Generational Dynamics
Fourth Turning Forum Archive


Popular links:
Generational Dynamics Web Site
Generational Dynamics Forum
Fourth Turning Archive home page
New Fourth Turning Forum

Thread: Abuse of IRS Power - Page 7







Post#151 at 06-11-2013 01:24 PM by playwrite [at NYC joined Jul 2005 #posts 10,451]
---
06-11-2013, 01:24 PM #151
Join Date
Jul 2005
Location
NYC
Posts
10,451

Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
-
-Newsflash: Government official in a scandal claims that neither he nor his bosses did anything wrong!
Just like clockwork, throw one of your own under the bus if it doesn't align with the worldview.

And you wonder why your masters don't take better care of you sheeple.
"The Devil enters the prompter's box and the play is ready to start" - R. Service

“It’s not tax money. The banks have accounts with the Fed … so, to lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed. It’s much more akin to printing money.” - B.Bernanke


"Keep your filthy hands off my guns while I decide what you can & can't do with your uterus" - Sarah Silverman

If you meet a magic pony on the road, kill it. - Playwrite







Post#152 at 06-11-2013 01:31 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
---
06-11-2013, 01:31 PM #152
Join Date
Aug 2010
Posts
2,116

Quote Originally Posted by playwrite View Post
Just like clockwork, throw one of your own under the bus if it doesn't align with the worldview...
1) If he's wrong, he's wrong; 2) I wonder if this "self-described Republican" is the same sort of "self-described Republican" who was "forced" to vote for Obama because "Romney; he's too extreme."







Post#153 at 06-11-2013 02:34 PM by playwrite [at NYC joined Jul 2005 #posts 10,451]
---
06-11-2013, 02:34 PM #153
Join Date
Jul 2005
Location
NYC
Posts
10,451

Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
1) If he's wrong, he's wrong; 2) I wonder if this "self-described Republican" is the same sort of "self-described Republican" who was "forced" to vote for Obama because "Romney; he's too extreme."
Not only throwing him under the bus but backing it over him already.

Man, you guys are good at that.
"The Devil enters the prompter's box and the play is ready to start" - R. Service

“It’s not tax money. The banks have accounts with the Fed … so, to lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed. It’s much more akin to printing money.” - B.Bernanke


"Keep your filthy hands off my guns while I decide what you can & can't do with your uterus" - Sarah Silverman

If you meet a magic pony on the road, kill it. - Playwrite







Post#154 at 06-11-2013 02:37 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
---
06-11-2013, 02:37 PM #154
Join Date
Aug 2010
Posts
2,116

Quote Originally Posted by playwrite View Post
Not only throwing him under the bus but backing it over him already.

Man, you guys are good at that.
-Is he telling the truth?







Post#155 at 06-11-2013 07:22 PM by Eric the Green [at San Jose CA joined Jul 2001 #posts 22,505]
---
06-11-2013, 07:22 PM #155
Join Date
Jul 2001
Location
San Jose CA
Posts
22,505

Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
-Now if only they could get rid of the progressives who have made CA a place to flee from.
It's OK with me if the reactionaries flee!
"I close my eyes, and I can see a better day" -- Justin Bieber

Keep the spirit alive,

Eric A. Meece







Post#156 at 06-11-2013 09:05 PM by Marx & Lennon [at '47 cohort still lost in Falwelland joined Sep 2001 #posts 16,715]
---
06-11-2013, 09:05 PM #156
Join Date
Sep 2001
Location
'47 cohort still lost in Falwelland
Posts
16,715

Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
-Is he telling the truth?
Maybe ... we'll see.
Marx: Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.
Lennon: You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die.







Post#157 at 06-12-2013 05:30 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
---
06-12-2013, 05:30 PM #157
Join Date
Aug 2010
Posts
2,116

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...-of-targeting/

The Internal Revenue Service has replaced one of the officials who oversaw the agency’s tax-exemption division in Cincinnati during a targeting campaign that singled out conservative groups for extra scrutiny.
An internal memo to employees on Monday said that Karen Schiller would serve as acting director of the IRS rulings and agreements for exempt organizations, replacing Holly Paz, who headed the same division during the targeting...

