Post Scripts

Posted by Tina

Flagrant IRS abuses have created outrage, resentment, and anger in the American people. Investigations into the growing scandal will continue throughout the summer in Congressional hearings and in the courts. Some have called for a special prosecutor to look into the matter of IRS targeting of conservative groups. These groups were denied 501c4 designation for political reasons. Applications were delayed and questions asked of applicants were political in nature and unrelated to their application. The IRS and several key individuals are facing a number of lawsuits, one is asking for a class-action suit. It looks like we’re in for a long hot summer of further discovery, legal battles, and investigations:

Norcal Tea Party Patriots filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. They allege their constitutional rights were violated when their application was targeted for extra scrutiny by the IRS and are seeking a class-action status”

“The IRS engaged in a tactic of suffocating NorCal Tea Party Patriots and other similarly situated groups with requests that were so searching and extensive that they would have presented a serious challenge even for sophisticated businesses,” the Colfax, Calif.-based group wrote in its complaint.

American Center for Law and Justice represents 25 Tea Party Groups across America. These groups claim that the IRS and the Obama administration abused their authority, violating the First and Fifth amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The persons named are alleged to have “unlawfully delayed and thereby effectively denied approval of Plaintiffs’ applications for tax exempt status” and this treatment was based “solely upon Plaintiffs’ political viewpoints.” Those named in the lawsuit: IRS, Attorney General Eric Holder, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Steven Miller, former acting IRS chief, and Lois Lerner and Holly Paz. This morning a representative of the ACLJ indicated there will be at least ten additional TP groups joining in this lawsuit within a week.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a lawsuit asking that the IRS “initiate a process to bring its rules on 501(c)4 nonprofits in line with federal law”.

There is a pattern or structure of widespread Democrat Party community organizing behind the abuses of power that are now being exposed at the IRS and other departments of government. Since the IRS scandal broke several Democrats have made public statements decrying these abuses of power but some of those same Democrat Congressmen made public statements and wrote letters encouraging the IRS to scrutinize conservative groups. Max Baucus of Montana was one such Democrat. He’s announced he will retire when his term is finished and, hoping to salvage his reputation perhaps, has taken a bull dog stance regarding the IRS. He co-authored a letter with Orin Hatch demanding answers from the IRS to 41 questions by May 30th.

The IRS is a union shop and the union gave a lot of money to Democrats and the Obama campaign going back to the 2008 election. The American Spectator shows an extremely suspicious connection between President Obama and Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union. Kelley visited the White House at 12:30pm on Wednesday, March 31st. The very next day the policy targeting conservative groups began. Kelley bragged in an interview: “We are looking for a return to what we used to call partnership. I don’t really care what it’s called. For me, it’s about collaboration.”

There is a distinct sense that this administration with the collaboration of its supporters, is entitled to its abuses:

Julian Bond, Chairman Emeritus of the NAACP said the targeting of conservative groups was “legitimate”:

“I think it’s entirely legitimate to look at the Tea Party. I mean, here are a group of people who are admittedly racist, who are overtly political, who tried as best they can to harm President Obama in every way they can…They are the Taliban wing of American politics and we all ought to be a little worried about them.”

Projection, anyone? The Tea Party is not “admittedly” racist but even if it were, this abuse by a taxing authority is not an acceptable method for dealing with racism. And likening Tea Party groups to the Taliban? Please. The IRS, the IRS union head, Eric Holder, Julian Bond and other players in this egregious abuse share the same attitude regarding equality under the law, as powerful Washington elites of the party in power they get to choose who is eligible to have their rights trampled and those who will get favored treatment:

Frontpage Magazine probes the background of the non-profit run by Obama’s half brother in Kenya. Not only was his approval by the IRS swift, within a month after application, but it was made retroactive:

he IRS approved charitable status for the foundation, which was run by President Obama’s brother and named after his father, in about a month’s time.

The IRS also agreed to give the group this important financial status retroactively, back to 2009, when it had begun its fundraising.

