Senior tax officials knew of extra Tea Party scrutiny in 2011
(Reuters) – Higher-level Internal Revenue Service officials took part in discussions as far back as August 2011 about targeting by lower-level tax agents of “Tea Party” and other conservative groups, according to documents reviewed by Reuters on Monday.
The documents show the offices of the IRS’s chief counsel and deputy commissioner for services and enforcement communicated about the targeting with lower-level officials on August 4, 2011, and March 8, 2012, respectively.
The two communications occurred weeks and months before Doug Shulman, then the commissioner of the IRS, told congressional panels in late March 2012 that no groups were being targeted for extra scrutiny by the tax agency.
The IRS has maintained that its senior leadership did not know for some time that lower-level agents were applying extra scrutiny to applications for tax-exempt status from groups with key words in their names, such as “Tea Party” and “Patriot.
Opinion: Whatever happened to kids doing chores?
Monday May 13, 2013, 5:15 PM
BY DEENA YELLIN
The Record
Meanwhile, the girls shop, party and ponder about the likelihood of meeting a man who will give them an even more entitled life. The best thing I can say about this show is that it wasn’t filmed in New Jersey.
But such shows perpetuate a false stereotype. Contrary to what reality television wants us to believe, most young people today are not dependent parasites who see work as a fearsome four-letter word. Hardly a week goes by when I don’t hear of some local teen who has done exemplary volunteer work, launched a business enterprise or campaigned for legislation to help others.
We need not look further than our own clothing to appreciate that of which children are capable. I’m not advocating sending our youngsters back to work in factories, but clearly, it wouldn’t hurt our kids to have them clean out the garage or help out in the kitchen every once in a while.
I admit that children may take longer to carry out household tasks and do them a tad less effectively than when we do them. There may even be a few howls of indignation as the chores are executed. And sometimes it just seems easier to complete the task ourselves.
But this is a valuable exercise, just as an internship or job training is essential for the long-term good. And someday – we pray it will be well before we have been dispatched to some nursing home in Piscataway — our offspring will make us proud by completing such domestic tasks competently on their own, without any nagging required.
IRS sent confidential info on conservatives to liberal nonprofit ProPublica
The division of the Internal Revenue Service that improperly scrutinized the tax-exempt status of conservative groups sent confidential information on 31 conservative groups to the well-funded liberal nonprofit journalism organization ProPublica, according to a revelation made by ProPublica Monday.
“The same IRS office that deliberately targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status in the run-up to the 2012 election released nine pending confidential applications of conservative groups to ProPublica late last year,” according to the ProPublica report.
“In response to a request for the applications for 67 different nonprofits last November, the Cincinnati office of the IRS sent ProPublica applications or documentation for 31 groups. Nine of those applications had not yet been approved — meaning they were not supposed to be made public. (We made six of those public, after redacting their financial information, deeming that they were newsworthy.),” according to ProPublica.
Fifty-five Years of Free Summer Entertainment Under the Stars
8:30pm at the Band Shell,Veterans Field, Ridgewood New Jersey
Behind the Ridgewood Public Library N. Maple Ave. Between Franklin and Linwood Aves.
Please bring a chair or blanket, Please do not cross over the baseball
field if a game is in progress
JUNE
Thursday, June 6
*Tunes in June RHS Bands
Starts at 8pm (all other programs start at 8:30 pm)
Tuesday, June 11
Harmony Celebration C
horus “Sweet Adelines”
Sponsor : The Village of Ridgewood
Thursday, June 13
Richard Reiter Swing Band
Sponsors: Hudson City Savi
ngs Bank and Van Dyk
Health Care, Inc.
Tuesday, June 18
Ridgewood Choral – 85th Anniversary
Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus of Ridgewood
Sponsor: Valley Hospital
Thursday, June 20
Greg Caldarone Pop Standards
Sponsors: Boiling Springs Savings Bank and Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill
Tuesday, June 25
**Thunderhill Band Country & Western
Sponsors: Boiling
Springs Savings Bank and Tarvin Realtors
Thursday, June 27
Lou Gallo and the Very Hungry Band Children’s Evening
Sponsors: Clemente Orthodontics and Ridgewood Dentistry
– Warren Boardman D.M.D.
