More This & That & Whatever.... The Best Of Intellectual Froglegs

[Warph]

326) Used armed guards to imprison law abiding tourists inside a locked building at Yellowstone National Park
During the October 2013 government shutdown, Obama used armed guards to imprison law abiding tourists inside a locked building at Yellowstone National Park.

327) Illegally denied death benefits to the families of dead U.S. soldiers
During the October 2013 government shutdown, Obama illegally denied death benefits to the families of dead U.S. soldiers. Prior to the government shutdown, the funding for these death benefits had already been authorized by law.

328) Spent $47,174 on a mechanical bull during government shutdown
During the October 2013 government shutdown, while Obama was busy closing parks, memorials, and monuments, and denying death benefits to the families of dead U.S. military personnel, he did manage to spend $47,174 on a mechanical bull.

329) Seized $35,000 from a law abiding owner of a grocery store without any warning , explanation, or charges
For 30 years, Terry Dehko has been legally operating a grocery store near Detroit, Michigan. In January 2013, the Obama administration seized $35,000 from Dehko's bank account, without giving any warning or explanation, and without charging Dehko with any crime.

330) Ran "the most closed, control-freak administration I've ever covered"
For the past 20 years, David Sanger has been a New York Times reporter stationed in Washington, D.C. In October 2013, he said:

"This is the most closed, control-freak administration I've ever covered."

331) Fined a runner $100 for running in Valley Forge

During the October 2013 government shutdown, the Obama administration fined a runner $100 for running in Valley Forge.

332) Ordered Claude Moore Colonial Farm to shut down, even though it was privately funded
During the October 2013 government shutdown, the Obama administration ordered Claude Moore Colonial Farm to shut down, even though it was privately funded.

333) Ordered a volunteer to stop cleaning up the National Mall
During the October 2013 government shutdown, the Obama administration ordered Chris Cox, a volunteer, to stop cleaning up the National Mall.

334) Told students to remove two amendments from the "outdated" Bill of Rights
As part of Obama's "Common Core" education program, students in a sixth-grade history class in Bryant, Arkansas, were told to removed two amendments from the "outdated" Bill of Rights.

335) Ordered people to appear in federal court because they had entered the Grand Canyon

During the October 2013 government shutdown, the Obama administration ordered people to appear in federal court because they had entered the Grand Canyon.

336) Ordered volunteers to stop bringing therapy dogs to visit sick children in the hospital

During the October 2013 government shutdown, the Obama administration ordered volunteers to stop bringing therapy dogs to visit sick children in the hospital.

337) Had veterans arrested for visiting the Vietnam Memorial
During the October 2013 government shutdown, Obama had veterans arrested for visiting the Vietnam Memorial

338) A "lead navigator" for Obamacare falsely told applicants that they must provide their credit score
In October 2013, Anne Packham, a "lead navigator" for Obamacare, falsely told applicants that they had to provide their credit score.

339) Created Obamacare website which "looks like nobody tested it"
President Obama signed Obamacare in March 2010. He had three and a half years to create and test the Obamacare website.

However, in October 2013, CBS News quoted Luke Chung, an online database programmer who supports Obamacare, as saying the following about the Obamacare website:

"It wasn't designed well, it wasn't implemented well, and it looks like nobody tested it... It's not even close. It's not even ready for beta testing for my book. I would be ashamed and embarrassed if my organization delivered something like that."

340) Obamacare's first publicized "enrollee" turned out to be a Democratic activist who had not actually enrolled in Obamacare
After the Obamacare website went online, the media tried and tried to find someone who had actually enrolled, but could not find anyone, because the website was so badly designed.

After much searching, they finally reported that they had found someone – a 21-year-old guy from Georgia named Chad Henderson.

On October 3, 2013, the Washington Post reported:

Meet Chad Henderson, the Obamacare enrollee tons of reporters are calling

Ask and, apparently, you shall receive.

Just moments after writing a blog post Thursday morning, about the lack of information on Obamacare enrollees, Enroll America reached out with contact information for Chad Henderson, a 21-year-old in Georgia who had successfully enrolled in coverage on the federal marketplace.

It was a little difficult to reach Henderson, mostly because so many other reporters wanted to talk to him. "I'm supposed to talk to the Chattanooga Times Free Press in a half hour," Henderson said. "And The Wall Street Journal is supposed to call."

Luckily, Henderson managed to squeeze me in for a few minutes. He's a student at Chattanooga State University who lives across the state border in Flintstone, Ga.

Politico reported:
Rare health exchange enrollee gets 15 minutes of Obamacare fame

Chad Henderson, a college student who is one of the few people to have signed up for health insurance on a federal exchange, is having his 15 minutes of Obamacare fame.

But wait.

It turns out that Henderson had not actually enrolled in Obamcare.

In addition, Henderson is actually a member of Organizing for Action, the organization that ran Obama's election campaign.

341) Said it's "unfair" to ask for Obamacare enrollment numbers just one week after Obamacare website went online
U.S. Congressional reperestentative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Democrat-Florida) is the chairperson for the Democratic National Committee. When a reporter asked her how many people had enrolled in Obamacare during its first week, she said it was "unfair" to ask that question so early.

When a new movie comes out, we know how many people bought tickets in the first week. When a new video game, or a new CD, or a new book comes out, we know how many people bought it in the first week.

But when a news reporter asks "the most transparent administration in history" how many people signed up for its new health care program during its first week, we are told that such a question is "unfair."

342) Declined to idenifty the private contractors who screwed up the Obamacare website
When the New York Times asked the Obama administration to identify the private contractors who had screwed up the Obamacare website, the Obama administration refused to answer.

343) Refused to answer why businesses, but not individuals, were able to delay the Obamacare mandate for a year
When Jon Stewart asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius why businesses, but not individuals, were able to delay the Obamacare mandate for a year, Sebelius refused to answer.

344) Gave people Obamacare "rate shock"
Many news sources, including the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, Investor's Business Daily, the Daily Caller, CBS News, Forbes, CNN, the San Jose Mercury News, and the San Francisco Chronicle, have been reporting on something called Obamacare "rate shock."

For example, Tom Waschura, a self employed engineer who lives in Portola Valley, California, said that he supports Obamacare, and that he voted for Obama in both elections.


However, on October 5, 2013, Waschura said:

"I was laughing at Boehner — until the mail came today."

"I really don't like the Republican tactics, but at least now I can understand why they are so pissed about this. When you take $10,000 out of my family's pocket each year, that's otherwise disposable income or retirement savings that will not be going into our local economy."

This next quote is one of the funniest things that I've heard anyone say about Obamacare so far. It comes from Cindy Vinson, a retired teacher from San Jose, California, who said that she supports Obamacare, and that she voted for Obama in both elections. This is what she said in October 2013, after she found out that Obamacare would be causing her insurance premium to increase:

"Of course, I want people to have health care. I just didn't realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally."

CNN reported:
One North Carolina reader was upset to learn her current $267 a month plan was being canceled and the cheapest option on the exchange would cost her family $750 a month. They don't qualify for a subsidy.

"Obamacare is a nightmare for my family," she wrote.

345) Made sure that Obamacare "rate shock" did not happen until after the 2012 election
Obamacare was deliberately written so that Obamacare "rate shock" would not occur until after the 2012 election.

On October 9, 2013, Obama's approval rating was only 37%. Obamacare "rate shock" was a significant factor in this low approval rating. If Obamacare "rate shock" had happened in October 2012 instead of in October 2013, it's highly unlikley that Obama would have won the 2012 election.

346) Had the Obamacare website built by cronies instead of by qualified programmers
Obama had the Obamacare website built by cronies instead of by qualified programmers.

347) Used 55 different contractors to build the Obamacare website
Instead of choosing just one contractor or a few contractors who could properly build the Obamacare website, Obama decided to spread the work out over 55 different contractors, which made it much harder to get all the parts to run together properly.

348) Waited until after the 2012 election to issue major rules for the Obamacare website
Obama signed the Obamacare law in March 2010. The law requires the online exchanges to be up and running by October 2013. So Obama had three and a half years to get the website ready.

However, Obama waited until after the 2012 election to release some of the major rules for how the website was supposed to be designed. So instead of having three and a half years to get the website ready, Obama made sure the programmers had less than one year.

349) New York Times reporter was never able to log in to Obamamacare website during more than 40 attempts over 11 days
During more than 40 attempts to log in to the Obamacare website over a period of 11 days beginning on October 1, 2013, a New York Times reported was never able to log in.

350) Hired illegal immigrant as Obamacare "navigator"
Obama hired an illegal immigrant to work as an Obamacare "navigator."

351) Hired someone with an outstanding arrest warrant as Obamacare "navigator"
Obama hired someone with an outstanding arrest warrant to work as an Obamacare "navigator."

352) IRS collected taxes but did not send out refunds during government shutdown
During the October 2013 government shutdown, the IRS collected taxes but did not send out tax refunds.

353) Prevented Catholic volunteers from practicing their religion at military bases during government shutdown
During the October 2013 government shutdown, the Obama administration prevented Catholic volunteers from practicing their religion on military bases.

354) Spent more than $500 million to build unusable Obamacare website
Obama spent more than $500 million of taxpayers' money to build the unusable Obamacare website.

355) Refused to fire Kathleen Sebelius, even after the failure of the Obamacare website
Even after the Obamacare website failed, Obama still refused to fire Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

356) There is "no reasonable expectation of privacy" at Obamacare website
The source code for the Obamacare website states:

"You have no reasonable expectation of privacy regarding any communication or data transiting or stored on this information system. At any time, and for any lawful Government purpose, the government may monitor, intercept, and search and seize any communication or data transiting or stored on this information system. Any communication or data transiting or stored on this information system may be disclosed or used for any lawful Government purpose."

357) Requires users to reveal private info before shopping at Obamacare website
Legitimate shopping websites such as amazon.com allow users to browse merchandise without having to enter their personal information. However, the Obamacare website requires users to enter their name, social security number, and other personal information before they are allowed to look at the insurance plans.

358) Michelle Obama refused to pick vegetables from her own garden without federal help
During the October 2013 government shutdown, Michelle Obama decided to avoid picking her own vegetables from her own garden, and instead, allowed them to rot.

Reuters reported:
In the famous White House kitchen garden, tomatoes are rotting on the vine. Herbs have gone to seed. And the sweet potatoes – a favorite of President Barack Obama – have become worm food.

It's another impact of the government shutdown, one that only the fox and the many squirrels that live on the White House grounds could love.

359) The Obamacare website is "a hacker's wet dream"
John McAfee, the computer programmer who founded McAfee, Inc., said the Obamacare website is "a hacker's wet dream."

360) Caused a leukemia patient to lose his insurance
Michael Cerpok lives in Fountain Hills, Arizona. He has leukemia.

In 2012, his health care cost more than $350,000. But because he had insurance, he only had to pay $4,500 of that amount.

However, in October 2013, his insurance company sent him a letter which said that because of Obamacare, his insurance policy would be canceled on January 1, 2014.

361) Added 11 million words of regulations to Obamacare, which is 30 times as many words as the law itself
The regulations that Obama addded to Obamacare after he signed it are 11 million words long. That's 30 times as many words as the actual Obamacare law that Obama signed in March 2010. Because Obama added these 11 million words without approval from Congress, his actions are illegal.

362) Threatened to arrest people for telling jokes
In October 2013, the Obama administration announced the following on loudspeakers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas:

"Inappropriate remarks or jokes concerning security may result in your arrest."

363) Changed Obamacare registration deadline at the last minute
For three and a half years, the Obama administration repeatedly said that people had to register for Obamacare by March 31, 2014.

However, in October 2013, the Obama administration changed that deadline to February 14, 2014.

364) Ignored the successful methods of eHealthInsurance.com
The website eHealthInsurance.com has been successfully selling health insurance since 1998. The website is simple and easy to use.

However, when Obama created the Obamacare website, he chose to ignore the successful methods that are used by eHealthInsurance.com.

365) For two weeks, CNN reporter was never able to log in to Obamacare website
During the first two weeks of October 2013, a reporter from CNN repeatedly tried to log in to the Obamacare website, and was never able to log in.

366) Paid $500 per gallon for gasoline
In October 2013 it was reported that the Obama administration had paid $500 per gallon for gasoline.

367) Referred people to uncertified Obamacare "navigagtors" and "assisters"
In October 2013, the Obamacare website referred people to uncertified "navigagtors" and "assisters."

368) While the Obamacare website was not working, 700 counterfeit Obamacare websites were working
It's not Obama's fault that criminals created 700 counterfeit Obamacare websites. However, it is interesting to note that while the Obamacare website was not working, those 700 counterfeit websites were working.

369) Asked Blue Cross Blue Shield not to release Obamacare exchange numbers
On October 22, 2013, three weeks after the failed Obamacare website went online, the Obama administration asked Blue Cross Blue Shield not to release information on the number of people who had signed up for their policies through the Obamacare website.

