Here is an open question: Does anyone out there really believe that Lois Lerner's computer hard drive crashed and just happened to destroyed the emails for the exact time period that the House committee has been requesting for over a year? These emails that would be evidence of that the IRS was targeting conservative groups. A fact that Lerner had already "confessed" really did take place. [transcript of Lerner's response to a purported staged question at a May 10 2013 Exempt Organizations Committee of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association] That conservative groups were specifically targeted for 'extra scrutiny' by her office?
My head cannot wrap itself around how the IRS, the Senate Democrats, and the HuffingtonPost-ocrats can actually keep repeating that there is no issue that needs a investigation here. Am I just missing something? Now, I am not saying that the WH is implicated, but certainly there is evidence that Congressional Democrats requested this "extra scrutiny" and more mounting evidence that it was politically motivated. How can it not have been?
Anyway, what do you think?
In case you are interested, here is the report issued on May 13, 2013 by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Information titled "Inappropriate Criteria Were Used to Identify Tax-Exempt Applications for Review" . If you can schlogg through this report, you will understand that what Lois Lerner "confessed" to on May 10, 2013 is pretty much what in the Treasury Inspector General's report dated May 13, 2013. I know you are smart people, but I will point out anyway that the date of her "confession" is three days before the date on the Inspector General's report. Now, I am not stupid or naive enough to think that Lerner didn't have draft of this report before it was publically released...
My head cannot wrap itself around how the IRS, the Senate Democrats, and the HuffingtonPost-ocrats can actually keep repeating that there is no issue that needs a investigation here. Am I just missing something? Now, I am not saying that the WH is implicated, but certainly there is evidence that Congressional Democrats requested this "extra scrutiny" and more mounting evidence that it was politically motivated. How can it not have been?
Anyway, what do you think?
In case you are interested, here is the report issued on May 13, 2013 by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Information titled "Inappropriate Criteria Were Used to Identify Tax-Exempt Applications for Review" . If you can schlogg through this report, you will understand that what Lois Lerner "confessed" to on May 10, 2013 is pretty much what in the Treasury Inspector General's report dated May 13, 2013. I know you are smart people, but I will point out anyway that the date of her "confession" is three days before the date on the Inspector General's report. Now, I am not stupid or naive enough to think that Lerner didn't have draft of this report before it was publically released...
75 comments:
Bev,
I ain't buyin' it either.
No. And to confirm it all, she "took the Fifth".
I believe every word of Lerner's testimony! I also believe that if she really wanted to recover her old e-mails, she could just ask the NSA for their copies :).
The article at the top of the Huffington Post right now shouts out that deportation is separating US born children from their parents.
The US and Canada are the only two Western countries which grant citizenship to anyone born on their soil (aka jus soli) and its an uncommon practice even in developing countries. Like a lot of modern day stuff, jus soli in the US is tied to our pasts (in this case the debate over whether or not slaves or ex-slaves could be considered citizens).
Based on what I've seen and read, birthright citizenship is probably a bigger incentive for tourists than for illegals. In a lot of countries its a trend for middle class to wealthy foreigners have babies in private US hospitals just so their kids have US citizenship.
I would love to know how exactly a conveniently crashed harddrive with no backup is in any way substantively different than an 18½ gap.
Anthony, in other words, the solution to separating children from parents is to discontinue jus soli?
Yeah, if I thought separating children from parents was a legit issue (which I don't), that would be my solution. The Huffington Post is just trying to use the generosity of our laws as an example of heartlessness. As it stands deportees can choose to leave their Amcit kids in the US.
I know a woman (Amcit) who is raising a baby by herself because her husband (illegal immigrant who made a pretty good living as a construction worker) was deported after being arrested for drunk driving.
Any country in the world would have deported him and the family could easily be reunified if the woman was willing to live abroad with her husband (with the baby of course, who doesn't have a say) but she isn't, so now we have the 'tragic' tale of a family torn asunder by 'cruel' immigration authorities.
