President Obama's Only Ride he Actually Drives: Golf Cart One

There's all sorts of presidential rides with official names like Air Force One (airplane), Marine One (helicopter) - and other vehicles with nicknames like the "Beast" (limo), and "Bus Force One" (the newly minted presidential bus). And now enter "Golf Cart One," which holds the distinction as the only vehicle that President Obama actually gets to drive himself.
At an event honoring Jimmie Johnson for his 5th NASCAR Spring Cup Championship, the president noted he doesn't get to get behind the wheel much anymore. Of course as president, he has members of the military carting him around.
"I was just telling these guys I'm not allowed to drive much these days -- basically just my golf cart at Camp David -- which is called Golf Cart One. True," Obama said.
He added that being near Johnson's car can be pretty tempting. "[I] will say that it's pretty tough to look at Number 48 and not want to jump in and take a few laps -- although I'm sure Jimmie would not be happy if I was doing that," Obama said.
In a joking mood, a day ahead of his big speech to Congress unveiling his jobs plan, Obama said a NASCAR year is similar to being in the Oval Office.
"NASCAR is a sport where anything that can go wrong will go wrong at some point during the season -- similar to being president. That's true even for the best drivers. And with so much extraordinary talent that is going bumper to bumper in every race, just making the Chase is hard enough, let alone winning the whole thing," he said in praising Johnson's achievements.
The president also highlighted NASCAR drivers for their dedication to the troops. He noted how they toured Walter Reed medical center last month, served dinner to wounded warriors and how Johnson went to the Pentagon earlier Thursday.
Johnson presented Obama with some special gloves in a framed glass. Obama joked he could wear them with the NASCAR helmet he got previously. Johnson suggested he could use them in Marine One, but Obama quipped, "no, Golf Cart One!"
"I had to ask. Be safe, "Johnson advised.

General Reported He Was Pressured on Testimony About White House-Backed Project, Sources Say

Gen. William Shelton, head of the Air Force Space Command, told House members in a classified briefing earlier this month that he was pressured to change prepared congressional testimony in a way that would favor a large company funded by Philip Falcone, a major Democratic donor, congressional sources told Fox News.

Republicans have raised questions about whether project pursued by the company, LightSquared, is being unduly expedited by the Obama administration, which has pushed for national wireless network upgrades.

The Virginia-based satellite and broadband communications company has plans to build a nationwide, next-generation, 4G phone network that many, including Shelton, think would seriously hinder the effectiveness of high-precision GPS receiver systems, a product used most commonly by the United States military.

A source familiar with the technology told Fox News that the LightSquared spectrum would be 5 billion times stronger than the military's GPS system, rendering the military's system almost useless.

“Imagine trying to have a telephone conversation while your neighbors are hosting a rock concert,” the source told Fox News. “That’s the situation the military is facing.”

Shelton, in testimony Thursday before a House Armed Services subcommittee, refused to suggest that interference problems could be mitigated, as he allegedly was being pressured to say.

Military training that relies on precision GPS, such as dropping ordnance, potentially could cease to exist in the United States. Many farmers who also rely on the systems would also be affected. It's estimated this system is used by as many as 1 million people.

A House Armed Services Committee staff member confirmed to Fox News that when asked whether he was pressured to change public testimony he had prepared to for the hearing Thursday, Gen. Shelton said he was "being asked to say things he didn't agree with." 

It's unclear who exactly pressured Shelton, but it's possible the culprits are in White House, Department of Defense or the Office of Management and Budget, which each approve military testimony prepared for Congress. The House staff member also told Fox News a copy of Shelton’s prepared testimony was leaked to LightSquared.

The Pentagon did not respond to Fox News' requests Thursday evening to comment for this story, though a spokeswoman for Shelton told the Washington Post that there was no improper influence on the general's testimony. The Post also reported that the White House denied trying to influence Shelton's testimony.

The company also defended its work.

“We understand that some in the telecom sector fear the challenges for their business model that LightSquared presents. It’s also ludicrous to suggest LightSquared’s success depends on political connections. This is a private company that has never taken one dollar in taxpayer money,” chief executive Sanjiv Ahuja said in a statement quoted by the Post.

At the House subcommittee hearing Thursday, which focused on strategic forces and sustaining GPS for national security, Republican Chairman Michael Turner lashed out at the Obama administration for its acceptance of LightSquared proposals. He took aim at FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, a longtime basketball buddy of President Obama, for not showing up at the hearing and for granting a waiver to LightSquared on Jan. 26.

"I trust Chairman Genachowski is doing something very important this morning if he couldn't be here to discuss the significant harm to national security that may result from the FCC's action,” Turner said.

