Originally Posted by JDG 66

[COLOR=#0066cc]

blah, blah, blah

dude, only Faux News watchers now think this isn't over.

There is one interesting possibility, however, as noted here -

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/...irs-scandal-mo

Fox's Latest Excuse to Continue IRS Scandal Mongering - Tea Partiers Haven't Been Interviewed

If anyone wasn't sure what excuses they were going to come up with on Fox to keep beating the IRS scandal drums over these tea partiers and their tax exempt status that they shouldn't be qualifying for in the first place, here's your latest example.

We've already seen them just ignore that Rep. Elijah Cummings made good on his threat to release all of the transcripts of the interviews that were conducted by Rep. Darrell Issa and his committee. They're still pushing the already debunked story about the IRS head and the White House visitor records.

And this Saturday on Fox's The Journal Editorial Report, contributor James Freeman gave us the latest excuse to keep pushing the drummed up "scandal" -- the FBI hasn't been interviewing any "tea party people."

Never mind that the screening manager for the IRS already explained what happened during his interviews. And never mind that a bunch of these people already testified before Congress, and probably perjured themselves the little bit I watched of it. Someone had better talk to them right away so we can get to the bottom of this whole matter.

That suggested perjury is about the baggers that must have lied to the Issa. Fat chance Grand Thief Auto Issa will bring them back to clear that up. If they did though, and you keep humping this, maybe I can suggest you be brought in for aiding and abetting the lying!

Otherwise -

Yawn.

Originally Posted by playwrite

...
That suggested perjury is about the baggers that must have lied to the Issa...

-Of course. Which is why Lerner took the Fifth, and teh Tea Partiers didn't. I can hardly wait for PW's explanation...

Let's load up the clown car -

Originally Posted by Weave

They were specifically targeted, Liberal groups did not get the same type of scrutiny. Conservatives complained about this 3 years ago and were being told they were just being paranoid...This is Nixonian and has done great damage to the Obama Regime...

Originally Posted by JDG 66

.....In the 27 months that the Internal Revenue Service put a hold on all Tea Party applications for non-profit status, it approved applications from similar liberal groups, a USA TODAY review of IRS data shows...[/B][/COLOR]

...meanwhile, the IRS let "progressive" groups slide by, including one very special one:

Originally Posted by JDG 66

... This isn't about investigating organizations, this is about denying them from even getting started. Tea Party and Jewish groups were held up for 27 months while the Barack H. Obama organization slid through in a month after it had been illegally taking tax exempt donations. No comparison

Originally Posted by Classic-X'er

Sicking the IRS on political adversaries sounds pretty fascist to me.

Originally Posted by Danilynn

I feel the same, but let's face facts, he doesn't have to play by the rules, the sheep will follow him anywhere regardless of what he does. So even if video of him turns up telling the IRS to do this, it will still not make an impact and he will not be punished.

Meanwhile, 20-ish years ago they impeached or tried to Bill Clinton for a blow-job. Having seen photos of Hillary I can't blame Bill for outsourcing the job. But anyways, carry on with the Obama is God and defend him to the death thread...

Originally Posted by The Grey Badger

I agree. It is as if he is channeling Richard Nixon. Welladay, I guess it's our turn this time

But I was disgusted to see how both factions on this board are reacting. The posters on the right are gloating and the posters on the left are making excuses or denying the problem. I'm sorry. This IRS business was way out of line and is no matter who does it.

Originally Posted by Galen

I thought the odds of him being a black Jimmy Carter were high when he got elected, it looks like Obama found an even worse role model.

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-At first, teh Obamanations story was this wasn't happening.

Then, they said it was just careful scrutiny.

Then, they said it was just a pair of rogues in Cincinnati...

-Sometimes, the only way to drive home a lesson is to say "I told you so."

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-And they didn't tell their boss? Unlikley. That would mean that when Obama claimed that he knew nothing about it until the Friday the story broke would be a lie...

1) The political movement is called "Tea Partiers", not "Tea Baggers". Tea bagging appears to be an activty which progressives practice among themselves, which is probably why they keep getting confused...

2) Even the liberal MSM has long admitted that the targets were disproportionally conservative or libertarian, like this Jewish group:
...and they were all hit particualry harshly:


..delay! delay! delay!

...while, the "progressives" were not

Originally Posted by JDG 66

...The audit by a Treasury Department inspector general found that IRS employees singled out groups with names like "tea party" and "patriots" for special scrutiny that delayed their applications for tax exempt status...

..but we already know that. Except for Playwrite...

-Looks like PW has picked up some talking points to distract people from what the Obamanation was doing. Looks like he wants to take attention away from who the victims were and ignore who the perpetrators were. Surprise, surprise.