While its sometimes abused, I'm not opposed to jus soli. Its not perfect, but nothing is. Its pretty nutty IMHO to have generations of people live in a country but not be citizens (which is what one sees in Europe) because they don't have the right bloodline (aka jus sanguinis) and the fact that America has a better history of absorbing new people than Europe does goes a long way towards explaining why we are younger and more intellectually and economically vigorous.
A great quote from English writer G.K. Chesterton on America's absorption of Immigrants:
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The Americans are very patriotic, and wish to make their new citizens patriotic Americans. But it is the idea of making a new nation literally out of any old nation that comes along. In a word, what is unique is not America but what is called Americanisation. We understand nothing till we understand the amazing ambition to Americanise the Kamskatkan and the Hairy Ainu. We are not trying to Anglicise thousands of French cooks or Italian organ-grinders. France is not trying to Gallicise thousands of English trippers or German prisoners of war. America is the one place in the world where this process, healthy or unhealthy, possible or impossible, is going on. And the process, as I have pointed out, is not internationalisation. It would be truer to say it is the nationalisation of the internationalised. It is making a home out of vagabonds and a nation out of exiles. This is what at once illuminates and softens the moral regulations which we may really think faddist or fanatical. They are abnormal; but in one sense this experiment of a home for the homeless is abnormal. In short, it has long been recognised that America was an asylum. It is only since Prohibition that it has looked a little like a lunatic asylum.
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***BREAKING NEWS***
In a unanimous decision (9-0), the SC just struck down Obama's "recess" appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Ruling that the appointments were unconstitutional because the Senate was not truly in recess. And basically Obama does not get to decide when the Senate is in session. It doesn't really have any effect on current appointees, but it will be interesting if the Repubs take the Senate.
This also may be an indicator of which way the SC may go if Boehner sues the WH for bypassing Congress and changing laws at his will.
***END BREAKING NEWS***
Oh, this is great! Now the EPA is now claiming that they had a hard drive crash and can't get their subpoenaed emails to Congress either! Where's the NSA when you need them! Apparently it is the habit of our government employees to carry around government emails on laptops without ever being connected to any back-up systems. The culprit in this escapade is now living in New Zealand and in possession of his hard drive. I say, revoke any pension payments he may be receiving as a former employee of the US Government. Well, that should be done anyway.
If we were a third rate banana republic I would say that an attempted Coup is taking place...I cannot believe the sheer audacity of the Left in this.
Bev,
The EPA case actually looks a tad more plausible than the IRS' claims, though still a bit suspicious.
Oh, the NY State Court of Appeals struck the final blow for really thirsty people everywhere when they refused to reinstate Bloomberg's mandate to ban sodas over 16 oz. in New York City. Now is the time to raise our 64oz Big Gulps in honor of the Nanny-State slayers. Next time the city should just stick to annoying PSA's. It worked to curb forest fires and littering...
Critch - The problem is who is fronting the Coup. I feeling a little Coup-friendly myself these days.
Kit - It is just not plausible that our federal employees are allowed to take possession of government equipment with impunity and without any departmental oversight or electronic redundancy which is actually mandated by law. I find it amazingly suspicious that every time our Oversight Committee issues a subpoena for emails, we get the same story..."Ooops, hard drive crash. All are lost." Seriously, if the NSA has been allowed to archive every email transaction of private citizens, the very least they could/should be doing is opening archiving every single email coming from every single government computer from every single government agency as is mandated by law.
Anthony - I am on the fence (no pun intended) about what to do with immigration. I am against blanket amnesty. As you can see from the flood of children across our borders, someone has been advertising that if you get here soon, you will get citizenship. I personally loved that the Presidents of Mexico chastise the US because they think that we have no right to protect our borders and get all indignant at the way we treated his citizens when they committed crimes in the US...criticisms from countries below our southern borders that we have the death penalty is kind of laughable considering that these came countries have mountains of dead bodies piling up in ravines and shallow graves from the rampant crime lords in their own countries.
Bev, I don't believe the IRS (or Lerner) for a minute. First, this is too coincidental to be believable. Secondly, techies have a miraculous way of reviving long dead emails. They don't just throw out bad harddrives and then erase backups. Third, how is it that they can't find the e-mails from the people she sent them too? There's no way that everyone else in the office or the White House or every other government agency lost those too.
