Did you know one of America’s most pioneering journalists and influential advice columnists lived right here in Ridgewood?
photo courtesy of the Ridgewood Historical Society & Schoolhouse Museum
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Historical Society & Schoolhouse Museum sheds light on the incredible life of Marion Clyde McCarroll (1891–1977), the woman who famously became the nationally syndicated oracle of wisdom, Beatrice Fairfax, in the column “Advice to the Lovelorn.”
RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Quarterback **Gavin McCrone powered Ridgewood High School to a statement victory Friday night, leading the Maroons past Montclair, 41-28, in front of a home crowd.
Ridgewood NJ, Two of the most significant trade policies in U.S. history—the Tariff Act of 1922 (Fordney-McCumber Tariff) and the Tariff Act of 1930 (Smoot–Hawley Tariff)—produced very different economic outcomes. One is linked to postwar prosperity, the other to global economic collapse. What made the difference?
During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln became increasingly frustrated by Union General George McClellan’s unwillingness to attack the Confederate Army. Lincoln recalled him to Washington with the simple but barbed message above.
My dear McClellan: If you don’t want to use the Army I should like to borrow it for a while.
Washington DC, as the House of Representatives prepares for another day of voting on who will wield the Speaker’s gavel, voters are divided over whether Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy should get the job.
Upper Saddle River NJ, Governor Phil Murphy announced that Catherine R. McCabe, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, will be retiring as of January 15, 2021.
Washington DC, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed on Friday night that Republicans will move to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.
Trenton NJ, Governor Murphy saved Home Depot, Target and other Wall Street sponsored companies and he destroyed businesses earning 60K per year. The economists and historians will be writing about this for next hundred years to come.
Ridgewood NJ, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell drew scathing criticism from a several lawmaker Wednesday for saying he would prefer to see states file for bankruptcy than receive additional federal funds as they struggle to cover the costs of combating the coronavirus outbreak.
Hackensack NJ, longtime Republican activist and attorney John McCann scored an impressive victory over four other opponents on Wednesday night as he earned an overwhelming victory at the Bergen County Republican Organization Policy Committee meeting on Wednesday night. McCann outpaced his closest competitor by a substantial margin of almost two to one.
Emerson NJ, John McCann is hoping the second time is a charm , the seasoned campaign veteran and lawyer announced on his Facebook page that he will challenge John Gotteimer in the 5th Congressional District . Vastly outspent McCann came within striking distance in 2018
” I am pleased to announce my candidacy for Congress. All 18,000 plus of you have been tremendous supporters through the last campaign. That is why I am asking you to join me one more time so we can finish the job.”
Hackensack, NJ,in a statement yesterday CD5 GOP Candidate John McCannn said ,” Sheriff Michael Saudino must resign immediately. These comments are offensive and hurtful. I am saddened for the good men and women in law enforcement in Bergen County who do an outstanding job protecting us.
Just a few short weeks ago, Josh Gottheimer stood shoulder to shoulder with Sheriff Saudino, enjoying his endorsement. Now the question is will Congressman Gottheimer renounce Saudino’s endorsement? I encourage him to do that and not play politics by saying one thing and doing another.”
Ridgewood NJ, looks like we have a horse race ,the McCann for Congress has released an internal poll of voter attitudes in the 5th Congressional District of New Jersey August 9 – 12, 2018. This survey had 400 completed interviews with live operators and carries a margin of error of =/- 4.9%.
McCain minority staff director Henry Kerner to IRS official Lois Lerner and other IRS officials: “the solution is to audit so many that it becomes financially ruinous”
July 17,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington DC, Judicial Watch today released newly obtained internal IRS documents, including material revealing that Sen. John McCain’s former staff director and chief counsel on the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee, Henry Kerner, urged top IRS officials, including then-director of exempt organizations Lois Lerner, to “audit so many that it becomes financially ruinous.” Kerner was appointed by President Trump as Special Counsel for the United States Office of Special Counsel.
The explosive exchange was contained in notes taken by IRS employees at an April 30, 2013, meeting between Kerner, Lerner, and other high-ranking IRS officials. Just ten days following the meeting, former IRS director of exempt organizations Lois Lerner admitted that the IRS had a policy of improperly and deliberately delaying applications for tax-exempt status from conservative non-profit groups.