Last month, the IRS placed Lois Lerner, another official who oversaw the agency’s Cincinnati operation, on administrative leave. Additionally, a third official with responsibilities over that division, Joseph Grant, retired in May.

Former acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller also stepped down last month amid pressure from the White House to resign...

...because everything at the IRS was fair and equitable...

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2...g-emerges?lite

...In just the last weeks, former IRS commissioner Steven Miller would tell lawmakers that "rogue" IRS agents in the Cincinnati office were responsible for the tax agency's sweeping targeting of conservative groups. That was after Lois Lerner, the IRS official in charge of regulating tax-exempt groups, publicly apologized for it...

Staffers from two House committees interviewed Hofacre and another IRS employee, Gary Muthert, as they are working to get to the bottom of what happened at the IRS. NBC News was allowed to view transcripts of the first two interviews...

Neither is sure exactly who ordered them to begin their reviews...

Broadly, Hofacre's account contradicts multiple senior IRS officials who have insisted to Congress that employees in the Cincinnati office were responsible for the targeting...

Oh well. What do they know?

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/06/1...h-to-yourself/

A pro-life legal group, Alliance Defending Freedom, released audio today of a 2012 phone call between an IRS agent and the head of a Texas pregnancy counseling group. During the phone call, IRS agent Sherry Wan is heard lecturing Ania Joseph about how she can’t have a tax exemption and also push her religious beliefs— a bit of advice that would be quite interesting to every church in America...

Quote Originally Posted by Eric the Green View Post
It's OK with me if the reactionaries flee!
-I see Rick Perry came through California, pointing out the better economy in Texas. Looks like Jerry Brown was rather petulant about reactionaries fleeing the state. Go figure.

Quote Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon View Post
Maybe ... we'll see.
-As I pointed out above, the whistle blowers are already coming out. Here's what PW thinks is so important:

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2...g-emerges?lite

..."I do not believe that the screening of these cases had anything to do other than consistency and identifying issues that needed to have further development," a third IRS manager told congressional investigators, according to a letter released by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the ranking member on the Oversight Committee. This manager identified himself as a "conservative Republican," according to the letter.

Instead, the sources of the directives remain murky...

...yeah. "Murky"...

Muthert's boss in Cincinnati told him to start searching for "tea party" groups starting in March of 2010.

"He told me that Washington, D.C. wanted some cases," Muthert explained to investigators...

...yeah, nothing suspicious there...







Post#158 at 06-12-2013 05:55 PM by playwrite [at NYC joined Jul 2005 #posts 10,451]
---
06-12-2013, 05:55 PM #158
Join Date
Jul 2005
Location
NYC
Posts
10,451

Grand Thief Auto give

forked tongue action.

Issa on full release -

If a full transcript were released, it would serve as a roadmap of the Committee's investigation. That transcript could be used by future witnesses and their attorneys to prepare answers to likely questions, and to devise testimony consistent with the narrative that previous witnesses presented to Committee investigators.
Issa on partial release -

The release of excerpts from witness interviews can serve to provide important updates to the public as the investigation progresses. Limited releases of testimony may also serve to empower other witnesses to become whistleblowers and serve to vindicate individuals who have been subjected to criticism or retaliation at the hands of their managers.
Can we say, "cognitive dissonance?"

If Cummings is true to his word, this will be over by this coming Sunday when he releases the full transcript with or without Arsonist Issa.

Let's hope the clown car is fully gas'd up!

Because what Issa's committee is about according to the chair -

"“It’ll be good theater,” Issa told the Times.
"The Devil enters the prompter's box and the play is ready to start" - R. Service

“It’s not tax money. The banks have accounts with the Fed … so, to lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed. It’s much more akin to printing money.” - B.Bernanke


"Keep your filthy hands off my guns while I decide what you can & can't do with your uterus" - Sarah Silverman

If you meet a magic pony on the road, kill it. - Playwrite







Post#159 at 06-12-2013 05:58 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
---
06-12-2013, 05:58 PM #159
Join Date
Aug 2010
Posts
2,116

-The whistleblowers are already talking, regardless of what Issa uncovers or Cummings tries to cover up:http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2...g-emerges?lite

...In just the last weeks, former IRS commissioner Steven Miller would tell lawmakers that "rogue" IRS agents in the Cincinnati office were responsible for the tax agency's sweeping targeting of conservative groups. That was after Lois Lerner, the IRS official in charge of regulating tax-exempt groups, publicly apologized for it...

