Posted on 08/06/2009 9:44:40 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Czardom has its privileges. This week, President Obama's health care overlord, Nancy DeParle, launched a taxpayer-funded initiative to recruit an Internet Snitch Brigade that will combat "disinformation about health insurance reform." As the White House explained in a special online bulletin:
"These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain e-mails or through casual conversation. Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an e-mail or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."
What will health care czar DeParle do with this information? Where will it be stored? Who has oversight of the czar's powers, budget and personnel? Concerned citizens, alas, will have a hard time tracking down the "Office of Health Care Reform" created by executive order in April. There is no central website for the office, no direct channel for transparency and no congressional accountability.
At least one member of Congress has started asking questions. Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn sent a letter to Obama demanding that he disband the Internet Snitch Brigade immediately: "By requesting citizens send 'fishy' e-mails to the White House, it is inevitable that the names, e-mail addresses, IP addresses and private speech of U.S. citizens will be reported to the White House," Cornyn wrote. "You should not be surprised that these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program."
Taxpayers have the right to know what government agencies and third parties the health care czar may share that data with -- and why. Take note: The White House Office of Health Care Reform is working in close quarters with an entirely separate Office of Health Reform created under the Department of Health and Human Services. That office is staffed with several Obama campaign operatives and former employees of the Center for American Progress, including special assistant Michael Halle and HHS Office of Health Reform Director Jeanne Lambrew, a former senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who worked on health policy in the Clinton administration.
CAP is a lead organization in the Health Care for America Now coalition, the "grassroots" lobbying group for Obama's health care takeover legislation run out of 1825 K Street in Washington, D.C., with a $40 million budget. CAP is also the parent group of Think Progress, the far-left website leading the smear campaign against fiscally conservative activists protesting at congressional town halls.
Lawmakers must also dig far beyond the health care czar's flagging operation. Last month, a Washington, D.C., citizen watchdog group filed suit to force the White House to disclose which health care lobbyists and executives it had met with this year to discuss the government health care takeover legislation. White House counsel Greg Craig refused to disclose which administration officials attended the meetings. But at least two of the industry visitors have ties to DeParle.
William C. Weldon is chairman of Johnson & Johnson, which paid DeParle $7,500 for a recent speech. Wayne Smith is chief executive of Community Health Systems, which merged with Triad Hospitals -- where DeParle served on the board of directors. DeParle's options were converted to cash payments worth $1.05 million.
Despite Obama's lip service to transparency, the public is in the dark about which assets DeParle has divested; how many times, if any, DeParle has recused herself from policy matters and meetings; and the exact nature of her conversations with health care executives. While White House press secretary Robert Gibbs lambastes the corporate health care ties of Republican opponents, he has shrugged off the corporate ties of the woman leading the Obamacare charge.
Alert the Internet Snitch Brigade: The fishiest odor is emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Maybe that’s why Medicare is so FULL OF FRAUD....a DEMOCRAT attorney is running it....
Who cares. These people are only dangerous on TV. Hit the streets and give em the what for. They run like scared Rabbits.
It’s ironic that we thought a victory had been won when Tom Daschle had to bow out of the cabinet post for HHS. In all reality, he probably would have just been a figurehead with all the real power going to this Nancy gal.
That's not a bad idea. Keep them busy investigating DU and SF Indy media comments.
The 2nd Amendment option is left.
Then, tell “flag” that these horrible people are bad mouthing Obamacare!
Alas, that would just get a stern letter sent their way that they should toe the line.
It will backfire is we ALL take action. Chatting on here doesn’t accomplish a damn thing. How many on here have written an email of rage to the flag@whitehouse.gov email address. I did ..I told them they have a lot of balls asking for names of dissenters. We need EVERYONE on here to do the same. Flood that email address with outrage..Do it ..do it now before you post another thing..
Yes ...you
do it !
Obama has to hate 7/8 of his own self if that’s true.
There have been other presidents who used advisors other than cabinet members. Andrew Jackson was most notable for doing so, but I don’t believe his advisors were paid. It’s a shade of gray depending on what the ‘czars’ actually do, what power they attempt to exercise and where the money comes from to do it with. Ultimately, congress holds the purse strings and could put a stop to abuse of power by refusing to fund anything they want to do.
On the other hand, it’s one thing to ask for that kind of data to be reported but it’s quite another to be able to sort through the deluge and manage it in any meaningful way. Milton Friedman used to reflect on government inefficiency as being a saving grace, with the thought being that if it were efficient it would cause much greater harm than it currently can.
And of course there are places they already know where to look for dissent, like here and god knows I’ve said stuff about the overhaul that the administration would consider disagreeable and possibly even “fishy”.
afraid?
My grade for Obama for his first 200 days as president:
A+ for Organizer
F for president
Be prepared to fight or lose your country. The time is now to stop this fraud from carrying out his plan to destroy America.
I have resolved myself to believe that he has no love or loyalty to this country. His swearing in as president was a fraud as he does not believe a word of it. And I am not even referring to whether he is a natural born citizen or not.
Another bit of irony. My doctor’s office won’t give out one tidbit of information about me to anyone I don’t list on a release form. Every so often I get a privacy of information mailing from my credit card companies. But now the WH is trying to collect vast amounts of data against “dissidents” and there is no oversight whatsoever, and apparently, there is no rule of law to govern this.
The civilian national secrurity force won’t have a chance against millions of armed patriots. This is just a pipe dream for Obama. American isn’t like any of the other countries where this has been tried before.
Nobody I know would be willing to live under such a scenario, they would rather die, as I would. When people have nothing to lose, and they are well armed, look out!!!!
If all the other things are true and they’re amoral, wouldn’t they just use superior force against citizens? How would that play out regarding the National Guard, etc? My brother is long-time Army, and even he isn’t sure that enough of the military wouldn’t be programmed enough to just follow orders.
I totally agree. He’s even worse than I thought. He’s forcing through as much as he can as fast as he can before too many people know what he’s up to .
Cap and Trade , Obama Care ?..You have not seen anything yet folks..Nope, you’re not going to believe whats coming up shortly from the Marxist in charge..Just wait ..If we don’t take action soon we will ALL regret it and there won’t be shit we could do about it either.
I’ve sent a ton of mostly mocking emails to that address. I don’t think I really accomplished anything other than to relieve my feelings and hope it’s too petty and beneath their notice to bother with a nobody plain citizen out of vengeful spite.
That and a bunch of liars who can claim almost anything if you know the right people who administer it. And the crooked liars who claim to be 'doctors' but are nothing more than quacks and thieves.
There are two groups that I am aware of who are husband & wife teams. No matter how many times they are reported they are still 'practicing'. You just have to know the right people I guess. I wouldn't take a dead snake to them.
You may be closer to the truth then you dare even imagine my friend.
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