Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for May 22, 2013

Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for May 22, 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.

Worth Reading: The President Won — Sort Of: The administration spent the last six months of the campaign in cover-up mode. By Victor Davis Hanson

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/348873/president-won-%E2%80%94-sort-victor-davis-hanson

Excerpt: On September 11, 2012, Barack Obama was 1 point ahead of Mitt Romney in the ABC and Washington Post polls. He was scheduled to meet Romney in three weeks for the first debate. The president was increasingly anxious. Unemployment was still at 7.8 percent, and the Solyndra and Fast and Furious scandals had only recently disappeared from the news — and they had done so only thanks to the use of executive privilege.

Worth Reading: Wimps Versus Barbarians. By Thomas Sowell

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell052113.php3#.UZt4nKK-o0E

Excerpt: An all too familiar scene was enacted on the campus of Swarthmore College during a meeting on May 4th to discuss demands by student activists for the college to divest itself of its investments in companies that dealt in fossil fuels. As a speaker was beginning a presentation to show how many millions of dollars such a disinvestment would cost the college, student activists invaded the meeting, seized the microphone and shouted down a student who rose in the audience to object. Although there were professors and administrators in the room — including the college president — apparently nobody had the guts to put a stop to these storm trooper tactics.

Oklahoma

I tend to report on political items, stay away from natural disasters, which are covered 24/7 by the media. But I would note that in Oklahoma, as in Newtown, regardless of politics, the death of children is heartbreaking. It doesn’t bear contemplation.

Tornado from Morning Jolt with Jim Geraghty

The "worst tornado in the history of the world" hit the Oklahoma City suburbs yesterday. You know what to do: American Red Cross. Salvation Army. Recovers.org. Mercury One is organizing two truckloads from the Dallas area.

Before the bodies are cold, Democratic Sen. Whitehouse blames GOP for global warming-caused deaths in Oklahoma
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/20/democratic-senator-goes-on-anti-gop-rant-over-climate-change-as-tornadoes-hit-oklahoma/#ixzz2TtAhZGZQ

Excerpt: While many Americans were tuned into news coverage of the massive damage from tornadoes ravaging the state of Oklahoma, Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse took to the Senate floor to rail against his Republican colleagues for denying the theory of anthropogenic global warming. Whitehouse spent 15 minutes chastising GOP senators and justified his remarks by alluding to states that seek federal assistance in the wake of natural disasters. … “Why do you, Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, care if we Republicans run off the climate cliff like a bunch of proverbial lemmings and disgrace ourselves? (Alinksy. Let no crisis go to waste. As author suggests, talk about spinning a tornado tragedy….There is still lots of $$ somewhere in gov or shadow gov to spray metal fragments in sky to “cool” the warming, multiple times a day, causing divergences in the jet streams, reversal of monsoon flow, droughts and stripping the bark off trees, which, silly them, convert CO2 to oxygen as God planned…. Why not evaluate this “climate geo-engineering” before it is done? Still feeling like a lab rat. But blame Bush. Blame GOP. The only disgrace to the GOP will be if they do not have the gumption to hold the tiller and stay the course. –Barb. According to the pro-warming scientists, there has been no significant warming since 1995, which they try to explain away. But why would a Democrat let a science fact stop him from exploiting a tragedy? ~Bob. Geo-engineering reportedly is redirecting the jet streams, creating floods and droughts, acidifying the seas, reversing ocean currents and making bark peel off trees, with large die offs--even in formerly pristine Hawaii--because Hawaii being sprayed “except when POTUS visiting.” Perhaps this man (will not call him a gentleman) needs to redirect his rage and get his head out of a dark, wet place and read more resources via the internet….. Geo-engineering flights have not stopped because of the sequester, unlike the Blue Angels, etc. )

The IRS; Obama's "Iron Fist"

http://justcommonsense-lostinamerica.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-irs-obamas-iron-fist.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FMoXTa+%28Lost+in+America%29

Excerpt: Last year I wrote a blog entitled "What If 50 Million Of Us Stop Paying Taxes"....doesn't sound like a bad idea this year, does it?. We've learned in recent weeks that the Obama Administration has used the IRS as an "enforcer" and political advocate for Obama and his minions. Now don't you find this ironic as hell? I mean, here we have the already dreaded Internal Revenue Service denying equitable political tax status to conservative groups, issuing "citizen warnings" against street protesting of Planned Parenthood, throwing up roadblocks against the Tea Party while greasing the skids for every liberal political movement known to man.

