Michelle Malkin » Obama’s Americorps scandal — and the First Lady’s meddling

Obama’s Americorps scandal — and the First Lady’s meddling

By Michelle Malkin • June 12, 2009 09:43 AM

President Obama is hoping you won’t notice his abrupt change of inspectors general over at Americorps, the government-run, taxpayer-subsidized “community service” boondoggle (which Republicans helped expand as part of the $6 billion GIVE/SERVE Act in March despite its wasteful track record. Thanks, Republicans).

With intervention from Michelle Obama, the Americorps inspector general was given the boot and replaced — for doing his job too well, it seems, and uncovering squandering of funds by favored contributors, educational institutions, and left-wing groups.

This Associated Press article only scratches the surface:

President Barack Obama plans to fire the inspector general who investigates AmeriCorps and other national service programs amid a controversy between the IG and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is an Obama supporter and former NBA basketball star.

The IG, Gerald Walpin, was criticized by the U.S. attorney in Sacramento for the way he handled an investigation of Johnson and his nonprofit group, St. HOPE Academy, which received hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants from the Corporation for National Community Service. The corporation runs the AmeriCorps program.

On Thursday, Obama said in a letter to Congress that he had lost confidence in Walpin. Neither the president nor deputy White House press secretary Josh Earnest would give details. The president must give Congress 30 days’ notice before removing Walpin, who is being suspended with pay for the 30 days. Earnest said, “The president will appoint a replacement in whom he has full confidence as the corporation carries out its important mission.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in a letter to Obama, pointed to a law requiring that Congress be given the reasons an IG is fired. He cited a Senate report saying the requirement is designed to ensure that inspectors general are not removed for political reasons. Grassley said Walpin had identified millions of dollars in AmeriCorps funds that were wasted or misspent and “it appears he has been doing a good job.”

In fact, there’s much more.

This little-noticed story in Youth Today yesterday points to another example of Walpin blowing the whistle on fraud:

The inspector general (IG) of the Corporation for National and Community Service is being removed by President Barack Obama, a week after the IG questioned the eligibility of the largest and most expensive AmeriCorps program, and while the IG was contesting the “propriety” of a settlement made with a mayor for alleged misuse of AmeriCorps funds.

…Funding for the largest AmeriCorps program – the Teaching Fellows Program, run by the Research Foundation of the City University of New York – is in abeyance pending resolution of widespread problems identified in a recent audit. Although Walpin recommended that funding be curtailed and that previous funds (perhaps as much as $75 million) be repaid to the corporation, the corporation has said it will take no action on that matter.

Walpin concluded that nothing was being gained by the grants to CUNY and that the money was simply being used to subsidize an existing and funded program.

I highly recommend that you head over to the Americorps’ inspector general’s report site here. You can find the entire CUNY report here. Let me repeat what the IG found: Waste, duplication, ineffective spending, criminal background check lapses, and repeated violations of the grant rules. And they’re not doing anything about it. Just a snippet from the executive summary:

The Office of Inspector General (OIG), Corporation for National and Community Service (Corporation), contracted with Cotton & Company LLP to perform agreed-upon procedures to assist the OIG in grant cost and compliance testing of Corporation-funded Federal assistance provided to The Research Foundation of the City University of New York (RFCUNY). The Corporation awarded two Education Award Program grants to RFCUNY that were categorized as Professional Model grants.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

As a result of applying our procedures, we questioned education awards of $16,152,414 and draw downs of $773,254. In general, we questioned the education awards for members whose eligibility was not established in accordance with grant requirements for criminal background checks. Draw downs were questioned mostly for fixed fees related to members whose eligibility we questioned and also for drawing down in excess of fees earned. In addition, our compliance findings when taken as a whole indicate pervasive problems of eligibility, timekeeping, and documentation. A questioned cost is an alleged violation of a provision of law, regulation, contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other agreement or document governing the expenditure of funds or a finding that, at the time of testing,
includes costs not supported by adequate documentation.

