Free Republic

Barack Obama appointed Tuesday to help lead the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, Robert F. Bauer, said during the 2012 election that voter ID laws are a Republican tactic to suppress lawful votes. During the 2012 election, the Obama team tapped Bauer to lead the legal teams for the campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Among his initiatives: fighting voter ID laws enacted by a number of states in an effort to combat voter fraud. During his time as the team’s organizer, Bauer told the Associated Press that he believes that the GOP is enlisting these new laws to impede...

Jeffrey Lord at the American Spectator has reviewed the White House logs looking for a relationship between meetings listed there and the timeline found in the Inspector General’s report on the targeting of Tea Party and conservative groups issued last Tuesday. Lord’s work represents yet another example of alternative media scooping a lazy or negligent establishment press. What Lord has found is that President Barack Obama met with the President of the National Treasury Employees Union Colleen Kelley, on March 31, 2010. The NTEU is “the 150,000 member union that represents IRS employees along with 30 other separate government agencies.”...

“For me, it’s about collaboration.” — National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley on the relationship between the anti-Tea Party IRS union and the Obama White House Is President Obama directly implicated in the IRS scandal? Is the White House Visitors Log the trail to the smoking gun? The stunning questions are raised by the following set of new facts. March 31, 2010. According to the White House Visitors Log, provided here in searchable form by U.S. News and World Report, the president of the anti-Tea Party National Treasury Employees Union, Colleen Kelley, visited the White House at 12:30pm that...

Republican operative David Adams filed a lawsuit this week in Franklin County Circuit Court to force a shutdown of the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange, the state-run option for ObamaCare in the Bluegrass State. Governor Steve Beshear’s immediate response suggests he knows he has a problem. He said through a spokeswoman the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky grants him authority to create a new bureaucracy that taxes and spends without legislative approval and the the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. “If Governor Beshear really believes the Constitution grants him the ability to usurp legislative authority on...

A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Final Rule published today in the Federal Register and a news release issued Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services, followed up with a notice to be published tomorrow, are two developments all but ignored by the mainstream press even though Vice President Joe Biden announced last week that the administration would be using executive orders to advance “gun control” goals following a Senate battle that could not muster the votes to do so legislatively. The Importation of Defense Articles and Defense Services -- U.S. Munitions Import List references executive...

His NCAA bracket a bust, President Obama believes he has a solution that will help salvage his predictions and his pride – Executive orders. Having recently used the power of the executive order to further his gun agenda, the President believes it can be used for other major policy issues as well. The first item on the agenda? Getting his pick for the NCAA men’s basketball championship back in the tournament. The President explained, “Getting the Indiana Hoosiers back in the tournament is not just a victory for any one party – it’s a victory for the American people.” Recent...

President Obama is issuing a new executive order on Thursday aimed at cracking down on election problems — but specifics are still scarce. Read between the lines of the group’s mission statement, and it seems the group will be overseeing state election laws, to at least some degree. Politico reports Mr. Obama’s order creates a new presidential commission on election body, co-chaired by two lawyers, Bob Bauer and Ben Ginsburg. Mr. Bauer served on the campaign of Mr. Obama in 2012; Mr. Ginsberg, on Mitt Romney’s campaign, Politico says.

The Obama administration has notified Congress of plans to modify U.S. weapon and ammunition export controls to make it easier for American companies to export spare parts for aircraft and gas turbine engines, the White House said on Friday. President Barack Obama also issued an executive order changing how export controls on military and certain high-technology goods are administered, the latest step in a reform initiative that dates back to August 2009. "This is the beginning of putting in place the nation's new export control system," a senior administration official told reporters on condition he not be identified. "Our current...

Democratic lawmakers seem confident immigration reform will happen in the near future because even if Congress doesn’t act, the president will move forward with executive orders, they say. Via The Hill: "I don't think the president will be hands off on immigration for any moment in time," Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), the head of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters this week. "He's ready to move forward if we're not." Rep. Joseph Crowley (N.Y.), vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, echoed that message, saying Obama is "not just beating the drum," for immigration reform, "he's actually the drum major." "There...