White House story on IRS targeting evolves. By Zachary Roth

http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/05/20/white-house-story-on-irs-targeting-evolves/

Excerpt: In a briefing Monday afternoon, presidential press secretary Jay Carney offered new information on what the White House knew about an internal IRS report on the targeting of conservative groups—information that’s at odds with the impression Carney left last week. … Carney also said that the information wasn’t shared with the president, suggesting that this was done to avoid any chance of improper intervention in the IG report. (And so he has what they call “plausible deniability.” ~Bob.)

Tweet from Gabriel Malor‏@gabrielmalor

I want to know the names of the folks who get to decide what Obama doesn't need to know. What are their credentials? Who elected them?

Scandal! Walter Shapiro’s Rough Rules for Responsible Mongering

http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/walter_shapiros_rough_rules_for_responsible_scandal_mongers.php

 Excerpt: But over the years I have picked up a dollop of journalistic perspective. Many scandals have an awkward habit of not playing out exactly how political partisans expect them to. For example, it turns out that Valerie Plame was originally “outed” as a CIA agent not by Karl Rove or Scooter Libby, but by a supposed Washington good guy, Richard Armitage, Colin Powell’s deputy. As Barack Obama suddenly faced a three-front fight last week (Benghazi, the IRS, and the seizure of phone records from The Associated Press), I appreciated how hard it is to be a columnist in the midst of what was routinely called “the worst week of his presidency.”

Subsidizing Failure

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=23194&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD

Excerpt: There is at least one place with huge potential for ending wasteful higher education spending: to stop subsidizing students who do not graduate and put their education to good use, say Jenna Ashley Robinson and Jay Schalin of the Pope Center for Higher Education. According to a forthcoming study by Harry Stille, the director of the Higher Education Research/Policy Center in Greenville, South Carolina, the key is admissions policy -- the more qualified the students, the more likely (and sooner) they are to graduate. Stille's data show that the relationship between admissions criteria and graduation rates is extremely strong. The 10 state university systems that have the most difficult admissions criteria were all in the top 20 systems for graduation rates. Conversely, of the 10 state systems with the easiest admissions criteria, only two -- New Hampshire (6) and Rhode Island (15) -- ranked higher than 37th best for graduation rates. (But what about that holy grail, “Diversity”? Highly-qualified Asian students are now racially discriminated against in favor of lower qualified students from other minority groups. Racism in pursuit of progressive chimeras is perfectly okay. And you pay for it. ~Bob.)

The Federal Reserve’s Unsound Policies. By John A. Allison

http://www.cato.org/policy-report/mayjune-2013/federal-reserves-unsound-policies

Excerpt: The Federal Reserve is increasing the long-term risk in our financial system through both its monetary and regulatory policies. It is simultaneously redistributing wealth from moderate-income savers to high-income households and laying the foundation for another housing bubble. From 1914 until 2007 the Fed’s balance sheet grew to $900 billion. Since 2007 the balance sheet has exploded to $3.2 trillion and is growing $80 billion per month. The Fed’s capital ratio is currently 1.3 percent, while the average capital ratio of the largest banks is 8.0 percent. (Fiscal disaster slouching towards Washington. ~Bob.)

How Iran Benefits From an Illicit Gold Trade With Turkey. By Jonathan Schanzer

http://defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/how-iran-benefits-from-an-illicit-gold-trade-with-turkey/

Excerpt: Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has arrived in Washington, D.C. for a much-anticipated summit with President Barack Obama. The timing of the visit -- amid reports of chemical weapons usage in Syria and an attack against a Turkish border town by alleged Syrian agents -- will make it hard to talk about anything other than the civil war in Syria. But some members of Congress want to draw attention to a less-obvious issue.

Congress Hits the Road. By Floyd Brown

http://www.capitolhilldaily.com/2013/05/congress-travel-expense/

Excerpt: I often think of this phrase when I contemplate the U.S. Congress. They ignore real problems while they focus on self-serving tasks like globe-trotting. And trust me… there’s no shortage of trotting going on. In 2012, 172 House members visited over 90 countries and every continent except Antarctica. Because the finances of these trips are closely-guarded secrets, it’s nearly impossible to know how much taxpayer money was spent. What we DO know is that congressmen often travel by military aircraft, and these flights can cost the taxpayers as much as $10,000 per hour to operate.

Capitol Hill Daily Why America Spends So Much on Foreign Aid. By Floyd Brown

http://www.westernjournalism.com/why-america-spends-so-much-on-foreign-aid/#!

Excerpt: When our bank accounts start to get low, we all find ways to cut back, right? We scour our budgets, look closely at our needs, and find a way to tighten our belts. Well, that may happen in our houses, but it never happens in government. Congress continues spending and our debt keeps growing. And the reason this happens is very simple. You see, powerful special interests benefit immensely from the spending. And they pass some of the profits back to members of Congress in the form of campaign contributions.

