Did contributing to Mitt Romney’s campaign last year cause the IRS to target you for an audit?
At the moment the data is anecdotal, but it appears that Coburn’s office might be accumulating some interesting information.
“Silence will be interpreted as disapproval.”
The issue here is not sexual orientation, but the government forcing a certain set of beliefs on its employees.
The accumulating dents and dings on Curiosity’s wheels.
The competition heats up: Japan has announced an August 22 launch date for its new Epsilon rocket.
Key quote: “Epsilon replaces the M-V, a larger solid-fuel rocket that failed to attract sufficient customers to remain in production. M-V’s last launch was in 2002.” Competition rules!
The competition heats up: The Russians announced today that they plan nine more Proton rocket launches in 2013, for a total of twelve.
I note this to give some context to what SpaceX will do with Falcon 9 this year. SpaceX has just updated its launch manifest schedule, and if the American company does what it says, it should have at least six more Falcon 9 flights this year, for a total of seven.
Should these predicted launches all take place, it will clearly demonstrate that SpaceX has grabbed a significant share of the launch market, but that the Russians are also holding their own.
Note also that the updated launch manifest still includes the first test flight of Falcon Heavy in 2013. Very interesting.
Update: The Russians are also preparing to launch their new Angara rocket family, which will replace their older rockets and allow them to launch from their new spaceport.
A former IRS worker points out that the law allows the immediate termination of any IRS worker who violates certain clear rules.
The rule is Section 1023 of the Internal Revenue Code. The violations pertaining to this scandal are these:
-(2) providing a false statement under oath with respect to a material matter involving a taxpayer or taxpayer representative;
-(3) with respect to a taxpayer, taxpayer representative, or other employee of the Internal Revenue Service, the violation of – (A) any right under the Constitution of the United States;
-(6) violations of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Department of Treasury regulations, or policies of the Internal Revenue Service (including the Internal Revenue Manual) for the purpose of retaliating against, or harassing, a taxpayer, taxpayer representative, or other employee of the Internal Revenue Service;
-(7) willful misuse of the provisions of section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for the purpose of concealing information from a congressional inquiry;
I like to say it isn’t what people say that counts, it is what they do. If President Obama was truly outraged about this scandal, he could do something about it. That he has not, and has in fact supported and promoted the key players at the IRS suggests instead that he is very happy with their performance.
Pushback: Gun rights advocates counter a Michigan county gun buyback program with their own “Guns 4 Cash” operation.
It is interesting to read what happened after the County Executive himself observed the gun rights advocates:
From that moment forward until the event ended, the gun rights activists were harassed by all day by Wayne County deputies. Their first act was to park one of their marked cars by the parking lot’s entrance and started directing people further up the street to the church.
Then a deputy went into the fast-food restaurant and talked to the manager on duty. We do not know what they told the manager, but suddenly, the restaurant reversed its decision to allow gun rights activists onto its property. Prior to contact with the deputies, their presence was allowed as long as it did not interfere with customers buying food. Thus, the gun rights activists were ejected from the parking lot and had to move their cars. Apparently, the deputies thought their actions were enough to deter the activists. They couldn’t have been more wrong. The activists adjusted by walking up and down the public sidewalk while holding their signs.
The deputies responded by telling them that they would start writing tickets for both being on and obstructing the sidewalk in front of the church. It would be a hour or so later before discussions with the top deputy in charge confirmed that walking on the sidewalk was legal and that all deputies would be apprised of that fact.
This harassment by police of Americans, very carefully doing legal things, is appalling. More appalling is how common this is becoming.
Working for the Democratic Party: When IRS official Lois Lerner was head of the Federal Election Commission’s enforcement office in 1998, she was accused of stopping an investigation because Al Gore was involved.
Pushback: A lawsuit was filed today in federal court in Connecticut against the new gun control laws that were passed recently after the Newtown shooting.
The lawsuit seeks immediate injunctive relief and a ruling declaring the new law unconstitutional under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It alleges that Connecticut’s new firearms law is not only unconstitutional but dangerous, since it makes both citizens and law enforcement less safe by depriving citizens of firearms that are in common use throughout the country. The very firearms and design features banned by the new law are commonly used in part because of safety, accuracy and ease-of-use features that make them effective in the hands of citizens who must defend themselves and their families against criminals and the mentally ill who do not obey such laws.
Some of the Earth’s creepiest places.
Most of these aren’t natural places, but weird human ruins or artifacts of some kind.
Stonewalling: IRS official Lois Lerner invoked the Fifth amendment to Congress today, defiantly refusing to answer any questions.