…Participants who successfully complete terms of service under AmeriCorps grants are eligible for education awards and, in some cases, accrued interest awards funded by the Corporation’s National Service Trust. These award amounts are not funded by Corporation grants and thus are not included in claimed grant costs. But at the time that a grant is awarded, and due to the grant award, these amounts become immediate obligations of the National Service Trust. Therefore, as part of our agreed-upon procedures, and using the same criteria used for the grantee’s claimed costs, we determined the effect of our findings on AmeriCorps members’ entitlement to education and accrued interest awards.

The following is a summary of grant compliance testing results…

1. RFCUNY drew down more funds than it was due.

2. RFCUNY did not follow certain AmeriCorps Provisions.

3. The supervisory signature on members’ timesheets was not the members’ supervisor, or that of someone with direct knowledge of hours served by the members.

4. Members did not always record actual service hours on their timesheets.

5. Some members’ timesheet hours were not accurately recorded in the Corporation’s Web-Based Reporting System.

6. RFCUNY did not require its members to timely submit their member contracts, forms, and timesheets.

7. RFCUNY used preprinted member documentation and did not ensure that all member documentation was completed, signed, and dated.

8. RFCUNY did not maintain documentation to demonstrate that each member’s evaluation complied with AmeriCorps Regulations and the Member Agreement.

9. RFCUNY did not maintain documentation to demonstrate that members received criminal background checks and that any background checks conducted complied with AmeriCorps Provisions.

10. RFCUNY entered incorrect member start dates in Corporation systems and in member contracts.

11. Some members worked beyond their contract-end date.

Another recent IG report on Americorps waste by open-borders lobbying group, La Raza (”The Race”) spotlighted its failure to complete background checks and institute secure financial controls. And on and on and on.

And guess who’s meddling in these affairs? Yep, First Lady Michelle Obama:

Some decisions about CNCS are being made by First Lady Michelle Obama, according to service advocates (who asked not to be named). Last week, Mrs. Obama announced that her chief of staff, Jackie Norris, would move to CNCS as a senior adviser. Officials said yesterday that Norris is scheduled to arrive on June 22.

Who’s looking out for you now? Cronies, that’s who.

More on the First Lady’s role in installing Norris and intervening to help pick the next Americorps CEO:

First Lady Michelle Obama’s chief of staff, Jackie Norris, is being sent to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) in what is both a White House shake-up and an indication of the first lady’s sway over the corporation that oversees AmeriCorps, Serve and Learn and the Senior Corps.

Observers believe Norris, whom Obama came to know early in the Iowa caucus campaign, was forced out of the White House so that long-time Obama friend Susan Sher could take over. But those same observers see her appointment as senior adviser to the corporation as an overall win for CNCS, believing that Norris still will have a straight line to the White House.

CNCS remains without a CEO after the withdrawal last month of Nike vice president Maria Eitel, even before her nomination went to the Senate. Although the corporation’s CEO must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, Michelle Obama reportedly has taken the lead in selecting the nominee.

This stinks. Shades of Travelgate, anyone?

The more things Change…

***

Ed Morrissey: “Will Congress stand up to the executive branch and protect the Inspectors General? Or will they roll over and allow Obama to accrue even more power to protect his buddies and to allow corruption to run rampant?”

***

Flashback on the Americorps/ACORN fraud history, circa 2004:

Although ACORN’s projects run a wide gamut, the group claims as its purpose helping low- and middle-income Americans — through initiatives ranging from improving urban public schools, to providing counseling on how to avoid “predatory lending,” to increasing the availability of “affordable housing.” Most of these programs are conducted locally, by state-level ACORN organizations — which are often set up as 501(c)3 nonprofit entities distinct from the national ACORN umbrella, a 501(c)4 lobbying organization. Sounds benign enough — except that, according to Bob Huberty, executive vice president of the Capital Research Center, these tax-exempt 501(c)3s “have no reason for existence other than to get grants from the government and foundations.” They are, essentially, an ACORN front for asking Uncle Sam to subsidize political activity.

Ask ACORN does — and it definitely receives. Take, for example, the most recent tax information from one of ACORN’s subsidiary nonprofits: the ACORN Housing Corporation, Inc., based out of the organization’s national headquarters in New Orleans. For the tax year beginning July 1, 2002, and ending June 30, 2003, ACORN Housing Corp.’s 990 Form shows a total of $1,710,203 received in government grants (the year before, the total was $1,977,306).

