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S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Caption that photo!: Al Sharpton eating a salad

Eddie Scarry — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:00:53 +0000

Below is a photo Rev. Al Sharpton uploaded to his Instagram account of himself eating something. In the description, he calls it a “special salad” given to him by the students at school PS 7 in New York.

Caption that photo! We’ll post the winner and a few runners-up soon.

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

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Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

IRS to pro-lifers: ‘Please detail the content of your members’ prayers.’

Meredith Jessup — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:02:12 +0000

Conservative political groups weren’t the only one being targeted by the Internal Revenue Service over their tax statuses.

As I noted yesterday, pro-life non-profit advocacy organizations are also coming forward to say they, too, were mistreated by the IRS and Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., brought their claims to light during today’s hearing on Capitol Hill:

h/t Jim Geraghty

Truly chilling and outrageous questions from the IRS.

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Notable & Quotable: Supporter shields Obama from scandals

Meredith Jessup — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:34:35 +0000

This is from The Onion, a satirical news site. But it’s oddly similar to the nonsense I’m hearing from Obama’s real-life supporters:

CORTLAND, NY—Amid mounting scrutiny over scandals involving last September’s attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, the IRS’ alleged targeting of conservative groups, and the Department of Justice’s spying on the Associated Press, Obama supporter Jake Maynard reportedly devised a perfectly implausible explanation Thursday that frees the president from any blame.

“Look, he’s the President of the United States of America; how could he possibly be involved in or aware of every single high-level action taken by the prominent government agencies he oversees?” said Maynard, noticeably perspiring as he explained the completely illogical reason why the President of the United States will emerge from this week’s scandals unscathed. “Let’s watch this thing play out. I have no doubt that in a week, more than enough evidence will come out showing he had nothing to do with any of this. You’ll see.” Maynard, whose voice quavered several times during his asinine explanation, ended his perfectly invalid defense of the president by stressing that this was all politics and that “none of this would even be happening if the president were someone other than Obama.”

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

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Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Tweet of the day

Meredith Jessup — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:24:44 +0000

Maybe on next year’s tax returns we should all just write “I don’t remember”

— ChangeIt Back (@ChangeItBack2) May 17, 2013

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

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Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Amidst scandals & sequester, Obamas plan another star-studded White House party

Meredith Jessup — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:46:22 +0000

The Obamas announced today that they will be hosting another “Performance at the White House” event on May 28 to honor American singer and songwriter Carole King:

As part of their “In Performance at the White House” series, the President and First Lady will host a concert in the East Room honoring singer-songwriter Carole King, who will be awarded the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. President Obama will present the award as he did when the Library of Congress honored Stevie Wonder (2009), Sir Paul McCartney (2010), and the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David (2012). The program will include performances by King, as well as Gloria Estefan, Billy Joel, Jesse McCartney, Emeli Sandé, James Taylor and Trisha Yearwood.

King also happens to be a big Obama political supporter. WHD’s Keith Koffler reports that King campaigned for Obama in 2008 and again in 2012. In addition, King headlined a fundraiser for the president’s second campaign, an event with tickets running from $2,500-$5,000 each.

Last summer, she also appeared in this Obama campaign video targeting rural voters:

Although the sequester may have halted White House tours and canceled Jewish American Heritage Month, the King party will be the second such concert event for the Obama White House in as many months. As you may recall, the Obamas partied with Justin Timberlake, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper and others during an April “performance” celebration of soul music.

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Bob Woodward: You know, this Benghazi scandal is a lot like Watergate

Meredith Jessup — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:16:50 +0000

President Obama may be dismissing ongoing congressional investigations into the 9/11 Benghazi terror attacks as a political “sideshow,” but veteran journalist Bob Woodward hints that today’s scandal is very reminiscent of Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal.

“You’re talking about government not working, but who’s in charge of the executive branch,” Woodward said Friday. “You go to the Constitution, and the president has sole responsibility for the executive branch. This rests on him.”

Comparing the release of emails from the administration to Nixon’s edited transcripts, he concluded: “I would not dismiss Benghazi. It’s a very serious issue.”

WATCH:

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

And now, a word from Scott Brown

Eddie Scarry — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:50:34 +0000

I love Chipotle. The food is fresh, great price, hard working staff and always tasty. See u there at lunch sometime.

