Monthly Archives: October 2010

News

Is there a Constitutional basis for ObamaCare?

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From Founding Bloggers, clips of Illinois socialist Jan Schakowsky at a town hall meeting.

Ed Morrissey explains what’s in the clip:

At least Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) gives it a few tries.  First she argued “If we can build national highways,” but Adam Sharp noted that the Constitution does include the authority to build interstate “post roads.”  Next, Schakowsky says enacting civil-rights legislation creates some sort of odd precedent, even though those acts existed to enforce the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the Constitution.  Schakowsky gives it one last try on Medicare and Social Security, even though the former is voluntary and the latter is an explicit government program (albeit also of dubious Constitutional authority).  There exists no Constitutional reference to force Americans to buy a private product, and Schakowsky winds up walking away…

You’ll remember that this is the same woman who thinks that Obama’s public option would lead to single-payer health care.

So it looks like the Illinois guy from last week was not an anomaly at all. Democrats don’t like explaining where in the Constitution they get the authority for their big spending.

News

Is Obama hiring professional actors for his next townhall meeting?

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Here’s the story from the moderately leftist ABC News.

Excerpt:

When President Obama sits down for his MTV town hall this Thursday, the audience of young people who will ask him questions will have been gathered by a casting call.

According to the casting call for the event from talent agency Backstage.com, first reported by National Review Online, the company requests applications for the event, asking what issues the person is “passionate about,” requiring a “short description of your political views,” and also asks for a recent photo.

“MTV, BET and CMT are casting the audience for town hall meeting with President Obama. Shooting Oct. 14, 4 p.m. in Washington, D.C. Seeking—Audience Members: males & females, 18+,” the casting call says, “To ensure that the audience represents diverse interests and political views, include your name, phone number, hometown, school attending, your job and what issues, if any, you are interested in or passionate about. Also, provide a recent photo and short description of your political views.”

The casting call says that there is no pay for the appearance at the town hall.

Dubbed “A Conversation with President Obama”, MTV touted that the town hall will bring the president before 250 young people  that represent a “broad cross-section of backgrounds, interests and political viewpoints,” who will ask questions of the president and over Twitter.

[…]During the 2008 presidential campaign candidate Obama took pains to express that his town halls across the country were entirely authentic, given reports then of the Hillary Clinton campaign planting two questions at her town halls events.

[…]The White House did not immediately respond to questions about Thursday’s town hall.

I found what appears to be the casting e-mail at The Blog Prof.

 

News

Democrats and pro-abortion groups target pro-lifers in FBI and DOJ training

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From Life News. (H/T The Blog Prof)

Excerpt:

Documents LifeNews.com obtained today reveal the Obama administration partnered with leading pro-abortion organizations to host an FBI training seminar in August with the main focus of declaring as “violent” the free speech activities of pro-life Americans.

On August 25, 2010, the FBI and the United States Department of Justice co-sponsored a training seminar with Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Federation and the Feminist Majority Foundation.

When information about the seminar, which took place at FBI headquarters in Portland, Oregon, reached pro-life advocates, they asked officials for permission to attend and were granted access to the seminar and the training materials.

FBI and Obama administration officials provided participants with an 84-page document entitled “Resource Guide: Violence Against Reproductive Health Care Providers” that contained print copies of Power Point presentations prepared by the Justice Department and an analysis of alleged pro-life “violence” prepared by the pro-abortion groups.

The so-called violence perpetrated by pro-life advocates mostly contained examples of constitutionally-protected free speech, including activities such as praying, providing women outside abortion centers with alternatives information, and peaceful protesting or picketing.

Matt Bowman, a top attorney at the Alliance Defense Fund, told LifeNews.com today that the cooperation between the Obama administration and pro-abortion organizations to target pro-life free speech should cause alarm.

“The information presented in the seminar raises serious concerns over the United States government’s treatment of nonviolent free speech activities as ‘violence’ subject to investigation and prosecution,” he said.

“Abortionist organizations have long lobbied to use the law to silence free speech activities. But in this seminar the FBI and USDOJ included those views in their own training seminar materials,” he added. “This raises serious concerns about the United States government investigating peaceful, legal free speech activity in efforts that are ostensibly aimed at violence.”

The Obama administration documents, on page 39-41 specifically list the names of pro-life organizations and websites sponsored by peaceful nonviolent groups.

Some of the organizations named in the FBI/DOJ seminar materials include 40 Days for Life, the ACLJ, Concerned Women for America, National Right to Life, Priests for Life, and Students for Life of America.

Julie Abbate of USDOJ, who presented at the seminar, is the attorney who filed a federal lawsuit in August 2010 against a pro-life advocate solely for leafleting while, allegedly, one time, crossing a driveway in front of an abortion center.

“The lawsuit is further evidence that USDOJ is putting its resources into prosecuting peaceful activity on public sidewalks, rather than violence,” Bowman said.

My previous post about the administration’s opinion of pro-lifers and other conservatives.

Obama is the most pro-abortion president ever.

UPDATE: James informs me that Verum Serum has a number of stories linked about pro-abortion clinic violence against pro-lifers.