The nominal purpose of those millions is to “provide low rent housing & loan counseling services to low income individuals.” But if the government is funding the actual, legitimate work of ACORN at the local 501(c)3 level, it means that the national lobbying organization can dedicate more of its unrestricted resources to electioneering. Furthermore, explains Craig Garthwaite, director of research at the Employment Policies Institute, “The funding is not only fungible in that if they receive money for X, they can spend more on Y.” He cites one particular example of money-rerouting malfeasance: the crooked dealings surrounding an AmeriCorps grant in 1996. According to an EPI study, when the ACORN Housing Corp. applied for the grant, they denied any connections to the main ACORN lobbying group (the grant is not for political advocacy). But the AmeriCorps inspector general discovered that “not only was AHC created by ACORN, engaged in numerous transactions with one another, and sharing staff and office space — but it utilized the AmeriCorps grant to increase ACORN membership, a violation of federal guidelines.” (ACORN charges membership dues, much as labor unions do; thus, by exploiting AmeriCorps funding to inflate its membership rolls, ACORN used government resources to bring in even more money — money with no restrictions on its political use.)

***

And another relevant flashback on Michelle Obama’s interest in government-directed “service,” via IBD last fall:

Barack Obama was a founding member of the board of Public Allies in 1992, resigning before his wife became executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies in 1993. Obama plans to use the nonprofit group, which he features on his campaign Web site, as the model for a national service corps. He calls his Orwellian program, “Universal Voluntary Public Service.”

Big Brother had nothing on the Obamas. They plan to herd American youth into government-funded reeducation camps where they’ll be brainwashed into thinking America is a racist, oppressive place in need of “social change.”

The pitch Public Allies makes on its Web site doesn’t seem all that radical. It promises to place young adults (18-30) in paid one-year “community leadership” positions with nonprofit or government agencies. They’ll also be required to attend weekly training workshops and three retreats.

In exchange, they’ll get a monthly stipend of up to $1,800, plus paid health and child care. They also get a post-service education award of $4,725 that can be used to pay off past student loans or fund future education.

But its real mission is to radicalize American youth and use them to bring about “social change” through threats, pressure, tension and confrontation — the tactics used by the father of community organizing, Saul “The Red” Alinsky…

Posted in: ACORN Watch, Corruption, Michelle Obama, National Service

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#1

On June 12th, 2009 at 9:50 am, Rogue Cheddar said:

Transparency! Thy name is mud!
#2

On June 12th, 2009 at 9:51 am, Rogue Cheddar said:

Please! Please! Please! Can we have the Clintons back? I promise I’ll be good!
#3

On June 12th, 2009 at 9:52 am, dan708 said:

An inspector who is supposed to investigate scandals is being fired because he insists on investigating scandals!(hat tip to David Brinkley)
#4

On June 12th, 2009 at 9:56 am, xler8bmw said:

Hope and Change

“I will CHANGE you to socialism and HOPE you don’t notice too quickly”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#5

On June 12th, 2009 at 9:57 am, Traditionalist said:

Ed Morrissey: “Will Congress stand up to the executive branch and protect the Inspectors General? Or will they roll over and allow Obama to accrue even more power to protect his buddies and to allow corruption to run rampant?”

Do we really have to ask this anymore? Seriously…..
#7

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:03 am, cabrerski said:

Remember, the bad guys are Republicans, Big Oil, Wall Street and Wal-Mart. How dare you bring unauthorized attention to corruption in other places!!!!
#8

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:04 am, Old Tanker said:

Please! Please! Please! Can we have the Clintons back? I promise I’ll be good!

Man you’re not kidding…..

I saw Feinstein on some program a couple of weeks ago going on about curtailing some of the abuses of executive power……from the previous administration Lady, Bush had nuthin’ on Obama.
#10

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:06 am, TheWriteJerry said:

On June 12th, 2009 at 9:51 am, Rogue Cheddar said:
Please! Please! Please! Can we have the Clintons back? I promise I’ll be good!

I’d be willing to go back to Carter. He was a wimpy ineffective misguided philosophically unsound fool, but even that would be better than the lying scheming crony-licker in chief we have now.
#12

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:10 am, jangar said:

For those who have caught on to the whole ACORN scandal, we have renamed it Americorps.

