Berman Post

Nonprofit tea-party chief - I’ve been hassled not just by the IRS but by the FBI, ATF, and OSHA'

2013-05-20T23:59:00.000-04:00

Fox News on Rosen (Fox News) Targeting

2013-05-20T23:53:00.000-04:00

Obama - 'I Fantasize About Dropping the Act and Just Telling Everyone My Truth'

2013-05-20T23:48:00.000-04:00

With so many scandles, it was easy to miss this slip of the mask.

http://ace.mu.nu/archives/340160.php

"Does this mean he's not quite on the level when he constantly claims he's just all about the middle class?
Buried in the 17th paragraph of one of those mewling New York Times pieces on the woes of Obama — can we start calling him Woe-bama yet? — appeared these two words: “going Bulworth.”

Obama himself, the Times explained, has been “longingly” telling his inner circle that what he’d really like to do is what Sen. Jay Bulworth, played by Warren Beatty in his 1998 movie “Bulworth,” did: to go public as an unabashed, angry and admitted socialist.

It’s as if Ronald Reagan had been caught saying he wanted to “Go Strangelove.”

In confessing his dreams of “going Bulworth,” Obama confirmed that what he thinks and what he says out loud are two different things. He let slip the mask of a center-left moderate — a “pragmatist” who only cares about “what works.” The press and even right-of-center columnists like Ross Douthat and David Brooks have always insisted that this completely unconvincing masquerade is genuine.

No follow-up from the New York Times, of course. It's natural to ask What would the Truth sound like, should you utter it? At least it would be natural if you were interested in gathering and then reporting new information.

But the Times isn't interested in that. They realize Obama is best served by signaling the left while continuing to proclaim his same rehearsed horseshit for the rest of the country, so they do not inquire any deeper."

Brit Hume (Fox News) - ‘Chilling’ Search Of Fox Reporter Shows DOJ Treats ‘Ordinary News Gathering As Crime’

2013-05-20T23:42:00.000-04:00

Video embedded below.

White House senior aides knew details of IRS probe

2013-05-20T23:39:00.000-04:00

But did not tell Obama? That does not pass the smell test. Unless of course that was part of the design. That is to say make sure Obama did not 'offically' no anything to give him plausable deniability. That might even be worse.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/05/20/white-house-senior-aides-knew-details-of-irs-probe-earlier-spokesman-says

"Senior White House officials, including Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, learned last month about a review by the Treasury Department’s inspector general into whether the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, but they did not inform President Obama, the White House said Monday.

The acknowledgement is the White House’s latest disclosure in a piecemeal, sometimes confusing release of details concerning the extent to which White House officials knew of the IG’s findings that IRS officials engaged in the “inappropriate” targeting of conservative non-profits for heightened scrutiny. Previously, the White House said counsel Kathryn Ruemmler did not learn about the final results of the investigation until the week of April 22nd, and had not disclosed that McDonough and other aides had also been told about the investigation. On Monday, White House Spokesman Jay Carney said a member of Ruemmler’s staff learned of the probe the week of April 16; Ruemmler learned of the investigation on April 24th; and after that point she informed the chief of staff and other aides about the probe’s findings.

The White House has said President Obama did not learn of the IRS’s actions until he saw news reports on the matter earlier this month."

Justice Department targeted TWO Fox News Channel reporters and a producer for talking with government sources

2013-05-20T23:35:00.000-04:00

Alternative headline, Justice Department targets Fox News employeses for doing their job.

No words; strike that, people need to go to jail. Not just lose their jobs, go to jail...

Video embedded below.

Michele Bachmann & Congressional Republicans Call for IRS Investigation

2013-05-20T23:31:00.000-04:00

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Parking Regulations Driving Away Business!

2013-05-20T23:28:00.000-04:00

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Ohio Liberty Coalition versus the I.R.S. (Tom Zawistowski)

2013-05-20T23:20:00.000-04:00

Video embedded below.

Former SecDef Donald Rumsfeld discusses Benghazi on the Andrea Tantaros Show

2013-05-20T23:05:00.000-04:00

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Scandalpalooza!

2013-05-20T23:00:00.000-04:00

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Denial: 25 Years Without a Soul - Q/A with Jonathan Rauch

2013-05-19T23:00:00.000-04:00

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Alex Nowrasteh debates Heritage Study on Documenting Immigrants

2013-05-18T23:00:00.000-04:00

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The I.R.S. Abusing Americans Is Nothing New

2013-05-17T23:34:00.000-04:00

Which of course does not make this any better.

Video embedded below.

Scarborough Says IRS Scandal Makes Gun Background Checks A Little Less Appealing

2013-05-17T23:31:00.000-04:00

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IRS hid existence of Tea Party targeting documents?

2013-05-17T23:25:00.000-04:00

Part of the growing scandel, or a seperate but related scandel...

http://freebeacon.com/cover-up

"The Internal Revenue Service denied the existence of any documents related to its policy of targeting Tea Party organizations in response to a 2010 Freedom of Information Act request, even though such documents were later discovered by the IRS inspector general.

The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, a conservative nonprofit group, filed a FOIA request in 2010 through investigative journalist Lynn K. Walsh seeking all IRS documents related to the agencies tax-exempt division specifically mentioning the Tea Party.

IRS headquarters responded in 2011 that it “found no documents specifically responsive to your request.”

However, the May 14 inspector general report found that the “first Sensitive Case Report [identifying Tea Party groups] was prepared by the Technical Unit” in April of 2010.

The report’s timeline chronicles the existence of numerous 2010 emails, memoranda, and policies related to the targeting of conservative organizations.

According to the IG timeline, an email was sent on July 27, 2010 “updating the description of applications involving potential political campaign intervention and providing a coordinator contact for the cases.”

