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Court: White House Visitor Logs for Obama and Most of His Staff are Confidential

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that White House visitor logs for the president and most of his staff are not public information subject to disclosure requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.

The 3-0 decision would keep the visitor records confidential for up to 12 years after President Barack Obama leaves office.

The appeals court ruling dealt a defeat to a private group that asked the Secret Service for all White House visitor logs from Obama’s first seven months in office.

“Congress made clear that it did not want documents like the appointment calendars of the president and his close advisers to be subject to disclosure” under the Freedom of Information Act, wrote Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Judicial Watch, a conservative-oriented watchdog group that sued in an effort to get the records, said it is considering an appeal.

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Turning the Tables? Group Challenges Domestic Surveillance by Tracking Obama

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Photo Credit: Tumblr

Photo Credit: Tumblr

In response to what some consider over-reaching surveillance programs conducted by U.S. intelligence agencies, which have been shown to collect thousands of communications with no terror connection, a group decrying the privacy implications of these programs is turning the tables on the president.

According to the Creator’s Project, “Where is Obama” pinpoints the location of President Barack Obama using what the group calls the ”Crowd-Sourced Positioning System, or CSPS.”

“The position of the president is a state secret. The White House website shows only Barack Obama’s schedule from the current day, but never dates beyond. The accuracy of this information is controversial. Obama, on the other hand, knows your entire calendar,” the creators Kim Asendorf, Ole Fach, Kyle McDonald and Jonas Lund said of the project. “Every person in the world can now participate in the supervision of the President.”

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Obama Setting ‘Scary and Dangerous Precedent’

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Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

By Garth Kant

One of the most respected and veteran voices in Congress told WND it would be a “scary and dangerous precedent” if President Obama does not seek approval for a military strike on Syria because there is no “direct threat to the United States.”

“It isn’t like the United States has been attacked,” observed Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., a 17-term congressman whose tenure extends back to Ronald Reagan’s 1980 victory.

President Obama has been considering whether to order a military strike on Syria for allegedly using chemical weapons against its own people on Aug. 21.

Asked whether the president is obligated under the War Powers Act to obtain congressional approval to strike Syria, or whether consultation would suffice, Wolf was adamant that the president must get authorization from Congress.

“I think we should have a vote, up or down.”

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Obama Ready to Go It Alone on Syria

By Cathy Burke

The White House signaled Thursday that President Barack Obama is ready to go it alone to strike Syria despite the British parliament’s rejection of military action and the lack of a UN mandate.

Aides said Obama believes that Syria must pay a price for breaking taboos on the use of chemical weapons, action which he sees as posing a grave threat to US national security.

US plans to build an international coalition for a “limited” strike on Syria suffered a devastating blow when the House of Commons in London voted against the use of force to punish a chemical weapons attack last week outside Damascus.

US officials signaled earlier Thursday that Obama would take unilateral action if necessary, but the possibility became a reality with the vote, which reverberated immediately across the Atlantic.

“We have seen the result of the parliament vote in the UK tonight,” National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said. “The US will continue to consult with the UK government — one of our closest allies and friends.

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Syrians Vow to “Burn America’s Skies” on Obama’s Facebook

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

As the U.S. marches toward war with Syria, thousands of Assad-sympathizers bombarded President Obama’s Facebook page with threats of retaliation.

Comments from seemingly original profiles represented Syrians from the cities of Homs, Tartus, Damascus and Aleppo and more. Warnings of counter-attacks on U.S. soil and against Israel were not confined to one photograph or post, but the most disturbing were observed on today’s picture honoring Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

This comment was pasted 356 times at last check in both English and Arabic:

“We will burn the cities of the United States if it attacked Syria, and will remove Israel from the map.” Others referenced burning America’s skies and called for immediate jihad retaliation should America strike “another Muslim land”.

The second most common remarks were also in English or Arabic and translated by Facebook:

“To the American people: Have you ever asked yourselves why your flag is burning all over the world by protesters? We always distinguish between the American regime and the American people…but if the American people remain silent they will be murders as their government. Wake-up Americans and stand for humanity.”

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Administration Announces New Gun Control Measures, Targets Military Surplus Imports

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

The Obama administration unexpectedly announced two new gun control measures on Thursday, including one that would curb the import of military surplus weapons — in a move that could anger collectors.

Vice President Biden announced the new measures Thursday morning. The new rules, announced while Washington was otherwise focused on the crisis in Syria, took the form of executive actions, which President Obama added to the list of 23 steps the White House already determined the president could take on his own.

The steps come after Congress declined to pass any gun control legislation earlier this year despite an aggressive White House push for action in the wake of the Newton, Conn., shooting massacre. With the political world focused on Mideast tensions and looming fiscal battles, the move signaled Obama’s intent to show he hasn’t lost sight of the issue.

The National Rifle Association, though, ripped the administration, saying its proposals would do little to reduce crime.

