tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15059118559431987542024-03-14T12:56:43.427+00:00Obama's scandalsA little scrapbook of Obama's scandals. All submissions gratefully received.AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-79079325034243502632010-06-29T12:49:00.000+01:002010-06-29T12:49:45.054+01:00ADAMS: Inside the Black Panther case<blockquote>On the day President Obama was elected, armed men wearing the black berets and jackboots of the New Black Panther Party were stationed at the entrance to a polling place in Philadelphia. They brandished a weapon and intimidated voters and poll watchers. After the election, the Justice Department brought a voter-intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party and those armed thugs. I and other Justice attorneys diligently pursued the case and obtained an entry of default after the defendants ignored the charges. Before a final judgment could be entered in May 2009, our superiors ordered us to dismiss the case.<br />
<br />
The New Black Panther case was the simplest and most obvious violation of federal law I saw in my Justice Department career. Because of the corrupt nature of the dismissal, statements falsely characterizing the case and, most of all, indefensible orders for the career attorneys not to comply with lawful subpoenas investigating the dismissal, this month I resigned my position as a Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney.<br />
<br />
The federal voter-intimidation statutes we used against the New Black Panthers were enacted because America never realized genuine racial equality in elections. Threats of violence characterized elections from the end of the Civil War until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Before the Voting Rights Act, blacks seeking the right to vote, and those aiding them, were victims of violence and intimidation. But unlike the Southern legal system, Southern violence did not discriminate. Black voters were slain, as were the white champions of their cause. Some of the bodies were tossed into bogs and in one case in Philadelphia, Miss., they were buried together in an earthen dam.<br />
<br />
Based on my firsthand experiences, I believe the dismissal of the Black Panther case was motivated by a lawless hostility toward equal enforcement of the law. Others still within the department share my assessment. The department abetted wrongdoers and abandoned law-abiding citizens victimized by the New Black Panthers. The dismissal raises serious questions about the department's enforcement neutrality in upcoming midterm elections and the subsequent 2012 presidential election.</blockquote><br />
Source: <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/25/inside-the-black-panther-case-anger-ignorance-and-/">Washington Times</a>AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-83843671355004936002010-06-01T14:24:00.001+01:002010-06-01T14:24:56.482+01:00White House can't get its Sestak story straight<blockquote>Did you hear the one about how President Obama got Slick Willie Clinton to offer second-term Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak an unpaid appointment to an obscure White House advisory panel in return for dropping his primary challenge to incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter? Obama and his Chicago boys are still guffawing over how all the chumps in the media reported that one with a straight face. Hey, it's a just another reason why running a gangster government is nothing but laughs for the Obama crew in the White House.<br />
<br />
The reality is that nobody outside the White House gang and its congressional confederates is laughing about this one. It is simply illegal to offer a job to anybody in return for doing something designed to influence a congressional election, so the White House story fails both the legal and the giggle test. In the first place, nobody can seriously believe that a wizened con man like Bill Clinton would agree to offer such rotten bait to a deep-water fish like Sestak, a former three-star admiral. When the job offer was originally made to Sestak in February, it was done because he clearly represented a serious threat to Specter's bid for the Pennsylvania Democratic senatorial primary less than a year after turncoat Arlen bolted the Republican Party. It is ludicrous to believe that the prospect of a presidential appointment to an unpaid federal advisory panel of little stature and less consequence would persuade Sestak to give up his dream of moving up from the House to the Senate. Clinton must have known this beforehand.<br />
<br />
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/White-House-can_t-get-its-Sestak-story-straight-95277519.html#ixzz0pbj4nnEM<br />
</blockquote><br />
Source: <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/White-House-can_t-get-its-Sestak-story-straight-95277519.html">Washington Examiner</a>AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-30241537552050565722010-04-25T01:29:00.000+01:002010-04-25T01:29:31.799+01:00Blagojevich sends not-so-subtle message to ObamaRod Blagojevich finally made good on a promise: He put President Barack Obama right in the middle of Blagojevich's own political corruption case.<br />
