A new report from the Government Accountability Office provides another window into what happens when the government gives out "free money." GAO investigators found $100 million in fraud in the Department of Health and Human Service's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for just 2009.
From the Associated Press:
[T]he program helped pay the electric bill of a woman who lives in a $2 million home in a wealthy Chicago suburb and drives a Mercedes, according to the yet-to-be released report obtained by The Associated Press...
HHS paid $3.9 million to 11,000 applicants who used the identities of dead people.
HHS paid $370,000 to 725 applicants who were in prison.
HHS paid $671,000 to about 1,100 people who made more than the maximum income to qualify for the program.
Illinois paid $840 toward energy bills for a U.S. Postal Service employee who fraudulently reported zero income even though she earned about $80,000 per year. "Times are tough and I needed the money," she told investigators.
New Jersey paid $3,200 to a nursing home on behalf of eight patients after the home's director applied for assistance. The patients' nursing home care was already paid by Medicaid.
Virginia provided three payments totaling $2,400 to three separate applicants at the same address, according to the report.
GAO employees in a sting operation also applied for benefits in Maryland and West Virginia, using counterfeit documents, fake addresses and fictitious companies. "All fraudulent claims were processed and the energy assistance payments were issued to our bogus landlords and company," according to the report.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2010 00:00 ||
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The White House's top energy adviser acknowledged that smaller oil firms might no longer be able to drill in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of legislation moving through Congress that would eliminate the cap on their liability for oil spills.
"Maybe this is a sector where you really need large companies who can donate large bribescampaign contributions bring to bear the expertise and who have the wherewithal to cover the political expense if something goes wrong," Carol Browner, special adviser to President Barack Obama on energy and climate change, said in an interview. Eliminating the $75 million cap on liability for oil spills "will mean that you only have large companies in this sector," she said.
On other topics, Ms. Browner said the Obama administration would be happy with a scaled-back energy bill this year "just to get started." $4/gal gas now, $7/gal gas later.
She said the administration is mindful of the effects of a deepwater-drilling moratorium and wants "to get people back to work," by immediately throwing them and their suppliers into the unemployment line but wants first to understand what caused the BP PLC oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2010 02:25 ||
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#1
by immediately throwing them and their suppliers into the unemployment line
Fixed.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2010 2:34 Comments ||
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#2
I know it's the first blowout of this magnitude in the gulf in about twenty years... but there's lots of people who can explain most of the contributing factors to the spill, from a damaged Ram BOP BP didn't replace, to a damaged Annular BOP BP didn't replace, to BP's decision to ignore Halliburton's best practices re: the cementing job, to BP's decision to ignore Schlumberger's best practices re: the casing... it's not like there's new physics happening down hole, and the blowout was caused by the &&^# higgs particle...
She said the administration is mindful of the effects of a deepwater-drilling moratorium and wants "to get people back to work," by immediately throwing them and their suppliers into the unemployment line but wants first to understand what caused the BP PLC oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
It also occurs to me that the whole "need to understand what caused the spill" bit would carry a little more weight if any of their commissions had someone who had ever worked in the oil industry.
"He once had a fleeting association with the Ku Klux Klan, what does that mean? I'll tell you what it means. He was a country boy from the hills and hollows from West Virginia. He was trying to get elected," former President Bill Clinton said of Sen. Robert Byrd. And you once had a fleeting relationship with an intern.
"And maybe he did something he shouldn't have done come and he spent the rest of his life making it up. And that's what a good person does. There are no perfect people. There are certainly no perfect politicians," he added. Amen.
#4
...and trying to get elected justifies anything.
And the Dems that accept this are proof that they are morally bankrupt. All they beleive in is power.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
07/03/2010 11:07 Comments ||
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#5
From what I've read this was no fleeting association. He was eventually elected the areas Grand Cyclops (whatever the hell that is) and he personally recruited over 100 individuals into the klan ranks. Add to this his public statements and actions on the floor of the house and senate and you realize how absurd it was for Byrd to be eulogized by Barry O.
Posted by: Jefferson ||
07/03/2010 11:26 Comments ||
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#6
The brilliance of Clinton's statement is he tars an entire state as racist (as many blue-staters already are convinced anyway) but gives the Democrats a pass as only doing what is needed to bring civilization to the South.
Despicable but really the only possible way to defend Byrd without looking like the party of racists.
#9
I try to imagine Byrd, furtively trying to get through the pearly gates, as St. Peter looks at him and says, "Now, seriously. Bill Clinton read your eulogy. That's like a letter of recommendation from Asmodeus(*). I'm going to send you back, but as a black gay guy on Castro Street, who's allergic to shellfish."