370) 100% of Senate Democrats up for reelection planned to support a delay in Obamacare's individual mandate
On October 23, 2013, CNN's Dana Bash tweeted:
"new: senior dem source tells me to expect every sen dem running in 2014 to back @JeanneShaheen proposal to delay #ACA enrollment deadline"

371) Sold aircraft carrier for scrap metal for one cent
In October 2013 it was reported that the Obama administration had sold the 1,067-foot long U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Forrestal for scrap metal for one cent, to a Texas company called All Star Metals.

372) Obamacare website gave wrong prices
In October 2013, CBS News reported:

A new online feature can dramatically underestimate the cost of insurance.

In some cases, people could end up paying double of what they see on the website.

Industry executives CBS News spoke with could not believe the government is providing these estimates, which they said were useless and could easily mislead consumers. They also said that the website repeatedly states the actual prices could be lower, but it makes no mention that they could be higher.

373) Obamacare website sent false information to insurance companies
In October 2013, it was reported that the Obamacare website was sending false information to insurance companies

374) Threatened to punish people for not buying health insurance from a website that wasn't even working
The Obama administration threatened to impose tax penalties on people who did not buy health insurance from the Obamacare website, even though the website was not working.

375) In the first two weeks of the Obamacare website, "no more than 5,000″ enrollees had successfully completed the enrollment process
Two weeks after the Obamacare website went online, it was reported that "no more than 5,000″ enrollees had successfully completed the enrollment process.

376) Falsely said "No one is more frustrated than I am" regarding the Obamacare website
On October 21, 2013, regarding the failure of the Obamacare website, Obama said:

"No one is more frustrated than I am."

Obama has absolutely no right to be "frustrated" about any of the Obamacare webstie's problems, because he is the person who chose to cause those problems in the first place.

It was Obama who signed a 2,600 page law that he hadn't read.

It was Obama who added an additional 20,000 pages of regulations that he hadn't read to Obamacare without Congressional approval.

It was Obama who chose to hire cronies instead of competent programmers to create the Obamacare website.

It was Obama who waited until after the 2012 election to issue some of the main rules for the Obamacare website, which gave the programmers less than one year to comply with those rules, instead of the three and half years they would have had if Obama hadn't waited.

It was Obama who falsely said that the price of annual family insurance premiums would fall by $2,500.

It was Obama who falsely told people that they could keep their insurance if they were happy with it.

It was Obama who gave employers a huge financial incentive to switch their full time employees to a part time, 29 hour week.

It was Obama who refused to fire Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius after the Obamacare website failed.

Every thing that's bad about the Obamacare website is the direct result of choices that Obama made.

Obama has no right to be "frustrated" at the website's failure.

You want to know the people who really do have the right to be "frustrated" at Obamacare's problems? It's the people who have opposed Obamacare from the start. It's the people who predicted that these problems would happen. It's the people who called the bluff from the very start on Obama's many lies about Obamacare. These are the people who have the right to be "frustrated" at Obamacare's problems.

And yet somehow, not only does Obama falsely say that he is "frustrated," but he also falsely says that he is more frustrated than anyone else.

The people who are truly "frustrated" are the millions of people who were against Obamacare but are now being forced to participate in it.

Obama owns this – he created it. He has no right to be "frustrated" about it.

377) Obamacare website was built using 10-year-old technology
The Obamacare website was built using 10-year-old technology.

378) Required note from doctor for a mother to feed her own child
A federal preschool program sent a note home to the parents of the students. The note said:

Dear Parents,

I have received word from Federal Programs Preschool pertaining to lunches from home. Parents are to be informed that students can only bring lunches from home if there is a medical condition meriting a specific diet, along with a physicians note to that regard.

I am sorry for any inconvenience. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact [name redacted], the Health Coordinator for Federal Programs Preschool at [number redacted].

379) Obamacare website violates copyright laws
The Obamacare website violates copyright laws.

380) Repeatedly promised that the Obamacare website would be ready on October 1, 2013
This video shows Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services, repeatedly promising that the Obamacare website would be ready on October 1, 2013.

381) Called the Obamacare website "the easiest, most consumer friendly website to use"
Beginnging at 0:44 in this video, Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services, calls the Obamacare website "the easiest, most consumer friendly website to use."

382) Obamacare website had between 10 and 20 times as many lines of code as it should have had
The Obamacare website has 500 million lines of code.

Dave Kennedy, the CEO of information-security company Trusted Sec, said that a website for a project on the scale of Obamacare should actually have between 25 million and 50 million lines of code.

383) Jared Polis opposes delaying Obamacare's individual mandate for the entire country, but favors such a delay for his own district
U.S. Congressional representative Jared Polis (Democrat-Colorado) voted against delaying Obamacare's individual mandate for the entire country, but later requested such a delay for his own district.

When Polis requested a special delay for his own district, he said:

"We will be encouraging a waiver. It will be difficult for Summit County residents to become insured. For the vast majority, it's too high a price to pay."

384) Gave a no-bid contract to CGI Federal to build the Obamacare website
Obama gave a no-bid contract to CGI Federal to build the Obamacare website.

385) Broke promise to have Spanish version of Obamacare website up and running on October 1, 2013
Obama broke his promise to have a Spanish version of the Obamacare website up and running by October 1, 2013.

386) Broke promise that Spanish version of Obamacare website would be up and running by "mid October" 2013
After Obama broke his promise to have the Spanish version of the Obamacare website up running by October 1, 2013, his administration made a new promise to have it up and running by "mid-October." However, Obama broke that promise too – as of October 25, 2013, the Spanish version of the website was still not up and running.

387) Fired an Obamcare phone operator for truthfully answering a caller's question
In October 2013, a caller to the Obama phone line asked:

"Have you ever gotten anyone who really likes it yet?"

The phone operator, a woman named Earline Davis, answered:

"Um, not really."

Davis was fired for her answer.

388) Gave contract for Obamacare website to Michelle Obama's college classmate
Instead of having the Obamacare website built by someone who was qualified, Obama had it built by CGI Federal, a company that was run by Toni Townes-Whitley, who attended Princeton University with Michelle Obama.

389) Spent $634 million for Obamacare website as of October 1, 2013, even though it was only supposed to cost $94 million

The Obamacare website was originally supposed to cost $94 million. However, when it went online on October 1, 2013, it had already cost $634 million.

390) New York Times writer gave Obama a grade of 'F' for rollout of Obamacare website

On October 25, 2013, New York Times writer Uwe E. Reinhardt wrote:

"... who exactly should be assigned the F for the troubled rollout of HealthCare.gov?"

"Once elected, a president becomes chief executive of a giant federal enterprise. Anyone familiar with corporate management would have thought that for as ambitious and technically a complex project as the initial rollout of HealthCare.gov – so important to many uninsured Americans and so politically important to the White House – the chief executive would have remained in very close touch with the management team overseeing the project and thus would have been briefed daily or at least weekly on the progress of the project and especially on any problems with it."

"... the blame for the disastrous rollout of HealthCare.gov goes to its entire management team, to be sure, but primarily to the chief executive on top of that project. In my view, not only the proverbial buck stops on the chief executive's desk, but, for the management of this particular project, the grade of F goes there as well."

391) Said "Don't believe what you've heard" regarding criticism of Obamacare
On October 25, 2013, regarding the various criticisms of Obamacare, Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius said:

"Don't believe what you've heard."

In other words, the Obama administration says we shouldn't believe the Washington Post, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, NPR, Politico, the Wall St. Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes, the BBC, Huffington Post, the Nation, Mother Jones, or New Republic.

392) Closed a public beach and prevented a private charity from raising money for art in the schools
For the past 30 years, a privately run charity in San Francisco called Leap has had a charity event where they build sand castles to raise money to support art in the schools. In 2012, this contest raised more than $250,000 for art in the schools.

However, during the October 2013 government shutdown, Obama closed the public beach where the charity event was to take place, and prevented it from happening.

393) Monitored phone calls of 35 world leaders
In October 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had monitored the phone calls of 35 world leaders.

394) Refused to answer question about whether or not Obama administration had monitored Angela Merkel's phone
In October 2013, the New York Times wrote:

... yesterday, Der Spiegel reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked Mr. Obama "for a thorough explanation of serious indications that U.S. intelligence agencies had declared her private mobile phone to be a target in their operations."

The White House press secretary, Jay Carney said, "The president assured [Merkel] that the United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications" of the chancellor." Please note: IS not monitoring and WILL NOT monitor. The allegation, unaddressed, was that the United States HAD been monitoring her calls (until it was caught in the act).

395) Hacked the email of Mexican presidential candidate
In October 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had hacked the email account of Mexican presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto, who later won the election.

396) Illegally seized documents from reporter Audrey Hudson
Audrey Hudson is a reporter who lives in Shady Side, Maryland. In 1986, her husband, Paul Flanagan, was convicted of resisting arrest. Because of this, he is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.

In August 2013, federal agents entered their home, with a warrant that specifically said they were allowed to search for firearms. However, the federal agents illegally seized documents that belonged to Hudson, which were not listed on the warrant.

397) Required law abiding citizens to purchase insurance coverage for treatment for heroin addiction
Obamacare requires law abiding citizens to purchase coverage for treatment for heroin addiction.

398) Required men to purchase insurance coverage for maternity care
Obamacare requires men to purchase coverage for maternity care.

399) Obamacare website could not even handle "just a few hundred people" at the same time
The Washington Post reported that during testing, the Obamacare website could not even handle "just a few hundred people" at the same time.

400) Falsely blamed the Obamacare webstie's problems on too much traffic
The Obama administration blamed the problems of the Obamacare website on too much traffic.

However, the Washington Post reported that during testing, the Obamacare website could not even handle "just a few hundred people" at the same time.

In addition, CBS News quoted Luke Chung, an online database programmer who supports Obamacare, as saying the following about the Obamacare website:

"It wasn't designed well, it wasn't implemented well, and it looks like nobody tested it... It's not even close. It's not even ready for beta testing for my book. I would be ashamed and embarrassed if my organization delivered something like that."

****To Be Continued****

[Warph]

401) "Health insurance cancellation notices soar above Obamacare enrollment rates"
On October 24, 2013, the Daily Caller reported:

Health insurance cancellation notices soar above Obamacare enrollment rates

Hundreds of thousands of Americans who purchase their own health insurance have received cancellation notices since August because the plans do not meet Obamacare's requirements.

The number of cancellation notices greatly exceed the number of Obamacare enrollees.

402) Was still falsely claiming that people could keep their insurance on October 28, 2013

Even as late as October 28, 2013, the Obama administration was still falsely claiming that people could keep their insurance if they liked it.

403) Kathleen Sebelius falsely said that Obama did not know about the Obamacare website's problems before October 1, 2013
On October 22, 2013, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that Obama did not know about the Obamacare website's problem's before October 1, 2013.

However, on October 30, 2013, CNN reported that Obama had known about the defective Obamacare website a month before it went online.

404) Before Kathleen Sebelius ran Obamacare website, she had long track record of failure at running websites in Kansas
In October 2013, the Daily Caller reported that before Obama hired Kathleen Sebelius to run the Obamacare website, she had had a long track record of failure at running websites when she was governor of Kansas.

Kansas state representative Scott Schwab said of this:

"We pretty much expected HealthCare.gov to fail, because she has a pattern of failing on these big initiatives."

405) Federal employees who tested Obamacare website gave it their approval
Federal employees who had tested the Obamacare website before October 1, 2013, gave it their approval.

406) Said he was "mad" over botched Obamacare website, but refused to fire anyone
Obama said he was "mad" over the botched Obamacare website, but refused to actually fire anyone over it.

407) Kathleen Sebelius said "I don't work for" the people whose taxes pay her salary
On October 24, 2013, Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius said:

"The majority of people calling for me to resign I would say are people who I don't work for."

408) Obamacare website had only six enrollments in the first 24 hours
During the first 24 hours after the Obamacare website went online, only six people used the website to enroll in Obamacare.

409) Obama falsely blamed insurance companies for canceling policies that did not meet Obamacare's minimum requirements
Obamacare requires all insurance policies to cover pre-existing conditions, maternity care, treatment for heroin addiction, and certain other things.

Therefore, based on simple logic, any policies that do not cover these things are rendered illegal by Obamacare, and must be canceled.

The Washington Post said of this:

"Beginning Jan. 1, the new plans must cover 10 essential benefits including pediatric care, prescription drugs, mental-health services and maternity care. In general, policies that don't offer those can't be sold after 2013."

However, after insurance companies canceled these policies, Obama blamed the cancellations on the insurance companies instead of on Obamacare.

410) Obama administration told insurance company executives not to criticize Obamacare
On October 30, 2013, CNN reported that the Obama administration had told insurance company executives not to criticize Obamacare.

411) In July 2010, Obama knew that Obamacare would cause millions of people to lose their insurance, but he continued to falsely say they could keep it

On October 28, 2013, NBC reported that in July 2010, Obama had known that Obamacare would cause millions of people to lose their insurance, but that he continued to falsely say that they could keep it.

412) Obamacare covers "a narrow network of doctors and hospitals"
On October 29, 2013, CNN reported that Obamacare covers "a narrow network of doctors and hospitals."

413) Obama knew about the defective Obamacare website a month before it went online, but he let it go online anyway
On October 30, 2013, CNN reported that Obama had known about the defective Obamacare website a month before it went online.

