Bailey Comment: "Cry Baby".
House Speaker John Boehner escalated his battle with conservative
groups opposed to the newly unveiled budget plan, saying they've "lost
all credibility" as he charged ahead with a floor vote late Thursday.
"Frankly, I think they're misleading their followers," Boehner said
at a press conference. "I think they're pushing our members into places
where they don't want to be. And frankly, I just think that they've lost
all credibility."
Boehner and other party leaders were voicing confidence that the
bill, which would put in place a spending plan for two years and avert a
partial government shutdown next month, will clear the House. Boehner
is aggressively battling conservative advocacy groups trying to pressure
the rank-and-file to block the budget -- a day earlier, he called their
complaints "ridiculous."
The comments reflect an effort by Boehner to take on the right flank
of his party, in contrast to the more conciliatory approach he took
during the last budget showdown. The speaker even took a shot at them
for fueling the last battle. "You know, one of them, they pushed us into
the fight to defund ObamaCare and shut down the government," he said.
FreedomWorks, among the groups that oppose the current budget bill, shot back at the House speaker again on Thursday.
"Speaker Boehner may not care about what fiscally conservative groups
do, but grassroots Americans still care about what he's doing in
Washington," FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe said in a statement.
"When it comes to 'credibility,' actions speak louder than words. And
right now, it looks like the Speaker is leading the charge for spending
increases and recruiting Democrat votes in the House to help get it
done."
House GOP leaders argue that the bipartisan plan is a good deal for
conservatives, since they claim it will shave $23 billion off the
deficit over the next decade. However, it also erases $65 billion in
sequester cuts in the near-term, and conservative groups are worried the
long-term savings might never materialize.
With the White House supporting the measure, GOP aides betrayed no
nervousness about its chances for passage in the Republican-controlled
House.
A Senate vote would likely wait until next week, and it was not yet
clear whether Tea Party-aligned conservatives would require supporters
to amass a 60-vote majority in order to pass it.
Nobody was claiming that the pact was perfect. Some lawmakers said
they were troubled by short-term increases in the deficit, $23.2 billion
in 2014 and $18.2 billion the year after that.
But the deal would put a dysfunctional Washington on track to prevent
unappealing cuts to military readiness and weapons, as well as
continued cuts to programs cherished by Democrats and Republicans alike,
including health research, school aid, FBI salaries and border
security. The cuts would be replaced with money from, among other
things, higher airline security fees, curbs on the pension benefits of
new federal workers or working-age military retirees, and premium
increases on companies whose pension plans are insured by the federal
government.
Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate
Budget Committee, said that "much of the spending increase in this deal
has been justified by increased fees and new revenue. In other words,
it's a fee increase to fuel a spending increase, rather than reducing
deficits."
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Rep. Issa accuses HHS of criminally obstructing probe into ObamaCare website
The Health and Human Services Department has told contractors working on the problem-plagued ObamaCare website not to release documents to congressional investigators, a mandate slammed as “criminal obstruction” by House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa.
The Dec. 6 letter from CMS official Daniel Kane says that although the department understands Congress’ need for documents to continue its probe into the issues with Healthcare.gov, the agency is concerned about security risks from releasing testing information to third parties.
Therefore, the letter states, the agency has decided to not allow contractors to release any documents to any third party, telling the contractors to send congressional investigators to CMS, who will handle the request themselves.
The letter was sent after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee contacted 11 of the top contractors on the ObamaCare website as part of its investigation into its problems.
In a press release Wednesday, Issa, R-Calif., said the HHS’s request amounts to criminal obstruction, and he has sent a letter to HHS Secretary Sebelius demanding the agency have no further communication with the contractors about the probe.
“The department’s hostility toward questions from Congress and the media about the implementation of ObamaCare is well known,” Issa said. “The department’s most recent effort to stonewall, however, has morphed from mere obstinacy into criminal obstruction of a congressional investigation.”
Issa said that by requiring CMS handle the information requests instead of the contractors, the agency is breaking a federal statute that prohibits anyone from interfering with a worker’s right to cooperate with a congressional investigation.