“The Obama administration has once again completely missed the mark when it comes to stopping violent crime,” the NRA said in a statement.

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Obama’s Rhetoric Comes Up Short Compared to Past Presidents

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Barack ObamaOver the ages leadership in democracies has been symbolized by ringing declarations.

We have, for example, John Kennedy’s magisterial:

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

Or Franklin Roosevelt’s request that a declaration of war be passed by Congress:

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us…

While President Obama is loath to assume the mantle of commander-in-chief, how does his team inspire or explain to Americans his approach?

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Bill Clinton Takes Subtle Jab at Obama: ‘MLK Did Not Live and Die to Hear his Heirs Whine about Political Gridlock.’

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Former president Bill Clinton told the March on Washington audience Wednesday that Dr. Martin Luther King “did not live and die to hear his heirs whine about political gridlock.”

“Oh, yes, we face terrible political gridlock now. Read a little history; it’s nothing new. Yes, there remain racial inequalities in employment, income, health, wealth, incarceration, and in the victims and perpetrators of violent crime. But we don’t face beatings, lynchings and shootings for our political beliefs anymore,” Clinton said in his commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech on Wednesday.

“And I would respectfully suggest that Martin Luther King did not live and die to hear his heirs whine about political gridlock,” he continued. “It is time to stop complaining and put our shoulders against the stubborn gates holding the American people back.”

President Barack Obama has repeatedly criticized political gridlock in Congress, which he blames on Republican “hyper-partisanship.”

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Obama Embraces the Imperial Presidency

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Photo Credit: National Review

Photo Credit: National Review

British prime minister David Cameron has recalled Parliament from summer vacation for a special session on Thursday, where there will be “a clear government motion and vote on the United Kingdom’s response to chemical weapons attacks,” Cameron promised on Twitter.

President Obama has a different view. The U.S. government’s Voice of America reports: “Pressed about calls for congressional authorization, White House spokesman Jay Carney Tuesday indicated the president believes consulting with congressional leaders is enough.”

Oh my, how liberals have learned to love the imperial presidency they used to so scorn when Richard Nixon or George W. Bush was in office. Last night, I appeared on Lou Dobbs Tonight with Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic consultant whose clients have included the late Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, our current secretary of state. Armed with the latest Democratic talking points, she dismissed any need for Obama to consult with what she dismissed as “a special Congress.”

Marsh is worth quoting at length:

There is a special Congress that we’re dealing with right now that has the lowest popularity rating in history and Republicans who overwhelmingly would oppose taking any action. The president of the United States cannot be handcuffed by the same Republicans that are holding the rest of the country hostage on every other issue. That is wrong.

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Does Obama Know he’s Fighting on al-Qaeda’s Side?

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

If Barack Obama decides to attack the Syrian regime, he has ensured – for the very first time in history – that the United States will be on the same side as al-Qaeda.

Quite an alliance! Was it not the Three Musketeers who shouted “All for one and one for all” each time they sought combat? This really should be the new battle cry if – or when – the statesmen of the Western world go to war against Bashar al-Assad.

The men who destroyed so many thousands on 9/11 will then be fighting alongside the very nation whose innocents they so cruelly murdered almost exactly 12 years ago. Quite an achievement for Obama, Cameron, Hollande and the rest of the miniature warlords.

This, of course, will not be trumpeted by the Pentagon or the White House – nor, I suppose, by al-Qaeda – though they are both trying to destroy Bashar. So are the Nusra front, one of al-Qaeda’s affiliates. But it does raise some interesting possibilities.

Maybe the Americans should ask al-Qaeda for intelligence help – after all, this is the group with “boots on the ground”, something the Americans have no interest in doing. And maybe al-Qaeda could offer some target information facilities to the country which usually claims that the supporters of al-Qaeda, rather than the Syrians, are the most wanted men in the world.

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Speaking Truth to Power About Obama

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Barack ObamaIt’s getting so that you have to be a true believer in the mainstream media not to notice that Barack Obama’s presidency is floundering. His signature legislative accomplishment Obamacare is a disaster and his foreign policy has belly-flopped. And now, we may be at the brink of highly unpopular military engagement in Syria with no prospect of an outcome that would be beneficial to the United States.

It’s so bad that important writers on our side are not mincing so many words anymore. As the first black president, Obama enjoyed a halo in the media that lasted for most of his first term. When tea parties sprang up in opposition to his policies, the media establishment immediately labeled them racist, in effect enforcing a taboo on criticism of the first black president.

But Obama’s race-driven immunity is wearing off, and respected and knowledgeable writers are being frank about what a historic disaster Obama has been as president. The low information voters remain blissfully ignorant, of course, lulled into believing Obama is competent and his critics racist.

Michael Barone, who is widely respected beyond conservative circles compiles a breathtaking list of Obama’s historic incompetence on IBD:

Evidence of the astonishing incompetence of the Obama administration continues to roll in…

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