414) Valerie Jarrett falsely said "Nothing in Obamacare forces people out of their health plans"
On October 28, 2013, Valerie Jarrett, Obama's senior advisor, tweeted:

"Nothing in Obamacare forces people out of their health plans."

However, the very next day, CBS News reported:

CBS News has learned more than two million Americans have been told they cannot renew their current insurance policies — more than triple the number of people said to be buying insurance under the new Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

415) Kathleen Sebelius said the Obamacare website "has never crashed" at the exact same time that it was crashing
On October 30, 2013, while giving federal testimony on the Obamacare website, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that the Obamacare website

"has never crashed."

However, at the exact same time that Sebelius was making her statement, the Obamacare website said:

"The system is down at the moment."

"We are experiencing technical difficulties and hope to have them resolved soon. Please try again later."

416) "Top Hospitals Opt Out of Obamacare"
On October 30, 2013, U.S. News and World Report reported that "Top Hospitals Opt Out of Obamacare"

417) Obama falsely said that using the Obamacare website would be like shopping at amazon.com
Before the Obamacare website went online, Obama falsely said that using it would be like shopping at amazon.com.

418) Obama said Obamacare could cause premiums to "fall by as much as 3,000%"
At 1:17 in this video, Obama says:

"your employer, it's estimated, would see premiums fall by as much as 3,000%"

419) Threatened to prosecute someone for selling "Department of Homeland Stupidity" coffee mugs
Merchant Dan McCall sells items that parody the U.S. government, such as coffee mugs that say "Department of Homeland Stupidity." Although such parody speech is protected by the first amendment, the Obama administration sent him a "cease and desist" letter, and threatened to prosecute him if he did not stop selling the products.

420) Monitored phone calls and emails regarding future Pope Francis
In October 2013, it was reported that during late 2012 and early 2013, the Obama administration had monitored phone calls and emails which concerned future Pope Francis before and during the Vatican conclave at which he was chosen to be the next Pope.

421) Used drones to kill dozens of civilians in Yemen and Pakistan
In October 2013, the Washington Post reported that Obama, the Commander-in-Cheif of the U.S. military, had used drones to kill at least 57 civilians in Yemen, and at least 31 civilians in Pakistan. In December 2013, the Guardian reported that an additional 15 civilians in Yemen had been killed by a U.S. drone.

422) High ranking Obama administration official said the U.S. is an "Islamic country with an Islamically compliant constitution"
Mohamed Elibiary is a member of the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council. In October 2013, a Twitter user asked him:

"show me just ONE example of an Islamic country where non Muslims are treated with equality."

Elibiary responded by Tweeting:

"America and yes I do consider the United States of America an Islamic country with an Islamically compliant constitution. Move On!"

423) Obama "puts a chill on what is really a healthy discourse between journalists and their sources"
In October 2013, New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson said:

"... the Obama administration has initiated seven criminal leak investigations... these seven leak investigations are more than double, all of the criminal leak investigations in all administrations before the Obama administration. And it puts a chill on what is really a healthy discourse between journalists and their sources. And it's our sources who mainly risk going to prison."

424) Obamacare website sent some people the eligibility letters of other people

In November 2013, it was reported that the Obamacare website had sent some people the eligibility letters of other people – people who were total strangers, who lived in other states.

425) Falsely said that his promise of letting people keep their insurance had included the words "if it hasn't changed since the law passed"
On June 15, 2009, Obama said:

"That means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what."

However, on November 4, 2013, Obama said:

"Now, if you have or had one of these plans before the Affordable Care Act came into law and you really liked that plan, what we said was you can keep it if it hasn't changed since the law passed."

426) Three people built a healthcare exchange website that works
On November 2, 2013, it was reported that three people in San Francisco – George Kalogeropoulos, Ning Liang, and Michael Wasser – had read about the defective Obamacare website – which had cost $634 million – and decided to try and build their own health care exchange website that actually worked. And they succeeded. Their website actually works. It's located at http://www.thehealthsherpa.com/

427) White House gave itself waiver which allowed the Obamacare website to go online, despite the fact that it was deemed to be a high security risk
Four days before the defective Obamacare website went online, the White House gave itself a waiver which allowed the website to go online, despite the fact that it was deemed to be a high security risk.

428) Denied saying that people could keep their insurance even though it was on video from more than 20 different occasions
Obama denied saying that people could keep their insurance even though it was on video from more than 20 different occasions. The video of him saying it more than 20 different times can be seen at

429) Broke his promise to "call out" people who lie about Obamacare
In September 2009, Obama said:

"If you misrepresent what's in this plan, we will call you out."

However, as of November 2013, Obama has not "called himself out" for lying about what was in Obamacare. He has not "called himself out" for falsely saying that people could keep their insurance. He has not "called himself out" for falsely saying that families' premiums would fall by $2,500 by the end of his first term. He has not "called himself out" on any of his many Obamacare lies that are on this list.

430) Gave CGI Federal new contracts after the launch of its defective Obamacare website
CGI Federal is the company that created the defective Obamacare website, which went online October 1, 2013. After that date, the Obama administration gave new contracts to the company.

431) Obama apologized – not for lying – but for the fact that people believed his lie
On November 7, 2013, NBC News reported:

President Obama said Thursday that he is "sorry" that some Americans are losing their current health insurance plans as a result of the Affordable Care Act, despite his promise that no one would have to give up a health plan they liked.

"I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me," he told NBC News in an exclusive interview at the White House.

"We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this."

432) On November 8, 2013, the White House website still said, "If you like your plan you can keep it"
On November 8, 2013, the White House website still said, "If you like your plan you can keep it"

433) Obama used fraudulent accounting to overstate the number of people who had "enrolled" in Obamacare
In November 2013, the Washington Post reported:

Who counts as an Obamacare enrollee? The Obama administration settles on a definition.

The fight over how to define the new health law's success is coming down to one question: Who counts as an Obamacare enrollee?

Health insurance plans only count subscribers as enrolled in a health plan once they've submitted a payment. That is when the carrier sends out a member card and begins paying doctor bills.

When the Obama administration releases health law enrollment figures later this week, though, it will use a more expansive definition. It will count people who have purchased a plan as well as those who have a plan sitting in their online shopping cart but have not yet paid.

434) In June 2010, the Obama administration estimated that 93 million people would lose their insurance because of Obamacare
In June 2010 in the Federal Register, the Obama administration estimated that 93 million people would lose their insurance because of Obamacare.

435) Obamacare caused cancer patient Edie Littlefield Sundby to lose her insurance and her doctor
In a November 2013 opinion column in the Wall St. Journal, Edie Littlefield Sundby wrote:

I had great cancer doctors and health insurance. My plan was cancelled. Now I worry how long I'll live.

For almost seven years I have fought and survived stage-4 gallbladder cancer, with a five-year survival rate of less than 2% after diagnosis. I am a determined fighter and extremely lucky. But this luck may have just run out: My affordable, lifesaving medical insurance policy has been canceled effective Dec. 31.

My choice is to get coverage through the government health exchange and lose access to my cancer doctors, or pay much more for insurance outside the exchange (the quotes average 40% to 50% more) for the privilege of starting over with an unfamiliar insurance company and impaired benefits.

After four weeks of researching plans on the website, talking directly to government exchange counselors, insurance companies and medical providers, my insurance broker and I are as confused as ever. Time is running out and we still don't have a clue how to best proceed.

Two things have been essential in my fight to survive stage-4 cancer. The first are doctors and health teams in California and Texas: at the medical center of the University of California, San Diego, and its Moores Cancer Center; Stanford University's Cancer Institute; and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

The second element essential to my fight is a United Healthcare PPO (preferred provider organization) health-insurance policy.

Since March 2007 United Healthcare has paid $1.2 million to help keep me alive, and it has never once questioned any treatment or procedure recommended by my medical team. The company pays a fair price to the doctors and hospitals, on time, and is responsive to the emergency treatment requirements of late-stage cancer. Its caring people in the claims office have been readily available to talk to me and my providers.

But in January, United Healthcare sent me a letter announcing that they were pulling out of the individual California market.

So if I go with a health-exchange plan, I must choose between Stanford and UCSD. Stanford has kept me alive – but UCSD has provided emergency and local treatment support during wretched periods of this disease, and it is where my primary-care doctors are.

Before the Affordable Care Act, health-insurance policies could not be sold across state lines; now policies sold on the Affordable Care Act exchanges may not be offered across county lines.

For a cancer patient, medical coverage is a matter of life and death. Take away people's ability to control their medical-coverage choices and they may die. I guess that's a highly effective way to control medical costs. Perhaps that's the point.

436) Five minute CNN video of Obamacare supporter complaining and complaining and complaining about her insurance being canceled
Here's a five minute CNN video of an Obamacare supporter complaining and complaining and complaining about her insurance being canceled:

437) In December 2013, Obama gave unions even more illegal exemptions from Obamacare

In December 2013, it was reported that Obama had illegally exempted some unions from some of the Obamacare fees, without approval from Congress.

438) Obamacare website gave someone's password, address, and social security number to three complete strangers
In November 2013, MKOV reported that the Obamacare website had given the password, address, and social security number of a woman in St. Louis, Missouri, to three complete strangers.

439) Obamacare "navigators" encouraged applicants to lie about their income and smoking
In November 2013, undercover video footage showed Obamacare navigators encouraging applicants to lie about their income and smoking status. A second video with more examples was also released.

440) "4 Things The US Government Accomplished In Less Time Than A Working Obamacare Website"
In November 2013, camharris.us reported:

4 Things The US Government Accomplished In Less Time Than A Working Obamacare Website

From the day that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act went into effect to the morning that the federal healthcare exchange went live, 1288 days passed. 3 years, 6 months, and 8 days. In all that time, our federal government could not construct a website that actually worked, and we are still waiting for a final product.

Here are 4 things the United States government accomplished in less time than it has taken to build a working website:

1. We Fought World War I

April 6, 1917-November 11, 1918

1 years, 7 months, 6 days

2. We Fought A Bigger War

December 7, 1941-May 8, 1945

3 years, 5 months, 2 days

3. We Built The Bomb

June 17, 1942-July 16,1945

3 years, 1 month

4. We Orbited A Man Around The Earth

October 7, 1958-February 20, 1962

3 years, 4 months, 13 days

441) Falsely claimed credit for the increase in domestic oil production
During Obama's Presidency, domestic oil production increased, and the Obama administration claimed credit for it. However, this increase only happened on privately owned land and state owned land, which Obama had no control over. On land that is owned by the federal government, oil production actually went down.

442) Falsely said "I actually respect the Constitution."
In 2007, Obama said:

"I actually respect the Constitution."

However, this list contains a huge number of examples which prove that Obama's statement is false.

443) Senator Obama repeatedly voted in favor of funding the Iraq War
In March 2007, the Boston Globe reported:

Obama defends votes in favor of Iraq funding

Senator Barack Obama yesterday defended his votes on behalf of funding the Iraq war

Obama has voted for all of the president's war funding requests since coming to the Senate

444) Banned Navy SEALs from wearing the "Don't Tread on Me" Navy Jack patch on their uniforms

For more than 200 years, the "Don't Tread on Me" Navy Jack flag has been a well respected symbol of the U.S. Navy.

However, in October 2013, the Obama administration banned Navy SEALs from wearing a patch of it on their uniforms.

445) Gave 655 "tax refunds" to a single address in Lithuania, and 343 to a single address in Shanghai
In 2012, the Obama administration gave 655 "tax refunds" to a single address in Lithuania, and 343 to a single address in Shanghai.

446) Banned the linking of terrorism to radical Islam during training of anti-terrorism agents
Although the Fort Hood shooter, the shoe bomber, and underwear bomber, and 100% of the 9-11 terrorists were all radical Muslims, the Obama administration enacted a ban on associating terrorism with radical Islam during training exercises of anti-terrrorism agents.

447) During Obamacare's first month, only 106,185 people enrolled
On November 12, 2013, it was reported that during October 2013, only 106,185 people had enrolled in Obamacare. And even this pathetically low number is fraudulently overstated, because it includes people who had left insurance policies in their shopping cart without paying for them. No legitimate online retailer counts unpaid items left in the shopping cart as a sale.

448) Less than 1% of Massachusetts citizens who lost their insurance because of Obamacare have signed up for a new policy at the Obamacare website
On November 9, 2013, the Boston Herald reported:

Just weeks before a Jan. 1 enrollment deadline, state officials admitted yesterday that just 1 percent of the 150,000 Bay Staters facing canceled heath insurance under Obamacare rules have signed up for new plans.

Massachusetts Health Connector officials told the Herald that only 549 applicants — out of the 150,000 Bay Staters forced to switch their health plans to comply with Obamacare rules — are poised to receive insurance through the new system.

449) "The Obamacare Exchange Scorecard: Around 100,000 Enrollees And Five Million Cancellations"
On November 12, 2013, Forbes reported:

The Obamacare Exchange Scorecard: Around 100,000 Enrollees And Five Million Cancellations

HHS has released the official numbers here. The HHS report states that only 26,794 people enrolled in the federal exchange—which amounts to 23 per state per day—and 79,391 enrolled in the state-based exchanges, for a total of 106,185.