Let's say that a local police department, at the behest of someone in the mayor's office, had a policy of stopping certain motorists in town and harrassing them. Using PW's logic, the correct course of action would be to shut down all private traffic on the city streets and leave transit to the buses and trolleys.

The correct solution would be to find and punish the cops who were abusing their power, and anyone in the mayor's office who put them up to it or protected them. Humping a favored transit policy could wait a while. So, the correct solution in the IRS abuse scandal is to find and punish anyone who abused their power, whether they are some loser in the Cincinnati office or someone in the White House. Humping a favored tax policy can wait a while...

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-No "pivot" needed. The level of coordination precludes just a few "renegades" in Cincinnati, so it's a question of how high it goes: Obama, or someone lower? The IRS certainly didn't think that anyone at the White House would have a problem with what they were doing (unless they got caught, which eventually happened). Was it instigated at the White House level (perhaps a "Who shall rid me of these troublesome tea partiers?" ), or merely tolerated, since they were obviously doing good, progressive work.

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-Or maybe someone in the Obamanation (or Obama himself) just saw conservative and libertarian groups as a threat and decided to crush them, with a little bit of spite thrown in. FDR did it. Nixon did it. Why not Obama?
BTW, you can tell that even PW thinks he's losing when he gives up any pretense of polite discourse. He must be really upset...

Originally Posted by Classic-X'er

You have to admit, he's really good at playing the magic pony stuff with hopeful liberals and pulling the wool over the eyes of the ignorant. Do you really care how bad ignorant people and dimwit Democrats end up screwing themselves in the long run? The Republicans are going to declare their independence and split the nation in two before they allow the Democrats to drag the entire nation down the tube with them.

Originally Posted by Copperfield

I'm confused... Were there actually people out there who didn't think that the IRS was doing this sort of thing on a regular basis? I mean honestly, what good are you as a government agency if you can’t be used as a blunt object to beat down a few political dissidents every so often?

Oh well. Please continue to argue over the rising of the sun each morning ("I can’t believe the sun came up, I’m outraged!" "No it didn’t!").

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-Go back and read what I wrote. I didn't say that Obama himself necessarily knew the details (plausible deniability). But it's a challenge to explain how all this happened without someone in the Obamanation having something to do with it, and without Obama's acquiescence. I think it would be a good idea to find out who. I suspect that you will agree with this. And, since you yourself admit you haven't been keeping careful track, it's obvious that he knew a lot more about this than he originally let on

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-Now, you're delusional.

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-The IRS is supposed to check, but they targeted conservative and libertarian groups unfairly, and then made them jump through hoops which lefty groups did not have to jump through.

Even the liberal mainstream media admits that

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-Yeah. PW isn't used to having the Progressive Mainstream Media actually trying to report the truth on so many issues at once. He's confused.

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-Sorry, that fails to explain why Tea Party groups were harassed so badly while others got a walk:
-See above. If everyone would read more carefully, I wouldn't have to spend that extra 20 seconds retrieving references to stuff I've already posted.

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-So, Obama's IRS is forced to admit that it discriminated against conservative groups:

[/COLOR]
...and when I point that out, that make ME a liar. Oh, good stuff.

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-Has PW bothered to read the news?

They already admitted it:
...which word does he not understand?
ADMITTED.
ADMITTED.
Sheesh.

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-What's missing form PW's attempt at analysis is that the IRS has already admitted wrong doing: [/COLOR]
ADMITTED. There's nothing left after that, other than to find out who was involved and punish them.
This shouldn't be hard.

Originally Posted by JDG 66

...But I think I understand. PW is trying to say that Obama's IRS did not target various conservative/libertarian groups. Instead, the IRS is merely claiming that their people acted illegally, even though they did not. I get it. ..

Originally Posted by JDG 66

...PW seems to overlook the specific criteria which the IRS has admitted to, and that "progressive groups were allowed free ride:

I wonder how long he'll keep denying the obvious? When more whistleblowers and flipped witnesses testify?---- [/COLOR]

Originally Posted by JDG 66

...with the inspiration for PW's analysis provided by Huffpo and friends.

What the report says, is that of those identified, that one-third were conservative/libertarian. How many of the others are as well?
Meanwhile, we already know that obviously unworthy "progressive" groups got a pass:

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-...The fact is, Lois Lerner and her merry band were targeting groups that the Obamanation didn't like. You can tell PW doesn't believe his own spin by how his desperate, irrational frothing at the mouth

Originally Posted by JDG 66

_ho hum. Let's see what PW's story is when IRS agents started getting dragged off in handcuffs.

