How Many Non-Citizens Are Currently On America’s Voting Rolls?

Posted on August 11, 2024 by granny g

On Thursday, The Federalist posted an article about one aspect of Virginia’s government that has been impacted by the election of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

The article reports:

In an executive order directing state agencies to undertake election security efforts ahead of the November election, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin revealed on Wednesday that the commonwealth’s Department of Elections (ELECT) has removed more than 6,300 noncitizens from its voter rolls since his administration took office.

“All data collected by the DMV that identifies noncitizens is shared with ELECT, which uses it to scrub existing voter rolls and remove noncitizens who may have purposefully or accidentally registered to vote,” Youngkin wrote. “According to data from ELECT, between January 2022 and July 2024, records indicate we removed 6,303 noncitizens from the voter rolls.”

Virginia is one of only three states to require individuals “provide their full 9-digit Social Security number” when registering to vote, according to Youngkin.

Virginia may be one of the few states that will have an honest election in November.

The article concludes:

Youngkin further directed the state DMV to “expedite the interagency data-sharing with [ELECT] of noncitizens by generating a daily file of all noncitizen transactions, including addresses and documents.” As noted by the governor, registrars are required by Virginia law to cancel the registration of an individual who registered to vote “by falsely claiming that they are a citizen,” and must report such cases to their local commonwealth’s attorney.

“Our election security model is designed to prevent illegal votes and guarantee legal votes are accurately counted,” Youngkin wrote. “However, security procedures can only be as strong as the state and federal law which governs voting. Further strengthening of Virginia’s election security system will rely on strengthening state and federal law.”

All states need to follow this example.

Why We Need Voter Identification Laws

Posted on February 15, 2024 by granny g

As of January 2024, 34 states required voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day. The states vary on exactly what that identification should be, but some identification is required.

On Tuesday, Hot Air posted an article that illustrates why requiring voters to show some form of identification is a good idea.

The article reports:

Here’s a story that shows a political prank can turn into a good case for the need for voter identification when registering to vote. It involves five recording artists and a house in Katy, Texas.

Katy is a city west of Houston, in the Houston metro area. Katy’s population at the time of the 2020 census was 21,894. The point is that it is a small city, most often thought of as a suburb of Houston. There is a story out today that recording artists Drake, 50 Cent, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, and The Game are all registered to vote with the same address in Katy.

The house is described as “a beige, $300,000 house in a modest new development in Katy.” The homeowner had no idea why the men were registered to vote at that address. Neighbors said they had not seen the performers.

It’s a prank that uses a federal loophole in voter ID laws.

…The apparent prank shines a spotlight on a potential loophole in federal voting registration law that allows virtually anyone to register friends, enemies or celebrities to vote. Whether the intent is malicious or not, experts say it is still illegal.

The article concludes:

What is this federal loophole that allows people to register to vote without an ID? It is the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Eligible voters without a driver’s license or a Social Security number are able to take advantage of it. There are some people who are eligible to vote but don’t have either. It might be someone born outside the United States who never applied for a Social Security number.

When they go to vote, they have to show some other form of identity, like a utility bill. For example, Drake wouldn’t be able to do that.

Don’t worry. This doesn’t pose a threat to the singers’ actual voter registrations if they are registered in Texas.

This story, odd as it is, is a good example of the need to close the federal loophole that allows voter registration applications to be presented without identification. It invites shenanigans and creates extra work for election officials.

It is particularly urgent to get voter identification in place because of the number of illegal aliens currently in America that may be encouraged to vote.

One Consequence Of Illegal Immigration

Posted on September 5, 2018 by granny g

Yesterday Breitbart posted an article about one aspect of illegal immigration–identity theft.

The article reports:

During an interview with SiriusXM Patriot’s Breitbart News Tonight, executive director of the Immigration Reform Law Insitute (IRLI) Dale Wilcox revealed to Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Rebecca Mansour that their latest investigation revealed 39 million cases between 2012 and 2016 where names on W-2 tax forms did not match corresponding Social Security records.

If each fraudulent Social Security Number user submitted only one W-2 form a year under a fake identity, this still amounts to nearly ten million individuals using stolen identities of American citizens. There are more than 12 million illegal aliens currently living in the United States.

Wilcox said American children are the most vulnerable to illegal aliens stealing their identities and using their Social Security Numbers to work in the country.