In the market for individually-purchased health insurance, more than 4.8 million Americans have received notices that their preexisting plans are soon to be illegal, and will be cancelled. Many more cancellation notices are imminent.

450) Obama told insurance companies to break the law
On November 14, 2013, after insurance companies had canceled policies that did not meet the minimum requirements of Obamacare, Obama told them to restore these policies. However, he did this without Congress voting to approve these changes to Obamacare. The President does not have the legal authority to change a law that was passed by Congress, without those changes first being approved by Congress.

****To Be Continued****

[Warph]

451) Obama falsely said "In the first month alone, we've seen more than 100 million Americans already successfully enroll in the new insurance plans"
On November 18, 2013, Obama said:

"In the first month alone, we've seen more than 100 million Americans already successfully enroll in the new insurance plans."

In reality, the actual number was 106,185.

452) Jessica Sanford, whom Obama had cited as an Obamacare success story, later said she could not afford to buy an Obamacare policy
Jessica Sanford is a a self-employed single mother from Washington state, who earns slightly less than $50,000 a year, and has not had health insurance for 15 years.

On October 21, 2013, Obama cited Sanford as an Obamacare success story, because she would be able to purchase an Obamacare policy for herself and her son for only $169 per month.

However, a month later, it was reported that the Obamacare website had quoted the wrong price for Sanford. Her true, actual price was $621. She said that she could not afford this, and that she would just pay the penalty instead.

453) Video shows students at historically black college complaining that Obamacare caused them to lose their insurance
Bowie University is a historically black college in Maryland. This video shows students from the college complaining about how Obamacare caused them to lose their insurance:

454) "Obama brings chilling effect on journalism"
In October 2013, Associated Press reported:

Obama brings chilling effect on journalism

A report finds the U.S. government's aggressive prosecution of leaks and efforts to control information are having a chilling effect on journalists and government whistle-blowers.

The Committee to Protect Journalists released its first examination of U.S. press freedoms Thursday, focusing on changes under the Obama administration.

Leonard Downie Jr., a former executive editor of The Washington Post, wrote the 30-page analysis entitled "The Obama Administration and the Press." Downie interviewed reporters and editors who described a chilling effect in which "government officials are increasingly afraid to talk to the press."

Those suspected of discussing classified information are subject to investigation, lie-detector tests and scrutiny of telephone and email records.

455) Sued a trucking company that fired Muslim truck drivers for refusing to drive trucks carrying alcoholic beverages
In May 2013, the Obama administration sued Star Transport, Inc., a trucking company based in Morton, Illinois, because it fired Muslim truck drivers who had refused to drive trucks that were carrying alcoholic beverages.

456) Gave personal information of thousands of bookstore customers to dozens of federal agencies
In November 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had given the names, social security numbers, and other personal information of thousands of bookstore customers to dozens of fedeal agencies, including the IRS, CIA, NSA, and FDA.

457) Created fake unemployment statistics before the 2012 election
Soon before the 2012 election, the Obama administration created fake statistics to make the unemployment rate appear lower than it actually was.

458) "White House blocks access to Obama events, news groups say"
In November 2013, McClatchy reported:

White House blocks access to Obama events, news groups say

The nation's largest news organizations lodged a complaint Thursday against the White House for imposing unprecedented limitations on photojournalists covering President Barack Obama, which they say have harmed the public's ability to monitor its own government.

The organizations accuse the White House of banning photojournalists from covering Obama at some events, and then later releasing its own photos and videos of the same events.

"Journalists are routinely being denied the right to photograph or videotape the president while he is performing his official duties," according to a letter the organizations sent to the White House. "As surely as if they were placing a hand over a journalist's camera lens, officials in this administration are blocking the public from having an independent view of important functions of the executive branch of government."

"You are only seeing what they want you to see," said Lucy Dalglish, the dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

the news organizations stressed that they're referring only to presidential activities of a "fundamentally public nature," not private or restricted events, including ones that may affect national security.

Examples cited in the letter are Obama's meetings with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on July 10, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on July 29 and Pakistani human rights activist Malala Yousafzai on Oct. 11.

In each case, journalists weren't allowed – and sometimes were unaware – of the event. The White House later released written summaries of the events, along with photos taken by a government photographer.

On Thursday, the presidents of the American Society of News Editors and the Associated Press Media Editors sent a letter to their members urging them to stop using handout photos and video from the White House.

"We must accept that we, the press, have been enablers," the letter says. "We urge those of you in news organizations to immediately refrain from publishing any of the photographs or videos released by the White House, just as you would refuse to run verbatim a press release from them."

Harry Walker, the director of the McClatchy-Tribune Photo Service, said opening access to events was "the foundation for journalism, not just photojournalism."

The letter was signed by 38 news organizations, including all the major broadcast and cable networks, wire services, online services and newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and the McClatchy Co., which owns 30 daily newspapers across the nation.

459) Three days after the Egyptian government murdered dozens of Egyptian civilians, the Obama administration announced it would give military aid to the Egyptian government, which, soon afterward, murdered hundreds of additional Egyptian civilians

On April 12, 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had just given four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt, and that it had also given them eight others on earlier dates.

On July 8, 2013, it was reported that the Egyptian government had murdered at least 51 Egyptian civilians who had been protesting against the Egyptian government.

Three days later, it was reported that the Obama administration would be giving four additional F-16 fighter jets to the Egyptian government.

On July 27, 2013, it was reported that the Egyptian government had murdered at least 72 additional Egyptian civilians who had been protesting against the Egyptian government.

On August 15, 2013, it was reported that the Egyptian government had murdered more than 600 additional Egyptian civilians who had been protesting against the Egyptian government.

460) Spent $1.5 million to help women in Brazil quit smoking
In August 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration would be spending $1.5 million to help women in Brazil quit smoking.

461) "NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds"
In August 2013, the Washington Post reported:

NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds

The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.

Most of the infractions involve unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the United States, both of which are restricted by statute and executive order.

The NSA audit obtained by The Post, dated May 2012, counted 2,776 incidents in the preceding 12 months of unauthorized collection, storage, access to or distribution of legally protected communications.

462) Announced plans to illegally regulate greenhouse gas emissions without approval from Congress
In August 2013, the Obama administration announced that it planned to regulate greenhouse gas emissions without approval from Congress. Without approval from Congress, Obama's actions would be illegal.

463) Refused to answer question about whether or not people who don't buy insurance should be put in jail
The Obama administration argued in front of the Supreme Court that the Obamacare mandate was a tax. Obama hired 16,500 new IRS agents to run Obamacare. In this video, ABC News asked Obama whether or not he thinks that people who don't buy insurance should be put in jail. Obama refused to answer the question. Even after the interviewer asked Obama the question a second time, Obama still refused to answer it.

464) An estimated 70% of California doctors will not participate in Obamacare
In December 2013, the California Medical Association estimated that 70% of California doctors would not be participating in Obamacare.

465) California's Obamacare website gave out the contact information of tens of thousands of people without their permission
In December 2013, it was reported that California's Obamacare website had given private insurance agents the names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of tens of thousands of people without their permission.

466) Made it easy for a future Republican President to give every U.S. citizen a permanent Obamacare waiver, without approval from Congress
The President does not have any legal authority to change the law without those changes first being approved by Congress. However, this list contains many examples of Obama making changes to Obamacare without approval from Congress. Some of these changes involve Obama giving Obamacare waivers to unions who supported the passage of Obamacare. Other changes include Obama delaying certain parts of Obamacare. Obama made these changes illegally, because they were not approved by Congress. With a small number of exceptions, Democrats have not criticized Obama for doing this.

Therefore, in the future, if a Republican President were to give permanent Obamacare waivers to every U.S. citizens without approval from Congress, the vast majority of Democrats would be hypocrites if they objected to it.

467) Obamacare encourages patients to rig the system to rip off doctors, repeatedly, year after year after year
In November 2013, Forbes reported:

Obamacare has... a 90-day grace period. This means people can buy an Obamacare policy, have costly procedures done and then cancel the policy within 90 days. If the cancellation comes during the first 30 days, the insurer is responsible for trying to collect payment, but after that, doctors are on their own. They would have to spend time and money chasing patients for payments. California Healthline reported that deadbeats "would not receive a fine, a premium rate increase or a repayment order. They also would not be barred from purchasing another subsidized plan during the next enrollment period." No other type of health insurance has a 90-day grace period like this.

468) Tech experts said that a properly working Obamacare website should not have cost more than $10 million, whereas the defective version built by Michelle Obama's incompetent Princeton classmate had actually cost $634 million
Instead of hiring competent programmers to create the Obamacare website, Obama hired CGI Federal, a company that was run by Toni Townes-Whitley, who attended Princeton University with Michelle Obama. When the defective Obamacare website went online on October 1, 2013, it had already cost $634 million.

However, David Kennedy, president of the technology firm TrustedSec, said that even if the Obamacare website had worked properly, it should not have cost more than $10 million. Luke Chung, president and founder of the technology firm FMS, said he agreed with Mr. Kennedy.

469) Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, and several other Democratic Senators who voted for Obamacare, have exempted their own staff from Obamacare
In December 2013, Yahoo News reported:

Harry Reid exempts some of his Senate staff from Obamacare exchanges

One of the biggest public supporters of the Affordable Care Act has reportedly decided that some of his staff should be exempted from the new law.

CNN reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is the only top congressional leader to exempt some of his staff from having to buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges.

Yahoo News has reached out to the offices of all 100 U.S. senators to see if any other members have exempted committee staff from the federal exchange. So far, the offices of 42 senators have responded to our inquiry, with 37 saying that the senator and their entire staff will switch over to the exchanges in January.

The offices of Ron Wyden, Tim Johnson, Barbara Boxer, Patty Murray and Thomas Carper, all Democrats, said they were exempting some of their staff. Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, has not responded.

470) In a contest for videos to promote Obamacare, the Obama administration gave first prize to a video called "Forget About the Price Tag"
The Obama administration held a contest where it asked people to make videos to support Obamacare. The Obama administration awarded first prize to a video called "Forget About the Price Tag." The video can be seen at

471) Broke his promise to have the Obamacare website fixed by November 30, 2013
On October 25, 2013, White House spokesman Jeffrey Zients said:

"By the end of November, the vast majority of consumers will be able to successfully and smoothly enroll through Healthcare.gov"

However, on December 1, 2013, the New York Times reported:

Insurers Claim Health Website Is Still Flawed

The problem is that the systems that are supposed to deliver consumer information to insurers still have not been fixed. And with coverage for many people scheduled to begin in just 30 days, insurers are worried the repairs may not be completed in time.

"Until the enrollment process is working from end to end, many consumers will not be able to enroll in coverage," said Karen M. Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group.

The issues are vexing and complex. Some insurers say they have been deluged with phone calls from people who believe they have signed up for a particular health plan, only to find that the company has no record of the enrollment.

472) Democratic aids who supported the passage of Obamacare said their new Obamacare premiums are "simply unacceptable"
In December 2013, Politico reported:

Older Hill aides shocked by Obamacare prices

Veteran House Democratic aides are sick over the insurance prices they'll pay under Obamacare, and they're scrambling to find a cure.

"In a shock to the system, the older staff in my office (folks over 59) have now found out their personal health insurance costs (even with the government contribution) have gone up 3-4 times what they were paying before," Minh Ta, chief of staff to Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), wrote to fellow Democratic chiefs of staff in an email message obtained by POLITICO. "Simply unacceptable."

In the email, Ta noted that older congressional staffs may leave their jobs because of the change to their health insurance.

473) Members of Congress and their staff are exempt from the income limits for Obamacare subsidies that apply to everyone else
Most people are eligible for Obamacare subsidies only if their income is no more than 400% of the poverty level. For a family of four, 400% of the poverty level is $94,200. A family of four with income higher than that amount it not eligible for an Obamacare subsidy.

However, members of Congress and their staff are exempt from this limit. Members of Congress are paid $174,000 a year. Because of their special exemption, a middle aged member of Congress who is married and has children, will get a special Obamacare subsidy of $10,000.

474) Obamacare website often doesn't tell insurance companies about customers who "bought" insurance
On December 1, 2013, the New York Times reported:

Some insurers say they have been deluged with phone calls from people who believe they have signed up for a particular health plan, only to find that the company has no record of the enrollment.

475) Obama's nominee to head the IRS has "little tax experience"
In December 2013, Reuters reported:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Senate panel hearing on President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Internal Revenue Service was set to resume Wednesday after it was abruptly halted on Tuesday at a Republican senator's request, committee aides said.

John Koskinen, a 74-year-old lawyer with little tax experience chosen by Obama to take over the beleaguered IRS, traveled up to Capitol Hill to face the Senate Finance Committee, but the session did not last long.

476) Obama said we should raise the minimum wage, but barackobama.com advertised for "unpaid" interns
In February 2013, Obama said:

"Tonight, let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank; rent or eviction; scraping by or finally getting ahead. For businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets. In fact, working folks shouldn't have to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up while CEO pay has never been higher. So here's an idea that Governor Romney and I actually agreed on last year: let's tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, so that it finally becomes a wage you can live on."

