I just added items #1,028 through #1,052 to my list of Obama’s lies and lawbreaking
The complete list can be found at https://danfromsquirrelhill.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/obama-252/
Here are the new entries:
1,028) Obama gave the Medal of Freedom to communist Dolores Huerta, and refused to let an anti-communist hero Lech Walesa into the White House
President Obama gave Dolores Huerta the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that can be given to a civilian. Huerta has praised Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan communist dictator who had repeatedly used the military to seize food from private owners. Chavez also had butchers arrested, held at a military base, and strip searched for running out of beef. In addition, he shut down a TV station that criticized him. Chavez placed a “luxury tax” on toilet paper. After Chavez seized farmland from farmers, Chavez stated, “The land is not private. It is the property of the state.” Chavez has seized many supermarkets from their owners, and under government ownership, the shelves in these supermarkets are often empty. Chavez’s mismanagement of the nationalized oil industry is so severe that the country has actually had to import gasoline, despite having some of the hugest oil reserves in the world. Chavez’s takeovers have also caused severe damage to the steel industry, the cement industry, the construction industry, the telephone industry, and the electric industry. He has also caused a brain drain, with many of the most intelligent and well educated people fleeing the country.
Meanwhile, Lech Walesa was a major participant in the defeat of communism in Eastern Europe. National Review wrote:
Lech Walesa was once a trade-union activist. He was often arrested for speaking his mind against Communist oppression behind the Iron Curtain in Poland and for defying the Soviet Union. He was an electrician who, with no higher education, led one of the most profound freedom movements of the 20th century — Solidarity. He became president of Poland and swept in reforms, pushing the Soviet Union out of his homeland and moving the country toward a free-market economy and individual liberty.
But President Obama wouldn’t even let Walesa in the White House.
Obama gave the highest civilian award to someone who wants the U.S. to copy the policies of communist dictator Hugo Chavez. And at the same time, Obama refused to let an anti-communist hero into the White House.
1,029) Invited illegal aliens, who had previously been deported, to return to the U.S.
In February 2015, it was reported that the Obama administration had invited illegal aliens, who had previously been deported, to return to the U.S.
1,030) After Obama had been given multiple intelligence briefings about the threat of ISIS, he dismissed the threat by referring to them as a “jayvee team.” However, he later claimed that he had not specifically referred to ISIS as a “jayvee team.”
After Obama had been given multiple intelligence briefings about the threat of ISIS, he dismissed the threat by referring to them as a “jayvee team.” However, he later said that he had not specifically referred to ISIS as a “jayvee team.”
1,031) Allowed recipients of “stimulus” spending to violate labor laws and tax laws by illegally classifying their employees as independent contractors
In September 2014, it was reported that Obama had allowed recipients of “stimulus” spending to violate labor laws and tax laws by illegally classifying their employees as independent contractors.
1,032) “Despite Obama’s pledge to curb it, NSA mass surveillance wins rubber stamp”
In September 2014, National Journal wrote:
Despite Obama’s pledge to curb it, NSA mass surveillance wins rubber stamp
Mass surveillance just earned another 90-day blank check, nine months after President Obama promised to rein in the NSA’s spying powers.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved the Justice Department’s request for another 90-day extension of the National Security Agency’s controversial mass-surveillance program, exposed publicly last summer by Edward Snowden and authorized under Section 215 of the post-9/11 Patriot Act.
The extension marks the third of its kind since President Obama pledged in January to reform how the NSA spies on Americans
1,033) “Reporters say White House sometimes demands changes to press-pool reports”
In September 2014, the Washington Post reported:
Reporters say White House sometimes demands changes to press-pool reports
White House press-pool reports are supposed to be the news media’s eyes and ears on the president, an independent chronicle of his public activities. They are written by reporters for other reporters, who incorporate them into news articles about President Obama almost every day.
Sometimes, however, the White House plays an unseen role in shaping the story.
Journalists who cover the White House say Obama’s press aides have demanded — and received — changes in press-pool reports before the reports have been disseminated to other journalists. They say the White House has used its unusual role as the distributor of the reports as leverage to steer coverage in a more favorable direction.
The disputed episodes involve mostly trivial issues and minor matters of fact. But that the White House has become involved at all represents a troubling trend for journalists and has prompted their main representative, the White House Correspondents’ Association, to consider revising its approach to pool reporting.
1,034) Obama created an “enemies list” which consisted of law abiding U.S. citizens who made large donations to Romney’s campaign. Obama then used the government to harass one of the people on this list.
In April 2012, the Wall St. Journal wrote:
The President Has a List
Barack Obama attempts to intimidate contributors to Mitt Romney’s campaign.
Try this thought experiment: You decide to donate money to Mitt Romney.