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-Of course. Which is why Lerner took the Fifth, and teh Tea Partiers didn't. I can hardly wait for PW's explanation...

While a couple of the obvious suspects fought over who gets to ride shotgun in the clown car, there is no doubt who the driver has been.

It's a little surprising some of those that climbed on the clown car early-on; I guess nobody likes taxes so we'll caulk their turn in the clown car as a short joy ride with early exits.

As we now know, the clown car crashed -

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

... it appears to confirm that the initial targeting did originate with a low-level employee in the Cincinnati office.

... denying any communication with the White House or senior IRS officials about the targeting

...the transcript “debunks conspiracy theories about how the IRS first started reviewing these cases.”

In the crash, all the remaining clowns, except one, were thrown free from the clown car. Perhaps egos bruised, but with time perhaps greater wisdom will come to them before they jump in another clown car (can we say Benghazi?).

However, the driver, Jimmie the Ultra Clown, is still pinned in the car. Several have warned him to get out, but at last no one knows how to speak his native tongue - moron-ise.

And now the clown car is on fire!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/us...gnet.html?_r=0

Documents Show Liberals in I.R.S. Dragnet

WASHINGTON — The instructions that Internal Revenue Service officials used to look for applicants seeking tax-exempt status with “Tea Party” and “Patriots” in their titles also included groups whose names included the words “Progressive” and “Occupy,” according to I.R.S. documents released Monday.

The documents appeared to back up contentions by I.R.S. officials and some Democrats that the agency did not intend to single out conservative groups for special scrutiny. Instead, the documents say, officials were trying to use “key word” shortcuts to find overtly political organizations — both liberal and conservative — that were after tax favors by saying they were social welfare organizations.

The only 2 questions remaining now are whether any of the baggers that lied to Congress will be charged for perjury and whether Grand Theft Auto Darrel Issa will loss his chairmanship and role as poster boy for GOP idiocy, i..e will the clown car now explode?!

__________________________________________________ ________________

Oh, just a reminder, back on May 16 -

Originally Posted by playwrite

Sorry, dude, I know facts are tough on you guys.

But of the nearly 500 entities looked at only about 1/3 were baggers.

Also, the only group to be denied tax-exempt status was a liberal group -

This is going to peter-out pretty quickly

Followed by this –

Originally Posted by playwrite

Actually, no one knows that for sure.
What we do know is that around 500-600 organizations were caught in the net, and of that amount, 1/3 were t-baggers.
The question posed to the investigators was only about the t-baggers. We'll have to wait and see what the rest of the numbers tell us. We will also have to see what the definition of “disproportionate” means – the number investigated or the number denied -so far, only a liberal organization seems to have been denied the exemption out of the 500 or so investigated.

Like shooting a not-so-bright whale in a barrel

Originally Posted by JDG 66

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...


IOW, the Barack H. Obama Foundation wasn't even tax exempt but was allowed to treat it's donations as tax exempt...

...still waiting for PW's explanation of Lois "The Fifth" Lerner's action here...

Originally Posted by JDG 66

...still waiting for PW's explanation of Lois "The Fifth" Lerner's action here...

Tell me how many applications there have been and how many "sailed through" in the same amount of time or less, then we can talk.

Otherwise, dude, you're grasping at straws as the Grand Thief Auto Issa show sinks into the quicksand. Bye-bye Arsonist Issa.

Originally Posted by playwrite

Tell me how many applications there have been and how many "sailed through" in the same amount of time or less...

-None, with the same obvious lack of reason. But none of them had "Barack H. Obama" in their title.

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-None, with the same obvious lack of reason. But none of them had "Barack H. Obama" in their title.

That's so uninformed, it's like a crazy person's answer.

There have been thousands of organizations applying; the vast majority of them conservative. Just look up stream of this thread for those FACTS.

You really should know just a modicum of an issue before starting a thread on it. Makes you look like a fool.

Oh wait, I forgot, you're the driver of the clown car!

Nevermind.

It was always there in the ORIGINAL Inspector General's report -

http://thehill.com/images/stories/ne...redacted-1.pdf

"According to the Director, Rulings and Agreements, the fact that the team of specialists worked applications that did not involve the Tea Party, Patriots, or 9/12 groups demonstrated that the IRS was not politically biased in its identification of applications for processing by the team of specialists."

Finally, two months later, duh -

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/us...it_th_20130625

The instructions that Internal Revenue Service officials used to look for applicants seeking tax-exempt status with “Tea Party” and “Patriots” in their titlesalso included groups whose names included the words “Progressive” and “Occupy,” according to I.R.S. documents released Monday.

The documents appeared to back up contentions by I.R.S. officials and some Democrats that the agency did not intend to single out conservative groups for special scrutiny.