This is also how low-life porn joints stay in business…change the name, maybe even the location.
#13

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:15 am, reshas1 said:

All this CRAP is starting to make me physically SICK..
#14

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:16 am, John Deaux said:

They will keep on with abuses like this and power grabs and spreading the wealth and the press will over look it and Congress will support it.

Then it will get ugly because the pendulum always swings. Stock up.
#16

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:18 am, Ragspierre said:

Watch for this to increase…

shoot the watch-dogs, replace them with hand-picked lap-dogs.
#18

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:23 am, Misscheryl said:

Just a Chicago thug doing what Chicago thugs do…

oh yeah, and the outrage from the left (where hypocrisy rules) is deafening
#19

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:24 am, chep said:

It sounds like Joseph Stalin material. Orders from the Kremlin.
#20

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:28 am, tiredofit08 said:

On June 12th, 2009 at 9:56 am, xler8bmw said:

Hope and Change

“I will CHANGE you to socialism and HOPE you don’t notice too quickly”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would suggest that we are by-passing socialism and are headed directly to marxism…and very quickly without a whisper from the vast majority of the American people…
#21

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:32 am, Ragspierre said:

Meanwhile, the Congress seems to be tripping over itself to kill many more Americans, insisting on the release of propaganda treasures for our Islamic enemies.
#23

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:35 am, kthomas8268 said:

All this CRAP is starting to make me physically SICK..

yep me too…. where is all the outrage over what is happening to this country by the terrorist sympathizers in the White House and Congress?
#24

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:36 am, Misscheryl said:

tar…feather…pole
#25

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:38 am, xler8bmw said:

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:28 am, tiredofit08 said:

Agreed, I am trying to remain hopeful LOL!
#26

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:38 am, kthomas8268 said:

I’ve been writing Congress members but they just ignore, my congress reps ARE trying to stop this crap but are a minority voice in the Federal government…. what to do? <sigh
#27

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:38 am, iamsaved said:

Since our elected officials won’t stand up to this take over of America, its citizens need to say enough is enough and push back.

Tea Parties on July 4th will only be heralded as large groups of citizens celebrating Independence Day by the MSM. Move along – nothing to see here.

I have no hope in Virginia’s Senators – although they ran as centrist, they are in arm-in-arm lockstep with the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Useless idiots to the Liar-In-Chief.
#28

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:40 am, Auggie Dog said:

“The president will appoint a replacement in whom he has full ~~confidence~~ control as the corporation carries out ~~its~~ his ~~important~~ ~~mission~~ agenda.”
#29

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:40 am, kthomas8268 said:

What’s needed is a great Americans (as Hannity says) to run against these incumbents and THE PEOPLE come together to get them elected AT ALL COSTS!
#30

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:41 am, Paul said:

ObaMugabe continues his corrupt program.

His abuses of power are adding up. I think we’re nearing the tipping point of tolerance for his thuggish behavior.
#31

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:44 am, Misscheryl said:

I must say, the conservatives have, over the past 30 years or so, let alot of things slide. As long as the crazy lefties left us to our easy chairs and TVs we didn’t get too involved in how our legislators voted. Obama, Pelosi, Reid, et al. are in office because they were voted into office. They remain in office because they were voted to remain in office. That’s the bottom line. The responsibility lies with us.
#33

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:52 am, ajmalkov said:

Michelle, stay on this like a pit bull. Don’t let it go. Sitting here on Lake Michigan I can smell the dead fish rotting all the way from California.
#34

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:54 am, ajmalkov said:

Michelle:

We need to find out who from the White House counsel’s office made the call to Walpin Wednesday night and look into this person.

That will tell us who’s behind this purge.
#35

On June 12th, 2009 at 10:56 am, iamsaved said:

Misscheryl said: “…The responsibility lies with us.”

ACORN and their ilk have also helped sway elections around the country. Without their involvement and corruption, many of the liberals wouldn’t be in office today. The Franken/Coleman fiasco is a good example. I’d also refer you to the Ashcroft re-election in Missouri and the Clair McCaskill/Jim Talent elections of Missouri.
#37

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:04 am, Ragspierre said:

Tea Parties on July 4th will only be heralded as large groups of citizens celebrating Independence Day by the MSM. Move along – nothing to see here.

