Tag: government

The IRS now claims that the government official who willfully accessed confidential tax records illegally was not an IRS employee.

9:21 am

O goody: The IRS now claims that the government official who willfully accessed confidential tax records illegally was not an IRS employee.

How does this make anything better? Instead of an IRS official rummaging through confidential tax records for political purposes, they apparently let others in government do it directly.

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A survey shows that three quarters of all small businesses still plan to fire workers and cut hours in 2014 to avoid Obamacare, even though the Obama administration says it will not enforce the law unitl 2015.

2:39 pm

A survey shows that three quarters of all small businesses still plan to fire workers and cut hours in 2014 to avoid Obamacare, even though the Obama administration says it will not enforce the law unitl 2015.

This makes sense. The law is still the law, even if the Obama administration won’t enforce it. If a business doesn’t cut the hours or the number of its workers to avoid the Obamacare mandates, but then does not provide those mandates, its employees can then sue the business and likely win.

The result: Expect the economy to tank next year as this turkey of a law takes hold and chokes the life out of American enterprise.

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“We have had an enormous amount of death threats.”

8:50 am

Modern civility: “We have had an enormous amount of death threats.”

I think this story sums up the entire George Zimmerman case. An ordinary citizen kills a black man in self-defense — clearly proven in court — and because of this he and his family are now under constant fear for their lives.

In other words, the violent, racist thugs in this case are all on the Trayvon Martin side of the coin.

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Treasury admitted today that the IRS tax records of several political candidates and campaign donors were illegally disclosed to unnamed government officials.

8:43 pm

The law is such an inconvenient thing: The Obama Treasury Department admitted today that the IRS tax records of several political candidates and campaign donors were illegally disclosed to unnamed government officials.

[O]f the four instances in which tax records were improperly accessed, three cases were determined to be “inadvertent.” “In the fourth case, we presented evidence of a willful unauthorized access to the Department of Justice, but the case was declined for prosecution,” Mr. George wrote. Of the three cases that the inspector general called “inadvertent” disclosures, Mr. George said his office referred one to Justice with a recommendation that no prosecution be brought. He said Justice officials agreed with his office’s assessment. No reason was given for Justice’s rejections of prosecutions.

I wonder why the Obama Justice Department declined to prosecute that fourth case, which was “willful” and thus very illegal.

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Nevada police arrested a family for refusing to let officers use their homes as lookouts for a domestic violence investigation of their neighbors.

9:10 am

Violating the third amendment: Nevada police arrested a family for refusing to let officers use their homes as lookouts for a domestic violence investigation of their neighbors.

The Mitchell family’s claim includes Third Amendment violations, a rare claim in the United States. The Third Amendment prohibits quartering soldiers in citizens’ homes in times of peace without the consent of the owner.

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Among many other valid points, the Wall Street Journal notes the “lawless” nature of the Obama administration’s announcement yesterday that it will not enforce one legal requirement of Obamacare in 2013.

7:49 pm

The law is such an inconvenient thing: Among many other valid points about the disaster that is Obamacare, the Wall Street Journal notes the “lawless” nature of the Obama administration’s announcement yesterday that it will not enforce one legal requirement of Obamacare in 2013.

This selective enforcement of laws has become an Administration habit. From immigration (the Dream Act by fiat) to easing welfare reform’s work requirements to selective waivers for No Child Left Behind, the Obama Administration routinely suspends enforcement of or unilaterally rewrites via regulation the laws it dislikes. Now it is doing it again on health care, without any consultation from, much less the approval of, Congress.

Sadly, this contempt for the law is becoming rampant. Worse, though the Democrats have generally been the worst offenders, this contempt has not been a partisan affair. Republican politicians have participated as well.

And who will suffer? Not the politicians. It will be the ordinary innocent citizens, who merely want to live their lives freely without hindrance, who will pay the cost.

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The FBI has still not contacted any conservative group that was harassed by the IRS.

10:11 am

The FBI has still not contacted any conservative group that was harassed by the IRS.

And we still don’t know who the lead investigator of the FBI investigation is.

This “FBI investigation” is a fraud. Obama might have expressed public outrage over the IRS scandal, but in private it appears he instead ordered that nothing be done and that FBI act as a shield for the guilty parties.

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The lawyer for IRS official Lois Lerner is pushing to get her full immunity in exchange for her full testimony to Congress.

9:57 am

The lawyer for IRS official Lois Lerner is pushing to get her full immunity in exchange for her full testimony to Congress.

The article makes two very good points: One, it will be difficult to prosecute anyone at the IRS for its harassment of conservatives, and two, Lerner’s full testimony is likely not going to have any earthshaking bombshells. She will state that the White House had nothing to do with the harassment (whether that is true or not), and that the harassment was merely the result of some bad management decisions.

And thus, the government’s power over us will rise, and freedom will experience another cut in its continuing death of a thousand cuts.

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The White House today announced that it is delaying until 2015 the requirement in Obamacare that companies with more than 50 employees offer health insurance.

