Twelve hours and fifty two minutes – that’s how long Kentucky Senator Rand Paul occupied the floor of the Senate to “raise the alarm” about an issue unfamiliar to most Americans: in a letter days earlier, the Obama Administration had claimed in certain circumstances, they might have the authority to use a drone to assassinate an American citizen on US soil. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
The yuppies who think they know something about “public” lands are at it again.
They want to raise the grazing fees on the 87% of the land in Nevada that happens to be owned by the Federal Government.
Astonishingly, this time, the BLM is on the side of the people; and by that, I mean us. You and me.
Here’s a question for you.
If it costs a rancher more to graze cattle on “our” land, what do you think is going to happen to the price of beef? Do you think it might go up?
Yet Katie Fite, who is the “biodiversity director” (whatever the hell that is) of the Western Watersheds Project (whatever the hell that is) says that we ought to raise that fee because it is unrealistically low.
Let’s see.
The Government, which shouldn’t own the land in the first place, should charge more to use the land so we can produce food so our cost of food should go up.
Why, that’s the same thing as saying that we should tax oil at a higher level so . . . never mind.
Fortunately, even the Obama Administration understands that actually raising the cost of food could trigger a whole lot of unpleasant consequences up to and including food riots that the President doesn’t want to deal with while all of his other chickens are coming home to roost.
Who are these people?
Well, like most “conservationists” or “environmentalists”, they seem to believe that man simply isn’t part of the ecology. That we shouldn’t be able to eat, have modern conveniences, and motorized transportation because while we may be God’s most advanced creature, our opposing thumbs don’t give us the privilege of using the land on which we live.
In short, these people are luddites. (If you are under 40 and went to a public school, google it.)
Meanwhile, they have forgotten something. That land doesn’t belong to them. They’re not the stewards of our future. Their concept of ranching being “damaging” to the land is ludicrous.
They are as dumb as the global warming people.
Think about it. If global warming is such a terrible thing, then Al Gore and his ilk must long for a return to having a glacier at the corner of Tropicana and the Strip. (Although I might point out with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek that it would be very difficult to have a car to car shootout on a glacier.) They could rename the MGM Grand the Ice Palace.
By the same logic, the Western Watersheds Project would also like a return of the 30-foot meat-eating Allosaurus to our territory. It became extinct about 65-million years ago, but we’re guessing that’s something the Western Watersheds Project cannot blame on today’s ranchers.
I’ve read much of the mumbo jumbo on their web site, and I have yet to figure out what these people are actually for; but it is easy to figure out what they are against. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism
By Daniel Noe
Congressman Louie Gohmert says there should be no funds to transport Obama to golf courses until White House tours begin again.
Shazam! The night before Rand Paul’s filibuster of CIA director nominee John Brennan got under way, and days after the unlovely conclusion of the Chuck Hagel Defense Secretary drama, the Obama Administration suddenly decided to cough up some of the documents congressional investigators (and Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News) have been trying to see for five months. Attkisson took a look through these “voluminous” documents and found some interesting stuff:
Documents provided include emails regarding “who changed the Benghazi talking points” and many communications between officials in Libya and Washington, D.C., leading up to and during the attack.
Regarding the talking points: one source who reviewed the documents said removal of the word “al Qaeda” from the talking points was initiated, at least in part, by one of the “press shops.” The source said press officers from the Defense Intelligence agency, the White House and the FBI were “looped in” from the start and that some of them expressed concerns in writing that the media would ask follow up questions if certain words or phrases were used. The source added that the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and then-Deputy CIA Director Michael Morell were included in these emails.
When asked whether Clapper and Morell misled Congress when they didn’t disclose who changed the talking points (because they knew), one source said “the exact right question wasn’t asked.”
Read More at humanevents.com . By John Hayward.
By Daniel Noe
Victims of the Obama Administration’s assault on religious freedom speak out at Rep. Diane Black’s press conference in support of the Health Care Conscience Rights Act. Speakers included a New York State nurse who was forced to perform an abortion.
