The IRS wrongfully seized $62,000 from a dairy farmer
Last week the IRS came under fire from the Congress, in a bipartisan effort, for seizing the bank accounts of some small businesses even though these businesses were not suspected of committing any crime. This led to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen apologizing to “anyone who got caught up in this.”
The IRS has been using a law which prohibits “structured” bank deposits under $10,000 and the law is intended to stop gun traffickers and drug dealers, however it now appears as if the IRS was using this law to target small businesses in some cases just to get whatever money it can get from honest, hard-working American citizens who are not even suspected of any wrongdoing.
A perfect example of this practice is the case of Randy Sowers.
Did a United Nations official admit the global warming agenda’s real goal was to destroy capitalism?
During a news conference last week a United Nations official, Christiana Figueres, made some interesting comments in relation to the global warming agenda.
Here is some of what she had to say:
“This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time, to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the Industrial Revolution,”
“This is probably the most difficult task we have ever given ourselves, which is to intentionally transform the economic development model for the first time in human history.”
What “economic development model” which has been in place since the “industrial revolution” could she possibly be talking about?
The IRS will be handing out Earned Income Tax Credit back-refunds to illegal immigrants…who have not paid taxes
The IRS is on one hell of a roll this week: yesterday the agency came under fire for seizing the assets of some small business owners who were not suspected of any crime and now, according to this story, the IRS will be handing out Earned Income Tax Credit refunds to illegal immigrants even if they have not previously filed a tax return.
Here is more:
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told Congress on Wednesday that even illegal immigrants who didn’t pay taxes will be able to claim back-refunds once they get Social Security numbers under President Obama’s temporary deportation amnesty.
On Wednesday, he said even illegal immigrants who didn’t pay taxes will be able to apply for back-credits once they get Social Security numbers.
“Under the new program, if you get a Social Security number and you work, you’ll be eligible to apply for the Earned Income Tax Credit,” Mr. Koskinen said.
He said that would apply even “if you did not file” taxes, as long as the illegal immigrant could demonstrate having worked off-the-books during those years.
The IRS is under fire for seizing small business bank accounts without filing criminal charges
Back in October of 2014 America’s Watchtower covered the story of Carole Hinders–a restaurant owner who had her bank accounts seized by the IRS for committing the “crime” of making bank deposits under $10,000 even though she was never charged with a crime. You can read that story here.
Carole Hinders is not alone: under a law which is supposedly used to catch traffickers the IRS also seized $1 million from Andrew Clyde’s business account even though he is not suspected of a crime. He just happens to be a gun dealer and we know how the Obama regime feels about this business.
Now the IRS is coming under fire from the Oversight House for this practice. Here is more:
Democrats slam House Republicans for changing subpoena rules
Somehow I missed this story but apparently in January House Republicans changed the subpoena rules to grant the Judiciary Committee and the Financial Services Committee new subpoena powers. These new rules allow the majority party to subpoena witnesses without consulting the minority party beforehand.
Needless to say this has been met with condemnation from the Democratic Party.
Here is more:
Democratic lawmakers are harshly criticizing House Republicans for altering committee rules governing how chairmen can subpoena witnesses and documents.
In a letter shared with POLITICO, the Democrats slams the GOP conference for changing rules on a number of House committees to make it easier for Republicans to subpoena witnesses without consultation or approval from minority lawmakers – an effort that came as Republicans are preparing aggressive oversight efforts for President Barack Obama’s final two years in office.
Sixteen Democrats, all ranking members of House committees, accused Republicans of attempting to create Darrell Issa-like committee structures, referring to the former Oversight and Government Reform chairman who was criticized by Democrats for his dogged probes into the White House.
“For decades, responsible committee chairmen—both Democratic and Republican—recognized that the coercive power of subpoenas should be used only as a last resort, and they obtained the concurrence of the ranking member or called a committee vote before issuing subpoenas,” the lawmakers wrote on Tuesday.
Not that this news is going to come as a surprise to anyone but the Obama regime has decided not to release more than 500 documents related to the IRS targeting scandal which were requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
Here is more:
The Obama administration is refusing to publicly release more than 500 documents on the IRS’s targeting of Tea Party groups.
The Hill sought access to government documents that might provide a glimpse of the decision-making through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
The Hill asked for 2013 emails and other correspondence between the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The request specifically sought emails from former IRS official Lois Lerner and Treasury officials, including Secretary Jack Lew, while the inspector general was working on its explosive May 2013 report that the IRS used “inappropriate criteria” to review the political activities of tax-exempt groups.
TIGTA opted not to release any of the 512 documents covered by the request, citing various exemptions in the law. The Hill recently appealed the FOIA decision, but TIGTA denied the appeal.
The FCC releases Barack Obama’s ‘plan to regulate the internet’
The FCC recently released its net neutrality recommendations, and I use the term “released” loosely for it has been given to the FCC Commissioners but reportedly it will not be made available to the public.
The Democratic FCC Commissioners have one take on these regulations while the lone Republican FCC Commissioner has another.
Here is some of what FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler had to say about the new regulations:
“Using this authority, I am submitting to my colleagues the strongest open internet protections ever proposed by the FCC,” Wheeler wrote on Wednesday. “These enforceable, bright-line rules will ban paid prioritization, and the blocking and throttling of lawful content and services.”
That sounds benign enough, who does not want an open and fair internet where the providers cannot throttle the internet or charge additional fees to provide high speed lanes?
But is there more behind the veil that we do not know about? Republican FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai thinks so. Here is more:
Video: Brian Williams rapping ‘Baby Got Back’
How about a little lighthearted humor for this Sunday evening? I found the following video over at The Silent Soldier and I thought it was absolutely hilarious so I decided to share it with the regular readers of America’s Watchtower.
Here is the beleaguered anchor of NBC Nightly News rapping “Baby Got Back.” I hope you all enjoy it as much as I have.
Open thread for Sunday, February 8th: Looks that Kill
Here is the open thread for Sunday, February 8th. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
Last week was a slow one with only 8 posts but did you miss any of them? If so there is an easy way to make sure it does not happen again. I understand that all of you are busy and cannot always find the time to check the blog for updates so why not subscribe to America’s Watchtower and receive email updates whenever I write a new post? That is the easiest way to follow the blog to ensure you never miss another post.
In addition to subscribing you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right. But you will get more than that for I often post links to articles I probably will not be writing about so it is a great way to keep up with what is happening.
The Twitter widget in the sidebar is fully interactive. This widget updates my tweets in real time and allows you to respond to or retweet my tweets right from the blog. It also allows you to tweet me right from America’s Watchtower. How cool is that! If you do not have a Twitter account what better reason do you need to sign up for one!?
I thought I would stick with the ’80s metal band theme from last week with the musical selection this week. Here is Motley Crue performing “Looks that Kill” live in 1983.
America's Watchtower 