4:27 pm

The Obama administration finds out what’s in it: The White House today announced that it is delaying until 2015 the requirement in Obamacare that companies with more than 50 employees offer health insurance.

The law requires companies that employ 50 or more workers to offer coverage or face fines. The Treasury Department and the White House said that, based on complaints by employers that the system for reporting the coverage was too onerous, they would simplify that system and give employers an additional year to comply. “We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively,” Mark J. Mazur, the assistant secretary for tax policy at the Treasury Department, said in a statement posted online. “We have listened to your feedback. And we are taking action.”

The mandate was originally set to kick in for 2014, but will now start in 2015. The decision effectively means that penalties that would have been assessed against non-compliant businesses will be delayed until 2015. The administration encouraged employers to provide insurance anyway.

In other words, they are finally discovering what everyone on the right has been saying for three years: Obamacare is an unworkable law that is also killing business and industry. Look for increasing numbers of Democrats willing to join with the Republicans to repeal is incredibly stupid law.

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A university supervisor orders a student at Sonoma State University in California to remove her cross necklace because “it might offend others.”

10:31 am

A university supervisor orders a student at Sonoma State University in California to remove her cross necklace because “it might offend others.”

The university has responded properly, apologizing and stating that the supervisor was “completely wrong.” However, it remains horrifying that there are individuals in power in a university that somehow don’t understand the very basics of religious liberty.

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The International Astronomical Union has rejected the first choice of voters for naming Pluto’s fourth and fifth moons.

10:03 am

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has picked names for Pluto’s fourth and fifth moons, rejecting Vulcan, the first choice of the public.

After the discovery [of the moons], the leader of the research team, Mark Showalter (SETI Institute), decided to call for a public vote to suggest names for the two objects. To be consistent with the names of the other Pluto satellites, the names had to be picked from classical mythology, in particular with reference to the underworld — the realm where the souls of the deceased go in the afterlife. The contest concluded with the proposed names Vulcan, Cerberus and Styx ranking first, second and third respectively. Showalter submitted Vulcan and Cerberus to the IAU where the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) and the Committee on Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN) discussed the names for approval.

However, the name Vulcan had already been used for a hypothetical planet between Mercury and the Sun. Although this planet was found not to exist, the term “vulcanoid” remains attached to any asteroid existing inside the orbit of Mercury, and the name Vulcan could not be accepted for one of Pluto’s satellites (also, Vulcan does not fit into the underworld mythological scheme). Instead the third most popular name was chosen — Styx, the name of the goddess who ruled over the underworld river, also called the Styx.

I just can’t wait until there really is a robust population of space-faring colonists, if only because those colonists will then tell the IAU to go to hell when it tries to tell them what to name things.

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The Washington Post admits that most of the Democratic claims that sequestration would cause disaster were either outright lies or a gross exaggeration.

10:43 am

The Washington Post admits that most of the Democratic claims that sequestration would cause disaster were either outright lies or a gross exaggeration.

I said it then that they were lying about the consequence of sequestration. I say now that they will be lying again when the the next sequestration cuts arrive in October.

I suspect you could cut the federal budget by at least one third, bringing the numbers back to what they were about ten years ago, and not notice any loss of service.

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NASA’s Space Launch System, costing billions per year, will only make its second manned flight in 2025.

8:50 am

The competition cools off! NASA’s Space Launch System, costing billions per year, will only make its second manned flight in 2025.

SLS is to make its maiden flight in 2017, when it will carry an empty Orion crew capsule to near-Moon space and back. Another flight would follow in 2021 and, depending on factors both technical and political, could see a crew of astronauts travel to a captured asteroid NASA wants to redirect to a high lunar orbit using a yet-to-be-built robotic spacecraft.

Notionally, SLS would next fly in 2025, giving the rocket a launch rate of once every four years. NASA has been spending about $1.8 billion a year on SLS development, including construction of a rocket test stand in Mississippi, and associated launch infrastructure at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Add in the cost of the rocket’s companion crew capsule, the Lockheed Martin-built Orion, and the tab rises to nearly $3 billion a year. [emphasis mine]

At that launch rate, the NASA’s space effort is slower than China’s, which has a pace that I consider extremely tortoise-like.

But don’t worry, buckos! NASA will be keeping the seats warm in its thousands of government facilities, employing thousands of government workers doing little or nothing.

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Better not buy bottled water in Virginia: It will put you in jail.

8:21 pm

Better not buy bottled water in Virginia: It will put you in jail.

When a half-dozen men and a woman in street clothes closed in on University of Virginia student Elizabeth Daly, 20, she and two roommates panicked.

That led to Daly spending a night and an afternoon in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. Her initial offense? Walking to her car with bottled water, cookie dough and ice cream just purchased from the Harris Teeter in the Barracks Road Shopping Center for a sorority benefit fundraiser.

