Tom Faranda's Folly

Andrew Greeley

The Catholic priest author. Dead at 85. He'd been ill for awhile - had a fall getting out of a taxi and never fully recovered.

A self-described "loud-mouthed Irish priest" ("And may they carve it on my gravestone!" he once quipped), the Rev. Andrew M. Greeley rejected a conventional definition of his vocation.

Yes, he was a pompous blowhard. And he was very fervent - when it came to the Democratic Party.

Rove on the IRS and he

His column in yesterday's WSJ

Karl Rove: Dick Durbin, the IRS, and Me

Many Democrats have fallen silent about letters asking for investigations. Not the senator.

This Sunday on Fox News, Chris Wallace asked the senator why he urged the IRS to investigate a conservative group operating as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code. Mr. Durbin not only acknowledged that he sent a letter asking the IRS to investigate the group in October 2010, but he defended his request, saying the group he wanted investigated was raising "millions of dollars."

Crossroads GPS is a 501(c)(4) advocacy group that builds grass-roots support for conservative policies that encourage economic growth, reduce needless regulation, promote fiscal responsibility and strengthen national security. Many policies that GPS has championed—for example, no cap-and-trade and a 2011 debt limit deal with spending caps and no tax increase—prevailed.

Mr. Wallace asked Mr. Durbin why he singled out Crossroads GPS for an IRS investigation and pointed out that his letter "did not mention one single liberal group." Mr. Durbin offered this ludicrous defense: If the IRS investigated GPS, "every other group would be put on notice." Correction: An IRS investigation of a conservative 501(c)(4) would leave liberal 501(c)(4) groups gleeful—especially since liberal groups have operated for decades in the same way GPS does without Democrats complaining.

Democrats were content to have 501(c)(4) groups active as long as they were operating on behalf of liberals and their causes. For example, no Democratic leader demanded the IRS investigate the 501(c)(4) arms of the League of Conservation Voters, National Abortion Rights Act League, VoteVets, NAACP, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club and other liberal organizations that have spent millions excoriating Republicans, pushing liberal issues and registering voters.

When Americans United for Change ran ads in 2007 slamming Republican senators up for re-election for supporting the surge of additional U.S. troops in Iraq, no Democratic lawmaker complained. Nor did Mr. Durbin gripe in 2011 when Bill Burton, his former staffer and an Obama White House official, organized Priorities USA, a 501(c)(4) to help the president's cause.

Of course not - they're Dems!

Results from Tim's last track/javelin meet of the season

The CHSAA Varsity Intersectionals this past Sunday, which I posted about the day before. Tim, on a Javelin Quest the next two days. Tim finished sixth in the varsity meet, the highest ranked sophomore. As it turned out Tim didn't do the Eastern States Meet on Memorial Day so the Varsity meet was his last of the season (now - exams and then preseason football! YIKES!!).

Tim's best throw of the day was 141-6, which did not break his PR of 145-7. I think most of the throwers were off a bit, because of the strong wind in their faces at Icahn Stadium.

So Tim finishes 4th in the state among sophomore javelin throwers, and 19th overall among all high school throwers. In fact, he finished in the top one third in the state, when you include NY State college javelin throwers!

The first video below is Tim's best throw. Below that is a 190' throw by Michael Goldstock, who had the longest throw of the season (over 199') among NY State HS students. He's a senior at Fordham Prep. He set the meet record on Sunday, and second place was 25' behind him, at 165'. When you compare the two, it makes Tim's throw look pretty lame, BUT Tim is actually 4' ahead of where Goldstock was as a sophomore, so we'll see how the future pans out.

Here's the Fordham Prep guy -

TV Cable News Race: MSNBC in free fall

I am a consumer of evening cable nws when I'm in the gym. Like to channel surf between the three networks, especially CNN and FOX.

The guy mentioned in the article below - Chris Hayes - is a disaster. He's a young guy who can strut while he's sitting down.

TV Ratings: MSNBC Falls Below HLN in May, Rachel Maddow Hits Lows

Averaging 539,000 viewers in primetime and 175,000 viewers in the adults 25-54 demographic, MSNBC suffered double-digit drops from last May -- down a respective 20 and 19 percent. Losses were less substantial in total day, down 10 percent to an average 346,000 viewers and down 7 percent to 115,000 adults 25-54, while all other nets pulled growth in multiple categories.

The soft start for All In With Chris Hayes has not helped. Hayes, down 32 percent in total viewers from The Ed Show last May, has offered a poor lead-in for MSNBC's primetime flagship, The Rachel Maddow Show, at 9 p.m. The show delivered its lowest-rated month since it debuted in September 2008 (717,000 total viewers) and its second lowest with adults 25-54 (210,000). Maddow was topped by typical time slot victor Sean Hannity and CNN's Piers Morgan.