“The federal obstruction laws reflect the fact that Congress’ right of access to information is constitutionally based and critical to the integrity and effectiveness of our oversight and investigative activities,” Issa said. “For that reason, it is widely understood that private citizens and companies cannot contract away their duty to comply with a congressional request for documents. “
The HHS did not respond to an email request for comment.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Obama creates international incident with 'selfie' at Mandela service
Bailey Comment: " This is a real classy Dude".
Call it the selfie seen 'round the world.
Among the enduring images from Nelson Mandela's massive memorial service in Johannesburg Tuesday will be one of a jovial President Obama taking a cell phone pic with his seat-mates, Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and Britain's David Cameron.
As the three of them smile for the camera, a stern-looking Michelle Obama can be seen staring straight ahead, hands clasped. As if to remind anyone who sees this photo years from now that it was, after all, a memorial service for one of the great human rights leaders.
The tsk-tsk-ing could be heard across continents.
"What on earth is going on? Why do world leaders now behave like this?" The Daily Telegraph's Iain Martin wrote. "Perhaps it is just that the current generation -- my generation -- is so appallingly spoiled that basic notions of decorum have been shot to pieces."
RedState.com's Erick Erickson tweeted: "Thank you Mrs. Obama for knowing how to behave at a funeral."
The first lady's reaction -- not just to the "selfie" but to her husband's chatting and joking with the young Danish prime minister -- was priceless. In one picture, Michelle Obama could be seen glaring over at him while he put his hand on Ms. Thorning-Schmidt's shoulder.
In another, it appeared the first lady and the president switched seats, putting Michelle squarely between him and the PM.
The photographer behind the "selfie" pic of the three dignitaries, though, later claimed that the first lady herself was "joking with those around her" a few seconds earlier. "The stern look was captured by chance," he wrote.
After the images surged through social media, the White House on Wednesday released its own set of photos of Obama's South Africa visit. Perhaps it was no accident that among them was a picture of Obama, the first lady and the Danish prime minister.
But in this one, Obama was talking to his wife, while Thorning-Schmidt seemed preoccupied with her phone.
The "selfie" incident was the second unexpected controversy stirred up by the president in South Africa. Earlier, Cuban-American lawmakers publicly objected after Obama -- on his way to deliver his tribute to Mandela -- shook the hand of Raul Castro.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., called the moment "nauseating."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who was at the Johannesburg service, walked out when Castro spoke.
Call it the selfie seen 'round the world.
Among the enduring images from Nelson Mandela's massive memorial service in Johannesburg Tuesday will be one of a jovial President Obama taking a cell phone pic with his seat-mates, Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and Britain's David Cameron.
As the three of them smile for the camera, a stern-looking Michelle Obama can be seen staring straight ahead, hands clasped. As if to remind anyone who sees this photo years from now that it was, after all, a memorial service for one of the great human rights leaders.
The tsk-tsk-ing could be heard across continents.
"What on earth is going on? Why do world leaders now behave like this?" The Daily Telegraph's Iain Martin wrote. "Perhaps it is just that the current generation -- my generation -- is so appallingly spoiled that basic notions of decorum have been shot to pieces."
RedState.com's Erick Erickson tweeted: "Thank you Mrs. Obama for knowing how to behave at a funeral."
The first lady's reaction -- not just to the "selfie" but to her husband's chatting and joking with the young Danish prime minister -- was priceless. In one picture, Michelle Obama could be seen glaring over at him while he put his hand on Ms. Thorning-Schmidt's shoulder.
In another, it appeared the first lady and the president switched seats, putting Michelle squarely between him and the PM.
The photographer behind the "selfie" pic of the three dignitaries, though, later claimed that the first lady herself was "joking with those around her" a few seconds earlier. "The stern look was captured by chance," he wrote.
After the images surged through social media, the White House on Wednesday released its own set of photos of Obama's South Africa visit. Perhaps it was no accident that among them was a picture of Obama, the first lady and the Danish prime minister.
But in this one, Obama was talking to his wife, while Thorning-Schmidt seemed preoccupied with her phone.
The "selfie" incident was the second unexpected controversy stirred up by the president in South Africa. Earlier, Cuban-American lawmakers publicly objected after Obama -- on his way to deliver his tribute to Mandela -- shook the hand of Raul Castro.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., called the moment "nauseating."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who was at the Johannesburg service, walked out when Castro spoke.
