No Income Tax Paid? No Problem!

  The seemingly never ending saga of the IRS and it's bad behavior continues. Although it may take a back seat this week to the pending immigration bill. But what do ya' know, the IRS is well connected to the "plight" of the illegal immigrant.
  In a 2011 story from The Blaze, those here in the United States illegally and working have collected roughly $4.2 billion dollars a year in tax credits per year from the IRS. An amount that has quadrupled in the last 5-7 years.
  The IRS and

Congress have known about this for years, however the IRS claims it has no authority to stop what amounts to outright theft from American taxpayers by those who have entered the country illegally.
  Here's how it works. Individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States, and therefore cannot obtain a Social Security card are issued an ITIN, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. This number enables them to file a tax return. Even though illegals are prohibited from receiving most federal benefits, there is a growing number who are filing returns claiming the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC).
  According to Townhall.com, one whistleblower who help expose the scheme said, "It's so easy it's ridiculous. Names are listed on the IRS form. The more you put on there, the more you get back. No questions asked." The IRS claims that for any real change to take place, there must be legislative change. So does sweeping immigration reform do anything to close this loophole?
  Senator Jeff Sessions R-AL offered an amendment requiring a valid Social Security number for each qualifying child, as well as for the filing parent. The amendment failed in committee on a party line vote, but Sessions was expected to offer it up again on the Senate floor when debate on the bill began on Tuesday.
  Illegal immigration costs hard working Americans billions of dollars every year. Public schools and hospitals are forced to shut their doors because they cannot handle the influx of people. And in the case of hospitals, writing off the costs of health care for the uninsured. Many of which will remain uninsured even after the full implementation of Obama care. Debate on immigration reform promises to be contentious. Democrats are likely to see failure to pass the bill as a potential political weapon they can use to portray Republicans as anti-immigration in the oh-so-crucial 2014 mid-term elections. Staunch Conservatives cannot seem to make their less than staunch colleagues see the importance of securing the border before any sort of legalization process is thought of.
  Part of the debate must be how to close these tax loopholes. Perhaps another part is deciding what to do about the always tightening noose around the American taxpayer that is the IRS. 

Hell to Pay

  It looks as though it is going to be a long hot summer, and then some for the Obama administration. We are at the point where we need to start numbering the scandals in order just to keep track and keep up. While all of these situations are disturbing and must be gotten to the bottom of, the ones that seem to resonate the most with ordinary Americans are the IRS targeting of Conservative groups, and the NSA monitoring of the personal phone calls and emails of average citizens. At the least, it is a violation of the first magnitude of the right to privacy that every American should expect, and at its most serious and egregious, it is a clear violation of the fourth amendment of the Constitution.
  While lawyers and political pundits have been all over the cable airwaves and the internet, many people have said a lot of things, and brought up very salient points. But there has been one thing that has been missing. It may be nothing, but with this bunch, you should probably make a note of everything.
  Right before the 2012 presidential election, and for a while immediately following, there was a quote floated about by White House Super-Advisor Valerie Jarrett. It went something like this, "After we win this election, it's our turn. Payback time. Everyone not with us is against us and they better be ready because we don't forget. The ones who helped us will be rewarded, the ones who opposed us will get what they deserve. There is going to be hell to pay. Congress won't be a problem for us this time. No election to worry about after this is over and we have two judges ready to go."
  Quite a bit of "testicular fortitude", even for someone who has been nicknamed by some administration insiders, "Obama's brain". But what about this brazen declaration? Is it the trash talk of elections, or is it more?
  We know that Valerie Jarrett has been a trusted friend and confidante to both Barack and Michelle Obama since their days in Chicago. All are seasoned warriors of the battle known as Chicago politics. We also know that "the Chicago way" does not mean that all parties involved join hands and sing "I'd like to teach the world to sing."
  Jarrett is front and center of most if not all decisions made by the President. Her words have won out over those of former White House Chiefs of Staff Rahm Emmanuel and Bill Daley. Is it possible that her fingerprints could be found at the NSA?
  And what about those talking heads on TV? Why has nobody remembered these words? I once heard Glenn Beck describe a conversation he had with a Nazi concentration camp survivor. As they spoke about the situation in the Middle East, the subject of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and his promise to "wipe Israel off the map" came up. The camp survivor, now an old man stated, "when someone threatens to annihilate you, believe them."
  While the two scenarios could not be more different, the principle is basically the same. Valerie Jarrett may very well be the biggest kook in the room, but the biggest kook in the room has the resources, the means, definitely the power, and maybe most importantly, the wherewithal and the desire to make it happen.
  The Obama administration is on record stating that there are "friends" and "enemies". It is how they operate. It remains to be seen where this latest governmental abuse of power will lead. Is it indeed at long last, payback time?     

