The IRS scandal and Obamacare

“A year ago, the IRS finalized a regulatory ruling to the effect that it will issue tax credits through Obamacare’s federal insurance exchanges. . . [for which] it has been granted no legal authority, by the Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or any other act of Congress, to issue such credits. In fact, the ruling flouts the explicit language of Obamacare.”http://spectator.org/archives/2013/05/28/an-irs-scandal-inseparable-fro

Huge loss for conservatives—Bachmann will not run

                

One of the reasons the lefties like to hate on Palin and Bachmann is because they are attractive and have sex appeal as well as being very smart.  Also they are mothers several times over. Bachmann was even a foster mother to other women's children. Palin chose not to abort her disabled child--driving the ugly left who think allowing a disabled child to live is irresponsible over the cliff .  The left is all about blurring lines and making men and women not only equal, but equally unattractive sexually.  The leftist women who know how to dress are the transsexuals.  If you want to know what brains and beauty looks like compare the Fox women to MSNBC.  I'm linking to Daily Kos and its unflattering, negative story on Bachmann.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/29/1212326/-Michele-Bachmann-will-not-run-in-2014-but-insists-my-future-is-full-it-is-limitless#

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pedro dressed for the dance.

Catholic writer bullied and silenced by IRS

It wasn't just Tea Party or Patriot groups. Catholic writer and professor Anne Hendershott wanted the public to know that Obamacare funds abortions and the IRS audited her. She was bullied by IRS agent Michael Iannotti about her Obamacare views. Usually she writes for free, and doesn't make much more than $5,000 a year for her articles. She wasn't allowed to bring her CPA to the "interview." She was intimidated into writing less on the topic--the whole point of targeting Obama’s critics. So if you heard that the Tea Party was losing its influence or critics were softening on Obamacare, now you know why—the Chicago way had wiped them from the stories you should have been reading.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/picture-emerges-that-irs-targeted-obamas-political-opponents-and-critics/

Good-byes just don’t get any easier

Today my husband and son are enjoying the Memorial tournament, so I made an appearance at the farewell luncheon for Pastor David Drumel and wife to give him a painting from my husband. They are moving back to the Nashville area after 6 years in Columbus ministering to our seniors at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church.

There is only one little difference between these two crooks

Nixon accepted the responsibility and did the honorable thing.  Obama knows nothing of honor, patriotism, honesty, hard work, or history.

Stop government bullying now

The IRS is bullying conservatives, Christians, wealthy Republican donors and small government patriots, and using audits, electronic snooping, OSHA and ATF to terrify the president's enemies--maybe they could make a new poster?

Waste, fraud and excessive costs—that won’t change

"About 30 percent of health spending in 2009--roughly $750 billion--was wasted on unnecessary services, excessive administrative costs, fraud, and other problems. Moreover, inefficiencies cause needless suffering. By one estimate, roughly 75,000 deaths might have been averted in 2005 if every state had delivered care at the quality level of the best performing state." Summary, Best Care at lower cost report, 2012, National Academies Press. So why didn't Obama start there instead of grabbing our health insurance? The illusion that someone else pays is what causes the unnecessary and excessive costs. When has creating a bloated government agency reduced costs? http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13444

Telephone surveys on health care

I know why Americans sound so stupid on these surveys. I got one last night, and because of the complexity of the questions finally had to interrupt the woman and tell her to call the next person on her list. She wasn't a very good reader, had difficulty pronouncing the words and I doubt she understood the questions either. It was about Comparative Effectiveness Research which preceded Obamacare (never used this word in the survey), but is now incorporated in it. http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/04/comparative-effectiveness-research-under-obamacare-a-slippery-slope-to-health-care-rationing

Are the wealthy getting all the breaks?

So you think the wealthy are getting the tax breaks? You're absolutely right. But they are the ones paying the taxes. It's hard to cut what you don't pay in.

http://taxfoundation.org/blog/cbo-tax-expenditures-eye-beholder

This non-profit had no problem with approval of status

Malik Obama's foundation (he used to go by a different name), which had no problem getting 501c3 status from the IRS while conservative groups waited years, seems to be funding his wives--he's a Muslim polygamist like his father. He has two foundations named after his father, Barack, and grandmother Sarah. These "non-profits" are supported by Americans and funds are used to send young men to radical Islam training. http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/obama-half-brother-uses-irs-status-to-fund-polygamy/

http://shoebat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/New_IRS_Scandal_052113.pdf

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2287565/Obamas-brother-accused-attacking-2-TWELVE-wives-seducing-schoolgirl.html

Roy Abong’o Malik Obama is the first son of Barack Obama senior
and was best man at the president’s wedding.

The investigation of Eric Holder

Government health care with fringe benefits

The plumber’s friend

With fancy bathrooms and low flow toilets, I decided to buy some new plungers--just in case. The $3  old fashioned kind at Wal-Mart are sort of ugly, but for $15 I can get one in a cute little brushed nickel canister or bronze, and if want to scare the guests to death, there is one with a handle like a sea monster, so when it's in the toilet it looks like some something is attacking. Garden pots work too for storing the ugly ones. This is $30 at Bed Bath & Beyond, but only $15 at TJ Maxx.

Young, healthy males will be subsidizing the older, less healthy and females under Obamacare

"ObamaCare institutes several types of price controls on insurance premiums. The elimination of gender-based ratings forces young men to subsidize the substantially higher claims of young women, ending claims-based differentials of up to 70 percent under age 40. The 3:1 age rating limit requires younger people to subsidize older people, ending the roughly 6:1 rating that was based on actual costs. The elimination of health status as a rating factor forces those in good health to subsidize those in poor health, whether or not good health is due to self-control or lucky genetics." John Goodman, National Center for Policy Analysis.

http://healthblog.ncpa.org/obamacares-war-on-men/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HA

Lumpy has passed away

I didn’t see Leave it to Beaver until I was an adult and caught the popular early TV sit com on reruns.  My parents didn’t have a TV until after I went away to college. Interesting observation in this story about the death of one of the Beaver characters, Lumpy who went on to a successful career in business.