Now why did so many 'smart' people have a different impression -

http://mobile.thehill.com/blogs/on-t...a-party-groups

IG: Audit of IRS actions limited to Tea Party groups at GOP request

The Treasury inspector general whose report helped drive the IRS targeting controversy says it limited its examination to conservative groups because of a request from House Republicans.
A spokesman for Russell George, Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration, said they were asked – by House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) – “to narrowly focus on Tea Party organizations.”

Some of our less 'smart' people might want to read the above quote over again - maybe several times.

But what's the final outcome? You didn't ask, so I'll ask for you and give you the answer -

http://philanthropy.com/article/IRS-...ck-for/139993/

IRS Offers Fast-Track for Advocacy Groups Awaiting Tax Exemptions

Organizations that have applied to the IRS for status as social-welfare groups but have faced inordinate delays because of the political scrutiny that engulfed the tax agency in controversy now have recourse: They can win tax-exempt status within two weeks if they pledge not to devote more than 40 percent of their time and money to partisan activities.

The IRS announced the streamlined process on Monday as part of its 83-page report, shown below, on how the agency is overhauling its process for reviewing applications for tax-exempt status. By setting the 40-percent marker, the organization for the first time was explicit about how much advocacy is acceptable for a group that has 501(c)(4) status.

Self identified. Also know as self regulated. Also know as they win.

And the sheeple go, "bleh, bleh, bleh."

Oh, if you have to ask who won, say "baaaaaaa"

Originally Posted by playwrite

Let's load up the clown car -



While a couple of the obvious suspects fought over who gets to ride shotgun in the clown car, there is no doubt who the driver has been.

It's a little surprising some of those that climbed on the clown car early-on; I guess nobody likes taxes so we'll caulk their turn in the clown car as a short joy ride with early exits.

As we now know, the clown car crashed



In the crash, all the remaining clowns, except one, were thrown free from the clown car. Perhaps egos bruised, but with time perhaps greater wisdom will come to them before they jump in another clown car (can we say Benghazi?).

However, the driver, Jimmie the Ultra Clown, is still pinned in the car. Several have warned him to get out, but at last no one knows how to speak his native tongue - moron-ise.

And now the clown car is on fire!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/us...gnet.html?_r=0



The only 2 questions remaining now are whether any of the baggers that lied to Congress will be charged for perjury and whether Grand Theft Auto Darrel Issa will loss his chairmanship and role as poster boy for GOP idiocy, i..e will the clown car now explode?!

__________________________________________________ ________________

Oh, just a reminder, back on May 16 -



Followed by this –



Like shooting a not-so-bright whale in a barrel

It appears the IRS Auditor has confirmed that conservative groups were specifically targeted...nice try though...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ot-liberals-w/

Originally Posted by Weave

It appears the IRS Auditor has confirmed that conservative groups were specifically targeted...nice try though...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ot-liberals-w/

Dude, you really going to hang your hat on that?

Too funny.

The IG dude is trying to thread the needle. His report initially claimed that baggers were targeted, but left out that he only looked at the baggers because that is what Grand Thief Auto Issa request he limit his probe to. He not only looks like an idiot, he looks like Issa's stooge - not a career-enhancing persona for an IG.

What's he gonna do? He's sticking with "what we looked at" so it gives him an out. It's weak because it circles back to why he didn't look more broadly which gets eventually back to being Darrel's sock puppet.

psss, here's a hint - the progressive files went to a different IRS examiners team. Why? Because that was the frickin reason for the whole process - it wasn't "targeting" it was for "sorting." Now do you think IG dude looked at what went to the team reviewing the progressives' files? Ask yourself, why would a sock puppet do that?

The problem here is Dems tend not to go after govt workers at the individual level, regardless sometimes how incompetent those workers prove to be. . But we'll see - no one likes sock puppets. I think a few months after this blows over, Mr. George will be retired.

It's kind of a pain to educate people on how the world actually works. But somebody's got to do it; and, dude, it sure ain't going to be the Washington Times.
You're welcome.

Another PW attempt:

Originally Posted by playwrite

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/us...it_th_20130625
...

-The NYT left out a few details from the AP wire story:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-w...ge&ir=homepage
...George's audit discovered a list from August 2010 that included the terms "Tea Party," `'Patriots" and "9/12 Project." The report said IRS agents inappropriately asked these conservative groups to identify their donors, their political affiliations and their positions on political issues, resulting in delays averaging nearing two years for applications to be processed.

Leaders of progressive groups said they, too, were asked detailed questions about their activities...

[Ooh! Ooh! Me Too!]

But, several leaders said, they were not asked the inappropriate questions listed in the inspector general's report...