Socially Acceptable Discrimination

  Last week, St. Louis broadcast icon Larry Connors filed a lawsuit with the Missouri Human Rights Commission accusing CBS affiliate KMOV-TV of age and race discrimination. The lawsuit claims that management gave younger reporters the more choice assignments. It also states that Connors former co-anchor was paid more because she was an African-American female.
  We are, right now, at the tip of the iceberg of a major scandal involving the IRS, and it's targeting of Conservative and religious groups for extra scrutiny when they filed for tax-exempt status.
  Are Americans headed down a chilling path? A path that actually condones discrimination of certain groups of people and speech?
  As far as groups of people that have been deemed acceptable for discriminatory action, white males and Christians seem to be at the top of the list. God(dess) help you if you are both. Want some back-up for that? Try hunting down discrimination statistics for white males. There aren't any. Recently, a casting call for a male host for a Canadian children's show went out. Just one hitch, no white men need apply.
  Christians are expected to keep their beliefs to themselves. Catholic hospitals are in the fight of their lives to keep from being forced to provide birth control, or perform any other service that may go against their beliefs that falls under the crushing umbrella of Obama care. And whatever you do, don't say, "Merry Christmas"!
  Back in 2003, Hillary Clinton, in front of a crowd, screeched about how dissent was patriotic, and we had a right to disagree with any administration! Really? Ask any one of roughly 500 Tea Party groups just how patriotic they were feeling when the IRS demanded to know the contents of their prayers.
  Noam Chomsky, Godfather of Uber-Lefties, once said, "If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." Can Liberals really say they live by that creed today, when their answer to those with whom they disagree, is to shut them up? If minority Americans are comfortable with racism, yes that what it is, towards white males because somehow in their mind they feel like "they have it coming", then they have learned nothing from great courageous Americans like Frederick Douglass, Dr. W.E.B Du Bois, and Dr. Martin Luther King. Who decides what groups and what speech is acceptable, and which ones don't really deserve the equality that is guaranteed all Americans?
  Discrimination is discrimination. There is no "reverse" about it. If you don't condemn it when it happens to someone else, who will condemn it when it happens to you?         

Day of Rememberance

  On this Memorial Day 2014, We pay tribute to those rarest of heroes, our nation's fallen soldiers. The men and women who were quite willing to give the ultimate sacrifice, their lives, in defense of our values, our way of life, our nation. Words don't seem to be enough. We all like to think that when push came to shove, we would be willing to die for our country. I am quite sure it is the biggest "easier said than done" of them all.
  We have heard the stories of Revolutionary War soldiers. A ragged-tagged bunch of farmers really. They were out manned and out gunned. But they had what no Red-Coat from Britain possessed. A vision for a new nation, and a dream of independence and liberty that no British Regulars could put down. They were willing to die for their new country. We have heard stories of Civil War battles. Skirmishes that pitted brother against brother. For the first time, the new process of photography brought the gruesome reality of war home in a way never before seen. Soldiers went to battle for the basic idea that all men are created equal. The Union came ever so close to being split. But America was blessed with a man named Abraham Lincoln, who would do what he must to prevent that terrible possibility.
  World War I and II. The war to end all wars. The war against Nazism and Fascism. My late Father-in-law, told a story of being a young communications officer in Germany when a German soldier crept into the tent where he was working. He stabbed the German soldier, and came home with his diary. That generation, the greatest generation, kids, some as young as 19, defeating one the most evil regimes in history. They willingly went to defend their nation, knowing that so many of them would not come home.
  Those who served in Vietnam. A war made so unpopular. We know now, in large part by an even in that era, liberal media. No group of returning warriors has ever been treated so shabbily by their fellow countrymen. We can only hope that a new generation of Americans is giving these veterans that were able to make it out of the jungles of Southeast Asia the welcome home they never got and so richly deserve.
  The war on terror. It began long before that horrible day in September, 2001. It goes on today. So many brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines were inspired by the events of 9/11 to fight for their nation. They saw very clearly the threat to America that radical Islam presented. And so they went. So many not coming home.
  I do think that it is quite fitting on this day, to also

