Free Republic

Even though they've bankrupted Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac --and failed miserably with "Great Society" and trillions in welfare --Democrats now want you to fund new non-profit health insurers.What could go wrong?Republicans in the Senate and House questioned whether a Health and Human Services’ (HHS) $3.4 billion loan program to create non-profit health insurers would result in the greater competition and lower costs. In a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the members noted that the Department’s own actuarial estimates suggest at least $1 billion in taxpayer dollars may inevitably be...

At a summit on Next Steps and Implementation of ACUS Recommendations on Incorporation by Reference (IBR) and International Regulatory Cooperation (IRC) on Tuesday, May 1, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC, Cass Sunstein, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), made the first public announcement of Executive Order (EO) 13609, Promoting International Regulatory Cooperation. The EO is intended to strengthen American exports, economic growth, and job creation by helping to eliminate unnecessary regulatory differences between the United States and other countries.

In a rare public appearance, The Obama Administration's Information Czar Cass Sunstein gave a lecture at the NYU Law School in NYC yesterday, prompting Luke Rudkowski of WeAreChange to attend. Watch as Luke confronts Sunstein multiple times on an academic paper he co-authored back in 2008 entitled "Conspiracy Theories" in which he called for cognitive infiltration of conspiracy groups by the government.

When it comes to Barack Obama, one of the most important things to understand is that he is a committed globalist. He firmly believes that more "global governance" (the elite don't like to use the term "global government") will make the world a much better place. Throughout his time in the White House, Obama has consistently sought to strengthen international institutions such as the UN, the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO. At every turn, Obama has endeavored to more fully integrate America into the "global community". Since he was elected, Obama has signed a whole host of new...

Birds of a feather flock together and so when we see Barack Obama stacking his cabinet with radicals, it tells us a lot about his mentality. Of course, the fact that his entire term in office has been nothing but a slow motion evisceration of the American dream should tell you a lot about how he thinks, too -- but a little more evidence is always welcome. Take a look at these quotes from members of Barack Obama's administration and then ask yourself what sort of man WANTS people like this to help him govern the American people? 1) "Somewhat...

DID YOU KNOW SOUTH AFRICA HAS A CONSTITUTION THAT'S FAR SUPERIOR TO OUR OWN? THAT'S WHAT ONE U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE, AS WELL AS SHADOWY ACTIVITIST GROUPS WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES TO EFFECT CHANGE, BELIEVE. “I would not look to the U.S. Constitution, if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012. I might look at the Constitution of South Africa … a fundamental instrument of government that embraced basic human rights …” -Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Jan. 30, 2012. That stunning disavowal—by an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court—of the Constitution she has sworn...

Oh my! Apparently Big Guy does not ascribe to the old Will Roger’s axiom: “when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” Or perhaps he just doesn’t realize that his current vantage point is from a crater not the foot of the mountain. First off: “Obama’s Atrocities Prevention Board?” Really? I thought it was going to called the “I Hate Israel” Board, since it’s principle function is going to be preventing Israel from defending itself attacking Iran. I guess the new guy hired to allocate names and acronyms didn’t get the memo. And furthermore, if we were going to...

This powerful video exposing the Democrat Party’s plans for America is making the rounds on the internet. –You must watch this video– http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CZ-4gnNz0vc

Just prior to his appointment as President Obama’s so-called regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein wrote a lengthy academic paper suggesting the government should “infiltrate” social network websites, chat rooms and message boards. Such “cognitive infiltration,” Sunstein argued, should be used to enforce a U.S. government ban on “conspiracy theorizing.” Among the beliefs Sunstein classified as a “conspiracy theory” is advocating that the theory of global warming is a deliberate fraud. The find comes as a government document reportedly relates the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news sites...

Every once in a while, I can’t resist indulging in a sleeve of hot, crispy McDonald’s French fries. Not even Michelle Obama can resist the attractive allure of the crispy spuds. However, that doesn’t stop her from trying to curb the desires of her fellow Americans. I can only assume that the First Lady’s stint in office will long be characterized by her perpetual battle against America’s increasing waistline. Her attempt to halt the increasing health concerns of overweight Americans is certainly a noble cause, but her methods (unsurprisingly) are not always acceptable within the confines of a classical liberal...

Here's a trillion dollar deficit question: Where did Iran's Favorite Congress Critter, Ron Paul, get his army of followers ? It's an important question to ask. Bloggers can't criticize Paul without having a cross burned on their blog by the RuPaulista SS. (Erick Erickson's RedState has had to ban anyone who wasn't a member for more than six months for mentioning Paul in a post.) Conservative radio show hosts can't utter a peep about Mahmoud AmendinePaul without having his lines jammed up for the rest of the show.

