Mark Steyn; Once government is ensnared in every aspect of life, a bureaucracy grows increasingly capricious.

Mark Steyn  "...Barack Obama urged students to pay no attention to those paranoid types who “incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity.” Oddly enough, in recent days the most compelling testimony for this view of government has come from the president himself, who insists with a straight face that he had no idea that the Internal Revenue Service had spent two years targeting his political enemies until he “learned about it from the same news reports that I think most people learned about this.” Like you, all he knows is what he reads in the papers. Which is odd, because his Justice Department is bugging those same papers, so you’d think he’d at least get a bit of a heads-up. 

"....That week, Kimberley Strassel began her Wall Street Journal column thus:

Try this thought experiment: You decide to donate money to Mitt Romney. You want change in the Oval Office, so you engage in your democratic right to send a check.

Several days later, President Barack Obama, the most powerful man on the planet, singles you out by name. . . . The message from the man who controls the Justice Department (which can indict you), the SEC (which can fine you), and the IRS (which can audit you), is clear: You made a mistake donating that money.

BREAKING: Nationwide TEA PARTY PROTESTS Set for Tuesday at IRS Offices (Pass It On!)

The Gateway Pundit:
PROTEST THE CORRUPTION – PROTEST THE CRIMINAL OBAMA IRS 
Thanks to Barack Obama the Tea Party is once again outraged and motivated.
The Tea Party Patriots on behalf of Tea Party, Patriot groups, 9/12, liberty activists, and the American people, we are calling for anyone and everyone to protest the IRS’ complete abuse of power on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at noon local time.

CLICK TO FIND A LOCATION NEAR YOU

NOW IS THE TIME TO STAND UP AGAINST THIS HORRIBLE ABUSE OF POWER!

Tuesday – May 21 – Noon – at Your Local IRS Office.

The true reason behind the IRS scandal was control of political activity by grass roots populist conservative organizations.

I'd say the author posits that Obama comes from third-world roots and mentors, turning America into a third-world banana republic, aided by a banana republic press with voters to match. Shame on us.

Intellectual Conservatives "Virtually all of the past abuses were in furtherance of political agendas, consolidation of power and restriction of the opposition.  The current scandal is no exception excepting that the surrounding circumstances illustrate an administration hell bent on achieving absolute power if possible, and destroying the social and cultural foundations of American society.  That’s what “change” was all about." 

"Obama loves to portray himself as a force for good and right in the world, all the while maintaining an under the radar interest in transforming our nation into a third world, banana republic style country which the could govern in the tradition of Juan Peron, Hugo Chavez, or better still, Fidel Castro." 

Krauthammer; Redacted truth, subjunctive outrage

Charles Krauthammer  "Note to GOP re Benghazi: Stop calling it Watergate, Iran-contra, bigger than both, etc. First, it might well be, but we don’t know. History will judge. Second, overhyping will only diminish the importance of the scandal if it doesn’t meet presidency-breaking standards. Third, focusing on the political effects simply plays into the hands of Democrats desperately claiming that this is nothing but partisan politics.

"Let the facts speak for themselves. They are damning enough. Let Gregory Hicks, the honorable, apolitical second-in-command that night in Libya, movingly and grippingly demolish the president’s Benghazi mantra that “what I have always tried to do is just get all the facts” and “every piece of information that we got, as we got it, we laid it out for the American people”.
"On the contrary. Far from assiduously gathering and releasing information, the administration was assiduously trying to control and suppress it.".....  (Emphasis added)

Reading list for you in Tunnel Dweller's absence

The Dweller family departs on the Holland America Oosterdam for an Alaska cruise and likely no access to the internet at that time since it costs mega bucks a minute. Perhaps this will entertain you, but news has a short shelf life.

Islamic Jew-hatred: 'Mounting evidence' that Boston Jihad Bombers Slit Throats, Murdered 3 Jewish Boys

CBS Anchor: 'We Are Getting Big Stories Wrong, Over and Over Again'
"And Pelley said the republic relies on the quality of the news business. "Democracies succeed or fail based on their journalism," said Pelley. "America is strong because its journalism is strong. That's how democracies work. They're only as good as the quality of the information that the public possesses. And that is where we come in." "

'Obama's America' Producer Requests Michael Moore Be Removed From Motion Picture Academy Board   "Many conservatives were disgusted this year when "2016: Obama's America" didn't receive an Oscar nomination for best documentary."

