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IRS Division Head Suspended

2013-05-24T00:28:56Z

Lois Lerner, the IRS chief of the tax exempt division, who pulled off the trick of testifying and then declaring the Fifth Amendment is gone, on administrative leave. Neither party showed any sympathy when she had her say, and then got up, declaring the Fifth, leaving before committee members had a chance to air their questions. Republican Senator Charles Grassley wants her off administrative leave and off the government payroll, saying, "She shouldn't be in limbo indefinitely on the taxpayers' dime." Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Darrel Issa may bring her back, saying she lost her right to invoke the Fifth when she spoke Wednesday. "Everything she said under oath is subject to perjury. This is not one of those things where you can put the genie back in the bottle." Lerner claimed under oath that she had not lied. On May 10th Lerner said she learned of targeting when conservatives complained last year. A Treasury Department i g (inspector general) conflicts with her assessment, showing she not only knew long before but tried to change the language. Democrats and Republicans are in agreement Lerner had lied. Her Wednesday testimony "I did not lie," broke her Fifth Amendment declaration which followed. If Issa calls her back she could be charged with the criminal offense of perjury. Lerner could be the third IRS executive to lose her job over Tea Party targeting. Acting commissioner Steven Miller was fired, then Joseph Grant, Lerner's boss at the Tax Exempt division, will leave on the 3rd of june.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

IRS Denial, Denial, Denial Before House Committee

2013-05-22T20:47:55Z

The resigned head of the IRS division considering which groups get a no-tax free ride and those who don't, committed an unprecedented performance before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. When you take the Fifth Amendment you don't answer anything, but Lois Lerner got her two cents in after declaring the "right to remain silent." I've done nothing wrong. I have broken no laws. I have not violated any IRS rules and regulations and I have not provided false information to this or any other Congressional committee." Then she marched out. Wait a minute, "You don't get to tell your side of the story and then not be subjected to cross-examination. She ought to stand here and answer our questions," cried Republican committee member Trey Gowdy of South Carolina. Next up was former tax chief Douglas Schulman who was equally hit by Democrats as well as Republicans. Schulman, commissioner when most of the conservative tax attacks were made in 2011 and 12, acted bored to the barrage of questions showing inconsistencies in the chief's letters and testimonies. Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings attacked the casual Schulman, "I believe there was gross incompetence and mismanagement." Another Democrat, Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts said only a special prosecutor would be able to force the truth out of the IRS executives. Ohio Republican Jim Jordan tried to connect Obama to the scandal, when he reminded Schulman had been at the White House 118. Schulman casually responded he never thought to bring up IRS targeting. Republicans can't believe a chief executive wasn't told by either White House aides or visiting IRS officials. Not once since the targeting revelation has the president said he should have been told. As press secretary Jay Carney remarked flippantly, "Why should we tell him, he probably wouldn't do anything about it."

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

IRS Tax-Exempt Chief to Take the Fifth

2013-05-22T04:02:24Z

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members had been saying Lois Lerner was lying last week and now the head of the IRS division on tax exempt organizations has decided to take the Fifth Amendment before her testimony today, Wednesday. Her attorney, William Taylor wrote the committee, she had "committed no crime or made any misrepresentations," but "under the circumstances she has no choice but to take this course."

Ms. Lerner still under subpoena from her May 10th appearance, will be reading the Fifth, against self-incrimination before today's House committee hearing. There are more bureaucrats in jail for obstruction of justice--lying before Congress or a court--than for committing the act that brought them to court in the first place. It's often been said Richard Nixon would have avoided a forced resignation, had he admitted wrong doing and burned the incriminating tapes on the White House lawn. The denial decision then is similar to the present Obama White House tactic. Lerner's Fifth, now, will do her no good if she is caught in a lie from her Congressional testimony on May 10th. A Treasury inspector general's audit shows Lerner knew about the targeting much earlier than she had testified. Yesterday, 2 IRS executives before the Senate Finance Committee, testified that nothing about the targeting was ever mentioned to anyone at the White House. And then on Monday, press secretary Jay Carney said it would be "improper," to have told the president. Then the alarming judgement followed: "He (Obama) probably wouldn't have done anything about it." Seems like "everybody" knew except the chief executive who was kept in the dark. Who's running the show at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue anyway?