— Scott P. Brown (@ScottBrownMA) May 17, 2013

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Michelle Obama on ballers and rappers

Eddie Scarry — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:35:19 +0000

“Instead of dreaming of being a teacher or a lawyer or a business leader, they’re fantasizing about being a baller or a rapper.”– First lady Michelle Obama, delivering the commencement address in Maryland on Friday to Bowie State University, an historically black university.

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

George Stephanopoulos and Shanice Brady, the best Internet troll ever

Eddie Scarry — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:46:21 +0000

Now and again ABC News subjects one of its on-air anchors or reporters to a Q&A with their audience on Facebook. Back in March, it was Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz. She answered questions like “Do you recognize your own awesomeness?” and “What’s the secret to your success?”

This week it was Good Morning America and This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos. He answered similar questions (“When do you get to spend time with your family?”) But, as we’re wont to do, we took a look at the questions he didn’t answer.

George did not answer many questions. But one woman we really wish he paid attention to goes by the name Shanice Brady…

Brady, who’s Facebook profile photo is of a monkey hugging a cat, asked several questions. Here are the top 6:

1. “Everyone has always said how young you look for your age… Do you ever get carded at R-rated movies?”

2. “Did you ever talk about cigars with Bill Clinton? If so, what are his favorites? What are your favorites?”

3. “If Kim Jong Un and Dennis Rodman had an argument over who was the best basketball player who would you side with and why?”

4. “[Conservative commentator and regular guest on This Week] George Will has a fine mind but if he mentions baseball again I will flip my lid. Do you ever just pretend Mr. Will is not there and move on to the next commentator?”

5. “George, boxers or briefs? If you go commando just don’t reply.”

6. “If I claim to be gay or disabled would you answer any of my questions more quickly?”

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Report: IRS deliberately waited until after election to admit scandal

Meredith Jessup — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:34:50 +0000

…This as the outgoing IRS commissioner testifies before Congress that he thinks politics had nothing to do with the targeting of conservative groups.

And who’s saying this? Fox News? Rush Limbaugh?

Um, no. It’s NBC-freaking-News:

The IRS commissioner “has known for at least a year that this was going on,” said [NBC's Lisa] Myers, “and that this had happened. And did he share any of that information with the White House? But even more importantly, Congress is going to ask him, why did you mislead us for an entire year? Members of Congress were saying conservatives are being targeted. What’s going on here? The IRS denied it. Then when — after these officials are briefed by the IG that this is going on, they don’t disclose it. In fact, the commissioner sent a letter to Congress in September on this subject and did not reveal this. Imagine if we — if you can — what would have happened if this fact came out in September 2012, in the middle of a presidential election? The terrain would have looked very different.”

WATCH:

Related:
Buck Sexton: The IRS scandal is far worse than Democrats will ever admit

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

A picture is worth 1,000 words: Capitalism & racism

Meredith Jessup — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:40:45 +0000

Sorry liberals, but where there is more economic freedom, there is less racism…

Via WaPo:

In the bluer countries, fewer people said they would not want neighbors of a different race; in red countries, more people did.

If we treat this data as indicative of racial tolerance, then we might conclude that people in the bluer countries are the least likely to express racist attitudes, while the people in red countries are the most likely.

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Outgoing IRS chief: I wouldn’t say we ‘targeted’ conservatives, per se…

Meredith Jessup — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:10:10 +0000

It’s clear from the facts that conservative organizations were disproportionately targeted with IRS scrutiny in proving tax-exempt qualifications. Yet when Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, asked outgoing IRS commissioner Steven Miller about who was responsible for the order to single out conservative groups, Miller took issue with the term “targeted.”

“I’m going to take exception to the concept of targeting,” Miller said. “It’s a loaded term.”

Charlie Spiering flagged video of the exchange:

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

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Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Allen West signs on with Fox News

Meredith Jessup — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:35:19 +0000

Allen West — retired Lieutenant Colonel, former congressman and now a Fox News contributor:

Former Florida Rep. Allen West will join Fox News as a contributor, the network said on Thursday.

“Representative West’s congressional and military experience along with his fearless approach to voicing key issues will provide a valuable point of view to the Fox News lineup,” Bill Shine, the network’s executive vice president of programming, said in a statement.

West is the latest big-name conservative to work with the cable network. Earlier this year, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin parted ways with Fox News after three years. Reports at the time suggested that it was Palin’s decision not to renew her contract as a part-time contributor.

