Mission Statement: This blog reviews the news of the day in light of 242 years of American history. "Nationalism," a modern day pejorative, has been our country's politic throughout history, until 2008. Obama changed that narrative. Trump is seeking a return to our historical roots. Midknight Review supports this return to normality.
With every large crowd of supporters -- larger crowds than anyone on the campaign trail including Republicans and Hillary -- he raises concerns about Hillary's viability as a candidate.
He is drawing enormous crowds—11,000 in Phoenix, 8,000 in Dallas, 2,500
in Council Bluffs, Iowa—the largest turnout of any candidate from any
party in the first-to-vote primary state. He has raised $15 million in
mostly small donations, to Hillary Clinton’s $45 million—and unlike her,
he did it without holding a single fundraiser.
Editor's note: This past Wednesday, the AP tells us he, also, spoke to a crowd of close to 11,000 in Wisconsin.
As Sanders has gained steam as a candidate, the press has done its best to put him through the conventional wringer. It has dug around in his past—finding that the son widely thought to be from his first marriage was actually born out of wedlock to another woman. It has pointed out the deviations from liberal orthodoxy in his record, like his longtime support of gun rights. And it has noted his greatest weakness, a lack of appeal among the party’s minority base; the day after his speech in Iowa, Sanders is interrupted by Black Lives Matter protesters at a liberal convention in Phoenix, and criticized when he responds dismissively.
Editor's note: This past Wednesday, the AP tells us he, also, spoke to a crowd of close to 11,000 in Wisconsin.
As Sanders has gained steam as a candidate, the press has done its best to put him through the conventional wringer. It has dug around in his past—finding that the son widely thought to be from his first marriage was actually born out of wedlock to another woman. It has pointed out the deviations from liberal orthodoxy in his record, like his longtime support of gun rights. And it has noted his greatest weakness, a lack of appeal among the party’s minority base; the day after his speech in Iowa, Sanders is interrupted by Black Lives Matter protesters at a liberal convention in Phoenix, and criticized when he responds dismissively.
Remember Dan Price? Of course not and five years from now, he will be long gone. Why? Because . . . . . . .
<<<< Remember Dan Price? Of course not and five years from now, he will be long gone. Why? Because he decided to run his company on the "fairminded" principles of socialism. Good bet he has taken his company over the cliff. Certianly, he has to change his ways. Lesson learned . . . . all you Capitalist haters.
Just three months ago, Dan Price was a progressive hero. To much fanfare, Price, CEO of Seattle-based Gravity Payments, announced he was raising the minimum salary for employees of his company to $70,000, and taking a $930,000 pay cut himself to help pay for his new minimum wage. Three months later, the experiment does not go well.
Price has had to rent out his own house to help cover his bills. In addition, the New York Times reports Gravity lost two of its most valuable employees whose departure was “spurred in part by their view that it was unfair to double the pay of some new hires while the longest-serving staff members got small or no raises.”
Most of the company’s profits, $2.2 million last year, were reinvested in the company not to expand or innovate, but to cover the new minimum wage.
Price’s brother and Gravity co-founder, Lucas Price, has also filed a lawsuit against the company that it, thanks to the new higher payroll, finds itself having difficulty paying legal fees for.
Bad Week For Anarchists: federal Courts go after Obama's IRS and Hillary's emails.
Brief note from the editor: A summary statement from this report is worth posting at the beginning of this article: Let's be
clear about what's happening here. These recovered Lerner emails had to
be dragged out of the Obama IRS, which is still resisting a federal court order
requiring disclosure of Lerner's "lost" emails. This material
shows that the IRS' cover-up began years ago. We now have smoking-gun
proof that top officials in the Obama IRS unlawfully harassed taxpayers just to
keep them from complaining to Congress about IRS' targeting and abuse. No
wonder the Obama IRS has had such little interest in preserving or finding
Lerner's emails.