As the article indicates the Barack H. Obama Foundation had red flags planted all over it and should have given the IRS pause:

It has been learned that the relationship between President Barack Obama’s half-brother Malik Obama and Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir is much closer than previously thought. Malik is the Executive Secretary of the Islamic Da’wa Organization (IDO) as reported by all major Saudi press, including Okaz. …
…The IDO has been created by the Sudanese Government, which is considered by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist state. This places Malik Obama in bed with terrorists and working as an official with a terrorist state.

… “The only evidence where monies were spent involves the Barack H. Obama Recreation and Rest Center in Kenya, which housed Malik’s 12 wives in a facility that includes a restaurant and a mosque with a madrassa.”

If anything all Americans should be very worried about a Party that will stoop to such lows.
The President is doing his best to appear unconcerned and as existing outside of the scandal. He has called this targeting by the IRS “outrageous” but I’m afraid this scandal, and many others, has his signature as a community organizer written all over it.

Dangerous Un-American Bills that passed the Senate today…this is nuts and I can’t believe they passed this stuff: 

— SB47, which prohibits so-called bullet buttons and other devices that gun manufacturers use to circumvent the state’s assault weapons ban and allow swift reloading. A similar bill, AB48, passed in the Assembly.

— SB567, which changes the definition of a type of shotgun that is already banned in the state to include a shotgun-rifle combination.

— SB53,   which requires ammunition buyers to get a permit, have a background check and pay a fee.

— SB396, which bans ammunition magazines over 10 rounds, including those that people already own.

— SB755, which expands the list of those prohibited from owning weapons to include people convicted of additional drug and alcohol offenses.

— SB683, which expands the requirement for a firearms safety certificate from handguns to rifle purchases.

— SB374, which prohibits the sale, purchase, manufacture, importation or transfer of semi-automatic rifles that can accept detachable magazines.

I have to admit, this is pretty gutsy of them, because this is the kind of legislation that start revolutions.   

Better Bills that haven’t ever been written and probably never will be are…

SB – Balanced budget ammendment to Constitution. The state may not spend more than it takes in…simple.
SB – The state shall not be obligated to enforce unfunded federal mandates.
SB – Persons convicted of a capitol offense must have the death sentence carried out with 24 months, no more life on death row.
SB – Illegal aliens may not receive medical or welfare benefits..not ever!!!
SB – Illegal aliens may not receive medical aid beyond that needed to return them safely to their home country, no more supporting illegals in our rest home for the next 10 years or more.  You should see what we’re paying $4000 a month to keep!  This is crazy. 
SB – Campaign finance reform – No single entity or person shall contribute more than $500 in any 12 month period to a candidate for state office.  We’ve got to stop the money from buying legislation.
SB – No incarcerated persons may receive any sort of state funded retirement pay or state welfare benefits.  (Common sense)
 SB – Elected officials convicted of corruption shall forfeit an amount equal to their last 4 years of salary and all accrued benefits in addition to prison time.
SB – Elected state officials shall not solicit or receive campaign contributions while in legislative session.
SB – Any legislation that advantages one private business or person over another shall be deemed void and shall be withdrawn.
SB – Legislators shall bear personal financial liability for any bill that diminishes the Constitutional Rights of an individual and upon a proper finding by a court of law that legislation shall be nullified pending an automatic review by the California Supreme Court.
SB – The highest paid position in state government shall not exceed that of the Governor’s annual salary..if they don’t like it, let them do better in the private sector.
SB – Inmates at state prisons shall be responsible for growing 50% of the produce consumed.  To heck with the unions who will complain about it.
SB – Inmates shall not file writs.  No more wasting courts valuable time and our tax dollars.  Let them do their time like they were intended, no more perks, no more law libraries, zip, zero, nada, they must obey the rules and shut up or else. 

I could go on with a lot more ideas for bills, but my point for inventing them is  [reasonable] bills don’t happen anymore – have you noticed?  Our state government has parted ways with the people.     They’ve become dangerous radicals and they are responding ONLY to a vocal fringe element from the far left that they perceive as their people.   They must be drunk with power…this is the most absurd, heavy handed legislation since the Third Reich took over in 33. 