Reid and staff intervened to expedite visa applications for Vegas hotel investors
The Obama administration expedited visa applications for about two dozen foreign investors for a Las Vegas casino hotel after pressure from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his staff, the Washington Times reported Tuesday.
The Times, citing internal government documents, said the decision to overturn a prior, normally non-appealable visa decision ultimately benefited several companies whose executives have been heavy Democratic donors.
The paper said it also came despite concerns about “suspicious financial activity” involving some Asian applicants.
Reid, who represents Nevada, personally reached out to the top official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Alejandro Mayorkas, setting in motion a process that ultimately granted expedited status to some two dozen investor visas for the SLS Hotel, formerly known as the Sahara Casino, the Times said.
Mayorkas is Obama’s current nominee to be the No.2 at the Department of Homeland Security and his appointment was to be reviewed by the Senate Wednesday.
The hotel needed the foreign investors’ visas to be approved so their money could be brought into the country. Within a few weeks of Reid’s intervention, the hotel was able to secure major funding from JP Morgan Chase, the paper said. Bailey Comment : " Everybody knows Reid is a snake, except for the give me crowd"!
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Antarctica sets low temperature record of -135.8 degrees
Feeling chilly? Here's cold comfort: You could be in East Antarctica which new data says set a record for "soul-crushing" cold. Try
135.8 degrees Fahrenheit below zero; that's 93.2 degrees below zero
Celsius, which sounds only slightly toastier. Better yet, don't try it.
That's so cold scientists say it hurts to breathe.
A new look at NASA satellite data revealed that Earth set a new record for coldest temperature recorded. It happened in August 2010 when it hit -135.8 degrees. Then on July 31 of this year, it came close again: -135.3 degrees.
The old record had been -128.6 degrees, which is -89.2 degrees Celsius.
Ice scientist Ted Scambos at the National Snow and Ice Data Center said the new record is "50 degrees colder than anything that has ever been seen in Alaska or Siberia or certainly North Dakota."
"It's more like you'd see on Mars on a nice summer day in the poles," Scambos said, from the American Geophysical Union scientific meeting in San Francisco Monday, where he announced the data. "I'm confident that these pockets are the coldest places on Earth."
However, it won't be in the Guinness Book of World Records because these were satellite measured, not from thermometers, Scambos said.
"Thank God, I don't know how exactly it feels," Scambos said. But he said scientists do routinely make naked 100 degree below zero dashes outside in the South Pole, so people can survive that temperature for about three minutes.
Most of the time researchers need to breathe through a snorkel that brings air into the coat through a sleeve and warms it up "so you don't inhale by accident" the cold air, Scambos said.
On Monday, the coldest U.S. temperature was a relatively balmy 27 degrees below zero Fahrenheit in Yellowstone, Wyo., said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the private firm Weather Underground.
"If you want soul-crushing cold, you really have to go overseas," Scambos said in a phone interview. "It's just a whole other level of cold because on that cold plateau, conditions are perfect."
Scambos said the air is dry, the ground chilly, the skies cloudless and cold air swoops down off a dome and gets trapped in a chilly lower spot "hugging the surface and sliding around."
Just because one spot on Earth has set records for cold that has little to do with global warming because it is one spot in one place, said Waleed Abdalati, an ice scientist at the University of Colorado and NASA's former chief scientist. Both Abdalati, who wasn't part of the measurement team, and Scambos said this is likely an unusual random reading in a place that hasn't been measured much before and could have been colder or hotter in the past and we wouldn't know.
"It does speak to the range of conditions on this Earth, some of which we haven't been able to observe," Abdalati said. Bailey Comment: " Waleen Abdalati must be a Democrat because he's talking out both sides of his mouth"!
A new look at NASA satellite data revealed that Earth set a new record for coldest temperature recorded. It happened in August 2010 when it hit -135.8 degrees. Then on July 31 of this year, it came close again: -135.3 degrees.
The old record had been -128.6 degrees, which is -89.2 degrees Celsius.