Immigration Bill Up for Full Senate Consideration

2013-05-22T02:10:35Z

A pleasure to see bipartisan action in the Senate Judiciary Committee; a 13 to 5 vote which brings the immigration bill up for full Senate consideration. But to get it there Tuesday night, same sex consideration had to go. Committee chairman Patrick Leahy achieved passage after agreeing NOT to enter the so-called green card for same sex partners as an amendment. Leahy took President Obama's directive to forgo the amendment to achieve passage. The Vermont Democrat as well as the president sacrificed the controversial amendment for enough Republican votes to achieve passage. New York Democrat Charles Schumer explained, "as much as it pains me, I cannot support this amendment or it will bring down this bill." Minnesota Democrat Al Franken observed, "This is the definition of Hobson's choice. In my bones, I believe in equality." But with a warning Republicans would abandon a compromise, if same sex rights remained within the bill, Democrats bit the bullet. Senator Leahy is expected to revive the same sex amendment once the long debate starts on the Senate floor. The bill as it stands, clears the way for a maximum of 180-Thousand highly skilled foreign workers, but only when employers cannot find American workers qualified to fill those jobs. Republican Orrin Hatch's amendment cuts that number when skilled Americans are available. Says Hatch, the Senate bill with same sex out and American worker protections in, now has a greater chance of passing the conservative House of Representatives.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

Sr. Advisors WithHold IRS Targeting From Obama

2013-05-21T10:20:39Z

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has got to go--and the problem is not all his. The millionaire with a 172-thousand dollar salary from you and me has the impossible job of trying to make the president look good as the chief executive faces IRS corruption, secret monitoring of reporters, and of course, Benghazi. Too many lies--to the point reporters can't believe the truth when they hear it at the daily press briefings in the White House basement. ABC's Jonathan Karl counts 12 "significant" revisions to Benghazi, starting with "The attack was not anti-American," "...was not of the Al Qaeda associated group Ansar al Sharia." "The only revision the president made was when the name of the Benghazi mission was changed from consulate to diplomatic facility," "It will take quite some time before our final Benghazi report," to "I'm not going to talk about Benghazi, it's too far in the past." And now, after arguing with veteran CBS News correspondent Bill Plante "for a lack of understanding," Carney told the press Monday that senior advisors to the president knew a month before the president and the public were told of IRS targeting of conservative groups. But get this: Carney says: The president would not have acted even if he had known. "Obviously that would be totally inappropriate," says the press secretary In appropriate for the president to act on IRS targeting? Carney's background is surprisingly quite impressive. A Yale graduate in Russian, he became a Moscow correspondent for Time Magazine, then Washington Bureau chief, among other assignments. He's married to ABC news editor Claire Shipman, which makes the press corps suspicious of the source of some ABC News leaks. Carney's overstayed his welcome. He's got to go so the press can once again get the "truth and the whole truth." And he better not be too tough on the press in his remaining days at the White House, if he wants to rejoin them when he's told to resign his present post.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

Dreamliners Back In Air After 4 Months

2013-05-20T11:34:50Z

United is taking its 787s back in the air today, after a puzzling 4-months for Boeing engineers who did not find the cause of a battery fire on one, parked at Boston's Logan Airport and an emergency landing in Japan 9 days later. Fire safety is a major concern of pilots, as fire eats the oxygen needed in the cabin where the passengers are seated. Boeing will have a tough time assuring the safety of the lightweight jet, particularly to the Japanese public as both troubled passenger jets were owned by Japanese airlines. The Japanese public had its fill of television pictures with melted batteries following the 2 incidents. There were 50 operational 787s in the world in January, with 48 flying without incident. Ahead of America's launch today, Ethiopian Airlines was first to go, with the initial post-grounding flight the end of April. The Travel Insider and Hamilton's Leeham (industry) News found a number of business travelers reluctant to fly the 787, saying they'll be waiting for 6 months before stepping on a Dreamliner. The question in Bloomberg Business Week today is: "Would you get on a 787 or would you remember the pictures of charred batteries and think twice." Since Boeing was unable to locate the problem, it had replaced the steel cabinet holding the 8 batteries with a stronger titanium one in case there is a fire. Boeing also cut a vent in the skin of the plane where flames and smoke could be shot out of the Dreamliner, this protecting the passengers. As the jets come back on line, they'll be limited to flights within 3 hours of an airport. Boeing had sold the jet on fuel efficiency over long routes. Clearance for those long and remote routes will have to wait awhile.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