By The Huffington Post News Editors
In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama vowed that when it came to counterterrorism in his second term, he would be “even more transparent to the American people and to the world.” That commitment is about to be tested. With Obama’s pick for C.I.A. Director, John Brennan, now all but assured of confirmation, his Administration needs to decide whether to push for the public release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s still-classified blockbuster report on C.I.A. wrongdoing during the Bush years. It’s hard to see how the Obama Administration can square its talk of transparency with any further cover-up of this ostensibly mammoth, comprehensive, and devastating report on the brutal interrogation and detention practices during those years.
Read More…
More on Barack Obama
Over the weekend, I heard a segment on NPR’s “On the Media” in which co-host Bob Garfield explored the Obama Administration‘s direct-to-constituent, earned and “owned” media strategies. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Former US Assistant Secretary of Commerce Suresh Kumar Joins Oliver Wyman as a Partner
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Oliver Wyman is pleased to announce that Suresh Kumar, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS) in the Obama Administration, has joined the firm as a Partner. He will contribute to Oliver Wyman‘s Public Sector consulting practice and draw upon his experience as a leader of Johnson & Johnson’s Worldwide Consumer Pharmaceuticals business to support Oliver Wyman‘s Health and Life Sciences business. He is based in New York.
At the Department of Commerce, Kumar led the US National Export Initiative since its inception in 2010. The USFCS draws upon a network of 1,450 trade professionals in 109 US cities and across 77 countries to serve as “America’s Sales Force,” advocating for major corporations in global public procurement projects, serving as a surrogate export department for small- and medium-sized enterprises, and influencing and enforcing trade policy. Kumar’s tenure saw increases in all key performance metrics for the USFCS, including directly facilitated exports, export revenue per dollar invested, and participation in trade missions, transactions, and collaborations.
“We are thrilled to have Suresh join our firm,” notes Alan McIntyre, Oliver Wyman‘s Managing Partner for North America. “His expertise in building collaboration between the public and private sectors, his hands-on operating style, and his ability to develop sustainable strategies that drive near- and long-term results will help ensure that Oliver Wyman continues to make lasting contributions to both the public and healthcare sectors.”
Prior to serving in the Obama Administration, Kumar spent thirty years as a manager and consultant. In addition to his experience at Johnson & Johnson, Suresh consulted to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Clinton Foundation, the African Development Bank, and to national governments. “I am delighted to join such a dynamic and innovative firm. I see exciting opportunities to build on Oliver Wyman‘s impressive work in both the public sector and in the health and life sciences space.”
Suresh has an Economics degree from Delhi University, a Masters in Management from Bombay University, and is an alumnus of the Thunderbird International Consortium Program. He is currently serving as Distinguished Professor of International Business at George Washington University.
About Oliver Wyman
Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in 50+ cities across 25 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Kris Zane
Barack Obama is a Marxist. And like all good Marxists, he wants to disarm the public. It’s not like it hasn’t been done before. In October 1918, the Communist government “ordered citizens to surrender all firearms, ammunition…having first mandated registration of all weapons six months earlier.”
The Nazis followed the same pattern.
The Nazi Weapons Law of November 11, 1938 prohibited Jews from “acquiring, possessing, and carrying firearms and ammunition, as well as truncheons or stabbing weapons.”
Both the Nazis and Communist Party members were exempt from these guns bans.
Now it’s our federal government that is exempt from the laws they place on the public they are mandated to serve.
After the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, Obama and his Marxist minions began wringing their hands decrying those evil assault weapons, while quietly ordering 7000 AR-15s for the Department of Homeland Security. In order to exempt themselves from the laws they want to foist on the American people, the AR-15s are being referred to as “personal defense weapons.”
But what is really shocking is the number of bullets the federal government is stockpiling.
