Well it seems like AP and the WH have "kissed and made up" as the discredited news organization once again demonstrates the infamous deflection technique of "everybody does it" excuse!

Another pathetic puff piece which completely ignores "the rest of the story".

Ms. Lerner invoked her 5th Amendment right AFTER she gave the crongressional committee her side of the story, effectively waiving that right.

She will be subpoenaed and likely found in contempt as she will not tell the truth. She has been set up to take the fall.

The Obama/IRS defenders will be along shortly.

Enough evidence to "seize" but not enough to "try" them, huh?

Perhaps the AG plans to grant them full citizenship status as well, given the President's signature policy of giving Constitutional rights to enemy combatants.

Incompetence and impotence, on display for the whole world.

Perhaps the Obama administration ought to have stuck to the YouTube story. It made about as much sense than anything they've said or done since.

[quote][b]avenger[/b] - In fact, there are a number of sources that allow guns to fall into the wrong hands, with gun thefts at the bottom of the list. [/quote]

Yeah, I read somewhere that the government was buying them up and proliferating them around the Arizona/Mexico border at one time, until a border patrol agent was killed with one of them.

Seems to me the AG may have gotten into a bit of trouble over it but his supervisor claimed "executive privilege" so it's all good now.

I think the BATF may have been involved and there were something like 1500+ weapons distributed and unaccounted for.

But it was a long time ago and no one seems to remember much about it.......

[quote][b]avenger[/b] - Just wondered how and where the criminal got his gun. I understand your love for your guns but don't get so emotional. Thought only liberals like me were so emotional.[/quote]

Criminals, by definition, will use criminal means to procure the tools necessary to commit their crime.

It's not so much a "love for guns" but CHOOSING to accept REALITY and ordering your life accordingly which you apparently don't understand.

Could it be a "love for life" which you don't understand?

We now know that the the MIT security guard Sean Collier was gunned down in cold blood to for no other reason than to provide a weapon for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston bomber (the younger).

Perhaps if you're ever at the wrong end of a gun held by a thug who wishes to cause harm to you and/or your loved ones, you can ask him "where and how did you procure that fine Glock 9mm you're pointing at me?"

But I suspect you'll probably be preoccupied with other thoughts.

I'm sure the police officer in the story above was as well.

A compelling read for those truly interested in where the "smoking gun" lies in the Benghazi cover up.

Former Justice Department attorney Andrew McCarthy, who was involved in prosecuting the original World Trade Center bombing, addresses the 10 pm phone call between the president and secretary of state.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/348677/10-pm-phone-call-andrew-c-m...

In the words of a commenter:

Hillary Lied, Four Died, Obama took a fundraising ride

[quote][b]hack[/b] - IRS probe ignored most influential groups.
Oh ya the ones with the most money to buy politicians and the presidency [/quote]

Actually, these were the ones who likely had the legal counsel on staff to deal with and bring attention to the criminal actions of the IRS, and those at the IRS (and those who directed them to do so) surely knew this.

@snarkydude: While declining educational standards are a concern, I would argue that the MORAL DECLINE of the nation is the real problem.

Let's face it, does a person embrace the notion that he is entitled to live at the expense of others because he lacks "education" or because he lacks the MORAL compass to see the injustice of his decision?

We laugh and are entertained by people and situations which would have offended a virtuous society 2 generations ago. (Oh, how we've become enlightened!)

A married president receives "oral favors" from an intern young enough to be his daughter and yet is lionized by a large segment of our and retains his job (just a partisan witch hunt, remember?).

If it were an education problem, it could be "fixed". Unfortunately, it's a much deeper problem and it goes to the heart and soul of a nation.

@snarkydude:

"One cannot be intellectually persuaded from a position that was not arrived at intelligently."

(Let's face it....the whole "Hope and Change" jazz, slogans, logos, song singing, etc. was third world demagoguery and ought to have been a major turnoff to anyone who uses his knowledge guided by experience.

The illusion of Obama (the New Left) was an appeal to the HEART!)

Once I finally understood this simple yet fundamental truth, my level of frustration has greatly receded.

Unfortunately, while the rabid Obama defender (see above) can no longer warmly embrace his champion (the "Hope and Change" mojo has long since evaporated), he remains energized by his VISCERAL SPITE toward those he views as political enemies.

In Marxist ideology, there must always be an "enemy" (or scapegoat) to deflect criticism away from the real culprit. (E. Goldstein in "1984", Snowball in "Animal Farm", etc........remember Orwell wrote from his own observations during the Spanish revolution!)

This is nothing new, except that Americans have historically been intelligent and virtuous enough to reject it.

THAT is what has changed.

From a National Treasury Employees Union press release:

Wednesday, November 7 2012

Washington, D.C.—The leader of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) today applauded the re-election of President Barack Obama.