However, barackobama.com advertised for "unpaid" interns. The bolding is mine:

https://my.barackobama.com/page/s/organizing-for-action-hq-internship—chicago

HQ Internship Opportunity:

OFA is now accepting applications for full-time and part-time HQ Interns for the Spring 2014 and Summer 2014 HQ Internship Programs in Chicago, IL. HQ Interns will have the unique opportunity to work closely with staff in advancing the President's agenda. Departmental placements available include Grassroots Organizing, Training, Issue Campaigns, Digital, Press and Finance. Please include your departmental placement preferences in your cover letter. Accepted HQ Interns will be paired with departments based on their stated interest, qualifications and availability. This is a 14-week, unpaid internship program.

Please note that our Washington, D.C. location is not our primary location and has a limited number of staff and, accordingly, internship positions available. As a result, we are no longer considering candidates for this location.

The ideal candidate is a highly motivated individual with a strong desire to learn and a deep commitment to OFA's mission. Requirements of the candidate include:

Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills

Strong desire to learn and work in the field of public service, grassroots organizing, and political engagement

Strong project management skills

Detail oriented, thinking critically and creatively

Ability to work efficiently and effectively in a fast-paced environment

Strong commitment to changing the world

Spring Program Dates: January 2014 – May 2014

Summer Program Dates: May 2014 – August 2014

If you are interested in volunteering in your state, consider applying to the Organizing for Action Organizing Fellowship Program.

Organizing for Action is an equal opportunity employer.

477) Falsely said that he had never lived with his drunk driving, illegal alien uncle
In 2011, the Obama administration said that Obama had never lived with his drunk driving, illegal alien uncle. However, in December 2013, it was reported that Obama actually had lived with him.

478) In New York City, thousands of Obama voting, well educated, upper class professionals complained about losing their insurance because of Obamacare
In December 2013, the New York Times reported:

With Affordable Care Act, Canceled Policies for New York Professionals

Many in New York's professional and cultural elite have long supported President Obama's health care plan. But now, to their surprise, thousands of writers, opera singers, music teachers, photographers, doctors, lawyers and others are learning that their health insurance plans are being canceled and they may have to pay more to get comparable coverage, if they can find it.

"I couldn't sleep because of it," said Barbara Meinwald, a solo practitioner lawyer in Manhattan.

Ms. Meinwald, 61, has been paying $10,000 a year for her insurance through the New York City Bar. A broker told her that a new temporary plan with fewer doctors would cost $5,000 more, after factoring in the cost of her medications.

Roy Lyons, managing director of Marsh U.S. Consumer, an insurance brokerage, said he had heard complaints from physicians, lawyers, pharmacists and optometrists.

Among those affected are members of the Authors Guild; the Advertising Photographers of America; the Suzuki Association of the Americas, a music teachers organization; the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators; the New York City Bar Association; and the New York County Medical Society.

It is not lost on many of the professionals that they are exactly the sort of people — liberal, concerned with social justice — who supported the Obama health plan in the first place. Ms. Meinwald, the lawyer, said she was a lifelong Democrat who still supported better health care for all, but had she known what was in store for her, she would have voted for Mitt Romney.

It is an uncomfortable position for many members of the creative classes to be in.

"We are the Obama people," said Camille Sweeney, a New York writer and member of the Authors Guild. Her insurance is being canceled, and she is dismayed that neither her pediatrician nor her general practitioner appears to be on the exchange plans. What to do has become a hot topic on Facebook and at dinner parties frequented by her fellow writers and artists.

"I'm for it," she said. "But what is the reality of it?"

479) Washington state's Obamacare website stole money from people's checking accounts
In December 2013, KGW reported that the Obamacare website for Washington state had stolen money from people's checking accounts.

480) Illegally ordered insurance companies to cover "customers" who had never paid any premiums
In December 2013, Obama ordered insurance companies to cover "customers" who had never paid any premiums. Obama's action was illegal because it violated the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment. It was also illegal because he did not have approval from Congress.

481) Millennials who voted for Obama and supported the passage of Obamacare did not want to purchase Obamacare insurance for themselves
In December 2013, it was reported that most of the Millennials who had voted for Obama and had supported the passage of Obamacare did not want to purchase Obamacare insurance for themselves.

482) Obamcare website violated federal security laws
In December 2013, it was reported that the Obamacare website was in violation of federal security laws.

483) Refused to answer questions about how many of Obamacare's so-called "enrollees" had actually paid their first month's premium
On December 11, 2013, more than two months after the Obamacare website had gone online, the Obama administration still refused to answer questions about how many of Obamacare's so-called "enrollees" had actually paid their first month's premium. Instead, the Obama administration was still fraudulently counting as "enrollees" people who had put Obamacare policies into their shopping cart without actually paying for them. No legitimate online retailer counts unpaid items left in the shopping cart as sales.

484) Illegally delayed Obamacare's online SHOP enrollment by one year
In November 2013, it was reported that Obama had delayed Obamacare's online SHOP enrollment by one year. Because Obama did this without approval from Congress, his action was illegal.

485) Ten different Obamacare "customer service" representatives refused to let cancer survivor Lynn Baklor sign up for Obamacare
Lynn Baklor lives in Maryland, and is a survivor of breast cancer. Over a period of two months, she spoke on the phone with ten different "customer service" representatives from Obamacare, and none of them allowed her to sign up for Obamacare. The Obamacare website was not working either. A WBAL news report on her situation can be seen at

486) Obama's nominee to head the defense department said he did not know much about the military

In January 2013, Chuck Hagel, Obama's nominee to head the defense department, said he did not know much about the military.

487) Federal judge said Obama's bulk collection of phone records was unconstitutional
In December 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon said that Obama's bulk collection of phone records violated the fourth amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches. It was Edward Snowden, a former NSA employee, who had first revealed to the public that Obama had been engaging in this unconstitutional activity.

488) Gave out even more illegal Obamacare waivers
On December 19, 2013, Obama gave exemptions from the Obamacare mandate to people whose insurance had been canceled due to Obamacare. Because Obama gave out these exemptions without approval from Congress, his action was illegal.

489) Obamacare creates a new 2% tax on every insurance plan
Obamacare creates a new 2% tax on every insurance plan. This breaks Obama's promise that he would not raise taxes on families making less than $250,000 per year.

490) Obamacare requires some people to pay 19% of their income for premiums
In December 2013, the New York Times reported:

A 60-year-old living in Polk County, in northwestern Wisconsin, and earning $50,000 a year, for example, would have to spend more than 19 percent of his income, or $9,801 annually, to buy one of the cheapest plans available there.

491) Six Democratic Senators who voted for Obamacare complained that it was causing voters in their districts to lose insurance
In December 2013, six Democratic Senators who had voted for Obamacare wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, complaining that Obamacare was causing voters in their districts to lose insurance.

492) Admitted that the so-called "Affordable" Care Act was actually "unaffordable" for some people
In December 2013, the Obama administration admitted that the so-called "Affordable" Care Act was actually "unaffordable" for some people.

493) 53% of people without insurance disapprove of Obamacare
In December 2013, the New York Times reported:

Americans who lack medical coverage disapprove of President Obama's health care law at roughly the same rate as the insured, even though most say they struggle to pay for basic care, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Fifty-three percent of the uninsured disapprove of the law, the poll found, compared with 51 percent of those who have health coverage. A third of the uninsured say the law will help them personally, but about the same number think it will hurt them, with cost a leading concern.

494) Under certain circumstances, Obamacare recipients between the ages of 55 and 64 can have their homes seized by the government after they die
Under certain circumstances, when someone between the ages of 55 and 64 participates in Obamacare, then after they die, the government can seize their home, preventing their children from inheriting it.

495) PolitiFact repeatedly changed its rating of Obama's promise that people could keep their insurance, based on how many Presidential elections he still had left
PolitiFact is a left wing organization that rates the truthfulness of statements made by politicians. Regarding Obama's promise that people could keep their insurance, PolitiFact has given out three different ratings.

In October 2008, when Obama still had two Presidential elections coming up, PolitiFact rated his statement as "true."

In June 2012, when Obama only had one more Presidential election coming up, PolitiFact rated his statement as "half true."

In December 2013, when Obama could no longer run for President ever again, PolitiFact rated his statement as "lie of the year."

In all three of these cases, PolitiFact was rating the exact same statement. So why did they keep changing their rating? The best explanation that I can think of is that as Obama had fewer and fewer Presidential elections coming up, they were willing to be more and more accurate in their ratings. So only when he was no longer able to run for President again, were they finally willing to admit the truth about his statement.

496) Obamacare supporters at Democratic Underground later complained about it
For some really hilarious displays of shock and outrage by supporters of Obamacare at how it's harming people, check out these threads at Democratic Underground: one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven.

497) Commander-in-Chief Obama adopted lower military standards so unqualified women could serve in combat
In December 2013, NPR reported:

Starting Jan. 1, every woman in the Marines Corps was supposed to meet a new physical standard by performing three pullups. But that has been put off.

The three pullups is already the minimum required for all male Marines. Now the Marine Corps has postponed the plan, and that's raising questions about whether women have the physical strength to handle ground combat, which they'll be allowed to do beginning in 2016.

Why does this matter?

Well, the same NPR article continued:

The Marine Corps has been using it to test upper body strength for men for more than 40 years. And that upper body strength, they say, is necessary to serve in ground combat: to pull yourself out of a canal in Afghanistan, to climb over a mud wall, to carry an ammunition box.

And a CNS News article on the subject stated:

Pull-ups have been used to test Marines' upper body strength for over 40 years. The ability to pull-up one's own body weight over a bar shows the upper body strength that, in combat, is needed to lift fallen comrades, pull one's self over a wall, and carry heavy munitions. Combat Marines also carry a pack that weighs around 90 pounds, with gunners carrying an additional 50 or 60 pounds.

In other words, this qualification is by no means trivial. On the contrary, this involves skills that are necessary in combat – necessary for saving the soldier's own life, as well as for saving the lives of other soldiers.

Obama, who is Commander-in-Chief of the military, is saying that he's perfectly OK with allowing unqualified women to go into combat, even if it means that their lack of qualifications could end up killing them, as well as killing other U.S. soldiers who depend on them.

498) Had double standard for hate crime laws
When someone participated in the so-called "knockout game," the Obama administration filed hate crime charges when a white person attacked a black person, but not when a black person attacked a white person.

499) Tried to prevent federal judge from ruling on NSA surveillance
In December 2013, the Obama administration tried to prevent a federal judge from ruling on NSA surveillance efforts.

500) Illegally tried to avoid disclosure of a foreign aid directive that he had signed
In December 2013, a federal judge ruled that Obama's attempt to avoid disclosure of a foreign aid directive that he had signed in 2010 was illegal.

501) Forced a woman to undergo a strip search, an observed bowel movement, and a CT scan without a warrant
In December 2012, federal agents forced a New Mexico woman to undergo a strip search, an observed bowel movement, and a CT scan, all without a warrant.

Laura Schauer Ives, the legal director for the New Mexico ACLU, said of this:

"What is truly frightening about this incident is that it could have happened to anyone... The failed drug war and militarized border region have created an environment in which law enforcement officials increasingly inflict extreme and illegal searches on innocent Americans."

502) Spent $914,000 to study fictional romance
In December 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had spent $914,000 to study "romance as told in novels, films, comics, advice books, songs, and internet fan fiction."

503) Spent $65 million on television ads to promote tourism in New York and New Jersey
In December 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had spent $65 million on television ads to promote tourism in New York and New Jersey

504) Spent $1.5 million per year to tell the movie industry how to portray the FBI in movies
In December 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had spent $1.5 million each year to tell the movie industry how to portray the FBI in movies.

[Warph]

*** The Truth Behind Barack Obama's Benghazi Body Of Lies ***

http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/07/the-truth-behind-barack-obamas-benghazi-body-of-lies/


Barack Hussein Obama was at the helm on September 11, 2012 when four Americans were brutally murdered in Benghazi, Libya. However, though they were murdered, he already had a cover story all lined up! Sounds like a story of fiction rather than fact, but what is about to be shown in the following article has taken months to uncover and verify from several sources, people we cannot and would not be able to call by name. While the Benghazi scandal is very complicated, we finally found the articles by Mr. Douglas Hagmann and had to wait for some verification of these before we wrote about them. Mr. Hagmann did a "Comprehensive Investigative Report" and wrote about it under the title of Body of lies from Benghazi to Barack. We requested permission to show some of what Mr. Hagmann wrote to allow skeptics to see for themselves what is known beyond the White House and maybe it is because those in the White House did not read the reports or papers until let us say, recently. 