IRS Is Paying Illegal Immigrants Billions of Dollars

The IRS paid out billions in refundable tax credits to undocumented immigrant workers last year, according to a new Treasury audit.
Federal law bars illegal immigrants from collecting tax benefits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit, that can be claimed by residents with Social Security numbers. But the Treasury report found that the tax code’s lack of clarity is allowing the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), which reduces taxes owed by certain individuals with children, to be heavily claimed by undocumented workers;if their tax bills dip below zero, they can collect government checks. 
Even wages earned illegally in the U.S. are taxed. Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are available to people without Social Security numbers who cannot legally work in the U.S. so they can file tax returns. These ITINs have become increasingly linked to fraudulent tax claims, which helped inflate IRS payouts on the Additional Child Tax Credit from $924 million in 2005 to $4.2 billion, the report said. 
“The payment of federal funds through this tax benefit appears to provide an additional incentive for aliens to enter, reside, and work in the United States without authorization, which contradicts federal law and policy to remove such incentives,” the report said. 
The report attributed the massive outpouring of child tax credit refunds to recent expansions of the credit as part of the 2001 Bush tax cuts and the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the legislation that created the stimulus program.
In response to the report, IRS officials said they would follow one of its recommendations to meet with Treasury officials to determine whether people unauthorized to work in the U.S. can collect refundable tax credits. But the IRS rebuffed the audit’s second recommendation that it collect additional documentation from people claiming the ACTC, arguing that the agency lacks the legal authority to challenge such tax returns. 
“Any suggestion that the IRS shouldn’t be paying out these credits under current law to ITIN holders is simply incorrect,” IRS spokesperson Michelle Eldridge told The Fiscal Times in a statement.  “The IRS administers the law impartially and applies it as written. If the law were changed, the IRS would change its programs accordingly.”
The audit underscores a broader debate about the contribution of illegal immigrants to the U.S. economy, as well as who is ultimately charged with enforcing immigration law.
“The IRS doesn’t seem to think its job is to make sure people who are claiming these credits are entitled to them. The children may or may not be living abroad--or even exist. It’s absurd, almost a joke,” said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group which advocates securing U.S. borders.  “The IRS scares the heck out of most Americans, so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be just as vigilant against people in the country illegally….especially when the deficit is topping $1.5 trillion.”
However, some groups argue that as members of U.S. Society who contribute to the economy, undocumented workers have every right to claim tax benefits.
An April study by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy found that undocumented immigrants paid $11.2 billion in taxes in 2010. It estimated that nearly half of all illegal immigrants pay income taxes.
“Undocumented immigrants are undoubtedly positive for the fiscal health of this country,” says Leticia Miranda, associate director of the Economic Policy Project at National Council of La Raza, a group that advocates for Hispanics in the U.S.  She says that harping on the number of undocumented immigrants claiming this credit glosses over the bottom line that these workers are paying hefty sums into the Social Security trust fund, despite having no claim on the benefits. The Social Security Administration’s chief actuary estimated last year that undocumented immigrants had paid $120 billion to $240 billion into the Social Security trust fund as of 2007. “If you make it impossible for people to make those tax payments, that would be a self-inflicted wound to the budget of this country,” says Miranda.

Video Game Targets 'Tea Party Zombies,' Fox News Personalities

A New York-based video game developer has set his virtual crosshairs on Republican and conservative political figures in a game called "Tea Party Zombies Must Die," which allows players to indiscriminately slaughter politicians like Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin.

The gruesome game, created by StarvingEyes Advergaming, is billed as "first-person shooter" featuring "Tea Party zombies" to be targeted with an "arsenal of weapons," including multiple firearms and a crowbar. Notable politicians depicted in the game include current and previous presidential hopefuls like Palin, Bachmann, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum.  Several Fox News personalities are also featured, including Huckabee, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Brit Hume.

Lesser-known targets include "factory made blonde Fox News Barbie who has never had a problem in her life zombie" or the "Koch industries Koch Whore lobbyist pig zombie." Fox News logos and a recreation of its studios can be seen in blood-spattered screengrabs posted on the company's website.

Attention to the game's release has heightened after violent rhetoric from Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, who in a speech over the weekend told President Obama that his supporters would "take out the son-of-a-bitches" in the Tea Party who were waging "war" against unions. 

"The liberal media have been preaching for years that conservatives are the ones who invoke violent imagery and rhetoric. Yet in the space of two days, the radical, pro-Obama left calls us 'son-of-a-bitches' and says they want to 'take us out.' And they follow that with a hideously violent game where they do just that -- depicting ways of shooting prominent conservatives, presidential candidates and journalists," said Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center. "The news media would be in an uproar if violence had been incited against liberals. Their silence disgusts me."

The game's developer, Jason Oda, of Brooklyn, N.Y., did not respond to FoxNews.com requests for comment. But the 32-year-old Connecticut native is no stranger to violent, politically-themed video games. 

In 2008, he created "Kung-Fu election," which invited players to choose their favorite candidate to take them into battle against a political adversary. Democrats like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson were pitted against Republican counterparts like Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain.

"The would-be presidents duke it out with an array of special weapons and Kung-Fu moves that will leave only one man -- er, person -- standing," reads a press release about the game. "If you thought that McCain was too old for the rigors of a grueling election, wait until you see what he can do with a bo staff in his hands!"

In 2004, Oda also created "Bushgame.com," in which 1980s television characters waged war against monstrous versions of officials in the Bush administration. At the end of each level, players would receive a text critique that blasted the president's position on Iraq, the economy, taxes and Social Security, according to The Associated Press.

"I just hoped that people can go beyond the obvious little soundbites you hear all the time and have better ammunition and better understanding of the reasons why Bush should be out of the White House," Oda told The Associated Press at the time.

Oda, according to Connecticut's Darien Times, earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Rhode Island School of Design in 2001. Two years earlier, he was awarded best in show at the Darien Art Show. In 2002, he produced an online game based on popular "emo" rock groups that was featured on MTV and was later cited by the New York Times and Spin Magazine.

Oda's list of clients, according to his website, include high-profile firms like Pepsi, Hasbro, Sears, UPS and many others.

Huckabee, who discussed the game during his weekday radio commentary called "The Huckabee Report," questioned whether corporate supporters would stand by while the video game projects violence toward real people.

"Will Pepsi, Motorola, and NASCAR among others cease to advertise on the website that promotes this violent and hate-filled bigotry or will there be the usual double standard?" Huckabee asked. 