“NTEU supported the re-election of President Obama as being in the best interests of our country and of the dedicated men and women of the federal workforce,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “NTEU is also pleased that so many of our candidates for Senate seats and our staunchest supporters in the House won their races.”

http://www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1837

Sounds like a "Mission Accomplished" moment, doesn't it?

But how were the political donations really distributed?

http://www.redstate.com/2013/05/16/meet-the-partisan-union-behind-the-pa...

It does appear that the NTEU seems to favor Dems a bit more (quite a bit more) than Repubs.

Should anyone be surprised at the IRS allowing itself to be used as a political weapon against those who favor smaller, less intrusive, Constitutional government?

Poor president Obama!

Don't you know that every Justice Department wire taps the Associated Press? And how should the president know about it if the Attorney General claims not to?

Of course every Administration uses the IRS to "shakedown", intimidate, or otherwise neutralizes his political opposition. Happens all the time, right? Remember when Bush did it? (neither do I)

And we're just talking about a few zealous low level folks anyway, right?

And the president JUST found out about it by reading the newspaper himself! Can't blame a guy for not knowing, huh?

('Course congressional testimony reveals that Treasury knew as early as last spring 2012 that the IG was investigating IRS for these allegations but the first time the president "heard" of it was last week, just like you and me)

And Benghazi? One dead ambassador, 2 dead heroic former Navy SEALs, and an aid?

Of course it took some time to get their story "straight" (and find an appropriate scapegoat...a videographer!)

In the infamous words of Sec of State Clinton...."What does it really matter anyway at this point?" or words to that effect.

Those evil, mean, nasty Republicans!

Why can't they just accept that this as normal?

In typical Mark Steyn humor, this article sheds light on the real problem.
http://nationalreview.com/article/348687/autocrat-accountants-mark-steyn

The Autocrat Accountants

NBC's Lisa Myers reported this morning that the IRS deliberately chose not to reveal that it had wrongly targeted conservative groups until after the 2012 presidential election:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hZqROJZTf3c

Miller is a patsy. This was a politically directed operation with the Administration's fingerprints all over it.

There will be no special prosecutor appointed by the president, as using the IRS to oppose political opponents (and covering it up until now) will ultimately lead back to the political machinations of the White House and the Obama 2012 campaign.

A very disturbing story of how IRS workers have effectively unionized AGAINST the taxpayer.

We now know that they have abused their own power to silence, discourage, or otherwise discriminate against those who genuinely understand the unsustainable nature of a leviathan state and the threat to EVERYONE'S liberty it poses.

http://www.redstate.com/2013/05/16/meet-the-partisan-union-behind-the-pa...

Shameless defenders of this tyranny have been blinded by their hatred of of their political opponents to the degree that they cannot or refuse to consider the grave consequences of these unchecked abuses of power.

This was a political operation that makes Nixon's sins appear as nothing more than the excesses of a sand lot bully.

How exactly did the GOP "concoct" the IRS civil rights violation by profiling and harassing conservative nonprofit organizations?

How exactly was the GOP responsible for the Benghazi massacre and subsequent documented lies and cover up to the American people?

And what of the phone tapping of AP offices, jeopardizing the confidentiality of their sources?

Are these all perfectly acceptable events that ought not concern liberty minded citizens?

The abuse of power of the Obama regime is alarming.

The acceptance and justification of it by its supporters is stupefying.

The Obama Administration has been anything but passive in its throttling of the US economy and the president himself has been quite outspoken regarding his desire to "transform" this nation (and effective as well).

His underlings are simply carrying out "the plan" with a level of zeal that would make any supervisor proud.

When he exhorted his minions and supporters to "punish" their political opponents (so presidential of him), is it any wonder at the actions of the IRS?

The president and his "controllers" have instituted a culture of "abuse of power" throughout his administration and yet the AP would excuse him as being passive.

One might think an organization would wise up after having 20 of its phone lines tapped by the AG (who knew nothing about it, of course).

But never doubt the power and delusion of "true love" (or the Kool Aid).

Another lawbreaking gunman.

Obviously more laws restricting the rights of law abiding gun owners will be called for.

Oh wait, that was 2008.

I meant "Forward!"

[quote][b]crankyyankee[/b] - If no one in America today is responsible for anything who the heck is making some really bad decisions?
[/quote]

I believe it's called "Change You Can Believe In"!

[quote][b]sweept[/b] - amazing to me how many of the 'bosses' in govt don't have to take responsibility for their employees or have any idea what their employees are doing.
[/quote]

I've been pondering the exact same thought.

'Course you can't really blame the AG for being so clueless, what with his laser-like focus on bringing the Benghazi perps to justice and all that jazz.

Wait, they got the perp and he's rotting in a Texas prison somewhere for his provocative anti-Muslim video.

On second thought, what is Holder's excuse?

One could hope that the Associated Press learns from this event, but they likely won't.

