President Obama Falsely Claims Fast and Furious Program “Begun Under the Previous Administration” - ABC News: Agree?

I suppose there are some gullible people who would believe this glib liar, but there are major differences between "Wide Receiver" instituted during the Bush administration and "Fast and Furious" carried out under Obama.

Wide Receiver - The number of guns used in the operation from the beginning until the end of the operation was 300. Fast & Furious - The number of guns used in the operation from the beginning until the end of the operation was 2,000.

Wide Receiver - Guns were traced with miniature GPS devices inserted inside the guns. Fast & Furious - No tracking devices were used.

Wide Receiver - ATF agents were ordered to follow the gun smugglers from the gun store to the US/Mexico border. Fast & Furious - ATF agents were ordered to stand down and not follow the gun smugglers after they left the gun store.

Wide Receiver - Mexican army and police was in the loop about Wide Receiver. They took over the surveillance of the gun smugglers after they crossed with the guns in Mexico. Fast & Furious - Mexican authorities were kept in the dark by the ATF and the US DOJ. They had no idea about Fast & Furious and the fact that guns provided to gun smugglers by the American authorities were "walked" in Mexico into the hands of drug cartel murderers.

Wide Receiver - When a small number of guns (30-40) were lost due to the malfunctioning GPS tracking devices operation Wide Receiver was immediately aborted and cancelled. Fast and Furious - Operation continued even after ATF and DOJ lost track of all 2,000 guns sold to Mexican drug cartels.

That's why it's so important that WE keep hammering the truth in forums like this.
People (esp. our liberal brothers and sisters) MUST wake up!!!

Just for instance, here's a proper vetting of Obama's so-called Jobs bill... that isn't:

Since our esteemed members of the fourth estate and our politicians seem destined to skirt, deflect, and otherwise avoid the straightforward questions that surround this flawed piece of legislation by either Obama or a complicit media regarding the so-called “Jobs” bill that isn’t, allow me to explore them for you.
Reference the inappropriately labeled legislation called S. 1660, the American Jobs Act of 2011

Q) What is the so-called "Payroll Tax Holiday Period?"
Answer
DEFINITIONS.— PAYROLL TAX HOLIDAY PERIOD.—The term ‘‘payroll tax holiday period’’ means calendar year 2012. S. 1660, page 11.


Q) WHY is the so-called "tax cut" for the middle class ONLY for 2012 and then their tax burden is restored to the previous level on January 1, 2013?

Answer
Isn’t 2012 an election year? This portion of the legislation is nothing more than a carrot and the DNC is hoping that the temporary funding for jobs will whet the appetite of an unsuspecting electorate long enough to forget that it was the Democrat’s job-killing policies—enacted as far back as the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977—that got us here in the first place.


Q) Why is Obama harping on "Buy American" bandwagon to placate the Iron, Steel, and manufactured goods industries, yet written in the bill is the government's admission that American Iron, Steel and manufactured goods could cost 25 percent or more than non-US Iron, steel and manufactured goods, AND it provides the government the ability to waive "Buy American?"

Answer
This one is puzzling, since the UNIONS (the Steel Workers Unions for one) who gave Democrats millions in donations are the ones getting screwed by these paragraphs:

SEC. 4. BUY AMERICAN—USE OF AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFACTURED GOODS.

(a) None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States.

(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply in any case or category of cases in which the head of the Federal department or agency involved finds that—
(1) applying subsection (a) would be inconsistent with the public interest;[and exactly HOW is this measure defined? The bill does not say!]
(2) iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or
(3) inclusion of iron, steel, and manufactured goods produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.

(c) If the head of a Federal department or agency determines that it is necessary to waive the application of subsection (a) based on a finding under subsection (b), the head of the department or agency shall publish in the Federal Register a detailed written justification as to why the provision is being waived.

(d) This section shall be applied in a manner consistent with United States obligations under international agreements. S. 1660, pages 6-7.

Translation: If the United States obligations under international agreements are in conflict with this bill, the international agreement wins out over this legislation!


