Axis Of Obama

What is emerging out of the black comedy of Barack Obama's weakness and vacillation in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria is the revitalization of what President George W. Bush termed the "axis of evil."

By allowing himself to become what Ann Coulter charitably describes as "President Putin's bitch," Obama has not only taken yet another step in his purposeful overseeing of the decline of the U.S. as a world power, he has brought about a power vacuum that has seen Kim Jong-un restart his nuclear reactors and Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad grab the initiative as they dictate the terms of the ongoing war for the Middle East.

In reducing Obama to lackey status in world affairs and in order to further chastise his bitch for her reference to American exceptionalism, the atheist communist Putin played the God card, referencing the U.S. Declaration of Independence in the process, no less:

I would rather disagree with a case he [Obama] made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States' policy is "what makes America different. It's what makes us exceptional." It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord's blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.

Via: American Thinker

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Starbucks Irks 2nd Amendment Supporting Customers

Anti-gun activists claim victory after liberal chain asks people not to bring guns into stores

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s decision to ask customers to no longer bring guns into his stores is causing a firestorm on social media, with many expressing their outrage and indicating they will no longer buy coffee at the popular chain.

A review of social media suggested Starbucks may lose customers as a result of its decision.

On the company’s Facebook page, hundreds of people said they would no longer frequent Starbucks.

Lynn Schneider wrote that she would now visit a local coffee house instead.

“Bye Bye Starbucks. I’ll support small business instead of your corporate dictatorship and take my money to the little locally owned coffee house where they know me by name,” she said in a Facebook post.

“Been an avid fan for years! I’m even a more avid fan of the constitution and the Second Amendment! I will no longer patronize your store! There will be hundreds of thousands right behind me!!!!” William S. Beck wrote.

Others said that they didn’t understand the company’s decision, considering criminals will not follow Starbuck’s new policy.

According to Kyle Hoffman, “Your refusal to allow law-abiding citizens to protect themselves has cost you my business along with many other people I know. Good luck getting criminals to follow your new policy.”

Richard Ney, who said he is a Starbucks Gold Card member and a veteran, is also taking his business elsewhere.

Via: WFB

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California: Refinery ‘Safety’ Bill Could Reduce Safety

Never let a refinery disaster go to waste. That’s what Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, is doing with Senate Bill 54, according to critics of her bill.

Hancock and fellow Democrats say SB54, which passed the Legislature last week, will improve refinery safety by increasing the number of trained contract workers at refineries. But critics say the bill actually will make refineries less safe, while providing a sweetheart deal for labor unions that will also benefit Democrats’ political campaigns.

“Refinery safety is an increasing problem in California due to recent incidents which truly risked workers’ health and public health, including the 2012 Chevron refinery explosion in Richmond,” Hancock told the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee on Aug. 14.

Pipe, not worker, failure

But it’s unlikely that Hancock’s bill, had it been in place years ago, would have done anything to prevent the Chevron refinery pipe rupture and fire on Aug. 6, 2012. SB54 focuses on the training, skills and experience level of contracted workers, which was not a factor in the accident, according to an interim investigation report by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.

“[T]he pipe failed due to thinning caused by sulfidation corrosion, a common damage mechanism in refineries,” the report states.

But rather than deal with the problem of corroded refinery pipes, Hancock’s bill focuses on getting more union-trained workers into refineries. Beginning Jan. 1, 2014 at least 30 percent of a refinery contractor’s on site workforce must have completed at least 20 hours in a state-approved apprenticeship program. That increases to 45 percent in 2015 and 60 percent in 2016. And SB54 requires that they be paid prevailing (i.e., union) wages.

Naturally, the industrial unions, with one notable exception, are strong backers of the bill.

Via: California Political Review

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[VIDEO] DeMint on Obamacare: “We Have to Stop It While There’s Still Time”

Unfair. Unworkable. Unaffordable.

Those are the words Heritage President Jim DeMint used to describe Obamacare during a conversation with Andrew Wilkow on The Blaze this week.

“We have to stop it while there’s still time,” DeMint said. “If there has ever been something to take a political risk for, this is it.”

DeMint appeared on Wilkow! to discuss why Heritage bought a billboard in Times Square with the message: “Warning: Obamacare may be hazardous to your health.” He also discussed his letter to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Via: The Foundry

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[VIDEO] ANDREA MITCHELL, CHUCK TODD: WH 'WISHES THEY HAD YESTERDAY BACK'

   

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MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell and NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd discuss the White House's decission to go ahead with the President's partisan speech while the Navy Yard was still an active crime scene...Via: BreitbartContinue Reading....

