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When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; When the government fears the people, there is liberty.  ~ Thomas Jefferson

 

Entries Tagged as 'Treason'

Momentum builds for nationwide freeze on foreclosures despite the grave impact on the nation’s housing market and economic recovery.

October 11th, 2010 · Banking Industry, Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Economy, Federal Spending, Government Control, Greed, Housing Industry, Obama's Scheme, Real Estate, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within, Treason, Treasury, Unemployment

By Ariana Eunjung Cha, Steven Mufson and Jia Lynn Yang Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, October 9, 2010; 10:23 AM

Senior Obama administration officials said Friday that a nationwide moratorium on foreclosure sales may be inevitable, despite their grave reservations about the impact a broad freeze would have on the nation’s housing market and economic recovery.

Their remarks were made as pressure for a nationwide moratorium mounted Friday when Bank of America, the nation’s largest bank, halted foreclosure sales in all 50 states. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who is locked in a tight reelection campaign, called on other major lenders to follow suit.

The White House has so far resisted joining the election-season calls for action but convened two interagency meetings this week to discuss reports that banks filed fraudulent documents to evict delinquent borrowers and to deal with questions about whether banks are seizing properties without having clear ownership of the mortgages.

One meeting was made up mostly of groups that regulate the housing industry, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Treasury Department and the White House. The other, which involved the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. attorneys from across the country, was focused on the question of whether financial fraud was committed.

With foreclosed properties comprising one in every four homes sold in the United States, the spreading moratorium could disrupt real estate deals in progress, slow down the process of clearing the backlog of troubled home loans and prolong the economic recovery, analysts said.

A freeze would also strike at the financial sector, just two years after it suffered one of the worst crises in its history. One government official who has been in discussions with several big financial firms said the banks are bracing themselves for a wave of lawsuits from homeowners who are fighting to keep their homes and from investors who had bought mortgage loans on Wall Street. On Friday, while the Dow Jones industrial average crossed 11,000, most major bank stocks fell.

Bank of America is the first bank to put a moratorium on foreclosures in all states, extending its suspension to states such as California and Nevada, which have been hit hardest by the housing bust. Previously, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and others had announced that they were stopping foreclosures only in the 23 states where a court order is needed for an eviction.

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Senate report: Mismanaged U.S. contractor money aids enemy in Afghanistan

October 8th, 2010 · Accountability, Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Economy, Federal Spending, Foreign Policy, Homeland Security, National Security, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within, Terrorist Threat, Treason, Unemployment, War on Terrorism

Reference: SASC Report on Private Security Contractors in Afghanistan 10/07/2010

By Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 8, 2010; 12:34 AM

The U.S. military has only minimal knowledge of – and exercises virtually no control over – the thousands of Afghans it indirectly pays to guard its installations, including “warlords and strongmen linked to murder, kidnapping, bribery” and to the Taliban, Senate investigators said in a blistering report released Thursday.

The bipartisan report, compiled after a year-long investigation, notes that the military has recently launched its own investigations of the situation and has taken some steps to address it. In one of the most significant steps, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has issued new contractor guidelines.

Still, the Senate investigation documents a failure to properly vet, train and supervise Afghan security subcontractors, hired by U.S. and other international firms under multimillion-dollar military contracts.

That failure has cost American lives, undermined the U.S. mission and the Afghan government, and “helped play into the hands of the enemy,” said Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Some of the Afghan security subcontractors, Levin told reporters Thursday, are “creating the very threat they are hired to combat.”

Committee staff reviewed more than 125 Defense Department security contracts dated between 2007 and 2009 and provided a detailed account of two in which subcontractors had direct and well-known ties to the Taliban. The report recounts an instance in which the military raided a Taliban meeting being held at the house of a subcontractor. It also notes instances in which security subcontractors were believed by U.S. military intelligence to be Iranian agents.

According to the U.S. Central Command, the report said, there were more than 112,000 Defense Department contractor personnel in Afghanistan as of April 30. As of May, more than 26,000 armed private security personnel – nearly all of them Afghans – worked for the Pentagon and other U.S. agencies.

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U.S. proposal targets reform of Iraqi civil service while Economy still gloomy at home.

October 5th, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Economy, Ethics, Federal Spending, Foreign Policy, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Terrorism from Within, Treason

By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 4, 2010; 8:25 PM

The United States has developed an ambitious plan to help Iraq reorganize its civil service of 3 million employees, including promoting a decentralized system that establishes provincial authorities to run governmental activities at the local level.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) outlines the proposal in its request for bidders on a four-year, $180 million contract to work with Iraq’s prime minister and parliament in setting up civil servant laws and regulations, and also creating local institutions to deliver services to the population.

Meant to assist civil servants in more than 26 Iraqi ministries and 10 ministries of state, the “Iraq National and Provincial Administrative Reform Project” is described by USAID as the “rightsizing of Iraq’s federal structure.” The agency adds that it “is a monumental undertaking.”

