Obama Disobeys the Law of the Land By Phyllis Schlafly

Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/phyllisschlafly/2013/10/08/obama-disobeys-the-law-of-the-land-n1718872/page/full

10/8/2013

The Democrats are chanting that Republicans must fully fund Obamacare because it is the law of the land, passed by Congress, signed by the president and upheld by the Supreme Court. Therefore, they say, it must be obeyed and can't be altered by Republicans who want to defund it.

That argument is both wrong and hypocritical. Any federal law can be changed, repealed, amended or defunded by our legislative branch of government, Congress.

The Republican House wants to deal with the controversial huge "continuing resolution" bill in separate pieces, giving the OK to worthwhile federal spending purposes while leaving others (like Obamacare) without funds. Obama refuses to negotiate and demands a "clean" (blank-check) bill; his position is all or nothing-at-all.

Actually, the Supreme Court decision did not give a "clean" upholding of Obamacare. The Court effectively rewrote the law by allowing states to opt out of Medicaid expansion, and other pieces of Obamacare are still being litigated in federal courts, such as the mandate that employer-required insurance must include objectionable abortifacient drugs.

Obama's hypocrisy about the issue of considering Obamacare in pieces is obvious from the many times he has unilaterally messed with other matters that are clearly the law of the land. He has frequently refused to enforce other laws of the land he doesn't like, and he pretends to legislate laws that Congress declined to pass.

Welfare reform is truly the law of the land; it was passed by Congress in 1996 and signed by President Clinton to "end welfare as we know it". But in violation of the law's explicit language, Obama unilaterally carved out (in effect, repealed) the "work" (or training for work) requirement for persons receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

Obama's use of waivers from various laws of the land is notorious. He has given waivers from the No Child Left Behind law of the land to more than half of the states.

Obama has even picked pieces out of Obamacare. He gave a one-year deferral of its insurance employer mandate to large employers, and he exempted Congress and government staff from the requirement on individuals to buy compulsory insurance or pay a significant penalty.

Obama's Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, admits that a federal law of the land prohibits the federal government from interfering with or dictating public school curriculum. But Obama used carrot-and-stick tactics to bribe or threaten a majority of states to adopt Common Core, and Duncan pretends it is OK for the feds to require states to be aligned with federally approved Common Core standards and Common Core tests, which will effectively dictate school curriculum.

Obama has repeatedly taken away from other branches of government powers that are specifically granted in the U.S. Constitution.

The Constitution makes an undiluted grant of power to Congress "to regulate commerce with foreign nations." Obama is trying to coopt that power for himself by demanding that Congress pass "Fast Track," an enormous unconstitutional shift that would give Obama the authority to write our trade treaties in secret and then let Congress vote on them under rules that limit Congress's power to debate or amend them, all within in a short preset time period.

All these foreign trade treaties are encrusted with promises about how they will create U.S. jobs. Those are all lies; every single month since Congress accepted the Korea trade agreement in March 2012, our exports to Korea have declined, and the agreement has already cost us 40,000 U.S. jobs.

The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the power of the purse in the Origination Clause in Article I. But Obamacare's taxing and spending sections actually originated in the Senate, a maneuver not yet ruled on by the Supreme Court.

The Constitution starts with the powerful words, "All legislative powers" are vested in Congress, consisting of a Senate and House. Paying no attention to the Constitution, Obama has done his own legislating.

Congress declined to pass the Dream Act, but Obama is legislating it anyway through regulations. In defiance of the law of the land, Obama has allowed millions of aliens to stay and work illegally in the United States.

Congress declined to pass Cap and Trade, but Obama is legislating it anyway through regulations. His regulations are designed to bankrupt coal plants, skyrocket our electricity costs so we can't "keep our homes on 72 degrees," and spend our tax dollars to subsidize inefficient, costly solar and wind energy.

In April 2012, nine state Attorneys General issued a Memo listing 21 violations of law by the Obama administration, and now we have so many more examples. Obama is the one who doesn't obey the law of the land.

Barack Obama – The Bad, The Really Bad & The Ugly By Tom Wise

Source: http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/09/barack-obama-bad-really-bad-ugly/

September 10, 2013

Who or What is Barack Obama?

As you may already know, I contend that we under attack not just by evil but by FIVE EVILS. These are (1) Communism, (2) Islamism, (3) New World Order (NWO) Corruption, (4) Crime, and (5) Hedonism. These are savageries which we must eradicate if we are to have any peace.

