"The List", Obama's Sixty First Week in Office

Nachumlist ^ | 3/25/10 | Nachum

[Nachum]

Obama's Sixty First Week in Office

"The List" for 3/25/2010

Obama yesterday bowed to criticism that his new health-care laws exempt him from buying coverage at the government-run "exchanges" and announced the first family will get its insurance just like everyday folks.

Convicted felon Robert Creamer, who wrote the blueprint for the Democrats’ health care reform campaign, attended official health care signing celebrations in Washington, D.C. yesterday.

The Obama administration plans to overhaul how it's tackling the foreclosure crisis, in part by requiring lenders to temporarily slash or eliminate monthly mortgage payments for many borrowers who are unemployed, senior officials said Thursday. Banks and other lenders would have to reduce the payments to no more than 31 percent of a borrower's income, which would typically be their unemployment insurance, for up to six months.

Lawmakers and a government watchdog on Thursday strongly criticized the Obama administration's loan assistance effort, saying officials rushed the program's creation last year and set up hundreds of thousands of homeowners for failure.The program, widely viewed as a disappointment, is designed to lower borrowers' monthly payments by reducing mortgage rates to as low as 2 percent for five years and extending loan terms up to 40 years. "It has failed," said Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., at hearing of the House oversight committee.

Obamacare- an effective 40 percent tax hike on the over-the-counter medicines

As many as a dozen taxes in the new health care law violate President Barack Obama’s campaign pledge not to raise taxes on families earning less than $250,000 and on individuals earning less than $200,000.

Obama snubbed Netanyahu for dinner with Michelle and the girls, Israelis claim

Obama Mocks Republican for acting is if bill is "Armageddon"

VIDEO: Another person "faints" at an Obama rally today

Obama mocked Republicans' campaign to try to repeal his new health care law, saying Thursday they should "Go for it" and see how well they fare with voters. "Be my guest," Obama said in prepared remarks for the first of many appearances around the country to sell the overhaul to voters before the fall congressional elections. "I welcome that fight. Because I don't believe the American people are going to put the insurance industry back in the driver's seat."

In 2008 Obama supporters issued death threats against critics.

Farm equipment maker Deere & Co. expects after-tax expenses to rise by $150 million this year as a result of Obamacare

Obamacare will make bond rates take a hit- Moody’s declared last week that the Treasury is “substantially” closer to losing its AAA bond rating.

Obamacare fallout: Medical device maker Medtronic warned that new taxes on its products could force it to lay off a thousand workers. Now Verizon joins the roll of businesses staring at adverse consequences.

ObamaCare Will Effectively Bar New Physician-Owned Hospitals- There are currently 60 to 65 physician-owned hospitals under construction. Those that aren't finished and don't have a Medicare provider number by Aug. 1 (Dec. 31 if the reconciliation bill passes) will probably never open their doors. Without a provider number, such hospitals can't treat Medicare patients, which are usually essential to financial survival.

"The List" for 3/24/2010

President Obama took the unusual step Wednesday afternoon of issuing a special denunciation of Cuba's human rights policies, after a year of advocating improved relations after nearly a half-century of political estrangement with the island neighbor.

The U.S. and Russia reached an agreement Wednesday for a treaty to reduce the nuclear arsenals. The accord is expected to cut the number of long-range nuclear weapons held by each side to about 1,500

India has called on the US to consider Pakistan's track record on nuclear proliferaton as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington would consider a civilian nuclear deal with Islamabad

Obama Adviser Axelrod Defends Duncan Over Chicago School Investigation

Israel to U.S.: Latest East Jerusalem building okayed last year

With little fanfare, President Obama signed an executive order Wednesday designed to ensure that no federal money can be used for elective abortions under the nation's new health care legislation.- no media were allowed in the room

Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Oversight committee, told CBS News Wednesday that he will call for a special prosecutor to investigate the White House if it does not address Rep. Joe Sestak's claim that he was offered a federal job in exchange for dropping out of the Pennsylvania Senate primary.

Hours after President Obama signed health care legislation, a potential problem emerged. Administration officials are now scrambling to fix a gap in highly touted benefits for children.  Obama made better coverage for children a centerpiece of his health care remake, but it turns out the letter of the law provided a less-than-complete guarantee that kids with health problems would not be shut out of coverage.