“Studies have found that it affects children the most because see illegal aliens prefer to use children’s’ Social Security Numbers because your child … won’t apply for a loan for years, so the illegal aliens probably won’t be caught for decades possibly,” Wilcox said.

“A lot of Americans are being harmed by this. These poor kids, when they go to get their first school loan or car loan, they’ve got criminal histories … and bad credit,” Wilcox said. “This is not a victimless crime.”

I know someone whose social security number was used by an illegal alien. The theft of the number was discovered when the person went to file his income taxes. Thankfully the Internal Revenue Service realized what was going on and solved the problem by issuing the person a special PIN number that they now have to use when they file their taxes. This prevents their taxes from being mixed up with any taxes filed by the person who stole their social security number. This is something that would not happen if we were to gain control of our borders and institute a reasonable immigration policy that would be fair to both Americans and people who want to come to America.

The problem with passing immigration reform is that big business pays off the Republicans in Congress and Democrats believe they can persuade the illegal immigrants to vote for Democrats as soon as they are citizens (and unfortunately before they are citizens in some cases). If either party wanted to solve the illegal immigration problem, it would have been solved by now. Democrats had the White House, the House and the Senate for two years under President Obama, and Republicans currently have the White House, the House and the Senate. Although there are some Republicans who would support immigration reform if given the chance, they are outnumbered by those receiving large campaign contributions from corporate interests who want cheap labor. The only way we will have secured borders and sane immigration policies is to vote out those politicians in both parties who are blocking any legislation on the matter.

If You Notice Extra Income On Your Tax Forms…

Posted on June 23, 2017 by granny g

The Washington Times posted a story yesterday about the problem of illegal aliens using social security numbers stolen from American citizens. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released its report Thursday stating that in 2015 there were potentially 1.4 million people likely affected by the the theft of their social security numbers.

Part of the problem lies within the government bureaucracy. The article reports:

The IRS knows of 2.4 million people a year who file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, which is generally given out to immigrants who aren’t authorized to work. But the IRS is not allowed to talk with Homeland Security to help agents identify who and where those taxpayers are.

The migrants file their forms with their ITINs, but the W-2 forms they submit show valid Social Security numbers that they fraudulently gave to their employer to clear an initial work authorization check.

A staggering 87 percent of forms filed online using ITINs showed income credited to a Social Security number. More than half of forms filed by paper also showed that same fraudulent behavior.

The IRS tries to mark the files of the fraud victims when electronic filings are used. But the tax agency misses about half of the victims, the inspector general said.

For paper forms, the IRS did even worse, the audit found.

The tax agency, in its official reply to the report, insisted it takes identity theft “very seriously.”

Kenneth C. Corbin, commissioner of the IRS’s wage and investment division, said it has just completed a pilot program to figure out how to notify taxpayers they’re the victims of fraud.

The inspector general submitted recommendations with his report, by the IRS says its resources are too small to implement all of those recommendations. If you will excuse a personal gripe here, the IRS had enough resources to audit me the year I made a donation to the Tea Party. Nothing on our taxes had changed, and it was the first time my husband and I had been audited in 40+ years. I think the resources to solve the problem of stolen social security numbers could be found if the desire were there.

Bringing The Federal Budget Under Control

Posted on May 23, 2017 by granny g

The Washington Examiner reported yesterday that one of the steps President Trump will be taking to help balance the budget next year will be reining in tax payments to illegal immigrants.

The article reports:

Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget, set to be released Tuesday, will set higher eligibility standards for the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said Monday. According to the administration, the measures will save $40 billion over 10 years.

In May 2014, The Washington Examiner reported:

The Treasury Department has released its latest report on the fight against widespread fraud in the Earned Income Tax Credit program. The problem is, fraud is still winning. And there’s not even much of a fight.

“The Internal Revenue Service continues to make little progress in reducing improper payments of Earned Income Tax Credits,” a press release from Treasury’s inspector general for Tax Administration says. “The IRS estimates that 22 to 26 percent of EITC payments were issued improperly in Fiscal Year 2013. The dollar value of these improper payments was estimated to be between $13.3 billion and $15.6 billion.”

There is no reason to continue funding tax fraud.

