Study: Obamacare has Been Amended or Delayed 19 Times

Photo Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta

Photo Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta

President Obama has already signed 14 laws that amend, rescind or otherwise change parts of his health care law, and he’s taken five independent steps to delay the Affordable Care Act on his own, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service, released Wednesday.

The release comes as congressional Republicans are pushing for a halt or outright repeal of the whole law, and as Mr. Obama and his allies decry that as a waste of time and an effort to undermine his signature political achievement.

CRS, in the report to Sen. Tom Coburn, said all sides have already agreed to 14 laws that changed parts of Obamacare, though they were usually minor changes or clarifications.

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Russia ‘to Renew Offer to Supply S-300s to Iran’

Photo Credit: France 24

Photo Credit: France 24

Russian President Vladimir Putin will offer to supply Iran S-300 air defence missile systems as well as build a second reactor at the Bushehr nuclear plant, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday.

Putin will renew an old offer to supply Iran with five of the sophisticated ground-to-air missile systems at a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rowhani on Friday, Kommersant said, quoting a souce close to the Kremlin.

Putin is set to meet Rowhani at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation held in Kyrgyzstan on Friday.

Russia in 2007 signed a contract to deliver five of the advanced ground-to-air weapons — which can take out aircraft or guided missiles — to Iran at a cost of $800 million.

In 2010, then-president Dmitry Medvedev cancelled the contract after coming under strong US and Israeli pressure not to go ahead with the sale of the weapons system, drawing vehement protests from Tehran.

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Nun Reveals Rebel Atrocities in Syria

Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

Everyone in Syria, but especially its Christian population, is endangered by the growing surge of violence and atrocities perpetrated by the rebels who are challenging President Bashar al-Assad, according to a Catholic nun who has served community members in Syria for more than two decades.

Multiple reports have recently confirmed that the rebel forces opposing Assad are increasingly populated with hardcore Islamists, including groups with close ties to al-Qaida.

Among the areas of Syria that have unfortunately found themselves in the Islamist rebels’ bull’s-eye has been the longtime – think thousands of years – city of Maaloula, where residents still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus.

Mother Agnes Mariam el-Salib, the mother superior of St. James Monastery in Qara and who previously has served as a source of information for WND, describes the horrors to which she was witness. One was the threat from Islamists that Christians of Maaloula would be beheaded if they did not convert to Islam.

In a question-and-answer interview with RT recently, she voiced doubt about the validity of rebel statements protesting a gas attack near Damascus just days ago, and expressed outrage at the “massacre” of civilians by members of Jabhat al-Nusra, the most influential of the rebel groups fighting Assad.

Read more from this story HERE.

Former DHS Officials Say Oversight Needs to Be Centralized at Senate Hearing

Photo Credit: Free Beacon

Photo Credit: Free Beacon

Former officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday urged members of Congress to centralize oversight and codify the responsibilities of a department whose budget has more than doubled since its creation roughly a decade ago.

DHS was formally established in 2002 to combine 22 different federal agencies and departments and integrate intelligence, law enforcement, disaster response, and transportation security in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

While the United States has managed to prevent terrorist threats on the scale of the World Trade Center attacks 12 years ago, critics of DHS say vital intelligence still appears to slip through the cracks of the sprawling 240,000-employee department and its appendages. The DHS budget has swelled from nearly $20 billion in 2002 to $46 billion this year.

The Boston Marathon bombings renewed concerns about information sharing between federal agencies and local law enforcement entities. Congressional testimony in May revealed that the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force received scant direction from the FBI about keeping tabs on Tamerlan Tsarnaev—the older of the two brothers who perpetrated the bombings—after the federal agency determined he did not pose a threat in 2011. The Massachusetts State Police and the local “fusion center” for intelligence sharing were also not aware of the brothers or Tamerlan’s 2012 trip to the radicalized Dagestan region of Russia.

Tom Ridge, the first DHS secretary, told members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that the department needs better oversight to improve its information sharing. He added that communication across branches of a department still poses problems for entities like NASA, which was formed by combining agencies in a similar manner more than 50 years ago.

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Are Terrorists Setting U.S. Wildfires? (+video)

Photo Credit: KRON-TV

Photo Credit: KRON-TV

As the 2013 season of devastating wildfires continues to rage across the American West, the question of arson as a form of major terrorism is again being raised.

Already this year, 35,440 reported fires have burned a total of 3.9 million acres, with a quarter-million acres scorched the iconic Yosemite National Park.