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The internet has spoken: Obama can hold his own dang umbrella

Meredith Jessup — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:48:01 +0000

Yesterday, President Obama stepped a bit outside protocol when he asked Marines standing guard at the White House to hold his umbrella. Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, the optics of the situation aren’t good, as Hot Air’s Allahpundit notes:

Free advice to future administrations, then: Discontinue this practice. These guys aren’t valets. The slogan is not “The Few, the Proud, the Umbrella Stands.” The good news is, we live in a golden age of technological progress where all manner of standalone head coverings are available in case the skies look cloudy for the next Rose Garden press conference. Imagine a small, thin, clear plastic tarp raised a few feet above the podiums, out of the camera’s line of sight, shielding The One and America’s Hamas-supporting Islamist cretin “ally” from nature’s wrath. Magical.

I predicted the internet would have some fun with the umbrella snafu, and I’m pleased to report it didn’t disappoint…

Exhibit A: The “umbrella platoon”

Exhibit B: “Marine Poppins”

Exhibit C:

(Image: Facebook)

And F:

(Image: FoxNews.com)

Thanks, internet. I knew you wouldn’t let us down.

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North Korean newspaper thinks Helen Thomas is a man

Eddie Scarry — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:21:40 +0000

To prove that the U.S news media “distort the truth and mislead the public opinion to curry favor with power,” a North Korean newspaper used Helen Thomas’s 2010 retirement as an example.

Only problem is that Thomas (pictured right) was once a female columnist for Hearst Newspapers, not a man.

From a Thursday editorial in Rodong Sinmun, one of North Korea’s state-run papers, which repeatedly uses male terms to refer to Thomas:

The U.S. pressmen are cripple reporters under gag law.

A vivid proof of it is an early retirement of Helen Thomas, one of a few White House reporters.

Requested by his colleague to comment on the Israel issue, he said Israel should withdraw from Palestine, an occupied territory.

There was nothing wrong in his remark.

But, unable to bear down the repeated pressure of the U.S. authorities siding with Israel, Thomas made public a statement of “apology” and made the last parting with his job.

Thomas was actually caught on tape in 2010 saying that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine.” Not that Israel should withdraw from Palestine.

h/t Washington Post

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Friday morning must-reads

Meredith Jessup — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:02:53 +0000

White House seeks advice for scandal damage control

Should Republicans go easy on Obama (in public)?

Venezuela suffers toilet paper shortage

U.S. military updates plans to “capture or kill” Benghazi terrorists

House committee will question ousted IRS official

IRS scandal “started at the top”

“Remember the old days when Obama’s biggest embarrassment was Joe Biden?”

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Peggy Noonan doesn’t want Karl Rove to make the IRS scandal into a commercial

Eddie Scarry — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:49 +0000

Republican Strategist Karl Rove is a man known for creating aggressively partisan, anti-Democrat ads. He did it recently with an anti-Hillary Clinton bit and was scolded for it by The Weekly Standard‘s Bill Kristol.

In the Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan says Rove shouldn’t take his Rovian approach to the IRS scandal, either.

From Noonan’s Friday column:

[I]t would be shameful and shallow for any Republican operative or operator to make this scandal into a commercial and turn it into a mere partisan arguing point and part of the game. It’s not part of the game. This is not about the usual partisan slugfest. This is about the integrity of our system of government and our ability to trust, which is to say our ability to function.

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Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Independents, Republicans believe IRS, Benghazi scandals deserve further investigation

Eddie Scarry — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:57:39 +0000

From Gallup:

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‘I’m warning you conservatives…’

Scott Baker — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:28:26 +0000

(via)

Follow Scott Baker on Twitter

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Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

The federal government misplaced a couple of terrorists?

Meredith Jessup — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:19:11 +0000

As Dave noted earlier today, the U.S. Marshals Service reportedly lost track of two “known or suspected terrorists” under their watch in Witness Security Program. Over at CNN, Jake Tapper noted that President Obama ignored a reporter’s questions about it today during the White House press conference:

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Just a photo of Obama seeing how wet rain is

Eddie Scarry — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:18:48 +0000

AP: “President Barack Obama leans out from under an umbrella to check if it’s still raining, during a joint news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Thursday, May 16, 2013, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)”

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WH radio correspondent plays family therapist for Obama press team

Eddie Scarry — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:08:23 +0000

White House correspondent for Talk Radio News Ellen Ratner says that as someone who’s worked in “the mental health field for 20 years,” she knows what the Obama press office needs: family therapy.