See our report on Hillary's email scandal : http://jds-midknightreview.blogspot.com/2015/08/as-of-546-et-friday-31st-of-june.html
And, here is our report on the evolving IRS targeting scandal that Obama was going to deal with (remember that failed promise . . . . . . or are there too many broken promises to remember?)
U.S District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan threatened to hold the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department attorneys in contempt of court after the IRS failed to produce status reports and newly recovered emails of Lois Lerner, former director of the Exempt Organizations Unit of the IRS, as he had ordered on July 1, 2015.
During the a status hearing Wednesday, Sullivan warned that the failure to follow his order was serious and that the IRS and Justice Department's excuses for not following his July 1 order were "indefensible" ridiculous, and absurd." He asked the IRS' Justice Department lawyer Geoffrey Klimas, "Why didn't the IRS comply" with his court order and "why shouldn't the court hold the commissioner of the IRS in contempt?" Judge Sullivan referenced his contempt findings against Justice Department prosecutors in the prosecution of late Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) and reminded the Justice Department attorney the court has the ability to detain him for contempt. Warning he would tolerate no further disregard of his orders, Judge Sullivan said:
To read the transcript of the hearing, which I urge you to do, click here.
After the hearing, Judge Sullivan issued the following "minute order":
Back during the July 1, 2015, status conference, Sullivan had ordered the IRS to begin producing, every week, the nearly 1,800 newly recovered Lerner emails responsive to Judicial Watch's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Despite the court order, the IRS did not produce any Lerner emails until July 15. The IRS also failed to provide Judicial Watch weekly status reports of the Lerner email production issues, as also ordered by Sullivan. Last week, Judge Sullivan ordered sua sponte the parties to appear for a hearing, after Judicial Watch raised concerns about the IRS' failure to comply with his orders.
I am grateful that Judge Sullivan made it clear that he would personally hold accountable IRS Commissioner Koskinen and Justice Department attorneys for any further contempt of his court orders in our FOIA lawsuit. The missing and then-the-not-missing Lerner email saga is a stark example of the Obama administration's contempt for a federal court and the rule of law. That Obama administration officials would risk jail rather than disclose these Lerner documents shows that the IRS scandal has just gotten a whole lot worse.
Judicial Watch's legal team, led by Director of Litigation Paul Orfanedes, deserves special kudos here. Their legal brilliance and persistence in court, against an army of taxpayer-funded lawyers at the Justice Department and IRS, paid off once again this week.
And, here is our report on the evolving IRS targeting scandal that Obama was going to deal with (remember that failed promise . . . . . . or are there too many broken promises to remember?)
Now, from Judicial Watch . . . my email box to you: This was
quite the week for those of us demanding that the Obama IRS be held accountable
to the rule of law for its abuse of innocent taxpayers. We received more
documents that expose more Obama administration misconduct and lies in the IRS
scandal. And a federal court judge threatened to hold the IRS Commissioner
personally in contempt over the agency's violation of his court orders.
U.S District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan threatened to hold the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department attorneys in contempt of court after the IRS failed to produce status reports and newly recovered emails of Lois Lerner, former director of the Exempt Organizations Unit of the IRS, as he had ordered on July 1, 2015.
During the a status hearing Wednesday, Sullivan warned that the failure to follow his order was serious and that the IRS and Justice Department's excuses for not following his July 1 order were "indefensible" ridiculous, and absurd." He asked the IRS' Justice Department lawyer Geoffrey Klimas, "Why didn't the IRS comply" with his court order and "why shouldn't the court hold the commissioner of the IRS in contempt?" Judge Sullivan referenced his contempt findings against Justice Department prosecutors in the prosecution of late Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) and reminded the Justice Department attorney the court has the ability to detain him for contempt. Warning he would tolerate no further disregard of his orders, Judge Sullivan said:
If there
is further noncompliance, I will haul into court the Commissioner of the
Internal Revenue Service to show cause why that person should not be personally
held in contempt of court. I can't make that any clearer."
To read the transcript of the hearing, which I urge you to do, click here.
