The Patriot Post Wednesday Digest 8-14-2013

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The Patriot Post Wednesday Digest 8-14-2013
From The Federalist Patriot
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News From the Swamp: IRS Targeting Continues

August 14, 2013

THE FOUNDATION

"There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." --James Madison

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
News From the Swamp: IRS Targeting Continues

During congressional testimony on IRS political targeting of Tea Party and Patriot groups, an unidentified IRS agent revealed that, three months after the "phony scandal" broke, the IRS is still targeting the Tea Party1. "Right now we really don't have any direction or we haven't had any for the last month and a half," the agent said. "At this point I would send [a Tea Party application] to secondary screening, political advocacy."

In other words, applications for special tax status coming from Tea Party groups are still subject to additional scrutiny because the IRS hasn't yet established new guidelines. But six weeks ago, acting IRS chief Danny Werfel promised Congress to end the IRS's "be on the lookout" policy for conservative groups, which had continued into June. Even Barack Obama pledged, "I'll do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this happens again by holding the responsible parties accountable, by putting in place new checks and new safeguards, and, going forward, by making sure that the law is applied as it should be -- in a fair and impartial way." Nothing of the sort has happened.

Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA), chair of the Oversight subcommittee, are demanding that Werfel provide an explanation and a report on corrective action by Friday.

Meanwhile, it turns out that Lois "Plead the Fifth2" Lerner was using a private email account to conduct her official duties. Needless to say, the Obama administration's espoused virtue of transparency is not a byproduct of such behavior. Lerner isn't the only Obama bureaucrat to have used private email, either. Since her admission of the targeting, followed by her refusal to testify, she remains on paid vacation. And she's demanding immunity in exchange for testimony.

Editor's Note

After recent changes at The Patriot Post, some readers have asked what happened to our PDF format. We opted to discontinue the PDF, but we plan to release a new and improved printer friendly version that will look and function much like the PDF. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

And a correction: In Monday's Digest, we inadvertently referred to Rep. James Clyburn as a Republican. He is a Democrat. Our sincerest apologies to the Republican Party and to the voters of South Carolina.

NATIONAL SECURITY
Obama: 'Gosh, the NSA Needs Reform'

Barack Obama announced Friday that he really has been meaning all along to get around to reforming the NSA's domestic surveillance programs, and that Edward Snowden's revelations of the extent of those programs only highlighted the need. Except everyone knows that Obama had no intention of revisiting those programs until Snowden's bombshell.

To demonstrate his seriousness, the president tapped Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to head an investigation into the NSA and its activities. Unfortunately, that would be the same James Clapper who earlier this year lied to Congress3 regarding the existence of the very programs he will now investigate. Trusting this administration was the issue from the beginning, and it will remain so.

And then there's this gem from Obama's Friday press conference: "If you are the ordinary person and you start seeing a bunch of headlines saying, 'U.S.-Big Brother looking down on you, collecting telephone records, et cetera,' well, understandably, people would be concerned. I would be, too, if I wasn't inside the government." Lucky for him, he's the president! As for the rest of you ordinary suckers...

Finally, after Russian President Vladimir Putin granted asylum to Edward Snowden, Obama responded by canceling a planned meeting with Putin in Moscow next month. So much for that "reset" button. Obama will still attend the Group of 20 economic summit in St. Petersburg. When the commander in chief appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," however, he didn't voice any anger over Snowden; he saved his displeasure for Russia's new law against "LGBT" activists. U.S. standing in the world will continue to suffer while he remains in office.

ECONOMY
Around the Nation: Detroit's Mismanagement

With Detroit languishing in bankruptcy4, one would think city officials would be scrambling for every penny. Instead, a $1 million check from a local school district sat forgotten5 in a desk drawer for a month. If it seems odd that a million-dollar check would be sent in the first place rather than the funds transferred electronically, it is. Except in Detroit. The city that's been ruled by Democrats for 50 years hasn't invested in improving its computer system for efficiency since the 1990s and has no wire transfer capabilities. But it doesn't end there. Detroit has no central computer system, period, and it still does everything from payroll to income tax receipts by hand. With inefficiencies like this, the only surprise is that bankruptcy didn't come sooner.

Good thing Detroiters can still vote out incompetent leaders. If voters can get to the polls on the right day, that is. A billboard paid for by the city recently urged citizens6 to vote on Sept. 2. The election is Nov. 5. The mistake was set to be fixed yesterday -- unless, of course, doing so involves any sort of computer, in which case all bets are off.

CULTURE
Department of Military Correctness: 'Diversity Day'

Despite significant budget cuts resulting from the Obama sequester -- let's not forget it was the commander in chief's idea -- the military is now using what little available money it has to fund "Diversity Day" celebrations. Apparently they couldn't think of a better way to spend your precious tax dollars -- other than funding the first family's junket to Martha's Vineyard.

Last week the Los Angeles Air Force Base featured a performance by a drag queen group. The revelation comes even as Christian service members are increasingly persecuted for their faith. As one anonymous airman put it, "We can't even have Bibles on our desks. ... The [drag] display was totally inappropriate and offensive."

A military spokesman, however, said, "Drag acts to this day represent the struggle for freedom and equality of the LGBT community, while at the same time providing a deep-rooted historical form of entertainment for the LGBT culture." If you needed further proof of cultural degradation in the ranks, look no further: The Obama administration's social experimentation with the military was not limited to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; nor will this administration let our dwindling military prowess get in the way of "tolerance."

BRIEF OPINION
Essential Liberty

Reason's Peter Suderman7: "At a conference of state legislators and health officials this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius chided Republicans for their continued opposition to Obamacare. 'This is no longer a political debate; this is what we call the law,' she said... 'It was passed and signed three years ago. It was upheld by the Supreme Court a year ago. The president was re-elected. This is the law of the land.' That's rich, given the administration's recent track record. Sebelius and her colleagues in the White House may not like that Republicans are not eagerly lining up to assist the White House implement a law that they have always opposed. But their major forms of opposition -- declining to expand state-based Medicaid programs, refusing to build state-run health care exchanges, saying mean things about the law -- are all perfectly legal. ... It is the Obama administration which has chosen to ignore the law of the land by selectively enforcing provisions, encouraging government agencies and ignoring clear legislative language that conflicts with the administration's goals."