[Oh, well...]


...the term "tea party" included instructions to forward such cases to other agents for additional review. There were no such instructions accompanying the term "Progressive"...

[Oops...]

PW's next try:

Originally Posted by playwrite

...Self identified. Also know as self regulated...

..."Self identified."

Right.

The timeline:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_IRS_scandal

At least as early as mid-2011, higher-ranking IRS officials knew that conservative groups primarily were being targeted.
Targeted groups complained to various members of Congress. In response, a congressional committee asked IRS Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman about the allegations in 2012. Shulman told the committee that the agency wasn't targeting conservative groups...

So, in PW's world, if a drunk driver gets pulled over by the cops, says he's sober, and is allowed to drive off, and a year latter, realizing that he's about to get pulled over again, checks himself into rehab' on his cell phone, he'd consider that "self-reporting", thus "self-regulating."

Originally Posted by Weave

It appears the IRS Auditor has confirmed that conservative groups were specifically targeted...nice try though...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ot-liberals-w/

...with PW grasping this straw:

Originally Posted by playwrite

... The IG dude is trying to thread the needle...

...sadly for PW, the IG adds specific data outside his original bailiwick:

He said that while 30 percent of groups that had the word “progressive” in their name were given extra scrutiny, 100 percent of groups with “tea party,” “patriot” or “9/12” in their names were pulled out for strict scrutiny, which involved what the IRS since has said were invasive and inappropriate questions...

...30% vs. 100%.

That percentage blows a hole in this meme:

Originally Posted by playwrite

... Let's just add your lack of being able to provide any numbers showing baggers were unfairly treated on a RELATIVE basis to all the others to the Big List...

...of course, anyone could have figured that out, when this:

Originally Posted by JDG 66

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...

...was the standard for certain special groups...

Originally Posted by JDG 66

Another PW attempt:

blah, blah, blah

Well, now we know who will be the last one to turn out the lights on this 'scandal.'

Have fun, you're the only one left in this Kabuki Theater

The stage is yours.
Cue the crickets: Chirp, chirp chirp


You, by chance, aren't a fat opera singer?

I work in a federal law enforcement agency. What you are seeing in the IRS is symptomatic of virtually every federal agency. Respect for the law is nonexistent except for when it furthers the goals of the bureaucracy and those politicians who hold the strings of power. That's how it develops in Third turnings and is what Fourth Turnings correct.

Originally Posted by Crosstimbers Okie

I work in a federal law enforcement agency. What you are seeing in the IRS is symptomatic of virtually every federal agency. Respect for the law is nonexistent except for when it furthers the goals of the bureaucracy and those politicians who hold the strings of power. That's how it develops in Third turnings and is what Fourth Turnings correct.

Federal agencies are not the only entities with moral failings during a 3T. Think of the child-abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. Think of the Atlanta school system in which teachers altered testing results and school officials encouraged it. Think of the increasing disparities of wealth and poverty that result from the monopolization of industry and of executive elites paid very well to treat others badly. Think of course at the real estate and lending scandals that precipitated a full-blown 4T.

America traditionally gets weak, ineffective government toward the end of a 3T that enables the worst behavior of powerful people.

Originally Posted by Crosstimbers Okie

I work in a federal law enforcement agency. What you are seeing in the IRS is symptomatic of virtually every federal agency. Respect for the law is nonexistent except for when it furthers the goals of the bureaucracy and those politicians who hold the strings of power. That's how it develops in Third turnings and is what Fourth Turnings correct.

Magic pony horseshit.

The US govt is the largest financial entity in the entire world. By any measure, any fraud and abuse is miniscule in relative comparison and far below the levels you find in the private sector. Now waste might be a different story, but one constituent's waste is another's bread-and-butter - that politics.

I might buy that someone working in federal law enforcement with a focus on ferreting out fraud and abuse might make your conclusion given the absolute size of possible cases. However, not being able to put that into perspective of the enormous size of the entity your denigrating, at best, shows a narrow mindedness; at worse, it brings into question credentials.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...pinion_LEADTop

The IRS scandal was connected this week not just to the Washington office—that had been established—but to the office of the chief counsel. That is a bombshell... the chief counsel of the IRS is one of only two Obama political appointees in the entire agency.

...Elizabeth Hofacre... told investigators that her work was overseen and directed by a lawyer in the IRS Washington office named Carter Hull.

...Mr. Hull... told investigators that tea-party applications under his review were sent upstairs within the Washington office, at the direction of Lois Lerner...

The IRS chief counsel is named William Wilkins. And again, he is one of only two Obama political appointees in the IRS.

