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Saturday, May 18, 2013

Benghazi, IRS, and AP Oh my!


Benghazi, and IRS, and AP Oh my!
 

A Cranky Saturday Opinion

The following are the opinions of a cranky old man.  Opposing opinions are welcome, but please…no name calling…that means you, you big stupid head!

 

Three “Gates” are in the news this week and Cranky has opinions.

Benghazi: It is not the crime, it is the cover up.  This week we had whistle blowers, Senate hearings, and spin, spin, spin.  The Democrats are angry.  “What is done is done, forget it, it’s over, what is the difference what happened?  The Republicans are just trying to use this whole terrible incident for political purposes!”

Yes, the Republicans are using the Benghazi screw-up for political reasons, just as every politician uses every incompetence of their rivals for their own political benefit. 

What do we know about Benghazi?

Well we don’t know for sure, but it is pretty obvious:

1.     The State Department did not adequately protect the Libyan Embassy, even when extra protection was requested.  Incompetence?  Yes.  Politically motivated? Possibly, just about everything in government is flavored by politics.  Mostly, failure to protect the Embassy was miscalculation and incompetence.  There is lots of stuff going on in the State Department, mistakes are made.  It is regrettable, still people need to be held accountable for these mistakes.

2.    The administration was embarrassed by the Embassy attack because The President, in the closing months before the election, had claimed that he had Al Qaida and terrorism on the run.  The administration deliberately sought to characterize the attack as a reaction to a five minute you tube video.  They stuck with that story until it just would not hold water and then marginalized their error with Hilary losing her temper and screaming, “What difference does it make?”

That is it!  Stop the Hearings; stop the inquisition, that is what happened.  Let the American People decide if it makes any difference or not, but stop arguing over what every person who can read and decides to think, knows is the truth.

IRS: For several years the IRS has scrutinized any non-profit organization and their donors that smacked of conservative leanings.  The nature of these organizations is such that they should be randomly challenged, as there is much room for them to cheat the system.  The reason this has been fodder for scandal is that the IRS targeted only those organizations with conservative leanings.  Liberal organizations, of which there are as many as conservative, and who have the same opportunity and incentive to cheat the system were “left” alone.  That is just not “right.” 

AP: The Justice Department secretly has obtained phone records of the Associated Press’ reporters.  The records were not just targeted for a specific situation or case, but all records.  The ability to use these records to go on fishing excersions and intimidate the press is obvious.  It represents a power which the Constitution clearly did not want to grant to any government agency.  Freedom of the press is what keeps government at least a little bit honest.  It is perhaps the most important concept which keeps government abuse in check and guarantees our freedom.

 

Benghazi, IRS, AP…is our country doomed?  Is this administration over the top?  Is President Obama actively trying to bully the country to lead it down the path of Socialism and Dictatorship?  Of course not, but these abuses are the canary in the mine.  They should not be glossed over or buried.  The slippery slope needs to be sanded, and some wrists need to be slapped…hard!

 

The preceding opinions are those of the Cranky Old Man, and not necessarily those of management…Mrs. Cranky.

7 comments:

  1. Good points all. My take: Benghazi.....you nailed it. Our bureaucrats are incompetent. Bipartisian incompetent. And when they screw up they will throw anyone they can grab under the bus in order to cover their ass. They will say anything to make it look like it wasn't their fault. None of this affair surprises me.

    IRS: The Revenooers should collect taxes, period. They should not target any particular group's philosophy for extra scrutiny. That said, IMO the whole concept of "non-profits" is out of control. Unless they do something that beneifts ALL (Cancer Society, Heart Assn, etc), they should NOT be give non-profit status. Liberal groups, conservative groups, trade groups, etc, all lobby for things that benefit ONLY their constitutients, not ALL people. That's fine, but they should pay their own way and not expect a subsidy (that's what non-profit status amounts to) from the taxpayers.

    AP: Just plain wrong.

    S

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  2. I'm sure it won't come as a surprise that my take on much of this is different than yours, and even now info is emerging altering opinions on all of this. I think this is all much about little as our Congress sits on its hands while our Republic burns.

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  3. Good post. I agree! The country is scary right now.

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  4. I haven't been able to keep up with everything in the news. It's hard to find an impartial, "just the facts" report. Thanks for the sum up.

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  5. News is coming out that the emails released by the WH on Benghazi were edited by GOP Congressional folks. GOP failed to approve a request for more funding. It is also my understanding the the majority (70-80%) of the specific tax free groups were related to the Tea Party and thus if IRS did it randomly, more would be selected than other types. It still needs to be investigated thoroughly, to make sure that certain bureaucrats did not abuse this sampling process. As far as press stalking, I really do not know and am waiting for more information on this. Freedom of the Press is one of our most important freedoms and must be supported.

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  6. Lesson from Benghazi is if you do work for the State Department and you come under attack do not expect your bosses to send help to save you. Second time this has happen, remember 1979 in Iran.

    IRS issue nothing new and nothing will change.

    AP is not the only ones it happen too. It is just wrong no matter who they are.

    In all three stories the American people will never hear the truth or have the problems fixed.

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  7. Well I have to confess I haven't really kept up with these latest 3 scandals, they all seemed to happen so quickly!
    Any government abuses its power - and they all need to be brought to account whatever your political leanings.
    Good summary of them all (I assume!), especially the Benghazi one, which I hadn't fully understood.

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