This is a shocking admission by a governmental organization that works for the President. To confess that they actively harassed groups who likely oppose President Obama, during an election cycle, sounds borderline criminal.
But, no worries … the IRS has restored their image by assuring these groups that they’re really, really sorry for their actions.
Via the Associated Press:
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, a top IRS official said Friday.
Organizations were singled out because they included the words “tea party” or “patriot” in their applications for tax-exempt status, said Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups.
In some cases, groups were asked for their list of donors, which violates IRS policy in most cases, she said.
“That was wrong. That was absolutely incorrect, it was insensitive and it was inappropriate. That’s not how we go about selecting cases for further review,” Lerner said at a conference sponsored by the American Bar Association.
“The IRS would like to apologize for that,” she added.
Oh also, it was just a few low-level staffers who did this. Totally not a widespread problem. And totally without political bias. Pinky swear.
Lerner said the practice was initiated by low-level workers in Cincinnati and was not motivated by political bias. After her talk, she told The AP that no high level IRS officials knew about the practice.
Of course, the problem with that argument is that this wasn’t based solely in Cincinnati. It was a nationwide problem.
Via Michelle Malkin (h/t Yid With Lid):
As for respecting the privacy rights of Obama’s foes? Not so much.
It seems to me no small coincidence that this disclosure charade comes just as numerous tea party organizations are reporting that the Internal Revenue Service has targeted them for audits. According to Colleen Owens of the Richmond (Va.) Tea Party, several fiscal-conservative activist groups in Virginia, Hawaii, Ohio and Texas have received a spate of IRS letters. The missives demand extensive requests to identity volunteers, board members and … donors.
Amazing. Even when they apologize, they can’t tell the truth.
How do those bus tires on your back feel, random nameless low-level staffers in Cincinnati?
Nothing to see here … There is no such thing as voter fraud, didn’t you know?
Except for the 19 cases currently being investigated in the crucial 2012 swing state of Ohio…
Via the National Review:
The Hamilton County Board of Elections is investigating 19 possible cases of alleged voter fraud that occurred when Ohio was a focal point of the 2012 presidential election. A total of 19 voters and nine witnesses are part of the probe.
Democrat Melowese Richardson has been an official poll worker for the last quarter century and registered thousands of people to vote last year. She candidly admitted to Cincinnati’s Channel 9 this week that she voted twice in the last election.
WCPO in Cincinnati reports:
According to county documents, Richardson’s absentee ballot was accepted on Nov. 1, 2012 along with her signature. On Nov. 11, she told an official she also voted at a precinct because she was afraid her absentee ballot would not be counted in time.
…
Richardson voted at the Madisonville Recreation Center where she worked as a paid worker on Election Day.
Richardson also admitted to sending an absentee ballot in for her granddaughter, who also subsequently voted in person on election day.
Three additional absentee ballots were also generated from Richardson’s home address, and all bore similar handwriting.
But if you’re looking for remorse out of Richardson for having allegedly committed the felony act of voter fraud, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Richardson justifies her actions saying…
“Absolutely. Absolutely, I’ll fight it for Mr. Obama and for Mr. Obama’s right to sit as president of the United States.”
Is it any wonder why subscriptions to far left magazines are plummeting? They simply can’t stop fawning over their chosen one.
Time Magazine has announced their Person of the Year for 2012, and of course it turns out to be President Obama. Obama was also Time’s Person of the Year in 2008.
Via Mediatie (h/t Weasel Zippers):
TIME’s managing editor, Rick Stengel, revealed their “Person of the Year” on Wednesday morning on Today.
“He obviously won re-election,” Stengel said. “He won re-election despite higher unemployment rate than anyone had to face in 70 years. He’s the first Democrat to actually win two consecutive terms with over 50 percent of the vote. That’s something we haven’t seen since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And he’s basically the beneficiary and the author of a new America. A new demographic, a new cultural America that he’s now the symbol of.”
Obama was also the “Person of the Year” in 2008.
The President, ever humble, essentially states that America wants to be him in the Time article (also make note of all the failings mentioned regarding the President’s term):
Beyond the Oval Office, overwhelming challenges remain: deadlocked fiscal-cliff talks; a Federal Reserve that predicts years of high unemployment; and more unrest in places like Athens, Cairo and Damascus.
