Archive for the ‘Obama’ Category

Former top Obama adviser aims for GOP in tweet delivers knockout blow to Obama & Pelosi instead – TheBlaze.com

Dan Pfeiffer served in the Obama White House until 2015, first as the White House communications director and then as a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, so he knows a thing or two about how politics in Washington works.

But when the former White House staffer tried to offer legislative wisdom on Twitter Saturday, things didnt quite go as planned.

General rule of politics: If you have to rush to pass your bill before people find out what is in it, you will regret passing that bill, Pfeiffer tweeted.

But as history goes, Democrats broke that rule in one of the most infamous and contentious legislative battles in American history: when they passed the Affordable Care Act otherwise known as Obamacare without a single Republican vote.

Not only was the passage of Obamacare partisan and rushed, but then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wanted it to be passed before it was read.

We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, Pelosi infamously said during a conference in 2010.

Indeed, more than seven years after the law was finalized by a divided Congress, Americans continues to feel the effects of the failed law. Premiums have skyrocketed, health insurance providers have left marketplaces often leaving consumers with just one or two insurance options, people lost their doctors, many are stuck on Medicaid, others have been burdened with a tax for going uninsured, while many others are stuck with unaffordable plans that are often usable due to extremely high deductibles.

It leaves many to question whether the law would have passed if it would have been read by the lawmakers who voted for it, given the extreme consequences it has had on the American marketplace.

Needless to say, Twitter slammed Pfeiffer for missing the irony of his tweet:

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Former top Obama adviser aims for GOP in tweet delivers knockout blow to Obama & Pelosi instead - TheBlaze.com

#BlackLove: Newly Engaged Couple Mimics Barack And Michelle Obama In Photo Shoot – HelloBeautiful

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And one couple wantsBarack and Michelle Obama to know just howmuch they aremissed.

Newly engaged Cassi and Adam wanted to pay homage to the former President and First Lady for their engagement photo shoot. With the help of Cleveland-basedphotographerNatasha Herber, they did exactly just that.

Herber recently shared some outtakes of the couples shoot on Instagram, comparing their photo with a photo of the former First Couplefound in the October 2016 Essence issue. Looks pretty similar, huh?

With the help of Herbert and event plannerCovesa Gragg, the couple was able to pull off this incredible feat.

When our Bride and Groom said Can we try and duplicate one of their famous shots for our engagement pics? I was like lets do an entire shoot- we can do this and this and THIS! Graggtold Essence.

In addition to this particular iconicmoment, Cassi and Adams shoot also includedon-point recreations of Barack and Michelle embracing before the March 2009 National Newspaper Publishers Association reception and the two snuggling at the 2015 World Expo in the White House Diplomatic Reception Room.

We absolutely love this!

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#BlackLove: Newly Engaged Couple Mimics Barack And Michelle Obama In Photo Shoot - HelloBeautiful

GOP lawmaker wants former Obama aide to testify – The Hill

A member of the House Oversight Committee said Saturday that he wants former senior Obama administration official Ben Rhodes to testify on Capitol Hill.

Speaking to conservativeradio host Hugh Hewitt on MSNBC, Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) addressed the leaks that have doggedthe Trump administration since January.

"Ifyou look at some of the leaks that have come out, for example, when the presidents having a conversation with a foreign leader, there may be a memo thats created, distributed to the National Security Council. The next thing you know, its on the front page of the paper," DeSantis said.

"Look, theres only so many places that would come from. And the Obama holdover working with Rhodes, thats a place weve been encouraged to look," addedDeSantis, who chairs the panel'snational security subcommittee.

DeSantis said he would defer to Oversightchairman Rep. Trey GowdyTrey GowdyGOP lawmaker wants former Obama aide to testify Overnight Cybersecurity: FBI pick says Russia probe not a 'witch hunt' | Massive Verizon data leak | Agencies restricted from using Russian security software GOP Rep. Gowdy slams Trump team for 'amnesia' on Russia meetings MORE (R-S.C.), who is also a member of the House Intelligence Committee, on whether Rhodes would be asked to testify, but said he hoped the former deputy national security adviserdid appear.