Chinese Hackers Are Back

2013-05-20T08:42:01Z

The Chinese People's Liberation Army unit, cyber number 61398 is back at it after a 3-month respite, attacking many of the same American companies it did before. The Obama plan to "shame and name," the attackers failed to shut down the spying forever. Apparently, the Chinese Army crew in a modest 12-story building in the center of the Shanghai business district, shut down only to come back up with a different MO. China isn't admitting a thing but did agree to open a new meeting group for discussions. Former national intelligence director Donald Blair says, "Jawboning alone won't work. Something has to change China's calculus." Chinese organizations outside the Beijing government accuse the United States of doing the same when the US temporarily shut down the Iranian drive for nuclear weapons last year. The party voice of the Chinese government, "The People's Daily," named the US as "the real hacking empire." which continues political subversion against other countries." While the names of hit companies haven't been revealed, 3-thousand Mandiant computer experts in the past found Coca Cola was invaded when it was attempting to buy a Chinese fruit juice company. RSA, a supplier of security products for American defense contractors, such as Lockheed Martin was hit in the past and the Chinese are always snooping into the American power grid. National security advisor Thomas Donilon says Chinese cyberspace will be a major topic when President Obama travels to China for the upcoming summit.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

Obama Enjoys Public Backing But For How Long?

2013-05-20T06:37:34Z

What are we going to do with the second term problem? From Watergate on, second term presidents from Richard Nixon, presidents have had trouble with their second 4 years, and this goes back to the early seventies when President Nixon was sent packing back to his home San Clemente, California. Problems accumulate over years and by year 5, a president's agenda is sidetracked to scandal. But popularity often continues long after scandals become known. Without a monarchy to represent the nation, Americans tend to combine love of country with the executive office, certainly not the intention of the writers of the Constitution. President Obama's popularity remains high, despite this past week, known as "Hell Week," at the White House. Obama tacked on a couple more points to 51% in favor, according to Gallup. President George Bush had a 45 in his fifth year, when lies about Iraq and Valerie Plame's outing were revealed. Bill Clinton garnered a full 60% during his year of Monica Lewinsky and impeachment in the House of Representatives. Ronald Reagan's fifth was also 60%, at the time of Iran-Contra. Seems it takes a couple of years for the public to accept the downfall of a president. The media are reporting. but the public for a while isn't taking the scandals seriously. By the 8th and final year those support numbers erode with even Reagan dropping from 60 to 52. The public tell Gallup IRS and Benghazi are serious allegations but presently continue to support the president. If history is correct, that support will gradually evaporate to a much lower rate by the 8th year of President Obama as well. By the 8th year only 28 percent were backing President Bush.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

The "Law is Irrelevant," says Obama Top Advisor

2013-05-20T05:31:50Z

Those are the words White House senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer tried to clarify after being President Obama's point man on the 5 Sunday talk shows. When asked on ABC's "This Week," if any laws had been broken in the issues of IRS targeting, Benghazi, and reporter intimidation, Pfeiffer responded, "I can't speak to the law here." The White House official could have stopped there, but went on, "The law is irrelevant," That drew immediate reaction from head of the House conservatives, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, calling the comment, "Shocking, but quite telling that the (Obama) senior advisor would say that 'the law is irrelevant,' in relation to the IRS scandal." Congressman and Republican candidate for vice president in last year's election, Paul Ryan, recited the well-known clarifying questions that helped wrapped up the Nixon Watergate scandal, 'Who knew?, When did they know?' and then added a couple of his own, "Why did they do this? How high up in the government did it go?"

Well, Sunday, the IRS part of the triple disclosure got as close to the Obama oval office as the president's chief attorney, Kathryn Ruemmler who learned of IRS targeting, week's before the public was told. Instead of answering, Pfeiffer charged Republicans with being "offensive," and "absurd," in their attack on the president. Whatever you call it, the president's administration will be grilled again, on Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee and then on Wednesday by the House Oversight Committee...and that's only inning two of a long contest.