The Administration is probably a bit hurt over the AP's cry of "foul" at such an inopportune moment (Benghazi cover-up, abusive tactics of IRS).

I mean, what's a little eavesdropping among close friends?

[quote]Political considerations influenced the talking points that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice used five days after the deadly Sept. 11 assault in Benghazi, Libya, with State Department and other senior administration officials asking that references to terror groups and prior warnings be deleted, according to department emails.[/quote]

[quote]"There's an ongoing effort to make something political out of this," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday of the disclosure of the emails, which the administration had provided to lawmakers. "The problem with that effort is that it's never been clear what it is they think they're accusing the administration of doing."[/quote]

Mr. Carney surely doesn't sound as foolish to the President's supporters as he does to the rest of us.

[quote][b]TeeWee[/b] - Wall Street is still on a " sugar high " because of the money being printed by the Fed.[/quote]

With as much "pumping" that the Federal Reserve has engaged in over the last 4 years, it's a wonder the DJIA hasn't topped $20K by now.

A clever distraction for those simple enough to believe it.

It's a false indicator and the Fed's policy is designed to mute what would otherwise result in public outrage while simultaneously enabling unsustainable levels of government spending.

More part time jobs without benefits.

Something to celebrate, no?

Mortimer Zuckerman: The Great Recession Has Been Followed by the Grand Illusion
Don't be fooled by the latest jobs numbers. The unemployment situation in the U.S. is still dire.

By MORTIMER ZUCKERMAN

[quote]The Great Recession is an apt name for America's current stagnation, but the present phase might also be called the Grand Illusion—because the happy talk and statistics that go with it, especially regarding jobs, give a rosier picture than the facts justify.

The country isn't really advancing. By comparison with earlier recessions, it is going backward. Despite the most stimulative fiscal policy in American history and a trillion-dollar expansion to the money supply, the economy over the last three years has been declining. After 2.4% annual growth rates in gross domestic product in 2010 and 2011, the economy slowed to 1.5% growth in 2012. Cumulative growth for the past 12 quarters was just 6.3%, the slowest of all 11 recessions since World War II.

February's headline unemployment rate was portrayed as 7.7%, down from 7.9% in January. The dip was accompanied by huzzahs in the news media claiming the improvement to be "outstanding" and "amazing." But if you account for the people who are excluded from that number—such as "discouraged workers" no longer looking for a job, involuntary part-time workers and others who are "marginally attached" to the labor force—then the real unemployment rate is somewhere between 14% and 15%.[/quote]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412788732339330457836467069761357...

[quote][b]Emperor1972[/b] -
Nah.
Unlike you, I didn't vote for Obama.
Either time... [/quote]

It's been a bit puzzling to me that these proud "moderates" (or whatever they consider themselves) never considered the wisdom (or lack thereof) of jumping on a presidential bandwagon of a guy who has his own logo.

From the ubiquitous creepy red and blue Soviet-style posters of a serious looking Obama looking up and off into the distance to T-shirts, hand bags, and silly vapid slogans like "Change You Can Believe In"......

............Did you not ever once consider that you were being played for a sucker?

It was in a back and forth with melquaides one day, months ago, when I finally realized the magic of BHO.

He appeals to the ego of the "intellectual" under the guise of appealing to his intellect. (In essence, Barack won their heart but convinced them it was their mind.)

This is why those who seem somewhat intelligent cannot seem to admit the utter failure his policies have wrought.

Cut the deficit in half within four years? Instead he tripled it!

If you like your doctor, you get to keep him under ObamaCare. Really?

But surely it will be wonderful evening, as the U.S. celebrates it's "transformation" GOOD and HARD!

How fitting that the R&B boy band "Mindless Behavior" will be performing for the president.

Surely his supporters (especially the intellectuals) will be singing along!

Just a spoonful of sugar to help the "medicine" go down for legitimate businesses, and another boondoggle for Obama's "pet" industries.

Only in a twisted, warped reality is accelerated depreciation of capital expenditures (against taxable income) considered the equivalent of a government welfare check.

No less ridiculous is considering tax cuts as "costing the government", as if the income produced by the sweat and hard work of individuals ultimately belongs to the collective.

"Now, if Republicans think that I will finish the job of deficit reduction through spending cuts alone — and you hear that sometimes coming from them ... then they've got another think coming. ... That's not how it's going to work at least as long as I'm president," he said.
"And I'm going to be president for the next four years, I think," he added.

This president rarely misses an opportunity to "spike the football".

He is as ungracious and arrogant as his rabid supporters, and knows EXACTLY what he's doing.

The increase in taxes on millionaires will do NOTHING to balance his out-of-control deficit spending, which will absolutely PUNISH the middle class in higher taxes, runaway inflation, and ultimately a worthless currency.

In 2013, the mask falls off and more Americans will finally realize just what they've chosen.