Barack Obama -- June 14, 2009

June 14, 2009

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"Islam has always been a part of America’s story"

Barack Hussein Obama

event	description
21 And Counting	Obama has appointed 21 "Czars." These Czars are "Political Officers." In the old Soviet Union, they were called Commissars. The Executive Branch of government is organized hierarchically, top-down, by Departments (Treasury, Defense, etc.). Each department functions under the direction of an executive, referred to as a "Secretary," who is confirmed by the Senate. The appointments of these "Czars" changes the fundamental structure of the Executive Branch into a "matrix" structure. The czars have political power across all of the departments within the Executive Branch. They speak for Obama and their function is to ensure compliance with Obama's policies within the Executive Branch. The American People don't know who most of these Czars are. They've had no background checks. There is no Congressional oversight over the Czars, unlike a Cabinet position. They are appointed by Obama and are extraordinarily powerful, simply because they take their direction from and report directly to Obama. We don't know how much money they make. We don't know how many tax-payer dollars they oversee. We don't know how much power they wield. Where are the checks and balances? Thanks Taylor . . .
Obama's Admission	From "Dreams..." -- page 26, last paragraph: "I discovered this article, folded away among my birth certificate and old vaccination forms, when I was in high school. It's a short piece, with a photograph of him. No mention is made of my mother or me, and I'm left to wonder whether the omission was intentional on my father's part, in anticipation of his long departure. Perhaps the reporter failed to ask personal questions, intimidated by my father's imperious manner; or perhaps it was an editorial decision, not part of the simple story that they were looking for. I wonder, too, whether the omission caused a fight between my parents." This paragraph exists in "Dreams from My Father." It is proof that Obama's birth certificate exists, that his grandmother had a copy, and that he's seen it. So he knows what's on it, and whatever it is -- or isn't -- it's the reason he is fighting its release so ferociously. Undoubtedly, this knowledge provided the motivation for the ransacking of his grandmother Dunham's apartment within hours of her death. He was looking for this document before it fell into the "wrong" hands.
Obama Interferes With Investigation Of Crony	If, like John Hinderaker, you haven't had time over the last few days to keep up with the story of Barack Obama's firing of Gerald Walpin, the Inspector General who has responsibility for the AmeriCorps program, Byron York will bring you up to speed. The story is an interesting one that sheds light on the lawless, bullying nature of the Obama administration. Walpin, who by statute is supposed to be independent of White House control, ran afoul of Obama because he investigated a charity operated by former pro basketball player Kevin Johnson, a prominent Obama supporter. The non-profit, St. Hope, received an $850,000 grant from AmeriCorps. Walpin investigated what St. Hope did with the money and concluded that much of it was improperly spent, e.g. to pay recipients to wash Johnson's car. The result of Walpin's investigation was that St. Hope agreed to repay half the money it got from AmeriCorps. However, since St. Hope is insolvent, AmeriCorps is unlikely to get its money back. The acting U.S. Attorney in Sacramento declined to criminally prosecute anyone in connection with these events. Apparently in retaliation for having put the heat on an Obama supporter, Obama had Norman Eisen, a Special Counsel, telephone Walpin and demand that he resign within an hour. Walpin, pointing out that he is not a political appointee and does not serve at Obama's pleasure, declined to do so. So Obama fired him. By statute, Obama is required to give Congress 30 days' written notice of his intention to fire an inspector general and set forth his reasons for doing so. Obama failed to comply with that aspect of the statute, merely saying that Walpin no longer has his "fullest confidence." That would be sufficient reason to replace a political appointee, but not to fire an inspector general. The Obama administration first denied, but now admits, that Obama is firing Walpin because of the St. Hope affair. Byron has much more. The bottom line, though, is that this story adds to the disconcerting picture we are getting of the Obama administration -- a picture of lawlessness, hyperpartisanship, cronyism and lack of transparency. UPDATE, via a commenter: Jake Tapper has more, particularly relating to Walpin's conflict with the acting U.S. Attorney in Sacramento. I'm not crazy about the institutional role of the Inspectors General, but reviewing the various charges and counter-charges, it's hard to see that Walpin was doing anything other than zealously carrying out his statutorily-mandated duties. What distinguishes this case from many others where an Inspector General makes himself unpopular is that Walpin crossed Barack Obama by investigating his crony. That's how it looks based on the evidence now available, anyway.
Obama's Plan To Destroy America's Farms	Even Democrats are opposing Obama's Energy Bill. Climate change legislation will be utterly devastating for American farmers. Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA) of the House Agriculture Committee says that not only will he not vote for it, but no one else on his committee will support it either. The bill would increase the cost of everything that farmers depend on, such as diesel fuel, gasoline, fertilizers, pesticides, and a host of other things. It would raise taxes on energy by $846 billion over the next ten years. Due to the fact that farming is so energy intensive, one major study shows that it would reduce farm income by $8 billion or 28% over the next four years, by $25 billion (or by 60%) through 2024, and by $50 billion (or by 94%) by 2035 [source: Heritage Foundation study]. Many are shaking their heads in amazement over the proposed impact. Cap and trade legislation would utterly devastate the agricultural community with stratospheric operating costs, and would just as utterly destroy rural America. To make matters even worse, the 1,000 page bill pushed through by Henry Waxman and Ed Markey has barely been examined in spite of its sweeping consequences as Democrats play cutthroat politics with America's future. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) is complaining that the Agriculture Department has little if any role in the climate change bill, and that the EPA is driving it. Peterson said, "A lot of us on the Committee do not want the EPA near our farms." Continue reading here . . .