The article concludes:

Some anti-illegal immigration groups have said that allowing workers to claim credits without providing a Social Security number amounts to paying illegal immigrants to stay in the country. Conservative lawmakers also have favored tightening the restrictions as a matter of fiscal conservatism.

Liberal groups, though, argue that illegal immigrants pay taxes, such as payroll taxes for Social Security, for which they won’t get benefits. More generally, the low-income tax credits generally benefit needy families, even if they technically did not qualify for the benefits they received.

Why are we running huge budget deficits to pay benefits to people who are not eligible to receive them? This doesn’t make sense to me. It would be nice to see that change.

Why Would We Do This?

Posted on February 22, 2017 by granny g

The Washington Free Beacon posted an article today about Social Security benefits being payed to people without Social Security numbers. What? Having a Social Security number means that you have had money taken out of your paycheck to pay into Social Security. Not having a Social Security number is an indication that you have not paid money into the system. What brand of insanity is this?

The article reports:

The Social Security Administration paid $1 billion in benefits to individuals who did not have a Social Security Number (SSN), according to a new audit.

The agency’s inspector general found errors in the government’s documentation for representative payees, otherwise known as individuals who receive retirement or disability payments on behalf of another person who is incapable of managing the benefits themselves.

The audit released Friday found thousands of cases where there was no SSN on file.

Over the last decade, the agency paid $1 billion to 22,426 representative payees who “did not have an SSN, and SSA had not followed its policy to retain the paper application.”

“Furthermore, unless it takes corrective action, we estimate SSA will pay about $182.5 million in benefits, annually, to representative payees who do not have an SSN or paper application supporting their selection,” the inspector general said.

The inspector general also found the agency paid $853.1 million in benefits since 2004 to individuals who had been terminated as representative payees by the agency.

Social Security has enough trouble paying its bills without paying people who never paid into Social Security.

The article includes the government’s defense of the practice of paying benefits to people without Social Security numbers:

The government defended the issuance of benefits to noncitizens and persons without an SSN.

“Representative payees play a significant role in many beneficiaries’ lives,” the SSA said. “We have approximately 5.7 million representative payees managing annual benefits for approximately 8 million beneficiaries. When appointing representative payees, we adhere to guidance in the Social Security Act (the Act).”

“Specific to this audit, the Act permits us to appoint, in certain circumstances, an undocumented alien, or applicant who resides outside the United States without a Social Security number (SSN) to serve as payee,” the agency said. “Specifically, the Act states we should verify a person’s SSN (or employer identification number) in our investigation of the payee applicant. However, the Act does not state that the applicant must have an SSN to serve as a payee.”

The “absence of an SSN is not a criterion preventing an individual from serving as payee,” the agency added.

First of all–the term ‘undocumented alien’ is a politically correct term for ‘illegal alien.’ Why in the world are we giving money to people who broke our laws to come here?

This is simply more of the swamp in Washington that needs to be drained.

If Our Leaders Don’t Follow The Law, Why Should We?

Posted on February 8, 2017 by granny g

On Sunday, Breitbart posted an article about California State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon.

The article reports:

California State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Léon (D-Los Angeles) said last Tuesday that “half his family” was in the country illegally, using false documents, and eligible for deportation under President Trump’s new executive order against “sanctuary” jurisdictions.

De Léon, who introduced the bill, made his remarks at a hearing in Sacramento on SB54, the bill to make California a “Sanctuary State.”

…Testifying before the Senate Public Safety Committee, De Léon defended the widespread practice by illegal aliens of using fraudulent documents to work and obtain taxpayer-paid benefits, dismissing any concerns California citizens may have about being the target of identity theft.

In an interview the following day on KPCC 89.3’s Air Talk with Larry Mantle, De Léon expressed outrage that President Trump’s executive order would include those who possess fraudulent documents or committed identity theft to obtain a Social Security number.

“Someone simply who received or purchased a [fraudulent] Social Security card down at McArthur Park, or elsewhere in my district would be eligible immediately for mass deportation,” De Léon said (at 11:45 in the link above).

Senator De Leon was interviewed by Larry Mantle, a talk show host after making the above statements.

Senator De Leon further explained:

Host Larry Mantle asked him: “… First of all, I just — I want to make sure I understand correctly: You don’t think purchasing a phony Social Security card and number should be a deportable offense?”

