Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for May 17, 2013
Robert A. Hall
Your one-stop-shop for political news and opinion--who needs newspapers or TV? Please forward to friends who need to be informed. This SitRep (Military for “Situation Report”) is created by many readers who send me items for inclusion, which I would have likely missed or skipped. And I can only spend at most three hours a night pulling stuff, plus the healthcare or economic stuff that crosses my desk at work. As always, I—and you—owe them thanks and appreciation. I post articles because I think they are of interest and will stimulate thought and discussion. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree (or disagree) with every—or any—opinion in the posted article, or that I was able to verify the information presented, which is the responsibility of the author. I try not to post things that are false, or too far a stretch, regardless of the view point, but I don’t always succeed. As always on the Net, or in the legacy media, you must read critically and with skepticism.
Eddie Grabowski's Gift: A Marine Chris tmas Story
Eddie Grabowski’s Gift is a short novella, with an old Marine’s lessons on life, love and giving. All author royalties are donated to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation to support the National Museum
Excellent Satire: IRS-gate goes to the top. By Matt Miller
Second IRS official to leave amid tea party scandal
Excerpt: As second top Internal Revenue Service official has announced plans to leave the agency amid the controversy over the targeting of tea party groups.
Obama struggles to get beyond a scandal trifecta
Excerpt: The most corrosive political scandals are the ones that feed a preexisting story line — which is why the White House could have difficulty putting the current ones behind it any time soon. In the view of President Obama’s adversaries, recent revelations add evidence to arguments that they have been making about the president all along: that he would do or say whatever it took to get reelected; that his is a philosophy of rampant, invasive big government; that he has not acted within the constraints of the Constitution; that he regards those who oppose him with contempt. (Anyone surprised by the scandals must not know that Obama is a Chicago Way
Republicans have been given a political gift. Here’s how they can (still) screw it up. By Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan
Excerpt: And yet, there are real concerns within the Republican establishment that members of their party won’t look before they leap when it comes to the right strategic path forward, taking a major political opportunity and blowing it, à la the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s. (I think the GOP is likely to blow the advantage these expected scandals give them, as they did with Clinton
Dear Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
I need a grant to help me pay the bills while I work on my next book: Omnipotent to Impotent; The Fall Of Barack Obama. –Tom H. (Counteth not thy foul before same are hatched. ~Bob.)
Eric Holder’s abdication. By Dana Milbank
Suddenly, even leftists have problems. ~Bob. Excerpt: As the nation’s top law enforcement official, Eric Holder is privy to all kinds of sensitive information. But he seems to be proud of how little he knows. Why didn’t his Justice Department inform the Associated Press, as the law requires, before pawing through reporters’ phone records?
President tries to win back press
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/300081-president-tries-to-win-back-press-#ixzz2TTT3Xvdt
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/300081-president-tries-to-win-back-press-#ixzz2TTT3Xvdt
Excerpt: The White House took a series of steps Wednesday to make up with the Washington
IRS scandal: First head rolls
Excerpt: Acting Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Steven Miller resigned on Wednesday over his role in the agency’s controversial singling out of conservative groups. President Obama announced the resignation — which Treasury Secretary Jack Lew asked for earlier in the day — at the White House. (I wonder if he was made promises or threats to keep him silent. Hard to believe political moves started with a bureaucrat. ~Bob.)
Surprise: Embattled IRS official Lois Lerner’s husband’s law firm has strong Obama connections
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/16/embattled-irs-official-lois-lerners-husbands-law-firm-hosted-an-obama-campaign-organizing-meeting/#ixzz2TTZwBl8q
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/16/embattled-irs-official-lois-lerners-husbands-law-firm-hosted-an-obama-campaign-organizing-meeting/#ixzz2TTZwBl8q
Excerpt: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official who apologized for targeting conservative nonprofit groups for extra scrutiny is married to an attorney whose firm hosted a voter registration organizing event for the 2012 Obama re-election campaign, praised President Obama’s policy work, and had one of its partners appointed by Obama to a key ambassadorship. (Gee, who would have guessed? ~Bob.)
