beginning to criminalize journalism, and I think that should worry us all.”
Better than nothing, I suppose, but that's still not gonna happen unless more Republicans get on board and Speaker Boehner pulls that trigger.
Ed Morrissey of HotAir proves Eric Holder LIED to Congress...
"In regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material. This is not something I’ve ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be wise policy."
As it turns out, Holder not only heard of it, he personally approved it. The warrant in the Rosen case specified that he was considered a potential suspect in the leak of classified material, the reason that the DoJ didn’t bother to follow the existing Watergate-era statute in coordinating the records request with Fox News. And note that Holder’s testimony in this case wasn’t produced by some sophisticated perjury trap sprung by a Republican, but as a freely-offered representation to no particular question during the question period of a Democrat.
There is no other way to view this except as a lie. Even if Holder wasn’t under oath, that would constitute a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. It certainly should produce at least a resignation, and almost assuredly would require the appointment of a special prosecutor, especially since the next person down in the organization, James Cole, is suspected of doing the same thing with reporters.
Per Guy Benson and Gabriel Malor, Holder was in fact under oath, so now perjury is on the table. TheRightSphere affirms that Holder perjured himself...
I’m sure Holder and his allies will say that they never intended to prosecute Rosen, but that’s 1) not the point and 2) even worse. If that’s their defense, they knowingly lied to the judge who would, hopefully, reject the request if they admitted it was just a fishing expedition for information.
They’re stuck. Either he (by signing the request for the records) lied to the judge or Holder lied directly to Congress.
At minimum, Holder should be disbarred...but as the calls for his resignation grow, atop the evidence mounting against this disaster of a U.S. Attorney General, jail time shouldn't be out of the question either.
UPDATES: More evidence flowing in as we speak...the DoJ fought to keep Rosen's warrant a secret...
TheNewYorker: The Obama Administration fought to keep a search warrant for James Rosen’s private e-mail account secret, arguing to a federal judge that the government might need to monitor the account for a lengthy period of time.
On top of that, Reuters reports that the DoJ now admits that Holder vetted the search warrant for Rosen's emails...
Reuters: The Justice Department said on Friday that officials up to Attorney General Eric Holder vetted a decision to search an email account belonging to a Fox News reporter whose report on North Korea prompted a leak investigation.
In other words, he knew everything there was to know about this probe before testifying to Congress that he didn't. LIAR.
To the point, Nora Craig informs her elected officials of their precise constitutional job as it pertains to the Second Amendment...which is more than I can say for her governor.
Nora, you just hit so many other topics by simply addressing oath-breaking...
This is powerful testimony that's a MUST to watch and listen...no more excuses!
TownHall: This short testimony is one of the most powerful I've ever seen.
Dr. Anthony Levatino closes by quoting Obama: "If there is just one thing that we could do that would save just one child don't we have an obligation to try?"
HA! H/t WeaselZippers for a perfect response: "You’re doing a shitty job of it."
CNSNews: President Barack Obama told graduates at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Friday that they – and he – must “constantly strive to remain worthy of the public trust.”
“You will lead this country, and if we want to restore the trust that the American people deserve to have in their institutions, all of us have to do our part, and those of us in leadership – myself included – have to constantly strive to remain worthy of the public trust,” said Obama.
The president urged them to “carry forth the values” that they learned at the Naval Academy, “because our nation needs them now more than ever.”
“We need your honor, that inner compass that guides you not when the path is easy and obvious, but when it’s hard and uncertain that tells you the difference between that which is right and that which is wrong,” he said.
“More likely it’ll be when you’re in the spotlight leading others – the men and women who are looking up to you to set an example. Never ask them to do what you don’t ask of yourself. Live with integrity and speak with honesty and take responsibility and demand accountability,” he said.
“We need your moral courage – the strength to do what’s right, especially when it’s unpopular, because at the end of the day and at the end of your career, you want to look in the mirror and say with confidence and with pride, ‘I fulfilled my oath. I did my duty. I stayed true to my values,’” Obama added.
Obama’s speech comes amid numerous scandals, including the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups and the Justice Department’s seizing the phone records of reporters and editors at the Associated Press and Fox News Channel.
Obviously, Obama didn't write a damn word of this.
USNews: The "Global War on Terror" is over, President Barack Obama announced Thursday, saying the military and intelligence agencies will not wage war against a tactic but will instead focus on a specific group of networks determined to destroy the U.S.
