The 63-page rule covering navigators, drawn up by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, also said the government will provide free translators for those not fluent in English — no matter what their native language is.

“The proposed requirements would also include that such entities and individuals provide consumers with information and assistance in the consumer’s preferred language, at no cost to the consumer, which would include oral interpretation of non-English languages and the translation of written documents in non-English languages when necessary to ensure meaningful access,” said the regulations.

The rules also addressed conflict of interest and other potential issues that navigators could face as the public’s first stop on the Obamacare trail.

It is still not clear how many navigators will be required. California, however, provides a hint. It wants 21,000.

That could be an expensive proposition. The proposed rules, now open for public comment, suggest an estimated pay of $20-$48 an hour.

“There is a section of the proposed regulation where our financial analysts estimate how financially significant the regulation will be. In that section, for the purposes of estimating that impact, they assumed navigators would be paid an average of $20 an hour. That is an estimate, not a recommendation or a requirement,” said an administration official. “States and organizations are not required by the federal government to set any payment levels for these employees,” he added.

The rules allow navigators to come from the ranks of unions, health providers and community action groups such as ACORN and Planned Parenthood. They are required to provide unbiased advice.

Some in Congress are already wary of the navigators. Louisiana Republican Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., chairman of the House Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee, has raised questions about a voter registration provision in the Obamacare application Americans will have to fill out to receive health care, and whether Democratic-leaning activists will influence which party people choose to join.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/tens-of-thousands-obamacare-navigators-to-be-hired/article/2526167

On Barack and Michelle Obama’s schedule for today, this event is listed:

7:30PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY host a concert celebrating Memphis Soul music as part of their “In Performance at the White House” series; THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks

As the White House has previously announced, Justin Timberlake (who will be making his White House debut), Al Green, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, Joshua Ledet, Sam Moore, Charlie Musselwhite, Mavis Staples, and others will be performing at the exclusive event.
But while the performers are known, the guest list for the private event has not yet been released.
One imagines it’s a tough ticket to come by. To attend any event at the White House, one must be invited. (The White House is now closed for public access by members of the general public.) And especially this one, with Hollywood and musical stars–and with remarks by the president of the United States.
A White House official did not immediately respond when asked for a guest list of tonight’s event.
However, the White House will stream its private party online and it will be aired on PBS. “The President’s remarks will be pooled press and the entire event will be streamed live on www.whitehouse.gov/live starting at 6:55 PM ET. ‘In Performance at the White House: Memphis Soul’ will be broadcast Tuesday, April 16 at 8 PM ET on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings). The program will also be broadcast at a later date via the American Forces Network to American service men and women and civilians at U.S. Department of Defense locations around the world,” the White House announced.
And since it’s an official event, we know who’s picking up the tab. The taxpayers.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/another-exclusive-party-wh-taxpayer-expense_716159.html

Obama Attacks IRAs
Who is he to set limits on what one can save for retirement?
http://spectator.org/archives/2013/04/08/obama-attacks-iras

THE-TRUTH-IS-OUT-THERE (Obama Files)

MSNBC HOST: WE NEED TO GET OVER IDEA ‘THAT KIDS BELONG TO THEIR PARENTS’

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2013/04/06/MSNBC-Children-Are-Not-Yours-They-Belong-To-The-Community

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/04/05/employment-situation-march

President Barack Obama has created a minor controversy within progressive media circles by complimenting the looks of California Attorney General Kamala Harris.

Obama praised Harris Thursday as “brilliant,” “dedicated,” and “tough.” He then capped off the compliment, “She also happens to be, by far, the best-looking attorney general.”

The remark drew criticism from some progressive authors as sexist. Jonathan Chait of New York magazine said Obama set a “disgraceful” example for “gender equality in the workforce.”

Politico’s Dylan Byers wondered aloud if the heated reaction to Obama’s compliment was a sign of a larger problem of political correctness. “How did it become so difficult to call a woman good looking in public?” he tweeted.

Pundit Zerlina Maxwell responded, “when we became full humans and not objects.”

The exchange became more contentious from there.

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/04/04/Obama-Sets-Off-Media-Controversy-with-Compliment-on-Womans-Looks

The stimulus project yielded a total of 0.00 jobs created, according to the federal government. “No jobs created/retained,” the form says under “Description of Jobs Created.”

“Sexually transmitted infections (STI), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), pose significant health risks,” a synopsis of study reads. “Consistent and correct use of condoms can be a highly effective method of preventing the transmission of HIV and many STIs, yet studies show that problems with condom use are common. This project is one of the first to examine under controlled conditions the role of cognitive and affective factors and condom skills in explaining condom use problems in young, heterosexual adult men.”

The findings from the study have not been posted on the government website, however.

http://patriotupdate.com/2013/04/423500-stimulus-program-on-correct-condom-use-yields-zero-jobs/

Michelle Obama flubs, calls herself a “busy single mother”

During an interview with Burlington, Vt. CBS affiliate WCAX, first lady Michelle Obama described herself as a “busy single mother” before quickly correcting herself, explaining, “Sometimes when you’ve got the husband who’s president, it can feel a little single, but he’s there.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50144220n

Cancer clinics are turning away thousands of Medicare patients. Blame the sequester