Winner FNC, posting modest year-to-year losses in the key demo, was still number three across all of cable in both primetime and total day. Heavily covering White House woes like the Benghazi hearings, the network averaged 1,246,000 daily viewers (up 24 percent) and 236,000 adults 25-54 (down 5 percent) for the full day. Primetime saw 17 percent growth with 1,973,000 total viewers and a 6 percent dip with 308,000 in 25-54.

CNN is in significantly better shape than it was last May when it hit 20-year lows. The network's year-to-year growth brought in a third-place 465,000 total viewers for total day and a second-place 660,000 total viewers in primetime, growth of 61 and 70 percent. CNN's demo jumps were more considerable, rising 92 percent to 161,000 adults 25-54 in total day and 97 percent to 225,000 adults 25-54 in primetime.

More if you hit the link.

Chinese newborn baby flushed down toilet - survives

Of course China is big on "population control".

From the Daily Mail (UK)

The infant was heard crying in a section of the pipe directly beneath a toilet commode, the country’s state television reported earlier today.

Some amazing picturres of the rescue, at the link.

And here is a short video of the initial rescue, from the Wall Street Journal -

 

Krauthammer on Obamacare's unintended consequences

I have been talking to several of my group health cases in the last several days. No one knows what's going on/what's going to happen - not the government, not the insurance companies, not company owners, and not me.

 

CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson: "Pit Bull"

I only recently ever heard of this lady, since I never watch any of the metwork news shows.

This is from "The Politico", not exactly a right wing hotbed.

She wasn't very popular at CBS, but now -

Attkisson’s one piece of solace may come from finally gaining some like-minded colleagues in the media. For years, Attkisson has been one of the few mainstream reporters pursuing critical stories about the Obama administration. Today, as “scandal season” takes hold in Washington, she has seen her longstanding skepticism of the White House and the Justice Department become the conventional attitude among a formerly deferential Beltway press corps.

Hit the link - a really good article.

Pope: Don't give in to a culture of wealth

I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think Pope Francis has a funny/different/odd way of making points.

These thoughts - may cost me many years in purgatory ...

 

Marine Diary: 70 years later his girlfriend sees it

This story has been widely publicized today.

 

Memorial Day research on my namesake

My namesake is Thomas C. Faranda, a cousin (first? second?, not sure) of my dad's.

I was an adult when he mentioned to me that I was named for a cousin who died on D-Day, at the age of 21. Evidently in one of those supposedly amphibious tanks that weren't so amphibious. I think he told me that he was never found.

Anyway, he was a member of the 29th infantry division, and he was killed in action, but not on D-Day.

According to this website The 29th Infantry Division Historical Society, Thomas was born in 1911, lived in New York, and enlisted in 1943. He did not land on D-Day but on July 22, 1944 reported from the Replacement Depot to the 116th infantry regiment, 2nd battalion, H company.

On August 11th he was promoted from private to private first class (PFC).

On August 30th he was killed in action in Brittany. No other details. His death was recorded in the division "morning report". The 29th was trying to take the French City of Brest at that time.

He is buried at the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial along with 4,409 other young Americans. Evidently in gravesite L-16-3.

That's all the information I've been able to find about Thomas C. Faranda. Killed in France at 33 years of age. There's some historical data online about the 116th infantry regiment. I'll probably have a look at it one of these days.

in reading a little bit about the cemetery, it's mentioned that there are 4,410 buried there, but only 4,408 gravesites. In two instances, two unknowns could not be separated.

War is Hell.

Touching article: Preparing our fallen soldiers for their last trip home

In Sunday's NY Times. Performing a loving service.

“Blanchard,” the plate read.

Capt. Aaron R. Blanchard, a 32-year-old Army pilot, had been in Afghanistan for only a few days when an enemy rocket killed him and another soldier last month as they dashed toward their helicopter. Now he was heading home.

But before he left the mortuary here, he would need to be properly dressed. And so Staff Sgt. Miguel Deynes labored meticulously, almost lovingly, over every crease and fold, every ribbon and badge, of the dress uniform that would clothe Captain Blanchard in his final resting place.

“It’s more than an honor,” Sergeant Deynes said. “It’s a blessing to dress that soldier for the last time.”

15 year old boy becomes first person with Downs Syndrome to reach Everest Base Camp

Great! OK, he didn't climb Everest, but it's a tremendous accomplishment just getting to the base camp, which I believe is above 19,000 feet, and requires a couple of week trek to reach.

They decided to attempt the trek after a friend of Justin mentioned that it could be a good wait to raise money for their non-profit. Justin says that Eli is athletic, and that they hike a lot, but that they’d never thought about doing a big climb. Their nine-person team raised 85,000 for the Elisha Foundation, which the Reimers started in 2005 to provide resources for families with special needs children; they’re particularly active in Eastern Block countries like Ukraine.