"I'm personally flattered to be included in this young game-makers efforts to be funny, and I even support his First Amendment rights to produce things that are in poor taste or unseemly to rational people, but I do not support the hypocrisy of the left who scream at all offenses they can manufacture toward conservatives, but turn their backs on the same standards when applied to someone of their own political ilk," he told FoxNews.com.

 

Fierce Battle Over Gun Rights

White House Moves to Give Congress More Time to Strike Dept Deal

The White House is moving to give Congress a bit more time to not only strike an elusive deficit-reduction deal but also write and pass the legislation, as lawmakers weigh several competing options against a ticking clock. 

While the Obama administration has set Aug. 2 as the deadline for hiking the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, officials have said lawmakers would probably have to reach an agreement by the end of this week to allow time for the formalities of preparing legislation for a final vote. 

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said there are "multiple trains heading toward the station" and lawmakers just have to figure out which one to ride. But to sustain the analogy, each of those trains has mechanical difficulties and lawmakers have not come together - in public, anyway - on which proposal to back. 

Carney said that given the constraints, the president would be willing to support a "very short-term extension" if a broader deal is reached by the deadline and lawmakers just need more time to work out the details. President Obama all along has said he opposes a short-term deal - something Republicans had floated earlier. Carney reiterated that Obama's opposition stands to "a toll booth kind of series of provisions that temporarily or in a limited fashion raise the debt ceiling." But he said the president would make an "exception" if a deal is reached "to allow a bit of extra time for a bill to work its way through the legislative process." 

The position gives Congress a little breathing room but doesn't bring them closer to a deal.
Obama met Wednesday, separately, with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders and it was unclear afterward where things stood. 

Barring a sudden change of plans, the Senate is expected to begin debate Thursday on the House Republicans' "cut, cap and balance" plan. That plan would cut and cap federal spending and require Congress to approve a balanced-budget amendment in exchange for a debt-ceiling increase. The bill already passed the House but Democrats are vowing to defeat it in the Senate.
As a more palatable alternative, the White House has been talking up the bipartisan "Gang of Six" proposal to cut deficits by $3.7 trillion over the next decade and raise the debt ceiling. 

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed a willingness to look at it, but not everyone is sold and the White House acknowledged Wednesday that the proposal doesn't even exist in bill form. 

"All the details aren't even known yet," Carney said Wednesday, declining to put the president on record for or against the plan. 

All the while, senators are working on a fallback plan to allow Obama to seek a series of debt-ceiling increases, crafted in such a way that would require a two-thirds majority in Congress to stop him. It would also come with a smaller package of spending cuts and call for the creation of a new deficit-reduction commission. 

But conservative lawmakers dislike that approach and are pledging to oppose it. 

Meanwhile, the White House endured some mocking from the GOP for opening the door to a short-term deal. After Obama scolded House Majority Leader Eric Cantor last week and told him not to "call my bluff" on a short-term deal, Cantor's office sent out an email Wednesday titled: "Bluff Called?"

White House's New Anti-Terror Strategy: Kill the Suspects?

Usama bin Laden has been killed. The U.S. is poised to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. And the Obama administration's shift in counterterrorism strategy from land wars to precision strikes and raids is raising concerns that the White House has adopted a policy of targeting killings for terror suspects.

With no new detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay since March 2008, a top military commander told Congress recently that there is no clear policy for dealing with suspected terrorist leaders who are captured overseas.

In many cases, the suspects are taken to a ship offshore until a decision is approved by the White House.

Vice Adm. William McRaven, the commander of the Navy SEALs team that killed Usama bin Laden, said under questioning at a congressional testimony that the longest the U.S. can keep a suspect on the ship depends on whether the suspect can be prosecuted in a U.S. court or returned to a third-party country.

"If we can't do either one of those, then we'll release the individual," McRaven said in response to questioning by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., "And that becomes the unenviable option, but it is an option."

With no consistent policy on detention or prosecution, congressional and intelligence sources told Fox News that the preemptive option has apparently become the "kill" option.

Under President Obama's watch, multiple Al Qaeda operatives have been killed by the CIA or military strikes, including Saleh ali Nabhan, a suspected planner of the U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa in 1998; Sheikh Saeed al Masri, Al Qaeda's top leader in Afghanistan, and most recently, Ilyas Kashmiri, an operational commander behind the commando-style attacks in Mumbai, who was reportedly killed in Pakistan.

At a news conference last week, Obama insisted that gaining intelligence remained the priority.

"Anytime we initiate a mission like this, our top priorities are making sure this person is not able to carry out attacks against the United States and that we're able to obtain actionable intelligence from those individuals," he said. "And so that mitigates this danger that you're suggesting that our main goal is going to be to kill these individuals as opposed to potentially capturing them."

But with no new high-value captures, some analysts say intelligence is the long-term casualty.

"This is an issue the administration has been reluctant to deal with," said Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, a senior fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies and an Army Reserve officer who served in Afghanistan in 2003.

"So because of the reluctancy of the administration, you have essentially pushed this program into an area where you have to either kill someone or let them go."

White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan unveiled last week the administration's new national strategy – a doctrine two years in the making. The doctrine acknowledges the growing threat of terrorism at home, including Al Qaeda's attempts to recruit and attack inside the United States, Brennan said.

He told a Washington audience Wednesday that more resources would be spent on the fight at home to spot would-be militants and their recruiters.

"Our best offense won't always be deploying large armies abroad, but delivering targeted, surgical pressure to the groups that threaten us," he said at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

 

Illinois Governor Signs Bill Banning Release of Firearm Owners Names

Gov. Pat Quinn on Saturday signed into law a measure barring the public from knowing who holds a firearm owner identification card in Illinois.