Under Communism, I place Putin, Red China, Venezuela, and several smaller players, though they often play by the rules of the NWO and criminals. Marxism is rampant also in our politics, media, schools, labor unions, and now churches. Alinsky tactics are used incessantly for these means, although one might properly say these are criminal tactics used with evil intent.

Islamism is the obvious urge towards jihad, Sharia, and the worldwide caliphate.

Under the New World Order, I place those governments and entities which use the hypnosis that everything is alright in order to enslave us to more hedonistic forms of freedom. The Western nations are deep into pacifying us with their form of capitalism, which is the promise of luxury. When it comes to evil, their's is the most preferable form because it generally is not noticeable, that is, not painful… until it comes crashing down.

Hedonism means anything that, falsely, "is not hurting anyone but me." Under this, I place sexual deviance, intoxication, and counter-culture. Society can never be rid of these things, but when society tolerates them, hedonism takes on a life of its own, a militant evil manifesting as "rights" to sodomy, bestiality, child sex, adultery, narcotics, public drunkenness, and unchecked radicalism.

Crime is the opposite, not pretending to be harmless. Crime caters especially to hedonism, providing gambling, prostitution, drugs, illegal alcohol, and other vices which, when prohibited, profit the criminal greatly. Thus, incompetent law creates mafias, gangs, cartels, and the like. If hedonism is provided a legal outlet, as gambling and prostitution in Nevada, crime must adhere to that law or suffer non-competitive products and services. Naturally, there is petty crime also (not so petty to those suffering the consequences): the pickpocket, the thief; and also the psychopath: the murderer, the rapist.

I give this brief overview in order to say that, while most evil is easily categorized, Barack Obama is not easily categorized. Let's take a look:

OBAMA, THE COMMUNIST

MAIN SOURCE:

Note the overarching communist and/or Marxist history, enveloping Obama's mother, father, brothers, grandfather, mentor Frank Marshall Davis, advisors David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett, Bill Ayers, Richard Trumpka, Jeremiah Wright, and so on. In college, Obama was an active Marxist radical, with many communist social ties. He was endorsed by the now-defunct New Party, who helped him in 1997, and the Communist Party USA. In a famous photo, he is shown teaching the principles of Saul Alinsky. Obama has a history of advocating for redistribution of wealth, of denying the true right to private property ("you didn't make that"), against gun ownership, and between-the-lines against free speech and a free press. He is a community agitator, enjoys riling up the "victims" of society so he can play savior, and invokes "fairness" and "rights" for everything he desires to happen.

SEE ALSO:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/barack_obama_red_diaper_baby_1.html

http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=5991

http://www.obamasrealfather.com/

OBAMA, THE ISLAMIST

Again to family, Obama's step-father (Lolo), his father (Barack Sr., the confusing mix of Muslim and Marxist), and at least one brother are/were Muslim. Obama Jr. was enrolled in an Indonesian school where enrollment records say his religion is Islam (which of course doesn't mean much). He has been quoted that there is nothing more beautiful than the Muslim call to prayer, and that the United States is not a (Judeo-)Christian nation. He bows to the Saudi prince (yes, among others). These Islamist things against Obama are more slight than the communist impregnation, bur religion, generally speaking, trumps political ideology (except for atheists).

The main evidence we see is Obama's insistence on helping Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. His foray into Libya, his encouragement of Egyptian revolution, his refusal to help in the attempted Iranian revolution, and his confusing stance in Syria, all have a pattern which favors the Islamists. Weapons have even been delivered to Al-Qaeda, our enemy! His policies favor Saudi and Kuwaiti oil while destroying American capabilities in gas and oil (Keystone pipeline, anti-Gulf, anti-fracking, anti-coal). These are geopolitical moves of great consequence which involve also Russia and China, which is why we see agitation there.

The avoidance of Christian safety is also of grave concern, and evidence for Obama's Islamism. He wants to avenge fallen children from chemical weapons when they are Arabs (or when they serve a different agenda, viz. Newtown, CT), but burning churches in the Middle East are of no consequence to him, apparently. This plays deeply into his approval of the mosque to be built at Ground Zero in New York City, and into the manner by which a giant mosque in Maryland is forced upon the community (but we might also point to GW Bush's avoidance of Dearbornistan).

There is also Obama's record with Israel, from butting into their sovereignty by citing 1967 borders as a precondition to peace negotiations (with Arab terrorists!), to omitting Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on at least one map (and providing an implausible explanation), and various other anti-Israel stances.

