Clinton Foundation Doles Out Favors, Charity Rater Gives It Four Stars In Return

Charity Navigator had previously put it on its watch list due to concerns about its finances and transparency.

A non-profit group that has received favors from the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), including a free membership that entitled its officials to rub elbows with world leaders, issued its top rating Thursday for the Clinton Foundation.

Charity Navigator awarded the Clinton Foundation four-stars based on an rating algorithm that scored the controversial non-profit with a 97.5 on financial issues and 93 on accountability and transparency. The new rating represented a boost for the foundation, as Charity Navigator had previously put it on its watch list due to concerns about its finances and transparency.

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We Are 90 Days Away from the Total Loss of US Sovereignty

10/1/13: As America races toward her date with destiny, there is yet another “fundamentally transforming” event coming her way and that event is known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Let’s be clear, Obama is violating the separation of powers principle of the US Constitution by leaving Congress in the dark and by limiting their ability to use their Congressional powers as they would with any other legislation. The rumors of the TPP policies are so horrific that even the Kool-Aid drinkers from the Democratic party are calling on Obama to allow more transparency. Congress is asking Obama to allow for more transparency? I did not know that we passed a Constitutional amendment which states that Congress works for Obama.

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AP: "Beware the government that loves secrecy too much."

BuzzFeed: AP CEO Says Government Sources Won’t Talk After Justice Department Probe

The most secretive president in history

President Obama has declared many times that his administration is the most transparent in American history. So, why has a new analysis by AP found that the federal government is rejecting more and more public requests for information? The AP report states that in 2012 “the government cited national security to withhold information at least 5,223 times — a jump over 4,243 such cases in 2011 and 3,805 cases in Obama’s first year in office.”

Why Is ‘The Most Transparent Administration in History’ Keeping More and More Information Secret? Judge Napolitano Weighs In

CBS: OBAMA SHOULD RELEASE HIS COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS

What we don’t know – and can only assume is extreme doubt – is what is so sacredly hidden in Obama’s unreleased files.

What could possibly be in Obama’s college transcripts that could hurt his image – or more?

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Rush Limbaugh: “What are your thoughts on the fact Obama’s Social Security Number is from Connecticut and he’s never been there?”

Caller on talk show warns of president's mysterious red flags...

Obama's Conn. Social Security Number hits Rush

Obama was only a lawyer for 18 months!

Fox News host urges Obama to release transcript

Transparency: White House to cut access to half of federal websites

...because Obama has compassion for all of us dummies out here in his kingdom: The White House said there are nearly 2,000 websites operated by the federal government, which it said confuses people.

Hugh Hewitt: Memo to the House GOP

This is a great post and extremely important (with some advice for the rest of us, too): Arrogance toppled Pelosi. The opposite of arrogance is accessibility and openness...

Now THIS is Armageddon

RedState: What the Democrats are hiding and why they are really scared...

President Obama has abolished the position in his White House dedicated to transparency and shunted those duties into the portfolio of a partisan ex-lobbyist who is openly antagonistic to the notion of disclosure by government and politicians...

Well, at least now he's being honest about not being honest!

Read more at the Washington Examiner

Obama administration uses coffee shops to conduct national business so lobbyists won't show up on White House visitors' log!

...the Caribou Coffee across the street from the White House has become a favorite meeting spot to conduct Obama administration business...because the discussions are not taking place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, they are not subject to disclosure on the visitors’ log that the White House releases as part of its pledge to be the “most transparent presidential administration in history.”

Coffee shops used for discreet lobbyist meetings: Meetings outside the White House avoid official visitor registration

...it is all about looting, about how one group of people can tax and regulate others in an attempt to get something for nothing

The special deals and payoffs are incidental to the [health care] bill in one sense; if they were all removed it would still be a bad bill. But in another sense, they reveal something essential about a government takeover of health care: it is all about looting, about how one group of people can tax and regulate others in an attempt to get something for nothing. All statist programs are rife with this kind of scheming, and they have to be, because whenever wealth is seized by force, there is a battle among the looters over how to divide the spoils.