Large blazes continue to burn in several states, with six alive in Idaho, five each in California and Montana, and one each in Alaska, Louisiana, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, says at this time last year, 45,278 fires had burned 7.9 million acres, and in 2011, there were 55,619 fires devastating 7.2 million acres.

In July 2012, William Scott, a former National Security Agency official and Aviation Week editor, told the American Center for Democracy that terrorists are using fire as a tactical weapon of war.

Read more from this story HERE.

Census: Americans in ‘Poverty’ Typically Have Cell Phones, Computers, TVs, VCRS, AC, Washers, Dryers and Microwaves

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Americans who live in households whose income is below the federal “poverty” level typically have cell phones (as well as landline phones), computers, televisions, video recorders, air conditioning, refrigerators, gas or electric stoves, and washers and dryers and microwaves, according to a newly released report from the Census Bureau.

In fact, 80.9 percent of households below the poverty level have cell phones, and a healthy majority—58.2 percent—have computers.

Fully 96.1 percent of American households in “poverty” have a television to watch, and 83.2 percent of them have a video-recording device in case they cannot get home in time to watch the football game or their favorite telephone show and they want to record it for watching later.

Refrigerators (97.8 percent), gas or electric stoves (96.6 percent) and microwaves (93.2 percent) are standard equipment in the homes of Americans in “poverty.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Norquist Has Leadership’s Back Against Heritage, Club for Growth

Photo Credit: CQ Roll Call

Photo Credit: CQ Roll Call

A House GOP leadership team whose best-laid plans have been continually torpedoed by Heritage Action for America and the Club for Growth has a familiar ally as it tries to avert a government shutdown: Grover Norquist.

It’s not hard to find frustration with Heritage Action and the Club for Growth among senior Republicans, who believe the groups’ demand that they include Obamacare defunding language on any spending bill keeping the government open will ultimately empower Democrats in a series of fall battles over spending. They believe it’s part of a pattern of pushing untenable demands that have no chance of becoming law.

“Heritage Action and Club for Growth are slowly becoming irrelevant Neanderthals,” one senior GOP aide said.

“Heritage is working harder to elect Democrats than the DCCC,” another senior GOP aide said, referring to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “And those efforts to defeat Republicans are marginalizing them and destroying the reputation of the institution built by Ed Feulner and once revered by all conservative members.”

A band of conservatives, with Heritage Action and Club for Growth cheering them on, forced leadership Wednesday to delay consideration of the continuing resolution until next week. The strategy from House leadership would give Republicans a chance to tell their constituents they voted to defund Obamacare and blame the Senate for saving it. But it’s a far cry from the shutdown showdown the defund die-hards are demanding.

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CBO: We Can’t Estimate Cost of Intervening in Syria

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

The Congressional Budget Office has published its official statement on how much American taxpayers would need to cover if the full Congress were to approve the authorization for the use of military force in Syria (S.J. Res. 21) that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved last week.

The CBO’s bottom line: There is no bottom line to the U.S. military intervention in Syria that was approved by the Senate committee in its resolution.

“The Administration has not detailed how it would use the authority that would be provided by this resolution; thus, CBO has no basis for estimating the costs of implementing S. J. Res. 21,” said the CBO’s four-paragraph statement on the matter.

“S. J. Res. 21 would authorize the President to use military force against the government of Syria, for up to 90 days, in response to its use of chemical weapons,” said CBO. “Prior to the use of force, the President would be required to provide a determination to the Congress addressing several criteria to show that such action is necessary and in the national interest. In addition, it would require the President to submit to the Congress a strategy for negotiating a political settlement to the Syrian conflict, a comprehensive review of U.S. policy towards Syria, and periodic reports on the progress of military operations.”

Last night, in a nationally televised address, President Barack Obama said that he had asked congressional leaders to postpone any final vote on whether to authorize him to use force in Syria.

Read more from this story HERE.

Subverting the Liberal Cultural Occupation? Bono, Kutcher et al.

Photo Credit: frontpagemag

Photo Credit: frontpagemag

In a recent National Review piece, Jim Geraghty pondered the alliterative question, “Can Conservative Comments from Celebrities Change the Culture?” He’s worried that by touting two celebrity quotes that espoused conservative values, the right is wading into the shallow waters of pop culture and degrading the serious business of politics. His concern couldn’t be more misdirected.