Beaver and Wally, and their pals Eddie Haskell and Lumpy Rutherford, were a complete breed apart from today's horrific sitcom children. They didn't mouth off. They were actual kids playing average kids - not secret rock stars or internet moguls. They were always respectful — even if it was fake, as in Eddie's case. Their parents knew more than they did. Their actions had consequences. Failure - in school or on the playing field - wasn't whitewashed with an undeserved "awesome!" and a "participation trophy." There was more reality in an episode of Leave It To Beaver than in an entire season of any given show today.

http://family.lifegoesstrong.com/article/another-leave-it-beaver-death?cmp=&utm_source=OB_LGS

In 2007 The New York Times was more skeptical about Obama

The NYT in 2007 accurately raised the alarm about Obama’s voting record in Illinois as a Senator—when he would vote “present” on difficult issues, like gun control.  If he knew he’d get in trouble with Chicago gangs and Blacks, he just didn’t say yes or no.

Sometimes the “present’ votes were in line with instructions from Democratic leaders or because he objected to provisions in bills that he might otherwise support. At other times, Mr. Obama voted present on questions that had overwhelming bipartisan support. In at least a few cases, the issue was politically sensitive. . .

The vote on the juvenile-justice bill [ to let children as young as 15 be prosecuted as adults if charged with committing a crime with a firearm on or near school grounds] appears to be a case when Mr. Obama, who represented a racially mixed district on the South Side of Chicago, faced pressure. It also occurred about six months before he announced an ultimately unsuccessful campaign against a popular black congressman, Bobby L. Rush. . .

The measure passed both houses overwhelmingly. In explaining his present vote on the floor of the Senate, Mr. Obama said there was no proof that increasing penalties for young offenders reduced crime, though he acknowledged that the bill had fairly unanimous support.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The clutter of magazines

I used to collect first issues of magazines, in fact, I have a blog about them called In the Beginning.  But I’m trying to resist scanning magazine sections of bookstores and supermarkets.  It takes up a lot of space.  I love reading the occasional article on-line, but nothing replaces the feel and look of a fresh magazine.

Linda Lignon, the former owner of Interweave, one of the nation's largest art and craft media entities, and now its Creative Director after selling it to F+W Media, Inc. F+W Media, Inc.  last July, writes at her blog:

“Like many women my age (and younger), I wax eloquent about my love of paper, pages to turn, magazines as objects. And I hope they never go away. But at the same time, if I had to choose between a set of pages to fondle and all the rich content those pages hold, I'll take the content any day. That's the beauty of magazines in electronic form, on CDs, on the Internet. You can have the content without the clutter. On the other hand, I'm pretty comfortable with clutter. It's a conundrum.”

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mother's birthday--she would have been 101. Sweetest woman in the world. I’ve been cleaning out some things I rarely use—like cake pans. One last trip through the dishwasher then off to the resale shop.  I'll keep the coffee pot from the 70s I never use since it was a gift from Mom, but I make terrible coffee.  I think that was the reason for the gift—she was sure it must be the tool, and not me.

Fall 1983 when Mom and Dad visited us in Columbus.

Monday Memories—October 1947

On Memorial Day we remember the war dead of all the wars. In October 1947, I was a little girl at the funeral in Illinois for my mother's brother killed in October 1944 in China. It took that long to get him home. He was part of the largest "repatriation" effort in our history--over 200,000 dead returned on the Honda Knot to San Francisco.

"Congress had passed legislation authorizing repatriation of the bodies, and the majority of the families wanted their boys returned to private burial plots or to a national cemetery nearby. Not all the dead were returned to U.S. soil. An additional 93,242 men were buried in overseas American cemeteries because the families believed it more appropriate for them to rest with comrades near the battlefields where they had died. The families of 78,976 dead soldiers had no choice; their sons were listed as missing in action, and their remains were never recovered. Today the number of missing has been reduced by only a trifle; about seventy-eight thousand Americans who went off to World War II are still listed as lost. Among those still missing are about eight thousand men whose bodies had been recovered but whose identities are unknown. Their remains are buried in American cemeteries overseas.

The entire repatriation and overseas reburial program took six years to complete, from 1945 to 1951, at a cost of $200,000,000 in 1945 dollars—several billion today [2005]. It wasn’t the first American repatriation program following a foreign war, but it was the most extensive. More than twelve hundred U.S. dead were returned for burial after the Spanish-American War, and about 46,292 were repatriated from France after World War I. Another 30,921 U.S. soldiers who died in World War I were buried in eight American military cemeteries in France following that conflict. The vast reburial program after World War II is all but forgotten today." Safely Rest, David P. Colley.

                             

Disinfecting the bathrooms

Make an all-purpose bathroom cleaner by mixing two  tablespoons of dish liquid, two tablespoons ammonia, and one quart of warm water. Use this for the tub, sink, floors, and shower. Rinse with clean water. A baking soda paste can help get rid of marks in the sink or tub. Using a squeegee on shower walls after each shower helps stop mold and mildew from growing.

Leaving the lid up when you flush can spread fecal matter and germs all over your bathroom, even to your toothbrush. To limit nasty germs, clean your toilet bowl weekly -- and keep the lid down. Use a wet cloth and an all-purpose cleaner to wash the lid, seat, and outside of the bowl. Then use a toilet brush and the cleaner to scrub inside the bowl.

From: Web MD, Beat germs all over your house.

The infrastructure cry

If collapsing bridges weren’t so scary, I’d almost smile at the way the media are hyping the story about a bridge in Washington and the train accidents recently. Mix in a little global warning hype because of the Moore, OK tornado, and it’s perfect for pols.

