President Obama Says He’s Not Trying to Redistribute the Wealth But We Know Better

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By Gary DeMar. President Obama works under the premise that while you can’t fool all the people all the time, you can fool enough of the people all the time to get re-elected. His latest claim that he is not out to redistribute wealth but only to “invest” in America is a case in point.

In his exchange with Joe Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber, in October 2008, just before a debate with then presidential candidate John McCain, President Obama said the following:

“My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody. If you’ve got a plumbing business, you’re gonna be better off if you’re gonna be better off if you’ve got a whole bunch of customers who can afford to hire you, and right now everybody’s so pinched that business is bad for everybody and I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

It was during this exchange that then candidate Obama offered justification for increasing the tax rate for people making more than $250,000 per year.

Now President Obama is telling his gullible audiences that that his call for tax increases on the rich is not an attempt to “redistribute wealth.” They are “investments”:

“So these investments — in things like education and research and health care — they haven’t been made as some grand scheme to redistribute wealth from one group to another. . . . This is not some socialist dream.

Read More at Godfather Politics.

‘Reporters Should Do Their Job’

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“It’ll probably work politically,” The Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes observed of President Obama’s “fairness”-based “Buffett Rule” tax hike quest, “but don’t reporters have a job to do here?” On FNC’s Special Report on Tuesday night he noted the 30 percent income tax rate on capital gains “would raise less than six percent of the total cost of the stimulus” and “would raise roughly the same amount in one year” as “the U.S. government accumulates in debt in a single day.”

Declaring it “totally meaningless,” Hayes asserted “there’s nothing serious about” Obama’s economic plan and so, he suggested in an idea with little chance of occurring, “reporters should do their job and put this in perspective.”

No surprise, they didn’t on Tuesday night and haven’t in the past. CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley relayed how “the President took his re-election campaign to Florida today. He hammered away at what will be one of his main themes against Governor Romney, that high-income earners should pay more in taxes.”

Reporter Norah O’Donnell, who offered no contrary information in her April 10 story, explained Obama’s spin:

Here’s what the President is talking about. People who make their money from investments like stocks and bonds pay a tax rate of 15 percent. That’s about what Mitt Romney paid in 2010. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says it’s unfair and wealthier Americans should pay more. The President is calling for a tax of 30 percent on incomes above a million dollars. The Senate will consider the so-called Buffett Rule on Monday. Mr. Obama says making wealthier Americans pay more in taxes is an issue of fundamental fairness.

In fact, the average effective federal income tax rate for taxpayers is 11 percent, I noted in my January 24 post, “Nets Use Romney’s Taxes to Advance Obama’s False ‘Fairness’ Narrative,” which includes a table showing those earning between $50,000 and $75,000 pay an average effective income tax rate of 7 percent, 8 percent for those taking in $75,000 to $100,000 and 12 percent for those between $100,000 and $200,000.

Read More at Media Research Center. By Brent Baker.

Border Patrol Agent Runs His Own “Fast and Furious”

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In what appears to be the latest of many crimes resulting from the Obama Administration’s disastrous Mexican gun-running operation, a federal agent has been indicted for trying to smuggle high-powered weapons and large amounts of ammo south of the border.

The U.S. Border Patrol agent undoubtedly got his idea from a failed government project, dubbed Fast and Furious, that put U.S.-sold weapons in the hands of Mexican drug traffickers. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) ran the once-secret program that allowed guns from the U.S. to be smuggled into Mexico so they could eventually be traced to drug cartels. Instead, federal law enforcement officers lost track of hundreds of weapons which have been used in an unknown number of crimes.

The lost guns have been linked to violence on both sides of the border, including the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent (Brian Terry) in Peck Canyon Arizona. In that case, the guns—assault weapons known as AK-47s—were traced through their serial numbers to a Glendale, Arizona dealer that led to a Phoenix man the feds repeatedly allowed to smuggle firearms into Mexico.

Judicial Watch has sued the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the ATF for Fast and Furious records and has already obtained internal government documents exposing a high number of crimes connected to the experiment. For instance, a Fast and Furious firearm (7.62mm Romarm/Cugir) was involved in aggravated assault against a police officer in Arizona and in Mexico the weapons have been used in a number of violent crimes.

This week’s news of a Homeland Security agent getting busted only adds insult to injury. The Border Patrol officer (Ricardo Montalvo) from El Paso was arrested and charged for buying ammunition and firearms, such as AK-47 pistols, favored by Mexican drug cartels. The idea, according to a federal indictment cited in a news report, was to smuggle the goods to Mexico.