Why? Because sometimes reporters are kept waiting around for press conferences and because Jay Carney doesn’t answer every single question the press office receives:

Ratner writes in FoxNews.com:

If a family therapist would take the chronic lateness and the preference of certain members of the press who are allowed to have a voice it would be clear that the system is anything but open. It is what we would call a “closed” system, and that means trouble. …

The president needs to show leadership, and he needs to start with better and more honest communication. That means answering all the press corps’ questions, even from the smaller news outlets …

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Tweet of the day

Meredith Jessup — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:54:41 +0000

#ObamacareInThreeWords is trending right now on Twitter, led by the National Republican Senatorial Committee:

Must. Be. Repealed.#ObamaCareInThreeWordsSign the Petition to Repeal ObamaCare at: bit.ly/14tgeTh

— NRSC (@NRSC) May 16, 2013

The NRSC’s “featured” tweet responded to this random tweet from the Obama White House:

It’s. The. Law. #ObamaCareInThreeWords, twitter.com/whitehouse/sta…

— The White House (@whitehouse) May 16, 2013

But match and game in this volley go to Right Scoop who fired back for the win:

So. Was. Slavery. RT @whitehouse It’s. The. Law. #ObamaCareInThreeWords

— Right Scoop (@trscoop) May 16, 2013

And runner-up is NRO’s Dan Foster who responded with this video:

See more #ObamacareInThreeWords tweets here.

Author’s note: This post has been updated to correct timing of tweets.

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Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Video: Obama calls in the Marines…

Meredith Jessup — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:06:20 +0000

…to shield him from the rain.

I’m anxiously awaiting the internet’s response in the form of a .gif of the Marines’ famous Iwo Jima flag raising — with an umbrella.

WATCH (via TWS):

During the outdoor White House press conference, the president insisted he knew nothing about an agency report on the IRS targeting conservative groups.

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Palestinian smugglers are now importing… fried chicken

Meredith Jessup — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:59:56 +0000

Tunneling beneath the border separating Egypt and the Gaza strip, Palestinian smugglers work to bring all sorts of things from one side to the other — from livestock to home appliances, to vehicles and dangerous weapons.

As the Christian Science Monitor reports, such smuggling even extends to so-called “Kentaki” fried chicken:

(Image: Facebook)

For six years, Rafat Shororo longed for the taste of a KFC sandwich he had eaten in Egypt. This week, he got his finger lickin’ fix at home in the Gaza Strip after a local delivery company managed to smuggle it from Egypt through underground tunnels.

“It has been a dream, and this company has made my dream come true,” says Mr. Shororo, an accountant, as he receives his order from the delivery guy.

The al-Yamama company advertises its unorthodox new fast-food smuggling service on Facebook. It gets tens of orders a week for KFC meals despite having to triple the price to 100 shekels ($30) to cover transportation and smuggling fees. The deliveries go from the fryers at the Al-Arish KFC joint 35 miles away to customers’ doorsteps in about three hours.

The fact that the tunnels operate quickly and cheaply enough for the Colonel’s secret recipe to be enjoyed in the tightly controlled Gaza Strip shows just how much of a sieve the Egypt-Gaza border has become.

“All you need to have any KFC product is a short phone call and a few hours, then you can enjoy the great taste of fried chickens,” says Shororo, checking over his chicken pieces, salads, and apple pies. Like other customers who are acquainted with KFC from their travels abroad, he says he doesn’t care how much it costs. “I just want it.”

Enterprising Palestinians have even started advertising their chicken-delivery services on Facebook:

Hundreds of these underground tunnels are meant to bypass an Israeli blockade. Despite Israel’s attempts to relax the Gaza embargo, the black-market chicken is apparently still a hot item to get your hands on.

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Piers Morgan’s joke about retiring backfires

Eddie Scarry — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:26:39 +0000

@piersmorgan disappointed :(

— a Thai Gooner (@gunnerthai) May 16, 2013

@piersmorgan DAMN :(

— djshamielx (@djshamielx) May 16, 2013

@piersmorgan seems like you got a lot of positive feedback on that post

— max montgomery (@maxmontyphoto) May 16, 2013

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Surprise: DC’s Marion Barry is working to decriminalize drugs

Meredith Jessup — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:12:33 +0000

The news makes sense to me — after all, he probably has more experience with them than anyone else on DC’s city council. As you might recall, Barry spent six months in federal prison after the FBI caught the DC mayor smoking crack cocaine in a sting operation in 1990.