Staffers from two House committees interviewed Hofacre and another IRS employee, Gary Muthert, as they are working to get to the bottom of what happened at the IRS. NBC News was allowed to view transcripts of the first two interviews...

Neither is sure exactly who ordered them to begin their reviews...

Broadly, Hofacre's account contradicts multiple senior IRS officials who have insisted to Congress that employees in the Cincinnati office were responsible for the targeting...

...Instead, the sources of the directives remain murky...

Muthert's boss in Cincinnati told him to start searching for "tea party" groups starting in March of 2010.

"He told me that Washington, D.C. wanted some cases," Muthert explained to investigators...







Post#160 at 06-12-2013 08:04 PM by Brian Beecher [at Downers Grove, IL joined Sep 2001 #posts 2,937]
---
06-12-2013, 08:04 PM #160
Join Date
Sep 2001
Location
Downers Grove, IL
Posts
2,937

Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
-The whistleblowers are already talking, regardless of what Issa uncovers or Cummings tries to cover up:http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2...g-emerges?lite

...In just the last weeks, former IRS commissioner Steven Miller would tell lawmakers that "rogue" IRS agents in the Cincinnati office were responsible for the tax agency's sweeping targeting of conservative groups. That was after Lois Lerner, the IRS official in charge of regulating tax-exempt groups, publicly apologized for it...

Staffers from two House committees interviewed Hofacre and another IRS employee, Gary Muthert, as they are working to get to the bottom of what happened at the IRS. NBC News was allowed to view transcripts of the first two interviews...

Neither is sure exactly who ordered them to begin their reviews...

Broadly, Hofacre's account contradicts multiple senior IRS officials who have insisted to Congress that employees in the Cincinnati office were responsible for the targeting...

...Instead, the sources of the directives remain murky...

Muthert's boss in Cincinnati told him to start searching for "tea party" groups starting in March of 2010.

"He told me that Washington, D.C. wanted some cases," Muthert explained to investigators...
In my view all this stuff is wrong regardless of whether you agree with the philosophy of the group being targeted. I believe Republican conservative groups were the targets because they tend to be the most critical of the tax system even though most if not all of us would like to have our taxes be as low as possible. The Tea Party groups slogan is Taxed Enough Already.







Post#161 at 06-13-2013 11:56 AM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
---
06-13-2013, 11:56 AM #161
Join Date
Aug 2010
Posts
2,116

Quote Originally Posted by Brian Beecher View Post
...I believe Republican conservative groups were the targets because they tend to be the most critical of the tax system even though most if not all of us would like to have our taxes be as low as possible. The Tea Party groups slogan is Taxed Enough Already.
-Not a very good reason for targeting, is it?

Quote Originally Posted by Brian Beecher View Post
In my view all this stuff is wrong regardless of whether you agree with the philosophy of the group being targeted...
-I don't think many people disagree with you on this, theoretically.







Post#162 at 06-13-2013 12:28 PM by Marx & Lennon [at '47 cohort still lost in Falwelland joined Sep 2001 #posts 16,715]
---
06-13-2013, 12:28 PM #162
Join Date
Sep 2001
Location
'47 cohort still lost in Falwelland
Posts
16,715

Just a quick note on targetting. To be targetted, you must be subject to more likley review than others. Is that what happened here?

Here's an extract of an editorial:
Quote Originally Posted by Thomas Edsell in the NY Times
Two pie charts — Figure 1 and Figure 2 — drawn up by the Center for Responsive Politics demonstrate the crucial role of conservative non-profits in driving this increase in spending.