Read More at judicialwatch.org

NBC’s Curry Rips Ryan Budget

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In an interview with Congressman Paul Ryan on Tuesday’s NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry slammed the Wisconsin Republican’s proposed budget: “Where is the empathy in this budget?…Do you acknowledge that poor people will suffer under his budget? That you have shown a lack of empathy to poor people in this budget?” [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Curry cited a left-wing non-profit group in condemning the plan: “…the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities….says 62% of the savings in your budget would come from cutting programs for the poor. That between 8 and 10 million people would be kicked off of food stamps. That you would cut Medicare by 200 billion, Medicaid and other health programs by something like 770 billion.”

Curry failed to make any mention of the organization’s clearly liberal agenda. The Center of Budget and Policy Priorities mission statement reads: “The Center conducts research and analysis to help shape public debates over proposed budget and tax policies and to help ensure that policymakers consider the needs of low-income families and individuals in these debates. We also develop policy options to alleviate poverty.”

Ryan dismissed the slanted figures:

So, not only do I take issue with a lot of their analysis and their numbers, spending in all of these programs still increases under our budget. You have to remember food stamps quadrupled over the last decade. So what we’re saying is we have to bring spending to a more sustainable rate of growth. And we can’t keep spending at the pace we are on, otherwise we will have a debt crisis.

In response to Curry’s declaration that the poor would “suffer” under the budget proposal, Ryan pushed back:

Quite the contrary. Our poverty rates are the highest they’ve been in a generation. One out of six people are in poverty today. The President’s policies are not working and we’re advancing pro-growth policies to get people off of welfare on to work….We just don’t agree that throwing more money at failed programs works. We want to reform these programs so that they actually achieve the result of getting people on their lives of self-sufficiency.

Read More at Media Research Center.

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore Creative Commons

Racists Prepare for “Race War” Over Florida Shooting

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Black and white racist groups including the “New Black Panther Party” (NBPP) and the “National Socialist Movement” (NSM) — both believed to be heavily infiltrated by federal agencies — claim to be preparing for an all-out “race war” as the fallout from the shooting of Trayvon Martin continues to spiral out of control. Meanwhile, President Obama, much of the establishment press, professional hate agitators, and even the United Nations have been pouring fuel on the fire.

Law enforcement officials have said that so far, there are no indications of violence or “armed patrols” in Sanford, and that protests have been peaceful. Sgt. David Morgenstern with the Sanford Police Department told the press on April 9 that there were no signs of either the neo-Nazi NSM or of the NBPP. However, both racist groups and their affiliates are under fire for openly proclaiming that a “race war” is coming and that they intend to participate in the slaughter.

In a recording of what was reported to be a NBPP conference call obtained by the conservative media service Breitbart.com, leaders of the NBPP black supremacist group describe their preparations for imminent “bloodshed.” One activist participating in the call advocates the complete destruction of capitalism and “class structure,” urging other members to begin stockpiling military weaponry and start training to use it.

“Black power! I just wanna say to all the listeners that’s on this phone call: If you are having any doubts about getting suited, booted, and armed up for this race war that we in, that has never ended, let me tell you something, the things that’s about to happen to these honkies, these crackers, these [police] pigs, these pink people, these ***** ****** purple people, it has been long overdue,” said a woman who identified herself as NBPP Tampa chapter “Chief of Staff” Michelle Williams.

Another call participant then speaks of blood and revolution. “We gotta suit up and boot up, and get prepared for the war that we’re in,” said the man, identified in a recording of the call as “Nation Spokesman of the New Black Panther Party” Chawn Kweli. “This stuff got to boil over, and all your greats talked about there having to be bloodshed involved with revolution — true revolution means some bloodshed … We gotta go through it.”

Read More at The New American. By Alex Newman.

Rev. Wright Unleashed: Clarence Thomas is Worshipping “Some Other God”

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The Rev. Jeremiah Wright became a household name during the 2008 presidential campaign. The fiery preacher, who was President Barack Obama’s pastor for two decades, has since retired from his position at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois. However, he’s still an active figure in geopolitical and faith movements, as his bizarre commentaries often offend detractors and inspire intense debate.

Last week, Wright spoke at Metropolitan Baptist Church in Charleston, West Virginia, as part of a week-long revival event. His controversial words took aim at Thomas Jefferson, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the media and plenty of other targets.

“I’m not divisive, the media is divisive,” he said, going on to lament the soundbites he claims were unfairly used to disparage him during the 2008 campaign.