Certainly, but we cannot allow them to shape the agenda, or to discourage us into inaction.

People in America have eyes, and though they have been scaled, they are opening a little more each day.

Do what is right, let the consequence follow…
#38

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:09 am, max said:

Michelle O’s meddling will only get worse i fear.
“Oh waiter, I believe I will have that Whitey Tape entree after all, thank you, and could you bring a side order of Princeton transcripts and thesis? Thanks a bunch.”
#39

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:10 am, englishqueen01 said:

So basically, Obama is going to do whatever he wants with this administration, laws be damned.

He won, after all.

I agree – I wish Hillary Clinton had won. Hell, I’d even give Bill another term.
#40

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:10 am, max said:

“Oh, I forgot to sign the check?
Hillary Rodham…”
thanks waiter..
#42

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:14 am, beachmom said:

Gee, do you think the dems will make a fuss about not being given a reason for the firing? You know, like the fuss they continue to make over the Bush administration firing some attorneys? Even though, the attorneys can be fired for any reason the POTUS wants.
#43

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:14 am, Paul Revere said:

Who will be the Obama’s Vince Foster? I’m scared.
#44

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:18 am, max said:

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:14 am, Paul Revere said:
Who will be the Obama’s Vince Foster? I’m scared.

The Rev. wright….
and they’ll blame it on them jooos!
#45

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:19 am, corona said:

Yeah, well I bet Kevin Johnson could make at least one of two free throws with eleven seconds left …
#49

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:34 am, cactusjoe said:

Here, under leave of Obama and the rest–
For Obama is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men–
Come I to speak in Liberty’s funeral…
#50

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:38 am, d1carter said:

It’s all about the basketball…donchaknow
#51

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:42 am, Pat said:

I have said all along that Michelle’s job will be to manage the unofficial army of Obamanites. There is no way this angry elite lawyer is going to be “mom in chief.”

She is the chief community organizer now–under the radar and fully funded, ignored by the media, just like the czars.
#53

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:46 am, vickisoup said:

Hmmm……but it’s BushCo who are the supposed criminals for firings at the State Department because, as everyone knows, there must be absolutely no politics in, well, politics.
#54

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:46 am, Flyoverman said:

This one could come back to really bite them. Nixon was getting away with things until he fired Archibald Cox; then everything blew up.

The digging (not by the MSM) will begin in earnest now.

More uneeded distractions for The One.
#55

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:49 am, Socky said:

So, will lgm use the “this no big deal” gambit, the “Bush did it, too” gambit, or the “you are all hysterical” gambit in defending his Dear Leader from this latest corruption scandal?
#56

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:51 am, NJRepublican said:

The youthtoday.org link gives a “Service Unavailable” page. Are they trying to scrub links to the First Lady?
#58

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:58 am, granite said:

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:49 am, Socky said:
So, will lgm use the “this no big deal” gambit, the “Bush did it, too” gambit, or the “you are all hysterical” gambit in defending his Dear Leader from this latest corruption scandal?

Hey, stop picking on lgm!
Be nice to them.
You never know just who will be writing their posts!
#59

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:00 pm, ajmalkov said:

Hmmmm…..

According to the AP story, Stephen Goldsmith, a Republican and Bush appointee to the board that oversees Americorps, supported Obama’s decision to fire Walpin.

Wonder why?

According to his company’s Web site (knowledgeu.com),

KU companies in the U.S. are among the largest providers of No Child Left Behind tutoring for the Federal Government

Maybe a slight potential for conflict of interest here? What is this joker doing on the board of a federal ‘volunteer’ service organization when his company is one of the largest beneficiaries of federal largesse?

Is it the head the fish starts stinking from?
#60

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:00 pm, Regulus said:

If this trend continues, there may be one bright spot by historical comparison: Jimmy Carter began his presidency with a donkey Congress, but he so managed to alienate even his fellow donks that he ended up at loggerheads with them for most of his term.

