Lucianne.com News Forum - HomePage - RSS (http://www.lucianne.com/) http://www.lucianne.com/rssfeed/ Sat, 18 01 2013 01:01:25 GMT Sat, 18 01 2013 01:01:25 GMT Lucianne.com Sat, 18 56 2013 12:56:28 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736236 6cbdfefdbcdfb2801a6d11f38fcd91250eccb5c7 New York Times, by MARK LANDLER and MICHAEL D. SHEAR Posted By: FlyRight- Sat, 18 56 2013 12:56:28 GMT BALTIMORE — President Obama, struggling to find his footing after one of his most turbulent weeks in office, will try to push past the moment’s political furor with a focus on the few pieces of legislation he believes have a chance in Congress (Snip)The president’s aides, wary of what they say are Republican attempts to seize on woes as a way of thwarting Mr. Obama’s agenda, have ordered the White House staff not to be distracted(Snip) that he expects them to spend no more than 10 percent of their time on the controversies. Sat, 18 45 2013 12:45:45 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736235 7b159091b2324251d161b2e28d9fcddffbe8eb2d National Review, by Mark Steyn Posted By: FlyRight- Sat, 18 45 2013 12:45:45 GMT Speaking at Ohio State University earlier this month, Barack Obama urged students to pay no attention to those paranoid types who “incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity.” Oddly enough, in recent days the most compelling testimony for this view of government has come from the president himself, who insists with a straight face that he had no idea that the Internal Revenue Service had spent two years targeting his political enemies until he Sat, 18 11 2013 12:11:23 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736234 fb5bc0de4a4f2fec9c5322ee1680a663e6aacbeb Foster´s Daily Democrat [NH], by Jim Haddadin Posted By: mainelysane- Sat, 18 11 2013 12:11:23 GMT DOVER — With a scandal at the Internal Revenue Service continuing to broaden, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen faced fresh criticism Wednesday from her political opponents over letters she sent to a former IRS commissioner. Republicans are accusing Shaheen and other Senate Democrats of exerting pressure on the IRS to crack down on political groups seeking nonprofit status. Sat, 18 21 2013 11:21:43 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736233 7bcbe000e7ae132c06e606c251ab23f407c501a2 KTVB [Boise, ID], by Staff Posted By: MissMolly- Sat, 18 21 2013 11:21:43 GMT BOISE '' An Uzbekistan national arrested in Boise has pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges he conspired with a terrorist group on a scheme to use a weapon of mass destruction. Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, appeared before a federal judge at 8:30 a.m. He used an interpreter over the phone to communicate his not'guilty plea. Kurbanov´s trial is now set for July 2, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. The 30'year'old Uzbekistani also faces a detention hearing on Tuesday to determine whether he´ll stay in custody until his trial. KTVB has obtained documents that show prosecutors Sat, 18 59 2013 10:59:17 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736232 d170ec011f14d104e8b880a8aa25508c18cda39d Fox News, by Matt Kibbe Posted By: StormCnter- Sat, 18 59 2013 10:59:17 GMT In the wake of one of the worst abuses of government power in recent history, many are rushing to frame the Internal Revenue Service scandal as simply an attack on conservative activists. That view risks creating a partisan political football and misses a fundamentally scarier abuse that exceeds the scandals of Watergate or any other prior government abuse. The IRS has admitted that since May 2010 it targeted grassroots'conservative organizations that had applied for tax'exempt status, unfairly subjecting them to rigorous scrutiny due to their political leanings. Such groups were told they were required to comply with IRS requests, Sat, 18 52 2013 10:52:45 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736231 a68e2370e5a3517236d5757b8140928a493e83ac Washington Examiner, by Byron York Posted By: MissMolly- Sat, 18 52 2013 10:52:45 GMT Security along the U.S. border with Mexico is perhaps the key factor in the debate over comprehensive immigration reform. Those who believe the border is mostly secure already are more inclined to support the plan of the bipartisan Gang of Eight in the Senate '' legalization first, followed by enhanced security. Those who believe the border is still far from secure are more likely to oppose the Gang of Eight´s approach, insisting that heightened security measures be in place before the nation´s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants are legalized. Now, a new report from the Council on Foreign Relations Sat, 18 49 2013 10:49:03 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736230 9a1db616ae81a008d1106cdbcbc75c00e408dfa7 Commentary Magazine, by Seth Mandel Posted By: MissMolly- Sat, 18 49 2013 10:49:03 GMT There was a running joke in the fall of 2008 that John McCain should simply re'air Hillary Clinton’s “3 a.m. phone call” ad, which highlighted Barack Obama’s lack of experience and meager knowledge of world affairs, and just tack on “I’m John McCain, and I approve this message” at