Cancer clinics across the country have begun turning away thousands of Medicare patients, blaming the sequester budget cuts.
Oncologists say the reduced funding, which took effect for Medicare on April 1, makes it impossible to administer expensive chemotherapy drugs while staying afloat financially.
Patients at these clinics would need to seek treatment elsewhere, such as at hospitals that might not have the capacity to accommodate them.
“If we treated the patients receiving the most expensive drugs, we’d be out of business in six months to a year,” said Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates in New York. “The drugs we’re going to lose money on we’re not going to administer right now.”
After an emergency meeting Tuesday, Vacirca’s clinics decided that they would no longer see one-third of their 16,000 Medicare patients.
“A lot of us are in disbelief that this is happening,” he said. “It’s a choice between seeing these patients and staying in business.”
Some who have been pushing the federal government to spend less on health care say this is not the right approach.
“I don’t think there was an intention to disrupt care or move it into a more expensive setting,” said Cathy Schoen, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Fund, which recently released a plan for cutting $2 trillion in health spending. “If that’s the case, we’re being penny-wise and a pound-foolish with these cuts.”
Legislators meant to partially shield Medicare from the automatic budget cuts triggered by the sequester, limiting the program to a 2 percent reduction — a fraction of the cuts seen by other federal programs.
But oncologists say the cut is unexpectedly damaging for cancer patients because of the way those treatments are covered.
Medications for seniors are usually covered under the optional Medicare Part D, which includes private insurance. But because cancer drugs must be administered by a physician, they are among a handful of pharmaceuticals paid for by Part B, which covers doctor visits and is subject to the sequester cut.
The federal government typically pays community oncologists for the average sales price of a chemotherapy drug, plus 6 percent to cover the cost of storing and administering the medication.
Since oncologists cannot change the drug prices, they argue that the entire 2 percent cut will have to come out of that 6 percent overhead. That would make it more akin to a double-digit pay cut.
“If you get cut on the service side, you can either absorb it or make do with fewer nurses,” said Ted Okon, director of the Community Oncology Alliance, which advocates for hundreds of cancer clinics nationwide. “This is a drug that we’re purchasing. The costs don’t change and you can’t do without it. There isn’t really wiggle room.”
Okon’s group has sent letters to legislators urging them to exempt cancer drugs from the sequester or, as a back-up, only shave 2 percent off the money they receive to administer the medications.
Doctors at the Charleston Cancer Center in South Carolina began informing patients weeks ago that, due to the sequester cuts, they would soon need to seek treatment elsewhere.
“We don’t sugar-coat things, we’re cancer doctors,” Charles Holladay, a doctor at the clinic, said. “We tell them that if we don’t go this course, it’s just a matter of time before we go out of business.”
Cancer patients turned away from local oncology clinics may seek care at hospitals, which also deliver chemotherapy treatments.
The care will likely be more expensive: One study from actuarial firm Milliman found that chemotherapy delivered in a hospital setting costs the federal government an average of $6,500 more annually than care delivered in a community clinic.
Those costs can trickle down to patients, who are responsible for picking up a certain amount of the medical bills. Milliman found that Medicare patients ended up with an average of $650 more in out-of-pocket costs when they were seen only in a hospital setting.
It is still unclear whether hospitals have the capacity to absorb these patients. The same Milliman report found that the majority of Medicare patients — 66 percent — receive treatment in a community oncology clinic, instead of a hospital.
Non-profit hospitals will likely have an easier time bearing the brunt of the sequester cuts. A federal program known as 340B requires pharmaceutical companies to give double-digit discounts to hospitals that treat low-income and uninsured patients.
Eastern Connecticut Health Network began preparing for additional volume after a local oncology practice sent out notice that it would stop seeing certain cancer patients.
“What we’re trying to do in the hospital is prepare for this,” ECHN spokesman Eric Berthel said. “We’re making sure we have access to the pharmaceutical companies and that we have appropriate staff on hand. We’re hoping the oncology practice will be successful in renegotiating this. It’s so fresh, so we’re pretty unsure.”
Some cancer clinics are counting on the federal government to provide relief, and continuing to see patients they expect to lose money on.
“We’re hoping that something will change, as legislators see the impact of this,” Ralph Boccia, director of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Bethesda, Md., said. “I don’t think we could keep going, without a change, for more than a couple of months.”
An analysis prepared by his clinic estimates that, if the full 2 percent cut takes effect, between 50 and 70 percent of the drugs it administers would become money losers.
Boccia estimates that 55 percent of his patients are covered by Medicare, making any changes to reimbursement rates difficult to weather.
“When I look at the numbers, they don’t add up,” he said. “Business 101 says we can’t stay open if we don’t cover our costs.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/03/cancer-clinics-are-turning-away-thousands-of-medicare-patients-blame-the-sequester/?hpid=z1

Despite canceled WH tours and long airport lines, Obamas host swanky gala for stars

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle will host a star-studded roster of music legends April 9 for another glitzy installment in the “In Performance at the White House” concert series, according to a White House press released issued Tuesday.

The concert comes as the White House is emphasizing cuts caused by sequestration and criticizing reporters for not paying enough attention to the hardship caused by the mandatory slowdown in the rate of spending increases. Though the White House notably canceled all visitor tours in March, ostensibly due to sequestration, the First Couple’s series of White House concerts — billed as “the nation’s highest honor for popular song” — manages to survive.

Al Green, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Justin Timberlake and Booker T. Jones are among the performers confirmed for the event.

“‘In Performance at the White House: Memphis Soul’ will be broadcast Tuesday, April 16 at 8 PM ETon PBS stations nationwide (check local listings),” according to the press release. Although the PBS website indicates past concerts have drawn corporate and philanthropic support, the event also receives major funding from PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which gets $445.2 million in public funding. It is not clear how much the White House will pay in security and other costs.

“In Performance at the White House: Memphis Soul” will be the tenth “In Performance at the White House” program hosted by the President and Mrs. Obama. Starting in February 2009, these events have honored the musical genius of Stevie Wonder, Sir Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and Hal David; celebrated Hispanic musical heritage during Hispanic Heritage Month; marked Black History Month with events featuring music from the Civil Rights Movement, Motown and the Blues; spotlighted Broadway and the unique spirit of the American musical; and explored the rich roots and resiliency of Country Music,” according to the White House press release.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/04/03/first-couple-hosts-celeb-filled-concert-amid-sequestration/#ixzz2PWGLYgjB

Obama Administration Seeks to Change International Food Aid

The Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List, which supports political candidates who oppose abortion rights, called the measure’s passage Wednesday a triumph for taxpayers who “do not want their tax dollars paying for abortions.”

“The SBA List is grateful for the leadership of Governor [Bob] McDonnell (R) in ensuring Virginia taxpayers are not forced to pay for abortions in the state’s healthcare exchange,” the group’s president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, said in a statement.

Virginia has elected a federally run insurance exchange, where residents lacking coverage will be able to select from a variety of qualified health plans starting in October.

The SBA List’s research arm stated that at least 20 states have approved limits on abortion coverage through their insurance marketplaces.

The Virginia amendment states that no qualified health insurance plans on the exchanges shall cover abortions, “regardless of whether such coverage is provided through the plan or is offered as a separate optional rider thereto.”

The measure contains exceptions in cases of rape, incest or a threat to the woman’s life. It passed the state Senate and the House of Delegates on Wednesday by votes of 20-19 and 55-37, respectively.

http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/291799-va-bill-wins-praise-for-blocking-abortion-coverage

It’s Almost 3 AM and North Korea’s Calling

By Thomas Lifson
President Obama has a situation on his hands where charisma and media support do him no good. He is dealing with a nuclear-armed regime with a history of military attacks, provocations as a means of extortion, and brutality. Now they have announced they are restarting a reactor that produces enough plutonium to make a bomb a year — a reactor that had been shut down before as part of a previous deal in which the North Koreans got things of value in exchange for shuttering it.