After the hearing, Judge Sullivan issued the following "minute order":
At the
July 29, 2015 status hearing, the Government agreed that the Court's July 1,
2015 oral order from the bench was clear and enforceable. Nonetheless,
the Government reasoned it inappropriate to file a motion for reconsideration
until a written order was issued. As expressed at the hearing, the
Government's reasoning is nonsensical. Officers of the Court who fail to
comply with Court orders will be held in contempt. Also, in the event of
non-compliance with future Court orders, the Commissioner of the IRS and others
shall be directed to show cause as to why they should not be held in contempt
of Court. The Court's July 1, 2015 ruling from the bench stands: (1) the
Government shall produce relevant documents every Monday; (2) the Government's
document production shall be accompanied by a status report that indicates (a)
whether TIGTA has turned over any new documents to the IRS, (b) if so, the
number of documents, and (c) a timeframe for the IRSs production of those
documents. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on July 29, 2015.
Back during the July 1, 2015, status conference, Sullivan had ordered the IRS to begin producing, every week, the nearly 1,800 newly recovered Lerner emails responsive to Judicial Watch's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Despite the court order, the IRS did not produce any Lerner emails until July 15. The IRS also failed to provide Judicial Watch weekly status reports of the Lerner email production issues, as also ordered by Sullivan. Last week, Judge Sullivan ordered sua sponte the parties to appear for a hearing, after Judicial Watch raised concerns about the IRS' failure to comply with his orders.
The
developments come in Judicial Watch's FOIA lawsuit seeking documents about the Obama IRS' targeting
and harassment of Tea Party and conservative opponents of President Obama (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Internal Revenue Service (No.
1:13-cv-01559)). Judicial Watch's litigation forced the IRS first to claim
that Lerner's emails were supposedly missing and, then, that the emails were on
IRS' back-up systems.
The day
before the extraordinary court hearing, Judicial Watch released the first batch (906 pages) of Lerner's
believed-to-be newly recovered emails. The new documents show that Lerner and
other top officials in the IRS, including soon-to-be Acting IRS Commissioner
Steve Miller, closely monitored and approved the scandalous handling of
tax-exempt applications by Tea Party organizations and individuals. The
documents also show that at least one group received an inquiry from the IRS in
order to buy time and keep the organization from contacting Congress.
We
believe these emails were recovered by the agency's own internal watchdog - the
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
Lerner
sent a November 3, 2011, email documenting her concerns about the
failure to process applications in a timely manner:
I'm
getting a little nervous about the amount we have on our plate and how we are
handling. I know everyone is working hard and juggling, but I am wondering
whether the juggling decisions are being made holistically enough. We have only
so many resources and things will probably get worse going forward. I worry
that decisions about how to use the resources are being made without all the
information...Something that may not seem important in Cincinnati, may be crucial in DC. Similarly,
DC may be prioritizing its work based on what is sitting in DC when something
sitting in Cincinnati
should be the focus of DC work.
IRS Program
Manager Cindy Thomas of the Cincinnati Exempt Organization office replied to
Lerner a few hours later with an email detailing the pressure caused by the IRS' Washington headquarters
failure to move on the "advocacy cases."
Thomas warned of litigation and admitted that she authorized a letter for more information that was sent to one of the complaining groups to keep it from contacting Congress:
Thomas warned of litigation and admitted that she authorized a letter for more information that was sent to one of the complaining groups to keep it from contacting Congress:
The
backlog of work involves advocacy organizations. As of about a month ago, there
were 161 of these cases sitting idle and we probably have more by now. The
control dates for these cases go back to the end of 2009 and all through 2010.
We've been waiting for EO in D.C. to get us a guidance/reference document with
lessons learned from the c4 and c3 cases they worked and coordinated with Judy
Kindell and Counsel. We're getting calls from POAs wanting to know who has put
the halt on working these cases and threatening to contact their Congressional
offices. Just today, I instructed one of my managers to get an additional
information letter out to one of these organizations - if nothing else to buy
time so he didn't contact his Congressional Office. Soon, we're going to
start getting TAO's [Taxpayer Assistance Orders] from TAS [Taxpayer Advocate
Service] or declaratory judgment cases filed -- then, I guess everyone will
decide its time to start moving the cases when we have mounds of additional
paperwork to process along with the cases (adding even more work for us to do).