Of course, the Democrats campaigned in 2006 and 2008 by promising "transparency" and railing against a "culture of corruption." But they just can't help themselves because big government is the culture of corruption. Every time private money is seized or diverted by the government, it sets off a mad scramble in which every pressure group is afraid of being on the losing end. In the cannibalistic jargon of Washington, if you're not on the table, you're on the menu. And there is no honest way to resolve these disputes because everyone has an equally legitimate claim to the looted wealth—which is to say, none at all. So principles don't apply, and it's all just unscrupulous horse-trading.

Read the whole thing!

CNN calls Obama a liar!!!

HotAir.com:

A CNN commentator cheerleading Republican victory in the midterms? Jack Cafferty calling Barack Obama a liar on national TV? Are cats and dogs raining from the sky today?

Strange Tales of the Vampire Congress

Meet the Beltway bloodsuckers. They convene in the dead of night, when most ordinary mortals have left work and let their guard down or are lying asleep in bed. Pale-faced and insatiable, the nocturnal thieves do their nefarious business in backrooms and secret chambers. Their primary victims? Taxpayers, the free market and deliberative democracy.

Democratic leaders have been promising the most ethical, transparent, open and engaged administration for years. Instead, they have delivered a bleak and creepy legislative environment that could double as a "Twilight" movie set.

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Obama lied. No transparency.

Look for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to try to circumvent the traditional conference committee process by which the different versions of health care reform passed by each house will be reconciled. If so, it will be the latest example of violating principles of transparency and accountability in the single-minded pursuit of legislative victory...

For Their Next Trick . . .

PS: This WSJ article also reminds of of a little recent history that was prelude:

When Democrats took over Congress in 2007, they increasingly did not send bills through the regular conference process. "We have to defer to the bigger picture," explained Rep. Henry Waxman of California. So the children's health insurance bill passed by the House that year was largely dumped in favor of the Senate's version. House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel and other Democrats complained the House had been "cut off at the knees" but ultimately supported the bill. Legislation on lobbying reform and the 2007 energy bill were handled the same way -- without appointing an actual conference.

Rather than appoint members to a public conference committee, those measures were "ping-ponged" -- i.e. changes to reconcile the two versions were transmitted by messenger between the two houses as the final product was crafted behind closed doors solely by the leadership. Many Democrats grumbled at the secrecy. "We need to get back to the point where we use conference committees . . . and have serious dialogue," said Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama at the time.

The Democratic Party used to be a VERY different party...

Transparency: Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passes Health Care Amendment written in invisible ink!

President Obama has promised a "new era of transparency" in Washington, so perhaps he should talk to the Senate about getting with his program. On July 15, six weeks ago, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed an amended $1 trillion health-care bill, with acting Chairman Chris Dodd calling it a "historic achievement." Too bad the committee won't reveal this history even to other Senators, much less to the public.

Three weeks ago Republicans on the committee wrote Mr. Dodd "to reiterate our request for a full copy of the bill as amended, in the four-week mark-up." Mr. Dodd has refused to comply. The Senate bill that is available on the committee Web site is 790 pages long. While that is some 300 pages shorter than the House health bill, that's in part because it doesn't include nearly 200 amendments that passed when the committee redrafted the bill. Amended sections of the bill might as well be written in invisible ink.

Health-Care Secrets

Certifigate: OMG! Where’s the Transparency, Mr. President?

“For nothing is hid that shall not be made manifest, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light.” Luke 8:17

The chattering class may be coming around to that “OMG” moment that Rev. Sam Sewell originally wrote about back in April: “I have nothing to hide but I’m hiding it.” Or, as I’ve been promulgating since I started this blog, individuals are beginning to question the fundamental premise of eligibility, not that it’s solely encapsulated within a piece of paper called a birth certificate or even a certification of live birth (though we certainly shouldn’t impugn these records, for what they’re worth).