Ice scientist Ted Scambos at the National Snow and Ice Data Center said the new record is "50 degrees colder than anything that has ever been seen in Alaska or Siberia or certainly North Dakota."
"It's more like you'd see on Mars on a nice summer day in the poles," Scambos said, from the American Geophysical Union scientific meeting in San Francisco Monday, where he announced the data. "I'm confident that these pockets are the coldest places on Earth."
However, it won't be in the Guinness Book of World Records because these were satellite measured, not from thermometers, Scambos said.
"Thank God, I don't know how exactly it feels," Scambos said. But he said scientists do routinely make naked 100 degree below zero dashes outside in the South Pole, so people can survive that temperature for about three minutes.
Most of the time researchers need to breathe through a snorkel that brings air into the coat through a sleeve and warms it up "so you don't inhale by accident" the cold air, Scambos said.
On Monday, the coldest U.S. temperature was a relatively balmy 27 degrees below zero Fahrenheit in Yellowstone, Wyo., said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the private firm Weather Underground.
"If you want soul-crushing cold, you really have to go overseas," Scambos said in a phone interview. "It's just a whole other level of cold because on that cold plateau, conditions are perfect."
Scambos said the air is dry, the ground chilly, the skies cloudless and cold air swoops down off a dome and gets trapped in a chilly lower spot "hugging the surface and sliding around."
Just because one spot on Earth has set records for cold that has little to do with global warming because it is one spot in one place, said Waleed Abdalati, an ice scientist at the University of Colorado and NASA's former chief scientist. Both Abdalati, who wasn't part of the measurement team, and Scambos said this is likely an unusual random reading in a place that hasn't been measured much before and could have been colder or hotter in the past and we wouldn't know.
"It does speak to the range of conditions on this Earth, some of which we haven't been able to observe," Abdalati said. Bailey Comment: " Waleen Abdalati must be a Democrat because he's talking out both sides of his mouth"!
Monday, December 9, 2013
War on Christmas
The Baby Jesus has been kicked off Shaw Air Force Base in South
Carolina, according to an organization who relishes any opportunity to
eradicate Christianity from the U.S. military.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation praised officials at Shaw Air Force Base for removing a Nativity scene located near Memorial Lake on Friday. The traditional Nativity included plastic statues of Mary, Joseph, the Baby Jesus and an assortment of animals.
Apparently, an undisclosed number of Airmen were so emotionally troubled by the sight of a manger scene that they immediately notified the MRFF.
I can only imagine the psychological damage they must have suffered
as a result of glancing at the plastic statues. I hope no one needed
hospitalization, God forbid.
The MRFF’s Paul Loebe wrote in a statement that since the display was not erected near a chapel, it was illegal.
“It was very sectarian in nature and a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution as well as a blatant violation of Air Force Instruction 1-1, Section 2.11,” he said.
So the Newborn King is a violation of Air Force regulations? Who knew?
Loebe swiftly alerted MRFF President Mikey Weinstein who then called his BFF’s at the Pentagon. That led to an immediate investigation and more than two hours later, the Nativity had been removed.
“To the Air Force’s credit, it agreed with MRFF’s arguments to remove the Nativity scene swiftly and apparently found this scene to be as much a violation of all the pertinent regulations and the United States Constitution as MRFF did,” he stated.
He praised the Air Force for “acting so swiftly to reverse this egregious violation.”
So why did the Air Force unceremoniously boot the Son of God and why are they so terrified of Mikey Weinstein?
The public affairs office at Shaw AFB did not return three telephone calls and an email seeking comment. They must have been preoccupied hauling away the donkey and the sheep.
Hiram Sasser, the director of litigation for Liberty Institute, told me the military’s actions were unconstitutional.
“This was private speech,” he said. “The military can say no displays on a base but it cannot allow a display and then ban it simply because of its religious viewpoint.”
Sasser said the Supreme Court has ruled in the past that viewpoint discrimination even in a non-public forum such as a military base in unconstitutional.
“It appears that Mikey Weinstein has a special hotline to call his friends in leadership at the Pentagon to alert them to engage in unnecessary and, in this case, unlawful censorship of private religious speech,” he said.