At the rate he’s going, Hope-a-Dope is on a collision course with Congress that at some point even the donks are going to realize that they’re dealing with a nascent Imperial Presidency that makes Richard Nixon look like a “B” List amateur.

Gridlock is the best we can hope for between now and 2010. The Republicans can’t bring that about by themselves, but it’ll only take a few far-sighted donks in Congress to take on His Majesty and pour enough sand in his gears.

Wow. Depending on donks for salvation. Now I know just how much of a deep-sh*t situation we’ve descended to.
#61

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:04 pm, cheapseat said:

are you telling me michelle (i got my 300k a year cush job when barry became a senator)obama is no more honest and maybe less so than hillary (i got my prestigous law firm job when bill became governor) clinton. the more things change (whitehouse travel department to inspector general’s office watching over big bucks being passed out to cronies) the more they stay the same. is there anyone in the democrat party who isn’t a crook or a pervert.
#64

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:10 pm, irving said:

Will Congress stand up to the executive branch and protect the Inspectors General?

Good heavens! Why would they do a thing like that? I mean, what if the president doesn’t like it? Or worse, what if the first lady doesn’t like it? (shudder).

There might be (shudder) bad feelings!
#65

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:11 pm, USAF4Life said:

beachmom said:
Gee, do you think the dems will make a fuss about not being given a reason for the firing? You know, like the fuss they continue to make over the Bush administration firing some attorneys? Even though, the attorneys can be fired for any reason the POTUS wants.

Yeah, now firing Justice Department lawyers that serve at the will of the President – now THAT’S scandalous!
#67

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:15 pm, Ed Mahmoud abu al-Kahoul said:

You know, a lot of scandal ridden Dem pols had bad family lives. BJ Clinton’s father died when he fell asleep at the wheel and drove into a rain filled ditch.

But BHO has really had it rough.

First baby mama posed for nude photos, possibly for CP-USA member Frank Marshall Davis. Burfer theory #2 is original long form BC is hidden because BHO Senior is not Stanley Ann Dunham’s baby daddy.

If she did do indoor body surfing with Mr. Davis, it might be the only non-Muslim man she ever slept with.

First Baby Mama abandoned The One at age 7, sent him to live with typical White grandparents, and Grandpa Dunham, who liked to drink with Mr. Davis, decided when our Dear Leader was 10 that he needed a Black male father figure. I don’t know how typical Typical White Grandparents were, named a daughter “Stanley”, and moved from Kansas to Hawai’i before it was the 57th state.

It’d be easy to feel sorry for The One, the early years had to suck, but typical White grandparents sent him to private school, he did Columbia and Harvard, got a real steal on buying his manse in Chicago, and seems bent on destroying America.

Perhaps Mao and Stalin and Pol Pot also had bad childhoods.
#68

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:19 pm, Ed Mahmoud abu al-Kahoul said:

Clinton fired all Republican appointed US attornies.

No problem.

Bush fires a few Dem appointed US attornies, major scandal. Some had refused to investigate voter fraud cases, apparently fired for cause.

Obama fires IG who may be on the trail of a scandal.

No problem.

See how easy that is?
#69

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:20 pm, Ed Mahmoud abu al-Kahoul said:

Odds that the typical Obama voter will hear any of this on the MSM.

Slim and None, and Slim has a plane to catch.
#70

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:25 pm, jsmiddleton4 said:

When is the degree of incest in our government finally going to sicken enough people and sicken those people enough to actually do something real about it? Obama of course is guilty in terms of degrees way more than any previous administration BUT he did not invent it. The Congress, both political parties, Washington and government federal and local have been criminally incestuous for some time.

Obama must not feel the need to hide it in any way given his party’s majority. It will cost him however as we are starting to see in the last few weeks.
#71

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:25 pm, shooter said:

I’ve been writing Congress members but they just ignore, my congress reps ARE trying to stop this crap but are a minority voice in the Federal government…. what to do?

Keep writing and send this to all media you can think of…TV , radio, papers, etc.
And call your congresspeople.
We must fight or they will take EVERYTHING.
In the 1770’s the first Americans used guns, we must use words and all tools available to save what so many Americans before us have died for.