Center for Responsive Politics Fig. 1


Center for Responsive Politics Fig. 2

The Center, which has dug deeply into this submerged area of American politics, has gathered a lot of the relevant data about the influence of money on American politics at OpenSecrets.org. It makes for instructive reading.
So targetting the potential tax cheats, which is the IRS's job, is logically focusssed where the money is ... or should be. How else would you like it done? Should we chase the Earned Income Credit cheats instead? Oh yeah, we actually did that under Bush's IRS. Never mind.
Marx: Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.
Lennon: You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die.







Post#163 at 06-13-2013 12:38 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
---
06-13-2013, 12:38 PM #163
Join Date
Aug 2010
Posts
2,116

Quote Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon View Post
Just a quick note on targetting. To be targetted, you must be subject to more likley review than others. Is that what happened here... So targetting the potential tax cheats, which is the IRS's job, is logically focusssed where the money is ...
-The IRS wasn't going after money. It was going after groups which "just happened" to espouse policies which opposed the Obamantion:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...ti-office.html

The effort was concentrated on Tea Party groups in the beginning, according to transcripts reviewed last week by Bloomberg News. In addition to putting Democratic-leaning organizations’ applications back in the general pile, the IRS didn’t give extra scrutiny to groups identified as conservative.

“It was more narrow than that,” said Elizabeth Hofacre, who handled the first batch of cases, according to an interview transcript. “It was Tea Party.”







Post#164 at 06-13-2013 12:45 PM by Marx & Lennon [at '47 cohort still lost in Falwelland joined Sep 2001 #posts 16,715]
---
06-13-2013, 12:45 PM #164
Join Date
Sep 2001
Location
'47 cohort still lost in Falwelland
Posts
16,715

Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
-The IRS wasn't going after money. It was going after groups which "just happened" to espouse policies which opposed the Obamantion:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...ti-office.html

The effort was concentrated on Tea Party groups in the beginning, according to transcripts reviewed last week by Bloomberg News. In addition to putting Democratic-leaning organizations’ applications back in the general pile, the IRS didn’t give extra scrutiny to groups identified as conservative.

“It was more narrow than that,” said Elizabeth Hofacre, who handled the first batch of cases, according to an interview transcript. “It was Tea Party.”
If I have a choice between investigating a funnel for $100,000 of questionable spending and another that's a funnel for 100 times that amount, I'll look at the second one first. Now if they are all similar, then the conservative groups vastly outnumbered their liberal counterparts and get auditted on that basis.
Marx: Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.
Lennon: You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die.







Post#165 at 06-13-2013 12:50 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
---
06-13-2013, 12:50 PM #165
Join Date
Aug 2010
Posts
2,116

Quote Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon View Post
If I have a choice between investigating a funnel for $100,000 of questionable spending and another that's a funnel for 100 times that amount, I'll look at the second one first. Now if they are all similar, then the conservative groups vastly outnumbered their liberal counterparts and get auditted on that basis.
-Again, that wasn't how they were investigated. The IRS simply punched in words with "just happened" to be associated with the Obamanation's opponents.







Post#166 at 06-13-2013 02:24 PM by playwrite [at NYC joined Jul 2005 #posts 10,451]
---
06-13-2013, 02:24 PM #166
Join Date
Jul 2005
Location
NYC
Posts
10,451

Quote Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon View Post
Just a quick note on targetting. To be targetted, you must be subject to more likley review than others. Is that what happened here?

Here's an extract of an editorial:

So targetting the potential tax cheats, which is the IRS's job, is logically focusssed where the money is ... or should be. How else would you like it done? Should we chase the Earned Income Credit cheats instead? Oh yeah, we actually did that under Bush's IRS. Never mind.
Awesome statistics, M&L.

I posted a link earlier that shows the ratio holds based on number of organizations as well as $ levels. Jimmie can look it up since he's grasping at that last straw.

This horsey is dead, no matter how long Jimmie continues to beat it.

