The #IRS, Lois Lerner, and exactly how much IS a “smidgen of corruption”, anyway?

The IRS is lying.

Lerner and Company obviously figure that if they just keep the lies going, they’ll outlast Congress and any potential media scrutiny. Can’t fault them for the strategy, as it’s certainly worked out fine for them with EVERY OTHER SCANDAL so far…

But make sure you aren’t fooled by their denials, not even for an instant. From ex-CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson:

“…These emails are not stored on a signal server or a single computer, so if there were a crash of a hard drive or some sort of system failure, they would still be retrievable. According to [John] Koskinen, the IRS Commissioner at the time, he told Congress that emails were stored offsite. That jives with people who said emails were backed up daily. There is a responsibility on the part of government officials to retain the data, make sure that is and can’t be lost in the system. If it’s true that the emails are lost, that’s quite a story in itself…” 

OUT: the “Rule Of Law” — IN: the “It-All-Depends-On-How-Obama-Feels-That-Day” of Law

Or put another way: the Rule of ‘Whim‘.

In light of the recent prisoner-swap of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, we need to once again discuss our President’s apparent disdain for the Constitution and its laws, which undergird our nation. Because to Barack, Rules and Laws are little more than speed-bumps.

Ever since his inauguration in 2009, Obama’s tenure has been one long game of ‘Can-You-Top-This?’ played at (and with) our nation’s capital. Just consider:

You’ll NEVER guess what Congressional Democrats are freaking-out over now…

If this is somehow a priority, then all of our country’s REAL problems must’ve already been fixed:

(via Real Clear Politics) – Several senators and a congressman want electronic cigarettes banned on the U.S. Capitol grounds.

In a letter sent yesterday to the House Office Building Commission and the Senate Committee on Rules, Sens. Dick Durbin, Richard Blumenthal, Sherrod Brown, Ed Markey, Tom Harkin and Barbara Boxer, along with retiring Rep. Henry Waxman, said that e-cigarettes should be treated the same way as cigarettes. The latter are currently banned at the Capitol, nearby office buildings, and within 25 feet of the entrance of those buildings.

In the letter, the Democratic lawmakers say it’s unclear whether e-cigarettes are safer than traditional cigarettes, and that banning them would be “an appropriate precautionary step to promote public health and maintain a safe environment for staff and visitors of the institution and its grounds.”

Congress vs. the American Voter

From Steve Kelley:

REMINDER: Congress is STILL unwilling to swallow their own #Obamacare ‘medicine’…

Via Ken Catalino at Townhall.com:

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Isn’t that odd? It’s almost as if Obamacare isn’t the wonderful elixir-of-life they keep telling us it is:

President Perfect changes the #Obamacare rules (again), to protect Congress and its staff

UPDATE – 9-24-13:

Coming down to crunch time, and Cruz is starting his filibuster in the Senate. Take just a moment to read the following post, and refresh your memory on just how thrilled our loving overlords in DC were to be living under the same laws as us “commoners”. 

—JTR

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I may be sick…

A few days ago, we had put up the following post:

“Typical: Congressional Leaders exempted their staffs from Obamacare…“

In it, we detailed how the staffs for both congressional and committee leadership were exempt from Obamacare, and how that was causing some consternation on Capitol Hill among everyone else’s staff.

Well, have no fear: Obama is here!!

From Politico, via Erika at HotAir:

The Office of Personnel Management, under heavy pressure from Capitol Hill, will issue a ruling that says the government can continue to make a contribution to the health care premiums of members of Congress and their aides, according to several Hill sources. …

Typical: Congressional Leaders exempted their staffs from #Obamacare…

If you read the New York Times this week, you may have been surprised to read the following story:

“Wrinkle in Health Law Vexes Lawmakers’ Aides“

Under a wrinkle that dates back to enactment of the law, members of Congress and thousands of their aides are required to get their coverage through new state-based markets known as insurance exchanges.

But the law does not provide any obvious way for the federal government to continue paying its share of the premiums for the comprehensive coverage.

As you might imagine, the members of Congress (and their aides) are none too happy at being subjected to the same rules the common rabble will soon be “enjoying”.

A Great First Step: Voting Down the bloated, pork-laden Farm Bill

I’m reminded of the old phrase attributed to the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu:

“A Journey of a Thousand Miles begins with a Single Step“

Whether most folks are aware of it or not, our nation just took that rather halting and awkward step.

Almost exactly a year ago, I had a fairly lengthy post titled “Food Stamp Fraud & Abuse: Business As Usual“, detailing the rampant waste, excessive pork and flat-out wrongheadedness in the so-called ‘Farm Bill’, and its unnamed-yet-primary component: Food Stamps, now known as SNAP. 

It appears that in the last twelve months, some of our politicians actually listened to their constituents, and (amazingly) managed to vote down this year’s bill.