National Farmers Union (NFU) submitted comments to Thomas Yager of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) about a possible reinterpretation of the Motor Carrier Act of 1935, the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984, and the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986. The FMCSA is exploring the possibility of categorizing "implements of husbandry and other farm equipment" as commercial motor vehicles, thus requiring a commercial driver's license (CDL) to operate. "Most farmers have little, if any, control or knowledge of the final destination of the commodities they produce," said NFU President Roger Johnson. "As such, it is inappropriate...

No battle was fought. No guns were fired. No bullets or bombs were involved. In the smooth movement of a pen over a previously-prepared document, the overthrow of the United States of America took place. The coup d’etat, still in its progressive movement of deconstructing America, was achieved without Congressional debate. No voice of argument. Less than 24 hours into office, the putative President of the United States, Barry Soetero (aka Barack Obama), signed Executive Order #13489.Filed on January 23, 2009 at 8:45 a.m., the occupant of the Oval office sealed his records containing past names, student status, foreign travels,...

Over the past several weeks, America has seen on grand display in Washington a singular mindset emanating from the White House: We must raise taxes so that we can keep on spending. This week, though, America was treated to something different—a glimpse inside President Barack Obama’s mind, a roadmap of his economic worldview. And what was revealed was a philosophy that is fundamentally at odds with America’s job creators. That insight came during the President’s press conference on Monday in which he broached the subject of raising taxes as part of the debt limit deal: And I do not want,...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Labor regulators are set to propose sweeping new rules Tuesday that would dramatically speed up the time frame for union elections, a move that could make it easier for struggling unions to organize new members, and cut the time businesses have to mount anti-union campaigns. A copy of the planned rules, to be announced by the National Labor Relations Board, was obtained by The Associated Press. The proposal is expected to irritate Republicans and business groups who have complained about the board's pro-labor actions. Most labor elections currently take place within 45-60 days after a union gathers...

How many of you have not been able to get a drug you needed to properly deliver anesthesia to a patient?� I asked. Every hand in the room went up. “How did that affect your patients?� I asked. “Two of our patients died,� one woman answered. I was speaking to a group of nurse anesthetists, enrolled in a business management program at Marshall University in West Virginia. I wish I could say their experience is unusual. It isn’t. About 90 percent of all the anesthesiologists in the country report they are experiencing a shortage of at least one anesthetic. Drug...

Reform: The administration's regulatory czar tries to disavow his statement that a program that saves young people is better than one that saves their parents and grandparents. It's called rationing, and its name is ObamaCare. A commercial showing granny being pushed over a cliff by a person resembling Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was recently put out by the Agenda Project, implying that the Ryan budget will kill old people by changing Medicare. For the sake of accuracy, granny should have been dispatched by a character resembling Cass Sunstein, President Obama's head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The...

(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama’s regulatory czar retreated from a 2003 academic report he wrote advocating that government assign a higher monetary value to the lives of young people than to senior citizens during testimony to Congress on Friday. Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Cass Sunstein testified in front of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations about the Obama administration’s plans for reviewing and reducing federal regulations. “I’m a lot older now than the author with my name was, and I’m not sure what I think about what that young man wrote,”...

A paper by Cass Sunstein says it all. From p.14 "Conspiracy Theories" by CASS R. SUNSTEIN

WASHINGTON – The historic $38 billion in budget cuts resulting from at-times hostile bargaining between Congress and the Obama White House were accomplished in large part by pruning money left over from previous years, using accounting sleight of hand and going after programs President Barack Obama had targeted anyway. Such moves permitted Obama to save favorite programs — Pell grants for poor college students, health research and "Race to the Top" aid for public schools, among others — from Republican knives, according to new details of the legislation released Tuesday morning. And big holes in foreign aid and Environmental Protection...

URGENT UPDATE: NEW EVIDENCE COMES OUT OF OBAMA ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS' INVOLVEMENT IN PLAN TO EFFECTUALLY REWRITE THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND BILL OF RIGHTS. [snip]... now new evidence implicates the Obama White House in sedition. Regulatory Czar Cass Sunstein; his wife Samantha Power, Senior Director of the National Security Council; and Department of Justice Attorney General Eric Holder are key players in a related plot to dismantle and destroy America's Constitutional republic.[snip] Sunstein was a natural fit for the conference, as his 2004 book, "The Second Bill of Rights: FDR'S Unfinished Revolution and Why We Need It More than Ever" [snip]...