Obama lured Americans with promises of money (mainly for union labor) for the “infrastructure” with the ARRA money.  Didn’t happen.  He hyped it again in a recent SOTU speech.  It’s only good for politicians who are trying to cover for something else. . . like an IRS scandal or snooping on journalists.

Over 100 years ago private companies built the subway system in New York.  The city took it over. It hasn’t been as efficient or as good since.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/13/politics/state-of-union-what-obama-said

http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Subway_FAQ:_A_Brief_History_of_the_Subway

Senate Chaplain gives Sunday sermon at Lakeside

Usually the early church service at Lakeside is held on the east deck of the pavilion, but it was rather windy today, although the sun was brilliant.  So it was moved into Orchestra Hall (a movie theater with a stage).  Rev. Barry Black, chaplain of the Senate, who gave the sermon this morning at Lakeside Hoover service at 10:30,  joined us briefly at the relocated dockside service (8:30). He's had the position since 2003 and is a 7th Day Adventist. He told us there are weekly prayer breakfasts for the senators, and they hold hands when they pray. Democrats and Republicans holding hands and praying. It's a nice thought.

                

Lenoisms

I guess we know why his contract isn’t being renewed.  He stopped drinking the Kool-Aid.

Looks worthy of Hollywood

Ethics of Chicago mobsters

Friday Family Photo

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and honored the war dead of the Civil War with flowers on their graves. After WWI it became Memorial Day and honored all war dead, or even all deceased friends and family depending on your customs.

When I was very young, I sold paper red poppies with my siblings to raise money for the American Legion, of which my dad was a district commander in Illinois. When I was older I remember attending services at the band shell in Mt. Morris, where a senior student was chosen to recite the poem, "In Flanders' Field." First my grandparents would decorate my uncle's grave (died in China in 1944) at the Ashton, IL cemetery; then later my mom and aunt; and after they died, my father went to the cemetery with the flowers. Now they are all gone, but I hope there will be a few family members to go to the cemetery in Ashton and Mt. Morris to decorate and memorialize.

            

On how you deal with “Chicago”

Richard, a blogging friend writes: “ I can't get away from it. When I was barely legal, I drove a long haul truck for a little while. I never drove near Chicago but the company did, and it had a "regulation" that if you got pulled over by the police in the Chicago area, when you handed over your license and log book you wrapped the license in a twenty dollar bill. The police expected it, and didn't give the driver a ticket.

The news for the last few weeks has absolutely convinced me that I was correct in the previous election in the feeling that we had handed over our federal government to the heirs of the guys who set up the crookedness of the "then” Chicago police. We are being governed by a bunch of Chicago (not necessarily geographical) ward politicians. I hope we get past it without permanent damage to the nature of our country.”

Please do your own research.  Go online and look at the 28 categories for 501c organizations and read how vague the wording is.  It’s a law that is ripe for misuse regardless of who is in power.  But to connect this power to the health care law (woman who was in charge of exempt groups at IRS is now in charge of the IRS section of Obamacare) is Stalinesque. Truly, “Chicago” knew exactly what it was doing in creating this section of the new ACA.

The scandal timeline

Interesting program on Glenn Beck tonight. He developed a time line and let all the people involved in the scandals like Fast and Furious, Benghazi, IRS, AP, Dept. of Justice and Dept. of State speak for themselves. Mainly they said, and I paraphrase, "I don't know, it wasn't me."

Getting out front a few years later

More revelations about our imperial presidency. See what happens when you elect a man for non-essential reasons—like slogans, skin color, and flowing rhetoric—things we used to say didn’t matter?

The Obama administration acknowledged Wednesday that it has killed four Americans in overseas counterterrorism operations since 2009, the first time it has publicly taken responsibility for the deaths, 3 in Yemen and 1 in Pakistan; one was only 16 years old. And why exactly should we believe it was 4 and not 40 or 400? Are they telling us now so we'll feel better about their overseas counterterrorism and less outraged by the terror Americans now feel about Obamacare with the IRS in charge? Washington Post, May 23

A review of recent history: "The Internal Revenue Service official in charge of the tax-exempt organizations at the time when the unit targeted tea party groups now runs the IRS office responsible for the health care legislation.

Sarah Hall Ingram served as commissioner of the office responsible for tax-exempt organizations between 2009 and 2012. But Ingram has since left that part of the IRS and is now the director of the IRS’ Affordable Care Act office, the IRS confirmed to ABC News today." ABC News, May 16 .

And then yesterday

“Former IRS chief Doug Shulman told a congressional hearing this morning that he “absolutely” did not inform the White House of the IRS’s targeting operation and investigation.

Citing evidence that Shulman visited the White House 118 times between 2010 and 2011 and received information about IRS political targeting from 132 members of Congress, Representative Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) asked whether Shulman had ever mentioned this information to White House officials.

“Absolutely not,” replied Shulman. “It would not have been appropriate.””

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/349056/former-irs-chief-%E2%80%98absolutely%E2%80%99-never-mentioned-political-targeting-wh-ian-tuttle

I would have fired an employee (hard to do with Civil Service) if mischief, mayhem and malfeasance had been kept from me, because I knew I had to answer to my boss.  Obama doesn’t think he has a boss; certainly not us, not God.

Change—it’s time for a

Gutfeld has a way with words

Little guard dog

On May 20, 2013, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s office posted this picture of a dog on their Twitter account "scared, but this little pup survived".  Then they found out the story behind the picture. The dog was standing guard over a deceased individual, possibly its owner, in Moore, OK,  following the tornado there. The dog was taken to a shelter and the deputy who found the pup, if possible, plans on adopting the dog. Man's best friend to the end.

Even liberals catch on. . .

