The man who led the Internal Revenue Service when it was giving extra
scrutiny to tea party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt
status told Congress on Tuesday that he knew little about what was
happening while he was still commissioner.
Douglas Shulman, who vacated his position last November when his
five-year term expired, told the Senate Finance Committee he didn't
learn all the facts until he read last week's report by a Treasury
inspector general confirming the targeting strategy.
The parents and
guardians stood in the muddy grass outside a suburban Oklahoma City
church, listening as someone with a bullhorn called out the names of
children who were being dropped off - survivors of a deadly tornado
that barreled through their community.
For many
families, the ordeal ended in bear hugs and tears of joy as loved ones
reunited. Others were left to wait in the darkness, hoping for good
news while fearing the worst.
Daily Show Creator faces backlash over insensitive tweet She thought she
was making a topical political joke, but a co-creator of ‘The Daily
Show’ managed to enrage many of her followers after tweeting joke about
the Oklahoma tornado’s political motivations.
‘This tornado
is in Oklahoma so clearly it has been ordered to only target
conservatives,’ wrote comedian Lizz Winstead, in a tweet, around 3:30
Monday afternoon.
The tweet was
an apparent attempt at using the occasion of the May 20 twister to
comment on the scandal currently plaguing the IRS and Obama
administration.
CIA Honored Benghazi Chief in Secret Ceremony At a secret
February ceremony at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., the chief of the
CIA’s base in Benghazi the night of the 9/11 anniversary attacks there
was awarded one of the agency’s highest intelligence medals, according
to U.S. military and intelligence officials.
The honor given
behind closed doors to “Bob,” the officer who was in charge of the
Benghazi intelligence annex and CIA base that was attacked in the early
morning of September 12, 2012 and then abandoned for nearly three
weeks, illustrates the murky lines of command that preceded the attack,
and helped make it a politically volatile issue. While the State
Department was responsible for elements of the security for the
diplomatic mission at Benghazi, the mission itself was used primarily
for intelligence activities and most the U.S. officials there and at
the nearby annex were CIA officers who used State Department cover.
Apple CEO defends tax tactics at Senate hearing Apple CEO Tim
Cook went to Washington Tuesday and calmly defended the tech giant from
a scathing Senate panel's report concluded the company famed for its
iPhone and iPads was infamous for corporate tax avoidance.
Cook, Apple CFO
Peter Oppenheimer and Phillip Bullock, the company's head of tax
operations, were sworn in shortly before noon as the star witnesses
testifying in a public hearing showdown with the Senate Permanent Subc
A Foreign
Ministry spokesman said Tuesday that an impending meeting between
President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama will aid in
the construction of a new type of relationship between the two
countries.
The summit, the
first of its kind to be held since Xi took office in March, would be
conducive to strengthening strategic communication, increasing mutual
trust, deepening bilateral cooperation and managing differences,
spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular press conference.
Damascus opponents demand guarantees Assad will quit Syrian
opposition representatives have demanded international guarantees that
President Bashar al-Assad step down in any peace deal, former
opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib said on Tuesday, as Russia and
the United States step up efforts to organise a peace conference.
The demand was
one of eight points set out in a roadmap agreed by delegates to a
two-day Syrian National Consultation meeting in Madrid, Khatib said on
his Facebook page.
Court rules bin Laden death photos can stay secret A federal
appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the U.S. government had properly
classified top secret more than 50 images of al Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden taken after his death, and that the government did not need to
release them.
The unanimous
ruling by three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit rejected a request for the images by a conservative
nonprofit watchdog group.
Unions Turn Against Obamacare Fearing Lost Coverage The White House
is losing support for Obamacare from some leading labor unions that are
concerned their members could lose healthcare coverage once the program
is fully implemented.
The United Food
and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) said it is worried
that its members will actually lose healthcare coverage they have now
once the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented early next year,
reports The Hill.
The unfolding
IRS scandal is a symptom, not the disease.For decades, campaign-finance
reform zealots have sought to limit core political speech through
spending limits and disclosure requirements. More recently, they have
claimed that it is wrong and dangerous for tax-exempt entities to
engage in political speech.
The Obama
administration shares these views, especially when conservative,
small-government organizations are involved, and the IRS clearly got
the message. While the agency must be investigated and reformed, the
ultimate cure for these abuses is to unshackle political speech by all
groups, including tax-exempt ones, from arbitrary and unconstitutional
government regulation.
Ok, we've
learned our lesson. Last week we tried to give the Obama Administration
the benefit of the doubt over its far-reaching secret subpoenas to the
Associated Press, and now we learn that was the least of its offenses
against a free press. No attempt to be generous to this crowd goes
unpunished.
The latest
news, disclosed by the Washington Post on Monday, is that the Justice
Department targeted a Fox News reporter as a potential "co-conspirator"
in a leak probe. The feds have charged intelligence analyst Stephen
Jin-Woo Kim with disclosing classified information to Fox reporter
James Rosen. That's not a surprise considering that this Administration
has prosecuted more national-security cases than any in recent history.
Medal of
Honor
The
Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an
enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the
Armed Services of the United States.
GeneTrerally presented to its recipient by the President of the
United States of America in the name of Congress.
The
first award of the Medal of Honor was made March 25, 1863 to Private
JACOB PARROTT.
The last award of the Medal of Honor was made September 15, 2011
to Sergeant DAKOTA MEYER.
Since
then there have been:
• 3458 recipients of the Medal of Honor.
• Today there are 85 Living Recipients of the
Medal of Honor.
CAPTAIN HUMBERT R ('Rocky'). VERSACE
UNITED STATES ARMY
for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
Captain Humbert R. Versace distinguished himself by extraordinary
heroism during the period of 29 October 1963 to 26 September 1965,
while serving as S-2 Advisor, Military Assistance Advisory Group,
Detachment 52, Ca Mau, Republic of Vietnam. While accompanying a
Civilian Irregular Defense Group patrol engaged in combat operations in
Thoi Binh District, An Xuyen Province, Captain Versace and the patrol
came under sudden and intense mortar, automatic weapons, and small arms
fire from elements of a heavily armed enemy battalion. As the battle
raged, Captain Versace, although severely wounded in the knee and back
by hostile fire, fought valiantly and continued to engage enemy
targets. Weakened by his wounds and fatigued by the fierce firefight,
Captain Versace stubbornly resisted capture by the over-powering Viet
Cong force with the last full measure of his strength and ammunition.
Taken prisoner by the Viet Cong, he exemplified the tenets of the Code
of Conduct from the time he entered into Prisoner of War status.
Captain Versace assumed command of his fellow American soldiers,
scorned the enemy's exhaustive interrogation and indoctrination
efforts, and made three unsuccessful attempts to escape, despite his
weakened condition which was brought about by his wounds and the
extreme privation and hardships he was forced to endure. During his
captivity, Captain Versace was segregated in an isolated prisoner of
war cage, manacled in irons for prolonged periods of time, and placed
on extremely reduced ration. The enemy was unable to break his
indomitable will, his faith in God, and his trust in the United States
of America. Captain Versace, an American fighting man who epitomized
the principles of his country and the Code of Conduct, was executed by
the Viet Cong on 26 September 1965. Captain Versace's gallant actions
in close contact with an enemy force and unyielding courage and bravery
while a prisoner of war are in the highest traditions of the military
service and reflect the utmost credit upon himself and the United
States Army.
