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It is far from clear why senior Obama administration officials told The Wall Street Journal that under President Barack Obama, the National Security Agency has been aggressively spying not only on Israeli officials but on US citizens and lawmakers who communicate with Israeli officials. Perhaps they were trying to make Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu look like a fool. After all, the article concludes that the NSA intercepts of these communications "revealed one surprise." "Mr. Netanyahu and some of his allies voiced confidence they could win enough votes" in Congress to scuttle Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. Ha ha. What dummies!...

U.S. spying programs scooped up communications between members of Congress and Israeli leaders, giving the White House insight into Israel's lobbying of U.S. lawmakers against the Iran nuclear deal, current and former U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal. The article, published Tuesday afternoon, reports that the U.S. continued to spy on select leaders of allied nations despite President Barack Obama's pledge to curb such surveillance two years ago, and that it was a top priority to maintain spying on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. As part of that continued surveillance, the National Security Agency also swept...

A House panel on Wednesday announced it is opening an investigation into U.S. intelligence collection that may have swept up members of Congress. The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence's announcement of the probe comes after a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. collected information on private exchanges between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of Congress during ongoing negotiations for nuclear deal with Iran.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) says the U.S. government's surveillance of allies "might be worse" than reported. “I actually think it might be worse than what some people might think, but this is an issue that we’ll keep a close eye on," said Rubio, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, in an interview on Fox News's “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday. Rubio was discussing a Wall Street Journal article that said the U.S. continues to spy on the communications of allied nations' leaders, capturing communications between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his aides during the Iran nuclear talks. The...

President Barack Obama announced two years ago he would curtail eavesdropping on friendly heads of state after the world learned the reach of long-secret U.S. surveillance programs. But behind the scenes, the White House decided to keep certain allies under close watch, current and former U.S. officials said. Topping the list was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S., pursuing a nuclear arms agreement with Iran at the time, captured communications between Mr. Netanyahu and his aides that inflamed mistrust between the two countries and planted a political minefield at home when Mr. Netanyahu later took his campaign against the...

U.S. spying programs scooped up communications between members of Congress and Israeli leaders, giving the White House insight into Israel’s lobbying of U.S. lawmakers against the Iran nuclear deal, current and former U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal. The article, published Tuesday afternoon, reports that the U.S. continued to spy on select leaders of allied nations despite President Barack Obama’s pledge to curb such surveillance two years ago, and that it was a top priority to maintain spying on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. As part of that continued surveillance, the National Security Agency also swept...

One of the least back-slapping presidents in recent memory may have finally found a way to bond with lawmakers — by treating them to the most exclusive upgrade in air travel. Since his party took brutal losses in the November elections, President Barack Obama has invited nearly 20 members of Congress to fly with him on Air Force One to state visits in India and Saudi Arabia, to Tennessee for the announcement of his free community college initiative, and to Nevada to promote his latest sweeping moves on immigration. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander used last month’s flight to his home...

Senator Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) urged colleagues not to oppose the House-passed legislation blocking President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, warning that Congress will be “a museum piece” if they do. “A vote against the House bill is a vote to turn the Congress into a museum piece,” Sessions said Friday following a congressional retreat in which it become apparent that Republicans are nervous about using the Department of Homeland Security funding as leverage to stop the immigration policies. “A ‘no’ vote is to acquiesce to the greatest erosion of Congress’ lawmaking authority in my lifetime.

House Democrats are frustrated with what they say is a lack of election-year communication from the White House. The lawmakers say it’s difficult to defend President Obama from GOP attacks, when he doesn't confer with his allies about his strategy and intentions. Some are scratching their heads why, after nearly six years in office and a reshuffling of his legislative affairs team, Obama's working relationship with Congress remains prickly. “It's hard for us to fathom; I mean, is it just lack of full staffing and resources? [Is it] professional commitment? Is it a disdain for the legislative branch? I mean,...

..."The overwhelming majority of Americans do not understand that Obama's first term was dedicated to putting in place executive power to enable him and the administration to fulfill the campaign promise of "transforming America" in his second term regardless of which political party controls Congress. That is why his re-election team is virtually ignoring the plight of incumbent or prospective Democratic Party office holders... "The most significant accomplishment of Obama's first term is to make Congress irrelevant. Under the myopic and blindly loyal leadership of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats have succeeded in creating an imperial and, in...

The adoption of electronic medical records, or EMRs, in U.S. hospitals has improved the quality of care in only one of three areas studied, and even in that area, the gains are limited, according to new research by the nonprofit Rand published this week in the American Journal of Managed Care. Not only did the researchers find no improvement in care when hospitals adopted EMRs for the first two conditions, pneumonia and heart attack, but they also found that the greatest improvements in care they saw were for people with heart failure in hospitals using only basic EMRs; where EMRs...

Obama’s Secret Plan? by Ari Bussel “Obama’s Window for Change May Close With Republican Win,” was the headline leading into the mid-term elections, followed the next day by: “Republicans Win Most Governorships, Sweep Midwest on Mounting Discontent,” and “Democrats Face Biggest House Midterm Defeat in Seven Decades.” The President, though, had a pre-planned party in India and elsewhere. Three thousand attendees were invited along, in a celebration that has been ongoing for two years and is expected to last another two. Unemployment at home? Tax the Rich! Broken promises, tough conditions? Blame the Republicans. Health insurance rates will not go...

Obama: Congress May Not Tackle Immigration Soon By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS April 29, 2010 ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) -- President Barack Obama said Wednesday that there ''may not be an appetite'' in Congress to deal with immigration immediately after going through a tough legislative year. With energy legislation on the table and midterm elections approaching, Obama said he didn't want to force an immigration bill through Congress ''just for the sake of politics.'' Still, he said discussions on the issue must move forward in a way that can garner the support of the American people. ''We've gone though a...

I have a question to pose to FReepers: For the past 40 years the left knows nothing but rage and hate. Since 2000 they've put all of their energies into hating Bush. Now that they have control over House, Senate, and the Presidency, who or what is going to drive their hate? Just curious to see what the rest of you think...