For some reason, however, the Huffington Post calls Barry, now a city council member, an “unlikely” proponent of the decriminalization of marijuana:

The fight to decriminalize marijuana possession in Washington, D.C., just got an unlikely ally: former mayor and current city councilman Marion Barry (D-Ward 8).

Barry and fellow council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) are drafting legislation that would reduce or eliminate criminal penalties for people caught with small amounts of marijuana.

“It’s time we enter the 21st century and stop criminalizing people… for what is not really a major crime,” Wells told The Washington Post.

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Bob Schieffer calls government scandals ‘very, very disturbing’

Eddie Scarry — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:40:34 +0000

On CBS Thursday morning, Face the Nation anchor Bob Schieffer said the three scandals engulfing Washington this week are “a case of ‘is anybody home.’”

He continued:

“I mean, just all of a sudden, well, you have this thing over at the Justice Department. They’re over there getting all these phone records of all the reporters, ‘the attorney general, well, he didn’t know anything about it.’ You get to the IRS, they don’t seem to know anything about the tea party thing. You come to the White House, they don’t know anything about Benghazi. I mean, somebody has got to grab hold of this thing. You know, it’s, it’s very, very disturbing what we’re seeing here.”

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Is the IRS acting as an agent of Planned Parenthood?

Meredith Jessup — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:58:09 +0000

As Billy reported over on the front side, a prominent professor is speaking up in the wake of this week’s IRS scandal, suggesting that the Internal Revenue Service targeted her with an audit for her work defending her Catholic faith against progressive groups.

Similarly, the nonprofit Thomas More Society is now alleging that the IRS withheld approval for tax-exempt status from two pro-life organizations because of their demonstrations against abortion provider Planned Parenthood.

In one case, the IRS withheld approval of an application for tax exempt status for Coalition for Life of Iowa. In a phone call to Coalition for Life of Iowa leaders on June 6, 2009, the IRS agent “Ms. Richards” told the group to send a letter to the IRS with the entire board’s signatures stating that, under perjury of the law, they do not picket/protest or organize groups to picket or protest outside of Planned Parenthood. Once the IRS received this letter, their application would be approved…

In another similar case, the IRS withheld approval of an application for charitable tax-exempt recognition of Christian Voices for Life, questioning the group’s involvement with “40 Days for Life” and “Life Chain” events. The Fort Bend County, Texas, organization was subjected to repeated and lengthy unconstitutional requests for information about the viewpoint and content of its educational communications, volunteer prayer vigils, and other protected activities.

Thomas More Society special counsel Sally Wagenmaker calls the IRS authority in these cases is “disturbing.”

“The IRS’s role should only be to determine whether organizations fit the section 501(c)(3) test for ‘charitable, religious, or educational’ qualification, not to inquire about the content of prayers, protests, and petitions,” she says. ”It’s high time that the IRS be called to account for its workers’ potential to trample on our constitutional rights, through such ostensibly innocuous means…what the Ways and Means committee will discuss may only be the tip of the iceberg of IRS abuses.”

For more coverage of the unfolding IRS scandal, click here.

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Video: 2 guys experience what it’s like to give birth

Meredith Jessup — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:30:03 +0000

I’ll admit: I have no idea if this is even scientifically accurate in any way, but I still enjoyed watching it…

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Howard Dean: IRS scandal is just a bunch of ‘hot air’

Meredith Jessup — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:51:23 +0000

To think, this guy was once a serious Democratic contender for president…

A top Democrat on Thursday said that as long as the unfolding Internal Revenue Service scandal doesn’t implicate President Obama, there’s no reason for the administration to panic.

“As long as it doesn’t get to the White House, it’s not going to be a problem,” said Howard Dean, former Vermont governor, presidential candidate and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, during an appearance on MNSBC’s “Morning Joe” program. [...]

“They can have as many hearings as they want. Credibility of Congress is close to zero. I think most people view this as hot air,” he said.

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The IRS is a political bully

Meredith Jessup — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:07:32 +0000

The Washington Examiner’s Tim Carney offers some more details in the IRS inquisition scandal that should make anyone think twice about the Internal Revenue Service’s objectivity when it comes to politics (emphasis mine):

Federal officials used the power of the state to intimidate and harass critics of President Obama and the federal government. When the higher levels of the Internal Revenue Service learned that one office was inappropriately targeting Tea Party groups, these officials nevertheless denied it — until they were forced to fess up.

If you needed another reason to distrust your government and oppose its expansion, the IRS just gave it to you.

