Tag: Obama Administration

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Our Chief Historian Sam Jacobs had the fortunate opportunity to speak with author and former ATF agent, Vincent Cefalu. For those of you that might not know — Vincent Cefalu is best known as the primary whistleblower who exposed Operation Fast and Furious and Project Gunrunner to the American public. Cefalu is a curious figure, […]

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It’s About Time

 

Major Garrett shifted uneasily in his chair, as the cameras and lights were set up around him. He reflected on his nearly twenty years with the media, especially on his decision to move from Fox News to CBS in 2012. Recently he had wondered if he had made the right decision, given the attitude and behavior of the media toward President Trump and his administration. Today he might be risking his career, but he believed it was the right thing to do.

At that moment the door to the hotel room opened and former President Obama strode into the room, smiling as he saw Garrett waiting for him. Garrett stood up and extended his hand to shake the President’s hand, then invited him to sit down.

They spent a few minutes exchanging small talk, updating each other on their families, activities, and plans. Then Major Garrett moved to the purpose of the interview.

This week on Banter we’re joined by Mike McShane for a discussion on education reform in the Bush and Obama administrations. Dr. McShane is the director of national research at EdChoice and a former research fellow in education policy studies at AEI. He cohosted a public event on the history of education reform in the Bush and Obama years, which featured a keynote address from Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. You can watch the full event video at the link below.

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Finally—the U.S. is stepping up to the plate in its aid to Israel with $38 billion over ten years, a record deal. It’s an increase from $3.1 billion per year up to $3.8 billion per year. Israeli critics say that if Netanyahu had engaged in talks with Obama regarding the Iran nuclear deal, the amount would […]

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My Marine is on duty this weekend with his reserve unit. Because of the amphibious nature of their traditional role in the Navy, it was time for him to re-certify in the pool. Basically, they jump in the pool fully clothed, boots and all and swim. Because they’re going to need a dry pair, they […]

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Los Angeles schools have enthusiastically adopted the Obama Administrations Anti-Discipline policies. The district moved to ban suspensions amid national concern media hype and pressure from rabble-rousing community organizers especially the one in the White House that they imperil academic achievement and disproportionately affect minorities, particularly African Americans. Preview Open

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Why Is the Republican Base Upset?

 

I think there are many reasons why the Republican base is upset, and it is correct to be upset. I am not a Donald Trump supporter, and I am not sure at this point whether Mr. Trump will continue his candidacy until there is a nominee for the presidency or will discontinue his campaign before that. Donald Trump himself may not be sure what he will do at this point. However, any Republican politician who does not understand why Trump appeals to some voters in their constituency will regret it in the results of the 2016 elections.

I think I understand why The Donald appeals to many in the Republican base, but I’m not sure what to do about it in order to keep Hillary Clinton from being elected. Certainly, criticizing your base or potential voters is not a winning strategy for Trump’s opponents when those voters have reached a tipping point. Individual voters may have different tipping points, but without ranking them in importance here are my candidates for why people are saying “we have had enough.” Which significant ones have I overlooked?

Groucho Marx for SecDef

 

191px-Groucho_MarxSo, Chuck Hagel is out; pushed, it appears. Who should replace him? Who can? Here’s the problem: The only ones who survive in the Obama administration are political hacks with personal ties to the President. This generates a Catch-22: two of them, actually.

The first is public. Anyone with the potential to get anything done will be a hack. Conversely, anyone with the potential to get anything good done will be stymied. We’ve already been warned by Bob Gates and Leon Panetta. There’s no way for the public to come out ahead.

The second is personal. Imagine that you are someone competent, say, Michèle Fluornoy. Taking this job would be reputational and professional suicide, because it’s only a matter of time before Obama throws you under the bus. So anyone willing to take the job can’t be all that smart and competent to begin with.

The Jobs Con Job

 

It was September 2012. Unemployment had been over 8% since Obama had taken office. “I don’t know much,” my neighbor said to me, “But I know this: The unemployment rate next month will be 7.9%.”