Leave it to Barack Obama to come into his inaugural weekend with a bang, and not just on guns. He’s made it clear that he intends more spending, more regulation, more radical appointees and less national defense in his second term. Since he just fired a load of executive orders on gun control like shotgun pellets at a duck hunt, I think it’s time to ask a few questions about this part of his agenda. The first one’s for the president. Why did you have children prominently displayed at your press conference? Were you implying that anyone who opposes your...

When Barack Obama implored Americans to "do the right thing" on gun restriction during a news conference this week, the "right thing" should have been obvious to everyone. Absolute moral authority -- it's the only way to go. If you fail to see the picture as clearly as the president, you may be an extremist or, more than likely, you're too feeble-minded to withstand the Jedi mind tricks employed by gun merchants or radio talk show hosts or the National Rifle Association or all those folks "ginning up fear" on the issue, according to a president who trots out 7-year-olds...

Among his 23 gun control executive orders, President Obama authorized the spending of $150 million to hire “up to 1,000” armed resource officers and school counselors. Just one problem: there are 98,817 government schools in America, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, a federal agency. Therefore only 1 percent of schools would potentially benefit from Obama’s new government solution. Apparently the other 99 percent (hey, where have we heard that term before?) would be left to the whims of deranged individuals who think it’s acceptable to slaughter children. Hiring 1,000 new government employees to potentially cover, on average,...

Realizing that a shooting war with American citizens would not bode well for an Obama legacy which will already require a blanket guarantee of willful amnesia on the part of historians, the president’s handlers on Wednesday decided it best to propose an Executive ban on gun owners rather than on the guns they own. If fact, nowhere in the list of 23 executive actions recommended by Obama will the American public find the words, “these weapons will be banned” or “confiscation will begin on…” The president wisely left the heavy lifting of “assault weapons” bans and other unconstitutional offensives on...

Not one of the 23 executive orders that President Obama signed -- flanked by schoolchildren whom none of us want to see murdered and before an audience that included relatives of murdered schoolchildren -- would have prevented the massacre at Sandy Hook. Did the main idea of the sentence above come through -- that the president's latest orders would not have stopped the heavily armed monster who entered a Connecticut school last month and killed 20 children and six adults? Or was your brain overwhelmed by anxiety signals arising from the imagery of vulnerable youngsters? The overwhelming imagery is no...

Via the Daily Caller, a teaser for his appearance on "Hannity" later tonight. If I didn't know better, I'd say that a guy who just visited Israel and is now talking about blocking executive overreach on gun-grabbing just might be running for president in 2016.The bill will go nowhere but conservatives will appreciate the gesture: “I’m told Sen. Rand Paul will introduce language within hours, within hours, to call for the nullification and prohibition of funding for the president’s executive actions announced today and possibly even using the federal courts to nullify and defund some of the things that he...

Obama brings kids to the White House as props for photo-op and emotional appeal to unveil his illegal gun control plans. Obama despicably using kids to undermine the Second Amendment via executive order is a perfect example of why the Tea Party can not go away. Due to extensive media coverage of Obama's Disarmament Show, low info voters will cry hearing stories of how guns make kids fearful and give Obama carte blanche to do whatever he deems necessary regardless of the Constitution. Predicting from their pattern of spineless behavior, Republicans will probably simply go along with Obama's illegal dictates....

The following is a list, provided by the White House, of executive actions President Obama plans to take to address gun violence. 1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system. 2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system. 3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system. 4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make...

"President Obama on Wednesday will formally announce the most aggressive and expansive national gun-control agenda in generations as he presses Congress to mandate background checks for all firearms buyers and prohibit assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips."

MARK LEVIN: I'm not into imperial presidents who act imperial and speak imperial and Obama forgets there's a Constitution. Yes, he keeps telling us he won reelection. Congratulations, but guess what? The Constitution wasn't up for election, it's not up for a referendum. He has to comply with it, too. He was sent back to Washington, but he's got a strict list of rules that he has to follow as president. When he gets up there and starts saying, if Congress doesn't do this, I'm going to do this unilaterally, it violates separation of power a lot of the times....

President Barack Obama plans this week to present 19 separate executive orders on gun control and will press for comprehensive legislation to expand gun-purchase background checks, lawmakers made privy to the president’s agenda said Monday, according to the New York Times. The biggest congressional fight on gun control in early 20 years—which also includes efforts to ban assault weapons and high-capacity clips—could be launched as soon as Wednesday, the Times reports. But considering the president’s expected inability to get acceptance for his plan through Congress, Obama will not shy away from using executive orders for restrictions he deems necessary, according...