But never fear, there's a lot more horseshiRt in Jimmie's barn to shovel. I think it's actually unending.
"The Devil enters the prompter's box and the play is ready to start" - R. Service

“It’s not tax money. The banks have accounts with the Fed … so, to lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed. It’s much more akin to printing money.” - B.Bernanke


"Keep your filthy hands off my guns while I decide what you can & can't do with your uterus" - Sarah Silverman

If you meet a magic pony on the road, kill it. - Playwrite







Post#167 at 06-13-2013 04:01 PM by pbrower2a [at "Michigrim" joined May 2005 #posts 15,016]
---
06-13-2013, 04:01 PM #167
Join Date
May 2005
Location
"Michigrim"
Posts
15,016

Quote Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon View Post
Just a quick note on targetting. To be targetted, you must be subject to more likley review than others. Is that what happened here?

Here's an extract of an editorial:

So targeting the potential tax cheats, which is the IRS's job, is logically focussed where the money is ... or should be. How else would you like it done? Should we chase the Earned Income Credit cheats instead? Oh yeah, we actually did that under Bush's IRS. Never mind.
I wonder why those right-wing donors don't want to be identified. Could it be that "TEA Party of Southeast Wisconsin" (probably a fictional organization) doesn't want to identify that its huge donors are from out-of-state?
The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" (or) even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered... in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by (those) who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern."


― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters







Post#168 at 06-13-2013 04:59 PM by playwrite [at NYC joined Jul 2005 #posts 10,451]
---
06-13-2013, 04:59 PM #168
Join Date
Jul 2005
Location
NYC
Posts
10,451

Boom, take that my little GTA friend.

Cummings cocks the hammer -

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...l-issas-bluff/

Calling Darrell Issa’s bluff

...In order to move forward in a responsible manner, I propose the following approach. I am attaching for your review a copy of the transcript of the Committee’s interview of the IRS Screening Group Manager in Cincinnati. In this copy, the names of individuals have been redacted to protect their privacy. In order to provide the public with the most comprehensive information possible without jeopardizing the Committee’s investigation, I request that you review this version of the transcript and identify any specific text you believe should be withheld from the American people, as well as the specific reason you believe that text should continue to be concealed from public view. I request that you provide any additional proposed redactions on Monday, June 17, 2013.
Ya know, I'm almost sad this version of the clown car is coming to an end. The kinds of statistics the M&L raises and the questions that pbrower are raising are just beginning to break into the citizen's consciousness. Grand Thief Auto Issa doing a burn out is going to take attention away from that.
"The Devil enters the prompter's box and the play is ready to start" - R. Service

“It’s not tax money. The banks have accounts with the Fed … so, to lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed. It’s much more akin to printing money.” - B.Bernanke


"Keep your filthy hands off my guns while I decide what you can & can't do with your uterus" - Sarah Silverman

If you meet a magic pony on the road, kill it. - Playwrite







Post#169 at 06-14-2013 10:00 AM by Marx & Lennon [at '47 cohort still lost in Falwelland joined Sep 2001 #posts 16,715]
---
06-14-2013, 10:00 AM #169
Join Date
Sep 2001
Location
'47 cohort still lost in Falwelland
Posts
16,715

Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
-Again, that wasn't how they were investigated. The IRS simply punched in words with "just happened" to be associated with the Obamanation's opponents.
Look, the IRS cares about tax cheats, and has a real dislike of money laundering. What they saw was a huge increase in the number and net wealth of nominally social activist groups immediately following a Supreme Court ruling on wide open political spending. I would be suspicious too.

BTW, do you even understand how these so called 501(c)4s operate? Here's a quick overview:
  1. First, form a 501(c)4, and start collecting invisible tax-exempt contributions.
  2. Now, separate the amount you can legally spend on partisan politics, and what must be spent on social activism.
    1. If I have raised $10,000,000 after expenses, spend $4,999,999 on poltics
    2. The remaining $5,000,001 is now donated to a tax-exempt cause ... in this case, another 501(c)4

  3. The second 501(c)4 in this chain repeats the process.
  4. This continues until the money is all directed into political activisim, and this is nominally legal ... up to a point.


In any other context, this would be money laundering, pure and simple. Here, it's only money laundering if the original intent was money laundering. This is a tough nut for the IRS to crack, so having an understaffed office in Cincinatti trying to actually do that is a joke. Is it any wonder they decided to use a sorting algorithim?
Marx: Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.
Lennon: You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die.