IRS exec got $42k in bonuses in three years. By Mark Tapscott
Excerpt: Lois Lerner, the senior executive in charge of the IRS tax exemption department and the federal employee at the center of the exploding scandal over the IRS targeting of conservative, evangelical and pro-Israel non-profits, was given $42,531 in bonuses between 2009 and 2011.
Lois Lerner's name on IRS letter to conservative group
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/lerners-name-on-irs-letter-to-conservative-group-91373.html#ixzz2TTceBuFS
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/lerners-name-on-irs-letter-to-conservative-group-91373.html#ixzz2TTceBuFS
Excerpt: The director of the Internal Revenue Service division under fire for singling out conservative groups sent a 2012 letter under her name to one such group, POLITICO has learned. The March 2012 letter was sent to the Ohio-based American Patriots Against Government Excess (American PAGE) under the name of Lois Lerner, the director of the Exempt Organizations Division.
Conservative group says IRS approved nonprofit status after applying with ‘liberal-sounding name’
Excerpt: When September 2012 arrived with still no word from the IRS, Ryun determined that Media Trackers would likely never obtain standalone nonprofit status, and he tried a new approach: He applied for permanent nonprofit status for a separate group called Greenhouse Solutions, a pre-existing organization that was reaching the end of its determination period. The IRS approved Greenhouse Solutions' request for permanent nonprofit status in three weeks.
Ouster of IRS official isn't ending investigations
Excerpt: Three congressional committees are investigating, and the FBI is looking into potential civil rights violations at the IRS, Attorney General Eric Holder said. Other potential crimes include making false statements to authorities and violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in some partisan political activities, Holder said. (Let me get this straight: The acting IRS commissioner who was in charge when the agency admitted its wrongdoing has resigned, but will keep his pension and there's no sign he will face criminal charges . . . and this is accountability? -- Jim Geraghty. Well, if they take his pension or charge him with criminal conduct, he might start to sign like a canary! ~Bob.)
IRS Employees Disproportionately Donate to Obama: Statistics reveal an imbalance in a nominally nonpartisan agency. By Andrew Stiles
Excerpt: President Barack Obama received more than twice as much in campaign donations from IRS employees in 2012 as did his opponent, Mitt Romney, records show. (Guess they were hedging their bets. ~Bob.)
Play of the Day: A Bad Week for the White House
Excerpt: The Obama administration scandals are too much for hosts. With scandals bubbling up all around Barack Obama’s White House, late-night comedy is taking note. The Tonight Show’s Jay Leno enumerated the scandals, even calling the IRS audit the White House’s “high-tech weapon” in a joke. (Funniest stuff I have heard since 2008. --Don Hank)
Road Trip! President Obama tries to stop the bleeding
Excerpt: Obama’s top staff spent much of early Wednesday locked behind closed doors figuring out the best way to move ahead — without causing any new headaches — on all three fronts. (When things went bad in the movie Animal House, the Deltas had a solution: “Hoover Chris t. This is ridiculous. What are we going to do? Otter & Boon: Road trip.” Watch for another Obama Road Trip to divert attention. ~Bob.)
Worth Reading
Excerpt: In Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, he ran to the left of Hillary Clinton as a moral reformer. Obama promised to transcend the old politics and bring a new era of hope-and-change transparency to Washington
You Just Heard Your Name on the Evening News. In a Scandal! WTF Do You Do? By Michael Ledeen
Excerpt: So you’re angry and hurt, but not really worried. After all, it’s easy to see you haven’t done anything wrong, and there’s not the slightest hint of evidence against you. So you’re actually relieved when your department’s inspector general asks if she can drop by for a chat. (…) Wrong! Don’t be relieved. Be frightened. (This also applies in business, end-of-marriage, and many other human contact activities. Sometimes, you simply can’t get a lawyer (how could you explain that to your boss if you’ve done nothing wrong?), or can’t have your lawyer present during the actual interrogation. Most times, you can’t even avoid being questioned. “Tell the truth, but volunteer nothing other than context” is the best advice I’ve ever gotten. Ron P.)
