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“Rep. Darrell Issa runs his House Oversight and Gov’t. Reform Committee the same way as the IRS”

Posted by GottaLaff

· Saturday, May 25th, 2013 at 12:30 pm

Today’s L.A. Times letters to the editor, because our voices matter:

Re “Issa tested by the spotlight,” May 22

The IRS did what it was supposed to do regarding 501(c)(4)s, but in a way that strongly suggested partisan bias by investigating “tea party”-related groups during the Obama administration and liberal churches such as All Saints in Pasadena during the Bush administration.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) runs his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee the same way as the IRS, not bothering to go down investigative roads that might lead to answers that can’t be used to partisan advantage.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) has requested that the IRS’ conduct under both Obama and Bush be looked at. If Issa’s Fast and Furious investigation was any indication, Schiff’s request will be denied. Issa’s motivations are stockpiling power and influence to support his rise in the GOP.

Linda Kranen

Carlsbad

***

The IRS “scandal” is an attempt by conservatives to create an Obama Watergate.

Nonprofit groups that are nonpolitical can apply for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status. Political nonprofits can file for 527 tax-exempt status. The difference? Donors can give to 501(c)(4) groups anonymously (and, apparently, these groups can be political).

Those groups applying for 501(c)(4) status that were questioned by the IRS claim they were targeted in an effort to silence their voices during an election year. If the groups were nonpolitical, what difference would it make to them if it were an election year?

Putting “tea party” in the name of a group seeking a tax exemption and then expressing utter bewilderment over questions about having a political agenda is as sensible as getting personalized license plates reading “IMADRNK” and then complaining about harassment by the Highway Patrol.

Betty C. Duckman

Long Beach

No Comments

Categories : Politics

Tags : darrell issa, gop fail, IRS, L.A. Times, letters to the editor, President Obama, taxes, tea party, witch hunt

“The politicians should be embarrassed — but to be embarrassed, one first has to have a conscience.”

Posted by GottaLaff

· Friday, May 24th, 2013 at 4:04 pm

· No Comments

Today’s Los Angeles Times letter to the editor, because our voices matter:

Re “Apple execs grilled over tax strategy,” Business, May 22

I don’t know whether it’s funny or hypocritical for politicians to grill Apple executives on business ethics. After all, these are the people who, for years, have regularly taken bribes disguised as campaign contributions and generally enriched themselves at the public trough, all with impunity.

The politicians should be embarrassed — but to be embarrassed, one first has to have a conscience.

Joe Martin

Long Beach

No Comments

Categories : Politics

Tags : apple, ethics? what ethics?, hypocrisy, L.A. Times, letters to the editor, political donations, politicians, taxes, U.S. Congress

“Once again, [the Oklahoma tragedy] will soon be forgotten and our politicians will return to bashing teachers.”

Posted by GottaLaff

· Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 at 2:01 pm

· No Comments

Today’s Los Angeles Times letters to the editor, because our voices matter:

Re “Oklahoma twister ‘was a monster,’” May 21

It is heartbreaking to read of homes destroyed, lives upended, children killed and hundreds left homeless. We know that, without effective action to combat climate change, these events will become more frequent.

And yet the political leaders of Oklahoma are right-wing ideologues who either reject the idea of global warming or question its effects on weather catastrophes. What will it take to get them to realize that their inaction will lead to more disasters?

President Obama and the Democrats cannot wage the battle against climate change without support from GOP lawmakers. How many more of these disasters can we clean up before we run out of resources to do it?

Linda Winters

Culver City

***

Once again, as in other school tragedies, we learn that teachers at Moore, Okla., put themselves between their students and extreme danger. Once again, parents tearfully thank teachers. And once again, this will soon be forgotten and our politicians will return to bashing teachers.

The tragedy in Oklahoma should become a permanent reminder that we must not allow our teachers to be scapegoated or reduced to numbers on a standardized teacher evaluation form. Teachers who are willing to give up their lives for our children should not be treated so shabbily by a self-serving political establishment.

Dennis M. Clausen

Escondido

No Comments

Categories : Politics

Tags : climate change, global warming, L.A. Times, letters to the editor, Oklahoma, teachers, tornado

VIDEO– How to stop the Koch Bros, take power back from corporations: “Reinvent the way media looks and acts.”

Posted by GottaLaff

· Thursday, May 16th, 2013 at 1:09 pm

· No Comments

In November 2012, I wrote BIG problem: Former News Corp. exec expected to head Tribune Co., Rupert Murdoch eyes LA Times, Chicago Tribune.

Back in April, I wrote The Koch Bros., who plan to buy up 8 major newspapers, “see the conservative voice as not being well represented.” Um…:

Think Progress:

Right-wing funders and business industrialists David and Charles Koch may purchase the Tribune Company newspapers, which include the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, and the Los Angeles Times. The brothers are “interested in the clout they could gain through the Times’ editorial pages,” the Hollywood Reporter notes.

Under the circumstances, saying this is a serious concern is an understatement.

I’m an L.A. Times subscriber and if these corporate conservative monsters take over, it would be disastrous. I would immediately cancel my subscription and campaign for others to do the same.

Or I could introduce a lot of people to this. Via Free the Press, Buy the Tribune Company:

Corporate media is ruining the integrity of news. Winning the Tribune Company back might just start moving the tide in a different direction. Consider this an experiment that could have an enormous positive ripple effect for democracy.

Americans have said, time and time again, that they trust public and community media much more than corporate media. What if that extended not just to their radio or TV set but their local paper again?

Together we can make history. Really.

Can’t contribute? That doesn’t mean you can’t help take back the media!

Spread the word, tell your social network on Facebook and Twitter. We’re going to need as many people as possible to help out if we are going to meet our goal of raising $660 Million.