Our very FREEDOM.

maybe… pray for obama’s impeachment and removal from office.
#72

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:28 pm, Ragspierre said:

This is totally subjective, but…

I consider ShellieO the more dangerous of the couple.
#73

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:29 pm, DagneyT said:

If there’s one thing the left hates above all others, it’s the discovery of their corruption…which is why you’ll never hear this report in the drive-by media!
#74

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:36 pm, DagneyT said:

First Lady Michelle Obama’s chief of staff, Jackie Norris, is being sent to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) in what is both a White House shake-up and an indication of the first lady’s sway over the corporation that oversees AmeriCorps, Serve and Learn and the Senior Corps.

MO is a repeat of Shrillary, as I knew she would be!
#75

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:38 pm, Truesoldier said:

On June 12th, 2009 at 11:04 am, Ragspierre said:
Tea Parties on July 4th will only be heralded as large groups of citizens celebrating Independence Day by the MSM. Move along – nothing to see here.
Certainly, but we cannot allow them to shape the agenda, or to discourage us into inaction.

People in America have eyes, and though they have been scaled, they are opening a little more each day.

Do what is right, let the consequence follow

Last night I heard some pundit (wish I could remember who it was) saying that with the latest killings at the holocaust museum and Dr Tiller that Obama has the responsibility to set speech standards to put a stop to it. He basically was saying that the government needs to determine when a thought goes to far and couldl lead to violence, seeing as it was talk radio and COnservative blogs that caused these tradgedys (his thoughts not mine).

Just another way to try toi stifle Conservatism and paint it as evil. Not surprising considering Rahm Emanuel said never let a crisis go to waste.
#76

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:45 pm, moonsbreath said:

We really shouldn’t be surprised, as this is politics (thuggery) done the Chicago way.

I think I’m becoming numb to all this.
#77

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:51 pm, thelcabroadside said:

The new Americrooks logo:

http://thelcabroadside.wordpress.com/
#78

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:52 pm, babiesgrandma said:

iamsaved said:
Tea Parties on July 4th will only be heralded as large groups of citizens celebrating Independence Day by the MSM. Move along – nothing to see here.

This has been my feeling all along. I haven’t said anything for fear of ridicule…but, we are walking into a PR trap. The Tea Parties will do only so much (so little) because of the celebration of Independence Day.

This may be our last Independence Day to celebrate. It may soon be outlawed to prevent dissidence from spreading.
#79

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:53 pm, madmonkphotog said:

More thuggery from a street thug and his ho(me grrl).
#80

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:53 pm, Pasadena Phil said:

Maybe the $50 Billion in fraud predicted by Deloite Financial Services Advisory is making the wrong assumptions. They are advising clients to look out for fraudulent billings and other run-of-the-mill fraud. Their model is based on assuming the normal 5% of fraud on the total exposed ($tooB in this case). Maybe their model should be revised to factor in the fraud that is being programmed into porkulus by its chief architect, the TOTUS and wife.
#81

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:55 pm, Freddy said:

This entire program, and related programs, all need to be eliminated.

This is nothing more than political activism and there is no reason for the federal government to be involved in any way.

I do not care that various members of the senate and house sit and tout how wonderful their ‘give away’ programs make them feel, this is a total fraud.

No amount of house cleaning can fix this kind of government waste and fraud.
#82

On June 12th, 2009 at 12:58 pm, iamsaved said:

Obama: Gov’t may shutter critical TV channel — just kidding although many truths are told in jest.
#83

On June 12th, 2009 at 1:08 pm, Dimsdale said:

Go to the site Michelle references, click on “meet the acting IG” and on the right, there is a button you can press to ask him a question directly.

I think you guys and ladies can come up with some relevant questions, like “are you going to pursue the unfinished investigations of your predecessor, or will you “toe the Obama line” for fear of losing you job as well?” Or “will you act independently, or are you under the direct control of the WH?”

You catch my drift.
#84

On June 12th, 2009 at 1:12 pm, Teddy Kennedy said:

Errah, If Blogoyevich has the cash, he can be the new IG.
#85

On June 12th, 2009 at 1:13 pm, AlohaGuy said:

“The president will appoint a replacement in whom he has full confidence as the corporation carries out its important mission.”