The bill, passed overwhelmingly by Illinois lawmakers in May, was a victory for gun owners who say they have a right to privacy over open-government advocates who say such records should not be secret.

Quinn, who has said he agreed that the information should remain confidential, offered no immediate public comment Saturday, quietly announcing the bill signing by email to news outlets.

In a 42-1 vote, the Senate passed a measure overturning a ruling by Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office that said the names are public under the state’s open records law. Madigan’s office issued the decree earlier this year after the Illinois State Police refused to release to The Associated Press the names of 1.3 million people who are registered to own firearms.

The AP’s request set off howls of protests from gun owners and the state police, who said they feared criminals would use the information to steal guns or target those who weren’t armed.

Madigan’s office said the State Police had given no proof to back up claims that releasing the names would endanger gun owners. She said the opinion applied only to permit holders’ names and the expiration dates on their permits, while addresses and phone numbers would remain private. The AP did not ask for cardholders’ addresses and sought the records to, among other things, review governmental action.

By prohibiting the names’ release, Illinois follows the lead of Florida and Tennessee, which shut off access to information about people with permits to carry concealed firearms after newspapers revealed significant lapses.

A newspaper investigation in south Florida published in 2007 found that 1,400 people given concealed-carry licenses in the first half of 2006 had earlier pleaded guilty or no contest to felonies. In Memphis, Tenn., a newspaper found at least 70 people in the metropolitan area with carry permits despite violent histories.

Brian Malte of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has said that if cardholders’ names are shielded from public scrutiny, “there needs to be assurances by government officials that they will audit the system to make sure it’s working as intended.”

“What is the mechanism, then, for Illinois state government to ensure the citizens that the permitting system is working as intended and that people aren’t slipping through the cracks?” Malte said.

Todd Vandermyde, the Illinois lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, said neither the media nor the general public has right to information on gun owners and suggested that lawmakers should not even have required FOID cards.

“It’s nobody’s business what I keep in my home,” he said. “It’s not my fault the state of Illinois requires me to get a license to exercise a constitutional right. Just because I choose to exercise it is no reason for the news or anyone else to be prodding around in my rights.”

 

Vietnam War Veteran Wins Fight to Fly American Flag on Front Lawn

A retired U.S. Army chaplain has won his fight to fly the American flag on a flagpole on his front lawn, ABC News reports.

Fred Quigley, 77, of Macedonia, Ohio, a minister who served active duty during the Vietnam War, had been told by the homeowners’ association that his flagpole violates the property rules.

The HOA rules state that a flag can only be displayed if affixed to the home, but that would mean Quigley would have to remove the flagpole and put up a smaller flag. 

Now that fight is over. The association has decided to let Quigley run Old Glory up his flagpole. The decision came in the form of a letter hand-delivered to Quigley last week, according to the station.

The vet's troubles began last year, when he moved into the retirement community and erected a standard 15-foot tall flagpole from which to fly a standard U.S. flag, 3 feet by 5 feet. The pole put him at odds with association rules and with association manager Joseph Migliorini.

Migliorini said it was fine for Quigley to fly his flag, just not from a pole. To be in compliance with association rules, he said, Quigley and every other owner had to use a short stanchion attached directly to the house.

Quigley's fight was buoyed by an outpouring of popular support. Sympathetic fellow citizens in the U.S. rallied to his cause, but people all around the world took his side. His plight got worldwide coverage. He heard from supporters in London and in India. "I've gotten calls from Macedonia," the surprised retiree said. "I don't mean from Macedonia, Ohio. I mean from Macedonia."

According to ABC News, the American Legion will return to Quigley’s home on July 4 at 11 a.m. to conduct a second flag-raising. "We expect quite a large turnout," Legion commander John J.C. Sullivan said. "A lady called from California who's a singer of patriotic songs. She'll be there [to] sing."

Cornyn: Obama Bypassing Congress on Debt Limit is 'Crazy Talk'

Sen. John Cornyn warned President Obama on Sunday to not even consider interpreting the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment to bypass Congress and raise the debt limit without its approval. 

"That's crazy talk. It's not acceptable for Congress and the president not to do their job and to say somehow the president has the authority then to basically do this by himself," Cornyn, R-Texas, a former judge on the Texas Supreme Court, told "Fox News Sunday." 

The proposal that Obama re-interpret Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment to justify raising the $14.3 trillion debt limit has been gaining traction in Democratic circles since Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told reporters that the Constitution's language could support the president's raising the limit without congressional approval.

'The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for the payments of pension and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion' -- this is the important thing -- 'shall not be questioned,' " Geithner read during a discussion hosted by Politico in May.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and others on Capitol Hill reportedly acknowledged that the idea is percolating, and had been presented to the president. 

"It's certainly worth exploring. I think it needs a little more exploration and study," he said during a conference call with reporters held Friday.

Without addressing efforts to invoke the Constitution, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said Sunday the president and congressional negotiators shouldn't even be discussing a debt deal privately.

"Congress is the constitutional place for this to be decided," said Sessions, who is the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee. 

Asked during a press conference Wednesday whether the debt limit was constitutional, the president glossed over the question, saying, "I'm not a Supreme Court justice, so I'm not going to put my constitutional law professor hat on here."

 

Biden to Union Members: If You Vote Republican, Don't Ask Me For Any Help

Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged it wasn't a political event, but it still didn't prevent him from sending this warning to Teamsters union members during his address at their annual convention in Las Vegas this past Friday.