Sen. Collins: Obama should condemn IRS for targeting Tea Party groups

The Liberal Wall of Benghazi Denial Cracks  "In discussing the revelations of the last week, [Maureen] Dowd must, of course, try to depict Republican attempts to bring accountability to the scandal as equally reprehensible as the administration’s failures and lies. But her framing the current debate as a contest between “Hillaryland” and “Foxworld” has at least the virtue of acknowledging the fact that what we are discussing is a disgraceful dereliction of duty by the administration:"...

ABC: Petraeus called final Benghazi talking points “useless” the day before Rice’s full Ginsburg; Update: Transcript added

 

Crazy Nancy Attacks GOP Over Benghazi

 "That's the point, Nancy! When you liberals demand that the subject is changed, we better dig deeper into the issue you don't want to talk about. "

Benghazi Coverup Uncovered  "Here are the relevant timeline features from Doug Ross (time is local D.C. time)"

Covering for Obama  "After all, the whole saga of Benghazi — before, during and after the terror attack — reflects nothing so much as the ultimate expression of Barack Obama’s politics. His preference for showing weakness abroad and contempt at home reached its full flowering in the massacre and its aftermath."

 Victoria Toensing: Administration Relying on Shoddy Benghazi Report to Absolve Itself of Blame "The White House has touted the Accountability Review Board (ARB) investigation of the Benghazi massacre as a review “led by two men of unimpeachable expertise and credibility that oversaw a process that was rigorous and unsparing.” In fact, the report was purposefully incomplete and willfully misleading."

Two by Stephen Hayes: Carney Keeps on Digging  ...."But in his attempts to protect himself and his administration colleagues, Carney offered a series of highly misleading answers that seem likely to do additional damage to his cause and White House credibility."
The Benghazi Scandal Grows  'One day earlier, analysts with the CIA’s Office of Terrorism Analysis had drafted a set of unclassified talking points policymakers could use to discuss the attacks in Benghazi, Libya. But this new version​—​produced with input from senior Obama administration policymakers​—​was a shadow of the original.'


 

IRS reaped hatred of Tea Party sown by Democrats and the media

Legal Insurrection   "Since the rise of the Tea Party movement in the spring of 2009, the movement has been the target of Democratic politicians and supportive media.
"The Tea Party was called un-American and terrorists for showing up at health care town halls and voicing an opinion.
....
"The Tea Party movement was called racist without basis, often based on false and misleading videos put out by groups like Think Progress, and even as non-white leaders in the Republican Party rose from and with the support of the Tea Party movement.
"MSNBC and particularly Chris Matthews have devoted endless hours to inventing “dog whistles” supposedly blown by the Tea Party movement.
With every violent act in the news, the media search began for a Tea Party connection to confirm the now-failed ”eliminationist narrative.”  Sometimes the connection was invented out of thin air, and then amplified by the media, as in the cases of the Gabby Giffords and Aurora movie theater shootings.
"There has been an unrelenting assault on the Tea Party movement by Democrats and the media.  Sometimes establishment Republicans piled on, but they were the tail on the Tea Party-hating Democratic-media dog.
Is it any wonder that “low level” IRS employees took it on themselves to target Tea Party-related groups?  And is it any wonder that senior level officials knew about it?
....
"Those IRS employees simply reaped the hatred of the Tea Party sown by Democrats and the media."

Here is an example of how the media creates hatred of conservatives:

"Law and Order": another TV show that sucker-punches half the American population I wrote at that time:
We began watching a 2009 episode of "Law and Order" entitled "Fed" last night and I had to shut it off at the start. We saw people like ourselves - TEA partiers, portrayed as rifle-toting, hateful bigots. Only Hollywood is capable of inspiring dislike and outrage by the simple means of the skillful acting of those who portray people like you and me as despicable and violent. They give us the same treatment they give to pharmaceutical  and insurance companies.
May God bless all courageous conservatives in our country trying to stem the socialist tide sweeping America because the left has such massive force to bring against them. And the propaganda is being spoon-fed to the American public. How do we stand a chance?

If you watched last night's episode of Law and Order Criminal Intent, you might have noticed the show's most recent dig at conservatives. 