Now we know, many of you will wonder just what can be shown about Benghazi that has not been shown and just how it all this link back to maybe Obama and a few others around him? First, we know for a fact that Benghazi happened on September 11, 2012. Now very few with half a brain would ever dream that this attack had anything other than the word "terrorists" linked directly to it since it happened on the 11th anniversary of the fateful day the Twin Towers were taken down by Islamic jihadists with the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent people snuffed out. How can this be linked back to or even close to Obama, especially since it was right before an important Presidential election? It does seem very weird to have something like a terrorist act happen just over a month before a Presidential election. According to Obama, Al-Qaeda, or whatever one wishes to call those Islamic jihadists with rags around their heads, willing to blow themselves up and kill freedom-loving Westerners, were on the run, like running all the way to Benghazi!

Mr. Hagmann goes into his investigation with what follows:

"During the course of any complex investigation, detectives are always searching for that elusive "ah-ha!" moment, or the point at which a breakthrough of a case is achieved. Often, that moment never arrives, or is considerably less than dramatic when it does. In this case, the truth appeared to be so adeptly hidden and convoluted that it took me a long time before I realized that many of the puzzle pieces were actually in plain view, but they were just not readily identifiable. The reason, I concluded, was that I was looking at this entire situation all wrong. That's when the "ah-ha" moment turned into an "uh-oh" moment." (See - http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/archives/6860, paragraph 4 of his article.)

Mr. Hagmann goes on to say:

"First, I made the erroneous assumption that I knew who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are, much like someone watching a vintage movie with "cops and robbers" where the good guys wear the police uniforms and the bad guys wear masks. I did not anticipate that some of the so-called good guys might actually be the perpetrators, especially considering the evil woven into these events. I am willing, however, to stipulate that some of the "bad guys" might be nothing more than unwitting pawns unknowingly involved in a larger agenda, although I find that more difficult to accept given the death and destruction involved.

Secondly, I believe that I've found evidence that suggests links between this video, or at least the manner in which this video was first created, then changed and finally used, to key people and entities involved with a number of suspicious events over the last decade. It would appear that some of the individuals and entities, including but not limited to high ranking members of both political parties, elected officials, and members of the intelligence community have some level of active or passive involvement in this and various past events of significance, but have adeptly maintained a plausibly deniable role by only slight degrees of separation."

Now just what has Mr. Hagmann discovered that made him go from the "ah-ha" moment to an "uh-oh" moment? Unless my eyes deceived me, it comes from the one thing that every CIA agent is taught, "plausible deniability." Mr. Hagmann discusses this, along with the possible way that now CIA director John O. Brennan got his job. We have had two other statements that came to us under false names showing that John Brennan had obtained all of Obama's documents, his real birth certificate, his passports from Indonesia, his College transcripts showing a "foreign" student visa, and all the other oddities many have discussed and failed to be able to prove. But we will now show through Mr. Hagmann's article the links back to Obama, Brennan, Clinton, and many others that may well show that the video they claimed was responsible for inciting rage in the Islamists in Benghazi was actually thought of by some friends of theirs!

To continue with Mr. Hagmann's article and his findings;

"To bring more specificity to the above, it would appear that there is a possible connection between the dissemination of the controversial video with the 2008 passport office break-in scandal that involved improper computer access to the passport records of Barack Hussein Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and John McCain. The latter is an enigma in its own right, having its own level of complicity and complexity. Additionally, that particular event appears to involve other events at its periphery, including but not limited to the murder of the key witness in that case, Lieutenant Quarles Harris Jr.

One thing that appears to exist, if my investigative findings are correct, is that some of the same individuals and entities that were directly and indirectly involved in the passport office break-in, including government and defense contractors, appear to have a role in the video controversy.

This leads to the third and perhaps most disturbingly critical discovery. If my investigative findings are correct, it is my opinion as a professional investigator that the events in Libya, which have now spread across the globe, were a direct result of a covert CIA mission that appears to have been compromised from within our own government. If I am incorrect, however, the alternative is even more unthinkable.

If correct, my investigative trail leads directly to the U.S. Department of State and the CIA with some level of White House involvement, at which point things become even more convoluted. It is here that one might become confused with the aforementioned "good guy versus bad guy" identification process.

Chronology of the video

14 July 2011: A "casting call" was posted to Craig's List, soliciting actors and actresses to appear in a movie under the working title Desert Warrior. Research published by various websites such as gawker notes that key in the video's production was 65 year-old Alan Roberts, a/k/a Robert Brownell, a film director and editor of films such as Young Lady Chatterly, The Happy Hooker goes to Hollywood, and Karate Cop.

Roberts directing role was the result of a request by Egyptian native Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a/k/a "Sam Bacile,"
who was allegedly an informational and possibly operational asset for the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to several cast members who appeared in the video, they were told that they were appearing in a historical drama set in the Middle East and were hoodwinked into a false plot. Some have publicly stated that some of their dialogue was changed to such an extent, that someone actually dubbed over the words they spoke. In other words, the audio was changed. After a careful review of the video trailer, this claim appears to have merit.

The video was scheduled to be shown at the Vine Theater in Los Angeles, California on 30 June, 2012 under a new title, The Innocence of Bn Laden [sic]. Two-(2) screenings were scheduled. Thousands of flyers written in Arabic were created and passed out in advance of that date.

29 June 2012 (Friday): A regular to the Los Angeles City Council meetings, a man identified as John Walsh, Hollywood resident and operator of a local blog site, participated in the general public comments. His appearance begins at the 2:30:15 mark in the archived footage of the Los Angeles meeting at City Hall. Rather cryptically, he simply asks rhetorically whether the "neo-Nazis are coming to Hollywood and directs the council members to his blog that references the Vince Theater showing.

30 June 2012 (Saturday): Accounts of the scheduled showing differ, but based on information obtained from Steve Klein, the spokesman for the film on a special 90-minute edition of The Hagmann & Hagmann Report on Sunday, September 23, 2012, the showings were cancelled when no one showed up to watch the video. The theater reportedly "closed" the screening without incident. It is relevant to point out that the alleged screening for this video was scheduled during the time when Jews typically observe Shabbat. Therefore, it is unlikely that the screening was scheduled or otherwise arranged by anyone in the Jewish community.

1 July 2012 (Sunday): Interestingly, the title of the video that was published online was changed from The Innocence of Bn Laden [sic] to The Innocence of Muslims on a YouTube channel that hosted the trailer. The video was hosted on an account under the name Sam Bacile, who was actually determined to be Nakoula Basseley Nakoula.

1 July – 11 September 2012: The video lies relatively dormant until it is cited for the violence by U.S. government officials.

The official assertions made by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, UN Ambassador Susan Rice, and Barack Hussein Obama that the controversial video was the proximal cause of the initial spate of violence or protests can be readily dispelled by simply looking at the history of the number of views through September 11, 2012. The video did not gain notoriety until the murderous events had already concluded in Libya."

Now this is a time line that very few if any but Mr. Hagmann and maybe those that knew of the actual operation were aware of. If any of this is correct it may well show a direct link back to someone in the White House and we are as of now doing some back checks to see if we can find the link needed. But we need only look at the article presented by Mr. Hagmann to see that the one person who had obtained the records that may well show Obama is not even a United States Citizen was none other than John O. Brennan. See for yourself from what Mr. Hagmann has found and what we have obtained through an undisclosed tip.

"In the 'Montagraph video,' a connection is drawn to Stanley, Inc. The importance of this, beyond the status as defense contractors from Arlington, Virginia, lies in the digital fingerprints connecting the video The Innocence of Muslims with a user with access to the NewsPoliticsNow website. The 'Montagraph video' explains the connection by the presence of a common avatar, or an image used by Internet posters. It is here that things become as disturbing as they are convoluted.

According to published reports, Stanley, Inc. was awarded a $164 million contract to print new U.S. passports in 2006. Two employees of Stanley, Inc., along with a third individual employed by another defense contractor identified as The Analysis Corporation, were identified as the perpetrators who breached the records of the U.S. passport office on three occasions in 2008 and "improperly accessed" the passport records of Barack Hussein Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain. The breaches occurred on January 9, February 21 and March 14, 2008.

It is important to note that the CEO of the Analysis Corporation at the time of the passport office break-in was John O. Brennan, who served as a close advisor to Obama in 2008 on matters of intelligence and foreign policy. Brennan also contributed to Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Brennan also had a 25-year career in the CIA."

With the way that the White House is holding back on the Benghazi investigation, it may well be that the entire Benghazi matter goes all the way to the White House and maybe even directly to Obama himself. Could this be true? Could our nation be in this much trouble to be able to listen to a President that has been called a huge liar over many other scandals and that Benghazi is just another lie to him that he cares nothing about? Remember, Obama made a strange statement the other day, "I should not have to call Russia," or words to that effect. It kind of reminds one of the time during a debate where Obama stated, "That is not something in my pay grade." Kind of close don't you think?

Hagmann concludes, "The video appears to be serving multiple purposes. It appears to be a multi-faceted catalyst by seemingly opposing parties to advance different agendas. One might be to suppress any criticism of Islam and ultimately restrict our freedom of speech – both religious and political dissent, while the other is to foment chaos in Islamic countries as a means to an end."

The YouTube video that the Obama administration pointed to as the cause of the Benghazi attacks "appeared to be serving multiple purposes. It appears to be a multi-faceted catalyst by seemingly opposing parties to advance different agendas. One might be to suppress any criticism of Islam and ultimately restrict our freedom of speech – both religious and political dissent, while the other is to foment chaos in Islamic countries as a means to an end."

Now we will dive into the next parts of what may really have happened in Benghazi and just how this "video" came to be. That, in and of itself, raises some questions since some of the people that may have been involved in the video were associated with Barack Obama somewhere down the line. One must wonder if Obama did just what the producer did in the movie "Wag the Dog," which was done to make a hero out of a no one and a war out of nothing. Did Hollywood help Obama "find" this video or perhaps they made the video to help their friend Obama?

Douglas Hagmann examines into some of the precursors to the September 11, 2012 attack.

"In the days and weeks leading up to the murder of Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi, the U.S. Department of State received at least three warnings of not only impending violence, but of U.S. embassies being specifically targeted. One warning was specific to the U.S. embassy in Cairo, which was directly related to the current imprisonment of the "Blind Sheikh" Omar Abdel-Rahman, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Others specified the Libyan embassy.

On September 9, 2012, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reportedly received a warning that stated "[t]he time has come for a strong movement from you, O sons of Egypt, to release the detained sheikh...Let your slogan be: No to the American embassy in Egypt until our detained sheikh is released. Starting now, let the faithful among you form follow-up committees in charge of taking the necessary measures to force America to release the sheikh, even if it requires burning the embassy down with everyone in it."

The warnings in the week before the attack were received while Ambassador Stevens was traveling in Germany, Austria and Sweden. Accordingly, it is important to determine why Ambassador Stevens was in Benghazi during a time of heightened threat, was he made aware of the increased threat situation by the Clinton State Department, and who was responsible for the safety and security of Ambassador Stevens and what actually happened in Benghazi?

Research, investigation and confirmation from one source within the U.S. government found that in the situation involving Stevens, protection of the U.S. consulate was provided in large part by an organization known as "the Martyrs of the Feb. 17 Revolution Brigade." This is a local Libyan militia led by Fawzi abu Kataf, who has close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. It is now being reported that the "protection team," specifically the leaders of the Martyrs of the Feb. 17 Revolution Brigade received orders from a senior Libyan government official to stand down during the coordinated attack against the U.S. Consulate."

Here it seems that maybe the "Homeland Security Department made a huge mistake by not informing people or maybe not even communicating with them. Just look at what is stated by "Homeland Security."

U.S. Department of Homeland Security reportedly received a warning that stated "[t]he time has come for a strong movement from you, O sons of Egypt, to release the detained sheikh...Let your slogan be: No to the American embassy in Egypt until our detained sheikh is released. Starting now, let the faithful among you form follow-up committees in charge of taking the necessary measures to force America to release the sheikh, even if it requires burning the embassy down with everyone in it."

Here it is shown clearly that the very people our nation is supposed to be supporting are making declarations to burn down the embassy with everyone in it! Now just why was this ignored and why do we continue to send billions of dollars to Egypt? Why did Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama allow these 4 men to be killed after so much information was sent to them and they were told that this may be a bomb waiting to explode? Why did Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama sacrifice these 4 men? Why did they have to die when our fighters could have easily helped them and maybe even saved their lives? Many will quickly state that our aircraft could not make that trip, yet the F-15 can go from Southeast Louisiana to South Carolina in just 2 hours to intercept a Russian Bomber, that is a distance greater than what was in question for Benghazi!

Mr. Hagmann gives us a time line to follow and this makes us wonder, why did our people, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama seemingly just take the info and go to bed? Did they know something more about what was going on in Benghazi? Why did Obama take the call from Hilary and then just seem to shrug it off? Is this dereliction of duty? Is this an act of Treason on both of their parts for allowing the murder of 4 men? These are the questions that must be answered. But just check out the timeline and realize that when the attack began it was about 3:30PM Eastern Time. According to Mr. Hagmann and several other news media the time line went something like this:

Prior to any overt attack, it is vital to note that FSO Sean Smith, known as vile rat in the online gaming community, posted the following disturbing message to an open gaming forum: "vile rat: assuming we don't die tonight. We saw one of our 'police' that guard the compound taking pictures." Investigation suggests that FSO Smith was referencing a member of the Martyrs of the Feb. 17 Revolution Brigade.