The Department of Homeland Security has stockpiled a staggering amount of ammunition—two billion rounds, most of it the hollow point, armor-piercing variety, enough to kill every American man, woman, and child five times.
The DHS claims all these bullets are for “training purposes.”
And what are they using for targets?
The DHS has been stockpiling “non-traditional” gun targets, portraying everyday Americans defending themselves, even purchasing targets of a small child with a handgun.
The ATF, with fond memories of the Ruby Ridge massacre, is also getting in the act with a target depicting a woman protecting her unborn child.
But what is good for the government apparently is not good for the public.
The Veterans Administration is moving to disarm so-called “incompetent” veterans, sending out thousands of letters with the following:
A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both…
Of course, the letter leaves open as to what “incompetency” entails.
Military veterans traditionally are liberty-loving conservatives. This “incompetency” may be the government’s view that veterans have a predilection for becoming domestic terrorists.
A little known sub-department within the DHS called the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism—START, for short— published “Hot Spots of Terrorism and Other Crimes in the United States.” Who should we be worried about, per START? Those who are “reverent of individual liberty.” Those who are “suspicious of centralized federal authority.” Those who believe there is a “grave threat to national sovereignty and/or personal liberty.”
Sounds like the basis for the Obama administration to take out veterans, Tea Party members, and anyone who holds conservative values. Anyone who believes the Constitution of the United States is the highest law in the land.
Everyday conservative Americans are becoming Public Enemy Number One of the Obama Administration.
And enemies need to be disarmed.
The …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism
By Kris Zane
For anyone who has done even a cursory study of Barack Obama’s life, they know that his radical Marxist views are not a recent phenomenon. They probably go back to his Occidental days, most definitely to the New York years, where he attended at least two (and probably three) of the annual Socialist Scholars Conferences held in Manhattan.
This leftist bent continued with his association in the 1990s with the Marxist New Party; socialist-funding groups like the Woods Fund (where Obama, with Bill Ayers at the helm, doled out money to groups like ACORN); and his later connection to the anti-Iraq War movement, anti-torture movement, anti-drone movement, etc.
So when Obama ascended to power, none of us who had been doing even basic research on Obama were surprised when he surrounded himself with a gaggle of leftist ideologues. But like those picture games kids play where the question is asked “What doesn’t belong?”, it was extremely odd when Obama in 2008 put John Brennan at the top of the list to head the CIA.
For years, as part of the CIA, Brennan was knee-deep in Bush’s use of waterboarding and psychotropic drugs to gain information. He was a proponent of the Iraq War, a proponent of drones to carry out assassinations, and a Republican—all things Obama and his leftist base have fought against for years.
And Obama’s leftist base was livid and demanded that Brennan’s name be withdrawn from consideration for CIA head.
Obama brought Brennan into the inner circle anyway, giving him the job of what has turned out to be a position more powerful than the CIA director. His title sounds innocuous enough: Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.
Brennan, running something akin to a fiefdom with his drone assassination program, has the power to decide who lives and who dies and doesn’t have to provide evidence to any entity that the “target” presents any threat to America—even if they are an American—even if the American is living in the United States!
Investigative Reporter Michael Isikoff uncovered a secret memo, entitled “Lawfulness of a Lethal Operation Directed Against a U.S. Citizen who is a Senior Operational Leader of Al Qa’ida or An Associated Force.”
The memo gives the Obama Administration—in effect, Brennan—the authority to kill any American citizen at anytime for any reason without proof, without due process, and with absolutely no oversight.