Tim, on a Javelin Quest the next two days

Tomorrow Tim will be in the Varsity CHSAA (Catholic HS Athletic Association) Intersectional meet, which is all the Catholic high schools in the metropolitan area, including Long Island. Two weeks ago he won the sophomore intersectionals with consecutive PR throws, the last one being 145'7". He had the three longest throws in the meet. The year before he did the same thing in the freshman intersectionals.

In the varsity meet (Tim came tenth in last year's varsity meet) there could be up to three seniors and four juniors with longer throws then he's had; but I think he has an excellent chance to finish in the top five. To do that, he'll probably need a throw over 150'. 

Tim always does his best throwing at Icahn Stadium and he is psyched, so we'll see. Monday he will probably also take part in Eastern States Championship, which will put him against the best throwers in the area, public and private schools. 

Right now Tim is ranked #4 in NY State among sophomores, #4 overall in Westchester County, and #20 overall in the state, out of 538. In fact, if he were throwing in college, he'd be ranked 57 out of 182 at NY colleges ... The meets this weekend will probably be the last ones of the season for him.

The 80 year old who just climbed Mt. Everest

Pretty amazing. I won't be trying it. The record may not stand long, since an 81 year old is trying to summit.

Eighty-year-old Yuichiro Miura became the oldest person to climb Mount Everest on Thursday, reaching the summit just four months after undergoing heart surgery for an arrhythmia.

Here's a little bio about Mr. Miura and his climbing effort and short history.

A look at some of the unique records being broken on the world's highest peak

 

View from the top of the new World Trade Center - "The Freedom Tower"

Pretty cool pictures - you have to hit the link.

The World Trade Center has tweeted a photo of its workers placing the spire on top of One World Trade Center tower, at incredible heights of 1,700 feet.

Heroic: woman and her daughter comforted the dying British soldier

I posted about the other woman who confonted the two attackers here. Where were the police? Evidently there but waiting for armed police to arrive!?There is an explanation offered in the artivle below.

There are some non-gruesome pictures in this article, from the UK Mail Online and well worth reading.

Two more Angels of Woolwich revealed: Mother and daughter comforted murdered soldier in his final moments because 'no man should die alone'

A mother and daughter dubbed the 'Angels of Woolwich' because they bravely risked their own lives by comforting a soldier left dying in the street stepped forward 'because no man should die alone'.

Gemini Donnelly-Martin, 20, and her mother Amanda Donnelly, confronted the suspected killers and asked the attackers if they could be by Drummer Lee Rigby's side.

Their refusal to be cowed by the terrorists won praise from all quarters, including Downing Street.

Although other bystanders watched in horror and police waited helplessly for armed officers to arrive, Gemini modestly insisted her and her mother were not heroes and had done what anyone else would do.

Amanda's son Simeon, 22, said the two women acted out of love.

Peggy Noonan on the IRS: "A Battering Ram Becomes a Stonewall"

Great column laying out the case. Everyone sould read it in it's entirety.

The IRS's leaders refuse to account for the agency's corruption and abuse.

"I don't know." "I don't remember." "I'm not familiar with that detail." "It's not my precise area." "I'm not familiar with that letter."

These are quotes from the Internal Revenue Service officials who testified this week before the House and Senate. That is the authentic sound of stonewalling, and from the kind of people who run Washington in the modern age—smooth, highly credentialed and unaccountable. They're surrounded by legal and employment protections, they know how to parse a careful response, they know how to blur the essential point of a question in a blizzard of unconnected factoids. They came across as people arrogant enough to target Americans for abuse and harassment and think they'd get away with it.

******

We know the IRS commissioner wasn't telling the truth in March 2012, when he testified: "There's absolutely no targeting." We have learned the Lois Lerner lied when she claimed she had spontaneously admitted the targeting in a Q-and-A at a Washington meeting. It was part of a spin operation in which she'd planted the question with a friend. We know the tax-exempt bureau Ms. Lerner ran did not simply make mistakes because it was overwhelmed with requests—the targeting began before a surge in applications. And Ms. Lerner did not learn about the targeting in 2012—the IRS audit timeline shows she was briefed in June 2011. She said the targeting was the work of rogue agents in the Cincinnati office. But the Washington Post spoke to an IRS worker there, who said: "Everything comes from the top."

We know that Lois Lerner this week announced she'd done nothing wrong, and then took the Fifth.

******

With all the talk and the hearings and the news reports, it is important to keep the essentials of this story in mind.

First, only conservative groups were targeted in this scandal by the IRS. Liberal or progressive groups were not targeted. The IRS leaked conservative groups' confidential applications and donor lists to liberal groups, never the other way around.

This was a political operation. If it had not been, then the statistics tell us left-wing groups would have been harassed and abused, and seen their applications leaked to the press. There would be a left-wing equivalent to Catherine Engelbrecht.