Worse yet, the dictatorship is now in the midst of a possible power struggle. Kim Jong Un is a man barely thirty, if that (we don’t really know for sure), advised by his aunt Kim Kyong Hui and her husband, Jang Song Thaek, reportedly taking power from military factions and giving lucrative sources of income, including drugs and counterfeiting, to party factions. Gordon Chang writes:

Every year, Pyongyang makes bombastic threats before the U.S.-South Korea military exercises. Then, the North Koreans go quiet when the drills begin. This year, however, the tantrum has continued and the words have become increasingly dire. This month, for instance, Pyongyang abrogated the armistice ending the Korean War and threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the United States. The one-a-day rhetorical blasts suggest something is terribly wrong inside the North Korean regime.

Chang explains what he believes is happening inside the power circles of Pyongyang:

Jang has stripped the military of much of its coveted revenue streams from illicit activities. About 70% of North Korea’s foreign currency business was conducted by the flag officers under Kim Jong Il. Kim Jong Un, under Jang’s tutelage, has set about gaining control of that business. The new leader, for instance, shuttered Taepung International Investment Group, which has been described as the military’s conduit for investment abroad.

Jang is also said to have been behind the shutting of the notorious Room 39, the “slush fund” that was the center of disreputable activities, such as drug smuggling, the counterfeiting of U.S. currency, and the making of fake Viagra. This is not to say the Kim regime is exiting illegal activities. As the Korea Times reports, “Experts say the developments may shift responsibility for attracting outside money to the party, which has been refurbished after gathering cobwebs under Kim Jong Il.”

Moreover, Kim and Jang have sacked top flag officers, most notably Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho, the respected chief of the General Staff. Some analysts believe there was a shootout between forces opposing Ri and those loyal to him when he was deposed last July. Whether or not these rumors are true, it has become clear that Kim’s removal of the popular Ri did not sit well with front-line commanders. In a further sign of turmoil, Ri’s successor, Hyon Yong Chol, was subsequently demoted.

It is bad enough that China Is Taking Steps. According to a report by Bill Gertz of the Washington Free Beacon:

China has placed military forces on heightened alert in the northeastern part of the country as tensions mount on the Korean peninsula following recent threats by Pyongyang to attack, U.S. officials said.

Reports from the region reveal the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently increased its military posture in response to the heightened tensions, specifically North Korea’s declaration of a “state of war” and threats to conduct missile attacks against the United States and South Korea.

According to the officials, the PLA has stepped up military mobilization in the border region with North Korea since mid-March, including troop movements and warplane activity.

Make no mistake: China is not trying to pressure the North Koreans. It is signaling that it will stand by its ally (or at least look like it is doing so). After all, the only formal alliance China has is with its troublesome socialist brother across the Yalu River. China does not want the North to fall, as that would flood it with refugees and raise awkward questions about the fate of the Korean minority on the Chinese side of the Yalu. It considers North Korea the Americans’ problem and does not mind that North Korea ties down a considerable portion of American military assets.

The worry that any serious president has to have is that the North Koreans are “crazy” and could launch a suicidal attack, perhaps carried out by a dissident faction of the military. It cannot be ruled out, because nobody has truly reliable intelligence on the regime.

But there are signs that this is just for show. The Chosun Ilbo, a prestigious Seoul Daily with circulation in the millions, reports:

A senior North Korean official has assured Chinese tour operators that there will be no war on the Korean Peninsula. The assurance came at a time when the North is ratcheting up its belligerent rhetoric.

Visiting Xian in Shaanxi Province in mid-March, Kim To-jun of the North’s General Bureau of Tourism, told Chinese tour operators, “Don’t worry. There’ll be no war on the Korean Peninsula, so send as many tourists as possible.”

The regime is expected to resume package tours in July via non-stop flights between Xian and Pyongyang. The route opened in July 2011 and the package tours started a year later.

After all, the North Koreans have a pattern:

Joel Wit, visiting fellow at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said that from the North Korean perspective, Kim Jong Un and his lieutenants “aren’t crazy” and are falling back on a tried-and-true strategy.

“They’re a very small country dealing with much more powerful countries, and they can’t show any weakness. For them, the best defense is a good offense,” he said.

So the world remains on a knife’s edge, with the U.N. secretary general adding to the alarm.

So far, there are no signs that the Obama administration is operating any secret diplomatic approaches, but then again, a successful secret initiative by definition would not be known. Mike Chinoy, writing in the Washington Post, avers that our policy toward North Korea isn’t working. I would have to agree with his verdict, if by “working” we mean that the regime is brought down. That isn’t what he means, though. His solution (personal diplomacy between Kim and Obama) is wrongheaded, because it would give an enormous boost to Kim to be seen as a peer of the president of the United States, worthy of direct talks. That would add greatly to his internal power and to the stability of his regime, which has to be the fundamental unifying concern of every member of the official elite. They know that word is leaking into the country of life overseas, especially in the South, because of the proliferation of cell phones, DVD players, computers, and other information appliances brought into the country (from China, mostly). Internal security has to be the North Koreans’ foremost concern.

In understanding the North Koreans, an unspoken factor that must be considered is that the North Koreans know they are phonies, that they carefully distort reality to impress the rest of the world with how successful they are, even in the midst of economic collapse and mass starvation. North Korea is a Potemkin country, where mass rallies and the façades of tall buildings in Pyongyang look good from a distance — but up close, they are shabby barracks.

The entire regime is built around creating appearances that mask the rot underneath. For instance, the Pyongyangsubway, whose only two stations open to foreigners are done in Stalinist Russian style, and where some observers contend the same passengers are seen riding the trains and escalators all day long, apparently for the purpose of impressing the few foreigners in the capital that there exists a functioning underground railroad system. It must be noted that Pyongyang is a city of broad, empty boulevards featuring trolley busses and very few private cars, with no need for a subway.

The ultimate symbol of the way the regime operates is the fiasco of the Ryugong Hotel, which at 105 stories would be the world’s tallest hotel, if it is ever able to open. Begun in 1987 and abandoned in 1992, it stood for over a decade as a rusting, hulking symbol of a regime that could not live up to its hubristic plan to put to shame South Korea’s skyscraper-building boom. Reports of elevator shafts that were out of alignment, and of chunks of concrete falling, leaked out of North Korea.