Another
IRS lawyer responded to Lerner's email with an admission that IRS' Washington headquarters'
legal staff had hundreds of cases backlogged. Michael Seto, who headed
the Exempt Organization Technical Unit, acknowledged to Lerner on November 9,
2011, that there were 446 application cases open in the beginning of fiscal year
2012, with many open for more than two years.
The
emails also show that Lerner and other top officials of the IRS were aware of complaints about treatment by Tea Party
groups. In response to a February 2012 complaint and request for briefing
from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) with the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee about, according to the IRS, a Tea Party organization that applied
for exemption about 18 months previously and only "just recently"
heard anything about the status of its application: "When it did finally hear from us, [the IRS] apparently asked some
fairly detailed questions and gave the organization a short deadline to
respond."
Miller,
who was then-IRS Deputy Commissioner for Service and Enforcement, emailed: "let me know if it's a taxpayer I
should know about." He also complained about the number of emails
about the issue, writing: "Will the emails never stop?" Miller became
Acting Commissioner for the IRS later in the year and was eventually forced out
after the Obama IRS scandal became public in May 2013.
Lerner
handled the subsequent briefing of Rep. Jordan, and a statement by the IRS in response did not mention
backlogs, Tea Party targeting, or Lerner's own concerns about the nature of the questions the
IRS was sending to Tea Party applicants.
Another email shows that Miller delayed "guidelines" for
handling the backlogged applications the very week after Lerner's briefing of
Rep. Jordan. This same email chain, dated February 28, shows that, in a
response to a complaint from Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) office about Tea
Party application delays, Lerner admits: "this is a very sensitive
area."
Just to
review, it was back in May 2013, that the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA)
released an audit report confirming that the IRS used
"inappropriate" criteria to identify Tea Party groups and other
conservative organizations that had expressed opposition to the Obama
administration's policy agenda during his re-election bid. In May 2014, Lerner
was held in contempt of Congress after refusing to testify at a
congressional hearing about the agency's actions. TIGTA has proven to be a real
goldmine for the truth that the IRS has worked to conceal. Earlier this month,
TIGTA released another report confirming that the IRS failed to
timely search its back-up tapes resulting in 24,000 Lerner emails being
destroyed. The TIGTA report also confirms that IRS Commissioner John
Koskinen delayed informing Congress (and the courts) for months about Lerner's
email issue.
Keep in
mind that all of these developments come in response to your JW's FOIA lawsuit seeking documents about the Obama IRS'
targeting and harassment of Tea Party and conservative opponents of President
Obama.
Let's be
clear about what's happening here. These recovered Lerner emails had to
be dragged out of the Obama IRS, which is still resisting a federal court order
requiring disclosure of Lerner's "lost" emails. This material
shows that the IRS' cover-up began years ago. We now have smoking-gun
proof that top officials in the Obama IRS unlawfully harassed taxpayers just to
keep them from complaining to Congress about IRS' targeting and abuse. No
wonder the Obama IRS has had such little interest in preserving or finding
Lerner's emails.
I am grateful that Judge Sullivan made it clear that he would personally hold accountable IRS Commissioner Koskinen and Justice Department attorneys for any further contempt of his court orders in our FOIA lawsuit. The missing and then-the-not-missing Lerner email saga is a stark example of the Obama administration's contempt for a federal court and the rule of law. That Obama administration officials would risk jail rather than disclose these Lerner documents shows that the IRS scandal has just gotten a whole lot worse.
Judicial Watch's legal team, led by Director of Litigation Paul Orfanedes, deserves special kudos here. Their legal brilliance and persistence in court, against an army of taxpayer-funded lawyers at the Justice Department and IRS, paid off once again this week.