Biden: W.H. readies 19 executive actions on guns By: Reid J. Epstein January 14, 2013 06:49 PM EST The White House has identified 19 executive actions for President Barack Obama to move unilaterally on gun control, Vice President Joe Biden told a group of House Democrats on Monday, the administration’s first definitive statements about its response to last month’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Later this week, Obama will formally announce his proposals to reduce gun violence, which are expected to include renewal of the assault weapons ban, universal background checks and prohibition of high-capacity magazine clips. But...

Texas Republican Rep. Steve Stockman threatened Monday afternoon that he would file articles of impeachment against President Barack Obama if he institutes gun control measures with an executive order. Stockman warned that such executive orders would be “unconstitutional” and “infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms.” “I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment,” Stockman said in a statement. At his press conference Monday, Obama floated the possibility of using executive action to enact policies...

Obama's EXECUTIVE ORDERS against guns are coming our way. The Obama régime is declaring a war on The Gun, and they want this war to be PERMANENT. They want the exception to become the norm. Forever. That’s why a hot war is inevitable. Article 1 of the Constitution establishes that "the Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, UNLESS when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it" -- but it does not specify which authority has the jurisdiction to decide on the exceptional suspension of the Constitution. Another passage of Article...

"My understanding is the vice president's going to provide a range of steps that we can take to reduce gun violence," said Obama. "Some of them will require legislation, some of them I can accomplish through executive action. And so I will be reviewing those today, and as I said, I will speak in more detail to what we're going to go ahead and propose later in the week.

First they want gun registration and now precious metal registration? I’m sure the government would only use such information in our best interests, because as we all know: Your Government Loves You. Sounds reasonable, after all, only 'terrorists' buy guns and gold anyway."

"As the president said, if your actions result in only saving one life, they're worth taking," Vice President Joe Biden declared on Wednesday as he previewed what his commission on gun violence might actually do. "There are executive orders, there's executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet. But we're compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and the rest of the Cabinet members as well as legislative action that we believe is required." Biden insisted that it is a moral imperative for the White House to do something: "It's critically important...

Today Vice President Joe Biden met with gun victims and safety groups as part of a continuing effort by his task force to come up with solutions to gun violence in the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut shootings. The highlight of the meeting came when Biden announced that the White House is prepared to act through executive action to implement gun control measures. Biden stated...

Wal-Mart now sold on gun-control summit Retail giant Wal-Mart has had an apparent change of heart about attending a gun-control summit called by Vice President Joe Biden.

The House approved a bill to rescind the executive order President Obama signed last week that ended the pay freeze on federal employees, which meant that some federal workers would be getting a raise—including members of Congress. A number of lawmakers spoke out about the absurdity of the pay increase and timing of the move. Rep. Michele Bachmann said in a statement, “This executive order was not requested by Congress and we should reject it. We have a spending problem in our country and we should be looking for areas to cut spending. At a time when families across the...

Gov. Martin O'Malley signed an executive order Friday to increase Maryland's long-term resiliency to storm-related flooding and sea level rise. **SNIP** "As storms such as Hurricane Sandy have shown, it is vital that we commit our resources and expertise to create a ready and resilient Maryland by taking the necessary steps to adapt to the rising sea and unpredictable weather," O'Malley said. "In studying and planning for storms and climate change, we can ensure that our land, infrastructure, and most importantly our citizens are safe and prepared."

Republican Sen. Rob Portman on Monday called on President Barack Obama to rescind government pay raises—including his own—saying they are out of line at a time the country is struggling to get its debt under control. … Under the executive order issued on Thursday, most members of Congress would receive a $900 annual raise, pushing their salary to $174,900. House Speaker John Boehner and the leaders of each party in each house would gain $1,100 a year. Vice President, Biden would get the biggest bump, with an increase of more than $6,000 to $231,900. …

Congress has done such a beautiful job handling the fiscal cliff and debt ceiling that president Obama felt it mandatory to issue an Executive Order Giving Biden, Congress Pay RaisesPresident Barack Obama issued an executive order to end the pay freeze on federal employees, in effect giving some federal workers a raise. One federal worker now to receive a pay increase is Vice President Joe Biden. According to disclosure forms, Biden made a cool $225,521 last year. After the pay increase, he'll now make $231,900 per year. Members of Congress, from the House and Senate, also will receive a little...