Deleterious Neglect: Will the U.S. Navy Surrender Maritime Asia? Having gone unchallenged for decades, and facing budget cuts, the U.S. Navy is in danger of losing its capability to challenge the PLA in its near seas. By Toshi Yoshihara and James Holmes

http://thediplomat.com/2013/05/20/deleterious-neglect-will-the-u-s-navy-surrender-maritime-asia/

Excerpt: The Chinese navy's surface forces are on the march. Destroyers, frigates, corvettes, fast-attack craft, and, most recently, the newly commissioned aircraft carrier comprise the surface fleet. Over the past two decades, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy) has put to sea four Sovremenny-class guided-missile destroyers procured from Russia, along with ten new classes of indigenously built destroyers and frigates. Some of the latter ship types have entered serial production, adding mass to the fleet. This is an impressive feat by any standard.

Worth Reading: Exclusive: Hillary's Benghazi 'Scapegoat' Speaks Out. By Josh Rogin

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/20/exclusive-hillary-s-benghazi-scapegoat-speaks-out.html

Excerpt: Following the attack in Benghazi, senior State Department officials close to Hillary Clinton ordered the removal of a mid-level official who had no role in security decisions and has never been told the charges against him. He is now accusing Clinton’s team of scapegoating him for the failures that led to the death of four Americans last year. … The decision to place Maxwell on administrative leave was made by Clinton’s chief of staff Cheryl Mills, according to three State Department officials with direct knowledge of the events. (Is this the guy Obama promised to “Bring to justice” for Benghazi? If they wanted to place me on leave at work, but continue to pay me, I guess I could go alone. ~Bob. Trying to crawl out from under the regime bus? How un-American….He should be a contented bump in the road. –Barb.)

Benghazi Scapegoat? Mid-Level State Department Official Is Talking….

http://floppingaces.net/2013/05/20/bengahzi-scapegoat-mid-level-state-department-official-is-talking/

Excerpt: Who is Cheryl Mills: Cheryl Mills is no run-of-the-mill State Department apparatchik, even among the top tier. She’s been one of the Clintons’ right-hand men for decades. She worked in Bill’s White House legal office, then as counsel to Hillary’s presidential campaign, then became chief of staff at State when Hillary was appointed secretary. She is Hillary’s hatchet man. 

Public Sharply Critical on IRS, Benghazi; But Economy Cuts Obama Some Slack

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/public-sharply-critical-on-irs-benghazi-but-economy-cuts-obama-some-slack/

Excerpt: Americans in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll sharply reject special scrutiny of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, suspect an administration cover-up of the Benghazi incident and express substantial distrust of the federal government more generally. Yet the national survey also finds no backlash against Barack Obama, at least at this point. 

Nixon Is a Fair Comparison. By Victor Davis Hanson

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/348810/nixon-fair-comparison-victor-davis-hanson

Excerpt: There have been lots of comparisons, most hotly dismissed by the president’s defenders, between Nixon and Obama, but in some ways the latest scandals have the potential to match or even trump those of 1973–4. Nixon’s sins were primarily domestic; no one died. Benghazi goes to the heart of U.S. foreign policy, when an administration knowingly misled the United States, and stuck to a preelection campaign narrative that ensured a facility was endangered, help was not sent, Americans died, and a petty crook would be jailed to take the rap — while officials for weeks peddled an untruth.

Keith Olbermann, other liberal media figures turn against Obama over reporter targeting

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/20/olbermann-liberal-media-figures-turn-against-obama-over-reporter-targeting/

Excerpt: Many liberal reporters and commentators have dismissed or downplayed the emerging Benghazi and Internal Revenue Service scandals as non-scandals or trifling bureaucratic errors. But reports that the Justice Department has been targeting journalists, first reporters at The Associated Press and now Fox News’ James Rosen, has caused the generally Obama-admiring press to question the purity of their redeemer. (Guess they are all racists too. ~Bob.)

IRS targeted conservative college interns

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/20/irs-targeted-conservative-college-interns/

Excerpt: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) demanded information about conservative groups’ college-aged interns, prompting outrage from one of the country’s top conservative activist organizations and leading one former intern to wonder whether his family’s pizza parlor would be endangered. (Not the first anti-government student group put out of business. The White Rose Society was dealt with in 1943. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rose ~Bob.)

Syria, Israel exchange fire over border

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-21/217847-syria-army-says-it-destroys-israel-military-vehicle-in-golan.ashx#axzz2TvWU2NbL

Excerpt: Syria said Tuesday it destroyed an Israeli vehicle that crossed the ceasefire line in the Golan Heights overnight, while the Israeli military said gunfire from Syria had hit an Israeli patrol, damaging a vehicle and prompting its troops to fire back. The two sides appeared to be referring to the same incident.