Here is a bootleg video of the hulk in 2006.

In 2008, work resumed on the hotel — at least on the exterior — as a foreign company, Orascom Telecom Holding of Egypt, went to work sheathing the building with reflective glass and completing some work at the very top, where a rusting construction crane had long stood. Coincidentally, Orascom got the contract to install a 3G wireless network in North Korea. A series of photographs on Kernbeisser’s flickr (hat tip: Architizer.com) documents the exterior transformation.

The exterior is looking pretty spiffy these days (“shirking its brutalist frame for a glossy vision of a jet-age mecca”), but plans previously announced to open 150 rooms at the top of the hotel under management of the Kempinski Group have fallen through owing to “market conditions.” At last report, the interior is unfinished bare concrete.

Keep in mind that Kim Jong Un, his aunt and uncle, and the entire leadership of North Korea know that the biggest object in their capital city is but a shiny façade over an empty and possibly hopeless interior. Imagine what they know about other problems in their country, and in their military.

In the end, it is a good thing that Barack Obama’s early-morning phone call these days is coming from a bunch of people who probably know they can’t deliver on their threats. That’s the best hope we have while the role of commander in chief rests upon Obama’s shoulders.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/04/its_almost_3_am_and_north_koreas_calling.html

CLUELESS

Gun bill sponsor apparently doesn’t understand how guns work

Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, the lead Democratic sponsor of a federal bill to ban high-capacity magazines, is apparently unaware that such magazines can be reloaded and reused, according to a comment she made at a Denver Post-sponsored forum on gun control on Tuesday.

When asked how limiting the number of bullets in magazines would help reduce violence, she replied: “I will tell you these are ammunition, they’re bullets, so the people who have those now, they’re going to shoot them. So if you ban them in the future, the number of these high-capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time, because the bullets will have been shot and there won’t be any more available.”

Some audience members laughed, but gun-rights advocates weren’t amused.

“It’s extremely alarming that Rep. DeGette is running federal legislation to ban magazine clips, when she doesn’t even know what a magazine clip is,” Colorado GOP spokesman Owen Loftus told the Denver Post. “Rep. DeGette’s comments show that Democrats are more concerned with appeasing their radical base than standing up for responsible, law abiding citizens.”

Colorado state Sen. Greg Brophy, one of the most vocal Republican opponents to Colorado’s new gun laws, told The Daily Caller News Foundation that DeGette’s comment was “stunningly stupid.”

“I would think that if you’re going to sponsor a bill regulating [firearms], you’d at least want to know how they worked,” he said.

At the same forum, DeGette also mocked a senior citizen who said the state’s new gun laws would put him at a significant disadvantage in a firefight.

DeGette replied that he was lucky to live in Denver, where the police department could come to his aid “within minutes.”

“You’d probably be dead anyway if they had that kind of firepower,” DeGette continued.

DeGette and fellow Colorado Rep. Ed Perlmutter are sponsoring a bill in Congress to ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. President Barack Obama was in Denver Wednesday to urge Congress to act on this and other gun control bills.

Colorado recently passed a law banning magazines that hold more than 15 rounds and those that can be easily converted to hold more. The sponsor of that bill, state Rep. Rhonda Fields, didn’t realize that practically every magazine for sale can be easily converted to hold more bullets, because they have a removable base plate that can be replaced with an after-market extender that increases their capacity.

But Fields at least seemed to understand that ammunition magazines aren’t sold pre-loaded and that they’re not disposable.

DeGette’s office did not reply to a request for comment.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/04/03/gun-bill-sponsor-apparently-doesnt-understand-how-guns-work/#ixzz2PSm9hs4d

[VIDEO]

The opponents of some of these common sense laws have ginned up fears among responsible gun owners that have nothing to do with what’s being proposed, nothing to do with the facts, but feeds into this suspicion about government. You hear some of these quotes:

“I need a gun to protect myself from the government.”
“We can’t do background checks because the government’s going to come take my guns away.”

The government’s us. These officials are elected by you. They are elected by you, I am elected by you. I am constrained as they are constrained by a system that our founders put in place. This is a government of and by and for the people.

So surely we can have a debate that’s not based on the notion somehow that your elected representatives are trying to do something to you other than potentially prevent another group of families from grieving the way the families of Aurora or Newtown or Columbine have grieved. We’ve got to get passed some of the rhetoric that gets perpetuated that breaks down trust and is so over the top that it just shuts down all discussion.

And it’s important for all of us when we hear that talk to say ‘hold on a second’. If there are any folks out there right now who are gun owners and you’ve been hearing that someone is taking away your guns, get the facts! We’re not proposing a gun registration system. We’re proposing background checks for criminals.

Don’t just listen to what some advocates or folks who have an interest in this are saying. Look at the actual legislation. That’s what happened here in Colorado. And hopefully if we know the facts and we’re listing to each other, then we can actually move forward.

http://www.therightscoop.com/i-need-a-gun-to-protect-myself-from-the-govt-obama-mocks-gun-owner-concerns-as-ginned-up-fears/

Denver Cops Criticize Obama In Advance Of Denver Speech

DENVER (CBS4) – Some current and former Denver police officers have taken to Facebook to criticize President Barack Obama’s planned use of Denver police officers as a backdrop for a Wednesday speech on gun control.

“This is wrong and it shouldn’t be happening,” said Mike Rossi, a retired Denver police detective who left the department in 2005.

CBS4 has learned that the Denver Police Department has been asking for officers — in uniform — to volunteer to stand behind Obama as he makes his speech Wednesday at the Denver Police Academy.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Obama will “continue to ask the American people to join him in calling on Congress to pass common sense measures to reduce gun violence.”

Prior to the speech, the President will meet with Colorado law enforcement officials and community leaders to discuss Colorado’s newly enacted gun control measures.

“Who better to stand behind you when you’re trying to ban guns than police officers. What an awesome prop,” said Rossi. He said DPD officers should not be used as a backdrop to make it appear the Denver Police Department and the City of Denver support stronger gun control measures.

“It’s agenda based and they shouldn’t be there,” said Rossi. “To me if you put Denver police officers behind the President, who is pushing this agenda, then what you are telling the citizens of the city is that the Denver Police Department is for this.”

DPD spokesman Sonny Jackson said the department began seeking volunteers last week who were willing to stand behind the president during his speech. Jackson said numerous officers have volunteered for the assignment.

