By Milton R. Wolf
Americans must repudiate the political class
Where are we now in this morass of Obama administration scandals? We have The Associated Press imbroglio. We have the Benghazi imbroglio. We have the Internal Revenue Service imbroglio.
U.S. Navy Lt. Mike McGrath was just 27 years old, with a wife and two toddler sons in the U.S., when he was shot down and taken prisoner on his 179th bombing mission during the Vietnam War.
The attack that killed an off-duty soldier in London this week appears, like the Boston Marathon bombing, to have been the work of home-grown, "lone-wolf" extremists, underlining the very different kind of threat posed by al Qaeda now that its leadership has largely been destroyed and its ideology of global jihad left largely in the hands of individuals and small groups all over the world.
Three days of hearings have shown that IRS scrutiny of conservative organizations extended beyond a few rogue employees in Cincinnati, that the agency staged its announcement of the bad news to try to limit the damage, and that the White House knew more, and knew it earlier, than it first admitted.
As of Wednesday night, more than 2,200 individuals impacted by the tornadoes in Oklahoma had registered with FEMA for direct assistance available through the major disaster declaration provided Monday night, a White House official said.
Donald H. Rumsfeld has created considerable buzz with his book "Rumsfeld's Rules: Leadership Lessons in Business, Politics, War, and Life," which includes 400 advisories for those who would be leaders. Among those rules: American is not what's wrong with the world. If you expect people to be on the landing, include them in the takeoff. If you're coasting, you're going downhill.
House Speaker John A. Boehner says it "really is inconceivable" that President Obama wouldn't have known about the unfolding IRS scandal before learning about it from reporters, as the White House has claimed.
We keep hearing from the president and some congressmen that Benghazi, Libya, is a sideshow. If it were about who changed talking points or security, I would agree.
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."
During his 2012 campaign for re-election, President Obama and his team accused Mitt Romney of "betting against America" for investing in offshore accounts. If Mr. Romney "bet against America," so did the family of Penny Pritzker, Mr. Obama's nominee for commerce secretary.
Hey. Wait a minute. Those conservative groups targeted by the IRS may be needing a little cash in the aftermath, say 26 high-profile conservatives leaders who are calling for new legislation to reimburse the grass-roots folks. The coalition — which includes Richard Viguerie, James Dobson, Ralph Reed, Phyllis Schlafly, David Bossie and Gary Bauer — have contacted House Speaker John A. Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, advising the lawmakers that oversight hearings are all well and fine. But where's the money?
The United States and several key allies sought Wednesday a strategy to end Syria's civil war, their united efforts unable at the moment to stem the Assad regime's military gains and Washington still unwilling to join those providing the rebels with lethal military aid.
While some White House officials, including press secretary Jay Carney, have tried to minimize the impact of the IRS political-targeting scandal, saying the abuses ended in May 2012 and the practice is a thing of the past, victims say they are still feeling the impact.
Rep. Tom Cole, Oklahoma Republican, said Wednesday that he was confident Oklahoma will get the help it needs in the wake of the deadly tornado that swept through the state, adding that "these are awfully tough people, and we've done this before, sadly, so we're pretty good at dealing with it."
The convergence of two events this week — one by the hand of God, the other man-made — might leave us asking, "What can I do?" and "What should our government do?"
