Obama: 'I Always Take Responsibility,' but VA Scandal Started with Bush

President Obama announced the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki Friday, vowing to take full responsibility for the increasingly widespread scandal engulfing the VA's health services. Within seconds of taking responsibility, however, the President made sure to assert that the problems "predate my presidency."

"This predates my presidency. When I was in the Senate, I was on the Veterans Affairs Committee. I heard first-hand veterans who were not getting the kinds of services and benefits that they had earned," the President said to the White House Press Corps this afternoon. The assertion that the VA scandal was an ongoing cultural problem within the institution followed declaration that he would "always take responsibility for whatever happens," particularly with regard to Veterans Affairs.

In the same announcement, President Obama noted that it was "with considerable regret" that he accepted Secretary Shinseki's resignation. He took the time to commend Shinseki's work within the agency. "Under his leadership, we have seen more progress on more fronts at the VA and a bigger investment in the VA than just about any other VA secretary," the President asserted, adding that "Ric's commitment to our veterans is unquestioned. His service to our country is exemplary." Shinseki himself, he said, had begun the process of mass firings in agencies with considerable problems throughout the country.

President Obama emphasized the Shinseki's resignation did not have to do with his ability to run the organization, but his potential to become "a distraction," blaming "Congress and you guys [the media]" for the situation in which Shinseki, who oversaw the agency as the scandal developed, cannot keep his job. 

Shinseki himself apologized for the situation this morning but did not announce his resignation. "I said when this situation began weeks to months ago that I thought the problem was limited and isolated because I believed that," he said in a conference this morning, "I no longer believe it. It is systemic." He blamed himself for being "too trusting" and extended an apology "to the people whom I care most deeply about, that's the veterans of this great country, to their families and loved ones who I have been honored to serve."

Shinseki's apology followed the release of an investigation that found that VA officials nationwide had written false record information to mask the fact that many veterans were being forced to wait unreasonable amounts of time to receive medical care from the agency. The Washington Post describes the fabrications as "elaborate schemes to hide long waiting times date back as far as 2010."

Obama: 'I Always Take Responsibility,' but VA Scandal Started with Bush

The Case of Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi

As usual Barry is embroiled in yet another scandal this one concerning the VA.

 As I said before he doesn't do anything unless he sees a political gain. A fine example was his recent trip to Afghanistan to divert attention from the VA scandal. The message was…see I love the troops…until they outed a CIA chief and it blew up in his face. Another golden opportunity to look like a champion has come his way and so far Barry has chose to pass it up. I'm talking about Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi.  

The story is he made a wrong turn and somehow ended up in Mexico with three guns is his car and was subsequently thrown in jail. He also suffers from PTSD (guns and PTSD never go well together but that's a story for another day). The bottom line is Tahmooressi served his country admirably and his case deserves to be looked in to. But Barry and Stedman were preoccupied with the botched execution of a Black man (Clayton Lockett) calling it "deeply troubling". Barry asked Stedman to analyze problems with the implementation of the death penalty. This for a guy who shot a woman before burying her alive while Tahmooressi, a decorated vet, is left to rot in a Mexican jail.

 Shows where the priorities of this administration lie.

All said and done Barry has the upper hand. He could threaten Mexico by enforcing our immigration laws (sad when you think about it) since we employ more of their citizens then they do. If additional arm twisting is needed maybe Valerie could write a little speech for Barry starting with this line. 

Lets here it for Barry! (yea)

The Case of Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi

Trump...Barry dodged $50 mil offer for student records

Donald Trump thinks there's 'a very good chance' Obama dodged a $50 million offer to see his student records because Obama PRETENDED to be Kenyan in order to attract financial aid

By Francesca Chambers

Published: 18:00 EST, 27 May 2014 | Updated: 18:07 EST, 27 May 2014

My take:

I bet this story is 100% correct, which gives this piece on Breitbart all the more credence. 

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/17/The-Vetting-Barack-Obama-Literary-Agent-1991-Born-in-Kenya-Raised-Indonesia-Hawaii

Breitbart News has obtained a promotional booklet produced in 1991 by Barack Obama's then-literary agency, Acton & Dystel, which touts Obama as "born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii.

The simple premise is... why do you need your college transcripts sealed unless you have something to hide?