Officer Wade Davis is not one of them. In a Facebook posting, Davis wrote the following:

Yet Obama is coming to our city, using the DPD’s Academy as a stage in order to push his legislation violating the second amendment. Truly a sad day for this department, city and state.

Another Officer, Danny Veith, wrote on Facebook:

I am thinking about being on the sidewalk outside the Academy, on Wednesday, holding a sign that says something like “I’m a Real Cop Supporting the 2nd Amendment.” Anyone want to join me?

Jackson said the Denver Police Academy was selected as the venue for the Obama appearance because of its convenient location and size that could accomodate a large gathering. Jackson declined to discuss the political ramifications of DPD officers standing behind the president during his speech.

Following the Denver appearance, Obama will head to California where he is scheduled to appear at Democratic fundraisers Wednesday and Thursday.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/04/02/denver-cops-criticize-obama-in-advance-of-denver-speech/

Small business shafted again by Obamacare

Rick Moran
Another day, another revelation that Obamacare will not deliver on its promises.

This time, it’s small business getting the shaft. The bill promised that small business owners would be able to offer a range of plans to employees to choose from.

Nix that. Employees will only get a “take it or leave it” plan to buy:

The law calls for a new insurance marketplace specifically for small businesses, starting next year. But in most states, employers will not be able to get what Congress intended: the option to provide workers with a choice of health plans. They will instead be limited to a single plan.

The choice option, already available to many big businesses, was supposed to become available to small employers in January. But administration officials said they would delay it until 2015 in the 33 states where the federal government will be running insurance markets known as exchanges. And they will delay the requirement for other states as well.

The promise of affordable health insurance for small businesses was portrayed as a major advantage of the new health care law, mentioned often by White House officials and Democratic leaders in Congress as they fought opponents of the legislation.

Supporters of the law said they were disappointed by the turn of events.

The delay will “prolong and exacerbate health care costs that are crippling 29 million small businesses,” said Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana and the chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

In the weeks leading up to the passage of the health care legislation in 2010, Ms. Landrieu provided crucial support for the measure, after securing changes to help small businesses.

The administration cited “operational challenges” as a reason for the delay. As a result, it said, most small employers buying insurance through an exchange will offer a single health plan to their workers next year.

Health insurance availability and cost are huge concerns for small businesses. They have less bargaining power than large companies and generally pay higher prices for insurance, if they can afford it at all.

All of this is the result of President Obama’s decision to delay issuing thousands of pages of regulations until after the election. Many of these regulations were ready to go in May, 2012 or earlier, but the president refused to allow HHS to publish them – and for good reason from his point of view. The rules, which dictate to insurance companies what kinds of covergaes they must offer, will cause premiums for many consumers to skyrocket.

Since the insurance companies didn’t get the regs until last December, they couldn’t design policies to offer the public. No policies, no way to design the insurance exchanges. That’s why there will be a delay and it is even uncertain if the small business exchanges will ever work as advertised at all.

There has got to be an overall accounting by Congress of the incompetent way Obamacare is being rolled out. Someone has to get a handle on what will be ready, what won’t, and what will never be realized. A special investigating committee should do the trick.

At least it will hold the administration’s feet to the fire and give Congress an idea of just how much overbudget this monstrosity will be.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/04/small_business_shafted_again_by_obamacare.html

Millions Could Get Surprise Tax Bills Under ‘Obamacare’ If They Don’t Accurately Project Their Income

April 2, 2013 1:31 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of people who take advantage of government subsidies to help buy health insurance next year could get stung by surprise tax bills if they don’t accurately project their income.

President Barack Obama’s new health care law will offer subsidies to help people buy private health insurance on state-based exchanges, if they don’t already get coverage through their employers. The subsidies are based on income. The lower your income, the bigger the subsidy.

But the government doesn’t know how much money you’re going to make next year. And when you apply for the subsidy, this fall, it won’t even know how much you’re making this year. So, unless you tell the government otherwise, it will rely on the best information it has: your 2012 tax return, filed this spring.

What happens if you or your spouse gets a raise and your family income goes up in 2014? You could end up with a bigger subsidy than you are entitled to. If that happens, the law says you have to pay back at least part of the money when you file your tax return in the spring of 2015.

That could result in smaller tax refunds or surprise tax bills for millions of middle-income families.

“That’s scary,” says Joan Baird of Springfield, Va. “I had no idea, and I work in health care.”

Baird, a health care information management worker, is far from alone. Health care providers, advocates and tax experts say the vast majority of Americans know very little about the new health care law, let alone the kind of detailed information many will need to navigate its system of subsidies and penalties.

“They know it’s out there,” said Mark Cummings, who manages the H&R Block office where Baird was getting her own taxes done. “But in general, they don’t know anything about it.”

A draft of the application for insurance asks people to project their 2014 income if their current income is not steady or if they expect it to change. The application runs 15 pages for a three-person family, but nowhere does it warn people that they may have to repay part of the subsidy if their income increases.

“I think this will be the hardest thing for members of the public to understand because it is a novel aspect of this tax credit,” said Catherine Livingston, who recently served as health care counsel for the Internal Revenue Service. “I can’t think of what else they do in the tax system currently that works that way.” Livingston is now a partner in the Washington office of the law firm Jones Day.

There’s another wrinkle: The vast majority of taxpayers won’t actually receive the subsidies. Instead, the money will be paid directly to insurance companies and consumers will get the benefit in reduced premiums.

Health care providers and advocates for people who don’t have insurance are planning public awareness campaigns to teach people about the health care law and its benefits.

Enroll America, a coalition of health care providers and advocates, is planning a multimillion-dollar campaign using social media, paid advertising and grass-roots organizing to encourage people who don’t have insurance to sign up for it, said Anne Filipic, a former Obama White House official who is now president of the organization.

The Obama administration says it, too, is working to educate consumers.

“On Oct. 1, each state will have a marketplace up and running where consumers can choose a private health insurance plan that fits their health needs and budget,” said Treasury spokeswoman Sabrina Siddiqui. “The premium tax credits will give middle-class Americans unprecedented tax benefits to make the purchase of health insurance affordable for everyone, and we will continue to work with consumers, community health organizations and other stakeholders to raise awareness and understanding of these tax benefits.”

The subsidies, which are technically tax credits because they are administered through the tax code, will help low- and middle-income families buy health insurance through the state-based exchanges. Under the new law, nearly every American will be required to have health insurance starting in 2014, or face penalties.

The enrollment season starts Oct. 1.