De Léon replied: “I don’t think so … the vast majority of immigrants — hard working immigrants — have done that. I can tell you I have family members specifically who came here as undocumented immigrants, and they did the same thing. That’s what you need to do to survive in this economy.”

Mantle objected: “But of course the problem is, — and I know people too — who’ve had their Social Security numbers and identities stolen as a result of that….”

De Léon minimized the problem, saying it was not the same as “Russian” hacking.

So it’s okay to steal someone’s Social Security number if you are here illegally. Wow. That is the leadership in the California legislature. Just wow.

The Internal Revenue Service Has Become A Political Organization

Posted on December 16, 2015 by granny g

The Wall Street Journal posted an opinion piece this morning about changes that the Treasury Department is proposing to current Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules. The proposed rule gives 501(c)(3) charities the ‘option’ of filling out reports on every donor who contributes more than $250 to the organization. This ‘option’ would include name, address, and Social Security number. As of now the rule will be voluntary, but based on past experience (particularly with the IRS) voluntary will soon morph into required.

The article reports:

Under current law, nonprofits must report only donors who give more than $5,000 a year, and then only names and addresses. Donors who give less than $5,000 to (c)(3) charities, and who want to claim a tax deduction, must obtain a “receipt” from the charity—to furnish to the IRS if they are audited or examined. This process has been in place for years, and even Treasury and the IRS acknowledge in their new rule that it “works effectively, with the minimal burden on donors and donees.”

So why change it? The IRS is claiming this will aid in more “timely reporting” of tax-deductible donations, and no doubt the agency’s auditors would love more information to harass taxpayers.

Unfortunately, the IRS has used donation information to harass taxpayers before. After a list of supporters was made public a business that donated money to the Proposition 8 proposal in California was target by opponents of the proposal. I reported another example of IRS abuse in February of 2014 (rightwinggranny.com).

The Wall Street Journal reports another example of IRS abuse:

Frank VanderSloot, a Mitt Romney donor, was audited by the IRS and Labor Department after the Obama campaign singled him out for criticism. Catherine Engelbrecht, the head of the 501(c)(3) True the Vote, was publicly attacked by Democrats and then hit with personal and business audits from the IRS, OSHA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The National Council of Nonprofits, which opposes the proposed rule, notes that the IRS routinely warns taxpayers not to give out their Social Security numbers unless “absolutely necessary.” Donors will be suspicious of charities that now ask for them.

Many taxpayers will also lack confidence that nonprofits, which are often small operations staffed by volunteers, can safeguard their information. The proposed regulation is an invitation to fraud and identity theft by creating an opportunity for scam artists to claim to be charities and solicit Social Security numbers.

It may be time to go to a tax system that does not involve the IRS. Unfortunately the IRS has shown itself to be an agency that cannot be trusted to be above politics. I realize that a lot of the politicization has been under the Obama Administration, but there are no guarantees that any future administrations will not use the agency in the same way.

This May Be One Of Many Reasons ObamaCare Is So Expensive

Posted on August 14, 2015 by granny g

On Tuesday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about an Inspector General audit of the Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of the audit was to determine if the ObamaCare healthcare sign-up sites were monitoring the people who were signing up to see if they were eligible for ObamaCare.

The article reports:

The IG found that the internal controls did not always correctly verify Social Security numbers, citizenship status, annual household income, and family size information to determine eligibility.

One applicant understated her income by $7,000. According to the IG, the marketplace should have compared this income data to available electronic data sources and realized that the applicant’s income was more than 10 percent below the income listed on these data sources. Then, the marketplace should have asked the applicant for additional evidence of income.

Instead, this applicant was not only verified, but was approved to receive the advance premium tax credit.

Another example of weak internal controls was found in efforts to verify citizenship status. The marketplace did not always verify this information through the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, as was required.

The IG found that not only were there problems with internal controls, but once discrepancies were found, they were not handled properly.

…This report comes on the heels of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found Healthcare.gov approved coverage for fake accounts. GAO performed undercover tests and fabricated personal data of fake applicants for coverage under Obamacare. In 11 of 12 of these fake applications, the online marketplace approved coverage and granted each account $30,000 in premium tax credits.

Sounds like a typical government program to me.