(*) One of the seven princes of Hell, specializing in lechery. N.B.: In the Talmud, he is alleged to have married Lilith.
#10
Half Mast Flag News
6/30/10 - PRESIDENTIAL PROCLOMATION - American Flags to be flown at half staff in Honor of Senator Byrd. Now - Saturday July 3, 2010 â Half Staff
Sunday July 4, 2010 â Full Staff
July 5, 2010 - July 6, 2010 â Half Staff
July 7th - Return Flags to Full Staff
#13
hope it's not Arlington. I'd hate to see them rename it like every freaking road, bridge, and building in WV
I'd hope he was buried in a poor black community's cemetery, to show how "advanced he became, and making amends" and all that shit
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/03/2010 17:36 Comments ||
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#14
No burial..., Texas A&M sized creamation bonfire. Crosses, mounted riders, songs, gun sex, all at a secret undisclosed site. Write your Democratic congressional representative for tickets and schedule.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the country is "giving shortshrift to immigration" and that economic problems will worsen until America sends out a more welcoming message.
Bloomberg says the U.S. is "pushing people that other countries want away from our shores." He said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that an overly restrictive immigration policy discourages people who can create work with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Bloomberg said, "If I were the president working with Congress, I would give a green card to anybody from around this world who wants to come here, create a business. They keep the green card as long as they employed, let's say, 10 or more workers."
He said a path to citizenship should be found for the roughly 11 million people here illegally. I'm not sure I follow Hizzoner's reasoning. If we've got 8.5% unemployment and we've got 11 million illegals, couldn't we drop the unemployment rate to something around 5% by dumping the 3% (11m/330m) of the population who're illegal?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Except the US there are about 140M US working people and 15M unemployed (9.7%). If only 10M of the 12-20M estimated illegal aliens are employed, those jobs going to legal Americans would chop the unemployment rate to 3.2%. Of course, then several million discouraged workers would reenter the labor pool, maybe raising unemployment to a historically healthy 5%.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2010 1:55 Comments ||
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#2
But the illegals are only doing the work Americans won't do - for the money offered, as long as they can get comparable amounts through welfare, etc. If you send them home who will pick your lettuce and clean your house - Ethnic Studies grad students?
#3
Sure, put the illegals on the choo-choo south and ready and willing American! workers will come out of the woodwork, ready to go, with a go-get 'm attitude.
Srsly. I mean it stands to reason. Might need to quadroople the minimum wage tho.
#4
Charge the businesses that employ the illegals for their health care. And their lack of auto insurance.
But the illegals are only doing the work Americans won't do - for the money offered, as long as they can get comparable amounts through welfare, etc. If you send them home who will pick your lettuce and clean your house - Ethnic Studies grad students?
One of the big problems with the presence of the illegals is that the ethnic studies students never get the valuable experience of having to do sucky labor for themselves between semesters. (Or in high school).
#5
Srsly. I mean it stands to reason. Might need to quadroople the minimum wage tho.
The $5/hour illegal alien is a myth. WAPO 2007: The average household income for illegal immigrants is $45,748 nationally. In Maryland, it's $58,061; in Virginia, $61,112. The findings may reflect the greater overall wealth of the two states: The average household income for native residents is $83,964 in Maryland and $79,524 in Virginia, compared with $66,952 nationwide.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2010 8:44 Comments ||
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#6
I was told over a decade ago that the going rate for unskilled illegal immigrant labor was some two and a half times the minimum wage. Of course, it had none of the additional legal and financial penalties involved with hiring someone, which have only gone up since Zero took office, along with the unemployment rate. I wonder why?
#7
average household income for illegal immigrants is $45,748 nationally
ed,
What this means kind of depends on the meaning of the word 'household' - after Katrina it might have meant the six Mexican guys sharing a motel room with no electricity or hot water who were all working all day clearing debris while most of the resident households remained evacuated in motels in Atlanta.
students never get the valuable experience of having to do sucky labor for themselves
#8
Think of the show "Dirty Jobs" with Mike Rowe, it's honest work and I've done a third (Or so) of these same Jobs Machinist, Navy, Auto Mechanic, Foundry, I even made Aircraft Engines once, a facinating work history that others consider "Dirty" and refuse to consider "Honest".
They'd rather find something inside an air conditioned office than turn wrenches.
