Thursday, January 2, 2014

Facing fire, ousted IRS chief apologizes for tea party targeting

Facing fire, ousted IRS chief apologizes for tea party targeting

House GOP leader says White House may be to blame

The ousted head of the IRS on Friday said he was sorry for his agency’s targeting conservative and tea party groups for special scrutiny, while a Republican leader said blame could reach as high as the White House.
Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller told the House Ways and Means Committee that his agency failed the public trust when it singled out tea party and other conservative groups applying for tax exempt status from 2008 to 2012, but repeatedly denied agency officials misled Congress when lawmakers explicitly asked about the program.


“I want to apologize on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service for the mistakes that we made and the poor service we provided,” said Mr. Miller before the panel, which was holding the first of several expected Capitol Hill hearings on the matter.
“The affected organizations and the American public deserve better. Partisanship, or even the perception of partisanship, has no place at the IRS.”
He added that the IRS provided “horrible customer service.”
Mr. Miller denied that political motivation was behind his agency’s singling groups for special scrutiny that included the conservative buzzwords “tea party,” “patriot” or “9/12” in their names. Rather, he portrayed a scenario of overworked IRS agents simply looking for shortcuts to tackle burgeoning caseloads of groups applying for tax-exempt status.
“What happened here was that foolish mistakes were made by people trying to be more efficient in their workload selection,” he said.
Mr. Miller said the problem was internal and that no outside entities — such as the Treasury Department or the White House — were involved. He said his agency is still reviewing the matter and said changes already have been made to ensure the problem doesn’t happen again.


But the panel’s chairman, Rep. Dave Camp, Michigan Republican, said the matter shows a “culture of cover-ups” and “political intimidation” within the Obama administration.
Mr. Camp suggested the White House hid the scandal until after the 2012 elections.
“These revelations are just the tip of the iceberg. It would be a mistake to treat this as just one scandal,” he said.
The chairman said the scandal shows the IRS has become too large and powerful and called for widespread reforms within he tax collecting agency.
“This systematic abuse cannot be fixed with just one resignation or two,” he said. “And as much as I expect more people need to go, the reality is this is not a personnel problem.”
President Obama on Wednesday forced Mr. Miller  to resign, and other top IRS official  is stepping down. Mr. Miller, a career civil servant, while not in charge of the agency at the time of the time of the misconduct, did hold a high-ranking position.
But lawmakers of both parties grilled Mr. Miller during the three-and-a-half hour hearing.
“This outrage is not Democrat and Republican. It involves the credibility of government as it relates to American citizens,” said Rep. Charles B. Rangel, New York Democrat.
Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, the panel’s senior Democrat, has called for Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups, to step down.
GOP anger
But Republicans were particularly harsh on the IRS official, saying they weren’t satisfied with his apology and explanations.
“I’m sad and I’m sick to my stomach that Americans could be targeted by a government agency based on their political beliefs,” said Rep. Lynn Jenkins, Kansas Republican.
Rep. Tom Price, Georgia Republican, said called the IRS’s action “chilling” and “very, very serious.”
Conservative groups have complained for more than a year that the IRS was targeting tea party groups, and repeatedly asked the agency last year for information on the matter.
On Friday Republicans accused Mr. Miller of failing to inform Congress of the IRS’s practice of targeting conservative groups even after he had been briefed on the matter last year. The IRS official denied he mislead Congress.
But Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Oregon Democrat, said lawmakers are partially to blame for the problem because Congress has “slowly been starving” the IRS budget while their caseload has ballooned. This, coupled with an expanded tax code, led lower-level agency officials to make dangerous shortcuts, he said.
“I also hope that we look at the task they’ve been given, the budget they’ve been given and think a little bit about maybe a rate of return that would more than pay for itself if we invested in training, in management and having more than 150 people to deal with the avalanche of these applications,” he said.
J. Russell George,Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration who oversaw a yearlong investigation of the IRS scandal, told the committee his probe has found no examples so far of a political motivation in the IRS‘ targeting of conservative groups. Mr. George, the hearing’s only other witness, called the IRS’s actions improper but said his investigation didn’t find any criminal activity by IRS personnel — though he added there will be “subsequent review on our part on this matter.”
The inspector general’s audit, released Tuesday, said the IRS’s singling out of conservative groups for “burdensome” scrutiny delayed approving some applications for so long that the groups simply gave up. Mr. George said that of the 170 cases in which the IRS asked for follow-up information, 98 included “unnecessary questions” that slowed down the application process.
Of the 296 applications for tax-exempt status the independent watchdog reviewed for its audit, 108 cases had been approved, 160 were still open and 28 were withdrawn. No cases had been denied.
Reforms eyed
The watchdog recommended the IRS make nine major reforms aimed at speeding up but also clarifying the agency’s approval process for tax-exemption — two of which the IRS initially rejected.
But on Friday, Mr. Miller suggested the House committee his agency would implement all of the recommendations.
“There’s no air between us on the recommendations,” he said.
The scandal broke open May 10, when Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups, admitted organizations were singled out if they had “tea party” or “patriot” in their titles. In one more revelation from the hearing, Mr. Miller acknowledged that a question had been planted at an unrelated American Bar Association seminar last Friday to allow Ms. Lerner to “break” the news just days before the IG report was released.
In some cases, Ms. Lerner acknowledged. groups were asked for their lists of donors, which usually violates IRS policy. Attorney General Eric H. Holder said he launched an investigation the same day.
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday will hold the next hearing on the scandal. A witness list wasn’t released as of Friday.
The following day the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will conduct a hearing on the scandal, with Mr. George, Ms. Lerner, former IRS Commissioner Shulman and Treasury Deputy Secretary Neal S. Wolin all scheduled to testify.
© Copyright 2014 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

