NY Times Benghazi claims as ‘misleading’

GOP congressman blasts NY Times Benghazi claims as ‘misleading’

A top congressional Republican is saying a new report that concludes Al Qaeda did not carry out the 2012 attack on the U.S diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, is “misleading.”
The new report published Saturday in the New York Times concludes that there was no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault that killed four Americans on September 11, 2012, and that it appeared that the attack was fueled in large part by anger at an American-made anti-Islamic video, as the Obama administration first claimed.
New York Rep. Peter King, member and former chairman of the House’s Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told Fox News the argument that the most overtly anti-Western militia, Ansar al-Shariah – not Al Qaeda – led the attack is an academic argument over semantics, considering Ansar al-Shariah is widely believed to be an affiliate terror group of Al Qaeda.
“It’s misleading,” King said. “It’s a distinction without a difference.”
The claims by the New York Times also conflicts with other evidence, including the testimony of Greg Hicks, the deputy of Ambassador Christopher Stevens who was killed in the attack. Hicks described the video as "a non-event in Libya" at that time, and consequently not a significant trigger for the attack
It would also contradict a separate report by a leading social media firm that found that the first reference to the anti-Islam film that was initially blamed for sparking the attack was not detected on social media until a day later.
Fox News’ Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.

Saudis lament, 'we have been stabbed in the back by Obama'

Arabs don’t trust Obama either.
As 2013 ends, President Obama has lost credibility with many people who trusted him at the start of the year. Thanks to the Healthcare.gov debacle, polls find support for the president among women and independents has dropped to the lowest ebb of his presidency. Obama's words -- promising Americans they could keep their doctors under his health care plan -- didn’t match his deeds.
Surprisingly, the same thing is happening on the other side of the world among Arabs in the Middle East and for the same reason.
Too often, Obama’s speeches and actions don’t match.
"We are glad the Americans are here," said Ahmed al-Ibrahim, an adviser to some of Saudi Arabia's royals and officials, when I met with him recently, "but we fear that the president has lost credibility after Syria."

Astonished Saudi officials are contrasting Obama's quick actions in South Sudan with his unwillingness to act in places like Syria or in Bahrain.

The Saudi official is referring to Obama’s “red line” vow of military action if the Syrian dictator Bashir Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. Assad did and Obama didn’t. Saudi officials were stunned.
Next came the revelation earlier this year that Obama was secretly negotiating with Iran, the mortal enemy of both Israel and Saudi Arabia. Officials in both nations have told me that they simply don't believe that the president can sweet-talk the mullahs out of the weapons they have coveted for years.
“The bond of trust between America and Saudi Arabia has been broken in the Obama years," al-Ibrahim said. "We feel we have been stabbed in the back by Obama."
"Every time that Obama had to choose between his enemies and his friends, he always chose his enemies," he said. "We don't know what he's putting in his tea."
Al-Ibrahim also pointed to Obama's “dangerous inaction” during violent Iran-backed uprisings in Bahrain, and now his negotiations with Iran, and his separate, secret negotiations with Iran's terrorist proxy Hezbollah. Since American officials cannot legally negotiate with terrorist groups and Hezbollah is a State Department-listed terror organization, the administration has been using British diplomats to carry messages to Hezbollah. The Obama administration reportedly favors a "warm up to a direct relationship in the future" with Hezbollah.
Obama is sending conflicting messages. In Washington, the president says negotiations are all we need to meet the Iranian threat. He issued a rare veto threat to try to halt tougher sanctions against Iran.
At the same time, in the Middle East, the president has dispatched more than 40 U.S. Navy vessels (including a carrier-strike group) and sent his secretary of defense to detail America's vast military assets in the region.
Speaking to Arab defense ministers, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel itemized America's military commitment to immediately respond to Iranian aggression:

• More than 35,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines in the theater;
• Even after exiting Iraq, the U.S. Army maintains more than 10,000 forward-deployed soldiers as well as tanks, artillery, and attack helicopters;
• America's most advanced fighter jets, including F-22s, are deployed less than an hour's flight time from Iran;
• American surveillance aircraft, ground listening stations, satellites, and sea patrols continue to scan for threats across the region;
• America's missile defense systems--on ground, sea, and air--remain on high alert. That includes the U.S. Navy's ballistic missile defense ships, Patriot missile batteries, and phased-array radars.