And all of this apparently took place in the years leading up to the 2012 election. Meaning that before that election, groups that were anti-Obamacare, or pro-life, or pro-Second Amendment or constitutionalist, or had words like 'tea party' or 'patriot' in their name—groups that is that would support Republicans, not Democrats—were suppressed, thwarted, kept from raising money and therefore kept from fully operating.

That is some kind of coincidence. That is some kind of strangely political, strangely partisan, and strangely ideological "poor customer service."

There's more. The story about what happened to Catherine Engelbrecht -mentioned in the excerpt - is especially troubling.  Hit the link!

A picture you won't see in the major media

From my friend Ellen. And very true.

DOESN'T MAKE THE NEWS!
Green and white shirt, black tee shirt, gray pants and tennis shoes. How many people know that he hosts a few Wounded Warriors 10 weekends at his ranch every year? Every year!

Not what you expect to see! Dancing with a "Wounded Warrior" who has lost a leg, but she still dances.

I guarantee we will never see a story or picture like this from NBC, CBS, ABC, The New York Times, The Washington Post. 

His commanding officer pays tribute to murdered British soldier Lee Rigby

Rigby has a 2 year old child.

 

Woman who confronted the London attackers

As the British PM said - "The most appalling crime."

Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, Scout Leader, Reasoned With London Attackers

 

Great story: Woman finds her dog lost during tornado while doing TV interview.

Great!

 

Boruch Spiegel, Warsaw Ghetto fighter in 1943

The Warsaw uprising. Years & years ago I read Leon Uris's novel, Mila 18. great novel - here it is on amazon, with reviews.

Boruch Spiegel, Fighter in Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Dies at 93

Boruch Spiegel, one of the last surviving fighters of the Warsaw ghetto uprising of 1943, in which a vastly outgunned band of 750 young Jews held off German soldiers for more than a month with crude arms and Molotov cocktails, died on May 9 in Montreal. He was 93.

******

“We didn’t have enough weapons, we didn’t have enough bullets,” Mr. Spiegel once told an interviewer. “It was like fighting a well-equipped army with firecrackers.”

Very nice feature in the NY Times.

Adopt a child and you're in the IRS crosshairs

69% of families claiming the adoption tax credit in 2011 (2012 tax filing season) were audited.

So Congress implemented a tax credit to facilitate adoption – a process that is so extraordinarily expensive that it is out of reach for many middle-class families — and the IRS responded by implementing an audit campaign that delayed much-needed tax refunds to the very families that needed them the most. Oh, and the return on its investment in this harassment? Slightly more than 1 percent.

And here's more from NRO (National Review Online) -

Earlier this week, in a feeble attempt at humor on Facebook, I posted: “If you haven’t been audited by the IRS during the Obama administration, can you even call yourself a conservative?” Given the scale of the abuses, I should probably just shorten it and say, “Only RINOs don’t get audited.” My wife and I got audited in 2011, with the IRS examining every inch of our adoption the previous year. The process was painful, but we got through it, and our refund may have been adjusted by a few dollars (the amount of the adjustment was so small, I don’t actually remember). In other words, the audit was a gigantic waste of time — for the IRS and for our family. A Facebook commenter, however, pointed me to a report that made me rethink the experience.

In 2012, the IRS requested additional information from 90 percent of returns claiming the adoption tax credit and went on to actually audit 69 percent.

 

Taking the Fifth Amendment never looks good

UPDATE: They're bringing her back! By making an opening statement she waived her rights (they say). That's hardball.

"I have not done anything wrong."

Lois Lerner, who previously claimed under oath that the IRS was not targeting conservative groups. She was the Director of that group.

 

Pigs fly; NY Times supports a FOX News reporter

The other recent scandals - IRS - Benghazi - are - according to NYT - simply trumped up by the evil Republicans.

But - when it's anything to do with freedom of the press ...

Another Chilling Leak Investigation

With the decision to label a Fox News television reporter a possible “co-conspirator” in a criminal investigation of a news leak, the Obama administration has moved beyond protecting government secrets to threatening fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news.

******

The Rosen case follows other signs that the administration has gone overboard in its zeal to find and muzzle insiders. The Associated Press revealed last week that the government had secretly seized two months’ worth of records for telephones used by the agency’s staff, partly to determine the source of a leak about a report involving a foiled terrorist plot in Yemen. At least two other major leak investigations are continuing. Six current and former administration officials have been indicted under the old Espionage Act for leaking classified information to the press and public. In 2010, a federal judge in Maryland sentenced a leaker to 20 months in jail while admitting that he was “in the dark as to the kind of documents” involved in the leak or what impact they had on national security.

Not a lion hunter; that's Tim with his javelin

At the Westchester County Championships, where he came 5th, with a best throw of 142', the best among county sophomores. He's now ranked #5 in the state among high school sophomores and #19 overall.

The big varsity Catholic HS intersectionals are this Sunday, and Tim would dearly love to go over 150', which would qualify him for the Eastern States Nationals. Here's his PR from two weekends ago - 145'7".