A group of state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents clad in plainclothes approached her, suspecting the blue carton of LaCroix sparkling water to be a 12-pack of beer. Police say one of the agents jumped on the hood of her car. She says one drew a gun. Unsure of who they were, Daly tried to flee the darkened parking lot.

Thugs. What a bunch of thugs.

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A science poster released at an American Geophysical Union conference this week finds again that the global warming climate models used by policy makers have all failed to predict what has actually happened.

3:38 pm

The uncertainty of science: A science poster released at an American Geophysical Union conference this week finds again that the global warming climate models used by policy makers have all failed to predict what has actually happened.

Some devastating quotes from the poster:
» Read more

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“This is the reason the U.S. has the right to bear arms.”

3:21 pm

The words of a Canadian yesterday: “This is the reason the U.S. has the right to bear arms.”

The reason? The Mounties had been breaking into the homes of a town (evacuated due to flooding) and seizing firearms. When the residents found out about this they were not pleased.

Officers laid down a spike belt to stop anyone from attempting to drive past the blockade. That action sent the crowd of residents into a rage.

“What’s next? Tear gas?” shouted one resident. “It’s just like Nazi Germany, just taking orders,” shouted another. “This is the reason the U.S. has the right to bear arms,” said Charles Timpano, pointing to the group of Mounties.

Officers were ordered to fall back about an hour into the standoff in order to diffuse the situation and listen to residents’ concerns. [emphasis mine]

Obviously, the rage of the citizens had some positive effect, as it forced the police to fall back.

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The Obama administration issued finalized rules Friday allowing religious-affiliated organizations opposing the use of contraception to opt out of the Obamacare mandate

11:40 am

The Obama administration issued finalized rules Friday allowing religious-affiliated organizations opposing the use of contraception to opt out of the Obamacare mandate.

While this might suggest the Obama administration has backed down, the rules appear very complex and will probably not work for many religious organizations. Moreover, what about individuals or private companies (such as Hobby Lobby) that also object for religious reasons?

As always, if you nonchalantly rely on the government to dictate the rules for everyone, you guarantee those rules will oppress someone along the way.

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The House committee has ruled that Lois Lerner waived her fifth amendment rights when she claimed she did “nothing wrong” before invoking the fifth in testimony last month.

11:24 am

The House committee investigating the IRS scandal has ruled that Lois Lerner waived her fifth amendment rights when she claimed she did “nothing wrong” before invoking the fifth in testimony last month.

“That is the not the way the Fifth Amendment works. You don’t get to tell your side of the story,” and then avoid cross examination, said Republican Trey Gowdy. “She sat there and could have said nothing.”

The vote could clear the way for Republicans to haul Lerner back before the committee, where she would likely again invoke her Fifth Amendment rights. That would likely lead to a vote to hold her in contempt of Congress, Republican aides said.

What I don’t understand is why the focus here is holding her in contempt. I would think the Republicans on this committee are negotiating to give her immunity so she can tell all. Then again, the track record of the left when comes to testimony is not good. Even with immunity I would expect Lerner to lie to protect Obama. Consider for example the absurd claims Holly Paz has made about the IRS harassment of conservatives.

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It is now reported that the charges against the high school who refused to remove his NRA t-shirt have been dismissed.

10:59 pm

It is now reported that the charges against the high school who refused to remove his NRA t-shirt have been dismissed.

No details yet, however, so it might be too soon to celebrate the return of sanity to this small spot in West Virginia.

Update: The dismissal of charges is confirmed. I think the prosecutor saw the political winds and decided he’d be a fool to pursue this case.

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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that it has filed charges against former Democratic Governor/Senator Jon Corzine for his part in the embezzlement of customer funds at MF Global.

5:12 pm

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that it has filed charges against former Democratic Governor/Senator Jon Corzine for his part in the embezzlement of customer funds at MF Global.

The article says that most of the embezzled funds have been recovered, but that’s not only news to me, I don’t see how it’s possible. We are talking about the misuse and loss of one billion dollars.

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The prosecutors trying to put a high school teenager in jail for a year because he refused to take off his NRA t-shirt have tried to put a gag order on the teenager and his parents.

8:51 pm

The new America: The prosecutors trying to put a high school teenager in jail for a year because he refused to take off his NRA t-shirt have tried to put a gag order on the teenager and his parents.

Prosecutors said they wanted to stop White, Marcum, and Marcum’s fathern Allen Lardieri, from sharing their story with the press, claiming the gag order would serve Marcum’s better interest. “These are the same individuals that are trying to prosecute him, so as far as them knowing what is in his better interest, I have a lot of questions about that,” Lardieri said.

A petition to intervene in the gag order hearing on behalf of WOWK-TV and the free press was prepared. Before WOWK reporter Charlo Greene could deliver the petition to the court clerk, she was asked twice to leave the courthouse by a bailiff who told her Judge Eric O’Briant, who presided over Marcum’s case, had requested she be removed from the courthouse. Greene then was told she would be arrested and charged with obstructing an officer if she did not comply with the bailiff’s orders.

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