IRS Knew Last Year Conservatives Attacked

2013-05-17T18:44:29Z

The House Ways and Means Committee got an earful Friday. The Treasury inspector general for tax administration testified that Obama administration officials were told during last year's reelection campaign about allegations of specific groups being targeted. J. Russell George reported to Treasury's general counsel on June 4th and "then shortly thereafter," to Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin. George says he didn't spell out that targeting is improper. But this gives House Republicans what they wanted, though the testimony today didn't prove Obama officials knew conservative groups, such as the Tea Party were singled out for tougher questioning when they sought tax exemption. Committee Chairman Dave Camp of Michigan said "This appears to be just the latest example of a culture cover-up--and political intimidation--in this administration. It seems like the truth is hidden from the American people just long enough to make it through the election." Acting Internal Revenue Steven Miller who President Obama asked for and got his resignation Wednesday called the agency's action "obnoxious." He said the "extra scrutiny" order for applicants with the word "Tea Party" or "patriots," was simply a foolish mistake. Miller claims he did not intend to mislead Congress even though he did not report the targeting by the Cincinnati IRS unit, checking the 70-thousand applications for tax exemption. The Miller testimony, however did not take the controversy to the White House oval office or to any officials outside the IRS.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

Moscow Sends Syria Advanced Missiles

2013-05-17T06:17:29Z

The United States and Russia have shown more cooperation over home-grown terrorism, since the Boston explosions. But there's virtually no accord of any sort over the complex issue of Syria with Russia arguing a rebel win could possibly make matters worse than the present Assad regime, which it backs. That may be true, because Al Qaeda males up an unknown portion of the anti-Assad rebellion, meaning part of our financial support going to the group that blew up the World Trade Center 12 years ago. The Israelis, with US support days ago, conducted a successful air attack destroying Russian-made missiles at the main Damascus airport before they could be moved to Hisbollah rebels occupying parts of Lebanon. The successful raid encouraged the Obama Administration's idea that American air raids could be a potent way to help the Syrian fighters defeat the Assad dictatorship, without putting US troops on the ground. The war has been at a stalemate for a few months now with the rebels unable to move past Assad defenses and into the capital. That hoped-for end-of-the-war idea has come to a disappointing end with Russia now sending advanced missiles that are thought to easily target US aircraft. In addition, Russia is sending anti-ship cruise missiles to Assad, stalemating the war, without hope of a resolution. Dividing Syria into 2 parts has so far been flatly rejected by the Assad regime. Jane's highly respected International Defense Review calls the Yakhont missile system a "real ship killer." Russia showed its serious backing of Assad by sending about 25 ships from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean earlier this year. Jane's says the new missiles with advanced radar can evade a ship's defenses as it approaches its target with either explosives or an armor-piercing warhead from as far as 180 miles. Russia answered US and Israeli requests not to send advanced S-300 air defense weapons to Iran. Russia agreed and then sent them to Syria, making American air intervention extremely precarious. The only fore-seeable hope is that Russia and the United States, Assad and Syrian opposition are tentatively scheduled to sit down at the same table in early June. Russia claims the issue is way-beyond the mandate of the United Nations.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

Obama Loses Commentator Chris Matthews

2013-05-16T19:32:31Z

MSNBC's political commentator, Chris Matthews, in 2008 was so attracted to a political speech of incoming President Obama, he said, "a thrill is going up my leg." Last night, on his "Hardball" show, Matthews lost his enthusiasm, sounding more like a conservative than the liberal that he is, saying: "Obama doesn't like dealing with other politicians--including his own cabinet, members of Congress, either party." "....doesn't like the press. He likes to write the speeches, likes to rewrite what Jon Favreau and others wrote for the first draft."

Matthews continued, "He likes going on the road, campaigning, visiting businesses like he does every couple of days, somewhere in Ohio or somewhere."

"What part does he like?"

"He doesn't like lobbying for bills he cares about. He doesn't like selling to the press. He doesn't like giving orders or giving somebody power to give orders."

Matthews concludes: "He doesn't seem to like being an executive."

Republicans air these complaints all the time, but it sure is news when talk show host Chris Matthews turns coat

Obama Releases Benghazi CIA-State E-mails.