Bill Ayers? Rev Wright? Al Capone is dead…
#86

On June 12th, 2009 at 1:13 pm, Dimsdale said:

Let’s see if Couric covers this tonight.

Will Letterman make a joke about this?

Practice the following: “Where is the outrage?!?!?” and “It’s political!!!” and whatever statements the libs routinely used to complain about Bush.
#87

On June 12th, 2009 at 1:14 pm, GladzKravtz said:

Reader’s Digest 10/08 cartoon says it all:

Isn’t that the real genius of democracy? The voters are ultimately to blame.

How could so many people have been so stupid….
#88

On June 12th, 2009 at 1:22 pm, lgm said:

It’s telling that nobody here bothered to consider the possibility that there might be merit to:

The IG, Gerald Walpin, was criticized by the U.S. attorney in Sacramento for the way he handled an investigation of
#89

On June 12th, 2009 at 1:22 pm, Right By-The-Sea said:

No surprise here that the angry, fugly, strangely-dressed Michelle Obama is pulling strings and giving orders behind the scenes. Mean face…mean attitude.

As to anyone doing anything to stop these two evil people; don’t bet on it. They will be allowed to get away with whatever they want to do. These Marxist, anti-American racists are “too black” to fail.
#90

On June 12th, 2009 at 1:34 pm, fred5676 said:

This stinks. Shades of Travelgate, anyone?

Exactly. No shame at all.

And no murmurs from the MSM.
#91

On June 12th, 2009 at 1:42 pm, Misscheryl said:

How could so many people have been so stupid….

public education
#92

On June 12th, 2009 at 1:47 pm, travlinman said:

Greetings Komrades! We must have faith in the body politik! This is no time during this epic struggle for our very existence to start questioning our Dear Leader’s integrity. Let’s keep the heat on the evil Booshies and that despicable Limbaugh fellow. The One is here to save us from ourselves. Power to the People!!!
#93

On June 12th, 2009 at 1:50 pm, greysheepdog said:

Can anyone tell me seriously…

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE RICO INVESTIGATION?
#96

On June 12th, 2009 at 2:13 pm, right_on said:

To coin a phrase used recently by the Rev. Jerry Wright, let’s “call a spade a spade.” This behind the scenes activity by Obama, et al, is not hypocrisy, nor cronyism, it is an evil and obvious power grab, that is well beyond constitutional legality. Where’s the legal challenge? (Quiet meadow sounds…..)

When will we learn?

If it looks like a skunk, walks like a skunk, and smells like a skunk…

IT’S A SKUNK!
#97

On June 12th, 2009 at 2:17 pm, FirstSkirt said:

Just STHU, LGM. This whole thing has Micky O’s fingerprints all over it – and you know it, putz.
#98

On June 12th, 2009 at 2:20 pm, Ragspierre said:

We also learn today that the Congress is becoming (more) a body of thugs, who use the organs of government for intimidation and threats against witnesses.

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/06/12/democrats-use-intimidation-tactics-on-lobbyists-witnesses/

We see an emerging dictator and his enablers, where once a leader and statesmen (both in support and opposition) stood.
#99

On June 12th, 2009 at 2:23 pm, Ed Mahmoud abu al-Kahoul said:

Obama takes a slap at the bitter clingers, Bible readers, gun owners, and red necks from California to New Hampshire.

Government Motors has immediately ended all support to all NASCAR series but the highest, Cup, and has said that “is under review”. Dodge is rumored to follow suit, Richard Petty has already started cutting staff, with the remaining taking sharp salary cuts.

Toyota got into NASCAR in just the last five years because it is good marketing. The supposed reason for closing Dodge stores even though they cost the factory basically nothing was because supposedly Toyota leads the way selling more cars with fewer showrooms.

Toyota decided it was a good return on investment supporting race teams in vehicles that resemble Camry’s and Tundra’s.

I can’t help but sense a slap at the bitter clingers, or a sense the new GM will market Mini and Smart type cars that appeal to short distance commuters with no children in Berkeley and Boston.
#100

On June 12th, 2009 at 2:29 pm, b-cat said:

We see an emerging dictator and his enablers, where once a leader and statesmen (both in support and opposition) stood.

Just thought it should be said again.