Musing on the scandals—some of which I’m forgetting

Just a guess, of course, but I think Sharyl Attkisson, the Emmy-award winning CBS News investigative reporter who has covered Benghazi and now thinks her computer may have been compromised, will probably not get the backing from CBS she is hoping for. After all, what's in it for CBS except the wrath of Obama?

http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/05/sharyl-attkissons-computers-compromised-164456.html

What a surprise. Lois the the Leaker, the director of the Internal Revenue Service’s Exempt Organizations division, Lois Lerner, is invoking the Fifth Amendment and will not appear before Congress to answer questions about the agency’s targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups. She'll be subpoenaed. She knew a year ago (at least) what was going on.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/348973/lerner-take-5th

What is so dangerous about a group of women who find people registered to vote who list empty parking lots as a residence? For starters, it's scary for Democrats to be held accountable. It's so scary, the founders need to be audited.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/20/group-fighting-voter-fraud-among-those-waiting-on-/

Steve Miller, the departing IRS acting head, has admitted his really bad idea to “leak” the story and bury it on a Friday afternoon. Last week he denied it—or maybe walked around it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/us/politics/senate-testimony-irs-scandal.html

Justice Department names a reporter (James Rosen) a criminal, read his private e-mails and tracked his whereabouts, right on the heels of the expose of the AP phones.  MSM reporters seem to be waking up to what he crook Obama is. But not Jay Carney.

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/justice-departments-scrutiny-of-fox-news-reporter-james-rosen-in-leak-case-draws-fire/2013/05/20/c6289eba-c162-11e2-8bd8-2788030e6b44_story.html

Since when was being stupid better than being sneaky?

Obviously, I'm not a politician, but I can't understand why the Obama administration would use the excuse of being incompetent, stupid boobs whose top officials lied to the president about everything he should know and provided bad "customer service" rather than they were targeting political enemies. The IRS story and who knew what when, now has almost as many versions as the Benghazi story.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday that Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough and other senior officials knew of the general nature of the report but decided to keep the president in the dark about the report’s finding that the IRS had targeted conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny.  http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/300753-carney-white-house-officials-knew-of-irs-targeting-but-didnt-tell-obama#ixzz2TxLFp7OH

Exasperated senators questioned the truthfulness of former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, who led the agency from 2008 to 2012, and outgoing acting IRS chief Steven Miller. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah accused Miller of a "lie by omission." http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/21/us-usa-irs-idUSBRE94F10Y20130521

Steven T. Miller, the departing Internal Revenue Service chief, took responsibility on Tuesday for planting a question May 10 at a closed-door meeting with tax lawyers that prompted a top I.R.S. official to disclose that the agency had targeted conservative groups, an awkward move that prompted the inquiries now moving ahead on Capitol Hill.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/us/politics/senate-testimony-irs-scandal.html?_r=0

America has been at war with its doctors for a decade

“The fundamental paradox of the regulatory state in medicine is that physicians face constant impediments to the actual care of patients.”

“a cultural assault on [doctors’] their fundamental spirits of risk-taking, innovation, and professional autonomy.”

“a gross devaluation of the economic value of their work. Minimal pay from insurers – particularly Medicare and Medicaid – for life-or-death work is the new norm.”

“there is an army of non-physicians, now known as providers, waiting at the ashes of the battleground of America and its physicians.”

Mona Kotecha, MD

And from Bev, who is caring for her 90 something parents:

I have several stories to tell... Even if you have always been able to afford health insurance, the rules of the game have drastically changed in the last three years. If a specialist you have seen for 20 years does not take the new insurance the government forced you to buy you cannot pay out of pocket to stay with that provider. You must get a referral from your GP (if you have one that takes your insurance) and start all over with a new specialist.The GP must send a new referral every year to the specialist. I was told recently by a doctor that with all the insurance possibilities out there I was foolish for picking an HMO for my parents.  Apparently an HMO causes paperwork nightmares for that doctor's staff. When both parents are ninety and have ongoing health concerns you cannot shop around. Because of the government and insurance the doctor loses and the patient loses. It is a lose-lose situation.

Those of us who are considered seniors are a drain on the health system anyway according to the new health laws. I think I studied something about what ultimately happened to those who were found unfit and a drain to society in high school and college history classes. It has been a bad two weeks for me navigating our new improved insurance and medical system.

Another scandal

I’m losing track. They are like the Clinton era bimbo eruptions. Dennis Burke, former aide to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and former U.S. Attorney for Arizona, retaliated against  the whistleblower in the gunwalking fiasco called Fast and Furious. He leaked information, misleading his bosses and violating legal ethics during the “Fast and Furious” firearms-smuggling scandal according to a Justice Department IG report.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2013/05/report-faults-former-us-attorney-dennis-burke-for-164374.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/us/politics/dennis-k-burke-criticized-for-fast-and-furious-leak.html?_r=0

Is this still America?

True the Vote

“True the Vote” mission statement:  “True the Vote is an initiative developed by citizens for citizens, meant to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. We promote ideas that actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation.”

“Legitimate voters.” “Regardless of political party affiliation.” Sounds reasonable enough. Founder Catherine Engelbrecht applied for nonprofit status for “True the Vote” and “King Street Patriots” in 2010.

To date, this is what Engelbrecht has endured says Paula Priesse: 1) An FBI visit & phone calls 2) A 3 day on-site IRS audit of both the family machine shop & personal returns 3) 5 IRS info requests over 2 years, including every Facebook post and tweet 4) 2 unscheduled ATF audits of the shop & 5) A visit from OSHA who levied 25K in fines Wow! The FBI, IRS, ATF & OSHA all at one time. What are the odds? And 3 years later, Engelbrecht still hasn’t received IRS approval.