This shift in rhetoric accompanies new or updated efforts to defeat al-Qaida and its affiliates, the president said in a speech at the National Defense University within Washington, DC's Fort McNair. Al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan is on a "path to defeat," he said, so the U.S. must focus instead on al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula -- "the most active" in plotting against the U.S. -- homegrown violent extremism and unrest in the Arab world that leads to attacks like the assault on the Benghazi diplomatic post.
Of course, this isn't the first time he's suggested such. Words, just words. New rhetoric, same terrorists...without calling them 'terrorists'.
And the fact that he doesn't want to admit it, Ft. Hood, Benghazi, Boston and a number of smaller incidents were absolutely acts of terrorism under his watch. No amount of announcing that it's over, that Bin Laden's dead, that al-Qaeda is on the run, or declaring victory, makes it so. For the record, Obama didn't say that we won, nor does he call it a war on terror. And everyone who lived through these attacks would beg to differ that al-Qaeda is actually on the run. Quite the contrary...
AmericanThinker: With the president's declaration that the US isn't going to fight a war anymore, what effect do you think that will have on the terrorists overseas? Al-Qaeda declared war on the US 15 years ago while other terrorist groups followed suit. When one side wants to continue fighting and the other virtually surrenders, how can you judge the outcome of the war any other way except the US has lost?
He's "reshaping" America's image, alright. And there is little doubt that the Islamic world will take note of the weakness that Obama is projecting.
There are places on this planet where terrorists will be able to operate with impunity - free to secretly plan their attacks on America without worrying about either their host country or the United States. We will, as in the manner of police, arrest the perpetrators - after they have engaged in a mass casualty attack on the US.
And that's fine - we can live with that say Obama and his supporters. Of course, they don't mind the deaths of Americans very much because it probably won't be them doing the dying. So we will pretend that 9/11 was just a bad dream or worse - an overreaction to the death of 3,000 citizens.
This is the mindset of Obama's and his supporters. We can absorb a 9/11 every week and still not have to worry about terrorism being an "existential" threat to our survival. Because they can't kill us all, we should undo the "overreaction" to 9/11 and go back to coddling terrorists and those who would do us harm.
There is not a military solution in every aspect of the war on terror. But there should be a military option. And Obama is taking that away in the name of making the US more "popular" with Muslim states.
When the Huffington-Puffington Post is calling for Holder's resignation, it's a good sign that even liberals are ready to throw over the dead weight to save Dear Leader...
This is their message after revelations from none other than NBC News revealed that AG Holder personally signed off on warrants that allowed the DoJ to search Fox News reporter James Rosen’s personal email.
NBCNews: Attorney General Eric Holder signed off on a controversial search warrant that identified Fox News reporter James Rosen as a “possible co-conspirator” in violations of the Espionage Act and authorized seizure of his private emails, a law enforcement official told NBC News on Thursday.
The disclosure of the attorney general’s role came as President Barack Obama, in a major speech on his counterterrorism policy, said Holder had agreed to review Justice Department guidelines governing investigations that involve journalists.
"I am troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable," Obama said. "Journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs."
Obama's comments follow a firestorm of criticism that has erupted over disclosures that in separate investigations of leaks of classified information, the Justice Department had obtained private emails that Rosen exchanged with a source and the phone records of Associated Press reporters.
Yeah, I bet Obama's troubled. Please. One thing's for certain, there's no blaming this one on lower level 'rogue' employees. We now know this one goes all the way to the top...although, you probably already figured that one out as soon as Holder recused himself.
Mark Levin was back tonight from a brief hiatus this week, and boy was he loaded for bear...
Focusing on the IRS scandal and the hearings that have ensued, Mark asks why didn't congressional leaders, specifically the GOP, hold hearings a year ago when they knew that conservative groups were being targeted prior to the election? Mark says it's because the establishment RINOs despise the tea party, they despise the conservative movement. God forbid they risk their candidate...
Levin says that there is a 'structural, systemic problem' in our government...the same can be said of the Republican Party internally.