Posted by Tina

The bureaucracy is corrupt and dysfunctional. The bureaucracy is decayed and unworkable.

What I’d give for a few good men!

CNS News reports:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cannot find 266 potentially dangerous foreign nationals who have overstayed their visas, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

According to testimony from Rebecca Gambler, director of the Homeland Security and Justice for GAO, on May 21, 2013 before the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, DHS identified 1,901 illegal overstays of concern in 2011. As of March 2013, 14 percent remain missing.

Securing our border and placing greater discrimination and scrutiny restrictions into our visa program should be a high priority.

This is a recent painting that I thought you might enjoy.   It’s called Time to Go, and depicts a sea-air battle in the Pacific.  The U.S. plane is the F4F Wildcat which was considered inferior to the Japanese Zero shown in the background.  This plane was replaced by the much improved F4U Corsair.  Japanese pilots that mistook a Corsair for the old Wildcat got the surprise of their lives.   The layers of fog and behind that the high cumulus clouds was a challenge for me, but after some layers of color they finally came out pretty much as I wanted.

 The flaming ships don’t show well in this reduction, looks much more real in person, but you get the idea.   By the way, I just scored two first place awards at the Silver Dollar Fair for adult amature art.   The prize money will be used to buy more paint!

by Jack

UPDATE: England’s PM, David Cameron, tore up the orders from the defence ministry over not wearing uniforms in public! Mr. Cameron told a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee in Whitehall:’The best way to defeat terrorism is for everyone – including our brave service personnel – to go about their lives as normal.’

Guess that means grounding of every aircraft in the whole damn country on 9-11, thus crippling the economy, then the brainstorm to block off access to AP parking lots deemed too close to the terminals, then calling out the national guard to enforce parking, then failing to rebuild damaged building, then hiring thousands of federal employees to check luggage and then creating a multi-billion dollar bureaucracy called Homeland Security and blowing through billions more for grants to upgrade security at county fairs and such would be kinda stupid? Well, that’s us. We’re as dumb as bricks.

As a result of the latest attack on a British soldier near his barracks, military cadets have been ordered not to wear uniforms on the streets because they could be targeted by terrorists. Officer in Charge of Accrington Sea Cadets, Mark Thompson, said sea cadet forces in the Lancashire had received Royal Navy advice to take precautions.

He said: ‘The safety of the cadets is paramount and when it comes to children, basically it is better safe than sorry.

‘Rightly or wrongly when a cadet is in a uniform, sometimes the uniform is more conspicuous than the age of the person wearing it. Who is to say whether they are a cadet or a serving member of the forces?

This much is somewhat understandable, because they’re under 18…but, the order has been extended to serving members of the armed forces! Hard to imagine a more demoralizing order for a soldier than to tell him to take off the uniform and hide after an enemy’s attack. And the powers that be know it: They’re stressing that the order’s temporary in order to blunt public indignation over their decision.

The twisted punchline here is that the victim soldier in London wasn’t wearing a uniform. The two degenerates who murdered him apparently targeted him because they saw him entering or exiting a barracks. There’s the next move, presumably — evacuate the barracks nationwide until they’re safe. For soldiers.

The news media is making much of this story and rightly so, but when I was a reservist we were told not to travel in uniform when reporting for active duty training. The reasoning was the same as the Brits. My reaction was like most service people, “This is America, I’m wearing a uniform of this country, I would rather take my chances and risk an attack, if only to expose those hate filled Muslims.” The last time I was issued such an order was in 2009, but I bet the policy is still in place.

This is a perfect example of the great lengths some of our leaders are prepared to go to accommodate those who will never love us, no matter how much back peddling we do to appease them. These leaders feel if they can reduce the threat of attacks by removing a target this is a good thing. It’s just the opposite, because we’re capitulating to terrorism. We’re showing weakness when strength is demanded.