"And don't any of you, by the way, any of you guys vote Republican," Biden said. "I'm not supposed to say, this isn't political. ...don't come to me if you do! You're on your own, Jack!"
Biden provided the closing address at the 28th Annual International Brotherhood of Teamsters Convention at the Paris Hotel on Friday. The Vice President, who is known for his straightforward style, didn't hide his feelings about the current labor union fights across the country. He believes they are under attack by his Republican rivals for no apparent reason.
"Look at Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, Florida, Pennsylvania. Did you ever think in 2011 you would be fighting for the right to work for less again?," said Biden. "What in God's name did any organized labor union do to the collapse of this economy? ... [I]t's bizarre, but that's the case they're making."

Republican governors in several states have sought to curb Union power in an effort to balance their state's budgets.

Biden also jokingly took a jab at the GOP, suggesting they change their logo.
"Jimmy," said Biden, referring to Teamsters Union president James R. Hoffa, "your (the Teamsters Union) logo is the horse's head. Their (GOP) logo should be the other horse's end."
But when it came to discussing the importance of keeping collective bargaining for labor unions, Biden was in no laughing matter.
"In their vision, you have no place at all. With our vision, you are the place!" said Biden. "We stand with you, organized labor, because with you we will restore the American dream."
Biden's next trip will be to Chicago on Sunday, where he'll deliver a speech at the National Education Association's annual meeting.

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Obama Health Care Law

President Obama's controversial health care law got a major boost Wednesday when the first ruling by a federal appeals court affirmed that Congress can require Americans to have minimum insurance coverage.

A conservative law center had challenged the measure, arguing on behalf of plaintiffs who said potentially being required to buy insurance or face penalties was subjecting them to financial hardship. They warned that the law was too broad and could lead to more federal mandates.

The Thomas More Law Center, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., argued before the panel that the law was unconstitutional and that Congress overstepped its powers.

The government countered that the measure was needed for the overall goal of reducing health care costs and reforms such as protecting people with pre-existing conditions. It said the coverage mandate will help keep the costs of changes from being shifted to households and providers.

The three-judge 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel delivered a long opinion with disagreement on some issues.

"Congress had a rational basis for concluding that the minimum coverage provision is essential to the Affordable Care Act's larger reforms to the national markets in health care delivery and health insurance," Judge Boyce F. Martin, appointed by former President Jimmy Carter, wrote for the majority in the 2-1 ruling.

A George W. Bush appointee concurred; a Ronald Reagan appointee who is a U.S. district judge in Columbus sitting on the panel disagreed. Judges are selected for panels through random draw.

An attorney for Thomas More said the center expects to appeal. It could ask for the full circuit court to review the case or go on to the U.S. Supreme Court.

More than 30 legal challenges have been filed over the health care overhaul, some focusing on different issues.

The White House celebrated the ruling on its blog.

"Today the Affordable Care Act, and the millions of Americans and small businesses benefitting from it scored another victory when the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law is constitutional," wrote Stephanie Cutter, an assistant to the president and deputy senior advisor.

"We're gratified by today's ruling, which came from judges appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents who agreed that the law's individual responsibility provision (sometimes called the minimum coverage provision) is constitutional," she wrote.

Supporters of the law also took a victory lap.

"Today's decision upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act's expansion of health coverage to tens of millions of people is a victory of common sense," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.

"Every step of the way the health care debate has been polluted by partisan politics," said Ethan Rome, executive director of Health Care for America Now (HCAN). "Today's decision, made by judges appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents, is immune to that criticism. The court ruled on the merits, and it's as simple as that."

The Justice Department also cheered the ruling, saying it will continue to "vigorously defend the health care reform statue in any litigation challenging it."

"Throughout history, there have been similar challenges to other landmark legislation such as the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act, and all of those challenges failed," Justice spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said in a statement. "We believe these challenges to health reform will also fail."

Obama Administration to Make Calls to Set-up Fake Doctor's Appointments

The Obama administration is working on a $350,000 program that would enlist government-hired contractors to call doctor's offices and set-up fake appointments.
The goal would be for callers to see how long it takes to get an appointment, if they're accepted at all, and then see whether kind of insurance - private or a government program like Medicare or Medicaid -- has an influence on getting in to see a doctor. The administration would then use the data to assess why there's a shortage in primary care physicians.
The details were first reported by the New York Times Monday, with a lot of specificity including the states where the calls would be targeted, and even a script of a sample call.
The story noted 465 calls would be made to nine states, totaling 4,185 attempted fake appointments to Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. There would be at least two phone calls - one where the fake patient has private insurance and one call where he or she has public insurance. A small percentage would then be called a third time when it would be revealed the call is on behalf of the government.
Callers would dial from a blocked number, and follow a script, as reported by the New York Times:
Mystery shopper: "Hi, my name is Alexis Jackson, and I'm calling to schedule the next available appointment with Dr. Michael Krane. I am a new patient with a P.P.O. from Aetna. I just moved to the area and don't yet have a primary doctor, but I need to be seen as soon as possible." Doctor's office: "What type of problem are you experiencing?" Mystery shopper: "I've had a cough for the last two weeks, and now I'm running a fever. I've been coughing up thick greenish mucus that has some blood in it, and I'm a little short of breath."
When asked in Monday's White House briefing how the "stealth" operation could be so "stealth" with so many details already revealed, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney didn't see that as a concern.
"I think it's important to point out that this is a proposal, there will be public hearings, hasn't happened yet. We will look at this and decide after comment from all quarters about moving forward."
Carney also noted that this practice has been used by previous administrations, including George W. Bush's, who was looking into Medicare Advantage. The White House also points to the Government Accountability Office and the Federal Trade Commission using similar undercover-type techniques.
Former Deputy Health and Human Secretary under George W. Bush, Tevi Troy, says the program is going a bit too far.
"It's clearly creepy, why is the federal government spending $350,000 dollars on some kind of James Bond spy program. The real problem is that doctors don't like the impositions that the government makes in terms of payment, practice and process when you deal with the government. When you take Medicare and Medicaid patients, and if you want to address this issue, what they should do is try to fix the problem rather than spy on doctors," Troy said.
He adds that he worked under the Medicare Advantage program and said it was different - these new rounds of calls aren't looking for fraud and theirs was a quality control issue.
The program is expected to start in a few months and the administration reportedly signed on with National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago to help gather the information.
Dr. Marc Siegel is part of Fox News' medical "A-team" and noted how elderly patients have more medical problems and harder to take care of and that the government knows they will be restricted.
He adds that finding out that a doctor would prefer to see a private patient doesn't help.
"There is no way they can show anything accurate by doing this except making us more upset," Siegel said.

