Opponents of health insurance reform may find the truth a little inconvenient, but as our second president famously said, "facts are stubborn things."
Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example, to "uncover" the truth about the President’s health insurance reform positions.
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.
Yes, you read that right. Barack Obama is officially requesting all Americans to snitch on each other if they see someone who opposes Obamacare.
Is this the first step in the implementation of his 'civilian security force' in which every child would be forced to participate? A brief reminder:
This is standard practice in Communist and Marxist regimes like Cuba, the Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany. I especially like this from Hot Air:
Did no one in the Obama administration think about the historical reverberations of an executive branch trying to have neighbors squealing on each other when they dissent from the Fuehr — er, the President?Clearly, Barack Obama and his henchmen advisers haven’t figured out the difference between a campaign and an executive branch administration. Presidents have to deal with criticism by answering it rather than building enemies lists, and especially not by opening 1-800-WESQUEAL lines or its e-mail equivalent. Presidential campaigns don’t have the power to prosecute people, while administrations do.
Jon Henke wonders, “What, exactly, does the White House plan to do with this information?”
That's certainly a question that deserves pondering, don't you think?
Still, this move may have crossed a line. RedState explains:
Even if it's not blatantly illegal, I'd bet money that once the vast majority of American citizens find out about this, they will be revolted. So...pass the word!According to 5 U.S.C. § 552a, United States agencies, including the Executive Office of the President shall, “maintain no record describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment unless expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained or unless pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity.”
The White House may take the position that certain of its offices aren’t subject to the Privacy Act (that is a longstanding Office of Legal Counsel position, see here), but most Presidents instruct their staffs to comply. This will be a the first significant time the White House has ignored the Privacy Act and may open President Obama up to litigation.
This is another example of the Obama administration ignoring long time precedent when it is no longer convenient for them. And ignoring this precedent lets them collect data on and potential harass individual American citizens.
But, instead of backing off this clearly bad-taste move, Democrats are doubling down:
You know, I actually agree with one aspect of Davis' statement. I'd love to see some of these vaunted liberal 'investigative journalists' try to find proof of the insurance companies, the Republican party, bloggers, or Rush Limbaugh organizing and funding these groups of angry citizens. They'll be looking for a very long time because they simply don't exist. This should keep them busy chasing snipes while we can go about affecting real change in Washington through mass forced retirements in 2010.The consigliere to the Clinton thugocracy decries the taxpayer counterinsurgency — and calls on left-wing hitmen to photograph and investigate Obamacare protesters to prove that they are being “paid” by the “Republican right” to express their opinions and demand accountability from their congressional representatives (never mind that so many of these protests have been aimed at Republicans who have betrayed their principles).
The “shout downs” organized by the Republican right meet one of the classic definition of “fascist” tactics–defined as using shouting and disruption to deprive the civil and respectful debate of ideas. There is literally no defense to these tactics. I don’t criticize those who feel genuine anger or fear and show up to meetings to express those emotions. But I do call out the tactic of screaming and disrupting a meeting and the fact that this is a systematic tactic by thugs who want to prevent civil discourse, not promote it.
Let’s have the media name names, publish photographs, and do interviews of those responsible for approving, even organizing these techni[q]ues. And let’s find an investigative journalist - are there many left - to prove these so-called grassroots shouters are, or are not, being paid.
Of course, I'd also bet a large chunk of money that eventually those vaunted liberal 'investigative journalists' will eventually figure that out and then just start making up stuff per unnamed sources. It's standard practice nowadays.
Fortunately, at least one Republican (Sen. Cornyn) has officially asked Obama to disband the civilian SS. Hopefully there will be more in the days to come.
But there's still one more reason for concern that may be a partial answer to John Henke above:
Now can we initiate a conversation about Big Brother and the nanny state?Congress adopted the Broadband Data Improvement Act in 2008 to compile of map of the nation showing which areas have broadband and which do not. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is getting the information, but the Obama Administration has decided to use the NTIA to get more than the law requires.
Beyond the general data on which parts of the nation have high speed internet access and is it cable or DSL, Obama wants to know down to the individual what the individual has and how much the individual pays. Specifically, the NTIA is now requiring internet provides to give the government “average revenue per end user and data regarding type, technical specification or location of broadband infrastructure,” i.e. your home address, IP address, how much you pay, and where the connection is at your house.
The law does not require it. Congress does not want it. The NTIA admits the information will not be used to compile the map of national broadband, but Barack Obama still wants it.
We have a White House asking neighbors to turn in neighbors by forwarding emails — some of which will contain IP address information. And we have the White House demanding internet providers provide them with the home addresses corresponding to those IP addresses. Lastly, we have a White House that has thus far been extremely opaque despite pledges of transparency and a White House that has not hesitated to use private citizens information when it benefits them.
Be worried.
There's my two cents.
Sources and Related Reading:
Ace of Spades
Gateway Pundit
Hot Air
RedState
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