On immigration and this supposed flood of children, let me point out that they wouldn't be coming if we had passed immigration reform. So I see this as the Rush Limbaugh Wave.
Bev,
I did say it is suspicious.
It could be just plain incompetence or a "let's enforce this rule... as slowly as we can" rather than a flat-out lie
I'm referring to the EPA, by the way. The IRS, yeah, I think they are lying.
Andrew - You must have missed the memo that the 7 or 8 other people involved in Lerner-gate had their emails do a disappearing act too...it was an epidemic at just THE most convenient time. And David Burge (iowahawk) said so well on Twitter - "Apparently, the leading cause of hard drive failure is subpoenas."
Oh, yesterday it was reported in one of the emails the Committee did received that Lerner floated the idea of initiating an audit of Sen. Chuck Grassley, the very same Sen. Grassley who brought this whole issue up to begin with. Fortunately, clearer heads at the IRS prevailed and the suggestion was dismissed.
World Cup Update: Germany beats USA 1-0 but we are still advancing and will apparently be playing Belgium on Tuesday.
From what I gathered this is because Portugal beat Ghana 2-1.
The Supreme Court has unanimously struck down abortion clinic buffer zones, so now antiabortion protestors will be able to personally confront anyone who tries to get an abortion (or works at those places).
Coupled with many states' closing down of abortion clinics, its been a good year for the pro-life movement.
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2014/06/26/supreme-court-unanimously-strikes-down-abortion-clinic-buffer-zone-law-n1856096
Perhaps Andrew can answer this. Ms. Lerner was deemed to be in contempt of congress (H. Res 574). Democrats argue that she was not in contempt because she invoked 5th amendment rights. Now an important piece of evidence has been destroyed, spoliation of evidence, which if proven is a crime. I suspect in a normal, nonpolitical criminal investigation there would be warrants and subpoenas issued. The prosecuting team would hire experts to determine if the evidence is actually gone, if it has been tampered with and how.
In this case, is the only real recourse congress has is a special prosecutor? I know they can direct the attorney general to investigate but that brings up a separate separation of powers mess.
Koshcat, That's right. If this had been a commercial enterprise, the government would have swooped in and seized everything and would be tearing it apart to see what they can find. But all Congress can do is (1) make a criminal referral to Justice, or (2) hope to get Justice to appoint a special prosecutor.
Anthony, Good depends on your point of view. I doubt they've stopped a single abortion, but they have given new life to the pro-abortion side and images of weirdos attacking your women will go over very poorly with the public.
If you want to destroy someone who is obsessed, given them what they want.
Would it be easier for a private citizen who has been harmed (one of these groups for example) to sue her and the IRS therefore getting a judge to issue warrants and subpoenas?
Not really. The problem is that the government gets a good deal of immunity and special treatment. So unless you get a more powerful agency after them, you are largely powerless.
Koshcat - That is exactly what is going on. There is pending lawsuit filed by True The Vote and other conservative groups who were stonewalled against the IRS that was filed in May 2013). It is kind of a complementary court case filed that is following the House Oversight Committee's investigation. Counts Two and Three (at least) ..."[s]eeks damages and injunctive relief from the IRS and IRS employees and agents..."
I wonder what effect the buffer zone ruling will have on the upcoming 2016 party conventions. Maybe no more chain-linked corrals blocks away?
Well, the Supreme Court did not overturn an earlier ruling on buffer zones that allowed 8-foot buffer zones. What they said was that Massachusetts' 35-foot buffer zone was too big.
I keep hoping that some halfway intelligent Dems in Congress come to a realization that what can be used against the Republicans can be used against them if the Pres. so decides....also, maybe they will just wake up and realize their man in the WH and his followers are breaking the law at will. I'm old enough to remember Watergate and there were plenty of Republicans who came to a realization that Nixon was in the wrong.
There must've been something really wrong with the 35-foot rule for SCOTUS to put it down unanimously. Just the 35-feet alone sounds kinda absurd. IDK if this is a victory for pro-lifers as much as it's a victory for sensible lawmaking.