Post#170 at 06-15-2013 12:12 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
---
06-15-2013, 12:12 PM #170
Join Date
Aug 2010
Posts
2,116

Quote Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon View Post
Look, the IRS cares about tax cheats, and has a real dislike of money laundering. What they saw was a huge increase in the number and net wealth of nominally social activist groups immediately following a Supreme Court ruling on wide open political spending. I would be suspicious too...
-That's B$, M&L.

Explain how the Tea Party, et al groups got targeted, while stuff like this:

Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/14/ir...thers-charity/

Lois Lerner, the senior IRS official at the center of the decision to target tea party groups for burdensome tax scrutiny, signed paperwork granting tax-exempt status to the Barack H. Obama Foundation, a shady charity headed by the president’s half-brother that operated illegally for years...

...The
National Legal and Policy Center filed an official complaint with the IRS in May 2011 asking why the foundation was being allowed to solicit tax-deductible contributions when it had not even applied for an IRS determination...

Nevertheless, a month later, the Barack H. Obama Foundation had flown through the grueling application process. Lerner granted the organization a 501(c) determination and even gave it a retroactive tax exemption dating back to December 2008...

....literally got a free pass from a woman now taking the 5th.

Your excuse doesn't fit the facts:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...arted/2411515/

The Tea Party affair started with a Feb. 25, 2010 e-mail from Cincinnati-based IRS agent Jack Koester to his boss, Screening Group Manager John Shafer...

The Cincinnati employees weren't quite sure what the Tea Party was, but they knew it was politically sensitive.

[They weren't quite sure what the Tea Party was in FEB 2010?! Talk about low information voters... ]

Hofacre, who had been working on tax-exempt determinations in Cincinnati for 11 years, said the way the IRS handled Tea Party cases was unprecedented. She said she was "micromanaged to death" by an IRS lawyer who worked in Washington...

[Geography lesson for PW: Washington is NOT in Cincinnati...]

In July 2010, the IRS developed what was called a BOLO list — for "be on the lookout." ...Investigators have not yet established who created or authorized that list; such lists did not exist before 2010.

[i.e., the IRS created a new, special category for groups which opposed the Obamanation. What a coincidence... ]

She told congressional investigators that she understood the purpose of the list was to target conservative and Republican groups. "A lot of the platforms in the Tea Party are similar to that of Republican groups." she said.

[Huh.]

Other political groups did not get handled the same way...

[Huh.]

That meant that other political groups were approved routinely.

[like this:

Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/14/ir...thers-charity/

Lois Lerner, the senior IRS official at the center of the decision to target tea party groups for burdensome tax scrutiny, signed paperwork granting tax-exempt status to the Barack H. Obama Foundation, a shady charity headed by the president’s half-brother that operated illegally for years...

...The
National Legal and Policy Center filed an official complaint with the IRS in May 2011 asking why the foundation was being allowed to solicit tax-deductible contributions when it had not even applied for an IRS determination...

Nevertheless, a month later, the Barack H. Obama Foundation had flown through the grueling application process. Lerner granted the organization a 501(c) determination and even gave it a retroactive tax exemption dating back to December 2008...
]

A USA TODAY review of tax exemptions granted at the time shows dozens of liberal groups got tax exemptions while Tea Party groups were on hold...

[Huh.]

Shafer denied any political animus in those criteria. A self-described "conservative Republican," he told oversight committee staffers last week that he had no reason to believe the White House was involved in the targeting...

[Oh. Really...]

The House oversight committee has now interviewed at least five lower-level IRS employees, and are working their way up to officials in Washington. The 360 pages of transcripts reviewed by USA TODAY do not answer why higher-ups at the IRS allowed Tea Party cases to sit in limbo for 27 months, until members of Congress started asking questions in 2012.

...which is why the investigation, Cummings to the contrary, continues.

And Obama's FBI is right on top of it:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/vid...s_case_is.html

FBI Director Doesn't Know Who Lead Investigator In IRS Case Is...







Post#171 at 06-15-2013 11:53 PM by playwrite [at NYC joined Jul 2005 #posts 10,451]
---
06-15-2013, 11:53 PM #171
Join Date
Jul 2005
Location
NYC
Posts
10,451

Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
-That's B$, M&L.