8:00 p.m.: Sometime around 8:00 p.m., Ambassador Stevens completed a meeting with the Turkish Consul General, allegedly at the Benghazi compound. Contrary to the insistence of the Obama administration, there were no Muslim protestors at or around the compound. This was substantiated by CBS News and also The New York Times.

9:30-10:30 p.m.: At or about 9:30 p.m. local time, Muslim terrorists attacked the consulate from three sides with rocket propelled grenade launchers and laser sighted weapons, breaching the walls that surrounded the property. No security forces were present to repel the attack. It was reported that upwards of twenty Americans were inside of the compound at this time, although this has yet to be confirmed.

10:30 p.m. The attackers gain access to the interior portion of the compound. Reports suggest that only Ambassador Stevens, Foreign Service officer Sean Smith and Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were inside and failed in their attempt to repel the attackers.

It was during this time that Libyan government reinforcements arrived. One of the reinforcements allegedly makes it inside, finds the body of Sean Smith, but is unable to locate the Ambassador. It was also during this time that the attackers storm the rear portion of the compound. The reinforcements retreat to a safe-house located about one-half mile away.

12:30 a.m. The attackers are seen on video pulling the body of Ambassador Stevens from the compound while shouting praises to Allah.

1:00 – 3:30 a.m.: Accounts as to the location of Ambassador Stevens vary, but it is confirmed that his body was located at the Benghazi Medical Center at approximately 3:30 a.m.

Numerous reports suggest that Ambassador Stevens suffered either ante-mortem or post-mortem injuries suggestive of sodomy. Additional reports also suggest that numerous classified documents were recovered from the consulate office by the attackers.

It was almost immediately following public reports of the attack that U.S. government officials, including Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama, asserted that the attack on the U.S. embassy were the direct result of the video Innocence of Muslims. They also publicly stated that the attacks were spontaneous, there was no pre-planning involved in the attack, and cell phone video taken of Ambassador Stevens being pulled from the compound was documentation of a rescue attempt.

In consideration of the above information, it is clear that this administration is being disingenuous in their continued denials that (1) the attack was spontaneous; (2) a video, virtually unknown until after the 9/11 Libyan attacks, is behind these attacks; (3) they had no advance warning of impending attacks. So, where does this leave us?"

This time line and the facts of the attack show clearly that this was a well-planned attack and not due to some video! But just why did Hilary and Obama make statements about this video at all? Is that due to the fact that they did not wish to accept responsibility for failure to help our embassy and those brave men fighting back an attack on September 11, 2012, or did they ignore this due to the upcoming re-election campaign for Obama? So many questions and so many lack of answers that may well show total disregard for the lives of good men just for the sake of re-election! Could it have been that simple? Now we must also ask why did the President lie? It is his responsibility to tell the truth, not lie! Yet the Obama Administration seems to not just lie, but they also do not adhere to the Constitution, the law of the land! Just how long can and will this Benghazi Cover-up continue before it is revealed that much more than a video was involved here? We have just begun to show what happened and why. Keep up with this and see the real reason behind this cover–up and why Obama and Hilary Clinton may well have committed Treason or at the least, dereliction of duty!

[Warph]

How the U.S. Outsmarted Everyone by Giving Up the Internet

by Patrick Tucker - March 17, 2014

The U.S. may have kept China and Russia from gaining influence over the Internet by announcing a plan to keep less control for itself.

On Friday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, quietly announced that it is giving up remaining U.S. control of the Internet's domain naming system to the broader international community.

Critics quickly expressed concern that the handover could make the Internet less secure. Former House Speaker New Gingrich took to Twitter to ask: "What is the global internet community that Obama wants to turn the internet over to? This risks foreign dictatorships defining the Internet."

But Matthew Prince, co-founder of the company Cloudflare, said that giving up control of DNS — in the way that NTIA did it — was actually a savvy move that will keep the Internet more open to citizens and less controllable by dictatorships.

"I think the general story is completely wrong," he said.

The shrewdness of the move rests in a little-noticed section of the Friday press release, which states: "NTIA will not accept a proposal that replaces the NTIA role with a government-led or an inter-governmental organization solution."

That one caveat is key, Prince says, to making sure that the Internet continues to operate in the way that it does, bottom-up and user-driven — and not according to the whim of Beijing or Moscow.

"The real story is that the U.S. has pre-empted the argument that any government should have control of the Internet. Instead, it says that the Internet is a network defined by a collection of different stakeholders that must be governed by the bottom up rather than a traditional top down approach. I think it was a brilliant move to make sure that the Internet stays what it is," Prince said.

The form that the transition, planned since 1997, will take has yet to be determined, but the California-based Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN will be running the process

Here's what's specifically up for grabs: the ability to make changes to the domain name system or DNS and the database containing the world's top-level domains. The domain name system is essentially how you find every web site and email on the Internet. It's what links an IP address to a specific URL, so when you type in a web site, you are taken immediately to the numerical address of the computer where that web site is hosted.

Russia and China have led a strong effort to put more control of the Internet under the International Telecommunication Union, or ITU, which would effectively give those governments greater say in how the Internet is run. The ITU is the United Nations agency for information and communication technologies. Internet watchers expected Russia, China or the UN to make a big push for more ITU control during an upcoming ITU meeting in Busan, South Korea. By making this move now, Prince said, the U.S. renders that strategy unworkable. 

"Now, when China stands up and says we want a seat at the table of Internet governance the U.S. can say 'no. The Internet should be stateless.' They're in a much stronger position to make that argument today than they were before," Prince said.

[Warph]

U.S. Intel Agencies Say No Terror Chatter on
Vanished Malaysian Airlines Flight

Global Security Newswire - March 17, 2014

U.S. intelligence services have heard no extremist chatter about a missing Malaysian commercial jetliner, despite fears of foul play, the New York Times reports.

A militant organization has yet to take credit for the still-unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, multiple high-level U.S. government personnel indicated in a Sunday report by the newspaper. No physical trace of the Boeing 777 aircraft has been found since the plane went missing on March 8 with 239 people onboard.

One U.S. insider said that any extremist connection to the airplane's disappearance "would be unlike anything we have seen before," due to the absence of typical "signatures" from terrorists. U.S. authorities have weighed a number of speculative culprits, including Chinese Uighur separatists and an al-Qaeda offshoot based in Southeast Asia.

An international search for the plane has expanded to cover 11 nations and vast expanses of ocean, Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein indicated in Sunday remarks to journalists.

Washington's role in the investigation has been restricted by Malaysian officials, who might have turned down any wide-ranging U.S. support over fears about appearing dependent on external help, according to the Times. U.S. authorities as of Sunday knew little about an electronic flight simulator the Malaysian government had seized from the lead pilot's residence.

"We just don't have the right to just take over the investigation," a high-level U.S. government insider stated. "There's not a whole lot we can do absent of a request from them for more help or a development that relates to information we may have."

[Warph]

Hillary Clinton Distances Herself from Obuma's Sick Foreign Policy

by Michael Hirsh of the National Journal- March 17, 2014

In recent weeks, as the standoff over Ukraine escalated, Hillary Clinton did something that she never did as secretary of state: She put considerable distance between herself and the president she served loyally for four years.

While Barack Obama cautiously warned Vladimir Putin to back off his claims on Ukraine, Clinton rolled out a rhetorical cannon, comparing the Russian president's moves to the seizure of territory by Adolf Hitler that set off World War II. Her comments were so harsh and controversial that she was forced to walk them back a bit, saying, "I'm not making a comparison, certainly, but I am recommending that we perhaps can learn from this tactic that has been used before."

Clinton's remarks appeared to be an indication of two things:

***One, she's concerned enough about shoring up her reputation for toughness that she may indeed be thinking about running for president in 2016. Clinton offered up, in other words, a rare and enticing hint about the question that everyone in the politics game is asking these days. Undoubtedly she knows that the effort she led as secretary of state in 2009, an attempted "reset" of relations with Russia that included a new arms treaty, now looks naive in the face of Putin's repudiation of Obama over Ukraine and his lack of cooperation on other issues, such as resolution of the Syrian civil war.

***Two, Clinton could be worried that by the time the next presidential season rolls around, what was once seen as one of Obama's stronger points—foreign policy—could easily become a liability to whomever is seeking the Democratic nomination.

That was not the case in 2012, when even some Republican foreign policy professionals, many of whom had worked for George W. Bush, agreed that Obama's foreign policy had been impressive in ways that went well beyond his signature achievement: the 2011 takedown of Osama bin Laden. The president also orchestrated a new set of allied sanctions against Iran and the first fundamental reorientation of U.S. strategic and military focus—from the Middle East to East Asia—in more than a decade. The worst blot on his first-term record, the embarrassing Benghazi scandal involving the killing of a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, didn't happen until the final months of the campaign, limiting the damage. It was no surprise that Mitt Romney's repeated efforts to paint Obama as weak on foreign policy came to naught.

But little has gone right so far in the second term, especially in recent months, with the possible exception of the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran. Putin's continued recalcitrance, and Obama's hesitancy over how to react to the biggest foreign policy test of his presidency, is only the capstone to a series of apparent failures and abortive efforts to avert war in Syria, resolve the situation in Afghanistan, and tamp down the resurgence of al-Qaeda. If, as is likely, Russian forces are still occupying Crimea come 2016—or worse, advancing westward—if chaos and bloodshed still reign in Syria, and if Afghanistan begins to look as chaotic as Iraq has in the aftermath of the planned U.S. troop withdrawal at the end of this year, the narrative will be very different in the next presidential campaign.

Republican attacks on Obama in recent months are an early indication of what's to come. Senator John McCain, Obama's 2008 opponent, has been almost beside himself with fury in condemning the president as weak on Ukraine, Syria, China, and Iran. With negotiations failing over Syria, Egypt becoming a military-run state, and Putin indicating he intends to stay where he is in Crimea, the killing of bin Laden will be but a distant memory in 2016. Even some prominent Democrats, such as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, have turned into persistent critics of Obama's policies abroad. "Our policies toward Russia require urgent reexamination," Menendez wrote in The Washington Post this week.

To be fair, Clinton has often been the Democrat staking out rhetorically tough positions on foreign policy, even appearing to act as Obama's bad cop during her term as secretary of State. Back then, the president depended on her to hammer Iran (which was becoming a "military dictatorship," she declared), criticize the Chinese over Internet censorship, and harangue Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his defiance of U.S. demands for a settlement freeze.

In addition, as National Journal reported last week, the likely contenders in the Republican field are largely lacking in foreign policy expertise, while Clinton and another possible Democratic candidate for 2016, Vice President Joe Biden, have plenty of it. "I lose no sleep over this," says Democratic strategist and former Clinton pollster Stanley Greenberg. "Hillary is strong and will have a strong team. There will be a sense of change in direction [in 2016]. And Republicans will waste their time on Benghazi and extreme over-the-top partisan reactions to events. I do not think there will be any appetite for their return to power to manage the affairs of state."

But another Democratic pollster, Jay Campbell of Hart Research, says that to achieve that "change in direction," Clinton may need to, in effect, separate herself from her own legacy. She could succeed at that simply by emphasizing how much time has lapsed since she left the State Department, a process she may already be starting. "It's absolutely true that things are tough for the president all around right now, whereas before, his foreign policy and relations with the world were one of the high points for a long time," Campbell says. "She can credibly create the separation for herself. It's going to be a lot tougher for Vice President Biden."

[Warph]

Obuma Sanctions 11 Pro-Russian Officials Over Crimea as Militaries Posture

by Ben Watson - March 17, 2014

(Gee... a whole 11 people!  That will show those land grabbing commies.  Somebody warn Putin that if he keeps it up, we will make it 14 or 15)

Barack Obama authorized what a senior administration official called "by far the most comprehensive sanctions applied to Russia since the end of the Cold War," on Monday, following Sunday's referendum in Crimea to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.

White House officials released the names of 11 Russian and Ukrainian individuals selected for sanctions in response to Russian insistence at moving forward with the referendum, in which more than 90 percent of voters chose Russian annexation over unification with Ukraine's new pro-Western government. The penalties included visa bans and freezing the assets of individuals the administration says are responsible for the seizure of Crimea and violating Ukraine's sovereignty. Those named include Crimea's newly-declared Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov and Ukraine's former President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled the country on Feb. 22.

Administration officials, including Obama and Secretary of State (Lurch) Kerry, have repeatedly referred to the Crimean referendum as "illegitimate," a direct violation of the Ukrainian constitution and international law. The European Union drafted its own list of 21 individuals slated for sanctions, but said it will not release the names until Tuesday.

As many expected, Russia on Saturday vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution declaring the Crimean referendum illegal. Before the vote in New York, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on Saturday argued Yanukovych was ousted in "an illegal coup carried out by radicals." The final vote was 13-1, with China refusing to cast a vote, fearing it would risk "confrontation and further complicate the situation," according to China's U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi.