Later it was explained away as a "fact checking error"

If it was wrong back then why didn't Barry correct it?

Mysteriously in 2007...it just disappeared. Wonder why?

-------------------------------------------------

Not only does billionaire Donald Trump not 'regret' questioning President Barack Obama's birth place, Trump now says there's 'a very good chance' president Obama pretended to be Kenyan in order to attract financial aid money in college. 

'Because if you say you were born in Kenya, you got aid, and you got into colleges,' Trump said, 'People were doing that.'

The Apprentice star told Washington-based reporters on Tuesday that he still doesn't understand why president Obama would turn down a $50 million gift to charity if he's telling the truth about his past.

Donald Trump, chairman and president of the Trump Organization, said today it's possible that president Obama was born in the U.S. but lied on college applications and said he was from Kenya. 'Because if you say you were born in Kenya, you got aid, and you got into colleges,' Trump said

Trump's disbelief that Obama is indeed an American citizen, as required by law to hold the presidency, stems from a typo in a book agency's 1991 biography of Barack Obama, in which Obama was listed as being from Kenya. 

After the bio surfaced in 2012 a former editor at the book company said it was 'a fact checking error.'

Trump isn't as sure the line itself was a mistake as he is that then-Illinois state senator Barack Obama made a mistake in having it put in his promotional materials.

Even after Obama released documentation of his birth, Trump said he remained unconvinced. 

Several days before the 2012 presidential election, Trump announced that he was offering President Obama $5 million to put toward a charity in his home town, Chicago, Illinois, if he turned over his birth certificate, passport and college records.

Trump says he later increased that amount to $50 million, a number that was not reported in the media at the time, but Obama still wouldn't play ball.

' I never heard from him,' Trump said on Tuesday, adding that he would take the money if it were the other way around.

'The Donald' got on the subject of Obama's background today after he was asked during the Q and A portion of a National Press Club luncheon if he regretted his past statements about the president's birthplace.

'Not even a little bit,' Trump said. 'I don't regret it.'

'Why would I regret it?' he asked amid applause from the audience.

Trump said there were three scenarios to explain Obama's past: 'Either it's fine, or he was born in Kenya, or in my opinion there's a very good chance he was born here, and said he was born in Kenya. Because if you were born in Kenya, you got into colleges, and you got aid,' Trump said. 'Very simple.'

Though many Americans have tired of Trump's quest to see Obama's personal records, Trump claims people on the street are still asking him to pursue the issue.

'Now I hope that it's 100 percent fine,' Trump said, but later mentioned 'I'd love to see what's put down.'

Trump...Barry dodged $50 mil offer for student records

The chickens DID come home to roost

We all remember (if you don't its because there wasn't any) the play Chelsea Clinton's father-in-law got in the press. 

 You Won't Believe This One 

This received the same amount of attention.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Tip from Ed Kilbane

Senior National Correspondent  

JEREMIAH WRIGHT'S DAUGHTER CONVICTED OF FRAUD

On Friday, a federal jury took less than two hours to convict the daughter of President Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, of fraud. 

Jeri Wright was found guilty of a fraud scheme that siphoned thousands of taxpayer dollars intended for a not-for-profit work and education program known as We Are Our Brother's Keeper.

Prosecutor Timothy Bass said Jeri Wright lied "over and over" and went on a "spending spree" that included traveling to Las Vegas, buying vehicles, and remodeling her basement with cash from the money laundering scheme. 

She was found guilty on all counts. 

"If you take and misuse government money, and then lie about it, you will be held accountable in a court of law," said U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, Jim Lewis. 

We Are Our Brother's Keeper, owned by former Country Club Hills Police Chief Regina Evans and her husband, scored a $1.25 million state grant that was intended to offer bricklaying and electrical training, as well as GED preparation. Wright took up to $11,000 from checks worth more than $30,0000, and $20,000 deposited back into the Evans' accounts. Both Regina and Ronald Evans, Jr. have pleaded guilty to fraud. 

Wright's sentencing is slated for July, but she says she will "definitely" appeal. 

"I didn't do anything," Wright said while leaving the courtroom.

-----------------------------------------

Like father...Like daughter.

 Trinity United purchased a lot in Tinley Park, a predominantly white Chicago suburb, and Jeremiah built a 10,340-square-foot home valued at $1.6 million.

