Hillary Clinton

In a not-so-shocking development today, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) admitted that it “inappropriately” targeted conservative groups for “additional review” during the “2012 election cycle.”

“The Internal Revenue Service Inappropriately Flagged Conservative Political Groups For Additional Reviews During The 2012 Election To See If They Were Violating Their Tax-Exempt Status, A Top IRS Official Said Friday.”  (Stephen Ohlemacher, “IRS Apologizes For Targeting Conservative Groups,” The Associated Press, 5/10/13)

So, the big news of the day wasn’t that Jodi Arias was deservedly found guilty of first-degree murder or the unfolding story of the horrific kidnappings in Ohio, but rather what transpired on Capitol Hill throughout the day.

While the establishment news was dominated at times by an enraptured bonbon audience enthralled with coverage of Arias and the evil-doer Ariel Castro; what the American public learned today is that the Obama Administration, the State Department, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Susan Rice and others engaged in a deliberate campaign to deceive the American people about a terrorist attack on the 11th Anniversary of 9/11 in Benghazi, Libya. In other words: a cover up of the murder of four Americans in a foreign land who were there just doing their jobs serving their country.

A spontaneous protest? No. An anti-Muslim YouTube video? Nope.

So, according to Gallup, Congress’ approval rating remains mired in the mid-teens.

“Americans’ Approval Of Congress Is At 15% In February, One Percentage Point Higher Than In January And Exactly Matching The 15% Average For All Of 2012.”  (Frank Newport, “Congress Approval Rating Holding Steady At 15%,” Gallup, 2/19/13)

This recent survey by Gallup isn’t surprising. The public has frowned on Congress for some time. But why have things gotten so bad and when did it turn so negative?

Wow, what a day. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faced the music this morning and took direct fire from Republicans on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee over the terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Not surprisingly, Democrats did everything they could to protect Clinton and the Obama Administration in general for the “misinformation” campaign they deployed following the murder of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others.

The most astonishing moment may have been when U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) brought up Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program to defend against the Obama Administration’s use of misinformation.

As the crisis in Libya continues to panic the oil markets, America is reminded once again of the pain at the pump and the dangers of relying on foreign sources of oil to fuel our cars, homes and the economy. According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report, the national average price of regular unleaded gas stands at $3.471. “Gas prices started 2009 around $1.61 a gallon” and a year ago the price of regular was $2.706. So since January 2009, gas has gone up $1.86, an increase of 116%. You’d think we’d one day learn our lesson, but we haven’t.

Back in February 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the Obama Administration would review U.S. policy towards Burma, also known as Myanmar. In so doing, Clinton justified the shift in policy asserting neither Western sanctions nor “constructive engagement” by neighboring Asian countries had resulted in much progress over the ruling military junta’s grip on power, human rights abuse record and suspected military cooperation with North Korea.

From that review, a new push to engage Burma, one of the most brutal regimes on the planet:

New York Democrats must be pulling their hair out. After Governor David Paterson appointed then-Representative Kirsten Gillibrand to Hillary Clinton’s vacant Senate seat – to the dismay of many liberals who viewed her too conservative – President Barack Obama’s Administration and senior New York Senator Chuck Schumer went out of their way to clear the field and ensure that Gillibrand would have a safe path to the General Election to serve the balance of Clinton’s term.

They didn’t expect former Tennessee Representative Harold Ford, Jr., to make a run at Gillibrand. I mean, who could have imagined? Who would have thought Fancy Ford would aim to make a political comeback in New York of all places?

Over the weekend, New York Magazine published an excerpt from John Heliemann and Mark Halperin’s new book, Game Change. The excerpt, “Saint Elizabeth and the Ego Monster,” centered on the downfall of John Edwards’ presidential campaign.

When the “Ego Monster’s” campaign unraveled after losing the Iowa caucuses, Edwards moved to broker a deal with Barack Obama where Edwards would agree to be Vice President in an effort to finally crush Hillary Clinton. He would later try to finagle the Attorney General spot from Obama on the eve of the South Carolina primary. The rest is, of course, history. Edwards ended up with nothing and his political career is beyond ruins.

The $787 billion economic stimulus package passed by Democrats in February was designed to spur economic growth by creating jobs. At the end of October, the Obama Administration trumpeted 650,000 jobs saved or created by the stimulus package.  We have since come to understand that those numbers are about as real as Santa Claus. We reported on phony job numbers here, here, here, here, here, and here, to highlight just a few.

Seems every year there is a shortage of flu vaccine. It’s no different this year with the swine flu (H1N1) making the rounds and people finding themselves unable to get the vaccine. There’s a reason for this, and we’ll get to that in a moment. Before we do, we have to note that the Senate voted last night to move forward with their version of the government-run health care bill. One particularly troubling provision within the bill, and highlighted by Republicans in yesterday’s debate, is a tax on vaccine manufacturers that produce swine flu vaccine.

“A Provision In The Bill Would Draw $2.3 Billion Annually From Drug Manufacturers That Produce The Swine Flu Vaccine.”  (Jordan Fabian, “GOP: Health Bill Would Tax H1N1 Vaccine Makers,” The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room, 11/21/09)