the end of the ad. The point was that thanks to the bitter primary battle between the Clintons and Obama, Democrats had already developed the most effective lines of attack against Obama, and Republicans needed only to nod their heads in agreement. Something similar is taking place Sat, 18 43 2013 10:43:33 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736229 cad720c45bdce49e439976f84276e6aeaad709f6 Washington Free Beacon, by Staff Posted By: MissMolly- Sat, 18 43 2013 10:43:33 GMT A popular San Francisco restaurant called Bacon Bacon must shut its doors Friday after failed negotiations with neighbors who complained about the smell of bacon. The restaurant serves burgers, grilled cheeses, breakfast sandwiches, and more, all served with bacon. It also runs a food truck, which roams the city providing San Franciscans with bacon. But now that’s over, the San Francisco Examiner reports: But now a popular pork'focused restaurant in the Upper Haight must close its doors Friday following months of failed negotiations with neighbors over neighborhood concerns about porcine aroma and grease disposal. Sat, 18 39 2013 10:39:48 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736228 8922c87d09c3603ca4a3cfb0d0d0cf108affa08f National Review Online, by Andrew C. McCarthy Posted By: StormCnter- Sat, 18 39 2013 10:39:48 GMT ‘What would you be focusing on in the Benghazi investigation?” I spent many years in the investigation biz, so it’s only natural that I’ve been asked that question a lot lately. I had the good fortune to be trained in Rudy Giuliani’s U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan. Rudy famously made his mark by making law enforcement reflect what common sense knew: Enterprises take their cues from the top. Criminal enterprises are no different: The capos do not carry out the policy of the button'men — it’s the other way around. So if I were investigating Benghazi, Sat, 18 34 2013 10:34:57 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736227 4d5bdc9442f21e73841f33877c92d8a5b665a217 Washington Post, by Colbert I. King Posted By: StormCnter- Sat, 18 34 2013 10:34:57 GMT East Germany’s Ministry for State Security, also known as the Stasi, posed a major challenge during my three'year stint as an attache at the U.S. Embassy in Bonn during the 1960s. Detecting and preventing Stasi agents from penetrating the security of U.S. diplomatic facilities in West Germany was a 24'7 undertaking. The East German secret police were even more ruthless and relentless in operations against their own citizens. Political suppression in that communist state was total. There was no room for dissent. Thousands of East Germans were arbitrarily imprisoned for “internal security” reasons. Sat, 18 32 2013 10:32:12 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736226 5061d5defca1af26ee9ba26d1155b397dcd105dd Business Insider, by Michael Kelley & Geoffrey Ingersoll Posted By: StormCnter- Sat, 18 32 2013 10:32:12 GMT In eight months since an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi left four Americans dead, a Republican'led investigation has focused on potential missteps by the White House — and come away with nothing significant. There has been little attention given, however, to covert actions by the Central Intelligence Agency that were partially uncovered during the September 11, 2012 attack. That may be changing. CNN´s Jake Tapper argued this week that we should give more scrutiny to the CIA´s presence in the Libyan port city. Congressman Frank Wolf (R'Va.) said the same, according to CNN: Sat, 18 22 2013 10:22:57 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736225 a142cb8a9256ec32a2c6625fbd7b453998eb848b Atlantic, by Philip Bump Posted By: Pluperfect- Sat, 18 22 2013 10:22:57 GMT When, in 2006, the website The Smoking Gun released a secret CIA memo documenting prisoner organizing strategies at Guantanamo Bay, the FBI took notice. Now the site has posted details of the ensuing 44'month'long investigation, offering a timely glimpse into the black box of a Department of Justice leak prosecution. And The Smoking Gun got lucky. Over the course of the FBI´s hunt, code'named "Stubborn Ways," 43 different people were interviewed, in locations stretching from New Mexico to Boston to Saudi Arabia. After the investigation narrowed to one person who was then exonerated — a woman from Virginia Sat, 18 16 2013 10:16:32 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736224 4af09c6a385c4293b33b63e83e92a25cbe575b6c Washington Times, by Ben Wolfgang Posted By: StormCnter- Sat, 18 16 2013 10:16:32 GMT Mark Sanford is now a member of Congress two years after he stepped down as governor of South Carolina following a highly publicized extramarital affair. Anthony Weiner appears poised to run for New York City mayor not even two years after scandalous photos of the ex'representative hit Twitter. Perhaps, then, it should be no surprise to learn that disgraced former presidential candidate and North Carolina senator John Edwards is plotting his own comeback. The wealthy lawyer has reactivated his law license and also is hitting the speaking circuit, The Associated Press reported. Mr. Edwards is scheduled Sat, 18 13 2013 10:13:24 