Arnold Ahlert

Kathleen Sebelius's Mea Culpa Tour

The real-life version of "Groundhog Day" moved from the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week to the Senate Finance Committee yesterday, as Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius brought her mea culpa tour to Congress's upper chamber. Despite the miserable rollout of President Obama's "signature achievement," Sebelius insisted that the healthcare.gov website had improved dramatically, even as she was forced to concede that "we're not there yet" with regard to full functionality.

Obama's Tour of Lies

President Barack Obama is a liar. Not a person who "misspoke," as the New York Times editorial board ridiculously asserted last Sunday. His promise that if Americans liked their healthcare plan they could keep it --made on at least 23 separate, videotaped occasions-- was not the "half true" statement the equally corrupt politifact.com website contended it was.

How Obama Abandoned Iraq

President Obama's facility for lying has taken center stage once again, as Americans grapple with the reality that they in fact can't keep their health insurance if they like it. Yet while they remain focused on that debacle, another series of declarations made by the president, namely that al Qaeda was "on the run" and near "defeat," is looking equally deceitful.

DMV Doctors

“I quit when medicine was placed under State control, some years ago,” said Dr. Hendricks. “Do you know what it takes to perform a brain operation? Do you know the kind of skill it demands, and the years of passionate, merciless, excruciating devotion that go to acquire that skill? That was what I would not place at the disposal of men whose sole qualification to rule me was their capacity to spout the fraudulent generalities that got them elected to the privilege of enforcing their wishes at the point of a gun…” –from “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand In a debate last Friday, Kathleen Murphy, a Democrat running for the House of Delegates in the state of Virginia, decided that government's ability to enforce their wishes at the so-called point of a gun was an idea whose time has come.

ObamaCare: Illegal Voter Mine for the Democratic Party?

While many Americans remain focused on the ominous implications of ObamaCare with regard to health insurance or the faulty website, a far more serious issue remains under the radar. On Wednesday, two national election watchdog groups alleged that ObamaCare is really a massive voter registration vehicle masquerading as a healthcare bill.

Sebelius's Big Day of Big Lies

Those Americans who watched Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius's testimony yesterday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee might be forgiven for thinking they were in an alternate universe. Despite her assertion that Americans should "hold me accountable" for the ongoing debacle, Sebelius later claimed she was never warned by anyone that the scheduled roll out of the Healthcare.gov website would be the disaster it turned out to be.

Obama’s Military Purge

Is the Obama administration in the midst of a military purge? This year alone, nine senior commanding generals have been fired by the administration, and retired generals and current commanders who have spoken to TheBlaze believe that political ideology is the primary impetus behind the effort. "I think they're using the opportunity of the shrinkage of the military to get rid of people that don't agree with them or not toe the party line," a senior retired general told website. "Remember, as Rahm Emanuel said, never waste a crisis." The general spoke on the condition of anonymity because he still provides the government with services and believes this administration would retaliate against him.

Alan Grayson: ‘Spokesman’ of Nazi-Backed Occupy Wall Street

Democratic Party hack Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) has stooped to a new low in the demonization of Republicans in general, and the Tea Party in particular. On Monday, he sent out a fundraising email using the racist imagery of a burning cross and equating the Tea Party with the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). However, Alan Grayson would do well to acquaint himself with which party is in fact the home of the KKK--and while he's at it, he could perhaps explain why he is a self-described "spokesman" for the Nazi- and David Duke-backed Occupy Wall Street movement.

A New Court Battle for ObamaCare

In a bombshell development that could potentially cripple ObamaCare, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled that the lawsuit aimed at blocking health care subsidies in states not running their own healthcare exchanges could move forward. The judge denied a request by U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss the suit, but also declined to grant a preliminary injunction sought by the plaintiffs in the case. Friedman has promised to rule on the overall merits of case by mid-February.

Don't Sign, Don't Pay the Fine

Recently, there have been many attempts to get a handle on why there is so much public discontent. I think all the reasoning can be boiled down to one idea: Americans feel powerless. Millions of us look at Washington, D.C. and see one thing and one thing only, namely a ruling class that is completely out of touch with ordinary Americans and their concerns.

JPMorgan Gets the Obama Treatment

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to pay a staggering $13 billion fine related to its involvement in questionable mortgage-backed bond sales that contributed to the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

Amnesty’s Second Wind

America remains mired in the weakest recovery since WWII. The unemployment rate of 7.4 percent obscures the reality that we have the lowest workforce participation rate since 1978, 75 percent of the jobs created in 2013 are part-time with lower wage levels, and American incomes have declined 4.4 percent since the recovery began in 2009. In short, Americans need jobs.

On to the ObamaCare Meltdown

There's good news and bad news for conservatives in the wake of the deal that reopened the federal government. The bad news is that Americans have once again been offered a lousy package that does nothing to solve the nation's out-of-control spending habits. The good news is that much of the attention the public devoted to the shutdown and the debt ceiling will now be focused on the disaster known as ObamaCare. It is a disaster wholly owned by Democrats.

GOP to Obama: Keep Holding America Hostage

A deal ending the government shutdown was reached late last night when the Republican-controlled House approved a proposed package sent by the Democrat-led Senate. Democratic congressional leaders and pundits everywhere are declaring the event a victory for the president and the Democratic Party, as they claim credit for preventing a mythical government default and stabilizing the market.

Obama’s Ongoing Betrayal of America’s Sacrifices in Iraq

On Oct. 5, a suicide bombing just outside a graveyard in Baghdad killed 51 people, many of them Shi'ite pilgrims on their way to a shrine. The attack, commonplace in today's Iraq, is symptomatic of a nation once again on the brink of civil war.

Glitch?: IRS Funnels Billions to Illegal Aliens

While many conservative organizations seeking tax exempt status were singled out for extra scrutiny by the IRS, a commensurate level of calculated disinterest was demonstrated with regard to illegal aliens. A bombshell report, "Paying Illegals to Stay" written by Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) fellow David North reveals that the Treasury has paid out a whopping $4.2 billion to the families of illegal aliens.

Obama’s Attack on Families of Fallen Soldiers

The Obama administration's despicable attempts to make the government shutdown as painful as possible for Americans has finally hit bottom. Until a charitable foundation stepped in to fill the gap, the Department of Defense (DoD) was more than willing to deny death benefits to the families of fallen soldiers. The Pentagon claimed that a law passed just prior to the government shutdown allowing the military to be paid did not cover the benefits. In truth, an Obama administration, whose hallmark is selective law enforcement, has relied on the flimsiest of technicalities to inflict unnecessary pain on families already shattered by the deaths of their sons and daughters.

Conservatives Balk at Ryan Gov. Funding Plan

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) has come up with a two-step plan aimed at lifting the debt ceiling, and then opening the government long enough to pass meaningful entitlement reforms. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Tuesday, the Chairman of the House Budget Committee insisted that "both sides should agree to common-sense reforms of the country's entitlement programs and tax code."

California Makes U.S. Citizenship Obsolete

On Saturday, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Trust Act. It prohibits illegal aliens from being turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities for possible deportation unless they have been charged with or convicted of a serious offense. "While Washington waffles on immigration, California's forging ahead," Brown said. "I'm not waiting."

Politico’s Attack on Minority Student School Choice

On Monday, Politico published an article contending that school vouchers don't necessary translate into a better educational experience for students. It cited the outrage Republicans demonstrated over the Department of Justice's (DOJ) lawsuit against Louisiana, including Governor Bobby Jindal's accusation that the Obama administration was "ripping low-income minority students out of good schools" that could "help them achieve their dreams."