Judging by available evidence and an inspector general’s report released this week, the story here is not a Nixonian White House using all of government’s tools to punish critics.

The story is instead one of government power so great that, even in the hands of nonpolitical career civil servants, politically motivated abuse is inevitable. And the ultimate problem is that our tax code and campaign finance laws put the IRS in the business of policing political speech. Politics inevitably comes into play. [...]

The Cincinnati office where the political targeting took place is much more partisan, judging by FEC filings. More than 75 percent of the campaign contributions from that office in the past three elections went to Democrats. In 2012, every donation traceable to employees at that office went to either President Obama or liberal Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

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Thursday morning must-reads

Meredith Jessup — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:17:17 +0000

Benghazi emails contradict White House claims

IRS scapegoats not taking it lying down

State Department fretted over Benghazi emails

Kathleen Sebelius skirts law by seeking private cash for Obamacare

The NYTimes is worried Obama has lost his “vision”

House Republicans threaten to quit immigration group

What could go wrong? Dem congressman brings baby grandson to Holder hearing:

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Bret Baier thinks it’s possible Fox News was ‘looked into’ by DOJ

Eddie Scarry — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:49:42 +0000

It’s well known that the relationship between the whole of Fox News and the Obama administration has been a contentious one. With the news that the Department of Justice secretly seized the phone records of Associates Press staffers in 2012, Fox News anchor Bret Baier suggested Wednesday night that things may be worse than previously thought.

Responding to a viewer question submitted online as to whether Baier thought it was possible Fox News or other news outlets have been “tapped or looked into,” Baier said yes.

“In fact, the Attorney General told NPR yesterday that he can’t remember how many he’s approved, in that he has turned down some but he can’t remember how many he’s approved,” Baier said. “That suggests that there are numerous. So, yes, I do think there are other outlets who have experienced the same thing, but we don’t know which ones.”

h/t Real Clear Politics

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Fewer Americans following Benghazi news

Eddie Scarry — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:27:04 +0000

Congressional hearings last week on the Benghazi incident lent more media attention to the September attack than ever before. Even so, fewer people are paying attention to it.

From Pew Research Center:

Fewer than half (44%) of Americans say they are following the hearings very or fairly closely, virtually unchanged from late January when Hillary Clinton testified. Last October, 61% said they were following the early stages of the investigation at least fairly closely.

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Video: ‘Arrested (Economic) Development’

Meredith Jessup — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:25:05 +0000

It’s nice to know the House GOP Conference still has a sense of humor…

“And now, the story of a dysfunctional Democratic majority that’s costing American jobs, and the one president who had no choice but to make it worse”:

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Geraldo has some thoughts on ‘fat’ O.J. Simpson

Eddie Scarry — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:24:46 +0000

O.J. Simpson reentered the public spotlight Wednesday when he appeared in court to request a do-over of the 2008 trial that ended with him being convicted of assault and kidnapping. He appeared swollen and with bloodshot eyes.

Fox News host Geraldo Rivera had some nearly intelligible thoughts on the matter…

“No longer ‘Juice’ but ‘Gravy’ fat OJ Simpson is pathetic shadow,” he wrote on Twitter. “Too bad he’s in jail for lame theatrical robbery not his double murders.”

Rivera was one of the many TV stars of the 1995 Simpson trial, providing wall-to-wall coverage of the trial’s race angle on his then-CNBC program Rivera Live.

No longer ‘Juice’ but ‘Gravy’ fat OJ Simpson ispathetic shadow Too bad he’s in jail for lame theatrical robbery not his double murders.

— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) May 15, 2013

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Obama asks Congress to pass a new ‘press shield’ law

Meredith Jessup — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:17:37 +0000

A breaking news alert from Politico:

The White House has asked Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to reintroduce a press shield law, White House officials said Wednesday.

The move comes after questions were raised about the seizure of Associated Press phone records by the Justice Department as part of a national security leak investigation.

Shield laws protect journalists from being forced to reveal sources. The version that passed the Judiciary Committee in 2009 included exemptions for national security.

Schumer praised the new push.

“This kind of law would balance national security needs against the public’s right to the free flow of information,” Schumer said. “At minimum, our bill would have ensured a fairer, more deliberate process in this case.”

So, essentially the White House is lobbying for a “press shield” bill to protect the press from… the White House? Awesome.