<br />
And now it's finally clear why, from the moment of Blagojevich's arrest in December 2008, White House spinners loudly portrayed our former Gov. Dead Meat as some drooling, raving lunatic.<br />
<br />
A lunatic is not to be believed, and Dead Meat will continue to be characterized as such by Obama defenders. But raving lunatics care little for their own survival. And in an amazing defense motion filed Thursday, Blagojevich proved once again that he is quite sane.<br />
<br />
He wants Obama to testify in his federal criminal case. The feds allege that Blagojevich conspired to sell off Obama's old U.S. Senate seat, among other charges.<br />
<br />
Obama's former patron and real estate fairy, the convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko, is a key player in the government's case. Blagojevich's aim is to undercut what Rezko has told investigators.<br />
<br />
And now Blago wants the president to do the undercutting from the witness stand, with the nation riveted to his every recollection of his days in Chicago politics, hanging with Tony and the guys, with the midterm November elections approaching.<br />
<br />
"President Obama has pertinent information as to the character of Mr. Rezko," the Blagojevich filing states. "President Obama can testify to Mr. Rezko's reputation for truthfulness, as well as his own opinion of Mr. Rezko's character. Based on the relationship that President Obama and Mr. Rezko had, President Obama can provide important information as to Mr. Rezko's plan, intent, opportunity, habit and modus operandi."<br />
<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-kass-friday-20100423,0,1271799,full.column">Chicago Tribune.</a>AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-78050080479203089882010-04-24T00:19:00.001+01:002010-04-24T00:20:36.754+01:00Redactions Revealed: The Six Secrets You Need to Know From the Obama Subpoena RequestFormer governor Rod Blagojevich's defense team asked Thursday to issue a trial subpoena to the President of the United States of America.<br />
<br />
The motion, intended to be heavily redacted, was improperly edited -- the full document was easily viewable if the text is copied and pasted to another document (an error first revealed on Capitol Fax).<br />
<br />
Below, the six revelations the redacted portions were meant to conceal.<br />
<br />
1. Obama may have lied about conversations with convicted fraudster Tony Rezko<br />
<br />
Blagojevich's lawyers allege that Rezko admitted breaking the law by contributing "a large sum of cash" to a public official. Blagojevich's attorneys say that public official is Obama. Obama said that Rezko never relayed a request from a lobbyist to hold a fundraiser in favor of favorable legislative action. But the point may be moot: regardless of Obama talking/not talking to Rezko, Blagojevich's attorneys say that Obama refused the request regardless.<br />
<br />
Redacted portion: However, the defense has a good faith belief that Mr. Rezko, President Obama’s former friend, fund-raiser, and neighbor told the FBI and the United States Attorneys a different story about President Obama. In a recent in camera proceeding, the<br />
government tendered a three paragraph letter indicating that Rezko “has stated in interviews with the government that he engaged in election law violations by personally contributing a large sum of cash to the campaign of a public official who is not Rod Blagojevich. … Further, the public official denies being aware of cash contributions to his campaign by Rezko or others and denies having<br />
conversations with Rezko related to cash contributions. … Rezko has also stated in interviews with the government that he believed he transmitted a quid pro quo offer from a lobbyist to the public official, whereby the lobbyist would hold a fundraiser for the official in exchange for favorable official action, but that the public official rejected the offer. The public official denies any such conversation. In addition, Rezko has stated to the government that he and the public official had certain conversations about gaming legislation and administration, which the public official denies having had.<br />
<br />
Redacted footnote: The defense has a good faith belief that this public official is Barack Obama.<br />
<br />
2. Obama may have overtly recommended Valerie Jarret for his Senate seat<br />
Blagojevich's defense team basically alleges that Obama told a certain labor union official that he (Obama) would support Valerie Jarrett's candidacy for the Senate seat. Jarrett, referred to as "Senate Candidate B", is now a senior advisor to the president.<br />
<br />
Redacted portion: Yet, despite President Obama stating that no representatives of his had any part of any deals, labor union president told the FBI and the United States Attorneys that he spoke to labor union official on November 3, 2008 who received a phone message from Obama that evening. After labor union official listened to the message labor union official told labor union president “I’m the one”. Labor union president took that to mean that labor union official was to be the one to deliver the message on behalf of Obama that Senate Candidate B was his pick. (Labor union president 302, February 2, 2009, p. 7).<br />