Q) What does the government's PERMANENT appropriation of D-Block Broadband Network frequencies (that are populated by wireless and internet communication) for the laughable purpose of "public safety" have to do with a JOBS bill? And WHY is the FCC being granted a PERMANENT extension of Auction authority for such broadband licenses in a so-called JOBS bill?

Answer
PUBLIC SAFETY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—After approval by the Office of Management and Budget of a spend plan developed by the Director of NIST, a Wireless Innovation (WIN) Fund of up to $300,000,000 shall be made available for use by the Director of NIST to carry out the research program established under section 296 and be available until expended. S. 1660, page 238.

SEC. 271. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) 700 MHZ BAND.—The term ‘‘700 MHz band’’ means the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum between the frequencies from 698 mega hertz to 806 megahertz.

(2) 700 MHZ D BLOCK SPECTRUM.—The term ‘‘700 MHz D block spectrum’’ means the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum frequencies from 758 megahertz to 763 megahertz and from 788 mega hertz to 793 megahertz. S. 1660, page 162.

PART I—AUCTIONS OF SPECTRUM AND SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT
SEC. 272. CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITIES TO REPURPOSE FEDERAL SPECTRUM FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.
(a) Paragraph (1) of subsection 113(g) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(g)(1)) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL ENTITIES.—Any Federal entity that operates a Federal Government station authorized to use a band of frequencies specified in paragraph (2) and that incurs relocation costs because of planning for a potential auction of spectrum frequencies, a planned auction of spectrum frequencies or the reallocation of spectrum frequencies from Federal use to exclusive non-Federal use, or shared Federal and non-Federal use may receive payment for such costs from the Spectrum Relocation Fund, in accordance with section 118 of this Act. For purposes of this paragraph, Federal power agencies exempted under subsection (c)(4)
25 that choose to relocate from the frequencies identified for reallocation pursuant to subsection

(a), are eligible to receive payment under this paragraph.’.

(b) ELIGIBLE FREQUENCIES.—Section 113(g)(2)(B) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(g)(2)) is amended by deleting and replacing subsection (B) with the following:

(B) any other band of frequencies reallocated from Federal use to non-Federal or shared use after January 1, 2003, that is assigned by competitive bidding pursuant to section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) or is assigned as a result of later legislation or other administrative direction.’’. S. 1660, page 165-6.

Subtitle H—National Wireless Initiative
Sec. 271. Definitions.
PART I—AUCTIONS OF SPECTRUM AND SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT
Sec. 272. Clarification of authorities to repurpose Federal spectrum for commercial purposes.
Sec. 273. Incentive auction authority.
Sec. 274. Requirements when repurposing certain mobile satellite services spectrum
for terrestrial broadband use.
Sec. 275. Permanent extension of auction authority.
Sec. 276. Authority to auction licenses for domestic satellite services.
Sec. 277. Directed auction of certain spectrum.
Sec. 278. Authority to establish spectrum license user fees.
PART II—PUBLIC SAFETY BROADBAND NETWORK
Sec. 281. Reallocation of D block for public safety.
Sec. 282. Flexible use of narrowband spectrum.
Sec. 283. Single public safety wireless network licensee.
Sec. 284. Establishment of Public Safety Broadband Corporation.
Sec. 285. Board of directors of the corporation.
Sec. 286. Officers, employees, and committees of the corporation.
Sec. 287. Nonprofit and nonpolitical nature of the corporation.
Sec. 288. Powers, duties, and responsibilities of the corporation.
Sec. 289. Initial funding for corporation.
Sec. 290. Permanent self-funding; duty to assess and collect fees for network use.
Sec. 291. Audit and report.
Sec. 292. Annual report to Congress.
Sec. 293. Provision of technical assistance.
Sec. 294. State and local implementation.
Sec. 295. State and Local Implementation Fund.
Sec. 296. Public safety wireless communications research and development.
Sec. 297. Public Safety Trust Fund.
Sec. 298. FCC report on efficient use of public safety spectrum.
Sec. 299. Public safety roaming and priority access. S. 1660, page 4.


