Stuff You Should Read

Gowdy Takes on IRS

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) hit IRS Commissioner John Koskinen with a question the bureaucrat couldn't answer Monday: "You have already said multiple times today that there was no evidence that you found of any criminal wrongdoing," Gowdy said. "I want you to tell me what criminal statutes you have evaluated." Befuddled, Koskinen replied, "I have not looked at any." Gowdy fired back, "Well then how can you possibly tell our fellow citizens that there's not criminal wrongdoing if you don't even know what statutes to look at?" Gowdy repeated the question, and Koskinen again admitted, "I reviewed no criminal statutes." The only hope for the IRS is smoke and mirrors. We're glad at least Gowdy isn't going to take it.

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Lame Excuses to the IRS

Admit it: After the IRS's excuse that it "lost" Lois Lerner's emails, you wanted to, come tax time, tell the IRS that your hard drive crashed too, so it shouldn't expect your check. A bill in the U.S. House would allow just that. Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) introduced "The Dog Ate My Tax Receipts Act" (TDAMTRA), a bill that allows taxpayers to use the same lame excuses as the IRS. In a statement, Stockman said, "The United States was founded on the belief government is subservient and accountable to the people. Taxpayers shouldn't be expected to follow laws the Obama administration refuses to follow themselves. Taxpayers should be allowed to offer the same flimsy, obviously made-up excuses the Obama administration uses." Among the excuses, taxpayers could say they "Traded documents for five terrorists" or that documents were left "in [a] gun case sold to Mexican drug lords." Say, that sounds like the list we made two days before Stockman introduced his bill. More...

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VA Study Shows Disarray

Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D, (R-OK) released a study on the state of the Veterans Affairs hospitals. It shows a culture where VA employees behave as if they are above the law and mismanage billions of dollars, while Congress is absent from overseeing the bureaucracy. Since 2001, the hospital system has paid out nearly $1 billion in malpractice claims, according to the study titled "Friendly Fire: Death, Delay and Dismay at The VA." More than 1,000 veterans have allegedly died due to VA negligence. "This reports shows the problems at the VA are worse than anyone imagined," Coburn said. "The scope of the VA's incompetence -- and Congress' indifferent oversight -- is breathtaking and disturbing. This investigation found the problems at the VA are far deeper than just scheduling. ... As is typical with any bureaucracy, the excuse for not being able to meet goals is a lack of resources. But this is not the case at the VA where spending has increased rapidly in recent years." More...

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Who Pays ObamaCare's Tab?

On Monday, Gallup said citizens using the ObamaCare exchanges to get health insurance are less healthy than the national average. Fifty percent of the population is healthy -- the definition of average -- while only 38% of the new ObamaCare enrollees are of average health or better. The numbers last week show the vast majority of these plans, about 90%, are subsidized by the great Nanny, who picks up 76% of the health care bill for these new enrollees. But this is just the beginning. The Daily Signal reports that only 3.4 million of the eight million people to sign up for ObamaCare did not have health insurance in the past -- the government hoped for 26 million. Currently, the Obama administration is picking up the tab while the healthy are keeping their distance. In the coming months, we can expect to see premiums rise with the added burden. More...

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9.4 Jobs

Perhaps Barack Obama slipped, or perhaps he merely stated what reality feels like when it comes to the economy and employment. Trying to boast of his economic record, he said, "[O]ur businesses have created jobs for 51 consecutive months, 9.4 new jobs in all. But we all know somebody out there still looking for work." We all know Obamanomics have utterly failed to restart our economy. Last quarter's GDP growth was negative, while unemployment remains persistently high. So while 9.4 jobs isn't literally accurate, it sure belies the feeling.

Will Iraq Be Obama's Viet Nam?

300 SOF advisors. Refusing to take the fight to the enemy. An enemy that looks like an LIP. The differences are negligable. The enemy in Viet Nam was communism. We were attempting to stop the spread of communism. The differences in the enemy are stark and definable. The enemy in Iraq will murder indiscriminately without compunction or remorse and for no reason other than you have a different view of the same ridiculous belief system. Communists killed to instill fear and insure compliance. Radical islamists kill because they like it.