JULY
Tuesday, July 2
Island Breeze Calypso, Reggae & Latin Jazz
Sponsors: Ridgewood AM
Rotary Club and The Village of Ridgewood
Tuesday, July 9
The Bobby Byrne Show Broadway & More
Sponsor: TD Bank
Thursday, July 11
“The Kootz” Classic 60’ s through 90’s Rock, Pop & Blues
Sponsors: Wostbrock Home & Floors
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Corp.
Tuesday, July 16
McVey Family A Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch
Sponsors: Park West Tavern and Feeney Funeral Home
Thursday, July 18
“Bucky” Pizzarelli, Jazz
Sponsors: Valley
National Bank and Ulrich, Inc.
Tuesday July 23
Moonlighters Swing Orchestra with Shelli Latorre
Sponsor: Care One at th
e Cupola and Care One at Ridgewood Avenue
Thursday July 25
The Yester Daze “Doo Wop”
Sponsors: Columbia Bank
Care One at the Cupola and Care One at Ridgewood Avenue
Tuesday, July 30
Mack Brandon & The Connection Popular Gospel
Sponsors: Daily Treat Family
Tradition and The Village of Ridgewood
AUGUST
Thursday. August 1
Group Therapy “The Best of Rock & Soul”
Sponsor: Boiling Spring Savings Bank
Tuesday, August 6
Rio Clemente & Friends, Bishop of Jazz
Sponsors: Boiling Springs Savings Bank
The Village of Ridgewood
Rain site- Benjamin Franklin Middle School, N. Van Dien Ave. at Glen Ave.
*June 6 rain site – Campus Ctr. Ridgewood High School on E. Ridgewood Ave, **June 25 rain site – George Washington Middle School at
S. Monroe St at Washington Place Taped rain site information (June
– August) 201-444-1776 after 7:00pm
Justice has been served for a few infants and one mother whose lives were taken within the filthy walls of 3801 Lancaster Avenue.
Late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell was convicted yesterday of first-degree murder in the deaths of three infants who were born alive after botched abortions performed in his run-down West Philadelphia clinic. He was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old woman who died from an overdose of anesthetic drugs during an abortion procedure.
The jury’s deliberations came after six weeks of harrowing testimony detailing the brutal deaths of newborns and unthinkable mistreatment of women. The gruesome murder of moving, breathing infants after botched abortions allegedly became a regular occurrence at the filthy West Philadelphia facility, with one clinic worker estimating nearly 100 living babies were killed shortly after birth.
Many of those murders followed failed abortions performed after Pennsylvania’s 24-week limit. In addition to the four murder charges, Gosnell was also convicted of more than 200 other criminal counts including violating Pennsylvania’s informed consent law and performing illegal late-term abortions.
In wake of the trial’s disturbing revelations, many are left questioning how the oft-repeated slogan of “safe, legal, and rare” abortions can continue to encompass late-term procedures—especially of the kind that can produce live births.
There is broad consensus that abortions like those Gosnell performed should not take place, whether in a run-down Philadelphia clinic or the sterile facilities of other abortion providers. Nearly two-thirds of Americans generally oppose abortions in the second trimester of pregnancy, while 80 percent oppose abortions in the third trimester.
“The first degree murder conviction of Kermit Gosnell brings some closure to this horrific case, but we must act to address the broader problems highlighted by this tragedy,” remarked Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). “Congress should conduct a thorough investigation into the practices of late-term abortions in America with the goal of ensuring that these atrocities are never repeated in the future.…Life is precious at every stage, and America’s policies must reflect this fact at every turn.”
That policy work got underway last week, when the House Energy and Commerce Committee began investigations into current state efforts to monitor clinics and protect the rights of born-alive infants and their mothers.
Yet much more needs to be done, especially as current policy entangles taxpayer dollars in the abortion industry.