What are the frequencies that make up the broadband for wireless cell phones and the internet? You got it! Block D. And WHAT does any of these paragraphs above have to do with Jobs?

They Don’t! It has everything to do with trying to institute the Fairness Doctrine to silence any critics of this Regime! When the Republicans are given the opportunity to return principled leadership to the government in 2013, do you seriously want them to have this power?


Q) Why, out of $447 Billion dollars of spending contained in this bill, that ONLY $5 Billion is TEMPORARILY allocated to so-called low income youth and adults jobs... and that allocation--to be applied for no later than December 31, 2012--is only good for 9 months (January to the end of September, 2013)?

Answer
The so-called low income youth and adult jobs aren’t the ONLY areas to which a mere fraction of the $447 Billion is TEMPORARILY allocated (That’s right, Mr. Biden, I said it because it’s the truth!);

Section 101 – Temporary Payroll Tax Cut for Employers, Employees, and the Self-Employed. This section extends and expands the existing temporary reduction in payroll taxes. For calendar year 2012, it: (a) further reduces the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (social security) portion of the payroll tax that was paid by employees during 2011 from 4.2 percent (reflecting the existing 2 percent temporary reduction from the permanent rate) to 3.1 percent; and (b) adds a new reduction in the portion of this tax that is paid by employers from 6.2 percent to 3.1 percent. S. 1660, pages 8-18.

Small businesses receive a TEMPORARY extension of “100 PERCENT BONUS DEPRECIATION FOR CERTAIN BUSINESS ASSETS, by increasing their “surety bonds” from $2 million to $5 million… but only until September 30, 2012!

FUNDING.—There is appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $3,000,000, to remain available until expended, for additional capital for the Surety Bond Guarantees Revolving Fund, as authorized by the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, as amended. S. 1660, pages 18-19.

SUNSET.—The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall remain in effect until September 30, 2012. S. 1660, page 19.

Under Title II, Putting workers back on the job:

A) Vets - under this section will have their tax credits increased from $4,800 to $24,000 for each qualified veteran. This section also creates two new hiring credits for veterans.

B) Teachers – Along with limited infrastructure funding, there are appropriations for States—who only follow the rules outlined in the title—to receive their share of the allocated $30 Billion to the Secretary of the Interior? Oh, perhaps this is why this appropriation is managed under the supervision of the Interior Secretary rather than the Education Secretary:

(b) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the requirements of this section if the Secretary determines that a waiver would be equitable due to—
(1) exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances, such as a natural disaster; or
(2) a precipitous decline in the financial resources of the State. S. 1660, page 35.

Additionally, this funding ENDS after election year 2012, but no supporter of this bill is talking about that now are they? And once these hires go into effect, who will be on the hook once the federal spigot stops flowing? That responsibility will fall back on the States—and by necessity—the State’s taxpayers!

There are authorized to be appropriated, and there are appropriated, $30,000,000,000 to carry out this subtitle for fiscal year 2012. S. 1660, page 36.

C) First responders – Let’s see now… ONLY $5 Billion is allocated out of $447 Billion—just over 1%—of the total cost of this bill, shall go toward hiring, rehiring, or retention? Hardly! The legislation only provides $1 Billion, managed by the Attorney General, Eric Holder, for such hiring, rehiring, or retention! And ONLY for fiscal year 2012! So, if we are to understand what our intrepid Vice President Biden vigorously asserted when he accused the GOP of encouraging the increase of “rapes” if the bill was not passed, then certainly there shall be an increase in such crimes after the funding for additional First Responders, expires on October 1, 2012? Talk about an October Surprise!!

SEC. 215. APPROPRIATIONS.
There are hereby appropriated to the Community Oriented Policing Stabilization Fund out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise obligated, $5,000,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2012, of which $4,000,000,000 shall be for the Attorney General to carry out the competitive grant program under Section 214; and of which $1,000,000,000 shall be transferred by the Attorney General to a First Responder Stabilization Fund from which the Secretary of Homeland Security shall make competitive grants for hiring, rehiring, or retention pursuant to the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.), to carry out section 34 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2229a). In making such grants, the Secretary may grant waivers from the requirements in subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (a)(1)(E), (c)(1), (c)(2), and (c)(4)(A) of section 34. Of the amounts appropriated herein, not to exceed $8,000,000 shall be for administrative costs of the Attorney General, and not to exceed $2,000,000 shall be for administrative costs of the Secretary of Homeland Security. S. 1660, page 37-8.