The Cold War Heats Up in Syria: Why Russia won't allow an intervention. By Julia Ioffe

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113255/syria-why-russia-and-united-states-cant-agree#

Excerpt: The violence in Syria has descended into sectarian warfare, attracting Islamic extremists from all over the world. Tensions with Turkey have escalated as the conflict claims Turkish lives and threatens to spill across its border. The West, wringing its hands over whether and how to intervene, has offered a diplomatic solution, but one that requires an impossible, simultaneous laying down of arms. Russia, in the meantime, continues to send its navy to putter around menacingly at the Syrian port of Tartus, where it has a small base; it also continues to sell arms to Assad’s regime, despite U.S. objections. 

U.S. says concerned with charges against Egyptian journalists

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/20/us-egypt-journalists-usa-idUSBRE94J0RB20130520

Excerpt: The United States on Monday expressed concern over defamation charges brought against two Egyptian journalists critical of President Mohamed Mursi and called on the government to condemn actions that stifle freedom of expression. (Silly Muslims, you don’t charge journalists. You tap their phones and audit them. ~Bob.)

Businessman Linked by U.S. to Hezbollah Is Arrested in Brazil in a Fraud Scheme

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/world/americas/man-linked-by-us-to-hezbollah-is-arrested-in-brazil.html?ref=world&_r=0

Excerpt: The Brazilian police have arrested a businessman listed by the United States as a member of Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group, under suspicion of operating a fraudulent scheme in the clothing industry — a far cry from the arms, drugs, explosives and counterfeit bills that American officials have suspected him of trafficking in during the past.

Dagestan bombs kill four, two dead in shootout near Moscow

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/20/us-russia-blasts-dagestan-idUSBRE94J0CN20130520

Didn’t get the memo. ~Bob. Excerpt: Two car bombs killed at least four people and wounded dozens of others on Monday in one of the bloodiest attacks this year in Dagestan, a turbulent province in Russia's North Caucasus region where armed groups are waging an Islamist insurgency.

Russia Levada Centre pollsters targeted as 'foreign agents'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22599321

Excerpt: The head of Russia's only independent polling agency, Levada Centre, has said it could be forced to close after a warning from officials that it had to obey a controversial new law.

A Bumper Crop of Food Stamps

http://blog.heritage.org/2013/05/21/morning-bell-food-stamps-farm-bill/?roi=echo3-15702178574-12818665-e3edbf1c188d106b26dd1b48bd4c28af&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Excerpt: Where do food stamps come from? They come from taxpayers—certainly not from family farms. Yet the “farm” bill, a recurring subsidy-fest in Congress, is actually 80 percent food stamps and other government nutrition programs.

Another Obamacare Lie. By Mike Shedlock 

http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/mikeshedlock/2013/05/21/another-obamacare-lie-n1601897?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Excerpt: Here's the question of the day: If you have a choice (and you many not for long because companies are abandoning grandfathered plans) Should you skip Obamacare and keep your old plan?

Obama: Serial Liar. By Daniel Greenfield 

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/obama-serial-liar/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=96159779a5-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag&utm_term=0_57e32c1dad-96159779a5-156414477

Excerpt: Will Rogers, the great humorist, once said, “If you ever injected truth into politics, you would have no politics.” If you injected truth into the teleprompter during one of Obama’s speeches, there would be nothing left but an empty chair. Fourteen days after the September 11, 2012 attacks, Obama appeared at the United Nations to deliver a eulogy for the man he had not troubled to save and to declare that the future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.

France’s Growing Islamist Problem. By Ryan Mauro 

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/ryan-mauro/frances-growing-islamist-problem/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=96159779a5-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag&utm_term=0_57e32c1dad-96159779a5-156414477

Excerpt: The reaction to a recent Muslim robbery of a priest in France is a sad indication of where the country is headed. A Catholic official pointed out, “If it had been an imam or rabbi, he [the Interior Minister] would already been on the spot.” This is no surprise, as Socialist President Hollande’s pandering to the Muslim population played a large role in his election.

Worth Reading: Why the Peaceful Majority is Irrelevant

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/6996#.UZuAR6K-o0F

Excerpt: We are told again and again by experts and talking heads that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unquantified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam. (“I also believe that the vast majority of Germans and Japanese in 1939 wanted to live in peace and make better lives for their families. Unfortunately, they were mostly irrelevant, because the extremists had the guns and the power. Those who weren’t irrelevant and spoke out died violently at the hands of the extremists. And while freedom has had support from moderate, peaceful Muslims, they are too often irrelevant, cowed or controlled by those with the guns, just as the Germans and Japanese were in 1939.” From The Coming Collapse of the American Republic by Robert A. Hall, CreateSpace, 2011.)