2013-05-16T10:22:06Z

The White House is finally releasing about a hundred pages of e-mails between the State Department and some of the top people in the Central Intelligence Agency. These e-mails show strong disagreements on what to release and what to withhold from the public on the day of the attack, September 11, 2012, a 9-11 anniversary. According to administration officials, General David Petraeus, the CIA director at the time of the attack, disagreed with his deputy, Michael Morell who deleted warnings of extremist threats in Benghazi. If true, this substantiates the White House excuse that it was just following the CIA directive and made virtually no changes in the talking points. Morrell overrode his superior's disagreement and a pristine explanation was repeated on 5 Sunday Talk shows by UN Ambassador Susan Rice. In effect. she was saying "We didn't know anything about any Al Qaeda-related terrorists in the Benghazi area at the time of the killings." The White House is making the e-mails public because reporters had been pressuring for a release of all the messages since Republicans had picked up a part of the exchanges. In releasing the e-mails, the White House is supporting what it's been saying all along, that it was the CIA and not the president who orchestrated what the public was given and what was withheld. Rice followed her orders, claiming it was just a bunch of rowdies, irritated over an anti-Muslim video that set them off--and not the fact that they were well organized terrorists in the Benghazi area that day. The White House says the president mediated the opinions of State and the CIA, but finally came down more on the side of Morrell at the CIA. Morrell omitted evidence that the attack was from a well-organized terrorist group, knowing that the CIA would be criticized for not protecting the killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and 3 American aides. Morrell had taken out of the talking points a reference that Libya was awash with weapons and fighters, making it a dangerous place.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

Obama Fires Top IRS Chief

2013-05-16T04:05:40Z

It's getting a lot like Watergate with Nixon firing staff members in an attempt to rise above the din. It didn't work then. Will it with President Obama? IRS acting commissioner Steve Miller took Wednesday night's hit accepting his resignation at the request of the president. Miller, a 25-yerar IRS vet is blamed for being over-aggressive when taking on Tea Party groups. The resignation isn't much punishment for Miller as he has told the IRS he was planning to leave the Obama administration in early June. The ex-acting commissioner goes before the House Ways and Means Committee Friday, the first of many expected committee grillings. The administration's immediate defense that is was just the "little people," in the IRS who carried out the overly aggressive attacks, has vanished with the firing of the top IRS chief. Miller a good soldier to the end, wrote to the IRS staff, "I believe the service will benefit from having a new acting commissioner." The nation's top cop, Attorney General Eric Holter is warning IRS officials , the big guys, the Justice Department will be looking for any false statements to see if any IRS executives had committed a crime. What happen to the little guys who just a couple days ago were supposedly totally guilty of the whole mess? Well that didn't jell with the public, so the new test is to see if the public will buy top IRS resignations. Sure is similar when close confidants, Halderman and Erlichman were sacrificed to protect President Nixon. Though they went to jail, it didn't save the Nixon presidency. It was Miller who was aware of IRS political corruption over a year ago and then a month later assured Senators there was no unfair overly aggressive grilling of Tea Party tax-exempt applications.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

The Jinxed Ship. It Keeps Giving Trouble

2013-05-16T02:54:37Z

^{The headlines are gone; the passengers are back home in their various states, but like a bad seed the Triumph can't stop getting into more trouble. The Carnival cruise corporation nightmare on the high seas had 42-hundred passengers adrift for days in the Gulf of Mexico. While waiting for help the passengers dined on smelly food to the stench of leaking raw sewage last February. A towline broke extending the nightmarish existence a few more days. While Carnival PR pumped out propaganda, management was enjoying the Miami Heat in the air conditioned basketbal arena. The contrast of some passengers expecting the dream trip of a lifetime and instead getting trapped among raw sewage was fodder for television comedians. One actor playing the part of a cruise director announced the ship's palatial night club had been transformed into a toilet. When the powerless ship was finally pulled into the port at Mobile, Alabama, the Triumph broke mooring and smashed into another ship slicing a 20-foot gash. Then as work progressed explosions from fuel barges on the city's river forced an evacuation of repair crews on the Triumph. It's encouraging that a Carnival spokesperson says the cruise line will do "everything possible" to prevent another happening like the Triumph. Carnival spends more money lobbying Congress than any other ship line. Since Congress doesn't require a report on the number of accidents at sea they are not reported. T}hose on the internet gave the first bit of public information that the Triumph was adrift because of a fire in the engine room.