Democrats Act to Stop Vitter Amendment, Keep Obamacare Exemptions for Congress

Democratic leaders increased their efforts on Tuesday to turn aside an amendment sponsored by Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter of Louisiana, that would prevent Congressional members and staffers from receiving exemptions from key Obamacare measures.

When Congress passed the sweeping Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, Congressional members and their staff were exempted from several provisions of the law.

The Vitter amendment would change that and require the president and vice president to participate in mandated healthcare exchanges and would eliminate federal employer contributions for health benefits for the president, vice president, members of Congress, and political appointees. 

The amendment also would block tax credits for assistance in buying insurance on the exchanges for these individuals.

The Office of Personnel Management issued a directive, allowing staff to be eligible for subsidies for the coverage they currently have, which will pay for the majority of their healthcare insurance. Lawmakers were not included.

Democrats who passed the law are firing back at Vitter and his supporters.

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois took to the Senate floor to defend the exemption, saying that allowing employer contributions for members of Congress and their staffs was simply asking "that this group of individuals be treated the same as every other American with health insurance through their employment."

Durbin, the Senate majority whip, said he fears "that this isn't the end of Sen. Vitter's crusade against health insurance by employers. I think this is the first step."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid joined the attack, saying Vitter's amendment was "hypocritical and mean-spirited." 

Via: Newsmax

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Yellen Unlikely to Stop Fed’s Money-Printing Addiction

Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Fed Vice Chairman Janet L. Yellen holding the bag for Ben Bernanke's Keynesian-inspired insanity

Now that former Clinton Treasury Secretary Treasury and former Harvard University president Larry Summers has withdrawn his name from consideration as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, Fed Vice Chairman Janet L. Yellen has seeminglybecome the leading candidate for the job. She would replace Ben Bernanke whose term expires in January. If appointed, Yellen would be the first woman to chair the Fed.

Yellen’s apparent good fortune was engendered by Summers’ withdrawal, triggered in large part by the staunch opposition to his nomination by at least five Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Many of them believed Summers’ relationship with Wall Street was too cozy, and that he bore considerable responsibility for the economic meltdown of 2008. Warren made it clear that she was happy with the sudden turn of events. “Janet Yellen, I hope, will make a terrific Federal Reserve chair,” Warren said on MSNBC. “The president will make his decision, but I hope that happens.”

The stock market was equally elated. The announcement of Summers’ withdrawal led to a Dow rally of 118 points, as well as a lowering of interest rates, due to the market’s perception that Summers was less committed to the Fed’s current monetary stimulus program, known as Quantitative Easing (QE), than Yellen might be. That elation wasunderscored by a monthly CNBC poll of “economists, traders and strategists” who weigh in on Fed issues. In July, when the question of who Obama would replace Bernanke with was raised, 70 percent of respondents said Yellen, compared to only 25 percent who said Summers. When they were asked who they wanted to replace Bernanke, the figures were even more lopsided, with 50 percent giving Yellen the nod, compared to a paltry 2.5 percent who favored Summers.

Via: Canada Free Press

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CBO Sees Increasing 'Risk of a Fiscal Crisis'

(CNSNews.com) - The Congressional Budget Office released its 2013 long-term budget outlook on Tuesday, stating that "a large and continually growing federal debt ...would increase the probability of a fiscal crisis for the United States."

The report says under current laws and policies, the federal debt could reach 100 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2038.

It also projects that the federal government's health care spending "will grow considerably in 2014 because of changes made by the Affordable Care Act."

CBO says federal debt held by the public is now about 73 percent of the economy’s annual output, or gross domestic product. "That percentage is higher than at any point in U.S. history except a brief period around World War II, and it is twice the percentage at the end of 2007," the report said.

If current laws stay generally the same, CBO expects federal debt held by the public to decline slightly relative to GDP over the next several years, but after that, deficits would grow again, partly because of the the government’s major health care programs (Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and subsidies to be provided through the new Obamacare health insurance exchanges).

Via: CNS News

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REVEALED: The GOP’s NEW plan to repeal, replace Obamacare

The Republican Study Committee in the House of Representatives will unveil a health-care bill Wednesday to replace Obamacare.

The bill, titled the Republican Study Committee’s American Healthcare Reform Act, ”dramatically opens up options for families, and dramatically lowers costs” compared to the Obamacare law, committee chairman Louisiana Rep. Steven Scalise told The Daily Caller.

The 200-page budget-neutral bill would provide $20,000 in tax deductions to families and a $7,500 deduction to individuals, so they can buy insurance from vendors in any state. It would also would allow Americans to keep the money they save by picking lower-cost providers.