Benghazi and the IRS: Politics by Other Means: Misleading voters about Benghazi
Excerpt: What do the Benghazi
Excerpt: We held that story until the government assured us that the national security concerns had passed. ….The White House had said there was no credible threat to the American people in May of 2012. The AP story suggested otherwise, and we felt that was important information and the public deserved to know it.
AP Challenges Carney: Doesn't Responsibility Rest With President Obama?http://foxnewsinsider.com/2013/05/14/ap-reporter-carney-doesnt-responsibility-rest-president#ixzz2TTmoQ18L
Excerpt: The reporter trudged on. "But it's the president's administration. So I wonder, doesn't the responsibility for setting tone and setting direction ultimately rest with the president on these matters?" (In my humble opinion, President Barack Obama learned his Management Style atHarvard Law School
Excerpt: The reporter trudged on. "But it's the president's administration. So I wonder, doesn't the responsibility for setting tone and setting direction ultimately rest with the president on these matters?" (In my humble opinion, President Barack Obama learned his Management Style at
Excerpt: In a clear warning to Syria to stop the transfer of advanced weapons to Islamic militants in the region, a senior Israeli official signaled on Wednesday that Israel
Baghdad market attacks, shootings in north kill 17
Didn’t get the memo. ~Bob
Nigerian troops on new offensive against Islamists
Excerpt: Nigeria
Eric Holder hints Yemenis held at Guantánamo may be released: Attorney general suggests a number detainees could be sent back to Yemen
The US attorney general Eric Holder hinted on Wednesday that the Obama administration may be planning to act on Yemeni prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay. The release of the Yemenis back to their home country would make a big dent in the overall number of Guantánamo detainees. …Of the estimated 166 detainees left at Guantánamo, an estimated 91 are Yemenis, and many of these have been cleared for release. (If they kill Americans, the families should have a legal clam against him and the DOJ. ~Bob.)
Mayan pyramid in Belize
Excerpt: A construction company in Belize
Article Alleges Hamas Money Laundering
Excerpt: Hamas has several business fronts operating in Saudi Arabia and Sudan Kuwait
Now Justice Department is accused of monitoring lawmakers in House of Representatives CLOAK ROOM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325561/Justice-Department-accused-monitoring-lawmakers-House-Representatives-cloak-room.html#ixzz2TTpWfm9b
Excerpt: The Justice Department's use of wiretapping has apparently not stopped with journalists, as one lawmaker has accused the agency of keeping tabs of elected officials where they relax. Republican Rep Devin Nunes ofCalifornia
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325561/Justice-Department-accused-monitoring-lawmakers-House-Representatives-cloak-room.html#ixzz2TTpWfm9b
Excerpt: The Justice Department's use of wiretapping has apparently not stopped with journalists, as one lawmaker has accused the agency of keeping tabs of elected officials where they relax. Republican Rep Devin Nunes of
During Rose Garden press conference, Obama refuses to apologize for secretly seizing AP phone records, shifts blame to Congress for Benghazi security lapses, and dodges question about White House IRS knowledge
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325606/During-Rose-Garden-press-conference-Obama-refuses-apologize-secretly-seizing-AP-phone-records-shifts-blame-Congress-Benghazi-security-lapses-dodges-question-White-House-IRS-knowledge.html#ixzz2TTqCZYRN
President Barack Obama dodged questions Thursday about the IRS's targeting of conservative groups, shifted responsibility for the Benghazi attack to Congress, and said 'I offer no apologies' for the Department of Justice's secret seizure of reporter's phone records in search of a classified intelligence leak. In a rain-soaked Rose Garden press conference originally intended to be a victory lap for theUnited States ' relationship with Turkey
President Barack Obama dodged questions Thursday about the IRS's targeting of conservative groups, shifted responsibility for the Benghazi attack to Congress, and said 'I offer no apologies' for the Department of Justice's secret seizure of reporter's phone records in search of a classified intelligence leak. In a rain-soaked Rose Garden press conference originally intended to be a victory lap for the
Excerpt: Pardon this smirk on my face but I'm having quite the time reading about the liberal main stream media's recent "Obama Scandal Lashing". The wider smile is for Middle America and Conservatives who are glowing in the aftermath of "I told you so", as they see the liberal media jump into the fray and pronounce intense indignation at all of Obama's Chicago like thuggery; the Benghazi cover-ups, the Attorney General's attack on states who tried to assure clean elections by requiring voter I.D., the IRS' role in squashing conservative groups who sought political organization status in order to have their voice heard during the election year, and lastly, Obama's own Attorney General secretly invading the personal files of the Associated Press, in violation of the 1st Amendment!