Progressivism --- A Scandal Unto Itself. By Arnold Ahlert

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0513/ahlert052113.php3#.UZuDGaK-o0E

Excerpt: Back in 2008 and several times since, I have posited that there are two kinds of Americans. There are those who look at the totality of our history and conclude, warts and all, that we are the greatest nation on earth. Then there are those who look at the same data and conclude that America is a fundamentally damaged enterprise in need of a complete overhaul. I noted that while the latter group is as entitled to their opinion as the former group, putting them in charge of the nation would be a terrible thing to do. If there is anything that ties together the three current scandals afflicting the Obama administration, it is this odious--and progressive--worldview.

Mr. Obama and green persimmons. By Wesley Pruden

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/pruden052113.php3#.UZuDcKK-o0E

Excerpt: The Republicans who can't wait to talk impeachment should sit down, shut up, and be patient. President Obama may yet deserve impeachment, but we're not there yet. Patience, as anyone old enough to remember Watergate knows, is how this game is played. Republicans tempted to reach too far too soon should remember that when impeachable presidents, like persimmons, are picked green, they're inedible. Once ripened, they're delicious.

Obama's Emptiest Benghazi Talking Point. By Michelle Malkin

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/michelle/malkin052113.php3#.UZuDxaK-o0E

Excerpt: On Sept. 12, 2012, President Barack Obama vowed to "bring to justice" the perpetrators of the deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya. On Oct. 26, 2012, Obama said his "biggest priority" was bringing the "folks" in Libya responsible for murdering four Americans to "justice." Tick, tock, tick, tock. While White House press secretary Jay Carney sneers at the GOP's "obsession" with what went wrong at the besieged Libyan consulate, Obama continues to ply his emptiest talking point. On May 13, 2013, more than eight months after the bloody disaster, Obama snippily reminded reporters that he had told us all back in September that "we would find out what happened, we would make sure that it did not happen again, and we would make sure that we held accountable those who had perpetrated this terrible crime."

Gunmen Attack Pakistani Polio Team, Kill Policeman

http://www.rferl.org/content/pakistan-polio-attack/24991562.html

Didn’t get the memo. ~Bob. Excerpt: Pakistani officials say gunmen attacked a polio vaccination team in the country's northwest, killing a policeman who was escorting the health workers.

Accused rioter Mohammed Issai Issaka berated in court after refusing to stand for Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/accused-rioter-mohammed-issai-issaka-berated-in-court-after-refusing-to-stand-for-magistrate-jacqueline-milledge/story-fni0cx4q-1226646584711

Excerpt: Sgt Catherine Sadler said she saw Issaka dragged towards the police van and she heard him yell out: "You’re not a lady, you’re f…ing filth". "I don’t recall anyone other female officers being there – I took the abuse as being towards me," she said.

Roadside Bomb Kills 6 Policemen In Afghanistan

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-05-20-08-57-38

Excerpt: A powerful roadside bomb killed six policemen in western Afghanistan on Tuesday when their vehicle hit the explosives buried in the road, an Afghan official said.

Afghanistan: Jihad-martyrdom suicide bomber murders 14 at provincial council

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/05/aghanistan-jihad-martyrdom-suicide-bomber-murders-14-at-provincial-council.html

Excerpt: A suicide bomber dressed in a police uniform killed 14 people including a prominent provincial council chief Monday in northern Afghanistan in an attack outside the council headquarters, authorities said. The Taliban insurgency quickly claimed responsibility.

Arabs Fly Nazi Flag near Hevron

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168146#.UZuGNqK-o0F

To the delight of Progressives. ~Bob.

Look Who's Rubber Stamping Foreign Vote-Counting: Certifies firm as 'efficient, secure, transparent, reliable'

http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/look-whos-rubber-stamping-foreign-vote-counting/#rGyzCBTOyglj6Oas.99 

Excerpt: The foreign-headquartered company that recently purchased the leading U.S. electronic voting firm is boasting that it was highlighted in a report on how technology is making the election process more efficient, secure, transparent, accessible and reliable. The report, WND has learned, was authored by a firm with links to billionaire activist George Soros….Yesterday, WND reported SCYTL announced its technology will be deployed at more U.S. jurisdictions ahead of the 2014 midterm elections.

Has an Iron Curtain Descended on the Cincinnati IRS Office?

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/05/20/has-an-iron-curtain-descended-on-the-cincinnati-irs-office/

Excerpt: ABC News visited the IRS Determinations office in Cincinnati, OH, the office that determines eligibility for 501(c)(3) and (4) groups. It has become a security state....But the answers – like the people involved – remained elusive.

