Month: June 2015

Emails Show Jonathan Gruber Played Bigger Role with Obama Administration on Healthcare Than Previously Admitted

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Jonathan Gruber, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist whose comments about the health-care law touched off a political furor, worked more closely than previously known with the White House and top federal officials to shape the law, previously unreleased emails show.

The emails show frequent consultations between Mr. Gruber and top Obama administration staffers and advisers in the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services on the Affordable Care Act. They show he informed HHS about interviews with reporters and discussions with lawmakers, and he consulted with HHS about how to publicly describe his role.

The White House has described Mr. Gruber as having a limited role in crafting the law. President Barack Obama in 2014 said Mr. Gruber was “some adviser who never worked on our staff.” Mr. Gruber told Congress last year he disagreed with the widespread characterization of his role as the “architect” of Mr. Obama’s health-care plan.

“Thank you for being an integral part of getting us to this historic moment,” according to Sept. 9, 2009 email to Mr. Gruber from Jeanne Lambrew, a top Obama administration health adviser who worked at HHS and the White House. In a November 2009 email, she called Mr. Gruber “our hero.”

– From the Wall Street Journal article: MIT Economist Jonathan Gruber Had Bigger Role in Health Law, Emails Show

Pretty much anyone reading this post will be intimately familiar with Jonathan “stupidity of the American voter” Gruber. In case you need a refresher, here’s an excerpt from last fall’s piece, Video of the Day – Obamacare Architect Credits “Lack of Transparency” and “Stupidity of the American People” for Passage of Healthcare Law:

An architect of the federal healthcare law said last year that a “lack of transparency” and the “stupidity of the American voter” helped Congress approve ObamaCare.

He suggested that many lawmakers and voters didn’t know what was in the law or how its financing worked, and that this helped it win approval. 

“Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage,” Gruber said. “And basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical for the thing to pass.”

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45 U.S. Military Veterans Sign Letter Urging Drone Operators to “Refuse to Fly”

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The tendencies we have mentioned are something new for America. They arose when, under the influence of the two World Wars and the consequent concentration of all forces on a military goal, a predominantly military mentality developed, which with the almost sudden victory became even more accentuated. The characteristic feature of this mentality is that people place the importance of what Bertrand Russell so tellingly terms “naked power” far above all other factors which affect the relations between peoples. The Germans, misled by Bismarck’s successes in particular, underwent just such a transformation of their mentality–in consequences of which they were entirely ruined in less than a hundred years.

I must frankly confess that the foreign policy of the United States since the termination of hostilities has reminded me, sometimes irresistibly, of the attitude of Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II, and I know that, independent of me, this analogy has most painfully occurred to others as well. It is characteristic of the military mentality that non-human factors (atom bombs, strategic bases, weapons of all sorts, the possession of raw materials, etc.) are held essential, while the human being, his desires and thoughts–in short, the psychological factors–are considered as unimportant and secondary. Herein lies a certain resemblance to Marxism, at least in so far as its theoretical side alone is kept in view. The individual is degraded to a mere instrument; he becomes “human material.” The normal ends of human aspiration vanish with such a viewpoint. Instead, the military mentality raises “naked power” as a goal in itself–one of the strangest illusions to which men can succumb.

In our time the military mentality is still more dangerous than formerly because the offensive weapons have become much more powerful than the defensive ones. Therefore it leads, by necessity, to preventative war. The general insecurity that goes hand in hand with this results in the sacrifice of the citizen’s civil rights to the supposed welfare of the state. Political witch-hunting, controls of all sorts (e.g., control of teaching and research, of the press, and so forth) appear inevitable, and for this reason do not encounter that popular resistance, which, were it not for the military mentaility, would provide a protection. A reappraisal of all values gradually takes place in so far as everything that does not clearly serve the utopian ends is regarded and treated as inferior.

– Albert Einstein, The Military Mentality, 1947

Much of what I cover here at Liberty Blitzkrieg could be categorized as “depressing,” “frustrating,” “shocking” and “terrifying.” That said, I want to reemphasize the key reason I do this in the first place: change.

Not politician speak “change;” real change. Genuine, lasting, paradigm level change, which I believe starts with understanding and consciousness. You can’t be conscious and caring if you are brainwashed by greedy, statist psychopaths, so I fundamentally believe that change starts in the mind and in the heart and then becomes expressed in the material world around us. If I thought all were lost and hopeless, I wouldn’t bother doing this. Not only do I think real, positive change is possible, I think is very likely.

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You’ve Been Warned – Calls for Mandatory “National Service” for Americans Aged 18-28 Has Begun

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CHAPTER ONE

War is a Racket

WAR is a racket. It always has been.

It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small “inside” group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

– From Major General Smedley Butler’s War is a Rackett

This is one of the most important articles I will write all year. The statists are coming for your kids, and the conditioning has already begun.

Last night, I came across one of the most horrifying articles I have ever read, which is saying a lot. Before I get into it, take a look at the title and the tagline:

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If you think the title is bad, wait until you read the article. What becomes evident is that this grotesque concept of forced “national service” is being actively discussed at the highest levels of government. What Ron Fournier is doing in his National Journal article is conditioning the public to accept something that is completely unacceptable.