Corrupting The Election Process In America

Posted on February 13, 2015 by granny g

Because many Americans realize that voter fraud is a problem in American elections, some states (including North Carolina) are moving toward voter identification laws. Some groups, claiming the identification laws are discriminatory, are fighting these laws. However, President Obama’s executive amnesty may provide a new wrinkle in this discussion.

Yesterday The Washington Times posted an article with the headline, “Obama amnesty creates loophole for illegal immigrants to vote in elections.” Does this leave any doubt as to what this entire discussion is actually about?

The article reports:

While stressing that it remains illegal for noncitizens to vote, secretaries of state from Ohio and Kansas said they won’t have the tools to sniff out illegal immigrants who register anyway, ignoring stiff penalties to fill out the registration forms that are easily available at shopping malls, motor vehicle bureaus and in curbside registration drives.

Anyone registering to vote attests that he or she is a citizen, but Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said mass registration drives often aren’t able to give due attention to that part, and so illegal immigrants will still get through.

…Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia’s nonvoting member of Congress, accused Republicans of an effort at voter suppression.

“The president’s executive order gives immigrants the right to stay — immigrants who have been here for years, immigrants who have been working hard and whose labor we have needed,” Ms. Norton said. “The Republicans may want to go down in history as the party who tried once again 100 years later to nullify the right to vote. Well, I am here to say they shall not succeed.”

Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts Democrat, said he doubted illegal immigrants would risk running afoul of the law — which could get them deported — just to be an insignificant part of an election.

The hearing was the latest GOP effort to dent Mr. Obama’s executive action, announced in November, which grants tentative legal status and work permits to as many as 4 million illegal immigrant parents whose children are either U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. The president also expanded a 2012 policy for so-called Dreamers, or illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, granting them tentative legal status and work permits as well.

If I understand the above quote correctly, it is now considered voter suppression to want to keep illegal immigrants from voting. If you love America and treasure to right to vote as an American citizen, you might begin to think about supporting those in Congress who are trying to block the executive order on amnesty that President Obama is trying to force to become law.

This Might Be A Good Place To Cut The Federal Budget

Posted on February 5, 2015 by granny g

Fox News reported yesterday that the illegal immigrants that President Obama has granted amnesty will be eligible for retroactive tax refunds.

The article reports:

Byron York explained on “America’s Newsroom” that illegal immigrants will be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is actually a government grant of up to $5,000 to working families.

“Illegal immigrants affected by the president’s edict will not only be eligible for those tax credits going forward, but three years retroactively,” York said. “So they’ll be able to collect quite a bit of money from the treasury.”

York explained that the IRS has issued taxpayer identification numbers to people who are in the U.S. illegally, but working, so that they can pay taxes.

Illegal immigrants who filed taxes that way over the past three years can now go back and amend those previous tax forms to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Unbelievable.

Are They Following Any Rules?

Posted on August 18, 2014 by granny g

Today’s Daily Caller is reporting that because they did not follow their own rules and policies, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has put American taxpayers at risk of fraud and identity theft.

The article reports:

If one needs further evidence that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has veered out of control, look no further than last week’s Treasury Inspector General’s report that found serial failures on the part of the agency to conduct basic background checks on contractors used to handle sensitive taxpayer information. In just one instance, a computer disk with 1.4 million American names, addresses and even Social Security numbers was handled by contractors without background checks, putting taxpayers at unnecessary risk for fraud and identity theft.

What makes this even more outlandish is that this is not just a breach of common sense; it is a violation of IRS policy.

It seems that the IRS is lax about following their own regulations in a number of areas.

The article further reports:

Furthermore, other investigations have brought to light accounts of money wasted by the IRS on lavish agency conferences while the rest of the country struggled in a deep financial recession. Spoof training videos were produced by the IRS while other government agencies were furloughing employees. And to top it off, from 2011-2012 alone, more than $1 million in bonuses were paid to IRS employees who were delinquent on their own federal taxes!

…The IRS is out of control, and if Commissioner Koskinen wants to return some faith to the agency he leads, he can start by holding his people responsible for the IRS’s outrageous behavior.

Will the Obama Administration hold the IRS accountable for its behavior? If not, it is time to consider an alternate tax policy that would abolish the IRS.

An Invitation To Fraud

Posted on July 23, 2014 by granny g

Yesterday the New York Post posted an article about fraud in ObamaCare. Because of the way ObamaCare is designed, there are ways that people can sign up using fictitious identities and not be immediately discovered.