In an effort to contend with one of the more popular aspects of Obamacare, the Republican bill — which was drafted by a committee subgroup headed by Rep. Phil Roe, a doctor — would also create a 10-year, $25 billion fund to lower costs for Americans afflicted with pre-existing conditions such as cancer.

Additionally, it would let people carry their insurance with them from job to job, and cut wasteful legal costs by reforming medical lawsuits.

The bill transfers authority from Obamacare’s regulators to citizens because “we think people are smart enough and will find the best plan for their family,” Scalise said.

Via a reformed national health insurance market, Americans will be able to buy many of the provisions in Obamacare that are lauded by the White House, such as coverage for adult children up to age 26, he said. (DETAILS: Summary of Republican Study Committee’s alternative to Obamacare)

Overall costs will be controlled because government expenses are offset by savings, such as legal reform and an expected drop in medical prices, Scalise said. Instead of tax credits or subsidies, “we wanted to go with a straight deduction [from taxable income, because] it gives people more of an incentive to shop around,” he said.

Via: The Daily Caller

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And what’s right with President Obama?

The British have a saying about the twin rules of journalism: first simplify, then exaggerate.

Perhaps Barack Obama can comfort himself with the reality that his current travails are both more complicated in their causes and less dire in their consequences than they are being portrayed in the Washington echo chamber.

There is a useful cautionary note for everyone who is prone to withering judgments about Obama’s stumbling performances in recent weeks: No institution in American life is more resilient than the modern presidency, and no politician talented enough to capture the office should ever be underestimated.

Bill Clinton, of course, is the supreme example. He was counted out after a clumsy start in 1993, after losing the House in 1994, after a sex scandal in 1998, and, as a new ex-president, after a pardon scandal in 2001.

(PHOTOS: Obama’s second term)

Barack Obama is a man of different talents, instincts and interests than Clinton. But now that Washington is in pile-on mode — including us — it’s not a bad time to remember that there are some reasons why he is among the most talented politicians of his generation.

Recent bad headlines have not diluted his enduring personal and political assets, and, so long as he occupies the White House, there is no other person with more power to set the national agenda.

In that spirit, here’s a roster of what’s still right with Obama:

Via: Politico

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BOEHNER MAY HAVE TO ASK PELOSI FOR VOTES TO FUND GOV'T

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) may have to turn to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to get the votes for a short-term resolution to fund the government after October 1.

After House conservatives refused to support a continuing resolution they felt was a "gimmick" to make it look like they were taking steps to defund Obamacare, Politico noted that Boehner may now "have to call on Democrats to avoid a government shutdown." Congress has until September 30 to pass a continuing resolution. 

But Pelosi and Democrats will seek compromises for their votes. 

Democrats want to paint Republicans as "a party beholden to extremists," possibly attach the Senate's immigration bill to the short-term resolution to "counter the GOP effort to use the CR as a mechanism to force the Democratic-controlled Senate to vote on defunding Obamacare," or seek compromises on the sequester. 

Though Politico notes that Boehner would not have to go to Pelosi "until he’s staring at the prospect of a shutdown," Boehner would "most likely have to abandon the conservative call to include a defund provision" if he does seek help from her. According to the publication, when Boehner, Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) met last week, "Democrats made clear that any bill with a defund provision would be dead on arrival, both in the Senate and at the White House."

Obama may also prefer to sign a continuing resolution to fund the government at current sequester levels to avoid the risk that would come with a potential showdown over the sequester.

Via: Breitbart

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[CARTOON] Congress Talking Out of Their Butts

Via: California Political Review

Census Report OBLITERATES Obamanomics

Census on Obama’s 1st Term: Real Median Income Down $2,627; People in Poverty Up 6,667,000; Record 46,496,000 Now Poor


(CNSNews.com) - During the four years that marked President Barack Obama’s first term in office, the real median income of American households dropped by $2,627 and the number of people in poverty increased by approximately 6,667,000, according to data released today by the Census Bureau.

The record total of approximately 46,496,000 people in the United States who are now in poverty, according to the Census Bureau, is more than twice the population of Syria, which, according to the CIA, has 22,457,336 people.

In 2008, the year Obama was elected, real median household income in the United States was $53,644 according to the Census Bureau. In 2012, the last full year of Obama’s first term, median household income was $51,017. Thus, real median household income dropped $2,627—or 4.89 percent—from 2008 to 2012.

In fact, real median household income dropped in every year of Obama's first term. In 2008, when he was elected, it was $53,644. In 2009, the year he was inaugurated, it dropped to 53,285. In 2010, his second year in office, it dropped to $51,892. In 2011, his third year in office, it dropped to $51,100. And, in 2012, his fourth year in office, it dropped to $51,017.