Explain how the Tea Party, et al groups got targeted, while stuff like this:




....literally got a free pass from a woman now taking the 5th.

Your excuse doesn't fit the facts:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...arted/2411515/

The Tea Party affair started with a Feb. 25, 2010 e-mail from Cincinnati-based IRS agent Jack Koester to his boss, Screening Group Manager John Shafer...

The Cincinnati employees weren't quite sure what the Tea Party was, but they knew it was politically sensitive.

[They weren't quite sure what the Tea Party was in FEB 2010?! Talk about low information voters... ]

Hofacre, who had been working on tax-exempt determinations in Cincinnati for 11 years, said the way the IRS handled Tea Party cases was unprecedented. She said she was "micromanaged to death" by an IRS lawyer who worked in Washington...

[Geography lesson for PW: Washington is NOT in Cincinnati...]

In July 2010, the IRS developed what was called a BOLO list — for "be on the lookout." ...Investigators have not yet established who created or authorized that list; such lists did not exist before 2010.

[i.e., the IRS created a new, special category for groups which opposed the Obamanation. What a coincidence... ]

She told congressional investigators that she understood the purpose of the list was to target conservative and Republican groups. "A lot of the platforms in the Tea Party are similar to that of Republican groups." she said.

[Huh.]

Other political groups did not get handled the same way...

[Huh.]

That meant that other political groups were approved routinely.

[like this:

]

A USA TODAY review of tax exemptions granted at the time shows dozens of liberal groups got tax exemptions while Tea Party groups were on hold...

[Huh.]

Shafer denied any political animus in those criteria. A self-described "conservative Republican," he told oversight committee staffers last week that he had no reason to believe the White House was involved in the targeting...

[Oh. Really...]

The House oversight committee has now interviewed at least five lower-level IRS employees, and are working their way up to officials in Washington. The 360 pages of transcripts reviewed by USA TODAY do not answer why higher-ups at the IRS allowed Tea Party cases to sit in limbo for 27 months, until members of Congress started asking questions in 2012.

...which is why the investigation, Cummings to the contrary, continues.

And Obama's FBI is right on top of it:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/vid...s_case_is.html

FBI Director Doesn't Know Who Lead Investigator In IRS Case Is...
Wow, now that's a lot of desperation. You actually think that's going to help?

Can you imagine what Issa is going through right now?

We're now under 48 hours before the clown car gets pulled over.
"The Devil enters the prompter's box and the play is ready to start" - R. Service

“It’s not tax money. The banks have accounts with the Fed … so, to lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed. It’s much more akin to printing money.” - B.Bernanke


"Keep your filthy hands off my guns while I decide what you can & can't do with your uterus" - Sarah Silverman

If you meet a magic pony on the road, kill it. - Playwrite







Post#172 at 06-18-2013 06:16 PM by playwrite [at NYC joined Jul 2005 #posts 10,451]
---
06-18-2013, 06:16 PM #172
Join Date
Jul 2005
Location
NYC
Posts
10,451

Ka-boom

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...irs-targeting/

Breaking: Full House committee transcripts shed new light on genesis of IRS targeting

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have just released a full transcript of testimony from a key witness in the investigation of IRS targeting of conservatives — and it appears to confirm that the initial targeting did originate with a low-level employee in the Cincinnati office.

It also shows a key witness and IRS screening manager – a self described conservative Republican — denying any communication with the White House or senior IRS officials about the targeting.

The ranking Dem on the committee, Elijah Cummings, has promised that the account provided by the witness — the IRS manager in Cincinnati who supervised the screeners of applications for tax exempt status, the self-described conservative Republican — would undercut Committee chairman Darrell Issa’s suggestion that the decision to target conservative groups had originated in Washington.

Cummings released the full transcript today in two parts, making it initially available to a select group of reporters, with redactions of names of individuals, and accompanied it with a letter to Issa explaining his decision, in which Cummings concludes that the transcript “debunks conspiracy theories about how the IRS first started reviewing these cases.”