Turning to Obama's role in all of this, Mark shares the sentiment of most Americans: "I don't believe for two seconds Obama wasn't aware of it, or some aspect of it." He goes on to prove how it's a 'flat out lie' that Obama didn't know about the IRS targeting the tea party. If Levin's Landmark Legal Foundation knew about it, demanding an investigation well before the news reports of the scandal hit just a few weeks ago, Obama knew about it. Mark says you also need a special prosecutor to force Obama to give testimony before a grand jury as well...
Because this cover-up was so vast, with the inclusion of the Treasury Department and the Inspector General himself, a special prosecutor, and more over JUSTICE, needs to be resolved. This is about much more than Lerner or even the IRS. This TYRANNY affected an election!
This is sad that a sitting Speaker, a Republican at that, would allow this theater to go on without bringing the full legal power of the U.S. Congress down on those who botched Benghazi...
TheDC: While momentum has been building inside the House Republican conference for a special congressional committee to investigate last year’s terrorist attacks in Benghazi, the GOP leadership is making it clear they still have no enthusiasm for establishing such a committee.
About two-thirds of House Republicans — 153 in total — have signed on to the resolution offered by Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia to establish “a select committee to investigate and report on the attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya.”
But House Speaker John Boehner has publicly asserted that he is against the establishment of a select committee, saying he thinks the best course for examining the attacks is letting the five House committees already investigating to continue their work.
...but he's apparently not alone, as the piece continues. McCarthy and, unfortunately, Issa, are there with him. A scattershot approach over an exclusive focus. And you can bet the media will use the multiple committees to allude to Obama badgering, reinforcing the calls of 'witch hunt' that some Democrats have already claimed. I don't think I need to even mention reelection time for committee chairmen either, do I? This is a disappointingly politicized direction, to say the least.
TheLonelyConservative: As Prof. Jacobson pointed out, passage of the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill would be as disastrous as Obamacare. It might actually be worse. Obamacare still isn’t fully implemented, and there might be a slim chance of repealing it in the future. But how will they repeal amnesty granted to millions of immigrants? It would be impossible. But for some reason, there has been very little mention of how the bill is marching its way through the Senate while our attentions are turned to the many scandals of the corrupt Obama administration.
Remember that the next time you see Marco Rubio on the news railing against Obama. When he’s off camera he’s working hard to ram this turd through. Just tune him out, and pay attention to what he’s doing behind the scenes. What a major disappointment he turned out to be.
Oh, and I’m not saying the Republicans should stop pressing these scandals. I just expect them to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
I'm enduring his and Paul Ryan's ridiculous pro-amnesty radio ads hourly...another disappointment.
Conservatives, in an Obama world of squishy Republicans, we've gotta walk, chew gum, rub our belly and pat our head at the same time! In other words, no time to celebrate.
Tuesday, during an HSGAC subcommittee hearing, we saw a singular Senator, Rand Paul (R-KY), stand up to defend one of America's greatest success stories, Apple, from foolish, bullying, coalescent warriors in President Obama's war on success, namely Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ)...
Both Paul and Ted Cruz (R-TX) have taken on McRINO over the past several days in a bigger matter than this: the U.S. Budget. All they ask is that the debt ceiling debate be handled separately from a budget bill, while McRINO and establishment allies are fine with allowing all of it to skyrocket on a simple majority vote, instead of the required 2/3 vote (FYI, Democrats have held the majority over the past 6 years in the Senate). Here's a few of the exchanges...
Paul tangles with McRINO on the same day of the Apple hearings:
And now we won't go to the ball...listen the way McRINO whines. Meanwhile...
Cruz to McRINO: "I don’t trust the Republicans" to hold the line...
And Ted's addressing the biggest wacko bird in McRINO, that's for certain!
Here are two men who want to get a hold of the reigns on this runaway government, starting with limits on spending...yet, within their own ranks, lies a tired, old career politician, who's thoroughly proving himself to be every bit of the statist that he's enabled Democrats to be for years.
Arizona, why did you send this RINO back to Washington, when you should have returned him to the great wide open? If this man, along with most on Capitol Hill, had to live among the rest of us, well, let's just say you'd see an acceptable budget with a closure to out-of-control spending.
ADDENDUM: McRINO also turned his anger towards stalwart conservative Mike Lee (R-UT), saying that he 'ought to learn' how the Senate operates. Pardon me, your Maverickship, but that's precisely what's wrong on Capitol Hill!
I keep asking myself, 'When's this guy gonna pull a Specter?' Certainly loathes conservatives in his party. Pathetic.