Europeans, NOT US make Bangladesh Safer.

2013-05-15T08:48:23Z

Wal-Mart refuses to cooperate with a growing list of retail clothiers who have signed on board this week to a safe building code for the thousands of factories where much of our clothing is manufactured. Instead Walmart claims it would have factory monitors determine the safety of the 279 Bangladesh factories it has under contract. While arguing Walmart knew of no orders at the collapsed Rana Plaza which crushed 11-hundred workers 2 weeks ago, The Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity presented papers and pictures documenting the opposite. The papers handed the New York Times show a Canadian Walmart contractor producing jeans at Ether Tex factory on the 5th floor of the flattened building, last year. Walmart says it wants to decide on its own the safetof all the factory buildings it's using in the poverty stricken nation. Going alone, saves Walmart millions as there is no commitment to pay for any needed improvements. Walmart's practice has been to terminate contracts whenever dangerous conditions are found. In contrast, European retailers such as Benetton, Marks and Spencer, el Corte Ingles, and PVH, the parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger have signed on to pay for fire safety improvements. American companies in general have little involvement in making the Bangladesh factories safer place in which to work. To therm, it's a burdensom practice. It's the Europeans leading the way. Another American company, The Gap refuses to sign, claiming it's fearing lawsuits. The Worker Rights Consortium says "The Gap wants and unenforceable agreement...to renege on promises at will."

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

Big Retailers Unite on Bengladesh Safety Reforms

2013-05-14T02:48:05Z

The Bangladesh building collapse is a wakeup call for retailing giants. Nickel and diming isn't as important to the world's customers as retailers thought just a month ago. The body recovery operation continues as the count passes one thousand-one hundred. Lead by Swedish retailer H&M and Zara, the Netherlands C&A, British Primark and Tesco, PVH, the parent of Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Izod, and the German retailer Tchibo all agreed today to sign a binding commitment to contribute toward fire and building safety at the Bengladesh clothing factories. There ave been many fires and building collapses over recent years, but none as punishing as the one on April, 24th, 2013. Wal-Mart known as the toughest bargainer of them all was one of the first to go it alone, agreeing to pay an unidentified amount for fire education. Gap is refusing to sign, saying it will loan 22-Million for building improvements. Benetton, Cato Fashions, Children's Place, el Corte Ingles, Loblaws and Primark are being pressed to join the safety movement since they received garments from the now destroyed Rana Plaza building. Until the horrific deaths the retailers looked the other way, threatening to pull their business, often to China, if they couldn't beat out the clothing manufacturers for another penny or two. True, saving a nickel on a million shirts is to keep 50-thousand dollars, but the public outrage threatens to blackball stores that refuse to go along with this reformation, It's therefor now better business to go along with the movement, so we are not sure how much benevolence if any is in their decision. Too bad so many had to die before the ignored human element was finally recognized. Only the deaths stopped the crazy beyond reason bargaining; threats to take their business elsewhere if the manufacturers didn't surrender more and yet more pennies per piece. Building safety was sacrificed and in this case workers were inadvertently ordered to their deaths under threat of losing their jobs. Owners ignored signs of serious cracking since the day before. Because a minimum wage in Bangladesh is only 9 dollars a week, no need to worry about a huge clothing price jack-up from the world's largest garment manufacturing country, next to China.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

The IRS Political Investigation Widens

2013-05-14T02:28:18Z

The Internal Revenue Service exuberant attack on the conservative Tea Party is the tip of the iceberg. The probe by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration shows the IRS was also going after those conservatives concerned about government spending, debt or taxes, and backers of "make America a better place to live," The president in his midday news conference said he's going to get to the bottom of the IRS violation of singling out members of the opposition party, but the story seems to be getting ahead of him with these new disclosures. The president's spin that it was only a few low-level IRS employees conflicts with the Wall Street Journal's finding that a high-ranking IRS official knew about the inappropriate targeting about 2 years ago. That was a full year before the then IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman assured Congress that there had been no targeting of conservative groups. The inspector general's office is presently running an audit and is expected to issue it's findings later this week. The IRS, getting a preview says the report will say the mistakes were not politically motivated and only low-level workers only. Shulman is talking now, but in was a little over a year ago when he flatly denied any targeting of conservative groups--his answer to about a dozen conservative groups claiming they had been hit by "excessive and inappropriate" questioning. Republican Congressman Darrell Issa of California told NBC, Sunday "There has to be accountability for the people who did it....for the people who were telling lies about it being done."

