Who's Calling Whom "Chickenshit"?

Barack (Barry) Obama

Sergeant Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu

'Nuff said. 


**** 

"The Crisis in U.S. Israel Relations is Officially Here" (Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic, October 28, 2014). 

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

I think this is bigger than we initially thought (new acronym: PRISM, which stands for. . . ?). 
  Some initial reports: 

From The Guardian: "NSA Taps into Internet Giants' System to Mine Users Data."

From The Washington Post: "NSA Slides Explain the PRISM Data-Collection Program."

From The Washington Post: "U.S. Mining Data from 9 Leading Internet Firms; Companies Deny Knowledge."

Here are a couple of screen shots of the no-longer "top secret" slides from NSA:

New York Times Scolds Obama While Conservatives Shrug: What's Going On?

Bad boy, tsk tsk. Thus saith the Grey Lady. Some excerpts: 

The administration has now lost all credibility. Mr. Obama is proving the truism that the executive will use any power it is given and very likely abuse it.

Mr. Obama clearly had no intention of revealing this eavesdropping, just as he would not have acknowledged the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, had it not been reported in the press. Even then, it took him more than a year and a half to acknowledge the killing, and he is still keeping secret the protocol by which he makes such decisions. 

We are not questioning the legality under the Patriot Act of the court order disclosed by The Guardian. But we strongly object to using that power in this manner. It is the very sort of thing against which Mr. Obama once railed, when he said in 2007 that the Bush administration’s surveillance policy “puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we provide.”  

All of this in response to the scoop by The Guardian (would it be asking too much for the American media to get a scoop about the Obama administration?) in which we (Americans) learn that "the National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon, one of America's largest telecoms providers, under a top secret court order issued in April." 

The interesting thing about this latest scandal is that conservatives don't seem too worked up about it. I listened to Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, and Hugh Hewitt basically say so what? I read in National Review Online that this is basically no big deal. Andrew McCarthy explains that "telephone record information (e.g., the numbers dialed and duration of calls) is not and has never been protected by the Fourth Amendment." So McCarthy makes a distinction between the records (numbers called, etc.) and the content of the discussion (not recorded, no wire-tapping, etc). 

I don't know. I'm not sure I'm convinced. I listened to Jake Tapper interview Glenn Greenwald, who was the reporter from The Guardian who wrote the story, and if you listen to what Greenwald is saying, it's pretty alarming. You can listen to the interview here. I think what's bothering me is the fact that this isn't a selective use of the Patriot Act. I mean, if the administration had reason to believe that someone--a person who was a Verizon subscriber--was a suspected terrorist, then yes, I agree, the Patriot Act would give the administration authority and power to examine his or her phone records. But to cast this huge, wide net--all Verizon subscribers, including my sister, my daughter, etc.? And probably (we'll soon hear) AT&T customers (including yours truly)? 

Really, Mr. Obama? You? You who criticized President Bush when he used the same authority in the aftermath of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks?  

Still Crazy (on him) After All These (Lies)?

(With apologies to Heart and Paul Simon...)

Sadly, I know the answer to this question. No matter what he does, doesn't do, says, retracts, lies about, distorts, Barack Obama can do no wrong. 

I still remember the argument (yes, sadly, argument) between me and a family member after the election. I was (sad shocked depressed upset) about Mitt Romney's loss and s/he called to "see if I was OK" (so condescendingly kind of this person to call). Rather than be gracious and knowing I would be picking a fight, I said "nope," and then went full frontal assault. This had the desired effect of putting this relative on the defense, which quickly mutated to offense, at one point declaring that he/she was "further to the left than Obama." 

Further to the left of the most leftist president we've ever had? Maybe this was said to score points, or as a barb, meant to hurt. Logistically it puzzled me. There's not much room to the left of Obama, yet there, triumphantly, smugly, perched this family member. 

Needless to say, the "conversation" (such as it was), ended in short order. Yes, I called back a few minutes later to apologize, and all is well and forgiven though surely not forgotten. 

At least I have not forgotten. How far left can these people go before they realize how truly corrupt and unscrupulous their guy is? 

"The most transparent administration" is . . . not, at least according to Katherine Meyer, a Washington D. C. lawyer who specializes in the Freedom of Information Act law. Here's what she said a year ago (quoted here in Politico): 

Obama is the sixth administration that’s been in office since I’ve been doing Freedom of Information Act work … It’s kind of shocking to me to say this, but of the six, this administration is the worst on FOIA issues. The worst. There’s just no question about it. This administration is raising one barrier after another … It’s gotten to the point where I’m stunned — I’m really stunned" (Read full article here).

Jack Gillum of the Associated Press (posted here at Breitbart.com) reports that high level members of the Obama administration are using "secret government email accounts they say are necessary to prevent their in-boxes from being overwhelmed with unwanted messages." 

How convenient. Not only are their in-boxes clear of annoying clutter, they're also free from annoying scrutiny. Gillum writes: 

The secret email accounts complicate an agency's legal responsibilities to find and turn over emails in response to congressional or internal investigations, civil lawsuits or public records requests because employees assigned to compile such responses would necessarily need to know about the accounts to search them. Secret accounts also drive perceptions that government officials are trying to hide actions or decisions.