Several days later, President Barack Obama, the most powerful man on the planet, singles you out by name… shames you for “betting against America,” and accuses you of having a “less-than-reputable” record. The message from the man who controls the Justice Department (which can indict you), the SEC (which can fine you), and the IRS (which can audit you), is clear: You made a mistake donating that money.
Any president who targets a private citizen for his politics is de facto engaged in government intimidation and threats. This is why presidents since Nixon have carefully avoided the practice.
Save Mr. Obama, who acknowledges no rules. This past week, one of his campaign websites posted an item entitled “Behind the curtain: A brief history of Romney’s donors.” In the post, the Obama campaign named and shamed eight private citizens who had donated to his opponent. Describing the givers as all having “less-than-reputable records,” the post went on to make the extraordinary accusations that “quite a few” have also been “on the wrong side of the law” and profiting at “the expense of so many Americans.”
These are wealthy individuals, to be sure, but private citizens nonetheless. Not one holds elected office. Not one is a criminal.
The real crime of the men, as the website tacitly acknowledges, is that they have given money to Mr. Romney.
In July 2012, the Wall St. Journal wrote:
Obama’s Enemies List—Part II
First an Obama campaign website called out Romney donor Frank Vandersloot. Next the IRS moved to audit him—and so did the Labor Department.
Mr. VanderSloot has been targeted by the federal government. In a letter dated June 21, he was informed that his tax records had been “selected for examination” by the Internal Revenue Service.
Two weeks after receiving the IRS letter, Mr. VanderSloot received another—this one from the Department of Labor.
The ranch was fined $8,400, mainly for too many “flies” and for “grease build-up” on the stove. God forbid a cattle ranch home has flies.
1,035) Prevented the residents of Mandeville Canyon, California, from traveling so he could have a fundraiser
In October 2014, the New York Times wrote:
Obama Visit Fuels a Paltrow Neighborhood Feud
As gossip websites buzzed about Gwyneth Paltrow and President Obama — her “you’re so handsome that I can’t speak properly” is already being mocked unmercifully — her Los Angeles neighbors lashed out Friday that the Paltrow-hosted presidential fund-raiser had come at their expense.
Traffic stood still, children were stranded at school, residents could not leave their own driveways. That’s not the way life is supposed to be lived in Mandeville Canyon.
In a post on the Nextdoor Mandeville Canyon website, a private social network for area residents, Bret Lewis said that the neighborhood did not need people like Ms. Paltrow “who pay no heed to the concerns of their neighbors.”
He went on to solicit support for having Ms. Paltrow kicked out of Mandeville Canyon. “She belongs in the movie theaters, and President Obama can entertain in the Staples Center,” he said.
The anger began building outside Ms. Paltrow’s home on Thursday even while Mr. Obama mingled inside during the two-and-a-half-hour event, where it cost a $1,000 donation to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to listen to the president, and $15,000 to have dinner with him.
“I have a crying child on a soccer field!” one woman yelled as she passed by. (She was one of the few residents who were allowed to drive through.)
Mr. Lewis, in his post, said his family ended up in a restaurant “with a bunch of other displaced residents.”
“My 13-year-old daughter broke into tears, was unable to do her homework,” he said. “We finally got home at 9:00 and my daughter was up late studying, ultimately ill-prepared for her exams.”
Kim Peterson, in another post, said residents were misled about the extent of the presidential security and the impact it would have on traffic. “The biggest problem yesterday is we did not know the Canyon would be totally closed down,” she said. Otherwise, she said, “we could have all planned accordingly.”
But in Mr. Lewis’s opinion, it was “more than poor planning, it’s an abuse of power and, most importantly, unneighborly.”
1,036) Changed a government transparency website to make it very difficult to find information
Federal law requires the website usaspending.gov to provide detailed information on every federal contract over $3,000. Before March 2015, anyone could search the database by keyword. However, in March 2015, the Obama administration removed the ability to search by keyword, and made it so people had to know a contract’s federal grant identification number in order to get any information about it.
1,037) Refused to file federal charges against an EEOC employee who had stolen $60,000 in taxpayers’ money
In April 2015, it was reported that the Obama administration had refused to file federal charges against an EEOC employee who had stolen $60,000 in taxpayers’ money.
1,038) Allowed the same person to simultaneously work as Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff at the State Department and as a director of Hillary Clinton’s foundation for three years
In April 2015, it was reported that Obama had allowed Cheryl Mills to simultaneously work as Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff at the State Department and as a director of Hillary Clinton’s foundation for three years.
1,039) Obama forced a woman to give birth in highway traffic instead of in a hospital so he could have a fundraiser
In April 2015, in Louisville, Kentucky, Obama forced a woman to give birth in highway traffic instead of in a hospital so he could have a fundraiser.
1,040) Illegally gave illegal aliens free airplane flights to enter the U.S.
