Thursday, March 28, AD 2024 8:27am

George Will: How Stupid Do They Think We Are?

1. He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and agents, endeavoured to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, confidential information contained in income tax returns for purposed not authorized by law, and to cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, income tax audits or other income tax investigations to be intitiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner.

Article Two, Section One of the Impeachment Articles Against Richard M. Nixon

As Obama begins his process of “twisting slowly, slowly in the wind” news is getting out on the Inspector General of the IRS’s report on the targeting of Tea Party groups and other conservative groups:

At various points over the past two years, Internal Revenue Service officials targeted nonprofit groups that criticized the government and sought to educate Americans about the U.S. Constitution, according to documents in an audit conducted by the agency’s inspector general.

The documents, obtained by The Washington Post  from a congressional aide with knowledge of the findings, show that on June 29, 2011, IRS staffers held a briefing with senior agency official Lois G. Lerner in which they described giving special attention to instances where “statements in the case file criticize how the country is being run.” Lerner, who  oversees tax-exempt groups for the agency, raised objections and the agency revised its criteria a week later.

But six months later, the IRS applied a new political test to groups that applied for tax-exempt status as “social welfare” groups, the document says. On Jan. 15, 2012 the agency decided to target “political action type organizations involved in limiting/expanding Government, educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, social economic reform movement.,” according to the appendix in the IG report, which was requested by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and has yet to be released.

Go here to The Washington Post to read the rest.  Oh, the IRS was apparently gunning for the Jews also:

The passionately pro-Israel organization Z STREET filed a lawsuit against the IRS, claiming it had been told by an IRS agent that because the organization was “connected to Israel,” its application for tax-exempt status would receive additional scrutiny.  This admission was made in response to a query about the lengthy reveiw of Z STREET’s tax exempt status application.

In addition, the IRS agent told a Z STREET representative that the applications of some of those Israel-related organizations have been assigned to “a special unit in the D.C. office to determine whether the organization’s activities contradict the Administration’s public policies.” . . .

And at least one purely religious Jewish organization, one not focused on Israel, was the recipient of bizarre and highly inappropriate questions about Israel.  Those questions also came from the same non-profit division of the IRS at issue for inappropriately targeting politically conservative groups. The IRS required that Jewish organization to state “whether [it] supports the existence of the land of Israel,” and also demanded the organization “[d]escribe [its] religious belief system toward the land of Israel.”

Go here to read the rest at The Jewish Press.

Yep just low level IRS grunts, nothing to worry about.

Update:  Hattip to Ed Morrissey at Hot Air:  IRS targeting of conservatives goes back to 2010, coincidentally an election year:

But questions continued to swirl about the failure of IRS officials to disclose the problems until the inspector general’s report was about to become public.

The timeline contained in the draft report indicates that IRS scrutiny of tea-party and other conservative groups began as early as 2010 and came to the attention of Ms. Lerner, the head of the tax-exempt-organizations division, at least by the following year.

The report’s timeline indicates that the criteria were changed to be more neutral in July 2011 after Ms. Lerner “raised concerns.” The criteria for heightened scrutiny continued to evolve over the next year or so, even as complaints from tea-party groups—and questions from GOP lawmakers—mounted over IRS inquiries to various groups about their activities.

More neutral?  That is risible considering this from the IG Report:

“On Jan. 15, 2012 the agency decided to target “political action type organizations involved in limiting/expanding Government, educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, social economic reform movement.,” according to the appendix in the IG report, which was requested by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and has yet to be released.”

This is a very big scandal boys and girls and the Mainstream Media realizes they cannot ignore it.

 

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Greg Mockeridge
Greg Mockeridge
Monday, May 13, AD 2013 6:56am

I don’t think it’s a matter of them thinking we are stupid as much as it is them thinking our side is too spineless to effectively fight back. And up to this point, that has been precisely the case.

Pat
Pat
Monday, May 13, AD 2013 7:43am

Not only differing elected politicians, but also differing voters are ‘ineffective’ due to the instant counting of votes on the (electronic) information superhighway where human ‘error’ becomes indistinguishable.

Paul W Primavera
Paul W Primavera
Monday, May 13, AD 2013 7:47am

Daniel 4:29-33

29 At the end of the twelve months [Nebuchadnezzar] was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

31 While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”

33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

—–

The great Nebuchadnezzar did not escape with impunity, nor shall Barack Hussein Obama.

George Haberberger
George Haberberger
Monday, May 13, AD 2013 10:15am

These documents became public when the Washington Post obtained them from a “congressional aide”. I would like to know if this aide worked for a Democrat or a Republican.

Not to be all conspiracy theorist, but I think the Benghazi revelations are much more serious and this IRS investigation seems designed to distract us from that. The timing just seems too perfect.

William P. Walsh
William P. Walsh
Monday, May 13, AD 2013 11:07am

Not to be a conspiracy theorist may hazardous to our national health. If one is walking through a snake infested jungle, every step needs be taken with care. I do not know if various dots connect but some of those dots are troubling. What is the gist of candidate Obama’s remark, “We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.” Why do pencil pushing agencies such as the Social Security Administration, the IRS, the National Weather Service, the Departments of Agriculture, Education &c. need to purchase large quantities of ammunition? Is this something new or of long standing about which we are unaware? Benghazi is a serious matter but there are other things needing clarification. As to Mr. Will’s question, the electorate demonstrated no small degree of stupidity last November.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,543822,00.html#ixzz2TBgabesl

T. Shaw
T. Shaw
Monday, May 13, AD 2013 3:20pm

Beginning in 2014, it will be, “You did not make the short list at the death panel, Mr. Will.”

T. Shaw
T. Shaw
Monday, May 13, AD 2013 3:23pm

Rick Santelli said it better: “No stent for you.”

Jeanne Rohl
Jeanne Rohl
Tuesday, May 14, AD 2013 5:59pm

George, George, George, They not only THINK we are stupid, I’m afraid they know we are stupid. I mean all of you literary, journalist types are supposed to be fact finders. ” I know your deeds. You are neither hot nor cold! I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold I would vomit you out of My mouth”! Rev 3 15-16. I think that pertains to all of us. How else could a monster like Hitler, or Gosnell, or any of the world’s lowest forms continue to thrive. Look in the mirror.

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