This comes after Cummings had previously insisted Issa release the full transcript himself, arguing it would show that the Republican chairman’s claims of White House involvement are false, and that Issa’s own selective release of testimony was misleading the public. Issa refused, insisting that releasing full transcripts would damage the investigation. Cummings then asked Issa to detail what specifically in the transcript would do this, and demanded an answer by yesterday. According to Cummings’ letter, Issa has yet to reply — hence the decision to go forward with the release today.

Dems have posted the key excerpt of the transcript right here. The full transcript is available in two parts, here and here.
Nothing sadder than going on a multi-month fishing expedition and coming back with no fish.

You would think Grand Thief Auto Issa would understand that but maybe where he lived everyone left their car keys in the ignition?

It's over. Jimmie, when you get tired of talking to yourself, please turn off the lights.
"The Devil enters the prompter's box and the play is ready to start" - R. Service

“It’s not tax money. The banks have accounts with the Fed … so, to lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed. It’s much more akin to printing money.” - B.Bernanke


"Keep your filthy hands off my guns while I decide what you can & can't do with your uterus" - Sarah Silverman

If you meet a magic pony on the road, kill it. - Playwrite







Post#173 at 06-18-2013 06:37 PM by playwrite [at NYC joined Jul 2005 #posts 10,451]
---
06-18-2013, 06:37 PM #173
Join Date
Jul 2005
Location
NYC
Posts
10,451

Contest!

Wait, before turning the lights off on this thread, let's have a contest!

2 points for the one with the best caption to this photo -



Hopefully, this 'scandal' hasn't already been forgotten!
"The Devil enters the prompter's box and the play is ready to start" - R. Service

“It’s not tax money. The banks have accounts with the Fed … so, to lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed. It’s much more akin to printing money.” - B.Bernanke


"Keep your filthy hands off my guns while I decide what you can & can't do with your uterus" - Sarah Silverman

If you meet a magic pony on the road, kill it. - Playwrite







Post#174 at 06-18-2013 06:41 PM by playwrite [at NYC joined Jul 2005 #posts 10,451]
---
06-18-2013, 06:41 PM #174
Join Date
Jul 2005
Location
NYC
Posts
10,451

Quote Originally Posted by playwrite View Post
Wait, before turning the lights off on this thread, let's have a contest!

2 points for the one with the best caption to this photo -



Hopefully, this 'scandal' hasn't already been forgotten!
Okay, here's mine off the top of my head -

Issa: I see a fish! I see a fish! I see an Obamafish!

Cummings [to himself]: Lord, help me feel sorry for this idiot
"The Devil enters the prompter's box and the play is ready to start" - R. Service

“It’s not tax money. The banks have accounts with the Fed … so, to lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed. It’s much more akin to printing money.” - B.Bernanke


"Keep your filthy hands off my guns while I decide what you can & can't do with your uterus" - Sarah Silverman

If you meet a magic pony on the road, kill it. - Playwrite







Post#175 at 06-24-2013 12:17 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
---
06-24-2013, 12:17 PM #175
Join Date
Aug 2010
Posts
2,116

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/art...ws_118853.html

Both Paz and her supervisor, Lois Lerner, who headed the division that handles applications for tax-exempt status, have been replaced...

[ ...uh, Lois Lerner was replaced, and sent where? ]

...By the fall of 2010, the legal expert in Washington, Carter Hull, was working on about 40 applications, Paz said. A little more than half had "tea party" in the name, she said...

IRS agents in Cincinnati were singling out groups for extra scrutiny if their applications included the words "tea party," ''patriots" or "9-12 project," according to the inspector general's report. Paz said she didn't learn that agents were targeting groups based on those terms until June 2011, about the time Lerner first ordered agents to change the criteria.

Paz said an IRS supervisor in Cincinnati had commonly referred to the applications as "tea party" cases. But, Paz said, she thought that was simply shorthand for any application that included political activity...

[...and you believe that, Mr. Horn? ]

...maybe PW is just gullible, and accepts the stonewalling as a "case closed."




Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
... http://www.realclearpolitics.com/vid...s_case_is.html

FBI Director Doesn't Know Who Lead Investigator In IRS Case Is...
-----------------------------------------