As you read this report from the Energy and Commerce Committee it’s important to remember that today –TODAY– Kathleen Sebelius announced she was refusing to testify to a Senate Budget Panel (<— Democrats) about the costs and financial budget demands from HHS to pay for Obamacare.

Outgoing Health and Human Services Sec. Kathleen Sebelius is now refusing to testify before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.    (link)

Here’s a probable reason she does not want to stand before the budget committee.

WASHINGTON, DC – Data provided to the committee by every insurance provider in the health care law’s Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) shows that, as of April 15, 2014, only 67 percent of individuals and families that had selected a health plan in the federally facilitated marketplace had paid their first month’s premium and therefore completed the enrollment process.

Nationwide, only 25 percent of paid enrollees are ages 18 to 34.

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations today invited the leaders of some of the nation’s largest insurance providers and their trade groups to testify at a hearing, “PPACA Enrollment and the Insurance Industry,” on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, at 10:15 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.

House Energy and Commerce Committee members sent letters requesting specific enrollment data, including the number of individuals who have paid their first month’s premium and demographic breakdowns. (more…)

The brother of Attkisson’s old boss at CBS turns out to be the guy who directed Ambassador Rice to deliver the Benghazi lies.    Is it a surprise her CBS boss would not let her dig in and do the investigative reporting ?

Sharyl Attkisson via Facebook – Newly-released documents reveal direct White House involvement in steering the public narrative about the September 11, 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, toward that of a spontaneous protest that never happened. (more…)

Washington DC – On Tuesday, an email obtained by the government watchdog Judicial Watch revealed that a senior American advisor informed then National Security Advisor Susan Rice to emphasize that the deadly 2012 attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya was the result of a spontaneous protest arising from an inflammatory YouTube video.

Transcripts later revealed that senior defense officials had informed the administration on the night of the assault that the event was a “terrorist attack.”
Fox’s intel correspondent Catherine Herridge reported that a September 14 emails links White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes advised Rice to focus on the YouTube video during her appearances on a variety of Sunday morning news programs:
Among the goals Rhodes outlined for Rice was for her “to underscore that these protests are rooted in an internet video, and not a broader failure of policy.”  (read with video)
(more…)

Earlier in the week we shared how the White House was now trying to assist Emanuel because things are getting worse, not better.   Against the backdrop of growing violence and a city in turmoil, CNN could not have picked a worse time to sell their version of Chicago in the Chicagoland series. 
(Via Mediaite)  “So where is a consumer going to get the truth?” Chicagoland executive producer Robert Redford asked during a CNN interview ahead of the release of that heavily promoted documentary series. “I lean toward documentaries because the documentarian will take an hour to tell his or her story.”
Sometimes the truth needs a little bit of help. According to emails obtained by the Chicago Tribune, Chicagoland’s producers coordinated with Mayor Rahm Emanuel in order to shape how certain events unfolded and to make the mayor “look good.”
“If it seemed as though some scenes of CNN’s documentary series Chicagoland were coordinated by Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s City Hall and the show’s producers, that’s because they were,” the Tribune reported on Friday.  (read more)

When Libya erupted in *rebel* turmoil we were following the details closely because we quickly identified the ideology of the “rebels” as al-Qaeda.   
Over time the entire civil war became a conflict of Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel Jalil (the first defector and self proclaimed head of the rebels) vs. Kaddaffi. 

If it were not for Samantha Power, Susan Rice and Hillary Clinton Kaddaffi would have won the internal war.    The misguided premise of R2P (Responsibility to Protect), a specific Samantha Power construct, is the excuse that was eventually used by the Obama administration to enter the foray and pick a side.  They chose the al-Qaeda “rebels”.
This commission report essentially encapsulates what we have previously outlined.   However, for some reason they totally avoid the mention of Justice Abdel Jalil.
BENGHAZI GATE – The Citizens Commission on Benghazi, a self-selected group of former top military officers, CIA insiders and think-tankers, declared Tuesday in Washington that a seven-month review of the deadly 2012 terrorist attack has determined that it could have been prevented – if the U.S. hadn’t been helping to arm al-Qaeda militias throughout Libya a year earlier.
‘The United States switched sides in the war on terror with what we did in Libya, knowingly facilitating the provision of weapons to known al-Qaeda militias and figures,’ Clare Lopez, a member of the commission and a former CIA officer, told MailOnline.
She blamed the Obama administration for failing to stop half of a $1 billion United Arab Emirates arms shipment from reaching al-Qaeda-linked militants. (more…)

Actually a bigger aspect to this story is *where* the training base is located.   Previously almost all reports were saying the East of Libya, Benghazi, Darna et al, were the Islamist/al-Qaeda strongholds.    The U.S. state dept had proclaimed that Western Libya was moderate and friendly to the West.
This media report contradicts the White House and State Dept. and puts al-Qaeda solidly on the outskirts of Tripoli.