Beyond diplomacy, the power struggle over Ukraine has manifest into American and Russian military movements that are setting up the makings of a standoff of firepower along Eastern Europe. Russia's Air Force chief announced on Monday intentions to add 20 Su-27 fighter jets to Belarus' Brest region, bordering Ukraine and Poland, by the end of the year as part of a joint air defense system. Last week, the U.S. moved a dozen F-16 fighters into Poland as part of a previously planned exercise.

Meanwhile, U.S. Army forces in Europe are moving forward with a multi-national military exercise in Ukraine called Rapid Trident, set to take place in the western city of Lviv, in July. Rapid Trident involve troops from Ukraine, Poland, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Georgia, Germany, Moldova, Romania and the United Kingdom, according to U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. David Westover, a spokesman for U.S. European Command. "Exercise planning will continue until we are told otherwise," he said. The U.S. has halted talks with Russian officials who were planning a second July military exercise called Atlas Vision

[Warph]

America Is Too Broke to Rescue Ukraine

If only America were fighting more wars, Russia would never have taken Crimea. That's basically the argument John McCain made last Friday in The New York Times. "For five years," he complained, "Americans have been told that 'the tide of war is receding'.... In Afghanistan and Iraq, military decisions have appeared driven more by a desire to withdraw than to succeed." As a result, "Obama has made America look weak," which emboldened Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine.

I have no earthly idea what McCain means by 'succeeding' in Afghanistan and Iraq, but we can be pretty sure that in addition to claiming more American lives, it would require a lot more American money. Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a 2013 report by Linda Bilmes, a public policy lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, are the most expensive wars in U.S. history, costing the U.S. between $4 and $6 trillion when you factor in medical care. For Ukraine's sake, McCain believes, that number needs to go up.

There's an irony here. If America and Europe have failed to adequately defend Ukraine, it's not for lack of guns. It's for lack of money. Over the last year, the real contest between Russia and the West hasn't been a military one (after all, even McCain knows that risking war over Ukraine is insane). It's been economic. In part because of two wars that have drained America's coffers, and in part because of a financial crisis that has weakened the West economically, the United States and Europe have been dramatically outbid.
The current Ukrainian crisis has its roots in Vladimir Putin's desire to build a "Eurasian Union"—an economic zone comprising as many former Soviet republics as possible—that re-establishes Russian regional dominance. Putin badly wants Ukraine to join the bloc. But that desire has collided with the European Union's bid to get Ukraine to sign a free-trade agreement linking it to the West. (EU rules, perhaps unwisely, made doing both impossible).

Last March, then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych pledged to work toward an EU agreement. Then, in mid-November, he abruptly stopped doing so, sparking the pro-European protests that eventually toppled him. For Yanukovych, the EU deal—although popular with the Ukrainian public—carried serious risks. For starters, it would have infuriated Putin. Secondly, it would have required him to release his jailed political foe, Yulia Tymoshenko. Thirdly, bringing Ukraine into compliance with EU regulations would have proved costly. As part of the negotiation, Yanukovych asked for €20 billion in aid. But the EU, struggling with its own severe economic woes, offered less than one-thirtieth that amount: a mere €610 million. The United States, which now speaks gravely about defending Ukraine from Russian aggression, at the time gave Kiev barely any foreign assistance at all.

Then, in mid-December, Russia made its own offer. It pledged to buy $15 billion worth of Ukrainian debt and to discount the price of Russian gas sold to Ukraine by one-third, which amounted to another $7 billion in savings. This money, Putin added, would not entail any "increase, decrease, or freezing of any social standards, pensions, subsidies, or salaries"—a swipe at the IMF-imposed austerity measures that would likely have accompanied an EU deal.

While this gap between Russia's massive offer and the West's meager one helped keep Yanukovych in Moscow's orbit, it didn't keep him in power. In late February, he lost control of Kiev to a surging protest movement and fled the country—giving America and Europe yet another chance to devise economic incentives that could point Ukraine in a pro-Western direction.

But yet again, the West's response has been underwhelming. After Russia seized Crimea last month, the EU belatedly raised its offer to $11 billion in a bid to stabilize Ukraine's weak, post-Yanukovych government. But the package will release only $1.6 billion in the first year, and even that money depends on an IMF deal that would likely require Kiev's new leaders to take wildly unpopular steps like raising home-heating bills. For its part, Washington has pledged loan guarantees worth $1 billion. But that assistance is now stalled in the Senate, where Democrats are linking it to IMF reforms and Republicans, if you believe Harry Reid, are using it to stop new IRS rules that would limit the political activities of nonprofits like those funded by the Koch brothers. The West may no longer be in a bidding war with Putin, who is more interested in destabilizing Ukraine's new government than wooing it. But countering Putin's efforts requires helping Ukraine secure itself economically. And so far, the West's attempts don't nearly accomplish that.

If any of this sounds vaguely familiar, it should. The U.S. and its European allies have been getting outbid a lot lately. Last fall, for instance, as the Obama administration considered withholding America's annual $1.5-billion aid package to Egypt to protest its recent military coup, several oil-rich Persian Gulf states—thrilled to see an Islamist regime ousted from power—offeredEgypt's generals a cool $12 billion.

Whenever the United States debates using its money to buttress democracy and Western influence in a strategically important part of the world, commentators offer comparisons with the Marshall Plan that America offered Europe after World War II. But in today's dollars, according to one estimate, the Marshall Plan would total roughly $740 billion. That kind of money would certainly enable far-reaching economic reforms in Ukraine, and likely anchor the country in the West for years to come. But, of course, the suggestion is absurd. Today's Senate can barely pass an aid package 740 times as small.

We're long past the era when America and its allies can spend vast sums to promote Western ideals and interests around the world. Except, of course, in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the U.S. is on pace to spend the equivalent of eight or nine Marshall Plans. Too bad we haven't spent more on those wars. According to John McCain, the extra money just might have saved Ukraine.

[Warph]

Government Agency: If 9 Substations Are Destroyed,
The Power Grid Could Be Down For 18 Months

By Michael Snyder, on March 18th, 2014

What would you do if the Internet or the power grid went down for over a year? 

Our key infrastructure, including the Internet and the power grid, is far more vulnerable than most people would dare to imagine.  These days, most people simply take for granted that the lights will always be on and that the Internet will always function properly.  But what if all that changed someday in the blink of an eye?  According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's latest report, all it would take to plunge the entire nation into darkness for more than a year would be to knock out a transformer manufacturer and just 9 of our 55,000 electrical substations on a really hot summer day.  The reality of the matter is that our power grid is in desperate need of updating, and there is very little or no physical security at most of these substations.  If terrorists, or saboteurs, or special operations forces wanted to take down our power grid, it would not be very difficult.  And as you will read about later in this article, the Internet is extremely vulnerable as well.

When I read the following statement from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's latest report, I was absolutely floored...

"Destroy nine interconnection substations and a transformer manufacturer and the entire United States grid would be down for at least 18 months, probably longer."
Wow.

What would you do without power for 18 months?

FERC studied what it would take to collapse the entire electrical grid from coast to coast.  What they found was quite unsettling...

In its modeling, FERC studied what would happen if various combinations of substations were crippled in the three electrical systems that serve the contiguous U.S. The agency concluded the systems could go dark if as few as nine locations were knocked out: four in the East, three in the West and two in Texas, people with knowledge of the analysis said.

The actual number of locations that would have to be knocked out to spawn a massive blackout would vary depending on available generation resources, energy demand, which is highest on hot days, and other factors, experts said. Because it is difficult to build new transmission routes, existing big substations are becoming more crucial to handling electricity.

So what would life look like without any power for a long period of time?  The following list comes from one of my previous articles...

-There would be no heat for your home.

-Water would no longer be pumped into most homes.

-Your computer would not work.

-There would be no Internet.

-Your phones would not work.

-There would be no television.

-There would be no radio.

-ATM machines would be shut down.

-There would be no banking.

-Your debit cards and credit cards would not work.

-Without electricity, gas stations would not be functioning.

-Most people would be unable to do their jobs without electricity and employment would collapse.

-Commerce would be brought to a standstill.

-Hospitals would not be able to function.

-You would quickly start running out of medicine.

-All refrigeration would shut down and frozen foods in our homes and supermarkets would start to go bad.

If you want to get an idea of how quickly society would descend into chaos, just watch the documentary "American Blackout" some time.  It will chill you to your bones.

The truth is that we live in an unprecedented time.  We have become extremely dependent on technology, and that technology could be stripped away from us in an instant.

Right now, our power grid is exceedingly vulnerable, and all the experts know this, but very little is being done to actually protect it...

"The power grid, built over many decades in a benign environment, now faces a range of threats it was never designed to survive," said Paul Stockton, a former assistant secretary of defense and president of risk-assessment firm Cloud Peak Analytics. "That's got to be the focus going forward."

If a group of agents working for a foreign government or a terrorist organization wanted to bring us to our knees, they could do it.

In fact, there have actually been recent attacks on some of our power stations.  Here is just one example...

The Wall Street Journal's Rebecca Smith reports that a former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman is acknowledging for the first time that a group of snipers shot up a Silicon Valley substation for 19 minutes last year, knocking out 17 transformers before slipping away into the night.

The attack was "the most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred" in the U.S., Jon Wellinghoff, who was chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the time, told Smith.

Have you heard about that attack before now?

Most Americans have not.

But it should have been big news.

At the scene, authorities found "more than 100 fingerprint-free shell casings", and little piles of rocks "that appeared to have been left by an advance scout to tell the attackers where to get the best shots."

So what happens someday when the bad guys decide to conduct a coordinated attack against our power grid with heavy weapons?

It could happen.

In addition, as I mentioned at the top of this article, the Internet is extremely vulnerable as well.

For example, did you know that authorities are so freaked out about the security of the Internet that they have given "the keys to the Internet" to a very small group of individuals that meet four times per year?

It's true.  The following is from a recent story posted by the Guardian...

The keyholders have been meeting four times a year, twice on the east coast of the US and twice here on the west, since 2010. Gaining access to their inner sanctum isn't easy, but last month I was invited along to watch the ceremony and meet some of the keyholders – a select group of security experts from around the world. All have long backgrounds in internet security and work for various international institutions. They were chosen for their geographical spread as well as their experience – no one country is allowed to have too many keyholders. They travel to the ceremony at their own, or their employer's, expense.

What these men and women control is the system at the heart of the web: the domain name system, or DNS. This is the internet's version of a telephone directory – a series of registers linking web addresses to a series of numbers, called IP addresses. Without these addresses, you would need to know a long sequence of numbers for every site you wanted to visit. To get to the Guardian, for instance, you'd have to enter "77.91.251.10" instead of theguardian.com.

If the system that controls those IP addresses gets hijacked or damaged, we would definitely need someone to press the "reset button" on the Internet.
Sadly, the hackers always seem to be several steps ahead of the authorities.  In fact, according to one recent report, breaches of U.S. government computer networks go undetected 40 percent of the time...

A new report by Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) details widespread cybersecurity breaches in the federal government, despite billions in spending to secure the nation's most sensitive information.

The report, released on Tuesday, found that approximately 40 percent of breaches go undetected, and highlighted "serious vulnerabilities in the government's efforts to protect its own civilian computers and networks."

"In the past few years, we have seen significant breaches in cybersecurity which could affect critical U.S. infrastructure," the report said. "Data on the nation's weakest dams, including those which could kill Americans if they failed, were stolen by a malicious intruder. Nuclear plants' confidential cybersecurity plans have been left unprotected. Blueprints for the technology undergirding the New York Stock Exchange were exposed to hackers."

Yikes.

And things are not much better when it comes to cybersecurity in the private sector either.  According to Symantec, there was a 42 percent increase in cyberattacks against businesses in the United States last year.  And according to a recent report in the Telegraph, our major banks are being hit with cyberattacks "every minute of every day"...

Every minute, of every hour, of every day, a major financial institution is under attack.

Threats range from teenagers in their bedrooms engaging in adolescent "hacktivism", to sophisticated criminal gangs and state-sponsored terrorists attempting everything from extortion to industrial espionage. Though the details of these crimes remain scant, cyber security experts are clear that behind-the-scenes online attacks have already had far reaching consequences for banks and the financial markets.
For much more on all of this, please see my previous article entitled "Big Banks Are Being Hit With Cyberattacks 'Every Minute Of Every Day'".

Up until now, attacks on our infrastructure have not caused any significant interruptions in our lifestyles.

But at some point that will change.

Are you prepared for that to happen?

We live at a time when our world is becoming increasingly unstable.  In the years ahead it is quite likely that we will see massive economic problems, major natural disasters, serious terror attacks and war.  Any one of those could cause substantial disruptions in the way that we live.

At this point, even NASA is warning that "civilization could collapse"...

A new study sponsored by Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center has highlighted the prospect that global industrial civilisation could collapse in coming decades due to unsustainable resource exploitation and increasingly unequal wealth distribution.

Noting that warnings of 'collapse' are often seen to be fringe or controversial, the study attempts to make sense of compelling historical data showing that "the process of rise-and-collapse is actually a recurrent cycle found throughout history." Cases of severe civilisational disruption due to "precipitous collapse - often lasting centuries - have been quite common."
So let us hope for the best.

But let us also prepare for the worst.