honor those who did come home. Those who did serve. I am quite sure they won't like it but I think that it is only proper to mention the Veterans who I am so honored to call friends, They are the cream of the crop. America's best.
 Martin Baker, Stan Kaliski, Ginny Kruta, Tony Laszacs, Ken Roe, Rob Huskey. Thank you. A grateful nation thanks you for your service, and defending America and what she stands for.
Happy Memorial Day.

Amerika-Land of The Free?

  "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

  Many a blogger over the last five years has begun a post with a Constitutional amendment. The main reason for this, the Obama administration does not see the Constitution as the law of the land. They see it as more of a collection of suggestions. An obstacle to be gotten around, or just simply ignored.
  In a truly stunning admission, the Justice Department has admitted obtaining phone records and emails from not only Associated Press reporters as was first reported last week, but now has included Fox News Channel reporters, most notably, Fox's Chief White House Correspondent James Rosen. Fox's work space at the White House, the Pentagon, and even some Fox News executives have been targeted for phone records and emails. The DOJ is claiming that Rosen could have possibly jeopardized national security by working sources pertaining to a story about North Korea he was working on. It is also thought that Rosen's parents phone records could have been seized.
  Welcome. We have officially entered a time when your government has ceased to give a damn about the Constitution. Again, a "bump in the road" for Team Obama. An old tattered document used only to wipe their shoes on. It is no secret that Barack Obama feels that a "flaw" in the Constitution is a lack of listing what the government can do for you. He is not interested in keeping the government in check, and focusing on those things in the Constitution that government is prevented from doing.
  One of those things, the first thing, is our freedom of the Press, and our freedom of speech. Both of those things have been under attack in the last few weeks. This should set off alarms and whistles like nobody's business for freedom loving Americans. When these most precious and basic of rights is threatened, at the same time no less, nothing good will come of it. So we must ask questions. Questions like, what does President Obama have to hide? Why does he feel that he must silence his political enemies? Are news outlets like the Associated Press and Fox News getting close to the truth on things like Benghazi and the IRS? Why won't other news outlets cover this? Because it's just Fox News so who really cares? They should care, and they should care a great deal. What happens when it is you? What happens when it is your rights on the chopping block?
  Ask the man on the street what he thinks about this. Chances are, he doesn't know. The average citizen is apathetic, not paying attention. If it is not going on in John Q. Public's neck of the woods, he probably doesn't have a clue.
  Because President Obama does not have to face the American voting public ever again, he and his underlings have proceeded to go about the "fundamental transformation of America" that he talked about before his first inauguration. That transformation is starting to look a lot like "the Chicago way." If Americans are not constantly vigilant in the protection of our rights, we are doomed at some point to lose them. Be it to a tyrannical government, or apathy.
  Here at home, a local journalist has been fired because he dared speak out about what happened to him at the hands of the IRS after a tough interview with the President. He has been fired. This is a man with 25 plus years of journalistic integrity and experience. Is this the new normal? Speak out against the government or voice political beliefs that differ from the government and lose your job? Get a visit from the IRS or better yet, the Justice Department?
  If so, we don't have much time.                

Outrage!

  One of my very best friends in the whole world has a saying. "some days, it's just fun to be me!" I am willing to bet that the IRS has not had one of those days since at least last Friday, when Lois Lerner, Director of the Exempt Organizations Division admitted to having targeted Tea Party and other Conservative groups who applied for tax exempt status. In fact, it was quite common knowledge amongst the employees at the nation's most "beloved?" agency.
  Today, President Obama accepted the resignation of interim IRS Commissioner Steve Miller. Miller was scheduled to leave in June. But Miller is just the tip of the iceberg. We now know that this was practiced as early as 2011, but most certainly was kicked into high gear during the 2012 election cycle. Around 500 groups are known to have been targeted, and made up what amounts to a Presidential enemies list.
  The President of course, claimed to be outraged, and for a moment, we will give him the benefit of the doubt. Now. Let's review. Barack Obama first learned the art of politics in Chicago. That takes this latest scandal in the ever growing list up a whole other notch. The phrase "the Chicago way" did not come about because the Daileys, Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Rahm Emanuel and the Obamas met for lunch every Sunday at Ed Debevic's. No. it came from the practice of, if your enemies bring a knife, you bring a gun. The art of the electioneering in Cook County Illinois is infamous for it's pulling and twisting of the rules like taffy. Obama's disdain and intolerance for people who dare to disagree with him is well known. There was an election coming. And if you can put a thumb on the people who are the most vocal in their opposition of you by bogging them down in a sea of paperwork so they don't have time or money for anything else, well, you do the math.