Armed Police At IRS Office: Keeping Lid On Reporters Or Employees?

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/05/20/Armed-Police-Follow-Reporters-IRS-Employees-Scared-Off-From-Talking

Excerpt: Monday afternoon, ABC News released a chilling report that details what journalists have faced while trying to get some answers from the Cincinnati IRS office, which is where a majority of the Tea Party targeting took place. According to ABC, an "armed uniform police officer with the Federal Protective Service" "escorted" reporters through the public building. ABC says if the intent wasn't to "scare off" employees who might talk, "it was the effect." (Welcome to the USSR. –Barb)

Indiana Attorney General Probing Privacy Breach Of ‘Obamaphone’ Users

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/20/indiana-attorney-general-probing-privacy-breach-obamaphone-users/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fpolitics+%28Internal+-+Politics+-+Text%29#ixzz2TtTkDrzy

Excerpt: The Indiana attorney general’s office confirmed Monday it is investigating a security breach in which Social Security numbers and other personal information were posted online for roughly 44,000 low-income Americans who applied for a federal program that provides discount Internet and phone service. The program was nicknamed the “Obamaphone” during the 2012 election, though it actually started long before President Obama took office. … Federal law prohibits carriers from keeping applicants’ proof of eligibility. (Stored in India, per article. Purportedly, single violation can cost $1.5 million. –Barb)

Report: DOJ Leaked Docs To Smear Fast & Furious Whistleblower, Says IG

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/20/DOJ-Inspector-General-confirms-US-Attorney-DOJ-headquarters-leaked-documents-to-smear-Fast-and-Furious-whistleblower

Excerpt: The Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General published a new report Monday that confirms former U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke leaked a document intended to smear Operation Fast and Furious scandal whistleblower John Dodson. The DOJ IG said it found “Burke’s conduct in disclosing the Dodson memorandum to be inappropriate for a Department employee and wholly unbefitting a U.S. Attorney.” … One of those was Tracy Schmaler, the Director of the Department’s Office of Public Affairs, who resigned her position at the DOJ after emails uncovered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request showed that she worked with leftwing advocacy group Media Matters for America to smear whistleblowers and members of Congress and the media who sought to investigate DOJ scandals under Attorney General Eric Holder.

Google And Verizon Gave Government Reporters’ Records

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/05/20/Google-And-Verizon-Gave-Government-Reporters-Records

Excerpt: Google and Verizon Wireless reportedly gave government officials reporters’ private email and phone records as part of the Department of Justice’s seizure of journalists’ communications. According to the New York Times, two reporters’ personal cellphone records “were provided to the government by Verizon Wireless without any attempt to obtain permission to tell them so the reporters could ask a court to quash the subpoena.” Google reportedly turned over to the Obama Justice Department private emails belonging to Fox News reporter James Rosen, who was named “an aider and abettor and/or co-conspirator” for his reporting on North Korea.(Per article, “Google and Verizon employees have donated heavily to President Barack Obama.” Surprise, surprise. –Barb)

Obama and the IRS: The Smoking Gun? President met with anti-Tea Party IRS union chief the day before agency targeted Tea Party. By Jeffrey Lord 

http://spectator.org/archives/2013/05/20/obama-and-the-irs-the-smoking

Excerpt: According to the White House Visitors Log, provided here in searchable form by U.S. News and World Report, the president of the anti-Tea Party National Treasury Employees Union, Colleen Kelley, visited the White House at 12:30pm that Wednesday noon time of March 31st. The White House lists the IRS union leader’s visit this way: Kelley, Colleen Potus 03/31/2010 12:30 In White House language, “POTUS” stands for “President of the United States.” The very next day after her White House meeting with the President, according to the Treasury Department’s Inspector General’s Report, IRS employees — the same employees who belong to the NTEU — set to work in earnest targeting the Tea Party and conservative groups around America. 

IRS union denies ‘smoking gun’ meeting with Obama
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/20/irs-union-denies-smoking-gun-meeting-with-obama/#ixzz2TtI6wiiD

Excerpt: Monday, The American Spectator raised the possibility that Kelley’s March 31, 2010 visit could represent a “smoking gun” to conclude that the White House had more involvement in the tea party targeting than originally reported.

Has the IRS Already Seized Your Medical Records? If you think your intimate health information is private in the era of Obamacare, think again. By David Catron

http://spectator.org/archives/2013/05/20/has-the-irs-already-seized-you

excerpt: And this is where you should begin to have real fears for your privacy. Your medical records, once the province of highly trained medical professionals, are now routinely accessed by all manner of individuals uninvolved in your medical treatment. And many of these individuals are not closely supervised by medical professionals. Indeed, many of the people who have access to your medical records are not supervised by anyone.