One of the Tea Party leaders who thought it was morally (not to mention politically) acceptable to sneak into a hospice and take photos of a dying woman to use in a campaign ad has committed suicide.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/27/tea-party-official-arrested-over-photos-sen-cochran-wife-dies-suicide-suspected/
Mayfield and three other men were arrested last month and face various charges of conspiring to photograph Rose Cochran in the nursing home where she has lived since 2001 with dementia. The Cochran family said she has lost the ability to speak and is receiving hospice care.
Police said conservative blogger Clayton Thomas Kelly of Pearl photographed 72-year-old Rose Cochran without permission on Easter Sunday. The photos were later used briefly in an anti-Cochran political video posted briefly online during the Republican primary.
Anthony- Stupidly, they thought it would somehow help
For the life of me I cannot figure out how they thought it would help their cause.
When you are motivated by hate for your opponent, then you honestly begin to believe that anything you can show that would be hurtful, insulting, or whatever will hurt them. They thought they could bring up the "age" issue, the "distracted" issue, and maybe even the "relies on taxpayer funding" issue with this.
According to Slate, apparently even Clayton's wife thought it was a bad idea.
I suspect Cochran's wife was an issue because of the rumor that Cochran is having an affair with his executive assistant while his wife is dying.
I think the goons figured Mrs. Cochran would be a great visual aid for their attack ad.
All they did was violate the privacy of Rose Cochran, disgrace themselves, put themselves in legal jeopardy and take the issue off the table.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/05/12/Cochran-s-Executive-Assistant-Accompanied-Him-To-42-Countries-On-33-Taxpayer-Funded-Trips
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) lives in the basement apartment in a house owned by his executive assistant, Kay Webber, which he has listed as his primary address on official forms. Now public records show Webber accompanied Cochran on dozens of taxpayer-funded trips overseas.
What's goin' down with EPA employees poopin' in the hallways?
I blame the number two guy in charge.
What's even more bizarre is EPA management called in a violence expert to get advice on how to deal with it.
That's the kindof leadership we have come to expect from these bloated bureaurats.
This is the headlineI would write:
EPA's Toxic Waste Problem Traced To EPA Employees.
So... the EPA's Denver office is employing a bunch of college Freshmen frat-boys?
I'm sorry, just one joke will not cut it. My TOP TEN JOKES ABOUT THE EPA DEFECATION SCANDAL! (Not actually in any proper order)
10). When you gotta go, you gotta go.
9). Apparently the cleaning crew consisted of two girls with one cup.
8). As a result of these incidents the EPA will be making changes to its college internship policy.
7). Protecting the environment really is an important DUTY.
6). An EPA spokesman announced they are calling Carnival Cruise Lines for advice on dealing with the matter.
5). The EPA attempted to defend it by pointing out the feces were "natural" substances and therefore not pollution.
4). The following medicinal products and foods are now banned at EPA offices: Laxatives, Taco Bell fajitas, Dr. Peppers, beans, Cheerios
3). The employees claimed they were unaware of such rules because the emails informing them of the EPA's "Hallway Defecation Policy" were lost when their computer hard drives crashed.
2). The EPA announced some disciplinary measures for the employees starting with "sticking their noses in it".
1). Wow, the EPA really is full of it.
Kit, Franky, I'm waiting for the union to show up and demand a right to poop in the hallways.
Ben, Brilliant! LOL!
Andrew,
They will probably threaten a general public strike on the matter.
Kit,
LOLOL!
If happened at the IRS:
Without A Trace (with a little dig at the FBI).
"Mr. Gowdy, the reason I didn't read the Statutes to determine any criminal wrongdoing is because they vanished, without a trace. Much like those e-mails as a matter of fact," said Commissioner Ghoulie.
BTW I was very impressed when Trey Gowdy nailed that dirtbag to the wall!
All we are saying....is give poop a chance."
EPA Employees Union
This is disturbing.
"Massachusetts SWAT teams claim they’re private corporations, immune from open records laws"
From the article: Many are operated by law enforcement councils or LECs which they claim makes them private corporations and therefore immune to public records laws. According to the article's author: "The state’s residents aren’t permitted to know how often the SWAT teams are used, what they’re used for, what sort of training they get or who they’re primarily used against."