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2013/05/20/dojs-witch-hunt-against-true-the-vote-n1601527

Such terrible news coming from Oklahoma

Many children killed in Oklahoma tornado

Two elementary schools hit in Moore, Oklahoma.

Time for ghoulish political humor. “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead says it was aimed at conservatives in a tweet. Sicko.

Shocked and awful

"The president, as usual, acts as if all of this is totally unconnected to him. He's shocked, it's unacceptable, he'll get to the bottom of it. He read about it in the papers, just like you. But he is not unconnected, he is not a bystander. ... It is not even remotely possible that all this was an accident, a mistake. Again, only conservative groups were targeted, not liberal. It is not even remotely possible that only one IRS office was involved. ... What happened at the IRS is the government's essential business. ... Everyone involved in this abuse of power should pay a price, because if they don't, the politicization of the IRS will continue -- forever. If it is not stopped now, it will never stop. And if it isn't stopped, no one will ever respect or have even minimal faith in the revenue-gathering arm of the U.S. government again. ... This is not about the usual partisan slugfest. This is about the integrity of our system of government and our ability to trust, which is to say our ability to function." --columnist Peggy Noonan

Monday memories—no college debt

An article in today’s WSJ reports the average student graduates with $30,000 indebtedness.  I'm surprised the  debt is "only" $30,000. I got married before I finished college, so I had to "borrow" my senior year's tuition from my dad and pay it back, which I did. He was sort of old fashioned and figured once married I was a responsible adult, possibly my husband’s responsibility. Costs at a state university were about $1000/year, so let's say it was $4000 for 4 years in 1961. That's $31,250 in 2013 for inflation.

So why were so many people graduating then without debt? No student loans or grants, and very few scholarships would be my guess. The more money available, the higher the tuition and fees charged by academe.

 http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/05/18/number-of-the-week-class-of-2013-most-indebted-ever/?mod=e2tw

             

1958 Father’s Day, University of Illinois at McKinley Hall (I still have that dress in my “archives.”)

Now we know why Obama wanted electronic medical records, unproven to save money or lives

The President admits he has no skills?

The President's race/blame card at a college graduation. Our "Ivy League-educated former community organizer made sure the new grads [at Morehouse] were aware that — in his apparent opinion — “the bitter legacies of slavery and segregation” are not over and that not “for the grace of God” he might be in prison, unemployed or unable to take care of Michelle, Malia and Sasha."

Is he admitting he had no talent or leadership skills and only luck and white folks put him in the White House? He didn't say that to Ohio State graduates; why did he say it to black graduates who have accomplished so much?

http://www.conservativeblog.org/amyridenour/2013/5/20/black-conservatives-call-obamas-morehouse-commencement-speec.html?SSScrollPosition=0

Why do we need the 501c exemptions in the tax code?

IRS targeted 9/12 groups because of Glenn Beck, whom they audited, and Billy Graham and James Dobson's organizations plus other Christian groups and Jewish groups that support Israel. Christians groups were denied for not presenting other view points!  Do they ask Muslim groups to support scanty clothing for women?

In order to get the government out of our business, we need to drop the 501c classes in the revenue code--there are 28 of them. It's just a way to keep track of political enemies and to make them do the government's bidding. All administrations probably do it, but most have been Democrats, and now with Chicago mobsters in office, it's getting worse. Most of these groups in the recent "customer service problem" [Steve Miller’s term] said nothing as the process dragged out 2 years because of fear. That way they couldn't organize and help each other.

Even during the Bush years I was checking on 501c3 groups and it is ridiculous what passes for "educational, art, literary and sports" organizations. Just pay the taxes and get the government out of your organization. And that includes churches.

In May 2012 Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan wrote to the I.R.S. asking for information about all “social welfare” groups that had applied for tax-exempt status in 2010 and 2011, to determine whether the I.R.S. was targeting conservative groups. Big shocker—the approvals started rolling.

Bumper stickers

              

I was driving behind a car the other day with 4 stickers--Obama 2008, War is not the answer, something justice, and something child abuse. I wondered if she bought it that way (rather old), or if she knew how many wars Obama has dabbled in since 2009 and he hasn't closed Gitmo. Wondered if she knew aborted alive babies don't have rights according to Illinois state senator Obama.

Bernadine of Siena—May 20

Whether you're Protestant or Catholic, a "saint of the day" book is an inspirational daily read. Most of these people lived and worshipped before the splits in the church. May 20 is Bernadine of Siena. I think what impressed me about him was he could draw crowds of 30,000 when preaching about sin and vice. No loud speakers, no apps on cell phones, no cameras held up to catch his photo. (no port-a-potties) When he told people to throw their gambling tools into a community bonfire, the manufacturers of playing cards complained he was ruining their livelihood. But in many of our churches we see his work on vestments and paraments. He's the one who promoted the IHS symbol, the first 3 letters of Jesus' name in Greek.

"Worship" is one of those pesky exceptions about not doubling the p. I have to look it up when I use it. The rule is, most verbs ending in ‘p’, like develop or gallop, after an unstressed vowel, have no doubling of that final consonant in standard received British English or American English. But there are exceptions: worship, handicap, kidnap.  I have no idea why.  Just one of the joys of our spelling system.

According to Wikipedia “A Parament or Parement; (from Late Latin paramentum, adornment, parare, to prepare, equip), a term applied by ancient writers to the hangings or ornaments of a room of state. Later it has referred to the liturgical hangings on and around the altar, as well as the cloths hanging from the pulpit and lectern, as well as the ecclesiastical vestments and mitres. In many usages, it is synonymous with altar cloth.”

You may recall (or not) there was a mini-scandal about the IHS being covered up and replaced by the Presidential symbols when Obama spoke at Georgetown (a Catholic university) in April 2009. Just the beginning of many such incidents involving religion. Factcheck confirms this.