Billionaire George Soros Trying To Stack the Courts, Critics Say

Billionaire George Soros spends tens of millions each year supporting a range of liberal social and political causes, from drug legalization to immigration reform to gay marriage to abolishing the death penalty.

But a less well-known Soros priority -- replacing elections for judges with selection-by-committee -- now has critics accusing him of trying to stack the courts.

Most non-federal judges around the country are selected by voters in elections. But some states use a process called “merit selection” in which a committee – often made up of lawyers – appoints judges to the bench instead.

Soros has spent several million dollars in the past decade in an attempt to get more states to scrap elections and adopt the merit method. Supporters say it would allow judges to focus on interpreting the law rather than on raising campaign funds and winning elections.

“Merit selection would end the money race and get judges out of the fundraising business,” Lynn Marks, executive director of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts -- a group that has received money from Soros’ Open Society Institute -- told FoxNews.com.

But critics say that if judges are picked by committee -- often, a committee of lawyers -- that will give left-wing judges the upper hand.

“The left can’t get their agenda through the legislatures anymore … so they think they can get their agenda through by taking over the courts,” attorney Colleen Pero, author of a new report titled "Hijacking Justice," told FoxNews.com.

Pero’s report found that Soros, through his Open Society Institute fund, has given $45 million over the last decade to “a campaign to reshape the judiciary.” But that number is hotly contested by Justice at Stake, the group that got the most Soros money.

“It’s a horrendously bogus distortion of numbers,” Charlie Hall, a spokesman for Justice at Stake, told FoxNews.com. Hall said the $45 million figure included groups that dealt with legal issues but had no position on merit selection. He added that he could only identify $2 million from Soros that went to groups that actively support replacing elections with “merit selection.”

In an analysis of the Open Society Institute's tax returns from the last ten years, FoxNews.com found more than $5 million was explicitly earmarked for projects about either "merit selection" or "judicial selection."

For example, OSI reported giving $90,000 to Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts in 2007 to "expand and grow a coalition in support of merit selection." It also reported giving $50,000 to Justice at Stake in 2006 to support "public education regarding merit selection."

OSI gave another $7 million-plus to Justice at Stake, or to partner organizations with specific directions to support JAS's activities.

Some recipients of Soros' money were eager to defend “merit selection,” and said they only wished Soros would give more money to the cause. "We are very grateful for their support of our efforts," Marks said. Her group received more than $500,000 over the last decade, but has not received money from OSI since 2008.

Elections, she added, discourage competent lawyers from becoming judges just because they aren’t good politicians. “They don't put their name in for nominations because they think they don't have the political connections or access to dollars.”

And judges, she said, should be kept apart from political forces. “Judges should resolve disputes based on evidence -- they're not supposed to be responsive to public pressure.”

But Pero pointed to a study by prominent law professors that found elected judges were, if anything, more independent and took on larger workloads than judges appointed by committee.

"We began this project with the assumption that the data would demonstrate that appointed judges are better than elected judges," the authors note, adding that after looking at their result: "It may be that elected judges are, indeed, superior to appointed judges."

And, Pero says, “merit selection” is inherently undemocratic.

"It would be a handful lawyers who would select judges… with elections, the people actually have a say."

Marks said it is wrong to call the merit selection un-democratic.

"Merit selection requires a change in the Constitution, so a bill must... go before the public. So when people say, ‘oh, you're changing the way we vote’ -- yes, but only if the people want to change the way we vote."

 

Capture of Boston Gangster Could Mean More Scandal

BOSTON -- After 16 long years, the arrest of notorious Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger appeared to end a long, frustrating manhunt that had embarrassed the FBI and raised questions about its efforts to find one of its most wanted fugitives.

But Bulger's capture could be only the beginning of a new scandal for the Boston FBI and others.

If Bulger decides to cut a deal with prosecutors, he could implicate an untold number of local, state and federal law enforcement officials, according to investigators who built a racketeering indictment against Bulger before he fled in 1995.

"If he starts to talk, there will be some unwelcome accountability on the part of a lot of people inside law enforcement," said retired Massachusetts state police Maj. Tom Duffy. "Let me put it this way: I wouldn't want my pension contingent on what he will say at this point."

Bulger, the leader of the violent Winter Hill Gang, is charged in connection with 19 murders. He was captured in Santa Monica, Calif., Wednesday, where he had lived for 15 of the last 16 years, according to his landlord.

Bulger's flight in early 1995 allegedly came after a tip from former Boston FBI Agent John Connolly Jr., who was convicted of racketeering and obstruction of justice in 2002 for protecting Bulger and his cohort Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi from prosecution. Both Bulger and Flemmi were FBI informants who ratted out members of their main rivals, the New England Mob.