But this unchecked power exercised by John Brennan is mild compared to what we learned with the recent release of an extensive book on the Benghazi consulate attack. Benghazi: The Definitive Report, released on February 12, makes the shocking claim that Obama’s chief counter-terrorism officer, John Brennan, aside from having the authority to murder American citizens, has been waging a series of secret wars in North Africa and the Middle East against Al Qaeda and Al-Qaeda-linked groups. How secret? So secret that he and his minions at JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) operated not only outside the purview of Congress, but outside the purview …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism
By Scott Gottlieb, Contributor In the announcement below, the Obama Administration unveils today more grants to help states “innovate” the delivery of healthcare services. The Administration might be better off freeing states from burdensome regulations that prevent Governors from tailoring their Medicaid programs, or by allowing competitively designed insurance options on the new health plan exchanges that get started in 2014. That might inspire innovation from, as the President often says, “the bottom up instead of the top down.” But then, Washington would lose its leverage to decide what sort of innovation it likes and who wins and who loses. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Jim Emerson
This President was raised as a spoiled brat; his mother and grandparents coddled and spoiled the man-child during his formative years. Spoiled brats tend to become narcissistic, demanding, and disrespectful. Spoiled adults tend to have an overestimation of their talents and abilities and shirk responsibility if anything goes wrong. They must always be at the center of attention; if not, they will most likely abuse drugs or alcohol to escape reality.
On February 7th during his last testimony as Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta stated that he informed Mr. Obama that the diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya was under attack. Not wanting to get his hands dirty with a possibly embarrassing situation that may harm his chance of re-election, Obama passed the buck to Mr. Panetta by telling him to “do whatever you need to do to be able to protect our people there.” Mr. Obama was incommunicado for the nest six hours while Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans were being murdered. Mr. Panetta and General Dempsey did nothing but watch. Secretary Clinton was nowhere to be found. The only people who had the courage to take action were relieved of command. The administration follows the lead of its head, Obama; as he does nothing, they do nothing.
Uncaring
When asked to explain their actions, the only response is a careless disregard for the dead with a battle cry of “What difference does it make” or “The United States military is not and should not be a global 911 service capable of arriving on the scene within minutes to every possible contingency around the world.” The absence of leadership and accountability should send a powerful message to the troops and State Department employees abroad. The United States government under Obama does not care about them.
Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan may well be the man responsible for the attack on Benghazi. Brennan is the man running the Drone assassination program. According to “Benghazi: The Definitive Report”, the attack on the consulate was in retaliation for Drone strikes against terrorist groups inside Libya. Brennan ran the operations with JSOC, something that couldn’t be done without orders from the White House, to conduct a drone war without any oversight.
Holder’s Justice Department created a memo that would allow the Obama Administration to kill anyone anywhere, including Americans. This document attempts to grant Obama and Brennan the power to kill without any annoying legal recourse.
The lap dog media never links this to Obama. Like any weak parent of a spoiled brat, they cave to his will. The media is ignoring the stench of the rotting fish, thinking it is Michelle’s perfume.
By Kris Zane
Many refer to the President of the United States, leader of the sole superpower in the world, as the most powerful person on the face of the Earth. It follows then that Barack Hussein Obama, as President, would be considered this person.
But that would be an incorrect conclusion. Even Obama with his “we can’t wait for Congress to act” meme, spurning the legislative branch, spurning the checks and balances the Founding Fathers put in place—even with Obama spurning the Courts in the recent NLRB ruling deeming his “recess” appointments unconstitutional, there is one man who wields more power than Obama: CIA appointee John Brennan.
How can that be? Brennan is man who is actually relatively low in the White House food chain, who is nothing more than an adviser to the President, with the title of Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.
Yet this man has a virtually unchecked amount of power—no, let us call it for what it is—unchecked power. Congress, the Courts, the CIA, even the Pentagon have no reign over this man as we shall see in a moment.
It was recently discovered that Brennan, running something akin to a fiefdom with his drone assassination program, has the power to decide who lives and who dies and doesn’t have to provide evidence to any entity that the “target” presents any threat to America—even if they are an American—even if the American is living in the United States!
Investigative Reporter Michael Isikoff uncovered a secret memo, entitled:
“Lawfulness of a Lethal Operation Directed Against a U.S. Citizen who is a Senior Operational Leader of Al Qa’ida or An Associated Force.”