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Axelrod: Government is just too darn big for Obama to know what goes on…

Meredith Jessup — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:29:11 +0000

NRO’s Andrew Johnson tips us off to this gem:

The government is simply too big for President Obama to keep track of all the wrongdoing taking place on his watch, his former senior adviser, David Axelrod, told MSNBC. “Part of being president is there’s so much beneath you that you can’t know because the government is so vast,” he explained.

WATCH:

Here’s a novel idea: If the federal bureaucracy is “too vast” for the President to manage, wouldn’t it make sense to shrink the government rather than grow it? Food for thought…

At another point in the same interview, Axelrod defended the Department of Justice’s decision to track the phones of reporters in order to plug a intel leak. Madeleine has more on that here.

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Boehner reacts to IRS scandal: ‘Who’s going to jail over this?’

Meredith Jessup — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:45:37 +0000

“Clearly someone violated the law,” House Speaker John Boehner said this morning in response to the Internal Revenue Service’s admitted targeting of conservative groups and their tax statuses.

Joined by his fellow House Republicans for a Wednesday morning press conference, the Speaker demanded answers from the administration. “The IRS has admitted to targeting conservatives, even if the White House continues to be stuck on the word ‘if,’” he said, referring to President Obama’s reluctance to lay blame or consequence. “Now, my question isn’t about about who’s going to resign. My question is: Who’s going to jail over this scandal?”

Boehner certainly isn’t alone in his calls for justice. According to a poll out this week from Rasmussen, most American voters view the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups as politically motivated and think those involved should be punished:

Just 16% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the IRS investigations of these groups were a coincidence, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fifty-seven percent (57%) think the investigations were politically motivated. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure…

Fifty-five percent (55%) think it is at least somewhat likely that President Obama or his top aides were aware that Tea Party and other conservative groups were targeted by the IRS. Thirty-four percent (34%) consider that unlikely. This includes 36% who believe it is Very Likely the president or his top aides knew of the investigations and 13% who feel it is Not At All Likely. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided.

Only seven percent (7%) of voters believe no disciplinary action should be taken against the IRS employees involved in the investigations. Twenty-nine percent (29%) feel they should be formally reprimanded. But most (57%) think those involved should be jailed or fired, with 16% who say they should be put in jail and 41% who believe they should be fired.

In addition, the scandal and ensuing investigations also divide the country along partisan lines:

While 86% of Republicans and 60% of voters not affiliated with either major party think the IRS investigations were politically motivated, just 33% of Democrats agree.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also spoke about potential criminal ramifications in the case. In a speech from the Senate floor, McCaonnell suggested that President Obama should “work openly and transparently” with Congress to get to the bottom of what happened.

“These allegations are very serious,” McConnell added. “If there was an effort to bring the power of the federal government to bear on those that the administration disagreed with in the middle of a heated national election, it actually could be criminal and we’re determined to get the answers.”

WATCH (via HuffPo):

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Just a photo of Michele Bachmann in a pink dress trying on Google Glass

Eddie Scarry — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:18:36 +0000

Rep. Bachmann tries out Google Glass at House #GOP mtg twitter.com/LukeRussert/st…

— Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) May 15, 2013

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Video: Jon Stewart rips Obama’s response to scandals (again)

Meredith Jessup — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:51:25 +0000

For the second straight day, Comedy Central host Jon Stewart criticized the president for the way he’s managed this week’s ongoing scandals — from Benghazi and the DOJ to the IRS and possibly even the EPA.

Apparently President Obama’s chief advisor is now the nightly network news broadcast — it seems to be where he’s getting most of his information from. And, as The Daily Show demonstrated last night, today’s scandals aren’t the first examples of President Obama relying on media reports to keep him apprised of what’s going on in his own administration.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if President Obama learned Osama bin Laden had been killed when he saw himself announce it on television,” Stewart joked.

WATCH:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Additionally, Stewart extended his sympathies for “the real victim in all of this” — British PM David Cameron — who was awkwardly caught in the middle of the swirling scandals during Monday’s joint press conference.

See additional video after the jump!

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Media groups protest DOJ’s AP ‘overreach’

Meredith Jessup — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:22:18 +0000

In a letter addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney James M. Cole Tuesday, more than 50 major media organizations — dubbed the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — voiced their objections to the DOJ’s seizure of the Associated Press’ phone records. The join letter asked that the DOJ “mitigate the damage it has caused” and return the secretly subpoenaed records.