Well bub, just who do you think makes the air conditioning work?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/03/2010 12:03 Comments ||
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#9
The average household income for illegal immigrants is $45,748 nationally
Are you telling me these damn Messicans are hard working individuals? Using few skills to make their way in a hard world. Damn! That's just wrong!
#11
construction jobs - which Americans WILL do - are one of the most "illegal-filled" jobs. Send em home!
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/03/2010 21:47 Comments ||
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#12
It is so true. My relative who is a builder with a crew, has had a very difficult time outcompeting on bids against building crews who use under the table illegal labor. This is a massive problem. Needed: a 24 hour govt agency that take anonymous tip offs of businesses using illegals. Send in the SWAT or a near equivalent, round 'em up, and put em on the next bus to their hellhole of origin.
Four days after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted Chicago's longtime handgun ban, the City Council on Friday enacted a whole new set of gun-control measures.
Alderman voted 45-0 in favor even as some of them acknowledged how little the restrictions would do to quell violent crime.
The rush job is aimed at having a new set of established handgun restrictions in place before a lower court can enter a final order to formally strike down the city's gun ban.
The ordinance "places reasonable regulations regarding who should and should not be able to possess a handgun in their home for self-defense," Mayor Richard Daley said after the special council meeting. "With this law, we're supporting adults who legitimately want a gun in their home for self-defense. But at the same time, we're trying to keep guns out of the hands of gang bangers and drug dealers who only want to terrorize our communities."
Several aldermen, however, said the ordinance is more likely to affect responsible, law-abiding gun owners than the thugs causing mayhem on hot weekend nights.
"You cannot legislate criminals, they are going to be criminals no matter what," said Ald. Ed Smith, 28th. "And the people who intend to do crime, they are going to do it in whatever manner they can. They are going to get a gun wherever they can. And they are going to use it. And they are not going to register their gun."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The similarity to the old Soviet Politburo is eerie. Will Hizzoner be dead for three days before any of them are brave enough to enter the office?
#5
we're trying to keep guns out of the hands of gang bangers and drug dealers who only want to terrorize our communities
The body count evidence clearly shows you've failed. When a government can no longer provide security in the citizen's life, family, and property, it is no longer legitimate. So either lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.
#6
we're trying to keep guns out of the hands of gang bangers and drug dealers who only want to terrorize our communities
might have better success if you instead tried to keep the gang bangers and drug dealers who only want to terrorize out of the community. perhaps by arresting, convicting,and sentencing them to long terms in correctional facilities
Posted by: abu do you love ||
07/03/2010 12:31 Comments ||
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#7
sentencing them to long terms in correctional facilities
At the start of the Obama administration, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel bragged about never letting a crisis "go to waste." Two years later, the president's commission on the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe looks like the latest manifestation of that political tactic. Its makeup - stacked with environmental advocates rather than qualified experts and engineers - gives the commission away as a Trojan horse, an industry-safety veneer masking a political anti-oil agenda.
This is a harsh indictment but a justified one given the clearly biased composition of the fully titled National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. Five of the seven members are environmental advocates, some of whom think oil is an addiction instead of a resource that contributes to national wealth and the benefits of mobility. Mobility has enabled increased rates of homeownership, has expanded employment opportunities across the country and provided greater personal freedom to enrich our lives.
Failure of the Deepwater Horizon platform warrants a careful examination of what went wrong and what needs to be done to reduce further the risk of another tragic accident. But such an investigation should be led by a group of people who place greater emphasis on - and possess thorough understanding of - engineering, industry standards and environmental science. A commission designed to address successfully those issues would have a far different makeup than the one recently fashioned by the White House.
Comparisons that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and others have drawn between this group and the one that investigated the 1986 Challenger accident are deeply flawed. The Challenger commission had seven engineering and aviation experts and three other scientists. After the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster, a majority of its investigating panel, too, had expertise in engineering and aviation. In sharp contrast, appointees to the Gulf commission lack expertise in the very field they've been charged with investigating. By the look of it, a majority of the members probably already know their conclusions and just need to compile documentation selectively to support their preconceived verdicts.
But ideological differences don't change the facts.
We know the platform's blowout-prevention system malfunctioned. Lawmakers and industry experts have documented a series of bad decisions in the lead-up to the April 20 explosion that likely contributed to the accident. We know a lot about the fate and effects of oil in water but still not enough about its effects on Gulf marshlands. We also know that the offshore industry has a clear record of excellence; a number of companies testified before Congress that they would not have drilled the well the way BP did.