Worth Reading
Excerpt: Estimates of total federal indebtedness vary according to the time frame one adopts and various assumptions about the future, but whether the actual figure is nearer $75 trillion of $221 trillion (economist Laurence Kotlikoff’s tally) the true federal debt is multiples of our GNP—an incomprehensibly high figure that can never be paid in full. Contrary to Democratic protestations, our debt problem is essentially a spending problem. Look at this graph from the Federal Reserve:
Why Islam Leads to Violence. By Jack Kerwick
Excerpt: Despite these fundamental similarities, it is the followers of Islam alone that have never stopped slaughtering in the name of their God. Why? To answer this, I think that we must shift focus from the substance or content of Islamic theology and toward its form or style.
Skynet on the Potomac . By John Hayward
Excerpt: Obama’s favorite henchman, David Axelrod, deployed the famed Incompetence Defense on behalf of the embattled President during an MSNBC appearance on Wednesday. That’s the hot new line from Obama apologists: he’s so incredibly inept that he can’t be held responsible for anything his Administration does. He golfs, he raises money, he takes a lot of vacations… there’s not much time left over for management. He learns about the crazy misadventures of his subordinates by watching TV news, like the rest of us.
Government’s heavy hand felt in IRS, AP scandals
Excerpt: If there is any thread that unites these scandals, it is government heavy-handedness. …Seizing the phone records of perhaps 100 is a fishing expedition and a form of intimidation. “They’re sending a clear message to our sources,” says National Journal’s Ron Fournier. “Don’t embarrass the administration or we’re coming after you.”
While Scandals Grow, Immigration Bill Coasts Under Radar http://pjmedia.com/blog/while-scandals-grow-immigration-reform-bill-coasts-under-radar/
Excerpt: While the debate over immigration reform appears to have taken a backseat in the public’s consciousness with the number of White House controversies suddenly swirling around, it hasn’t escaped the attention of congressional conservatives who aim to kill it. The Senate Judiciary Committee has completed two mark-up sessions on the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act with a third scheduled for Thursday.
Excerpt: The attorney general claims he was recused from the case because he was “a possessor of the information that was ultimately leaked.” ….Holder later called the AP scandal “both an ongoing matter and ongoing matter about which I know nothing.” He also quickly said he “certainly did not alert the White House” about the subpoenas.
Excerpt: I visited the Soviet Union twice back in the eighties. …Funnily enough, most of them would eventually take me aside and ask me if I could help them get out of there. …At the end of both of my trips of about two weeks each, I desperately wanted to get the Hell out myself. I hated the place. The Soviet Union was like one giant jail. (Writer comments, “What we have now discovered about Barack Obama and Eric Holder’s America
Obama Lectures Congress On ‘Partisan Agendas’ As IRS Scandal Deepens
Excerpt: A day after the Inspector General released an audit that found the IRS inappropriately targeted Tea Party and conservative groups, President Barack Obama on Wednesday again lectured Congress on bipartisanship, warning members of Congress that their actions in the coming days should not "smack of politics or partisan agendas." In a brief statement in the East Room of the White House, Obama also announced that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew requested--and accepted--the resignation of acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller. (Reports indicate Miller to step down at end of June, so no biggie per MSM. –Barb)
Congressman: Holder May Have Broken Law In AP Scandal
Excerpt: Attorney General Eric Holder may have violated federal law when he did not put his recusal from the secret Associated Press phone records seizure case in writing, Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) suggested during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday. Labrador then cited federal law, specifically 28 USC § 591, and noted that it requires the Attorney General to put a recusal in writing in “certain circumstances.” Holder answered that he would consider putting recusals in writing in the future.