And thy face is Samantha Power… Should Obama win a second term in 2012, it is strongly rumored that Samantha Power will become our next Secretary of State with Hillary Clinton declining to serve another term. Clinton, a stalwart progressive/Marxist, was bad enough. Power, the wife of America’s Regulatory Czar Cass Sunstein, is an unapologetic anti-semite and a monster extreme. Evil has unfurled its vast wings over America and the darkness is threatening a rapid descent. If only the good die young, America’s time may have come if this event comes to fruition. Conservatives must win the election in 2012...

What Is Samantha Power Thinking?The charismatic Obama adviser believes that stopping "genocide" is the United States' top foreign-policy priority. On March 18, President Obama explained his decision to mobilize the United States military for international intervention in Libya. “Left unchecked,� he said, “we have every reason to believe that Qaddafi would commit atrocities against his people. Many thousands could die. A humanitarian crisis would ensue. The entire region could be destabilized, endangering many of our allies and partners.� (As if it hasn’t been already?) That last sentence was a Realpolitik, national-interest justification for the U.S. intervention. But it rang hollow....

Samantha Power is the Special Assistant to President Obama. She has his ear and advises him on foreign policy, amongst other things. In a video newly discovered, she states that the United States should spend "billions" on a "new" Palestinian state, while putting troops on the ground to support that effort... Here is a partial transcript (emphasis mine): Power- What we need is a willingness to actually put something on the line in, sort of, helping the situation. And putting something on the line might mean alienating a domestic constituency of tremendous political and financial import. It may, more crucially,...

How can Barack Obama’s addle-brained move to bomb rebels civilians for a few days weeks months to remove Gaddafi, or not have implications for Israel? Following up on my weekend article about how the decision to attack Gaddafi was made under pressure from Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice and Samantha Power, and the “new” U.N. standard of “R2P” or “Right to Protect” as a standard for military conflict…. Frank Gaffney has much more on this troubling legal precedent which could create a “legal” justification for military action against Israel……someday. UN intervention into Libya an ominous precedent for Israel Center for Security...

In this 40 minute show by Glenn Beck he clearly sets out that George Soros, Samantha Power, Obama and the UN have conspired to promote R2P as a means of defeating Israel. You can miss the first 10 minutes if you want.

A New Wrinkle in Time By Norma Zager “Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.” Napoleon Hill Last night at our how-do-we-save-the-world meeting (yes, we actually do meet) a very smart man posed a question whose answer caused me great angst. What do you think will happen, he asked me, when the United Nations recognizes Palestine as a sovereign state and sends in peacekeeping troops? The United States will be part of that deployment and suddenly U.S. soldiers will be fighting against Israelis. Well now, that’s a whole other kettle of...

Not a War. Perhaps a Recreational Exercise? By Norma Zager “In the Middle Ages, the Wall received another name—the Wailing Wall—as Jews were observed here lamenting the Temple’s destruction. A legend says that on Ninth of Av, the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction, the dew glistening on the stones is the Wall itself shedding tears.” Jewish tradition 
Readers, I now present the riddle for today. When is a war not a war? Answer: When it is the United States attacking Libya. This goes hand in hand with that other great riddle: When is a terrorist attack not a terrorist attack?...

By Aaron Klein Philanthropist billionaire George Soros is a primary funder and key proponent of the global organization that promotes the military doctrine used by the Obama administration to justify the recent airstrikes targeting the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya. The activist who founded and coined the name of the doctrine, "Responsibility to Protect," sits on several key organizations alongside Soros. Also, the Soros-funded global group that promotes Responsibility to Protect is closely tied to Samantha Power, the National Security Council special adviser to Obama on human rights. Power has been a champion of the doctrine and is, herself,...

President Obama’s actions involving Libya have been baffling at best. He did nothing for days. He talked about waiting to build a coalition for multilateral action. He downplayed the concept of regime change, yet one of the main objectives for engaging has been to get rid of Colonel Qaddafi. It’s been a strange couple of weeks for Obama in terms of his foreign policy, and there still hasn’t been a clear explanation for what we’re doing in Libya and why we’re doing it. Much of the motivation behind Obama’s Libya policy stems from from the ideology of Samantha Power, the...