Pathways back to work – Yet, another bait-and-switch scheme to sucker in States to establish jobs in their respective states funded by the federal government… but only until September 30, 2013 at which time, if the states want to keep those jobs, THEY must fund them… because the federal well will then be dry!

SEC. 363. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts available to the Fund under section 362(b), the Secretary of Labor shall—
(1) allot $2,000,000,000 in accordance with section 364 to provide subsidized employment to unemployed, low-income adults;
(2) allot $1,500,000,000 in accordance with section 365 to provide summer and year-round employment opportunities to low-income youth;
(3) award $1,500,000,000 in competitive grants in accordance with section 366 to local entities to carry out work-based training and other work-related and educational strategies and activities of demonstrated effectiveness to unemployed, low-income adults and low-income youth to provide the skills and assistance needed to obtain employment.

(b) RESERVATION.—The Secretary of Labor may reserve not more than 1 percent of amounts available to the Fund under each of paragraphs (1)–(3) of subsection (a) for the costs of technical assistance, evaluations and Federal administration of this Act.

(c) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The amounts appropriated under this Act shall be available for obligation by the Secretary of Labor until December 31, 2012, and shall be available for expenditure by grantees and sub-grantees until September 30, 2013. S. 1660, page 307.


Q) What is the AIFA?

Answer
SEC. 245. ESTABLISHMENT AND GENERAL AUTHORITY OF AIFA.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF AIFA.—The American Infrastructure Financing Authority is established as a wholly owned Government corporation. Translation: This would be Alexander Hamilton’s failed attempt at creating the Bank of the United States, the establishment of which Thomas Jefferson railed against!

(b) GENERAL AUTHORITY OF AIFA.—AIFA shall provide direct loans and loan guarantees to facilitate infrastructure projects that are both economically viable and of regional or national significance, and shall have such other authority, as provided in this Act.
S. 1660, page 102.


Q) What is the AIFA's all-powerful Board of Directors and what is their function?

Answer
BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The term ‘‘Board of Directors’’ means Board of Directors of AIFA. S. 1660, page 95.

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Directors first appointed (by the president) shall be deemed the incorporator of AIFA, and the incorporation shall be held to have been effected from the date of the first meeting of the Board of Directors.

(2) CORPORATE OFFICE.—AIFA shall—
(A) maintain an office in Washington, DC; and,
(B) for purposes of venue in civil actions, be considered to be a resident of Washington, DC.
S. 1660, page 102.

And what shall be their function?

The Powers and Duties of the Board of Directors – “ will be responsible for the ultimate review and approval of the eligible project applications and financial packages that are submitted by the CEO and senior management of the American Infrastructure Financial Authority. The Board will also be responsible for, among other things, approving or disapproving any senior management appointed by the CEO, approving CEO-submitted documents concerning application and lending procedures, approving the compensation of AIFA personnel, approving business plans, strategies, and budgets, developing bylaws and conflict of interest policies, establishing subcommittees of the Board (including an audit committee), and ensuring that AIFA is operated in compliance with the Act. In setting and approving the compensation for the CEO and other AIFA personnel, the Board will consult with the Office of Personnel Management and seek to maintain comparability with other comparable federal personnel. The Board will also have the general authority to execute and oversee AIFA’s contractual agreements, to determine appropriate expenses and obligations of AIFA, to approve other forms of credit enhancement that AIFA may provide to eligible projects consistent with the Act, to sue and be sued in AIFA’s corporate capacity, and to exercise all other lawful powers that are necessary to carry out AIFA’s purposes. S. 1660, page 112-119.

Wake up America!!! IF this shocking abuse of power is not confronted, we shall LOSE our free country!!!