 

ISIS jihadis celebrate Muslim DHS Adviser’s anti-American tweets Jun 19, 2014 09:22 pm | Robert Spencer Is anyone in the Obama Administration concerned about how Elibiary is giving aid and comfort to the enemy? Or does that not matter because he is that most sought-after of men, the “moderate Muslim” (at least ostensibly), and so (like Major Nidal Malik Hasan (who was the even more coveted “Muslim military man”), nothing that […] comments | read more        ISIS jihadis from UK and Australia call Muslims to wage jihad Jun 19, 2014 08:49 pm | Robert Spencer This ISIS video, once again slickly produced, features English-speaking jihadists calling Muslims to wage jihad, copiously quoting Qur’an and appealing to Islamic doctrine. It would be refreshing if Muslim spokesmen in the West who claim to reject this understanding of Islam explained how these Muslims were getting Islam wrong. But they won’t. Note that the […] comments | read more        Audio: Robert Spencer on KNUS Denver’s Peter Boyles Show on the situation in Iraq Jun 19, 2014 04:41 pm | Robert Spencer Yesterday I was once again on the Peter Boyles Show on KNUS Denver for a full hour, discussing various aspects of the situation in Iraq. It was a wide-ranging and engrossing discussion. comments | read more        ISIS jihadi from UK calls for jihad attacks on British civilians to avenge Muslima’s murder Jun 19, 2014 04:25 pm | Robert Spencer The murder of Nahid Almanea was heinous enough, and now Abu Rashash Britani is trying to compound its evil by calling for more attacks on innocent civilians. Has anyone inquired into who this person Abu Rashash Britani is, and where he learned his understanding of Islam? Or would such an inquiry in today’s Britain be […] comments | read more        Philippines: 17 dead as Islamic jihadists battle soldiers Jun 19, 2014 03:38 pm | Robert Spencer This is “one of the bloodiest clashes in the southern Philippines in recent months” — Islamic jihadists worldwide are emboldened by the success of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and by the weakness (and often outright support) that Barack Obama has given to Islamic supremacists and jihadists worldwide. They know that if they […] comments | read more        “Jihad Cool”: Muslims from U.S. head to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS and “bring back the Caliphate” Jun 19, 2014 02:23 pm | Robert Spencer This story from the hopeless and ridiculous Daily Mail highlights the rap videos and the “‘fun’ of guerrilla war,” while making it obvious that the main thing that motivated these Muslims from the U.S. to join ISIS was the one thing the story discounts: their commitment to Islam. This piece, meanwhile, is easily the most […] comments | read more        American supporter of ISIS in North Carolina? Jun 19, 2014 12:02 pm | Robert Spencer The video above is in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, with fans holding up messages of support from around the world — including, apparently, North Carolina. We are constantly told that all the Muslims in the U.S. are supporters of pluralism and democracy, and eschew violent jihad and Sharia — and […] comments | read more        Canada: Accused jihadi says Taliban had right to kill Canadians in Afghanistan Jun 19, 2014 11:32 am | Robert Spencer Misbahuddin Ahmed’s statements are yet another indication of the practical consequences of Islam’s claims to constitute a global community (umma), the loyalty to which transcends all other loyalties. Imagine saying “You’ve got to look at it from their perspective.” about the Nazis as the Allied armies entered German territory in 1945. “Taliban had right to […] comments | read more        Reza Aslan claims anti-fascist Pope Pius XI was a fascist Jun 19, 2014 11:01 am | Robert Spencer Nowadays if you parrot the accepted establishment opinions, you can rise far and fast, and be hailed as a “respected scholar” even if you’re, well, dimwitted and arrogant. In particular, if you oppose America’s defense against the global jihad, hate Israel, love those who wish to destroy both the U.S. and Israel, and profess to […] comments | read more        Texas: Man told to take down his US flag, as it’s “a threat towards the Muslim community” Jun 19, 2014 08:58 am | Robert Spencer It’s a time-honored principle: when in Muslim countries, you must conform your behavior to Muslim sensibilities. And when in non-Muslim countries, you must conform your behavior to Muslim sensibilities. This is the kind of thing that only happens in nations that have lost their confidence and their way, are vulnerable to any action of their […] comments | read more        Obama lied, Americans in Afghanistan died — on The Glazov Gang Jun 19, 2014 08:55 am | Robert Spencer This week’s episode of the world’s challenging counter-jihad chatfest features, first of all, the show’s elusive eponymous host, back in the saddle again and looking tanned, rested and ready after another in a seemingly endless series of odd and willful disappearances. As always, he features some of the world’s premier counter-jihadists: this week, Daniel Greenfield […] comments | read more        Raymond Ibrahim: The Muslim Brotherhood ‘Retaliates’ with Rape Jun 19, 2014 08:50 am | Raymond Ibrahim Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers recently went on a sexual assault and rape spree in Egypt as a way of “getting even” with those women who dared to celebrate the presidential victory of Abdel Fatteh al-Sisi—the former army chief who overthrew Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt. On June 8, when tens of thousands of Egyptians congregated in […] comments | read more