“The Department of Defense will work with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on better integration of its members’ missile defense capabilities. The United States continues to believe that a multilateral framework is the best way to develop interoperable and integrated regional missile defense. Such defenses are the best way to deter and, if necessary, defeat coercion and aggression," Hagel told the Gulf News on Dec.18.
With little fanfare, Obama has also quietly lifted the ban on selling sensitive missile-defense technology to Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies living within reach of Iran's new Shahab-3 missiles. The Shahab-3's range is 1,242 miles--placing Israel and most of America's Arab allies within striking distance.
However, Obama's quiet efforts to provide new missile defenses and renewed security guarantees may be too little, too late.
The Saudis are now seeking their own military arrangements because they no longer trust the U.S. The GCC, a regional alliance of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, recently announced the creation of a joint military force based in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
“There will be a unified command of around 100,000 members, God willing,” Prince Miteb bin Abdullah told reporters. This new force represents a massive expansion of the 30,000-strong Peninsula Shield force.
"We no longer believe that America alone can safeguard our freedom from Iranian aggression," said al-Ibrahim, "that's why we are expanding our forces and integrating our missile defenses with our neighbors."
He added, "the world should understand that the GCC will not stay quiet and leave our member-states vulnerable to bad actors and bad deals in the region. It is our duty to protect our region."
And now, astonished Saudi officials are contrasting Obama's quick actions last weekend in South Sudan with his unwillingness to act in places like Syria or in Bahrain where thousands of U.S. troops and the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet are based.
"The president has shown that he can take action when he chooses to. He chose not to act after the chemical weapons attacks in Syria, but as soon as things started to go wrong in South Sudan, Obama jumped on it," said al-Ibrahim.
On Saturday, Obama dispatched three CV-22 Osprey aircraft, the sort that can fly like an airplane and an helicopter, to South Sudan to evacuate Americans caught in ongoing violence in the city of Bor. The aircraft came under small arms fire and were forced to retreat as they attempted to land. Four U.S. service members were injured in the attempted evacuation. American citizens were rescued successfully on Sunday using civilian and U.N. helicopters.
In his June 4, 2009 Cairo speech, the first American president raised in a Muslim land came to offer a bold promise: "I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect." Four and a half years later, Arab leaders like al-Ibrahim say that "mutual interest" is sundered and "mutual respect" squandered.

If the Saudi exasperation sounds familiar, it is because it is the same tone you hear in Tel Aviv and in Washington.

'Duck Dynasty' to resume filming with Phil Robertson, A&E announces

The A&E Network announced Friday it would resume filming “Duck Dynasty” with Phil Robertson and the rest of his family next spring.
Robertson had been indefinitely suspended by the network on Dec. 18 for comments he made about homosexuality in an interview with GQ Magazine.
The removal of the 67-year-old family patriarch triggered support from gay rights organizations but objections from many fans of the show, including such political figures as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
There was no immediate response from the Robertson family to A&E’s announcement.
The fifth season of the family series originally had been scheduled to start Jan. 15 but until Friday’s announcement,its future had been uncertain.
In a statement released late Friday afternoon, A&E said, “While Phil's comments made in the (GQ) interview reflect his personal views based on his own beliefs, and his own personal journey, he and his family have publicly stated they regret the ‘coarse language’ he used and the misinterpretation of his core beliefs based only on the article. He also made it clear he would ‘never incite or encourage hate.’"
The network added that “Duck Dynasty is not a show about one man's views. It resonates with a large audience because it is a show about family, a family that America has come to love. As you might have seen in many episodes, they come together to reflect and pray for unity, tolerance and forgiveness. These are three values that we at A&E Networks also feel strongly about.
“So after discussions with the Robertson family, as well as consulting with numerous advocacy groups, A&E has decided to resume filming Duck Dynasty later this spring with the entire Robertson family.”
“Duck Dynasty” is the top-rated reality program on cable, according to the Hollywood Reporter, with an average 13.4 million viewers and a marketing franchise in such outlets as Walmart, Sears and Cracker Barrel restaurants – which briefly removed the “Dynasty” items after Robertson’s suspension.