In April 2015, it was reported that the Obama administration had given illegal aliens free airplane flights to enter the U.S. Giving such aid and assistance to illegal aliens is a federal crime.
1,041) Classified Puerto Ricans as “disabled” because they spoke Spanish
In April 2015, it was reported that the Obama administration had classified Puerto Ricans as “disabled” because they spoke Spanish.
1,042) After supporting Obama in both elections, the National Education Association complained that Obamacare’s Cadillac tax would “unfairly cause hardship to American workers and their families”
The National Education Association is a teachers union. It supported Obama in both elections. In April 2015, it complained that Obamacare’s Cadillac tax would “unfairly cause hardship to American workers and their families.”
1,043) One day after Obama said he would remove Cuba from the U.S. State Sponsors of Terror list, a Cuban sponsored terrorist organization murdered 10 people and injured 17
On April 14, 2015, Obama said he would remove Cuba from the U.S. State Sponsors of Terror list. The very next day, a Cuban sponsored terrorist organization murdered 10 people and injured 17.
1,044) When Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, Obama allowed Russians who donated to her foundation to buy American uranium
In April 2015, it was reported that when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, Obama had allowed Russians who had donated to her foundation to buy American uranium.
1,045) Obama refused to fire Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she broke her promise to publish all donors to her foundation
Before Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State, she promised that she would publish all donors to her foundation. She broke that promise. However, Obama refused to fire her.
1,046) Obama refused to fire Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she broke her promise to let the State Department review all new or increased donations to her foundation from foreign governments
Before Hillary Clinton become Secretary of State, she promised that she would let the State Department review all new or increased donations to her foundation by foreign governments. She broke that promise. However, Obama refused to fire her.
1,047) Obama refused to fire Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after her foundation lied on its tax returns about donations from foreign governments
For three consecutive years – 2010, 2011, and 2012 – Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s foundation lied to the IRS by falsely saying that it had not received any donations from foreign governments. However, in reality, during the those three years, the foundation had actually been given tens of millions of dollars by foreign governments. Despite Clinton’s huge, ongoing, and illegal lies to the IRS, Obama refused to fire her.
1,048) The “most transparent administration in history” ignored ten consecutive questions about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s foundation
In April 2015, White House press secretary Josh Earnest ignored ten consecutive questions about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s foundation.
1,049) Obama refused to fire Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she violated the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against government officials accepting gifts from foreign governments
Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution states:
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
In addition, the State Department had the following rules when Clinton was Secretary of State:
Executive branch employees are subject to restrictions on the gifts that they may accept from sources outside the Government. Unless an exception applies, executive branch employees may not accept gifts that are given because of their official positions or that come from certain interested sources (“prohibited sources”).
A prohibited source is a person (or an organization made up of such persons) who: is seeking official action by, is doing business or seeking to do business with, or is regulated by the employee’s agency, or has interests that may be substantially affected by performance or nonperformance of the employee’s official duties.
The countries of Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Algeria all donated money to Clinton’s Foundation when Clinton was Secretary of State, at a time when these countries were attempting to conduct business with the U.S. government.
Charity Navigator, the United States’ most influential charity watchdog, said that legitimate charities spend at least 75% of their donations on their mission. However, according to Clinton’s foundation’s tax forms for the years 2009 through 2012, of the more than $500 million that was donated to the foundation, only 15%, or $75 million, was spent on programmatic grants. More than $25 million was used for travel expenses. Almost $110 million was spent on employee salaries and benefits. $290 million, almost 60 percent, was reported as “other expenses.”
Because of this, Charity Navigator put Clinton’s foundation on its “watch list.”
In addition, Bill Allison, a senior fellow at the Sunlight Foundation, said:
“It seems like the Clinton Foundation operates as a slush fund for the Clintons.”
Donations that foreign governments had given to Clinton’s foundation were used to pay for first class flights for Clinton, even though she was not an employee of the foundation when those flights took place. This is a clear and obvious violation of the Constitution’s prohibition against federal officials accepting money or gifts from foreign governments.
However, Obama refused to fire Clinton.
1,050) Under Commander-in-Chief Obama, male ROTC cadets were ordered to wear women’s high heeled shoes while marching in public
In April 2015, under Commander-in-Chief Obama, male ROTC cadets were ordered to wear women’s high heeled shoes while marching in public.
1.051) Burned more than 9,000 gallons of fossil fuel so he could tell other people to reduce their own use of fossil fuel
On Earth Day 2015, Obama burned more than 9,000 gallons of fossil fuel so he could tell other people to reduce their own use of fossil fuel
1,052) Broke his promise to slow the rise of the oceans
After Obama won the 2008 election, he said that his victory signaled
“… the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow…”
However, in April 2015, it was reported that Obama had broken his promise.