The leader in that industry, Planned Parenthood, performs roughly one out of every four abortions in the United States. The organization that holds the title of the nation’s largest abortion provider also allegedly turned a blind eye to the safety of women in Pennsylvania and Delaware, opposes legal protections for infants born after botched abortions, and faces repeated accusations of fraud.
This is the organization that President Obama vowed to support at its recent annual fundraising gala. This is the multibillion-dollar industry to which the government sends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars every year. And the abortion subsidization through taxpayer funding will only increase under Obamacare.
In light of the brutality that became commonplace at 3801 Lancaster Avenue and has appeared elsewhere, policymakers should rethink continued financial support for an industry that creates and supports the likes of Gosnell.
Americans must likewise reexamine the prevailing ethic of abortion-on-demand for any reason—even in late-term abortions.
“[I]n our justice system premeditating and exacting the demise of babies is only a crime if a child is fully outside the womb,” stated Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC). “We would do well as a society to consider what deciding murder based upon geographic technicalities reveals about our collective conscious.”
For over four decades since the Roe v. Wade decision, American medical practice, politics, and laws have separated the health of mothers from the well-being of the children they carry. Gosnell’s “house of horrors” should demonstrate that the severing of that connection does a disservice and risks the health and lives of both child and mother.
Legendary Tennis player Jimmy Connors at Bookends Tuesday
Tuesday, May 14 @ 7:00pm
Legendary Tennis player, Jimmy Connors, will sign his new book: The Outsider
Books available May 14th
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.
Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.
While we try to insure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
Free Tuesday Movies at Warner Theater End on May 28th
Due to the pending sale of Clearview Cinemas to Bow Tie Cinemas Inc., Optimum Rewards will no longer be able to offer free movie Tuesdays at the Warner Theater in Ridgewood as of May 28th and everyday discounted tickets will expire on May 31st.
The Ridgewood Arts Council is looking for volunteers
The Ridgewood Arts Council is looking for volunteers to be gallery sitters for a FEW hours on either Friday, May 31st and Saturday, June 1st. Our first Pop-Up Art Gallery will take place from 12-6:00pm on 5/31 and 12-9:00pm on 6/1 at 31 N. Broad Street, Ridgewood.
Be a part of this unique event! To volunteer for this event or other upcoming events, please email to: [email protected].
State Task force may look at full-day kindergarten in all districts
A proposal to explore the idea of bringing full-day kindergarten to schools statewide advanced in a state Assembly committee Monday.
While most of New Jersey’s elementary school districts offer full-day kindergarten, at least 114 districts still offer half-day only, according to the state Department of Education. The Assembly Education Committee approved a bill that would create a task force to explore full-day options. (Rundquist/Star-Ledger)
Monday watering banned all summer in Ridgewood
May 14.2013
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Village Council approved an ordinance last week that seeks to simplify the existing watering regulations, permitting usage based on home address numbers.
Basically the new change in the village’s summer water restriction rules means residents will not be able to water their lawns on Mondays this summer at all.
The current regulation dictates that during declared emergency Stages I to III, homes and businesses with even-numbered addresses can water on even-numbered days and odd-numbered addresses can water lawns on odd-numbered days.
Stage II or higher is declared, call for a ban on Monday watering .
The new ordinance that takes affect June 1, and will ban watering on Mondays. Stage I restrictions will remain active from June 1st through the end of August .
During Stages II and III restrictions, odd-numbered addresses will be able to water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Even-numbered properties can water Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Stage IV restrictions remain the same: with a total ban on all watering .
What remains unclear is weather schools , municipal buildings and large institutions like Valley Hospital will have to follow the same guidelines or will further reductions be needed to curtail their massive water use.
Critics of the change speculate and wonder what the impact on residential property values might be ? And continue to push for the sale of Ridgewood water which has become a significant liability on the town.
The village plans to conduct an educational campaign throughout the summer to alert residents to the change.
Ridgewood Public Schools to renew most teacher contracts
Monday May 13, 2013, 10:55 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
With the exception of two educators, contracts for nearly all Ridgewood teachers will be renewed next year, school district officials said Wednesday.