Trust me, Biden is seriously considering.
BIDEN TAKING NEW LOOK AT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN...
DOWD: WHAT WOULD BEAU DO? Ailing son urged him to run...
Editor's notes: In 2008, Both Hillary and Obama garnered 18 million votes with Hillary having a very slight edge. 18 mill for Hill, 18 mill forZero O, and 68,000 for Biden.
All we can do is hope for the best as to Biden's decision.
DOWD: WHAT WOULD BEAU DO? Ailing son urged him to run...
Editor's notes: In 2008, Both Hillary and Obama garnered 18 million votes with Hillary having a very slight edge. 18 mill for Hill, 18 mill for
All we can do is hope for the best as to Biden's decision.
This is Obama pissing on all of us, especially Constitutional law and order, but much more than that. Again, his actions are such that we should all take them as personal insults.
Kerry Picket / The Daily Caller:
Dem: Obama Ready To Ignore Congress If Veto On Iran Deal Is Overridden
The congress should vote this agreement down simply because Obama is a jerk and is openly challenging our way of life, whether red, black, white or brown. He is thumbing his nose at us all.
Hillary should be forced to answer whether she agrees with this political moron or conduct herself in line with the Constitution, if, on the wild chance, she wins the election.
We need to tie Hillary to everything this loser has done and is doing . . . . everything.
The congress should vote this agreement down simply because Obama is a jerk and is openly challenging our way of life, whether red, black, white or brown. He is thumbing his nose at us all.
Hillary should be forced to answer whether she agrees with this political moron or conduct herself in line with the Constitution, if, on the wild chance, she wins the election.
We need to tie Hillary to everything this loser has done and is doing . . . . everything.
Bad news for Hillary: Most Americans would not vote for an Obama third term including a whopping 32% of Democrats.
Editor's notes: Keep in mind that Obama lost 3.5 million votes in 2012 compared to his 2008 total. And, with the 2014 mid-terms, he made, saying, "Although my name is not on the ballot, make no mistake, my policies are, every one of them." And we all know how that worked out. If he was on the ballot via his policies, and that really is his claim, then he just got his butt kicked sideways.
After Hillary gets through with the Democrat primaries, she will have to decide whether she is going to be her own woman, or somebody else's woman. She is not going win if she is perceived as "Obama 3.0"
Rasmussen: In a recent speech criticizing African political leaders who stay too long in office, President Obama said he could win a third term if he ran for president again but acknowledged that U.S. law does not allow it. Could Obama win again?
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 30% of Likely U.S. Voters say they would vote for the president if he ran for a third term. Sixty-three percent (63%) would not. (To see survey question wording, click here.) Most Democrats (57%) would vote to give Obama a third term. Ninety-three percent (93%) of Republicans, 68% of voters not affiliated with either major party – and 32% of Democrats – would not.
After Hillary gets through with the Democrat primaries, she will have to decide whether she is going to be her own woman, or somebody else's woman. She is not going win if she is perceived as "Obama 3.0"
Rasmussen: In a recent speech criticizing African political leaders who stay too long in office, President Obama said he could win a third term if he ran for president again but acknowledged that U.S. law does not allow it. Could Obama win again?
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 30% of Likely U.S. Voters say they would vote for the president if he ran for a third term. Sixty-three percent (63%) would not. (To see survey question wording, click here.) Most Democrats (57%) would vote to give Obama a third term. Ninety-three percent (93%) of Republicans, 68% of voters not affiliated with either major party – and 32% of Democrats – would not.
As of 5:46 ET, Friday, the 31st of June, Hillary has just about run out of time as to her email stonewall.
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today
that U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the U.S. State
Department to request that Hillary Clinton and her top aides confirm,
under penalty of perjury, that they have produced all government records
in their possession, return any other government records immediately,
and describe their use of Hillary Clinton’s email server to conduct
government business. The court issued the ruling late today after
holding a status hearing in a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information lawsuit that sought records about Huma Abedin, the former Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:13-cv-01363)). The lawsuit reopened last month because of revelations about Hillary Clinton’s email records.