<br />
Labor union official told the FBI and the United States Attorneys “Obama expressed his belief that [Senate Candidate B] would be a good Senator for the people of Illinois and would be a candidate who could win re-election. [Labor union official] advised Obama that [labor union official] would reach out to Governor Blagojevich and advocate for [Senate Candidate B] ... [Labor union official] called [labor union president] and told [labor union president] that Obama was aware that [labor union official] would be reaching out to Blagojevich.” (Labor union official 302, February 3, 2009 p. 3).<br />
<br />
3. A supporter of President Obama may have offered quid pro quo on a Jarrett senate appointment<br />
Redacted portion: Supporter of Presidential Candidate Obama is mentioned in a phone call on November 3, 2008, having offered “fundraising” in exchange for Senate Candidate B for senator (Blagojevich Home Phone Call # 149).<br />
<br />
4. Obama maintained a list of good Senate candidates<br />
Redacted portion: President-elect Obama also suggested Senate Candidate A to Governor Blagojevich. John Harris told the FBI and the United States Attorneys that he spoke to President’s Chief of Staff on November 12, 2008. Harris took notes of the conversation and wrote that President’s Chief had previously worked as Blagojevich's press secretary. Obama agreed of Staff told Harris that Senate Candidate A was acceptable to Obama as a senate pick. (Harris handwritten notes, OOG1004463) President’s Chief of Staff told the FBI that “he could not say where but somewhere it was communicated to him that” Senate Candidate A was a suggested candidate viewed as one of the four “right” candidates “by the Obama transition team.”<br />
<br />
5. Rahm Emanuel allegedly floated Cheryl Jackson's name for the Senate seat<br />
Redacted portion: President’s Chief of Staff told the FBI that he had a conversation discussing the Senate seat with Obama on December 7, 2008 in Obama’s car. President’s Chief of Staff told the FBI “Obama expressed concern about Senate Candidate D being appointed as Senator.<br />
<br />
[President’s Chief of Staff] suggested they might need an expanded list to possibly include names of African Americans that came out of the business world. [President’s Chief of Staff] thought he suggested Senate Candidate E who was the head of the Urban League and with President’s Chief of Staff’s suggestion.<br />
<br />
6. Obama had a secret phone call with Blagojevich<br />
Redacted portion: President-elect Obama also spoke to Governor Blagojevich on December 1, 2008 in Philadelphia. On Harris Cell Phone Call # 139, John Harris and Governor’s legal counsel discuss a conversation Blagojevich had with President-elect Obama. The government claims a conspiracy existed from October 22, 2008 continuing through December 9, 2008.6 That conversation is relevant to the defense of the government’s theory of an ongoing conspiracy. Only Rod Blagojevich and President Obama can testify to the contents of that conversation. The defense is allowed to present evidence that corroborates the defendant’s testimony.<br />
<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/The-Six-Secrets-You-Need-to-Know-From-the-Blagojevich-Filing-91848634.html">nbcchicago</a>AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-47024172191586889042009-12-28T20:19:00.000+00:002009-12-28T20:19:34.344+00:00Did Dr. Khalid al-Mansour pay for Barack Obama's education at Harvard Law School?<blockquote>Thomas Lifson<br />
Legendary lawyer and politician Percy Sutton has died at the age of 89, and the major media are omitting mention of one of his most notable acts. The former Borough President of Manhattan, Sutton had a long and distinguished career as a lawyer (he was Malcolm X's attorney) and media mogul, who purchased radio stations in New York and other cities, making them into high rated black-oriented outlets. He also purchased and renovated (thereby saving from the wrecking ball) New York's legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem. To top it off, Sutton was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, one of the most celebrated groups in military aviation circles. A man of great accomplishment, whatever else one might think about his politics, and a man worthy of great respect.<br />
<br />
However, one of Sutton's most notable moments is absent from the media hagiographies I have seen: he stated on television that he knew that an Islamic supremacist, Dr. Khalid al-Mansour, and advisor to a wealthy Saudi, had paid for Barack Obama's education at Harvard Law School.<br />
<br />
Exactly how young Barack Obama, a man of slender means, managed to pay for a Harvard Law degree has long been a mystery, and the President has not been forthcoming about any details of his elite education.<br />
<br />