Jobs

Even in Hawaii, Obama can't escape troubled state health insurance exchanges

The president may be vacationing in a tropical paradise, but there's no escaping the buffeting winds of troubled state health insurance exchanges, even in Hawaii.
For openers, the botched roll-out of the ObamaCare state exchange in Hawaii has hurt Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie's approval ratings: 51 percent of likely Democratic primary voters say they don't like the way he's doing his job.
Already out of a job is Coral Andrews, the executive director of Hawaii's state-run exchange. She submitted her resignation effective December 6 after only 257 people had signed up for health care a month into the roll out.
Hawaii's website contract was awarded to the same firm, CGI, that blew the national Healthcare.gov roll out. CGI won the Hawaii contract even after the state senate president warned the state exchange director not to hire the firm. CGI apparently also had botched Hawaii's tax website, costing Hawaiians $50 million to fix.
Hawaii is not alone. Oregon's website never has worked, despite that state receiving more exchange grant money than any others, except California and New York.
Oregon applicants are forced to fill out a 19-page paper form but that, too, has been problematic. Despite assurances that coverage would take effect January 1, late this month applicants began receiving robo-calls in which a voice told the applicant, "If you have not heard from us by December 23rd, it is unlikely your application can be processed for January 1st insurance coverage."
Oregonian Harold Stanton received one of those calls and is no longer sure whether his health care insurance is effective come January 1.
"The governor should have been apprised of the situation. If he wasn't apprised of the situation, then shame on his aides, and if he was, then shame on him for not listening to his aides," he says.
The director of Oregon’s exchange is now on medical leave.
Maryland, home to presumed Democratic presidential contender Gov. Martin O'Malley, also had a bad roll out.
Its exchange director is now gone, but lingering animosities remain. Gubernatorial hopeful Attorney General Doug Gansler fired off an intra-party salvo when he said the roll out was akin to a "Saturday Night Live skit." The object of his wrath is lieutenant governor and gubernatorial front-runner Anthony Brown, who is also the chairman of the state panel on the health care roll out.
California has been touted as a state exchange success story. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi recently said of her state’s exchange, "In Covered California, we're moving along (the) largest state in the union, rolling along in a very positive way on it."
But what she did not say was that the state’s enrollment among Latinos has been weak.
Only five percent of enrollees are Latino, even though they make up more than half of California's uninsured.
In a conference call with reporters Monday, Pelosi said the "transformational" nature of ObamaCare, much like Social Security, means that the law will take time to work out.
She added, "It's going to be a glorious thing."

Wastebook 2013

 Uncle Sam Looking for Romance on the Web – (NEH) $914,000
The Popular Romance Project has received nearly $1 million from the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) since 2010 to “explore the fascinating, often contradictory origins and influences of popular romance as told in novels, films, comics, advice books, songs, and internet fan fiction, taking a global perspective—while looking back across time as far as the ancient Greeks.”

 Mass Destruction of Weapons – (Department of Defense) $7 billion
As the U.S. war effort in the Middle East winds to a close, the military has destroyed more than 170 million pounds worth of useable vehicles and other military equipment. The military has decided that it will simply destroy more than $7 billion worth of equipment rather than sell it or ship it back home.

