Politics: October 2011 Archives
Phil Kerpen, Vice President of Policy for Americans for Prosperity, has a new book out: Democracy Denied: How Obama Is Ignoring You and Bypassing Congress to Radically Transform America -- and How to Stop Him. I have a review copy, provided by AfP, and am reading it now with a review to come in a few days.
The book documents how President Obama is using czars and regulation to implement his left-wing agenda, bypassing Congress and overriding the will of the American people on issues like Internet regulation, cap and trade, union card check, Obamacare, and financial regulation. An interactive chart at ObamaChart.com illustrates these five areas and how to combat regulatory extremism.
Here's a brief trailer that will give you a sense of the book.
The theme of Kerpen's book continues to resonate, as earlier this week Obama announced an executive order to change the Federal Home Affordable Refinance Program. That link leads to a CBN News report which includes a brief interview with Phil Kerpen about the change and how it fits into the pattern described by his new book.
Did the White House try to strong-arm a journalist in the wake of the Justice Department's "Operation Fast and Furious" scandal? CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson says government leaders took a very aggressive tack following her revelations earlier this year.On Tuesday's Laura Ingraham Show, Attkisson said DOJ spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler and White House associate communications director Eric Schultz yelled and screamed at her over the story.
"The DOJ woman was just yelling at me," Attkisson said. "The guy from the White House on Friday night literally screamed at me and cussed at me. Eric Schultz -- oh, the person screaming was Tracy Schmaler. She was yelling, not screaming. And the person who screamed at me was Eric Schultz at the White House."...
Attkisson also said the DOJ and White House representatives complained that CBS was "unfair and biased" because it didn't give the White House favorable coverage on the developing scandal.
"Is it sort of a drip, drip. And I'm certainly not the one to make the case for DOJ and White House about what I'm doing wrong," she added. "They will tell you that I'm the only reporter, as they told me, that is not reasonable. They say The Washington Post is reasonable, the LA Times is reasonable, The New York Times is reasonable -- I'm the only one who thinks this is a story, and they think I'm unfair and biased by pursuing it.
I imagine the Nixon administration thought that Woodward and Bernstein were being unreasonable, too. Sometimes the most important story is the one that only one reporter has the guts to pursue.
Mainstream media sources like Bloomberg News and the Washington Post have been digging deeper into the bankruptcy of federally-subsidized Solyndra, looking particularly at George Kaiser, whose venture capital companies were involved in Solyndra's financing, and his George Kaiser Family Foundation, which held a large stake in the failed company. A few brief links:
Bloomberg News: Obama-Backing Billionaire's Charity Sought Solyndra in Tulsa
Washington Post: Investment in failed solar firm Solyndra raises questions about nonprofit's purpose
Philanthropy Daily: The Other Solyndra Scandal
New York Times, April 25, 2005: A Tax Benefit for Big Donors Often Bypasses Idea of Charity
Michelle Malkin: Solyndra Watch
KGO: Roseanne says guilty bankers should be beheaded: I imagine generous fundraising for President Obama's re-election would qualify a banker for a pardon from this modern-day Madame Defarge.
Consider this a placeholder. Will come back and add excerpts and my own thoughts later. In the meantime, read these stories for yourself.
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