VIDEO: White House spokesman Gibbs on why he would not a photo with Netanyahu: "Not everything the President is for the cameras or the press"

The White House is seeking "clarification" on Israel's plans to build 20 new apartments in east Jerusalem

U.S. and Russian negotiators have reached agreement on all elements of a nuclear arms reduction treaty, a Kremlin official said. Prague is the most likely site for a signing ceremony, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with Kremlin policy. Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev will determine the time and place for the signing, the official said in a telephone interview today

VIDEO: Sebelius: Obamacare Strategy Is to Reduce Company Profits

Health insurers may turn to steeper premium increases, job cuts and dealmaking to maintain profits in the wake of a landmark U.S. health overhaul that imposes new regulations and costs on the industry.

The Obama administration announced on Tuesday it has reserved 3,000 free tickets to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll for students in D.C.-area public and charter schools, but not for children who attend private or parochial schools.

House lawmakers over the weekend voted to protect TRICARE and Defense non-appropriated fund health care beneficiaries from unintended consequences of national health reform.

"The List" for 3/23/2010

The national health care bill signed into law by President Obama yesterday violates citizens’ civil rights by forcing them to buy health coverage, according to a lawsuit a physician advocacy group filed in federal court. The complaint, filed today in Newark by New Jersey Physicians Inc., seeks to overturn the new law and mirrors lawsuits filed by attorneys general of 13 states.

Virginia's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal health-care reform law has formally been filed.

AUDIO:  Obama advisor Jim Wallis explores wealth, Marxism & social justice

There was plenty of hoopla in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday when President Obama signed his health care bill into law. But when Mr. Obama signs an executive order that secured the votes of anti-abortion Democrats, he will do so in private

The Justice Department will "vigorously defend" the new healthcare reform law against any lawsuits brought, a spokesman for the department said, after 14 state attorneys general filed challenges to the overhaul signed into law by President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is close to announcing changes in the way the Department of Defense enforces the law that bans openly gay people from serving in the military.

Obama signed the pro-abortion government-run health care bill into law today but did not sign an executive order that would supposedly nullify the abortion funding.

Chicago schools chief and current Secretary of Education Arne Duncan manipulated a system to favor powerful political allies by placing their children in the schools of their choice. The discovery of a list, the existence of which had been long denied by the city, and its composition of mainly high-powered political figures calls into question the appeals system used to reconsider applications that had been denied by the top Chicago-area school

Tanning tax angers U.S. tanning salon owners

Indoor tanning salons will charge customers a 10 percent tax beginning today in just one of the changes Americans will see as a result of the U.S. health-care overhaul signed into law by Obama.

The Oklahoma Senate has approved a measure that would allow Oklahoma voters to opt out of key provisions of the federal health care bill signed into law by President Obama.

States say the health care overhaul will bust an already strained Medicaid budget.  

VIDEO: Mike Pence: "I'd Never Thought I'd Live To See The Day an Amer. Adm. Would Denounce State of Israel"

VIDEO: Flashback.... On the campaign trail President Obama said the "public will have five days to look at every bill that lands on my desk" before he signs it into law.

Obama Won’t Allow Any Photos of Him With PM Netanyahu

Video: Biden drops the F-bomb in the White House

"The List" for 3/22/2010

   IRS looking to hire thousands of armed tax agents to enforce health care laws

The Navy and Marine Corps face a much larger shortfall of fighter jets than expected, four senior members of the House Armed Services Committee warned Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Netanyahu: "Jerusalem is not a settlement.

VIDEO: President Obama speaking to Indonesian TV on March 19.- Healthcare, not the economy is "Most important domestic priority"

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has refused to back down to Israel’s insistence on building for Jews in all of Jerusalem and charged that construction projects undermine "America's unique ability to play a role -- an essential role, I might add -- in the peace process."

Ten states plan to file a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new health care reform bill, Florida's attorney general announced Monday.

Exempted from Obamacare: The senior staff who wrote the bill

Stupak flashback: from December 23, 2009; he has one message for President Obama and “You don’t buy me off.”

VIDEO: Bart Stupak; (Obama's)Executive order has the full force of law

New Israeli construction on land claimed by the Palestinians threatens peace efforts and undermines America's ability to help end the Arab-Israeli conflict, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a leading Jewish organization Monday.  In a speech to AIPAC, Clinton said that Israel's recent announcement of new housing in east Jerusalem exposed differences between the U.S. and the Jewish state that others could exploit. She defended the Obama administration's strong criticism of the move because she said it hurt attempts to launch indirect peace talks.

The top Republican on the House Oversight committee is demanding answers from the White House about whether it offered Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) a job to drop out of his state’s Senate primary.

Alabama Attorney General Troy King says he hopes to join other states and go to court to challenge provisions of the newly passed federal health care legislation

Florida's attorney general will file a lawsuit with nine other state attorneys general opposing the healthcare legislation passed by Congress, a spokeswoman said on Monday.

