This would be why he is being forced to retire:

"But Miller, then the agency's deputy commissioner, didn't tell Congress about it when he testified before an oversight committee in July -- despite being questioned on the issue. He was named acting commissioner in November." CNN

If "the real culprit" is who is being alleged currently, their job is on the line as well. But never let something get passed the right wing conspiracy theorists. They have found conspiracy and mayhem in everything this man does and plenty of things he hasn't done at all. They just wish he would do something/anything they could actually nail him on instead of them actually doing something/anything for the betterment of this country. Now that would be tragic, wouldn't it?

Conservatives pine for the days when they controlled the power of the bully pulpit.

Baywolfe wrote:

fnord wrote:

As I understand it, the only impeachable offense is receiving an extramarital blowjob after being elected president.

Actually, the impeachable offense was lying about it.  Don't remember anything about adultery in the Oath of Office.

Lying about an extramarital blowjob is to be expected from a married man.  Asking about the affair under oath was an abuse of process.  I will never vote for a Republican because they reached for such a flimsy excuse in order to obstruct and destroy Bill Clinton.  Had Clinton not stood his ground, future presidents would  be subject to blackmail from hypocritical assholes of the caliber of Newt Gingrich and Henry Hyde; men who were engaged in extramarital affairs at the time they were organizing the prosecution of Clinton for his affair.

I feel an obligation to keep all of you up to speed on these scandals, since your primary news sources, MSNBC and Jon Stewart, aren't reporting everything. 

The Justice Department spied extensively on Fox News reporter James Rosen in 2010, collecting his telephone records, tracking his movements in and out of the State Department, and seizing two days of Rosen’s personal emails, the Washington Post reported on Monday.

Department of Justice leaked a memo to discredit the Fast & Furious whistleblower.

National Treasury Employees Union (IRS) visits Obama in the White House.  The next day, the harassment of the TEA Parties begins.


Stay tuned.

Tall Paul wrote:

phreddy wrote:

National Treasury Employees Union (IRS) visits Obama in the White House.  The next day, the harassment of the TEA Parties begins.

Got any numbers to back that up? For example, how many applied, how many with TP in their names were reviewed, how many were denied, etc.? Of those entities that were reviewed, how many had openly vowed to take political action?

Don't know how many applied, but the IRS admits to special scrutiny for at least 300 applications from conservative groups  But then, these are just the IRS's numbers.

phreddy wrote:

Don't know how many applied.....

Spoken like a true modern conservative!

Next question for you to weasel away from: Why was the NAACP audited days after Julian Bond publicly criticized George W. Bush. That was just one case out of many, all overseen (as was the present case) by W.'s appointed IRS director. Where's your outrage about that?

Another fact for you to try to evade is that applications for 501(c)(4) status have more than doubled since the Citizens United decision. Why would that be? What's missing from the Fox faux outrage is a clear understanding that 501(c)(4) status is a privilege that should demand a high degree of scrutiny. To complain that such a special privilege is actually a right or an entitlement is disingenuous at best.   Such groups are professing to be worthy of not paying taxes because of the charitable nature their activities. Furthermore, they claim that disclosing their donors should be deemed unnecessary under law because they provide a charitable and public service, and NOT undertaking political action. If such groups are formed for the sole purpose of funneling cash to superPACs then that is utterly reprehensible. As I said before, the only real scandal is that ALL applicants are not subject to the SAME level of scrutiny by the IRS.

phreddy wrote:

First,  I don't condone use of the IRS by any politician.  However, at least the NAACP was an existing organization which was actively participating in politics and had books which could be audited.  The TEA parties abused in this case were denied 501(c)(4) status simply because they were deemed to be a threat to the election of Obama.  Do you think it was coincidence that this happened in the most important swing state in the election?

If you start holding non-profits to your interpretation of the law, every church in the nation would lose its tax exempt status.  I haven't figured out why any group should pay taxes on donations used for political purposes.  They certainly are not profits.

Phred, I can't even begin to define the topology used in the twisting of that statement. Just because the IRS office in question happened to be located in Ohio means nothing at all to any sane person. Be that as it may, please name one single Tea Party 501(c)(4) application that was denied. Go on, I dare ya! Just one is all it takes.... Hint: You won't be able to, because none were denied.

Also, it's not my interpretation of the law, it's the law. Period. I do give you credit for working the word 'churches' into your answer, you could have come back with some War On Christians doo-wah in a later post. You lose points for for denying  that tax-exempt status is nothing more than a red herring. Non-disclosure is the key to the whole mess.

The Raw Story wrote:

“If the targeting wasn’t targeting, if the targeting wasn’t based on philosophy, how come only conservatives got snagged?” Roskam confidently asked.

“They didn’t, sir,” Miller responded. “Organizations of all walks and all persuasions were pulled in. That’s shown by the fact that only 70 of the 300 organizations were tea party organizations, of the ones that were looked at by TIGTA [Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration].”

Here's a link to the story, and here's a link to C-SPAN for the quote.