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

Sharif's, the Surprising Winner in Pakistan

2013-05-13T00:15:32Z

The mercurial Pakistanis have done it again. In a land where dictators regularly change places with democratically-elected parliamentarians, ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif is about to once again take control of the government following a second military coup that ousted him from power 14 years ago. In between is the 2007 Benazir Bhutto assassination which was being investigated by Chaudhry Zulfiker Ali, until he was assassinated last year. The former dictator the US dealt with during the Afghan war, Pervez Musharraf failed in a recent takeover attempt and was placed under house arrest. This weekend's election attracted Pakistan's young and middle class in record numbers for former cricket star Imran Khan who was the predicted winner only hours before the votes were counted. Khan's ratings increased even further after he fell 15 feet off an election platform last Tuesday. Enthusiastic mass rallies predicted a victory for the man with movie star appeal, but once again nothing is a sure thing in eclectic Pakistan. With Khan coming in second, winner Sharif and Khan will share a common goal to try to deal rather than fight Pakistan's Taliban insurgents. That totally conflicts with the American policy of sending drones in the Taliban region along the Afghan border. Khan was campaigning on promising to shoot down any American jets or drones. An American withdrawal from Afghanistan has depended on forcing the Taliban, militarily, to the bargaining table. There were Taliban attacks throughout the campaign, but the two candidates maintain a talk-not fight position. The Sunni-Shiite conflict is represented only by minority candidates in Parliament. Pakistan's military has been suspicious of Sharif since he turned against them during his many years of exile in Saudi Arabia. After all, it was the military under dictator General Mohammad Zia un-Haq, which initiated Sharif's political career. One encouraging sign is this is the first time since the 1970s when one civilian government has peacefully completed a full 5-year term and then peacefully handed ther government over to another freely elected government. A good sign in a Muslim country holding nuclear weapons.

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012

20 nations plus all EU give boot to Monsanto

2013-05-12T06:26:14Z

Monsanto doesn't have the government control over those countries that it does here in the United States and Canada, so citizens of those countries, including China, Russia, India and all the major nations in Latin America are freed from Monsanto's bullying practices such as now endured by little Vermont where the seed giant threatens to sue each and every adult in the state if Governor Peter Shumlin dares sign a bill that would require GMO (genetically modified organisms) food labeling. The cozy White House-Monsanto relationship started back in the Bush and Clinton years, but the man in the office now, who campaigned with environmental promises has pushed the Monsanto love affair beyond anything his predecessors imagined. Take his recent signing of HR 933/735 which exempts Monsanto from any obligation to test and prove GMOs are safe to consume. And if some other organization can prove a danger, Monsanto can continue to grow and sell genetically modified food while that drags on in court much as the tobacco industry did for over 10 years. But unlike the tobacco companies which were socked Millions, Monsanto can walkaway, keeping every penny it made while making us sick. The name of this new Act signed by President Obama as a rider to an emergency spending bill protects Monsanto but not the millions of us in any way. Meantime, Monsanto gets our dollars while we walk a tight-rope, gambling with our health. Obama has been extremely generous in providing several big-time Monsanto executives high government positions where they can protect their former company from adverse legislation. Michael R. Taylor, now Deputy Commissioner for foods and veterinary medicines is just one example. One of the small voices against this ever-burgeoning leviathan is Food Democracy Now! which issued the following statement after the Obama signing: "If leadership in Washington can betray the public behind closed doors, it's time that the American public gain the right to transparency about what they are eating and feeding their families." And I could add, like people in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Madiera, New Zealand, Peru, State of South Australia, Russia, France and Switzerland--all of which enjoy the safety of GMO labeling

All Rights Reserved © Bill Deane, 2012