This is a constitutional issue enshrined under the auspices of what most Americans have conventionally taken so much for granted — the transparency of those individuals who have ever been ambitious enough to seek the highest office in the United States. In short, the willingness on the part of our leaders to be thoroughly examined. And as we’ve seen through the myriad postings and commentary not only on this site but on many others, simply because there is no legal requirement to enforce such transparency does not mean that there’s no fundamental right of the People to question their leaders for a full and fair examination of those individuals’ backgrounds.

While I have been documenting many instances where the chattering class and others have tenaciously castigated those of us who question this President’s eligibility in particular and background in general, evidence is beginning to appear that maybe such questions aren’t completely … “fringe.”

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Democrats' FOIA problems

President Obama's promises of greater government transparency haven't panned out. Multiple transparency problems afflict the Obama administration.

Just last week, the administration rejected a Freedom of Information Act request for White House logs showing the names of coal executives who had visited the White House to discuss Mr. Obama's "clean coal" policies. This is the same Mr. Obama who as senator castigated the "secret energy meetings" with oil executives at the White House during the Bush administration.

Unfortunately, as if that isn't enough, the Democrats have yet another new transparency problem...

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What's wrong with Obama?

As His Agenda Collapses On Capitol Hill, Obama Hopes For Press Conference Hail Mary Today

NBC's Chuck Todd: "The honeymoon is coming to an end for President Obama, but it's not personal. It's professional, as now the public appears to be judging the president on some of his actions." (NBC's "Nightly News," 6/17/09)

AMERICANS FEEL "STICKER SHOCK" OF OBAMA'S GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE PLAN

CBO Concludes Democrat Plan Increases Federal Deficit By $1 Trillion And Counting Over Next Decade. "[E]nacting the proposal would result in a net increase in federal budget deficits of about $1.0 trillion over the 2010-2019 period. ... It is important to note, however, that those figures do not represent a formal or complete cost estimate for the draft legislation ..." (Douglas W. Elmendorf, Congressional Budget Office Director, Letter to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, 6/15/09)

Democrats' Plan Fails To Insure 36 Million Americans. "The analysis says that the number of uninsured Americans, now estimated at around 50 million, would decrease to about 36 million once the bill was fully implemented." ("CBO: Senate Bill $1 Trillion Over 10 Years," The Associated Press, 6/15/09)

House Democrats Have "Lots Of Potential Targets For Higher Taxes" To Pay For Government-Run Health Care. "House Democrats have lots of potential targets for higher taxes as they aim to expand health care coverage to reach the roughly 50 million that experts say are uninsured. Also under consideration are higher alcohol taxes, increases to the Medicare payroll tax and a value-added tax, a sort of national sales tax, of up to 1.5 percent or more ... The [other] tax options include: increasing the price of soda and other sugary drinks by 10 cents a can, applying a potential 2 percent income tax increase to single taxpayers earning more than $200,000 a year and households earning more than $250,000, a new employer payroll tax could target 3 percent of employers' health care expenditures, taxing employer-provided health insurance benefits above certain levels ... House Democrats planned to unveil a draft of their sweeping health care bill Friday ... The draft, being released at a news conference ... was not expected to mention the potentially unpopular tax options." (Erica Werner, "House Eyes New Taxes As Senators Pare Health Bill," The Associated Press, 6/19/09)

CBO Director Says Plans For Government-Run Health Care Would Worsen Budget Outlook. "President Obama's plan to expand health coverage to the uninsured is likely to dig the nation deeper into debt unless policymakers adopt politically painful controls on spending, such as sharp reductions in payments to doctors, hospitals and other providers, congressional budget analysts said yesterday ... 'Without meaningful reforms, the substantial costs of many current proposals . . . would be much more likely to worsen the long-run budget outlook than to improve it,' he said. ..." (Lori Montgomery, Shailagh Murray And Ceci Connolly, "Obama's Health Plan Needs Spending Controls, CBO Says," The Wash ington Post, 6/17/09)