So despite claims to the contrary, Barack Obama's administration is the least transparent administration (hello, liberals, are you listening? This includes Richard Nixon's). You'd think this would be enough to give any well-meaning liberal pause, but no. It seems nothing can dim the sheen off their adored president: Fast and Furious, multiple terrorist attacks on our soil, drone attacks on U.S. citizens, IRS bullying of conservative Americans, intrusion on the right of the press to do their job, the still unresolved mystery that terrible night in Benghazi on the anniversary of 9 /11 when four Americans were killed and ODL (our dear leader) was AWOL. And let's not forget the "Affordable" (hahahaha) Care Act, which will be impossible to implement, especially in California, and is based on untruths and manipulation of data (see Wall Street Journal article, "ObamaCare Bait and Switch" here). 

Doesn't matter! They voted for him! He's their guy! So, even though Barack Obama is deceptive, duplicitous, arrogant, condescending, narcissistic, and political in the truly worst sense of the word...they're still crazy on him. 

"Obama's Scandalous Second Term," by Brian and Garret Fahy (Town Hall) 

It's Getting Awfully Chilly, Mr. Obama

What follows is a smattering of articles that came up with a simple Bing query using search terms "chilling" and "Obama administration." Not all of these are from "right-leaning" publications or authors.

"Obama Administration Mistakes Journalism for Espionage," by Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post. "The Obama administration has no business rummaging through journalists' phone records, perusing their e-mails and tracking their movements in an attempt to keep them from gathering news. This heavy-handed business isn’t chilling, it’s just plain cold. It also may well be unconstitutional."

"Spying on the Associated Press," New York Times, Editorial. "The Obama administration, which has a chilling zeal for investigating leaks and prosecuting leakers, has failed to offer a credible justification for secretly combing through the phone records of reporters and editors at The Associated Press in what looks like a fishing expedition for sources and an effort to frighten off whistle-blowers."

"Sharyl Attkisson's Computers Compromised," by Dylan Byers, Politico.  "Attkisson told WPHT that irregular activity on her computer was first identified in Feb. 2011, when she was reporting on the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal and on the Obama administration's green energy spending, which she said 'the administration was very sensitive about.' Attkisson has also been a persistent investigator of the events surrounding last year's attack in Benghazi, and its aftermath."

 "Obama Whistleblower Prosecutions Lead to Chilling Effect on Press," Huffington Post (not sure who the author is here). “'I can tell you that people who normally would meet with me, sort of in a more relaxed atmosphere, are on pins and needles,' [Jonathan] Landay said of the reporting climate during the Obama years, a period of unprecedented whistleblower prosecutions. The crackdown on leaks, he added, seems 'deliberately intended to have a chilling effect.'”

"How Hope and Change Gave Way to Spying on the Press," by Kirsten Powers, The Daily Beast. "Even one outlet [Fox News] that allowed dissent or criticism of the president was one too many. This should have been a red flag to everyone, regardless of what they thought of Fox News. The math was simple: if the administration would abuse its power to try and intimidate one media outlet, what made anyone think they weren’t next?"

 "The Obama Objective: To Control the News," Investors Business Daily editorial. "The latest news that the Justice Department investigated Fox News reporter James Rosen and two other newsmen in the normal course of their investigative reporting on a national security matter — coming on the heels of their seizure of Associated Press phone records — suggests an administration obsessed with controlling the news itself with a heavy hand reminiscent of totalitarian regimes. . . Our question: When, and where, is this war against the media going to stop?"

 "Culture of Intimidation," by Ben Shapiro, Breitbart.com.  "The intimidation comes from the top down in the Obama administration. And it is pervasive."

 The War on Whistleblowers, a documentary by Brave New Foundation. "Speaking truth to power is now a criminal act." Here's a trailer:

Obama's Enemy: The Woman Next Door?

This IRS story really is beginning to look like the Obama administration targeting a political enemy. The creepy thing is, that "enemy" looks familiar. He (or, in this case, she) looks like you, like me, like the woman next door. 

"Chilling"? Yes, quite. I challenge anyone who still supports this administration to publicly defend this behavior.

Opening Paragraphs:

Catherine Engelbrecht’s tale has all the markings of a classic conspiracy theory: She says she thinks that because of her peaceful political activity, she and her family was targeted for scrutiny by hostile federal agencies. Yet as news emerges that the Internal Revenue Service wielded its power to obstruct conservative groups, Catherine’s story becomes credible — and chilling. It also raises questions about whether other federal agencies have used their executive powers to target those deemed political enemies . . . .

Closing paragraphs: 

Catherine says she knows of at least one other group that received government inquiries about its relationship with True the Vote, and she suspects more did, too. And other Tea Party groups decided not to form nonprofits at all after learning about her experience, she says. “They were scared,” she explains, “and you shouldn’t be scared of your government.” Meanwhile, Catherine says the harassment has forced her to seriously reconsider whether her political activity is worth the government harassment she’s faced.

Full story: "True Scandal," by Jillian Kay Milchior (National Review Online)