Lerner and other IRS officials met with select top staffers from the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in a “marathon” meeting to discuss concerns raised by both Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that the IRS was not reining in political advocacy groups in response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Senator McCain had been the chief sponsor of the McCain-Feingold Act and called the Citizens United decision, which overturned portions of the Act, one of the “worst decisions I have ever seen.”
In the full notes of an April 30 meeting, McCain’s high-ranking staffer Kerner recommends harassing non-profit groups until they are unable to continue operating. Kerner tells Lerner, Steve Miller, then chief of staff to IRS commissioner, Nikole Flax, and other IRS officials, “Maybe the solution is to audit so many that it is financially ruinous.” In response, Lerner responded that “it is her job to oversee it all:”
Henry Kerner asked how to get to the abuse of organizations claiming section 501 (c)(4) but designed to be primarily political. Lois Lerner said the system works, but not in real time. Henry Kerner noted that these organizations don’t disclose donors. Lois Lerner said that if they don’t meet the requirements, we can come in and revoke, but it doesn’t happen timely. Nan Marks said if the concern is that organizations engaging in this activity don’t disclose donors, then the system doesn’t work. Henry Kerner said that maybe the solution is to audit so many that it is financially ruinous. Nikole noted that we have budget constraints. Elise Bean suggested using the list of organizations that made independent expenditures. Lois Lerner said that it is her job to oversee it all, not just political campaign activity.
Judicial Watch previously reported on the 2013 meeting. Senator McCain then issued a statement decrying “false reports claiming that his office was somehow involved in IRS targeting of conservative groups.” The IRS previously blacked out the notes of the meeting but Judicial Watch found the notes among subsequent documents released by the agency.
Judicial Watch separately uncovered that Lerner was under significant pressure from both Democrats in Congress and the Obama DOJ and FBI to prosecute and jail the groups the IRS was already improperly targeting. In discussing pressure from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat-Rhode Island) to prosecute these “political groups,” Lerner admitted, “it is ALL about 501(c)(4) orgs and political activity.”
The April 30, 2013 meeting came just under two weeks prior to Lerner’s admission during an ABA meeting that the IRS had “inappropriately” targeted conservative groups. In her May 2013 answer to a planted question, in which she admitted to the “absolutely incorrect, insensitive, and inappropriate” targeting of Tea Party and conservative groups, Lerner suggested the IRS targeting occurred due to an “uptick” in 501 (c)(4) applications to the IRS but in actuality, there had been a decrease in such applications in 2010.
On May 14, 2013, a report by Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration revealed: “Early in Calendar Year 2010, the IRS began using inappropriate criteria to identify organizations applying for tax-exempt status” (e.g., lists of past and future donors). The illegal IRS reviews continued “for more than 18 months” and “delayed processing of targeted groups’ applications” in advance of the 2012 presidential election.
All these documents were forced out of the IRS as a result of an October 2013 Judicial Watch Freedom of Information (FOIA) lawsuit filed against the IRS after it failed to respond adequately to four FOIA requests sent in May 2013 (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Internal Revenue Service (No. 1:13-cv-01559)). Judicial Watch is seeking:
All records related to the number of applications received or related to communications between the IRS and members of the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate regarding the review process for organizations applying for tax exempt status under 501(c)(4);
All records concerning communications between the IRS and the Executive Branch or any other government agency regarding the review process for organizations applying for tax exempt status under 501(c)(4);
Copies of any questionnaires and all records related to the preparation of questionnaires sent to organizations applying for 501(c)(4) tax exempt status.
All records related to Lois Lerner’s communication with other IRS employees, as well as government or private entity outside the IRS regarding the review and approval process for 501 (c)(4) applicant organizations.
“The Obama IRS scandal is bipartisan – McCain and Democrats who wanted to regulate political speech lost at the Supreme Court, so they sought to use the IRS to harass innocent Americans,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The Obama IRS scandal is not over – as Judicial Watch continues to uncover smoking gun documents that raise questions about how the Obama administration weaponized the IRS, the FEC, FBI, and DOJ to target the First Amendment rights of Americans.”