 Millions Spent Building, Promoting an Insurance Plan Few Want and a Website that Doesn’t Work – (Department of Health and Human Services) At least $379 million
With nearly half-a-billion dollars in government funding put behind promoting a product that relatively few people seem interested in purchasing off a website that doesn’t work, Obamacare is perhaps the biggest marketing flop since Coca-Cola introduced the world to “New Coke” in 1985.

Government Study Finds Out Wives Should Calm Down (NIH) $325,525
If your wife is angry at you and you don’t want her to stay that way, you might avoid passing along the findings of this government study. Wives would find marriage more satisfying if they could calm down faster during arguments with their husbands, according to government-funded research.

 Fort Hood Shooter Continued to Collect Government Paycheck (Army) ($52,952 in 2013)
While the families of the survivors and victims were fighting to receive military benefits, the Fort Hood shooter Major Nadal Hasan was cashing his paycheck. Since the shooting, Hasan has received over $278,000 in military benefits because the Military Code of Justice doesn’t allow a soldier to be suspended until they are found guilty. And so on, and on, and on.

Link To Coburn Annual Wastebook below:

 http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=e7359436-1572-414e-8acc-0222cad1c7d5

Jackson and his Rainbow PUSH coalition are demanding to meet with A&E and Cracker Barrel

 How come Jesse Jackson doesn't demand to speak to Phil Robertson instead of A&E and Cracker Barrel? Is he afraid of talking to Mr. Robertson face to face? 

Patchwork of ObamaCare insurance deadlines adds to confusion

So you've signed up for health care on the ObamaCare exchanges. Think you're covered? Not quite. 
As with any insurance plan, new enrollees still have to pay their first month's premium to lock in coverage. But the deadlines for that task are different all over the country, adding to the confusion over an already-perplexing sign-up process.
"It makes an already kind of chaotic situation even more chaotic," Fox News contributor Kirsten Powers said.
The deadlines in the ObamaCare enrollment process have been a moving target. For those seeking coverage for the start of the new year, the deadline to sign up was originally Dec. 15. Then it was moved to Dec. 23, and then again to Dec. 24. Even after that deadline passed Tuesday night, the administration announced that those who ran into technical problems on HealthCare.gov could still seek an exemption and get covered by Jan. 1.
Then comes the next set of deadlines. After appeals from the Obama administration, major health insurers announced earlier this month that they would give people until Jan. 10 -- as opposed to Dec. 31 -- to pay their first month's premium and have coverage effective Jan. 1.
But many states running their own exchanges have their own deadlines for first payments. Some have more than one.
In Idaho, for instance, Blue Cross, Bridgespan and Select Health extended their deadline to Jan. 10. But PacificSource extended its deadline to Jan. 15. The deadlines in Washington, D.C., also depend on the insurer.
Other deadlines are earlier. California's and Rhode Island's is Jan. 6. Vermont's is Jan. 7.
The following states all have Jan. 10 deadlines: Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York.
The following states have Jan. 15 deadlines: Maryland, Oregon and Washington state.
Powers said the patchwork could create a real problem.
"There's a danger that people will misunderstand and think that their ... state or their exchange has extended it to Jan. 10 when in fact a lot of the state exchanges haven't done that," she said, urging those trying to get insurance to "get on top of it immediately."
After the first set of deadlines, would-be enrollees still have until the end of March to get insurance, after which the federal government will begin to fine those without coverage.
Still, the administration has carved out exemptions for certain people and businesses, including those whose plans were recently canceled. The insurance industry has raised concern about these changes, warning that they could disrupt the market.
The Affordable Care Act system needs to see millions more people -- including the young and healthy -- buy insurance in order to offset some of the cost to the industry of accepting sicker patients.   
President Obama said at his end-of-year press conference that 1 million people have signed up through the federal and state exchanges, marking a significant uptick since the Oct. 1 launch. Officials, though, were originally projecting a goal of 7 million people by the end of March.