The subsidies are available to families with incomes up to 400 percent of the poverty level. This year, four times the poverty level is about $62,000 for a two-person family. For a family of four, it’s $94,200.

About 18 million people will be eligible for subsidies, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

If families get bigger subsidies than they are entitled to under the law, the amount they have to repay is capped, based on income and family size. If they get less than they qualify for under the law, the government will pay them the difference in the form of a tax refund.

There are also special rules that protect people who marry or divorce from being required to pay back subsidies just because their marital status changes.

There are four thresholds for repaying the subsidies:

–A family of four making less than $47,000 would have to repay a maximum of $600.

–If the same family makes between $47,000 and $70,000, the amount they have to repay is capped at $1,500.

–If the same family makes between $70,000 and $94,200, the amount is capped at $2,500.

–Families making more than four times the poverty level have to repay the entire subsidy.

“It’s potentially going to come as a shock to individuals who meet that criteria where their income hits a point where they owe money back,” said Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., chairman of the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee. “The fact is, with variations in income, people could end up owing money back and that will create consternation and problems for them.”

The total amount of money that taxpayers will have to repay is unclear, but congressional estimates offer some clues.

Twice since the health care law was passed Congress has increased the caps for how much people will have to repay. Combined, the two measures are expected to raise more than $40 billion over the next decade, according to Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation.

“I think people will get there,” said Livingston, the former IRS official. “They will develop instincts about it the way we all do about any process we go through multiple times. But when it’s new, in the early years, this will be a real learning curve.”

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/04/02/millions-could-get-surprise-tax-bills-under-obamacare-if-they-dont-accurately-project-their-income/

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-names-himself-scientist-chief_714445.html

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-2-22-easter-egg-roll_712276.html

Adults struggling to survive in the Obama economy are now signing up for so-called “cooperative households” as a cost-cutting tactic.

A CBS 2 New York report by Dana Tyler titled “Desperate Roommates” highlighted the trend wherein “total strangers desperate to save money are moving in together.”

The practice is on the rise. “Two million Americans over the age of 30 now live with a housemate or roommate, and shared households make up 18 percent of U.S. households–a 17 percent increase since 2007,” reports Tyler.

According to the Cohousing Association of the United States website, “Cohousing is a type of collaborative housing in which residents actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighborhoods. Cohousing residents are consciously committed to living as a community.”

“Shared home” or “co-housing” arrangements typically involve either smaller homes built around a common building or a standing unit with separate rooms and a shared common area, such as a kitchen or living room.

Communal living may help residents pinch pennies in a down economy, but experts warn the practice is not without its risks.

“You need to know that people are solid about paying, that they’re going to be a reasonable person to be around,” says shared housing expert Annamarie Pluhar.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/03/27/Obama-Economy-Spawns-Increase-In-Cohousing-Trend

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns the Foxwoods Resort Casino in southeastern Connecticut, is among federally recognized tribes that, although considered “sovereign nations,” are seeking increased revenues through grants from the U.S. government.

According to the Associated Press, the once billion-dollar Pequot casino empire has, in the past, distributed stipends of more than $100,000 annually to adult tribe members. Now, however, the Pequots join other gaming tribes, including nearby rival casino Mohegan Sun, in the pursuit of more federal aid. The pattern is getting the attention of those who opposed the law that allowed Indian tribes to develop casinos, since the law was promoted as one that would assist tribes in becoming financially self-reliant.

In 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) which authorized casino gambling on Indian reservations and provided a regulatory and oversight framework for the industry in the form of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). The purpose of the law was to allow a means for tribes to become self-sufficient in developing their own economies.

‘‘The whole purpose of the 1988 law which authorized Indian casinos was to help federally-recognized tribes raise money to run their governments by building casinos on their reservations,’’ said Robert Steele, a former Connecticut Congressman. ‘‘I would argue strongly that federal money was meant for struggling tribes. Certainly the Mashantucket Pequots and the Mohegans couldn’t under any circumstances be put in that category.’’

Nevertheless, as long as they have federal recognition, the tribes that own casinos are eligible for the same federal grants that are awarded to larger tribes in the western region of the U.S. where poverty and unemployment have been continually widespread. The federal grants, which do not require repayment, help tribes pay for health screenings, road maintenance, and environment preservation.

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation spokesman Bill Satti said that his tribe “is proud of the work they do with the use of federal funds when it comes to assisting the region and fellow Native Americans.” Satti added that the federal funds have been used to support the tribe’s medical clinic and to repair roadways.

Thomas Weissmuller, who served as chief judge of the Pequot Tribal Court until 2011, said that the tribal council had distributed too much money to members and urged the tribe’s leaders to pursue more federal aid. Weissmuller said some leaders hesitated to do so, for fear that such a move would affect the tribe’s sovereignty. He himself was concerned about pursuing federal monies since most of the issues the tribe was dealing with were related to the casino, which is a commercial enterprise.

“A billion-dollar gaming enterprise should fully fund the tribal government,” said Weissmuller, who said that Pequot tribal chairman, Rodney Butler, encouraged him to apply for the federal grants. Weismuller added that he was ultimately forced out of his job by tribal leaders who charged that he did not have the best interests of the tribe at heart in other areas.

According to the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, the relationship between federally recognized tribes and the U.S. is one between sovereigns, i.e., one government to another:

Tribes possess all powers of self-government except those relinquished under treaty with the United States, those that Congress has expressly extinguished, and those that federal courts have ruled are subject to existing federal law or are inconsistent with overriding national policies. Tribes, therefore, possess the right to form their own governments; to make and enforce laws, both civil and criminal; to tax; to establish and determine membership (i.e., tribal citizenship); to license and regulate activities within their jurisdiction; to zone; and to exclude persons from tribal lands.

The Pequots began a financial downturn along with other businesses across the U.S. during the 2008 recession. In that year, however, Foxwoods had just completed a major expansion with the MGM Grand hotel and casino. In 2009, the tribe defaulted on debt exceeding $2 billion.

The Pequots have since ended member stipends, but have kept other benefits in place. Federal grants to the tribe, awarded through the Interior Department, increased from $1 million in 2008 to $2.7 million in 2011. Federal monies granted though Health and Human Services, rose from $1.7 million in 2008 to $1.9 million in 2012.

In January, Steven Thomas, the Pequots’ treasurer, and his brother Michael Thomas, a former tribal chairman, were indicted following an FBI investigation. The two men are accused of stealing a combined $800,000 in tribal money and federal grants.

The Mohegan tribe has also taken federal grants as they faced increasing gambling competition from neighboring states.