As could be expected, the three evening sermons he delivered during the revival often turned to themes and subjects much more controversial than alleged media bias.

“Believers beware,” Wright preached in one of his lessons. “There are some conversations you will find yourselves in in which there is no communication taking place.”

Read More at The Blaze. By Billy Hallowell.

Photo Credit: Floyd Brown (Creative Commons)

White House Won’t Let Rep. Issa Question Key Staffer About Fast and Furious

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The most transparent administration ever has just invoked Executive Privilege in refusing to allow Congressman Issa and Senator Grassley to question former NSA White House staffer, Kevin O’Reilly regarding Operation Fast and Furious.

Kathryn Ruemmler, counsel to the president, denied Issa’s demand to speak with O’Reilly.

Over six months ago, the White House produced documents responsive to your prior request for communications between Mr. O’Reilly and ATF agent William Newell that relate to “Operation Fast and Furious” or any ATF gun trafficking cases in Phoenix, AZ… none of these limited communications between Mr. O’Reilly and Mr. Newell revealed the existence of any of the inappropriate investigative tactics at issue in your inquiry, let alone any decision to allow guns to “walk.”

O’Reilly was transferred to Clinton’s State Department in late spring 2011 and then sent to Iraq in September after documents released to the House Oversight Committee revealed extensive communications between himself and ATF Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix office Bill Newell who led Fast and Furious.

Emails show Newell was in routine contact with Kevin O’Reilly, then White House director of North American Affairs for the National Security Council.

Read More at American Thinker By M. Catharine Evans, American Thinker

Photo Credit: OversightandReform Creative Commons

Bias in new vote-counting system? National security concerns also raised

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An internationally-headquartered company, SCYTL, is now taking over online U.S. voting systems.

The company has previously faced questions about the security of its electronic voting technologies, which are now set to be deployed in 900 U.S. jurisdictions.

The firm already provides balloting for overseas U.S. military and civilian voting in nine states plus elections technologies in several districts.

Concerns have also been raised about SCYTL’s ties to the Spanish government and to international venture capital firms.

The Drudge Report yesterday ran a feature entitled, “Foreign company buys U.S. election results reporting firm.” The article documented that SCYTL, based in Barcelona, acquired 100% of SOE Software, the leading software provider of election management solutions in the United States.

Read More By Aaron Klein

Photo Credit: hjl Creative Commons

White House has diverted $500M to IRS to implement healthcare law

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The Obama administration is quietly diverting roughly $500 million to the IRS to help implement the president’s healthcare law.

The money is only part of the IRS’s total implementation spending, and it is being provided outside the normal appropriations process. The tax agency is responsible for several key provisions of the new law, including the unpopular individual mandate.

Republican lawmakers have tried to cut off funding to implement the healthcare law, at least until after the Supreme Court decides whether to strike it down. That ruling is expected by June, and oral arguments last week indicated the justices might well overturn at least the individual mandate, if not the whole law.

“While President Obama and his Senate allies continue to spend more tax dollars implementing an unpopular and unworkable law that may very well be struck down as unconstitutional in a matter of months, I’ll continue to stand with the American people who want to repeal this law and replace it with something that will actually address the cost of healthcare,” said Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee for healthcare and is in a closely contested Senate race this year.

The Obama administration has plowed ahead despite the legal and political challenges.

Read More at The Hill

Critics say RNC was in tank for Mitt Romney

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The Republican National Committee was supposed to play the part of umpire in the GOP presidential primary, but some Republicans are grumbling that the committee wasn’t just calling balls and strikes.

Critics, including supporters of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich and even neutral Republicans, argue that the national party took steps that helped tilt the contest toward Mitt Romney — an allegation that the RNC rejects but is taking very seriously.

The list of specific grievances ranges from issues that even the party acknowledges are legitimate, to those that they dismiss as desperate fixations from Romney’s flailing rivals.

For example, the committee agrees that some states that went for Romney jumped the line in the primary schedule, a violation of party rules. But RNC defenders shrug off other complaints, like that they undercut Santorum and Gingrich by formatting a delegate tracking list to pad Romney’s tally, by forming a fundraising alliance this week with Romney and by highlighting a rule that would block an unlikely path to the nomination for Gingrich.

And it’s possible they’ll be other clashes in the coming weeks, with the RNC signaling Thursday its opposition to a push by Santorum backers in Texas to alter the rules surrounding that state’s May 29 primary to help the former Pennsylvania Senator.

Read More at Politico. By Kenneth P. Vogel.

Photo Credit : Gage Skidmore (Creative Commons)