State Attorneys general agree to immediately file a challenge to Obamacare

Despite having authored two autobiographies, Barack Obama has never written about his most important executive experience. From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001. The group poured more than $100 million into the hands of community organizers and radical education activists.

The health care bill is headed to Obama for his signature

During the Obamacare fight, Michelle Obama goes to New York to see a show with an entourage of 12

Obama is set to begin an immediate public relations blitz aimed at turning around Americans' opinion of the health-care bill.

"The List" for 3/21/2010

Obamacare passes in the House.  Bill sent to Obama for signature.

VIDEO: James Sensenbrenner; "The executive order that is being talked about now is a piece of paper, it will have no force and no effect"

Tucked into President Barack Obama's health care bill are several 11th-hour changes that help major insurance companies and doctor-owned hospitals.

What a coincidence...U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) announced three airports in northern Michigan have received grants totaling $726,409 for airport maintenance and improvements. The funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration.

VIDEO: Stupak called "baby killer" on the floor during the debate

Text: White House on abortion related exectutive order

Contributions now pouring in for Stupak's oppanant

VIDEO: Did Stupak lie? Bart Stupak says he would still vote for health care and never intended to vote against the legislation when it came down to final vote. Revealing video of  Bart Stupak recorded last year, when he was unaware he was being recorded. He was in the tank for Obama all along.

Bart Stupak signed on to support health care reform after the President issued an executive order, reiterating that the bill would not allow for public funding of abortion.

Despite reports on MSNBC that pro-life Democrat Bart Stupak, D-Mich., will vote for the bill, he remains a "no" vote.

Another Obamadeal: Bart Stupak has agreed to language in an executive order that would satisfy his block. He had called a press conference at 12:30, but has now canceled it. The seven Democrats left in his block will vote “yes.”

Feds give AFL's non-profit $28.5 million; U.S. Chamber of Commerce' non-profit gets nothing

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would not restrict construction in east Jerusalem, a step requested by the U.S., but would upgrade upcoming indirect talks with the Palestinians to include the main issues dividing them

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United States this week will include a demand that U.S. President Obama release previously-promised bunker-busting bombs, the Times of London reported Sunday.  The United States has diverted 387 bombs to an island in the Indian Ocean following the latest diplomatic clash between Israel and the United States over the proposed Ramat Shlomo hosing project in Jerusalem

VIDEO: Obama appears "unhinged" at rally.  Eyes unfocused, speech less clear.

VIDEO: Michelle Obama Flashback: Health Care Reform Requires Americans to ‘Sacrifice’

VIDEO: Barack Obama's 2nd Cousin, Dr. Milton R Wolf speaks at the Tea Party Rally in Washington, DC on March 20, 2010 against Obamacare

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, will use a visit to Washington this week to press the US to release sophisticated bunker-busting bombs needed for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.

Evidence of Obama alliances with extreme marxist radicals called the "New Party"

The White House has refused to provide information about President Obama's negotiations with organizations such as Planned Parenthood over his impending nationalization of health care, saying he has a "privilege" to keep such communications concealed.

"The List" for 3/20/2010

Ahead of his trip to Washington Sunday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has bowed to U.S. demands and promised the Obama administration that Israel will make several goodwill gestures toward the Palestinian. For the first time since Operation Cast Lead, Israel has agreed to ease the blockade on the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu has also agreed to discuss all core issues during the proximity talks, with the condition of reaching final conclusions only in direct talks with the PA.

Outsiders cannot force peace on the Middle East and any final settlement will have to be initiated by the Israelis and Palestinians themselves, Israel's Washington envoy said on Saturday.

House Republican Whip Rep. Eric Cantor released a collection of statements this afternoon showing any executive order President Obama makes on abortion cannot override a law duly passed by Congress.

List of amendments to Obamacare

Obamacare will stiff the military - Although the health care legislation passed by the House explicitly exempted TRICARE from being affected, the Senate bill did not. Unfortunately, the parliamentary rules of tof the reconciliation process did not allow for the inclusion of language that specficially protects these programs." -- Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO)

Rep. Alan Boyd (D-FL) finally got off the fence and announced yesterday that he would vote “yes” for the bill. Boyd’s announcement came just days after one of his pet bills passed the House. Boyd’s announcement came just days after one of his pet bills passed the House. Boyd is the sponsor of a bill, the Florida National Forest Land Adjustment Act of 2009. The bill languished in committee after being introduced in October 2009. Suddenly, though, it received a vote Thursday in the House.