Via Politico:

“The scope of this action calls into question the very integrity of Department of Justice policies toward the press and its ability to balance, on its own, its police powers against the First Amendment rights of the news media and the public’s interest in reporting on all manner of government conduct, including matters touching on national security which lie at the heart of this case,” the letter from The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and 51 other news organizations including Advance Publications, Cox Media Group, The McClatchy Company, The New York Times Company and NPR, among many others, stated.

The media organizations also noted that no one could “remember an instance where such an overreaching dragnet for newsgathering materials was deployed by the Department, particularly without notice to the affected reporters or an opportunity to seek judicial review” in the 30 years since the department issued guidelines about its subpoena practices for journalists’ phone records.

Click here to read the full letter. Also, Eddie has more on the mainstream media’s reactions here.

On a related note, have you seen Media Matters’ defense of the DOJ? It is epic.

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The reason Sean Hannity wasn’t fired when he first started at Fox News

Eddie Scarry — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:19:27 +0000

The 1,000th broadcast of Fox News’s Hannity airs Wednesday night. To mark the occasion, the show’s host Sean Hannity granted an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, in which he says he was shocked he wasn’t fired just after being hired in 1996.

“In all honesty, I did have a bad haircut and I had no business being on television. I was awful,” Hannity told THR. “I’ve said to Roger [Ailes] many times, ‘Why didn’t you fire me in the first six months? I was god awful.’ He said nobody was really watching then.” He added, “The timing for me to grow was perfect. Today, there would have been articles written about how I did that first night. It’s much more competitive.”

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Bill Maher on ‘backward’ Middle East

Eddie Scarry — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:47:48 +0000

“[N]othing compares to the Middle East, where conspiracy theories are so pervasive you’d think the whole region was entirely backward and overly religious or something.”– HBO’s Bill Maher, Real Time Blog.

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Surprise: Obama brother’s charity faced no hurdles in IRS approval

Meredith Jessup — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:37:43 +0000

While many conservative groups and Tea Party organizations are coming forward with complaints against the IRS for delaying their tax-exempt statuses, one group with a familiar name sped through the process in lightning speed with unprecedented special treatment.

The DC reports:

Lois Lerner, the senior IRS official at the center of the decision to target tea party groups for burdensome tax scrutiny, signed paperwork granting tax-exempt status to the Barack H. Obama Foundation, a shady charity headed by the president’s half-brother that operated illegally for years.

According to the organization’s filings, Lerner approved the foundation’s tax status within a month of filing, an unprecedented timeline that stands in stark contrast to conservative organizations that have been waiting for more than three years, in some cases, for approval.

Lerner also appears to have broken with the norms of tax-exemption approval by granting retroactive tax-exempt status to Malik Obama’s organization.

The National Legal and Policy Center filed an official complaint with the IRS in May 2011 asking why the foundation was being allowed to solicit tax-deductible contributions when it had not even applied for an IRS determination. In a New York Post article dated May 8, 2011, an officer of the foundation admitted, “We haven’t been able to find someone with the expertise” to apply for tax-exempt status.

Nevertheless, a month later, the Barack H. Obama Foundation had flown through the grueling application process. Lerner granted the organization a 501(c) determination and even gave it a retroactive tax exemption dating back to December 2008.

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Keith Olbermann: Eric Holder ‘should resign’

Eddie Scarry — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:15:59 +0000

During a press conference Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder defended the Department of Justice’s seizure of Associated Press records in 2012, citing national security reasons.

“Unacceptable,” tweeted former MSNBC and Current TV anchor Keith Olbermann. “If Mr. Holder continues to support this rogue action, he should resign.”

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MSM reporters ‘fundamentally on the patriot team’

Eddie Scarry — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:28:01 +0000

An unforeseen consequence stemming from the IRS’s unfair scrutiny of politically conservative organizations and the Justice Department’s secret seizure of Associated Press phone records: The right and the mainstream media have found themselves tucked under the same blanket.

Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker says the two are pretty much on the same team most times anyway.

From her Wednesday column:

Americans accustomed to hating the media — a popular pastime of self-proclaimed “new media,” often meaning someone with an iPhone and a laptop — should stop hitting “snooze” on their wake-up call right about now. When the choice is between distrusting reporters and distrusting the government, there’s no contest, especially when the aggrieved are groups of people (tea partyers and self-proclaimed patriots) whose chief organizing principle is distrust of government.

Reporters, though they are merely human with all the attendant imperfections, are fundamentally on the patriot team. They’re sort of like cops: You hate them when their blue lights appear in the rear view, but you love them when something goes bump in the night.