The meet Sunday is at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, where Tim has always done well. He likes the turf/rubberized runway, which is faster then the grass run-up.

Oh, we don't own the javelin (they're not cheap), Stepinac does. Here he's getting ready for his run-up and throw. 

 

Senator blames tornado on Republicans

Because they don't believe in global warming. Guess he missed this - Since 1998, there has been an unexplained "standstill" in the heating of the Earth's atmosphere.

Anyway,

Democratic Senator uses Okla. tornado for anti-GOP rant over global warming

While many Americans were tuned into news coverage of the massive damage from tornadoes ravaging the state of Oklahoma, Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse took to the Senate floor to rail against his Republican colleagues for denying the theory of anthropogenic global warming.

Obama problems/controversy/scandal hurting MSNBC's ratings

Too bad.

Obama Scandals Bring MSNBC 7-Year Low While Fox News Rises

Last week’s total day results were down 17% in viewers and 22% among the demo from the comparable May 14 to May 18 week of last year. In primetime, the numbers were even worse for MSNBC as a steady decline from the beginning of the year continued. The network had 570,000 total viewers and 159,000 in the demo from 8 PM to 11 PM from May 13 to May 17, 2013. That’s the lowest rated week of the year so far for MSNBC in terms of viewers and the third lowest of 2013 in the demo. The week of May 6 to May 12 was worst in the demo with 148,000 viewers when the network had 604,000 viewers on average. These latest results come as the news network’s recently launched and struggling All In With Chris Hayes hit a new viewership of 396,000 and its second lowest demo audience of just 88,000 on May 14. It also comes on the heels of MSNBC falling in April ratings from its second place ranking of the year before.

I saw a few minutes of Chris Hayes while I was in the gym last week. here's how you spell his name: b-o-r-i-n-g.

What happened to global warming?

Ahhh, it's come to a standstill.

Climate slowdown means extreme rates of warming 'not as likely'

Scientists say the recent downturn in the rate of global warming will lead to lower temperature rises in the short-term.

Since 1998, there has been an unexplained "standstill" in the heating of the Earth's atmosphere.

Writing in Nature Geoscience, the researchers say this will reduce predicted warming in the coming decades.

But long-term, the expected temperature rises will not alter significantly.

How DO they know?

Anonymous IRS official: "Everything comes from the top"

I read the Washington Post article that this one is based on yesterday. "The fish rots from the head down."

Anonymous Cincinnati IRS official: “Everything comes from the top.”

The Post story anonymously quoted a staffer in Cincinnati as saying they only operate on directives from headquarters:

As could be expected, the folks in the determinations unit on Main Street have had trouble concentrating this week. Number crunchers, whose work is nonpolitical, don’t necessarily enjoy the spotlight, especially when the media and the public assume they’re engaged in partisan villainy.

“We’re not political,’’ said one determinations staffer in khakis as he left work late Tuesday afternoon. “We people on the local level are doing what we are supposed to do. . . . That’s why there are so many people here who are flustered. Everything comes from the top. We don’t have any authority to make those decisions without someone signing off on them. There has to be a directive.”

The staff member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job, said that the determinations unit is competent and without bias, that it grouped together conservative applications “for consistency’s sake” — so one application did not sail through while a similar one was held up in review. This consistency is paramount in the review of all applications, according to Ronald Ran, an estate-tax lawyer who worked for 37 years in the IRS’s Cincinnati office.

CBS' Bob Schieffer vs. White House spin doctor

On Face the Nation, Schieffer actually makes sense - "Why are you here?" Love it!

 

Bob Woodward states the obvious: on Benghazi the Obama Administration didn't tell the truth

on Meet the Press this morning, and linked on Drudge -

 

Letterman: 10 signs you're watching a bad sci fi movie

moderately amusing! ...

 

CNN: Wonderful (& emotional) 5 minute video on Boston

It's hard not to get a lump in your throat while watching and listening.

IRS to pro-life group: "Please detail the content of your members' prayers"

Stunning. And the NY Times editorial this morning said the IRS just didn't understand the guidelines.

 

Friday morning funnies: One minute of Piers Morgan talking to Jay Carney

Good WSJ feature: IRS political targeting nothing new

A number of Administrations have used the tax service to do their dirty work.

FDR, Kennedy, Nixon, Clinton ... hit the link for the article - excerpts below:

A Brief History of IRS Political Targeting

Many Republicans are enraged over revelations in recent days that the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative nonprofit groups with a campaign of audits and harassment. But of all the troubles now dogging the Obama administration—including the Benghazi fiasco and the Justice Department's snooping on the Associated Press—the IRS episode, however alarming, is also the least surprising. As David Burnham noted in "A Law Unto Itself: The IRS and the Abuse of Power" (1990), "In almost every administration since the IRS's inception the information and power of the tax agency have been mobilized for explicitly political purposes."