The fundamental question is whether this accident was caused primarily by poor decisions unique to one company or was the result of systemic weaknesses in technologies and processes employed by the deep-water-drill sector at large. A comprehensive answer will have to wait until all the facts and analyses are complete. But for now, there is scant evidence that this accident was a failure in technology or inadequate operating practices of the broader industry. As tragic as this accident was, it is not a justification for shutting down operations in the Gulf, directly or indirectly.
Before the current catastrophe, companies safely drilled more than 50,000 offshore wells in U.S. coastal waters and 14,000 deep-water wells globally over a 40-year period without a production accident. While the Interior Department's decision to inspect the other 33 deep-water rigs after the accident and to review spill contingency plans was prudent, the record of performance of the offshore industry demonstrates that an extended moratorium is not justified and is not in America's interest. It certainly is not in the interest of those who live in the Gulf region whose livelihoods are closely tied to oil and gas production.
No doubt many lessons will be learned from this tragedy. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 will be updated, industry practices will be strengthened and new technology will be developed for blowout prevention and oil-spill cleanup. Those are all necessary and reasonable actions.
On the other hand, actions that constrain our ability to produce our own energy are just a form of self-flagellation. It is a fact of life that for the foreseeable future, our transportation system will run on oil. The mobility most Americans value is made possible by the abundance and affordability of oil. Alternatives do not yet possess those qualities. So we must either produce more oil here or import it from other countries. If Washington pursues the latter, other nations will benefit economically from our self-imposed embargo - the effective result of an extended moratorium or any commission recommendations that make it no longer economically attractive to explore in the Gulf.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2010 00:00 ||
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(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama said today that U.S. borders cannot be secured with fences and border patrols. "It won't work," he said.
How does he know, it's not been tried here. It has been tried in Gaza, where it works, the West Bank, where it works, Melilla, where it works, Cueta, where it works ...
Obama made the statement in a speech at American University in Washington, D.C. in which he called on Congress to enact a "comprehensive immigration reform" law that would include a "pathway for legal status" for illegal immigrants--or what critics call amnesty.
"Even as we are committed to doing what's necessary to secure our borders, even without passage of the new law, there are those who argue that we should not move forward with any other elements of reform until we have fully sealed our borders," said Obama. "But our borders are just too vast for us to be able to solve the problem only with fences and border patrols. It won't work. Our borders will not be secure as long as our limited resources are devoted to not only stopping gangs and potential terrorists, but also the hundreds of thousands who attempt to cross each year simply to find work."
Obama also contended in the speech that the borders are more secure now than they have been in the past two decades. "The southern border is more secure today than at any time in the past 20 years," he said.
His comprehensive immigration reform plan, he said, would "demand responsibility" from illegal immigrants.
"We have to demand responsibility from people living here illegally. They must be required to admit that they broke the law. They should be required to register, pay their taxes, pay a fine, and learn English," said Obama.
"We can create a pathway for legal status that is fair, reflective of our values, and works," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Versus
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > OBAMA ALLIES DEMAND END TO AFGHAN WAR ['Tis UNWINNABLE it is].
and
* SAME > REPORT: CLOSING DOWN GUANTANAMO BAY NO LONGER A PRIORITY FOR OBAMA. Strong GOVT + VOTER/POPULAR RESISTANCE agz reloc from Gitmo to ILLINOIS.
#2
So, since Obamagod says it won't work better not try it and don't dare you succeed. (Or Else)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/03/2010 0:54 Comments ||
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#3
"We have to demand responsibility from people living here illegally. They must be required to admit that they broke the law. They should be required to register, pay their taxes, pay a fine, and learn English," said Obama.
Amnesty and unlimited immigration, in other words. Where are my shoes?
#4
We can create a pathway for legal status that is fair, reflective of our values
We did that some time ago, you turkey. It's up to you to make it work, not to change it into something unrecognizable as an immigration policy.
#8
Since 1986, 7 million illegal aliens have been already given amnesty. In that time the illegal alien population exploded from 5M in 1986 to 8M in 2000 to today's 12M+.
Reward bad behavior and you get more of it. For something as attractive as a Green Card, a lot more.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2010 2:07 Comments ||
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#9
Fences and border patrols won't secure the border, but minefields and border patrolmen with live ammo and unrestricted ROE will. Like it or not, the Iron Curtain was a pretty effective border. If we WANT the border secure we CAN make it so.
#15
i agree tear the fence around the white house and take away the armed guards for a couple days. I think our prblem would go away rather quickly.