The article reports:

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office says its undercover investigators were able to get subsidized health care under fake names in 11 out of 18 attempts. The GAO is still paying premiums for the policies, even as the Obama administration attempts to verify phony documentation.

The agency’s findings are contained in testimony to be delivered at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing Wednesday. An advance copy was provided to The Associated Press.

Seto Bagdoyan, head of GAO audits and investigations, will also testify that there’s still a huge backlog of applications with data discrepancies, even though the administration has resolved some 600,000 cases.

The article lists some of the findings of the GAO:

Contractors processing applications for the government told the GAO that their role was not to ferret out potential fraud.
Five of six bogus phone applications went through successfully. The one exception involved an applicant who refused to provide a Social Security number.
Six online applications were snagged by an identity checking system. But investigators just dialed a call center and all six were approved. That seemed to be an open pathway to coverage.
The GAO also tried to check the reliability of counselors providing in-person assistance. In five out of six cases, investigators were unable to get help. In the final case, the counselor correctly told the undercover investigator that their stated income would not entitle them to subsidized coverage.

This is what happens when you have to pass the bill to find out what is in it.

Make Sure You Sign Up For ObamaCare On The Right Site

Posted on October 25, 2013 by granny g

One thing that has always amazed me is that people who steal from other people in creative ways would probably be very successful if they directed their efforts into an honest endeavor. One glaring example of that is the amount of cyber-squatting that has surrounded the launch of ObamaCare.

On Wednesday the Washington Examiner posted an article about the number of cyber-squatters attempting to capitalize on the launch of ObamaCare.

The article explains:

For instance, there is a website — www.obama-care.us — that brands itself as part of the “Obamacare enrollment team,” directs people to an “Obamacare enrollment form” and asks users for their name, address, Social Security number and other contact information. According to a counter at the bottom of the page, more than 3,000 people have visited obama-care.us.

This website does not actually enable people to enroll in Obamacare. It was registered with GoDaddy.com on Sept. 2 — less than a month before the official launch of the health care exchange websites — according to who.is, a website that provides information on internet domains and their owners.

The practice of setting up websites with names that are similar to high-profile pages is known as cyber-squatting.

What happens as a result of this cyber-squatting is that some unsuspecting person who thinks they have accessed the government healthcare website types in all their pertinent financial information and then an identity thief takes all their money. Most of the younger generation is pretty savvy about cyber security, but the older baby boomers may not be. This is dangerous.

The article explains how a website host should avoid the confusion:

To prevent cyber-squatting, professional website owners typically purchase domain names that are similar to the main page.

For instance, former Senate candidate Sharron Angle wanted to make sure that people who misspelled her first name by using only one “R” would still reach her website.

So she bought the domain name — sharonangle.com — and the page automatically redirects users to the proper website.

For the same reason, the owners of washingtonexaminer.com also own washingtonexaminer.net.

“I was shocked to find out that they have not picked up any of these other top-level domains,” the cybersecurity expert said.

He also provided the Washington Examiner with a list of 221 websites that he identified, using proprietary software, as cyber-squatters taking advantage of the healthcare.gov rollout — websites such as healthcarer.com — and another 499 that he identified as squatting on state exchange websites.

Either the government was not interested in protecting the American people from fraud, or they were uninformed of the problem. Either way, it looks as if the people who put together the ObamaCare website were totally incompetent.

Computer Geeks Have A Habit Of Telling It Like It Is

Posted on October 4, 2013 by granny g

Yesterday Hot Air posted a story about the internet aspect of ObamaCare. They quoted John McAfee, the man responsible for the McAfee anti-virus software.

This is the quote:

Oh, it’s seriously bad. Somebody made a grave error, not in designing the program but in simply implementing the web aspect of it. For example, anybody can put up a web page and claim to be a broker for this system. There is no central place where I can go and say, OK, here are all the legitimate brokers, the examiners for all of the states, and pick and choose one. Instead, any hacker can put a website up, make it look extremely competitive, and because of the nature of the system — this is health care, after all — they can ask you the most intimate questions, and you’re freely going to answer them. What’s my Social Security number? My birth date? … Here’s the problem. It’s not something software can solve. I mean, what idiot put this system out there and did not create a central depository? There should be one website, run by the government, you go to that website and then you can click on all of the agencies. This is insane. So, I will predict that the loss of income for the millions of Americans who are going to lose their identities — I mean, you can imagine some retired lady in Utah, who’s $75,000 dollars in the bank, saving her whole life — having it wiped out one day because she signed up for ObamaCare. And believe me, this is going to happen millions of times. This is a hacker’s wet dream. I cannot believe that they did this. … ObamaCare itself is the loosest of all. You can imagine the type of information: Medical records, personal issues, psychological issues. I mean, the government’s going to know everything in the world about everyone very soon.

