Lois Lerner, the IRS official who invoked the Fifth Amendment when testifying before the House Oversight Committee, has been placed on administrative leave, with pay. Lerner was head of the Exempt Organizations division of the IRS, the division at the center of the IRS scandal over political discrimination of groups applying for 501(c)(4) status.

First she refused to testify. Now Lois Lerner, the IRS official at the center of the tax agency scandal, is refusing to resign, according to a top Republican senator.

Sources confirmed to Fox News earlier Thursday that Lerner, the head of the IRS division that oversaw the unit targeting conservative groups, had been placed on administrative leave, with pay.

According to one senator, Lerner was placed on leave after refusing to resign. She was reportedly asked to resign by the new acting IRS commissioner.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, claimed she was only put in that status after refusing to step down…

“My understanding is the new acting IRS commissioner asked for Ms. Lerner’s resignation, and she refused to resign.  She was then put on administrative leave instead,” Grassley said in a statement. “The IRS owes it to taxpayers to resolve her situation quickly.  The agency needs to move on to fix the conditions that led to the targeting debacle.”

This comes after House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa claimed Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights when she gave an opening statement asserting her innocence.

Lerner’s future with the IRS is hard to predict. Even if she is exonerated of any wrongdoing, the bad blood between her and Congress may make her position untenable.

We have seen this change in opinion on social issues result in a real change in policy. Liberals have finally started to win the long culture war on issues like LGBT rights and marijuana policy. In the last election same-sex marriage ballot measures and marijuana legalization initiatives won big in several states.

Interestingly, we haven’t seen a surge in economic liberalism. The number of people who considered themselves economically conservative spiked after Obama took office but since then the numbers have simply returned to where they were before 2008.

Social issue don’t tend to change big business in the way economic reforms would and our politics are heavily dependent of campaign donations. As a result, many Democrats have focused on advancing social issues to prove their liberal bona fides to the base.

AG Eric Holder

Attorney General Eric Holder signed off on a controversial search warrant that identified Fox News reporter James Rosen as a “possible co-conspirator” in violations of the Espionage Act and authorized seizure of his private emails, a law enforcement official told NBC News on Thursday.

The disclosure of the attorney general’s role came as President Barack Obama, in a major speech on his counterterrorism policy, said Holder had agreed to review Justice Department guidelines governing investigations that involve journalists.

Though Rosen was named a “co-conspirator” the Justice Department is not pursuing a case against him which seems to mean they may have misled the judge about their intentions in order to gain access to the information knowing they were not going to pursue a case.

Rosen, who has not been charged in the case, was nonetheless the target of a search warrant that enabled Justice Department investigators to secretly seize his private emails after an FBI agent said he had “asked, solicited and encouraged … (a source) to disclose sensitive United States internal documents and intelligence information.”

Not surprisingly the media is outraged. The violation of their privacy is not only unconstitutional but is a threat to journalism itself. Without the ability to provide protection for sources general, let alone investigative, journalism is impossible.

Attorney General Holder has yet to offer an explanation for his actions.

Photo by USDAgov, public domain

Senate Democrats are still angry over the Republican blockade of Caitlin Halligan, whom President Obama nominated in September of 2010 to serve on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. She withdrew her nomination in March.

“The filibuster of Caitlin Halligan was a travesty. It represented the demise of the Gang of 14 agreement that this Senate has operated under the last few years,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third-ranking member of the Senate Democratic leadership. “The blocking of the Halligan nomination proves that Republicans now treat judicial filibuster as the rule, not the exception.”

Already this saber rattle has worked. After a year of needless delays, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) finally allowed Sri Srinivasan to be confirmed to the DC Circuit Court in an unanimous vote.

This is appears to be a smart tactical retreat for McConnell. Given Reid’s history of threatening to fix the Senate then backing down at the last minute and several Democrats’ stated fear of democracy, McConnell may simply need to give Democrats a few token victories to stop the push for reform.

In the past, McConnell’s  merely agreeing to a “gentlemen’s agreement” and a set of incredibly minor and temporary rules changes were enough to take the momentum out of earlier pushes for real reform.

oHai

International Developments

❖ “Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has accused Iran’s leaders of incompetence and ignorance”.

❖ “Iran has installed hundreds of new centrifuges at its Natanz plant, the UN’s atomic agency says”.

