Friday, May 10, 2013

Nixon Had Nothing on Obama




"The Internal Revenue Service inappropriately flagged conservative political groups for additional reviews during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status, Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups, [admitted] Friday."

 * NOPE. NOT THE ONION, FOLKS! (I JUST CHECKED...)

Organizations were singled out because they included the words "tea party" or "patriot" in their applications for tax-exempt status, said [Ms.] Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups.

* YEP... SOUNDS LIKE TARGETING...

Many conservative groups complained during the election that they were being harassed by the IRS. They accused the agency of frustrating their attempts to become tax exempt by sending them lengthy, intrusive questionnaires. The forms, which the groups made available at the time, sought information about group members' political activities, including details of their postings on social networking websites and about family members.

IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman told Congress in March 2012 that the IRS was not targeting groups based on their political views. "There's absolutely no targeting. This is the kind of back and forth that happens to people" who apply for tax-exempt status, Shulman told a House Ways and Means subcommittee.

* UH-HUH...

* BUT NOW... TODAY... IT'S BEING ADMITTED THAT...

(*DRUM ROLL*)

About 75 groups were inappropriately targeted.

* IS ANYONE GOING TO GO TO JAIL OVER THIS; OR BE DISCIPLINED AT ALL?

The IRS statement said that once applications were chosen for review, they all "received the same, even-handed treatment." "None had their tax-exempt status revoked," Lerner said.

* OH... I SEE... IT WAS "ONLY" SIMPLE POLITICAL INTIMIDATION - NO ONE WAS BEATEN WITH A RUBBER HOSE.

(*SMIRK*)

"Mistakes were made initially, but they were in no way due to any political or partisan rationale," the IRS said in a statement.

* UH-HUH...

Lerner said the practice was initiated by low-level workers in Cincinnati...

* UH-HUH...

...and was not motivated by political bias.

* UH-HUH... ( NAH... NO "BIAS" IN TARGETING... er... TEA PARTY GROUPS.)

(*ROLLING MY EYES*)

After her talk, Lerner told The AP that no high level IRS officials knew about the practice.

* SO... JUST... er... TOTAL INCOMPETENCE AT THE TOP LEVELS OF THE IRS... OR... DELIBERATE "SEE NO EVIL, STOP NO EVIL?" (REMEMBER SGT. SCHULTZ, FOLKS? "I HEAR NOTHING...! I SEE NOTHING...! I KNOW NOTHING...!)

Agency officials found out about the practice last year and moved to correct it, the IRS said in a statement. The statement did not specify when officials found out.

* AND WE'RE FINDING OUT ABOUT THIS... NOW... MAY 10, 2013.

IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman... was appointed by President George W. Bush.

* SO...??? CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS WAS APPOINTED BY GEORGE W. BUSH AND HIS WAS THE VOTE THAT UPHELD OBAMACARE - EVEN AS THE CHIEF JUSTICE BASICALLY ADMITTED THAT SAID VOTE WAS BASED UPON PRAGMATISM AND NOT THE CONSTITUTION.

His six-year term ended in November. President Barack Obama has yet to nominate a successor. The agency is now being run by acting Commissioner Steven Miller.

* AND WHY HAS PRESIDENT OBAMA NOT YET NOMINATED A SUCCESSOR...??? (PERHAPS BECAUSE NOMINATING A SUCCESSOR WOULD HAVE MEANT PUBLIC CONFIRMATION HEARINGS WHERE THIS WOULD HAVE COME UP...???)

"The Ways and Means Committee has persistently pushed the IRS to explain why it appeared to be unfairly targeting some political groups over others - a charge they repeatedly denied," said Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., chairman of the Ways and Means oversight subcommittee.

"The IRS's 'too little too late' response is unacceptable, and I will continue to work to ensure there are protections in place so no American, regardless of political affiliation, has their right to free speech threatened by the IRS," Boustany said.

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