Georgetown honored the White House staff’s request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage and symbols behind Gaston Hall stage. The White House wanted a simple backdrop of flags and pipe and drape for the speech, consistent with what they’ve done for other policy speeches.

Very much the monarch.

Gosnell was found guilty; but there are more out there

“Houston doctor Douglas Karpen is accused by four former employees of delivering live fetuses during third-trimester abortions and killing them by either snipping their spinal cord, stabbing a surgical instrument into their heads or 'twisting their heads off their necks with his own bare hands'.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325786/Douglas-Karpen-Second-house-horrors-abortion-clinic-investigated-Texas.html

http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/sordid-history-of-abortionist-karpen-should-be-considered-by-tx-medical-board/

IRS hearings more scary than Benghazi

“U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) told the tale of one of his constituents who applied for tax-exempt status for her Tea Party group in July 2010. Twenty months later she got her first response from the IRS, a letter with dozens of questions. She answered them all, but she’s still waiting for approval. However, during the intervening three years she was visited by the FBI’s domestic terrorism unit, had four additional FBI inquiries, had both her personal and business taxes audited and been the subject of an OSHA inspection.”

I’m assuming he was talking about Catherine Engelbrecht of True the Vote who appeared on Huckabee last night and told how she was audited by IRS after applying for tax exempt status in 2010 for the organization and was asked hundreds of intrusive questions plus was investigated by FBI, OSHA, EPA and ATF for a total of 17 encounters with the federal government.

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/opinion/editorials/2013/05/irs_breaks_the_rules

You Democrats need to be very worried—you could be hit the next time if this type of terrorism against American citizens is allowed to continue. Usually it has been used by Democrats (FDR, JFK, LBJ) but occasionally a Republican gets caught (Nixon).

Seventeen encounters of the Soviet kind

Catherine Engelbrecht of True the Vote was interviewed by Mike Huckabee tonight.  She was audited by the IRS after applying for tax exempt status in 2010 for the organization and was asked hundreds of intrusive questions about her personal life plus got investigated by FBI, OSHA, EPA and ATF for a total of 17 encounters with the federal government. She'd had no visits or inquiries (in her business) the previous 20 years.

Liberals complain that big corporations, special interests and lobbyists control election funding, but when the little guy tries to get involved, the government smacks them down with its power to destroy.

Sometimes I feel like we're living in the now defunct Soviet Union which used these tactics. Now that this abuse is in the open, more will be coming forward I'm sure to follow Engelbrecht’s brave example in going public with what has happened to her.

http://blog.chron.com/texassparkle/2013/05/the-abuse-of-power-by-our-government-on-true-the-vote/

“Know Nothing” Obama

Senior officials in the Treasury Dept. were told in June 2012, in the middle of the campaign, about the targeting and blocking of status of groups with names like Tea Party, 9/12, constitution, patriot, etc. in their name.   According to Obama, he wasn't told.  Benghazi happened on 9/11/2012, late in the campaign, and Obama said he went to bed and knew nothing, and even 2 weeks later was spreading the lie he seemed to accept without question about the video at the United Nations. Why is he surrounding himself with people who tell him about a gay basketball player coming out of the closet, but not important things?  I’m betting he knows nothing about the emerging EPA scandal about granting waivers for public records fees to liberal “green” groups while denying requests for conservative organizations. The full force of the federal government is conspiring against conservatives. And it comes from the top.

“[Steve] Miller only stoked the criticism of many Republicans, who are assailing the administration on a sudden spate of other controversies, as well, even as some Democrats tried to contain the political damage.

The Head of the Treasury Dept. was told in June 2012, in the middle of the campaign, about the targeting and blocking of status of groups with names like Tea Party, 9/12, constitution, patriot, etc. in their name. “

http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_23273115/official-treasury-department-knew-irs-probe-june-2012

Why are Finns falling?

Why are older Finns falling? TBIs among older Finns have increased dramatically since 1970--an increase of 289% among women and 315% in men. Since Finns have always been heavy drinkers and have had a socialist medical system for years, I'm going to guess it's polypharmacy--too many prescription drugs. There are trade-offs for living longer and the pills that help us do that.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1685851

Book Club selections for 2013-2014

2013-2014 Book Club Schedule--meeting time is 2 PM.  See your member list for details of address and e-mails

               

Sept. 9--The Greater Journey by David McCullough  led by Carolyn A.  at Barb’s home

Oct. 7--Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt led by Letha  at Beechwold Panera

Nov. 4--Shanghai Girls  by Lisa See led by Margie  at Beechwold Panera

Dec. 2--The Play of Isaac   by Margaret Frazer  led by Jean  at Carolyn A's

Jan. 6--There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters  by Claire Berlinski led by Peggy at Beechwold Panera

Feb. 3--The Hobbit    by J. R. R. Tolkien led by Justine  at Beechwold Panera

Mar. 3--The Last Runaway   by Tracy Chevalier  led by Carolyn C.   at Beechwold Panera

Apr. 7--Left Neglected   by Lisa Genova  led by Adrienne   at Beechwold Panera

May 5--Maisie Dobbs   by Jacqueline Winspear  led by Rachel  at Carolyn C's

Armed Forces Day, May 18

Benghazi—eye of the beholder

Bubba visits Karen in hospice

       

Karen Krahn of Cudahy, Wisconsin joined the Madison Police Department in 1995 after earning her bachelor's degree in Biology at UW-Whitewater, and in 2002 was promoted to Sgt. In Dec. 2011 she was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that attacked her lungs and bones, but fought back and returned to work in July. On May 9 she retired, and is now in hospice. I am sure this visit from Bubba was thoroughly enjoyed. (info from the Madison Police Blotter concerning an award she was given)

Bubba is an 18.1 hand high 2,000 lb Percheron/Clydesdale who works in the Madison Police Mounted Horse Patrol.  These horses have a small, but mighty volunteer group that posts about their activities on Facebook which is where I got the photo.

http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/blog/?Id=1018

Waiting for the fat lady to sing the last note of Benghazi

The Benghazi scandal still hasn't brought it all to daylight--like the reason Christopher Stevens and the CIA were there (to bring down Muammar Gaddafi) and what about the gun running for Syrian rebels, and how the U.S. has completely lost control to Libyan rebels worse than the dictator they replaced. Obama and Clinton are probably thrilled to have the IRS scandal take our eye off the fact they have miserably failed to protect the world from Muslim fundamentalist terrorists we're militarily supporting.