Posted by: chris ||
07/03/2010 10:36 Comments ||
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#16
i agree tear the fence around the white house and take away the armed guards for a couple days. I think our prblem would go away rather quickly.
Posted by: chris ||
07/03/2010 10:36 Comments ||
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#17
Someone with Youtube skills could interpose the 'fences and borders won't work' followed by a photo of the White House with the line, 'Then Mr. Obama, tear this fence down!'.
#18
Come down on the employers and you remove a lot of the numbers crossing the border in the first place. Paint those that support the hiring of illegals as racists who want cheap stuff and are trying to create a race-based underclass. Use the border for military training on interdiction in the desert (as Iraq and Afghanistan have showed we could probably use training in this). Detail illegals in a tent city for a bit of time instead of giving them a free ride back to the starting line so they can try again right away. Find the Coyotes and drug smugglers and treat them harshly.
#19
"#5 I seem to remember from a pre-pc history class that the U.S. Cavalry patrolled the border from the end of the Civil War until December 1941.
Posted by Ebbese Ebbump8799 2010-07-03 01:22"
My father was one of those men. 1st Cavalry, Texas. He manned a machine gun nest set up on the Mexican/Texas border. Not just to prevent Mexican illegal immigration but to prevent Nazi's and Japs from infiltrating the U.S. from the Southern border since they were attacking everyone else around the world.
They got bored because the people on the other side of the border knew about the Cavalry and thier machine gun nests. A far cry from America today. To battle boredom they would go to surrounding caves and through a hand grenade into a cave to kill hundreds of rattle snakes and then practice their shooting by shooting snakes one by one as they came out of the caves.
The practice latter proved handy when the US entered WWII. He and his dismounts took out a lot of jap bunkers and japs the same way.
#21
Not just to prevent Mexican illegal immigration but to prevent Nazi's and Japs from infiltrating the U.S. from the Southern border since they were attacking everyone else around the world.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 24% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-four percent (44%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -20 (see trends).
Just 29% believe the president's economic stimulus package has helped the economy while 43% believe it has hurt. Voters say that decisions made by business owners following their own self-interest will create more jobs than decisions made by government officials.
Consumer and investor confidence are both down slightly since the beginning of 2010 and down sharply since early May. The Rasmussen Employment Index slipped a point this month.
Partisan identification has stabilized during 2010. Numbers for June show that 35.4% consider themselves Democrats while 33.9% consider themselves Republicans. The number of Democrats is down about six points since Election 2008 while the number of Republicans is essentially unchanged.
Sixty-two percent (62%) want to leave the U.S. Constitution alone, but a plurality believes it doesn't place enough restrictions on government.
Voters are fairly evenly divided as to whether or not Elena Kagan should be confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice, but voters overwhelmingly expect her to be confirmed.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm just awaiting the dead cat bounce. This loser is seems is trying to make Carter look adequate. At the worst possible time, we get a bumbling, socialist, tool for president.
Posted by: Jefferson ||
07/03/2010 0:09 Comments ||
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#2
Jefferson, it is not by a coincidence, it is by a design.
#4
I honestly have to wonder if the numbers for Obama wouldn't be much worse if he wasn't black? I believe a significant number of people are so PC that they are concerned about being racist if they disapprove.
#5
I would add to what Parabellum says: It's not only the strongly approve (whose core is always around 25-30%), but the strongly disapprove (whose core is also in that range) that is 15 to 20 points above the core that is important. That 15 to 20 points above corerepresents the somewhat swing vote the got the donks in power and they have, to this point, lost.
#6
NoMoreBS - in that case, there would be 0% who strongly disapprove, since a white guy (even a DemoncRat) with exactly the same "credentials" would never have been nominated, let alone elected, in the first place.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/03/2010 17:39 Comments ||
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#7
with exactly the same "credentials"
Barb Skolaut
Well, lessee - no management experience (or experience doing anything productive, for that matter); thuggish friends; hangs with communists and violent anarchists; votes "present" because he doesn't want to be caught making a decision (or maybe is too dumb uninformed to make one); proudly embraces a religious "leader" who publicly damns America (in church, no less) - until it becomes inconvenient, then throws him under the bus with the rest of the crowd; says his election will cause the seas to subside because he's the Second Coming ....
Is that enough for a start?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/03/2010 20:37 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office provides another window into what happens when the government gives out "free money." GAO investigators found $100 million in fraud in the Department of Health and Human Service's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for just 2009.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the country is "giving shortshrift to immigration" and that economic problems will worsen until America sends out a more welcoming message.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 24% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-four percent (44%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -20 (see trends).