At the same time the number of people living in poverty in the United States increased. In 2008, according to the Census Bureau, there were approximately 39,829,000 people living in poverty in this country. In 2012, there were 46,496,000. That is an increase of approximately 6,667,000—of 16.73 percent—from 2008 to 2012.

The number of people in poverty increased during three of the four years of Obama's first term--taking a slight dip from 2010 to 2011, but then rising again from 2011 to 2012. In 2008, there were 39,829 people in poverty in the U.S. In 2009, it climbed to 43,569. In 2010, it climbed again to 46,343. In 2011, it dipped to 46,247. And, in 2012, it climbed to an all-time high 46,496.

Via: Fox News

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GOP goes all-in on ‘de-fund ObamaCare,’ as shutdown looms

House Speaker John Boehner, in an abrupt turnaround, plans to let Tea Party lawmakers have a vote on de-funding ObamaCare as part of a politically risky strategy which Democrats warn could result in a government shutdown. 

GOP leaders unveiled their plan to members on Wednesday morning, teeing up a vote for Friday -- the proposed bill would tie the vote to de-fund the health care law to a vote on a stopgap spending bill. Current funding for the government is set to expire at the end of the month, and lawmakers must approve the stopgap bill in order to keep Washington open; conservatives see this as leverage to force a suspension of ObamaCare. 

"The law's a trainwreck," Boehner said of the Affordable Care Act. "It's time to protect American families from this unworkable law." 

Effectively, Boehner and his deputies have backed off a compromise approach they earlier tried to sell to rank-and-file conservatives. Under that plan, the House would have sent two bills to the Senate -- one to de-fund ObamaCare, the other to fund the government. The Senate, then, would have been able to easily bypass the ObamaCare bill and send the spending measure straight to the White House, in turn averting a government shutdown. 

But House conservatives revolted, and Boehner now plans to tie the two votes together. Under the plan, funding the government would be conditional on de-funding ObamaCare. It is a concession to House conservatives as well as senators like Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and outside groups like the Heritage Foundation that have demanded Congress use the must-pass budget bill as leverage to derail the health care law. 

Via: Fox News

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IRS officials thought Obama wanted crackdown on tea party groups, worried about negative press

IRS employees were “acutely” aware in 2010 that President Obama wanted to crack down on conservative organizations and were egged into targeting tea party groups by press reports mocking the emerging movement, according to an interim report being circulated Tuesday by House investigators.

The report, by staffers for Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, quoted two Internal Revenue Service officials saying the tea party applications were singled out in the targeting program that has the agency under investigation because “they were likely to attract media attention.”

In the report, the investigators do not find evidence that IRS employees received orders from politicians to target the tea party, and agency officials deny overt bias or political motives.

But the report says the IRS was at least taking cues from political leaders and designed special policies to review tea party applications, including dispatching some of them to Washington to be vetted by headquarters.

“As prominent politicians publicly urged the IRS to take action on tax-exempt groups engaged in legal campaign intervention activities, the IRS treated tea party applications differently,” the staff report concludes. “Applications filed by tea party groups were identified and grouped due to media attention surrounding the existence of the tea party in general.”

That finding contradicts Democrats on Capitol Hill, who argue that some liberal groups also were given special scrutiny, thus showing there was neither a witch hunt for conservatives nor political pressure from the White House.

Via: Washington Times

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Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis was 'not happy with America,' friend says

FORT WORTH, Texas — Aaron Alexis was so unhappy with his life in America — where he was beset by money woes and felt slighted as a veteran — that he was "ready to move out of the country" last year, a friend said Tuesday.

"He was tired of dealing with the government," said Kristi Suthamtewkal, whose husband owns the Thai Bowl Restaurant in Fort Worth, where Alexis worked in exchange for room and board.

But instead of leaving the U.S., the former Navy reservist relocated from Texas to Virginia, where an IT company called The Experts put him on a government contract at the Washington Navy Yard.

A day after Alexis, 34, gunned down 12 people at the yard, new details emerged of his troubled past — from his preoccupation with 9/11 to recent mental problems that included hearing voices in his head.

Investigators said Tuesday that a preliminary probe has turned up no evidence that Alexis participated in rescue operations at Ground Zero, as his father once told police.

He was, however, employed as a clerical worker at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, in the shadow of the Twin Towers, when they were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001.

Via: NBC News

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Keep Americans' personal data safe -- delay ObamaCare exchanges - By Orrin Hatch

Just about every week Americans learn about another problem with ObamaCare.  

Employer mandate? Delayed. 