On the non-renewal list, effective July 1, are a kindergarten teacher and a part-time art teacher, each of whom taught at the elementary level this past year. Their positions, according to Manager of Human Resources Gary Hall, are being impacted by reduced elementary school enrollment levels.
While the Board of Education’s (BOE) May 6 agenda noted 11 positions will be abolished as part of a “reduction-in-force” next year, including several elementary school teaching positions and high school dance and art teaching positions, most of the individuals will be retained in the district in a different capacity.
When asked about teachers being “laid off,” Superintendent Daniel Fishbein corrected the language in an email.
Revealed: The 55 questions the IRS asked one tea party group after more than two years of waiting – including demands for names of all its donors and volunteers
Lengthy questionnaire arrived more than two years after the Richmond Tea Party applied for tax-exempt status
IRS demanded ‘names of the donors, contributors, and grantors’ and insisted: ‘Please identify your volunteers’
Tax collectors began in 2012 to scrutinize conservative nonprofits more closely than others
Documents show senior IRS officials in Washington knew of the practice as early as August 2011, but the White House says it learned last month
By David Martosko In Washington
PUBLISHED: 16:18 EST, 13 May 2013 | UPDATED: 16:20 EST, 13 May 2013
The Internal Revenue Service wrote to the Richmond Tea Party last year demanding to know the names of all its financial donors and volunteers, as part of a 55-question inquisition into its application for tax-exempt status, MailOnline has learned.
The agency wanted to know ‘the names of the donors, contributors, and grantors’ for every year ‘from inception to the present.’
It also demanded ‘the amounts of each of the donations, contributions, and grants and the dates you received them.
Govt obtains wide AP phone records in probe
By MARK SHERMAN
May. 13 4:47 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative’s top executive called a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into how news organizations gather the news.
The records obtained by the Justice Department listed incoming and outgoing calls, and the duration of each call, for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and the main number for AP reporters in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP.
In all, the government seized those records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown but more than 100 journalists work in the offices whose phone records were targeted on a wide array of stories about government and other matters.
The IRS admits to ‘targeting’ conservative groups, but were they also ‘leaking’?
A little over a year ago, I reported that, ”It is likely that someone at the Internal Revenue Service illegally leaked confidential donor information showing a contribution from Mitt Romney’s political action committee to the National Organization for Marriage, says the group.”
Now — on the heels of news the IRS’s apology for having targeted conservative groups — NOM is renewing their demand that the Internal Revenue Service reveal the identity of the people responsible.
“There is little question that one or more employees at the IRS stole our confidential tax return and leaked it to our political enemies, in violation of federal law,” said NOM’s president Brian Brow, in a prepared statement. “The only questions are who did it, and whether there was any knowledge or coordination between people in the White House, the Obama reelection campaign and the Human Rights Campaign. We and the American people deserve answers.”
Ticket Blitz : Bike ordinance scrubbed
May 13, 2013
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Village Council voted down a proposed ordinance that would have given police the authority to remove bicycles blocking public rights-of-way.
Residents had expressed concern that commuters often leave their bicycles chained to sign posts and fences near the Ridgewood Train Station, blocking pedestrian right a ways.
After receiving heavy criticism from commuters, bike riders and environmentalist Mayor Paul Aronsohn recanted telling the Bergen Record that the ordinance was not meant to be “punitive,” but that after careful consideration, “there may not be such a compelling need” for new rules.https://www.northjersey.com/news/207152811_Bike_ordinance_scrubbed.html
Critics suggested a simple fix of adding a few more bike racks at the train station and that the Village needed to change its attitude toward alternative methods of transportation primary bycyles. Blog readers suggested the Village like the rest of the country should be encouraging bicycles not discouraging them . While other thought the Mayor had simply hoped to squeeze more ticket revenue from commuters .
The Village council decide to defer action until a better plan can be established with
Deputy Mayor Al Pucciarelli,telling the Record any change should “encourage the use of bicycles as something that’s in the public interest.”https://www.northjersey.com/news/207152811_Bike_ordinance_scrubbed.html
The fact of the matter is the whole village need to made more bike friendly and the first step would be to offer more bike racks .