Ms. Hofacre of the Cincinnati office testified that when she was given tea-party applications, she had to kick them upstairs. When she was given non-tea-party applications, they were sent on for normal treatment. Was she told to send liberal or progressive groups for special scrutiny? No, she did not scrutinize the applications of liberal or progressive groups. "I would send those to general inventory." Who got extra scrutiny? "They were all tea-party and patriot cases."

...Mr. Hull backed up what he'd told House investigators...

[And now, for Mr. Cummings... ]

It was Maryland's Rep. Elijah Cummings, the panel's ranking Democrat, who, absurdly, asked Ms. Hofacre if the White House called the Cincinnati office to tell them what to do and whether she has knowledge of the president of the United States digging through the tax returns of citizens. Ms. Hofacre looked surprised. No, she replied.

It wasn't hard to imagine her thought bubble: Do congressmen think presidents call people like me and say, "Don't forget to harass my enemies"? Are congressmen that stupid?

Mr. Cummings is not, and his seeming desperation is telling. Recent congressional information leads to Washington—and now to very high up at the IRS. The multitiered scrutiny of the targeted groups was, he said, "unusual."

...First, Ms. Lerner planted a question at a conference. Then she said the Cincinnati office did it—a narrative that was advanced by the president's spokesman, Jay Carney. Then came the suggestion the IRS was too badly managed to pull off a sophisticated conspiracy. Then the charge that liberal groups were targeted too—"we did it against both ends of the political spectrum." When the inspector general of the IRS said no, it was conservative groups that were targeted, he came under attack. Now the defense is that the White House wasn't involved, so case closed...

Originally Posted by JDG 66

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...pinion_LEADTop

The IRS scandal was connected this week not just to the Washington office—that had been established—but to the office of the chief counsel. That is a bombshell... the chief counsel of the IRS is one of only two Obama political appointees in the entire agency.

...Elizabeth Hofacre... told investigators that her work was overseen and directed by a lawyer in the IRS Washington office named Carter Hull.

...Mr. Hull... told investigators that tea-party applications under his review were sent upstairs within the Washington office, at the direction of Lois Lerner...

The IRS chief counsel is named William Wilkins. And again, he is one of only two Obama political appointees in the IRS.

Ms. Hofacre of the Cincinnati office testified that when she was given tea-party applications, she had to kick them upstairs. When she was given non-tea-party applications, they were sent on for normal treatment. Was she told to send liberal or progressive groups for special scrutiny? No, she did not scrutinize the applications of liberal or progressive groups. "I would send those to general inventory." Who got extra scrutiny? "They were all tea-party and patriot cases."

...Mr. Hull backed up what he'd told House investigators...

[And now, for Mr. Cummings... ]

It was Maryland's Rep. Elijah Cummings, the panel's ranking Democrat, who, absurdly, asked Ms. Hofacre if the White House called the Cincinnati office to tell them what to do and whether she has knowledge of the president of the United States digging through the tax returns of citizens. Ms. Hofacre looked surprised. No, she replied.

It wasn't hard to imagine her thought bubble: Do congressmen think presidents call people like me and say, "Don't forget to harass my enemies"? Are congressmen that stupid?

Mr. Cummings is not, and his seeming desperation is telling. Recent congressional information leads to Washington—and now to very high up at the IRS. The multitiered scrutiny of the targeted groups was, he said, "unusual."

...First, Ms. Lerner planted a question at a conference. Then she said the Cincinnati office did it—a narrative that was advanced by the president's spokesman, Jay Carney. Then came the suggestion the IRS was too badly managed to pull off a sophisticated conspiracy. Then the charge that liberal groups were targeted too—"we did it against both ends of the political spectrum." When the inspector general of the IRS said no, it was conservative groups that were targeted, he came under attack. Now the defense is that the White House wasn't involved, so case closed...

You must like sitting alone in dark rooms since the lights on this non-scandal were turned off a long time ago.

Maybe you and Grand Theft Auto Issa should get a room together?

Originally Posted by playwrite

You must like sitting alone in dark rooms since the lights on this non-scandal were turned off a long time ago....

-The wheels are coming off of Cummings bus. He and PW seem to be the only ones pretending this is a non scandal, and even they know better, deep down, which is why they just want to say "nothing to see here, folks".
http://www.nationalreview.com/articl...crat-john-fund

Finally, we may be getting somewhere in the IRS scandal involving the targeting and harassment of tea-party groups applying for tax exemptions. At Thursday’s House Government Reform and Oversight hearing, some names were at last attached to some of the IRS’s most questionable actions in the scandal.