Also make sure to like The Other 98% on Facebook for even more opportunities to bring down the corporatocracy.

Please watch the entire video and then link over, there is much more, including a bunch of cool graphics.

No Comments

Categories : Politics

Tags : conservative media, dying newspapers, end of an era, is this nuts or what?, Koch brothers, L.A. Times, liberal media my ass, media bias, news? what news?, newspapers, rupert murdoch, video

“Blame Congress” for IRS procedures. “But don’t look to Congress to fix anything. Its members benefit.”

Posted by GottaLaff

· Thursday, May 16th, 2013 at 12:17 pm

· No Comments

Today’s L.A. Times letters to the editor, because our voices matter:

Re “Anger widens as IRS details emerge,” May 14

While members of Congress want to know more about the IRS targeting of conservative 501(c)(4) groups, they should look no further than themselves for the blame.

I tried to read the tax code regarding just what a “social welfare” group is, and my head almost exploded. The IRS didn’t write these rules, Congress did. If there isn’t clarity in the IRS procedures, blame Congress. But don’t look to Congress to fix anything. Its members benefit from the spending these tax-exempt organizations do. If anything, this loophole should be closed.

Shirley Conley

Gardena

***

Yes, the IRS and Associated Press scandals smell bad. But I wonder if one reason the members of one political party spend so much time spewing out self-righteous rants about the other party’s possible screw-up of the day — rather than working on vital legislation — has something to do with being in perpetual campaign mode brought on by their refusal to compromise on meaningful campaign finance reform.

Jack Cooper

North Hollywood

***

Re “Journalists’ records secretly collected,” May 14

It would be helpful for the AP if Republicans had not filibustered the proposed reporter shield law in 2008. This legislation would have specifically prohibited the kinds of abuses being visited upon the AP.

When the bill was in the House, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), now in high dudgeon over the matter, was one of only 21 representatives to vote against protecting reporters’ sources.

Kevin P. Smith

Newbury Park

No Comments

Categories : Politics

Tags : AP, Attorney General Holder, darrell issa, GOP hypocrisy, IRS, L.A. Times, letters to the editor, media shield law, scandals, social welfare, tax exempt, tea party, U.S. Congress

“Is it too conspiratorial a thought that the red line might be deliberately crossed by the other side to bring us in?”

Posted by GottaLaff

· Sunday, May 12th, 2013 at 4:13 pm

· No Comments

Today’s L.A. Times letters to the editor, because our voices matter:

Re “Time to act in Syria,” Opinion, May 9

Chuck Freilich speaks of the terrible consequences of not dealing with the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war. He focuses only on Bashar Assad‘s regime as the likely perpetrator.

A prominent member of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria reported “strong, concrete suspicions” that sarin may have been used by rebel forces. The member in question, Carla Del Ponte, is no dilettante in such matters, having served as a prosecutor with the International Criminal Court. And although conspiracy theories remain, is it too fanciful to suggest that, given the unsavory character of some elements of the rebel Syrian National Coalition, such egregious action may have taken place?

The only problem with “red lines” comes when one may have to cross them. In that regard, is it also too conspiratorial a thought that the red line might be deliberately crossed by the other side to bring us in?

This is not to suggest anything other than abhorrence at the use of weapons of mass destruction by any party in the conflict. It is merely to say that President Obama‘s cautious approach is the right one.

David C. Speedie

New York

The writer is the director of the U.S. Global Engagement Program at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

***

Re “The struggle for Syria,” Opinion, May 7

Majid Rafizadeh offers compelling reasons for the United States to avoid any military involvement in Syria. After years of involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and the installation of new governments, battles and deaths still occur in those countries; Syria risks a similar fate from U.S. intervention.

Surely our best course of action is to do as Rafizadeh suggests: to be one of the countries that “join together to address suffering” and to “address the urgent medical and basic needs of Syrians.” This is a role Americans can do well.

As Rafizadeh concludes, given the complexities and uncertainties about the future in Syria, “The way forward can only be shaped by Syrians.”

Dan Cabrera

Glendale

No Comments

Categories : Politics

Tags : L.A. Times, letters to the editor, Syria, war

“Republicans have shown they’re only capable of outrage when a Democratic president is in charge.”

Posted by GottaLaff

· Saturday, May 11th, 2013 at 2:35 pm

· No Comments

Today’s L.A. Times letters to the editor, because our voices matter:

Re “Lawmakers hear official’s account of Benghazi events,” May 8

After failing to connect President Obama to any real scandals, Republicans have resurrected the 8-month-old attack in Benghazi, Libya. This, while also taking a shot at Hillary Rodham Clinton, a potential presidential candidate.

Conservatives claim their outrage stems from the fact that four Americans died in the attack. Yet they cannot muster similar outrage over the nearly 4,500 dead U.S. servicemen and women in Iraq or the 3,000 dead from the 9/11 attacks.

These Republicans have shown they’re only capable of outrage when a Democratic president is in charge.

Ted Stulz

Anaheim Hills

***

It seems politics are driving Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), the chairman of the House committee that conducted the Benghazi hearing, and his fellow Republicans over the attack.

Why didn’t House Democrats hold similar hearings when they came to power after the 2006 midterm election? No reason to — we were all Bushed out going into the elections in 2008. Today the GOP appears to be trying to bushwhack Hilary Clinton in 2016.

Ken Johnson

Pinon Hills

No Comments

Categories : Politics

Tags : benghazi, gop fail, GOP hypocrisy, Hillary Clinton, L.A. Times, letters to the editor, President Obama, STFU

Lt. Col Barry Wingard is the lawyer for Gitmo detainee Fayiz Al-Kandari. For their ongoing story + related topics, please click on the link below:
Kuwaiti Citizen Detained at Guantanamo since 2002

You can read the complete story here or on Wikipedia.

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