(Daily Beast)  A key jihadist leader and longtime member of al Qaeda has taken control of a secretive training facility set up by U.S. special operations forces on the Libyan coastline to help hunt down Islamic militants, according to local media reports, Jihadist web forums, and U.S. officials.
In the summer of 2012, American Green Berets began refurbishing a Libyan military base 27 kilometers west of Tripoli in order to hone the skills of Libya’s first Western-trained special operations counter-terrorism fighters. Less than two years later, that training camp is now being used by groups with direct links to al Qaeda to foment chaos in post-Qaddafi Libya. (more…)

Something optically devastating is looming on the Chicago skyline, and it looks remarkably like Detroit 2.0.

CNN has been running a network series “Chicago”.   They’ve been trying to frame an apologetic and sympathetic narrative around former White House Chief of Staff and current Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel.     They couldn’t have picked a worse time to try and sell the propaganda. 
In what can only be called ‘grandiose irony’,  facts on the ground run counter to the CNN narrative.   So much so, that Chicago is becoming a parody of itself.   The educational system is collapsing with unions entrenched in budgetary battles demanding more and more graft while students fail at astonishing rates.   Constructs of society are collapsing and crime, violent crime, is increasing exponentially;  spurred on by violent gang activity, and it’s spreading.   
Easter weekend 44 people shot, 8 dead, and no-one is brave enough to actually discuss the root cause.   The politically correct talking points don’t let you dare point out the fatherless wild thugs running amuck.   Families who do believe in the strength of a two parent household are fleeing the metropolis for safer life elsewhere.  
Chicago, the self described home of President Obama, where he never visits, is dangerously close to becoming a political liability; and if there’s one thing this White House excels at – it’s controlling political risk.    Chicago is another petri-dish for the dangerous consequences of Democrat social engineering to gain publicity.
Subsequently….   HERE COME The FEDS !!  Or more accurately, HERE COME THE STORM TROOPERS !!
CHICAGO – The federal government is offering help to the city of Chicago in the fight to end violence in the streets. The special section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office will target drugs and guns.
(more…)

Suppose you don’t like dogs too much and your boss walks up to you and says: “hey, about that raise you requested…. I’m going to be considering it this weekend during my golf trip to Florida and I need someone to watch my dog – will you look after him while I’m away” ?   Would you feel pressure to do it ?

It seems like Ms. Sebelius announced her resignation just before this GAO report surfaced. Hmmm, curiosor and curiosor….
WASHINGTON DC – Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius maneuvered one of America’s richest liberal philanthropies into contributing $13 million to Enroll America, a group founded by a former Obama White House staffer to drive up insurance enrollment numbers under the Affordable Care Act.
A report issued Monday by the Government Accountability Office shows what Republican members of Congress ave anticipated learning since 2013: that Sebelius called a total of five organizations a year ago and urged them to help Enroll America reach its goals.
One call went to the CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which made $3 million and $10 grants to the group after hearing her request. That amount was a dramatic increase from the $150,000 it had contributed the previous year.
(more…)

Finally someone, actually Howard Kurtz, asks the question that many people want to know the answer to.

BACKSTORY – For those who might not have paid attention over the past two years, Sharyl Attkisson was doing some great investigative reporting on the DOJ, Eric Holder and Fast n Furious gun running scandal. Her reporting then shifted to look into what actions were taken by the DOJ *AFTER* the scandal broke, and the wagon circling around the White House began.
Then, in the fall and winter of 2012 and 2013 Sharyl began looking closely at the Benghazi fiasco.
In the midst of her investigative reporting (May 2013) a mysterious series of hacks began into her computers both at home and at work, in addition her phone was tracked and hacked.
CBS publically admitted in June of 2013 something nefarious was going on.   Sharyl reported after several weeks of looking at the issue she knew ‘what’ and/or ‘who’ was to blame.
Howard Kurtz asks what was the outcome of all of this ?