Adios CSCO’: Texas abolishes CSCOPE lesson plans in public schools
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/20/texas-abolishes-cscope-lesson-plans-in-public-schools/#ixzz2TtHCNVYl

Excerpt: In a pretty shocking move, the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative — the entity that administers CSCOPE — announced Monday that it has agreed to cease production of lesson plans for its much-criticized online curriculum system….They pointed to lesson plans informing kids in the state’s public schools that Islam and communism are awesome, just for example. Students also learned that the Boston Tea Party was a terrorist attack, that Christianity is a cult and that a Malthusian population catastrophe is about to overtake the planet.

Time to abolish the IRS … and the income tax, too!http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/20/time-to-abolish-the-irs-and-the-income-tax-too/#ixzz2TtFSL3LJ

Excerpt: The scandal involving the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative groups reinforces an important point — the IRS is a weapon. It was a weapon utilized by the Clinton administration in the 1990s, and it appears that the Obama administration has taken a page out of Clinton’s book. Whether or not the White House was directly involved in the current IRS scandal, one thing is clear: the IRS is too easily politicized and can be used as a hammer to crush political opponents. (While at it, OCare, DOE, DOL, UN, DHS….all libraries, pensions and no consultations for foreign governments against US interests. Need to check DOL “audit” abuse of farmers, ranchers, etc. as well. –Barb)

Tax-exempt Obama Foundation doesn’t exist at listed addresses
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/20/tax-exempt-obama-foundation-doesnt-exist-at-listed-addresses/#ixzz2TtESR9Zh

Excerpt: The “charity” run by President Barack Obama’s half-brother that was fast-tracked for IRS tax-exempt status is based at a Virginia UPS store, according to its website. The organization’s IRS filings list another Virginia address that is actually a drug rehab center where the foundation does not appear ever to have been based. … The charity was even given retroactive tax-exempt status despite never having bothered to apply for it. And its history of soliciting donations before receiving tax-exempt status was apparently overlooked.

How much news has the Obama administration successfully suppressed? By Philip Klein

http://washingtonexaminer.com/how-much-news-has-the-obama-administration-successfully-suppressed/article/2530115?utm_source=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest%20-%2005/21/2013&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest

Excerpt: Additionally, the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza obtained the full application for a search warrant of Rosen’s personal email account, in which the DOJ accused him of being “an aider and abettor and/or co-conspirator.” As Lizza put it, “Rosen was not charged with any crime, but it is unprecedented for the government, in an official court document, to accuse a reporter of breaking the law for conducting the routine business of reporting on government secrets.”

Ex-Diplomats Report New Benghazi Whistleblowers with Info Devastating to Clinton and Obama. By Roger Simon

http://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2013/05/21/pjm-exclusive-ex-diplomats-report-new-benghazi-whistleblowers-with-info-devastating-to-clinton-and-obama/

Excerpt: More whistleblowers will emerge shortly in the escalating Benghazi scandal, according to two former U.S. diplomats who spoke with PJ Media Monday afternoon. These whistleblowers, colleagues of the former diplomats, are currently securing legal counsel because they work in areas not fully protected by the Whistleblower law. (I hope their tax returns are in order. ~Bob. Per article, “Regarding General Ham, military contacts of the diplomats tell them that AFRICOM had Special Ops “assets in place that could have come to the aid of the Benghazi consulate immediately (not in six hours).” Author does note that currently, hearsay and not testimony. --Barb)

Universal Background Checks: Shouldn’t We Review the Statistics? By Clayton E. Cramer

http://pjmedia.com/blog/universal-background-checks-shouldnt-we-review-the-statistics/

Excerpt: From all the discussion of requiring universal firearms background checks, you might assume that this is an entirely untried idea in the United States. Not at all: there are at least thirteen states that have had, for some years, some sort of mandatory background check for firearms transfers. … What startles from my paper’s findings is how ineffective those laws have been at what should be the most important measure: murder rate. (The reason is that liberals want background checks, but don’t want to punish anyone who tries to buy a gun illegally. Those folks mostly come from the Democrat base, and we wouldn’t want to upset the base by enforcing the law. ~Bob.)

Jihad experts decry White House terror training guidelines. By Neil Munro

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/20/jihad-experts-decry-white-house-terror-training-guidelines/#ixzz2TrtWW6VZ

Excerpt: Experts on Islam and terrorism are decrying the Department of Homeland Security’s recently revealed anti-terrorism training guidelines, which pressure cops to ignore Islamic beliefs when investigating terror crimes. The Boston bombings demonstrated the impact of such training, Andrew McCarthy, a former New York prosecutor, told The Daily Caller.