Recently, in-depth looks at The White House reveal Islamic advisers (not a sin but not looking good either). There also been accusations that Obama is a member-in-good-standing with the Muslim Brotherhood itself.

Of course, there is the bewildering counter-evidence that Obama takes credit for killing Osama, the Islamist prophet-of-the-moment, and has drone-struck Yemen, and also quickly eliminated the Boston bombers from being able to speak.

OBAMA, THE NWO PUPPET

Obama went to Harvard Law School. He surrounds himself with all of the familiar NWO faces, including John Kerry, Hillary Clinton (yes, also a communist), Joe Biden (yes, also a numbskull), Chuck Hagel, David Petraeus, and the ever-dangerous Cass Sunstein, among many others.

His monetary policy utilizes the same old printing methods that cause the Federal Reserve to be such a menace, racking up more debt than any President to date (even taking % of GDP into account), on track to double the debt under his watch. And, despite his rhetoric, his economic policy (so to speak) benefits the same corporations and banks he rails against (without lowering the corporate tax rate).

Obama is an anti-constitutional authoritarian who would love to disarm all Americans (his candor makes him more communist). His stance on FEMA, the NSA, the IRS, the EPA, and other agencies is as all-encompassing as ever. Even if he is communist or Islamist, he is New World Order to the core.

Of special note, Obama is a hawk, not a dove. He has kept the wars going, and far more died in Afghanistan under Obama than Bush (we'll give credit on Iraq). He has not closed Guantanamo. He has struck violently in Libya, Yemen, and elsewhere in Africa and Asia (sorry if you didn't know), and is contemplating starting World War 3 in Syria. He loves his drones. Among all NWO Presidents, Obama is most overt with his power, and most enjoys the arrogance of being commander-in-chief.

OBAMA, THE CRIMINAL

Regarding him personally, Obama is a typical Chicago thug politician, using dirty tricks to vanquish his Congressional rivals (I know, all's fair in politics). No matter what you think, Obama definitely accepted help from Tony Rezko (Obama even called it "bonehead" - his slang for "oops"). Regarding corporate crime, the Solyndra deal smells of kickbacks (you may invoke Halliburton if it makes you happy). Obama is also a constant liar (thank you, Joe Wilson!), making him a perjurer in front of Congress and the American people.

Concerning more serious matters of national consequence, Obama supports illegal aliens by refusing his Justice Dept. the ability to capture. He has no border policy which favors America, making lower Arizona particularly a hazard, something not known in the United States for 100 years. This aiding and abetting illegal immigration is not only criminal but also treason.

Speaking of treason, the fact that Bill Ayers is an adviser to Obama makes him a sympathizer to the violence of Ayers' radical bomb-throwing days. And onward we go, President Obama has been found in contempt of court.

At the very tip of the mountain, Obama is complicit in murder, abandoning our boys in Benghazi. He makes the final decision, he takes the rap. We might also add the innocents killed in his airstrikes (which other commanders have also in their laps).

OBAMA, THE HEDONIST

Again, we begin personally. Let's talk golf. He is so addicted to it that immediately after the Rose Garden speech concerning Syria, he changed clothes and went to the links! As a I won't deny a man his recreation, even personal vices, but this is just the start.

Nationally, he is an advocate for hedonism, particularly the homosexual agenda, though he says he is not (the Muslim ploy). Obama is so entrenched in this hedonism that he angers even his African brethren, even Mugabe. And who can forget Kevin Jennings? Or Larry Sinclair? But he is also heavily on the side of abortion, which is basically legislation in favor of promiscuity and murder (the communist ploy).

Most dangerously, Obama is addicted to himself. He is Narcissist Grande, never taking blame for anything, shoving it off on others, even throwing his own grandmother at one point under the bus. The mark of the hedonist is to pursue pleasure and avoid pain. This is Obama. In love with his stardom and fame, surrounding himself with music personalities like Springsteen and Jay-Z, using his power to take mounds of expensive vacations at taxpayer expense, even shuttling his mother-in-law to Africa in Air Force One. You may well ask "What's wrong with that?" but his rejection of austerity for himself is simply stirring the pot.

SO, WHO IS OBAMA?