Public Knows That Obama Has No Plan To Deal With Deficits. "A substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll ... Six in 10 people surveyed said the administration has yet to develop a clear plan for dealing with the deficit, including 65 percent of independents." (Jeff Zeleny and Dalia Sussman, "Obama Poll Sees Doubt on Budget and Health Care," The New York Times, 6/17/09)

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS AT WAR OVER OBAMA'S NATIONAL ENERGY TAX

Democrats Balking At Job-Killing National Energy Tax. "[S]everal Democratic aides noted that with the economy in a deep recession, many vulnerable Democrats might be loath to vote for anything that could be blamed for higher utility bills. 'With the economy the way that it is, I don't know that there's going to be the stomach to pass a bill that might raise people's utility and gas rates,' one Senate Democratic staffer said." (Emily Pierce & Steven T. Dennis, "House Climate Bill Facing Senate Headwinds," Roll Call, 5/18//09)

No Agreement Among Democrats Despite Pressure From Obama Administration. "House Democrats still lack agreement on key details of a comprehensive global warming and energy bill despite intervention from several top Obama administration officials..." (Darren Samuelsohn, "House Climate Bill Remains In Holding Pattern," The New York Times, 6/22/09)

Dem Leadership Attempting To Ram Bill Through Without Consulting Fellow Rank-And-File Democrats. "And significantly, four conservative Blue Dog Democrats - Reps. Mike Ross (Ark.), John Barrow (Ga.), Charlie Melancon (La.), and Jim Matheson (Utah) - voted against the bill in committee, which could portend trouble for it on the House floor and in the Senate. Ross and other Blue Dogs had complained loudly that Waxman and other key Democrats did not bring them in early enough in the drafting of the health care or cap-and-trade bills." (Steven T. Dennis, "Democrats Plan an Offensive; Leaders Looking to Legislate," Roll Call, 5/26/09)

Discussions Among House Democrats "Blew Up." "House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) on Friday said climate change bill negotiators are heading back to the drawing board after discussions between Democrats 'blew up last night' ... 'It's a whole new concept being brought in at the last minute,' said Collin Peterson (D- MN). 'Many didn't like it ... I'm tired of this running around in circles.'" (Jennifer Bendery, "Peterson: Democrats Back to Square One on Climate Bill," Roll Call, 6/19/09)

OBAMA'S STIMULUS ISN'T "CREATING OR SAVING" JOBS

In January, Administration Report Said Unemployment Would Only Reach 8 Percent This Year With Stimulus. "In January, the incoming administration predicted in a white paper study that without a huge stimulus package, unemployment would reach just over 8%, and would be contained at under 8% with a stimulus package." (Jake Tapper, "President Obama Predicts Unemployment Will Hit 10% This Year," ABC News' "Political Punch" Blog, 6/16/09)

But Now Obama Says Unemployment Will Reach 10 Percent This Year. AL HUNT OF BLOOMBERG: "Do you think that unemployment will reach 10%?" PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: "Yes." HUNT: "This year?" OBAMA: "Yes." (Bloomberg, 6/16/09)

Associated Press: Obama's Claim That Stimulus Has Saved 150,000 Jobs "So Murky It Can Never Be Verified." "Obama faces souring public opinion over his handling of the economy, which has shed 1.6 million jobs since the stimulus was signed in February. That total has far overshadowed White House announcements estimating the effort has saved 150,000 jobs, a figure that is so murky it can never be verified." (Brett J. Blackledge & Matt Apuzzo, "Spin Meter: Obama's New 'Accelerated' Recovery Plan Is Neither New Nor Accelerated," The Associated Press, 6/9/09)

Majority Of Americans Say Obama Economic Policies Have No Effect Or Make Conditions Worse. "[W}ith fewer than half of Americans saying they approve of how he has handled health care and the effort to save General Motors and Chrysler. A majority of people said his policies have had either no effect yet on improving the economy or had made it worse ..." (Jeff Zeleny, "Obama Poll Sees Doubt on Budget and Health Care", The New York Times, 6/17/09)