John McAfee is a man who understands computer privacy and computer security. I think I will avoid putting any information into the government website for ObamaCare!

An Invitation To Disaster

Posted on July 16, 2013 by granny g

Yesterday The Blaze reported a rather serious problem with the implementation of ObamaCare in California. California is moving ahead with its healthcare exchanges and making a valiant effort to make sure that everyone in the state has health insurance. However, they have run into a bit of a snag.

The article reports:

The exchange, known as Covered California, recently adopted rules for a network of more than 21,000 “enrollment counselors” who will provide consumers with in-person assistance. In some cases, they will have access to personal and financial information, from ID cards to medical histories.

But the state insurance commissioner and anti-fraud groups say the exchange is falling far short of ensuring that the people hired as counselors are adequately screened and monitored.

The unemployment rate in California is currently 9 percent. Many of the unemployed in California are highly skilled, ethical people who were employed in the various industries that have left the state due to the high cost of doing business there. There are obviously enough quality people available for these jobs, it seems to me that basic screening of the people who want to be “enrollment counselors” would not be that difficult.

The article notes the potential for disaster:

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, a Democrat, also said the exchange does not have a plan for investigating any complaints that might arise once the counselors start work. That means consumers who might fall prey to bogus health care products, identity theft and other abuses will have a hard time seeking justice if unscrupulous counselors get ahold of their Social Security number, bank accounts, health records or other private information, he said.

Generally speaking, a private company takes the time to do some basic research on a potential employee because their ‘bottom line’ is at stake. One of the problems of a government-run organization is that there is no incentive for profit and also no incentive to ‘protect the brand.’

The article reports:

Covered California spokesman Santiago Lucero said the exchange shares Jones’ concerns and has made consumer safety a priority. The exchange’s board adopted regulations last month requiring enrollment counselors to wear name badges, undergo background checks, and get fingerprinted.

But the exchange’s current rules do not specify what offenses would disqualify an applicant for a counseling position.

The potholes on the path to ObamaCare are big enough to swallow a full-size car.

Collecting Welfare Benefits In Massachusetts

Posted on May 29, 2013 by granny g

I know that there are a lot of people collecting welfare benefits and that makes it hard to keep track of every penny, but Massachusetts has taken inefficiency to a new level. WCVB reported yesterday that an audit of the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance identified 1,164 cases where recipients continued to receive a total of $2.39 million in benefits from six to 27 months after they were reported to be deceased.

Boston.com also commented on the audit:

The report, which covered food stamps, cash, and other benefits to low-income families, estimated that recipients using a dead person’s Social Security number alone received at least $2.4 million in between July 2010 and April 2012. It also flagged another $15 million in suspicious transactions from electronic benefit cards during the two-and-a-half-year period the auditor reviewed.

Boston.com also reported:

The state auditor also found another $15 million in suspicious transitions on electronic benefit cards – including nearly $5 million where all the food benefits were withdrawn at once; $4.6 million in transactions from distant states or territories (including Hawaii, Florida, and Puerto Rico); $3.6 million where recipients made multiple purchases or withdrawals within an hour; $1.5 million where recipients regularly rang up transactions in even dollar amounts (such as $100) and $840,000 where a card number was manually entered into a retail terminal instead of being swiped (suggesting a card user may have stolen the card number, but didn’t have the actual card).

This is taxpayers’ money. If those responsible for spending it cannot do a better job of being responsible, we should stop giving them the money.

I Honestly Have No Idea What To Think Of This

Posted on January 28, 2012 by granny g

Before I post this article, I would like to say that I think the whole thing is moot. The only reason I am posting it is that no one in the news is talking about it. Is that because it is silly or is there something there? I have no idea, but here is the information.