NYT: Boehner ‘Committed’ to Amnesty in New Year

NYT: Boehner ‘Committed’ to Amnesty in New Year

pic_giant_081413_SM_No-Conference-John-Boehner




(Breitbart) - House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is committed to passing immigration reform, and amnesty advocates are more hopeful that Boehner will ignore conservatives who are opposed to a pathway to citizenship provision that the Congressional Budget Office determined would lower the wages of American workers.
On the second day of 2014, the New York Times reports that Boehner’s aides “said this week that he was committed” to legislation on immigration reform in 2014 and helping President Barack Obama achieve what had been his ”biggest” goal of 2013. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is expected to play a big role behind the scenes in passing amnesty, according to the outlet.
FAX BLAST SPECIAL: NO AMNESTY for Illegals!
The Times reports that amnesty supporters have been given “new hope” because the hiring of Rebecca Tallent, a former adviser who tried to help Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) pass comprehensive immigration reform, and “angry comments by Mr. Boehner critical of Tea Party opposition to the recent budget deal in Congress,” indicate that “he is serious about revamping the immigration system despite deep reservations from conservative Republicans.” They believe that the “only reason” Boehner hired Tallent “is his desire to make a deal this year.”
House Republicans indicated to the Times that they would be open to piecemeal legislation, while amnesty supporters said they were hopeful that Boehner would “ignore conservative voices who oppose a path to citizenship.” President Barack Obama and Democrats have said they would be okay with piecemeal legislation only if all of the pieces passed. Boehner and House Republican leaders have said they would not conference with the Senate on the exact Senate bill, but they have left open the possibility of conferencing on various aspects of the legislation. Should that happen, a pathway to citizenship provision would be inserted; Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has said that needs to be a “fundamental principle” in any agreement, and Obama has said he would not sign a bill without that provision.
As for a timetable, the Times reports that amnesty advocates believe the best chance to pass comprehensive immigration reform will be right after the Republican primary season around June, which is consistent with what McCain has said, as Breitbart News reported. If amnesty advocates cannot have a bill by the midterm elections, they could make another push during a lame-duck session of Congress, the Times notes.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has said comprehensive immigration reform will pass before June if it passes at all. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), who has called Ryan an “ally” in his quest for amnesty, has said that this year would be comprehensive immigration reform’s last chance, which may explain why, according to the Times, amnesty advocates are planning more acts of civil disobedience and hunger strikes to pressure Congress into ramming the legislation through this year.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/01/02/NYT-Boehner-Committed-to-Amnesty-in-New-Year
pic_giant_081413_SM_No-Conference-John-Boehner




(Breitbart) - House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is committed to passing immigration reform, and amnesty advocates are more hopeful that Boehner will ignore conservatives who are opposed to a pathway to citizenship provision that the Congressional Budget Office determined would lower the wages of American workers.
On the second day of 2014, the New York Times reports that Boehner’s aides “said this week that he was committed” to legislation on immigration reform in 2014 and helping President Barack Obama achieve what had been his ”biggest” goal of 2013. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is expected to play a big role behind the scenes in passing amnesty, according to the outlet.
FAX BLAST SPECIAL: NO AMNESTY for Illegals!
The Times reports that amnesty supporters have been given “new hope” because the hiring of Rebecca Tallent, a former adviser who tried to help Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) pass comprehensive immigration reform, and “angry comments by Mr. Boehner critical of Tea Party opposition to the recent budget deal in Congress,” indicate that “he is serious about revamping the immigration system despite deep reservations from conservative Republicans.” They believe that the “only reason” Boehner hired Tallent “is his desire to make a deal this year.”
House Republicans indicated to the Times that they would be open to piecemeal legislation, while amnesty supporters said they were hopeful that Boehner would “ignore conservative voices who oppose a path to citizenship.” President Barack Obama and Democrats have said they would be okay with piecemeal legislation only if all of the pieces passed. Boehner and House Republican leaders have said they would not conference with the Senate on the exact Senate bill, but they have left open the possibility of conferencing on various aspects of the legislation. Should that happen, a pathway to citizenship provision would be inserted; Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has said that needs to be a “fundamental principle” in any agreement, and Obama has said he would not sign a bill without that provision.
As for a timetable, the Times reports that amnesty advocates believe the best chance to pass comprehensive immigration reform will be right after the Republican primary season around June, which is consistent with what McCain has said, as Breitbart News reported. If amnesty advocates cannot have a bill by the midterm elections, they could make another push during a lame-duck session of Congress, the Times notes.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has said comprehensive immigration reform will pass before June if it passes at all. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), who has called Ryan an “ally” in his quest for amnesty, has said that this year would be comprehensive immigration reform’s last chance, which may explain why, according to the Times, amnesty advocates are planning more acts of civil disobedience and hunger strikes to pressure Congress into ramming the legislation through this year.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/01/02/NYT-Boehner-Committed-to-Amnesty-in-New-Year

China Denounces US After Obama Releases Last Three Uighur Muslim Terrorists From Gitmo

China Denounces US After Obama Releases Last Three Uighur Muslim Terrorists From Gitmo

Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, January 2, 2014, 11:34 AM

 
 
Barack Obama released the final three remaining Uighur Muslim terrorists from Gitmo this week.
The jihadists were sent to Slovakia.
The Chinese Uighur terrorists were trained by Al-Qaeda at terror training camps. FOX News reported that many of the Uighur detainees were trained in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan. They are also linked to the terror group that was planning attacks on the Beijing Olympic.
uighurs bermuda
Former Gitmo detainees walk down the street in Bermuda where they were released by the Obama administration in 2009. (Power Line)
Today China criticized the Obama administration for sending the terrorists to Slovakia.
Reuters reported:
China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the United States on Thursday for sending the last three Uighur Chinese inmates at the Guantanamo Bay detention center to Slovakia, saying they were “terrorists” who posed a real security danger.
Yusef Abbas, Saidullah Khalik, and Hajiakbar Abdul Ghuper are the last of 22 Muslim minority Chinese nationals to be moved from the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba, according to the Pentagon.
Slovakia’s Interior Ministry confirmed that it would take in the three. Uighurs are a Turkic-speaking Muslim people from China’s far western region of Xinjiang.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the three were members of the separatist East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which Beijing labels a terror group.
“They are genuine terrorists. They not only threaten China’s security, they will threaten the security of the country that receives them,” he told a daily news briefing.
“China hopes that the relevant country … does not give asylum to terrorists, and sends them back to China as soon as possible.”
Qin added that China did not appreciate a recent U.S. State Department call for Chinese security forces to exercise restraint following the latest outbreak of violence in Xinjiang, also blamed by Beijing on “terrorists”.


BREAKING: Mitt Romney is Being Sued in Federal Court for Criminal Racketeering


HomeCrimeBREAKING: Mitt Romney is Being Sued in Federal Court for Criminal Racketeering

BREAKING: Mitt Romney is Being Sued in Federal Court for Criminal Racketeering

Steven “Laser” Haas is the owner and sole shareholder of Collateral Logistics Inc. (CLI) the firm which was retained to oversee the liquidation of assets in the bankruptcy of eToys in 2001.
During the process of liquidating the company Haas came across irregularities, unethical practices and outright criminal acts originating from the top at Bain Capital (Mitt Romney’s asset management firm), Goldman Sachs, Kay Bee Toys and Stage Stores, all of which were involved in the machinations to sell eToys for mere pennies to Bain through its interest in Kay Bee.
Haas filed his suit under a provision of the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) statute which allows a plaintiff to become a “Private Attorney General” when it is necessary in order to address “Prosecutorial Gaps.”  According to Haas, that gap was created by Colm F. Connolly, former United States Attorney in Delaware who had been a partner in the law firm of  Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell (MNAT) in 2001, alleging he had failed to disclose that fact while also neglecting to investigate the complaints which Haas had lodged.
Along with Romney, Haas has named Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital, Michael Glazer Barry Gold and Paul Traub in the suit. Haas has claimed that he has evidence that the parties involved have committed perjury on 35 separate occasions — even alleging that there have been murders carried out in attempts to cover up their wrong doing.
His $100 million suit is intended to recover some of the losses incurred by the victims of the unethical and illegal actions of those involved in the chicanery and who reaped handsome profits from the deal.
Haas alleged in his affidavit to the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 3, 2012 that after he had uncovered numerous irregularities, he had been offered $850,000 by Bain to keep silent about what he had discovered.  When he attempted to report the bribe, he was told that since he had not accepted it, he didn’t have a case. Bain of course denies that the offer was ever made.
Haas has summarized the steps to be taken in his suit:
If Haas’ list of charges prove to be backed up by the evidence, this could be one of the most interesting civil trials in recent years.
No matter the outcome, there is little question that just having this case make it into court will stain the reputations of all involved permanently, including squeaky clean Mitt Romney — the man whose moral convictions run so deep that he will not even drink coffee or coke because they contain caffeine.

Inmates And Citizens Using RICOs Private Attorney General Power– Suing Bain Capital, Goldman Sachs And Others Under RICO pictures video

Inmates And Citizens Using RICOs Private Attorney General Power– Suing Bain Capital, Goldman Sachs And Others Under RICO pictures video

Thursday, January 2, 2014 19:04

Steven “Laser” Haas is the owner and sole shareholder of Collateral Logistics Inc. (CLI) the firm which was retained to oversee the liquidation of assets in the bankruptcy of eToys in 2001.
During the process of liquidating the company Haas came across irregularities, unethical practices and outright criminal acts originating from the top at Bain Capital (Mitt Romney’s asset management firm), Goldman Sachs, Kay Bee Toys and Stage Stores, all of which were involved in the machinations to sell eToys for mere pennies to Bain through its interest in Kay Bee.
Haas filed his suit under a provision of the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) statute which allows a plaintiff to become a “Private Attorney General” when it is necessary in order to address “Prosecutorial Gaps.”  According to Haas, that gap was created by Colm F. Connolly, former United States Attorney in Delaware who had been a partner in the law firm of  Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell (MNAT) in 2001, alleging he had failed to disclose that fact while also neglecting to investigate the complaints which Haas had lodged.
Along with Romney, Haas has named Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital, Michael Glazer Barry Gold and Paul Traub in the suit. Haas has claimed that he has evidence that the parties involved have committed perjury on 35 separate occasions — even alleging that there have been murders carried out in attempts to cover up their wrong doing. readmore