Leftist mastermind puts up big bucks to erase border. Philanthropist billionaire George Soros is a primary funder and key proponent of the global organization that promotes the military doctrine used by the Obama administration to justify the recent airstrikes targeting the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya. The activist who founded and coined the name of the doctrine, "Responsibility to Protect," sits on several key organizations alongside Soros. Also, the Soros-funded global group that promotes Responsibility to Protect is closely tied to Samantha Power, the National Security Council special adviser to Obama on human rights. Power has been a champion...

On Glenn Beck’s television show yesterday, he brought up one of his favorite pieces of literature, Cass Sunstein’s 2008 essay on conspiracy theorists (PDF) which lists ways the government might combat them. One suggestion advises the government to “hire credible private parties to engage in counterspeech.” On today’s radio show, Beck told us who one of these private parties might be; none other than Fareed Zakaria. A few months ago, Zakaria took umbrage with Beck’s assertion that 10% of Muslims are terrorists. However, Zakaria really got on Glenn Beck’s bad side this weekend with his interview with perennial enemy of...

Books by Cass R. Sunstein discussed in this essay: The Partial Constitution After the Rights Revolution: Reconceiving the Regulatory State The Second Bill of Rights: FDR's Unfinished Revolution and Why We Need it Now More than Ever Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness, co-written by Richard H. ThalerDesigning Democracy: What Constitutions DoA Constitution of Many Minds: Why the Founding Document Doesn't Mean What it Meant Before Radicals in Robes: Why Extreme Right-Wing Courts are Wrong for America A specter is haunting liberalism—the specter of postmodernism. Liberalism came to dominate American politics in the last century as the embodiment of progressivism, which...

Using exaggerated reports of gun smuggling from the U.S. into Mexico as their justification, the agency has filed for an emergency regulation requiring gun dealers to keep track of their customers and file special reports to ATF whenever a customer purchases more than one semi-automatic rifle within any 5-day period. Such special reporting is already required for multiple sales of handguns and has proven to be thoroughly useless as a law enforcement tool. ATF’s requested regulation – which is unconstitutional, violates a statutory prohibition against firearms registration schemes and was obviously filed as an “emergency” simply as a means of...

Just a short clip I put together from tonight's show that I thought was pretty powerful..might be worth a share.. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU! Right out of Cass Sunstein's playbook, progressives continue to extend government control. Did you know in nine states, the government can now place a GPS device on your car and track you WITHOUT a warrant? The FBI can now track your location WITHOUT a warrant using your cell phone..and now they are pushing for a 'backdoor system' to be able to read your e-mail? And what about these new 'X-Ray vans' that are now driving...

The Nanny State is Underrated by ‘Homer Simpson’ Americans Sunstein is Not a Socialist He Just Wants Gov to Control How Much You Can Buy Sunstein Wants Superpower President, Just Go Around that Pesky Constitution

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency comes as close to George Orwell’s version of Big Brother as any element of the federal government. It operates on a totally irrational basis, ignoring anything that even passes for real science. Through its regulatory power imposes insane mandates that drive up the cost of everything and is trying to drive major elements of energy provision out of business. What, for example, is the EPA doing offering “tips to protect eyes, skin from the Sun’s harmful rays”? Does the EPA sell sunscreen products? ...Charged with keeping the U.S. waters clean, why has the EPA launched...

In the British comedy show “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” a cartoon God would often send a giant foot down from Heaven to squash malefactors. Some see God’s justice in the non-cartoon world to be similarly imposed, with Him smiting the unjust, albeit minus the giant foot. The Old Testament gives examples that fit this model, but things get complicated upon closer inspection. Was God a little indiscriminate in His actions? While the Israelites were the Chosen People, there must have been a few virtuous souls among the various Runners-Up Peoples that the Israelites, with God’s help, destroyed. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/28/kagan-obama-and-the-thumb-of-empathy/#ixzz0s7eYBUP1

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said early indications of some of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's positions have been "quite troubling," and he left open the option of a judicial filibuster. McConnell said in April that a filibuster of the nominee, unknown at that point, would be "highly unlikely, however, unless the nominee is an extraordinary individual outside the mainstream with really bizarre views."

From David Horowitz's FrontPageMag.com/DiscoverTheNetworks.orgPROFILE: ELENA KAGAN When it was announced in 2008 that Cass Sunstein would be joining the Harvard Law School faculty, Kagan said: "Cass Sunstein is the preeminent legal scholar of our time -- the most wide-ranging, the most prolific, the most cited, and the most influential. His work in any one of the fields he pursues -- administrative law and policy, constitutional law and theory, behavioral economics and law, environmental law, to name a non-exhaustive few -- would put him in the very front ranks of legal scholars; the combination is singular and breathtaking."http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2398_________________________________________________ From David Horowitz's...