 Jeremiah's mansion — includes Greek columns, endless garages, golf course, and more…

God damn America! 

Here’s your wealth-spreading, redistributive change in action.

Another lie 

Barry on Wright's rants:

"The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation."

Remember now, Barry attended this church for 25 years. This should have been a red flag to the MSM. What was claimed here is... the only time Rev Wrong preached like that was when Obama wasn't in attendance.

You didn't really expect the MSM to question his implausible statement did you?

Watch Rev Wrong in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP0YgMXD2Bw

Perhaps the congregation should have invested in history books instead of a lot in Tinley Park.

The chickens DID come home to roost

Obama, the unaccountable president

“All I know is just what I read in the papers, and that’s an alibi for my ignorance.”

— Will Rogers

by Joseph Curl 

The Washington Times

Has there ever been a president in the history of America who knew less than President Obama?

With each new crisis and scandal, Mr. Obama tells Americans that he just didn’t know.

He didn’t know the Veterans Administration was letting America’s veterans languish and die unattended — he learned about it in the newspaper.

He didn’t know the Justice Department was trolling phone records of members of the U.S. media. He didn’t know the ATF was running guns into Mexico; didn’t know the NSA was spying on the German chancellor; didn’t know the Obamacare website was a disaster; didn’t know the IRS was targeting conservative groups.

With every scandal, the president — the CEO of the United States, if you will — said he first learned about it in the papers. If he were head of Apple or IBM, he’d have been fired years ago, because in business, it’s your job to know, and ignorance is, frankly, even worse than failing. Fail = fired.

Each time Mr. Obama is faced with a scandal, he does three things: First, he expresses outrage (he is, after all, a man only of words, not deeds); then, he blames his predecessor, George W. Bush; finally, he wraps the entire mess up in bureaucratic red tape — a blue-ribbon investigation.

That last move, Mr. Obama’s go-to dodge, does two things: No one, not even the president himself, can speak on the matter (“It’s under investigation and we should hold off on any … “); And second, a lengthy probe means Americans will be distracted and move on by the time any final finding is reached.

That’s what happened with Fast and Furious, the gun-running scandal that eventually prompted Congress to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt. What did the president do? Nothing. Not a thing. All the other scandals have followed the same template.

When the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed in Benghazi, Libya, Mr. Obama and his minions refused to comment for months, citing the “investigation.” That led to then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton uttering her infamous line when forced to testify before Congress months later: “What difference at this point does it make?”

This latest of many scandals is exactly the same. Dozens of America’s veterans died waiting for health care, and reports have emerged that government employees actively covered up the scandal. So, Mr. Obama deftly dodged the press for weeks, sending out his flack Jay “Circus” Carney to cover for him with his pals in the White House briefing room.

Then, the president held a meeting with the prime culprit in the latest scandal — behind closed doors. Which, of course, led to the press conference in which the milquetoast commander in chief expressed his outrage, as he did Wednesday.

“When I hear allegations of misconduct — any misconduct — whether it’s allegations of VA staff covering up long wait times or cooking the books, I will not stand for it. Not as Commander-in-Chief,” the piqued president peeped.

While Mr. Obama harangued Bush over the VA as far back as 2007, pledging to fix the system if elected president, more than five years in office later he once again blamed his predecessor.

“Some of the problems with respect to how veterans are able to access the benefits that they’ve earned, that’s not a new issue,” he said. “So today, I want every veteran to know we are going to fix whatever is wrong.”

Lastly, the president announced — The Probe. “But we have to let the investigators do their job and get to the bottom of what happened,” he said. Queried by reporters, he dodged: “I don’t want to get ahead of the IG report or the other investigations that are being done.”

Just like in Fast and Furious, the IRS scandal, the phone records scandal, the spying scandal, the Obamacare website scandal, no heads rolled. No one was ever held accountable, least of all the president — the CEO.

But asked who is to blame for this latest scandal, Mr. Obama said Wednesday: “You know, the responsibility for things always rests ultimately with me, as the president and commander-in-chief.”

And he pledged, once again: “I am going to make sure that there is accountability throughout the system — after I get the full report.”

So, maybe he’ll fire himself?

Or maybe, just maybe, the American people should hold him accountable and fire him, quick.

Obama, the unaccountable president