Friday, August 23, 2013
Barker's Newsbites: August 23, 2013
So, folks... how'bout those FISA Court judges, huh?
Fine with you...???
How'bout that George Will column which I included as one of my newsbites yesterday?
Thoughts? Reactions?
Oh, well... you know what they say... "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink!"
In the mood for "lite" blogging?
Hey! I got my hair cut on Wednesday! Yep... the ol' reliable "Trooper crew" using the manly - yet flattering - "#2" electric razor setting. (And of course followed up with the good ol' straight razor "finish" and hot towel-wrapped head and face massage.)
(BTW... what do you guys tip? My guy charges $14 and I throw him an additional $5.)
Let's see... what else? Oh! Hank got his transmission flushed - and a coolant flush too! (Now all I need to do is give - or get - Hank a tune-up prior to the snow season; new tires and an alignment can wait till spring.)
Kim? Good news! She's definitely in "Group 2" which is set to be all "in-country" (UAE) by no later than August 29. Therefore... she should be flying out one day this coming week! (Shaky's already home - at his parent's in the UAE.) Best of all, Kim's been assigned to a school in Abu Dahabi - therefore she'll be within an hour's ride - tops - to Shaky's parents home!
Anyway... that's the update! Now... on to today's newsbites! (As always... found within the comments section!)
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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/23/power-missed-syria-session-for-personal-trip/
Where in the World is Samantha Power?
* THAT'S THE HEADLINE!
* BTW... QUICK... DO YOU KNOW WHO SAMANTHA POWER IS...??? IF NOT...
(*SIGH*)
She's been on the job 19 days and has already taken a "personal trip" while Syrian civilians suffer a probable chemical attack?
* WHICH BTW HASN'T BEEN CONFIRMED. (THE CHEMICAL ATTACK THAT IS!) (POWER WAS DEFINITELY OUT!)
The UN Security Council called an emergency meeting to discuss the attack on Thursday and Samantha Power (who excoriated the UN in her confirmation hearing for not acting on Syria) was nowhere to be found.
* MAYBE SHE HAS A PART-TIME GIG WITH ONE OF THE CLINTON FOUNDATIONS...???
She was apparently on a "pre-arranged personal trip" according to Fox News who quoted a spokesman.
* AFTER 19 DAYS ON THE JOB...
(*CHUCKLE*)
A U.S. mission official told Fox News that Power was on a pre-arranged personal trip that left her unable to get back to the U.N. in time...
* WHERE WAS SHE - BENGHAZI?!
"Samantha Power has been on the job exactly 19 days. In that time, she's already traveled from New York to Los Angeles to deliver a speech. Her absence from the UN on Wednesday sends a terrible message at a time when U.S. credibility in the region is suffering," Richard Grenell, a former U.N. spokesman under the George W. Bush administration, wrote in an online column.
* PUTTING PARTISANSHIP AND "GOTCHYA" ASIDE... YEAH... THE GUY IS RIGHT. THIS IS DEFINITELY A TIME WHEN U.S. CREDIBILITY IN THE MIDDLE-EAST IS LOW... AND THIS ABSENCE COULDN'T HAVE HELPED.
(*SHRUG*)
Separately, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. at this point is "unable to conclusively determine" that chemical weapons were used.
* SEE, FOLKS... SEE WHAT I WAS SAYING UP ABOVE...
(*SHRUG*)
* FOLKS... UNDERSTAND... WE'RE ALREADY MORE INVOLVED WITH THE SYRIA SITUATION THAN WE SHOULD BE - TRAINING AND EQUIPPING POTENTIAL FUTURE ANTI-WESTERN/ANTI-AMERICAN TERRORISTS - AND LOTS OF FOLKS - INCLUDING DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS - WANT TO COMMIT FURTHER AMERICAN TREASURE - AND BLOOD - INTO "THE CAUSE" - WHATEVER THAT "CAUSE" IS.
Psaki also declined, twice, to say where Power was during Wednesday's meeting.
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
Asked by Fox News if she was on vacation, Psaki said: "I don't have any more details for you." Asked again, Psaki said: "She had a previously scheduled trip. I don't think I need to go into more detail from here."