Small business health insurance market? Delayed. 

Automatic enrollment? That’s right, delayed.  

Study after study and expert after expert has sounded the alarm on ObamaCare’s failings and the monumental implementation challenges that go with it. 

This shouldn’t come as much surprise given the size, scope and nature of the new law, which marks the largest expansion of government in generations.

On October 1st, ObamaCare’s health insurance exchanges --  the online marketplace where the uninsured are mandated to shop for healthcare coverage  -- will go live.

Via Fox News

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Our Non-Serious President - Three more years we’re stuck with this class-less act.

Fresh from terrorizing the Russians and bringing everlasting peace to a war-torn Middle East, Barack Obama undertook Monday to work on the Republicans the same tactics that worked so resoundingly on the trembling Vladimir Putin. He made a speech.

Obama makes a lot of speeches because he has a lot to say on all topics. The one he made in the Rose Garden, touting his impending triumph over the country’s economic woes, had all the right props, from impressive background to worshipful audience. The language was robust: “Republicans in Congress don’t seem to be focused on how to grow the economy and build the middle class. I say ‘at the moment’ because I’m still hoping that a light bulb goes off here.”

I cannot remember a time when one faction of one party promises economic chaos if it can’t get 100 percent of what it wants.

(A)re some of these folks really so beholden to one extreme wing of their party they’re willing to tank the entire economy just because they can’t get their way on this issue?

What they call this in the boxing ring and other such high-class venues is trash-talkin’. You try to make your opponent lose his cool, get mad, throw a premature punch. C’mon, man! You think you’re such a big man! Well, where I come from, we got a name for folks like you.

And so on.

Via: American Spectator

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President Obama will try to enlist help from business leaders fortalks with GOP

WASHINGTON -- President Obama will try to enlist help from business leaders in his standoff with congressional Republicans over government spending and a looming vote to raise the debt limit, a White House official said.

At a meeting with the Business Roundtable on Wednesday, Obama will ask corporate leaders to urge Republicans to give up plans to negotiate cuts in government spending, or a repeal of Obama's healthcare law, in return for an increase in the debt limit, said the official, who asked not to be named discussing the president's remarks before the meeting.

"The president will ask the business community to help send the message to Congress that a default would be disastrous for our economy and for businesses across the country," the official said.

Obama's planned remarks come as he and his GOP opponents on Capitol Hill are barreling toward two major fiscal deadlines. Lawmakers must pass legislation to keep the government open after Sept. 30, or face a shutdown. A few weeks later, the government is set to reach the limit it can borrow, if Congress does not increase it to cover spending it has already approved.

PHOTOS: 2013's memorable political moments

The president and the Republican-led House have faced this fight before, but this time the White House is saying it will not negotiate to raise the debt ceiling.

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) is seeking deficit-reduction measures in return for an increase in the debt limit, while some of his fellow Republicans are pushing for a bigger -- and unlikely -- concession from the White House: repeal of the president’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act.

Obama will make the case Wednesday that the standoff is being driven by "extreme" members of the Republican Party and is an "irresponsible" threat to the fiscal health of the country, the official said.

A Boehner spokesman argued that Obama was hyping the threat.

"No one is threatening to default," said Brendan Buck. "The president only uses these scare tactics to avoid having to show the courage needed to deal with our debt crisis. Every major deficit deal in the last 30 years has been tied to a debt-limit increase, and this time should be no different."

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Obama Asked About Obamacare’s Tanking Approval Numbers: “Yes,” “Everybody Is Wrong”…

President Obama said Tuesday that Americans were wrong to doubt his signature healthcare reform law, saying concerns over rising costs or worsening health outcomes were not supported by the evidence.

In an interview with Telemundo on Tuesday, the president was asked if "everybody [was] wrong" after polling data indicated that a majority of Americans oppose the law and believe it will raise their healthcare costs.

"Yes," the president said with a chuckle. "They are."

The president said a "look at the facts" revealed that young adults were able to stay on their parents' health insurance longer and that seniors were getting "billions of dollars in discounts on their prescription drugs."

Asked about reports that insurance rates were rising in some areas, Obama argued the law was a net positive.

"What we've seen is the lowest increase in healthcare costs in 50 years over the last several years," Obama said. "So there is no evidence at all that this is somehow making healthcare more expensive. There's a lot of evidence that it's helping to make it cheaper."

A poll released Tuesday by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal found that just 31 percent of Americans believed ObamaCare was a good idea, while 44 percent thought it was not. Just three in 10 Americans say they understand how the legislation will affect them, and only 23 percent believe the law will have a positive effect on the country's overall healthcare system. 

Via: The Hill

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