 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/55191

Speaking of eyes, I see the Washington Post has a section called "Federal Eye; keeping tabs on the federal government." Someone poked their eyes out, because since 2009 they've hardly been able to find a thing amiss in the most corrupt administration in our brief history.  I don’t know the classification of the woman who cam up with the Bolo system to block conservatives at the IRS who is now doing Obamacare, but she got over $100,000 in bonuses for being such a loyal, outstanding government employee.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/05/17/watchdog-says-awards-for-gsa-executives-were-excessive-system-lacked-transparency/

For three years President Obama publicly suggested that conservative political groups were engaged in nefarious deeds; publicly called out by name political opponents whom he'd like to see harassed; and publicly had his party pressure the IRS to take action.[Kimberly Strassel, WSJ, May 17]. In my memory (don't remember FDR), I don't recall a President who so demeaned the office by ugly remarks about his opponents, not even Nixon, and then had the lapdog media follow behind licking up the garbage he left behind. The AP snooping and the IRS harassment are no surprise--but don't let them cover over the Benghazi cover up just because they are closer to home. It's seamless.

But Steve Miller wouldn’t call it targeting the IRS customers

“In May 2010, the Determinations Unit [of the IRS] began developing a spreadsheet that would become known as the “Be On the Look Out” listing (hereafter referred to as the BOLO listing), which included the emerging issue of Tea Party applications. In June 2010, the Determinations Unit began training its specialists on issues to be aware of, including Tea Party cases. By July 2010, Determinations Unit management stated that it had requested its specialists to be on the lookout for Tea Party applications.” (Treasury Inspector General report)

In 27 months, not a single Tea Party group got status.  During that time, many progressive/liberal/socialist type groups, including the “Barack H. Obama Foundation” were cleared with no problem.  Ironically, the hearings were held on the 40th anniversary of the Watergate hearings.  Another case of an over reaching president going after his enemies.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/14/irs-official-lerner-approved-exemption-for-obama-brothers-charity/

http://60plus.org/irs-target-60-plus-association-steve-miller-testimony-shameful/

 

All the scandals are linked to the First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

All the scandals—the HHS Mandate, Benghazi, IRS targeting conservatives, Department of Justice snooping on the press--swirling around the President right now involve the First Amendment. Even Benghazi--he tried to lie about it for weeks and blame it on one person's 1st amendment right to make a derogatory film--which wasn't even true, but he cast aspersions on that right, never the less. He has no respect for us or our founding documents.

It’s against the rules

When I saw this yesterday something looked very wrong—like toy soldiers holding umbrellas.  I’d never seen it before.  Apparently, it’s another mistake our President made with the military.  It’s just not done.  He has plenty of aides.  Couldn’t they have just step back a bit and been in shelter? Bush held his own umbrella.

Erdogan comes with a set of his own problems.

http://world.time.com/2013/05/16/turkeys-erdogan-visits-the-u-s-four-problems-that-wont-be-solved/

Roe v. Wade

IRS: 'Please Detail the Content of Your Members' Prayers.'

Yikes.  The Internal Revenue Service, the folks who will have charge of your medical care under Obama’s new invasive health care law, asked an Iowa group this who were applying for 501c3 status.  Pro-life groups were asked what they were doing to present the other side!  What? 

I watched the hearings today.  The acting IRS commissioner, Steven Miller, said that he believes the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups was “absolutely not illegal,” but he did acknowledge that it was inappropriate.  Inappropriate is the 5 syllable word for sin, wrong and bad.  It sounds like they are all talking to pre-schoolers who have just taken away a toy.  If there were ever a reason for conservative patriot groups to feel they are being targeted for vindictive treatment by the Obama administration, this Miller guy would be it. Arrogant, snotty, blind to what his agency has done, and oblivious to the laws that have been broken.  (He objected to the word “target.”)  And he’s resigning early, will get a golden parachute, and probably go to work for a Democrat think tank or law firm at a higher salary.

http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-miller-irs-testimony-scandal-conservatives-tea-party-2013-5

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/17/irs-scandal-steven-miller_n_3292408.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/irs-hearing-steven-miller-91552.html

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/17/irs-official-on-targeting-tea-party-it-is-absolutely-not-illegal/

Friday family photo

Guess which one has a convertible?

Mother’s Day brunch, May 12, 2013

What is the thread connecting all the scandals?

Down memory lane

You can’t make these things up

ABC broke this story.

“The Internal Revenue Service official in charge of the tax-exempt organizations at the time when the unit targeted tea party groups now runs the IRS office responsible for the health care legislation.

Sarah Hall Ingram served as commissioner of the office responsible for tax-exempt organizations between 2009 and 2012 (the current scandal). But Ingram has since left that part of the IRS and is now the director of the IRS’ Affordable Care Act office, the IRS confirmed to ABC News today.

Her successor, Joseph Grant, is taking the fall for misdeeds at the scandal-plagued unit between 2010 and 2012. During at least part of that time, Grant served as deputy commissioner of the tax-exempt unit.”

Michele Bachmann asks

Who ordered the political witch hunt by the IRS against Tea Party groups, Pro-Israel, Conservative, and Christian organizations? Who ordered no military response in Benghazi? Who ordered journalist phone lines to be tapped? Who ordered the EPA to provide more waivers to green-leaning groups over conservative ones?