EXPERTS, DEMOCRATS AND MEDIA CRITICIZE OBAMA'S FINANCIAL REGULATION PLAN

Simon Johnson, Senior Fellow At Peterson Institute For International Economics: History Proves We Should Not Give Federal Reserve More Power. "First and foremost, [Obama] says the Federal Reserve will become the official 'system risk regulator'... But in principle the Fed had exactly this kind of leadership role before -- and under both Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke it was a reckless cheerleader and facilitator for the unsustainable real estate boom. If the Fed had been stronger before, the crisis now would be worse." (Simon Johnson, "The Defanging Of Obama's Regulation Plan," The New York Times' "Economix" Blog, 6/18/09)

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA): Giving One Institution Too Much Power Dangerous. "We have resisted creating an all powerful central bank to this point, and the experiences of countries which have concentrated too much power in one entity serve as cautionary tales. The Fed and Treasury over the past year struck "private deals" with the largest and most powerful financial institutions that put smaller, less powerful institutions "at a competitive disadvantage. An old African proverb says that when elephants dance, the grass gets trampled. We've got a trampled grass problem now. I don't think we can solve it with bigger elephants -- whether they are regulators or institutions." (Sudeep Reddy, "Sen. Warner Proposes 'Systemic Risk' Council," T he Wall Street Journal's "Real Time Economics" Blog, 6/16/09)

Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA): Giving Power To Federal Reserve Means Little To No Accountability. "I'm concerned about giving all this additional power to the Fed, while at least the Federal Reserve's 12 branches are not even governmental entities. Their boards are selected by bank executives and are not responsive to the electorate in this democracy." (MSNBC's "Live," 6/17/09)

USA Today Editorial: Obama's Plan Will Create Bureaucratic Turf Wars. "The most worrisome aspect of Obama's plan -- which would create both a Consumer Financial Protection Agency and a Financial Services Oversight Council -- is its potential to spawn turf wars and bureaucratic bloat." (Editorial, "Our View On Preventing Economic Excess: Obama Plugs Financial Holes, But Opens Door To Bloat," USA Today, 6/18/09)

Associated Press: Obama's Plan Will Not Improve Efficiency. "[T]he plan would do little to streamline the alphabet soup of agencies that oversee the financial sector..." (Jim Kuhnhenn & Martin Crutsinger, "New Financial Rules: Major Changes For Big, Small," The Associated Press, 6/17/09)

BROKEN PROMISES: OBAMA NOT LIVING UP TO HIS WORD ON TRANSPARENCY

OBAMA PLEDGED: "When There Is A Bill That Ends Up On My Desk As President, You Will Have Five Days To Look Online And Find Out What's In It Before I Sign it." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: Taking Our Government Back, Manchester, NH, 6/22/07)

BUT NOW: Obama "Has Almost Never" Waited Five Days Before Signing Legislation. "During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised that once a bill was passed by Congress, the White House would post it online for five days before he signed it... Five months into his administration, Mr. Obama has signed two dozen bills, but he has almost never waited five days." (Katharine Q. Seelye, "White House Changes The Terms Of A Campaign Pledge About Posting Bills Online," The New York Times, 6/22/09)

OBAMA PLEDGED: "My Administration Is Committed To Creating An Unprecedented Level Of Openness In Government." (President Barack Obama, "Memorandum For The Heads Of Executive Departments And Agencies: Transparency and Open Government," Press Release, 1/21/09)

BUT NOW: Obama Administration Refuses To Disclose White House Visitors Logs After Meeting Privately With Coal Executives. "[L]ast week public-interest groups were dismayed when his own administration rejected a Freedom of Information Act request for Secret Service logs showing the identities of coal executives who had visited the White House to discuss Obama's 'clean coal' policies... The refusal, approved by White House counsel Greg Craig's office, is the latest in a series of cases in which Obama officials have opted against public disclo sure." (Michael Isikoff, "Obama Closes Doors On Openness," Newsweek, 6/20/09)

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