“It’s a sign of the times. Everybody is seeking grants,” said Mohegan chairman Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum. “There’s some that we qualify for and it helps us to keep everybody healthy and working. At the end of the day, why shouldn’t we apply for it? If we get approved, it’s always for a good cause, usually health or jobs created.

Another tribe that has been aggressively pursuing federal aid is the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, which owns the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Michigan.

In fact, some the top donors to President Obama last year were colleges. The University of California gave the President a whopping $1,200,000, unbelievable; Harvard University almost $700,000. So you can see that American college students are mostly caught in a liberal environment whether they like it or not.

Enter Ryan Rotela, a student at Florida Atlantic University just north of Fort Lauderdale. Ryan is a Mormon and was enrolled in a communications class taught by the vice chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party, if you can believe it. Dr. Deandre Poole has been a Democratic activist, an activist for years. Yet, is he running that class.

And as part of the course, Dr. Poole apparently ordered his students to disrespect Jesus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN ROTELA: He said everybody write Jesus on bold letters so what I did was wrote Jesus just like this. And then afterwards he said everybody put it on the floor. So he took it out put it on the floor. And he had us all stand up once we were standing up he said stomp on it. And that’s when I picked up the paper from the floor and put it right back on the table.

Any time you stomp on something it shows that you believe that something has no value. So, if you were to stomp on the word “Jesus”, it says that the word has no value.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O’REILLY: Ryan Rotela was angry about the incident and apparently made his displeasure known to Dr. Poole and other students. He was removed from the class by Florida Atlantic University. Ryan also faces other charges which will be decided by a student conduct hearing board. Ryan Rotela has now acquired a lawyer from the Liberty Institute in Texas. So this is one big mess.

“Talking Points” is not going to try the case on television. But, there is no question that many college campuses are becoming radicalized. A few weeks ago the Harvard University newspaper actually described me as some kind of conservative reactionary, asking if Harvard students should be ashamed that I have a degree from that school?

If Harvard sees me as far right, you can imagine the climate on campus. Last November many Americans were stunned that President Obama won the election despite all the economic chaos but when you understand the liberal indoctrination on college campuses, you begin to see how that is contributing to the move left.

And that’s “The Memo.”

AFP, the French news agency, first reported around mid-day Monday that Malia Obama was vacationing in Mexico with 12 friends under the protection of 25 Secret Service agents and a number of local police officers.

The International Business Times reported that “the group arrived in Oaxaca on Saturday and reportedly visited the architectural site of Mitla.”

The Department of Public Safety, a Texas law enforcement agency, issued a warning on Tuesday against students celebrating their spring breaks in violence-torn Mexico. The Huffington Post reported that in February, the United States State Department “recommended that Americans avoid travel to all or parts of 14 or 31 Mexican states. It’s the widest travel advisory issued by the U.S. since Mexico stepped up its drug war in 2006.”

Since the story was first reported, it appears to have been scrubbed from a number of news outlets. The Huffington Post, International Business Times, The Australian, The Telegraph and Global Grind have all removed the article. AFP, which initially reported the story, now links to an unrelated story on “Sengalese superstar Youssou Ndour.”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/19/afp-report-obama-daughter-malia-spending-spring-break-in-mexico-with-25-secret-service-agents/#ixzz2OEiRpzYv

budget

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/03/21/senate-votes-down-ryan-budget-balanced-budget-requirement/#ixzz2OEhEMyJ6

Broadly, the new report declares that Obamacare “breaks its core promise” to make healthcare coverage affordable.

The report, “The Price of Obamacare’s Broken Promises,” was prepared by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Majority Staff; Senate Committee on Finance, Minority Staff; and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Minority Staff.

“Studies and analyses from the Congressional Budget Office, independent actuaries, state insurance commissioners, health plans, benefit consultants, and others have reached the same conclusion: Obamacare will significantly increase premiums,” the congressional report states.

“Some estimates show some Americans facing startling premium increases of 203 percent because of the law.

“Higher healthcare premiums are the last thing single young adults and working families can afford. Yet contrary to what the president promised, that is exactly what Obamacare is projected to do.”

When Obamacare’s most costly requirements go into effect in 2014, households earning as little as $46,000 a year will receive no premium assistance, yet will be forced to accept “unaffordable” premium increases, according to the report.

The Affordable Care Act will have an especially harsh impact on young Americans ages 21 to 29 — those with individual coverage will see their healthcare premium rise by an average of 189 percent.

The report points to several factors that will result in significantly higher healthcare costs for Americans:

• The healthcare reform bill mandates that individuals pay the same premiums regardless of future anticipated medical expenses, leading to sharply increased premium costs for those under 50.
• Obamacare requires that individuals purchase coverage that includes a range of “essential” health benefits, including coverage for preventive services, chronic disease management, and rehabilitative services, thereby restricting consumers’ choice in the design of their health plans and adding to their insurance premiums.
• The law imposes $165 billion in new taxes and fees on health plans, drug manufacturers, and device makers, and these costs will be largely passed on to consumers in the form of higher premiums. One study cited by the report predicts that Obamacare’s health insurance tax will boost premiums by more than $7,000 over a decade.

The report notes that a number of states have already imposed requirements on health coverage and the result has been fewer choices and higher premiums.

In New York, for example, a 30-year-old male paid an average of $1,200 a year in annual premiums in 1993, but one month after the state passed Obamacare-like reforms, premiums soared to $3,240.

At the time Washington state passed similar reforms, 19 insurance carriers wrote policies for state residents. Within six years, only two carriers remained in the state.

According to the report, even the left-leaning Center for American Progress acknowledged that “Massachusetts along with several other northeastern states passed insurance market reforms similar to those in the Affordable Care Act, eliminating or restricting the ability of insurance companies to discriminate against the ill either in prices or coverage exclusions. The result in each state was very high nongroup insurance prices.”

The congressional report also warns, as others have previously, that Obamacare’s requirement that insurers cover pre-existing conditions will allow many relatively healthy Americans to delay buying insurance until medical attention is needed, thereby leaving less healthy individuals in the insurance pool and raising premiums.