During Connolly's trial, Bulger's right-hand man, Kevin Weeks, testified that Bulger boasted that he had corrupted six FBI agents and more than 20 Boston police officers. At holiday time, Bulger stuffed envelopes with cash, Weeks testified.

"He used to say that Christmas was for cops and kids," Weeks said.

Edward J. MacKenzie Jr., a former drug dealer and enforcer for Bulger, predicted that Bulger will disclose new details about FBI corruption and how agents protected him for so long.

"Whitey was no fool. He knew he would get caught. I think he'll have more fun pulling all those skeletons out of the closet," MacKenzie said.

"I think he'll start talking and he'll start taking people down."

Bulger, now 81, appeared briefly in federal court in Los Angeles Thursday, agreeing to waive extradition. He is expected to be returned to Boston within the next week to face charges of murder, conspiracy, narcotics distribution, extortion and money laundering.

Neighbors were stunned to learn they had been living in the same building as the man who was the model for Jack Nicholson's ruthless crime boss in the 2006 Martin Scorsese movie, "The Departed."

Connolly, the retired FBI agent who was convicted of protecting Bulger, also was found guilty of murder in Miami for helping to set in motion a mob hit in 1982 against a business executive.

The Bulger arrest could have a huge impact on whether Connolly spends the rest of his life in a Florida prison. Connolly is set for release next Tuesday from a federal penitentiary after serving nearly 10 years for his Boston racketeering conviction.

But Connolly will be whisked to Florida right away to begin serving a 40-year sentence for his role in the slaying in Miami of gambling executive John Callahan. Connolly was convicted of murder in 2008 for tipping Bulger that Callahan was about implicate Bulger and Flemmi in the 1981 killing of Oklahoma businessman Roger Wheeler.

Connolly, who is appealing the conviction, insists he never fingered Callahan. Now, if Bulger backs up Connolly's story, it could change the outcome of the Florida case.

"If Bulger says that John (Connolly) had no involvement in the Callahan murder, then John will file a motion for new trial based on newly discovered evidence and should prevail," said Connolly's attorney Manuel Alvarez. "If that happens, we might see Whitey testifying in a Miami courtroom."

House Weighs Cutting Off Funds for Libya Mission

Clearly frustrated with President Barack Obama, Republican leaders are propelling the House toward crucial votes on the U.S. military role in Libya that could embarrass the commander in chief and reverberate in Tripoli and NATO capitals.

"I just believe that because of the president's failure to consult with the Congress, failure to outline for the American people why we were doing this before we engaged in this puts us in the position where we have to defend our responsibility under the Constitution," House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican of Ohio, said in advancing two measures.

The House was scheduled to vote Friday on the competing measures: a resolution giving Obama limited authority to continue the American involvement in the NATO-led operation against Moammar al-Qaddafi's forces and a bill to cut off funds for U.S. military attacks there. The bill would make an exception for search and rescue efforts, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, aerial refueling and operational planning to continue the NATO effort.

"The president has ignored the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution, but he cannot ignore a lack of funding," said Florida Republican Rep. Tom Rooney, sponsor of the bill. "Only Congress has the power to declare war and the power of the purse, and my bill exercises both of those powers by blocking funds for the war in Libya unless the president receives congressional authorization."

House Republicans and Democrats are furious with Obama for failing to seek congressional authorization for the 3-month-old war against Libya, as required under the War Powers Resolution. The 1973 law, often ignored by Republican and Democratic presidents, says the commander in chief must seek congressional consent within 60 days. That deadline has long passed.

Obama stirred congressional unrest last week when he told lawmakers he didn't need authorization because the operation was not full-blown hostilities. NATO commands the operation, but the United States still plays a significant support role that includes aerial refueling of warplanes and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance work as well as drone attacks and bombings.

A New York Times report that said Obama overruled some of his legal advisers further incensed members of Congress.
A coalition of anti-war Democrats and tea party-backed Republicans are expected to defeat the resolution in a repudiation of the president.

"The war in Libya is illegal, unconstitutional and unwarranted. It must end," Ohio Democrat Rep. Dennis Kucinich, said.

The fate of the legislation to cut off funds was uncertain.

In a last-ditch effort Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with rank-and-file Democrats to explain the mission and discuss the implications if the House votes to cut off funds. The administration requested the closed-door meeting.

Minnesotta Democrat Rep. Tim Walz said Clinton apologized for not coming to Congress earlier. But he said she warned about the implications of a House vote to cut off money.

"The secretary expressed her deep concern that you're probably not on the right track when Qaddafi supports your efforts," Walz said.
Rep. Howard Berman of California, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said such a vote "ensures the failure of the whole mission."

Earlier this week Clinton said lawmakers were free to raise questions, but she asked, "Are you on Qaddafi's side, or are you on the side on the aspirations of the Libyan people and the international coalition that has been bringing them support?"

In the Senate, backers of a resolution to authorize the operation wondered whether the administration had waited too long to address the concerns of House members.

"It's way late," said Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee. "This is one of the reasons why they're having this veritable uprising in the House, because of a lack of communication. And then the icing on the cake was probably for them when he (Obama) said that we're not engaged in hostilities. That obviously is foolishness."

He added, however, "That is not a reason to pass a resolution that would encourage Moammar al-Qaddafi to stay in power."

Earlier this month, the House voted 268-145 to rebuke Obama for failing to provide a "compelling rationale" for the Libyan mission and for launching U.S. military forces without congressional approval.

