Will Obama Apologize For IRS Targeting Of Conservative Groups?

By William Teach June 1, 2013 – 7:22 am

Don’t bet on it

(The Blaze) White House spokesman Josh Earnest couldn’t provide a direct answer when asked by a reporter on Friday if President Barack Obama would “apologize” to conservative groups who were unfairly targeted by the IRS.

Rather than saying the president is sorry or planned to apologize, Earnest said Obama was “troubled” by the IRS targeting scandal that “apparently occurred.”

“What the president has said, is he is troubled by the wrongdoing that apparently occurred at the IRS,” he said. “And he is committed that we get to the bottom of what exactly happened and make sure we have safeguards in place to prevent those kinds of things from happening again.”

If he had any thoughts of apologizing for the flagrant Constitutional violations, not too mention possible civil and criminal violations, by an agency and its employees who work for him, well, he’d have to apologize for his own words that helped create the situation. His constant attacks on Conservative groups, his denigration of them (calling TEA Party members “Teabaggers”), whining about the Citizens United decision, all these and others certainly gave IRS employees the notion that it was OK with The Boss to target Conservative groups.

And let’s not forget that some groups, such as True The Vote, saw their groups and unrelated businesses targeted by the FBI, ATF, and OSHA, among others.

But, hey, the spokesweasel says that Obama says anyone involved will be “held accountable”. Perhaps with a frown and a wagging finger.

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DOJ Wants You To Know That Insulting Islam Means You Might Have Broken Civil Rights Laws

By William Teach June 1, 2013 – 6:44 am

Has anyone at the DOJ, especially the leadership, actually read the Constitution and the part about Free Speech?

(Judicial Watch) In its latest effort to protect followers of Islam in the U.S. the Obama Justice Department warns against using social media to spread information considered inflammatory against Muslims, threatening that it could constitute a violation of civil rights. (snip)

Does anyone think that the highly politicized Obama/Holder DOJ will take the same position when the religion under assault is Christianity, Mormonism, or Judaism?

Evidently that was a precursor of sorts for an upcoming Tennessee event (“Public Disclosure in a Diverse Society”) that will feature the region’s top DOJ official, who serves as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and an FBI representative. The goal is to increase awareness and understanding that American Muslims are not the terrorists some have made them out to be in social media and other circles, according to a local newspaper report. The June 4 powwow is sponsored by the American Muslim Advisory Council of Tennessee.

The area’s top federal prosecutor, Bill Killian, will address a topic that most Americans are likely unfamiliar with, even those well versed on the Constitution; that federal civil rights laws can actually be violated by those who post inflammatory documents aimed at Muslims on social media. “This is an educational effort with civil rights laws as they play into freedom of religion and exercising freedom of religion,” Killian says in the local news story. “This is also to inform the public what federal laws are in effect and what the consequences are.”

What is social media? Pretty much most things on the Internet. It can be any website which provides interaction along with interaction. Digg, Fark, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Del.icio.us, they would all be examples. So would any traditional news outlet that allows comments or even just tagging of the story. So would this blog. I could go ahead and do something like this

and if I close the comments and trackbacks and I’d be OK….oh, wait, there are those buttons to allow people to spread the story.

What this does, as Doug Ross points out, is institute Islamic blasphemy laws within the US justice system. Speaking ill of Islam or Mohammed, drawing and/or showing a picture of Mohammed, making fun of Islamic customs, and so much more on social media could get you in trouble with the DOJ.

This is not to say that all Muslims are bad. They aren’t. Most are good people just like you and me. But, many are Islamists, a term used to denote ones who push violent acts for Islam and/or the spread of the hardcore version of Islam that includes Sharia law, including through peaceful means. The latter are the most dangerous, because they have been pushing this for decades throughout the Western world slowly, using the language of the Left, and getting the Left to buy in. Any mention of this, any criticism, any highlighting of the truth and danger from radical Islam,  immediately receives a “you’re an Islamaphobe!!!!” response, especially from Liberals, who never seem to wonder or reflect on the fact that Islamism stands against everything Liberals stand for. One of the main points of the Muslim Brotherhood is to push Islamist doctrine peacefully, and they are aided and abetted by CAIR here in the US. And we have now have the DOJ aiding and abetting the Islamists.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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Posted in 1st Amendment, Democrats, Dhimmitude | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

How’s The Green Energy Initiative Working In Canada?