Fox News commentator Sarah Palin, the author of the new book, “Good Tidings and Great Joy,” said what happened at Shaw Air Force base is not surprising.
“We see stories like this every day and yet leftwing pundits still claim that the so-called ‘War on Christmas’ is a figment of the imagination,” Palin told me. “The War on Christmas is just the top of the spear in a larger battle to marginalize expressions of faith and make true religious freedom a thing of the past.”
Palin’s book is a call to arms for Americans to “stand strong on America’s faith-filled foundation.”
“Never let these scrooges strip away the true meaning of Christmas,” she told me.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation bragged that it only took the Air Force two hours and 15 minutes to remove Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Sasser doubted the military would respond with such speed to correct what he called “unconstitutional religious viewpoint discrimination.”
He said he was surprised the Pentagon responded so swiftly to Weinstein’s demands - “as if he were under attack in a foreign country in need of rescue from a deadly mob.”
“Apparently if you are ever in trouble and need a quick response from the Pentagon, tell them a plastic Baby Jesus is at the gates.”
Maybe that’s what they should’ve done in Benghazi.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation praised officials at Shaw Air Force Base for removing a Nativity scene located near Memorial Lake on Friday. The traditional Nativity included plastic statues of Mary, Joseph, the Baby Jesus and an assortment of animals.
Apparently, an undisclosed number of Airmen were so emotionally troubled by the sight of a manger scene that they immediately notified the MRFF.
I can only imagine the psychological damage they must have suffered as a result of glancing at the plastic statues.
The MRFF’s Paul Loebe wrote in a statement that since the display was not erected near a chapel, it was illegal.
“It was very sectarian in nature and a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution as well as a blatant violation of Air Force Instruction 1-1, Section 2.11,” he said.
So the Newborn King is a violation of Air Force regulations? Who knew?
Loebe swiftly alerted MRFF President Mikey Weinstein who then called his BFF’s at the Pentagon. That led to an immediate investigation and more than two hours later, the Nativity had been removed.
“To the Air Force’s credit, it agreed with MRFF’s arguments to remove the Nativity scene swiftly and apparently found this scene to be as much a violation of all the pertinent regulations and the United States Constitution as MRFF did,” he stated.
He praised the Air Force for “acting so swiftly to reverse this egregious violation.”
So why did the Air Force unceremoniously boot the Son of God and why are they so terrified of Mikey Weinstein?
The public affairs office at Shaw AFB did not return three telephone calls and an email seeking comment. They must have been preoccupied hauling away the donkey and the sheep.
Hiram Sasser, the director of litigation for Liberty Institute, told me the military’s actions were unconstitutional.
“This was private speech,” he said. “The military can say no displays on a base but it cannot allow a display and then ban it simply because of its religious viewpoint.”
Sasser said the Supreme Court has ruled in the past that viewpoint discrimination even in a non-public forum such as a military base in unconstitutional.
“It appears that Mikey Weinstein has a special hotline to call his friends in leadership at the Pentagon to alert them to engage in unnecessary and, in this case, unlawful censorship of private religious speech,” he said.
Fox News commentator Sarah Palin, the author of the new book, “Good Tidings and Great Joy,” said what happened at Shaw Air Force base is not surprising.
“We see stories like this every day and yet leftwing pundits still claim that the so-called ‘War on Christmas’ is a figment of the imagination,” Palin told me. “The War on Christmas is just the top of the spear in a larger battle to marginalize expressions of faith and make true religious freedom a thing of the past.”
Palin’s book is a call to arms for Americans to “stand strong on America’s faith-filled foundation.”
“Never let these scrooges strip away the true meaning of Christmas,” she told me.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation bragged that it only took the Air Force two hours and 15 minutes to remove Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Sasser doubted the military would respond with such speed to correct what he called “unconstitutional religious viewpoint discrimination.”
He said he was surprised the Pentagon responded so swiftly to Weinstein’s demands - “as if he were under attack in a foreign country in need of rescue from a deadly mob.”
“Apparently if you are ever in trouble and need a quick response from the Pentagon, tell them a plastic Baby Jesus is at the gates.”
Maybe that’s what they should’ve done in Benghazi.
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