The lady will plead the 5th tomorrow at the hearings.

I think that says something.

Fled wrote:

Yes, it says she is under investigation and does not want to complicate her defense.  Your point?  Or is the right against self incrimination not a real right?

Come on Fled - Constitutional Rights only apply to the conservative right-wing, the rest of us are just guilty as hell and simply hiding behind some lefty bullshit rules.

Tall Paul wrote:

Be that as it may, please name one single Tea Party 501(c)(4) application that was denied. Go on, I dare ya! Just one is all it takes.... Hint: You won't be able to, because none were denied.

Come on Paul, you can't be that dense.  There is no need to deny tax exempt status, only to delay it until after the Anointed One is reelected.  These people knew exactly what they were doing.  They are in Ohio, the most crucial swing state, and they were actively using their positions to tamp down any perceived opposition.  This shit went all the way to Obama's campaign, if not to the Emperor himself.  Here is the latest for you, Em and Fled.  This is an interesting story which traces this crime back up the chain of command.

Fled wrote:

Phreddy, your bat shit diet is paying off.  Only the committed (or those who should be) could tie all these loose ends together the way you have.  It all comes back to Ohio.  Four dead there.  The Indians and a team named the Browns.  George Soros and SIEU.  Oh god, they're coming for me!!!

Amazing, that's exactly what Nixon said.

Emmeran wrote:

My anonymous sources say that the anonymous sources quoted in that article plan to press fictitious charges for the imaginary crimes that weren't committed.

Maybe the Democrats will finally dredge the bottom of this cesspool.

Rep. Stephen Lynch, Massachusetts Democrat, warned IRS and Treasury Department witnesses before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform not to stonewall congressional efforts to get to the bottom of the scandal.

“We know where that will lead, it will lead to a special prosecutor. … There will be hell to pay if that’s the route that we choose to go down,” he said.

As I said on another thread, Republicans have no interest in unfucking anything. Phredd understands this and apparently condones this as well. He has no problem with his party wasting millions (or billions) of tax dollars on one witch hunt after another. He pretty much said so in response to me. (in fact he said it was necessary)

whosasailorthen wrote:

Get a special prosecutor and let them do their work.  If there isn't any crime, they'll discover that. If there is, it needs to be prosecuted and resolved.

I've got two words for you: Ken Starr.

whosasailorthen wrote:

"Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel." - Mark Twain

See my beef here is that Fox was all about that shit when their guys held the White House; after their boys were ousted the world is coming to an end over the same tactics they previously approved of.  They refuse to admit that they themselves created the Tea Party shit even before Obama took office - they attempted and did pillory him for shit that the Republican administration did.  But what the fuck did they care, they (just as the Lib's) just wanted the money.

At the end of the day if you are signing on with either of these parties (or pseudo's) you are signing over your rights so you can belong to a "team"; these fuckers all despise us and oddly enough some of the most intelligent people I know can't see through this haze.

The Fourth Estate is dead and gone, it's all just a political advert at this point and choosing sides only eliminates what's actually left of your actual personal freedom.  Party on Sailor and Phreed - take another hit Choad & Fnord (random names selected please don't take it personal)- we are all just being worked in the exact manner their big data has told them to work us.

And they are fucking winning...

whosasailorthen wrote:

Actually, I register as independent... I'm neither R or D (or L for that matter).  Yeah, I agree that the Tea Party is batshit crazy.  Frankly, their antics are ruining what shreds of decency are (were) left in the Republican party, and making it impossible for a reasonable person to run as a Republican.  But of late the current administration is looking like a bad re-write of "Take the Money and Run".... just a bunch of crooks who can't seem to get anything right. Hell, I'm expecting any day to hear them talking about 'Gub Control'. 

Unfortunately, the public - those responsible for putting this band of charlatans in place - are doomed to live with this mess for a VERY long time, regardless of who gets elected in the next round.

I would argue that this administration looks like a bad re-write of the previous administration which itself looked like a bad re-write of the previous-previous administration.  The fucking Pol's just seem to be saying "well they let us get a away with that so let's try this..."

doesyourpussyhurt wrote:

I believe it is all a distraction so we don't pay attention to how badly we get screwed everyday. When the heat gets turned up because of corporate greed and the vast numbers of loopholes corporations and the rich have to take advantage of, suddenly there is another "scandal". No talk of fixing America's problems anymore.

What should be being discussed is the economy and how to fix it. What should be being discussed is the tax system and how unfair it is to certain groups. What should be being discussed is the over bloated military and the vast amounts of monies spent keeping such a machine afloat.

But wait....look over here....it's a bunny.

Funny you should mention how conveniently this "scandal" coincides with the International Tax Evasion situation; the level of theft being perpetuated by these corporations is...

...wait is that a ball?  Ball!!  Throw the ball, please throw the ball...

Pete and Repeat were sitting on the bridge, Pete fell off and who was left...?

whosasailorthen wrote:

Dole gets it right.

Complete agreement - I like Bob Dole, for a politician he's a pretty straight shooter.