Free Republic

The White House request that members of the public report anyone who is spreading "disinformation" about the proposed national health care makeover could lead to a White House database of political opponents that will be both secret and permanent, according to Republican lawyers on the Senate Judiciary Committee who are examining the plan's possible implementation. On Monday, White House director of new media Macon Phillips posted a note on the White House web site complaining of "disinformation about health insurance reform." "These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation," Phillips wrote. "Since we...

Cornyn to Obama: Stop With the Enemies Lists The White House call for people to inform on anyone spreading "disinformation about health insurance reform" didn't sit well with a lot of people -- Obama isn't running a political campaign anymore, he's supposed to be running the country (and in the event even those who spread video clips of the president making statements on health care reform that are now impolitic have been targeted by the White House). Texas Senator John Cornyn has written a letter to the president politely asking if he could please put an end to the creepiness:...

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) is worried that the White House will use a new media outreach program to collect the personal data of its political opponents. Yesterday, the White House asked supporters to forward "fishy" claims or rumors about the President's healthcare plan to a White House email address as a way to respond to "disinformation." Cornyn says this practice would let the White House collect personal information about people who oppose the President. "By requesting citizens send 'fishy' emails to the White House, it is inevitable that the names, email, addresses, IP addresses and private speech of U.S. citizens...

The Weekly Standard noted Senator John Cornyn sent a letter to Barack Obama asking him to intervene in the flag@whitehouse.gov matter. Senator Cornyn notes I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed ‘fishy’ or otherwise inimical to the White House’s political interests,” Sen. Cornyn wrote. “You should not be surprised that these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program. As Congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen...

A Republican senator is calling for the White House to suspend a new project that asks members of the public to flag “fishy” claims about President Obama’s health care plans, arguing that it raises privacy concerns and will serve to chill free speech. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is sending a letter to the White House today asking the president to “cease this program immediately” -- or to explain how Americans’ privacy will be protected if e-mails are forwarded to the White House as requested. “I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their...

Well, my friends. The next stage of Hope and Change has begun. Now, if you express opposition Barack Obama and the Democrat-majority Congress’s government-run health (s)care plan, you can potentially be flagged by a listener at the White House’s website. I kid you not. At the beginning of his show yesterday evening, the Great One Mark Levin said: Your government has declared war on you. (Incidentally, I’m working on a Levin Listen & Learn as we speak.) He was even more right than he know. Less than two hours ago Breitbart reported this: A leading Republican US Senator on Wednesday...

The White House damage control team is out in force on the internet trying to counter sitizen outrage agaiinst the healthcare "reform" advocated by Obama and Democrats. White House Office of Health Reform communications director Linda Douglas has a video out crying Obama' words have been "taken out of context." Whitehouse - Facts Are Stubborn Things Included in the countering efforts is, "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...

During my latest broadcast on Israel National Radio, I mentioned about the dark prospects for individual liberties in Obama's America and the bleak future for Jews there. Between that broadcast and last week's post of Obama and Tisha B'Av, quite a few readers were upset with what I wrote. What right does truth have to upset their comfort zone? Ok, I'll go the easy route. I'll let my good friend US Senator John Cornyn from Texas tell you about how Obama is "asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House"!! When we quoted Pravda talking about...

So what has the White House told supporters to do when you run across those who spread "disinformation" about the new attempt by the Obama administration to install the anti-competitive practices of a "public option" into a federalized universal health care initiative? Report them. Whether its communicated through e-mail, web sites, blogs, or even casual conversation the executive branch of the federal government is asking you to make them aware of this "disinformation" because they can't keep track of all of the dissenters themselves. From Tuesday's White House blog entry:

Since September 11, 2001, New York City (NYC) has established a substantial terrorism intelligence operation. This includes sending investigators and analysts overseas. Back home, NYC police set up databases of terror related information collected locally, and obtained from the FBI, CIA and other sources. The police also established informant networks among the Moslem community. But there was also a publicity campaign for a terrorist hot line, using ads with the tagline; "If you see something, say something." Last year this resulted in 1,944 tips. These led to five arrests. But only two of these were terrorist related acts (one for...