Seventy hours ago, at this writing, while on Air Force One, President Barack Obama issued a press release that has been utterly ignored by the Western Press. The president has openly announced a move against violent plotters inside the US government and espionage agents. He does not use the terms “AIPAC” or “the Israel lobby” but it is highly unlikely he could be referring to anything else. In fact, we can think of no other group. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/24/274332/aipac-decapitators-inside-us-govt/ Presidential Memorandum — National Insider Threat Policy and Minimum Standards for Executive Branch Insider Threat Programs MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS...

While all eyes were on Hurricane Sandy in the days leading up to the storm’s breach on the mainland of the Northeast, the White House was busy devising new ways to enslave Americans under the guise of protecting national security. On October 26, 2012, Barack Obama quietly signed an Executive Order (EO) establishing the so-called Homeland Security Partnership Council, a public-private partnership that basically merges the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with local governments and the private sector for the implied purpose of giving the Executive Branch complete and limitless control over the American people. One of the most effective...

For Immediate Release October 26, 2012 Executive Order -- Establishing the White House Homeland Security Partnership Council EXECUTIVE ORDER - - - - - - - ESTABLISHING THE WHITE HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to advance the Federal Government's use of local partnerships to address homeland security challenges, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. The purpose of this order is to maximize the Federal Government's ability to develop local partnerships in the United States...

Back in the spring of 2011, House Republicans had refused to raise the nation’s debt ceiling unless the president first conceded to massive spending cuts—a gratuitous game of chicken that put the global economy at risk and defied decades of bipartisan Washington tradition. At the time, many Democrats, including Bill Clinton, were urging Obama to go it alone. I’d raise the debt ceiling on my own, “without hesitation,” Clinton told a reporter. “[I’d] force the courts to stop me.” But the White House insisted that unilateral action was “not an option.” Instead, Obama spent 44 days trying to forge a...

Obama's executive orders more and more dispensing with Congress Barack Obama has used executive orders to seal presidential records; create a faith council, an economic council, and a domestic policy council, a council on women and girls and dozens more; study bioethics, change pay grades, set up a team of governors to synchronize state and federal military operations in the U.S.; improve regulatory review; create a jobs council; set up immunity for Bosnia, revoke some earlier orders and talk about finances. GASP! And he’s used them to talk about fiscal responsibility, ensure abortions through Obamacare; review Guantanamo Bay operations; promote...

U.S. President Barack Obama issued a new executive order last week to fight human trafficking, touting his administration's handling of the issue. "When a little boy is kidnapped, turned into a child soldier, forced to kill or be killed -- that's slavery," Obama said in a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative. "It is barbaric, and it is evil, and it has no place in a civilized world. Now, as a nation, we've long rejected such cruelty." But for the third year in a row, Obama has waived almost all U.S. sanctions that would punish certain countries that use...

What it comes down to is an honest examination of the last four years of the Obama Administration and an accompanying synopsis of what to expect in the next four years if Barack Obama is re-elected. The three areas of analysis, the three areas that most affect our lives and our future, are Obama's economic record, his foreign policy record, and his support for the Constitution. Regarding the economy, we are told that the continuing recession, the unemployment rate which is the highest and most prolonged since the Great Depression of the 1930's, the high price of commodities such as...

Earlier this week, we wrote about how the White House was working on an executive order to act as a "stand in" for cybersecurity legislation that has so far failed to pass Congress (CISPA passed in the House, but a different effort, the Cybersecurity Act, failed in the Senate, and it would have been difficult to get the two houses aligned anyway). Last weekend Jason Miller from Federal News Radio wrote about a draft he saw... but failed to share the actual draft. We got our hands on a draft (and confirmed what it was with multiple sources) and wanted...

King of America! A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet ************* As distasteful as it may be, I think we need to look at what we can expect if, heaven help us, Obama is reelected. First we must understand that Obama has had his fill of the Congress of the United States. After all, the Congress is only the voice of the people of this country. So, what do THEY know, right? Nah. Congress is just another speed bump -- like the Constitution. So, in my opinion, America should brace itself for a king-like President who will, in actuality, rule America...