On Thursday, a website called The National Patriot posted the testimony from a trial going on in Georgia to settle the question of whether President Obama is eligible to be on the Georgia presidential ballot. Yes, you read that right.

Some excerpts from the article:

The case revolved around the Natural Born clause of the Constitution and whether or not Obama qualifies under it to serve. More to the point, if found ineligible, Obama’s name would not appear on the 2012 ballot in Georgia.

…Immigration Services documents entered into evidence regarding Obama Sr.

June 27^th, 1962, is the date on those documents. Obama’s father’s status shown as a non citizen of the United States. Documents were gotten through the Freedom of Information Act.

Testimony regarding the definition of Natural Born Citizen is given citing Minor vs Happersett opinion from a Supreme Court written opinion from 1875. The attorney points out the difference between “citizen” and “Natural Born Citizen” using charts and copies of the Minor vs Happersett opinion.

It is also pointed out that the 14^th Amendment does not alter the definition or supersede the meaning of Natural Born. It is pointed out that lower court rulings do not conflict with the Supreme Court opinion nor do they over rule the Supreme Court Minor vs Happersett opinion.

…Enters into evidence a portion of letter received from attorney showing a renewal form from Obama’s mother for her passport listing Obama’s last name something other than Obama.

State Licensed PI takes the stand.

She was hired to look into Obama’s background and found a Social Security number for him from 1977. Professional opinion given that this number was fraudulent. The number used or attached to Obama in 1977, shows that the true owner of the number was born in the 1890. This shows that the number was originally assigned to someone else who was indeed born in 1890 and should never have been used by Obama.

Same SS number came up with addresses in IL, D.C. and MA.

…Expert in document imaging and scanners for 18 years.

Mr. Vogt testifies that the birth certificate, posted online by Obama, is suspicious. States white lines around all the type face is caused by “unsharp mask” in Photoshop. Testifies that any document showing this, is considered to be a fraud.

States this is a product of layering.

Mr. Vogt testifies that a straight scan of an original document would not show such layering.

Also testifies that the date stamps shown on Obama documents should not be in exact same place on various documents as they are hand stamped. Obama’s documents are all even, straight and exactly the same indicating they were NOT hand stamped by layered into the document by computer.

Next witness, Mr. Sampson a former police officer and former immigration officer specializing in immigration fraud.

Ran Obama’s SS number through database and found that the number was issued to Obama in 1977 in the state of Connecticut . Obama never resided in that state. At the time of issue, Obama was living in Hawaii.

Serial number on birth certificate is out of sequence with others issued at that hospital. Also certification is different than others and different than twins born 24 hours ahead of Obama.

Please follow the link to the article to read the entire testimony and draw your own conclusions. I have no idea what to think.

Something To Keep In Mind As We Discuss The Deficit

Posted on September 2, 2011 by granny g

One of the problems with our deficit is that the government does not always spend money wisely. Occasionally they do, but as with any large organization, mistakes are made. We could cut some of our deficit simply by being more efficient and avoiding stupid mistakes. Speaking of stupid mistakes…

Hot Air is reporting today that illegal aliens not authorized to work in the United States collected $4.2 billion in tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. This number is the result of an audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The article reports:

Many individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States, and thus not eligible to obtain a Social Security Number (SSN) for employment, earn income in the United States. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides such individuals with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to facilitate their filing of tax returns. Although the law prohibits aliens residing without authorization in the United States from receiving most Federal public benefits, an increasing number of these individuals are filing tax returns claiming the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), a refundable tax credit intended for working families. The payment of Federal funds through this tax benefit appears to provide an additional incentive for aliens to enter, reside, and work in the United States without authorization, which contradicts Federal law and policy to remove such incentives.

The article goes on to explain that the IRS says it does not have the authority to deny the claims. I don’t mean to be difficult here, but shouldn’t Congress (or even President Obama) be doing something about this? Isn’t that their job?

Government Accountability Institute (GAI) President Peter Schweizer, also a Breitbart News senior editor-at-large, discussed a new report on Tuesday’s Breitbart News Daily. The report documents 8,400 cases of double voting in the 2016 election.

California State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Léon (D-Los Angeles) said last Tuesday that “half his family” was in the country illegally, using false documents, and eligible for deportation under President Trump’s new executive order against “sanctuary” jurisdictions.