President Franklin Roosevelt used the IRS to harass newspaper publishers who were opposed to the New Deal, including William Randolph Hearst and Moses Annenberg, publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Roosevelt also dropped the IRS hammer on political rivals such as the populist firebrand Huey Long and radio agitator Father Coughlin, and prominent Republicans such as former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon. Perhaps Roosevelt's most pernicious tax skulduggery occurred in 1944. He spiked an IRS audit of illegal campaign contributions made by a government contractor to Congressman Lyndon Johnson, whose career might have been derailed if Texans had learned of the scandal.

President John F. Kennedy raised the political exploitation of the IRS to an art form. Shortly after capturing the presidency, JFK denounced "the discordant voices of extremism" and derided people who distrust their leaders—President Obama didn't invent that particular rhetorical line. Shortly thereafter, JFK signaled at a news conference that he expected the IRS to be vigilant in policing the tax-exempt status of questionable (read: conservative) organizations.

Within a few days of Kennedy's remarks, the IRS launched the Ideological Organizations Audit Project. It targeted right-leaning groups, including the Christian Anti-Communist Crusade, the American Enterprise Institute and the Foundation for Economic Education. Kennedy also used the IRS to strong-arm companies into complying with "voluntary" price controls. Steel executives who defied the administration were singled out for audits.

******

After Richard Nixon took office, his administration quickly created a Special Services Staff to mastermind what a memo called "all IRS activities involving ideological, militant, subversive, radical, and similar type organizations." More than 10,000 individuals and groups were targeted because of their political activism or slant between 1969 and 1973, including Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling (a left-wing critic of the Vietnam War) and the far-right John Birch Society.

After listing a couple of Clinton manipulations here's this -

One potential bombshell of the Clinton era that went relatively unrecognized was an Associated Press report in 1999 that "officials in the Democratic White House and members of both parties in Congress have prompted hundreds of audits of political opponents in the 1990s," including "personal demands for audits from members of Congress." Audit requests from congressmen were marked "expedite" or "hot politically" and IRS officials were obliged to respond within 15 days. Permitting congressmen to secretly and effortlessly sic G-men on whomever they pleased epitomized official Washington's contempt for average Americans and fair play. But because the abuse was bipartisan, there was little enthusiasm on Capitol Hill for an investigation.

The depressing conclusion:

With the current IRS scandal, we may have seen only the tip of the iceberg. Thorough congressional investigations would no doubt help reveal the extent of the operation, and the criminal investigation announced by the Justice Department on Tuesday may prove fruitful as well. Regardless of what these inquiries uncover, though, we can be almost certain that IRS audits will remain irresistible political weapons.

IRS wanted to know what books were included in Tea Party book clubs

This is so bizarre - you'd think we were in Cuba or China.

This is from The Politico - a left wing website!

The IRS wants YOU — to share everything

The Internal Revenue Service asked tea party groups to see donor rolls.

It asked for printouts of Facebook posts.

And it asked what books people were reading.

A POLITICO review of documents from 11 tea party and conservative groups that the IRS scrutinized in 2012 shows the agency wanted to know everything — in some cases, it even seemed curious what members were thinking. The review included interviews with groups or their representatives from Hawaii, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas and elsewhere.

******

The report shows that top IRS officials put a stop to some of the questions in early 2012, including the ones that asked tea party groups who their donors were, what issues were important to them and whether their top officers ever planned to run for office. And they told the investigators they planned to destroy the donor lists that had already been sent in.

Remember, IRS will be responsible for healthcare law implementation

HA! And who's going to be running the department?

From ABC News -

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.

USA Today: IRS approved liberal groups, stonewalled conservatives.

In yesterday's paper.

IRS approved liberal groups while Tea Party in limbo

In February 2010, the Champaign Tea Party in Illinois received approval of its tax-exempt status from the IRS in 90 days, no questions asked.

That was the month before the Internal Revenue Service started singling out Tea Party groups for special treatment. There wouldn't be another Tea Party application approved for 27 months.

In that time, the IRS approved perhaps dozens of applications from similar liberal and progressive groups, a USA TODAY review of IRS data shows.

As applications from conservative groups sat in limbo, groups with liberal-sounding names had their applications approved in as little as nine months. With names including words like "Progress" or "Progressive," the liberal groups applied for the same tax status and were engaged in the same kinds of activities as the conservative groups. They included:

• Bus for Progress, a New Jersey non-profit that uses a red, white and blue bus to "drive the progressive change." According to its website, its mission includes "support (for) progressive politicians with the courage to serve the people's interests and make tough choices." It got an IRS approval as a social welfare group in April 2011.

• Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment says it fights against corporate welfare and for increasing the minimum wage. "It would be fair to say we're on the progressive end of the spectrum," said executive director Jeff Ordower. He said the group got tax-exempt status in September 2011 in just nine months after "a pretty simple, straightforward process."