A senior Democratic lawmaker is urging President Barack Obama to issue an executive order aimed at protecting the nation's critical infrastructure against cyber threats. In an open letter to the President on Tuesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called on Obama to use his authority to get government agencies and critical infrastructure owners to implement better controls for protecting their computer networks. "While efforts to reach consensus continue, I fear that the Congress will be unable to pass meaningful cybersecurity legislation this year," said Feinstein, who is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Therefore, I believe the time has come...

Today, President Obama will sign an Executive Order directing key federal departments to expand suicide prevention strategies and take steps to meet the current and future demand for mental health and substance abuse treatment services for veterans, service members, and their families. Ensuring that all veterans, Active, Guard, and Reserve service members and their families receive the support they deserve is a top priority for the Obama Administration. Since September 11, 2001, more than two million service members have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan with unprecedented duration and frequency. Long deployments and intense combat conditions require optimal support for the...

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama issued an executive order on Thursday that would increase the number of cogeneration plants in the U.S. by 50 percent by 2020, a move that would boost U.S. industrial energy efficiency and slash carbon emissions by 150 million tons per year. The order is the administration's latest effort to deploy cleaner and more efficient energy production in the country by working around political resistance to climate change and "green" energy legislation on Capitol Hill. The measure aims to accelerate investments to help manufacturers expand their use of combined heat and power (CHP) facilities,

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The U.S. Clean Heat & Power Association (U.S. CHP Association) today praised the Obama Administration for today's Executive Order, "Accelerating Investment in Industrial Energy Efficiency," which calls for a national combined heat and power deployment goal of an additional 40GW by 2020. Currently supplying twelve percent (12%) of U.S. energy capacity, CHP systems can reach efficiencies above eighty percent (80%). There is approximately 82 GW of CHP installed in the U.S. and industry estimates indicate the technical potential for additional CHP at existing sites in the U.S. is approximately 130 GW (plus...

We Can’t Wait: Obama Administration Announces Seven Major Renewable Energy Infrastructure Projects that Would Power 1.5 million Homes to be Expedited WASHINGTON, DC – Today, as a part of his We Can’t Wait initiative, President Obama announced that seven nationally and regionally significant solar and wind energy projects will be expedited, including projects in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wyoming. Together, these job-creating infrastructure projects would produce nearly 5,000 megawatts (MW) of clean energy – enough to power approximately 1.5 million homes, and support the President’s all-of-the-above strategy to expand American made energy. As a part of a Presidential Executive Order...

Barack Obama AKA Barry Soetoro AKA Barry the Rat, the south side of Chicago back alley international socialist pimp, is now declaring the United States to be adjoined and a part of the one world order, one world currency, one world government. Obama has signed what can only be described as an international executive order declaring that the international socialists’ doctrine on the status of women in the world to be law that will be enforced around the world via the power and wealth of the United States. The Executive Order — Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Women and...

Senate Republicans recently blocked cybersecurity legislation, but the issue might not be dead after all. The White House hasn't ruled out issuing an executive order to strengthen the nation's defenses against cyber attacks if Congress refuses to act. “In the wake of Congressional inaction and Republican stall tactics, unfortunately, we will continue to be hamstrung by outdated and inadequate statutory authorities that the legislation would have fixed," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in an emailed response to whether the president is considering a cybersecurity order.

Clearly, it was jolting news the New Mexico Legislature's Water and Natural Resources Committee wasn't prepared for. During Monday's committee meeting, in the Barbara Hubbard Room at the Pan American Center Annex, lawyers representing the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, Elephant Butte Irrigation District, and the city of Las Cruces, told the committee that a state Water Court hearing will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday, at the Third Judicial Court Complex, 201 E. Picacho Ave., and the future management of state's water supply could hang in the balance of the hearing's outcome. "Why hasn't this been front-page news?"...

Last week, U.S. Congressman Allen West looked the part of a college professor giving a lecture as he took the stage at the Lifelong Learning Center on the campus of Florida Atlantic College in Jupiter. At his second town hall meeting of the day, West gave a Power Point presentation without the often-distracting fanfare caused by protesters showing up wherever he appears. The room was not without distractions, however, and West handled them in a lighthearted manner, even having a little fun with the audience. But the subject matter during the presentation, and questions following, were no laughing matter.