By William Teach May 31, 2013 – 4:23 pm

About as you’d expect (via Tom Nelson)

(Wind Concerns Ontario) An “opinion” piece in the Toronto Star written by Kris Stevens of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) and Gillian McEachern of Environmental Defence (ED) extolls the wonders of the captioned Act on its fourth birthday. They ramble on about what it has done for the economy, the jobs it has created and how it’s “non-existent health impacts” are simply “fearmongering” by anti-wind groups! They also claim a myriad of hurricanes, droughts and heat waves are caused by “climate change” despite the IPCC and other climate scientists reversal of that claim.

The article is wrong on all counts but, because both of these entities were involved in helping to write the Act they believe in it!

In the four years since the Act passed ratepayers have seen the cost of electricity climb well beyond inflation; off-peak time-of use rates are up 60%, mid-peak 37% and on-peak 34%. Those increases don’t yet include the cost of the gas plants (to back up intermittent wind and solar generation) or the $585 million cost of their moves to Lambton and Bath.

This shouldn’t mean that we do not look towards alternatives/renewables: it means we need to implement them in a responsible manner that doesn’t cause massive price increases. Those same increases in energy costs ripple across the entire economy, raising the prices of everything else.

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If All You See…

By William Teach May 31, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil CO2 infused beer causing the end of all species, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Five Feet Of Fury, with a post highlighting true idiocy regarding the atomic bomb defeating Japan.

Read: If All You See… »

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Bummer: Hybrid Drivers Could Pay More In North Carolina

By William Teach May 31, 2013 – 12:55 pm

Gee, who would have seen this coming? (via GC from Raised On Hoecakes)

(News 14) North Carolina drivers who use hybrid cars could end up paying for it in the long run.

State lawmakers in the Senate have proposed drivers pay an additional fee if they drive a hybrid or electric car.

They are the car industry’s answer to going green. Gas prices are a big reason the hybrid cars have become more popular but if you own one in North Carolina it could cost you.

One item in the Senate budget calls for drivers to pay an additional fee when they renew their car registration. For hybrid cars the fee would be $50, electric cars the fee would be $100. Since hybrid cars use less gas supporters say the fees would help the state collect that money they lose from the gas tax back in order to fund road projects.

What’s happening is that the State, like most states and the federal government, rely upon the revenue stream from gas taxes (NC’s is one of the highest in the country). When people are using less gas that stream is reduced, so they have to make up the shortfall somehow. And this is one way to do it (I have an article somewhere back in the archives about this, sorry, no time to find it before work). It is a direct outcome of the Government’s policies for better CAFE standards and causing gas prices to rise. And then government complains about the dip in the revenue stream.

I will say that I disagree with this notion of higher fees: government needs to learn to do more with less, not penalize people for doing what government wanted them yo do.

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Posted in Energy, NC News | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Warmist: Global Warming Induced Cold Bad For Birds

By William Teach May 31, 2013 – 10:25 am

I bet Warmists can smell the color green. Or, possibly, “facepalm Red” (via Tom Nelson)

(Laura’s Birding Blog) This year’s exceptionally cold spring is exacting a toll on many birds. …

We can never blame any particular weather event, or any individual seasonal weather pattern, on climate change, but ironically, this freakishly cold spring is consistent with predictions for a steadily warming planet.

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Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Obama Has “No Patience For People Who Deny Hotcoldwetdry”

By William Teach May 31, 2013 – 8:31 am

This from a the guy with the largest “carbon footprint” on the planet

(The Hill) President Obama, echoing his new Energy secretary’s recent comments, said late Wednesday that he’s open to new climate policy ideas but has no interest in battling over whether climate change is real.

“If I’ve got somebody who has a different approach to dealing with climate change — I don’t have much patience for people who deny climate change, but if you’ve got creative approaches, market-based approaches, tell me about them,” Obama said at a Democratic fundraiser in Chicago.

I’d guess Obama has no patience for himself, since he is actually denying “climate change”

But Obama may have invited fresh debate Wednesday by noting, “We also know that the climate is warming faster than anybody anticipated five or 10 years ago.”

Surface air temperatures have increased more slowly than predicted over the last 10 to 15 years, leading to ongoing analysis among scientists of reasons why, such as the role of oceans in heat uptake and other factors.

As I’ve written time and time again, according to the Met Office data the world temperature has risen a tiny 0.28F since 1990 and 0.14F since 1997. If the Modern Warm Period is so horrible, why aren’t Vikings farming in Greenland? The temperatures are not warm enough now to do what the Vikings did back during the Medieval Warm Period.