As was the capstone to his election, he is all things to all people. He is a peace-loving dove worthy of a Nobel Prize even while he spreads world struggle (geopolitical), racial division (Trayvon, et al), class war ("pay your fair share"), and does nothing to quell violence in Congo, Mexico (though he blames America) or Chicago. He is the smartest man in the room even though his budgets have been unanimously struck down, his foreign "policy" is a wreck, his economic measures are doomed, to the point where it looks intentional, making him not intelligent but rather craftily evil. He is the well-dressed church-goer whose church is that of racial dissent and anti-Americanism, whose doctrine is to force Catholics to permit birth control, whose concept of Bibles is that they are utilized by "bitter clingers" (imperialists). He is the communist atheist who is also a radical Muslim who is also a New World Order stooge who is also a common criminal who is also a narcissistic hedonist. But you can't be ALL of these things. Can you?

The author of confusion and chaos is Satan. But even though an Egyptian newspaper made out Obama to be the devil incarnate (as did Mark Burnett in The Bible TV miniseries), I'm not ready to say they're one and the same. But I will say that Obama is the merry prankster of politics, much to our detriment. When he released his birth certificate to a credulous public, it was signed by "U.K. La Lee," pronounced… "ukulele," the Hawaiian stringed instrument. Obama – the practical joker. However, when our national security is on the line, when our economic stability is on the line, when our lives are on the line, when our national identity is on the line – we don't need a joker, a kidder, a prankster. We need a leader. And the one thing Obama has not been is a leader.

Engagement: FELDMAN-WEXLER

Source: http://www.jewishexponent.com/feldman-wexler

April 3, 2008

Susan and Elliot Wexler of Richboro announce the engagement of their son, Joshua Adam Wexler, to Hillary Pam Feldman, daughter of Dr. Nathan and Joy Feldman of Clarks Summit, Pa.

Josh graduated from Delaware Valley College with a Bachelor of Science degree. He also holds a Master of Education degree from LaSalle University. Josh teaches science at Norristown Area High School.

Hillary graduated cum laude from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Temple University Beasley School of Law. She is a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Kelly L. Banach of the Court of Common Pleas in Lehigh County.

Josh is the grandson of Miriam Wexler and the late David Wexler, and the late Jack and Doris Abrams. Hillary is the granddaughter of the late Herbert and Irene Feldman, and the late Harold and Lillian Serata.

The couple is planning a June wedding.

Phillips Philes Welcomes New Contributor: Erin Reilly!

Phillips Philes warmly welcomes Erin Reilly. She is new to this blog, but not to writing online. Her prior experience was at Rittenhoused where, for 14 months in 2012 and 2013, she posted on various topics from the news of the day to personal events. Her whitty style of writing draws you in.

Erin is a single mother of two from Southern New Jersey. She is a 1994 graduate of Shawnee High School in Medford, New Jersey who has worked as a licensed Realtor. Online, she is a member of Facebook. An interesting tidbit, Erin's mother and my mother are first cousins - that makes Erin and I third cousins!

Welcome Erin!

States pass legislation to protect residents from ObamaCare navigators! By Coach Collins

Source: http://www.coachisright.com/states-pass-legislation-to-protect-residents-from-obamacare-navigators/

September 24th, 2013

by Doug Book, editor

Remember way back in 2010 when Barack Obama and far left members of the House and Senate felt compelled to rush the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through Congress even though the Democrat Party controlled both chambers quite comfortably? That was a first-rate tip-off that something genuinely shady had to be going on with ObamaCare.

Since then the IRS has mangled the Constitution; HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has extorted money from the very insurance providers she will regulate; the White House has illegally rewritten portions of the Act and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has prostituted himself, decimating his legacy and betraying his country. All of this and more just to get where we are today.

And where we are today is in perfect continuity with the rest of the ObamaCare plot line. For states are now passing legislation to defend residents from the anticipated corruption and incompetence of ObamaCare “navigators”–the people whose job it will be to make certain that Americans are eligible to enroll in the Affordable Care Act.

Think about that. We now need the States to provide Americans with legal protection against criminal schemes which are fully expected to be carried out by federal employees! In fewer than 5 years, the reputation for corruption and guile of an American president has compelled the American people to seek the protection of the courts, convinced that in anything Barack Obama plays a role, felonious intrigue will follow.