On Monday I did a broad overview report on Who is Elena Kagan. While doing research on Kagan, I realized that although she does have a pretty light paper trail on her firm opinions regarding controversial issues, her opinions that are public knowledge are very concerning – especially her opinions on First Amendment rights. However, I missed one very important clue that allows us to delve the mind of Kagan. That clue is Cass Sunstein. There is an old saying that you can tell who a person is by looking at their friends. Well, I am not certain if Elena...

Marxist-led study has close ties to Obama White House officials NEW YORK – A George Soros-funded, Marxist-founded organization calling itself Free Press has published a study advocating the development of a “world class” government-run media system in the U.S. A newly released book, meanwhile, documents Free Press has close ties to top Obama administration officials. “The need has never been greater for a world-class public media system in America,” begins a 48-page document, “New Public Media: A Plan for Action,” by the far-left Free Press organization. “Commercial media’s economic tailspin has pushed public media to the center of the debate...

From David Horowitz's FrontPageMag.com/DiscoverTheNetworks.orgPROFILE: ELENA KAGAN When it was announced in 2008 that Cass Sunstein would be joining the Harvard Law School faculty, Kagan said: "Cass Sunstein is the preeminent legal scholar of our time -- the most wide-ranging, the most prolific, the most cited, and the most influential. His work in any one of the fields he pursues -- administrative law and policy, constitutional law and theory, behavioral economics and law, environmental law, to name a non-exhaustive few -- would put him in the very front ranks of legal scholars; the combination is singular and breathtaking."http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2398_________________________________________________ From David Horowitz's...

It was President Obama's pick for the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan, who hired radical regulatory czar Cass Sunstein as a Harvard law professor. Sunstein, like Kagan, has advocated extraordinary restrictions on speech and expressed extreme views on other topics. In February 2008, Kagan, as dean of Harvard Law School, announced the arrival at Harvard of Sunstein, then a longtime University of Chicago scholar. Kagan called Sunstein "the preeminent legal scholar of our time."

Now that Obama Information Czar Cass Sunstein is making spoon-fed government propaganda mandatory on political websites, Canada Free Press (CFP) is introducing balancingtherightmessage.com. Forcibly including government propaganda on political blogs gave us the idea for balancingtherightmessage.com, a dumping ground for the right to do the same thing to the left.

SUNSTEIN: Sites of one point of view agree to provide links to other sites so that if you're reading a conservative magazine, they would provide a link to a liberal site, and vice-versa, just to make it easy for people to get access to competing views. RUSH: Stop the tape, recue that. This is net neutrality.

Uncovered Audio: Obama’s Regulatory Czar Pushes Creepy Plan for Legally Controlling Internet Information (link is video)

From David Horowitz's FrontPageMag.com/DiscoverTheNetworks.orgPROFILE: ELENA KAGAN When it was announced in 2008 that Cass Sunstein would be joining the Harvard Law School faculty, Kagan said: "Cass Sunstein is the preeminent legal scholar of our time -- the most wide-ranging, the most prolific, the most cited, and the most influential. His work in any one of the fields he pursues -- administrative law and policy, constitutional law and theory, behavioral economics and law, environmental law, to name a non-exhaustive few -- would put him in the very front ranks of legal scholars; the combination is singular and breathtaking."http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2398_________________________________________________ From David Horowitz's...

Is the Obama Administration preparing the ground for a Ministry of Truthiness? The President's latest wide-ranging speech at Hampton University made a halt at a very strange outpost, before moving on to education. Obama, it seems, is vexed by the idea of conspiracy theories. Apparently people aren't thinking the right thoughts. Obama's internet Yoda, Professor Cass Sunstein*, is also besotted with the idea. Two years ago, Sunstein proposed what you might call an 'active government solution' to conspiracies. The best way to counter conspiracy theories, Sunstein and co-author Adrian Vermeule argued, is with the "cognitive infiltration of extremist groups". This...

This is the story of how obscure psychological research into human decision-making first revolutionized economics and now appears poised to remake the relationship between the government and its citizens. Cass Sunstein, President Obama's pick to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, was a vocal supporter of the program, because it was an economic policy that shaped itself around human psychology. Sunstein is just one of a number of high-level appointees now working in the Obama administration who favors this kind of approach. All are devotees of behavioral economics — a school of economic thought greatly influenced by psychological...