He (Obama) leans back, tea at his side, legs crossed, to explain what he thinks just happened. “It was easy to think that maybe 2008 was the anomaly,” he says. “And I think 2012 was an indication that, no, this is not an anomaly. We’ve gone through a very difficult time. The American people have rightly been frustrated at the pace of change, and the economy is still struggling, and this President we elected is imperfect. And yet despite all that, this is who we want to be.” He smiles. “That’s a good thing.”
An imperfect President, but one “we want to be”. Thank you Johnny Narcissism.
Shorter Obama: ”I’ve really caused one hell of a mess, but the American people fell for it anyway. They love me. They really, really love me.”
A new report indicates that U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) had an intern under his employ, one that also held positions as ‘illegal immigrant’ and ‘registered sex offender’.
How do we know this? The intern was arrested by immigration officials today.
Via the AP (h/t Memeorandum):
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez employed as an unpaid intern in his Senate office an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender, now under arrest by immigration authorities, The Associated Press has learned. The Homeland Security Department instructed federal agents not to arrest him until after Election Day, a U.S. official involved in the case told the AP.
Luis Abrahan Sanchez Zavaleta, an 18-year-old immigrant from Peru, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in front of his home in New Jersey on Dec. 6, two federal officials said. Sanchez, who entered the country on a now-expired visitor visa from Peru, is facing deportation and remains in custody. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of Sanchez’s immigration case.
A spokesman said the Homeland Security Department would provide a statement later Wednesday…
… The prosecutor’s office in Hudson County, N.J., said Sanchez was found to have violated the law in 2010 and subsequently required to register as a sex offender.
Michelle Malkin points out what should come as no surprise – the arrest was delayed until after Menendez’ election this past month.
Authorities in Hudson County notified ICE agents in early October that they suspected Sanchez was an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender and who may be eligible to be deported. ICE agents in New Jersey notified superiors at the Homeland Security Department because they considered it a potentially high profile arrest, and DHS instructed them not to arrest Sanchez until after the November election, one U.S. official told the AP. ICE officials complained that the delay was inappropriate, but DHS directed them several times not to act, the official said.
Malkin adds:
Directing DHS not to act has been the m.o. of the bipartisan open-borders crowd since the agency’s founding. Protectionism for law-breakers, punishment and ostracism for border protecters.
Meanwhile, GOP amnesty champion Lindsay Graham and other Republicans are playing footsie with Sen. Menendez on immigration. Same old, same old.
Nothing to see here. Honestly, what’s a few broken laws between Dems?
Earlier today, we discussed ‘civic illiteracy‘. Specifically, the concept that 42 percent of voters in the 2012 election somehow found the President’s response to Hurricane Sandy to be important to them, while seemingly brushing off the entirety of other aspects of his four years in office.
If one were to visit the White House website currently, they might stumble on this iconic photo adorning the site, posted two days after Hurricane Sandy ripped through the north eastern United States.
“One of our challenges now is to get back to normalcy,” said Gov. Christie. “And so the things we need to do is to make sure that we get power restored as quickly as possible; make sure that people have clean drinking water, and waste water treatment plants are working; hospitals are taken care of the way they need to; and that we get kids back to school. And so, I discussed all those issues today with the President, and I’m pleased to report that he has sprung into action immediately to help get us those things.
To quote Inigo Montoya, “You keep using that word … I do not think it means what you think it means”.
NorthJersey.com (h/t Weasel Zippers) reports that Vanzant’s immediate relief has been anything but:
She said she was honored to meet Obama, but she is also frustrated that she has yet to receive help from either her insurance companies or the government. “The president told me I would get immediate help,” she said.
“Looking back on it, it wasted a lot of people’s time,” she said of the visit.
The future of the North Point Marina remains uncertain. “I am just moving minute by minute, because the insurance companies are telling me no, no, no!” she said.
Perhaps Christie and Obama could look over a dictionary quickly, define the terms ‘outstanding’ and ‘immediate’, and get back to Ms. Vanzant at some point. After all, it’s not like they’re too busy doing other things.
Except for the cameos on SNL. Or holiday golfing.
Unfortunately Vanzant is correct – the President has wasted a lot of people’s time. And unfortunately, he’ll be wasting another four years – partially because of his response to Hurricane Sandy, and a photo-op hug with this same woman.
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