On August 14th, the Attorneys General of 13 States wrote HHS Secretary Sebelius warning her of the consequences of the slipshod manner in which ObamaCare “navigators” were being trained and managed. “As it now stands, it is inevitable that HHS’s vague “standards” will result in improperly screened or inadequately trained personnel. These individuals will be more prone to misappropriate–accidentally or intentionally–the private data of consumers.” (1)

Nationwide, thousands of navigators will be responsible for collecting the most sensitive and personal of information from millions of individuals intent upon the purchase of health insurance. Yet nowhere in the HHS-issued, July 17th Final Rule on the Standards for Navigators is it required that candidates be subject to criminal background or fingerprint checks prior to being hired. In fact it doesn’t even state that “…ANY prior criminal acts are per se disqualifying.” (1) As the AG’s write Kathleen Sebelius, “…this is a privacy disaster waiting to happen.” (1)

Navigator standards in the ACA exchange rule state that, “…a navigator must meet any licensing, certification or other standards prescribed by the state or exchange.” (2) And to their credit, states are taking advantage of this opportunity to protect the interests of their residents.

Iowa and Maine have passed legislation to license/certify their navigators.
Maryland has passed a certification statute.
Ohio will demand navigators fulfill state training, certification standards and pass a background check.
Sixteen states now require navigator certification to state satisfaction.
Tennessee will fingerprint navigators, perform background checks and limit the advice navigators may give potential ObamaCare customers.

In May, “…a top Obamacare official told GOP lawmakers that navigators will not be required to undergo background checks. Criminal records are not automatically disqualifying — and that includes identity theft. The federal rule-makers will require online training of…20 hours.” (3)

Perhaps this was the case in May. But don’t expect many navigators sporting these “credentials” to work in Republican managed states. The community organizer mentality is just not going to fly.

Sources:

(1) http://www.wvago.gov/pdf/Letter%20to%20HHS%20re%20Data%20Privacy_%28final%208%2014%2013%29.pdf

(2) http://www.nahu.org/legislative/connector/StateRegulationofNavigators.pdf

(3) http://michellemalkin.com/2013/05/29/obamacare-navigators-another-sebelius-snitch-brigade/

The Yom Kippur Sins Barack Obama Practices On A Regular Basis

Listen for Joey Scarbury singing "Never Too Late" while old folks are seen various times in this episode - Great song - should be heard more

The sins, wrongdoings and transgressions listed from Gates of Repentance and read at Yom Kippur services:

The sins of arrogance, bigotry and cynicism; of deceit and egotism, flattery and greed, injustice and jealousy.

Some of us kept grudges, were lustful. Malicious, or narrow-minded.

Others were obstinate or possessive, quarrelsome, rancorous, or selfish.

There was violence, weakness of will, xenophobia.

We yielded to temptation, and showed zeal for bad causes.

Ten Commandments

Source: http://www.godstenlaws.com/ten-commandments/

English Standard Version

And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

Source: http://www.ihatethemedia.com/barack-obama-ten-commandments

Phillips Philes SPECIAL POST: Camille Peruto - South Jersey's Rising Young Musician Paying Her Dues

Joyce Comments: This Phillips Philes special post is made possible by writer Nicole Pensiero, Australian graphics designer Steve Younis and Camille Peruto herself. On August 18, 2013, 19-year-old Camille Peruto opened for The Light Years, a young four-member British piano-led pop band, at the free Burlington County Library Amphitheater concert in Westampton, New Jersey. At this event, she sung a duet with the band and opened with handful of her original songs including "Sparrow" and "Battle", as well as sell and autograph her debut album. Camille posted this picture taken before the concert of herself with The Light Years on Tumblr. Photos of event taken by Nicole Sbaffoni are found on Facebook.


Stratford teen singer-songwriter's star is on the rise By Nicole Pensiero

Source: http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20130626/ENT/106260001

Media Ignores Lavish Obama Vacations, Slammed Bush for Mountain Biking By Tony Lee

Source: http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/03/26/Obamas-Vacation-More-Lavishly-than-Bushes

26 Mar 2013

Eight months into President George W. Bush's second term, the Washington Post wrote that Bush's frequent trips to his Texas ranch symbolized "a lackadaisical approach to the world's most important day job" and gleefully noted that Bush was intent on setting the record for being on "vacation"--or away from Washington, D.C.--for the most number of days of any president. 

But when President Barack Obama vacations in Hawaii, sets up a fantasy golf vacation for himself with Butch Harmon and Tiger Woods, averages more than a vacation a month in 2013 while purporting to be a man of the people and demanding the rich pay their fair share, and playing sequester politics by shutting down White House tours, the mainstream media is silent. 

And while Bush spent more time outside of Washington than Obama, it is also worth nothing that nearly all of Bush's vacations were trips back to his Texas ranch or family vacation homes in Maine. 

The Post, in 2005, conceded that Bush's vacations--unlike Obama's--were not lavish and he did not "make time for fun."