Mia Love To Run For Congress Again In 2014

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/mia-love-2014_n_3312704.html

A successful, black, conservative woman, the kind of role model every black kid should look up to. And every Progressive’s nightmare, thus their racist attacks on her in the last election. ~Bob. Excerpt: Love, the mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, unsuccessfully ran against Democrat Jim Matheson in 2012, losing her bid to represent the state's 2nd congressional district by fewer than 800 votes. She announced her decision to run again during the Utah Republican Party's annual convention.

At least 2,091 US military deaths in Afghanistan since 2001
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/21/at-least-201-us-military-deaths-in-afghanistan-since-2001/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fnational+%28Internal+-+US+Latest+-+Text%29#ixzz2Tx2wwCCr

Excerpt: As of Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at least 2,091 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count. The AP count is one less than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Tuesday at 10 a.m. EDT. At least 1,732 military service members have died in Afghanistan as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. (and they died to save face for Obama. ~Bob.)

Fog Of Scandal: Senate Dems Trying To Rush Amnesty Bill To Floor, Sources Say

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/20/Sources-Senate-Democrats-attempting-to-rush-immigration-bill-through-committee-process-under-cover-of-scandal

Excerpt: Senate staffers told Breitbart News that Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) and “Gang of Eight” members appear to be attempting to use the cover of multiple scandals hitting the Obama administration to rush the proposed immigration reform bill out of committee and onto the Senate floor. On Monday night, the Judiciary Committee worked on a markup until around 10 p.m. One Senate staffer close to the process told Breitbart News that “the expectation is that they will pull an all night session on Tuesday and try to pass the bill out of committee tomorrow.”

Congresswoman to American People: ‘You Are Being Played for a Sucker’ by Obama

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/05/21/congresswoman-to-american-people-you-are-being-played-for-a-sucker-by-obama/

Excerpt: A Florida congresswoman said every American should know “you are being played for a sucker” by the Obama administration. “This administration is living up to its three codes: admit nothing, blame everybody, and deny everything. I mean they have been true to that every step of the way,” Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said on Fox Business. (Read the lyrics to “Razzle Dazzle” from “Chicago”…tell them how to get away with murder with folks not noticing…Barb)

CBS Reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s Computers were Compromised

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/05/21/cbs-reporter-sharyl-attkissons-computers-were-compromised/

Excerpt: Shortly after she began her dogged work on the Fast and Furious scandal, CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson says her home and work computers were compromised. “I can confirm that an intrusion of my computers has been under some investigation on my end for some months but I’m not prepared to make an allegation against a specific entity today as I’ve been patient and methodical about this matter,” Attkisson told POLITICO on Tuesday. “I need to check with my attorney and CBS to get their recommendations on info we make public.”

IRS Scandal: IRS Commissioner Defends ‘Lie By Omission’ To Congress

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/21/IRS-Scandal-Hatch-Accuses-Commissioner-of-Lie-by-Omission

Excerpt: "What I knew sometime in the spring of 2012 was that there was a list that was being used, knew that the words 'Tea Party' were being used," Shulman said, adding that he felt the proper approach was to ensure that there was an investigation. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) was not satisfied. "You didn't mention any of this in any of your letters...It's a lie by omission, and you kept it from people who have an obligation to oversee this matter," he said. (Ahhh, which brings to mind a favorite line from “A Man For All Seasons” story of Thomas More, later saint: Sir Thomas More: Not so. Not so, Master Secretary. The maxim is "Qui tacet consentire": the maxim of the law is "Silence gives consent". If therefore you wish to construe what my silence betokened, you must construe that I consented, not that I denied. –Barb)

The Progressive Glossary. By Jim Goad.
http://takimag.com/article/the_progressive_glossary_jim_goad/print#ixzz2TxObwQoD
Excerpt: SOCIAL JUSTICE—A fairy-tale belief system positing that the winners are solely responsible for the losers’ plight. SOCIOPATH—A non-socialist. STARTING A DIALOGUE—Starting a monologue.

Feeding Shirts to the Homeless. By Kathy Shaidle
http://takimag.com/article/feeding_shirts_to_the_homeless_kathy_shaidle/print#ixzz2TxQuUgmg
Excerpt: Only last week, I railed against the masses’ naïve and patronizing compulsion to embrace dubious lower-class “heroes” such as Cleveland’s Charles Ramsey. Now another one of these instant Internet saviors is sporting a busted halo. Remember “Kai,” the hatchet-wielding, couch-surfing hippie hobo who supposedly busted up a semi-hate crime in Fresno?