• Progress Florida, granted tax-exempt status in January 2011, is lobbying the Florida Legislature to expand Medicaid under a provision of the Affordable Care Act, one of President Obama's signature accomplishments. The group did not return phone calls. "We're busy fighting to build a more progressive Florida and cannot take your call right now," the group's voice mail said.

There's more. Hit the link - quite incredible.

To whom do IRS employees make political donations?

Well, no surprise here. Actually maybe there is a surprise - I would have thought the disparity might have been even more. Well, they certainly didn't like McCain. Of course he may have been a real reformer - although we'll never know. 

This could explain a few things.

IRS Employees Disproportionately Donate to Obama

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, which maintains an online database of political contributions, individuals listing their employer as “IRS” or “Internal Revenue Service” donated a total of $48,827 to Obama in 2012 and gave just $20,361 to Romney. That disparity is mild compared with that of 2008, when IRS employees donated $59,959 to Obama, and just $1,950 to his challenger John McCain.

Slightly over 100 IRS employees donated to Obama in 2012, while only 25 contributed to Romney, according to the database, and most contributed less than $1,000. At least one of the IRS employees who donated to Obama in 2012 — Kim Kitchens — appears to have worked in the agency’s Exempt Organizations Rulings and Agreements office in Cincinnati, Ohio, as of October 2012, according to IRS documents.

 

Rugby: London 7's - 2nd day and final

The annual World Sevens Series ends, with New Zealand the champioin for the 11th time in the 14 year history.

The table at the end of the video shows how the USA made out; and Kenya finished in fifth place, ahead of many of the major countries.

 

Catholic author Anne Hendershot says IRS came after her

I've never heard of her. Her story rings true, and IS scary.

And the IRS will be managing a large part of Obamacare ...

According to Hendershott, the IRS audited her in 2010 and demanded to know who was paying her and “what their politics were.”

It all started with a phone call she received at her home in May of that year — a call during which Hendershott was told she would be audited. A letter that followed on May 19, 2010 solidified the IRS’s request to meet her in person two months later in July. While IRS investigations are certainly not uncommon occurrences, the professor believes that the situation surrounding hers was more-than-curious.

“The IRS calls my house and says … ‘I just wanted to let you know that we’re going to be auditing your business’ and I said ‘My businesses?’ and he said, ‘You know the expenses you take off for writing,” the academic recalls.

Hendershott was surprised she was being audited on business grounds considering she does not operate an entrepreneurial endeavor in the traditional sense. In addition to her academic work, she told TheBlaze that she occasionally freelances for Catholic outlets and for the Wall Street Journal. But can this really be considered “business” activity?

“I don’t make a lot of money from writing. In fact most years I don’t show a profit,” she told TheBlaze.

Hendershott said some of the outlets and organizations she has written for haven’t paid her a cent.

But the circumstances surrounding the irregular nature of the experience don’t end there. Hendershott noted it was particularly surprising that she, alone, was audited. Her husband, who brings in the vast majority of the family’s income, was not included in the IRS’s inquiry — even though the Hendershotts always files jointly.

So when the agent explained that she would need to come alone and in person to discuss her “business” activity in July of 2010, the professor was perplexed.

“[The IRS agent] didn’t even let me decide when it would be good for me … He didn’t want my husband to come,” she said of the meeting, which was held at an IRS office in New Haven, Connecticut.

The process was a grueling one, including many questions that Hendershott felt were political in nature. Numerous records were requested before the in-person meeting, as well as during and after.

“Every question had to do with bank deposits we made. Every single question,” she said. “What is this money? And I didn’t know a lot of it. We had to go to our bank and get deposits back. We had to get records showing where the money came from.”

While asking about the deposits, the agent wanted to know if the monies came from groups and, if so, what the organizations’ politics were.

The mention of groups, Hendershott notes, is particularly interesting, as she had been writing for numerous Catholic outlets and organizations at the time. In addition to Catholic World Report and the Catholic Advocate, she also penned op-eds for the Wall Street Journal. Many of these writings were critical of President Barack Obama and his policies.

And she was intimidated into not writing anymore!

“I haven’t written for them since the audit, because I was so scared,” she said (records show her last article for the organization was on July 10, 2010 — the same month the IRS audit unfolded).

So far, she has only shared her story with friends and those close to her, but in light of the recent IRS scandal, she has decided to speak out.

IRS targeted Billy Graham's organization

Why not? They're conservative Christians. Put 'em on that enemies list!

Franklin Graham, the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the family’s international humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse, said that the IRS notified the organizations in September that it was conducting a “review” of their activities for tax year 2010.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association urging of voters to back “candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel” during last year’s presidential race was the reason why IRS agents visited the North Carolina offices of both Graham groups, the letter accuses.