"Bush rarely takes the type of vacation one would consider exotic -- or, to some, even appealing," the Post wrote. "His notion of relaxation is chopping cedar on his ranch or mountain biking through rough terrain, all in 100-degree-plus temperatures in dusty Texas where crickets are known to roast on the summer pavement. He seems to relish the idea of exposing aides and reporters to the hothouse environment."

Obama, on the other hand, has traveled to Hawaii every winter. The Obama daughters are vacationing at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas this week with a full Secret Service detail, as Breitbart News reported, even as the White House claimed they could not afford to pay Secret Service agents to continue the popular White House tours for other students who are on their spring vacations in Washington, D.C. 

The Obamas have gone to Martha's Vineyard multiple times while the country was in recession and Americans were struggling to find jobs. Michelle Obama has taken a whirlwind trip to Spain and a ski trip to Aspen. 

Obama took 13 vacations in his first term, which spanned all or part of 83 days. But they have been much more lavish than Bush's. His annual vacations to Hawaii alone have cost taxpayers at least $20 million during his first term. In 2011 alone, Michelle Obama may have cost taxpayers $10 million on vacations herself. Obama's fantasy golf outing this year cost local law enforcement in Florida a reported $78, 205. 

Bush was content to work from home during his vacations. And for doing so, the mainstream media tagged him as lazy and disinterested. The Obamas gallivant around, making plenty of "time for fun," and the mainstream media does not call them out for wasting taxpayer dollars or even for the terrible "optics."

Rooftop solar panels become new enemy of U.S. firefighters By Daniel Kelley

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/06/us-usa-solar-fire-idUSBRE9850V220130906

Sep 6, 2013

DELANCO, New Jersey (Reuters) - Putrid air hung over a luncheon meats warehouse long after a blaze consumed the building where frustrated firefighters met their enemy: rooftop solar panels.

Loved by the green movement, solar panels pose a growing threat to firefighters, who may suffer electrical shocks from panels that typically cannot be turned off, said John Drengenberg, consumer safety director for Underwriters Laboratories.

Even when systems are equipped with shutoffs, any light can keep panels and their wires energized, Drengenberg said.

Gaining access to roofs gives firefighters advantages such as venting gases, and the panels get in the way, said Ken Willette, who manages the public fire protection division at the National Fire Protection Association.

In Delanco, New Jersey, volunteer fire crews rushed to the burning meat warehouse on Sunday and discovered the roof was covered in solar panels, forcing firefighters to change tactics. It took 29 hours to put out the flames at the Dietz & Watson warehouse, which was left gutted and smoldering in ruins.

"Do I think we'd have had a different outcome if we could get on the roof? Sure," Delanco Deputy Fire Chief Robert Hubler said.

Solar energy has grown rapidly over the past decade, primarily in California, Arizona and New Jersey. Risks to fire responders have prompted building codes and firefighter training, but implementation is spotty and often left to individual jurisdictions.

"We are working very closely with firefighters across the United States on the development of codes and standards. After every incident, we learn from it and improve," said Ken Johnson, a spokesman for the Solar Energy Industries Association trade group. "Firefighters don't have a good idea of how solar works. It's incumbent in us to do a better job in educating them."

Experts warn firefighters might use less aggressive tactics in buildings with solar panels, especially in instances where the fire poses little risk to human life.

"It's an emerging challenge," Willette said. "We're seeing more of these panels installed in places that we have not seen them before."

Among the risks are shocks from panel wires that might be sliced when firefighters cut into a roof. Those wires also could come into contact with metal roofing material, causing injuries far from the roof cut, according to studies conducted by Underwriters Laboratories.

Those experiments, funded by the Department of Homeland Security, have shown that the light emitted by fire equipment can generate enough electricity in the panels that a firefighter who inadvertently touches an energized wire might not be able to let go, a phenomenon known as "lock on."

Unable to access roofs, firefighters sometimes switch goals - from actively trying to save a building to preventing flames from spreading to neighboring properties - a practice known as defensive firefighting, said Bert Davis, an engineer who performs forensic examinations at fires and studied solar markets at Carnegie Mellon University.

"I've talked to a lot of guys, and they're saying, 'We've never run into it, but if we do, we're going to fight it defensively,'" Davis said.

Emergency responders have begun receiving training to deal with solar panels in the last few years, Drengenberg said.

There is no national standard operating procedure for firefighters dealing with solar systems, but some state and regional agencies do have them, Willette said.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Cynthia Osterman)