“The description was changed to read, ‘These cases involve various local organizations in the Tea Party movement [that] are applying for exemption under 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4).’”

The IRS determinations unit developed a “be on the lookout” listing on Aug. 12, 2010, “in order to replace the existing practice of sending separate e-mails to all Determinations Unit employees as to cases to watch for, potentially abusive cases, cases requiring processing by the team of specialists, and emerging issues.”

The language of the listing was identical to the July 27, 2010 email.

“Either IRS Headquarters was entirely incompetent in maintaining awareness of prominent policies and documents within the IRS, or it deliberately covered up the existence of anti-conservative IRS policies. Either is terrifying,” Maurice Thompson, Executive Director of the 1851 Center, said in a statement. “Legal action is necessary to ensure that the IRS does not lie to taxpayers in this manner in the future.”"

Crowd applauds as GOP rep Mike Kelly lays into former IRS chief at hearing

2013-05-17T23:19:00.000-04:00

Video embedded below.

Piers Morgan (CNN): ‘This Is Vaguely Tyrannical Behavior by the American Government’

2013-05-17T23:15:00.000-04:00

Wow, even Peirs Morgan is coming around.

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IRS Commissioner Targeting Conservatives 'Absolutely Not Illegal'

2013-05-17T23:12:00.000-04:00

Crazy...

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IRS Hid Scandal Unil After The Election

2013-05-17T23:07:00.000-04:00

I am sure it was not political though...

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IRS asked pro-life group about 'the content of their prayers'

2013-05-17T23:03:00.000-04:00

Video embedded below.

West Wing Weak: Your Guide to Obama's Scandal-Filled Week

2013-05-17T23:00:00.000-04:00

Video embedded below.

Obama Holds a Press Conference

2013-05-16T23:59:00.000-04:00

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Second IRS Offical on The Chopping Block Was Also Set to Resign Next Month? Promoted only 8 Days Ago?

2013-05-16T23:53:00.000-04:00

More 'low level staffers' of couse...

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/05/16/abc-yes-its-true-the-acting-irs-commissioner-was-preparing-to-leave-in-a-few-weeks-anyway

" I take it we’ll find out tomorrow that this guy has been planning to retire for six months.

An internal IRS memo says Joseph Grant, commissioner of the agency’s tax exempt and government entities division, will retire June 3. Grant joins Steven Miller, who was forced to resign as acting IRS commissioner on Wednesday.

As part of his duties, Grant oversaw the IRS division that targeted tea party groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.
Grant wasn’t the commissioner of the tax-exempt division, he was the acting commissioner, just as Miller was the acting commissioner of the entire agency. Does that mean he’s term-limited too and was on his way out anyway?

Update: You can’t be serious.

Lauren French @laurennfrench

Joseph Grant, retiring IRS official, was promoted to commissioner of the tax-exempt division just 8 days ago
5:37 PM - 16 May 2013

Was he promoted from acting commissioner to commissioner, or from some lower rank to acting commissioner? I can’t find any personnel announcement online. The distinction is important, as one suggests this is a legit scalp-taking and the other suggests it’s a farce. If he was installed as permanent commissioner only to “retire” now, then obviously he was pushed out against his wishes. If he was merely promoted to acting commissioner, then it looks like he was elevated for the purpose of taking the fall."

Benghazi Emails Directly Contradict White House Claims

2013-05-16T23:49:00.000-04:00

What is still hiding in the rest of those emails.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/newly-released-benghazi-emails-directly-contradict-white-house-claims_724603.html

"The White House on Wednesday released 94 pages of emails between top administration and intelligence officials who helped shape the talking points about the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that the CIA would provide to policymakers in both the legislative and executive branches.

The documents, first reported by THE WEEKLY STANDARD in articles here and here, directly contradict claims by White House press secretary Jay Carney and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the revisions of those talking points were driven by the intelligence community and show heavy input from top Obama administration officials, particularly those at the State Department.

The emails provide further detail about the rewriting of the talking points during a 24-hour period from midday September 14 to midday September 15. As THE WEEKLY STANDARD previously reported, a briefing from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence shows that the big changes came in three waves – internally at the CIA, after email feedback from top administration officials, and during or after a meeting of high-ranking intelligence and national security officials the following morning.

The initial CIA changes softened some of the language about the participants in the Benghazi assault – from “Islamic extremists with ties to al Qaeda” to “Islamic extremists.” But CIA officials also added bullet points about the possible participation of Ansar al Sharia, an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group, and previous warnings about the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi. Those additions came out after the talking points were sent to “the interagency,” where the CIA’s final draft was further stripped down to little more than boilerplate. The half dozen references to terrorists – both in Benghazi and more generally – all but disappeared. Gone were references to al Qaeda, Ansar al Sharia, jihadists, Islamic extremists, etc. The only remaining mention was a note that “extremists” had participated in the attack.

As striking as what appears in the email traffic is what does not. There is no mention of the YouTube video that would become a central part of the administration’s explanation of the attacks to the American people until a brief mention in the subject line of emails coming out of an important meeting where further revisions were made.

Carney, in particular, is likely to face tough questioning about the contents of the emails because he made claims to reporters that were untrue. “The White House and the State Department have made clear that the single adjustment that was made to those talking points by either of those two – of these two institutions were changing the word ‘consulate’ to ‘diplomatic facility,’ because the word ‘consulate’ was inaccurate,” he told reporters on November 28, 2012.

That’s not true. An email sent at 9:15 PM on September 14, from an official in the CIA’s Office of Public Affairs to others at the agency, described the process this way. “The State Department had major reservations with much or most of the document. We revised the document with their concerns in mind.”"