Military people are called combatants for a reason and risk comes with the job.

Posted by Tina

Walter E. Williams is wisdom… read and learn! He begins:

Individually, Americans do not deserve to be subservient to such a fear-mongering, intimidating and powerful agency as the Internal Revenue Service; but collectively, we do. Let’s look at it.

Since the 1791 ratification of our Constitution, until well into the 1920s, federal spending as a percentage of gross domestic product never exceeded 5 percent, except during war. Today federal spending is 25 percent of our GDP. State and local government spending is about 15 percent of the GDP. That means government spends more than 40 cents of each dollar we earn. If we add government’s regulatory burden, which is simply a disguised form of taxation, the government take is more than 50 percent of what we produce.

If we don’t like what the IRS is doing, and if we’re tired of a boom and bust economy where government consumes about 50% of what we earn as a people, we need to elect those who are committed to reducing the size of the big federal bureaucracy.

In case you missed it…

“This week will mark the 37th time House Republicans have tried to repeal Obamacare. If Republicans really wanted to do away with Obamacare they should just endorse it as a conservative non-profit and let the IRS take it down.” – Jay Leno, featured in TownHall.com Finance

Death

 DEATH be not proud though some have call¨¨d thee
Mighty and dreadful for thou art not so:
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not poor Death; nor yet canst thou kill me.
From Rest and Sleep which but thy picture be 5
Much pleasure then from thee much more must flow;
And soonest our best men with thee do go¡ª
Rest of their bones and souls’ delivery!
Thou’rt slave to fate chance kings and desperate men 
And dost with poison war and sickness dwell; 10
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke. Why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past we wake eternally 
And Death shall be no more: Death thou shalt die!

Does it Matter?

DOES it matter?—losing your legs?…
For people will always be kind,
And you need not show that you mind
When the others come in after hunting
To gobble their muffins and eggs.

Does it matter?—losing your sight?…
There’s such splendid work for the blind;
And people will always be kind,
As you sit on the terrace remembering
And turning your face to the light.

Do they matter?—those dreams from the pit?…
You can drink and forget and be glad,
And people won’t say that you’re mad;
For they’ll know you’ve fought for your country
And no one will worry a bit.”

 Suicide in the Trenches

I KNEW a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum, 5
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
. . . .
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by, 10
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.”

For more of Sasson’s war poems, please click on the first link

Here’s one from a Vietnam vet:

THE BEAUTY OF WAR

War at night
Has a special beauty,
There is nothing anywhere,
That can quite compare.

Perimeter flares slice/arc the black,
Then bob and slowly weave to earth
Causing shadows to dance and weave
And stretch your world’s reality.

Spectacular firefights
As streaming red fifties tattoo,
Clashing with sporadic VC green,
Harmonizes with 81mm quick-flashes.

Distant artillery white blinks
Splits the nearby tree line shadows,
As it cracking thunder
Streaks screaming through the sky.

High on his sky-throne
Spooky pisses his tracers in a gentle flow,
Moaned from multi barreled Gattling guns
That disappear and melt into the blackness below.

Nape at night is out of sight!
It splashes in yellowish, red syrupy splash,
That laboriously floats up, out then down
Smothering the earth and licking it clean.

Bombs are quick and ruthless,
Fast silver-white flashes in the black,
But cutting iron, not flash, kills,
And their mission is grim.

Rockets flash like zipping gangbusters,
Streaking a fiery sparkling tail
That skims into the black void to disappear,
Then resurrect again in detonation.

The sounds of war are different from others,
Not too unpleasant, but distinct,
The eternal crackle and chatter of radios,
Filling the air like white, background noise.

The sights and sounds of war at night,
Are unseen and impersonal,
Without authorship or responsibility,
Somehow removed, to be viewed from afar.

One unpleasant reality of war
Is the smell, the cordite burn,
The acrid sweet smell of sweet pork,
From burning, human meat.

Somehow that and the screams
Of the unseen dying somewhere
Out there, tends to diminish
The beauty and fun of it all.”