“In the past, lack of GOI [government of Iraq] political commitment to carry through on reforms has jeopardized efforts to achieve targeted reforms,” USAID notes.

Potential contractors are advised that they need to be aware of changes in Baghdad’s leadership and must build “a broad and active Iraqi constituency” that would help hold the government accountable for reforms.

The current system has several obstacles, USAID has said. They include “obsolete and confusing” law and a large “number of employees requiring skill development.”

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The Cabinet decamps to Camp David: One Big Party paid for by Tax Payers

October 5th, 2010 · Democrats, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Terrorism from Within, Treason

An official White House portrait of the Obama Cabinet taken in April 2009.

President Obama hosted members of his Cabinet and their families at Camp David on Sunday, the first time he’s hosted top appointees at the presidential retreat.

Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis were among those that made the trip to Maryland, according to aides who replied to an e-mail inquiry about Sunday’s gathering. (The White House wouldn’t say if everyone attended.) Salazar attended solo, Locke brought his wife and three children and Solis took her sister, Anna, according to aides.

The Obamas have hosted cocktail parties and dinners for the Cabinet, but this was the first social gathering at Camp David, the White House said. On the weekends Obama is known to spend some of his downtime on the basketball court with Education Secretary Arne Duncan and at the golf course with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. The president and first lady also have dined out in Washington with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and his wife, Sharon Malone.

Franklin D. Roosevelt selected what was then known as Camp Hi-Catoctin as the official presidential retreat in 1942. He called the site Shangri-La, but Dwight D. Eisenhower christened it Camp David in honor of his grandson.

Eisenhower also hosted the first Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Aug. 11, 1954, according to presidential historian Martha Kumar.

“Ike intended it to be more than just the meeting, which was to be held in late morning, and then everyone would stay for light lunch, afternoon hanging around the pool, and then followed by dinner there,” said Kumar, a Towson University political science professor who’s archived the history of presidential transitions and press conferences.

Eisenhower held meetings at Camp David with the National Security Council and Cabinet in 1955, shortly after a heart attack. The NSC met on Nov. 21 and the Cabinet on the 22nd. Officials who were members of the NSC and Cabinet spent the evening of the 21st with Eisenhower at Camp David, Kumar said.

Many presidents have allowed Cabinet secretaries and their families to use the retreat on weekends when the First Family doesn’t plan to visit.

By Ed O’Keefe October 4, 2010; 6:00 AM ET

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Kagan’s recusals take her out of action in half of the Supreme Court’s cases: A Waste of Tax Payer’s Money

October 4th, 2010 · Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Federal Spending, Government, Government Control, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Supreme Court, Terrorism from Within, Treason

By Robert Barnes – Monday, October 4, 2010; 3:05 AM

Elena Kagan begins hearing cases as the Supreme Court’s 112th justice Monday morning. But anyone who wants to see her in action needs to be sharp.

Kagan will hear the first case argued before the court, then slip quietly through the burgundy velvet curtains behind the bench. She’ll be out of the action in all three cases : Tuesday. Her chair will be empty when the court returns next Tuesday and she’ll put in a half-day the next day.

Kagan’s old job as solicitor general – the “10th justice” – is initially making it hard to do her new job as the ninth justice.

Kagan, 50, has recused herself from 25 of the 51 cases the court has accepted so far this term, all as a result of her 14-month tenure as solicitor general, the government’s chief legal representative in the Supreme Court and the nation’s lower appellate courts.

The recusals are one measure of how integral the “SG” is to the court’s workings. Much of the court’s caseload comes from challenges to federal statutes or government policies that the solicitor general must defend. The court also often asks for the government’s view on whether a case is ripe for review.

Kagan is recusing herself from cases in which she had a role in drafting a brief for the Supreme Court, or when she was actively involved in a case in the lower courts. She took herself out of such deliberations when President Obama nominated her last May, so the pace of her recusals should slow as the court over the next few months completes the work of filling the term’s docket.

But initially, Kagan’s absence will affect some important corporate and employment- discrimination cases, as well as a highly anticipated review of one of Arizona’s attempts to crack down on illegal immigrants.

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Iraq breaks record for longest time with no government

October 3rd, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Selling Out the US, Treason

By Leila Fadel  Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 1, 2010; 1:41 AM

BAGHDAD – Iraq on Friday will surpass the previous record for the country that has gone the longest between holding a parliamentary election and forming a government, experts say.

The Netherlands had held that unfortunate honor after a series of failed attempts left the country without an elected government for 207 days in 1977, according to Christopher J. Anderson, director of the Institute for European Studies at Cornell University.

Iraqis have now spent 208 days with no new government and, while the Dutch weathered their storm, Iraq’s weak institutions may not hold up against mounting pressure and a steady level of violence.