See for yourself, Sutton's remarkable statement, which has been considgned to the Memory Hole, by the major media. Not even a reference to a "controversial contention" or other such euphemism. It simply never happened as far as the media are concerned. </blockquote><br />
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CD068xXkCZc&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CD068xXkCZc&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-70792095381970040132009-10-01T23:47:00.000+01:002009-10-01T23:48:47.804+01:00Obama Administration fights to take Military PensionsSenators fight for Guardsmen's war pension<br /><br />PROTECTED SHORES: 26 members of Territorial Guard could lose funds.<br /><br />By ERIKA BOLSTAD<br />ebolstad@adn.com<br /><br />Published: September 25th, 2009 11:24 AM<br />Last Modified: September 26th, 2009 04:18 PM<br /><br />WASHINGTON -- In a strongly worded message to Congress outlining presidential priorities for a military spending bill, the Obama administration said Friday it disapproved of including money for pensions for 26 elderly members of the World War II-era Alaska Territorial Guard.<br /><br />The White House move drew swift rebuke from the state's two senators, Republican Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Mark Begich, who had together sponsored the pension fix.<br /><br />The legislation honors 26 elderly Alaskans who are the few remaining survivors of a military unit that served the country with valor, Murkowski said, calling the administration's direction "deeply disappointing, bordering on insensitive."<br /><br />A Senate military spending bill up for a vote in the Senate allows the former Guard members to count their service as part of active military duty, and it reinstates the pension payments.AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-88877537429340148332009-08-16T10:40:00.001+01:002009-08-16T10:42:24.731+01:00Burger Watch<blockquote>MICHELLE Obama, like her husband, enjoys a good burger, but not as well done. <br /><br />The first lady brought daughters Malia and Sasha to former "Top Chef" contestant Spike Mendelsohn'sGood Stuff Eatery in DC for cheeseburgers, onion rings, fries, and milkshakes. "They got the burgers medium," says a spy. (President Obama was mildly ridiculed after ordering a burger medium-well in January.) "Three starving Secret Service guys were literally standing over the grill as Spike made the burgers, but didn't eat," our source adds. <br /><br />Fellow patrons had their cellphones temporarily confiscated to prevent pictures from being taken.</blockquote>Source: New York Post, via <a href="http://thylacosmilus.blogspot.com/2009/08/arrogance-i-haz-it.html">JuliaM</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-48395157418603623282009-08-16T10:36:00.000+01:002009-08-16T10:38:19.626+01:00Obama's stepmother praises NHS care<blockquote>US President Barack Obama's stepmother said that she owed her life to the NHS.<br /><br />British doctors and nurses saved Kezia Obama when she suffered chronic kidney failure seven years ago.<br /><br />But the 66-year-old, who lives in Bracknell, Berkshire, insisted she would never have been able to afford healthcare if she had been in America at the time.<br /><br />Ms Obama told the News of the World: "It's very simple: I owe my life to the NHS"</blockquote>Source: The Metro.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-14626454230094935412009-08-11T23:29:00.001+01:002009-08-11T23:30:33.313+01:00Barack Obama Was For Single Payer Health Care Before He Was Against ItFrom today’s health care town hall in New Hampshire, here’s President Obama:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bd-F8Z6sSpA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bd-F8Z6sSpA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />‘I Have Not Said That I Was a Single-Payer Supporter’……`I believe it would be too disruptive’<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fpAyan1fXCE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fpAyan1fXCE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />“I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its Gross National Product on health care cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. And that’s what Jim is talking about when he says everybody in, nobody out. A single payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we have to take back the White House, we have to take back the Senate, and we have to take back the House.”AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-88071842062672638082009-08-04T23:38:00.000+01:002009-08-04T23:39:13.530+01:00Song: One, Single Payer System.<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MQ_tAe87ELo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MQ_tAe87ELo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-26198901969712630152009-08-03T15:07:00.000+01:002009-08-03T15:08:18.363+01:00Uncovered Video: Obama Explains How His Health Care Plan Will ‘Eliminate’ Private Insurance<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p-bY92mcOdk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p-bY92mcOdk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-46074724507139533172009-07-31T14:31:00.000+01:002009-07-31T14:33:04.231+01:00In the 70s, Obama's Science Adviser Endorsed Giving Trees Legal Standing to Sue in CourtSince the 1970s, some radical environmentalists have argued that trees have legal rights and should be allowed to go to court to protect those rights.