Smitten teen girls stir up #FreeJahar mania for Boston Marathon bombings suspect

And Democrats want these teens to have the vote!
Atlas Shrugs

"More of the sick, poisonous fruit of the left's decades-long war on American values and morality. The idea that young girls -- even taking into account how idiotic they can be -- are crushing on a cold-blooded jihadist speaks to a sick pathos in the national zeitgeist. The norming of evil.
"There is no way that teen girls in the 1940's would be swooning over a Nazi who blew up Americans in the streets of a great American city."

A biker friend of mine talked to me about how guys in biker gear found it easy to pick up women; he said with a sly smile, "Some women just like bad boys". 

Top Obama Official’s Brother Is President Of CBS News, Who May Drop Reporter Doing Investigative Work On Benghazi

Weasel Zippers

Kudos to CBS reporter Sharryl Attkisson for her dogged pursuit of the truth.

 

Via The Daily Caller: 

"The brother of a top Obama administration official is also the president of CBS News, and the network may be days away from dropping one of its top investigative reporters for covering the administration’s scandals too aggressively.
"CBS News executives have reportedly expressed frustration with their own reporter, Sharyl Attkisson, who has steadily covered the Obama administration’s handling of the Benghazi terrorist attack in Libya since late last year.
“Network sources” told Politico Wednesday that CBS executives feel Attkisson’s Benghazi coverage is bordering on advocacy, and Attkisson “can’t get some of her stories on the air.” "

The IRS’s Tea-Party Targeting

Kevin D. Williamson "Other groups were included in this additional review, but while the office handles applications from all sorts of organizations, a full 25 percent of those targeted for additional review were “Tea Party” or “Patriot” groups.

" “Obviously, you don’t get dozens of inquiries asking unconstitutional questions, with zero corresponding inquiries into liberal groups, unless there is something going on,” says David French, senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, which is representing 27 groups from 18 states in the IRS matter. “It’s not just the numbers, it’s the questions themselves. They were designed to dissect the operations of the organizations.” Mr. French believes that the IRS’s actions were intended as political intimidation."

‘The IRS: First they Came for the Tea Partiers, Then They Came for the Jews’

 

Remember, Obama joked about auditing his enemies in 2009. At the time, I warned about the damage to the “trust and voluntary cooperation of citizens upon which this democracy depends,” but Obama didn’t get much pushback elsewhere. Now, however, people need to be fired, and most likely prosecuted, to drive home the appropriate lesson. And Obama himself needs to be taken to task. The Post editorial is just a start.

The 5 Most Overrated Male Musicians, Part Two

But...but, even though I can't stand Bruce's politics and self-righteousness, I can't help loving his music!
PJ Lifestyle  "I’m not alone in my hatred of Bruce Springsteen, which had simply been garden-variety dislike until a) he cheated on his wife and b) he started getting really stupidly and outspokenly political during the Bush years.

"This guy’s “10 Reasons I Hate Bruce Springsteen” is an instant classic. (And yes, Neil Young’s song for Philadelphia was far superior.)
But as usual, it took an Englishman to give Springsteen the thrashing he deserves:

Someone like Tom Waits makes me feel like I understand America a little better. Springsteen makes me feel hopelessly estranged from the place with his hyperventilating soap operas about young lovers riding outta this one-horse town on the back of a hurricane down the highway of dreams. (…)
His lyrics are wrought from overcooked high school poetry (“we ride through mansions of glory on suicide machines”), homespun hokum, and the York Study Notes to John Steinbeck.
Springsteen appeals to the eternal adolescent in every rock fan, but not the fun, irreverent version, rather the inner Holden Caulfield, earnestly searching for ANSWERS and TRUTH, desperate to be a hero in the drama of his own life, utterly incapable of laughing at himself or the world.

This administration and it's red lines

http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/05/branco-cartoon-grab-a-mop/

More Tony Branco cartoons on Benghazi at this link

 

Mark Steyn; A failure of character of this magnitude corrodes the integrity of the state.

The Benghazi Lie   "What was Secretary Clinton doing that was more important? What was the president doing? Aside, that is, from resting up for his big Vegas campaign event. A real government would be scrambling furiously to see what it could do to rescue its people. It’s easy, afterwards, to say that nothing would have made any difference. But, at the time Deputy Chief Hicks was calling 9-1-1 and getting executive-branch voicemail, nobody in Washington knew how long it would last."

....

"To send “soldiers” on a “mission” to “fight” the “enemy” was at odds with the entire Obama narrative of the Arab Spring and the broader post-Bush Muslim world. And so the entire U.S. military was stood down in support of the commander-in-chief’s fiction."