* AT POWER'S LEVEL ONE DOESN'T PUT PERSONAL TRAVEL PLANS BEFORE CRUCIAL GOVERNMENT BUSINESS.
Yes, you do need to go into more detail. Where was she? What was she doing? Was it a romantic get away? A sightseeing adventure? Family reunion?
No information will be forthcoming because the administration doesn't care what you think about Power being gone for an important meeting. They don't care what you think about Obama's multi-million dollar vacations either. Would her presence have made a difference? Who knows?
* HOWEVER...
In her absence, the Security Council stopped short of calling for a probe on the latest alleged chemical attack amid pushback from the Russians and the Chinese, despite the fact a U.N. team is already in the country to investigate prior attacks.
Ed Lasky pointed out to me that Power has a tradition of non-performance: "She also presided over the virtual Atrocities Prevention Board that apparently never met or did anything. Just another Obama pal/flak to receive a title or honor. Too bad he can't dub them with a sword - yet."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-23/nsa-analysts-intentionally-abused-spying-powers-multiple-times.html
Some NSA analysts deliberately ignored restrictions on their authority to spy on Americans multiple times in the past decade, contradicting Obama administration officials’ and lawmakers’ statements that no willful violations occurred.
* AND WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THEM?
“Over the past decade, very rare instances of willful violations of NSA’s authorities have been found,” the NSA said in a statement to Bloomberg News.
* SERIAL KILLINGS ARE "VERY RARE." THIS DOES NOT SERVE TO EXCUSE OR MITIGATE THE KILLINGS!
The incidents, chronicled in a new report by the NSA’s inspector general...
* SAME INFO COVERED YESTERDAY IN MY STAND-ALONE, FOLKS. STILL... WORTH REPEATING... AND YOU PEOPLE READING THIS SHOULD CARE.
The inspector general documented an average of one case per year over 10 years of intentionally inappropriate actions by people with access to the NSA’s vast electronic surveillance systems, according to an official familiar with the findings.
* FOLKS... IT'S BEEN ONE LIE AFTER ANOTHER; WHY SHOULD WE BELIEVE THE NUMBERS THEY'RE THROWING OUT NOW?
The incidents were minor, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified intelligence.
* THE... OFFICIAL... SAID...
(*SNORT*)
* FOLKS... I URGE YOU TO RE-READ YESTERDAY'S STAND-ALONE AND NEWSBITES IN ORDER TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORIES CONCERNING WHAT TWO FISA JUDGES HAVE SAID!
* FOLKS... I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE REPORTER OR EDITOR OF THIS PIECE, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME AS IF THEY'RE BENDING OVER BACKWARDS TO PROVIDE COVER FOR THE ADMINISTRATION. AGAIN... THE JUDGES, FOLKS... THE FISA JUDGES...
(*SHRUG*)
The deliberate actions didn’t violate the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or the USA Patriot Act, the NSA said in its statement.
* THE NSA SAID...
* NO, OFFICER, I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN GOING 77 mph ON THIS 55 mph HIGHWAY!
(*SNORT*)
Instead, they overstepped...
* "OVERSTEPPED..."
(*BITING MY LOWER LIP*)
1981 Executive Order 12333, issued by President Ronald Reagan, which governs U.S. intelligence operations. The actions, said a second U.S. official briefed on them, were the work of overzealous NSA employees or contractors eager to prevent any encore to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
* FOLKS... YEP... IT DOES APPEAR THAT THERE'S... er... JUST A BIT... A TINY BIT... OF "EDITORIALIZING" GOING ON HERE.
(*RUEFUL CHUCKLE*)
The agency has taken steps to ensure that everyone understands legal and administrative boundaries, whom to consult when questions arise, and the consequences of violations or willful ignorance...
* AND THESE "CONSEQUENCES" HAVE BEEN...??? (COM'ON... NAMES, DATES, SPECIFIC OFFENSES, PUNISHMENTS... IF ANY...)