<br /><br />The idea has been endorsed by John P. Holdren, the man who now advises President Barack Obama on science and technology issues. <br /><br />Giving “natural objects” -- like trees -- standing to sue in a court of law would have a “most salubrious” effect on the environment, Holdren wrote the 1970s.<br /> <br />“One change in (legal) notions that would have a most salubrious effect on the quality of the environment has been proposed by law professor Christopher D. Stone in his celebrated monograph, ‘Should Trees Have Standing?’” Holdren said in a 1977 book that he co-wrote with Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich.AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-30356767411353170162009-07-30T23:56:00.001+01:002009-07-30T23:57:40.597+01:00White House Science Adviser Advocated 'De-Development' of the United StatesPresident Obama’s top science adviser, John P. Holdren, advocated the "de-development" of the United States in books he published in the 1970s.<br /><br />"A massive campaign must be launched to restore a high-quality environment in North America and to de-develop the United States," Holdren wrote in a 1973 book he co-authored with Paul R. Ehrlch and Anne H. Ehrlich. "De-development means bringing our economic system (especially patterns of consumption) into line with the realities of ecology and the global resource situation."AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-64987717850617690972009-07-22T13:08:00.000+01:002009-07-22T13:09:21.740+01:00Obama White House breaks another promise to reject Bush secrecyThe still sort-of new Barack Obama Democratic administration has again adopted yet another policy straight out of the administration of his much-criticized Republican predecessor George W. Bush.<br /><br />Obama administration officials have rejected a watchdog group's request for a list of healthcare industry executives who've been meeting secretly in the White House with Obama staffers to discuss pending healthcare changes being drafted there and in Congress.<br /><br />According to the Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, which is suspicious of the influence of health industry lobbyists and company officers, it received a letter from the Secret Service citing an Obama Justice Dept. directive and denying access to visitor logs under the "presidential communications privilege."AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-58998818039996594362009-07-12T23:20:00.001+01:002009-07-12T23:22:16.508+01:00Broken Promises — to Voters and the New York Times“[O]nce it is clear that a bill will be coming to the president’s desk, the White House will post the bill online,” White House spokesman Nick Shapiro told New York Times reporter Katherine Seelye for her June 22 story on President Obama’s “Sunlight Before Signing” campaign pledge. “This will give the American people a greater ability to review the bill, often many more than five days before the president signs it into law.”<br /><br />The story, titled “White House Changes the Terms of a Campaign Pledge About Posting Bills Online,” was about the White House effort to walk back from President Obama’s campaign pledge to post bills he receives for five days before signing them.<br /><br />When the New York Times published the story, five bills had been presented to the president and were awaiting his signature. Four more were presented to him after the story’s publication. All nine are now law.<br /><br />And for the life of me, I can’t find where any of them have been posted on Whitehouse.gov. Surely it was clear to the White House that the five bills it had and the four soon to come would reach the president’s desk.AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-75795235262759351632009-07-04T15:21:00.001+01:002009-07-04T15:21:58.850+01:00Obama Uses His Volunteer as Plant at Healthcare Propaganda EventIt turns out that the woman at a White House-sponsored healthcare forum who pulled the heartstrings of the media by asking President Obama for help in treating her cancer — as if she were channeling the afflicted who, in the New Testament, besought Jesus of Nazareth for a healing touch – was an Obama plant.<br /><br />Debby Smith is a member of Organizing for America, a network of volunteers whose mission is to rouse public support for President Obama and his political and social agendas; it is also a project of the Democratic National Committee. Smith was invited to the event not by an outside group but by the White House itself.<br /><br />No wonder the president hugged her.AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-81505596665864965822009-06-27T15:42:00.001+01:002009-06-27T15:44:17.068+01:00Cuba Dissidents Win Award but Not Obama AudienceFive Cuban dissidents who have collectively spent decades in jail for their pro-democracy activities were given a top award by the National Endowment for Democracy last night. But, unlike in past years, their representative was not invited to the White House, organizers said.