"I would like to bring him in to talk to him about it, because I want to figure out how all this information was getting out from the FISA intercept," DeSantis said, referring to information obtained under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

DeSantis said that the intelligence panel has "brought in some pretty big names" as part of its investigation into alleged leaks surrounding the Trump administration, but declined to offer details.

The GOP lawmaker also addressed former FBI Director James Comey authorizing a friend to share with The New York Times details from a memo he wrote about his interactions with President Trump that he said bothered him.

"Do you think theres a crime involved in the leaking of those memos?" Hewitt asked.

"I dont know, yet. I think that it was certainly improper to do it if its a government record," DeSantis responded.

"I dont know that it violates a federal statute. If there was classified information contained within that, then I think that probably is a violation of federal law."

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GOP lawmaker wants former Obama aide to testify - The Hill

Obama library foundation now allows corporate donations, millions roll in – Fox News

Barack Obamas presidential library foundation has reportedly lifted the donor restriction imposed while he was in the White House, resulting in million-dollar gifts from such corporations as Microsoft and Exelon.

The foundation reported Friday that eight donors have pledged at least $1 million and that it has raised $1.2 million in the second quarter of 2017.

The list of million-dollar donors would bring total fundraising amounts to at least $8 million toward the projected $500 million cost of the library-museum for the South Side of Chicago. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2021.

The foundation started in 2014 and reportedly raised $5.4 million in its first year. However, the foundations total fundraising amounts since its start are unclear.

The foundation on Saturday did not immediately return requests for that amount.

A foundation official recently told the Chicago Sun-Times that the organization lifted its self-imposed donor "restrictions" when Obama left office in January but will continue to vet and publicly disclose all large contributions.

The foundation was previously not accepting contributions from for-profit groups, federal lobbyists and foreign nationals.

Other million-dollar donors reported Friday by the foundation include Ann and John Doerr and the Hutchins Family Foundation.

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Obama library foundation now allows corporate donations, millions roll in - Fox News

Far-right media are now accusing Obama of spying on John Roberts – Salon

Pro-Trump media websites are pushing the doubtful allegation that former President Barack Obama hacked Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. These fringe websites, that often peddle fake news and conspiracy theories,have also previously alleged that Obama has surveilled and targeted Trump Tower and the Supreme Court overall, and some of these websites have claimed that Obama is trying to take down President Donald Trump by forming a shadow government.

On July 12, the pro-Trump alternative-mediablog Big League Politicsclaimedthat Roberts was hacked by a Deep State surveillance operation overseen by Obama administration CIA director John Brennan and Obama director of national intelligence James Clapper. The blog pointed to audio supposedly from a real estate billionaire explaining the program to former Maricopa County, AZ, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and associate Mike Zullo and saying, John Roberts, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, was hacked. (Arpaio and Zullo arediscredited figureswho have pushed the false conspiracy theory that Obamas birth certificate is fake). The author of the piece,Patrick Howley, also wrote that this supposed hack by Obama officials provides some more context for why Roberts voted in 2012 to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, suggesting the two are related. The blog, which alsoemployspro-Trump trollCassandra Fairbanks, has previously pushedotherdubiousclaims hyped by the alternative-media ecosystem.

The report was picked up bypro-Trump websiteThe Gateway Pundit, which called the tapes evidence that Roberts was hacked. Following suit,fake news purveyorsran with the story, withBefore Its NewsandYourNewsWirerepublishing at least parts of the Big League Politics article,Conservative PatriotandThe Washington Feedcalling the report a bombshell, andAmerican Todaycalling Roberts the latest victim of the Obama hacking. The Big League Politics, Gateway Pundit, and Conservative Patriot articles have received at least 1,900, 7,300, and 3,600 Facebook engagements, respectively, according to social media analytics website BuzzSumo.

The conspiracy theory comes after thepro-Trump fringe previously hypedFox analyst Andrew Napolitanos claim that Obama spied on the Supreme Court, and after fringe media outletsstaunchlydefendedTrumps false claim that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. Fringe media outlets have alsorepeatedly chargedthat Obama is trying to thwart Trumps presidency by forming a shadow government.

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Far-right media are now accusing Obama of spying on John Roberts - Salon