As politicians jockey for positions and broker deals in backroom meetings, many Iraqis now say they wonder why they risked their lives to vote on March 7. U.S. officials are increasingly concerned that the lack of an elected government has limited Iraq’s ability to make national decisions and could eventually eat away at hard-earned security gains. The most optimistic of Iraqi politicians expect the process to take at least another month, if not much longer.

“There is no difference with the Iraqi case, except that the Netherlands had strong, functioning institutions and a caretaker government that continued to govern,” said Joost Hiltermann, a Dutch national and an expert on Iraq at the International Crisis Group. “Iraq has very weak institutions and a caretaker government that can do very little. This makes for a potentially highly unstable and precarious situation.”

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Household income plunged in 2009; yet Obama says Recovery is working…For who?

September 28th, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Federal Spending, Greed, Non-Transparency, Reform, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within, Treason

By Carol Morello and William Branigin Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 28, 2010; 3:44 PM

Household incomes shrank for the second year in a row in 2009, as the recession eroded the share of American families earning over $100,000 and swelled the ranks of people who are poor or just barely making it, according to census statistics released Tuesday.

The income estimates from the American Community Survey, a wide array of census statistics reported annually, underscore the devastation the recession has caused to millions of American households and families.

In the Washington area, however, the outlook was far less grim. Although the census said median household incomes dropped in virtually all regional jurisdictions, the share of wealthier households remained fairly stable or even increased.

Loudoun County, for example, is seemingly the land the recession forgot. The census said almost 58 percent of the county’s households earned $100,000 or more, up from 53 percent in a continuous upswing during each of the past four years. At the same time, the number of households earning under $25,000 dropped from 7 percent to under 5 percent. The poverty rate of 3 percent has essentially remained unchanged.

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Obama: “We can absorb a terrorist attack.”

September 22nd, 2010 · Accountability, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Terrorism from Within, Treason, War on Terrorism

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News Alert: Obama tells Woodward in new book,
September 21, 2010 11:31:13 PM
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A new book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward describes the Obama administration as barraged with warnings about the threat of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. President Obama told Woodward in an interview for his “Obama’s Wars,” “We can absorb a terrorist attack. We’ll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever. . . we absorbed it and we are stronger.”

Bob Woodward book details Obama battles with advisers over exit plan for Afghan war

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Senate fails in attempt to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’

September 22nd, 2010 · Defense, Dissention, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Terrorism from Within, Treason

Efforts to repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” suffered a near-fatal blow on Tuesday as senators fell short of earning the 60 votes necessary to start debate on the annual defense policy bill by a vote of 56 to 43.

Tuesday’s vote does not end efforts to lift the military’s 17-year ban on gays serving openly in uniform, but makes it almost impossible to ensure a repeal is included in the final House-Senate compromise version of the defense bill that lawmakers may vote on during a lame-duck session after November’s midterm elections.

The vote’s fate was sealed early Tuesday, when Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who supports repealing “don’t ask,” said she disagreed with Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid‘s decision to restrict the number of amendments to the bill.

“For the life of me, I do not understand why the majority leader does not bring this bill to the floor and allow free and open debate and amendments from both sides of the aisle,” Collins told reporters.

Vice President Biden spoke with Collins on Tuesday to appeal for her support, according to administration officials. Biden has been lobbying senators on behalf of the legislation since the bill was in committee, and his call Tuesday marked a final push to secure a single Senate Republican vote.

Collins would have voted with Democrats to end debate on the defense bill if Reid opened the bill up to other amendments, she said, adding: “If there’s an amendment that’s offered to strike ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ provisions from the bill, I’ll vote against that amendment and I’ll help lead the debate against the amendment.”

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Obama envisions no major changes in Afghan strategy despite disapproval rate

September 20th, 2010 · Deception, Defense, Democrats, Economy, Ethics, Federal Spending, Foreign Policy, Government Control, Homeland Security, National Security, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Terrorism from Within, Treason, War on Terrorism

By Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 18, 2010; 3:48 AM

Despite discouraging news from Afghanistan and growing doubts in Congress and among the American public, the Obama administration has concluded that its war strategy is sound and that a December review, once seen as a pivotal moment, is unlikely to yield any major changes.

This resolve arises amid a flurry of reports from outside experts and former officials who are convinced that the administration’s path in Afghanistan is unsustainable and its objectives are unclear. Lawmakers from both parties are insisting that they be given a bigger say in assessing the war’s trajectory.

The White House calculus is that the strategy retains enough public and political support to weather any near-term objections. Officials do not expect real pressure for progress and a more precise definition of goals to build until next year, with the approach of a July deadline President Obama has set for decisions on troop withdrawals and the beginning of the 2012 electoral season.

“The fundamentals are in the place where they should be,” a senior administration official said. Any adjustments will be akin to “moving the rabbit ears around a little bit to get better reception,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll be changing the channel come December.”

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