<br /><br />Carl Gershman, president of the endowment, said the organization asked two weeks ago whether President Obama could meet with Bertha Antúnez, the sister of one of the dissidents, who was picking up the award on their behalf. Gershman said he never got a response. It was the first time in five years that the president had not met with the winner of the Democracy Award, according to the endowment, which is funded by Congress.<br /><br />"I am disappointed, and also surprised since the President said in the campaign that Libertad would be the touchstone on his Cuba policy," Gershman said in an e-mail, using the Spanish word for "liberty."AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-73527284641406887392009-06-23T21:35:00.003+01:002009-06-23T21:35:59.157+01:00IG witness Blows Up White House ExcuseAntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-19143973020658364562009-06-23T21:35:00.001+01:002009-06-23T21:35:30.735+01:00Walpin-gate opens widerAntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-75182400169983279542009-06-15T23:16:00.001+01:002009-06-15T23:16:44.931+01:00The curious firing of Gerald Walpin gets … curiouserSenator Charles Grassley has demanded records from the Obama administration over the dismissal of the Inspector General for Americorps and raises the possibility that Barack Obama broke a law he co-sponsored in the Senate that protects the independence of the IGs. The firing comes as the Obama administration cut a sweetheart deal with a major Obama backer that allows him to receive federal funding as mayor of Sacramento, and fails to repay taxpayers for the money Kevin Johnson admittedly took illegally:AntiCitizenOnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017073518049848696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-74139500577620738072009-05-23T11:30:00.002+01:002009-05-23T11:34:38.729+01:00Obama picks financial backer for UK ambassador post<blockquote>A little bit of Chicago's ruthless and combative political machine is soon to descend on the decorous calm of the Court of St James. Despite promising to end cronyism in Washington, Barack Obama is about to appoint one of his home town friends and financial backers to the plum posting of US ambassador to London.<br /><br />Ewen MacAskill on the new US ambassador to Britain Link to this audio<br />The next ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary will be Louis Susman, a lawyer and financier with little experience of foreign affairs.<br /><br />The appointment will end months of speculation. Susman's name first surfaced in a diary column in the Washington Post in February, but Caroline Kennedy was also mentioned, as was Oprah Winfrey, another of Obama's Chicago supporters...<br /><br />Historically, about 25% to 30% of the diplomatic posts have been political appointees. It is too early to say, but Obama's ratio could yet be lower...<br /><br />Obama's predecessor, George W Bush, sent two of his financier backers to the UK: William Farish, a Texas multimillionaire, and Robert Tuttle, a California car dealer. The lack of an experienced diplomat in London was felt most in the runup to the war in Iraq in 2003, with Farish invisible when a figure was needed to put the US case on camera and in print.</blockquote>Source: The Guardian. Via <a href="http://thylacosmilus.blogspot.com/2009/05/and-yet-another-campaign-promise-broken.html">JuliaM</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-88121700847350598602009-04-09T16:57:00.002+01:002009-04-09T17:00:57.594+01:00Obama Stakes His Fortunes on Failed Banksters<blockquote>Now that we have a rough idea how President Barack Obama and his lieutenants plan to prop up insolvent financial institutions using taxpayers’ money, we’re left with a more difficult question: Why? <br /><br />Why doesn’t the Obama administration force insolvent banks and insurance companies to come clean about their losses first? It’s the "why" that’s so vexing. The who, what, when, and how are mere details, by comparison...<br /><br />He could have ordered all U.S. financial institutions to immediately confess whatever losses they hadn’t yet recognized. And he could have backed that up by vowing to prosecute every officer, director and auditor the Justice Department could find who had approved numbers they knew to be wrong. <br /><br />Obama didn’t do that. And now, six months into the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, his administration’s approach to the financial crisis is largely indistinguishable from its predecessor’s. The only objective, it seems, is to buy time, in hopes that an economic recovery somehow will materialize and lift the financial system back to health. <br /><br />The Obama administration’s "strategy", for lack of a better word, is to keep plying broken financial institutions with as much taxpayer money as the government can print. And so the government will keep subsidizing failed mega-banks indefinitely, rather than placing any into receivership or liquidating them.</blockquote>Source: Jonathan Weil at Bloomberg.