The memo gives the Obama Administration—in effect Brennan—the authority to kill any American citizen at anytime for any reason without proof, without due process, and with absolutely no oversight.
The key passage in the sixteen page memo is the following:
The condition that an operational leader present an “imminent” threat of violent attack against the United States does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future.
This was the basis for the drone strike against American-born al-Qaeda-linked terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki in September of 2011 in Yemen. And this was the basis of the murder of al-Awlaki’s sixteen-year-old son Abdulrahman, along with several other teenagers who were engaged in an outdoor barbecue. While it is debatable whether al-Awlaki as an American citizen should have received due process, it is doubtful that his son, murdered two weeks after al-Awlaki, had any connection to al-Qaeda.
But this unchecked power exercised by John Brennan is mild compared to what we learned with the recent release of an extensive book on the Benghazi consulate attack on September 11, 2012.
The book, Benghazi: The Definitive Report, released on February 12 makes the shocking claim that Obama’s chief counter terrorism officer, John Brennan, aside from having the authority to murder American citizens, has been waging a series of secret …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism
By Gabe Zolna
During the last presidential election, the Obama Administration was all over Governor Romney having accounts in the Cayman Islands. But it’s okay; it is the Chicago way!
By Ed Black As the Obama Administration begins its second term and the President prepares to address the nation, members of Congress are again wrangling over spending and the deficit. Businesses more than anything need a sense of stability that is threatened when extremists in Congress put idealogy and political antics above balanced policies that benefit most of the nation. While all agree on the concept of supporting innovation and growing our way into an economic upturn, few understand what policy tweaks and balances could help businesses thrive. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Opinions
By Nicole Fender Fisher, Contributor
Last Wednesday, the Obama Administration released new regulations regarding the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Just a day before we learned the GDP fell from + 3.2% (the fairy tale told to us before November’s election) to -.01% for the last quarter of 2012, Louisiana Democrat Senator Mary Landrieu pronounced the Obama Administration’s wild spending “problem” as something that was made up by Fox News. Landrieu is one of the head cheerleaders of a new breed of “in-your-face” Democrat who simply deny anything is wrong with our economy – or anything else in America for that matter. “Who are you going to believe; me or your lying eyes?” comes to mind.
She is joined by a growing number of liberal celebrities whose comments embody Hillary Clinton’s dismissive “What difference, at this point, does it make?” Halfwits like Paul Krugman smugly says the debt problem is “mostly solved.” Slate’s Matt Yglesias demands “What sovereign debt crisis? There certainly isn’t one in the United States.”
Today, these deniers have been exposed as the fools they are by the truth. They have been relying on a pack of lies from the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which has insisted that a combination of economic growth, tax hikes, and promised spending cuts have already provided a significant reduction of deficits.
This sounds great, but it is the kind of nonsense the simpletons who vote Democrat believe. Here’s some truth. Michael Peterson, a non-partisan economist, has a different view. His comments, published in The Hill (which is certainly not a right wing site), pointed out that the “fiscal cliff” agreement “may have prevented the immediate threats that the fiscal cliff posed to our fragile economic recovery, but we haven’t remotely fixed the nation’s debt problem.” He added. “….our nation is still heading toward debt levels of 200 percent of GDP and beyond.”
DEBT LEVELS OF TWO HUNDRED PERCENT of GDP and beyond!
Hillary, clear your throat and give us your campaign slogan: “What difference, at this point, does it make?”
By Daniel Noe
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) talked with Sean Hannity and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) about the Obama Administration’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board that have been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington.
By Loren Thompson, Contributor Ever since a resurgent Republican Party forced the Obama Administration to focus on deficit reduction in the aftermath of the 2010 midterm elections, experts have been warning that big budget cuts would harm the military. The damage so far has been relatively modest, but within a few weeks Washington’s budget wars will begin impacting military communities in a big way.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