 

U.K. Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Leaves Friends $160G for Las Vegas Party

A British soldier killed by a Taliban bomb in Afghanistan left $161,500 in his will -- so his friends could go on vacation to Las Vegas, The Sun reported Monday.

Royal Marine David Hart, who had taken out a $403,800 life insurance policy before he was deployed to Afghanistan, stipulated in a letter that in the event of his death, his friends and their partners should travel to Sin City for a massive party in his memory.

"In his letter David said he had had a great life and had no regrets about anything. He always said he would do something like this if something bad happened," friend Andy Hare said. "He said, 'Go and have a good time and spend all this money.'"

Now, one year after 23-year-old Hart's death, 32 friends will fly to Nevada to honor his final wishes.

Hart, a combat medic, also set aside money for his family as well as $80,700 for a charity for wounded Marines.

"He was the best brother I could have wished for," Sarah Hart, 27, told the newspaper. "He was caring, funny and had an infamous grin. He would always be there for you. I'm proud to have been his sister and of his career as a commando."

Lt. Col. Paul James characterized Hart as the "perfect Marine -- magnificent and in personality and profession."

Iowa Veteran Finds Himself Lost in VA's Benefits Logjam

veteran Joel Klobnak is waiting. It’s how he spends his time these days after the Department of Veterans Affairs slashed his disability pay two years ago, the Des Moines Register reports.

Klobnak, 24, a former Marine who lost his leg in Iraq in 2006, says the cut in disability pay is a misunderstanding, but he still feels forgotten.

He’s trying to support a family of four on $1,557 per month while he waits to hear whether the government will reinstate full disability pay for his injury and the mental anguish that accompanied it, according to the paper.

His appeal is trapped in a paperwork backlog that is delaying payments to injured veterans across the country.

"There's thousands of guys. It's not just me. It's a joke," he told the Des Moines Register. "I just don't understand why it takes so long."

Actually, there are more than thousands of veterans in his straits. The backlog of veterans' disability cases has been growing for years, and it now stands around 1 million, despite repeated attempts by Congress to fix the problem.

The VA said earlier this month that it would comment on Klobnak's case, but then said it couldn't come up with a timely response.

Klobnak was a lance corporal who served as a gunner on an armored vehicle in a Marine reconnaissance squad in Iraq in 2005-06, one of the most volatile periods of the war there. He said he was wounded near the end of his tour, when a 25 mm explosive round went off while he was cleaning and reassembling a belt of ammunition for an automatic grenade launcher. The explosion shattered his left leg, which doctors amputated above the knee. He was 19.

Klobnak spent six months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., then returned to Iowa with $50,000 the military gave him as compensation for his leg. He admits he wasted much of that money in bars and at restaurants.

Government doctors determined that he couldn't work, because of the pain in his leg and the post-traumatic stress disorder that troubled his mind. The determination entitled him to full disability payments, which amounted to $3,103 per month. But in April 2009, he received a letter telling him his payments were being halved because he missed an appointment with a VA doctor, the paper reports.

Klobnak said he didn't know about the appointment, which was to review his disability status, because the notice had been sent to an old address.

Klobnak appealed the pay cut, and he was granted a hearing last June. He said a veterans' appeals judge in Washington, D.C., presided via a video link to the Federal Building in Des Moines. When Klobnak was done explaining his side, the judge told him she would consider the matter and get back to him. He said he was told to expect a decision in three to six months. It's been a year.

 

Mexican Gangs Stealing Growing Amounts of Fuel

Mexican crime groups have virtually taken over the pipeline system of Mexico's state oil monopoly, stealing growing amounts of fuel and gaining an important source of new revenue as they fight other gangs and Mexico's government, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing Petroleos Mexicanos.

The problem is not new, but it is expanding at a rapid pace, as the crime groups learn technical expertise that can foil electronic monitoring systems.

The rise in fuel thefts comes as the government struggles to contain an increase in violence linked to organized crime groups, which have expanded operations from traditional drug trafficking to kidnapping, extortion and protection rackets.

Since December 2006, more than 40,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico, most of it between rival gangs seeking to expand their territory, according to government and newspaper estimates.

The total amount of fuel, including crude oil and gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas taken during the first four months of the year is slightly greater than the total amount stolen all of last year, Petroleos Mexicanos CEO Juan Jose Suarez Coppel said this week.

During the first four months of this year, these groups stole an estimated $250 million worth of fuel at market prices, Suarez Coppel said. That translates to nearly one million barrels of fuel, according to Pemex, as it is known. Mexico relies on oil sales for about a third of its revenue.

Freshman Congressman Leads Charge Against Obama Recess Appointments

Freshman Congressman Jeff Landry, R-La., says that President Obama is misusing recess appointments, and he's going to do something about it.

"When the president puts up nominees, they go through the confirmation process, and the senate blocks them or doesn't confirm them, and then he waits for a recess appointment just to appoint those people. He is circumventing the Constitution," said Landry on Fox News Saturday.
"When we have 9 percent unemployment we don't want appointees by the president who are going to do more to stifle this economy," added Congressman Landry.
To attempt to keep that from happening, Landry has drafted a letter that was signed by more than 70 freshman congressmen, saying that they would hold sessions in shifts to keep the House and Senate from going into recess, starting with their next scheduled break in August.
"I think it's not only an important issue for me, but a lot of my freshmen colleagues who came to Washington to hold this administration and this federal government accountable. It's our responsibility," said Landry.
Congressman Landry says the Senate needs to take responsibility as well.
"Look the senate hasn't done much this year, so I don't see why they can't take up his nominees and go through the confirmation process," said Lee.
You can see the list of freshmen who have signed onto the pledge on Landry's website.