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-89942793978442367252009-04-07T10:16:00.004+01:002009-04-07T10:32:27.646+01:00Government Sachs is in control<blockquote>Lloyd Blankfein must be the luckiest guy on Wall Street. He leads one of the Street's biggest bailed-out firms, but unlike other companies propped up by taxpayers, Blankfein's Goldman Sachs Group Inc.<br /><br />GS is far more profitable. And it's poised to become a more influential force with greater market share. Different from American International Group Inc. or Citigroup Inc., Goldman hasn't had to forfeit an ownership stake in its firm, and its shareholders - many of them management and employees - have benefited. Goldman shares trade above $100. That's less than half of where Goldman shares traded at their peak, but far better than the $1 and $3 that AIG and Citigroup shares trade for, respectively.<br /><br />Since the fall of Bear Stearns Cos. a little more than a year ago, Goldman has taken more than $20 billion in taxpayer cash through loans, payments and backstops. Goldman's latest bailout coup was a $12.5 billion paid out of AIG's $180 billion government cash infusion.<br /><br />Until it was fully extricated, Goldman always characterized its exposure to AIG as "immaterial," and that its $20 billion notional exposure to AIG was hedged. Turns out that it was - through government bailouts that didn't exist when Goldman entered the contracts.<br /><br />Even former New York Luv Guv Eliot Spitzer told journalist Fareed Zakaria on Sunday that he thinks something smells. "The web between AIG and Goldman Sachs is something that should be pursued," Spitzer said. "Why did [those payments] happen, what questions were asked, why did we need to pay 100 cents on the dollar for those transactions if we had to pay anything, what would have happened to the financial system had it not been paid?"<br /><br />But the AIG-Goldman affair is just the beginning, under the policy enacted by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Goldman's chief executive until 2006. Major competitors have failed or been diminished. Goldman already seems, if not just poised, to be dominating what's left of the investment banking landscape...</blockquote>Source: MarketWatchUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-63139244955589366212009-04-03T13:34:00.001+01:002009-04-03T13:36:15.687+01:00'Obama sale' politician charged<blockquote>Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has been indicted for corruption while in office - including trying to sell the Senate seat held by Barack Obama. <br />A grand jury indicted the 52-year-old Democrat on 16 felony counts, including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy, attempted extortion and making false statements to federal agents. <br /><br />Blagojevich, who claims he did nothing wrong and is a victim of a political witch-hunt, has promised to fight the charges in court and has a book contract to tell his side. If convicted, he faces more than 300 years in prison and at least $4million in fines, according to the indictment. <br /><br />Blagojevich, elected in 2002, was in his second term when the state legislature kicked him out of office nine weeks ago, following his arrest in December. The 75-page indictment alleges Blagojevich was at the centre of a conspiracy to seek cash, campaign contributions and jobs for himself and others. <br /><br />They would allegedly be in exchange for state appointments, state business, legislation and pension fund investments. Among those actions were attempts to use his authority to appoint a US senator when Obama vacated his seat after being elected president in November, US attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said. <br /><br />The governor was caught on court-approved wiretaps describing the Senate seat as something so valuable "you just don't give it away for nothing". Blagojevich added he might appoint himself if he could not get anything for the seat.</blockquote>Source: The MetroUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1505911855943198754.post-24445364796240084092009-04-01T16:52:00.001+01:002009-04-01T16:54:19.742+01:00Obama nominee admits tax errors<blockquote>US President Barack Obama's second choice for health secretary has become the latest of his nominees to reveal tax payment problems. <br /><br />Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius said she had recently corrected her tax returns and paid almost $8,000 (£5,560) in back-taxes for 2005-2007. Ms Sebelius is due to testify at the US Senate on Thursday...<br /><br />In a letter to the heads of the Senate Finance Committee, where Ms Sebelius is due to testify on Thursday as part of her confirmation process, she said the back-payments were the result of "unintentional errors". <br /><br />They involved charity donations, a house sale, and business expenses and came to light in a review of their tax returns ordered ahead of the confirmation, she said. She said that together with her husband she had paid $7,040 in additional tax and $878 in interest.</blockquote>Source: BBCUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0