The Obama administration’s chief actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) notified Republican leaders Saturday that the “very tight time frame” and “complexity” of the Democrats’ health spending bill would prevent them from fully analyzing the costs and efficacy of the bill before the House voted on the legislation. The letter was in response to a request from House and Senate Republicans.

Democrats ditch "Deem and Pass" and move toward an "up or down vote"

Rather than peace process, the new buzz phrase in Washington is "regime modification", as the Obama administration examines how it can force a

rupture in the ruling right-wing coalition and put talks between the Israelis and Palestinians back on a real meaningful track.

The health care bill that is on the verge of passage is striking fear into hearts of several states that they will be left on the hook for the cost of expanding Medicaid. 

"The List" for 3/19/2010

Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who at President Barack Obama’s behest gave Netanyahu a 43 minute dressing-down over the phone last week,  told BBC that pressure against Israel paid off, and that Jerusalem will now be willing to compromise.

President Obama's health care legislation, would also reshape the way Americans pay for famously pricey college educations. The bill would cut government funding for private student loans, expand direct government lending, and use billions of dollars in predicted savings to give out grants to poor students

Numerous Republican state attorneys general announced Friday that they are prepping to file a federal lawsuit protesting the so-called “deem and pass” procedural maneuver and coverage mandates in Obamacare

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has refused to buckle to US pressure to scrap a Jewish building project in East Jerusalem in a crucial telephone conversation with America's top diplomat

Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa, today announced the beginning of an investigation into reports of secret special deals the Obama Administration has made to advance the President’s government healthcare expansion plan.

Obama's second cousin, Dr. Milton Wolf's href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/11/obama-family-health-care-fracas/">published op-ed

President Obama's second cousin will speak at a Tea Party rally opposing healthcare reform tomorrow, organizers announced today. Dr. Milton Wolf, a radiologist from Kansas, published an op-ed last week decrying "Obamacare," and will join a slough of conservative lawmakers and activists on Capitol Hill tomorrow to rally against the legislation.

Senate Obamacare: would pay for abortions at Community Health Centers

Two weeks after a conservative group disparaged Justice Department lawyers who previously represented terror suspects, Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday weighed in for the first time, calling such lawyers "patriots."

The White House sending health care propaganda to federal employees? The White House Office of Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle has been sending out unsolicited email messages to federal employees in an effort to build support for President Obama’s health reform package over the last several weeks. DeParle’s unsolicited emails have been regularly coming to some federal employees’ official government email inboxes for weeks without permission or request, causing some federal employees to feel threatened by the overt political language. The Department of State employees, who receive hundreds of official government emails every day, have complained about the annoying and partisan emails but are nervous to go public for fear of retribution. The emails are addressed to the federal employees by name and use the official .gov address.

House Reconcilliation bill  increases cuts Medicare Advantage to $220 Billion - Fox News

A radical Muslim cleric tied to the Fort Hood shooting suspect can be heard taunting President Obama, applauding the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas and clearly acknowledging a relationship with Maj. Nidal Hasan, in a newly released audiotape

While the nation is transfixed by the health care debate, the Obama administration restores ACORN funding

President Obama gave a thumbs up Thursday to the outline of a plan to legalize illegal immigrants and create a flow of low-skilled foreign workers for the future, saying the immigration bill being worked on by a Republican and a Democrat is "promising."

The grand total of cuts to Medicare now $523 Billion

Caterpillar Inc. said the health-care overhaul legislation being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives would increase the company's health-care costs by more than $100 million in the first year alone.

According to Human Events, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) has been promised the job of NASA administrator in exchange for his vote, and Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), another retiring Democrat, has been promised an appointment as U.S. Ambassador to NATO in exchange for his vote

VIDEO: Biden: "The proof of the pudding is in the eating."... "We're going to control the insurance companies."

[Nachum]

Ah National health care is shoved up our- I mean down our throats. A trillion here and a trillion there... pretty soon you're talkin' real money.

61 weeks of .... fun.

Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list...

[Freedom56v2]

not sure which list you have, but it looks good, so put me on. thanks!

[freekitty]

This is a great list and will come in handy Nachum. Thanks so much.

[Nachum]

LOL. It is a list of Obama "achievements" since the day he walked into office.

I put you on. :)

[Nachum]

Thank you!

[Freedom56v2]

Well, I don’t see how I could not be on such a distinguished list highlighting his “achievements” and all ;). Thanks.

[4woodenboats]

Happy 61, FRiend.

I've given your site to everyone I know outside FReeperville.

[Nachum]

Thanks for that. A little light dispels a lot of darkness. It is much appreciated.