❖ “Suicide bombers have struck a military camp and a French-run uranium mine” in Niger. At least 19 killed, 18 of them soldiers.

❖ “Britain to be physically removed from Europe”. ;)

International Finance

❖ Two points of light?  “Chile’s Recent Lead Negotiator on Trans-Pacific Partnership Warns It Could Be a ‘Threat to Our Countries’”.   There’s also concern in Japan.

❖ Ireland’s a wee bit uncomfortable with Apple’s disclosure of its Irish tax breaks.  Ireland’s Finance Minister pointed to the 150,000 Irish jobs generated by the Apple tax arrangement.  Prime Minister Enda Kenny called for a “new international consensus on tax regimes for multinationals” as he headed out the door to a EU meeting.

❖ “Shrinking eurozone output suggests recession in second quarter”.  France and Germany “still in contraction territory.”

❖ Stockholm suburbs ablaze  again due to “unrest sparked by long-term youth unemployment as poverty spreads.”

Money Matters USA

❖ “[D]esperate actions by desperate people fighting a rigged economic system and their own government’s implication in the policies that support it.”  Do-not-miss article by DDay on job action by fast food workers and federal minimum wage employees, homeowners’ protest in front of the DOJ, etc.

❖ Damage “caused by the relentless corporate drive for profits” is obvious.  ‘Multinationals’ = “No Allegiance to Anyone”, plus “Making the World Pay for Them”; includes a dirty quote from Larry Summers.

❖ Average CEO pay went from a record $9.6m in 2011 to $9.7m in 2012.  “Health care and media CEOs enjoyed the highest pay, while utility CEOs had the lowest”.  Oh, and 60% of CEOs got a raise last year.

❖ The West, TX fertilizer plant explosion last month “highlights the failing of a U.S. federal law intended to save lives during chemical accidents”. [cont'd]

Photo by Travis Wiens under Creative Commons license

pic via J. Stephen Conn at flickr.com

April 2013:

The Republicans who control Nashville rushed through committee a measure to create a state charter school authorizer — a centralized government body that strips school decisions away from local boards.

Charter schools approved by the state charger authorizer would have to be funded by local taxpayers whether there was money available or not.

That didn’t quite make it, but for-profit Charter Schools won’t give up:

Beth Harwell, Tennessee Speaker of the House:

‘ It was wonderful to me that our first and most important priority was the quality of the charter schools that we would have in the state of Tennessee. I think I’m most impressed that we really achieved bipartisan support; both Democrats and Republicans see the good that can come from charter schools in this state.’

May 2013:

Yeah, about “that good”, how are Tennessee Charter Schools achieving it?

Students are leaving in large numbers at a particularly important time of the school year, and the consequences may have an impact on test scores.Charter schools are literally built on the idea that they will outperform public, zoned schools. They are popular because they promise and deliver results, but some new numbers are raising big questions about charter schools.

One of the first things a visitor sees when stepping into Kipp Academy is a graph that shows how Kipp is outperforming Metro schools in every subject.

However, Kipp Academy is also one of the leaders in another stat that is not something to crow about.

When it comes to the net loss of students this year, charter schools are the top eight losers of students.

In short Charter schools are “outperforming” public schools on test scores by dumping their underperforming students on public schools just as testing starts.

And then crowing about their awesome results.

Yeah, seems just unfair enough for talking points.

Trout Fishing In America — Proper Cup of Coffee.

What’s on your mind?

Just after 7pm PT, a central portion of the I-5 Skagit River bridge in Washington State collapsed dumping several cars in the water. People were seen sitting on top of the cars, on top of the bridge wreckage waiting for rescue.

Live stream reporting from KIRO 7.

Live stream reporting from KOMO 4.

Continuing updates here.

Technical Details of the ‘riveted steel truss bridge’ from uglybridges.com. “Evaluation: Structurally deficient” “This website highlights the “ugly” condition of our nation’s bridges thanks to years of neglect and deferred maintenance.”

Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure.

From Peterr:

That “all of our bridges” quote ought to shame the Austerians. Right now,
money can be borrowed for pennies if governments want to do capital
projects, making repairs/replacements of bridges like these so much cheaper
than they would be when the economy is perking along. But that makes too
much sense . . .

8:51 pm PT: Fingers crossed, but no reported fatalities.