Comparing Nixon and Obama

No need to clone humans

There have been no medical break through using stem cells from human embryos, only from using adult stem cells. And those are considerable and expanding every day. So why are they cloning human embryos? Because they can and we've lost our moral compass.

Scientists at the Oregon Health and Science University accomplished in humans what has been done over the past 15 years in sheep, mice, cattle and several other species. The achievement is likely to, at least temporarily, reawaken worries about “reproductive cloning” — the production of one-parent duplicate humans.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/oregon-scientists-get-stem-cells-from-cloned-human-embryos/2013/05/15/dc011cbc-bdac-11e2-9b09-1638acc3942e_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/260584.php

Lloyd Marcus challenges Julian Bond

Julian Bond says it was unfair for IRS to target civil rights groups, but OK for IRS to harass tea party and patriot groups because they are "admittedly racist." Can he cite a source? Are the blacks who are members of the Tea Party groups then racists also? Lloyd Marcus, a black Tea Party member, challenges Bond for details.

http://www.lloydmarcus.com/?p=3516

“As a black tea party activist who has participated in over 400 tea party rallies, I am confident that your claim is bogus. Therefore Mr Bond, you sir are a despicable liar, severely compromising your image as a statesman. You and your ilk purposely inspire hate in low-info black voters against tea party patriots who simply said no to Obama’s socialist agenda and trashing of the Constitution. Shame on you Mr Bond.”

In 2005 when the IRS under Bush was investigating political activity of the NAACP and its tax status,  Julian Bond said “I thought the right to condemn a president of the United States came to every American, whether he or she heads a tax-exempt organization or not” now says “I don’t think there’s a double standard at all” when asked if he can understand what Tea Party leaders are going through.

Wisconsin schools save millions

Wisconsin schools are saving millions on health insurance after their governor stood up to the unions. Act 10 took health insurance off the collective bargaining table and allowed school boards to select insurance companies. Formerly they had to deal with an insurance company owned by the union.

http://eagnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/First-Years-of-Freedom-report.pdf

http://walker.wi.gov/Documents/Act_10_Success_Recap.pdf

http://watchdog.org/78127/wis-act-10-leads-to-lower-school-premiums-new-report-finds/

What exactly is a 501c4?

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund is a 501c4--and it plans to crash a GOP event this weekend in Virginia to fight its gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli II.  It is a branch of Planned Parenthood Federation of America which kills babies and is a 501c3--it's called a charity. Both are affilicated with the Democratic party, and neither are hasseled by the IRS.

“Just as 501(c)(3) organizations are often referred to as “charities,” those exempt under 501(c)(4) are called “social welfare organizations,” sometimes described as a step down from charity, or “charity-lite.” What’s the difference? Unlike charities, (c)(4)’s cannot offer their donors charitable contributions deductions on their income taxes, a serious disadvantage in fundraising; the trade-off is that (c)(4)’s can engage in unlimited lobbying in furtherance of social welfare (charities can do some), and in some candidate electoral activity (how much is debated; charities cannot do any). In addition to being more empowered politically, (c)(4)’s are permitted to confer somewhat more benefit on their members, their neighborhood or some other group that cannot qualify as a charitable class.” (Rosemary Fei)

Five viewpoints

How nasty was the IRS to conservative groups?

IRS asked pro-life group to pledge not to protest Planned Parenthood in exchange for tax exemption.

Planned Barrenhood, of course, is a big Obama supporter, and it gets a lot of federal money. He's the only president to appear at their gala, and 35% of abortions are for black women (57% in New York City). PP puts its clinics in minority neighborhoods.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/16/claim-the-irs-targeted-pro-life-groups-too/#ixzz2TTMNl2NT

Two weeks ago in Columbus, Ohio, our President assured the new graduates. . .

The IRS is in charge of enforcing Obamacare

“This March the IRS Inspector General reiterated that ObamaCare's 47 major changes to the revenue code "represent the largest set of tax law changes the IRS has had to implement in more than 20 years." Thus the IRS is playing Thelma to the Health and Human Service Department's Louise. The tax agency has requested funding for 1,954 full-time equivalent employees for its Affordable Care Act office in 2014.

Instead of going after tax cheats, these bureaucrats will write and enforce tax regulations for parts of the economy in which they have no core competence. For example, do ski instructors or public school teachers count as seasonal workers? How long is a "full time" work week? Is it 40 hours, or 30?”

Read more here.

Who goes to jail?

So the acting head of the IRS (for the last 6 months, with one month to go) has been fired, even though the snooping and blocking of conservative patriot groups had been going on for several years? Nice cover.

But let’s say, just for laughs, that some low level IRS employees at the Cincinnati office thought up these 30 page forms and 2 year delays on their own.  That on their own they requested screen shots of Facebook pages, and details about the families of board members, where they worked and who they were friends with.  Did no one go to his superior and say, “In the training I received to become a loyal government civil servant, I was taught this was illegal.  What should I do?”

What did you do when asked by your employer to do something illegal or you saw crazy behavior on the job?  I’m pretty sure destroying state property is illegal and going berserk on the job is dangerous for the other employees, so when my boss began acting erratically back in 1978, I called her boss.  She never did see that she had the problem (she threw a telephone through a window, breaking the glass, then pulled it back in and threw it through a second window) only that the people around her were acting stupidly.

http://www.ibtimes.com/former-cincinnati-irs-employee-says-supervisors-likely-knew-about-targeting-conservative-groups#

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-denounces-reported-irs-targeting-of-conservative-groups/2013/05/13/a0185644-bbdf-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_story.html

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/16/irs-scandal-is-no-low-level-job/

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/a-timeline-of-the-irs-s-scrutiny-of-the-right-1.143466