The report concludes: “Taking into account empirical evidence from past state-level experiences, as well as future projections, upon implementation Obamacare will make coverage dramatically more expensive and unaffordable for individuals and families.
“In short, Obamacare breaks its core promise to make healthcare coverage affordable as Americans across the country swallow higher premiums. For young adults to middle-class families, higher premiums will soon be the harsh reality of Obamacare.”

http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/obamacare-healthcare-reform-costs/2013/03/20/id/495564?promo_code=11550-1&utm_source=11550Breitbart&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/21/new-york-state-offers-500-reward-for-reporting-illegal-gun-owners/?intcmp=trending#ixzz2OBHZkHB3

You may have heard that the small country of Cyprus in the Mediterranean is totally broke. And one proposal from the Cypriot government was to forcibly, forcibly take money out of personal bank accounts on the island, steal it from the folks. Steal it to pay their bills.

Now the outcry was immediate and it will not happen but the lesson is important for Americans. Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, now Cyprus all broke. And other European nations are close. Why? Because they are nanny states and there are not enough workers to support all the entitlements these progressive paradises are handing out.

Enter the Congressional Progressive Caucus right here in the USA. It contains 73 members all of them Democrats except the Socialist Bernie Sanders from Vermont who is Independent. The CPC wants a 49 percent federal income tax rate on top earners. They want half. And they don’t want many deductions for those folks. Also the Congressional Progressive Caucus wants even more government spending. $2.5 trillion more on, quote, “job creation”. Another $2.2 trillion on things like science, energy, the environment and education. Also the CPC does not want to cut entitlements. And wants to give unemployed Americans 99 weeks of cash compensation. Nearly two years.

The question is what does President Obama think of the Congressional Progressive Caucus? My opinion, he likes it I don’t think the President believes that crew is fanatical because they want what he wants. And by the way, the far-left kooks do want to cut one thing, defense spending. They want to bring that back down to 2006 level. Somewhere Iran is cheering.

As “Talking Points” has said on more than one occasion there comes a point when Americans are going to have to decide what country — what kind of country they want. Even taking half of what affluent Americans earn, feds couldn’t possibly afford what the far left wants to provide. So we would eventually become Greece or Cyprus if the U.S. dollar collapses and people stop lending us money.

Some conservatives believe that’s exactly what the far-left wants. A collapse of the entire capitalistic system. Some on the right believe that President Obama is actively working toward that. Certainly Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont wants socialism in this country and so do most of his compatriots on the crazy caucus. Yet, Americans continue to elect them.

And that’s “The Memo.”

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News over the weekend that the Obama administration is telling individuals who were rescued during the deadly Benghazi attack last September to be quiet about what they know.

Graham said he “had contact” with survivors and described their accounts as “chilling.” “The bottom line is they feel that they can’t come forth, they’ve been told to be quiet.”

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney refuted that the administration is gagging survivors, telling Fox News last week, “I’m sure that the White House is not preventing anyone from speaking,”

Graham does not buy it and is threatening to hold up all business in the upper chamber if the White House does not release the names of the survivors to Congress. Graham is urging his colleagues in the House to move forward and issue subpoenas of Benghazi survivors if the administration fails to release any information on them.

“To our leadership in the House, you’re gonna have to up your game on Benghazi,” the South Carolina Republican said.

Breitbart News first reported in December that Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) was being stonewalled by the Obama administration from visiting the injured survivors of the Benghazi attack.

Since then, Senator Graham has demanded the FBI turn over the interviews with the survivors to no avail. Graham, Senators John McCain (R-AZ), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) all called for a joint select committee to investigate the Benghazi assault, while Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) re-issued a second resolution to form a House Select committee to do the same.

Wolf and Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA) demanded Sec. Kerry to hand over the contact information of all the State Department employees who worked at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi when the attack occurred. Wolf’s resolution currently boasts over 60 co-sponsors.

Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI), chairman of the House Select Intelligence Committee, and Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, are looking forward to hear from Benghazi survivors as well.

“We’ll get our chance to talk to Benghazi survivors and get the reports from the FBI. That will happen. I’m confident of that,” Chairman Rogers told Breitbart News. “We want to make sure people have a chance to heal first and we’ll have an opportunity to talk these people before this is over. I’m fairly comfortable this will happen,” he said.

Chairman Issa noted that Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to a Benghazi survivor opened the door for Congress to question anyone who was on the ground and survived the Benghazi attack. “We expected to speak with all the witnesses and the Benghazi survivors,” he told Breitbart News. “Now that Secretary Kerry has publicly, essentially a senator, in a post way, has chosen to visit with them, any claim that they’re not available at this point to Congress is unsupportable. And I look forward to oversight by all committees.”

Any Benghazi survivor who talks to his committee would be protected from prosecution or job termination from the Obama administration, Rogers said. “We’ll make sure of that. That is whistle bower standard protection. If they’re fired for talking to us, there’ll be some hell to pay.”

Issa agrees, saying, “Any kind of retaliation against any of the witnesses we’ve already had would not be tolerated.”

Four Americans were killed on site when the U.S. mission in Benghazi was attacked, including U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens. Questions remain, however, as to the physical health of those who were evacuated from the U.S. compound. Rogers cannot confirm if any evacuee later succumbed to their injuries while being treated at medical facilities.

The Michigan Republican explained, “Like I said, I don’t know. We’ll know before it’s over. My review is not over yet. We’re looking at all the information. We still have cables and emails that we still haven’t gone through one hundred percent yet. It’s voluminous.” He added, “Were going through it painstakingly. I’m just an old FBI guy, so I’m going through it painstakingly to find to find the truth. My goal is to find the truth. And wherever those facts and leads takes us.”

After an effort to defund the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food stamp outreach partnership with the Mexican government went down in committee Thursday, Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions continued to press the agency for more information about non-citizen participation in the food stamp program.

The Alabama senator also requested information about possible loopholes for illegal immigrants to partake in SNAP benefits.

A record 47,791,996 people were enrolled in the program in December, the most recent data available.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/03/17/sessions-presses-usda-for-more-info-on-non-citizen-food-stamp-use-participation-rates/#ixzz2NteVjrfd

Why does the devil in ‘The Bible’ look exactly like President Obama?

Sunday evening’s episode of the History Channel’s hit series ‘The Bible’ threw up an awkward coincidence when viewers noticed that Satan bore a remarkable resemblance to President Obama.

Twitter exploded into life during the airing of the latest edition of the Mark Burnett-produced series with most noting the striking similarities between the 44th President and the devil played by actor Mehdi Ouzaani.

The show has been a surprise hit in the ratings, with the religious mini-series attracting 13.1 million viewers on Wednesday – topping television leviathan American Idol’s 12.8 million viewers on Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2295082/Why-does-devil-The-Bible-look-exactly-like-President-Obama.html#ixzz2Ntc0c1jV