Pic

Pic

Various reports that a wide load truck hit it.

More after the jump…

(Cocktailhag is otherwise engaged this evening, unfortunately)

Tony Perkins

This is just pathetic. Apparently the Family Research Council is attempting to attach gay equality to the Department of Justice leak story:

When the Justice Department is done violating journalists’ First Amendment rights, it looks like they’ll move on to employees’. In a chilling memo to DOJ staff, the Obama administration is warning managers that they’d better start embracing homosexuality–or else. The email, which a Justice employee leaked to Liberty Counsel, is a scary reminder of how far this administration will go to crush free speech and expression in America.

In advance of June, the DOJ is priming its staff for a four-week in-your-face “gay pride” celebration that demands, not only the participation of–but affirmation by– all staff. Based on this new directive, “LGBT Inclusion at Work: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Managers,” it’s no longer acceptable to be quiet or even neutral on homosexuality. In a not-so-veiled threat, the administration tells staff that when it comes to homosexuality and cross-dressing, “Silence will be interpreted as disapproval.”
That’s absolutely outrageous. Even criminals have the right to remain silent! President Obama’s so-called Department of Justice is actually telling workers that there’s no place in the government for people with unspoken objections to homosexuality. In fact, writes NRO’s Ian Tuttle, “there is no longer a place even for private, unexpressed disapproval…”

Forget tolerance. The DOJ wants–and expects–vocal support for sexual deviance. Nowhere is that more evident than in this latest list of “DO”s and “DON’T”s, which includes some eye-opening advice for staff leaders. “DO assume that LGBT employees and their allies are listening to what you’re saying” (sound ominous?) “and will read what you’re writing (whether in a casual email or in a formal document).” “DO attend LGBT events sponsored by DOJ Pride” and decorate your office accordingly. “DO display a symbol in your office (DOJ Pride sticker).” “DO use a transgender person’s chosen name and the pronoun that is consistent with the person’s self-identified gender.” “DO use inclusive words like ‘partner,’ ‘significant other,’ or ‘spouse’ rather than gender-specific terms.”

It’s hilarious how FRC claims that the brochure in question was “leaked.” Makes the entire situation sounds ominous doesn’t it? Don’t be fooled by FRC’s shuck-and-jive.  There are certain facts about the brochure that FRC omitted. According to Ed Brayton of Free Thought Blogs:

First of all, this is a pamphlet of “practical tips to help managers create a truly inclusive workplace climate.” It’s not a set of commandments delivered from Mt. Sinai. It wasn’t even sent out by DOJ officials, it was sent out by DOJ Pride, the Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Employees of the U.S. Department of Justice and Their Allies.

In his post, Brayton was calling attention to the fact that another religious right spokesperson, Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel, was distorting the brochure. Brayton especially called attention to the fact that Barber was cherry-picking portions of the pamphlet to make it seem more ominous.

Apparently FRC is doing the same thing.  No matter how FRC attempts to make the brochure (this one) sound like a dangerously forced directive on behalf of the DOJ, it’s really not.  The brochure informs DOJ employees of the simple fact that some of their fellow employees are lgbt and gives tips as to how to behave towards them.

And really, what’s wrong with that?

I think FRC’s last statement on the matter gives a key to the entire matter:

As FRC has said for years, this debate has never been about tolerance. It’s about forced acceptance. President Obama admitted as much when he praised the NBA’s Jason Collins. Read what he said when Collins announced he was gay: “The LGBT community deserves full equality, not just partial equality. Not just tolerance.”

On that score, I would say that FRC is partly right. Lgbt equality has never been about tolerance.  You tolerate your pets having accidents on the carpet. You tolerate traffic jams. You even tolerate the slow cashier who makes you wait in a grocery store. But no one has the right to think that they are so superior that they should tolerate a fellow human being merely attempting to live his or her life.

Nor is lgbt equality about forced acceptance. To a degree, it’s never been about acceptance but respect of a fellow human being. And with that respect comes the knowledge that your sexual orientation – gay, straight, or bisexual – does not put you on a pedestal where you have the patent to concepts like “family,” “morality,” or “love.”

FRC seems to think that those who believe as it does do in fact have a patent to those concepts. That’s all well and good if the organization wants to follow that delusion. However, FRC doesn’t have the right and will never have the right to force the lgbt or our allies to live under that same delusion.