Before we get to that, who is Ron Fournier? National Journal provides a bio:

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Where Does Hillary Stand on the TPP? 45 Public Statements Tell You Everything You Need to Know

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“I’ve known Hillary Clinton for 25 years and I have a lot of respect for her,” Sanders said, but emphasized the differences between the two presidential hopefuls on several issues, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“I frankly don’t understand how you could be a major candidate for president of the United States — Hillary Clinton, or anybody else — and not have an opinion on that issue,” he said.

From the Politico article: Bernie Sanders Accuses Hillary Clinton of ‘Cop-out’ on Trade

And with Singapore and a growing list of other countries on both sides of the Pacific, we are making progress toward finalizing a far-reaching new trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The so-called TPP will lower barriers, raise standards, and drive long-term growth across the region. It will cover 40 percent of the world’s total trade and establish strong protections for workers and the environment. Better jobs with higher wages and safer working conditions, including for women, migrant workers and others too often in the past excluded from the formal economy will help build Asia’s middle class and rebalance the global economy. Canada and Mexico have already joined the original TPP partners. We continue to consult with Japan. And we are offering to assist with capacity building, so that every country in ASEAN can eventually join. We welcome the interest of any nation willing to meet 21st century standards as embodied in the TPP, including China.

– Hillary Clinton, November 2012

One of the most memorable political missteps of my generation came on March 16, 2004 when John Kerry stated in reference to supporting the Iraq War:

I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.

It’s hard to look stupid when running against George W. Bush, but that did the trick. He was branded a flip-flopper and the rest is history.

Naturally, Hillary Clinton will be well aware of that gaffe, and her campaign team sharply focused on not letting it happen to her. The biggest issue on the national stage at the moment on which she could be labeled a “flip-flopper,” is undoubtably the Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP.

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Bilderberg 2015 – Where Criminals Mingle with Politicians

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Out at my car I couldn’t be bothered to get into the whole ‘probable cause’ thing so I flung open the doors and with as much good cheer as I could muster, said: “Help yourself”. They did. While one set of police searched my car with their torches, another lot clustered round me and asked me questions: “Where do you live? What are you doing here?” I’m a journalist and I live in a police state. What about you?

A little while later, bored and a bit cold, I decided to point out to the officers that while they were treating a journalist like a criminal, there were actual criminals about to arrive at the hotel they were guarding. Convicted criminals. Such as disgraced former CIA boss, David Petraeus, who’s just been handed a $100,000 (£64,000) fine and two years’ probation for leaking classified information.

I decided to reward their vigilance with a chat about HSBC. The chairman of the troubled banking giant, Douglas Flint, is a regular attendee at Bilderberg, and he’s heading here again this year, along with a member of the bank’s board of directors, Rona Fairhead. Perhaps most tellingly, Flint is finding room in his Mercedes for the bank’s busiest employee: its chief legal officer, Stuart Levey.

A Guardian editorial this week branded HSBC “a bank beyond shame” after it announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs in the UK, while at the same time threatening to shift its headquarters to Hong Kong. And having just been forced to pay £28m in fines to Swiss regulators investigating money-laundering claims. The big question, of course, is how will the chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, respond to all this? Easy – he’ll go along to a luxury Austrian hotel and hole up with three senior members of HSBC in private. For three days.

– From Charlie Skelton’s excellent article: Bilderberg 2015: Where Criminals Mingle with Ministers

Charlie Skelton is a Oxford University educated comedy writer, journalist, artist and actor who has covered the Bilderberg meeting for the Guardian since 2009. This year’s meeting took on a particularly eventful twist for Mr. Skelton, something he wrote about in a powerful article published last week.

Many of those who have descended upon Austria’s Interalpen-Hotel Tirol to report on the secretive meeting, have reported that police have been particularly aggressive and unhelpful at this year’s gathering. Charlie Skelton received a unique level of harassment, as his hotel room was raided in the middle of the night by Austria’s taxpayer funded, corporatist-protecting mercenary force, known as the POLIZEI.

Here are some excerpts from the piece:

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The Dissident Dad – No TV for You!

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I am all about freedom of choice, with one exception: I am the TV Nazi in my house.

According to a 2013 report from Nickelodeon to its advertisers, children today are watching 35 hours of television a week! That’s like a full-time job. Heck, if TV watching was a job, these kids would qualify for Obamacare and a 401k employer match.

My first born didn’t watch TV for the first two years of his life. Today, he watches about 3 hours a week. The kids have access to the one TV in our home, for 1 movie a week with their grandpa, and two cartoons geared towards education, such as Leap Frog, Super Why, or a nature documentary. In addition to that, we probably watch about 30 minutes of YouTube videos, either educational videos or pranks in any given week. Sorry, but we just love watching a good prank – especially the Scary Snowman.

