citizens about the United States Constitution."
According to the inspector general’s report (pp. 30 & 38), this particular IRS targeting commenced on Jan. 25, 2012 — the beginning of the election year for President Obama’s second campaign. On that date: “the BOLO [‘be on the lookout’] criteria were again updated.” The revised criteria included “political action type organizations involved in … educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights.”
What is most corrosive about this IRS tripwire is that it is triggered by a particular point of view; it is not, as First Amendment scholars say, viewpoint-neutral. It does not include obfuscating or denigrating the Constitution; only those “involved in … educating on the Constitution” are captured by this criterion. This viewpoint targeting potentially skews every national debate about politics or government. And the skew is not strictly liberal; indeed, it should trouble liberals as much as conservatives. The ultimate checks on executive power are to be found in the United States Constitution. Insidiously, then, suppressing those “involved in … educating on the Constitution” actually skews national debate in favor of unchecked executive power. (read the whole thing)
12 comments:
Can the naiveté of declaring liberals to be in any way concerned with liberty and/or checks on power STOP?!
Leftwing neo-fascists hate our constitution. It stands in their way.
OT: A few weeks ago we were talking about police misconduct and I listed a few things I'd heard of. Just learned a new one. There's something called a "nickle ride," an allusion to an old-time amusement park attraction.
Apparently the cops leave you handcuffed in the back of a police van and then drive the thing so you bounce around in the back.
Philly.com today reported the city's going to pay $490,000 to settle a claim.
I'll not link to it because the site's slow but you can find it easily enough if you want to.
Insofar as "targeting the constitution" is concerned, I find that sort of hyperbole unhelpful and uninteresting.
Some people like to get themselves all worked up.
Been there. Done that.
Even knowing this administration is doing things they find very wrong will not get the left to vote for a Republican. They would even re-elect the same guy for a third term rather than vote for a Repub. It's hatred, deep-seated, irrational and irreversible. I have never seen liberals so accepting of the fact that their guy is an asshole. They even say it often now, but vote for the right wing? Let's not get crazy. Give me another option like a new name, a woman, anything I can hang my hat on as being a different mistake this time. I need to do the wrong thing - I just need plausible deniability about knowing better. I'm that fucking stupid.
Well, of course.
They also punished the slaves for learning how to read.
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
-- Upton Sinclair
The reason is that many people believe that their goodness and value as a person is wrapped up in what they stand for regardless of results. To vote for a Republican is simply being on the wrong side, supporting injustice, greed, meanness, and bad things. It's irrelevant what actually results from their vote. These people are wedded to appearances, fitting in, being part of, and joining, over substance, results, freedom or individuality. That's why they love demonstrations, marches, sit-ins, boycotts, riots, etc where everyone gets together and accomplishes nothing, but do plenty of damage. It's why their get-togethers always leave trash and damage behind. They don't really care what their actions produce-only what they intend.
Accurately stated, Bagoh.
Even after it all goes horribly wrong with boat-loads of unintended consequences staring them in the face, the left cannot shift into introspective mode. They are unable to look thoughtfully at what it was that made it all fall apart. Even when they have total control of all the levers of power, and it all goes to hell, somehow the evil other is still to blame.
Tea partiers and "those who would educate their fellow citizens about the United States Constitution" are one and the same. "Those who would educate" is just a rather clunky effort to take the sting out of "tea partier" as that term has been stigmatized in the way Sarah Palin is stigmatized. The sheep don't care if those racist tea partiers are targeted by the IRS. Actually, it's a good thing.
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