Obama to Name Hillary Clinton His State Pick Tomorrow (Update1)

Obama to Name Hillary Clinton His State Pick Tomorrow (Update1)


Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Hillary Clinton will be named President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for secretary of state tomorrow following former President Bill Clinton’s agreement to publicly release the names of more than 200,000 contributors to his foundation, a person close to the former first lady said.
Clinton will join Obama in Chicago as the incoming president unveils his national security team. Other announcements will include the retention of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for at least a year, and the nominations of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as homeland security chief and Eric Holder as attorney general, according to a person familiar with the matter. Holder was No. 2 at the Justice Department under Bill Clinton.
The former president’s business and philanthropic dealings posed a major obstacle to Hillary Clinton, 61, clinching the job of secretary of state, which will make her Obama’s highest-ranking Cabinet officer. Backers say the Clintons’ popularity would boost the U.S.’s global standing. Critics claim the appointment could bring old Clinton-era drama into the new White House. Some analysts say such concern may be overblown.
“This is Obama’s band; he gets to call the tunes,” said Charlie Cook, publisher of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
“Obama picked Clinton because, after standing next to her in countless debates and having competed against her, he saw her as a very strong, tough, formidable person and wanted her on his team,” Cook said.
Other Nominees
Obama, 47, is also set to announce his nominations of General James L. Jones, a former Marine Corps commandant, as national security adviser; retired Navy Admiral Dennis Blair as director of national intelligence; and Susan Rice, assistant secretary for African affairs at the State Department under former president Clinton, as ambassador to the United Nations.
Obama has put together a national-security team made up of strong figures. His biggest challenge may be to keep them working in harmony and adhering to the “no drama” credo that he demanded from aides during his campaign. The Obama team’s agreement with Bill Clinton is aimed at avoiding any potential conflicts.
The former president said earlier this month that he would do “whatever they want” to ensure his wife’s appointment. “This is a deal between” Obama “and Hillary,” he told reporters in New York on Nov. 19.
Nine Conditions
The disclosure of Bill Clinton’s donor list is one of nine conditions the former president agreed to in negotiations with Obama’s representatives, according to an Obama aide, who declined to be identified.
The more than 200,000 names comprise the universe of donors to Bill Clinton’s presidential library and foundation. This is separate from the Clinton Global Initiative, which operates under the aegis of the foundation but does not directly take money from the donors.
The list of contributors ranges from those who gave a few dollars to wealthy foreign leaders and business people who donated multimillion-dollar gifts. The foundation has raised more than $500 million.
Clinton, 62, has never before disclosed the identities of donors, though the New York Times reported that contributors include the Saudi royal family, a foundation connected to the United Arab Emirates, the king of Morocco and a mogul who is the son-in-law of Ukraine’s former authoritarian president.
Avoiding Conflicts
Clinton also agreed to incorporate his Clinton Global Initiative, which works to fight poverty, climate change and disease worldwide, separately from his foundation so that he would have less personal involvement and reduce the risk of appearances of conflict of interest due to Hillary Clinton’s position.
The agreement calls for the initiative to cease holding annual meetings outside the U.S. or accepting new donations from foreign governments.
The former president also signed off on handing over for review all future personal speeches and business activities to State Department ethics officials and, if necessary, the White House counsel’s office, according to the aide. Clinton now draws six-figure payments for speaking around the world.
Spokespeople for Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton didn’t immediately respond to calls seeking comment about the agreement.
The names and organizations that Clinton handed over to the Obama team include all donors since 1997. Under terms of Clinton’s agreement with Obama, the names will be released to the public by the end of next month. All future contributors will be revealed for as long as Hillary Clinton is in Obama’s Cabinet, the aide said.
Obama will hold a news conference in Chicago tomorrow at 9:40 a.m. local time. Later he will travel to Philadelphia. The following day, on Dec. 2, Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden are scheduled to meet with the National Governors Association to discuss the challenges that states are facing during the economic crisis.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kim Chipman in Chicago at kchipman@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mike Forsythe at mforsythe@bloomberg.net

31 Changes to ObamaCare…So Far


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31 Changes to ObamaCare…So Far December 19, 2013