Back in May, top IRS officials Steven Miller and Lois Lerner insisted that “rogue” agents in the Cincinnati office acted without direction from IRS headquarters in Washington. But Elizabeth Hofacre, who was the Cincinnati agent in charge of reviewing flagged tea-party applications, says she “had no autonomy or authority” to act on applications and so she simply sat on them. She blamed Carter Hull, an IRS lawyer in Washington, for the delays, saying that he directed her in how to treat problem cases but never gave her any feedback.

For his part, Hull said he had tried to tackle the growing pile of applications, but he was told they must first go through a multi-tier review that involved Lerner’s office and that of William Wilkins, the IRS’s chief counsel. Wilkins, a political appointee of President Obama’s, has been involved in Democratic politics as a staffer and campaign donor for over 30 years. Wilkins’s office did not have its first meeting with IRS officials on the tea-party applications until August 2011; at that point the applications had been pending for so long that it was decided that the IRS needed to demand updated information from the tea-party groups, further slowing down the process. Hull says that the behavior of IRS management during this whole process was “unusual.”

It’s taken nearly three months to begin to peel back the onion and discover the chain of command in the IRS scandal. One of the bureaucracy’s biggest weapons against scrutiny and accountability is its ability to hide who actually makes decisions and who should be held responsible for them.

Bureaucracy can only cover up so much, so long...

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-The wheels are coming off of Cummings bus. He and PW seem to be the only ones pretending this is a non scandal, and even they know better, deep down, which is why they just want to say "nothing to see here, folks".
http://www.nationalreview.com/articl...crat-john-fund

Finally, we may be getting somewhere in the IRS scandal involving the targeting and harassment of tea-party groups applying for tax exemptions. At Thursday’s House Government Reform and Oversight hearing, some names were at last attached to some of the IRS’s most questionable actions in the scandal.

Back in May, top IRS officials Steven Miller and Lois Lerner insisted that “rogue” agents in the Cincinnati office acted without direction from IRS headquarters in Washington. But Elizabeth Hofacre, who was the Cincinnati agent in charge of reviewing flagged tea-party applications, says she “had no autonomy or authority” to act on applications and so she simply sat on them. She blamed Carter Hull, an IRS lawyer in Washington, for the delays, saying that he directed her in how to treat problem cases but never gave her any feedback.

For his part, Hull said he had tried to tackle the growing pile of applications, but he was told they must first go through a multi-tier review that involved Lerner’s office and that of William Wilkins, the IRS’s chief counsel. Wilkins, a political appointee of President Obama’s, has been involved in Democratic politics as a staffer and campaign donor for over 30 years. Wilkins’s office did not have its first meeting with IRS officials on the tea-party applications until August 2011; at that point the applications had been pending for so long that it was decided that the IRS needed to demand updated information from the tea-party groups, further slowing down the process. Hull says that the behavior of IRS management during this whole process was “unusual.”

It’s taken nearly three months to begin to peel back the onion and discover the chain of command in the IRS scandal. One of the bureaucracy’s biggest weapons against scrutiny and accountability is its ability to hide who actually makes decisions and who should be held responsible for them.

Bureaucracy can only cover up so much, so long...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........

Time for PW to wake up: http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/22/em...ting-criteria/

...IRS chief counsel William Wilkins, who was named in House Oversight testimony by retiring IRS agent Carter Hull as one of his supervisors in the improper targeting of conservative groups...



Wiki has an updated site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_IRS_scandal

On June 24, 2013, new IRS commissioner Danny Werfel revealed that an internal investigation had discovered that the targeting was both broader and longer-lasting than had previously been known. The report found that words such as "Israel," "progressive" and "Occupy" were also used as red-flags for greater scrutiny, and that screeners were still using such lists up until May 2013. It was revealed two days later that while certain progressive groups also faced long delays in getting the IRS to approve their applications, the progressive groups were not subjected to the same level of scrutiny as Tea Party groups...

...obviously, they don't find it boring...

Originally Posted by JDG 66

Time for PW to wake up: http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/22/em...ting-criteria/

...IRS chief counsel William Wilkins, who was named in House Oversight testimony by retiring IRS agent Carter Hull as one of his supervisors in the improper targeting of conservative groups...



Wiki has an updated site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_IRS_scandal

On June 24, 2013, new IRS commissioner Danny Werfel revealed that an internal investigation had discovered that the targeting was both broader and longer-lasting than had previously been known. The report found that words such as "Israel," "progressive" and "Occupy" were also used as red-flags for greater scrutiny, and that screeners were still using such lists up until May 2013. It was revealed two days later that while certain progressive groups also faced long delays in getting the IRS to approve their applications, the progressive groups were not subjected to the same level of scrutiny as Tea Party groups...

...obviously, they don't find it boring...