The text of Judge Sullivan’s minute order, which was issued at 5:46 pm:
As agreed by the parties at the July 31, 2015 status hearing, the Government shall produce a copy of the letters sent by the State Department to Mrs. Hillary Clinton, Ms. Huma Abedin and Ms. Cheryl Mills regarding the collection of government records in their possession. These communications shall be posted on the docket forthwith. The Government has also agreed to share with Plaintiff’s counsel the responses sent by Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills. These communications shall also be posted on the docket forthwith. In addition, as related to Judicial Watch’s FOIA requests in this case, the Government is HEREBY ORDERED to: (1) identify any and all servers, accounts, hard drives, or other devices currently in the possession or control of the State Department or otherwise that may contain responsive information; (2) request that the above named individuals confirm, under penalty of perjury, that they have produced all responsive information that was or is in their possession as a result of their employment at the State Department. If all such information has not yet been produced, the Government shall request the above named individuals produce the information forthwith; and (3) request that the above named individuals describe, under penalty of perjury, the extent to which Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills used Mrs. Clinton’s email server to conduct official government business. The Government shall inform the Court of the status of its compliance with this Order no later than August 7, 2015, including any response received from Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on July 31, 2015.
“This blockbuster ruling is the most significant legal development to date in the ongoing Clinton email scandal. Hillary Clinton will now have to answer, under penalty of perjury, to a federal court about the separate email server she and her aides used to avoid accountability to the American people,” stated Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. “This court action shows that the rule of law and public’s right to know will no longer take a back seat to politics. Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration that is covering for her are not above the law.”
Source: Judicial Watch, here.
The text of Judge Sullivan’s minute order, which was issued at 5:46 pm:
As agreed by the parties at the July 31, 2015 status hearing, the Government shall produce a copy of the letters sent by the State Department to Mrs. Hillary Clinton, Ms. Huma Abedin and Ms. Cheryl Mills regarding the collection of government records in their possession. These communications shall be posted on the docket forthwith. The Government has also agreed to share with Plaintiff’s counsel the responses sent by Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills. These communications shall also be posted on the docket forthwith. In addition, as related to Judicial Watch’s FOIA requests in this case, the Government is HEREBY ORDERED to: (1) identify any and all servers, accounts, hard drives, or other devices currently in the possession or control of the State Department or otherwise that may contain responsive information; (2) request that the above named individuals confirm, under penalty of perjury, that they have produced all responsive information that was or is in their possession as a result of their employment at the State Department. If all such information has not yet been produced, the Government shall request the above named individuals produce the information forthwith; and (3) request that the above named individuals describe, under penalty of perjury, the extent to which Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills used Mrs. Clinton’s email server to conduct official government business. The Government shall inform the Court of the status of its compliance with this Order no later than August 7, 2015, including any response received from Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on July 31, 2015.
“This blockbuster ruling is the most significant legal development to date in the ongoing Clinton email scandal. Hillary Clinton will now have to answer, under penalty of perjury, to a federal court about the separate email server she and her aides used to avoid accountability to the American people,” stated Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. “This court action shows that the rule of law and public’s right to know will no longer take a back seat to politics. Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration that is covering for her are not above the law.”
Source: Judicial Watch, here.
Any why is she pushing the victomhood of modern-day blacks?
Clinton: “A lot of people don’t realize that our schools are more
segregated today than they were in 1968. Or even that African-Americans
are sentenced to longer prison terms than white people for the same
crimes. Or that political operatives are trying every trick in the book
to prevent African-Americans from voting.”
She has to believe that there is a good chance that the black vote will be 15 to 20 percent less than when Obama ran for office and divided the nation into blacks versus whites. Her problem? She's white.
She has to believe that there is a good chance that the black vote will be 15 to 20 percent less than when Obama ran for office and divided the nation into blacks versus whites. Her problem? She's white.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)