(*SNICKER*)
* FOLKS... READ THE REST OF THIS PROPA... er... NEWS ARTICLE FOR YOURSELVES. MAKE OF IT WHAT YOU WILL - IN CONTEXT WITH EVERYTHING ELSE YOU'VE BEEN READING... IN CONTEXT WITH WHAT THE FISA JUDGES HAVE ADMITTED... IN CONTEXT WITH THE FOLLOWING FOUND AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE:
Legal opinions declassified on Aug. 21 revealed that the NSA intercepted as many as 56,000 electronic communications a year of Americans who weren’t suspected of having links to terrorism, before a secret court that oversees surveillance found the operation unconstitutional in 2011.
In a declassified legal opinion from October 2011, the court said the agency substantially misrepresented the scope of surveillance operations three times in less than three years.
A May 2012 internal government audit found more than 2,700 violations involving NSA surveillance of Americans and foreigners over a one-year period. The audit was reported Aug. 16 by the Washington Post, citing documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
* 2,700 (A BIT MORE THAN "AN AVERAGE OF 1 A YEAR OVER THE COURSE OF 10 YEARS, HUH?)
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/08/23/obama-nsa-inadvertently-accidentally-pulled-emails-of-americans/
President Barack Obama is acknowledging he must “do a better job” of giving Americans confidence in the programs the National Security Agency has deployed to guard against terrorism.
The president conceded the NSA had “inadvertently, accidentally, pulled the emails” of some Americans.
* U-HUH. "INADVERTENTLY... ACCIDENTALLY... SOME AMERICANS..."
His remarks on CNN’s “New Day” show Friday came in the wake of new revelations that the electronic spying program scooped up as many as 56,000 emails and other communications annually over three years by Americans not connected to terrorism.
* AS MANY AS 56,000...
* AND, FOLKS... COM'ON... AS WE GO FROM PHONE CALLS TO METADATA TO EMAILS TO "WHATEVER" THE NUMBERS ALL START TO GET JUMBLED IN OUR HEADS. WELL... JUST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD I RECALL THAT THE INVESTIGATION WAS LIMITED IN SCOPE. (*SMIRK*) PERHAPS IT'S "ONLY" 56,000 EMAILS... AND PERHAPS WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TENS OF MILLIONS... HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS... WE'RE "ONLY" TALKING METADATA. BUT, FOLKS, IF THEY'RE LYING TO FISA JUDGES... IF THEY'RE WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM THE APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITIES... DO YOU SUPPOSE THEY'RE WORRIED ABOUT LYING TO YOU AND ME?
http://news.investors.com/082313-668492-health-premiums-climbed-obama-promised-cut.htm?p=full
The average employer-provided family health insurance premiums have climbed $2,976 since 2009, according to an annual Kaiser Family Foundation survey released this week.
* HOW'BOUT THOSE OF US WHO PAY OUR OWN WAY VIA OUR OWN AFTER-TAX DOLLARS?
They're up $3,671 compared with the year before President Obama took office. (That's despite Obama's repeated promises that the health care reform law he championed would cut premiums by $2,500 in his first term.)
* YEP... WE ARE INDEED NOW IN OBAMA'S... (*SIGH*)... SECOND TERM.
And while annual premium increases have moderated over the past two years...
* NOT FOR ME, THEY HAVEN'T!
...that's due to trends in the insurance market largely unrelated to ObamaCare, and trends the law could actually reverse.
The Kaiser survey found that the average family premium this year is $16,351, up 4% over last year, and up 22% since 2009.
* ...UP 22% SINCE 2009.
After adjusting for inflation, premiums climbed an average 3.2% a year in Obama's first term, higher than the 2.7% average during President Bush's last four years in office.
* OOPS...
During his first campaign for president, Obama repeatedly claimed that his health reform plan would, as he said at a Virginia rally in 2008 "lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year."
* ANYWAY... READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE FOR YOURSELVES, FOLKS.
* TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/sebelius-pass-immigration-bill-boost-obamacare-enrollment
Asked Thursday if the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) will help "undocumented individuals," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said no - and that's why immigration reform is so important: "Well, the bill is crafted in such a way that those who are undocumented will not have access to the tax credits or shopping in the (health insurance) marketplace. That has been limited, which is, frankly, another very keen reason why we need comprehensive immigration reform," Sebelius told a gathering of Latinos in Philadelphia.