By our count at the Galen Institute, more than 31 significant changes already have been made to ObamaCare: at least 14 that President Obama has made unilaterally, 15 that Congress has passed and the president has signed, and 2 by the Supreme Court. But even this large number of changes hasn’t stopped the cascade of failures we are seeing today in the implementation of the law.
CHANGES BY ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
1. Congressional opt-out: The administration decided to offer employer contributions to members of Congress and their staffs when they purchase insurance on the exchanges created by the ACA, a subsidy the law doesn’t provide. (September 30, 2013)
2. Delaying the individual mandate: The administration changed the deadline for the individual mandate, by declaring that customers who have purchased insurance by March 31 will avoid the tax penalty. Previously, they would have had to purchase a plan by mid-February. (October 23, 2013)
3. Employer-mandate delay: By an administrative action that’s contrary to statutory language in the ACA, the reporting requirements for employers were delayed by one year. (July 2, 2013)
4. Self-attestation: Because of the difficulty of verifying income after the employer-reporting requirement was delayed, the administration decided it would allow “self-attestation” of income by applicants for health insurance in the exchanges. This was later partially retracted after congressional and public outcry over the likelihood of fraud. (July 15, 2013)
5. Small businesses on hold: The administration has said that the federal exchanges for small businesses will not be ready by the 2014 statutory deadline, and has instead delayed until 2015 the provision of SHOP (Small-Employer Health Option Program) that requires the exchanges to offer a choice of qualified health plans. (March 11, 2013)
6. Closing the high-risk pool: The administration decided to halt enrollment in transitional federal high-risk pools created by the law, blocking coverage for an estimated 40,000 new applicants, citing a lack of funds. The administration had money from a fund under Secretary Sebelius’s control to extend the pools, but instead used the money to pay for advertising for Obamacare enrollment. (February 15, 2013)
7. Medicare Advantage patch: The administration ordered an advance draw on funds from a Medicare bonus program in order to provide extra payments to Medicare Advantage plans, in an effort to temporarily forestall cuts in benefits and therefore delay exodus of MA plans from the program. (April 19, 2011)
8. Employee reporting: The administration, contrary to the Obamacare legislation, instituted a one-year delay of the requirement that employers must report to their employees on their W-2 forms the full cost of their employer-provided health insurance. (January 1, 2012)
9. Doubling allowed deductibles: Because some group health plans use more than one benefits administrator, plans are allowed to apply separate patient cost-sharing limits to different services, such as doctor/hospital and prescription drugs, allowing maximum out-of-pocket costs to be twice as high as the law intended. (February 20, 2013)
10. Delaying a low-income plan: The administration delayed implementation of the Basic Health Program until 2015. It would have provided more-affordable health coverage for certain low-income individuals not eligible for Medicaid. (March 22, 2013)
11. Insurance companies may offer canceled plans: The administration announced that insurance companies may reoffer plans that previous regulations forced them to cancel. This regulation does not guarantee that consumers may keep plans they had previously purchased and liked. (November 14, 2013)
12. Delaying the online SHOP exchange: The administration delayed until November 2014 the launch of the online insurance marketplace for small businesses. The exchange was originally scheduled to launch October 2013. (November 27, 2013)
13. Extending Preexisting Condition Insurance Plan: The administration extended the federal high risk pool until January 31, 2014 to prevent a coverage gap for the most vulnerable. The plans were scheduled to expire on December 31, but were extended because it has been impossible for some to sign up for new coverage on healthcare.gov. (December 12, 2013)
14. Expanding catastrophic hardship waiver to those with canceled plans: The administration expanded the hardship waiver, which allowed some people to purchase catastrophic health insurance, to people who have had their plans canceled because of ObamaCare regulations. This is only a temporary fix so these plans will again be illegal in 2015, conveniently after the November 2014 elections. (December 19, 2013)
CHANGES BY CONGRESS, SIGNED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA:
15. 1099 repealedCongress repealed the paperwork (“1099”) mandate that would have required businesses to report to the IRS all of their transactions with vendors totaling $600 or more in a year. (April 14, 2011)
16. CLASS Act eliminated: Congress repealed the unsustainable CLASS (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) program of government-subsidized long-term-care insurance, which even the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee dubbed a “Ponzi scheme of the first order.” (January 2, 2013)
17. Cutting CO-OPsCongress cut $2.2 billion from the “Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan” (CO-OP), which some saw as a stealth public option, blocking creation of government-subsidized co-op insurance programs in about half the states. Early reports showed many co-ops, which had received federal loans, had run into serious financial trouble. (January 2, 2013)
18. No free-choice vouchersCongress repealed a program, supported by Senator Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) that would have allowed “free-choice vouchers,” that theHill warned “could lead young, healthy workers to opt out” of their employer plans, “driving up costs for everybody else.” The same law barred additional funds for the IRS to hire new agents to enforce the health-care law. (April 15, 2011)
19. No Medicaid for well-to-do seniors: Congress saved taxpayers $13 billion by changing how the eligibility for certain programs is calculated under Obamacare. Without the change, a couple earning as much as much as $64,000 would still have been able to qualify for Medicaid. (November 21, 2011)
20. CO-OPs, IPAB, IRS defundedCongress madefurther cuts to agencies implementing Obamacare. It trimmed another $400 million off the CO-OP program, cut another $305 million from the IRS to hamper its ability to enforce the law’s tax hikes and mandates, and rescinded $10 million in funding for the controversial Independent Payment Advisory Board. (December 23, 2011)
21. Slush-fund savingsCongress slashed another $11.6 billion from the Prevention and Public Health slush fund and $2.5 billion from Obamacare’s “Louisiana Purchase.” (February 22, 2012)
22. Less cash for Louisiana: One of the tricks used to get Obamacare through the Senate was the special “Louisiana Purchase” deal for the state’s Democratic senator, Mary Landrieu. Congress saved another $670 million by rescinding additional funds from this bargain. (July 6, 2012)
23. Trimming the Medicare trust-fund transferCongress rescinded $200 million of the $500 million scheduled to be taken from the Medicare Part A and Part B trust funds and sent to the Community-Based Care Transition Program established and funded by the ACA. (March 26, 2013)
24. Military benefitsCongress clarified that plans provided by TRICARE, the military’s health-insurance program, constitutes minimal essential health-care coverage as required by the ACA; its benefits and plans wouldn’t normally meet ACA requirements. (April 26, 2010)
25. VA benefitsCongress also clarified that health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs constitutes minimum essential health-care coverage as required by the ACA. (May 27, 2010)
26. Drug-price clarificationCongress modified the definition of average manufacturer price (AMP) to include inhalation, infusion, implanted, or injectable drugs that are not generally dispensed through a retail pharmacy. (August 10, 2010)
27. Doc-fix taxCongress modified the amount of premium tax credits that individuals would have to repay if they are over-allotted, to help offset the costs of the postponement of cuts in Medicare physician payments called for in the ACA. (December 15, 2010)
28. Extending the adoption creditCongress extended the nonrefundable adoption tax credit, which happened to be included in the ACA, through tax year 2012. (December 17, 2010)
29. TRICARE for adult childrenCongress extended TRICARE coverage to dependent adult children up to age 26, when it had previously only covered those up to the age of 21 — though beneficiaries still have to pay premiums for them. (January 7, 2011)
CHANGES BY THE SUPREME COURT:
30. Medicare expansion made voluntary: The court ruled it had to be voluntary, rather than mandatory, for states to expand Medicaid eligibility to people with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, by ruling that the federal government couldn’t halt funds for existing state Medicaid programs if they chose not to expand the program.
31. The individual mandate made a tax: The court determined that violating the mandate that Americans must purchase government-approved health insurance would only result in individuals’ paying a “tax,” making it, legally speaking, optional for people to comply.
This list was originally published HERE on Galen.org and has been published on National Review Online. It was updated to 29 changes on December 10, 2013.
December 13, 2013 UPDATE: 30 changes (PCIP extension)
December 19, 2013 UPDATE: 31 changes (Catastrophic hardship waiver)

FSA warlord: Syrian militants funded by Saudi, US

FSA warlord: Syrian militants funded by Saudi, US

As Saddam al Jamal, head of the Eastern Front in Free Syrian Army (FSA).
As Saddam al Jamal, head of the Eastern Front in Free Syrian Army (FSA).
One of the commanders of Free Syrian Army (FSA), says that the organization regularly meets with intelligence representatives of Western and Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and the US.
As Saddam al Jamal, head of the Eastern Front in FSA, says in a video posted on one of Syrian opposition websites, the commanders occasionally meet with representatives of the intelligence agencies of mentioned Arab countries with the presence of Saudi Deputy Defense Salman bin Sultan.
He said militant groups in Syria have already got huge amount of money from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the US for their operations in Syria.
“Officers of Arab and other intelligence agencies meet with FSA commanders and question their adherence [to one or another group] as well as ask them about extremist groups fighting in Syria,” says al Jamal. He also added that “these intelligence agencies dispatched spies in Syria and provide the FSA with information.”
According to the field commander, in one of such meetings which was attended by Salman bin Sultan, the Saudi officials “asked all of the FSA commanders to submit reports on Syrian military facility attacks and undertook a commitment to provide financial aid and weaponry for these operations.”
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. On December 9, Syria urged the United Nations to stop Saudi Arabia from "supporting al-Qaeda-linked militants" and fanning the flames of "terrorism" in the country.
The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the turmoil that has gripped Syria for over two years.
The UN has predicted that more than four million other Syrians will be forced out of their homes in 2014 by the escalating conflict in the country.

Judicial Watch's Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians of 2013

Judicial Watch's Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians of 2013

Judicial Watch (JW) has released its list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” for 2013, and it’s bipartisan in nature.

Not only are eight members of the Obama Administration named, starting with Obama himself, but also GOP Speaker of the House John Boehner and GOP Senator Saxby Chambliss.
As the release states, “President Barack Obama actually tops this 'Top Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians' list for 2013 as the driving force behind so many of the misdeeds... He is a master at catch-me-if-you-can, corrupt politics.”
Judicial Watch notes Obama’s penchant for ignoring Congress and rewriting federal law himself, including rewriting the Obamacare law 14 times by executive fiat; his “continual lies” that Americans could keep their own health care under Obamacare, despite his knowledge that “more than 40 to 67 percent of those in the individual market would not be able to keep their plans, even if they liked them;” and his disavowal of responsibility for targeting the Tea Party and other conservative groups by the IRS, though he had made remarks warning about the dangers of conservative groups since 2010.
Moreover, Judicial Watch referred to the latest Obama deceit:
The latest Obama fix came on December 20, when he suddenly moved to allow hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their insurance due to Obamacare to sign up for bare-bone “catastrophic” plans. As National Review observed, “Of course, like every other exemption from Obamacare the latest fix is supposed to last only a year, raising the prospect that people will be kicked off their catastrophic coverage as soon as the 2014 election is safely in the political rear-view mirror.
The next highest Obama official on the list is former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, noted for her evasion of responsibility for the Benghazi massacre, saying, “…the level of responsibility for the failures… was set at the Assistant Secretary of State level and below,” and yelling “What difference does it make?” when asked why the attack transpired and why the administration lied about a video being the cause of the attack. That outburst followed her statement at a September 14, 2012, event honoring the victims, during which she said, “We’ve seen the heavy assault on our post in Benghazi that took the lives of those brave men. We’ve seen the rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful video that we had nothing to do with.”
JW also targets Clinton for the conflict of interest regarding her bosom buddy Huma Abedin, who had worked as a “special government employee” (SGE), a consultant position allowing her to represent outside clients while continuing as a top adviser at State. Lastly, JW cites the potential conflict of interest between Hillary Clinton’s role as Secretary of State and Bill Clinton’s international ventures, as noted in 2008 when Bill released a list of donors to his library and foundation in what he termed “a deal between” Obama “and Hillary.” According to the Associated Press, “Saudi Arabia gave $10 million to $25 million to the foundation. Other government donors include Norway, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Oman…”
Attorney General Eric Holder is chosen for lying about whether the Department of Justice (DOJ) could prosecute reporters under the Espionage Act for publishing classified material. Holder stated, “In regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material – this is not something I’ve ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be wise policy.” However, NBC news reported Holder approved a search warrant for the email account and phone records of Fox News reporter James Rosen. 
Holder is also noted for “bludgeoning states over taking steps to prevent voter fraud… Judicial Watch went to court in North Carolina in early December to defend the State of North Carolina against a DOJ lawsuit to prevent enforcement of the state’s recently passed law HB 589, which simply requires that voters present a photo ID before casting their ballots.”
JW writes, “The DOJ is similarly assaulting Texas in federal court as part of this ideological effort to suppress efforts to protect election integrity. More than a dozen states – including Kansas, Indiana, Tennessee and Wisconsin – have similar laws that require voters to show government-issued photo identification at the polls, and Obama’s attorney general has launched a campaign to challenge them all.” Then there’s the small matter of Holder’s travel expenses – “from March 2008 until August 2012… $697,525.20 were personal travel expenses." All, of course, at taxpayer expense. Lastly, there is Holder’s continued stonewalling on the “Fast & Furious” gun-running scandal.
What would a top-ten-most-corrupt list be without Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and his corrupt donors and pals? As JW quotes from FrontPage.com, “Harvey Whittemore was sentenced to two years in prison for funneling more than $130,000 in illegal campaign funds to Sen. Harry Reid’s re-election committee in 2007...” Peter Schweizer writes for Fox News, “Sen. Reid has sponsored at least $47 million in earmarks that directly benefitted organizations that one of his sons, Key Reid, [RW1] either lobbies for or is affiliated with.”
In addition, JW notes, “Obama and Reid have long opposed a proposed nuclear waste dump in Yucca Mountain, Nevada, which has already cost U.S. taxpayers an astounding $15 billion, according to various federal audits. So, Obama simply instructed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to decline to conduct the statutorily mandated Yucca Mountain licensing process, essentially destroying the project. In mid-August, a federal appellate court ruled that Obama ‘is simply flouting the law.’”
The icing on the cake, as JW writes, took place when, on “November 21, 2013, – a day which should live in congressional infamy – Reid gutted the long-standing filibuster rules of the U.S. Senate in order to grease the path for Barack Obama’s court appointees.”
Next up is John Brennan, CIA Director, who “revealed that the U.S. and its allies had 'inside control over any plot' in its efforts to thwart a May 2012 terrorism bomb plot, thus blowing the cover on undercover agents within al Qaeda” in a May 7, 2012, teleconference with various TV terrorism consultants. As Reuters reported, “The next day's headlines were filled with news of a U.S. spy planted inside Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), who had acquired the latest, non-metallic model of the underwear bomb and handed it over to U.S. authorities. At stake was an operation that could not have been more sensitive – the successful penetration by Western spies of AQAP, al Qaeda's most creative and lethal affiliate. As a result of leaks, the undercover operation had to be shut down.”
JW also points out Brennan’s involvement in influencing the storyline of the movie “Zero Dark Thirty.” 
Speaker of the House John Boehner is selected for what Government Accountability Institute President Peter Schweizer calls the “Tollbooth Strategy,” explaining, “You pay money at a tollbooth in order to use a road or bridge. The methodology in Washington is similar: if someone wants a bill passed, charge them money to allow the bill to move down the legislative highway.” Schweizer reported that Boehner apparently used the Tollbooth Strategy to collect more than $200,000 in political donations from executives just days before holding votes on bills critically important to their industries.
Add former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano, whose DHS U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) “abandoned required background checks in 2012, adopting, instead, costly ‘lean and lite’ procedures in an effort to keep up with the flood of amnesty applications resulting from the DACA directive… the directive actually created a new avenue of chain migration, whereby immediate relatives of DACA requesters could be approved for amnesty.” As a result, according to an agency memo from District 15 Director David Douglas, “some of the districts closer to the U.S./Mexico border have been inundated.” JW concludes, “Napolitano’s legacy is one that has gutted, for political reasons, the very immigration laws she swore to uphold.”
Who could forget Former IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller, who wound up admitting to the targeting of anti-Obama Tea Party groups during the 2012 presidential election, as the IRS purposefully stonewalled the approval of nonprofit applications from “Tea Party” and other conservative groups that were seeking tax exempt status. Of course, Miller’s partner in crime, former IRS Director of Exempt Organizations Lois Lerner, was also named. As JW points out, “Eventually, the IRS acknowledged that while she was in charge, IRS agents improperly targeted Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status from 2010-2012.” JW adds of Miller and Lerner’s targeting, “they both lied about it in separate appearances before Congress.”
Another GOP member of the list is Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), who is “one of the key abusers who used leadership PAC loopholes to convert campaign cash into lavish lifestyle upgrades for themselves and their family members.” According to The New York Times, his “leadership PAC spent $10,000 on golf at Pebble Beach, nearly $27,000 at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, and $107,752 at the exclusive Breakers resort in Palm Beach, Fla. The amount Mr. Chambliss spent at the Breakers in the 2012 election cycle, the book reports, is three times what the senator gave to the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the same period.”
Lastly, there is Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius:
[Sebelius] solicited financial support for President Obama’s huge health care disaster. In May, Secretary Sebelius was caught hitting health care companies up for cash to fund Obamacare after Congress rejected all of the administration’s requests. But, that was just for openers – in October Sebelius redefined the term “incompetence” when she oversaw the disastrous launch of the Obamacare website.
Dishonorable mentions on the JW list were former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for using his staff to work on Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) at taxpayer expense; outgoing Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who “became the subject of an FBI probe because of his possible quid-pro-quo dealings with Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the chief executive of Star Scientific;" incoming Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who has a “Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation hanging over his head;” and former Rep. Rick Renzi, as in June, 2013, Renzi was convicted on 17 counts of extortion, racketeering and other federal charges; in October, he was sentenced to three years in prison.
One more dishonorable mention to really complete the list: National Security Adviser Susan Rice, who made the list last year for her duplicity with regards to Benghazi. This year she was chosen for accepting the position of National Security Advisor, which requires no Senate approval.

Hospital workers go unpaid

T BEGINS: Hospital workers go unpaid

2012-1112-nam-election-propels-obamacare-full-steam-ahead-in-california_large




(Weekly Standard) - The contractor building the financial management system for Healthcare.gov is being blamed by a Houston hospital for delayed Medicare reimbursements that have caused the hospital to miss payrolls for weeks. Novitas Solutions is the federal government’s new Medicare payment processor for the south-central region of the country hired by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS.)  ABC-KTRK in Houston reports:
FAX BLAST SPECIAL: Repeal Obamacare NOW!
According to the CEO Jason Leday, more than 150 employees haven’t been paid in nearly a month.
“I understand that they have children and a house payment, bills. Not getting paid is wow,” nearby resident Theresa Gutierrez said.
The hospital is strapped for cash not because its not making money, but because Leday says a new Medicare payment facilitator named Novitas Solutions is taking too way long to pay out Medicare claims to the hospital.
Leday says he’s owed nearly $3 million in payments from Medicare and can’t make payroll…
The Texas Medical Association says they are familiar with complaints like this one regarding the medicare payment facilitator- and a representative told us smaller community hospitals like this one are in similar situations.
Novitas also runs the south-central region’s Medicare website which was launched just two days before the October 1 launch of Healthcare.gov.  As THE WEEKLY STANDARD reported on December 19, that site has experienced problems reminiscent of Healthcare.gov’s troubles, and the site will not be fully operational until well into 2014.
Novitas’s direct connection to Healthcare.gov stems from an emergency, no-bid contract for “financial management services” awarded in August and first reported by THE WEEKLY STANDARD in September.  The services required included accounting, tracking of accounts receivable and accounts payable, documenting funds collected by CMS, and data validation, among other things.  CMS justified the no-bid award because the “prospect of a delay in implementing the Marketplace by the operational date of January 1, 2014, even for a few days, would result in severe consequences, financial and other” and that the services required were “beyond what was initially anticipated and beyond CMS’ currently available resources.”
Novitas did not respond to KTRK for its story, and so far has not responded to a request for comment since the story ran.  In the past, Novitas has referred requests for comment to HHS.
Despite initially promising more information about the August contract, HHS/CMS has ignored repeated requests for clarification about the nature of the work and how it relates to the mission of Healthcare.gov.  HHS has not responded to a request for comment about the reports of slow payments to hospitals either.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/blogs/obamacare-contractor-blamed-slow-medicare-payments-hospitals_773207.html



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Injecting Satan’s DNA! The Coming Deceptive NWO “BLOOD” Order, Unveiled! Could 2014 Be the Year?

Injecting Satan’s DNA! The Coming Deceptive NWO “BLOOD” Order, Unveiled! Could 2014 Be the Year? (SHOCKING VIDEO/INFO)

Thursday, January 2, 2014 19:04

This is the end—the end of the age as mankind has always known! We ARE the generation hand-picked and chosen to see things no man, woman, or child has ever seen! Are you ready? Is your family ready?
Jesus said that these days would be just like the days of Noah! This means the nephilim are among us. The Illuminati/NWO are the bloodline of the Nephilim. And, they are here among us!
But they have a very deceptive agenda; an agenda Satan has been waiting for thousands of years to fulfill! It is a political, economic, military, scientific, educational, technological, and social plan which ends in a one world government! A government in which only the elite are free, and everyone else is slaves.
The system of the Antichrist is being built around us now in order to force everyone to bow down and worship the false Messiah. One of the jobs of the NWO is to poison our minds, and our children’s minds; to break down society as  a whole, causing it to become utterly helpless and completely dependent on a ‘higher power’ for its needs. And that ‘higher power’ is the Antichrist!
Some people believe that Satan’s DNA will be injected into the man who will be the Antichrist! Is it possible? Watch the video below and find out! It’s all pretty shocking, and pretty amazing. I wholeheartedly believe that this year, 2014, will be a year of prophetic fulfillment, as well as a year of revival! Stay awake and do not fall asleep becuase you don’t want to miss a thing.
One thing is for certain—it’s all VERY deceptive, and it IS here right now!

Book of Enoch REAL STORY of Fallen Angels, NEPHILIM, ANCIENT ALIENS, NOAH’S FLOOD

ILLUMINATI SECRETS – The New Atlantis – FEATURE FILM

Invisible Empire The Shadow Government Trying To Rule The New World Order Illuminati Secret Society