A few weeks ago, rock star/globetrotting activist Bono asserted that capitalism pulls more people out of poverty than aid does. As if this concept emanating from such a pop icon weren’t refreshing enough to conservative ears, hip actor Ashton Kutcher gave a Teen Choice Awards acceptance speech around the same time, in which he stated that opportunities for success arose from hard work and personal drive; it was an inspirational antidote to the left’s “you didn’t build that” message, delivered to a young, impressionable audience (this video of that speech has garnered over 3.6 million views).

The right, aware more than ever before of the importance of reclaiming the culture (although many simply pay lip service to that), pounced on these statements as hopeful signs that our ideas were beginning to breach the wall of the left-dominated cultural stronghold. This made Geraghty squirm:

I’m still chewing this over, and trying to decide whether this represents a necessary tactic in an era of celebrity-obsessed pop culture, or whether it’s just the latest version of the conservative tendency to instantly adopt and celebrate any celebrity who happens to echo some of our arguments.

After all, when we say it’s shallow and silly and superficial for Democrats to emphasize their Hollywood star supporters at their political conventions, and to hold campaign events with Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z and such . . . we’re not wrong.

Read more from this story HERE.

Robert Murray, a Top American CEO, Says Many Prominent Americans are Discussing the Need to Impeach President Obama

waging warThe direct speaking Robert Murray pulled no punches when he addressed the Bluefield Coal show in West Virginia today.

The CEO of Murray Energy, one of America’s largest coal producers, had a lot to say and the word impeachment was one of them during a hard hitting keynote speech to the coal mining industry, as well as to the rest of America.

Murray warned that Obama’s disastrous energy policies are leading America to a European model of energy poverty as evidenced by huge price spikes to consumers in Britain and Germany…

“They are destroying low cost electricity in America for everyone, including our citizens on fixed incomes and our manufacturers of products that compete in the global marketplace. European countries, particularly Germany went this route with disastrous consequences”

See: Germany says Solar is path to bankruptcy.

He backed up Germany’s energy plight with: “Germany spent 194 billion in the past 10 years on their “green” Obama experiment, including 10.2 billion in subsidies for solar alone. The result is German electric prices have jumped 61% and 15% of German families live in energy poverty.”……All of their predictions on the cost of solar and wind power were understated five-fold”

“To make up for German’s energy shortfall created by the loss of nuclear power and the inefficiency of “green” electricity, Germany is currently building 23 new coal-fired electricity generating plants.”

Great Britain is another canary in the “green” mineshaft as their citizens’ struggle with huge price increases in electricity: “Their electricity prices have risen more than than 70% since 2005. Further, electricity prices are expected to increase another 54% by 2020.”……..and other European countries are now faced with power black outs. Mr. Obama, his supporters and most democrats in Congress will not recognize this.”

See: Britain quietly tries to install its unpopular windmills in Ireland

Murray pointed the spotlight on the actual damage these Obama “green” policies will wreak on America: “Mr. Obama’s EPA alone will destroy much of America’s economy, resulting in the loss of 2.15 million jobs and nearly 200 billion in electricity rate increases by 2020, according to recent expert studies.”

If there is a keystone to modern society, it is the availability of relatively cheap and abundant energy and Murray spelled it out: “Low cost electricity is a staple of life. President Obama and his radical appointees are generating a huge crisis for America in what they are doing to the cost and reliability of electric power for our citizens.”

Murray put a personal tie into why he is so passionate about Obama’s disastrous energy policies:

Mr. Obama’s actions are a human issue to me, as I know the names of many Americans whose jobs and family livelihoods are being destroyed as he appeases his radical environmentalist, unionist, liberal elitist Hollywood character and other constituents. These folks are my employees.”

“These good Americans only want to work in honor and dignity. But when their jobs and those of their neighbors are eliminated in the coal mining areas of America, they have no one to sell their homes to, which is generally their only possession. Thus these people, who only want to work, are prohibited from doing so and fall to the negative side of the economic ledger for the rest of their lives. This is not the America that I have always cherished.”

See: Elite environmentalists tell coal miners to build amusement parks to take the place of their mining jobs.

Robert Murray ominously closed out his speech with a warning to the President and those who insist on taking America down a path that will eventually lead to disaster for the country:

“Many prominent Americans are now discussing the need to impeach President Obama…maybe you will want to be a part of this effort.”

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Ed Farnan is the conservative columnist at IrishCentral, where he has been writing on the need for energy independence, strong self defense, secure borders, 2nd amendment, smaller government and many other issues. His articles appear in many publications throughout the USA and world. He has been a guest on Fox News and a regular guest on radio stations in the US and Europe.