If Obama is really concerned, he can start by not taking the constant fossil fueled flights criss-crossing the county followed by huge motorcades, all for short campaign style appearances or fund-raisers. Oh, and big motorcades to go play golf. And turn that AC off in the White House, because it is Bad for hotcoldwetdry. Open the windows, catch the fresh air. Stop using washers and driers, which are also bad for hotcoldwetdry. The White House has huge grounds, perfect for line drying.

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Posted in AGW Idiocy, Barry Obama, Climahypocrites, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Good News: Obama Holds IRS Agent Accountable By Giving Him A Promotion

By William Teach May 31, 2013 – 8:08 am

As the House Ways and Means and Oversight committees get ready to question IRS employees at the Cincinnati office, we learn something interesting

(Washington Examiner) President Obama may have promised “to hold the responsible parties accountable” for the Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative non-profit groups, but one of the agents at the center of the scandal was recently promoted, an IRS source tells The Washington Examiner.

Through 2012, then-Exempt Organization Specialist Stephen Seok signed many of the intimidating letters sent to conservative nonprofits. For example, this January 2012 letter sent to the Richmond Tea Party demanded the date, time and location of all group events, as well as copies of all handouts provided at the events, and the names and credentials of all organizers. Seok also demanded the names of all speakers and the contents of the speeches they made.

According to WXIX-TV/Fox 19 in Cincinnati, Seok is no longer an exempt organization specialist. He has since been promoted to  “supervisor IRS agent.”

Obviously, Obama did not promote Seok himself, but as the head of the Executive Branch, what is he doing, other than Making Pronouncements That He’s Upset And Will Do Something? Because rarely does Obama’s Pronouncements Of Being Upset turn into actual action.

An interesting tidbit from that WXIX link (which wasn’t discussing the promotion, but did mention his grade), which goes back to May 21st

The six Cincinnati workers we have identified, who sent scrutinizing letters to conservative groups with words including “patriot, liberty, tea party or 9-12” in their names are Mitchel Steele, Carly Young, Joseph Herr, Stephen Seok, Liz Hofacre and a woman identified only as Ms. Richards.

But according to the IRS employee directory that FOX19 has obtained exclusively, each of these agents has a different manager and then above them a different territory manager.

So how did this disparate group in different chains end up doing the same thing, ie, targeting Conservative groups? Maybe there’s a bit of ESP going on. Or, perhaps

So who in the chain of command would have received all these flags?  The answer, according to the IRS directory,  one woman in Cincinnati, Cindy Thomas, the Program Manager of the Tax Exempt Division.  Because all six of our IRS workers have different individual and territory managers, Cindy Thomas is one manager they all have common.

When is she going to be questioned? WXIX reports she may be called. There shouldn’t be any “may” about it.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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Say, Where Do Greenhouse Gases Come From?

By William Teach May 30, 2013 – 4:13 pm

If you’re thinking “well, mostly from nature, especially since the oceans put out 16 times more CO2 than Mankind does, and water vapor is the #1 GHG”, well, um, it seems Grist and the Warmists forgot that part

Here’s a tiny version of a large, information-dense graphic from research consultancy Ecofys:

(WT: I’m giving you the tiny version)

You should click and look at the big version, or better yet get the PDF from Ecofys and zoom in really close, where you can see the sectors further broken down.

Now, if you head over to Grist or click on the PFD link you might notice what is missing: natural sources of GHGs, which are considerably larger than anything Mankind does. But, that would harm the narrative that Mankind is evil (say, I wonder how much GHGs the websites and servers for Grist and Ecofys, as well as the Disqus commenting system Grist uses, put out. And the computers they use. And the electricity to run them.)

No grand conclusions to draw, just something to think on. Every one of these sources can be dialed down, through conservation and efficiency if nothing else, but off the top of my head I’d say the easiest targets for rapid emission reductions, in no particular order, are: 1) stop chopping forests down, 2) zero out emissions from residential and commercial buildings, 3) capture methane everywhere, from agriculture to energy to solid waste, 4) reduce vehicle-miles-traveled with densification and transit, then electrify the hell out of everything else in transportation.

All by Government decree, right? You first, chumps.

Anyway, what do you think? What are the top-line lessons of this graphic?

Well, mostly that Warmists are liars and full of mule fritters, hiding the full measure of GHGs. And that they do not understand science or reality.

Read: Say, Where Do Greenhouse Gases Come From? »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach May 30, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible concrete releasing vast amounts of CO2 causing the planet to boil, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Blogmocracry, with a post on the evils of a “living Constitution”.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 4 Comments | Trackback URL
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