I’ve actively denied them TV and will continue to do so. As an anarchist-libertarian dad, I want to encourage freedom, the ability to think for yourself, and to help my kids pursue their passions. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t allow an elderly person with Alzheimer’s to enter a busy street alone, or a friend who is brain damaged to get behind the wheel of a car. As a father, I have to step in when it comes to my children and television.

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Don’t Mess with Texas – Police Raid and Shutdown Lemonade Stand Run by 7 and 8-Year-Old Girls

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Don’t mess with Texas. Particularly if you happen to be a person who enjoys the freedom to purchase lemonade from two adorable little girls trying to raise money to buy their dad a Father’s Day gift. In that case, you better watch out. The cops are on the case, ever vigilant to protect the unsuspecting citizen from the perils of contraband juice.

There is a war on normal human behavior happening all across America. It was only yesterday that I highlighted the inhumane case of a Florida couple which had its children snatched away from them by Child Protective Services (CPS), because the kids were playing alone in their own backyard for 90 minutes. Here are a few excerpts from the piece titled, 11-Year-Old Boy Taken Away by CPS for Being Left in Backyard Alone for 90 Minutes; Parents Charged with Neglect:

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Paul Ryan Channels Pelosi on the TPP – You Have to Pass Obamatrade to See What’s in Obamatrade

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Chief Obamatrade proponent House Ways and Means Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) admitted during Congressional testimony on Wednesday evening that despite tons of claims from him and other Obamatrade supporters to the contrary, the process is highly secretive.

He also made a gaffe in his House Rules Committee testimony on par with former Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)’s push to pass Obamacare, in which she said infamously said: “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”

“It’s declassified and made public once it’s agreed to,” Ryan said of Obamatrade in Rules Committee testimony on Wednesday during questioning from Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX).

What Ryan is technically referring to is that TPP will become public if TPA is agreed to—but Congress will lose much of its ability to have oversight over and influence on the process, since TPP is, in many respects, already negotiated. It’s 800 pages long, and on fast-track, Congress will only get an up-or-down vote and won’t be able to offer amendments. The Senate vote threshold also drops down to a simple majority rather than normally having a 60-vote threshold, or in the case of treaties, a 67-vote threshold.

– From the Breitbart article: Paul Ryan’s Pelosi-Esque Obamatrade Moment: ‘It’s Declassified and Made Public Once it’s Agreed To’

If you still think that the establishment Republicans in Congress represent real opposition to President Obama’s policies, you’re either extremely brainwashed or extremely stupid.

Honestly, I don’t know what it will take for some people to wake up. How many times do you need to be used, abused and conned by slimy politicians before you can shake off your political Stockholm Syndrome? Does John Boehner need to drive up to your front door in a motorcade and eat your first born’s liver at the dinner table with your wife’s silverware before you get it? It’s pathetic.

The focus of today’s piece is the secretive corporatist giveaway known as the Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP. I’ve written about this frequently as of late, see:

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11-Year-Old Boy Taken Away by CPS for Being Left in Backyard Alone for 90 Minutes; Parents Charged with Neglect

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One afternoon this past April, a Florida mom and dad I’ll call Cindy and Fred could not get home in time to let their 11-year-old son into the house. The boy didn’t have a key, so he played basketball in the yard. He was alone for 90 minutes. A neighbor called the cops, and when the parents arrived—having been delayed by traffic and rain—they were arrested for negligence.

They were put in handcuffs, strip searched, fingerprinted, and held overnight in jail.

It would be a month before their sons—the 11-year-old and his 4-year-old brother—were allowed home again. Only after the eldest spoke up and begged a judge to give him back to his parents did the situation improve.

– From the Reason article: 11-Year-Old Boy Played in His Yard. CPS Took Him, Felony Charge for Parents

If the title to this post sounds familiar, it should. Back in April, I published an extremely troubling piece titled, 11-Year-Old Kansas Boy Taken Away from Mom Due to Her Use of Cannabis Oil to Treat Crohn’s Disease. Here’s an excerpt:

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Shots Fired – Jamie Dimon Questions Elizabeth Warren’s “Understanding of the Global Banking System”

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I think the following comments will come back to haunt Jamie Dimon. They represent the perspective of an out of touch, financial oligarch who is so consistently fed bullshit compliments by all those surrounding him, he has no idea how badly this will backfire in the long-run.

What Jamie Dimon doesn’t understand, is that people still hate the big banks. Half a decade into this oligarch theft marketed as an economic recovery, have you ever met a single person who didn’t harbor bad feelings toward the banks and the bailouts? I haven’t.

While Elizabeth Warren herself might not be personally popular across the political spectrum, her message on the banks is. If this message still resonates now, it will only resonate much more in the years ahead when the economy enters its next downturn. At that point, Mr. Dimon will be very sorry he made this comment.

You don’t want to poke Elizabeth Warren in the eye with a stick, and that is exactly what he just did. This was a really stupid move. One that can only be explained away by mindless hubris; something disconnected elites are famous for throughout history.

From Bloomberg:

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon took aim at U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a critic of large banks, as he expressed broad concerns about leadership in Washington.

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