Political fallout from sequestration continues…
Obama ushered in his second term by throwing U.S. national security over the fiscal cliff.
Afterward, the Obama Administration failed to provide any evidence that the federal government has been damaged by the sequester. In fact, the federal government was so capable of handling the required “budget cuts” that the Obama Administration worried the American people would favor additional budget cuts to rein in out-of-control government spending. In order to advance its agenda, the Obama Administration instructed federal agencies “to make sure the cuts are as painful as President Obama promised they would be.”
Obama was so intent on deceiving the American people that his administration “overreached three times… attempting to illustrate the negative impact of the sequester spending cuts in the short term, giving fodder to those seeking to play down the impact of the cuts. On Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters that major airports had seen lines ballooning to 150-200 percent their normal size. The Transportation Security Administration later clarified that it was not yet seeing longer-than-normal checkpoint lines… On Friday, meanwhile, President Obama said that janitors at the U.S. Capitol would receive a pay cut due to the sequester cuts. Carlos Elias, the superintendent of the U.S. Capitol building and the Capitol Visitors Center, quickly emailed employees to say “This is NOT TRUE,” adding that “The pay and benefits of EACH of our employees WILL NOT be impacted.”… The prior Sunday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan had said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that “There are literally teachers now who are getting pink slips, who are getting notices that they can’t come back this fall.” He later acknowledged that he “misspoke” after fact checkers found no evidence for the claim.”
There have been so many absurdities coming from the Obama Administration after the sequester that it’s difficult to keep count:
- 2 days after the sequester took effect, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States would give $250 million to Egypt. Yes, this is the same Obama Administration that previously sent $1 billion of American taxpayer dollars to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood President Morsi, who has repeatedly expressed his hope for the destruction of Israel and the U.S.– to top it off, John Kerry made a condescending and arguably racist comment that in Cairo he “heard very passionate people who are deeply committed to Egypt and to their version of the democracy that they fought for in their revolution.” The fact that Obama is sending $250 million to Egypt’s repressive regime is truly bizarre, since the Obama Administration claimed that the U.S. couldn’t afford any budget cuts– which is why sequestration happened in the first place.
- “The federal government posted 400 new openings on Monday alone – the first business day under the ravages of the dreaded sequester.” It sure doesn’t seem that the federal government is having any problems!
- 2 days before the sequester, the notorious Transportation Security Administration (TSA) received $50 million for new uniforms.
- Obama’s Secret Service detail won’t be affected by the sequester– but the White House has decided to ‘save some money’ by canceling all White House tours for the public (which require Secret Service officers). How much money will be saved with canceled tours? Answer: A mere $18,000/week, which is nothing but a pittance in relation to the $6 trillion that Obama has added to the national debt since taking office in 2009. And Obama’s dishonest and incompetent administration strikes again: After Obama claimed that he wasn’t responsible for the canceled public tours (and blamed the Secret Service and Congress instead), his own White House press secretary exposed Obama as a liar.
- Obama has also refused to make any cuts to his $277,000 calligraphy staff, despite the fact that his costly White House invitations could be printed “for pocket change.”
Obama’s TSA has become unhinged
Fresh off of the political fallout from sequestration, the Obama Administration shocked America with a deranged policy development: “The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will let people carry small pocketknives onto passenger planes for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, along with golf clubs, hockey sticks and plastic Wiffle Ball-style bats. The agency will permit knives with retractable blades shorter than 6 centimeters (2.36 inches) and narrower than 1/2 inch.”
First of all, what is the point of this policy? Al-Qaeda is NOT “on the run”— Americans were recently killed by terrorists in Libya and Algeria, and terrorists in Afghanistan have not diminished their attacks on U.S. soldiers. The infamous “underwear bomber” successfully smuggled explosive liquid past TSA onto a jet almost 1 year into Obama’s first term. Allowing knives, baseball bats, and golf clubs onto airplanes is helpful to terrorists and dangerous for Americans. In response to this idiotic policy, the Flight Attendants Union Coalition has launched “a nationwide legislative and public campaign” (including petitioning the White House) to prevent another national security disaster.
These are the potential weapons you can now expect to see passengers carrying on your airplane flights:
The TSA’s new policy is even more disturbing in light of the report that “Some of the September 11 hijackers may have been armed with a high-strength, folding, metal utility knife rather than the more easily concealed box-cutter with a plastic handle, according to an independent commission investigating the terrorist attacks.”
Update: Even more disturbing is a new report from a former TSA screener at Newark airport: “Did you know you don’t need a high-school diploma or GED to work as a security screener? These are the same screeners that TSA chief John Pistole and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano refer to as a first-class first line of defense in the war on terror. These are the employees who could never keep a job in the private sector. I wouldn’t trust them to walk my dog. An agent got through Newark last week with an improvised explosive device? That’s not even news to anyone who works there. It happens all the time… We’re not any big deterrent. It’s all for show.” And regarding the unconstitutional tactics of TSA? This whistleblower says “Every time you read about a TSA horror story, it’s usually about a screener doing what he or she is instructed to do.”
Obama wants an invasive body scanner and pat-down at airports… for ordinary Americans ONLY.
Oh, by the way, if you choose the nude photo option the U.S. government will be keeping a copy of it for fun.
Oh and if you choose the pat-down, just to let you know, this is just one of a few “incidents” involving children screaming in terror and elderly/disabled passengers being abused: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40291856/ns/travel-news/t/tsa-pat-down-leaves-traveler-covered-urine/#.T_R3ktU1m84
But hey, at least you have a “choice,” right?!?