 It means you take out your enemies. No holds barred.
  These admissions are as serious as they are chilling. The targeting of American citizens for their political beliefs goes against the very idea and founding of America. The first Americans risked life and limb for the right to speak out against their government and it's officials when they disagreed with them, without the threat of retaliation and intimidation. That right has been compromised, and the scariest part of that is that it has been compromised by one of the most powerful and far reaching agencies of our government.
  This is just the beginning of this latest chapter in Obama Rules for Radicals. hearings are scheduled for Friday and there is surely more to come. But something is very wrong. If more of us don't shake ourselves awake and see the trouble, deep trouble that is looming before us, it may be too late.
  Just remember, the IRS will be the enforcement wing of Obama care. If they have a problem with a little Gadsden flag waving and Constitution reading, what's next? 
             

What Difference Does It Make?

  That was the famous, or now infamous declaration made by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her testimony before the House Oversight Committee back in January.
  On Wednesday, in front of that same committee, three men who have given their lives to diplomatic service, Gregory Hicks, Mark I. Thompson, and Eric Nordstrom, are now known as the "Benghazi Whistle blowers". What they should be known as are patriots, and most importantly, survivors of that horrible night.
  It has taken eight months for these men to be able to come forward to tell their stories. And what a story it is. It is a story of criminal negligence, gross incompetence, and hunger on the part of career politicians to maintain their power and get re-elected at any and all cost.
  We now know that a C130 aircraft was waiting in Tripoli, ready to come to the aid of those in the Consulate. They were told to stand down. Twice. By whom? We know that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice was trotted out before the American public the following Sunday morning with talking points that had been severely altered so that no references to Islamic terrorists, jihad, or Al Quaida existed. We now know that everyone in the Consulate knew this was an orchestrated attack from the beginning, and not some spontaneous protest over an internet video, the creator of which, still sits in jail, and records are sealed as to why he remains there. We know that Gregory Hicks, when he initially wanted to come forward, was instructed by someone in the State Department not to speak to anyone, even a Congressional delegation who visited Tripoli in October. When he did do so, he was effectively demoted. If everything was sunshine and happiness in the land of Obama, why was he instructed not to speak?
  The behavior of the Democrats was predictably sophomoric. Rep. William "Lacy" Clay D-MO, blamed the attacks on sequestration. Rep. Elijah Cummings D-MD, lamented that "death is a part of life." But perhaps the question of the day came from Eleanor Holmes Norton D-D.C., who just wanted to know, "what is the big deal?'
  So what difference does it make? What is the big deal? Well, ironically enough, it could make a whole lot of difference to Hillary Clinton in 2016. It is no secret that the Democratic nomination for President is hers if she wants it. It could make a difference to President Obama. As these hearings proceed, and there will be more to come after Wednesday, the more delays and stonewalling on the part of this administration only fuels more speculation as to any actual criminal wrong doing and a massive cover up becomes more and more obvious.

  It should make a world of difference to the American people. Our government has lied about, what amounts to an act of war. People died at the hands of Islamic terrorists and those in charge do not want to say so because it did not fit the pre-election narrative, that Osama Bin Laden had been killed on Barack Obama's watch, and that meant that Al Quaida was on the run. So why does this administration not fear any backlash from the people? Could it be that is part of a bigger problem? Someone once said, "When governments fear the people, there is liberty, when the people fear the government, there is tyranny." Little by little, tyranny seems to be sneaking up on us.
  The inquiry into what really happened in Benghazi Libya will continue. Maybe Hillary Clinton, President Obama, and the rest of this motley crew will finally figure out that it makes a hell of a lot of difference to the families of Glen Doherty, Shawn Smith, Ty Woods, and Ambassador Chris Stevens.