* TO MAKE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE SUDDENLY ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL SUBSIDIES... SUBSIDIES FROM A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WHICH IS ITSELF UNABLE TO MEET ALREADY EXISTING OPERATING EXPENSES WITHO0UT BORROWING FORTY-SOMETHING-CENTS OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR SPENT AND THROWING THE DEBT ON OUR CHILDREN'S BACKS. NICE...
The remark drew applause at the ObamaCare event hosted by Congreso, a Latino community service group.
* LATINOS FIRST; AMERICANS... (*SHRUG*)
The Senate-passed immigration bill would put some 11 million illegal aliens on a path to eventual citizenship, first by giving them provisional legal status. House Republicans say border security must come first, and they plan to draft their own bill.
* SO FAR THE HOUSE HAS HELD. I STILL DON'T TRUST BOEHNER, HOWEVER.
Sebelius recommended that illegal aliens continue to get medical treatment at community health centers, where they will find federally funded, "culturally competent" health care providers "who actually speak the language and can reach out to a neighborhood."
* WHY ARE WE NOT BILLING THEIR NATION OF CITIZENSHIP DIRECTLY...??? PASS ON THEIR BILLS TO THEIR COUNTRIES' GOVERNMENTS AND IF THOSE GOVERNMENTS WON'T PAY... FREEZE AND THEN GO AFTER THEIR MONIES AND ASSETS WHICH ARE REACHABLE. SIMPLE!
She also noted that the Obama administration has doubled the size of the Public Health Service Corps -- "which, to me, is one of the great, well-kept secrets in America. It's like the Peace Corps for health workers," she said.
"If you agree to serve in an underserved area, the federal government helps pay off the student loans and debt that a lot of health professionals carry.
* GOVERNMENT SHOULDN'T BE USING MY TAX MONEY (NOR MY CREDIT LINE) TO DO THIS. IF ANYTHING, THEY'RE SIMPLY FURTHER SPURRING EDUCATIONAL INFLATION WHILE AT THE SAME TIME ADDING TO DEFICIT SPENDING.
And what we find is that when people actually take up service in the National Health Service Corps, they stay in the communities that they are serving long beyond their assignments. So there will be continued access for undocumented," Sebelius promised.
* SO... SHE'S SAYING SHE'S IN FAVOR OF ACTUALLY SUBSIDIZING THE HEALTHCARE OF ILLEGAL ALIENS. NICE...
* TO BE CONTINUED...
* CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who joined Sebelius at the event, also addressed the issue of "dealing with folks who may not have all their documentation in order."
* ILLEGAL ALIENS.
And just as Sebelius did, Nutter indicated that illegal aliens and other disadvantaged people already have access to health care in this country.
* BUT THEY SHOULDN'T; NOT IN THE WAY CARE IS AFFORDED NOW. THEY SHOULD RECEIVE EMERGENCY TREATMENT ONLY, FOLLOWED BY DEPORTATION, AND THEIR HOME COUNTRIES SHOULD BE BILLED FOR THE COSTS. (IF THEY WON'T PAY... THEN WE DO WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO.)
Nutter said [of] the City of Philadelphia, "even through the worst of the recession, we did everything we possibly could to minimize any negative impact on our health centers. We have eight health centers across the City of Philadelphia, and they were last, last, last on any list to get any reductions, although we made cuts all over the city government."
* HOW'BOUT THE COPS? THE FIREMEN? SANITATION? HOW'BOUT PUTTING CITIZENS BEFORE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS?
Nutter also said he signed an executive order directing city government workers "that you cannot deny someone service...just because you may be in an undocumented status."
* WOULDN'T A BETTER EXECUTIVE ORDER BE TO DROP THEM OFF AT THE LOCAL I.C.E. OFFICE? (OR PERHAPS THE LOCAL CONGRESS MEMBER'S OFFICE OR THE STATE'S U.S. SENATOR'S OFFICE?)
"And I signed that executive order specifically to make sure that while folks are trying to deal with their paperwork and dealing with immigration and all those folks over there at the federal side, that's not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to provide service.
* TO CITIZENS! FIRST AND FOREMOST TO LAW ABIDING CITIZENS!
Anyone who shows up, who's in this city -- (applause) -- and so folks -- and so people should continue to come, certainly, to our health centers."