“While these audits not only wasted taxpayer money, they wasted money contributed by donors for ministry purposes as we had to spend precious resources servicing the IRS agents in our offices,” Graham wrote in the letter, which was shared with POLITICO. “I believe that someone in the administration was targeting and attempting to intimidate us. This is morally wrong and unethical – indeed some would call it ‘un-American.”

Graham said that “in light” of the IRS admission that it targeted tea party groups for added scrutiny, “I do not believe that the IRS audit of our two organizations last year is a coincidence – or justifiable.”

Philly abortionist Gosnell agrees to two life sentences

To avoid the death penalty.

A Philadelphia abortion provider found guilty of first-degree murder has agreed give up his right to appeal in exchange for avoiding a possible death sentence, Philadelphia's district attorney's office announced Tuesday.

The next step in the case was to have been the penalty phase, when jurors would have weighed whether to give Gosnell a death sentence.

The arrangement erases a need for that phase.

"Like any deal, there's a give and take on each side. The Commonwealth (of Pennsylvania) took away the death penalty and Dr. Gosnell gave up his right to appeal," said defense attorney Jack McMahon.

"A big factor for Dr. Gosnell was his family. They've been conspicuously absent, and that's been intentional because of the media focus and whatnot. He has some younger children in high school ... and bringing them all forward for a penalty phase is something that troubled him."

According to a statement from the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, Gosnell "agreed to waive all of his appellate rights in exchange for life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of the death penalty." He was "immediately sentenced" for the deaths of two babies.

Rugby: London 7's, 1st day; last tournament of the IRB World Series

Played in, uhh, London! Note Kenya vs. Wales & U.S. vs. South Africa.

 

Angelina Jolie on her double mastectomy: "My Medical Choice"

An op ed this morning in the NY Times. Well worth reading in it's entirety. 

My Medical Choice

MY MOTHER fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.

We often speak of “Mommy’s mommy,” and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.

Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 percent risk of getting it, on average.

Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex.

Jolie then goes into some detail about the procedures, and finishes with this -

I acknowledge that there are many wonderful holistic doctors working on alternatives to surgery. My own regimen will be posted in due course on the Web site of the Pink Lotus Breast Center. I hope that this will be helpful to other women.

Breast cancer alone kills some 458,000 people each year, according to the World Health Organization, mainly in low- and middle-income countries. It has got to be a priority to ensure that more women can access gene testing and lifesaving preventive treatment, whatever their means and background, wherever they live. The cost of testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, at more than $3,000 in the United States, remains an obstacle for many women.

I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options.

Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.

CNN on IRS harrassment

Jake Tapper is a pretty good interviewer. The moral of the story - don't have the name "Patriot" on your letterhead. I helped establish a 501c4 organization 20 years ago and it was relatively easy. Took only a couple of months to get approval. And you are allowed to advocate for issues and take political positions.

 

CNN: a former patient of Gosnell speaks; as does the son of one of his general practice patients

Two differing views.

 

Joyce Brothers

One of my first television memories was seeing her on some show with the name Ask Dr. Brothers (or something like that).

I think she used to play herself in a few movies. I didn't know she was a big game show winner in the 50's!

USA Today - Popular psychologist Joyce Brothers dead at age 85

It was 1955. Her husband, Milton Brothers, was still in medical school and Brothers had just given up her teaching positions at Hunter College and Columbia University to be home with her newborn, firmly believing a child's development depended on it.

But the young family found itself struggling on her husband's residency income. So Brothers came up with the idea of entering a television quiz show as a contestant.

The $64,000 Question quizzed contestants in their chosen area of expertise. She memorized 20 volumes of a boxing encyclopedia — and, with that as her subject, became the only woman and the second person to ever win the show's top prize.

Brothers tried her luck again on the superseding $64,000 Challenge, answering each question correctly and earning the dubious distinction as one of the biggest winners in the history of television quiz shows. She later denied any knowledge of cheating, and during a 1959 hearing in the quiz show scandal, a producer exonerated her of involvement.

Her wikipedia entry -

Joyce Brothers

By August 1958, she was given her own television show on a New York station, but her topic was not sports; she began doing an advice show about relationships, during which she answered questions from the audience.^[9] She later claimed to have been the first television psychologist, explaining to The Washington Post, "I invented media psychology. I was the first. The founding mother."^[10] Sponsors were nervous about whether a television psychologist could succeed, she recalled, but viewers expressed their gratitude for her show, telling her she was giving them information they couldn't get elsewhere.^{[citation needed]} She went on to do syndicated advice shows on both television and radio, during a broadcasting career that has lasted more than four decades. Her shows went through a number of name changes over the years, from The Dr. Joyce Brothers Show to Consult Dr. Brothers to Tell Me, Dr. Brothers to Ask Dr. Brothers to Living Easy with Dr. Joyce Brothers.^[11] In 1964 she interviewed and posed for publicity photographs with the Beatles on their first visit to the United States.^[12]