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736223 d380fd0529606ecde2b99e97c07c80f8393a224d New York Post, by Emily Smith Posted By: StormCnter- Sat, 18 13 2013 10:13:24 GMT O.J. Simpson testified this week that he’d been drinking all day on Sept. 13, 2007, before he bizarrely robbed two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel. But sources close to the case wonder if it was watching “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that afternoon that made Simpson snap. Before Simpson headed to the Palace Station Hotel to rob the dealers, the family of Ronald Goldman, who was murdered along with Simpson’s ex'wife Nicole Brown Simpson, were on “Oprah” to discuss the controversial book “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.” It was a repackaged version of a “fictitious” Sat, 18 03 2013 10:03:01 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736222 f0f17c68e0a9dec33995fa0bb6923d317612b7f6 Atlantic, by Garance Franke'Ruta Posted By: Pluperfect- Sat, 18 03 2013 10:03:01 GMT A number of people have sought to explain the IRS targeting of Tea Party, patriot, and 9/12 group applications '' as well as those from other conservative groups '' for "specialist team" treatment (mainly delays and excessive and inappropriate questions) in 2010 by pointing to the Citizens United decision that year allowing for unlimited, undisclosed fundraising by such groups. That´s the explanation IRS official Lois Lerner gave a week ago when she first revealed that the agency had improperly handled a slew of applications '' the political shorthand was a mistaken attempt to deal with a surge in applications. Sat, 18 58 2013 09:58:46 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736221 e5c1e77d9874d5a904177175b37a9e1620946567 Daily Beast, by Malcolm Jones Posted By: StormCnter- Sat, 18 58 2013 09:58:46 GMT As Margalit Fox says at the outset of The Riddle of the Labyrinth, the story of Linear B is well known. This 3,000'year'old language was discovered on clay tablets excavated in 1900 on the island of Crete. It thereafter puzzled scholars for half a century before it was decoded by Michael Ventris, an English architect with no formal training in archeology or linguistics. Linear B’s history is an absorbing tale, full of mysteries both intellectual and historical, and it’s been told and retold since Ventris made his breakthrough. The problem, as Fox sees it, Sat, 18 47 2013 09:47:38 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736220 b7cc6dd11f827e45733b554b064683c992058a60 PJ Media, by Robert Spencer Posted By: StormCnter- Sat, 18 47 2013 09:47:38 GMT “Peace will come,” Golda Meir once famously remarked, “when the Arabs start to love their children more than they hate us.” The obstacle to peace was not actually Arabs as such, but Muslims who had imbibed Islam’s doctrine of jihad and hatred of non'believers and primarily Jews — a hatred so intense that it drives people to prefer death (and murder) to life. And as we have seen recently with the monstrous grandstanding of Mama Tsarnaeva, this hatred is passed on in some Muslim families – and Zubeidat Tsarnaeva is by no means the only mother from hell. Sat, 18 42 2013 09:42:42 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736219 9520bf38582f2fcdbff5ba7eb947183787891536 Hot Air, by Ed Morrissey Posted By: StormCnter- Sat, 18 42 2013 09:42:42 GMT No, really, Jay Carney would like to know. Even though he only showed his face in the briefing room twice this week, and even though the White House press corps used him as a punching bag, Barack Obama’s press secretary wants you to know he’s really enjoyed having to address this avalanche of scandals. Wait — did we say scandals? We mean, er, opportunities:(Snip for video) “I dismiss the premise, the idea that these are scandals,” Carney said flatly, calling the controversy over Benghazi a “total concoction by Republicans,” and the IRS scandal merely Sat, 18 33 2013 09:33:41 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736218 183ee47fb82fbcd33de1c74bd722acc0f6b095b7 Boston Globe, by Milton J. Valencia Posted By: StormCnter- Sat, 18 33 2013 09:33:41 GMT Lawyers for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect want to be able to take pictures of the 19'year'old now and over time to show evidence of his injuries and his “evolving mental and physical state,” according to a filing in federal court in Boston. As the defense team for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev argues against the death penalty, it would use the photo evidence to challenge whether he was fit enough to voluntarily provide statements to investigators just after his arrest, according to the filing. US Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler partially granted the request today. She said the US Bureau of Prisons Sat, 18 29 2013 09:29:40 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736217 ae993c96971e79fe9adf8057a4b7bede5ac92bb9 Associated Press, by Richard Rosenblatt Posted By: StormCnter- Sat, 18 29 2013 09:29:40 GMT BALTIMORE '' Orb is ready for his whirl at history. The Kentucky Derby winner was in a playful mood the day before the Preakness, making faces for photographers between nibbles of grass outside