In the event, the reported rate was a much-heralded 7.8%, undermining Romney’s message that the country needed a better steward of the economy, and giving Obama a boost going into the November election. Outside of the MSM echo-chamber, however, skeptics noted anomalies in the data. The anomalies suggested inaccuracy at best, malfeasance at worst. Even Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, tweeted, “Unbelievable jobs numbers…these Chicago guys will do anything…can’t debate so change numbers.” The skeptics were vindicated a year later when John Crudele of the New York Post uncovered that the Census Bureau had, in fact, faked the data.

A Modest Appreciation of Vox.com

 

Do be sure to check out this brilliant, marvelous, incandescently stupendous piece by our very own Messiah of the Moment, Max “I used to be Otto von Bismarck in a previous life” Fisher, in which Fisher explains the Obama Administration’s attempt to deter Vladimir Putin from gobbling up any of the Baltic states. Especially wonderful and heartwarming is Fisher’s tendency to breathlessly explain the principles of deterrence to his audience as though (a) he just learned about those principles and (b) his audience consists exclusively of two-year olds. Consider the following excerpt:

President Obama gave a speech on Wednesday, in a city most Americans have never heard of, committing the United States to possible war against Russia. He said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a Western military alliance better known as NATO, would fight to defend eastern European members like Estonia against any foreign aggression. In other words, if Russian President Vladimir Putin invades Estonia or Latvia as he invaded Ukraine, then Putin would trigger war with the US and most of Europe.

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One of the big items of discussion around here as the Ferguson episode continues is the worry about the militarization of police.  Admittedly, I have not followed the conversations in great detail and don’t know the claims everyone has staked, but it seems that most here at Ricochet are concerned about police forces obtaining military […]

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Obama, a Modern-day Lucius Mummius Achaicus?

 

The number of Obama Administration attacks on private industry are simply too numerous to count. A Google search of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “War on Coal” produces more than 2.8 million results! But the onslaught isn’t reserved only to the energy industry. The private sector “zone” is so flooded by relentless federal pressure that many of these regulatory crusades fail to get noticed anymore.

One such Presidential war that has largely escaped notice is the effort to obliterate for-profit higher education which the free market produced to fill in the gaps in service from the public and non-profit universities.

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This is not a story.  It’s not a leak.  It’s a campaign ad for the establishment.  The short version is this: By announcing that he will sue Obama, he generates a great deal of sound and fury, indicting noone.  By actually suing Obama, he gets this ball out of his lap for good, and nothing […]

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The Coming Clash on Benghazi

 

GowdyWith the formation of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, I predict that there will be a constitutional collision between the Obama administration and Congress — one that the executive will eventually win.  

Obama’s aides will refuse to testify on sensitive matters involving the facts of the 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate, which killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and several other U.S. officials. While some of the information might be protected by executive privilege, most of it isn’t. But even if Congress holds the witnesses in contempt, there is little doubt that Attorney General Eric Holder — who himself has already been held in contempt of Congress — will order prosecutors to refuse to enforce the legislative branch’s judgment in federal court.

This administration, after all, has systematically refused to enforce federal laws to suit its own political agenda — in contrast to the few occasions in the past where presidents have questioned federal law for constitutional reasons. Unless Congress uses its own inherent power to enforce contempt, to which it has not turned in many years, the Obama administration may be able to run out the clock on Benghazi, waiting for the next presidential election.

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In the intro to the flagship podcast, we hear Richard Nixon’s famous “I am not a crook” denial, followed by Chris Christie’s “I am not a bully.” These are great examples of how sharing the contents of a politician’s heart can leave voters with the exact opposite of the desired impression. In the immortal words […]

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Loosening Home Lending Standards — What Could Go Wrong?

 

051414housing-600x396After a near-depression and worst-ever financial crisis that cost the US economy as much as $14 trillion, one might think Washington would be careful to avoid repeating the same policy mistakes. One might think, for instance, Washington would think twice and then thrice before loosening mortgage lending standards to boost home ownership, particularly among low-income borrowers. Because, you know, loosened mortgage standards seem to have played some role in helping set the stage for the catastrophic mortgage meltdown.

Recall three conclusions from the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States:

1.) From the majority report: “We conclude collapsing mortgage-lending standards and the mortgage securitization pipeline lit and spread the flame of contagion and crisis.”