DOJ sought to surveil several thousand U.S.
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/16/doj-sought-to-surveil-several-thousand-u-s-citizens-in-2012/#ixzz2TR4AcINX
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/16/doj-sought-to-surveil-several-thousand-u-s-citizens-in-2012/#ixzz2TR4AcINX
Excerpt: In the final days of December 2012, President Barack Obama signed the renewal of the federal government’s warrantless surveillance program under FISA, following a contentious battle in the Senate for the program’s reauthorization. The Justice Department is currently under fire from a May 11 report by The Associated Press that accuses the DOJ of engaging in an unprecedented infringement of press freedom in the U.S.
White House’s Benghazi
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/16/white-houses-benghazi-email-dump-shows-critical-two-day-gap-cia-objection/#ixzz2TR2KwZC7
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/16/white-houses-benghazi-email-dump-shows-critical-two-day-gap-cia-objection/#ixzz2TR2KwZC7
Excerpt: The Benghazi-related emails released by the White House late May 15 exclude the critical emails between administration officials that were sent during the crucial the first two days after the deadly jihadi attack that killed four Americans last September. The 100 pages of partially redacted emails also conclude with a dismissive message from CIA chief David Petraeus. “Frankly, I’d just as soon not use this,” Petraeus said about the heavily edited, four-sentence “talking points” that the White House used to downplay Al Qaeda’s role in the Sep. 11 attack on the poorly protected diplomatic compound.
Confirmed: Kathleen Sebelius is an IPAB of one. By Conn Carroll
Excerpt: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has the unilateral power under Obamacare to set Medicare price controls should the Independent Payment Advisory Board fail to submit its own proposal, a Congressional Research Service memo confirms.
Excerpt: President Obama "obviously likes giving speeches more than he does running the executive branch," Chris Matthews said tonight. Yes, you read that right: The MSNBC host who in 2008 felt a "thrill going up my leg" after hearing Obama speak has grown disenchanted. Tonight's episode of Hardball saw Matthews delivering a rare, unforgiving grilling of the president as severe as anything that might appear on Fox News. (Matthews is a slow learner. I was way ahead of this in 2008. ~Bob.)
Obama to nominate Werfel as IRS commissioner
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/300259-obama-to-nominate-werfel-as-irs-commissioner
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/300259-obama-to-nominate-werfel-as-irs-commissioner
Excerpt: Danny Werfel, the Deputy Director of Office of Management and Budget, will be named director of the Internal Revenue Service, sources tell The Hill.
Meet Florida
Excerpt: Several Florida activists claim they or their organizations are victims of the IRS' gone-wild, anti-conservative harassment campaign -- citing everything from individual audits to being burdened with probing, invasive questionnaires and being forced to disclose political beliefs, even seeing unpublished web pages unearthed.
Justice Dept. faulted over terrorist identities
Excerpt: The government has allowed terrorists into America's witness protection program and has failed to provide the names of some of them for the watch list that's used to keep dangerous people off airline flights, the Justice Department's inspector general says. As a result of the department's failure to share information with the Terrorist Screening Center
Reject myth of guerrilla fighter's invincibility
EPA makes information requests more difficult for conservatives
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/14/epa-makes-information-requests-more-difficult-for-conservatives/#ixzz2TUdIi2EM
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/14/epa-makes-information-requests-more-difficult-for-conservatives/#ixzz2TUdIi2EM
Excerpt: The IRS may not be the only federal agency singling out conservative groups. Records suggest that the Environmental Protection Agency has made it easier for environmental groups to file Freedom of Information Act requests than conservative organizations.
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