Huh? What? Is Grand Thief Auto Issa 'borrowing' someone's car again?! Or is Darrel da Matches setting a fire again?!

Oh, never mind, it's just Jimmie fiddling the light switch again. It's no longer even amusing to watch and see how long it will take for even him to figure out it's broken.

Nation rolls back over -
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Originally Posted by playwrite

... It's no longer even amusing to watch and see how long it will take for even him to figure it out it's broken...

Maybe PW will find this entertaining:

http://spectator.org/archives/2013/0...william-wilki/

True the Vote, the Tea Party-style group targeted by Internal Revenue Service officials who are now at the very heart of the IRS scandal, is suing William Wilkins.

That would be the William Wilkins who is the IRS Chief Counsel...

...Let’s do the timeline here.



• June 23, 2007 — Senator Obama speaks to the UCC General Synod.

• August 2, 2007 — A complaint is filed with Lois Lerner of the IRS that the church furthered the Senator’s political campaign in violation of the church’s IRS status.

• February 20, 2008 — The IRS notifies the UCC that it has officially opened an inquiry...

• March, 2008 — Reports LegalBizNow: “Within two weeks of their (Bill Wilkins and WilmerHale colleague Brian Menkes’) March submission, Brian received his first tip from IRS contacts that the agency would be ruling favorably.”

• May 13, 2008 — Wilkins receives a letter from the IRS officially informing him the UCC is off the hook...

Elapsed time from the February 20, 2008 IRS letter telling the liberal UCC it was opening an investigation to the May 13, 2008 IRS letter to Wilkins saying the church would not lose its tax exempt status? A mere 73 days.

A considerable contrast with the treatment of all those Tea Party applications that wound up, according to Carter Hull, being slow-walked if not left to die in the offices of Lois Lerner and Bill Wilkins.

If the conservative Tea Party groups were treated with the same speed and fairness as the case of the United Church of Christ and Barack Obama, Wilkins would not be waking up this morning to find his name on a federal lawsuit.

And as if things weren’t bad enough, now comes word of possible IRS shenanigans with — yes — Tea Party favorite Christine O’Donnell...

In some mysterious fashion, don’t you know, her private business with the IRS falls into the hands of political opponents. Political opponents of the same party who now want this entire ongoing investigation of the IRS shut down.

But also want the IRS to have access to everything in your medical records...

...nothing to see here...

Originally Posted by JDG 66

Maybe PW will find this entertaining:

blubber, blubber...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Originally Posted by playwrite

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

-Maybe this will wake him up:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...873267508.html

Have you noticed that the Internal Revenue Service scandal seems to be getting ever closer to the White House? The IRS originally tried to set up "rogue employees in Cincinnati" as fall guys. But in congressional testimony, they revealed that the targeting of dissenting groups was directed from Washington...

Congressional investigators appear to be conducting a very methodical inquiry, working their way up through the IRS hierarchy and not getting out ahead of themselves... they have not (yet) claimed Wilkins himself directed the abusive behavior, only his "office." Democrats and their media allies... interpret the investigation's slow progress as a sign that there's nothing to the scandal. But if that's the case, they should be all for a thorough investigation...

Yeah...

As this column has argued before, the higher this scandal goes, the better it is for the country... because the president can be held accountable if it turns out he or his top aides essentially instructed the IRS to steal the 2012 election...

By contrast, if career IRS employees acted on their own, it means the integrity of American democracy itself is threatened by an out-of-control administrative state. In that case, how to solve the problem is not at all clear.

Originally Posted by JDG 66

-Maybe this will wake him up:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...873267508.html

Have you noticed that the Internal Revenue Service scandal seems to be getting ever closer to the White House? The IRS originally tried to set up "rogue employees in Cincinnati" as fall guys. But in congressional testimony, they revealed that the targeting of dissenting groups was directed from Washington...

Congressional investigators appear to be conducting a very methodical inquiry, working their way up through the IRS hierarchy and not getting out ahead of themselves... they have not (yet) claimed Wilkins himself directed the abusive behavior, only his "office." Democrats and their media allies... interpret the investigation's slow progress as a sign that there's nothing to the scandal. But if that's the case, they should be all for a thorough investigation...

Yeah...

As this column has argued before, the higher this scandal goes, the better it is for the country... because the president can be held accountable if it turns out he or his top aides essentially instructed the IRS to steal the 2012 election...

By contrast, if career IRS employees acted on their own, it means the integrity of American democracy itself is threatened by an out-of-control administrative state. In that case, how to solve the problem is not at all clear.

Oh yea, field people checking in with Legal back at HQ. Wow, like that never happens.

If that light switch fiddlin starts getting too boring, you can always call Shakin Puttin.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz