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A history of targeting conservatives …

May 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Both President Barack Obama and IRS official Lois Lerner have a history of targeting conservatives …   Target Conservatives

Kimberley Strassel, writing for the Wall Street Journal:

In 2008, Obama began targeting conservative groups: 

The White House insists President Obama is “outraged” by the “inappropriate” targeting and harassment of conservative groups. If true, it’s a remarkable turnaround for a man who helped pioneer those tactics.

On Aug. 21, 2008, the conservative American Issues Project ran an ad highlighting ties between candidate Obama and Bill Ayers, formerly of the Weather Underground. The Obama campaign and supporters were furious, and they pressured TV stations to pull the ad—a common-enough tactic in such ad spats. [Read more...]

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Abridging freedom of the press

May 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

by Major GarrettHandcuff Press

Unconstitutional. Sweeping. Secretive. Abusive. Harassing.

Gary Pruitt, the president and CEO of the Associated Press, used those words on CBS’s Face the Nation to describe the Justice Department’s seizure of two months of AP reporters’ phone records in New York, Washington, and Hartford, Conn. As Attorney General Eric Holder said in an entirely different context, that’s not hyperbole.

Original reports on the subpoena indicated it called for the capture of phone logs of reporters’ office phones, cell phones, and home phones. The subpoena did not allow the Justice Department to obtain the contents of the phone calls, merely the logged numbers. That’s cold comfort to any reporter who knows that phone numbers are a source’s fingerprints and access to them can give the government an evidentiary trail to a suspected leaker. [Read more...]

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Be careful what you say …

May 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment

ObamaOSU

“It is eerily ironic that only days after Obama told students to reject the voices that warn of government abuses and overreaching, it turns out that the Obama Administration has been systematically abusing the constitutional rights of so many Americans.” 

by George Landrith

When President Barack Obama recently spoke at Ohio State’s commencement, he told the graduates to reject voices that express concerns about government abuses. He mocked the idea that reasonable, thinking Americans might be concerned that government can become too big, too unaccountable, and too heavy-handed.

Obama’s directive to ignore those concerned with potential abuses of big government was stunning for at least two reasons. First, it is as American as apple pie and baseball to be wary of the promises of government officials and the abuse of power. Second, within a week, several Obama Administration scandals had broken wide-open – each proving that those concerned about government tyranny were right. [Read more...]

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The “idiot” defense

May 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment

by  Jonah Goldberg  Idiot

Although there’s still a great deal to be learned about the scandals and controversies swirling around the White House like so many ominous dorsal fins in the surf, the nature of President Obama’s bind is becoming clear. The best defenses of his administration require undermining the rationale for his presidency.

“We’re portrayed by Republicans as either being lying or idiots. It’s actually closer to us being idiots.” So far, this is the administration’s best defense.

[Read more...]

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Obama Administration knew and IRS deliberately hid the targeting scandal until after presidential election

May 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

IRS Scandal TyrannyThe New York Times reports: “The Treasury Department’s inspector general told senior Treasury officials in June 2012 he was auditing the Internal Revenue Service’s screening of politically active organizations seeking tax exemptions, disclosing for the first time on Friday that Obama administration officials were aware of the matter during the presidential campaign year… J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, [testified] that he informed the Treasury’s general counsel of his audit on June 4, and Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin ‘shortly thereafter.’” Both of the Treasury officials notified were appointed by Obama and constitute part of his Administration.  [Read more...]

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The ineffectual, inept, excuse-making executive

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

by George LandrithObama Smirk

Barack Obama is the world’s most inept and feckless leader. This is not merely my opinion. Any serious review of the facts reveals inescapably that the official, yet unspoken, position of the Obama White House is that Barack Obama is completely incompetent.

Of course, Barack Obama didn’t hold a press conference and explicitly admit that he is an incapable bungler. But if you believe Obama’s and his Administration’s explanation for everything from the Benghazi attacks, to the related cover-up and whistleblower threats, to the recent IRS scandal, they are implicitly admitting that Obama is the weakest, most ineffectual president ever.

UPDATE:  CBS News is now reporting that Obama administration officials say that mistakes made in responding to the Benghazi incident reflect ”incompetence rather than malice or cover up.” ”We’re portrayed … as either being liars or idiots,” an anonymous Obama Administration official said and then admitted, “It’s actually closer to us being idiots.” How bad do things have to be before an Obama official is willing to cop a plea to being “idiots?” 

[Read more...]

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Doubling Down on Absurdity

May 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment

by George LandrithObama Biting Lip

While British Prime Minister David Cameron was in town this earlier this week, President Barack Obama held a press conference and was asked about several growing scandals including the Benghazi coverup. At issue were the CIA talking points that Administration officials radically changed – removing all references to warnings before the attack, terrorism, al-Qaeda, and the planned and coordinated nature of the attack. Obama claimed it was all a politically motivated “sideshow.”

Obama made at least three claims that were clearly false. First, he said that from the first day, he was clear that the attack was an “act of terrorism.” False. Second, he claimed that he sent a White House official to Capital Hill to testify that it was terrorism. Again, false. Third, he said that Congress reviewed administration emails and determined several months ago that “there was nothing afoul.” Again, completely and totally false. [Read more...]

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Names

May 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

by Gordon S. Jones Names

“How can I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name.”

So says John Proctor in The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s play about the Salem Witch Trials or something. I’ve been acting in a community theater production of the 1953 classic, and it has prompted some thoughts on names, which I will transmute into a proposal for congressional reform before I’m done. [Read more...]

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ABC News: White House scrubbed CIA talking points

May 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

White House systematically removed all references to al Qaeda and terror from the CIA talking points.   Benghazi Attack

Then the White House falsely asserted that the talking points that it had radically changed was the work product of the intelligence community and that the White House had made only “a single adjustment changing the word ‘consulate’ to ‘diplomatic facility’. The White House’s position was not plausibly true when it was said.  However, we now have proof positive that the White House was engaged in a huge and systematic cover-up.

See the ABC News report below … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Constitutional and Political Studies, National Security

Benghazi: The cover-up is unraveling

May 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Administration and Mainstream Media caught dissembling again  Obama Benghazi Blame Me

by George Landrith

At the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, the president revealed a sad truth – the mainstream media actively works to advance his political career. He quipped that his campaign manager “David Axelrod now works for MSNBC, which is a nice change of pace since MSNBC used to work for David Axelrod.”

In deed, the mainstream media has been diligently advancing Obama’s political career since at least 2008. And the media’s active participation in the Benghazi cover-up is proof positive of the media’s deep and profound dishonesty. [Read more...]

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Changing the Benghazi Talking Points

May 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

How they were changed to obscure the truth   

by Stephen F. Hayes    Obama Benghazi Gate

Even as the White House strove last week to move beyond questions about the Benghazi attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2012, fresh evidence emerged that senior Obama administration officials knowingly misled the country about what had happened in the days following the assaults. The Weekly Standard has obtained a timeline briefed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence detailing the heavy substantive revisions made to the CIA’s talking points, just six weeks before the 2012 presidential election, and additional information about why the changes were made and by whom. [Read more...]

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“Mainstream” media are not biased. They are propagandists.

April 30, 2013 By 1 Comment

by George Landrith Media Propaganda

For years, media bias has been hotly debated. Let me settle this here and now. The mainstream media is not biased. Bias implies some level of subtly in the prejudice. There is nothing subtle about the media’s blatant partiality which actually reaches the level of dishonest propaganda.

There is an unmistakeable trend in play – some evil and/or demented person kills and injures a large number of innocent people and the extreme Left and the “mainstream” media (but I repeat myself) blame conservatives for the evil-doer’s actions. This is an almost reflexive reaction for the media and the Left. [Read more...]

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Dumbing down the political discourse: How do you feel about it?

April 16, 2013 By 1 Comment

by George Landrith  Thinking

The question Left of center is, “How do you feel about it?” How do you feel about ObamaCare? How do you feel about gun violence? Do you feel that the rich pay their fair share? Feelings are legitimate, but apply to relationships and people, not public policy issues. I love my family. But I think about public policy.

Sadly, too many Americans “feel” about public policy issues which unfortunately “liberates” them from thinking. As a result, more and more people are becoming unaccustomed to rational analysis and thought.

I don’t visit the doctor to hear how he feels about my health, nor a plumber to learn his feelings about my leaky pipes. We want expertise, not feelings. [Read more...]

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Tax day reminds Americans that federal spending and taxes are too high

April 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

George Landrith, president of Frontiers of Freedom, made the following statement on tax day, April 15th:  Taxes

Will Rogers once said, “It is a good thing that we do not get as much government as we pay for.”  That may be true, but I think we all wish we were paying for a lot less government and a lot less taxes. Our federal government is at historically high levels of spending — in recent years gobbling up nearly 25% of the total economic output.

Every year, the federal government spends more money than it did the last year. Even this year with the “sequester,” federal government will spend more money this year than it did the year before. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Constitutional and Political Studies, Economic Liberty and Property Rights Tagged With: , , , , ,

Senate Democrats are blocking an honorary resolution for Lady Thatcher

April 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment

thatcherWith Lady Margaret Thatcher’s recent passing, tributes and praise for her leadership are flowing freely from former allies and adversaries alike. This is entirely fitting as she was not only the first and only female Prime Minister of the U.K., but she reclaimed a declining economy and helped defeat communism. Lady Thatcher was an effective leader, a principled and skilled politician, and she strengthened the special relationship between Great Britain and the United States. Lady Thatcher was one of the world’s most influential and greatest post-World War II leaders.

A resolution honoring Lady Thatcher has been passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. A resolution was also supposed to pass in the Senate earlier this week. However, well placed sources on Capitol Hill report that Senate Democrats have placed a hold on the resolution honoring Lady Thatcher, according to Katherine Rosario at HeritageAction.com. [Read more...]

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NFL corruption highlights the need to revoke special legal treatment

April 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Goodell NFLby George Landrith

Most people do not know that the National Football League is treated as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, nor do they realize that the NFL receives a special broadcast antitrust exemption. None of that makes sense. But on top of it all, the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, are corrupt and lawless which is one more reason not to give the NFL special tax and legal treatment.

First, the NFL is clearly a for-profit business and should be treated as such. Giving the NFL, a big business with billions in revenues every year non-profit status is absurd. Sports is a big business, not a nonprofit foundation. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Constitutional and Political Studies, Economic Liberty and Property Rights Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Cornerstone of American Liberty

April 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment

by George Landrith  

The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787 — more than 225 years ago. That is long enough ago that it is easy to take for granted the rights protected by the Constitution. If given a chance to reflect, what constitutionally protected rights do Americans think are the most fundamental to our freedom? I conducted an informal poll, asking this question. The answer came almost universally—free speech and press. Both of these liberties form a part of the foundation upon which our freedom is based. But they are not the cornerstone of our freedom.

So, what is the cornerstone of the freedom that America has enjoyed for more than 225 years?  It is found in our rights to property – our economic rights. The right to own and control one’s property, the fruits of one’s labor, and one’s inventions and creations is the cornerstone of our freedom. Why, you ask? How can the right to own something be more important than free speech? The answer is simple. Without property rights, no other important right can long survive. Property rights are the rich and fertile soil in which all other rights can grow and mature. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Constitutional and Political Studies, Economic Liberty and Property Rights Tagged With: , , , ,

The Electoral College — The Last Round

March 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment

by Gordon S. Jones  vote-button-1

My last column on the Electoral College prompted a number of thoughtful responses, so I would like to deal with those, and then make some general points in (qualified) support of the Electoral College itself.

One reader produced polling results demonstrating that support for the elimination of the EC and its replacement with a direct popular election of the president runs between 70 and 80 percent in every state in the country.

With opposition like that, it is quite astonishing that the EC can survive. Surely it must have some things going for it. I shall try to explain what those are as I go along. [Read more...]

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Will U.S. Senate vote to Impose State Taxation of Internet Sales

March 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment

by Grover Norquist   Internet Sales Tax

Politicians have fantasies. Not Woody Allen “normal” fantasies about Swedish stewardesses.

No. Politicians fantasize about being able to raise taxes on people who cannot vote against them in future elections. Ancient Rome funded itself by looting the provinces. This worked for a while. Well, it worked for Roman citizens anyway.

Here in the good old USA politicians think they have finally found this Holy Grail, this alchemist’s secret… how to tax those who cannot defend themselves. [Read more...]

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Reagan at the first CPAC, “We Will Be A City Upon A Hill”

March 12, 2013 By 1 Comment

“You can call it mysticism if you want to, but I have always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage. . . . Call it chauvinistic, but our heritage does set us apart.”

by Scott L. Vanatter

Later this week the Conservative Political Action Conference will again convene. Thirty nine years ago, in 1974, Ronald Reagan spoke at the very first conference. At the time conservatism was thought by many to be on the ropes, discredited, and out-of-date. Ronald Reagan thought otherwise.

He labeled certain of his conservative contemporaries, even men at the dinner that night, as “prophets of our philosophy.” In this he might as well have been reading aloud his own bio. Not only a prophet for telling the truth, he also led conservative followers in bringing to pass what later became known as, the Reagan Revolution. In Europe there are old bridges still being used to this day which are many times older than the American republic. We are still young. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Constitutional and Political Studies, Reagan Legacy Tagged With: , ,
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