In preparation for the Republican National Convention, the FBI is soliciting informants to keep tabs on local protest groups Paul Carroll was riding his bike when his cell phone vibrated. Once he arrived home from the Hennepin County Courthouse, where he’d been served a gross misdemeanor for spray-painting the interior of a campus elevator, the lanky, wavy-haired University of Minnesota sophomore flipped open his phone and checked his messages. He was greeted by a voice he recognized immediately. It belonged to U of M Police Sgt. Erik Swanson, the officer to whom Carroll had turned himself in just three weeks...

MANILA, Philippines - The U.S. ambassador to the Philippines handed over a $10 million reward Thursday to four Filipino informants whose tip led to the killing of the country's two top terror suspects, the U.S. Embassy said. It was the largest reward given so far by Washington in a campaign to wipe out al-Qaida-linked militants in the southern Philippines, where the U.S. military has been training and advising Filipino troops. The U.S. promised a reward of up to $5 million each for Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, who was slain in a September clash on southern Jolo island, and his...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Police and prosecutors are worried that a Web site claiming to identify more than 4,000 informants and undercover agents will cripple investigations and hang targets on witnesses. The Web site, WhosaRat.com, first caught the attention of authorities after a Massachusetts man put it online and named a few dozen people as turncoats in 2004. Since then, it has grown into a clearinghouse for mug shots, court papers and rumors. Federal prosecutors say the site was set up to encourage violence, and federal judges around the country were recently warned that witnesses in their courtrooms may be profiled...

Lecturers will be asked to report on Muslim students suspected of involvement in extremism under Government guidance expected today. The document, drawn up by the Department for Education and Skills, comes amid continuing concerns that universities are a breeding ground for Islamic terrorists.Sheikh Musa Admani, the Muslim chaplain at London Metropolitan University and an adviser to Bill Rammell, the higher education minister, said this week that he was aware of at least four universities in which students claim to have been "groomed" by extremists. Some students had been so deeply indoctrinated that they had gone to Iraq and Afghanistan to...

A recent terrorist trial, and conviction, of an Islamic terrorists in New York City brought out the extent to which police have infiltrated Moslem communities in order to uncover terrorist plots. While most of this counter-terrorist activity within Moslem communities is kept secret, enough information has leaked out to make it clear that it's no accident that the United States has not suffered another terrorist attack since September 11, 2001. There is an extensive informant network within Moslem communities all over the United States. The FBI was pleasantly surprised right after September 11, 2001, by the number of calls they...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - In a potential blow to their terrorism case against a father and son, federal prosecutors on Thursday said there is no evidence to support statements by their key witness that a top aide to Osama bin Laden attended a northern California mosque in the late 1990s. The surprise move was designed to dissuade the defense from calling witnesses who would challenge the story's credibility. The witness, an FBI informant, told agents when they recruited him in 2001 that he had seen a high-ranking al-Qaida official and two other international terrorists when he lived in Lodi during the...

A veteran foot soldier reveals his role in the jihad — and why he's having second thoughts about a holy war that seems to have no endKhalid had been in Iraq for only a few weeks, but he was already sick of the place. It wasn't the missions that bothered him. He was fighting alongside a small group of Saudis, and they were consummate professionals when it came to jihad, completely focused on the lightning-fast attacks they staged each day on the foreign invaders. The ambushes usually lasted no more than five or ten minutes, but Khalid reveled in the chance to...

SAMARRA, Iraq — After keeping their distance for months, Iraqis in this Sunni Arab city suddenly began cooperating with U.S. troops, leading them to insurgents and hidden weapons caches. The reason: anger over the assassination by insurgents of a local tribal chief. "That's when they decided to make a stand," said Capt. Ryan Wylie, commander of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment. "They definitely had an idea of the terrorists and where they hang out." U.S. commanders cite other reasons for a lull in violence in this city 60 miles north of Baghdad. They include construction of an 11-mile berm around...

The use of rewards in the war on terror has not worked as well as was expected, largely because of the difficulty in getting the word out, and fear of retaliation against potential informants. This has always been a problem with offering rewards for information. And this is why television programs like “America’s Most Wanted” have been so successful in bringing in useful tips. This demonstrates how many people out there could provide useful information, if properly informed about what was being sought. But the “America’s Most Wanted” criminals are usually fugitives, living among strangers that are not easy to...

July 28 issue — The FBI blew repeated chances to uncover the 9-11 plot because it failed to aggressively investigate evidence of Al Qaeda’s presence in the United States, especially in the San Diego area, where two of the hijackers were living with one of the bureau’s own informants, according to the congressional report set for release this week.