The following is a PSA from the EPoopingA:
We said hashtags are ok, NOT #Hashmarksinthehallway.
Kit, that is very disturbing indeed. Mass. has already demonstrated they are a police state even before this.
Re: private swat teams. How is that any different from what Geoge Zimmerman did? Are we now to be subject to extra government militia? But then a again, how are they different from private security firms? They are all or should be subject to court ordered subpoena...
Oh, btw, I am at Atlanta/Hartfield Airport. It is officially my least favorite. And that includes the very small airport in San Luis Obispo in CA
I enjoy Atlanta Hartfield. Of course, it and unnavigable Dulles are the two airports I have the most experience with. And by "most experience" I mean I've taken more than two flights to and from that airport.
I have not been to many airports. :-/
I'm watching CNN (don't ask why) and Candy "the Hutt" Crowley is surprisingly busting the chops on Lois Lerner's attorney. He's claiming that they pleaded the 5th b/c the Republicans are being unfair. When pressed about why they don't just testify to clear the air, he asserts that one doesn't have to testify when one hasn't committed a crime. I'm no lawyer, but I don't think that's right.
Well, tyranmax, attorneys do advise innocent people to use their fifth amendment rights.
In 2001, the Supreme Court has said that the Fifth Amendment's right to silence "protects the innocent as well as the guilty.... one of the Fifth Amendment’s basic functions . . . is to protect innocent men . . . who otherwise might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances..... truthful responses of an innocent witness, as well as those of a wrongdoer, may provide the government with incriminating evidence from the speaker’s own mouth."
The quote comes from Ohio v. Reiner where the US Supreme Court ruled that a person who claims innocence still has the right to silence.
I'm not saying Lerner's attorney is right in this case or that Lerner is innocent. Just he may have a point.
Point well taken. I'm just considering this in light of another decision (forget the trial) that's been discussed in relation to IRS wherein the jury has the right to consider destroyed evidence as incriminating. My other point is that he's claiming the Republicans are holding a kangaroo court.
I should elaborate that last poinnt. He's claiming a kangaroo court ad even Candy ain't having it.
That would be major malpractice to advice a client to plead the fifth and get hit with the social stigma of being seen as a criminal just because you don't like the person asking the questions.
BTW, you can be forced to testify if they want to push the point.
As for airports nothing sucks worse than Denver.
On the EPA, don't discount the idea that they may be being terrorized by a mad pooper.
"That would be major malpractice to advice a client to plead the fifth and get hit with the social stigma of being seen as a criminal just because you don't like the person asking the questions."
Ok.
"On the EPA, don't discount the idea that they may be being terrorized by a mad pooper."
Good point!
Andrew, I'm surprised someone hasn't accused the Vast Right Wing Poopspiracy yet.
Obviously this was a plant to make the EPA look bad. Hell, theremaybe a plethora of mad poopers out there just waiting to strike!
Maybe it's just me but irt the IRS: it seems to me the left used to have much more creative liars than they do nowadays.
Believe Lois Lerner's excuse? Of course! And I also believe in the Easter Bunny. ;-)
P.S. Hi Bev!
Along with the Hobby Lobby ruling, another major ruling will be released tomorrow, one potentially bigger than the Hobby Lobby case: "The Supreme Court will make its most important ruling in labor law in decades next week when it weighs in on a right-to-work case that could determine whether non-union workers can be compelled to pay public sector union dues."
The case involves home care providers who, under a 2003 Illinois law, were declared public service employees and as result had to pay money to SEIU.
LINK
Kit, anxiously awaiting both of those. RE the SEIU case, I realize much depends on the specific wording of the law in question as well as the arguments raised, but that one seems like such a blatant violation of right of association that it should go down in flames. Still, the Robert's court is really good at issuing decisions which pull teeth with such ample doses of novocaine that neither side immediately realizes who lost and who won.
Here is the link SCOTUSBlog will be live-blogging the rulings, starting at 915 though the opinions won't technically come down until 10, I think.
LINK
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