his stall at Pimlico Race Course. "I couldn´t be more pleased with the way he´s doing," trainer Shug McGaughey said at his final pre'Preakness media briefing Friday morning. "I can´t see any adversity. I would have to think it would take a pretty darn good horse to beat him if he goes over and runs his race." If he can defeat eight rivals Sat, 18 22 2013 09:22:58 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736216 6627412c14aa46fe4bf5a441ed1e0e0116e00a62 Wall Street Journal, by Nick Timiraos Posted By: pineledger- Sat, 18 22 2013 09:22:58 GMT Some of the nation´s largest banks, including Wells Fargo [WFC +1.58%] & Co., suspended foreclosure sales in a number of states following guidance issued last month by federal banking regulators. While some foreclosures have since resumed, the halt marks the latest dustup over how foreclosures are handled. Banks said their actions were triggered by a four'page bulletin issued last month by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve. The bulletin outlined basic operating standards for foreclosure sales. Many of the nation´s largest banks were already operating under consent orders with the OCC or the Fed Sat, 18 57 2013 06:57:40 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736215 8f1ac608c83beee407c75ba104ea00c767cefa40 Bloomberg News, by Leslie Patton Posted By: JoniTx- Sat, 18 57 2013 06:57:40 GMT CHICAGO — The Angus burger is going away, and it may not be the only McDonald´s dish on the chopping block. The world´s largest restaurant chain has also considered axing Caesar salads, the McSkillet Burrito, the Southern Style Biscuit and steak bagels, according to a franchisee email obtained by Bloomberg News. While the Angus burger contains as many as 820 calories and costs $4, the culling isn´t simply about offering healthier fare and cheaper items. It´s an effort by McDonald´s Corp. to streamline a menu that has expanded by 70 percent to about 145 items since 2007 — straining Sat, 18 27 2013 06:27:20 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736214 4399339062570761affcc6bdfbb3bf964c9d0044 Washington Times, by Tom Howell Jr. Posted By: Dreadnought- Sat, 18 27 2013 06:27:20 GMT An exasperated Rep. Pat Tiberi on Friday asked the former acting chief of the IRS to explain to Congress why he would move the leader of the division that targeted conservative groups seeking tax'exempt status to a branch that is overseeing one of the most partisan issues of recent memory — President Obama’s health care law. “Because she’s a superb civil servant, sir,” Steven Miller, who resigned under duress last week, told the Ohio Republican at a hearing before the House Committee on Ways and Means. The transfer of Sarah Hall Ingram to the helm Sat, 18 19 2013 06:19:58 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736213 15846328817a915db1eac89296f50e9d8ed52eda Power Line, by John Hinderaker Posted By: Dreadnought- Sat, 18 19 2013 06:19:58 GMT I was on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show last night, talking about the Benghazi talking point emails. Near the end of the segment, Hugh asked whether I thought the presidential election might have turned out differently if Obama and Clinton had not succeeded in covering up the truth about Benghazi. I was skeptical. The story of the election, I said, was the Obama campaign’s ability to turn out, once again, a large majority of the low'information voters who swept Obama into office in 2008. Few of those low'information voters, I said, would either have understood, or cared about, Benghazi Sat, 18 15 2013 06:15:18 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736212 d39ae6c94a4314a241be554c7a8ed7b83cb15859 Breitbart´s Big Government, by Susan Combs Posted By: Dreadnought- Sat, 18 15 2013 06:15:18 GMT As tax collector for the nation’s second'largest state, I know it’s a necessary function — from the fire station to the space station, nothing government does is possible without taxes. But it’s sure no path to popularity. Tax collectors have had a rotten reputation since biblical times. For all the services and all the people that depend on it, our work has to be viewed as fair and even'handed. It’s a basic bond of trust, and once that trust is lost, it’s hard to get back. Our entire nation was born when the colonists decided Britain’s taxes were unfair Sat, 18 11 2013 06:11:52 GMT http://www.lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=736211 20b6673494316f8fbb21131970379b2f3f2c4288 Mediaite, by Noah Rothman Posted By: JoniTx- Sat, 18 11 2013 06:11:52 GMT You may have heard that there are a variety of scandals unfolding in Washington D.C. at the moment. Scandals swirling around the White House this week include revelations that the Internal Revenue Service singled out conservative groups for intimidation, that the Department of Justice may have expressed their frustration with the Associated Press by obtaining an absurdly wide swath of phone records, and the ever'unfolding scandal surrounding Benghazi and the administration’s response to that attack. With all these overwhelming controversies enveloping the executive branch, one question dominates in the media: When will Republicans overstep in their effort to criticize