(*SILENCE*)
The mayor said his city is "doing our best in trying to provide services to folks, notwithstanding any language challenges, documentation status. If you are here, it is our job to try to provide the best, high-quality service and care that we can as a local government. That's our commitment."
* GEEZUS... THIS IS INSANE!
According to Sebelius, "The Affordable Care Act "really is about a portion of the population (15%, she estimated) who is either uninsured or underinsured or in and out of the marketplaces."
She said "the other 85% of people" already have relatively affordable coverage, which "has gotten stronger" because of various ObamaCare requirements.
* RELATIVELY AFFORDABLE...??? IS SHE FRIGGIN' KIDDING? AS TO "GOTTEN STRONGER," THAT TOO IS BULLSHIT.
"Starting October 1st of this year...for about 15% of Americans who don't have health coverage at all, they will have some new opportunities. They will have a new marketplace available to them, and because they don't have an employer paying a share of the coverage, they have some help from the federal government."
She estimated that Latinos comprise about 25% of the individuals eligible for new coverage options.
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/23/notre-dame-begin-accepting-illegal-immigrants/
The University of Notre Dame will begin admitting illegal immigrants to the school and will provide them with financial aid, saying the move will “strengthen” the student body.
* AND YOU'RE TELLING ME WE'RE NOT LIVING IN A SICK SOCIETY?
The university had never had an official ban on illegal immigrants...
* WHICH IS BAD ENOUGH...
...but Inside Higher Ed reported the school treated them as international students and required them to have student visas — which effectively served as a bar.
* IN OTHER WORDS, THE SCHOOL DIDN'T "PROACTIVELY" CONSPIRE TO ADMIT ILLEGAL ALIENS...
(*CLAP...CLAP...CLAP*)
“We will strengthen our incoming class and give deserving young people the chance for a Notre Dame education,” Don Bishop, associate vice president for undergraduate enrollment, said in a statement announcing the policy Thursday.
* NOTRE DAME ALUMNI SHOULD BE DISGUSTED AND SHOULD CUT OFF ALL FINANCIAL SUPPORT.
The university also said it “is committed to meeting the full demonstrated financial need for all admitted students.” Illegal immigrants are not eligible for federal student aid, but the university’s announcement signals that Notre Dame would make up the difference between the cost and what the student and his or her family can afford.
* MONEY IS FUNGIBLE. WE'RE TALKING ACCOUNTING GIMMICKS. BOTTOM LINE, FEDERAL FUNDING OF VARIOUS KINDS DIRECTLY BENEFITS NOTRE DAME, THEREFORE, NOTRE DAME IS MISUSING FEDERAL AID TO SUBSIDIZE ILLEGAL ALIEN STUDENTS.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has backed integrating illegal immigrants into American society, including supporting legalization for the estimated 11 million immigrants believed to be in this country illegally.
* PERHAPS IT'S TIME TO REVOKE THE TAX-EXEMPT STATUS OF ANY RELIGIOUS GROUP THAT INVOLVES ITSELF IN POLITICS.
President Obama last year took steps to try to shield many young illegal immigrants from deportation and give them tentative legal status when he announced his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA.
* IN OTHER WORDS, OBAMA "CONSPIRED" (RIGHT OUT IN THE OPEN) WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS TO HELP THEM CIRCUIT EXISTING U.S. LAW.
Under that policy, hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and who have earned their high school diploma are granted a proactive stay of deportation, allowing them to live and work in the U.S.
As of the end of July, 430,236 people had been granted status under DACA.
* LET ME ASK YOU, FOLKS... YOU TAKE A RANDOM GROUP OF "PEOPLE PRESENTING IN THE UNITED STATES" - 430,236 TO BE EXACT - AND OF THAT, WHAT PERCENTAGE WILL BE CRIMINALS... DRUGGIES... MENTALLY ILL... ALCOHOLICS... BUMS...
* FOLKS... ANY WAY YOU CUT IT IT'S GUARANTEED THAT OF THESE 430,236 "NEW AMERICANS" TENS OF THOUSANDS ARE PEOPLE ANY ONE OF US WOULD WANT DEPORTED.
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